Lucine was quiet as the man first addressed them, listening to his comments about Raven. If both her hands were busy with Callum, she would’ve given the wolf a pat, but instead she was too busy snuggled up against him.
The man nodded at Callum’s request, and turned around to get a key from the wall behind him, not bothering to ask if they’d like one bed or two. “I see. If I had a pretty one like that, I’d want a room too. Your parents know you’re out this late?” He chuckled at his own jokes, and Lucine wanted to protest for a moment, but just fell silent, red faced.
The man led the pair and the wolf up a small flight of stairs, and down a hallway with multiple doors. Finding the one he was looking for, he stopped, and whistling under his breath, unlocked it and pushed it open.
The room was small, with one bed and a nightstand on one side. The nightstand held a small candle, which wasn’t lit, and made the room look dark since the only source of the light was the hallway. The man stood and ushered the trio inside, slamming the door behind them after they had entered.
The room was dark, but Lucine’s eyes adjusted quickly. It was small, and the paint on the walls was chipping, but there was a small desk at the front of the room, practically calling to her. It was exactly what she needed.
Apologizing to Callum and slowly untangling herself from him, the girl jumped down off of the wolf and made her way over to the small nightstand, finding a box of matches next to the candle and lighting it quickly. As the light filled the room, she turned around to look at the sleepy boy.
“If you want to lie down love, you can,” she told him, giving a small smile and making her way over to the desk, where she took off her pouch and quiver, and laid them both on the table. She set quickly to work, opening the bag and fishing out the dart which she had previously set in there.
She didn’t want to break it open immediately, not when she didn’t have anything to contain the liquid inside in. The first this she did was, as stupid as it sounds, ***** her finger with the tip of the needle, to see how exactly the poison would come out. She didn’t wince at the pinprick, and quickly she examined the tip of the needle. As she was looking at it, she remembered that the man at the counter hadn’t even mentioned the price for the room, or asked them to pay him.
She decided not to mention it, and just pay him when they left in the morning. She then went back to her work, looking at the tip of her finger.
It had left a mark, but she could tell that nothing had left the needle into her bloodstream. It then hit her that there was probably nothing in the needle at all, as all of it had probably entered Callum’s bloodstream already. She sighed loudly, and fished around in her bag a big more, retrieving a small leather notebook.
It was her journal, in which she kept a record of important herbs and notable, common poisons, things like that for easy reference. It was handier than you’d think it would be, especially when your boyfriend has a pension for hurting himself. She flipped through it to a small section about poisons, and began to read.
Callum was showing symptoms of many different types of poisons, and Lucine began to write most of those symptoms and the poisons they correlated to ona separate page of her notebook, matching symptoms to poisons in an attempt to figure out which could be mixed into whatever he had been injected with.
She had moved the candle to her perch by the desk, in order to give Callum some peace to sleep. Sighing, she picked up the needle, and holding it in one hand, smashed through it with her wooden one. She only cracked a hole in it, and held the candle up to look inside.
Sure enough, all of the poison was gone, and all that was left was the residue. Sighing, Lucine sniffed what was inside before it dried, hoping to make note of the smell even if she could no longer see the color. Smell was usually an important indicator.
She was working quickly, wishing she had more with her than just her notebook. Her books would be nice- she had a small library back at home. Her head was beating with tiredness, and she knew she was straining herself, but the girl wanted to keep going, wondering if there was some form of library in the village.
Letting her shoulders droop, she turned around to look at Callum behind her. There was worry in her eyes, worry that always seemed to be there. All she wanted to do was help him.
Feeling thirsty, the girl turned back around and opened her pouch, pulling out a small bottle. Inside was different animal bloods- something Lucine needed to keep herself alive. She took a sip and placed the bottle beside her, shaking her head as she felt the taste on her tongue. She always hated the taste, and joked to herself sometimes that if there was a cure for vampirism, she would use it in a heartbeat.
She went back to work, her journal illuminated by the light of the small candle. She would be damned if she didn’t help Callum by the next morning.
She was mostly quiet while doing her work, aside from occasionally making a small noise, or talking out loud to herself, wondering about what sorts of things to do. However, after working for a while, she had finished her entire bottle of blood, and still had absolutely no idea what Callum had been poisoned with. Sighing very loudly, she buried her head in her hands, and felt her body tense up with frustration and tiredness.
“I’m sorry Callum,” she said, mostly to herself, not knowing if he would even hear her, “I’m so sorry…”
Lucine was quiet as the man first addressed them, listening to his comments about Raven. If both her hands were busy with Callum, she would’ve given the wolf a pat, but instead she was too busy snuggled up against him.
The man nodded at Callum’s request, and turned around to get a key from the wall behind him, not bothering to ask if they’d like one bed or two. “I see. If I had a pretty one like that, I’d want a room too. Your parents know you’re out this late?” He chuckled at his own jokes, and Lucine wanted to protest for a moment, but just fell silent, red faced.
The man led the pair and the wolf up a small flight of stairs, and down a hallway with multiple doors. Finding the one he was looking for, he stopped, and whistling under his breath, unlocked it and pushed it open.
The room was small, with one bed and a nightstand on one side. The nightstand held a small candle, which wasn’t lit, and made the room look dark since the only source of the light was the hallway. The man stood and ushered the trio inside, slamming the door behind them after they had entered.
The room was dark, but Lucine’s eyes adjusted quickly. It was small, and the paint on the walls was chipping, but there was a small desk at the front of the room, practically calling to her. It was exactly what she needed.
Apologizing to Callum and slowly untangling herself from him, the girl jumped down off of the wolf and made her way over to the small nightstand, finding a box of matches next to the candle and lighting it quickly. As the light filled the room, she turned around to look at the sleepy boy.
“If you want to lie down love, you can,” she told him, giving a small smile and making her way over to the desk, where she took off her pouch and quiver, and laid them both on the table. She set quickly to work, opening the bag and fishing out the dart which she had previously set in there.
She didn’t want to break it open immediately, not when she didn’t have anything to contain the liquid inside in. The first this she did was, as stupid as it sounds, ***** her finger with the tip of the needle, to see how exactly the poison would come out. She didn’t wince at the pinprick, and quickly she examined the tip of the needle. As she was looking at it, she remembered that the man at the counter hadn’t even mentioned the price for the room, or asked them to pay him.
