Alameda Rail Yard tall child

morning after her first shift

---

Sabrina was back, the tiger lumbered off to the edges of her mind to take it's rest. It had a successful night, claiming territory, scaring away rivals and hunting food! Tigrina was satisfied, curled away like a dragon on a pile of gold.

And the woman left in her place was falling apart.

She wasn't sick anymore! That was the first thing she noticed upon waking up. That splintering headache was gone, those aches and chills she'd been dealing with for the past month were completely nonexistent. But she was still cold, naked and alone in a bush by the railroad. Some might be grateful for the solitude, rather than waking up naked in the city. Sabrina didn't give a fuck who saw her titties, she wanted someone to tell her what the fuck was going on.

Was she sleepwalking? Been kidnapped? She was panicking, heaving deep breaths and letting fat tears roll down her cheeks as her mind raced. She could feel something different, the powerful tiger's presence, but there was no real answer to be found. She felt utterly lost.

Attire

---

Amira had gotten this in the mail from her father, a little nod to him having not forgotten her and that was honestly nice because sometimes she did wonder if he did. With a tote purse on her shoulder and a burrito in her hands, she just enjoying the stroll she was on as she passed the railyard when a smell hit her.

Normally she ignored more were smells, this was a claimed territory but this one instantly had her and Butterscotch lifting heads and turning. Like a strange magnet, she followed her nose while chewing on the chicken stuffed wrap until she saw a woman. Nude.

Oh. The full moon. Wrapping it in the foil she approached, shoving her food into her purse as she approached, "Are you alright? " Amira asked, not entirely sure what she was doing but this one smelt like a tiger. Like her! But from her angle at the moment, she did not recognize her in the slightest.

She didn’t process much around her until words cut through her anxious inner monologue. Sabrina hardly considered the question, her head snapped up from where it had been settled between her knees and her arms hugged them tighter.

"Wh-" she stammered, sniffling and wiped her dripping nose with a shaky hand. A teary chuckle, "- I don’t know what I’m doing here." She wasn’t her usual loud self, her voice was quiet and raspy. Side effect of having your vocal chords rearranged by a giant cat.

Amira looked at her and then really looked at her and felt herself almost squeak and panic into a full blown tiger right here and now but she didn't because FUCK. She opened her tote purse and pulled out a simple pair of black shorts and a pink tank top and brought those over to her.

"Uhm well...that's easy to answer...you turned into an animal last night and went for your first ever full moon shift but because its your first full moon and probably the first time you ever shifted or maybe second, I don't know but uhm yea, you uhm turned into an animal, " a tiger animal but HOW?!

"Oh uhm here, I always carry extra clothes with me. " oh my gosh she was dead. So dead. What did she DO?!

Sabrina blinked. If this didn’t feel so life changing and frightening she might’ve laughed or turned it into a joke, or even told the girl she was crazy. She couldn’t bring herself to be that version of herself though, there was no blowing off what happened to her last night, whatever it was.

The tiger rumbled, curious.

Sabrina didn’t say anything in response, just squinted sadly back at the other and snatched the clothes away from her. The tank top and pants were balled up and sat on her knees, she rested her chin on them. They made a good pillow for someone who was yet to regain their legs.

"I’m an animal." It wasn’t really a question, just a sad comment made as she looked down at her dirt covered toes.

Amira felt so guilty and so bad.

"Yea but I mean...It's not bad. I'm one too...actually we're both the same- you can feel it right? The same animal? You're a tiger like me, " she told her, giving a bit of a proud smile to her. Look, she had to be proud of what she was because she was but this woman didn't seem proud or excited just sad. Oh no.

"Look uhm...there isn't an easy way to say it and I gatta but uhm...you ran into a tiger on the trails? A rather sad looking tiger who was goldish in color- right? " she asked her, wringing her fingers together a bit as she crouched down and just looked her over for a moment to make sure that she was ok.

She didn't notice the proud smile, or any regret in the eyes of the other. She refused to look up at her at all. Why was this random woman saying all this? Why was her voice so fucking loud? Sabrina was now squinting at her muddy feet, clutching the clothes tighter and closer. This was too much, she was barely comprehending a thing.

The small and naked woman finally looked up when there was mention of the tiger on the trails. How did she know about that? She watched the other crouch before her and flinched back at the closeness. "Yeah but I didn't get bit by it that doesn't make sense," it was a halfhearted argument. Incredibly weak and not even believed by her.

The way she flinched made her pull her hand back and internally she was starting to pace a bit. What did she do? She had no real idea at all, "I know...I didn't think we did either but...oh...oh shoot I'm sorry, instinct- your cut...saliva..." she said softly, her head bowing now as she tucked her knees against her chest a bit.

