Warning

I feel like I lost a fight with a bougainvillea plant. Mina thought as he rolled onto his belly and moved his arms in front of his face to get a look at the damage.

Cuts littered his skin. Thankfully, most of them weren't deep, but several would definitely need scrubbed and some bandaging.

Groaning, he rolled back over on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to move.

No one has gotten up yet. They must have called out for the day.

He couldn't blame them. If it wasn't his own work that had caused the problem, he would have called out, too. He hadn't been able to sleep more than an hour at a time before being awoken by nightmares.Even though he had been somewhat cool and collected during the whole ordeal, besides his new shift, it definitely hit him hard once the adrenaline had worn off and the shock had set in.

I can't believe that Del did all of that... and killed that lion.

It had seemed like they were good friends, or at least acquaintances. Yet, he had to have shot the shifter when he'd failed to kill him. It helped a lot that the man had gotten Palace confused for Del, too.

To think that there are two of those giant winged wolf shifters.

It was a scary thought.

Sitting up, Mina ran a hand through his messy hair and looked over at the clock on the wall.

Already ten.

He couldn't waste anymore time lazing about. No matter how much he desperately wanted to just go back to sleep after tending to his cuts.

"Need a new job... with less aggression." He told himself with a sarcastic smile as he finally got to his feet and headed for the shower. He made it quick, but also made sure to scrub himself from head to toe.

When he stepped out, his cuts were stinging badly, but he knew that they'd needed washed. He found some light bandages in the medicine cabinet above the sink and took a few minutes to wrap up the couple of cuts that needed tended.

"Okay, all set."

Forcing a smile, he got himself dressed and out the door, intent on walking to town in the cool, foggy morning. He was careful to watch out for any motion that was out of the ordinary while passing the empty lots along the street.

I don't like being paranoid.

He grasped one of the bandages on his left arm and sighed.

It's going to take a while to get past what had happened.

Not to mention, he now had a new presence in his head that he needed to figure out.

The little lion mix hadn't tried to come out again, but he could definitely feel it in his mind. It almost felt like it was bouncing around, pouncing and playing without much worry.

I wish I could be so carefree. You almost got us killed, you know. He told it. Unsurprisingly, he got no response from the cat.

"Whatever, just don't come out while I'm trying to get a job. I can't feed us if I don't have any money and I don't want to rely on my uncles for much longer." He said as he saw the first few buildings of town appear ahead of him.

He passed the first few places because they weren't open yet. A bakery was his first target, but without any experience in the field, they just said that they'd call him. He knew that he wouldn't get a call.

The clothing stores he'd stopped at were more promising, but they hadn't been happy with his lack of a resume. He couldn't exactly put his previous job, considering his boss had tried to kill him. It probably wouldn't have been healthy to use him as a reference.

The sidewalks began to fill up with people as the day wore on. Mina worked his way from place to place for a while, then stopped for a small lunch before heading into a little quiet bookstore.

It smelled of paper and coffee, and Mina immediately felt a little more relaxed as he walked over to an employee stocking the shelves. The young woman acknowledged him with a nod, getting a smile back from Mina.

"Hello, would your manger be available to speak with me for a few moments?" He asked, doing his best to swallow his nerves. He was afraid that he'd get shot down again, but he knew that he had to just keep going until he got something.

"Sure, just wait near the door in the back and I'll get her." She said before disappearing around the corner.

Mina sighed out his stress and tried to nudge the little lion mix kitten in his mind back a bit. It had been getting more and more restless since he'd stepped into the shop, but he couldn't understand why.

He allowed his feet to take him to the back of the store, glancing at different book covers along  the way to try and distract himself. He was just stepping into the large back area where all of the magazines were displayed when his cheetah suddenly forced itself out, dropping him to the floor in a pile of clothing.

You have got to be kidding me. Let me change back, now! He growled, only making annoying mew sounds as his little shift tried to paw its way through his clothing. It was really only getting itself more tangled and poking little holes in one of his favorite shirts.

He had no choice but to let it struggle, since it wasn't listening, again. It had his shirt nearly in shreds by the time he felt someone pick him up.

Please stop this demon from destroying more of my things! He thought as whoever had lifted him up pulled the remains of his shirt off of his head.

Oh. Crap.

He tried to squirm free and run, but his lion was completely frozen as Del hugged him gently but very firmly against his chest, then pulled one side of his light blue windbreaker jacket over him.

"Oh? I thought there was someone here looking for an interview." An older woman said as she stepped out from the back area, looking around.

Del turned toward her with a fake smile and hugged him a little tighter.

"My nephew got a bit nervous and his shift took over. I'll be sure to have him come back when he's changed back."  He said smoothly.

You need to move or let me change back! Mina begged his lion. It still refused to respond and actually ended up trying to hide in Del's jacket, just making the woman chuckle a little.

"Alright.  Please do bring him back when he's ready for an interview, we're definitely looking for some extra help." She said before going back to the employee's only area.

Despondent, Mina just gave up trying to do anything as Del began to carry him out of the store. He was set down in the passenger seat of the man's car, and before Del even had his seat belt on, Mina's lion had shimmied its way beneath the seat.

The car was perfectly clean and drove nearly silently as Del got them headed to wherever Mina figured he'd kill him.

This is definitely not how I thought I would die.

"I'm not going to kill you right now, Claws."

Claws?

"You tore up my hand pretty damn well, so I think you've earned the nickname." Del said, lifting his bandaged hand at the same time Mina's lion decided to poke its head out from beneath the chair it was hiding.

Darn, I did that? Good.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back for it, but not today. There were way too many cameras on that block for me to bother dealing with you right now. Count yourself lucky, but you've lost a technical life today, Claws. Hopefully your remaining eight can keep you alive." He said as he pulled over onto the side of the road, then reached across the seat and opened the door.

I think when I was being hunted I lost at least three, but duly noted. Mina thought as his lion looked out the open door.

My uncles' house!

"I'll be keeping your clothing. Hunters like good scent articles to track." Del said without a hint of sarcasm as he tossed Mina's wallet out the door, then added his phone.

"Get going, I have things to do today." He said as he reached over and tried to scruff him.

Mina's lion reacted automatically, spinning abruptly and sinking its claws into Del's already-damaged hand. The man hissed before a deep growl slipped from his mouth.

"Mina, what are you doing?"

Both him and Del looked up toward the house as Jamie came down the driveway toward them. He was barefoot in a pair of loose, blue, checkered pajama pants, and after a moment Mina realized that Palace was slowly walking toward them behind him.

Del's entire demeanor changed as he reached over and grabbed Mina's lion by the throat with his other hand, then threw it out of the car, slamming the door shut, and reversing quickly around a corner.

Jamie was picking him up before he could even contemplate whether his head or his butt hurt more from the sudden fall.

"What the heck happened, Mina?" He asked as he picked up his damaged phone and wallet, then began carrying him inside.

As they headed up the driveway, Palace smoothly shifted into his giant wolf form and began padding down the middle of the street, ignoring any cars that had to swerve around him to avoid a collision. He started to run as he neared the corner where Del had disappeared. Right before he vanished behind a big copse of trees that littered that corner, Mina saw him flap his large wings twice and lift off of the ground.

Be careful.