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Necessary Research (Hahvoc Requiem & Mr. Master)

"Western-style...from the bakery?"

Her face seemed to gain a faint blush as she got excited from the thought of having delicious, freshly baked bread. She was the type to enjoy bread and the mere thought made her mouth water. She sighed lightly at the thought of baked bread, practically tasting it. She had been in her own little world for a moment before she caught a tangy, sharp scent on the air coming from Jackson. It sent a light shiver down her spine as she looked at him, grinning in the slightest as she stopped braiding her hair. She watched him get up, using the bag to probably hide his arousal and it made her snicker lightly to herself. She listened to his words and waited until he got to the door before she spoke.

"What are you thinking about, Jackson? And don't tell me it's just food.."​
 
"Looks like western-style it is. Traditional sliced bread, suitable for toasting."

The question caught him off-guard. He certainly wasn't expecting a question from her; she had no reason to be at all curious about her captors. No that wasn't right. But the questions she should be asking shouldn't be asked in such a soft, almost shy tone of voice. He looked at her in surprise, then realized she's probably scented the change in his hormone balance or something, any of a million little cues she could have picked up on with just the sharp senses of her animal half. He speculated as to what he could say that would be honest -- and he did want to be honest with her, he owed her at least that much for his complicity with her imprisonment -- and yet wouldn't make him sound like a filthy perverted creep.

Thinking of nothing, he instead cocked his head to the side, grinned at her, and quipped, "You ought to know all about animal urges... you figure it out!" And then he was out the door.

Upstairs in the palatial kitchen of the old mansion the Doctor had obtained for their local lab, he could hear the other man's raised voice echoing through the chambers as he shouted his fury at the fools and idiots who denounced him and his plans. The fact that he still had standing at all, considering the crackpot nature of some of his theories, was a testament to his genius, and if he hadn't had the crackpot theories, he wouldn't have needed to go so far afield as to hire Jackson for an assistant. So it was a mixed blessing, from Jackson's perspective.

A whole loaf of pre-sliced bread he put on a tray, and one of the ceramic tubs of local butter, and he originally got a metal butter knife but went back and replaced it with plastic, and he grabbed two slabs of the onion kulcha for himself, and then he took the whole kit and kaboodle downstairs. By this point his reaction had subsided, so he wasn't in any danger of embarrassing himself in front of the woman in the cage.

"And your bread, ma'am," he said wryly as he entered.
 
She seemed pleased with how he was beginning to treat her: more like a person. She'd been treated like an animal for so long, since she lived as one for long time intervals, that it was nice to speak with someone without fur. Even if he couldn't really understand her plight. She sniffed, inhaling a plume of his scent as he moved away to the door still. When he paused and then turned, grinning, she couldn't help but blush a shade darker. But she grinned at his words, snickering when he left. He was..funny. She sighed lightly. She hoped she wasn't developing Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe she was. It didn't really matter. It wasn't like she had any real family or friends that would be searching for her. At least she could potentially find a friend in Jackson. She was almost hoping for more.

She undid the braids in her hair as she combed her fingers through the silken locks. She would need a bath eventually, her hair was soft and smooth, but being naked in a metal cage was bothering her soft skin. If she could just change there wouldn't be an issue. But she knew whatever was in her blood had to be diluted out more or perhaps she needed an antidote. And how the hell was she suppose to go pee around here? She really hoped she wasn't suppose to try to go through the grating in the floor. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Soon, the scent of bread, butter, and Jackson caught her attention and she smiled in delight, almost purring but stopped herself. She shouldn't get so attached...He would probably leave her if Dr. Brainless deemed it necessary.

Serai moved to the cage bars and looked up at him. If she had a tail, it would have been moving back and forth in delight at the smell of bread, however faint it was. And the butter, it smelled so sweet and delicious. Combined with Jackson's scent and he wasn't the only one thinking naughty thoughts. She waited patiently though, not bothering to reach through the bars. She shook from the cold of the bars when they caressed her breasts, causing her nipples to harden from the sudden cold. She shivered a little and moved her body away from the bars an inch or two, just so she wouldn't get shocked cold again. Smiling at Jackson she soon spoke.

