A/N: Rated T for now, may go up as I go along. Yes I went back and added some more, gave it more details and emotion. Hopefully it's much better than before, I think it's an improvement and hopefully other chapters will make it more interesting. Reviews and comments appreciated.

Thank you Lady Silver Fang, your advice was very much appreciated and helped a great deal.

The Beginning

By: Arianstar (Brandi White)

The Beginning

By: Arianstar (Brandi White)

Despite her families warnings, the threat of banishment and loss of her life; Ashlin Nolan had refused to stop her observations of the mortal realm. She found their holidays, rituals and other things fascinating. Her family considered it mundane despite having to live similar to them on a daily basis. Her interest had always been human children close to her present human like age, which was sixteen.

Sweeping her waist length red-brown hair behind her shoulders she crouches within the shadows of the park. Trees her camouflage to the world, green eyes flashing over the high-schooler’s with interest. She observed a group defined as ‘Goth’ in their own shady part of the yard, among other crowds defined as ‘popular’, ‘geek’, ‘freak’, and many others. To her it was ridiculous to place labels on ones own kind, in her case pack. You worked as one, a family and lived close for protection.

The area she had chosen was in the middle of the woods that surrounded the town. No one could see her unless they knew she was there, she was careful to conceal her presence within the shrubbery, leaves blending with her black clothing. The laughter and noise of the kids nearby attracted her interest, much to her displeasure they were harassing a nerd, (what they defined him) tossing about his books and apparently one had stolen his glasses.

In a moment of fury she considered stepping to the aid of the boy, but noise among the shrubs behind her attracted her interest and she froze.

“Ashlin!” hissed an all too familiar voice forcing her hair to stand on end.

She turned sharply to the sound and come nose to nose with a pair of gold colored eyes, the sleek black body of the panther glaring her down. “Manix.” She realized that her oldest brother had again followed her; he had become a sort of guardian to keep her from being banished from the pack. “You’re in panther form.” She warned watching his gold eyes narrow.

“I know.” He growled, the sound feral and uninviting like she was used to. “Transform…” he pauses considering her suspicious gaze. “…you’ve been summoned.

“Summoned.” One word that no panther shifter would ever want to hear from her brother, she had been again observed with humans. This could lead to more dangers than she wanted to consider, including the loss of her life. Her tribe leaders were merciless and harsh, no one could protect her from the pacts judgment, not even those who bore her and were blood line.

She observed her brother’s form disappear and blend within the inky shadows of the forest, a feather light hiss warning her not to take too long. Defeated she allowed the change to come, closing her eyes and readying her body for the pain.

Hearing the familiar popping sounds and feeling her body stretch, Ashlin’s clothing of black jeans and halter top faded into the black fur lining her light skin, her two blue streaks blending into her fur creating a fine double marking beside her ear and the top of her head. Her mouth stretched forming the feline teeth of a panther. She felt her body become inflamed with the change, her flesh almost melting into her feline form, stifling her cries of pain biting her lip. The tears that passed her eyes reminded her she was still young and the change would ease as she grew into her form and natural abilities. Finally her change was complete, wincing she gently nursed her paw and arched getting the feel of her form.

With one final weary glance toward the human world she bolted into the cover of the woods, keeping in step with her brother and her anxieties for what lay ahead growing with each pump of her heart, energy seeming to glow about her sleek midnight form.

Ashlin could feel her brother’s emotions ten fold now, her inability to control her empathy ability finally revealing his true concerns. Being back at the school yard she could not sort through the emotions around her, she had yet to learn how to do so. Now though she could feel the true fear almost moving from her brother in invisible waves, like a choking fog enclosing around her heart. Not only was she to be punished but she could sense his concern that he would be the punisher.

Passing the thickening trees about her and dodging bushes, she stumbled across a hole before growling in frustration. A panther shifter of her breeding should not be that obviously clumsy; she hissed again finding an upturned root and lay all four feet sticking out around her. Manix turned frustrated by her usual grace and snarled irritably, his emotions were wreaking havoc with her own and making her empathy ability stronger. At the rate they were going she would be an emotional train wreck before the real hell began.

