Chapter Two

"Maybe I had a stroke," Peter mused to himself "and this is all some sort of drug induced coma nightmare."

'If this is just a drug trip can we pick one that's a little less work for me?' Neal complained. 'You are heavier than you look, my hooves are killing me.'

Peter looked down at his unfortunate mount and shook his head sadly. Being stranded nearly fifty miles outside of the city in the woods Peter had finally broken down and accepted a ride from Neal in the form of a slender white Arabian horse.

"This is so embarrassing." Peter said sourly.

'It could be worse.'

"How?"

Peter yelped as Neal changed under him into a stocky donkey and started braying loudly.

"Neal, stop making an ass of yourself." Peter growled.

'Sorry,' Neal chuckled reverting into a horse again 'I couldn't resist the easy joke.'

Closing his eyes Peter tried to will himself to wake up, but when he opened them again the scene hadn't changed. When the sun had still been up Neal had been able to canter in sprints down the dirt road putting some good miles towards getting them back to civilization. However an hour later when it had started getting dark he'd been forced to slow down to just a walk. One misstep and they could both end up grievously injured and far from help. Peter was an experienced a rider but he found that Neal wasn't an easy ride with his high stepping jaunty hot-blooded gait.

Able to walk faster than Peter in his equine form Neal continued to carry Peter down the deserted road. Having gotten into a rhythm Neal's head bobbed up and down in time with his stride. The moon was full and splashed a good amount of silver light on the road, but the forest to either side was heavy with shadows. Luckily Neal hadn't had any more issues with suddenly shifting shapes the way he had when he'd spotted the mouse and reverted into a fox, but the slip in control still concerned Peter. They didn't really know all of the rules of Neal's curse considering all of the chaos that had surrounded it when it had occurred.

With his mind on other things Peter slowly started to lose track of the fact that he was riding his CI and not one of the horses he'd grown up with. As a result when Neal veered off the road slightly to snatch a mouthful of Queen Ann's Lace flowers Peter automatically thumped him in the flank with his heel to correct his course. Jerking his head up in surprise Neal side stepped back onto the road.

'Hey, don't kick me!' Neal snorted as he bucked a little. 'Need I remind you that you're a guest on my back?'

"Sorry." Peter apologized. "Habit. But you really shouldn't eat those anyway."

'Why not? I'm starving, and they are so tempting.'

"It's the temptation that worries me. Did that mouse taste good to your fox taste buds?"

'No.' Neal shook his mane. 'It was disgusting.'

"But now grass tastes good?"

'I see your point.' Neal admitted. 'Need to watch out for those animal instincts.'

"Maybe it's time you shifted again, I think you're becoming too comfortable being a horse."

'I am getting used to carrying you.'

"Reason enough to stop." Peter said as he dismounted not ready to admit that he'd gotten used to being carried. "We're not getting back to the city tonight in any case."

'I'm starting to think those guys lured us out here specifically to ditch us in the woods.' Neal whinnied.

"Neal, you're still a horse."

'Oh, right…um…hey, maybe I could turn into a roc.'

"What? Neal, you can't turn into an inanimate object. That's a terrible idea."

'No, no, a roc not a rock.' Neal explained.

"You lost me."

'R-O-C, it's a giant mythical bird. I could fly you back to the city.'

"Neal, no. No mythical animals, things are complicated enough as they are. You turn into a bird the size of a 747 and we would have fighter jets up your tail feathers within minutes."

'Humans and their 'air space'.' Neal huffed.

"Neal, you are human." Peter said firmly. "But maybe an owl would be a good idea, you could scout out a place for us to bed down for the night."

'Okay.' Neal nodded and replaced his fur for feathers of a snowy owl. 'Wow, it's like daylight with these eyes. I'll be right back.'

"Don't go too far."

'I know.'

"Don't kill any more mice."

'Have some faith in me, Peter.'

"I'm trying, but you've never been very good at impulse control."

'This is different.'

"Is it?"

Literally ruffling his feathers Neal took off on noticeably silent wings into the trees to check out the immediate surroundings. Even the deepest shadows in the woods were no match for his vision as he effortlessly avoided the branches in his path. He knew the point Peter was trying to make and even though he hadn't admitted it to Peter yet his current curse wasn't entirely the fault of the thieves they were chasing. Ignoring that detail for now Neal focused on the task at hand.

With as swift as his wings were he needed to be careful about how far he traveled, however once he started to reach the edge of his radius an unpleasant pressure on his heart let him know he was about to go too far. Circling back towards Peter Neal spotted a perfect place to spend a night out under the stars. Landing in the mossy glade that was sheltered on one side by a small cliff and on the other by a ring of trees Neal reverted into a large black wolf.

Neal had planed to shift into a dog when he suddenly found himself in the skin of the domesticated animal's powerful ancestor instead. He had never really thought that there was much of a difference between wolves and dogs until he became one. Savage and wild his loyalty to Peter was suddenly the last thing on his mind as Neal's hunger became the most pressing issue. Tilting his head back to look up at the bright silver moon Neal filled his lungs with the crisp cold night air as the urge to howl to a nonexistent pack to come and hunt with him over took his senses.

"Neal!"

Peter's voice was distant but Neal's keen ears heard him easily. Bringing his head back down Neal curled his lip and exposed his gleaming white fangs at the thought of a human trespassing on his territory. Terrified by the sensation of slipping into the persona of the untamed wolf Neal shook his head and forced himself to change into a husky dog. There was a hollowness in his heart for a moment as he lost touch with the wild creature he had been but he pushed it aside as his new form helped him remember what was truly important.

Trotting over to one of the trees that encircled the glade Neal looked around to make sure no one was watching before he lifted his leg and peed on the tree. He told himself that it was okay to give in to the marking instinct because it was going to help him guide Peter back to the glade. Brushing off his brief call from the wild Neal reminded himself not to shift into any more large wild predators as he used his canine nose to find his way back to Peter. There was a thrill to being the dangerous animal that taking the shape of a dog couldn't replicate, but as tempting as the feeling was the risks were far too high.

'I'd never forgive myself if I ate Peter. Besides, I bet he's tough and gamey...probably a little bitter.'