Not born to be a princess

Part 11

Above is Lilly Sapphire Lionisa (Brenda Song).

"That is the opposite of a cat, Carlos. You have to stop thinking like a wolf. If you see yourself as a singular shifter then that's what you will be." I told him, flicking his black nose making him sniffle and run his nose with his paw.

"I can't!" He wined, making me scoff loudly and thump him again.

"No, you think you can't. You think every shifter is a set few animals, but we are all animals. When you understand that you can be the best shifter in the world." I told him, throwing a towel over him so he could shift back human without being utterly naked. He'd tried to shift into his clothes like I do, but it was more difficult than he thought it would have been.

"I just... Maybe I can only shift into a wolf or a bird. Maybe my body just... Can't." He told me. holding the towel around his waist as I growled.

"Would you like to know how I learned to shift in the first place?" I asked, sitting on a large boulder indian style facing him with a unfeeling expression.

"If you think it would help." He pushed.

"I'd been hiding out from a ball. I was very, very young. I believe about 10, but I may have been 9. I had this nasty habit of thinking that all animals were as kind as the ones that roamed the gardens. I was wrong. A Helix approached me, snarling and hissing ready to tear me to shreds before even warning me and.... Before he could sink his fangs into my back I shifted into a larger Helix. My magic's way of protecting me, or more manifesting to help me protect myself. The only time that the animal ever took over completely." I added as an afterthought, making him look at his hands like they would tell him how to shift into a different creature if he stared long enough.

"Mine was about the same, but I had been the runt of my family. They are all powerful and mages who travel taking on jobs that guilds won't go near. It was the first time I could of helped, a simple matter to kill a few Rey-Ya's and I got cornered. Cornered by one of them and none of my family seemed to care. I shifted into a wolf, and they thought maybe I was more powerful than they thought.... I'm not. They dumped me here when they learned that, and left." He announced, a frown setting itself between his eyes and rubbing the back of his hand.

"How about we try something a little different than this. I want you to think of a common mouse. How they skitter around unseen, how they look, everything you can. Concentrate on a mouse, nothing else. Not shifting into one, or even shifting at all." I told him softly this time instead of forceful. He nodded and hung his head eyes closed as he thought about a mouse as I asked.

"Ok........ should I try to shift?" He asked, the words coming out as squeaks as he looked up at me in shock hearing his own voice.

"Congratulations..... You can now shift into something different than Heron or a wolf." I smiled, turning and leaving so he could get dressed.

"Sooo, how was training?" Ignis asked browsing my pantry the second I walked inside the door.

"Fine, he's making progress. Why are you always stealing my food?" I asked, grabbing a cup and filling it with water from the sink powered from the river that supposedly ran right under Tectus.

"Because food is always better when you steal it." He shrugged tossing a few things on the counter beside him. I sighed halfheartedly and whistled shrilly to find Heron.

"Ouch! Darn it, princess! That hurt!" Ignis shouted, covering his ears in pain.

"Poor little dragon." I told him in a fake pout before wiping a nonexistent tear away.

"How about I shriek in your ear and see how you like it?!" He wined back, making me laugh slightly.

"Well what do you think I hear when I shift? It shounds like knives on glass." I teased, checking aorudn the apartment for Heron given it was too cold for him to sleep outside now.

"Heron's outside. He took off when I bro- unlocked the back door." He told me smirking to himself as he dug into my food.

"Great, I need himt o deliver a message for me." I huffed, ducking outside and repeating the same whistle loud and shrill towards the mountains i'd found he likes to fly around hunting mice.

"Oi! Heron!" I called, louder this time.

"Yes, yes?" He asked, nearly missing the balcony railing trying to get here.

"Feel like doing some distance flying today?" I asked showing him a small scroll of paper.

"Love to. Where?" He asked, taking the paper in his right talon tightly.

"Dianna, remember her?" I asked, hoping I didn't have to explain my only friend who had moved to the islands when she got married.

"Yes! she's on the food island!" He yipped happily. It was well known that the main islands was overrun with mice and ferrets so several birds lived there and refered to it as food island.

"Right, give this to her as quick as you can. Be careful, you know they don't take kindly to odd messengers there." I reminded him, giving him one last pet on the neck before he flew away with the scroll tightly held in his talons.

"Who's Dianna?" Ignis asked through a mouth full of fresh bread i'd just picked up for dinner.

"An old friend. It's her birthday." I told him without much else and grabbed the other half of the warm loaf before he ate that also.

"I will bite you." He threatened as I went to take a few of the items he was eating away.

"Sure, i'm scared of a- OWCH!" I yelped as his teeth nipped the side of my hand.

"Told ya." He laughed, backing up in fear as I growled lowly.

"You are going to pay, Lizard boy." I growled, kicking him in the side of the thigh making him fall to his knees.

"Bring it, Princess." He laughed, scaled covering his skin instead of just on the backs of his arms.

"I'm in fear now, scales." I laughed kicking again and making him yelp as my foot hit perfectly between two large scales that covered his hip bone.

"Ha!" he laughed as I kicked the broadscales of his leg experimentally.

"Bring it." I pushed, putting my hands up to block any punches. He lashed out with a wing instead, making me jump to avoid being taken off my feet. Barely I managed to dance around his leg as he went to kick my knee painfully hard.

"You asked for it, princess." He laughed, something catching my ankle and making me trip back into the couch laughing.

"Not fair!" I laughed, trying to pull my foot from the grip of his other wing. It heldfath though, making me squirm trying to free myself as his jabbed my stomach making me laugh hysterically.

"I swear, stop now!" I cried, laughing making my words lack any conviction as I jabbed a finger beneath his ear and curled it under his jawbone making him yelp loudly and yank away holding his jaw in shock.

"How did...... How did you know about that!?" He asked, scales disappearing back into tough flesh instead and him standing looking at me with utter shock.

"Because I'm good like that, Scales." I teased, rubbing the sting from my sides that were sure to bruise up later from his poking and prodding.

"Whatever, oh! Wallow needs some help from you. He said after lunch to send you there to talkt o him." He shrugged, grabbing the bowl of dry cereal and tossing a few in his mouth.

"Great, probably something stupid like last time." I laughed, putting everything I would use for dinner away and pulling my coat on over my shoulders and securing it at the neck.

"Get more food!" Igg called as I left, making me grumble a few profanities at him I knew he could hear as I slammed the door behind me.