The ShapeShifters Book Two

Different Together

Ollie was not expecting to be warped to another world the moment he locked hands with Nick. They were on a small island with a single tree perched off center. A large forest could be seen a distance away, shrouded by fog. The place was luscious green, with trees dotting the horizon. Wherever The Sanctuary was, it was dawn, and the sun's rays created long shadows.

"You can let go of my hand now."

Forgetting that he was still holding Nick's hand, Ollie quickly retracted his. "Sorry," A faint blush crossed his cheeks. He hoped he hadn't intruded on this stranger's personal space. It was hard to believe that he had just completely trusted an utter stranger.

"It's okay. I think it's time you meet a friend of mine, Ryan." Nick pointed at the nearby ocean. When Ollie peered into it, he saw nothing.

"I just see squid and fish. Is Ryan a fish?" Oliver seriously hoped Nick wasn't delusional. 

"Look closer."

One of the squids was propelling fast to the surface, and it popped its head above the water.

"Hello!" It spoke with a warm voice.

"Ahhh, it talks!" Ollie fell to the ground in an effort to get away.

"Ryaannn....." Nick hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "You're still in morph."

"Oh!" The squid seemed to frown before leaping fully out of the water. In an arc of blue light, Ryan turned from a squid to a human. He had a magnificent black mustache, well groomed just like his suit. He was a good deal taller than Ollie, and at least a foot taller than Nick.

As Ryan flew up and transformed, he landed a little sideways, slipping instantly on a piece of seaweed stuck to his shoe. Falling down in a pile of limbs, Ryan sheepishly looked at Nick who was currently shaking his head. Ryan quickly recovered, brushing sand off of his expensive looking clothing.

Ryan didn't seem to like the pristine suit however, because he rolled up the sleeves in a disheveled look. "I'm still trying to get a new look," He sighed as he plucked a piece of seaweed from his perfectly styled hair.

"So you're Ryan...." Ollie dusted himself off as he got off the ground.

"Yeah!" Ryan gave him a big smile. "Wow, you certainly have the disheveled look down better than I do."

Nick rolled his eyes playfully, glancing at the loose untucked sweater Oliver wore. Since the day was so hot, he had rolled up the sleeves and his hair fell into its bangs. "When you set a standard Ryan, everyone expects you to follow it."

"I'm thinking suspenders..." Ryan told himself before realizing that there was another person of whose name he did not know. "I don't think I ever caught your name."

"I'm Oliver, but just call me Ollie," Ollie managed, mentally face palming. Really, just I'm Oliver? 

"You must be wondering why I was a squid." Ryan gave up on the sleeves and rolled them back down. Oliver managed a nod, thinking that as funny as Ryan was, he was kind of intimating.

"I'm a shapeshifter, and so is everyone else. I'm sure Nick told you this, but we are kind of the outcasts." Ryan gave a hearty laugh. "No matter though! We are much stronger together, am I right?"

Ollie turned to Nick, giving his dragonfly wings a flutter. "What can you shapeshift into?"

Nick turned beet red and tried to hide it with a weak laugh. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Ollie felt bad for Nick, it must be something like a unicorn. "Dude, I have dragonfly wings. I'm a literal insect. I doubt you could do worse."

"Oh alright..." Nick sighed as Ryan gave him a bump on the arm. "I can turn into a reindeer."

"Does that mean you can fly?" Ollie expected Nick to start soaring the clouds instantly.

"Sadly, no. You are one of the few people who can." Nick looked at the sky longingly. 

"One of the few people who can fly elegantly." Ryan corrected. "I can also turn into a bat. I usually do so during the day, so I run into walls a lot."

The thought of that made Ollie crack up. "How many people are here?"

"Fifteen counting you," Nick tapped his lips. "However you're not going to meet them all at once. You're going to meet Christopher, our leader."

-/-

"Is Christopher a squid as well?" Ollie had to ask. "Does he go by Chris as well?"

"He does go by Chris," Ryan tugged at his mustache. "As for the squid question, I'm the only one who is. Speaking of which, what is your morph? Dragonfly?"

Ollie paused and took a moment to look around. "I don't know. I've only had these wings." 

"You and I will fly to Chris then." Ryan looked like he was ready to morph into the bat.

"Wait!" Oliver held a hand up. "I'm not a good flyer. I haven't felt the wind beneath my wings for ten years."

Nick looked shocked and Ryan stayed in place. Pulling at his vest, Nick whispered, "How?"

As much as he wanted to take to the skies, Ollie knew he wouldn't be able to. His wings were unused and weak. It would take a while of careful training to bring them back to full strength. Meanwhile, he had to explain why he was selfish in wanting to be normal and somehow not offend the first people like him.

"I wanted to be normal," Oliver started, sitting on a stone. Ryan and Nick copied on similar rocks. "I had been bullied so much, and at this point my best friend abandoned me. I was called bug-boy and freak. That day, I lost my wings. I had become... normal." 

At this point Ollie could have sworn he saw a trace of a tear in Ryan's eyes. Nick took one look at Ollie before he rested a hand on Oliver's fisted ones.

"Believe me when I say this, okay?" Nick looked Ollie directly in the eyes, waiting for him to nod. "We all wanted to be normal. I was called Santa's pet when I accidentally morphed into a reindeer from time to time. It always happened when I got scared, so the kids made it a habit to scare me on a daily basis."

Ryan took over from that point. "We all got bullied when we were younger, simply because we were different. People couldn't accept that, so we were rescued. I was saved by Nick, but since that all of us have been on the lookout for people like us."

Ollie couldn't put words into what he felt right now. He felt accepted and alive. "I guess I need to work on flying?"

Nick released Ollie's hands and looked at Ryan. "I'll give you some practice exercises that work for any muscle. But one of the fliers in this place will have to give you personal lessons. Perhaps Thomas."

So many new names. A new place, and new friends.

"Well, I'm going to go get Chris!" Ryan jumped up, and in mid jump he transformed into a bat.

"Yikes!" Ollie fell off of his stone in shock. "Will I get used to that?"

"Sure... where do I go?" Ryan was flying in circles until he rammed into a tree. "Owwwwwww..... I think I'll wait till night."

Ollie and Nick laughed as Ryan morphed back, rubbing his head with his hand. He gave them a playfully pouty look.

"Alright, we'll wait till night. But we'll have to be quick about it, we know it's dangerous to be out when the sun no longer illuminates the sky." Nick helped Ryan from the ground. "Meanwhile, let's explain to Ollie what we do here."

-/-