When Dreams meet Reality

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BookDragon

Moon-Drunk-Pupper
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  1. Look for groups
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Posting Speed
  1. Speed of Light
  2. Multiple posts per day
  3. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Fantasy, magical, furry, romantic
Grace Hennessy, 18 year old shape shifter is trying to move on with her life after a destructive relationship with a demon master mind leaves her broken and empty. Praying daily she won't see him again she lives her life in the shadows and dreams of the life she should have had with the one she truly loved, but reality is a jerk, and so is Henry Danes.... meeting him again throws her for a spin she wasn't ready for, and neither is the world. (Just having fun here, help me develop the story and we can have a wonderful time!)




It had been so long since I had seen him, the taste of his tongue was still fresh on my lips as if it had been yesterday, and not 3 years passed. Trying to hide from his gaze I slip into the bookstore only to find it crowded and hard to breathe. Shoving myself behind a bookcase I hear the bell ring and in he comes, searching for something among the many people in the room, searching for me. My breath catching in my throat I hear my heart in my ears as I watch him shove through the crowd and make his way towards the back of the store, brushing beside me unknowingly. Just as I stood to rush out onto the street and make my escape, he grabs my wrist and I freeze.

"Hello Grace."

His cold breath flowing down my neck I turn and meet his gaze.

"H-Hello Henry..." the words sound fake and strangled as they fall from my lips and the room goes silent as if the world is waiting on the tension to break, only it doesn't. If only I could get away from him, "someone save me", I screamed inside my head as I felt the sweat gathering along my brow.
 
(Hi there! I'd love to join in here... hope that's cool with ya. :) )

"Hey! Watch it, will you?"


Cameron Tyler looked up at the middle-aged man he had just collided with, an embarassed flusb coloring his cheeks crimson as he moved a step away from the stranger. "Sorry, sorry," he quickly apologized, hurrying towards a nearby bookshelf. He scrutinized the plethora of volumes in front of him, finally picking out a slightly worn book and pulling it from its place. He turned to search for the patron who had requested the book, and soon caught sight of the woman, who seemed in quite a hurry to be on her way.

"Here you go." He handed her the biok, for which he revieved a small nod of thanks, then turned away to aid the nect customer. On days lime these, Cameron mused, it was a wonder he and the rest of the bookstore's small staff managed to keep some sense of order among the bustling crowds. But he found the constant work a good way to keep busy, and the job as a clerk in the store nice enough, so it was not too much a bother.

A sudden commotion tore him from his thoughts, and he glanced over his shoulder to see a girl who appeared about his age, perhaps a year or two younger, rush past. A moment later, a second stranger followed the first, and quickly latched a hand onto her wrist. Cameron took a wary step back, not wanting to get involved in the controntation, but chanced a look over at the two, both curious and worried.

There was definitely something off, he quickly realized, and turned to searched the store for another, possibly braver, member of staff. But the only other two in sight were accross the store and each trying to handle several customers at once, which, he found to his dismay, left him alone to keep the peace.

Cameron nodded slighty to himself in resolution, then snatched the nearest few books from the shelf and, cradling them in his arms, hastily made his way over to the two strangers.

"Can I help either of you?" he queried, playing up the part of an eager-to-please clerk. "Here, maybe you'd like to consider one of these?" He moved so he was nearly bwtween the two of them, and attemped to hand the girl his stack of books. With any luck, he thought, the second stranger would release his hold on her so that she could take the books.
 
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Henry's hand loosend only slightly on my wrist as the clerk came over.

"No were perfectly fine thanks.." His voice like ice his eyes never left mine, those dark portals of misery drilling into me. Tearing my eyes from Henry I met Cameron's and pleaded internally when I whispered, "yes actually I would love one of these. Is this written by Stephen king?" I kept begging inside while trying to look calm. Cameron placed the books in my free hand and Henry had no choice but to release my wrist so I could handle the books.

"Well looks like we found what we came for thank you." Henry placed his hand on my shoulder and gripped hard, steering me towards the door s he threw a pile of money at Cameron to pay for the books. "Keep the change, this dump could use some upgrades" he hissed and bumped into a shelf of books purposely spewing literature everywhere.

