Van
The little lime green bird twittered from the lowest branch of the tree. She bent her head and cleaned beneath her wings before turning and wagging her tail feathers, showing off the brilliant streak of turquoise down its center. She was quite possibly the cutest thing Van had ever seen, but she had to resist the urge to smash her with her fist.
"I thought she said no birds."
Hailey picked at dirt beneath her nails. "She said no birds for you."
Van scowled. No birds. Nothing too big. Nothing aquatic. Livy's training style involved a lot of don'ts and very little do's. Not that it mattered- Van had managed nothing bigger than a few hairs and a set of claws. She couldn't even shift her arm to a tree branch, though she refrained from sharing the details of her previous attempt with anyone. As far as she was aware, Livy stuck to animals, and Van was fine letting everyone think the same about her.
"Okay, let's call it a day," Livy said as she resumed her human form and pulled on the robe she kept handy for between shifts. She practically bounced with excitement.
"You're the only one who made progress," Van pouted. She shook her arms and the tawny cat hairs broke off her skin and drifted to the floor.
"She still hasn't been brave enough to fly," Hailey added, grinning when Livy's smug expression faltered.
Luca's cousin sniffed daintily. It reminded Van of the prim girl Livy had pretended to be at school.
"Shifting as a Protean isn't the same as shifting to my panther form. She's a part of me. I instinctively know how her body works and moves. Being a bird is kind of like putting on skates for the first time. I know what skating looks like, but that doesn't mean I can just do it. I know what flying looks like, but I don't instinctively know how to use the wings."
"But you haven't had any issues taking their forms." Van raised her hands and willed the claws to replace her fingertips again, but nothing happened. She dropped them to her side in a huff. "I can't even manage that."
Livy put her hand on Van's shoulder. "Shifting requires a complete surrender of yourself. It's something I've been doing for years, and it's something completely unnatural to you."
As much as Van wanted to argue, she knew the girl was right. She liked to be in control, and after weeks in the Void, she was terrified of losing herself again. What if she shifted and could never become human again? She would be trapped inside herself forever. In the hallway, her choices were to shift or die.
"I have an idea."
"No." Hailey shook her head, her blonde hair swinging around her chin. "I vote no."
"You don't even know what I was going to say," Van protested. She looked at Livy for help. The girl cocked her head to the side but said nothing. "I'm not going to shift while I'm safe. My subconscious is perfectly happy being human. I need to give it a reason to shift."
Hailey groaned and fell back on a beanbag chair shoved against the paneled wall of the training room. "This is exactly what I was afraid of."
"It's not a terrible idea, really," Livy said, tapping a manicured finger against her lips. Where she found the time to do her nails during all this chaos, Van didn't know. The world could burn, and Livy would maintain her composure.
"It's a terrible idea, Liv," Hailey said with shock in her bright blue eyes. "She just came out of a coma."
Van whirled on the ex-Slayer. "Let's go ahead and take care of this. We will not put me in bubble wrap because of what happened to me. Livy was held captive and half starved when we found her. Experimented on. I don't see anyone stopping her from participating in the war efforts."
Livy's smug expression returned, and Hailey snorted. Standing, she brushed invisible lint off her dark wash jeans and refused to meet their gaze as she said, "Because it's Livy and she does what she wants."
"It's true."
"Well, in case you've both forgotten," Van snapped, "I do what I want too, and I want to do this. I'm not going to sit back and be helpless while everyone else fights. This is a gift, and I want to learn how to use it."
"Luca is going to shit a brick," Livy said with a giggle.
Mentioning the brown-eyed shifter made Van's stomach clench. They'd barely spoken since last night. Especially not to discuss what had almost happened between them in her bedroom. He dropped her off at Livy's training room and offered up some excuse about needing to meet Scott to discuss the next scouting mission. Hailey showed up thirty minutes later.
She had always refused to be one of those girls who spent all her time wondering what a guy was thinking. Second guessing herself every second. But she was quickly spiraling into that territory, and it was driving her insane.
"So what's the plan?" Van asked, slapping her hands together. "Scouting mission? Vampire hunting?"
"What if we just incorporate fighting into our training? You need to continue learning techniques and build up your strength anyway," Livy suggested while Hailey's face turned white.
"That's a start, but I don't think it'll work. I'm going to know it's not real."
The shifter smirked, took a step back, and bent over at her waist. Sleek, black fur burst from her legs as she threw off her robe. Before her human lips disappeared, she snarled, "Who said it wouldn't be real?"
