Kyarako and Miyako looked over to the cage that the three of them along with Ryuji, the current occupant of the cage, had spent long hours coating in a layer of silver. There in the cage, they saw that the still sleeping form of their recent benefactor was thrashing about and had discarded every scrap of clothing and bedding save that he was laying on top of. Both women were embarrassed but curious about the sight of their sleeping partner. As he was currently facing the other direction in the cage, they both agreed it would be a good idea to go around and grab all of his discarded clothing and bedding before he transformed and did something like shredding it.
Both women were from races gifted with exceptional night vision and could easily make out everything in the warehouse and the cage. The pair grabbed the items in easy reach first and made their way to the opposite side to retrieve the rest. Almost as if to spite them, the sleeping form rolled over and growled a deep basal warning to the bars on the opposite side. Grinning to one another, they reached into the cage and began pulling the rest of the items from inside. Each knew that they would have to go to the other side of the cage to deposit the rest of the garments and bedding.
As Miyako was retrieving the satchel from the cage, she saw Ryuji flail in her direction and she flinched backwards. When she did that, the buckle on the small satchel clinked against the bar of the cage. Three things happened in quick succession at that point; first, Ryuji awakened from his fitful slumber, second, he flipped over onto all fours and arched his back while growling, and third, he began growing in an irregular lumpy progression.
Both women watched in fascination and horror while they backed quickly away from the cage. It was as though there was water boiling and bubbling beneath his skin and that wasn’t all. His snout grew outwards while broadening and bulking in musculature and filled with a load of glistening ivory fangs, all of his limbs grew longer and twisted into the sinewy, muscled, appendages of a monstrously strong hunter, and his claws grew into an absolutely fearsome set of long, gleaming, black talons.
The two women watched in rapt horror as the form of Ryuji grew to such proportions that he nearly filled the cage. After a few moments, his transformation seemed to have stopped and he turned his face towards them and his eyes gleamed brightly and they both realized at the same time that his face was now covered in pale moonlight streaming in through the gable’s ventilation arch. Another thing that was present but didn’t catch their attention, mostly owing to the hulking, monstrously proportioned predator staring them in the eyes, was the blueish gleam on the metal bars.
After a few tense moments of them holding their breath, The massive form stopped staring at them and made to stand. As soon as his back touched the bars, he Roared and began cursing. “OWW! Son of a… *He ducked back down and made to grab the bars in front of him with his right hand to steady himself only to receive an almost electric shock from them* Goddammit, shit that fucking hurt! Note to self, don’t fucking touch the electrified silver prison bars!”
Both Miyako and Kyarako watched and listened in utter bemusement as the bestial form in the werewolf grabbed his hand and looked at it still muttering under his breath. He then began to turn, almost in place. His long canine legs bent and hunched to the sides of his torso with his long, almost elegantly bushy tail following him in a tight circle as he surveyed his surroundings.
He finally stopped circling after the second full rotation and turned his massive head to look at them again. His face was held almost on the level with theirs even though he was having to bend himself, almost at the hip, to keep upright at all. Then he calmly spoke, breaking them out of their entranced states of stupor. “Did you know that this is a very uncomfortable position to have to maintain? I can barely believe I ended up like this. Is it me or did I get way bigger? I don’t think that the book said I was going to get this big.”
Kyarako was the first to break her trance and speak but it was rather ineloquent. “What!?” Miyako was a bit more capable of rational and coherent speech when she voiced her disbelief. “That shouldn’t be happening! What in the hells is going on here? You can speak? This definitely shouldn’t be happening!”
Ryuji looked sheepish, a very strange look for a thousand-pound werewolf. He went to scratch the side of his head absently but caught sight of his talons first and visibly recoiled from the sight. “Holy hell! I have a set of butcher knives on my hands! Are you seeing this? Hey, how big am I now? Wait, How big was I supposed to get?”
As the tension broke, Miyako found it too hard to keep herself from bursting out laughing. A moment later, Kyarako joined her and after a few seconds, Ryuji found himself chuckling too. Before very long, all three of them were practically rolling with laughter at the absurdity of the situation.
After what seemed like hours of laughing, Miyako finally caught her breath and attempted to answer his questions. “I *chuckle* I don’t, I don’t know. *more chuckling* I don’t think *a bout of coughing* I don’t think it was supposed to be like this. Huuuugh, I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard since I was a little girl!”
She looked him over with great curiosity, hunched inside the bars. “The guy that became a werewolf in my village only got about half again as big as he was. Of course, all I have to go on is secondhand recounting from the other villagers. Also keep in mind, that was when I was ten so don’t expect it to all be fresh and clear in my memory because I’m only working with little bits and scraps that I can recall here. You, however, seem to be at least double, maybe more, your original height.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“What is far more fascinating to me is that you seem to be fully aware. This shouldn’t be happening. This conversation, that we’re having right now, shouldn’t be possible. Every werewolf is supposed to become a ravening beast during their first transformation. The fact that you are clearly in control of your mind is absolutely astounding and I think it’s a condition that is unique to you. Do you feel like you’re losing control?”