"Ah, bread, how I've missed ye."​
 
He knelt by the door, putting the tray in front of her. It crossed his mind that he was well within the range of her hands, if she was going to try anything. But he put the bread and butter down, and took one of his kulchas and backed off. It was a little strange to him; he'd been nervous about being attacked before, but now he just wanted to give her some distance out of respect. Besides, if he was closer, he'd run the risk of arousal, which she'd detect right away, and it would embarrass the hell out of him.

He began eating his stuffed bread while watching her go to town on the bread and butter. It was pleasant to see her take such joy in something so simple. If she liked this so much, he wondered how she'd react to something he actually cooked. Maybe he could... but he had to stop his thinking right there. Even if he wanted to impress her, what good would it do? She was a prisoner, and he'd put her there. She didn't owe him anything but a kick in the teeth, and that's only if she was lenient. He had to look away, feeling guilty again. The more he got to know her, the worse he felt about keeping her here. But he didn't see that he had much choice.

"Serai," he said, clearing his throat. "Thanks for telling me your life story. I'm honored to know it. Would you care to hear mine? Might... explain a few things." He hoped she'd say yes, if only so he could try and explain... and apologize.
 
Despite how close he got, hurting him was the last thing on her mind as she focused on the bread and butter, just beyond her reach until he moved the two items close enough for her to grab. She reached and pulled them through, careful not to let anything fall. Even if the bread was cold, it didn't matter, it was still good. She ate one piece without butter, purring with delight before she took a second piece and added some butter. Delicious, absolutely yummy. She didn't notice Jackson watching her, too intent on her treat to really bother with looking elsewhere. She was on her fourth slice before she looked up at him. There he was, thinking again. She smiled lightly to herself as she settled in, content as a cat who'd eaten the canary. When he spoke, her eyes focused on his lips and then his face as she stuffed more bread in her mouth.

She thought as she chewed slowly, wondering what he might have to say. And she would know if he was lying, so there was no problem with listening to whatever he had to say. It just depended on if she wanted to hear it. It would clear up a few things, perhaps, maybe explain why she was here at his expense. And, a tiny voice in her head said, it would enable her to learn much more about him. And she admitted, just to herself, that she wanted to learn more about him. She blushed a little bit as she swallowed and took another bite of bread. She shouldn't be thinking about him like that. He had put her in the cage, after all. Sighing to hide her inner turmoil, she gave him a small smile and a nod.​
 
He sighed. He hadn't really told anyone about this in... well, ever, really. After a certain point, nobody wanted to hear it, and Dr. F already knew, and he hadn't much talked to anyone with any depth since then, so... He took a deep breath, sort of stared off into the distance, and began.

"Okay, so, you were in the States, Canada, about twenty-some years ago. You ever heard of the show "Doogie Howser, MD" about a high school kid who's a full-on doctor? That was kind of me, just set a little bit younger. By the time I was 18, I was finishing up med school and entering residency. My mom had died when I was young and my dad... my odd dad... pushed me. Hard. By the time I was 25, I was in practice, and making mad cash. And pretty much spending almost all of it irresponsibly, because I never got to cut loose as a young person, so I was taking it all out when I was finally independent. Which is how I got to drinking too much, doing too much blow..." He sighed. He didn't like thinking back on that part of his life, but it was necessary.

"In short, I fucked up, and got thrown out. Disbarred. Eliminated. Behind the ol' 8-ball. And no school would hire me to teach medicine I wasn't allowed to practice. From genius to jerkwad in a dozen easy steps." He shook his head. "My odd dad disowned me, and I haven't talked to him in years. And then I did the wonderfully smart thing and got mixed up with the Mob. See, crime syndicates don't much care about formal licensing, and they always need people to, say, remove bullets without reporting it to the police, or the like. I did a lot of that, and they paid well. It was when they wanted me to inflict pain that... well, even at that point, I had a few scruples left. But if you remember anything about the Mob from popular media, you probably remember they hold grudges.

