Chapter 1: The Deep Shade

When Miri was awoke, all he could see was the dark.

He couldn't feel his body. He imagined himself as a floating mass in a sea of black. No sounds. No sights. It was like he didn't exist. It felt like an eternity. There was no sense of time. He had no idea how long he'd been floating there.

Then, he finally heard one thing, after so long. His breathing. Deep and calm. He fixated on it, the only thing he was familiar with. When he attempted to look down, he couldn't even see his own body, just more of the darkness. It stretched on for miles, or perhaps it was only a few metres. It was hard to tell if he was just in a dark room, or something else.

It was like that a long time, nothing but the soft sounds of his own breathing. Then, not too far in front of him, there was a light, a soft, warm glow. He felt the heat of it on his skin, as hot as the sun. It was inviting. It moved closer to him, or perhaps, it was he that drifted closer. The light changed and shifted, and he could see a shape, an outline. It looked like a door, wide enough for it to be a pair, with ornate handles that he could briefly see. When he turned his head, the door stayed in place, like it was a real thing. He looked back out into the dark, hesitant, then back to the door.

He yearned to step through, but he felt himself hesitate. What was he waiting for? Then, as if it had sensed his uneasiness, a hand reached out, pale and soft. The skin shone with a soft radiance. It touched something that he couldn't see, but it felt like his hand. He could feel his fingers flex around the delicate skin. He felt a pull, and he was yanked into the light, through into the unknown.



Other senses and sounds came to him after not too long. He could feel the cool wind on his face and the hot sun on his chest. A mixture of different feelings went through him, confusion and calmness. There was the sound of squawking overhead, and he guessed they were seagulls. As he opened his eyes, things felt almost too bright, like he had been sitting in the dark for a long time. His eyes stung, and Miri was apprehensive. His mind was still groggy, and his memories even more so. When he tried to remember anything about before, it was like there was a void. He couldn't remember...anything. Nothing but his own name. With reluctance, he sat up.

He knew something was wrong when he looked down at his body. For one, he didn't look human in the slightest. His hands were furred, coloured white, short and stubby. Miri immediately panicked and stood, immediately regretting his decision. His head swayed and his vision grew blurry, the world spun to the right, and he could feel the bile carry up into his throat. He felt his knees buckle, and he slumped to the ground, feeling faint. Perhaps he should take it slow. He rubbed his hands on the ground beside this new, strange body, feeling sand between his fingers. He guessed he was on a beach of sorts.

He finally took a look at his surroundings, and confirmed where he was. He didn't know which one, exactly, but bits and pieces were coming back to him...the place was recognisable. It was definitely a beach, that was for sure. He had brief flashes of the shore, and memories of a family...a sister, a mother, a father. He couldn't remember faces, and he wasn't sure if he would any-time soon, but he had a very, clear, definitive memory of what relatives he had. He turned his mind to the matter at hand. Scanning his eyes across the sunny sands, he spotted numerous things. Firstly, there was a long pier that stretched out towards the sea. Miri remember that fisherman would normally sit along the edges and talk to each other about old sea tales while their buckets brimmed with fish, yet they were strangely missing at that time. There was a large billboard sign, with bright red letters that were beginning to fade due to age. It read: 'Welcome to Malago Pier!', with a brief sentence underneath, wishing every visitor a good day. Past the billboard was the start of a large city, spanning further back than he could see, and stretching far wider than he imagined. There were cars parked along the sides, with stairs leading down to the sand, and various other vehicles driving by, either looking for a space or going elsewhere. Along the front, facing the beach, were amusement arcades, with bright flashing lights that were not yet turned on. Miri wasn't sure what time it was, but it was definitely early afternoon. It hadn't yet become dark enough to bring out any of the lights. Miri remembered, briefly, seeing them in a line, all on display, lit up like a Christmas Tree. 

