Chapter 2

Liz’s Bathroom, Immediately Following

Jeff and Nancy stood before Liz in their bathrobes, with tails waving behind them. Fur coated their bodies but all Liz could do was stand there. Then Nancy took a step forward and Liz backed away quickly. Initially she thought Max healing her had resulted in her current appearance but that was obviously not the case.

Nancy looked back at Jeff who also stepped further into the bathroom, “Honey, I know this is strange,” he said.

“Yeah. Strange is the word I’d use,” Liz said, on the verge of freaking out.

Nancy smiled and stretched out her hand. The closer it moved to Liz, Nancy’s fur retracted back into her skin as well as her claws. In seconds she was back to her usual self. “It’s okay Honey,” Nancy said softly.

Liz reached out and took her mother’s hand in her own and Nancy pulled Liz into a hug. Both wrapped their arms around each other as mother held daughter reassuringly, Nancy couldn’t help but remember when she had gone through this. Jeff moved closer and held his daughter as well. Liz felt his fur against her own.

“I guess we need to talk,” Jeff said. “Come on.”

Jeff took Liz’s clawed hand and walked her out of the bathroom.

Living Room, Parker Residence

As they reached the living room, Liz sat down on the armchair while her parents took the sofa across from her. As Nancy moved to sit down, Liz watched as her body changed once again so that she looked like her husband and daughter.

“Okay, I am so in the Twilight Zone,” Liz said.

“Hardly Liz. First off ... I’m sorry. If our family was with our people you would have been raised to expect this,” Jeff said.

“Dad ... how about just explaining ... this,” Liz said as she extended her arms and looking at them.

“Well, I guess we should say that you’re not human, well not completely human not that that make a difference right now. You’re a Lycanthrope,” Jeff said.

“Lycanthrope? As in werewolf?” Liz asked, her eyes going wide.

“Werewolves, well they prefer Wolfen, are one of the tribes. Our tribe is Rakas,” Nancy said.

“Rakas?” Liz asked, shaking her head. She had no idea what it meant.

“Yeah, it’s a combination of two words in our language. Human, feline - Huline but we prefer Rakas. Effectively we are cat-people, literally. This form is the general form that we have, gold fur, tail, eyes, the works. We all look like this when we’re in this form,” Jeff said.

Liz jumped up and walked around, “This is nuts. You are telling me that I’m some kind of cat ... This is Roswell not Sunnydale, I’m supposed to be dealing with aliens and government conspiracies not Werewolves, vampires and demons,” she ranted.

“We’re not demons,” Nancy said quickly. [and speaking of aliens] she thought.

“And don’t you ever mention that other word in this house again young lady,” Jeff said, holding back a lot of his anger.

“What word?” Liz asked.

“Vam ... you know,” Jeff said.

“Vampire?” Liz asked.

“Liz!” Nancy warned.

“Are you telling me va ... that they’re real?” Liz asked.

“Yes. They are ... or were one of the tribes, specifically bats. For the most part they were pretty decent people and lived in peace with the rest of us. Then one day they contracted a sickness. A plague affected them nine centuries ago, doctors from most of the tribes tried to help them but one vampire found a cure, a temporary one at that,” Jeff said more calmly.

“Oh let me guess, they started drinking blood,” Liz said.

“Pretty much. They started feeding on any living thing they could find so the Rakas, Wolfen and a few other tribes went to war. It was bloody, brutal and something we don’t talk about anymore. It ended with the death of the last vampire at the end of the 19th century,” Nancy said.

“Okay, so vamps not around anymore. Okay, so what about the other tribes? You said there were more right?” Liz asked.

“A long time ago there were a lot more but today there are only six of us left. The Rakas and wolfen of course, there is a reservation about 100 miles northeast. The Native Americans there are kind of unique. Their tribe is composed of birds and bears, they can only become one or the other but both animal forms are present in their tribe. There is the tribe in the Chinese region, reptilians. You’ll find that they’re quite ... relaxing,” Nancy said.

“Relaxing?” Liz asked.

“They come from deep in china, near Tibet. It’s not like they’re Zen or anything but pretty close. Let’s see, who else. The Centaurs and Satyrs are extinct as well. There is also the Oceanics, they can become ... well ... sea life. They primarily live on coastal regions, they need water to live,” Jeff said.

