A Monsterous Lunch Break (Charfy!)

[Anonymous]

Guard duty was something that you either dreaded or got excited about. There were several types of guards, but most of them weren't altogether excited by the prospect of wandering the city in guards armour. It could be hot, it could be boring, and you were very tired at the end of the day. That is of course unless your name was Neilson, then you looked forward to each day of patrolling the streets and protecting the city from various threats.

Oh, not bad threats, like invading armies or anything like that. Lost children or adults, loiters and botherers of peace, that sort of threat. It wasn't a very glamorous job, but it was enough to sate the helpful nature of the particular guard Neilson.

He didn't look bad in the armour either, it consisted of a thin breastplate, a helmet, arm length gauntlets and even protective armour for the front of his legs. It wasn't altogether heavy, but it was a little bulky and made it hard to do some things. However Neilson learned to live with it. Currently he was wandering the streets, holding onto his pike with a decorative flag that was a copy of the royal flag of Serendipity.

People didn't think twice about Guard Neilson usually. He had a simple face, plain and honest, with a nice smile and colourfully bright green eyes. Granted, if people ever saw him at night, they'd think very differently about him. Today was safe however, it was daytime, and as such his eyes didn't glow, nor did the pupils appear as slits. He looked very normal, very average, if not overly happy to be wandering town in decorative armour.

The day was dragging on slowly, and when lunch time arrived Neilson headed for his favourite establishment. It was full of a few more...colourful types of people, less humanoid. More exotic humanoids like to frequent this particular tavern, which seemed like an odd place for a human to venture, but no one seemed to question it. He had a small break at this time, and lunch was an important meal, almost as important as breakfast...and dinner. Every meal was important for Neilson actually. The tavern had torches and fireplaces going, it was filled with a few people, lounging in seats here and there. He took a seat near the kitchen, allowing the rich fragrances of the cooking to invade his sense.

"Smells good today." He noted as he set his pike down behind him, standing it against the wall. Hopefully it'd be safe right there, and not end up clattering to the ground and making a racket. Neilson took a deep breath before he looked to the tavern keeper, a rather attractive elvish woman at that. She brought him a large bowl of stew, and half a loaf of bread, which was his usual meal when he came here. Neilson made sure to pull his guard helmet off his head, letting his brown hair be free. It wasn't long, it was cut rather short actually. However it looked like it was a homemade cut done by himself. He gave a smile by way of thanks at the woman, which unnerved her slightly. A few weeks ago he started to...change himself...by way of sharpening and filing his teeth to be more like ripping fangs. It was something that he convinced himself to do, as he found it bothersome that he couldn't tear and rip meat apart easily.

Neilson began to dig into his meal, tearing and ripping the bread apart with ease. The large wooden spoon he had been given to eat the soup with would end up to have a lot of marks in it. He wasn't a noisy eater, at least he wasn't trying to be, but getting used to the new filed teeth was a little difficult.

For a moment, Neilson stopped and looked downward to his chest and stomach for a moment before shaking his head. No, he was fine, and so was his friend. He smiled and went back to his meal, quite enjoying the delicious food. There was very little for him to care about at this time, his meal was his main focus. Without it, things would get very bad for everyone involved. He smiled at the thought of what could happen. Mild mannered Neilson was all but that. It wasn't a facade of course, he was really a nice person actually, but he had a few...hangups in his life, that was all. He could be trusted and relied upon, and indeed many people actually relied on him. An entire city for that matter.

Sometimes, life really was good.

His food was finished and a large tankard of ale was placed before him, which he began to idly nurse. He wasn't a drunkard, not by any means of the definition, but he enjoyed a large cold mug of the stuff. It didn't seem to affect his judgment or ability to reason and make logical decisions, it just seemed to be another beverage to him.

An iron constitution it seemed.

Neilson sprawled back in his back, kicking his feet up onto another chair as he rested in his. It was nice to get out of the sun, and into the cool darkness of the tavern. This was a very regular occurrence for Neilson, this was his favourite tavern, his favourite chair, his favourite tavern, and if he wasn't mistaken by some of the tell-a-tale marks on the rim of the mug, his favourite cup. Yes, it was the little things in life that got you by, and this certainly got him by.

[Anonymous]

It was getting noisier around this time of the day, disturbing Freya's idea of a nice long nap. Perhaps the place she had chosen, the warm cozy mantle above the fireplace had not been the perfect choice for lazing around. Especially not in a tavern. Oh, the inn keepers had been nice enough, gracing her with a nice big bowl of warm milk and some left over scraps of meat. Something she slyly procured free of cost time and again when she felt like it. And having polished off her meal as always, she had decided there was nothing better to do on a full stomach than have a nice long siesta.

At least it was customary of her cat form. Freya let out a wide mouthed yawn, that revealed her pink tongue and made her whiskers tickle her nose. Only opening one persian eye, her bright irises surveyed her surroundings. The vicinity had become pretty crowded since she had last had glanced across it. She stretched her front legs, her kitten tail standing up straight in the air as her claws sunk in on the surface. Her whole form wiggled into wakefulness as she stood on all fours and hopped off the counter, making her way gracefully through the myriad of feet, as she roamed about, mewing and getting an occasional scratch about the ears. Of all the forms that she could morph into, the feline was somehow one of her favourite, and it was the one she most returned to without cause. It was sleek and agile, swift and convenient. It had gotten her out of more scrapes than it had gotten her into. And for now, she'd have to keep to it, until she was out of this joint if she wanted to get away with her pretext for free food.

Speaking of free food, the smell of some freshly smoked bass wafted into her nostrils, making her feline senses quickly target the source of the heavenly odour. It had been a while since she had last eaten, she reasoned. Consider it a side-effect, but every shape she took had its own peculiarities and habits. Such as the incontestability of all elements that would effect the said character nature. Such as right now, where fish was irresistible, and catnip would be downright maddening.

