metamorphosism

For most +anima, there is a dramatic, life endangering event that spurs them to change some of thier body structure. Kaaya was no different of course. When someone asks another how they became +anima, it usually issues a cold rejection, the +anima in question not wanting to dredge up the horrible life changing memories. Kaaya, however, would openly tell you she doesn't know. This happens sometimes. Children who become a +anima at an extremely young age (2-4) generally can only bring up a few images from thier memory. They tend to be more acceptive of their powers, having grown up with them. This is also true of kaaya, who never remembered a time when she wasn't a +anima. Her earliest memory was that of a snarling wildcat. As she got older, she deduced that her family were attacked by animals and then she became a +anima to escape. She also knew that she had been living in the forest for an undetermined amount of time before being found by civilization.One mystery though, is why a 3 year old would be taken through the thick of a jungle in the land of sailan.

Kaaya hated her owner. Though she was treated well, she hated being a piece of art, something to look at. In fact, she would rather be put to work, than forced to perch on a branch with intricate dresses on to show off her wings. But that's why she had been bought, to reel in the customers. She was actually the most popular there, at least for the fliers. Probably the combination of deep amber hair and eyes against the yellow, black striped swallowtail wings. The girl perched on a giant leaf stem behind a glass wall, so that way she couldn't get away, while there was no need for bonds of any sort. The poster in the corner of her wall was titled the swallowtail fairy. Across from her, she gazed at the "vicious" +anima. They were parts of animals like snakes and scorpions and the such, looked at becaus of their supposed ferocity. She was in the beautiful catagory, if she could see through the side walls, she would have knoen that she was beside the mermaid types and some bird ones. She hid a scowl from some onlookers and posed again, flicking her antennae

In the middle of one of the many +anima maketplaces of Sailan, a pudgy, balding fisherman called out to the crowd of potential buyers.

"Place a bid for the prettiest pearl in the ocean! A rare and dazzling fish +Anima... She's quite the catch!!" A few of the people laughed at the fish humor, and others began to bid on the girl in shackles. Kita had been running from slavery for years, and now all of her efforts were for naught. A few days before, she was catching her meal in a large school of fish, only to be crushed by their numbers when a net scooped them all up out of the ocean. She couldnt get out in time to save herself, and once they found her stowed away with the rest of the fish, the fishermen's crew overpowered her. The capitan shoved her forward for all to see, his hands gripped firmly on the chain that led to the chackle on her neck.

"four hundred!" a stout man called, his large nose crinkling up when a young lady shouted her higher bid. Kita stared at each of the people with wide, fearful eyes, and hoped that she wouldnt have a master that would be too unbearable. As the bids became steadily higher, she began to wonder what perpose she would be used for. a fish-finder mabey? that was the only thing that made sence for buying a water-based +anima. but some of the people in the crowd did not look like captains of the sea... so what could she possibly be used for other than the obvious?

"A pretty otter +anima, perfect for many things!"

Maela was pushed forward. She stumbled, and bit her lip. Ew. She could taste blood. On the run since she had been thirteen, Maela had been traveling along a road when she had been ambushed by traders. Her hands and feet were tied, and she was thrown into a caravan. They had been on their way to Stella, so they figured this pretty thing could fetch them a good price from a lord.

Many uses That couldn't be good. Of course, she could fish, but she wasn't fantastic at fishing, and she had heard that young princes around the age of seventeen were given +anima slaves to use as they please. Just disgusting.

"Four hundred fifty!" Maela shut her eyes. They were bidding. On her.

As the bids continued to rise, the people willing to pay less for a new slave wandered off to look for some other +anima. Now there were only three potential buyers, which soon after became two. The bidders were both men, but they looked very different. The first was short, lanky, and looked to be in his forties. his skin was tanned to be the same colour of the dirt on the road, and his hair and eyes were black as night. by the way he dressed, he was a part of a fishermen's crew. The other was the exact opposite. Tall and thin, the second man seamed like he was in his mid-twenties. he had ragged red hair and bright green eyes, and dressed as though he was a ringmaster in a circus. oh no kita thought. What if she ends up in the circus doing stupid tricks like a dolphin to be laughed at by the customers? her eyebrows furrowed upward, and she hoped that she wouldnt have to do something as humiliating as that.