Yet, something caught his eyes. He heard the murmuring of voices and talking, and he looked back across the beach to see a circle of people, surrounding...something. Miri tried to stand, slower this time, and managed to steady himself. He finally got a good look at his body. Most of it was covered by a long white robe, down to his ankles. He wiggled his foot forwards, and he saw a paw, similar to that of a cat, greet him. He wasn't sure how to react, and gulped, his hand shaking. He raised it above his chest and touched his face. It felt...furry. He could feel strands coming off of his face, whiskers, and a pair of large pointed ears, fluffy and soft to the touch. When he rubbed his fingers under his chin, his felt his throat vibrate in something that he understood as a purr.  Something brushed against his arm...a tail? With an embarrassed expression, he tugged at the collar of his robe and peeked underneath it. His whole body was furred the same while colour, but for an oval patch of grey that went down his body and ended just above his pelvis. He was slim, and not very athletic, with slightly bulky legs for running. He concluded he was some sort of half-cat...yet, that didn't feel right. His mind rejected it, it told him he was human. Was he?

He began to panic. Was he going insane? Mad? Maybe it was a hallucination. Surely someone could see he was in distress. They were all surrounding something, however, fixated, so maybe that was an explanation. His mind tried to make sense of everything going on, making excuses. He needed to speak to someone.

He looked across the beach again to the crowd of people. He saw that some looked distressed, some scared. He could hear the wail of sirens in the distance, closing in. Miri took a hesitant step forwards in his strange body, taking small, insecure steps as he neared closer to the collection of people. He felt the sand between his furred toes every time he brought his foot down, yet when he raised it again, there was no imprint of his paw in the sand.

As he drew closer, the murmurings were turning into worried and hushed tones. He reached the edge of the crowd, and tried to speak, but, all that came out was a croak, and he suddenly felt dehydrated, his throat dry and rough. He wavered a little, and held out a hand, trying to touch someone on the arm.

As his hand touched the shoulder of a worried woman in front of him, it went right through, his fingers turning to vapour in front of his very eyes. He fell forwards, through them, and flat on his face in the sand. Miri coughed, spitting out bits of sand that stuck to his rough tongue. He felt himself physically shiver. When he had passed through the woman's body, everything had felt cold, like he had hugged a large block of ice. His mind raced, demanding questions he didn't have the answers to, and he raised his head. Miri was greeted with another shock.

In the middle of the crowd was a boy. He was lying on his back, his skin blue. He didn't look alive, certainly. He was cuddled in the arms of what Miri guessed was his mother, and his face paled when he recognised her face. She was in his memories, somewhere. His eyes centered on the boy's face and he came to a terrifying realisation.

The boy was him. He had died.

Miri clambered away from the body, his chest heaving, struggling to breathe. He couldn't believe it. He was dead? It wasn't possible. He was right here. But yet, he'd just walked through people, like he didn't exist.

He tried to cry out, and his voice croaked again, like he had never spoken before. Tears welled up in his eyes. He was lost, afraid, confused, a myriad of emotions. He scrabbled to his feet and did the only thing he could think to do: run.

He turned, and darted up the stairs at the end of the beach. Tripping briefly and feeling his new right leg cuff against the wood, grazing the skin. He got ahead of himself, and stood in the middle of the main road. He panicked and looked around, left and right. He heard a car come towards him, and turned just in time to see it coming straight for him. He couldn't move in time.

It hit him like a ton of bricks, as full speed. Miri was hit, flying backwards, and strangely enough, the car stopped. A man stepped out and went to the front, immediately confused, as he couldn't see anything he had hit, and yet, he knew he felt something. Miri had already been thrown back a good few metres, and fell to the tarmac, tumbling, before coming to a stop. He coughed, feeling blood trickle from his mouth. He pressed a hand to his mouth, dabbing the blood and looking at his fingers. His blood was still red...that was something. Yet, he wasn't sure if he was to expect any different.

