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"What the fuck do you mean you can't meet us in Seattle?" Ethan's voice was loud, unnaturally loud, in Apollo's ear and he twitched it flat instinctively when he pulled the phone away.

"I.. I just can't okay. My Uncle isn't doing so well and I had to bolt after that whole.. thing with Splash. I'll try to explain better when things calm down okay?" He strained to make his voice sound natural, but it didn't work. It still sounded lower than it ever had before.

His voice, his beautiful singing voice. Apollo swallowed a moment of despair and closed his eyes as Ethan babbled reasons he needed to come back to the band. The voice got louder and he took a deep breath. He couldn't do this anymore.

"I can't come back right now, damnit! I have other things going on right now and I can't fucking deal with all of this." He snarled the words when he wanted to cry and hung up before Ethan could respond or react to the fact he truly did snarl.

He fumbled with the little touch screen to lock his phone and threw it down on the couch next to him before burrowing his hand into his paws. His paws. God. It had been over a week since he'd woken up and found himself in a body he had never known. He'd had a week to stare down at the shortened fingers and the plush velvet black of his hand paws. They didn't resemble anything like his old hands which had held a musicians long graceful fingers. Nothing was the same except for what was inside of him. He lifted his head and stared bleakly at the black jaguar in the mirror. The short muzzle was crowned with obsidian whiskers that danced with every breath. The head didn't boast any long hair like his human one had, but was sleek and smooth furred.

Splash had been there beside him when he'd woken up. The wild dog had held him down as he screamed and panicked. The shadowed eyes had watched him tremble and deny what he'd woken up to see in the mirror. It had been his friend's quiet voice that had haltingly tried to explain what had happened. Apollo still didn't know what to believe. All he knew that he had changed so drastically that there was little chance anyone would recognize him. The jaguar dropped his head back into his paws and drew in a trembling breath. It helped steady him as his tail began to lash back and forth against the couch. He had a freaking tail for God's sake! An unnatural appendage that moved and twisted without him thinking about it. It was beyond belief, but that's the way things were. Or at least, that's how they had been for the last week. What had become of his life?

He'd been given a small apartment that overlooked one of the side streets in the Quarter. The sound of jazz music was always filtering past the windows from the small bar tucked across the street. The living room was like something out of the seventeenth century. There were lights, but they were made to look like old fashioned candles. The couch wasn't comfortable, it was too sparsely stuffed and was edged with cherry wood. The chairs weren't any better. The furniture all appeared to be antique, but it wasn't perfectly preserved. There were worn spots and parts that had obviously been repaired. The bedroom held more of the same. The bathroom and kitchen were far more modern, thankfully. Granted the bathroom held its own difficulties.

Damned tail.. He growled to himself and felt heat rising to his ears as he recalled the numerous times the appendage had managed to get dipped in the toilet when he'd tried to sit down.

"Ethan pissed?" Splash poked his head out of the kitchen and lifted up his broad ears questioningly. "I heard you out here growling."

"What do you think?! He thinks we ran off the Georgia without even telling them and now we won't even come back. We abandoned them." Apollo spoke carefully, he'd learned the hard way that the shape of his mouth made speaking harder than it should have been. "Suz is half convinced we ran off like a pair of lovers."

"Harsh." Splash, no Lyne, his friends real name was Lyne, wrinkled his nose up slightly. "I'm sorry, Apollo, but well... I don't have any real solution right now on what to do. I mean, it's not normal to have someone changed when they have... issues around."

"Yeah, well, no one asked me now did they?" He snapped and his friend's ears folded back. "Sorry, sorry, just.. Damnit. I hate being couped up in here."

He pushed up onto his feet and swayed slightly as he found his balance on the soft padded foot paws. Something else he had to work at getting a handle on. Another thing that had been taken from him. With a sigh he started to pace around the living room as Lyne ducked back into the kitchen to where he was putting together dinner. He'd hurt the wild dog's feelings, but right now he just couldn't care. He was getting more and more upset as the days passed and nothing changed. He'd been told repeatedly why he'd been changed. He'd been dying, bleeding out and there'd been doubt he'd even make it long enough to have the ambulance show up, much less reach a hospital. So he'd been dragged into some god forsaken place where he'd been changed.

