Famous Last Words (Puck)

[Evelyn Sophronia]

So many bright lights that cast a shadow, but can I speak?
Well, is it hard understanding I'm incomplete?
A life that's so demanding, I get so weak.
A love that's so demanding... I can't speak.

The guilt building her chest was almost too much to bear.

For the fifteenth time that night, Evelyn cursed at herself. She had to get control, stop hesitating, or he was going to sense her distress and come rushing, which was the last thing she wanted. The sun was setting on Central Park, the dim light just barely highlighting the shimmering silver marking on her right shoulderblade. Normally, the dresses she wore would hide this; but tonight she was wearing a backless one.

There was, after all, no point hiding it if Puck wasn't going to see her that day.

She had done this every full moon since she had met him. At first, it was force of habit. And since he was drunk most of the time, he didn't really notice her disappearances. Now that he was sobering up, though, and they were becoming more connected with each other... she had a feeling it was going to become even harder to hide the fact that she was a shifter.

The Elf girl closed her eyes, sitting down and leaning against a tree, hugging her knees close to her. She didn't want to tell him. She... didn't know how he would react. Elves were hated by the other fae, after all. The shifters amongst them, the more "special" of their kind, probably held even less of a standing amongst the Fair Folk.

Evelyn let in a deep breath. She just... had to relax. Let the change come as it always did. She could worry about Puck after the night-- and even more so once the three-day full moon cycle-- was over.

[Puck]

Puck was out looking for Evelyn.

Ever since Oberon's reappearance - and then disappearance - in and out of Puck's life, the hobgoblin had begun to realize how much he truly cared for and needed Evelyn. She was there for him when his father had tossed him aside. She had murmured gentle words and treated him like he was a person, and not like some animal that could just be kicked to the side.

It was because of that one act he had realized the feelings that had begun to blossom in his chest. After all, he had started to grow a soft spot for her around the twenties, though that had already been a rough time for him, what with Prohibition cutting off most of his supply of alcohol. It had probably been because he had spent most of that decade sober that the feelings had started to develop.

Of course, once he had been able to drink again, such feelings had been buried beneath sweet numbness. But now... Now he knew.

And now he was worried.

Evelyn had disappeared without a trace. That was unlike her. She normally told him where she was going, and he... He tried to show her the same courtesy. Sometimes it just didn't work out that way. Because he was drunk.

Puck gave up on trying to find her the good-old-fashioned way and just snapped his fingers. The spell that bound him to her quickly took its course, and he reappeared right in front of her. His eyes brightened, and he opened his mouth to tell her he was officially a week sober, but he hesitated upon actually seeing her.

"Lyn... what's wrong?"

[Evelyn Sophronia]

"Lyn... what's wrong?"

Evelyn's eyes shot open.

By this point, the Change had begun in her, and her eyes were no longer their normal pink. Instead, they were an even paler hue, glowing solidly with that color. Her eyes were wide, but her brow furrowed in worry when she realized just what was happening.

He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to have sought her out. The animal in her-- whatever animal that was, she couldn't remember which was the last one she'd seen before that day-- was confused, thoroughly.

This had never happened before.

"Puck..." she murmured, her voice dazed-sounding, somewhat distorted. The shifter's head tilted to the side slightly, and slowly she stood. But the fear was beginning to return, the fear that she might hurt him in some way in her current state. The more the sun went down, the more animalistic she was becoming. Already, stripes were beginning to appear on her-- wait, stripes? That... couldn't be safe. No domesticated or safe animals she knew of had stripes like that.

"You... you have to go," Evelyn whimpered.

[Puck]

"Puck? You... you have to go."

Puck's brow furrowed in concern. Evelyn had never told him to leave, ever. Even when he was practically ripping her soul and heart apart, she would suffer his company. That was why he was worried. That was why he didn't leave.

"Lyn, what's wrong?" He murmured, floating down so he could look her in the eye. He was surprised to see her eyes practically glowing, and took a "step" backwards. And then why the stripes started to form...

He knew they were in trouble.

"Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis...cannot be good," the hobgoblin muttered, running a hand through his white hair. He took a moment to think, to fly a circle around Evelyn. "What can I do?"

[Evelyn Sophronia]

"Nothing," Evelyn murmured, regretfully. She felt an itching feeling coming from the Shifter's Mark on her back, and she had to fight the urge to squirm with whatever willpower she had left. Her fingernails were beginning to elongate into claws.

"I'm surprised you never noticed my absences," she said. The glowing of her eyes intensified slightly. Still, she looked... saddened. Somewhat broken. Even if she wasn't quite herself. "Every full moon for about a century... I suppose you had reason not to. And I had reason not to tell.

"Elves aren't liked by the rest of the Fae. And the Shifters among us... are liked even less." A shudder went down her spine as her ears began to round out from their delicate points, becoming larger in proportion with her head. "I'm sorry..."

[Puck]

Puck's heart broke at the utter sadness he heard in Evelyn's voice. Of course he hadn't noticed her disappearances; he had been as drunk as a sailor in the twelth century during the past...however long he had been out of the mirror. But he was determined to make that up to her now.

He was determined to stay beside her.

Puck flew over to her, hovering before her; his knees were bent, since she was sorter than him and he really didn't feel like actually standing for once, but that wasn't the point. The point was he was in front of her, and her face was in his hands. He leaned over, touching his forehead to hers.

"Don't apologize for who you are, Evelyn," his eyes were gentle, knowing, "None of us can change who we are, whether we enjoy it or not. We just have to deal. I'm here for you, Lyn."

[Evelyn Sophronia]

Evelyn shuddered softly, leaning into his touch and closing her eyes. The woman let out a quiet mewl. All her life, when someone had found out about her shifting power, they had always either treated her as something wonderful to be next-to worshiped, or a snooty royal witch-with-a-b who thought much higher of herself then she should have. Puck had done neither of these, instead keeping his same opinion on her.

Even when she was beginning to grow short orange fur all over her body. And a tail.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, eyes half-opening. A smile formed on her mouth, newly acquired fangs glinting. "I..." But she blanched. She couldn't choke the words out.

[Puck]

Puck reached up, scratching gently behind her ear, "Don't worry, Evelyn. I'm here. I'll be here until you decide it's best for me to go," he leaned over, resting his lips near her ear and whispered, "And even then, I'll probably still be here."

He touched his lips to her forehead again, gently running his fingers through her hair. He backed away just a bit, just enough to give her some breathing room as she transformed. he didn't want to crowd her, but he also didn't want her to think that he was leaving her.

Because he would never do that.

[Evelyn Sophronia]

Evelyn murmured something, but her mouth was already beginning to transform, and by the time she spat it out she was too far in for anything she said to be comprehensible and it really just sounded like another mewl. Even though he backed away, she could sense his presence still there, and for the first time during the force shift of the full moon, she felt... guarded. Protected. This had always been a vulnerable, unnerving time for her, but now...

The shifter suddenly let out a screech of pain, falling to all fours as her spine and bones started snapping and changing.

Before, it had been a low process. But the sun was getting lower and lower, and she was going to be fully animal before it was all the way gone. The changes went from slow and acceptable to fast, gruesome, and extremely painful.

Her fingers shortened into paw digits as her tail elongated to its full length, her spine cracking as it adjusted to an all-fours form. Her back legs began changing, shortening in some places and lengthening in others. At this point, she was beginning to get too large for her dress... and so it ripped. Ev let out a little whimper.

[Puck]

Puck flew a few feet backwards when she cried out, though he did not vanish or disappear in a puff of smoke. He wasn't going to leave her; he couldn't leave her. Not when she was like this. He waited until she was on all fours to fly back over to her.

"Evelyn, I'm here. I'm here, Ev..." Completely unsure what to do, Puck hovered for a moment. He felt utterly useless, like no matter what he did he couldn't help her. Which, granted, was the truth, but still.

