Corner of the Sky (Were-TF)

“Man, what a long day.”

After hours of singing, dancing, and acting, I was absolutely exhausted. I went backstage to the dressing room, changing out of my dance clothes into my normal ones. As I did this, I happened to glance into the mirror. I never really considered myself to be a particularly noticeable person. With my short, black hair, brown eyes, and narrow face, I always seemed to blend into the crowd wherever I went. Whenever I met someone, I often wondered if they would recognize me the next time we saw each other. Everything about me just seemed so… unmemorable.

“Long day, huh, Alex?”

I turned around to see one of my friends, Robert Dayson, walk up to me. He had just finished changing into his normal clothes as well, including one of his favorite pieces of clothing: a yellow sweatshirt. Apparently, he had inherited that sweatshirt from his grandmother just after she died. He had been very close to his grandmother, so it would stand to reason that it would have sentimental value to him. He also seemed to think it complimented his own facial features, namely his short blonde hair and blue eyes. He turned to look at himself in the mirror, running his hand through his hair. “Man, I am exhausted,” he said. “That was one tough rehearsal.”

I smiled. “It sure was,” I said, nodding. We were both talking about the rehearsal for our drama club’s musical, Pippin. I had been lucky enough to get the lead role of Pippin himself, while Robert had also gotten a decently good role as the leading player. Both of us had just been through a tough rehearsal, and we were both ready to go home for the night.

“You know, you did really good out there, Alex” Robert said to me. “You’re a great singer. I really liked your performance of that solo number you did in the beginning.”

“Thanks, Robert” I said, smiling. But as we walked through the auditorium, the smile vanished. “I guess I can just relate to it well…” I muttered under my breath.

Robert stopped walking and turned to me. “What did you just say?” he asked.

I turned to him. “Oh, nothing” I quickly said. “Hey, do you think you could just give me a moment and go ahead without me? I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Robert gave me a skeptical look. “Well…okay” he said. “Don’t take too long, Okay? I’ll be waiting for you in the hallway”

As I watched Robert walk away, I thought about what he had said. He had, of course, been referring to my solo at the beginning of the show, Corner of the Sky. It’s one of the show’s first numbers, where Pippin sings about how he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, and how he needs to find his place. During that number, I had gone onto the stage and pretty much sang my heart out. Robert’s compliment was not the first I had gotten, as many other people had thought that I performed well. But the reason I could perform it so well was because I could relate to it so well. Before I joined drama club, I had never been able to find where I really wanted to be. I had tried so many other activities, from sports to gaming to art, but none of them really ever seemed to work out for me. In the end, I would either decide I wasn’t good at it or I would lose interest in it entirely. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do drama club anymore after this. After I got the lead in this show, I had ended up getting harassed by older boys in the club, boys who had also wanted the lead role. I was happy that I got it, but I wasn’t sure that I really wanted it if it meant putting up with this kind of thing every day.

As I was thinking this, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my good luck charm. It was a silver, metallic pen that I had found a few weeks ago, after our first rehearsal. I had just sang my solo for the first time in front of the drama club, and I had done pretty well, from what the other members had told me. I was going back to the dressing room when I noticed the pen sitting on a nearby table. It was just sitting there, yet it seemed to be… calling out to me almost. Maybe it was just because I was just in a good mood and felt a little like treating myself to something, but I couldn't resist picking it up for myself. It didn't seem like it belonged to anyone, anyway.

My good mood soon vanished, though, when I was finished getting changed. I was about to leave the dressing room when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and found myself face the face with Tom Lowell, one of the senior boys in the play. I had heard that he had tried out for the part of Pippin, only to get a soldier instead. And he was not happy about it. “Where do you think you’re going, pretty boy?” he sneered, shoving me back into a wall. “You think you’re so great, don’t you? I've seen the way you walk around on stage, acting like you own this entire school.” His eyes burned with hatred, so much that I could almost see the flames. “Well, guess what? You don’t. And I’m going to make sure you remember it!”

As he drew his fist back, I braced myself for the inevitable. However, just when it looked like I would be spending the next few days covered in bandages and bruises, I heard a knock on the dressing room door. “What’s going on in there?” a gruff voice yelled. It was Mr. Wilson, the director of the drama club. He sometimes came back here to check the boy’s dressing room and make sure it was in order. I had just gotten incredibly lucky that he had come back right at this moment.

