Author's Note: Hi there. If you're currently reading 'Happy', don't fret - I've been trying to write that for a while now, but I've been blocked and having trouble getting things out so I'm kinda just writing this (probably 4 or so shot) to help me get back into the groove. This goes for my two R&I fics too that got the same update as 'Happy'. I have no idea what this is but I've always had this idea in my head... I don't know whether this is TT or Mitchsen. We'll see. lol
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Beca is on her way back from the station when she hears it - the sound of a Barden University Rape whistle going off before it clatters to the ground. Immediately her senses go into overdrive and she can suddenly pick up the scent of sweat, fear and arousal and it makes her stomach churn.
She's running, following the sounds of the scuffle before she has to stop dead in her tracks because that voice… She'd know it anywhere, even if it wasn't in the normal shrill and overly-critical tone she had come to know when it came to Aubrey Posen.
"I said stop!" Beca can hear the way the blonde's voice wavers at the end and it has the small DJ dropping her bag and shedding off her jacket before…
Colors are muted and she's able to see much better in the late night, now and everything is so much more intense - heightened. She can smell the perfume that Aubrey had probably put on that morning, her shampoo, and her fear. Beca can smell the fear, can hear her whimpering - begging.
Beca isn't aware she's running again until she rounds a corner and comes face to face with a frightened Aubrey being shoved roughly against a wall, her assailant gripping her throat with one hand while the other slides slowly up the blonde's thigh. She meets Aubrey's frightened, pleading gaze and then suddenly a loud snarl is clawing its way from Beca's throat, startling the large jock-looking guy pressed up against Aubrey.
He looks back at Beca but it's clear he isn't afraid of her. "Get out of here, you mangy mutt!"
Mangy? If Beca could scoff right now, she would. She knows that she isn't very broad chested but she's pretty tall and what she lacks in brute strength she makes up for in stamina. She lets out a bark that turns into a snarl and her hackles raise as she inches forward, lips curling up to reveal a set of sharp canines that seem to glisten in the low light of the street lamps.
In her shifted form, Beca is all long legs and a lithe body that is good for speed. She knows she isn't something large and frightening like a Rottweiler but she still has a pretty sharp set of teeth and a bite that could cause major damage if she allowed it. She's a pretty dark sable and white and when not trying to act like she's bigger than she is, one might say she's some sort of Shepherd mix.
"I said get!" The Jock says, making no move of releasing Aubrey who has started to cry. He turns back and slips his hand beneath the blonde's skirt and it's then that Beca just sort of … snaps because even if she and Aubrey don't see eye to eye, it doesn't mean that she doesn't care about her captain.
In an instant, Beca is in the air, jaws open before they're sinking into flesh and she's slamming into a hard body. The jock is forced off of Aubrey as Beca tugs and growls, shaking her head roughly as a metallic taste touches her tongue which only makes her tug and shake harder.
Beca isn't even all that sure what she's biting, as long as it gives Aubrey time to run. Before Beca can think anything else, she feels a blow to the chest and it's clear that the jock guy has kicked her, sending her flying back. A loud yelp echoes off the alley walls but Beca scrambles back up to her paws, panting. The jock is standing there in shock, hand covering up a bloody spot on his thigh and Beca's lips curl up into something akin to a wicked smile because he's looking at her with fear and disbelief in his eyes.
Run. You better run, you fucker. Beca thinks as she readies herself for another attack. Because, she thinks, even if it'd gross her the fuck out, the next body part she bites is going to aim a little higher and god damn it she's going to fucking rip it off.
And he does - the jock starts running, admittedly with a limp but to give him credit, he starts off pretty fast. But, Beca's body is fucking made for this. She bolts, long legs no match for the jock because she's already on his heels, angry snarls ripping from her throat. She leaps and within seconds she's on top of him and he's screaming before Beca can even sink her teeth into flesh. It only seems to spur her on because he fucking deserves it.
The jock has turned over by now, trying to cover his face but that's not what Beca is aiming for and as her teeth sink into flesh a sound that - Beca is sure only her, scorpions and fucking bats can hear - escapes his throat and he squirms and cries out for help as Beca clamps down harder on a part of the male anatomy that she hopes she never comes into contact again after this. She tugs roughly and shakes her head which only seems to make his screams go higher in pitch.
"Hey! Get off of him!" Beca hears and she glances up to see a campus police officer approaching. Briefly as the dog releases the jock, she wonders where the fuck the cop had been 10 minutes ago. She bolts, ignoring the angry shouts coming from behind her.
