omg, first post 0.0! I hope you guys enjoy this :) And I hope I got everyone's character's personalities and descriptions right. If I didn't, tell me and I'll fix it. Another thing, I promise that future posts won't be so Paloma-centered, this is just kind of to get an idea of where she came from and how she got to the hotel, yada yada yada :P This is a long freakin' post, so cookies for anyone who finishes 
@hanako, "hehe, my OC r wants 2 eat urz" >:D
{Paloma}
The frigid, snowy weather I’d been running into lately had forced me to take human form so I could wear warmer things. My blue hoodie—which was the closest thing I had to a friend—went over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans I had picked off of someone’s balcony. They worked well as a heat-retentive layer, too. Probably should’ve considered swiping some shoes or socks while I was at it, but I didn’t take this form often, so it didn’t even cross my mind. Despite the discomfort, clothes really did keep you protected against the cold.
Swirling flakes of snow fell as softly as feathers onto the ice which was hard-packed from the frequently occurring snowstorms in the last week. Silvery-gray clouds roosted lazily at the roof of the sky and refused to let even a meager beam of sunlight stream through the dull wintery day.
I had been following the scent of an otter through a frosted evergreen forest when, suddenly, the trees broke into a clearing at the base of a steep, sugar-white hill. A big hotel was situated at the crest of the hill, next to tall poles and wires—which I first thought were telephone lines—that were used as ski lifts for the hotel’s snowy slopes.
I couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of otter would not only wander away from its river, but into human-infested territory as well? Oh, well. As much as I feared and hated humans, I was really, really hungry and the otter smelled like utter heaven. My mouth watered at the thought of eating it—savoring its plumpness and feeling the warm scarlet blood run down my throat. . .
The ground was so cold it burned my feet and created painful fissures in my skin. Soon, little red droplets stained the snow after my every step, but by then I could barely feel my feet anyway.
The smell of otter grew stronger and I closed my eyes slightly to better pinpoint its direction while trying to ignore the all-too artificial human environment. Loud booms and shouts echoed from somewhere within the building. Is that a weird human thing? I shook off the thought and continued to follow the aroma.
Unfortunately, the scent became muddled with other animal smells and it was hard to focus on the trail. Especially when I smelled cat. Oh, I do love cat. . .
I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and swiveled my ears forward to listen for prey and put my head closer to the ground track better. Instead of otter, I got another fishy scent. What is that? I wondered at the unusual smell. That’s not salmon, not cod, or. . . I was so obsessed with the strange scent that I didn’t even hear the voices or see the two-legged figure in front of me.
"Oh! Uhhh, Jeth-" a youthful male voice said.
I bumped into something—someone actually—and we both fell awkwardly onto our sides.
My first instinct was to run, but I immediately noticed something about this—creature. It looked like a yearling (10-12 years) human pup, though I wasn’t quite sure how to age humans, but it smelled distinctly like a dog.
As he stood up, I felt that the hood on my jacket was flipped back onto my neck and in response, I switched my canine ears back to human ones—just in case. I sat myself upright and examined him with scrutiny. He was shorter than me, younger than me, and had rich brown scruffy hair with black tips. The yearling was better dressed than me, fully outfitted with a brown shirt, black vest, pants, comfortable shoes, and gloves, too, which likely meant that he was more accustomed to being human than I was. His kind brown eyes met mine and he offered his hand.
I was taken aback by his gesture. What was he trying to do? I know he just reached out his hand, but years of living in way-less-than-safe places had taught me that a happy face doesn’t always belong to a good person.
“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going. . .” He said apologetically.
Yeah, I admit, his sincerity did get to me, but no way was I buying it. I gave him a warning glare and got up on my own and tried not to make my ardent sniffing of him too obvious.
The yearling spoke again, “Hey, I’m Jethro. . .This,” He motioned to another male with wild white hair and a piercing in on his right eyebrow and two on his ear who looked somewhere in his late-teens, “Is Ren.”
