HOME | DD

Description
Cover | Previous <--> Next (coming soon!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I groggily wake up to a dull throbbing in my arm. I groan as I roll to my back, only to have my arm throb more. I hear the soft sound of music and voices I don’t recognize. I furrow my brows as I slowly sit up and see Avi sitting at my computer, her ear almost plastered to the speaker. She notices me and shoots up. “I-I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind, your computer was signed in and I just wanted to watch my church’s livestream and see if there was any sort of update on Jared,” she stammers. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

           “No, you’re fine,” I answer as I walk over to the computer, “my arm woke me up anyway. You can turn it up if you want.” Avi turns it up a bit and I focus on the stream displayed on the screen. A stage is displayed with a screen behind it displaying the lyrics of the song with a small band across the stage. A shorter woman with a mic walks back and forth across the stage as the music plays. “Who’s that?” I ask.

           “That’s Mrs. Tammy,” Avi says. “She’s Amber’s mom and the pastor’s wife. She leads worship on Sundays.” I watch her eyes scan the screen as she says, “Jared normally plays electric guitar, and he’s really good, but he’s not up there. Amber is,” she points to a taller girl with medium length blonde hair, “which gives me some hope. I’m hoping when Pastor Dave comes up to preach, he’ll give some sort of update.” I watch the screen as the band continues to play some sort of song that talks about being with you and coming and going or whatever. I notice Avi humming along to the song, tears rimming her eyes.

           “You’re really into this, aren’t you?” I ask gently.

           Avi nods, “The bridge of this song in particular is something I really held onto while Nathan had me. It was all I had.” My face softens as I watch her go back to humming the song. After a little while, the guitarist puts the guitar down and walks up to the pulpit. Avi sits up. “That’s Pastor Dave,” she says.

           “It’s a great day to be in the Lord’s house, isn’t it?” Pastor Dave says. The congregation claps as he continues, “As many of you know, it’s been a tough couple of weeks for our family; my personal family as well as the church family. Tammy posted on the church’s private page asking for prayers for Jared and Aviana. Jared of course is Amber’s fiancé and Aviana has been a faithful servant to this church to help in any way we have needed her.

           “We have been hesitant to share anything due to the delicate nature of the situation, but we have been given permission to share these requests. Many of you already know that two weeks ago, Aviana was kidnapped and Jared was shot in trying to protect her and Amber. Jared’s wound was…was severe.” I notice Avi tense and her face turn pale. I put a hand on her rigid shoulder as Pastor Dave continues, “He endured multiple surgeries to fix the damage and was placed in a medically induced coma for some time. The doctors were very uncertain of his prognosis. But God wasn’t ready to end this story there.” A smile forms on the pastor’s face and Avi leans forward in her seat. “Friday evening, Amber called us from the hospital when she went to visit Jared and told us that he had woken up. By the next morning, they had taken the tube out of his throat and he was groggy, but coherently talking to us. The doctors were amazed at how quickly he has recovered and they’re hopeful that he can come home this week.” The congregation begins to clap and cheer.

           “He’s alive,” Avi whispers. “Oh, thank God he’s alive.” She looks down at me and says, “I dated his brother, he’s my best friend’s fiancé, I care about him and for sure care about Amber. I’m so relieved he’s okay.”

           “I know you are,” I say squeezing her shoulder.

           “Unfortunately, this update isn’t all happy,” Pastor Dave continues. “Aviana is still missing. Police haven’t been able to find any sign of her kidnapper; all we have to go by is Amber and Jared’s description of a person who has seemingly vanished into thin air. As I said, Aviana has served our church faithfully, her parents as well. They are desperate, they’re hurting. My family personally is hurting, my girls were both very close to her and uh…” He steps away from the pulpit and looks away a moment before turning back towards the congregation and saying with emotion in his voice, “We just need your continued prayers for a safe return for her. As a father who couldn’t imagine what it’s like to have a child missing, I of course want justice. But more than that, I just want her home safe. In fact, let’s pray now.” He begins to pray and I notice Avi wipe away tears from her face.

