Zora. Zora, come to the courtyard.

His mental note would find its way to his sired, no matter how far she was for their link was a powerful one between her and the God. Nemesis hadn't seen her in a good while; he was sure that she was either busy with some sort of mission in his name or perhaps spending time with Tidus. He never considered the thought that she would go close to the lord of Graylhope but it wasn't an unwelcome surprise. Perhaps this would secure a stronger alliance between the parties more than ever and he had Zora's quick thinking to thank.

But that wasn't why he was calling for her. It had been some time since he had turned her and it would be his responsibility to make sure her adjustment to her new life. Especially as night quickly approached and he himself could feel the wolf's call. It needed to be released and run wild. Nemesis could only imagine how she was faring right now. But if she wasn't used to the turning (or if she had even transformed once), then her master would see to it that she does it in a safe and controlled environment. At least then they wouldn't have to worry about annoying hunters or accidental killings and attract attention.

He sat in one of the lounging chairs in the Bastion's courtyard, waiting for his Champion to show. He was patient enough to wait for her reply as he sat motionlessly as if he was another statue among the others in the gardens.

I know you can feel the urge of the wolf. Come to me and I will help you, dear Zora.

The days gone by in a blur. While the change itself was so powerful and so agonizing that it would be stuck in her mind forever, the days following had been easier. She has spent much time at the Bastion but yet much time at Graylhope. While was intending to, and eventually succeeded, in helping him with work matters, it not usual to find herself pinned against a wall or laid out across the desk. At first she worried perhaps it would take too much of her time. But no one was complaining. Zora felt his presence slip inside her mind before she ever heard him speak. While she was working on curbing and cutting out the little spikes of euphoria it caused, there was a sense of comfort that completely washed over her when touched by his essence. She had been sitting in one of the hallways of the Bastion. She had taken up sketching to try and learn the arts at least half as well he knew them. She tucked the book and pencil into the fold of her cloak and went downstairs.The night was beautiful in its eerie way. The fog and mist hugged close to the ground leaving the inky black sky and it’s shining stars out for full view, though the potent light of a full and low hanging moon dimmed them. Zora found Nemesis perched in a chair, relaxing. Her cloak of shifting black and glimmering specks of light- a perfect match to the sky above them- swept the ground quietly. She sat herself on the arm of his chair, ankles crossed and poised like a noblewoman. “I feel its call,” she said quietly. “And I smell… everything.” She smiled, amused.“Have you been happy with my work so far? He was easier to convince that I expected. Though he does take a good deal of time. That can be discussed if you need my attention elsewhere.” It was certainly clear that she was eager to please him and continually earn his favor. Her hand ran over the sleeve of his lounging arm, stopping to toy with a pier of silvery hair.“Perhaps we should hunt before business. I am absolutely famished.” Beneath the surface she could feel the wolf pacing like a caged animal, whining and waiting. It felt the strong pull of the moon and she was finding it harder and harder to keep a lid on it. 

While the God was quite aware of the blooming affair between his Speaker and Lord Amadei ever since she was sent out to Graylhope, Nemesis wasn’t bothered by it. It was a situation that had shocked him to learn of at first, but he grew fond of the idea for numerous reasons. For one thing, it all but confirmed that the business dealings with the city would be fruitful to the Chruch and in turn, himself. Another was that Zora had found someone that could give to her which many including himself had failed to do in the past- complete devotion towards her. It had been a problem in the past that he still blamed himself for letting spiral out of control. In turn, it brought out the worse in her and himself. Fortunately, Tidus was more able to fulfill her wishes and then some.

He remained stony as Zora approached him sometime after the call. He had been correct- that the beast within was trying to claw itself out and it dawned onto him that he had never seen her wolven form. That was if she had ever turned in the first place. “Indeed you do. It will be at its peak during full moons. Unlike true werewolves, we can still change at our own whim and not the other way around.” Only after saying that did Nemesis’ eyes rose to greet her. “You’ve done excellently, Zora. Maalik has been observing the arrangements received and the Church is now in a good position, thanks to your work.”

He rose up to his feet and started to undress, “The change is a wild one, I’d suggest that you remove your own clothing if you are fond of your attire.” First the boots were removed, followed by the coat, shirt, and trousers. Before long, he stood out in the nude, waiting for her to finish as well. Such sights might have been strange at first, but for shifters, nudity was hardly an abnormal thing to see between them. But he had to remember that Zora was still relatively new to this life, so it wouldn’t come as a great shock to him.

