Shifting Times

Chevy ran until they got to the cliffs and then let her off running to the woods and changing. He walked back out his shorts on the shirt in his arm.

"I didn't need this." He said tossing it to the side. Leal rolled her eyes and stripped down to her swim suit doing a perfect dive down into the water. He heard laughing and yelling and loked towards the side where a creek ran away from teh pond and saw Laney wrestling with a mountian lion. He dove into the water swimming over quickly.

"I hope that things friendly." He laughed leaning against the edge of the water.

Layton glanced up from Naji, who was in a strong headlock, and smiled at Chevy. "Oh he is... When he wants to be," right when she finished speaking Naji yanked out of her hold and pinned her to the ground with his front paws on her stomach sideways. "You seen to be everywhere, huh?" She said in between breaths, then gripped Naji's paws and pushed him off, flipping over to where she was sitting on his side.

"Yeah, well, this is the reservation land so I'm everywhere at once a lot of times." Layton nodded with a smile, then waved at a girl who was swimming up next to Chevy. "Layton, this is Leal. Leal, this is Layton."

"Nice to meet you Leal," Layton smiled, shaking Leal's hand.

"You too, Layton." Leal smiled back warmly.

"You must be the girl putting everyone on edge." Leal laughed. "Don't worry, that was me three years ago." She smiled climbing out of the water on a rock and laying down.

"Why are they so strict?" Layton asked.

"Say it's a reservation thing. They are very strict about who any of the 'boys' are around. It's not all the guys, some of them they could care about, but a select group of the guys on the reservation are special, kinda retarded." Leal grinned. Chevy rolled his eyes splashing her. "But supposidly they can't even hang out with anyone out of the tribe until their engaged."

"YOu mean we can't hang out with any girls out side of the tribe, It's stupid, but their scared we'll im..fall in love with someone that isn't Navajo ruing our perfect blood lines, blah blah blah." He laughed. "Leal scared them all because they couldn't kick her off hte reservation, she was shipped to her uncle to be adopted and when I started hanging out with her they freaked out and sent me to boarding school for a while."

"When that didn't work and he kept coming abck and hanging otu they sent me off to boarding school." Leal laughed. "He just came out there and hung out. He's more of family then any of them. He was just protecting this little sister." She grinned. He laughed and dove under the water.

**When can they find out about each other? **

Layton laughed lightly, completely oblivious to the struggling mountain lion underneather her. Get your fat butt off me! Layton sat completely rigid, not saying a word.

"I... am not fat!" She shouted angrily, putting Naji in another headlock. He growled and tried to throw her off, only making Layton tighten her grip and wrap her legs around his body, forcing him to the ground. "Damn cat! You're the fat one! Eating all the food in the house!" They rolled across the ground until both were out of breath.

I'm a growing mountain lion that needs his meat!

"Yeah, meat! Not everything else in the house!" Layton snarled angrily.

She suddenly stopped remembering the two people that watched her and Naji wrestle and her one-sided argument with what seemed to be Naji. Layton laughed nervously and stood up, clearing her throat. "Um... we'll be off now. Nice meeting you, Leal." She bowed slightly and pivoted around, running off with Naji yelling about his eating habits from beside her.

***I'll have him imprint on her and then they'll find out. But she needs to imprint too. **

Chevy watched her go completely mesmerized. He didn't know what had gotten into him, he didn't even hear what she was yelling, just that her voice was talking, the melody of it locked in his mind.

It's possible! Mirry screeched.

"Chevy, Cheveyo snap out of it!" Leal yelled at him.

"Leal, I agree with Mirry, I think it's possible." He said watching the girl leave and then blinking and looking at his friend.

"You imprinted!" She grinned. "Oh my goodness, you imprinted on someone that isn't a shifter!"

"Ranger is going to kill me." He smiled at her while he jumped out of hte water and spun her around.

"No joke, he'll send you far away." She smiled.

"I'll come back." He smiled at her. She nodded and he shifted quickly then growled, he was a tiger, that wasn't what angered him, he liked those shorts. Leal laughed and jumped on his back when he took off towards the town. When he got back he found out they were having a council meeting. HE was the one in the shifters group that hadn't imprinted, that they knew of, and they didn't wan thim around that girl. he quickly got dressed and ran inside hte meeting out.

"We can afford to send him off again, we can't have him distracted." Ranger was saying.

"Distracted from the girl I just imprinted on?" Chevy asked walking towards Ranger. Everything grew deathly silent.

