The forest looks different now.

I'm not sure why, though if I was forced to guess, I would put it up to my new perspective. All the things I used to have to look up at are now far below me, things I would have never been able to even comprehend being able to touch I can easily grasp in my claws. And that's another thing, since I have claws now, I can now grab things, something else I used to never be able to even think of doing.

I think I like my new form. Being tall and grabbing things is both entertaining and conveniant. Now if only it was as easy to be as sneaky as I used to be.

That is one of the only downsides of this new body of mine. Since it's so large, not to mention the two legged form on top of it, it's nearly impossible to sneak! I'm always colliding with or brushing against something! I even tried to slither like I used to, but, again, with the two legged form that I am stuck with makes that really uncomfortable. It obviously wasn't made for propar sneaking. For one, the arms make it nearly impossible to make a propar slithering motion without it being at least a small bit awkward, my neck was not the slightest bit appreciative of holding my head in the postions it would need to be in to properly slither for long, and because it's a female two legged that makes up my upper body, the lumps on my chest drag on the ground in a rather painful way.

Ugh, why do I have to have these? And why are they so obtrusive? The female two legged that I saw didn't have lumps this large, so why do I?

And I glow. That's also another thing I do not understand. Why do I glow now? How does that make sense? The glowing makes hiding basically a thought of the past. Even if, by some miracle, all the other problems with my form become moot, and I do somehow sneak close to something, the glowing would give me away almost instantly! How am I supposed to hunt like this?

I am faster than I remember ever being before. Perhaps I could run something down? It's never a stratagy I've employed before, but the four legged pack hunters use the tactic almost explicitly, so perhaps there is merit to it? It was in this contemplative state when I heard the sound of cheers from my left. There's only one thing I know of that makes that sound. And only for a few reasons...

I decide to try my hand at stealth again, if only because when the two legged focus on something, like they usually do when they cheer and celebrate, they become rather inattentive of their surroundings.

A short while later, I find a group of two legged celebrating a succesful hunt, and not a small one either. Somehow, someway, the two legged have somehow managed to hunt one of the great beast of this forest. And not one of the weaker of them either. If my sight does not betray me, it appears that a great boar, and several of it's smaller kin, are now being butchered and prepared for holding over the two legged's magic pits.

Hmm, I don't know why, but the thought of eating a boar sounds pleasing right about now, and since the two legged went through all the trouble of killing some for me...

I count about 15 of the two legged in the clearing, though seeing as they hunted a great beast, and a boar at that, there where undoubtedly more when they enacted the hunt. Perhaps coming across them now was a blessing, being that they are tired, unaware, and overall weakend from the fight and high from their victory.

Now all I need to do now is find the right angle...

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"Eat and be merry! We commit this feast to the fallen, to show them honor in their sacrifice!"

The hunt commander, who was standing on a stump as he made this declaration, was met with cheers. He hopped off the stump and sauntered up to the large roasting boar, carving of a small piece with his knife, and went about aquiring some ale to go along with it. A man came up behind the commander and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good idea planting your spear in the ground like that to meet the boar's charge! I'd have thought it would've run you flat like that, but you showed it!" The man handed the commander the ale he was seeking originally. The commander accepted the drink with the comment, "To be honest, I thought it was going to run me over as well! But I remembered fathers lessons on how one meets a horse charge, and just applied that for the situation at hand" He drank some of the ale before continuing, "Just got lucky, really."

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

"Now that you mention it, I had been meaning to ask ya about that." The man looked at the commander more seriously than before, "What's got the lords son down here hunting boar the size of horses?"

"Ha, there is nothing for you to worry about Stefan, I've been meaning to get a boar hunt like this under my belt for a while now. And seeing as there was one in the area, I decided 'Why not?'"

Stefan frowned as the commander took a bite of the boar on his knife, "I think we both now that that's a lie. I think I have a right to know the real reason, seeing as 13 of my people died for a hunt that you tell to me was just a whim."

