"By all the tits, Grey." The stable master drew back his hand, caution in his eyes, his big black dog alert and snarling back.

»Don't you dare bite!«

Definitely not the reaction I wished for. Yet, what I felt more sorry about, was that my bestial snap scared even Ria. The little kitare hid behind Scoresby, eyeing me now warily.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to," I whimpered, puzzled at my ability to still speak Standard. Back in that filthy alley, when my inner beast poked its head out of its hiding place, I was unable to utter a single word. Yet now...

'I wasn't that far gone. I haven't changed.’ I really hadn't.

The realization hit me with deep relief - and even deeper annoyance. This was what I wanted, to let that feral ferocity seep into my voice and no further. But it wasn't what made the beast happy, and it let me know.

»Beast!« Lyl'ra neighed in panic, and with her, the other scalehoofs as I spoke with an intent underlain by the feral ferocity.

»Truly a beast.«

Some mares and stallions, more seasoned, I guess, took the change in my behavior and voice with more composure. In fact, I'd venture to say that with more composure than me. It was there, stronger than ever, that urge to run free, to change further, to scratch my fur, to chase my tail, to mark my territory, to taste the meat.

Was it that simple, though? Was it enough to let the beast have its way? Of course, I wasn't going to do so. Instead, I broke down in a sweat, trying not to let the beast have its way. Was it necessary, though? That one question weighed heavily on my mind. There in that filthy alley, even though I gave my inner beast free rein, I hadn't changed all the way through. What stopped the beast from taking over when I was willing? Would the same happen now?

'So many fucking questions and no one to answer them.'

"Will you believe me now if I say I'm not here to hurt you?" I said with as much sincerity as I could squeeze into my voice from the depths of my heart, now beating so hard my ears were ringing.

»Maybe.«

»I listen.«

»No!«

»Still, deceitful.«

»Beast, cannot be trusted.«

Of course, Lyl'ra wasn't convinced at all. But going this far and risking so much, hearing how many scalehoofs still didn't trust me stung. It was so disheartening that I failed to get the disappointment out of my voice when I spoke again.

"But I did what you asked me to do." It sounded more like a whine, underlaid with a frustrated growl.

»Not really,« Sylph'ra, the older of the two Scoresby's mares, spoke up. »You being truthful. That the truth.«

"But?"

»You showed how much to be afraid.«

"Afraid of what?" Stupid question. The answer was obvious.

»Of you, beast.«

Yeah, I may have pushed through my fear, but that fear didn't go away. If anything, I reeked of it more than before.

'Well, I tried.'

I couldn't ask them to do what I couldn't do myself - at least not now.

"Thank you all for giving me a chance. I mean it. I really do," I said, turning my attention to Lyl'ra. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to terrify you. I'll go."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

»Yes, go away, beast!«

Not what I wanted to hear, and I made it known by growling under my breath, but I wasn't one to push others to do something they didn't want to do, not after what I'd been through.

»Wait, Beast,« Sylph'ra neighed, stopping me in my tracks when I turned to leave.

»No. Let the beast go, Silly Sylph.«

»Beast shown us its fear. Stood up to it. So should we.«

»Not fear. We cautious,« argued one of the mares.

»Reason. Beasts dangerous.«

»Better if gone.«

Hard to blame them. It hurt anyway. People thought I was a half-Terr'den; animals regarded me as a beast. Only I saw myself as human.

'Was I the one to be wrong, then?'

The feral rage and pride coursing through my veins right now would say so.

'Actually, no. I wasn't the only one who thought I was human.'

Despite what others said, how I felt, and my own doubts, the Lattice still considered me human. It said so in my Grid.

─◇────────────────────────────────────────

Name: Korra Grey

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 27

1st Array: Slave

Master: None

Sigils: 97 - ○○○○○○

─◇────────────────────────────────────────

WEAVES: 1ST ARRAY (6/6)

Eleaden Standard Language (General): ….19 → 20 glyphs - ⦿⦿

Indomitable Will (Slave): …………………........……….111 glyphs - ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿

Thrifty Drinker (General): ……………….......……………3 glyphs - ⦿

Equilibrium (General): ……………….........……………… 7 glyphs - ⦿

Hunger Fortitude (General): ……………......…………. 6 glyphs - ⦿

Spatial Domain (General): …………......……... 12 → 13 glyphs - ⦿⦿

─◇────────────────────────────────────────

'Yeah, I was still human.' Even letting the ferocity inside me have its way didn't change that.

It did make me wonder, though, what it would say if I fully shifted into the beast. Would it still say I was human, or would it recognize me as a beast?

'Not that I plan on finding out anytime soon.'

Looking at my Grid, though, I was reminded of another issue. Hovering over me like dark clouds, ready to rain, was the decision about my weaves. The longer I put it off, the more I was hurting myself. If I had made my choice back in the woods, I could have had all my weaves halfway to the second circle. My indecision, however, presented me with an opportunity.

'Perhaps there was a weave that could help me now.' A thought I immediately dismissed. The point of letting my inner beast come to the surface was to show the scalehoofs my true colors, not to deceive them by using a weave.

»Show us who you truly are, beast.« Sylph'ra neighed after a heated debate with the other animals in the stables - even the stable master's dog joined in, while the two humans and little Terr'den just watched in silence.

"What do you mean? I already did."

»No. Still holding back beast,« the mare argued, and most of the other scalehoofs agreed with her.

»Beast still hidden.«

'They knew? How?' Seriously. How could they tell something that only I should know? Was everything really so strongly echoed by the intent in the words, or were their animal instincts behind it? Instincts of prey? Whatever the case, there was no denying they were right.

'People have seriously underestimated how much animals knew and what they were capable of sensing,' I thought to myself, frustrated with what they wanted me to do and even more so with myself and what I had become.

"You want me to shift into a beast here?" One thing I really liked about the beast talk was the lack of need to explain what I meant by things like "shifting". Their answers, however, were not so clear.

»Yes.«

»No.«

»Absolutely not.«

»Reveal yourself.«

»Go away!«

At one point, the cacophony of neighing and whining became so loud that I had to press my ears to my head. 'Damn! Couldn't they agree on one thing? All they had to do was say the word, and I'd be gone.'

Pathetic - both, them as well as me.

They were dumb, unable to make a decision, therefore prey. I, on the other hand, was a disgrace to the hunters, tucking my tail between my legs in front of my prey.

»Not welcome.«

»Be gone.«

»Let beast talk.«

Was that really the best I could do? What I wanted to do - to run away? What guaranteed that if I ran from a problem today, I wouldn't run from another one tomorrow? Before I knew it, I could find myself running for the rest of my life - the exact opposite of why I agreed to be the stupid bait. So no, if I wanted to stop being afraid of my own shadow, I had to stop running.

»Look, beast angry.«

»Baring its fangs.«

»Showing its true colors.«

»Told you, not to be trusted.«

»Dangerous.«

"For tit's sake, can you shut up for a moment?!" I growled, my words dripping with a fury that alone sent shivers down my spine. And much to my horror, that wasn't the only thing that came from deep within me. Along with my words, my beast might swept through the stable building, plunging it into the silence I wished for.