The First Shifters

When the world is quiet, the soul can be still. Sometimes, though, quiet isn’t a good sign. In which case, the silence in our world had not been ideal once. It had been a frozen wasteland, the grip of ice tight around the suffering planet. Humanity was driven underground, but we weren’t fast enough to slip away. Dooms day preppers may have survived, and of course the scientists who warned us it was coming for years had prepared for the coming of the ice age. But so many people were oblivious, or just ignored the warnings, and now? Now is the age of the evolved, humanoids that emerged from the underground centuries later. Animals that gained the knowledge of speech, and humans that advanced into a new era of speed and strength, enhanced and more durable. Even some of the surface evolved under the blanket of ice, thick enough to shield some of it from the harsh winds that ripped over the surface. And with the evolution of the living, came the advancement of technology. This information was something everyone was taught from a young age. We celebrated the day we could return to the surface, to explore again the new world that had been rearranged after nearly being stripped of everything. This day was called Resurrection Day, as if we had been born anew. I scoffed at the idea of it every time I heard it. As a child, I was fascinated by our evolution, the stars in my eyes and just absolutely filled with excitement. Now that I was older, I concluded that we had not truly evolved into anything. How could we have? Humanity was trapped underground for centuries, just dying to get back topside. Maybe literally, as there were experimentations for adaptation. Could the alteration of the human body by scientists truly be evolution? Or was it simply the evolution of the human mind and its curiosity that got us here? Either way, it wasn’t something that I fawned over anymore. I did, however, appreciate the tech that came with our era. I’m sure it was advanced long ago, but I know that right now, it is everything for this world. Sometimes it felt like magic. “She’s got that look on her face again,” Trio muttered, shaking his head with a smile across his face. He got his nickname for having three fingers on each hand. He didn’t need more than that anyway, considering he had come from a line of chameleons. A prestigious line at that, known for being able to change their skin to any color and pattern. Some could even shift their scales to become nearly invisible. “When does she not?” laughed Caliste, her silver eyes gleaming. Her sharp canines poked through just a tiny bit past her top lip, sometimes giving her the appearance of being meek and cute. Who could resist an adorable feline? Caliste was everything except meek though, but it was hard to see past the thick fluff sometimes. Caliste came from a rare line of snow leopards, preserved in their DNA as the last of the animals had died off. In technical terms, they were the last, almost a legend. She liked to live up to the expectations of the wild and exotic. “Just lost in thought I guess,” I shrug off. My ears flick towards the sound of yelling, someone calling the name of another. Everything was too loud sometimes, but I guess that was just the life of the half canine. The blood that ran through my veins came from the last of the grey wolves, their numbers dying off as the ice age worsened. There were many different types of wolf crosses, but The Greys (as we’d been nicknamed) were the last originals. And by originals, they mean purebred. It kind of gives me the ick, I’ve never been someone to use it as a status, but so many of my family did. “Class got you thinking again?” Trio asked me, his skin rippling through the colors around him. Sometimes he was hard to look at, but he liked being extra. It was his dramatic flair, and we loved that about him. But my god, sometimes my eyes couldn’t take it. “Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I answered him. My light silver-grey hair was in luscious waves around my face, my eyes more gold than brown. As humans we have evolved from our ancestors a bit, our eye colors were different. Our hair could be different colors, but the grey and white was a sought-after trait amongst The Greys. The other wolf-cross breeds had black and brown, some of them even transitioned into a blue roan color. I always thought they were so pretty to look at, with the soft grey-blue mixed with the black and white. My family of Greys thought of everyone else as mutts. “Ugh, girl,” Caliste rolled her eyes. “It’s just biology.” “Ugh, girl,” I mimicked with my own sarcastic eye roll that leaves her giggling. “You know how it is with me.” “You just being extra with it again. ‘Down with the evolution!’” Caliste mocks in what she thinks is my voice. I snort at her exaggeration. “First of all, f*ck you. Second, that’s not how I sound. I just question things that don’t make sense to me,” I shrug. I tuck my hair back, my naturally black nails long and shaped in an almond tip. Our nails grew faster than some, so I always had to get them filed down. I didn’t paint them though; I was kind of fond of my natural nails. “Always the rebel,” Trio states in his matter-of-fact tone of voice, but he’s smiling. Our little group walked towards the edge of campus, the buildings gleaming in the light of the trees. That was one thing that truly evolved; our trees and plants had to find ways to adapt to not having the required sunlight anymore, on top of everything being frozen over. It was as if the earth decided it wasn’t going to start over from scratch this time. That the ice couldn’t have its final say. The sun was no longer the bright ball that history books told us it had been before. It was old, dying, and could no longer provide us with the light and warmth it once had. We could still see it, the earth still had a sunrise and sunset, and it was still used as a way to tell the time of day. But it was just a dull orange ball in