His dream smells faintly of trees.

Which is strange, because he can't actually see any trees. It's light, but there doesn't seem to be any source, and even with the light, he can't see much of anything. There's no reason he should be thinking 'forest', but-

He feels the undergrowth press against his paws as he moved forward, small plants and broken twigs, along with several years' worth of dead leaves and fallen pine needles. The scent in the air speaks to him of spring and he revels in it, picking up speed until he's running-

Haytham reels back, clutching his head. All five of his senses tell him there's nothing around him but empty space, but at the same time he can feel...

Something. It's like being in two bodies at once- one, human, standing in the middle of this blank nothingness. And the other, animal, prowling through a forest in summer-

There's a new smell in the air, one that makes his ears perk up in general anticipation. It's the smell of prey, and it's been too long since he hunted. His stance shifts, sliding into a stealthier posture. He slides carefully along the ground, until abruptly the prey takes off-

It's seen him-

He takes off after it, feeling muscles designed for sprinting move smoothly under his skin. His prey is in sight-

He pounces-

And from that moment, Haytham and the panther are one. He sees the forest, feels the thrill of the chase roaring through his veins. How long this lasts, he's not quite sure. But at some point, the forest dissolves around him and Haytham finds himself back in the empty nothingness where he first started.

He's panting, and it's not until he stops that he realizes how tired he is. Every muscle in his body aches- even his bones feel sore, like they don't quite fit the body they're in.

Then abruptly, even that nothingness fades away, and Haytham blinks as he finds himself lying on the floor of the prison where he confronted Connor. He remembers there being a torch on the wall above them, but it's burned out, leaving the room in total darkness. It takes him a few seconds to realize this, because he can see every detail perfectly, even without his eagle vision.

He sits up, ignoring his body's protests that he's been lying on the cold stone ground for too long, and looks around for Connor. His first look around the room shows him only a wolf lying on the floor, legs twitching slightly in its sleep. Then he blinks and looks again, and sees a fallen eagle, wings twisted at an odd angle against the ground.

Then the eagle opens its eyes and looks at him, and Haytham watches as Connor groans and pulls himself off the ground. For several minutes they stare at one another from opposite sides of the room, both leaning against the wall just to stay upright. Finally, Haytham asks, "What was in that tea?"

Connor half smiles, but it seems like an effort. "Nothing good," he answers. That much, of course, was obvious, and Haytham finds himself wondering if finding Washington is worth all this.

Connor doesn't seem to have any such doubts, and before Haytham even makes it to his feet, he's pacing the floor, stretching his limbs and apparently satisfied with whatever transformation the tea has worked on him. Haytham isnt so sure. He can feel that something has changed inside him- some part of the panther left behind from the dream. While he was asleep, the animal seemed to become an extension of himself. It seemed like a gift. But now that he's awake...

"The first time feels the worst," Connor says, startling Haytham out of his thoughts. He looks up to see his son holding a hand out to help him up. "It gets easier."

"I don't intend to experience this a second time," Haytham says. He stands up at last, ignoring Connor's hand. "Now- I think it's about time we got out of here."

Their progress is slow. Connor doesn't seem to have any problems moving around, even after spending the night in prison and mostly unconscious. Haytham, on the other hand, is struggling. He's having a hard time keeping the panther locked away where it can't hurt him. He's cursing himself inside five minutes for volunteering to do this with Connor. Five minutes after that, Connor growls at him to just let it in before he falls over.

"I'm not going to-" Haytham stumbles and Connor grabs his arm.

"Well, you might want to figure yourself out fast," he says, and Haytham turns to follow his gaze. There are three dozen bluecoats running straight at them, and that's when it all comes together. Haytham's self-control slips, and the panther lunges into the forefront of his mind before he can stop it.

After that, everything's sort of a blur. He remembers fighting- a lot of fighting. And it's not like that's anything new. He's been fighting his whole life, after all, but this is different. No- he's different. There's a fluidity to his movements that he hasn't had for years, and a speed he's never had. It's inhuman. And deep down- he loves it.

When it's over, Haytham looks around for Connor, and spies him on top of a building down the street. Before Haytham can even take a step toward him, though, there's an eagle flying down to street level.

Flying-

When Connor lands in front of him, he studies Haytham intensely, then says- "Panther?"

"Yes." He gestures between Connor and the rooftop. "Eagle?"

"And wolf," says Connor.

"Alright," Haytham says. There doesn't seem to be anything else that needs saying, so the two of them run from the scene in silence.

-/-

Notes about the North American panther (also called the cougar). They're fiercely territorial, they hunt mostly at night (meaning decent night vision), and they're very fast sprinters.

They're also more closely related to domestic cats than predators (which may or may not come up in the future. It depends if I can resist the temptation of pointing out that Haytham is basically part giant kitty at this point).