Midnight Release

Midnight Release

Another fit of intense pain plowed through my body. I felt my bones and my muscles shift and reshape for a moment before relaxing again. I’ve long since given up on standing, so I sat awkwardly on this moonlit hill. These fits of pain have been occurring for an hour now, and none of these episodes have been easy to endure. The only thing allowing me to endure is the fact that once this change is complete, my life will begin anew; my new life as a prince of the woods; my life as a child of the moon; my life as a wolf.
It won’t be long now. My skin has already been replaced with a pelt of dun. The change has filed my canines into fierce fangs, and a powerful tail now sweeps the grass beneath me. The change has already forced me to abandon my clothing. It was a relieving sensation feeling the wind against my coarse fur on my back. I sat there taking in the scenery with eyes closed yet still able to sense the entire forest below. I took a large breath, then it hit. My entire body writhed in pain as the most violent changes began to occur. My feet lengthened into paws. I stood on all fours as my bones arranged themselves into their new positions. My arms morphed into forelegs. Finally, my newly pointed ears moved to the top of my head, and my mouth grew into a long muzzle with a wet, black nose.
After the final remnants of that bitter, sweet pain leaked out of my body, I shook the whole length of my body, as if shaking away the remains of my humanity. I looked around at the forest, and then looked up at the moon. The wind once again blew, flowing past my large pointed ears. They then perked at a small thudding in the brush. A foolish rabbit still meandered through the midnight forest. I tensed my body and darted off. Time to hunt.