Tom, on the other hand, did not appear to be feeling so lucky. “Er...nothing, Mr. Wilson” he stammered, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation. “I… tripped, and… hurt myself. That’s all.”

“Alright, Tom” answered Mr. Wilson. “If you’re done changing, come out here. I’ll wait outside for you to come out.”

Tom groaned “Alright, Mr. Wilson” He sighed, releasing me from the wall. He gave me a “This isn’t over” look before turning around and leaving the dressing room.

I was relieved that I had avoided that mess, but at the same time, I felt… kind of sad. I thought that I had found something that I could actually be happy doing, something that would set me apart from others and that I could enjoy. But I didn't want it if it meant that I was going to have to deal with this kind of thing all of the time. I took the pen out of my pocket. For a moment, I considered throwing it away. After all, it was just a pen. What good would it ever do me? But as I looked at the pen, I began to get the feeling that I should keep it around. I don’t know why, but I felt like things might get better for me if I kept it around. So that’s what I did.

Anyway, that’s what I was thinking about when was sitting in the auditorium that evening. So far, nothing all that special had happened to me since I found that pen. There were plenty of times that I thought about getting rid of it, but every time I did, I found myself unable to do so. It was like the pen was telling me to just stick with it, that it could get me through this. I was beginning to feel doubtful, though. Nothing had happened since I got it, and I wasn’t sure that would ever change.

“Hey there, Alex” a voice from behind me said. I turned around and found Robert’s older sister, Erica, standing behind me. Erica was also involved in the drama club, playing the role of Fastrada. I didn't know her that well, but I knew that she and Robert were pretty close. “You sure do like that pen, don’t you?”

“Yeah” I said, examining the pen. “It’s weird, because I don’t even know why. It’s just… I feel like if I keep it around, something good will eventually happen. I don’t know why, because nothing ever has happened, but…”

“You know,” said Erica, smiling. “I’ll bet that something good will probably happen real soon, when you least expect it. Anyway, were you still planning on coming over to our place tonight?”

“Oh… yeah, sure” I said. Earlier in the week, Robert had invited me to come over to his place tonight to hang out. When I asked him why, he told me that he was planning “something special” and that he wanted me to join him. However, I still had yet to find out what he was planning.

“Come on. We don’t want to keep Robert waiting” said Erica, walking out of the auditorium. I quickly followed behind her.

After leaving the auditorium, we found Robert waiting in the hallway. “You two ready to go?” he asked. We both nodded. “Alright then” he said, and he began walking towards the front door. But just as he was about to open it, he stopped and turned towards me. “Actually, why don’t you go outside first? I just remembered that I needed to… discuss something with Erica.”

Erica looked confused. “Wait… discuss something? What were we going to…” As she said this, she suddenly noticed Robert glaring at her. “Oh… right. Yeah, this is really important. Do you think you could wait outside for a bit, Alex?”

“Um… alright” I said, reaching for the door. I was annoyed that they were acting so secretive, although it wasn't anything new. Ever since their grandmother died, Robert and Erica had been acting… strange. They always seemed to be going off by themselves and talking about a lot of things in private. I didn't mind it at first, but they began doing it constantly, so it got incredibly annoying very fast. It was like they were harboring some kind of terrible secret or something.

I stepped outside into the cold, winter air. I began to shiver, due to the fact that I had forgotten to bring a coat to school with me today. The only thing I had to keep me warm was my blue sweatshirt that I had gotten for Christmas. As I waited for Robert and Erica to finish, I looked up at the sky, noticing that the moon was full. I had always liked full moons, simply because of the way they lit up the night sky and made everything seem much prettier. I smiled, thinking about how seeing a full moon could cheer me up even when I was feeling depressed, like a single glowing light in all of the night’s darkness.

