Chương 23: Chapter 22: Emily Goldtail

I woke well before dawn, and still in my hybrid shape when movement appeared in the dreamless dark of my sleep, juxtaposed against the darkness by a swirling cloud of scent and a human shape in my perceptions. I perked my ears, eyes still blearied shut by sheer tiredness to find Gelidia gone. My ears swept the room to track the noise I'd heard, and found the bedrolls full of sleeping adventurers. Roxala, Fel, but not Torch.

I did, however, see a scent trail of him with my nose, and turned my head to follow it and found him in the doorway, cringing a little. I blinked sleepies out of my eyes and made a soft sound at him, a vague interrogative, and he spoke up at last, voice barely a whisper.

"Sorry - I had to use the little scout's room." he said. Truth. I don't know how I knew he was telling the truth, but a change in his scent revealed it to me. I stretched like a cat and sat up onto my haunches, and he put his head on one side as he moved towards me. I let him approach, felt my tail flop a couple times as it wagged sleepily, and saw him smile a bit.

"Didn't mean to wake you, miss." he said.

"... but since you're awake, want to go for a walk?" he asked. YES, WALK I nodded my head and as quietly as I could, slinked towards him a bit. He turned, and I followed him out, carefully shifting past the doorway and into the inn, then into the cooler night air. Torch was frozen outside the door, and I saw why - there were... a number of skeletal guardsman standing outside, with the one I recognized as Captain Wardsmouth in the fore. As I appeared, they relaxed a little, and the Captain... saluted me.

I felt my tail waggling again behind me, and regarded him with bright eyes and a headtilt.

"Miss Goldtail, is the Lady Windbinder within?" he asked, voice almost wispy, windy, a bit strange to my ears, and clearly unsettling to Torch's. Where was she? I shook my head.

"Ah, I see. It is not pressing, I will speak to her again soon enough." and with a tip of his helmet, he and his men, more vibrant than before, strode away with the soft clatters of bones, the skeletal guard of Lambstock striding into the night with no need of torchlight.

"I am not sure... I will ever get used to that." Torch said, and I bumped him gently with my forehead, right against his side. He hesitated a moment, before patting my ruff gently with a gloved hand. I felt my tail continuing to waggle a little, and he after a moment's hesitation, dug his fingers into my ruff and in a way that told of his familiarity with canines, scratched me in just the right way. I could feel a deep grunting, chuffing noise escape my chest and snout, and he chuckled.

"Nor will I get used to this!" he said, soft laughter in his voice, then gently pushed me away... or, tried to - he wound up pushing himself away instead, since I was so much bigger. I relented and receded from him, and we walked together out of the town and into the moonlit forest. The moon was indeed getting fuller - it looked bigger and fatter than before, and nearly entirely full at this point.

"I would have thought that you only changed during the full moon - that is the usual pattern." he said. Was it? Why would that be? I changed every night, whether I wanted to or not.

"Maybe it is because you accepted it, Goldtail." he observed, and I shrugged in such a way to contain the maximum bafflement I could cram into the gesture!

"Can't talk, huh?" he asked, and I said"Mrrrerr rrawww maaah" and SIGHED. I'd tried to say 'Not so far!' and it came out as some noise a husky might make, then wrote in the dust. In the silvery moonlight, it was readable.

'NO, I CANT' I wrote, and he blinked at the text, and nodded at me. Then, we walked together through the woods. I had to slow down a little to let him keep a comfortable pace, and more or less followed his pacing from then on. I would circle about, ears perking at noises as I enjoyed the fresh air, my nose drinking forensically of the night as he pointed out bird nests and deer trails to me, a hunter's knowledge that was actually beyond my abilities.

"Deer have classes too, you see." he explained.

"They are different from monsters like you or men like me." he said, sitting onto a stump.

"How much do you know about animal lore?" he asked, and I settled on a log to listen, ears perked towards him. I shook my head - none at all!

