Chapter 3 Shapeshifters

Shapeshifters are known throughout history as illusory beings that can change their shape at will. They were deceptive, conniving, ruthless, adaptive and most of all smart. And 'The Dragon' as she was known was more of all these things than most. To humans she was known as The Dragon but her true name, that the other shapeshifters referred to her by, was Velée.

When her life had been threatened by the humans in their 'Cleanse' she had not tried to fight back like most. She could have if she had wanted too but there were too many of them. Shapeshifters were never found in abundance and the humans outnumbered them one hundred to one at any time.

She hid and set a trap so that she would know when it was safe for her to re-enter the world. When man was so sure he was safe from shapeshifters that he would dare enter their lair and steal from them. That would be the time and now the time had come.

True the person had claimed himself a thief and that would prove man is still smart enough to leave them alone. But one was all she needed; one was enough. It only took one to steal her charm and now he had set her free again. The bronze eagle began to crack and in moments the shapeshifter had broken free.

Velée was slightly disoriented by her twenty year sleep. For the first few minutes she stumbled around trying to regain her bearings. Her senses were unsettled and confused her greatly. Her ability to shift her aspect was clumsy as well but after only ten minutes or so she regained complete control. She cried joyously and her eagle form screeched at her freedom. She quickly changed into a wolf aspect and picked up the thief's scent. It was not hard to find as no one had been in here for many years.

Velée followed the trail out of her lair as fast as she could. But upon entering the outside world for the first time in a long time what she found was disappointing. The thief hadn't even made it five meters out of her lair and he had died. As she snuffed around his dead body she discovered his throat had been cut. And his killer had stolen her charm. Velée was no fool and she quickly guessed that humans had named shapeshifter charms as valuable. So he had been murdered, and non to neatly, and her charm stolen by another. The shapeshifter raised her head and howled angrily.

After only a brief look around she left the dead body and began to follow this new scent. As she tracked the new thief she committed his scent to memory. If she smelt him again she would know immediately. The shapeshifter did not bother to take in her surroundings as she followed the scent. The only thing that mattered to her right now was finding the thief. But to her discontent the trail soon thinned out into nothing. Now she stood on top of a hill on the edge of a forest looking over a massive town.

That had not been here twenty years ago and if it had it had been nowhere near this size. She could not find the thief in there. It was impossible. So instead of seeking him out she would wait. Shapeshifter charms were the most prized possession to their shapeshifter. She could not do anything until she got it back. Velée quickly morphed into a human. She disliked taking human form, they were slow, clumsy and awkward to portray. But it was the only way to find her charm without drawing attention to herself.

The form she had chosen was a pettily framed girl of fifteen. Her clothes were simple black pants and a dark blue tunic shirt but more in a boy's fashion. Her eyes were emerald green and her hair was jet black with the slightest hint of the darkest blue in the spectrum; just long enough to cover her birthmark. When a shapeshifter was born their birth form was permanently imprinted on their body in a sort of birthmark. Velée's was a dragon and was located on her right cheekbone. It was an old favourite form of hers, for a human and brought back pleasant memories.

The shapeshifter descended slowly down the hill into the town. It was huge, more of a city than a town. It would take her weeks to find the thief again. She groaned in annoyance at the situation. Then her stomach growled hungrily suddenly. Usually shapeshifters did not have such petty needs; they had evolved past those centuries ago. They only needed sleep once a new moon, only had to eat when the need arose. Depending on how active they were it could take a few days to a month before they got hungry.

But Velée had been in rest for two centuries and she had a right to be hungry. The shapeshifter walked around aimlessly for only a matter of minutes before she found a suitable place to eat. A small outdoors restaurant, the walls were made from many thin wooden strips criss-crossing over in a chain link fashion. Vines covered the fences small grape plant were decorating the vines. It made the area smell sweet and the soft light provided by numerous lanterns made her feel at ease.

And if she had to she could have traced her steps back to where she had started with only her eyes. Velée had always had a very good memory and in a matter of days she could have this whole city memorised. She walked into the alfresco bistro, which she was surprised to find still open, and sat at a table. The table was round and designed o fit four; it was covered in a relatively clean white table cloth with a single rose in the middle in a glass vase.

In minutes a person dressed in a smart looking suit came over to her and asked her what she would like. He was a tall man and very thin, she wouldn't look him in the face which made any other features of him blank to her. Velée tilted her head slightly confused she asked what business it was of his. But she still did not look at him for risk of him seeing her birth mark. She did not know how much people remembered about shapeshifters but she did not want to risk it. The man looked back equally confused and said ever so politely that it was his job to take orders.

"I'm sorry," Velée apologised. "I've never been to the city before and this is a new experience for me."

Her waiter said it was completely understandable but Velée noticed his baffled expression as he went to the cook with her order for a very large salad. Shapeshifters never ate meat as a religion, if they had a religion; which they didn't. But after being so many of the animals that humans ate it was hard to imagine eating them.

The waiter returned with her order and she ate it promptly. When she was ready to leave he came back again and she paid him. Under normal circumstances she would have used one shapeshifter trick or another to avoid paying. Or she would have given him shapeshifter gold which will crumble to dust after a few hours. But this time Velée paid properly. She didn't mind as it was a very cheap meal, probably because the restaurant was famous for meat but she didn't know that. And she left. After some consideration the shapeshifter returned to the woods on the edge of the city. Taking a wolf aspect, another favourite of hers, she settled down among a thicket and waited until morning.

"So it's a deal?" The young woman asked.

"Yes, your 'problem' will be fixed by sun rise. I give you my word." Scapen replied eagerly.

"And it will not come back to me in any way, form, or manner?" The woman confirmed.

"Oh that's the beauty of it. I am going to kill two birds with one stone. I will kill one of the targets you requested and frame the other. It is that simple."

"How can you be sure she will get the blame and not another?" The woman was nervous and it showed.

"Please, I am a professional, it is my job, and I do it extremely well. If not you will get a full refund and I will kill her anyway, assassin's honour."

"Assassins don't have any honour and you know it Scapen." The woman said as they shook to seal the deal. As the assassin's hand connected with his client's his sleeve was pulled back to reveal a shapeshifter charm. The dragon was looped around Scapen's wrist and it glinted duly in the dim light. The woman gasped and withdrew her hand.

"I knew you were good my dear but I had no idea you were that good." She exclaimed looking at the charm more closely but not daring to touch it. Scapen simply smiled his menacing smile and let the lady inspect his newly acquired possession. This bracelet was going to bring him great things.

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