My sharp instincts pick up a heavy tension in the air.

*sniff* *sniff*

Lizard man, Grizzly, and… someone new.

They enter the front room.

Wyrrm Bait seems on edge but closes the door behind him.

“Sorry about this Karth.”

Grizzly man bows his head towards Wyrrm Bait apologetically.

Unlike before, the bear-like beastborn does not look very beast-like.

I recall beastborn folks that can change between a beast-like or humanoid-like appearance. Maybe when they’re not in danger, they feel comfortable enough to change form and let down their guard.

“Where is this monster I’ve heard so much about?”

“Silver Lining…!”

“You asked for help. Besides, you can trust her.”

“I can’t even trust you, spilling our secrets without asking any of us.”

They’re looking for me.

The two dwarves are… hiding me?

This must be their competitor, or maybe a rival?

Regardless, I can’t trust anyone here, and Wyrrm Bait seems to attract trouble.

“It’s a girl?”

“Yeah, Leina cleaned her up last night, and we just fed her.”

“Well, where is she?”

The human nods in my direction, giving away my position.

‘Traitor!’

The two dwarves step aside, and the pair of lizard people approach quickly.

I shrink back into the corner and shield my eyes from their gaze.

The blue-scaled woman is very intrusive.

“You say you found her from the mid-level floors?”

“Yes, we were there to rescue the human.”

Wyrrm Bait shoves aside the rude lizard people.

“Get back, you’re scaring her.”

Without a second to react, I’m scooped up off the floor and held in his arms.

My heart beats wildly, my body tenses, and my eyes are shut tight, waiting for the incoming pain.

A few moments pass, but nothing happens.

The room seems to be suspended in stunned silence.

What he did shocked everyone, including his own sibling. He’s surely to be punished by the bounty hunters now.

“Karth… put it down. It’s not exactly a person, yet, it’s still just a monster.”

“How can you keep saying that? Look at her?”

‘No. They’re looking at me…’

“She’s scared.”

“How are we supposed to help her if we can’t even get near her?”

“One at a time, don’t corner her. Even a person can become a wild animal if they are cornered and scared.”

It hurts…

“Karth, you’re bleeding. Put the monster down.”

“What…?”

My palms sting, and I feel a hot liquid drip down my hands and feet.

“Put it down!”

The dwarf woman is shouting at the human, he’s going to die protecting me.

“It’s not my blood! Look!”

Wyrrm Bait is releasing me.

I don’t blame him; I don’t want him to get hurt.

As his grip on me loosens, I wriggle free and run into the same room I slept in.

“Ack!”

“Stop her!”

Ow ow ow ow… I think I dug my claws into my own hands and feet, it hurts to run, but I have to get away.

The rope around my neck begins to tense up.

With one swift motion, I slice at the extended length with my claws and the tension disappears.

‘What?!’

The remaining rope around my neck tightens. It’s suffocating.

The bounty hunters are almost upon me.

I keep pushing forwards, slowing to a crawl as I reach the cage.

I drag myself inside and slump against the farthest corner.

The rope must have had an enchantment added to it. They did not want me to escape under any circumstance.

‘These bounty hunters… are merciless.’

My vision is blurry. They’re all really noisy, yet they sound so far away.

‘I’m dying…’

As if the rope wasn’t painful enough, the cage shakes violently under the large beastborn’s assault.

He’s tearing the cage apart to get at me.

I feel weak, my body is going numb.

‘You’re too late, Daedalus… I’m leaving… on my own… terms…’

My body goes limp, my vision fades, and I die.

…

Or so I thought.

Sights and sounds rush into my brain.

I feel an overwhelming amount of pain and nausea as the world crashes back into view.

I was saved.

I can’t even fathom why, my brain is a scattered mess.

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

“She’s alive…”

Hendrick sighs in relief.

Despite my own relief for the girl’s safety, my blood boils furiously.

“You idiot!”

I want to punch the irritating dragonborn, but Reyah quickly steps in front of me.

“Calm down, big guy.”

“She… she…!”

I had no words to say, at least nothing helpful.

It wasn’t entirely Silver Lining’s fault.

