Friend or Foe?

[Mr. Peace-and-Logic]

The darkness of the night was pierced by the bright moon, large and close to full. Wind blew gently down the road, carrying dead leaves and the crisp scent of a cold autumn. All was calm here, without a single soul to disrupt the peace.
That is, until Danny arrived.
The teen smiled as he walked down the long forgotten street, black tennis shoes tapping against the pavement. The wind blew again, softly lifting his unbound purple-black hair. Why was a person doing out at this time of night, let alone a child? What could his reason, his motive possibly be? Only the boy could say, and it was highly unlikely that he would.
Danny shivered and zipped up his dark red hoodie; his snow white shirt was still visible around the collar. Suddenly, he stopped and looked to the side, brown eyes sharply focused. Ah, so THAT'S where the door is.
Sure enough, the object of his attention was a dark gray door, unlocked and unguarded. As Danny approached, he could see that the door was old; the grey paint chipped away in some places, and the handle was rusty.
With a tug at the corroded handle, the door opened with a loud shriek. Danny winced; why did it have to be so loud? Pushing the annoyance away, he entered the darkness of the warehouse, letting his eyes adjust to the light. Inside, boxes and dust dominated the scene; there was a dull coat over every item stored there. Cobwebs danced eerily in corners and silence pervaded the area. So very boring. Still, this is a good place to hide. I might need to make use of it in the near future...
The thoughts of his next plan caused the boy to stifle a laugh. He was so bored, and a new toy would definately make things interesting again. He had nothing else to entertain himself with, seeing as no one ever wanted to play checkers anymore. (Why this was so escaped Danny entirely; who wouldn't want to play checkers?)
A noise suddenly broke his reverie, echoing throughout the warehouse. What was that?! he thought, searching carefully for the source of the noise...

((There! ^^ Longest post I've ever written. If you want me to change it, I will.)

[stephy]

Everything was overwhelmed by darkness. Unease prickled at the young boy's skin like a frost to the early morning as he lay with his head buried in his midnight black paws. He'd come here for shelter, to save himself from the bite of the cold outdoor air. It had seemed abandon, left alone by the ages and left to be forgotten about as if it had never had use. 'Kind of like myself,' he thought warily, wrapping his silver tipped tail closer to himself.

A loud screech suddenly pierced his conciousness, and he cracked a deep green eye only the slightest bit to see a figure outlined by the luminous stars covering the velvet night sky backdrop. To cold earth below him seemed to shake as the boy walked in, his eyes seemed to gleam with a light he hadn't seen before. 'What is this? Who is he?' Questions rattled at him, and he drew himself farther inwards, under the shelf in the corner where he lay. His ears glued backwards, the boy laughed. He shouldn't be here, he was going to be seen. A small whimper escaped his muzzle.

Oh god. He heard him.

[.: T O K I :.]

The bright moon illuminated the outline of the buildings and trees. A soft freezing breeze swept through the gloomy darkness. No soul dared to come out at this time a night. A peaceful but deadly stillness filled the air with silence and a feeling of trouble. A lean shadow passed the streets unnoticed by any onlookers. Silent as a shadow, the silhouette quickly trotted across the street. As the outline of the mysterious figure bypassed under the moon’s radiance, the light unmasked the form.

An average-sized black and white cat hastily glanced back and forth when it crossed the road. Most of the underbelly was the pure color of fresh snow, while the back was coated with a deep jet-black color. As the feline cast a fleeting look towards the left, the moon’s glow reflected off the eyes. A flash of yellow peered into the gloomy darkness, but soon disappeared as the cat moved onward towards its destination.
Now in desperation, it picked up pace and started an uneven run, headed for an unknown area. Just as it was about to miss its target, it glimpsed into the room of a, what looked like, an abandoned warehouse. Immediately the sly kitty stopped dead in its tracks and examined its surroundings. The old worn out wooden door was creaked slightly open. The rusty hinges barely hold the tattered door in place. The feline crouched slightly and silent as the dead, slinked through the entrance.

Just as it walked in, the gaze snapped to the human figure standing just in front of door. The feline opened its mouth to speak, but clamped it shut, realizing the teen was distracted by something. Carefully observing his face, it dawned on the mammal that something was terribly wrong. His eyes openly glared, searching into the sinister shadows. Helping along, the cat turned her head all directions, finally deciding that nothing was there that could be seen. Thinking of a different solution, she flared her nostrils and picked up any scent that was recently here.

[Mr. Peace-and-Logic]

Danny's eyes examined every detail in the area, from the deteriorating cardboard boxes to the dustbunnies behind the shelves. Nothing. His grin became an irritated smirk; there had DEFINATELY been a noise. Where could it possibly have come from? I know I'm not imagining things...

