The Beast (Solo)

Salzem, or rather, what once was, prowled through the pitch-black streets of Sunagakure, saliva poured in between his fangs and over his beastial lips. He left heavy paw prints behind him in the sand as he stalked the night, silver moonlight reflecting off his black fur that hung over his feral body like a pelt. He was so hungry.... Smells of prey everywhere... it confused him... his body hadn't adapted to the new senses... where he smelled flesh and blood, he saw walls. Where he thought he saw people, he was met with shadows. This only angered the werewolf more. It snarled, frustrated, its belly demanding sustenance. Anything! So long as it was red and juicy on the inside. It seemed he'd get his wish as his nose picked up a new scent. This one... close... not a wall he was sure. The beast slipped through the shadows as skillfully as he once did, the black fur aiding in his camouflaging. He rounded a corner, mouth practically salivating at the anticipation of this person's flavor. He saw his prey. A man... older... holding a katana in his right... pointing it at something behind a booth... the smell of humans... intoxicating... He didn't care what this meat was doing. The beast was hungry! It leapt out of the shadows, barreling into the man from behind, sending them rolling across the ground, the beast ripping at the man's chest with his claws. He could smell the juicy, meaty flavor just underneath his wrappings he just... needed... to get there.... He sunk his claws in and out, ripping and tearing and quickly as his wolven limbs could, but he never seemed to be getting any closer to his sweet, tasty organs. Just as the beast raised a claw to shred at the man's face, it realized something... this man wasn't a man at all... It forced itself to focus and realized... it was a humanoid training dummy. The kind the kids at the academy would use to practice projectile practice. It leaned it's head in close and sniffed the dummy all over. It wasn't human... but it smelled like one... what kind of madness was this...? As soon as he completed this thought, something heavy smashed into the back of the wolf's head, sending it reeling off the dummy, seeing stars. He snarled viciously at whatever struck him, swiping blindly as his vision slowly returned. His claws were only met with air, but his blind swipes did grant him enough time to get his bearings and see just who was stupid enough to attack him. Some tall person, taller than the wolf was. He was garbed fully in black with his face fully obscured. He held a large, thick wooden club, one that surely must have been imported from Konoha. He loomed over the wolf, menacingly, almost judgmentally, as if he disapproved of what the wolf was trying to do. How can one person judge a wolf for hunting when its hungry? That didn't matter. this man will be devoured! The wolf lunged at the man, intending to latch his teeth around his throat and chew until all his juices filled his mouth.

The man was clearly skilled in dealing with such creatures and demonstrated his skill masterfully. The cloaked man took a large step back as the wolf lunged, swinging his club upward in an vicious arc, slamming the wolf under his chin with such force that he literally flipped him 360 degrees around, making him land heavily on his front, spitting blood and broken teeth. The beast lay there, hissing through it's broken fangs as the man approached, staring at his blurred form, blinking stars out of his sanguine eyes. Then he noticed them... red flashes behind the hood of the figure where it's eyes should be. Images flashed through the wolf's mind. Old ones. Old ones he had blocked out before.... before... before he was this... A boy... red eyes pale skin... a Man, the same red eyes, dark hair and beard, smiling as he played with the boy... The wolf snarled at the memories, shaking his head wildly as if that would dismiss them. More images. The boy was in his father's office, tears rolling down his cheeks as he held a piece of paper... Sadness so thick, the wolf could feel it in its primal heart through the memory. A will... He didn't know how he knew that but he did. The boy's father's will. Memory... Almost a year later and the boy looked completely different. His muscles more toned, his face hardened. But his eyes... icy... cold... harder than diamonds. He looked so much older... as if he'd seen a war's worth of death over and over. The wolf snarled louder, snapping wildly with it's shattered teeth. By some miracle. it felt teeth meet flesh and celebrated by drawing on his strength reserves and chomping down harder, bringing himself to an all-fours position. The man didn't make a sound, rather, he brought his club up, then down as if to smash a bug. The wolf was paying attention however, and leaped back from the mortal blow, skidding to a halt 2 meters away, seething viciously. The figure stared at the wolf for a moment, red eyes barely visible amongst the black. The wolf couldn't quite make out the look in his eyes, except for some vague determination. Good. Determined prey made for a more interesting hunt. This time, the man went on the offensive, swinging his large wooden club at the side of the wolf's head, likely intent with knock it off. But the wolf was fast. It's senses, enhanced. He ducked under the potential blow, swiping it's claws across the hood of the aggressing man, attempting to gouge his eyes out in the process. He was quick as well and whirled away just in time to avoid flesh, related damage, but his hood was another story. The claws ripped and shredded the cloth faster than a knife would tissue paper, revealing the man's face under the pale moonlight. His skin was pale white, eyes glowing sanguine. He had shaggy raven-esk hair and a short, trimmed beard. His expression remained blank, except for that twinge of determination in his features. The wolf didn't care what he looked like. He was food! He lunged for the man, slashing at his chest and throat with his claws, landing some minor scratches, but not enough to draw satisfactory blood. The wolf needed enough blood to lap off his claws! The wolf lunged again, this time landing square in the chest of the man, dragging him down to the ground with the wolf on top. It slashed and it cut with it's claws, vigorously, delighting in the now obvious pain on the man's face. It smashed it's fists onto the side of the man's head his rabid rush, howling with pleasure as it saw the light go out of his eyes. The wolf stood off the man's body circling it cautiously, noting the shallow breathing. He was alive, his chest splattered with the sanguine juices of his lifeblood. For some reason though, something was tugging the monster back. It wanted to feast! It wanted to eat! It was hungry! But some nagging chain in the back of it's diseased mind kept it from making the death bite. Something... human... Yes... that's what he was once... he was human... not the animal that stalked the man. That little piece, driven into the far reaches of his mind now tugged at the wolf on the outside. No killing... no killing... No food for the beast....

