Kaz resolved to build a basement for the house he shared with Jaybird. Remembering how his dad had built one years earlier, he had plans as to what he wanted.

᱿I'm going to need somewhere to cage myself up, Miaow.᱿ Climbing out of his car, Kaz was in such a funk that he had completely forgotten Jaybird and Puff until the latter messaged him on Mager.

᱿That wouldn't be good, Kaz.᱿ Miaow wasn't working logically, but with her emotions. ᱿I wouldn't like it if you locked me up every night before going to sleep.᱿

Climbing back into his car, Kaz headed back to the school while thinking about Miaow's words. Spotting Jaybird standing at the front of the school, he pulled up to the curb. "Sorry, I got carried away with the whole curse thing."

Slipping into the back seat, Jaybird passed Puff over to the front beside Kaz. "Tell me about it. The worst bit is we can't even talk about it!"

"Huh?" Kaz was about to look back at Jaybird when Puff leaned across and gave him a hug. The touch, from someone he was now used to being close with, finally broke some of the emotion-freezing-ice his mind had been locked in.

Puff was surprised at the way Kaz leaned into her hug. Not needing to be a telempath to see something was up, she snuggled him a little tighter. "Want to talk?"

"Hug good for now."

"Got it." Turning her head, Puff gave a significant look to Jaybird—who reached over and put their hand on Kaz's shoulder, thumb touching his neck.

Jaybird quickly snatched their hand back and shivered. "He's shocked, terrified, and a little unstable. Hop in the back and I'll drive."

All the time spent adjusting positions, Kaz had Puff beside him. Her wing was always so soft and gentle. Settled in the back beside her, he could tune out the world.

᱿I'd ask to cuddle my girlfriend, but you need it more right now. I didn't realize how bound-up you were inside.᱿

᱿Thanks. I just—I really need this.᱿ Ignoring Jaybird's driving, Kaz let Puff calm him down. "My curse is different. The normal one is—" Kaz found himself unable to say what the normal transformation curse was. He blinked in surprise but shook his head. "But my one is I'm—I'm a werewolf."

"That's strange." Puff reached her other wing across and brought a few feathers under Kaz's chin to lift it up so she could look him in the eyes. "I thought you said werewolf then."

"I did. They couldn't use the normal curse because of what Hel did, so they made up a new one. Apparently Hel's got a lot of wolf lineage in her, and that's part of me. They cursed me so I'd be a werewolf and the wolf will get stronger and stronger until it's either lifted or I am just gone and the wolf is all that's left."

Puff just sat, frozen, listening to Kaz's description. Finally, she was able to say, "Damn, that's a curse alright."

"So now I need to start keeping track of the moon's cycle, I need to make something I can go and hide in while the wolf is in control, and—and all that kinda stupid movie stuff because I have no idea what werewolves are actually like." By the time it was all out, Jaybird was pulling them into the driveway. Kaz was panting and turned to just bury his face against the soft ruff of feathers at Puff's neck.

Jaybird took charge, holding doors open and helping Puff get Kaz inside and onto the big couch. "I know a bit about them, what about you, Puff?"

"They come in several flavors, but if you're talking about a Norse curse you can bet there will be a lot of blood and violence involved. They have a thing for wolves as being bad." Puff squeezed Kaz a little. "But it might also depend on what style of magic worked the curse."

"Chinese magic. A dragon."

"I don't know of any Chinese werewolf stories. There is one of a wolf that tries to eat a scholar. It was known for its wits—like foxes. Maybe you should look more toward the Norse mythology after all."

"I've done a fair bit of reading on Norse mythology, but I think the best source is also someone I need to talk to about this." Kaz didn't feel the need to make a move to stand, though. He was comfortable with Puff against him.

᱿Hel can help us. If anyone can see what is going on and predict what we need to do, it'll be her.᱿ Miaow purred not for herself, but to help Kaz relax. ᱿You should ask her out on a date, too.᱿

᱿I can't do that!᱿ The problem for Kaz was, once the idea was in the open, it couldn't be put away again. ᱿I shouldn't do that.᱿

᱿Of course you shouldn't, but you could. If there was something all your reading taught me, it was that Loki's clan don't follow rules.᱿

᱿Now I just have to work out how to meet her again. It wasn't exactly clear last time, and I don't want to force the issue by dying again.᱿ The calm discussion of his problems (and his currently non-existent love life) seemed to push the panic away and let Kaz reassert himself. "I guess I should find out when the next full moon is."

"You have two weeks and three days, I checked." With her phone in the grip of her left wing, Puff curled her feathers around it to type. "Want to take a selfie?"

Kaz had learned this meant we are doing a selfie, and that he should prepare himself to be suitably filmed in an odd way. Deciding on fox as a theme, he added a pair of red and white ears with little black tips, some cheek fluff, and the muzzle of a fox. Knowing better than to open his mouth (which Puff had explained was practically impossible to fake), Kaz just smiled and let two little fangs show.

"Just here with my cutie! What're you all doing?" Puff tilted her head and leaned against Kaz so they were both cheek-to-cheek, then ended the video. "Do you think anyone will figure this out?"

"You're up to what, just showing pics as they are?" Kaz asked. When Puff nodded, he laughed at her. "Puff, they'll never figure it out. You're their adorable social bird 3D genius." Reshaping his face back to normal, Kaz turned his thoughts toward Hel. "I'll have to try to focus on her while I'm dreaming."

"Hel?"

"Yeah."

Jaybird brought a plate of sandwiches over and set them down on Puff's lap before they sat down beside Puff, opposite Kaz. "How did you get back here from her realm?"

᱿Jaybird is a genius, you know that, right?᱿ Miaow asked.

᱿Sometimes I forget. You're all pretty amazing.᱿ Thinking back several months, Kaz focused on how Mal pulled them out of that other realm. It was a complicated teleport spell, but it was fundamentally bound in both living and dead magic. "Yeah, I think I can work that spell."

Miaow scoffed mentally at Kaz. ᱿I'm just a bakeneko who was in the right place at the right time.᱿

᱿Wait, you mean that?᱿ Kaz asked. ᱿You're happy we met?᱿

᱿I'd like my own body at some point, but I have very little I regret about meeting your family.᱿

᱿Yeah, I think once I'm done with this first course, I'll bend everything I can toward getting you a body of your own—just so I can hug you.᱿ Kaz got a lot of purring from Miaow. "I might go try it now. I hope she's not busy."

"You want us to come with you?" Jaybird asked.

Kaz paused in trying to get free of Puff's hug. "Thanks, it means a lot that you would ask, but this is someone I think I need to visit alone. Plus her family are a little odd."

"Like rip-apart the world—odd. Right?" Puff asked, not making it impossible for Kaz to get loose, just difficult.

Squirming and finally getting out of Puff's embrace, Kaz nodded and grabbed a sandwich from the plate. "Yeah, but they're also just protective of her. Also, she has the most adorable dog you've ever seen."

"I take it this dog isn't the ordinary kind either?" Puff asked.

"Big enough that he just lay his head on me and I couldn't move. Big softy, though." Kaz took a bite of the sandwich and started for the door.

"Bye, Kaz. And good luck!" Puff broke a sandwich in half and tossed it in her beak before gulping it down.

Jaybird bit their lower lip a moment before saying, "Yeah! Will you be back for dinner?"

"Hopefully. Though with Hel, I don't exactly want to annoy her, so if she wants me to stay longer, can you let Mal know tomorrow?" Kaz asked.