Leaping from one table to the next as she made her way to the said platter, she narrowly missed the mug full of swill that apparently belonged to a sleeping guard, as she coyly mewed her way to get the meal owners attention, mewing appreciatively and rubbing against his arm, Charming him with wide innocent eyes, all for a bite of that delightful meal. Unluckily for her the recipient of her pretenses was a burly odd ball that seemed not to care much for the adorable antics of animals. In fact, she seemed to have missed picking up his general bad mood having been concentrating too hard on her watering mouth. She hissed in response to his sneer and dodged the heavy had that swiped across the counter to shoo her away. Freya snarled bearing her teeth, but realized it would do no good to show her disapproval. For he didn't stop at that, and came after her as she retraced her steps and scrambled back onto the former table. Her attempt to escape toppled over the mug she had previously missed, spilling liquor all over the wooden surface and her paws stumbled and slipped as her silken fur slided her in a semi circle before she regained her footing. All too soon for she only narrowly missed the burly mans pounding fist as she came crashing on the aged wood. Meowing in protest she clambered on top of the unsuspecting soldier, his armour resounding upon the impact of her tiny feet. From his chest to his shoulders and his head in three small pounces, and off, she wasn't quick to avoid the staff that leaned against the wall, and yelped as only a cat would, as it went off balance and clattered to the floor.

Her little heart pounding, as she crawled under the now alert guard's chair and hid there, she cursed her greedy little form for the trouble she had just gotten herself into. Well, at least she hoped the guard she had so inconvenienced would not be any less fond of stray creatures. She didn't think she had the concentration to transform into a fly and buzz away just yet.


((Sorry for the wacky crappyness... never played an animal before... ^^;))

[Anonymous]

There wasn't much to really do on your lunch break, and the tavern was actually quite dull. He had the whispers however that no one else could hear, and it made him smile. Such an interesting thing. "Well...isn't that funny." He murmured as he looked down into his mug before taking a long drink from it. Ah, that was REALLY nice wasn't it? What was within him, didn't so much agree, but it had never really been prepared for something such as alcohol. His skin crawled, literally, around his check and neck for only a moment. Luckily his armour and clothing covered it, and his current position made it hard for anyone to see.

He almost missed a small cat as it made its way across his table and to another, trying to charm what was probably a part-ogre. It didn't appear to be having any sort of fun with the cat, and it was best not to pay attention to it. Never look a beast in the eyes and all that. He never knew why, but it was actually quite a bit of good advice he found. So he went back to nursing his 'wounded' mug, which was bleeding heavily, and had lost over half of its precious alcohol. The thoughts that passed through his mind after that were a tirade of hilarious mental pictures of ale mugs on the battlefield. He almost missed the fact that a fight had broken out in the vicinity.

He had not been paying attention, and as a creature suddenly struck his armour he finally began to find himself wide awake.

It was a cat, who had jumped from him to the wall, but had managed to knock over his pike, which wouldn't do at all. Now that he looked at his weapon, he noted it was more of a halberd, with a slashing side and a stabbing end. In any event, it made a very loud noise as it crashed to the floor after the acrobatic cat had jumped toward it.

He knew where the cat had gone, all the whispers in his ears were telling him, but he was currently retrieving his weapon from the ground and turning to the rather angry patron.

"Tis only a cat friend." Neilson assured the patron, who looked like he could chew through the table to get to the cat on the other side. "Yer right, only a cat. Ain't gonna be missed." The man growled back at him, and Neilson's eyes went into a bit of a glare. "Friend, perhaps you don't recognize the symbol on my armour. It is of the City. I would, if I were you, go back to your meal now before I decide you're disturbing the peace...more specifically my peace." For good emphasis, the look that he shot the man spoke it all. Under the dark light of the tavern, one could swear that Neilson's eyes were a very bright, almost neon green, and they were slitted like a cats. The man didn't need to be told twice, and with a curse he went back to his table. Neilson relaxed, placing his halberd...pike...thing against the wall before he  reached under his former chair to grab at the cat.

"You better come out my dear, before you get yourself into any more trouble. Promise I won't hurt you...or give away your secret." Neilson's voice was lowered, almost a hushed whisper as he spoke to the creature beneath the chair, his hand just in front of its face. He didn't want to just grab it and end up having it bite him or fight him...or even worse. He had a general idea that this cat, wasn't a cat. what it really could be, he wasn't sure, but the whispers in his ears told him that it wasn't to be believed. Walked like a cat, talked like a cat, but it surely was not.

There was only one way to find out what it was.

Talk to it.

[Anonymous]

Shrinking to the corner under the chair that was farthest from the outstretched palm, Freya trained her feline eyes beyond the length of the arm, and to the shoulder, neck and head it joined. Her unmatched eyes were wary as they appraised her somewhat savior. She had gathered from his words, that he was a city guard and now that she noticed the emblems on his armour and his weapon of choice, she became certain of the fact. He did seem amiable enough, she thought, as she guardedly padded over to his hand and sniffed it with her tiny pink nose.

It was a cat thing. His skin was tinged with the aroma of the food that he had eaten, of fresh bread and meat. She purred in her throat appreciatively and nuzzled his fingertips, licking them of the aftertaste, rubbing her furry head against the back of his hand and then walking over to him and mewing appreciatively. Silly feline antics. The animal instinct was already wondering if he would scratch her between the ears and offer her a treat.

She hopped onto his chair and regarded him closely as she flicked her tail in a jovial manner. The movement slowed as she noticed his unnaturally sharp teeth and the odd radiance in his eyes. She stared bewildered, for his irises seemed to reflect her own currently.

That was certainly strange. Being a shifter herself, she could never be too sure about the outward appearances of things. Although, the instinct that told her to distrust visages also gave her ability to discern between facades. And there was nothing here that was masked. Just strangely not quite human. Her cat lips broadened into a smile, revealing tiny milky fangs. This fellow was quite interesting. She had spoiled his evening, and he was happy to help. He was even talking to her unlike most, seeming almost confident that she would reply back. Well. Perhaps she would surprise him in a bit, out of the confines of this tavern, but for that to happen, she would encroach upon his niceties a little while longer.

