Leon's skin crawled, almost unable to control his own body movements. He had to hold his arms down against his chest, his legs twitching as he gritted his canine-like teeth. He grew frustrated as she stood and started asking questions. Not now... Why couldn't she just listen to him and go to bed!? "Kid... Go to sleep!" He growled at her. He didn't mean to snap at her in all reality, but if he didn't get out of here soon, things would get very ugly.
It was when he felt his bones start to shift and his claws extend that he realized he needed to leave. Now. "Just... Don't worry about me... Ok? Nights... Are pretty rough on me." He explained vaguely, stumbling out of the room before sprinting out of the room, the door wide open as the coarse hairs began sprouting from his skin, slowly enveloping his body as his jaws stretched painfully into a muzzle, his long hair hiding this gruesome sight from view.
Due to how late it was, there was barely any light to be seen in the castle. The guards had begun to change shift, thankfully, so none were around to stop Leon out of suspicion. In record time, the man was outside, the moon just beating down on him harder as he dropped to his knees near the stable, just out of the view of the castle windows as he let his transformation naturally occur. He did his very best to muffle his agonizing screams, his body shifting as bits of armor busted off and came loose, barely resembling a human anymore as new bone formations were made, turning him into a wolfish quadruped with nasty, razor-sharp claws and jagged teeth.
His body now sported a thick, greyish black coat, his frame much, much larger than that of most wolves. A bushy tail had sprouted from his backside, his natural yellow eyes now wilder than ever and somehow even more vibrant. His transformation had clearly upset the horses in the stable, who whinnied and cried out in fear at what they had just witnessed. Leon, snarling and stumbling to his new legs, turned to the horses with a hungry look in his eyes.
Out of nowhere, the powerful creature lunged into the darkness of the stable, the horses' cries of fear and now, audible pain reverberating throughout the courtyard of the castle, which were mixed with the sounds of growls and clattering of wood. A struggle was going on, which ended with one less horse crying out, and the sounds of a hungry beast ripping into its latest meal.
The very next day, Leon woke up in a field about a mile outside the castle, fully clothed, thankfully, and not remembering the events of the night before, as per usual. Standing groggily, he began to walk back towards the castle. Entering the courtyard through a small side-door, he noticed a crowd gathered at the stable, and frowned in slight remembrance of what had occurred. It seemed to be a running theme that whenever Leon wolfed out, someone or something got hurt. He was just glad it wasn't Flordia.
Upon pushing his way through the crowd, his actions being met with offended grunts of the nobles, as well as their intense glares, he approached the front to a grizzly sight. The guards who examined the scene parted for Leon, knowing who he was and how vital he was to the king and queen. Leon's lips curled at the carnage, a small stallion, ripped open on its side, with blood and entrails spilled. From the claw marks and visceral wounds, it was clear that something had fed on it. Something big.
Edwin was kneeled near the body, shaking his head. "First assassins, now animals threatening the cavalry's best horses!" He stood, wiping his hands off with a rag as he gazed upon the horse's face. Eyes rolled back in the skull, its skin swarming with flies. "No mere wolf did this..." He looked at Leon, with less distain than he had been looking at him with, but still a good amount. "You're a mercenary. Ever seen something of this nature? Any animal could've caused these wounds?" He asked.
Leon blinked at him, looking back towards the horse as last night's events played back in small snippets, triggering a small, ashamed sigh from the merc. "A monster, I'll say that much." He gave his conclusion, pushing his way through the crowd, back towards the castle gate. It was a cloudless day, birds chirping and everything seeming nice and peaceful. However, in Leon's mind, the sky couldn't be any more gray.