"S-Sure." The idea of going to see Mal was more than a tiny bit panic-inducing, though with Puff hugging her it was far easier to let it slide. "Stay safe!"

With a wave over his shoulder, Kaz started focusing on the magic that he remembered Mal using. It was simple enough, but there was something about it that told him he needed to use both arms to channel it. It made sense, after all, given who he was trying to find.

Closing his eyes in the backyard, Kaz held out both his hands to call his living and dead magic at the same time, then he stepped forward into a dark night. Sleet was hammering down around him and the wind howled as it chilled him to his bones.

The wind wasn't the only thing howling. Behind and in the distance, the howl of a wolf sounded, then another—closer. ᱿Miaow?᱿ There was no answer. ᱿Miaow!᱿

᱿It's hard to get through to you with all this howling up here. Wait, that's not coming from outside.᱿ Miaow's uncertainty built the more she pondered it. ᱿Kaz, what phase is the moon in?᱿

Tilting his head back and squinting through the sleet and clouds, Kaz caught sight of the moon, fat and full. "Well fuck. And now I'm hearing a wolf howling. Miaow, try to stay calm and don't make a noise if you don't need to.᱿

Miaow defied the suggestion at once with a purr. ᱿I trust you, Kaz. Save our butt.᱿

The howling got closer, and in Kaz's head he heard the wolf inside him howling too. Bracing himself against the sleet and wind, he summoned his magic again and tried to feel for where Hel would be—only to have a heavy weight land on his back.

Soaking wet, Kaz was able to slip to the side and roll away while the wolf scrambled on the saturated ground. The beast stood up to his belly at its shoulder and looked lean—hungry. The howling in Kaz's head had become a snarl of fury.

Something—some strange sense that Kaz was only experiencing for the first time—alerted him to another attack. He turned just enough to see yellow eyes at close range as the second wolf landed on his shoulders with its forepaws. Slammed onto his back, Kaz tried to put one arm up to defend his face and the other out to the side to brace himself for one last attempt to get free.

The wolf stared deep into Kaz's eyes and, eventually, said, "Kazuma. You smell of wolf tonight."

It took Kaz a moment to remember that voice. "Skoll?"

"He doesn't smell of wolf, he reeks of it. What manner of creature is this, Skoll?" Walking over to Kaz's side, the second wolf stared at their prey.

"This is our new brother, Hati. This is the mage that Hel saved. This is the twice-lived—Kazuma. Smell him, he is one of us." Skoll stepped off Kaz and shook his fur in the vain attempt to get dry in the horrid weather.

"Interesting. Do you feel hungry, Kazuma? You smell hungry." Hati leaned in and sniffed at Kaz's pink hair. "I have something I need to hunt, will you join me for the night—brother?"

The words Kaz had meant to say amounted to No, I need to speak to Hel, but all that came from his mouth—as his body shifted and changed into that of a huge wolf—was a howl of excitement. ᱿So this is what it's like being a werewolf?᱿

᱿We hunt.᱿

It was a new voice in Kaz's head, not Miaow and not his own. He rolled to his four feet and tilted his head up to look at the moon.

"Ah, you know my target. Come, brother, let us hunt the moon together!"

----------------------------------------

Kaz woke warm and relaxed, a hand rubbing at one of his ears while two warm bodies flanked him. He first tried to reach for Miaow or the new voice he'd heard in his head, but both were silent. Needing further information about his predicament, he opened his eyes to see Garmr to one side of him, looking smaller than usual. On his other flank was Hati. How he knew it was Hati, Kaz had no idea—it was just something about the wolf that had an air of Hatiness about them.

"You're awake, Kaz?" Hel asked, still rubbing Kaz's ear. "You had quite the night—or so Skoll said. Hunted the moon with Skoll all night. That's not what I expected you to do with your spare evenings when I saved you. Why are you here?"

"Can I talk like this?" Kaz's voice was deep and sounded like a truck driving over loose gravel. "Guess I can. Well—" He started the story of the curses that mages use to ensure students become competent and safe with their skills. He got to the bit about describing the curse for mages learning transformational magic and Hel cut him off with a laugh. "Yeah."

"That's a story I will remember when I need such mirth again. So, what did they do with an uncursable mage?" Hel gave Kaz's shoulders a vigorous rub, knowing he would have trouble focusing through such an enjoyable motion.

Struggling to get his head straight, Kaz only managed when Hel stopped her game. "The dragon that was examining me said there's a lot of wolf in me—from you. He used that as the basis of a curse. He made me a werewolf."

"Varulfur? A true werewolf?"

The first Kaz knew of what Hel had planned was the rush of her magic and her hand reaching into him. His body was no longer weak and near death, and apart from some pain it did him no harm to have her inspecting him.

"This is truly a curse. In the time it takes Mani to pass seventy-four times, the wolf will be all that is left." This startled Hel. She reached for the curse, but it was slippery and wouldn't let her grab and fix it. "I can remove this curse, Kaz, but I cannot alter its course."

"Don't undo it!" Kaz woke Hati and Garmr with his shout. The former gave a soft whine and looked at him while the latter just lowered his head again and sought more sleep. "If you undo it, they probably won't let me back in to learn."

"Why undo it?" Hati asked? "You hunt well, brother, we almost started Ragnarok last night."

Wishing above all things that Hati didn't sound so eager to start the end of the world, Kaz let out a sigh and let Hel keep doing what she wished—she would anyway. "I want to learn. This subject will be easy for me. If, after three years, I haven't passed"—he took a long breath—"then come for me and remove the curse. The wolf will be stronger, but I will have learned to live with it somewhat by then."

Panting, Hati's chuckle bubbled up from his throat like an old cement mixer rumbling its last load of gravel. "You would cheat them of their curse still?"

"I'll cheat if I have to. There's nothing in any of our classes that says a mage has to play by the rules. I'd get expelled, of course, and Mal would probably be chasing me—"

"You can always come here, Kaz, until that old lich is finally dead." Hel reached under his neck and started to rub his throat and down to his forelegs.

᱿Tell her, Kaz. Offer to take her out on a date.᱿ Miaow wasn't capable of much, but with the wolf in the background again, she was able to get through to him a little.

Tilting his head, Kaz leaned a little on Hel's arm. "What I came here for was to find out how I should handle the wolf. Will it want to hunt when I'm home? How will I stop it from killing people?"

"Why do you think of your wolf-self as a different creature?" Hati asked.

"Huh?"

"When you hunted with me last night, you were still you. The wolf is just a different side of you. A different aspect." Closing his eyes, Hati yawned and set his head on the ground. "I need to sleep more."

"What does he mean, the wolf is a different aspect of me?" Kaz asked, looking up at Hel.

"If Hati said the wolf is you, then the wolf is you, but there are complex things afoot with this curse. It is trying to split you into two halves—strengthening the wolf half and enfeebling your existing half. Though I wouldn't call them halves, since they're so imbalanced." Hell drew her arm slowly from Kaz and started rubbing his ear with that while she used the other to keep working over his neck. "I see several paths for you, Kaz. You let the curse work, let it divide you, then either have me break it or have the school break it after three years."

"What will that do to me?"

"The two halves will spring together and leave you twisted and always battling your own mind." Hel felt she didn't need to elaborate further. "You could have me break it now and learn to build your wolf side, perhaps with the brothers to help guide you."

"I'd not be able to study as a mage anymore."

"What? Of course you would, but you wouldn't be able to study that lich's way. The fourth path is that you accept your wolf side and integrate it into you. The curse will be your only enemy—as it should be—and you just have to fight its efforts to break you apart."