"Well, once there was a bear who came from another world. He grew strong, and he grew in more ways than one with the World to teach him, and he learned the tongues of men. He taught a great deal about the tongues of beasts, and it's said the Scout class came from his teachings originally. He said that every beast of the field, that every bird of the sky, they all had their own classes." he said, and I widened my eyes a little at him, blinking slowly.

Into the forest floor, I wrote'THE FIRST DEER I BROUGHT DOWN WAS A WHITE-TAILED SPRINTER' and he raised his eyebrows at that.

'HE WAS LEVEL SIX' and the scout smiled.

"Wily old devil, that one. I've seen a few powerful animals out here in these woods. The one you brought in last night was level four, but a hawk I saw was a level nine Bloodfeather." he said.

"Not much is known about the animal classes, or what they're capable of, but Old Man - the bear I told you about - said each and every one has just as much favor from the world as we have. Some animal classes let them hide their scents or trails, let them move as swift as the wind or even give them a kind of magic." and he smiled at the moon.

"I cannot help but love the World for that, and all her pragmatic gifts." he said, and for some reason, the sophisticated words from his lips seemed out of place. For some reason, I thought of Fel, and inspected Torch in that moment. Torch Axebright, Level 7 Scout, Calm, Introspective I figured he'd learned a lot from Felorikaan, from whom such words would seem more likely. But, I wasn't one to judge at all. Maybe he had the soul of a poet? I couldn't tell.

My Wolf liked him though - they were of a kindred, my wolf and he. And he had teeth! RESPECTABLE I smiled inwardly at that. Did my wolf like people who could fight? I felt the truth just under the surface, and she didn't have to explain herself - no, fighting itself wasn't respectable, but being strong, resilient, and seeing clear - that was respectable to her. Someone like that would fight to protect what was actually important. That also was respectable.

Fighting itself, any idiot could fight to take, to kill, for pleasure. That was not respectable. It was the most complicated thought from my wolf yet, but I realized... that was how I felt, and that wasn't a coincidence. You really are me, aren't you? YES AND DIFFERENT I don't think that difference is a bad thing. I like Torch. ME TOO"That... is the most thoughtful look I've seen on the face of a hound in my life."

Torch observed, and I smiled with my eyes at him, tail thumping the log a couple times as it waggled as I moved to write in the dust again after wiping clean what I'd written before.

'YOU ARE ALRIGHT IN MY BOOK, TORCH. LETS BE FRIENDS' I said with the honest directness of the wolf knit to my soul. He nodded at that, and smiled.

"Sure, Goldtail. You're alright." he said.

"When do you change back?" he asked, and I kicked myself a little - I'd forgotten for a moment, I'd gotten wrapped up in the conversation, and the walk that I'd forgotten all about... well, being a monster. It was feeling more accustomed to me, more... normal. I concentrated, and felt around inside me. It was still dark... but not long, I figured. The night was almost over. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

SOON my wolf confirmed, and I conveyed her word to him.

"Being a werewolf like you do it, it doesn't seem so terrible but for the transformation." Torch observed, and I nodded at that.

'ITS THE WORST PART, ITS VERY PAINFUL' came my careful, blocky hand.

'BUT LESS PAINFUL THAN WHEN I BEGAN'.

"Is it a skill?" he asked, and I nodded again. He grunted in vague half-surprise, a gesture from Roxala, I felt sure.

"That makes sense. What rank do you have it at?" he asked.

'RANK D' I wrote'ITS STILL NO FUN BUT AT LEAST ITS NOT AS BAD.' I said. He sat with me a moment or two more before looking directly into my face.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Goldtail?" he said eventually. I nodded.

"Why are you.. here? I've never heard stories about a werewolf from Rucksberg, and... that's the only town for miles and miles. It's dangerous in these woods - my party and I, we're from here and it's so dangerous out here - there are demons and monsters out here. I can't... place you. Why are you here? Where are you from?" he asked, and I didn't see any good reason not to tell the truth.

