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Grizzy wandered through the woods, wrapping his jacket tight around himself. He would admit it, he was skipping school, though he was slightly starting to regret that now. At least the school had heating.
He leaned against a tree, groaning in pain as a sudden headache stabbed at his mind. It only grew, and he doubled over in pain, tightly wrapping his arms around himself as he tried to hold himself together.
"Are you alright?" a man asked, and Grizzy shot his head up, eyes wide. He couldn't find it in himself to answer, so just curled further in on himself, his brain purely focused on the tense, almost stabbing feelings throughout his whole body.
-----
Grizzy came to surrounded by snow, a soft blanket of the stuff on his body. His head was in someone's lap, a hand running through his hair, protecting his head at least from the flurries.
He groaned, a lingering headache stabbing at his mind. The hand stopped, the person it belonged to shushing him.
"Hey, you're okay. Just relax, take your time," the man soothed.
"What?... What happened?" Grizzy whispered, his voice raspy. Why was his throat so sore?
"We can talk about that in a moment, just rest for now," the man said.
"Cold," was Grizzy's tired response.
"I get that. We can move somewhere warmer once you feel a little better."
Grizzy nodded, relaxing against the man. He was helping through whatever this was so much, Grizzy had to find some way to repay him. Finally, once his headache had dulled from pressing to faint, he lifted his head, looking at the man for the first time.
He wore a short sleeve, shorts, and sandals, looking fresh out of summer rather than matching the current below freezing temperatures. Grizzy immediately started fussing.
"What are you doing out here in that!? It's freezing!" Grizzy exclaimed, looking at the man's outfit in disbelief.
"Okay... Now's a good time to ease you into it. I am something called a Xandrian, and that's why I'm dressed like this. My body works better in the cold," the man explained, pushing his hair back to reveal ears that looked frostbitten to death.
"So you're like... An ice elf or some shit?" Grizzy asked, drawing a chuckle out of the man.
"If that's how it makes sense to you, then sure," the man said, nodding. "Now, the true issue is... I think you're a Xandrian too."
"What!?" Grizzy exclaimed, pushing himself up from where he had been laying down this whole time, towering over the man. "But I don't- I'm freezing, what do you mean I'm like you!?"
"Sorry, bad explanation! That's just my personal experience. Xandrians are... Changed. No longer human. I may appear human on the outside, but I have plenty of traits that separate me. It's more... Prominent for some."
"Okay, other-human bullshit... And what am I? How do you know?"
Instead of giving a verbal answer, the man reached out and grabbed Grizzy's arms, pulling his hands up to reveal... Paws... What the fuck!?
"You're the biggest, quickest shift I've ever seen," the man said, dropping Grizzy's arms, "even Puffer didn't have such a big shift, and his was over a couple weeks. I think you just had a full shift in only a couple hours."
"The biggest?- What the fuck!?" Grizzy exclaimed, looking himself over. His whole body was covered in a thick layer of light brown fur. He looked like a fucking brown bear!?... Was he?...
"Do you want to head to my place? There's a bit of heating," the man asked, offering his hand. Grizzy hesitantly took it, and they both stood, Grizzy wobbling slightly from how weak he felt.
The man was patient, going at his pace and allowing Grizzy to work through his thoughts. He was a brown bear, though he felt no issue at still moving how he had when he was human: no balance issues, no pain from overusing his back legs, nothing. It felt as natural as, well, walking.
"Uh... My name's Grizzy," Grizzy eventually said, shuffling his back paws through the thick layers of snow.
"I'm Kryoz," the man said, giving Grizzy a small smile. Grizzy tried to smile back, but was unsure how it looked. He really needed to see himself in a mirror; how bad was it?
Grizzy froze as they came to a house, a lake hidden behind the building, looking up at the structure. Thin cracks stretched along the bottom, dead vines clinging to the walls. The paint was faint and sun bleached, dirt clinging to the exterior walls.
Grizzy frowned at the building, looking down at Kryoz. "This is where you live?"
"Yeah? Is something wrong with it?"
"It's just... It's a little run down."
Kryoz looked down at the ground, wringing his hands together. "I've been tryna work on that."