As I was shoved out of the door and it closed I stole a look back at Cameron, "please save me" I mouthed and silent tears fell down my cheeks. Henry pushed me around a corner and tossed Lloyd the books into the dumpster despite my resisiting.

((BTW hi :) I can change my character into third person if you'd like to match better with Cameron, I don't mind at all))
 
Cameron's brow furrowed in worry at the woman's nervous, and then outright panicked, reaction. Her soundless words affirmed his realization that she was in danger, but he found himself unsure how he coudl help. Reaching a decision, he hurried to the one of his coworkers with the least customers to tend to, and, with an apologetic shrug, stepped in front of the patron she was speaking with.

"Cora, there's a - "

"Not now," she snapped, a slight scowl forming on her lips at the interruption.

"But you've got to - "

"I said not now!"

Cameron raised his hands in defeat and backed away reluctantly. He looked around for his other coworker, whom he spotted atop a ladder collecting a few books, but the throng of people made it clear it would take a fair lot of time to reach him. He sighed in frustration, realizing there was no longer any time to look for aid, and, with no other choice, rushed out the door and into the frigid autumn night.

The sight of two now-familliar figures rounding a corner sent Cameron hurrying after them, and he stopped just out of sight, cringing as he watched the man carelessly threw perfectly new books into a dumpster, but shook his head slightly as if pushing away the trivial concern. With an instat to catch his breath and collect his wits, he waited just around the corner, not wanting to rush into anything until absolutely necesary, or until he had some sort of a plan. After all, he told himself, he wouldn't be doing anyone any good if he had no reasonably sound strategy in mind.

(Either way is fine. I can change to first person if you want as well, though I'm not sure how good I am with that.)
 
Grace felt Henry's eagerness as he pushed her against the alley wall.

"You've been so good at running from me for so long baby, I need you in my life and have not stopped looking for you ever since you left me..." he stroked a clawed hand down her cheek and she tried to pull away.

"You need me in you life? Demons don't live, they sucks the life from others. And I didn't leave you Henry, I escaped...you fucking bastard you stole my innocence from me and left me to die that night!" Spitting in his face she stared deep into his eyes, fear threatening to drown her as it rose from her stomach to her throat as Henry's arm pushed against her windpipe to the brick behind her.

"What'd you say bitch?" He dug his arm into her windpipe hard and she started to stutter for breath, coughing and clawing with her hands at his wrist, she was now inches from the ground. She managed to whimper out, "what do you want from me henry, I have nothing left to give..."

He smiled viciously and whispered almost sexually in her ear, "oh baby, you still have so much more to give me..." he slipped his hand up her shirt against her struggling and dug his sharp claws into her skin making her scream although it was muffled by him strangling her. Laying his lips on her neck he breathed deep...
 
At the sound of a muffled scream, Cameron abandoned all fear and hopes of planning in favor of dashing around rhe corner. "Leave her alone!" he shouted, more for the purpose of attracting the attetion of any passerby than to the demon. In a desperate attempt to get the stranger out of the demon's hold, he barreled forward, crashing into him with all his might, which, to his sudden dislike, wasn not very much.

Cameron was well aware that demons were a dangerous sort, and this one seemed no exception. But they were not the sort that the average person usually ran into, either, and were common only to those whobhad dealings with the upernatural. Most humans were well aware thar they existed, but when it came to the idea of actually meeting them, the mjhority of humans dismissed such a thing as very improbable. Nonetheless, Cameron ran through a mental list of every book he had ever read on the topic, or any tales he had heard, coming up with a sparse few facts. They would just have to do, he decided. And at the very least, it was two against one, which gave them somewhat of an advantage.
 
Grace fell to the ground and sputtered, suckling in the precious air for a moment and not realizing what happened. For a minute she looked up and saw a glimmering fihure, her saviour standing between her and Henry, Cameron for the bookstore. Standing and shaking the fuzz from her mind from the lack of oxygen Grace focused on Henry, his rage flowing through his body in the form of venom.

