• June 22, 2030 Flare sighed. Today was her birthday, but it would be no different than any other day. Running and hiding. The world didn't accept her. She was the last of her kind, all the others had been either killed on the streets or in a lab. Mermaids, nagas and dragons, Flare was the last of any of them. So far as she knew. But she was lucky. The people chasing her didn't know what she looked like. All they had were dogs with her scent. Flare walked through the city, looking for a store where she could by a bag of potato chips. The news was on in the store she entered. She grabbed a bag of sour cream and onion chips and placed the money on the counter. "What's with the outfit?" The cashier asked, referring to Flare's cowboy outfit. Flare ignored him, watching the T.V. "It's unconfirmed," the reporter said, "but there have been reports of more of these non-human races existing. This has become a war..." August 3, 2031 Lex stepped out of his tent and stretched. "Damn..." He groaned. "Another day in the war." Lex was a shape shifter. In his human form, he was of moderately average hight, with brown hair and blue eyes. In another part of town, A young girl wandered around. She had long blond hair and light blue eyes. Although she wore a hood, if you looked hard enough, it was clear the girl was an elf. Her name was Ice. Ice glanced down as people stared at her. She walked into a small old inn and walked to the front desk. The air was so full of cigar smoke it was almost impossible for the poor elf to see, and it made her eyes water. "I'd like a room, please." She said to the woman at the counter. "How long." It was more of a statement than a question. "Permanently." Ice replied. "Permanently?" The woman asked. "If you say so. Sign here." She pointed at the guest book. Ice entered a fake name, Koyomi Ichimaru. "Here's your key." The woman said. Ice smiled and headed for the second floor. Shortly afterwards, Lex walked in. An exiting human patted him on the back and said, "good luck in the war." Lex sighed walked over to the bar counter. "How can I help you?" The waitress asked. "I'd like the breakfast special." Lex said, smiling. Ice came back down to the bar after having unpacked. She walked over to the bar and, sitting near Lex, got a water. The waitress brought Lex his food and Ice her water. Lex paid for both. As he put his wallet away, he heard a familiar voice. A general from the human army was sitting next to him. And it was one Lex had fought before. "Give me a tea." The general said. Then, as the waitress left, he turned towards Lex. "Aren't you one of those monsters in the war?" He asked. The waitress came back with the general's tea. Once she was gone again, Lex stabbed the general in the stomach. "I'm not a monster." He said quietly. "I'm a shape shifter." Then he put twenty dollars on the table and left with the man's tea. Ice watched as this happened, and followed Lex out of the building. But Lex had already finished the tea and transformed into a dog. A little while later, He changed back into a human. "Stupid humans." He growled. "Don't even know where to look for me." As he continued walking, he suddenly bumped into Ice. "Oh, sorry..." Lex said. "You... You're that guy from the bar..." Ice said quietly. "I'm Ice." Lex looked at her curiously. "I'm Lex." He replied. Ice... She can't be human with that name... "Are you a human?" He asked. Ice shook her head. "You aren't either..." She said quietly. She began to nervously twist her hair. Lex quickly changed into a wolf, then back again. "That answer your question?" He asked jokingly. "I've never met a shapeshifter..." Ice said. "You've probably seen hundreds." Lex said. "They're great in the war." Ice smiled slightly. "I'm of no use in combat. I can use a sward somewhat, but I lack proper training." Ice tilted her head to look up at him. "I could train you." Lex offered. "I'm great with swards. But I never use mine if I can help it. I hate this war." Ice nodded. "I know the feeling." She noticed a guy standing behind lex, staring at them. "Lex turned around and saw the man. "Can I help you?" He asked. The man pointed at Ice and said, "That thing should be locked up!" Ice muttered something under her breath and walked away. "You better leave!" The man shouted. "Good for nothing elf!" Lex grabbed the guy's shoulder and punched him in the face. "Don't insult her like that!" Lex shouted. Is he... defending me? Ice thought. "No one insults my friends and gets away with it!" Lex shouted. "You're one of them aren't ya?" The man said. "One of them freaks!" "Wrong." Lex said, punching the man in the face again. "I'm one of those shapeshifters." "I should call the military." The man said, reaching for his phone chip. "Oh, no you don't!" Lex shouted, stabbing the man. Then he turned to Ice. "We should get out of here." He said. Lex lead Ice into an alley. Ice's boots slammed against the