The first thought that occurred to her as she awoke was that the cold water had weakened her enough that she had gotten the flu. Her joints and muscles ached like nothing she had ever felt before. It could not have been from the rough ground, the elven mats that they had been given were as fine as an air mattress. The morning had dawned and the sun had risen, and she was stiff and aching.

Darvi approached her. "Are you gonna be joinin' us today milady? The day is getting on." She groaned, and tried to sit up and felt a wave of nausea rush over her, right back down she went.

"I'm sorry Darvi, but I don't think I will. I don't know what you call it here, but I think it's the flu. You take charge, eh? Take them as far south as you can, see if ya can't find the riders or what's left of 'em." Katie paused to catch her breath. "Leave my equipment; I'll put Bindi to good use and catch up to you in a day or two."

"Yah. You rest up and get better." Darvi patted his boss on the shoulder and turned to Fëanor and Pippin. "Right then! Let's move out!" The three bid their farewells and Katie gave them a weak smile and farewell salute.

As the day wore on into the late afternoon, the aching seemed to have subsided a bit. She had not eaten since last night, but her intestines rebelled violently against anything that passed her lips. To add to her discomfort, she felt a dull itching under the skin. It was most intense under her arms, her scalp, around her chest and shoulders and running down between her legs, but it seemed to be everywhere. Katie considered bathing in the cold water to rid herself of the sensation, but she didn't want to risk further infection.

She had never even had the flu before, but she had no idea that it could be so uncomfortable. Even Bindi seemed upset, the horse pulled away as much as possible whenever Katie approached.

"Oh come on! I'm just trying to feed you, you stupid nag!"

The sun dipped below the horizon, and Katie thought she should again try to get some food down. Her insides rebelled, but Katie's stomach was growling noisily, she was painfully hungry.

As she fumbled through the pack to get some way bread, Katie felt a wave of heat pass over her. She moaned – then gasped as the heat returned and increased steadily.

"God!"

Perspiration broke out as the heat intensified. She pulled off her clothes to get some relief. Katie shuddered involuntarily. An odd crackling hiss started in her ears. She shook her head to get rid of the sound, but it only increased. The itching became a fiery tingling – and she when happened to look down at herself, her eyes filled with tears.

Patches of coarse black hair had appeared on her body. And they were growing, the hairs twisting out of follicles and seemingly fighting for space. The dark patches under her arms and below her abdomen were sprouting wildly and quickly spreading. The black wedge haircut that she loved and treasured as long as she could remember blossomed into a wild shaggy mop.

Realization and fear like she never known possible hit her like a freight train and Katie screamed in panic.

She was crying now, begging for deliverance and feeling shame and humiliation as she felt her even white teeth pushing out into the fangs of an animal. Not so much out of pain or fear at what she knew she was becoming but of how her life might be altered. To her added shame, she knew it was all her fault. Facetious or not, she knew she had asked for the curse. You knew it was a curse, you damned fool – and now it would be hers. Forever

The raging heat increased to the point that it seemed as if her bones had been replaced with bars of molten steel. She felt her pelvic bone crack and shift painfully and Katie found herself forced to her knees, sobbing like a child. The patches of wiry hair spread all over her and began thickening, with a dense undercoat now forming as well. The heat intensified and pressure pounded in her legs as muscles began swelling with a sickening soft wet crackling.

"Please…no, please!" She went down on her elbows, watching the hairs tickling her forearms as her fur grew in – then hot pressure in her fingers and toes, followed by electric bolts of pain in her hands as dark claws pushed out, shattering her nails. She screamed in pain, then in horror as she watched her hands stretch and mold into her forelegs and paws. Her shoulders reformed, making her stance properly quadruped.

Katie rolled over onto her back and saw that she was now completely covered in shaggy black fur, streaked with grey and silver and getting thicker. Further agony seized her as her spine popped and lengthened and she saw her fully canine hindquarters push away from her, her bones snapping and grinding. Her chest now barreled out to suit her new form and she screamed again and as she did, heard her voice deepen into a bellowing growl.