“Is that it?” Liz asked, not believing her ears.

“Just one more. While they are technically reptilian ... in South America, well the name they call themselves is unpronounceable to just about everyone, but they are snakes. We have absolutely no contact with them and with good reason,” Nancy said. “We’re all Lycanthropes, a hidden species of humanity that the apes will hopefully never know about outside of myth and superstition.”

“I take it they found out about us before?” Liz asked.

“There are werewolf legends, remember? The Wolfen were nearly hunted to extinction. Eventually they met up with the Rakas and we migrated to the Americas a full century before Columbus found it,” Jeff said. “Our ancestors hoped it would be a long time before the humans arrived here but ... well.”

“God this is intense. Maria and Alex are going to freak if they find out about this,” Liz said.

“Well ... actually...” Nancy said.

Living Room, Deluca Residence, Same Time

Maria was pacing back and forth with a vial of cedar oil near her nose.

“Honey, you need to relax,” Amy said. “Sit down.”

“Yeah, sitting down is good,” Maria said as she slumped down onto the chair. “OWWWWW!” Maria jumped up and held her tail.

Unfortunately, when she sat down, her tail was under her.

“Sorry, I should have warned you. Getting used to the tail can be a little ... painful,” Amy said.

“Ya think?” Maria asked with a little too much agitation before she sat down again, just a little more carefully this time.

Living Room, Whitman Residence, Same Time

Alex’s parents were both sitting on the sofa as Alex stood and looked at his face in the mirror.

“I thought I saw a pussy cat,” he said as he looked away from the mirror and imitated the cartoon canary bird’s voice. Then he looked back at the reflection, “I did, I did ... oh hell forget it. I’m a cat?”

“Pretty much,” Charles told his son.

Living Room, Parker Residence, Following

“Both?” Liz asked.

“Yes,” Nancy said. “And they are part our extended family, our Pride.”

“Like the big cats in Africa?” Liz asked.

“Yes,” Jeff said.

“You know it’s pretty bright in here, could we dim the lights a little?” Liz asked, as she rubbed her eyes.

“Honey, the lights aren’t on,” Nancy said.

“What?” Liz asked as she looked up.

“One of the advantages of being Rakas. All your senses are heightened, you can see at night as well as in the day and with practice you will be able to see heat and cold like someone looking through a thermal camera. Your hearing, sense of touch, taste and smell ... all much greater than an ordinary human. Then there’s your strength and agility, stamina ... right now you’re comparable to a world class gymnast with the ability to run a marathon without the feeling like you’re about to bring up a lung,” Jeff said.

Through it all, Liz had slowly adjusted to the fact that she wasn’t exactly who she always thought she was. She could only imagine how her friends were handling it. She always knew that the world was more complicated than she thought but for a hidden species of humanity to exist, it blew her mind. However, there was still something she wanted to know, something her scientist mind wouldn’t forgive her if she didn’t ask.

“So ... where do we come from? I mean ... how?” Liz asked.

“Well, there are two stories that cover this. There is the science and the myth,” Nancy said.

“Well, you know me,” Liz said.

Both parents smiled, “Okay, well the theory is that we evolved like every other species on the planet. We all came from the same place, the ocean. We all have the same genetics, it’s just all put together differently. We’ve certainly come across a small number of fossils that indicate that some species other than primates evolved similar to Neanderthals and the other higher primate species. We think that some of those races mated with the pre-human species,” Nancy said.

“But they didn’t die off like the others and they evolved into us,” Liz said.

“Exactly,” Nancy said.

“But it’s only a theory,” Jeff said. “Some of us tend to believe in the myth but that’s more along the lines of faith.”

“I don’t understand. What is the myth?” Liz asked.

“Well, the short version is that as the gods looked out over humanity, they felt great pity. While there was a great goodness in them, there was also a great evil. Through that evil, the balance between life and the world would be ended and with it everything would die. It was in that moment they pulled a great blue star from the heavens and sent it to Earth. The light of the star chose the best of humanity and carried them to the Sanctuary where they were merged with animals to become Lycanthropes,” Jeff said.

“So there are people out there that think a light from the sky made us?” Liz asked sceptically.