By magic. Bloody magic. His tail smacked against the edge of the couch as he padded back and forth with more purpose. His nostrils flared a little as his modern mind rebelled against the very idea, but it wasn't like it was something he could say didn't exist. Hell, he could look at himself and see the truth in it. He paused at the mirror and leaned forward so he could peer into his own sapphire eyes above his muzzle. The spill sunlight brought out a hint of the rosettes that dotted his fur so that they appeared like crushed velvet. He parted his lips until he could plainly see the curved white fangs that he had instead of his normal flat teeth.

The worst shock of all had been the change to his voice. It was still marginally his voice. It wasn't the trained singing voice he had used at every chance, but it had become rougher. It was still his, but he couldn't sing. It didn't have the range that he used to use and every time he tried to reach for it his voice snarled out. It wasn't right. The first time he'd tried, he'd cried. Music was his life, his soul, the beat of his heart, and it was plucked from him. That was the true edge of his anger, above everything else. Everything had changed. His life had changed. His world had changed. He was alive..

A shiver ran down his back as he remembered the horrible pain in his chest as he'd been trying to breathe. He could recall the voices talking over his head, one of them the frantic voice of Lyne as he was trying to convince someone to save him. He leaned his head forward and closed his eyes. He could almost taste the copper blood that had rolled down his tongue from his pierced lung. His fingers dug hard against the table top at the visceral memory. He only was shocked out of it by the sound of scraping claws that tore through the wood. He blinked down and stared at the ivory claw tips that had torn half inch deep gouges into the hard wood.

_I'm alive damnit. I can't sing, not yet, but that doesn't mean forever. _ He stared back at himself in the mirror. He had no control over his voice, but that was only because the control he did have was for another range. He'd learn control.

"Apollo, I have dinner.." Lyne's voice was hesitant and Apollo shifted his eyes to see the dog staring at him from the kitchen door. He'd probably seen the claw marks.

_Not his fault. Not his fault he was raped, not his fault I was stupid. It is NOT his fault. _ He sighed and stood up with a bit of a shake.

"Alright, dinner sounds good." His voice even sounded normal.

Dinner proved to be mostly meat that was spiced and carefully prepared with a certain amount of vegetables in it for Lyne and the bare minimum for Apollo. Normally he didn't have any issue with veggies, but now.. He wrinkled his nose at the scent of the carrots and yams that Lyne loaded up onto his plate and found the medium-rare roast that he was offered far more appealing. His dietary needs had changed along with his body. He could eat things other than meat, but he still needed certain amounts of it to make sure that he was healthy. At least Lyne was a good cook and seemed to know different ways to spice meat so it wasn't the same thing every day.

"When can I get out of here?" Apollo twitched his tail as he tried to keep the longing out of his voice. It's been over a week.

"When Rio says you can." The wild dog gave him a long look. "You have to understand, we're not exactly coming clean with the rest of the world. If they knew we could do things like what was done to you..."

"Do you really think I'd tell anyone?" He flattened his ears. "I'd tell Ethan and Suz, who BOTH deserve to know, but I don't really have any close family."

"Do you really think you can tell them?" Lyne blew out a frustrated sigh. "Don't you get it? NO one can know about this. IF you go back to the band, you won't be Apollo. You can't be. Hell, even those of us who are born this way don't go by our real names with humans. No matter how nice and trustworthy those humans are, they don't get our names. It's risky."

"So, what? I just march up and try to join up like I am now?" He stiffened slightly. "What will they think of me? Of where I went?"

"That you abandoned them." The wild dog snapped up a piece of meat from his fork with a show of force that showed his pent up feelings.

"I wouldn't do that!" Apollo pushed back from the table slightly. "I can just swear them to secrecy. It's not like they can object, especially not when I sort my voice out and you vouch for everything that's happened."

