After her meeting with the Rex and Regina, Karrie was feeling better that she had a place in the preternatural community. Karrie's life had been rather quiet, well as quiet as a strippers life can be. She was doing pretty well at the club and was looking on any day Shana worked to talking with her. Karrie considered her a friend, and she hoped the other woman felt the same.

Deciding on the first weekend Karrie had off since starting work at Blood Dolls, which she found was a good thing until she needed to get out of the city and just run. Usually Karrie locked up her lion inside her, trying not to be reminded of her lycanthropy, but around the full moon, she just needed to run. Driving her beat up station wagon out to the middle of an open field surrounded by trees, Karrie put the old clunker in park.

Sitting in the quiet car, her cat came roaring to life, knowing she could roam free tonight. Pacing back and forth after tacking a few moments of stretching and yawning by the large cat. Karrie climbed out of the car and began to walk into the expanse of land in front of her. She silently spoke to herself confident she was alone, "If I give you and inch you will not take a mile, do you understand? I am in charge here not you." Her lion cocked an ear and then turned around like she never heard her. "We aren't changing until it is necessary, for now we are merely walking." For some reason Karrie always felt weird when she carried on a conversation in her head but out loud it was fine. Taking a deep breath, Karrie continued at a slow pace, content at looking at her surroundings in the light of a sunset. "Absolutely beautiful." Her lion huffed, all she wanted was to run free and hunt something and to not go back in the cage, but the human side would learn soon enough what the animal wanted.

Sitting in the middle of the large field, the lion's head swivelled over to face one end of the field as it heard a car approacing, the lights hitting his sensitive eyes through the growing dusk and making his lips curl back from his fangs in a grimace of distaste. The grimace vanished as a woman got out of the car, talking to herself quietly. The lion did not care that the human was acting like that, it was more focused on the scent of lioness drifting to it on the breeze. Not a human, a lion like himself.

Tilting his head he listened to the woman speaking with a slight shake of the head. Denying her lioness, how foolish. His human and he were always together. They thought as one, they moved as one, they lived as one. How else was it meant to be when you shared the same body? Crouching down as she started walking into the field, moving towards him without seeing him, he waited for her to get closer before releasing a low and soft growl to alert her lioness of his presence but not the human, wanting to see what the woman would do when the lioness suddenly became more insistent that she should be free.

As Karrie began to walk further, her lioness had become quiet after the scolding she received. Suddenly, she crouched down and gave a small growl herself. Karrie became alarmed and began looking around her. She did not find anything that she could see, her lioness on the other hand knew there was someone like her out there, brushing Karrie insistently to not think like a human for once, Karrie began smelling the Savannah-another lion.

Her lioness urged her to where the lion was, pushing her farther into the field. Karrie’s lion began to insist on changing, again this time a whisper she spoke to herself, “Not yet! I want to find out who is out here.” Suddenly, the lioness pushed her and there was the other lion she had smelled. It was a male lion, crouching in the field, a small gasp came out of Karrie. She felt a little odd but she began to speak to the large cat in front of her. “Hi…I am apart of Ingress Umbra…are you?” Karrie hadn’t met many except the Regina and the Rex, but other than that, she had no idea who was a part of the Pride.

The lion gave a cat grin as he heard the lioness growl and continue her nagging at the human, but did not move out of his position as he wanted to see if the human would let the lioness out or at least come closer and spot him. He was rewarded with the human approaching him minutes later, and the gasp made him give a very human chuckle as Marcus laughed within their mind.

Tilting his head as she spoke, he decided to stay as a lion as he was both having fun at seeing the strangeness the woman was feeling, and it was so much more comfortable than their human form. Shifting into his hybrid form with a small amount of effort and no mess, he sat up to look at her in the eye.

"Yes we are, but you we didn't know about. Nice to meet you."

Karrie was very confused by the sight in front of her, but it was only made weirder by the male in front of her shifted to a man-lion from. She didn't even know a shifter could do that. When she changed it was human or lion, not a hybrid. Her brows creased even further as he spoke in 'we' instead of 'I'.

Karrie's lioness was intrigued by the male in front of her. Her head tilted as he spoke. She began to nudge Karrie wanting to shift and be able to find out who he was animal to animal.

"I am rather new to the Pride, I work with Shana." Karrie felt foolish speaking to a man lion, but it was either speak to him like this or no speaking at all when she shifted, which if her lioness kept being impatient, would not be too long from now. "Its nice to meet you as well...I am sorry I did not get your name. I am Karrie."

