We stop when night falls and I can no longer run without stumbling every couple of seconds. Kierra tsks at me for that but allows me to ride on her back as she easily makes her way back to her tree.

She coaxes me up the ladder to her room and then goes up to the next level, coming down with another pack like the one she wears along her waist. Laying it out reveals several more of the berries she offered me before and thick strips of smoked meat.

“Go ahead and dig in,” Kierra offers, taking off her boots.

I’m not hungry. The wolves must have filled me up. No, the only thing I want to do right now is curl up into a ball and pass out. After running for hours, I’m tired and my neck is sore from being used as a chew toy. I never managed to escape from her. Not once. The best I did was thirty seconds. Half the time of the lowest bar in her opinion. Thankfully, I heal fast now so the cuts closed but it still aches, both physically and mentally.

Kierra seems to be waiting for me to eat first so I grab a strip of meat and chew on the end dejectedly. The elf pops a few berries into her mouth, chewing them contentedly.

“Now that we’re done for the day, it’s time for us to reflect. What you did good and what you did bad.”

She stares at me expectantly and I sigh. “You know what you want to say so why don’t you just tell me?”

“Because you need to be able to evaluate yourself. Know what you did wrong and fix it. Know what you did right and capitalize on it. This is how you grow. More importantly, it applies to your enemies. You watch them and you note their strengths and their weaknesses. Hunting is not just about how fast or how strong you are. It’s about who has better information and strategies. So…” She waves a hand toward me.

“Um. Well, I guess that I’m slow. And I put too much focus on you rather than where I was going.” Seriously. The number of times I tripped over some root or bush because I turned around to see if she was catching up to me is embarrassing.

“And what did you do right?”

“…nothing?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” She grabs one of the strips of meat and takes a large bite. I catch a glimpse of her teeth and feel my face flush. Seriously, the heck is wrong with me? “You had a few good maneuvers. I especially liked the diving into the log. If it were wolves, that would have worked as a good shelter but I don’t suppose you had a plan to get out of there?”

“No.” That had been pure desperation. All the good it did. Kierra simply grabbed my ankle, pulled me out, and proceeded with my lessons. “Are you going to tell me what you think about my performance now?”

“Uh-hmm. You grew green wolf fur before so I have a question. Could you take that form?”

“Yeah. I mean, I haven’t tried but I’m pretty sure I can.”

“Then why didn’t you do that? Four legs are much faster than two.”

My eyes go wide with shock, my jaw flopping uselessly as I process that very, very, obvious observation. Then I shut them in earth-shattering regret. There are no words for this feeling. Saying I feel like an idiot would be like calling the sun bright.

“And also, your elemental form seems stronger than your human one so changing into that and reshaping yourself to have legs could have also been quite effective.”

Ugh. The regret just got heavier.

“You crash through the trees like a drunken bear, making no attempts to hide your trail. I didn’t have to look at it to follow you but if I had to, it would have been embarrassingly easy.”

I wish I could just curl up into a ball and disappear. This is what my laziness gets me. Ah. Regret. So much regret.

A hand on my shoulder makes me look to the side. Kierra is sitting next to me, her eyes warm and comforting. “I know it seems impossible but that’s because you are thinking like a human with human limits. If that’s all you were, I wouldn’t have started you off with something so hard. But you’re not. You are something much more and when you embrace that, you will be able to do this.”

Indignation rises as my face twists into a scowl. “You can’t just tell me to forget being human! I’ve been whatever I am for two days. I’ve been human for eighteen YEARS!”

“It’s okay to be upset-”

“I’m not upset!” I shout, taking angry bites out of my food. “I’m frustrated.”

Honestly, I’m not upset that I’m not human anymore. If Cosmo hadn’t done what he did, I wouldn’t be alive. For that, I’m nothing but grateful. It had just been a long, stressful day and damn it, I may be lazy but I hate losing! Not one time? I didn’t get away once? And there were such easy solutions I completely missed.

Especially the wolf one. Missing that physically hurts. Maybe I can’t change into one. Then it was instinct that kept me from doing it, not idiocy. Yeah. That would make me feel loads better. Let’s try this right now.

I jump up, startling Kierra, and climb down the ladder.

“Lou, wait a-”

“Relax. I’m not about to do anything stupid. I just need to see something.” On the spacious first floor, I reach into my mind and find the menu, focusing on the second grouping of elements. A ripple goes through my body and the world changes. My point of view lowers and colors bleed away as details come into focus.

