Shapeshifters have roamed the wild for years without the humans knowing. But one day, shapeshifters start disappearing. A girl finds a male shifter in need of help, but soon they fall for each other. However, hunters are closing in. Will the girl get the shifter to safety? Or will they perish without each others love?

Dagger's Character

StarFire

Star, Fi

21

Male

Fire-Winged Wolf

Starfire has pure black hair with piercing dark blue eyes. A light tan skin color and Starfire stands roughly at 5'10 feet, weighing 150lbs. Wears black colors, with occasional dark reds and oranges.

Red stripes go down his legs with a few small scars. One long scar travels from his left ear down to his shoulder.

Loyal: He can be extremely protective of family and friends, and is very loyal to them too.

Intelligent: He is very intelligent and usually can get himself out of tight situations. This could also mean sizing up enemies and deciding whether to fight or not.

Trust: He doesn't trust right away however, once you gain that trust, you will have a loyal friend to the end.

Techniques: Starfire comes up with several different ways on how to do things, in case of emergency and to confuse the enemy.

Outgoing: Once you gain his trust, you will find that he can be a teaser, funny, caring and gentle. He is especially gentle around pups and no matter what kind they are, he will protect them.

Father: StormFire(Deceased)

Mother: MoonLight (47 years)

Brother: Lightning Bolt (Deceased)

Younger brother: Thunder Storm (18 years)

Sister: AmberLily (Deceased)

-Hanging out with friends/family

-Running and flying

-Shifting when no one is looking

-Getting away from hunters

-Swimming

-Family/Friends in trouble

-Admitting he's hurt/injured

-Being stuck inside

-Starfire can be very sneaky sometimes, sneaking up on people and hiding in shadows.

-Would rather go out during the day to fly than at night, and usually gets in some kind of trouble for it.

-Most of family got destroyed by hunters in wildfire in the mountains. He now lives down in the forest near town.

Ring ring ring

"God dammit." Came the half asleep groan of the young women. As she lifts herself up enough to glance at her clock, the look told her it was two AM. So who the hell was calling her a two AM? Also considering that since she had moved, the young women hadn't really made any friends. But as the women takes a closer look at the caller ID, it jolts her awake. Mother. The caller ID read, and with a half reluctant sigh, the young women snags her phone and answers it just before it was going to send the caller to voicemail. "Hello?" Pushing herself into a sitting position, her back resting against the bed frame.

"You sound like you just woke up." The young women rolls her blue eyes,"Perhaps that because it isn't eight AM where I am, mother." The women on the other side snorts,"Well it's hard to call at a good time, Ayesha. Besides half the time you won't answer your phone." Ayesha represses the urge to snap, and calmly responds. "Well the time difference between us is six almost seven hours. And I moved for a reason." The voice on the other end grew slightly reprimided.

"Are you never going to come visit? Your family misses you, you know. Your nieces and nephews are always asking about you. Your siblings are wondering if your even alive, and your grandparents have pretty much forgotten about you!" Ayesha shakes her head,"I don't have the money." Rhea sighs,"We have plently of money to fly you home and you know that." Ayesha shakes her head,"I'm not ready to come home." Rhea grunts,"That's what you've been saying since you moved. You could just be straight forward and say you don't want to see us anymore." Ayesha's eyes close as she represses a sigh.

"I don't want to see you guys at the moment. Don't ask when I'm going to be ready to see you guys again. Because I don't know, and don't ask why I don't know because well. You won't get an answer." There was a pause, and for a moment Ayesha actually believed that her mother had hung up on her. However Rhea begins to speak again. "Well, I guess that was what I asked for. Very well, just be safe and we love you." This time it was Ayesha who paused, before she murmurs.

"Love you to."

A howl arose Starfire and he perked his ears alertly, while letting out a yawn. Getting up, he stretched each leg before looking outside....and sighed, annoyed. This was the second time that Thunder had called the alarm, the first time being a coyote instead of hunters. Walking out of the den, Starfire barked over to Thunder who looked like he was about to give another howl, "Quiet down feather brain! What is it this time?" Thunder looked at him, half annoyed and half terrified. Only then did Starfire see the eyes in the bushes.

Terror seeped into his muscles but he quickly shook it off as he leaped to the side. A moment later, a hell-hound as they called them, landed in the spot he had been. The hounds were half wolf and half dog, trained for their tracking and fighting abilities against shifters. Starfire let out a growl before letting out a hiss. Shifting instantaneously into several different forms, he confused the hound long enough for Moonlight to pounce from behind. He half winced as her fangs dug deep into the dog's neck.

"We need to split up. Both of you, meet at Lightning Spruce." MoonLight said quickly, looking both of us in the eyes. Starfire nodded alongside of Thunder. Lightning Spruce was where they had buried his older brother Lightning Bolt, who had died in the wildfire by the hunters with his father and sister. Now, it served as the perfect place to meet up.

ThunderStorm took off in one direction as two hound's emerged from the forest. Starfire and Moonlight split off in opposite directions, the hell hounds confused before splitting up after them. Starfire weaved the trees before extending his wings. They shined in the moonlight as he came upon the meadow, making a clean take-off. Flapping down, he hovered above the dogs before heading towards the town. Once past the town, I'm home free to Lightning Spruce. He thought to himself, gliding above the trees of the forest.

