Michael picked up the last of the logs he'd gathered.

The forest was eerily silent, but he paid it little mind.

All he cared about was waiting for him to the southeast and so he adjusted his grip on the four logs in his arm, grabbed his Axe and made his way south.

The smell of damp wood and the sound of the rustling leaves went well with the setting sun and so Michael whistled a random tune as he walked.

He eventually came across a little cabin in the middle of the woods.

He dropped the logs beside the door before slowly opening it.

He was instantly greeted by a homely aroma, which he deeply inhaled.

“That was quick.” A soft voice said.

Michael looked to his left to see a dainty woman lying cosily on a comfortable looking bed.

Her messy black hair and sleepy green eyes made Michael’s heart skip several beats.

He sighed before walking over to the woman.

He then gave her a chop on the head with his huge, heavy hand.

“Ow!”

“You haven’t started cooking yet,” Michael said while narrowing his dark brown eyes.

“I… overslept?” The woman said with an awkward smile.

Michael let out an extremely low growl, effectively wiping away the woman’s smile.

“Larita…” He droned as he inched closer to her.

“Never change.” He said before falling on top of her, crushing her small frame.

“Ouch! Get off me, ya gob shite!” Larita yelped.

“Is that any way for a high born woman to speak?” Michael asked with a chuckle.

Larita then punched his gigantic chest with her little fists and unfortunately, she took more damage than she dealt and so she quickly gave up.

Silence befell the room as she stared at Michael.

“Get off,” Larita said.

“Now.” She reiterated.

Michael lazily rolled away allowing Larita to hop off of the bed before walking toward the stove, her body covered only in an almost translucent silk gown.

Larita then tinkered about in the kitchen area as Michael silently watched her.

“I’ll get the hang of it one day, ok?” She said, her voice barely a whisper.

Michael sighed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do the cooking until you’re confident enough.” He said.

Larita turned to face him, but her eyes widened upon seeing something on his chest.

“Michael, you’re bleeding!” She exclaimed.

Michael sat up before realizing that his old shirt was indeed stained with blood.

He removed his shirt, revealing his rugged build, but that’s not what concerned Larita.

No, her eyes were drawn to several pieces of bone that stuck out of Michaels's chest.

“What the-?” Michael nonchalantly gasped as Larita ran to his side.

He continued to bleed until a loud cracking noise came from within his chest.

Larita let out a terrified squeal as Michaels ribs seemingly broke on their own.

His chest looked as though someone took a hammer and mercilessly beat his ribs.

“What’s happening?” Larita asked as more of Michael’s bones twisted and morphed.

His eyes widened as the bottom half of his face twisted and elongated, resulting in a fleshy muzzle that was lined with dull teeth, which fell, only to be replaced by large dagger like teeth.

“Michael, speak to me! What’s happening?” Larita asked as Michael’s body doubled in size.

Patches of fur popped up all around his body as he twisted and turned to accommodate his body’s changes.

“Larita!” Michael cried as he reached out to hold Larita, but she was far too frightened to approach him.

Michael’s body then stopped changing.

He had become a huge beast, with large ape-like arms with large claws for nails.

His hind legs looked powerful and a lot of his muscle was hidden beneath his dark fur.

Larita’s heart threatened to give in under the absurd pressure its beating produced.

Then suddenly, the beast let out a faint whimper.

“Larita?” It called out.

Larita trembled in horror, but she found herself inching towards the beast.

“Michael?”

“Larita!” The beast cried as it approached Larita, but she cowered backwards in response.

The beast must have realized this and so it slowly moved back towards the wall.

“Larita.” It said. Its voice deep and almost frightened.

Larita’s mind eventually gave in to the stress and her eyes rolled backwards before she fell to the ground.

.

..

Larita awoke in bed, but a strange panting noise made her open her eyes to find a certain large beast staring at her.

“Ah!” Larita yelped before crawling to the other side of the bed.

The beast didn’t move as Larita desperately grabbed as many blankets as she could in some effort of self-defence.

Silence followed as the two stared at each other in the dark.

Sure, a sliver of moonlight seeped into the cabin, but no amount of light could illuminate the entirety of the beast's hulking presence.

Larita ran into the kitchen area and frantically lit a candle.

This, much to Larita’s dismay, clearly lit the room and revealed the beast's full form.