"SOLD! to the gentlemen in the fancy clothing!" The capitan excmaimed, handing the chain to the man that was now her 'master'. She knew that struggling was useless... she had already tried it when she was in the fishermen's custody. He pulled her along, asking the odd question as he did so. what was her name, what food she liked, and so on. The man told Kita his name was Rellik, and that was what she was to call him from now on. none of the "master" stuff. Kita nodded, wondering where he was taking her and what fate had dealt her.

Soon they came to an...exibit? She didnt really know what to make of the place, but it was filled with +anima. They were all either behind bars or glass, with signs that indicated 'who' they were. Kita had never seen so many +anima in the same place in all of her life. In fact, she hadnt seen so many +anima period. Rellik stopped infront of a giant spherical glass fishbowl with no opening at the top. it sat in the middle of the +anima zoo, almost like a fountain you would see in the middle of a park. near the bottom of the dome was a poster that read 'Siren of the Sea'.

"This will be your home from now on." The zookeeper anounced as he gestured toward the glass cage. She knew it was futile, but she had to try... anything would be better then being caged for the rest of her life. she struggled to run the other direction, and her chain choked her. "Now now... it wont be that bad," Rellik cooed, "You'll be a star! people will come fromall over to see you and the rest of my collection. you'll be famous." his words did nothing for her, but she stopped struggling because she knew it was usless, and her face was turning blue from lack of oxygen. "thats a good girl..." he said, his words sounding more of what someone would say to a pet than to another human.

he climbed up the ladder that leaned on the fishbowl and unlached a hidden door on the top of the cage. When he climbed back down he motioned for her to climb inside. with tears in her eyes, she did what she was told. Her +anima form took hold as soon as she hit the water. Rellik took off her shackles, replacing the ones on her tail with pearls and other jewls. he then yanked on the clasps of he dress so that her entire body of pale skin and saphire scales were showing.

"That fishermen was right," he said, smirking, "you really are the prettiest pearl in the sea." And with that, he shut and locked the invisible door, leaving her to become another living display.


((sorry this was so long XP))

Kaaya gazed at the fish bowl, having to crane her neck, cheek to her wall, looking sideways. She saw a +anima with elegant pale blue fins and glittering sapphire scale. She had wondered what the bowl had been there for, since the couple of other fish +anima were to her right, but know she knew. The blonde haired girl had an almost full mermaid appearence, while others had merely some gills and fins. This girl is probably going to take my spot in the popularity votes. Not that I care. Being more or less popular didn't really mean much. She thought about the commotion just before the girl had been trapped. Running, trying to escape. Those things, are possible? Having grown up in the forest for 7 years, then taken here for 3 years, she didn't know anything about the world except what happened outside her glass wall or in the forests of sailand. The man, who she never knew the name of, looked at her sternly. The red head gulped and leaped off her perch, doing an air display to hide her interest in the mermaid-girl. The tall man nodded and left. She immediately dropped down and begun to search for escape, not knowing what it looked like or how to get it, but determined all the same.

The bids were halted. Maela did not open her eyes. She was afraid to see who bought her, even though she hadn't heard that telltale "Sold!" Instead, the next sound was the auctioneer saying, "Permission for the royal slaver to investigate!" Was did investigate mean?

She found out soon enough. Somebody stepped in front of her, blocking the sun's harsh rays. He lifted her chin, and she hesitantly opened her eyes. He had dark hair and a full dark beard, and was wearing very fancy clothes. He looked at the auctioneer and nodded, and the man said, "I will give seven hundred gil."

The other possible buyers grumbled and walked away. That was too much, even if it was only one hundered gillah above the later price. Then, the telltale, "Sold!"

The slaver did not give her his name, he did not speak. He simply took the rope that was attached to her and walked away with Maela in tow.

Kita looked around her new home... if that was what you could call it. the ground was made up of white sand and stones, with a few large black rocks where she was probobly supposed to perch on. she searched for something that would make her stay a little less dreary, but all she could find were a few more tail jewls for variation on her 'exibit'. her invisible tears added to the water as she looked through her 360 degree window to the freedom she had lost. after a while, she saw that the exibit had two main categeories: Beast and Beauty. she watched spider +anima spin their silky webs as wolf +anima growl at the customers, who screamed and giggled in glee. discusting she thought, giving the watchers the evil eye as she did so.