Looking around once more, the teen began to walk slowly down the aisles, not wanting to miss a single clue. A lonely spider, dust brown and small, skittered across his path, but that was the only living creature he noticed. I can't find it...where is it? he thought, concentrating on the task at hand. His curiousity would not allow him to stop searching.
Suddenly, a long shadow, stretched ominously in the light of the moon, moved behind him, causing him to spin around. Eyes sharp, he quickly sought for the source - ah, there it was. In the doorway stood a sillohetted figure; it seemed to be a cat with smooth fur, about the same size as the shifted form of his friend Amber - wait a second, that WAS Amber!

For a moment, Danny smiled with joy, clearly happy to see one of his cherished friends. However, he returned to his distant demeanor. No time for being friendly. You need to find the thing that made the noise. He walked back through rows of ancient boxes towards his friend, wearing a cool smile. Amber seemed to be...doing a cat thing, and maybe she would have noticed something strange.

This might not be a good place at all...what if whatever-it-was lives here? He, of course, would not be expressing this concern to his shifter friend; the less she knew about it, the better. And I'm pretty sure she wouldn't exactly be keen on the idea of me killing anyone.

[Terenzio DeVito]

Pale silver moonlight luminated Djakael's path as he trotted slowly along, wholly unnoticed by anyone who dared to be out. Tonight was different, something was not right, and he knew that the normal humans could sense it, even slightly, as well. There were already so few of them still out and those who were hurried along their way, constantly glimpsing around themselves to make sure no one was after them. He could tell no one was and, although he wanted to tell them that, he didn't think it would go over too well with them. So he sighed and left them to themselves.
The world around him was plunged into darkness as a cloud blocked out the moon. Djakael, in his Shifted form, barely noticed the change. His vulpine eyes were plenty good enough to see in the dark without hinderance.
"Hmmm..." He whispered, having picked up a few new scents close to the warehouse. He went there on occasion; it was a good place for him to get away from those he didn't want to deal with and it did wonders for his creativity. Deciding to check it out, he picked up his pace to an easy lope and only slowed once he neared the old, weather-worn warehouse. The door was cracked open.
"Knew it," he mumbled. Silently, delicately, he slipped over to the door and inside. Instantly, he saw the human in the middle of the warehouse with a sinister glare on his face. He was the reason the air was so thick. He was why something was wrong in the atmosphere; he was dangerous. He noted the feline before him and sniffed the air, having seen her do it. He caught the scent of another unknown in the building. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to pick out the form in the darkness to no avail.
He hesitated only a moment before slipping behind the boxes, silent as can be, and crawled into a sturdy but hollow box that would allow him to watch without being seen.
He had mapped the entire warehouse out when he first found it, having been bored and without any muse. He knew every nook and cranny in the building and if he needed something in particular, he knew exactly where to find it.
Ignoring the cobwebs that draped across his fur, he watched in silence as the human searched for something then whirled around and glared. For a moment, he smiled happily. But then his expression changed to a distant smile, as if he were wary. A shiver rolled down his spine as the boy started for the door, for the cat, causing him to shake his fur out as quietly as he could. He wasn't quiet enough, however, and his tail whacked the side of the box. Instantly, he winced, cowering down, and pulled back out of his box. No way was he going to risk getting found by the boy.
Silently, he weaved through the boxes to another hollow but protected box. He could see better from here, although he didn't necessarily like what he saw. The odd human was closer to the cat.

[.: T O K I :.]

Amber gladly smiled as her companion moved closer to her. His smile made her feel reassured that he was okay, but his smile soon turned hesitant and wary. Slowly her smile turned back to neutral. As he stepped closer, she nodded to him and flicked an ear towards the boxes indicating her hidden message. Hello Danny. There’s something behind the boxes. Amber could only hope that Danny knew what she was trying to tell him.

Just as he was close enough to pet her, a loud thump echoed around the room. Amber’s head snapped to where the sound came from. Her eyes nearly thinned to slits as she crouched low ready to pounce. Her tail lashed back and forth while she keenly stared at the exact dirty box from where the thud had come from. Her eyes moved only to look around the box for any movement that might signify that the thing moved. Slowly, she almost crawled forward getting nearer the wooden box every step.

Once she was within reaching distance, she carefully peeked inside through a small crack just big enough for her to see passed. Amber waited to blink a few times trying to get her eyes used to the pitch darkness. Once her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she grasped the fact that there was nothing inside besides cobwebs and dust covering every inch. Sighing, she pulled her head away and glanced around the box. There was something there and she was sure of it. Still alert, she walked backwards to get closer to Danny, silently suggesting watching each other’s backs.

