His sharp eyes looked over me and I fought back a shiver. My eyes watered again and I bit down on my lip.
Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry— wetness dripped from my eyes and I immediately wiped it off, hating myself for crying in front of an enemy.
“It’s nothing,” I replied shakily, the intense, increasing smells driving me crazy. I could hear the quietest noises in this area. I hated this. “I—I should go.”
Sierra:
Bright light. Loud sound. Very loud sound…
Was that a gun? Someone had shot at me?
With a snarl, I leaped forward, toward the direction the sound had come from. There was the man who is been following. He had his arm outstretched, gun in his hand. And his hand was just at the right height for me to—
Ah, crap… I bit him. Of course I did. I hadn’t even realized I’d done it until I was letting go. Now he would turn… Great.
(This sucks, I’m sorry…)
His sharp eyes looked over me and I fought back a shiver. My eyes watered again and I bit down on my lip.
Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry— wetness dripped from my eyes and I immediately wiped it off, hating myself for crying in front of an enemy.
“It’s nothing,” I replied shakily, the intense, increasing smells driving me crazy. I could hear the quietest noises in this area. I hated this. “I—I should go.”
Rhys:
I blinked curiously at the girl before taking a step back. Whatever she was scared of, it made her scared of me, too. I didn’t want to scare the poor girl any more than she was already.
“Okay. If you even need anything, ask around for Rhys. That’s my name,” I offered softly. “I’ll help with whatever I can.”
(Oml no, it’s great)
The wolf lunged forward and sank it’s fangs into my arm. And suddenly, I was slammed back in to a memory.
The door slams shut behind me. Dim lights, flickering on and off. All is silent. And suddenly, something moves. Three dogs, crouching in the shadows, their eyes wild and ravenous. Slobber drools down from their jowls. Ribs show through their chest; they haven’t eaten in days.
I scream and stumble backwards. “Dad!” I pound on the door. No one answers; my father is the one who put me in here. “Dad! Please” My punishment. I was bad, and this is my punishment. All of a sudden, the three dogs look uncannily like starving, ruthless wolves.
Slowly, they advance.
Pain ripped through my body like a wildfire, yanking me sharply back to the present. A strangled cry parted my lips. And holy hell, did it hurt. Pain, pain, pain. It exploded through my arm and shot through my body. My whole world, crashing down around me.
And then, the cold. The moonlight on my skin burned, but not like the sun. Like dry ice, like a glacier’s worth of ice water. It seemed through my flesh and straight to my core. Fire and ice, battling back and forth. Tearing my apart.
I fell to my knees.
“Rhys,” I repeated his name quietly. For whatever reasons, the name sent warmth flooding through me. I swallowed thickly again. What I wanted, I couldn’t get. I gathered that much from the little time I spent here, as well as from all those myths. “There’s no way I can be a human again, can I?”
Was Rhys Turned, too? Judging from his behavior, he was probably either born one, or Turned at an early age.
Rhys:
Ah. So that was what was bothering her. She must have just been recently turned… Why was there no one helping her through this?
The smile fell from my lips as I gave her a gentle look, slowly shaking my head. “No. I’m sorry…”
Sierra:
If it was warmer, I could shift back. I needed to shift back. I needed to help this man who I’d accidentally turned. He would be so confused otherwise.
This darned cold was terrible. If it was just a little warmer, I could have some control over my shifting.
I’m so sorry…
Why was this happening? What was happening? A wolf had bitten me. A normal wolf. It’s mouth wasn’t foaming; it wasn’t sick. But here I was, trembling on the ground, trying and failing to pick myself up as pain overwhelmed me.
I knew what it meant to hurt. I’d been burned, whipped, cut, shot. I knew how to hold my own against twenty lashings and walk away without betraying what I felt. But this? This was hell on earth.
Suddenly, my ears popped. The world burst like a bubble. Colours sharpened and saturated, cool greys and navies swelling to much brighter tones. Sounds filled my ears, chattering, whispering, crackling, whistling, spilling into my mind until it went white. And the smells. Wet soil. Deer droppings. Trees. Moss. Dead leaves. Wolf. And blood. God, the blood. I wanted it, craved it, thirsted for it, needed it. All of this, coupled with the immense pain and confusion….. I thought I was dying.