"I could study, I could be safe—"

"You will never be safe, Kaz. There will be things that will make your wolf side furious, angry, terrified, and hungry. You will need to learn those things—reinforce your wolf side and protect it until it understands."

"Right. But I could study, I could learn not to hunt humans—" Jerking his head up a little, Kaz turned to Hati. "Hati?"

"Call me brother."

It was a small thing, Kaz realized, but it was acknowledging that new side of himself. "Brother, will you let me hunt with you on the full moon?"

Hati jerked his head up, yellow eyes bright and full of excitement. "Yes, brother, we will hunt Mani and catch him one night, you wait and see. Once you learn more ways of the wolf, we will feast on the moon and bring Father and Grandfather the revenge they deserve."

Kaz expected his blood to run cold at the thought of Ragnarok—the end and beginning—but in truth he felt heat rise and excitement at the hunt ahead. "It will need to be in my world. The moon here runs differently."

"I will hunt the moon wherever Mani runs. Your world, this world, Asgard itself." Despite his excitement, Hati yawned again. "I will come tonight in your world and we—"

"It's only a waxing crescent right now. We're a few weeks from my first full moon."

"Last night was your first full moon." Hel got Kaz's attention long enough to let Hati lay his head back down. "I'll make sure he knows when you need him."

"Do you want to go somewhere and hunt something?" Kaz asked.

᱿That's the best you could do?᱿ Miaow asked.

᱿Where else do I invite her to go? Burger King?᱿

᱿Yes! I would love to see that!᱿

"Kaz, did you forget I can hear Miaow?" Hel asked.

᱿He really likes you!᱿ Miaow decided that enough was enough and it was time to yell. ᱿You should go somewhere and kill something together!᱿

Hel, for just a moment, hated how close she'd grown to Kaz. He felt more like family than a love interest, not that it'd stopped some of her contemporaries from pursuing a love interest. "The fact is I do love you, but not like that.

"You're like a brother. I can feel the same magic that makes me me in you. I put your life back together bit by bit until you could function again."

"He's family already, Aunt Hel." Hati looked up at her. "Sometimes fate is cruel."

Kaz shook his head and let out a sigh, which came more as a whine. "Honestly, I don't think this is a good time. I have this werewolf stuff to get used to, I'm still coming to terms with Puff, and I have a bunch of new classes starting. Miaow, what's your deal here?"

Miaow grumbled and let out a huff in Kaz's head. ᱿I just want you to be happy.᱿

"I don't need to have a girlfriend to be happy, Miaow. I have you and Puff and Jaybird and—and a family here now, too." Kaz shook his head and sat up like a dog—or in his case a huge wolf. "Shouldn't this wear off during the day?"

"Can you change back?" Hel asked.

Trying to focus on being human again, Kaz pushed at the form—and felt resistance. "It's like there's a wall there. I can't become human—I can't become anything."

᱿Try doing magic. Can you at least do magic?᱿ Miaow asked.

Standing up and walking a little away from Hel, Hati, and Garmr, Kaz started channeling a little magic—and it flowed. "Yeah, I think magic's fine. So I guess I spend time as a wolf now? Does the beast—other side of me—only take over at night?"

"Perhaps that side of you is tired? It's young and that was its first hunt." Burying his snout in Garmr's ruff, Hati gave a small nip to rouse the hound. "Come, brothers, I can feel something hunting our lands."

"What is it?" Hel asked.

"I won't know until I remove its head from its neck. Come. We hunt!"

Hati's howling of the last word caught up the wolf inside Kaz and he felt himself fade out a little as it rushed to join-in the hunt with Hati. It felt like when Miaow was in control. His body was running and hunting with Hati, but all he could do was watch and experience what the wolf side of him wanted to do.

The land was thick with mist and rolling hills that kept sight to a minimum. Hati was in the lead with Kaz close and just behind him.

᱿Kaz, are you awake?᱿

Miaow's soft voice surprised Kaz. ᱿I am. My other side is in control now.᱿

᱿I know. He seems a lot more focused than you usually are.᱿

᱿Maybe we could teach him to communicate like this?᱿ Kaz asked.

᱿It's something to try, but he should be able to hear us now. Maybe he is too focused on something else?᱿

᱿Like hunting.᱿

᱿Yup. Like hunting.᱿

Kaz and Hati split without a word. Hati moved straight in toward whatever it was while Kaz's wolf turned and sought to flank. Hati let out a howl that made Kaz pause. Another howl and they turned and ran.

"Fafnir! What are you doing in this place? You know who these lands belong to!" Hati shouted, his eyes fixed on black scales, wings, talons, and a whole lot of hate in its eyes. "We had an agreement!"

"I do not come here to seek gold or war, Hati, but I smell the stink of dragon already within your lands. I come with a—" Fafnir turned his head and stared at the second wolf that had rushed up. "That beast reeks of dragon!" Without a thought, Fafnir swung a claw at Kaz.

"He is cursed by dragons of a different path!" The moment Hati got the words out Fafnir held his claws—barely a foot from Kaz's head. "The curse divides him. The dragons seek to weaken him with it by giving all his strength to this other side."

Breathing a trail of dark black smoke, Fafnir leaned down and stared directly into Kaz's eyes. "This is a weak curse. Why not get Hel to extract it?"

"It is required for him to seek wisdom. Fafnir, I thank you for your diligence in hunting down all that might seek your treasure, but my brother here is not a dragon—not even slightly." Hati tilted his head up and howled. This was no mere hunting howl, but a calling. An answering howl from the sky above was first to join the chorus, then Kaz at his side, then a much louder howl that shook the very foundation of the world. "Your assistance is not required, greedy one."

The howling continued, and much as his greed filled him with bravery and fury, Fafnir was not stupid enough to stir up Loki's clan in their home territory. "If you say there are no dragons here, Hati, I will believe you. Warn your mute brother to avoid associating with other wyrms—though they may show a facet of themselves to the world, there will be darkness beneath the surface."

Finally Kaz was able to take control again. His wolf side was still within him and was still howling, but now he could speak. "I do not fear trading with those called evil or monstrous, but I would learn more of their madness—if you would teach it?"

Hati stared at Kaz and was matched by Fafnir.

"You would learn about dragons from me? Wolf, do you know who I am?" Fafnir asked.

"The dwarf Fafnir, cursed by a treasure to become a dragon beset by greed. Most tales of you hold that Regin killed you." Despite his best efforts, Kaz hadn't found better information on Norse mythology. He was walking only slightly blind, but he felt that it was better than letting others do his talking for him. "Either that legend is false or it's yet to happen. Either way, you have been a dragon longer than I have been anything."

"Regin tried, but he failed because of one unique fact," Fafnir said. "I made a deal with a pack of wolves."

It was a revelation to Kaz. He looked at Hati only to see bright excitement in the wolf's gaze. "I'll revise that, then. A dwarf cursed by treasure to become a smart dragon."

Lifting his head, Fafnir let out a sound he hadn't made since his brother's death. Echoes of draconic laughter echoed over the low hills all around them. "And you are an unusually smart wolf. Like all your brothers, you deserve a wolf-name. Come and visit me, Spakr, when your brothers are not quite so agitated. Ask Hati how to contact me."

The mist twisted and spun as Fafnir took to the sky. Huge black wings made Kaz's coat ruffle and needed a good shake to fix. "Did he call me Spakr?"

