Chek 3

"Alright, so you are going to fly in right?" Talon asked this with the most earnest look on his face.
"Why do you automatically assume I am going to FLY in?  There are other animals that could easily gain entrance."  I was still pissed at the gate guard, and Talon's nonchalant attitude was really annoying.  We had made it to a spot in the woods that wasn't far from the gate but still far enough that no one would stumble across us.  I was trying to light a small fire and he was just standing there jeering at me over guard's reaction.

"Well, what do you plan on turning into?  Speaking of turning, what does it feel like?  Does it hurt?"  Now he was just snapping questions at me.
 You are annoying.  
"I heard that one too!"  His newly extended abilities was stoking his ego just a little too much.  I rolled my eyes at him and started mapping out the Colony edge from what I remembered of it.
"Look the gate is more of a point of the thing, did you notice that?  It isnt in the center of the wall like most of the colonies.  That means something, but I dont know what for sure.  The road was pretty beat down but I dont know how often people come through."
"What animals do you like to shift into the most?"
Really? That is what you have to say about all of this?!?  "I am not sure to be honest.  Felines probably.  Birds are alright, but I prefer having good strong feet underneath me and more power for my muscles. I dont think that I have an actual preferance for anything now that I think about it.  I dont really enjoy shifting.  I always end up with a massive headache after I shift back to being me again.  That, and some of the senses are very overpowering.  I dont know."  I sighed.  Just then I heard a rustling in the bushes behind us.
"What the-!" Talon was interupted by a black blur streaking through our camp site.
Kareena!
She leapt at me, slamming into me about chest high, knocking me into the ground.  I was giggling as she licked my face.  I loved her for it but it also worried me.  There was something afoot that had her worried.  Especially if she greeted me like this and hadnt bothered to try to think to me about anything.

I rummaged around in my pack, pulling out some jerky for her, as well as pouring her a bowl of water from my canteen.  She looked winded, a little thinner than normal, and very unkempt.  She hasnt even stopped to take care of herself!
"That worries you."  Some of the mirth had left Talon's face and he was completely serious now.  "She doesnt normally do that I take it?  Not even when you guys are out doing...whatever you guys normally do?"
"No.  Give'r a minute.  Listen close, you might even pick up on some of it."
What happened?

Animals dont think in words like we do.  They think with their senses.  Smells, shapes, shadows and so on.  They dont attribute words to anything.  They see a table, but thats not what they call it.  They dont call it anything at all.  It is just there.  Something that they can see, something they can feel and so on.

The first thing she showed me was the forest.  Plants that I knew were bright colored normally whizzed passed my eyes.  I could hear birds in the trees chirruping at *me* and I could smell the distinct odor of the serpentine creatures that live by the rivers and lakes.  I *seen* myself bolting over fallen logs and across short ravines.  After a while though, the trees and plants slowly disappeared.  More and more rocks were showing up, and now the area was beginning to look even more desolate than the forest.  At least the forest has other animals living there, making noises.  Here, the only noise was *me* and I could feel the tremor in Kareena's body.  The very memory of her making so much noise still bothered her quite a bit.  It was too out in the open.  *I* wasn't safe.  There was no real protection from anything at all.  There was only a slight scent of salt in the air.  The whole scene was monochromatic.  Varying shades of gray.  At last, a scent of the one called Geek.  The word itself didnt mean anything.  Just what the people called him.  The smell was strong though.  He was nearby.  *I* crossed over the top of a hill, and all of the sudden there was color again! The smell of rich wood smoke enveloped my mind and was then tarnished by the smell of the Geek.  He was there at the bottom, huddled around the fire, sharing it with two other hulking figures.  The powerful scent of Hooch seeped into my mind.  As *I* drew nearer, the images seemed to become blurry and wavy.  They melded together in waves of color, the oranges of the fire blending with the purple of the night and the gray of the surrounding rocky landscape.

Suddenly, I was me again.  I looked around and Kareena was asleep.  She slept where she had fallen.  Talon was near her, one hand laying on her sleek ebony head.  He was rubbing his head with his other hand, clearly as confused as I was.
"What happened?" He kind of groaned out.
"She fell asleep.  She is exhausted.  We will have to post pone our plans some, until we find out what exactly happened.  Let her sleep and we will get some rest."  I grabbed my pack and yanked my sleeper out, laying it out next to my protector.  "Get some sleep, tomorrow we will talk about it."