Bright Azure

I don't have a title yet, but I'm thinking of ideas.

So this takes place in a world where everyone has an animal connected to them, following them around (kind of like in The Golden Compass). Except the human and animal can telepathically communicate (except only with their animal) and they can also merge together into one organism that has the appearance of a slightly larger version of the animal, but with enhanced abilities. Also, characters treat the human and the animal as one person.

Chapter 1
The snow falls softly on the surface of the lake and is instantly absorbed by the warmer temperature of the water, making slight ripples that I can barely see before they melt into the liquid mirror. I concentrate on the tiny ripples, trying to calm myself down. And slowly, my large silver paws shrink and get longer, turning cinnamon brown, the fur disappearing and revealing skin, gaining the appearance of a human hand as Ari and I separate into two separate organisms. I look down at the little silvery wolf, her frustrated face smoothing out into contentment. Should we go back now? I ask her.

'''I want to stay out here longer. It’s rare that the snow is this light''', Ari responds. '''It’s like it’s June. So warm out'''.

I agree. We walk along the lake. Ari sticks her tongue out, and a snowflake lands on it, melting instantly like it does on the water. I laugh, and Ari does too. A drift of snow from the trees above us lands on her tail, and another on my head. We look up, and a chocolate brown squirrel darts across the branches. “Sorry! Oh, hey Kira. I didn’t know it was you,” a voice calls. A face emerges from the curtain of leaves, grinning. I smile too.

“Hazel! I haven’t seen you and Cirrus in a while. Are you feeling better?” I ask her.

“Yeah. But… I wasn’t actually sick. Cirrus had another vision.”

Oh wow. Cirrus is Hazel’s twin brother who has the gift of seeing the future. Whenever he has visions, it means that something important is about to happen. Sometimes it is something simple, like one of us will get an award at school, but other times it’s something a lot bigger, like a tree will fall over a neighbor’s house and kill them. But if Hazel and Cirrus missed several days of school for one of his visions, then…

My thoughts are interrupted by the snapping of branches. Ari and I quickly get out of the way, and Hazel falls out of the tree and faceplants into the sugary snow. “You okay?” I laugh, helping her up.

“Yup,” she smiles, putting her curly brown hair back into a ponytail. “Although I’m afraid I’m not as good at climbing trees as Rana is,” she smiles, her squirrel scurrying up to her shoulder and munching on an acorn.

“So what happened in Cirrus’s vision?” I ask. After a moment where Hazel communicates with Rana, she responds.

“Um… He can probably explain it better than I can. Do you want to come over?”

Ari, should we ask Mom first? I ask.

'''No… She’s just going to make us mad again. And besides… I’m curious about Cirrus’s vision''', she replies, her tail drooping.

''Yeah. Let’s wait until later to go back home. But what about…''

'''Calla? She'll be fine. She's aware of a lot more than most people think she is.'''

''I know. You're right.'' I look up at Hazel. "Sure."