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As the cold air greeted her it was met with resistance, a barrier of warm clothing. Ice met with fire and melted upon contact with the blood that pumped through her veins. With each step the cold air resumed the offensive, attacking over and over to find a way within. Soon her cheeks were reddened by the battering of the breeze, and her bashed nose had begun to run. She sniffed hard, chilliness retreated up her nostrils as her breaths turned to smoke.
By besieging her with constant catapults of gusts, the coldness finally penetrated through the fabric of her clothing and rested upon her skin. It was sheer violence, the way she shook and rattled every bone within. The rubbing of slender limbs did little to generate warmth. She would need to find shelter soon otherwise she would freeze to death. Abyss was far behind her and the nearest known town miles ahead. She was stuck in no man's land and the weather was firing frigid shells.
It had been a dumb idea to collect berries in such bad conditions. Most sensible people had incarcerated themselves inside with hot tea and comfort food. At this moment that sounded like paradise. She could have been napping and eating but instead she was staggering and freezing. Walking was a burden, her joints had stiffened with coldness, each step felt like her limbs were snapping.
She was fed up! All her muscles were weighted with lethargy, and her knees knocked similar to conkers. Pain; everything was agony, every movement, every thought and every sight, there was no respite. Surrounding her from every conceivable angle were trees in the shapes of mangled corpses, naked, wrinkled and discoloured. In between the trees tentacles of thorns reached out and ripped her clothing. Hapi cursed as a huge gash split her jacket. Now she was exposed to the elements even more than before.
It slipped out, that exasperated sound she had been expressly forbidden to make. It was the tiniest tinge of a sigh but the size made no different to her hex. Without fail a beast was summoned by a sigh. Did she have the ability to run? No, her body had slowly morphed into an ice sculpture, breathing, running, existing; anything which required energy had become increasingly hard. If she was attacked she only had a handful of spells to defend herself with.
The beast had come, a prowling monstrosity salivating in the periphery. Stalking with soundless claws and an unsanitary growl of hunger, it drew closer, intermingled with the coiled maze of trees and vines. A glint of light off one of it's black strands caught her attention. Her eyes hunted down the source and instantly recognised the sinister gait of a predator. Another sheen of light played over fang and claw, a combination of impending doom. Hapi may have been incapable of running but her heart wasn't, her heart managed to bolt within. Each breath was a tremble as her lips flapped with the duel motivation of coldness and fear. Clink; the sound her teeth made as they chattered uncontrollably.
It moved at speeds beyond the imagination, her eyes were unable to keep the beast in the spotlight. One blink and she felt hot breath scold her neck. A scream shattered the peace, uncountable numbers of birds took to wing and hidden animals scrambled away from the disruption. The beast pounced with unsurpassed haste, bundling Hapi to the ground with a thud. She struggled in an ungainly grace, limbs flailed in every possible direction. Vicious claws dug into her skin, piercing like needles. The only thing sharper were the mighty fangs which filled the wolf's menacing mouth. Embedded between the teeth were traces of the last meal, this created a nauseating aroma which made Hapi nearly gag. The cold no longer gnawed at the skin between the stifling heat of the wolf.
She was drenched in saliva from the drooling mouth, a tar coloured secretion which stained any surface it came into contact with. Out lulled a throbbing tongue, insatiable in appetite, it licked the length of her continuously to taste the salt of her sweat. It made a terrible noise, a perversion of a purr which chilled more than snow. She screamed again but the sound soon faded and perished without response. Time was ticking, her world was darkening to certain death. She closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate.
A whistle in the wind, the sound of rescue as a volley of arrows flew through the air and sunk into the wolf's back. Swish after swish; rapid shooting as the beast became a pin cushion for arrowheads. It turned and made an almighty howl which made the roots of trees shudder. A claw slashed the air, knocking arrows down in-flight as the injured monster staggered in the direction of the attack. Hapi suddenly found the energy to react, the basic survival instinct which existed in all living beings and dragged herself to her feet in an unflattering instability before she ran like hell back the way she came.
As she ran she heard more unearthly growls of agony. She did not dare to look backwards, the wolf haunted her memory. There were some things which could not be unseen, nor could they be 'unsmelt'. The sight and the scent of that horrendous mouth would be the source of nightmares for many nights to come. Another sound made her quicken her pace, a guttering choking sound of the beast taking its final breath before slumping to the ground in a heap.
"Wait a moment!" The familiar monotone voice of Shamir stopped her in her tracks. Up in the treetops stood the statuesque silhouette of an elegant lady. She moved like sinuous shadows in the moonlight, more fluid than the average human. Branches did not rustle, nor was nature disturbed by her movements as she jumped to the ground beside Hapi. "You are injured."
Hapi inhaled a few times to catch her breath, her stomach and legs had started to cramp from the sudden exertion. In a wobbly bend she started to rub the back of her calves. "The arrows, were they you? Did you just save me?"
Shamir removed some bandage from her waist pouch, all the while she acted as if nothing had happened. "I was just passing through." With the causal air and indifference of someone on an afternoon stroll she had dispatched the beast, it made Hapi feel rather useless.
