This is about a 15 year old that starts having dreams of turning into animals, and then suddenly finds himself a wedge-tailed eagle after going to bed. A slow burn more of a slice of life story.


This is a story I'm writing, will be releasing twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday. I would love to hear any thoughts about the story, do you like it, is it good, is it bad or anything.


My story on royal road is 10 chapters ahead, so if you want to read more check it out there.


link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/140572/sky-within-shadow-without

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Focus… focus… FOCUS! But every time I start to focus, I hear the water lap at the shore, a bird cry above, or my own random thoughts. Every time I try to focus, I end up focusing on trying to focus. Well, that isn’t working. I fluff up my feathers in irritation, but I’m too annoyed for it to help.

Why can’t I focus for more than a second before all my fears crawl back in?
If I can’t focus I doubt shifting was going to be possible.

I can’t concentrate long enough to find the wolf. It feels like it’s somewhere inside me, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t shift. I glance at Shiners and sigh in frustration. <You sure that’s what he said? He shapeshifted by thinking about the animal?>

Shiners nods from where he’s relaxing nearby. <Yes. He said he would focus inward, feel the animal he wanted to become, and then turn into it. I only knew the one shapeshifter, so you might be different. But it can’t hurt to try, can it?>

<I guess it can’t, and I sorta know what the wolf felt like in the dream. I just have to figure out how to find it.> I sigh and take a moment to ground myself in reality—if what reality now exists can even be called that. Here I am on a small island in the lake, miles from town, trying to meditate. A place that Shiners promised me he seldom sees humans.

After a few moments of focus, I close my eyes.
Looking inward, I concentrate on the wolf from my dream.

As I focus again, I feel the fear I’ve been holding back ever since I turned into an eagle. What will I do now? I’m an eagle who might be able to turn into other animals. But being human feels like a distant goal, not something I can just fix. All I’ve thought about the past few days is becoming an animal. I can’t deny that’s what I wanted—and still want. But what if my parents reject me? What if I get injured? They couldn’t take me to a hospital. Would a vet even know what to do?

Maybe I should wait until I’ve seen my parents before I try to shapeshift again. It isn’t working right now, so maybe I’ll try again later tonight.

Opening my eyes, they drift towards Shiners. <Sorry, I just can’t concentrate right now. I keep thinking about what may or may not happen with my parents.>

<I can understand that. Maybe we should work on practicing being an eagle, or would you like to try writing more?> Shiners gives me a concerned look.

I nod, brushing a wingtip across the ground. <Sure, even if I make progress, it may take me a few days. But not writing right now. Maybe I should try to hunt.> I wince at how my beak still feels sensitive from overusing it to write. <Give Charlie a bit of a surprise. Do you think I can catch any sheep?> I half-joke. I’m not sure what I can hunt. I know some eagles hunt mountain goats, but I have no idea where they might be found.

Shiners chuckles and shakes his head as if to get rid of the image. <Maybe, I don’t know. The eagles I see around here go after fish and some birds, but you could try for rabbits and such. Don’t know what kind of things your species eats, though like you said, probably not apples.> He motions to my talons.

<Well, maybe Charlie and my family can find out what species I am and see what we eat. It should help me get a better idea of what to hunt. For now, let’s just fly around and see what we find. We have a while until Charlie is out of school.> I spread my wings and prepare to fly again.

Shiners tilts his head and nods. <Sounds like a good place to start.> He takes to the air himself.

I follow him and climb higher until I can see the surrounding area. Far off in the distance, I can make out the mill near my town—the marker for home. After a few circles, I spot an open field where logging has recently happened. It looks as good a spot as any. <How about over there, the logged area? Might be a good place to find some rabbits or other animals to hunt.>

<Not a bad suggestion.> Shiners banks and flies in the direction of the field.

Soon we’re gliding over the field, and I swing my head back and forth, looking for any signs of movement below.

<You got this. And don’t feel discouraged if you fail to catch anything. Even lifelong eagles fail often. I’ll be over here.> Shiners says encouragingly as he flies over to a tree and alights on it.

<Works for me. If I catch anything, you get some.> I hope I can be as successful as I imagine. I know nothing about hunting and can only trust that my body will figure it out as I go.

As I glide over the field, I spot a few things of interest: a couple of squirrels, a mouse, and—yes—a rabbit. It’s amazing and a little crazy how sharp my new vision is. I can see every small detail on the rabbit and the strange colouring everything has compared to what I expect. I have to shake my head to avoid being distracted. I saw hints of it the night before, but now it’s so much stronger. As a human, I’d barely be lucky to see them as small brown smudges, but now it’s like they’re so much closer.

