One Bite

Chapter 3-11

An hour after I drifted into a state of euphoric indifference, at least I thought an hour had passed, I opened my eyes. My time perception was as fuzzy as my vision, with no idea how much time had passed since my eyes were last open.

Time, like the entire Eastern territory pack, escaped me.

Hands.

I looked down at my hands. My fingers doubled, then tripled and returned to normal. Thoughts muddied, like a thick mental fog invaded my brain, and even one attempted thought felt too difficult for my brain to comprehend.

At least I think they're mine. They're mine, right?

I lifted my arms in front of my face, wiggling my thirty fingers.

Definitely my hands.

A lopsided smile tugged half of my mouth up as I watched how fingers waved back and forth in front of me. Lifting and lowering them in succession, the mesmerizing movement stirred an odd sensation of happiness in me.

My eyebrows pulled together as confusion overwhelmed my senses. I stared at my hands for what felt like an infinite amount of time, until my fingers blurred into a set of white furry paws.

Did I shift?

I blinked and the human form of my palms stared back at me.

Weird...

My eyes squinted as my hands shifted again, back and forth, until they narrowed down back to two. Then they blurred back into Lumi's paws.

I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath, and balled my hands into fists. When I opened them again, my surroundings were back to normal. Except they weren't.

Bright blue eyes, as clear as in a cloudless morning sky, stared at me. Surrounded by white, flowing fur, the eyes were piercing and beautiful. Fur so pure white, I swore I stared at undisturbed snow.

I gasped at her beauty, natural, raw, and unbridled.

"Lumi?" I blinked my eyes and reached out to touch her as if she were in front of me.

The last time I saw her separately was my first shift, when I looked into a mirror.

This time, I reached out and she disappeared, vanishing into the thin air where my fingers extended. I frowned and skimmed my eyes over my unfamiliar surroundings. I stood in the tattoo tent, black cloths draped over the walls with all the sample drawings hung up like portraits. The edges fluttered up, releasing a soft flapping sound.

This time I was alone.

Am I going crazy?

Blinking, I saw her again. Not right in front of me, but a white, fluffy tail disappeared out the back of the tent. I stumbled a few steps forward, clenching the black leather headrest on the large barber's chair to steady myself. Rows of silver ink guns blurred and sharpened, but I pushed past.

When I got to the back, I didn't see Lumi.

What I saw was far more confusing.

Bright, clear blue eyes stared at me. My eyes. Eyes of a different shape but the same color refused to blink. A person, not Lumi and not my reflection in a mirror, stood tall. A regal, stoic projection of energy hit me, stumbling my feet..

Who is he?

He was taller than me, with hair so pale that resembled corn silk... like mine. Stopping in a blunt cut at his broad, lean shoulders, his hair looked recently cut. A few scars that resembled small scratch and puncture wounds dabbed the pale skin on his face and neck. Clear, familiar aquamarine eyes, the color of the most beautiful morning sky, stared so intense that shudders erupted down my spine.