Morph

Heather-

I stared in horror as the mother bear stood on her hind legs, ready to swipe at me with her gargantuin paws. In mid-swing there was a gunshot and I watched, in slow motion, the mama bear crumple to the ground. I heard myself screaming in horror and imagined Trent being that bear.

I looked over and saw that the squirrel shifter was on the ground, but he was back on his feet in a few minutes. Liz was fighting with Shade and Damien was flying overhead. Ballow flew up towards Damien, but the squirrel guy began firing up at the sky and Damien ran into Ballow. Everything was a mess.

Suddenly a girl stepped out with a gun and began shooting hyenas left and right. Liz, Peter and a hyena were the only bad guys left, Damien was still in the skies and the squirrel guy had gone off somewhere with a seemingly empty gun.

I stood up and walked over, clenching my arm, to Shade, Jason and Carmen. Trent came over as well and we closed infront of Liz, Peter, and the hyena. Liz turned to Peter and began barking angrily before she turned and ran away, Peter and the hyena following. I turned to the girl.

"Thank you."

"I did what I thought was necessary."

"Where's Ballow?" asked Carmen.

***Can she talk to animals or not?***

Trent looked around, then at the girl that was standing htere, gun by her side. She didn't look shocked or anything at their turning from animals to human.

"YOu better find whoever that is. I need to find the cubs that the momma left behind." She turned on her heel and headed towards the creek.

"I wouldn't suggest that, they aren't cuddly little bears." Trent said.

"I'm not stupid. They can't survive without her or some other help and I"m not letting them die."

Peter and Liz

As things turned out, only about half the pack had been killed, not the entirety. Still, Harper would be unbelievably pissed off. Liz could already imagine his reaction. Something along the lines of, And they weren't even Pride! I don't care how many there were, or that most of them were combat projects, your pack was designed to bring in their kind! How much more money do I need to pour into your projects to get a positive result?

Certainly Damien was a useful addition, but he was just one bird. And they only had tentative control over him anyway. Once they'd moved a safe distance downstream from the rogue shifters, the remains of the pack gathered itself. Peter, Liz, the hyena that had accompanied them, two semi-conscious hyenas that had been beaten by an otter and another three limping alongside them, having dived into the river when that girl arrived.

Peter and Liz shifted back, Liz folding her arms and going off to sulk by the river. Peter snorted, calling after her, "I told you they weren't easy. What's Harper going to say when he finds out not even you can deal with them!"

"I need proper shifters to work with if I'm going to bring down a bunch of naturals like them!" Liz retorted, "It's not my fault if all I get assigned is a pack of big dogs, a little brother with too many personality disorders for his own good and a squirrel. If Harper wants to play Scrooge, then he'll have to expect a few losses."

Jason

He shifted back, form blurring as the ocelot seemed to rear back on his hind legs and return to human form in a moment. He frowned at the girl with the gun. Who was this girl? He'd been able to understand what she'd been saying to Trent even when he was shifted, and he couldn't remember understanding what the bear-man had been talking about.

But he supposed she would explain that soon. For now, he couldn't see Carmen anywhere. He looked around, worried that one of the hyenas she'd been teasing might have caught her. Then he heard her speaking, "Hey! I asked a question, people!"

Heather and Jason seemed to be the only ones paying any attention to her - the others were all staring at the girl. Apparently they'd all understood her as well.

Jason shook his head at Carmen, "Maybe he followed the hyenas?"

Heather-

I shook my head. "No, I saw Damien run into him. Both birds would have lost altitude and if Ballow didn't recover and take flight again, he would have hit the ground."

"Let's go, we need to find him," the girl said. I nodded and led her and the others to where I saw him last.

*I have no idea where I am . . but I'll just be injured somewhere.*

Ballow


My body hurt. No, scratch that, my body felt like it was on fire in several different places all hot enough to melt mercury. I monaed in agony and forced open my eyes. I saw immediately my wing. The first thought I had was, I'm still a bird.

And then the second was, I can only see half my wing. My eeys widened as large as saucepans as I manouvered myself to see the rest. What I saw made bile rise in my throat. My left wing was completely mangled.

