FIGHT

She could smell fear. She could smell the physical part of it, the wetness and the stink, but even beyond that, there was a scent. Fear. Her opponent was afraid. Amethyst was only vaguely aware of what was happening; after the blinding pain rage had taken over.

FIGHT

The opponent didn't flee. It wasn't prey. It was an enemy. It threw invisible things at her that hurt, but wounds almost immediately closed again. The flashes of pain were enough to anger her even more. This person was hurting her, and more importantly, it was trying to hurt... the important one.

FIGHT

The beast lunged forward, led by instinct, leaning into the painful attacks. Claws slashed at the opponent, and her jaws were looking for a soft place to bite.

Knowing full well how upset his father would have been Tom sliced the air with his hand sending a invisible knife through the air cutting anything in it’s path before it lose power. The creature before him that used to be his bastard brother dodge far easier than he would have liked.

‘He got younger, how is he stronger and faster than what I remember!?!’ Tom shouted in silence as he brought a hand up in defense a wave of force blocked a few attacks as Tom jumped backwards sending another flurry off attacks. Was... could Carrick heal now too!?!? That was his father’s power. The Beast of Dublin could shift, roar and heal. Their father couldn't’ fly though, which made it easier to combat him or so he thought. All those times he thought of cutting his father down from behind or when he was giving Tom a ‘lesson’. This beast was different.

The creature moved around quickly slashing at him, lunging, jumping and trying to bite him. Tom tried to push him back but his brother kept dodging and whatever he didn’t dodge from he healed. Was he gonna die? No, not from Carrick. If he was in his body or not. He wouldn’t go out like this. That was when he was backed up to a wall. He turned to see what was behind him, no escape. He couldn’t dodge now.

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”Yer doing great Ames!” Carrick shouted from his girlfriend’s body encouraging the beating of his brother. Even if she landed a fatal strike he was pretty sure Tom would make a full recovery. Trash always seemed to survive fires. He’d once seen his brother shot in the head, only to have the bullet barely break the skin from his powers.

Looking around Carrick shifted his attention to the nearest thing he could find. A brick. Something he could use as a weapon if needed. It was hefty. While he couldn’t do much with his new power set he was pretty sure he could throw a brick.

Watching as his brother was backed into a corner Carrick hefted the brick as hard as he could hoping that the Princess’s life of luxury didn’t effect his throwing arm. It was all mental right? The brick sailed through the air and clamored to his brother’s feet. It was the distraction he didn’t intend for but was happy with the head turn from Tom who sent a ‘back hand’ his way. The air rippled and Carrick dove to the side feeling his feet get thrown backwards sending the former Irishman tumbling.

The prey fought back. There was pain whenever the attack landed, but the beast healed and healed again, until she was right on top of him. Amethyst roared again, the sound reverberating through the body that was not her body, and all the way own the alley. The man was backed into a wall now. Nowhere to run.

FIGHT

Something clattered to the ground. The man was distracted, sending an invisible attack in the direction of the important person. For a moment, his head turned, his attention strayed.

The beast's jaws clamped down on his shoulder.

HURT

The beast shook her head, shaking the man like he was a rag doll, then tossed him across the alley, against the opposite wall. Turning back, she sniffed the air, looking for the smaller figure that had tumbled in the alley. She hurried to her, now that the threat was dealt with.

PROTECT

As he rolled again in the body of the princess he saw glimpses of his former body closing the distance and mauling his half brother. The one that made his childhood a living hell. There were more rubies on the ground scattered around him. ”**** me.” he groaned trying to regain his bearings.

His knees, hands and elbows burned from the scrapes. It was however a lot better than what his beast form had done to his brother. Carrick chuckled a bit as he saw Tom grabbed his shoulder which was dripping blood as he struggled to his feet clearly more out of it than Carrick was feeling.

The beast form charged for him and he shut his eyes quickly hoping that she didn’t do anything to her body. it would have just added to the guilt he already felt whenever he had to communicate or think about shifting. With his eyes shut he missed Tommy turning and running away falling once or twice as he ran fear still plastered on his face.

Taking a breath he pushed himself up and eyed his old less preferred form. Was she going to attack? Was she in control or was she not sure what to do. ”Yer the best.” starting with flattery because all of his forms loved being complimented. ”Yer the alpha.” he added before raising manicured hands up signaling he didn’t want to fight.

