Shift by Raine Thomas

feet. Without even engaging in his normal grooming upon waking, he bounded off into the forest with the clear intent that she follow.
    She gladly did so. In her panther form, she was half-controlled by the panther’s instincts. She had enough awareness to know what she was running from, but not enough to care.
    That suited her just fine.
    They raced through the forest, moving in a northern direction toward a part of the homeland she hadn’t ever explored before in this form. Her sharp eyes, heightened hearing and improved sense of smell made it an amazing experience. The autumn leaves covering the ground crunched beneath their paws, releasing the sweet and homey scent of organic decay. The cool air added a crisp and invigorating element to each inhalation. She saw the bark of the trees they passed with exceptional clarity, even noting movement if there were birds, squirrels or insects among the tree branches.
    She focused on these sensory images as they ran to avoid facing the reality that awaited her once she inevitably lost the shift. The knowledge that she was different had always bothered her. Now she had to deal with the fact that the reason she was different was so awful that her parents hadn’t ever told her about it.
    Freak. Mutant. Aberration.
    Much as she tried, she couldn’t stop the thoughts from running through her mind even as she worked to escape them. If she had been in her Estilorian form, she suspected she would be a bawling mess. So she vowed to maintain the shift as long as possible.
    Domino appeared tireless, springing ahead of her with a goal of some sort. She eagerly followed, welcoming the adventure. Eventually, they entered a small clearing. Domino stopped running, prompting Sophia to do the same thing. They both had to catch their breath after such a long sprint.
    As she collected herself, Sophia noticed an enticing aroma in the air. Curious, she turned in the direction of the scent and padded over to it. Domino went with her. She realized the odor was coming from a grouping of green plants that nearly reached the top of her panther head.
    It smelled so good that she couldn’t fight the urge to taste it. Domino gently pulled some of the leaves from the plant and chewed them. Sophia followed suit.
    Whatever properties were in the unusual plant quickly had Sophia’s mind growing hazy. Her blood sang, giving her the urge to flop on the plants and roll around…so she did. She vaguely realized she was forgetting why she was there and what had so upset her in the first place. That was when she understood that Domino had led her there on purpose.
    Smart kitty , she thought with a great deal of enthusiasm before she couldn’t think at all.
     
    Quincy forgot all about testing the inoculation after Sophia left. The moment she sprinted away, he turned to his elder with fury slashing through him.
    “Why would you tell her that?” he demanded, for the first time in his existence not caring that he sounded disrespectful.
    Ini-herit looked back at him with a placid gaze. “She would have received skewed results if she had proceeded to test the serum on herself. As a scientist, I thought she would appreciate the—”
    “Sophia isn’t just a scientist,” Quincy interrupted. His chest and throat were tight with searing anger. He couldn’t tell whether he was more upset with his elder or himself. “She has feelings, damn it. You’ve just made her think that she’s somehow less than everyone else because of her differences.”
    When that provoked no reaction, Quincy cursed and stormed out of his cottage. He walked over to Sophia’s clothing and picked it up from the ground. Whenever she shifted, her form used energy to convert from Estilorian to animal. During the split-second in her shift where her form was nothing but energy, she always lost her clothing. Since he intended to go after her, he knew he’d have to bring the clothing with him.
    He started in the direction of her paw prints at a jog.