The more she pushed back against the Phoenix, the harder it fought her. Its fire scorched her from the inside as she felt herself being dragged along by Lucas. Andreas and Sloan were probably on their tails judging by the talking and shouting but the words didn’t register in her mind. All her senses were dulled as she focused every bit of energy in her body to keep the Phoenix at bay. The raw, brutal power roared inside her and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it back.

As she stumbled behind Lucas, she’d lost all sense of direction. She saw his form in front of her but no details except for faint golden sparks and lines fading in and out of existence. The rest of the area passed by like a blur. Suddenly, the only thing she felt was the cool air and wind caressing her skin, soothing but it was like a drop of water on a forest fire. The Phoenix kept pushing to come out and Azura could swear the flames were breaking her skin by now. By the rough push she received on her back she concluded she was probably right.

"Stop fighting it and shift, Azura!" It had to be Lucas who shouted at her and his words broke her last resistance. How she was able to hear these words and not the rest was a mystery to her.

The push came so sudden, Azura couldn’t react properly. One foot before the other before she tripped and fell to the ground; managing to catch herself on her hands. It was the final jolt that broke her restraint. Pain flared as muscles ripped themselves apart, bones broke and realigned themselves.

Her arms and knees caved and Azura fell on her side screaming as huge tremors took over her body. Her limbs were pulled out of their sockets, arms yanked back as the fire erupted all over her skin. Clothes went up in ashes as her skin blackened and peeled itself off her body. Azura screamed till her voice no longer could, and tears no longer trail from her eyes.

The flames broke free, engulfing her into their fickle fingers, and lifted her up. Azura’s head snapped backward, further than was humanly possible, and a loud screech erupted from her throat. Where her mouth used to be, a beak covered in fire started forming.

The transformation felt so unreal and unnatural to her. Every shift, crack and change hurt. She wanted to scream out in pure agony but she no longer felt the connection. The pain was in her mind, the body no longer hers yet the pain was still very real. What seemed to take forever, lasted for a couple of minutes. Her wings flapped alongside her body, her legs and feet had shifted into powerful talons. A tail with long separate tail feathers swooped from side to side.

Before the three men flew a Phoenix. Smaller than the original one, but very much alive.

It was different than when she had fused with the flaming entity. In her fight with Nathan, the Phoenix had given her its power which she had embraced. Now, the Phoenix was in control but their minds had mended together. She could see through the beaded, glassy eyes... Her eyes. A new sense of purpose had set itself in her head. Her own worries, anxiety, and sorrow were a side issue and she wondered how it ever had been so big that it ruled her life.

New sights and smells assaulted her as she viewed the world through the eyes of the legendary bird. Threads of light danced before her, connecting the living things together, almost singing in tune. They flashed a bright golden when someone or something moved. It was as if she was transcended.

All life is connected by the world’s essence. All that inhabit your world are too inferior to see it but it’s what keeps you alive.

She needed no more explanation. Everything made sense as all the knowledge the Phoenix held had melted with hers.

Azura and the Entity looked down at the men before her. Slowly she felt the Phoenix giving her control of its body. The movements were so different from what she was used to, the men beneath her would probably notice the sudden jerkiness. Luckily, the majority of the pain had subsided, but every slow flap to keep her hovering hurt as she used the muscles of a body she was completely unfamiliar with. She wouldn't last long, that much was clear.

It was kind of amusing to watch the three of them stare at her in awe and fear, so Azura tried to hold on to this new shifter form. She watched in curiosity as Lucas stepped forward. The gold lines jumped from him, sparks all around his body but around his arm, they intensified. Azura cocked her bird head sideways as she could see the contours of the feather mark through his clothing and before she could wonder about it, it all became clear.

Stepping forward, he was scared but she observed his worry too. "Azura? If it's you right now, could you give us a sign?"

She could do that. They could do that. She planned to set herself on the ground. As she focused on the slow beating of her wings and placement of her talons she missed the person who emerged from the building.

"That's Azura?! She is the fucking Phoenix?!"

