The Beast and The Brain.

I head down the hall, towards the sound voices and when I enter I am greeted by a warm room and the heavenly smell of stew and bread. There is a small circular table in the corner where J and Gwen are talking. I look over to where there are two large cushioned chairs facing the fire, to my surprise there is a man in one of them.

He has long dark hair that falls over his eyes and he is carving something with a knife. A large bowl of stew is heating over the fire. It’s then I notice that there is a large dog spread out on his stomach. I step towards the fire and take a seat.

The dog lifts his head and stares at me with dark brown eyes. I stare back, and surprisingly, he doesn’t look away he just keeps looking at me. His tail, which was moving back and forth slowly before, stopped and he just stares like he’s been frozen in place. It’s unnerving. I want to look away, but I’m not sure how he’ll react so I keep staring.

The man in the chair next to me chuckles softly. “Moss, come here.” The dogs tail wages and he sits up and moves his head over to his masters’ knee. The man looks up at me for the first time. “He’s a huge wimp. He just likes to stare…we think it makes him feel better. I’m Joseph.” He holds out his hand and I take it.

“Asher.” He nods his hand and goes back to the wood in his hand.

Gwen comes over with a large bowl. “It’s a death stare, it freaks everyone out. Don’t worry.”

“Didn’t work on me.”J comments from the table.

“I wonder why.” I smirk and Gwen places the bowl in my hand, it’s full of soup then she hands me a slice of brown bread.

“I know it’s not much, you’ve caught us during hard times.”

“Its appreciated Gwen.” J says from the table, “but like I said, if you are willing to help us you will be paid.”

Joseph stops carving to look at his wife, he doesn’t show a lot of emotion in his features, but his eyes tell me he isn’t happy. Gwen lets out a sigh and stares into the fire a moment. I silently gulp down my food and when I finish I wish for more, but I know it’s all I will get, even though it’s not nearly enough.

“I don’t like it.” Joseph finally says. “You’re jobs are never safe or easy J. Trouble follows you like a starving dog and last time Gwen helped you she nearly got killed.”

“Joseph.” Gwen says softly but he shakes his head and points to J.

“I won’t let you put my wife in harm’s way.”

“We need the money.” Gwen says to Joseph simply.

He shakes his head. “We can manage without it.” Gwen doesn’t say anything and J finishes off whatever she has left in her cup and stands up.

“Its fine, we will manage somehow, I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry. Come on Asher, we’re leaving.”

I stand up rather confused but Gwen grabs my arm and looks at J. “No, you can still stay here for tonight. The room is already set up for you.”

J nods her head. “We’ll be gone by morning.” I follow J a few steps then stop.

“Listen, I’m going to check on the horses, I’ll be back in a while.”

J raises an eyebrow, but nods and disappears into the room. I slip out the backdoor. I pass the barn but keep walking until I’m in the woods. I let go of myself and I let the Beast loose, I keep my size small and manageable and I shoot towards the sky.

It’s been a while since I’ve flown and it feels good, but tonight I am out with a purpose, and I have to be quick. J will know if I’m gone for too long. I sour low among the trees, the tips of tallest scrap against my stomach, the winds brings me the scents of the forest and a mile out I pick up the scent of deer so I turn and follow it.

I kill two before the small herd of doe’s even realize what has happened. They scatter like leaves among the wind and I tear into the two I have caught. It won’t be enough to fully fill me up, but I’ve neglected my body for the past week and it has started to take its toll. When I finish with the deer I hurry back. I land near the barn and shift back into my human form. When I head for the house I am surprised to find Joseph sitting on the steps with his dog Moss.

“You forgot your boots.” He looks me in the eyes and I look down at my bare feet.

“I…didn’t need them.”

He nods his head. “I’ve never seen one…in person before, Gwen tells me stories.”

There is a moment of awkward silence; I’m not sure what to say. “Would you like to?”

