A Night Off? (Kate)

[lachlan]

Lachlan sighed heavily as she stood at the entrance of the motel parking lot. The place was called the Spyglass Motel – an apt name, given the extreme lack of privacy. There weren’t many trees and none of the windows appeared to have curtains. Some had blinds with a few slats missing here and there. The yellow siding on the exterior was worn and chipped in places.

“Lovely,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.

She’d had a long night, however, and this place was close and had a few vacancies. It would have to do for now. Lachlan crossed the parking lot slowly and gingerly in bare feet. She wore a pair of baggy, oversized jeans with a tightly drawn black leather belt. They came down over her feet and hid the many cuts and scrapes they’d acquired after too long of a walk. She wore a men’s button-down shirt over a loose-fitting tank top. She was a big haggard and very tired. Remaining in female form would take up too much of her remaining energy, but with the lack of privacy in the area it would be difficult to change into her true male form unnoticed.

There were only a few cars in the parking lot, but they were the only thing she could see that could conceal her while she changed. Lachlan looked around and noted that the place seemed deserted. She hoped it would stay that way long enough for her to make the transformation, otherwise things could get messy.

She approached a silver SUV that looked fairly spacious and would offer the most cover of all the vehicles she saw. She pulled up on the handle and found that it was locked.

“Of course,” she grunted.

It wasn’t a problem, really. It was just irritating because a locked door meant she’d have to use more energy to open it than she would have liked. She could open the door using her heightened strength, and it would require her to break the lock and possibly the door itself. That could potentially attract unwanted attention. She decided it would be safer to duck behind the vehicle to transform, though it was a bit more dangerous if someone happened upon her. During the transformation itself, though it would be a brief window of only thirty seconds to a minute, she would be very vulnerable and unable to move from her position until she had changed.

I’ll have to risk it, she thought.

With another glance around the parking lot, Lachlan crouched behind the SUV on the side facing away from the motel and toward the street. She stripped off her belt and unhooked the bra under her shirt, managing to twist an arm through one strap and back out the shirt sleeve. She pulled the strap off the other shoulder and managed to pull the whole thing out through the other sleeve. It was a bizarre trick, really, but she’d had ages to perfect it. Dropping the belt and bra onto the pavement beside her, she sat down and leaned her back against the car. Closing her eyes, she began a process that could aptly be described as meditation. She focused on her breathing until it became slow and even. Little by little, she relaxed all of her limbs and muscles, focusing first on her toes and then her feet, her ankles, calves, and so on. She did this twice until her entire body felt limp and heavy.

Again, she concentrated on each limb or section in turn, only this time she focused on letting them return to their natural male state. This part was not relaxing, but uncomfortable and even a bit painful. Little by little, each of her limbs from bottom to top would shift and change until she was no longer a woman, but a man.

The transformation could take from five to twenty minutes, depending on Lachlan’s state of mind, and tonight it was going a bit slower than usual. Normally this wasn’t a problem and she just had to be patient, but she was not in a safe, secluded area and it wouldn’t be difficult at all for her to be discovered…

[kate]

Arriving at the parking lot of the first motel she came across, she parked her bike at the far end and as close to the rooms as was possible. That she could keep a good view of her beloved bike was most likely the only good point of this place. And maybe that there seemed to be only a handful of people staying. But Kate had seen that change too quickly far to many times to count on the idea that it would stay like that. As a old habit, she let her view slide over the parking lot. There was a other woman, but apart of that she was the only person outside. Not that she wanted to stay outside for long and started to make her way inside so she would be able to check in. All she wanted at the moment was to take a hot shower, check her research once more and then go to bed. She had been driving all day to get to a case that wasn’t to far from this motel.

Stepping inside the she saw immediately that she wasn’t the only person that wanted to call it a night. The guy at the counter was about ready to fall asleep pretty much on the same spot as where he was standing. Quickly checking in she made ready to make her way to her room and get her well deserved, long, warm and definitely nice shower. It was time to get some clean clothes.. The ones she wore now were her main style, consisting of simple dark blue jeans, a light blue tube top and a light grey blouse . Though that was covered by the dark brown leather jacket she wore. But as she started to make her way her attention was caught by the woman on the parking lot. She hadn’t paid much mind to her before but she seemed to be acting strange now. Hanging around by the cars like that, again Kate was happy that she had a good view at her bike.

Feeling tired she was about to let it slip and as she arrived at her room she opened the door and through her bags inside. Before she stepped inside she looked over her shoulder, she didn’t know why, but she saw the woman crouch behind the silver car, as if she was hiding. Deciding she was to curious to just let it pass, she looked the door and made her way over as quickly and quiet as she was able to manage. As she walked around the car, she saw the last thing she expected tonight. The woman was slowly changing. Piece by piece her body swelled up. Or actually it became more muscular. As if she was changing into a man. Any one else would have screamed, but she was way passed the stage to have to keep down that urge.