“You may slowly let the wolf come out, bit by bit. Your body will atone to its will but remain mentally in control”, he instructed as he demonstrated. His form gave way as it recorrected itself; bones cracking and fur sprouting from his body as the image of a man gave into that of a beast’s. Within a minute, Nemesis was a large wolf of beautiful, snowy fur. His crimson eyes latched onto Zora as he waited for his sired to give into it as well.

Sometimes Nemesis could be hard to read. He often kept a blank or neutral air about him when it came to her. Perhaps he was still consciously trying to avoid accidentally kicking her emotions or physical desires into gear. After all, it had taken some time to unlatch her from his security. While she didn’t remember much of their past, it didn’t erase the feelings that existed within her, memories or not. While she did not understand them, they had been hard to ignore. Now that she was finding herself practically worshipped by Tidus, the thought of Nemesis was a less invasive idea. Something he was glad of she was sure. 

He praised her efforts, and she couldn’t help the beaming smile that curled on her lips, the tips of her fangs glinting. Maalik had been a constant presence over her shoulder. Zora didn’t mind though as she was certainly doing her job. There were detailed rosters of shipments of ore from Graylhope to the church as well as records of their own ‘product’ they had shipped to Graylhope. Vampires needed to be fed and Graylhope needed bodies to harvest the ore. 

“I am glad you are pleased. I try to keep things running efficiently. And while I do adore Tidus, I try to make sure the better end of the deal is for the church.” She lowered her head in thanks for his compliment. As long as Nemesis was happy, she would keep doing everything in her power to ensure the situation.

For a moment her red eyes watched him as he stood and began to undress, eyes following every inch of bare pale skin. She imagined eventually this would become a common sight that wasn’t as thrilling as it was the first hundred times. She unclasped and draped her cloak across a chair before slipping off her dress and letting it pool at her feet. She stood awkwardly for a moment, her arms folding instinctively over her chest and shifting back and forth on her feet.

She nodded to him and opened the front door, putting her arms down and closing her eyes. She heard the cracking of bones and the smell of musk as Nemesis changed. She took a slow deep breath in and out. Her body felt like fire as it transformed and contorted, bones cracking and black and auburn fur sprouting from her skin. With red eyes darting around, it appeared that the wolf was disoriented for a moment, backing away from Nemesis and whimpering. 

After a moment, her mind seemed to right itself, and she padded over running her side along his neck and circling back around before looking at him inquisitively. 

There were bodies that were provided on his territories; that much Nemesis knew about. The who, when, and how was irrelative to him, however. That aside of the business, and plenty more, were left up to his most trusted to deal with. The god had far more important things to worry about but it was excellent that everything was going swimmingly. Zora was doing her part perfectly and it pleased him to see that he had been wrong in worrying about inducing her into a vaewolf. 

But with that out of the way, he had more to teach her- this time of her more untamed side. It had caused him many problems back when he had to come to terms with his new blood. He felt the undeniable pull of the wolf trying to break through at times where he refused it. Only by giving a little and talking about the same, did he start to learn how to control it.  He knew not of how Zora would adapt to the change; it was hard to tell until she would have to undergo it. 

The sight of her undress wasn't a new experience for him, yet he did suppose that at least there was a higher purpose this time for it than fulfilling carnal needs like in the past. The wolf watched on as she became the process of the first turning. Physically, everything appeared alright with her but something was wrong the moment she backed away from him. Her mind was still adjusting and he relaxed a bit more. It was a new feeling for her and before long the she-wolf drew onto him. 

"Relax, Zora". His mind reached out to hers, making sure she was aware of everything before he continued. "Now that the wolf's been drawn out, you can be vulnerable to being ruled by your emotions. It's an apparent thing that shifters run across, which explains our wolven brethren." The larger wolf nudged his head to the side before leading her off to the direction. From there, they would enter the thicket close by and as they trotted, strange howls could be heard throughout the area. "Nothing to worry about. The shadow wolves are also hunting but won't get in our way. They know better…" 

His eyes lifted up to the full moon out and stopped after a while to release a howl into the air. After some time, there were others that returned the howl and he could tell where and how far they were. Your turn. Let them know that you are here as well." 

