Justified

                                        

                                              
Aeryn knew that there was something wrong even before that familiar fog of unconsciousness lifted. Like many times before, the young Human did a quick check to assure that all facilities were working normally. Aeryn’s breathing was unobstructed, no real pain in throat or chest so Aeryn could literally breathe easy, a rather dry tongue checked for all teeth and found them all present and accounted for, along with a nasty tear in the lower lip. The pounding headache was expected and ignored, so Aeryn focused on wiggling fingers and toes, the hovering edge of panic flapping about as those worked just fine. But there was definitely something weird, a sense of something being wrong that was getting stronger the more consciously alert Aeryn became. Cautiously Aeryn tested the muscles along her spine, tightening in a wave starting between her shoulders. It should be excruciating; Aeryn remembered both the Hunter attack and Daniel’s power display, the skin should be split and swollen, inflamed with pain. There was a tender stiffness where there should be burning agony, and even the sharp tearing sensation of stitches felt far too healed. There was something on Aeryn’s back. The realization was chilling, an odd sensation of warmth, an almost wiggling pressure at the base of her spine. It didn’t make any sense, and Aeryn’s calm, detached curiosity over it was turning to alarm as she realized that the more aware of it Aeryn became, the more the thing started to move. 
                              
“Aeryn’s waking up, check the tail out.” Sampson sounded calmly amused. Clearly someone has drugged the doctor because Aeryn heard the old woman say there was a tail. 
                              
“Get ready, this is going to be quite a shock.” Tokala’s rumbling voice soothed out in the strange Pantharni tongue Aeryn could understand thanks to the Listener embedded in her ear.
                              
“Aeryn, take a deep breath and stay calm.” Tavir’s familiar command woke Aeryn the rest of the way up. A lifetime of obedience to his voice had Aeryn’s eyes open before she realized that Sampson was right, and somehow Aeryn suddenly had a friggin’ tail. 
                              
Aeryn liked to believe, comparatively, that she was able to adapt to most things rather quickly. The whole world went toxic and ended? She adjusted to life in the Havens. Her whole family was killed in one building collapse, and Aeryn accepted the reality of the loss and grieved in silence. Two aliens crash land onto her forgotten world and Aeryn just rolls with the tide, bringing them to Uncle Tavir. But to wake up with a tail, after passing out and definitely NOT having one; that earned a few moments of freaking out. Aeryn felt what was apparently a brand new appendage squirm against her leg and suddenly the panic really hit.
                              
“Hold Aeryn down!” Sampson shouted even as the youngest Human physically tried to flip over while simultaneously yank the tail off that hadn’t been there two hours ago. 
                              
Aeryn was scrambling to try and get free of the thing lashing around behind, and yet still attached to her body. Someone was pushing against Aeryn’s shoulders, trying to keep the Human face down while another held Aeryn’s hands out of the way, keeping fingers from tearing at the tender skin of her new tail. ‘Pinned, I’m pinned. I’m trapped’, ran through Aeryn’s head even as someone was trying to break through the panic seizing the young Human’s mind. Despite having been caught in a building collapse, Aeryn had managed to never really be claustrophobic; the necessity of living underground saw to that. But Aeryn had a bit of a phobia when it came to being held down, the young Human had seen too many times what happens to those whom can’t escape.
                              
“NO!” Aeryn snarled out, managing to tear hands free when the tail that had originally freaked her out pulled away the wrists of those holding Aeryn down. Hands free gave Aeryn the leverage needed to push against the floor and scuttle away. Even as Aeryn crouched to face a room full of allies, she instinctively guarded herself and the unexpected tail wrapped around Aeryn’s leg protectively. “What frig is going on?”Aeryn growled out, ready to run even as she tried to ignore her new tail.