'I DIED.' I said'GELIDIA CALLED ME A RIFTWALKER' I wrote. He looked up at me sharply, brow knotted. I wiped out what I wrote, and wrote some more.

'THE WORLD TOLD ME MY FATE WAS UNJUST AND IT GAVE ME A QUEST' I wrote, and his eyes widened a little.

"What quest? What did the World ask of you?"

'SURVIVE, THRIVE, BE FREE' I wrote, and he choked.

"Truly? That's what she told you to do?! THATS your quest?" I waggled a little at him, finding his bafflement amusing!

'YES! SO FAR, SO GOOD' I wrote, and he made a sort of creaking noise which devolved into a gale of laughter, and I joined in it, the hyena like cackle of my monster shape conveying my mirth just fine, which only made him laugh more!

"Wow! Is THIS better than your world?" an easy question'HECK YEAH! MUCH BETTER!' I said and wrote'I'D TAKE THIS OVER MY HOMEWORLD ANY DAY' and he smiled ruefully.

"I can't say... if that's incredibly sad, or if I should just be glad for you, Goldtail. You're... wait, why are you a werewolf?"

'CAME THAT WAY.' I wrote, and shrugged. He looked like I struck him, and gave me a pained look.

"World... why would she do that? She cursed you from the onset... I've never, ever heard of such a thing. Were you..." he hesitated, but continued "... Were you a bad person in the other world?" and I shook my head. I didn't think so! I'd never stolen anything, or hurt anyone, if I could ever help it. Things happen in the apocalypse, and you don't always get to be nice, but I'd never hurt someone on purpose, I'd never chosen to take from another for my own gain.

'DONT KNOW WHY, BUT I DONT MIND.' I said.

'ITS A GOOD LIFE.' and he was floored by that. His boyish smile returned, and Torch chuckled.

"Boy... if this is better, I never want to visit your world. Transformation every night, and you tell me it's a good life! You're something else, Emily Goldtail." he said, and rose to his feet. Emily Goldtail. I liked the sound of that.

"Well... before you change, I'm gonna head back. See you in the morning!" he said, and we exchanged nods. He turned, and walked away, leaving me alone. When he was out of sight, first light broke. Dawn has broken, and the curse is lifted... for now. I stared into dawn's light, and felt the sunlight hit me. With it came a wash of sick feeling, then... pain blossomed in me. I let it. I didn't fight at all, I wasn't scared of it by now, or even nervous it was coming. I was...

resigned to the pain, and let it drag me back to humanity. Golden light washed over my face, and the warmth of the sun seemed to wash fur and monstrous shape from my body as I sat as straight as I could on the log and just... breathed. I didn't cry out, I didn't weep. The pain was intense, but it was changed, different from before, from when I'd been panicking with Gelidia, from when I'd first changed.

It let me watch as my hands changed, muscles under glistening reddened skin wire-taut and moving against each other as the world swam around me, let me feel and see my legs shorten and change proportion, let me watch the fur recede over my increasingly bare breast and belly and thighs. It left me with an ocean of tingles for a body, and as I had done several times now, I rose to walk it off, still shaking, still fighting off the memory of the change that left my body entirely bare in the woods.

Getting my feet under me helped no end. It reminded me where my backbone was, and I looked down over my body. I'd changed in the last few days. I was... harder. I had visible muscle on my frame, and abs that actually showed at this point. Hard work, frequent transformations, and whatever training I had undergone so far, not to mention the influence of my skills, they'd given me a lot of reason to tighten up, it seemed. Even knowing there were other people in the woods I called home, I didn't mind.

Something about wearing clothes during a change being painful, something about being naked so frequently, it just wore off the novelty of it. It felt.. comfortable, normal even. The forest floor under my feet didn't trouble me at all, even stepping on an unexpected stone or branch or stubbing my toe didn't bother me. I walked back towards the town, my golden mane of hair, half-unbraided after my transformations and a couple days of hard work, whipping in a cool breeze that felt good as it washed across my body.

