Birds of a Feather (Closed To Anime)

Artemis flew through the skys disguised as a hawk. She had made a return trip to Los Angeles. Or at least that what she thought the city was. She still couldn't read, but the scents and appearance of the city looked the same. Last time she was here she ran into a girl, Salone. The girl made her curious, and was the main reason of returning to the city. She wanted to see the girl again, and hoped she was like most other humans and stayed in the same place for long periods of time. She dived down into the city streets, flying quickly over the heads of the crowd below. She was greeted with wonder and a few screams as she pasted over the crowded streets. She was scanning for Salone. Not seeing her she flew back up into the sky and searched a different part of the city. She was about to give up her search, she had been scanning the ground for a few hours. She began to fly away but then spotted something. A large white building with a red cross on it, she couldn't read the name of the building but in large red letters it spelt out some sort of word.

There by a open window she spotted Salone, only for a second. Or at least someone that looked like her, she would have to get closer to make sure. Artemis dove, flying right towards the open window. She darted through the open window, fluttering her wings once inside she headed to land on the ground. However before reaching the ground her bird form she transformed, her feet touching the ground as she landed, by the time she turned around to face the girl she saw she was fully transformed.

"Salone!?" said Artemis happily as she turned.

Salone was sitting on a stool, wearing short sleeves with her arm bared to a doctor, one of Penny's co-workers. She winced only slightly as the needle went in and took a blood sample. When the doctor was finished they put the vial of the tray and walked out of the room, leaving with her blood. Like a pro she applied gauze to the area in the crease of her elbow and she taped the gauze down. Her attacks had been coming closer together now and the medical testing had increased dramatically. Salone sighed and leaned against the counter, she cellphone silent beside her. She would glance at it every few minutes or so like she was waiting for a call. Then there was a flurry of feathers and Salone turned to see a girl standing in the the room, a broad smile on her face.
"Artemis?" She asked, her voice rough and she rushed forward and hugged the girl. Barely wincing when she moved her arm.

Artemis hugged Salone back tightly. "I was hoping you where still in the city." said Artemis. She stepped back from Salone and looked her over. She looked a bit off, and there was something on the crease of her elbow. Artemis looked at Salone confused, trying to form the words needed. "What's with that?" she ended up saying pointing at the tape. "Are you ok?" Sure got closer to Salone and began to sniff her over. She pulled back again, her face held a look of confusion. Artemis looked around the room. She didn't notice it before but the room looked bright, cold and sterile. She didn't like it. "What is this place... doesn't seem very welcoming."

"I'm generally around here," Salone answered with a kind smile sitting back on her stool. Artemis' english skills had changed dramatically since when they first met. She winced slightly as the wolf girl began sniffing her, it was rather an odd thing to be sniffed by a human.
"Artemis," She placed a hand on her friends shoulder to get her to stop. "I'm fine, I get blood work done regularly for my health."
She held out her arm to show the gauze soaking up the blood. "I had my blood drawn to test it for sickness and I'm in a hospital. Its from sick people who need special care."

Artemis eyes widened at Salone's response. Backing up a bit she stared at Salone. She then darted around Salone, looking her over. "You ok?" said Artemis quickly. "Don't look hurt. Someone do something to you?" She backed up and looked at Salone again confused, a slight look of fear in her eyes. She had been looked for Salone for a few reasons. One was cause she wanted to do stuff with her. The other was that Salone was the only other person she ever met with a power like hers. She met people who were close but Salone seemed to have the same power more or less. "Can I help in anyway?"

Salone layed a hand on her friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm her, instead the girl ran around Salone a few times. That was the moment when Salone realized she had never told Artemis what was actually wrong with her.
"Artemis, I'm as fine as I'm going to get. Do you remember when you could smell blood on me at the cafe?" She asked, hesitantly. "Well, one could say I'm sick. Terminally sick."
Salone fixed her with her brown eyes, she was trying to tell her friend she was dying. The ill woman wrung her fingers, awaiting her friend's reaction. The doctor was going to be back soon.

Artemis looked confused at Salone. She said she was sick, but was fine. But still sick, but called it terminally, whatever the hell that meant. "Terminally? questioned Artemis, unsure of the word's meaning. "You'll be alright won't you? This place is for people who are sick that need help right?" She was going to ask Salone more but then there was a knock on the door. Out of instinct Artemis shifted into a wolf, teeth bared. A low pitched growl, came out of her, quite enough where it couldn't be heard down the hall but could easily be heard right outside the door.

"Alright Salone, enough with the jokes I'm coming in." said a voice on the other side of the door. The door opened and Artemis darted between Salone and the doctor who just opened the door. Artemis growled and the doctor stared from her to Salone. "Well... this is unexpected. Salone, might you care explaining why there is a wolf in here that's not you?"

Salone was about to answer Artemis when there was a knock of the doctor before he came in. Her friend turned into a wolf and growled at him, Salone laid a hand on her ruff to try and calm her friend.
"Well... this is unexpected. Salone, might you care explaining why there is a wolf in here that's not you?"
"She's an old friend," Salone stated, "She can stay. What did you find out."
He went on to say nothing much had changed and that she should really reconsider his offer. Salone shook her head and declined.
Standing she said, "Come on Artemis, lets go."
She picked up her camera bag and slung it over her shoulder. Waited by the door for artemis before continuing to the checkout desk.

