The next morning came. Mariyah arose with swollen eyes and raw temples from the tears that repeatedly slid down the same trail in the night. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep. Her lips were chapped from her constant licks and bites of trying to suppress her cries in efforts of not waking up the boy. She blinked slowly, feeling the heaviness of her swollen eyelids.

She held her chest as she thought of her parents and Oliver, the overwhelming suffocation finding her not one minute into waking up. But she knew she couldn’t handle any more grief. Not this early. Feeling the thoughts creeping into her mind, she turned to her left to see if he had awakened, but he had not. Maybe she could make him something while he slept, to get her mind off her parents-the burning feeling of tears started again at the thought. Distraction was the only thing she could think of, and even that may not work.

Quickly, she stood up and began to walk into the forest. She used her past knowledge of flowers to search in areas that she thought would be best. Eventually, she came across a small patch of violets. Their petals were pretty, and their stems were long enough for her plan. She plucked them up with her sore and bandaged hands and searched for more.

After some time, she eventually had enough to make what she was going to attempt. She sat down under a large tree and began to tie the stems together, being sure to be gentle in order to not break the fragile plants. She held out the floral bracelet in her hand and smiled proudly to herself.

When she was finished, she looked around at the trees around her, realizing how far she had wandered. She looked down at her feet. There’s no one to punish me out here. She set the bracelet in her mouth, and breathed out a breath of satisfaction as her body swiftly changed form into a lion. She slowly made her way back to the hut, the feeling of her paws touching the bare soil was still new to her, but she quickly realized she loved it. She twitched her pink nose, her eyes looking down at her whiskers.

When she arrived, she approached her new friend who was sitting on a stump and cooking some sort of meat over the fire. She shifted back after tossing the bracelet beside her and looked at him. “Hello.”

He jumped a bit at her sudden arrival and looked back at her. A faint smile formed on his lips. “I thought you had left.”

Mariyah gave him a soft look. “Without saying goodbye?”

He moved around the meat that was cooking. “Your shift is a lioness?”

“Yep,” she mumbled, not wanting to address her abnormality. “I made you something,” she said eagerly, biting her lip to suppress her smile. “Hold out your hand.”

He without resistance did as she asked, and she tied the bracelet of flowers and stems around his wrist. It was thick and firmly intertwined by stems but she was gentle enough to not damage any of the petals.

His eyes narrowed as he observed the small gift. “You made this?”

She nodded. “Just now,” she said with a quick glance towards his eyes as she tied the stems together.

“Thanks...I like it,” he said with a smile and a small laugh.

She tilted her head. “I suppose it’s a bit flowery for you, but...it looks nice.” She grinned a bit.

"It's not too flowery for me," he answered shortly. He nodded to the fire. “I’m making breakfast. It’s not as pretty as these flowers, but it’s something if you’d like some.”

The thought of food was not appealing in the slightest to her at the moment. “I’m alright, but thank you," she said sweetly.

He looked at her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes. “Maybe just a little.”

She frowned, her stomach did feel empty whether or not she cared. “I suppose a small bit.” She sat down across from him, in front of the fire, and watched him poke around the meat with a fork.

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A long silence went by before he spoke again. “I never asked your name.”

She looked up at him, pushing her black hair out of her face. “I’m Mariyah. What’s yours?”

“Cal.”

Cal. “Cal. Thank you for helping me.” She gave him a small smile.

“So. Do you have a plan?”

A plan? “I’m not sure.” She bit her lip and leaned back. “I think Chaiaysa or Gyamon would be best. I know I can’t stay here…just haven’t really thought much of anything other than…what happened. But…” She breathed in deeply. “I do need to leave here. Obviously.”

He nodded. “How will you go? They’ll never let you on a boat at the Ports.”

“I'll fly, I know the Ports wouldn't let me take one step on one of those boats," she giggled.

“Fly?”

Oh. Oops. She looked around at the soil nervously before explaining her abnormality.

He stared at her, unsure. “That’s impossible. I’ve never heard of anyone having that-”

She morphed into a bear, then a panther, cheetah, griffin, and wolf. She could've kept going, but that was definitely enough to get the point across. She returned to her human form and shrugged. "Weird, I know."

He stared at her, his lips parted but no words came out for some time. “H-how?”

She shook her head. “I don't know.”

“How many?”

“As many as I can think of…as long as they’re not too big or too small for me. Those hurt, my body can’t do it.”

“A griffin too?…Those shifts are rare.” He gulped, continuing to stare at her as he took in what he thought was impossible.

“It’s burning.” She laughed and took the burning food away from the fire, sliding it onto a rusty plate.

He watched her. “Does the king know?”

She shook her head before correcting herself. “Well, he didn’t know at first, but then I flew away to escape, so he must have seen. I didn’t see his reaction.”

“Well… you definitely need to leave then. As soon as you can. I’d imagine he’ll start hunting for you if he gets any sign that you’re still here if he isn't already.” His eyes met hers, and she could sense what felt like worry.

Her face changed. “Oh..oh- I’m so sorry…I - I didn’t think about how I’m endangering you-”

He shook his head immediately. “No-no, I’ll be alright. You can stay here as long as you want. But you should leave the kingdom when you can. Not for me, for you. The king will not hesitate to kill you if he finds you’re still here.”

She chewed her lip as she handed him the plate. “Thank you. I will go, I’ll leave soon. I just needed to…calm down a bit.” She imagined for a moment what it would be like flying across the ocean. How long of a trip it will be. But how peaceful it would be to live in a country with no bloodshed like this.

No bloodshed like this. A tinge of guilt touched her heart as she thought about leaving while her people suffered here. How much worse it would get if things continued on this path. But that wasn’t something she could help, no matter how bad she wanted to.

She pushed that frustrating thought away and listened to Cal.

“It’s a long flight. It’s all ocean from here to Chaiaysa and Gyamon. There won’t be anywhere to rest over the water, you’ll need a lot of energy.” He took a few bites of the meat. “Maybe you should stay for a few more days before you go. I can hunt and get some more food in you, and some for you to eat along the way. We can dry some meat and put it in a bag for you to carry.”

She looked away, thinking to herself. Finally, she shook her head. “Thank you. But, the longer I stay, the longer I put you in danger.”

“It’ll only be a few days. They’re not gonna find you out here that fast if somehow they were looking. Trust me. I’ve tracked these forests day and night since I left that village. I know their paths. We’re safe here, for now.”

She looked up at him. “You wouldn’t mind me staying that long?”

“I have no reason to.” He watched her closely before focusing on his food again. “I doubt the king is looking. They probably think you’ve left anyway. And if you stay around here, there won’t be anyone other than me to notice that you’re still here.”

She took a bite of the meat and nodded her head. “Thank you. Then I’ll do as you said, and I can hunt with you.”

“Do you know how to hunt?”

“I…have shot, but I’ve never hunted before…but I can learn.” She gave him a smile to which he returned a small one.

“Well. Today, I’m sure you could use some more rest. Tomorrow, I’ll take you on one of my trips. We'll give it three days of hunting and getting you back on your feet, and then you should be ready.”

She again thought to herself about the idea of truly leaving, off to a foreign country with a language she didn’t speak. Abandoning her people and leaving her country to continue in its misery. But there would be safety. Safety and separation from the dark reality around her. And she wanted anything that could provide her with that now.