Walk the path
You end up walking up to the path. You hesitate for only a moment and then follow it. You move quietly, your feet barely making a sound against the sandy group as you walk, and slowly, making sure to keep your eyes open for anything that could be out here. You don’t see anything interesting except for a few fallen coconuts until you are nearly at the end of the trail. Here is where you see a small fire and a few figures gathered around it. You take cover behind a nearby tree. You take a deep breath and then look over the tree. Sitting around the fire is an anthro male toucan, an anthro female swordfish, and an anthro male otter. Unlike you, they are garbed in raggedy clothes. They talk among themselves quietly, so low that you can’t make out what they’re saying. This does tell you one thing, though—they haven’t noticed you yet. You could just leave now.
However, you decide you can’t just leave them without talking first. They don’t have any weapons on them and you can always run if they do prove hostile. Thus, you walk forward from your hiding spot with your sealskin wrapped tight around you and raise a hand.
“Hello!” you shout.
The people around the campfire look up in surprise. The otter and the swordfish get to their feet while the toucan just watches you.
“Hi!” the otter says excitedly, stepping forward. “I’m Cruise! Who are you?”
You introduce yourself and they both look confused.
“I’ve not always been like this,” you said, motioning to your womanly body. “I was a guy.”
“We understand,” the swordfish says, then blinks. “Well, actually that’s a first. I just lost my beautiful face and hair. I was always a woman through and through.”
“And me a man,” Cruise says. He touches his head. “I was a bit taller too.”
“Hmm,” you murmur. “So you two had to pick a costume because of the—”
“Genie?” The toucan said, stepping forward. He held out some clothes to you. “We all got transported here because of him. Not all at once, mind you. I was here first. Here, take these and get dressed.”
Written by skiesofsilver on 06 March 2016
