Shifts of Love (closed for Mayu)

[raiguy]

Aiden East smiled as he walked with Eden Wolf. He would never be able to tell her how much it meant to him that she was there. Aiden had been in love with Eden for as long as he could remember. The way she treated him was something he had only dreamed of. Everyone in the town hated him, feared him, and wanted him dead. There was something about Aiden that Eden never seemed to believe.

Aiden was cursed. He could only maintain his human form for 8 hours at most. After that, a gruesome scene would greet anyone in the vicinity. His skin would suddenly bubble, and then melt, falling off of his body. He dropped down on all fours, while growing much bigger. By the time he was done, Aiden no longer looked human, or even like an animal. His true form was hideous, scary, or any other adjective the townsfolk threw his way.

Eden never said anything though. She always smiled, treated him as an equal. Since they met, she was the one thing that he couldn't do without. One of the deals with his shapeshifting was that, even though Aiden couldn't maintain his human form, he could maintain an animal form of his choosing. The whole animal kingdom was open to him. He chose a black housecat that had been adopted by Eden.

So it was no surprise that Aiden was constantly smiling while talking and walking with Eden. He seemed to always lose track of time with her, something that shouldn't happen. He was in complete control in his true form, but didn't want Eden to look at him, to hate him, like the rest of the town.

Unfortunately, that was what was about to happen, as Aiden felt the change start to happen. He looked around, quickly finding a place, the sewers, for his change to occur, and for Eden to never see what happened. Aiden groaned as he ran, feeling his skeleton shifting, bones snapping and grinding as they changed. By the time he reached the grate to the sewers, he was loping along on all fours.

He quickly broke through the thick iron bars, his strength causing the bars to snap like twigs. As he shuddered upon entering the sewers, Aiden's skin began melting, quickly falling to the ground in scraps. Howls ripped from Aiden's throat, the acid from his skin burning, eating at him, but never truly wounding him. Within a matter of 30 seconds, Aiden had gone from a normal human to a 12 foot tall monster. He quickly loped through the sewers, finding a place to initiate his next change, as bones popped and ground against each other, until he was in the form of his normal black cat.

He meowed, stretching, working all the kinks out. The shifting really took it out of him, and he quickly made his way back to Eden's house, nestling down on her bed, awaiting her return. He yawned and then curled up next to her pillow, purring contentedly as her smell drifted to his nose, quickly lulling him to sleep.

 

[Mayu]

Eden

Eden had known Aiden for a few years, they had met each other about three years ago. And he was everything in a best friend she needed, she never truly understood why people hated him. She heard rumors but of course never believed them. But she wasn't from this place, she was from the big city and moved here shortly after her parents died. She wanted to start over some place, so she came here to do it. Relaxing a bit as she had talked to Aiden and was enjoying his company, even just plan walks were nice.

But then he took off and needed to get going, figured he did this before and he just had something to do. She sighed a bit and headed on home from the walk, her Grey eyes looking around at her small home. Her Red hair was being blown in the wind. So she took out her keys and unlocked the door and then shut it behind her. She already missed Aiden she loved him so much. Slipping out of her black high heeled boots and removed her jacket. And was rather happy as she locked her door. And headed for her bedroom.

Walking in she noticed her cat asleep on her bed, and smiled happily. He was a beautiful black cat, she had bumped into him about a year or so ago. Slowly walking in she knelt down at the foot of her bed, looking at her sleeping cat and smiled. She named him Markus since she was never good with names. Watching him sleep she smiled happily, she did have a gift for him so she got up and left the room as quietly as she came in. She cut up some fresh fish and cooked it up, making sure it wasn't to hot.

Then returning she knelt down before her sleeping cat and put it down by her knees. "Markus" She said happily and ran a finger against his jaw. "I'm home sweet heart" She said rather happily. She heard his purring and it was rather cute, she loved her cat very much. Enjoying the feeling of being wanted, she kept thinking of her friend however. Knew he hid something, but sometimes she would talk to her cat. Since she saw her cat as another being that could understand. So many people thought animals were stupid, but they were not. "I got a surprise for you"

 

[raiguy]

Aiden perked up, hearing Eden enter the house. He couldn't help but laugh every time she called him Markus. She didn't know it was him, but at the same time, Markus was a terrible name for a cat. He quickly forgot about the name as she scratched his jaw, purring loudly from the pleasure. This was one of the few things he loved as a cat. The unrelenting pleasure of being scratched and caressed. He could live like a cat, to be honest, as long as it was Eden who was his "owner".

