small piece of machinery he held in his hand and waved it toward the collar. She heard an audible click, and the golden collar dropped from her neck and fell to the ground.
She was free.
*****
Hart saw Katara’s skin begin to ripple, and he hastily shifted himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her to keep her word. Not exactly. But it had been several days since she’d had meat, and he didn’t want her to be tempted.
The outline of her body blurred. A second later, her torn clothing fell to the ground, and she stood in front of him on four paws. He looked down at her, surprised by how small she was. He’d always thought of the Claw as gigantic, huge, muscular creatures armed with enormous teeth, but she was dwarfed by his animal form.
Unlike his people, all of whom assumed a similar deer form, the Claw Kindred assumed the forms of various feline species. Her form was a leopard, one of the smallest of the great cats. Despite the obvious strength of the muscles rolling smoothly beneath her hide, she was nowhere near as large as a tiger or lion. In fact, she looked almost dainty, and strangely… beautiful.
Programmed by instinct as he was to dislike the Claw, he’d never before thought of one as beautiful. But he was surprised to realize that Katara was as lovely in her animal form as she was as a human. Her fur, more golden than his, glistened in the moonlight, and the black spots would help her blend into the shadows of night that mottled the forest. Despite her total physical transformation, her eyes looked much the same as they did in her human form, large and green-gold.
She turned from him and began to glide noiselessly through the forest, and he followed, mesmerized by the sheer lithe grace of her motion, the play of powerful muscles beneath her sleek hide . He was surprised to realize he’d never admired a woman in her animal form so greatly as he admired Katara in her leopard form.
No doe among his own people had ever attracted him as strongly as this feline did.
He trotted through the woods behind her, his hoofs almost as quiet on the carpet of leaves as her padded feet were. She seemed to know where she was going. At least he hoped she wasn’t leading him to Claw territory so her Pride could pull him down and break their fast with him. He shoved the thought away impatiently, aware that he was going to have to trust her if they were to work together.
They jogged through the darkness for hours, their path lit only by moonbeams and the glimmer of the stars through the canopy of trees. Hart began to recognize his surroundings, though he had not come this way often. They were still in neutral territory, but perilously close to both Claw and Fang lands. His people rarely ventured this far from their own territory.
The greater moon rose, then began to fall again. As the moons set and the faint light of dawn approached, Katara leapt lightly into a tree and looked down at him.
He understood the wordless message. She was going to hunt.
Revolted, he trotted on without her, pausing every so often to nibble at leaves. He supposed she really needed meat, especially in her cat form, but he didn’t want to be an accessory to the killing of animals. The thought disgusted him, reminding him that although she looked as human as his own people did, she was very different. His people never killed, for any reason.
He browsed as the light grew stronger, and eventually she appeared, licking her lips, a satisfied expression in her eyes.
He looked at her for a moment, then decided he might as well discover if he could trust her now as later. Besides, since she’d just eaten, this was probably the safest time to test her. He shifted to his human form.
“We need to find a safe place to rest,” he said.
Green-gold eyes regarded him thoughtfully. Then she shifted, and the same eyes gazed back at him from a human
She was free.
*****
Hart saw Katara’s skin begin to ripple, and he hastily shifted himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her to keep her word. Not exactly. But it had been several days since she’d had meat, and he didn’t want her to be tempted.
The outline of her body blurred. A second later, her torn clothing fell to the ground, and she stood in front of him on four paws. He looked down at her, surprised by how small she was. He’d always thought of the Claw as gigantic, huge, muscular creatures armed with enormous teeth, but she was dwarfed by his animal form.
Unlike his people, all of whom assumed a similar deer form, the Claw Kindred assumed the forms of various feline species. Her form was a leopard, one of the smallest of the great cats. Despite the obvious strength of the muscles rolling smoothly beneath her hide, she was nowhere near as large as a tiger or lion. In fact, she looked almost dainty, and strangely… beautiful.
Programmed by instinct as he was to dislike the Claw, he’d never before thought of one as beautiful. But he was surprised to realize that Katara was as lovely in her animal form as she was as a human. Her fur, more golden than his, glistened in the moonlight, and the black spots would help her blend into the shadows of night that mottled the forest. Despite her total physical transformation, her eyes looked much the same as they did in her human form, large and green-gold.
She turned from him and began to glide noiselessly through the forest, and he followed, mesmerized by the sheer lithe grace of her motion, the play of powerful muscles beneath her sleek hide . He was surprised to realize he’d never admired a woman in her animal form so greatly as he admired Katara in her leopard form.
No doe among his own people had ever attracted him as strongly as this feline did.
He trotted through the woods behind her, his hoofs almost as quiet on the carpet of leaves as her padded feet were. She seemed to know where she was going. At least he hoped she wasn’t leading him to Claw territory so her Pride could pull him down and break their fast with him. He shoved the thought away impatiently, aware that he was going to have to trust her if they were to work together.
They jogged through the darkness for hours, their path lit only by moonbeams and the glimmer of the stars through the canopy of trees. Hart began to recognize his surroundings, though he had not come this way often. They were still in neutral territory, but perilously close to both Claw and Fang lands. His people rarely ventured this far from their own territory.
The greater moon rose, then began to fall again. As the moons set and the faint light of dawn approached, Katara leapt lightly into a tree and looked down at him.
He understood the wordless message. She was going to hunt.
Revolted, he trotted on without her, pausing every so often to nibble at leaves. He supposed she really needed meat, especially in her cat form, but he didn’t want to be an accessory to the killing of animals. The thought disgusted him, reminding him that although she looked as human as his own people did, she was very different. His people never killed, for any reason.
He browsed as the light grew stronger, and eventually she appeared, licking her lips, a satisfied expression in her eyes.
He looked at her for a moment, then decided he might as well discover if he could trust her now as later. Besides, since she’d just eaten, this was probably the safest time to test her. He shifted to his human form.
“We need to find a safe place to rest,” he said.
Green-gold eyes regarded him thoughtfully. Then she shifted, and the same eyes gazed back at him from a human
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