Work Text:
The Form Might Have Changed, But Its Essence is Still the Same
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Ever since the end of the world, Tora could not remember the last time he laughed so hard.
He had been doing surveillance around the perimeter of the Balthuman base when his heightened hearing picked up noises that didn't sound like an animal coming from the bushes across the large road. A spy? Sniper? In a flash, Tora hardened his skin against a possible threat and silently pulled his pistol out from where he had it tucked into his waistband. He crouched down behind some bushes on his side of the road, cursing the setting sun and hoping he wouldn’t have to fight in the dark.
A branch cracked, and the rustling got louder. Tora levelled his gun. The bushes began to part. Tora put his finger on the trigger.
And then, an angel emerged.
Tora nearly dropped his pistol.
A painfully beautiful woman had poked her head out from the bushes. Soft curls framed her small face. Her big, brown eyes darted about, scanning the road for danger. They were shining in the light of the setting sun.
Tora almost lost his balance in his crouching position, and when he repositioned his foot to regain balance, he accidentally snapped a branch.
Fuck. What’s gotten into you, Tora? He was never this careless.
The woman’s eyes widened in fear and she went still, trying to sound out the source of the sound. Tora put his finger back on the trigger, but she only ducked back into the bushes, out of sight.
There was some more rustling for a short moment, and then a hamster darted out from under the bushes and scurried away.
A shapeshifter! He couldn’t help the grin that overtook his face. What kind of shapeshifter chose a hamster as their getaway form? He watched her make her escape, and found himself nodding in approval when she made her way up a tree. Good girl. It was very clear now that she had been looking for a safe place to rest for the night, and she wasn’t going to find it in Balthuman territory at this time of day when there were people less strong and more trigger-hungry than Tora who would shoot at the bushes the minute they heard something. If she kept herself small and stayed in the tree until morning, then she’d likely be safe even if she wandered into Balthuman territory the next day. Pinky would be on duty in this area come morning, and he could point her in another direction. Maybe Moonbright.
Tora stood up and stopped Steeling. He decided to continued his patrol in the opposite direction as to not spook the little hamster, but chanced one more glance at the tree, just in case.
And just in case indeed, because to his horror, the woman had shifted back in the middle of climbing a broken branch and was scrambling to get a hold of something before she hit the ground.
Before he knew what he was doing, Tora was running across the road and putting his arms out to catch her.
She landed in his arms with a little squeal, and he marveled at how small and soft she was. He looked down; her eyes were squeezed shut and she had put her arms up over her face for protection. Very quickly though, the woman realized she landed on something that was not the ground at all. He watched her as she opened up one eye to peek at her situation, and he couldn’t help the huff that came out of him. Cute.
Then her one eye met his eyes, and she made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like fear before she shifted again before he could say anything.
Tora looked at the trembling almond in his left palm and busted out laughing. His hand was shaking from the exertion of staying open while he laughed; he didn’t want her to think he was trapping her in such a defenseless state. He had thrown his head back, but looked back down when he felt movement in his palm only to find that she was trying to roll out of his hand. Tora howled and doubled over, clutching his stomach. Nevertheless, he extended his arm to the ground and let her roll out. He watched the tiny almond attempt to roll away, making pitifully slow progress, and that got him the rest of the way on the ground, cackling.
Tora found himself wiping tears away from the corners of his eyes. It was the most he had laughed in a long, long time, the best laugh he had had in a long time. For a moment, it was as if all his worries had rolled away with the little almond in the grass. He sat down on the ground as his laughter softened, then leaned back on his elbows and tipped his head back towards the sky. The sun had set now, and a half-moon had taken its place. For a moment, just a few short breaths as he calmed down, Tora pretended that the world was a beautiful place to live in, with endless things to smile about.
“Excuse me?”
Tora’s ears twitched slightly, and so did something else between his legs. There were women living on the Balthuman base, and although it was rare, he sometimes had to interact with them. Had it really been that long since he’d heard a woman’s voice? Did they all sound that sweet? He really needed to get laid if he was reacting this way to two meaningless words.
Tora sat up and had to bite back his laughter when he realized that she had only made it a foot away before having to shift. She must have been really exhausted. The tiny almond had transformed back into the lovely woman with huge, warm, brown eyes, although she was still tiny. Tora figured this was likely her original form, due to the fact that she had shifted to it several times now. Her pale skin shone in the moonlight. She sat on her legs and hugged her arms around her midsection, as if they could protect her. It accentuated her ample bosom and made for an alluring sight, even though he knew she didn’t intend it that way.
