Clyde managed to slip away from his family that afternoon. In teenage form, he was wandering around the forest. With all of its trees as cover and its lack of people, it was the perfect place to practice his mutant powers, undisturbed. He was wearing his older brother's old clothes that he had “borrowed,” and his normal child-sized clothes were in the backpack he was carrying, in case he had to change back. This was all part of his careful planning. Heck, with all this preparation, what could go wrong?

He flipped open his phone to check the time. 5 o'clock. He had been in teenage form for two hours and forty-five minutes. Four more minutes and he'd reach his old record. Unfortunately, he could already feel the onset of pain that came with staying shifted for extended periods of time. It was like trying to shove your own feet into boots that were five sizes too small, except the pain was all over and on steroids. No, he wasn't going to give in yet; he was going to fight it. Maybe if he constantly pushed that limit, he' be able to stay shifted longer. Maybe. He hadn't really seen any improvement. The limit had always had been short of three hours.

Clyde had to stop to rest; once the pain was there, it got bad fast. Just as he was walking towards a tree to lean on, he heard a loud snap! The noise was startling – enough to make him jump, but it was only a stupid twig. Loud, but nothing deadly.

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.

Clyde leaned against the tree's trunk. Resting there provided a little relief to counter the pain. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Besides, it would be gone once he turned back into a kid. That fact about his bugged him. Why couldn't he have at least been able to live life like a normal teenager, with or without the mutation?

For a few seconds, he tried to take in all of the rest he could, trying to keep his shift as long as possible. However, the noise from earlier still concerned him. Now that he thought about it, whatever made it was probably too big to be a squirrel or stray dog. Bear, maybe? Nah, unlikely, though really bad if it was. Was another person out there? Quite possibly. That whole thought was making him uneasy. He knew he needed to change back soon, and, frankly, he didn't want to have to explain it to some random stranger. One didn't have to be an expert to know that people generally didn't like mutants.

The age shifter left the leaning post of a tree, trying to move out of the area as quickly and quietly as possible – which wasn't very quick nor quiet at all. The pain forced him to keep a slow pace, not to mention, there was still snow on the ground from the last storm, and it crunched under his feet every time he took a step, slowing him down even more. It was cold and already getting dark. His parents were probably wondering what he was up to by now. Maybe practicing in the forest wasn't such a good idea after all.

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.

As Clyde stumbled on, he heard a growl behind him. The age shifter froze in his tracks. Some large animal was behind him. Oh $#!^! A bear! He turned towards the source, trying not to make any sudden movements. Bears didn't like sudden movements, right?

He faced the creature and quickly looked it over. It was big, all right. But, that was no bear. Closing in on him was some oversized cat with long, sharp canines and green fur! This wasn't like any animal he'd ever seen nor heard of. It was like something off of another planet. Worse, whatever this was, it looked angry. Or hungry. One of those two. Neither of those possibilities were good. That left two options for him. Fight or flight?

Definitely flight! He wasn't about to wait to figure out what it was going to do! Clyde broke out into a staggering run in the direction opposite of the giant feline. He had to find a way out of this, and fast! The snow was working against him, and the heavy clothes he was wearing for the weather weren't exactly helping, either. He cursed to himself for getting into that situation, and wrung his hopes dry that it would not give chase. Despite the adrenaline coursing through his system, he could still feel his form trying to go back to normal. No, no! Not now! It HAD to wait. If he changed back now, he'd stand no chance against this creature!

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.

Clyde tried to run away, but the monstrous figure was in pursuit. It was gaining on him. The age shifter had hoped that its bulk meant it would be sluggish, but for something its size, it was very nimble. It didn't help that his running was slow, either. He couldn't seem to shake it! For a short while, it seemed to be playing with him, like how others cats do with their prey.

Then it pounced, digging its sharp claws into his coat. Oh no, he was caught! If it hadn't been for the layers of clothing, those claws might have killed him just then. But that didn't matter. He'd likely be dead soon.

The catlike creature tumbled with him several feet through snow, twigs, and rocks. To Clyde, it felt like forever. When it finally did stop, he'd been roughly pinned to the ground, the creature looming over him. That's when he felt the pain shoot through him for a couple of seconds, then disappear. He'd turned back to his normal child form. No no no no NO! There was no way he could fight it now! Not like that! There he was, gazing up at the creature's massive fangs. The Grim Reaper was trying to take him, and there was so little he could do to stop it. He was completely helpless.

Struggling in its claws in a likely futile effort to escape, Clyde screamed as loud as he could.

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?”