"Uhm...please, why don't you get dressed. And if...if you can just give me a few minutes, I can help. Please? " the young woman all but pleaded with her as she looked at the new baby wear that she made.

Sabrina scowled, "I'm sorry who's we?" This was a very important question, and of course she knew the answer in some weird way but she wanted to hear this woman say it. She wanted to hear, "this is my fault", so that she could have somebody to be mad at, a reason to stop crying and to start snapping. The tiger liked that idea, it was pacing back and forth and she could feel the other woman's cat watching them. Her and her own animal.

It felt weird, and bad, and she wanted to barf.

Amira had to back track some, right, not everyone was born like this she was living proof. Her brain was growing more electric though by the minute as she tried to figure all this chaos out.

"We...me and my tiger? Just like you and your tiger...you oh shoot...I think I remember someone telling me that for being new that you uhm don't really know each other yet so you got to learn to get to know each other or you'll have random shifts I think, " she told her.

She was horrible at this. She needed an adult right now and that wasn't her, she was only fifteen for heck sake!

"My tiger?" this cat thing that she could feel in her brain? It was a part of her now? "So I'm what a were-tiger?" The question was incredulous and accompanied with a scoff. Damn, Sabrina really pitied her sorry naked ass right now. She still refused to put on those clothes.

Nodding, "Yes...a new one, " she told her. Her tone was apologetic to her, she hadn't meant to infect her at all, it was never her intention and she thought she had enough know how to not. Seem's even borns screw up.

Well yeah she was a new one, this had never fucking happened before. She didn't snap that to the woman outloud though, held it in and glared down at the ground again.

"And so I'll just randomly turn into a tiger sometimes," it was a question but she said it as a statement — this is how life's gonna be?

"In time you'll get control and it won't be random...full moons yes, you need to but other times it can just happen under lots of emotional pressure, " she told her.

Gosh, she wanted Indra so badly, he knew about this but he was gone. She needed Asha, she needed her and her wisdom to help her with this because she was clueless as clueless came to a lot of what turned were's go through.

In time. Fuck. If only Sabrina could go back in time. She could've just never gone for that hike! Never gotten lost. Life could've gone on as normal.

No not normal. It had been better than normal. She had a girlfriend, who she very much enjoyed and it'd been so long since she'd had that. Fuck. Kiyoshi. Could she even see her anymore?

"I," she sniffled as the tears came back, "what about all the people— all the people I know. What do I do?" she wiped her eyes in the balled up shirt between her knees.

Amira slowly moved and sat down, her legs crossing in front of her as she realized that she was not going to escape the slew of questions coming her way. She badly wanted an adult- someone more adult than she right now.

"Uhm well...you can but you have to be careful. Even as a person, like this, you can still infect someone to be a tiger as well. I can help- I will help, if you'll let me, " she told her, unable to hide the sad worry on her face.

She wanted to cry. Honestly, Amira looked like she wanted to cry as she looked at this woman that she'd changed for the rest of her life. She had joked about this with Zelda but never actually intended to because of how much it changed a person.

The woman with a very girlish energy sat nearby, and Sabrina wanted to withdraw like she had before but in honesty the closeness felt good. Partially because she was terrified, hurting, and didn't want to be alone. The other part which frightened her, was her tiger seeking the comfort of the other tiger. Some strange supernatural draw at the core of her stomach that made her feel warm.

She wanted it gone.

She wiped her tears again, took some ragged breaths. "How can you help?" It wasn't her begging for it, she wasn't even asking for it. But the question was some admittance that she knew she needed it.

"Well...I was born like this, so I've been like this longer than most but I also know other were's as well. They know what it's like to be a regular person and turned, I know a really nice one, she's a jaguar...and then I know a really nice bear leader as well that has a safe place to let the animal out in as well, " she told her as she tried to lay out options.

Amira tried to not cry, tried and ended up wiping at her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"I'm really sorry...my friend had died and I wasn't really all there...otherwise I wouldn't have bothered you on the trail...I'm really sorry to have done this to you, " the young were said softly as she wiped at her own eyes. She didn't want to cry, she had no right to but this was a lot and she was struggling with Butterscotch wanting to reach out and meet the tiger as well as just wanting out.

Born like this. As a tiger person. A friend who's a jaguar. So casual it almost felt inconsiderate. Sabrina was so lost, every word offered up felt somehow patronizing, like something she should be fighting. She listened with her head down, biting her cheek to keep in her sharp stubbornness. I need help.