He looks at me again, then after a moment he nods his head. I inhale a deep breath and let loose, this time I don’t hold back and I take up nearly the entire space between the house and the barn. My wings fold neatly against my body and I tip my head to look at Joseph. If he’s surprised he doesn’t show it on his face, he just looks at my wings, tail and finally into my eyes again. Moss however jumped and hid under the steps with a whine.

Joseph nods his head. “Thank you.”

I turn back into a Human and Joseph stands up. “Good night. Moss come.” He opens the back door and Moss runs inside with his tail between his legs. I’m surprised that the dog is such a wimp, his breed is used with soldiers, all of them look similar, brown and black bodies with back legs that seem shorter than the front from the way they stand. They are fearless, well, most of them. I can’t help but wonder how Joseph and Gwen got one, they are an expensive breed.

When I slip into the room J is already under the covers of the bed, her back is against the wall and her eyes are closed. I grab a blanket off the bottom of the bed and lay it on the floor with a pillow. “No.” I look up. J is watching me, half her face is buried in her pillow and the blankets are pulled up to her shoulders. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor.” She pats the open space on the bed beside her.

I hesitate. I’m not sure what her invitation means. But it makes my heart pound against my chest and I decide that I would be a complete fool if I didn’t take this opportunity. I grab the pillow off the floor and slip under the covers. There is enough space on the bed and our bodies don’t touch, though she is only inches away. I lay on my back and stare at the ceiling, my heart is still hammering.

“You went hunting.” I turn my head and meet J’s gaze.

“How did you guess?”

She reaches out and touches the corner of my lip and when she pulls away there is a bit of blood on her finger. I quickly wipe the rest away. “Besides, you’ve haven’t been eating enough. I knew you would hunt eventually, and tonight was the best opportunity you’ve had for a while.”

“I figured I’d need my strength.”

“I hope you won’t, not if Gwen is with us.”

“It doesn’t sound like Joseph will let her go.”

J closes her eyes. “You might be surprised.”

I watch her until her breathing evens out and her mouth opens slightly. My heart has slowed down to a normal rate, but my body still feels hot and exhilarated being so close like this. I let out a sigh and close my eyes as well, and before I know it, I’m drifting.

~ ~ ~ ~

When we wake up in the morning Gwen and Joseph are already awake. Gwen is dressed in riding gear with a long knife strapped to her waste and she’s packing a sack with food. “I expect the full amount promised.”

J nods her head; she doesn’t look surprised that Gwen is coming with us after all. “Of course.”

We go out to the barn; Joseph is saddling the white mare for Gwen so J and I start on our own horses. I watch the two of them over my saddle as they argue quietly. “You will not stick around if there is trouble; you get out of there and come straight home.”

“I know.”

“And don’t hesitate to leave them behind.”

“I know.”

Joseph takes her chin in his hands. “You can pull out any time you want.”

She takes his hands into hers, “Joseph, stop worrying.”

Moss is sitting between them and looks up at them both patiently waiting for them to notice him. J is tail sways from side to side slowly. Joseph kisses Gwen. “Just come back to me.”

“I always do.”

“Stop staring.” J nudges me and I finish securing the saddle and turn to her.

“How did you know Joseph would let her come?”

She shrugged. “He saw you last night didn’t he?”

I know she doesn’t mean my human form. “Yes.”

She looks over to Joseph and Gwen then looks at me. “Joseph is a Human, but as you can see he doesn’t care about people who have powers. He loves Gwen more than anything, and as far as everyone else, well he has an open mind.

“He knows me because I’ve been hiring Gwen on and off for jobs for years, but he doesn’t fully understand or trust my power because it’s not something you can really see or touch and he doesn’t like me very much, only because he thinks I’m trouble. But he’s been interested in Beast’s for years. And he knows that your kind is powerful. Since he’s seen what you are capable of turning into, I assume he feels that Gwen will be safer with you around.”

“That’s it? He trusts me with his wife because I’m a Beast?”

I look over to Joseph he’s helping Gwen into her saddle. “No, they need the money as well, have you around just helps him feel a little better about the whole thing.”

J mounts and I jump into my saddle as well. “No pressure on me then…”

J smiles. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

“Somehow I just can’t accept that.”