Synopsis:

It's 2048, and besides all the normal stresses, teens are now faced with the possibility of many strange changes induced by the MORFS virus. Sanura continues to cope with her new life and her new powers.

Story:

Note: The MORFS universe is now open for submissions. Please send any stories or questions to Britney at [email protected] for approval until the universe rules are posted at http://morfs.nowhere2go.org/

Sanura's Tale - Part 3 (A MORFS Universe Story)

By Britney McMaster

Chapter 10: Running Late

"NURA!" yelled Mom, "Get out of bed you're going to be late!" I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock. *7:36? Crap!*

I rushed through my shower, cutting myself badly on the arm in the process. *Damn claws.* I dried off as quickly as possible, wrapped my arm with some gauze and dashed into my room. My tail was still fairly wet so I was stuck with having a pair of damp panties for the foreseeable future. Next came my contortionist act as I put on my bra. I was running out of time as I picked out what to wear. I picked out something a little girlier than I normally would have but I thought that Colin would like it. I barely had to do more to my hair than a quick brushing, as it had dried pretty much in place. Then I quickly applied some lip gloss and eye shadow in my vanity mirror. I went over to the full length mirror on my wall and checked to make sure I looked all right. My hair and make-up were fine and I thought I looked pretty cute. I had picked out a really flirty looking skirt made of a really thin gauzy material which flared out and floated about with every move I made. I hoped it wasn't too short. My top was sleeveless, made of a similar fabric as the skirt, but was white as opposed to the skirt's peach colour.

I was about to head downstairs when I remembered that I had promised to go to the basketball game after school. That meant I could change into something more casual. So I hurried back to my closet, grabbed my only pair of jeans and shoved them into my pack. Mom had some toast waiting for me when I reached the kitchen and I scarfed it down in a very unladylike way.

"Mom, what shoes should I wear with this skirt?"

She came out of her bedroom and looked at the skirt in question. "First, I think that skirt is a bit too short for school, but if that's what you want to wear, then I would suggest the white sandals we bought you. They're in the front closet." She eyed me one more time before she went back in her room.

I scrounged around in the closet for a few minutes before I found the sandals. They were strappy with about three inch heels. There's no way I'd be able to walk to school in these and make it in time. I hadn't even worn heels this high yet, but I slipped them on anyway and stuffed my sneakers in my bag before asking Mom for a ride. To my surprise the heels weren't hard to walk in at all and I made it out to the car as fast as I normally would have. Soon we were at school and after giving Mom a kiss I headed inside.

~~~

I got a lot of looks as I made my way through the school to my locker. The heels made me sway my hips more than usual and that made my skirt flounce about provocatively. When I got to my locker I starting pulling out the textbooks I would need for my morning classes.

"Hey there, beautiful," Colin said as he wrapped his arms around me. I had heard and smelt him coming up behind me but waited until he was there before turning around.

"Hey yourself." Despite the added height from the heels I still had to pull him down towards me as I gave him a kiss. There were a few whistles and comments from some of the other kids in the hallway but I ignored them, just content to be there with my boyfriend. *Wow, that still sounds strange.*

"What happened to your arm? Are you okay?" He kept glancing from my face to my arm.

I had almost forgotten about the cut until Colin pointed it out and I was surprised I hadn't noticed that it stopped hurting. "I cut myself in the shower this morning. I'm still not used to having claws, I kinda forget that they're there sometimes. I'm fine." He still looked worried so I leaned against him and gave him a hug.

"Can I see it?" I decided to humor him, so I unwrapped my arm. There was still a bit of blood on the skin but the cut itself was completely healed. In its place was a small red scatch that was quickly fading.

"Well there was a cut here. I heal fast though, so you don't have to worry about me."

"I know I don't, but I want to... So, you still coming to the game tonight? If you don't, it will break my heart." He put on his pouty face again.

"Of course I am. Although I wish I could still play, too." I really did miss the team, now that I thought about it. Basketball has always been a passion for me.

"Maybe you could get on the girl's team? But anyway, I do think you should talk with Coach Williams so that he doesn't expect Jason to show up eventually." He was right. It's only fair that coach should know. "Or maybe you could join the cheerleading squad. Then you could come cheer me on at all the games."

"Do you really think that little of me?" I teased.

"What are you talking about?" The sarcasm in my question must have missed him.

"Well I'm not exactly the cheerleader type Colin. For one, I know how to think," I said before sticking my tongue out at him. He responded by kissing me during which he stuck his tongue out. We made out for a while until the first buzzer went signaling that we had five minutes to get to class.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" He kissed the top of my head

"Okay, I'll be looking forward to it." I gave him a quick peck on the lips and then headed off to my homeroom.