Floyd came rushing towards her, pure hatred in his eyes. As Azura snapped her head towards him, she lost her control and balance. The internal balance between her and the Phoenix shattered, separating them mentally while she was leading its body. Forgetting her arms were no longer arms but wings, and her legs no longer legs, she acted as if she were protecting herself as a human.

The Phoenix tried taking control over her body but she felt that it was completely exhausted as well and not capable of correcting her, let alone take over its own body. The graceful hovering was finished as they crashed to the ground, exhaustion taking over as their energy completely drained, forcing Azura to start the shift back right as the flaming bird crashed to the ground.

*

Lucas carefully dabbed at her head with a cold, damp towel. Her skin was still burning up and every time he opened her eyelids, her eyes were still that flaming red color. Her breathing was steady and strong but she’d shown no signs of waking up anytime soon. He carefully caressed her face, placing a kiss on her forehead before a knock on the door made him pull away from her. Professor Sloan entered the room as Lucas opened the door.

"How is she doing?" Sloan's gaze lingered on the pale complexion of Azura.

"Still burning up and her eyes still haven't returned to normal. They normally take some time to do that though so I'm not overly worried about that. Has Andreas returned yet?" Lucas sat back on the bed next to Azura while the Professor kept standing.

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"No. I think he has his hands full with Floyd still."

Lucas shuddered at the memory of what had transpired. The Azura-Phoenix had crashed while in the process of shifting back. Her head had hit the ground hard while Floyd was in mid-shift and about to attack. He had never seen two werewolves fight before, let alone an Alpha fighting a Beta and forcing him into submission. Professor Sloan and himself had gotten Azura away from there as soon as they could while they left the gigantic gray wolf that was Andreas to deal with Floyd.

Sloan walked closer to the bed while studying Azura closely. He also opened one of her eyes momentarily to take a closer look at her iris.

"You're thinking we should kill her aren't you?" Lucas calmly said the words making Sloan turn towards him.

"Can't say the thought hadn't crossed my mind but that's not the way to deal with this. We find ourselves in unknown territory but killing her would bring us nothing. She is still Azura and not a Phoenix on a rampage."

"I was hoping you would say that." Lucas had placed his hand on Azura's legs, slowly stroking on top of the blankets.

"This was her first time shifting into the Phoenix right?" Sloan closed her eye again and started pacing around the room.

"Yes. Before, it looked more like she had fused with it. Only that happened when she was in her snow leopard form. Now it was a true shift... A forced and a rather painful one by the looks of it."

"Do you think the Phoenix is getting stronger? Azura said something about it talking to her. If it's truly a self-sustaining identity within her and forced itself to come out like this I am worried for what's to come."

"It's getting stronger alright, but I truly don't think it's as evil as you perhaps think it is. I could tell Azura was back in control as soon as the shift was finished. Had Floyd not interrupted, she would have proven it."

Sloan started pacing around the room again instead of replying to Lucas. He adjusted his glasses several times as he seemed lost in thought. Lucas dipped another small towel into the cold water and gently wiped Azura's forehead again. She shifted slightly as the cool damp cloth touched her skin. A small smile appeared on Lucas's face knowing she wouldn't be out for much longer.

"Sloan, she'll be fine."

The Druid stopped his pacing and faced Lucas.

"Excuse me?"

"She'll be fine. I know you're worried about her but she's strong. The Phoenix has asked her to trust it; now I ask you to do the same. Trust her."

Professor Sloan gave him a small nod after taking one last glance at Azura.

"I'm a practical man. I trust numbers, facts, and proven statements. That being said, I've had to put my trust in her and Nora both once before and that worked out fine, so she has my trust. Always has."

Lucas gave him a relieved smile before the older man went back out. The snow leopard shifter turned back to Azura who was still passed out and laid down next to her, his arm protectively around her.

