Rhydo Cronin and the Amphithere Crisis

Chapter 2 Rhydo

"Ugh, not again!" Rhydo groaned. "It's the third time this week!" A long, serpentine body slid from under the covers, and Rhydo jumped as he heard footsteps coming towards his room. Acting as quickly as possible, Rhydo focused all his energy into making the feathered Mexican Amphithere he had turned into become human. Just before his mother opened the door, there was a flash of cobalt-blue light, and Rhydo breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as Carnelian burst into Rhydo's room, he did his best to look like he had just woken up and gave his straight brown hair a ruffle.

"I swear that I heard growling again! Rhydo, are you sure that you haven't heard anything?" Carnelian asked, even though she already knew what her son would say. "Mom, I repeat, I have no idea what you're talking about. In here it has been dead silent until you barged in," was Rhydo's annoyed reply. "You're right, I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep if you want." His mom apologized. "Nah, I'm pretty much awake by now. Plus, I'm starving." That was the annoying bit about being able to become a mythical creature of choice. It always left you either starving or very sleepy.

As Rhydo plodded down the steps to breakfast, he thought about what he had dreamed up this time to become a dragon. The Central American Rainforest, he decided. Not that it was anything new. He'd been having strange dreams for about five days. Though his dream self knew where the dreams took place, Rhydo didn't know why. He'd never been anywhere near Mexico. Rhydo also had a strange feeling that something was coming, and it wasn't good. He would call his friends as soon as possible.

As usual, the booming voice of Umber, Rhydo's dad, snapped him out of his trance as soon as he stepped into the dining room.
"Good morning, son! Sleep well?"
Rhydo decided that, all in all, his night had gone fairly well. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just glad it's Sunday."

"Gee, that's a surprise," came the happy response.

After devouring two servings of egg and beans on toast, Rhydo rushed upstairs and back into his room to contact his friends. "Qibli! No time to explain, meet me at the big oak in the park in ten minutes!" Rhydo said into the receiver of his cell phone.
After doing the same with Rip, Rhydo sprinted out of the house, yelling "Byeeveryoneimgoingtotheparkillbebacksoon!" without letting anyone question him.

As he ran towards the park, Rhydo noticed that people were giving him some strange looks. At first he thought that it was because he was running so fast, but then he noticed that there were some blue-green feathers sprouting from his forearm. Pausing for breath, Rhydo found a tree surrounded by bushes to lean on. He closed his eyes and imagined the feathers retreating back into his arms. Once he opened his eyes, the feathers were gone.

"Hey, Rhydo!" Qibli's cheery voice made Rhydo jump out of surprise. And yet, she was nowhere to be found. As Rhydo looked around his surroundings, Qibli's voice came again. "Look up, you numbskull!" she laughed. Once he found Qibli, who was easily spotted by her light blonde hair, Rhydo tried to look mad. This made his friend laugh so hard that she almost fell off the branch she was sitting on.

"Okay, very funny. Why are you sneaking up on me instead of waiting at the big oak?" He questioned. Qibli gave Rhydo a look that clearly said look around you. It took a moment for Rhydo to realize that he was leaning on the tree that he had assigned as their meeting point.
"Well then. That was stupid of me."
"Yup, sure was. Anyway, where's Rip?" Answered Qibli. Rhydo lifted an eyebrow, and a look of understanding washed over Qibli's face. "Gah, I should have known. Late as usual. But then again, what else is new?"Then, just as Qibli finished the sentence, Rip crashed through a bush and waved at his friends.

"Geez Rip, is it possible for you to be any louder?" Asked Qibli, dropping from her perch in the tree. Getting an amused chuckle from the red-haired Rip, he nodded and started singing off-key at the top of his lungs. Qibli tackled him, but Rhydo watched everything in silence. Then, all of a sudden and without any good reason, Rhydo became an average-sized adolescent Mexican Amphithere. The flash of cobalt light that marked his transformation caused his friends, who were tussling on the ground, to pause and stare at Rhydo.