All my feathers soaked red and I could see some of the muscle bent out of shape and veins poking out of my wings. No doubt every single thing bone in my wing was shattered. I attempted to move it, but sharp small pains attacked my nerves, so severe that I was sent reeling backwards. I had landed wrong, I remembered that now. So wrong, I had hit the ground so hard that it knocked me out.

Then I noticed my leg, well, my claw thingy. One of my claws was bent out of shape and the talon on the end was digging into the bottom of my foot. I let out a painful groan and tried to shift. Electrical shots darted up my foot and wing making my whole body shudder. What made it worse was that both the injuries were on the same side. if they had been on different side's I would've been able to balance and walk, but now . . .

I tried again to move, the pain that greeted me was almost too much. I began to craw. Really really loudly. Eventually someone found.

However the person who found me was not what I expected.

(It can be anyone, ranging form baddies to goodies I don't like.)

~Damien~

After falling a bit, I'd landed and shifted to my human form in hopes that I could get out of the electrical device that was holding me prisoner to the bad guys. No such luck. It was made to be worn so it would change with the shifter. I'd been running, hoping to find a good place to take off in a way where I could fly in the woods; which was no picnic.

That was when I heard the cawing. The crow; what's his name, was cawing loudly. Not a good idea when there were hyenas on the lose. I should know.

Still, the bird was in distress and it was hard for me to get the nerve to walk away. All of this was my fault; I caused all of this. It seemed I was a catalyst for trouble.

Walking towards the sound, I finally stumbled across him. He looked a mess and I winced. No bird should look like he did. Ever. Being chained to the ground like that--there was no worse fate a bird could suffer.

Not speaking, I bent down and examined the injuries. I could feel his glare as I stared at the wing. That was expected since I'd knocked him out of the sky and was a traitor, though an unwilling one.

"This is...is going to hurt." I said, stammering a bit. Ripping some cloth from my shirt If he lost anymore blood, he would die. I didn't want another to die on my account. As gently as I could, I moved the wing closer to his body. The crow showed his pain through his loud vocals. "Sorry." I whispered, swallowing.

I wrapped the cloth around his body. It would hold the wing in one place and make it at least a little bit less painful.

Picking him up gingerly, I climbed a tree with some difficulty and put him in a branch. I then shifted, where communicating would be easier for me.

"You can't be on the ground with those hyenas." I said, glad that animals didn't use all voice to communicate. "And you'll need surgery to heal that wing."

A shock nearly made me fall out of the tree. "They're calling me."

Heather-

"Ballow! Ballow, where are you?"

Pippa crouched down and pointed at a spot of blood on the ground. "He was here and he's hurt."

"So where could he go?" asked Trent.

"I don't know."

Jason was looking up a nearby tree and pointed. "He's up there." I shifted and flew up, landing next to Ballow's mauled body. I shifted back into a human and stared at Ballow.

"How did this happen?" I whispered.

"Is he alive?" Shade called up.

"Yes, he's breathing but it's raspy. I'll bring him down!" I turned to pick up Ballow carefully, but my hand passed over a falcon feather. Damien's. "Did Damien do this to you?" I asked. Ballow made a noise but I shushed him. "Don't try to talk or shift. It's going to be okay."

I scooped him up gently and climbed down in human form. When we were both on the ground, Pippa looked him over and shook her head.

"He needs to go to a hospital. There's one a few miles away in the city."

"How did he get bandaged up already?" Carmen asked.

"That's just it. Someone else found him first."

"We can't stand her talking. We need to move," said Shade who then shifted. The others (besides Pippa) shifted as well and we began moving.

Ballow

I wanted to tell them that they were wrong, that Damien had been the one to bandage me up and put me in the tree, but I couldn't speak. Pain shot through my body every time I tried to even breath differently and so I remained still as they frantically carried me.

The swaying of the person who was carrying made me sick, then as the person stepped into a pothole the whole motion of stepping a little bit off balance made my whole body jar up with pain. Blackness clouded my vision and everything grew hazy.

The pain was a like a bee sting, first it hurt like hell, but slowly it was fading away, with my sight. My sense became dull, numbed as if I were dying. Panic got my heart beating erratically as I realised something.

I was dying. If I wasn't saved soon . .

It was almost funny, the way that blankness claimed me, like the talons of a large bird scratching out my existence. I fainted. And I felt something shift slightly. I might've turned back into a human, but I wasn't sure.


