That night, Vivienne didn’t boing to her room. She didn’t —rest for her tional indulgenot a y—and had all but given it to Kivvy, who seemed to appreciate having a space of her own. Instead, Vivienne wahe quiet halls until she found a small, secluded garden. The faint glow of moonlight filtered through the opy above, painting the spa silvery hues. It eaceful, and more importantly, it rivate.

  Settling herself among the soft grass, she closed her eyes and turned her focus inward. The wolf form. That was her goal tonight: redug its size, densing it into something more manageable for practical use. She could feel the blueprint of the form, a core part of her being, like a tightly coiled thread in the depths of her mind. ging it, though, was easier said than done.

  It was a challenge—a deeply instinctual resistance fought her every step of the way. The blueprint wasn’t just a design; it was a maion of her essence, crafted long before she had any say in its creation. Adjusting it felt like trying to rewrite a nguage she barely uood, the rules tangled and inflexible.

  It struck her how much simpler it was to create somethiirely han to edit what was already there. Even her drider form—despite how monstrous it appeared—had been easier to piece together. That form had been a hodgepodge of blueprints smashed into ohe difficult part wasn’t creating it but smoothing over the seams, especially where the spider-like body met her waist.

  Here, there was no blending, no addition. Only subtra. And every time she pulled at the threads to shrink the form, it snapped back to its inal dimensions as if to mock her.

  Hours passed. The moon began its dest, and the faint blush of daw into the sky. Vivienne’s frustration grew, but she kept pushing. She wasn’t about to give up, not after all this time.

  Finally, as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, she felt it—the shift she’d been fighting for. Her mind gripped the blueprint and held it steady, f it into a nee. The wolf form pressed, its massive frame folding inward, its power solidating without diminishing.

  When she finally allowed the transformation to take pce, the result was satisfying. She still dwarfed any natural wolf, but the form was sleek, powerful, and practical. Muscles rippled beh the scaled hide, and her paws, while rge, were no longer massive enough to crush the cobblestones beh them.

  Vivienne exhaled, her breath a plume of mist in the crisp m air. Her tail wagged zily, and she stretched, feeling the new dimensiole into pce. It wasn’t perfect—there was still room for refi—but it would do. She could pull the wagon now without turning it into splinters.

  She shifted bato her humanoid form, rolling her shoulders as the aches from hours of focus faded. The garden was bathed in warm light now, birds chirping softly in the distance. She smiled to herself, pleased with the results.

  She wahrough the gardens a while longer, her steps unhurried as the first true light of m filtered through the opy above. For the first time since arriving, Vivienne allowed herself to truly take i life around her. It was strange, how little attention she’d paid before, sidering the stark trasts to the flora she remembered from Earth.

  The differences weren’t overwhelming, but they were enough to make her feel a slight, persistent uhe bark on some trees was a little too smooth, its color faintly off—a pale, almost silvery gray instead of the browns she was used to. Other trees had a fibrous, almost crystalliure, catg the light in ways that made them seem alive in a wholly alien sense.

  The flowers were another matter entirely. While some bore familiar shapes—delicate petals and symmetrical arras—others seemed designed by something utterly uned with Earth’s aesthetics. There were blooms shaped like spiraling horns, their surfaces shimmering as though coated in fine gss. Others swayed gently despite the stillness of the air, their movements rhythmic, almost hypnotic, as if breathing.

  Vivienne paused in front of a particurly vibrant cluster of blossoms. Their petals were a deep, almost glowing indigo, and their ters pulsed faintly with a light that shifted colors in time with her own movements. When she leaned closer, she could swear the flower turned slightly toward her, as if her back.

  She wrinkled her nose and stepped away, f herself to keep walking. These little differences might not be monstrous or threatening, but they scratched at her sense of normal ways she hadn’t expected. Every er of this world seemed to carry a reminder: she was not home, and she never would be.

  Her tail flicked behind her as she moved, her cws idly brushing against the bark of a tree. Eveexture felt wrong—softer than it should be, almost sponge-like. She pulled her hand back, a faint frown crossing her face as she studied her surroundings again. How had she not noticed these details before? Had she been too distracted, too caught up in survival and purpose, to truly see the world she was in?

  For a moment, she sidered turning back to the main hall and leaving the gardens behind. But the growing light of day, the faint hum of life surrounding her, kept her rooted in pce. Even if these differences uled her, there was something... oddly peaceful about it all. The strangeness didn’t have to be a threat. Sometimes, it was just that—strange.

