Chapter 1 Leo

The sun was setting when it happened. I was reading. In a chair, near our big, sturdy storm door. Being just east of tornado alley, a decent storm door was a must.

I stuck a woven marker in my book, a big, thick two-incher called the Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan. Book eleven in a series of thirteen. All two-inchers. Yeah, I was a bookworm. Kind of ironic, really.

I stood, then suddenly doubled over, my book dropping to the floor, as a sudden fit of dizziness assaulted my senses. I sank to my knees, my vision going black.

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I awoke in the same spot on the floor, my face in a pile of sweaty socks. I sneezed. I really need to make use of the local laundromat, I thought desgustedly.

I opened my eyes, blinking blearily. The dizzy spells had been increasing for more than a month, but never before had one of them resulted in a blackout. I should talk to a doctor, I thought fuzzily. Being a bachelor could present a problem if I was ever sick or injured and unable to call for help.

I tried to sit up, but my limbs seem to try to bend in odd directions. I shook my head and blinked, and suddenly the details of the room became surprisingly clear. Things in the shadows seemed to stand out more, and some colors that I had always been able to see clearly were muted, while others stood out like never before.

My eyes widened, taking in the sudden strangeness of my surroundings. I must have hit my head or something.

Then, I made the mistake of looking down.

I yelped, jumping straight up into the air, and landing squarely on all four paws. Paws?! I clenched my muscles, the way that would normally make a fist. Instead, five long, black claws slid out of each forepaw, digging firmly into the carpet. Tendons stood out on the backs of the - my - paws, outlining distinct shadows on my pure white fur. I retracted my claws and lifted one paw, still unsure of what I was seeing. Trailing down the backs of my legs, a line of much longer fur swept the floor, a few gray hairs scattered throughout the white.

Suddenly, I had the intense desire to see what, exactly, I looked like. I bounded down the hallway, two strides carrying me the full fifteen feet. I swerved into the master bedroom and leapt onto the bed, where I could see into the dresser mirror. A pair of bright golden eyes stared back, with slit pupils opened into huge black discs in the center. They stared levelly out of the narrow, proud face of a male lion, surrounded by a thick, flowing mane of light gray hair, speckled with silver. A lean, muscular body followed, tapering down to a long, flicking tail, tipped with a silver tuft.

I stared at the mirror for some time, thinking. Trying to figure out what exactly had caused me to turn into... whatever it was I had become. I had just recently turned twenty, but not that recently. My adoptive parents had been rather... indifferent... when I wanted to move out, so I decided I was just going to have to go it alone. I got a job, found a cheap apartment to rent, and started living.

And now this.

Then, suddenly, I thought of the Changelings, the band of creatures and humans that acted as the local 'superheroes'. I thought of the dragon, the one called Leona, white, with green eyes, and the one called Kerata, the horse, white and gray, with blue eyes. No, Leo, you can't seriously be thinking of...

But it was the only thing I could think to do, the only people I could think of to go to, who might be able to help.

So, without a glance back, I set off out the front door, the heavy springs slamming it behind me.

Changelings, here I come.