Kanga DeRosa

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

What controlled a siren’s shift? To him it was second nature. Understanding his body and his power. The biggest weakness had been balancing on two legs. So what would keep this woman from changing back. Excess magic, excess power, emotions. He couldn’t help with two of those but he could help with the last. What triggered it? And how could he ask?

“Would you allow me to use my magic on you? I can use my voice to invoke multiple emotions so I would be able to calm you down further if that would help?”

Ordinarily Kanga would probably be more hesitant. But the thing was...well she needed to change back. She needed to get herself together. She had to make sure that she could do her work and check in on Roo. None of which she could do if she was stuck in the forest like this.

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

Marzel moved to sit where he was facing the woman. He could easily calm her down, with a few bars hummed she would be calm, she could be put asleep. But that required Marzel to reveal a part about him that he didn’t want other people to know.

How else did he help though?

“Are you currently unable to transform back? And do you want to even transform back at this moment?”

Kanga debated over the best way to help answer his questions. Two at once was difficult, at least because she thought shaking her head and nodding would just look confusing. So she eyed her paws before she carefully scraped out a 1. followed by a No.

Flouncing Through the Forest | Karu

She purred!

Haru nearly squealed about how excited she was because it was definitely a good purr and not an anxious purr. Those sounded a lot different and even though Haru wasn’t a cat anymore, she’d be able to tell the difference. Plus the giant purple kitty nudged her playfully. Haru was just so happy. 

And then the big purple kitty unfurled her wing and gave it a flap. Haru’s hair wooshed around her head and she giggled brightly before hugging the cat again. “You’re so pretty and neat! I’ve never met a flying cat before and that’s saying a lot. I’ve met lots of cats.” 

Haru leaned in a little closer right next to the giant cat’s ear and whispered softly. “Don’t tell anyone,” she said, “but I’m a cat too. Or I used to be a cat. I know I’m not supposed to tell anyone that but I don’t think you’ll tell on me, right?” 

Kanga felt strangely warm. It had been a long time since she’d been in this form and properly enjoyed it, but she did now. The girl giggling before her and holding her like that soothed a bit of the ache and pain that she had been experiencing lately. It...well in the simplest of terms it helped.

And apparently it was natural that this girl would know how to soothe. If she really was a cat as well. It was strange to hear, but Kanga couldn’t really question it considering where she was and how she was stuck in her form herself.

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

To her Marzel was a human, a non-magick and well Marzel had no problem with that. He wasn’t about to explain how he knew and understand a different version to what she was going through. If Marzel had transformed infront of people he would have run too.

Glancing down at the word Marzel shrugged. “Because why not? Seeing someone bound from town most people would look into it and I hope I’m not wrong but it looks like you need help?” Why else stay, if she wanted to run she could easily out run him on land.

Kanga was confused. And overwhelmed. But she could feel the relief as this man seemed inclined to help her. Genuinely help her. Kanga couldn’t see any strings attached to this, or any weapons or tools that he could use against her once she’d let her guard down. It was fine.

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

Marzel scanned the woman? He didn’t know how to address her really. And considering he hated when humans called his kind animals, he wouldn’t use that title for her either.

Either way he stood straighter and less into a defensive position.

“I’m surprisingly good with body language.” Marzel stated with a grin though he didn’t know if she didn’t believe him or was just saying something about not being able to talk.

“I may not understand anything but I imagine you can nod a yes or no at the very least.”

It was strange, but surprisingly the man didn’t seem daunted by the language barrier. Or communication barrier as a whole. Kanga could’ve snorted. He seemed overly confident...but then, Kanga needed to settle down enough to be able to shift back. 

Kanga nodded in response to his words, a little amused by this even if she shouldn’t be. Maybe it was a good thing, being out here and learning to be her full self again. She didn’t much like the lack of control, but this? Well it could’ve been worse.