the sky, almost red. It gave the sky a purplish hue during the afternoons. So, we have glowing plants and a dull sky, but somehow together it was beautiful. And because of the sun being so dim, you could still see a slight twinkle of the stars during the day. It was almost ethereal, and because it was spring-time, the green of the trees clashed against the lavender sky in a way that was beautiful. A slight breeze picked up, chilling the already cool air. Trio shivered. “I can’t wait for summer, at least I won’t need a heated jacket anymore,” he said with chattering teeth, his skin turning to a light blue to emphasize his words. Caliste and I were fortunate to have fur covering our bodies, but Trio was sleek with scales and hardly any natural insulation for heat, if any at all. Caliste threw her arms wide and gave a little twirl. “Ah, this weather is perfect!” she exclaimed. Her furry round ears were perked up and her fluffy tail swirled around her. Caliste had shorter, sleeker fur that covered her arms and legs. But her chest was a bit more floofy, and the sides of her belly that lined her muscles and reached around her back were slightly longer. With both of us being females, we’d changed in front of each other, so I knew that from her neck down to the pit of her stomach was all pale white. The rest of her was a beautiful shade of silver and grey, adorned with countless black leopard spots. She was more on the animal side of her heritage, meaning she had more animal characteristics than human ones. Her soft pink nose was that of her feline side, her top lip drew upwards to her nose, but she still had a thick and full lower lip. “That’s because you’re covered in thick fur,” I laughed at her, giving her a slight shove. While I did have fur in some places, I was still considered closer to my human side than my animal side. But I didn’t have to wear a thick, heat-producing jacket like Trio. I was hot-blooded enough that I still felt comfortable. “Ahh, whatever,” Caliste huffed with a smile. “My classes are officially over for the day,” Trio said. “I’m going to head over to the Misty Café, did y’all wanna come?” “Boy,” Caliste drew out, putting emphasis on the Y. “You know that place is like, a million degrees too hot for me.” Trio threw his hands up in his defense. “I know, but I’m meeting some friends there, I figured I’d offer. They do have cooling spots in the corner booths, ya know.” “Dude, you can see me, right?” Caliste asked with her brows raised, her arms up and fingers pointing to her body. I laughed and Trio rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, I see you,” he sighed playfully. “Let’s meet up for dinner though, okay? I’ve been dying to go try that new place downtown.” “That sounds good, I should be free tonight,” I said with a nod. Truth was, I was kind of interested in the new restaurant in town too. It’s been rumored to have some of the best tech around for fast cooking and still being savory. Like an instant dinner, but still gourmet, still juicy. “Same!” Caliste exclaimed with a clap of her hands. “I hate to run, but I have to meet Axel. I told him we could meet up for lunch to talk.” “It’s about time, you’ve been avoiding him for, like, two weeks now.” I gave her The Look, which said she’d been dragging this on a bit too long. The Look caused her to groan and throw her face into her hands. “I know,” was the muffled reply. “I just didn’t know how to talk about it. It’s not like I’m angry about it, I just wished he would have talked to me about her, ya know?” “It’s okay, this is a lot for the both of you.” I assured her with a hand on her shoulder, which led to a tight hug. “Let me know how it goes, okay?” I felt her nod her head, and then she walked into the direction of the Sabre Cat Club. It was where most of the big cat felines hung out. Or in other words, where wealthy, exotic type kitties played. Caliste’s situation was kind of cliché, but it was a reality among families like hers, where their bloodline was a bit scarcer and harder to come by. There just hadn’t been enough DNA saved up when the age of the ice hit the world like a hammer. Caliste and Axel had been betrothed, but by the time they were made to meet by their families, they had both grown into their own ideas. And Axel was secretly in love with someone else. It made me think more and more that while our bodies evolved into something else, societal norms and expectations didn’t seem to change much at all. We were just no longer concerned about wars and famine; we all wanted to survive here. And unlike my friends, I still had one more class to attend, and it was back across campus. It was a simple art class, but I enjoyed it. It was considered extra credit at this point, but it gave me a kind of peace away from the world. So, I started the trek back across the campus park, which was pretty big. It had many different pathways, and multiple clearings for recreational activities, or just picnicking and studying. “Hey! Look out!” A voice screamed, and I pinned my ears back from the pitch. Something was coming towards me; I could hear the faint whizzing sounds as it neared me from the back. I knew from the sound instantly what the object was. I stuck my arm out and caught the damn thing in a blink before it could glide over me. It was a Frisbee. I blinked my eyes at it, the thin disk was blinking with LED lights. I’d seen these before; when thrown, they make an image, and they were fully customizable. Some of them were programed to fly on their own for solo play. “Paws above, I am so sorry!” a feminine voice called as she ran towards me. I turned to see what looked to be a girl about my age with bright blond hair and golden-brown eyes hurrying for me. She was frantic. A boy that looked just like her walked slower behind her, smiling sheepishly as he talked with his companion. Said companion was visibly a wolf, his furry ears were a very dark grey. They almost looked black, almost. His slicked back