~~~

"Morning Amy"

"Hey Sanura," said Amy before she gave me a strange look and motioned for me to lean over closer. I complied and she whispered, "So who's the lucky boy? Or is it a girl?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The one you were kissing. It was Colin, wasn't it?"

I slowly nodded. I could feel my cheeks burning as I blushed furiously. "How... how did you know?"

"Nura, you're new at being a girl so I understand why you might be embarrassed or ashamed at being with a guy, but it’s okay, so stop blushing. The reason I know you were kissing someone is that your lipstick is all screwed up. You need to fix that after you eat something or when you kiss someone." She reached over and gave me a reassuring hug.

"Thanks for understanding Amy, it means a lot." I pulled out my lip gloss and a small mirror and quickly fixed my makeup.

"So tell me about him."

"What do you want to know? You've known him as long as I have."

"I know that, but I've never dated him, so tell me about him. What’s he like as a boyfriend."

"Well, he's been extremely cool. He found out about me and he's totally cool with it."

"You mean he doesn't mind that you're still part male?" Amy whispered

"Nope. It's so cool that he accepts me for who, and not what, I am. And he's so nice to be with. I expected him to be a bit more aggressive, but he's really gentle when we're together or when we kiss. When I explained everything to him I started to cry and I was expecting him to freak out, but he stayed there and held me until I felt better." I felt all warm inside just thinking about him.

"I'm glad you're happy Nura. All of us have really been worried about you, and it’s good to see you taking everything in stride. I mean, we all expect to get morfs, and its pretty much commonplace but not many people change as much as you. Most kids would have just got the hybridization or the gender change, but you got both of them and an elemental power on top of that. I'm glad that you're able to handle all of this." Amy began to cry a little bit, herself, "I couldn't imagine losing you."

"Amy, you were afraid I'd try killing myself?" She slowly nodded. "Oh Amy, I would never do anything like that. I don't think I could, even if I wanted to." I leaned over to her again and we hugged each other until we both felt better.
"That's a cute outfit. Did you wear it for Colin?"

"Actually, yes, I did." I was still blushing when we talked about Colin.

"Good, I'm glad to see that I don't have to force you into your more feminine clothes. I love those heels, too. Have you been practicing how to walk in those?"

"Nope. I guess I'm just a natural. I attribute it to my feline grace," I said with a laugh.

"Well, you look like you've been wearing heels for years. You've even got that sexy swaying hips walk down perfectly." She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Well, I promise you I never wore them before I morfed." I laughed, "Trance is going to give me grief about this whole boyfriend issue, isn't he?" I let out a sigh as I realized that not all of my friends might be as accepting as Amy.

"I can't say for sure, Nura. He's been pretty cool with everything else, and he is pretty mature for someone our age. But then, this is an emotional decision, and he tends to only look at things logically."

"I hope you're right, Amy. I wouldn't want to lose him as a friend. Hopefully, Colin won't be one of those guys who gets all possessive and doesn't want their girlfriends hanging out with other guys. That would just add other problems that I don't need."

Chapter 11: Revelations

"We don't want your kind in here!"

I just stared at the girls over by the sinks in shock. They had been idly chatting and doing their makeup until I walked into the bathroom. As soon as they saw me they moved over to block my way to the stalls. "Wha… what do you mean my kind?"

"This is the girls' washroom. That means human girls! So why don't you go find a litter box to piss in, cat bitch."

"I may be part cat but you're the bitches. I don't have to take this crap from you; I have just as much right to be in here as you do. So let me past so I can do what I came in here for or I'll go get the principle and have you expelled for discrimination." My dad had always taught me not to take any crap about having a hybrid for a father and had talked to me since my change about it even more. I had always thought it was an irrational concern, but here I was experiencing hybridist discrimination first hand.

One of the girls walked over until she was inches from me. "So the cat has some fight in her. Your kind disgust me, you're all a bunch of freaks."

I tried to move around her but the other girls quickly surrounded me. I recognized a few of the girls, but they were all younger than me and in another grade. The few I did recognize were known in school as 'bad girls' and I knew a few had powers. "I don't want to fight. Just leave me alone."

"We think you need to learn a lesson on who your superiors are, bitch. Your kind only contaminate the human race, a real morf like me, is what improves it."

