There is nothing like the feeling of soaring through the skies, swimming alongside a pod of dolphins, and running freely in the woods. Some may experience these sensations, but not in the way Umi does. Umi could soar in the sky as a bird, be a part of the pod of dolphins, dash across the forest in a pack of wolves. She could experience life in ways no one else could. She is a shapeshifter, a being who could transform into any animal imaginary.

It was a regular night for Umi. The dark sky was speckled with bright, shining stars. The moon was full and bright, lighting up the forest beneath it, not that Umi needed it anyway. The layer of leaves and twigs concealing the forest floor crunched under Umi's paws as she sprinted through trees and leaped over fallen logs. The feel of the cold night air, along with the wind from running, felt refreshing against her dark, midnight blue fur. She slowed as she came upon a grassy clearing. She trotted over to a cluster of boulders located in the middle of the field. Umi jumped from one of the rocks to another until she found her way on the tallest stone, about ten feet off the ground. She took a more sturdy stance before raising her muzzle to the sky. A low, melodic howl was let out when she opened her mouth. The howl lasted a good ten seconds. The howl died down as she lowered her head. She lifted her head once again to let out one last howl for the night, but was interrupted by a faint click coming from inside the forest. Her reaction time was quick, but not quick enough. The bullet from the gun pierced her shoulder. The impact from the shot knocked her off the boulder and onto the ground ten feet below. She hit the ground on her side. Upon impact, she let out a high pitched whine of pain. She knew things would end up worse if she didn't move. Her legs wobbled as she put pressure on them, but she ignored whatever pain she was currently experiencing. Blood was gushing steadily out of the bullet hole. If she didn't hurry, the hunter would get to her and finish her off. Umi ran. She didn't stop. Running through the trees was a struggle, for her vision was slowly distorting. She knew she was leaving a trail of blood as it dripped off her shoulder and onto the forest floor below. She could feel her fur get matted with blood, dirt, and leaves as she stumbled through the forest. Umi kept her eyes on the distance, until she spotted bright lights shining through the trees, probably belonging to a house. Wanting a possibility for survival, she took her chances and headed towards them.

Help me. Please. Help. Umi thought. She came to end of the forest, ending up in someone's backyard. She slowed down. She began to lose consciousness because of the amount of blood she lost.

Is this the end? Am I going to go out to some random hunter? Umi's vision began to darken. Her eyes drooped shut. She saw a dark figure run towards her from the house before her body completely gave out.

Help me. Please. Help.

Kotori looked around her dining room. She could've sworn someone just called for help. She stood up from her dining table, where she had been doing homework. She walked over to her sliding glass doors to her backyard. She slid the door open and stepped outside onto the stone patio. She grabbed her arms and began to rub them because of the chilly weather. Kotori stepped to the edge of her patio and looked around for the person who called for help. Her eyes landed on glowing amber ones that emerged from the line of trees from the forest. As the owner of the eyes stepped farther out of the forest and into her backyard, she could see that it was a gorgeous wolf, but something was wrong with it; it was injured.

Is this the end? Am I going to go out by some random hunter?

