She liked to think she was normal, clothed in feathers as black as night and as long as a human was tall. They rattled as she angled her wings slightly and caught the wind, throwing her backward as she began circling. Swinging wide slowly and lazily, cocking her head and listening. Everything was alive, from the deer nibbling on the grass to the tiny fleas leaping along their pelts. She could hear it all, see it all. Her amber eyes orbited in a flitting motion, jumping from one point to another rapidly.
It wasn’t until she spotted them that she dropped her right wing, veering and then folding both wings close to her sides, dropping like a missile, straight towards the trees. In midair, she began to change. The black receding quickly, skin rolling, bones thickening and reshaping themselves. As grotesque as it was, it was spectacular, where one moment a black bird the size of a train car plummeted towards the Earth, the next moment, a woman with long black hair and dark amber eyes free fell. The only similarity between the two was the vast wingspan furled in tight to her body.
A grin pulled back the corners of her lips and she let out a loud cry, the sharp screech of a bird of prey echoed back on her moments before she unfurled her wings, catching herself with a loud snapping of her bones as she hovered a few feet above the tree tops. Exhilaration took her breath away and she sucked in a lung full of air before dipping beneath the cover of the tree canopy and descending to the ground.
The moment her boots touched the heavily thicketed ground, she was pulling her wings close to her back, walking towards her companions. There were three of them, two men and one woman, all of which appeared to appraise her with slight exasperation.
The first to reach her was Djin, a tall, broad-shouldered bear of a man with a shadow of a beard and blue eyes that were as gentle as he was intimidating. With him came the smell of evergreen trees and aftershave.
Just behind him walked Fleur, though her stride had enough feline grace, even in the heavy foliage, to be called a saunter. Her heavily lashed brown eyes were narrowed in annoyance as she shoved a hand through her thick golden curls, sweeping them off a sweat glistened brow. Of the three, Fleur gave off the most distasteful vibes.
And of the three, the last, Zanzibarr, gave off the strangest. Where he seemed lanky and boy-like, there was a slyness promised in the dark recesses of his eyes and the quickness of his movements. A smile that never quite reached his eyes adorned his clean shaven face, right below a crooked nose which had been broken one too many times.
Ule, well, she was Ule, bouncing over to them on light bones and practically vibrating with her excitement. Avoiding Djin’s hair ruffle, she ducked towards Zanzibarr. “We’re almost there.”
Fleur let out a low growl, flicking her hair back again. “See, I told you.”
Ule’s expression soured and she snapped her mouth closed. In her excitement at returning home, she’d forgotten that the reason she’d even taken to the air was because Fleur had caught the scent of the facility.
Djin chuckled deeply and managed to ruffle Ule’s black hair before she could slip away a second time. He said, “Then let’s get moving.”
It didn’t take long for the four to reach the compound situated in a large valley tucked against rolling hills covered in waxy-needled trees. Shut away from the world, the structure was two stories, made of a dark stone that attracted the heat of the sun to the garden of solar panels adorning the roof.
They weren’t greeted, nor did they run into anyone as they entered the building. The lights flickered on at their presence and without so much as a word, the four went their own ways. The compound was big enough that there were enough places to stay out of sight.
Ule and Djin eventually carried their heavy canvas bags towards an airy room that turned into a kitchen once they turned through a side door. A middle-aged woman smiled at their arrival and took the bags from them, talking to herself about apples and carrots and all the things she could make now. On the counter were the canvas bags Zanzibarr and Fleur had already deposited.
Djin whistled low. “They’re always here before us.”
“Sucking up to the cook to get the best food, you know Zanzibarr always gets hot meals,” Ule said.
A bearish rumble came from his chest and he smiled at her as they headed towards the commons. It was the nicest place in the compound, set right in the middle, an eastern corridor leading off to the restricted area, the western to the housing section. The ceilings were vaulted to the two story height, completely made from glass, letting the watery spring sunlight into a circular room with plants covering every space against the walls. Heavily cushions chairs were set haphazardly around a small fountain at the center of the room. There were a few people lounging around, most reading, though one or two were more than likely asleep. nobody acknowledged their entry or their exit as they keyed their way into the eastern section.
“Your Naparnik is giving me whiplash with her mood swings,” Ule said as the door shut with a sucking sound behind them, beeping as it relocked.