“Pretty much,” Jeff said.

Deluca Residence...

“Okay, well, speaking as someone who’s out there ... that’s just nuts,” Maria said. [but given what I found out recently... ] she thought to herself.

“Well, it is a myth but then up until an hour ago, you thought werewolves were a myth,” Amy said.

“Yeah. I guess so. Okay, so I take it the full moon affects us like it does with the movies?” Maria asked.

Whitman Residence...

“Well ... yes. You see the ability to change comes from a gene cluster in our genome. That cluster releases an enzyme that can change us. The light from a full moon stimulates the genes and it affects our bodies,” Charles said.

“In time you’ll learn enough control to stop your change during a full moon but until then you’ll change whenever it’s up,” Alex’s mother said. “You’ll spend your first night as you are now and by the morning you’ll look human again.”

“And that brings us to the next thing. Alex, we have three forms. The first is human,” Charles said.

“Okay,” Alex replied.

Deluca Residence...

“And the second is what you’re in now. Animan,” Amy said.

“Animan? Is that even a word?” Maria asked.

Parker Residence...

“Yes, its one of ours. Animal/Human – animan,” Jeff said.

“Okay. So what’s number three?” Liz asked.

“That would be full beast form. In our case, we become cats,” Jeff said.

“And for that change you’ll need this,” Nancy said as she stood up and pulled out a cardboard box. She gave it to Liz who looked curiously at it.

Liz opened the box, pulled back the crisp paper covering it and pulled out a silk robe. It was white in colour; the sleeves stopped just above the elbow and only went down to her ankles. However, both sleeves were cut from the end right up to the underarm. There was also a single sash that tied it but by the look of it, it wouldn’t take much for it to become undone. On the back there was a hood that would cover her head.

“We’ll be back in a second.” Nancy said as she and her husband stood up. They left and entered their bedroom only to emerge a few minutes later wearing robes similar to the one they just gave Liz.

“The one thing about the change is that that clothes don’t change with us. That can be very painful. These robes are tradition for our people. Now, we’re going to help you change into your animal form so it would be best if you go put that on,” Jeff said.

Liz just looked at it and then back up at her parents before she picked up the silk. Liz went into her bedroom and stripped naked. Liz put on the robe and tied the sash before heading back out.

“Okay, are you ready?” Nancy asked.

“I guess so,” Liz said. “What do I do?”

“Well first, we’re going to Change so that you can see it for yourself,” Jeff said.

Together, Jeff and Nancy closed their eyes and Liz watched the change happen. At first there was a change in the colour of their fur. It went from the gold colour to white and as their bodies changed further, black strips formed. They knelt closer to the ground as their bodies continued to become more cat-like and as that happened the sash to their robes became undone and the cloth fell off their bodies. Before long, two white tigers stood before Liz.

“Oh ... wow,” It was all Liz could say as she knelt down. She reached out and touched both her parent’s heads.

Both parents bumped their heads against Liz, a sign of affection before they picked up their robes in their mouths. Both then moved behind the sofa and Liz could hear as their bones twisted again. In seconds they both stood back up, each tying the sash of their robes again.

“Well, what do you think?” Jeff asked.

“I honestly don’t have any words. I mean ... I never thought something like that ... it was beautiful,” Liz said.

Nancy smiled, “Well then. Lets find out what kind of cat you are.”

“Uh, will I not be a white tiger like you guys?” Liz asked.

“No. The cat you change into ... it is more spiritual than genetic. Being our daughter means you are Rakas but that doesn’t mean that you’ll even be a tiger let alone a white tiger. As difficult as it might be for that scientist in you to accept but there are matters of faith and the spirit you have to deal with. And one of them is about to become part of you,” Jeff said.

“Okay. What do I do?” Liz asked.

“Imagine you’re in a jungle, the sounds are all around you. Let the sound take you over, let the moonlight flow over you; feel the blood pumping in your veins,” Nancy said.

Liz did as she was told and her bones started to twist, her skull started to reshape itself. Her hands became paws and soon she was on all fours, her robe slipping off her and her arms passing through the cuts on the sleeves. However, her fur colour didn’t change. It remained the soft golden colour and her parents watched in awe as their daughter took her animal form.

