Raymundo got back to his apartment after a long day of work to find the power was out. Training with Lucky had become a daily thing, but considering the weather outside, the long drive and trek to the barn was hazardous. Lucky would be fine on the Star Surfer.
He settled in on the couch with a candle and magazines. Things in his apartment were quiet, peaceful, relaxing, until something hit his balcony door so hard he thought it had shattered. He jumped off his couch and ran to the door. The glass was streaked with dirt and the little patio covered with the thick slush coming down.
It didn’t stop him from seeing the black, feathered, wriggly mass in the middle of his patio. Golden eyes peered at him over a small black beak. The feathers along the oblong body were sleek and shiny. The creature’s wings hung lower than the body, the tips touching the sleet. Talons poked out from a mass of fuzzy feathers as the creature tottered to the door.
Raymundo couldn’t think of a name for it, and it certainly didn’t look like any other animal he knew of.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Beating its beak against the glass it stared Raymundo down. The tapping continued for a few moments. It paused, tilting its head at him as white cat ears just popped out of the top of its head.
He rushed forward, pulling the sliding glass door open about a foot and the animal hopped inside. A burst of wet cold air make him shiver before he managed to shut the door.
“Lucky?” Two synchronized blinks later the strange creature became Becky’s doppelganger once more.
“Hey!” They grinned, no attempts being made to hide their nakedness.
“I don’t even know where to start.” He grabbed a blanket from the back of his couch and tossed it at Lucky.
“We were supposed to be training.” They wrapped the blanket around themselves before stepping forward and flicking Raymundo’s forehead.
“But-” He flung his hand towards the balcony door.
“No buts!” They huffed. “You are in need of training, especially with no one else to teach you.”
“How did you do…” He circled his wrist.
“Put together a creature that you’ve never seen before?” Their eyebrows raised. “It’s not that hard. Everything here is based on DNA, so all you have to do, is manipulate those codes to get what you want.”
“But-”
This time Lucky snapped their fingers. “Should be pretty easy for you since your phenogland has a stronger connection to it.”
“Well, I’m going to need a little more instruction.” He sighed.
“So we are going to train today!” Lucky raised their arms and the blanket fell to the floor.
Dropping his gaze, he mumbled. “Not like I can do much else.”
“Then pick two animals and create a hybrid in your mind. Then, shape shift!” Despite the vagueness of Lucky’s instructions Raymundo was improving with his shape shifting. Even this hybrid practice.
Word count: 498
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