After hanging up the phone, and placing it on the nightstand. Ayesha had curled under her covers again, burrowing her cold nose under the sheets. Almost about to drift off until a loud howl split the air. Perhaps it wasn't as loud in town. But the young women lived on the outskirts of town. At least five miles out. Grunting in annoyance, the young women burrows deeper under her covers. Muttering quietly to herself. "I swear...If anything else tries to wake me up." Suddenly her phone went off again. In anger she comes out from under the sheets and snatches her phone up. Barely seeing the caller ID, which was Mother, before answering it.

"What do yo-" The young women answers in an angry tone until she heard the voice of who had actually called her. Ayesha's five year old nephew, Lukas Macleod. "Aunt Ayesha? Is that you?" Her five year old, almost six, nephew had devloped quicker then his cousins and could speak better then them. Her angry tone disappeared, as she yawns. "Yes, Lukas it's," Lukas sounded so excited. "It's been so long since I've seen you, I miss you." Ayesha smiles sadly, though she is careful to not let her tone change. "I miss you to Lukas." Her nephew asks.

"Are you coming home soon?" Ayesha shakes her head even though she knows her nephew can't see her. "No buddy, I'm sorry. But I'm pretty happy and content where I am. I don't think I'm ready to come home yet." There was a hint of hope in Lukas' voice,"Does that mean you're thinking about coming home?" Ayesha couldn't bear telling Lukas the truth, so she lies. "I am. But I don't know when." Lukas sounded happier as he responds,"Yay, I can't wait to see you-" There was a pause and Ayesha could hear some talking then someone else was talking to her.

"You know, you really should come home. All your nieces and nephews miss you. Especially Lukas." Ayesha rolls her eyes, her fake happy tone gone, replaced with slight annoyance. "Hi Theo, I assume Mom has been putting you and Lukas up to this? Who's next on the list? Grandma McMahon? Grandpa Macleod? Dad? Sa-" Theo cuts her off,"Actually Mom has Ava lined up next." Ayesha couldn't tell if he was joking. Ayesha's eyes flash in the dark.

"Theo!" In her anger, Ayesha slips into her birth tongue, Scottish Gaelic. "Is fheàrr dhut innse dha Mam stad! Chan eil mi a ’tighinn dhachaigh gus am bi mi a’ faireachdainn mar sin! Agus ma chumas i an gnìomh mar seo, is dòcha nach bi mi a-riamh deiseil airson a thighinn dhachaigh! Dh ’fhalbh mi airson adhbhar, agus chan eil dùil agam a thighinn dhachaigh fhathast! Thig mi dhachaigh nuair a bhios mi deiseil, agus feumaidh Mam sin a thuigsinn! (You better tell Mom to stop! I'm not coming home till I feel like it! And if she keeps acting this way, I may never feel ready to come home! I left for a reason, and I don't plan on coming home just yet! I will come home when I am ready, and Mom needs to understand that!)"

Starfire almost made it to town, about 6 miles off when a gunshot went off. Searing pain went straight through Starfire's wing and as he flapped, it got worse. Starfire looked over at it before crashing into the treetops. Crashing into the ground, he rolled once before coming to a halt.

Getting up, he inspected the damage to his wing. The bullet had gone straight through his wing but thankfully hadn't hit the hollow bone. Folding it carefully onto his back, he allowed it to slip away as he transformed into a normal wolf. Well, the looks of a wolf that is. His size was a bit bigger than the average wolf and his fangs were longer. Shaking his head, he went into a fast lope as he heard the hounds baying behind him.

Starfire panted, worn down as the hounds tried herding him back towards the hunters. He had already fought two of them and there was still more. He staggered into a small clearing where a house lay. That's weird. It's five miles from town, why would they place a house here? He thought before hearing a howl behind him. A hound came out of the woods, lunging at him. And here we go again.

Starfire jumped, twisting around to land solidly on the back of the hound, sinking his fangs into it's neck. It fell to the ground dead, but another took it's place almost instantly. Starfire felt the claws on his haunches and whirled around, clawing the dog's eyes. It yelped before retreating back, and another one jumped ontop of Starfire. He twisted his head around, shaking his body trying to get it off when a heavy weight slammed into him. Three were on top pinning him down, and he felt like just closing his eyes and letting them kill him.

No! He thought, lunging upwards snapping the dog's neck. The pressure on his leg eased slightly and he took advantage of it instantly. Twisting out of their claws, he winced as he shifted back to his human form. Dangit. He thought, realizing he had taken too many hits to shift again. Pulling out a dagger, he threw it at the nearest dog hearing a satisfying crunch before being pinned down.

He grappled with the last dog tiredly, his wounds starting to ache in protest. His shoulder was bleeding badly and his leg was the wrong way, meaning either dislocated or broken. Either way, it hurt like hell. Blood splattered his shirt but that didn't matter as he could barely keep the dog from biting his face. Another thing was, he realized, was that he didn't have the strength to hold his arm up too much longer.

