It was a warm, sunny day for winter and Regan wasn't about to let it go to waste. She looked out of her window in her room and decided to get dressed and head outside. The white tiger with vibrant green stripes and shocking red hair padded over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans and a light green tank top. She got dressed and slipped her clawed feet into her combat boots and laced them up before heading out of her room and down the hall to go outside.

As soon as she opened the door, Regan closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh winter air through her pink feline nose. The smell of air was fresh and clean and it made Regan smile. It was days like today that made Regan’s soul feel alive. She always had a zest for life, but beautiful days sparked an extra bit of life in her and she became the playful kitten that was held deep inside her heart.

Shutting the door behind her, Regan turned towards the forested area that framed the edge of the grounds. With a fanged grin on her lips, Regan dropped to all fours and ran towards the trees, today was going to be a day to climb some trees and roll around in the snow.

There was movement in the bushes a subtle rustle but enough to alert the keen ears on the head of the beast. A tail flicked excitedly as the beast lifted his nose into the air smelling rabbit. He couldn’t see it yet but it wouldn’t take much to track it down. Four paws were pressed into the ground making prints in the snow that no one would understand if they came across it, it would look almost human like but the way they were twisted and warped anyone who would come across them would just see animal prints the claws attached to the back and front paws didn’t help much either.

The beast slowly padded forward smelling the air with every step he was hungry and there was prey nearby. When was the last time he had eaten one day maybe two? The beast didn’t really care when the last meal was all he cared about was when the next one was going to be. In truth it had only been a few hours since his last meal but as far as the beast was concerned he was famished for he had no recollection of the last meal that happened earlier that day.

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Four hours earlier
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Carrick had actually managed a big breakfast; three eggs and five strips of bacon followed by some toast with butter. Normally Carrick didn’t eat that much but for some reason his hunger grew with each bite. After he finished his meal though he decided to go for a fly like everyday after breakfast however instead of flying around the grounds he only managed to make it over the denser part of the woods behind the mansion before he noticed a baseball flying straight at him. Without much of a warning he couldn’t dodge the ball fully and sacrificed his right wing instead of his face and down he went.

Branch after branch hit his wings, arms legs and head till he landed on the ground whimpering from the pain. It lasted only a second the initial pain at least till his body started to go numb his mind blank. Carrick started to shift but unlike his normal shifts when he shifted into his better half the Gryphon he seemed to be caught in between his human form and his mythical one.

It wasn’t the first time he was caught between forms but this was the first time he was alone for it. No one was around so no one had any idea what was happening including Carrick all he knew was he was in pain and feeling a shift come on and he wasn’t in control like usual.

Unlike his normal shifts however this one was more intense his pupils thinned out and became slits his fingers contracted into a fist before opening up to make way for the claws his fingers were quickly becoming. Skin rippled and bubbled to make way for a layer of brown fur. Carrick’s clothes ripped and he snarled a cat like snarl before looking up into the sky to see the sun mostly hidden from the dense trees. Carrick roared and the shift was complete and the beast was in control.

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Now
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The beast padded happily back towards its makeshift dwelling it had created in a short amount of time. Sticks leaned up on a pair or trees clothes together making a small shelter large enough for the beast to dwell with its freshly caught meal. Once inside Carrick’s beast form started to rip apart the rabbit allowing the hunger to subside.

Playing was one of Regan’s favorite things to do when she had free time, though it was always more fun when she had someone to play with. Today left Regan to play on her own. She bounded onto the trees, giggling to herself as her clawed hands pressed into the cold snow. The sun came through the trees in sporadic rays that danced as the breeze played with the upper branches of the trees.

Regan flopped down in the snow on her back and giggled as she flailed about making a snow angel. She stopped after a while and sighed happily as she stared up into the sky. Life was going quite well right now, she had her two jobs, a nice home at the mansion, and her new friends. She couldn’t really ask for more and this beautiful day was an added gift to her current good fortune. With that thought, she hopped up out of the snow and decided it was time to find a tree to climb.

Bounding off further into the woods, Regan ran at a decent pace on all fours, dodging and weaving through the trees. Suddenly Regan slammed to a halt like she had hit a brick wall. Her sensitive feline nose picked up the heavy scent of blood and the scent of another large predator in the area. Panic filled her emerald eyes as her feline ears flicked about trying to locate the large animal, but it was to no avail. Her eyes darted around and she spotted a large tree to her left and she quickly headed towards it. Using her sharp claws on her hands, she gripped the bark of the tree and quickly pulled herself up the tree to perch on a branch where she could get a better view of the area. Her green eyes scanned the area below looking for any signs of movement.