She decided not to mention it, and just pay him when they left in the morning. She then went back to her work, looking at the tip of her finger.
It had left a mark, but she could tell that nothing had left the needle into her bloodstream. It then hit her that there was probably nothing in the needle at all, as all of it had probably entered Callum’s bloodstream already. She sighed loudly, and fished around in her bag a big more, retrieving a small leather notebook.
It was her journal, in which she kept a record of important herbs and notable, common poisons, things like that for easy reference. It was handier than you’d think it would be, especially when your boyfriend has a pension for hurting himself. She flipped through it to a small section about poisons, and began to read.
Callum was showing symptoms of many different types of poisons, and Lucine began to write most of those symptoms and the poisons they correlated to ona separate page of her notebook, matching symptoms to poisons in an attempt to figure out which could be mixed into whatever he had been injected with.
She had moved the candle to her perch by the desk, in order to give Callum some peace to sleep. Sighing, she picked up the needle, and holding it in one hand, smashed through it with her wooden one. She only cracked a hole in it, and held the candle up to look inside.
Sure enough, all of the poison was gone, and all that was left was the residue. Sighing, Lucine sniffed what was inside before it dried, hoping to make note of the smell even if she could no longer see the color. Smell was usually an important indicator.
She was working quickly, wishing she had more with her than just her notebook. Her books would be nice- she had a small library back at home. Her head was beating with tiredness, and she knew she was straining herself, but the girl wanted to keep going, wondering if there was some form of library in the village.
Letting her shoulders droop, she turned around to look at Callum behind her. There was worry in her eyes, worry that always seemed to be there. All she wanted to do was help him.
Feeling thirsty, the girl turned back around and opened her pouch, pulling out a small bottle. Inside was different animal bloods- something Lucine needed to keep herself alive. She took a sip and placed the bottle beside her, shaking her head as she felt the taste on her tongue. She always hated the taste, and joked to herself sometimes that if there was a cure for vampirism, she would use it in a heartbeat.
She went back to work, her journal illuminated by the light of the small candle. She would be damned if she didn’t help Callum by the next morning.
She was mostly quiet while doing her work, aside from occasionally making a small noise, or talking out loud to herself, wondering about what sorts of things to do. However, after working for a while, she had finished her entire bottle of blood, and still had absolutely no idea what Callum had been poisoned with. Sighing very loudly, she buried her head in her hands, and felt her body tense up with frustration and tiredness.
“I’m sorry Callum,” she said, mostly to herself, not knowing if he would even hear her, “I’m so sorry…”
Callum didn't respond to the other man's response to his request. He was zoning in and out, but mostly, he was out. It was hard to stay awake, even though he was trying his hardest. Snuggling up against Lucine was robbing him of whatever energy he had left, and he wasn't sure if that was such a bad thing. He couldn't feel any pain at the moment. His arm was very slowly losing its numbness. Everything seemed so right. How could anything go wrong?
He missed the question concerning their parents, but if he hadn't missed it, his mood would've dropped. He didn't have parents anymore.
He gripped Lucine tighter as they made their way up a small flight of stairs, as if he thought if he fell, he wouldn't see another day. He supposed it kept him awake a little, but he was dizzy just trying to keep his mind from drifting into unconsciousness. He started to feel as though he were underwater. The calm abyss of sleep was enticing him, attempting to convince him that trying to go back up for air was pointless.
He felt Raven twitch at precisely the same time he did, following the door suddenly slamming shut behind them. They must be in a room... thank the Gods! They were finally in a room! He was very happy, very very happy. Now he could finally rest, and maybe Lucine would be able to as well, when she was done with her research of course. He hoped she would get at least some sleep. He would probably be at least a little upset if she didn't.
"Mmm..." he slurred. Raven glanced up at him before sweeping her gaze across the room. It was dark, but she was able to see just fine for the most part. The boy heard Lucine apologize to him before feeling her leave his side. He slumped over fully on Raven's back. "Mmm...?" he moaned tiredly. He yawned, not moving an inch. He wanted to pass out right there, but it wasn't happening. His mind was still somehow awake, and it wasn't something he could deal with for much longer. He needed rest.
He squeezed his eyes shut and almost winced when light suddenly appeared in the room. He was overreacting a bit to the light, because it wasn't like the light was shone directly into his eyes. Maybe it was because even the slightest light might stop him from falling asleep. He always enjoyed sleeping with more darkness surrounding him than light. However, Lucine might need it for whatever she wanted to do.
He barely heard her speak to him again, sighing with relief after she finished, as if he didn't have permission to fall asleep until now. "Mmm, thanksss..." he slurred once more, patting Raven's side softly. "Good... night... love you..."
Raven moved over to the bed and dragged the blanket back before gently dumping the sleepy boy onto the mattress, since he was too exhausted to dismount her himself. After he essentially collapsed onto the bed, he knocked himself out quickly, finally falling unconscious as he desired. Raven stayed by his side for a while to check for any changes in his breathing, but it remained soft the entire time she stood there. She huffed with satisfaction before reverting back into her pup form.
The Night Wolf pup soon trotted towards where Lucine was, flapping her wings briefly to propel herself up onto the desk. She sat in a spot where Lucine wouldn't be disturbed in her work, watching with curiousness and a feeling of tension at the same time. She felt as though an invisible clock was ticking down, and it worried her to think about. Despite that, she still tried to forget.
She remained by Lucine's side until she seemingly stopped working, seeming frustrated. That didn't seem to mean anything good. She nervously shifted, her paws making tiny noises by tapping the desktop. She ignored the lingering smell of animal blood near her, and instead, approached Lucine while still on the desk.
The pup gave the girl a worried, yet reassuring look, her young eyes wide and curious. She lamented not being able to communicate with her using a higher method than gestures. She glanced over at the cracked needle before moving closer to it and sniffing at it. She winced a bit at the strange scent, almost gagging. Instead, she let out a quiet yip and shook her head. She ruffled her wings and approached Lucine, nuzzling one of the hands she was using to bury her face in.
She glanced at Callum briefly before resting her gaze on Lucine again. She caught him subconsciously pulling the blanket closer to him, bunching up and shivering. "Mmm... c-cold..." he muttered, still asleep.
Callum didn't respond to the other man's response to his request. He was zoning in and out, but mostly, he was out. It was hard to stay awake, even though he was trying his hardest. Snuggling up against Lucine was robbing him of whatever energy he had left, and he wasn't sure if that was such a bad thing. He couldn't feel any pain at the moment. His arm was very slowly losing its numbness. Everything seemed so right. How could anything go wrong?
