It was stupid. Everything was stupid. Not her, of course, it was impossible for her to be stupid. She clenched her claws together in a fist and growled. She had been in this form, this powerful, miraculous for, for days now, thinking it would win her the aid of other familiars. She had hid her necklace and unraveled her bandages and looked out at the world through narrowed eyes, yet they still wouldn't come near her. No sane creature would approach a bear with eyes of fire, green or otherwise. Coming to that realization, she was ready to slink back into her cave and catch her prey by the traps she set up around the entrance.
She would revert to her more elegant form and let the morbid curiosity caused by rumors make others come to her, rather than chase or compell anyone herself. Obelus had known exactly what she was doing when she threatened that dun-colored mare, she had spread rumors about herself, attracting the "brave heroes" who would come defeat her or the "innocent youths" that wanted to see if there was truly a creature of such evil in their midst. As the pit traps gave way and their legs broke they would look up in horror to see Obelus grinning down at them and be they youths or heroes, they would regret that moment for the rest of their short lives... If she was feeling merciful.
But when Obelus had tried to transform into her lithe, equine form, she found herself unable. What usually only took a bit of a stretch caused her more discomfort than it should and cause her to groan outright in pain. She slipped her necklace on over her head and spun the bandages around her claw and tried again. Still, nothing. She snarled and roared in frustration, her claws lashing out and crushing any rock nearby. She had never been particular strong in her first form, but since her transformation into that of a bear, her strength was a force to be reckoned with.
Had she eaten something that could have caused such an impairment? If so, she wished she knew what it was, herb or fungus or poisoned meat, so that she might be able to curse a fellow walker into their feral form forever. Perhaps she ought to study herself, thought she, in case she could use her experience against someone else. There had to be some sort of explanation for this, and Obelus be damned (as though she weren't already) if she wasn't going to figure it out!
She sat down on her rear ended quite abruptly and brought up one paw to scratch irritably at her muzzle as she thought. Then, her eyes falling closed, she sank into the realm of possibilities. Somewhere within that realm, she sensed something deep within her, something that even she was frightened of and repressed for so long. A thought occurred to her, one that made her sick and delighted and angry and overwhelmed with glee all at the same time.
Her feral form had come with instincts of its own, those that wanted to overrule logic and planning and thought. These instincts didn't want to build traps, they wanted to go out and hunt and kill and kill and kill. Obelus was reasonable, these instincts were not. Obelus knew how to cohouerce others into thinking she was friendly and trustworthy before she decorated her cave with their entrails, these instincts were telling her to ignore the preamble and paint her dark coat red.
If these instincts had created some form of consciousness on its own, that was a scientific breakthrough and one that she would study very closely. Intimately, even, she thought with a smile, before the fire in her eyes burned a little brighter. That was the last thought she would have as her until the next morning.
