Lead into the central living area of the human's den, I was immediately surrounded by a pair of fully-grown humans. "Ooh, looks like Miss Sleepyhead is finally awake," one laughed, this one a male.

He had piercing blue eyes and wore transparent shields with thick, dark frames over them. He was wearing beige chest and leg coverings, with a strange, red, neck guard.

"Hahahaha! Oh, she's prettier than a flower in the middle of May," the other human cackled, this one a female. She had golden hair like Steve, the cretinous buffoon, but it was very long and swept up onto her head, and she had bright blue eyes instead of brown ones.

She also was wearing a white chest covering, connecting to a skirt of the same color, with a black stripe around her midsection and neck, with red flowers of some kind printed all over her clothes.

Aieee, Cephas shrieked. It's a dememted human! Run! Well, he didn't have to tell me twice. Hissing and backing up rapidly, I hit a solid rock wall after a few steps. Looking up, it was only Aaarrrgghh!!!'s broad chest. He smiled down at me, and I gave a nervous chuckle back.

"Ricky, Lucy, this is Lunalis," Krel said, gently taking my elbow and leading me away from the huge troll. "She'll be staying with us for a while. Lunalis, these are my...er, parents, Ricky and Lucy Blank."

"Howdy-doo, Looney-Tune, or whatever your name was," Ricky said, popping up on my right and grabbing my left hand, shaking it violently. "It's so nice to finally have a woman in the house again," Lucy smiled, taking my opposite hand and standing next to Ricky.

"N-n-nice t-to me-e-e-t y-you," I said, vibrating from the crazy pumping of my hands. Withdrawing from their grip before I suffered permanent brain damage, I back away from the woman, Lucy, who was giving me an eerie stare and crazed grin. I kept backing up until I ran into Krel, and knocked us both onto the floor.

"Aw, looks like our little baby boy has a girlfriend," Lucy cooed, pinching Krel's cheek with a pale hand. "She is not my girlfriend," Krel snapped, swatting her away. I rolled away from him before she could do the same to me.

"Aww, it's okay to be a little bashful, son," Ricky said, popping up on one side of him. "Yeah. It's not every day a pretty face waltzes into your life," Lucy cackled.

"Can we please get on with our plan," Archie said, shooing away the Blanks with a column of flame. "Yeah, let's go, Lulu," the round one, Toby, grinned, grabbing my hand with his. "Umm," he paused, "Do you mind if I call you Lulu?"

"Not unless you mind having all of your atoms imploded," I said, yanking my hand out of his. "Okay, noted."
"Does L work," the female named Claire asked. "Lunalis is a bit of a mouthful to say."
"If you have to call me that," I sighed. "What do you want to do with me anyways?"

"If you're going to be staying with us, we can't leave you alone when we're at school," Douxie explained to me. I tensed as he put a hand on my shoulder. He bore a freakishly similar resemblance to Ramos, save his eyes, which were a golden color, much like the shapeshifter, Archie's. I had only focused on him when he was first introducing himself, and it was then I noticed the connection.

"So, what does that mean," I asked, removing his hand from my shoulder. "It means we've got to teach you to act like a human," Archie smiled, and I dreaded what the knowing smile on his face meant.

"Okay, first things first," Jim said, stepping down into a lower area of the den, which was surrounded by plants in pots and huge, burgundy rectangles that were raised a good foot, at least, off the floor.

Tentatively, I stepped down among the rectangles, but stumbled when Toby bumped into me. I fell face-first into the rectangles, and expected my face to be horribly smashed and disfigured. Instead, I was surprised by how spongey and comfortable the rectangles were.

"We've got to teach you a few things about humans, and what to expect in this world," Jim continued, fiddling with a rectangular box on stilts in the corner of the room. "We can be pretty predictable, if you know us well enough."

I sat up, probing the rectangles with my hands and laughing like a toddler at the strange texture of the rectangle cushions. "Yeah, Krel's couch is really soft," Toby sighed, sinking down next to me. "Couch," I asked, confused. "You know, a couch? A squishy box you can sit on? Where you can watch TV and play video games?" The blank expression on my face told him I had no idea what he was talking about. Sighing, he got up and stood on the couch. "Do what I do," he said, and I complied. Standing up, he started to jump on the couch and laugh.

