The Shifters: Katrina

Ah, Monday. The slow, sluggish beginning to the week.

Thanks to Molly and Kami, I got to add a touch of extreme physical fatigue and pain to my Monday morning. Instead of getting out of bed with all the excitement in the world for school, I rolled out and fell onto the floor next to my bed, the thunk of my body waking up Chloe who'd slept through her alarm. While she woke up gracefully, rubbing her eyes, hair falling majestically in waves on one side of her face, I groaned as every appendage I had throbbed. My roommate glanced over at me, concern clear on her face.

"Are you alright..?"

I waved away her worries. "Mostly."

She hummed, getting herself ready for classes while I sighed. Five minutes of low throbbing passed before I could push myself up. Chloe watched as I stumbled to my dresser and located the clothes I needed. All my regular clothes were shoved in the back of the drawers -- with all my training, lately the only clothing that could survive a day in the life was shifter-friendly. My green hoodie stolen from my bedroom back in Greenhill was crumpled in one corner of the top drawer, a glaring reminder of, well, everything. I grabbed the hoodie, adding it to my pile of clothes for the day. After showering and dealing with my hygienic routine, I walked back into the room to see Chloe gone, a note written on a page of the distinct type of paper that was in her sketchbook.

Ten minutes before first period - Chloe.

"Shit," I cursed as I got dressed as quickly as possible, hastily tying my bedhead hair back. After grabbing my things and a key, I rushed out of the dorm room and down the hall, surprised to suddenly be around other shapeshifters. Dani was also in the hall, trying to rush down the stairs without tripping. I slid past her on the banister, taping her shoulder. She seemed to get the idea, and the two of us made it to our first class in record time.

M. Crim was less than impressed as I fell into my chair next to Tyree, the feet scraping against the ground. He sighed, sending me a disappointed-yet-amused glance. The bell rang, and he turned away.

"Today, we're going to study the difference between the effects of raw power. How someone with more raw power's elemental abilities vary from those with less. Any volunteers?"

Tyree's hand shot up, as well as Alisa's. Both of them used fire, and Tyree's gorilla was significantly larger than the blonde's cobra.

"Perfect. Come up here, please."

Both girls complied, gracefully walking to the front of the class. They stood side by side, a quick grin passing between them. Despite Alisa having less raw power and energy, everyone knew she trained hard and had her own deadly skills.

M. Crim knew as well, and seemed overjoyed with his volunteers.

"Girls, I would like a fireball the size of a soccer ball."

Tyree completed the task effortlessly; with her amount of practice, there wasn't a single trace of red glow on her fingers as the ball materialized about her hand. Alisa, on the other hand, scrunched her face, a glow from shoulder to hand appearing as she conjured the fire.

"Alright, now try a needle-thin projectile."

Tyree frowned. When she tried, flickers of red appeared across her hand and forearm. She struggled with the accuracy of a small projectile, the shape constantly expanding. Alisa, however, had absolute concentration. The projectile formed within a second, becoming almost a solid form of flames.

"Is the difference clear?"

The class nodded. "Right. Tyree, as a bigger animal with more potential, can easily make up bigger quantities of her element. Alisa has accurate abilities, and a finer control, but has a harder time creating her flames."

Makes sense, I thought. The difference between the two had been mentioned before. Not only that, but the physical demonstration made it crystal clear.

I wonder how I could figure it out by just looking at a person, I thought suddenly. Strategically, how would I beat someone with less raw power but more accuracy? A projectile that thin could be nearly invisible to my vision. I could miss it entirely and be shot.

My thoughts wandered, strategy and horrifying possibilities filtering through my head.

"Katrina? Earth to Katrina."

My head jerked upward. "Sorry, what?"

M. Crim smiled. "I was asking you to come forward, Katrina. With your situation, your elements must be an interesting thing to see."

I nodded, getting to my feet. Tyree and Alisa passed me with quick wishes of luck before I took their place at the front of the class.

"What should I do?"

The teacher frowned, considering the question. "Let's see the soccer ball sized quantity of each."

With an exhale, I complied. Water was easy, my index and middle finger glowing as it materialized above my hand. Then, I focused solely on heat, my other hand glowing completely as the fireball flickered into existence. The class seemed shocked, some of them probably only hearing about my abilities from rumours.

"Can you expand them, Katrina?"

I nodded. The water shot upward, soaking the ceiling. My hand glowed, the cylinder of water shuddering, my control not fine enough to keep it in a perfect shape. The blue glow spread up my arm, not quite to my elbow. It was definitely a sign of me getting better. When it came to fire, the flames were able to lick the ceiling as well once I expanded them, but they were unruly and had no definite shape. The glow was almost to my shoulder.

"Good," M. Crim said finally. I pulled them both back into soccer ball sizes. "How small can you make them?"

A thin icicle I'd been using before in other fights formed in my hand. My flames were much harder to deal with, the glow pulsing with effort before I could create a writhing coil of fire. It lasted for over half a minute before I began to sweat from the mental effort of having to keep both elements in check. M. Crim motioned for me to relax and both vanished from existence.

"Thank you. You may sit."

I nodded, wiping the back of my arm across my forehead. I was tired, my eyes threatening to close.

"You okay?" Tyree asked when I sat beside her.

"Fine," I sighed, "just been tired lately."

She nodded. "Makes sense. You've got a lot of extra training, don't you?"

"Uh huh," I grunted.

Her next smile was gentle, even though I wasn't being very pleasant. "You'll get through it. We're here to help too, by the way," Tyree reminded me. I sighed, letting some of my irritation go with the breath.

"Thanks. You guys are my lifesavers."

"No problem. Not like we've got anything better to..."

I paused, looking over at her as her words died in her throat. Her eyes were glued on something outside, widening.

"Tyree..?" I prodded, twisting to look out the window as well.

"Oh... shit."