Her face began tingling, and she moaned in shamed resignation as fluffy black fur blossomed all over her face. Pressure began building in her head; she readied herself. Her jaw and nose pushed out, her mouth filling with razor sharp teeth, as her ears and bushy tail sprouted. An intense desire for raw meat seized her and she howled. As she did so, Katie felt her rage building and her intelligence dwindling away.

Not all of it though, she retained just enough awareness to be tormented by what she was, compared to what she had been. Horror and sadness overwhelmed her, as she felt compelled to turn on Bindi. The proud bay screamed as the massive black wolf pounced on her and bit down hard on her spine. Katie tore into her horse, relishing the taste of the warm meat, all while loathing herself for what she was doing.

Even after devouring the flesh of an entire horse, Katie still felt intense hunger. She sniffed the air, searching for something that might register as food. Her powerful nose picked up something to the north and she headed back, strong leg muscles propelling her into the night under a very nearly full moon.

A deer and a fox succumbed to the werewolf, and Katie went back to the river to drink. While for the most part her thinking had been reduced to simple monosyllables and images, she did have moments of lucidity. As she leaned over the water to drink, she saw herself.

Oh my God!

There was no way anyone would mistake her for an ordinary wolf or warg, not with eight three-inch long fangs protruding even with her jaw closed. Her eyes glowed with an unholy scarlet light. Shaken, she drank deeply, howled, then ran as quickly as she could, away from the water.

Until she was exhausted.

"Do we press on, Darvi?" asked Pippin.

"Yes, I think we do, lad. Through the rest of the day and tomorrow in any case. Then we turn back until we find Miss Katie.

"Do you think she's all right?"

"I can't give an honest answer to that, Fëanor. I was noticing that she seemed a bit peaked the afternoon before she asked to stay behind. Didn't think to check to see if she had fever, but I'll not question her judgment."

"What's the terrain like up ahead, Fëanor?" The elf pulled out the map and showed Pippin the area after the Angle.

"I figure that we're a little more than a third of the way to Tharbad counting from the point where you and Katie…crossed. I've not been this way before, but I expect that the land will be getting wetter, and probably softer. The ground in Swanfleet, what we call Nîn-in-Eilph, is said to be particularly treacherous."

"Quicksands?"

"Or bogs and mires. You'll want to follow behind Pip and I, Master Darvi."

Darvi nodded at the young elf's wisdom. While Pip and Fëanor would simply float if they didn't panic, his own body density would possibly cause him to keep sinking.

"Right, well in any case, let's keep movin'. Remember why we're here, lads, now keep yer eyes on the river!"

Katie gasped, sitting upright. It was daytime, and she was back in her human form. The sun was just peaking out over the trees to the east. Her stomach growled from hunger.

Despite herself, she chuckled. Yeah, I was hungry enough to eat a horse, followed by a deer and fox hors d'oeuvres.

Wait a minute, did she cross the river without realizing it? She was trying to work this out while she went over to the water to wash herself off. Katie dreaded reentering the cold water and she cursed herself for not sleeping in a spot that was less muddy

She wasn't in the water long, just enough to remove the caked on dirt, at least she would have the day to dry off and see about finding or fashioning some clothes. As she left the water, shivering, the realization dawned on her that it wasn't dawn at all but early evening. In her exhaustion, she had slept through the entire day.

"Are you kidding me?"

A wave of heat passed over her.

"Oh no…" Katie moaned as her skin began itching anew.

The second time the pain was no easier than the first, in some respects, it was worse; because for whatever the reason, perhaps it was simply one of the torments of the curse, she couldn't stop herself from feeling the same shame and humiliation as she did the night before. Here she was, she prided herself on being a trained professional woman, and she could not stop herself from sobbing like a young child – as she was violently changed into a massive furry creature.

