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The Obelisks of Geatha Chapter 2: Howling Battle For Studley By Draconicon

"What do you mean, they moved?"

Studley leaned against the bars of the cell, staring at the dragon on the far side. The island security was sleeping next to him, but he still spoke in a whisper. Better not to mess with the whole magic, even if it was pretty strong.

"How does an entire network of obelisks, hooked into a power that covers the whole planet...move?"

"Easily enough, with some chaos power."

"And you know this because..."

"I don't. I know very little, in fact. But I know you, and I know the strange things that happen around you, Wonder of the Weres."

The wolf glared at his old 'friend'. Rannoi's mind might be brilliant, but he was all too keen on hiding things, keeping things to himself and making things more difficult for everyone around him. The wolf leaned against the bars, almost sticking his head through them.

"You know something."

"A few things."

"Do you know where Gleb is?"

"...I know where he's going."

"And where's that?"

"Ah, that I won't be telling you. But..."

The dragon leaned forward, looking him in the eye. Those white orbs were as featureless as ever, but Studley felt like he was being studied all the same.

"But I can tell you where one of the obelisks will likely turn up. It won't be for a few hundred years, of course, but it'll be there."

"How in the hell can you know that?"

"There are ways. You aren't the only one that has looked into this."

"...Where?"

"South of the salt lake, on the continent across the sea. The developing English will get there eventually; I'd suggest staying there for a while."

He thought about it. He had no other leads at the moment, and even if the dragon was wrong - and he had the feeling that Rannoi was pretty far from it - there was always the chance of picking up more information from the schools across the channel, not to mention that it was isolated enough that he could be left alone.

"Alright. But you better be right about this."

"I assure you, I am."

Four hundred years later...

"I hate it when he's right."

Studley shook his head as he looked down from a highland a few miles off from the lake. A guide that he'd hired to bring him, Blaze, and Idesin to the lake was waiting for any further instructions, seated on a nearby rock, but was otherwise silent. Respectful, even; something that he had little enough from his companions.

In the distance, the obelisk rose out of the earth like a finger pointed to the sky, taller than either of the ones that he'd seen in the past. Even from here, he could make it out better than he could have any town from this distance, and he shook his head at the craft that Geatha must have had to make these things. Whatever the reasons for them, they were masterpieces of stonework to have lasted this long, and stayed this huge.

He turned, adjusting his clothes. They felt so strange when he was used to walking around in the nude, but around other, non-Wonders, that was a necessity. He bowed his head to their native guide, and spoke. The language hadn't been that hard to pick up over time, and he felt that it was better than forcing them to speak something else.

"Thank you for your time. We can handle things from here."

"You speak as if you wish me gone."

"You have done all that we have asked and more. There is no need for you to follow us further."

"I am curious, old one."

I'm not that old...

"Yes?"

"Why do you come here, to the land of the dead water? There is nothing for anyone here. Your people are well and away, only legends to most of my people. Why do you come?"

"For answers."

"I imagine it is a great question you wish solved."

"Greater than you can ever imagine."

The young man nodded, and got to his feet. Studley half wondered if he would stay anyway, but thankfully, he nodded and started walking away, his soft shoes leaving little mark on the ground as he left.

The three of them were silent, waiting a good handful of minutes after their guide was out of eye and earshot before they dropped the magic. Fur sprouted through clothes, nearly ripping them to pieces before he was able to get them undone. The wolf threw them to the side, shaking his head a few times and stretching his arms overhead.

"Mmmph...Damn, that feels good..."

"You're telling me."

Idesin chuckled, pulling his hat - evolved still further from the blob that he'd worn before, now almost a cylinder atop his head - out of a pocket space. It plopped into place, the nude otter looking around.

"You know, this isn't a bad area. I think I could have a lot of fun out here."

"Stick further east. This place is too hot for you."

"Hmmm, might be right."

"Um, guys?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Blaze."

Studley turned to their human female friend, and waved his hand. A golden light surrounded her, and in seconds, light and dark fur burst through her clothes the same as it had for him. She shrugged the shreds of it off, leaving the wolfess Blaze behind. She shook her head a few times before glancing out towards the obelisk.

"That's a hell of a lot better. So we just need to get a look at that thing, and then we're out of here, right?"

"Well, making sure that Gleb and his people can't get it, too, but yes. Then we'll be out of here."

"Good. It's too hot."

Studley chuckled; at least one of them agreed with him. He walked to the edge of the high point, glancing down over the edge. It had to be at least a hundred foot fall from here, but...well, he'd taken worse, and there were other ways down besides falling.