Prancing onto the chair's arm and onto his shoulder, Freya made herself cozy curling around his neck on his warm armor. She would let him walk her out of this place, and then shift back to be on her way. And in the meantime, if he lingered longer, she would treat herself to a catnap. Yes, that was a good plan. Yawning in his ear, she whispered her thanks in human tongue, but it sounded more like a muffled hiss, discernible only to those with the sharpest of hearing.

[Anonymous]

Neilson didn't try to move further after the cat. You never should chase a creature further into a corner, it could be dangerous for your fingers. This was very much the case, but he couldn't be sure just WHAT animal instincts she might have. Would it be a cat's or it would be something else? Oh the thought itself was exciting and he couldn't wait to find out what just yet. She didn't seem too afraid of him, and he honestly was not too much of a threat. No one really knew much about Neilson and his sharpened teeth and green eyes. The cat seemed to realize he wasn't too much of a danger, he let his hand stay outstretched for her to sniff it.

It was a cat thing.

She did seem to like that he smelled of food. That was always a good thing. He didn't jump when her head began to rub against the back of his hand. She was trying to act cute, he could tell...or maybe she couldn't help it? Maybe animal instincts did take over. He did give her a nice scratch behind the ears. "Yeah there you go little puss." Neilson said with a rather kind smile crossing his face. He did show off his teeth, which were slightly filed...but even still he didn't seem too threatening. He had managed to find a way to talk to people without showing off his scary looking chompers.

"Woop, okay, where you going little kitty?" He straightened up a bit as she jumped to his shoulder and curled about his neck, finding that spot underneath his armour which made him shake his head. Cats always could find the warmest place couldn't they? "You're very welcome." He murmured back to the cat, which only help to solidify his thought that this cat was not a cat.

It looked like he had a job to do now, his job.

He was supposed to 'guard' the city and help citizens and tourists alike. His Seargant would be absolutely furious at him if he didn't go above and beyond his expectations to help this creature out. He grabbed his mug and finished it off quickly, gulping down the drink without a care for the effect. The mug was left on the table, his halpikeberd was retrieved from the wall and he set about back into the noon-time sun and the somewhat busy streets. Once far enough away from the tavern he set his pike against an alley wall and reached into armour to remove a handkerchief, which he placed on the ground, then he gently slid the cat out from around his neck and placed it on the handkerchief. He wouldn't want her to get dirty from the alley after all, and if she was what he thought she was...he couldn't be sure that the dirt wouldn't go with her, and dirty hands and feet were absolutely terrible.

"There you go puss-puss. I'd say we're far enough away." Neilson made sure to step back. Once more, the creature within him, the symbiote, had grazed the mind and heard the whisperings of intelligence and sentience from the cat, it wasn't a normal cat, and he could be sure that he was in a for a little show.

[Anonymous]

Freya had  started to fall asleep again, her face burrowed under the armour where it was the warmest. She napped soundly for the most part, only her whiskers flickering occasionally to disband a growing tickle around her nose;  while her brand-new-and-mobile-cozy-carrier-guard-person moved about and took his leave. Her eyes did flick alertly once when he answered her quite appropriately, and again when she felt his skin shift against her fur. She opened one green eye and stifled a yawn. She wondered if he was really astute, or if it was mere coincidence. Her instincts seemed to careen towards the former given his antics and the way he expectantly looked at her and talked to her. People talked to animals all the time, but they did not wait at their leisure for them to respond.

And while this sentinel did, Freya could not help being amused. It was not everyday that someone could tell through false facades. As he brought her to the alley, and carefully set her down with much protocol, she laughed a low throaty mew. Rolling onto her back on the hanky, the dappled tawny and alabaster cat regarded the expectant guard with much interest. Did he really expect her to transform in front of him then? His statement seemed to confirm that fact. And though she wouldn't mind satisfying his curiosity in exchange for hers, there was one little problem in doing so; and intelligent as he was in his anticipation, the guard had surely overlooked that tiny detail.It had been clear earlier that he would understand what she would say despite the limitations of her tongue in this form. So she gave a little leverage to her feline gait and managed to lounge like a maja on the little piece of linen. Her head propped up against her paw, she murmured in the throaty jargon that became of the Common under the effect of her transformations. The words came out accented and resonant, mixing amongst themselves and needing to be deciphered. But she was certain, that he would understand.

"Very Smart, Guard of Arca. I applaud you for your insight. Now broaden your vision a little more and drape me in garment. If it is a show you want, a show you shall have. But not a peep show. Not today."

[Anonymous]

He didn't mind her odd behaviour, she was a cat...shape shifter, she was a shape shifter, trying to be a cat. That meant that she would act a bit like a cat. He had to admit, having a warm body draped around his neck like that was anything but uncomfortable. He actually rather liked it, though he wasn't sure what she'd think of his shifting skin. It normal for a man's skin to shift and bulge unnaturally, but he was special. He had a creature lurking beneath the depths of his skin. It shifted and settled back to normality however, no doubt it had been perturbed by the close contact or the alcohol.

He always found it amusing that it reacted so oddly to alcohol. It didn't hurt the symbiote, it just reacted oddly. Maybe it could get drunk, he had no idea.

Neilson didn't expect the cat to just flop over and laugh at him. He gave her a look that could have spoke volumes, which was probably why he didn't need to say anything. She did however. See he didn't know too much about shape shifters, he'd seen some that could create clothing with them, or when they transformed their clothing did as well. He'd never understood it, and rarely had he met one that needed clothes in a transformation.

