Paz

Chapter 3

Every emotion possible coursed through my head. Something broke, like glass, and the air of impatience filled the room, making me feel even more like a cornered animal.

I didn't react at first, only stood frozen in my tracks. The only part of me that even remotely moved were my newly aquired wings, which twitched slightly. It still felt strange to feel something move on my back. Like new arms.

I turned around slowly, and was met with the face of a young looking woman, with... Cat ears... And a tail? She had short dirty blonde hair to match her catlike features, and her hands were stuffed inside the pockets of the olive jacket she wore. Freckles dotted her face and her foot tapped impatiently on the floor.

"Care to introduce yourself?" The woman asked in a thick accent, I think it was Welsh... maybe?

I stood motionless, gaping. What was I supposed to say, "Hi my name is Paz and I just grew wings"? I mean, she was wierd too, but how would someone explain this kind of thing? What even was this person in front of me? So much was going on at this moment, I don't even know how I got through any of it without having a breakdown.

Cat-Lady reached over to close my mouth. "Oi, anyone in there?" She snapped in my face.

"W-what... What are you?" I stuttered.

"That's certainly the question, isn't it?" She joked and chuckled slightly but stopped when she saw no reaction out of me.

"They call me Celeste, and I'm your ticket outta here." Celeste gave a lazy bow and began to roam around my room, her tail flicking back and forth behind her and looking around the room with a sort of observance.

I stared blankly, still extremely confused. Take me where?

"What?" I said quietly. I couldn't help but think I sounded almost scared.

"It's all quite simple, really. Come with me and I'll explain everything to the best of my ability."

"Come with you? Where? What's going on!?" I began to raise my voice. She turned back to me and pressed one finger to her lips while the other hand flew up in a sort of 'stop!' motion.

"Shoosh! Someone might hear you, then it'll be the end for both of us."

"And then what? They'll kill us? If you don't tell me who you are and what in the world is going on, I'll have us both found out!"

Celeste panicked and shook her hands hastily to get me to stay quiet, but suddenly stopped. Her ears perked up.

"Someone's coming." She finally said, "We need to go... Now."

We both stiffened. The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder as Xiong, that old custodian, made her way up the squeaky staircase, each step signalling a new wave of urgency. Celeste made a move to grab my hand but I pulled away at the last second.

"Look, I won't be able to explain here, so unless you want a stout old lady finding you out and telling kingdom come about your wings, I suggest you come with me."

"No way. Not until I get some answers."

Celeste's expression changed slightly, showing just a twinge of annoyance. "I just said I can't tell you here..." She said in agitation, and rubbed her eyes, "Look, it's likely been a stressful day for both of us, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have my reputation ruined as I get caught by a little old Chinese woman while, picking up the new kid!" Her words became sharp and fast as she whispered as loudly as she could at the moment.

The steps became discernable enough to know that Xiong was close. You could hear her breathing. The woman always sounded like an angry dragon.

The other one in the room used this moment as an advantage and took my hand quickly.

"Close your eyes," she said, "this can be a bit disorienting for the first time."

"Wha-" Celeste held up her free hand and snapped just as the doorknob twisted.

She was right. As soon as she snapped her two fingers, the world began to spin and twist in ways it never should have been able to. When I looked up, I couldn't even bring myself to blink. Colors that didn't exist and shapes that were never invented covered my field of vision, making me overwhelmed. I was breathing, yet not at the same time, and it felt like I was feeling everything all at once, and yet nothing, like a confusing, constricted answer to life. Then it slowly contorted, slinking back like a wounded animal, and disappeared until the only thing that was left was dizziness and a heavy sense of nausea.

I finally blinked, making tears form from my eyes. In front of me was an emtirely new place. It looked like a sort of campground, the hard dirt littered with tents, firepits, shoes, clotheslines, and other things I didn't quite recognize.

"Welcome back." A voice said from somewhere.

I found I could barely stand and Celeste had to hold me up.

"Easy, bug." She said and sat me down on the hard dirt floor.

"How did you know Xiong...?" I finally managed to ask between labored breaths.

Celeste thought for a moment. "The old woman? I mostly went by sound. I have a pretty good sense of hearing..." She scratched one catlike ear.

I nodded slowly, then leaned over and threw up.

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okay wow i thought i would have to revise more that was there, but this chapter is actually not that bad!!! aside from a few typos and the word count (which is quite small but that's okay because it's mostly dialogue) it checks out okay