The two figures were as familiar as myself. My dearest friends. One was a brown skinned man, the other a woman. Light winked off of what laid on their throats. The two lifted their veils and the faces of Ari and Orsolya greeted me, the Lion Collar and the Bear Collar glittered at their respective throats.

The other man was not with them, though that hardly mattered. He was not important, a facade, uninvolved in the reality of their job. His name was Jon and the collar that sat at his throat was a stunning replica of the real Raven Collar.

At the thought of the Collar, my neck felt heavy. I often forgot it was there, the Raven Collar had sat at my throat for so many years now that it might as well have been a part of me. The people called me Spy for I collected their secrets. That was why I never partook in these public appearances like Ari and Orsolya did. I was always to watch, to take note of behavior actions, words. So for events like the gala, a body double was needed. He didn't even look like me. I was still torn between being grateful and irritated by that fact. I could never be mistaken for Spy since Jon looked nothing like me (all golden and pale whereas I was black and brown), but at the same time, whether I liked it or not, Spy was a part of me and no one save my friends and superiors would know the whole truth of me.

It was all very melodramatic.

I tugged at the collar of my shirt to reveal the Raven Collar to my friends and fellow Triad of Hell members. I felt a tug in my heart and knew then and there that my superior--Matteo--was growing annoyed with my lack of response. I was not in the mood to resist so I allowed the information to flow out, there was little of importance anyway. Holding it back would do nothing for me, except receive a beating.

The Collars weren't just to mark us as the Triad or as the dictators' belongings. They were imbued with magic that bound us to the dictator and by proxy anyone he chose to hand over our leashes to, which happened to be everyone in his inner circle. The magic was dark, allowing us and our Changer abilities to be controlled. Despite what people might think, we did what we did not of our own free will.

We each had our own stories for how we had gotten there, the three of us were a family and there was nothing we did not know about each other. Changers were a rare breed, animal forms like me, Lya, and Ari had were rarer still. Most Changers had small forms: mice, rabbits, house cats, even insects etc. Large predatory animals such as Lya's bear and Ari's lion were almost never heard of and birds like mine were just as scarce. When our forms had been revealed, the dictator had been fast to snatch us up.

I finished my report and Matteo frowned, there wasn't much that was usable, just basic gossip and politics. For a second I worried he might lash out, punishing me for not gleaning anything of more importance. Beside me, I saw Lya flinch. Ari placed a hand on the small of her back, his hands curling into her flesh possessively. But Matteo did not strike, he simply stalked down the corridor, his hulking form disappearing in the dim lighting.

"Let's go home." Rumbled Ari's deep voice through the gloom of the hall and the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We all lived together in a decent sized yet modest apartment despite the fact that we could have afforded a mansion sized house in the city's wealthiest district. We preferred it this way. There were three bedrooms though one was hardly used.

The unused room was technically Orsolya's but she usually slept with Ari. They weren't exactly a couple. It was all rather complicated and gave me a headache. It was clear they loved each other, but I still wasn't sure what type of love it was. They were lovers but not exclusively so, each took other lovers occasionally. They said it was something about each other knowing the other completely, that with each other there was no judgement. With each other they could be themselves, wholly and unapologetically. The other lovers they took for the opposite reason. With them, they could pretend they were normal. They claimed it was nice to be with someone who knew the whole truth and with another who knew nothing.

I could not relate.

Just like all other aspects of our lives, the dictator and his inner circle knew about Lya and Ari. We had all been surprised when they had allowed the pairing. We had later discovered that they were excited about the possibility of a child between two powerful Changers. It was disgusting, if I was being honest.

Ari threw himself into a large armchair, peeling off layers of the fine clothes he wore from the gala. In a few short seconds, he was lounging in nothing but his boxers. Ari was well built and muscular.It was an effort to keep from rolling my eyes. 

I wandered over to the thermostat and turned the dial slightly so that it would be warmer for the night. I allowed myself to focus fully on the movement of my hands, the texture of the dial beneath my fingertips. I was partially aware of Orsolya padding out of her room and coming to sit on Air's lap.