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

Marzel of course had no idea what this woman was, even scanning his previous memories he didn’t know what this woman was. That set him on the edge. He had people in this town and those people he wanted to take care of and protect. If she risked that then Marzel had a problem.

If she didn’t and she was just struggling Marzel wanted to help.

Taking a step forward Marzel held out a hand to the woman. “I’m not here to hurt you. No weapons.” Moving his hand from his waist Marzel offered his hands infront of him. “But I suspect if you’re running from the town something has happened and I’d like to help.”

Communication was difficult at best like this, though Kanga did scan the stranger carefully for any sign of a weapon. Or for any sign of a threat to her being. For now? Well there seemed to be nothing. If she noticed anything, then she would of course take off again.

Flouncing Through the Forest | Karu

The giant purple cat nudged Haru’s hand with her nose and Haru nearly squealed in delight. This giant purple kitty was the best thing she’d seen since she’d arrived here! For the first time, Haru wondered if things like this were the reason she was here instead of anywhere else. She wondered if Swynlake had a sort of magic about it, and that’s why she’d found herself in that dumpster behind the Moon Market. 

Haru giggled and patted the kitty on top of her head. “You’re so sweet too,” Haru said, smiling wide. “Why do you look kind of scared? Or maybe you seem sad a little bit. Your shoulders are doing that droopy thing that mine used to do sometimes when I was really overwhelmed with all my duties and studies. My father would always tell me to stand up straight.”

Haru pulled away and placed her fists on her hips so she could stand up super straight before she giggled and deflated. “I won’t tell you to stand up straight. Do you want a hug? I’ll give you a hug.” 

She leaned in and wrapped her arms around the kitty’s neck. She was just so big! Her hands brushed across the cat’s giant wings and Haru’s eyes went wide. She’d forgotten about those. “Can you fly?”

It was a strange feeling to have this attention on her. On her other form. Kanga had distanced herself so far from this. It was disorienting. It made her want to retreat even further. Though at the same time, it also felt good to b epet like this. To be noticed. Kanga hadn’t allowed herself to be comforted in what felt like a long time.

She couldn’t speak like this, but Kanga did try to gently nudge the girl to reassure her. Kanga was okay. Or she would be okay. She didn’t want this girl to worry her head over it. Why was this girl so good at reading her?

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

Marzel felt the need to call in for backup. With his pod if it was something that he couldn’t handle he would have sought out help. Even screaming in his head was the voices of the other knights. Someone always around to help another when necessary. To protect one another.

But in this town, these knights Marzel didn’t yet have a way to contact them.

Marzel just craved his sword. (Weird Knight Bors craved his sword)

Slipping into the forest after the woman, Marzel followed quietly and slowly making sure not to scare her and get as much information as possible

This was getting ridiculous. Kanga’s control was so paper thin it was a wonder that she hadn’t been witnessed before. Well, once she might have been, but Kanga didn’t know how to handle that. She should go back and talk to the girl. She should make sure that girl didn’t say anything about her...she should do something.

Kanga flew into the forest, in which it became harder to fly between the trees, and she ended up landing in one of the clearings there. But this was fine right? She’d just wait until she’d calmed down enough and she’d be back to normal. 

Flouncing Through the Forest | Karu

Whoa. 

Haru knew that she should probably be scared. She knew that if Mr. Moon was with her he would tell her to run away and try to hide from the thing that came out of the bushes. It was so big and could probably eat her in one bite and that wasn’t a very fun thought. 

But the big cat was so pretty! Haru looked at it, her eyes widening along with her smile, and instead of backing away from the huge dangerous thing that could kill her, she walked closer, her hand outstretched. 

“Oh my gosh,” she said, taking slow steps. “You’re purple!” From further away, Haru hadn’t really been able to tell, but now she could see it. She could also see that the cat had wings which was so cool and so weird at the same time that she had to stifle a giggle. “I know a lot of cats,” she said, “but I’ve never met a purple one. Or one that had wings. You’re both!” 