There was a low but humorless chuckle, as Theo's voice grows fainter, assumingly to call out to his mother. "Mam! Bha sinn uile ag innse dhut nach biodh i a ’co-obrachadh le gin againn. Tha Loki gu math daingeann dìreach mar a ’chòrr againn. Tha i ag ràdh gun tig i dhachaigh nuair a bhios i deiseil agus feumaidh tu urram a thoirt dha sin! (Mam! We all told you that she wouldn't cooperate with any of us. Loki is very stubborn just like the rest of us. She says she will come home when she is ready and you need to respect that!)" There was a faint response, and then Theo was back.

"Calm down, little Loki-" A family nickname, Ayesha hadn't heard in a long time. "-We all have been scolding Mom for trying to get you to come home. We've been chipping away at her resolve, but I believe she finally realizes that there is nothing she can do." Ayesha mutters an angry Scottish curse under her breath, as Theo laughs again. "Enjoy the States, little Loki. We do miss you, and we'll always be waiting here at home for you." Ayesha sighs,"Bye Theo." Before hanging up. Setting her phone back down. She was now to wired to fall asleep.

Boom! Was the sound of a gun. So close to her house! Who was hunting at almost three in the morning? And what were they hunting. With a huff, Ayesha swings out of bed pulling socks and shoes on. Her grey sweats clinging to her slender body, as she fixes her plain old t-shirt that had gotten all wringled up while she had slept. Then she hurries to downstairs, snagging a pistol as she goes. She was and always had been a better shooter with a bow, but Ayesha had left her bow in Scotland. As she flings the back door open, she flicks a light on before Ayesha steps into her backyard. In time to see two shapes in the dark, just out of reach of the light, wrestling. A wolfdog, and.....Was that a human? As Ayesha squints her eyes, she realizes it was and the wolfdog was intent on his kill. Sighing, Ayesha pulls her pistol up.

Putting the pistol off safety and taking aim, with the human growing weaker then scuffle had slowed. Making the wolfdog an easy target since it wasn't scrambling around as much. So with a quiet deep breath and a slight adjustment, Ayesha pulls the trigger. Boom! This time the gunshot wasn't as long, the pistol quieter then whatever the hunters had been using. Ayesha lowers the pistol as her blue eyes watches the wolfdog drop. Before moving towards the human, still slightly wary. "Are you okay?"

Starfire saw a light come on and his first thought was, Someone's home. . .and probably grumpy from being woken up. His struggles were getting weaker but suddenly another gunshot went off and dog dropped dead. He let out a sigh before lowering his head onto the cold earth. "Are you okay?" A feminine voice said, and he slid his eyes over to her. He had night vision but humans did not, so she couldn't see the blood. Maybe I can get out of here before she does. He thought, struggling to get to his feet.

Before he could do so, searing pain went through his stomach and he inhaled sharply, propping himself up on the side of the house. Letting out a sigh, he answered the girl's question, "I would say yes. . .but that wouldn't be true." He looked over at her before squeezing his eyes shut.

He opened his eyes slightly, taking in account his wounds. His leg was definitely broken, his stomach had long claw marks through it and there was blood and fangs marks down his back. Yep, this turned out to be a very good day. He thought to himself annoyed before he remembered the wing. I'll have to check it when she's not around. He knew that most didn't believe shifters were real except hunters who seemed to like the joy and adrenaline of the hunt.

Exhaling slowly, he honed his night vision onto his surroundings. He hoped the girl wouldn't try to look in the forest. She would only find bodies of the wolfhounds. But there is more around here then in the forest. He thought, seeing 2 bodies near the edge plus the one she killed. He turned off his night vision before looking back at the girl.

Before the young man even answered, Ayesha knew the answer. As she watches him struggle to his feet. Her eyes had always been sharper in the dark then most, but still even her so called night vision went so far. But she could see rips in his clothings, and she could smell blood. The pistol drops to her side, as she takes a few more steps towards him. Her voice firm. "You're not fine." At the same time he answers telling her that he could say yes but it would be a lie.

A slight frown flickers across her face, what was he doing battling a wolfdog? Wolfdogs weren't often known to attack people, and not many wolfdogs were even around this area. That she knew of, and she walked around quite often so she did know a lot of tthe forest that surrounded the back of her home. Ayesha glances at the woods before looking back at the young man. "Look I'm no professional doctor, but I know how to clean, stitch, and bandage a wound. Why don't you come inside?"

With her free hand, Ayesha gestures at her house. "There isn't anyone else here but me, and no one ever comes out this far. I've got a spare bedroom, spare clothes, a bath, food, and medial things to help tend to whatever injuries that you recieved." She hesitates, glancing back at the wolfdog, something flickering through her eyes. Briefly and almost impossible to see. Though the discomfort of shooting a wolfdog hurt her. She loves animals and she always had.

So shooting any kind of animals, was something that Ayesha hated. Ayesha realizes the pistol was still off stafety, and with a reluctant glance around she finally turns it off. As she glances back at the young man, hoping he would accept her offer. He looked like he could barely stand up. Attempting to be more friendly, she flashes a small smile. "My name is Ayesha, but you can call me Ash."