Naparnik meant partner in Russian and it was termed in a way that was more like, blood-brethren and was used only for combat pairs who had spent years together, building a bond that rival family ties.
“Fleur’s just an acquired taste,” He said, shrugging. “She just doesn’t like how you treat your abilities. It’s just how she is, we’ve been here a long time.”
“How do I treat my abilities?” Ule raised a brow.
“I don’t want to say carelessly, but—carelessly,”
They turned a corner, coming face to face with the aforementioned woman. Without a doubt, she had been waiting for them. Djin had scented her before they’d even entered the restricted area, but since Fleur had been quiet enough and Ule wasn’t listening for her, she’d jumped slightly in surprise.
“Ope!” Ule squeaked and took a half step back.
Fleur made a clicking sound with her tongue and pierced Ule with her slanted pupils. “Yes, careless describes you perfectly,” She looked a bit more hostile than usual. “Skin-changing isn’t some magical gift. It’s a serious and dangerous ability that can get people killed.”
“Well, luckily we aren’t exactly people, now are we?” Ule replied.
Fleur snarled, baring her teeth in a fashion reflecting the lioness she was and fisted her hands hard enough to dig half moons in her palms. “You’re too arrogant for your own good,”
“What the hell could go wrong?” Ule wanted to throw her hands up in annoyance, but stuck them on her hips and leaned forwards. “Nobody will see me, we’re in the middle of nowhere. I’m perfectly capable of controlling my changes and I have never gotten into trouble with Zanzibarr. You’re the only one that seems to have a problem with me.”
“Ule,” Djin said warningly.
The older woman gave her Naparnik a look that was almost as scathing as the one she’d given to Ule. “Stay out of this, Djin.”
“Why’re you like this?” Ule demanded, “I’ve been here for months and you’re always finding faults with everything I do. First, it was the way I talked, then it was the fact I was Avian, then it was that I was taking too much of Djin’s time, and now it’s that I’m careless?”
“That’s the thing, isn’t it,” Fleur lowered her voice, looking completely demure. “Living here a few months means you know nothing of the years before. This isn’t fun and games just because you’ve arrived here in a peaceful period. There’s always a calm before the storm and it’s been quiet here too long.”
Ule opened her mouth to retort but Fleur just shook her head, walking past them towards the exit. Djin watched her leave, feeling a heaviness in the pit of his stomach.
“Argh,” Ule sputtered, finally throwing her hands up. “Sometimes she makes me so—so—“
“Grumpy? Angry? Speechless?” Djin offered as he reached over to ruffle her long black hair while she was distracted.
Ule let out a squawk and batted his hand away. “No, she makes me feel like a stupid kid. She’s always patronizing me.”
“Heaven forbid someone treats the child, like a child,”
“I’m not that much younger than you.”
“Sure, kiddo, whatever you say.”
The air was heavy with rain when the lights flickered on as Ule rubbed her eyes, plodding down the hallway towards the green-room. It hadn’t started storming yet, but there were the unmistakable pressure and the far-off rumblings of thunder. Midnight had already passed and Ule had found herself awoken by a funny feeling in the canals of her ears. Sometimes they ached when the weather got like this, but it wasn’t only that.
There.
A sound that didn’t belong. Ule tensed, the hairs raising on the back of her neck and her palms growing clammy. Even though her sense of smell wasn't nearly as sharp as Djin’s or Fleur’s, she knew that smell.
Blood. And a lot of it.
Ule ran down the hall, her steps light and silent even as she stumbled, sliding around the final corner and throwing open the double doors into the circular green-room. The source was there. A fluid smelling like gleaming copper pennies only to be the beautiful color of roses. Amidst a churning stomach, Ule stepped around the chair, faced with a stare that looked nowhere.
His eyes were already dulled, skin pale and body in a puddle of his own life-liquid. It was Otto, a young Capybara Skin-changer that was from Australia and spoke with a heavy accent. Ule hadn’t known him well, but he was dead, and it made her both glad and sad that she hadn’t. She was of the mind to stay with him except a shattering drew her attention. The doors to the restricted section were ajar, the hall beyond illuminated by the motion-activated lights.
