I found twenty students sitting on the bench I sat before and I figured it was my class. Some of them started mumbling to the sides, they were as restless as during the presentation.
-``The profess... the trainer will be right back. He asked me to tell you.''
-``Are you alright?'' - ``Akita'' rose from the bench and walked to me. Then he heard the door opening again and got back to his seat, showing me a space next to him.
I sat and saw Claws walk in, he had no longer his white coat, instead he wore a subtle sport sweat and large comfortable trousers that flowed down his legs freely without a wrinkle. - ``Good evening and welcome to the gym, I will be your trainer and health assistant during your studies here, please call me Claws.''
Everybody laughed.
-``Yes, well, I bet you aren't such sweet paws yourselves, so please how many of you can shape-shift with ease? -He was serious but still very casual.
Most of my colleges showed up eager hands.
-``How-many can transform partially, and I don't mean indiscriminately. I mean changing the shape of a particular part of your body independently?'' - Most hands fell down in disappointment.
-``Ok, that is already good.''
The ``vision'' had his hand hanging playfully as though its perseverance standing would show the increased confidence he put in his own abilities. The ``Setter'' on the other hand had her hand hanging with a profound disinterest.
-``OK, let's take a walk shall we? I will show you the surroundings of this temple of health. As you can see this is the indoor gym. He opened the door he left from and moments before so did I and we went back to the corridor following him. On your left is the swimming pool. Though it is free for any student during extra hours, during classes it is mainly for our whalemen. They need to hydrate.''
The ``Wow'' was general in that confined corridor as we watched the amazing loops and hoops these whalemen did. In the air, rubber like tails curved after the colorful shiny skin of thighs that joined in bathing suits to the sparkling human chests and arms like metalized rainbows.
-``OK. Let's see how good your senses are. Who smells something tasty and nasty?''- He continued pleased by our reaction.
That was a strange qualification, but would we identify something so ``well'' described?
-``Go on! Close your eyes, that typically helps in the beginning. Close your eyes and give a big sniff. Let's see what you spot with your middle eye.''
That's nice. I closed my eyes facing the transparent wall. The world shifted and trembled. Subtle lights passed my eyelids, keeping my eyes busy following these dancing shadows. My lungs filled in deep and the shadows gained color and shape... not really color, but they made a definite contrast with the dim beige of the background. Also these forms would dance with inhuman, still human-sized embodied movements. An after-image of them was joined in a blurred precise direction down to the right. I let my lids retreat and the real light touch my eyes. I was alone, I was so absorbed in my senses that though I felt some movement behind me I didn't focus on it, those shadow dances were almost hypnotic.
-``There you go. You can smell them, now go get me some tail.'' - A naughty smile raised his lips, showing up sharp huge white teeth.
I was smelling? Those weren't colors, of that I knew. I couldn't name them or relate to any color I have seen, but how could smells be visual? I sprung on my toes and realized I was on my toes. They didn't feel mine, but the leftover of a surreal experience which left them big and hairy. I left the sneakers where they were, surrounded by those other left before. I was back in my hairy form and fortunately I must be slower than the others so I didn't have to witness their deforming transformation. yarrck!
I followed my nose to the right and opened the medical office door though I was sure I couldn't be right. After all how could all the other fit in and where would those smells come from, within the office? But I couldn't be blamed if I did the best my nose told me, the best I knew and I didn't know much.
I opened the door and everything was as I left it fifteen minutes ago, the large window behind the litter was opened. Also there were fast figures passing outside in the dark... some on the trees... on the trees? I closed my eyes and allowed my imagination to fill in the blanks. If what I was seeing were smells, what was I smelling then and where from?
The trace of shadows definitely came from the open window, I had a good spatial memory so I could still picture the office with my eyes closed and it made most sense... which seems the best I would get for now. Most sense? Ha! A hysterical giggle had found its way through my throat leaving behind an ecstasy for this... hunt?
The shadows danced vaguely, but well defined. It's as if the difference between the past and the present was the intensity of the... let's call it colors... and as if the movement was better defined than the still figure itself.
Fresh slightly wet grass and pine trees filled the background and what could only be described as sweet acid flavors were spread in many different clusterings along the trees. Moving agile up and down and juggling through what should be bouncing unsteady branches. At the same time strong warm smells moved heavily on the ground, mostly on two legs. But they would crouch to four as to propel in daring jumps, in clear attempts to intercept the sweat and nasty smell of the slim juggling figures.
I opened my eyes and the moonlight allowed me to distinguish some silhouettes, although it seemed more vivid ``seeing'' with my eyes closed.
-``In time you will learn to use them both.''
