Alicia was like any other person, believing that werecreatures were only myth, but when chatting with a friend on the Internet, they said that they had proof of otherwise. They had convincing pictures, but she knew that sort of thing could be done with any picture editing software. They seemed insistant and invited her over to their place to show her more. She decided to go with it; it may be fun to play along.
When she came to their place, however, what she saw was something she never expected to see. Her friend had old-looking documents with artwork that she had not seen anywhere else before. She knew they were not capable of producing art like this, or of making things look old. These documents also told a story; of how ancient humans sought to be like the animals they either feared or revered, and became the first werecreatures. They even showed how figures from various myths from around the world were actually werecreatures, and some came to be treated as deities or legendary because of their abilities.
While all of this was an interesting story, Alicia did have it in the back of her mind that this was no different from any other myth that she had heard. The friend continued about how what they called "the gift" was transferred genetically, and most did not possess it since it was confined to the communities that shared in their knowledge of it. Over time, the communities grew, but lived in fear of persecution by others, and thus, the knowledge became obscure.
Alicia grimaced at this since with the rise of the Internet, it would be too difficult to keep something like that hidden from everyone. As if to answer, they showed how all the items they possessed had catalogue numbers that could be verified with a search.
"All of this is known," the friend said, "But it is so obscure that you would need to know about it to search for it. Otherwise, it gets mixed up in all the other stories about them that aren't true. That is how we've remained safely anonymous this whole time."
"We?" Alicia asked.
The friend put a hand over their mouth when they realized the slip, but took a breath and lowered their hand to explain.
"Yes. My family has a long history of therians...that is what we call ourselves. I am one, too. I can show you if you want."
It was curiosity that led her here, and it was curiosity that was going to spur her on.
"Okay, show me, then."
They smiled and took her hand. Before her eyes, they started to sprout more hair on their body, and their mouth and nose started to push out into a small muzzle. A long tail came from their behind and started to curl around so that they could show it to her. She could not believe what she was seeing. Her friend had turned into a cat person. They laughed at her and spoke again. Their voice had not been altered.
"There is nothing different about me. I'm still the same as you know me, except my appearance is different. Despite the tales and movies, we do not possess super strength or anything else, and we can be killed just the same."
They said the last part somberly and with their eyes turned down, but then, they came back up and they spoke normally again.
"We only hide ourselves from those we know will not accept us. Otherwise, we have nothing to fear." They held her hand more tightly at this. "You've always been very understanding, and that is why I am showing you now. What do you think?"
She was pretty astounded. She had evidence right in front of her that everything she had seen was real, but she was still processing that her friend had the ability to turn into a cat person, and that such things were real. She did not know what to make of it yet, but she still supported her friend, so she gave the only answer that she could.
"Th...that's cool," she stuttered.
The friend chuckled and let her hand go. "There is more," they continued. "While it can only be passed genetically, if you know the ritual, then...," they paused for a moment. "You can make others into a werecreature." They chuckled again. "Would you like to try?"
Alicia gaped for a moment, but then closed her mouth when she realized that she was doing it. They trusted her so much that they were willing to ask her to become one of them. She did not know if that is what she wanted, but it was such a warm-hearted gesture that she found it difficult to resist.
"S...sure," she said. "Wh...what do I do?"
The friend went back to one of the old documents depicting the same kind of transformation that she had just witnessed. It had other pictures that her friend went over as they told her what to do.
"You will need a piece of the animal you desire," they said as their finger went over pictures of many different animals and various things being done to them, from hunting to severing limbs or other parts of their bodies, and even cutting their flesh to make them bleed. "It doesn't matter what part, as long as it's from the animal you want." Their finger passed to pictures of people going to various places. "You will need to go to the natural environment of the animal in question. Any instance of it will do, as long as the animal can live there. There doesn't even have to be any of the animal living there. As long as it's the kind of environment they live in, it will still work." They then went to pictures of the ritual itself. "You will need to direct energy from the part and the environment in question and take them both into yourself. Then, whenever you think of the animal, you will become a hybrid with it: a therian." They smiled at the last part. "To turn back, you need only think of yourself."
While Alicia was going over this, she tried to think of what animal she would be, and how she would go about getting a piece of it. She had many options, with there being a local zoo, but getting a piece of them would be tricky with the keepers looking, but to get to their environments would require trips that she would have to disguise from everyone, or would be incredibly expensive. It was all overwhelming, but in the hopes of making it easier, she decided to ask a question.
"How do you think of an animal to do this with?"
Her friend smiled again with their cat face. "It can be anything. A favorite animal, one that you think represents you, or even just whatever you can think of." They chuckled again. "For natural therians, it's easier. We just...become something that fits." They chuckled some more and looked over themselves and showed off to her. "No one is sure how it happens, it just does. I think everyone is like that. There is an animal that is meant for them, and they will become it."
