Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright

[River Quattrone]

Lore shrieked as she slammed the steel door shut and threw the deadbolt, just in time to feel eight hundred pounds of tiger impact on the other side.  Spotting Doc Mitchell, she gasped, "Get help!"

The Doc hesitated for a second, startled, but even the muffled roar from the observation chamber was loud enough to spur him into action.  "The gas!" he said, running for a control panel.  There were a few buttons marked with things like "lights", "AC", "heat", "sprinklers", and three unmarked buttons in different colors.  Mitchell hit the purple one. 


Kenji had clapped his hands over his ears, but too late to avoid an awful ringing in his head after the tiger had stopped roaring.  He had not, thankfully, wet himself, but he was shaking a little.  Having a full grown male tiger-- espcially one Erik's size-- roar in such a small room was a bad idea. 

"Erik!" he shouted, for he couldn't hear his own voice otherwise.  It was one of the very few times he'd ever used his partner's given name, and the first time he'd used it without adding his usual honorific of "-kun" at the end.  Such name usage was considered almost indecently intimate, back home.  This was an emergency, however.  Decorum had to be sacrificed for efficiency sometimes.

Lunging forward, Ken put himself directly in front of the tiger's face once more, this time reaching out and seizing him by the furry ears.  In a bold and possibly suicidal move, he stared the tiger right in the eyes.  "Take control, Erik!"

[Erik Lucio]

The LAST thing the tiger expected out of Ken was to have the little male human jump in his face and grab him by the ears.  Really, was he mad?  He was going to bet his life on the fact that Erik MIGHT stir in there just because he'd yelled his name?

It almost worked.

For an instant there, and it was really only a second, something flickered in the orange-gold tiger eyes.  It was gone just as quickly, however, and that left Ken clutching the ears of a very big tiger.  Ken's only saving grace was that the tiger's claws weren't outstretched when he whapped the raven to the side.  Why?  Most likely because he was playing with his food, really.  One could come up with a dozen motives for anything a tiger did, but here and now, that was the most likely cause.  That, and he wanted the human off his ears. 

Who wouldn't?

[River Quattrone]

Without the aid of his wings, Kenji found himself flying.  It was too short a trip to contemplate the irony of this, however, especially since he made a very abrupt stop against the concrete wall.  He lay there in a bruised heap, dazed, his head throbbing from pain so intense that he felt numb.  This had been, he reflected, a very bad idea.

A faintly purple mist was seeping in through the air ducts.  It swirled and spread, filling the room quickly.  Kenji recognized it, and groaned.  The tranquilizer was strong enough to kill a regular human, but it was the only thing that could knock out a shifter, since their metabolism tended to process lesser drugs too quickly.  Unfortunately, Erik still had the greater body mass, which meant that Ken would be unconscious and helpless for a few moments until Erik succumbed to the gas as well.  Thanks for the failsauce, Doc.

He was fairly certain he had a concussion, which wasn't helping with the whole "staying conscious" thing.  That was bad.  Not just for the fact that he'd be helpless, but if he did have a concussion, the last thing he wanted to do was go to sleep.  "Stop the gas," he tried to shout, but it came out as a broken whisper.  He wasn't sure if the surveillance equipment would even pick up his voice.

With great difficulty, he crawled over to the bed, trying to get under it so that the tiger would have a harder time getting to him.  He didn't make it far, however, before the gas took its effect, and he sank into oblivion.

[Erik Lucio]

That gas could have been extreme failsauce for Ken if the tiger hadn't smelled it and wondered what the hell it was.  Proof that even without being consciously in charge, there was some human reasoning there.  Tigers didn't really 'wonder'.  He also watched Ken struggle for a moment, hesitant for some reason that wasn't clear to him, as the raven tried to yell and then crawled across the floor.  He could have attacked, but he didn't.

Why?