“That’s impossible,” Jeff said.

“There hasn’t been one in over seven hundred years,” Nancy said.

Both knelt before their daughter who was now a lion. Liz sat on the floor, looking back and forth between her parents.

“Okay. Liz, changing back is simple. Simply focus on being in your animan state,” Nancy said.

Liz focused and she started to change. Her mother picked up Liz’s robe and put it over Liz’s body as it progressed back. As soon as Liz’s arms were back enough, she closed the robe over the front of her body and by the time she was animan, she was tying the sash.

“How are you feeling?” Jeff asked.

“That was intense,” Liz said, her breathing hard.

“We need to tell her the rest,” Nancy said to her husband.

After seeing his daughter as a lion, he knew he couldn’t hold off, “Yeah,” he said.

“So I became a lion. What’s the big deal?” Liz asked, “There must be hundreds like me.”

“No. Liz, you’re the first in centuries. You have no idea how important this is now,” Jeff said.

“So what is it you need to tell me?” Liz asked.

“Go get dressed, Honey.” Nancy said.

Liz just nodded and returned to her bedroom, her parents also returned to their bedroom to change their clothes. A few minutes later all three came out and her parents led Liz downstairs.

Living Room, Deluca Residence, Same Time

Maria was in the process of her own Change. Her robe lay next to her as her body and fur changed. Soon she had become a cheetah and her mother was a leopard. The process of helping each generation into their other forms was a parents most treasured duty among the Lycanthropes and Amy had been looking forward to this since Maria’s birth, just like her own mother.

After a while, Amy helped Maria come back, “Wow,” Maria said. It was like pieces of a jigsaw had just all fit into place and she wasn’t as scared of it as she was when she first saw how she looked. “Mom, that was totally wild.”

Amy smiled, “That’s what I said when I changed. Given what we are, it caused my parents to laugh.”

“I’ll bet,” Maria said. Her breathing was still heavier than normal. Then she surprised her mother by hugging her. “Okay, so what else do I need to know?”

“Well, there is this one, teeny tiny little thing,” Amy said.

“Okay, hit me,” Maria said excitedly.

“Well let’s just say your sex life is about to get interesting,” Amy said.

Maria lost her smile. She thought she already had that talk with her mother long ago.

Whitman Residence...

“Was I just a... ?” Alex asked as he fixed his robe.

“A tiger, yes,” Charles said, he was a puma and his wife was a cheetah like Maria.

“It was like I could feel ... I don’t know ... everything,” Alex said.

“Actually you could. Unlike humans we are far more connected to the natural world. We try very hard not to damage our world and you’re beginning to understand that now,” His mother said.

“So that’s why you don’t drive much?” Alex asked.

“Pretty much,” Charles said. “Now, there is something else ... I know I’ve had this talk with you before but...”

“Dad, after tonight, nothing could surprise me so spit it out,” Alex said.

“Sex,” his mother answered.

“And I was wrong,” Alex said, his face beneath the fur already turned a bright red.

“What I’ve spoken to you about is human sex but what we do ... that’s a different story all together,” Charles said.

“I ... uh ... do we really have to talk about this?” Alex asked. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about this with his mother present.

“Believe me son, yes we do,” Charles said.

Dinning Room, Crashdown...

Jeff, Nancy and Liz walked down into the restaurant. The lights remained off, not that they were needed while their eyes were in cat mode. Liz watched as her father went over to the drink dispenser and then as he pressed for coke three times. Then her mother went over to one of the booths and pressed her hand firmly into the cushioned red-leather back.

Liz then heard a click from both the machine next to her father and the booth by her mother. Five seconds later there was a third click from the floor and Liz watched as a trapdoor sprung open.

“I didn’t know that was there,” Liz said.

“Of course you didn’t. Nobody but our Pride knows where that door is let alone how to open it,” Jeff said.

Nancy moved from the booth and took her daughter’s hand. Jeff led the way into the trapdoor and down a carved stone staircase.

“For protection, what you’re about to see was moved away from the rest of the tribe,” Jeff said as they reached the bottom. They had gone at least forty feet down underground and now stood before two large stone doors carved with the images of cats.