           “I just wish I could tell them I’m safe,” Avi says. “I know Nathan is still out there, but I am safe, I am with someone who wants to try and get me home and I’m not being hurt anymore.”

           “You know you can’t, right?” I say with a concerned tone. “I don’t think either of us truly know what Nathan is capable of and we don’t need to give him any reason to go after your family.”

           “I know,” Avi says with a sniffle. “I couldn’t live with myself if Nathan did something to one of them. He already did, and I am having a hard time dealing with your arm.” She glances down at the bandage on my arm before saying, “I just wish I could stop their hurt.”

           “I know you do,” I say as I wrap my arms around her shoulders. “I wish you could too. I’ll get you there as soon as I can.” We sit there for a little while as she leans back against me slightly, listening quietly to the livestream.

           “Chloe! Avi! Breakfast!” I hear Mom call from downstairs.

    I let out a sigh, straightening back up and rubbing Avi’s shoulders. “Do you want me to bring breakfast up here so you can finish watching the livestream?” I ask her. She looks up at me and I wince at how red her eyes are. She nods almost frantically as her eyes return to the screen. I squeeze her shoulder as I head downstairs. I can’t even imagine how much she’s hurting being away from them…and knowing being away from them is hurting them, I think to myself. I walk into the kitchen where Mom is putting food on plates.

    “Good morning to you,” she says as she slides an omelet onto one of the plates. “How’s your arm?”

    “It…hurts,” I answer, looking down as if I’m ashamed to admit I’m in pain.

    “I’m sure it does,” Mom says without looking up from the stove, “Nathan really did a number on you.”

    “Yet again,” I mutter to myself.

    “You might want to take some pain medicine with breakfast so it will have time to kick in before David checks it,” Mom says seemingly not hearing me. She finally looks up at me before furrowing her brow and asking, “Where’s Avi?”

    “Oh uh, I was going to take our food upstairs to her,” I stammer. “She found her church’s livestream and I think it’s really comforting to her to see something from home.”

    “Oh,” Mom says. She pauses for a moment before handing me two plates, “Please just make sure the dishes come down with you after you’re through. And I want Avi to come down so I can get measurements for her suit. And don’t take too long, David does have to go in today and I’d like him to look over your arm before he goes.”

    “Alright, alright,” I say as I grab the plates. I take them upstairs, opening my bedroom door awkwardly with my right elbow and walk over to Avi with her plate. I set the plate next to her on the desk as I plop down on the bed with my food. “How’s the preaching?” I ask.

    “Really good,” Avi says. She doesn’t say anything else as she grabs her plate. She takes a bite before saying, “Thank you for bringing breakfast up to me.” She curls tighter into a ball in the chair, gripping her plate as she continues to eat.

    We both finish eating as the sermon continues. I run the plates downstairs, grabbing some pain pills and swallowing them before heading back upstairs. As I walk into the room, the church’s logo flashes up on the screen before the livestream ends. Avi sits up and reaches her hand out, resting it on the computer monitor as if to bring them back. I hear her whimper as I walk over to her. “Hey, hey, come here,” I say and almost lunges at me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me tight. I ignore the discomfort as I tightly hug her back, careful with my injured arm.

    “I miss them so much,” Avi cries. She shakes against me as she sobs. My heart throbs for her.

    “I know you do, Av,” I say as I run fingers through her hair. I rest my hand on her head. She continues to clutch me as if she let me go, she’d lose me too. “You’ve got me,” I say as my other arm rubs her back. “I’m not going anywhere.” Slowly, Avi’s sobs calm to hiccups and sniffles. I stand with her a little longer before I finally take my hand and pull her chin up to face me. “You know I’m here for you, right?” I ask. Avi nods without hesitation and gives me a quick squeeze before returning her head to my chest. I let out a sigh, “Mom wants to get your measurements for your suit and David needs to check my arm before he goes to work. Ready to head downstairs?” Avi lets out a sigh and nods, pulling away to wipe her face. “Here,” I say as I hand her a tissue.

    “Thanks,” Avi says as she uses it to finish wiping her breakdown off her face. She pauses before saying, “And by the way, I have your back too.”

