Roars and bellows rebounded off the trees, the struggling of the two combatants tore great gouges in the earth of the Everfree Forest. Ben hung on for dear life as the golden lion bucked and rolled, coiled and spasmed. He held tight, but the grip around its neck was faltering. Shouting again, the minotaur attempted to adjust his position.
Seconds later, he found himself rolling across the ground, his body sent bouncing along the ground by the beast. As his body came to a jarring stop against the trunk of a tree, his conscience blinking briefly as his head slammed into the trunk. Breath rushed out of his lungs, his already bruised ribs bending with an agonizing creak. Ben groaned, trying to lift himself off the ground. His newfound friends needed him, damnit all!
As the minotaur groaned and attempted to rise, the lion had turned its attention back to the other members of the party. It tore through magical vines, and almost killed a pegasus that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It weathered a hail of ice, an alchemical explosion and even a sword. Roaring all the while, it seemed its rampage would continue.
Bellowing, huffing like a bull, the minotaur latched onto the beasts back. He had it this time, he knew it. The feeling of the beasts carotid under his forearm, the rapid pulse of the creatures heartbeat, told him so. The grip tightened, and slowly the mighty roars became soft gasps, then bubbling breaths. Ben could hardly breathe himself, and his vision was already growing darker around the edges as he pushed his battered body to perform the feat.
Passing out, all the minotaur could do was keep his body rigid.
When he came to, the thing felt cold in his hands. But Ben wasn't about to ease up, not yet. This thing had proven to have a toughness streak a mile long.
"Is it dead? Guys?" Looking around, he could see the others were too busy looking at their own wounds to see his predicament. The biped couldn't feel his arms.
Ben scratched idly at the mane atop his head, his hand gradually moving towards his right horn. He gripped it lightly, sliding his hand to its top. Even after all this time, it felt odd, having these two bony structures jutting out of his head. His body itself was still foreign, the dark blue contours fading into a light grey, the soft fur on his upper body giving way to the denser hairs on his horse legs. He could feel the power in his muscles, something he hadn't felt at all in his former life. Ben remembered running, jumping up into the highest branches of a tree. The exhilaration! The sheer excitement at using such a powerful body!
But it wasn't his. Was it?
He'd kept his human memories. From back before he'd been transported to this odd place, with its pony inhabitants. He remembered, vaguely, what he used to look like. Ben hadn't seen his human face in over a month. He feared he was already forgetting himself. The odd texture of this minotaur body was far too alien, and Ben knew he wasn't going to get used to it anytime soon.
The rock the biped lay on was warm in the rays of the sunset, and he shifted his weight as he continued to ponder. Questions came unbidden, but wholly welcomed, to his curious mind. What will become of me? What am I doing here? How do I get back?
Do I want to go back?
Things had been dangerous in this new world. The crazy, fire-eyed mares that had attacked his companions, the massive golden lion he'd had to strangle. But still, there was that same feeling of excitement that came with being in this different body. When he'd been human, there would never have been a chance to do something that daring! That explosive surge of power as he'd squeezed the life from the beast had temporarily banished his weariness at the time. However...
Why did he so rejoice in the death of such a wondrous beast? Was that human, or something altogether more animalistic? Shaking his head, the minotaur felt the weight of his horns. Getting used to this body had proved surprisingly easy. Ben hopped off the rock, heading back towards the campsite where his group was situated. He hoped that finding the answers to his questions would be just as easy.