She stepped forward and raised her fist as she readied for a punch. Her fist rapidly turned a metallic green colour and I quickly put my hands up to try and block the impact. She started to swing and I closed my eyes. This was going to hurt. That same feeling returned in a rush and surged towards my hands. I opened my eyes to see her punch coming within inches from my hands when a thin shield of my black energy formed between the two. I saw the impact but I never felt it. Her fist stayed in contact with the energy shield for only a moment before she was thrown back a few feet, where she landed on her butt. She returned to her feet and put her fist through a partition in the wall in frustration. One of the other girls tried to kick me from behind, but was also blocked, as the energy shield surrounded me completely.

With a wall of energy safely protecting me, I was able to walk over to the stall and go to the bathroom. When I had finished, I came out of the stall to see them still trying to break through the shield. A grin spread across my face and I couldn't help but laugh. I washed my hands, walked to the door, put my hand on the shield, retracted the energy and left.

~~~

Gym class wasn't that bad. We didn't do any tests; instead we just played some sports. The coaches from the various school teams were there, doing some recruiting. I saw Coach Williams there and went over to talk to him.

"Uh, excuse me sir. Could I talk to you for a minute in private?" Coach looked me over quickly before replying.

"Sure. My office is right over here," he said, and I followed him to his office. "So, what can I help you with young lady?"

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about Jason Miller."

"Haven't seen Jase for nearly two weeks now. Heard he had morfs. You a friend of his?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I guess I'll just get straight to the point. My name is Sanura Miller, and before I had morfs two weeks ago, I was Jason Miller. So I wanted to let you know that I won't be back to play for the team. Sorry coach." Feeling embarrassed, I looked down at my feet.

"Jase... Sanura, there's no need to be sorry. You don't have control over what morfs did to you. No one does. I appreciate you coming to me and being up front about this. That takes a lot of guts. No doubt we're all going to miss having you on the team. You were a great asset to the team and a good friend to your teammates. Hell, if you were still a boy, I'd put you out on the court no matter what you looked like."

"I... I am still a boy, sir." My statement was no more than a whisper. Coach looked at me intently as I stood there in my gym leotard. I knew he didn't believe me.

"You are, are you? I know this must be hard for you, but you are going to have to accept that you're no longer a boy. Stranger things have happened with morfs than a sex change. Even if you are still a boy as you say, I can tell by that uniform you've got on that the school has you registered as a female student, which means I can't have you on the team. I can speak with Coach Harding about getting you on the girls' team if you really want to play. I know she could use a talented player like you. Would you like me to talk to her for you?"

"That would be great, coach. Thank you."

"Not a problem and if you ever need anything, even just to talk, my door is always open."

~~~

"Hey guys," I said as I sat down at the lunch table. "What's going on?"

"Not much. How was your date yesterday, Nura?" Apparently Trance was going to keep teasing me about that.

"It was great, Trance. Thanks for asking. We're going out again tomorrow." I sat there watching the different emotions play across Trance's face, something that doesn't happen often and just tried to smile and look cute.

*Nura, are you serious?* I guess Trance wanted to talk in private.

*Yeah, I am. What's wrong with that?*

*It's just that, well, you were a guy for nearly sixteen years. You've been a girl for like a week and you've already got yourself a boyfriend. It just seems odd. Even for you.*

*You don't think this is hard for me to handle? I have conflicting thoughts about everything that I do. All I know is that like it or not I am a girl, and I do like Colin. I would hope you'd accept my decision and try your best not to make it harder on me with your constant teasing.*

*Sanura, I just think it's a bit sudden, that's all. Just because you're a girl now doesn't automatically mean you have to like boys. I'm sorry for teasing you about it. I just don't want you rushing into this because it’s what you think you, as a girl, should do. I'm just worried about you, that's all.*

*Okay, I just want you to understand. Maybe I am rushing in to this. But when I'm with Colin, I feel right, like I belong. If it isn't the right thing to do, then I'll find out, and if I get hurt, I hope that you'll be there for me. Now let’s eat our lunch, okay? I'm hungry*

"So what were you two talking about?" asked Jade. "Trance isn't jealous that you have a boyfriend, is he Nura?"

"No. Trance isn't really my type anyway." That got him to laugh, which made me smile.

"Nura?" asked Danielle. "How did you manage to get Colin as a boyfriend? Practically every girl in school has tried to get with him and here you come along and get a date with him your second day at school as a girl. It's not fair."

