ACTING LIKE I CARE
Clarissa rubbed her hands together shakily, her ragged breaths falling as clouds and wreathing her face. "Es ist kalt genug, um einen Eisbären frieren hier..." she mumbled distractedly to herself, reverting back to her native German momentarily. What she had said loosely translated to 'It's cold enough to freeze a polar bear out here' and was one of Clarissa's favourite sayings she reserved for the long winter nights, during which the temperature in her hollow under McQuade Bridge was well into the negatives and her only source of warmth was a large woolen blanket that she'd smuggled from Mr. Henderson, her employer's, basement. She'd only spent one night there, it was during her first year on the island of Menewsha and she was unused to the harsh environment of sleeping on the streets, being used to the warmth of her family home in Berlin. She worked for Mr. Henderson; she was a paper-girl and he payed her with a hot bowl of soup each night, one of Clarissa's sole comforts. During this night she had come to him after her soup, begging for a place to say. Larry Henderson had a kind heart, even if he was only a poor man and could barely afford the food in his pantry on a good day, and so offered Clarissa refuge in is basement for one night. Clarissa had gladly accepted, and that night was one of the best things to have happened to her since she hopped on the ferry to Menewsha, for in the basement she found an ancient, nameless tome describing the art of becoming an animagus; a man who becomes an animal. Along with her blanket, Clarissa had smuggled this out of his house in the morning and this brings us back to where we are today.
Clarissa stood up and stamped her feet, giving up on warming her body naturally. She shook her head as if to clear it, long chestnut hair rippling as she did so, and a change began to overtake her body. her bone structure began to morph, arms becoming legs and her spine curving unnaturally, and her hair became a mane and encompassed her entire body. Clarissa had become a horse. A Clydesdale to be precise; of about 16 hands with a chestnut mane, tail and coat, the only alteration of her fur was a white 'star' on her forehead and white 'socks' on her feet. Whinnying, Clarissa clip-clopped off into the town. As a horse, her body naturally produced more heat and she could stay in the stable that resided next to most Inns to boot! Before long she could feel the heat returning to her body and she could see the Red Rose Inn just around he corner; this was one of her favourite joints. The stables were always well kept and no drunken bar-goers tried to molest her, even in horse form, like they had at 'The Unicorn's Tail Feather'.
After about an hour of sitting in the stables, failing to sleep due to the noise in the Inn (the wall of which being a mere meter away from her left ear), Clarissa stamped her hoof agitatedly and morphed back into a human. Debating her options, she decided to go into the Inn; Even if she didn't buy anything, it still spelled warmth. Pushing open the door, she stepped inside.