Sure, he was responsible for the girl’s panic, but Hendrick was also responsible for the arcane trap he put into the rope.

The young dragonborn doesn’t say anything, he just turns around and walks into the living room with his new ‘acquaintance’.

I let him go, and in the silence, I hear Leina crying.

Following the sound into her room, I sit on the bed beside her.

My eyes are closed in thought for a while, as I force myself to calm down and form an apology.

“I… I’m sorry for scaring you. I don’t know Silver Lining very well, but my time spe–“

“No… Not about him, I was worried about YOU.”

“I’m fine, she didn’t hurt me.”

“Why do you care so much about that– MONSTER…”

“.....I guess, it’s because she rescued me. Saved my life when I was down there on my own. It’s my fault that I went that far, I was being reckless…”

I rub a hand along my sister’s back in an attempt to comfort her.

“I chose a dangerous job and went on ahead without Hendrick or Reyah. I was cocky and arrogant and should have died that day. Now, I just want to return the favor. I want to help Janice.”

There’s a long moment where no words are shared, as I stay with Leina and patiently wait to hear her thoughts.

*sniffle* *sniffle*

“…Janice?”

“Yeah, you like it?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“You’re terrible at coming up with names for pets.”

“She’s not a pet.”

“I know, but still..... How about Alice?”

“Why Alice?”

*sniffle*

“I was just thinking; our world must be scary and new for her, it’s like she… fell down a rabbit hole and woke up in a new world.”

“I… guess that would make sense, for her name.”

*sniffle*

Leina moves close and gives me a hug.

“I still don’t agree with all of this. It’s crazy, but so long as no one gets hurt, I don’t mind helping look after her.”

“Thank you.”

Reyah peers into the room and asks,

“Are you guys good now?”

“Yes. Thank you, Reyah.”

“Good, 'cause we need Karth.”

Leina looks at me nervously, but I give her a reassuring nod before heading back into my room.

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

The floor is speckled with bloody paw prints, everywhere.

Hendrick struggles to calm down the catilyss.

She does not want anyone to get near him.

Each time the dwarf approaches, Alice runs away, tearing open the self-inflicted wounds in her hands and feet, bleeding out everywhere she goes.

“She’s going to bleed to death...”

Hendrick declared grimly.

“Can you do something?”

Silver Lining stands just outside the door to Karth’s room, arcane energy arcs between his fingertips.

“I can stop her from moving.”

“No, I’ll calm her down.”

Everyone remains back, near the entrance of the room. Karth cautiously approaches the terrified catilyss.

Her eyes are wild, darting around as if searching for an escape.

“It’s okay, Alice. It’s just you and me.”

Reyah echoes,

“Alice?”

“Leina came up with the name.”

“Much better than Daedalus.”

At the mention of the name, Alice jumps and skids away from the human.

She nearly trips and falls from the increasing pain and lack of blood.

“Wait, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Slowly, Karth nears the girl.

She pleads for help with her eyes, but at the same time, is too afraid to accept it.

As Karth gets within reach of the monster and she turns away, squeezing her eyes shut.

Taking a moment to plan his next course of action, the human sits on the ground, getting even more of the creature’s blood in his clothes.

Then, he waits.

After about a minute of cowering fearfully, Alice opens her eyes and watches the human warily.

He gestures for her to come to him.

‘I’m too tired to fight anymore, I’ve lost too much blood. They don’t want me dead, otherwise they wouldn’t have rescued me. Maybe it won’t be so bad to trust someone… just a little bit.’

Alice limps towards Karth until she is in his lap.

Her body and mind war over control.

Her distrust for people is screaming at her to run away, while the part of her brain that focuses on survival, demands that she seeks help.

Thankfully, she was too tired to forfeit her life a second time.

The monster forces herself to relax and lean against Karth’s chest, letting him know that she is relying on his aid.

“Please, don’t let them hurt me…”

She whispers only loud enough for the human to hear.

Though he doesn’t understand the language, he has a pretty good guess at what she means.

Karth rests a hand on her shoulder and gestures for Hendrick with his other hand.

The dwarf moves quickly but quietly, and places a hand on the monster.

She flinches under the man’s sudden touch but remains still.

