Once again, I was naked. Free. Covered in nothing but my fur and feathers. The only thing that had survived the Lord of the Forest’s breath was a tiny metal tool clinging to my finger. Was it unbreakable, like the accursed collars, or had the beast let it stay? Whatever it was, it was the least of my worries.
That rapid shift may have been as smooth as butter, but going from being a human to a beast within the bounds of a few breaths sure messed with my inner balance. My vision swam, my head spun, and whatever was left in my gut threatened to heave itself out. On top of that, I found myself standing on my hind legs. Something natural to humans now seemed so unnatural to me. I struggled for a while, only to collapse forward, landing on all fours.
?Now. Revealed,? hummed the Lord of the Forest, making things only worse for me. Swallowing my pride, I gave up. Letting out a weak whine, I slumped to the ground, laying my head on my paws. Comfortable. Soothing. Should have done this sooner.
But the main problem lay elsewhere.
'Revealed? Yeah, I sure was.'
Every beast could see what I was - or rather, what I wasn’t. Fur or no fur, from nose to tail, I didn’t belong. I couldn’t look less like a mossbear if I tried.
They were bears - massive ones, nothing like me. Sure, I had grown, but at best, I looked like a small scrawny fox. Their fur was brown and matted with moss; mine was red, feathered, with wings pushing out from my lower back. Their tails were short and stubby, while Sage matched me in length and I would venture to say she was bulkier than me. As for ears, theirs were small, fitting for their bear-like heads, but my sails of ears could nearly rival those of the mother mossbears. There wasn’t a single thing about me that matched them - not the shape of my body, my head, my legs, or my paws. Nothing.
Well, except for the antlers.
'Yeah, those annoying antlers.' They gave me no end of grief. Lost count of how many times I slammed them into the cell doorframe, not to mention how hard it was to get used to sleeping with them. But those were the problems I struggled with with all the mutations. Even with my tail, Sage.
The Lord of the Forest leaned in, sniffing at me again, slow and deliberate. His silence weighed more than any words, my fate teetering on the edge of that drawn-out moment.
- 114th glyph engraved on Indomitable Will (?????)
The Big Runes, always with their perfect timing. Annoying. Yes, my weave was certainly part of the reason I wasn't just a nervous wreck in the face of death, but there was also the beast me. Ever since I shifted, I had felt this odd acceptance in my chest. It was natural. The strong lived, the weak didn’t.
The Lord of the Forest gave a low hum, lost in thought.
'Wasn't there something I could do… or say?'
The only reasonable thing I could think of was to beg for mercy. Pathetic. Instead, I stayed flat on the ground, my breath shallow, waiting for the mighty beast to decide my fate. The others waited too - my pack, humans, young mossbears, even mothers.
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?Weak. Twisted. Mixed breed,? The mighty beast growled after what felt like an eternity, his voice slow and deliberate, dragging out each word like they weighed a ton. Same words as before. Same truth. To him, I was what I thought I was, a freak. The rumble in his throat deepened before he added, ?Full. Of. Twisted. Magic. But. Still. My. Spawn.?
My ears perked up, my head leaving my paws. 'What did he say? That I'm his spawn?' It took quite a bit of my willpower to refrain from wagging my tail like a pup or prancing around like a fool. 'It meant he wouldn't kill me, right?' RIGHT?!'
?Esu wise.?
?She our cub then.?
The mother mossbears’ growls rumbled through the clearing, most of them gruffly agreeing with the Lord of the Forest’s ruling. But their voices weren’t without bitterness. They weren’t thrilled with the decision - or rather; they weren't happy with me. I was...
?Cub is weak, though.?
?Pathetic.?
?Better returned to the forest.?
'What? No. No, no, no, no. Not that!' My inner voice cracked. They may not have meant it in a bad way; but it didn’t matter - no matter how you turned it, it spelled death. My death.
?I-I don't want to r-return to the forest.? It was barely a whisper, more whimper than grunt. A weakling’s plea.
?Stupid cub,? came the harsh retort.
?You should know better,? I basically got yelled at by one of the mother mossbears for my foolishness. Unfair. Unreasonable. They were old - and foolish.
?I'll… I’ll g-go find a den outside the forest. Let me l-live!? I whimpered, desperate not to give in. Why would I? 'Huh?' Weird. Only moments ago, I was resigned to submitting to the mightier one, and now... despite facing a beast that wouldn't even have to chew me up to eat me, I found some fight in me. 'That’s normal, right? Not wanting to die - even for beasts.' Still, confusion hit me. After all, when the stronger decide, there’s not much you can do. And the mother mossbears seemed to agree with my beast half.
?Cub so foolish.?
?Should stay quiet.?
?Listen.?
But the hum of the Lord of the Forest, deep and shaking my very bones, settled them quiet. ?Foolish. Indeed,? He spoke. My plea seemed to fall on deaf ears. Desperate, I raced my brain for something - anything. ?P-Please, Lord of the Forest, s-spare me.?
?You dare!? The mother mossbear, lying close to the mossbear pack leader, bellowed. Her fury rattled me, deeper than I expected, and left me even more confused. Was it my daring to speak back that angered her or...? ?Esu is Esu!?
'Esu is…? Ah, I really am stupid!' For them, Esu was... well, Esu. The Lord of the Forest was a title given to him by humans.
?F-F-Forgive my l-lack of knowing, great mothers,? I whimpered as sincerely as I could, trying to show my gratitude for setting me straight.
Much to my surprise, Esu hummed with pride. ?Lost … cub ... to us. But ... brave.?
?Brave and foolish.?
Not exactly a rare combination, I'd say, but - did he just call me lost? Sure, I grew up away from their pack, but that growl… there was more to it. 'Did he know about the runes behind my ears? Did he know about the Fae? SHIT! That was no fluke, was it?' The Fae didn’t send me to Esulmor on a whim. They’d meant for me to meet the mossbears - or maybe even Esu himself. What if they dragged me here from Earth for the same damn thing? 'Shit! Shit shit shit! How bloody long have I been a pawn in their fucking game? How long was I going to be?'
"You having fun, you little bug bastards?" I nearly roared, rage at the Fae burning through me. The humming of Esu, though, stopped me cold.
?Fault … does not … lie … with ... cub,? he spoke, his huge emerald eyes fixed on me. ?Grew ... outside. Stolen.?
'Shit.' Yes, he sure knew about Fae. A thousand thoughts flooded my head. 'If he knows them, maybe he knows a way to send me back...'
?As ... such ... cub … has ... to ... prove ... it ... belong.?
'Wait, what?! Prove? Me? That I'm one of them? I was screwed, wasn't I?'