Just so you know, guys, I'm not exactly following the original movie's chronological order and the story occurs in a far longer period of time, so Moxxie's adventures as a hellbeast won't happen only for one night.
Moxxie followed Striker and Jake out of the cave and into the ravine. The little hellbeast was skipping all the way outside, talking about how being a hellbeast was way better. Moxxie didn't have the heart to tell him to shut up, especially since Striker wouldn't take it kindly.
They came to a stop on the cliff, right next to the small pond. Striker sat down and looked at Moxxie.
"First of all, what do ye know about hellbeasts?"
"I thought we were gonna—"
"Answer the question." Geez, what a genius.
"Hellbeasts are predatory, reptilian animals native to Wrath. They're nocturnal and tend to live in packs up to fifty individuals—"
"Forget it," Striker interrupted. "Forget everythin' ye know about hellbeasts 'cause that's only town imp propaganda. I'm gonna teach ya how to be a hellbeast, but for that, we need to start from scratch."
Moxxie swallowed hard. "Okay."
"We'll start with somethin' simple: yer senses. Close yer eyes."
"Why?"
"Just do it." Reluctantly, Moxxie did as told. "Now concentrate on the smells around ya."
Moxxie opened up his nostrils and inhaled deeply. Even though his eyes were closed, he could see Striker's scent shaping into the Hellwalker's form. Striker smirked.
"Ye don't need yer eyes to see. And ye can also hear everythin' that moves."
"Neat, isn't it? Even yer paws can hear through the earth!"Jake chirped. Moxxie frowned.
"You mean, like a snake?"
"That's right, vermin. Now pay attention to the sounds and the vibrations on the ground and describe what ye see."
Again, Moxxie did as told. This time, the scents didn't just take a shape. He could hear them and tell how far apart they were from the intensity of the vibrations on the ground.
"There's a mouse moving in those bushes... Wait, there's also a rabbit a few meters away. It doesn't seem to notice we're here... Nevermind, it just ran off in the opposite direction." Moxxie's ears twitched involuntarily at the sounds of nature around him. "I think there's a... Oh, crumbs, that's a crimson jaybird! They're very hard to spot!"
"Not bad for yer first time, vermin. It usually takes a few days to get a hand of smellin'."
"Uncle Brash once said that dad ran into a skunk the first time he tried to track a rabbit." Jake laughed.
"In case he didn't clarify, that particular incident happened because of a prank of his." Striker retorted, his mane bristling. "Anyhow, it's time for yer next lesson: movin' around."
"Ooh, can I teach him this one, dad? Please, please, please!" Striker rolled his eyes with a grin.
"Fine, pup."
Jake's tail wagged happily as he circled Moxxie. "Ye have four legs now, so ye can run really fast and jump so high!" the impling made a quick lap around Moxxie and jumped off one of the nearby rocks for emphasis. "See? Easy breezy!"
"It doesn't seem that hard."
"Oh, ye haven't seen anything'! Come on, try keepin' up!"
Moxxie was caught off guard when Jake and Striker darted off into the woods without warning, leaving colored scents trailing behind them. It barely gave him time to run after them, trying his best to catch up. Sadly, the lack of exercise and endurance soon took its toll and he had to stop to take a break.
As he panted to catch his breath, Moxxie didn't pay attention to his surroundings and failed to hear grass crunching underneath a certain hellbeast cub's paws.
"RAWR!"
"WAAAH!" Moxxie jumped in fright as something rammed into him. He fell to the ground on his back, ears pressing against his skull.
And on top of him was none other than Jake. The impling-turned-hellbeast was laughing.
"Ha! The look on yer face!"
"I don't find it any funny!" Moxxie snapped. To his chagrin, Striker was snickering instead of scolding his son for such a prank.
"Serves ya right for not payin' attention to what's around ya." Striker pointed out. "You must always stay alert in yer surroundins, little fella. Ye might never know when somethin' will sneak up on ya."
"I'm starting to have a good idea on that," Moxxie murmured as he got back on his feet.
"Well, since ye're here, ye might as well lend us a hand in huntin' dinner."
