Rory POV

The cave entrance came into view as I trotted forward quietly. It was night outside the cave. Ema wasn’t at our camping spot in the cave, so I approached the entrance slowly to look for her. Sniffing the air, the scent of the forest filled my nose. The stalkers’ gross scent had faded from the area as well as Ema’s scent. All I could hear in the surrounding area were the normal woodland creatures from the tiny little wings of a beetle to the grunting of a deer. There was a slight unnatural rhythm in the trees. A bounding noise on the tree branches echoed into my ears. Emalynn! At least, I hope it's Ema.

Ducking back into the cave, I tried to shift back to my human form. Nothing happened. I took a deep breath, focusing hard on my human form. Nothing. Damn it. Switch back body! Staring at my paws, I tried to will them into my hands. Still paws… What the hell? One more time. I focused on my fur. Turn to skin! No burning tingles. No bones cracking. No shifting. Shit!

My tail fell between my legs as I paced about the cave. My ears drooped behind my head. This was not good. All my shifting has been inconsistent for a while now. Uncle Elias warned me that I could suffer side effects from not returning to my base form. Although forcing myself into this form instead of that frenzy form might have caused this too. There's too much unknown information.

"Ro?" Emalynn paused, taking in my worried wolfy appearance. "Why haven’t you shifted back? Those stalkers are gone. I made sure. You're safe."

All I could do was whine as I lowered my head. I couldn't shift. I can't tell her anything. Damn it.

Ema just stared at me and waited. Nothing happened. "Do you want me to turn around or something?"

Her confusion about my situation just made me sad. Looking up at her, all I could do is whine. She can’t even understand me. What can I do? What did Uncle Elias say to do? Come on, Rory, think! My thoughts were interrupted by Ema poking my head.

“Hello? Are you listening? I am trying to talk to you, fluffy,” Ema said.

I looked at her, but she just kept poking me and calling me fluffy. “Switchback fluffy!” She cheered. It wasn’t long before she started messing with my face and tugging on my ears. “Seriously, fluffy, I tracked those guys back to the Wizard’s Guild. They are gone. The big green one is too shit-faced to do anything now anyway. The wizard guy had to carry the loaf into the guild. It was hilarious!”

Did she just say she tracked those stalkers? I am not sure if I should be proud or exasperated with her. Those guys are going to be back. How reckless can she be?

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“You look like your brain is going to explode, Ro,” Ema held my face in her hands. I let out a low growl to show her my disdain. She just raises an eyebrow at me. “Are you stuck as a wolf?”

I let out a whine to answer her.

“Does that mean yes? This is all confusing without words,” Ema sighed. I tilted my head at her. “How about this? Whine for yes and growl for no. Whine if that works for you.”

Finally! We were making progress. I whined. She smiled. Yes! This will work.

“Are you stuck as a fluffy butt?” Ema asked.

Yes. I whined.

“Has this happened before?”

I growl at her to tell her no.

“Does it have to do with your magic?”

I barked at her because, honestly, I have no idea. It’s the most likely cause of my situation, but there is no way to know for sure.

“What the hell does a bark mean?” Her eyebrows furrowed at me. Was Ema that confused by my action? Poor little monkey was thinking so hard about what I could be telling her. “Is that your way of saying I don’t know?”

Yes.

“Okay. So, you are stuck as a wolf, people are searching for a book thief, which is you, and those men will be back. I think that means we should leave, right? Since you got that book, things have only gotten harder, plus Mr. Applegate is still a loose end out there. We need to go.” She verbalized my thoughts exactly.

Yes.

“All right, fluffy. Let’s pack and go before the sun rises. We will worry about your wolf form later. Come, my loyal familiar.” Ema ruffled my fur before making quick work of our little campsite.

An hour passed.

The moon was high above us as we traveled down the road. Ema was happily skipping behind me as if this were a grand adventure. It was nice to see her so carefree after she lectured me for an hour while we packed. I am still in shock that Ema of all people was lecturing me on my reckless actions. She wanted us to leave the cave as badly as I did. Where should we go? I am not sure what we will come across traveling in the cover of the night. We will just keep heading south. I know this turns into dwarf territory eventually, maybe hiding there would be best for a while. Part of me wants to return to White Rapids, but then all the work we have done would mean nothing.

“So, I was thinking. We could continue this cover story that you are my familiar. We could join a guild for a while. Earn some money while figuring out your peculiar powers. I would like to rent a place with a bathroom. A shower sounds amazing,” Ema said.

All I could do was whine with excitement at the idea of a shower. Joining a guild might be a good idea. It would give us more stability. Could I be a familiar though? Can a simian best summon a familiar? Hmm. We can’t draw attention to ourselves, but I am going to draw attention anywhere I go. My coat is blood red like my hair, and my magic goes bonkers. All of my options are limited until I get control of myself. South to the dwarf territory, we go.

The path was quiet for a few hours aside from Ema’s random comments and ideas. In short, she wants to build a purple house in a green meadow with money we earn from becoming S-rank adventurers. I am not sure how much of her plan is possible, but for the moment, she is happy. However, my body was tense with my senses on high alert. The feeling that an impending danger was on our heels filled my mind. Something was coming. I heard the roar echo through the night sky. A roar that bellowed and shook the branches of the trees around me. I look behind me to see Ema searching the sky for the source of the roar. Her happy mood had vanished.

“Ro, was that a dragon roar?” Ema said in a low whisper. My friend was startled and angry it seemed. Or was she just frustrated?

Yes, I whined. Unfortunately, the booming roar did belong to a dragon. Dragons are known to be ruthless and rage driven. Many have died at the claws of a dragon, but I don’t think the dragon was close enough to notice us. What was a dragon doing out here?