He missed the question concerning their parents, but if he hadn't missed it, his mood would've dropped. He didn't have parents anymore.
He gripped Lucine tighter as they made their way up a small flight of stairs, as if he thought if he fell, he wouldn't see another day. He supposed it kept him awake a little, but he was dizzy just trying to keep his mind from drifting into unconsciousness. He started to feel as though he were underwater. The calm abyss of sleep was enticing him, attempting to convince him that trying to go back up for air was pointless.
He felt Raven twitch at precisely the same time he did, following the door suddenly slamming shut behind them. They must be in a room... thank the Gods! They were finally in a room! He was very happy, very very happy. Now he could finally rest, and maybe Lucine would be able to as well, when she was done with her research of course. He hoped she would get at least some sleep. He would probably be at least a little upset if she didn't.
"Mmm..." he slurred. Raven glanced up at him before sweeping her gaze across the room. It was dark, but she was able to see just fine for the most part. The boy heard Lucine apologize to him before feeling her leave his side. He slumped over fully on Raven's back. "Mmm...?" he moaned tiredly. He yawned, not moving an inch. He wanted to pass out right there, but it wasn't happening. His mind was still somehow awake, and it wasn't something he could deal with for much longer. He needed rest.
He squeezed his eyes shut and almost winced when light suddenly appeared in the room. He was overreacting a bit to the light, because it wasn't like the light was shone directly into his eyes. Maybe it was because even the slightest light might stop him from falling asleep. He always enjoyed sleeping with more darkness surrounding him than light. However, Lucine might need it for whatever she wanted to do.
He barely heard her speak to him again, sighing with relief after she finished, as if he didn't have permission to fall asleep until now. "Mmm, thanksss..." he slurred once more, patting Raven's side softly. "Good... night... love you..."
Raven moved over to the bed and dragged the blanket back before gently dumping the sleepy boy onto the mattress, since he was too exhausted to dismount her himself. After he essentially collapsed onto the bed, he knocked himself out quickly, finally falling unconscious as he desired. Raven stayed by his side for a while to check for any changes in his breathing, but it remained soft the entire time she stood there. She huffed with satisfaction before reverting back into her pup form.
The Night Wolf pup soon trotted towards where Lucine was, flapping her wings briefly to propel herself up onto the desk. She sat in a spot where Lucine wouldn't be disturbed in her work, watching with curiousness and a feeling of tension at the same time. She felt as though an invisible clock was ticking down, and it worried her to think about. Despite that, she still tried to forget.
She remained by Lucine's side until she seemingly stopped working, seeming frustrated. That didn't seem to mean anything good. She nervously shifted, her paws making tiny noises by tapping the desktop. She ignored the lingering smell of animal blood near her, and instead, approached Lucine while still on the desk.
The pup gave the girl a worried, yet reassuring look, her young eyes wide and curious. She lamented not being able to communicate with her using a higher method than gestures. She glanced over at the cracked needle before moving closer to it and sniffing at it. She winced a bit at the strange scent, almost gagging. Instead, she let out a quiet yip and shook her head. She ruffled her wings and approached Lucine, nuzzling one of the hands she was using to bury her face in.
She glanced at Callum briefly before resting her gaze on Lucine again. She caught him subconsciously pulling the blanket closer to him, bunching up and shivering. "Mmm... c-cold..." he muttered, still asleep.
Lucine smiled softly at Callum as he wished her goodnight. “I love you too,” she said, almost a whisper, and unable for him to be able to hear. She didn’t see him get into bed with Raven’s assistance, she was too busy with her work.
Her work which had led her nowhere.
Raven had been on the desk as she worked, and the wolf’s presence helped her slightly. Lucine had petted her repeatedly during the process, and it made her muttering sound less like she was crazy and more like she was just conversing with the wolf, telling her what she had found and what she thought. It had been all for nothing though, as her eyes were beginning to close from tiredness, her brain was beginning to fog and pound, and she still had no idea what had been in that needle- what was now running in Callum’s veins.
For a moment, an idea tugged at her mind, a stupid idea that would probably made Callum worse off than he already was. If the poison was in his blood, she would be able to taste it. She didn’t have to take enough to turn him, just a little….
No. It was stupid, and she wouldn’t do that to him. Sighing, she looked up from where her head was buried in her hands as she felt Raven nuzzling against one of them, and removing it from her head, she patted the wolf, sighing.
“I’m not sure what I’m to do, Raven,” she told the wolf, sighing and rubbing her temple with the other hand, “I have no idea what’s wrong with him, and I..”
The girl stopped when she heard Callum talk in his sleep, something about being cold. Drawing her hand away from Raven’s head, she turned to look at him, smiling sadly as she saw him trying to pull the blankets up closer. Pushing back the chair, the girl stood up from the desk and crossed over to the bed where he was lying, looking down at him.
Gingerly, she took the blankets in her hands and pulled them up over him, tucking the boy in. Leaning down and brushing the hair off his forehead, she planted a kiss there, and then turned around to look at the setup she had placed on the desk. It looked like a complete mess, as her things were all strewn about, and she let her shoulders sink, moving over to begin cleaning things up a bit.
Lucine yawned lightly, shuffling around and collecting her things. The old candle was dying fast, as was her energy, and all she wanted to do was collapse on the bed. Sighing, Lucine stretched and began fiddling with the back of her dress, trying to change into a shift she had brought for sleeping in. It was in the bottom of her pouch, which was specially enchanted by a mage to be larger inside than it was outside. Finding what she was looking for, she changed quickly, and looked over to the wolf pup.
Sighing at Raven, she looked over what she still had to tidy up and carefully moved the needle aside, trying not to drop any of the pieces. Once the table looked clean, Lucine began to untie the leather strap around her arm, the one which kept her wooden hand attached. After she finally had it untied, with some struggling, she laid the hand on the desk, and took a deep breath, blowing out the candle.
Darkness quickly enveloped the room, and made her sleepier than she had been. The girl crossed over to the bed and climbed in, being careful not to disturb Callum too much.
Her eyes had adjusted to the dark quickly, as being a vampire allowed her to do, and she laid there, listening to his breathing. It was soft, which began to take the worry away from her, and she felt her yellow eyes closing, lulled to sleep by the sound of Callum’s breathing.
