CHPT 383: Anomalies and Variants, All Under the Gaze of Luna.....

The Moon. It was rising....

And Claude. Claude was doing what he always did.

Claude was running.

His body lit ablaze by the beasts swirling and pacing within. His muscles made hard by the rising moons rays. If he stopped he'd go insane. It felt that way every full moon. The anxiety, the aggression, the aches, the burn. He had to keep moving-- he had to stay focused.

He couldn't afford to have a night of sporadic bouts of control. Not with her connected to his mind. She needed an example to follow, and he would do everything in his power to be that still pond looking back at her snarling maw.

Until then, he'd make sure they'd burn up any and all Lunar Magic absorbed. And he had the perfect place for it to be done.

The Tangents. Their shared cell for the night, to keep them from innocents-- man, animal or intelligent Monster. And to keep them out of the eye of Demons.

Claude shivered at the thought, remembering how Arne spoke of them differently. Today of all days. Then again it made sense, why wouldn't Demons love full moons?

He centered his straying mind. Focusing on the run. Letting the feel of the stale late-day winds transforming into rich nightly gusts fill his lungs and mind. If there was one thing to love about the night, it was the wind. So fresh, so crisp, so full of life.

The thought calmed him as he leapt and bounded through a cluttered canyon, using each jutting platform and boulder as a vault to flip and climb over.

From behind him, Ursula followed, trying her best for silence and failing.

Luckily, the Tangent was close. He'd got the Quest paper for it yesterday and scouted it soon after. He knew the route and blocked off all easy access points with thick walls of spiked roots... just to be thorough he'd also called out to his inhuman brothers with a solemn howl that drew all the canine creatures in the area to guard it for him.

Preparation. Always.

In the darkness, he found the shadows shifting and gaining new textures. The smell of nature suddenly thick despite being surrounded by rock and ravine. His que to stop.

Claude leapt over another boulder, placing his hands on the top to push and twist his body in a violent blur before landing on the other side silently in the shallow running ravine.

The cool water felt amazing on his feet. Free of the usual uncomfortable and confining boots, they now sat in simple tough leather wrappings. Kept him closer to nature.

He didn't move any further, instead turning to face Ursula and Frosty.

The area was darker. Darker than the deep blue night above due to the canyon walls that rose endlessly around them and cast them in thick shadows.

Her icy blue eyes glowed similar to Frosty's as she watched him. He could see the fear-- smell it, feel it.

Unlike every other time the smell enticed him, all it did was make him panic. Her smelling that way was wrong. It made him feel wrong.

"[A natural Lupine Alpha protective instinct. Your brain is wired to focus on the protection of those you lead, and when they're in states such as this, it can affect you. This is often where newly made Alpha's failed often in my time. Luckily, your mind won't be connected to ten to thirty wild Lupines. Just stay calm and remember your mind is the pack, and there's is your strength.]"

Claude absorbed Arne's lesson and spoke to Ursula, "Moon's almost up. We have about an hour."

The seven foot tall variant looked down at him as she huffed out a spiral of steam. It was still bizzare to see her so large. Then again, whatever Ursula had become was reffered to as a GiantKiller Lupine. It was only natural for them to be... well, giant.

"Feels like we have minutes..." Ursula replied in a slurred tone due to the fangs filling her mouth. "I can't believe this is happening... a month ago I was in bed right now, trying to figure out how to work with my Element in one hundred- and fifteen-degree heat. Now I'm.... shit, I'm a WereWolf on magical steroids in a desert surrounded by Demons." As she finished speaking, she rubbed her arms as if she were cold. The mannerism looked odd even in the shadows due to her size and menacing appearance.

Claude nodded, never really considering how fast their lives had changed, "A month ago..... well, I was doing this... I've been doing this."

Ursula stayed silent for a moment, "That night-- when you came back to your room late covered in blood..... does it get easier?"

Claude looked up at her, eyes glowing fiercly, "It has to."

Before she could say anything more, a collection of howls swayed and danced down the walls of the canyon seemingly in all directions.

She jumped.

Claude looked unfazed as the four legged creatures trotted out from the shadows and down from the ravine.

Suddenly, they were all around them. Wolves, Hounds, Coyotes, Sand Foxes, Wolf-Hounds. They sat perched over cliff edges, grouped up around them and even above at the top of the canyon.

Claude could feel how the Moon called to them, they wanted to work with him, but they also desired the hunt. The wind, the chase.