    I smile. “I know you do,” I answer as Avi tosses the tissue and we make our way downstairs. As I reach the bottom of the stairs, David sets his work bag down by the door.

    “There you are,” he says. “Let’s take a look at that arm before I head out.” He walks into the kitchen and I groan. Avi nudges me and turn to see a sharp look from her and I slowly walk into the kitchen. I walk around to the bar stool as David says, “Let’s see how things are looking.” He cuts the bandage off and pulls it away from the stitches. I wince and dig my fingernails into the counter to keep myself from crying out. I feel someone take my hand and I don’t have to turn to see that it’s Avi. I squeeze her hand tightly as David removes the rest of the bandage. He looks over it, gently poking and prodding it. I groan, feeling myself tense to the point I am barely breathing from the pain.

    “Breathe,” Avi whispers to me. She looks over at David and asks, “How’s it looking?”

    His face is stoic as he finally steps away and looks at Avi, “I think it looks okay but it’s hard to tell if the redness is from torturing it last night or if there is any sign of infection. I’m going to clean it around it really good and put some more cream on it and see how that does.” He starts to clean around it and I gasp at the pain, doing everything in my power not to fight. Avi wraps her arms around me as she did while I was being sutured. I lean my head back against her shoulder as tears roll down my face. Avi notices them and squeezes me just a little tighter. David finishes and puts a new bandage over it. “Why don’t you take another of the Lortab? Sleeping is going to be the best thing for you and your arm,” David says as he hands me a pill. I gratefully take it and he hands me a cup of water to chase it down with.

    “Avi!” I hear my mom call from the garage. “I need you to come and let me measure you so I can start sewing!”

    “I’ll be there in a minute!” Avi calls back. She looks up at David, “Is she ready to go?”

    David nods, “I’d like to check it again tonight to see if there’s any change but for now she should go lay down. I’m headed off to work, have Joyce call if you need anything.” He starts to walk away and steps back, “And Chloe, I’ll be looking to see if I can find a fuel filter for your truck. I’ll get it fixed up for you.”

    I give him a genuine smile, “Thank you David.” He walks out the door as I lean back against Avi, “I’m tired.” I let out a sigh.

    Avi chuckles and looks down at me, “You want your bed or the couch?”

    “Couch is fine,” I say. “I’d rather be down here with you if Mom needs you to sew your suit.” Avi nods as she lets me lean on her to stand up, the movement causing my arm to ache. She walks with me over to the couch and I slowly lower myself and lay down on the couch.

    “You need anything before I go find your mom?” Avi asks. I shake my head no as she walks away. Between the pill I took and the pain, it doesn’t take me long to doze off.

    I slowly return to consciousness as I feel someone’s fingers in my hair. I blink my eyes open and look up and notice my head is on Avi’s lap. “When’d you get here?” I ask groggily.

    “Your mom had me come check on you after we got the bulk of the suit ready to be sewn,” Avi says. “You heard my voice and you told me to come sit down on the couch with you. I said I would sit on the floor so you could lay down on the couch and sleep and you refused and told me that my lap could just be your pillow.”

    I blink at her for a few moments before shaking my head, “I have no memory of this.”

    Avi chuckles, “I’m not entirely sure you were actually awake.” I laugh for a moment as I return my head to her lap. Avi rests her hand on my head as she asks, “How’s your arm?”

    “It actually feels a little better now,” I say honestly. I glance outside at the vibrant colors of the sunset and look up at Avi, “Did I literally sleep all day?!”

    Avi nods with a chuckle, “You needed it though. Rest is a good thing.”

    “Avi!” Mom calls from the garage. “I think it’s ready!”

    “I wanna see it!” I mumble in my still groggy state. “Go try it on and come out here!”

    “Okay, okay,” Avi chuckles as she leans me into a sitting position and runs into the garage. She’s gone for a moment before she and my mom return. Avi wears a black shirt and shorts that look like they’re made from yoga pants material.

    “David said this material should be stretchy enough to hopefully withstand her shifting,” Mom says. “I figured we could try making some with different length pants and sleeves or even different colors or whatever but we’d start here to see if it works.”