It didn't hurt as much as Miri had thought it would. He had actually thought he would die straight away, and yet, it felt more like a bruise than anything else, yet his rib still stung a little, like a very forceful punch. Perhaps he was more resilient; that was the only explanation he could come up with. The man had moved back into the driver's seat and the car was starting up again, and Miri knew he had to move this time. Dragging himself to his feet, feeling a spike of pain in his abdomen, he quickly hobbled over to the edge of the road. Miri slumped down to the pavement's edge, resting for a brief moment as the car drove past, the man's face in utter bewilderment. Miri had calmed a little from the accident, yet, he still couldn't accept what had happened to him.

He was dead. He saw his own body, blue from lack of oxygen. Miri knew enough of the world to know he'd drowned in the sea, but, why was he here now? Why did he look like this, for that matter? He had always believed that when he died, he would be reincarnated at another person, in another life, with no memory of who he used to be. This was completely different. No one could see him, but he could still touch things. He reached a hand out to the lamp post next to him, and felt the cold metal against his furred fingertips. He could touch objects, definitely, but he couldn't touch people. His hands just went right through them...like he didn't exist.

He raised his head and looked down the main street, with it's plastic lights and rushing cars. He decided it was best to stay off the roads, lest there was another accident. He stood, wavered a little as he felt the bruise in his stomach sting again. He leant against the lamp post, eyeing up the passers-by, before shuffling forwards into the collection of people walking back and forth, going about their daily lives. He reached out a tentative hand, and a woman right through it. His fingers turned into a blue wisp as they disappeared and phased through. It felt ice cold, and Miri physically shivered, quickly withdrawing his new-found white 'paw' to his chest. With a hesitant glance, he stepped forwards, and began to walk into the crowd.

He tried his best to shuffle through them without touching their shoulders as they barged on through. A couple of them managed to brush against his arm, and he felt the chill go through his long sleeved robe. He shivered again, and glanced back, seeing a few people roll their shoulders. Perhaps he did have an effect on them, even slight. Maybe they felt cold too.

He walked for a good long way, passing the pier on the beach and the donkey ride. He felt oddly tired, his muscles begin to sag. Miri didn't really understand. He didn't know much, but he assumed that, if he was dead, he wouldn't need to sleep. Yet his eyes began to droop a little, and he felt his body sag. As he strolled, he glanced to the right, spotting a mirror. When he stepped into it's view, he was surprised to find he could actually see his reflection. He analysed his face, noting a strange pattern on his face, grey fur that covered most of his cheeks and mouth, with a triangular point of grey fur going upwards, between his large, ocean blue eyes. Heaving a sigh, he glanced across the street and spotted a park bench. Miri checked before he crossed the road, then slumped down on the wooden furniture, letting out another long sigh. He was already feeling his body shut down, and he leant to the right. He rested his body across the wooden bench, and hunched himself together, pulling his knees up towards his chest. The warmth of the sun from above soothed him, and his felt his eyes droop and close. It wasn't long before he drifted into slumber.



The dream was...strange, to say the least. He imagined a woman, beautiful and radiant, with soft, golden flowing hair and a long white gown. She had an ample bosom, completely covered up. There was some sort of breeze. Miri could feel it on his face, and he saw her gown sway in the soft wind. She was looking directly at him with ocean blue eyes, and he felt his heart flutter. 

She said something, but he couldn't hear it.  He looked down at himself, seeing his own white robe, like he was wearing at the moment. The woman held out a hand to him as she stepped closer, and he couldn't help but feel that he had been in this situation before. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and touched hers. She gripped tightly in response and pulled him close. Miri stumbled, and fell into her stomach. He looked up at her, seeing her radiant face look down on him, and he managed to hear something then. One, single word.

“Miri.”



The cat woke with a start. He felt enormously cold, and suddenly realised he was being...well, sat on. A young couple, with ice cream in their hands, were sitting on top of his stomach and legs. Miri quickly shuffled away, rolling off the bench to the floor. He rubbed his stomach, feeling the slight sting still there. He secretly hoped it would go away. He still felt groggy from being woken up suddenly, and rubbed his head, sitting up. 

“Having some trouble, are we?”

Miri almost screamed in surprise. He got to his feet quickly and his eyes scanned the nearby surroundings. No one was facing him; no one knew he existed, after all. 