Hmm, Jethro actually seemed genuinely nice. I also liked Ren’s scent, he smelled like fish—-dangerous fish. Why was that? They waved and smiled. I suppressed a shudder when they bared their fangs, I didn’t like when people smile (Ren’s pointy teeth were particularly intimidating), but I couldn’t hold it against them, we’d just met after all and they probably smile a lot on a daily basis.
“Paloma,” I quietly replied.
“Cool! Nice name. I’m a German Shepherd halfer. . . You are?” Jethro said.
Halfer? Is that what they called shape-shifters? A better question: there were other shape-shifters?
“I’m a shark halfer,” Ren added.
Oh! So that explains the “dangerous” fish smell.
I examined them closer and let my eyes graze over every inch of them, I wanted to remember these people. I wanted to keep memories of their scent and their sights close, so I could remember that I wasn’t alone.
Jethro squirmed a little before looking himself over. Ren’s eyes switched between me and Jethro before he pulled Jethro aside a few feet away from me.
Ren’s voice fell to a whisper—below my range of hearing—which made me nervous. The exchanges between them were low and quickly-spoken. Maybe I had been too quick to trust them? Were they plotting something? Ren and Jethro shot a cursory glance my way before coming back to me.
“Don’t worry,” Jethro assured me, “We’re good guys.”
Ren snorted sarcastically and Jethro gave him a dark-eyed glare before he continued, “We have a whole group with us, traveling to Harmony. I can fill you in some other time, but we’re kinda under attack at the moment,” Jethro explained.
Under attack? Lovely, served me right for giving my trust so soon. Normally, I would be—I should be—getting the heck out of here. Instead, I found myself sharing more about myself, “I’m a whippet-Border collie mix.” The statement was quiet, but they definitely heard me.
Jethro gasped and smiled (which was less frightening now that I officially knew he was a dog), his face brightened and excitement came off of the young male in waves, “One of my best friends is a Border collie halfer!”
A shout from hotel cut through our conversation and Ren and Jethro turned their attention towards the source.
Jethro gasped. “That’s right!” He recalled something and looked at Ren, who nodded.
“We need to go,” Jethro told me urgently, “I’m a dog-halfer , and that’s who the hunters are looking for. I’ve gotta fight.”
My eyes widened in fear, not only because I’m a dog-halfer, but also because the thought of fighting was terrifying. I don’t fight, I can’t fight, I run—which is what I should’ve done earlier.
Jethro grabbed Ren’s hand as he ran towards the hotel. For some reason, I followed alongside them.
I growled as I pulled my crazily waving blonde hair (major drawback about being human) behind my ears and wondered how Ren could ignore his own wild white hair flying about his face.
“So, what’s the plan?” Ren asks Jethro.
“Uh. . . we don’t really have one actually,” Jethro admitted.
Double lovely. “You don’t have a plan?” I said incredulously. Damn it! I should’ve known better than to follow an otter that was stupid enough to venture into human territory!
He was about to answer when something behind him caught his eye.
“Get down!” Jethro barked.
I immediately dropped to the snow and Jethro made an amazing leap over my head and landed on a big human man who was chasing us. Unfortunately, it also caught the attention of three other, equally big and dangerous looking humans.
Why were they so intent on catching us? The evil gleams in their eyes and slight smiles tugging at the corners of their lips made me think that they liked antagonizing small animals.
As I crouched pitifully in the freezing snow, Jethro and Ren totally kicked a**! Jethro kicked one upside the head, Ren punched another in the nose, which splattered some blood onto the snow and wet his fist with the sticky crimson liquid.
Stay down! Jethro mouths to me. I nod in return and flatten myself to the ground.
Jethro and Ren started moving backwards, away from me, and quickly got surrounded.
I didn’t know what to do, I felt so helpless as I heard the hiss of metal against metal as one of the burly human men pulled a knife out of its’ sheathe.
“Hey, what do we have here?” he said slickly.