"Well, um, thanks for passing through." Hapi observed as Shamir bandaged the wounds on her arms and chest. She was amazed that she had not flinched at the sight of all the blood. Shamir treated massive claw puncture wounds as though they were minor grazes. It was a dramatic contrast to her shakened state.
….
A few days later…
Hapi had stayed in the sanctity of her room, one of the only places she felt safe. It was lonely sleeping by herself and only venturing out for snacks. Safety and solitary behaviour seemed to work in tandem so she had little choice. Cuddling up with a sandwich and cup of tea, she did not care if it was the behaviour of an oddball or a loser, when everything felt comforting and cosy opinions did not matter.
Her peace was disturbed by a firm knock on the door. Hapi considered not bothering to answer it. Outside her bed was a world of food whilst in her blankets she was cocooned in lovely warmth, why should she suffer just to see what someone wanted? Her answer was turning over to face away from the door and munching on the corner of her sandwich. Whoever was at the door had no plans to go away. They did not knock again, instead they kicked the door off its hinges. Hapi nearly jumped out of her skin when the door smashed against the wall mere inches away from her bed. She jolted upwards and breathlessly stared down at the cracked door. For self support she folded her arms over herself in self embrace. "What the fuck?"
Shamir; her slender silhouette oozed between the doorframe. She marched towards Hapi with unyielding confidence, not a hint of her intentions visible upon her face.
"Move, we don't have time." Business was the tone rarely removed from her lips. Shamir rested her hands on her hips with shotgun eyes focussed upon their target.
"We don't have time? What do you mean?" Hapi was a ball of stress, every muscle hardened and stiffened in response. Suspicion marked her face with hostility , Shamir was a knight of Seiros, a servant of the church, an agency she did not trust.
"You were scratched by the giant wolf. One scratch and you are cursed." Shamir kept a straight face whilst saying the most impossible things.
"I thought only people without crests using relics turned into beasts." Confused and frightened, Hapi gripped the blanket tightly around her.
"We do not have the luxury of time. Come with me and see." Shamir was stirred by a hint of emotion, a tinge of anxiety for the safety of those in Abyss.
"Am I going to be shut in a cage? " Hapi trembled at the thought of being incarcerated and alone again.
"No!" Blunt and straight to the point, a classic Shamir trait.
"How can I trust you?" Hapi glared with deviance , certain that the church was up to no good.
"I saved your life. You owe me a favour. The favour is for you to come."
There was a standoff of silence. They exchanged stares, a million argumentative statements before Hapi caved in. "Fine, lead the way."
Through the dim corridors of Abyss, with only the faint glimmer of dying lanterns to guide them, Shamir escorted Hapi. In the periphery several unsavoury folk spoke in muffled whispers as they watched the pair go by. Soon they were hit by the brisk air of night as they emerged from the underground. Now moonlight was their guide with a scattering of sequins blinking in the canvas of velvety darkness. They strolled out of the stone confines of the monastery into nowhere, the wild unbound. This was a place where grass was left to grow to extraordinary lengths and trees were allowed to spread their branches wide. The violating fingers of bramble bushes were free to claw at clothing and exposed flesh.
What was their destination? Shamir was leading Hapi to nowhere, a place where ordinary people feared to tread. "Here." Shamir spoke with her usual business tone. Hapi glanced around uncertain of where 'here' was and why she had been led there. "What's so special about here?" Hapi huffed, annoyance clearly evident in her question.
"When you transform you won't be a danger to innocent bystanders. Out here you can howl at the moon and no one will care." Shamir stayed composed, unafraid by midnight as it crept over the horizon.
"Oh great, another restriction, another cage." Hapi frowned, still sceptical about transforming into a beast. "What about you? Won't I rip you apart."
Shamir smirked at the suggestion. "No, I will stay here to monitor your behaviour. If you get close to a settlement then I will shoot you down...without hesitation." The final two words were said in a manner which sent shivers down her spine. Hapi folded were arms over her chest in a self embrace.
As midnight struck, bells tolled in hollow towers and a strange and remarkable metamorphosis began: Firstly Hapi's skull distorted, stretching her jaw and nose into an elongated cone to form the nose of the beast. The shock from the extreme agony enforced upon her made her have three simultaneous heart attacks.The left side of her body became floppy, useless, forcing her to hop on one leg until she stumbled to the ground. Screaming was impossible, the sound chamber of her mouth had changed shape, high pitch squeals were heard instead. Her eyes migrated outwards to give her full circular vision, but she could not take advantage of it yet, pain had blinded her.
Secondly came the suffering of millions of hairs as they pierced through the flesh like some sick inside out perversion of a pin cushion. At the same time bones broke and reformed into paws. Her nails shattered like glass, leaving shimmering shards upon the ground as new curved nails pushed through, not dissimilar to adult teeth in a child's mouth.
Thirdly the foramen magnum pulled itself backwards, shifting the spine into the position of a four legged beast. The intensity of the pain was enough to turn pretty pinky red eyes into bloodshot horror.