Tora cleared his throat and answered her with a raised eyebrow. “You lost?”
The woman looked down at the ground, biting her bottom lip in contemplation. Tora’s thumb twitched with the urge to pull it free.
“No, I…I’m tired.” She said it so softly that Tora might not have heard if he didn’t have special hearing abilities.
“Terrible location to get tired. Ya know this is Balthuman territory ya coming up on?”
Tora was surprised when she met his eyes again, because she was glaring at him.
“Of course I know this is Balthuman territory,” she snapped. “I wasn’t trying to end up here.”
Tora smirked. Feisty. “Didn’t mean to talk down to ya.” When her glare softened, he figured it was okay to probe her. Just in case she was a spy and this was a trap, and not because he was curious or anything. “You in danger?”
The woman’s expression suddenly changed and she blurted out, “I don’t know! I was living in neutral territory at the edge of Narin, but then Nine Daggers took over, so I left. I was supposed to make it to Moonbright by nightfall today, but I got captured by some cultists at noon when I stopped for a break and narrowly escaped, only to end up here, and – and-“
“Whoa, whoa whoa,” Tora exclaimed, as tears started to fill her eyes. Christ, even her crying’s pretty. This has got to be come type of honey trap. “Don’t cry now. I ain’t gonna hurt ya. Ya got away, right? Is that why you’re tired? You’ve shifted too many times, and can’t hold form anymore?”
She nodded and clenched her fists by her sides, trying not to cry, but her lips trembled. The sight of her trying to be brave just about sucker punched Tora in the heart.
He suddenly had the urge to hold her in his arms, but he mentally slapped himself and opted for a handshake instead. Then the word vomit started. “Uh, I’m Tora. If that helps.” He hoped revealing his identity wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass later, if this woman turned out to be trouble. “I know I look scary, but I promise I won’t hurt ya. If I wanted to hurt ya, I would have done it already. Didn’t I catch ya when ya fell out of that tree?” He hoped he was saying the right thing.
She looked at his face. Then she looked down at his hand. Then she looked back up at his face. Her eyes were still watery. Tora wondered if he should smile, but Quincey told him that his smile could be creepy, and he didn’t want to scare her. His hand had a few scars; maybe they looked scary? Maybe he should try and make himself smaller, less threatening? Was that even possible?
And then, she launched herself at him and started sobbing. Tora’s jaw dropped open.
“Thank you,” she wailed, “for catching me when I fell out of that tree! I’ve had the worst couple of days, and you just made everything a teeny bit better. That was very kind, and sweet of you!”
Tora’s hands hovered in the space around her tiny body. “Shit…whaddya want me to…“
The woman stopped sobbing, and moved back before he could pull himself together enough to hug her back. Tora was freaked out about his own disappointment; usually, he couldn’t be any faster in pushing women away when they threw themselves at him.
“How about, ‘you’re welcome’?” She smiled at him softly, wiping at her face with the edge of her sleeve.
So fuckin’ cute. Tora felt the second sucker punch to his heart, and was beginning to wonder if maybe he was the sucker here. “Welcome,” he mumbled.
“Anyways, I’m Poppylan. But you can just call me Poppy.” She stuck her hand out.
Tora grinned and shook her hand. It was soft, and cute, and he contemplated hanging onto it as he spoke. “I think you’ve got the order of things all wrong, Puppy. Not that I’m complaining. Do I get a kiss next, since we’re going out of order anyways?”
Poppy’s face flushed a delightful color and she withdrew her hand, much to his disappointment. “It’s Poppy, not Puppy! And, no!”
He should really stop smiling now, but he couldn’t. “Whatever ya say, Bobby. But really, how can I help ya?”
Poppy wrung her hands in the bottom of her shirt, and Tora willed himself to not be tempted by the movements and look anywhere below her chin.
“I know I’m not any help right now, but I promise it’s just been a really bad day. Would you – would you have any need for a shapeshifter on your base?”
Tora tried not to frown. “I’m sorry, Bobby, but it’s too dangerous for you to join our base.” He saw her face fall, and scrambled to get the next words out before she started crying again. “I’m sure you’re a great shapeshifter, but you’re better off joining the community at Moonbright if that’s where you were headed. But how about this – if ya not scared of me, then I can get ya a safe place to stay for the night.”
Poppy brightened up, nodding her acquiescence, and then made to stand up. “I’m not scared of you, Tora. Lead the way.”
Her trust, which Tora didn’t deserve, was his poor heart’s third sucker punch of the night. It was the end of the world, and she shouldn’t be trusting him with her life, but Tora would not let her down even if his life depended on it.