"Right, clothing...sorry, I wasn't sure if you'd need one or not. I certainly wouldn't want you to transform with all the world to see what you were given." He quickly stripped off his breastplate so he could remove his burgundy cloak from beneath. "I'm afraid this is all I have, but it has these little...tie up things at the front so you can completely hide yourself...and even has little short sleeves." It was a very handy garment, his mother had actually made it for him after he became a guard. She said it would keep him warm, because she was always afraid he'd catch a cold.

Ah mothers.

He quickly draped her in the soft cloak before he slipped his breastplate back on and turned around. "I promise I won't peek." He told her as he stared straight ahead into the street. No one was around thankfully, but even still, it was his duty now to make sure that no one saw her transforming and being all...naked. That would be terrible of him. It'd make for an interesting afternoon show but...terrible all the same.

[Anonymous]

Had she stayed at her master's dwelling perhaps she would have learned the intrinsic details that went along with the basic art of shape shifting. Though the talent had been innate, she had been sent as an apprentice to a rigid old man to harness her skills. Complications such as transforming things associated with, but not really a part of your physical self probably had been on the lesson plan for the term. She would have honed the art beautifully had she stuck around for a class or two more. Perhaps even would have gained momentum and conquered the lapse of stamina. The old crone did always say she had 'immense potential. But no, Freya had been a renegade apprentice; a little too proud, a little too uneasy around people who liked to follow the dictums of convention. A free spirit she was, irrespective of what body she wore. It was only a wonder she managed to last half a year at that dreadful place.

Sure, it could get a little hard to get by now that she was on her own, but she could always alter shapes that best suited her alibis. And yes, in the long run, she was sleeping more than half the time she was awake, but hey, Freedom had a price. And she loved the free world. Sure, at times the brunt of circumstance would get messy, but she was thriving masterfully by herself. And she wouldn't give it up for the world.

Freya had always been of the opinion that life taught you what you needed to know, and no fancy school could match otherwise. She would always feel great pride in the conceited notion of being entirely self-taught. Which was why given the moment to brag right now, in front of this amiable guard, she decided to accomplish a spectacle he would surely remember for times to come. There was this little trick she had leeched off a senior student she knew. Her mind was working at full speed putting together the prospective scenes of her act. Her mouth formed a wide impish grin.

Yes, yes...that would do quite well. Ofcourse, after it was done, she probably would be knocked out cold for hours but it was a small price to pay in the way towards becoming the greatest shape-shifter in history!

Her body was already beginning to grow as she daydreamed, the pure cat form enlarging in size to that of a panther and her vertebrae starting to stand quite upright in a semi-anthromorphic manner. The tawny orange of her fur lightened into a soft ginger and then into honey skinned pallor, her limbs elongated in proportion to her body. As her facial features protruded in a humane manner, her nose was still lightly ruddy, and there was a splash of freckles across its bridge. These little details however were just something she left of herself as she slid her arms into the warm cloak she had been offered and turned into an imperfect likeness of the man who had offered it to her. All the way from the unkempt brown hair down to his fingertips, save the eyes were mirror images. There was no armor of course, and the big feet and chubby toes were products of her own imagination entirely. Freya flashed him a toothy grin, one that was formed of perfectly chiseled pointed teeth.

The watching guard was addressed by an under-dressed version of himself, in a voice that seemed to match his own in a relatively lighter pitch; "Good Day to you, Guard of Arca. How does you today?"

This was just the first step. There was already a pulsating transformation going on in her cells while the greeting was answered.

[Anonymous]

He had never, for the most part, expected himself to find a shape shifter in his frequented tavern. Not one that had such an interesting amount of surface thoughts. While it wasn't directly him that was picking these up, he was still able to...hear them in a way. It was impossible for him to explain, but the best he could put it was that the creature inside him was able to relay the messages, almost like he was the one doing it, but at the same time...he wasn't. That had been one of the benefits, that much he knew. The creature who had implanted this into his chest cavity and around his spine to grow told him of the powers he would inherit, and some of the dangers. It was a heck of a lot better than getting eaten by any of the creatures that had been there. He still didn't think the large monster would have, but the woman...manticore thing would have made a snack of him no doubt.

Now they were perhaps on better terms, all things considered.

His arms crossed over his chest, and he could feel his skin wiggling and crawling as the creature moved again. He had expected, for some reason, it to be stationary, for it to have just...taken over some of his organs and linked directly into his body. But it hadn't. It didn't take over his spine and make him a puppet or a husk, but it lived in harmony with him.

Mostly.

"It'll be fine, we'll just see what happens." It was nervous, it had heard something almost...ominous from her thoughts no doubt. It wanted to have defense, for him to grab his halpikeberd and be at the ready, but he just couldn't see that happening. He had, after all, saved her life. That ogre fellow looked like he had been ready for a cat snack.

He could almost...hear things behind him, rustling and cracking and what not, but he dare not peek until everything was quiet and he turned his head slightly to look back, only to find that he was staring at himself. Somewhat. She even spoke, but her voice wasn't like his.

"I'm rather fine today...but you know..." He turned to look at her, his eyes wide to show off the strange neon green, the slitted pupils, and to let the skin crawl around his neck. The creature was slightly confused. He knew it could see what he saw, and though they saw him, they weren't seeing him exactly. Things were wrong, and he could tell...the smell, the sight, things were off, and there wasn't the pulsing of the being within him.

"You're missing my friend, but I'm sure it forgives you. I'd almost think he were insulted you didn't add him." She could copy the outside all she wanted, but he was pretty darn sure that they couldn't copy the inside. That would take the ability to look through a person's clothing, skin, and muscles. "What's your next trick going to be though? Wanna try to look like my father?"

[Anonymous]

Freya scrunched up her nose, and stuck out her tongue at the guard's casual josh. The carefree disregard quite suited her impish freckled features, but upon this sharp toothed face with strange eyes it merely looked like a lopsided grimace. But it had no effect on the cheeky girl, for all she saw was the slightly uncomfortable expression of her visage's actuality.

"I can, You know. I just have to had seen him. Just once. Even in a painting."