"So I'm trying to survive and stay mobile so I don't get a mysterious visitor in the middle of the night when I get a mysterious message. Doctor Felidae, you see, is a luminary in the genetics field because of his early research, but his star has fallen a great deal since he started espousing theories about lycanthropes. He still has swing, but he needed assistance, and none of the reputable scientists wanted to sully their careers with his crackpot theories. So he needed someone intelligent and capable who could stand to be associated with him, i.e. someone with nothing left to lose. Enter: me.

"I love medicine, Serai, I always did, even when I was being pushed into it. I'm good at it, I'm good at the science and the treatments and... And when I couldn't do it anymore, it just about killed me. I thought about eating a bullet a lot at that time. And Dr. F, he can clear it up. If I give him help on his project, he can get me back into the life. Maybe I'll never work in a hospital again, but I can be involved in science, I can..." He stopped himself, as he was waxing enthusiastic about the whole thing, and it was beginning to sound like trying to justify his actions. Which, he had to admit, was the point. And that's why he had to stop.

"That's the hold he's got on me, Serai," Jackson finished in a small voice. "If I'm not a loyal and true lab assistant, if I'm not a good Igor to his Frankenstein, then I get to go back to squalor and probably two bullets in the skull when the nice Sicilian boys finally catch up to me." And that's why I can't let you go, much as I want to, he wanted to say, but he couldn't. Was his future more important than an innocent woman's freedom? It used to be easier to say yes, but now...
 
Serai listened in silence, watching his face the whole time as she chewed on her bread. She was finished with half the loaf before she drank down some water and just watched. The story she had told him was the cliff notes version. She was never one to go into particular detail about how hard it was growing up, just because it wasn't her style. The past was the past and she simply let it lay. Still, it was rather amazing that he had advanced to a doctor at such a young age, but then screwed it all up. Drugs didn't bring about addictions and other problems on accident. She munched slowly on a piece of bread, listening to him talk about the Mob. She'd heard stories growing up, but the werecreature community was much more vicious and scary than any human syndicate. You needed permission for almost anything unless you went rogue. Then you were put on a watch list.

She sighed lightly and looked at him again when he spoke her name. She could tell he was in love with medicine and science and all that other stuff. It wasn't hard to tell. But it seemed like he was just trying to justify the means. It was like saying he hadn't meant to destroy the village and just wanted to test a bomb he had built. In order for him to keep practicing medicine, she had to lose her freedom. The words, I would let you go but can't, hung in the air as she stared at him. Well, that was all well and good, but she needed to know why she couldn't shift. What sort of inhibitors had been in that drug? It was out of her system, but shifting was still out of reach. She licked her fingers clean of butter and crumbs before she mulled over what he had discussed with her. She couldn't be mad but she didn't know what to say. He had made his bed but kept finding ways out instead of facing down his problems. So was the way of humans. Even if she was part human, she had been raised in the Shifter Society. Things were much harsher there. But she understood why he had done what he did.

"Jackson...what was in that drug? Granted, I don't like being trapped in here, but shifting is a huge part of what I am and I can't seem able to do it. If I can't shift within the next few days, I'll start going crazy."

She looked at him, her eyes stormy looking as she finished off her glass of water and then put it down, thoroughly stuffed with food.​
 
He didn't know what he'd expected. Some word of acknowledgment for his position would have been nice, and for a moment he had a flare of hurt that she seemed to have just ignored his confessional. But then he realized he was being stupid and selfish. What else had he really expected? She owed him nothing.

"I-I don't know the compound. I know it's based on some of his theories, and some tangential evidence he'd found and extrapolated from. Obviously, it works, but I don't know how." He looked at her with all seriousness. "I can try and see what I can find out. If it's really going to be a problem..." He sighed, and looked away, guilty. "You know, I never thought we'd actually find anything. But I thought India would be a good place to escape to."

They both suddenly heard Dr. F bellowing Jackson's name above.

"Oh boy. Sounds like he's coming down. Listen, do you want him to know you can talk?" Jackson looked at her very seriously.
 
"I'm an animal, remember?"

