She ran to Zach, and bit playfully at his side, then ran off. He chased after her, and they bounded around the yard like little kittens, jumping at each other, running little races, pouncing and rolling around on the grass.
Teri had never, ever had as much fun as this.
Finally, they dropped to the grass together, exhausted. Teri nosed her way along Zach's flank until she was curled up right next to him. She felt ready to just take a nap. She could dimly remember reading somewhere that cats, as the highest-level predators on earth, expended tons of energy in short bursts and then slept for long periods of time to replenish it.
She was just drifting off, loving the warm feeling of Zach breathing against her fur, when she heard the back door open. She lifted her head as a familiar scent drifted out from the house.
Teri's human side marveled at this—she wouldn't have thought that she knew what Joel smelled like. But her leopard nose recognized him instantly, and marked him as not-a-threat, as part of the pack. Go to sleep, her leopard was insisting. We were about to have a nice nap.
But Teri was wondering what Joel would do, so she kept herself awake. Beside her, Zach had lifted his head, and was watching the door.
Joel stood there for a long moment, looking at them curled up on the lawn together. And then he stepped out the door...and changed.
His form was more gray than white, unlike Zach's, and he was huskier, more heavily muscled. But he had the same markings on his face and tail, and when he moved, Teri saw exactly the same wild grace.
He came trotting up to them, sniffing the ground around them, and touching noses with Zach. He sniffed at Teri, and she sniffed back, smelling only family and safety from him.
Finally, Joel trotted off again...to the same tree. Teri grinned internally—looked like there might be some fighting for prime branch real estate in their future.
Joel climbed up much higher than Teri had gone, and settled into a little hollow that Teri wouldn't have th
ought would support his weight. Against the grey-brown of the trunk and in the evening darkness, with his dappled coat, once he stopped moving he all-but-disappeared.
Zach relaxed again, stretching out his paws and then curling around Teri once more, so Teri snugged into him and let her eyes drift closed.
It felt...right. Pressed up against Zach's warm body, taking a nap out on the lawn in the twilight, while Joel perched on the tree above them, close by. Teri could picture so many nights like this in the future. Relaxing in the evening with her family.
She dozed a little. It was amazing how comfortable she was in her snow leopard's body. As a human, she’d been so focused on how much better she was that she hadn't thought about how much she'd still been feeling exhaustion, aches and pains, soreness...all of the long-term effects of not only the accident, but the long, long recovery.
All of that was gone now. She felt wonderful, strong and comfortable in her body and happy. It was amazing.
Their naps ended when Joel leapt down from the tree, padding over to where they lay. He shifted, blurring and changing until he was standing over them as a human.
Teri shifted too, feeling like it was only polite, and next to her Zach did the same. He stood up and offered her a hand, so she took it and pulled herself up so that they were all standing together.
Joel was looking at her. He said, "You smell like family."
"Thank you." Teri didn't know exactly where Joel was going with this, but she knew she was grateful to hear it.
"You should move in," Joel said. "You belong here. I didn't realize it before, but now..." He looked around at the house and the yard. "You and Zach smell like you belong together. And this was nice, tonight, all of us here as a family. So. Don't stay away because you think I wouldn't like it. I would like it."
Teri stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Joel. There was a moment where he stiffened, and she wondered if she'd made the wrong choice, but then he hugged her back. She inhaled and thought the same thing—Joel smelled like family.
She stepped back and said, "I've never had a brother before. I'm looking forward to it."
Joel grinned, a quick flash of teeth, there and gone in a brief second. "We'll see if you're still saying that after a month. Listen, I'm headed out," this to Zach. "Going to hang out in the mountains for a while. I spent last night stuck in human form at the bottom of that crevasse, I need to shift and run."
Zach nodded. "Be careful."
"Always am." Another flash of a grin, and Joel was heading for the house.
"We brought you food!" Teri called after him.
"Already ate it!" he called back, and then he was gone, the sliding glass door whirring behind him.
Teri turned to Zach. "Well."
"Well," he said. "That's a welcome if I ever heard one. Do you want to move in?" He smiled, and then stretched, catlike even in his human form.