Crash wasn’t usually one to sleep in, being the enthusiastic ball of chaotic energy that he was, normally he was wide awake before the birds started chirping. Therefore the fact that he was still asleep at 11am was a rather odd occurrence. Unable to ignore the bright rays of the sun any longer the red haired shapeshifter begrudgingly pulled himself back into the world of conscience thought, slowly retreating from his vivid dream world. As he sunk back into his body he became acutely aware of two things, one being that he wasn’t resting on a comfortable mattress, grass tickled his arm and leg whilst the rest of his body was pressed into the hard ground. The second was he could feel the warmth of someone else curled up beside him (?) He cracked one eye open as he lifted his head, blinking several times he lifted his head the sun stung his eyes causing him to lift a hand to his face covering them so he could take in his surroundings. He felt his cheeks flush with heat as his eyes fell on Kathy’s sleeping form beside him he lifted himself up into a sitting position rubbing the back of his neck as he blearily recalled the night before. The three of them had been watching the stars...thinking that he peered around as if to locate Alex, his frown deepening when he couldn’t locate the pixie boy. He’s gone? He must have left us here...could it be because of what he had said last night? The thought made him flush a darker shade of red, it had been embarrassing enough that his ‘heroic’ act had completely backfired and caused more trouble instead...Alex’s comment on it, had been...odd. Yes, odd was the best way he could describe it.
Crash pulled his knees up looping his arms loosely around them as he debated with himself on whether to wake Kathy up or not. Rubbing the back of his neck he glanced at her, unable to not feel awkward as he reached out to touch her shoulder his lips parting as if to speak. Before his fingers even came into contact with her however the worst thing imaginable happened.....
A HUGE wasp plonked itself down on the back of his hand, happily preening its antenna before exploring its new perch. Now this was probably a little shocking or scary for most people but for Crash it was freaking terrifying! He loathed insects they creeped him the hell out with the little twitchy things on their heads and those beady little eyes...needless to say his reaction was far from calm. Barely retaining a scream befitting a girl, he released a high pitch squeak instead doing the worst thing he could have, he whipped his hand back from Kathy aiming to fling the bug away from him as he scrabbled to his feet. Predicatively, master wasp was severely displeased with the sudden ejection from his warm perch, so to show his displeasure he flew at the multicolored mass with the intent of giving it a taste of his prized stinger.
Hearing the angry buzzing Crash started running in circles dodging this way and that as he waved his arms around like an absolute loon, no longer aware of anything else around him. “Buzz off!” He piped up, momentarily distracted by the impossibly high pitch his voice came out in. “Is that my-cough-is that my voice?” He questioned himself ducking sideways as the wasp flew past his ear. He stumbled away from it and in true Crash style caught his foot on a rock, his arms padded at the air uselessly as he felt himself lurch forward into a rolly polly, he hissed and grunted as an explosion of purple smoke engulfed him and he shifted into a curled up red armadillo that rolled...and rolled...and rolled...Keep on Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ rolllllin’...and rolled down the side of the not-a-mountain-not-a-hill. By now he felt positively nauseated and was pretty sure he was going to really hurt when he stopped.
He hit a curved ridge at speed and shot out into the air like something out of a sonic game. Unsure how close to the ground he was as the world was still spinning in his mind, he made a split second decision to shift again. In another explosion of purple smoke he chose to take on the form of a red feathered falcon with the intention of avoiding a crash landing. However as he flew free of the smoky cloud he hadn’t banked on a stone wall being right in front of his face, he squawked in alarm and beat his wings but to no avail...
-SPLAT-
He ended up smooshed against the cold stone, his wings splayed either side of him the left side of his face was all squished up as well. “Today...is not my day...” He croaked, as gravity peeled him backwards off of the wall he plummeted towards the ground, trying desperately to regain his bearings as he shifted a third time this time into a large red and black striped tiger. Cat’s always landed on their feet right? He twisted over mid air, stretching his paws down towards...water?! Before he could utter a complaint he plunged into the rushing stream. Fate- 4 Crash – 0... He thought to himself as he kicked his legs beneath him slicing through the current with relative ease as he headed towards a small cluster of sharp rocks protruding from the water. He lifted his head above the surface taking deep breaths through his nose as he pulled himself between the rocks careful not to catch himself on the sharp parts. “Eurgh...I am amazed...I’ve lived this long” He grumbled to himself as he clawed his way up and out of the water completely, tearing up clumps of dirt and vegetation as he pulled himself through a cluster of vines. He wriggled his way out of the vines weak grasp, taking a moment to shake the water from his coat as he absorbed his surroundings properly for the first time.
His ears pricked as his tail begun to wag madly behind him, he took a few steps forward lifting each paw higher than he needed to so he could shake the water from them. He felt like he’d just fallen into a location befitting a Tomb Raider game...the corners of his mouth lifted at the thought of it. He took in the scenery before him as he bounded up onto a stone ramp, almost instantly noticing the bright crystal hanging in the center of an archway to his right; he hopped over to the edge of the platform before he leant out to peek through the archway. “And here I thought the beach was impressive...” He murmured to himself, inhaling sharply as something further in caught his attention, just past the entrance. One jump and he could grab a closer look, which is exactly what he did. He shifted back into his form mid air, landing with a loud splash he wobbled but remained upright his trainers just about able to grip onto the slimy rocks beneath the shallow water. Ignoring the fact he was still dripping wet and his shoes were now full of water, his insatiable curiosity forced him to move further into the ruins, towards the odd glow...after all what harm could it really do just to take a quick peek?