Close Encounters of the Mutant Kind (Shamrock)

It had been a few days since Regan had settled into the mansion and she was feeling so uptight from all the time she was stuck being indoors. The sabre tooth was clawing at Regan’s mind to come out for a run, she had kept it sated with the seemingly endless amounts of food that filled the mansion’s kitchen, but it was about time for the beast to let off some steam before it decided to take over completely and run rampant around the mansion with her helpless to stop it until it had its fill.

Regan had decided it was best to venture out into some of the deeper woods of the city, father away from the mansion, and from all the other mutants. She didn’t want to scare any of the children there or get spooked and accidently attack them.

With a long sigh Regan raised her hands over her head and started to stretch out. She cracked her neck and bent over to touch her toes before preparing for her shift. With one more huff and puff in annoyance of what she was about to do, Regan got down on all fours and allowed the sabre tooth to take control.

Regan closed her eyes as a low growl escaped her lips, her spine cracked and popped as her bones realigned. Her muscles started to bulk up under her fur and the painful process of her sabre fangs extending from her skull caused her to stagger slightly on her hands and feet and step on a branch causing it to snap abruptly. Her feline eyes snapped open to the sudden sound that was now amplified by two thanks to her shift. She sniffed the fresh air and scanned the tree line for the best path to start her run through the woods.

The sabre tooth was quite content to be out and in control of Regan’s mind and body. She took in a deep breath of the cool winter air and ran her large rough tongue over her whiskers as she licked her chops. Looking around there were no real signs of other creatures to hunt right now so a run would have to do. She dug her claws into the fresh snow and with a flick of her massive tail she took off like a bat out of hell through the trees.

Regan darted in and out of trees with ease; she was slightly faster than a cheetah in her sabre state. Her tail swayed and twitched with each sharp adjustment she made as she jumped over fallen trees and branches, dodging boulders and animal dens in the snow. She was barely exerting any effort as she sped through the forest burning off her pent up energy.

Suddenly she skidded to a stop and perked her ears forward. She could hear the crunching of snow up ahead; it was slow and possibly strained. There was something in the wood just in front of her.

The sky was starting to get darker as well and her emerald eyes adjusted to the changing light. Scanning the area and following the sound of the crunching snow, the sabre tooth spotted a person walking in the woods. He was shuffling slowly, easy prey she thought.

Slowly Regan stalked in behind the person, her clawed hands barely made a sound as they pressed into the snow, her boots were still on and they caused the snow to crunch more under her feet then she would have liked. Annoyed that she would not be able to sneak up on her prey, the sabre tooth let out a low growl and pressed her ears back onto her vibrant red hair.

Regan watched as the teen slowly turned around to look at her. She froze in mid step as their eyes met, a true tiger would never attack prey that was looking at it, besides that spoiled all the fun!

Regan’s enhanced hearing could hear the teen’s heart pounding in his chest as he took in her form. He was scared and it excited her even more. She remained motionless as he decided what he was going to do and to her enjoyment he decided to try and run. An evil grin crossed her fanged maw and she gave him a head start, the sabre tooth did enjoy playing with her prey.

Watching him run as best he could through the snow and with the heavy clothes reminded her of a wounded baby gazelle trying to outrun lions on the Discovery Channel, this was going to be too easy!

After a few moments she bolted off after the teen, weaving at blinding speed through the trees once again, this time closing the gap between herself and her catch.

Regan launched herself off the snow covered ground with a mighty roar, front claws extended forward as she flew through the air towards the teen. Catching her claws in his thick coat, she pulled him to the ground with her, rolling through the snow a few times before finally coming to a stop with him underneath her.

With a low growl Regan adjusted her clawed grip on the teen as she held him down on the cold snow. Her emerald eyes looked through him instead of at him as she considered what to do with her catch, she wasn’t exactly hungry, but she couldn’t just waste him now could she?

Suddenly the teen started to shrink under her clawed hands. She looked at him puzzled as the teen was clearly turning into a child before her very eyes. She tilted her head to the side and leaned in close to his face, her long sabre fags just inches from his neck. She sniffed him a few times as her eyes darted over his young face, this time they were actually looking at him instead of through him. What had she done?

Loosening her grip on him she studied him with curiosity some more. Her primitive mind was trying to process what was happening, this was a child under her, animal mind or not, Regan had always protected children. Sniffing him again she made note of his scent, she wasn’t going to forget it. Regan leaned in close and licked the boy’s cheek with her large rough tongue in a grooming motion.

Her eyes softened greatly as her sabre fangs slowly started to retract back into her skull. Her bulky size started to shrink back down to her regularly toned self and her spine popped and cracked as it returned to a more human shape. Backing up off of the boy, Regan extended a furry hand to him to try and help him up and in the meekest of voices her Irish tones exclaimed, “I am so sorry! Are you alright?”

Regan frowned as the boy rejected her outstretched hand to help him up. She pulled her hands into her chest and fidgeted her clawed fingers together. Her green eyes visibly held the shame of what she had done to the boy. She frowned even more as he backed away from her and demanded an explanation. He deserved one, and she was going to try and give one to him.

“I’m so, so very sorry! I… I was trying to go for a run, away from people!” her Irish voice was panicked, stuttering and stammering as she tried to explain what had happened in as easy a way as possible for the moment. “My instincts got the best of me, oh my lord, I’m so sorry!”

Regan was so sick to her stomach, she had almost killed someone! Tears started to well up in her eyes and she flopped into the snow with her knees together and her feet sticking out. She placed her face in her clawed, furry hands and started to sob. Her long tail curled around her knees as she wept, muttering through her fingers “Oh god, I’m so sorry….”

Still sobbing on the ground, Regan wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her furry hands. Hearing the boy finally saying something to her made her look up at him. Sniffling and choking back tears, Regan tried to speak. “I’m sorry; I promise I won’t do it again. I…. I didn’t mean to a-attack you!”

She flopped her hands limply in her lap and looked down at them while trying to catch her breath. “I wasn’t attacked. I was s-shifted into my feral f-form for a run. I…. I lose some control when I d-do that. I came to the w-woods to stay away from people so I wouldn’t hurt anyone.” Her lower lip started to quiver as she started to cry again “But I almost killed you!”

Regan had not been this distraught about something in god knows how long. She had almost killed a child and it was tearing her up inside. She wanted to eat him just minutes ago, to tear him apart, piece by piece. Suddenly she felt ill. Popping up on her hands and knees, Regan quickly turned to vomit in a bush.

Catching her breath, Regan wiped her mouth with the back of her furry hand and then cleaned it off in the snow. Well that was lovely moment of pure embarrassment, but at least she was starting to feel better. The taste of stomach bile was still present in her mouth, grabbing a handful of clean snow, she put it in her mouth and then spat it back out again. It helped a little.

A thud sound made Regan look up from the bush and over at the boy who was now face first in the snow. She heard his mumbled frustration and sighed. Regan stood up and walked over to him; she scooped him up under his arms from behind and helped him stand upright again. “Do you have some smaller clothes to wear with you? I don’t think you are going to be able to get out of the woods by morning wearing those.”

Backing up from the boy so as not to freak him out more then she already had, Regan tried to think of some way to try and prove that she didn’t mean him anymore harm. Maybe if she introduced herself? “My name is Regan, what’s your name if you don’t mind me asking?” She still felt horrible for what she had done, but she wanted so desperately to make things right, and she was determined to do just that.