Cool. I'm twinkleberry336 on ywp. I started writing yesterday.

NOOO!!!!! I'm just going to post the intro, kay?

Amber Goldleif was a
shape-shifter. If you were to learn this, you would be quite shocked.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for you, Amber never told anyone.
Ever. Usually people found out at the most important moments, and
then Amber had to run to the next village to keep her secret. And she
hated that. She usually transfigured at moments of heavy stress, for
instance if she was giving a presentation, she would turn into
something ridiculous like a mongoose. When
people saw the transformation, they were frightened or intimidated or
something else and threw things like stones at her. Now, Amber was
pretty tough to kill. The stoning never worked, but it made the
villagers feel better, so what does it matter? Let's learn a bit more about Amber, shall we?

Sure, why not! I just reached 10,700 words. Yay!

Chapter
I

Amber nervously stood in front
of her class. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck and she
shivered. “Amber, can you write your lesson on the board, please?”
her teacher said pointedly. She nodded her head. What if I mess
up? I'll make a fool of myself and everyone will laugh! she
thought. She picked up the chalk in a shaking hand and began to write
on the board. She wrote and wrote, until, inevitably, she made a
mistake. The class whispered to one another, and eventually someone
laughed and everyone else joined in. Amber
felt embarrassment rise up in her cheeks and felt a tingling all over
her. Pretty soon, in her place, there was a fluffy rabbit. The class
was silenced in shock. More whispers broke out. The bunny shivered
and hopped to the door, when without warning, transformed into a bear
and broke the door down. Then it transfigured back into Amber
and she ran from the village.

Unfortunately,
the villagers saw the transformation. All of them. They rushed out of
the schoolhouse, their houses, the stores, all carrying some form of
missile to throw at her. “Shape Shifter! Warlock! Witch!” they
yelled. “Sorcerer!”

Amber
imagined an elephant. A giant, tough-skinned elephant. She
concentrated on its mental image so hard that tears formed in her
eyes, then in the blink of an eye, she was one. The elephant's thick
hide protected Amber from the stones, sticks, apples, and other
miscellaneous items being thrown at her. Its greater size was also an
advantage, because she could retreat faster. Amber backed away until
she turned tail and ran, skin covered in tiny cuts and bruises. She
shifted into the form of a deer and galloped away from the village.

Suddenly
the midday sky grew dark. Clouds gathered, and it began to rain. No,
rained isn't the right
word. It poured. Amber
was soon soaked to the bone. The
strangest thing about this storm is that where the rain was falling
in front of Amber,
a shimmering mist was
beginning to gather. It glimmered and shifted, showing Amber
glimpses of distant lands: emerald green jungles, turbulent seas,
sunlit meadows. She was so
enthralled by these images that she took a step toward the mist. She
had forgotten the villagers.

The
mist reached out tendrils, reaching for her, almost beckoning to her.
Amber
reached out a finger and
touched it. It was softer than a kitten's fluff. She took another
step toward it, and at last, stepped through it. Or rather, stepped
into it. The mist
enfolded her in an embrace that was neither warm nor cool. She
stood still as images flew by.

Shape-shifters
of all ages, worshiped by villagers, sitting on thrones of gold and
precious stones. Shape-shifters shifting into animals to help
villages and save them from invasions. Shape-shifters, cast out and
shunned by villages, padding away with their heads lowered.
Shape-shifters, attacking villages...

The
images flew faster and faster by, and Amber could see an end
somewhere up ahead. She wondered what the images meant...How were
there so many of her kind? She ran forward through the tunnel of
images to the end, getting closer, closer... She could see light
filtering through an opening. She was no longer paying attention to
the pictures and only saw the light.

Amber
burst out of the portal. She looked around, and stood still in shock.
The land she had entered was beautiful. It was one of the jungles she
had seen in the portal before she stepped through. Amber gazed around
her and marveled at her new surroundings. She had shifted back to
human form while she was in the portal. The trees were impossibly
tall, with brown bark with traces of green and brilliant green
leaves. Amber heard the distant pounding of a waterfall. The trees
were one thing, and the life another.

There
were so many birds, of all shapes and sizes. They were so vibrantly
colored that it almost hurt Amber's eyes to look at them. Strangely,
their calls weren't very loud and instead of clashing, they
harmonized. Amber walked through the jungle, listening to the songs
of the birds. Sunlight filtered in the jungle through the canopy of
leaves. It was peaceful, the air was cool, and for the first time in
a while, Amber felt happy.

Hallia says xxfm. Like XFM. 94.9. It's a radio staion.