Sierra:
I whined, soft and low, as I watched him changing. This was the first person I had turned. I didn’t like it…
He looked like he was in so much pain. His breathing was heavy, his eyes wide open. And he smelled like fear.
I crouched down in the bit of snow I was standing in, resting my head on my forepaws. Another whine blew through my nose as I looked at him. I would have to help him through this…
Rhys:
Ah. So that was what was bothering her. She must have just been recently turned… Why was there no one helping her through this?
The smile fell from my lips as I gave her a gentle look, slowly shaking my head. “No. I’m sorry…”
I knew the answer already. I’d been told countless times, but hearing it again caused my eyes to water again. I wasn’t a crybaby. I was usually strong. I cried easily, but it wasn’t all the time. But my life had turned upside down. My father always told me my curiosity would get me killed. He always said it would get me into trouble. I was in trouble. I was as good as dead. And I could never go back to my father again because I was a monster.
I cried again. I missed my father. I missed his warm embrace and his laughter and the soft look in his eyes. I missed not being able to hear heart beats and smell flesh and blood. I missed being. I put my face in my hands and finally broke down crying for the humanity I had lost.
Rhys:
She crumbled in front of me. I watched her slowly break down until her face was in her hands, tears slipping between her fingers. And I couldn’t do anything about it.
I couldn’t hold her, knowing how she had reacted before when I touched her. And I didn’t know what to say that could comfort her, either. What I could do, though, was get her out of the middle of the sidewalk to somewhere more private.
So I gently took her arm in my hand and tugged her, slowly and carefully, toward the alley. I stopped when we were just at the entrance, having just turned the corner into it.
“Hey… Everything will be okay. All right? You can do this,” I murmured quietly.
If I hadn’t broken down, I don’t think I would have let him take me away. Scratch that, I think I would have either way. He grabbed my arm and took me away, and I didn’t think I cared if I was letting him lead me to my own death. I didn’t want to live like this—live like a monster.
“Hey… everything will be okay. All right? You can do this,” his gentle voice filled my ears and I felt the raging hot blood in me slow down a fraction. I smelled the sincerity from his voice. It would have been better if he wasn’t as gentle and more like the ones who brought me here. Calm, demanding, impatient.
“I can’t,” I whispered quietly. “I don’t think I can do this, Rhys… it’s too much for me…”
Sierra:
I whined, soft and low, as I watched him changing. This was the first person I had turned. I didn’t like it…
He looked like he was in so much pain. His breathing was heavy, his eyes wide open. And he smelled like fear.
I crouched down in the bit of snow I was standing in, resting my head on my forepaws. Another whine blew through my nose as I looked at him. I would have to help him through this…
The moon and frosty cold beckoned to me, whispered soothing promises in my ear. False comforts filled my head as the icy wind wrapped its arms around me, lulling me to sleep. I did not succumb. I fought back with everything I had, battling moonlight and icy fingers until my arms gave out and sent me sprawling. No. NO. You. Will. Not. Have. Me.
But the moon didn’t take my refusal kindly. The bitter cold increased tenfold, seeping straight through the flames and heat and infecting my core. The silvery light beat my into submission, drawing whimper after whimper from my trembling lips. And suddenly, spikes were pushing through my skin.
Wait—no. Not spikes, but fur. I stared in horror as grey-brown fur overtook my arms. The bloodlust swelled and strengthened. Claws pushed themselves out from under my nails. My bones snapped and strained, reconfiguring muscle and sinew until my body began to take an entirely different form.
The changes stopped. A spark of hope jumped up within me. The fur receded…..
And came back. Again and again and again, I changed. Human to monster and back again. Transformations battling for dominance, overtaken by the other before they could be complete.
Was I in hell?
