Turtleshift

by Linton Bowers

  “No, that won't be necessary,” Izzy said. “We'll take the room. Thank you Margery.”

  I took that as my cue and stepped up to the counter with my credit card. I passed it to Margeri who eyed it skeptically.

  “You don't’ look like someone that would have one of these,” Margery said. “If not for Miss Rodriguez being a police officer I might have to call the credit card company.”

  “It's all above board,” Izzy said.

  “Very well then.”

  A minute later I had keys in hand and we were heading up stairs. Izzy yawned more than once on our walk up to our second floor room. Her version of thinking about the case was going to involve a lot of sleep if I didn't miss my guess.

  She stepped aside as we reached the door and I opened it. My turtle went straight to the bed and fell onto it like a tree onto a forest floor. While she lay there I took in the sight of her shapely legs and ass in her tight jeans. Izzy turned her head to look at me over her shoulder. She wasn't angry, but I didn't feel the same joy I received from my other Tua when I checked them out.

  Deciding it best to not stare I checked out our room. It was a good size with a queen bed coated in a homey look quilty. There was a green loveseat and recliner sitting in front of a stand with a thirty two inch T.V. next to a door I assumed opened into a bathroom was a small sink with a mini fridge under the counter and a microwave above the fridge on the counter. It wasn't the luxurious room Miranda put us up in, but it was nice and certainly comfortable.

  On the loveseat was a blanket which I grabbed and spread out on the floor. When I reached across Izzy to grab a pillow she clasped her hand over my wrist.

  “We can share,” she said.

  “Are you sure?” I asked while a spike of hope and excitement impaled my chest.

  “Nothing is going to happen,” Izzy said as her eyes narrowed to slits. “Get that thought right out of your head. But I see no reason two adults can't share the same bed without having sex.”

  “Oh no, I wasn't… well, maybe a little but… you're right. We can share with the intent of getting rest.”

  Before I said something truly damning I shut my mouth and tossed the blanket on the loveseat. Not yet ready for bed I chose to cool down and clean up.

  The cold water from the high pressure shower head helped my focus on what we were there for. Izzy would take care of figuring out who was responsible, though I was sure I knew. But a person to hold responsible and find retribution was important for the morale of my pack. In the morning, I would talk with Bale, assuming he could talk to me since I haven't seen him since the police station. Then I would put together a plan of action suited to my talents.

  The room was dark so I slowly crept to the bed and managed to avoid stubbing my toes. Izzy's soft snoring could be heard over the buzzing of the air conditioner. Cautious not to disturb her, I slid into bed.

  Just as I was situated Izzy slid over and put an arm over my chest and a leg over my thighs. I froze. Not only was my turtle snuggled up against me, but I felt a good deal of warm skin. I did nothing. By allowing me to share the bed Izzy was trusting me to be a gentleman. That trust would be impossible to earn back if I broke it.

  The night passed by slowly. The feel of my turtle pressed against me filled my mind with lecherous thoughts. Every once in a while her leg would move and slide against my constant erection. It was pure torture that kept me from sleeping.

  The morning's light cut through the room bisecting it. A gap in the center of the curtains allowed for the blade of sun to enter. I had watched the morning unsheath the light as there was nothing else to do. My eyelids felt like sandpaper against my eyes and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. The distraction that was Izzy made sleep impossible. It was going ro be a long day.

  Izzy woke and stretched with a yawn. The move pushed the blanket down to our waste and I was gifted with the sight of my wolf in her bra and panties. The former was black while her bottoms were a dark blue. My dick remained erect and throbbed from the sight.

  “Morning,” Izzy said. “I like to sleep in the buff, but thought that unwise considering. Were you all right with the compromise I made?”

  “Uh huh,” I said. Taking my eyes off her cleavage was near impossible.

  “Good. Are you all right? You look tired.”

  “I'm fine.” A yawn pried my mouth open as it sought freedom.

  “Uh huh. Did you sleep at all?”

  “Not really,” I said.

  “Terry, we have a big day ahead of us. You should…” Izzy's eyes went wide. She threw back the blanket and took in the sight of her leg resting on my and my hard dick clearly visible under it. “I slept on you all night, didn't I?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I'm sorry, Terry.” Izzy moved her leg then covered up pulling the blanket up to her chin. “Ah shit. Here I was wondering if you would get handsy and I'm the one all over you. I'm sorry.”

  “It's all right. Don't be mad, but it was nice having you laying on me. Other than not sleeping it felt really nice.”

  Izzy let out a sigh. “I'm sorry.”

  My turtle jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom scooping up her overnight bag as she went. She slammed the door and I heard the shower's hissing a moment later.

  I slumped back on the bed. It had been wonderful to have Izzy close to me, boner notwithstanding. Seeing her so flustered after discovering she had laid on me all night was disheartening. I began to think Izzy and I would never be close.

  At some point I must have dosed off because a fully dressed Wereturtle in human form shook me until I woke.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey yourself.” She sat on the bed next to me and looked down at her lap. “About last night…”

  “It's okay, Izzy. There is nothing to apologize for or feel bad about,” I said

  “But you didn't get any sleep because of me.”

