Shifting Ideas

The sleep Adam fell into was another fitful one. Another sinking nightmare. It was the same dream, there was trouble and he had to get to her, to save her. But instead of his mom, now it was Tsuki. There was a man over her in the rain. He had to get to her. But he wasn't fast enough, he couldn't make a sound, he could only smell her fear.

Outside the dream, his legs twitched and he began whimpering. The odd habit that stayed with him even in his dog form was his ability to cry. Which was what he was doing in his sleep now.
 
Tsuki frowned as she watched his twitching, writhing form. Why was his face wet? She reached out to touch him then hesitated. Wait, he might bite instinctively. But she couldn't leave him! She hesitated then moved to his far end and braced herself.

Fast as lightning, she shook the dog's backend roughly then leaped back. She almost tripped and fell over, grabbing the end of the bed for support, but she didn't get bit! But did it work?
 
One thing that Adam didn’t like about his animal form was that it was more sensitive, especially to touch. So when he felt something shaking his backend, immediately he woke up, but his instincts were heightened. He scrambled back to the wall. His teeth bared at the offender. When he processed the subtle scent of clean ocean, he blinked and backed down. Tsuki was gripping the end of the bed as support. Maybe he hurt her?

Slowly he approached her, examining her with each step. She didn’t smell in pain. But what if he hurt her some other way? He stopped and sat down a few feet away from her. Maybe letting her come to him would be better?

Are you okay? He let out a low huff and bent his head a bit.
 
Tsuki held her breath as the snarling dog reacted, but he seemed to come to his senses surprisingly quickly. He almost seemed to look... ashamed? Did dogs get ashamed over their reactions to dreams? She'd once seen a dog who was actually embaressed by its own farts, but never this. Interesting.

The dog looked calmer and quieter, his head hung in a miserable way. Tsuki breathed a sigh of relief and got her feet under her. "There there, pup," she soothed, reaching down to pet him. "It's alright. It was just a bad dream, whatever it was. You're safe here, and now it's time fore breakfast!" She cupped his muzzle and gently lifted his head so she could smile at him. "Breakfast sounds really good to me."

She straightened and went into the kitchen to start looking for food for them both. "Um... I have a lot of leftover lunchmeat and some raw eggs. How does that sound for proutine?" she asked as she started to assemble things on her minuscule counter.
 
When Tsuki asked her question about breakfast, Adam was still reeling from her pet from earlier. He couldn't even move. Tio Ben petted him, Cecilia petted, but to have someone else pet him, with such soft gentle hands, was nice. Very nice. Though, he didn't like being called a pup. What was up with her and her soft names for him?

It took a bit, but Adam composed himself and nodded. Though he didn't follow her into the tiny kitchen. He would probably make her trip.
 
Tsuki finished putting everything together on a plate and refilled his bowl with fresh water before bringing it over to him. "Here you go! Try not to make a mess, okay?" Then she went back and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She ate quickly, scaring it down fast then started getting ready for the day.

She hummed softly as she changed, scrubbed her teeth, then tied back her long, black hair. She had some errands to run, but those could wait until after she worked at the shelter. And saw the vet about the dog. She hoped he was alright running by...

She stopped short and groaned. "My bike! I left it at the hospital." She sighed and ran a hand over her face. Maybe she could take the dog on the bus? She couldn't afford to keep hiring cars or taxies.
 
Adam nosed the food on his plate. It actually smelled pretty good and he was a bit hungry, but he was costing her a lot already. So he took a couple of bites, and this time he made sure to look away as she got ready. He had to find a way to get to Tio Ben and soon. His shoulder was still hurting and he was no help to Tsuki like this. Could he even transform back?

Blame it on the pain, or his hard week, instantly he began changing back to his human form. The pain stopped him from forcing the change to stop. All he could do was whimper and grind his teeth until the transformation was finished. And human Adam was groaning and laying naked on Tsuki’s kitchen floor with a bleeding shoulder.

Well crap....
 
Distracted with her own little crisis, Tsuki didn't notice what was happening at first. Then her brain seemed to tap her on the shoulder as it tried to alert her to an odd schlep sound. She groaned softly, thinking the dog had messed on her floor. Oh, that was just great. She rubbed her forehead with a sigh then turned to take in the damage.

"What's that, Cupcake?" she asked as she turned. "What did you-" Her words strangled into a bloodcurdling shriek as she took in the sight of the large, stark-naked man splayed out on the floor. She didn't recognize him or see the blood at first in her shock and panic. She reached out, grabbed the first thing that came to hand, and flung it at him as hard as she could. Lucky for Adam, it was a pillow that bounced off his midriff.

"What are you doing in my apartment!" she screamed, scrambling to find something a little more defensive than a pillow. "Get out!!" She threw the hairbrush next, and it just missed its mark. Then she recognized his face and froze, bedside lamp in her hand.

"Mr. Gonzalez??" she spluttered, still holding the lamp. "What are you doing- why are you- where's your- Where's Cupcake?" she stammered as every question clambered to be asked first.
 
Adam groaned and sat up. It was harder than he thought when he only had one usable arm. "One, please put the lamp down." He gestured to the lamp with his uninjured hand. With his injured hand, he slowly grabbed the pillow and covered his more, sensitive parts. "Two, would you please stop calling me Cupcake. Who sees a Leonberger and thinks of Cupcake for a name?" Well, at least he could finally say something about the name.
 
Instead of putting the lamp down, Tsuki gripped it a little tighter. She lowered it a little, but didn't put it down. Just in case. It made her feel a little better to have something in her hands. Not to mention, the feeling of the cold metal told her this was most likely not a dream. "Cupcake... You are a Mr. Gonzalez. Why are you a hairy Mr. Gonzalez?" she faintly, sounding a bit idiotic to her own ears. She shook herself and tried to get a hold of herself. "I mean... why are you here, Mr. Gonzalez? And... on my floor... naked."