The Beauty exibit drawed many 'ooo's and 'ahhhh's from onlookers, and strangely, she couldnt blame them. the +anima in the beauty category truely were beautiful. they had cat, rabbit, fish, bird, and even some insect +anima, all more beautiful than the next. one that especially caught her eye though, was a butterfly +anima. she more beautiful than all of the other +anima, but that wasnt what made kita stop and stare. it was what she was doing. unlike the others, who just repositioned themselves every so often, she was running and flying around. searching. but for what? by how frantic she looked, it must have been something important. an escape perhaps? kita waved her arms about in a cheering fashion, in her mind chanting go fairy go! go fairy go! a few onlookers stared at the mermaid, puzzled, but never really thought anything of it.

Maela was dragged along. Really, you'd think that where ever she was going would treat slaves better, especially if this guy was royal.

They passed by a large place with many people looking through glass and cage at things. A closer look, and she reeled back in surprise, and got rewarded with a sharp tug. There were +anima in there! One she noticed in particular was very beautiful. She was sitting in a large fish bowl-like thing, and was waving her arms frantically. Maela looked up, and noticed another pretty +anima, a butterfly. She wished she could get closer, but she was being tugged at, and had to leave.

Later, they turned into a house. Not just any house, but the palace. Maela gaped. She was going to be a slave ... in the PALACE!!! This was getting weird. She wasn't special enough, not like that pretty mermaid in the "zoo."

The slave trader looked at her and grinned toothily, "Welcome," he said sarcastically, "Hope you like being a present."

Oh. Crap.

So far, the search for escape had been promising. At first, kaaya thought that if only she had revelated on the idea of escape, she would have been out sooner. But later, realized that the only way out was the circulation shaft that would be impossible to get through without her being the most obediant and docile +anima in the entire exibit. Because she had her owners trust. And the ventilation shaft, which is usually replaced with new grates every week, had been neglected in her cage because no one dreamed she would ever escape. Even SHE never dreamed she could escape until a few moments ago. Feeling for the rusted bars, the 'fairy' girl easily pulled them apart. Then, peered inside. The complex tunnels connected to every cage except water filled ones, for obvious reasons. Kaaya shoveled dirt over the new escape hole, concealing it for the time being. When it turns dark... She thought, forming her large scale evacuation plan as she leaped into the air, spinning and looping patterns. And when i let everyone escape, I'll thank her, because her seemingly futile struggling for escape spurred the escape for all of us..

the Butterfly +anima stopped searching, so Kita stopped doing her stupid flail-dance((lol)). did the girl give up? staring at the new smile on the girl's face, she didnt think so. the girl found an escape then! kita did a few backward summersults of joy, attracting a new crowd at the fish bowl. she grinned, putting both of her hands up to the glass and watching her onlookers. little did they know that this would be the first-and last- time that they would see her... if the redhead let her out at least. a child reached up, jumping up to try and touch her palms. kita repositioned her hands so that the child to touch them (or at least the glass that seperated them), with ease. because the girl was so small, kita had to bend really low, causing her tail to swing up, the sun reflecting millions of sapphires to her growing audience. the crowd awed at her 'newfound interest' in being a display. i might as well give them what they want... they wont be seeing me here ever again. she thought, trying to hide her smirk.

Tara walked in to the park, not noticed. Thick gloves covered her hand tattoos, and a large cloak covered most of her clothing from recognition. She had been searching for a while now, but finally found the place. The hideous +Anima museum. She had had so many friends lost to this place...she walked on inconspicuously, her pouch of gold at her waist, bouncing on her leg as she walked quickly through the stands of slaves.

She walked past the auction pits in to the zoo, passing through the "scary" +Anima as they growled at delighted audiences. She soon passed in to the "Beauty" area. Tara gasped as a familiar face caught her eye, making silly faces to a small child outside her fishbowl tank. Quickly walking up to the tank, she waved in to the glass, catching the eye of its inhabitant. "Kita!" she mouthed in to the glass frame. The mermaid girl swam up to the glass, where Tara stood smiling. "I'm going to get you out of here!" she mouthed again, as a worried expression traveled across her friend's face. Tara knew her well enough to know that something was up; something she didn't know. A pointed finger to her left and a wink signaled the end of their conversation, as Kita swam away to entertain her other admirers and keep attention away from their meeting.