I paid them little mind. I could not blame them for coping even if their way was irritating and caused sleepless nights. My nose crinkled at the thought of the many nights I had laid awake, unable to sleep, waiting for my two friends and only family to tire and fall asleep. It was difficult to think of Ari and Lya like that: Lya was the little sister I never had; Ari, a brother.

I flopped onto my back, cupping my hands under my head. Closing my eyes, I focused on the sounds of the city around me, the honking and humming of cars, the shots of people milling about. It was a rare thing for me to have my focus solely in one place. More often than not, I was split a thousand different ways. The few fleeting moments I was allowed of singular focus, was like coming up for air after having your head held underwater.

"We have an early rehearsal tomorrow, Shaw." Ari's rumbling voice broke through the noise and my sole focus. Turning my head, I saw that Lya had changed into a shorts and a black tank top. She was indeed sitting on Ari's lap, her legs thrown over him, her head resting on his shoulder. The steady rise and fall of her chest told me she was fast asleep. Ari gently stroked her blonde hair, there was tender love in the gesture, mixed with a possessive protectiveness.

I only nodded to my friend, wishing that the rehearsal would be pushed back to say well past noon. I was not a morning person.

"What's the next ballet, again?" Ari switched from Orsolya's hair to her cheek, gently caressing the curve of her high cheekbone. "Or is it an opera?"

"It's a ballet." I responded back, sighing a little. "But you knew that already, so what do you want." It was hard to get anything past me and Ari knew that, the only question was what did he want.

Ari's deep chuckle permeated the room in low ripples. He had moved on to drawing circles on Lya's thigh. I was pretty sure if I hadn't been there, he would have had Lya's tank top shucked up to expose the creamy white skin of her waist. I was glad the fabric covered her.

"Can I not simply talk to my brother-in-arms?" He considered for a second. "Well, brother-in-claws."

My lips quirked up at the sides but I gave a clipped no in answer. I drew myself up and padded my way over to the chair where Ari sat with Lya. Carefully, I gathered Lya up in my arms. The steady rise and fall of her chest did not falter even as she squirmed and snuggled deep into my chest. She was incredibly tiny; it felt as if I could break her with a mere jostle. But, that was far from the truth. Lya was as strong as she was tiny, her training had made sure of it both as a Triad member and as a ballerina. I deposited my friend in her own bed.

I didn't bother looking at Ari as I threw on a scarf and made my way out of the apartment. I knew what he wanted, where he wished to go. He followed me out, though I could not hear his near silent gait as we both made our way through the streets of Vyten--capital of the dictator's power.

The city of Vyten was enormous and it took the better part of an hour to find our way outside of the city into the lush forests on the north-western border from our apartment which was located closer to the center. I looked out across the cold, dense forest, breathing in the crisp air that brought scents of pine and winter and cold. The smells filled my lungs, transporting me to a place where perhaps there was not a collar around my neck.

A soft growl sounded behind me. Others would have jumped at the sound and what it meant was near. Not me. That growl was as familiar to me as my own voice. Ari paced behind me, though he did not resemble the tall brown-skinned man I knew. In his place was an amber pelted lion, its muscles rippled as it stalked back and forth, paws creating great indents into the snow that dusted the forest floor. Ari's clothes littered the ground around his lion.

I began shedding myself of my clothes as well and found the part of my soul that longed for the sky and the winds. The cold air bit at my exposed skin but the light pain it brought was welcome. I grabbed hold of that essence and my body began changing. I felt my bones turn hollow and shorten. My lips lengthened and hardened. Feathers burst forth from my beneath my skin. There was pain with the change, but I cared little and was used to it.

Looking up, Ari towered over me, a veritable mountain. I hopped away from him on my raven legs, flapping my wings at him. Ari gave a snarl in reply though there was no malice in it. Extending my wings, I shot into the air, savoring the feel of the wind flowing under and over my feathers. Ari began running, I released a caw and flew over top of him, following my friend for as long as he wished to run.