HNoting her confusion at his hybrid form, the lion sniffed at the lioness and realised that she didn't have the power to shift like that and so had not known it was possible. Without seeing the lioness in the physical, they could not be sure of her age and so did not make any judgements as to why she had not known just yet. They guessed that she was only quite young as they had not seemed to of bonded - that or they were old hands and just never gave in to each other. They'd know soon enough.

Marcus seperated from their joined mind slightly so that he could focus on not being rude and not answering the human, leaving the lion to watch with an amused grin as her lioness continued to nudge and complain. It wouldn't be long now though, they could smell it.

"I didn't give it, but it is Marcus. Well then Karrie, are you going to let your lioness out or must we sit here and wait for you to release her? Keeping a wild thing caged..."

He tsked softly - no mean feat with a mouth full of fangs and a lionish shape-, a hint of teasing to his voice that was rarely there. He only used the more human behaviours whilst trying to pass for human, and that was not often, but he figured she would appreciate the gesture and if they were to be Pride together then friendship would have to be established sooner rather than later.

Watching the man lion that was seated in front of Karrie study her, and then he sniffed her. Well, there were worse things a man could have done, and she knew it. "It is good to meet you Marcus, and that was exactly what I came out here to do, but I didn't know I would have company."

Hearing him tsk at her like she was a child, Karrie merely rolled her eyes. "If you don't mind" Karrie didn't finish, but began to undress so she could change. No sense in running a perfectly good shirt and jeans. Taking the shirt off and then the jean, her lion nearly jumped out of her skin.

For not changing very often, Karrie's change was not painful anymore. The light brown tawny hair smoothly forming out of skin. Small cracks and pops along with a few squishy noises were heard and then there was the lioness. A roar came out, and she began to stretch, not having been out in a month.

Now the lioness had what she wanted, Karrie was in the back seat with out a say in anything. She approached the male in front of her. She began to sniff at him then she circled him and lay down beside him. He was dominant where she was not, and she gave him a sign she knew it. The lioness was pleased that she was out in fresh air. She watched Marcus carefully from her position lying on the ground.

Grinning as Karrie rolled her eyes, the lion withdrew from his observations of her lioness and they tilted their head, their mind totally one again. 'If you don't mind'? Of course they wouldn't, they wanted her to shift. Not bothering to watch her undress, not finding it something they should do, they simply smiled as they saw the lioness spring for freedom the second the clothes left Karrie's skin. Such a shame that a heart as wild as her lioness lived within such a cage. What they did watch was the shift though. Quick and painless, it was nowhere near as fast as theirs, but it was still pretty quick. Interesting...she had the power to shift easily and yet not enough to have a hybrid form. Maybe given time she would be able to....

In the last few seconds of her change, they shifted back to full lion form and waited for her, joining her in her roar with one so loud that birds for miles around took to flight in terror of the dual roar. Shaking their mane in the wind as she stretched, they stretched their back to ease it out of the sitting position they had held whilst talking then stood on all fours.

Their golden eyes stared unblinkingly at the lioness as she approached them, not turning their head to follow her or flexing their muscle to show off. They knew exactly how they looked and why try to force people to notice it? Once she had lay down beside them they leant down and licked her muzzle gently, telling her they had noted the gesture and that she could stand up again if she wanted. Having a lioness on her stomach before them was something they both enjoyed, though Marcus alone would never act on such impulses with his lion unless the lioness asked for it. That was the one thing he would always deny the lion - force with women.

Sniffing at her face and shoulders, they breathed out a warm gust of air that tingled down the lioness' fur, rippling it so it caught the dying light and made them smile. Despite her lack of freedom she was healthy and strong, always so good to see.

Her lioness was very intrigued seeing another lion. It had been quite a while since she had seen a fellow lion shift. Enjoying the roar so loud the birds flew in terror, the lioness watched him carefully. He shook his mane freely and stretched along side her.

Standing back on all fours once again after her sign of submissiveness was taken, she sniffed the air. Nothing truly caught her attention; there were small critters on the wind, but nothing that would give thrill of a hunt as of now. Without an outward sign, she shot off to run freely without the human telling her what to do. Feeling the wind against her face, she closed her eyes as she ran. Opening them once again to see if the male followed.

