The Shark And The Wolf

This story stars characters by XelArtz, and is set very roughly in his world (with permission). All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. That said? This one’s for fun, so I hope you have fun reading it.

This story rates a heavy Lime on the citrus scale. There will be (a lot of) strongly suggestive actions and dialogue, but all sex acts are fade to black. All characters depicted are anthropomorphic and over 18.

—

The turbulent waters of the stormy sea deterred most who would be there. Boaters were staying at home. Swimmers didn’t want to be battered by the currents and waves. Even most fish decided to either go down to where it was peaceful, or else go away to where they weren’t being tenderized. Not so for one slender bluish being, slicing her way through the waters she now found peaceful.

Iniki, character and art by XelArtz

Iniki was a product of two wildly different lineages. A woman of wildly disparate opinions. Like the Sharks of her mother’s side, dispassionate and calm as she slid through the waters. Like the Dragons of her dad’s side, gregarious and charismatic. Iniki took the tides and currents in stride, but felt that another place might be better for her. Although she was perfectly alright here, there wasn’t anyone else. That meant none of her admiring fans. No, this would not do for now. With the storm over her head, that meant finding calmer waters. With a few powerful kicks, Iniki launched herself upward. Up, to where the wave tops chopped and battered those less capable than her. Up, past that, launching herself up into the air several dozen feet beyond the reach of the waves. In the pounding rain, as gravity struggled to bring her back down, she turned a slow circle.

The storm is headed South, so that means the sun should be out to the north. Time to go!

She was nude in the water, as she sliced through the sea once more. Despite her job as a model, she had always been indifferent to the bikini’s presence or absence. What mattered more to her was how it would show her off above the waves. More specifically, how it wouldn’t stay on when she shapeshifted herself into a more slender form to get her speed. A simple black bikini was stuffed into a pouch, which itself was secured to her left leg with a couple of elastic straps. She felt the flow of the water over her skin, along the backward spikes at the corner of her face she inherited from her dad, along the fins she got from her mom. The same powerful kicks that could launch her so far into the air powered her forward. It didn’t take long until she could again see rays of sunlight trying to pierce the water’s surface, come to highlight her like the world was giving her a spotlight.

Some minutes later, the individual rays had become a solid sheet of light. The waters warmed. Eventually, there were people. Boats making their lazy way over shallow waters, others on the beaches. It was time to make her appearance, but not just any appearance. It was her time to shine. Iniki was a bikini model. She knew she had a body fit to show off, and how to do it. And, well, that was before the shapeshifting came into play.

The process was precise. Whatever else was true, she didn’t know if there were kids on the beach so she needed to keep some decency. If not much. Step one, approach the beach. Step two, Shapeshift into her more… presentable form. One that was worth showing off. Less practical, much more fun. Step three, put on the black bikini, then stand up and begin to walk out of the waves.

Step four, though, that was always the fun one. As she rose up from the waters, gravity took hold, and she could begin to make… adjustments. Get her hips broadened, get the skin slick just right, and her favorite was reserved for when she saw the men on the beach. Walking forward, a tiny bit of focus onto her chest, until she felt the familiar weight. It was always by weight, there was no better way to judge that she had done it right. Other than the stares of those men, anyway. Iniki looked good, and loved looking good. It was a simple set of facts, one that had shaped her life and career.

One that she suddenly found to be secondary, by a long distance. Those same men who should be throwing themselves at her feet looked for a split second like they were going to, then began to flee with eyes wide. This would not do. The Shark, so self-assured, turned to see what exactly they were fleeing from.

“Okay, maybe that was reasonable.”

An entity seemingly made from the vilest tar of the bottom of the oceans was climbing out of the waves, several stories tall and obviously very angry. To be fair, so was she. It had been days since she had a good time at the beach, in the Summer no less, and Iniki was not about to let this thing stop her. Her own feet began pounding sand, driving her towards the threat. She wouldn’t be a threat to such a thing, not at her size… but that could be fixed. As she approached, she grew. The footprints in the sand behind her were deeper and deeper as she bulked and grew, the sound of footfalls louder as she reached her maximum size and strength.