"You don't have to accept the name, but he'll never call you anything different." Hati blew out a grunt and started to turn back to Hel's cave.

Turning to follow, Kaz asked, "What does it mean?"

"Wise."

Loping back to the cave with Hati, Kaz thought about what the name would mean, eventually coming to the conclusion that it was all based off their short discussion.

"It was Fafnir," Hati said the moment they were in the cave and Hel looked at him. "The bastard wyrm smelled the dragon-taint of the curse. Then, when everything is calmed and he's about to leave—Kaz asks for Fafnir to teach him of dragons."

Hel laughed and shook her head. "That dragon treats his knowledge like his gold, and yet you persuaded him to part with one? A word of warning, Kaz, never take his gold. Don't look at it, don't think about it, and don't touch it."

"I know that the gold is cursed." Kaz rolled his shoulders a few times, the running having loosed his joints up. "I should be getting back. I have school in the morning."

"I will see to it. If your teachers ask, only tell them that you notified your benefactor about your condition." Hel gathered her magic, but noticed Kaz was already doing the same. "You learn fast. Who have you told of me?"

"My best friend, they live with me, Mal, and no one else."

"Good. Return to your world and wait for Hati. He will be with you for the nights and, if needed, will fetch Skoll for the days." Watching as Kaz formed a perfect travel spell, Hel indulged herself in one instant of thought about what might have been.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

----------------------------------------

Stepping through his spell, Kaz came out in the early hours of the morning in the suburban backyard—still a massive wolf. Now, however, he could feel his ability to change and did so, letting his wolf side rest. "Spakr would be a good name for you. I know you gave me control back the moment you realized thinking was needed. I'll be sure to do the same if I need your help."

A prickling feeling ran up and down Kaz's spine, but the feeling was all within him. "Was that you, Spakr?" He got no answer, but it made sense that it was his wolf. Walking in the back door of his house, Kaz made his way inside and began his morning routine.

He had showered and eaten breakfast by the time Puff came out from her own bedroom wearing a big shirt and nothing else. Of course she had her phone in one wing. "Good morning," Kaz said.

"Kaz! When did you get in?" Puff's entire lazy-morning demeanor changed as she rushed up to Kaz and wrapped him in a hug.

The hug, after everything Kaz had been through, was appreciated. "I needed this. Thanks, Puff. I only got back about twenty minutes ago. Apparently, if you're a werewolf and you go to a realm where it's a full moon there, you turn like right away. I chased the moon with Hati all night."

Leaning back a little, Puff looked at Kaz with interest. "Who's Hati?"

"He's one of the wolves destined to start Ragnarok. He chases the moon while Skoll chases the sun." Kaz let go of Puff and turned back to the remains of his breakfast plates and grabbed his glass of water to finish it.

"Ragn—Isn't that meant to be the end of the world?" Puff wandered over to the bench and dropped two slices of bread into the toaster. "Wouldn't it be bad?"

"I'm not actually sure this is even considered Midgard. A lot of the Norse mythology stuff is hard to follow, but it seems like Ragnarok is more about getting payback than really trying to break everything. There was a lot of really nasty stuff that happened, and Loki is still basically in prison." Kaz stood up, gathering his dishes and carried them to the sink. "Hel wants me to meet him, but only after I'm more familiar with all the history of his—I guess mine too, now—clan."

"Your clan?" Puff asked.

"Well, I seem to be a member of it." That's when it hit Kaz how odd that was. Hati and Skoll both called him brother and Hel seemed to treat him like a nephew. It had only ever been him and his father before, then he found out about his mother and his aunt, and then Miaow. ᱿My life is getting complicated.᱿

᱿Shhh. Sleeping kitty.᱿ Miaow made a soft purr before slowly creeping back toward unconsciousness.

Puff, not for the first time, wished she didn't have a beak so she could give a good pout. "Just remember you have friends back here, too."

Raising an eyebrow at Puff, Kaz changed—pulling the form of an anthropomorphic cheetah over himself before pouncing at Puff. Wrapping her in a hug, he nuzzled his snout in against her neck. "Puff, you and Jaybird are my two best friends in the world. No matter how wolfy or wild I get, hugging you and hearing your happy voices will always be one of my greatest pleasures in life."

After her little gasp of surprise at the pounce, Puff chirped happily at the hug and nuzzle, hugging Kaz back.

"You two are very loud today." Jaybird walked into the kitchen wearing a flannel shirt with a hood on it and similarly cozy pajama bottoms. "Oh, toast." They walked over to the bench and took the bread Puff had been about to start toasting into the toaster.

"You should pounce them next," Puff whispered.

Turning his muzzle to look at Jaybird, Kaz grinned. "Hugs?"

"As long as I can snooze through it, but no pouncing." Jaybird's relief at feeling Kaz's emotions holding none of the acrid fear was palpable. Folding their own arms around him, it was easy to relax into the cozy warmth of familial love and friendship.

"Sorry, Puff put me in a cuddly mood, and then I turned into a cat and it just made things worse, then I saw you and the need to cuddle got even stronger." Trusting Jaybird to give him a sign if they wanted to stop, Kaz gave one last squeeze and finally let them go. "Anyway, I might go for my run and then get ready for school."

Jaybird was a little sad to have the hug end. When Kaz left the house, still as a leopard, they turned their attention back to the toaster. "Sit down, Puff, I'll make breakfast."

"I'm not going to argue with that!" Twirling in a circle, Puff landed her rump on the seat. "He looked so relieved. Apparently he was out all night."

"He felt great when we hugged. No more fear at all. Whatever this goddess is or isn't, she's good for him." Jaybird hadn't intended a note of annoyance to inflect their words.

"Jealous?" Puff asked.

Opening their mouth to argue, Jaybird sighed when they realized what it would sound like. "A little. More like a squish. I like him, but I don't think I want to—you know."

"Are you sure? Have you really thought about it?" Puff jerked a little in surprise when the toaster popped. "Be honest with him, Jayden. Kaz is as honest a person as I have met."

The shock of hearing their own name shook Jaybird. "Y-Yeah. I'll do it when he gets back. What's it—?"

"Sex?" Puff asked, to which Jaybird could only let out a squeak and a nod. "Miaow is a bit traditionalist. She likes to be the one receiving all the time—not that I have a problem with that—so I guess I'm not the best to ask, but you could ask Kaz to go slow and try it."

"Just ask him?"

"Yes. I think he'd enjoy it. I would ask him myself, but I'm keeping monogamous with Miaow for now. Also, I don't think Kaz enjoys having the smaller penis." Puff set the buttered and jelly-covered toast before Jaybird.

"He's—?" Jaybird held up a hand to forestall any answer to their half-formed question. "No, I don't want an answer. I don't even know if I want to think about it. It's all too…"

"Icky? Just cuddle with him. Trust me when I say he's good at that. Maybe even better than Miaow."

"What if he already has a girlfriend?"

"What if he doesn't? Jayden, you need to stand up and do this for yourself. The best bit is you can hold his hand while doing it."

Taking a slow breath, Jaybird collected more toast from the toaster and prepared it for themselves. "I don't even know what to ask. He's so"—looking around, they made sure Kaz wasn't around—"so cute, but also so protective."

"He's also almost back. His phone just connected to the WiFi again." Puff sent a ping toward Kaz that included a bunch of hugging emoji.

"That's faster than usual."