Jeff opened the doors easily and all three stepped into a large chamber. It was octagonal in shape and half of the walls were filled with shelves, on each one were layers of scrolls and books, most of them looked ancient. On the other half were stone tablets, stacked in piles of twenty, and each one had strange letters carved into them.

“What is all this?” Liz asked.

“These are the Chronicles,” Jeff said.

“You see Liz, once a generation, our people gather together in the same place. When they do, they write down everything that’s happened since the last gathering. When it was decided to hide the Chronicles, our whole pride moved out to New Mexico. Our closest pride members moved with us to Roswell before there was a Roswell and dig out this chamber. After that we just built on top of it then humans started to move out here...” Jeff said.

“Okay, but everything?” Liz asked.

“Our history Liz, this is our history, every event that takes place in our world. We’ve done it for thousands of years. At first they were carved into stone like these over here ... and then we moved to paper scrolls and then books. These are the most precious things to our people and we’re its keepers,” Nancy said.

Liz just looked at them.

“What?” Jeff asked.

“Well ... it’s just that something like this, it sounds like it it would be kept by some kind of priest or something.” Liz said.

Her father just crossed his arms and looked at his daughter with a smile.

“You’re kidding right?” Liz asked.

“Well, not a priest. I think the term you’d understand is Shaman? Or rather, I’m the descendant of the Shamans. These days the old practices aren’t needed but we still take our duties with the Chronicles very seriously. Now...” Jeff said as he moved to a pedestal in the centre of the room and pulled off the cloth covering it. He revealed a stone tablet, similar to the ones that lined the walls. “ ... this is what we wanted to show you.”

“What is this?” Liz asked as she loved over the pictures and writing on the tablet.

“This is the first tablet created by our people ... and well, it’s a prophecy. About you,” Nancy said.

“Say what now?” Liz asked.

“The tablet tells of a time when darkness would come to the world. When all that lives stand on the edge between life and death but one shall stand against the dark. The First Born Daughter, she who will die and be healed by touch of the king resurrected. She will be born and come to be sovereign to all those born of the animal...” Jeff said.

“Sovereign? Oh like...” Liz said.

“As the lion is king of the beasts, she will rise to rule over all Lycanthropes, and you are a lion,” Nancy said.

Jeff then continued, “Anyway, where was I ... oh yes - to this girl will come a great Pride, A Pride born of Earth and starlight, formed by the blood of the First Born Daughter. Shaped by her own hand. In the time of need, the Pride will unite the gift and the daughter shall decide upon a path of three. The first, the dark shall be stopped and light will prevail. All that live shall live. The second, light shall come but only for Lycanthropes. As darkness consumes the human life, those born of the animal shall find safety in the Sanctuary. And the final, the third...”

Liz looked at the last depiction, a picture of Earth with a crack right the way through it. “Ah. Okay so I have the fate of the world on my shoulders. No ... no way. I mean, okay I’m a lion but that might not mean what you think it means. What about that First Born Daughter stuff? Yes I’m your first born daughter but there must be hundred ... thousands...”

“Liz you are our daughter, and yes there are many daughters born first before male siblings but to our family ... you are the first girl to be born to my family-line since the Chronicles first were written. Each of these tables and scrolls contains a census of our people. Every child born to my family, until you, have been male,” Jeff said.

“I ... I’m sorry, Honey. We weren’t sure if we should tell you but we did decide to do it, especially since you are a lion,” Nancy said.

Liz slumped down into a nearby chair. “I think I have a headache.”

“Believe us, we understand. We’ve tried to protect you from this as much as possible since you were born. You were the biggest surprise to our people in a long time. After a few millennia of male children, everyone knew it would be my family line that would eventually have the child but nobody ever expected it to actually happen in their own lifetimes,” Jeff said.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Liz asked.

“It may be a long, long time before the darkness of the prophecy comes, maybe even decades. All you can do is live your life and wait for the signs. There are more details on the tablet but you have a lot of time to study it,” Nancy said.

“Besides, there is a lot for you to learn about yourself,” Jeff said.

“Yeah. I guess so,” Liz said.

Jeff reached out his hand and Liz took it. He helped his daughter stand up on her feet and wrapped an arm around her to comfort and reassure her. “Come on, let’s head back upstairs. It is getting late.”

