Shifting Read online

  "Fine."

  He slumped, nodding, and carefully entered the cave. He set his pack aside and scooped up the rest of the wood he had gathered before to start the fire, feeding it lightly to get it going again.

  The man watched him carefully, making a show of moving back from the fire.

  He felt unaccountably guilty suddenly. "I am sorry. I am just so cold."

  The man's eyebrows twitched. "Die cold?"

  "I just need the fire to warm me. I am sorry if it bothers you." He warmed his hands over the small blaze, feeling his teeth stop chattering. His stomach rumbled again, loud in the quiet that snow always brought to the world.

  "Take off your clothes."

  He stared. "I beg your pardon?"

  "They're wet." The man looked at him like he was an idiot. "They make you cold."

  "Yes, well I cannot simply assume a thick fur coat at will. Without them I would be even colder." He sounded ridiculous, he knew, formal and stuffy, like he was in his father's drawing room. But he was cold and tired and hungry and miserable and his only company was this magical being who might well be a figment of his fevered imagination.

  "Skin is warmer than wet clothes." The man glared at him for a moment. "You may lie with me. I will warm you."

  "Oh." He tried very hard not to blush. And not to notice what the man who was also a cat looked like, which he suddenly seemed very interested in. How utterly stupid he was being. He would be warmer that way.

  Anneal stripped off his clothes, laying them out by the fire to dry, but not close enough to burn. Then he paused, looking at his reluctant rescuer.

  He thought the man rolled his eyes, though he couldn't be sure and then the man was shimmering, shifting, disappearing beneath the costume of a cat.

  A great big dangerous, albeit warm looking, cat.

  He was supposed to lie with that?

  Gingerly, he scooted close, closer, until they were touching. Oh, the warmth! Lovely.

  The cat gave a growl that he would swear was long suffering and then the beast rolled closer, almost curling around him.

  He ignored the rumble in his belly and sank into that amazing heat, letting it soothe him once more into sleep.

  ***

  Purring. Warm. Not warm. Hot.

  Smells. Fire and Man.

  Belongs here man. Hot. Good.

  Feris shifted into man form and sat up quickly, pulling away from the man.

  Belongs here man? No. The man did not belong here, no matter how familiar the scent was growing. That was it. The man's scent was familiar, non-threatening.

  The fire and extra body heat were making it hot for him as himself here. The man would go soon and take the fire with him.

  He crawled to the edge of the cave and pissed outside, marking the white snow with yellow.

  His cave.

  It was still snowing. Late day. Hunting would be poor, it was good he had a bellyful.

  Behind him the man muttered, shifting, waking. Movement, and the fire got bright. "Is it still snowing?"

  He turned and walked back to crouch in his place, away from the fire. "Yes. Winter is early this year. I did not feel it coming so soon, but now I think it will not stop for hunting. It is here."

  "Oh." The man was quiet for a long time, then got up and went out, coming back shivering and blue a few moments later, reaching for his clothing.

  Once he was dressed, the man got his pack, digging in it and coming out with a skin wrapped packet, meat smell strong. Dried meat. A flat piece of bread joined the meat, and the man ate slowly.

  Men were strange.

  Dried meat.

  He shook his head and watched, not shifting back to himself, the man seemed more comfortable with man him than himself.

  Once the man ate, he took a cup and went back to the door of the cave, carefully avoiding the snow right in front. The cup was filled up and put next to the fire. He measured out a batch of dark, dried leaves, ones that smelled sharp and sweet.

  The man did not speak the whole time, until suddenly the man looked right at him. "Do you have a name?"

  "Ferrrris."

  "Feris. Very well. I am Anneal."

  "An neal." The name sounded strange in his mouth.

  Not that it mattered. When it stopped snowing the man -- An neal -- would be gone.

  "Yes." An neal looked at him as he stirred the leaves into the melted snow,

  heated by the fire. Then An neal set the cup aside and smiled, looking into his pack again.

  "I thought I still had... yes. There they are." An neal opened a bag, the scent making his nose twitch. "Here," An neal said, holding out a small, yellow pebble. "Would you like a lemon candy?"

  He looked and sniffed suspiciously. The "lemon candy" looked like hardened piss, but it smelled... tangy and sweet.

  He reached out and took it from An neal, bringing it to his nose and sniffing more.

  "Like this." Anneal took one as well, putting it in his mouth and sucking on it.

  Well he supposed if An neal would put it in his mouth, it was not piss.

  He carefully put it on his tongue.

  He growled, startled, as flavor exploded across his mouth. Sweet! Tart! Good!

