#anihumans official story

[anihumans-official]

anihumans chapter two, draft one

SPOILERS FOR THE OFFICIAL BOOK "ANIHUMANS: THE STORY BEGINS"

Thomas stared at his feet as his mother led him deep into the forest.

With teamwork, the small but thick leaves hid the sun, blanketing the forest with a constant nighttime. The trees whispered stories of ghosts through their remaining leaves, until one leaf finally gave in and let go of its wooden wire, letting the wind cradle it with its gentle breeze. The wind played games with the leaf, letting it dance around the trees, before gently laying it down on the forest floor. The gentle breeze felt like ghosts brushing against Thomas’ skin as he trudged through the blue leaf litter. Goosebumps spread along his arms in response.

“A-are you sure we’re going the right way?” Thomas asked quietly.

“Trust me,” Wish replied with a grin and a wink. They kept treading through the forest until they reached a wooden outhouse-shaped building.

Thomas froze a few feet behind his mother, scowling.

“This is it?” he muttered, gesturing toward the building. “This is the magical school you've been telling me about?”

“Thomas, trust me.” Wish slowly slipped off her bracelet with a grin, placing it into an indent in the door. The wood of the door molded around the bracelet, and the door soon omitted a click sound, like someone unlocked it. The wooden door abruptly swung open, leading into a dark staircase. The bottom stairs were swallowed by the blackness—Thomas could see nothing beyond.

“See? Magic,” Wish announced with a smug grin.

Thomas stood in awe, his jaw dropping. He slowly stepped toward the open door, peeking down into the engulfed staircase.

“What are you waiting for?” Wish exclaimed happily. “Go on!”

Thomas looked at her with a big grin and sped down the staircase.

He, too, was swallowed by the dark.

Once Thomas saw the light at the end of the tunnel, his pace picked up. The rays of the bright sun streamed into his golden eyes and he held up his hand to block them. Once his pupils adjusted, he began to take in his surroundings.

Thomas had joined a group of kids about his age, some older. They all looked just as confused and in awe as he was. They were surrounded by all sorts of animals. The triumphant sound of the excited calls painted some sort of a royal aura to their entrance as the new students scanned the school with disbelief all over their faces.

The campus was more of a royal garden than a school. The buildings looked like castles, and in front of the main building stood a tall marble fountain with a sculpture of a unicorn rearing up on its back legs halted in the middle.

“Welcome to Anihuman Academy!” announced a loud voice. Down flew a small bluejay—but just before it landed it was surrounded by a blue mist, and suddenly a tall man in a light blue suit replaced the bird, like it was never there.

“I’m Mr. Robinson, your principal here at this school. Here you will learn simple core subjects such as math and science, but also you will learn how to control your wonderful gift!” the man explained. “We do not use our gift for evil, but for the good of our kind.”

Mr. Robinson gestured to the marble fountain, stepping around it. A plaque caught Thomas’ attention—

OUR FOUNDER

ALEXANDER KESTLE

KEEPER OF ANIHUMAN KIND

“This is the monument of our founder, Alexander Kestle. He was the first and only Anihuman, until he blessed the royal Kestle family with the highest honor of being unicorn Anihumans. The Kestle family holds Anihuman kind’s only source of magic—the Kestle horn.” explained Mr. Robinson. A chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ could be heard throughout the group as the principal ran his fingertips down the marble unicorn horn.

“If the horn was to be destroyed, all Anihumans would lose their gift. The Kestle family have protected the horn for years, and they’ve done quite a wonderful job. Now,” Mr. Robinson interrupted himself by clapping his hands together, “follow me to your classes.”

Thomas stuck near the outskirts of the gaggle as they filed through the wooden double doors. The group found themselves in the lobby, where two large imperial staircases framed a long hallway. A large circular carpet with yellow rings around the edges rested in the middle, and a wooden plaque with

ANIHUMAN ACADEMY

carved into it was suspended on the wooden railing where the staircases lead. The letters were lined with gold, and they glittered in the sun that spilled through the two windows above the doors.

Thomas watched as a larger woman filed in beside Mr. Robinson. She sported a beige dress and polished brown shoes. Her hair was graying and styled in a bob cut down to her shoulders, and gray glasses connected to a gold beaded chain framed her round face.

“Welcome everyone! I’m Ms. Cecilia, your vice principal. Now, some Anihumans here may be nocturnal opposed to diurnal, like me, which means I wake up when the sun sets and go to sleep as it rises. Please follow me if you fit this description.”

Mutters flowed over the group, before everyone fell silent when Thomas awkwardly isolated himself. He felt all their eyes burning into his back as he followed Ms. Cecilia.

“Guess I’m the only nocturnal,” Thomas thought as Ms. Cecilia led him out of the building.

“Your father told me you’d be attending,” she began as they walked. “So I’ve set up somewhat of a.. tour guide for you.”

“I’m, uh.. I’m honored,” replied Thomas.

“I’m glad,” Ms. Cecilia stated with a warm smile. “So.. you’re an owl?”

“Great horned owl, yes,” corrected Thomas.

Ms. Cecilia chuckled. “I see.”

“What about you?” Thomas asked. “What’s your animal?”