"Does anyone have a bit of wood we can put together?"

"I don't think I like this plan!"

Studley laughed as they soared out over the land before them, the branches of their glider holding together fine with the help of their magic. Wings formerly made of leaves, now of cloth, spread out to each side, making them look almost like a giant bird. A spine of wood spread down the center, supporting the three of them in a long line.

"Don't worry, Blaze. We'll be fine as long as no one squirms too much."

"Yes, and you put the otter pervert right behind me. What do you think is going to - stop touching me!"

"Hehehe, but your butt is right in front of my face!"

"Get your hands away from there!"

"Idesin, Blaze. Remember what I said about squirming?"

They didn't stop, and the wolf sighed to himself. Releasing one hand grip, he reached out to one of the wings, and gave it a hard yank. Suddenly, the glider dropped to one side, falling a good twenty feet in less than a second. The pair of them yelped behind him, and kept whimpering after he pulled his hand back to the main grip. As the glider stabilized, he looked over his shoulder.

"So, no more squirming? No more groping?"

"No more."

"No more, Studley."

"Good."

He turned his attention back to the open land ahead of him, feeling around for any of the warmer air currents that might give them a bit of a boost. The glider was good, but it wasn't great; it couldn't lift on its own, and it definitely couldn't turn all that much. He needed as much wind as he could get.

And unfortunately, it wasn't a very windy day. He shook his head as he flew along, turning the glider bit by bit - with the help of his reluctant companions - to what bursts of wind he could find, keeping it aloft, but he could see the ground slowly getting closer and closer, and while that was what he wanted...

Why did that obelisk have to be so far away?

Glancing up again, he measured the distance between them and the spire. It was still a good mile away, at least, and he didn't fancy walking the rest of the way on foot. Flight might have been an option, but he didn't like leaving Blaze transformed into a shape where she couldn't help. If they were attacked, he might not have the option of pulling a transformation...and he didn't like that one bit.

Lurching the glider to the side, he pulled them a little higher in the air again, holding them about three hundred feet off of the ground. The world had sloped away the further they got from the cliffs, but there was only so much he could do to keep that up.

"Idesin, how's it going back there?"

"Well, I can't complain about the view."

"Heh. Blaze, what about you?"

"How long til we land? Please, please say that it won't be much longer."

"I can't promise anything, my dear, but I'll go as quick as I can."

"Thank you."

He could hear how tense her voice was, and knew that she probably was holding herself in as best she could. It was understandable, really; she might have been a hunter before, but she had never been much higher than a cluster of trees. This high off of the ground, she probably knew all too well how many bones she'd break when she hit the ground, and even a werewolf would have a hard time with -

"Boulder at three o'clock!"

The otter's warning was the only thing he had. Not daring to waste time, Studley yanked the wings in and dropped them down. It was a good fifty foot drop before he could extend them again, and the screams from both the otter and the wolf were nearly enough to deafen him.

When he let the wings out again, he turned away. Off to his left, he saw a big rock - not quite a boulder, but definitely big enough to bring them down - go sailing off. It cracked against the ground a few seconds later, almost leaving a crater behind from the impact, and the poor tree that served to cushion it splintered hard from the hit.

"Where the hell did that come from? Idesin -"

"Oh, shit..."

"What is it?"

"Studley, please tell me that you haven't been passing the were thing around? Because - SHIT! They're shooting again!"

Already down by more altitude than he liked, the wolf threw them into a spin, turning into a rough spiral. He felt the strain down the glider's body, but he spun them around, swinging back the other direction. That boulder went off-course as well, and this time, he saw who threw it.

Standing on a flatter hill some distance off were the last people that he wanted to see. A tiger and a buck, and -

"You have got to be kidding me..."

A female werewolf, standing nearly as tall as him, and with more muscles than he remembered when he saw her a few hundred years ago. She had a pile of rocks beside her, some of them as big as the ones she'd been throwing, and some of them even bigger. And she was reaching for another one.

"Oookay...things just got a lot more complicated. Idesin, grab Blaze. We're making a run for the obelisk."

"Don't you mean flight?"

"Whatever!"

He released the glider, embracing gravity's grip as he started to fall. He swung out his arms, summoning his magic as his fur was whipped about by the wind. Trusting the otter to take care of their mutual friend, he closed his eyes and pulled at all of his magic. Fast.