Well, it didn't really matter by that point.  Ken didn't make it to wherever he was trying to go, and the tiger started to pad over to him, only to hesitate again.  This time, the hesitation was for a sneeze that might almost have been comical, if not for how bad the situation had been.  It resulted in a rather large intake of the purple gas, on top of what he'd already been breathing, and that was good for Ken.  The tiger was already slowing it his movements, but only managed a few more steps for just laying down.  An instant later, he was totally out.

[River Quattrone]

It was so hard to wake up, but Kenji knew there was something important he had to do.  That urge dragged him out of his unconscious state, like a drowning man struggling to the surface for air.  A low moan escaped him as feeling returned to his body.  He hurt everywhere.


"Good morning, Matsumori," greeted the Doc.  "I apologize for gassing you as well, but I had no choice.  You seem to have sustained no major injuries.  Your elavie healing factor has already taken care of the few you had.  How do you feel?"


"Lucio," Ken rasped, ignoring Mitchell's question.  "How is he?"

"In a similar state as you, I would assume, but not quite so bruised," the Doc informed him dryly.  "If you're feeling up to it, we can go check on him."

It was a struggle, and Ken hated the way his head continued to throb with every movement he made, but he got out of bed under his own power and followed Mitchell back to the observation chamber.  Looking through the window, he could see Erik lying on the bed, back in his human shape.  "Has he woken up yet?"

"No.  We retrieved you from the room, but Lucio was left in there, so he was still exposed to the remaining gas for a time.  He'll wake up within an hour, I would think.  It might be longer, considering he just went through his first shift as well."  Mitchell looked troubled.  "That... didn't go well."

Kenji rested his forehead against the cool glass.  It helped the headache somewhat.  Raising a hand, he pressed that against the glass as well, as if he could reach through it to where his friend lay sleeping.  "No," he agreed quietly.  "It didn't go well at all."

Suddenly, he turned to face the doctor, his gaze intense.  "Let me in to see him."

It took some arguing, but finally Mitchell agreed that Erik would be in no shape to shift for awhile, so Ken was probably safe.  The skinny raven took up his vigil beside Erik's bed, perched on a chair he'd brought in for that purpose.  Mitchell made sure to keep an eye on them, in case there was another "incident".

When Erik woke, Ken would be there, dozing lightly with his head resting on the side of the bed.

[Erik Lucio]

When Erik woke, he wished he could just go right back to sleep.  He certainly didn't have the sort of headache that Ken did, having not impacted any cement walls recently, but the gas itself gave him something of a hangover.  Not comfortable.

He tried to go back to sleep, to be honest, but the headache seemed absolutely determined to keep him awake, so he gave up on that venture.  He opened his eyes and regretted it within an instant with the bright overhead lights, but somehow he knew that being awake as for the best here, even if his first waking moments involved a groan and one arm quickly covering his eyes.  Sitting up helped somewhat, and he even opened his eyes again.

Ken was perched in a chair by his bed, and he wasn't at home.

Oh, right. 

It took him a moment to remember why he was in the observation room, though it didn't quite make sense.  It didn't sound right.  Ken hadn't been sitting near his bed anymore, and....hadn't Vin and Lore stopped by?  When had that been?  A short glance around his surroundings showed the empty tupperware container on his nightstand, still smelling of pasta bake and both confirming his memories of Vin and Lore having visited, as well as informing him that he hadn't really been all that long ago.  Otherwise, the smell wouldn't have been as strong, right? 

So.  Why was he sleeping, and why was Ken hovering there staring at him?  He wasn't dumb, so something must have happened, but he didn't immediately remember.  There were some flashes, short almost-vignettes, in his memory, but nothing solid just yet.  Vin had been called to Connor's office, and Lore...she'd been a wolf at some point, licking and tickling Ken, and Erik...he'd let them have the bed for that in favor of watching from a few feet away, but Lore...pounced him anyway.

He knew that, though the rest was fuzzy (no pun intended), and the confusion had to be evident on his face.  He'd had far too many hours and days that slipped away like this since he'd been nabbed in China, though those were due to injury and fever, for him to be pleased with not remembering or willing to let it slide.  It took some prodding at what flashes he DID remember, but he finally got a bit of an impression as to what had happened.  There was no doubt in his mind that it would solidify as he woke up some more and it had some time to settle, but what he managed to eke together already was enough to horrify him, as evidenced by the way he suddenly paled, eyes wide.

