This wasn't well thought out, was it? Linc breathed with labored breaths as he slowed down and waited for the street sign to give him permission to cross. Great. He thought to himself as he tapped his foot against the ground. He lost them. 

"Ma purse is gone. Can't stop now!" The woman, with squeaking leather boots and matching coat, walked to the edge of the street. Linc shoved the bass case in front of her and pushed back against her stomach.

"You can't just walk out into traffic! Ma'am, don't be rash." 

"That's a $5000 dollar purse! Don't touch me with that." She growled, but Linc held his ground. 

"Your life is worth more than that purse." He kept the bass in front of her. The wind of the speeding cars blew her hair against her face. She paused, taken aback by the comment, but unlike the previous times, she didn't bark back at him.

"He's probably headed to the Subway station. Security should stop him there, if my friend hasn't done so yet."



Men in uniform stood in front of the entrance to the subway. D*** it. D*** it all. The thief stopped in his tracks and turned back around. This can't be happening.

"At least that f***ckin mutt isn't-" he was cut short by the sound of gasping, as the crowd behind him started parting. [/i]That had to be that dog.[/i] The blood curdled in his legs, turning into a thick mush that froze him like a statue. He brought a communicator to his ear with his other hand, spitting directions into the person at the other end.

"Mickey. They caught me. I know, I know. Just get your a** up here! This is the last f***ing time you get my help."

As a last resort, he rummaged through the purse and pocketed a small black box, before holding the black leather in front of him, waiting til he spotted the dog's glistening teeth.

Jay knew a little something about chasing thieves; after all, he was on the other end of this a lot more often than he'd have liked to admit. And he knew the best way to catch someone like him. Though, the wild dog had a bit of an edge in this matter. He didn't have to see per se, and the crowd parting was more of a nuisance when it came to subterfuge.

No, once he had a good idea of the guy's location, he slipped into an alley, then turned onto a side street, then made full circle by turning yet again. He knew the neighborhood and this little detour spit him out a little bit farther ahead. Stopping, he closed his eyes and sniffed the air, catching the faint hint of his target and leather. He crouched, stalking more like a cat than a dog by now, as he approached behind the culprit.

Then, he sprang, aiming to sink his teeth right into the tender bits of the thief's backside.

The thief breathed a sigh of relief when the dog that emerged from the crowd was a fluffy poodle attached to a velvet-wearing female. Then, he began to think.

“Wait, a minute.”

He tapped his foot in impatience as he dropped the purse to his side. He kept his eye to the sky as he waited. Where did that dog go? A dark mist, thick as a swarm of locusts, floated past street lamps and descended toward him. Finally, Micky. What took you so long?

He waved an arm toward the mist, and hopped up and down. Over here you nitwit! The mist circled round the yellow glow of the lights and hovered above him, hesitating before it began to descend.

Then, the thief felt a large pair of serrated points clamp down on his butt cheeks. The air shook with the sound of his scream. His veins popped out of his neck and he leaped off the ground hissing in pain. The denim of his jeans ripped off and he yammered like a wounded kitten, pathetic and weak. Then the dark mist that hovered above, enveloped his forehead and his body soon turned as dark as night, clothes, purse and all.


“The subway is this way, ma’am.” Linc led the female across the busy intersection and down the walkway. He wondered if he’d see his puppy pal again.

Jay kept his grip on the man's hindquarters, but then something smelled...funny. The wild hound's nose picked up something foreign...human, but not quite, and there was something foul about it. He tore the denim of the man's jeans, tightening his grip even more; there'd be no way this guy was getting away. Odd smell be damned.

Suddenly, though, the guy's body darkened, turning black. And then....Jay's mouth was filled with a horrible taste, like he'd never tasted before, and it was only amplified by the dog's keener senses. He let go, gagging slightly as the culprit turned into a black mist and disappeared down a storm drain. However, Jay didn't see that, but he noticed the smell dissipating.

He lay on the ground, licking his paw, hoping the coarse fur would help remove the horrid taste from his mouth.

The flow of pedestrians trickling through the streets returned to its unhurried, yet gently rushing status quo. Linc's arms dragged. He adjusted the grips on the bags he was carrying. His hands were rough and calloused from working on a farm, so his grip refused to falter, but his energy drained from his body with every step he took. His wrists were the first to twist with a slackening control, and the droop of his draining energy spread up to his elbows.

The woman led him this time. She made sure to look back every second or so. Her movements were uncertain, as if she was depending on Linc to take more initiative. Her eyes flickered like a child first learning to ride a bike, terrified of trying to pedal without training wheels. 

"Keep going. We will bump into them sooner or later." Linc reassured her when she paused to give him a moment to catch up. She responded with a silence. She was holding her breath and biting back her words, more willing to trust him this time. Linc nodded and urged her on by picking up his stride and walking beside her.