She said with a sort of sad smile. She looked away from him a moment, closing her eyes. He didn't know what exactly was in the drug or how extrapolated it had been when she had been injected with it. If it was enough...she wondered if she would ever be able to shift again. That thought alone hit her like a ton of bricks, taking away her breath a moment. Not being able to shift would be like not being able to walk. Something you were used to doing that was suddenly taken away. You adjusted, but you never truly got over it. She bit her lip, swallowing down her sorrow and self-pity. The drug would eventually wear off. It had to. Her metabolism was too fast for it to stay for longer than maybe two-three days at the most. Or so she hoped. She swallowed as she looked up at Jackson and then away.

"I'm not as mad as you might think. I can understand what you did. But in my world, you would be dead already. You only get one second chance, and if you fuck that up, you are exterminated like the beast you are born into being.."

She kept her eyes on her hands as she closed her eyes with a soft-hearted sigh. How had she gotten into this mess? But she wouldn't get into her own personal pity-party now. She couldn't afford it.​
 
He glanced at the door as he got up. Doctor F hadn't come to the stairs yet, he still had some time.

"Well, thank you. And right now, I'm glad we're in my world, not yours. Here, give me that tray. If you're an animal, you don't make sandwiches; let me stash it."

He got all the incriminating evidence back on the cart by the time the older man came to the door. "Good news, Jackson!" Dr. Felidae shouted. Jackson raised an eyebrow; the Doc was never this happy or solicitous. "We got an offer! The preliminary blood analysis results gained us a contract and a deposit! We're on our way home!"

"W-what? Doctor, what are you talking about?"

Felidae's eyes had an almost crazy look to them, and even Jackson could smell the alcohol on him. He stepped up to the younger man, feet crunching on some of the long-spilled tiger chow, and took him by both arms. "We're meeting up with a military transport in Mumbai tomorrow! They are flying us, our equipment, and our sample back to the United States to work on a top-secret project, using proteins and compounds manufactured from this creature's blood to help create super-soldiers!" He slapped Jackson's arms. "It's time for a celebration! Where's those steaks we brought along?"

Jackson turned a shocked glance at Serai, then turned to pursue Dr. F on his way out the door. "I don't know, sir, but I think the champagne is in the cupboard..." They left, and the steel door slammed behind them.
 
Serai pushed the tray towards him before she backed up into the cage and away from his tantalizing scent. She heard the door open, followed by Dr. Asshole's voice. She cringed at the sound of the joy and happiness there. And then she got shocked. Her blood, her blood, had gotten a contract and a deposit?! For what? She was afraid to know the answer. But she found out anyways. Her face took on an expression of horror as she curled up in her cage. Soldiers? They were going to use her blood to make better soldiers?! She had to get into contact with one of her kind and contact the council of elders. She had to or she was dead or all of them would be dead. Her kind, that is. She couldn't live with that. She felt eyes upon her and she looked up to see Jackson's shocked face. But it probably looked nothing like her ghostly expression.

"No.."

She whispered so quietly she was surprised to hear herself. She curled up tighter on herself, feeling her hope sinking. Unless, were they going to let her go now? She had no idea. She hoped they would release her, they had her blood now...her genes..She closed her eyes as she felt despair wash over her and disbelief. This couldn't be happening.​
 
It was like he was waking up for the first time in a decade.

The first thing he could think to do was to distract Doctor F. They wasted a little bit of time searching for the steaks, but Jackson mostly focused on plying the older man with alcohol. Eventually, the scientist slumped forward in his chair at the dinner table, already beginning to snore.

For the last few drinks, Jackson's excellent brain had been working faster and better than it had since his swingin' bad boy days. Plans and probabilities and imperatives swirled around in his thoughts. As soon as his boss nodded off, Jackson was out of the room and up the stairs.

First stop was his room, where he put everything he needed in a shoulder bag. He had to leave most of his clothes, toiletries, all that unnecessary stuff. A change, and that was it.

Second stop, Felidae's room. His computer was still on, and all the programs still running. Some of the pages had timed out, but Jackson checked, and sure enough, Felidae kept his passwords in a notebook. He made a few alterations, then changed the passwords and logged out entirely. There actually wasn't much he could do about the data; he wasn't a computer expert, but he had noticed links in the browser to an online archival place. Unfortunate. But he could do something, at least.