The transformation rushed over him, fur turning to feathers, growing rapidly out of his arms and his back. His muzzle curved and shortened, turning into a beak, while his legs stiffened, jutting out behind him. A soft growl shifted into a caw, and as he opened his eyes, he saw the world through a most different lens.

Snapping out his new wings, he caught himself a few dozen feet above the ground, swooping upwards on vulture wings. They were not suitable for a dive, he quickly found out as they almost wrenched themselves out of their sockets, but he made it. Swooping over a sharp rock with barely a few inches clearance, he flapped rapidly to bring himself back up in the air, turning his head this way and that to try and locate his friends.

Thankfully, they were fine. They'd picked the bodies of hawks, each of them smaller than he was, and probably harder targets, as well. They were a good fifty feet up, and he flapped his bigger wings hard to try and catch up with them.

No more boulders followed them, but that was a scant consolation. That just meant that Gleb and company were more focused on getting to the obelisk than bringing them down.

I'm getting tired of him. So very tired...

The vulture would have shaken his head, but he was too focused on taking every advantage he could. With the lead that they had, they'd get a minute at the obelisk - maybe - before Gleb showed up and they had to fight. They needed every second of that minute.

He swooped down when they were within a quarter mile, taking himself right down to the ground before shifting again. The ground underfoot barely touched his wolf paws before he reached deeper, deeper than he usually dared.

"Idesin...Get to that obelisk...get a copy of the writing on it. I want to read it later."

"Squawk!"

He hoped that was a yes; bird speech was one of the things that he didn't really remember. Whipping around on his heel, he reached for the colors deep in his soul, the chaos. The power beyond that of Wonder magic. Hoping it was in a cooperative mood, he cast it out towards the ground, pushing at it even as he heard the thundering sounds of charging beasts.

It worked. The earth ripped up in a series of spiked tendrils, rushing like a tsunami in the direction that they'd come from. It was strong, and sharp, the tendrils ripping through solid rock and hardy plants as it rushed back the way they came. Studley smirked.

Didn't see that one coming, but I guarantee that Gleb didn't, either.

Tempted as he was to stay and watch, he knew that his little distraction wouldn't buy them much time. He turned around, pushing his Wonder magic into his legs, building up a little more muscle, a little more strength. It was time to really put on some speed.

He reached the lakeshore to find the otter and wolf staring at one another, holding a piece of paper between them. Panting for breath, Studley howled his presence, and they turned...only to hide the paper behind their back.

"What...what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Say, did you do something with your fur? It looks great..."

"Idesin, what did it say?"

"It could mean anything. I mean, you know how prophecies go. Could be just about -"

"Fuck. It's saying something bad, and you think it's about me."

"How did you know?!"

"You weren't being so clever as you think, pervert otter..."

Ignoring the bickering pair, Studley jogged over to the column and walked around it until he found the words. They were written as obscurely as ever, but the dry climate near the lake seemed to have kept it clear, unlike all the snow that had worn down the words in Greenland.

In the search for itself, the beast finds little but pain. Pain and suffering, blankness and worry. Turn it back, lest the search yield the darkness of the worst pain. Turn back the beast of curiosity, lest it bring the downfall.

There were a few other things around, but Studley couldn't bring himself to read it. He took a slow step back, shaking his head.

"No...no, that's gotta be a warning. Geatha couldn't have thought of this."

"There's...Studley, you should read the rest."

"Why?"

"It...It mentions our last stop. And more."

He turned his attention back to the obelisk, skimming as the roars of his creation began to die off in the distance.

Warmonger comes...fur and fur will fly...the pain of silver returns, tenfold, from the...

"From the fight above the ice..."

How did Geatha know that we'd have fought there...then come here? How did...What is going on?!

His legs shook as he turned to Blaze and Idesin, the pair of them looking almost sympathetic. Perhaps they would have, if they didn't look completely freaked out. Studley forced himself to smile, flicking a thumb over his shoulder at the writing.

"You're not taking that seriously, are you?"

"Well, it is one of the obelisks..."

"Yeah, and I'm Studley. I'm the Wonder of the Weres. I am the master of chaos. Do you really think that this thing is right? I've been through worse things than anything they can throw at me."

"But...but it knew -"

"It knows nothing! It's prophecy language. Do you think I care what it says?"

Studley could feel himself losing control, even as he whipped back around to the obelisk. He waved at it as if it were a person, and growled.

"Hey, Geatha? You want to know what I think of this thing? Do you want to know what I think of your prophecies?"

