Alex sighed. She could tell that Stucka and her had some similarities. However, she wasn't experienced enough to identify the scent of a shifter. She didn't even know that she was a shifter. She mulled it over and said, "I don't mind." Plus, she needed a place to stay. She had been sleeping in the alleys for the past few weeks, and many people tried to rob her of what little things she had. She always felt exposed.

~~~

Azalie smiled. This girl looked like she needed help. She could tell that she wasn't human, but she didn't know exactly what she was. She thought that either she was a werewolf, a shifter, or a demon.

Alex was a bit offended by Stucka asking her if she could walk. Of course she could walk! She said, "I can walk just fine," and pried herself out of Ryland's arms. She then stumbled, and fell to her knees. She blushed with embarassment, and stood back up, attempting to walk on her unstable legs.

~~~

Azalie found herself wrapping the arm of Alex around her shoulder and aiding her in walking. The girl weighed nothing, yet she could have all of the cops after her... How could she do anyone any damage? She sighed, giving up on figuring it out. She would have to talk to Alex later about it. Of course, Alex would have to trust her to give her even the slightest answer to a question.

        Stucka quickly brought his hands to his sides, then placing them in his pockets when he seen that Alex could walk by herself, making him feel stupid for asking. He heard what the guy said, almost forgetting that he mentioned before, but he was just a little distracted in the situation.

         "Yeah......right." Stucka looked back at his house in the short distance, redirecting his gaze back to the others. "You should have a chance to rest, and I need to do a few chores." He sighed, not really wanting to, but now that his father was not here, he had to, the realization of his father possibly being dead didn't hit him yet.

Azalie's maternal nature caused her to care for Alex, even if Alex was older than she was. She walked over to Stucka, still aiding Alex in walking. She stopped, her shoulder just inches from Stucka's.

~~~

Alex's heart ached a bit as she saw Ryland walk away. She didn't even thank him. And the boy's family was dead. That made her wish that she hadn't taken her family for granted. She had a mother, and a father. They were sweet and beautiful, but she had no clue what she was becoming, and her parents wouldn't explain what was going on, either. A single tear ran down her cheek, and she sniffled. She quickly wiped it away, not wanting to seem any weaker than she already was.

        Stucka felt almost bad for the guy, he was never really thanked, or even really payed attention to until now. He raised his hand and slightly waved, walking slowly back toward his house, standing close to Azalie as she helped Alex walk, initially making him smirk when he noticed how caring she was. Stucka debated wether or not to also support her, but his mind told him that Azalie could handle it, not wanting to make it seem as if she couldn't handle it herself.

         He glanced over and noticed that he was only inches from Azalie's shoulder, moving slightly closer so that his lightly grazed it as they walked making him smile mentally. "Are you hungry Alex?" Stucka looked at her now, knowing that he was full still from dinner, but she might have had another stand point as she was just injured and looked a little beaten up, not to mention he knew he ate a lot from being a shifter, so did she?

When Stucka grazed Azalie's shoulder, she blushed. She didn't let him or Alex see, though. She listened to the rhythm of Alex's walking, and finally heard Stucka ask a question. 

Alex shook her head in a no fashion. She flicked some of her long crimson hair out of her eyes, and finally said, "I can walk on my own."

((Fail streak))

Azalie pulled away from Alex, and watched her enter before her. She sighed and followed behind Alex.

Alex's nostrils worked away, taking in the scents of Stucka's home. She then smelled something... A bird. A yummy, delicious bird. She licked her lips, and smiled. A long, tiger-like tail sprouted from her behind, and rounded ears protruded from her head. The rest of her body went under the transformation until she was finally a large siberian tiger with clothes hanging loosely around it. She sprinted through the hallways, her clothes slipping off, and stopped in front of Stucka's closed door. She pawed at it, but made no marks in the wood. She pushed her nose beneath the door, and kept sniffing away.

Azalie's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Did that girl just turn into a tiger? She stayed where she was, frozen in confusion.

        Stucka did a double take, noticing the transformation right away, slamming his door shut and glancing at Azalie with wide eyes. "Hey ALEX!" He hesitated before running after the tiger, not wanting his poor pet to be eaten, he stopped when he spotted her at his door, making him slightly sigh in relief. "Alex....you can't have Terror, he's not food....." Stucka took a step forward, stopping as he looked at the huge tiger before him, not sure if he should try stepping in front of her or not, he wasn't sure how she would react.

         Standing where he was he starred at the door, hoping it wouldn't give way to the animals weight. "Uh, I have meat in the fridge, why not just eat that?" Stucka attempted to glance downstairs, feeling guilty for leaving Azalie so suddenly, she was in a new environment, and probably a little confused as to what was happening. His mind went back to Alex as he hoped that she would get a hold of herself.

Alex tore her gaze away from the door and tilted her head to the side. She huffed, and sat down on her large haunches. She shifted back into her human form, but she was naked. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and shivered. "Could you please bring me my clothes?" Her crimson hair was all messed up, and she was breathing heavily. She had no clue how she just shifted.

Azalie sat down on the couch, and looked at Alex's clothes. "Um... Stucka," she yelled. "She left her clothes in here..."

         Stucka's male instincts told him not to look away but he did anyways, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable. "Yeah, give me a minute......here, take this for now." He quickly took his own shirt off, showing his toned body right away, and threw it next to her, making sure his eyes only rested on the floor before jogging downstairs and toward Azalie. He noticed the clothes a moment later and grabbed them, glancing at Azalie for a moment.

         "Your fine....right?" he scanned her for a few seconds before looking back into her eyes and slightly raising his eyebrows from the question, knowing she was most likely okay, but he wanted to make sure.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Do you mind if I take the clothes to Alex? I want to talk with her." Azalie's eyes tried to focus on Stucka's face, but they kept wandering to his torso. She couldn't help it. She liked Stucka.