"You remember what he was when he left, right? Fastest land animal in the world." Puff refrained from more chatter when she heard the door open. Picking up a slice of toast, she muted herself with some happy mauling of the seed-bearing food. That didn't stop her from tapping on her phone: Ask Jaybird what's up and make sure you're touching them.

Kaz looked pointedly at Puff when his phone buzzed again. Pulling it out, he was intrigued at the message. Transforming back to his normal, human form, he reached out a hand to Jaybird and brushed their shoulder. "Something up?"

Jaybird froze for a moment, but even without Kaz directly touching their skin, his emotions still filtered through. Curiosity, accomplishment, balance, and even a hint of something that might be arousal. It was different to feel that last one from Kaz, but for what Jaybird wanted to ask, it would help. "I—Uh that is—I think I'd like—"

Eyes flicking toward Puff, Kaz thought he could read what was going on without even Jaybird's telempathy. "You want to talk about this somewhere else? Maybe the living room?"

"I—Yes!" It was a lifeline to a more comfortable space and something closer to what they wanted to ask him. Jaybird, however, didn't dare to let him break contact. Reaching up, Jaybird took Kaz's hand and walked into the living room with him. "C-Can we hug on the couch?"

Sitting down, Kaz used Jaybird's hand to guide them down to the seat beside him, then put his arm around their shoulders. "Of course we can. Now, what's up?"

"I wanted to know if—" Jaybird closed their eyes and tried to soak up more of Kaz's confidence. "Would you like to, uh—? This isn't easy to ask."

"Would it be easier to type it?" Kaz pulled his phone out and gave it a wiggle.

For a second Jaybird felt a little hype for the idea, but they had to reconcile that it was Kaz's emotion bleeding through. "No. What I want to do is—is cuddle. Like cuddle more."

Kaz blinked a few times in surprise, his mind racing to make sense of the jumble. "More cuddle as in more often, or more intense?"

"B-Both."

"But slow, right? You haven't really seemed interested in—in cuddling." Kaz gave a slight squeeze, earning himself a little gasp from Jaybird that had nothing to do with dislike.

"S-Slow would be good. I don't know much about this—this cuddling stuff. It's new and I want to try it, but I don't know how much I'll want." Leaning a little more, Jaybird felt desire from Kaz. It was an interesting emotion for them to work with, but Jaybird tried to integrate it into their own selves and found they wanted to lean against him more.

"Do you want to lead with all the cuddling, then?" Kaz smiled a little more at how Jaybird was pressed against him tighter than he was actually holding them.

"No—No, I want you to push a little. If you relied on me to make all the moves, it would take another year before we do anything more than cuddle." A soft sigh left their lips. "Sorry this is complicated."

"All life is complicated, Jaybird—no exception. This is just a bit different to the other relationships I've been in, but if there's one thing Miaow and Puff have taught me, it's that you can make things work."

Tilting their head so they could look up at Kaz, Jaybird chewed on their lower lip for a moment before asking, "How many relationships have you had?"

"Depends how short we count here. Three, kinda. Two of them were in high school, neither lasted more than a few weeks. Abi was the longest relationship I'd had, and a good lesson that I can't date someone I can't be more honest with." After a moment of thought, Kaz continued, "I guess you and Puff are the only two that know almost everything about me. Miaow knows everything, though."

The topic change was welcome to Jaybird. Cozy and comfortable, wrapped in Kaz's arm and his emotional warmth, they were able to explore the topic from a place of safety. "Puff knows everything about me. I can't and won't hide myself from her. She knows a lot about pretty much everyone, but she had a lot of trouble with you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Well, you don't always tell all the truth, but when you say something, you never lie." It took Jaybird a moment to realize Kaz was trying not to laugh. "Wait, you do lie?"

"I try not to lie much, but never to my friends. I didn't even lie to Abi." Kaz flinched at mentioning her, but it was the only reference for a normal human that he'd been that close to. "Miaow said there was a kind of superpower for mages who never lie about anything, I guess that's less a mystical power and more just people always trusting your words."

"Sometimes all this stuff is just so—it's so weird. And I grew up with it. We should probably get ready for school."

Avoiding thinking, mostly because thinking led to not doing, Kaz leaned-in and kissed Jaybird's cheek. "You're right. Come on." He pulled his arm back from around Jaybird, jumped to his feet, and held his hand out to them.

----------------------------------------

Kaz drove, feeling particularly good about himself. He pulled up at the usual spot and put his special permit on the dash before getting out. "Now I get to go and mess with the guy who put this curse on me."

"You're not going to do anything that will get you kicked out, are you?" Puff asked. She'd never had such a focused feeling of dread before.

"If they kick me out for just talking, then I don't want to be here." Walking over to Puff, Kaz put his arm around her and gave her a hug. "Miaow's been sleeping a bunch since last night, sorry for not letting you have some morning snuggles."

"Kaz, don't feel bad about that. I happen to know someone who really enjoyed morning snuggles—Selfie time!" Puff held her phone out, framing herself and Kaz.

"Wait," Kaz said, first pulling a don't notice me spell around himself, then shapechanging into a top-heavy vixen that pushed his shirt up and into frame. Sticking his nose into Puff's neck, he winked at the camera just as Puff took the picture. A moment later he flowed back into his normal human shape—with a shock of rust-red hair.

Jaybird, used to their antics, had to focus to see past Kaz's spell and notice him—not a tall order given Jaybird's magic ability. "Are you two ever going to stop putting on shows like that?" Reaching out, they reached to Kaz's hand and barely made contact before their reserves of confidence shot to full.

Closing his hand around Jaybird's, Kaz walked with them and into the school, quiet except for Puff's constant typing on her phone and the city noises around them. When he got close to where his first class was meant to be, Kaz reached his arm up and around Jaybird's shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "I hope you have a great day."

"You too. Try not to get cursed more or kicked out." Jaybird felt extra joyous at the hug, and what surprised them most was it being their own emotion. It felt nice to just be hugged.

Kaz waited until Jaybird let go first, marveling at their smile and slight blush. "Anyone ever told you you're beautiful before?" When Jaybird shook their head, he added, "Well, I get to be the first. You're beautiful, Jaybird."

Eyes widening in surprise at the moment, Jaybird turned and ran as fast as they could.

"I'll take care of them. Go to your class, you smooth player." Puff poked Kaz on the nose with a feather before becoming a tiny blue jay and flapping off after her mage.

Waiting for Kaz to be alone again, Shenlong walked up beside him. "You have warned your friends?"

"Friends, brothers, and goddess." Kaz disliked Shenlong for even thinking for a second he wouldn't tell those important to him. "We even worked out a great way to deal with the curse every month."

Not picking up any obvious sarcasm, Shenlong's curiosity was piqued. "I'll admit I was curious about that. What were you planning? A cage of some sort? A spell?"

"You know who my brothers and goddess are, or rather what they are?" When Shenlong nodded, Kaz brightened. "Well, one of my brothers promised to visit me for the evenings the curse would be active. He wanted to teach me the finer points of hunting. We even did some practice last night." It was one of those moments that Kaz loved to weave the truth in a way that it made Shenlong build his own lie.

"Y-You're going to hunt?!"

"I mean, yeah. You made me into a vicious predator, what did you expect I'd do? Hati himself is coming to run with me and teach me." Testing his luck, Kaz started to walk past Shenlong into the lecture hall for his first class on introductory transformation.

The lecture was interesting for Kaz. It might be introductory, but it was solid ground work that would help him focus on more breadth in his forms he could choose. Throughout, though, he could see Shenlong standing to one side watching him.

