In Progress Animalia Legend I: The Metamorphosis

[Darksong]

Finally I have a good idea, and I hope I keep it up. I just need some kind of encouragement, but I don't know what that is. But I promise I will write more than one chapter this time.

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Chapter 1:

It was impossible to make out what they had said.

But he ignored the one who had spoken outside his bedroom. Why did his mother have to leave the window open when he went to bed? The wind sent a shiver through him, not only because it was cold, but because there was something... ominous about the air.

He knew he was supposed to be sleeping, but he couldn't get a single second of rest in. His eyes refused to close, and his mind was as reluctant to shut down as a frozen computer. So, he just stared out the window at the sky blankly, sitting on the floor, a slight twinge of fear in his stomach that had been brought by the night. There was definitely something rather different.

With a quiet sigh, he decided to get back in bed. The room was cold, but the covers were warm and welcoming like a hug from his mother.

But soon enough, that simile would completely change.

Before he knew it, his eyes slid closed and somehow, he was brought to sleep. Through the small gap on his curtains, the moon shone on his face as he dozed off into the next day.

And, as always, the boy woke with the light. He kept his emerald green eyes closed briefly before finally adjusting to the sun staring down on him. As he headed down the hall, the bathroom mirror showed his dark blonde hair rather messed up, but he didn't bother to fix it up at the moment. It was just another morning, or at least he thought.

When he got downstairs, there was no warm greeting, or even a smile from his father, who woke early and came down to work a bit before the stress of midday. Perhaps his plain gray pajamas had made him camouflage with the floor.

A deep breath escaped the boy's throat as he suddenly remembered. This day was important, for from this moment on, he was thirteen years old.

There was pleasant snow outside. He guessed that the miniscule white flakes had drifted down from the sky like dancers overnight. There was also a morning chill, so he knew that it wouldn't be melting anytime soon. He trembled as the cold shot through his whole body, starting from his face.

He yawned drowsily, absentmindedly standing at that spot near the stairs. Perhaps it would be time to make waffles for breakfast. His mouth watered at the thought of the blueberries on his tongue, leaking their sweet, purple juice and filling his mouth with the taste like a flash flood. By instinct, he began to head towards the far end of the kitchen, towards the toaster. It was that silver kind where you pushed the lever down and it popped up a minute or two later, delivering whatever you had inserted earlier with a nice, crisp touch. Somehow, this appealed to the teenager.

But, just as he was about to open the pantry to get the waffles, he felt an odd presence. And suddenly, it was everywhere, like a shadow thrown across the room in a lunar eclipse. All of a sudden, his hands were cuffed behind his back, and his parents were holding his arms like two policemen. There was a glint in his mother's eyes as she threw her long, black hair back momentarily.

"What is going on?" the boy asked, struggling. But the two adults did not let go. This was insane! What was the reason?

As much as he wanted to, they led him even further downstairs. His heart began to pound, fueled by fear, anger and confusion. There was nothing down here but the garage!

But, there appeared to be something new. He had never noticed this door before, as it was hidden behind boxes that he had never bothered to explore. The stone walls of the garage and the cold floor did not help his anxiety as he was forced through the passageway. Why did his parents bother to keep something like this secret?

And soon, the answer reached his eyes. This appeared to be some sort of lab, but it was not one of those typical scientist places. There were two large cylinders on one side of the room that looked somewhat like revolving doors, but had only one cell, and the walls were opaque. They were connected by a tube in the middle, but there didn't appear to be much of a way to actually get through it, at least not for something the size of a human. It was only as wide as a dime, and he couldn't help but wonder what this mysterious device was for.

There was something in the cylinder on the left, he could tell, and it quickened his heart further. He was breathing hard, but his parents did not seem to pay any attention to him. Whatever it was in the cylinder on the left, he did not like the sound of it. There were growling noises and the occasional scratch that was almost as bad as the screeching sound of nails on a chalkboard. It sickened him immensely, for he had always known himself to be squeamish and rather timid. He preferred to shy away from things, but now was not the time he was free to do that. He had never been forced to do something before. And the most embarrassing thing about it was that he was still in his sleeping clothes.

Suddenly, he was shoved into the cylinder on the right, yanked out of his distraction. The handcuffs had been taken off, but before he could react, he was thrown against the wall, and the door had closed. The inside of the cylinder glowed a rather creepy green as pain shot through the side of the boy's head and he nearly fainted on the floor. But he just barely managed to stay conscious, his skull pounding, his heart feeling as if it were speeding on a raceway. The number one emotion he was feeling at the moment was confusion.

Desperately, he tried to slide the cell door open. But it did not budge, and he disappointedly knew from that point that it could only be opened from the outside. There was no hope now. Whatever his parents were doing to his fate, he was doomed to meet it.

Suddenly, the temperature in the room rapidly rose. Maybe it was because of radiation being emitted by the glowing walls, but it was the last thing he knew as he was knocked out. And, he concluded, it was better than practically burning to death.