  She reached a benestled beh a sprawling, vine-den archway and sat down, her gaze drifting skyward. The vines above glowed faintly, small orbs of light peppering the greenery like trapped fireflies. She let out a slow breath, her fingers drumming against her thighs.

  This world wasn’t hers. It never would be. But maybe, just maybe, she could carve out a pce for herself in it. She had to, didn’t she? For her panions, for her survival—for herself.

  After another long pause, she pushed herself to her feet and brushed the dirt from her hands. The gardens, strange as they were, had doheir job. She felt a little lighter, a little mrounded.

  With a sigh, Vivienne slipped through the archway of the gardens and bato the hall. The air inside was cooler, heavy with the faint smells of polish and stone warmed by the m light. The quiet hum of the night shift had given way to the rising tempo of the day. Servants moved with purpose, their footsteps eg softly against the polished floors as they transitioned from oask to aheir voices low but steady.

  Despite her retively short stay as an official guest, Vivienne had bee something of a fixture in the household. Her presence, once a source of hushed whispers and sidelong gnces, had settled into something closer to relut acceptance. Some of the newer faces in the hall still tensed as she passed, their eyes darting away nervously, but the veterans of the staff no loartled at the sight of her in all her uling glory.

  Vivienne’s bck eyes, unblinking and reflective like pools of ink, tracked the movements around her as she walked. Her shadow stretched long and sinuous uhe hall’s intricate sces, flickering like a living thing in its ht. Her tail swayed zily behind her, brushing against the occasional wall or er, a reminder of the predator lurking just beh the polite veneer.

  “Good m, Lady Vivienne,” one of the maids murmured as she passed, her toiff but no longer fearful. She offered a shallow bow before hurrying on her way, a tray of linens banced expertly in her hands.

  Vivienne ined her head slightly in response, her expressioral but vaguely amused. "M," she said, her voice carrying a low, melodic rumble that seemed to make the maid qui her pace just the ti bit.

  She stifled a chuckle and tinued her stroll through the hall, noting how the staff’s collective unease had evolved over the past days. At first, there had been ht fear—panicked gnces, whispered specutions, and even the occasional servant ht fleeing her approaow, while there was still apprehension, it was tempered with something else: familiarity. It was as if they’d resighemselves to the fact that the nightmare stalking their halls wasn’t about to devour them—at least not without a good reason.

  Vivienne wahrough the winding corridors of the hall, her steps leisurely yet purposeful as she navigated the familiar maze. The walls, adorned with intricate carvings and tapestries depig ses of a battles and fotten legends, seemed less imposing now than when she’d first arrived. She reached Rava’s door, pausing for a moment before deg to do something she rarely bothered with: knog.

  Her knuckles rapped against the sturdy wood, the sound eg faintly down the hall. From within, she heard a muffled, “e in!”—firm but distracted, as though Rava's focus was elsewhere.

  Pushing the door open, Vivieepped inside and paused, her bck eyes immediately taking in the se. Rava artially dressed, a sleeveless tunid loose training pants, her usual armor and sharp-edged presence repced by something more rexed yet no less anding. She was in the middle of a series of exercises, her movements deliberate and fluid, muscles coiling and releasing with practiced precision.

  The light streaming in from the window caught the sheen of sweat on her fur, atuating the definition of her arms and shoulders as she moved through a set of stretches. Her tail swayed slightly for bahe tip twitg with each shift iahere rimal grace to her motions, a quiet power that spoke of years of discipline and bat experience.

  Vivienne leaned casually against the doorframe, her lips quirking into a smirk. “Should I e back ter? Or is this the kind of show you put on for all yuests?”

  Rava gnced over her shoulder, her expression unbothered but faintly amused. “If I waited for you to respect personal space, I’d be waiting forever. This is progress.”

  Vivienne chuckled, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind her. “What I say? I like to keep you on your toes. Though, to be fair, I didn’t expect to find you mid-workout. I thought ms were for strategy and brooding.”

  Rava straightened, rolling her shoulders back as she finished her set. “Both require a clear head, and exercise helps with that. Besides, staying sharp isn’t just about the mind.” She grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and wiped her face, her sharp eyes log onto Vivienne. “You’re up early. Finished your work on the wolf form?”

  “Mostly,” Vivienne replied, waving a hand dismissively. “Shrunk it down quite a bit. I’ll pull the wagon just fine, don’t you worry.”