Dark eyes flickered back up to the other woman at the mention of a friend who had died. She noticed the wetness that came away on the woman's fingers when she wiped her face, and her brows narrowed further. "So you were sad and made a mistake and that's it?" she spat, and felt the queasy lull of regret rumble in her throat. She pushed that guilt back down because it felt good to lash out.

Amira looked at her as if she'd been slapped, "Yes, I was sad and I went there because there isn't people there normally so I thought it was safe, " she told her, feeling even more guilty than she did before.

"We didn't mean to, we wouldn't have...I did everything to pull back and then you were hurt...I didn't think licking would do anything but I was wrong. I'm sorry, I really am, " she told her. Her voice was sad and wavering and it was truly difficult to not want to let the tiger out to just stop feeling like this. It felt like she was walking in thin emotional ice right now and it sucked.

There was a look on the other woman’s face that made Sabrina recoil. She would usually reach out and offer support to someone hurting — now she felt the sting of the pain she’d inflicted and it made her draw back, narrowed gaze softening to something more distant. She didn’t want any of this fear, this anger, or this sadness, and she didn’t want any of this woman’s emotions either. It was all too much.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. So many sorries! Not enough fixing the problem at hand. Less snappish she murmured, "There’s no way back to how I was?"

Slowly shaking her head, "Not that I know of...no...if I knew of a way i'd tell you and help you find it but from all that I've been told, it's not reversible, " she told her softly. Amira wanted to just be her tiger and curl up, to not be a person with all the emotions. The guilt and sadness now just laying in bed together and gnawing at her like this. She wanted her Ba so badly right now.

"My name is Amira...what's yours? "

Sadness, anger, numbness, she'd been cycling through them all this whole morning. She'd put up with the fear and anxiety and confusion so far, but when the other woman said "not reversible" she felt the last of that waning emotional stamina trickle away. She had no idea what to say, she wanted to close her eyes and wake up safe in her bed and have this whole thing be just a cruel nightmare. She'd take those sweaty bedsheets over the tear-stained shirt that she was currently clutching so close. Sabrina wanted nothing more than the comfort of the familiar.

But she was sitting here in the middle of nowhere with a stranger, in a body that now felt frightening. She was almost grateful that her tiger decided to take over, cause she didn't feel like sobbing anymore.

Her head shot up with the first stinging pain, eyes a burning amber and staring straight at Amira. The pop drew a tight scream from her lips, her bent legs breaking and shifting to make room for massive tiger bones. "Shit!" she whined, doubling forward onto her knees, palms against the rough ground.

Amira felt things were getting better! They were talking and trying to work through this newness when she heard that familiar pop and fear set into her bones. She didn't have long and at least the girl was already naked and wasn't going to shred her clothing.

Pulling off her bag, she started to strip herself of her clothes and shove them inside the bag. Amira could shift faster than her, she knew that. It would be a head rush of a shift but worth it to at least get on the same level as her tiger spawn. Tiger child? No wrong so wrong. She wasn't ready for it.

Amaira was naked in a matter of a minute or two and stuffing everything into her bag before she let herself start to shift as quickly as possible for the new tiger were.

It was an incredibly painful 5 minutes, drawn out by the force of Sabrina's reluctance. She fought against it, despite her wish to let someone else take the wheel. In practice she couldn't make herself give up control, even when it could make things easier. The tiger won in the end, it was winning from the second her eyes had flashed into bright amber.

The beast stood before the other, snarling angrily. The anger was mostly fear, nothing but a meaningless bark.

Butterscotch was already there, waiting patiently for the other tigress to come forth and when she did, she could tell she was upset and fearful. The golden tiger didn't get up, a soft chuff left her in hello. The soft rumbling filling the air some as she tried to calm the other tiger and invite her into her own space.

She wanted her to know that she was not an enemy but a friend.

The creature before Tigrina wasn’t like the cheetah she’d fought last night. This one was like her, felt more like friend than foe. That didn’t stop her from growling, from being wary, her tail lashing in distress. She’d stare down the golden tiger for about a minute before she relaxed, realizing that this other was not a threat.

A whine escaped her, the sound of a young beast who wanted comfort.

Butterscotch waited, trying to be patient as the fellow tiger tried to understand that she wasn't someone who was going to hurt her. It took a few moments but when she did, the golden cat stood and came closer to her.

If she didn't pull away, the tigress would start to lick and groom her face gently, soft calming chuffs leaving her to help soothe the upset tiger here as best she could.

It was strange, the tiger was cautious about the approach and her lips peeled back to reveal her teeth, but she didn’t move away. She wanted the closeness of the other, she needed help just as much as her human did.

The licks against her cheek felt good, made her feel warm and far more comfortable. She allowed it but stiffly, not yet reciprocating and still trying to decide how she felt about it all.