The beast sniffed at the smaller form on the other body and the important person. There was a faint scent of blood, although not as much, and a lot of red shiny things scattered on the ground. Injured?

PROTECT

>> ”Yer the best. Yer the alpha.”

The beast sniffed at her, nudging her hand.

MATE?

She lifted her head, looking back over her shoulder. The prey had fled. Good. It was defeated. But there was someone else, wasn't there? Another scent of blood. The beast sniffed again, looking around. Where was the other person?

The beast form nudge his hand and he looked at the nails on it feeling weird it wasn’t covered in fur at the moment. ”Whose a good girlfriend? You are! Yes ya are!” Carrick patted the beast on the head and scratched behind the ears glad it wasn’t trying to flee. Maybe she did have some control over the shifted form.

Carrick was kind of jealous. It took him years to try and control the creature he shifted into and the princess seemed to have it down enough to not run and maul someone. He wouldn’t talk later. It only inflate the princess’s ego.

”Oh **** that’s right, blondie.” Carrick sighed and snapped his finger. ”You stay close to me, eh?” looking to beast form and trying to make eye contact. It was unnerving being on this side of the shift knowing how unpredictable it could be. That was when he thought of it. The only thing that helped him control the angsty beastie, and he happened to be piloting it.

”Come ‘on.” he reached down and grabbed it’s hand holding it in his. ”It be great if ya could shift back fer me.” he batted his eyelashes a little bit then leaned into the beast form. ”This form is great but I's so loud, yer other form might deal with the sounds better.” he said trying to flatter the creature as they walked over to the limp form of Rhia. He was still a little mad at her so there wasn’t really a rush.

Once they got closer to the limp form of Rhia he bent over and slapped her face a bit. ”Oi, wake up.” he looked for signs of injury around her head hoping he wasn’t going to have to call his moms to report a dead body. Where was his phone?

>> ”Whose a good girlfriend? You are! Yes ya are!”

The beast purred at the touch.

MATE

>>”Oh **** that’s right, bondie. You stay close to me, eh? Come ‘on. It be great if ya could shift back fer me. This form is great but I's so loud, yer other form might deal with the sounds better.”

The beast walked along.

PROTECT

She had successfully fought the enemy and chased it away. Protected the important person. The important person was mate, but also, in an important body, in a way the beast could not quite place. The scent of blood was distracting, though. They found the other person - FRIEND? - on the ground. The beast sniffed at her.

>>”Oi, wake up.”

The beast sniffed, and poked at the body. Was it dead?

The world was a swirling vortex of pain in the universe of suck. Rhia’s attempt to stop Tommy had resulted in her flying back and hitting her head hard enough to knock her unconscious. While that was bad enough, Rhia was then awoken by a woman slapping her on the face.

”Eeyy!” Rhia slurred as she then had to swat at something sniffing and poking her. Her head hurt. Her everything hurt and not in the good way you get after a workout. Rhia took in a ragged breath and opened her eyes.


Woman and beast.

Woman… and… Griffin!

Rhia’s eyes snapped wide open. Before realizing it was the griffon-princess and Amethyst. ”Did someone catch the license plate on that Irishman?”

”Back up love.” he said to his beast form girlfriend who was starting to sniff Rhia who was now just coming too. ”Boundaries right?” he asked repeating something he always tired to think whenever he was in that form. Beast form and Gryphon form didn’t care much for personal space. Everyone should feel blessed just being around him. Something that might also be Carrick’s way of thinking.

She opened her eyes and Carrick debated another slap... just to make sure.

”He wasn’t driving.” Carrick said ruining her joke. ”At least I don’t think he was. After ****in himself and getting chewed up by this handsome devil he ran off with his nonexistent tail between his legs. He’ll probably heal up and call da. Just be happy ya didn’t switch with him. He would have probably tried killing ya.” Carrick said as his smile faded.

”How ya feeling blondie?” Carrick asked holding up his middle finger to her, ”How many fingers ya see?” he asked now smirking. If she had a brain injury she could always go see Doc right?

”Pretty sure you owe us one now...” he said lowering his finger then pointing to his worst form and the body he inhabited. ”Saved yer life. Even after ya swapped us.” he said bragging.