It was stupid. Beyond stupid. But he was already losing it. Whipping back his arm, he balled his hand into a fist, and charged it with as much Wonder magic as he could possibly pull together.

"This!"

And with that, he punched the obelisk. He felt every single bone in his hand break in the process, but the damage was done. His hand punched a dent a good six inches deep into the rock, and cracks spread throughout the whole thing. He watched as it spider-webbed all the way up towards the tip, and into the ground as well. Pulling his hand back, he punched it again, and again, each time driving that dent deeper, until he punched a hole right through the great spire, the rock falling to the ground on the other side.

It shattered to pieces, the rocks falling like rain around him. Clattering into pieces, he stood in the rubble, buried up to his thighs in rock. Idesin and Blaze stared at him, the former with utter shock, the other in fear.

And then...then he heard a soft clap, and turned around.

"Much power...Pity about obelisk destruction..."

Gleb and his group...Studley looked between them, sparing the tiger almost no notice. The buck was already armed, his silver gauntlets on, and the werewolf female was in her full feral form. She stood taller than he would be, and she huffed and puffed. Her name, what was her name?

"Kylee."

That was it, Kylee. The person that he met in England when she was suffering from the Black Death, when the plague had crossed the channel while he was waiting for a chance to come over to the Americas. The person that he had turned to save her life. The person that he had then abandoned.

"Kylee, why -"

"Save it."

She growled, barely restrained by the tiger's hand to her shoulder. Still, she pointed at him, her teeth bared.

"You turned me into an animal."

"I saved your life!"

"By making me a beast. Every day, I feel it...that urge to kill...that need for blood...You left me back there! My village tried to kill me five times before I got away. FIVE! Do you know what it's like? To have your own people cast you out, try and kill you?"

"Yes..."

When, he couldn't have said, but somewhere, he knew it. It didn't assuage her.

"Then how did you do it to me?! You...You think you are saving something...but you're the monster. And you need to die..."

"And today, you will."

He rolled his eyes at the tiger's threats, kicking his legs free of the rubble. A glance towards the otter and the wolfess; they had the only copy of the information now. Gleb would want it, and he didn't dare let him have it.

Guess it's time to see if the prophecy was a load of crap after all...

"Why don't you fight me, Gleb? No pawns, no tricks. Just you and me fighting this out. Then the winner can keep hunting the rest of the obelisks, while the loser..."

"Loser wouldn't be looking anymore."

"Exactly."

"Heh. Why give you chance?"

The tiger gestured at the werewolf on one side, and the buck on the other.

"You have friends. I have friends. We both know, they won't stay out of fight."

"I had to make the offer."

"Eh. You wanted to make offer."

Studley nodded.

Then he kicked one of the pieces of rubble still near him, bolstered by a blast of magic. It shot through the air and hit Kylee in the forehead hard enough to knock her off of her feet, and the next kick socked Gleb in the stomach. The tiger hit the ground, gasping for air as the buck charged. Studley met him with a piece of rock, holding it like a sword.

"A little help here would be appreciated!"

He managed to throw the buck back, shoving him away with some burst of strength. It wasn't much, and he could already feel his reserves dwindling; he shouldn't have lost his temper and beaten up the obelisk. Too much energy, too much stuff. And his hand still hurt like hell, making him want to howl from the slightest touch.

Ducking the return blow from the spiked gauntlets, Studley lashed out with a kick, but the buck blocked him with a hoof. A punch to his shoulder, which he blocked with his arm and his own gauntlet. Back and forth, back and forth.

A howl, and he knew that Kylee was back on her feet. The wolf risked a look to the side, spotting the great werewolf glaring at him, and barely dodged another punch. The spike came too close to taking out his eye.

He backflipped, using the rocky terrain for what little advantage he could get. Heinrich the buck followed him, taking a little more time, and Studley gasped for breath, taking in the situation.

Idesin had Gleb locked down, the otter using lightning - somehow - to keep the tiger dancing and away from the rest of the fight. However, there'd be no help from him, no aid; he needed all of his focus to keep Gleb from getting an opening. Blaze was nowhere to be seen, and Kylee -

"FUCK!"

Studley stutter-stepped backwards to avoid another attack from the buck, drawing his attention back to their fight. Not before he saw the werewolf charging them, however. Her sharp claws ripped through the ground, leaving holes where she ran, and spittle dripped from her jaws. She'd gone completely feral minded, and if she hit them...

A third howl split the air, and a blur struck Kylee from the side. A big breasted werewolfess stood over the spun-around English wolf, and Studley smiled.

