Shifting Ground Pt. 01 of 02

Authors Note: This idea came to me while talking with a friend of mine. She was adamant about some things and so was I. We made a bet, I lost... This came about because of it, and we had some good laughs along the way.

Love you Babe.

Payen Brant

Chapter 1: Beginning

"A change of clothes, toiletries, my stuffed kitty from Dad when I was born. Trail mix, a 2 gallon freezer bag full. 2 pound bag of jerky, 1 gallon bag of dried fruit and a gallon of water plus some purification tablets..." Stacy said as she perused her supplies. She had been hunting and eating as she traveled through the Arkansas forest, but she knew that wouldn't last forever.

"I need to get to another town soon, find some work. I got $1500 cash but that won't last me long." She muttered quietly.

Stacy Montgomery had crossed Cataract Creek and entered a National Forest called Unit 9. A lot of hunters came here to bag antelope when in season. The season was getting close, but was still a ways off. The young woman had heard occasional gunshots, which made her grimace at possible poaching, until she remembered that black powder enthusiasts could get the jump on modern day hunters.

She took a sip of water while she rested and thought back to why she was here in the first place.

Her family was large and extended. Most people hang out with family members like brothers and sisters and maybe cousins. Hers had lots of cousins! 6th and 7th and 8th cousins and Aunts and Uncles too, all living together in one community. At times she thought it was like one of those hippie communes like they had in the sixties.

"Or maybe an Amish group since we don't really do the whole Free Love nonsense?" She snickered to herself.

The point is, they all lived together and Stacy's Father, Joshua Montgomery ran the family group. "Or should it be called a Clowder?" Stacy wondered out loud as she stood up and stretched. She shook out her dark blond hair and in a shimmer similar to a heat haze coming off of a desert road she stretched and elongated until a full grown female mountain lion was in her place.

No, she was not a Were animal, Stacy is a Shape Shifter, someone who can shift their form into an animal. Like the rest of their family, they are all cats of one form or another. The other difference between Shape Shifters and Were's is that her clothing, including her back pack and its contents shifted seamlessly along with the rest of her. Sometimes she thought about how that worked, and pondered the metaphysical laws that governed the rules of space and dimensions that was being turned on it's head each time she Shifted fully clothed.

"Each time it gave me a headache!" She thought to herself as she began loping through the forest. Mountain lions are specifically designed to get through forests and tall grasses. Only about 25-30 inches at the shoulder they can scoot through low brush easily. At 6 feet long there is plenty of mass to push through the vegetation and attack anything from an antelope to an elk to a wild hog!

It had been raining for the past couple of weeks which Stacy was grateful for, helped to hide her scent from her pursuers. Cats are not well known for hunting with a sense of smell, but they could and did. Stacy had planned on getting a good head start on her family after she found out her Dad had been setting her up to be mated to Colin, her Dad's 4th cousin's son.

She thought back on how fun it had been to grow up with Colin, a very sweet boy as compared to his hard nosed father. He wanted to open a store in one of the local cities, which would have been fine with her...

...should have been fine with her....but it wasn't.

Her lip curled, exposing a hint of her teeth as she ran a little faster as memories of the conversation with her Father had gone sour fast!

It was after dinner a week ago, that she had been made aware of all this. Her father and mother, her younger siblings, all of them had gathered in the living room. Her youngest sister who was only three sitting in her lap as Joshua had presided over the gathering, obviously very pleased.

A few minutes into his monologue she had gasped out, "Mated! To Colin?!"

Obviously Joshua didn't care for his daughter's tone of voice and his sharp glare had silenced her as he talked about the benefits.

Colin would be an excellent provider. He played by the rules and wanted to maintain the status quo, except he had good ideas about how to make more out of the groups finances. He wanted to expand a little more, invest the Packs money into local businesses quietly. Something to do with "Residual Income" her father had stated.

She could see her mother nodding along with her father. Carolyn Montgomery was a strong woman, and she believed in what her husband was proposing. She had lived her whole life in the Pack, had gone on hunts, taken trips into town. She was a loving woman who wanted the best for her children and what her husband was saying made good sense. Then she heard the tone of voice her daughter used and closed her eyes wearily...