"Just ignore my boy crazy sister, Sanura," Mike interrupted. "She's just upset that she can't get a date with the captain of the basketball team. Or anyone else for that matter." He had barely finished that sentence when Dani slugged him in the arm. "Ouch! That's why you can't get a boyfriend, you're too violent."

"I am not, Mike. You jerk." Dani huffed. “And I have no problem getting a boyfriend, I just don't happen to be dating anyone right now. There's nothing wrong with that." We all laughed at that.

"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour," whispered Damian. I looked over my shoulder to see Colin walking up to our table, so I scooted over closer to Amy to make room for him to sit down.

"Hi Colin. You've met all my friends before, right?" I asked, as I put my arm around his waist and rested my head on his arm.

"Yup, I have. So I assume you've been talking about me?" Colin eyed everyone at the table.

"We were just congratulating Nura here about having such a wonderful boyfriend." Amy just smiled sweetly at Colin and me.

"Amy, you're such a suck up!" I laughed.

"So, where you going on your date tomorrow?" asked Megan.

"We were just going to do dinner and a movie, right?" Colin looked down at me for approval, and so I nodded back at him.

Colin continued to talk with my friends but I was content to just lean against him and enjoy his presence. I closed my eyes and everything else just seemed to melt away. Colin was definitely the right choice.

~~~

My last class finally ended and I rushed towards the gym. I ducked into the girls' change room and found it mostly empty. There were a few girls coming out of the showers after their last period gym class. I made my way over to my locker and opened the lock, took off my heels and my skirt and put them into my bag, then removed my jeans.

"Hi, Nura!" I turned and saw Jade walking towards me with a towel wrapped around her. Her wet green hair looked almost black, and it took me a few seconds to recognize her. She‘d had her green hair since birth. Both she and her younger brother had gotten if from their grandmother on her mom's side, who got it from morfs.

"Uh... hi, Jade. You wanna get dressed first?" So far I hadn't had to dress and undress around other girls.

"I'm fine. Besides, we're all girls here, right?" She looked down at my exposed panties as she said that. I covered myself a bit too late. Jade leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I thought you said you were still a boy, too. Those panties don't hide much, you know."

I blushed. "I wasn't lying. I am still a boy, but it pulls up inside me when I'm not using it," I whispered back.

"Well then don't go getting a boner when you're in the shower after gym." Jade walked away laughing.

"Jade!" I whined

Chapter 12: Shopping... A Girl's Best Friend

With my jeans and sneakers on I made my way out into the gym and saw Amy, Shine and Todd up in the stands. Amy waved me over. I made my way around the court and up the bleachers to sit with my friends. The guys were warming up and Coach Williams smiled at me when our eyes met.

"Hey, guys." My friends returned my greeting as I sat down beside Amy and watched Colin run through some drills with the other guys.

"Earth to Nura!” Amy sounded amused.

"Sorry. What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask you what you were doing tonight."

"Nothing that I know of. You have any ideas?"

"Well," said Jade, who had just joined us. "We were thinking we could have a little girl’s night out. Wanna go shopping?"
"What is it with girls and shopping? Is that all that you ever do?" asked Todd

"I'm with him on this one." I glanced over at Todd. "Shopping isn't really my thing."

"Come Ooooonnnn, Nura. It will be fun. Besides, you're basing your opinion of shopping on the trips you took with your mom. You need to learn how much fun it can be to go shopping with the girls. And this way, you can get some clothes that you like, and not what your mom picked for you.” Amy did have a point.

"Okay, so who all is going, just us four?" I asked.

"Us four and we're going to call Dani and Megan, too. So are you going to come?"

"Yeah, I'll come. But I have to call home first. My parents are kinda protective of me since I changed."

~~~

“Yes all my homework is done. I did it during my history class. Ye, Mom, okay, I'll come by the house and get it first. Yes, Rakira is driving. Okay, I'll see you later tonight. I love you too, bye Mom." I hung up the phone and walked over to Shine's car where my friends were waiting. "She said yes. But we have to go by my house and get a receipt so I can pick up a bunch of clothes I am having tailored."

"What are you getting tailored?"

"Most of the clothes we bought are being tailored so that I can wear them with a tail. Mom put tail holes in a lot of the skirts we bought so that I would have something to wear to school, but the rest of my clothes needed to be done professionally."

"What about those jeans you have on? Who did those?"

"These are my only pair of jeans. Mom did these, but she said it was really hard to stitch through the denim."

