While the Halliwells were getting ready for bed upstairs, the three friends were trying to get as comfortable as possible in the basement. Once they had gone down into the basement, both Tyrk and Crystal had changed out of their animal forms back into their true shapes. However, Lyra stayed in her panther shape. She padded slowly over to the corner furthest away from the stairs, which happened to be underneath a small window that let moonlight shine in. Since she had woke up on the couch, the young woman felt a sore tugging sensation down her front where the demon had ripped her open. Her experiences from paying attention to Leo in the past told the girl that she really shouldn't be feeling pain after being healed. However, it was late and she was feeling decidedly cranky and tired.
"Hey, Lyra, what's with the catsuit?" Tyrk asked cheekily. The panther rolled her eyes before lying her head down on top of her paws and yawning.
"Well, my t-shirt's upstairs and my trousers are badly ripped," she purred sleepily, "so if I was to go back to my normal self, then you two would see me pretty much half naked. I think you've seen enough of that for one night." Unable to keep her eyes open a moment longer, she fell into a deep sleep. Tyrk walked over to where Crystal was trying to make herself comfortable, on an old chair that had been dumped down there with them. He could see the exhaustion and pain in his friend's eyes and knew she wasn't as completely recovered as she was making herself out to be. It was times like this which made him really hate Lyra's stubborn nature, but it was also something he admired in his friend. She never gave up on anything, refused to let things slow her down for very long and always put her heart into things.
"She's not as fine as she looks, you know," he said wearily to his girlfriend after squeezing into the chair beside her. The lovers wrapped their arms around one another, silently thinking over all which had occurred that night. It was a sign of their deep bond with Lyra that they had been more than willing to go with her when she asked for their help in saving Prue Halliwell. Their kind lived by the rule not to save a human's life unless they were in dire danger of death. What the Scot wanted to do was in complete defiance and against that primal rule. Although neither of them spoke about it, the couple both secretly knew there would be consequences for Lyra's actions and it looked as though she was suffering them already.
"Yeah, but you know Lyra," Crystal mumbled sleepily, "she'd sooner admit to being hungry than being in pain. Never mind, let's just get some sleep." After sharing a small and loving kiss, the couple drifted off to sleep in the sanctuary of each others' arms.
Morning came far too soon for Lyra's liking and she discovered this when she felt something hit her hard on the face. Opening her eyes suddenly, she met Piper's glare of disgust. The witch was standing on the stairs and Lyra saw that she had been hit with some fresh clothes. She stretched out one of her forepaws and dragged a pair of loose black trousers and a peach-coloured top over along with a white bra. A glance around indicated that Tyrk and Crystal were already awake and upstairs and the panther was alone with a woman who didn't like her very much. Heart heavy and body hurting, she drew herself onto all four legs and changed back into her true form, not caring to be seen almost half naked in front of Piper. Her own bra was still on, but had been almost completely ripped in half down the front where a nasty-looking red scar etched a path from breast to groin. The trousers were torn where the claws had cut in, the skin looking raised and angry. Sighing deeply, Piper sat down on the steps and watched the other girl change into clean clothes in silence. In her mind throughout the night, Lyra had planned it all in her mind what she was going to tell the Halliwells.
"Thanks for the clothes, Piper," she said politely once she was clothed. Her previously strong and sure voice had wavered and was strained with pain and nervousness. The other girl was unprepared for such vulnerability and it inevitably touched her deeply.
"You got that saving Prue last night," Piper said more as a statement than a question, "Leo healed you, though. Why do you have such a nasty scar on your body?" Lyra turned slowly and drew her gaze level with Piper as she sat down beside her on the step.
"I broke a number of our codes last night," she explained, "I'll be punished as a result of this; the deep scar is only the beginning. It's hurting like hell as well right now, but I know it will only be the start of worse things to come. By saving Prue when she wasn't in immediate danger of her life, I've brought these things on myself." Her voice wasn't full of regret for her actions, nor was it filled with spite. If anything, it was the same resolution that had played in her eyes the previous night. Piper understood partially in that instant what this girl had done and brought upon herself. For reasons as yet unknown, she had almost lost her life and now faced terrible retribution by rescuing Prue and bringing her back to her family. Holding out her right hand, Piper felt some calm for the first time since she witnessed Prue's death wash over her when Lyra took and linked their hands together.
"I've wanted to do this for a long time," Lyra said softly before wrapping her arms tightly around the witch. She wanted so badly to at least let the other girl know that she knew the pain she had known for so long, that she wanted to help heal it. Piper, although she wasn't expecting the embrace, was thankful for the reassuring contact and hugged back as tightly. In that instant, both of them came to an understanding about the other person. As they left the basement to greet their friends and family, it was on a more equal and neutral footing than the previous night. Everyone else was in the living room eating breakfast, aside from Prue. Tyrk was sitting on the floor with Crystal sitting between his legs, reclining into his embrace. Phoebe and Paige had been sitting on the couch eating rolls in sausage while Leo was on the other chair eating at a roll in bacon. Almost immediately the smell of the cooked meat reached Lyra's sensitive nose and her more feral side wanted to make an appearance, her stomach growling to alert everyone to her hunger.
"Damn girl," Crystal exclaimed, "don't you ever think of anything but your stomach!" The brunette let out a knowing smirk before leaning down and whispering "There is one thing, but I can't say it in company". Leaving the American to blush a dangerous shade of red, Lyra walked through to the kitchen and started frying herself some sausages when suddenly; a mysterious figure appeared and smacked her hard on the back. Sprawling on all fours in agony, she turned and glanced up at the white hooded figure. The crash of her falling brought everyone in the other room into the kitchen, the charmed ones all ready for action.