In between licks of his chomps Carrick’s beast form sniffed the air to make sure there were no predators near by not like the beast had anything to worry about but seeing as he was having a tough time moving one of his wings he was in no hurry to get into a fight that might cost him a meal. Much to his pleasure there didn’t seem to be much around or if there was he couldn’t smell or hear them. He couldn’t smell them because his nose was buried into a carcass more than half the time he was ‘keeping and eye out’ and he couldn’t exactly hear anything approaching because a breeze of wind was wrestling the leaves and branches towards the tops of the trees.

Smacking his lips together a few times Carrick pulled his head from his meal and looked up to see some of the branches moving in hopes he’d find another small meal like a squirrel or a chipmunk. Sadly however, luck wasn’t on his side because he didn’t see anything of interest not yet anyway. Nothing for the time being was more interesting than his meal. So without much thought Carrick buried his face back into the rabbit biting and tearing as each second passed by. His elongated canines and sharpened teeth only made tearing the flesh from the bones that much quicker.

After getting to near the last bit of meat left on the rabbit Carrick’s nostrils flared due to a change in the wind or the sudden decrease of blood and meat on the meal before him Carrick’s mood changed from content to on edge. Cat like eyes shifted from bush to tree watching and waiting. Slowly Carrick got up from his makeshift shelter and stepped towards the clearing that was in front of his shelter. There wasn’t any sign of movement nothing that he could see or hear but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t someone or something around.

Carrick’s beast form was very territorial and anyone getting to close to where he set up shot wasn’t okay in his book especially since he had a somewhat fresh kill in his den. A low growl exited his throat a warning to all would be intruders that this was his turf and he would defend it seeing as running wasn’t exactly an option due to his wing being injured. Carrick back his way up to a tree and crouched low continuing to growl while his eyes shifted from location to location.

Regan’s green eyes continued to scan the area below her for any signs of movement. She could hear the sounds of a creature feasting on something, but she couldn’t pin point its location thanks to the wind. The tree swayed and she had to dig her claws into the branch she was perched on in order to keep herself from falling. Her long tail was rigid and it twitched with every little movement of the tree, ever keeping her balance.

Finally some movement caught her eye down on the ground. Some sort of winged creature had emerged from a pile of branches below. Her head tilted to the side as she tried to make out what the heck was below her. The creature was mostly feline looking but it had wings and bird like front claws. What the hell was that?

Heart pounding in her chest, she gulped as the creature was now backing up against the tree she was perched in, and it did not sound happy. It knew she was there, not exactly where she was, but it sensed her presence. She heard the low growl emanate from the creature and it sent a shiver up her spine. How the hell was she going to get out of this one?

Jumping down was not an option, and trying to leap to another tree was out of the question since the creature could fly, it would have the advantage in the trees. Adrenalin was pumping through her veins, it was fight or flight, and there was no way she was going to be able to out run a flying creature in this state, nor would she be able to fight it like this. The saber tooth sensed her plight and pressed against her mind, trying to take over to protect herself. Regan shook her head and tried to push her feral self to the back of her mind, but the more she tried, the more it pushed back, if that beast spotted her, there was no way she was going to be able to contain her own beast.

The growl continued to emanate from Carrick’s mouth from behind his fangs recently covered in the blood of a fresh kill, while his eyes darted from tree to bush and back again. Smelling the air didn’t help much either the scent of another beast in the area was clear but where. Carrick’s beast like head jerked to the side smelling the air almost tasting the scent it was near but where. Carrick’s beast like body crouched lower and he let out a fierce roar one to ward away anyone that he couldn’t see. Similar to a lions roar it had a similar affect to most of the animal kingdom as well, at least all the normal animals from the kingdom.

A few blurs of white passed Carrick’s vision and it forced him to look up towards the tree branches. A few black birds flew off leaving their droppings behind causing Carrick’s attention to remain focused in the trees. Carrick growled again waiting for someone to show themselves a challenge to whoever was hiding from him, ‘come out or leave now before I come looking for you’ simple enough thought the beast as he sniffed the air again but this time kept his attention up. Turning his body to face the tree he had his back to for some time Carrick spotted the ‘would be’ predator.

With a injured wing the beast didn’t want to take to the air even if it was in the trees but when it came to being the alpha and owning your territory it was hard not to face a challenge so close to you. Opening his uninjured wing Carrick let out a howl and flapped once while jumping up and started to quickly climb the tree. If it was a fight the intruder wanted it was one Carrick was going to give it.

Green eyes ever locked onto the beast below her, glazed over as the beast let out a challenging roar. Regan could feel her grip on control start to slip away, and she fell into the black hole of her consciousness where all she could do was watch in utter confusion as the events unfolded in front of her.

Her bones started to snap and pop as the saber tooth started to take over her body. Her muscles bulked up under her fur and she increased slightly in size before a pained roar escaped her maw. The long saber tooth fangs extended from under her upper lip, and she let out a low growl as her eyes refocused on the ground below her.