“Yes, I could some sleep after all this,” Liz said.

“Actually, there is just one more thing we need to talk about,” Nancy said.

“Oh, what?” Liz asked.

“Sex,” Nancy said.

“Huh?” Liz asked.

Living Room, Parker Residence, A Few Minutes Later

The three were sitting back down in their sofa and all three were still in their human/animal forms. Every so often Liz caught her reflection in a mirror and her image still caught her by surprise. She knew it would be a little while before she was used to it, after all her smooth dark hair now was lighter and had golden streaks through it that blended with the colour of her fur.

“Okay, Liz. This is going to be fairly awkward for you ... and me, so...” Jeff said.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Nancy asked her husband.

“No. My parents could do this so I can do it ... I just hate this part,” Jeff said.

“So ... uh ... why are we discussing this when I’ve never ... I certainly don’t plan on it anytime soon and we’ve already had that talk when I turned fourteen?” Liz asked.

“Okay. Well being Rakas ... or well, any Lycanthrope tribe brings with it certain primal urges, ones you will not be able to control at all. Every so often you will Spike, as we call it, and you will be having sex,” Jeff said.

“But, I’m dating Kyle,” Liz said.

“Yes, you should break up with him as soon as possible. Like, tomorrow,” Nancy said.

“Why?” Liz asked.

“Well, speaking as a Rakas female, there is no way Kyle would be able to ... uh ... meet your needs. Humans just don’t have the stamina to match you Lizzie. Besides, you should really keep to other Rakas. It’s safer to prevent us from being discovered by the wrong people,” Nancy said.

“That and there is a reason why we always buy steel-reinforced beds, and why we bought you a similar one when you hit puberty,” Jeff said.

“I ... oh god, I can’t believe I’m having this conversation. I ... uh ... wait a minute, the only other Rakas in town is Maria and Al ... ex ... oh you can’t be serious. Alex is my best friend,” Liz said.

“Actually, when a Spike hits, either Alex or Maria are viable partners and neither would turn you away. You also won’t turn them away, you won’t want to - believe me,” Nancy said.

Deluca Residence...

“WHAT?” Maria yelled.

Whitman Residence...

“You HAVE got to be kidding,” Alex said.

Parker Residence...

“Oh wait, I get it, this is a joke. A sort ‘of happy being a cat day’ sort of thing,” Liz said.

“Nope,” Jeff said.

“Usually, when you have sex it will be with other pride members. Honey, you will need them just as much as they will need you. Male or female, it doesn’t matter. Besides if they’re anything like their parents...” Nancy said, her thoughts drifting.

Liz looked back and forth between her parents and spotted the same distance in her father’s eyes. “Oh my god. You ... you ... you...”

“We’ve both slept with Amy and Alex’s parents,” Jeff admitted.

“Oh my god,” Liz said again.

“Honey, this is as natural for us as you can get and when your first spike hits you won’t be able to help yourself,” Nancy said.

Liz jumped up and started to walk around. “This is nuts and then some. How can I?” she asked.

“Liz, when the urge hits it will happen. It doesn’t matter if you think you can or can’t ... because ... you simply will. There will be very little conscious thought to it,” Jeff said.

Whitman Residence...

“Dad, are you telling me that you and Mr Parker have...” Alex asked.

“Yes,” Charles said.

“And mom?” Alex asked.

“Many, many times, for both of us,” she replied.

“And you’ve both been with Maria and Liz’s moms?” Alex asked.

“Pretty much,” both replied.

Alex just collapsed onto the chair again and winced as he caught his tail, yet again. He pulled his newest appendage out from under his butt and just sat there with a blank expression on his face.

Deluca Residence...

“This is ... aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Maria said blowing out her frustration, then something struck her, more precisely it was something she’d never considered, “Mom, tell me neither Mr Whitman or Mr Parker is my dad?”

“Oh god, no, Sweetie,” Amy said. “Maria ... your father ... he is Rakas but he joined up with what we call a Wild Pack. They’re groups of travellers who are made up of different Lycanthropes, all of which let loose their primal side and cause problems for just about everyone they meet. He left us both so he could, I don’t know, enjoy himself. Abandoning a family; let alone a pride is considered to be a disgrace and completely unforgivable.”