-``What?'' - Silence was broken so fast and in this state I was so jumpy.
-``Sorry'' - The trainer continued to answer my unspoken questions. - ``I mean sight and smell, but for now the exercise is to close your eyes. Fortunately enough we heal fast and a lot, because you probably will only sense filidae. But that is the point after all. Though you are bound to get some scratches, let yourself fill with your canine reflexes''
-``OK'' - hesitation showed through my honest answer. I closed my eyes and followed the thick trail through the window. ``Autch''- but my legs bumped on something. I had stumbled on the litter.
-``That is enthusiastic, but maybe you should open your eyes just until you are on the other side of the window'' - Now you tell me?
I could hear all sorts of animal sounds out there, some of them even called out. I slid the window all the way back, and raised my feet to the jamb and stared at the dark movements under and on the trees. I could only see some eight or nine shadows moving, running and jumping. I closed my eyes again and filled my lungs with the cool humid breeze of the twilight bathed forest ahead. I felt so free and present I just let my body fall forward into the outside. The wind brought new flavors into my nose, caressed my skin and measured the fall. At the last second my limbs fell forward and touched the smooth grass before I could think. Everything is so vivid when I close my eyes, every smell, every sound, every touch... But though the various smells of fresh herbs, moist tree leaves and wet grass intertwined in front of me, I could most of all taste in the air the moving sweet and acid different flavors as fresh citron pies with slightly different spices. Moreover the warm strong smell cornucopia that followed the pie traces like dogs tracking cats. These ones felt as warm and nice as hot chocolate in a winter day.
The fragrances triggered this tingling sensation under my nose like pollen would, it was an alien feeling, like if I had an extension of my nose to the sides and I could precise the direction of what caused each sense to be awaken in my ``smell-sight''. I felt a blow caress my face and an infuriating acid shadow moved right over me provoking an unexpected euphoria in all my system. My hair rose on the back of my neck and I felt like freeing this grotesque scream, which once more found its way out ahead of my intention to restrain it. A bark echoed through out the air and the shadow stopped briefly, rotated twisting in the air to face me. She landed perfectly on an invisible elevation one meter above me and snarled like a cat.
I curled my toes on the smooth grass and followed the frenetic and unavoidable instinct to chase. She was mine, and I really felt like biting that annoyingly provocative bouncing tail off. With that ostentatious posture she even deserved a good... firm... bite! She smiled back momentarily. I could tell by the smirk, the movement of her cheeks and the momentary shine of her eyes, the fluorescent vacant eyes that met mine. And she faced forward again, leaving in a hurry run, composed of swift and impressively extensive swirling jumps.
My feet followed without the request of a decision or a conscious demand. I could taste her sense in my mouth like if it had zoomed in in resolution. I stumbled and opened my eyes wide, but couldn't see much more than shadows and sporadic reflections of the moonlight in the dew, so I closed them once more. I ran carelessly through the invisible obstacles, some would just miss me, some scattered my body to a different direction that was rapidly corrected grabbing any available tree branch and using this way my arms to propel my whole body gyrating back to track.
She tripped on something or finally a branch was too thin for her bouncing weight. At the speed we were and with these confusing shadows I could never tell the difference. But it was enough to gain on her and to finally have her on the ground. I crouched down letting my claws hit the ground and pull me forward with all my arms strength. She anticipated me. She clang with her nails on the tree, pulled her legs up to between her arms and sprang her whole body upward. I only had time to open my mouth and close it, feeling a furry dangling snake within my sharp teeth. A scream was released from in front of me before I could spit everything I could in disgust. I could hear my heart pound and which is stranger I could hear a second one. I looked ahead and the diamond fluorescence with a wet shinned stared at me. She had fallen back and twisted to face me.
-``Did I bite you? I am so sorry, I didn't mean to, I..'' - I don't know what came over me... And I spit again, but the sensation was unshaken from within my teeth.
-``Don't worry, you didn't... you may have to spit hair for a while, but you didn't really bite me or hurt me or anything.'' - Her chin rose and I realized that I just bite a little of the fur on her tail, but more of her feline pride. - ``I just reacted with a scream, that's all!!''
-``Should we go back?'' - I tried to smile, but nothing I could do would make me feel any nicer after my will to bite another being.
-``I guess so...'' - She jumped, slid under my arm and straitening her body, passing by me in the opposite direction we were running. ``But could you please close your mouth?'' - She threw over her shoulder.
-``'f course, sorry.'' - I hadn't realize my mouth was so widely spread under my nose, but suddenly I wasn't so sorry I bit her, just sorry I didn't do it better. I was just gasping and it really felt fresh, though it shamed me a little, to let my tongue out and wide the jaw.