The commander just chuckled before replying, "Now Stefan, I'm not sure you've heard the tales, but I've heard it said that up to 20 men have been lost to hunts such as this. By all accounts we where rather lucky to lose so few."

"Lucky or not, that's 13 fathers and sons that will never be going home." Stefan retorted harshly, "As their mayor, I'd like to at least know why they died."

The commander frowned, before breathing out a sigh, "I suppose if anyone has to know, it should be you." He motioned for the mayor to follow him to the edge of the clearing, a bit further away from the party. He swiveled his head around a bit, and when he was satisfied that no one else would hear him, he explained, "A messanger from the capitol came to father a week ago, directly from the King himself. The letter detailed to father how the court wizard felt a flux of magic in this area, and ordered that it be investigated."

Stefan blinked at that. "Magic? I've not seen any magics about."

"No, and that's what has me curious. If the magic was so powerful that the court wizard could feel the flux in the capitol than something should be about, but so far I've seen not a hint of evidence to support that. It's strange, no?"

Stefan looked down for a bit, contemplative. If what the lords son said was true, and the court wizard truly felt a magical flux in the area, than there should be something wrong. But so far, there has been nothing amiss that he could see. So what could it be?

"See," The commander said, breaking Stefans thoughts, "it's strange, isn't it?" He than sighed again, and said aloud, "If only there was some sign-"

 Men began screaming behind them, shocking the two. They quickly turned to find that the merry party they were just attending was under attack by a strange beast. It had the upper half of a woman, though twice as bewitching as either of the two had ever seen. This, however was tempered by the crown of horns she wore, the scaled talons that made up her hands, and the grey, glowing serpants tail that took the place of where her legs should be. Before they could truly take in the creatures appearance she wrapped herself around a unlucky hunter, and with a resounding crack, and a gush of blood, squashed him in her coils.

Stefan and the commander rushed to their spears, and while they both knew they where for boar, having something in their hand was better than simply waiting for their turn in the monsters coils. "Arm yourselves!" the commander called as he took up his boar spear and turned to face the monster with Stefan. Several men rushed for their weapons, though another was caught in the beast coils before they all could fully equipt themselves. They all gathered around the mayor and commander, spears pointed at the monster. The monster stared at them, seemingly unintimidated by their wall of spears.

Instead it breathed in deeply, inflating her chest, and than opened maw to release what could only be called a wave of flames at the assembled hunters. The fire washed over the hunters, consuming the first line entirely. Though, for their sacrifice, they brunted the flames for those behind them, and they behind them, and so on. That, however, did little to help the agony they all felt as the fire flooded over them. The hunters quickly scattered, several falling onto the ground to put out the fire that tried to grow on them. Stefan, however, rushed forwards and brought his spear to bare againt the monster, thrusting it with all his strength at the creatures heart.

Only for the spear to bounce off her chest, causing him to stagger backwards. His eyes widened as the monster hissed, his only warning before she lashed forwards and grabbed his right arm, and before he could even begin to struggle, crushed it in her grasp. The agony coursing through his body was enough to make him scream, which was only amplyfied when the creature grabbed his other side, and with a harsh yank, gorily ripped his arm from his body.

The spurt of blood that followed the tearing, not to mention the sounds of it and his screams were enough to send the rest of the hunters into the woods. It was a dangerous place, sure, but anywhere that wasn't here was the better place to be as far as they were concerned. Only the commander turned back for but a moment, to see the monster one last time.

He wished he hadn't.

The monster had grossly extended her jaws and was pulling the screaming, bloodied Stefan into them. She was at his hips when she and the commander caught each others eyes. He stared for but a few moments longer, before turning around and bolting as fast as he could through the woods. He so very much wished he had just run, that he never looked back, that he never met the monsters eyes.

That he never noticed the amusement, the contempt those crimson orbs held as she stared into him...