"Wolf on wolf fight. That's something you don't see every day, heh - OW!"

He bit back a howl of his own as the buck's spiked gauntlet caught the tip of his ear, cutting through the edge of it and leaving it marked. Backing up another step, panting for breath, Studley shook his head. The buck bounced and danced atop one of the bigger rocks, as silent as ever.

"Why don't you talk? Why don't you do anything but fight?"

There was no answer.

"There's no Gleb to stop you. Tell me. What the hell are you here for?"

No answer.

"What do you get out of this? There's got to be something. There's got to be something we can tempt you with."

Heinrich shrugged, moving closer again. Studley shook his head. Whatever Gleb had done to get the buck on his side, it was clear that Heinrich would never be moved. He'd have to kill him; there was no way around it.

But there was no way he could do that in this state. He needed the beast. But for that, he needed time.

Taking a deep breath, Studley stomped on the ground as hard as he could, the power of Wonder magic making it strong enough to count as an extremely localized earthquake. The whole area rattled, and the buck was knocked off of his feet. Studley moved as fast as he could, kicking the rubble in the area towards the buck, and in a few seconds, he'd buried his opponent.

But it wouldn't last. The pile was already shifting. He only had a few seconds...he just hoped it'd be enough.

Reaching into himself, past the golden Wonder magic, past the chaos, he touched the beating, roaring pulse inside that was the beast. He grabbed it, feeling almost like he was grabbing the choke chain of an animal barely restrained. And he ripped it off.

Instantly he felt the beginnings of the transformation, his muscles bulging out around his body and stretching in his limbs. He hunched forward as his spine suddenly grew, forcing him to get taller, bigger, broader shouldered as the inner beast got stronger and stronger, bigger and bigger. It was released, and it knew what it needed.

His eyes flashed as his muzzle grew longer, getting stiffer and toothier. He felt each point against his gums, against his lips as he snarled, leaning forward as growing hands and lengthening claws grabbed at the ground, fumbling about for something to throw, something to kick. He rose up on his toes as his legs and feet changed, ready to run, ready to leap, ready to fight with more power than this buck had ever fought before.

The transformation concluded with him over two feet taller than he had been and his body bulkier than ever, and just in time as the rubble exploded outwards. Studley punched several pieces into powder, and then the buck was upon him.

Heinrich was fast, but the beast was just as quick, and Studley barely had enough control over it to keep it from grabbing the buck and biting him, of teaching him who was the true predator right here and now. The beast wanted to do more than kill. It wanted to feed, to feast on the carcass of this impudent creature that thought it had a chance against him. It wanted to kill, to feed itself, and hunt...just like Kylee did.

A burst of guilt gave the buck a chance to break his grip, backflipping away onto rising stone and earth platforms. Studley shook his head and gave chase, leaping onto the first one, and then leaping to the second as the first jettisoned itself away.

It was a game of leapfrog, almost, as he chased the buck further and further into the sky, following him on platforms of stone and earth. Dust skittered about underfoot, several times coming close to dislodging him, but the beast never foundered. It snarled and chased, leaped and bounded along the platforms, always an inch behind the buck, but that inch was getting smaller and smaller, fractions shaved off of it with every leap.

Until finally he collided with Heinrich in mid-leap, knocking him off of the platform. The beast growled as they went flying through the air, falling towards the ground from over a hundred feet in the air. Keeping the buck pinned between his legs, Studley grabbed him by the throat and reared back with one arm -

"Awwooooooooo!"

Only to howl in pain as the buck punched him in the thigh. Grinding the gauntlet in circles, Heinrich managed to cut through muscle and tissue at a horrible rate, and the silver burned the wolf deep. The surprise wound angered the beast, but it was enough of a shock for the buck to flip them around, and -

SLAM!

They hit the ground hard, with the wolf taking the impact and the buck landing on top. Studley had enough presence of mind to kick out, sending the buck flying backwards, but it was too late for one of his legs. As he pulled himself to his feet, his leg just about gave out under him, unable to support his weight on its own. The hole from the gauntlet had been ripped wide open, and he could barely cover it with one hand.

And Heinrich wasn't even winded. The buck stood with his fists readied, dusty, a bit bloody in the face, but not even tired.

Studley growled, showing every tooth he had. He and the beast were enraged beyond any description. This buck had not only avoided his rightful death, but had managed to wound them again. Badly. This was...this was impossible. This had never, ever happened before. Against a full Wonder and chaos user, like Rannoi, it was possible to have a contest...but against the beast, someone like this...