Moxxie's stomach sank. "H-Hunt...? As in...?"
"Let me guess: ye've never killed somethin' in yer life, have ya?"
"For your information, mister, I have killed other Imps when the need arose! I've just never killed something as a freaking hellbeast." Striker rolled his eyes.
"Well, there's always a first time for everythin', vermin. Just follow me and stay close."
Again, Moxxie did as told.
His ears prickled. He heard multiple vibrations, snorts, and panting behind them. The pack was following them.
The vine wall opened on its own again.
"You let them out?" Moxxie inquired as the hellbeasts followed them out of the sanctuary.
"Yeah, the forest is ours at night. Just wait until ye see it!" Jake cried out excitedly.
"Sides, they need to burn out all of their energy or they go nuts. Happy hellbeasts are easier to control." Striker added. "Now try keepin' up, little fella."
Moxxie really tried, but his lack of stamina made him stop for breath every few minutes, much to Striker's chagrin. And if that wasn't enough, the townie's 'nerd mode' didn't go away with the transformation.
"...How can you tell males and females apart? From what I've seen both genders have manes. Do they smell differently somewhat? Or you can tell with your magic? All of the hellbeasts in the pack smell the same to me."
"Quiet." Striker interrupted.
"Did you hear something?"
"No, I just want ye to shut up for a while." Moxxie frowned at his companion as Jake tried to hold back his laughter.
Eventually, Striker found the tracks of a deer, as well as its bright blue trail. They followed the scent to a clearing with a small, shallow creek where they found a small herd of deer drinking. Every now and then, they'd raise their heads and look around for any predators.
Striker made a low purring sound, signaling Jake and the pack to crouch and stay silent. Moxxie, of course, didn't understand the gesture and had to be pushed down by Striker's tail.
"Hey, what was that for?!"
"Be quiet, vermin, ye'll scare 'em off!" Striker hissed. "Now we pick a target and go after that one." The Hellwalker sniffed the air. "We're going after the stag."
Moxxie swallowed at the sight of those big, sharp-looking antlers.
"Why not hunt a doe?" he suggested.
"Most of them are with fawns. Killin' them would diminish their numbers in the long run. Even town imp hunters tend to go after bucks because their loss wouldn't directly affect the ecosystem."
"Wait, you can tell they're pregnant by just seeing them?"
"Ask yer nerdish questions later. Deer are scaredy by nature, they can be startled by the slighest—"
Snap!
The deer raised their heads in alarm and ran off.
"...Sound." Striker finished with a growl, glaring at Moxxie. The nerd had inadvertently stepped on a branch.
Moxxie laughed nervously. "Err... Oops?"
"Get that stag!"
Moxxie yelped when the hellbeasts leaped into action, some of them unknowingly trampling him over. His entire body felt sore, but somehow he managed to get back on his feet and go after them.
All of the scents were tangled up and crisscrossing one another from the commotion, but Moxxie still made out Striker's hazel trail. Following it, he ran through the foliage for some time but stopped short as he came across a cliff overlooking a lower part of the forest.
All of the trails jumped across the cliff all the way to the other side.
Oh, crumbs.
Moxxie swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Vermin!" Striker came out of the foliage across the crevice. "What are ye waitin' for? Get yer town-imp ass over here!"
Moxxie eyed the gap between the two cliffs nervously.
"You can't be serious! What if I fall?!"
"Yer a hellbeast, remember? Ye'll have no trouble with a small gap."
"You call this small?!"
"It isfor a hellbeast, vermin!"
Moxxie gulped again. "A-Alright, just let me take a start..."
Striker watched intently from the edge of the cliff as Moxxie disappeared into the foliage for a few seconds before running back and leaping off the ledge.
Moxxie's girly scream was, surprisingly, not so different from a hellbeast shriek.
This time, Striker stepped out of the way before Moxxie landed. To his amusement, the thespian rolled down the dirty ground and landed right into a pile of leaves. The Hellwalker snickered as Moxxie stretched out his legs, trying to be as close to the ground as possible. He looked like a scaredy cat.