"Well, you look great in them. I just have no idea how you got in them." Said Jade.

"They're not hard to get on. You can't see them 'cus I have a belt on, but there are a few hook and eye closures above the tail hole. It just takes me longer to put my pants on than it used to. But anyway, let’s go shopping." With that said, we all got into Shine's car and headed for the mall.

~~~

"So what do we need to get?" I asked. The other girls just laughed. "We don't ‘need’ to get anything. You have a lot to learn, girl. Shopping doesn't mean buying. It means trying on different outfits and just having fun," answered Jade.

"But what's the point of trying stuff on if we're not going to buy anything?" I was still very confused.

"Because it's fun! You'll see," laughed Danielle. "Now stop asking so many questions and let’s do some shopping."

~~~

The picture was in black and white and was very grainy but it was easy to identify the room on the video as a high school cafeteria. Off in the corner was a bright light that seemed to be fading on and off. Beside it was a dark black sphere. The lights in the room flickered on and off and the dark area started to grow larger. It jumped in size as the light shone very brightly and then dimmed quickly and went out. Suddenly the black area vanished with a bang and all the tables in the area were tossed around a bit by some unseen force. A moment later the same force hit the camera, knocking it into another direction.

The video stopped and the agent displayed several surveillance pictures of a young black haired girl with gray cat ears and bright blue eyes. In one of the pictures she was sitting on what appeared to be a bed, with a ball of black energy hovering between her hands.

"Agents, this is a stealth mission. This girl is your target. She is believed to be dangerous and all precautions are to be implemented."

~~~

"Nura, you need to get some jewelry," they said, so here we were looking at earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces.

"What do you think of these?" asked Megan as she held up a pretty pair of silver earrings.

A frown came over my face as I looked at them. "They're pretty, but I don't think that they'd look right on me. I don't have normal ears, and they're not pierced, anyway." I went back to looking at some bracelets they had on display.

"You could always pierce something else," said Jade.

"I'm not getting my nipples pierced, Jade." That got us all laughing.

"That's not what I was talking about. I meant something like this," she said, as she lifted up her shirt a bit to show off her bellybutton piercing. It did look cute on her, but I had a feeling that my parents would skin me alive if I got one.
"My mom would freak if I got one of those," I stated my fears.

"That's the whole reason I got mine done," laughed Jade. "Besides, your parents will understand. Just tell them you would've done your ears, but since you couldn't, you got this instead. Also, I think that Colin would like it, too."

I smiled dreamily as I imagined what Colin's reaction would be. "Who else thinks I should do this?" All the other girls raised his hands.

"I'll get mine done, too, if you do it Nura," said Amy. "Come on, let’s go pick out some different navel rings before we get it done."

~~~

"You are to secure and detain the target. She is to be brought in unharmed. You have clearance to sedate the subject. She is not to know where she is being taken. Again, you are to take all precautionary measures necessary until her abilities have been evaluated. Until that time she is considered armed and dangerous.

~~~

"I like this one," I said as I held up the small piece of jewelry. It was a fairly plain sterling silver ring with a clear pink jewel hanging from it that would just hang down over my bellybutton. The pink stone was cut in a teardrop shape. As I held it up, it sparkled in the light.

"Oh! That one's pretty! I might get the green one," said Amy. She picked up the green one and held it against herself. It really looked good on her with her green eyes and red hair. "You know," said Amy as she look closer at the other navel rings. "This really proves that you're a girl at heart. You went right to that pink one and you know as well as I do that no guy, not even a gay one, would get their bellybutton pierced."

I thought about that for a few minutes. Amy was right. I had just slipped right into being 'one of the girls.' Part of me still wouldn't give up that fact that I was a boy. But how could I? I was reminded of it every time l go to the bathroom. *Why couldn't morfs have just made me a normal girl? Why do I have to be in between?*

"Come on, Amy. Let’s go pay for this and have it done before I change my mind." Amy smiled at me as we took the rings and studs we had picked out over to checkout.

We had to wait a few minutes before a girl with bright purple hair led us over to a little booth in a corner of the store. I volunteered to go first and was instructed to lay back in the reclined chair and lift my top. I handed her the ring with the pink jewel and she removed the tags from it, cleaned it with what smelled like alcohol and then placed it next to what I assumed was the piercing gun. She cleaned in and around my bellybutton with the alcohol and then picked up the gun.
*I can't believe I'm doing this,* I thought as I closed my eyes and waited. Amy took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I could fee the cold metal clamp pressing down on me. It seemed like this was taking forever and I was about to say something when I felt something tug at my stomach and the girl said, "Okay, you're all done." I opened my eyes and looked down to see the little pink stone glimmering back at me.

"That didn't hurt at all," I said in surprise.

The girl laughed out loud at my comment. "The alcohol we use has a mild anesthetic in it to numb any pain."

I traded places with Amy and she was done just as quickly. "What we need now is a couple skimpy tops to show these off," said Amy.

I had already thrown myself into this being a girl thing with reckless abandon. A skimpy top couldn't be much worse. "Okay, then let's go find some."