  “Good.” Rava ossing the towel onto the back of a chair with practiced ease. “We’ll visit a leatherworker today to get a harness fitted. After that, I’ll see about requisitioning a wagon. But first, I’d like to eat and up.”

  Vivienne ined her head in agreement. “Fair enough.” Her lips curved into a mischievous grin as aruck her. “Say, should I go with you in wolf form? You know, help the people get used to my presence?”

  Rava turned, fixing her with a ft, deadpan stare. “I feel this is less about altruism and more about indulging your desire to scare people.”

  Vivienne pced a hand over her chest, her expression one of exaggerated offense. “How dare you? I would never! My only goal is to ease their fears. Sure, I may be a little scary at first, but if they got to know me, they’d see the real me—the charming, delightful creature underh. Not a monster!”

  Rava’s eyes narrowed slightly, though the ers of her mouth twitched as if she were holding back a smirk. “Yes, because nothing says ‘not a monster’ like t over them in a predatory form while grinning like you’ve already decided who to eat first.”

  “I could keep the grinning to a minimum,” Vivienne offered, her tone mock-serious. “And I’ll sit. Maybe wag my tail a bit. You know, non-threatening body nguage.”

  Rava pihe bridge of her nose, letting out a long sigh. “It’s too early for this.”

  Vivienne beamed, her grin widening with satisfa. “I’ll take that as a yes!”

  Rava rolled her eyes but chose not to dignify the statement with a response. Instead, she grabbed her things ahe room, Vivienne following close behind. After Rava had wiped herself down with a damp cloth aen a small meal sisting of bread, dried meat, and some kind of hearty stew, they set out for the leatherworker.

  The moment they stepped outside the hall, however, Vivienne couldn’t resist. With a ripple of shadow and sinew, she shifted into her newly densed wolf form, her massive, shadowy frame now leaner and more pact, though no less imposing. Her makeshift toga slipped off iransformation, pooling on the ground in a heap. Without missing a beat, Rava sighed, bent down, and scooped up the discarded fabric with her paw.

  Vivieilted her lupine head ily and wagged her tail, her dark eyes gleaming with mischief. Then, like a picture-perfect caricature of a loyal hound, she fell into step behind Rava.

  They hadn’t made it far before the stares began. Vivienne delighted in every wide-eyed look, every double take. She caught whispers from bystanders as they pointed her out, some trying—and failing—not to stare directly at the t shadow-wolf following Lady Ravanyr.

  When a particurly burly lekine man rouhe er, his arms den with barrels, he stopped in his tracks, his fur bristling as his wide eyes locked onto Vivienne. “By the gods!” he yelped, dropping one of the barrels with a loud thud before taking off in the opposite dire.

  Vivienne couldn’t help herself; her tongue lolled out as her massive, shadowy form quaked with silent ughter, her tail wagging in exaggerated delight. She padded forward with an almost exaggerated boun her step, perfectly mimig the demeanor of an overly enthusiastiine.

  Rava didn’t so much as break stride, though her ear flicked in subtle irritation. She gnced back briefly, her expression unreadable save for the fai crease of a frown. Vivie her gaze with an uncharacteristically wide-eyed look, her tail wagging even faster as if to say, What? Me?

  The t lekine sighed, shaking her head as she tinued down the road, the sheet still clutched in her paw.

  Vivienne followed dutifully, at least for a few paces, before her mischievous streak got the better of her again. Spotting another lekine walking by with an armful of fruit baskets, she let her tongue loll even farther and leaned her head closer to the passerby’s shoulder. The poor individual froze mid-step, one ear swiveling back, his tail puffing out. The moment he dared to gnce over his shoulder and saw Vivienne’s shadowy, toothy visage looming beside him, his entire body jerked as he nearly stumbled over his own paws.

  “G-gods above!” he sputtered, fumbling the baskets before skittering away like a frightened rabbit.

  Vivie down where she was, tail thumping against the cobblestones as she watched him flee. She even tilted her head in mock fusion, her glowing yellow eyes narrowing in faux innoce. If a shadowy wolf could smirk, she would have been doing it now.

  Rava turned her head slightly, catg sight of the otion. She didn’t slow, nor did she scold Vivienne. Instead, she simply let out a long, drawn-out sigh and tinued walking. Her deliberate pad refusal to realy seemed to ence Vivienne, who bounded after her like a pup eager to please, her paws clig against the stoh a jaunty rhythm.