With a roar, Livy lunged toward Van, swiping at her with claws extended. Van wasn't fast enough and stars speckled her vision as the panther's nails ripped through the tender skin of her upper left arm. Hailey reached for her, but she waved her away. The blonde girl started praying and crossing herself as Van regrouped and prepared for the next strike.
Again and again, Livy came for her, each time cutting Van or cornering her until she conceded defeat. No matter how she tried, Van couldn't shift to protect herself, and with no weapon, she didn't have a chance against the wickedly fast and well-trained fighter.
"Okay, Livy. Enough," Hailey demanded.
"No," Van panted, pulling her t-shirt over her head and wincing when it stuck to dry wounds, breaking the bloody crusts so they dripped freely again. Her sports bra- once white, was now mostly red and pink, and rivulets of scarlet ran down her side and over protruding ribs. "I can do this."
"Let's at least get you to a healer," Hailey insisted. She caught the t-shirt Van threw at her and grimaced.
The door to the room creaked open and Luca walked inside. He paused, taking in the scene before him. His dark brows dipped low, then shot into his hairline when he saw the state Van was in.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Livy's tail twitched, and her ears flattened. Teeth bared as she hissed, but Van saw the moment the idea struck her. Her lips curled in a violent imitation of a grin before she pushed off with back legs- her target, Luca.
Every bone in Van's body snapped and twisted. Her vision sharpened, and her skin blazed hot before tightening uncomfortably over a new frame. The scream rising from her throat turned to a growl, and coppery, hot blood flooded her tongue as the long canines filling her mouth sank into black fur.
Shaking Livy hard, Van was barely aware of anything going on around her. Her world narrowed to the flow of blood in the vein she severed, and the longer she held the girl, the slower it became.
"Van, let her go."
A gentle touch on her shoulder was enough to make her release her grip on her prey. She whipped her head around, mouth ready to snap closed on whoever touched her, but she stalled when she met the boy's gaze. Her animal instincts urged her to end him, but her human heart gave her pause.
"That's right," the boy crooned, settling his hand into her soft white and silver fur. "Come back to me."
"Luca," she whispered, shifting slowly back into her human body. He grabbed the robe Livy brought for her and wrapped her in the satin material. The remnants of her leggings and bra were scattered about the room like confetti.
"Damn," Livy muttered as Hailey dropped her robe around her shoulders. Van didn't miss the intimate way the girl's hands moved over Livy's shoulders and through her hair. Livy's neck bore two deep puncture wounds, but the change between forms had already started the healing process. Besides the sores and her tan skin looking pallid, she appeared to be fine.
"Is anyone going to explain whose stupid idea this was?" Luca demanded, his gentle concern fleeing as fury consumed him. Still, his hands were gentle as he helped Van stand, and she did not shy away from his searing gaze as he searched for injuries. Like Livy, most were healing quickly.
Hailey pointed at Livy and Van. They glared at her, and she stuck out her tongue. "No way in hell I'm catching the blame for this mess."
"We were trying alternative methods for getting Van to let go of her control enough to shift."
"By fighting?" Luca's voice went high. "That's barbaric."
"It was my idea," Van said, grabbing his shirt and drawing him away from his cousin. "I thought if maybe I put myself in danger, I would let go enough to shift."
"Looks like it worked," he admitted grudgingly.
"Not quite how I thought it would."
"What do you mean?" he asked. Livy nodded, a knowing look in her eyes.
Van sighed and thought back to the vampire attack. She hadn't shifted to save her own life. She'd shifted to protect Paula. Just as she had to protect Luca, but she knew he would much rather her be willing to protect herself than others.
A ringing from his pocket saved her from explaining, but the dark look he gave her while he answered his phone suggested he wasn't done with this conversation. Not by a long shot.
"Price, what's up?" Luca froze and then swallowed hard. "Are you sure? Yeah. I can be on the road in an hour. Do not go in without me."
Livy's knuckles whitened as she squeezed Hailey's hand. Luca nodded and she let loose a sob. "Oh, thank the gods."
"What's going on?" Van asked. Who was Price?
"They found him, Van. They found Brantley."
A/N: Dedicating this chapter to Gidget. I brought her home from Florida when she was 4 months old. A couple weeks ago, she decided sixteen years on earth was long enough, and I had to say goodbye. Fly free sweet girl!