There was something about him that was quite off. He seemed to talk to himself, almost as if he was coaxing another facet of a hidden personality. Or soothing something or someone else. She couldn't be sure. For shape-shifters had merely the art of visual replication. Underneath the epidermis, all was theoretically constructed. So while she had copied his physique quite brilliantly, even if she thought so herself, she had only put together corporeal attributes. and that too of only that which she had spotted in the brief time that she had spent awake, and not defying an angry ogre, while in his presence. Still he was not amused. And he seemed to also harbor this notion that he was not...'single' so to speak.

"Friend? Who is this friend? I don't see any friend!"

Her body was morphing again, this time seemingly expanding and reddening until it was quite a deep vermillion. This was one trick her garb seemed to behave and comply in. She was still talking but her voice was changing, from her normal pleasant chant to a jarringly distorted hum. The cacophony seemed to buzz rather than orate, the voice pulsating and and disintegrating into a thousand tiny sounds; raspy and overlapping. And sure enough, in a flurry, the wholesome single form flew apart into a horde of fluttering tint. The tiny scarlet and ginger fae-like creatures all had the exact same physique and features. Miniature drones of herself albeit with gossamer wings flailing in the state of constant frenzy. The rush of hue launched itself upon him, circling around, over and under in an almost agitated state, while the little voices seemed to annoyingly buzz in his ear, chortling one second and gone the next.

"How many are we? How many may you be? Where does guard's friend hide? Where O where may you, friend, be?"

The resonance and ricochet continued faster and faster, the forms dissolving into a furious blur until all at once its poofed into a mass of thick black smoke that seemed to collect itself in a steady denseness behind the spectator. A human form gradually seemed to solidify of the vague hoariness, saturating with colour and mass.

The form was that of a lithe teenage girl, with short tawny hair and freckles on her face. Her mismatched eyes seemed to regard him with a lazy but satisfied grin. "Well, how about that....?" Was all she managed to get out until her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she tipped over backwards, into the pile of discard that rested at her back.

Oh well. She knew this had been coming. So much for showing off.

[Anonymous]

"Well, don't have any of those sadly." He could probably sketch what his father looked like but it would probably be best to just...fetch his father. Wherever he was at this time anyway, it'd be a search to find him in the city.

"That's because your eyes aren't right. Plus he probably doesn't want you to see. He thinks you're too strange." The man gave a small chuckle as he patted his own chest. "I'm kidding, he's just wary of new people. He hates it when I talk about him like this any way." He definitely was a strange one, but Neilson had a friendly look about him, despite the teeth and the eyes. The teeth were easy enough to hide, and they weren't overly noticeable yet. They just looked...sharper. Yes, for the time being, until he continued to file them down to be sharpened fangs.

His arms crossed over his chest, his eyes slightly wide as he watched her transform again. He had never heard of a shape shifter who could become an entire swarm of something. The little Fae creatures were interesting enough, and there was so many of them. That was rather interesting actually he actually laughed again as she tried to talk to him. It was like a thousand voices but...there was still...he wasn't sure. There was still one mind? His friend was having trouble with this, and rightly so.

"At least five hundred? And I only be two. The friend lives within here." He told her as he pointed to his chest. "Not in the armour of course, but more within here." He said as he adjusted the breastplate slightly to show his chest, the skin squirming slightly. It settled after a second or two and he let go before regarding the entire mass that was the shapeshifter. It would only be one consciousness, it had to be...maybe...like ants? No...something that had a...group mind? Like bees? Ants and bees? He didn't know honestly, he wasn't one to study that sort of thing. He was just a simple guard...mostly simple.

She was changing again, and he watched with a slightly raised eyebrow. So she had an original form. He'd never seen her before, unless she stole that form from a different city or town. A possibility. "Very ah!" He wasn't fast enough to catch her however as she dipped into the pile of refuse. With his cloak and everything. Aw that wasn't funny at all. She was lucky that she had passed out. Neilson had taken a few steps forward to try and catch her but now he just stared at the unconscious girl in the pile of trash.

"Well...taking her to a healer is out of the question...I mean...she did just passed out..." He expected, by the fact that she looked more like she was just sleeping, that she had become exhausted. "Taking her to the guard's barracks is out of the question...and back to my parent's place probably wouldn't be a good idea." He hadn't told them about his teeth, his friend, or his eyes really. That was a conversation for another time. With a sigh, he knew the most logical place that they'd probably end up.

His place.

With a shake of his head he gathered up the collapsed teenage and hauled her over his shoulders, his other hand grabbing the halpikeberd. His trek took him back to to the street, and he was glad he had given her the cloak to cover herself with. "Yes, I know her butt is right there in my face. If I carry her any other way she'll slip off the back and probably give her brain damage." He sighed as he talked to his friend. He could have done this mentally but for some reason he didn't like the idea of having no privacy in his life. "I can't leave my weapon lying around, it costs good money to replace, and if I'm broke then we're not eating as regularly." There was an uncomfortable squirming at that point and he winced ever so slightly. "Yeah, exactly. Besides, it's not like you have to deal with anything." The creature seemed satisfied by that, but still, he would admit he was amused by the current situation.

Wasn't every day he got to carry a naked teenager wrapped in his cloak home. He was getting some odd stares from the people, but he pointedly ignored most of them, though a bit of hooting from his fellow guards made him weakly smile at them. Oh this was going to get around the barracks. He just knew it.

A good walk later, they were at his small house. He only had a guard's salary, and he honestly didn't require much. It wasn't a large house, it only had one level to it, but that was really just what he needed. He unlocked the door and headed inside, putting his halberdpike near the front door before continuing inside. There was absolutely no way he was going to just set her inside his bed with the now dirty cloak still on. He peeled the garment off and tossed it into his wash basin before proceeding to the door near the back of his house, to his bedroom. His bed wasn't overly large, it was generous enough for him, so a lithe girl like this would be no problem. He gently deposited her on the bed before pulling the covers up over her, bringing them just to her neck.