She reached out one of her arms and placed it over him before she fell asleep, snuggling up against him for a bit of warmth- he was right it claiming that it was cold. All was calm before the girl dozed off.
“Goodnight,” she whispered, smiling.
Lucine smiled softly at Callum as he wished her goodnight. “I love you too,” she said, almost a whisper, and unable for him to be able to hear. She didn’t see him get into bed with Raven’s assistance, she was too busy with her work.
Her work which had led her nowhere.
Raven had been on the desk as she worked, and the wolf’s presence helped her slightly. Lucine had petted her repeatedly during the process, and it made her muttering sound less like she was crazy and more like she was just conversing with the wolf, telling her what she had found and what she thought. It had been all for nothing though, as her eyes were beginning to close from tiredness, her brain was beginning to fog and pound, and she still had no idea what had been in that needle- what was now running in Callum’s veins.
For a moment, an idea tugged at her mind, a stupid idea that would probably made Callum worse off than he already was. If the poison was in his blood, she would be able to taste it. She didn’t have to take enough to turn him, just a little….
No. It was stupid, and she wouldn’t do that to him. Sighing, she looked up from where her head was buried in her hands as she felt Raven nuzzling against one of them, and removing it from her head, she patted the wolf, sighing.
“I’m not sure what I’m to do, Raven,” she told the wolf, sighing and rubbing her temple with the other hand, “I have no idea what’s wrong with him, and I..”
The girl stopped when she heard Callum talk in his sleep, something about being cold. Drawing her hand away from Raven’s head, she turned to look at him, smiling sadly as she saw him trying to pull the blankets up closer. Pushing back the chair, the girl stood up from the desk and crossed over to the bed where he was lying, looking down at him.
Gingerly, she took the blankets in her hands and pulled them up over him, tucking the boy in. Leaning down and brushing the hair off his forehead, she planted a kiss there, and then turned around to look at the setup she had placed on the desk. It looked like a complete mess, as her things were all strewn about, and she let her shoulders sink, moving over to begin cleaning things up a bit.
Lucine yawned lightly, shuffling around and collecting her things. The old candle was dying fast, as was her energy, and all she wanted to do was collapse on the bed. Sighing, Lucine stretched and began fiddling with the back of her dress, trying to change into a shift she had brought for sleeping in. It was in the bottom of her pouch, which was specially enchanted by a mage to be larger inside than it was outside. Finding what she was looking for, she changed quickly, and looked over to the wolf pup.
Sighing at Raven, she looked over what she still had to tidy up and carefully moved the needle aside, trying not to drop any of the pieces. Once the table looked clean, Lucine began to untie the leather strap around her arm, the one which kept her wooden hand attached. After she finally had it untied, with some struggling, she laid the hand on the desk, and took a deep breath, blowing out the candle.
Darkness quickly enveloped the room, and made her sleepier than she had been. The girl crossed over to the bed and climbed in, being careful not to disturb Callum too much.
Her eyes had adjusted to the dark quickly, as being a vampire allowed her to do, and she laid there, listening to his breathing. It was soft, which began to take the worry away from her, and she felt her yellow eyes closing, lulled to sleep by the sound of Callum’s breathing.
She reached out one of her arms and placed it over him before she fell asleep, snuggling up against him for a bit of warmth- he was right it claiming that it was cold. All was calm before the girl dozed off.
“Goodnight,” she whispered, smiling.
Raven blinked as she received a pat on the head from Lucine, listening to her words while keeping her eyes solely on her. She whimpered in response to what she heard, letting out a quiet huff of breath. She also glanced at Callum worriedly. All she knew at the moment was that her companion was in danger once again. She had already lost him once, and she didn't want to lose him again.
The wolf pup shuddered as she received flashes of her Forbidden Form nearly tearing the timelines to shreds. She didn't want to let that happen to her ever again. She wanted to control her Forbidden Form. After observing research done on Callum's part, she figured that it was the reason she was left alone in the forest just before the boy found her with a bleeding eye.
She watched as Lucine tucked an asleep Callum in, observing his reaction. He sighed almost happily and smiled softly in his sleep. Such an observation prompted her to wonder for just a single second if he was always aware of the real world while asleep. One of her ears twitched as she continued to watch the girl, almost grinning when Lucine planted a kiss on his forehead. She heard him make a quiet, pleased purring sound as she did.
Raven was happy to see that he was doing fine for the moment, but she was well aware of the nightmares he had every night. He would most likely have another one tonight, unless the poison in his veins somehow prevented that from happening. She didn't know how that would work, since it was a curse that caused the nightmares to occur every night and nothing biological. If her guess happened to be correct, then the injected substance would presumably be more dangerous than she initially thought. After all, it would be overriding the affects of a curse... and not just any curse.
The Last Shadow's Curse.
She shook her head and let out a sigh. For a puppy, she was seriously overthinking everything that was happening around her. Her eyes landed on the prosthetic hand as it was placed on the table. She sniffed at it slightly before stepping back and looking up at Lucine again. The candle was blown out soon afterwards, but the darkness didn't bother her.
Her eyes were trained on Lucine and Callum as the two were snuggled up together. She wanted so badly to just jump on the enticing bed and join them... but that wasn't what she felt she had to do. She found that even as a pup, she couldn't allow herself to relax while her owner was in danger. She had to do something, but she didn't know what to do. She figured she would have to figure that out on her own.
Raven's ears were flattened against her skull as she sat still on the table. She could take the dart, sneak out, and present it to someone who might know what it is and what was once in it, but it wasn't in the best condition to be carried around in her mouth. She would have to take the entire pouch, and that was a bigger risk than any of the ones she was considering at the moment. She could take the dart in her paws and fly about, but she wasn't sure if that was the best decision. She could potentially drop it, and then it would become lost in the crowd outside.
After a while of thinking, she had to stop herself from whining in frustration. Now she felt just as confused and distraught as Lucine did. Frowning, she flapped her wings gently and quietly lowered herself to the ground, wincing at even the tiniest noise. She wanted a walk, but she didn't want to wake the teens up. It was then that she received an idea. She glanced at where Lucine's journal was, eventually turning and walking towards the location.
