Eleff

The armband came in a small box wrapped with a bow. It came with a little note too, which merely said "wear with care" in an ornate script.

Eleff watched the firelight dance off the sapphire crystal with fascination before he slipped the cuff onto his right arm. He blinked slowly as he felt the cool metal shrink until it was tightly embedded into his hide, and he shook his arm out slightly but it didn't seem to be causing him any trouble moving it. Eleff shrugged the whole thing off as nothing but his imagination before getting back to his work mending the pile of fishing nets as he listened to the various stories being traded over the fire and watching the younglings as they tried to bargain for a few more hours before they had to go to bed.

Days turned into a week, and Eleff slowly grew restless. He'd always been fine with the same tasks day after day, but now he felt frustrated when faced with heading to the docks to retrieve a share of the catch. He considered taking a long flight to clear his head, but found himself gritting his teeth and digging his claws into the turf. What he wanted was to fight. He wanted to dig his claws into soft flesh and rip... Eleff stopped as a thrill of shock shot up his spine and he shook his head to clear it. He wasn't a fighter, and he had never wanted to have anything to do with the less peaceful parts of surviving before.

Eleff focused on keeping himself calm and kept himself busy. For another few days it worked, but eventually the restlessness grew too much. He found himself pacing outside. He wanted to go into the woods and find a fight. He wanted blood and screams and death. He wanted to feel the body of his enemy go cold. Like he was so very cold. Eleff paced at the edge of the woods for a few more minutes before he gave in and started into the dark of the forest.

Eleff let the world slip away from him as he walked, falling inside where the cold was growing wilder and stronger. A dark grin started to grow across his face as frost started to spread across his hide, his slow, shallow breath showing in the air with little puffs of frozen clouds as he prowled absently. His hunger would be sated tonight, and then the cold could grow once more...