Artemis was happy but she stood down when Salone placed her hand on her scruff. She looked up to her pleadingly, who ever this intruder was she didn't like him. But in the end she just walked and sat next to Salone, nudging her hand to be petted. She sat through what seemed like forever. She really had no idea what the doctor was talking about but one thinking stood out in her head. Something about an offer. Once Salone and the doctor where finished, Salone said they could leave. On the way out the door, Artemis shifted to her human form. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at the doctor then ran a bit to catch up to Salone. The entire place seemed sterile and cold. She turned her head around and looked all around the hospital as she followed Salone. Once they where out of the hospital Artemis reached down to grab Salone's handed and tried to pull her into a close by alley way. She tried to show Salone to the far corner of the alley way.

"What he mean by offer?"

Salone's lips twitched in amusement as Artemis hung back to stick her tongue out at the Doctor. That was the thing about Artemis she really liked, the wolf girl was always able to cheer her up in some way. Together the two friends walked down the cold halls to the checkout desk, were Salone signed some papers. Then she went outside into the warm heat, goose bumps erupted on her skin, the girl hadn't realized how cold she was. Artemis then grabbed her hand and hauled her into a side alley and demanded to know what the offer was.
Salone's face paled and then tightened in pain. She had not planned on discussing this with Artemis.
"When I said terminally ill, it means I am permanently sick. But the particular illness I have makes me the way I am. It makes me change my form." She explained to the girl before her. "The doctor wants me to have children, to see if my birth defect could be passed along. But I can't do that to a child..." She trailed off and sighed, the whole thing was a rather touchy subject. Salone slipped underneath Artemis' arm.
"Come on," She motioned to her friend, Salone could walk to her home from here.

Some of what Salone said she didn't understand. But Artemis believed she got the most of what she said. "That doesn't explain how it was an offer. Any shifting hurts you?" said Artemis, sounding confused in the last part of her sentence. Artemis placed her arms on Salone's shoulder and looked directly into her eyes. "I'll always be there for you Salone, even when I'm off somewhere, If you need help i'll come to help you." Even though there was no real way on contacting her, she meant it. Salone is one of the few friends she ever made in what was called civilization. She was also the only other person she ever met who could shape shift. So Artemis felt like they had a certain connection that she didn't share with anyone else. She followed closely behind Salone. For one she didn't know where Salone was taking her. Also Salone was sick, when Artemis was sick in the past the pack protected her.

"He was trying to bribe me to have children," Salone sighed. She had forgotten how little the girl knew about her situation. "Yes, it does hurt me to shift."
It did, the mones in her back had to break themselves and reform as something different. The longer she held a form the more it would hurt to turn back. They arrived back at Salone's home within fifteen minutes. She slid the house key into the lock and a large dog barked somewhere in the back of the house. Salone opened the door and walked inside, hanging the keys on a hook. Sasha came barreling out of Salone's bedroom, ramming into her legs before wagging her tail wildly and sniffing Artemis.
"This is Sasha." The girl wandered into the kitchen, grabbing a cupcake off the counter.

"and you don't want pups in fear that their situation would be worse then yours?" said Artemis in a brief moment of insight. They arrived at a house. Salone opened the door, so Artemis figured she lived here. However a large dog bounded out of the house to greet them. Artemis entered her wolf form and greeted the other dog. After a few minutes o sniffing, Artemis returned to her human form. She followed Salone into the house, Sasha tagging behind closely. "She's happy." said Artemis referencing Sasha. Artemis walked next to Salone. "So this is where you stay? How can you stand it? Being in one place at all times? Haven't you wanted to adventure out into the world?"

"Yes," Salone sighed in answer to her first question. She offered the girl clad in skins a cup cake with frosting on it. Her heart ached on the inside and she checked her phone. Sasha had gone back to chewing on her rawhide bone and there were several nursing textbooks on the dining table.
"Yes I live here and I stand it because of indoor plumbing." She chuckled at Artemis. "I have plenty of adventure right here. I work as a part time bounty hunter and for the newspaper until i finish my schooling."
Being nearly killed a few weeks ago by demons had left her taste for adventure sated for the time being.

"What's indoor plumbing?" asked Artemis confused. "What is a bounty hunter and what's a newspaper?" Artemis sniff and took the cupcake, honestly having no idea what it is. It smelled good at least. She licked a bit of the icing off the top and her eyes widen. It tasted sweet, like nothing she ever had before. She just started at the cupcake for a few moments, her eyes wide. Then she gobbled the entire cupcake in a matter of seconds. Eating some o the paper on accident. Her face crinkled at the taste of paper and stuck her tongue out, picking the paper off of her tongue. She then looked at Salone.

"What was that, it was so good, it was sweat and soft. Although these I can live with out." Said Artemis lifting up the damp paper in her hands. She then walked over the the trash can and put the paper in there. In her 3 years of observing other humans she notice people threw stuff in these little cans. Artemis then walked over to Salone and stood next to her, leaning on the counter behind her. She resting she head on Salone. "I really don't get how you can just stay in one place... And are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?"