"You have broken two of our most basic rules, Lyra," the figure, who was a female, boomed, "You know that there are penalties to pay." Drawing her hand back, the cloaked woman once more hit the brunette hard, across the face this time. A closer look revealed sharp claws similar to those found on a large cat when they were unsheathed. Large, bleeding scratches were left this time in the wake of the assault and Tyrk stepped between the two people.
"Stop! If you're gonna make Lyra pay, then you'll have to punish me as well!" He shouted angrily. Every muscle in his body was primed for action, even if it meant going in the face of the overall elder. The hooded female pulled her hood back enough so her face could be seen. Although her skin was unlined and she looked young and full of strength, the witches could tell she was a very good age. Her pupils were slits like a cat and as she spoke, her teeth could be seen as being shaped like those of a predator similar to a cat. Her hair was as white as her robe and tied back in a very unforgiving-looking pony tail. She raised her hand as the sisters were ready to attack, stopping them in their tracks.
"This does not concern you, witches," her voice still boomed loudly, "these three are mine. If you want to share Lyra's fate, then so be it, Tyrk." With a wave of her hand, the female disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. At first glance, nothing appeared to be the matter in the kitchen. Lifting her head, Lyra looked around and relaxed visibly when she saw everyone appeared to be fine. Her face still stung considerably where she had been struck, but for some reason when she tried to reach up to touch it, her hands wouldn't move. Indeed, when she tried to stand up, she couldn't get higher than on all fours.
"Oh my God!" Phoebe cried, pointing at Lyra and then over at Tyrk. This struck the girl as odd until she turned and saw her friend. Where Tyrk had previously been standing there was a tri-coloured miniature smooth fox terrier. The cheeky glint in the small dog's eyes confirmed he had been the young man a short time ago.
"Can you explain what's happened here?" Piper asked Crystal as they all walked back into the living room. The new dogs followed, only pausing when Kit hissed down at them. Tyrk let out a low growl, bending down in preparation of pouncing on the cat.
"Don't even think about it!" Lyra's voice was in his ears, but he only saw a large wolf-like dog standing where he had heard the voice come from. She was a beautiful black and white mixture in colour, with a wavy coat that was full and exuded good health. On her face she bore three large wounds that were starting to clot up and her eyes were still brown with flecks of green through them.
"How can you talk to me, but nobody else can hear you?" he almost thought to her. The flick of her erect ears let him know that she got his message before she replied.
"We're both dogs, hence we can communicate with each other," she explained, "They can't hear us this way, because they're humans. At least, I don't think they can hear or understand us." The two of them padded into the living room, Tyrk going to sit beside where Crystal was sitting and Lyra went over to Paige.
"We're all members of a group called Faunamerges," Crystal explained slowly, "we're basically normal people who can change into any mammalian animal that we want. Our personalities mean that it's easier for us individually to become some forms than others. If you've ever read a story of an animal saving a human's life, then nine times out of ten it's been a faunamerge who's done it. However, there are strict rules we have to go by and these include not rescuing a person who's not in immediate danger of death plus keeping the order a secret from everyone." Absent-mindedly, the blonde reached her hand down and began stroking Tyrk on the head. It was a lot for her to take in, having the love of her life transformed into an animal permanently. Phoebe walked over and gently ran her fingers over the wounds Lyra had on her face. Then, she softly stroked her newly-formed muzzle and fur-covered face.
"Who was the person that was in our kitchen a short time ago?" she asked Crystal while trying to make sense of the dog in front of her. It looked almost like a wolf, but she could tell it wasn't a wolf that the girl had been changed into. Making a decision, she went into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of warm water and some cotton balls as well as some of the sausages Lyra had been cooking before the attack. Crystal kept talking while all of this was happening.
"That was our overall elder, our boss in a manner of speaking," she explained, "only Lyra really knows her name out of us, but she refuses to address her by it. The elder came to punish Lyra for breaking the rules, and this is her punishment I guess. I just can't believe she did the same thing to T-Tyrk." She couldn't hold back her distress at seeing her dearest friends changed for the foreseeable future and the tears came thick and fast. Tyrk turned and frantically started licking the tears away as best he could. This only served to distress the girl even further and she cried harder. Phoebe meanwhile continued gently cleaning up Lyra's wounds and once she was done, she gave the dog some sausages. Gulping them down happily, she stood up and looked directly at Tyrk, drawing his eyes to her own.
"You look after Crystal; I'm going to check on Prue," she said silently, "I'm sorry for this, my friend." She then slowly padded her way out of the living room and up the flight of stairs. Tyrk turned and looked deep into the eyes of his love.
"I wish I could tell you how much I love you," he said silently, "don't be too sad at what's happened. At least Lyra's not going through this alone." Almost as soon as he finished thinking this, Tyrk saw that Crystal stopped crying and was perking up a good bit. The other people in the living room were just trying to take in all that had happened in that morning. Piper walked from the living room with Leo, Phoebe and Paige in tow.
"Guys, I think our little gang of rescuers are in trouble here," Phoebe said once they were sure that Crystal couldn't hear, "I mean, being cursed into an animal form must really be a rough thing to go through." Piper was pacing slightly, trying to make some sense of it all.
"Well, technically they're not really innocents since they knew about us," she replied, "but at the same time, they obviously need our help. I think it's the least we can do considering they brought Prue back to us." Paige was silent throughout this discussion while she was pondering something in her mind. It was something that had been annoying her since the previous night.
"How come you guys saw Prue die," she voiced up once Piper had finished talking, "and then she ended up in the clutches of some demon? Nobody's actually cleared this up, yet." At that moment, there was a small jingle sound and Leo looked apologetically at his wife.
"Sorry, I'll try and find out what I can from them though," he whispered gently. Then, he teleported upwards and the girls made their way back into the living room.