Changing Forms

**ARTHUR'S POV**

The moment that Mr. Boberre started to growl, Dad grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking toward the other man.

"Arthur, get in the wagon." I could hear the serious tone in his voice, and I knew that he was nervous about what was going to happen right now.

"Y..yes, Dad." I didn't even think about disobeying him right now. I would have to be stupid to question what it was that he was telling me and not listen to his warning tone.

I turned and climbed up into the wagon as fast as I could. There wasn't much that I could use to protect myself and I knew that if it came down to this man giving in to his killer instinct then I would be a goner. Even up here in the wagon or on horseback, I wouldn't be able to make it out of here.

This can't be it, though. This can't be the end. We just managed to get someone that was willing to help us cure my sister. We couldn't die out here, or Addie would die as well. Mom and Catherine would be left all alone. They couldn't survive like that. They need us, we need to all be together. I promised Catherine that we would be back, and we would all be safe. Please, don't make me a liar to my little sister.

Dad had backed away until he had his back right up against the wagon and was staring at the man who was still growling menacingly. The sound of that growl was getting louder and louder with each passing second.

"Mr. Boberre?" Dad was getting more nervous, I could tell, but his voice was smooth and calm as he spoke. However, the man didn't answer or respond to Dad at all. He just continued to hold his head and growl.

As I watched, the man that had been riding the massive horse out of the city with us all day, began to change. His already large frame was no longer able to fit inside the clothes that he was wearing. The seams of his shirt split apart and the fabric tore away.

There was hair starting to spread all over his body as he visibly grew larger in front of us. Mr. Boberre's arms were getting longer. His fingers were stretching, and his nails grew into long black claws. His hand now looked like they were a cross between that of a human and an animal.

His feet were changing as well. His long boots, that went all the way up to his calves, split down the side as his legs got bigger and the dangerously long claws on his toes tore their way through the leather as they grew. His feet were now enormous versions of a real wolf.

The way that Mr. Boberre's legs looked seemed odd to me now. It was most likely due to the fact that he now had extra-long legs that looked like that of a wolf on the end of a more human looking thigh and knee. It was hard to explain. I had seen men and women that looked like this in the city before, but watching it happen before my eyes made it a lot harder to process.

I also noticed that his pants didn't tear away. They had frayed a little and were slightly torn and worn out, but they didn't tear away like the shirt and boots had. They must have an extra special design to keep them from shredding like that.

On top of his head there were now large and pointed ears that looked like they belonged on a true wolf. There was not a trace of his old ears at all. His nose and mouth had grown out together and formed the elongated snout that was very much like a wolf, or dog, and inside that new mouth of his were long, razor-sharp teeth.

There was also a slight hump on the back of Mr. Boberre's back. Along with the thick part on his back just below his neck the part on his chest just below his neck were the thickest places for his fur.

I was surprised by the color of his fur when he changed as well. He had shaved his hair and his eyebrows had seemed to be dark, like brown or black, but his fur was almost a perfect orange red.

The eyes of the man that I had been watching change into a beast locked onto me then. They were a brown that seemed flat and devoid of emotions when he was in his human form, but now, they seemed to be glowing and able to track the slightest movements.

I froze then, I didn't want to move and make it easier for him to see me, or kill me. Dad was as equally still as me while he watched on.

At that moment, Mr. Boberre the wolf, stood and reached his full height and scanned the horizon. He had been about a head taller than Dad, who was not a short man. However, now he seemed to be nearly twice as tall as dad was. He was definitely larger than the wolves that I had seen in the marketplace from time to time. I wondered, did that mean that he was stronger, more powerful than them?

"Mr. Boberre?" Dad spoke the words softly and as calmly as he could, trying to keep the werewolf from attacking us. "Mr. Boberre, are you alright?" We had seen werewolves before, but we didn't know what they were like when they first changed. Did they have a feeding cycle that they needed to satisfy before they could act like normal people? I just hoped that he didn't try to attack us.

"Sir? Mr. Boberre, are you alright? Is there something that you need me to do?" Dad was still trying to keep the situation calm and, you know, non-murderous.

After a few moments, the wolf-man that was just staring around him and looking at his surroundings finally spoke before he looked at Dad with angry eyes.

"I was hoping to be inside before the moon affected me too much."

Together we looked up at the sky and saw the large, almost fully round white orb in the sky. There was barely anything missing from the side that kept it from being truly full. Was it the full moon that caused him to shift?

"I am sorry, Mr. Boberre." Dad was still trying to sound diplomatic and keep the man calm.

"I will retire to my tent." He growled and grabbed his pot of food, the waterskins he had filled, and the chicken that Dad had roasted before retiring to the hidden space.

"Dad?" I looked at him with fear in my eyes.

"Don't speak, son. Just do your best to sleep. We will be back on the road in the morning."

I wasn't able to sleep though. I couldn't sleep at all that night and neither did Dad. We stayed up and watched the tent until the sun came up and Mr. Boberre came out dressed in his new set of clothes and fully human again.