Performer and Shapeshifter

 Hans. John. Tisel. Ronald. James. Jacob.

 Kristel could hear all of them hooping and hollering as she walked out onto the stage, clad in a silk blue dress, a satchel amongst her hips,  her colorful hairpin in her black hair, shoes tapping across the wooden floor. They worked themselves into a frenzy, hungry for action. She knew that they didn't come all the way over to the Golden Goose for their food and drink. No, they came here for the dancers, the performers. The swans keeping the tavern afloat.

 With every graceful move she made, their eyes followed. With every word she sang, their ears were perked. She figured that if she wore perfume, one would be daring enough to come close enough to smell it. For now, she ignored them, taking solace in her dance, her own song calming her nerves. The world around her meant nothing to her, fading into the background. She was the star, and she would not let anyone distract her from her role.

 At least, until a man yelled, "Ey, pretty girl, come and dance on daddy's lap, won'tcha?"

 Gracefully, she twirled and pulled a knife from the satchel and tossed it as casually as a poker dealer dealing a hand. The knife got stuck in the wooden table, ever so close to the rude patron. She smiled as he stared in shock and disbelief. When the dance and song was done, she could barely hold in her laughter as she bowed and walked backstage.

 Kristel sighed as she saw the other performers getting ready. "Be careful, girls," she said, slipping the satchel off. "There's a pervert in the audience. I wouldn't reccomend getting too close.

 "I bet its Hans again, that creep," one girl squeaked. "I remember when he grabbed my ass just as I was on waitress duty."

 "You think that's bad?" said another. "He was brazen enough to grab my breasts!"

 "I gave him a warning," Kristel said with a giggle before sitting down and changing her dancing shoes into boots, her dress into shorts and a blue shirt. "He wanted me to give him a little dance. Even called himself 'Daddy'."

 "You should have shapeshifted and tore his tongue out, Krisy!"

 "He's not worth the trouble. I have more important things to worry about, like, you know, building up a resistance group?" The girls giggled before she continued, "Anyway, my shift's over, so go out and knock 'em dead! Literally, if Hans tries fondling any of you!"

 The dancing troupe waved goodbye as she picked her satchel up and ran on out, ready to take on the world.


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 It was a long way from the Golden Goose to Juan's house, about five miles away. Walking that far made her feet hurt, so Kristel always made sure to shapeshift into a horse to make things easier on herself. She galloped and galloped, eager to say to hello to a longtime friend and his big, stupid dog. She pondered for a moment if he bought enough dog food to satisfy Jasper. Wait, Juan wasn't stupid enough to not buy about two or three packs for that giant beast. Probably hunted some extra meat, too, to satisfy that big doof's cravings for raw food.


 She traveled by the River Solis until she came across a small shack. A variety of flowers grew out in front, while a little plot of land had crops in the back. Kristel shapeshifted back into a human and knocked upon the door. She didn't have to wait long before the door creaked open and Jasper greeted her with a tackle and big, sloppy kisses. "Woah there, Jaspy," she laughed as she tried to get up, petting the black lab on the head. "Calm down! I'm here, I'm here! Back from work, at any rate! Is your master here?"

 "You don't even need to ask," a voice called out. Kristel smiled as she walked into the little shack and took a seat. There he was, sitting right in front of her and reading a book: Juan Lyon, Spirit Summoner. He didn't turn his eyes away from the pages as he asked, "Guess if you're visiting little ol' me, you wanna talk?"

 "Is that a crime all of a sudden? Of course!" Kristel replied, whistling and beckoning Jasper to sit beside her before she turned her attention back to Juan. "Work was fun today, but Hans was being a perv again. Sometimes I wish I could turn into a golem and smash him."

 "I would reccomend against that," Juan said casually, turning a page in his book. "Did he touch you?"

 "He said something really disgusting. 'Ey, pretty girl! Come and sit on daddy's lap!' He probably smells of pork blood. Doesn't he work as a butcher?"

 "Last I remember, he does. Sensed some sadness from his wife whenever she's around him. I'm guessing the marriage isn't turning out too well."

 "Really? Awww, man. I feel sorry for her. All he does is come to the Golden Goose after work and oggle at all the dancers. Its creeping all of us out and we can't really do much about it. Probably pays the owner a pretty penny."

 "Unfortunately."

 Kristel sighed before giving Jasper some scratches behind the ear. "And what about you, Juan? Found some recruits for our cause? Probably someone who knows how to deal with a shapeshifter?"

 She could hear a groan escape his lips. "I wish," he grumbled as he shut his book tight and slumped in his chair. "All of them were good canidates, up until they took the trials and failed to deal with a magical rabbit."

 "They underestimated it?"

 "Judging by the fact that someone got their arm charred black after taunting it too much... Yes."

 "I wouldn't want to be that guy," Kristel said with a shiver. "And none of them have dealt with a shapeshifter before?"

 "I doubt it. After your little fiasco, most people are afraid of shapeshifters." The tall man sighed and slumped even further into his chair. "I really wished I wasn't the only one capable of handling them aside from you. It gets kind of hard to deal with if they're a powerful monster and rapidly losing their minds to instinct."

 Kristel froze. For a moment, her mind was clouded. Her body shuddered as she recalled her masacre. The screams, the cries... the blood. She looked into his eyes, lip trembling. Her voice suddenly increased in volume when she asked, "D-did you have to... did you have to deal with another case like that? I- I thought.. I thought I was.... I thought I was the last one...!"

 A cold nose pressed against her leg, snapping her out of her state. Juan straightened up in his chair  and reached out to her, taking her hand in his. "I'd die before I let another case like that arise on my watch," he said, conviction in his voice. "I'm not letting you get back to that state... nor will I let anyone else get there, if I ever find out about it."

 The performer took a deep breath, clearing away all her thoughts before she spoke again. "S-sorry... I just... when I hear that you're still the only one who knows how to put shapeshifters to sleep for a little while... I get...scared."

 "Its fine, Kris." His grip tightened around her hand before letting it go and standing up. "Should I make you some tea? You could probably do with some."

 Kris smiled, putting her hands together. "Please." Pause. She put a finger to her chin and asked,  "Also, why hasn't Edward learned about that technique? He's probably strong enough to wrestle with a shapeshifter."

 "He'd probably wrestle them until they got too tired to fight back and keep up their form. That's the way he is. Didn't you forget?" the empath replied as he head toward the kitchen close by, opening the cabinets and rifling through his tea selection.

 "Oh, right! He says he wants to suplex a dragon one day, didn't he? I want to see that. Gods know I can't suplex a dragon, but I can probably take those selfies with one! And make friends with one. Ah, bonding over dance and song... Sounds like a pipe dream, doesn't it?"

 "Not much of a dream if you can make it happen," Juan replied happily, pulling out a tea pot and summoning Undine.

 And as he prepared to make tea, Kristel relaxed at last, finally feeling right at home.