  “I didn’t sleep, sure. But I’m a big boy and I will get over it. We have bigger problems right now,” I said.

  Izzy rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. “This whole Tuatha thing has me all fucked up. Not long ago I would have told you to man up and get some damn coffee. Now I’m all worried and shit about my poor little gringo. What the fuck?”

  I put my hand up to cover the smile spreading on my face.

  “Why the fuck are you smiling, Gringo?”

  “You called me your gringo,” I replied.

  “You’re impossible. Can you get ready so we can get back to work?”

  “That I can do.”

  Soon after I was showered, dressed, and ready to go. First thing I did was get the stone disc from my bag and set it on the table. The real question was how to get Bale out of it to talk to me.

  “What now?” Izzy asked while she looked on.

  “Beats me. I figured Bale would just come out when we pulled the stone thingy out of my bag.”

  “Maybe, you should try asking me to come out,” Bale said as he materialized in front of me.

  “Noted for next time. What’s the deal with the disc?” I asked.

  “It is an old artifact. When magic was old but man was young, they were used to imprison spirits. A nasty magician grew jealous of my relationship with his daughter. He was a strange man with stranger appetites. When his daughter shunned his advances he imprisoned me by tearing my soul from my body and grafting it to the artifact. I can never truly be free, just obliterated or trapped.”

  “That was a surprisingly long explanation,” Izzy said.

  “I was thinking the same thing. So how did you end up in a police station?” I asked.

  The artifact was close to the surface after teh explosion. I thinik it fortunate that the magic will always seek people to weild it. Otherwise I may have been stuck under the earth for untoild ages.”

  “That possibility must have scared you big time for you to be so chatty now,” Izzy said. “What can you tell us about the intruders?”

  “They tank of foul magic. T
he werewolves had the taint of a necro about them. While they were not dead when you fought them their souls were gone as were their minds. It’s similar to what was done with me, only they were used to fuel the dark magician making him, or her, stronger,” Bale said.

  “And you know this how?” Izzy asked.

  “Magic leaves a trace. Almost like an aftertaste, or a lingering odor. I have seen enough magic to know the funk of a soul reaping. Killing those wolves was a mercy. Killing the magician responsible is a duty you must accept. It’s dark taint will infect everything until there is nothing left but death and darkness.”

  “Because our lives weren’t complicated enough without a new quest,” I said.

  “Not new,” Bale said. “You have met this magician before. I recognize the traces of his taint from contact you had with his creatures. You know this monster and I suspect were already looking for a confrontation with him.”

  “Lassiter,” Izzy and I said in unison.

  Chapter 10

  Izzy drove her car at breakneck speeds. I had a question that needed an answer and figured focusing on it was better than watching death come for me. The question was, how do I gain points to level up myself, and my Tua. I closed my eyes and brought up the menus. It was the first time I did it with my eyes closed and relief washed over me as the menus appeared. I wouldn't have to watch Izzy drive us to our graves.

  Since I was with my turtle I focused on her tab. The bracelet that originally let me access these tabs was incomplete because I was missing the companion bracelet. With the help of Roo, my werekangaroo, I was able to acquire the second bracelet. Things were all kinds of hectic so I couldn't delve too deep into the system.

  I grabbed the door handle as Izzy took a turn fast and squeezed my eyes shut. The force of the turn threatened to throw me against Izzy. The result could be a horrific crash that left me and her all kinds of hurt. I decided to keep my hand on the door handle while I continued.

  It became clear that I messed up. Izzy had three unused points and no skills purchased. I had to fix that immediately.

  Skills from left to right at the bottom of the skill trees.

  Clubbed Hands 1:

  All your Turtle Tua gain hard plates that cover the hands making punch strikes 50% more effective.

  Cost 1 Point

  Razors Edge:

  All your Turtle Tua will gain sharpened shell edges giving them a passive offensive capability.

  Cost 1 Point

  Durability 1:

  All your Turtle Tua become 20% more durable

  Cost 1 Point

  Liquid Grace:

  All your Turtle Tua gain 50% more speed and 20% more maneuverable while in the water. Cost 1 Point.

  I thought the choice was easy. Clubbed Hands 1, Razors Edge, and Durability were the skills I bought. We haven’t had many opportunities to fight in water. That didn’t mean I wasn’t excited to see Izzy in the water after getting her the Liquid As I looked at the big fat goose egg representing points to spend a slider popped into existence next to the zero. It was just like a slider in a web browser that moved the content up or down. I pushed it down with a little willpower and the zero moved up to be replaced by current EXP. Izzy had 195 points. scrolling down again I was given a treat. My turtle had five points ro go until she gained a new point.

  Five points didn't seem like much, but I had no idea how she acquired them or how much she received at a time.

  Video games had been my biggest source of entertainment before my world became shifters and craziness. If my life was anything like the a

  Games I played then I knew how to test her points acquisition.

  “Hey, Izzy,” I said as I opened my eyes.

  “What's up, Gringo?”

  “I need you to hit me.”

