Run, Don't Look Back (Open to All)

[Adelaide Bernadette]

The beast ran through the forest, dirt pounding against its massive paws. Poachers had noticed movement of a large creature and quickly followed, causing the large cat-like animal to run. She couldn't be seen as such, her type was extinct! If a human, or anything else, saw her large appearance, they'd want her caged and bred to continue the past over again.

That could not happen. Ever.

Her paws pounded harder into the dirt, her oversized body pushed past trees and shrubs. She had to hide, she needed to change back.

Then what? They'd see a potential naked woman and more than likely would want to take their way with her. The beast narrowed its eyes and kept running. The back pack was hidden somewhere around here, she knew it. If only to find it now.

Every scent lingered together, making her search harder than necessary. Growling in frustration, it knew the time limit it was given before someone would catch up with her, striking her with their deadly arrows. She pushed harder, leaping over a small stream and pounded harder against the ground, dirt flying up under her paws behind her. Why would anyone want to hunt her kind anyways? Sure, she was one of the top predators from the Ice Age era, but she meant no harm. All she did was try and get some water.

Stupid humans assuming she would attack.

Whipping to the side, she ran to her left, catching the scent of her small hidden bag. Fur pushed within her body, slowly revealing after time a woman, young, beautiful, bright, running through the woods nude and then diving into a large stream and swimming into a small hole underneath a fallen tree.

Listening, she heard the men run past as a smirk played over her lips while she sneaked out and slipped her clothing on. Her town wasn't far from the small village, and her suzuki was resting, awaiting her presence. Turning on her heel, the elder shape shifter hurried to her natural surroundings, her home away from home.

Her eyes glowed bright, revealing the dangerous feline within her as she slipped past the men with ease and hurried to her motorcycle.

[Craig Jamerson]

Craig ambled down the quiet side street. He'd come to Canada on a business trip as an assistant to the high-ranking members of the corporation, being the foremost scientist in his department. The presentation had gone well and his informative input had won over the board he'd been brought to sway. The deal was going to happen and Craig was going to be promoted to some fancy position managing the two research and development departments and he was suddenly the hero of the hour.

"Well fuck 'em." He cursed and spat. He wasn't a big fan of all these corporate politicians and bigshots and he continued to see himself pushed further into the myriad of documents and shady letters with fine print. All he wanted was to continue researching in his lab, not run some Canadian firm while running his own. It was going to be that much harder for Craig to find time to do independent research now and he was not a fan of that.

Craig was whistling a slow, sad tune when suddenly a naked, blue-haired girl jumped out of the brush and into his path. An attractive one, no less. He was taken aback by the sight and wondered if she was in a Canadian sorority or something. "Can I help you?" he said to the girl as she seemed to look frantically around for something. He pulled off his warm, grey wool coat, realizing she must be damned cold and tossed it to her while he had her attention. It was way too cold out here for someone to be naked. "Let me take you somewhere. Do you have family near here?" he asked, trying to be helpful.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

She seemed startled, looking towards the strange male that seemed to come out of no where. Looking towards him, she looked him over slightly. It looked almost as if he belonged to a large corporation of some sort, not here near the wild. She tilted her head to the side, noticing his lack of words. Probably from her lack of clothing, no less. Finally, the brave man spoke. He definitely didn't sound Canadian, but then again, nether did she.

"Can I help you?" She watched as he tossed her a large grey sweatshirt; she could tell it was warm. With her already heated skin, she'd roast in it, but to make sure the man didn't think of her in any other way other than human, she took it nonetheless and slipped it on, covering her small nude body.

"Thanks stranger." Her thick German accent could be heard through her simple statement. She looked to the side, hearing men running past in the distance. They weren't too far from where they were now. She wouldn't be too surprised if the generous man in front of her could hear them too. They caused quite a commotion, and were getting closer. She needed her bag, and it was in eyesight. Smiling at the male, she quickly made her way to the hidden bag and pulled it out.

"Let me take you somewhere. Do you have family near here?" Turning her head, her blue hair whipped behind her as she flashed the man a grin, careful to keep her canines hidden behind her lips.

"No, I don't have family about here. And besides, I don't even know your name." She hid herself behind a tree, unashamed of her body but unsure of how the male would react to her sudden changing. She pulled her bag with her and changed into her loose baggy sweats and tight black tank top. Parts of her tattoos were exposed, but she cared not. She was quite proud of them, and loved to show them off. Walking back from behind the tree, she handed the man his sweatshirt. His offer was sweet, but she'd die of heat if she wore it any longer.

