Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,25

and opened the door wider. "All right, c'mon in. I have... a lot of stuff in the chocolate family. Some leftover Chinese is in the fridge."

"That's okay. I brought Cheetos and other wholly unhealthy snacks. Really, it should be better to eat the bags."

"You're a saint and a goddess, Dale Frye."

They went to the couch and Dale held up two movies for Ari's judgment. She picked one at random and Dale slipped it into the player. She took a bag of chips and tossed them to Ari before she dropped onto the sofa. There was an empty cushion between them, and Ari placed the chips on it so they could share.

"So how much longer are you going to be in heat?"

"A couple of days. I'm over the hump." She snickered. "So to speak. It's almost run its course. It's a lot easier with a friend to watch my back."

Dale smiled. "Next time I'll be better prepared."

"Well, it's been years since it happened last. So it could be another five, six years until it happens again."

"Yeah." Dale looked at her. "I'll be here."

Ari grinned and tapped Dale's shoulder before she focused on the movie.

End

Pack Mentality

Chapter One, Lie Down with Dogs

The first time Ari watched Bryn transform, she was captivated by the sight. Bryn's blonde hair seemed to grow and spread until it covered her body, her arms and legs twitching and pulling in on themselves until they were a new shape. They were in the loading dock of an abandoned warehouse, blocked on three sides by the high retaining walls and on the fourth by a long sloping driveway. Ari held Bryn as she became a feline, amazed at how quickly her body compressed into the shape of an animal.

When she was finished, Ari carefully placed Bryn on the platform. She had already undressed down to her underwear, and she quickly shed them to stand completely naked in the moonlight. She smiled at the cat, who she could swear had just started purring louder. "You're kind of a pervert, babe."

Bryn yowled and rested her head on her front paws. Ari closed her eyes and went through the painful process of her own transformation. When it was finished, Bryn jumped down and circled Ari's front legs, rubbing against her to share her scent. Ari felt a surge of revulsion; her canidae mind still rebelled at the idea of spending time with a cat, but Ari was slowly getting over it.

Once they were both in animal form, Bryn hurried off at a run. It should have been easy for Ari to catch up with her, as the wolf had the longer legs, but Bryn was exceptionally fast. She ran low to the ground, her feet a blur as she raced across the empty lot next to the warehouse district. Ari caught up with her and made sure she kept the orange and white blur in her sight at all times.

Usually it was a game of follow the leader that only ended once they got home and became their human selves again. But tonight there was a purpose to their race.

When Bryn reached a fence, she executed a perfect vertical jump that placed her on the top crossbar, giving her just enough room to stand and look over the fence. Ari had to search for a break in the fence where she could scramble through. She lay flat on the dirt and pressed her face to a crack, her snout extending onto the other side of the property.

They were looking at the back of a strip mall. They were separated from it by a wide stretch of dead grass, which had been covered with windblown litter. Ari could smell the sickly sweet, thick, syrup smell of old soda and spoiled fast food and licked her lips, wondering if there were any scraps she could dig through.

Focus. Business.

They had been there for almost ten minutes when Ari spotted movement at the far end of the lot. Two canidae were moving along the back of the building, one slightly behind the other and constantly checking over its shoulder as they advanced. The lead dog had bright red fur with black tips to its tail and ears. The other was a brown boxer, slender for its size and holding its head high. A third dog, mostly white and yellow, was walking along the broken line where concrete met grass. Ari withdrew so that she couldn't be seen as easily.

The two lead dogs went to a fuse box.