Dr. Hollister woke to the weight of her girlfriend's arm against her stomach and a gentle quiet that was interrupted by Caitlin's soft snores. She lay still for a few minutes while trying to remember everything that happened the night before but it was all a jumbled mess in her mind.
There was pain, yes, she remembered that. And the concern in her lover's eyes. But not much beyond that.
Slowly, and as carefully as possible, Ariel wiggled sideways out of bed while holding Caitlin's arm above her. She stood and stretched, purring lightly for a brief moment as she raised her arms as high as they could go while on her tiptoes. Joints popped along her back and shoulders and she smiled in pleasurable satisfaction from the release.
Whether it was imagined or not, she felt light on her feet and full of energy. And incredibly hungry. With a backward glance at her exhausted partner, Ariel made her way to the kitchen. She smacked her lips and yawned wide. Her jaw cracked and the faint lines connecting her lips to her eyes spread over her cheeks.
Obsidian filled the tiny cracks in her pale pink lips. She brought the back of her hand up to her mouth to hide a second, even wider yawn. Her lungs expanded to their new capacity with her first full breath and she danced with a swirling two-step at the sudden urge to move. Her deep chest swelled, forcing the sides of her breasts through the arms of the plain white tank top she was wearing.
As she passed into the hallway, the young scientist hummed a happy tune. Her fingernails tapped the top of the cotton shorts Caitlin had wrestled onto her while she'd slept. The concave white nails brushed faint black hairs that began to emerge in a scattered line from her sparse pubic hair to her belly button. Interspersed within the black hairs were groups of light orange hairs. They caressed her fingers as they lengthened and she pulled at them and teased them while her black-ringed eyes scanned the kitchen for food left out.
Her eyes flicked past the smart screen on the fridge door and then snapped back.
Two-! Two days?!
she thought to herself incredulously. She'd lay down Friday night but the clock showed just after 1 pm on Sunday.
That's- but.
Jesus.
Jesus Christ.
No wonder I'm starving.
A bunch of bananas sat upon a stand and she snagged one, peeling it as she opened the fridge. Her eyes darted between shelves while her stomach rumbled and her fingers slipped beneath the band of her shorts to follow the trail of fur down her lean stomach.
Ariel tossed the banana peel into the open trash can and then reached in with long, limber arms to grab bread, low calorie mayonnaise, vegetables and deli sliced turkey. She hummed and tapped her feet and stepped side-to-side while making her sandwich with fast, efficient movements. The top slice of bread was barely slapped on over a generous helping of lettuce before she brought it to her mouth. Her hand flexed, triggering new muscles that pushed the tips of her claws into the soft bread.
Unable to keep herself still, Dr. Hollister paced around the kitchen as she ate. She felt heat wash over her from her scalp to her toes and she shivered from it. Her body struggled with the changes being forced upon it and another wave of heat brought a cold sweat with it.
A single black hair emerged from the marble skin of her back. It pushed forth to disturb a drop of sweat that fell to trace an erratic path down her spine. More coal-colored hairs followed with a mixture of orange as her body grew an adolescent hybrid version of a mane. The hairs were wispy and short and tapered off as soon as they reached the bulge of skin at the base of her spine. She reached around to scratch the smooth lump and the loose bones within shifted at her touch.
As soon as the first sandwich was gone, she made a second sandwich and chased it down with two large glasses of water. Finished eating, she dumped her plate into the dishwasher and dashed down the hallway to the bedroom. She paused at the doorway to stare at Caitlin. Her brown eyes grew unfocused as the wave of heat pulsed through her again. This time, she felt it as if it were a deft hand strumming the nerves along her body and she stretched and chirped quietly at her mate. Her throat jumped and her mouth opened as another chirp escaped her lips.
The dark lines on her lips branched out and the coloring spread as if draining the pink surrounding them. At the same time, her dark brown eyes lightened to mahogany and she blinked rapidly to clear the fog from her head.
She crept into the room on the balls of her feet while her ears twitched to catch her lover's steady breathing. Caitlin snorted and Ariel froze before stepping over to the dresser. She lifted the drawer to retrieve her gym clothes as her girlfriend turned and began snoring again.
On silent, raised feet, she fled the room with a quick backward glance.
---
Birds sang to each other, drawing Ariel's attention. She glanced sharply towards the trees and then continued to her car. Her yoga pants stretched tighter than usual against her body and her muscles flexed beneath the black material as it cradled every inch of her. The banded cuff of the pants sat below her calf on legs lengthened by the changes over the past two days.
The soft leather seats in her car molded themselves to her as she pressed herself back into them before closing the door. She slung her bag into the passenger seat before starting her car. Her boundless, scattered energy seemed focused now that she had a goal in mind. She glanced at the side mirrors, the rearview and then over her shoulder as she reversed and then shifted into drive fluidly.
Other cars annoyed her as they followed the speed limit. She mapped them, tracked their speed mentally and gunned it, growling quietly as she slipped from her lane to the incoming lane and back, skipping past cars in an adrenaline-fueled push to get the the gym as quickly as possible.
It was only when her burnished eyes caught flashing lights far in front of her that she realized she was heavily speeding. She checked herself, looking down at her speedometer with some surprise while slowing down to what felt like a crawl. It was in her nature to drive conservatively yet even while forcing herself to follow the speed limit, she caught herself glancing around and plotting the path she'd need to force her way through the other cars.
Pent up energy from being stuck in bed?
she mused as her foot pressed the gas once she passed police officer parked on the side of the road. She focused briefly on the woman the officer had pulled over and then accelerated while overtaking a van driving just over the speed limit.
Just need to be more conscious of what I'm doing and tone it down a bit.
---
Scattered pairs and individuals made their way towards the gym's entrance and Ariel followed. She quickly found herself impatiently stepping around and between the meandering people until the automatic doors hissed open for her. The young receptionist greeted her with a wide smile.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Hollister!" the girl beamed. She was always polite and cheerful and seemed to know all the patrons. Ariel had been pleasantly surprised, and slightly ashamed, to find her initial knee-jerk reaction to disliking the attractive young girl was wrong. And another in a long line of reminders to try and stop judging people by their appearances. "Wow! You're looking amazing today. Have you been using a new scrub? And your eye shadow is on point. It really brings out your eyes!"
"Oh," the young scientist said, blushing fiercely. She touched her cheek and smiled back before swiping her gym card. "It must just be the lighting messing with you. I haven't done anything. I was actually sick in bed the past two days. Maybe I finally caught up on sleep?"
"Well, you're looking fantastic," the girl told her. "Have a good workout and I hope you're feeling better! It's a pretty light crowd today."
"Thanks," Ariel said, holding her bag tight against her shoulder. She stepped aside to let the other patrons check in and made her way through the back.
