by Sable Sylvan
Ashley spotted the Mar-feather Washington character. Hadn’t she originally been an owl? She was being played by a female snow leopard, the woman’s shock of naturally white hair, with dark spots, giving away her species. However, weirdly enough, the look made sense, given that some owls had a similar coloration, and both owls and snow leopards are animals of prey.
While Ashley wasn’t super invested in keeping track of the story, what she was interested in was seeing shifters play not only other people but other species. As a non-shifter, Ashley had wondered what it was like to be a shifter. Hadn’t everyone? She’d imagined herself as an eagle, soaring high over the desert, or as an orca shifter, diving to worlds that man might never see. She’d imagined herself as a seal with a Miami houseboat, as a frog in a pond, as a female Pharaoh crocodile shifter in Ancient Egypt. Other shifters must also imagine themselves as other shifts, right? On stage, anyone could pretend to be something they’re not…
…So why had she felt like Jet and Onyx weren’t just acting on stage the week before? That they’d had genuine chemistry with her, and were showing her their real selves?
It had to go back to what Linda and Miranda had told her about “The Twelve Dancing Bears,” about the fact that they were looking for their fated mate, a mate to share, to be with them forever, enjoying a true love like nothing that existed in the human world. After all, with shifters? It was a guarantee that they were either not going to be in love with you, or they’d love you forever. There was no middle ground, nowhere for things to get messy.
Ashley was so engrossed in thinking about the shifters on stage that she didn’t notice when two new characters came on stage, but when she felt a tap on her arm from Miranda, she looked over to her friend. Miranda was nodding toward the stage with her eyes wide open, mouthing something Ashley didn’t understand. Ashley frowned and turned back towards the stage, and once she realized who was on stage, she had to pick her jaw up off the floor.
Two tall, handsome men in period clothing had strolled onto the scene. Even in their costumes, their rippling muscles were evident. They had naturally black and dark brown hair, and eyes that were steely gray and chocolate brown respectively. Their skin glowed gold under the lights, makeup accentuating their almond shaped eyes.
Jet. Onyx. On stage…at “Franklin”? What the heck was going on?
Ashley kept watching them. Jet’s body had tensed as he walked on the stage. Had he sensed her? Had Onyx? As soon as one of them looked at her, she had her answer.
Jet and Onyx definitely saw her, but they couldn’t say anything on stage. However, when they were done with their lines, their eyes were all over her. It took them every last iota of willpower not to shift into their panda forms, grab their mate, and take her back to their place. Jet had thought he had scented Ashley from backstage but convinced himself it must just be someone else who smelled the same. After all, if Ashley had really wanted to see them, she would’ve contacted them, and, well, she hadn’t…and he’d kept his phone charged continuously, and checked at the phone store to ensure her call hadn’t accidentally been dropped or blocked. No dice. Onyx, on the other hand, had been sure that Jet had smelled her, even though Onyx hadn’t smelled anything. It took Onyx all his might to not break character and give her a wide grin, but the corners of his mouth still turned up into a boyish grin.
Ashley blushed. They had definitely noticed her, and there was no mistaking the two gorgeous men for anyone but Jet and Onyx. Their features were extremely distinctive. Ashley didn’t pay attention to the rest of the play, just watching Jet and Onyx and waiting for intermission to start so she could find them and explain what had happened with their card and her phone.
Once the house lights went up, Ashley got up. Arnold moved into the aisle to make room for her, but as Ashley walked down the carpeted hall, Arnold followed, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Gonna get a drink?” asked Arnold.
Ashley slipped his arm off of her. “No, I just need to use the bathroom.”
“Oh, I’ll come with,” said Linda, rushing over.
“I’ll be in there a while if you know what I mean,” Ashley lied.
“I guess we’ll all wait at the bar then,” said Miranda. “I need a drink. This play is remarkably intense! I need something to cool me down.”
Ashley rushed ahead of her group and walked through the crowd deftly, navigating to the merchandise tables that were set up in the lobby.
“Excuse me,” said Ashley to a cat shifter who was wearing thick purple cat-eye glasses. “Excuse me…”
“Yes, would you like to buy something?” asked the cat shifter.