A howling sound forced the green eyes of the saber tooth to look down at a large beast that was suddenly climbing up the tree that she was perched in. The beast was trying to attack her it would appear, and well, that was simply just not going to be allowed. She roared back fiercely at the winged beast and slashed her clawed hand in the air in front of her as a warning to the creature to back off or face her wrath.

This was the beast’s last chance to back the hell off before she would attack. You can only back a cat up into a corner, or in this case up a tree, before it will claw your eyes out, or worse. Little did either of them know that there was another set of eyes taking in this beastly display of dominance and self-preservation.

Tses...

Was stuck in the woods.

Which was starting to become a rather unfortunate habit, as of late. Trying to make her way across town, she took the risk and got into a cab, and instructed the driver to take her to upper Manhattan. The driver had looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where, and she was too lazy to really bother thinking on it for too long, so she let the flickering thought disappear. . Sitting back and relaxing, she just let herself enjoy the ride... Until she was seeing trees outside her window. That was about the point she started cussing and got out of the taxi, swearing to never get in one ever again. So it left her walking down the highway with no real plan on what to do next.

Unfortunately, she was practically at the mansion again, and the walk home would take forever. She could always just follow the road to the school, and try to convince someone to get her a ride. But after her last experience there, she really didn't want to risk running into any 'adult' mutants. They all seemed to think she was some strange uneducated creature, or a street urchin. At least, that's how she seemed to think they saw her. So, she did the only other logical thing. She moved into the forest, and tried to carve a path home that way. After all, they were just trees. How dangerous could they be?

Sadly, she'd been down this road before, in a rather literal sense. In fact, as she looked around, she was fairly certain this was where she ran into that dino-mutant and the crazy cat girl. Her memories of the incident were rather fuzzy, but she remembered a lot of fighting and then getting thrown into a tree. She really didn't want to get thrown into a tree today, but she had to get somewhere, and the woods seemed to be the best option for her now spontaneous pilgrimage.

Muttering to herself, she stretched her arms, and started walking through the forest with a rather bored expression on her face. The trees were quiet, which was odd, but foreshadowing didn't really start to set in until there was a distant roar echoing through the trees. It sounded closer than she felt comfortable with, and, like the brilliant person that she was, she started moving towards the noise with curiosity drawing her in. One step closer, than the next, she came up to a clearing where two rather predatory animals were standing off, and one looked like an awfully familiar angry saber-tooth cat. Except, this didn't look like the human feline she'd seen. It looked like the monster she'd heard of. And the beast it was faced off with had familiar looking wings and a tail, but everything else didn't seem to match. What in the world was happening? Her brain was trying to understand the situation, just about the point the striped tiger gave a swipe and the roar echoed through her body.

Tses was stuck in the woods.... and she was pretty sure this was not the right place for her to be.

The roar didn’t faze him the swat in the air didn’t either. Carrick’s body moved up the tree and only showed hesitation when the cat before him seemed to bulk up. ‘….Fight!’ thought the beast as he pushed his fears on another alpha away. He was in charge here and that was his kill he was protecting or what was left of it. Carrick hopped up a branch then another till he was in a closer proximity to the beast. Another roar and Carrick leaped for the beast with one of his talon like hands attempting to swipe the beast.

The leap forced him into the air and abandon his spot on the tree. However after taking a swipe at the other beast it created the distance Carrick wanted where he could safely glide down to the ground even with his injured wing. Once he landed Carrick turned and looked back to where the predator was in the tree standing on his hind legs and making his uninjured wing open to make him self seem bigger and more dangerous. Breathing in deep he puffed out his furred chest and let loose another mighty roar. This was his nest/den and he fully intended to keep it.

A second passed and Carrick noticed another scent on the air besides the predator the fresh kill and the markings on the tree he had produced earlier. This one caused Carrick to be distracted for a few moments while he shifted his gaze over to the other mammal who appeared recently. Sniffing the air he ran through his options of the new possible threat, ‘Fight? Flight? ….Mate?’

Emerald eyes watched as the beast kept climbing up the tree towards her. The saber tooth hissed and growled as it kept creeping closer to her perch. Her ears flattened as the beast roared at her once again and leapt forward to try and swipe at her. She pulled herself back to avoid the claws and watched the creature float back down to the ground.

Head tilted to the side, the saber tooth watched as the beast puffed himself up and spread out it’s wing, trying to make itself look bigger. Another roar came from the creature, a challenge that the saber tooth was gladly going to accept. This may not be her turf, but damned if she was going to let another creature push her around.

