Born to human parents, raised in a human house, and living around humans all her life, Casey thought that she was human. What else could she be?
Casey grew up in northern Michigan, and as the only child to two parents who were desperate for a kid. iT was easy to say that she was spoiled. She got what she wanted, she had much more than she needed, and she was greedy. But her parents gave in to her every demand without a second thought. She wanted a computer--she got a computer. She wanted a new doll--she got a new doll. She wanted more ice cream for dessert--well, her parents did put up some guidelines. Her room was full of toys and games, stuffed animals and coloring books. Though Casey was clearly privileged and spoiled, her parents loved her, and she loved them more than anything else.
In school, Casey had several friends who she would hang out with, many of them staying her friends well into high school. Parties, dances, sleep overs--it was everything Casey had hoped for and more. Considered one of the "popular girls," Casey spent a lot of time hanging out and having fun, enjoying all the attention she was getting. She couldn't have been happier with how her life was going.
A few weeks after her seventeenth birthday, Casey woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. Every bone in her body felt like it was breaking, her muscles felt like they were being ripped apart fiber by fiber. When she screamed in pain, desperate for help, the sound that came out of her mouth was an animalistic shriek. She screamed again, and the same sound came out. Her parents rushed into her room moments later, her father holding a bat. Her mother screamed, her father just stood there and stared.
That's when she finally noticed it--looking down at herself to try and see where the pain was coming from, Casey saw red and white fur, followed by a dark snout. Further down her body she saw whiskers and canine legs and a long, bushy tail. She wasn't...she wasn't human anymore. She was...a fox.
Casey can't remember anything after that, she must have passed out. When she woke up again, it was light out, probably midday, and she felt absolutely famished. Her mouth was dry as she sat up in her bed, a raging headache pounding at the back of her skull. Her pajamas must have been somewhere under her covers, because she wasn't wearing them anymore, but she didn't notice. Getting out of bed proved to be more difficult than she had intended--everything was spinning, every part of her was sore--but she managed to get to the door on wobbly legs eventually. Her hand rested in the cool metal of the doorknob and gave it a sharp twist--only for it not to budge. Frowning, she tried it again, but it still seemed stuck. So she tried it again, gripping it tightly, and twisted. There was a popping sound, and then the door opened.
Still groggy and in pain, and so very hungry, Casey went to the kitchen, not noticing that the house looked ransacked on her way there. She consumed nearly everything in the fridge--left overs, fruit, a jar of peanut butter. She also downed half a gallon of milk, followed by three cans of pop. Finally, her hunger and thirst had been quenched, and she could--Wait, why was the house a mess? Had someone broken in?
"Mom? Dad?"
No answer. Casey ran to their bedroom--they weren't there. Their closets and dresser were wide open and empty, as was the safe in the wall where they kept most of their savings. All important documents were gone. All of the pictures on the walls--gone. Out the front door, their cars were gone. In the back yard, there was a smoking pile of ash in their firepit, which Casey ran to to investigate. Tiny bits of blackened or browned paper remained, along with metal pegs that were...from a photo album? Casey picked up one of the singed pieces of paper to examine it closer in her hands.
'Certification of live bir...'
The paper slipped from between her fingers, back into the firepit. Her birth certificate. Her parents had burned her birth certificate, likely along with any other sort of legal documents pertaining to her. They had locked her in her room, grabbed their things, and abandoned her. The memories from the previous night came rushing back to her in a painful flood--screaming, pain, fur, tail, legs, fox--
Casey wasn't human anymore. She was something else.
An abomination.
Casey kind of just...sat outside, naked, by the firepit, for hours. Her whole life was turned upside down in the worst way possible. Her parents had abandoned her, she could turn into a fox, she had no record of who she was. Of course, her town still knew about her, she still had friends, there was no way her parents had erased records of her digitally, but could she stay? Was she safe to be around? Would she turn into a beast at any moment?
That night, after sitting outside well after it had gotten dark, Casey made up her mind.
Casey went inside, ate the rest of the food in the fridge, then packed her bags. She stuffed a duffel bag with as much clothing as she could, dug through her sock drawer until she found an old leather wallet full of cash--containing her birthday and Christmas money, along with some that she might have stolen from her parents, which she in no way regretted now--and filled a backpack with boxes and cans of food from the cupboards. Putting on a baggy outfit, raincoat, and sneakers, Casey walked out of the front door of her childhood home, and never looked back.
The next few months basically consisted of Casey walking, stealing, hiding, and discovering just what she was. A lot of the time she slept outside, even in the cold of winter, incase she changed into a fox in her sleep again. And, actually, she did. But she didn't just turn into a fox--she became a cat, a poodle, a hawk, a squirrel--all while she slept. It took her a while to figure out how she could change while she was awake, and the more she changed while she was awake, the less she did while she was sleeping. It was also far less painful than the first time she had changed. Now it was just uncomfortable, not scream-worthy agony.