Her legs trembled, but a strange sticky sensation made her look down in wonder.

Her eyes widened upon seeing that her gown had a patch of blood in the chest area.

Larita dreaded turning into what Michael had become and so she quickly raised her gown, but she was mildly surprised upon seeing a set of gills beneath her breasts.

Michael let out a strange barking noise, frightening Larita out of her confusion induced trance.

She cautiously walked over to the drawers next to the bed, grabbed another, equally silky gown and walked over to a bucket that was half-filled with water.

Larita placed the candle closely beside her before taking her gown off, revealing her rather small frame.

She promptly washed away the blood that stuck to her skin before poking at the gills for a moment or so.

She scoffed at the fact that they weren’t even that deep. They weren't even connected to any vital organs. Presumably.

Larita sighed before drying herself and slipping into her gown.

She then turned her attention to Michael, who was awkwardly scratching himself with his hind leg.

“Michael?” Larita called and the beast put its leg down before facing her.

“Can you hear me?” Larita asked, but the beast didn’t respond.

“Oh.” Larita sounded with a defeated expression.

She then took a deep breath before taking large and deliberate steps towards him.

The beast didn’t move as she approached this time and eventually, they stood face to face.

“It would seem as though fate has come to test us even further. From the highs of my fathers manor in Anvil, to this home of ours.” Larita said as she reached out to touch Michael’s snout.

“Only this time, I shall be the one to care for you,” Larita said.

Her heartbeat was still incredibly frantic, but she stood in front of Michael nonetheless.

“Let’s see…” Larita sounded as she eyed Michael’s new form.

“Could this be a curse?” She asked.

“Give me your hand,” Larita instructed as she swallowed nervously.

The beast complied and offered her one of its large paws.

“I’m sure we’ll get through this.”

.

..

What felt like a few days had passed since Michael’s transformation and the cabin had run out of food.

It would seem as though Michael didn’t need to eat, but Larita always made sure to serve up a portion for him wherever she cooked.

Larita changed into a set of sturdy leather clothes before cautiously opening the door.

The night had gone on for suspiciously long, but Larita couldn’t come up with any answers as to why that was and what it could mean.

She turned around and gestured that Michael follow her outside with a nod.

The beast awkwardly slipped out of the door and its large body was illuminated by the light of the crescent moon.

Larita sighed as she had gotten used to it.

She turned around and looked for anything that resembled food.

Then suddenly, as if on cue, the beasts dashed in front of her and pointed its snout in the direction Larita assumed was south.

“Mmm? Can you smell any food?” Larita asked, but all the beast did was pant excitedly.

“Ok then, let’s go-"

The beast hopped up before dashing into the dark woods.

Larita’s eyes widened in surprise, but she shook her doubts away and followed the speeding beast.

Unfortunately, this was one of the few times Larita had ever run in her life and so her stamina rapidly depleted and she fell to her knees not a minute later.

She crawled to a nearby tree as she fought dearly for air.

A moment then passed as Larita sat on the damp forest floor.

She wondered if Michael had run away, but those thoughts were quickly abandoned as she saw a certain beast approaching with something caught in its dagger-like teeth.

It was a deer.

The poor deer probably didn’t suspect that its killer would be one of unnatural origin and so its death must have been both terrifying and confusing.

“Oh, you caught something. Good.” Larita said as the beast placed the deer in front of her.

“What?” She asked, but all the beast did was pant.

Larita stood up, to meet the beast's soft brown eyes.

“Go on. Pick it back up and let’s go.” Larita instructed, but the beast continued to pant away.

“I said pick it up. You don’t expect me to carry it home, do you?” Larita asked.

Her question was answered by more panting, causing her brows to furrow a little bit.

“I- I am a lady. You should be the one carrying things around.” She said, but the beast lost interest and sat on the cold ground before resting its head on its large arms.

“What are you doing?” Larita gasped.

“Mmm… Do me the kindness of carrying this deer in my stead.” Larita said with a graceful bow, but the beast didn’t respond.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll do it myself!” Larita said through her teeth before clumsily grabbing the deer by its hooves and dragging it northward.

The beast followed her, with what she assumed was an amused face.

“Go on. I don’t need you here mocking me.” Larita muttered.

Her back aching and her small hands sore.

The two eventually returned to the cabin and Larita stumbled inside, grabbed one of Michael’s knives and returned outside.