Reaching behind her back she pulled out the gun and pointed it at the woman, the first moments she had been frozen. Recovering from that her mind had screamed only on thing at her. Shape shifter, and she hated shape shifters. The first shot she fired missed, she normally wouldn’t even be able to miss from this distance, but she was still feeling shaking from being taken by surprise.

[lachlan]

Lachlan sat very still, her back still leaning against the side of the car. She was focusing on her breathing as she transformed from her female form to her natural male form. The process was taking longer than she would have liked under the circumstances, but there was nothing that could be done about that now. Once the transformation started, there was no going back.

The feet lengthened, first the toes and then the rest. The ankles and calves followed almost simultaneously, and then the thighs and torso at once. That was the difficult part - the hips, the ribcage, the spine, and all the muscles bulkening while the organs shifted about to accomodate the larger space. Some organs enlargened - the lungs expanded as Lachlan continued to breathe in an even, controlled way. The body itself had lengthened, increasing Lachlan's height by a few inches. The clothing that had been baggy on a female was well-fitting on his male form.

The change was almost complete, the skull and facial features morphing into their more masculine structure. The hair could remain long - it was just past shoulder length. Normally Lachlan preferred his hair closely cropped, but shortening it would require an unnecessary use of what little energy he had left for this sort of thing. Cutting it was a possibility, but wouldn't be wise, as Lachlan was no hairdresser.

He sensed a human energy approaching, female and somewhat hostile, but he couldn't move from his position until the change was fully complete. Under normal circumstances, he would take a few minutes to orient himself and remain still, breathing steadily, after the transformation.

The gunshot came, hitting the side of the car, the bullet embedding itself in the door.

Shoot first, ask questions later, he thought. Lovely.

He'd have to move quickly.

He opened his eyes the second he was able to and saw a young woman standing near the car, aiming a gun at him. He flexed his jaw, hearing and feeling the joints crack with the sudden movement after the strain of the change. He flexed his fingers at the same time, the knuckles cracking.

"Please don't shoot," he said calmly, his vocals much deeper than they had been when he was female. His voice sounded slightly hoarse, but that would pass.

It took an effort for him to move his arms - the muscles aching with protest, the joints cracking. He raised his arms slowly his palms facing out in a signal of surrender.

"You must be thinking something dreadful," he said, "but, to use the age-old excuse I'm sure you won't believe, I assure you this is not what it looks like."

Having witnessed him changing form, this woman could easily have mistaken him for a number of nasty beings that roamed the earth. He'd come across a number of humans over the ages who dedicated their lives to combatting just such creatures. Given that this woman seemed only slightly shaken up by what she'd just witnessed and that she seemed rather intent on killing him right then and there, he guessed that this woman was one of those humans: a warrior, a hunter.

(OOC: Lachlan won't attack Kate, but if she feels the need to shoot him or stab him or something at any point in this thread, she may. He will be harmed, but can heal most wounds. However, if she tries to give a fatal wound - such as shooting him in the head, or stabbing him in the heart - he will defend himself.)

[kate]

As soon as she had realised the shape shifter had changed from a female body into a male body she had fired the shot from the gun she had carried behind her back. She had missed, from a distance she shouldn’t miss. Ever. But she had been quit shaken by it, she just hadn’t been prepared. So it had hit the car he was sitting against. The creature before her opened his eyes and looked into her own. With his deep but hoarse voice he asked her politely not to shoot him. This angered her, most sadistic and evil ones she had come across from on her job had been the ones to act all polite to her. Living with that experience, the supernatural plus polite equalled danger to Kate.

She tensed even more as he raised his hands as a sign of surrender. As a young child she had once fallen for that trick. She had been young, naïve and to full of herself and her ability’s in hunting. Her life as a hunter had shaped her and in her opinion taught her never to trust the supernatural. After all they did to people the could only be bad. She would protect the people that were oblivious to the danger that was around them. No matter how innocent he tried to look, he had probably hurt too much people already. Kate wouldn’t let this shape shifter get away with his evil deeds.

And then came a surprise even bigger, he came with the lame excuse that it wasn’t what it looked like. Yeah right, like she would believe that. She had seen a lot and it had all been the same in the end. Evil, out there to hurt and murder innocent people. Unless this creature was powerful enough to take out a hunter in while he was in a weakened state, he wouldn’t life through this encounter. Did he really believe he could just trick a hunter in walking away?

“Then what is it” she didn’t really know why she asked what it should look like then, instead of just shooting this thing into oblivion.

She was a hunter, by all rights he should be dead already. He should have been dead before he even opened his eye’s, but she had missed. Then he should at the very least have been dead as soon as he raised his arms. But he still sat there against that car. Not dead. What was wrong with her. He was weak now. She should keep his an easy job. Kill it and return to her original plan for a semi nice evening.

It was strange how calm his voice had been. It should be clear that she was a hunter, and as such he should know that she was a danger for him. She wondered how he was planning on attacking as she raised her gun once more. The second he would attack her or give her an answer she disliked she would fire again. And she wouldn’t miss twice in one evening on the same unmoving target.

