Recent Posts

For the first time Amber felt a real sense of urgency, almost verging on panic.  In many ways, she hated her human body.  It was weak, lacking in natural defenses and woefully lacking in proper senses.  She had no armor, no claws and barely had teeth.  Her eyes, ears and nose barely qualified as functional in comparison to any of her other forms.  She was learning to appreciate what it could do: hands were glorious things for a great variety of different reasons and that almost made up for the lack of anything else.  Now, however, was one of those times when such appreciation felt hollow.

There were literally hundreds of different drawers, any one which could possibly house the illusive fossil which had been her reason for coming here at all.  Fortunately, each of them came with a neat little label indicating the species found within as well as the year and date of its discovery and where it was first discovered.  It was still a daunting task to read each and every label given the need for haste, but at least it was faster than having to manually open each drawer.

Dozens of tags were read until her goal was found.  Kaprosuchus: Discovered in Niger in the year 2009.  Now, finally, her goal was in sight.  She paused for a moment to listen in case anyone was approaching and, hearing nothing, pulled open the drawer.  Inside was the almost complete skull of the boar crock and she smiled to herself before reaching down a hand and placing it upon the skull.  At the moment of contact, an almost electric shock went through her system and she felt the compsognathus disappear from her body and be replaced by this new and fantastic creature.

This park was one of Ambrosia's favourites and one she'd performed in a few times before.  Part of a mixed organization of both humans and mutants, she did drum circles and dancing in order to build energy and awareness towards the cause of mutant/human peaceful relations.  When her little group had first formed, they usually performed in the same park every time.  Unfortunately, the idea of peaceful relations was a controversial one among many and they had been interrupted by violent elements a few times, both mutant and human supremacists, eventually leading to the decision to start varying their locations.  Now days they were rarely bothered, but still had to remain vigilant.

Their last performance at this particular park had been about a month ago.  Normally she wouldn't come back at least for a few months, but what harm could come of just the two of them?  It wasn't like they were advertising their presence and it wasn't like they were likely to draw a crowd.  No, it was just two women making music in the park; nothing threatening or controversial about that.

Ambrosia was just tuning her guitar when Cait arrived.  "Cait!  I'm doing wonderful and how are you?  Can I give you a hug?  I hug all my friends."  If given the ok, she would place her guitar on the ground and run up to her new friend with a friendly embrace.  Hugs were the best!  

"I guess I'll just have to rely upon my natural charisma and charm then, right?"  She winked.  Combine that with a little basic online know-how and surely she'd be able to convince someone into helping fund her ideas.  People would be surprised just how far the right words and a pretty smile directed to the right ears could get a girl.

"I bet, a job like yours, can get pretty crazy at times.  No partner right now, although I've had a couple of fun flings since coming to New York.  Relationships can so so complicated though, you know?  I don't think I'm ready for anything serious right now.  Moms are both back in LA.  I miss them a lot."  She really should go and visit them soon.  She knew they missed her just as much as she missed them.

The remaining tables were searched without incident but also without finding her target.  In her present form, there was no way for her to open any of the drawers, which required both opposable thumbs as well as enough weight to actually pull them open.  Of course, to imprint on the fossil she'd also have to be human but it was much more dangerous to take on that shape for the relatively long period of time necessary to go through countless drawers.  

Once again, it was down to the waiting game.  Although it was difficult to determine exactly how long she'd been in the lab for, it had to have been over an hour.  Time was on her side and now it became more necessary than ever to ensure there was no one around to see her.  The next wait was an especially long one and one difficult to do patiently.  Not only did she have to wait until there were no detectable voices in the lab but no voices for long enough to assume that everyone had gone home for the night.  She was hoping to not have to remain all night, but now it was seeming like the most probably option.

When all voices had departed and all but basic lighting had been turned out, she returned to her human form.  In moments, the tiny lizard was replaced with a naked, mostly human woman.  Modesty was a confusing human convention and one she had little care for, especially given that she was the only person presently in the building.  It had been a long time since the cold had bothered her and she didn't notice the slight cool air.  Although she assumed everyone had left for the night, one never knew when someone might try to enter the lab so time was of the essence to go through all the drawers until she found her target fossil.

Amber wasn't sure how long she had been living in the woods.  A long time.  Months, certainly, maybe longer.  She had begun her self-imposed exile when her pack had disappeared, abandoned her for another life, maybe, or someone they found to be more useful than herself. With them gone, there was nothing holding her to the human human world except pain and loneliness and so she left it behind.  She was something all together different than human, all together.  Half dead and half dinosaur, creature of the wild, what need did she have of it?

She knew she'd been making her way steadily north and west, hunting for prey as a deinonychus.  There was no final destination, no real purpose to the direction save to get as far away as she could of the city that had caused so much grief.  Staying as far away from human civilization as she could, she mostly subsisted upon wild animals like deer, wild dogs, raccoons and other creatures.  Occasionally she would raid a campsite for food but mostly she relied upon her own proficiency as a hunter and everything about the body she wore spoke of being born to hunt.  Fast and agile with superb senses, nothing in this era had ever encountered something like her.

As she moved north, the weather got steadily colder, even with her resistance to cold.  At night, she'd fashion herself a den to keep warm and during the day she'd keep moving.  Sometimes she'd stay in a given area for a day, sometimes for a couple of weeks.  There was nothing to dictate her actions except her own whims and desires.  If not for the crushing loneliness, it was a life she might be able to live indefinitely.  What need did she have of others, anyway, when she could achieve all her basic needs herself.

On that particular day, a terrible storm ravaged the area and she emerged from the relative warmth and safety of her den later than usual.  She was hungry and needed to find something to hunt and eat.  This far north, it was becoming more difficult to find prey; it was, perhaps, time to start moving south again.  The cold was also becoming ever more problematic.

"Who goes there?"

And then there was a man lying prone and possibly dying in the snow.  She approached cautiously, letting out a trilling chirp.  Sniffing at the man lying before her, she could tell by his body heat and the sound of his breathing that he was still alive, although obviously in bad shape.  What she was supposed to do with a dying man in the snow in the middle of nowhere she had no idea.  Its not like she had medical knowledge or any supplies with her at all, not even so much as a blanket to keep him warm.

The first step was to construct some sort of den or makeshift shelter to keep warm in and this, at least, she had experience with.  Utilizing her different forms to the best of their abilities, she made a sort of make-shift igloo around the man's body, padding it with any grasses and leaves she was able to gather and making it large enough for both of them to fit inside.  Next she went hunting and managed to find herself an arctic hare.  Of course, she had no knowledge of how to start a fire in order to cook the creature and knew that humans typically did not eat raw meat, but at least it was a start.  

Once food and shelter was taken care of, she returned the the makeshift shelter and returned to human form, sitting near the entrance.  Inside, it was warm enough that her lack of clothing didn't bother her, although most humans would still find it very cold.  Outside was a different matter and even with her resistance, it was better to remain inside the shelter.  If the stranger, if he ever awoke, had any problem with her being naked, that would be his problem to deal with; it wasn't as if she had anything with her to solve that problem.

"Hangouts and music will definitely happen soon."  Making new friends was neat and definitely and underrated activity, all things considered.

"Let me help you get that ringed up."  She grinned a the name reference.  Cait Sith.  Lol.  What fun.  Scanning the books into the computer, she quoted the money owed before accepting payment.  

"Enjoy the books.  Pleasure to meet you as well and I agree, instruments to happen soon."  She watched the other woman walk out of the story and prepared for her won short trip home.