  The rest of the walk to the leatherworker’s shop was much the same. Vivienne found ways to keep herself eained, from sidling up to unsuspeg townsfolk to exaggerating her movements just enough to draw attention. A few startled screams, tless wary stares, and hushed whispers followed them wherever they went, creating an odd ripple effect through the m crowd.

  By the time they reached their destination, Rava’s shoulders were stiff with barely tained exasperation, though her expressiorayed little. She hahe sheet to a waiting attendant at the leatherworker’s door without so much as a g Vivienne, who sat behind her with unnerving stillness, her tail wagging slowly. The wolf’s expression was one of smug satisfa, her antics clearly having brought her no end of amusement.

  Rava finally gnced back, her sharp eyes narrowing. Vivienne, uerred, bli her ily, her tail wagging with exaggerated enthusiasm.

  A slow, sly grin spread across Rava’s face, her ears twitg ever so slightly. “Sit,” she said calmly, her voice carrying just enough weight to draw attention.

  Vivieilted her massive, shadowy head to the side, her glowing eyes narrowing in pyful defiance.

  “I said sit,” Rava repeated, this time with unmistakable authority.

  The transformation was immediate. Vivienne plopped down onto her haunches with a thud that echoed faintly against the cobblestones. Her posture erfectly obedient, though the wagging of her tail betrayed her enjoyment of the absurd dispy. Nearby passersby stopped iracks, their gazes wide with disbelief. A few whispers passed between them as they poi the enormous shadowy wolf sitting obediently like a trained pet.

  Rava stepped closer, reag out with a deliberate slowo scratder Vivienne’s . The motion was as casual as it was calcuted, and Vivienne, despite herself, leaned into it. The touch felt surprisingly pleasant, aail resumed its rhythmic thudding against the ground.

  “There’s a good girl,” Rava murmured, the fai hint of amusement slipping into her tone. Her sharp cws dragged lightly against the edges of Vivienne’s form, the motion elig an almost imperceptible shudder from the nightmare-turned-e.

  Rava straightened and took a step back, her tone cool and unyielding. “Now, stay.” Without sparing annce, she turned and strode into the leatherw shop.

  Vivienne blinked after her, momentarily frozen. Her dark, luminous eyes widened, and for a brief moment, she looked genuinely affronted. Stay? Did she seriously just tell me to stay?

  She huffed quietly, l herself ever so slightly onto her massive paws. Her body moved with exaggerated care as she began to creep forward in a mock crawl, testing the invisible leash of Rava’s and. Each paw nded with deliberate softness, and the tip of her shadowy tail twitched with barely tained mischief.

  The rea was immediate. A ripple of gasps passed through the street. Several onlookers recoiled, clutg their belongings or pulling bato the retive safety of nearby doorways. Their wide eyes flicked between Vivienne’s massive, shadowy form and the leatherw shop door, clearly torween fleeing and tinuing to stare.

  One particurly brave lekine cub, however, remained rooted iugging on their parent’s sleeve. “Mommy, is the big dog a pet?” the child asked, their voio louder than a whisper, yet filled with awe.

  Vivienne’s glowing gaze so the cub, aail began to wag. The motion was slow and deliberate, each thud against the cobblestones reverberating ominously. The child’s eyes grew impossibly wide as they stared back, their curiosity mingling with a flicker of uainty.

  “e along, now,” the med, her voice tight with unease as she tugged the child’s arm.

  “But it’s ying so nicely!” The cub protested, relut to leave.

  Vivieilted her head ever so slightly, the gesture unnervingly human-like in its precision. She allowed her maw to part slightly, revealing the faint shimmer of teeth within the shadowy void of her mouth. Her tail wagged again, the thumping growing just a fra louder.

  That was all it took. The mhtened her grip on the cub and ushered them away quickly, casting o wary g Vivienne before disappearing around the er.

  Left alone again, Vivieraightened back up, her tail giving one final triumphant flick. She returo her obedient sitting position, her posture proud and poised as though nothing had happehough her expression was unreadable in her wolf form, the smug satisfa practically radiated off her shadowy figure.

  From the er of her glowing eye, she caught a glimpse of another lekine cautiously peeking out from behind a fruit stall. With deliberate slowness, Vivieurned her head toward them and wagged her tail once more, sending them scurrying.

  “Stay,” she thought with an inward chuckle. Sure, Rava. I’ll stay.

  SupernovaSymphony