"Oh, brother! Look, someone new." The girl was naked, long silken white hair framed a pleased smile. Her face was child-like: A bump of a nose, beaded black eyes, asian, and skin of such paleness that it appeared unearthly rather than sick. She was beautiful but strange, I thought, though more likely strange before beautiful. But her most striking feature, swaying behind her, was a shimmering, scaled white tail, the sort that I now found myself with. I continued to lay on my patch of soft earth as she approached.

"As different as we are now, I'm sure you can clearly see what we have in common." And as she came closer I could see patches upon her chest, arms, and legs ornamented with similar tiny white scales, growing on her skin in the way that moss might on a tree. They were pearl-like in color with traces of faint pastel pink and violet, and they had a such a sheen that I could only imagine that her body would look as glass if it were to cover her whole being — as would mine.

I paused a moment after this thought, as it seemed to come from nowhere, but pleased something very deep within me, in some distant crack barely receiving light but was now starting to see more.

She extended a hand, "The tail is always the start." Her fingers were covered in larger scales, layered for flexibility in a sort of cascade, each finger ending in a tempered claw. "There are more gifts for you yet. Welcome, kin."

I took her hand and stood, it felt cold in mine and the touch of her scaled palm in my pink flesh was an odd sensation. Still eyeing the majesty of the bright forest around me and the girl before me, I thought, "Is this some dream?"

Her face lit brightly, "Oh, aren't you fantastic! Yes, yes it is and yes you are."

Her intensity threw me back a bit, as it seemed she expected I understood something which I did not. "Are what?"

"A dream, a dream-creature. What was your last memory before this place?"

That I could recall well. "I was laying down to sleep in my bedroom. A starlit night and a summer breeze…"

"And here you are."

Was it really that simple? "So this is a dream, then? I'll wake up?" But as I gazed at the forest about me I saw trees of white, blue and purple shade, lights hung about the branches and fireflies floating about like dust in sunbeams, I knew it. I had dreamed of this forest on many nights, and I thought out-loud, "This place, I've been here before."

"I had too." My companion turned her gaze to the canopy of trees with me, keeping our hands connected, "It was likely that we were trying to bring you before, but you weren't ready yet. Don't worry, it was the same for me. We've all been through this before, so we'll help you as you change."

"Change how?" And I remembered my tail. I had forgotten it for a moment, or I should say, I stopped paying attention to it as I would any other limb. A tail, of course I have a tail. Why wouldn't I? Such thoughts flashed about my mind and this both worried and pleased me.

"Our sister-queen has sought you for sometime, wished to bring you here that you might become a dream-creature and live among us. You were always something of a dream creature. You were chosen long ago, so was I, so were we all."

My tail curled around my leg unconsciously, I lept back for a moment and fell on the grass. It was alien but I did think it quite lovely. It was then I also noticed white scales of my own already had appeared around my extremities.

The still nameless girl before me turned back to another approaching form. "Brother, why so shy?" Out of the brush emerged a figure, male but with feminine grace. He was like Sister, but even more removed from human. Scales, large and small, adorned his whole body and he sparkled in the patch of moonlight that he stood in. His feet were clawed and his toes had curious arcs. A set of beautiful horns arched out of his head. He had no hair, but some sort of growth coming from out of his scalp had the resemblance of it. A mane of white plumed feathers covered his head and back. I likened him to a union of some sort of reptile, exotic bird, and mythical satyr.

He so was bizarre to me, but part of me also found him wonderful and dazzlingly attractive, though he had several curiosities. His lower legs were bent in a way such as a horse, feet that had three long digits and sharp claws, and three-digit hands and lack of certain equipment struck me. Was he a male at all then?

"Hello kin," he greeted warmly, "A fine addition to the menagerie you are."

"He…llo." I breathed quietly in awe. At this point I had so many questions, but the immediate hung on something the girl has said before, "You were also like me? Did you change." I looked at the girl again. "Is this what we are to become?"

"You will both become something like me, but unique in your own ways. We will have to wait and see how. I've been here much longer than you."

"And, forgive me…" I had to ask, and somehow it did not occur as so much a rudeness to me… "you are male?"

"Yes. I can show you later, if you like..." He answered with a slight blush. He must have read the inquiry on my face.

I looked down embarrassed, but voice in the back of my mind called and told me not to feel shame. I flushed over, what unbecoming thoughts were these? What sort of loose girl am I? Mother would disapprove…

"It's not loose. It's fine for us here." Brother interjected. "We do such things frequently. The forest expands through our propagation. It feeds on our energy and pleasures."

"Yes kin, feel no hesitation in expressing yourself as you grow." Sister added.

"Expressing myself?"

Sister, still with my hand in hers, moved closer to me, our eyes connected, and she closed the gap between us further, placing a cool kiss on my lips, which I did not retreat from. As she pressed into me I felt a pleasant warmth in my breast rise for a moment and depart as Sister floated back with a smile, "In such ways, for example." She directed my attention to the body of a tree just behind us, where a luminous bud quickly took shape and flowered. Bits of light took flight as it opened. Did we create that?

"Yes, our first work together." Sister said with affection.

I returned my gaze to her face and found myself struck by her delicate beauty. Whatever was inside her, I wanted it in me. I returned her kiss with one of my own and the warmth returned. Perhaps she was right, perhaps this is what I had always been, waiting to be. So many moments from my life came back to me, moments where I had impulses such as this but ignored. I think I had wanted that kiss, and to return it, for a very long time. More blossoms sprouted behind us as we indulged in each other. Brother joined in as well.

Sister continued to smile, her grip around my hand tightening. I thought it would hurt, but it wasn't until I looked down that I realized, already, the scales and flesh about my hands had thickened and become stronger only in the past few moments.

"Do you not have names?"

"We need them not. We are all connected in love, and the connection builds in you. That is how Brother feels your thoughts. His connection to you is a bit stronger than mine, but he is also further along in the changes, so..."

"And my changes, how long will they take?"

"Slowly, but you will need time to grow into them. Everything that will happen to you will happen at the right time."

Brother moved over to me and kissed me as well, taking my other hand in his. So strange, so wonderful, this was to be my existence. Glimpses of my family and friends appeared breifly in my mind's eye but quickly became blurry, distant echoes as sister kissed me again.

***

It was not long before the scales covered all of my flesh, soft and small in more sensitive places, large and firm in those that needed the most protection from my daily activities of climbing, play, and sex.

The more adjusted I became, the further I was able to venture into the forest. I soon became acquainted with my other siblings. There were maybe thirty of us, each pulled from their waking lives and brought here. Everyone was at different levels of change, and became slightly different creatures. One Sister had the talons of a bird for feet and a large set of wings in substitute of her arms, another molded in body of a lioness, but still with human face. What I would become in the end, I did not know, but looked forward to with great expectation.