"Who the fuck are you?that damn store clerk!" Henry's voice deepened and he began to grow in height, his skin peeling and turning a sickly red, scales and horns and teeth erupting from him everywhere as his words became growls and roars, almost deafening. "You came to the wrong fight fleshling.." he spat in fiery hatred. His transformation wad slightly traumatic to Cameron but his courage didn't waiver with Grace behind him still gathering herself.

"Henry give it up! You'll never have what you want, I don't belong to you anymore!!" Grace spat and hissed, her hands enlongating to form paws, huge striped paws with claws and pads. Following the paws was the torso and head, rapidly growing in size, shape, and hair. In seconds a large tiger stood in the place of Grace. Looking at Cameron her eyes remained the same, still "human" and gentle although her current state said other wise, growling and hissing deep in her throat.
 
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Cameron drew in a sharp breath in surprise at the demon's transformation, and took a nervous step backwards. "Look, if you kill us here, don't you think it'll, y'know, turn a few heads?" he pointed out in an attempt to bide them some time. But the demon's reply was lost to him as he turned around to find himself face-to-face with a tiger. So she's a shapeshifter. He quickly moved away from between the two, deciding that he would not be of
much help in what was sure to be an oncoming fight, nor did he particularly want to gamble with his life.

He cast a hopeful glance in the direction of the street, looning for passerby, but it seemed most of the customers had left the bookshop, and the street was fairly quiet save for the occasional passing car. With a growing knot of dread settling in his stomach, Cameron found he could only wait.
 
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Launching herself at Henry she felt her claws slice through his leathery skin and him howl in anger. Not knowing or caring where Cameron was at the moment she put all her might into biting and clawing the demon. Suddenly Henry threw her off and decided to target to human, since he seemed to care so much about Grace. He leaned down and his outstretched claws sliced at Cameron's torso leaving three long gouges on his skin.

Rising shakily from where she had been thrown Grace sprang into action and leapt almost on top of Cameron, trying to keep Henry at bay.

"Leave him out of this, he has no place here..." she hissed and spat as her claws clicked the concrete dangerously. Henry's malicious laugh sent shivers down her spine.

"Stupid bitch, he has some power if he got you to do that!" He swiped his claws again and lunged downward only to meet with her teeth in his forearm. Grace knew there was only one way she could get out of this, grab the human and run. She turned and carefully took a mouthful of Cameron's shirt, gentle but firm, and lifted him from the ground.

Well if I was ever going to be seen like this in the public eye I guess today's the day... she thought to herself. Like a machine her leg muscles contacted and shot her forward in a sprint. Out of the alley and down the street dodging oncoming cars and terrified people screaming, "holy shit there's a tiger eating a man!"
 
The first thing to fly out of Courtney's mouth at that exact moment was holy shit there's a tiger eating a man. She was frozen on the spot, not quite yet recognizing what was happening before her eyes. What in hecks name had she just seen? Her eyes followed the... Humongous tiger? As it ran down the street getting further and further away and out of sight.

The next thought she had was" that guy needs help." Of course she wouldn't be able to do much herself but while people were standing around screaming someone could be calling for help. She didn't actually have animal control on speed dial so she figured 911 was her best option. She d mmaged in her pocket for her phone speeding up her pace so that she could at least tell the police what direction it had run from and where to find the guys bod- no he was still alive there was still time.

Her phone to her ear Courtney waited for someone to answer with baited breath, the seconds feeling like hours. Finally there was an answer. "911 what's your emergency." In the chaos she forced her self to stay calm stepping out of the way of the large crowd panicking. "Yes hello, there's a loose tiger downtown, and it has a guy. Its carrying him in its mouth, and and you need to get down here right now , get animal control or something... It was running really fast I don't know where it's going but-" before she could finish her sentence there was a sharp knock against Her shoulder and her phone flew from her hand and onto the ground. it hit the ground and pieces scattered all over the sidewalk. Eyes wide in disbelief she spun around to confront the perpetrator. "What the hell?"
 