"Lore?"  Oh, God, if he'd hurt her...

[River Quattrone]

Kenji, a light sleeper in the first place, woke immediately the instant Erik began to stir.  He sat up in his chair to observe his partner.  It was evident that Erik couldn't quite remember what had happened, until his face turned ashen and he stared at Kenji, speaking just one name.

"She is fine," the raven assured him.  "She was able to leave the room, before we were both gassed.  How much can you remember?"

Shifting in his chair, Kenji stretched the kinks out of his back and neck from sleeping in such an odd position.  Of course, he returned to his usual slouching perch when he was finished.  A chiropractor would have a heart attack just looking at him. 

"Also... how are you feeling?"  It wasn't like Ken to take enough interest in his partner's health to ask outright, but the way he spoke it sounded like purely scientific curiosity. 

[Erik Lucio]

Hearing that Lore was fine after all of that made him relax some out of relief, while the rest of Ken's explanation actually helped him to put some pieces together a little better.  He hadn't understood as a tiger why Ken had collapsed, or why he'd suddenly grown so tired, which had been a point of confusion in his memories.  Mention of the gas helped to clear that up some, though there were still things that didn't quite make enough sense to him.

The big one was what the hell had happened.

Really, how he was feeling didn't matter.  Not to him, anyway.  He was far more interested in knowing what had gone wrong, since something must have.  There was no way they'd all been trying to get him to shift if they knew he was going to react like that.  "I don't know, I remember some of it.  I wanted to eat both of you.  That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?"

He hated not knowing what was going on, but there was no getting around it.  Obviously, he had no idea what to expect, but hadn't they all said it'd be different than that?  That had felt...like he was someone else, not just himself in another shape.  He hadn't known who they were, or cared.  He didn't like it.

[River Quattrone]

Kenji nibbled on his thumbnail, a habit he exhibited when he was thinking about something that bothered him.  Erik's lack of memory over the incident made sense, considering his behavior in tiger form.  It was still disturbing, though.  Some shifters lost all control during their first change-- that wasn't unusual.  However, usually a shifter's human memories were strong enough to help them avoid eating friends and family. 

"It was a possibility," Kenji admitted after a long silence.  "I was well aware that you might not be able to control yourself during your first change.  It was unfortunate that young Miss Kiev was present for it-- indeed, she managed to trigger it herself.  I should have been more cautious allowing others in here.  I am deeply sorry for my negligence."  He bowed as low as possible in his perching position without unbalancing himself.

"It is good that nothing unfortunate happened, however, so let us not dwell on what could have been."  Raising his head, he stuck his thumb back in his mouth.  "Instead, we should focus on what must be done in the future.  It seems that until you learn to control your tiger form, you will have to be under constant observation.  I do not think that we will need to keep you in this room, though."

[Erik Lucio]

Erik blinked for an instant at Ken's words, completely surprised by the admission.  He'd known that was possible?  Why the hell hadn't he said so?  "If you were aware that this was a possibility, then why did you spend the last few days berating me about not wanting to do it and telling me how easy it was?" he asked, his tone deceptively mild.  His temper was building, which was something that Ken had to recognize by this point in their partnership.  Erik didn't go psycho when he got mad, he got quiet, which was ironic given how loud he could usually be. 

Unfortunately, his new shifter abilities were a little unstable, and losing his temper might not be for the best.  He hadn't exactly been told that, though. 

He got up rather suddenly, not wanting to sit in that damn bed any longer.  He was tired of being confined to that room, and that bed, regardless of what Ken said about not thinking they'd need to keep him in it any longer.  He wasn't staying, and it didn't matter what anyone said.  He could deal with this on his own, in his own home, with nobody around to potentially hurt.  Getting out of this room was first and foremost, since even though it wasn't all that small, it was starting to make him feel claustrophobic.  Too much time spent in it, and too much going on at once.