One problem. That turned out to be half the size of the thing in front of her.

With an enormous roar, the monster of tar and weeds started lumbering in her direction. It reached back, it swung at her. Iniki desperately guarded herself against the blow… one that never landed. A brief shadow passed over the two, and a tiny speck fell from the skies.

Well, tiny compared to the towering combatants, anyway. The Maned Wolf was merely human-sized. His effect on the battlefield was anything but small, though. Flames trailed from his body, from his feet to the top of his mohawk, his crystalline sword glowing. The streak of light looked like a shooting star. Thankfully for Iniki, it was much more personal. A line of hellish red traced down the thing’s left bicep… at least, where a bicep would be on a person… and the arm fell off. Severed and cauterized, the smell indescribably terrible.

Nisha, by XelArtz

It roared in pain. Iniki gagged. Suddenly, the shadow resolved itself, a flying saucer overhead, one door open as what looked like an Arctic Fox leaned out and calmly pointed one finger at the beast. Before it could recover there was a titanic crack and boom as lightning flashed out of the clear blue skies, finishing the job his buddy had started. Iniki just stared. This was… not at all what she had expected out of today. The saucer hovered closer, the fox staring her in the face. Quite the trick, considering he was presently the size of one of her eyeballs. Up close, she could see the metallic tips of his ears, the jagged stripes of color on his pelt. He was yelling something, but the combination of distance from her actual ears combined with the aftereffects of the lightning strike made it impossible for the giant shark to hear.

Xela, by XelArtz

He solved this in the classic way, by pulling out a megaphone. “Hey! We got the monster, but good work running towards the danger! Mind shrinking back down so we can talk?”

Well, that made sense. “Sure!” Iniki yelled back, causing the Fox to wince from the volume. Oops. Easy to forget when the previous thoughts in her head had been about kaiju fights. Shrinking down, she noticed a few oddities. Well, besides the giant monster corpse. The Maned Wolf was there, looking none the worse for wear despite having just fallen from the skies, and no parachute was in evidence. What was there, though, were several swathes of sand turned into glass.

The saucer landed nearby, the Maned Wolf jogging over as its door opened back up. “Xela! Please don’t tell me you’re going to try to recruit another one?”

“She ran directly towards the fight, Nisha. Really good shapeshifters who are willing to do that are not common.” The Arctic Fox stepped out, followed closely by a mostly-cybernetic Collie and an icy blue Wolf. The latter was peering at her, as though in concentration. Or recognition.

The blue Wolf’s eyes snapped open. “I know her! Xela, she’s famous. Iniki, if I remember the name, a model. Apparently a shapeshifter, too.”

Kamira, by XelArtz

The voice and the recognition sparked a memory in the Shark’s mind. “Wait… I think I know you. Kamira, isn’t it? Been to your club a couple of times, but it was incognito. Good mimosas, by the way.”

“I should think so. Developed our house recipe myself.” She looked over at the Arctic Wolf. “What exactly are you thinking? We were here for vacation.”

He shook his head. “We all know that the Stormbreakers only get to relax as long as people are safe. You’re our resident shapeshifter expert, think she’s worth recruiting?”

Iniki’s hands came to her hips, head tilted. “You know I’m standing here, right? What makes you think I want to join?”

The tall Arctic Fox… Xela… looked back at her. “I have a bit of a feel for these things by now… and you’re the one who ran towards the fight without bothering to check if it was within your ability to win. If all you wanted to do was model, you could have swam right back out to the ocean or found a yacht.”

Iniki had to admit, he made some good points.

The smaller Collie next to him was looking at her a bit oddly through this exchange. “You know, for a shapeshifter, I’d have thought you would be wearing more adjustable clothing. I don’t personally care, but I’m pretty sure Nisha’s a bit distracted. Name’s Suri, by the way, nice to meet you.”