[Craig Jamerson]

Craig accepted the clothing back from her and balled it up under his arm, thinking it would be a bit odd to wear something a naked girl he didn't know had just been in. "I, um..." He stuttered at the female in front of him before forcing himself to speak straight. "I'm Craig," he introduced himself, hand outstretched in formal greeting. "You're German?" he asked curiously. "That's interesting considering the sta--"

Craig was abruptly interrupted by the loud report of gunfire coming from the forests. His face contorted into an expression of confusion. "I thought guns were illegal in Canada. Are they not?" He expressed concernedly. He looked around to see if anyone else looked confused by this event, but found that it was just the female and himself on the side road's blacktop path.

"Well, if you want to stay here since you don't know me, feel free, but I'm going to elect to head back towards my vehicle now," he said uncertainly. With that, he'd turned and headed back where he came from at a slightly quickened pace.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

He introduced himself, making a smile spread over her lips. She extended her hand back and shook it, grinning. Adelaide, just call me Ade' for short." Parts of her tattoos were slightly visible, for they moved along with her. However when he asked his question, she simply looked up at the male, for her only being 5'3". She nodded to it, for she was originally from Germany. Ahh, her homeland was sacred to her.

"That's interesting considering the sta--"

His statement had been cut off, for gun shots could be heard. They had caught sight of her paw prints, she was sure of it. She narrowed her eyes as she looked towards the forest.

"They are..." Before, the hunters had stayed with bow and arrow, and now led to the dangerous weapons she so despised. Bullets were a pain to pull out of her skin, and it truly made her coat just look too messy in her opinion. The man stated he was leaving, for she looked up at his departure in surprise.

"Mind if I tag along? I'd rather not be around for when a cop comes around about the guns, for even I could get into trouble just by being near. Besides, I'd certainly not want to get hurt. She tilted her head to the side as she ran after him, only to grab his sleeve slightly to stop him. Looking up at him, she smiled quickly.

"I know of a great cafe a few blocks off, and would love to buy you a coffee for the offering of your sweatshirt." She knew she spoke slightly different, for she had been around for a long while within this world. Her eyes widened, before she realized she would be leaving her baby behind.

"Wait! My bike!" She whipped around, turning her gaze upon a Suzuki motorcycle where her helmet and things still lingered.

[Craig Jamerson]

"Ade' it is." He returned. A flash of color caught his eyes and he peered at a couple of the tattoos briefly so as not to be rude. "Colorful," he conjured, trying to make it sound like a compliment. She was actually completely colorful, really, but he hadn't been trying to bring that conversation up. Perhaps he should've used a different word. He wasn't really into her colorful form, it seemed unnatural to him and slightly obnoxious. Some rock-n-roll youthster, no doubt. He had had his fair share back in his time, he supposed, but he'd never gone so far as to dress up like it was Halloween and run around naked.

Craig had just started to leave and suddenly the girl was on his sleeve. He wasn't sure what to do. He was doing pretty well having a crappy night without the help of guns and a young girl. Well... maybe the young girl part wouldn't be too awful bad. If nothing else, he could complain at her. Damn corporate. He mused.

He returned from thought. "No, you can't come with me. I've got to get drunk," He stated frankly. "Off to the nearest bar for me, no use for coffee." He was concerned she was going to make the situation weird by pouting or something when her eyes shot wide and he couldn't help but look quizzically at her for a moment before she spun off and went yelling about a bike.

Craig spun on heel, blabbering on about how he didn't deal with bikes and guns and short girls that had gotten too deep into the crayon box all in one night. He was going to get drunk, dammit.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

His mention of her tattoos made a smile spread across her lips.

"Thanks, did them myself."

Watching, she took notice of his looking between herself and his vehicle, mumbling something about needing a drink that's a bit harder than a simple coffee. After looking at her bike, she heard the male walk off towards his car.

A crack of a twig caught her attention as a bullet whizzed past her face and nicked Craig's shoulder, barely grazing it. The hunters had discovered what she was. Another bullet was shot, but she had already leaped and tackled the man in front of her into the cement; the bullet flying over the two and hitting his vehicle. She couldn't sit by and let the stranger get hurt, no she wouldn't allow it.

The smell hit her first before the vision came to shock; his shoulder was slightly bleeding from where the bullet had grazed making her eyes narrow. Closing her eyes, she rested he hand over his shoulder to help heal him.

