She looked wildly down at her changed body in shock and amazement. She was covered in soft, thick gray fur, and the wings were banded gray, brown, and white with pointed tips.
And she had no idea how to move like this, let alone how she was ever going to change back.
Trying to coordinate four legs and two wings at once left her caught up in a tangle of randomly flailing limbs. She managed to hook her front legs through the railing, like a cat trying to avoid falling off a high place. A wave washed over her, and the cold, drenching shock made her want to scream, except she didn't know how to make noise in this body yet, so it came out as a faint, panicked squawk.
No, no! Let your body take over and fly. We know how to do this.
The voice was not hers, yet it came from inside her. It was her and not-her. It seemed to fill her with a sense of rustling wings and green-gray eyes—her eyes, but not her eyes—peeking at her through banded brown and white feathers.
Lucy let go.
Her wings snapped out and caught the wind. Her paws brushed water. And then she was soaring into the rain-lashed sky.
I'm flying! I'm flying!
Exhilaration quickly turned to alarm as she realized that these were incredibly difficult conditions to fly in, let alone for a maiden flight. Rain and seawater soaked her wings, dragging her down. The wind buffeted her, causing her to veer wildly every time she tried to correct herself.
She had to land, and land fast.
Where's the boat?
Lucy had a moment of panic as she thought she had lost track of both boats. She swung around in a wide circle and finally spotted them, much farther below than she had thought, and farther to one side. It was very difficult to figure out her own altitude and speed in the storm.
She would have preferred to land on theCodfather, but the cabin cruiser's glaringly white upper deck made a much better target in these conditions. At this point Lucy could tell she was going down and the only decision she still got to make was where and how fast. She angled her wild flight for the cabin cruiser, thought for a horrifying moment that she was going to overshoot it and land in the sea, and then crash-landed with a bruising impact that sent her skidding across the wet deck to slam into the railing.
She lay for a moment, stunned, tangled in her own wings. Then she slowly picked herself up and crouched on the deck.
She was alone up here on the top deck, and the boat was no longer speeding; in fact, it seemed to be stationary, rocking on the heavy swells of the storm-driven sea. Lucy could hear voices from below her.
Trying to coordinate four legs to walk with was surprisingly difficult. Her first attempt got her legs tangled together and she fell over. Determined, she got up again and lurched over to push her head between the bars of the railing so she could look down to see what was happening below.
The two boats were side by side, rocking on the waves. They had been lashed together with ropes. Lucy caught a glimpse of Eren leaning over to look into the water. There were several men below her, who all seemed to be doing the same thing. It took Lucy a moment to realize that everyone was looking for her.
They didn't see me fly,she realized. In all the confusion, the rain, and the storm, they thought she had fallen into the water.
This was a perfect opportunity for—well—something. Lucy craned over the edge, trying to pick out her uncle in the cluster of men below. It was impossible; they were all wearing slickers with hoods over their heads.
Then Eren climbed up on the railing of theCodfather.
No! He thought she was in the water! He was going to jump!
Lucy tried to yell, but had forgotten about the griffin thing. What came out was a thin cry like a seagull.
Eren sprang over the side.
She had actually forgotten for a moment that he could shift. It was a man who jumped, but a big white bear that hit the water and immediately vanished under the surface, only to bob up again nearby, surrounded by the floating shreds of his clothes.
Even as a bear, Lucy realized, Eren still might be in trouble. The sea was rough, and he wasn't a native creature of the water in the same way that Dane was. Already the current was starting to carry the bear away from the two boats.
If they left him behind out here, he would have nowhere to get out of the water to rest. His thick fur might protect him from the cold, but he couldn't swim forever, especially in these heavy, rolling waves.
Lucy tried to shout again. All she could do was screech. She saw some of the men look around, but they obviously had no idea where the noise was coming from.
Okay, this is enough. I have to shift back so I can talk to them.
She realized that she had no idea how to do that. She didn't even know how she had done it in the first place. It was like trying to flex an unfamiliar muscle.
For a moment she lost sight of Eren behind the boats.