Morphing Trial

For as long as she could remember, Gladys had never gone out into the wild. Curiosity wasn't her thing. In fact, she barely had any thought about the world. She liked looking at the sky. She liked the sounds of birds chirping. But never had she thought to leave the comfort of the place where she was. Never had she thought to change her point of view on the world. From the day she opened her eyes in the lab and escaped, never had she gotten curious enough to leave to nearby area of the said lab. Other kappan tried to persuade to explore the world, be wild and discover what she wanted to be, but nothing could be said to make her move. The grey kappe would remain sitting there, her eyes staring at the lab's entrance and the cloudy sky. The birds flying by, tweeting, their large dark grey wings beating a rhythm she didn't know.

Gladys don't quite remember when was the last time that someone checked on her. Her friend Grace came by what seemed to be months ago for the young kappe. Kappan were shouting their names close by. They must be their friends, thought Gladys. How she wished she had friends shouting her name. Grace had beautiful light blue and black fur, two piercing red eyes and a hood that looked softer than the clouds. Seeing her old friend all happy and colorful, full of life, didn't spark any joy or interest in Gladys. Disappointed and a bit mad her, Grace disappeared with the group of kappan.

One day something mystical and unimaginable happened. It had been pouring rain for the whole day and the kappe knew no one would come see her on that day. No kappan would risk getting soaking wet to talk with her. She sighed. Suddenly, a creature Gladys had never seen before -not that she had seen many beside birds, bugs and squirrel- approached her. Its pointy ears intrigued the young kappe. Swiftly running between rain drops, the creature ran straight toward Gladys' position without seeing her, nor what she was sitting on. On top of an oak tree's root that had recently emerged from the ground, the Kappe glanced around her. There was no one in sight to help her with this strange creature. Inevitably, the pointy eared creature crashed into the root. The yelp it made saddened Gladys. She wanted to help it. Whatever it was, it needed help. She carefully slid along to wood, ending close to the hurt creature who was curled up in a ball.

- Do you need help?

The creature didn't answer. Gladys wondered if she had spoken correctly or even if she had spoken at all. It had been so long since she last said a word, maybe she had forgotten how to talk? The sound of the rain falling on the foliage above her head made her less anxious. It was calming her nerves. She tried again.

- Are you hurt?

The creature moved slightly. Two sharp, piercing yellow eyes were now fixed on her. Never had she seen such yellow eyes before. None as vibrant as those two. Questions started to pop in her head.

- Yes. My head and paw hurt.

- I can help you.

- I don't need help.

Without talking furthermore, the pointy eared creature's eyes disappeared behind a wall of grey fur. Gladys pouted. Had she said something wrong? It was the first time something was interesting her. It was a strange feeling. Curiosity.

Several days passed before the two strangers talked again. Never did Gladys left the creature's side. Once the rain had stopped, she got up and looked around for moss and leaves large enough to make a pillow or perhaps some kind of nest for the injured. Moss was hard to find, but after exploring anxiously the forest near the lab, Gladys came back to the tree. Without a word between each other, the creature stood up and moved a few steps away for the kappe to be able to craft their nest. Once it had tested the softness of the moss, the creature emitted a weird noise and laid back down. Gladys liked the sound. She sat close to the injured. Yesterday she had managed to put some leaves around the strange creature's leg, to help it heal.

- I come from a place far, far away from here. My master died and I got afraid to stay alone. So I ran away in hope to find someone who would take care of me.

Gladys was surprised when it talked to her. She wasn't sure what to answer.

- I'm sorry about that. I hope you'll find someone around here. What's your name? I'm Gladys.

- I don't think I have a name. My master would call me "the cat". That's what I am I guess.

- You're a cat? I like your pointy ears and swift tail. And your fur looks very soft. If I could, I would want to be a cat too.

- Why couldn't you be one if you want to? No one's stopping you from being like me.

As the cat purred, Gladys realised that she might have found what one of her friend once told her about: what she wanted to be.