“I can do this.” Skylar whispered as they stood in front of the mirrors, waiting for the signal to return to the stage. Sure you can shift, but can you do it fast enough? The host was doing their thing and Skylar decided to focus on their voice, rather than their own doubts.
“All right everyone!” The Shifting Competition host sat on top of the podium, green skin, one large eye with two smaller ones on the side, a soft cylinder body shape, beak a bright yellow. “The final round is about to start. And it’s a speed round! Each of our three judges will give a couple characteristics and our competitors will have to match the descriptions as quickly as possible. Top three will win prizes, including the grand prize of a full scholarship to flight school!” The audience hollered until the hosts feathers puffed up.
With a flick of a wing with iridescent purple and green feathers the spotlight on the podium clicked off and the lights for the stage turned on. The seven contestants left were revealed on stage, names on posts to their left. All of them looked identical, a nearly cylindrical body, though the weight from the two eye stalks and organs pushed the side out a little bit. No limbs aside from the eyes, though they currently didn’t stick up further than a couple inches. Small curved beaks, situated in the center of their bodies.
“When you have matched our description exactly, the spotlight pointed at you will turn green.” The three judges’ voices were in unison for a moment, but after the anticipation made the audience start to buzz, the judges started speaking on their own.
“Maroon fur with a golden mane.”The first one is always easy. Bursts of colors appeared on stage almost instantaneously.
“Sunken eyes the color of of the sea mixed with sky.”There’s the riddle, now remember the beach and watching the sun rise. A slurp almost in unison followed by various shades of purple and pink irises before the contestants’ settled on the cloudy white of the event horizon.
“Tall, with bodacious curves and a tail that is short and fluffy.”Longest, and the spin… Gah that will take time, why a short tail? The seven contestants spun around to show their sprouts of a tail. Their bodies elongated, curve forming that was all the more obvious as the contestants continued their spin.
The three green lights clicked on and the audience cheered the winner's names. “Skylar! Frex! Twa’on!”
“What a great round folks!” The light for the host’s podium came back up. “It was down to milliseconds between the winners. Unbelievable.” The hosts colors changed to match the ones the contestants had just displayed.
Skylar stood in front of their mirrors after seeing the flower fly and the cheers go on, after receiving their crown, looking at themselves in this strange form, and now their tears of joy were pink.
Word count: 494
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