Whiskers

Cautious Curiosity

"You really need to get some rest, sir. You are wearing yourself out." One of the police officers said as he watched Jared pace around in circles. It had been several hours since his brother had been taken away by Palace and Knight, yet he couldn't manage to calm himself down.  

His lion had broken through his skin several times, making him resort to just wearing a pair of loose shorts so that he wouldn't destroy anymore clothing, yet he couldn't get the animal to calm down enough to be able to stand still. 

"Where are they? You said the dogs were expert trackers, and Palace can't fly. So where are they!" He roared, making the officer flinch. 

"We're doing our best, and the dogs are still on the trail. They haven't lost his scent, but it's not so easy to get through some of the denser parts of the forest around here. It's a large nature preserve and has a lot of swamp land mixed in, with alligators, too. They have to be careful." The man said, drawing another, quieter growl from Jared as he finally stopped pacing to grab at his hair and pull. 

He was extremely worried about his brother and wanted to be out in the forest tracking them down with the damn dogs, but his sense of smell was garbage in comparison to the dogs, and even to other lions. His shift had never had a good nose like his brother's and the rest of his pride's. 

Balling his fists, he stomped away from the gathering of police cars near the edge of the woods where Palace, Jamie, and Knight had last been seen by the security cameras. He was just stepping into the parking lot on the other side of the facility when he noticed something up ahead, standing on top of his car. 

His entire body froze for a split second before his lion had him screaming from the abrupt shift it forced upon him. In a blur, he was on four paws and running faster than he ever had before. Not even thinking about the damage he might cause to his car, Jared barreled up the back of it, digging his claws in for a better grip. Metal screeched as he tore it apart in his haste to get to the hawk that was scrambling to take flight. 

Don't you dare leave! He screamed through their bond so loudly that the hawk stumbled abruptly, slipping from the car to glide sloppily down to the black asphalt. It hopped a couple times to get its balance, then hurried to duck beneath a nearby smaller car right as Jared leaped from the top of his own, nearly dropping down right on top of him. 

Knight! Get out here you asshole! He roared as he began trying to claw his way beneath the car, bumping it up with his lion's muscular shoulders without even thinking about the consequences. He was getting himself stuck, but nothing else mattered in his mind right at that moment besides getting to Knight, because he was who could get him to his brother. 

He was more than halfway beneath the car when Knight stepped out and shifted. Jared saw his chance to grab him, but when his claws just scraped against the asphalt and he didn't move an inch, he realized his mistake.  

His dilated eyes watched as Knight knelt in front of him and looked under the car he had gotten himself thoroughly stuck beneath. "I'm sorry, but I didn't come back here so that you could kill me." Knight stated before reaching forward, only to retract his hand abruptly when Jared's lion snarled and tried to snap at it. 

The action made him wince and realize that his lion definitely was too big to move beneath the car.

"You're going to get really hurt if you stay stuck under there much longer. You need to shift. I won't risk my freedom by calling the cops over here, though I'm sure they'll be around soon considering how loud you've been." Knight said as he got onto his hands and knees and moved back a bit, then sat on his heels. 

Calm down so that you can shift. Knight thought to him, earning a growl as Jared spat back immediately. Go die, pigeon! 

He couldn't see Knight's face, but he could feel the displeasure for the nickname through their bond as his struggles began to die down. His outburst had taken a lot out of his already worn-out body, and struggling beneath the heavy metal pushing into his back hurt more and more as the seconds passed.