“I’m an opossum.”

“...A what now?”

The woman replied with a hearty laugh. “You’ll see later, honey. Anyway, we’re here!”

The building they stood in front of was similar to the main building, but much smaller, and a sign above the double doors read “NOCTURNALS” in gold-lined letters.

“It’s day at the moment, so you won’t be attending your classes just yet. But you’re in luck, because our first week at school is an animal week.”

“Animal week? What do you mean?” questioned Thomas.

Ms. Cecilia cleared her throat and began. “Our school switches every week. Our first week is all animal classes so the new students can get used to their new form. Next week will be all human classes, and on weekends students are free to whatever sleeping schedule you choose.”

“How will I switch my sleeping schedule so quickly?”

“It comes naturally once you change your form,” she explained. “Anyway, now that you’ve seen your building, we can head back to the main hall to meet your tour guide.”

Thomas nodded as he followed the woman. As he scanned his surroundings, he realized this was the first time he let them sink in.. and they were beautiful. Trees lined the campus, all the way around, followed by thousands of different flowers. The blinding yellow sun painted the forest with warmth and life—it was a stark contrast to the dreary outerworld that was above the portal.

“Your guide’s name is Skylar Maxwell,” Ms. Cecilia began, startling Thomas out of his thoughts. “She should be out here soon-”

“‘Sup.”

Ms. Cecilia yelped in fright as a tan wolf appeared behind the two. The wolf stifled a laugh as Ms. Cecilia smiled through gritted teeth.

“And here she is. Skylar, meet Thomas. Thomas, meet Skylar.” The woman quickly left with a wave, swiftly transforming into an opossum and scurrying away, leaving Thomas and Skylar alone.

Skylar switched her form into a human and looked Thomas up and down. The girl towered over Thomas, and she had fair skin and freckles littering her whole body. Her long caramel colored hair was tied up in a wavy ponytail, and she wore a green t-shirt and jean shortalls. “Hey, nerd,” she scoffed nonchalantly. “Ready for the tour?”

Thomas fixed his glasses and cleared his throat. “Uh-.. sure. Yeah. Sounds exciting.”

“Exciting. Sure.” Skylar winced as the two made their way to the main hall again. “The animal classes are exciting, but the human classes.. are.. less exciting.”

Thomas kept quiet as he followed Skylar down the long wooden hallway. Classrooms lined the walls, along with a pair of two elevators near the archway.

Skylar froze, and turned around to face the brown-haired boy behind her.

“I’m gonna keep this as simple as possible.”

[anihumans-official]

anihumans chapter one, draft one

SPOILERS FOR THE OFFICIAL BOOK "ANIHUMANS: THE STORY BEGINS"

Thomas slumped back in his chair, staring at his millions of half-filled notebooks and half-baked projects littered along his desk. Thomas was a smart kid, smarter than most kids his age, but he surely wasn't organized.

He piled all the papers up and slipped them into the beat-up green folder he had owned since first grade—the front of the folder read “HOMEWORK” written in Sharpie. Folder in hand, he trotted down the stairs into his kitchen, where his mom was preparing dinner.

Thomas’ mom was an outstanding cook, but so very humble at the same time, and Thomas looked up to her. She had fair skin, gentle freckles sprinkled along her face, bright green eyes, shoulder-length brown hair, and a white and pink apron.

“Hey, mom!” Thomas chirped, handing his mother the folder.

“Hi, honey!” she replied, ruffling his messy brown hair. “Did you finish all your homework?”

“Yes, mom,” he said with a grin, fixing his glasses his mom had slightly tipped with her show of affection.

“You know what I promised,” his mother sighed, returning to the stove.

Thomas’ smile grew and he excitedly slid open his back door. He took a deep breath of the fresh air—this was one of the best parts of his house: the massive forest.

Another favorite part of his was the owls; he’d always stay up late to see if he could find one.

The leaves scattering the ground signaled autumn’s approach. Thomas purposely stepped on each one, crushing them under his forest green sneakers. Pulling a granola bar out of his pocket, Thomas sat down on the soft, green grass. He didn't know how far he had traveled from his house, but he always knew the way back.

He admired the forest, and how the sun shone through the leaves. It always mesmerized him, how the leaves block the sun. How could something so small and fragile block something so unbelievably vast? As Thomas’s thoughts wandered, a little twinkle caught the corner of his eye. He took a double–take to where he saw the glint, and he realized something in the bushes was reflecting the sun’s gaze.

Curiosity got the best of him. Shoving the rest of the granola bar in his mouth, he crawled over to investigate.

Thomas gently brushed the leaves out of the way, revealing a wooden bracelet with a zircon neatly carved into it. He rotated the bracelet just a bit, but even then the sun found it, letting its light bounce off the pecan-colored wood. The bracelet looked as if it would fit Thomas’ wrist perfectly.

He gently ran his fingers along the polished wood, but when he reached the back, his fingers felt grooves, like something had been carved into the bracelet. He swiveled it around, and what he saw was not what he was expecting.

His name had been carved into the bracelet in capital letters.

