1/28/2025, 8:10 PM
Hjördis was... in her element, probably. She found equal comfort in the sea as she did on land. However, this was different from the tranquil currents she knew. VERY different.
Last the woman knew she was fishing with her father—a bi-nightly tradition, to feed the village—but a small tip in the boat sent her flying off the edge and landing with a KER-SPLASH! into the water. Wasn't the first time, and Hjördis could only assume that it wouldn't be the last. Hjördis felt a current sweep her away from the small fishing boat, and the saline water muffled her father's desperate calls. Why was he so worried...?
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Hjördis could vaguely remember some warning she heeded that night. Something about the wind, the waves, something a riptide. She could only count on her luck that the day she'd fall victim to her own graceless mannerisms was the day that the ocean could swallow her up with unfathomable voracity. She was powerless in the ocean's relentless grasp.
An odd snapping sound hit her ears through the water, and she inexplicably felt the strength in her robust legs ebb away. What on earth just happened? Her usual elegant strokes across the surface of the ocean were reduced to frenzied paddles. She couldn't move her arms over her head, nor her legs outwards to propel forward properly. Something was very wrong.
At long last, she reached the shore. Hjördis's side heaves from overexertion, and, her paws were burning!
...paws?
She pinned her ears back against her nape. No, no that's not right. Humans can't move their ears back. So then, why were they swiveling like radars to and fro, and why was there a tail wagging at her hocks so nervously?
The new wolf grumbled angrily and whipped her head back, nibbling away along the sodden tresses that lined her spine. It was all wrong. So wrong—Hjördis had heard stories of the wolf-men, like Sigmundr and Sinfjötli... but she wasn't an outlaw?! None of it made sense! It was all far too much for the limited intelligence that Hjördis harbored.
She trudged over the shore with a disgruntled huff, shedding saltwater from her nostrils. Her earrings still jingled—seemed those were still there, yet no other part of her old self.
Last the woman knew she was fishing with her father—a bi-nightly tradition, to feed the village—but a small tip in the boat sent her flying off the edge and landing with a KER-SPLASH! into the water. Wasn't the first time, and Hjördis could only assume that it wouldn't be the last. Hjördis felt a current sweep her away from the small fishing boat, and the saline water muffled her father's desperate calls. Why was he so worried...?
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Hjördis could vaguely remember some warning she heeded that night. Something about the wind, the waves, something a riptide. She could only count on her luck that the day she'd fall victim to her own graceless mannerisms was the day that the ocean could swallow her up with unfathomable voracity. She was powerless in the ocean's relentless grasp.
An odd snapping sound hit her ears through the water, and she inexplicably felt the strength in her robust legs ebb away. What on earth just happened? Her usual elegant strokes across the surface of the ocean were reduced to frenzied paddles. She couldn't move her arms over her head, nor her legs outwards to propel forward properly. Something was very wrong.
At long last, she reached the shore. Hjördis's side heaves from overexertion, and, her paws were burning!
...paws?
She pinned her ears back against her nape. No, no that's not right. Humans can't move their ears back. So then, why were they swiveling like radars to and fro, and why was there a tail wagging at her hocks so nervously?
Vad fan?!She cried, stumbling back, trying her damned hardest to run away from her own foreign limbs. Her whole body was hairy; there was an insatiable itch in her back that she couldn't reach with her hands...
The new wolf grumbled angrily and whipped her head back, nibbling away along the sodden tresses that lined her spine. It was all wrong. So wrong—Hjördis had heard stories of the wolf-men, like Sigmundr and Sinfjötli... but she wasn't an outlaw?! None of it made sense! It was all far too much for the limited intelligence that Hjördis harbored.
She trudged over the shore with a disgruntled huff, shedding saltwater from her nostrils. Her earrings still jingled—seemed those were still there, yet no other part of her old self.