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Cameron threw his hands up to protect himself from the demon's wrath, though not quickly enough, for an instant later, a jarring pain shot through his side. He stumbled backwards, narrowly missing tripping over his own feet. But his efforts to keep standing were in vain; he was kocked to the ground as the tiger slammed into his side. Curling a hand protectively around the gashes the demon's claws had left, Cameron pushed himself to his feet and moved to flee the alleyway, only to be lifted up by the back of his shirt.

"Hey! Stop - no, wait!" he cried out in alarm as he was dragged along and out into the street, the toes of his shoes scraping over cracked asphalt, but not enough to plant his feet firmly against the tiger's pull. Of all the scenarios he had imagined of what could possibly go wrong by recklessly going after two strangers in the dark of nght, being dragged off by a tiger was certainly not one of them. And, he thought with more irritation than panic, it was far from pleasant, either. If he could just get free of the tiger's grasp, he could lose himself in the maze of streets, and the demon most likely wouldn't chase after him. In fact, Cameron realized, the demon would surely keep after the tiger, so he would be safer away from her. For while she seemed able to defend herself, he didn't care to take his chances with letting his fate fall in the hands of a stranger.

"You know, you're not actually helping me..."

With a sudden, swift movemet, he twisted free of the tiger's hold, landing squarely on his feet. He wasted no time in turning on his heel and dashings off into the darkness, but a moment later, crashed into someone yelling into a phone and running in the opposite direction. Both relief at seeing someone who seemed minimally dangerous and fear at the delay in fleeing fought for control over his expression as he looked around for any sign of the demon.

"We've got to get out of here! Now!" he tossed over his shoulder in warning as he took off running again.
 
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Not realizing Cameron had loosed her grip until she was three blocks down. Grace roared in anger. Dammit! Doesn't that fool know he has the trace now since the demon venom is in his blood! Fuck! Tearing around a corner she doubled back and ignored the sirens wailing in the street behind her.

Shit shit shit! Grace spun in her mind around a way to escape this whole situation scenting the air she caught Cameron's and bolted down the asphalt, claws leaving gouges in the street and dodging people.
 
At the top of a roof, A young man adjusted his tinted glasses, he was slightly shorter than the average person, and had longish black hair. He was not only listening to the police scanner, hearing about a tiger, but he was watching one sprint down the street. He considered whether or not he should take action. He thought to himself.

"We got a tiger that was dragging a man, and now turning around... Perhaps to pick him back up. It's... leaving claw marks in the bloody street! Definately after the guy again. If there isn't magic of some kind going on here, then I'm a cross eyed chimpanzee."

He considered the situation.

"Perhaps I'll lie in wait, see exactly what's going down before I jump in."

He walked along the perimeter of the roof, looking to see if anything else of note was happening.

He coughed quietly.

He continued to scan the area while keeping track on where the tiger was, luckily a huge orange animal being chased by the police wouldn't be hard to keep track of.
 
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A low growl and sound of claws scraping pavement behind him sent a shiver down Cameron's spine, and he turned to see the tiger closing in. The demon, it seemed, was the least of his worries at the moment, since the tiger seemed set on capturing him once more for reasons unknown to him. And if he didn't do something soon, she most likely would reach him.

"I saved you once - that's no reason to get attatched," he muttered under his beeath, the slightly sarcastic remark

its seriousness. Cameron glanced frantically around, looking for somewhere - anywhere - to go that a tiger couldn't. Reaching a descision, he whirled around and rushed towarrds one of the buildigs lining the street. It was tall - four floors, he counted - and had a flat roof with a fire escape leading up to it. And, he mused, a tiger probably would have a fair bit of trouble climbing a fire escape.

He dashed up the rickety stairs, each step he took making itself known with a loud clang of metal. As he reached the first landing, he doubled over and clutched his side, shocked to see rivers of crimson seeping from between his fingers. But at the moment, the gashes the demon had left were the least of his worries, he decided. With that disconcerting thought echoing through his head, Cameron started off again, but this time caught sight of a figure standing just above Him.

"Damn it..." It was simple: a choice between the unknown and certain death by tiger. He didn't waste a second in deliberation, just kept climbing upwards.


He coughed quietly, then put a hat over his head to keep the sun out of his eyes.

(Hey, mate, so ya know, I think its been said its night at the moment. Just want to make sure we're all on the same page here.)
 