A long legged Wolf-Hound brushed past Ursula's leg, it's black tail like a shadow in the wind as it approached Claude.

"We meet again." Claude whispered before holding out his hand for the hybrid to smell. It's sharp black furred ears twitched in the silence before it looked at him and looked up at the top of the canyon.

Responding to its body language and facial expression only gave him one word, "Safe."

A feeling more than anything. A feeling his senses comfirmed.

"Are we on the move again?" Ursula asked.

"Yea. We're here." Claude announced.

With that being said, he began climbing the canyon wall, using the claws on his hands and feet to more securely hold the vines he brought across the stony surface. Ursula followed, struggling with the newfound strength in her large body.

Regardless, they'd made it to the top in a matter of minutes.

The top of the canyon spanned for seemingly ever. Just an endless stretch of stone floor under the night sky. The sight would've been beautifully plain if not for the man-sized tear in reality looming ahead. It's magical blue glow burned his eyes in the dark as it fizzed and popped with arcs of primordial magic essence.

The sight of it still chilled him to the bone. Still brought back the memories...

".....-laude? Are you ok?" Ursula's voice crept into his ears, bringing him back to reality.

"Be the still pond." He reminded himself, "I'm fine, let's go."

He took off toward the Tangent, Ursula followed thinking, "How on earth could you be fine.... right now?"

As he entered, he felt his nerves truly beginning to rise in tandem with the Moon. And along the way, the Banshee's song-- Death's Ambience, began playing within his mind. Singing of the danger that loomed. The question was, had it begun because he was entering the Tangent, or because something had entered the lands outside.

Paranoia was a pain. So were Full Moons....

VWooOMP!

***

VWOOMp!

Claude stepped through the Tangent in a rush, his world blending and clashing with another, melding sounds feelings and smells in a chaotic whirlpool of magical transference.

Once his foot hit the other side, he was in a new world.

A world in faint darkness. Surrounded by green, bathed in the sounds of nightly birds and creatures unseen.

Tree's with slim twisting limbs and thick green leaves cast a canopy overhead like a cieling that failed to hide the moon and starry sky. Bushes littered the ground. A ground as damp and humid as the night air lit by glowing bugs and beautiful flowers.

In the distance, the sounds of a waterfall fuzzed the winds and gave it an aquatic scent.

"This.... this is a Jungle based Tangent." Ursula said in shock.

"We're Silver Rankers-- we can broaden our horizon now. And we need something to keep us busy for the night." Claude replied as Blackbeak perched on his shoulder.

Ursula looked at him like he was crazy, "Jungle Tangents? Claude-- Jungle Tangents are home to Wild Elves-- that is not Silver Rank."

"I know. No Silver Rankers took this Quest for that reason. It's secluded, out of harms way and seemingly an anomaly. Also, there's no Wild Elves in here-- or very few. Or else the Tangent would've been Gold Ranked.... don't worry. In a half hour you'll be stronger than you ever have. Just focus on keeping your mind, I'll focus on making sure we're safe."

Ursula took a deep breath, "Right."

"Speaking of safety, I need your eyes-- and power." Claude said.

Ursula turned around in confusion only to find him speaking to Blackbeak. The bird looked at him plainly as it sat perched on his arm.

"I probably should've done this a while ago. You never planned to go anywhere, did you?" Claude asked the bird.

The bird chirped before suddenly viewing him in a serious light.

An otherworldly silence spread in the wake of their unspoken communication. Claude's mind ran blank. He could feel Blackbeaks do the same. All that matter was them.

Tamer and Beast. Lupine and Avian being of unknown origin. Suddenly a thin veil of energy surrounded them both. Claude stood, a somber green flame. Intense, bright. Within his glow, Blackbeak took on a purple shroud, dark and nearly unseen in the night.

Their energy sparked and bit at eachother, slowly intertwining and blending until they stood in a shared shadowy grey flame of mixed power. A representation of their minds being joined as one.

Suddenly, arcs of green and purple magic sparked from the flame and Claudes eyes went purple as Blackbeaks glimmered green. Then the shroud of magic burst and Blackbeak flew.

Claude watched him, he could feel the birds movements, sense it's directions before they were made. His mind picked up on the minor details of what the bird saw.

Suddenly, he felt connected to the very sky that loomed over him.

Then, he held out his hand, and Blackbeak dove.