"I fear you might need something harder than just a lone drink, dear." She whispered before standing. She had to hurry to get off before the man was hurt more. The hunters were still a bit far off to fully hit them, and the two were a little far from the city. She went to offer her hand to the man.

"Hurry your ass up!" She snarled, not in the mood to deal with anything anymore. She would feel terrible if she caused an innocent man's death. Her eyes flashed slightly as she reached down.

Just as she was about to grab a hold of him, a gun was shot and a bullet whizzed through the palm of her hand, causing a curse to fly out from her lips and her exposing the long fang-like canines she had, even when trying to shrink them.

They weren't dealing with simple hunters, those were men who trained for this.

They were trained to take down a shape shifter.

[Craig Jamerson]

Craig heard the report of a gunshot but he ignored completely. He was too busy cradling his shoulder which was searing with pain. Something had just burnt it's way through the edge of his skin.

That was when he felt something hit him from behind.

Suddenly, he was barreling towards the earth with something on top of him. Something nowhere near the tender softness that the female would've been. It felt like a lithe man almost. Regardless they were under attack fo some reason and that warranted attention. Just as soon as he could pull his face out of the cement.

A German-accented voice whispered in his ear and he realized it was the female who had tackled him. He turned over, groaning from the pain he'd suddenly been put through and looked at his shoulder. He'd been shot. He looked up at the female with shock written all over him. In response, she offered a helping hand. He was a bit confused just now. He'd just been shot and then sacked by this woman to the ground. Evidence didn't suggest she was friendly. But perhaps she had been trying to help in some weird, twisted way.

"HURRY YOUR ASS UP!!" The woman demanded of him. He reached to grab her hand when it suddenly exploded in carnage as a hole ruptured into her palm. It was quickly filled with blood, but it was there, nonetheless. She'd been shot through the hand. That got his mind working. He was going to grab her hand and lead her to the car, get her bandaged up, and get to safety.

She had fangs. The day had little to no room to get weirder now. Craig had been exposed to Dragons, Dragon-whispering Draconians, and people with wings, but fangs? What was she, a vampire? He was unsure. Maybe they had good reason to be hunting her. Maybe he had been her prey and was about to be her next victim. Maybe these guys were the good guys. He looked uncertainly at her as he scrambled backwards on his hands and knees, obviously a bit confused at the whole situation before he promptly jumped up and ran towards his car as fast as his legs would take him. Damn the pain in his back, damn his shoulder, damn his confusion. No matter the case, this was a very bad situation and he would be damned if he didn't get the HELL out of here.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

Her eyes widened as he scampered off, running away like all of the rest. Could not one person see her as a woman, not of a monster? She couldn't help but feel a bit lonely, unsure if it went into her eyes as another gun shot could be heard, the bullet whizzing by her and breaking out one of his windows.

No. No longer would she allow others to be harmed because of what she was. It was selfish of her to try and pull others into her life; she was meant to be alone and fight alongside no one. Yet again, another bullet whizzed past her hitting yet another of the male's windows. Obviously, the hunters were terrible shooters.

"No...I won't let him, or anyone else get hurt because of my faults..." She slightly whispered, not caring if he heard or not as she turned. Should she change in front of him, or just go off into the forest quickly to lead the hunters astray? She shook her head and decided. She had no time to get off into the woods to transform, it would have to happen now.

Slowly, black stripes began to appear over her pale skin; her arms, face, legs, everything. A soft snarl passed her lips as she looked back at the man, her eyes shifting into one of a cat's.

"Don't look back, just go!"She yelled towards him desperately, hoping he would take the hint as bones began to shift within her. Harsh crunching sounds came from her fragile looking body as fur burst its way out. She turned towards the forest as one hunter stepped out from the brush and began to fill his gun once more.

Big mistake.

She snarled as the full transformation finished, leaving a massive Siberian Tiger standing on the pavement and protecting the human behind her. She got into a protective stance, ready to take a bullet to save a fellow person. The hunter aimed his gun.

She growled and stood between the hunters in front of her, and Craig behind her. The creature narrowed its eyes as she pawed the ground.

She began to back up, hoping Craig would take the hint to hurry to his vehicle as she kept her large body covering any area for the hunters to hit him. He saw the incident, they wouldn't want him alive.

More hunters began to come out from the brush, five more to be exact. She had been hunted by six lone men, not given a break for days on end. She was tired, hungry, but yet still stood her grounds to protect a human. He had nothing to do with it, for he shouldn't be killed for just being there.