"What was that?" He asked mildly as he looked to his chest. "She's female. Well. In this form. Remember I went over the subtle differences with you before? She's a young one. Not a child, but she's not a woman either. She's a young woman I guess you could call her. Not a child, not a woman, but that middle spot. Yeah, if she was a human, she'd be still growing." The creature had very little sense of gender, and he could understand that. It didn't have that sort of thing, and as far as he could tell, the original creature had nothing of that sort either.

"You saw enough." He reprimanded the creature as he left, closing the door behind him before he went to the wash basin and began to heat some water on the stove.

After his garment was cleaned and hanging outside, he took his armour off and hung it on the stand before relaxing on the couch with a large mug of cold water. The shape shifter was apparently still sleeping, she hadn't come out of his room yet. He had laid set of clothes for her, just some breeches and a shirt of course, good enough for the time being. At least. He idly wondered if she was going to have a headache when she woke up. When he used to pass out, it was because of drinking, and the next morning was hell. Did everyone who passed out, no matter from what, get a headache? Something to ask when she was awake.

[Anonymous]

These frequent bouts of unconsciousness were always the same. In the beginning there was nothing. Merely a dreamless plane; devoid of all thought and comprehension. And then in shadows within shadows, the flurry of the subconscious would always brew and concoct images out of fear and denial, of a past left behind and future to flee from. This torrential onslaught within, however, would have no impact on the body without. And the sleeping frame would remain as it were, sound and lifeless to an alarming value.

It would be a while before the shifter would stir, as it always was. It would be a fraction more before she would wake with an awkward weariness of mind and body; a heaviness undoubtedly contrasting to the fleeting nimbleness of her fervent activity from before. And it would take even longer for the mind to reconnect the fragments of thoughts across the breach made by the time lost to darkness.

 It was her only folly really, the overzealous and unchecked eagerness to break her own boundaries and leap over set limits of ability and aptitude. Sometimes, on bad days, there would be visible marks of unwanted resilience that protested markedly along with the lingering soreness that would refuse to leave for many nights. Sometimes her body grew weary and declined the provocation of mind. It was at these moments that the building blocks of her body were a mesh between the features of past and present form. Features that took their own sweet time returning to the current norm.

It was this state that she found herself in even before she opened her eyes. The soreness wasn't so bad- she'd had worse; but she knew without having to look that her back was slashed on either side of her backbone. There were no scars, just two symmetrical lines where the skin seemed to recede between unnatural ridged cartilages. She sighed as she rolled over onto her abdomen, letting cool air lick the burning sensation where her fae wings had been in the mass form. Indents that size would take a couple of hours normally, but she knew the prelude of a few days of constantly morphing forms would delay the process. For the while, she would need to keep them covered and avoid forms that would reveal them too much.

She opened an amber eye, suddenly realizing her face was pressed into a clean white pillo as the vicinity focused into sight. Hello. Where have you ended up now,  Frey? she murmured to herself  as she pushed herself up in sitting position and looked around. Now these were unfamiliar surroundings... A simple bedroom that foretold single occupancy, a set of clothes lying on the foot of her bed, and her rather... exposed form. Freya groaned, pulling the sheet up to her chest with one hand and scratching her head through her now tousled hair with the other. What ever had she gotten into this time? This certainly did not look like a brothel room, so she was not at the inn she had ventured into as a tawny feline. This only left the possibility that she had accompanied something or someone home. Her fingers slid across the linen to grab the large shirt that lay carefully at the foot of the bed. Letting it unfurl and holding it up, she chewed on her lip trying to remember what had happened before she had passed out. There had been an alley ...and an ogre. A heavenly smell of fish and a toothy smile with chiseled teeth.

If only her memories were not such a jumble. The facts were there, she just could seem to fit them all in the right order. Master had warned her of the fatality of her careless antics, and times like this, she sometimes dared think that she should have finished training properly. 'All in good time,' his deep voice used to rumble. 'If you miss a step, you are always likely to fall flat on your face.' But any advice was always weighed out by her accomplishments at such an early age in comparison to her age-fellows. Now that multiple mass transformation that she had been showing off to Arca's guard was a level seven ability....

 Ah! That was it! The guard! She had been showing off to him, and had passed out in lieu. He seemed to have brought her someplace. Quite possibly, his home.

As elated as she felt at recalling that piece of information, she felt the corners of her mouth turn down as she frowned lightly. Normally, people left her alone. Which was all fine with her, since she did not like to give explanations for her crazy actions or abilities, and especially not answers to where-froms' and where-tos'. Those just made her uneasy. Kindness was hard to steer away from, which was why she didn't feel too happy about the dual act of thoughtfulness shown to her, and that too by the same person, and perhaps the same day. Peeking through the window at the setting sun as if to confirm that it was still the same day; she quickly pulled on the garment and breeches, folding the latter at the bottom and securing it at the waist by tying the ends of the shirt in place over her waist. Raking her fingers through her hair as she paced around the room she eyed the one wooden door that led to that possible confrontation. There was always the option of escaping through the back door or window, silently thanking the gentleman for his clothes and his hospitality. But there was the growing growl of her suddenly hungry stomach again. And the growing curiosity, as her memories flitted back into place, of the 'friend' that he mentioned. That wriggled inside him and made his skin crawl in a very inhuman fashion.

Well, she decided as she threw the said door open and stalked outside, might as well encroach upon his generosity some more while she was at it. One more free meal never hurt anybody.

[Anonymous]

After the first hour, it was apparent that his guest wouldn't be waking up any time soon. So he got his armour back on and decided to finish up the work that he had been doing. His friend assured him that she would not be waking any time soon, and he still had enough hours in the day to get in some more guard duty. Ever since he had taken it upon himself to...host the creature, he had reduced himself to a part time guard. That was the best idea he could come up with, more so since he started looking at people sometimes like they were food. As it had been explained to him, the creatures ATE people...and they did that because they were bigger, stronger, and higher in the food chain. The thought of being looked at like cattle had not been a very appeasing one.

