<~> CHAPTER 7

The two redheads smiled and said something to me before stepping away and pulling things out of their backpacks near the lake. The fox girl seemed much more interested in continuing to talk to me though.

("Maxwell is going to be setting up camp here, this place is as safe as any with a watch. Oh, you don't have any issues with him starting a fire right?")

I shook my head. ("No, fire doesn't scare me. The stream I've been washing myself in was warm but it would be nice to sit down next to an actual fire for once.")

She looked off in the distance at Maxwell who turned and nodded at her before pulling out tools and apparently logs from his backpack? Where does he keep all that junk? Looking around it looks like he's already pulled out more tools than would have fit in his moderate-sized backpack.

("Earlier you said that you killed the other... er, I mean you killed an umber hound that tried to kill you. Was its pelt intact?") the fox girl asked.

I nodded. ("Yeah, I have a pile of its bones too.")

The fox girl perked up. ("Are you going to leave them? Would you be willing to share them with us instead?")

I turned to her. ("I don't see why not, can you do something with them? It would have been nice to preserve the fur but I don't know how to do any of that.")

Without another word the fox jumped up and started scribbling something in the dirt in front of Maxwell, this got his attention and he said something to the other redhead.

Luna turned to me and spoke from there, her voice in my head sounded just as clear from the other side of their camp as it did when she was right next to me. ("Maxwell wanted me to ask if you could lead us to the pelt and bones. He says he will help you preserve and sell any of them that you don't want.")

("Sure, that would be great. Should we go now?") When I stood up he began to panic for a moment before Luna calmed him down. ...Maybe the way I suddenly stood up spooked him. He gave a quick order to his sister, Piper, before he put his pack back on and walked over.

I looked around at all of the stuff they set up around the firepit they were preparing. ("Are we just going to leave this stuff?") I asked Luna.

She nodded. ("We don't intend to stay there, we'll grab the monster's remains and come back. We shouldn't be gone too long so everything will still be here when we get back.")

("If you're sure about that...") I began walking to the mouth of the cave wall where I had put all of the scratches in the wall. They were already starting to fade but there were enough deep ones that they would stay for a while. I glanced back and it looked like they were ready to follow so I stepped into the tunnel.

I found the series of scratch marks that led back to the place I had been sleeping. I was about to shift my hands into claws again to rework the marks but I thought better of it. It was dark when they first saw me by the lake and I didn't want to frighten them by shifting yet, I wasn't sure if that would be enough to scare them off. Or make them change their minds about me.

We walked for maybe half an hour before we came to the opening of the tunnel I had been sleeping in for the past few days. There wasn't much here, the only things I had left were the pelt in the corner and the pile of bones. Everything else I had on me was in my purse.

When I stepped aside and pointed at the pelt and bones Maxwell looked excited before warily watching me and taking a closer look. He picked up and examined the bones before moving on to examine the pelt. Piper kept watch over me and Luna silently watched Maxwell examine the thing.

The fur and hide had been shredded around the edges where I had torn it open with my claws but a majority of it was intact. The monster's coat was black fur, unlike the twisting smoke that my own pelt was made of. The difference hadn't occurred to me until now. As much as I became like that creature I was still different from it somehow. I wasn't sure what that meant but I felt like it meant something.

I heard a noise down the tunnel, it sounded like those gross creatures again, goblins the fox girl had called them. I suppose it was a fitting name, though I only vaguely knew of them from the fantasy novels I used to read. I crouched down and peeked around the corner. Piper behind me said something to her friends but when the group of four came into sight I pounced and shifted into my wolf form mid-slash. In moments I had torn my way through all of them and shifted back before Maxwell even had a chance to turn the corner.

It wasn't until I saw the shock in his eyes that I realized I let the instincts take hold of me again. I stood back and gave them space to examine the bodies. They spoke to each other and glanced at me, I had a feeling they were rethinking our alliance based on their scared looks.

I turned to the fox girl. ("Uh, should I not have killed them?")

Luna came over to me and gently put her hand against my arm. ("No, that was fine. My friends are just... wondering how you killed them. When you protected us by the lake you looked like an umber hound, now you look... mostly human. They're just wondering how your magic works.")

Magic? Maybe if I could show them while they were ready for it they wouldn't be too scared... ("I can show them, how I shift into a monster... But I don't want to scare them. I'm afraid of how they'll react.")

("...I'll talk to them. Give me a moment.")

She went over to the group and tapped Piper on the shoulder before silently talking with them. The other two whispered back and forth a bit before coming to a conclusion and all turning towards me.

("Okay, we're ready. We promise we won't attack you, just don't come too close right away.")