"Dad, Colin was a great guy to grow up with, he is my friend...sort of."

"That's good!" Joshua said gruffly, putting his hands behind his back as he stood in front of his family. "Have a foundation of friendship in your relationship as Mates." He smiled at Carolyn after saying this and she smiled back.

They had never met until she had seen him when he came to visit the Arkansas pack lands. He had decided to stay and had worked his way up to Alpha of this group. She had been faithful and supportive. She had been the strength at his back. He had watched Colin carefully and yes, he was a bit dry and maybe a little dull. Yet he was a good man and would take care of his daughter, why wasn't she more excited about this? She was getting close to the time when she would feel the pull to find her Mate.

The answer he received made him clench his teeth and wish he had never agreed to letting her go to a local highschool for her education. She should have been privately tutored in the shelter of their Pack lands.

"Daddy, I appreciate all of this..." her tone of voice declared otherwise! "...but I should honestly be able to find my own Mate!"

Carolyn was watching her daughter but kept a careful eye on her Mate. She could almost guess the next words out of her husbands mouth as he pointed an accusing finger at her.

"See, I told you so Carolyn...." He turned his gaze and the accusing finger to Stacy, their daughter. The rest of the siblings scooted out of the way of their Father's finger as it leveled itself between Stacy's eyes. "...this is what happens when you educate a Shifter amongst humans!"

His Mate sighted, "Dear, we discussed this. Stacy has a better idea than most how to interact with humans now. It will even help Colin if he really wants to push his investing in local businesses that are human or otherwise."

Her Mother's declaration made Stacy's mouth part with disbelief, "Mom! You agree with Dad on this?" Carolyn seemed surprised her daughter was so surprised.

"Of course I do sweetie. Colin is a good match for you. Spend enough time with him and you will fall for each other, it is the way it has always been with us. I did not love your father until a few months after he and I had been Mated. I always thought he was handsome, but...

Stacy held up her hands to forestall her Mother, "It's alright Mom! I got it, no need for details...eeew!"

Carolyn smiled at her daughter's discomfort, "I know this is a bit of a shock for you, but you are the Alpha's daughter. You have a responsibility to the Pack."

Her mother's voice, calm and reasonable seemed to settle Joshua down who merely said with just a touch of gruffness, "We have had dinner, why don't we just shelve this topic until tomorrow, alright?"

Stacy was fine with that. She figured she had enough time to get some stuff together and scoot! She had been wondering if this day would ever come, when her life would get dictated to her by some adult who thought they knew what was best for her.

But she had been on the outside! She had lived among humans, studied with them, ate with them, talked for hours with them. She liked human lifestyles, always busy and hurrying around everywhere. She wanted to see more of the world, she didn't want to settle down. The thought of making babies seemed so gross and foreign to her!

Grabbing a few loose ends along with some food she packed light. Being a Shifter she could travel faster in her Cat form. She called a few phone numbers and printed off a bus ticket to Miami, Florida while she showered using a scent nullifying soap used by hunters. After getting changed she flushed the tickets down the toilet leaving the rest of the recept paperwork crushed up in the bottom of her trash can.

"Pretty sure Dad and anyone tracking me will think to look at my computer..." she thought to herself. Her Mom would most likely. Since she had been hanging around humans for so long, they expected her to act like a human. They will think she had run away to the East, to Miami. She was heading West, and not by bus. They may think she was acting too human because of her associations...but she was still a Shifter!

One of her tricks she had worked on she had kept to herself. After she had finished packing and dressing and in general making sure everything was set up, she shifted. But not into the Mountain Lion everyone expected, but into a smaller version of one, a mountain lion the size of a smaller bobcat. With a quick leap she snuck out of her bedroom window, closing it behind her. Quiet as a...well...a cat she crept to the ground and carefully sneaked out of the Pack grounds and into the forest.

Once in the cover of trees she shifted back to a full size mountain lion and began to put distance between herself and her family. They would be checking bus stations and train stations and even airports. They would never have imagined that she would save time and distance by cutting through their forests and heading through Unit 9. With a bit of luck they would get thrown off the trail permanently.