He yawned and stretched as Eden picked him up, before nuzzling against her, wanting her to feel as loved as he could make her feel. It was as close as he could get to her, since he could never stay a human long enough to show her his affection. Instead, he let her feed him the fish, enjoying it immensely. After she was done feeding him, Aiden listened as Eden talked. This was one way he knew so much about her.

Eden loved to talk to him. She just never knew it was Aiden she was talking to. He just appeared as a simple black cat. He felt a little guilty, but it was the only way he could be close to her for long periods of time. He settled down on her lap to listen, perking his ears whenever he heard something Eden said about him.

 

[Mayu]

She enjoyed having him in her life, and thought for a moment "I know your name is terrible, no one names a cat Markus, perhaps Oliver or could always name you after my best friend. Every time I look at him I get the urge to tell him what Ive not been able to tell him, he means the world to me. and more so then he even knows. I have been so lonely till he came into my life, then you came into my life." She said happily as she stroked his head and sighed a little bit, looking out the window wishing he was there.

"But I Hope you had a good day? just staying inside because it's getting rather cold outside, I am glad I found you when I did because you may have frozen to death. And no one will die on my watch" She said looking down and bending down and kissed his forehead and nuzzled her face with his. Made her feel rather happy to have someone live with her, even if that someone was a "cat" She kept petting him, he felt rather warm and was happy about that, showing that he was warm enough.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden purred as they rubbed against each other. He wondered exactly what she meant when she said he meant the world to her. He quickly put that aside as he started to lick her face, knowing it wasn't common cat behavior. It really didn't bother him though. He knew that Eden figured out he wasn't a normal cat. That happened pretty much after he was able to open a door by himself, and worked his way into some odd positions.

As Eden kept talking and petting him, Aiden couldn't help but get all warm and fuzzy. His purring got more intense, more loud, as he bumped against her, not wanting her to stop petting him. He knew he could control the urge to change, but he desperately needed to change now. He quickly hopped out of Eden's lab, bolting out of the window, breaking the glass.

As he landed, he stood up, running in his human form, before the acid started burning, as his body was rent asunder, his true form seeming to burst from within. The hulking creature quickly made it to the woods, sighing as he reached the darkness, knowing he would be nigh impossible to find. The good thing about his true form, as Aiden discovered, was that in the dark, he was practically invisible.

 

[Mayu]

Eden was enjoying the time she had with her cat, and decided Oliver would be his new name. Since he didn't seem to really react badly to the name. She was humming a little bit, and smiled seeing him licking her. Stroking his cute little face, she knew he was a special cat. Some cats didn't really show affection, it all depended on the kind of owner. And looking outside, she noticed though slowly that something was wrong with him. He acted almost startled or something, watching him hop down she stood up.

And was surprised when he broke the window to get out "Oliver!" she screamed and opened up the window, peeking her head out. Thank god he wasn't bleeding though, there was no sign of blood. Taking a deep breath, perhaps he needed to use the bathroom? she didn't know about that. So keeping the window open for him, she went across the hall and got into her bed. Since her place was one floor it was easy to get to. She got into a black slip and sighed a little bit, she wanted Aiden so much.

Feeling alone a bit she tried to sleep but found it almost impossible, she opened up her window in her room to enjoy the cool air. Sighing a little she heard the wind and could hear the thunder in the distance. Her grey eyes looked in the darkness, her red hair resting against her skin. She looked at the moon and smiled finding peace in it.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden howled at the moon, in anguish. Damn that witch for putting a spell on him all those long years ago. It had cursed him to a lonely life. No woman would ever get close to him, especially knowing what he truly was. He howled again, then caught the scent he knew all too well. Without thinking, he bounded off, covering vast expanses of ground with each mighty leap.

As he approached Eden's house, he could smell her, the smell of flowers, and a trace of something else. It smelt heavenly, even with his acute sense of smell. He smiled, or attempted to, showing his large fangs. He saw what he was doing in the reflection on the window, and quickly smiled. Luckily for him, it was mostly dark, so he couldn't really be seen.