“No, it’s just --” started Ashley.
“This is the merch table, so, either buy something or make room for other people,” said the cat shifter, handing someone their change and a shirt.
“Fine, fine,” said Ashley, pulling her wallet out, and taking out a twenty. “I’ll take a CD.”
“CDs are thirty bucks,” said the cat shifter.
“Thirty frikkin’ bucks?” asked Ashley. “What the heck can I get for a twenty?”
“You can get a baby bib or a USB drive,” said the cat.
“Fine, I’ll take the USB drive,” said Ashley. She gave the cat the twenty and got back five dollars in change and a USB drive. “Where can I find Jet and Onyx?”
“This is the merch table, can’t help you,” said the cat. “But word to the wise, they have enough fangirls, they don’t need another.”
Fangirls? Ashley knew that the pair had fans at Bear Buns, but theater fans? They were way more rabid and intense.
“Alright, alright, you don’t have to tell me twice,” grumbled Ashley, putting away the USB drive and her cash. This had been a waste of time and money. She turned to look for the guys somewhere else and bumped right into someone wearing a costume.
Tall. Firm abs. A fresh smell that reminded her of cut grass, with a natural musky scent that was arousing, not disgusting. She knew who she must’ve bumped. She looked up.
It was Jet…munching on a stalk of bamboo. Typical panda.
“We’ve really gotta stop bumping into each other like this,” said Jet with a raised brow.
“Ha-ha,” said Ashley, brushing herself off. “At least this time I didn’t knock a corn dog into you.”
“Wasn’t it mac and cheese and chili?” asked Jet.
“Do the details really matter?” asked Ashley.
“They do when you didn’t call us,” said Jet.
“You won’t believe what happened,” said Ashley.
“Oh yeah? Try us,” said Onyx, walking up to the pair. He’d been following the conversation since he was about ten feet away. He’d managed to get through the crowd of fangirls who wanted their autographs.
“Onyx!” exclaimed Ashley. “Okay, so…when the sprinklers went off? They ruined my bag. Inside my bag was my phone.”
“Did the stagehand give you our card?” asked Onyx.
“Yeah, but, I forgot my bag was soaked and had put the card into my bag,” said Ashley. “By the time I got home, the card was ruined. Here.” Ashley opened her bag and pulled her wallet out and took out the destroyed card. She handed it to Jet.
“Okay, your story checks out,” said Jet. “I guess I could give you the third degree about why you didn’t just call the club and tell them who you were, but…I suppose I’ll let it slide, given you somehow managed to buy tickets to our show.”
“My friend Linda won the tickets on the radio, I didn’t pay a dime,” teased Ashley.
“Then I’m sure you’ll find another way to pay us back,” said Jet.
“Hello? You two forgetting I’m here?” asked Onyx, coming up and wrapping an arm around Ashley’s waist. “You are staying for the second half of the show, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Ashley
“What are you doing afterward?” asked Onyx. “Oh, wait, I know…you’re coming to our after party.”
“Your after party?” asked Ashley.
“That’s right,” said Onyx. “The after party is at Bear Buns, before our show.”
“Wait, you’re gonna do another show tonight, after this show?” asked Ashley. “How the heck do you do all that?”
“We’re shifters, baby, and getting shizz done is kinda what we do,” said Onyx.
“So, are you coming backstage with us?” asked Jet.
“Yes, that’d be awesome, but…I have to let my friends know where I’m going,” said Ashley. “They’re over there by the bar. I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll come with you,” said Onyx, putting an arm around Ashley’s waist.
Jet led them through the crowd, taking Ashley by the hand to the bar, where Linda, Miranda, Cole, and Rod were sipping cocktails and beers.
“Well, look at you,” said Linda, eyeing over her friend. “Or should I say…look at you two? I had no clue that these guys were actors, too.”
“You’ll find we’re quite mysterious,” teased Onyx.
“Pleasure to see you again, Linda, was it?” asked Jet. “We’ll be stealing Ashley tonight. I’m sure you don’t mind.”
“Oh, but I do,” said a voice.