I continued smiling as I absentmindedly moved my hand to scratch an itch on my chest. The moment my hand touched my chest, my smile vanished, replaced by a look of confusion. When I touched my chest, I distinctly felt something under my shirt. I reached my hand under my shirt to find what felt like… feathers poking out from my chest. Not only that, but they seemed to be spreading across my torso. I lifted my shirt up to find black feathers covering my upper body. Immediately, I tried to pull one out, only to be greeted by a sharp pain in the area around it.

I quickly tried to sort out what was happening to me. Somehow, I was growing feathers from my torso area. Why was this happening? What could I do about it? What would happen if other people saw it? As these questions entered my mind, I began to feel something… pushing against my shoulder blades. All of a sudden, I felt it burst from my back, ripping my shirt and my sweatshirt. When I looked behind me to see what had happened, I almost had a heart attack.

Wings. I… I have wings.

I ran my hand over my new wings in pure disbelief. Like my torso, they were covered in black feathers. They were also huge, and had to be at least five meters across each. But… why did I have wings? What was happening to me?


“Wings? That’s new. I've never seen anyone get wings before.”

I turned around to find Robert and Erica standing behind me. In a panic, I desperately tried to hide my new wings from them, before noticing that they didn't appear shocked like I was. Instead, they were both… smiling. Not only that, but their feet were completely bare. “You took your shoes off? Why?” I wondered aloud, despite my current situation.

The moment I said it, Robert’s feet began to change. White fur began to grow on them, until they were completely covered with it. His toes began merging together, and his toenails grew out into claws. His feet also began to lengthen, and he changed his stance so that he was standing on the balls of his feet. At this point his feet looked more like… paws. The entire time, Robert was looking at his feet, but instead of looking panicked, like I was, he remained perfectly calm.

When the changes to his feet were done, Robert looked up at me. “Does that answer your question?” he asked.

I stepped back in shock. “N-no…” I stammered, backing away. “Th-that’s not possible… I must be going crazy...”

“Don’t worry, Alex” said Erica, who was still smiling. “Trust me, you’re not going crazy.” As she said this, I noticed something had appeared behind her, something long and slender. As soon as it emerged, it began to move back and forth behind her. It took me a moment to realize what it was: a tail. Erica had just grown a tail. “By the way” she said, just as calmly as Robert had, “You may want to take off your shoes as well. Otherwise…”

Suddenly, a loud ripping sound pierced through the air, interrupting Erica. When I looked down to find out what had happened, I thought I was going to throw up. My feet had torn right through my shoes, growing too big to be contained. Not only that, but I only had three toes on each foot. But these toes were longer-much longer-than they had been before. Each toe also had a large, black claw the end of it. There was another ripping sound as I saw what looked like another toe rip through the back of my shoe, complete with another claw. As I watched, my feet began to change color, becoming yellow and almost… scaly, a like bird’s talons…

I glanced back up at Robert, seeing that the white fur that had covered his feet had also spread to the rest of his body. “Don’t worry about the shoes” he said, as his ears began to grow longer and pointier. “The same thing happened to us when we first transformed. We can always go out and buy you new ones when…”

“Who the hell cares about the shoes? LOOK AT ME!” I yelled, completely losing my temper. “What’s happening to me?”

“Alright, just calm down, okay?” Erica said. Black fur was already beginning to spread across her body, which looked like it was becoming… slimmer, almost. “Remember that pen you found a couple of weeks ago?”

“Um, yeah” I said, trying to calm down. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“That pen you found is what we like to call a ‘trigger’ ” answered Robert. The white fur had already spread to his face, making him look more feral. His hair was also beginning to change, becoming the same shade of white as the fur. “Basically, it’s what’s causing you to change.” As he spoke, I noticed his teeth were becoming longer and sharper, causing me to cringe.

“When you found that pen, we knew that this was inevitably going to happen” continued Erica. The black fur was now covering her arms, spreading across her hands. Her fingernails were also changing, lengthening and sharpening into claws. “That’s why we wanted you to spend the night with us, so that we could teach you about it.”

“Wait” I said. “So… all of this is because of a pen that I happened to pick up?”

Robert shook his head. “It’s a little more complicated than that” he answered. “It also has to do with our genetics.” he said. As he talked, his face began to stretch out, becoming longer. His nose also began to darken, growing until it took up most of the middle of his face. How he managed to keep talking through all of this was a mystery to me. “You see, all three of us have this… ability, one that got passed down to us through our ancestors. It’s an ability that remains dormant for a period of time, until it’s awakened by a trigger; in your case, that pen. Oh, and just so you know, your hair is turning white.”