Stealing was something she wasn't proud of, but Casey had to eat, and she had to eat a lot. Apparently after her first change, something about her physiology had changed internally as well. She could burn off food as fast as she could eat it. She stole food from convienient stores and clothes from thrift stores, just enough to keep herself reasonably clean and fed. Sometimes she would actually make a purchase, if there was something she wanted that was too difficult to steal, or she just felt too bad about being a theif. She was already a monster, she didn't want to be a major criminal, too.
Eventually, she didn't much care about stealing anymore.
She didn't much care about anything.
Appearance:
Name: Casey May Evlin
{Face Claim: Luca Hollestelle}
Age: 23
Height: 5 Foot 4 Inches
Sexuality: Bi-Romantic, all sexual encounters have been tramatic up to this point, so she's unsure if she actually wants a sexual relation or not.
Hair Color: Natural Red and Curly (When taken care of, which it usually isn't)
Eye Color: Sea Green
Skin: Heavily Freckled
Clothing: Usually something dirty and ill-fitting, always stolen, rarely cleaned.
Casey's Forms:
Fox:
The form Casey takes most often is the one she turned into first, a red fox. It's warm in the winter, quick to move around in, and nearly everywhere. The form felt...coforting, for some reason, despite the tramatic start to her shiting life.
Cat:
A cat was easy to travel in as well, especially in cities. No one batted an eye at a stray cat, and if she acted cute to the right human, she might even get some food.
Hawk:
Casey was expecting it to be hard to teach herself how to fly, but it was surprisingly simple. Instinct took over immediately, and flying as a bird of prey gave her some sense of strength and freedom.
Mouse:
Tiger:
Crow:
Comments
Once Brian had returned to his calmer senses, he exhaled and then slowly climbed off the other hunter, but still kept the gun pointed at him just in case. He could see well enough that the man was scared and probably wouldn't attack him now. He waited with thin patience for the hunter to get up and presumably run away.
However, he hadn't accounted for the driver, who was pointing a gun at Brian from behind. Thanks to his enhanced senses, Brian did realize that he was behind him. But he didn't have time to react fast enough. It was only because of Casey they he did not got shot himself.
Brian let out a gasp of surprise as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by Casey. Or rather, Casey in the form of a huge cat far larger than himself. The wind was knocked out of him for a few seconds but he quickly recovered. For a moment, he wondered if Casey had lost control of herself and was now attacking everyone in her sight. But when she did not do anything further, except look at him and moved her head in a suggestive way, he knew exactly what she meant. From one animal to another, he understood her perfectly.
And he was extremely grateful that she had taken a bullet for him, even if he didn't express it right away. He would thank her properly for that, in time. But for now, he had to get to the car.
"All right...see you there." Brian said with a small nod and then he quickly got back up on his feet. He would start running towards the forest from there towards where the car was parked, but not before turning around and looking at Casey with a grateful expression. "Thanks..." He said before turning and sprinting towards the tree line as fast as he could, which was quite fast thanks to his enhanced speed and strength.
He could only hope that Casey would make it to the car okay on her own.
Just as Brian had planned, the hunter's car collided with Brian and knocked him off his feet to the side. Brian rolled for a few meters and then lay still on the ground but only for a moment. It had hurt, just as he had predicted and let out a loud groan of pain. But he was back on his feet quickly. His body was strong and resilient. He knew he could handle it.
He was too distracted by the lead hunter getting out of the car and running to retrieve his gun to look around for Casey. Brian started running towards the gun as well, hoping to reach it before Victor did. But then that flash of fur zoomed past Brian and tackled Victor to the ground. It was a cheetah...it was Casey!
She had shifted after all, but Brian hadn't expected her to fight. Nor had he wanted her to, but he couldn't deny that it was a good idea. Especially now that Victor was pinned helplessly to the ground. Whether Casey chose to kill him or not was her choice and hers alone. Brian would not interfere, unless he absolutely had to.
But there was still the other hunter to contend with, who would try to shoot at Casey, despite his boss's orders. Brian felt adrenaline kicking into his system once again and with an angry, protective yell he ran and tackled the other hunter to the ground as his gun went off. And so the bullet just barely missed Casey by a few inches, grazing her at best.
From there, Brian got on top of him and punched the hunter in the face a few times before pulling the gun out of his hands with the strength of a very pissed off animal. His beastly side was coming out now, though only in spirit, but was still nevertheless a dangerous side to show. The ugliest part of him that only came out in times like these, where himself or someone he cared about was being threatened.
