Transformed [W&W Book 1]

Chapter 5

They continued walking until the sun was climbed up to be visible in the sky.

Theresa had not noticed so clearly in the darkness of the forest or by the dim light of the inn, but now that the tension of the previous night had worn off she could see that the colors of the world were skewed.

The leaves of the trees and plants growing beneath ranged from green to grey to an odd off bluish green. The trunks were mostly shades of grey, as was the path that they were walking on.

Little flowers dotted the edge of the road in various places and they were stark grey with lines down the middle of each petal in a color she had never seen before and her human mind could not quite comprehend.

It was surreal; it was like she was in a world where all the warm colors had been drained out.

Theresa looked at her sister closely. Daphne looked terrible. Her sister's anxiety, exhaustion, and the lack of color in Theresa's feline vision combined to render the usually exquisite Daphne slightly haggard.

Theresa ignored the small twinge of unworthy glee at Daphne's disheveled appearance and glanced up at the sky. At least it was still its normal blue, she noted.

They had gone on for long enough she decided it would be safe to take a short break. She could not sense any pursuit, perhaps they had lost their aunt's men.

She felt as exhausted as Daphne looked.

Theresa was also ravenous. She had forgotten her former hunger while the fear kept her heart pumping and her mind focused, but now that the adrenaline had worn off her desire to eat had come back in full force. She could hear Daphne's stomach growling loudly.

She also felt anxious to put her writing plan into action.

Theresa meowed so that Daphne was looking at her, then walked off the road until they were well out of sight. She sat down and Daphne did the same.

She stuck her nose into Daphne's bag and then looked meaningfully at her sister.

"What? Do you want to eat? I thought that maybe you would want us to save it for later..." she trailed off.

Theresa tried not to feel frustrated. Had Daphne been waiting for her to suggest that they eat? Did she not even try to make things easier for Theresa?

Daphne was fortunate that Theresa did not have hands with which to shake her sister.

Instead of resorting to physical assault, Theresa meowed in frustration and nodded her head. Daphne hesitantly took out some of the food.

"How much should we have?"

How was Theresa supposed to answer that? Could Daphne not figure out anything on her own?

Theresa gritted her strange teeth and shrugged her shoulders. It felt odd in her feline form, but she hoped that it got the point across.

Daphne's face scrunched up and Theresa was afraid that her sister would waste time crying again.

Instead Daphne put some food in front of Theresa on the ground. Theresa could not help but feel annoyed at the animalistic treatment. Was Daphne forgetting that Theresa was still human inside?

"If we run out of food, it's not my fault," Daphne announced defensively.

Theresa shrugged again. She was not going to sanction Daphne's all encompassing innocence. Whether Theresa or her sister liked it or not Daphne was going to have to make some decisions.

Theresa forced herself to ignore the fact her food was sitting in the filthy dirt and started eating.

Hopefully it would make her stop looking at mice with longing. She also noticed the songbirds flitting through the trees were also looking alarmingly delicious and she wanted nothing to do with that.