Noelle slammed her hands down on the table in irritation. Third-shift, demon attacks, shapeshifters, and the scent of human blood, all in one day and frankly, Noelle had enough of this. The cafe had been thrumming with the drifters of students trying to sleep off the depression of school, coffee addicts, other workers pulling in extra hours. Noelle was exhausted and frazzled, the electricity humming underneath her skin responded to her emotions. Of course whenever there was excitement out there, her own nature begged to be drawn to it. Sucking a gasp of air, she pulled the receipt from the dispenser, a spark igniting from her finger tips. The paper singed in the corner, but she quickly thrust it away with a smile and pleasant farewell. Scowling darkly when the customer turned their back, she whirled around to call into the back kitchen.

"Moe! I'm going out real quick! Tell the Coven there's trouble brewing in Coppertone Alley!"

Noelle discarded her apron, tossing it over the counter and ignoring the string of curses from Moe. He lumbered out, trying to catch her before she escaped, but Noelle slipped out the back door for trash, looking around for supernatural beings.

Ah, there was one.

An orange Bengal Tiger growled at the sight of her, a mixture of taught fear and apprehension decorating its eyes. Really, today was Noelle's day. She hadn't even gotten a nap for this third-shift. Through her yawn, she questioned the shapeshifter, "Are you seriously trying to eat this guy in the middle of my cafe's alley?"

Disbelief colored Noelle's voice, and a twinge of irritation. She didn't have time to protect mundanes, that was the Coven's job. Flicking her wrist to gather energy into her palm, Noelle waited for the angry backlash from the shifter. A drop of blood landed on her shoulder, momentarily taking her attention upwards. So that's where the human disappeared off to. Gasping and looking worse for wear, the poor guy was climbing up the fire escape, desperately trying to outdo the shifter. You had to give him kudos for putting up a fight. The amount of blood he was losing would make him drop in-

3.....2.....1..
 
Quickly shifting down to human form Grace's face twisted in anger.

"No! I'm trying to save him! I'm the one who got him into this mess and the only one that can conceal him from Henry! The trace is on him now and everything he does will lead Henry straight to him!" Taking a step forward she half shifted before saying, "now move" and then shifted fully back to her tiger forrm, growling deep in her chest as she watched Cameron shimmy up the fire escape.
 
Cameron's eyes widened in surprise at the shapeshifter's explanation. "You could've told me!" he called indignantly, pausing for a brief moment. "But - " A sudden dizziness cut off his query, and he snapped out a hand to clutch the railing of the fire escape. "But why would he come after me? He's chasing you, so dragging me along would only put the both of us in danger." Cameron lurched forward, holding one hand over the gouges in his side in a futile attempt to quell the flow of blood.

He regarded the shapeshifter warily, still not very sure it was wise to put any trust in her. After all, while it appeared she meant well, he didn't much care to let a stranger carry him off to some unknown place. "I can handle myself just fine on my own without your help," he called down to the shapeshifter before mocing another few steps up the fire escape, leaning heavily on the railing.

As he reached the second landing of the stairs, Cameron's hand slipped from the railing and his legs buckled undr him, bringing him to his knees. His gaze turned to the two on the street below him, and he fervently hoped that they would keep up arguing long enough for him to reach the roof, and maybe even get help from the stranger on said roof watching the scene unfold.
 
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Noelle's eyes narrowed, scowling at the desperate shapeshifter. Was she supposed to believe some mussed up excuse like that? Oh please. What was with that "now move" statement anyway? Did she want to get into a fight?

"Listen now kitty, as much as I don't believe you, there's an innocent involved in whatever problems you and Henry have got going on. Considering how well you're handling the situation, I'm stepping in".

With that Noelle went to jump on the railing, hoping she could catch her hand on the third staircase bar. She needed to catch the poor bleeding human before he died. Of course, if she wasted anymore time or was intercepted by the tiger down below, she'd have hell to pay from the Coven when they demanded answers to why a human was dead in her territory. If being Sentinel of this damn area was supposed to be enjoyable, Noelle certainly spent a great deal of time being angry.
 
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