Shape-Shifter: Tinar and Methiel's Story

The mountains were colder than Tinar had expected, and he was glad Methiel had insisted on him buying a heavy tunic and cloak, even if they did feel confining. At least he wouldn't freeze. It helped that he spent most of the trip entirely fur-covered, that he was doing the bulk of the work of travel to keep himself warm, and had an attractive little Vulpyr cuddled up against his back to keep him even warmer.

His herd would be amazed to see him now. And, he thought, probably disapproving. He was doing as he and the other stallions had planned: going to the peak-bound Shivran Aerd to participate in the Wyld Hunts there, find himself a fierce dragon or two or even three, and bring them home to the herd with him to combat, drive off, and hopefully keep away the humans tormenting them. Even that, which was only a logical thing to do if you wanted freedom from oppression, might have been frowned upon. Leaving the herd for any reason, particularly without consent of the elders, wasn't something young stallions did, not if they intended to return-- but he couldn't just let them be walked on, walked over, and ravaged by these humans. So off he went, with the blessing of only a few of the other young stallions.

Worse, though, would have been his company. Not many of his herd would have been open-minded about Methiel accompanying him, whether she was anything more than a simple ward or not. Shifters of other species were not well-received in Tinar's herd, or the herds near theirs, particularly not the predator kinds. Lycan and Felisian in particular were driven away, and Vulpyr, of which Methial was one, were regarded with suspicion. Tinar, stoic and silent, was more accepting than most. And, since she was more than just a simple ward... well, she might well have been executed on the spot, and Tinar exiled.

But that didn't matter, because Tinar didn't expect that the fox-girl's fascination with him would last as long as he feared it might take to win over a few dragonic protectors for the herd. At the very least, she kept him warm in these chilly mountains, and it was something of a relief to not be completely alone. Tinar had never been away from the herd for more than a day at a time; this trip had, so far, lasted nearly two months. Methiel had joined him after only a couple weeks and ended up sharing blankets with him shortly after. It was a bit of an inconvenience that he had to look fully human when she wanted that kind of attention, but he didn't complain, not since the nights started getting colder.

Now, she was swathed in her own cloak and his, huddled against his back as he picked up way up the mountain trail, between trees that at least blocked most of the wind. Not enough that Tinar could go without that wool tunic Methiel had found for him and paid for out of his traveling coin, but enough that he wasn't shivering, anyway. Methiel was, but he couldn't do much about that; she was already wearing as much as she could be wearing, and he was only in the centaur form, rather than full horse, in order to provide what extra warmth and wind-breaker that his back provided. She was pitifully grateful, of course, but it still wasn't quite enough. Methiel was from as naturally warm a clime as he was.

How he'd ended up with such a delicate traveling companion, he still didn't know. It just seemed like he'd made his way past a town, horse-formed and prepared to skirt anywhere humans might be, accidentally run through the remains of a bandit attack, and then suddenly he'd been latched onto by a frightened fox-girl who didn't let him leave her anywhere safe, insisting on coming with him for as long as she could. They hid well, he masquerading as a real horse when he could, and she as a real human, for Tinar's path took them through human territories, and neither shifter species would be welcome. Besides, though Methiel thought she might be able to make some money for them in human towns-- humans might not want to socialize with shifters, but when a beautiful one offered to dance or pour them a drink, they were suddenly interested-- Tinar simply didn't trust them, so they hid when they could, avoided when they could, and ran when they could not. So far, there hadn't been too much trouble, and neither of them had been hurt or captured.

However, during the past weeks together, they had also learned a fair amount about this Aerd they were en route to. It was inhabited by a wide mix of species, including both humans and shifters, and dragons of course, but also creatures that weren't even native to Mythicalae, gathered for hatchings and the Hunts. It seemed rather dubious to Tinar, but he didn't have anywhere else to go, and he'd come all this way, so he thought he might as well see if this place would be what he hoped. It had to be better than the other Aerds he'd heard of, who only housed Mythicalan dragons who demanded a sacrifice of whoever they chose. With Tinar's luck, that sacrifice would be the very herd he'd come hoping to save.

So this Aerd it was. It couldn't be anything other than an Aerd, either, because none of the herds near his were any more warlike than his own, and certainly weren't going to come to the aid of one against these humans with their strange weapons and tools. The herd had done a good job of alienating other shifter clans and towns near their territory, so they could hope for no help from that quarter, either. There simply were no Wyld packs anywhere near Tinar's home plains, so he couldn't Hunt down any of them that way. No, this Aerd was the best choice.

Heavy hooves plodded up the steep trail, and though cold, the day was clear, and Tinar could see the peak of the pass not far ahead. It gave him strength, seeing the point from which they would finally descend into the supposedly frozen valley of Shivran Aerd, and he broke into a tired trot for the last few body-lengths until he could stand and stare below him at their destination. His breath steamed in the air as he took a moment to recover from the burst of uphill speed after a long morning's travel, and he peered down into the valley.

