ANIMA SYMPTOM LOG

DATE: August 27th

NAME: LYALL WILLIAMS

AGE: 20

SEX: Male

HYBRID: Unknown assumed B.O.P.

SYMPTOMS: Golden iris, increased vision perception, corners of eyes have small rust colored feathers. Feathers have since disappeared, vision has improved but iris remains gold in color.

SPECIAL NOTES: Patient was unaware of the condition until today. Has no family record with condition

RECOMMENDATIONS: Patients should have blood testing and samples(if able) of hybrid materials to test for proper species. Recommended to local support group. Depending on results of testing, patients may be chipped for wildlife tracking.

END OF REPORT

*Beep!* *Beep! *Beep!*

I woke up to my alarm screaming and quickly shut it off.

It's Thursday morning, and my classes at Silvermen college start in about 45 minutes. It's a clear and sunny day, and this year has been hot for late August. I grab my bag and laptop and head out towards the college. It's only about a fifteen-minute ride, but I like to get there a bit early and talk with my friend Kole.

Many people in my family tell me I need to keep my distance from Kole as he is a deer hybrid. By that, I mean he is an average human. But he also happens to have the ears and tail of a whitetail deer. He has this new condition that first appeared around 5 years ago that everyone calls Anima. A few people started changing and getting features of different animals out of nowhere. Kole started about a year ago when he woke up with a sore spine, and over the day, he grew a small white tail. His doctor had tests and photos sent to a research lab, where he was identified as a White Tail deer hybrid. Nothing really can be done about it, and no one really knows why it happens. It just seems to happen one day to a few people. Like some in my family, some people seem to think it's contagious and that being around someone with the condition can pass it on to you like the flu. But so far, all research seems to point away from this. It is believed that the cause isn't passing but possibly something environmental. Research is ongoing, and they seem to make new discoveries almost weekly.

Since middle school, I've hung out with Kole, and neither of us were really close to any hybrids. But sure enough, Kole was one of the unlucky. I only say that because research has shown there is no way known to entirely stop changes, let alone revert them. Once your changes begin, you eventually will "lose yourself ."It's not known if any of you remains once you fully change. Some people hold onto the hope that their loved one is still in the animal's mind and that someday a way to revert the changes will come around. I personally think that it is just people unable to cope that their loved one is gone. 

While on my way to class, I passed a couple walking down the street. The man was a youngish twenty-something, and his, what I'm assuming, significant other was walking alongside him. They were holding hands, or well if you can call it that. The female was very clearly a bear hybrid and pretty far along. She was almost entirely covered in black fur except for her face, which was that of a mid-twenties Caucasian lady. She wore no pants, but that did not matter as her legs didn't look human at all. She had shorter legs met with clawed feet. Her gait was much shorter than the man beside her. She had an almost stumble or waddle as she walked. Her hands were still human-like, but she had claws on the tips of her fingers. Her arms and hands still had black fur covering them.

I turned and looked back to see her back as I passed by. You would almost think it was a black bear standing on its hind legs from behind. As I looked, I thought to myself, "how long had she been like that?" But she seemed happy even in the face of such an unfortunate circumstance. 

I kept riding only a few hundred yards from the college now. I pulled up and locked my bike to a lamp post just outside the front doors. I made my way in, the hot August sun was beating down heavily, and the humidity was relatively high, especially for the morning. I saw Kole and made my way towards him as I walked in.

"Kole!"

I saw Kole's ears lift. And turned towards me, and his head followed shortly after. Kole was an engineering major, and I am currently majoring in computer sciences. Although we did have primarily different classes, we still shared general education classes. 

"Hey Lyall," Kole responded, "Here a bit early, no? Usually, I don't see you until after your first class."

"I decided to get here a bit early today. You know, maybe it's living life last minute like usual," I joked back. But in reality, I just rushed my way out of the house.

We spoke for a bit about Kole's family and how awkward it would be at his mother's family reunion next weekend. His parents were fully supportive of Kole continuing his goals of becoming an engineer even with his diagnosis of Anima. Most people who find themselves affected kind of quit their current jobs or responsibilities as it's almost like being told you only have so many years to live. Some people entirely change quickly, and some of the first people affected are still just mild. It affects everyone in vastly different ways. Kole has been changing for close to a year now, and so far, only 2 noticeable changes, which is pretty usual. He can control himself well enough that you would never be able to tell had he not had ears that moved. 

We made our way to our classes. Kole had some research study class about architectural failures, and I had my class on computer networking. Our next class is a shared algebra, one of the few we are in together.