"I won't be going back." Lyne leaned forward and shoved another bite of food into his muzzle, this time it was a large enough chunk that he couldn't continue talking.

"Of course you will be." Apollo tapped a paw on the table firmly. "We're a group, a band, we support each other. You're going back."

Lyne shook his head while he continued to slow chew his food. He didn't even try to argue, didn't even try to talk. It made the jaguar bristle slightly and his tail snapped against the ground with soft slapping noises.

"We'll sort this out. We'll find a way for them to know who I am and you're coming with me. You belong with our group. You are a great musician and there's no reason for you to go back to playing on street corners for a few bucks." He growled softly. Lyne gave him a pained look and swallowed before sighing.

"No, I won't be. What happened with you.." He paused and rubbed his hand up behind his neck nervously. "You gotta understand, there are a lot of things you don't know about. We're not set up like you humans. Most of the time, we settle in an area and we have a sort of protector or governor that looks over us. He or she will do her best to make sure that we have someone that we can go to for protection. Most of the time they even have businesses to hire us on with reputable work, make it easier for us all."

"They aren't doing a very good job." Apollo growled and felt the fur bristling along the back of his neck as he thought about the normal state he saw anthros in.

"Heh, you'd think that. We get our fair share, Apollo, but we're not THAT badly off. I mean, not as badly off as you think. A lot of it is for show. Humans don't want to know that we're anything other then harmless. They tend to overlook us, after all. That works right into our leaders' plans." Lyne lifted up a paw, "Don't ask me what it is, I don't know. They're the ones that know what's going on. All I know is that things are changing a lot. But, back to the people that run various cities, or territories in this case. We all belong to someone. Not like pets or anything, but we all have someone we look to as a leader."

"And here in New Orleans that's your leader?" The jaguar leaned back and tried not to look tired. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten a lecture on culture.

"No, not MY leader. My leader is in Chicago." Lyne lolled his tongue out in a canine grin. "And she's a really good one, trust me. Just because I've moved away, doesn't mean that I belong to whoever's territory I'm in. To do that, I'd have to have permission to travel here, be on probation to make sure I'm not a trouble maker, a lot of hoops. But to just travel through like I do with you and the band, all I need is a recommendation from Ilsa. So, no, Rio isn't MY leader, but he knows me well enough."

"So what, I mean, that means he can't do anything to you, right? He's not the one you belong to and this isn't your home." Apollo tried to make sense of it. He couldn't imagine having to negotiate just to leave his home.

"Wrong." Lyne's expression became pained. "He's not my Lord nor my Lady. I had no right to bring you here and ask him to help you. He had no reason to do so. You didn't save one of his people. If he were Ilsa, then it would have been a different story, but I'm nothing to him in the eyes of our community. He likes me alright, but... It's politics, man. That's what it comes down to. He helped out someone that has no call on his power or attention or anything else. He needed something in return or he would lose face with the other Lords and Ladies, or he'd be inundated with people that aren't HIS coming here. And he's already holding one of the largest populations."

"Wait.. wait. What does he want? Can't you just give him money? Hell, I don't have much, but you can have what I have." He ventured.

"No, it's not money.." Lyne puffed out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "If I am his, then he had a reason to save you. That meant you saved one of his people. The easiest way to fix his standing in the eyes of the community is for me to become one of his people officially. He's already sent a message to Ilsa. I will be Rio's, not her's and that means I have to do things by the book. A probationary period, working for his business, the whole nine yards. After a few years he'll let me loose again, but he needed to make sure that his standing was secure. They're not... all friends. Some are rivals. It's just a shit ton of politics."

"You.. have to stay here?" The words hit Apollo like a splash of cold water. "You love traveling with the band, hell, you've seen the entire country with us!"

"Just for a few years." The bright tone didn't match the way Lyne's ears were canted back or his body posture. "Before you know it I'll be set loose again. It's not that big of a deal. And it's worth it. You're alive." The wild dog reached over and touched the back of Apollos' paw lightly. "Not in the form you want, but I couldn't have lived with myself if you'd died trying to save me like that. Selfish, but I'm happy you're alive."