He started searching through the papers on the desk, on the shelves. He worked quickly, smoothly. He finally found what he was looking for, and gathered up all the notebooks and a set of clothes, and put them all in another shoulder bag.

On the way back down to the basement, he stopped in the kitchen, opened the utility closet, and found a hatchet. Then he went to the basement.

Banging open the door, he seemed like a completely different person. There was a fire in his eyes. He strode toward the cage as he spoke. "Serai, you're right. I only get one second chance. And this is it." He slammed the hatchet on the cage padlock once, twice, and on the third strike, the old hatchet head broke off, but the lock hung open, shattered.
 
Serai had gone numb after about an hour of thinking. Even as her mind continued to turn gears, the rest of her stopped feeling. There was no way Jackson would go through with this, right? Or was he that selfish? She hoped he wasn't really that caught up in his own problems and just practicing medicine. She could hear them shuffling around inside the building, Dr. F's laughter and cheering as he drank more bubbly and got so drunk he passed out. She could smell the alcohol from her cage. She had expected Jackson to maybe go to sleep or something, but she soon heard him shuffling about, and it seemed to chase away the numbness. She got up as best she could and tried to look out and see what was going on. The door banged open and she blinked as she noticed Jackson's expression. She blushed as he seemed so....different, as though he was in charge of himself now. She saw the hatchet and smiled a little nervously before she heard his words. She moved back when he started to swing, and watched the hatchet head fall off. But the lock broke. She pushed on the door and it whipped open as she crawled out and stood up, wincing from the stiffness in her knees. But she adjusted soon enough. She looked at Jackson and then hugged him, just so thrilled to be out of the cage that she hugged him tight, but not enough to hurt him. She nuzzled his cheek as she purred before she pulled away, blushing.

"We need to get out of here. I wouldn't be surprised if we have to run."

She grinned at him, ears twitching lightly. She took his hand as she headed towards the door. She looked back at him as she spoke since she needed to know where they were so she could navigate towards the elders and tell them what was going on.

"I need to know where we are so I can get us to safety."​
 
Jackson was surprised at the hug, and thrilled. But he was still all business, his mind still whirling, working like it hadn't in what seemed like forever. "Wait, not yet. We're still in my world, and things need to be done."

He handed her the shoulder bag with Felidae's clothes and notebooks, save for the one he still held, and tried not to linger too much when he touched her skin. "Here, put these on. I know, I know they smell like him, but you can't go out all naked," he paused, "you'd create a sensation, for one thing, and we're trying to lay low."

He turned from her and strode to the lab table, his eyes roving to locate the proper chemicals and compounds. "I have to formulate an antidote to the inhibitor drug he gave you. It works by coating the mylon sheaths of the specific coded areas of your brain with a non-reactive compound that inhibits... well, let's just say it keeps your body from hearing the change command, and it doesn't break down very easily by itself. It might take weeks, months. And you don't have that kind of time." He quickly assembled what he would need, and prayed the notes were accurate.

"You, Serai, need to protect you and yours. Bust into some of those computers, find the hard drives, and destroy them." Thinking, he lit a Bunsen burner on the lab desk and pushed it over to the side. "Here, they melt well enough, and it'll destroy the data irrevocably." He turned to the lab table again, trying not to feel her eyes on his back. He didn't want to feel self-conscious about this, he couldn't afford to. This wasn't about him.
 
Serai took the shoulder bag from him when he handed it to her and she sniffed it, wrinkling her nose in distaste because of the scent that lingered on the clothing inside it. When he told her to put them on so she wouldn't make a scene, she grinned at him as she opened the bag and found a shirt and some pants. They were much too big on her, but it was better than being naked amongst humans, even if she didn't care much. Humans and their modesty. She pulled on the pants and then slipped on the shirt, finding a belt to keep her pants on. She listened to him talk about the drug, and since she had never been exposed that intensely to science, she only understand half of what he said and then nodded at the part about the command not reaching the rest of her. She watched him assemble different, funny-smelling chemicals before he lit the Bunsen Burner and pushed it towards her.