Before Grizzy could say any more, Kryoz led him inside, where he had to duck under the door, his new form coming with some added height. Kryoz led him to a kitchen, a fridge crammed in the corner with counter space running along the wall, broken up by a stove.
A man with a pink tail was digging around in the fridge, chatting with another man who had his face dug into the former's shoulder, animalistic ears flicking and tail swaying behind himself, letting out faint, mechanical clicks.
"Pezzy, Droid," Kryoz called, gaining the two's attentions. Grizzy froze, looking at them as they turned, taking in their strange features. The one with the pink tail set off alarm bells in his mind of something being out of place, their eyes shifting through an entire spectrum of color, swirling like an oil puddle.
The other's face was almost completely metal, a section of skin running down from the middle of their forehead to one of their cheeks. His ears perked up as he curiously eyed Grizzy, tilting his head in a way that reminded Grizzy of a dog.
"Kryoz, why is there a bear with you?" the man with the pink tail asked, closing the fridge door. His voice had a strange echo behind it, faint enough to easily get used to, but obvious enough to notice.
"This is Grizzy. Grizzy, this is Pezzy," he pointed to the man with the tail, "and Droid," then the man with metal instead of skin. "Grizzy here is a Xandrian."
"How?- What!?" Droid exclaimed, stepping closer, despite Pezzy's clear disapproval of him coming closer. Grizzy tried not to take it personally.
"Grizzy?" Kryoz asked, turning his attention to him, "are you doing alright?"
Grizzy nodded, focusing on Kryoz still standing next to him, looking shockingly small. "Yeah, I'm good. Why?"
"You haven't been saying much, is all."
"Oh. I've just been... Taking everything in, I guess," Grizzy said, shrugging. "It's a lot, y'know? Suddenly turning into... This. Finding others that have an explanation for whatever is happening. Huh, I'm probably not gonna be able to go back to living a normal life, am I?"
"No... No, you can't. I was able to take Droid and Pezzy back for their stuff, but Puffer, I had to get his for him... Would you want me to do that for you?"
"My parents would freak if they saw a stranger in their house," Grizzy said, crossing his arms.
"How old are you?" Droid asked, having allowed Pezzy to sidle up to his side, now leaning against the shorter man, who seemed overjoyed at the contact.
"Seventeen. Was skipping school before, y'know, I became this."
Kryoz whistled as Pezzy winced. "That's younger than Droid," Pezzy said, looking at said man.
"We get it, you're old," Droid shot back, elbowing Pezzy in the side.
"I'm not that old! That title belongs to Kryoz," Pezzy shot back, pointing to the man, who appeared unbothered.
"Come on, there's one more person you should probably meet," Kryoz said, ignoring the two bickering and leading Grizzy out a backdoor. Kryoz went to the lake that somehow wasn't frozen, running his hand through the water.
A moment later, a man popped up, immediately locking in on Grizzy and letting out a hiss as he backed up, the fins behind his ears shaking. Kryoz quickly looked back at Grizzy, signaling for him to sit down, which he did, keeping his distance from the water.
"Kryoz, why the fuck is there a bear with you!? A fucking brown bear!? Those things are- what the fuck!?" the fish man rambled, his large tail keeping him steady as he floated just above the water.
"He's a Xandrian, just... The largest shift I've ever seen," Kryoz explained, gesturing to Grizzy as he redirected his focus to the fish man. "Puffer, this is Grizzy. Grizzy, Puffer."
"You're... You're human?" Puffer whispered in disbelief, swimming close enough to rest his hands on the dirt wall of the lake. Grizzy nodded, scooting slightly closer to see Puffer better.
"Used to be, at least," Grizzy said, looking down at the water. His reflection stared back at him, showing that he really was just a brown bear. He turned his head back and forth, taking in the muzzle, ears, fur, and... Everything else. Before pushing that to the back of his mind, deciding to focus on the present.
"He's the quickest shift I've ever seen," Kryoz said, standing. "His only took a few hours, and it was this extreme. I'm surprised he's not in more pain."
"I'm a little achy, like... Everywhere, plus got a headache, but I feel fine enough," Grizzy answered, looking up at Kryoz.
"That's good. Keep me updated on if that changes. Come on, let's go get a room for you situated." Grizzy nodded, standing and waving goodbye to Puffer as he followed Kryoz back inside the house.