"Yeah..." Apollo trailed off as the touch on his paw was removed and he was left staring at his plate. The hell if he was going to let Lyne sacrifice himself. There was no fucking way.

~ ~ * ~ ~

"You do understand that bearding me in my den can prove quite unhealthy for you, do you not?" The words were smooth as silk as the equine watched him with impassive blood red eyes.

"I.. understand." Apollo licked his lips nervously and fought the urge to fidget beneath the impartial red gaze. "But it was important and no one would tell me where to find Rio, so I did some spying."

"Commendable that you're becoming used to your new body, but unwise when asking for favors." Rio's lips crinkled back and showed a hint of fang. "And Kalan, boy, my name is Kalan. Rio is a nickname."

Apollo swallowed, his mouth felt dry as he tried to ignore the fact the dark horse-like creature was taller than him by a good foot. Or the fact that there were no windows, no exits save the one he went through and no hint of people around that he could call on for help. And worst of all, they were standing in a room that revealed that Kalan had cameras in every nook and cranny of his clubs. The black and white monitors were spread out behind him showing everything from bartenders serving drinks to a little rabbit girl doing things to a human man that were most definitely against the rules for a stripper. He fought to keep his embarrassed gaze on the stallion who had paused a tape he'd been looking at and was regarded him without a hint of impatience.

"I talked with Splash.. Lyne.." He stumbled a little and dropped his eyes as the stallion's tail curled up and down like a cats. Like Apollo's. "He said he had to trade something to save me."

"Yes, and did he explain why? I hope he hasn't given you the wrong impression?" Kalan gave a flick of his thick nailed fingers to get him to sit down on a chair at the monitoring station.

"That he isn't one of your people and it would be a political disaster for you to start granting favors to people you don't... own." Apollo had to fight not to growl the last word. It sounded so wrong any way he thought about it.

"True. There are many of us, but we are as flawed as humans are. We are always greedy and eager to take down rivals." Kalan grinned so his sharp teeth caught the light. A unicorn, that's what Lyne had called him, but it wasn't like any unicorn Apollo had ever seen. "My own people would like to kick me out of my place if they could. Not that I really belong to their kind at all, but we all have our issues. Politics is a game that most of us play and, save for a precious few, we are old enough that it's become a hobby. Lyne won't be harmed at all, he'll only have to transfer his allegiance to me. And when he's truly considered one of my people he'll be allowed to wander again. I am not the villain in this story."

"You aren't the hero either." He couldn't stop the words once they came out of his mouth. He winced slightly at the accusing tone.

To his surprise Kalan tossed his head back and started to whinny. Or at least, that's what it sounded like at first, it was a high pitched equine noise that was wholly unsettling coming out of a two legged form. It wasn't until the stallion's head dropped and the sound dropped into a chortle that he realized that the strange unicorn had been laughing.

"No, gods, no I am not the hero. I've been the villain in more stories then you'd care to know about, but never the hero." The equine snorted with amusement. "I did what I did not only because Lyne asked it, but because you were the hero in that particular story. I admire heroes, I always have. They are a rare breed that comes in so many shapes, sizes and forms that it hard to countenance the old stories of knights in shining armor. In this age they can be found in firemen, police officers, soldiers, but also in children, the elderly, the frail and meek. Or in a musician who chanced death because of what was right. It is a rarity that I treasure. So, no, I did not merely save you because Lyne begged it of me."

"Then release him. He's not responsible for my life. If you would have done it anyway, then why make him stay here?" Apollo straightened up and focused on trying to keep his tail from lashing back and forth.

"Because of politics, which very rarely have heroics and are quite messy. I cannot just give this as a gift and have others believe I am weak. At best I will be overrun with ones who want to get away from their Lord or Lady and want to apply to my sense of mercy and soft nature. At worst, my territory will be nibbled away by rivals until I hold nothing." Kalan gave his head a shake so his mane spilled over his eyes.

"You can't just.. make up something? A lie? Some story?" The jaguar felt his hope crumbling slightly as the stallion stiffened and the red eyes narrowed.