Maybe this was one of those dreams people talked about. Those really awkward dreams about someone you barely knew or worked with that may or may not turn sexual and usually just meant you were working through some vulnerabilities in your sleep. Wait... naked... Her face turned bright red as she remembered how she'd changed in front of the dog. Oh, please oh please let this be a dream! Or at very least, let the dog and Mr. Gonzalez not be one and the same.
 
"I usually am hairy after a change." Adam felt his face and noted that this change left him a bit hairier than usual. It must have been the quick and injured manner he changed in. "And I'm here because you brought me here after taking me to that vet assistant Angela. Which I will reimburse you for." Adam vowed. It was literally the least he could do after today. He started to stand, but his shoulder was giving him trouble as he held the pillow to keep from scarring Tsuki more. He let out a whine, but kept going till he was at least leaning on her counter in a standing position. He was happy to note that the bleeding in his shoulder had slowed down.

"And I apologize for my state of undress, that was unintentional. I was just trying to figure out if I could change back." Which sounded like he meant for this to happen, but words were hard when he was hurting. "But if you could give me a pair of sweats, I can leave and you can forget that this happened at all."
 
"Um..." Tsuki finally put the lamp back down on the table and adjusted its shade before looking him over then blushing again. "The only thing I have that would fit you without possibly giving you a lovely soprano singing voice would be a skirt, sir." She forced her eyes away from his thin body and quickly grabbed the comforter off her bed. "Here, will this help a little?"

Just then, someone pounded on the door. "Oi! Snow Dwarf! You alright in there?" called an only slightly concerned male voice. "That's a lot of screaming."

Tsuki glanced at Adam Gonzalez uncertainly. "Everything is fine, Tom, thanks! I just saw something... really hairy appear out of nowhere and it gave me a fright. Sorry about the noise!" she called back.
 
Adam tensed and froze as he reached for the comforter. The stench of the man stayed and Adam prayed the man would leave. Getting out undetected was hard enough with an injured shoulder. Which it was still bleeding. He didn’t want to add time because of nosey neighbors.

“Get rid of him." He mouthed at Tsuki.
 
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Tsuki rolled her eyes at him. "No, I think I'll keep him around, maybe invite him in for tea!" she whispered as sarcastically as she could muster. Not at all the kind of attitude one should take with their boss, but that advice was usually given by people who did not have some kind of werewolf boss who showed up naked in their living room!

"Yeah? That sounded like a lot of screaming for a furry thing," Tom challenged, the grin evident in his voice. "Maybe I should come in and check things out for you. Can't have a little precious thing like you getting-"

"Tom!" Tsuki interrupted. "I am very much not in the mood! Thank you for checking on me, but please go away."

"Awe, come on, Snow Dwarf! I just want to help," called the man sulkily, clearly hurt.

"If you don't leave, and if I see you let yourself in again later, I'll tell your parole officer I saw you talking to Billy Graham again!" Tsuki threatened.

There was a long pause. "You know about that? Come on, Snow Dwarf! It was just- Fine, I'm going. See if I ever check up on you again. So much for being the good guy." His grumbles faded as he stumped down the hallway.
 
When the man's footsteps faded completely, Adam spoke.

"Do you normally attract criminals or dangerous men?" It was a little blunt but Adam was bleeding, in pain, and very curious. Keeping a tight lid on his words was difficult. Plus, what decorum could possibly be normal in this type of situation. "And if you do, do you at least know some form of self-defense?" Adam eyed her small petite form. "It would not take much to overpower you."
 
Tsuki sniffed, slightly offended by his question. "You did see my apartment building, right? It is not exactly in the most upstanding part of town. I just keep my head down and try to avoid attention, but pot-heads notice the strangest things." She shook her head and took a step closer. "Your shoulder is bleeding pretty bad. I will call you a cab so you can go to the hospital."
 
"I don't know if you have noticed," Adam quirked an eyebrow down at Tsuki. "But I think any driver might have a problem with my state of undress. Plus, how would it look if the boss of a well-known publishing company went to the hospital after leaving his new assistant's," Adam looked around and his nose scrunched up. "Apartment, in nothing but a comforter.". Adam would have crossed his arms, but one hand was injured and holding up the comforter. Instead, he leaned closer to Tsuki. "A woman who says all she tries to do is keep her head down."
 
A woman who was starting to geet annoyed with her guest, Tsuki thought as she leaned back. "Fine. Then go ahead and wwalk out as you are. Because walking around in this neighborhood in nothing but a blanket will be perfectly safe. Not to mention, no one will even think of alerting the papers about said boss wandering around in a sketchy part of town without his clothes. That will be so much better!"
 
“I, I wasn’t going to do that.” Adam stuttered because he technically wasn’t, his dog form was. But right now, he didn’t really want a repeat of this morning’s pain. The only other thing he could think of doing was something he hated doing. He glanced down at the old fading comforter. It wouldn't have been bad, but there was still a noticeable floral pattern aging on it. Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan. “Just give me your phone and I can call my tía.”
 
He was really bossy for a guy standing naked and dressed in nothing but an old comforter, but as annoyed as Tsuki was, she couldn't really blame him. His shoulder looked super painful, and in any other circunstance, he would be downright pitiful. She gave in with a sigh and nodded before reaching to her bedside table and unplugging it.

"Here," she said, handing it to him. "Just... try to keep it short? It's a pay for the minutes type, and I'm running low. I cannot get more until next month."
 
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