Gilda transformed.
She still remembered the first time she did so. It was a normal day with her family, traveling through the woods, when suddenly she was struck by an odd feeling in her chest. One of the wolves reached out to her, a piece of fur brushing her skin, and suddenly her body morphed into something…different. Claws of a wolf, teeth of a wolf…yet not fully a wolf. It would have terrified her more if not for the acceptance of her family, who seemed, at most, bemused by the change.
That was years and years ago now. When she couldn't even always control when she changed. Now, she had perfected it.
She stepped out of the dust given off by the previous attack to gaze at her opponent, an unusually pretty man with pure red eyes, now gaping on one knee.
She'd used the attack's obstruction to pretend that it hurt her much more than it actually did. Oh, it was powerful, true, but she'd subtly transformed parts of herself early on, shielding herself from the worst blows. Transforming completely then put a nice bandage over any minor wounds she'd sustained during it.
A layer of fur now covered her entire body, even over her clothes. She'd learned that her Take-Over was less her skin changing into a wolf's and more a substitute skin developing over it. She kept on all her clothes, although none of them were visible save for the flowing parts of her long skirt. The rest of her body looked like an adult female wolf, one standing on its hind legs with an odd splash of blonde hair.
"I would leave now if I were you," she spoke. Using her throat felt the same, but making the words was much more difficult through a wolf's mouth. She'd frightened her family in her youth while attempting to talk in it.
To his credit, he didn't immediately flee in terror, but instead stood up on shaky knees, keeping a close eye on her. Suddenly he thrust out a hand, and a strange whirring sound buzzed in her ears, all the louder in this form. Before she had time to think, something cut through her mid-section. She grunted, but even though it stung, the wolf skin bled nothing, instead knitting itself back up. This caused the man to curse. He stuck out his other hand.
Now she felt a strange tugging sensation. Her skirt? It was akin to the wind coming and tossing it about, only now the wind had a mission. And that mission was to trap her legs in it.
She growled, and in one swoop, claws extended, she ripped the bulk of her skirt off, the part that hampered her the most, and tore it aside. Now only a few inches hung around her waist, leaving her with more freedom of movement. Luckily, she still had shorts on underneath, so she wouldn't have to worry about being exposed once she de-transformed. A necessary precaution when using her specific magic.
The pretty man's face twisted into a decisively bitter look. It looked like it was time to end this fight, and then move on to upstairs. Perse would need some backup.
She charged once again, now with twice the speed, and twice the power.