-----

The next time that his senses came to him, the door to his cell was wide open. Oh, joyous freedom! He practically flew out of the cylinder and into the room.

But, he knew, there was something different about him. He could hear almost everything in the room, including sounds he had never known of before. There was definitely a mouse in the very darkest corner of this room, and for the first time, it had a scent, too.

And even though he knew that there were no lights on, he could see. This was not victorious for him, because he knew something was horribly wrong.

At least his insane parents weren't present any more. Hopefully went to the asylum, he growled to himself in his mind. All of a sudden, he despised them. He blamed them for this mess. If only he could find what it was that had changed about him.

He carefully made his way back up the three sets of stairs, towards the upper floor. There was a mirror there, and somehow, he sensed that there was something wrong with at least his appearance. He only looked straight ahead, not bothering to check himself first.

And the thing that was reflected in the mirror was like nothing he had ever seen. It almost made him flinch.

His ears... where were they? They had been replaced by two rounded triangles on top of his head, that were black and white! His eyes were still green, but had pupils like slits in his eyes! Instead of hands and feet, he had gray, spotted paws like a dog's, or perhaps a cat's! And last but not least, he had a thin, slender tail protruding from the back of his pants. And at that moment, it struck him on what was in the other cell, and what had happened.

Somehow, his parents had spliced him with a snow leopard.

Panicked, he raced down the stairs. He was thankful that at least he could still balanced. How could he not have noticed? Now he was probably in the most danger of his life, but he did not know exactly what that danger was.

Something made him crave the fresh air, the outside, the forest. But no, it was the snow that was drawing him. The cold was now pleasant to him, but it did not heal the stress and change that had happened. They had left wounds on him that were probably permanent. He knew not of any way on how to change himself back to human.

As he heard two neighbors walking by, he leaped behind a nearby corner of a house. It was his home, no doubt, or at least it was. Somehow, his house looked dead and abandoned.

"Who is Svilt?" he heard one person ask, though he dared not look at the two passing humans. He was no longer like them, being half animal.

That was the last of the speech. Suddenly, their footsteps stopped as if that was a swear word. But no, it wasn't. He didn't recognize it in anyway.

He watched as the neighbors faded down the street, without any more speech except one last sentence.

"I've heard he's legendary, like an animal, but a human also."

He shivered. Was that him? No, that was not his name. There must have been someone else. There must have been another. But something deep in his heart told him that was not the case.

He pushed the thought away, frustrated. What was he to do?

But somehow, the thought returned, like a boomerang that he had thrown. As much as he dreaded the thought, perhaps even more than death, he knew it suddenly. He stared blankly at the way he was sitting, his tail over his furry paws. The pattern was definitely that of a snow leopard's. He knew he would have to accept the fact sooner or later. He was doomed.

He was Svilt.

 

[Darksong]

Chapter 2

Svilt... what an odd name. He did not remember that to be his name, but then again, since the splicing, he could hardly remember anything. He tried taking a deep breath to calm himself, try to prove that this was a nightmare, but it did not work. When he finally opened his eyes, his long-furred paws were still there, his tail still wrapped around them.

He was technically thirteen years old, but now that he was half snow leopard, he wasn't completely sure. He couldn't be sure with anything until he found out why his parents had done this to him. It was awful, even though he had liked big cats since he was six. He had never intended to go as far as being one! He liked his human form much better.

But at least he was slightly warming up to this change now. It would be easier to find food, now that the had a feline's fangs and claws, not to mention stomach. He could eat raw meat, he guessed, but he needed a source of water. He decided to go with the typical solution.

Reluctantly, Svilt licked the whitest snow he could find. It tasted nice, to have something familiar on his tongue. He was still hidden from view, in a gap between a tree and the wall of this house. The sun was still struggling to climb past the horizon, even though it was probably eight o'clock. That was how it always happened in winter, and he was glad that this was the same, too. Pretty much the only thing that had changed was himself. Even though he had lost his memory, things were still the same in nature. He felt sorry for the cat with which he had been spliced, and at the same time, he felt sorry for himself. The animal had probably been as frightened as he had. Now that he was part animal, also, he probably could understand them better, and that included their feelings. He could have sworn that he heard a whine just before he had fainted.

Wait, that reminded him of something. The heat... did it make him radioactive? He couldn't be sure. He would just have to hope for the best, that he was simply overreacting. Yes, that was it. And for the first time in a while, he was at least half-calm. It was relieving to think that at least, he wasn't going to die.

Perhaps he should explore the area. That would probably help. He'd never been able to explore very far out of his own home. Now was his chance to do what every kid wanted to do at some point: explore.

Still on two legs, he headed towards a large clump of trees; a forest, perhaps. There would be at least a bit less snow there, not like the white stuff bothered him at all. He just wanted some quiet time here. Some time to think was all he wanted.