All six held their guns up, aiming straight for her. The Siberian Tiger growled, knowing she could heal herself but it would be a pain for her to do so. She narrowed her eyes in frustration, her tail moving back and forth showing her growing agitation and worry.

The men fired, bullets whizzing into the air.

((Sorry it's so late. College and work are killing me like crazy!! D:))

[Craig Jamerson]

"Don't look back, just go!" The woman yelled. The tall American stood there, ignoring her command not out of resistance, but an inability to move. As her body and skeletal structure moved suddenly inside of her skin, tufts of hair erupted from pores in her flesh. Craig stared at her in disbelief and in disgust at the gruesome event. He stumbled to and leaned against the car as he vomited, puking liberally on the ground.

He turned in time to see a group of armed men burst into the clearing from the woods. The girl had changed fully into the shape of a gargantuan feline. He analyzed her for only a moment before concluding that she could rip him to shreds. However, she wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, she had her gaze on the six men who were all pointing their guns rather unthoughtfully in their direction.

The massive creature backed towards Craig and he examined the situation as best he could. These men were Humans and seemed to be hunting this behemoth of a lioness. She was a giant panther-like creature- no, her features were more akin to a massive lion or tiger. She might be trying to trick and kill him or he'd gotten caught up in some sort of genocidal attack. Either was plausible. Neither was good. His best bet, he decided, was to book it. Take her advice and don't look back.

So he did. He dropped to the ground, collapsing his weight and rolling under the vehicle behind the front passenger tire to throw off any would-be attackers. He kicked off of the tire and then crawled like he'd seen in the military movies; elbows pulling him forwards while pushing with his feet in the cramped space. His head was about to protrude from the other side when shots rang a deadly fermata through the cold, Canadian air.

He wondered at the fate of the girl, pausing for a half-second before deciding he couldn't afford to be here and continued pushing himself out from under the vehicle quickly, trying to go double-time as he opened the door. He just hoped the men didn't shoot at him.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

Bullets whizzed through her fur, some penetrating her skin causing a whimper of some sort to escape past the feline's lips. One of the hunters took notice of the man and went to aim, while the rest shot again towards the creature. Narrowing her eyes, she let out a fierce growl and launched herself in the way of the bullets as they shot, feeling them go into her fur and bursting into her body.

She could feel her healing kicking in as she snarled once again, pushing her body through the pain and getting between the male and the shooters. If she could at least save a human from death, she could feel a little better deep down.

Another shot was given as she jumped into the air to avoid another bullet. It whizzed on past, grazing Craig's shoulder as the creature ran towards the group and sweeping her paw out, hitting one of the guns and knocking it out of the man's grip. The others went to aim, while the gunless man reached behind to grab a knife.

She wouldn't be able to handle more damage without collapsing, so her only option was to run for now. Turning on her heel, she growled as her dignity was ripped from her while she ran back into the woods steering some of the men away. The creature looked back, looking towards Craig sadly for she had almost gained a friend then lost it with her changing. His vomiting had given her that such idea. Sighing, she growled to keep the hunters attention as she led them farther from the original place.

The two men that stayed behind, she could only hope were terrible shooters. Craig would be on his own from then on, till she ran into him once more later on, that is...if she was able to get away from the hunters behind her.

((Yet again, I am sooo sorry I've been gone. D: Had a HUGE exam just the other day that took up all of my time on studying. I shall not be gone for that long again (hopefully), and if I am, I will inform you and anyone else that I post with.))

[Craig Jamerson]

As he opened the door, another round of shots scattered through the air. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be their biggest concern. Sure, they shot his shoulder up pretty bad, but he'd seen WAY worse when working through his prerequisite courses. He leapt from the ground into the seat and found that regardless of his haste, he couldn't get the keys out of his pocket fast enough. When he did, he inserted them promptly into the ignition and jammed the keys to start the vehicle. Another round of shots and the side of the rear passenger door exploded with shrapnel created by a high-speed bullet. He looked over at them, taking one last evaluative glance at the situation.

The tiger-girl was fleeing the scene and four of the six were charging behind her. Two were moving slowly towards the car from in front of him on the right side, looking rather menacing. Hardly thinking, he pushed the accelerator and cranked the wheel, speeding towards the pair as quickly as his car would take him there. He wasn't happy with the thought of damaging his Lexus, but he didn't seem to have a lot of choice. Besides, it was far too late to stop now. One man took the impact head-on and flipped over the car while the other bounced off the side from the passenger mirror. Craig sped up for about 10 feet before smashing his feet against the brake pedal to bring the car to a screeching halt.