~~~

"Who the hell?" The doorbell rang again as Colin made his way down the stairs to answer the door. He opened the door and saw Zack Klein, better known as Trance, standing on his front step. "Hey, Trance."

"We need to talk," said Trance in an eerily calm voice.

"Uh... Okay, come on in." Trance walked in and followed Colin into the living room. "So what do we need to talk about?"

Trance looked up and fixed the other boy with a hard cold stare. "Nura. We need to talk about Nura."

~~~

"Ooh..., those puppies are so cute." gushed Dani. "Come on, I want to go inside for a minute."

We followed her into the pet store and I patiently waited near the entrance while the girls cooed at the different little animals. The puppies in the window display were barking and growling at me and I didn't want to set off any more by venturing any deeper into the store.

"Nara, why are you waiting up here?" When I didn't respond right away, she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the store. We were followed by a stream of loud barking as we went past the dogs in their cages, and I winced as the loud noise hurt my sensitive ears. Once we were out of the dog’s sight, they quieted down to the point where I could hear myself think.

"You know, you should get a job here. You'd be the perfect employee. You could even endorse some of the cat products," Amy laughed maniacally as I glared at her.

"I don't use any cat products, Amy."

"Nura, don't be so uptight. I was just kidding around with you. Besides, maybe they do sell some stuff here that you might like. So just look around and try to have some fun."

"Fine. I'll try." I still didn't want to be in there, but forced myself to try and ignore all the noise and have some fun. I started to walk towards Megan and Jade who were looking through a rack of pet supplies. They noticed me coming and walked over to me. Megan was hiding something behind her back and I noticed that they were trying to block my view of the rack that they had been looking through. Before I could say anything and figure out what they were up to, Dani yelled for me to come over to where she was.

As I headed towards Danielle, Jade and Megan grabbed something from the rack and ran to the register. *Whatever...*

I made it over to Dani who was standing to next one of the store employees who was opening up one of the pet cages. Danielle reached into the cage and then placed a small ball of fur in my paws. I looked down at the tiny gray kitten sleeping in my hands and my heart just melted. I've never really been big on pets, but that cat had an impact on me. Maybe it was because I'm now a hybrid, or maybe it was my new female hormones, but as I looked down at the kitten I was filled with awe at the miracle of the new life of this little creature.

*I can't wait until I have kittens... err... kids. What the hell am I thinking, I'm only fifteen!* I knew I was blushing as I felt my cheeks burning. The kitten was starting to stir and then started mewing. My retarded brain picked that moment to flash a mental picture of an older version of myself, nursing a litter of kittens. I shook my head to erase that image and then handed the cat back to the shop attendant. "She's hungry," I said, although I'm not sure why I felt so positive about that. "Dani, I'll be outside. I need a few minutes to clear any head." I made my way out of the store and plopped down on the first bench I could find.

"Nura? Are you okay?" I kept my eyes closed as Amy sat down next to me.

"What’s happening to me Amy?" Once again, I was fighting back tears.

"What are you talking about Sanura?"

"I just feel like I'm losing myself. Amy, I know my body has changed, but I'm still the same person... or at least I thought I was... and I still want to be. It's just that now it seems that even the way I think has changed. I'm trying my best to accept my change, but mentally I want to be the same."

"Nura, I wish there was something I could do help somehow, but it's normal that your way of thinking is going to change a bit. Take Colin for example. We all know you weren't lusting after him before you morfed, but now you're got those female hormones working away at your system and its normal for you to find him attractive. I assume you still like girls too?"

I nodded. "I'm not sure which I like better, but I've gotten lucky with Colin not minding that I'm both a boy and a girl. I still thinking that I'm going crazy, though."

"And why do you think that?"

"When I was in there holding that baby cat, I thought to myself that I couldn't wait until I had kittens myself and then I imagined myself nursing a litter of them... See? I'm going crazy." I opened my eyes and glanced at Amy before closing them again.

"Umm... It's not that odd... I've thought about it'd be like to have a baby and be a mom and all that..."

"Yeah, but you thought of having human kids."

"Maybe you're just embracing your inner cat," Amy laughed by herself. "Sorry, Nura, I shouldn't have said that." She reached her arm around me and pulled me into a warm hug.

We were still hugging when the other four came out of the store. They asked why I had left and I used the excuse of it being too loud for me.

"I'm starving. Who's up for hitting the food court?" We all agreed with Shine that food was a good idea. My stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and the girls all got a good laugh at that.