She managed to get her paws on the journal, quietly opening it with those same paws. She was very cautious and slow when she managed to remove one empty page from the journal, glancing back at the bed when she retrieved the page with a slight look of guilt in her eyes. Afterwards, she closed the notebook and stored it in the same place it was originally, replacing it with a writing utensil. She gripped it with her paw and sloppily scribbled a message the best she possibly could, while also being extra careful as to not wake Lucine or Callum up.
Do you know anything about a dart with purple fuzz?
After checking over her unusually literate writing, she quietly hid the utensil she used to write said message and carefully folded the paper until it appeared to be a small square. She then lowered her head and took it in her jaws, nodding to herself. She turned towards the door and slowly approached it. She silently flew up towards the knob and twisted it slowly, cracking the door open just wide enough for her to squeeze through. The Night Wolf proceeded to leave the room, progressively closing the door before silently touching the ground with the note still in her jaws.
The pup took one look back at the door before making her way down the stairs. As she was about to leave the inn entirely, she stopped and looked up at the counter. It was the same one the three had been at when addressing the old man apparently running the place. With the intent of seeing if the man was still there, she flew up and landed on the counter-top. If he was still there, perhaps she could show him the note and see if he had anything helpful to say about it.
Raven blinked as she received a pat on the head from Lucine, listening to her words while keeping her eyes solely on her. She whimpered in response to what she heard, letting out a quiet huff of breath. She also glanced at Callum worriedly. All she knew at the moment was that her companion was in danger once again. She had already lost him once, and she didn't want to lose him again.
The wolf pup shuddered as she received flashes of her Forbidden Form nearly tearing the timelines to shreds. She didn't want to let that happen to her ever again. She wanted to control her Forbidden Form. After observing research done on Callum's part, she figured that it was the reason she was left alone in the forest just before the boy found her with a bleeding eye.
She watched as Lucine tucked an asleep Callum in, observing his reaction. He sighed almost happily and smiled softly in his sleep. Such an observation prompted her to wonder for just a single second if he was always aware of the real world while asleep. One of her ears twitched as she continued to watch the girl, almost grinning when Lucine planted a kiss on his forehead. She heard him make a quiet, pleased purring sound as she did.
Raven was happy to see that he was doing fine for the moment, but she was well aware of the nightmares he had every night. He would most likely have another one tonight, unless the poison in his veins somehow prevented that from happening. She didn't know how that would work, since it was a curse that caused the nightmares to occur every night and nothing biological. If her guess happened to be correct, then the injected substance would presumably be more dangerous than she initially thought. After all, it would be overriding the affects of a curse... and not just any curse.
The Last Shadow's Curse.
She shook her head and let out a sigh. For a puppy, she was seriously overthinking everything that was happening around her. Her eyes landed on the prosthetic hand as it was placed on the table. She sniffed at it slightly before stepping back and looking up at Lucine again. The candle was blown out soon afterwards, but the darkness didn't bother her.
Her eyes were trained on Lucine and Callum as the two were snuggled up together. She wanted so badly to just jump on the enticing bed and join them... but that wasn't what she felt she had to do. She found that even as a pup, she couldn't allow herself to relax while her owner was in danger. She had to do something, but she didn't know what to do. She figured she would have to figure that out on her own.
Raven's ears were flattened against her skull as she sat still on the table. She could take the dart, sneak out, and present it to someone who might know what it is and what was once in it, but it wasn't in the best condition to be carried around in her mouth. She would have to take the entire pouch, and that was a bigger risk than any of the ones she was considering at the moment. She could take the dart in her paws and fly about, but she wasn't sure if that was the best decision. She could potentially drop it, and then it would become lost in the crowd outside.
After a while of thinking, she had to stop herself from whining in frustration. Now she felt just as confused and distraught as Lucine did. Frowning, she flapped her wings gently and quietly lowered herself to the ground, wincing at even the tiniest noise. She wanted a walk, but she didn't want to wake the teens up. It was then that she received an idea. She glanced at where Lucine's journal was, eventually turning and walking towards the location.
She managed to get her paws on the journal, quietly opening it with those same paws. She was very cautious and slow when she managed to remove one empty page from the journal, glancing back at the bed when she retrieved the page with a slight look of guilt in her eyes. Afterwards, she closed the notebook and stored it in the same place it was originally, replacing it with a writing utensil. She gripped it with her paw and sloppily scribbled a message the best she possibly could, while also being extra careful as to not wake Lucine or Callum up.
Do you know anything about a dart with purple fuzz?
After checking over her unusually literate writing, she quietly hid the utensil she used to write said message and carefully folded the paper until it appeared to be a small square. She then lowered her head and took it in her jaws, nodding to herself. She turned towards the door and slowly approached it. She silently flew up towards the knob and twisted it slowly, cracking the door open just wide enough for her to squeeze through. The Night Wolf proceeded to leave the room, progressively closing the door before silently touching the ground with the note still in her jaws.
The pup took one look back at the door before making her way down the stairs. As she was about to leave the inn entirely, she stopped and looked up at the counter. It was the same one the three had been at when addressing the old man apparently running the place. With the intent of seeing if the man was still there, she flew up and landed on the counter-top. If he was still there, perhaps she could show him the note and see if he had anything helpful to say about it.
Lucine had long dozed off into sleep when the wolf pup snuck from the room, snuggled up against Callum. She was unaware of Raven’s actions, though if she had been, she probably would have been impressed by the fact that the wolf could write legibly. She stirred slightly at the noise that was being made, but eventually, was lulled back to sleep by the sound of Callum’s breathing.
The old man was still at the counter down the hall, but his head was down, and due do his age he could either be dead or sleeping. He didn’t notice the wolf coming down the stairs, and his snores were filling the building, intruding upon the customers who happened to be in the room next door.
When the wolf actually landed on the counter, however, he immediately awoke, and appeared to be startled.
“What the hell is there?” she asked, almost falling back in the chair he was in. The old man’s eyes laid on the wolf, and he froze for a second, staring at her. Then, he calmed down, sat himself back upright, and peered forward at the pup.
“You’re the wolf that carried those teeny-boppers inner.” he said, staring at her, “What happened to you? You were like, this big!” he made a gesture with his hands to show how big Raven was once, and then, lowering his hands, he stared at her once again, before beginning to laugh.
“Were they too loud for ya?’ he asked her, reaching out to give her a pet on the head, “Poor thing. I don’t hear them now, must’ve worn themselves out.” he continued to laugh, before he stopped and laid eyes on the note that was in her jaws.