Stacy smiled to herself which made her lips look a little like she was trying to lick a piece of gristle from between her teeth. "Maybe I will send them a Postcard from Miami in a few months!" She thought to herself.

It had started to rain about 8 hours into her escape, something she was very grateful for. The water washing away signs of her passing also kept what little of her scent remained from being viable for any inquisitive noses trying to follow her.

Which brings us to our current part of the story. A week into her flight for freedom, when calamity struck.

Mudslides are quick, and have very little warning before they happen. The earth getting permeated with water, soil turning into a thick soupy mix of loam, clay, sand and rock. In hill country a sudden mudslide can and will change the face of a landscape in an instant, with hardly a warning.

The only warning Stacy had was the popping of trees and a roar that grew louder than a freight train! Soon she was tumbling in darkness and had a quick fleeting thought that this must be how a sock feels when inside of a washing machine before she passed out from a blow to the head.

"Shhhhh...its okay pretty girl...give me a second here." Stacy heard someone say. She tried to wiggle her toes and fingers and move her arms, she felt her claws push out from her hind legs and forelegs, but only her left forleg moved. She opened her mouth to give a call for help, but what only came out was a raspy growl she had in her smaller cat form.

"I know...I know kitten...sucks to get stuck in the mud doesn't it?" the voice said again in a dry, though cheerful, tone. Stacy tried to open her eyes, she could breathe after all so seeing should not be a problem. Mud encrusted her face and stuck in her hair, she could see some light but that was all. A shadow, or something moved across her vision and she could feel cold fingers stroking above her eyes. Her free paw closed in and patted a cloth covered arm. She heard a low chuckle and then that soothing voice sounding much more clear to her ears.

"There we go! Getting mud out of ears, very cute ears too kitten. Getting your eyes now and lets see what's going to happen. If you are a wild animal this is going to get uncomfortable for us both, if your domesticated this should go a lot more smoothly." The voice was male, neither deep nor high. The speaker sounded disinterested, but the tone of voice used did not match with the careful fingers scooping mud away from Stacy's cat body. For some reason she had shifted from her mountain lion form to her smaller cat form.

Lucky for her since it would have been much more difficult to dig out her larger form!

She felt lukewarm water rinse over her face and tried opening her eyes again. Wide yellow cats eyes looked into plain brown human ones. "Good morning kitty kitty." The man said and gently rubbed finger tips along Stacy's jaw. It was an obvious gesture someone would give an animal to settle it down.

She recognized it for what it was, and since ¾'s of her was still buried in mud she decided to play nice. She made a purring rumble sound and licked the back of his hand. He tasted of dirt and salt and...blood? Was he injured? She rolled the taste around and recognized antelope blood. He must be a hunter, a poacher? She gave a mental shrug, whatever he was she was grateful for the help.

Over the course of the next ten minutes the man continued scraping and pulling mud and extracted a very dirty domestic cat that looked to be the size of a Maine Coon! Stacy groaned as the man picked up all 35 pounds of her and all the extra mud that clung to her tawny fur.

"Here we go pretty girl..." the man murmured as he carefully picked his way down from the slick mud. Having been removed from her near death situation Stacy realized it was still raining, and the man carrying her in a flannel shirt was sopping wet and dirty. She turned her head to look up at him and she saw him grin slightly down into her face.

"Don't worry, we'll get you washed off and take a closer look at you, make sure nothing is broken or bleeding and you got all of your paws and a tail." He said. The Shifter raised her head to look where he was taking her, and saw the fallen timber and boulders that had been pushed along and now were frozen in the thick mud.

"I was so incredibly lucky to survive all of this!" She said to herself.

"I had made my camp about a hundred yards or so away from here, " the man began telling her. "I was preparing one of my antelope when I heard the mudslide, when the sound died down I came out to get a better look at it. Only seen a few in my lifetime, and I know I am not the only person around. Figured I would see if anybody needed help. Lo' and Behold I happen to spot a cute little kitty stuck in the mud."