Haru wanted to touch the cat, but before she did, she realized that maybe she should ask. This was a very, very big kitty after all. She didn’t want to make anyone mad. 

“Can I pet you?” she asked, smiling in the moonlight. “It’s okay if you say no. I wonder if I could understand you. Sometimes when I really try to listen to cats I kind of understand. If I’m not trying I can’t catch it. I should practice that, actually…” She trailed off for a moment before turning back. “Oh, sorry. I distracted myself.” 

Kanga hadn’t met a person in her other form in so many years. Not since she had been a teenager messing about with one of the boys in her side of town. Her own son had never even really seen her in this form, a sad reality that Kanga wanted to remedy one of these days.

So it was jarring to a) be seen at all, and b) have that person see her as something incredible. Her tail swished nervously, but Kanga wasn’t one to be intimidated by a girl, no matter how strange this situation was for her. If the girl wasn’t afraid of her then wasn’t that a good thing?

Kanga stepped a little closer herself, tilting her head to study the person in front of her. There was something odd about her, but Kanga wouldn’t be able to say why it was. And she couldn’t really say much or ask much about it in this form. She lowered her head to nod, moving forward so she nudged the girl with her nose some to prove she was friendly.

The one where Kanga snaps | Kanzel

Marzel didn’t have much of a plan for the day, since breaking up with Adella it was like he didn’t have much to do. So much of his time had been with her and around what her habits were. Which was fine, Marzel hadn’t spent the time to figure out what he liked to do.

He hadn’t wanted to.

Now he didn’t have much to do and he was left aimless.

He did enjoy afternoon walks though. The calmness of the town, most nights, reminded him on the stillness of the water. Looking up at the night stars.

Tonight wasn’t one of those calm nights.

His eyes had followed the woman, he didn’t miss the yowl of the struggle. Reaching to his hip Marzel grasped at the sword that wasn’t there before following her.

He didn’t know who she was, he didn’t know who was in danger but he knew he needed to do something and he ran in after her.

Kanga lost control so quickly.

It was alarming the way her skin color changed and then her legs started to shift and her jaw shifted. Her tail grew as she tumbled onto all four, and from there her wings followed quickly. It all felt like an eternity, but in reality only took a few moments before the woman had completely transformed. 

She yowled her displeasure, launching into the air desperately, her lack of shifting and frequency of being making flight more clumsy than it should have been as she tried to make her escape toward the forest. If she only made it to the forest she would be safe. No one could bother her there.

@marzelsoto

Kanga wished that people would have a little more care these days. Or at least, she wished that her shifts would have a little less chaos. Most shifts weren’t too bad, but this one felt as if it dragged on, one problem happening after the other. And then of course the coffee machine was broken, so even on the short breaks she had she didn’t get the caffeine fix she needed to push through the rest of the day. 

And then of course there was the world’s worst complainer, who thought that he knew everything and that what Kanga was doing to try to help patch him up was utterly lunatic. “No but you see I read up on the internet that if you use this alternative treatment it would do far less harm and I wouldn’t be left as scarred,” the man insisted, leaving Kanga to clench her jaw and force a steady breath or two. It was more and more difficult not to get angry. 

Mr. Rathbone had a way of getting under her skin. He’d been by a few months before because he was convinced the blood donations were being swapped and mishandled. It was infuriating. Kanga just managed to keep it together through her shift, and rushed out of the hospital as soon as she could, feeling the anger and frustration building up.

Flouncing Through the Forest | Karu

@kangaderosa​

Haru knew she was technically not supposed to go into the forest. Mr. Moon had explained to her in very stern and increasingly irritated detail about how it was dangerous and she should never go. Especially after dark. When she asked why (14 times) he ended up saying that she would probably get herself eaten and if that was what she wanted to do then fine. 

