Chapter 83: Too Clever by Half
Breath came slow and heavy, tinted with the taste of iron as he stared down at the prey before him. The desire to rend and tear, to rip and bite. It overwhelmed him as he felt a mix of blood and drool spill down his chin.
An odd feeling came from his fingers as they changed. Talons formed as his nails lengthened and--
A cracking noise made his ears ring as his head whipped around.
Paike blinked. Looking down at his normal hands. Slowly he reached up and wiped his chin with the sleeve of his robe. He felt his teeth and found them normal, though the lining behind them felt a little sharper.
"Good. Your back." Taka said as he sat back down.
Paike rolled his head from side to side. "Did you have to slap me that hard? My neck hurts."
"That was the third blow. The lighter ones didn't seem to get through," Taka said. "But you managed not to attack. Being able to hold yourself back already is impressive progress."
Paike didn't really think that he did much to hold himself back. He felt completely overwhelmed and more stunned. Locked in place by indecision rather than actually in control. Maybe that was progress; he did remember everything this time. Certainly the instincts of violence were still there. But from the little he knew about battle trances, that was the point, and he couldn't get rid of that.
"I can remember it, but I don't think I was really in control." He hedged. "But if that was supposed to make me get into the trance, why did you let me do it here? I could have hurt someone!"