All he could remember was Dexter staring horrified at him through the bars of his cell. It was ridiculous, and he was itchy, and hungry, and his clothes were gone, and this big stupid forest just got bigger, and darker, and more uncomfortable.

He growled and sneered at his own reflection in the water. This wasn't supposed to happen to him. He wasn't supposed to be the beast.

These cuts, and scrapes along his body, and the gnarly matted fur that covered his cold and shaking body was a wretched sight and he resented ever choosing to defy his parents.

He resented it. He wanted things to just go back to the way it was when he had it all... A secure future, popularity, acceptance from the world in general, his own body and clothes and home...

But then he wouldn't have Cerise. He paused and stared for a long time up at the sky, barely visible between the leaves and branches so high above him.

What did it matter? Either way he chose to live, he would never have her. Here he was, lost in a strange and remote forest, with nothing but the wildlife to feed on, and with a wary nearby village already making up legends about him, and sending search parties to find him.

He'd travelled greatly since then and was certain that NO ONE could reach him now. He'd just be alone. Forever...

He sulked off, using all four ghastly paws of his, the claws one each of his toes sticking in the dirt, and the sore and weathered pads aching after a long day of amateur hunting and running from other predators.

If he had the choice, or the luxury rather, he'd have curled up and cried for a few days. So, very long ago he thought he knew what bravery was. He thought he could understand what it meant to face fear in the eyes, and conquer it. He thought that fighting dragons, and looking good, and having all the women at his feet was such a cause for celebration.

He plopped down, next to a tree root, quite large and raised off the ground. He glared at the spindly, and twisted foliage and shrubbery around him and realised what a fool he was.

He was a coward, disguised behind the bravado of a lion. Now...now he was literally a lion, or at least some unholy crossed-species variant of one, and he'd all but lost track of useless things like time and beauty. All there was now was food, water, and hating himself.

Maybe he deserved this. Maybe he deserved to be thrown away and forced into this life of poverty. All this time he'd dared...DARED to sympathise with those who had less than him. He had the gall to pity them, and wish them the best, completely unaware that their very existence was so bleak and forlorn that such actions do more harm than good.

Thinking his presence alone would somehow magically fix those in need. Thinking he was a hero.

A whiff of something in the bushes caught his nose and he paused his self pity to take it in. It had been a long time since he'd last eaten and he knew this scent very well. It was a deer.

He tried to restrain himself, begging, and pleading with whatever was left of his humanity to remain inside him. He'd seen Cerise take down a deer before and he always thought it was so vulgar and barbaric. He still did. But rodents and birds wouldn't be able to sustain him for long, and he knew sooner or later he would have to suck it up and do it.

Not right now though, he thought. He could wait a while longer. The scent of the deer faded away as the spared animal meandered away lazily, not even detecting him.

His stomach lurched painfully, and he winced, but ignored it for the most part. There was a lot he had learned in this unfathomably long amount of time, but there were some things he still refused to do, and one of those things was killing harmless creatures.

The pains only increased and he finally roared in agony, curling into himself further. The world became fuzzy for a moment and then suddenly it was black.

XxXxX

Raven and Cerise huddled together by the small campfire they'd created, Howleen was on guard duty and Twyla didn't need warmth to sustain herself and so took to searching the forest for Daring while she had the nocturnal advantage.

They had been searching for days, and hadn't been able to locate him, but the mirror was certainly helping at least. Rotbart had offered to help, amazingly, but Raven was not so sure he really wanted to help more than he just wanted to see Daring in a tortured and woeful state. Nonetheless, the blue eyed owl had been a common sight amongst their oddball group.

Actually, upon hearing the situational details, he seemed pretty enraged that Dexter's body was being possessed and used in such a way. Perhaps he was just concerned about Raven's love for him. He's a hopeless romantic, although he'd never admit it, and the thought that he cared so much, even whilst maintaining one of the most evil reps in all of the school was touching to say the least.

Cerise and Raven looked up as said owl, and Twyla emerged from the shadows. She looked at them and they searched her face for a sign of hope, but she simply shook her head. Rotty hooted aloofly and then perched next to raven, choosing to remain in his avian form to save space.

Raven stroked his feathers anxiously, and he pecked and bit at her fingers in embarrassment for a moment but then allowed her to continue.

"I hope we find him soon." Cerise muttered. "I can't stand knowing he's out there all alone. He might act tough but I KNOW he won't survive in the wild like this."

Raven nodded, sadly, "society has raised people like him to live in total luxury their whole lives to the point that when placed on their own they are completely vulnerable. It isn't his fault that the system failed him." She spat out with an extra hint of disdain on her breath. Rotty hooted in agreement and preened himself.

Raven smiled at him and poked his chest, "Why are you agreeing with me? You'd love to see him suffer, and we all know it."

He screeched indignantly and transformed into his natural state with a blinding flash of blue;

"Excuse you, I can UNDERSTAND the system and its faults. Just because I love watching people suffer doesn't mean I don't know what it's like. The system failed YOU when they tried to force you to live in the shadow of our mother. The system failed Duchess by telling her she has to DIE. Even miss prissy white, has been failed. She's utterly useless without a prewritten, sealed and pixie dust encrusted life plan to tell her how to breathe, eat and dispose of her nonexistent bodily excrement." He retorted.

All the girls stared for a moment at him before nervously returning to their previous tasks and activities. Rotbart humphed and then transformed back into an owl, ditching them for a higher up spot in the trees, transforming back only for a moment whilst perched on a branch to announce,

"While you dainty princesses keep napping on the filthy ground, I'll keep searching. I'll find the miserable creature of a prince before any of you can insult me any further."

Twyla sighed and sprawled out across the ground, staring up at the sky through the leaves.

"We can do it. We've got two wolves, two night trackers, and a magic mirror. I'm sure we can do it." She said, attempting to lighten the mood.

The girls all hummed in agreement before trying to get some sleep. Raven taking Howleen's place at the guard.

XxXxX

As morning arose, Daring woke up to the scent of blood and the cold, dead face of a doe at his feet. He groggily roared in confusion and shock, clambering away from it, and then noting the rest of her body, mangled and ripped to shreds.

If beasts could cry, then this one did, and he groaned in emotional turmoil, recoiling at the blood all over his body and paws.

He had tried so hard...SO HARD not to. He shakily stood and fled the scene, ashamed, his full gut nearly ready to empty itself again. He was a monster.

A pair of icy blue eyes spied him from above as the wee lights of dawn began to shimmer over the horizon. Without further ado, the night owl decided to call it a morning and report back to base. Their target was now in sight.

XxXxX