What Are You

It was the first time she had felt real, true fear. Growing up, Shuule thought she had, of course, but now, the deep, rumbling exhaled hiss of the serpent slowly stalking the girl was the first time she knew, truly, that she was in danger, and that nobody else was around to protect her.

Shuule paused her barefooted steps on the thick jungle floor, desperately trying to be as quiet as the fox she was, but her fatal flaw was her pet - the pack horse her mother begged her not to take along. The poor thing was purely animalistic, and a prey animal at that. While Shuule didn't move a muscle, not even to breathe, Xunsu kept shifting her weight, stamped a foot, snorted, drenched in sweat and ready to flee. But Shuule knew they could not outrun.... a snake.

...SSSSSSsssss...

The 'horse,' a short, green pelted creature with horns, exploded the same time the serpent did, ripping her braided vine reins out of the red haired woman's hands, bolting into the thicket. But the snake was not here for Xunsu, the snake was here for Shuule, who tried to react as fast as the black blur that struck out at her. Springing back, she was swept down by her ankles, slamming against the ground. As quick as she was down, she sprang back up in a sprint.

She would be faster if she shifted. The internal debate to burst out of her clothes, drop her bag, and speed into the dense forest clawed at her as she pushed her human legs as fast as they would carry her. But she also was aware that she would probably still be caught, and what then? She would have more to explain, if the snake would let her at all, if he didn't swallow her whole. If he mistook her for a male then he wouldn't hesitate. If he didn't, and was fearful, he'd swallow her anyway. No, it was best to stay human, as expected -SLAM

In truth, the snake had merely toyed with the girl, allowing her any sense that she was running away with success. After thirty seconds of trailing behind her, he decided he was bored and wanted this over with, smoothly catching up to her and pushing her over with his head.

Before she could prop herself back up on her elbows to keep running, a dark iridescent tail had wrapped itself around her, all the way up to her shoulders, spinning her around to face the beast. The top portion of his body rolled up and loomed over her, peering down his nose at his prize.

He was magnificent. Large, the dark serpent was like black obsidian, the majority of his scales iridescent with a blue and green shift. Even his ventral belly scales were black, the only other color on his body being a flame red stripe on either side, connecting from his lime green eyes all the way down to the tip of his tail. The elegant sight was lost on Shuule however, looking up wide eyed in terror. The snake had not shifted. Staying female didn't work. She figured he was about to eat her after all.

So, she squeaked a small sigh when her captor brought his head down, mouth closed, and casually changed form, his front half now human. A slender, but well built young man was now staring at her from the torso up. As all snake beastmen did, he had long, straight, waist length hair that was the same color as his scales, jet black with a stripe of red framing his face. His green eyes still vertical slits, staring at the female he had caught. There were bright green stripes, one on each cheek, that matched his eyes, framing his face.

"A fox," he said, smooth and flatly, like nothing that had just transpired was interesting. "And why would a girl be this far out by herself. This isn't even my fault."

Shuule said nothing back. Females of different clans were often not easy to identify, but some were. Peacocks had colorful hair of turquoises and greens, which Mermaid's did as well, but they were rare and were never seen. Bears nearly always had chocolate brown hair, rounded eyes, and were shorter and broader set than most. Tigers, lions, cougars, and even the sheep and apes were nearly impossible to tell apart, but the fox vixens were another that was easy to recognize; except for the rare silver foxes, they had fiercely orange-red hair, which was a pride among her people. Their eyes were naturally black lined like cat-eyed makeup, pupils deep and dark, and her human ears were pointed like an elf.

Human ears.

Because that's what made her even more recognizable, and what she was trying to avoid showing this feral beast. She should only have human ears, but she, personally, had more. Much more. And depending on who found out, they may see her as a blessing, or a curse needing to be eradicated.

Shuule whimpered and avoided eye contact as she felt the coils around her tighten when she struggled. It was useless. A smug smile came across the beastmen's face as she wriggled back and forth trying to break free. He didn't realize finding his own mate would be this easy, in truth. "Stop struggling. You're useless if you make me suffocate you," he mumbled, deadpan again, rolling his eyes.

This was not what she wanted. She knew, there, confidently, she would be dragged away and forced to be with this snake, and bear his young. While in this world this was not, strangely, exactly the end of the world, this was not the path she had laid out in her head. She didn't leave her village on her own just to live as a captor in a cave. Trying to figure out what to do, gasping for her next breath as her lungs were closed upon by coils of muscle, her eyes, clenched closed in pain, shot back open to a sudden, loud hiss.

Shit. Her ears. Her fox ears had shown themselves in her panic, fighting for her own survival.

"WHAT. Are YOU."

Now was her only chance, and her own lapse of judgment made the call for her. As she saw the man's figure fly backwards in shock, Shuule closed her eyes tightly again, and suddenly, there was no more woman. The snakes coils gripped in on themselves as her body was lost, shrinking into a red fox, shooting out from between the heavy body of scales, speeding into the forest.