As soon as Nemesis’ name penetrated her mind, Zora felt the calming effect of his presence. She rubbed her face alongside his maw to show that she understood and was calming down. Zora supposed she was always a creature run by emotions, some of that perhaps having to do with the pain she suffered so much in the years before, another world ago, though it was hard to say because she did not remember them. She had half expected this transition to bring about some old memory but nothing was coming to the forefront of her mind. Everything was quiet except for her senses. 

She padded close behind him outside and towards the thicket, her ears pricking at the sound of the shadow wolves howling. Nemesis must have sensed her change in steps to low and slow as he assured her there was nothing to worry about. He lifted his head up and howled to them as the alpha of the area then told her to do the same and make her presence known. For a moment she was puzzled as to why, then thought it best not to question it and raised her maw to the sky and let out a slightly timid howl. They howled back though not as strongly as for him.

Now that they were out in the thicket she supposed it was time to hunt. Zora quieted herself on the inside. Surely it wasn’t much different than hunting as a vampire, using scent and sight to track your prey and your surroundings to trip them up and bring them down. Her nose lifted up to the slight breeze, smelling a few muddled scents but picking up on one of a deer, a stag by its heady scent, and taking off without a word. She supposed he would follow her. 

Her movement went from carefree to precise and law and quiet, her back paws carefully stepping into the divets her front paws made to leave less of tracks. When the wind shifted to blow their scent towards the deer, her ears twitched as she heard the stags frantic movement. Quietly she adjusted until they were in a different position all together, the breeze blowing their scent harmlessly in another direction. 

She inched up carefully, her paws seeming to carefully avoid small twigs and crunching leaves by sheer instinct. Her muscles were wound taught, ready to snap and go at any moment. Zora was finally within eyeshot of the stag. It had not relaxed and was still looking around knowing their scent had to be somewhere. She lowered her belly a little lower to the ground, crept up to the edge of the shrubbery separating them. 

All at once the cord on her muscles released and she went leaping through the bushes with force enough to knock the deer off it’s feet. The stag struggled and fired her once with an antler, a momentary whimper all she allowed to be shown. She clamped down on its neck and shook violently before hearing a definitive ‘snap’. The animal went limp as blood covered her maw. 

Instinct told her to take the deer’s body and drag it towards Nemesis for first selection. Something in her mind told her that was the natural order of things. While he perused, she lowered herself to the ground, licking the open wound on her chest. 

Even in this form, Nemesis was as comfortable with the wolf as he was in his normal appearance. It showed in how he carried himself and how much strive he had in motion. Zora would eventually get used to it, they all eventually did sooner or later and for now, he would urge her to follow its urges and accept the bestial side that she bestowed upon herself the moment she requested into the family.

The other wolves wouldn’t bother them and would be familiar with her presence as much as they were with Celeste’s, Reaver’s, and the others. Even that buffoon Ivan was treated with respect here, though he was sure the thought crossed their minds to try and mane him every so often. “They will become aware of who you are and will keep from attacking you on sight as they do with the strangers here if they aren’t cautious”, he explained as they kept moving forward. The moment he felt the presence of a deer, Zora had already gone up ahead and he slowed his pace down. It would make good practice for her to see if her killing intent was still intact. For much of her stay here, he hadn’t seen her hunt in either form so he couldn’t say for sure if she was still an excellent huntress. Perhaps this demonstration would help ease his mind about it. His ear rose, hearing nigh a sound from her motions as she prowled, closing in the spacing between her and her quarry.

Although the stag was aware of the danger, he observed his sired adjusting her position to throw him off. So far, Nemesis was impressed and could see that even with the years gone without witnessing it, she was still practicing good hunting edicts. The game would soon reach the climax and she sprung after the stag while he watched from afar, crimson orbs onlooking the swift but decisive battle. Slowly he came from the brushes and approached in the midst of dragging the deceased creature over to him. He could smell the blood from her and glance upon the wound. “Not bad. Ambitious to go after a stag while still getting used to that form, Zora. But don’t forget that we are pack hunters, and something like a stag is a tad dangerous in a one on one situation.”

Could he blame her though? Not really- she was a solitary hunter back in her life; the only one that he knew she hunted with was himself. The only one that she allowed to hunt with her. But now things were quite different and like her wolf form, something that would need to be slowly adjusted towards. He started tearing at the stomach, opening it open and the blood seeped through it like a gentle river. He motioned his head at her to come over and take her feast. “It was your kill, so you deserve it for a job well done. It will also help speed up your recovery from the injury.”