Claire’s tail flicked, her spots whirling into worried blues for a moment. Then they steadied to a determined orange. She nodded.
Honey raised her voice. “Kids! Come over here. Quietly, please.”
“Is there a snake?” Archie yelled, loud enough to scare off every snake in a ten-mile radius. He charged over, competition forgotten. “Or a cool bug, or a skunk, or—hey, is that Claire?”
Claire crouched low as the rest of the kids caught sight of her too. Her spots blushed, turning rose pink.
“Hey, neat!” Estelle exclaimed. “That’s awesome, Claire.”
“I wish I could turn different colors,” Flora said enviously. “No one wouldeverbe able to ignore me.”
“Nobody can ignore you now,” Beth pointed out.
“I’ve met octopus shifters back in Atlantis who can do something similar to this,” Finley said, examining Claire’s spots with interest. “Their skin changes color in response to their emotions. Is that the same for you, Claire? Or can you control it?”
Claire’s rosy hues had started to shimmer, gold flashing around each rosette spot. Now she seemed to concentrate, going still. A moment later, a dazzling wave of rainbow colors swept across her spots, from red at her forehead all the way to deep purple at the very tip of her tail.
“You’re so pretty, Claire,” Beth said. Rufus nodded agreement, golden eyes bright.
“Yeah, yeah,” Archie didn’t look nearly as impressed as the other kids. “I guess that’s nice and all, but come on! Let’s see yourclaws.”
Claire obligingly extended a paw. Razor-sharp claws slid out from her fluffy toes.
“Cooooooool,” Archie breathed, then added, “But mine are still bigger.”
“In your dreams,” Estelle told him. “Anyway, it’s not a competition.”
“This is so great!” Flora charged for the privacy of a bush. “Now we can all shift together!”
“Uh…” Finley’s eyes flicked to Estelle. “I think I’ve had enough shifting for today, actually.”
“Oh, come on, Finley,” Archie wheedled, already kicking off his shoes. “I wanna fight your shark!”
“Archie, he could like, eat you in one bite,” Estelle said.
“Yeah, but he’d have to get me in his mouth first.” Archie pulled his t-shirt over his head. “I can totally win. Double-dog dare you to wrestle, Finley. Or are you chicken?”
Without bothering to take off his shorts, Archie poofed into fur. The bear galloped away, taunting Finley with his round, spandex-clad backside.
Estelle nudged Finley. “Go kick his butt. Otherwise, we’ll never hear the end of it.”
Finley hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Nah.” Estelle waved at the others, who were already playing together in their shift forms. “You go have fun. I’m kinda tired, anyway.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep her company,” Honey told Finley. “Maybedon’twrestle Archie though, okay?”
Finley flashed her that sweet, sharp-toothed grin. His form shimmered. With a flick of his tail, his shark soared away.
Estelle plopped down next to Honey. She heaved a huge, heartfelt sigh, watching her friends play. “I wishIcould shift.”
A pang of longing twisted Honey’s own heart. And even though it was impossible, she couldn’t help thinking:So do I.
* * *
They returned to camp at midday, dirty, hungry, and happy. Buck was lounging outside the dorms, leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets.
“Hey, kids,” he greeted them. “Have fun?”