"Who?" Ranger hissed.

"Layton. Ranger, it's possible to imprint on someone that can't shift. I'm positive she can't, she doesn't show any of the signs of it." Chevy said.

"YOur just saying that." Ranger growled.

"No, he isn't, I was there. He got that same look on his face as the others did. He imprinted weather you like it or not. You can't send him away!" Leal hissed.

"Leave, Leal, this does not concern you." Ranger replied.

"It concerns me as much as it does anyone else. I was raised in this tribe. I knew Chevy was a shifter before anyone else did. I was there when everyone of his brothers imprinted. I think I should have a say in this. I think Chevy needs his freedom! He imprinted for goodness sakes, you can't force him not to follow the path the spirits laid out for him!" She replied.

"Cheveyo did not imprint on a white!" Ranger hissed.

"Oh, is that it Ranger, is that why you dn't like me. Because I'm white! What is it our tribe and every other tribe in the United States has been fighting for a long time? Your racist, you don't care if he imprinted on a non-shifter from teh tribe, but he imprinted on a white that's horrible isn't it. You just say it's because she's a non-shifter. Your worse then the kkk." Leal turned on her heels leaving the room quickly.

"SHe's right, I think we all knew it too, just she's the only one that had the guts to face you with it." Chevy hissed at him. "I'm going to spend time with Layton, and there is nothing you can do about it. Try and you'll regret it." He turned and left hurrying after Leal.

Layton tackled Naji once she got to the house, hogtying his feet together with a multitude of scarves and taking out the sketchbooks. "Naji... what does it mean? My little kitty wants to answer," she got an evil gleam in her eyes. "right?" Naji glared and turned his head away. Layton sighed. She had no other choice but to taunt him with food, which is exactly what she did. She dangled a porkchop above his nose. "Tell me."

You imprinted idiot! Now give me my food! The lion snapped at the porkchop, only to have it yanked away.

"What does that mean?" Layton cocked her head to the side. Naji didn't say anything so Layton turned into a fox, taking dainty bites of the meat. Yummy. She teased.

You'll have to find out on your own! Foooood! Naji finally snatching up the meat and breathing it in. The front door was suddenly swung open, light from outside filling the dark living room.

***He wouldn't open the door, sorry. ***

Chevy frowned when Leal just opened the door.

"Leal!" He hissed.

"Layton, come one, we should go hang out at the bl...." Leal stopped and Chevy peeked in. The tiger was all tied up, but sitting in front of it was a fox.

"How many wild animals does she have?" He said looking around.

"The reservation has a ton too. Don't judge her for that."

Layton cocked her head to the side at Leal and Chevy as they stared back at her. She barked (foxes bark right?) at them and bounced into her room shutting the door with her poofy tail and transforming back to regular. She pulled on a pair of denim, knee-length shorts, a Toby Keith shirt, which she tied the bottom tight with a hair tie, and pulled her hair over into a low, side ponytail.

After she was done she walked back out, acting surprised. "Hey guys... What's up?"

"Where'd that fox go?" Leal questioned in a suspicious tone.

"Fox? I don't have a fox!" Layton laughed nervously but Leal didn't seem to buy it.

"Right, we just saw one run into your room. Pretty handy too shutting that door." Leal smiled walking over to the mountian lion and stroking it's head. "She's beautiful." She said smiling at the lion.

"Leal would walk up to a wild lion and treat it the same even if it tore her head off." He laughed.

"So, I don't care, I love these guys." She smiled back at him. Mirry flew over landing on Chevy's shoulder. The mountian lion growled and Mirry fluffed her wings.

"What are you guys doing here?" Layton asked.

"Just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out." he smiled. Leal glared at him and he smiled back hoping she would shut up.

**I was thinking about, when they're nervous or stressed they transform**

Layton! That's the bird! Naji whined, and once he was out of the hogtie, covered his head with his paws. Layton laughed lightly and then looked around the apartment. It was a mess and nothing, other than clothes and essentials, were unpacked. Besides, she didn't feel like going anywhere. "Actually I've got to clean up and unpack the rest of my stuff. After all, I did just move in today." Layton rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "You guys can stay and watch a movie... once I find the box with my DVD player and movies in it." Boxes were everywhere as well. It's a miracle she hadn't been crushed by them yet.

Layton! The bird is scary! Naji complained. Layton looked at the bird, which was glaring at Naji with fluffed out feathers, making it look bigger that it really was.