The baring of teeth did little to Butterscotch, just soft limp rumbly chuffs leaving her as she gave gentle grooms to the other big cat who was here.

The golden tiger knew that she was new and hadn't yet been around other tigers so it was a lot. Gently, her head bumped up against the other's before sitting down and looking at her with the vibrant bubble gum pink eyes.

The grooming was good, it made the new tiger feel safer, more comfortable. Slowly her fur flattened, she licked her lips and turned her head to stare straight back as the other tiger sat before her.

Then she yawned, a huge toothy yawn, putting her salmon pink tongue on full display. She ended the yawn with a deep groan, then continued her stare off with her sire.

Soon calm the calming and that made the tigress relax even further. With her tongue out, the golden tiger chuffed again rather happily before moving to slid the bag over her neck and then standing.

Gently, she nudged the other tiger to follow her, urging her to turn and head in the direction of the river.

The other tigress made happy sounds, a friendly and jovial chuff. Tigrina wasn't as lost as her human but she wasn't sure she felt happy just yet. Relaxing, but still agitated, anything small could send her off. She replied to the happiness with relative silence, the only sound she made was the scuffling of paws against the ground as she stood and stretched.

A gentle nudge and she was following, long tail bouncing low behind her.

Butterscotch let out soft chuffs to encourage her fur-child along, to get her to continue to follow until they got to the water. A happy chuff left her as she pawed at the calm river water and looked at Tigrina to come and join her and to explore their second love; water!

Hmm. The black striped tiger grunted, staring at the calmly bubbling water with a look like disdain. What the fuck was she supposed to do with this, mom? She was uncertain, skeptical, and downright stubborn, the other's happy sounds did little to sway her.

She sat back down instead, fiery amber gaze settled on Butterscotch, unamused.

The look she got from her was far from amusement and fun and it made the other tigress frown, whiskers drooping a little bit as Tigrena just sat on her butt.

A small nosey snort left her as she went over to the other tigress and got behind her and pushed at her back a bit with a chuff, trying to tell her that food was on the other side of the river.

Stubborn child -.-

Her sire was not pleased, but Tigrina did not give a shit. She was still grumpy! Not interested in bouncing around and swimming and cuddling. Somewhere deep inside her feline mind she was channeling some of her human, who simply refused to give in.

And then she was being pushed, and despite all her prior reluctance, she folded under just a little more pressure. The bright colored tiger stood again and padded slowly towards the water, dipping a paw in and finding she enjoyed the way it cooled around her dark fleshy toes. Tail flicking up as a sign of her new found interest, she started to wade in.

Butterscotch was finally pleased at the giving in of going into the waters, the new tiger needing to learn that the water was her friend and a great place to be but also they really needed to leave this area so as to not worry Frank who probably wasn't thrilled at feeling strange shifters in his area.

Once in the water, she stepped out and then went to start swimming, paddling around out a bit and then returning to hopefully encourage her new were-child to come out and follow her still. So close! They were so close to where they needed to go and then both Amira and Butterscotch would feel at ease.

Tigrina didn't like not having her feet on the ground, much like her human. Another coincidental similarity maybe, or just something they'd subconsciously shared. Swimming was a little different though, you're not on the ground but you're not in the air either. The tiger's paws caught the current like stepping stones, she was built for this kind of movement. Another stamp of approval from the judgmental cat, who then followed the other across the river.

When she started to swim, it felt better. The tigress stayed right beside the other, giving encouragement as they paddled through the river's water and all the way to the other side. Butterscotch pulled herself from the waters and gave a might shake of her entire body, spraying water droplets in all directions so that she could get the majority off of her shiny coat. Sitting, she started to lick and groom herself a bit to remove even more while letting the other tigress get situated.

They reached the other side, and Tigrina found herself reluctant to leave the river. Just a bit, not enough to stop her from following the other onto the shoreline. She gave a mighty shake of her coat, leaving it clumped with the water in some spots and sleek in others. The other tigress was grooming herself, something that Tigrina did not have time for. She kept walking right on by, she would make her own way.

Once she was dry enough, she noticed that Tigrina was already out and shook off, heading out into the wilderness. She followed alongside her, nudging her a bit on a trail that was of a deer but other than that, she'd let the other tigress hunt without her. She had to learn and all They were going to do was make sure that she was safe and once she fell asleep, take her up to her place so that they could talk hopefully.

A trail ahead to follow and a new companion by her side, the tigress stalked through the woods with relative comfort now. Her human slumbered, contented by her lack of worry, released by the absence of control.

When they'd at last awake, Amira would be given a second chance, and Sabrina would give her her number.