Watching the lioness sniff the air, they too scented the field once more, noting that nothing worth hunting had appeared since they last checked. A knowing smile appeared on their face as she suddenly dashed off and they simply watched her run, the fact that her eyes were closed meaning they could freely observe her without her being uncomfortable. The instant she checked to see if he was following, they gave another roar and bounded after her, their speed quickly catching up with her so that they ran beside each other. They could both go faster though...puting on another burst of speed, they ran ahead of her, wanting to test her limit when it came to speed. Games were so much more fun when there was another lion about.

Hearing the roar from Marcus, he truned to follow her. Soon he was right beside her and was pushing her to go faster, taking off like a bullet. The lioness dug in and took off at a faster pace, catching up to him.

Sniffing the air once more, there was a scent on the wind, something big. A deer perhaps. Slowing her pace down, she lowered herself into the cover of the grass. Sniffing the air and perking her ears up to listen to every sound the world around her would make. Turning just once to see if Marcus had smelled the food too. Glancing around, she found the direction and stalked toward the deer.

Loving the feel of their muscles bunching and sliding beneath their fur, they revelled in the sensations of running and turned to look at the lioness a moment as she caught up to them. As she slowed down, they leapt into the air whilst still moving forwards and twisted their bodies, using their momentum to slingshot themselves back to all fours beside her. If they had kept running then it would of taken them far ahead of her before they could turn back and reach her side again. Extracting their claws from the earth that they had dug in to slow their movements, they padded up beside her and mimicked her movements, the scent of the deer filling their nose.

Nature dictated that the lioness would do the hunting and the lion would just sit and wait for her to make the kill before muscling past her and taking their fill...Marcus and his lion were used to hunting alone, and so they stalked forwards with her, not taking the lead or staying behind her but with her as they moved forward.

Watching the lion give some acrobatics in order to stop himself and land beside her, the lioness merely kept her nose up to sniff once again, tracking the deer she had smelt.

Feeling the male beside her, she was thankful he was not leading nor following, but beside her. Prowling along, she finally spotted the deer with more than just her nose.

Keeping low to the ground her back legs wound up so she could take chase after the animal. Springing up she had narrowly missed the deer with her teeth and claws, but the did leave their mark on its hind quarters. Taking chase her brown fur flowed with ease through the night air. The lioness's muscles were flowing effortlessly as she took chase. Springing out once more, she landed a blow on the deer and took it down with ease.

After a few moments, she dragged it closer to the male lion, licking at the wounds she had made. This was the first time she had truly hunted and not assisted in a hunt. She swelled with pride and felt a little older, a little wiser because of this one action, she definently had to thank the male lion for his encouragement.

Watching the lioness as they spotted the deer, they lay down and waited for her to strike, wanting her to have the freedom of her own kill. If it was not big enough to share then they could always kill something for themselves of if she stayed, all of them. Her inexperience showed as she missed the strike, but they did not care as they knew she would get it eventually. Enjoying the sight of her running through the field after the deer, they patiently waited and were rewarded with the sound of a solid thump and the soft cries as the deer breathed its last.

The scent of blood, sweat and the lioness reached them as she dragged her kill closer, making their nostrils flare and a rumbling happy growl to reverberate through their chest as they stood and padded over to her. The pride she was feeling was obvious and infectious...they felt proud of her too, and although they leaned down to lick at a sluggishly bleeding wound they made it clear that they would wait for her to take the first bite. Her kill, her choice of where she ate.

Tacking a bite out of the lower stomach, after she had swallowed her piece, she wanted Marcus to eat his share as well. She was not all that hungry, the lioness wanted the thrill of killing the animal and the feel of the wind parted by her body. It was nice to not be in her cage anymore.

Making sure Marcus was eating as well, she indulged herself in the meal she had brought down with her own claws and teeth. After a few mouthfuls, she let out a roar and continued eating. Her claws and teeth shredding the flesh and meat with no problems. Savoring the taste of her first kill.

Plopping down on her side she gave a yawn after she had finished. 2 lions devoured a deer rather quickly. Right now she just wanted to enjoy the presence of another lion in the open air.

Watching the lioness move to tear a chunk out of the deer's stomach, they waited a moment after she looked to see if they too were eating before moving to the stomach too, closer to the thighs so that they could rest a heavy paw on the carcass to stop it from moving with the force of two lions tearing into it. Their claws punctured the hide of the deer on its upper leg to hold it still, and they continued to eat a few minutes after the lioness stopped. Together they had left nothing but the head and hooves still whole, and with a content growl they swallowed the last chunk of meat and licked their muzzle to remove some of the blood staining their fur.