*lol, Ballow's basically a half human now. He has wings as arms bu the rest of his body (apart from a clawed foot) is human, heh, deal with That in a hospital.*

Heather-

"He shifted! I can't carry him!"

"I've never seen it before. Half shifted," Shade shifted and said in awe.

"Stop goggling and help, Shade. You're the only one big enough and fast enough to get him to the hospital."

Shade shifted and allowed Ballow to be put over his shoulders. Trent looked at Carmen.

"Carmen, you'll need to shift and hold Ballow up. You're light enough to fit on Shade."

Carmen nodded and shifted, climbing up and Shade's back. Jason looked like he was about to say something, but he kept quiet.

"The doctors are going to ask questions," Pippa stated.

"Yes, but we can't help that," said Jason.

"We'll meet you at the hospital. Pippa will give you the directions."

Pippa looked a bit awkward about talking to a jaguar, but she still drew the directions in the dirt and soon Shade was off with Ballow and Carmen riding on his shoulders.

"We should get going too."

Carmen-

I have to admit, I felt a little strange leaving Jason. I didn't like the idea of being separated from him at all, especially to go into town. But there really wasn't a choice; Ballow needed our help.

Shade followed the directions Pippa had given and soon we could see the hospital, not very far away.

I jumped off Shade's back and shifted into human form.

"Okay, if we're going to go into town, we better have something to explain a winged man."

"Maybe if we wake him up, we could get him to shift all the way."

"Or..." I answered, thinking it through. "We could try to get him to shift back into a bird, and bring him to a veterinary instead."

Shade nodded and held Ballow's body closer to me. I shook his shoulders, firmly, but trying to avoid the injured areas. There was no response. I looked up at Shade with panicked eyes.

"Ballow!" I shouted. "Ballow! If you can hear me at all, try to shift back into a bird! Please! It's the only way we can save you! Ballow! Can you hear me?"

"Shh," Shade said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I glanced around the woods, and I didn't see anybody, but who knows what could be hiding in the branches.

Just then, Ballow stirred.

Ballow

IN the distance I could hear people shouting at me, buyt the fog was so thick that I couldn't see anyone. I could hear it so clearly that maybe all i needed to do was reach out. Reach out and touch them. I pushed forward a hand and then realsed somehting.

It was a wing.

Was I still in my shifted form?

No, I had legs.

Panic comsumed and broke me out of my unconscious state. I fell forward off whatever I was sitting on. My wing, MY WING! It was still mangled, but I was human. I glanced at Shade and Pippa, they were staring at mne like I was going to die.

Then I remembered, I was. The blood dripping down my wing was immense, completey soaking all my clothes as well as my wing and all my feathers. My beautiful white feathers. I don't think I'd ever get the stain out.

Shade asked, "You might want to shift into a human."

I shook my head and swallowed back the dizziness that was accompanied by talking, "It hurts too much. WAY too much. I can barely . . talk."

My breathing was in large gasps, "But I can try to shift back into bird form. I think I'll die but. Birds have less blood then humans. If I had shifted already, I think . . . I'd be dead."

Carmen shook her(his?) head and said, "Don'y worry about it. We'll try and find someone who's willing to help."

I nodded and Carmen lifted me back onto Shade. The painwas so much that I blacked out momenarily, but fought to stay awake again. Those few metres to the hosptial looked like ages.


*HEY someone wanted to bring in a non0shifter, didn't they? his may be the perfect time. I think . . .*

**Light_Devil, TN already brought in her nonshifter character.**

Jason

He didn't feel at all good about letting Carmen go. What if something happened? He tried to calm himself down, taking deep, soothing breaths. What could possibly go wrong? They're going to the same place we are, if a lot faster, and we'll meet them there for sure.

Jason nodded to himself, having imposed calm feelings upon himself. Everything was going to be just fine. After all, what was the worst that could happen? The hyena's were on the other side of them.

At least, he hoped so.

Peter and Liz

They trudged through the woods on their way to the city, hyenas and squirrel in tow. "How far to the city?" Liz growled to Peter. She was still sore about not having been able to finish her fight with Shade, and she could see that Peter felt the same way about the interruption of his fight with that ocelot boy.

"Does it really matter?" Peter said back, "We'll get there when we get there."

