Maddie grinned at him through the darkness. The moon outlined the side of her face. Somehow, the silver light managed to make the night more comforting than mysterious, but maybe that was in part due to the calming sound of waves.
Maddie turned, and half ran half jumped along the beach. She felt the familiar tingle in her spine that signified her change. She held out her arms and as she did feathers fanned from them. Her transformation wasn't painful; it worked like art, one minute she was a girl and the next she was a raven, half skidding across the ground.
In the moment, the details were hard to focus on, but to those with a keen eye for detail, the change wasn't quick like a blink. The magic moved like ink over her skin, coloring it with fur or feathers and consuming her before her body would completely alter.
The raven looked back and cawed impatiently at Laetus. Even a Maddie raven was an impatient, pushy creature, it seemed.