Blu

Chapter Four

The Rock of Truth . . .

     When Maila woke up, she felt the warm sunlight, pressing against her fur. She smiled, it felt so nice. It had almost made her forget that she was lost in the forbidden forest, how delightful. Wait, the FORBIDDEN FOREST! Maila scrambled around in a tired panic, tying a knot of vines around her neck and back leg. She let out a yelp of terror, and used her huge arms to break herself out. She was lucky that she was so very strong.

     Maila took in a deep breath, crawled out of the tangle of vines, and stepped onto the soft, feathery, forest floor. She glanced around, and found herself quite unfamiliar with her surroundings. . . again!

     "Uh, Hello?" she tried, hoping for the goodness of the world, that she was just near the camp. There was no response. Maila decided to roam around until she found some food, reminding herself of that animal who took the berry! She punched the ground in frustration again, noticing that it didn't light up. Oh, it must only work at night. Maila realized.

     The air was very moist, and damp, and the feathers growing from the ground had small drops of dew upon them. Maila noticed how dehydrated she felt, and licked the ground. Whoa! It was nothing like she'd ever tasted before! It was so fresh and sweet! Maila let the little lick continue for a while, it was just for survival she reminded herself! Not just for the complete enjoyme- her thoughts trailed off as her gaze shifted up. Her gaze had shifted up to see a massive, towering, black, rock pillar, standing before her. The innocent lick tuned into a full on jaw drop. What is that thing! She wondered. Maila realized that she was actually behind the rock tower, the front was on the other side!

     Maila ran up the hill in front of her and abruptly slid to a halt at the top. A pebble or two fell underneath her as her claws dug firmly into the moss. Maila was now standing on the edge of a cliff. Maila peered down to see that the cliff carried on in a circle, forming a secret canyon in the ground. In it, there was a crystal blue waterfall leading into a winding river, that found it's way around the whole canyon. Behind it, was a cave that seemed to be glowing with a strange, white light.

     She grabbed a thick, heavy vine from a nearby tree, and tied it around her waist. She tossed the other end around the tree's biggest branch, and lowered herself into the canyon. The 'pebbles' that fell underneath her were actually clay. She pick up a small clump if the clay to examine it. It had a soft, mushy, rough texture on the surface. Maila dropped it and turned around, as she detached herself from the vine. The canyon seemed much larger, now that she was inside of it.

     Maila cautiously walked over to the flowing steam, and bent down to have a drink. The water was cold, and sweet. Similar to the dew on the feathers, she had enjoyed earlier. Something brushed Maila's tongue and darted away! She glanced up quickly to find, that the stream had multiple eels swimming in it. She spat the water back at them, and backed away as electric zaps flew up, out the ripples.

     Maila walked over to the black, rocky pillar, which was the reason she came. It's towering presence loomed over her, without casting a single shadow. She gazed up at it, and reached her arm out to touch it. An odd drowsiness fell over her, as her eyes instinctively closed. The warm breath from her slit like nostrils slowed as her palm pressed against the cold, black stone. A tingling feeling shot through her arm, up her chest, and past her back legs to the ground.

     Maila scalp began to feel slightly sore, as she squinted her eyes open. As the blackness provided by her eyelids faded away, she saw an alarming visual appearing all over her arm! Streaks of yellow shot through her shaggy blue fur. What the heck is this stuff!? Maila panicked, she had never seen yellow anything before! Her whole life, everything had always been either blue of some sort, or turquoise. She slammed her eyes shut, and attempted to pull her arm away, but it was stuck! Her eyes opened again to see if anything else had happened. And that it did, Maila's hair was now black and wavy. It stretched down her neck and passed her shoulders. She pulled her gaze away to find that, the scrawny muscles on her arms, were now massive! I bet I can lift anything now! She thought to herself with a hint of glee. But, then that faded as she lashed her tail back and forth. Maila spun her head around to see that, her tail was now a good three feet longer, and fluffy like a moon cat's tail. She swished it back and forth a few more times to test it out. She actually kind of liked it!