stone walkways. Elves had no problems running, but because Lex was a shapeshifter, he was much faster than Ice was. Ice looked behind them to see if there were people following them. There were. And as she looked back she slipped on a large pool of oil from an old barrel that had burst. Lex stopped to help her up, but the gap between them and the pursuing humans was drastically closed. They began to run again. "This place of yours better be close..." Ice said. "Just a few more blocks!" Lex said. Sudenly a group of humans appeared in front of them. A pair of large green eyes looked over the building, watching a fight that was breaking out. The girl quietly slipped out of the building. Even though she was wearing a brown hood, if the police showed up, they could find her elf ears. Where to next? She thought to herself. An eagle swooped down and landed on her shoulder, before flying off again. Eva quickly followed. A large explosion sent flames and rubble spewing out from the other end of the alley. "Was that really necessary!?" Ice cried as she and Lex ran out of the flames. "I had to get around them!" Lex shouted. "You didn't need to kill them!" Still running, Lex lead Ice to an old building. "Thanks." She said once they were inside. She realized she was still holding Lex's hand. She quickly let go, and tried not to blush. "No problem." Said Lex. He walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. "Great..." He moaned. "No food." He turned back to Ice. "This hideout's perfect because it blends in with everything else. " "A fine mess You've gotten me into!" Eva cried. She was now being chased by humans. The eagle gave a loud cry, as if to say "Well how's this my fault!?" "You should have stayed high in the air!" She shouted at the bird. "What human has an eagle following them!?" The eagle gave another cry. "They do not!" The elf replied. "First off, bird tamers use hawks, and second, they only have them during a demonstration, after which, they put them in a cage!" The eagle gave another soft cry. "Not as sorry as you will be if they cach us!" Eva said, realizing the humans were gaining ground. The eagle doubled back and attacked the humans. But Eva kept running. She reached a large house and scrambled onto the roof, disappearing from view. Ice stood in the doorway, not sure if she was alloud to sit. "We can get food later..." She said. Food was something elves didn't need much of. Ice lowerd her hood. "You can sit if you want. Lex said. Ice smiled, and sat on one of the beat up old sofas. Lex suddenly heard something on the roof. "What was that?" Ice asked. "I'll go check it out." He said, transforming into a dog. He walked out through the dog door and changed into a bird. Then he flew up to the roof. He could see that whoever it was wasn't human. When anyone who could have seen him from the ground was gone, he transformed into a human. "Who are you?" He asked. Eva almost fell off of the roof. Her green eyes were wide as they looked over the boy. "I-I'm Eva..." She said. "What are you?" She asked. "I'm a shapeshifter." Lex said. My name is Lex, by the way, thanks for asking." He paused a moment. "Would you like to come in?" "T-thanks..." Eva said. Lex lead Eva back into the house. "I can see you don't like it in the city." Lex said. " I miss the forest." Eva replied. "We won't be here long." Lex said. "We'll need to find another place to hide." Eva nodded. "Wait, why not hide in the forest?" The forest was a place many people feared. One could easily become lost. There were hungry, wild animals that would kill each other for a human. There were also many cliffs that were unnoticeable until it was too late. One could quite easily walk around the forest in a day, but it was much bigger on the inside. Plus, there was also a rumor of a monstrous dragon living there. But for Eva, there was no safer place to be. "That's a great idea!" Lex said. "Why didn't I think of that?" Eva smiled. She was anxious to leave. "We'll leave as soon as Ice wakes up." Lex said. "Great." Eva said. It would be hard to get the animals to be kind to them. "In the meantime," Lex said, "are you hungry? I should go grocery shopping." "I'm fine." Eva said. "I just ate." Ice woke up. How long was I asleep...? She wondered. She suddenly noticed another elf next to her. Ice watched her curiously. Is she friendly? Lex is standing with her, so it must be okay. Hang on... With her? Ice made a face. I think I'm jealous. No, I can't be. Ice shook her head, and, looking at the elf, asked, "What's your name?" "Eva." The elf hesitantly responded. "And you must be Ice?" "Yup." Ice replied. "Though I'm not sure if that's my real name..." Ice shrugged. "That's just what I call myself." Lex looked over at Ice. "You're awake, I see. Had a nice nap?" Ice nodded. "I hope I'm not any trouble." "Of course not!" Lex said. "But we've got to leave soon. This town's not safe." Eva