Captive_(0)

Author’s Note: A cruel little tale. Not my usual style, but it was entertaining to write. To understand their conversation, monoshifters were once humans, but throughout history were hunted and burned at the stake. Now, humans have gone past their brutal ways but the shifters are stuck in the past.



He’s shuffled along, the large bear guards forcing him along the long, cold corridor. Barefoot, with nothing but a loin cloth, he shivers as he moves along. Finally, they come to large double doors made of a black wood. The grain is fine and delicate, the carvings adding to the beauty, with scenes of herds of intricate deer in a lovely dark forest.

The bear guards slowly swing the doors open to a large room, a giant four post bed to one side, surrounded by black sheer curtains. There is also a great dresser with a large mirror facing the bed, and many other grand furnishings. In the middle of the room is a massive black chair, seated before a large fireplace. The place seems rather dark and morbid, and he shudders.

Then one of the guards shoves him forward into the room. As he staggers and gets his bearings, the doors are swung shut behind him. He turns to look behind him when he hears a gentle voice from the chair.

“Do you know why you’re here, human?” The voice is feminine and soft.

“My ship was captured by you assholes. I won’t become one of you animals!” He growls, wringing his hands, still trying to fight the shackles on his wrist.

The chair slowly turns. He catches his breath. The doe that sat staring at him is one of the most beautiful “animals” he’d ever seen. The fur that covers her body is sleek and ebony, a rare color among their kind. Her amber eyes capture not only the light from the shimmering fire but he himself. They hold him, steady and commanding. He finds himself feeling small beneath that demanding gaze. She holds a very long, very thin filter for a cigarette that burns with the scent of something strong but pleasant. She takes a slow drag, blowing the wispy smoke out of her nostrils with a calculated breath.

“In that, you are correct, human. We have lived in these forms for hundreds of generations now, we wouldn’t dream of allowing one of you to become one of us.” She slowly stands, her quaint hooves clicking gently on the black marble floor. He looks down at her black hooves, then lets his blue eyes run up those long, thin legs that he knows are deceivingly strong. She takes another drag of the cigarette as she pulls out a small black box.

Turning, she approaches him. “Tell me, human, have you ever heard of a Weregem?” She opens the box, showing him a round little clear marble as she drew up near him. She only reaches his chest. She flicks those memorizing eyes to him.

“No,” he takes a small step back, smelling the delicate scent of her, like a clear babbling stream, or a forest after a rain. And those eyes, they are intoxicating.

A tiny smile tugs at her long muzzle. She takes the marble out of the box with long, nimble fingers ending in small hooflike bones. She holds the marble up to him, only inches from his face. The snapping of the box cracks the gentle sounds that had thus far been the only things he could hear during the encounter. He jumps, his heart racing in his chest, but he can’t look away from those enchanting eyes. “It omits a radiation that causes the were virus to go dormant, thus turning any monoshifter back into their original form, or the first form that was infected. It also prevents someone from catching the were virus.