1x1 - -Killian & Kies

[all_is_lxst]

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None of the guards seemed to know what the shifter was doing and they shared confused glances before tensing up as the leopard finished and once again turned on them, they were prepared for an attack, but unafraid of the shifter. The head guard took a single step forward."That is enough of that. We are not here to harm you in any way. We simply want to know what you are doing hunting in this portion of the kingdom. It is not a problem if you do, but if it is out of necessity, we can take you back to the castle and provide you with food and any other supplies you may need to get by until you find your feet again. If you wish to refuse the help, that is fine as well, but be warned we will be keeping an eye on your activity to ensure that other's are not being stolen from or harmed because of your presence....." the guard spoke in a firm tone and steadily met the leopards gaze, waiting for a response. he was not scared, but he was wary of this shifter.

[rabidlynxeon]

Merrick kept his gaze locked on the guard. His eyes scanned his attire and build repeatedly, sizing him up and comparing him to the other guards that stood behind him. A few growls rumbled in his throat as if he was trying to say something, but he couldn't get it out while in his leopard form. His eyes shifted to the ground in front off him, his paws moving on their own as he began to pace in a line. He shouldn't have to shift to be able to talk to them, but alas, a shifters second form wont speak. the leopards claws dug into the ground with each step, causing small patches of loose dirt to be kicked up when he took another step forward.
He wanted to voice out to them, that he didn't need help. That he was perfectly fine on his own. That they couldn't control him. It would be difficult though, to answer to them he would have to shift into his human form to even speak one word to them. He hadn't done that in years. Merrick rolled his shoulders and sat, lowering his head a bit. Why would they think he needed help? He had just eaten his first meal in days and then took down a buck. Sure, his ribs where probably showing and eyes were likely to be sunken in from the lack of food, but he was fine. Alive at least.
Merrick sighed before finally making his decision, rolling his shoulders once again and closing his eyes. It had been years since he needed to shift, so he knew it would be just like his first one. Long and painful. He locked his jaw as the allowed the shift to take over, not daring to show any weakness to his enemies. He felt his individual bones beginning to crack and shift, that was enough for him to snap. He fell over onto his side and released an ear piercing yowl, squirming around if he was trying to escape some sort of trap.

[all_is_lxst]

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The head guard kept a careful eye on the leopard as he sat there, pacing and still growling and snarling at them softly. Why didn’t he just shift? He woundered, though he remained silent as he watched. His eyes went a little wider as the other started yowling and he glanced back to here one of his shifter muttering ”He hasn’t shifted in forever........” after that everyone looked to the witch in the group but she shook her head. ”I can’t do anything here. I could give him a potion to ease the pain of shifting so he could perform the task without pain, but we’d have to go back to the castle........” she stated looking around at the others and then down at the shufter.

[rabidlynxeon]

Merrick trashed and yowled, feeling his own broken bones begin to push at his skin. He could feel his bones break through his skin in some areas, but his shift hadn’t even rised above his abdomen yet. His hind legs and lower half of his body was left completely useless. He only tried to shift for a moment longer before going completely limp, not even giving time for the shift to fix his bones again. He laid in the ground, blood soaking the fur on the lower half of his body where his bones had broken through. Normally a first shift happens at a young age, meaning their body has not developed and their bones normally hadn’t all fused. It was safer then. When a shifter gets older and doesn’t shift often, the risk just gets worse and worse.
Merrick laud deathly still, quiet pained grunts filling the air around him as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn’t even move the lower half of his body, leaving him completely vulnerable to the guards standing nearby. His Eyes were hazy and glazed over, his tongue had rolled out of his mouth, and he was panting loudly. The pain was unbearable, he was surprised he was still awake from the amount of blood he had already lost. He turned his head to the guards once again, a low growl rumbling in his throat before his vision went black and his body fell completely limp agains the ground.

[all_is_lxst]

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As the shifter struggled and then passed out, the guards were in motion. The shifter and werewolf ran back to the palace ahead of the others to give warning and get more healers to help, while the three remaining began to bring the shifter back to the palace. The witch did most of the work, using her magic to move the shifter as painlessly as possible and keep his condition from getting worse. They hurried back to the palace, but took great care in making sure the shifter was not harmed any further.