“What?” I quickly reached up to feel my hair. It certainly felt different. In fact, it almost felt like… I reached with my other hand to feel the feathers that had already grown on my torso. The two definitely felt similar to each other, although the hair almost felt… smoother. Moving down, I found that whatever my hair was becoming had already spread to the rest of my face. I also noticed that my eyesight was becoming much sharper. Running my hand further down my face revealed that my nose and mouth were beginning to harden and fuse together. My eyes widened as I realized what was going to happen. I stood there, speechless as I felt my nose and mouth push out of my face, my teeth seeming to disappear. Looking down, I could see a long, yellow, hooked beak emerging from my face.

“You feeling alright?” asked Robert, who must have noticed the worried expression on my face. “I could always tell you about all of this stuff later, after you've adjusted.”

“Um… y-yeah, I’m fine” I said, half surprised that I could still talk. “G-go on.”

“All right” said Robert. “So anyway, what this ability does is cause us to… transform under the full moon. That’s why you’re transforming now, as opposed to two weeks ago when you first found the pen.” His fur was spreading down his arms, his hands becoming clawed in a similar fashion to Erica’s.

“Under the full moon?” I repeated. “So… this is like some sort of werewolf thing?”

“Well… kind of” answered Robert. “Technically, the only werewolf here is me. Erica is what you might call a werecat, and you… well, it looks to me like you might be a were-eagle, by the way you’re shaping up.”

“We just call ourselves werecreatures” said Erica. Now black fur was growing on her face, which was stretching into a feline muzzle. Her teeth were becoming long and sharp and her ears also seemed to be growing longer, becoming pointed. “It makes things a whole lot easier.”

“Um… alright, then” I said, looking at my arms and hands. Like my feet, my hands were also beginning to turn yellow and scaly. My fingernails were also changing, growing into long, black claws. The yellow “scales” on my hands began to spread across my arms, ending at my shoulders. Looking down, I noticed that my legs had also become yellow and scaly. As I was looking at them, I suddenly heard a loud ripping sound from behind me. I turned around and saw what looked like a set of tail feathers poking out from the seat of my pants.

“Hey, I think you’re just about done” said Robert. Looking behind him, I saw that he had also grown what appeared to be a tail. It was completely covered in white fur, just like the rest of his body, and it also appeared to be… thicker than Erica’s tail.

“I think it went really well! You look great!” chimed in Erica. Her feet were beginning to lose their human shape, her toes merging together and her toenails growing into claws like Robert’s had. The difference was that, like before, her paws seemed to be a bit slimmer than Robert’s. Black fur was now covering her entire body, so that she seemed to blend into the night.

For a moment, I just stared at the two of them. A white werewolf and a black werecat were standing in front of me, right where Robert and Erica had been standing just moments ago. “Hey, don’t stare at us the whole time” said Robert. “You need to get a good look at yourself.”

“You know, I think I brought a mirror with me” said Erica, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a small blue mirror. “Here, you can look at yourself with this.”

I took the mirror from her and held it up to my face. When I saw my face, my initial reaction was to drop the mirror in shock. Instead, I continued holding it, paralyzed at what I was seeing. Staring back at me was what appeared to be the face of a bald eagle. White feathers were covering my face, my eyes had become a rich, gold color, and a long hooked beak had emerged where my nose and mouth had been. In disbelief, I reached up and ran my hand over my beak, feeling how it attached to my own face. “Oh my god…” I muttered, looking down at myself. Black feathers were covering most of my body, my arms and legs had turned yellow and scaly, and my hands and feet looked more like a bird’s talons, complete with claws. “This… this is really what I am now, isn’t it? This is… unbelievable…”

“Hold on a moment” said Robert. He was looking around, occasionally sniffing the air, seeming to be on full alert. “There’s someone else here. Someone’s watching us.”

“What?” cried Erica. “But… I was sure everyone left! I checked everywhere!”