Pointing the gun at the hunter's forehead, Brian seemed to almost growl at him before shouting in a threatening voice. "Leave us alone! LEAVE!" He yelled directly in the man's face, hoping to scare and intimidate him as best he could. His blue eyes were burning with primal anger and fury. Like Casey, he did not have it in him to kill another person. At least, not willingly. Although in this moment, he certainly seemed capable of doing so.
Unfortunately, he was so full of adrenaline and rage, Brian forgot about the second hunter, the driver of the vehicle who was still inside the car.
Brian had stamina for days. He could definitely outrun the hunter's car if he had to, but he couldn't say the same for Casey. He wasn't sure what her limits were, or if she had already reached her breaking point.
He hadn't looked behind them. He had been too focused on the path in front of them. His concentration fixed on getting back to his car as fast as possible. It was only when he heard the first shot of the tranquilizer gun when Brian realized just how close they were.
Brian turned to look at Casey and saw she was still running beside him, keeping up. But how long would she be able to?
When the second shot fired and he heard Casey shout, Brian looked at her in concern and panic. What would happen if she got shot again? No. He couldn't allow that to happen. Brian made a promise that he wouldn't let the Hunters hurt her. And he still intended to keep it. The treeline was still several yards away. They weren't going to make it. Unless...Brian could distract them somehow.
"SHIFT, CASEY! Shift! Get out of here!" Brian shouted as he ran. He couldn't force her, but he hoped that Casey would listen and shift into an animal that could help her hide from them or get away. It didn't really matter what, as long as the form of her choice helped her escape.
Regardless if Casey shifted or not, Brian took a deep breath and then without any warning, did the unthinkable. He suddenly turned, ran and then with a jump, threw himself directly in the path of the car. Intentionally. He wanted the car to hit him. He wanted to slow them down, anyway he could. It would hurt, but he knew his body could handle it.
And hopefully, by the time the Hunters stopped the car or tried to attack him instead, Casey would be long gone in the form of some other creature, or maybe she would have made it back to Brian's car on her own. Regardless of what she did, Brian would buy her some time to make her escape.
She was the main target. He knew that. So if he could slow these hunters down in anyway, he would do it. He made a promise, after all.
"Yeah, that's right." Brian said as he made sure he had everything. "I'm going to open the door and we're going to run back to where the car is. Just follow me. It's gonna be okay..." Brian said, although he only said it for Casey's benefit. He wasn't sure if everything would be okay, but he had to try and believe it.
"On the count of three...same as before. Ready? One...two....three!" Brian said as he quickly opened the back door. Once they had both stepped outside, Brian quickly locked it and then began running towards the woods behind his condo. He would be able to find the car by its scent no problem. All Casey had to do was follow him.
If they could just reach the car before the Hunters caught up to them, they would have a chance. They would be okay. But they had to make it there alive first, without being seen. And that was going to be a challenge.
Fortunately, Brian's sense of smell was far superior in this case. There was hardly another animal in the world that could pick up scents more easily than a wolf. And if the Werewolf was a stronger version of that animal, then it stood to reason that Brian's senses were even more heightened.
So there was no mistaking it. The hunters were here. Not too close thankfully but close enough to panic. Brian tried his best to stay calm as he grabbed his keys, wallet and phone before shoving them into the pockets of his leather jacket which he had quickly put on just prior to.
He then moved towards the back door and waited for Casey. His eyes kept darting back towards the front door and the front windows nervously. It was then when he suddenly realized that the Hunters could easily look inside the house. Brian hadn't thought to close the curtains before because he honestly didn't think they would be able to find his house. Without his car nearby, he had been almost positive they wouldn't be able to find them. Only now did he realize just how wrong he had been. These hunters were far smarter than he could have ever anticipated.
He quickly ran over to the front of the condo and shut all of the blinds and the curtains. After checking that the front door was locked, he hurried to the back door and stood by it again with staggered, nervous breaths of air as he waited for Casey.
Victor watched her a moment, his blue eyes scanning her with cool collected understanding.
She clearly wasn't seeing the opportunity that he was offering.
But this wasn't uncommon, in fact quite the opposite. It was what Victor expected of those that wandered into his grand oasis. Most of them had learned to defend themselves in even the most basic ways, making friends was rarely an advantage in their worlds.
Most of their kind, the dismissed and the otherworldly, were preyed upon. Not given sanctuary and genuine opportunity.
They are tricked, used, manipulated for gains or flat out sold, tortured.
This made his plight ever the more precarious.
"I understand." He said simply, with a slight accompanied nod and the release of his intense gaze.
"I am sure your food will be done any minute. In fact if you prefer to return to your room it can be brought to you there."
Victor offered a slight smile, a little tight as if it was forced.
"And, for the record...I hope it works out for me too. But I also hope it works out for you.