As I sat down in my usual place in the second row, I reached into my bag to grab my contact solution. It felt like something caught in my eye was in between my eye and the contact. I found my contacts case and removed the problematic contact. As I was washing it with the bottle of saline I kept in my bag, my other eye contact began bothering me. Once I finished rinsing it, I put it back in and started cleaning my other contact. Even having cleaned both, my eyes were still irritated. I could not see well, with my eyes watering like they were. I promptly removed both contacts, put them in the case, and began searching my bag for my backup glasses case. Having found the case, I opened it to find that my glasses were nowhere to be found. 

I remember using them when working on my research paper Monday night. I tried the contacts again, but they were still irritating my eyes and frankly making my sight worse than if I just went without. So I did and spent the class half struggling to see what was on the projector screen. This went on for the entirety of the class. Thanks to my closer seat, it was not too much of an issue. After the class was over, I made my way to the student lounge.

The lounge was more of a room in the basement no one used. Inside are a few couches and some of those recliner-style chairs with small flip-out desktops. A row of vending machines hummed away to the left side, keeping their contents cold. No one seemed to use the lounge, as most would leave the building between classes. It made a great place to go if you wanted somewhere quiet to sleep or study. Although the motion-tracked lights were off most of the time. 

I took a seat on one of the recliners and waited for Kole's class to end in about half an hour. While leaning back, I started to nap.

I was walking in the woods behind the college. It was getting dark, which was odd because either I missed my class, or the rain was finally coming. I went to look up at the sky but could not get a clear image of the sky through the thick branches. I kept walking, wondering where the path led. I saw a small bridge running over the creek. I thought about it, and I haven't ever really explored the woods yet. I know many of the students who live in the dorms use them as a walking path between the dorms and the main building. On the bridge, I saw someone staring down into the creek. I couldn't quite see his face as I walked past, but it seemed almost like he was hiding it. I kept walking past when I heard someone say, "Hey!"

I turned around to look at the figure on the bridge. It was standing about 15 feet away, looking directly at me. Something about it just didn't seem right. Suddenly it said, "Lyall! Wake up, dude."

I woke up and I was in the student lounge, and Kole was staring me down.

"You good, dude? You look like you've seen a ghost of something." Kole questioned me. 

"Nah, I'm good just dreamt some weird stuff. What time is it exactly?"

Kole looked at his phone. "About two-thirty, we have 15 minutes till algebra, and I was helping my professor move some things, and I lost track of time."

I started to get up and grab my bag. "It's all good, dude, and I also lost track of time."

We started our way upstairs. I turned to Kole, "Hey dude do you mind if I get a copy of your algebra notes today after class? I left my glasses at home, and my contacts have been bothering me today."

"No problem, my dude! I can send you a photo after class if you want." 

We walked into the classroom. We sat in the last row, a good twenty-five feet away from the projector screen. As we sat down, I could not clearly make out much on the board, and my vision was just barely farsighted enough to read the board. As the class started, I tried my best to take notes based on what the professor said and what little I could make out on the board. I wasn't writing a lot down, and the professor noticed. 

"Mr. Williams, I hope you are getting this as this is foundational to the next 4 classes. Without it, you will struggle." The professor said to me.

"Sorry, Professor, just trying to get situated," I responded.

He kept teaching, and I tried to write more down. I squinted to try and see the board better. It seemed to help a bit, and I just kept trying to concentrate and make out what was being written. Suddenly I could see the board. By see, I mean really see it without any effort. I started jotting notes down, and this is the clearest I've ever seen, even compared to my glasses. Taken aback, I looked around a bit. I looked out the window at the end of our row. 

The window was facing the woods, and I could see every leaf of the trees. I could see every small creature in the woods. It seemed almost like my eyes were attracted to any movement. I could see squirrels running around the ground and birds going branch to branch in the trees. As quickly as I would see one thing, my eyes would become distracted by another.

"Mr. Williams, If I have to remind you to pay attention again, I will have to ask you to leave."

"Sorry, professor! I've been getting my notes down, sir."

"Very well, please keep your eyes….. uh, please keep your eyes up here" He stumbled.

Odd, usually, he is very formal sounding. I kept taking notes, and eventually, we were dismissed. I started gathering my things, and I looked over to Kole. And he was trying to take photos of his notes. 

"Don't worry about sending me a copy. I was able to see the work pretty easily. In fact, I could see very well!" I said to Kole." Wondering if maybe I already had contacts in."