[stephy]

Chase's nose twitched, his ears pressed firmly to the back of his head, as each new figure entered the room. The scent's were odd, and he could still barely understand the signals being sent to his brain. Why is this happening to me.. It had been nearly a week since he had first found himself in this body, awoken one night by the transformation. Solitude was his friend, but this..

His eyes flickered from the cat to the Human, those two he knew of, the cat's shadow just visable from behind a box stocked beside him from his caved in refuge. That kid was searching, scanning for him. The boy's eyes were filled with menace, filled with a hatred he didn't think he could face. I'm stronger then this, I've survived everything.. His heart beat loudly against his ribcage, the tip of his tail jerking slightly every now and then. Afterall, I look like a dog.. I'm just a stray.. Oh god, I'm like a dog..

A loud crashing noise came from the wall closest to him, and automatically his ears perked upwards as he heard the skittering of claws of cement flooring and then silence once again. His nose twitches, his head coming off his paws only the slightest bit. Another scent.. but I don't know what it is.. The fur on his back rose instinctively as his body told him there was a threat, But instead a small almost silent whimper formed at the back of his throat.

[Mr. Peace-and-Logic]

Danny's eyes unconciously settled on the boxes Amber indicated. She probably had a better idea of where the source of the noise was, seeing as she had far better senses than him at the moment. Still watching the boxes in the corner of his eye, he drew closer to her, reaching out to pet her -
And a pretty loud fwumph sounded from somewhere else in the room.

Danny rapidly turned around, grin dangerous and hands ready. Of course, nothing lay before him but darkness and dust. His eyes sought to pierce through the black of shadows; no avail. Should I transform...? In raven form, he would have sharper eyesight and hearing than his current position. But what if they were up against something big enough to take down a cat and a raven?

What if we're up against a shifter?

It was a big possibility. After all, the city seemed to be full of a great number of them, many that Danny didn't even notice before. There was a good chance that whatever made the noise - well, there could be two 'whatever's, there were two different noises - was one of them.

Danny's grin settled back to his normal, guarded smile, and he stepped closer to Amber. She seemed to want to stick together, which was probably the best plan.

"Think if we say hello, it'll answer?" he muttered, just loud enough for Amber to hear.

[Terenzio DeVito]

Djakael watched warily as the feline returned to the humans' side, alert and wary. The human was no different. This was highly dangerous, this he knew, but there was no way he could afford to try and leave now. At least, not through the front door... Instantly, his mind set to sifting through his knowledge of where everything was, desperately trying to find a safe exit away from those two.
His thoughts cut off as the quietest of whines drifted to him from dangerously nearby. He almost jumped, but managed to control it to the tip of his tail jerking. Jeez... He thought.
He hesitated a moment before pulling out of his safe spot, slowly and silently of course, and started for where the sound had come from. As he got nearer, he scented the air, picking up the scent of the newcomer -he recognized the faint scent that told him it was a wolf- and allowed himself to make the slightest of sounds, just to announce his presence and not scare to wolf too bad. Poor thing must be terrified, what with all that was going on in the building.
When he spotted the wolf, it was curled up tightly, its head on its paws, and Djakael could easily tell it was terrified. He felt a stab of sympathy, and said almost so quiet it was a breath, "Do not worry. I'm a friend, I'll help you." He made sure to keep his body relaxed and non-threatening, a small friendly smile lifting his lips slightly. His eyes were soft, kind, proving he would do nothing other than be nice to this terrified animal.

[stephy]

Every movement made seemed to become slow motion. The Cat seemed to belong to the boy that tracked him so viciously, and they almost worked in sync. That's silly, it's a ca- But what was he now? All his logic seemed distorted by the week's events. Shuffling backwards slightly he pressed his large slender body against the wall as far as he could.

His ears shot upwards on their own accord. Scratch, patter. The sound of footsteps, or.. pawsteps? He screwed his eyes shut once again. "Do not worry. I'm a friend, I'll help you." The moment the first word was heard his head snapped to the side, his eyes widening and his ears back in fear. What? No.. He tried to move backwards a slight bit more, only succeeding on pushing the boxes around him roughly. It was a fox. A fox, had spoken to him..? The creatures eyes seemed careing somehow, as his own met with the new companion close to him. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again almost immediately. How can I talk, I'm a wolf. He stared out from behind the boxes, realizing in moving what damage he really must have done. Every muscle in his body shook. They had to have heard that.

His gentle green eyes now stricken with fear looked back desperately at the Fox that had somehow spoken to him, friend.. Help me.