She went to the computers and took the hard drives out none-too-gently, using her shifter strength to take them out, cords and all. She held them over the burner, using pliers to hold them over the flame. They caught fire and melted pretty easily, smelling terrible due to chemicals inside of them. She held her arm over her mouth and nose before she tossed them on the dirt floor so they wouldn't light anything on fire. She went through as many hard drives as there were, working quickly. She soon stepped up behind Jackson, making her presence known by clearing her throat. She was usually very silent and had to remember to make nose when she stepped up to Jackson. She wrinkled her nose at the smell and backed up a bit, tugging at her shirt and holding it over her nose. Dr. F may have smelled horrible, but it was better than smelling chemicals.

"I got rid of the hard drives...And um....thank you."​
 
Jackson worked steadily on the reagent. According to the notes the compound had reversed the effects of the inhibitor in all the lab tests, but for obvious reasons it had never been tested on a live lycanthrope. He had no idea what sort of side effects might show up, but they had no other choice.

"Don't thank me yet; we still have to get you freed up and out of here. I want you to reach into my pocket... my chest pocket, mind... and get out the piece of paper you find there. On it is a bank account number and a personal identification number, or PIN. You've been out of touch for a while, but you can take those to the bank in town, when it opens, give them to the teller, and withdraw the full amount of the deposit that the military gave to Dr. F. I know you don't normally need money, but it's only fair you get some compensation for your time here. Maybe you can buy some jungle for a preserve, or set up a clinic or something specializing in lycanthropes. Do you guys even get sick?"

He held back from telling her how much the deposit had been; let her be surprised at how generous the military could be. The reagent was almost done with its reaction, turning from a swirling blue-green gradually to still and clear. He had no idea if it would work, but it was ready.

"It's nearly done. It's going to have to be injected, I'm afraid. And to be fair, I don't know what the side effects might be. Do you still want me to do it?" He picked up a syringe from the storage drawer, setting it out while he agitated the reagent, trying to make sure it was thoroughly done reacting.
 
She blushed a little bit at where the bank statement was, but at least it wasn't in his pants pocket, though that would have been interesting, too. She stepped closer, practically touching him until she leaned over and saw his breast pocket. She reached in and soon found the slip, her hand lingering a little longer than necessary before she pulled it out. She tucked it into the front pocket of her pants. She didn't really understand why he was telling her all this and so she decided to say what was on her mind.

"What do you mean? You aren't coming with me? And there are a few diseases that can kill us, like cancer that replicates too fast for us to do anything about because of the cell division required for our rapid healing. But that's beside the point. Where are you gonna go?"

Serai hadn't meant to sound like she wanted him to come with her, but she had the strangest urge to protect him. If he was taken into custody under her protection, she'd be able to hide him from either the human authorities or the Mob that was after him. But she needed to find Rajah if she wanted to keep this human alive. She turned her head when he started speaking about the reagent and its potential side effects. She hoped they wouldn't effect her too badly since the effects would probably cycle out of her system. Still...she tore off the bandaid he had put on her arm and put out her arm for him to inject her.

"I trust you...well...at least I have some trust for you. And...I can protect you, if you'll let me.."

A faint blush coated her cheeks as she looked away for a moment, the stripes on her cheeks more prominent. She was developing attraction to him and she didn't want to consider what exactly that could mean and so she stuffed all those naughty thoughts and feelings into a storage in labeled 'later.'​
 
He paused just a moment in his work when she asked if he was coming with her... he was thrilled at the idea, but he put it off for later.

When he prepared the syringe, and she offered her arm, she renewed her offer of protection. He paused, then, syringe in hand, and looked her in the eyes. He hadn't really looked at her face close-up, the bars had always been in the way. Now, here, in too-large men's clothing (his would have been even larger on her), looking at him with her eyes shining... he could barely take it. Tears welled up in his eyes, as well.

"Serai, I was the one that drugged you. I fired the shot. Sure, I thought I was just drugging a tiger, and I was under Dr. F's orders, but it was me. It's my fault you were captured. My fault you had to deal with all of this. You don't owe me anything; if I'd been strong enough to follow my conscience in the first place, this never would have happened."