᱿You really had to mess with him this much, didn't you?᱿ Miaow asked, sounding for all the world like she was yawning and stretching in his head.

᱿Absolutely. I wouldn't have minded nearly so much, but what Hel described him as doing could have left me stunted severely unless she and Hati helped. I appreciate what he thought he was doing, but he's literally made a worm that will rip me apart in my own head. For that I'm going to push more. I'll come to the damn classes for the three days of the full moon—he'll just have to expect me to be huge and fuzzy.᱿ As he worked through his plan, Kaz felt more and more of that wolf side of him grow excited at hunting a dragon. ᱿Sorry. This was something I was looking forward to for a whole year, and then I have this dumped on me.᱿

Sending a bunch of purring Kaz's way, Miaow wasn't at all unhappy with his new determination and unwillingness to be led. ᱿Just don't overdo it. We don't want to have to flee to Hel if we can still wring some knowledge out of this place.᱿

᱿Do you think I should go talk to Mal about this?᱿

᱿She likes you, Kaz. You haven't done anything to earn her wrath, so go for it. Maybe she'll hate this as much as you do.᱿

᱿She acted like she has no control over the curses, but I'll try to fit a visit to her in. After lunch will probably be best.᱿ Thinking on it more, Kaz frowned a little. ᱿I just don't want to feel like I'm running to her with every problem that comes up.᱿

᱿Why not send her a message on Mager?᱿

The slap sound of Kaz's palm meeting his forehead was loud enough that a few people around him looked at him in surprise. ᱿I should have thought of that. Thanks, Miaow. You're the best cat I know.᱿

The class went by without further incident, though Kaz did put up with the evil eye Shenlong sent him. By the time the chime sounded to end the lecture, Kaz was starting to rethink his torment of the dragon. He gathered up his notebook and stood, then made his way from the lecture theater.

᱿Okay, I have twenty minutes until my next lecture. I'm going to write a message to Mal to just update her on what's going on. She can figure things out from there.᱿ Hearing only snoozy purring as his response, Kaz pulled his phone out and started walking while typing.

> There was a bit of a mix-up with the curse for transformation. It relied on modifying my core self—which I don't really have anymore. Shenlong arranged for a different curse. He split out the wolf aspect I'd picked up from Hel and set it in direct opposition to my normal self so that it will completely overwhelm me in six years. Hel wasn't happy about it. Figured I'd let you know what's going on.

Miaow giggled as she purred, enjoying the show Kaz was putting on. ᱿You totally wrote that to make her freak out, didn't you?᱿

᱿A little. Reminding her of her promise to Hel doesn't hurt.᱿

᱿You weren't as angry about this before you spent some time as a wolf. Do you think that has anything to do with it?᱿

᱿Probably. That side of me is all instinct and raw emotion. But I have to trust that it's right and give that side's emotions the legitimacy they deserve. They are my emotions too.᱿ Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Kaz pulled out the slip of paper with his schedule on it. "Actualizing Magical Forms 1. Guess I better start heading that way."

Arriving in the class a little early, Kaz was surprised at how full the room was with what he would have called monsters before he knew better. Among them were a centaur; a minotaur; several different human-ish species he didn't want to name out loud in case elf, dwarf, or halfling were offensive; and many more creatures that he'd normally have not considered sapient.

One of the creatures, a woman with her waist and lower being a huge snake's body, slithered toward Kaz. "You're here for Actualizing Magic Forms 1?" When Kaz nodded, she smiled enough to show off mostly normal teeth—though a better examination would have revealed two large fangs that were folded backward. "You're a bit early, but I think you'll find I value promptness—and I reward it. I am Professor Medusa. Not the Medusa, she has long-since perished, but my parents were traditionalists.

"This class is here to teach you how to quickly make use of magic powers various forms can grant you. For each two weeks of semester you will be paired up with a different mentor to learn their form, their magics, and, if you are wise, their culture.

"It is somewhat difficult to arrange for a mentor for each student, but the local mage community is always most helpful when it comes to finding enough. This also means that there is somewhat of a rush to get your preferences—since you are early, I believe you have won yourself first pick."

Kaz was a little overwhelmed with information and a sense of curiosity now. He looked at Medusa and realized how utterly mundane and normal her clothes were—above her scales. She had a shirt that was just a few shades darker blue than her scales, a light jacket that was belted at her waist (or where her waist should be), and had only a small amount of jewelry on.

There was one little problem for him, though, and that was that everyone in the big room was now looking directly at him. "Is there a list, or do I just guess everyone's names?"

Medusa's smile deepened a little and she heard appreciative murmuring coming from those assembled. "Just say what you'd like to explore, and a representative will come forward."

That was putting it back on Kaz, and he knew it. "I'm sorry if I get any names wrong, I've not been a mage long." He looked squarely at Medusa first and asked, "Lamia?"

"She's not on the list!" a faun called, laughing.

"She should be now," the minotaur replied.

It was an odd request, but Medusa found herself liking the forwardness. "I'm not normally part of the group assisting, but if you're sure you wish to—and you don't mind me waiting until week two or later, I could show you the ways of scales. You still have twelve more to fill out the semester."

Looking around those present, Kaz started making a list in his head of things he might need and what creatures would have those traits. "Centaur, elf—"

"Excuse me," one of the elves said, "we have aes sidhe and ljosalfar present, Celtic and Norse elves."

An alarm bell sounded in the back of Kaz's mind. "Aes sidhe, please." He got a smile and a nod from the robed elf. With the sound of more students arriving, Kaz tried to speed up. "Demon, angel—Uh, I'm sorry, but you're too beautiful to skip and I don't know—"

Bowing, the woman in a dress made of flowing water smiled at Kaz. "I am a nixe. Thank you for the compliment." Biting her lower lip, she looked Kaz from top to bottom and quite liked the power she could sense bubbling within.

"You need one more," Medusa said.

Kaz looked around and tried to feel for someone that would suit him. Someone that jumped out. His right hand itched when he fixed his gaze on a partially transparent man in the back of the group.

Eyes aglow, the ghostly form laughed and walked forward—through anyone that didn't get out of his way quickly enough. "I sense power within you that would suit my form well. Hold out your hand, lad."

Not needing to be told which hand, Kaz lifted his right hand up and out—only to have his magic rush up his arm in a flare of black-green light. Light that rushed into the ghostly man. "Draugr."

"I know that magic well, not that I'll mention it here."

The words weren't in English, nor was Kaz aware how he understood them, but they made sense to him. It was the same part of him that this deathly magic now sourced from. Hel's magic. "I'll take draugr as my final choice."

"Right." Medusa felt like she'd seen something significant, but she couldn't get her head around what. "Normally I wouldn't pair a living mage with an undead mentor, but that death magic you were slinging wasn't for show—so I'll allow it." She turned to the rest of the students piling up in the class to start her usual introduction.

Kaz had some trouble following what had been said by Medusa, but when she turned her attention away he managed to drag his magic back from the draugr. "So, uh, I'm Kaz."

"My name is lost, but people around here know me as Bjorn. I doubt there will be many others that can pick me, so why don't we get started?" Bjorn felt more solid and firm in the world than any other time since his death—except after Hel had given him her command.

Glancing at Medusa, Kaz shrugged. "If that's how it works. Okay, how do I become a draugr?"

Bjorn laughed. "Damned if I know. Try using your right hand to do whatever you do to transform."

That was only marginally helpful to Kaz. He already knew he'd need death magic to accomplish the transformation, but when he pictured Bjorn, it was like there was a barrier between him and being a draugr.