Eventually, he lowered his height so he was right beside her, and placed his hand on her back. He could feel her fur underneath his fingertips, smiled slightly. It was soft, delicate... Just like she was. He ran his hand down her back, stroking the tigress like a cat.

"I'm here, Evelyn. I'm not going to leave you," this time, he spoke calmly, as if he knew what he was doing.

He really had no clue.

[Evelyn Sophronia]

The last of the Changes began to finish up, Evelyn becoming completely tiger. The silver Shifter's Mark was on her right shoulder blade as usual when she shifted, but instead of contrasting starkly with the orange and black of her fur it seemed to blend in, somehow becoming an oddly colored part of the stripe pattern.

She turned her head to look up at him, whoever was touching her back. The Tigress's eyes were the same pale pink as Evelyn's, but the color filled every bit of them besides the pupil. She couldn't help but purr, like a large tabby cat, rubbing her head against him. She could tell by the taste in the air around him that he wouldn't harm her.

But this wasn't what tonight was about.

The cat stretched, tasting the air for the scent of prey. It hadn't hunted in a long while-- another thing it could tell, though it thoroughly confused it, seeing as that would mean it hadn't eaten in a long while, either. It couldn't catch the smell of anything that would be big enough to satisfy it, though, and it growled in frustration. The beast began padding in a random direction, showing no hint of fear or anything of the like. She was confident; she was a tiger, and this was her territory. Nothing could hurt her here.

[Puck]

Puck smiled lightly when Evelyn purred, and he gave her ears a gentle scratch. Animals could always tell that the fae wouldn't hurt him, and so they never tried to attack them. Not that animals could actually harm them, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Evelyn knew Puck wasn't going to hurt her, and so it wouldn't be too hard to follow her and keep her out of trouble.

Well, following her wouldn't be too hard. Keeping her out of trouble... That was going to be a mite bit difficult. Especially considering she was a tiger in Central Park and he...

He was Puck.

When she started lumbering away, the hobgoblin began following. He casted a quiet spell, cloaking her from any human eyes. That would at least lessen the chance of them getting into trouble. He preyed so, anyways.

[Evelyn Sophronia]

The tiger turned to look at Puck when it realized it was being followed by him, letting out a curious little grumble from its chest. Evelyn was very used to being completely alone at the full moon, bar the occasional human that saw her, so having someone follow her around... well, it wasn't unnerving or alarming, but it was definitely unexpected.

At this point, it was beginning to give up on hunting. It couldn't find anything that smelled particularly edible, besides squirrels and humans, and squirrels could climb and something inside it was telling it humans were to remain untouched. It was bored, though; thoroughly. So, on a whim, it padded towards Puck, raising up slightly and attempting to paw at his large ears.

[Puck]

Puck's heart melted yet again when Tiger!Evelyn started to paw at his ear. He fell to the ground, so he was sitting next to Evelyn, and allowed her to play. She couldn't have hurt him if she wanted to - and it looked like she really didn't want to - so he just sat there, twiddling his thumbs with a smile on his face.

He entertained the tiger all night, making sure to keep her out of trouble. He didn't want her to go out and kill a human, but he really, really didn't want her to leave his sight. Puck was watching over her now, as he had been since he had first stepped out of the mirror.

He was her protector, her knight in faded armor. Even if she didn't realize it.

[Evelyn Sophronia]

A dawn approached, some instinctual knowing that something big was about to happen stirred in her, and though the tiger did not want to leave its fae friend it grew restless and began to pace back and forth as if it was caged. It let out about the closest thing to a whine that it possibly could.

The sun began to rise, and immediately it snapped its head towards the east. A shudder went down the beast's body, a ripple of shape, and it slowly began to regain an elf form. It was faster then before, though, only taking perhaps a full minute to fully change.

Evelyn was on all fours and... naked, thanks to her dress getting ripped earlier, and extremely tired. She wasn't even completely aware of her surroundings, so, not really thinking, she curled up in a ball on the ground, hugging her knees close to her. She was really close to just falling unconscious; the Forced Change always did that to her.