The Shifters: Katrina

"You seem to be doing well," Sonya mused. "How's being a dragon?"

"This entire thing is new," I breathed, "but it's... exhilarating. It's a good feeling, I think."

"It'll be good to have you around for the festival!" Antonio exclaimed. "After you flew off, everyone thought the festival would be down and gloomy. But now we can enjoy it together."

I should apologize, I realized. Steeling myself, I squared my shoulders and looked each one in the eye. My gaze was locked with Shae's, who had bear hugged me not too long ago, as I spoke.

"I'm sorry for what happened at my duel. I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings for leaving, and I didn't mean to disrupt the festival for you all."

There was silence.

Then, Tyree snorted.

"We're happy you're back," she laughed, "now just come on. Let's go to the main street of the festival and get something to eat."

Luke raised his hand, popping into the conversation. "Just a little quick input. Katrina does have to meet the others, you know."

Everyone but me outright glared at him.

"Listen, Ileial boy, we get that, but she needs to spend time with her friends."

Luke scowled. "Fine. I'll go gather some of the people she's supposed to meet and just bring them to you since you're so lazy," he grumbled, turning away from our group. I was surprised to see him easily frustrated, but brushed it off as Shae waved a hand in front of my face.

"Food?"

"Food."

Our group of eleven set off for the main street, which was also where Coraline's building was, searching among the stands for snacks. Several of the shifters we came across were unfamiliar, telling stories about their own compounds while we ate whatever they offered. As we walked, we also did some light shopping, and so happened to stumble upon a photobooth. The person running it told us we all couldn't fit until the shifters with smaller animals turned. Cory, Alisa and Quintin all shifted until we had eight people, a pitbull, a cobra and a wolf. Tyree, Sonya, Gene and Ben sat on the bench inside the booth while myself, Shae, Antonio and Ben stood behind them. Cory, the pitbull, climbed into Tyree's lap, Alisa slid along their shoulders, and Quintin propped his front feet up on the bench and wiggled in between us. We managed to fit, but just barely. The first photo was simple; a crowd of smiling faces. The second, there were hugs all around, and the water brothers, who were both canines, licked the nearest cheeks. Tyree and myself fell pray to this, Tyree getting Cory's slobber on her cheek while I had Quintin's tongue running from my jaw up to forehead, even catching some flyaways. The third photo was of the others laughing while Tyree and I looked absolutely disgusted. The last photo was goofy, full of happiness as we all sported wide, toothy grins.

After stumbling out, the three animals shifted back and we accepted our photos. The people running it were kind enough to print eleven copies so that we each had our own.

"We're adorable," Sonya cooed with a grin.

"Look at this one! Tyree looks like she's about to kill Cory!" Antonio laughed.

I grinned, looking over my own. I slipped it into one of the folds of the bodysuit with a smile. "They're perfect."

"Hey, Katrina."

I looked over my shoulder to see Luke with several others behind him.

"Time to do some meet and greets."

"Hey," Quintin snapped, "we're not done with our time with her. She just got back!"

A head popped out from behind Luke. It was Rowan, his orange eyes twinkling. "I knew I'd see you again."

I rolled my eyes, laying a hand on Quintin's shoulder. "I'll do it. Just relax. I'll see you guys later."

Tyree nodded, and Shae had the guts to grab Quintin's wrist. She dragged him along, my friends heading back on their mission to explore what the festival had to offer. Once they were well on their way, I strolled over to the newcomers. Dani, Rowan and Luke were the only ones I'd spoken to before. Anna and Chloe were also among those I recognized. One girl with a resting bitch face stood off to the side, and there were three others I wasn't familiar with. The other three were two boys and another girl. The girl had ash blonde hair, green eyes, and freckles. The boys were both brunets. One had green eyes similar to hers, and the other had dark eyes.

"Katrina," I said with a wave. "Though you all know that."

Anna, the young girl from before, motioned to the girl with a resting bitch face, the ash blonde haired one and the brunet with dark eyes. "These are Talia, Emma and Liam. We are all from Orgull."

Talia had black hair that was dyed blue at the ends to match the icy colour of her eyes. She was slim, the sort of body shape that would have others screaming goals. Her expression, however, gave me the impression that she disliked most people. Emma was the opposite. Her freckles and light hair gave her a friendly, sweet face. Her green eyes were also bigger than most people's, giving her an animated look. Liam had dark hair, cropped short with the sides shaved, that had a dyed shock of blond on the ends. His eyes were brown, at least that's how it looked, but they could've easily been black. Anna herself was a dirty blonde, her hair almost brown, with the ends dyed a vibrant purple. Dye was common in Orgull, it seemed. She was slightly on the shorter side, and her eyes were a muddy shade that I assumed was hazel.

Dani, Rowan and Luke simply let the next group of unknown introduce themselves.

Chloe motioned to the other boy, the one with green eyes. "I'm Chloe, as you know. This is Wyatt. Our compound is called Odanost."

Wyatt smiled. He had brown hair that was bordering on orange, and dimples. Chloe's blonde hair had brown streaks and brushed against her shoulders. She was thin and looked like you could blow her over with a single breath. Her eyes were a dull, possibly gray shade of blue.

"Nice to meet you," I told them, committing their name and faces to memory.

Luke snorted. "Don't sound so content just yet. I haven't gathered all of them," he teased. I rolled my eyes, flashing a wide smile to the newcomers.

"So, do we have plans or is this just going to be awkward?" Talia snapped. "For being so special, you don't look like much, Kat."

I raised both eyebrows. "Excuse you?"

She sneered. "I came here for the duels and the festival. This isn't either of those. Can I leave now?"

"Do as you pl--"

"How about," Luke cut in, "we go watch some of the duels? There's snacks there we can grab."

"Why should we?"

All of us looked back at Talia. She seemed calm, a little less hateful, but still unimpressed.

"The second this festival is over, we go back to being shaky allies. We don't need to be friends," she pointed out, "that, and it isn't our job to talk to this freak. We met. She did her job. See you later, nutjobs."

With that, she wandered off. Luke sighed, telling the others that she wasn't wrong. A few of them shied away, promising to speak later if we came across each other. I groaned, forgetting about what Coraline asked I spun and stormed off.

Damn it.

She's right.

I'm not some impressive beast that demands respect. At the moment...

I'm just a random girl, and they've been told I'm all wrong. Not the right form. Not the right number of elements.

I'm wrong.