She sniffed the air and ground trying to locate some prey. She instinctively headed towards the northeast. Katie never knew that hunger could be so painful and in one of her lucid moments, she realized that it would not make a difference what crossed her path; either it or she would be dead.

She caught a scent and with growing dread, realized that it was the smell of elves…with a faint aroma of venison mixed in.

"I still think we should attempt to capture the creature. It is far too dangerous to allow to run free."

"Perhaps that is the right strategy Elim, but until Elrond tells us differently, we shall honor his commands."

"As you and he wish. Pass me the, dear Theril"

An unearthly howl shattered the early night.

"…was that a warg, Theril?"

Theril took a deep breath. "That sounds like no warg I have ever encountered, and you know I'm familiar with the breed." Elim unsheathed his weapon, and Theril readied his bow.

Katie padded nearly silently through the wilderness now, the scent had gotten stronger. She dared not try a frontal assault, though she knew that most weapons would have no lasting effect against her. She maintained her distance and began what one of her friends would have called a "VOR/DME arc."

Great, I'm a freakin' werewolf and I'm still thinking in aviation terms while I'm plotting to eat my allies. God, get me outta this!

Her mind clouded over and the wolf continued circling.

"Do you see it?" whispered Elim urgently.

"It's…I should." Elves could see in the dark, but could not readily distinguish colors, and Katie's streaked fur was enough to break up her profile. She managed to turn the corner, and then silently slipped behind them.

Elim turned suddenly, hearing a rustle in the bushes just north of him. Behind him, a wall of black fur and muscle tore viciously into his companion. Theril scream was cut short as the beast ripped into his throat. Elim screamed in rage and attacked, thrusting his sword into Katie's flank.

It was the last thing Elim did. Katie dropped Theril's body and pounced on the younger elf, her mass and momentum would have killed him even if her fangs hadn't.

Bindi was tasty, the deer and fox weren't bad. The meat of the elves was delicious – and again her pleasure was spoiled as the girl's human intelligence arose in the middle of her meal.

Oh please, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop… Had she been able, she would have wept. Nor would she be able to forget. But she remained hungry…

Again Katie awoke hungry just as the sun was descending, she wept bitterly as she knew she would be losing this form momentarily. She moaned as she felt the familiar sensations evolve into physical and mental anguish.

Just let me find a heard of deer, or maybe even a band of orcs. Yeah, orcs would be good. Are there any orcs on this side of the Misty Mountains – God, am I ever gonna get used to this pain!?

To her relief, she did find a fairly large herd of elk, and she launched into them with a ferocity few have ever seen. Most of them scattered, but she was able to bring down two with ease, devouring them both within the span of five minutes.

That's one of the things that really sucks about this form, she mused. I can obtain the meat, but even when it's something socially acceptable to kill, like a deer, or an orc, eh, maybe a horse, I can't really enjoy the meal because I'm so famished I can't savor the fresh luscious taste and texture of the meat and the warm taste of…"nyom-nyom-nyom-nyom-nyom…"

Of course it wasn't enough. She sniffed around some more, then caught the scent of something intriguing and headed back towards the river. Katie was all beast now, reduced to feelings and sensations. The scent she detected was frankly rank, but it was definitely meat, probably digestible, if it wasn't, it would soon be regurgitated, but the stomach of a werewolf makes that of a tiger shark seem finicky.

As she got closer to the scent, Katie's ears pricked up. Her prey obviously hadn't heard her, it was making no effort to be quiet, or perhaps it thought that it didn't need to. The words were familiar to her for some reason, but in her mental state, Katie was unable to recall them. She crouched in the dense underbrush, and waited for the song to begin again. Then she pounced.

"The rock and pool

Is nice and cool.

So juicy sweet!

Our only wish

To catch a fish!

So juicy sweet! PRECIOUSSSSSSSS!"

The creature's flesh was thin and rancid, and it was barely even a snack. She finished everything though, the bones pulverized by her powerful back jaws. The night was still young though, and instinct now compelled her to travel south.