    “I like it,” I say with a smile.

    “It’s really comfortable too!” Avi says as she walks a few steps in it.

    “Well, test it out,” I say. Avi looks at me confused. “Shift and see if it holds up.”

    “I’m not sure I know how to ‘on demand’,” Avi says. “I only did it when I had to protect you.”

    “Just try it,” I say. Avi looks at me and nods. She closes her eyes for a moment as if to channel something before she quickly becomes covered in fur and drops to four paws. Within 5 seconds she becomes a saber and I hear Mom’s gasp from the other side of the room. Avi’s eyes, still the same color as her human version, look up at me as she smiles despite her saber teeth.

    “I did it,” she says as she looks herself over.

    “She can talk as a cat too?” Mom says shocked as she slowly walks back over.

    I nod, “Yeah, she gave Nathan an earful last night. She can still roar and growl of course but she can still talk like normal.” I take a moment and look her over. Her light fur is littered with clusters of spots on her cheeks, paws, shoulders, side, hips, and her short tail. A darker line runs from her forehead down to her tail and her dark brown mane matches her human hair color and runs from the top of her head to her shoulders. She reaches my hips in height at her shoulder. I finally reach down and touch her, her coat soft and smooth.

    “Are you petting me?” Avi asks with a look.

    “Maybe?” I say almost nervous. “No one has ever seen a saber before and I kinda wanted to know what your fur felt like.” Avi shakes her head as she leans into the touch. I can’t believe this is happening, I think as I sit in awe at the whole situation.

    “Now here’s the real test,” Mom says, “will your clothes be in tact when you shift back?”

    “Let’s see,” Avi says. She stands up and closes her eyes again and within five seconds is standing upright, fur disappeared, and normal hair returning its length. And most importantly of all, her clothes are intact.

    “You did it, Mom!” I shout as I run up and hug Mom. I look over at Avi and hug her too. I grab her arms as I look at her and say, “We’re going to do it, we’ll actually be able to get you home!”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bit of a plot filler chapter but I really like how it came out! Hope you guys like it too!

This piece was done by

Description
Cover | Previous <--> Next (coming soon!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I groggily wake up to a dull throbbing in my arm. I groan as I roll to my back, only to have my arm throb more. I hear the soft sound of music and voices I don’t recognize. I furrow my brows as I slowly sit up and see Avi sitting at my computer, her ear almost plastered to the speaker. She notices me and shoots up. “I-I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind, your computer was signed in and I just wanted to watch my church’s livestream and see if there was any sort of update on Jared,” she stammers. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

           “No, you’re fine,” I answer as I walk over to the computer, “my arm woke me up anyway. You can turn it up if you want.” Avi turns it up a bit and I focus on the stream displayed on the screen. A stage is displayed with a screen behind it displaying the lyrics of the song with a small band across the stage. A shorter woman with a mic walks back and forth across the stage as the music plays. “Who’s that?” I ask.

           “That’s Mrs. Tammy,” Avi says. “She’s Amber’s mom and the pastor’s wife. She leads worship on Sundays.” I watch her eyes scan the screen as she says, “Jared normally plays electric guitar, and he’s really good, but he’s not up there. Amber is,” she points to a taller girl with medium length blonde hair, “which gives me some hope. I’m hoping when Pastor Dave comes up to preach, he’ll give some sort of update.” I watch the screen as the band continues to play some sort of song that talks about being with you and coming and going or whatever. I notice Avi humming along to the song, tears rimming her eyes.

           “You’re really into this, aren’t you?” I ask gently.

           Avi nods, “The bridge of this song in particular is something I really held onto while Nathan had me. It was all I had.” My face softens as I watch her go back to humming the song. After a little while, the guitarist puts the guitar down and walks up to the pulpit. Avi sits up. “That’s Pastor Dave,” she says.

           “It’s a great day to be in the Lord’s house, isn’t it?” Pastor Dave says. The congregation claps as he continues, “As many of you know, it’s been a tough couple of weeks for our family; my personal family as well as the church family. Tammy posted on the church’s private page asking for prayers for Jared and Aviana. Jared of course is Amber’s fiancé and Aviana has been a faithful servant to this church to help in any way we have needed her.