The woman moved. She was not dead. The princes sniffed at her again. FIGHT? She was not sure why, but that person had done something wrong. But she was injured, and not attacking. She looked up at the important person. FIGHT?

Did not seem like they needed to fight.

The beast grumbled as she was pushed back from the two of them. She was not fighting anymore. She was... wrong. The wrong shape. And tired. She wanted to get out, this was not the shape she wanted to be. Wrong shape. She started pulling at her skin again, and everything turned very painful. The world shifted, and so did the body, although not into the form she wanted to be in. When the pain cleared up, Amethyst was still looking at the world though her boyfriend's eyes.

She looked down at herself. Himself. Bloodied and very much naked.

"That's... weird." she muttered, both exhausted and worn, and still a bit curious as she discovered even more parts of anatomy she had not previously experienced.

The griffon-princess killed the joke. Probably for the best, it was a bad and overused one. Something like Rhia’s dad would say. Rhia gently poked at the back of her head. No blood, but it sure hurt!

”I… I’m okay. Just dizzy.” And she saw two fingers. She knew he was holding up one very rude finger, but she saw it twice. ”I see one. Twice.” Rhia waved around a hand with her index finger extended. It was the beginning of her going to protest the bird, but then she realized she likely deserved it and just waved it a little more before lowering it.

When griffon-princess explained why Rhia owed them she slowly nodded her head. It was supposed to be fun. No one was supposed to get hurt, ”Yeah… I do. Thank you. And, I’m sorry… I didn’t want all this to happen. It was… Supposed to just be fun.”

Then Amethyst un-griffoned. This left him standing there naked as the Lord made him. Rhia saw more of the griffon-boi’s body than she had wanted to see. Her eyes widened and then averted.

”I’ll just…” Rhia tried to undo her swap. She couldn’t quite do it. Her mind felt muddled as it looked for the swap in her mind. She tried to undo it but it was like the mental muscle that she used to undo it was hurt. Attempting it just nauseated her. ”I… I can’t unswap you.” Rhia finally said, her face having turned a little green.

Carrick looked to his very much old naked self and tilted his head at his girlfriend who was piloting the body. Clearly off put by the whole shift thing. ”Bout as weird as bleeding rubies.” the former Irishman said lifting his forearm and palms up to her so she could examine the damage she had accumulated during the fight.

”Alright love?” he asked her very much aware his former body was stark naked and covered in blood in the middle of the city again. She couldn’t fly nor did she have the foresight to pack a change of clothes before they left the mansion. Carrick wouldn’t have had the need to shift against his brother he knew enough about fighting and his brother to know how to fight him however in this form he was glad she was here.

”Ya did great princess, who knew you could fight?” he said giving her a thumbs up and then looking down back to eyelevel with where he and Rhia were. ”Good fer you.” it was his body so he didn’t think much of it other than to stroke his own ego before he cracked a smirk then looked back to Rhia. Who quickly averted her eyes.

”What never seen wedding tackle before?” Carrick asked trying not to laugh at the concussed woman, ”Nothing to be ashamed about.” if he was in his own body he might have felt a bit more embarrassed because Amythest was around. Even if she seen him naked a few dozen times he still was awkward around her. OId habits.

”Wasn’t too much fun was it?” he said wishing he had a tail so she could see how annoyed he was at the situation. ”Gave ya a warning about him.” he said standing and offering the woman a bloody ruby encrusted palm to help pull her up. ”Can’t or won’t?” he asked looking back to his body who was naked. Carrick could have just flown away with Amythest in control that wasn’t a possibility. They needed open space for her to figure out how to fly. Here would be an accident waiting to happen.

”**** sakes...” he huffed. ”Stay here.” he told his body then looked to Rhia, ”Don’t go anywhere and keep an eye on her will ya?” he thumbed towards his body. ”And keep yer eyes focused upwards. Normally ya got to pay fer a show.” he said smirking as he walked back towards the bar entrance.

Even if they were kicked out they could have an apron or some article of clothing for his naked girlfriend. At least that way he wouldn’t have to explain to the moms why he was arrested for being naked in the streets.... again.

>>”Bout as weird as bleeding rubies. Alright love?”

