Tuesday Tales: Blood Shift

*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title.*

 Tuesdays are the day I have set aside to get my creative mind rolling by writing flash fiction. For the time being, these stories will be set in Teorre, the world of my current WIP, The Crystal Bearer. I used 30 Flash Fiction Prompts to help me pick a couple of topics before, and I have two more weeks worth of prompts from them! This is the first from the list. 1: Write a story in which something transforms into something else.

Blood Shift

 

This was a proud day for Dogna, of Gna's clan, and his wife Rohali, of Li's clan. They were going to teach their daughter the blood shift. It was a special gift of their kind, passed down through thousands of generations, and it helped them to survive among the beasts of the mountain around them. Iregna was now old enough to defend herself. She needed to learn.

Dogna cracked together two stones until they sparked a fire in the lake moss Rohali had gathered. Iregna rubbed at her eyes. They were weak from the darkness despite all the preparation to keep the light inside of them with fires. Dogna and Rohali feared Iregna's children would have weaker eyes still, perhaps even blindness.

Dogna took his young daughter's hands from her face and kissed them before he showed her the bag he carried around his neck. It fluttered and shook every so often, and when Dogna untied it, a bat jumped out. Rohali caught it before it could escape them. They often cooked the bats, but this time, for the sake of their gift, the blood had to be fresh. Once they fed, Dogna cupped Iregna's small face and bid her to watch him. Rohali explained to her how Dogna called on the energy of Teorre to change his cells. His dark olive skin freckled then filled in with the blue-black hue of the bat. The bat's skills would especially help Iregna, even in the firelight, Rohali said, because Iregna needed another way to see. She guided her daughter quietly off out of Dogna's line of sight as he closed his eyes. He perked his ears up, and Iregna jumped as her father let out a shrill howl. He waited, turned slightly, then howled again. After another pause, he turned directly towards his wife and child and howled. After he waited, he smiled, and pointed, eyes still closed.

Rohali encouraged Iregna to try to call on the energy of Teorre to change her. Iregna squeezed her eyes shut. She focused on the earth's life force, put into her mind the image of her father transforming, and imagined herself in his stead. She kept focusing until she felt chills down her spine and across her skin. They frightened her, but she knew she needed to keep going. When they went away, she opened her eyes. Her skin was as black as her father's shifted skin, and she inadvertently shrieked. After a few seconds, a small pulse bounced against her, and she froze. She shrieked again, and after a few seconds, another pulse hit her. Rohali put a hand on her daughter's cheek.

She could now see like the bats. She could see by listening.