As I said that, I thought about my bike ride to class. I could see clearly then, so how would I see clearly if I had contacts doubled up? I followed Kole down to the student lounge. We didn't really talk on the way there. Once we arrived, Kole went to the middle machine of the 3 vending machines. He put in some coins, and the machine spits out a can of soda. He picked it up and turned to look at me.

"So did you have the wrong contacts in or wha….." Kole stopped.

"I don't know. It's weird because I can see just fine now." I looked up at Kole, and his face was shocked.

"Your….yours eyes are…." 

"My eyes are what?" I responded a bit more worriedly.

Kole pulled out his phone and opened the front-facing camera. He turned it so I could see myself. I looked at the face on the screen, but it wasn't entirely what I expected. I blinked, and the image blinked along. I closed one eye, and it did the same. 

The face was my face, but the whites of my eyes were a golden brown. The pupil was jet black, and the skin on the side of my head around my eyes had brown feathers peeking from it. I reached up with my finger and rubbed the feathers, and they pulled and moved with my finger. But as soon as I moved my finger away, they snapped back into place. 

"No, no, no, no! This can't be happening dude! What should I do? How do I stop it, Kole!" I yelled, looking at him.

"Uh, how long has it been like this? You said your vision got better during class, right?"

"Yeah, about halfway through, it cleared up for me. Is that bad?"

Kole stood there thinking. "Well, that means you've had them for about 40 minutes, and we gotta get you back to normal before it's too late."

"How do you go back? This has to be just a little fluke, and there is no way I'm changing!"

"Relax, Lyall, just close your eyes and think about what your face normally looks like," Kole said soothingly. "Take a deep breath and imagine yourself."

I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and tried to think of how my face looked, what I see every morning in the mirror. I could see my face, and it looked as plain as possible. I kept thinking of putting my contacts in, but then I saw it change. I saw those golden eyes and brown feathers. They were multiplying! My face was surrounded by brown feathers, and my lips began to push out, harden and turn yellow. It pushed out, and the very tip turned black and took on a hooked shape. I started to hyperventilate.

Suddenly I heard Kole say, "STOP! Think of you! Not what you could be! You need to think of the normal you, stop thinking about the changes."

My eyes darted open, and I could see something in the middle of my vision. I reached up my hands to push it away but instead, they landed on a beak sticking from my face. My thumb went under the hooked beak, and without any hesitation, I tried to open my mouth and scream. What happened next was the single more terrifying thing I have ever experienced. I opened my mouth and expected an "AHHH!" But instead, I let out an almost raspy, high-pitched sound somewhere between a yell and squeak. It was certainly not human, and it sounded alien to me. My heart is now racing and feels like it could burst through my chest at any time!

Kole yelled to me, "You need to stop! Stop thinking and look me in the eyes."

I looked at him dead in the eyes. His eyes were normal human eyes. I thought about his eyes and face, and I focused on his plain-looking face. 

"Keep looking at me and think about drinking a nice glass of water. Your smooth lips on the rim of the glass." 

I looked right at him and thought of a nice cool glass of water. The sounds of my breathing sounded similar to the raspy noises I made earlier. But I ignored it and kept thinking. Eventually, the thing I now know was a hooked, sharp beak that started disappearing from my vision. My face went from feeling very warm to feeling much cooler. 

Kole grabbed his phone and started typing. As he did, he looked back up at me. "Now hold that thought."

He pulled up a photo of me from my Instagram profile, and he turned it so I could see it. 

"Now look at this. This is you. Just concentrate on the photo. Nothing else matters right now. Just you and this photo."

I stared at the photo. I saw myself about 3 months ago. The clear skin and blue eyes looked right back at me. I kept thinking that if I looked in a mirror, I would see this.

"Great, you're almost done! Think about your eyes, you white and blue eyes." 

I kept thinking about them. Nothing else was in my mind. "I can't think any harder, Kole."

Kole looked at me with a mix of relief and defeat. "Well, the beak and feathers are gone, bird boy. Gave me quite the scare! Any more, and I think you would have taken flight. Well, good thing you're back to mostly normal."

"Mostly normal?" I thought. Those words echoed in my head. What could he mean by "mostly normal?" I wasn't a hybrid, and I was an everyday human living a normal life. I reached for my pocket and grabbed my phone. I opened up the camera and looked at myself.

I saw myself. My lips were perfectly human, and my nose was typical. The skin around my face was clear of anything. But my eyes, a set of golden brown and black eyes, looked right back at me. I looked up and down. Left and right, and there wasn't a lick of white to be seen. 