She then inspected the deer.

She’d seen Michael skin animals several times before, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Larita fell to her knees before carefully stabbing the deers already mangled neck.

She deduced that she’d have to separate the parts with all the bite marks first and so she arduously removed the deer’s head and threw it at the beast.

The beast watched as the head dropped in front of it.

It then went to work nibbling on the juicy chunks of flesh that hung from the neck as a result of amateurish cutting.

Larita then spent the next forty-five minutes cleaving apart the deer until she had a certain number of cuts.

She ran into the house, grabbed a large clay pot and returned outside, only to find the beast eating one of the cuts.

“Hey! Back!” She yelled using a tone that pained both her heart and her throat.

The beast cowered away as Larita harvested her cuts of meat.

All that was left was the intestines and other parts that Larita didn’t know how to prepare and so she gathered them and threw them just in front of the cabin.

Larita dusted her sticky hands before entering the cabin.

“Come on.” She said, prompting the beast to join her before she closed the door.

Larita washed her hands before cooking up a single cut of meat.

She deduced that it’d be all she’d need for the time being and so, to waste as little food as possible, she quickly ate and slept.

.

..

Larita was awakened by a strange sound.

She opened her eyes to find Michael growling deeply as he glared at the door.

“What’s wrong?” Larita asked.

She had grown a lot more comfortable speaking to Michael over the course of what felt like many days, but this time was different.

Larita hopped out of bed and walked over to the door where she heard strange hissing noises.

The noises came in strange segments.

Two hisses would sometimes be followed by three or two.

It all seemed random, but Larita couldn’t help but think otherwise.

She reached out to open the door, but Michael’s growls intensified as a result.

She gently raised her hand to calm him down before slowly opening the door.

Her eyes widened upon seeing a group of people outside the cabin.

There was about fifteen of them and on their heads were strange jagged growths that poked out from just about everywhere.

Their clothes were also bloodstained, but Larita’s focus was on their heads.

A strange hissing noise came from all of them as they slowly turned to face Larita.

The hissing intensified, but they all fell silent the moment after.

Then, like maddened spirits, they all lashed out towards Larita, but Michael pushed her to the side before viciously biting off the heads of one of the hisser's.

With a blood-covered snout, he clawed away at the other’s and his claws dug deeply into the flesh of the hisser's.

Their hisses got even more frantic.

This had a strange numbing effect on Larita, who sat wide-eyed, as Michael butchered the hissers.

The sounds of breaking bone and tearing flesh seeped into Larita’s ears, but at least it all ended quickly.

Larita slowly stood up as her little legs trembled.

“Michael?” She called out to the deeply panting beast, but for the first time in a while, it didn’t respond.

Instead, it looked further into the forest, eyes wide and teeth bared.

“Michael,” Larita called, but the beast continued to ignore her.

Then, in an instant, it dashed into the woods.

Larita didn’t even have a moment to react and so she chased after the beast.

Unfortunately, her body could only do so much and so she quickly lost sight of it before she collapsed on the forest floor.

For some reason, the forest felt more restless than ever and so Larita’s ears were swarmed with all manner of sounds as she wheezed.

“Michael!” She screamed with the last of her strength before falling face flat on the ground.

.

..

“Well, what do we have here?” A voice asked.

Larita struggled to even open her eyes and when she did, she saw several men, dressed in dark heavy leather clothing which was almost completely covered in what looked like dry blood.

Their eyes glistened, like daggers in the night.

“Hello.” The front-most man said.

Larita opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was in far too much pain.

“Mmm… I’m assuming, based on your attire, you live near here.” The man said with a rather relaxed face.

Larita nodded, albeit reluctantly.

She had long since noticed the large blood-stained weapons the men carried, but she hoped that they bore no murderous intentions. Not for her, at least.

“Do you want us to help you get back home?” The man asked and Larita nodded.

“Alright then. Go on lads, give the lady a hand." The man instructed.

His men gently carried Larita and she directed them towards her cabin.

None of them said a thing until she sat comfortably on her bed.

They all had strange smiles on their faces.

Almost as if they were pleased with something.

Or maybe this was just how they were.

“Alright, how about we introduce ourselves. What’s your name?” The man asked with narrowed eyes.

“Larita.”

“Beautiful name, truly. My name's Alexander, but you can call me Alex.”