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valiantvivian

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Deep in the bowls of the night and forest, ruled by the powerfully marvelous Artemis, lived Serenula the lonesome nymph. She was the loneliest of nymphs with hair as silver as the moon and eyes as purple as a Mirabilis Jalapa itself, one the most beautiful night flowers. She was an animal herself in nature. Born from the fallen blood of King Leonidas; just after birth she felt a strong connection with all the animals of the forest, especially wolves.

Her only source of comfort came from her loving pet Angtrean; wolf in form but with the mind and potential of a god himself. Dark thick fur framed the creature from head to tail and his piercing yellow eyes made humans stop and stare in fear. They ran and hunted in the night together, such was this sort of rout odd but formally it seemed right to Serenula. Her love for Angtrean was so great that she cut off contact with humans and other gods as much as possible except for Artemis. Serenula loved Artemis as much as Angtrea. She worshipped the goddess of night and hunt Artemis and saw the others as insignificant.

Those thoughts however caught the attention of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. It angered her that she would even be considered second best, to any human let alone nymph, to Artemis. She visited Serenula in the dark hollow of her den one moonlit evening. “Serenula.” She lured the nymph with her hypnotic voice from the safety of her den into the night, “I have a gift for you, Serenula.” Intrigued that the goddess of love had come all this way from Olympus she came to greet Aphrodite into her den with open arms. The goddess gave her a special gift but with every gift comes pain, especially one given in revenge.

She gave Serenula the chance to become what she always longed for. The opportunity to live along side Angtrean the way she wished. Serenula accepted the gift but Aphrodite made one point quite clear. “Serenula your gift is double edged like a blade. If Angtrean doesn’t accept your love at first site of your new form you must remain a dog for the remainder of your life and never again shall you worship Artemis.” Serenula agreed.

She knelt down on all fours and arched her back. Serenula’s bones creaked and her body twisted with the change. Her clothes ripped at there seems and fell to the ground around her. Naked; hair extended from every pore in her body. It covered her face, arms, and legs in dark fur. She felt the slight pain, more of a tingle now, of her jaw extending and breaking. Serenula shook her head and her inhuman eyes shown bright gold in the moonlight.

Joyous and gleeful, Serenula went in search for Angtrean. Who for the time being had been off hunting for the both of them. When Serenula knelt in the bush just feet from Angtrean she felt flutters of love tingle her every pore. She jumped onto the same path as Angtrean; only to scare him. He ran from her in fear and hid when she gave chase for her love. Aphrodite loved the site of Serenula not catching him. She crashed the earth from the sky and stopped Serenula from continuing. “Angtrean hasn’t accepted your love and therefore you must remain a dog for the remainder of your years.” Aphrodite smugly grinned and snapped her fingers. “There it shall be.” She left with that and never returned to the part of the forest ever again, knowing for sure that she had done her job.

What Aphrodite didn’t realize is that the crash of earth had cause Angtrean to return for fear of Serenula. He hid in the bushes watching and listening. When the knowledge of Serenula’s new form reached him he was pleased and grateful for Aphrodite’s stupidity. He licked the lonely Serenula on her mug and grew to love her new form just as he had her last. They remained happy for the remainder of their lives and had pups that were half dog and half wolf. This is why coyotes are now in existence. When lost and helpless, look to the sky and see the lonesome coyote sitting on the mountains edge howling at the sky for it’s new lover just as his parent before.