"Ken, I'm done.  I can't take this place any longer," he informed his partner, getting the few things he had in the room together and making a note to himself to ask Ken if he'd found the bag he'd taken with him to China.  "Get the door open."

[River Quattrone]

Frowning and chewing on his thumb, Kenji attempted to explain his reasoning.  "If your first change was undertaken voluntarily, there was a far lesser chance that you would lose control," he told Erik, his tone as mild and monotonous as usual.  Only his constant nail-biting betrayed his agitation.  "I honestly expected to be the only one in the room when you changed, if anyone.  In that event, I was confident that I could handle you by myself.  Loreanna was an unexpected factor in the equation."

Erik's anger was obvious to Kenji, though not everyone would recognize the man's temper when they saw it.  That in itself was putting the raven on edge.  He didn't want to upset Erik into shifting again, when his tiger form was so volatile.  Still, he couldn't just let his partner go home without some kind of supervision.

"I agree.  We need to get you out of this room," Kenji said reasonably.  "However, I will need to collect a few things before we go to your home.  It will only take a moment."

[Erik Lucio]

"Bullshit," he snarled, scanning the room swiftly for anything he may have missed.  What was he referring to?  Well, most of what Ken had said.  He didn't think for an instant that Ken could have handled him as he'd been, and he definitely didn't think that choosing to shift would have made any difference.  Really, he'd been GONE.  Even a small improvement wouldn't have been much.

He was actually too annoyed to even notice Ken's nail-biting, which was really why he didn't make any mention of it at all.  He was usually a little more conscious of his partner's issues, but really, he had enough problems of his own without having to deal with Ken being nervous or worried.  Besides, the instant he noticed, he was going to freak out even worse.  If Ken got worried over the situation, then it was bad. 

"Wait, what?  What 'we'?  You're not coming," he asserted, shaking his head.  "If I'm going to figure this fucking mess out, it's going to be WITHOUT an appetizer running around."

[River Quattrone]

Kenji did not flinch outwardly at Erik's expletive, but he did bite his thumbnail to the quick, drawing blood.  To cover for this, he kept the thumb in his mouth, sucking discreetly on it to soothe the minor injury.  It was a lucky thing he was a master at talking around things in his mouth (candy, thumbs, etc... keep your minds out of the gutter, folks, for shame). 

"Think about it, Lucio.  Do you really think it would be wise for you to go to your home alone?  What do you think would happen if you shifted again, and escaped, and nobody was there to know what had happened until the emergency reports came ringing in?  I told Connor I would handle this, as your partner.  I will be coming with you."  His voice held an appeal to reason, yet also a firmness that meant he would not be discouraged from his duty, no matter what Erik's feelings on the matter were.

[Erik Lucio]

Erik's feelings on the matter naturally DID NOT fit in with what Ken was saying, which was a real pity.  These two bashing heads was never a good thing, which was why Erik usually just gave in on whatever subject, just to end it.  Here, he wasn't giving in without a fight. 

Of course, he didn't have to SAY that.

His method of getting around the subject was further helped by the things Ken was saying.  Emergency reports.  He knew what happened when shifters went nuts like that on the public.  They ended up dead, with no passing Go or collecting anything but a couple chunks of metal to the head.  He'd deserve it if he did something like that to innocent people, but that didn't mean it was his preferred way of going, or that he thought any of it was likely.  He wasn't stupid, nor would he be taking serious risks.  That's why he didn't want Ken there.

"Open.  The.  Door."

[River Quattrone]

Surprisingly, Ken did as he was told.  He did not let Erik move more than three paces from him, however.  "This does not change the fact that I will be accompanying you home, Lucio," the raven informed him.  "Even if I have to perch on your roof and watch every exit, every minute of the day and night, I will not let you out of my observation.  I take my responsibilities very seriously, as your partner."

After some hesitation, he added, almost as if he were afraid of sounding presumptuous, "... And as your friend."