He ducked under the doorframe, standing back up and stretching as he yawned. He could use a nap. Kryoz led him to a bedroom, every surface covered in dust. The bed had a thick comforter, a couple of holes chewed in it.
"You can use this room," Kryoz said, gesturing to the room.
"Kryoz, stop making people sleep in dusty rooms," a voice suddenly said. Grizzy turned around, finding Pezzy stood in the doorway, his pink tail flicking lazily behind him.
"Well then what do you suggest?"
"He can stay in my room for the night, and I'll clean his room up tomorrow," Pezzy said. Kryoz rolled his eyes, but nodded, gesturing for Pezzy to take the lead. "Come on, Grizzy, you seem tired."
Grizzy nodded, following Pezzy as the man led him to a different bedroom. He opened the door, revealing a well decorated room, Droid sitting on top of the comforter, looking over as they came in.
"Sleepover time," Droid said, excitedly hopping off the bed, before hesitating, a thought overtaking his mind. "Uh... What's the plan here? I don't know if the bed is even big enough for him."
"I can sleep on the floor," Grizzy said, awkwardly rubbing his neck, "it actually... Sounds kinda comfortable?"
"If you say so, man," Droid agreed, shrugging.
Grizzy nodded, heading to the foot of the bed before settling down, curling up in a ball and already feeling sleep overtake him, dragging him into its dark clutches.
"Oh... Now? Okay," Pezzy said. The door clicked shut, followed by some rustling as he most likely settled into bed, along with Droid. The room filled with hushed voices, a faint golden light shining in through the window as the sun drifted behind the horizon. And Grizzy let himself fade.
-----
Grizzy fluttered his eyes open, squinting against the sunlight shining in his eyes. The first thing he realized: he was hungry. He sleepily stood on all fours, making his way through the house.
He clambered into the kitchen, the smell of eggs guiding him. He lazily blinked, freezing when he noticed three pairs of eyes on him. Before he could say anything, one of them rushed over, immediately fussing.
"Oh my God, are you okay!?" someone asked, brushing their fingers through his fur as they looked him over.
"Hmm?" he hummed, his mind cloudy and confused.
"You were asleep for almost a week," someone else said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Hungry," Grizzy said, the sensation being the only thing he could focus on.
"Of course. We'll make you something. Craving anything?" a third voice asked. Grizzy hummed, laying down and closing his eyes, drifting off slightly, still awake enough to know what was going on, but not truly processing any of it.
After a bit, something prodded his side, and he squinted his eyes open, yawning as he stretched. "Hey there, sleepyhead. It's not much, but is this good?"
Grizzy squinted at a plate set in front of him on the floor. It was filled to the brim with eggs, sausage, and toast. He lazily bit at it, too tired to try to use his hands like a normal human being.
"Let me know if you need more," the person said, patting his head a couple times before vanishing from his vicinity. As the common saying goes: out of sight, out of mind.
Grizzy finished the plate, not fully satisfied, but satiated enough. Before he could drift back off to sleep, someone was running their hand along his side.
"Are you still hungry?" Grizzy nodded, lazily blinking as he turned toward the source of the voice. "Puffer said he could catch you some fish. Would you want that?"
Grizzy nodded, and the voice coerced him outside. He collapsed on the ground, his head hanging over the water. He scrambled back a bit in shock when water splashed his face, grumbling in annoyance.
"Here. I got you a big one," a new voice said. Grizzy noticed the fish, grabbing it in his teeth and chowing down on it, humming in satisfaction as he relaxed. He was cold, but he was too tired to care about that.
"Droid! Bring him back inside, he can rest in the living room!"
"Why the living room?" the voice to his side responded.
"I want to be able to keep an eye on him!"
"Okay! Come on, Grizzy. Thanks, Puffer."
"No problem. Hopefully you guys figure out what's going on with him..."
"Yeah..." Grizzy let himself be led back inside, blindly following where he was guided. He lay down on a plain hardwood floor, humming in satisfaction at his now full stomach and finally being able to rest.
"Get some rest. Okay, Griz?" Grizzy didn't respond, too tired to. Instead, he let himself fade back to darkness.