Suri, by XelArtz

It was at this point that Iniki realized that her bikini, no matter how strong it was, had given up the ghost and torn asunder as it failed to contain her expanding form about five minutes ago. So had the straps on her pouch. “Um. Have anything around my size? I’ll make it fit.”

—

It was several hours later that Iniki found herself seated at a table with the odd and eclectic bunch that had come to her rescue.  With them were two more women, a Tigress and a Cheetah, apparently named Anita and Rita. The former was in a dress, but seemed to not enjoy the fact. The latter was in what could charitably be called a stripped-down leotard. Both were regarding the newest guest with some curiosity. Speaking of clothing, Kamira was letting the Shark borrow a swimsuit of her own… but one that was definitely sized for someone much less… shapely… than either of them. Iniki had to shapeshift herself down considerably to make it work.

Rita, by XelArtz

Anita, by XelArtz

It was Anita who asked “are you sure this is a good time, Xela? All things considered?”

He shook his head. “We don’t have much choice. You, Rita, Suri and I need to get back to the palace. Your dad called, and you know patience is not exactly his virtue. Besides, that still leaves our primary combatant and our primary shapeshifter to see what she’s made of, and get her trained up.”

Kamira shook her head right back. “I might be the best shapeshifter we’ve got, but I’m not on Iniki’s level for that. We can push her to make sure she’s doing well, but I’m going to have to leave her with a lot of self-development to go.”

Suri looked around the table. “I’m sure you will make it work. I’ll leave the keys to Equipment Closet Two.”

Nisha’s eyes got wide. “Two? Since when do you trust us in there?”

“Since I moved all the stuff I didn’t want you breaking into Three.”

Nisha seemed to very suddenly get interested in the patterns in the burnished metal surfaces of the table. Iniki wondered what the story was behind that one, but figured that she’d get it eventually.

Why am I thinking about “eventually” already?

The thoughts were interrupted by a very slight pressure to the side, a tiny change of the sound of the engines. Suri looked up, towards the cockpit, her large ears twitching forward. “Sounds like we’re here. Call it ten minutes before they realize it.”

“Suri, you know I asked you not to do the Stealth thing when we’re visiting Anita’s family.”

“Really? It doesn’t look like any of you have your equipment on, and only Anita is wearing palace clothing. I just bought you ten… now nine and a half… minutes to go get it.”

Iniki looked on with further fascination as half the table immediately scrambled for the various rooms, closets, and equipment bays on the saucer. She likely would have been much more concerned about it if Kamira and Nisha had acted in any way surprised about any of this. Suri, for her part, glanced at the clock on the wall almost exactly five minutes later, sighed a bit, and walked in the entirely opposite direction. One labeled “Launch Bay.” This would be followed, three minutes later, by Xela, Rita, and Anita.

They were at a fairly significant scramble, a fact which greatly amused those at the table. A moment later, there was a faint metallic thunk as the landing shuttle launched. A sudden silence marked the end of the preparations and mission launch. Nisha shook his head. “Alright. I wasn’t expecting that to actually be how this all went down, so good news for you. Your training begins tomorrow morning, first thing. Need to figure out which bits of what I do are going to be relevant to you. Kamira, I’m headed to our room.”

“I’ll join you later. Iniki here has a few talents that I need to test and instruct, and before I can plan I need to check a few things. Call it an hour or two? I’ll make sure she’s set up in her room.”

“Sounds good. Need anything from the equipment closet?”

“Actually, yes. Box six should be in there, that’ll be useful for this.” Nisha nodded, leaving and returning promptly with the requested box. It was a small thing, barely palm sized, but after handing it over the Maned Wolf quickly walked off.

Iniki could not help herself. “What the heck is that, and how is it going to help… whatever it is you’re doing?”

Kamira opened it, pulling out what appeared to be a thin, black choker. It was dainty, the only adornment a single gold circle. “Put this on, and do not use your shapeshifting unless either Nisha or I give you permission. You get the right to have your boobs back once you’re trained.”