Looking to where she had pointed, Tara noticed another large cage, without water in it. A pretty girl sat in the cage, smiling broadly for the spectators. A quick look at the sign indicated a Swallowtail +Anima; someone she hadn't met. Tara looked over her cage once, noting a small pile of disturbed earth near the corner of her prison. No one else would have noticed it, but hey, dirt was her specialty. Her eyes travelled along a row of pipes up the side of the wall that gave her fresh air. "Very clever girl" Tara thought. I was time to make a move.

Looking around, most of the guards were occupied with a group of dangerous Rhino +Anima. They didn't look too happy, and the guards seemed to be having a bit of a problem with them. Perfect. Pulling a bag of coins out of her other pocket, she walked back closer to the auction pits and started throwing copper coins in to the crowds, painted with gold film. There was an instant effect.

"MONEY!!!!" A buyer called, as instant paranoia started. Buyers and sellers ran everywhere, stooping down to pick up fake coins, guards breaking up fighters, and +Anima getting riled up. it was the perfect riot. Lots of yelling and confusion, powered by stupid greed. Awesome.

As the panic accelerated around her, Tara picked her way over to the Rhino +Anima, their caretakers quite busy. "Hey buddy! Feel like smashing something? I'm a +Anima too and I need your help rescuing my friend!" Tara said to the nearest one, showing her tattoos. A gleam appeared in the leader's eye, as he yelled "Break ranks!!!" Other people heard the cry, and other +Anima took this opportunity to try and escape. The guards had to much work on their hands now to worry about a little buyer wandering her way around the confusion.

"That way!" Tara yelled, pointing towards Kita's tank. "Oi! Kita! LOOK OUT!" Tara yelled as loud as she could to her previous companion. A herd of charging rhinos got everyone out of the way fast. it was all the guards could do to hold on, let alone retrain. After a few seconds, they couldn't even do that!

Suddenly there was a huge smash, a few shocked screams, and Tara's socks were soaked. Darn.

Well, at least i don't have to wait until nightfall, kaaya thought. There was a perfect commotion outside, caused by that spiky blonde haired girl, probably an +anima as well, the way she got those rhino +anima to help. For one who grew up in a jungle, kaaya was pretty clever. She folded her wings into her body and squirmed through the circulation vent. crawling to each enclosure, she easily knocked the steel grates off from the inside, and told the +anima inside to follow. After a somewhat lengthy time of freeing all the caged +anima, The escapee managed to find the vent that led to the main room, She crawled out, and grinned at the mayhem. Security guards frantically tried to recapture +anima, while others stared in disbelief at the glass cages, who their occupants seemingly disapeared from. Then she saw The blond haired girl and the dark haired girl talking to each other rapidly. Kaaya neared them, as they noticed her, She grinned shyly. For Obvious reasons, she was fairly shy and nervous around others. These people are good though. She forced herself to speak up. "..H-hi, my names Kaaya, whats yours?"

Maela needed to escape. True, the palace was fantastic, and the other servants told her that it wasn't all that bad, really, but she longed for the fast-flowing river that she had been traveling by since she ran away. That, and her thoughts kept turning to the wacked out zoo that they had passed. The mermaid...and the butterfly. Maela could not help but think that she had met the mermaid before, but when?

She fingered the thick bronze bracelet that had been cuffed to her. The royal seal was on it, and it was the representation of her bond to the palace - her prison tattoo, if you will. Tracing the seal, she thought of the prince whom she would be presented to at his birthday. To tell the truth, he wasn't bad-looking, with light brown hair and forest green eyes, but Maela was repulsed by what he might want to do with her when she was given to him. On her other hand, the right hand, a thick piece of leather had been wrapped and tied around her wrist, and another seal was burned into that; the seal of the prince's homeland. That showed that she would be and was his property.

Maela stood up. That was wrong. She almost preferred that zoo. She was going to break out, and help those +anima trapped there too.

kita, still in her anima form because she had nothing to cover herself, smiled brightly at the girl. "my name's Kita, and this is one of my old friends, Tara." she looked up at Tara's femilior face, "thanks again! i dont know what would have happened if the guards caught Kaaya and i had been stuck here for the rest of my life," she watched as the mayhem continued to rise, "awesome distraction by the way.... umm... can one of you please get me something to wear, ill even be fine if a have a blanket." Tara took an embroidered shirt away from an empty vendor, and handed it to Kita, who gladly took it and put it on. Her scales quickly melted away, being replaced by her legs and old shorts. she stood, motioning to the crowd that was beggining to settle. "maybe we should leave..."