It hit her then. The killer was still here. They must be after something in Zanzibarr’s personal labs. All reason went out the window, any thought of calling for help vanished in a puff if smoke. Ule kept her center of gravity low, moving quickly and swiftly as she followed the trail of lights. Many branching corridors were dark and silent, so she ignored them and turned the next corner, heart sinking.
A second victim sat propped against the wall, head lolled forward, hands limp in his lap. Rushing to his side, the first thing she heard was a faint beating of his heart. It was nothing more than a fluttering, but it was something. It was one of the men that worked with Zanzibarr and she’d only seen him around a couple of times, but from her limited knowledge, he was Zanzibarr’s Naparnik. This time, logic caught up with her as his heart sputtered. He wouldn’t survive without someone’s help.
Throwing her head back, a feral eagle screech ripping from her vocal chords while wings sprouted from her back, barely missing the straps of her racerback sports shirt.
Following her alarm cry was a cacophony of movement. From the direction she’d come, people roused, someone shouted, another rolled over and promptly went back to sleep. All that mattered was that she heard both Zanzibarr and Djin following her scent, so she left the injured—still living man—against the wall and bolted down the telltale trail of both light and sound.
There. She thought, tilting her head as she reached the three doors that each led to Zanzibarr’s private rooms. Each had lights flooding them with bright white, but only one was currently occupied. It was the right door and Ule simultaneously grasped the handle, threw it open and leaped through.
Her eyes processed the scene much faster than her head and her body came to a jarring halt, wings half-way extended, brushing the walls, talons piercing through the tips of her fingers.
“Always acting without thinking,” the voice didn’t sound anything but slightly annoyed, as if it was simply griping about her transforming like it normally was. “Always ending up underfoot.”
The brown eyes of Fleur were dark, her pupil slanted as her change began. Her golden hair rippled, seeming to meld to her neck and shoulders like a lions mane. The muscles covering her entire frame started to bubble and grow, pressing into the skin until her veins looked like mountains. Razor sharp claws grew from her hands, black and curved like thorns.
Elongated canines pressed against her lower lip as she bared them at Ule. What happened next seemed to happen too fast. The lion Skin-changer flew at Ule, then dropped below her wing and darted out the door. Ule barely blinked and she was alone in the room with thundering footfalls outside. Ule spun to chase after the woman, her mind trying to organize what was happening. Fleur was betraying them. Not only that, she was betraying her Naparnik. Djin.
That was exactly who Ule slammed into as she followed her ears. His arms caught her awkwardly as her wings flapped, trying to catch her balance. “Ule?”
Her head spun as she tried to come up with something to say, finally spitting out. “Did Zan find—“
“Lou’s okay, Zan and Marsik are taking him to the infirmary, but Otto…” he trailed off, looking.
Ule knew without him having to say. Otto had no heartbeat when she’d found him. Though she hadn’t known him well, Djin had, and the sadness in his gentle blue eyes made her heart ache in turn.
“It’s Fleur.” She said stiffly.
The expression that overtook Djin’s face confused her and she furrowed her brow. “You knew?”
“Now I do. I can smell her. On everything, on Otto and Lou. I don’t know what she’s doing. How the hell could I know that?”
“She’s not accusing you,” Zanzibarr’s calm voice was unnerving in the current situation, but that was how he was. “Now, if Fleur’s already gone, then the only thing to do if figure out what she was doing. She’s never been a spontaneous kind of person and I’ve known her for a long time.”
“Why aren’t you freaking out? Aren’t you shocked? This is Fleur we are talking about! I mean, sure she’s pissy and as straight-laced as a ruler, but—she killed someone, and tried to kill someone else,” Ule’s too-large amber eyes were wide in her face, making her appear more like an owl than an eagle-hybrid.
“I’m got an inkling I know why she’s doing this, but by this, I’m not so sure what it is she has actually done,” Other than kill… Zanzibarr didn’t say it, but they knew he thought it.
While Djin stared at the ground, like a little-lost boy, Zanzibarr pushed the door to his office open with a high pitched creak. Seeming to know where to go, he stopped by a picture frame leaning a bit too far to one side. Carefully pulling one corner it opened on two hinges. The dial on the safe wasn’t where he’d left it, sitting over the 20 instead of the 0 and he knew they were gone.
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