"What did I tell ya? Come on, Jake and the pack must have caught that buck already." As Moxxie seemed to be frozen in fright, Striker had to smack the side of his head to snap him out of it.
As Striker said, the stag's dead carcass was on the ground surrounded by the pack once they caught up. Oddly, none had made a move to eat their catch. They just stared at it with hungry eyes.
"Look, dad! We killed the stag!"
"Aand... what are they waiting for?" Moxxie whispered.
Striker didn't answer. He merely picked up the carcass by the throat—how in Satan's name he could lift it, the thespian did not know—and returned the way they came, followed by Jake, the pack, and a reluctant town imp.
They returned to the sanctuary shortly after. Striker took the carcass to the largest cavern at the bottom of the Den. Unlike the rest of the caves Moxxie had seen, this one had a fire with a cauldron and some stone shelves with herbs and plants. Jane was there sharpening some knives and was soon joined by Jake, now back in his Imp body.
Striker dropped the dead stag unto the ground.
"I'll be right back, love. I gotta take the townie back to his town. There are a few more things I gotta talk to him about."
Moxxie looked at him in surprise. It's the first time the Hellwalker willingly accompanies him without being coerced by his wife.
Striker led him to the oak tree again, but thankfully, he didn't make him climb up this time. Instead, they sat atop the arched root.
"This is as far as we go in this form, little fella. Any closer and we'd probably get shot."
"To think I still have to figure out how to sneak back in without being caught."
"That's not all. Take a look at yer beloved town."
Moxxie's stomach sank as he noticed a cloud of brownish scents only found in civilized environments: fire, remnants of the marketplace's wares, and the overwhelming stench of 'dozens of town imps'. Now that he smelled it, Moxxie couldn't blame Striker for calling him 'smelly'.
"What the hell...?"
"I told ya. Ye town imps are smelly."
"How come I never smelled anything bad in there? Other than the cattle's shit, that is."
"Because yer town imp body is used to it, but yer hellbeast nose is not. In any case, the town ain't a place for a hellbeast. If ye're not careful, yer head might end up decoratin' someone's wall."
Another thought crossed Moxxie's mind. "Wait a minute. If I'm... 'awake' right now, won't I feel tired when I go back to my body?"
"Nah. Yer imp body rests while yer out as a hellbeast, and the other way around when yer awake. It's... bizarre, but we do get our hours of sleep."
"Thank satan! No offense, but the idea of being awake for the rest of my life is unnerving."
"Quit whinin', ye'll get used to it."
Moxxie's gulped. "Hey, now that I'm a Hellwalker do I have to worry about the magical vine thing? I mean, should I be careful about plants?"
"Oh, that." Striker chuckled. "Don't worry, little fella. Ye control the magic, not the other way 'round." his smirk grew wider. "But I'd be careful with yer emotions. Get too steamy and ye might get some leaks."
"Leaks?"
"Explaining the basics of Hellwalker magic would take me all night. It'd be better to do so as Imps." The thespian looked at his companion.
"Are you... offering to teach me?"
"It's the least I can do since my boy did this to ya in the first place. The vines will open up to ya now and ye know the way to the Sanctuary, so I guess ye could hang 'round one of these days so I could give ya some tips on magic usage."
"You know, that's... actually nice of you."
"Don't get used to it." Striker narrowed his eyes. "And don't even think of bringin' anybody to the Sanctuary or I'll feed ya to my hellbeasts, ya hear?"
Another gulp. "Got it."
A tense silence followed. Neither hellbeast said anything for some time, just staring in direction of the town.
"I should go back now."
"Be careful, little fella. If they don't shoot you, they'll put ya in a cage."
Moxxie felt a shiver down his spine as he recalled the dead hellbeast cub in the town square. "Striker, you say your brother has been gone for about a month, right? Have you considered that he might have—?"
Striker suddenly snapped his teeth, "I told ya, vermin. Don't even think of finishin' that sentence."
"You have to consider that possibility."
"Didn't you have to go back to yer Imp body?"
Moxxie rolled his eyes. "How mature of you."
And he was off.
Striker sighed. Brash is so going to kill him.