Just a short one-off with Ren. For those new to the Chronicles of Ren (as one reader dubbed the series), here's the list of titles so far (in order):

Winchester Boys And A Little Serendipity

When Dreams And Fears Collide

Ren's Run

EO Challenge Only By Seeking

EO Challenge Murmurs In The Dark

Seek And Ye Shall Find (WIP)

Moment Of Weakness

Unnatural Things

Physical Manifestations

Rehearsal Drabble

Fractured Reality (WIP)

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I climbed silently out the bathroom window, fixing the salt line and closing the window behind me. I was amazed I'd made it that far. If I'd been on Dean's bed, I surely wouldn't have. Sam was definitely a deeper sleeper, which wasn't really saying much.

I got as far as the tree line behind the motel and nearly turned around, guilt gnawed at me. I hated sneaking away in the night but I didn't know what else to do.

I had left a note for Dean saying I'd left of my own will and I would be back. I hoped he believed me. Of the two of them, he was the one who would worry most and wonder what he'd done wrong. Maybe I could have just talked to him. I knew he might have even understood. Explaining this need inside me would have raised the topic they were kind enough to not use against me though.

The fact that I'm not human.

Maybe it wasn't kindness, maybe they were in denial. It was always on my mind. If other Hunters saw us and figured it out, what would happen to Dean and Sam? I couldn't bear to think about it.

It would be awhile before I could shift again, so I wanted to choose a form that was versatile. I couldn't remember if mountain lions were native to the part of the country we were in, but I planned on staying out of sight anyway.

I moved far enough into the trees so I would not attract attention with my shapeshifting, but not so far that I couldn't find my way back. Excitement made my skin prickle as I stripped off my clothes and shoved them into a duffel bag. I hid the bag away in the tangled roots of a large tree. A thick covering of dirt and leaves would hopefully keep it safe until I returned. I wanted to shift as fast as I could and get on with my run, but I knew if I changed too quickly I would be in no shape to run.

I needn't have worried about a rapid shift ruining my night – the vicious voice in my head took care of that.

I bounded through the forest, my now sleek feline body making not so much as a whisper of sound through the brush. My soft paws helped silence my passage. I extended my claws slightly to help with traction on the moist leaf litter.

Therianthropes are not controlled by the lunar cycle, my kind can shift as often as our bodies will allow. We can go extended periods without changing forms, indefinitely even. We cannot deny there is a longing, though. Not necessarily for a specific form – I could as easily have chosen to be a bear as a cat. The need was to run, to feel the air on my muzzle, the miles passing beneath my feet.

I wasn't sure I could find words to explain it, or if Dean and Sam would even understand if I could. I just knew the need to run free made me...

An animal the voice in my head sneered. They would never understand. Because they are human and you are not.

I ran faster, throwing caution to the wind. If I were human, I wouldn't have this compulsion. If I were human, I wouldn't have to wonder how to explain my strange behavior.

I wondered if it bothered them, if they just kept me with them because they felt responsible for me. I tried to shove that thought aside, but it wasn't the first time it had haunted me. That was entirely unfair to them, though. They had never made me feel like I was "less". "Other" the voice in my head shot back. I growled and pushed myself harder, as if I could outrun it.

I ran until my lungs felt like they would explode and my reddish fur clumped in a sweaty mass. The dim light from the sliver of moon overhead eventually revealed a small stream. I dropped onto my belly beside it to drink, my muscles twitching with exhaustion.

I curled up with my long tail draped over my nose to rest for a few minutes and think.

It would be hours before I could shift back, still plenty of time to run. I decided I would creep by the motel before I took my human form again to see if Dean and Sam were still there. If they were, I knew I had a few dollars in my pockets and I remembered seeing a store not far from where we had stopped for the night.

I would bring back a pie as a peace offering.