"This can't be happening, and this isn't happening," I said, clearly in denial. 

"Lyall, it's real, and it's happening now. You need to just relax a moment, dude. I think you may want to get checked out. Maybe give your mom and call and see about talking to her."

"Kole, I can't go out like this, and I can't look like some frea…." I stopped myself. Kole's ears perked up.

"You can be seen like that? I think you're exaggerating a bit" Kole turned a180. His white deer's tail sticking straight up from the waist of his pants. "Just think, you don't have to worry about sitting on it, Mr. Mile Eyes!" He said jokingly.

I looked at him. "Well, I need to get out of here without anyone seeing my eyes, and I need to find the best way to go about this."

Kole reached into his bag and produced a set of sunglasses. "Maybe these can help you out? I don't need them. Frankly, I can't even wear them with my ears moving." 

I took them in my hands and put them on. The already dim room was now a bit darker. "Well, I guess I should make sure nothing else has changed, right? Do I go to a clinic or something? I really don't know where to start here. This is all too quick."

"Well, I'm no expert, but I know my Doc wants me checked out anytime something changes and does not go back. Some concerns with internal structure and stuff. Now I could be remembering wrong, but I think going from a mammal to a bird might be more extreme, right?" Kole said with a bit of sarcasm.

He's right. What if something in me is changed that could be dangerous? What if I somehow poised myself because my digestive system changed? As if worrying about feathers sprouting out of my face wasn't enough!

"Where should I go? Is there a special doctor or something?" I asked Kole. At this point, he's pretty much the expert between us.

"I can give you my Doc's address. She's really nice and does allow walk-ins, and she's been dealing with changed people for quite some time now."

"Maybe I should wait till tomorrow. I think I need to sleep this off. I can't go from normal to growing a beak and making bird sounds to a doctor in less than 2 hours. Plus, it's getting late, and I can see about going tomorrow." 

"If you say so, my guy. I'm both nervous and excited for you. Nervous about how it's going to go down with your family." Kole said

"And how exactly are you excited?" I asked Kole in a bit of a rhetorical sense.

"Well, maybe now I won't be so alone, changing and all," Kole said more quietly.

Thinking about it, Kole is pretty much alone. He lives at home and, other than me, does not really have anyone else. Come to think of it, what is my mom gonna say? I was always told to keep my distance from hybrids, but now…

Kole wished me luck tomorrow. He started his way through the woods and back to the dorms. I hopped on my bike and began pedaling home. Sunglasses were on even though the sun was starting to set. After riding a bit, I made it to the house. I went in and saw my mom cooking dinner. I tried to sneak up the stairs without her noticing.

"Lyall! When did you get home?" My mom said

"Oh, I got in a bit ago, just finished my classes, and it went over a bit."

"That sounds exciting! Any word on that Kole friend of yours? Also, what's with the sunglasses?"

I was dead. She had to know! Why would I be wearing sunglasses this late?

"He's doing fine. He gave these to me to wear home. Trying to keep bugs and stuff out of my eyes…." I tried to say casually.

"Well, dinner will be ready soon. I'll call for you when it's all finished."

"Do you know how long?" I ask, trying to not seem suspicious.

"Oh, about 20 minutes or so. You hungry?" She asked

"Not too hungry, really. I had a bite at the college."

I went upstairs to my room and locked the door. Looking at the mirror on the door, I took inventory. Everything seemed perfectly normal except for my eyes. The black pupils were much more prominent, and the orange ring was so large that you could not even see the whites of my eyes. I needed to find a way to hide the changes quickly.

I opened my laptop and searched "Colored eye contacts ."I immediately found a site selling eye contacts that changed the look of your eyes. Most seemed to change just the standard colored parts, but I found a set that fully blacks the user's eyes. After a bit more searching, I found what I was looking for. They looked to be made more for stoners than for changing people, but these would make my eyes appear the typical blue and white again. I put in my info and paid for overnighting them to my house. 

"Dinner is ready, Lyall!" My mother called me, and I could not go down there like this! I decided to just pretend I didn't hear her, but I heard my door open a few minutes later. I started to turn towards her but then turned my face to the monitor. 

"Are you hungry? It's getting cold." Mom said.

"I'm not hungry right now. I'll just heat something up later. Thanks, though." I replied back quietly.

"Is everything ok?" She asked

I didn't know what I could say that wouldn't raise suspicion. So I said, "Everything is going good. Just stressed about school" I was not wholly lying to her.

