Story commission from  AxiomTF - cover art by me. Puro is from  DrDragontim's CHANGED

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Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. This was the repetitive sound that kept Isabella up - the subtle, but incessant ticking of the clock beside their bed. It was something most would unconsciously ignore at three o’clock at night, their minds filtering this background noise out, and usually so too would Isabella, though there was something else keeping her wide awake. It wasn’t the clock – they’d be a very light sleeper indeed if something so quiet prevented them from drifting off, but rather it was something their mind was focusing on instead of the noises they’d been hearing downstairs – this being the true cause of their insomnia. Isabella had the unshakeable feeling that they weren’t alone. As if there was an invited guest in their house… waiting for them.

Everything just seemed… off. To them, they could feel it in their gut, as their eyes scanned around the edges of the dark room. Moonlight seeped through the drawn blinds, illuminating the room ever so slightly in a milky, dim light – just enough for the fey dragon to see the outlines of the furniture placed around the room, and the many decorations upon the walls. Something had to be done about this, as at this rate they’d never get any sleep, they conclude internally. Besides, this noise was probably just their imagination, and by conducting a quick investigation, their active mind could be satiated by knowing the noises weren’t any cause for concern. With a short sigh, they abruptly grab the edges of their duvet and throw it off of them, the thick bed coverings falling into a heap that hung off of the bed and draped down messily onto the floor, as Isabella swung their legs around to the side. The carpet felt cool underneath their bare feet, as they got up and made their way over to the bedroom door, before stopping in that spot.

Once again, they felt that uneasy sense of foreboding, though it was considerably stronger now, as if leaving their warm, cosy bed had made them more vulnerable somehow. Isabella knew that this silly notion was childish, and this feeling they had was most likely their mind playing a cruel trick on them, though by that same token, the feeling still remained. Taking a deep breath, they pushed the door open, as it slowly swung out, making a soft creaking noise in the process. It was shortly after this moment when a noise rang out, sending a shiver down Isabella’s spine. It sounded as if something had fallen to the ground below!

Trying to be stealthy, it felt as if every footstep and breath they took was multitudes louder than it was in actuality; they believed that it was imperative that they didn’t alert anyone, or anything, in the house. They dared not to turn on the lights, wanting to remain hidden in the shadows as they walked down the upstairs hallway towards the landing of the stairs. That’s when a much similar noise rang out from below once more – the distinct sound of glass breaking. “Hello?” they called out, almost instantly regretting doing so as any element of surprise they had before was stripped away from them. They cursed their own carelessness, and no reply came back to them unsurprisingly, as Isabella then went down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. They felt as if this had to be the location of the noise – perhaps an intruder had knocked over some plates? Or maybe had broken through the window?

The blinds were shut down here, allowing absolutely no light into the room as Isabella just stared into the darkness. They had no idea whatsoever what would be found in here, as their hand fumbled around before touching the wall, searching for the light switch. Isabella continues to scan the room, trying to penetrate the darkness. The tip of their index finger contacted the switch, as with a simple click, the kitchen is immediately illuminated in a sterile, white light. The instantaneous brightness caused Isabella to grimace slightly, gritting their teeth whilst shutting their eyes tightly for a few seconds until they began to adjust to it. Now with sufficient visibility, Isabella could see what had transpired to make the unpleasant noises that they had been hearing. A glass lay on the tiled floor, broken into many small shards, whilst a colander had been dropped from an open cabinet above the dishwasher.

However, there was no one here to have caused this, it seemed. “Hello? Is anyone in here?” Isabella asked, pivoting their head around as in the corner of the room, something moved. Remaining in silence for a little while longer, Isabella prepared to leave, feeling a little calmer thinking that there was no one in their house, though still feeling confused as to what has caused that disturbance moments ago. Perhaps it could have been a strong draft? Or maybe they had simply not securely stored their glasses properly last night. Then suddenly, something caught their eye – something reflecting in the light in a darker corner of the room. It look like some strange, featureless blob? How could that be? Sensing that it could be dangerous however, they backed up from it sharply, but by this time it was already too late.

