Harvey put his hands up, palms out, his fingernails still non threatening and human. "You have to calm down, Set," he said urgently, before the snake could lash out again for a second time. He could see the young man's legs darkening, threatening to burst into a serpent and go on a rampage.       "I believe you. She's your mate. You brought her here for help. I'm not an enemy. She's capable, that's why she was away from your sight, even for a moment. I get it, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm trying to help."       Set froze again, then slumped to the floor, his head now in his hands. It was a relief that one person believed him.       Harvey hesitated behind Set, his hands still in the air, until he slowly, gently, put one hand on the snake's shoulder. It was not customary for males to touch other males in comfort, especially solitary ferals,

"It went well!" exclaimed Harvey, trotting on human legs to keep up with the long strides of the eagle male, who was clutching his precious cargo in one fist, but had a scowl on his face like he hadn't received it.  "Did you know?!" Ukko squawked.  "Know what?" responded Harvey, genuinely puzzled.  "That you were setting me up as a sacrifice!" The boy stopped walking, whirling around and sneering. He was met with a wide eyed gaze from the doctor, who was shrinking back as though he was about to be struck. It was clear Harvey had no motives, as he wasn't a particularly good liar.  "I have to find three more of these things by this time next year," he peered up at the sky, which was starting to pale in the distance, to check the phases of the three moons so he knew exactly what week it was, "or I have to fight the King as a spectator sport."&n

The dust having settled, Shuule grimaced, her injured arm throbbing. Her left hand instinctively went and gripped her arm over her the bandages, and when she felt the strange, sickening soft feeling underneath her fingers, her breathing stopped. Under the bandage it did not feel like flesh and body, but more like boneless clay."It's okay" Harvey chimed in. "It's a poultice. I've packed the wound cavity in your arm. I think," He paused to gesture at her, "You will be able regenerate your tissue fast enough to keep your arm, like a male would. If you weren't who you are, I would have to try and stitch this, and I don't think without Human medicine, we would be able to keep infection back. I apologize though, there is not much I can do for the pain other than put you back to sleep if you wish."Shuule vigorously shook her head no. She would bear the pain happily to be conscious and have her own free will. The girl looked backwards and up to meet the eyes of Set, who had

"I told Rupert about her, sir, I've known about her since she was a child. Her mother came to the city in search of anyone else like Shuule, but of course I hadn't heard of any girl like her. I told the King at the time right away, He must have just not thought it relevant to inform you when you took over." "No, Rupert did not think to tell me that there was a transforming fox female outside of the city while he was nursing his wounds," growled Edgar. "This is unnatural." "Then you'd let her leave if she wanted?" asked Harvey. "NO," the king snarled. Quietly, Anna, Iro, and Harvey all exchanged glances at each other. It seemed pretty contradictory, but the tiger was clearly on edge and not even Iro wanted to cross him today. "She's not a threat," Harvey continued, trying to soothe the beast. "She's young, she's scared, she'll be loyal to whoever gives her a soft place to land and lacks judgment." The tiger stared down the doctor, but h

Pouting wasn't going to do him any good, Iro knew. The women were the head of the household, and even though it wasn't customary to allow other males to stay in your home, nothing was customary about the current situation, and they also had the good fortune of a huge home. It wasn't the same as having multiple families holed up in a one or two bedroom standard dwelling.Grumbling, under his breath, he stood in the corner next to the door, fuming, waiting for the rest of them to ready their things. Set had decided that nobody was going to make him transform out of his half-snake, believing that it would keep people from getting closer to his mate while they entered the streets for the first time. He helped Shuule change and dress into the gifted tiger clothing, while Anna focused on Harvey's instructions on what to look for if Shuule was falling ill from her wounds. He would be over the next day to open the dressing and repack it, if necessary. If she was a normal female, the