The giant cat had it's fangs next to his neck, ready to bite and end him. Clyde squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death. But, for some reason, the creature stopped and relaxed its grip on him. Why was it letting him go now? The age shifter opened his eyes and watched as the giant cat leaned down and... licked his face. That was a bit disgusting. The creature was getting smaller and its fangs were retracting. Finally, it had shrunk down to the size of an average adult. It was still covered in green and white fur and had the fangs, but it was unmistakeably human and female. So this “creature” was really a person who was a mutant. Which, made the fact that she had licked his face even weirder. Ick. Cautiously, the age shifter sat up.

She was apologizing fervently and holding out her hand to him. The mutant had some sort of accent, though at the moment, he was unable to pinpoint it. Clyde had to take a moment to gather himself after the near death experience. His heart was still racing from the incident, and as much as he tried, he couldn't completely stop shaking. Luckily, nothing felt like it was broken, but the woman's behavior was puzzling. This catlike mutant had been about ready to kill him unprovoked a short while earlier. Now, she was showing concern for him. This made no sense. Rejecting her outstretched hand, he scooted back a few feet. Best to keep his distance.

“What the hell wuh you trying to do?” he demanded, looking straight up at her, carefully observing her in case she decided to attack again. He had been attacked, and he wanted an explanation as to why.

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….”

The striped feline mutant was soon frantically telling him that she was trying to go for a run away from people. Run away from people? Had she been attacked? He'd heard that some mutants had a hard time controlling their powers. Was that why she attacked him? Could a mutation actually make someone violent? Or maybe she was scared? She did mention that her instincts got the better of her. Quickly, she broke down, sobbing. Clearly, she felt quite remorseful for the action.

On one hand, Clyde felt bad seeing her look that distraught, but on the other, he was still quite afraid of her, considering that he still couldn't think of anything he'd done to instigate the attack. Half of him wanted to get out of that area as quickly as possible, but oh, crap! There was so much female emotion there that his head felt like it was going to explode. How was he supposed to help a crying woman? Being a teenaged guy, he was completely clueless, but he felt like he had to do something other than leave her upset.

“I'll b-be fine,” he stammered, staying seated where he was. “Just don't, um, do that again.” Wait, that probably wasn't helping. He didn't want to become prey for good! What to do... “Did someone a-attack you?” he hastily added, placing his hands in front of him in a sort of defensive position, though they were hidden by his now-too-long sleeves.

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.

Clyde silently listened to her explanation. So, apparently, she lost control of her powers and nearly killed him. That was at the very heart of the mutant controversy. Power accidents did happen, and sometimes, they were deadly. Being a mutant without a deadly power, he had no idea what to think of this woman. He was still wary of her, but she didn't appear to simply be acting remorseful. That mere thought meant nothing, though, if she was not in control. Staying alert to her every movement, he watched as she got on her hands and knees and leaned over the bushes and – Whoa! Didn't need to see that! Okay, she definitely wasn't acting.

Since Clyde did not have much experience with other mutants, he was at a loss as to what to do. At this point, maybe it was best for him to just get out of there. His parents were probably wondering what he was doing by now. Slowly, as to not accidentally set this “feral form” off again, and not once taking his eyes off of her, the age shifter stood up, took a step forward, and... immediately tripped forward. Oh right, the pants.

There was no way he was going to make it out of there dressed like that, and from the looks of it, the tiger lady wasn't going to leave anytime soon. “Great,” he mumbled to himself.

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.

Ugh. The faceplant in the snow was both embarrassing and a bit painful. He could add that to the undetermined number of bruises he'd have from the attack. He was about ready to get up himself, but before he knew it, the tiger lady picked him up and placed him back on his feet WITHOUT ASKING. Ordinarily, he would have chewed the offender out for doing that, but now wasn't such a good time. As she did so, she pointed out the fact that clothes he was wearing were several sizes too big, something he already knew. “Yeah, I do,” he answered, motioning to the backpack he was wearing.

She introduced herself as Regan, and asked him what his name was. From his point of view, it was like saying, “Oh hi! Sorry I almost killed you. I'm so-and-so. What's your name?” Even with the steps she had taken backwards, this attention was making him uncomfortable. The idea that she might kill him on accident was not a pleasant one.

“Since you asked, I'm Clyde,” he responded. “Just...” he started to say something, then paused for a couple of seconds. How could he put this without her sobbing up a storm? “Just stay back,” he finally told Regan, trying to put the words as gently as he could. Crap! That wasn't quite right! “I mean, I-I need to ch-change out of these,” he hastily corrected himself, motioning to the oversized clothes. “Don't look!” Oh God, what had he gotten himself into?