"Ok, but if you need to talk or vent, just let me know," she assured me. She then closed the door and walked down the stairs. I felt like I dodged a massive bullet with that one. 

I decided to just go to bed early. Everything should be easier once that package gets here in the morning. Today has been just too much for one day.

I slowly wake up. I never set my alarm. But I didn't really have any plans for today. I started my way downstairs and out to the front room of the house. It seemed that my mom had already left for work along with my dad. I checked the porch, and there sat a small brown box. I brought it inside and opened it to find the contacts.

Putting them in was quite the fiasco. It was weird, though, once they were in. I'm not sure if it was just bad quality or the fact they were not made with my eyes in mind, but everything was slightly blurry. But looking at my reflection, I looked at least a bit more normal than before. 

Last night Kole sent me a text with his Doc's info. That would be my first stop today, but it was a bit of a distance away looking at the map. I started off on my bike and the total ride time was about 20 minutes. I locked the bike to a nearby pole and walked up to the door.

"DR. LESLIE MICHAEL - PHYSICAL ANIMUS SPECIALIST"

This had to be the right place. I walked in and made my way to the front counter window.

"Do you have an appointment with Dr. Michael today?" The lady at the desk asked.

"Uh, no, I heard she accepts walk-ins?" I stammered

"No problem! She should be able to fit you in.  What species?" She asked

Confused by the question, I asked back, "Species?" 

She seemed a bit confused. "What species are your changes? Equine, bovine, rodent?" 

"Oh… is bird an option?" I asked 

"Avian got it. And what kind of avian?" She asked further.

"I'm not sure exactly. All I know is my eyes are different, and at one point, I had a uh, beak and feathers." 

"Well, your eyes look pretty normal to me. Are there any changes that stuck with you?" She asked, looking me up and down.

I reached up and removed the contacts, revealing my golden-brown eyes.

"Ahh, I see what you mean, honey. I put you down as unknown, and the Doc can see if she can't tell. Go ahead and talk a seat over there, and she will be out for you." She said in a friendly voice.

I started to put the contacts back in, but she quickly stopped me. "No need, honey, no reason to hide anything here."

I sat down and waited. I started looking at the other people in the room. 3 others were sitting around in different sections. One was a lady with a dark-furred outline around her face. Beside her was a mother with a younger teen next to her. She looked normal, but he had a feathered tail hanging behind him. Black feathers with white on top and a little bit of red underneath. 

The lady poked out from behind a door. "Benji?" After the mother and son stood up, I was surprised as the kid stood up. He was wearing only a  sweatshirt and hat. His legs were covered in black feathers down to where his knees would be. Below that were light blue feet. By feet, I mean like a bird's clawed feet of some sort. The claws clicked on the hard tile floor as he walked. His walking had a bit of a rhythmic hop to it. 

About 20 minutes later, they exited, and the voice called out again, "Lyall?" I stood up and walked to the door. 

"You must be Lyall. Penny said she thinks you may be new to all of this." She said to me.

"Yeah, Up until yesterday, everything seemed normal. Then apparently, I now have the eyes of something feathered." I said jokingly.

She laughed a little. "Yeah, your first changes can be a bit surprising. But to let you know, we will do a few things that may seem out of the ordinary compared to your normal doctor's visit. All of this is just standard stuff to document your progress."

We walked up to a room with a sign that read "Imaging room."

"We will start with some photos. I'll need you to strip down once we are here and stand on the square next to the wall. Each visit, we will take the same photos to look for changes you may not have noticed."

"So just strip down to my boxers? I asked

"No, if you can just take everything off, it's only for a moment, and I promise, I'm not seeing anything different than I see every day." She said.

Reluctantly I took everything off. I turned to face her but used my hands to cover myself.

"I will need you to hold your hands out to your sides. In a T shape, if that makes sense," the lady said.

I moved my arms up, revealing myself. I've never really been this embarrassed before. I stood in a room getting naked photos taken by some lady I had just met. After a few turns and poses, we were done. I put everything back on, and she led me to another room. 

"Ok, I'm Dr. Michael, but you can call me Leslie. I'm going to have you start from the beginning for me. What happened yesterday?"

I explained the whole story to her. She asked some questions about family history and who knew about the changes. Afterward, she reached into a drawer and took some papers out of the drawer.

"Ok, Lyall, it appears you may be a hawk of some sort. This is great but also brings some other challenges for us to work on. Hawks, as you know, are birds, and you may remember from high school biology that birds are quite a bit different from humans and mammals. I have some paperwork for you to read over and some resources." She handed me a few packets of info.