The woman was the first to run toward a group of passersby huddled around a spot on the sidewalk. Linc sped after her. He dropped the bags on the sidewalk when he saw a dog sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by people's phones recording its pitiful, prostrate state.

"I know that dog." Linc spoke, and waved the crowd away. They continued to press in, but Linc was able to push them aside enough to kneel down at the fallen canine.

"Hey, are you ok? I have your stuff. What happened?" Linc steadied his breath and rested his hand on the side of the dog's face. He realized a moment too late that there was no way the mutant could answer in his current state. He had to take the mutant somewhere away from prying eyes if he was badly hurt. There was no way he could do that until this crowd, and that woman were off his case.

"Hey sir. This your dog?" A police officer came up to him. "You're causing a disturbance."

Nothing seemed to help get that disgusting taste out of the dog's mouth. It was possibly the most disgusting thing that ever assaulted his nostrils or his taste buds. After a few moments, he realized he wasn't alone. Well, he never had been, but he had drawn attention. People were gathered around, taking pictures and staring at him.

He hopped to his feet, still fighting with the bitter, noxious aftertaste of....whatever the hell that was he'd bitten. Not long after that, he was joined by the woman and his new partner in their failed attempt at vigilantism. Looking up, the dog gave a sharp whine at the man's questions.

But then the scene turned sideways yet again as an officer showed up. ****! This is gonna be another mark on my record...[/color]" he thought as he cocked his head sideways. Suddenly, he walked over to his gym bag, taking it into his mouth, and then dragging it into a nearby alley. He needed to find a place to change.

If that guy didn't still have his bass, he could have made a run for it.

The crowd walked away as soon as the officer showed up. A bit unusual, since the natural curiosity of man normally kept people close to scenarios that were dangerous, unfriendly, or downright frightening. The presence of the officer seemed to signify a natural conclusion, or foreseeable end to the commotion of the man with a dog, and so the crowd dispersed. The officer had told them to, anyway.

Linc explained to the officer what had happened, his words evoking no sympathy from the uniformed man. He kept the officer's attention away from the dog by using pointing gestures and facing away from the sidewalk, pointing towards the entrance to the subway station lying just down the street. The woman that had accompanied him, took the officer by the arm and walked him down. She sped him towards the subway, intent on getting back her lost bag. The bad had value that Linc would not for sure about, but the officer has asked his number before being dragged away by the woman, in order to call and get his testimony later on.

Linc nodded to the officer and waved the too away. Dropping his hands to his side, he looked down and scanned the street. The dog was gone. He was too busy diverting the cop's attention that his shapeshifting buddy walked away. He held the guy's bass in his hands, so the dog must not have gone far. He had dragged the gym bag away too, so LInc figured he was trying to get his clothes back on.

His stomach growled, but he had grown used to the hunger at this point, and waited at the corner of the street. There was no where the dog could have gone except for the nearby alleyway, so he'd just have to wait.

The wafting scent of food made him want to throw the bass down and jet, but he wasn't going to let his partner slink away just like the thief.

Finding a spot behind a dumpster, Jay shifted back into his human form and then got dressed with a speed and an expertise that only came with something like the downside of his mutation. Pulling on his black jacket, he made his way out of the alley, sweat pouring from his brow; all the shifting and running had really taken it out of him. That and the overwhelming taste--pun intended--of defeat didn't make things any better.

He made his way slowly out of the alley and back into the street, the aftertaste of...whatever that was....still lingering on his tongue. It was actually enough to quell his appetite for awhile, anyway.

Finally, he made his way back to his failed sidekick. "Well....that didn't go as planned..." he grumbled as he took his bass back, slightly winded from the ordeal. Hey, at least he got to try out a new shift.

"As planned?" Linc let go of the guy's bass as he reached for it. The guy had come back with his clothes back on. All of his clothes, by the looks of it. Just in time for the officer to have gotten away.

"As far as I remember, there had been no plan in the first place." Linc folded his arms. His brow was furrowed and his hands were clammy. Then he relaxed his gestures, letting calm nothingness return to his nerves, however, the rumbling of his hunger continued to lurk underneath his still facade.

"Officer said he'd look into the mess. The woman went with him to discuss the contents of her purse. Oh, and here." Linc gave the dude a slip of paper with the NYPD logo on it.

"Officer asked me to help with ID'ing the guy. I said I had a buddy who had gotten a better picture of him than I did, so you'd best call and help them out." Linc then raised an eyebrow at the dude whose belongings he had been lugging around for so long.

"Can't believe you're a mutant. Not that I thought it'd be impossible to bump into one in the streets of New York, but tonight of all nights? And I get to meet a shifter? How sweet is that?" Linc talked with his placid smile and his hands buried in his pockets. The situation intrigued him. He could think of so many reasons why this would be a waste of time, but he had ample time wasted already. I should probably explain to Rainee about what happened. I may not be able to get her that burger.

"How'd he get away? What did he do? Are you ok?"