“Apparently, you missed someone” replied Robert. “Let’s see… I think they’re right over…there!” Suddenly, he turned around and charged at the patch of bushes right outside the school. I was shocked at how fast he was moving, as he had managed to get to the bushes and lift the person behind them before I could even blink. He must have been incredibly strong as well, as he had managed to lift him up using only one hand. As he carried the person back where we were, I realized that I recognized who it was. The person Robert was carrying was none other than a very terrified-looking Tom Lowell.

“Well, well, well” said Robert, a smirk somehow finding its way onto his canine muzzle. “If it isn’t Tom Lowell, the guy who always seems to have it in for Alex over there.”

“Oh my god… please… don’t hurt me, please!” cried Tom. I must admit, I couldn't help chuckling to myself watching this. After weeks of getting picked on by Tom, it was nice to have some power over him for once.

“I’m guessing you were waiting over there for Alex to show up so that you could ambush him” continued Robert, glancing over at the bushes. “Of course, the last thing you were expecting to see was something like this.” He lifted Tom further into the air, so that Tom’s face was just inches from his muzzle. “Listen to me. Do not ever tell anyone about what you saw tonight. If you say anything about this to anyone…” He quickly glanced at me. “...Or do anything to hurt Alex…” He looked up at the full moon before looking back at Tom. “...Let’s just say that the next time the moon is full… you may want to find yourself extra protection. Not that it will help, of course.”

“O-okay, I get it!” cried Tom. “Just… don’t hurt me, okay?”

“Hmm…” said Robert. “...I suppose doing anything to hurt you in this situation would make me look like the bad guy, so I’ll let you off for now. We have an agreement, I assume?” Tom nodded, still appearing scared out of his mind. “Good. Now, get out of here!” With that, he threw Tom to the ground. I winced, knowing that hitting the ground had to have been painful, especially given how strong Robert was. But Tom seemed desperate to get away, as he quickly struggled to his feet and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

Robert turned to me. “Sorry about that” he said. “But anyway… what do you say we see how those new wings of yours hold up?”

I looked behind me, realizing I had completely forgotten about my wings. “You mean… try to fly with these? You’re joking, right?”

Robert laughed. “What, you thought they were just there for decoration? Go on, try it. Eagles belong where they can fly, right?”

“Well… alright.” Experimentally, I tried moving one of my wings. I found it to be much easier than I thought it would be, as it felt just like moving one of my arms would. Bending down to try and catch the wind, I tried flapping my wings together. Sure enough, I began to feel myself lifting off the ground.

“See?” said Robert, who was grinning once again. “Now you’re getting it?”

“Oh my god…” I said, looking down at Robert. “I… I’m actually flying… this is incredible…”

“I knew you would like it” said Robert, looking up at me. “This will give you what you've always wanted: a place where you feel like you belong.”

“Wait… what?” I said. “What do you mean?”

Robert laughed again. “Come on” he said. “I know what goes on inside your head. I know you've never really felt like you've fit into anything you've done. That’s why you were cast as Pippin: not only because you have amazing talent, but also because you can relate to him.” He smiled up at me; a warm smile, one that seemed to fill me with happiness. “Now you can be what you've always wanted to be: someone who stands out. You’re special, Alex. You belong with us.

“Hmm…” I said, scratching the back of my head. “You and Erica aren't going to try to convince me to kill myself with fire later, are you?”

Robert chuckled, understanding my reference. “Of course not” he said. “So, are you in? Will you join us? We've got magic to do, just for you-”

“Okay, enough with the Pippin references” I laughed. “And yes, of course I’ll join you.” I looked down at myself, raising a hand to my face. A yellow, clawed hand. “I… I just feel so… alive. I feel like I can do… anything. It's… just so…” I looked back down at the two of them. “Thank you, Robert. And you too, Erica. Thank you… for everything.”

“Don’t mention it” said Robert, still smiling at me. “Now, go on. Find your corner of the sky.”

“I will. Don’t worry.” With that, I turned around, looking ahead at the pure black sky, the full moon shining ahead. “Just you wait, world” I said to myself. “Alex Cross is coming!” And, using my new wings, I took off, speeding across the night sky, singing to myself.

“Gotta find my corner.... of the sky!”