Those were the main three factors in a horrific transformation. Shamir had to turn away, even with a stomach as strong as hers, the sight made her ill. Her ears were covered as well, the squeals terrified her. No matter how many times she heard them she would not grow accustomed to the sound.
A howl seemed to make the moon shudder, a ghastly sound, the beckoning call of an infinitely hungry and lusty beast. Drool dripped from the corners of her mouth as her lulling tongue was incapable of staying within. A snail trail of saliva followed her initial padding as she slid her loose limbs through a labyrinth of overgrown foliage.
Shamir was a master of disguise, somehow she remained just out of sight of Hapi. Shadows and trees obscured her silhouette as she slinked from position to position outside of awareness.
Hapi snorted the air, puffs of smoke powdered the air with otherworldly pollution. There were many scents: the fresh green of nature and rich pine, however she was not interested in the potential contents of perfumes and skin oils, her interest was in meat, a momentary relief from her endless appetite.
In her mind improbable trigonometry was calculated, angles not perceived by humans. With her back legs as springs, she leapt into the air, her mouth moved with precision as she snapped her gruesome fangs on an unsuspecting owl. The owl did not realise it's fate until it filled a tiny gap in her bottomless stomach. For the first portion of time as a beast she hunted meagre prey. Birds and rodents were gobbled up like candy. However something more substantial would be needed to satisfy her for longer.
Spotted; snake beast, writhing and undulating in an ungodly dance. It was time to engage ambush mode. Hapi began to stalks her quarry, body low and streamlined, nature's precise aerodynamic design. Silently and stealthily she moved through the dense vegetation, (remarkable when her robust build and bulk was taken into account.) Closer...closer, soft pad by soft soft pad she inched as pools of saliva marked her path.
From ambush to pursuit; she relentlessly chased the slithering monstrosity at terrifying and astonishing speed. She covered the ground like lightning descending to the surface.
With an arsenal of deadly claws, jaws and the strength of fifteen men she skilfully used her immense bulk to knock her quarry off balance. Then she latched onto the throat and crushed it to nothing. The feeding was simply disgusting. Every single gluttonous sound of gnawing and swallowing churned the stomach. Shamir retreated to vomit in a safe place.
...
Morning came with the call of a rooster. Hapi stirred from slumber with invisible fists thumbing her skull. She moaned as she rubbed her forehead, aiming to find some relief to her suffering. At first her vision was impaired until she had blinked several times to adjust to the light. With her sight clear she gazed down at her naked, bruised and shivering body. Tender blue bruises were dotted all over her flesh like some sinister decoration. These were the result of the dramatic trauma of the metamorphosis to a wolf. Nothing remained of her clothing, not even the powder of the fibers. A need for modesty possessed her as she used her left arm to guard her sizeable, perky breasts by covering the hard coffee coloured nipples. The right hand was placed over the trimmed pinky red Bush between her legs.
A shadow blocked out the oozy hazy light of dawn as Shamir stood over her, an emotionless silhouette with a statuesque posture. Without useless conversation or meaning pleasantries she chucked some priestess robes by Hapi's side. There was no need to instruct her to dress herself, Hapi grabbed the garments and instantly let the oversized garment engulf her sensual feminine curves. The cotton felt nice as she slid the sleeves over her toned arms and slender shoulders. The supple curve of her waist down to her juicy, firm buttocks and skin hips was swallowed up by the excess of fabric, even her shapely, plump horse riding thighs were invisible.
"What happens now?" Hapi buried her head in her hands due to the weight of her head making her feel as though her neck would snap.
"Nothing, nothing happens. You go about your normal life not mentioning a word of your transformation to anyone until the next full moon." Shame spoke with a slight darkness in her voice, a threat embedded underneath her statement .
"So the church wants to get me as well?" Hapi huffed, the anger and frustration written all over her face. "Why don't they just chuck me in a dungeon, chains and all?"
"You are a victim. Victims are not imprisoned." When it did not soften her tone, despite Hapi's obvious distress. " It is like you have a disease that is a contagion. You have to manage the disease to protect others. It is your responsibility. You come with me every month and contain your disease. Mentioning that you turn into a beast will invite misunderstanding. Foolish, unskilled as inexperienced wannabe heroes will try and hunt you down. The fears of innocent people will be exploited by those promising safety, including the church who would say that it is punishment from the goddess."
Another huff escaped Hapi's lips as she bundled her legs up to her stomach in a pyramid position. "Is there anything the church won't exploit?"
Shamir shrugged her shoulders. "I am not a believer. I have never been spiritual. In all institutions there are corrupt people and there are good people. You cannot judge everyone by the worst of their kind. I judge everyone on merit, not based on their beliefs, not their job description. You seem a realistic individual. I thought you would do the same."
Hapi rested her head on her knees, even the sound of Shamir's voice had started to pound on her skull. "Normally I do, but the church has treated me badly. I find it hard to remain neutral when a person mentions their affiliation with the church."
"I understand, even I question the judgement of the leaders of the church. Sometimes their motives do not align with their faith. Power corrupts people." Shamir strolled by her, leaving her alone with her aches and depression. "We will have to continue our conversation another time. A mercs job is never done. Goodbye Hapi."