Fair use

He made a hole in his pant, letting the sort of tail do its job. He went full speed to the rear territory up in the mountain. Nothing caught on his enhanced vision had the time to run away, be it a night bird or a deer.

He was faster than any animal, more agile and ready to attack, yet hunting was the least of his priorities.

'If I can do something like this, I'll do it before I come back to my normal life.' He thought, afraid that the pain that once corroded his memory wouldn't come anytime.

The constant strain on his bloodstream made his heart rate constant, but too high for him to go back to his normal shape.

He could hear the creaking wood of the watermill hundreds of meters away. He rushed to the house, that until he saw the many wolf traps with Dariel's smell scattered around the house.

'He overdid it. That's ridiculous.' He thought, jumping on the roof while holding the stone structure.

With a 'y' shaped branch he hid under his hood, he mimicked the beast that Ruth described to him. Horns of a goat, or just two pointy branches of wood that suggested it though. He needed to imitate another monster, one that flew, and corrupted good people, making them fall into hell.

His own reflection in the water terrified him. His lips were hard to purse, the one too-many teeth that filled his mouth made it harder to shut. Nonetheless it was a good point for his plan.

'I can do it.' He thought, putting some conviction into his actions. If he could carry on one task while going through a crisis, he could do anything.

He found which window belonged to Ruth's parents, the whole family asleep, there was no sunlight left. It was the perfect occasion to act. He had no idea how to read, he couldn't leave a message with sense. So he drew the sole thing he was sure would catch their attention.

A cross, upside down, on their window's shutters. The scratch woke up the woman who was closer to the window than her husband.

Oswald held himself on the wall, lower than the window's frame, with his tall stature, he imitated a floating posture, never stable nor static. It was already a good position to hold because of the height of the window, the house was built with a drainage system, a little above the ground.

He opened his eyes as large as possible, making sure their colour would attract her eye when she came to open the shutters.

Because no tree touched her house, the woman was quite curious about the scratching she heard, when she was about to open her window properly, she saw a hand, bigger than her husband's, forcing its way through the planks.

Oswald's posture made the task a little difficult, making him grin with the effort. Before she had the time to scream, he spoke with his guttural voice, staring at her with his fierce golden eyes.

"Woman, stop hurting your child, or I'll make you." He said.

The short woman was as pale as a ghost. When she stepped back, she fell butt first, waking up her husband in a jolt.

"The devil!" She shouted, pointing at ther window. But there was nothing in front of it anymore.

Dariel shielded his wife with his body, while rushing toward the window, Oswald was long gone, he threw the branch away and lost himself in the woods.

'What now?' He had no idea what to do, now that he could stay still, avoiding anyone's gaze. Sitting at the top of a tree, he felt the wind blowing on his face, the slow rocking of the pine tree he was on and the new limb he grew that night.

He still denied the possibilities of his body turning into that of a wolf. The ridiculous situation he was in hindered his capacity to calm down. The sole solution he came up with wasn't the best one. He covered his face with his clothes, hid the tail and came back to the village.

The house he was aiming for was the one in which he found relief once already. Breaking in Simon's shop, he lit the fire under the water tank and sat down the little space in front of it. The wet feeling he had weighed on his clothes, the snow that entered his pockets was melting and the cracking ambers woke up the shop owner.

Simon, a candle barely lighting his way down almost fell in his way. He had a hard time finding the intruder. After closing his entrance, one with a lock he never bothered to buy, he kept searching.

The sobbing person, two meters away ended up being found.

There was no trace of alcohol in the man's body, the last time he overdid it, he had bizarre hallucinations. For once, he doubted the time he thought to have been sober for. The thing that made him stop was anew in front of him.

An immense shape, with two glowing eyes, in his house.

"...Boy?" He asked.

Oswald's posture shrunk, his two clawed hands covered his head and sunk into his skin. His legs contorted to reduce the space he was occupying. The boy spoke.

"It's not my fault. I can't... calm down..."

Gasp. He panted amidst tears.

The saliva in his mouth passed through his sharp teeth, his black lips contrasted well with the white foam. The candle approached Oswald's face, making his inhuman feature appear clearly to Simon.

"Why did you come here?" Was the man's sole question.

"Because I'm scaring my mother."

Simon came closer, and put the candle on a stone step. He came toward the monster, braving his own fears, to talk more. "Why my house? Of all the places you could go to, you came to me?"

Crouching next to the monster, he was smaller than Oswald, but his hand could reach the boy's shoulder, with a light touch, he patted it.

"Don't-!"

Gasp.

"Don't touch me!" Oswald's words were voiceless, but the intensity of his tone was low enough to not attract any villager's attention.

But it did not stop Simon from stepping forward. The old man, the few hair left on the top of his head, and his clenched jaw, grabbed Oswald.

"I'm fine, don't struggle. I'm just returning your embrace."