Ryuji thought it over and replied after a moment. “I can almost see a red haze at the edges of my vision. I just have this feeling like there’s something I’ve forgotten. Also, my nose keeps twitching like there is this smell that I just can’t seem to stop thinking about.”
At the mention of a smell, Kyarako seemed to jump, and then she raced over to the edge of the building. “I prepared for this remember? We have all the meat here in this chest and… oof. Miyako, come help me carry this, it weighs as much as a red boar!”
The two of them carried the chest over to the very edge of the cage with the lid unlatched and then set it down, scooted it right next to the bars, and opened it. Ryuji almost blanked out and reached for the meat with his hand spread wide and drool running from the edges of his mouth. He caught himself only a few centimeters from the bars and flinched back.
Looking at his hand carefully, Ryuji came to the obvious conclusion, the bars were too close together for him to safely reach the meat that he so desperately wanted. Ryuji looked imploringly at the two women. “That’s just cruel. Can I at least get a stick or something? A pair of long tongs would be preferable but well, I’ll take whatever I can get to reach that treasure trove.”
The women looked at each other in bemusement and began searching around. Neither entertained the idea of handing anything into the cage. Oddly, neither thought to try tossing the meat to Ryuji either. A few moments later, Kyarako came back proudly displaying a case that held some fanciful sword. The case was latched and there was a lock on it. “I found something but I can’t open it.”
Without thinking about what she was doing, Kya pushed the edge of the thin display case through the gap in the bars. Miyako was about to yell for her not to or to watch out but the words died in her mouth. Ryuji calmly grabbed the end of the box and pulled it carefully through the bars and then spent several moments looking at the lock.
He reached out with the claws of his thumb and forefinger and deftly slid them both through the shackle of the lock until it was too full. With a quick pinch, the lock popped open and he caught it before it hit the floor and examined it closely. “Good, I think it will relatch. Now, on to the good stuff!”
Miyako watched in fascination as he gently placed the display case aside with the lock and pulled out the decorative sword. In his now-massive, clawed hand, it looked like a stiletto dagger. He then spent the next quarter-candlespan skewering each piece of meat separately and savoring them. He was meticulous in his pursuit of single slices and even shook second and third slices off of the sword before retrieving his prizes.
Kya was looking longingly at the pile of meat and her stomach growled. Ryuji stopped in his single-minded scarfing to consider her for several seconds before he addressed her. “Kyarako, why don’t you grab a couple too? You’re obviously hungry so just go ahead.”
Kya was hesitant because she had grown up around people and knew that eating raw meat around them made them uncomfortable. She glanced over at Mia and made no move to approach the already half-empty chest of meat. Ryuji grinned and skewered a pair of steaks and with a deft flick of his wrist, he sent the pair of juicy steaks flying her way. He barked out “Better catch them!” as they flew right at the cat-girl.
Kyarako was bewildered but caught the meat and shyly began to eat. It wasn’t very long before she began to forget her anxiety and really enjoyed her meat. She was in the midst of cleaning up the bloody mess that was left behind on her hands and mouth when she realized she was being watched. She was gearing up to defend herself, when she finally looked at Miyako it became apparent it wasn’t necessary, however. The dark-elf was watching her with a kind smile on her face.
Kya and Mia locked eyes and kept eye contact for the last few bites of her meal. Once she was finished and had cleaned her fingers and mouth she smiled at Mia and then at Ryuji. “Thank you, both of you. I normally wouldn’t think of eating my meat raw in front of someone else so I appreciate you not ridiculing me for it. I’ll try not to do that anymore.”
Mia understood perfectly what the Cat Beastfolk was talking about but Ryuji was confused. “What? Why? I mean, I understand that it’s a little messy but so what? What difference does that make? It’s your food, right? What does it matter how you want to eat it. I guess I could understand if it was a craving but your body couldn’t process the meat raw, but I know that isn’t the case.”
Both women looked at him incredulously. Kyarako was the first to voice her concerns though since she was the one he had addressed. “I know that you are a werewolf now but I wonder, did you say things like that before you were one?”
Ryuji just shrugged from his kneeling position and kept eating while explaining his situation between bites. “I really wouldn’t know. I lost my memory and when I woke up in the woods on the edge of the city a few eightdays ago, I was almost immediately attacked by a werewolf. I only have memories of that time and vague recollections of things that may have been before that. Even my name is just the sound of a birdcall I first heard when I woke up in the forest. I don’t know who I was but I have abilities and I had money and my… my… oh gods! My pendant! I’ve destroyed it haven’t I!”
Both women rushed to tell him it was okay and calm him down. They both agreed that if he didn’t know about the pendants that he would have to have lost his memory. At his perplexed look, they told him to check his neck where he found his pendant with the chain still intact. They went on to explain that a person received their ID pendant, which some nations called a Tettsu gem, when they were around five and it would grow with them. For most peasants, it was likely the only magic item they would ever have. It was for that reason that despite the precious metals in them, nobody would steal one, they were cursed to the person and couldn’t even be gotten rid of for more than a few minutes.