“What’s that?’ he asked her, reaching out and taking it, “They want room service? We don’t have that here.” he was mostly talking to himself as he unfolded the note which he had grabbed from the wolf, looking up as a figure entered from the room to the side.
It was a tall woman, with tanned skin and long, black hair. She was wearing a mask which covered most of her face, and a long, dark cloak. She waved to the man as she walked past him, heading up towards her room.
The man ignored her and turned back to the note, finally able to read it. After he finished, he looked up to the wolf in confusion, and shook his head.
“I don’t anything about darts.” He said to Raven, and then paused for a moment. After thinking for what looked like a second, he turned around and called behind him.
“SERILDA!!” He shouted, and the woman slowly entered the room again, somehow looking unhappy through her mask.
“The hell do you want?” she asked him, moving to his side and pulling out a small metal flask, which she took a swig of, “I’m trying to sleep.”
The man pushed the note into her hands, and she looked down at it, reading. When she finally finished, she looked up at Raven, tilting her head.
“You wrote this?” she asked, eyeing the wolf pup. When she opened her mouth, it was easy to see she had fangs, albeit small ones, pinning her down as a vampire, “What do you need to know about a dart?”
Lucine had long dozed off into sleep when the wolf pup snuck from the room, snuggled up against Callum. She was unaware of Raven’s actions, though if she had been, she probably would have been impressed by the fact that the wolf could write legibly. She stirred slightly at the noise that was being made, but eventually, was lulled back to sleep by the sound of Callum’s breathing.
The old man was still at the counter down the hall, but his head was down, and due do his age he could either be dead or sleeping. He didn’t notice the wolf coming down the stairs, and his snores were filling the building, intruding upon the customers who happened to be in the room next door.
When the wolf actually landed on the counter, however, he immediately awoke, and appeared to be startled.
“What the hell is there?” she asked, almost falling back in the chair he was in. The old man’s eyes laid on the wolf, and he froze for a second, staring at her. Then, he calmed down, sat himself back upright, and peered forward at the pup.
“You’re the wolf that carried those teeny-boppers inner.” he said, staring at her, “What happened to you? You were like, this big!” he made a gesture with his hands to show how big Raven was once, and then, lowering his hands, he stared at her once again, before beginning to laugh.
“Were they too loud for ya?’ he asked her, reaching out to give her a pet on the head, “Poor thing. I don’t hear them now, must’ve worn themselves out.” he continued to laugh, before he stopped and laid eyes on the note that was in her jaws.
“What’s that?’ he asked her, reaching out and taking it, “They want room service? We don’t have that here.” he was mostly talking to himself as he unfolded the note which he had grabbed from the wolf, looking up as a figure entered from the room to the side.
It was a tall woman, with tanned skin and long, black hair. She was wearing a mask which covered most of her face, and a long, dark cloak. She waved to the man as she walked past him, heading up towards her room.
The man ignored her and turned back to the note, finally able to read it. After he finished, he looked up to the wolf in confusion, and shook his head.
“I don’t anything about darts.” He said to Raven, and then paused for a moment. After thinking for what looked like a second, he turned around and called behind him.
“SERILDA!!” He shouted, and the woman slowly entered the room again, somehow looking unhappy through her mask.
“The hell do you want?” she asked him, moving to his side and pulling out a small metal flask, which she took a swig of, “I’m trying to sleep.”
The man pushed the note into her hands, and she looked down at it, reading. When she finally finished, she looked up at Raven, tilting her head.
“You wrote this?” she asked, eyeing the wolf pup. When she opened her mouth, it was easy to see she had fangs, albeit small ones, pinning her down as a vampire, “What do you need to know about a dart?”
Raven was startled by the man's reaction to her landing in front of him; he had been asleep after all. She was surprised she hadn't picked up his snoring earlier. Her surprise nearly caused her to back up and fall off the counter, but she held firm. She stared at the man as he collected himself and sat up straight again, keeping patience in mind. After all, she wasn't able to speak intelligibly to anyone in pup form, not even canines.
She was taken aback by the fact that he managed to put two and two together, figuring out that she was the same wolf who carried Lucine and Callum inside earlier. Then again, she did have similar colors, besides the eyes and scars. Those scars were hidden by the shadowy mask that typically formed over her other form's face. Though, in her pup form, she couldn't care less who laid their eyes upon the scars over her eye. It made her look more innocent in her opinion. She was also more likely to receive the word "poor" a lot.
When the man asked what happened to her, she simply shrugged, since she couldn't offer a quick, simple answer. Besides, her species was... well, she preferred that no one know extensively about the Night Wolves. She had always wanted to find another pack of them, and one day, she believed she would. However, she also feared that day as well. Her mind might try to convince her to join a Night Wolf pack and leave Callum to his own devices. She didn't want to abandon him. She had a bond with him, after all. A connection. She was his guardian as far as she was concerned. It was a custom that kept her going... and almost tore her apart.
She returned to reality when the man patted her on the head, making a small humming sound. She didn't respond to his question in a way beyond just tilting her head a little to the side. She barked in a lighthearted way as he laughed, though the bark was muffled by the note she still held in her jaws.
Speaking of the note, she opened her jaws to allow the man to take it once he started reaching for it. She looked at him with hopeful eyes, wagging her tail a little. She shook her head, glad she was able to answer a question, albeit a yes or no question. However, she noticed him looking up from the note once he unfolded it, which prompted her to glance behind her to see what he was looking at.
Or rather, who.
Before she even laid eyes on the person, their scent already caught her attention. It was a vampire's scent, and she recognized that right away. It didn't alarm her, however. She didn't think she was about to be put in danger, so she left the woman alone while returning her attention to the old man with the note she wrote. She didn't think anything of the mask she wore; after all, Raven herself wore a mask in her other form.
She tried not to look disappointed when the man told her that he knew nothing of her request, but her tail had stopped wagging, and the hopeful look in her eyes disappeared for the moment. Well, of course she wasn't going to be lucky the first time. She would have to keep trying with other people in order to get the answers she desired before they would have to leave the village behind. She slightly dreaded going back to Bellenau. She had no idea what happened to Keaton back there, but she hoped he wasn't too badly injured or even a prisoner. She hoped he was alright, and she very much hoped for those vampire hunters to be gone by the time they arrived.
