Rose opened the door to the Obsidian Athenaeum, striding through the entrance until saw a small greyish blue wolf. “Where did he come from?”

Maki turned to Rose and smiled softly. “Hello Rose, he’s with me. I’ve been taking care of him since I found him over a year ago.”

“Ah, understood. Wait, how did you get here? Still following Oscar?” She snickered and went to sit down.

Indigo walked in after her and groaned. “Ugh, I’m going to take a nap. I’ll see you later Rose.” He smiled to her, then nodded at Maki before walking upstairs.

Oscar dropped onto the couch beside Rose, his stare burning into her as if silence alone might set him alight.

“I know you’re there, Oscar. I can feel you.” She let out a sigh and leaned back, sinking into the cushions.

Farren padded over and settled in front of her, head tilted in quiet curiosity.

Oscar poked Farren’s ear, which resulted in a low growl. “Chill out little guy! This is Rose! I told you about her. Sensitive to touch because she has a Heightened Sensitivity. Although it’s much different from humans having it..”

Farren looked back at Rose and whimpered, feeling sad for her.

Rose smiled before reaching down and scratching behind Farren’s ear. “Don’t worry about it. I’m getting better with it. Trying to turn it into a strength and not a weakness.”

Farren’s tail started wagging as she pet him. He was very happy to be around new people.

Maki walked over with a few books. “To answer your earlier question, I came here to find answers for Farren. He’s currently cursed to be stuck in this wolf form. He won’t say much else.”

“So he’s trapped? Poor thing.” She cupped Farren’s face and kissed his snout.

Maki nodded “yeah, but he’s been doing pretty well.”

“Hey, maybe he is staying with you because he likes you~” Oscar teased.

Farren’s ears flattened and his tail tucked, showing his embarrassment. In this form his gestures were limited, but he did what he could to be understood.

Rose looked at Oscar and hit his shoulder, “be nice.”

Maki chuckled. “He does have a point, Farren could have left the moment he was healthy.”

Farren left Rose and went to Maki, rubbing against his legs in a show of affection.

Maki smiled. “I hope he doesn’t leave when we get him back to normal.”

Maki settled into a chair, flipping through the pages of one of the thick, worn tomes he’d brought. The scent of old parchment permeated the air, mixing with the quiet flicker of the lanterns overhead. His expression hardened as he skimmed through the text, then finally, he exhaled.  

“There’s not much recorded on curses like his,” Maki admitted, tapping a passage in one of the books. “But from what I can piece together, this isn’t just a transformation—it’s binding.His wolf form isn’t a temporary state; it’s meant to be permanent.”  

Rose furrowed her brows. “So he was never supposed to change back?”  

Maki nodded. “Whoever did this to him didn’t just alter his form. They erased the possibility of being himself altogether.”  

Farren stiffened, shifting his weight uneasily. His ears drooped slightly, tail brushing against the floor as if trying to process the weight of Maki’s words.  

Oscar frowned, leaning forward. “Alright, but there has to be a way to undo it. Nothing’s ever truly permanent when it comes to magic.”  

“That’s the problem.” Maki closed the book and sighed, gaze lowering to Farren. “There’s mention of reversing it—but it’s dangerous. The few accounts written about this kind of curse suggest that breaking it could damage him permanently. It might not even work.”  

Rose’s fingers curled against the fabric of her sleeve as she looked at Farren. “Then we need to find out who did this to him.”  

Farren stepped closer to Maki, pressing his head lightly against Maki’s side. The warmth of the gesture wasn’t lost on anyone.  

Maki placed a hand on Farren’s back, his voice quiet. “Whatever happens, I won’t let you go through this alone.”

Rose pondered for several minutes before speaking up “Some of the people on our list are in this town, me and Indigo met them. Three of them are wolves, I believe they can help. They’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

Farren barked happily and licked Maki’s face. Maki chuckled before rough housing with Farren.

Rose yawned. “I’m going to head to bed, see you all tomorrow morning.”

Oscar nodded. “Good night!” He broke into a hum as he sprinted up the steps

Now it was just Maki, Farren, and several ancient books.

Maki moved to the couch and laid back, looking at the ceiling and frowning. “You know what I’d do for you, Ren.”

Farren jumped on the couch and laid with his head on maki’s groin “I know. And I’m glad. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me.” His thoughts were clear for Maki to hear.

Maki pet his head gently. “So, are you really planning to run off once you’re normal?”

Farren whined. “No, I will stay with you.”

Maki smiled before sitting up, “good. Now let’s find somewhere to stay for the night. How about the inn we saw on our way in?”

Farren barked before jumping off the couch.

Maki chuckled, stretching his arms before standing up. “Alright then, let’s get moving.” He stacked the books neatly on the table, glancing at the open pages one last time before shutting them. The answers they needed would come soon enough—but for now, they needed rest.  

Farren padded over to the door, tail flicking in anticipation. He was already picturing a warm place to sleep, maybe even a proper meal—something beyond the dried rations and whatever scraps they had managed to scavenge.  

Maki grabbed his cloak and slung it over his shoulders, shooting Farren a sideways glance. “You know, once you’re back to normal, you’ll actually have to sleep in a bed like a regular person. No more curling up in front of the fire.”  

Farren huffed, giving Maki a playful nudge with his muzzle before pushing the door open.  

The cool night air greeted them, stars stretching across the sky in quiet brilliance. The streets were mostly empty now, the hum of the city fading into the distance as they made their way toward the inn.  

For the first time in a long time, Farren felt like something was truly about to change. 

And for once—it didn’t scare him.