The Beast Within

Titans in the Distance: Chapter Two

It's a complex feeling, to have no aim for the future.

I enjoyed watching the wolf pursue whatever frivolous fancy struck its mind from moment to moment. To have no purpose was to have true freedom.

But it is not, at least for me, a good way to live.

There was regret and shame and long stretches of boredom. My indifference quickly turned into a burden.

The wolf answered my need for action by leaving the woods. It was purely by accident that it moved beyond the trees and found itself looking over an endless expanse of green fields.

The beauty of the land was breathtaking.

With no trees to shadow it, the color of everything looked brighter and startlingly vivid. It was as if the wolf had stepped into a new world. Even the sky seemed more vast, and its blue was different, darker but no less beautiful than the hue I was accustomed to. Barely a mile into the fields the clouds turned a threatening shade of gray and black, heavy with what I imagined would be a fierce storm when it broke, and though the sun was beaming the sky looked angry.

With no food in its belly the wolf was verging on manic, and when it saw a flock of sheep huddled in the distance, idly grazing on the bounty of greens, there was nothing to stop it from making a quiet approach. For the first time in days, the wolf paid attention to its hunger and was ready to swallow every last bit of wool and bone. It ducked to hide itself in the tall grass, and as it moved drool fell onto its paws.

It set the cloak of stars on the ground, but just as it bent to leap a blow landed on the animal's head. The connection rattled between its ears and blurred its vision. For a moment, all the stunned wolf could do was writhe on the ground.

"Thought you were a clever beast, eh?" spoke a gruff voice above. When the world stopped spinning the wolf opened its eyes and saw the shadowed outline of a man. "I hope you have more sense in your next life."

The shadow raised an object but the wolf cried out, "Wait! I'm not going to hurt you—listen!"

The shadow stilled. "Are you...begging for your life?"

The wolf withdrew, forcing me to take over. In a quick succession of thoughts it told me it was afraid and asked me to explain ourselves.

Of course, you'll leave me with the punishment, I answered as my skin began to peek through the fur.

Instinctively I curled my body to cover myself. The stranger did not attack during my change—A good sign, I thought—but took a step back and lowered his weapon. I held my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun and was finally able to make out the man's face.

He was old, with a silver beard and wrinkled skin that had seen too much sun, but his body had the sturdy build of a person accustomed to difficult work. He wore a plain brown robe that looked like it had been used every day of his life, and his shoes were made of thin straps held by his toes. Atop his head was a straw hat, patched many times with new husks and foliage, which gave the item an array of mismatched colors. In his hand was a wooden staff that curled into a bulbous knob at the top.

"You're a miracle," he whispered. "Where in Lightning's realm did you come from, boy? Surely not the plains."

"I'm Josiah," I groaned as my muscles and bones adjusted after their long rest inside the wolf. 

The man held his hand out to me. I took it, thinking he meant to pull me to my feet, but he shook it and stared into my eyes. I noticed a bizarre detail about the man. His pupils were oddly shaped, not round like normal eyes, but long and horizontal. I wondered if he'd been born with the aberration and if it limited his sight.