[lachlan]

Lachlan studied the woman, his violet eyes less prominant in the dark. She was petite and her delicate facial features were drawn in a hard expression. She may have looked small and fragile, but he suspected her appearance was deceptive.

Any creature who crosses you must be an unfortunate soul when you're through, he thought as he attempted to explain himself.

It wasn't a very detailed explanation since, when staring down the barrel of a gun, long-winded conversation often wasn't the most practical course of action. She seemed hesitant to fire the weapon a second time, which was a good sign. That meant there was a chance he could talk his way out of this.

"Then what is it?" the woman asked when he told her it wasn't what it looked like.

"That's... a bit difficult to explain," he said slowly. "Given what you just witnessed, I understand why you feel the need to shoot me, but the weapon really isn't necessary. If it makes you feel more comfortable to keep it trained on me, by all means do so, but I should probably warn you that shooting me most likely won't do much."

He moved his head from side to side to crack his neck. He was very much regretting having to skip the post-transformation meditation, but he'd had little choice in the matter.

"Pardon me," he said. "I don't normally move so soon after a transformation, so there will be some... less than pleasant effects. I will try my best not to make any sudden movements. As I was saying..."

He paused, trying to think of the best way to explain his circumstances as briefly and clearly as possible.

"Well, I'm not here to kill anyone. That I can tell you for certain," he said. "Like anyone else, I'm just here to get some rest."

Any further explanation would require a bit of time and a lot of patience on the hunter's part, which he wasn't sure she had at the moment. He decided to leave it at that and see what she had to say.

Hopefully she doesn't shoot me, he thought glumly. A bullet wound's the last thing I need.

[kate]

She wanted to know what he had to tell her, but she was tired and didn’t feel particularly patient. Which meant she wasn’t to pleased when he said it was difficult to explain. “Listen up, shapey, I’ll tell you how we’re going to do this” she said. “I really don’t care how hard or strange it is to explain. You will start spilling the beans now and I’ll decide whether you’re lying or not”

Waiting for the creature that she believed at the moment to be a shape shifter, she never lowered her gun. She was quick and she would shoot him for the smallest movement or comment that would displease her. But she couldn’t be sure that she was quick enough to shoot it if she lowered the gun now. And keeping it up kept her better focused.

The creature, now having the form of a male, sat still against the car and that to made her feel uneasy. The behaviour, the raised hands and then the lack of movement. Like he was just distracting her. A quick glance over her shoulder from the corner of her eye informed her that there was nothing behind her. But she still felt uncomfortable. Normally she never felt like this on a hunt. But then again, on most hunts she had a moving target and some adrenaline pumping through her system.

Then he said something that almost had her laughing out loud. While she managed to keep the laughter in an smirk managed it’s way to her lips as she tilted her head slightly to the side. “You wouldn’t be the first one I meet that didn’t want to kill, at least not right away, but I keep your kind from more then killing people. From killing them, to turning them or torturing them.” It was true, she had come across creatures that simply enjoyed driving people crazy. To suck away their sanity, ever so slowly. They wanted to hurt people. But you didn’t have to kill to bring pain to people.

Kate hated to admit it, but he gotten himself far enough into the conversation to explain himself. But it better be good if he wanted to convince her that he wasn’t actually evil and out to hurt people. It was what they all did. She had to believe that or she never be able to shoot before asking questions. And sometimes getting answers took to much time. She was a hunter and her prey always realised that she was dangerous to them. Except this one. Why didn’t he move?!

[lachlan]

If the woman’s replies were any indication, she had no patience for creatures such as himself – at least, the type of creature she assumed he was. Still, she had demanded an explanation, all the while keeping her weapon trained on him, looking away only once to check behind her. It was as if she thought he had an accomplice waiting somewhere in the shadows. An amusing thought, especially since he always worked alone when he was doing his job.

He’d told her that what she’d seen was difficult to explain, but she still demanded the explanation anyway. Which meant he had a very short amount of time and borrowed patience to explain something very complicated that she probably wouldn’t believe.

Wonderful, he thought.

He took a moment to stroke his chin thoughtfully. It was a slow and graceful movement, not too sudden.

“Alright. It’s a bit complicated, I’m afraid,” he told her. “Let’s start with a simple introduction. My name is Lachlan and I don’t find joy in torturing anyone. Though I can think of plenty of beings that would very much get a kick out of torturing me,” he muttered, resting his hands in his lap.

He had angered a lot of creatures on both the side of good and the side of evil over the years. It was safe to say he’d made quite a few enemies. He sighed.

“Anyway, I can assure you I’m not evil. Of course, you may not believe that, but it’s the truth. I am a being of neutrality in the truest sense of the word. That is the quickest and simplest way I can explain it to you.”

Lachlan shrugged. “I’d be happy to explain further if you like, or answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability.”