In a flash, it's weightless frame was on his hand. There was magic there. Connection.

DING!

[You have Tamed an Umbral Ravenoid EVO1!]

[Stats and Skills available for viewing momentarily....]

Claude looked away from the System screen to view the Bird who watched him from one of it's giant beady purple eyes. He wasn't even surprised....

"[Not-Raven indeed.....]"

He wanted to get answers to his questions, to learn what exactly he'd just tamed, what the difference was between a Raven and.....well, what Blackbeak was, but he could feel Ursula's anxiety rising-- picking at his mind with hook-like claws.

"Alright." He replied before adjusting the armor over his shoulder, "Let's move."

As he took off, he activated his transformative Skill, (Partial Embrace), causing his lower body to take on the shape of his Lupine form.

No clothing ripped or constrained his movements this time as his pawed feet cut through the damp grounds.

At his back, Ursula followed beside Frosty and the hybrid pack of canines eager to join the hunt.

Blackbeak flew nearby, twisting and darting through the woodlands seamlessly.

He reached for the bird, activating (Beast Trait).

In a flash, his vision sharpened, and the world took on an array of visual forms-- one of which being Ultra-Violet, causing his world to morph into shadows and shades of purple, highlighting wherever radiant magic roamed inside the forest.

His half-formed body changed as well, causing black feathers to sprout from his forearms, calves and back, as if to further accentuate his hybrid features. He even felt lighter-- faster.

The pack picked up speed as the Moon rose, following the faint scents of old blood and distant song of Deaths Ambience.

Their hunt had begun, and the Moon wasn't far behind.

Claude kept his goals in mind as he led the group through the jungle, stopping them whenever a new smell or sound hit. Only nothing truly alarming never did.

After running for twenty or so minutes, he stopped them. They were closer to the waterfall. The Moon was up. He could already feel it heating his skin.

Behind him, Ursula groaned and shifted uncomfortably.

"Hang in there..." He said, his voice deepened by the change.

He looked around suddenly, eyeing the glowing flowers that looked like eyeballs in the shadows as the rushing waterfall drowned out his ears.

Suddenly, his paranoia came to life. He sat there for a matter of seconds in a panic. Why was he panicking?

He froze.

The song...

Death's Ambience.

He focused his hearing, shutting his eyes along the way.

There it was. Like a quiet song in the distance ahead of him. Not growing or fading. Just drowned out by the waterfall.

His heart beat in his ears. The pack stilled, picking up on his body language shift.

Something was nearby. Danger-- it loomed in the distance.

He opened his eyes, straining his avian enhanced vision, but all he found were the flowers and trees once more.

Just shadows, and purple petals... their glow faintly shinning on the pollen that fluttered from the center and drifted in the winds like magical smoke.

Just flowers. Everywhere and around every tree. That was all he saw, and it all would've blended in as the same until one faded and reappeared.

Claude stilled, prey drive forcing his eyes to move and hone in on the difference with a start.

The flower disappeared and reappeared again in the distance. It's petals smaller than the others. At it's center a glowing ring resided.

"What the..." He thought as he focused on the ring, noticing how it pulsed and shimmered with vibrant life. Vibrant magic.

Then it disappeared and reappeared again, this time higher than before.

Almost seven feet high.

His hand tightened over his spear. The shift took him over further, bubbling his muscles and coating his back and arms in smooth black fur as he growled.

It wasn't a disappearing and reappearing flower.

The ultraviolet vision was throwing him off-- the waterfall drowning out his Death's Ambience. The humid air muddying the smells.

It wasn't a flower....

It was a blinking eyeball.

"UUURRRGAHHHH!!!" The being in the distance roared as a bolt of fiery magic burst from it's eye in the shape it's glimmering iris.

Claude dove and tackled Ursula out of the way.

KKRKRASHHH!!

The blast hit the tree, searing the bark with a symbol of a ring adorned by blast marks. Claude's first thought was a symbol because he happened to know the symbol.

It was a symbol he should've seen sooner-- a symbol that didn't belong in Jungle Tangent's and explained why this wasn't a Gold Tangent.

It wasn't inhabited by Wild Elves.

Suddenly the jungle was livened by mannish roars and circular bolts of magic being fired into the air like fireworks that brightened the Moon.

"What the hell is that?" Ursula asked as she rose to her feet with her axes in hand.

Claude cracked his knuckles and spun his spears before growling a reply.

"Cyclops."