Ashley turned. Behind her was Arnold. She hadn’t noticed he wasn’t with the group and felt sort of guilty for forgetting about him. Gone was the jovial tiger shifter she’d shared a meal with. In front of here was a shifter whose animal was close to taking over.
“And you would be…?” asked Jet cooly.
“Her date,” said Arnold, pushing Jet, who didn’t push back, but who put a hand against Onyx’s chest to stop his dancing and acting partner from pushing back against Arnold.
“You were her date,” said Onyx. “She’s with us.”
“Yeah, sorry Arnold, I didn’t mean to lead you on --” started Ashley.
“Save it. The last thing I need is for the office whore to tell me why I’m not good enough,” said Arnold.
That’s when Jet lost his cool.
“You’ve got one chance to take that back,” said Jet.
“Or what?” said Arnold, getting up in Jet’s face. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Uh, have you removed by security?” said Onyx. “This isn’t the jungle, tiger. Back down.”
“I’m not about to take orders from, what, let me guess…a Siamese cat shifter?” said Arnold.
“You don’t wanna find out,” said Miranda. “Trust me.”
“Oh, I think my cat’s bigger,” said Arnold. “And what, kitty doesn’t wanna play?”
“Back off, Arnold,” said Ashley firmly.
“Didn’t you hear me telling you to shut up the last time?” said Arnold, before he pushed Ashley so hard that Onyx almost lost his grip on her and Linda dropped her drink so that she could make sure Ashley didn’t fall.
“That was the stupidest frikkin’ thing you could’ve done,” hissed Ashley. Miranda and Linda had their arms around her and Onyx and Jet were pushing up their sleeves. The tiger might’ve started it…but these pandas? They were about to finish the job.
Chapter Six
Before Onyx could stop Jet, Jet had lunged towards Arnold and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling Arnold towards him and ripping his shirt. Onyx reached towards Jet, but Jet shrugged off Onyx’s hands and pushed Arnold again, before pulling him again.
“What the fuck is your problem?” asked Jet, getting up in Arnold’s face. Jet’s eyes flashed silver. The bear was ready to be released, and there was no frikkin’ way the bear was going back into hibernation. It was going to be coming out, and not to play. That much was certain.
“Asks the guy who comes up trying to get with another guy’s date,” said Arnold. He eyed Jet over and pushed Jet back, Arnold’s amber eyes flashing red from within. The tiger was ready to tangle. “Is that what kind of bullshizz theater this is? No better than those trashy shifter strip clubs. That’s all you bears want…other people’s women.”
“She’s her own woman,” said Jet pushing Arnold back. “So leave…before we remove you.”
“‘We’?” asked Arnold. “You and what army?”
“You’re looking at it,” said Onyx, cutting in front of Arnold. While Jet was usually the cool-headed one, once Jet’s temper was triggered, there was no putting his shift back to sleep, and although Onyx was usually a hothead, Onyx was the one who kept his cool in these kinds of situations…which arose more than he and Jet would like. “So back off. Or we’ll make you back off.”
“Dude, come on, you gotta stop,” said Cole.
“Yeah, dude, just…chill,” said Rod.
“You’re gonna take their side?” said Arnold. “I thought I knew you two…but what I need are big cats, not big pussies. A tiger can take down whatever bullshizz shift these two poofy losers have.”
Arnold pushed Onyx, who was caught by Jet and backed up before running at the pair.
Onyx and Jet sensed what Arnold was going to do and without saying a word to one another, they started their shift, even though they weren’t in position, and in seconds, Arnold, Onyx, and Jet were gone. In their place was a giant tiger, orange with black stripes and a mean snarl, and a pair of giant pandas that were about to show the tiger that the last thing they were about to allow was for anyone to mess with their woman.
Arnold was pushed to the ground by Onyx and Jet circled the pair as Onyx and Arnold tumbled. The shifters all had large shifts, so while Onyx and Jet could perform their rehearsed fights in the safety of Bear Buns without risk of injury, a real fight was another matter indeed.