So now Haru was in the forest and it was a really pretty forest. She wasn’t sure why Mr. Moon was telling her to stay away from it. She hadn’t seen one thing that was even a little bit scary yet. Just trees (that she tried to climb before ending up frustrated) and bugs (that she chased but were way faster than her). It was nice. Especially now that it was starting to get a little bit dark. The sunset looked wonderful through the trees and Haru had lost track of time as she sat on a log and watched it. 

It was the chill that got to her first. She’d forgotten to bring a jacket despite Mr. Moon telling her she should never forget a jacket and for once she supposed he was probably right. Next time she would definitely remember to bri–

A loud crunch pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned toward the noise, her hackles raised (metaphorically of course, sigh). “Hello? Is someone there? It’s not very nice to sneak up on people, you know! Show yourself!”

Board Games | Kanga-Q

Aquata looked up from her phone. She hadn’t even seen Kanga nearby when she had started talking to herself, and maybe she wouldn’t have said that out loud if she saw a board member around, but, Aquata thought, maybe she still would have. Aquata hated the board– largely because her father hadn’t gotten re-elected all those years ago, but it wasn’t just bitterness. She thought they were too cagey and entertained useless ideas (if the chewing gum petition came up at the next board meeting, Aquata was going to just about blow a fuse).

And you know what, she thought. I might as well say so.

“I said this flyer looks like shit,” Aquata said, laughing spitefully. “Why, you disagree? Come on, just admit it. It’s pretty typical of this board.”

It was just one more thing to add to a long line of things that made Kanga so furious it was impossible to function. If she hadn’t taken so many emotional hits then maybe she wouldn’t have been so reactive. But the fact of the matter was that Kanga had put a great deal of energy into the flyer. And this girl just insulted it and laughed at it with a glee that made the simmering anger and frustration within her come to its limit.

The first thing to change was her eyes, going from a warm brown to purple. Then came the whiskers and teeth, the coat....before she knew it, before Kanga even realized it could happen...she had shifted into a purple winged jaguar in appearance, ears flat against her head.

Board Games | Kanga-Q

On a sunny June day, Aquata would much have preferred a swim outside to a meeting indoors about swimming. But that came with being a coach, Aquata figured. Meetings and all. They did have to plan some of the details for the summer season, and of course that had turned into a debate about the Olympics that had just annoyed Aquata. So she was relieved to finally be out of the meeting, though she still had some lingering feelings of irritation as she walked home. 

It was too hot for this, Aquata thought as she took the long way that bordered the forest. It had looked like a nice enough day to take the scenic route along the lake, but ten minutes in, Aquata realized she had made a mistake. Still, the thought of going home and going for a swim kept her mood from going totally sour.

And then she saw the flyer for the board meeting on a telephone post at the edge of the forest. Aquata’s feelings toward the board had gone from general disinterest to real disdain over the years, partially due to her getting older and more jaded, but also due to her father getting voted off years ago. It was still a touchy subject.

So she immediately pulled out her phone and took a picture of it, then started drafting a tweet ridiculing the design. “Board is getting a bit desperate,” Aquata snickered to herself, typing up the tweet. “Clowns. Graphic design is my passion or whatever the fuck.”

@kangaderosa​

Kanga’s emotions were like a kettle on the stove, just getting to that bubbly steamy level before the kettle started howling. Kanga wanted to howl. Nothing was going the way that she hoped for it to go. Her son got a girl pregnant and whatever good feeling she’d had with her relationship had been shattered into pieces. Because Kanga lied.

Kanga was a liar. And the burden of that lie had come back to bite her in the ass again and again. She was angry. She was frustrated. She’d poured herself into her work at the hospital, in her efforts with the board. It was easier to focus on these work related things than on the disaster of her personal life.

And then she heard the girl. On any other day she might have brushed it off. She might have ignored the criticism of the board, because the board had a host of issues. She could understand some frustration. But not today. Today she felt this boiling frustration, and a yowl escaped her before she could really contain it well.

Her eyes narrowed and she glanced over at the girl. “What did you say?”