Before he could think about it any more, he slid the needle in and pressed the plunger.

"I'd love to come with you, Serai. I'd love to meet your people, learn about them, and you," he said, then withdrew the empty syringe. "But I don't think I deserve to."
 
She hissed in the slightest as the needle went in deep, and she relaxed when he slid it out. She had been listening to him before he put in the syringe. She hadn't said anything for a moment or two as she tried to think of what exactly to say. To be honest, she was rather annoyed. He was babbling again. Hadn't she already said she more or less forgave him? What a sob story. She rubbed her arm and then pressed her body against his, knowing she was probably letting off some crazy pheromones. She liked him for his strange honesty, that even when he did the wrong thing, he found a way to make up for it. It was a good quality to have. She blushed a bit more as her face remained mere inches from his own, but she needed his full attention in order for her words to get across.

"I told you...second chances. Yes, it was your fault, but you are making up for it by deciding to let me out and destroying the research. Plus, getting military funds isn't a bad bonus."

She grinned at him lightly as she felt her body heat in the slightest. He smelled really good up close, a mixture of his own personal base scent and all the other scents that made up Jackson's smell. She closed her eyes a moment as she felt herself start leaning a tiny bit, wanting to be closer to him.

"Come with me...or I'll drag you."

She smiled before she leaned the rest of the way and captured his lips with her own.​
 
She rubbed her arm, and then she backed him up against the lab table, pushing her body against his. The doctor's borrowed clothes did nothing to hide the swell of her figure against him, her softness against his chest. She smelled intoxicating, even above the middle-aged-man cologne scent that Dr. F seemed to douse himself with every day that had worked its way into the very fabric of his clothes. Her eyes drew him in, mesmerized him.

She spoke of second chances, and the way he was making up for things. He began to smile just a little bit. He'd been resigned to going on the run on his own, trying to disappear into India and keep out of the way of Italians, but Serai's words were giving him some hope.

She grinned at him, a slight, very sexy little grin, and closed her eyes. His heart beat faster, and he felt his ears heat up as she leaned in toward him. He couldn't help but lean toward her a little bit, so when she spoke, the breath of her words caressed his chin.

"Come with me... or I'll drag you," she said, and at this he had to smile in utter joy.

She kissed him, her lips like fire on his. His heart raced, and he dropped the syringe to the side as he put his arms around her waist and drew her to him, melting himself into the kiss.
 
His kiss sent her whole body aflame, igniting her from her lips right down to her toes. She distantly heard the clink of the syringe against the dirt floor before his arms went about her, drawing her further against him. She could feel every contour of his body against her own and the almost electric sensation made her gasp in the slightest. She had to be crazy for kissing a human, a human who had captured her, but it didn't matter in this moment. It was just the two of them. Her hands naturally went into his hair drawing his lips against her own more heatedly, deepening the kiss as she pressed herself more so against his body. She had never felt so alive and receptive to someone before, especially not a human. It shocked and amazed her as she put more of herself into the kiss. She lightly ran her tongue over the seam of his lips, asking him for entrance even as the rest of her demanded more than just kissing. She mused silently that this was what animal magnetism must be.

One of her hands moved down to his neck, her thumb stroking over his pulse, moving in a slow rhythm to relax him and yet send his lust soaring. She could just barely hear his heart beat over the sound of her own and she sighed lightly, knowing how they were both affected in such a basic and primal way. A tiny voice in her head said it would be bad to get mixed up with this human, but she shoved the voice aside as she continued to kiss Jackson, wanting more and more of him as each second passed. She figured maybe it was a side effect of the injection, but she let it go. If this was a side effect, she was damn glad she was already attracted to Jackson.​
 
Her hands in his hair, stroking down his neck, his bran slid into almost a stream of consciousness, total experiential thing. Hands on his hair, his neck, opening his lips to her, his tongue questing, twining with hers, her taste exotic, yet familiar, the scent of her filling his head, making him giddy, his arms moving, hands sliding up her back, feeling her corded muscles through the shirt, tongue brushing pointed teeth, feeling amazed and slightly scared but aroused, her body soft and yet firm and muscular against his own, wonderfully human yet awesomely feline, and he was swelling and stiffening and what was wrong with him, there was a crisis on...

