Chapter Four
In Preparation

    All I could do was take it all in. The village was lined with houses and small shops. The ground, except for the dirt roads, was alive with césped, hierba and beautiful blossoms. Among the many people there, I spotted animales such as a panda, a deer, and a heron.
    Tia perched on my shoulder as a parrot, like she used to, only now she spoke, "So what do tu think? Isn't it a nice place?"
    "Yep, I think I'm going to like here," I told her happily. "But which house is the one I'm going to live in?"
    "Maybe the one with your mom standing in front of it?" Tia gestured with a wing, and for the first time, I noticed my mom waving at us.
    "Hi, Mom!" Turning back to normal, Toby hustled his way through the crowd to get to her.
    "Well, let's not make her wait much longer." Tia flew off of my shoulder and over to the house, before transforming back as well. Mom didn't look the least bit fazed.
    I tried to follow Tia, but almost ended up stepping on a cat's tail.
    "Sorry!" I exclaimed quickly. The blue-gray tom glanced up at me. Its face was pure white. "Uh, are tu an Anipeilan?" I asked it, relishing the term for the first time.
    The cat just looked confused. "Mrow?"
    "Okay... I guess not." Clearly not all of the animales here have superpowers,I realized. "Well, anyway, sorry about that."
    The cat kept gazing placidly at me, then turned and scampered away, disappearing into the surrounding forest.

    "Sharon!" My mom embraced me in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're here!"
    "Mom!" I hugged her back, almost as tightly. "You knew about this place?"
    "Of course I did, sweetie," she answered.
    "Wait, what?" inquired another familiar voice. Mom and I broke apart and I turned around to see Elese, who came up to us looking bewildered. "You knew all about this, and tu never bothered to tell us? tu didn't think it would be important?"
    Mom sighed. It was clear she'd been dreading this question. "Your father and I agreed that tu shouldn't have to know about this until all of tu came of age. Well, almost all of you," she added as Amy stepped out of the house behind her.
    Seeing Amy again brought a pang of relief, but also reminded me of Goryn. If I was right, I had seen him earlier that día - a full-size dragon. Had that been real, o had I just been imagining it? Then again, I had also thought that I had imagined that eagle from before, and now look where I was because of it.
    From behind Amy, Barry emerged. "Oh, hey, guys," he greeted me and Toby. "I've just been giving Amy horseback rides. She loves it."
    "You have a horse?" I asked.
    "Oh, no." He smiled. "I am the horse."
    With that, he transformed into a palomino stallion, then back. "Huh? Pretty cool, right?"
    "Eh, mine's still better," Toby boasted. Barry glared at him.
    "Well, I think it's great," I told him.
    "Thank you! See, this is why you're my favorito! sister." Barry put his arm around my shoulder. Elese rolled her eyes.
    "Oh, please. That's just what he dicho to me before he pulled a prank on me the siguiente day, so watch your back, Sharon," Elese warned me.
    Mom chuckled. "Well, what do tu say we all just get ready for your ceremonies?"
    "Sweet!" Barry and Toby rushed into the house, leaving the door swinging behind them until it closed.
    I looked at Elese. "So, Elese, what's your-"
    "Puma," she replied tersely. "How about you?"
    "A leopard," I responded. "And what about Amy?"
    "We're not sure yet. That Gwen girl dicho that she hasn't shown any sign of transforming."
    I glanced back at Amy, who gave me a friendly wave.
    "Go ahead inside, girls," our mom instructed. "Elese, why don't tu mostrar Sharon her new room?"
    So we obliged. The inside of the house was nice and roomy, but with a cozy feeling akin to a cabin. Somehow, it didn't feel that different from our original home.
    "Our rooms are upstairs," Elese informed me.
    "Okay, thank you." I started up the stairs, then turned around. "Elese, what do tu think our ceremony is going to be like?"
    Elese considered that pregunta for a moment before answering, "Weird. But also amazing. Just like everything else in this place."
    "Probably," I agreed. Then, I hurried up the stairs, hoping to see my new room, when I came to a door with a small, paper sign taped to it. On the sign were the words "Sharon's Room" written in Mom's neat handwriting. Slowly, I opened the door, and to my astonishment, all of my belongings were there, even my pillows and blankets. The furniture was arranged a little differently, but other than that, it felt like I had just walked into my old room. When I checked my closet, I found all my clothes there, hanging just as they'd been when I'd left that morning for school. Along with my old outfits were a couple of new ones.
    "Yeah, those were Gwen's idea. When it comes to fashion, she can get a little overexcited. She wanted to recreate your entire wardrobe, but Faust told her not to."
    I whirled around to see Tia standing behind me. "Tia! How did tu get all of my stuff here?"
    "Oh, I didn't. I just told them what to bring here from your old house, and they did the rest," Tia explained. When I looked puzzled, she amended, " 'They,' meaning the leader of the Anipeilans and the help he enlisted."
    "There's a leader of the Anipeilans?" I asked. "Am I going to meet him soon?"
    "You've already met him. Gwen's brother, Faust Dynidge. But he does play a role in our ceremonies."
    "These ceremonies... How often do they happen?" I questioned her.
    "Not very often," she replied, somewhat solemnly. "Not lately, anyway. There seem to be less Anipeilans nowadays in Kariarelm, and even fewer in Earth."
    Suddenly, an echoing clang like a campana reverberated through the house. Tia perked up instantly. "Yes! It's time for our ceremonies! Meet tu outside!"
    Tia took off like a bullet down the stairs. A few segundos later, my brothers burst from their rooms and followed suit.
    A mix of excitement and anxiety washed over me as I strolled down the stairs. What would my ceremony be like? What would happen? And what would my element be? My mind buzzed with preguntas as I joined the others outside, closing the door of my new inicial behind me.

Author's Note:
"Said" is dead! Have tu noticed that throughout this story, I have never used the word "said" to introduce dialogue? If I ever do that, just assume that I'm really, really, brain dead. XP
That being said, stick around for chapter 5! The ceremony! *cue dramatic music* And please tell me what tu thought in the comments! :)