*

Every muscle in her body ached and hurt. It felt like she had been torn apart and put back together piece by piece. Azura carefully opened her eyes and it took her a moment to be able to focus properly. Besides the body discomfort, it felt like her brain had expanded and been pushed back into a space too small for it. The enlightenment she had experienced while seeing in the Phoenix’s mind was mind-blowing but the clarity it had given her was something she couldn’t reach now. Connecting the dots seemed impossible as she tried to figure out what exactly she had seen and felt.

She stared at the white ceiling while trying to move every finger and toe before even trying to look around. She felt the weight at her chest; the blanket touching her very naked skin, and the warm air against her neck every few seconds or so. When she was convinced everything still was in working order, Azura slowly moved her head from side to side but stopped as she looked at a tuft of brown hair partially resting on her chest. She started to wiggle a bit, trying to lose the weight of his head and arm on her chest. He groaned and groggily looked up as Azura moved and tried to sit up.

"Morning, Firestarter. Welcome back." Lucas turned away from her and coughed, getting rid of the itch in his throat. As he turned back Azura had set herself upright and flashed him a small, uncomfortable smile.

"I passed out naked again, didn't I?" She pulled the blankets up to her chin.

"Yes, you did." He chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead. "You still have the red eyes. Do you remember what happened?"

"Every single bit of it... Sadly... It hurt like hell. The Phoenix started pushing without warning. I knew it wanted to show them, but not like this. And then the... " She stopped as she could not find the right words to describe her feelings. “I just feel ripped apart. Mentally and physically. As if my body and mind are not my own.”

She felt remarkably alert and awake despite having just woken up from being unconscious. By now she’d had enough experience with it to know this was quite rare. A fact she didn’t know was rather good or bad. Her body was another matter though. She moved her arms from side to side slowly; they still felt like they were protruding more from her back as wings instead of her sides as arms.

"It feels like every part of my body is in the wrong place. I still feel like I have the body of the Phoenix but when I was the Phoenix it felt awkward and strange. Being a snow leopard is second nature but this is something completely different. I was trying to land safely on the ground when you asked me to give you a sign but Floyd threw off my concentration so I lost control. The Phoenix did give me full rein as soon as the shift was complete...It was a test run for it as much as it was for me." She purposely left out the part about the one thing she herself couldn’t comprehend.

"Is it something you wish to try again anytime soon?"

Azura remained silent for a moment. She felt the Phoenix inside but it remained quiet. It wasn't as strong as a presence as it normally was and she thought it probably had used up more energy than it could muster for the forced shift.

"No. Absolutely not. It's not strong enough yet and neither am I. It was a test, a try-out, and we both learned a great deal from it."

"You know, Azu, sometimes it feels like I'm dating not one, but two people...or beings...or sentients...." He teased her a little until she grabbed her pillow and threw it in his face.

"Next time it won’t be a pillow, Baby Spice! You better behave." Azura threw the blankets to the side and got out of bed. She grabbed her suitcase and searched for some clothes to put on.

"Oh, on a more serious note, where’s Floyd?" She stopped searching to put on some underwear.

"Andreas got to him before he could do anything. I haven't seen him or Floyd yet. I was here the whole time waiting for you to wake up and talking to Sloan when he was here."

"Shit...where are my bras?" She turned her attention back to the suitcase and it appeared like she hadn’t heard him. "Floyd will come around by the way. It just takes time."

"Time? He still hasn't got past the fact you had a blood-bond with Nora. Now he thinks you are the Phoenix - thus has a legitimate reason to blame you for her death and you think he'll come around?" Lucas had crossed his arms as he was talking.

"Crap! Did all my clothes get burned when I shifted? I was wearing my favorite pair of jeans." Annoyance rose in her voice as she refused to answer him.

He nodded with a goofy grin on his face as she grabbed the last piece of clothing from the suitcase almost naked. When she got everything she needed she got dressed and headed to the door. Before she got there though, Lucas had gotten up and had taken her arm to stop her from leaving.

"What do you think you're doing? You just woke up. You should be resting."

Azura smiled at him and placed her hand on top of his.

"My body and mind are aching for a run. It feels so foreign and I need to shake it off, ground myself. You're coming with me by the way. No excuses."