He broke the kiss (reluctantly), and found himself panting for breath. "I will," he gasped. "But we should go now. Time for this later." He squeezed her to him, just a brief kind of hug, to let her know he wanted this, all this, and more, when they had the time and privacy. He took her hands from up on his head, squeezed them, and then let one of them go. "Let's go."

Hand in hand, they ran for the door, his sneakers making little noise, her bare feet making even less. They got half-way up the stairs outside when a shape appeared at the top. Doctor Felidae had woken from his drunken slumber, and stood at the top of the stairs with an ancient elephant gun, something that had hung above the mantel since they got the place. Jackson didn't think it worked, but he wasn't certain enough not to pause, halfway up.

Doctor Felidae teetered on the top step, blinking down at the two of them. He frowned. "Is that my shirt?"
 
The experience was frying her brain and destroying any resistance to her self-control. His scent surrounded her, his taste filled her mouth and slid down her throat like the most refreshing drink. It was mind-boggling how good this felt. Especially when his hands moved to her back and stroked his through the shirt. She purred very quietly in the back of her throat until he slowly broke the kiss, her eyes opening as she looked at his face. Her eyes were silvery purple from lust and she took a few breaths to calm herself down. If she got this riled up over a kiss, she couldn't even imagine what more would do to her body. She looked at up, listened to his words and their breathing. She nodded at his words and blinked when he embraced her, but she got the gist of the message. She gripped his hand back when he continued to hold onto one of them, she nodded again before they dashed off.

They were close to being outside, she could smell it until she smelt alcohol and Felidae's scent from above them. She stopped with Jackson, her breath more evened out now since the run didn't wind her. She noticed the gun, his drunken state and she cursed quietly when he asked if that was his shirt or now. She lightly slipped her hand from his as she grabbed his arm and tried to position Jackson behind her. She spoke softly.

"Get behind me...I can heal fast, you can't. And I don't want him to have a shot at you."

She felt tension in her blood, in the air, and her predator senses began to take over, feeling her body tingling all over, more potent than before. Words were moving through her head like danger, weapon, enemy. But one word kept slipping in, louder than the rest. Protect, protect, protect... And then finally CHANGE. Unlike with werewolves, shape-shifters could change at will, with or without clothing on. It was just better to do without since the change usually tore the clothes up. But since these were much too big on her. But she didn't change, but she felt her body adjust to quicker movement. She couldn't shift on the stairs without knocking Jackson over and so she pressed the balls of her feet against the stair beneath her and dashed up the stairs in blur of movement, hoping to disengage the elephant gun and either kill or knock out Felidae. She bared her teeth, wanting more than ever to tear out his throat.​
 
As she lunged, Felidae's eyes widened in panic. He didn't seem so much like a hunter at that moment, so much as a startled gazelle. He tried to swing the elephant gun up, but the chamber wasn't latched, and it fell open as he lifted it. Not that it mattered, because the open chamber revealed no shells; it was basically a heavy, unwieldy club. As Serai pounced, Felidae shrieked and staggered backward, dropping the rifle and falling flat on his back.
 
Serai pinned him to the floor, snarling at him as she knocked the faulty gun away. She was livid because of being in that cage, of being called an animal, of all the hell he had put her through and what her kind would have gone through if he had gotten away with what he had done. She growled low in her throat, eyes flashing like lightning in a storm as her teeth shifted, growing longer and more pronounced, almost as though she was going to tear his throat out. She would have easily gotten away with it, but she feared Jackson's opinion of her, so she decided to ask him of the man's fate.

"Jackson...I have to know. Should I let him live? I don't believe I should, he might try this again on another of my kind, or he might become a washed up has-been. I don't have to ask you, but I'm asking you now."

She looked back at him, her teeth having shifted back in order for her to be able to talk and be understood. Her eyes and expression became softer as she looked at him, hoping he wouldn't hate her if she killed the man that was pinned beneath her weight.​
 
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