Iniki was curious enough to do something stupid. Immediately after slipping the choker over her head, around her neck, she focused inward once more. Something to show off, to prove she was beyond such a petty restraint. The image had barely taken form in her mind when she figured out exactly how the choker worked. Specifically, she found herself on the receiving end of what felt like a full-body lightning strike.

“Knew you’d try that. I did, too, after all. Now, let’s go on to your room and get you settled, then the actual test.”

It was with considerably more trepidation that Iniki walked with Kamira over to the sparsely-furnished room she would be staying in for now. There was a closet, mostly empty other than simple and unstylish clothing. There was a screen on one wall, whether for television or something else Iniki could not tell. A phone or intercom on the wall, A good-sized but plain bed. The door snapped shut behind them, and suddenly Kamira was grasping her from behind. One powerful arm around her torso, another pulling her head to the side, the tail grasping her waist. Her fingertips were tracing lines of ice along her skin, the sensation making her skin tingle. She was speaking directly into Iniki’s ear. “I know I’ve wanted to bed you since the first time I saw you onscreen, and if I smell things right… and I always do… you feel the same way about me. So, here’s your test. We are going to have some fun for the next hour, and I am going to put you through your paces. You are going to try to keep up, without shapeshifting. I am under no such restraint. Sound good to you?”

Iniki could only nod. Kamira had been absolutely right.

—

The others were not yet back the following morning, so a still-slightly-dazed Iniki, in the black swimsuit and a white tee shirt, got to enjoy some quiet coffee. She brewed enough for three. Kamira and Nisha came out sniffing the air, and Kamira poured for both of them with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

Nisha gladly accepted his mug and sat down, seeming to be deep in thought. Or slightly dazed, too, it was hard to tell from the outside. “Kamira, I forgot to ask last night, got a bit distracted. You get what info you needed?”

Kamira nodded at him. “Yes, I definitely did. Iniki, you did better than I expected. Normally, when it smells like fish, that’s a sign for me to stop.”

Iniki snapped out of her daze quickly. “And usually, when I call someone frigid it’s an insult. Guess we’re even.”

Nisha nearly spit out his coffee as his brain caught up. “Should have guessed. Willpower and endurance training?”

“Of course.”

“And she’s good on both?”

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

“Good. Iniki, what’s your weapon of choice?”

She might have been caught off-guard by the exchange, but still had an answer ready. “I’m a shapeshifting Dragon Shark. Mostly my claws and fangs, occasionally a breath weapon of tidal force.”

He thought for a few moments. “Alright, I can work with that. I’m assuming you need to do some shapeshifting to get into combat form?”

“Absolutely not.” Iniki’s smile was toothy as she pushed one claw through the solid steel tabletop with casual ease. It was Kamira’s turn to nearly spit out her coffee. “I don’t let myself be helpless. You locked me into form? No big deal. No offense, Kamira, but you weren’t testing what you thought you were.”

Nisha’s laugh was two parts a reaction to  Kamira’s expression, and three parts how much easier his job just got. “Oh, you’re going to fit right in, aren’t you? Come on, looks like I just need to put on bracers and we can get started.”

Kamira’s look was a bit whiplashed. “You’re not going in armed?”

Nisha shrugged. “I’ll know if it was a bad idea or not in a few minutes, but the first thing I need to check is if she knows what she’s doing or if she was relying on just making herself bigger than her opponents. Iniki, first bout? No shapeshifting, but you’re going to come at me as hard as you can. Five minutes. Your current form is proportioned to wear Kamira’s clothes, so you’re plenty tall enough.”

Nisha abruptly stood and started walking towards one of the halls, obviously expecting Iniki to follow. She did, wondering where this was going. The room they came to was another simple one. A large ring with padded floors, strong-looking walls (also padded). Concerningly, Iniki noticed several scorch marks on the walls… and that Kamira had not followed them. Nisha went to a rack on the wall and pulled out a pair of protective bracers, leaving the practice sword there.