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It doesn't take Beca long to find her. Aubrey is sitting on a bench just beneath a streetlight, almost curled in on herself and it's the oddest image Beca has ever seen because Aubrey just looks so… frightened and Beca is used to seeing nothing but determination and hardness on her face. She's clutching her phone and crying and as Beca approaches, tongue lolled out and panting, she tries to look as anything but frightening.
The Shepherd's ears go flat against her skull and her tail lowers in submission as she approaches the blonde. Aubrey doesn't seem to move or even really notice Beca, so the dog jumps up onto the bench beside her and as she gets closer, she notes the hand shaped bruise around Aubrey's throat and the busted lip. It makes Beca angry all over again and a low growl slips past her muzzle without warning, startling Aubrey out of her stupor. She nearly jumps away from Beca but the dog lets out an apologetic whimper before nuzzling her head gently into the blonde's arm. And that seems to be Aubrey's undoing because she starts to sob, wrapping her arms around her middle like some feeble attempt at trying to keep herself together.
And Beca - Beca's ears flatten more and she whines because she doesn't know what to do, this isn't her area of expertise - she doesn't do feelings or comforting but - but she has to do something. So the dog licks at the blonde's tear-stained cheek before laying down beside her and placing her head in the blonde's lap.
"Thank you." Beca hears Aubrey murmur through tears as a shaky hand comes up to scratch behind a soft, floppy ear. And god, that's her spot, damn it so Beca can't help it when her back leg thumps of it's own volition. And maybe she can get past it because Aubrey is chuckling through a soft hiccup at the action. So Beca just enjoys the scratches.
They sit like that for a few more minutes, Aubrey going back and forth between scratching behind Beca's ear and just petting the Shepherd mix's head and Beca isn't really sure who it's more soothing for, her or Aubrey because the blonde has calmed down considerably though still crying a little. But Beca can't think much more on the subject before she's dozing off.
Until her heightened sense of hearing picks up the sound of shoes slapping against the pavement, anyway. It jerks the dog into full alertness. She's off the bench within seconds and standing in front of Aubrey protectively as a low warning growl passes through the curled lips of a slender muzzle.
That is, until Beca picks up the familiar scent of strawberries mixed with something else that she can never identify.
"A-Aubrey? Sweetie?" Chloe Beale appears under the streetlight looking concerned and a little confused as she looks down at the dog standing protectively between she and Aubrey.
Beca immediately relaxes and her tail wags gently at the sight of the redhead. Finally someone who knows how to comfort, Beca thinks. She was starting to worry Aubrey was just going to stay there all night. The dog steps forward and circles Chloe until she can nudge the redhead closer into Aubrey's direction.
Sitting down, Beca watches as Aubrey shoots up and into Chloe's arms, sobs starting up at full force again but as soon as Chloe wraps her arms tightly around the blonde and begins to whisper soft words of comfort, Aubrey calms.
"I came as soon as you called - the car is just over there." Chloe says, pointing from where she had come from. Beca briefly wonders how she had missed the sound of the car but guesses it had something to do with Aubrey's soothing pets. "Let's get you home." Chloe says, hands running up and down the blonde's arms.
Beca sighs something tired and filled with relief, knowing that Chloe will take care of Aubrey. The dog stands to leave but stops at the sound of Aubrey's uncharacteristically timid voice. "What about her?" The blonde nods toward Beca. "Chloe, she pretty much saved my life."
Chloe looks over at Beca and smiles softly before she moves toward the dog to lean down and scratch under her chin and damn it, Beca leans into the touch. "She's so pretty, look at those blue eyes." The redhead coos and if Beca could in her state, she'd be blushing and huffing because Beca Mitchell isn't cute. Instead, she snorts and shakes her head which only makes Chloe coo more. "Do you want to come with us?" The redhead muses.
Beca cocks her head to one side, her one erect ear flopping with the movement. Go with them? She can't, she has things to do, but she admires their want to take in what they probably assume is a stray. So reluctantly, Beca backs away, giving a soft yip before she turns to trot away. She feels bad for ignoring their soft calls for her but she's not a stray or some pet they can take in. She's a… well she's not really a person.
I'm a shifter, she thinks as she rushes to get back to her things that she'd so carelessly dropped in order to get to Aubrey.
I'm just a shifter.