The Aerd was supposed to be constantly under a blizzard, though Tinar had yet to be fully convinced of this: not only had there been only a few light, airy clouds to pass so far, but it couldn't snow all the time, no matter how high up a place was. It was impossible; not only was it impossible, it was stupid. Who would build a great dragon-city where there was nothing but snow?

Now, though, it seemed that there was at least one storm over the Aerd complex-- a very small, very localized storm. The air around the valley was clear and clean without a whiff of snow, but the air over the clustered buildings and mountain entrances was crowded with clouds that dropped bits of white onto rooftops, streets, and the immediate lawn surrounding the city and dragon-home. Tinar stared down in amazement for a moment before rolling his shoulders to get Methiel's attention.

"Look," he suggested when she mumbled something sleepy and irritable a moment before collecting herself. He twisted just enough to see her peer over his shoulder, her delicate little fox's muzzle twitching with hazy curiosity. Then her mouth fell open with more obvious astonishment.

"Is that the Aerd?" she asked. Her voice was every bit as lovely as her appearance, though more changeable, sometimes high and girlish while at others low and sultry. No matter how she sounded, her voice usually played pleasant little arpeggios along his spine. One more reason to keep her around as long as she was interested, at least. Right now she sounded vague, young, and slightly awed.

At his nod, she fell silent a moment, staring, before she commented, "It looks cold." That startled a chuckle out of him.

"Yes," he agreed simply. "Yes, it does."

"But we will be inside, I guess," she continues. She was worlds more talkative than he was. "So it will be all right. And I'll have you to keep me warm." She gave him a flirty little look, slipping a hand around him to run teasing fingers over his chest, somehow managing to get it under the shirt she had so kindly bargained for, for him. He blushed faintly and pranced embarrassedly in place until she giggled and withdrew, leaning up for just a little kiss on the cheek. "Well, I will."

Then the thought crossed his mind, for the first time, that he and she would be down in that city with not only humans, but a large number of Fleshshifters, like them. Pairings between shifters of different species-- those with different ancestor Archetypes-- was strictly taboo in more than just Tinar's herd. Keeping Methiel warm, as she put it, might well get them both killed. Even if he didn't like the mercurial little Vulpyr, he wouldn't have wished her death-- and since he did, the idea made him shiver so that his furry, horse-body's skin twitched like an anxious or fly-bothered equine.

"Methiel," he began, slowly, trying to piece together how to explain this without hurting her feelings. "Methiel, that... might not be a good idea."

"Whyever not?" she asked, voice bright but mildly confused. At least she hadn't taken offense yet. "You don't think it will actually be hot down in the Aerd buildings, do you? Or maybe in the mountain, I suppose, if it's active or anything. Like, like a volcano! Oh, but that would be frightening, staying in tunnels built into a volcano!"

"I'm sure it isn't a volcano," Tinar assured her, trying to stem the flow of words. She could be downright babbly if she wanted to be, usually a tactic she used to avoid talking about something she didn't want to deal with. "Methiel, most other shifters won't-- be happy. About us. You and me, I mean. Together." He was blushing again.

"Whyever would they?" she asked, less brightly and more petulantly. "We're both adults, consenting adults, aren't we?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Then no one would have any right to complain. It certainly can't be that they simply don't have beds big enough. Why, remember when we heard about Lycans and Ursael staying there? They're often even bigger than you are! And what about married couples, or--"

"But Methiel, that's not--"

She barreled right on, her tone now suspicious, sorrowful, and hurt, all at once. "Unless it's just that you don't want me anymore. Maybe I'm boring you-- I don't make you happy, and now that there's a whole dragon-city down there you want to find someone new. That's it, isn't it?"

"No, no, of course not," he tried to reassure her, a little startled now by that particular dig, wishing he could see her, instead of this awkward face-to-back conversation. "Methiel, that's not it at all."

"Then what?" she demanded, and for once let him answer her without flooding him with words. He tried to take advantage of the opening, trying to sound earnest but still sympathetic, while hurrying his own words out as quickly as he could form them up. Unfortunately, speaking and debating were not his better abilities; in fact, they were rather his worst, so he didn't know how well he did at what he tried. At least she heard him out.

"Most Fleshshifters, if you didn't know, don't like seeing couples, like us, between different Archetypal species. Equis and Vulpyr, it doesn't work for them, you see? If the shifters down there found out, I don't know what they'd do to us." He let out a gusty breath, running a hand through his messy, feathery hair. That was more than he usually ever spoke at once. "I just don't want to see you hurt. That's all."

For a long moment, Methiel was silent. Tinar stared fixedly down at the Aerd-- it was bigger than he had expected it to be, he noted absently-- while he waited for her answer. It came, finally, small and anxious: "But I'll miss you."

Another sigh, this one of some relief. She'd given in. He felt her arms slide around him from behind, hugging him as best as she could from where they each were, and he rested his large hands over her tiny ones. "I'll miss you, too," he admitted, and was mildly surprised to find it was true. "But we'll see each other."

"Maybe I can steal you out here, away from other people, once in a while."

He smiled some. "Maybe."

"Then... then maybe it will be all right."

"It will," he promised, and started down the path with her, towards the dragon-home, Shivran Aerd.