  He sucked like An neal did, rumbling as the flavor continued to come.

  An neal smiled. "You like it?"

  He purred, nodded. "Good."

  "Yes." The man, An neal, was silent again, seeming easier with him, sipping at his leaves.

  "There are more men south," he told An neal, feeling generous. "You should go that way when the snow stops."

  The hand not holding the cup went to An neal's face, touching the black and red marks upon his cheeks. "Yes. I suppose I should." An neal did not look at him, eyes carefully lowered. He growled, the scent of untruth in the air. "You needn't worry. As soon as the snow lets up enough to see well I will leave you alone."

  "Winter is early. You will have to hurry."

  The man was not so bad, the scent becoming familiar already, non-threatening.

  "I know." An neal sounded sad again. What a very strange man.

  He growled. He did not understand men, they made his head hurt.

  It was easier being himself.

  He shifted back.

  Man scent. Sweet tangy taste. All good. No threat.

  ~Chapter Two~

  Three days later, the snow had not stopped. Anneal was starving, having hoped he would have time to put away food for the winter, thus having little in reserve. He tried very hard not to bother his host, but he could tell his presence grated, as did the constant rumble of his belly.

  Anneal had never considered himself weak, after all of the things he'd been through, but he was beginning to feel apathy stealing through him. What sort of man was he if he could not survive his first true winter on his own?

  He could not even find his own place to stay, sharing space with this man-cat, a magical creature to be sure, who obviously did not want him there, and was he not a thoroughly pathetic example of a puling infant?

  He looked out at the still falling snow, light and fluffy and depressing. It was time he took determined steps to get out of there. Even if it killed him.

  His bag took only moments to pack, and he wrapped old pieces of skin about his feet and legs. He would go while Feris, his host, slept. No doubt the big cat would not miss him at all.

  The heavy sleeping breathing changed and he glanced back to see one golden eye looking at him. The cat growled, as if in warning.

  "I am sorry I woke you." His voice sounded very formal to his own ears, and very small.

  The cat growled again, rolling up onto his paws and stretching with a huge yawn.

  Casually, the big cat walked to the mouth of the cave, blocking his entrance.

  He stared. He could neither help it, nor hide his surprise. "Surely the thought of my leaving makes you glad."

  The cat looked back out at the snow still falling and then back at him, face implacable.

  Un
used to feeling like a scolded child, Anneal strode purposefully toward the mouth of the cave. "Yes, I am well aware it is still snowing but I am out of food and I can keep myself company as well as you do."

  A chuffing noise came from the beast, its tongue lolling out of its open mouth. It made no attempt to move out of his way.

  The damned cat was laughing at him. Somehow, that just suited the entire situation.

  Still, he had been wallowing in his own defeat for three days. It was time he reclaimed the Anneal he was accustomed to being. Time to storm the gates. "Your concern is duly noted. Now, if you would kindly get out of my way."

  The cat morphed into the man. "Don't be stupid."

  The words were rough, as if the voice were unused to speaking. Or perhaps the words were unwelcome in the man's mouth.

  "Why not? It is the one thing that continually defines me, my stupidity. I've quite grown used to it."

  And the man was more intimidating than the cat, if for no other reason than he was completely nude.

  "You'd rather go out in that than take what was offered? Bah. Fine. Go." The man stood aside, glowering at him.

  Sighing once more, Anneal held out his hands in appeal and appeasement. "It is not that I do not appreciate what you have done for me. I do, truly."

  He did. He simply could not think of the next thing to do, so the logical thing seemed to be leaving.

  The man continued to glower, not looking at him, merely radiating anger, perhaps dislike. A moment later the man morphed, the cat again appearing and blocking his way.

  The big head tossed and a low growl sounded.

  His stomach rumbled, and it was all he could do not to simply sit down and cry. So much for priding himself on being capable and strong.

  The cat nudged him, bumping his hip with the big head and sending him down in a heap. One big paw rested on him and the cat gave a short roar. Feris morphed for a half-second, the word "stay" lingering in the air as the cat took off.

  Well certainly. What else was he to do with a broken back? Which was a terrible exaggeration, but he rubbed his hip and shoulder, staring out into the snow after the damned cat.

  Some moments later Feris came back, a hank of half-frozen meat hanging from the great maw.

  It was dumped next to him and the cat went and sat in his customary spot, beginning to groom, licking away the blood.

  Blinking, Anneal resisted the urge to eat it raw, which would surely make him sick. Instead he picked it up gingerly, and began preparing it to roast over his tiny fire.

  "I.. thank you."