“Up here, kitty!” The voice came again, and Miri glanced up. He could see it now. It was a crow, perched right atop the lamp post. He squinted, and noticed the crow was looking right at him. 

“Yeah, good, you noticed.” The crow squawked. “You're new. You smell fresh.” The crow cocked it's head, and fluttered down in a circle. As it passed people, they cowered, covering themselves. Miri's eyes widened and he tried to speak, but nothing came but a croak.

“Very fresh, by the sounds of it.” The crow seemed pleased. It let out a squawk and opened it's beak wide. Black smoke trickled from it, and erupted, taking form in front of him. It turned and swirled into a strange shape. It was a larger crow, essentially, except it's feathers were as black as midnight, and it's eyes were lit up yellow. The look of the strange creature made Miri feel uneasy. The smaller crow was still there, and then took flight, leaving the scene. Miri was confused, and looked as the shadowy figure, scratching his head. 

“Mmm. You look mighty tasty, little kitty.” The Crow trotted forwards, and let out a squawk. This one was a lot more darker, louder and more ominous. Miri took a step back and looked hesitant. Something about this seemed wrong. 

“What's the matter?” The Crow stepped forwards again, hopping on it's two feet. “Huh? What? Afraid of me?” It asked. The beak opened wide, and he let out a loud squawk. Miri covered his ears with fright as the creature's beak began to contort and stretch. Shark-like teeth appeared and  they snapped down like a crocodile. Miri could hear faint sounds of snapping bones and the tearing of flesh. He heard the sound of liquid splattering the floor, and he peeked down to see a a glittering black fluid covering the floor near him. A partial bit and splashed onto his robe, and stained it. 

“Come on. Just...let me have a little...taste...” It snarled and stepped closer, the wings spreading wide. It's left wing passed through people walking on the high street. None of them had any idea what was happening. Miri did the only thing he could do in that situation: he ran.

Even though he was now dead, from what he could assume, it felt difficult to run. He remembered, briefly, it being this hard when he used to run before. Maybe it...passed on? He didn't have an explanation for it, he just felt it. His chest heaved and he could feel the pounding of his heart in his ribcage. His breathing was heavy, and he rasped, almost unable to breathe. He looked back, seeing the crow still going after him. It's face has contorted into something monstrous, like out of a horror film. It's beak had grown far longer than normal, snapping and hissing, with a long, forked tongue coming out of it's mouth. Miri would scream, if he could, but all that came out was another desperate croak. His throat burned. His chest ached. 

Eventually, he couldn't run any-more. His muscles began to burn, like they were on fire, and he stumbled. He tripped, falling to the pavement between a pair of busy business men, who ignored him and continued walking. Miri panted, rolling onto his back as he raised his head to see the crow closing in. He scrabbled back, his feel pushing against the harsh concrete. It was coming for him. What was it going to do? It looked so terrifying now. It didn't even look like a crow any-more, instead, it was more like a cruel and deranged imitation. It hobbled towards him, one leg longer than the other, large and menacing claws on the end of it's feet. It's eyes were bulging, glowing a bright yellow to startle him. Spikes protruded from it's chest, and it dripped the same, glittering black blood Miri had seen before.

“Scared, little...kitty...?” The Crow snarled and snapped it's crocodile-like mouth, lashing out a large, fleshy tongue. Miri let out a weak noise as he kept pushing himself backwards. He found himself shaking his head, and tried to plead.

“Nothing to save you now.” The monster let out a snicker which turned into a deluded laugh, going from it's quiet chuckle to a loud cackle of laughter. Miri's heart pounded. He was going to die...again. And if not, he was going to feel terrible pain. His eyes widened as the crow opened it's beak again. He saw into the abyss of it's mouth. It brimmed with small little tentacles, that looked hungry for his flesh. Miri opened his mouth to try and scream.

'Miri'. There was a voice in his head, soft and gentle. It rang with a soft chime, a symphony of chorus and faint bells in the background.