Kotori was shocked. She had questions, but what she did know was that she could hear that wolf's thoughts and that it was seriously injured. Out of everything though, saving the poor creature took priority. Not thinking of any consequences, Kotori sprinted over to the wolf as it fell over on it's side, unconscious. She grabbed the wolf by its sides and dragged it across her lawn, patio, and into her house. She immediately noticed the frequent drops of blood trailing into her house. Under the light of her house, she examined the wolf's body, searching for the injury. In seconds, she found the gruesome bullet hole in the wolf's shoulder. She knew what she had to do to fix this. She ran upstairs to her room and grabbed a pair of tweezers, then ran to the bathroom next to her room. She grabbed a small towel and a roll of bandages from the medicine cabinet. She ran back downstairs to the back door where she left the wolf. Instead of there being a wolf, a girl, maybe about the age of herself, was laying on the floor. It was unmistakably the same creature. The bullet hole was in the same place, the hair color was the same, and her hair was matted with dirt, sticks, and leaves, just like the wolf's fur. She even had the same musky, woodsy smell to her. A small pool of blood started to form around the girl, she couldn't waste anymore time, no matter how confused she was. She ran over to the girl lying on the floor. She grabbed her small towel and wiped the area around the wound, cleaning it up a bit. Next, she had to remove the bullet. She grabbed her tweezers and the shoulder of the girl. She placed her tweezers in the bullet hole and felt around until she felt the tweezers tap the bullet. She cringed as she opened the tweezers around the bullet end, having to push against the flesh inside the wound. Once she grabbed a hold of it, she slowly, carefully pulled it out. Luckily, the long sniper bullet was still in tact. She threw the bullet behind her, letting the metal clink against the tile floor multiple times. After wiping the wound once more, she grabbed the bandages and wrapped them tightly, but comfortably, around the wound. Kotori straightened out the girl's head, opening her mouth slightly. She swept her ash-brown hair to the side and moved her ear close to the girl's mouth to see if she was still breathing. A sigh of relief left Kotori's mouth as she heard the air leave the girl's mouth. She sat back up and examined the mess around her. The girl was still dirty, the floor had blood smeared everywhere, and Kotori herself had blood on her hands and nightgown. After washing her own hands, Kotori started with cleaning the girl. She combed out everything from her hair long, dark blue hair with a spare comb. She stood up and walked to her sink, rinsing and wetting the towel to wipe down the girl's bare body. She started with the girl's face. She wiped away the small amount of dirt on her face to reveal the girl's pretty, clear face. She then moved to the torso and stomach of the girl, her intentions pure. She wiped off her chest and stomach revealing the girl's gorgeous, well-toned body. Kotori unconsciously reached for the girl's abs, slowly gliding her finger in a zigzag fashion before stopping herself.

"What are you doing?! This girl is injured, you can't be doing this to her!" Kotori whispered to herself. She placed her hands on her cheeks and shook her head to clear her thoughts. Once her mind was cleared, she went back to work. She sat the girl up, resting her head on her shoulder. She wiped down the canvas of the girl's back, removing all the blood. The skin was a beautiful clear, pearly white, just like the rest of her body. The only visible flaws were a couple purple bruises, most likely formed by whatever happened in that forest. Once the girl was clean of blood and dirt, Kotori moved her. She grabbed the girl by the armpits and carried her over to a clean part of her kitchen. She gently set her down on the floor before walking over to her living room to get a throw blanket to cover the girl. The picked up the soft fabric of the blanket off her couch and walked back off to the kitchen where the girl was lying. She opened up the blanket and draped it over the girl's naked body. She stood up and looked down at the girl. She smiled when she saw how peaceful the girl looked. She could spend the whole night admiring the girl, but she had work to do. Her attention turned to the bloody mess in front of her back door. She walked over to her kitchen sink and grabbed a bucket out of the cabinet below. She placed it in the sink and let the water run into it until it was about hand full. Struggling slightly from the water weight, she lifted the bucket from the sink and set it by the mess. She went back to a drawer next to the sink and grabbed a yellow sponge to wipe down the floor. It was a constant pattern of wiping the floor and rinsing the sponge in the water bucket. By the time she was done with the floor, the water was red from the blood. She opened the back door and carried the bucket out. She stepped to the edge of the patio and spilled the water bucket off into the grass. She grabbed a hose and rinsed off the blood on the patio.

Kotori walked back inside, now everything but her clean of blood. She glanced at the girl to the right of the door, in the kitchen. She sighed.