  The big cat stopped it's grooming a moment to look at him, a soft growl sounding before it went back to its task.

  The meat took only moments to ready, and the smell of it as it roasted made his mouth water. Perhaps if the snow slowed down he could find some root vegetables and buried grasses. Perhaps he would make it through the winter after all. And perhaps sharing space with his enigmatic host would teach him to take what was offered and be grateful.

  ***

  It was early enough that it was too hot in the cave with the fire going for himself, so Feris took to lounging in man-form.

  It made him grumpy. Himself the cat had invited Anneal to stay, he had not.

  The stupid fire smelled of ashes and burning meat and man.

  It made him stay a man and then he was hungry -- the cat's body was made to go long periods without food, the man's was not.

  He had spent most of the last ten days glaring at the man, his frown becoming deeper and more heartfelt with every day that it became clear that winter was going to be long and hard and was here already.

  For his part, the man spent most of the time sleeping. Or keeping the fire going. He did not speak much, after the first day or two.

  "Why are you here?" he asked suddenly, breaking three days of silence.

  The man raised his head from his knees, staring at him with dull grey eyes. "Because you would not let me leave."

  He growled in annoyance.

  "Why aren't you with other men," he clarified. He didn't like talking, his vocal chords unused to the effort of anything other than the guttural purrs and growls of himself.

  "Oh." Resting his head on his knees once more, the man sighed. "Other men do not want me among them any longer. I am a banished one."

  "Banished?" This was something he understood. He tilted his head. What made this one special enough to be banished?

  "Yes." One hand came up, the man touching the red and black marks on those hollow cheeks.

  "Why?"

  "I... I did something against the laws of the men I lived among. Something bad."

  The hackles on his neck raised and he growled. It was not often his instincts were better than himself's, but it seemed this time they were. "What bad?"

  "Must we talk about this?" The man sounded very tired. Very sad.

  "Yes," he growled.

  "I." The man began, but stopped, taking a deep breath. "There was a young girl. I was to marry her. I did something my people find very offensive, and rather than marry me, she... she took her life. Her father was a very important man."

  He frowned. He didn't understand. "You killed her?"

  "No." A hollow laugh echoed in the cave. "They would have killed me for that. She killed herself. But it was my fault, truly. I deserved it."

  "She killed herself instead of marrying you?" Men were stupid. Really, they were.

  "Yes. She said she could not bear it." Small, miserable, the man's voice practically disappeared.

  "What did you do to her that was so offensive?"

  "That is none of your business." Stronger now, at least.

  He growled. His place, his. How could he share with a man who would not trust.

  "Please. I didn't hurt her, or steal from her, or anything like that. And I surely cannot do the same to you, if that is what you are worried about."

  He wished to protest, to growl and bully. Maybe make the man leave.

  Himself growled, shifting.

  Man smell upset. Hurting.

  Go. Head on leg. Purr.

  Not be upset, man.

  Man put hand on his head. "I do not understand you at all, I vow."

  Man not bad. Man safe. Right smell.

  Purr.

  Man stroke.

  Good.

  ***

  Anneal had not been so miserable since he had left the city gates behind, new tattoos still burning upon his cheeks. He was hungry, his limbs felt weak from disuse, and for the last two nights, ever since the man Feris had forced his strange confession, he was plagued by bad dreams.

  Thoroughly pathetic.

  He did not think he would ever understand his mostly feline companion, either. The big cat seemed, if not content, then at least accepting, going so far as to comfort him.

  The man was less content, more suspicious, less patient with him. It was the cat who fed him, who kept him warm, and was a comfort to him when he woke up, flailing and screaming, face throbbing.

  The man simply stared.

  Anneal was not certain which was more disconcerting.

  Right now the cat and the man were both gone, out into the snow, presumably to eat, so he took advantage of it, building up the fire, heating water in the big bowl he hanging from his pack, and stripping down for a much needed bath and shave.

  He was just barely done when Feris returned, the big cat rumbling, nose twitching.

  Feris came over to him, scenting him and then rubbing furry cheeks against first one hip and then the other.

  Which was most terribly disconcerting, as he was through washing, but still unclothed, because his clothes needed airing in the worst possible way. His train of thought still left him avoiding the thought that a large cat was rubbing against him while he was nude, which was simply absurd.

  "What in the world are you doing?" Feris rumbled, sniffing and then rubbing against his thighs. What an odd creature. "I just got clean!"

  Feris' head lifted
the sniffing continuing and then the cat walked around him and rubbed the back of his legs, licked his buttocks, tongue sliding just beneath the swell of his ass.