As Aiden nudged the door open, easily keeping it quiet, he silently padded in. As he stood in front of Eden, he gently nuzzled her before looking at her, wishing he could tell her how he felt, but knowing she would never understand. How could anyone love a monster? He nuzzled her softly again, a purr, or low rumble, emanating from deep in his chest, showing how happy he was. He hadn't realized that he had woken Eden up, until it was too late. He looked down and saw her eyes, immediately sending daggers to his heart. He dropped his head and tore out of the house, barely missing ripping the door off of it's hinges. He threw back his head, howling his misery as he made the treeline, melding into the blackness.

 

[Mayu]

Eden had felt something nuzzling her and when she opened up her eyes she was startled by what s he saw, fear flashed in her eyes because she had just woken up and was on edge. But something pushed her to follow it, so quickly getting her shoes on and running after it grabbing her long jacket. And began to run pretty quick for a human, in the distance she could see the figure but nothing really in detail. Since it was much to dark out, she gave a rather interesting look on her face as she started to think.

She had no idea why a big animal would come to her, but then she heard howling and figured it was the animal she had been chasing. And by the sounds of the howling it was close, so she kept running though she was getting out of breath. But kept pushing herself any way, and soon came to a clearing. She collapsed onto her knees trying to catch her breath, her eyes looking down and her red hair relaxing against her back in a pony tail. And her heart was racing from all the running and wondered where it was.

"Please...Come back I mean no harm" She called unsure if she would ever see it again.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden heard her. He had looped back when she entered the forest, stalking after her as she ran. He wondered why she was trying to find him. Why wasn't she scared like everyone else. As she reached the clearing, then collapsed to her knees before calling to him, Aiden knew he would reveal himself to her. He just had to build up his confidence.

As he approached Eden, he knew that she could at least sense him. He settled back on his haunches, his red eyes the only things she would clearly be able to see. A low rumble emanated from his chest, like when he had nuzzled her, turning her around. He waited to see what she would do, hoping she'd say what she meant, and what she wanted. He braced himself for the worst, but hoped for the best.

 

[Mayu]

Eden slowly looked up seeing the red eyes they cut through the darkness, and she kept sitting on her legs and when he got close enough. She was a bit worried, not exactly scared just didn't want to get bitten. But she had sensed him, and something about him was off. Her eyes saw his body then his tail, a skeleton's tail? This wasn't a normal being she swallowed a bit hard but a smile was seen on her face. So only thing she could think of doing, was one thing that would take courage for her to do.

Slowly very slowly reaching out, her hand up and flat. Unsure how he would react to her, having no idea who or what he was. Her heart beating quickly, her swallowing was rather hard but looking away for a moment and then felt fur against her hand. When she looked back at him she didn't realize how she had reached for his nose. Her smile even more special since he didn't try to hurt her. "I don't understand what you are, but you have nothing to fear from me I promise" She said honestly.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden saw her stretch her arm out, hand open and inviting. He leaned forward, cautiously, taking his time, before his nose finally touched her hand. He shivered, feeling human contact for the first time. He hadn't realized how much he missed it, and knew that it always felt better in his true form. As Aiden sat there, he pulled his snout back, then heard her speak.

He knew Eden wouldn't hurt him, but she hadn't looked up. He knew he was fully in the light, and she would be able to see him for what he really was. He hoped she was ready. The skeleton tail was just the beginning, he thought, and then, with a picture of them walking down the street in his mind, he stepped out into the moonlight fully, rising to his massive height, showing his horns and tail. His red eyes bore into Eden, willing her to look up, hoping she wouldn't run away, but understanding if she did.

 

[Mayu]

She could hear him moving around, but feeling his nose against her made her feel better. But deep down she felt like she needed to look up, it was rather hard to explain. It was almost like her heart telling her to look up, when really she had no idea about it. And then slowly her eyes went from the ground and began to drift up, and before her was the being. She wouldn't call it a monster, she wasn't that heartless. Her eyes did show some shock but that look went away quickly, and a soft smile was given to him.

"I am sorry I reacted the way I did, but didn't come to my senses since I had just woken up." Looking over every inch of him she was rather surprised about all this. He was seriously huge "I am sure your probably use to people being scared of you, but you have a friend in me" Eden said with a pure smile and a soft heart. She didn't want to hate anyone, and she honestly didn't hate anyone as she grew more relaxed.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden relaxed, and then laid down. The rumble returned as he started relaxing even more, sliding up close to Eden, before wrapping himself around her. He looked down, realizing he had her leaning against him, and her head didn't didn't quite reach the top of his back. He guessed he was big. He never thought about it since he didn't have anything to compare to. Now, sitting next to the girl he loved, he realize he really was huge.