[rabidlynxeon]

Merrick felt himself being moved, even though he was passed out. It was almost as if he was in a second state of mind and his body just refused to cooperate. He tried to make his body move, he tried to roar and tried to scratch. His body wouldn’t do more than a twitch every now and again. When he felt magic being used on him, it only made feel even worse and want to escape from all of it. He wasn’t sure where they were going, but he did have an idea.

[all_is_lxst]

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As soon as the group reached the palace, the shifter was taken to the infirmary and a group of healer began doing all they could for the shifter, which was actually quite a lot. they couldn't instantly heal the shifter, but after they had numbed his pain, they set the bones again, using potions and other medicines to begin the healing of the bones, as well as a potion that would soften the bones some. not by a lot so they wouldn't be too fragile, but enough that when he tried to shift again something like this wouldn't happen again. The whole situation was causing quite the ruckus in the palace, and even Abraxas got word of what was happening, though it was only the barest snippet. He decided to go down and see what was happening himself.

[rabidlynxeon]

Merrick finally woke soon after they had reset his bones, his eyesight still hazy and he was still a bit disoriented. He didn’t dare try to stand, that is, until he realized that he wasn’t in the woods. He was in some kind of room. He couldn’t tell what a lot of the stuff was around him, given he was born in the woods and had lived there all his life. He quickly attempted to stand up, only yowl and fall back down once again. Even with the numbing medicine they put in him he was still in pain. It wasn’t as bad as it was before but it still hurt.
Merrick closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to prevent himself from hyperventilating. He was scared, that was true. But he refused to lay around and let the liars pretend to act all nice and sweet. With one more deep breath, he let himself begin to shift once again. It hurts, but he managed to bite his tongue and stay silent until he was finally in his human form. He was out of breath by the time he was finished, but at least he could still see. Normally when a shifter shifts they technically keep their clothes and they will be perfectly fine when they shift back. That included his glasses, luckily. He looked down at himself, furrowing his eyebrows at the way his ribs stuck out more in his human form than in his leopard form. He also had many visible scars on his bare skin, not including the cuts, scrapes, and burns from him trying to run the guards scent off of himself.
Merrick didn’t dare say a word, he didn’t see anyone in the room with him but they had at least one which in the kingdom. They could easily cast an invisibility spell or a cloaking spell that hid others from his eyesight. He shook his head and slowly stood up onto his still weak legs, gripping the wall beside him to keep himself balanced. He bit his lip, taking a small step forward as he tried to adjust to walking in two legs. Of course, being Merrick, he ended up face planting when his legs gave out.

[all_is_lxst]

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There really wasn't anyone in the room with the shifter when he woke up. This was because most of the healers had gone back to what they had been doing, while the which from the guards and the head healer were outside in the hall, speaking with Abraxas. They were out there for quite some time, discussing what to do with the shifter and how they might help him. Eventually the demon hybrid sent the other's one their way, deciding to go in and see this shifter himself. He had no reason to bring anyone else in since he was powerful enough on his own.

Unfortunately, he walked in right as the shifter fell on his face. He was startled and concerned, but couldn't stop the faint smirk at the other's clumsiness. "Careful now. If you haven't shifted in years, then you shouldn't push yourself until your a little more steady....." he warned quietly, stepping closer and crouching down to hold out a hand to help the boy up. He hadn't been expecting to see a boy here, but if he had decided to shift from leopard to human then Abraxas wasn't going to say anything about it.

[rabidlynxeon]

Merrick raises his head up, scrunching his nose up with a huff. He glared at the man in front of him, holding his hand out to him as if he was some kind of friend to him. This time, he snarled his nkse up and slapped the hand away from him, backing away from the other male and pressing himself up against a wall. He stayed in the floor, not trusting his legs to hold his weight. He adjusted his glasses that had slipped down during his fall. Afterwards he stayed deathly still, staring at the man in front of him with a scowl on his face. He had a horrid stance surrounding him, even though he wasn’t in his leopard form he could still smell it.
Merrick felt the ground around him, searching for something he could defend himself with. He didn’t care what it was, just something that could keep others away from him. He wanted to say something but did trust his voice. So he did the next thing that came to mind, he hissed at the older male and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t care that he could be challenging someone of a high status. They had no right bring him here against his will, and he wanted to return to the woods. With that thought, he hissed once again, this time with a stronger glare.