Here's Geoffy once again! This time he's off to visit an old friend in a much older swamp. What could possibly go wrong? Hope you enjoy!

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“Mag? Mag! You out here?” Geoff called into the swamp. It had been some time since he visited this swamp but given that he was back he figured he should visit his old friend, but already the sun was setting, and darkness was enveloping the swamp. Still he knew if he found Mag that he should be okay for the night.
Geoff trudged along the muddy trails doing his best to avoid the stagnant pools filled with gods only knew what, “Come on, Mag! I need some help here!” He cried out again only to be answered by the shrieking insects of the swamp. He huffed and stopped by a dead tree and leaned against it as he panted, “This is getting out of hand. I wonder…”
He stepped around the tree so that he was centered in its lengthy shadow. Kneeling down he reached his hand down, but instead of dipping into the mud his hand melded into the shadow. He scanned along the shadow, tracing where it connected with other shadow of the swamp. Geoff pulled his hand back out cautiously, plucking the shadow of the tree gingerly and lifting it from the ground. The higher he raised the shadow the thinner it grew on the ground until it was no wider than his hand. All at once he released the shadow to let it snap back like an elastic band sending a ripple outward through the rest of the shadows that eventually disappeared from sight. Geoff rested his hand back down on the shadow, eyes darting back and forth through the shadows.
“Nothing?” He asked aloud, “No, there has to be—” He stopped midsentence as something in the distance caught his eye. A large, dark figure that had dipped behind a tree and vanished. He felt nothing through the shadows though.
Slowly he rose to his feet, watching the tree carefully. All at once his eyes grew wide and he dove to the side as what appeared to be a massive claw shot from the shadow where Geoff’s hand had been and into the bark of the tree. Geoff scrambled back desperately as he watched the claw retract back into the shadow and in its place a set of glowing red eyes peered out at him. Geoff didn’t have to think about what it could be. Every being that played in the shadows from shades to shadow dragons knew to fear them: shadowbeasts.
Geoff slowly rose to his feet, but kept himself low still as he raised his hands, “H-Hey there. E-Easy now. No need to do anything rash here, right?”
A growl sounded out behind him. He leaped to the side to dodge a set of sharp teeth that slammed shut right where his legs had been not even a second prior. Geoff’s heart threatened to burst from his chest from how hard it pounded. He held his breath refusing to break eye contact from the beast for even a moment if he could help it; so long as he could see it, he could track it. But with the sunset casting shadows throughout the swamp it was a game of survival.
“Think, Geoff! You need to last until nightfall. The shadows? No, they connect to much. To travel through them would be an easy way to its jaws. What else?” He shot a fast glance at the horizon, “Twenty minutes approximately to sundown. I might be able to outrun it then.” His eyes darted back to the shadowbeast’s which simply stared in silent fascination at Geoff.
It was then Geoff saw the shadow the beast hid in slowly start to rise, but unlike when he plucked at it the tree’s shadow wasn’t shrinking. First came the head covered in pitch darkness akin to a void, then came two claws that stepped onto the ground but did not sink into the mud. He watched in terror as the beast crawled out fully to face him directly. It stood at nearly ten feet all on all-fours, but aside from vaguely definable features like legs, a head with no muzzle or ears, and a long, thick tail it was impossible to know what form these creatures truly had.
It stepped fully into the light of the sunset seeming only mildly perturbed by the light against its so-called body. Four claws protruded from each paw and were the only parts to make any indentation on the mud below. With an unnatural elegance it walked towards Geoff who had to take two steps to match the beast’s one to keep away. A familiar hiss akin to sniffing rang out from its head. A moment later black drool dripped down from where its jaws should be. Before it even hit the ground the sunlight seemed to evaporate the drool into a shadowy mist that dispersed a moment later.
The creature let loose a low snarl that made Geoff whimper. He stared into the beast’s eyes and saw a familiar, primal hunger that he typically craved to see and satisfy. But beyond that he knew this beast wanted something more; it wanted to play with its food first. Knowing it would be too bad of an idea to not give this beast what it wanted, Geoff turned and ran as fast as he could back the way he had come.
He heard a strange series of noises from the beast behind him like a series of short, guttural grunts. Was it laughing at him? Or perhaps it was just a noise it made when it was time for it to play. Geoff didn’t care right now. It was just a matter of running, bobbing, weaving, and diving between trees. He dared not go in the water or it would slow him down, but the paths between the stagnant pools held twists and turns every chance they got. Shadowbeasts did not care about such trivial things like paths. Land, water, and air meant nothing these creatures that ran across them as if they were solid ground.