Rhys:
“You can do it,” I insisted gently, removing my hand from her arm. I crouched down in front of her, resting my arms on my knees. “I was born a wolf. The first time I shifted to a human, I had no idea what was going on with me. I suddenly had these things they called ‘hands’, and I was supposed to use them for things. I was scared out of my mind. But I’m here now because I let people help me through it. Just let us help you…”
I sniffled, wiping my wet face. I bit back the tears that threatened to fall. How could I do this—live like a wolf?
“I’m scared,” I admitted, looking down at my trembling hands. It was a miracle I could even stand on my feet. My knees felt like they would buckle any second. “I don’t—I don’t know how I can get through this.”
Rhys:
“That’s why we’re here for you. This whole community wants to help you. We’re like one big family here,” I murmured. “You don’t have to do this alone. In fact, I’m sure there are some newly changed wolves around, too. You could talk to them.”
Family. Family. That word felt like a stab to the heart. Was she to replace her real family—replace her father for a pack of werewolves? She could never do that. She could never let anyone replace her father.
But she still found her tears drying, the fear diminishing if only a little. She finally looked at Rhys, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Will… will you help me?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew he had heard her. Of course he had.
Sierra:
I couldn’t help him. All I could do was watch as he went through transformation after painful transformation. His whimpers filled my ears, and I wanted nothing more than to comfort him. It hurt to see someone in such pain, even someone who I hadn’t even known before this.
Another whine blew through my nostrils as I watched him. If he could just stay a wolf, I could help him. Or even if he was human, and if I could just shift, then I could help him. But he couldn’t. Not yet. And neither could I…
Rhys:
The girl before me slowly seemed to calm down. She’d seemed agitated when I mentioned family, but I think part of that might have helped her. And then she lifted her eyes to meet mine, and I felt my breath catch slightly. Gosh, she had beautiful eyes…
“Will… will you help me?” she whispered, and I found myself nodding.
“Of course. I will gladly help you,” I assured her softly. “But first I think I’ll need your name.”
I lay there, curled into a tight ball, shaking and convulsing each time the changes began again. After…. minutes? Hours? I'd lost track…. the transformations finally slowed somewhere three-quarters of the way between wolf and human. I couldn't move, could scarcely think or breathe…. but I was aware of the she-wolf standing next to me. Why was she still hear? I could almost sense her distress…
I raised my eyes to her and released a soft whimper, praying to the gods of insanity that something in this twisted hallucination would go my way. Help me…
Sierra:
He was human. And then wolf. Human. Wolf. Human… He kept changing, couldn’t stay one thing at a time for very long.
I almost approached him while he was still a wolf, but he shifted back, startling me. My lips curled over my teeth, baring them in a snarl. Then I shook myself out, knowing that wouldn’t help and would only scare him further.
I’m sorry…
I was stuck in some sort of nightmarish hallucination—–that had to be it. Could too much nicotine do that to you? I hadn't taken anything besides a cigarette or two recently…
Whimpers and strangled pleas continued to fall from my lips. I was weak, trembling, a complete wreck, barely able to lift my head to the sky.
“Zenith,” I replied softly, my arms tightening around myself. Why was he so beautiful? His voice, his face—everything my eyes took in was breathtaking. How was it even possible? “My name is Zenith Faith.”
Rhys:
“Is a pleasure to meet you, Zenith. Now, I have somewhere I can take you. Is that okay? Do you mind if I take you there?” I asked gently.
He was so gentle, so patient with me. He didn’t even know who I was, yet he was treating me so kindly… everyone else treated me nicely because my father was the mayor. They had to. But Rhys… he didn’t have to, but he was.
“That’s okay,” I replied, though I was a bit hesitant. I didn’t find any reason to be, because he was already making me feel comfortable. But I was too easily convinced. “I—I don’t mind.”
Rhys:
I nodded once, giving her a gentle smile. “Good. I’m glad you’re okay with that,” I said softly. “Let’s head there now, yeah?”
I nodded, mesmerized by the smile on his face. It was completely sincere, but maybe I was looking too far into it. I was always too trusting, but something told me I didn’t have to worry.
“Okay,” I said a bit more clearly, wiping my wet eyes again. “Let’s go.”