She went back to her thoughts and froze on the white wolf that she saw at the zoo, and how majestic she thought it was. She marveled at it's bright coat and how elegant it was walking about the enclosure. At that moment, she understood what they said. That was definitely what she wanted, and came up with a plan of how to get it.
"I'll do it," she said resolutely. "I'll do it and come back to show you."
"That's great!" they replied. "I look forward to seeing it." They chuckled and continued. "Do keep in mind, though, there are many animals you can be besides a wolf. That may be what is commonly portrayed, but it can really be anything. I even know someone that is a squirrel."
This surprised her, but she also knew that what she just saw makes sense with that, which only made it more interesting. Despite all that, though, she could not get the figure of the wolf out of her head, and it just felt right. She nodded and left, making plans to get to the zoo and take something from that wolf so that should become it. Some fur would be inconspicuous enough, all that would remain would be to get to it's environment, which the local campgrounds should suffice for. It all seemed too easy, all she had to do was not look like she was harming the animal, and to get to the campgrounds without anyone knowing. She got the fur and headed to the forest, confident that she could do what was needed, although she did not know what her friend meant by directing the energy.
She got to the campground and placed the fur before ber, having stashed it in a small plastic bag, and placed it on the ground. She sat and made a thought like she was pulling on something from the fur, extending her hand as if she was casting a spell on it. She then directed her other hand towards the trees and pretended like she was pulling something from them and letting it into her body. She felt some kind of energy inside of her burst and spread through her whole body. She closed her eyes and let it consume her and stopped pulling, turning her mind back to the wolf and concentrating on it. Hair started to sprout all over her body that was white lust like the wolf she was thinking of. She kept that going as it covered her whole body and she felt her mouth and nose push out and her ears move to the top of her head. She also felt a tail come out behind her, but she kept her mind on the wolf until she felt the energy fade and she opened her eyes. Indeed, she was just like her friend and was covered in white fur and she felt her tail wagging. She brought it around to see it and brushed her hands through it's soft, lush fur. It was just like they said it would be, the only matter is she wanted to see her face. She reached into her purse and took out a compact mirror and opened it to see what she looked like, and indeed, that white wolf was staring back at her, only now as half wolf half human creature. She smiled and was ecstatic. She had done it, she was now a therian; a werewolf, just like in the movies. She wondered if she could even howl like one. She closed her eyes and lifted her head, pursing her lips as much as she could to let out a nice, long wolf howl for the whole world to hear. She smiled to herself and got on her feet, testing her legs, and they could work just as well as before, even though she now had the digitigrade stance of a wolf. It sort of disappointed her when she was only as capable of doing things as she was already able to do, but her friend had told her that, and she understood that is how it was going to be. She was still a werewolf, and she smiled knowing that she had done it. To make the matter more real, she thought of herself and felt the energy come over her again, putting her legs back to the way they were, along with her head and making her tail and fur disappear. She looked over her human body again, but now knew that she could take on the form of a wolf again, and now fully knew that she was a werewolf and she was going to show her friend her success.
They smiled as she transformed for them, although they were a bit disappointed that she had indeed done the common thing and became a wolf, but it didn't matter, she was now one of them, but they also knew that meant they had to tell them something else.
"Alicia, there are some things you have to know," they said seriously.
She sat in front of them and looked at them. "What?"
"Just as I had said there is nothing different about me, there is nothing different about therians in comparison to other people. That means, there are bad ones just as much as good ones."
She got all sorts of ideas in her head and asked, "What do you mean...bad?"
Her friend grimaced again, "Just what you think. There are ones that will harm humans, even despise them. There are even ones that think themselves superior and seek to eliminate the humans and take over their civilization."
This was frightening to her, but she asked, "What about us?"
"They also despise any therians who cooperate with humans. Be careful. Yes, being a therian makes us no different, but those who are convinced they are wild animals will act like them."
She gulped. It was just like the darker side of the werewolf stories she knew. She looked at her own hand and saw she had claws and knew what could be done with them. Her friend understood what was going on and knew what to say.
"Yes, you will have to defend yourself...or avoid them as much as you can. Remember, they think themselves to be wild animals, and will attack with all the ferocity of one. Even the most meek of creatures will fight back if cornered. Do not underestimate any of them."
All of this made her wonder if it was a good idea after all to transform into one of these creatures. Her friend seemed to be fine, so it couldn't be all bad. As she looked at her hand, she also knew if that if they could be that ferocious, then so could she.
"Right," she answered, then she looked at him. "Are there any I should know about?"
They looked back at her with concern, but they knew she would have to know regardless. "There is a dragon called Feros. He leads the local band of anti-human therians. You will have to watch for him and his cohorts. They are all...legendary creatures like him. They are the worst kind of therianist bigots, using their power to exterminate anyone they wish. Luckily, we have magic on our side, too."