~~~

"I’ve known her longer and better than you. I’ve also known you long enough to know you’re not the perfect boyfriend. You’ve been a jerk to quite a few girls." Trance paused to collect his thoughts, a look of anger and determination still evident on his face.

"If I’m such a womanizer and everyone knows it, then why would Sanura want to go out with me? She’s known me as long as you have. If I’m so horrible, then she wouldn’t be with me," stated Colin, feeling defensive at the conversation about his new relationship.

Trance leaned forward in his seat and glared at Colin, his white eyes piercing deeply. "He isn’t thinking, this is an emotional issue for him."

"She! Nura is a girl!"

"And she’s still a boy."

"What’s your problem with us dating?"

"I just don’t want to see her get hurt." A look of concern crossed Trance’s face.

"I’m not going to hurt her. I really like her …”

"That better be true," said Trance as he stood to leave. "Because if you hurt her, I will make your life hell."

Colin jumped to his feet and stepped within inches of the other boy. "Is that a threat?"

"Yeah, that’s a threat. So be good to her."

~~~

"I’ll take the triple cheeseburger, upsized with root beer to drink" I took another look at the menu board before continuing. "I’ll also get the salmon burger, and one of the chicken burgers with bacon, and a vanilla shake. I dug in my purse and handed a twenty to the girl behind the counter.

When I turned around to let Jade place her order, all of the girls were looking at me as if I were a ghost.

"What’s wrong?"

"You’re going to eat all that?"

"Uh huh. I’m hungry." After a few minutes the guy taking our order put my tray of food on the counter and my stomach grumbled again.

"That is so gross." Dani pulled a face at me as I picked up my tray full of food. I grabbed a table for us and we were soon chowing down. Even though I had by far, the largest order, I was still the first one to finish my food. I sipped at my milkshake as I waited for the others.

"We got you a little present, Sanura." Jade searched through the various shopping bags she had and pulled out a small package from the pet store we had just been at.

When she handed me the bag, I just stared at it. "You got me a gift at a pet store?" I didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, I was upset because it seemed they were making fun of me because I was a hybrid. On the other, I knew they were my friends, and they wouldn’t try to hurt me.

"Go ahead and open it!" Jade and Megan were both grinning like idiots.

They had tied the bag closed, and so I used my claws to slice it open. I reached in and pulled out a pink … collar? Yup, that’s what it was. It was pink, and looked as if it was made of leather. A heart-shaped silver I.D. tag with my name etched into the surface hung from it. It was one of the strangest gifts I’ve ever received, but it was kind of cute … for a collar. I smiled, and then slipped it around my neck. The buckle was a little difficult to do up with furry hands and long claws, but I got it done up after a bit of a struggle.

"Thanks, you guys, this is so cool!" I leaned over the table and gave Meg a hug, then turned to Jade, who was sitting right next to me. There was still a lump in the bag, so I reached in and pulled out a small toy mouse. "Very funny. What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Smell It!"

I gave Jade a look before lifting the mouse to my nose and taking a sniff. "That smells really good. What is it?" I took another sniff, and then another one. I felt like I was floating, and began to feel a little drowsy. I was only vaguely aware that the girls were laughing at me.

Megan grabbed the mouse away from me, and without thinking, I swiped at it, pinning down the mouse and Meg’s hand. My claws had sunk into the table top and I had to pull pretty hard for quite awhile to get loose.

I had a few minutes to clear my head while I tried to get my hand out of the table. I felt really weird, but the drowsiness was starting to fade. I felt something on my chin and wiped at it with my free hand, only to find that I had been drooling. "What did you do to me?" I slurred and then started giggling uncontrollably.

The girls just laughed at me again. "The mouse had catnip in it," Jade giggled.

No wonder I felt drugged.

