Big Hairy Beasties

“Yer mummy and daddy are out hunting, so yer ol’ grandad is looking after yer tonight little ‘un.” The warm firelight lit up the creases in Horgoth’s worn features as he beamed at the tiny babe nestled in his arms.

“Tellya what, I’ll tell you a story…” The old warrior settled back in his chair as his granddaughter squirmed. “Once upon a time there was this band of adventurers, who’s master wuz a silly bugger wizard what ‘ad got ‘imself killed, so they wuz on their own…”

"First there wuz Esmillia – best thief in the business. There weren’t nuthin’ she couldn’t nick, an’ she’d half-inched quite a few shiny things for us. Oh, an’ yer ol’ grandad had a bit of a soft spot for ‘er,” he said with a chuckle. "I reckon she had a soft spot for me too, ‘til she got herself bit by this great hairy thing one night. Next thing we knows she’s sprouting fur an’ holwin’ at the moon. Lucky I had me silver necklace with me.”

“Then there wuz the Grodnar Brothers – strong as oxes they wuz, an’ terrible ferocious when it got to fightin’. Aye, they’d serve you in a scrap well enough, but they weren’t the sharpest swords in the scabbard. One day we finds a potion store an’ they decides to have a drink. Ever seen a man change into a monkey? No, I don’t suppose you have. Let’s jus’ say that as soon as they caught whiff of a gorilla nest they wuz off!”

He sighed and then nodded to a shadowy corner of the room where a large stuffed animal loomed. “You’ve met Boris – he wuz our master’s animal companion, an’ stuck with us when the ol’ fool got zapped. Now ol’ Boris wuz as faithful as they came – loyal and protective too… He saw me through some bad times – when Esmillia wuz tryin’ to claw me face off an’ the Grodnar’s had run off to make acquaintances with lady apes… I’d ‘ave starved if it wasn’t fer ‘him.” He sniffed. “Good eatin’ on a bear if you cooks it properly.”

“’course Esmillia calmed down an’ learned to control her urges in the end, an’ eventually, believe it or not, became yer granny! Jus’ goes to show dun’ it…” Horgoth looked down fondly at his granddaughter as she snuggled down to sleep, little fangs twinkling as she yawned.

More minis from the swap-meet - a werewolf, two ape men (standing in for white gorillas) and a bear. The werewolf is particularly interesting as, being originally a Superfigs superhero, I had to hide the jumpsuit with greenstuff - my first attempt at sculpting fur. Doesn't look too bad if you squint!