Feeling at the barrier revealed a hole, and with that hole Kaz stretched the barrier—having to use magic from both life and death—until it was large enough to pull it over him. Then he pulled the barrier around him and died. Again.

Only, with his power firmly anchored through Hel, Kaz could keep himself together and, instead of just dying and leaving a corpse, he became a draugr like Bjorn—but with the only difference being he was fully corporeal.

"I think that worked," Kaz said.

"I'd say, given the terrified look of nearly everyone in the room, it worked just fine lad. You aren't faded, though. Must be all the death magic in you." Bjorn reached out a ghostly hand and slapped Kaz on the back—meeting solid resistance.

"The aim," Medusa said clearly, her voice raised, "of this class is to familiarize yourselves with uncommon forms, to gain some of the abilities of them, and eventually to give you the tools you need to divine the abilities of any creature you assume. At the end of each two week period I will expect a paper of no less than five thousand words covering these points. These classes will not be held here except at the beginning of the two-week period to introduce you with your new mentor. Otherwise, you are expected to negotiate time with your mentor to learn from them."

"So, why would someone become manifest outside of Niflheimr as a draugr?" Kaz asked. He had a good idea who could do such a thing, but why was more of a mystery to him.

Walking toward the exit, Bjorn gave Kaz a smirk. "Follow me to somewhere private and I'll tell you all about it."

As he stepped outside, Kaz felt a stinging pain as the warm sunlight hit his skin. Bjorn, he realized, looked a lot worse for his time in the sun. Flesh seemed to peel off Bjorn's face, and at one point it looked like his arm rotted and fell off, but it was reattached when he looked back. "Where are we going?"

"I have a crypt nearby that I reside in. The mage that runs the cemetery allows me to rest there so long as I keep the other undead away." The walk was more of a slow lurch for Bjorn. With the sun's light beating down on him, he felt his age far more keenly than in a cool chamber or at night.

By the time they reached the cemetery, Kaz felt the sun far more acutely. It wasn't ripping him apart like it was Bjorn, but it took effort to keep from letting it do so. When the pair of them advanced on an old tomb and stepped down into the cool depths.

"What dealings have you had with Hel?" Bjorn asked, figuring mutual understanding would help get things balanced quickly.

Kaz sighed and leaned against the wall of the tomb, the chill stone feeling wonderful. "I died. A Japanese river monster sucked my life out and Hel took an interest in me. She hauled my body and soul back and sparked my magic with her own. You work for her too."

"That's a big assumption to make."

Kaz shook his head. "Not really, you don't have Garmr hunting you down to drag you back to his mistress."

"That bloody hound. Yeah, well put. Just one of many draugr scattered all over this world—and others—looking for information on the activities of the Asgardians. She doesn't want them attacked, just watched." Laying down on top of the empty casket in the middle of the room, Bjorn let out a sigh. "I've been here a long time, Kaz. Do you think you could ask her to call me home?"

"To Niflheimr?"

"It was meant to be a place to be tortured and punished for daring to die wrong. Hel made it a haven. She didn't punish us or use us as fuel. She could have done all those things and probably earned favor from Odin for doing it." Time seemed to pass slowly. Bjorn turned to look at Kaz. "I guess you figured out she has a soft spot for mortals whose time comes too soon?"

"I asked her out on a date."

Bjorn moved faster than he had in centuries. "You what?" he shouted.

"It seemed right at the time. I was having a bit of a crisis and it just came out and she turned me down so it's not even weird." Kaz blinked at his rapid-fire blurting. "So, as you now know, poor decision-making is a trait of mine."

"That's an understatement. Though, you're still alive—nominally—so I can't really say you're doing badly. Draugr, at least ancient revenants like me, have outlived even our own bones. It's been over a thousand years since I died, lad, and without Hel's power I would have faded away completely. You're a source of that power unto yourself, plus you have a body that's still real.

"Your single biggest physical power is your strength. As a draugr, you could wrestle any living man to a standstill. There's also your magic."

"Magic?" Kaz asked.

"Draugr possess magic that Hel herself doesn't. Even Odin would wish this. Sit with me, Kaz. Sit and think on the future." Waiting for Kaz to sit on the edge of the casket with him, Bjorn let the calm of the graves around them settle its weight on his shoulders. "Three years from now—where will you be?"

The question, mundane as it was, triggered something in Kaz. A million, billion pathways opened up in his thoughts. Most of the paths were so similar that they ended in one of only a few thousand destinations. Two in particular had a massive amount of paths leading to them.

"Graduating, being freed of this stupid curse—or seeking Hel out to end it and make me whole," Kaz said.

"There are more paths."

"Yeah. Death seems everywhere, but—but short of pissing Mal off, I think they're not likely." Pissing Mal off, in all those pathways, was a very quick way to be killed or worse. "Yeah, I don't think I want to make her ang—Wait, am I seeing the future?"

"You are seeing some futures. It takes a lot more time than we have together to be able to pick through them to find the most likely, but you sound like you have some skill with it." Being so old his body had long since rotted away to nothingness, Bjorn had only the cold stones to feel solid. "Much more awaits you, should you explore this further. I believe it is time for your next class."

Kaz, who had been busy trying to sort all the threads of his future into preferences, lifted his head. "I guess I should go. Thank you, Bjorn."

Bjorn looked at the offered hand and reached out to Kaz. "Not many would have chosen me, but fewer still would have picked an aes sidhe elf over a ljosalfar. But then, you're hardly a normal mage now, are you?"

Grasping Bjorn's hand firmly, Kaz had to reflect on his choices. "Normal mages wouldn't have picked a demon and an angel. I'd hate to be a normal mage."

Bjorn laughed as he gripped Kaz's hand back. "You certainly get a far more interesting life to lead. Go, but know that my tomb is a safe-haven to you, Kaz."

----------------------------------------

Kaz had turned back to a living being just as he left the mausoleum, not wanting to incur the sun's wrath again. The graveyard was quiet except for birdsong, which made Kaz wonder if any of them were friends of Puff's.

᱿Finally alive again? That felt really odd, you know?᱿ Miaow stretched herself out, purring like a literal cat in the sun.

Not meaning to, Kaz spoke aloud as he walked, "Maybe there's something suppressive about these stranger transformations?"

"I should say so." Mal, standing at the gate Kaz was approaching, shimmered with a dozen spells to shield her from prying eyes and to shield others from her magic auras. "Have you any idea how hard it is to locate you when you transform, Kaz?"

Walking up to one of the more evil creatures in the country, Kaz felt more and more of her undead self leaking and gathering around him. "Uh, I bet any spell that relies on targeting my metaphysical self would fail. How did you find me?"

"I asked Medusa who your assigned guide was, she could only recall Bjorn"—Mal nodded toward the heart of the cemetery—"and yourself as being missing before she'd assigned first two-week partners. Bjorn, I know, would have recognized the magic in you, assuming he hadn't seen you with his magic. The rest was a most dreadful excursion off campus."

"Okay, I'll bite." Kaz fell-in beside Mal as they started walking back to campus. One thing he noticed was the warmth of the sun and the brightness of the day seemed to fade and tarnish this close to her. "Why were you tracking me down?"

"Did you accept this curse?" Mal asked, drawing her phone from within her robe and showing Kaz's message on the screen.

"Yeah, though I didn't really understand it at the time."