           “We have been hesitant to share anything due to the delicate nature of the situation, but we have been given permission to share these requests. Many of you already know that two weeks ago, Aviana was kidnapped and Jared was shot in trying to protect her and Amber. Jared’s wound was…was severe.” I notice Avi tense and her face turn pale. I put a hand on her rigid shoulder as Pastor Dave continues, “He endured multiple surgeries to fix the damage and was placed in a medically induced coma for some time. The doctors were very uncertain of his prognosis. But God wasn’t ready to end this story there.” A smile forms on the pastor’s face and Avi leans forward in her seat. “Friday evening, Amber called us from the hospital when she went to visit Jared and told us that he had woken up. By the next morning, they had taken the tube out of his throat and he was groggy, but coherently talking to us. The doctors were amazed at how quickly he has recovered and they’re hopeful that he can come home this week.” The congregation begins to clap and cheer.

           “He’s alive,” Avi whispers. “Oh, thank God he’s alive.” She looks down at me and says, “I dated his brother, he’s my best friend’s fiancé, I care about him and for sure care about Amber. I’m so relieved he’s okay.”

           “I know you are,” I say squeezing her shoulder.

           “Unfortunately, this update isn’t all happy,” Pastor Dave continues. “Aviana is still missing. Police haven’t been able to find any sign of her kidnapper; all we have to go by is Amber and Jared’s description of a person who has seemingly vanished into thin air. As I said, Aviana has served our church faithfully, her parents as well. They are desperate, they’re hurting. My family personally is hurting, my girls were both very close to her and uh…” He steps away from the pulpit and looks away a moment before turning back towards the congregation and saying with emotion in his voice, “We just need your continued prayers for a safe return for her. As a father who couldn’t imagine what it’s like to have a child missing, I of course want justice. But more than that, I just want her home safe. In fact, let’s pray now.” He begins to pray and I notice Avi wipe away tears from her face.

           “I just wish I could tell them I’m safe,” Avi says. “I know Nathan is still out there, but I am safe, I am with someone who wants to try and get me home and I’m not being hurt anymore.”

           “You know you can’t, right?” I say with a concerned tone. “I don’t think either of us truly know what Nathan is capable of and we don’t need to give him any reason to go after your family.”

           “I know,” Avi says with a sniffle. “I couldn’t live with myself if Nathan did something to one of them. He already did, and I am having a hard time dealing with your arm.” She glances down at the bandage on my arm before saying, “I just wish I could stop their hurt.”

           “I know you do,” I say as I wrap my arms around her shoulders. “I wish you could too. I’ll get you there as soon as I can.” We sit there for a little while as she leans back against me slightly, listening quietly to the livestream.

           “Chloe! Avi! Breakfast!” I hear Mom call from downstairs.

    I let out a sigh, straightening back up and rubbing Avi’s shoulders. “Do you want me to bring breakfast up here so you can finish watching the livestream?” I ask her. She looks up at me and I wince at how red her eyes are. She nods almost frantically as her eyes return to the screen. I squeeze her shoulder as I head downstairs. I can’t even imagine how much she’s hurting being away from them…and knowing being away from them is hurting them, I think to myself. I walk into the kitchen where Mom is putting food on plates.

    “Good morning to you,” she says as she slides an omelet onto one of the plates. “How’s your arm?”

    “It…hurts,” I answer, looking down as if I’m ashamed to admit I’m in pain.

    “I’m sure it does,” Mom says without looking up from the stove, “Nathan really did a number on you.”

    “Yet again,” I mutter to myself.

    “You might want to take some pain medicine with breakfast so it will have time to kick in before David checks it,” Mom says seemingly not hearing me. She finally looks up at me before furrowing her brow and asking, “Where’s Avi?”

    “Oh uh, I was going to take our food upstairs to her,” I stammer. “She found her church’s livestream and I think it’s really comforting to her to see something from home.”

    “Oh,” Mom says. She pauses for a moment before handing me two plates, “Please just make sure the dishes come down with you after you’re through. And I want Avi to come down so I can get measurements for her suit. And don’t take too long, David does have to go in today and I’d like him to look over your arm before he goes.”