"Ok, so what's the good news?" I asked worriedly.

"Good news is you will share features with a fierce bird of prey. Plus, avians have quite a network of support groups compared to other species. There is a local group I think you may want to visit at least once to give it a try."

She handed me a card that read "Avian Associates!" It also had an address and a meeting time.

"I have one of the members as my patient, and he loves the group. It can help as you reach new challenges having others who can truly understand. By the way, are you going to let your mother know anytime soon? It might be best to start rather than her seeing your eyes being the way they are."

I guess I need to talk to her sooner rather than later. She was going to find out at some point. "I'll try and find a way to break the news to her," I replied.

"Don't view this as a curse. It's honestly an experience that is as good as you make it. Be proud of it!" Leslie said excitedly.

She had me fill out a few more forums, and I was on my way. I started my way back to the house.

While I was making my way home, I looked at the card she had given me. 

"Avian Associates," it read. It had an address and meeting times. To be honest, it sounded like a glorified Alcoholics Anonymous thing, and the whole idea just seemed cheesy to me.

Looking over the times, it seemed that tomorrow evening was the next meeting for the group. I guess it's worth a shot, and I can always just decide out of it afterward.

I made it home and made my way to my room. I thought maybe Kole could give some input to this. So I gave him a call.

"Hello?" Answered Kole.

"Hey!" I replied as I made sure my bedroom door was good and shut. "I was wanting to ask you a few questions."

"Shoot," Kole replied

"So I talked to the doctor today, and she recommended me to a support group? Is that like a normal thing?" I asked

"I don't know of any. I think that's more of an exotic change thing. You know, I'm a mammal turning into a mammal. Mammal to bird or reptile is kind of a bigger deal." Kole explained

"What do you mean bigger deal? It's just a change like yours, right?" I asked

"Well, my biggest thing is becoming an herbivore. Other than that, the general idea is the same when it comes to body parts. Birds, though, have different anatomy, right? So the changes you have may differ from those I would have." 

"I get that, but how different can it really be? Feathers instead of fur, beak instead of antlers." I asked questioningly

"Well, you remember high school biology, right? You know reproduction in animals…." He said reluctantly 

"Well, that is different, but if you mean like laying eggs, that is a female thing, and I really don't think that's too much to worry about," I answered.

"Well, just know it's different, and because of that, it can be. Hard thing to wrap your mind around." Kole said, "If you don't know now, you will later."

I could tell Kole was getting uncomfortable, so I figured maybe now was the time to end that bit. We ended up just talking in general about the appointment.

"So taking nude photos of my body is normal?" I asked

"Yeah, I get them whenever I have a change between visits. You get used to it."

I guess I don't get how that helps me any. It's not like I'd love to have an album of me losing my humanity," I said jokingly.

"I think it's just them still trying to find why it happens. I mean, I wish I knew why."

We finished up shortly after. I decided to work on some assignments for class tomorrow.

————-Next day—————

RIIIIIIIIIIIIING

My alarm clock scared the hell out of me as usual. I got up and started getting my stuff for class. I started putting on some shorts and a T-shirt, but when I pulled up my shorts, I felt a pressure where my short's elastic landed on my back. I pulled them a little high, and it went away.

I hopped on my bike and made my way to the college. Upon entering, I noticed Kole was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone to class early. I'll just catch him in between classes.

I walked into my "Basics of programming" class, and I sat down and tried my best to pay attention. Unfortunately, my contacts were just annoying my eyes, something terrible. I'm glad I'm not struggling in this class because I just could not pay attention. 

The class was over. In between classes, I could not find Kole anywhere. Knowing he's probably taking today off, I decided to skip my next class. I was doing well in it, so one day shouldn't hurt. I left the college on my bike and made my way down the street.

I looked down at the card in my hand.

"Avian Associates" it read "1765 Grayson street." on the line below.

The building was actually a house in the middle of the college neighborhood. I walked up to the door and could hear some talking inside. I started to rethink this, should I really be here? Is this all just too cheesy? I quickly knocked before I could rethink it anymore.

The door opened. Out looked a man with feathers covering the majority of his head. Feathers of black, white, and red. As he looked at me, I could see red feathers on the top of his head lifted up, almost looking intrigued.

"Can I help you?" He asked

I didn't know quite what to say to him as I just stood there, mouth agape.

"Wrong address, maybe? Are you sure you're not looking for AKO?" He asked

I just slowly shook my head no.

"Here for the meeting, maybe?" He asked again

I slowly nodded my head up and down.