These men were bad. Trying to kill him. As far as he could tell, they had no reason to kill him. So the girl might be different or owe them money. Thugs were a pathetic thing regardless with little purpose in their lives. To be willing to kill someone... to want to kill someone. To hate someone that badly and hold such emnity as you would end the life of another and even attack and end the lives of people that so happened to be nearby was a psychosis he couldn't understand. His eyes narrowed and he rested his hand on the gear shifter before shoving it angrily into reverse and flooring the gas pedal.

The silver Lexus raced backwards towards the recovering men and swerved for the one who'd merely been reflected by the side mirror. Probably better to go for the one that would recover more quickly, Craig reasoned. It struck him hard and the Lexus continued rolling after he'd collapsed. A strange glint entered Craig's mind. Something he hadn't really noticed before. He really wanted to live[/i]. By recognizing this, Craig decided to go after it vigorously. In a way, it gave him his own, miniature sort of rage. In his own logical fashion, it was reasonable to go after everything that was worth going after with all that you got. There just wasn't much worth going after. Life, however, was. As a geneticist, he understood life more than 99% of the population and he'd acquired that understanding from a passion for it. Not an 'I love life!!' sort of way, but more of a scientific hobby sort of way. He really wanted to live for his hobby. It was for this reason that he would defend it vigorously.

Craig yanked the wheel just in time. The hatchback twisted itself and crushed the wounded, but still living, man under the driver tire. It seemed to Craig to make an encouraging popping sound and he elected to maintained the curve of the car, easing slightly on the gas so as to not flip over. Looking over the seats behind him, he pivoted the vehicle too far and merely crushed the mid-section of the man who'd flown over the car earlier. Craig frowned, realizing his err as the man's head and upper torso were in very plain view from his driver-side mirror. He seemed to be in pain. Craig shrugged, deciding he'd stopped the man from attempting to cause him harm. Craig put his vehicle in drive and rolled off of the man he was rested on, further distracting him, before cranking a U-turn out and zooming off. The tiger-girl had tried to protect him, he'd concluded. Being the case, there was no way he was going to just let them kill her. He didn't have much of a plan but he figured he might be able to turn the tide if he tried to run them over or something. He sped down the road after the girl and her attackers to try and catch up with them while hoping he wasn't too late.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

Paws crushed into the ground as her breathing continued to come out quick, rough, short. In, out. In, out. Her fur pushed against the wind that struck her muzzle; a large ferocious grin across the feline's lips was spread over its features. She couldn't help it, even when being hunted she loved running. Running on pavement, running on dirt, anything made the rush within her grow.

Excitement instantly died down however when a terrible shot was given; the men were trying to shoot while run which ended with the bullet whizzing past the large cat and striking its way into a nearby tree. It may have not hit her, but it did pull her from the deep thoughts of running and enjoyment she once thought of. The feline narrowed its eyes while different scents surrounded her. It was all so confusing. She was still not used to these areas, so all of the scents of streets and woods were mixed in together. She huffed with frustration and continued running. She had taken notice of hearing gun shots from behind, from where Craig was where she had abandoned him.. she still felt regretful for that. Was it abandonment? Or was she truly trying to save the man by diverting most of the men?

She could only hope he saw it as protection, instead of a death wish.

She ran harder, hearing the hunters get farther and farther behind. Some even ran back to go to their vehicles, even though they'd lose her if they all did that.

She leaped over a fallen tree, continuing on with her fast paced run. Breathing began to cut out, for even a large feline as herself grew tired.

She should have changed into a cheetah, getting away quicker and then hiding in order to catch her breath.

The Siberian Tiger continued to breath in and out quickly as it ran harder, its paws crunching against the fallen dead leaves beneath her weight.

Stopping near a large oak, Adelaide looked back to listen for the hunters as she caught her breath. If they kept this up, she'd die of lack of oxygen. She had always told herself to run more, but never found enough time to do so with her tattoo job back home.

Sighing, she turned her head and found herself staring into a barrel. Not directly of course, for the hunter was a bit farther off. But with her good eyesight, she could see the hunter aim his rifle and get ready to pull the trigger.

The cat quickly turned its body and ran in a different direction, only to come to a stop when seeing another hunter aiming their gun. They had surrounded her while she took a breather, those pricks. Adelaide narrowed her eyes, hearing cars zooming past just past the few trees beyond the first hunter she had noticed.

