Run Away With Me, Pet Shapeshifter

Captured

Ten thousand years is a long time. I was born and raised thinking I'd be lucky to reach a hundred, that  was supposed to be a long time. This was just getting excessive. I hadn't seemed to age a year all this time, how long would I live? 

Needless to say I got bored. Time didn't go faster since I was exposed to the catalyst and my life was greatly lengthened, if anything it seemed to go slower. A day felt like a day and a few hours, Every hundred years felt like a lifetime. All this time on my hands, so little to do. My lifespan was far longer than most living beings in the universe. 

As expected, I tried to bide my time. Unfortunately, you run out of smart things to do with said time. You start getting reckless. Pranks and teasing begin to seem very appealing. When you do this for thousands of years, you get caught.  So, I'm sure you can imagine I wasn't tremendously surprised to find myself caught. 

It was a standard capture. The group of aliens were travelling with several horse-like creatures, which called themselves "Runners" They complained profusely of the cruelty of their captors, all but begging me to help them regain their freedom. They had been captured just days before, but had already grown thin, as was the biology of their people. 

It was entirely my fault that I was caught. The Runners were all free, far beyond the reach of the Alno who had captured them. I shouldn't have gone back to watch them panic, Their leader chewing out the men under its charge. They were a disturbing lot, with huge lips and five tiny eyes on the front of their heads. They had to have been more than three time my size. The only clothing they wore was to announce their rank to each other. 

The Alno were known as rangers to most aliens, but they were poachers to me, my people, and the animals they kidnapped from their homes. I could always see on their face that they thought they were good, doing a service to the people and making money on the side, but they were misguided. 

The Alno were already gathering themselves to try and recapture their prizes, and I couldn't allow that. The Runners were weak, they had hardly made it half a mile away. The horse-like creatures wouldn't get away without my help, I had to help them. 

My people, the Cuckoolines, were considered quite valuable. Heck, humans, our cousins, were valuable, and they had us beat by billions. Even after 10,000 years of repopulation, we had struggled to get our numbers in the millions. That may sound like a lot, but we were spread across dozens of planets. 

I used my own value to my advantage in order to distract these Alno. The white bird had since become a clear sign that a Cuckooline was around. All it took to grab their attention was a quite swoop over their heads. I had become apt at maneuvering during flight, it was all too easy to swerve right past the leader's head. I even went to far as to let out a loud chuckle while I flew, taking the form of a parrot had its advantages. 

As I predicted, they all immediately began to scramble about. Their leader barked orders, I simply sat on a branch and waited. My people had the ability to understand anyone, as long as we could see their face. We translated their body language as if it were our own language. 

"Get the dart guns! We cannot let another one get away!" He was desperate. I could see they needed the money, this group must have had bad luck. 

I was watching this alien so closely, I almost got hit. A dart whizzed past my feathered head, nearly hitting me. I took off, dodging the storm of tranquilizers that followed me. A chose a falcon for speed. I could out fly the darts now, but this form was hard for me to sustain flight in within this forest. 

I had since been tired out from freeing the Runners in the first place, I couldn't change forever. I needed to hide, and fast. These men were more prepared, more desperate, than I had thought or hoped. They had vehicles, I could hear the soft hums of the motors. 

I had to go back to the cockatoo form. It was easier to turn, and even the falcon had little chance of outrunning those vehicles. I took refuge on a high tree branch, hoping no one saw me land. Even if they had, the darts couldn't reach me in the dense growth of the tree tops. I panted, trying to catch my lost breath. 

My brief moment of relaxation turned sour when I sensed something foul in the air. I panicked, trying to get away, but the efficient lungs of my current form caused me to pass out just seconds after I sensed the gas. 

I woke up with a band on my wrist that forced me to stay in my human form, I had changed back after I was unconscious. I must've been out for some time, my mouth was dry and my head throbbing. Not at all comfortable with the idea of those Alno handling my unconscious body, it was distressing to find myself in a small cage far away from where I was captured. 

Published 1/1/19 (happy new years!)

New story. Different characters. Hope you enjoy! This one is mostly going to be about Stormy, so I don't think there will be POV switches, especially since Stormy can understand the alien.