~~~

Alex took the large shirt that Stucka had thrown next to her, and slipped it over her small frame. It hung down to the middle of her thigh, so she stood up. She was definately underweight.

        Stucka nodded, understanding completly. "Of course, take your time." he smirked before going to his kitchen and getting himself a glass of water, leaning against the counter, thinking about the days events and what was now happening, it was all too hard to believe.

        First, he met another shifter, something that not only suprised him, but confused him, not sure how to handle it. Secondly, he met Azalie, the only person here that made him happy he moved in the first place, and was already starting to like her more every second that he got to spend with her. Lastly, his dad, he would surely be dead, something that just rang through his mind at that particular moment, having a chance to relax made him think it over several times.

        Stucka brought his hand up to his cheek to wipe away a stray tear, looking at it as if it was some sort of alien. He had never really cried since he learned why his mother died, and that was a few years ago. He shook his head to get the thoughts out of his brain and sighed, taking another drink of water, leaning on the counter more, sort of in a slouchy type way, the air being slightly cool making him have goosebumps from not having a shirt on.

Azalie nodded at Stucka and smiled before she went down the hallway. She stopped in front of Alex and said, "Here are your clothes." She held them out.

Alex looked at the clothes in Azalie's hand and took them. She entered a random room, and slipped her clothes on. She walked back out, and found Azalie still standing there. "What do you want?" she asked, her blue eyes resting on Azalie's green ones.

"I want to talk." Azalie sat down on one side of the hall, and motioned for Alex to sit across from her.

Alex sat down, and wrapped her arms around her legs. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Um, what are you?" Azalie asked, trying to ask it as delicately as possible.

"To be honest, I don't know," Alex said, fighting back tears. Just saying that one sentence made her realize how terrible it was not to know what you are.

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't know. I ran away, and ended up here." Alex's face was sad.

Even though Alex wasn't crying, Azalie came over, and hugged her. She helped her get to her feet, and led her back into the living room. She saw Stucka in the kitchen.

Alex walked over to Stucka, and silently handed him his shirt. She walked back over to where Azalie was sitting on the couch.

        Stucka looked up as Alex handed him his shirt, placing it back over his head and on his body, taking a deep breath before leaving the kitchen and going into the living room where both Alex and Azalie sat. "Help yourself to any food Alex..... your apetite may be increased from the......shift." he sighed, knowing she was probably confused from the whole situation, but he would talk to her about it eventually when she was ready. "I need to wash the dishes, you can watch T.V. or help me." Stucka nearly chuckled, saying that more as a joke then a actual option, although he wouldn't mind if anyone offered to help.

        Stucka slowly walked to the kitchen and ran the water, letting it fill up one side of the sink while the dirty dishes were left in the other. One of the only chores he hated was this, but he knew he had to do it, making him sigh in annoyence as he turned the water off once the sink was full of water.