Coming to a clearing deep in the foresting area of her small town home, the trees and brush the thickest, Ashlin froze in the circle of panthers before her. Her family was to the right of the leaders, lined close together all eyes downcast. The four eldest of the pack allowed their assortment of cold gazes to fall onto her hers. Jade eyes widened when the worst of her fears come to pass.

“We are gathered here tonight due to Ashlin Amaranth Nolan’s betrayal to her pack…” cold steel gray eyes followed the stiffening of her spine and noted her head tilt wearily toward the others around her. “…I Baron of the Panther tribe South has decreed, with the agreement of the rest of the elders that…” he paused head turning to another of the elders, a female with violet eyes.

Those violet orbs met Ashlin with a ferocity that made her blood run cold. All she could feel around her was the hatred, the cold, and the true anger behind her innocent actions. She never broke the decree of her people to never harm a human, she had kept her distance, blended in with them and most of all returned home immediately after her schooling to avoid encountering their practices, now her curiosity had cost her a great deal.

“Ashlin will be banished, forever from this tribe…” the female eldest known as Raina allowed her eyes to travel to Ashlin’s fallen family. “…If she survives she will leave never to return, if she dares to attempt a return we will all kill her. Do you have anything left to say to your daughter before she…is no longer a member of our pack?” eight still as statue panthers didn’t even spare Ashlin a glance, the sun casting a strange glow across their midnight fur.

Ashlin allowed her watery gaze to meet her mother and father; none of her six siblings offered her a sign of emotion any more than they did. “Manix?” she whispered her throat crushing harshly, tears choking her.

“None.” Whispered her father sounding broken, her mother seemed to curl into herself lowering her body down and burying her face within her front paws.

“I did nothing to violate the decrees of my people!” She was trying to grasp at straws, her emotions and those around her confusing her to no end. It made her control waver completely, all emotion free to wreak havoc. “I DID NO WRONG! I only observed, I stayed in my own boundaries, I remained with the other pack members. I only observed! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!” she cried her heart breaking further with the untamed growl near to her side. “Manix?” she whispered barely able to believe his actions.

To her horror a large clawed paw come to her face, sending a bleeding gash across her eye, a horrible tearing sound forcing her to cry out in pain and horror. Jumping back out of pure instinct Ashlin went to defend herself, claws extended she ripped and thrashed at her brother, both sharing their equal amount of blows and blood flowing freely across varying wounds. Regret and sadness was in his golden gaze as he slashed driving her back, watching his baby sister trying to fend him off, which was killing him slowly inside out.

“Run.” He managed biting at her one last time and throwing her hard, she hit a tree all her air leaving her lungs in a violent gasp. “Run” he snarled low eyes blazing amber in the morning light.

His harsh growl bit into her heart, forcing her to regret her next action. Lunging she forced him straight down into the ground and took to the nearest trees, fleeing before he could change his mind or the elders could see he was freeing her to the wild.

Ashlin was now banished and fleeing the only home she ever knew, where she would go she didn’t know. Finally after hours of running, heart wrenching in her chest and hatred clouding her emotions she broke down, changing into her human form at the edge of a busy road.

Cars rattled by like forgotten ghosts, unaware of the panther shifter weeping in a ball among the tall grass, smell of earth and moisture her only comfort. She winced at each car that past remind her that she was no longer part of her world and would never belong in this world.

Her fingers met the permanent reminder that she was banished, feeling the warm blood color her fingers, sliding down from the wound from her brother. “Where do I go?” she whispers sadly before her gaze lands on a diner.

To further wound her pride, other than she had lost her life, forever have a wound to scar her heart as well as her flesh, she realized she would have to become one of the humans. She would have to blend in to their world, control her powers, urges, and keep her identity secret at alls costs. Not all humans were receptive to her kind or any other supernatural beings in general.

Her future looked beyond bleak; she could only see her undoing and watch herself fall into a world of hatred, un-acceptance and fear. She would never have a true home again and would wander endlessly trying to regain a part of herself she could never have again. In that moment Ashlin Nolan died inside, her spirit crushed and anger driving her forward. She would never car again, trust or love, she would always be alone and that was what how she wanted to remain. No one could hurt her again.

“It’s time to find a way on my own.” She whispers bitterly, before ignoring her tattered clothing and making a dangerous attempt to cross the road to the diner and her desolate future.