Chapter 70

At the sight of a river, Emma stopped running and knelt down for a drink. She caught sight of her reflection in the rippling water and wanted to cry when the only thing she recognised was her green eyes staring back at her. For the first time since she'd changed she looked down at her body and saw a flat hairy chest. Wait… where the hell were her breasts? Oh for fuck's sake! Her head dropped back and she howled her anger to the sky, then threw in a growl as a flea started nibbling on her. Damn it! Is nothing going to go right for me?

Unable to stand the sight of herself, she punched her hand into the reflection, sending a shower of water over herself. With a snarl, she stormed away, scratching at her chest - her flat, hairy, flea-infested chest! At the sound of heavy thumping footsteps, she glanced up from her task of trying to catch the annoying flea and saw a twisted sylvan bearing down on her. "Don't start anything, or I will piss on your trunk and mark you so that everyone can smell you coming from a mile away," she snapped. In response, the possessed tree let out an angry roar.

Her lips curled back in a frightening semblance of a grin, revealing her new gleaming canines. She needed a good fight to let out all the rage burning inside of her. Her eyes glinted as she eyed up the sylvan. "You call that pathetic little sound a roar?" Drool dripped from her fangs. "I'll show you true rage." She let out an ear-splitting howl and threw herself into the fight. Her sharp claws ripped into the wood and the sylvan staggered back under the onslaught. It quickly recovered and grabbed at her with twisted branches. She sunk her teeth into one and bit right through causing the tree to roar at the loss of its limb. "C'mon, you overgrown matchstick! Is that the best you've got?" Strong twigs wrapped around her torso and threw her to the ground.

She landed with a thud and lay there stunned for a moment, the wind knocked from her lungs. "Okay, that was better," she managed to gasp. Before she had a chance to get back to her feet, roots shot out from the ground and closed in around her. She ripped at them and snarled at the sylvan. "You try any of that shit from Evil Dead, and I will rip your balls… erm… well, I'll make you bloody pay!" She groaned at the rather feeble threat and then focused on the task of escaping the twisted cage. Using her teeth and claws, she finally managed to break free and tackled the sylvan again. What she wouldn't give for a fireball right about now.

A familiar tingling sensation spread along her hand and up her arm; she spared a quick glance, and yelped in surprise at the sight of blue flames flickering over her fur. Without hesitation, she grabbed at a branch and focused on the flames in an attempt to make it flare up. The sylvan screamed as a shot of orange fire flashed along the wood. She pushed herself away from the fiery tree and watched as the flames soon consumed it.

Although the magic had been useful in the fight, she was feeling a little wary about having it at her command when her emotions were all over the place, and her primal brain made it hard to keep them under control. All right, this wasn't such a big deal. All she needed to do was find some way to keep herself calm until the curse was lifted.
Perhaps she could do some knitting, or a Sudoku puzzle, or just play fetch; obviously with her being on the receiving end for once. Or maybe she should just run. Yeah, that seemed like a better suggestion.

Emma ran for what seemed like miles, enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through her fur, the soft earth beneath her padded feet and the fresh scent of the leaves and trees. It was working! She felt much more relaxed than she had earlier as she rested atop a hill. Her eyes caught various shadows and movements among the thick foliage of the trees and she smiled at her improved peripheral vision and ability to see into the darker areas of the forest. Her ears twitched and swivelled as a familiar sound reached them. She shuffled back a little, not wanting Aedan to see her like this again. She tilted her head, wondering why it was taking him so long to come into view, then it hit her - as a wolf, her hearing was far superior and she could pick up sounds from something like 10km away. She settled back against a tree trunk and took advantage of the rough bark to scratch her back. Bloody fleas!

Eventually, Aedan came into view, and she drank in the sight of the man she loved. He looked weary, and she desperately wanted to hold him in her arms. Something warm ran over her furry cheek and she swiped a rough pad over the fluid. It felt almost oily to touch, and nothing like human tears. As though he could sense her presence, he turned his head and stared up at the hill. "I know you're there, Angel. Just hang in there for a little while longer."
She wrapped her arms around her waist and held on tightly to stop herself from going to him. She was torturing herself unnecessarily with thoughts of his warm skin and his sexy aroma. Perhaps when she was human? But then she shook her head sadly, knowing that wouldn't change anything. She should leave, but his voice, his scent, his unwavering blue eyes held her captive, and even though she was hidden in the shadows, it seemed as though he was staring right at her.

When she didn't show herself, his face crumpled and he dropped his head before walking away. She hugged her knees to her chest as her heart ached at the sight of his sorrowful expression. Emma stood up and watched him disappear down a path, and she was about to turn away when a memory drove through her sadness and she realised where he was heading. Bollocks!

She jumped from the hill and sprinted in the direction her friends had taken. She caught up to them just as they were fighting off a werewolf attack. She saw Zevran go down as one of the beasts overwhelmed him, and with a vicious snarl, she tackled the wolf. Its scent told her she was fighting another female, and that gave her some hope that she could defeat the thing. They tumbled over in the dirt, both fighting to get the upper hand as they clawed and bit at one another. Something sharp sliced along her arm, and she roared furiously, before clamping her teeth around the beast's neck. The creature stilled as Emma snarled around the flesh in her jaw.

Slowly, she released it and stood up, ready to attack if it should threaten her friends again. Without lifting its eyes, the werewolf turned and scampered off into the forest. Emma's chest heaved with the exertion of the fight and she tried to compose herself as she turned to face her friends. Even so, she couldn't meet their eyes, not knowing how she looked. Instead she walked over to the remaining female wolf and took up a defensive stance in front of the beast as she faced Aedan. The wolf looked up as if only just realising that there were people stood near her. "Please… help… listen…"

Emma stopped the werewolf from saying anything more. "Danyla, I know what you want them to do, but don't ask it! Let them get on with the task of breaking the curse." Danyla looked up, her expression wary. "How do you know my name?"
Emma scratched behind her ear. "I met your husband, Athras, at the Dalish camp. He's worried about you." Danyla looked down at her large furred hands. "But how can I ever return to him when I look like this? And I don't know how long I can remain in control."
"You can beat the animalistic urges. Look, just stick with me, and we'll get through this. Once the curse is ended, you can return to your husband."
A hopeful light shone in Danyla's eyes. "I can be cured?"
Emma nearly rolled her eyes; she was pretty sure she'd already mentioned that, however, she gave an affirmative nod.

"Emma, let me heal your arm before we leave." She looked down at Wynne's kind face and smiled. "Thanks." She sighed with relief as the cool tingling sensation washed over the torn skin. "I don't suppose you know a spell that can get rid of fleas?"