Padding over to the lioness as she was lying on her side, they watched her yawn and joined her, licking their fangs with their mouth still open before coming closer to the lioness and nuzzling her slightly bulging stomach gently. It was a 'well done on catching that' gesture, and they licked her muzzle to clear the crimson stains before setting themselves down beside her, their head on their paws. As nice as it was to be just Marcus and the lion as it had always been, sharing a hunt and kill had been wonderfull. Pride life might have its advantages yet, if it meant repeating such an experience regularly.

Watching Marcus finish off the rest of the deer, Karrie was lying down licking at her teeth for any remnants of the meal. Feeling the male lion nuzzle her stomach, the lioness let out a purr. She didn't expect him to lick the stains off her muzzle, but she was content with it.

She liked this lion, he had helped her with much today. The lioness began purring as she lay on her side, watching nothing in particular. It was much darker now then when they had first begun and the moon shone on both their fur giving it a tawny glow. The lioness got up and moved closer to Marcus, lying her head on her paws as well. It was nice to have another lion around, thats why Karrie liked the club so much, she felt lion anytime Shana was there, she felt at home like now.

Karrie nuzzled the lion next to her in a 'thank you' gesture, then laid her head back down to just enjoy the outdoors before she was put back in the cage.

Listening to the lioness purr, they smiled slightly and shifted their head on their paws so they could watch her better. The moonlight shone on them both and the grass around them, the scent of lion, grass and food made them happy enough to purr too. The purring deepened as she stood and moved closer, and they stared at her from inches away, returning the nuzzle with a happy growl before putting their cheek to hers and rubbing softly.

Their difference in size meant that her cheek felt small against theirs, and they closed their eyes as they rubbed, her scent mixing with his so that they could always recognise each other amongst the Pride. They knew the lioness was trying to enjoy herself before being put back, and Marcus swam to the surface and caused their mouth to shift enough to whisper by the lioness' ear.

"Karrie, why do you insist on keeping your lioness so locked up? All she wants is to have freedom once in a while..."

It was amazing how comfortable the lioness felt in the presence of another Pride member. He was something akin to family now. The lion was much larger than she, in some ways it intimidated her, in others it made her feel safe.

She would know Marcus now, she knew his scent and he hers, that too was comforting. The whispered words filtered through the lioness and into the human inside. It hit her hard. She wanted to shift and scream ‘Because it’s a wild animal and deserves to be locked up! It’s not who I am’ but the lioness had no way to let the feelings out.

She huffed a little and rolled on her side tired from their hunt. Karrie was afraid to be a lycan, even after she went through changing so many times, the fact she had a wild animal trapped inside of her was a scary thought, even though she felt comfort when around a fellow lion. Truly Karrie hated herself and her lion and masked it all with sexuality. It’s how she got away with so much and why her employment was at a strip club.

If Karrie could partial shift the only words Marcus would hear would be ‘Cause she deserves it’. Her lioness yawned and licked at her lips, still tasting deer on her mouth.

Although Karrie couldn't answer through her lioness, they could smell the rapidly changing emotions within her and shook their head slightly, their mane ruffling in the breeze. They would show her that lions were more than simple animals, no matter how long it took.

Nuzzling against the yawning lioness, they purred and placed their head partially onto one of her paws, their side lining up against hers so that they were in effect cuddling against each other. It was a gentle and relaxing position for both lions and they closed their eyes with a pleasured loud purr, contented by the contact. Marcus spoke one last time before slipping back into their joint mind, relaxing completely into it so that neither lion nor man was 'in charge', but instead both resting and enjoying the night.

"Lions aren't bad if you just take the time to get to know them Karrie..."

The lioness was content lying where she was, relishing her free moments. She was also happy to have a lion to share anything with. Feeling the male lion move closer and cuddle with her, she began to purr.

Marcus’s words once again fluttered by the lioness who ignored them and into Karrie. Karrie was tired of fighting with her lioness and just wanted her to go away. The thing was, she didn’t want to get to know her lioness, the reason she was a werelion was a mistake. Now that mistake was living and breathing outside of her.

Her lioness, finally content since her last change, purring loudly and easily comforted by the male body behind her, easily fell asleep in the clearing from sheer comfort as well as exhaustion from the hunt.

Scenting the air, they once again read Karrie's emotions to see what her reaction had been, then licked the lioness' throat in a soothing gesture, a silent chuckle coming from them as she slowly drifted into sleep. Laying still they supported her sleeping form without complaint, instead laying their head ontop of her shoulder, their nose close to one of her ears. Looking up at the moon and stars quietly as they relaxed.