  Izzy slammed on the brakes and if not for my seatbelt I would have dined on the dashboard. Once the vehicle stopped she turned to face me. “Want to run that one by me again?”

  I let out a sigh then met her eyes. You are close to gaining a new skill point. i need you to hit me to see if you will gain the experience needed to unlock another point.”

  “Really?” She asked as the right side of her upper lip curled up in disgust.

  “I'm serious. Give me a good punch to the face.”

  My turtle hit me on the shoulder hard enough for there to be a meaty thud. I rubbed at my arm and checked her EXP, 195.5. The hard as Hades punch hd gained her half an experience point. Great.

  “How was that?” She asked.

  “That was great, but I need more. Or, you need more,” I said.

  “How many more?”

  “Nine more punches.”

  Izzy responded by leaning in and punching me nine times in rapid succession. She finished before I had a chance to say ouch for the first punch.

  The pain was forgotten as Izzy's EXP rose to 200 and she and a popup screen informed me that she had received enough experience to unlock a new point to spend. I willed the popup away.

  Before I spent the point I took note of the wording. Just before she punched me I thought of Izzy gaining enough EXP to unlock a point. Then the popup used my terminology. It brought into question how much I could customize the system and if I might be able to hack, or game the system. That was a thought for another time.

  I focused on the turtle skill tree to see what I could spend the point on.

  Skills available from left to right:

  Clubbed Hands 2:

  All your Turtle Tua gain hard plates that cover the hands making punch strikes 60% more effective. Cost 1 Point

  Thick Plates 1:

  All your Turtle Tua gained thickened armor plates giving them 40% more armor.

  Cost 1 Point

  Durability 2:

  All your Turtle Tua become 30% more durable

  Cost 1 Point

  Liquid Grace:

  All your Turtle Tua gain 50% more speed and 20% more maneuverable while in the water. Cost 1 Point.

  All the skills except Liquid Grace were tier two skills. I couldn’t see what was the last tier two skill since I hadn’t purchased Liquid Grace. Tiers three, four, and a solitary slot for tier five were also hidden from me.

  Once more, we had yet to fight in water, so I left the fourth tier one skill, Liquid Grace, alone. Instead I spent the brand spanking new point on Durability 2. The harder my Tua were to hurt, the less I would worry about them. On the upside, I could now see the third skill of Tier three, Durability 3.

  Next I went back to the window with my collection of spheres representing my Tua and the abilities having them granted me. I wasn’t surprised to see that I still didn’t have any Ability Points to spend. That wasn’t the reason I was there. To the far left was a section of the window showing my available points, or lack of. Like with my Tua’s points a slider waited next to the zero. I willed it to move scrolling up.

  I almost whooped with delight at seeing my experience points and what I needed to reach in order to gain another point. The excitement ended there. At present, my experience points totaled four hundred and seven. My next points would be available at six hundred. The most interesting thing was the note of points as opposed to just a single point. There was nothing stating how many points I would get. Only ninety three points until I knew for sure.

  I closed the window to find Izzy looking back and forth from me to the road. :Care to tell me what the hell just happened?” She asked.

  “You felt that?” None of my Tua had expressed anything like this. They were, for the most part, predators and might not have felt the need to voice a weakness. I didn’t think it was a weakness to address what the changes I brought about felt like, but I wasn’t a wolf, or snake.

  “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t feel anything,” Izzy said.

  “I guess not. I spent skill points you had available. You should shift and check out what you can do now.”

  “Okay.”

  My wereturtle shifted into her hybrid Wereturtle Tua form.
Just like all of my other Tua she didn’t grow in size and her face remained largely unchanged. With the skills I just bought her shell was a little different. That became apparent when the front of her tank top fell down to pool in her lap.

  “What the hell is this? Did you learn some ultimate perv spell?”

  I had to stop laughing before I could respond. “No, Izzy. One of the new skills sharpened the edges of your shell giving you a passive offensive skill.” I told her about the skills I bought and broke down what they did.

  “Be real with me, am I just a character in a video game simulation?”

  “I hope not.” I laughed.

  “This is serious, Terry. If were not in a game, then what is this?”

  “It’s the bracelets, Izzy. I think the magic in them creates a system of granting new skills or abilities and taylors it to the user. I played a lot of video games so the level progression system works for me.”

  “That makes sense,” Izzy said.

  “So I say the word magic and that makes sense to you?” I thought magic would be a big reveal to everyone. Seeing her reaction made me realize that none of my Tua seemed surprised by magic being a thing.

  “How do you think creatures like me and you came to be? It’s not exactly a natural phenomenon for creatures to change shape regularly.”

  “That’s true. I mean, there are supposed to be amphibians that can change gender when the opposite sex isn't present. This is a big difference though.Does that make us unnatural magical creatures?” I asked knowing the answer might change my whole perspective on life.

  “Yeah, I would say so. Look, in the long run it doesn’t matter what we are made of.” Izzy shifted back giving me a good view of her topless. I’d seen her nude before, but I never grew tired of it. “We are flesh and blood same as everyone else.”