The Shifters: Katrina

It was Friday night when I finally felt energized enough to do some more training with the guards. They were hurting too, betrayed by Xavier. Koren had officially become head of the elites, the wolf walking around with more confidence than before. He and Victoria were dealing with my training today, Victoria acting like we'd been friends for ages ever since I protected her from the hunters. The three of us used the gyms for sparring, one of the guards acting as referee while I fought the other. Victoria and I were currently going at it, and though she was winning, I was doing my best to make it hard for her. While I stuck to plain punches and kicks, Victoria was constantly trying to trip me and use her superior agility.

Damn, I need to learn to use all the physical perks of a shapeshifter.

"Time," Koren announced, meaning our five minutes were up. I sagged forward, laying down on the mats while Victoria grabbed her water.

"We," I panted, "we should practice the fancy stuff."

"You're not wrong," Koren sighed, "you're definitely not using your dexterity."

"I've noticed."

Victoria laughed softly. "Time to turn you into a ballerina, Katrina."

"Oh lord I take it back," I said hastily. It was too late. Victoria grabbed me underneath the arms and hauled me upward, holding me like a toddler by the armpits. She was tall enough that I could kick my feet without hitting the floor with my toes.

"Time to practice balance and flexibility," she announced. "Koren, do something cool to motivate her."

The wolf complied, walking to one of the dummies we'd been using. In a flash, he put one hand on the ground for balance while he spun on his heel, his other leg kicking upward. Apparently he could do the splits since his leg was practically at an one hundred and eighty degree angle as his foot connected with the dummy's face.

My head perked up. "Let's do that!"

"Balance first," Victoria reminded me, dropping me on the floor. I groaned, pushing myself up. She pushed herself up onto her toes, glaring at me to do the same. My calves burned after five minutes of staying still, weight solely in my toes. After another five minutes, Victoria asked me to lift a leg. While on her toes, she pulled her other leg up to her ear, stretching it above her head. I didn't attempt to follow suit, instead focusing on my balance with my foot just barely off the ground.

"Lift your leg, Katrina."

"I'm going to fall," I warned her.

"You're a dragon, Katrina," she said.

And?

And you're a dragon, so act like one, my mind told me. You can fly, so you can definitely do this.

I frowned, tipping slightly as I lifted my leg to hip height. Before I could fall, my body righted itself of its own accord. A breathy laugh followed as I grabbed my foot, carefully maneuvering it to one side.

"Here goes--shit," I blurted, tumbling immediately as I tried to lift it higher. My legs gave out, calves burning as I caught myself before slamming my face into the mats. Victoria bursted out laughing, Koren rushing over to me.

"That was a good try," he told me, "are you alright?"

I flopped onto my side. "Peachy."

A genuinely amused smile appeared on his face. "That's our Katrina."

I snickered, holding out my hand. He took it, pulling me to my feet. Victoria was trying to cover her smile as I sighed.

Before I could chastise her, the door opened. The three of us looked upward to see Quintin peering inside.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Save me," I hissed, rushing over to him. As I came over, Koren shrugged.

"I guess we're done," he said, but the guards continued to watch in curiosity as I approached Quintin.

"What's up?"

He smiled, looking away sheepishly. Quintin was a tall kid with baby blue eyes and a lazy demeanor. In truth, he was a loyal friend and actually fairly attractive.

"I was wondering if you were busy right now," he answered eventually, "and if you wanted to, uh, help me with something."

"Not busy, just sweaty," I joked, "what do you need?"

"Well..," he trailed off, "I agreed to help my mom with some taste testing. She runs one of the shops in town, they sell everything from sandwiches to pastries to coffee."

"You want me to taste test?"

I could've sworn he blushed. "Normally she just gives Cory and I whatever new things she made, but Cory's busy and I figured it would be fun..."

He seemed to get more embarrassed by the second. I grinned, nudging his arm.

Quintin glanced up at me, looking hesitantly at my wide smile.

"I'd love to try your mom's cooking. I'll get to meet her!"

There was that blush again.

"Just let me shower first," I added, "and I'll meet you outside the girls' dormitory."

The water shifter nodded, turning and shutting the gym door softly beside him. I was still smiling, surprisingly excited about doing a taste test with Quintin.

My innocent excitement was broken when Victoria threw an arm around my shoulders.

"You're going on a date?!"