Liz held up a hand for silence. There were voices up ahead. Her eyes narrowed, a smile spreading across her face. Otter girl, Shade, and someone else. Looking through the trees, she saw it was one of the birds, though not Damien. He still hadn't showed up. She hit the call button again, sending a light shock to him.

Then she stepped out of the trees, a beatific smile on her face. Shade growled and stepped between her and Carmen and Ballow. Liz held up her hands, still smiling, "Now Shade, I'd be happy if we could put those things behind us for the time being." She said, hoping Carmen would stop him if it came to the crunch, "No doubt you're taking this poor thing to the hospital. They don't have the adequate facilities to treat him, you know that. Harper Veterinary Technologies, on the other hand, does have that technology at its disposal." She paused, "I'm asking you to think about what's best for Ballow, here."

(Light_Devil, Carmen is a girl, by the way. )
Carmen-

I was propping up Ballow, who had just passed out again. Shade was between us and the hyenas. The woman smiled in a way that sent shivers through me. But all I could think of was whether Jason was safe. Did they already capture the others?

Ballow was beginning to get heavy, but I tried to not let it show. It was an unnerving feeling, though, knowing that if I had to shift, I would still have an un concious body to tend to. And in otter form, there is no way I could carry him.

"I'm asking you to think about what's best for Ballow, here," she said. There was a uncomfortable silence. I stared at the back of Shade's head, but I had no idea what he was thinking. I would probably take his lead, but what would he decide? Could we trust these people? Do we have a choice?

***It's alive!!!!! Sweet!!!! Ok, so I really never got my answer about PIppa being able to talk to animals. Where are Trent and Pippa by the way?***

*Sweet! This is an interesting part to come back in. And TN Trent, Pippa, Heather, Jason, and anyone who's with them are still in the woods heading towards town where they plan to meet up with Shade, Ballow, Carmen.*

Shade-

Trapped! The cat hated feeling trapped. Grimacing, Shade ran his fingers through his hair. "You're right. The hospital isn't likely to be able to treat. He's caught mid-shift, for starters they would have no clue what their drugs would do to his system. They wouldn't know where to start."

Liz let her eerie smile widen into a triumphant grin. "Good. Since you see it our way, then we'll..." She broke off as Shade snarled, his icy blue-green eyes changing to cat gold.

"Don't mess with me Liz." His voice was guttural, sounding more jaguar then human. "I am just one last step away from losing control. And you know from experience that a shifter in feral rage can't be reasoned with. They attack anything and everything, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you still want to live."

She lost her smile and glared at him. "So what do we do now?"

"It's simple you give Ballow field aid here. Then the rest of my group can take him to a Pride doctor." His eyes gleamed, the gold brightening as he spoke. "Dad is going to kill me." Shade thought. "But a sentinal's first duty is to protect." He took a deep breath and spoke the damning words, and in return for you letting them go, I'll go with you willingly."

Liz's eyes widened in surprise, behind her Peter's jaw dropped. Carmen squeaked. Before he could change his mind Liz grinned, "Bargain struck. We can treat him right now, I guess you should say your good byes."

Shade nodded curtly, before turning and pulling Carmen out of earshot. Before she could start yelling at him he cut her off. "Don't say it. I already know what I just did looked crazy. Sure as hell felt crazy. But I am a Pride Sentinal Carmen. It's what I do, who I am. A Sentinal's first duty is to protect, even if it means throwing away your own life."

"But Shade." She whispered, practically in tears.

"Don't worry about me. Take Ballow back to others, once you've hooked up again, use this." He pulled his cell phone out of a back pocket. It had been specially designed to stay with him even when shifted. "Press one on speed dial. It'll contact my dad. The Leo will be able to give you directions to a nearby Pride Doctor. From there the Pride can give you safe passage to Tennessee, or wherever it is you guys want to go."

"Alright, enough sappy goodbyes." Liz interupted, alright girl you can take the bird boy and go, we won't follow."

Carmen glared at Liz and Peter before going over to Ballow, he was bandaged up, and it looked like he had already stopped bleeding, the bandages must have been made with a special cloth or something. Half supporting him she started back toward the others. Just before they topped a hill to reenter the forest she risked a glance back and stifled a gasp. Shade was lying on the ground unconscious.