Therian Shifters

Chapter 1: First Day of School

A girl slept in her bed, she did not dream, yet a vision was implemented in her mind. The sound of grass with its soft crunch and the birdsong in the atmosphere, as the crisp, fresh air blew in her face, sweeping her tiredness into an adrenaline rush as she ran through the woods, quadruped. Her hands and feet felt the moistness of the ground, the soft, squelchy texture of the dirt as she swiftly zoomed past a gathering of trees. But as she jumped over a log, still quadruped, a strong draught swept her off her feet, an ethereal light hugging her body and making her glow like a firefly joining its colony. Then a tingling sensation came over her skin, making her confused and a bit scared, yet she enjoyed the warm and fuzzy feeling as she hovered no more and thudded quietly back down to the ground, unscathed, yet not feeling the impact of the ground. As she went to get up, she realised something. Her body shape felt different, uncanny, making her shiver as she looked around.

As she faced her backside, she was met by a swishing line of fur. She went to chase it, but the fur moved around. Soon enough, she was racing in a circle trying to get this fur. But as she bit it, she yelped out. "OW! What was that?!" She exclaimed in shock at the sudden pain.

It was then she realised that the fur was connected to her rear, as she screamed. She ran to the nearest river. Her hands and feet felt peculiar. But as she stared into the reflection of the river, she got a glimpse of the face of a grey-phased wolf with a tar-black mane. But it was as she lifted her hand, she looked down in fright. "Paws?!" She stood with her eyes wide, as she watched the animalistic reflection copy her movements. It was finally she realised that the reflection had shown that she was not human anymore. But as she went to scream, the sound of an alarm clock awoke her. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

As she stopped the alarm, she sat up and checked her body, her limbs, her face. She sighed in relief, realising it was all a dream.

"Akira!" A voice called from behind her door.

She jolted awake to see her father peer through the doorway. Akira noticed he was already dressed to take her to the bus stop. Rapidly getting out of bed and following her father down the stairs, Akira got her uniform on, had breakfast and did other things that got her ready for school.

"Are you ready, Akira?" He asked as he waited by the front door patiently.

Akira nodded, thumping down the stairs in excitement, grabbing her bag and coat as she headed down the alley with him to the bus stop. As they got there, Akira sat patiently in her seat, as she waited for the bus to start going towards the school. That day was Akira's first day of school, so she squealed with excitement as she made sure on the bus that she had everything.

As the bus approached the school, Akira trembled a little with nervousness. But as she got out of the bus, she was astonished by how many people there were. There were all sorts of people in all sorts of different groups. But as she approached the main gate, she heard the sound of laughter. Not funny laughter, but manipulative laughter. She looked around the corner to see a boy on the other side. He was on his back as another boy held him down, laughing demonically.

"What are you going to do now, tranny?!" He laughed. "What's the point of becoming a boy when you don't know how to be one?!"

Akira gasped quietly in shock. Transphobic comments coming from a boy in the year above me? How cruel! Akira thought as she watched the boy on the floor suffering. However, she could not watch this any longer and stepped up.

"HEY!" Akira yelled as the older boy looked over. "Leave him alone!"

The older boy let him go as the younger boy scrambled out of the other one's grip. The older boy clicked his knuckles and smiled grimly.

"And what are you gonna do about it, girl?" He clicked his neck and punched his palm. "Come and show me what you can do if you think you're so brave!"

So Akira ran towards him, increasing her speed. But as she did, everything slowed down. Was she going faster or slower?