Chapter 2
The creature inside the habitat happens to be a Greater Barrghest, a magical creature which in its lesser form can devour the body of its prey to evolve. This one in particular has been treated by the man outside the habitat for the past two years on a monthly basis until finally something drastic happened. Ever since then it has been feeling the familiar ache to feed return, even greater than when it was younger.
The Barrghest shrouds itself in magic, causing its form to dissolve away into the unseen. Rendered completely invisible through its magic, it hunkers down near the tree's and watches the man carrying the cage to the edge of its habitat.
'Aurelius really needs to get out more. Keeping me locked in here for the past two years has not been a pleasant experience. If i were one to hold a grudge then he would be dead already. I cannot count the number of times that he has thought me sleeping and forgot to seal the habitat.' The Barrghest thinks to itself before being pulled away from its thoughts to witness the arrival of a new creature.
The feral dog stops barking now that it has been removed from its cage, but it now rushes back and forth through the habitat snapping wildly at whatever catches it eye. The Barrghest keeps a close eye on the creature, keeping hidden, while tracking its movements to determine if there is any intelligence left in the ravenous beast.
As much as he wanted to think that Aurelius could be taken down easily enough, that was not the case. Three times had he broken confinement, and three times he wound up sedated and returned to the habitat. The magic Aurelius wielded was too great for him to overcome, and so he had resigned himself to remaining here and learning what he could from the powerful mage.
The more he communicated with the mage, the better he was treated. If it weren't for the language barrier then he would have held much deeper conversation with him, but sadly enough he did not speak any of the languages that Aurelius did. This too was something that he resigned himself to learning over time.
The Barrghest shed his previous name, as it had been bestowed upon him by the lesser goblins that had worshiped him in the years past. Now he was something greater, but still had no name to go by.
He moves from the treeline, calling upon the innate magic that flows through his veins to float upwards and out of reach of the feral dog. Stalking is second nature to him, as hunting has been more than necessary for the years leading up to his capture. Now that he had the opportunity to once again hunt, he would not pass up this opportunity.
He is already larger than the feral dog, but to ensure his victory he causes the magic within him to swell up once more and fortify his body to double his strength. Next he causes his form to enlarge even more, nearly doubling his size and causing his paws to become at least half the size of this creatures body.
The Barrghest begins hovering over top of the feral dog, waiting to time his first strike to a point when it was fading back into view. He did not know what kind of magic the animal had, but he would not take any chances.
Suddenly he drops from ceiling of the habitat and swipes down with his powerful claw, the strike connecting as he had anticipated. The loud crunch of broken bones sounds out, but it does not deter the feral dog. It quickly vanishes from beneath his paw, appearing above him and biting down on his shoulder.
'Teleportation... I'll need to heighten my reflexes top keep this from turning into a battle of attrition.' The Barrghest thinks to itself before swiping at the feral dog. Before the strike lands, it vanishes and appears a short distance away, running around wildly before honing back in on him.
Outside of the habitat Aurelius holds a small crystal ball in his hand to record the battle with a custom spell that he had developed years ago before he finished his tutelage. He gazes upon the struggle with keen eyes, judging each of the barrghest's actions with wisdom well beyond his years.
Inside the habitat the feral dog is now struggling to land another bite on the barrghest, blinking back and forth, in and out of striking distance. Coupled with its innate ability to fade in and out of this plane of existence, it is proving to be a tricky fight for the barrghest to end.
After another few moments of the dog blinking back and forth, the barrghest vanishes from sight. This causes the dog to viciously snap at the space where its opponent had just been positioned. Suddenly sparks begin to radiate in mass at the top of the habitat. Aurelius only manages to see them because of his innate ability to sense magic, the lighting of the habitat almost perfectly shrouds the presence of these sparks.
Very quickly the sparks build into full blown lightning and pepper the ground where the feral dog stands. This lightning storm rages for a few moments, revealing the hovering barrghest near the ceiling.
The dust begins to settle, revealing the feral dog near deaths door. Electricity flowing through its body and causing a momentary lapse of motor function. The barrghest uses this split second to vanish from its space and appear in front of the dog to swipe down with a powerful blow.
The strike lands and takes the life of the feral dog. As promised, Aurelius magic flows over the beast and cleanses it of whatever affliction had caused it to become feral. At which time the barrghest begins devouring the body of its fallen prey.
"To think that you had this much innate magic all this time. You are truly a brilliant creature. Teleportation, levitation, size alteration, and now the elemental electricity. You will surely become a force to be reckoned with." Aurelius observes aloud, recording into the crystal ball before casting a secondary spell to cut the live feed. He did not need to record the creature feeding, as he already knew that after this meal it would be going into deep hibernation for the next month while its form began to change.
"Hopefully you can pick up on some of the words to my language while you sleep. I would very much like to communicate with you once you awaken. My child..." Aurelius smiles at the barrghest as it climbs back to the top of the mound and closes its eyes.