He howled in frustration, throwing his head back in rage.

"Awoooooooooooooo-lllk!"

It was cut off in a wet, choked sound. Studley froze, unable to scream as the blades of the gauntlet dug into his throat, cutting off his windpipe, cutting off any air from getting to his lungs. Suddenly, a second punch - at the side of his neck - nearly knocked his head off. Heat, horrible heat ran down his neck, and the burning silver rotated around in his neck, cutting ever more, ever deeper.

A faint 'no!' echoed in his ears as the spikes and blades were ripped free, his body collapsing without anything more than a twitch from him. The sky stared back down at him, empty, blue. The sound of battle faded as the blood continued running out of his neck.

Why...why can't I move?

He pulled at his arms, but nothing beyond a twitch came in response. His legs, his head; nothing but twitches, and even that soon faded. He could only stare at the sky, even as Heinrich stepped over him. The buck knelt down, and he heard a soft whisper.

"Eight silver spikes. Windpipe ruptured. Arteries destroyed. Head half severed. Your death...is ensured."

The footsteps of his friends were nearly inaudible as they ran for him, grabbing him. He didn't feel their hands. He didn't feel anything as the world went dark.

"He...he can't be dead. This isn't...He's Studley! He's fucking Studley! He can't be dead!"

Rannoi shook his head at the otter's grief, looking down at the wolf's body in the center of his cell. Whatever Idesin said, it was quite clear that Studley, Wonder of the Weres...was dead. Nobody, not even a Wonder, could live with a head chopped off like that, hanging on by a thread, with no blood left in the body.

Idesin was nearly hysterical with grief, and the wolfess that had helped bring him along was not much better. Quieter, though, something of which he approved of. The dragon shook his head, pulling a small collection of papers out of his pocket.

"I assume you collected the writing on the obelisk before it was destroyed?"

"What...Is that all you care about?! He's dead! Studley -"

"Has been killed. As the obelisk declared would happen, if I am not mistaken."

"...How did you know? I didn't...Did you know this would happen?!"

Both otter and wolf grabbed him, and nearly threw him against the wall of his cell. They would have, too, if it weren't for a pair of shackles grabbing their feet from the earth. Not all of Mirari's powers were locked away. Rannoi reached up and disentangled their hands.

"I had guesses. But if I had told them, he would not have believed me. And he saw the same prophecy when he arrived."

"Not soon enough to do anything..."

"I do not believe anything needs doing. You two...Heh. You don't know Studley like I do."

Rannoi sat down by the body, and ran his fingers through the earth. A small sundial came up, and a small dash mark began growing on the side of it.

"I would imagine that we've not seen the last of him..."

Somewhere, deep in darkness, a set of colors began to glow. It was empty...no, not empty. Not quite. There was more in the darkness than anyone could ever know, more than anyone could ever even begin to guess.

The colors flowed, spreading over a small segment of it. They twisted, they changed. They moved into different shapes. A blanket, a finger, a face, a rag. Anything and everything that came to them, concept or a real memory, was a shape for at least a second before becoming something else again.

The face, though...the face kept returning. Always a little different than the time before, but mostly canine. Mostly wolfish. Mostly...something. It lacked a name, lacked a thing to call itself, but it was there. A memory, a piece that remained, a piece that was consistent.

Complete? No. That it knew. It needed a name. More than a name. Needed the rest of itself. The wolf face twisted about, reshaping itself, changing, twisting. More dog like? No. More wolf like? No. It was not wolf. It was not all wolf, at least. Something missing. Something strange.

What was it?

What was the shape, even? Memories. Memories of magic. Memories of people. Memories of...

A dragon? Yes, a dragon, but not that dragon. Not the strange one. Not the smart one. There was something wrong. Something different.

Dragon inside?

Dragon...

Inside...

Beast...

There was something there, but the colors could not understand. They lacked the ability to think, to focus for longer than the smallest millisecond. But they could remember. They could remember, and then...Then they could find out, when things were better.

The colors settled, resting in their little corner of the darkness. Even so, the darkness pressed around them, trying to extinguish them, trying to make them the same. Like it always did. Like it always would. The darkness needed things to be the same, needed things to be like it. But the colors knew better. The colors knew that the same would be the same, and it would never end. Not all endings were bad. Not all good, but better than same.

A name came to it, and it held on. The darkness pulled back at it. Not far, never far...but far enough.

Studley. Yes. That name felt right.

The End