~~~

We pulled into the driveway behind my parent’s cars, and I looked down nervously at what I was wearing. The girls had talked me into wearing one of the skirts we picked up with one of the tops I had just bought. The skirt was a very short denim skirt. I kept trying to tug it down, but it wouldn’t even cover my butt when I was sitting down. The top didn’t cover much more. It was a white microfiber top that tied in front between my breasts, but the rest of the front was open.

Underneath I was wearing the new pink push up bra that made my breasts look even larger. I still had a hard time with bumping into stuff with them. The bra was clearly visible through the sheer microfiber material. *Mom and Dad are going to freak when they see me,* I thought to myself.

Getting out of the car, I went around to the trunk to get my stuff. I had ten large bags of newly tailored skirts, pants, and shorts, two bags of stuff I had bought today, and my backpack. I managed to pick them all up at once, and carefully made my way to the front door.

I had just stepped through the door and put down the bags when Dad walked in from the kitchen. He stopped as soon as he saw me and I stood there frozen to the spot as he looked me over from head to toe, several times. He finally broke the silence, "Kaitlyn! Could you come here, please?"
Mom walked in and smiled at me, "Sanura, that outfit is pretty on you, but you might want a bit more under that top than just your bra."

"Kaitlyn, I don’t think she should be wearing clothes like that!"

Mom looked over at me, "Hon, why don’t you head up to your room while your father and I have a little talk?"

I headed up to my room and put my bags on the bed. As I was starting to put away the things I’d purchased I realized I could hear my parents talking even though they were downstairs and on the other side of the house. I sat at my desk, perked up my ears and was amazed how clearly I could hear their conversation. I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but they were talking about me.

"...don’t want her going around town dressed like that!"

"Hon, this is a good sign, even if you don’t like it. It means that she’s accepted that she’s a girl now, or is at least trying to. I know you feel you’re losing your son, but Sanura is the same person, and your daughter needs your support."

"I just think he may be taking all this a bit too fast. You know he always used to get himself in over his head. I’m just concerned that this might all be too much for her.... She’s already got a boyfriend, Kaitlyn! Don’t you think that was a bit quick? I just don’t want her to get hurt."

"Neither do I, but we shouldn’t discourage her from exploring her feminine side. I agree that this must be a lot for her to deal with, and that’s why I’m taking her to that morfs counselor on Monday.

*I don’t need to see a counselor,* I thought. *No doctor is going to know how I feel.*

I decided not to listen to the rest of their conversation, content that they were just concerned for me. I was amazed at how well I could hear them. I played around with it, and found that I could focus my hearing on certain areas by moving my ears, something I had surprisingly great control over.

~~~

"Target conformed. Pack two move in and immobilize.” The men dressed in the smart camo suits were nearly invisible as they approached the Miller home. One of them climbed the large maple in the neighbour’s yard and pulled a gun from his holster.

Sanura walked into her room and passed her window.

"I have a clean shot at the target."

~~~

I changed into a clean pair of pajamas that had been out with my pants for tailoring. It was nice to have something I could wear besides a nightie. There were pretty comfortable, as they were made of a silky blue fabric. I was feeling kind of worn out, so I quickly put away the remaining clothes that were on my bed.

I put away the last of them and stood in front of my dresser enjoying the cool breeze from my open window. It felt nice against the silky fabric, and my exposed skins started to get goose bumps. I was snapped back to reality by a very quiet whistling sound, and my ears stood up to detect what it was. I could tell something was coming towards me quickly, as it was rapidly getting louder. All of this was being processed in my head at double speed. As if I was acting on autopilot, I pushed myself off the dresser towards the left, dropped to my knees and rolled to the left just as a dart struck the wall right where my neck would have been. "What the hell?" I was so mad, that without thinking, I ran across the room and lunged out the window

~~~

"Target missed. I repeat, target missed. “The agent loaded another dart into his gun and lifted the weapon for shot number two. He looked up to see the young hybrid girl flying through the air towards him. He shot at her, but the dart was deflected by a dark shadow that appeared in front of her. The girl let out a growl like a lion making a kill as her pink claws extended from her outstretched paws. Almost instantly, she knocked him to the ground, her claws sinking deeply into the flesh of his arms.

"What do you want? Who sent you?" The distinct sound of guns being cocked all around the girl interrupted her questioning. Sanura knew she was surrounded.

~~~

To Be Continued…

Note: The MORFS universe is now open for submissions. Please send any stories or questions to Britney at [email protected] for approval until the universe rules are posted at http://morfs.nowhere2go.org/

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