A Surprizing Birthday

Berry Stealth will turn sixteen in a few days. She is really excited since that is when she will recieve her driver's license. The night before her birthday is Skull Doom. A type of holiday where everyone dress up to be their favorite creature. This is also a time of the year when the moon is full. On that day it was not only her birthday but a great water dragon would be visiting her home village. She could not wait to see the dragon. She could only guess what its size is. Straight in the middle of town is where it will go and meet the native people. It is very rare to meet a full-blooded creature, let alone a dragon.

Berry is a very lean human (as far as everyone knew her as) who only likes meat cooked rare. She rarely became sick and always look on the pale side. She still wants to know her real parents. They disappeared after a storm and no one could find them after things settled down. She was found in a crate on the doorstep. Berry is now resting on a crate, hoping to see what type of parents she would have if she knew where they were.

"What would you like to do while we are here at the lake?" her anthro friend Sythe asked.

"I would first like to read about that fascinating creature you found," Berry replied, grabbing the book off the shelf.

"Sure."

After flipping through the pages Sythe pointed it out to her. The creature's known name was Drac-Water Snake Hybrid. There was no way to know if one is of that species until they reach sixteen. At birth the first stage of these creatures take the form of the creature they see first. Then, when the fullmoon shines before or after their sixteenth birthday, they resume the appearance of their real self. This creature is carnivorous and needs to eat as much meat as what a deer would every week after transitioning at the coming age.



"It is evening now. I don't feel like going to the lake after all. Maybe tomorrow with our costumes on we can," Berry said after a while. Her skin felt itchy and she felt lightheaded.

"Sounds good. I can't wait to see what your costume is. Goodnight," Sythe said as Berry left the room. Peeking out the window she noticed the moon was full.

Berry ran home as fast as she could. Then she went upstairs to her bedroom. She changed into her nightgown and collasped onto bed. She felt winded and exhausted as she shifted to a more comfortable position, not aware that her legs were disappearing.

In the morning Berry woke up with her mind fresh. She was eager to wear her costume and go show her friend. She realized she forgot to go under her covers last night. Raising her head she smelled the bacon and eggs her mother was cooking. Then she slid out of bed, downstairs, and to the table.

"Good morning Berry," Daisy said when she heard Berry coming.

"Good morning," Berry replied.

Berry explained what she would be doing for the day while eating her breakfast. Just before leaving she heard her mother mentioned how different and beautiful her costume looked. Berry smiled as she headed out the door. Her hands felt free and she slid quickly and easily down the sidewalk to the lake. She managed to reach the spot just as her friend Sythe arrived.

"Wow you dressed up exactly like that Drack-Water Snake in the book last night!" Sythe greeted as she ran over to meet Berry.

"That's not what I intended to look like," Berry started. She looked at her blue scaly hands and then at her wings.

"Does every human do this?" Berry wondered if there was a time when humans shape-shifted and this was the day they did that.

"No. I think you are not human anymore," Sythe drew back to give her friend some space.

"What do I do then?" Berry felt sick to her stomach suddenly realizing her life was ruined. She could not live like any other human anymore.

"You should go meet the dragon tomorrow. He will know what to do. Meanwhile, since this is Skull Doom day, let's have fun. No one will even suspect that you're not human."

Sythe was right. Berry enjoyed spending time with everyone, hiding the fact of what she really was. No one paid attention to her abnormalties. That night a huge party took place. There was plenty of food and games around. Berry enjoyed the time and earned the Unusual Costume trophy. Instead of heading home she returned to the lake as planned with her friend. There she went out of her original costume and hoped the plan for tomorrow would work out. Anyone who saw her as a snake would cause serious trouble and she knew that. She still felt the shock and sting since she didn't see this coming.

In the morning she woke up. The dragon flew around the lake and headed toward the middle of the village. Berry knew that she need to wait for the dragon to come to her. She took a nap as the morning passed by. She had eaten so much meat the night before she did not feel like moving around. In the afternoon the dragon came to the lake. She slowly slid around, keeping the dragon in view. There did not seem to be a safe way of crawling near it. She waited until the crowd thinned out before going for the dragon. It turned out after the last of the crowd left the dragon decided to return to where it came from and left. She watched as her hope began to fade away into the sky.

Word count: 972