Quietly, he curled up under a tree. Why was he like this? He hadn't known his parents to do this to him. Their stolid faces showed that they weren't being forced to do this to him. They had always been good at concealing their feelings if this was the case. But, Svilt thought, that was the question. Could they even feel emotion? He shivered at the thought. It was rather creepy, even though he was not very emotional himself. This definitely wasn't helping him to calm down. He needed to find something different to do. Not think of anything, but... just something else. Anything!

What to do next... well, he was still hungry. How long had he been knocked out? The snow seemed thicker, the cold still just hardly stinging his skin. Had he been unconscious for days? Weeks, even? It was definitely further into winter, much further. Or was it early spring? Was this an illusion?

No, it was definitely winter. He could tell. The middle of winter, no doubt. The days were just a bit longer than the shortest of the year, or at least he was guessing.

Suddenly, his stomach growled, and he realized how hungry he was. His belly felt like a gap in space.

Giving in with a sigh, Svilt stood. He needed to... hunt prey somehow. But the thought hit him like an arrow. He didn't want to kill another creature. Would berries do, perhaps?

But alas, there were no berries in sight. And he was forced to go with the former option, the one where he killed.

It's just natural, he kept telling himself. Kill a mouse, or something that reproduces fast! Just get it over with!

He somehow could smell the air for any prey scents. This was very useful, for otherwise, he would not have found the small shrew hiding beneath a tree root. And carefully, he waited comfortably on all fours, willing it to emerge from its tiny den. But at the same time, he felt rather guilty for this. He had never taken another's life, let alone eaten his kill. It just hadn't seemed right to him.

Svilt hardly saw the shrew poke its body out of the ground. He wanted to fill his belly, to pounce at that moment, but he was held back by something. He was upset to the point that he was close to tears. He could not and would not kill this creature. It had just the same right to live as he had. But did he had another choice? No, he told himself. In order to survive, he had to get it over with. He had to kill.

It was not the best action in the world, to practically rip a creature's head off. He was guilty almost as soon as he laid a claw on that shrew's fur. He didn't even have any idea how he had managed to pounce and dispatch the animal. It was probably instinct, but he would definitely need practice. He had read about cats, and he knew that his form needed plenty of work. But why would he let that bother him? He was not naturally an animal. He was a splice. And that was the first moment he had thought of himself as a freak. He didn't like the way he was. He hated the feeling of killing to the point where he would hardly lick his dead prey. He just sat there, gazing down at it, tears of confusion and guilt in his eyes and heart. What had he done? He had killed a poor shrew, and now he was supposed to eat it?

Sobbing, he pushed it away. He was immediately sorry that he had even existed. To kill was not his nature, even as a carnivore, a predator. There was sadness all inside him. He doubted he would ever be happy again, because every time he saw a mouse or a cat or a shrew, or anything of the like, even himself, he would remember this and cry all over again. Why did he doubt himself? He was a wimp, a pathetic excuse for a creature, even if he was only half snow leopard, and he hadn't even been that way. It would be no use to go back into the very house in which he had been raised.

And, grieving, crying silently, he buried the miniscule mammal's body, regretting every second. All he could do at the moment was fall asleep under the cover of a large pine tree, its dark-colored needles sheltering him.

----

He woke up just after the sun had set. It was probably only five, so he had gotten about nine hours of sleep. "Good," he sighed out loud, his breath in the form of a translucent cloud that floated up slowly in the cold air. It was comforting to know that the rule of heat rising was still in effect. That was comforting, to know that at the very least, he wasn't on another world.

But he was thirsty. Water... he wanted water! And he was still starving; he hadn't touched his fangs to his prey. He needed to find a puddle or something...

Ah. There. It was a nice small patch of melting snow. It was a mirror, too. But there was something different about him. His face was... completely snow leopard? What in the world was wrong with him? First he was at least half human, but now he was completely animal. How creepy... he shivered at the thought. Even more merged now. He was walking on four legs, too... why hadn't he noticed that?

There was something in the bushes that he sensed. The sound, the smell...

He whirled around, growling and bristling. But the thing sauntered out amiably.

It was another snow leopard. She had an especially long tail, but other than that, didn't look much more than typical.

"Who are you?" Svilt hissed. "And what are you doing so close to humans like this?" He decided not to tell her about his history. As a matter of fact, he had forgotten most irrelevant things, such as his bedtime. That was no longer needed.

She flicked her tail, glancing over her shoulder warily, then turned back to Svilt. "My name is South Wind, but most just call me Gale because they can. And this," she turned her head towards the other snow leopard now emerging from the undergrowth, "Is Star."

Star just blinked at the strange cat. "Who are you?" he asked. "Haven't seen you around here before."

"What?" Svilt tilted his head. "Oh, my name is Svilt. I... haven't really been here long."

"Well, then, where are you from?" Gale asked suspiciously.

"I... I'm a wanderer," he lied.

Gale shrugged. "Well, see you."

Svilt didn't move as he watched them go. He would have to eat sooner or later! Perhaps he could learn from these two, and get over his fear of killing.

When they were out of earshot, he sighed, sitting down. Life as a snow leopard was unbelievably hard.