The beast turned its attention for a moment in another direction. She sniffed the air for a moment and picked up a familiar scent but didn’t turn her attention off the beast below her. Taking this moment of opportunity to gain the upper edge, the saber tooth launched herself out of the tree towards her target, long tail flailing madly as she fell through the air, clawed arms out in front of her.

Tses seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, at least when it came to these woods. There was roaring, and clawing, and the noises of a fight were evidently taking place. Tses didn't know what was going on, but she was fairly certain she should get out of here. But.... go where? She glanced around, looking for someplace to run, but both creatures had the vertical segment of the forest fairly well covered. Then she noticed a rather hollowed out tree trunk, and scrambled for it, deciding it would be a good place to wait out the chaos.

Dirt and bark got in her hair as she wiggled into the trunk, and the age wood cracked slightly with her weight. Light showed through the cracks in the wood, and she was felt her powers turn on with her nervousness. Great. Just what she needed. To be a frickin firefly in a log. Maybe she was thinking about this all wrong. Maybe she should just fight, blow up them or something. But it was almost the New Moon and she didn't have much power to draw on. Inwardly, she felt herself irritated at the two beasts. Why couldn't they just wait for another day to settle their differences.

Something crawled across her leg. She was pretty sure it was a spider. She was also pretty sure she didn't like the idea of spiders crawling up her legs.

Carrick’s beast like eyes still fixed on the woman he hardly noticed the predator jump out of the tree till she was in mid flight. The woman backed away into a tree and Carrick determined that she wasn’t a threat. Shifting focus back onto the other beast Carrick couldn’t help but still slightly focused on the woman something about her and her scent. Carrick roared and used all fours to push up into the air to give him some height.

Front talons out he took another swipe at the beast in midair using his good wing to shift him about in hopes to avoid the beast’s claws but like every alpha knows scars mean respect from other alphas and if he got a scar out of this then it was meant to be. Bearing his fangs Carrick snarled again and after he swiped at her in mid air he turned and glided down towards the tree trunk where the blonde was now backed.

Upon landing Carrick turned on his feet facing away from the tree trunk and towards the beast where he stood on his hind paws and snapped open his good wing letting out another roar letting the other beast know that the blonde was now his as well.

The saber tooth was free falling towards the ground and towards the other beast that was threatening her. He was half distracted by the woman who was now hiding in the trunk of a tree, but he managed to launch himself into the air and swipe at her. The beast’s sharp claws grazed her belly and shredded her tank top. Blood trickled from her stomach as she in turn swiped back in his direction with a nasty roar.

The beast used his good wing to float down towards the tree that was harboring the blond woman. He backed in front of it and made a stand to claim her as his own. The saber tooth wanted nothing to do with the woman, she just wanted to teach this little pup a lesson for threatening her.

The saber tooth landed on the ground with a thud and clasped a clawed hand over her stomach, the bleeding having already subsided from her rapid healing. Furious, she took a few steps forward before raising up onto her feet and letting out a savage roar, her green eyes almost black with the rage she was feeling. Returning to all fours she growled a warning to the beast before her. He was either going to submit to her or die, the choice was his.

Tses stayed still as the noises moved over towards her, the roar reverberating through the wood and making her ears ring. She was going to get eaten alive. She was pretty sure about it. So even with the spider crawling up her leg ever so slowly, she stayed still.

Please go away please go away please go away

The tiger roared now.

...shit....

Ok, plan B. She needed to think of a plan b... uh, blow up the animals? That didn't seem like it would go very well... maybe she could train the spider to attack them! No... that would take to long. Through the gaps in the wood she could see the two figures having what seemed like a western stand off to her. Well, they still seemed to be fighting each other, so that was nice for her. Perhaps they would like...kill each other. She could always root for that happening, right?

But she kinda liked Carrick, and if this figure was Carrick, she didn't want the rude cat person to like, kill him. She prepared to reach for some of her explosive energy, just in case... if all else failed, maybe she could like.... deter the cat figure from making filleted griffon...

(OOC: Sorry for the delay fighting with the muse on this one)

The furred chest belonging to the beast that was now Carrick puffed out a bit more readying for another roar this time signaling his attack charge. Carrick got down on all fours ignoring the lack of blood from the clean hit he had given her in the air and ignoring his own blood loss most likely from his side where it was suddenly sore and in pain.

She was in his territory without his permission and was not only challenging him but she also took a swipe at him. Carrick roared his displeasure with the female cat and he jumped forward using his talons to give him a nice push off the ground. Fangs now bared he ignored the woman behind him so he could focus on the beast before him he was the alpha and he will not be forced out of his own territory without a fight.

Jumping into the air with his good wing out stretched Carrick lunged for the beast again this time attempting to land on her chest and his face and fangs to her neck. She was the intruder and she will submit to his alpha status or be dragged out even though she was a good deal bigger than him.