Page 2 of Shifting Forms For Clumsy Felines

"According to the rumours, it was after a lot of questionable behaviour. What always struck me as odd is that the humans and supernaturals all came down with the same thing at the same time."

"You don't have to worry about that here," he says.

"There might be a human among you. They're not banned from the academy."

"True. Though I'd like to think I'd notice. Humans smell different."

I raise an eyebrow, half wishing it wasn't considered rude to ask someone what kind of supernatural they are.

He guides me through the assembled students and towards a group of cheerleaders wearing a dark blue uniform with OA on the front of it. Even without talking to them, I know this is exactly what I'm looking for.

Jeremy waves at the redhead in front of everyone, and she saunters over, a sway in her hips that says she knows everyone is watching and she loves it.

"What's up, J?" she asks, not as flirtatiously as I expect given the way she's acting.

He clears his throat uncomfortably. "Hey, Zara. This is Krissi, one of my new flatmates. She wants to sign up for tryouts."

Zara's gaze rakes up and down me as she tries to make an assessment based on what she can see. I stand up straighter and hope it's enough for me to make a good impression. I don't want her to decide I'm not even worth giving a tryout to.

"Do you have any experience?" she asks.

I nod. "I've been training since I was seven, and was part of the team at King Edward's up until I came here."

She raises an eyebrow. "They're cup winners."

"Yes." I try to avoid sounding too prideful, but it's difficult. The team worked hard to win the championships several years in a row. I may not have been the captain of the team, but I still get to call myself a champion.

She clicks for one of the guys to come over with a clipboard and takes it from him. "Fill this out and we'll see you for tryouts at the end of the week."

Before I can ask her where I need to go for them, she turns and walks off, leaving me alone with Jeremy and the clipboard.

"That went well," he says cheerily.

"It did?" I'm not sure what he was witness to, but I don't think anyone can say that went particularly well.

"She didn't scream at anyone, and you got what you wanted. For Zara, that's a good interaction."

"You're not filling me with confidence about working with her," I mutter.

"I suppose it depends how much you want to be a cheerleader."

I sigh. "It's been part of me for so long that I can't imaginenotbeing one," I admit. "Is that weird?"

"Not at all."

"Some of the girls on my own squad said they thought it was. They used to say that being a leopard shifter should be more important than being a cheerleader." The words are out before I can think about whether it's a good idea to say them to a stranger.

"You're a leopard?" he asks.

"I guess. But that doesn't really feel like me. If that makes any sense."

"It does," he assures me. "I'm a tiger shifter, but it's not how I'd describe myself first and foremost."

I raise an eyebrow. "It's not?" I think he's the first fellow shifter I've met who feels the same way I do. Or he's the first to admit it out loud.

"No. I had a run-in with the former Shifter Queen that just cemented how I feel about it all. I don'twantto be a shifter above everything else. I want to be me."

"You had a run-in with the Shifter Queen?" My mouth falls open and I stare at him, both amazed and confused at the same time.