Welcome to Gaia! ::

1700hrs

You can bet Jamie learned how to maneuver his ears in that instant. They shot up at the sounds Lily made as she scaled the bookshelf and he stared up at her, unblinking and unsure, wanting to do something but hardly knowing what to do. He thumped a back foot in shared distress, still a shuddering mass of fur and nerves and-

Was that Eve?

Ears perked up again and Jamie turned back to her, his head tipping and his nose running at a mile a minute. Then there was Lucas and this time Jamie actually saw the attempt. He considered it, opened his own mouth, and all that came out was a small, almost inaudible squek. They couldn't speak.

How were they supposed to communicate? How were they-?

Jamie didn't even have time to properly process his new fear. Lucas was at his side now, not just comforting him any old way, but acting just like a dog might. He thumped his foot once, in confusion but not fear, it was all he could do to communicate. It was really, really difficult to be upset in the face of someone who was trying this hard...

He got a puppy kiss. He gave a tiny headbutt in return.

17:00hrs

No no no no no no no no.

That's what Lily tried to say, but it came out like a screech punctured by tiny dagger teeth as she scampered all the way to the back of the bookshelf, toppling over hardbacks with frantic kicks of her feet to make room for her long torso. Her claws dug into the texture of the shelf, shredding pieces of it as she twisted and turned, trying to get her bearings.

Breathe. Breathe. Find your ujjayi breath. It's still there.

Her fur rustled as it resettled, but she closed her mouth and let herself breathe, taking in the sensations with her new form. It was still her mind, still her choice, and though she felt bent and twisted, a certain limberness to her spine that she never could have achieved before. For all that it was different, once she took the time to center herself, it didn't feel 'wrong'. Just new. Just different.

She could do this.

Her head peeked out from her perch in time to hear the clop of hooves, staring with alert eyes and round ears turned forward as the creature approached. When it chastised her, she yammered back a response, yowling softly between the wiggling of her lower jaw. But she complied with its demand, reaching gingerly for an antler with soft paws and clambering down, careful not to touch the orbs of flowers as she slid down its back and hopped to the floor. She shook the wood-shavings from her claws once she reached the ground and twitched her whiskered muzzle, curling up near the others in a nest made of her tail. They wore different faces, different smells, but she knew they were still pack, still Eve and Lucas and Jamie, just like she was still herself.

Lily looked up at the stag, awaiting further instructions. She was still scared, terrified even, but she'd been wrong before. She wasn't alone. She could do this.

1700hrs

It was hard to say what startled Jamie more, the unfamiliar clop of hooves or the swift, sudden movement of his own companion. Jolting to his feet, all tenseness and nervous energy, he looked ready to flee. The only thing that kept him rooted was the distance the mysterious stag held and the fact that Lucas was firmed planted over him protectively.

Didn't mean the Prideful One wasn't intimidating, though.

And what the heck was he talking about? Moonwalkers? Duties? Disaster? Even if he had his voice, Jamie wasn't sure he could find it in him to question anything, but it just didn't make any sense. The others looked strong, but him, he was nothing but a weak, trembling bundle of snowshoe fluff. What was he supposed to do?

Creeping out from under Lucas just far enough to reach Lily's nest of tail, he nosed into it, ears pinned back flat. Even still his gaze darted between everyone present, from Eve to Lucas to the Prideful One and back to Lily. Jamie was far too confused and alert to let anyone out of his sight.

"Hush, fisher," says the Prideful One. It lowers her to the ground, then lifts its head again to regard Lucas calmly. "If I wished to harm you, to harm any of you, you would be dead. I am the Prideful One, but that does not mean my strength is arrogance."

Eve earns its attention with her human gesture. "Hello as well to you, vixen," it says. "I have not the time to speak more to you. One of your brethren made the change in your human world, and you must stop it before it causes more harm. Already there has been death; there will be more before the night is through; but you are Pack, and you will do what you must."

It looks at them. It says, "The moon will set at 0422 in your human world. When that time comes, if you have not caught your brother, he will disappear. You must prevent this."

With a toss of its head, their world changes.