Power flows out from Hendrick and into Alice. Her wounds close and heal, but nothing can be done for the loss of blood.

With a grim look, Hendrick says aloud,

“Now she really needs a life mage. There’s nothing more I can do for her but boost her immune system and keep her from getting seriously ill.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“No, you’re staying here. We don’t want a repeat incident.”

Before Karth can argue, the two dragonborn enter the room and the woman speaks up,

“If I may, your friend seems to have a great interest in this girl, and I may be able to assist you.”

“Are you a life mage?”

“No, I am a tinkerer.”

“What good would that do?”

“If you’ll allow me to explain…”

She hesitates, waiting for someone to interrupt her.

The room remains silent, waiting to hear what she has to say.

“Thank you. I am Kione Juno, but you may call me Madam.”

“Is that your trade name?”

“No, I do not have one. I am a self-proclaimed artisan, but all of my clients are satisfied with my work.”

There’s a pause as if she expects another interruption.

“Your, monster friend, seems to be in dire need of medical attention, but no one will help a monster. What you need is more than a disguise, but a magical artifact that transforms her into a real girl. I can make an item, unique only to her, and wearing it will allow her to become a beastborn child of a similar appearance. Cat-like in nature.”

Reyah is the first to ask,

“Is that even possible?”

“No one has ever tried it before, have they?”

Silver Lining adds,

“There have been rumors of torture devices made in the past, ones that transform people into monsters. I also happened to have heard of a ‘rumored’ black market selling such items that were scavenged from a long dead, corrupt nobleman.”

Madam gives the pale, white-scaled dragonborn a knowing look.

He glares at her in return.

“What does that mean?”

Karth asked, with hope rising in his chest.

“It means there’s a chance for your friend to appear normal. Whether or not she can ‘behave’ normal is up to her.”

Karth pleads with the woman,

“Please, help.”

She’s unable to contain her hidden excitement, giving the human a sly smirk and chuckling childishly.

“Stop, you’re terrible.”

Silver Lining groans, as he elbows the woman playfully.

“She’s already done her research and reverse engineered the hellish device. It cost me a fortune to buy it off the black market and she’s been up all night working on it. Now, she just needs to adjust it specifically, to work perfectly for the monster.”

Madam pouts disapprovingly,

“Did you have to spoil my fun? I was hoping to egg them on a bit longer.”

“Your ‘fun’, is not something everyone else can join in on.”

“Fine, just tell them already.”

“We already know you won’t refuse this, seeing how desperate you are, but it’s going to cost you. A lot. We’re not doing this out of the kindness of our hearts, I spent a lot of my own savings and Madam has worked tirelessly. She needed a bit of convincing, but she’s good at what she does.”

Karth was afraid to ask, already knowing it would put him in a huge debt.

“H-how much…?”

“We’ll discuss that later, darling, just hold the monster still while I strap the device to her.”

She turns to Silver Lining and asks,

“Please, bring me my tools?”

The man nods and walks quickly to the front room.

Madam gets to her knees and retrieves a small collar from somewhere inside her navy-blue dress.

Red Mountain, who was silently watching everything, moves closer with interest.

“That’s…!”

“Yes, you would recognize it. The collar is of a popular beastborn brand, lots of kids are wearing them these days.”

She places the collar around the girl’s neck and adjusts its tightness.

The feeling of another object around her neck, causes Alice to shiver with fear.

‘It’s all over now… I’ve officially become their pet… If I act up again, they’ll strangle me.’

Silver Lining places a couple trays of tiny intricate tools next to the dragonborn woman.

Karth repositions the girl to allow Madam easier access to the collar.

“How does it work?”

“Hmm?”

“The device.”

“Yes. Iscent, be a dear.”

Silver Lining groans,

“I’m on duty today.”

He picks up an onyx, pocket-sized, stone tablet with different runes etched into its surface.

It’s smooth and looks high-quality, compared to the magical keys that Karth is familiar with, for certain locked doors.

“Feed magic into the different runes to activate the collar’s functions. The top rune gives her a small warning shock, but you can feed more magic into it to up the intensity, the second ru–“

“Wait! You’re just going to casually glance over what you just said?”