Raven's ears automatically flattened against her skull when the man yelled out a name all of a sudden. She turned to face the same woman she had detected earlier, connecting the name with her masked face. She looked at her curiously, the slight wagging of her tail starting up again. Maybe she would know something, and would be able to help in some way.
When prompted with a question from the woman, she nodded eagerly, letting out a bark. She acted as though she was being praised by an impressed onlooker. She spotted the fangs resting in Serilda's mouth, but she didn't see it as a revealing detail. After all, her scent already gave the true identity of her species away.
What do you need to know about a dart?
Almost immediately, Raven grabbed a writing utensil from the desk, shooting a quick glance at the old man behind it as if asking quick permission to borrow it before also taking the note from the woman back. She then proceeded to flip the note over so that the blank side was on top, getting the writing utensil ready before scribbling down more words. Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth as she wrote, concentrating solely on the next message she was preparing.
Once she was done scribbling, she set the utensil down and turned the modified note around so that the words would face Serilda. Her eyes followed the words she had written before she let out an almost inaudible, yet worried whine.
My human companion was hit by a toxic dart not too long ago. We don't know what the poison is. All of it is in his blood, and he needs help. He might be dying.
Raven was startled by the man's reaction to her landing in front of him; he had been asleep after all. She was surprised she hadn't picked up his snoring earlier. Her surprise nearly caused her to back up and fall off the counter, but she held firm. She stared at the man as he collected himself and sat up straight again, keeping patience in mind. After all, she wasn't able to speak intelligibly to anyone in pup form, not even canines.
She was taken aback by the fact that he managed to put two and two together, figuring out that she was the same wolf who carried Lucine and Callum inside earlier. Then again, she did have similar colors, besides the eyes and scars. Those scars were hidden by the shadowy mask that typically formed over her other form's face. Though, in her pup form, she couldn't care less who laid their eyes upon the scars over her eye. It made her look more innocent in her opinion. She was also more likely to receive the word "poor" a lot.
When the man asked what happened to her, she simply shrugged, since she couldn't offer a quick, simple answer. Besides, her species was... well, she preferred that no one know extensively about the Night Wolves. She had always wanted to find another pack of them, and one day, she believed she would. However, she also feared that day as well. Her mind might try to convince her to join a Night Wolf pack and leave Callum to his own devices. She didn't want to abandon him. She had a bond with him, after all. A connection. She was his guardian as far as she was concerned. It was a custom that kept her going... and almost tore her apart.
She returned to reality when the man patted her on the head, making a small humming sound. She didn't respond to his question in a way beyond just tilting her head a little to the side. She barked in a lighthearted way as he laughed, though the bark was muffled by the note she still held in her jaws.
Speaking of the note, she opened her jaws to allow the man to take it once he started reaching for it. She looked at him with hopeful eyes, wagging her tail a little. She shook her head, glad she was able to answer a question, albeit a yes or no question. However, she noticed him looking up from the note once he unfolded it, which prompted her to glance behind her to see what he was looking at.
Or rather, who.
Before she even laid eyes on the person, their scent already caught her attention. It was a vampire's scent, and she recognized that right away. It didn't alarm her, however. She didn't think she was about to be put in danger, so she left the woman alone while returning her attention to the old man with the note she wrote. She didn't think anything of the mask she wore; after all, Raven herself wore a mask in her other form.
She tried not to look disappointed when the man told her that he knew nothing of her request, but her tail had stopped wagging, and the hopeful look in her eyes disappeared for the moment. Well, of course she wasn't going to be lucky the first time. She would have to keep trying with other people in order to get the answers she desired before they would have to leave the village behind. She slightly dreaded going back to Bellenau. She had no idea what happened to Keaton back there, but she hoped he wasn't too badly injured or even a prisoner. She hoped he was alright, and she very much hoped for those vampire hunters to be gone by the time they arrived.
Raven's ears automatically flattened against her skull when the man yelled out a name all of a sudden. She turned to face the same woman she had detected earlier, connecting the name with her masked face. She looked at her curiously, the slight wagging of her tail starting up again. Maybe she would know something, and would be able to help in some way.
When prompted with a question from the woman, she nodded eagerly, letting out a bark. She acted as though she was being praised by an impressed onlooker. She spotted the fangs resting in Serilda's mouth, but she didn't see it as a revealing detail. After all, her scent already gave the true identity of her species away.
What do you need to know about a dart?
Almost immediately, Raven grabbed a writing utensil from the desk, shooting a quick glance at the old man behind it as if asking quick permission to borrow it before also taking the note from the woman back. She then proceeded to flip the note over so that the blank side was on top, getting the writing utensil ready before scribbling down more words. Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth as she wrote, concentrating solely on the next message she was preparing.
Once she was done scribbling, she set the utensil down and turned the modified note around so that the words would face Serilda. Her eyes followed the words she had written before she let out an almost inaudible, yet worried whine.
My human companion was hit by a toxic dart not too long ago. We don't know what the poison is. All of it is in his blood, and he needs help. He might be dying.
Serilda eyed the wolf pup quietly, still holding her flask in her hand. If her face had been showing, she would have looked confused and slightly apprehensive. The wolf was smart, smart enough to write a note, of course Serilda knew that wolves were smart. There was no question about that.
Still, this wolf was different from any she had encountered. She quickly took another sip from her flask, and then watched as the wolf began to get to work, snatching a pen from the old man.
“Hey!” the man said to Raven, reaching out to take his pen back, but Serilda put her hand on his arm to stop him. She didn’t look away from watching the wolf pup write, slightly amazed with what she was watching.
When Raven finished, Serilda took the note in her hands, not paying attention to the shocked old man, who was saying things like “What are you?” and talking about how Raven was probably pumped full of steroids or something. Serilda clicked her tongue.
“Shut it, gramps, I’m trying to read,” she said, and then placed the note down in front of Raven, looking curiously at the wolf, putting her flask away.
“Hit by a dart?” Serilda asked the wolf pup, looking over to the old man for a second, and then back to the pup, “I don’t know much about poisons, but I can tell you about weapons.” She then sighed and looked over at the man.
“You really had to keep me from sleeping for this? Dammit.” The girl scoffed, and fumbled for her flask again, taking a sip from it.
“It’s early morning. If you wanted to sleep, you’d’ve gone to bed earlier.” The man retorted, taking his pen back from Raven and placing it back where she had found it, “Besides, a dying kid seems more important than you getting beauty sleep, missy.”