The creature that had implanted the symbiote into his chest had at least eighteen eyes, and they all stared at him. He had felt that he could have been very close to being on the list of humans that had fallen prey to it.

However, instead, he got a needle painfully jabbed through his chest and strange creature to grow inside him. Well, at least he had kept his memories.

There wasn't a lot of food in his house, and he decided that on his rounds, he might want to pick something up. That's where money went a lot of the time. Food. However the psychic prodding of his friend helped to get better deals. It was the creature's fault he had to eat more, and it was the creature's fault that he didn't have a full time job. He didn't feel bad about cheating the shop owners though, he chalked that up to the fact that his mind was closely linked to the symbiote's mind, and it wasn't one to care.

As the sun started to set, Neilson found himself heading back to his house. He could already see his replacement on the streets. A nice young woman, he couldn't remember her name but she always smelled like flowers. He liked that, but his symbiote didn't. Vegetables, and to a lesser extent plants, though very delicious, filling, and good for you, wasn't something that the creature liked. Even though the symbiote admitted that they helped to make it stronger and gave it more energy, it really liked meat better. He actually had to tell it that he would be eating greens still so they could get the much needed energy from them.

It had sulked for three days until he started eating vegetables with a gravy that had a bit of meat to it.

When he got back with his armload of stuff, his halpikeberd tucked under his arm, he managed to put his stuff near his stove before getting out of the armour. His friend told him that the shape shifter would be waking soon. His mother didn't raise someone with bad hospitality, no she didn't. He made sure to get water prepared, as well as to get some boiling and light a fire for the stove. He got out his pans and pots, he had purchased several...several very nice cuts of pork and beef which he planned for dinner.

That was when he heard it, the door opening to his room. Through all the sizzling of meat and boiling of vegetables he heard it. Well, his symbiote had alerted him that she was awake, and when she went through the door but it was...basically the same thing...sort of.

Neilson gave the pork and beef cuts a quick flip before he went to look for his guest. His house was not, and simply walking into the living room well...there she was. "I almost thought you weren't gonna wake up. I see you found the clothes I left out for you...a little bit but I'm sure you can grow into them." Neilson commented idly as he stood there, a white apron tied around his waist and shoulders, spattered with a little bit of this and that. That hadn't been a personal attack, he sounded amused if anything, no doubt of the prospect that she could change herself into anything.

"I just started dinner a couple minutes ago. Are you thirsty? Do you...have a headache?" That had been the question he wanted to know. Would she have a headache. It would put his 'everyone who passes out would have a headache' theory to rest at least.

[Anonymous]

Freya blinked and lingered awkwardly at the periphery of the living room. Her mismatched eyes awkwardly taking in the scene before her. While her eyes were automatically drawn to the kitchen area where a meal seemed to be cooking, she was weighing the tone of the home owner and his cordial and jovial manner of speech. It was absurdly genuine and non inquisitive, despite all the questions he was asking. And the irony of her thoughts in retrospect made the fact incredibly funny.

And so she laughed. Laughed and laughed until she had stitches in her sides. Perhaps it was relief or weariness, or the sight of the tall gentleman in the tainted apron or the occasional ripple in skin. Whatever it was, it rather helped dissipate the weary disposition. And so, when she had caught her breath and was able to walk over without toppling over from lack of balance, she did so with a rather bright and cheery smile.

"Not anymore, no." She replied to his earlier question as she leaned over the pans and breathed in the aroma wafting from the meat. Mmm. That smelled good. Perhaps the bout of mirth had made the original feeling subside. She could never be sure: it was always so unpredictable. But she didn't have to provide any explanations as to why. That would just be unnecessary. She lifted the lid off the pot with the vegetables to peer inside. "Wow, Aren't you quite the chef? ...I am rather hungry. and i suppose i could use a drink too. So, what are we having for dinner?"

The best thing about kind hospitality was how fragile it was and how it could be manipulated to feel forcibly granted. It was mean to take advantage of this person, but it'd make her feel better not being guilty of owing him anything in return. She probably wasn't going to be back here after tonight anyway. It was never safe to linger.

Leaning over a clear area of the counter, her fingers played with a couple of cooking utensils, as she glanced at her host yet again. "Eh, Did you happen to mention your name?"

[Anonymous]

He didn't expect the woman to react so...strangely to his questions.

Even as a psychic he wasn't sure what to make of her laughter. Her mind was very strange, and her surface thoughts very flightly. He decided to just let her laugh herself silly, which she really seemed to be doing. He just smiled patiently as she finally managed to control her laughing. At least she still looked happy, she didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he had brought her back here to his home. He knew for a fact some women might be a little nervous and worried about such a thing, but he thought as a guard of the city, he could at least be a little trustworthy. He was actually rather glad she had taken some other shape, all things considered, he would have hated trying to gather up all those little pixies and trying to bring them back to his house. It would have been quite the ordeal.

"That's good then, very good!." So she had a headache at some point, but now she didn't. That was good to know, and it helped to strengthen his belief that if you passed out, you had a good chance of a headache afterwards. He smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. "I have to be able to cook, or else we'd end up starving. As for tonight's dinner, we've got some vegetables as you saw, and there's some beef and pork being cooked up." He told her as he went back to the stove where she was, starting to flip some of the meat. He had two pans out, one for beef and one for pork. Each had four generous slices of meat sizzling in the pans. He quickly flipped the meat over, which had already taken on darker colours, sending delicious wafting smells into the house. He had little earthenware jars of spices, something that had cost him a pretty penny and he didn't use everyday. They were for special occasions, and guests, so he deemed it a good time to use them. He sprinkled the meat lightly with the seasonings, just some pepper and a bit of garlic powder for extra flavour.