Should I, I wondered.
No way, Insanity shot back. These humans are putting on an act. All they want to do is take advantage of you and then stab you in the back.
But it does look fun, Aquarius murmured.

Going against what Insanity said, I decided to try and trust the human's instruction. I leapt up, and I hovered in mid-air for a moment. Then, my stomach dropped as gravity took hold of me once again and I landed on my back on the couch.

"This is fun," I laughed, getting up and jumping again.
"Yeah," Toby whooped. "It's even better when somebody double bounces the other, and one person goes flying!"

After a few minutes of jumping on the couch, I collapsed, panting and giggling. "You humans have some really amazing things," I grinned, once I'd caught my breath.

"Yeah, not to brag or anything, but we're pretty awesome." I jumped at the sound of Steve's voice. "Well, I'm awesome," he grinned, flexing his muscles. I rolled my eyes. I'm pretty sure Raven had more muscle than him.

After a few more minutes of Jim toggling knobs and antennae on the raised box, it suddenly came to life, buzzing with energy. Jumping up and letting my claws out, I shrieked, "Your box is demented!"
"It isn't a box. It's a television, or TV for short," Archie corrected me. "It's just projecting an image of humans playing a game of wits called Wheel Of Fortune."

I tentatively approached the television. Colorful, moving images of humans appeared, and the TV started to speak. The voice was masculine, incredibly loud, and kind of annoying to listen to. Then, the picture suddenly changed.

It was a beautiful scene of a savanna. Golden grass swaying in the breeze. In the distance, wiry trees with cloud-like leaves poised on top of the thin branches. A gorgeous sunset that turned the sky to fire.

The screen kept changing, switching from one picture to another. A village of humanoid figures with vibrant skin and hair that seemed to have a mind of its own. A boy flying on a huge, black dragon. A huge, hulking humanoid with green skin and a mule at his side. A lion, a zebra, a giraffe and a hippopotamus staring in awe at a tropical island. A herd of wild horses, watched over by a beautiful, tan stallion.

"So many worlds," I murmured, brushing my fingers over the screen. "How can they all exist in one place?"
"These are all movies," Douxie explained. "They're made up. They're not really worlds."

"Oh," I said, dropping my attention from the television. "So, what's first in Humanity 101?"
"Right," Archie said, taking the floor with Douxie while the other humans sat down on the couch. I took a seat next to Claire, the girl with a single white streak in her otherwise dark hair.

"The first step to becoming a human is to look like one," Archie started. "So, you'll need to use your magic to reconfigure your clothing and looks. Of course, we'll need to make sure you stay on trend, or it'll arouse suspicion..."

I don't see why we have to stay here and be peaceful, Insanity growled, and my hands immediately curled into fists, pressing my nails into my palms. We could have been freed by now. I say we kill the humans and run. Make it look like an accident.

Watch yourself, I warned, trying to will myself to relax. Taking deep breaths, focusing on calm thoughts. These humans have more power over what I do than you might realize. They can control my magical limits. They can see where I am, constantly. They can even control whether I move or not. I know they won't let me go until I give them what they want. That's a fact. But, if I play along with them for now, I might be able to open a window of negotiation, with time.

We don't have time for games, Insanity yelled. Everyone else had gone silent. Anybody who had any brains at all never interrupted Insanity when she was angry. Or even spoke when she was mad.

Every second we spend here is another second we grow softer, weakening. Giving into the human's demands.
If we try to escape now, we could die!
If we don't try, then we'll never get a chance to!

No, I shouted mentally. I'm putting my foot down on this. We're going to wait it out. Fight brain with brain, not brawn.
Fine, then, Insanity growled. I'll handle this myself.

What do you mean, I asked, but her presence was gone. My hands relaxed, crescent-shaped red marks indented in my palms. I wanted to worry about what she had meant, handling it herself, but somebody shaking my shoulder snapped me out of my fantasies.

