Acting for Shapeshifters [Anne Bishop's The Others]

Chapter Six - Toasting Actors

"I can play in a real theatre?" Samantha's eyes shined in excitement.

"Yes. Ian wants the real shifters to play the roles," Tansy confirmed. She smiled at the girl's pleasure. "It won't give you any money—it's a charity—but it'll give you an experience. Real stage. Real public. Real actors."

"And you will be there too. I'll play alongside Tansy Margolis." Samantha couldn't contain her elation anymore. She jumped up and started pacing across Tansy's living room. She also purred; the deep throaty rumble oddly incongruous with her human face. "I'll tell the others. I don't know about the Wolfgard and the Owlgard, but Eric Panthergard wants to pursue this."

"There is another panther shifter aspiring to an acting career?" Tansy asked in surprise.

"He is a lynx from up north. We liberated him from captivity. He was angry, of course, but he still wants to act."

"Maybe I could offer you guys an acting class?" Tansy mused. "Just for the shifters. I've never taught before, but I bet I could do it. Ian might write a play specifically for our class."

"Yes!" Samantha jumped, pumping her fists above her head.

Tansy chuckled and sipped her wine. It was one of her cache of expensive wines from Cel-Romano, irreplaceable. She only had three bottles left. No more wines like this would ever be coming from there after the Great Predation, and the thought saddened her, but she ruthlessly suppressed her melancholy. She was alive. She had escaped her car's explosion unscathed. It was the cause for celebration worthy of the unique wine.

Samantha had refused the wine but gulped down her beer as she plopped back in her armchair. "Some young vampires might want to attend your class too," she said absently. "I talked with a few people."

Tansy almost choked on her wine and hastily put her cut-crystal goblet down on the coffee table. The ruby liquid in the goblet sloshed and sparkled in the soft multicolored light of the torchiere with its stained-glass ornate lampshade.

"Vampires?" she squeaked. Her heart accelerated. What was she getting herself into?

Samantha, who had been gazing into the distance, probably envisioning her future acting stardom, turned sharply. "You don't have to be afraid, Tansy. None of us would harm you or your friends. Ever. I promise. We'll get those monkeys who had put a bomb in your car too, if the police do not. Our people are hunting them now. Their scent was strong in the parking lot, even if the police people muddied the trail somewhat."

"Thank you," Tansy murmured. What else could she say? Just in case, to make sure Dean was still safe, she asked one more question. "Could you tell how many people were involved in that bomb in my car?"

"Two," Samantha said. "We'll find them."

Tansy nodded and picked up her wine again. Dean was still hiding. Good for him. She would suggest he relocated to another town, even help him with the money. The boy had made a mistake. He should be given another chance, not hunted down and killed. Her mellow mood shifted to chagrin, despite her slight inebriation. Life for the humans in Thaisia was precarious, but she would deal. She had before, and so had her ancestors. They should all survive if they weren't stupid.

She could probably teach acting to vampires as well as the shifters. And why not? If they wanted a career in the arts, she was all for it. A theater exclusively for the Others? Maybe, it would be one of those things that could bring humans and the terra indigene closer to mutual understanding. Maybe she could teach them compassion too. So another Great Predation wouldn't happen again.

She watched the rainbow light play among the facets of the elaborately cut crystal of her glass. The wine oscillated inside the glass like a living jewel.

She lifted her goblet higher. "Let's drink to our upcoming acting class, Sam. To the actors, whoever they are: humans, shifters, vampires."

"Yes!" Samantha exclaimed happily. Then she stared into her empty beer bottle. "I need another beer. I like beer. And after, you'll show me your hats. You promised."

"Yes." Tansy savored her tangy wine. "Of course. My hats."

The session of hats viewing and trying-on was predictably fun, as it always was for Tansy, especially with both Tansy and Samantha tipsy. They both laughed and clowned around and strutted in front of the mirror—an unexpectedly delightful conclusion to the trying day and the harrowing evening.

Sam's favorite was a revelation—a huge straw monstrosity with lots of fruits and ribbons and a faux gold fringe. Tansy had worn it only once, in the first season, to set the sense of the ridiculous for the series, but it looked surprisingly elegant on Sam's taller figure. They finally stopped long after midnight, and Tansy went to bed still smiling.