Our Summer Vacation...

[warren_bearclaw]

<Yes, that is true. But... only because this morph is permanent. Typically, DNA cannot be acquired from a morph, nor can you acquire DNA while in a morph. You must be in your natural body to do so. Would you like to try?>

[radgeek]

I lowered the sail a bit and allowed the boat to drift.  I still had a keen eye looking for sand bars and other hazards.  "Touching him might not be the best idea," said looking over the water and spotting a king crab.  "I prefer know that the DNA I'm working with is from earth."  I take of my lacing cover dress and take a dive for the crab.  I places my hands in around him.  As I swam back to the boat, he would try to pinch me but I had handled too many crabs for him to be successful.  Once in the boat with the cab pinching madly I said, "I know where this came from.  You, Mr. Parrot, I have no idea.  So I would like you to prove what your saying is true be teaching me how to morph this crab."

[warren_bearclaw]

"SQUAAACK!" said the bird. <I apologize. All you must do is make contact with the 'crab' and create an image of it in your mind. Think only of the creature, nothing else. The acquiring process will put the animal in a trance momentarily. After you have absorbed the DNA structure into your system, create that image again, and focus.>

"Is this safe?" I said, a little concerned. I was supposed to bring back three kids to the cruise ship, not a bucket of crabs...

<Certainly. Only you must never stay in morph for more than two of your hours. You must never forget.>

[Josh (J)]

Chad nodded, still slightly dubious about the whole thing. An elaborate hoax? Perhaps. But why? He had no idea. So he walked over to the crab and said to Jo, "Hurry so that I can do it." Turning to the parrot, he added, "This had better be real, 'cause otherwise I will kick your sorry butt out of here."

[warren_bearclaw]

<There is one more thing that I should caution you of. While the process of morphing is painless, it is often an unpleasant transition. It may appear quite disturbing to those who have not observed it beforehand. Also, after you have fully morphed a creature, you will be confronted with the basic instincts of that creature. Sometimes, they can be quite strong, and difficult to overpower.>

[radgeek]

I thought about the crap creating an image or whatever.  The crab calmed down and for the the first time I entertained the thought that maybe this bird was for real.  She then handed the crab to Chad.  "Hold it the same way I am so you don't get pinched."

[Josh (J)]

"Great," Chad said in a voice that alluded to the fact that he didn't think it was great at all. "Nice crab..." he muttered and took it. Focused on the small red thing. And it stopped wiggling. "Good grief." Once he felt it was done, he let go of it and dropped it to the ground. "Now what, parrot?"

[warren_bearclaw]

<Simply visualize the animal in your mind. Concentrate. Think of its size, it's shape, its special adaptations. Will yourself to be the creature you desire to morph.>

I hadn't woken up yet. I was starting to feel a headache. "I'll uh... watch."

"Yeah, me too." I wasn't going to take my eyes off the parrot, but I couldn't help but watch my friends, too. Y'know, I'd had a pretty full life so far. I mean, lots of kids my age never have any real neat life experiences or anything of the opportunities I'd had. Never had I imagined myself taking advice from a tropical bird.

[Josh (J)]

OOC: Here we go! And I have no idea what there instincts are like....so, pardon me.

IC:

Chad mumbled, "Here goes nothing," and concentrated on the picture of the crab that was in his mind. The first thing he felt was that his hands began to shrivel up and become hard. "AHHH!!" he screamed, as his feet also hardened and became too small. His sight changed, and he fell to the ground, unable to stand up anymore. Shrinking, sloshing, strange noises, and a lot happened as he grew extra appendages and became different. No longer was he a human. He was a crab. Oh my gosh. What is happening to me?! His thoughts became so loud that they were transformed into thought speak. <Oh my gosh! Somebody! Do something!>

[radgeek]

I took the shirt that tented over Chad and folded it.  "I'm glad I didn't go first."

[warren_bearclaw]

"Oh my... CHAD!" I was startin' to flip out now. I had not paid an insane hourly rate to bring my son back as a crab. He's mother would kill me. "Change back!" I turned on the bird. "If you've tricked us somehow, if you've messed him up, I'm gonna tie you to the anchor, little bird..."

I stepped in front of Mr. Black, who was a little too old to be dealing with this kind of thing. "Yeah, that wasn't exactly the coolest thing ever Mr. Parrot..." Actually, I felt like vomiting. "And have you got a name, or are we just going to keep calling you Mr. Parrot?"

<My name is Tarrade-Gerassus-Escallon> He seemed to puff up his chest.

"That's a bit of a mouthful"

"CHAD. CAN YOU HEAR US?"  I shouted. " What next, Tarry Grassis.... whatever your name was? Now what does he do? How does he fix this?"

<It seems that he is concerned about the morphing process. Your friend is probably experiencing the animals instincts, which can be confusing, particularly the first time. This species is able to survive out of the water, correct?>

"...he can, right Jo?" I thought crabs were okay above the surface, but I was a woodsy guy, not a boating guy.

[radgeek]

"They do.  Did you really think I would endanger Chad's life or my life by picking something that didn't?

[warren_bearclaw]

"...uh, right." I rubbed the back of my neck.

<That is good.> And so that only Chad could hear it: <Have you gained control of your morph yet?>

[Josh (J)]

Panic. Water. He needed water. And what were those noises? Chad had to get away from those things. NOW! Chad heard something faint come through. Concentrate. Get away from it. But somehow, Chad managed to hear some of it. <Have you gained control of your morph?> But forget that. MOVE! And so he did, scrambling sideways. Strangely, he couldn't move forward. Panicking, Chad was scared now. He had forgotten that the typical crab moved sideways. Now he felt paraylzed. He had to concentrate. <Arrgh!> he screamed.

[radgeek]

"Chad! Chad!"  I looked at the crab that scampered about the deck like any other crab would.  "I don't like the sound or the looks of this."