    “Alright, alright,” I say as I grab the plates. I take them upstairs, opening my bedroom door awkwardly with my right elbow and walk over to Avi with her plate. I set the plate next to her on the desk as I plop down on the bed with my food. “How’s the preaching?” I ask.

    “Really good,” Avi says. She doesn’t say anything else as she grabs her plate. She takes a bite before saying, “Thank you for bringing breakfast up to me.” She curls tighter into a ball in the chair, gripping her plate as she continues to eat.

    We both finish eating as the sermon continues. I run the plates downstairs, grabbing some pain pills and swallowing them before heading back upstairs. As I walk into the room, the church’s logo flashes up on the screen before the livestream ends. Avi sits up and reaches her hand out, resting it on the computer monitor as if to bring them back. I hear her whimper as I walk over to her. “Hey, hey, come here,” I say and almost lunges at me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me tight. I ignore the discomfort as I tightly hug her back, careful with my injured arm.

    “I miss them so much,” Avi cries. She shakes against me as she sobs. My heart throbs for her.

    “I know you do, Av,” I say as I run fingers through her hair. I rest my hand on her head. She continues to clutch me as if she let me go, she’d lose me too. “You’ve got me,” I say as my other arm rubs her back. “I’m not going anywhere.” Slowly, Avi’s sobs calm to hiccups and sniffles. I stand with her a little longer before I finally take my hand and pull her chin up to face me. “You know I’m here for you, right?” I ask. Avi nods without hesitation and gives me a quick squeeze before returning her head to my chest. I let out a sigh, “Mom wants to get your measurements for your suit and David needs to check my arm before he goes to work. Ready to head downstairs?” Avi lets out a sigh and nods, pulling away to wipe her face. “Here,” I say as I hand her a tissue.

    “Thanks,” Avi says as she uses it to finish wiping her breakdown off her face. She pauses before saying, “And by the way, I have your back too.”

    I smile. “I know you do,” I answer as Avi tosses the tissue and we make our way downstairs. As I reach the bottom of the stairs, David sets his work bag down by the door.

    “There you are,” he says. “Let’s take a look at that arm before I head out.” He walks into the kitchen and I groan. Avi nudges me and turn to see a sharp look from her and I slowly walk into the kitchen. I walk around to the bar stool as David says, “Let’s see how things are looking.” He cuts the bandage off and pulls it away from the stitches. I wince and dig my fingernails into the counter to keep myself from crying out. I feel someone take my hand and I don’t have to turn to see that it’s Avi. I squeeze her hand tightly as David removes the rest of the bandage. He looks over it, gently poking and prodding it. I groan, feeling myself tense to the point I am barely breathing from the pain.

    “Breathe,” Avi whispers to me. She looks over at David and asks, “How’s it looking?”

    His face is stoic as he finally steps away and looks at Avi, “I think it looks okay but it’s hard to tell if the redness is from torturing it last night or if there is any sign of infection. I’m going to clean it around it really good and put some more cream on it and see how that does.” He starts to clean around it and I gasp at the pain, doing everything in my power not to fight. Avi wraps her arms around me as she did while I was being sutured. I lean my head back against her shoulder as tears roll down my face. Avi notices them and squeezes me just a little tighter. David finishes and puts a new bandage over it. “Why don’t you take another of the Lortab? Sleeping is going to be the best thing for you and your arm,” David says as he hands me a pill. I gratefully take it and he hands me a cup of water to chase it down with.

    “Avi!” I hear my mom call from the garage. “I need you to come and let me measure you so I can start sewing!”

    “I’ll be there in a minute!” Avi calls back. She looks up at David, “Is she ready to go?”

    David nods, “I’d like to check it again tonight to see if there’s any change but for now she should go lay down. I’m headed off to work, have Joyce call if you need anything.” He starts to walk away and steps back, “And Chloe, I’ll be looking to see if I can find a fuel filter for your truck. I’ll get it fixed up for you.”