"That's at least some relief. If I'd found out Shenlong had cast that on a student without any warning—Well, I don't like to make it a habit of attacking dragons. What exactly is it doing to you?" It was as close to a joke as Mal was likely to get about such a serious matter. She tapped at the screen of her phone and closed Mager.

That Mal mentioned attacking Shenlong buoyed Kaz's spirits a little, until he realized that would mean Daenerys likely joining in, and he trusted Mal enough to know she'd know that. "The way Hel described it, it is actively trying to split me into two—uh—entities. Well, one more, sorry Miaow."

᱿It's okay, Kaz.᱿

"Hel's family has a lot of wolves in it, which you know, but she has wolf in her as well. So, with her magic in me, now I have a wolf as part of me." Focusing inward, Kaz felt for his wolf side while trying to project calm. There was, at least so Kaz thought, the slightest acknowledgment of his presence. "But it wasn't meant to be separate. The wolf would have grown or not as me."

Lifting her bony, skeletal hand up, Mal pressed it firmly to her face. "And of course Shenlong missed that and just saw the different parts. I would not fault you if you had a way to reject this curse, but Daenerys would have every right to kick you out and not accept you back. I would not be able to train you to the same quality as they can—transformation isn't a particularly big part of what I do."

"Yeah. I'll keep going with it for now. If the curse gets too much or the class isn't giving me what I want, I'll bail, and we can look at witchcraft or wizardry. I don't like what the curse is doing, but Hel and Hati are helping me deal with it." Kaz waved a hand in the direction they were walking—back toward the school. "I take it Shenlong thinks he's somewhat good?"

"Morally? Yes. Why?"

Kaz couldn't stop from smirking. "I may have led him to believe I intend to bring Hati to Earth to hunt people with. He made such a big deal—Shenlong I mean—about controlling my urges that I wanted to get some minor revenge for the curse. When he asked if I had my first full moon planned out, I told him I was bringing a fellow wolf to come and hunt. I didn't tell him we'd be hunting the moon."

The sound started as something like tearing paper, then grew toward what was better described as wet, tearing paper. Finally, after struggling against it, Mal laughed. "It will eat at him if he thinks he turned you to hunting humans. The best part, Kaz, is that you are within your legal right to kill, if you have monstrous nature, and he will think he gave you that nature!"

"I was angry and didn't like what he'd done. If it's going to—"

"No! No this is fine, Kaz. More than fine. Word will spread of what you're doing. You can't just invite a creature like Hati to this world and expect him to go unnoticed. When you start hunting the moon, and Shenlong discovers that, he will realize you played him." Mal's mood was completely undone and reversed now. Anger and fury were replaced with mirth and anticipation. She wanted to be somewhat nearby when Shenlong discovers the whole plan, and it would take work she'd gladly complete to orchestrate. "Kaz, you must understand that once out of school, you will need two things to survive as a mage—magic prowess and reputation. Tricksters can bank on their unpredictability, but I think you'll have plenty of the former, too."

"Did Medusa show you the list I'd chosen?"

Mal struggled not to laugh more. "Angels and demons, undead and centaurs, a nixe—Do you know what a nixe is?"

Smirking at the challenge, Kaz shook his head. "Smoking hot, confident as all get-out, and probably deadly in more ways than I can grow fingers to count?"

Stopping for a moment, her gaunt jaw hanging open, Mal closed her mouth and sighed. "To be that young and alive again. You are right on all counts."

"With the other six, I want to try spending the whole two weeks as that creature. Really get into it. I would with draugr, but there are problems with that and sunlight." Kaz tried to appear relaxed as he walked through the outer gates of the college beside Mal. People looked his way, but he ignored them. "Except when I have to transform for other classes, of course."

"You'd be an angel for two weeks—a demon for two weeks. You have a lot of youthful energy, Kaz, and while I doubt you'll be able to pull it off, it's going to be entertaining to see you try."

"Wanna bet?"

Mal looked at Kaz for a few seconds, wondering how serious he was. "What are the stakes?"

"Loser has to pay for the ice cream and teach the winner one magic thing the winner doesn't know."

It was an interesting offer and not just for the ice cream. "I am curious what magic you could teach me."

"Well, that's half the fun, isn't it? I can promise you I can teach you something, even if I need to do a little hunting to find it, and I know you can teach me any of a lot of things. So, what are the rules?"

"Simple. After you're done with Bjorn, you get your next assignment and must change into a member of their species. You are not allowed to change—except for school reasons—until the next assignment. Then you repeat." Mal had gone far too long without someone she could call a friend. Kaz, she was convinced, could make a friend out of a fiend—and probably would by the end of the semester. "How's that?"

"That'll work, though I'm going to need to buy new clothes a lot." Stopping his walk at the administration building, Kaz pulled out his phone to read his timetable. "Or I'll just brush up on my don't look at me spells."

Staring at Kaz, Mal was surprised to see her own magic had snaked around Kaz's legs and seemed quite content to just leave him be. "You'd come to school—"

"…naked. Would that earn me two new magics?"

"It might earn you a semester of timeout in my spellbook is what it'd do. Having a naked nixe walking around the campus would probably start a war." The only problem for Mal was, she felt a flare of excitement to see it happen. It was a worrying thought, but one she had a good grip on. "Best be off to lunch and then your next class."

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Advanced channeling was a class where it seemed to Kaz like he was the only person interested. He sat closer to the front than any of the other lecture-style classes, and found the topic fascinating. When the lecture was over, and with no more classes for the rest of the day, Kaz walked up to the front of the class.

The lecturer turned to Kaz and raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, actually. In your lecture you stated that people that only have one singular magic source can only end up with one specialist type of magic. That's not true, though." The woman, who'd introduced herself at the start of class as Miss. Helen, looked skeptical to Kaz. "I can show you, if you like?"

"It's been a long day, uh, Kaz?" When her student nodded, Patricia Helen felt a small spark of joy at guessing right. "It's been a long day. We have a tutorial class scheduled tomorrow at nine. You could show me th—" Her tired dismissal died when she saw the magic coming from each of Kaz's palms. "You're channeling life and death magic?"

"It's not easy to do both at once. I can do them much better individually," Kaz said.

"Huh. Cool. I can try to spend a bit of extra time with you, if you want. What do you want to do with your channeling?" It was a little intriguing to Patricia, but in such a place as Stratfield school weird was normal and normal was such a snooze.

"Well, I've found that doing magic with one or the other changes how my magic works, but what I'd like to try is using them together. So, I guess I'd like to work on controlling them at the same time."

Jotting down notes, Patricia glared at her schedule at the top of her notebook. "I can't get you anything for tomorrow, sorry, but next week I'll definitely have something for you to try."

"Thanks. It's enough to know that I can get some help with this. It only started recently because—because I have someone helping me build my magic up. The only problem is she doesn't know how I could work with it." Kaz snuffed out the magic in his palms.

"Actually, thank you. This was going to be a snore-fest without something interesting happening. Channeling is just what most people can do—hardly anyone wants to get better at it, let alone having a problem with their magic at this age." Patricia closed her notebook. "Would you be okay answering some questions about it?"

"Oh—" Kaz wanted to smack himself in the face. He'd walked right into this and now he had to try to extract himself. "I can't exactly—"

"Relax. You don't have to answer everything. Trust me, I get that by second year you'll have allegiances and things you can't talk about—that's the nature of being a mage—but whatever you can provide will help." Patricia knew that getting information out of mages was usually far harder than herding cats, but she had managed to get four cats into one box once.

Relenting, Kaz tried to relax. "Alright. I'll do what I can."

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.