The human known as Salzem struggled for freedom, his will pitted against the sick inside him. Oh how painful it was for the human, struggling against something he couldn't break with muscle alone. How frustrating it was to be bound to something as powerful and resistant as the beast within. The human inside roared in protest to the wolf's presence and the wolf retorted with it's own on the outside, one so loud it seemed to shake the window panes of local houses. Salzem slowly gained ground on the beast, his body gradually returning to his control due to sheer force of will. The wolf fought, snapped and bit at every turn, trying it's hardest to push Salzem back down into the pits of his mind. DEEPER into his mind. It NEEDED Salzem gone! Or dead! Or both! Nothing could get in the way of the wolf's eternal hunt! And yet, Salzem fought on just a viciously against the wolf, pushing back harder and harder against the beast. Gradually, the physical manifestation of the creature began to recede with the mental, Salzem taking control. He felt his heartbeat slow, his mind stop racing! He felt thoughts taking form, he felt the adrenalin in his body begin to slow and the fur on his back recede and it felt DELICIOUS! He felt weaker, sure! He felt less sharp... less aware, yeah! BUT HE WAS IN CONTROL! Salzem looked down at his newly acquired human form in wonder. He felt the wolf right under his skin. He felt that if he wanted, he could call on this form any time he wanted! He was split yet again, this time, the change was on the outside. That's when Salzem retained total memory of what it was like. How powerful he felt. How wild and seductive the form was! It felt good to be a crazed, killer beast!

And that's when he remembered. The man! The one who he'd fought and beaten as the beast! Salzem rushed to his side, examining his wounds with his doctor's eye. small lacerations on the belly, chest and throat, but the critical damage was on the side of his head. His skull was cracked. Salzem weaved hand signs quickly and his hands began to glow with blue flames. He placed his glowing hands on the side of the man's head and began focusing healing chakra into his fractured skull. As Salzem did this, he couldn't help but get a look of the man. At how similar they really were. And he looked just like... his dad... but that couldn't be true! He was dead nearly a year ago! Salzem had his will! He was dead! Even if this man was his dad... he wasn't! He just wasn't! He couldn't have been! Salzem shook his head violently, tearing apart the notion in his mind. He stared silently at the man as he completed his healing job on him. This man wasn't his father. He was some sort of hack. Some lookalike. Its much easier to believe that. Salzem had to believe this man wasn't him. He was dead, he was dead, he was dead. Salzem stood up from the man, words chanting in his head: he was dead, he was dead, he was dead. Salzem turned away from the man, hating the very thought that this guy could be his other parent. Salzem had already disowned his mother. She had never bothered to see him after dad's "death" and he'd also learned that he had a younger sister. She wasn't family to him. He didn't know either of them. He hated both of them. Hate, hate, hate. The wolf loved that word and danced under his skin with the rhythm of his words: Hate, hate, hate. He HATED them for what they did to him! What they kept from him! A family they hid from him! Hate, hate, hate. Hatred burned under his skin, causing the wolf to come alive inside. If Salzem knew this man was his father... IF ONLY HE KNEW FOR CERTAIN, he'd kill him. Just, *snap* like that, Salzem would end his life for hiding away his family from him. Salzem stared at the ground, hands switching from fists, to gnarled claws, to fists again, barely able to hold in the wolven scourge inside. He hated that too! He hated everything! It all burned in his eyes. The wolf screamed in approval at his hatred. Hate was good! The wolf commends hate! The wolf needs to feed! And so it shall, should Salzem EVER see this man again...

(WC: 2033)

Claiming Werewolf Form