"I... no?" Amethyst felt dazed. Wrung out. Hurt like she had not hurt before. Also, her mouth tasted funny. Ew. She sat suddenly feeling cold, and her wings drooped.

>>”Ya did great princess, who knew you could fight?"

"I... did?"

The woman was awake now, the woman who had swapped them. She looked worse for the wear too.

>>”Wasn’t too much fun was it? Gave ya a warning about him.”

"Change back? I wanna change back. Change us back." the princess was done with her boyfriend's body. Her own looked banged up too, with rubies everywhere. But she wanted desperately to be herself again. With no... extra appendages. But the woman did not do what she was told.

>>”Can’t or won’t? **** sakes... Stay here.”

>>"Don’t go anywhere and keep an eye on her will ya? And keep yer eyes focused upwards. Normally ya got to pay fer a show.”

"Show?..." Amethyst blinked, still dazed, as she watched Carrick in her body hurry away. She pulled up her knees and curled up. This had to be a nightmare. All of it. She was not sure what all she had done, but she had... she didn't want to remember. "This is not real."

Rhia looked at the griffon-princess, ”I’ve seen a… wedding tackle before. Not used to seeing them out in the wild.” She certainly wasn’t unused to seeing them. She even had a little experience with having one.

It was very clear that both Amethyst and the griffon-princess wanted to swap back. Rhia shyed back a little before taking the offered hand to help her stand up. The inability to properly use her power had her feeling all wrong.

”I… can’t.” Rhia said as she poked at her power which only gave her an increasingly painful headache. ”It hurts my head when I try, like it's pulling my brain in half.” Rhia looked away and added, ”I’m sorry.”

The griffon-princess then decided he needed to go somewhere. He told Amethyst to stay there and Rhia to also stay there and keep an eye on Amethyst without keeping an eye on the one-eyed wonder weasel. Then he was off, leaving Amethyst asking about the “show”

”I’m sorry, Amethyst… Worst case, you’re only swapped for two days.” Rhia hoped. She had never hurt her head and been unable to end a swap before. It shouldn’t affect the maximum length. Maybe. Hopefully. ”Yall can, uh, walk a mile in each other’s shoes. It’s an opportunity most couples could benefit from.” It sounded weak to Rhia and she lost steam as she spoke.

Very much like how the Princess would take command of a non-combative situation so to did Carrick as in he wasn’t wait to hear anyone argue. His body was naked on the street and it was cold. He needed to remedy that if they were going to get a cab anywhere. Gross, enclosed tiny vehicles. The shifter tried to ignore his situationally crippling claustrophobia. Ames needed him more now and he wasn’t going to be happy if anywhere on that beautiful head of his got frostbite.

The pub door kicked open and Carrick stormed up to the bar where the owner was eyeing him. “Thought I kicked you out with yer boyfriend?” the owner said calmly still cleaning a mug the way someone who was stalling for time nearing the end of his shift.

”Ya did. I’m back here because you also sent his brother out there shortly after us. Now if you don’t want me... I mean Carrick to come back here and preform ever again I suggest you offer up some clothing.” he was assertive, it was a command. “Wha? Who are you?” Carrick held up a hand to stop him.

”More important to him than you need to know. Now, he’s willing to play Patty’s day if you give him some clothes.” it was a transaction, one that the owner didn’t question. Little did he know that Carrick was already booked elsewhere. He’d figure something out.

A few more words were exchanged and he only managed to walk out with two aprons from the kitchen. It was less than ideal but now Carrick had an easy out. One he could spin so the reason he was in that situation was because of the owner.

Carrick managed to arrive at the last bit having only been gone for a short moment. The shifter took a breath, trying to calm himself.”Why would I want that? Look at the size of her feet? I couldn’t fit in them normally.” he said strutting over pointing to his now manicured toes before walking over to his body inhabited by his girlfriend.

”Much rather gaze at her beauty than be her.” trying to distract her he added, ”No offense though, I don’t typically feel like a princess.”

Opening up the apron he offered to place it over his head, ”It’ll keep ya decent fer the cab ride. Might also keep ya warm.” offering the second one Carrick looked back to Rhia, ”Yer coming with us, can patch up...” he gestured to his face then pointed to her, ”Whatever Tom did to ya. Maybe ya can swap us back after? Don’t think she can handle me body.” he said before chuckling at the implications.