nodded. "I'll bet with enough of us, we could take over the town!" Ice said, laughing. "Probably." Lex agreed. "But that would only make this war worse. Now, we have to decide on when we leave." Ice and Eva nodded. "Eva and I have already decided to go to the forest. But how do we get there?" "Some time after dark." Ice suggested. "That way we'll have some cover." "Sounds great." Lex said. "Eva?" The elf looked out the window. "A bit after sunset would be best, I believe." She said. "No one will be near the forest after dark." She stood up and walked over to the window. "Well then." Said Lex. "Looks like we've got a plan. "We... do have a plan, right?" "Do you have weapons?" Eva asked. "Just a sword." Lex responded. "I've got a set of katanas." Ice said. She put her hood back on, almost completely covering her face in shadow. "We should leave soon." Eva said. "Really?" Lex sounded shocked. He looked out the window to see that it was indeed beginning to get dark. Ice nodded silently. Lex got up and walked over to a desk. Then he reached into one of the drawers and pulled something out. He placed it on the door, and then tossed a board game onto the ground. "Now the humans will think they had to leave in a rush." He said, referring to the previous owners of the house. Eva put her hood on and started on ahead. In a far off alley, sounds of grunting and punching could be heard. After a few minutes, two boys ran out from the alley, their clothes torn and bloody. "You'll get yours soon, freak!" one of the boys shouted. Shortly after, another boy limped out of the alley, smiling triumphantly. "Yeah!" Saiyora shouted. "You better run!" He leaned against the wall, panting. Two black, cat-like ears protruded from his head, and a long tail swished back and forth. He sighed and sat down. I've gotta get stronger. He thought. These jerks get tougher every day... "Lex, look!" Ice cried, pointing past Eva to the alley opposite them. A young man was sitting on the ground, badly injured. Ice ran towards him. Is he a human? She thought to herself. "Woah, what happened?" Lex shouted, following Ice. Eva ducked behind the wall, in case whoever attacked the boy was still there. After about a minute she decided it was safe, and walked over to him.What if whoever attacked him reports him? Crap, this place'll be swarming with police... Sai looked up at the people who were running towards him. They were asking if he was alright. Sai slowly stood up and said, "Don't worry. I fight these guys all the time." He laughed slightly as he said it. Then he slowly started to walk away, supporting himself on the wall. "You guys should go. The cops will be here soon." Suddenly, Sai fell over and passed out. "We should help him." Lex said. "I don't care how many cops there are, I'm taking him somewhere safe." Ice nodded, and suddenly noticed the ears. "He's a neko?" She cried, startled. "I didn't know they were still around." As Lex picked Sai up, the sirens of several police cruisers filled the air. "Dammit!" Lex shouted. "Let's get out of here!" "Follow me!" Eva ordered, fighting the urge to run. I can't just leave them. They followed Eva down the alley. She watched the main street constantly for cruisers. They couldn't get much higher that five feet off the ground, so unless the police were using carriers as well, there was no threat of an ariel assault. No cruisers... Eva thought. She stepped onto the street, and glanced back at Lex and Ice. Lex seemed to be having trouble holding the boy. "Sorry," Lex said. "I got so used to slowing down for you guys I forgot I had extra weight." Lex started moving faster. "There we go." He said. "Too heavy?" Ice teased. They moved forwards, among the people hurrying home from there daily business. "Tell me if I'm going to fast." Eva said. "I'll be fine." Lex responded. "Ice pointed ahead. "Is that the forest?" She asked. "Yes!" Eva cried happily. Suddenly several police cruisers came up next to them. "Stop right there!" An officer said. "Crap!" Lex shouted. "Run!" Eva cried. They all ran. The cruisers followed, shooting at them. Ice suddenly tripped and fell. "Eva, take the kid!" Lex called, putting Sai on the ground. Then he ran back and pulled Ice out of the way of a point plank gunshot. They continued to follow Eva, who was now weighed down by Sai, into the forest. "Damn." One of the police officers swore. Sai groaned as he regained consciousness. Lex was carrying him again. "What happened?" Sai asked. "Why are you carrying me?" "Take three guesses." Ice said. She noticed how happy Eva had become. She must be connected to the forest. Is this her home? Ice wondered. She shrugged at the thought and checked to make sure her ears were still hidden. "Can you walk yet?" Lex asked Sai. "No." Sai replied sarcastically. "I've been silently praying you'd put me down so I can embarrass myself." Lex put the neko down. "Who are you guys, anyway?" Sai asked.