SHAPESHIFTERS
Part 1's

It was still noon in the middle of the day, but the tall, dense trees became the umbrella of the forest that was not pierced by the sunlight.

The sound of flapping wings blurted, and echoed broke the silence amid the darkness of the sub-tropical forest.

Dry leaves fluttered in the wind, resulting in fluttering wings that move quickly above ground level.

Slowly the sound grew quieter, and finally stopped and disappeared.

Not an ordinary eagle.

Wings with wide ranges reaching over seven meters from end to end, which were attached to his back, a pair of bare feet, stepping on the mossy ground, which was wet and slippery.

Part of his body has returned to its original form, remaining large wings and some strands of hard feathers that still cover the waist up to the calf.

If only another human were to see him at this moment, it would definitely cry out hysterically in fear.

In a hurry, Marco lowered his head and picked up his clothes, which he kept between the trees.

Marco had just finished going around in the air, to check the forest border that had been his hiding place all along.

In this forest alone Marco could freely roam about, and change shape as he pleased, without worrying about any ordinary human being being able to see him.

That is why, Marco often flew with various forms of birds, so that he could know in case there are humans, who penetrated into the forest.

No one would have guessed anything, if Marco had dressed up as he was today.

One would think, if Marco Belmont was just an ordinary handsome young man, with a good posture.

His stomach felt very hungry, forcing him to return to the city immediately.

The backpack, which is only worn next to the rope, hangs freely on one side of Marco's shoulder.

Half-running, Marco broke through the sidelines of the trees, in order to reach the highway as soon as possible.

Sweat now soaked his back and forehead, making the shirt he was wearing so bright and translucent, showing off the muscle mounds latissimus dorsi, on the back of his body.

Without needing to think too much, Marco who had memorized all parts of the forest outside his head, did not find it difficult to get in and out of there.

It only takes a matter of a dozen minutes, Marco is already standing on a hot asphalt road near the forest.

Marco could have been faster than that to reach the highway, had he been willing to change his body shape into a cheetah.

But, it's too risky.

What if someone sees it?

That was enough, the terrible experience he had at that time.

Accidentally, Marco was lost in thought when he saw a lion in the middle of a circus.

The pity of seeing a lion being treated badly, made Marco get carried away, and suddenly turned into a lion there.

Marco, then twelve, was arrested by police uniformed officers and taken to the zoo, as they suspected Marco was a lion, who had escaped from the city zoo.

When Marco returned to his human form, it was clear that it was a tremendous stir.

Marco almost became an experimental material in the laboratory, if only then he could not concentrate, and turned into an agile swallow, and fled from there.

So did Daddy Marco.

After the bad events experienced by Marco, and Mommy Marco is gone, Daddy Marco brought Marco to move to another city.

But, when Marco was seven dozen years old, and had just returned from school, Daddy Marco was found dead at home suddenly, with the results of an autopsy exposed to pulmonary embolism.

It was really a bad memory for Marco, and almost made him go crazy.

Since then, Marco has been careful, and learned to control his mind, so as not to change shape at inappropriate times, and to attract people.

No one asks why.

Marco also did not know, why he could change his body shape into the beast he wanted.

Marco, who considers himself the same as his peers, only realized the ability he had, when he stepped on at the age of ten.

Turning into a cat, while playing with his neighbor's pet cat, who entered his tree house, was the first shape change Marco could make.

It was very scary for little Marco at first, when he saw his face reflected by the window of his house, with a body shape that was no longer him, making Marco scream and cry hysterically as hard as he could.

And of course, Marco just let out a roaring cat voice, as if something was hurting him.

There's nowhere Marco can ask.

The parents who cared for him from childhood with affection until the end of their lives, and Marco considered as his Mommy and Daddy, were not his biological parents.

According to his Daddy's confession, Marco was just a child they adopted from an orphanage, when Marco was thought to be a week old.

A nun found Marco's baby in a basket, which was simply placed in front of Millik's orphanage, a Catholic church foundation.

Without a single bright spot, there would be clarity on Marco's true origins, as well as a necklace with a small pendant attached around the neck of Marco's baby.

The date of Marco's discovery by the nun, finally served as the date of his birth.

With all the thoughts plaguing his mind, Marco is determined to discover the truth of his origins, with all the questions he wants to ask his biological parents.

After Father Marco died, Marco did not continue his schooling anymore, and chose to return immediately to his hometown, where he spent his childhood, until his Mommy breathed his last.

Marco guessed and hoped that he might find answers in that place, because there was also an orphanage where Marco was adopted.

Despite the past few years, Marco still could not find anything.

On the road, there were quite a number of vehicles passing by.

Marco walked slowly to his car, which was parked on the side of the road, and at average speed, Marco drove down the highway, until entering the streets of Bridget.

Bridget is a small city, with a population that is not too dense.

His parents' old house, which was quite far from the neighbors, was considered Marco to be the best place for him to stay.

Taking advantage of his Mommy and Daddy heritage, since his move back then, Marco raised several farm animals, and set up a corn plantation, with enough to provide for his daily needs.

In fact, the proceeds from the sale of livestock and corn, can make the old house look much better, after Marco renovated little by little alone, for the past year.