Page 20 of Killian
Moira paused, panting, her tongue lolling out of her jaws. The world seemed flatter than it had a moment ago—less colorful. But the scents were three times as strong. Everything smelled amazing. The blood of the lizard on her claws smelled especially delicious.
Claws?
Moira looked down at her hands which were definitely furred and clawed and looked more like paws.
Moira tried to scream, but it came out more as an odd sort of howl. She turned to Killian, who was lying on the path, his eyes wide.
“Moira,” he gasped, “you’re a werewolf.”
Episode 9
Cynog
Killian
Moira was panicking. There was hand-flapping, hopping up and down, and distraught whines. Which freaked him out. Moira might hate bugs, but she didn’t flap, and her distress made him hyperventilate.
“OK, OK, OK,” he said, scrambling to his feet. “Don’t panic. Uh... Uh... Just change back.”
Her jaws snapped closed, and she gave him a look. More than anything else, the look settled him. It was an entirely Moira look. She was still herself. She just currently had a very pretty wolf head with lovely dark gray fur.
She also thought that was the stupidest comment she’d heard lately.
“Right. You don’t know how. That’s fine. We will just...” He looked around hoping for inspiration. “We’ll go up to the shrine and we will get some water and we will figure this out.”
That was a plan. Possibly not the best plan. But it was something.
He grabbed her by the paw and tugged her toward the shrine. She whimpered in distress, which made his heart pound. He needed to figure this out for her. She had to be OK.
Moira’s eyes were wide, and she was panting slightly.
“This is fine,” he said, knowing he was talking too fast. “We’re going to be fine.” She whined in a way that meant this was not fine.
“OK, I know this is freaky, but if it helps, your ears are really cute,” he said. They really were. Perfectly adorable triangles with black, wispy tips that reminded him of the fluffy tendrils of herhair when she was human.
She made a distinctlyawwnoise. Apparently, wolf vocal cords could still make that noise. The fountain had been behind the first shrine they had stopped at, so Killian tugged her onto the porch and headed in that direction. He would get her some water, and they would take a minute to calm down and assess the situation. She’d changed when she’d gotten upset, so he figured it might be triggered by adrenalin. If they could bring that back down, she would probably switch back. He hoped.
He was also remembering the way his hand had changed when he’d swatted at the silverfish. It was entirely possible that if they didn’t figure out how to fix Moira they could both be dealing with some lupine issues. That thought made him sweat. One of them at least needed to be able to talk. Killian anxiously looked back at Moira as he rounded the corner of the shrine and ran smack into someone.
Killian staggered back, more startled than hurt.
“Ahhhhhhh!” The stranger had fallen over and was now screaming and trying to scuttle backward like a crab.
Killian blinked down at him in shock. He was a pale, slightly green individual with pointed ears and green hair.
“Uh, sorry,” said Killian, taking a step forward and reaching out. “Sorry.”
The screaming stopped, and the elf person pointed in wide-eyed shock over Killian’s shoulder at Moira.
“Uh, OK,” said Killian. “Nobody panic. I can explain.” He could not explain, and he had no idea what he was going to say. “We’re friendly, I swear.”
“Oh, whew,” gasped the elf, collapsing down onto the wooden planks of the porch and then sitting up with a hysterical chuckle. Killian grimaced at Moira. He had no idea what to do next. This is where her knowledge of Fae species would have come in handy.
“Here, uh, let me help you up,” offered Killian, reaching out his hand. The man looked to be in his early twenties, but Killian had no idea if that meant anything. He took Killian’s hand and clambered to his feet with a hysterical kind of chuckle.
“Oh, blessed mother,” said the man panting, and putting his hands on his knees. “Oh, you scared the shit out of me.” He stood upright, placing his hand over his heart. “Oh, thank the goddess. I thought you were humans for a moment there. Whew!” He laughed at the thought. “Can you imagine? The Head Librarian would go absolutely spare. But wolves!” He looked at the two of them with a bright smile. “That’s nice! We haven’t had visitors in ever so long.”
Moira growled and then shook her head in angry frustration. The fur flew off her as she shook, and her human face reappeared moments later.
