The air was cold, but dry and still. Blaise was warm in her blanket on the front porch, watching Zargo slink toward the orchard. She was very comfortable, protected from the chill in the plush, faux-fur fabric, but she couldn't stop staring up at the cloudless sky and thinking about the cat as he darted into the trees. It was still early. She would have the rest of the day to lie in her blanket, and perhaps then more Dreamers would be around, and Zargo would have returned from whatever he was off doing.
The gray girl removed herself from her cocoon and shifted into her Optime form. It was a long, uncomfortable effort, but she needed the practice. And, she wanted to find a place to sit and draw. Blaise picked up her notebook and hugged it to her chest, leapt of the porch and started South. On two legs, her movements were perhaps more awkward for the thin, willowy child than for the average new shifter. At first she was wobbly. But she as she lost focus on her gate and instead paid attention to the fresh, crisp air, she stood straighter and walked smoothly.
As the girl passed the border of her home she found herself surrounded by huge oaks entangled with emerald vines and thorny bushes. Pausing, Blaise's jaw parted slightly and she peered around her in awe, feeling the life of the forest as much as her own heartbeat. After a moment she looked down at the ground and found a large stone with a flat edge, where she sat with her knees close together. Resting her opened notebook on her lap, the girl drew her pencil from its binding and slowly began to feather out the rays of the sun as she saw them falling through the leaves.
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