It's A Hoot (mxm)

Chapter 10

Toren shifted into his owl and flew through the forest around the cabin, checking out his new home. After watching some of the wildlife he decided to go further in until he was immersed in the habitat.
He found himself a fir to perch in and settled down.

He hooted softly into the night air, tilting his head to hear what kind of response he could get. While there weren't any owl shifters around, there could've been normal owls and he enjoyed interacting with them if they ever bothered to respond.
Animals could sense shifters, like some shifters could sense other shifters. It was an instinct. They could sense that they weren't quite what they seemed.

There was no response, but owls didn't usually bother other owls, unless they were being territorial, so it didn't mean much.

He got to thinking about his cousin, which rubbed his feathers the wrong way, but it was necessary. His instincts told him not to ignore it and he knew to trust his gut.
He'd do some research on him, seeing as he had next to no information. Their interactions weren't enough for him to come to any solid conclusion.

He shook himself out deciding it was time to head back. He'd been too distracted to get himself a snack. One of the bars he'd bought on the road would have to do.

He pushed off the branch and tensed his claws as he leapt into the air. A few silent strokes of his wings picked him up and he moved between the trees in short spurts. Owls weren't much of gliders. Their wings were designed for quick, short, silent spurts. Rarely did owls fly above the canopy. But he traveled with ease, heavily lost in his thoughts.

He landed on the grass in the front yard, hopping towards the porch. On the steps were his clothes neatly folded.

He hopped and as he did he shifted fluidly, feeling his body change and ache in response.
He pulled on his sweats and shivered at the cold winter air. It was freezing. He could see his breath coming out in puffs. All he really wanted to do was curl up with some hot tea and his laptop on the couch.
He sighed, except he didn't have a teapot. Or tea. Or a couch.

He hastened inside and shut the door, wrapping his arms around himself.
Trudging over to his pile of junk, he started to sift through for his laptop.

A shiver ran down his back and the room felt cold. Too cold. And heavy. His hand closed around his mother's old jewelry box when a shadow fell over him.

Arms wrapped around him and he threw himself back against his assailant. The arms tightened and one moved up to curl around his neck.

Toren's eyes widened in disbelief before panic began to flood in. He flailed and grabbed at the assailant's arm, pushing back with his heels on the floor.
The assailant staggered back, but found sure footing, curling the arm tighter. It cut off the air to his lungs.
His nails dug into the arm, clawing through the thick black fabric, trying to draw blood. Anything he could do to make the assailant let go, but they wouldn't budge.

His throat felt like someone was pinching it shut tight and he could feel the loss of oxygen making his face feel hot. What did he do? He had to calm down and think before it was too late.
He remembered watching self defense videos when he was younger, some of the kids in the video were stuck in the same position. What was it they did?
He could see black spots crowding his vision and his thoughts slurred in a haze.

Turn the head towards the crook of the assailant's elbow. He shifted his position, feeling a slight relief on the pressure, then he threw an elbow back into their ribcage, earning a deep male grunt.
The arm loosened and Toren surged forward, running towards opposite end of the room. He gasped for air, stumbling to keep himself up.
Boots clunked after him and an arm wrapped around his waist. Before he knew it he was being picked up. He shrieked, but he didn't have time to react as he was thrown against the wall, knocking the breath right out of him.
Something clicked and light glinted off the sharpened edge of a knife. His assailant jabbed the blade into his chest. It took his brain a second to realize what happened. Pain exploded through his body. His eyes were wide, mouth hanging open. The knife was pulled out abd brought down again, piercing closer towards his heart.