"I am not and never have been human. We do not practice lies among ourselves. You were brought in through the club and many people saw you as they set up for the evening. You were, thankfully, not seen by patrons. The word will spread on its own."

"Then.. take another price. I have money. I can pay for it-" He started and the snap of the leonine tail made him stop. The red pupils pinned down to almost nothing.

"You have been given a gift, boy. You were gifted in a way that few are and you wish to give me MONEY to pay for it? As if you had gone in to have your nose adjusted or a scratch patched up? This is something that we only do for those who have earned our trust, our secrets and belong with us. You were not thrown into a form meant to punish, you were gifted with the form your mind desired. And you believe your bank account will pay for that?" The unicorn's voice deepened into a baritone growl that let Apollo know he'd said something wrong.

"I just don't want Lyne to suffer because you saved me! He doesn't want to be here, he likes to be in a band, he likes to see the world, and it's not his damn fault that you can't keep people like those.. those.. bigots from wandering around here threatening to neuter people!" Apollo was appalled as he snapped back, but the words were out, he couldn't take it back, nor could he stop his mouth from continuing. "Why should he suffer for that?! None of this was his fault! Why do you hold him accountable for something you're supposed to protect your own people fr-URCCCK!"

The last words were cut off as the long black tail proved to be more agile then any donkeys or horses. The stallion rose up and the tufted tail tip snapped out to wrap around his neck. It felt like a velvet covered serpent as it clutched down and the muscles tightened. The tail tuft spilled down the curve of his back as the powerful appendage cut off his air supply and his paws went up to try and grip it. The equine towered over him with white teeth flashing and the red eyes blazing with more anger then he'd ever seen someone display. The powerful hands dropped down to grip either side of the chair so the forearms brushed against him.

"Do not make accusations where you lack the knowledge, human!" The teeth clacked with each word and the tail loosened just enough that he could suck in a breath. "You have no comprehension of the world you're in now nor the price those of us pay who protect our people. Do you think I rejoice in the hatred and pain? Do you think I allow it because I wish to see my people beaten, raped, tormented and hurt?!"

"No, I-" He started, but the tail clamped down again so that he couldn't get a word out.

"I saved you because you were honorable, heroic, and I believed that Lyne was right." Kalan's growl dropped another octave. "And you come here to make accusations such as that against me? Then I will ensure that you do not have the guilt of your friend paying for your life..."

"Thank you.." He wheezed around the grip on his tail, but stopped when one of the stallion's hands reached up and cupped just beneath the curve of his jaw.

"You will pay for your life yourself. It is you who will be mine. Lyne did not wish you belong to any Lord or Lady. He wished you to be free in the hopes that you would be wise enough to stay out of trouble and keep yourself safe. I see he was wrong." The fingers rubbed the edges of his jaws lightly. "I cannot trust you to be out in the world alone. Lyne will be relieved of his debt. Tomorrow he will return to the life he wishes to lead, but you... you will stay and learn exactly what gift you've been given."

"But.." Apollo started and the tail unwound itself from his neck. His stomach felt cold and heavy as he gaped at the dark creature. "I.. mean.."

"Do you take it back then? Do you wish Lyne to remain here?" Kalan's tone was dangerously calm and the jaguar swallowed back a tinge of fear.

"No, no.. he doesn't owe me that.." He stammered and the stallion gave a short nod, almost of approval.

"Then it is settled. It will be acceptable for me to reward a favored human in such a way so that he becomes one of my people. I will hope that you learn to keep a civil tongue in your head." Kalan dropped back into his seat and Apollo stumbled to his. "You are dismissed, tomorrow, we will begin your... education."

Apollo tried to think of something to say. He tried to figure out what would make the situation, but the only thoughts that came were ones that would make them work. In the end he stumbled out of the control room and into the silent hall with his stomach in knots. The interview hadn't gone the way he'd expected it to. It hadn't gone anything like he'd planned. He didn't even know what it all meant. All he knew was that he had to talk to Lyne.