I found Gelidia waiting for me at the town's entrance, and looking like she'd been waiting for me. Not impatient, but... wanting to see me. When she clapped eyes on me, I smiled at her and she returned it, taking me in with obvious pleasure. Inside me, I could feel my Wolf's animal, doglike elation at simply seeing her, as if I hadn't seen her for days! I let that feeling into me as well, and bounced up to her in a laughing hug!

"Gelidia!" I said, and twirled the ghost in my arms!

"Good to see you!" I laughed, and she joined in my laugh, confused but pleased!

"I was only talking to some of the merchants! It's not like I was far away!" she said, and I kissed her forehead, twirling again before setting her down. She blushed faintly, and blinked up at me.

"I'm glad to see you anyway! Torch and I went for a walk this morning!" I said, and she nodded.

"He said when he came through, I was just waiting for you to return." she explained. She didn't like seeing me change. Last night had been an exception - it'd come upon us suddenly! I smiled at her, and remembered myself. She didn't like when I was walking about naked.

"Hey, could you get my clothes for me please?" I said, and she nodded easily "I bet the others are either awake soon or will be." and once she had gotten them, we went together around the gate a bit, off the road so I could get dressed.

"So - you were talking to the merchants?" I asked, squirming into my tight leather pants. She watched me do it, too, her eyes and cheeks warm with appreciation for my form. I grinned at that, and felt a tiny flash of desire inside me which I pushed down a bit. She crossed her arms, and only then turned around to face the forest as I got dressed, the gesture clearly saying 'ANYWAY'"Yes. Their shades are in agreement, and have subsumed, taken on two cores as we have. This is huge."

she said, excitement creeping into her voice.

"More of us are doing so - and it means we're taking our own wills into our hands again, becoming stable. A number of townsfolk agreed as well. But the monolith isn't registering the change." she said like she knew what that meant! I squirmed into my tunic at last, and leaned against the wall, crossing my own arms.

"What's that mean?" I asked obediently, and she regarded me. Something was different about my friend! She had a hardened expression, one of... DETERMINED. STRONG. LOOKS GOOD ON HER. and I found I very much agreed with my Wolf's assessment! She looked like she'd made up her mind. She wasn't a sad, wispy thing anymore. She'd come back to me with purpose in her soul!

"It means... while I am a noble, and a scion of the house of Windbinder, able to offer you the hand of citizenship here and a minor title... My parents yet retain control of the town itself. It means they aren't letting go of the past. It means they're still active, and making decisions. And they have decided... to do nothing." she said, and there was a snap in her voice that wasn't for me.

"It means that we are a dead town and will remain a dead town... until either they change their minds, or until they no longer control Lambstock." and it was clear in her tone what she thought might happen.

"The dungeon." I said.

"They're in there... and still calling the shots." I said, and she nodded, sighing. Her anger made the air crisp and cold, and made my breath steam so close to her. It suited me fine, and I grunted.

"Well then. What do we do? How can I help?" I asked.

"Get me in there. Let me talk to them at least. I don't think for a minute I can talk sense to them... they're too proud by a long way, but... I can try. And if not, well, there's bylaws for succession by bloodshed. Can I count on your support?" she asked, a sincere question that caught me off guard. She was honestly letting me say no... despite my word given, despite the kiss. She wasn't assuming my support out of hand, wasn't taking me for granted.

I was gratified despite myself, even if my Wolf didn't understand a lick of it! I took my wolf's side, and used her words.

"Yes!" I said "Of course I'll help, always." I said, and something in her visibly relaxed. She didn't let her poise drop enough to permit a sigh of relief, but she did look pleased and put at her ease.

"Thank you, Emily... I appreciate it. Oh - hey, your name changed. Now you're Emily Goldtail?" I blinked, then smiled.

"I thought I liked the sound of the name. Torch called me that." I said, and she smiled.

"It's a good name." I had to agree.