'Don't be afraid little one.' It continued to speak, and to Miri's eyes, time seemed to slow. He saw the monster's beak moving slowly towards him. 'Feel yourself move and change...don't be afraid.'

This was a lot more difficult than Miri imagined. His heart beat far too fast, his chest heaving in short breaths, too scared to move. The voice had stopped, saying nothing, and time sped itself up again. The beak came down. There was the sound of a sharp object hitting flesh.

Miri let out a strangled mewl of pain. The monstrous crow's beak had sunk into his shoulder, spotting his robe with red blood. He felt the long, black appendage sinking deeper into his shoulder and Miri winced, letting out a weak noise. Spikes of pain shot through his body, and he felt his fur begin to mat with the blood trickling from the wound. The crow made short squawks, similar to laughing. 

“Stupid cat,” The crow mused, looking down at him with glowing yellow eyes. “You taste delicious...you'll soon be mine...” He cackled.

“N...” Miri tried to speak, but he couldn't even cry out for help. People walked along in the street, completely unawares of the poor cat's struggle. He raised his white paw, and lashed out, batting it weakly against the crow's cheek. The shadowy monster seemed amused and just sunk his beak further. Miri felt it pierce the other side of his shoulder, and he was lifted off his feet, raised into the air by the beak alone.

He let out a squeal of agony, the pain almost too much to bear. He gripped the long black appendage and tried to push it out of him, but his muscles felt weak, like his life was seeping away from him. His legs flailed, a bit limp, his breath ragged and heavy. His eyelids begin to droop, feeling himself get weaker and weaker. He felt faint.



“Hey, you!” Someone shouted from the side, and Miri saw the crow's eyes dart to the left, before they widened.

It was a sudden movement. Miri felt his body being pulled from the back and he was tugged, rather sharply, from the beak, and dropped gently enough to the floor. Miri's weak eyes looked up at the person who had saved him.

He looked strange. It was a figure, dressed in white, just like him. However, his attire was more neat-fitting to his body. His muscles were large and covered by a slightly torn shirt. In his hand, he wielded a large club, one side round and blunt, and the other side had a curved, sharp edge, like an axe. It was a strange weapon, one Miri had never seen before. The saviours face was human,  with an unkempt mop of brown hair that spiked up naturally. He had a wide face with a large, laid back grin. He sported knee-high shorts and a pair of average-looking trainers.

“Leave it to me, kiddo.” he grinned, and turned to the crow, who glared at the man who appeared. He let out a loud squawk, making Miri's ears hurt with how loud it was. He tensed up and tried to cover his head, but he was too weak to move. He could see the man move forwards and swing the weapon like it was just a newspaper. It was like it had no weight to it at all. He had good aim, as well. The axe end hit the crow square in the face, and cut a large gash into the monster's cheek. The wispy bird screamed in fury and pain, and flapped it's wings. The gusts made the man get pushed back a little, but he held his ground. The man flung the club, slamming it down on top of the crow's head. The enemy looked dazed, enough for the warrior to swung the axe side again. The blade cut deep into the crow's neck, and black, thick blood oozed from the wound.

The beast began to squawk and writhe in pain, weakly flapping it's wings. Miri saw that it started to glow a faint white, getting brighter and brighter. The crow stopped abruptly and then cried out in pain, before it exploded in a shower of strange, white sparkles. It was gone, it's body disappeared, with nothing left but a black feather. That soon disappeared too, in a poof of white smoke and particles. 

Miri croaked, attempting to speak, trying to say something, to thank the man, even. The faintly glowing figure turned to him. His smiled curled into a large grin, and he tapped the club against the ground, like he was thinking.

“You haven't figured out yet, have you, little cat?” He smirked a little. It didn't look spiteful, more teasing. He stepped forwards, and Miri let out a pained mewl as he was lifted up and thrown over the man's shoulder. He held him there, carrying him with ease, like the cat was made of pillows. 

“Don't worry.” The man said with a hearty chuckle. “I'll take you to the haven. I'll explain there.” He told him. Miri went to say something, but he began to feel the weakness take over him. He succumbed, and closed his eyes.