For the entirety of human existence, fashion and the animal kingdom have been inexplicably linked.

After all, once mankind felt a touch of shame, they covered their natural form with the hide of a fallen foe.

Be it mammoth, be it wolf, be it any ancestor of the creatures that roam today, function was the focus but form did not fall long behind.

Considering that these pelts were not just found but conquered, each wardrobe was a statement of how powerful they were.

Fast forward to the modern day where animal cruelty is a crime yet we still cling to feeling as fierce as the most savage sides of ourselves.

When we want to show off, we don’t merely stand out, we peacock.

When we want to look affluent, a fur coat is a common accessory for a sophisticated woman.

When we want to add texture, snakeskin is the intended effect when shoes aren’t simply made for walking, they’re made to bite and leave an impression.

We started out as hunters and gatherers and while materials have changed to be grown or artificially fabricated, our ancestral DNA still rears its head when we choose what to wear or in my case, what to design.

From our earliest companions to fantastic beasts, my wardrobes have often had elements that intertwine humanity and the creatures we not only hunted but dreamed of being.

Some more than others.

Ayame, you don’t merely wear the trophies you’ve collected, you adapt and transmogrify because of them. A wolf isn’t just your kill, not just your companion, a wolf is everything that encapsulates you. Forget Ayame, forget Fang, people could simply call you wolf and like your namesake, you’d answer to their beck and call.

Recently, the animal we knew the most about has been replaced by one we can only dream about. Remove the pelt and add dragonscale to your being. You’re not a wolf anymore, not fully anyway, you’re the dragon princess now.

Tell me, is it real or just fantasy? Is it a true transformation or just a wardrobe change? If your performance at Pandemonium is anything to go by, I’d have to suggest the latter.

Lambs to the Slaughter is a powder keg with twenty combustible elements. A dragon could have survived that match no matter how much heat it had to endure. The fire that burns so many wouldn’t be your enemy, it would be your friend consuming all your foes.

Yet, what I saw was no dragon’s performance. A dragon can conquer the flames and sit on its hoard at the end of the day.

You did what a wolf’s fur does. You ignited, started to melt and crumbled under the heat of that environment. It consumed you and left you to be the first to perish.

You and I both know you’ll have to do a lot better to have any chance against me. A dragon has a chance to consume me but a god can tame any wolf.