Luckily it was a people-friendly house cat, obviously well-fed and not all that skittish. As the cat came close, it twined around his legs and then peered up at him with inquisitive golden eyes. Then it meowed loudly before plopping itself at his feet Buddhalike and purring.
Glancing around, Adam realized there was no one nearby.
Perfect.
Bending, he laid his hands on the cat and stroked her. Her purrs grew louder as she continued to gaze up at him with her intense slant-eyed gaze. The vibrations registered against his fingers. Her heartbeat, slow at first, sped up as she sensed the connection between them and grew afraid. He continued his soft caress, trying to calm her as he slowly pulled her feline energy into him.
Within him warmth pooled at his core, and the weight of the power expanded with the addition of the cat’s energy. As the transfer of her life force proceeded, the deep sable color of her fur spread onto his hands, and the cat blinked at him once, twice, before closing her eyes and slumping to the brick walk in the alley.
Gently he scooped her up and laid her in a tiny niche where she would be safe from passersby, givingone last peaceful stroke along her body before he severed the connection with her so that she could rest and recuperate.
Using the life force he had gathered, he focused on it and concentrated its unique signature. He forced the feline potency along his nerve endings, which tingled as the transformation took hold. His muscles tightened and shortened and his bones compacted, became denser, in preparation for the change. Intense heat developed in his center and it grew heavier as his body mass pulled inward to shrink the size of his body to that of the cat.
Worried the change was taking too long and he might be discovered, he blasted out the remaining feline energy all across his being and into the immediate space around him.
In the blink of an eye, the intense wave of power finally altered him, and Adam took the form of a black cat.
Slinking out of the alley in his sleek new body, he padded toward the sidewalk in front of the homes. He sat there, gazing up and down the street. He had shapeshifted before, but experiencing the world from a new perspective never ceased to amaze him. The cement of the sidewalk was rough beneath the pads of his paws. As a car drove by along the street, the whir of the tires was loud and vibrated the hairs close to the entrance of his ears.
His transformed body reacted instinctively, jumping away from the noise as the cat’s innate responses overwhelmed his sentient ones. He shook his head as a fly buzzed close by and the tags dragging from the collar around his neck jangled with the motion.
So different, he thought. It was the first time he had gone out in public in a nonhuman form. Normally he keptto the confines of his own quiet yard as he tested that aspect of his powers.
Increasing his pace, he hurried to the curb, but as a car came around the corner, he once again jerked back from the street. He slinked between two parked cars and waited, then dashed across when he was sure he would not become roadkill.
He padded straight ahead until he was sitting by the front door of Bobbie’s condominium building. He contemplated waiting there, but that could take quite a bit of time, unless the cat’s owner was only out for a short walk. A rustle in the nearby mounds of flowers hinted that he might find a field mouse and risk another change, but then the sound of a car door closing snagged his attention.
A bottle-green Sebring convertible with a handicapped tag hanging from the rearview mirror had slipped into a spot near the condo. As he watched, Bobbie eased from the car and grabbed a few things from the front seat. Then she came down the walk carrying the bags and headed straight for him.
Something inside the cat responded at the sight of her, and Adam hoped that was a good sign. Maybe Bobbie was familiar to the animal, which would make this even easier.
Glancing around, Adam realized there was no one nearby.
Perfect.
Bending, he laid his hands on the cat and stroked her. Her purrs grew louder as she continued to gaze up at him with her intense slant-eyed gaze. The vibrations registered against his fingers. Her heartbeat, slow at first, sped up as she sensed the connection between them and grew afraid. He continued his soft caress, trying to calm her as he slowly pulled her feline energy into him.
Within him warmth pooled at his core, and the weight of the power expanded with the addition of the cat’s energy. As the transfer of her life force proceeded, the deep sable color of her fur spread onto his hands, and the cat blinked at him once, twice, before closing her eyes and slumping to the brick walk in the alley.
Gently he scooped her up and laid her in a tiny niche where she would be safe from passersby, givingone last peaceful stroke along her body before he severed the connection with her so that she could rest and recuperate.
Using the life force he had gathered, he focused on it and concentrated its unique signature. He forced the feline potency along his nerve endings, which tingled as the transformation took hold. His muscles tightened and shortened and his bones compacted, became denser, in preparation for the change. Intense heat developed in his center and it grew heavier as his body mass pulled inward to shrink the size of his body to that of the cat.
Worried the change was taking too long and he might be discovered, he blasted out the remaining feline energy all across his being and into the immediate space around him.
In the blink of an eye, the intense wave of power finally altered him, and Adam took the form of a black cat.
Slinking out of the alley in his sleek new body, he padded toward the sidewalk in front of the homes. He sat there, gazing up and down the street. He had shapeshifted before, but experiencing the world from a new perspective never ceased to amaze him. The cement of the sidewalk was rough beneath the pads of his paws. As a car drove by along the street, the whir of the tires was loud and vibrated the hairs close to the entrance of his ears.
His transformed body reacted instinctively, jumping away from the noise as the cat’s innate responses overwhelmed his sentient ones. He shook his head as a fly buzzed close by and the tags dragging from the collar around his neck jangled with the motion.
So different, he thought. It was the first time he had gone out in public in a nonhuman form. Normally he keptto the confines of his own quiet yard as he tested that aspect of his powers.
Increasing his pace, he hurried to the curb, but as a car came around the corner, he once again jerked back from the street. He slinked between two parked cars and waited, then dashed across when he was sure he would not become roadkill.
He padded straight ahead until he was sitting by the front door of Bobbie’s condominium building. He contemplated waiting there, but that could take quite a bit of time, unless the cat’s owner was only out for a short walk. A rustle in the nearby mounds of flowers hinted that he might find a field mouse and risk another change, but then the sound of a car door closing snagged his attention.
A bottle-green Sebring convertible with a handicapped tag hanging from the rearview mirror had slipped into a spot near the condo. As he watched, Bobbie eased from the car and grabbed a few things from the front seat. Then she came down the walk carrying the bags and headed straight for him.
Something inside the cat responded at the sight of her, and Adam hoped that was a good sign. Maybe Bobbie was familiar to the animal, which would make this even easier.
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