((Kaaya I'm not sure who you were talking about with the dark haired girl starting the riot or something...Tara is blond...not sure what you were saying there))

"No time to talk now!" Tara grinned, pulling Kaaya away from the scene of the crime. "We gotta get out of here, fast!" Tara could see some order being restored, as most of the coins had been picked up and discovered that they were fake. People were moving out of the way of damage, but the guards were still having trouble with the escaping +Anima, screaming, running, some even flying! But the floor was clearing faster with the crowds gone, and they were bound to get noticed sooner or later. She started running, hoping the others were behind her, shouting words of encouragement when she could.

Suddenly, their way was barred by a guard who had seen her cause the panic. "You there! I arrest you in order of the King!" He barked, pointing straight at them. He was gowned in a conservative tunic, and a thin wooden rod was tied to his waist. He bore the mark of the imperial palace on his chest. "Hah! You're going to have to catch me first!" Tara jeered, trying to run past the man. Suddenly, her face stung and became wet. "Damn.." Tara said, straightening up and wiping her cheek with her palm. Red blood smudged against the back of her hand. At the scent of blood, the mood became tense. She licked the blood off her fingers, and said "It's an eye for and eye with me, buddy." Throwing her cloak toward Kita (who only had the jewelry from her mermaid costume and the shirt she had given her before) Tara changed in to her +Anima form, nails erupting in to long black claws as her eyes became deep and shadowed and her blonde hair sprung out of her hood. Her ears changed and her hearing picked up. Dark fur grew from her hands and pads formed on her palms. She was ready for a battle. Her friend's weren't in the condition to fight, so she would have to make this quick.

" I don't use my +Anima often, so you better make this worthwhile." She said, glaringly. The man stepped back a bit, holding his spear forward. He had seen plenty of other ferocious +Anima before, but this one was scary. "Stay...Stay where you are!" He said, fighting his nerves.
"Time to go!" Tara yelled as she plunged forward her claws in to soft cloth. "AARRRGGHHH!!!" The man screamed, before he realized that only his shirt was torn and his prisoners had already run off. He blinked. He was going to be demoted for sure.

Maela finally managed to get out. She had snuck into the the oasis-like backyard by being summoned by another prince to do his biddding (it stank that she had to obey everything) and hid until he left. Then she stole away like the devil himself was on her heels, aiming for the +anima zoo.

But when she got to it, there was a big ruckus going on in it, and the mermaid and the butterfly was gone. Looking in front of her, she saw the sillhoettes of three people running away. She figured that must be them, but then she looked at the entrance, and her heart stopped. One of the palace's guards was there, blocking the entrance. Her heart thumped wildly, but her mind acted instinctively, and she pulled out her +anima. A tail shot out, and her ears changed from the human ovular, to the otter's furry and round. Her fingers became webbed, and so did her feet, which grew longer and squished into her slippers, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that stubby claws grew on her fingers.

She slid up to the guard and placed the claws on the pressure points on his neck and squeezed gently enough so her would not draw blood, but hard enough to make him whimper.

"Shut your eyes," she said in a husky voice, "And count to one hundred. Do not dare to open them before, or you will suffer the consequences."

He nodded pitifully, and she stole away, aiming for the mermaid that she recognized so much, but could not place.

they ran for a while before Kita realized that someone was following them. she slowed down, the others folowing sute, waited for the purple-haired +anima to catch up. "who are you?" she asked, faintly remembering the girl.. but from where, she did not know. "are you one of the +anima Tara and Kaaya rescued?" kita did not include herself in the rescuers, because she hadnt been of any help to the break-out. "im Kita, by the way," she added as an afterthought.

((jeepers my posts are getting smaller))

"No, I'm not," Maela replied, "I was sold and taken to the palace. My name is Mae...OMIGOSH!!" Maela's eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth dropped open. "KITA!!! Oh my gosh, it's been so long! Have you seen Waku or Kaay..Kaaya! You're here, too! Wow!"

