The Nymph At The Lakeside

[Ramona Descartes]

A bird flits across the clear blue sky
And I think to myself, "Do I want to die?"
A spider crawls across the floor
And I just can't take it any more.

The words were childish, but she wrote them down anyway. Some words were better than no words. And perhaps she could shape them better later. Today wasn't really a very good day for poetry, or any sort of creativity really. She felt oddly empty, like there was nothing to write about, and no words to express that there was nothing worth writing. A strange day indeed. And she'd come to such a beautiful place, as well, the kind of place most artists would kill to come to; in a forest, by a lake, with swallows in the air and a golden-green sunlight filtering through the trees. It was Ramona's favourite place in the world.

She brushed her red hair from her eyes, neatly crossed out what she'd written, and began again.

I am a soul that yearns to love
Until to insanity I am drove;
I feel such affinity with those who are dead
That I may wish to join that world instead.

Again, not good. But a slightly better sentiment this time. Love, eh? Love and death - the best two subjects for any artist. But how could she write about love with no experience? She could only write of the absence of love. So she must experience it. But. It would all go wrong. She'd get hurt. Everyone did. So she would have to live without it for now, until she was grown up and things worked out well for everyone.

[BENJI FLYNN]

After swallowing a little mouse Benji, in his snake form, slithered over the dry leaves, listening intently to the sound of the other animals in the forest. Reaching past the last of the trees he noticed vibrant red hair sitting alone by the lake. He hissed in anticipation, thinking for a moment before turning into a small tabby cat, almost a kitten. Padding around in the sand he pulled out his cute persona and stumbled unceremoniously towards the girl. Tripping over his paws a few times for effect he walked straight into her leg as if he hadn't noticed her at all.

Falling backwards he mewed in confusion and cocked his head to the side, meeting her eyes with a kitten-like smile. He followed her leg upto her hips and then jumped lightly onto her lap, his tail ticking under her nose. He purred and pawed at her legs as he made himself comfortable on her lap. Oh how good it was to be a shapeshifter.

[Ramona Descartes]

Ramona smiled down at the kitten and stroked its tiny head, scratching gently behind its ears and tickling under its chin. Its purring was quite calming, reminding her of her own cat back at home, who was probably stretched out on her bed right now, fast asleep. She couldn't remember a time when he'd been as small as this little tabby cat. Daddy had bought him for her just after her mother died, as a sort of companion. He'd made the right choice - Ramona and the cat had been inseparable. Now they were both a bit more grown up, they spent more time apart, but the cat - Vladimir - always slept on her bed at night, and would only sit on her lap at home. Never on daddy's.

A soft breeze rearranged her hair and she reached up to tuck it behind her ears. What was such a small kitten doing here, in the middle of a forest? True, this forest was very near a lot of suburban houses, like her own, and it wasn't a very big wood, but it still wasn't the place for such a young cat. "Who do you belong to, baby?" she asked it in a very normal voice - not the childish blabber most people use to speak to animals. "Where do you live? And what's your name? I'm Ramona. I'll look after you until I know where you're meant to go." She smiled at it and gently flicked its nose before kissing its head.

[Jace Grey]

Jace prowled through the woods, taking a leaf out of Benji's book by being in the form of a fox. He often wondered through the woods, following scents this way and that. He picked up the faint smell of a mouse and followed it until it disappeared. 'Snake,' he thought instantly, snuffling around in the leaves a bit before continuing on his way.

He paused as he picked up the scent of a cat very close to where the snake had been. He cocked his head to the side, confused by the scent. Intrigued to find out what this cat was up to, he followed the scent until he came out into a clearing. There was a girl with bright red hair, sitting by a lake and talking to something. He looked around, and seeing no one, deduced that this girl must be talking to the cat. He padded closer, staying low to the ground and close to the bushes. Foxes weren't seen as a cuddly sort of animal and he really wasn't in the mood to be shouted at and chased away.

[BENJI FLYNN]

Benji rolled onto his back so she could tick his tummy, well, he didn't even know the girl and she had already kissed and petted him. He was glad to find she was a cat person and not a dog person - not that it would have made much difference, he could have darted off and returned as a puppy with ease. But it was nice to know his first choice was the right one. Not that his ego needed boosting anymore. He mewed and swung his tiny paw at her fingers playfully, again and again until he swung just a bit too hard and toppled out of her lap with a small thud. He mewed in disappointment and stood, shaking the dust from his fur. Suddenly his attention was caught on a wasp that was passing, jumping up he chased it around and around until he was sure he had scared it off. Until...
"Aw fuck" he muttered as he wasp landed on his back and proceeded to sting him rather hard. He winced in pain until he realised what he had done..."Oops" he said quietly, backing away from the little girl. Superheroes were common, but talking animals? Yeah...maybe not.

[Ramona Descartes]

[LOL!]

Ramona showed little surprise at the swearing kitten - in fact, she barely reacted at all. The crinkles in her forehead deepened, that was it. She put her hand out towards the cat and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in a wordless request for the kitten to return to her. "Oh dear," she said, pouting slightly. "You've got a sting on your back. Shall I kiss it better?" She did as she said, and stroked the kitten again, then picked it up playfully by the scruff of its neck and held it in front of her frowning face. "Now then, who are you?" She shook him, but very gently, careful not to hurt the little animal.

"You're very cute," she added, putting the kitten back down, and speaking more to herself than to the animal. "But who could you be? I'm sure there's plenty of people at school who can turn into animals, or shapeshift. There's at least two - those rather popular boys... What are they called...?"

[Sorry it's short!!!]

[Jace Grey]

Jace smirked again, enjoying watching Benji and the girl together. Benji obviously wasn't very good at hiding the fact that he was actually a human! 'Let's make things more interesting,' he thought, letting out a bark and stalking towards the girl and the kitten. Benji would probably realise that it was him, but the girl didn't need to know that.

He crept forward, his heckles [spl] raised, bearing his sharp, white teeth in a snarl. A small, helpless kitten was fair game to a hungry fox. And Jace loved to mess around with innocent girls. This girl wasn't about to scare him off with a few shouts and a wave of a stick.