"Lunalis. Are you okay?" It was Krel, who had a hand on my shoulder. His eyes were dark brown and large, like a deer's. They shone with what I thought was concern-

No, I reminded myself. It's an act. They only want to get close to me for my magic. Don't fall for their antics.
"I'm fine," I replied aloud. "Just a little lost in thought, I guess."

"Okay," he replied, but he looked unsure. He really did look worried. I tried not to think about his gaze following me as I stood and made my way to the center of the living area, where Douxie was standing.

"Now, let's see what the modern internet has for women's clothing," Douxie murmured, tapping a metal bracelet on his hand twice. Instantly, a ring of blue magic surrounded it. Swiping and tapping, he projected images of human girls wearing what I presumed to be human-style clothing in a circle surrounding me.

"Now, these are the sorts of modern clothes that teenage girls your age wear nowadays," Archie explained, and I marveled at the different choices given to me. "Now, we're going to give you access to medium-level spells, but you're only permitted to change your physical form. Any other spells and we will immediately activate the paralyzer, and we will not be administering the antidote as willingly as we did before. Is that clear?"

I nodded. "Good. Now, have fun shopping," Douxie said, and I felt my magic surge through my veins once again. It felt like a piece of my soul had been restored, now that I had it back, if only temporarily.

Eyeing a few different outfits, I slid my hands over my sides and chest and imagined the clothes on the humans on my body. Power surging through my fingertips, the clothing appeared wherever my touch went. It was like painting a masterpiece of fashion, with my hands as the brush.

After I was finished, I was wearing a white skirt that stopped just above my knees. My top, worn from wear and tear, had been reborn a beautiful black color, with long sleeves and white stripes as well. My feet had a strange, silver covering that came up just below my knees, and black foot armor over them.

Claire offered me a small, reflective stone, polished to perfection. I graciously took it, and enlarged it so I could see my whole body. My ebony hair was brushed free of tangles and shortened. It was twisted into a roll, and laying on my left shoulder. I frowned. Not bad. Definitely cute, but not really my style. I chose an outfit from another picture and decided to try that one.

The next one was a skirt connected to my top, not unlike the style of outfit Lucy was wearing. But, this one was all white, and had no sleeves or straps holding it up. I also had on a light blue coat that had a different texture than most of the other clothes had. It was a bit rougher, and less pliable. I checked my reflection. My hair was now straight as a board, down halfway down my back, and still black. Still not it.

And so went the process for about ten minutes. The humans tried to help me by shouting out some suggestions. Different tops in more styles and colors than I thought existed. Skirts, some short, some long, some connected to my tops which I learned were called dresses.

I also learned that girls didn't always have to wear skirts. I tried on a few pairs of leg coverings called 'shorts' and 'leggings'. One style that appealed to me was the same style as the jacket, which I learned was called 'denim' and the coverings were called 'jeans'.

Then, I decided to try something else entirely. Picturing it in my mind, I changed my clothes into an exact replica of Douxie's clothing. A black shirt, long leggings, and a strange overcoat that was delightfully soft and warm to wear. I sighed, relaxing in the covering.

"Who knew," Steve said. "The terrifying creature from the woods likes cuddly things."
"Call me cuddly again and you'll have a whole new definition of the word 'terror'," I warned him. He immediately shut his mouth.

Taking off the hoodie so my magic wouldn't replace it with something new, I decided to make my decision on my human disguise. I kept the black shirt, but changed my pants into blue jeans with a few small rips here and there. I then grabbed the hoodie, and changed it into a silvery grey color.

My foot guards, which I learned were called socks, were white, and my shoes, the other part of the foot guards, were black with white edges. I ended up discarding the hoodie in the end. It was comfy, but not something I would wear all the time.

My disguise was complete. "What do you think," I asked, turning to face the humans.
"Holy guacamole," Claire said, her eyes wide.
"You look just like a human," Steve gaped.

"It's a bit alarming how fast you adapted to human clothes," Archie admitted, sitting by my ankle. "But it's good that you aren't fighting it. Now all we need to do is change your looks a little bit."

"What's wrong with my looks," I asked, warily stepping away from the cat. "Well, usually humans don't have pink eyes," Jim explained, standing up. "They're usually brown, hazel, blue, green..."

