With Caution

summer wind. Following his instruction was frighteningly simple, and when she took in a second breath, she loosened the fingers she’d had crushed around Josh’s, the sensation of her chest rising and falling hypnotic.
    He coaxed her through the breathing exercise for what could have been several minutes. His voice was lulling, even soothing, and soon, she could feel Josh’s breath begin to echo hers, like he was following the same directions.
    “Now I want you to think about the first form you ever shifted into. I want you to think about every single detail. What did it feel like to shift? What did you look like?
    Recreate it.”
    It was a memory she had relived more than once. Josh had been fascinated by the stories of her childhood, and even Cam had been amused and more than a little impressed when he heard how early she’d done her first shift.
    She was two, and the world was a loud place, with laughter and the television blaring in the background and her father playing Santana’s ‘Abraxas’ over and over and over again. And there was Tofu curled up under the coffee table, her long black tail swishing around the wooden legs.
    It was easy to crawl over, easy not to get stopped, not so easy to actually catch the cat’s tail before Tofu woke up and leapt out of the way, jumping to the window ledge and glaring down at Sara with narrowed eyes. Her mother went out into the kitchen, and her father trailed afterward, and all Sara could see was the cat’s black tail, sweeping along the wall beneath the ledge.
    The weight of Josh’s arm disappeared, and the mattress moved beneath her bottom.
    It took Sara a moment to realize that the bed hadn’t shifted.
    She had.
    Sara immediately backed into Josh’s body, trying to wedge herself in the space between his back and the bed.
    “Sara.” Cam’s voice startled her, and she ducked against the pillows.
    “Hey,” Josh murmured, lifting her and repositioning her on the bed. “Be careful there.”

    “Sara, don’t tense up and be frightened. You’ll lose your concentration. Look.”
    Her nose quivered as Cam’s distinct smell faded, replaced by the scent of another cat.
    Opening her eyes felt odd this time, especially with her perspective unexpectedly altered. Josh’s legs were mountains in front of her, while on the chair sat a large ginger tom. With blue eyes.
    Her tail flicked.
    Cam only blinked.
    She should have been terrified. Just because she couldn’t see his face didn’t mean she didn’t know it was Cam sitting there. And her captors had made him—the other him—shift in front of her all the time. That was his whole purpose for being there, she’d reasoned.
    However, they’d never had him shift into an everyday, normal housecat. This wasn’t scary. She’d seen him, fought him, even flown with him, in guises more dangerous than this one.
    Her tail flicked again.
    Cam dropped to his haunches, wiggled his back legs, and then sprang across to the foot of the bed. He walked up Josh’s legs, coming to a rest on Josh’s stomach.
    “Thanks, Cam. You weigh a ton,” Josh said, but didn’t push him away.
    From his perch, Cam looked down at her and blinked. He chattered softly—a sound not quite a meow—then dropped his head to rub it against Josh’s chest.
    Sara tilted her head. It looked appealing, especially when Josh lifted his hand to begin scratching Cam behind the ears. But his lap looked small, and there would be no avoiding Cam if she attempted to get any closer. There would be the warmth of their bodies, yes, but even as that called to her, it also raised an iota of fear, and she began to back away, her paws awkward as she navigated the soft terrain.
    The side of the bed came sooner than she anticipated. Her back paw met open air, and she tumbled over the edge of the mattress.
    By the time she hit the floor, she was back in her human form.

    Josh was beside her in an instant, giving her his hand to help her to her feet. Cam the cat watched her from the bed inquisitively. The serious look on his face was almost enough to make her smile; she had never seen an expression like that on a cat before.
    “What happened?” Josh asked. “Did you hurt yourself?”
    “Only my ego.” She rubbed at her bottom. “And maybe my ass. Falling off the bed is not my favorite way to get rug burn.”
    “It’s not mine either.” He sat on the edge of the bed, and Cam immediately nudged his arm. “Did Cam startle you?” To Sara’s surprise, Josh