If you don't value your own potential for improving your life instead of just surviving it, then you will never be able to see the opportunities around you. Eventually surviving isn't enough." He sniffed and finished his drink with a sip, then stood from the bar. Straightening his cuffs and buttoning his suit, he trained his eyes on the burlesque style dance number that was happening on the distant stage.
"Abiding your wishes, I will bid you goodnight, I was only here to speak with you and seeing as this evening has left you frazzled it may be best for us to speak another time. Tomorrow, if you have any interest after you have rested, I could have Blàth come speak with you, she would be absolutely delighted to meet another shifter.
Now if you will excuse me, I have a little boy who really hates to go to bed without a story."
He gave a slight bow of his head before he began for the door, though Victor often disapperated when moving short distances, as his own apartment was in the very same building.
But he thought the grand display of magical prowess would do less to impress Casey and instead more to boggle her mind and make her feel foreign.
So he walked towards the door, Iain watching from the distant booth he lounged in. But he made no move to follow or fill the young mage's shoes.
((Hey sorry I took forever, switched jobs and had a hectic few weeks settling back in and working out my old shifts.))
Brian smiled in relief when Casey said the food was good but that smile didn't last for long. He couldn't stop thinking about the money she'd left at home. If his car was still in the woods, maybe they could quickly swing by her place and look for it? Brian knew what the hunters smelled like now. He had gotten close enough to know their scent so if they were nearby Casey's home, he would know right away and they would simply leave and try again another day. But in all liklihood, the hunters had already searched her home for anything they could use to find her. Brian could only hope that they had not been successful.
"Yeah. Me too. Maybe we could try and go by there tonight? It might be worth a try." Brian suggested. But of course, if Casey didn't feel safe going back, they wouldn't do it. For now, it was only a suggestion.
Brian chewed the rest of his food while thinking about Casey's question. Even though he had more experience with hunters than Casey did, they were often very unpredictable and it as hard to ascertain exactly what they would do next or where they would go.
"Hm...I'm not sure. A few weeks...maybe longer if they're...." Brian's voice suddenly trailed off as he slowly looked towards the front door, in the direction of where Victor and his men were parked a block away from his home, though he did not know it yet. His beastly instincts were warning him that something was wrong.
That scent...that familiar scent of cigarette ash and leather...yes. He had smelled it before, when he and Casey had encountered them on the highway.
The Hunters were in the neighbourhood. They had found his home. He didn't know how, but they did. But they hadn't come to his door yet, which meant that they were waiting. Waiting for him and Casey to leave...and that's when they would strike.
"I...I don't want you to panic, Casey..." Brian began slowly, his gaze still hadn't moved from the front door but soon he would look back at her with a serious and concerned look.
"...but...they're here. They're outside. They found us." Brian said quietly, as if he were afraid that somehow, at this distance the Hunters would hear them.
"We need to leave. You grab your things...and...and I'll meet you by the back door." Brian said as he glanced over at the sliding glass door which led to the backyard. And further beyond that, was the forest where Brian had left his car.
If they could just reach the car without being seen, they might be able to escape.
(Ack.... so that last message I meant "you owe nothing" not "you own nothing" very similar but very different meanings. My b I should proofread better)
Victor smirked at the weak argument she presented, and sort of put his hands up in resignation when she ordered her own drink. He didn’t want to be pushy, but he was used to people sand bagging him- in the many ways that entailed.
He tried to make his gaze scarce, he didn’t want her to feel scrutinized or judged, it wasn’t his intention.
Though her quip did make him laugh, and he had a silky laugh full of deep timbre, like a distant bell in a church tower.
“No... in fact you can leave whenever you like. Nobody will keep you here, and you own nothing. If it is so beyond understanding that perhaps I like to help my kind out of kindness, then let me add a more transactional understanding. I offer people a place to stay and a warm meal when they need it. They don’t go out and terrorize humans- making it more difficult for us all, nor do they go out to hurt *our* kind, as unfortunately some have tried to do to you. Sometimes, if people are interested in helping me with my cause, I make our relationship a little more permanent.”
He sort of motioned behind him. “Iain, Azrael. They are my friends, but they also do work for me.” He hesitated, his eyes searching the ceiling for something.
“I have lofty dreams for this world. It takes help to build new societies. But I am getting away from what you really care about.”
He put an elbow on the counter and leaned into it. He wore a deep blue suit, so much so that in a certain light it looked black. It was likely more expensive than most cars Casey had been in.
He took a sip of the martini before he started again.
“I have studied since I was a very young boy to understand the mysteries of our world, and the universe at large. I am well adept at identifying others, but you also aren’t the only one that I know. In fact, a very good friend of mine is a selkie, a specific breed of skin-shifters. She came with Azrael from Europe. She is charge of our education and rehabilitation programs, a lot of our kind are…” He searched for the right word, “... marred by their hardships in this world. Some find it difficult to find their ways into a society that doesn’t see them.”
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