"Okay, green," I said, letting magic wash over my eye sockets. For a moment, all I saw was pink. Then, when it disappeared, my eyes were a brilliant islamic green. "Anything else?"

"The hair," Douxie said, and everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Why my hair," I asked. The humans looked among themselves, probably searching for an answer. Eventually, Krel was elected to speak for them. I heard Steve briefly mutter 'messenger boy' before Krel stood.

"See, Lunalis, back when Area 49-B captured you, during the concert, a lot of people saw you flying around. So, to protect your identity, and the lies Costas used to cover up your existence, we need to change your hair. Otherwise people will recognize you, and you'll be attracting a lot of unwanted attention."

"Fine," I sighed, letting magic pool into my hands. "How much of a change?"
"This is where I come in," Claire smiled, rising and coming to me. She started to circle me, occasionally murmuring comments to herself I couldn't hear.

"Okay, I know what you should do," she smiled, coming to a stop in front of me. "Can you change your hair to a light brown?" Nodding, I laced my fingers through my hair until they were buried deep, my nails gently resting on my scalp. Letting the magic flood through my hands, into my skull and over my existing hair, I felt it changing.

When I released my hold on it, I turned to look in the mirror. I barely recognized myself. My hair was a light fawn color, and so light and fluffy I barely believed it was mine. "Great," Claire smiled, popping up behind me. "Now, can you make it just a tiny bit shorter?"

I complied. The ends of my hair were cut off with invisible knives, and disappeared before they hit the floor. "Perfect. Nice and level, too," she approved. "I'd say you're good."

I smiled at my new look. I was actually beginning to enjoy myself. Until I heard Douxie say, "Now, about those ears..."
"What's wrong with my ears," I said, taking a defensive position. Instantly, I felt my magic drained away.

"Ah ah ah," Archie scolded, and I hissed. "Magic for disguises only. Remember?"
"I don't need magic to tear out your throat," I growled, and let my claws out for emphasis. "Hey, play nice, both of you," Douxie ordered, looking at Archie, then at me.

"What I meant was-"
"He means you've gotta ditch the ears," Steve called from the couch. I pressed my ears against my head and hissed at him.

"No, that wasn't what I meant," Douxie said, facepalming at Steve's stupidity. "What I meant was that humans don't have wolf ears. Or tails. Or wings. If you want to blend in, could you try to reshape your ears into something a bit more like this?"

He brushed a strand of hair away from the side of his head, and a human ear was fused to the side of his skull.
"Well, it's hideous and not very dignified, but it shouldn't be a problem to replicate," I said, examining the side of his head. He reddened at the insult, but didn't say anything.

I placed my hands on the side of my head, I waited for the feel of my magic to return. "Dude," I said after a while, "Magic? Transfiguration? Hello? I need it to change my ears into human ones."

"O-of course," he said, hastily scrolling through his magic gauntlet. "Here you go." Finally, I thought, but didn't say anything aloud. Once my magic had returned again, I murmured the spell.

I could feel my wolf ears melting away, and reforming as human ones on the side of my skull. My tail and wings evaporated as well, and I gasped when I could no longer feel them weighing me down. I felt...looser. Like I'd been freed from shackles I didn't know I had.

I took a look in the mirror Claire gave me. It startled me how different I looked from my usual self. I looked so, well, human. "Not a bad look for you," Toby smiled, sliding up next to me. "Now, you just gotta act the part."

"What do you mean," I said, confused. Then, I remembered what Douxie said before. My eyes widened in realization. "Oh, no.""Oh, yes," Krel said gravely. "Lunalis, you are about to be introduced to the cruel and unusual punishment that befalls all human youths of our age...prison education."

No...not high school...the poor girl. She has no idea what's coming to her.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to vote and comment your opinions in the comments, and I'll be sure to publish the next chapter as soon as possible. Warning: It's gonna be long (probably) and a gut-buster (definitely). Be sure to stay safe and stay healthy, and I'll be sure to have the next chapter out possibly next weekend. Until next time, peace out, Snowflakes!