The Frog and The Beast

The Beast Chapter 12

I didn't want Natsu and Wendy to witness me eat, for I no longer consumed food like a human. My transformation into a beast was not merely physical; it had profoundly altered my mental state. I found myself constantly overwhelmed by predatory urges and desires. Under the cover of night, I would stalk deer, squirrels, and rabbits, chasing them down and devouring them raw like an animal. Afterward, a wave of shame and revulsion would wash over me, driving me home in a rage to destroy everything in my path.

Ur had suggested I seek psychiatric help or perhaps talk to a priest, but there was no way in hell I would let anyone see me like this. Forget the fact that they would find me ugly; what if they reported me to the government, and I ended up as a lab rat in Area 51, a freak of nature for them to dissect and study?

As the nights grew longer and darker, I felt increasingly like a stranger in my own skin. The beast within me was relentless, gnawing at the edges of my sanity. I would lie awake, heart racing, listening to the sounds of the forest outside my window—the rustling leaves and distant calls of nocturnal creatures beckoning me like a siren song, pulling me deeper into the wild.

Every time I returned from a hunt, the taste of blood still lingering on my lips, I would scrub myself clean, desperately trying to wash away the evidence of my primal urges. Standing in front of the mirror, I would stare at the reflection of a monster disguised as a human. My eyes, once bright with life, now glinted with a feral hunger that terrified me. I was losing control, and the thought of hurting those I cared about was unbearable.

Ur's suggestion haunted me. I could picture myself sitting in a sterile room, a stranger peering at me with pity or fear. What could I possibly say? "I'm a beast now, and I can't stop myself from hunting?" No, I couldn't risk it. I would rather suffer in silence than expose my darkest secret to the world.

As the moon waxed and waned, the pull of the wild grew stronger. I knew I was on borrowed time; the beast was patient, waiting for the moment I would finally succumb to its call. I needed to reconcile these two halves of myself before it was too late. But how could I tame a monster that thrived on chaos?

"If you won't get professional help," Ur said one day as she folded clothes, "then maybe you should establish a routine of some sort. A hobby, for instance."

"A hobby? Ur, I can't even eat with utensils anymore. What kind of hobby can I possibly do with claws?"

"How about cutting construction paper into cute designs?"

"Seriously?"

"Or wood carving?"

"I'd get splinters every day."

"Puzzles?"

"My hands are too big to fit the little pieces."

"Pet grooming?" she teased with a smirk.

"Very funny," I replied, unimpressed.

"Gardening, then?"

"Gardening?"

"Sure, it was your father's favorite pastime."

"It was his job."

"A job he loved. And as I recall, you used to love helping him with his work. You even begged him a few times to let you assist."

"When I was a kid and had nothing better to do."

"Alright, it was just a suggestion." She finished folding the last of the shirts, placed them neatly in the basket, and stood up to go upstairs. Just as she stepped out the doorway, she paused, looked back at me, and said, "You know the greenhouse is still here."

"What?"

"The greenhouse. The one your father built for your mother. It's still standing."

"Really?" I said, surprised. "I thought for sure that thing had decayed into ash or something."