“Alright then, Iniki. On my command, you have five minutes. Ready? Begin.”

—

Five minutes and three seconds later, Nisha called the halt. Much to Iniki’s irritation, he did so calmly and smoothly. There was no indication that he was out of breath, hurt, or otherwise perturbed in the slightest.

Iniki, on the other hand, collapsed into a smoldering heap. The black bikini swimsuit had survived unscathed, but the white shirt she wore over it basically consisted of just enough charred threads to define where the holes had been burnt into it. She had managed to touch Nisha exactly twice in those five minutes of constant aggression, both times glancing off of those bracers. The one time she’d gotten the space to use her breath weapon, it hit nothing but air and the far wall.

“Just like I thought. You’re plenty strong and fast, and those claws are definitely well-designed, but you aren’t used to fighting real enemies.”

“I’m a model, what do you expect?”

“Sure, and Kamira’s a bartender. We have a lot of work to do. Go get cleaned up, breakfast should be ready soon. Then the real work begins.”

Iniki found that she vastly preferred Kamira’s approach to testing. Still, the shower felt good, so did throwing away the white shirt and replacing it with one that was clean and whole. This time, she also put on a pair of black leggings that she found. It seemed like the time for flirting was over. Breakfast was basic, waffles and sausage, but it would do. What wouldn’t was the fact that, immediately after breakfast, her two trainers fitted her with weights.

“It’s pretty simple,” Kamira said as they loaded up bracers, legwraps, vest, and a headband for the Shark, “shapeshifting largely works as a multiplier. If you’re weak at base, it can make you strong. If you’re strong, it can make you powerful. If you’re powerful, it can make you unstoppable. It can turn fast into lightning, tough into nigh invulnerable. The better you are at shapeshifting, the more you can push what you’ve got, but you’re already really good at it. That means the best effect is going to come from pushing your baselines.”

“Meaning?”

Nisha smirked again. “Meaning that whenever you’re training, you’re wearing this. From now until the gang’s back, you are either sleeping, showering, or training. Period. Come on, move around a bit.”

Iniki could move… technically. It took enormously more effort for her to do so, her muscles protesting under the added strain. “How much do these freaking things weigh? I’m scared I’m going to crater the floor!”

“Enough.”

“I’d say my limbs feel leaden, but that’s not it. Lead’s not that heavy.”

“You’re absolutely right. Lead wouldn’t do enough for us, Suri makes our training weights from strips of osmium.”

“All of a sudden, I’m not as embarrassed about this morning.”

The three of them returned to the same sparring room as before, Kamira and Nisha strapping on some similar-looking weights on their legs and wrists. Nisha hefted his arms a bit to make sure everything was in place, then grinned. “So tell me, Iniki. You ever play dodgeball before?”

She had, just not quite like this. Nisha launched jets of sullen flame at her. Kamira pelted her with snowballs. Her task was to not get hit. While carrying what felt like more weight than Atlas. Much easier said than done. Over an hour later, dripping with sweat, Iniki got hit by eight of these attacks in a row. That was apparently enough for her trainers to call a mercy stop to let her get showered and pass out for a nap. This was followed by some basic martial arts at Nisha’s hands, with weights, until she was drenched with sweat again and begging for lunch. Which they let her have, but not take off the weights while eating it. Followed by a lot more of the same.

As she came back from her THIRD shower of the day, praying for dinner, she noticed Nisha looking frustrated. “Looks like Xela’s group won’t be back for about a week. They couldn’t quite get out of this mission.” Iniki’s heart knew fear.

“Looks like we have to have SOME mercy, then.” Kamira was, thankfully, being the voice of reason. “If we do this again tomorrow Iniki might not survive it.” Iniki was not normally the type to pray. Today was an exception, as she begged any Higher Power who might be listening for some mercy.

“You’re right. Okay, looks like we’re doing alternating days.”

At this point, the cost of silence was too high. Iniki had to ask “what do you mean by that?”