My face paled. "W-What?! No!"

She and Koren laughed. "That was absolutely an invite for a date. Katrina, Quintin asked you out!"

I gaped, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Playfully shoving Victoria off, I left the gym with a blush and their giggles following me. I rushed to my dorm, stripping and jumping into the shower. I even influenced the water to warm up quicker, and got dressed in a pink, feminine blouse and denim skirt. It was prettier than my normal getup, but I told myself I was just dressing up for his mother. After running my hand through my hair to fix it up, I left the dormitory with a key tucked into my pocket, finding Quintin leaning against the wall outside.

"Nice skirt," he smirked, "didn't peg you to be the skirt type."

I put my hands on my hips with an eyebrow raised. "I want your mom to like me. The only adults I've talked to so far are guards and officials. Your mom isn't going to put up with me because she has to."

Quintin snorted. "She deals with Cory and I. She'll love you, just because you're a girl."

The corners of my lips quirked upward as we began walking. The boy beside me would normally be asleep by now, either on the couches in the common room with Shae and his brother, or at home. Instead, the night was cooler and the sky looked gorgeous as we walked toward his mom's store. I was looking forward to the food and a long sleep.

The store was one of the several shops lining the main street near Coraline's building. The interior was clean, crisp, and had a homey touch. The tables were scattered spaciously, one of them set up with two sets of cutterly, plates and glasses. As the door fell shut behind us, I heard a woman call from another room.

"Quinny?! Is that you?!"

Quintin pinched his nose, giving himself a nasally voice. "Excuse me, can I get a table?"

There was a quick curse, which made me laugh, before a short woman with bright orange hair and blue eyes ran from the staff-only room. She wore a short green dress, an apron tied around her waist. Her hair was a mess of adorable curls around her face, and she didn't look a day over thirty.

"I'm so sorry," she said, not yet taking a look at us. "How can I--"

She stopped short as she spotted me next to her son. Quintin stifled a giggle as her face lit up. His mom ran toward me, grabbing my hands.

"Are you Quintin's girlfriend?!"

I blushed bright pink. "N-No, we're just friends."

"Oh," she said, but her face didn't falter, "then you must be the girl he likes! Quintin never brings his friends home, he thinks I'll scare them away."

Quintin rolled his eyes. "Mom, chill out."

She snorted. "No," she told him before grinning at me, "I'm Clarissa, Cory and Quintin's mom."

"Katrina," I replied, unable to shake her hand considering she was already squeezing both of them.

"Oh! You're the dragon girl!" She said with wide eyes. "Incredible! Please, come sit."

I laughed at her bubbly personality, Quintin trailing behind Clarissa and I as she led us to the table. She glared at her son for a split second, a message passing between them. Almost immediately after, Quintin grabbed my hand and ushered me to sit down, pulling out my chair for me. I was bright pink, looking at my lap shyly as he pushed the chair back in before sitting down as well. Clarissa brought out two muffins, putting either one in front of us.

"These are a new mix," she announced, mostly for my benefit. "I'll be making my new latte for you two in the back, it'll be a few minutes."

With that, she disappeared with her tray. Quintin and I tapped our muffins together like a toast before taking a bite. I hummed in satisfaction -- it was both chocolately and minty all at once. He frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm a wolf, chocolate isn't my thing," he said, "do you want it?"

I shrugged, taking it from him. I felt him watching me as I ate both.

"Is there something wrong?"

The water shifter looked away. It was around ten at night, the lights of the store reflecting on the windows as I rested my chin on my hand and watched as Quintin chewed on his lip.

"Did you have a boyfriend back with the regular people?"

I blinked in surprise. "No, not at all."

"Cool," he nodded, "that's cool."

I couldn't help it. I laughed outright, snorting into my hand.

"Are you trying to flirt?" I giggled. "Like jeez, Quintin, what is this right now?"

He looked shocked, sitting up straight and shaking his head. "N-No, I'm just talking, don't be silly."

A smile curved onto my face.

"Hey, Quintin?"

He looked at me innocently. In that moment, I saw his mother edging open the door with a tray of drinks in her hands.

She'll love hearing this.

"Thanks for inviting me out," I told him. "I like spending time with you. This is fun."

I noticed a grin on his mother's face as she gave us our drinks, and even he had a smile between his rosy, blushing cheeks.

And, of course, he wasn't the only one blushing.