Stacy was getting a little tired of being called "cute" and "kitty" but if he had not been around then there was a real chance she could have died. There was an old Chevy Scottsdale truck with stepsides and looked like Rustoleum paint job. Behind it was a much battered but clean air stream trailer. Set up around the trailer were a couple of folding tables and a tripod with a half butchered antelope hanging there.

Gently, the human set her on a wet piece of plywood and stroked her muddy fur as lukewarm water dribbled onto her body. She soon realized he was using a camp shower to rinse off the worst of the mud.

"You know kitten, I am surprised at how well you are handling getting wet. I guess the mudslide must have taken more out of you than I thought." The man said as he gently washed her fur back and forth. It didn't take long for most of the mud to slide off, then cold and wet Stacy got to her feet and shook herself causing the human to splutter a bit.

"Alright, you seem to be alright if you can move like that..." the man said as he began washing his hands. Stacy looked up at him as she began to lick and clean her paws. He chortled while watching her as well.

"Okay, looking good. Take care of yourself kitty cat." He told her. So saying he took off his flannel shirt that was caked in mud and replaced it with a clean long sleeve V neck shirt. He then picked up his knife and continued where he left off with cutting up his meat.

Stacy looked around the camp since she was being ignored and saw the Louisiana licence plates on the truck and trailer. She also liked the smell of all of the meat, there was even a makeshift smoker going, and through the screen door on the camping trailer she could smell more meat cooking. With a practiced eye she was looking at the amount of butchering taking place when she came to the realization that there were at least 6 antelope being processed!

"I have been saved by a poacher!" She thought, immedietely she reprimanded herself. He had saved her, yes he just thought she was an animal but that meant even more, him going out of his way to save a wild animal didn't seem to be a common thing for someone who poaches to do. She gave herself another shake and moved closer to the fire where there were drying racks and a large pot of boiling water that smelled really good!

"Hey...it may be warm but don't get hurned by the fire kitten." The man said. Stacy glanced up at him, but she did back off and just watched him.

"I have always been a bit on the small side. I am maybe 5 foot 3 inches, maybe 4 inches? I got some solid weight though at about 130 pounds. This guy has at least another 5-6 inches in height on me, and another 50 pounds of weight as well." Stacy though to herself.

He wasn't muscle bound, but he wasn't a roly poly either. Just seemed to be a strong average body size. He finished skinning the antelope and plopped the carcass on one of the tables. Soon meat and fat was getting cut and separated into bowls. The human saw her watching and grinned. Still grinning he dug around in one of his bowls and pulled up a piece of deer meat and flipped it to the cat..

Stacy didn't want to eat it with dirt on it if it could be helped, so she pushed up and caught the piece in her mouth and began chewing. The man gave a small pleased laugh, and when that piece was finished he tossed another, which She also caught.

"Please don't throw anymore!" Stacy thought to herself. "With a cat's stomach size I am going to be very full!"

"Well I'll be!" he said, "You definitely seem tame enough..." The man wiped his hands dry on his shirt.

He moved closer and then crouched in front of the little shifter. Stacy didn't move back, just watched him as he gently stroked the side of her face with the back of his hand.

"As far as I can tell you have'ta be one of those giant housecats that looks like a wild animal. Like one of those tiny leopard cats that has the same patterns as one of the big leopards do. My guess is you were probably bought for like ten grand and then kicked out in the forest for whatever reason...?"

He reached out and stroked her other cheek, gently brushing the drying fur a little more into place. "I am not sure how you survived all alone out here, but it would be a shame to let a lovely animal like you die out here." He set down another piece of meat for her, and also filled a small bowl with water that she quickly went to and immediately started lapping up.

"Well, looks like I got a new pet, for now at least. When I get back home I can put out a few calls and see if there is a reward out for you. If not we will see what we can do..." The man said as he went back to work.

Stacy kept out of the way, sometimes watching, other times sniffing around the area. An idea was taking form in her mind.

In all likelihood, her pack had figured out her ruse about getting on a bus to Miami. There was a chance they would search the woods, so the possibility of them coming across some sign of her was only a matter of time. She had been heading West for about a week. "This guy, what was his name?"