Growling, she decided on the leap, even though she'd more than likely suffer another bullet. Adelaide narrowed her eyes before running full force towards him and leaping, snarling fiercely while he aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet sliced the air into her fur as the tiger completed the task of leaping and landing over the hunter.

Her body tumbled into the dirt, rolling down the small hill and causing her to slowly pull through the pain to push past it and run out of the forest.

Pavement pressed against the tiger's paws as she struggled.

What she hadn't expected was a silver Lexus racing towards her bloody form.

[Craig Jamerson]

Craig pushed the accelerator hard, trying to make up for lost time. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on... okay, he had no idea what was going on. Regardless, killing a young girl didn't strike him as right and further, they'd decided to try and take him out as well. That was unacceptable. The trees streaked past him as his speed inched up over 55 miles per hour. He still wasn't going fast enough. He pushed harder against the gas pedal, coaxing the engine to work harder. If he didn't make it to the girl in time, she may very well end up-

Craig's eyes bolted wide. The massive tiger-beast suddenly stumbled out into the road, looking rather worse for the wear as she pulled her bloody hide across the black pavement less than 15 feet in front of him. Unable to stop in time without hitting her, Craig jerked his car to the left to dodge her as he quickly transferred his foot from gas to brake, hoping to stop before he hit the tree. He tried to maneuver his vehicle to the left of the tree and found that a couple of particularly close assailant had been too close behind the girl. Two of them looked up in time to know what hit them just before the paint of Craig's automobile was streaked with blotchy, thick red.

The geneticist's mind had other things to worry about, however. A loud silence seemed to fill his awareness before a massive smashing noise replaced it as he hit the tree at an angle. He couldn't tell quite how much damage was done to his vehicle (though it had to be pretty bad) because of the airbags' white filling his spectrum of vision before he bounced into it and back against his seat with a pounding force. The car stopped moving and Craig lifted his head from the firm airbag to hear screaming to his left as more people must be coming from the woods. He semed to be in deep shit.

He reached into the back, pulling his padded laptop bag off of the floor stubbornly before attempting to escape the hatchback. Pulling himself out of the wreckage was the hardest part and after he had managed to open the passenger door, he fell head-first to the ground and the bag landed on top of him before falling closer to the road. Craig's exhausted body rolled slightly downhill so that it was mostly covered by the steaming mess of wreckage that had been his vehicle. His head was light and fuzzy, interpreting things slowly and right now, his body just wanted to stop and catch hold of what had been going on around him. His mind slowly began to lose grip on the world around him as his mind began wavering towards unconsciousness.

[Adelaide Bernadette]

Seeing the man pretty much cream her hunters like pancakes made her somehow feel a bit stronger, for if a human could protect a shifter, she really had done something right. The creature narrowed its eyes and roared towards the hunters, baring its sharp fang-like teeth and lunged.

Blood splattered, not only from her own body but from the men. She wouldn't let them hurt an innocent man for her. He deserved at least a reason as to why they were chasing her.

She knew that there were more hunters lingering and she wouldn't be able to take them all on, so the large tiger turned on her heel and made her way towards the unconscious human as quick as her injured legs would carry her. In hurry, she slowly lifted the man into her jaws, careful not to harm him while doing so.

The tiger took notice at the tight clutch Craig seemed to have on a piece of technology, which in her eyes looked like a laptop. If he held it so tightly, it must be important. Careful to not drop it, she raced off from the scene leaving small droplets of blood behind her.

The race against time, hot breath, padding against earth.

The tigress leaped through the woods she grew to love, for she knew there was a cabin about here somewhere.

Her healing slowly began to take affect, allowing the tiger to run harder, faster. Panting, she continued onwards as the holes in her body closed and blood stopped dripping to the ground.

Slowly, the tiger came to a stop, for a lone cabin stood in front of her. Ever so gently, she placed the man and his technology onto the ground for her body had begun changing back into his human form.

Naked before the unconscious Craig, she hurried on getting him inside and onto the couch. Placing his laptop upon the counter, she walked to the bedroom and pulled on some sweats and a tank top, along with under garments to help. Grabbing onto some wash clothes and a bucket of hot water, she went back to the man and began to dab the blood off from his face and arms.

If anything, she could at least help him by ridding him of the blood. She didn't want him to wake from his slumber, then go into shock from the blood. What really bothered her however, was that he came back to help. No one had done that before, and for the first person to do it happened to be a mere human.

"Oh Ade, what have you done?" She whispered to herself.

This would be a hard story to explain when he awoke.