One week could make such a difference in someones life. To think that one week ago Cailan was working two jobs hoping to get into college so he could start a music career, yet now he was at the most interesting place he could have ever imagined. Everything was new, exciting. He couldn't wait until he could learn every nook and cranny of this place, explore the new sky and the new smells with new presences to evaluate. He would be free here, free to be himself amongst the trees and the bugs. So what if the forest was dangerous, Cailan would be fine. He never did do well with rules.

Stepping out of his sneakers, he hovered on one leg to pull off each sock in turn before setting each bare foot against the unsoiled ground. He could feel the earth teeming with life beneath his toes. This was a glorious night for a flight. Excited now, Cailan stripped his shirt from his body without a second thought. The bright moon bathed his body as he stood near the edge of the forest where the trees gave him no safety from its harsh glow. Within moments Cailan stood stark naked, ready for the shift into his reliable form: An eagle, bold and majestic and noble. The tattoo on his chest hid beneath feathers of deep brown much like the rest of his skin as it sprouted soft feathers like the earth spouted blades of grass over time. Cracking and snapping came from his body as his bones moved and morphed. When he was younger, the pain was unbearable, but as he got older the pain was ebbed away by experience.

Once the process of shifting finished, Cailan's body stood there, a golden eagle. Three feet in length and twice that in width, he was a predator with beadie eyes that saw everything for miles. With one calculated leap and a handful of graceful flaps of his strong wings, Cailan was up and flying into the air with almost no care in the world.

He cared when he felt a strange presence. This was like no other being. Knowing that the thing hid somewhere in this beautiful forest terrified him, ravaged his senses and made Cailan wish he was nowhere near him. Denying his instincts, Cailan lowered from the high altitude, perched himself on a steady branch and focused on finding what it was that he felt in this place of pure freedom.