Hmmmmm… dinner time.

My beak muscles twitch in anticipation as my talons open and close. I’m ready and excited for the hunt.

The instincts still feel out of reach. I know what my body wants to do when it catches the rabbit, but I’m not too sure how to get from circling to catching it. I decided to just take the plunge.

A high-pitched chattering sound breaks my concentration as one of the squirrels spots me. The rabbit looks up, sees me, and bolts. Beating my wings, I pick up speed, angling downward to dive after it. Just another moment and I’ll have my first kill.

But I’m so focused on the rabbit that I don’t notice what’s in front of me. When I look up, I only have time to pull back to stop myself from slamming straight into a blackberry bush. Instead, I hit it belly-first and wince. My feathers protect me from most of it, but I still get a small scratch and a couple of thorns stuck in me. I grunt in pain.

Shit, shit, shit— that really hurt. Note to self: flying into blackberries sounds better in my head.

<Ow. I thought it was bad enough when a blackberry bush catches your pants.> I try to rub the thorns away, but my wings don’t work that way.

Shiners flies over and lands next to me, giving the best wince a bird can. <Here, let me help. You need to be careful and look where you're going, not just at your dinner.> He carefully pulls the thorns out, only removing one feather. He looks at the cut. It isn’t bad, more of a light scratch.

I give a small skree as the feather comes out, but I’m glad it isn’t worse. <Yeah, I should know better. I’ve heard of birds hitting cars because they’re so focused on something, they don’t see the danger.>

<We should have you practice some more, balancing focus on prey and what’s ahead. Want to practice with me? Obviously don’t try to catch me, but see if I can spot you.> He gives me a small nervous look. <You can avoid hunting me, right?> he half-jokes.

With the hunt a failure, I look around and notice all the things I could have hit if I wasn’t careful, like a stump or a rotted log.

We both take to the air and fly back toward the island. <Okay, I’ll remain here. Come toward me when you're ready, and let’s see how well you can keep me from noticing you.> Shiners gives a small wave with his wing as he lands on the shore of the island.

Circling above for a few minutes, I watch him before flying off over the trees to slip out of his view. I land in a tall tree. There’s a small moment of concern as it bends a little under my weight, but it manages to hold. My gaze locks on Shiners in the distance as I call out to him. <Can you see me?>

After a few moments of him scrutinizing everything, I think for a second he’s spotted me. In the end though, he shakes his head. <I don’t see you, so whenever you're ready.>

Turning away, I drop from the tree and skim over the treetops, climbing upward. This time, though, I feel myself being boosted from below, like the wind is lifting me into the sky. It must be one of those thermals I’ve heard about. Now I’m high above everything. It’s quiet except for the wind—no other sounds, as if I’m alone in the world.

This must be what inner peace feels like.

The island below is a tiny dot in the distance, but as I focus, I can zoom in slightly and see it more clearly.

Circling one last time, I come diving in at Shiners from behind. My wings tuck tight to my sides and my feet tuck back. I’m coming in fast. TOO FAST. My mind screams to slow down or I’ll crash. As I get closer, I spread my wings slightly to slow my descent.

This turns out to be the wrong idea.

<Found you.> I look down, and sure enough, Shiners is staring right at me. <It’s not a bad idea, but next time, maybe try to use the sun. Most animals can’t see well looking at it, and it can hide your approach,> he says with a hint of smugness.

I grumble and slow my descent a bit more until I land next to him. I’m starting to get the hang of flying, but I still have those moments of fear. I’ll keep that in mind. <This is much trickier than I thought. On the ground you just have to run straight at it, but with flying you have to think about your speed, when to pull up, the right angle to bank, when to extend your legs, and all the small little movements.>

<Well, at least you have Charlie and, if you’re lucky, your parents to help you with food. Maybe there are other options you could use. I’ve seen the rare human hunting with birds, maybe you could get one of them to teach you.>

That gives me pause, and I imagine, just for a moment, being in a school full of other raptors all being taught how to hunt by a human. <We could ask Charlie about it. I’m not sure how well it would work, but it would certainly give me something to try.>

<Well, if you're up for it, give it another shot. And then we can head back to the fort for some food. Charlie said he’d try to stop by at lunch.>

I spread my wings and take to the air again. I improve with diving, but I never get too close before he spots me. It’s good practice. Over time, the instincts start to become second nature, though there’s still a constant fight between animal instinct and human thought.

This may take a while, but I think I’m starting to get it.

By the time we fly back toward the fort, I’ve worked up an appetite. We arrive just in time to see Charlie making his way up the trail toward us. I skree out a hello.