A few years ago--so long ago now--Benjil had gone for a walk in a moonlight grove. There had been a brief moment of terror that to this day he couldn't quite remember. When he woke up, a wolf's pelt had been fused to his back, and he'd found himself with the peculiar ability to turn into a wolf at will--to let the creature on his back cover him up completely. From the moment he'd realized this, he had hated it. Hated it. He wasn't a wolf. He was barely even a Star--he was a cat at first. The stripes weren't just for show, he was really a blue and green tiger deep in his heart. Being stuck like this, it...it wasn't right. It didn't sit right at all. The pelt was uncomfortable, and the social instincts that came with being both a wolf and a horse were intolerable. The last several years had been miserable, and not in the fun way that Benjil usually enjoyed.This way of life...no. Benjil couldn't keep going on like this. He was tired. He was tired of being angry, of being frustrated. He was tired of...of hating his body, hating his shape. He didn't want to be like this anymore. He wasn't just tired of this, he was tired. His hatred, anger, frustration, it was sapping the strength from him, and he just...wanted to relax. He wanted to be able to curl up into a ball and sleep, and actually want to get up afterwards.
He'd had an odd conversation some months back with a Lyra mare named Aquila. She'd been...nice. And while throughout the entire conversation with her he'd been grumping and growling to himself, afterwards he realized that the conversation hadn't been so bad, and maybe he would even have enjoyed it if he wasn't in such a foul mood all the time.
And why was he in a foul mood? Well, he was in the wrong shape, no matter what shape he was in, and it bothered him too much. He spent most of his time as a wolf these days--while the shape was wrong, and while a cat would never be a dog no matter how hard he--or she--tried, at least he didn't have to have a pelt on his back to deal with, and the flexibility of being a wolf, the feel of paws, the fluffy tail...
Yes. After much thought he'd realized...turning into another animal wasn't so bad. But did it have to be a dog?
No. Surely this didn't have to be his fate. Other stars turned into other creatures, and he could actually name two different kinds of alcors that turned into cats. He wanted to join them. But to change his breed would require a miracle. And a miracle required a Sign.
He'd searched the land high and low, and while he'd been unable to find a shrine of Leo (the Lion; legend had it he--or she--was a lion alcor, or else some other kind), he had been able to find this: a shrine of Libra, the Scales. It was overgrown, but still recognizable. Benjil shook his head. This wouldn't do--not the shrine, the shrine was fine. But the state of it. If he wanted a miracle, he'd better start being nice to this goddess. He got to work clearing the vines from the shrine, and the dropped and scattered stones as well. He left the mice that had taken up residence in the altar alone, but cleaned out the mouse scat and bird guano. By sundown, the shrine was starting to look presentable, and he laid down next to it, job well done (hopefully), and closed his eyes. Silently, without even moving his lips, he began to pray, asking Libra to come down to him.
Ice_Dragon_Demon
