Try to convince him
Daniel could tell his mind was addled by something, his lips betrayed him and he did not have the sense of fear or urgency he might have otherwise portrayed. At any other time he knew he would be dropping the car and clawing at his hair, cursing or shouting or something to get his voice back under his control. Yet here he was calm. The emotions of panic at the back of his mind seemed to be muted by something, inconsequential when compared to the reality he experienced.
Multiple times he had tried to speak plainly, yet the words that came out was not what he was trying to say. Something had to be filtering him. Perhaps the same effect that caused his transformation into a woman, among other aspects, as a means to make changing back more difficult? Or maybe he was hearing his words incorrectly, but that seemed unlikely. The man appears to have heard incoherent riddles, something to cause confusion alongside the obvious fear. He couldn’t have been speaking wrong, his vocal musculature did not change overmuch beyond the soft, rumbling tones of his new size and gender.
Most likely it was his mind, filtering itself as if on instinct. A sphinx now, when has a sphinx ever been known to speak plainly and with direct purpose? According to legends they would attack travelers on the road and demand riddles in exchange for passage. Devouring, or simply mauling all who fail to pass their tests while quietly allowing the clever to pass without harm.
The human’s form scrambled over the front seat and ducking into the back. Daniel felt his claws stabbing through the metal, the full weight of the car starting to wear on his shoulders. A kick. A shudder. The back doors open and a leg can be seen dangling for the ground. The sphinx rolls her eyes, holding the car steady in a rather deliberate effort to allow this traveler freedom. A fall, a plot, and then the driver is suddenly on the ground and running back the way he’d come. Strait down the center of the road.
‘How am I going to get anywhere with this’ Daniel thought.
“What is the place one will never reach, rushing backwards down a road with impaired speech?” was what he actually said.
Crunch. Impossible muscles grind and tear, his fur covered skin bulging with the effort. While Daniel could and did set the car down with a gentle effort, the car wasn’t exactly designed to have claws jabbing through the undercarriage. Nor was the driver-side door intended as a load bearing support structure. When the rubber wheels touched against the blacktop and he pulled his claws free, the door was noticeably ajar.
Patpatpatpatter. The driver kept running as fast as his legs could carry. Breath misting over his face in the chilled air, his clothing ruffled behind him. The air was dead and silent without the slightest breeze, even the birds and animals of the forest had chosen to still their calls. In curiosity, in fright, or by simply being absent from the roadside. The driver’s loud panting was harsh against his lungs, but his body was lean and well shaped.
Daniel rolled his eyes. Her eyes. The wings flap once, then twice, then she’s leaping into the air on thick padded feet and letting the heat of the road fill her wings. Ten feet high. Then twenty. She glides more than hovers in an effortless dive, dropping back onto the road just in front of this human. A wide saunter to turn in front of his path, eyes gazing down with such vibrant intensity.
He couldn’t let this human escape, that would just be silly. Who else was he going to talk to? He still didn’t have directions. It wasn’t like this man was going to get very far walking on foot through mostly abandoned woods, let alone woods that already have one giant monster in it. All Daniel needed was to get him to figure out the riddles, or find some way to communicate that didn’t involve sounding like a pretentious twig.
“A-aahh!” the man screams, stumbling over himself to turn back around.
‘Just listen, aright! I’m not dangerous, I’m not a monster, and you are being very silly right now. Stop running and pay attention to what I’m saying’ Daniel attempted to get across.
“Take heed traveler! What is not a monster, what is not a danger. Answer my riddle, and you shall be spared, pay homage to my words and there will be no need to flee.”
The man stops running. Not by choice mind, he’d tripped over his own feet and came stumbling onto the cement, but his crawl was close enough to a stop that it might as well count. Daniel’s words sunk in, and while this was still more than he was expecting to find the man did indeed find the ‘riddle’ worth catching onto.
“Y-you’ll let me go, right?”
“You shall be spared, and you shall answer my riddle. Attempting to run would be … dangerous.” Daniel replies. All while thinking ‘eh, close enough’
“R-right, right. Not running!” he holds his hands up and sits into a crouch. The panic evident, but he can see the state his car is in with the front door twisted off its hinge and the back door hanging open. “W-whats the riddle again?”
Daniel’s eyes flared, wanting desperately to just say what he was after and be done with this. At the same time he noticed that this man might be in for an awkward time if his car doesn’t start anymore and he’s left abandoned in the woods. Leaving him ‘alone’ might be dangerous even after directions are obtained. And it’s not like Daniel would be getting any in-depth explanation when he can barely form his questions into anything coherent.
“Answer now these questions three, what is a monster, what has become of me.” He starts. “Where is the heart, where does one start, where does one long to be.” He pauses, frowning angrily as the words just didn’t come out the way he wanted. “I walked on four legs to start, on two legs till dawn, I shall walk on three legs near the end, and shall walk my last when breath falls. What am I?”
The man blinks. Then blinks again.
“U-uh. Become of … well monsters are scary, a-and they attack people. So you did?”
The sphinx smacks a thick, padded paw against her face and groans.
“Okayokay I’ll try it here, uh … where the heart is. That has to be home right?”
“Though I care little of yours, I have failed to find mine.” Daniel replies almost instantly, the faintest grin for at least getting part of this through.
“And then uh, well I’ve heard that one before. The answer’s human right?”
Daniel beams, dropping her palms back to the ground with a grin. Her face leaning close until she’s just inches from the driver, and the man backs away in a spout of nervous fright.
“Your name I might require, tell me of home so I may retire. Long and long are the ports I seek, lost but not in waters deep.”
“Uuuhhh, right.” The driver breathes deep, shallow, and pained. One arm reaching up to scratch behind the back of his head. “There aren’t any ports here. Oceans at least a few states that direction so I guess you could fly there. What’s your name? If, uh, you aren’t going to kill me.”
“Answer the riddles, and you shall be spared.” The sphinx nods. “My name is Daniel. What is yours if you’ve prepared?”
“John? The name’s John Castin, and I’m just heading over to longport. Or at least I was until something hit my car ...”
Daniel can feel her eyes sparkling, a glance down the road, a glance down to the abnormally dented automobile, and then a glance up to the skies.
“So that’s it, three riddles right? I can go now?” The driver was already backing away.
Daniel could see him hoping to reach his car and peel off as soon as possible, but at the same time he’s heading the same direction the Sphinx was it seems. And if something went wrong he’d be out in the woods, alone. Was it best to simply leave him, or should he go through the effort of convincing this man that a giant eagle-cat-woman was a safe thing to ride?
Written by Arbon on 01 July 2016