Without thinking, Aiden nuzzled softly against Eden's side, finally working her arm on top of his head. His purring intensified as she started to gently scratch. He knew it felt good as a small housecat, but this was even better. He bumped against her gently, now aware of how big he was compared to her, as he started to wrap himself around her more, keeping the chill night away from her.

 

[Mayu]

Eden watched him rather closely and watched as he just laid down and smiled at the creature, though event he name creature in her head sounded cruel. Even when he was wrapping around her he was just so huge, but he was keeping her rather warm. But then noticed something rather strange, the way he got her to scratch his head. She got a flash of her cat from tonight and other nights before this night. Watching in her memories how the cat reacted to her, for a moment she was in a trance.

Then when she snapped out of it she saw him curled around her, feeling his body heat she smiled at him rather happily. But he was so much bigger and was something else, she kept scratching his head and thought for a moment. "Your my cat aren't you? My Oliver?" She asked him and looked into his red eyes. She had so many questions and figured that she would figure out what he was and now that she knew it was a boy she would be able to see him as a he not a thing or an it.

 

[raiguy]

The rumbling stopped suddenly. Aiden worried that Eden would figure out what was going on. He was worried that she would realize what and who he was, and then never talk to him again. He tried not to, but as the scratching continued, he sank back down, nuzzling against her, gently nodding that he was indeed her Oliver. He knew she would have more questions.

Oliver smiled, then remembered what it looked like, so pulled his lips back over his teeth. He slid around a little bit, moving away from her fingers, but still having her against him. Finally, he was able to put his head in her lap, facing to her left, as she leaned against him with her right arm, fully surrounded by him. He looked at her quizzically, trying to let her know it was okay to ask her questions.

 

[Mayu]

She was rather interested, when he nodded and it hit her he had to be a shifter there was no way a normal cat could do that. She continued to pet him and so many things hit her all at once, the way Aiden would run away sometimes. She didn't know that much about shifters, but knowing people were afraid of him made her wonder if they knew something she didn't know. But the way he looked at her showed her she could ask questions. But would she want the answers to her questions? She was always open minded however.

"Are you a shape shifter?'

 

[raiguy]

Aiden nodded reluctantly. He knew she had figured it out. He decided that he would just beat her to asking and get it all out of the way. He stood up, then let out a roar, seeing her jump, but already lost in the change. He quickly shrank in size, his bones grinding and popping, as Oliver the cat magically appeared. He went up to her and nuzzled her, before stepping back.

Aiden was scared. There was no other way to put it. He mewled softly, then suddenly, he was standing there. He looked down, happy to have figured out out to shift and keep his clothes. He looked at Eden, waiting to see her reaction, before kneeling in front of her and gently saying, "I'm sorry for not telling you. I was just worried what you'd think."

 

[Mayu]

She was surprised by the roar it startled her half to death, but then she heard the bones and it was terrible to watch as his skin just seemed to change his whole body was changing, shifting. And before her eyes Aiden was there. But seeing him kneel just inches from her, she heard what he said. Hiding this had to have been killing him, but then looking back up into his blue eyes she stroked his cheek with much love. She was more calm as she understood now, and she was even more in love with him.

"It's alright Aiden it had to have been killing you not to tell me, but I don't hate you and I am not afraid of you. In fact I am the opposite, I'm in love with you" She didn't know how he would take it, but since she had semi told him as a cat she loved him. Not knowing he was the cat at the time, she smiled softly at him. "And nothing will ever stop me from loving you" She said being open and rather honest.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden was rocked from her words. He hadn't quite been paying attention as a cat, but now, he for sure heard them. He blushed slightly, then looked at her. He wasn't going to ask if she was serious, but at the same time, he couldn't quite comprehend it.

"How...why...when?" he asked, his mind reeling. He knew he wanted this more than anything, but he still couldn't believe it. Eden loved him?! She really did love him, after knowing all of this. It shocked him. Without warning, he suddenly seemed to explode. He looked down at her, then realized he had shifted. He sighed, shaking his head. He looked down at her, then felt something. He opened his mind just a bit and then looked at her, cocking his head.

