My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives

Rex's form was obvious to the unterrified mind. He was a panther. Feline. He had curled retractable claws. Under the jungle sunlight, his dark fur had spots like a Jaguar. He also had semi-sabered fangs and slitted eyes for night vision.

Anyone could guess quite easily what he was. The same couldn't be said for the beast standing across from him.

It was massive. Shaggy short dark fur covered it from head to toe beneath a rainproof cloak that didn't hang past its hands or legs. Beneath the hood, Rex could make out a long bulky snout, sharp floppy ears and yellow eyes.

He guessed bear.

But bears don't bark.

Or howl.

"You may call me Remulus."

"The Wolf-Totem Awakener." Rex finished.

"Canine-Totem. My father favored the wolf. I favor function." Remulus corrected.

"The hell does that mean?" Rex asked.

Remulus turned his head like a confused hound, "It seems you have quite a bit to learn about us."

"Something like that."

"Mhm….." Remulus sniffed and smiled, revealing his thick canines and black gums, "You Panthers are always so standoffish. The bird always needed a flock. The fish wants her school. But the Panther….. you lot always go solo."

"It's easy when the person— monster, trying to chat it up just offered to murder you for the sake of compliance." Rex said sarcastically as he tried to flex his leg muscles until the shakes would leave them. He'd faced a god and fought back. But this was undeniably more real. The smells. The sounds. The fact that he somehow got past the turrets and jungle-monkeys to reach Rex. Pure horror behind every thought.

"It was a joke!" Remulus barked.

"You can't make jokes looking like that." Rex replied.

"Way to put me in a box….. no pun intended." Remulus replied.

"A pun. A eight foot tall dog-man is doing a comedy set like he didn't just hit my whole platoon with audial narcotics and rip my barracks door off the hinges." Rex marveled at the context of the situation, "

"Rex…."

"How do you know my name?" Rex's fur around his shoulders and back bristled.

"I have good ears."

"Do you have good health insurance?" Rex asked.

Remulus' fist clenched with so much force the air around it popped— causing Rex to hiss, then he let go, "What do you mean?"

"...You broke into a Drift-Soldier base. What's your plan here? Threaten me and make a couple jokes?" Rex asked.

"I'm here to offer you a chance." Remulus explained.

"A chance…?"

"You're a shapeshifter, Rex. A beast-god. In a world of man versus monster, you walk a tightrope running between a rock and a hard place. In such precarious circumstances, it would be nice to have the help of others, wouldn't it?"

"You mean the other Totem-Awakeners?" Rex followed.

Remulus nodded.

"Are they here? You guys are friends?" It didn't sound right to Rex. Where he was from, powerhouses— crimelords, shareholders rarely were true friends. The type of power they had was corrupting and corrosive. Even in children's books, gods hated other gods.

"We're allies— sharing a coming goal. Combining our powers to bring about a newer world."

"Oh great. The wolf god is a megalomaniac." Rex thought.

Remulus pointed out the ripped out door, "Come, I'll show you."

Rex didn't move an inch. "Sure, you already got past the turrets and jungle monkeys. But if I stay here, eventually they'll wake up or I'll at least have meat shields. Sorry guys."

"You won't follow will you, kitty?"

Rex shook his head slo—

Remulus moved like a bullet train. A blur of mass and unbreakable hardness. He smashed into Rex before he could even think to react.

Before he knew it, they were on the move.

"You'll have to trust me, kitty!" Remulus said as he ran so fast the sound barrier broke, deafening Rex in a blast of spinning wind and vacuumed air.

"Fuck trust." Rex opened his jaws. His venomous saliva had been coating his fangs since he first transformed.

Remulus spared a glance at him as he held him by the arm. For a flicker of a millisecond, true terror magnified the yellow amber glow of them.

Rex took the opprotunity and let his jungle fire burn.

It erupted like a flashbang. A burst of heat and violet light.

It was gone just as fast due to how fast they moved.

He didn't let the failure stop him. With his arm still held by Remulus, he pulled himself into the werecanine and bit down on his neck.

Remulus yelped and they tumbled. Considering how fast they ran, the tumble was near deadly on its own.

After a mile, Rex rolled to a stop covered in foliage and fresh wounds that split his silky fur a dozen ways. He didn't let those stop him either.

He pushed his claws out even further and licked the werecanine blood off his fangs. His transformation came to fruition further than it ever had. He could feel his senses change. His strength climb. It hurt— to feel his bones stretch and tendons fortify. It was both draining and euphoric.

[Predator's Frenzy: 50%]

He snarled at the big shape in the shadows.

A pair of massive pawed hands flew up.

"Wait!" He yelled before punching a whole through a tree in a sudden rage "God dammit— RNMNNGH! You will wait!"

Rex watched the beast struggle. He snarled and barked and dug into punched earth before getting some sort of a grip.

"Look…." He pointed to the left.

Rex followed his clawed finger hesitantly and found a cliffs edge a few feet away. At the bottom a clearing built around a pond was etched into the jungle spread.

Flowers bloomed and creatures of all kinds sipped from the blue pool.

Among them were three cloaked figures. Hidden, just like Remulus, only pieces shown.

On one, he saw clawed feet like a dinosaur. The back of its cloak fluttered and feathers fell into the grass.

On another, he saw a hand reaching for the pond. Iridescent scales and webbed fingers reflected the glow-flowers and starlight above.

The last was literally sitting like a frog. Didn't take a genius to guess that one.

"They're here…."

"Hear us out, Rex. This world is a cruel one. I'm sure you know all about that, though. Isn't it true the Werepanther totem tends to be found by strays?"

"It is."

"Well, who's to say you have to be that way forever? C'mon."

Rex followed.

As he did, he let small embers of jungle fire fall from his hidden hand and begin burning in the grass in their wake.