***Sure, the females can do that. I have another twist to put in later. Leal's a shifter. ***

Mirry, what is your problem? Chevy demanded.

That, that cat is... She didn't say anything more then just that. He picked her off his shoulder pinning her feathers down to normal.

"I don't know whats gotten into her." He said to Leal who just laughed. "How about we help you unpack?" He asked grabbing a big box and glancing in it. It was clothes, definatly girl clothes. He glanced back up and set it down without comment grabbing another one with books in it.

**Kewlio**

Layton blinked once, then smiled. "That'd be great! If you really want to I mean. You don't have to." She was slightly nervous. But not enough to shift. Leal and Chevy both shook their heads as Chevy picked up a box, set it down, then picked up another one. Leal was already working on all the trophies from Layton's school in Alabama and New York and Chevy was unpacking her books. Crap! The one that Naji gave to her was in there! Layton crawled over to it while Chevy had his back turned and pillaged through the books, grabbing a certain one and crawling away, oblivious to a suspicious Leal and a bird watching her. She hid the book beneath the couch and grabbed the box Chevy had set down a second ago, lugging it into her room. Why did it have to be this box? The one with all the prank gifts and dirty santa's her friends had gotten her. Layton hung her head in defeat and just kicked the box into her closet with a sigh.

Then, as she was walking back into the living room, the old question floated into her mind. What was imprinting and if she did imprint on the boy in her dreams... Who was he exactly? She'd never read that whole book of Naji's. Layton sighed in frustration and opened a box with all her game consoles in it, which she stuffed under her television.

That bird's looking at me as if she wants to kill me! Naji suddenly burst in Layton's mind. Layton looked over at the bird, who sure enough the bird seemed to be glaring at Naji.

Calm down, Naji. I'll talk to it. Layton glanced over at the bird, which switched its gaze over to her. Sorry if Naji did something to you. He's a big idiot. Please forgive him. She smiled lightly at the bird before turning back to her boxes.

YOU CAN TALK TO ME! Mirry exclaimed. Impossible!

Of course I can talk to you. Chevy replied.

Shut up. Mirry shot over to Layton and landed on her shoulder looking at her.

"Mirry!" Chevy hissed. She ignored him hoping to her other shoulder as if trying to figure something out. "I'm sorry." He said walking over and picking her up. "I don't know why she is acting so strange today." He set the bird on his shoulder giving her a harsh look and then grabbing another box. He started unloading it and spun around to grab another when he ran into Layton both crashing to the ground her landing under him.

Layton! Are you okay? Naji shouted in her head. Layton slowly opened her eyes. She'd closed them right before the impact. Chevy's eyes met hers and a scarlet shade fell over her face. This wasn't good. Layton! Layton pulled herself out from under Chevy and ran into her room, Naji just making it in behind her as she shut the door and shifted into the petite mountian lion she had been before. Layton growled lowly and paced in front of her door, waiting for the affects to wear off. Why'd it have to happen now! Oh yeah, because she got nervous.

In mid shift from animal to human the door swung open to reveal Leal. "I kn-!" Layton slapped a furry paw over Leal's mouth and drug her into her bedroom, darting over to the other side of the bed to pull on her clothes. Layton... ears. Naji seemed entertained. Layton dismissed this fact and looked at Leal.

"You can't tell anyone about what you saw. If you do... I might have to killed you," even though Layton was serious Leal began to laugh.

Leal covered her mouth and tried to regain control of her laughter.

"Now it all makes perfect sense." Leal grinned. She plopped on the bed crosslegged and looked Layton over, ears and all. "Your just like the boys on the reservation. You can't scare me with threats, I'm used to this kinda stuff."

"Really, there are people here that can do this too?" Layton asked.

"Oh ya, Chevy even can. He's the best at it even if he is the youngest of the group. He can control what animal he changes into every time he tries. And most of the embarresment and such doesn't ever get to him." Leal shrugged. "You should see him when he shifts to horse, man is it a beautiful horse." She said laying and looking up at a the ceiling.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~***~*~*~**~~*~*~**~~**~*~*~*~*~

Chevy kept packing boxes kicking himself for being so clumsy. Leal would help heal the wounds and then he would apologize.

Something isn't right. Mirry said looking around. SOmething is to familiar.

Get over it you paranoid bird, you just don't like her lion. He replied.

You didn't hear what I heard a couple of minutes ago. She repleid.