“We made this specifically because we assumed you were training a pet monster. Isn’t that what this is?”

“No! She’s not a pet.”

The young dragonborn shrugs nonchalantly.

“Either way, you should use it if she starts attacking people. The NEXT rune is used to locate her. You can either cause the collar to create a sound or transmit a small signal in your brain that tells you where to go to find her. Don’t want to lose the little monster.”

Silver Lining seems irritated now.

“The third rune is used to stun her, and the fourth is her transformation. The transformation is not permanent, if the gem runs out of power she will revert to her original form. You can either have a mage safely supply the gem with power or you can wait for it to recharge on its own.”

The white dragonborn hands the slate to Karth.

“Where is the gem?”

“It’s in the locket at the front of the collar. The color of the gem should tell you how much charge it has left. It will go from green, to yellow, red, then dark. Don’t let the gem run out of power completely or else you will need a mage to recharge it.”

“Why can’t I recharge the gem with my own magic?”

“If someone inexperienced with their magic attempts to recharge it, they could break it from pouring out too much mana. They need to have mastery over their own magic and insert a consistent trickle of mana slowly.”

The specifics of this device, not to mention its self-regeneration, indicates that the cost of the gem alone is worth an incredible amount.

Add in the expensive slate of onyx inscribed with magical runes, then there’s the collar… Who knows what else the collar had built into it, seeing as to how the dragonborn woman kept tweaking the collar with her magical tools.

Karth will have to work really hard to pay it all back. He hoped it was all worth it.

Alice saved his life, a debt he could never repay, but maybe with this, he could help her live a better life.

He wanted to stroke the girl’s hair and help comfort her, but Madam would get annoyed with any extra movement.

It was already difficult for her to work on the device while Alice shivered, but there was no helping it.

After a few more painfully long moments, Madam announced its completion.

“There. That should do it. Give it a test.”

Karth places a thumb against the fourth rune and activates it.

A sudden shock courses through Alice’s body, and she shrieks in pain.

“What the HELL?!”

There’s a lot of angry and panicked screaming from everyone in the room.

Alice wants to run and hide, but she’s frozen in place from pain and fear.

‘They put a shock collar on me! Why…?! I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong…’

Tears flow freely from her eyes. She shivers and sobs quietly, waiting for it all to end.

“You said it was the fourth rune!”

“Karth, you have it upside-down you idiot!”

“How was I supposed to know?”

“Shut up. Everyone.”

Madam takes the onyx slate from the human’s hand and carves out an arrow facing up at the top.

“There. Now you shouldn’t be confused about the direction.”

She hands it back, and Karth stares warily at the stone object.

His eyes fall to the girl, watching her tears soak into his pants, then he looks at the two dragonborn.

“This better work right.”

Pressing his thumb against the fourth rune again, he lets a trickle of his magic flow.

The collar vibrates and Alice braces herself for another shock, but no shock came.

Instead, the fur on her body recedes, her sharp claws shorten and dull, the pads on her hands and feet smooth out to normal skin. Likewise, her face, eyes, and limbs reshape to become less monstrous, and more like a civilized person.

The only thing that remains the same are her ears and tail.

The change is almost instant, but the result is perfect.

She is now a normal beastborn girl. Physically.

Even after the collar stops vibrating, Alice doesn’t notice the change right away.

She holds her breath quietly waiting.

“It works!”

Hendrick practically shouted excitedly.

Reyah lets out an excited holler as well.

“It worked…”

Karth whispers and hugs the girl tightly.

Likewise, the large beastborn man approaches and hugs both Karth and Alice. His bear-like grip is almost suffocating.

“Ack!”

“Eeek!”

The pair let out a yelp under the sudden embrace.

Madam gets to her feet and shakes Silver Lining’s hand. The pair smile slightly at their success.

Silver Lining shows the woman to the exit, and she waves goodbye to the young man.

He closes the front door and walks back to Karth’s room.

Leina is standing outside his room, watching the excitement unfold.

Her impassive eyes watch the child for a moment, then drop to stare at the bloodied wooden flooring.

With a sigh, she moves to retrieve a bucket and mop, preparing to clean the floor before it stains.