I nodded to them and let the transformation take over me. I felt my entire body growing and covering itself in the wispy shadows that clung to my larger form. My hands turned to giant claws and my face shifted to that of a wolf. I could smell the fear and sweat coming off of them as my senses sharpened but I still felt in control of my instincts, I still knew I didn't want to hurt the people in front of me. The tunnel grew cramped so I lay down on the cool floor and watched them. A quadrupedal position that felt natural despite my quasi-bipedal form.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The fox spoke to me through the rings. ("Can you still understand me.")

("Yes, I am still me, even when I'm like this,") I replied.

Luna started to walk over me and Maxwell reached out to stop her. The fox girl nodded and pointed to me and gave them non-verbal reassurance until he let her go. She approached me and put her hand on my side, running her hands through the wispy smoke of my coat.

("It doesn't look like fur but it feels like fur when I touch it.")

She leaned her head against me and even took a few sniffs that tickled.

("It doesn't smell like smoke either, it's like the smoke is an illusion. Is it something you can control?") she asked me.

("No, my coat is just like this. I'm not sure why, even the umber hound didn't look like this up close.")

She stepped back and patted me on the shoulder. ("Does it take mana or energy to turn back and forth?")

("I don't know, I haven't had any trouble turning back and forth but sometimes my body shifts by itself. Especially at first, before I could control it.")

("Do you feel its instincts? Does your body move without thinking sometimes?")

I hesitated with the answer, which I realized was a dead giveaway so I decided to be truthful. ("Yes... Sometimes they push me to act before I can think about my actions. So far it's mainly been when I'm fighting but a few times it happened before I even knew I was going to fight.")

She stroked her hand through my fur which felt oddly reassuring. ("There are some beastkin that struggle with their instincts but that's normal. You just have to remember who your friends are and you will be okay.")

("Is it difficult to remember? In the moment?") I was scared of hurting them...

("Not usually. But until you get a handle on it you may want to keep some distance from us while fighting. Just to be safe.")

I nodded in reply.

("Can you shift back? It'll help my friends relax and trust that you're in control of yourself.")

("Sure.") I stood up and let my body shift back to my regular form, the smoke faded and my body was back to normal, save for my eyes. I checked the wraps around my chest and they were still snugly in place. The two others visibly relaxed and walked up to me with a smile. Maxwell patted me on the shoulder which caught me off guard and said something to me in his native tongue.

("Luna, what did he say?") I asked.

She smiled. ("He said that you're a bit scary but he thinks he can trust you. Just don't point those sharp claws our way.")

I looked him in the eye and nodded seriously which got me a smile in return.

Maxwell went back to the pile of bones and fur and pulled out a knife. He began scraping that gross film and remains of meat away from the pelt. He looked like he knew what he was doing so I wasn't going to object.

I tapped Luna on the shoulder. ("What are you going to do with the fur?")

She turned to me and smiled. ("I'm not sure what our plan is but Maxwell is preparing it before it rots. Whatever is done with it, it would be a shame for such a powerful monster pelt to be wasted. This kill is yours so if you want to keep it I'm sure Maxwell wouldn't contest that, uh, he might want something for preparing it but that shouldn't be too much. With your strength, I'm sure we'll make plenty to cover it. Even if we took you back up to the city right away there's plenty of hunting opportunities on the way back.")

Am I in a rush to get out of this dungeon? I'm almost afraid to go up. This world is obviously not my own, do I even care to see the city if there's no way back? ...Is there no way back? What about my family? My friends? My home? My life? I've been trying to survive all of this time, I didn't stop to consider what all of this actually means. I might be lost with no way home.

("Are you okay?") Luna's voice brought me out of my gloomy thoughts before I spiraled too deep into somewhere bad.

("...I'm fine. Sorry, just thinking about some stuff.")

Maxwell apparently got to a good stopping point with the fur because he folded it up and stuffed it into his bag before carrying piles of bones toward the stream.

("What is he doing now?") I asked Luna.

("He's just rinsing off the bones before he stores them in his backpack.")

I glanced at the pile of bones and then at his small bag.

("Uh, how are they all going to fit with that pelt inside? Is he just going to take the best ones? How valuable are these bones anyway?")

("Oh, his backpack is a subspace backpack, it has lots of room and will keep the pelt fresh until it can be taken to a tannery. I'm not sure he'll be able to take all of the bones but he should be able to take most of them.") Before I could comment on that strange bit of logic she continued, ("As for the value of the bones and pelt, I'm not sure actually but they're from a very high-level monster. An umber hound wouldn't usually be seen for another ten or twenty levels down from here so they're probably worth more than their weight in gold, easy.")

Holy shit.

I would have called bullshit but her voice and tone was completely serious. If the thing was so strong... how did I manage to kill it?