I pad around the room on my paws experimentally. Kierra has climbed down and is watching me. I trot past, doing circles around her. She reaches out for me and I dance away yipping. Yeah, this is much faster. I still feel like an idiot but I’m glad I did this. If I’m this fast, I should do much better tomorrow. That excitement eases the burn of failure.

While I’m at it, I might as well try the other thing. Thinking about my original form, a ripple goes through me and I’m back to the star-studded ooze. Now, I don’t want to be me. I just want to be the shape of me. Two arms, two legs.

Keeping the image in my mind, I can feel my body reshaping itself. In moments, I am a featureless version of myself. I wiggle my night colored fingers and toes, then do a couple of stretches. I would have laughed out loud if I could have when I bent over backward and kept going until my head touched my heels. Yeah, this form is stronger and way more flexible.

I’m just going to stay like this for a while. I may not be comfortable with this new form but there’s no time like the present to get used to it. Forced acclimation. Besides, this really is more comfortable. No pesky muscles that ache or skin that bruises. So convenient.

Turning, I point a threatening finger at Kierra. I may not be able to talk but the message is pretty clear. You’re going down tomorrow, elf.

I know she gets it because she gives me another one of those bright smiles. “I look forward to it,” she whispers, just a hint of a growl in her voice.

-

I curse after stubbing my toe for what has to be the hundredth time. The results of my games with Kierra have marginally improved after two weeks, even though I’ve applied my shapeshifting abilities to the fullest. The lovely, sadistic elf hosting me for my stay in the Enchanted Forest claims it’s because I’m not in touch with my surroundings.

I’m not opposed to the assessment as much as the solution to it. Traipsing through the dark should never be a solution in my book, but what do I know?

Something I’ve learned about myself; I’m a weak-willed softie. At least when it comes to Kierra. She flashes that smile and I get talked into the craziest things. Somehow, when she’s explaining this mess to me in that sexy whisper she uses when we’re laying together, trying to find my way back to the tree by starlight sounds like a good idea. Even the bit about staying in human form to ‘get in touch with my senses’.

“Alright,” I mumble to myself as I adjust the leather pack Kierra gave me. Inside is a day’s worth of rations, a rough map of the area, a change of clothes, a flask of water, and a stone knife. My elven instructor made it clear that she wouldn’t be coming to get me under any circumstances, so it was best to be prepared.

“Remember what the crazy elf said. Brightest star in the sky, the three behind it form an arrow that points home. Dammit, I can’t see anything through the branches.” It’s worse than trying to spot fish at the bottom of a murky pond. At least fish move. “Oh, forget it.”

I move to a nearby tree and lean against it. Luckily, there is no rule saying that I have to make it back at night. I figure I spend a long, uncomfortable night at the base of this tree and get moving in the morning when I can see the landmarks on my map. The slightly damp ground tells me it must have rained while we took our afternoon nap but it’s easy enough to put out of my mind as I close my eyes.

As usual, my thoughts drift to Kierra. It’s almost as if I’ve been dropped into one of the ridiculous stories sung by bards. A beautiful princess trapped in a castle by a terrible curse, awaiting a brave noble to rescue her. The elf is certainly pretty enough to inspire songs. Too bad I’m not a gallant noble but leaving her alone in this forest just seems like such a waste…

I don’t realize I’ve fallen asleep until I’m startled awake by a chittering noise. My eyes snap open but I can’t make out details in the gloom. The sounds come again and I look up. It takes everything I have not to scream.

Even in the darkness, I can make out the thing’s spindly legs and small beady eyes. All six of them focused on me as it slowly lowers itself down from one of the branches. I scramble out of its path, practically throwing myself across the ground to get out of the way as its eight arms touch the ground.

More chittering makes me spin around. Half a dozen of the things are coming down, each of them making that disturbing noise. I have to think of them as creatures because I can’t call them what they remind me of. They remind me of spiders but spiders aren’t as big as dogs and they sure as hell aren’t audible!

This is bad. The chittering is getting louder. That means there are more of them than I can make out and the ones I can see are slowly pushing forward.

Sorry, Kierra. I know I promised to remain in human form but I’m pretty sure you’d make an exception for this. With a thought, I’m back in my elemental form and I have to admit I feel a lot less threatened without a heartbeat that can be stopped.

Doesn’t do much about the giant bugs. Saints above, why are they moving so slowly? They’re creeping even though I know they can move faster than that with those legs. Are you enjoying this? Do insects have feelings?

The chittering has risen to a powerful note. This doesn’t seem like a situation I can run from. I need to be able to see so I can evaluate the danger properly. Only one thing for it.

