Kiran woke up from her nap and stretched her forelegs out on the wide branch in front of her. It hadn’t quite gotten dark yet, which meant she probably had an hour or two left to enjoy before she had to be back home to avoid suspicion. There were still a few places she had yet to explore in these woods; that should keep her occupied. Her lesson was over early today, and her roommate would never know where she had gone. It was frustrating that she couldn’t tell her friends where she was going, or about the incredible things she was learning and experiencing. She was currently learning to manipulate plant matter, and her developing abilities seemed to enhance her ability to move unseen in her jaguar form. This “druid” she was visiting seemed to legitimately have some understanding of her…oddities. She had known for some time that she could create light, but she assumed this power was a standalone ability passed down from her dead mother and couldn’t mean anything more, until she was contacted by this stranger. Despite her initial suspicions, no harm had come to her as of yet.
She headed off to the north, where she hadn’t explored until today, travelling through the treetops when she could. Not many knew she was a shapeshifter, so she couldn’t take her animal form often enough for her liking. Too many people were uncomfortable around shapeshifters, and with good reason. As a natural predator of the woods, her other form felt much more comfortable in the dense forest. The forest seemed to be thinning out the farther she travelled in this direction, though. At several times she considered turning back, but her curiosity overrode everything else, as usual. She leapt down from the trees, since they were failing her, and continued along the ground. What she found surprised her: while she had expected the woods to end, she hadn’t expected to find what looked to be a medieval European castle in the clearing—probably built by some man with more money than he knew what to do with. As bad of an idea as she knew it was, since she needed to be heading back home soon, her infinite curiosity dragged her onwards. She had to see the inside.
As she got closer, she saw that the stone seemed an odd, very dark shade of gray. Rather than the expected worn stone color, they seemed dark, almost as if they were made of jet. Seeing that the gate was closed, she decided to look around the back. There were some trees whose branches extended near the back wall…possibly near enough for her purposes. She quickly scaled the closest tree, and after a few running strides to the end of the branch, she leapt and managed to clamber onto the wall. She followed the stairway down clumsily; descending stairways was always awkward in her animal form. She skirted around some odd-looking tall hedges and a pool and made her way into the castle. The darkness of the walls and furnishings, while unusual, seemed comfortable, and she blended into them easily. Entering a large room, she stretched and dug her claws into the thick rug, then settled down in the corner to take another nap, all other responsibilities forgotten.
She headed off to the north, where she hadn’t explored until today, travelling through the treetops when she could. Not many knew she was a shapeshifter, so she couldn’t take her animal form often enough for her liking. Too many people were uncomfortable around shapeshifters, and with good reason. As a natural predator of the woods, her other form felt much more comfortable in the dense forest. The forest seemed to be thinning out the farther she travelled in this direction, though. At several times she considered turning back, but her curiosity overrode everything else, as usual. She leapt down from the trees, since they were failing her, and continued along the ground. What she found surprised her: while she had expected the woods to end, she hadn’t expected to find what looked to be a medieval European castle in the clearing—probably built by some man with more money than he knew what to do with. As bad of an idea as she knew it was, since she needed to be heading back home soon, her infinite curiosity dragged her onwards. She had to see the inside.
As she got closer, she saw that the stone seemed an odd, very dark shade of gray. Rather than the expected worn stone color, they seemed dark, almost as if they were made of jet. Seeing that the gate was closed, she decided to look around the back. There were some trees whose branches extended near the back wall…possibly near enough for her purposes. She quickly scaled the closest tree, and after a few running strides to the end of the branch, she leapt and managed to clamber onto the wall. She followed the stairway down clumsily; descending stairways was always awkward in her animal form. She skirted around some odd-looking tall hedges and a pool and made her way into the castle. The darkness of the walls and furnishings, while unusual, seemed comfortable, and she blended into them easily. Entering a large room, she stretched and dug her claws into the thick rug, then settled down in the corner to take another nap, all other responsibilities forgotten.