The lioness stirred in her sleep, looking up at the moon still overhead, but it had to be nearing dawn soon. Feeling the body behind her, she slowly got up trying not to disturb the male lion.

The lioness soon gave way to the human form, Karrie always found it odd to picture what it looked like, such a big form fading away to the human; it made since the when shifting from human to lion, but the shift back always made Karrie think too hard.

Soon her claws gave way to hands and tawny fur became skin. Karrie was a little worn herself, but enough to where she could go walk by the big bush to gather her clothing. Slipping into her jeans and baby tee, Karrie looked back to the male lion.

Cracking one golden eye open as the lioness stood slowly, they watched her shift back quietly and waited until she was dressed again before standing on all fours before her. Even with them being in lion form they were almost at an eye level and they continued to keep eye contact with Karrie as they too shifted back to human form, Marcus sliding to the fore a little as the lion dissolved into the night air. The only evidence of the lion that remained being the golden eyes and minescule fangs. That and the constantly lion-like expression of detached intensity.

Walking the length of the field, not giving any thought to the fact that he was totally naked in a field with a female stranger, Marcus collected his combats, boots and black tank top. Pulling them back on he walked back to his hummer hidden a few feet away from Karrie's ride then leaned against the door, looking at her quietly.

"As much as you dislike your lioness Karrie, I don't see how you can blame her for your 'furry problem' as they like to call it. It is like blaming a baby for being born, she had no choice in the matter just as you didn't. You have more in common than you want to admit..."

Watching Marcus shift, Karrie didn’t know what to expect when the human form emerged. He still looked like a lion; it had to be his eyes she thought. Watching him walk toward her, he seemed to not care that he was naked either, then Karrie remembered most lycans are comfortable undressed, that could be a big reason she enjoyed stripping so much, that and she just loved the hell out of dancing on stage.

Marcus collected his own clothing and got dressed himself. Karrie was very quiet, she didn’t quite know what to say to him. They both walked to their vehicles and as Karrie began to walk toward her car, Marcus looked at her and she stopped.

Listening to him she felt stupid, the way he and his lion interacted was in harmony where as she and her lion were always at war. His words hit her hard, she nodded at him “I am not blaming her; I just want her to go away. It’s as if I have this internal battle forever raging on. I don’t know how to be nice; this is how I have treated the it for years now. Its working fine so far.” Her tone started out nice, but quickly became hostile as she felt she was being attacked for how she lived.

Not moving from his leaning position against his hummer the entire time she spoke, Marcus stared quietly at her and waited for her to finish before speaking at length in his usual calm tone.

"I mean no offence or criticism Karrie, merely curiosity as to why you keep her so chained. If you let her have a little more freedom then she would be less insistent on freedom. Maybe compromise would help you cope with her presence better?"

Within their mind the lion stirred, completely bemused by Marcus' words and behaviour. He was actually talking like a human, making an effort to think in a way that Karrie would find easier to be around. Brushing up against Marcus within themselves, the scent of lion strengthened for a moment in the night air before fading again, the lion realising that Marcus was only doing this for the sake of the lioness and her human, not permanently. He'd put up with it for now.

Karrie was getting more frustrated by the man in front of her. How could he be so close to his lion that he referred to them while she kept hers in a cage. It may have been a little bit of jealousy, the fact he was so content with being a lycan while she despised herself for it.

"Look Marcus, we are in the same Pride, but other than I barely know anything of you and you of me, got it? I deal with my problem like I have the last 3 years and you deal with yours."

Calming down a bit, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the smell of lion hit her nostrils bringing her lioness up. NO! You were just out damn you! Her lioness retreated with a growl, but she went without a fight because she was just out.

"I appreciate" Karrie waved her hand in the air trying to point about the hunt "everything you did, if you ever want to talk again I work down at Blood Dolls. We can talk later, but right now I want to go home." The sun had risen as they were speaking, so it was early, and Karrie wanted to go flop on the couch before her set tonight.

"Thank you again Marcus" Karrie said as she climbed in her car and drove away, thinking about what Marcus had said. Could he be right? Should I treat it-her-it...differently. Karrie shook her head and decided to drive and not worry about her lycan problem right now.

"I have no problem Karrie, so no need to deal with it. You are welcome and I will see you soon."

Watching her tail lights vanish into the distance, they sighed and turned to get into the hummer. It was only when they were almost back to the Pride safehouse when both lion and man thought as one 'What the hell is Blood Dolls?'.