I’ve seen performers exaggerate the use of magic on stage, flipping about while chanting nonsense. Meanwhile, the real casters are behind the curtains doing the boring calculations that produce the effects the crowd loves. Spellcasting is a lackluster thing. Casters wouldn’t be very effective if they had to announce themselves every time they made something happen. The idea is to get it done quickly and precisely.

The good thing is that they are all close by. That takes out the pain of distance calculation. The first part of any spell is the activation variable, the element the caster is working. The rest of the spell describes; intensity, distance, adjusting variables.

Luckily, I only need to input intensity. I put in a value of five. Initiates like me who are recently accepted into the Grand Hall usually have a coefficient between 50-60 mana, a fact I know since my father repeatedly shoved it down my throat. My slacking means I have a coefficient of 35 which is far below Grand Hall standards. Using 5 points with my meager capacity will leave me winded but this is a desperate situation.

I pour my intent into the spell, feeling the surrounding mana bending to my will as I hold out a hand. Instead of the usual tightness I get from straining my meager mana core, it flows easily, my chest remaining light. Hmm? Has my capacity increased? It sure feels like it.

No, not the time to think about that. The spell activates. I direct the flow of mana to my hand and a bright flame flares above my palm, illuminating my surroundings. I look around to take in my situation and-

Saints save me. I’m surrounded. There has to be dozens of these things on the ground and dangling from branches. And more of them are emerging, crawling out from holes in the trunks of the trees I never noticed. The most horrendous thing about them is their slow manner. Predators will flinch from fire. These things keep their distance but they creep forward nonetheless, staring at me with their beady eyes as they chitter to one another.

The spell times out and the fire disappears, dumping me back into the darkness. Except now, I have a good idea what’s out there.

Really thankful I don’t have a bladder right now.

I wonder if the heroes in the great epics were ever scared out of their mind the way I am right now. I don’t know how they can fight dragons and liches. These bugs are enough to do me in. I’m not fighting them, not even to save myself.

I adjust my spell, upping the intensity variable up to 15 and adding in a distance variable before throwing my hand out in a random direction. A ball three times as large as my previous one appears in the middle of the horde, setting the creatures ablaze. The low chittering becomes screeching as the spiders roll onto their backs, kicking their spindly legs into the air.

That’s my cue. I run, leaping over the burning insects. Before I touch the ground, I’m a green wolf. In this form, I can make out a few more details in grayscale, just enough to move through the trees. I can hear them coming after me. No more taunting. Thank the saints this form is faster than they are.

I run through the night. Several times, I slow down and almost stop, but every time I think I’ve put enough distance between us and am about to rest, my mind thinks I hear that awful chittering behind me. A vision of them spinning webs around me while I sleep sends a spike of adrenaline through my system and I continue to run on.

By pure luck, I stumble into familiar territory just as the first rays of light filter through the forest. I make it back to Kierra’s tree before the sun can fully rise and nearly sob with relief as I collapse in front of her door.

My eyes are closed when the door is opened. In this form, I can recognize Kierra by her smell and hear the pounding of her heart. Her hand slips through my fur, rubbing me behind the ears.

“You were not supposed to shapeshift,” she admonishes softly and with unmistakable humor. “Did something in the big, bad forest try to eat you?”

I nod.

“Aw, poor Lou. Go on and change back.” I revert to my elemental form. There aren’t any muscles to ache but I’m still exhausted. With a little grunt of effort, she scoops me up and carries me into the tree, laying me on one of the mats on the bottom floor. “Where’s the sack I gave you?”

A firm shake in the negative.

“You’ll be paying me back for that some way. I’m thinking some good old-fashioned hard labor. With the two of us here, I was thinking we might build an extension, give you some space of your own. Or maybe a massage. I’ve been working myself a little hard lately and I’m sure these limbs of yours can find all of those hard to reach knots.”

She runs a finger down one of my arms. Ah, if only I wasn’t so tired. This is a moment, right? Kierra teases me like this regularly but I can never tell if she’s serious. If I had a little more energy, I might press my luck and find out.

“Or not. No need to be mean when I knew this would happen. It would have been nice if you managed to make it back without transforming, but the real purpose of the exercise was to show how dangerous the forest can be. I think you will be more motivated during our games now, hmm?”

Another firm nod on my end. I thought being chased by the vicious elf was a terrible experience. Now, the brutal tag game sounds like the best offer I’ve ever heard. I will rise to the impossible task of escaping Kierra. Anything to avoid those eight-legged nightmares.