"Well, I guess I'll bring you to my room so you have somewhere comfortable to sleep." She walked over to the girl and moved the blanket off of her. She sat her up and placed the blanket on her back. Kotori then grabbed her arms and draped them over her shoulders. She stood her up before smoothing the blanket under her bottom and putting her on her back for a piggy back ride. The girl was actually quite easy to carry on her back being lighter than she expected. Kotori held the girl on her back and walked her up to her room. She stepped quietly down the hall, remembering that her mom was asleep in one of the rooms. She walked into her lit room and shut the door behind her, then walking to her bed. She sat down on her bed, releasing the girl and lying her down on the bed. She moved over to her dresser and pulled out a blue nightgown and a pair of underwear. She went back to the girl and dressed her in her clothes. Kotori straightened the girl out, placing her head on a soft and fluffy pillow and tucking her in. Kotori grabbed herself new pajamas before walking over to the bathroom. Kotori took off her bloodied clothes and changed into the new pair. She washed her hands once again and carried the clothes to her room. She put them in the trash; the blood has stained them and she could make a new one anyway. She pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down in it, watching over the strange girl.

Umi was enveloped by a warm, calming presence. She sniffed the air. It smelt like the sweet smell of fully bloomed flowers. Her eyes fluttered open, woken by a ray of light hitting her eyes. As she regained her consciousness, she became more aware of her surroundings. She jolted up from where she was resting. She remembered the events that happened the night before, although it was quite hazy. She placed her hand on her forehead, trying to see of she remembers anything about how she got in this room.

"Oh... You're up. Good morning."

Umi's head shot towards the direction of the voice. Her eyes became wide when she saw the girl raise her head from the bed and rub her eyes. Umi jumped off the bed, away from the girl.

"Hey! It's okay. I'm the one who helped you yesterday. I'm Minami Kotori!" Kotori called to the alarmed girl. Umi looked down at her arm to see the bandages. She began to rip them off.

"That wound was pretty bad! I would leave them on..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the girl's arm. The bullet hole was gone.

"Woah." Kotori murmured. Umi looked from her arm to Kotori.

"Thank you. I must leave now." Umi bowed before turned away to the door. In the process, her stomach let out a long growl. Umi's face slowly turned red.

"Um, would you like to stay for breakfast?"

There was a small silence between the two before Umi answered.

"Yes, please." Umi answered quietly. Kotori giggled at the response.

"W-What?" Umi stuttered, embarrassed of herself.

"It's nothing." Kotori replied still giggling. Umi turned bright red and exited the room. Kotori followed behind. Umi stopped at the stairs.

"Did you carry me up these...?"

"Yep! I also washed you and clothed you."

Washed and clothed... Umi thought to herself. She covered her face with her hands to cover her intense blush.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything."

Umi peered out of her fingers.

"I'm so ashamed."

"Don't be! You couldn't help it! You were unconscious!" Kotori comforted. "Anyways, let's go eat some breakfast." Umi nodded and walked down the stairs. She sat down at the dining table while Kotori continued on to the kitchen. Kotori opened up her fridge and pulled out two eggs and some bacon. She grabbed a pan and set it on the stove. She turned the stove up and let the pan warm.

"How did you find me anyway?" Umi questioned. Kotori thought about this.

"You called for help, didn't you?"

Umi went silent for moment. Kotori cracked the eggs into the pan. They let out a sizzle when they came in contact with the hot metal.

"I didn't. I thought it to myself... You saw me, I was a wolf. I can't speak as an animal." Umi went silent again.

Minami-san, can you hear me?

"Of course I can. You're speaking to me. Anyways, you can just call me Kotori!" Kotori turned back and smiled at Umi. Her smile slowly went away went she saw Umi's face full of shock.

"W-What...?"

Minami-san. I'm not speaking out loud. Umi thought, looking Kotori right in the eyes.

"E-Eh...?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go now." Umi sprinted to the back door, pulling it open quickly. Kotori ran after her, but as she looked out her back door, all that was left a pile of her clothes and a midnight blue raven flying away into the light blue, morning sky.