hair, however, was black, and it accentuated his grey-green eyes. Wolf hybrids, like The Greys, were always bigger than the other canines, so he was understandably taller than his friends. He was built like the typical wolf male, muscular and lean. What drew me to him though was the greyish blue hue of the fur over his arms. It almost shimmered in the dull sunlight, casting the blue tints into dark shades of purple. He was damn near breathtaking. “That was quite the catch,” the girl said to me, bringing my attention back to her. “I’m sorry it almost hit you though.” “It’s quite alright,” I assured her with a smile, and handed the disco Frisbee back to her. “I haven’t played with one of these in a while,” I mused. The guy, who I assumed was her twin brother, finally walked up to us, he stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Hey, sorry about the rogue Frisbee, I’m Alex.” I shook his hand, taking in the similar features between the goldies. That’s what the Golden Retriever mixes were called. They’re all known for the shiny gold fur, the bright blond hair, and that irresistible We-love-everyone-and-everything personality. But while his sister’s eyes were brown, Alex’s were an ocean blue. “And I’m Piper,” the sister chimed, shaking my hand next. “It’s nice to meet you.” She was the cutest thing with her ears perked up and her tail wagging with excitement. Piper was the preppy type it seemed, with ribbons and bows. And everything was crisp, clean, and pink. White button-down shirt, pink cardigan, pink skirt, pink and white bows, pink loafers and white socks. Piper didn’t seem to have a lot of fur over her arms and legs, but her hair and tail seemed to make up for the lack of it. Her brother, however, had more fur across his chest, where it tapered off further down towards his belly. I could see this because he was simply wearing a navy-colored jacket over his torso with no shirt, and khaki pants with tennis shoes. “It’s nice to meet you all, I’m Inara.” I nodded to them all, and noticed the blue wolf had not spoken to me. He acted kind of standoffish, and Alex gave him a bit of an elbow to his ribs to get him talking. All it got in return was a glare and pinned back ears. What was this guy’s deal? “Sorry about my friend,” Alex said, ignoring his friend’s rudeness. “This *sshole here is Ryker.” His introduction of Ryker had me snorting, but I quickly stifled it. I stayed composed for the sake of not coming off as rude as Ryker had been. “Wait, are you Inara Ashwood? As in The Ashwood Greys?” Piper asked, and I inwardly grimaced. But I put on a smile for her sake; I could tell from her outfit, which was part of my sister’s pastel collection for spring, that Piper was a fan. The Ashwood family was known for its hand in the latest fashion, as well as my father’s line of luxury cars. It was a bit annoying, but I have to admit that the lifestyle had its perks sometimes. “That would be me,” I said with a smile. “You look fantastic in the Chic is Pink, by the way.” Piper was beaming ear to ear, and she had a subtle blush across her slightly tanned cheeks. She looked like she was truly kissed by the sun. “Thank you so much! I just love your sister's fashion sense!” Piper’s eyes were gleaming with so much happiness, it was hard not to smile. I swear it’s contagious. But not enough for grumpy pants Ryker, who seemed more disgruntled by the minute. “As much as I would love to listen to you both talk about girly things, I have to get back home, so I can get ready for tonight. I’ve got a big date,” he winked, and he left us girls giggling and Piper rolled her eyes at him. “Sadly, I need to be going as well, but it was so great to meet you!” Piper exclaimed, and she was off following her brother. I watched them leave for a moment, and realized there was still someone standing there. I figured now would be a good time as any to rip the band-aid off, because his behavior was starting to irritate me. “So, Ryker, why do I have the pleasure of your sour demeanor?” I asked him with a light tone. I didn’t want to start anything with him, but maybe I could get some kind of insight. I have never seen this man before in my life, so I was a bit confused about why he would be such a jerk right off the bat. He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, his green eyes downcast to the ground. “I just know how your kind are, that’s all.” His comment was so snarky, it took me a second to calm my inner rage. “My kind?” I asked him slowly, giving him a chance to change his tune. “Yes. Your kind,” was all the reply I received. “We’re both wolves though?” I said in a questioning tone, because I didn’t see the difference between us, but I had a bad feeling about where this was going. “Wolves indeed,” he snorted. “The Greys certainly don’t see it that way.” "Now, listen here-" I tried to say, but Ryker cut me off. “Run along, Princess,” he said with the most bored tone of voice I’d ever heard. It was like a switch flipped, and he went from being aggravated to annoyed. “I’m sure a daddy’s girl like you have better places to be than with a lowlife mutt like me.” He turned to walk away, like I was a bother. “Excuse me?!” I shrieked. Who the hell does this guy think he is? I followed him and got in front of him to stop him in his tracks. The hell he was going to walk away after that comment. “You most definitely do not know the first thing about me,” I snarled. How dare he! “There it is,” he purred, leaning down in my face. “The entitlement is starting to show.” I huffed, crossing my arms. “I’m not acting entitled, I’m acting like you’ve pissed me off. Which you have,” I growled. “I haven’t done anything to you.” “Guilty by association, Princess,” he said with an eye roll. He stepped around me and continued on his way. “You and your whole family. I don’t have to know you personally.” He threw up a peace sign with his hands, followed by the bird. I was too angry to want to follow him again. Alex was right, he was an *sshole.