    I give him a genuine smile, “Thank you David.” He walks out the door as I lean back against Avi, “I’m tired.” I let out a sigh.

    Avi chuckles and looks down at me, “You want your bed or the couch?”

    “Couch is fine,” I say. “I’d rather be down here with you if Mom needs you to sew your suit.” Avi nods as she lets me lean on her to stand up, the movement causing my arm to ache. She walks with me over to the couch and I slowly lower myself and lay down on the couch.

    “You need anything before I go find your mom?” Avi asks. I shake my head no as she walks away. Between the pill I took and the pain, it doesn’t take me long to doze off.

    I slowly return to consciousness as I feel someone’s fingers in my hair. I blink my eyes open and look up and notice my head is on Avi’s lap. “When’d you get here?” I ask groggily.

    “Your mom had me come check on you after we got the bulk of the suit ready to be sewn,” Avi says. “You heard my voice and you told me to come sit down on the couch with you. I said I would sit on the floor so you could lay down on the couch and sleep and you refused and told me that my lap could just be your pillow.”

    I blink at her for a few moments before shaking my head, “I have no memory of this.”

    Avi chuckles, “I’m not entirely sure you were actually awake.” I laugh for a moment as I return my head to her lap. Avi rests her hand on my head as she asks, “How’s your arm?”

    “It actually feels a little better now,” I say honestly. I glance outside at the vibrant colors of the sunset and look up at Avi, “Did I literally sleep all day?!”

    Avi nods with a chuckle, “You needed it though. Rest is a good thing.”

    “Avi!” Mom calls from the garage. “I think it’s ready!”

    “I wanna see it!” I mumble in my still groggy state. “Go try it on and come out here!”

    “Okay, okay,” Avi chuckles as she leans me into a sitting position and runs into the garage. She’s gone for a moment before she and my mom return. Avi wears a black shirt and shorts that look like they’re made from yoga pants material.

    “David said this material should be stretchy enough to hopefully withstand her shifting,” Mom says. “I figured we could try making some with different length pants and sleeves or even different colors or whatever but we’d start here to see if it works.”

    “I like it,” I say with a smile.

    “It’s really comfortable too!” Avi says as she walks a few steps in it.

    “Well, test it out,” I say. Avi looks at me confused. “Shift and see if it holds up.”

    “I’m not sure I know how to ‘on demand’,” Avi says. “I only did it when I had to protect you.”

    “Just try it,” I say. Avi looks at me and nods. She closes her eyes for a moment as if to channel something before she quickly becomes covered in fur and drops to four paws. Within 5 seconds she becomes a saber and I hear Mom’s gasp from the other side of the room. Avi’s eyes, still the same color as her human version, look up at me as she smiles despite her saber teeth.

    “I did it,” she says as she looks herself over.

    “She can talk as a cat too?” Mom says shocked as she slowly walks back over.

    I nod, “Yeah, she gave Nathan an earful last night. She can still roar and growl of course but she can still talk like normal.” I take a moment and look her over. Her light fur is littered with clusters of spots on her cheeks, paws, shoulders, side, hips, and her short tail. A darker line runs from her forehead down to her tail and her dark brown mane matches her human hair color and runs from the top of her head to her shoulders. She reaches my hips in height at her shoulder. I finally reach down and touch her, her coat soft and smooth.

    “Are you petting me?” Avi asks with a look.

    “Maybe?” I say almost nervous. “No one has ever seen a saber before and I kinda wanted to know what your fur felt like.” Avi shakes her head as she leans into the touch. I can’t believe this is happening, I think as I sit in awe at the whole situation.

    “Now here’s the real test,” Mom says, “will your clothes be in tact when you shift back?”

    “Let’s see,” Avi says. She stands up and closes her eyes again and within five seconds is standing upright, fur disappeared, and normal hair returning its length. And most importantly of all, her clothes are intact.

    “You did it, Mom!” I shout as I run up and hug Mom. I look over at Avi and hug her too. I grab her arms as I look at her and say, “We’re going to do it, we’ll actually be able to get you home!”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bit of a plot filler chapter but I really like how it came out! Hope you guys like it too!

This piece was done by