Thomas blinked, adjusting his glasses and squinting his golden eyes, just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“It must be a different Thomas,” he thought. “There’s no way this could be mine. But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me trying it on..”

A mischievous grin grew across Thomas’ face as he slowly slipped the bracelet on his wrist. The zircon glowed a warm brown, and Thomas ran two gentle fingers in the middle of the gem.

Then the world began to spin.

Brown and green and blue swirled around Thomas and he swore he began to float. He could feel his senses heighten—soon he could hear every little movement that blanketed the forest, from a mouse skittering along the floor to leaves gently brushing against each other. He felt himself changing with every second.

Thomas’ eyes closed and he inhaled sharply as the cacophony of sounds overwhelmed his head. It all felt like too much..

And then his feet hit the grass.

“Thomas? Thomas!”

“Oh. Oh no.”

Thomas could hear his mom’s voice echoing through the forest. He hurriedly glanced around to try and find somewhere to hide. Realizing his glasses were next to him (and that they had strangely doubled in size), Thomas swiftly waddled over to slip them back on.

But when he saw his reflection.. It wasn't a boy.

It was an owl.

Thomas screeched and stumbled backward, frantically waving his brown wings as he fell over. When he blinked them open again, he saw a woman standing over him.

His mom.

“Hey- uh-.. hey there, mom,” he chirped, but all that he could manage was a defeated coo. Thomas furrowed his brow and attempted to speak again, but to no avail.

His mother laughed, with her eyebrows gently pointed upwards. “I knew you’d find yours someday.”

“My.. what?” Thomas thought.

Thomas’ mother smirked and pulled a bracelet from her pocket. It seemed to be the same polished wood as Thomas’ bracelet, but instead of a zircon carved into it, the bracelet had a beautiful, bright red ruby, and to top it off, he saw “WISH” carved in the back.

A warm smile spread across Thomas’ mother’s face as she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. She touched her first two fingers to the ruby and out of nowhere, just like Thomas did, she began to float.

Red, white, and black danced around her for what felt like forever, but as soon as they stopped, Wish became fully red, clothes and all. The red separated into orange, black, and white, and then, like nothing happened, a small robin stood where Thomas’ mother used to be.

Thomas stared at the robin, completely stunned.

His mother hopped closer and nudged his feathery chest with her head. Thomas smiled and ruffled his wings.

“Can you understand me?” his mother chirped, tilting her head.

“I can!” Thomas exclaimed with a grin.

“Thomas Robinson,” his mother began with a grin. “You’re an Anihuman.”

“What’s that?” Thomas asked, fluffing his feathers.

“You’ll see. Now, you need to turn back into a human.”

“H-.. how do I do that-?”

“Simple. Imagine your human form, and it should come as an instinct.”

Thomas closed his eyes, trying his best to paint every detail of his face into his mind. First he saw his fluffy brown hair, then came his face, complete with his round green glasses, and soon he saw himself entirely. He held the image in his mind for a while, until his thoughts were broken by his mother’s soft voice saying, “Open your eyes.”

Thomas blinked his eyes open and found himself to be back in his own body. Quickly his mother handed him his glasses and took Thomas’ hand, leading him back to their house, keeping quiet the whole time.

Thomas’ mind began to wander. Was being an Anihuman a bad thing? Was he in trouble? But his mom was an Anihuman too, so why would she be mad at him?

Wish slid the back door open and sat Thomas down on the sofa. He caught a glimpse of the smile on her face and his body relaxed in relief—she wasn’t angry.

Wish let out a sigh, and Thomas could see the buried excitement in her smile.

Thomas’ question clawed at the back of his mind, and finally he opened his mouth and set it free. “What is an Anihuman?”

Wish met his golden eyes. “An Anihuman is a person who has been blessed with the power to transform into an animal. They are given a bracelet with their name carved into the back. Only that person can see their bracelet, until they pick it up.”

Thomas ran his fingers down his bracelet again. He studied it for a moment, before turning his head back to his mom. “This thing lets me turn into an owl?” The whole idea seemed insane—there was absolutely no way that Thomas could become an unassuming owl in the blink of an eye.

Wish nodded, holding her smile. “Make sure to not share your gift with any human, understood? We don't know what they would do if they knew we existed.

“If humans knew we existed..” Thomas let the words float around in his mind for a while. The phrase sounded so odd to hear. All his life, Thomas believed he was just as boring as everybody else. But now..

“I’m not so sure I like being.. inhuman,” muttered Thomas, scratching the back of his neck.

“Honey, you aren't inhuman,” Wish replied, putting her hand on Thomas’.

“We’re the only shapeshifters in the world, right?” he retaliated. “Of course we’re inhuman.”

Wish stifled a laugh, a mischievous grin spreading on her face. “Thomas, do you know the reason I’ve never told you where your father works?”

Thomas raised an eyebrow and sat up. “Wh-.. What in the world does that have to do with our conversation?”

“Thomas,” Wish interrupted herself with a laugh. “He works at a school-”

“So? Why do I need to know this now?”

“Let me finish!” laughed Wish, giving Thomas a playful nudge. Thomas, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and stood up, stomping toward the stairs.

“I guess you don't want to know about your new school.”

Thomas froze. What did she say?