This made her do a double take. Not only were there mythical creatures, but they could use magic, too? She thought about the ritual she did, and it made sense that if that was possible, then so was anything else. From there, even fantastic creatures could exist. She looked at her hand again, and she put on a determined face and extended her hand again, aiming away from her friend and pushing with her mind. Nothing seemed to happen, but her friend looked over their shoulder and back at her. She gave a puzzled look back.
"That would be good for deflecting it, but if you want to attack, you have to gather energy and send it towards them. I'm not a good magic user, but I know something about it. You will have to find someone better if you want to learn."
Her mind spun, but once again, it added up. That meant she had another question. "So what's kept them from being found out?"
He smiled, "What do you think? They have magic. Altering the energy of the mind is part of that. No one knows a thing."
She quickly understood, although that was frightening to her, too. That only gave her more reason to learn. "Who can I go to?"
Her friend smiled again. "Kris. She can teach you. She is the local fox guardian. Are you familiar with anime?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Then you might know them better as kitsune. Yes, tails and all. They go by many names across the world, though."
She was astounded yet again. Not only does she get to learn magic, but from a magical creature, too. She closed her eyes and made a gesture with her hands as if she was holding a ball in front of her. She pulled with her mind into the space between them and then threw both of her hands to a spot away from her friend and watched as a small orb of light go from the space she concentrated on and towards the direction she indicated. It impacted with the wall and left a scorch mark, making her jump and cheer, but she saw the mark and covered her mouth in embarrassment. Her friend smiled.
"Don't worry. Happens all the time. You're ready. I'll get her for you. I have a feeling you'll be a great asset against Feros."
"Thank you," she answered. Now not only she was a werewolf, but a wizard, too? She could hardly contain her excitement even when the time came and she had to transform back to a human and return home. She wondered what other creatures she was going to meet and what more she was going to learn about magic from this Kris her friend was talking about. It would have to wait a while as she came back home and went to sleep for the day.
Later...
Feros impacted Alicia's mind harshly, and as well as Kris had taught her, the barriers she had trained in her mind buckled under the immense pressure, showing that he was indeed an expert magic user. As she returned the attack, she bounced off of what felt like the hardest substance she could think of around Feros's mind, but kept bashing at it relentlessly. She finally found her way inside, only to find he had an immense mass of energy waiting for her that was already on it's way. Kris had taught her well, though, and instead of trying to counter it, she made the energy flow around her and back at him. The same things were happening to the others fighting him, although she was the only one that found her mark since so many others were concentrating on him. This angered him and he turned all the energy directed at him towards Alicia. She gasped and prepared for the immense amount of pain she was sure to endure, but Kris herself jumped in front of her and took the attack herself. She was touched at the gesture of her mentor, but knew she had to take the moment to counter Feros while he thought he had dealt with her. She pushed with all her might back at Feros's mind again, easily getting into the same gap she got into before.
She entered the mindscape, flying at him with a mental projection of herself with her claws extended and pushed his own mental representation to the ground, digging her claws into his scales, which was easy since this was not real. Dragon scales were too hard for claws to puncture otherwise.
"Artemis!" the dragon bellowed with the werewolf on top of him. This was the name she had taken for herself, which Feros had a name he possessed as a human as well, but that was not important to her. He brought his limbs up to pry her off, but she knew all she had to do was distract him. She sprang off of him herself and made him push at nothing while she got back to her feet and lunged at him again, swiping his side with both of her clawed hands. Angered by the injury, he extended his wings and threw her back with his arm, opening his mouth to fire a beam of energy at her. She dodged out of the way, but Feros beat his wings and took to the sky of the mindscape. He came at her again, firing another beam of energy while doing a dive bomb. She rolled to the side, making him pass harmlessly beside her, but she knew the tables had turned. She had never fought a creature like him before, and did not know what he was capable of. All she had to do was keep his focus on her, though. She dug into the ground and used all her strength to pull a large chunk out and throw it at him. She would not be able to do this in the real world, but here, she could do whatever she could think of, and she was going to use everything she thought a werewolf was capable of against him. The rock hit him as he turned around, making him fire another beam and dive for her again. This time, she launched herself with all fours, making the beam miss her and she landed on his back as he passed under her. He turned his head to fire a beam at her, but she swung an arm around to swipe at his face. He fired again, the force of the blow knocking her off his back and onto the ground below. She was greatly hurt by that, but she had to prepare for his next attack. She rolled around and sprung to her feet again, getting ready for what he was going to do next, but the entire mindscape shook as the projection careened to the ground. She had done her job, her friends had managed to attack him while she was busy with him. She pulled the projection out and watched as he fell from the force of the energy the others had amassed and sent towards him. She cheered, they had finally defeated him after their long battle with him and his forces. Knowing the other anti-human forces out there, though, she knew their work was not done, and they would continue to face creatures like him to protect the humans from their oppression.