Arnold slipped out from under Onyx. While the pandas had size and strength on their size, the tiger had feline grace and speed. Even though his shift was frikkin’ huge, he could move as gracefully as a waterfall, and he slipped out of Onyx’s grasp like coins through a couch cushion. By this point, Jet had gotten himself back into the right headspace, so even though Arnold had slipped out of Onyx’s grip, Jet was able to react and push Arnold back…
Or at least, that was the plan. Arnold was fast. Really frikkin’ fast. By the time Jet lunged toward Arnold, Arnold had slipped around Jet and was lunging onto Jet’s back while Jet flopped onto the ground. Arnold pushed Jet down, and then, he put his paw on Onyx’s net.
Arnold wasn’t going to kill them. Both Jet and Onyx’s inner pandas sensed that. A shifter could tell when another shifter was threatening a life. It was a primal instinct, and it hadn’t been triggered by Arnold…at least, not yet.
Onyx swiped at Arnold’s paw, lifting it so that Onyx could have extra room to roll. Arnold was still on his back so as Onyx turned, he pushed Arnold to the floor.
By this point, a large crowd had formed in the lobby around the fight. In the crowd were the actors and other shifter theater staff. They hadn’t interfered with the fight because it wasn’t their fight to fight. The only circumstances that would allow them to interfere without insulting the pandas would be the direst of circumstances. If they sensed that was Arnold intending to cause the pandas grave injury, there would be out of their costumes and in their shifts, defending their costars within a second. To interfere otherwise would be to imply that the pandas were too weak to protect a woman that was obviously very, very special to the two Asian actors.
At first, a few people had thought this was some intermission entertainment, but when the play hadn’t started after over twenty minutes, they realized this was a real shifter brawl. Anyone could get tickets to a play, but a fight between shifters? Unless you had connections to an underground fighting circuit, it was rare to witness a fight in the flesh…and for humans like Ashley, Linda, and Miranda, there was nothing more amazing that watching shifters use their special skills.
Ashley had to admit that the fight was turning her on in a weird way. She hadn’t realized that Jet and Onyx were that frikkin’ serious about her. She’d never had guys fight over her before, but they weren’t just fighting over her…they were fighting for her, and that’s what made them different t
han Arnold. After all, they were only upset once Arnold had started to hassle her. If that was the standard they held others to in regards to how they treated her, they were sure to treat her like a princess, a queen, an empress. ‘The Panda Princess’…Ashley could get used to being called that. It beat being called ‘Tits and Ash.’
At the same time, Ashley was worried. There were two of them and only one of Arnold, and from what she’d seen at Bear Buns, the pandas had great martial arts skills…so why was this fight taking so frikkin’ long?
It was a question that Jet and Onyx were asking themselves. They had gotten soft, as they hadn’t fought such a passionate opponent in years. The more passionate the shifter, the more the shifter’s animal side took over. This meant that the shifter was stronger, more primal, more animalistic…but that they could lose the special thing that separated shifters from regular animals: their humanity. It was obvious Arnold’s tiger had taken over, but that meant that Arnold was acting like a tiger…and how the heck did one beat an opponent that was constantly flowing in and out between or around your limbs, who was snapping, snarling, and swiping to distract you?
By beating them like they’d beat a tiger…by aiming at where they would be rather than where they were.
It was Onyx who figured it out first when Arnold slipped out of his big bear paws like smoke through bamboo. As Arnold slithered away, almost more serpentine than feline, Onyx lunged, but it was a fake-out. As Arnold moved, Onyx moved to the spot he sensed Arnold would move to. Onyx crashed into Arnold, an impact that a hearty panda could take, but not one that an urban tiger, who probably spent more time doing yoga than in the weights room, could handle.
Onyx’s strategy paid off, and Jet didn’t need to be told what to do. Onyx was obviously more in tune with Arnold’s motions than he was, so he helped Onyx by blocking Arnold from moving certain ways. Instead of herding cats, Jet was herding a big cat. Jet had realized that what he and Onyx had on Arnold was physiological, not psychological. They were shifters who were strong and had high endurance, while the tiger was lithe and fast, but the kind of shifter who would get exhausted in a long fight, especially one against two other shifters. The tiger wasn’t just stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was stuck between Onyx and Jet, between a rock and another rock, and these rocks were only after one thing: wearing Arnold out so they could go back to rocking Ashley’s world.