Before, Then, and After [MAR-APR 2024 8CC LIST]

6 - Old Friends, Old Lovers

[Past].

It was a stun to Annabelle and Nord whenever their second child was born. She was a beautiful, healthy baby, but upon her back sprouted two tiny growths, almost like limbs, covered in a bit of wet fuzz. By the age of 2 years old, they had completely sprouted with black, shining feathers, lined with fuzz that resembled a young chicken's wings.

By the age of 10 years old, Quince was learning to jump to great heights and fall without harm from the top of trees, which she loved to climb. By the age of 20 years, she could glide, and had officially changed from Keith to Quince. By the age of 35 years old, she could fly just like a hawk, and even carry large amounts of weight as she did so, including her dear friend Adolpha, who was then just barely 38 years old. Quince's wings grew just as she did, and ended up at a mighty 10 feet per wing when outstretched, giving her a wingspan of 20. Of course, it wasn't quite plausible that a Lycanthrope at 120lbs, 5' 2" could fly, even if the wings were an impressive 10 feet across; they, in theory, wouldn't be able to lift her body from the ground. And yet, by the magic of Mother Nature, they did, and almost effortlessly, too. The work was to be able to fly was done, and so, Quince could fly with exceptional ease. Quince did have to train, learning how to balance, how to drift in the wind, and having to build her breast muscles.

By the time she was 35 years old, she had developed quite the shape, which she still kept for years after. Her shoulders were noticeably large, her forearms strong; her chest strong and well-defined, much like a man. She acquainted her masculinity to her transgenderism, but everyone knew that it was because of her intense muscle and training. By the age of 35 years old, Quince was leaving her home, her people, and her village to participate in a quest that she had been destined for since the moment she was born with wings. But she had not been the only one destined for such a quest.

Not too long after Quince was born, a Feline was born in a faraway land to Feline parents. Like most Felines, they lived in high, rocky mountains, their villages built into the sides of plateaus, rocky cliff faces, or perhaps in caves, and far from the equator. Unlike Lycanthropes, Felines had been gifted with a natural-born pelt; thick cougar-like fur which covered their bodies and kept them warm, even in the intense cold, ice, and snow. They also had a unique sense of diet, being able to sustain themselves healthily as carnivores, and hunting for nearly every meal. Although they would jump at the chance for greens if possible, it was not a necessity for them to live healthily. And so, the Felines were able to hunt for every single meal, with no need for flat, fertile land to grow crops. For wool, leather, and meat, many villages farmed mountain goats and sheep: animals which didn't need much to survive, other than the small greens the mountains already provided. These unique adaptations led the Felines to live secluded and wealthy in the bitter cold, mountainous regions of the continent, far away from other tribes, and especially far away from war.

But the war came to them, whether they wanted to fight in it or not. It came to them the moment that Lillian and Kirk's son, Ajax, was born. The two Felines had several children before Ajax, all girls, who fawned over him being born. But it was soon realised that he was not an ordinary Feline, for Kirk was given a vision one night from Mother Nature herself, and her task for him was to bring his son to River's Bed: a village a hundred miles away.

Whenever his God called, Kirk answered, and so with a long journey, he brought his young son to River's Bed, leaving behind his wife and daughters. By the time he had arrived, his condition was less than well, having been injured in a landslide along the way, and at River's Bed, he died from the infection. In River's Bed, Ajax was suddenly declared an orphan, as he was too young to speak and too young to know where it is that he came from. Mayor Gabriel initially offered him a place in a community home, but most unusually, a family asked him personally if they could adopt him instead. Gabriel knew this family very well, as his daughters and their daughter were raised side-by-side as friends. Gabriel heard the call of Mother Nature as well, having spoken to and cared for Kirk in his last days, and so, he entrusted Ajax to Nord and Annabelle, where he was cared for with love. It wasn't long before his blessing began to show.