Nisha looked back at her, as if barely noticing she was actually present. “Today was day one. Tomorrow will be split between lighter training, though still weighted, and active recovery. Then we repeat. Going full bore only made sense when we thought it was going to be a day or two, not for more than a week.”

Iniki definitely agreed with the sentiment.

—

As it would turn out, “lighter training” was a bit of a technicality. The fact that Iniki could breathe underwater meant that she wouldn’t drown. Swimming three miles with weights was not exactly easy no matter how good of a swimmer the subject was. The sweat didn’t show this time, if only because the ocean washed it away as she went.

Lunch was plain, filling, and very much appreciated. As was the fact that “active recovery” was not under weight. Iniki’s limbs felt like limp noodles as she stretched, her heart rate refusing to significantly subside as she aggressively used foam rollers and massage guns to force the pain out of her muscles. Kamira was giggling a bit as she used the massage gun, Iniki did not really know why, but they worked. The endless agony receded rapidly, replaced by overwhelming fatigue. Eventually, the tension left her body enough to do a light jog for a couple of miles, interspersed by drinking enough water that she might have otherwise asked to swim through it.

Of course, Kamira insisted on extra training in the evening before bed, but given that it was her particular style Iniki did not mind in the slightest. Especially when Nisha decided to help.

And so the cycle continued. Five more times, as it would turn out, as whatever mission Xela, Suri, and Anita were on went long. As Iniki rapidly caught up to Nisha’s standards. By the time Xela returned, he was quite happy with the results.

“Alright! Don’t even need to ask about numbers, I can see the difference here. Nisha and Kamira really put you through your paces, huh?”

Just the thought of it made her sweat a little.”You could say that. I’ve never been trained this hard in my life.”

“Good. We’re going to take you back to where we found you. If you want to join us more long-term, you have a lot of arrangements to make. If not, keep in touch. We could always use someone in reserve.”

“Hold up a sec, Xela!” Nisha looked furious. “All of that, and we’re dropping her back off?”

“You know the drill. No matter who it is, they need to choose. Freely, of their own will, not at the tail end of training. Iniki here will either return to us or not, but I’m not going to lock her in the ship until then. Speaking of, Iniki, you can take off the choker. Suri already deactivated it.” Her neck felt curiously bare without the adornment, but she surrendered it without complaint. It would be good to be back to her full form again, to self-optimize for every task. Including sleeping, later that evening, her form softening into something more plush in the privacy of her room. It felt nice.

Just like it felt nice when she dove back into her home ocean the next day. She could hunt her favorite fish again. She could swim freely, slicing through the waters at speeds far exceeding anything she had been capable of two weeks before. There was no storm this time, nothing to keep the people away from the beaches on this fine summer morning. Nothing to keep her from darting directly towards a favorite of hers, a place that would normally be a day’s journey away from where she dropped.

Once again, Iniki was back on her routine. Approach the beach to find the right spot. Put on her black bikini, once again stored in a thigh pouch. Step up to the surface, basking in the adoration, and shapeshift into a form that would draw and hold the eyes and thoughts of everyone present.

Her hips broadened, her limbs and belly toned more presentably. Finally, she closed her eyes and focused on the flashy part, her chest. Felt the slow growth, until the pull of gravity balanced against the easy efforts of her back and chest. Listened to the gasps… which, come to think of it, definitely did not sound the same as before. There was definite attention there, but blended with shock?

For that matter, the water only came up to her calves. Why were the underside of her breasts feeling wet? Iniki’s eyes opened as she took a step forward. The feeling was wrong. Bits of her taking too long to move, impacts on her legs, the feeling of dragging sand. She looked down to check what was wrong.

Apparently, what was wrong was in her ability to judge what weight meant anymore. Her breasts had not merely broken containment from the hopelessly outmatched bikini. They were enormous, well past describing with the alphabet, dragging on the ground as her new muscles supported them more easily than ever before. They still felt too light, despite each being the size of the rest of her body. This would obviously take a bit more getting used to.

“Well, at least the people on this beach will remember me!”