(A/N): Hey Guys! So, I realised that this year so far- from Christmas to now, has been twenty-nine chapters, which is almost as long as the others have been, and I'm not even into the school year yet...oops.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.

Leo

I raced through the house, sliding on the polished wooden floors and rugs and slamming into walls and tables, not used to my new feline body, before I reached the front door, where I encountered my first dilemma... how was I supposed to open doors in this body? Deciding to throw caution to the wind and just go for it, I took the round handle into my mouth, twisted my head to the side, and tugged- I made a mental note to remember which doors where 'push' doors and which doors were 'pull' doors, from now on.

I burst through the open doorway, pouring on the speed in my still clumsy body, and started taking the subtle hints from the more animalistic side of me on how to go faster, and be more efficient. My sharpened claws dug into the soft soil, the strong but lean muscles in my leg propelling me across the ground, and I reached the tree line in seconds. I grinned, though I wasn't sure if it would read that way on my currently feline features. I inhaled deeply, having almost forgotten to breathe, and my eyes darted from left to right as I dodged trees. I didn't have the same stamina as I did in my normal, fully equipped vampire body, but I was fast- not as fast as vampire speed, but it was as close as I could get at the moment, so I savored every second of this experience. Eventually, I tried to skid to a stop- but my paws didn't quite grip the loose dirt after I pulled up, and I slammed my side into a tree, which is when I decided to return to my normal form before I caused myself serious harm.

"Oww..." I grumbled quietly, before I heard a twig snap in front of me. My head snapping up to see a face mere centimeters from mine- but not a human face. The face of another feline. "Shari...?" I asked uncertainly, and the tiger dipped it's head in a nod. "A tiger?" She rolled her eyes, quickly returning to her human form as well. Well... vampire form, I guess.

"You're one to talk, cheetah boy."

I chuckled, moving to stand before a sharp pang went through my stomach. "Oof... ouch," I grumbled, and she rested a hand on my lower back, an offering for the pain. "Shari... before Lisbet rescued me, my mother gave me something... do you know what it was?" She knew, I could tell by the way she was looking at me- like she wanted to tell me but couldn't. "Shari, screw 'keeping me safe', I need to know what I'm up against here!" I hissed quietly, and she blinked before sighing, resting a hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"It was vampire blood."

I blinked, confused. I took a step back, startled, and sat down hard. "But... why did it have such an effect?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It has that effect on veela... you're part veela Leo. That's why it had such an effect. Not to mention how much it hurts humans to ingest it." She managed a light, almost fond chuckle, though I could hear the bitterness underlying in her tone.

"Did it hurt that much when you were turned?"

She seemed a little shocked that I had made the connection, but shrugged nonetheless. "It hurt a lot..." She began, before her eyes met mine, and I could tell she was holding back tears. "But nowhere near as much as what you went through," She finished, before suddenly appearing sitting next to me, having used vampire speed to do so. She wrapped her arms around me tightly- well, loosely for her, but tightly for a human. "I was so scared for you... I thought you were going to die for sure," She whispered, her voice misty and muffled by the block of unshed tears in her throat.

"So did I," I admitted with a chuckle, but that only made her latch on to me tighter.

"The way you were screaming..."

She buried her head in my neck, and I smiled fondly. "I'm fine Shari, everything's okay now," I reassured her, slightly surprised by how hung up about this she was. Of course, she was like family to me, but I had never really expected that she thought of me as such, too.

"Is it?" She asked in a sob, and I paused for a second before nodding firmly.

"It'll all be fine Shari, I'll make sure of it."

She let herself sob freely now, tears cascading down her cheeks before soiling my shirt with their salty moisture. "Thank you, Leo," She murmured a few minutes later as she rose to her feet, pulling me with her, and being exceptionally careful not to jostle my stomach in any way.

"Eh, it's what I'm here for," I joked, resting an arm across her shoulders and pulling her to my side comfortingly. "What else do I have to look forward to?" I asked rhetorically, though she frowned, and replied nonetheless.

"Life."

(A/N): Ooh, so dramatic!

This chapter has had edits made to it on 20/2/24 - formatting, and reconfiguring of sentences so they make sense. I also changed the front door from a push door to a pull door, because I don't know many external doors that open outward. Changed Shari saying, 'Speak for yourself, cheetah boy' to her saying, 'You're one to talk, cheetah boy', because I think that's what I was going for in the first place, since 'speak for yourself' doesn't really make sense in that context. Also, I just noticed the parallels between this chapter and 320 (Poetry In Motion), which are both 'Leo and Shari have an emotional chat in the woods about something deep' chapters.