"Ok then, are you able to speak? Because I'm sorry, but 20 questions isn't my game tonight," He replied jokingly as he stretched out his hand. It was pretty standard looking, other than his arm covered in feathers with a longer one hanging about a foot and a half down from it. The skin of his hand was dark grey and looked utterly wrong on his arm(wing?)

"Names Damien, yours?" The feathered Damien asked

"Lyall….. I'm kind of…."

"New to this? Damien interrupted, "It's cool everyone has to start somewhere. Come on in, and I'll introduce you to the crew."

Not knowing for sure what to do, I just followed him in. Once we were in the house's great room, I saw a few others standing around chatting. In the corner, I saw a red bird talking to what looked like an almost entirely changed crow of some sort. I saw the bird kid from the doctors yesterday sitting on a chair sideways at the bar top. Clearly making room for his tail feathers to hang unobstructed. On the other side of the bartop was one with black feathers. Standing next to them was another person who had dark gray feathers around her face.

"So this is the crew. Say what you want, but it's a pretty fun bunch." Damien said to me.

Everyone was starting to take notice that I was now in the room.

"Guys, I'd like to introduce you all to Linus….I mean Lyall. He is here for our meeting," Damien said, almost seeming like he was trying to give a hint to everyone.

The red bird spoke up, "So what are you then?" He approached me. "Are you another damned crow or an auditor?"

I didn't know what to say to that, really. So I just stood there dumbfounded.

"I'm sure he is here with nothing but good intentions," Damien said to the red bird. He then turned to me.

"Don't let him get to ya. Nash just can't come to terms that he will be the prettiest one here," Damien said to me. This got a chuckle out of a few of the others. 

"Let's get names out of the way then." He pointed to the partially changed black bird. "This is Barclay, and he is our resident crow." Next, he looked at the other black bird.

"This is Mathew, he may look like a crow, but he's actually a Raven. Truly I don't care what he is, but He and Barclay seem to care a bit too much about it."

"Same family, different species," said Barclay.

"This is Benji and Rylie. They are our Toucan and Peregrine," Damien said, pointing to the other two. 

"And as you know, I'm Damien, the woodpecker, and this is Nash, our little hot-headed cardinal," Damien said sarcastically.

"Whatever, Mr. One-of-a-kind," Nash joked back.

"So why don't you tell us about yourself? Maybe a name and how you found us," Damien asked me.

"I'm… uhh Lyall. I just found out 2 days ago that I'm a hawk of some kind and was referred here by my doctor," I answered.

"Hawk, you say?" Nash replied questioningly, "What makes you think that?"

"Well, I guess my eyes and something that happened to me." I reached up and removed my contacts. Everything was just crystal clear to me now. Now that I could see some detail, I could see that everyone had a mishmash of clothing on, and some had very little. 

"Those are definitely not human, that's for sure." Nash remarked, "Is that your only change so far?"

"Well, as far as I can tell. At least the Doc didn't notice anything else," I replied.

I felt an arm fall around my neck. Looking at it, I could see the black feathers hanging from it. I looked over to see it was Damien.

"Well, welcome to the club, Lyal." Damien shouted, "You have a long way to go, but now you're here. Do you need a room, or what can we do ya for?"

"A room? I thought this was a support group?" I asked Damien.

"Well, I guess since we know you are legit, we can spill the beans. You could say the whole Avian Associates thing is kind of a front. It's really just a way for us to fund space to hang out or live. The original guy to start it just needed a way to fund a place for him and some friends to stay after they were kicked out for changing. So make up a group that sounds like an Alcoholics Anonymous rip-off, and they were set." Damien explained.

I tried to wrap my head around it. Everything was fake? Did I somehow get wrapped up in a bird-themed frat house?

"So what exactly do you guys do here?" I asked quietly

"I and 2 of the others live here full time, and Rylie and Matthew live here with me." Damien looked over at the two. "Matthew lived alone anyways and used to work as a store clerk. It's hard to keep working when you have a beak slowly emerging from your face." 

Matthew looked over at us after overhearing Damien. "It's a bit distracting! But hey, life is short, right?"

Damien continued, "Rylie lived in dormitory-style living, but she was forced out a few months after her changes started. She's a bit upset over the whole situation."

Rylie started, "Well, apparently changes are fine if you're a dog who reeks of heat every few weeks. But as soon as springtime rolls around, apparently birds take it too far!"