There was a scuffle of shoes on snow and a huff from one of the men as Jethro slammed into him. Jethro seemed completely confident as he answered one of the men’s sarcastic questions, “What do you think?” Jethro snarled and kicked at the man, but earned himself an ugly slash on the left leg. “Ugh!” Jethro yelped.
Ren darted back and forth within the circle of humans surrounding him, skillfully dodging any attempts they made to capture him. Luckily, Ren’s situation was less dire and he had fewer weapons to watch out for.
A bitter tang drifted in my direction, surprisingly, it was Jethro’s fear as the men closed in him. "Hey, you know, I don't like confined spaces. . . so if you could just like. . . ah!” Jethro winced as a knife slashed him on the stomach. Another man lunged forward and punched him in the ribs, using his fist like a wrecking ball.
There was a sickening crack under Jethro’s skin and I flinched in recoil at the awful sound.
In a split-second, Jethro shifted his form and bolted through a gap in their circle of attack.
Ren easily took down one hunter after another, dodging swipes, throwing punches, and kicking as awesomely as a ninja.
Whoosh! A silver dagger flew through the air and lodged in Jethro’s right leg.
BOOM! BOOM! One of the men aimed a gun at Jethro and shot him square in the shoulder. “Ah!” he yelped and went down whimpering in pain.
Jethro shifted back into human form, causing a splash of brilliant scarlet to seep through his shirt.
One of the men grabbed Jethro by the nape—not hesitating to dig his disgusting nails into the halfer’s neck— and he squirmed in vain. “Paloma! Ren! Run for it!” he shouted desperately.
“Shut up!” the man demanded, tightening his vice grip on Jethro.
I whined pathetically as Jethro was taken to an ominous black van, parked about a dozen yards away, and flung into the back.
A hand grabbed my arm and I jumped back in surprise, causing me to lose my focus and shift back into dog form. My jeans fell off, though, the shirt and hoodie stayed draped over my skinny frame.
Sadistic hunters started to gather around us and my primal instincts switched me into escape mode. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I bunched up my muscles, preparing to spring. For a heartbeat, I felt regretful for what I was about to do. I liked Ren, but no way was I sticking with anyone who would slow me down or lower my chances of survival. Actually, I would probably be the one to slow him down. I’m a coward, Ren is brave, I respect Ren; he’s a great fighter and I know he can take care of himself. Our eyes met one last time and a silent I’m sorry passed between us before I bolted as fast as the wind away from Ren and the hunters, and towards the cover of the hotel’s labyrinthine halls.
{end}
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Yeah, sorry about that Ren.
If you are reading this sentance, you have a choice between chocolate chip and white chocolate chip cookies (they're fresh out of the oven <:).
Okay, I know I'm supposed to continue a post or the story line, but I've worked on this all day and it's 12:55 a.m. right now and I am dying X_X I'm going to continue this tomorrow (I can't just leave Ren hanging) first thing to tie up loose ends.
I hope I did this ok, if I didn't, feel free to pummel me with PMs stating your complaints and how you want something changed, removed, etc.
Hanako: What? Pummel? Free?! *picks up huge, extra thorny stick*
Me: *chuckles nervously* Hey now, easy with the stick. Easy with the--ow! ow!
Good night everybody :)
Featured OCs
~Paloma (mmmchocolate)
~Jethro (Balletninja)
~Ren (Lapaperninja)
Mentioned OC's
~Kari (HanakoAnimeaddict)
~Claudia (HanakoAnimeaddict)
Guest Starring
~the blue hoodie (<-jk)
Extra Note: I just watched Donnie Darko, and it was awesome! If you haven't seen it already, you should, it's one of the most awesome, dark, twisted, epic cinematic pieces I have ever seen. If you don't feel like watching it, then at least check out the soundtrack (total win). My personal favorite song is Gretchen Ross (especially the first 10 seconds of it).
Link to Gretchen Ross--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doC63IdYlA0&feature=related