"Can you hear me?" he thought, trying to send it to Eden, hoping she'd get it.

 

[Mayu]

Eden could see that he was rather surprised that she cared about him, which was true. He needed her now more then anything, and she needed him now more then anything as well. But then she watched what happened and reverted back to his true form, and wondered if his emotions were hard to control at times. And the change this time around didn't bother her at all, since she knew what to expect.

But then she thought she heard a voice in her head, she opened up her mind and looked at him. "Aiden ....did you just speak to me in my head? I heard you?" She didn't know that it was him she gazed into his eyes and smiled at him she had heard him and nodded to him running her hand against his muzzle. "What ever form you take doesn't bother me Aiden be in the form you feel more comfortable in" She offered him. "And you are still welcome to stay with me as well" She said happily.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden sighed and then started to explain. "I guess I should have told you. I was cursed probably 50 years ago on my 22 birthday. She then told me that I would always revert to my true form, no matter how much I tried. That was when I realized that this is my true form," he said, looking at his beastly form, then continuing, "It's gotten to where I can maintain my human form for about 8 hours, but after that, I revert to this form. I can become an animal if I want, much like I am when I'm Oliver. That doesn't have a time limit." he said, nuzzling against her hand, rumbling his pleasure.

He hoped he wasn't overwhelming her with this information, but figured she had the right to know. He looked down at her, holding her gaze before bumping his nose against her mouth softly and saying, "I love you as well."

 

[Mayu]

She heard all the information and she took it easily and sighed a bit. "Why in the world would anyone curse you, life is hard enough as it is. But to curse you to be what people fear the most, it's terrible. No one deserves this fate and if anyone comes to hurt you, I will kill them" She said softly and smiled even more hearing his rumbling sounds coming from the pleasure she gave him. Feeling his nose to her mouth she lightly kissed it, showing affection the only way she could with his muzzle and rubbed his chest.

"Do you have a home Aiden? Because like I said you can live with me. I do have a cabin in the woods and own about twenty miles of land if you wanted to go up there?" She said softly and then kissed his forehead with a gentle look on her.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden just looked at her and shrugged his massive shoulders. "I was not a pleasant individual when I was cursed. It was probably justly deserved at the time. It made me who I am now though. I can't be too mad though. It kept me alive, letting me meet you, which I could never be mad about," he thought, sending it to her, as well as bumping her.

He listened to what she said, then smiled. "I'd be happy to live with you, as my own lands were sold as soon as my father found out I was cursed. Since then, I've been living in these woods. It's not bad, and I actually have a great home, but I'd rather live with you than anywhere else," he said. He bumped her again, then tried to pull her up. He laid on his stomach and then looked at her. "Hop on and grab my mane. It won't take any time at all for us to get to your house like this," he said, hoping that she would be okay with this. As he climbed up, he realized that his fur might be a little coarse. "Umm, you might want to put your jacket down. My fur can be a little bit coarse, and I'd hate to hurt you," he said, waiting for her to get situated.

 

[Mayu]

She smiled at him enjoying the way he kept bumping into her it was rather cute, when he suggested to get on his back. She slowly stood up and hearing about his fur she put on her long coat and looked at him rubbing his head. "So it sounds like you grew a heart if you were a jerk before, though I could never see you as being a dick. But I'll take your word for it, since I was not even born then when you were cursed." She climbed up onto his back and smiled, though only she had a t-shirt and long PJ pants she relaxed on him.

Then she grabbed onto his mane and smiled "Alright Aiden I'm ready, though you must be rather strong if you can run full speed with me on your back, here I was thinking I was fat. Guess I was wrong huh?" She snickered.

 

[raiguy]

Aiden just shook his head, then growled before leaping through the forest. He kept his pace gentle, not wanting Eden to fall off from his leaps. He wasn't slowed down by her at all, and just chuckled at her remarks. He started purring as her fingers started scratching through his mane.

"That feels amazingly good. You don't realize how much I love that feeling when you scratch my jaw or ears as a cat, but this is so much better. Please don't stop," Aiden said, taking another mighty leap as he quickly came to her cabin. He let her down, then smiled before shifting again, trying to be as quick as he could, before hopping into her arms as Oliver.