"You know...I don't think I ever did." Then again, they hadn't really had the chance for any sort of formal greeting. She had passed out much too quickly,, but now she was wide awake. "I'm Guard Neilson...but of course, you can just call me Neilson for short though, everyone else does. This is my humble little home, and in here is my humble little friend." He poked his chest, which elicited that strange shuffling of skin and cloth. "He's a little temperamental at times but quite harmless. Comes with some...odd side effects." As if on cue, his eyes seemed to glow all that much brighter and he grinned, showing off his sharp teeth before he went back to the food. He didn't want to let anything burn or become overcooked after all. He liked the vegetables soft.

"Oh, I forgot to mention." He opened up the lid of another pot and got a wooden spoon to stir the contents. "There's also gravy." He gave it a quick stir before he went to a cupboard against a wall, getting out a large glass. "You can have a choice of water, or a little spirits, I've got a rather nice bottle of wine, a good cask of ale, or you can just stick to some water." He fetched the wine bottle, setting it out on the table, and pointed to the corner of the kitchen where he kept the barrel of ale, as well as the small open ended barrel of water for drinking. It was a nice water he bought from a travelling salesman, who claimed it came from the northern mountains in a basin of spring water. It was delicious though, he'd give the man credit for that.

[Anonymous]

The shifter just watched him a while sprinkling his herbs and seasonings and going about cooking the meal with her hands now idle and cupping her face. "Guard Neilson of Arca..." Hmm, that did have a nice ring to it she decided.

She walked about his workstation, trying to stay out of his way yet winding up in it most of the time, but it wasn't her nature to stay idle much for long. Not while she was conscious anyway. While she slept, she was a dead as a rock, but awake and recharged, Freya couldn't help but fidget and prance about like a cat on a hot tin roof. The gravy was the best part she decided, taking the liberty of scooping out some and slurping it from the spoon. Grinning at the host as he caught the act, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and drummed her fingers on the counter. And then stared at him flabbergasted at his offering.

"Are you kidding me? Do you realize what alcohol could do to me?" She chuckled, shaking her head at his naivete. Loss of control and her ability just did not mix. There was no telling what her system would do with her capabilities if left to act on its own. She'd perhaps take years to recover from anthromorphic features she wouldn't even remember the source of. Then, biting her lip, realizing her outburst was uncalled for in return for his hospitality, she waved her arms about in wide negating motions. "Uh, sorry! I didn't mean it that waaaaayyyAAAaaaaugh....!!!" Her flailing arms collided with the vegetable tureen and almost had it toppling over. It was only when she caught it again, that she felt the heat seeping through her overly long sleeves and burning through the stark white cuffs to her palms. Exclaiming again, she pushed it in place over the heat and jumped back, feverishly licking her  almost seared palms for  cool comfort. She explained, her tongue still stuck to her palm. "Itd judt dat, dhat stubb dondt wubk onf shabeshibders. Itd nod goob..."

Way to ruin a perfectly good shirt.  Scratching the back of her head, she tried to make the sweetest face possible in case he harboured any harsh feelings.
Sighing, she decided she was much too trouble around the kitchenette, and started taking a couple of steps backwards towards the  only couch available.

[Anonymous]

"Yep, that's right. I pride myself on people only knowing my last name...or...is that my first name?" The named was ambiguous really. It could be either of them really, and the smirk on his face could only make one wonder what it really was. There was a lot of mystery to the man, but the way he presented himself, like an open book, just one written in a different language. It was what he enjoyed about his life. He had been really dull actually before his transformation. He had just been an ordinary man, a normal guy, a simple guard who didn't really have such an interesting life.

Now he was different, now he was a lot more interesting in his opinion.

He continued to work at the stove, flipping and pressing the meat, letting the vegetables boil and simmer on their own, and it appeared that his house guest had a handle on the gravy. He looked at her, a smirk on his face as he caught her taste testing the gravy. He had to admit, she was an adorable little thing, she was so vibrant and full of life.

Neilson had to blink as she spoke. He actually had no idea what alcohol would do to her. He assumed it would act like...well...alcohol. Drunk people tended to do drunk things, but he didn't mean to imply that she should get drunk. He always found a glass of spirits was nice with dinner usually. His intention wasn't to suggest she should get drunk. "I assume...you'd...get tipsy and dizzy and probably shapeshift?" He ventured a guess, assuming that she could shapeshift when she was drunk, and that it would be involuntary. He found that idea hilarious actually, he wanted to see someone suddenly turn into a small mammal or something like that. He thought it would be rather entertaining.

"Don't worry about-" He didn't have time to really calm her down as her arm collided with the pot of vegetables, almost spilling it all over the place. However, it wasn't over, not by a long shot. She grabbed the pot, and he knew that was just a bad idea when he saw it. He winced as she grabbed onto it, and there was an exclamation. Neilson decided to just step back from her and watch as she tried to stop messing everything up. He didn't mind at all though, she was trying so much to do something. He chuckled lightly as he nodded. "Alright, that's fine, you can have yourself a nice glass of water then, I hope you don't mind if I have a bit of wine." He didn't want more ale, he wanted a little wine, it was to help with flavour, and just to annoy his friend inside.

He laughed quietly as she tried to look innocent. He reached over and ruffled her hair playfully before he stepped back to the stove to finish cooking the food. "You know, I don't think you ever told me your name." He didn't just want to call her something generic, like girl, or shifter, stuff like that. He would have liked to know her name. He got some serving plates out and put the different meat onto them, a bowl for the vegetables and for the gravy and began to set the table properly. Finally everything was ready and he turned to his guest.

"Dinner is served, I hope you like it." He removed his apron and hanged it on the back of his chair before sitting down, starting to dish out food for himself. It appeared to be a lot of meat that he piled onto his plate, as well as some vegetables. The entire thing ended up being doused in gravy as he poured it out from the gravy bowl. Ah, that was much better. It smelled great, he couldn't wait to dig in.