Her memory flashed. Suddenly Kaaya Remembered. It HAD been long. Openly, she hugged maela. "We're almost all here now." On an impulse, she undid her pigtails, letting her hair loose. It curled around her her shoulder and a bit down her back in temporary waves. Maela looked at her, as long as everyone knew her, she had never, even once, undid her hair, even in sleep. " If guards come looking, i might be less obvious." she explained. Covering her eyes partly with hair, she looked at the three of them. "my combination of both red hair AND eyes is another giveaway." turning to maela,who also sported hair identical in colour to her eye she added "same probably goes for you". "If we plan on getting out of here, we need to look less obvious."

Maela's left eye blinked. Kaaya had never let her hair down ever since they had known each other, but that made sense. She swiped one of Kaaya's hair ties and pulled her thick plum-colored hair into a pony tail at the nape of her neck, and made that ponytail into a bun. Before she had lost her right eye, Maela loved to wear her hair in ponytails and buns, but the hair that covered the missing eye looked out of place. Eyeing the three girls, she asked, "Should I pull up this hair? It'll probably freak people out. Also, I need to get these things off." She showed them her hands, with the bronze band and the leather strap.

"They're pretty hard to remove; even the leater one. Any ideas?"

"um, guys?" Tara butt in. "I know we need to look less obvious and all, but maybe we could wait after we've GOTTEN OUT OF HERE." She said, stepping forward and quickly snapping Meala's bracelet with her claw, to the surprise of everyone. Where did that kind of force come from? "I came in through over there, but it looks like we're going to have to take the back way out! C'mon!" Tara ushered them along past the emptying exhibits.

They had run a little way, before Tara stopped. Her ears had heard some sort of wail, coming over from their left. She changed routes, and the crying led back to the other side of the museum. "Where was she going?" she heard one of the others ask behind her. "Guys, I hear someone crying." She replied, doubling their pace. She knew they were in danger, but she couldn't let this feeling go.

Tara turned around the last corner, and stopped. Before her was a little boy, crying his head off. Tara relaxed in to her human form. "Hey, little guy," she said, kneeling down as the others caught up. The little boy ran in to her arms, and buried his head in to her shoulder, still crying. "Ma! mama...I don't know where she goed!!" the boy cried in to her. "There there," Tara said, picking the boy up. "Monsterses came and scared her off!!" He wailed. Tara turned, and signaled the others to turn human.

She walked back towards the others, the child in her arms. They all stared wide eyed, stunned at the situation. "So, guys...We're on the run, and this kid is separated from his mom. What do we do now...?"

The boy's wails continued to reverberate from Tara's shoulder as they discussed the situation. sure, they were on the run for their freedom (and possibly their lives), but they couldnt just leave the poor child. at the same time, they couldnt really go back to find his frightened mother either, having just escaped and all. lightning flashed in her brain. she had thought of the most dangerous, stupid, and utterly irresponsible idea ever. they could bring the boy with them. she tried to push the idea from her mind, but it just kept popping back up every time she had blocked it out. No. she argued with herself, the mother would be worried sick. but her voice of recklessness dissagreed, but surely, the mother would have taken the boy with her if she really cared. NO she yelled in her mind, ending a very insane sounding conversation with herself. but her body would not listen.

"mabey he could stay with us?" a voice suggested, and she realised it was her own.

Tara raised her eyebrow at her friend Kita. "What about you two?" She said, glancing over at Maela and Kaaya.

She put the little boy down, holding his arms. "What's your name, honey?" The boy looked at her with wide, blue eyes, his tears dying down. "Sam...*sniff*" He said as he leaned in for another warm hug. "Okay Sam, everything will be all right, I promise." she said, picking him up again. She turned to the girls again, waiting for their vote.

"uuuummm.." Kaaya pondered, thinking it was quite ridiculous. But, then contemplated it. "I'm fine with whatever happens." She voiced, not being able to say something good about him coming, but if the others think its a good idea, then i'll go with that., she concluded in her thoughts, then turned to maela to see her decision

Maela scratched her head. "Little boy equals complete and total fail for me. I was never a good baby-sitter, but if one of you wants to clean up the guy, then I'm all for it." She moved to Sam and crouched down. "Are you hurt?" she asked.