@ Jaguar's Heart
Leah
“Oh, but why not?” Leah asked, hopping to her feet and dusting herself off. “You’d make a pretty animal tamer, much prettier than me! I don’t have the chest for it.” She glanced at Richard, trying to take her cues from him and find a way to stay out of trouble. She was already in for it for the eavesdropping, she knew, but maybe if she could make him happy again he wouldn’t be too angry.
Richard
“Leah,” Richard said, all patience for the beast in front of Vella, “Why don’t you and Oberon go get the tiger? That way Vella here can see that her new position is completely safe.”
The shifter girl gave him a bright smile that wilted only slightly at the sight of the control remote hidden in his hand. “Sure!” To Vella, she added in her annoying chirpy voice, “You’ll love him! He looks big and scary, but he’s a pussycat. He’s one of my favorites!” She turned and zipped off, back to where the other animals were actually doing their job.
Oberon
“It’s possible,” he said. “She’s not exactly stealthy.” Oberon looked up at the sound of his name, spotting Leah waving in his direction as she approached. He sniffed the air, smelling the boss and the stranger once more. He still couldn’t see them, but they were there. “What is it?” He asked as she skidded to a stop.
“She’s here to be the new tamer but she doesn’t want to be so the boss wants her to meet you so she can see we’re not dangerous. But she could have just met me, I’m not scary at all and I’m a lot cuter, too! But I guess that’s why, he wants her to meet someone scary and your tiger’s pretty intimidating and he had the remote and we should go.”
Oberon waited for her to wind down, there was really no way to stop her once she got going. With an annoyed sigh he tossed his tools to Logan. “Be right back,” he said with a scowl. Great, now he had to show off and play the dumb animal again. He led Leah back towards where they kept the animals, just in case. It sounded like they were putting on a damn dog and pony show here. He quickly stripped the rest of his clothes and waited for the shock of the collar to send him into the shift. He missed being able to shift of his own free will, he thought, grunting in pain as fur sprouted and his bones realigned themselves. The shift was always painful, even when he’d been free, but having it controlled like this made it agony. He kept silent as he changed, grateful that Leah gave him the illusion of privacy by turning her back. Once he was done he shook himself, glorying at the feel of power that filled him. The world shifted, colors dulling and shifting as scent became his primary source of input. His hearing sharpened as well. He padded silently over to Leah and nudged her hand, indicating that he was ready to go.
March 4th, 2015 at 10:35pm