Both Matthew and Rylie were pretty far into their changes. Rylie had a lower half that looked more falcon than human. She wore no pants as every bit of her skin was either covered in scales or feathers from the chest down. Matthew was wearing pants, but the rear had a divot, making room for his tail feathers. He sported a black beak that was curved at the top and had feathers going down his neck and chest, which had no clothing covering it. Small feathers peppered his arms. 

"By the way," Damien interrupted my thought, "You may see some things here that could be a bit uncomfortable. Spring can be a…. Rough time for some of us more advanced people. If you ever feel uncomfortable, just say something. We all understand."

I had heard of some folks having issues with their changes during different seasons. Some mammals can find their bodies trying to hibernate. Not a huge deal, but still a pain to go through. 

Benji walked over to us. "Don't worry, bro. At least you're not someone from the tropics. When I finish, I don't have too many options like-" 

He was quickly cut off by Damien "yeah, uhh, Benji, let's not discuss that right now." He gave Benji a bit of a half-serious and half-joking glare.

I looked at Benji a bit better now that he was in front of us. He had black feathers covering the back of his head, neck, and back. A few were starting to grow on his chest, but it mainly had white skin still. His feet were bird's feet, light blue in color. When he walked, he tended to make a skipping motion. The underside of his tail had white and red feathers covering what I assume are his pride areas.

While talking with Damien and Benji, my phone began to ring. Looking at the caller ID, it was my mother, and she had sent a text.

"Get home soon we need to talk about some mail here"

I wondered if it was something important from the college. But I can't think about what they would want. 

"Looks like I need to head out," I said to the group.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Damien walked me to the door.

"Remember, you can swing by anytime for as long as you want. See this as your second home. We have all been through it."

I rode my bike home. On the way, I put on the fake contacts to hide my golden-brown eyes. I know that I will have to tell my mom, but I'm not sure when would be a great time to break that news.

I made my way into the house, and my mom was sitting at the table with some folded-up mail in front of her. She looked beyond pissed. I tried to make out the logo on the letter, but all I could see was an eagle and a few letters.

I tried to break the ice. "Hey, mom, how has your day been?"

"Quite. Eventful." She said sternly

"Well, mine was a bit of a day. I went-"

She interrupted me, "A bit of a day? Sounds like it has been a few."

Did she somehow know? What could I have done to set her off this bad?

"I knew that Kole was a bad influence." She started on me about Kole. "I knew he was bad news since he started changing"

She knew. There was nothing else it could have been. 

"Now I get letters from the CDC about someone who claims they live at this address being found to have the same thing he does! Are they really trying to scare a 3 person home into believing one of them is dying?"

I was getting super nervous. She doesn't seem to know that she is talking about me. 

"I could never raise a child and not know they would be changing into some freak. What do they take me for?" She said angrily

"I'm not sure, but I really don't think it has anything to do with Kole. They just got the wrong address, no big deal," I said, trying to keep the image of confidence.

"Well, I still think you should think about spending time with that kid without knowing how this spreads," She said. "It's a death sentence if you ask me."

I started to feel warm on the back of my neck. This whole situation had my nerves in a fit. I reached my hand back to try and cool my neck. But when my hand made contact, I did not feel skin. I felt soft padding before I felt the pressure. Trying not to react, I froze. I tried to relax but was unable. The more I thought about it, the worse it was. I could feel the warmth frowning up my neck and down my back.

"……. If you hear anything in class, let me know," My Mom said.

I didn't realize she was still going on about it. I brought my hand down to my side. I could feel the feathers rubbing the wrong way on my shirt and into my hair. I tried to keep a calm face. But she could tell something was off. 

"Well, I'm going to head to bed. Have an early day tomorrow," I said while backing towards the stairs. 

She looked at me, almost puzzled. Once I made it out of view, I started up the stairs. Once I was in my room, I looked in the mirror. The feathers were falling out, and I tried to catch as many as possible as they fell. I had known before that certain things can trigger accidental and purposeful changes. If you can revert them quickly, they are not always permanent. The further the changes go and the longer they stay, the harder it is to return.

Collecting as many feathers as possible, I heard the thumping of the stairs. Someone was coming up!

I tried to think quickly. My options were either to have feathers falling from me or try to hide them as is. I closed my eyes and imagined the warmth again. It slowly became a reality as I did, and I reached back once again to feel the feathers. Just then, I heard the door knob get jostled. 

I turned to face the door, and it opened. It was again my mom. In her hand was a rusty brown feather. I looked in my own hand, cupping it away from her. Inside there was an identical feather. She looked directly at me and asked a simple question.

"When were you going to tell me?"

CHAPTER 2 - Untitled Chapter