Breathing heavily he took a brief opportunity to look behind him and see the beast sprinting at him at full speed. It was much faster than him and was covering what little distance he managed to gain. “I can’t have more than ten or fifteen seconds before it catches me. But I might be able to trick it.” He made a sudden sharp turn, nearly slipping in the mud but he managed to keep his balance this time. With time lost he could hear the beast’s breathing behind him growing louder and louder until he swore he could feel it on his neck. Just a few more feet and—Geoff vanished down into the shadow of a fallen log just as the creature leaped for him. It caught the open air and tumbled to the ground eventually sliding to a halt with a mound of mud behind it.
By the time it was on its feet again Geoff was already back up and on the move. He bore a proud grin having managed to outsmart the confident beast, but the grin vanished in a flash as he suddenly felt the beast’s breath on him again already. Eyes wide he looked back to see it only a few feet behind him.
“How the hell did you—” Geoff slipped suddenly in the mud and slid into a deep pool of boggy water. The beast ran overhead as Geoff sunk below the water. His arms flailed wildly trying to propel himself back up to the fresh air his tired lungs so desperately craved. He felt something grip by the torso and toss him out back onto the muddy land. He landed with a wet splat and stared up into the sky. He breathed heavily as his mind raced thinking about his next move to run, but a weight landing firmly on his chest told him the chase was over.
Geoff raised his head to see the shadowbeast half sticking out of the water with its claw on his chest. He stared into its emotionless eyes trying to think of some way that he might be able to escape before simply laying his head back on the ground. “Alright,” He started as he slowed his breathing, “You win again, Mag.”
The creature once again made a series of guttural grunts as it full stepped out of the river. Suddenly it simply flopped down onto him knocking the wind he so desperately craved from his lungs.
“H-Hey!” He coughed as he desperately pushed at the beast’s lack of body, “I need air, you fool! Come on!” The beast groaned and lifted itself back up to let Geoff breathe again. He sat up after a moment and reached out to gently scritch at what would be the beast’s chin if it properly had one. Its tail wagged and it simply flopped onto its side with a soft thud. “You got me fair and square I guess. Though I think you cheated to catch up to me so fast the second time. You dipped into shadow, didn’t you?” He accused. The beast groaned again in response. He chuckled and leaned back on his hands not minding the mud, “Good to see you again, girl. I missed you too.”
The pair moved to a shadier spot they could both enjoy before simply sitting with each other. Geoff sat at the trunk of a tree and Mag took the opportunity to lay across his legs like a giant lap dog. He spent most the evening petting and scritching along her back and belly much to the shadowbeast’s pleasure.
When the moon was high in the sky Geoff finally yawned and poked the beast’s head, “Hey, you. Ya bum.” Mag huffed in response. “I think it’s about time for bed.” She raised her head up and gave a soft whine as she stared at him with pleading eyes. Geoff sighed and rolled his eyes, but a soft smile betrayed the rest of his expression, “Fine. But only for tonight, okay?”
Mag leapt into the air, but instead of landing on the ground properly she twisted her body around and disappeared into the ground. Geoff stood up and brushed himself clean of any dirt as he looked around at the ground below. Suddenly Mag jumped back out of the ground at him. He flinched instinctively, but no impact came. Instead he saw everything fade into black as an unseen force gripped his upper body.
From outside it was quite the sight to see a shadowbeast with two human legs sticking out. Gradually Geoff was sucked up into the beast’s form, disappearing into a dark abyss. Every part of him felt weightless within the beast as if he were simply floating in a dark abyss. The only thing he felt was an invisible force pushing his body into the fetal position. A moment later he found himself inside a dark, wet chamber within the beast. It groaned around its new guest and pressed in on him, covering his form with a thick slime.
Mag shook her whole body, tossing Geoff around in her stomach as if he were simply another prey for her to toy with. He pressed out against the dark walls to hold himself in place until she finally stopped. He huffed and massaged the walls around him with a slight blush, “Missed you too, Mag. Go get some rest. We can play more tomorrow.” Mag rumbled back at the rubs and on Geoff’s command she sank down into the shadows once more. Within moments she was back in her hidden den and curled up to sleep the night away determined to chase down her favorite prey the next day again.