1 The Silent Plead

It seemed to be a normal day, the sun shining bright, the crowds buzzing around me as I walked through he marketplace, the blue sky as blue as ever- yeah, normal day.

"Hey you! Yeah you kid! Come on over here and try some of these meat skewers!" Called a stall guy to my left. I looked over, confused.

"M-Me?" I stammered.

"Yeah! These are the best skewers there are, and I'm only selling one special one, and I think I'm gonna give it to you- for free!" The stall guy- gonna call him Dude- beamed with... Pride?

"Wait, if you're only selling one, why me?" I sounded surprised- because I was. Nothing ever really happens to me, or anything important at least. I am usually just a shadow, invisible to the normal passerby.

Dude came over and rested his elbow on my shoulder.

"Come on man, heres nothing to it. It's just grilled to perfection." He did a chef's kiss thing.

"I guess... One free snack is better than nothing..." I felt uncomfortable.

"That's the spirit! Follow me!" He smiled and walked behind his counter and opened the curtain, signaling for me to enter. Hesitantly I obeyed. As soon as I entered the room, I was struck by the many different smells of the meals they were making.

"Guess I'm in the kitchen..." I scratched my cheek. "Thought it'd be like a secret club or something..." I sighed in relief.

"Right through here. Ignore the chefs, they're doing what they are suposed to." Dude guided me to a room slightly off of the kitchen. As I was entering the room, I looked back and made eye contact with one of the chefs. Their blue gaze glared into me, looking terrified. I quickly looked away, getting the feeling that soemthing was wrong. Maybe free stuff isnt always a good thing...

"And here it is! The One of a kind Skewer. Isnt she a beauty!" He said, probably not addressing me.

"Yeah..." I scratched the back of my neck. A piece of my orange hair fell into my sight and I quickly tucked it back behind my ear. For a guy I had medium length hair, and a mediocre build. I didnt have broad shoulders, but I was tall, so I never really knew what poeple were always bragging about with their height. I remembered playing a video game where there were tall hostile mobs that wouldnt attack unless provoked or something. They were tall, dark purple with purple or pink eyes. I sometimes regarded myself as that mob.

"Try it kid." I was snapped out of my thoughts when Dude spoke and snapped his fingers. Reluctantly I picked up the skewer and inspected it. It seemed to be a Meat skewer with a strawberry on the one end. I slowly bit into the strawberry and was instantly hit with a delicious sweet flavor. I blinked a couple times and finished the rest of it.

"That was very good. How'd you do that..?" As I looked up at Dude again, he stood wide eyed for a couple of moments before falling over. "H-Hey! Man! Are you okay!?" I was never good in stressful situations. As far as I knew, this man could be having a heart attack ad I wouldnt know. I bent over him and tapped his shoulder. As my hand landed, I felt a strange shape. I grabbed it and lifted it up. A dart. Why is there a dart here? Maybe there was a secret club and someone got lost.

"Wait, but does that mean Dude is dead?" I blinked again. Ih right, I could check to see if his heart is still beating. I bent down and remembered something. I didnt know how to check if someone's heart was beating. I didnt even know how to ride a bike!

As I was contemplating, the world began the blur and fade, slowly going black.

Before I knew it, I was unconscious.

I woke up in an awkward position. It felt as though I was curled up in a ball. I opened my eyes and stretched. Odd, I dont usually stretch paws out- Wait what, PAWS???

I jumped onto my feet- or paws- and began panicking. What happened? Did I die? Is this what happens when you die? Did I get reincarnated as an animal?

"Oh hey, you're up." A voice said nearby.

"Where am I? Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I cant understand Cat. Of all animals you had to choose Cat. The one language I can barely understand." I located the voice and looked over to see someone wearing a full face mask that had two holes for the eyes and one cut out smile for the light. They seemed to be wearing a trench coat, and-

They were a she...

My eyes stared at the mountains in front of me. Huge mountains... What...

"Try to change back to human." She shrugged her hand. I shook my head to escape the trance and tilted my head to the side.

"Do you not know anything about changing forms?" She frowned. I shook my head once more. "Just, I dunno, picture yourself as well, yourself and change."

Welp, I guess it's worth a try, whatever this weird- beautiful- lady wanted I guess. She seemed important, like a boss of a large company or something like that.

I closed my eyes and did as she said. I pictured myself as, well Meknstead of... cat...

"I guess that's good enough..." She sighed.

I opened my eyes and my hands were normal.

"Oh cool!" I stared at my hands.

"Yeah... you'll need to practice that..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for one, that was a sow shift, and two, it wasnt even a full shift." She sighed. "You still have cat tail and ears."

and so, the adventure started