The inky mass lunged at them; fear was the only expression that could’ve been read upon their face as they took a step backwards, getting ready to run away before the entity splattered against their face and clung to it before they could even turn around. The impact made them stubble a bit, a shocked cry for help getting muffled by the blob as Isabella starts to grab it with both hands, frantically pulling. This only exacerbated the problem however, as the entity clung to their hands too, two new sections separating from the original dark mass onto each of the fey dragon’s hands, as it slowly began to coat them like living, inky gloves. Isabella started to shake their hands and arms, as if they were doing a shoddy imitation of a bird flapping its wings, whilst their cries still remained muffled.

The blackness spread down their arms, as they could feel mounting pressure coming from across their head; the blob there was simultaneously beginning to spread down past their neck and onto their torso. Once more, Isabella attempted to remove this thing off of them, though their totally coated hands just wiped ineffectively against her head, sliding away. Meanwhile, significant changes had started to occur as the goo had now begun to become part of Isabella, not just a cover over their skin. The goo seemed to seep into their flesh – not in a painful manor, but certainly not in a pleasant one either. The sensation that then ensued was almost paradoxical in nature; Isabella’s internals felt as if they were on fire with an icy sting, as the invasive, alien substance that had entered them transformed Isabella from the inside out. Their organs were warped in strange, alien ways as their very internal makeup was mutated into whatever the attacker desired.

The speed of the black goo continuing to coat them picked up in speed, and before long they had become completely hidden underneath it. Now a walking pile of goo, Isabella found it increasingly hard to move around and think, as if this thing was sapping them of all of their strength and willpower. Two mounds of goop started to compile upon the top of their head, resembling small horns for a while until their size multiplied tenfold. Sluggishly, they eventually formed into two ears that one could recognise as belonging to some kind of wolf, as what looked like thick strands of fur emerged out of the smooth, tar-like goop. Concurrently, the area around the front of their head started to shift, get lighter and lighter as the black goop turned to grey, and then to white. Though not quite as morbid, it was as if their skull had become exposed - poking out of their face whilst their snout remained in its place, though now featureless and plain. Isabella brought their hand up to it, feeling its smooth, hard surface with the changed hand, which had now begun to develop fur like around the ears upon their new head.

The fur began to form all over their form, altering their physique rather dramatically as this new black coat was thick and lengthy – at least now Isabella certainly wouldn’t have any issues in cold weather, looking on the bright side. They run their still gloopy hand through it, the fur sticking to it slightly as the frosty fire pain inside of them finally drew to a welcomed end – whatever was going on in there had seemingly come to a close.

Then, after being sealed away in total darkness during this whole ordeal, their sight finally began to return as a new pair of plain, white eyes emerged from their alien-looking face. It wasn’t an instantaneous process however, as from total blackness came blobs of colour and light – it was as if their eyes were an unfocused camera, not picking up any detail in their environment other than the basic shapes of kitchen counters and cupboards. These muddled blurs slowly started to come into focus as the seconds passed by, whilst Isabella’s body, now covered in messy, thick fur, started to feel so oddly natural to them.

It was so hard to focus for them now – on the transformation, on the events that led up to it, or on anything at all for that matter. Their brain felt as muddled as their sight was, as their tailbone began to extend outwards, commencing the final stage of their physical transformation. It grew bushy as it extended to a rather impressive size, being approximately four feet long as Isabella waved it around with ease. Though now that they thought about it… was Isabella their name? They honestly couldn’t be sure at this point, as they scanned the unfamiliar room they found themselves in. Not a single concreate thought could be constructed in their mind, as unbeknownst to them, and entirely new identity had begun to form. Old memories got tossed aside, as a studious, curious, and compassionate personality developed in their brain.

Isabella had ceased to be at this point, washed away into the black goo as Puro took their place for the time being. They felt as if there was a reason they were here too - in this place specifically. They knew that they had to help humans to survive against anyone wishing to do harm… that was their purpose, right? They saw no other alternative, as with Isabella’s conscious locked away, Puro set out, hoping to find someone they could help stop from suffering a rather gooey fate.