Serilda sighed loudly and looked back to Raven, putting her flask away. “I was trying to get some money, gramps. Not that you’d know jack about that. Anyway, about this dart.”
The woman let out a small yawn, and reached out to scratch Raven behind the ears, sighing, “Darts usually have poison in them. The purple fuzz probably identifies the type of poison. Can’t be too uncommon of one, probably just a mixture, or else they’d have to go way deep on the black market to find it, and I doubt whoever threw a dart at your companion cared enough for that.”
Serilda shook her head, drawing her hand back and nodding to Raven. “Bring the boy down here to see me tomorrow. I’ll be in there.” she pointed to the small room off to the side, “Bring the dart too. I might be able to tell you where it comes from.”
With that, Serilda stalked off, headed up the stairs. The old man watched her go, sighing once she disappeared.
“I swear, I let her stay here free for 3 weeks and she treats me like garbage.” he shook his head, and looked back to Raven, giving the wolf a toothy grin, “Ball of sunshine, ain’t she? That girl who follows her is much nicer.”
He then immediately fell over, back into his sleep.
Serilda eyed the wolf pup quietly, still holding her flask in her hand. If her face had been showing, she would have looked confused and slightly apprehensive. The wolf was smart, smart enough to write a note, of course Serilda knew that wolves were smart. There was no question about that.
Still, this wolf was different from any she had encountered. She quickly took another sip from her flask, and then watched as the wolf began to get to work, snatching a pen from the old man.
“Hey!” the man said to Raven, reaching out to take his pen back, but Serilda put her hand on his arm to stop him. She didn’t look away from watching the wolf pup write, slightly amazed with what she was watching.
When Raven finished, Serilda took the note in her hands, not paying attention to the shocked old man, who was saying things like “What are you?” and talking about how Raven was probably pumped full of steroids or something. Serilda clicked her tongue.
“Shut it, gramps, I’m trying to read,” she said, and then placed the note down in front of Raven, looking curiously at the wolf, putting her flask away.
“Hit by a dart?” Serilda asked the wolf pup, looking over to the old man for a second, and then back to the pup, “I don’t know much about poisons, but I can tell you about weapons.” She then sighed and looked over at the man.
“You really had to keep me from sleeping for this? Dammit.” The girl scoffed, and fumbled for her flask again, taking a sip from it.
“It’s early morning. If you wanted to sleep, you’d’ve gone to bed earlier.” The man retorted, taking his pen back from Raven and placing it back where she had found it, “Besides, a dying kid seems more important than you getting beauty sleep, missy.”
Serilda sighed loudly and looked back to Raven, putting her flask away. “I was trying to get some money, gramps. Not that you’d know jack about that. Anyway, about this dart.”
The woman let out a small yawn, and reached out to scratch Raven behind the ears, sighing, “Darts usually have poison in them. The purple fuzz probably identifies the type of poison. Can’t be too uncommon of one, probably just a mixture, or else they’d have to go way deep on the black market to find it, and I doubt whoever threw a dart at your companion cared enough for that.”
Serilda shook her head, drawing her hand back and nodding to Raven. “Bring the boy down here to see me tomorrow. I’ll be in there.” she pointed to the small room off to the side, “Bring the dart too. I might be able to tell you where it comes from.”
With that, Serilda stalked off, headed up the stairs. The old man watched her go, sighing once she disappeared.
“I swear, I let her stay here free for 3 weeks and she treats me like garbage.” he shook his head, and looked back to Raven, giving the wolf a toothy grin, “Ball of sunshine, ain’t she? That girl who follows her is much nicer.”
He then immediately fell over, back into his sleep.
Raven patiently watched as Serilda took the note, looking up at her. She overheard the man's comments towards her, sounding frankly taken far aback. She was a little amused by it, but she didn't offer a single response to him. She took pride in her ability to write; it was something Night Wolves - or at least, she assumed - were normally unable to do. After all, they tended to live in wild areas where they wouldn't have to write. She began trying to teach herself when she figured that maybe one day, Callum would be unable to write. When he saw her fiddling with one of his pens, he had decided to try and teach her, silly as it sounded.
It came a long way.
Raven's eyes traveled to her note as it was placed in front of her, and then up at Serilda again. She nodded in response to the question, looking worried again. She didn't know how to feel about the next bit of information she was given. She was a bit disappointed that the woman didn't seem to know more about the dart, however, her interest did spike a little upon hearing that she knew a lot about weapons. As far as the pup was concerned, the dart was a weapon, as it was used to poison Callum. Poison wasn't typically considered anything else outside the lines of a weapon.
Her ears perked up as she heard a swear from the woman, followed by a short session of banter between her and the old man. She didn't mind the pen being taken from her... though, she would probably have to take it back if she was asked a question that wasn't in the 'yes or no' category. She hoped she wouldn't have to. The man seemed as though he was about to scold the pup for taking it in the first place, but she had to get the message out somehow.
She paid close attention to what the old man said about what time of the day it was. Early morning. The teens upstairs would probably not get as much sleep as they wanted, but at least they were getting something. Raven wasn't tired at the moment. She had a feeling she would be soon. However, she would more than likely protest if someone were to tell her to get some rest. She served as the main form of transportation for Lucine and Callum. She didn't want to leave them hanging when they needed her.
When the woman scratched her behind the ears, she grinned and closed her eyes. She felt her tail thumping against the counter-top, and she let out a pleased yap. She then took the time to listen to what Serilda was saying about the dart, tilting her head to the side. She hadn't seen too many darts in her lifetime. In fact, during her time with Callum while he was with the Syndicate, she had seen a few with various colors of fuzz at the tip, but she had never seen purple.
She almost yearned for Serilda's hand to return to her head after it was withdrawn, though she didn't complain. She instead ingrained her directions in her little brain. Bring the boy down here to see me tomorrow. I'll be in there. Bring the dart too. I might be able to tell you where it comes from.
She nodded, glancing at the room she would need to bring them to. She then watched as the woman left, then turned to look at the old man as he sighed. She stared at him blankly as he spoke, making relatively nothing of what he was saying right before he fell back asleep immediately after he finished talking. She made a small noise of confusion and kept her eyes on him for a few seconds longer before stealing a glance at the pen he had taken back.
I'm sorry...
She carefully took the pen back and went back to her note. She hadn't written in large letters, so she would be able to fit more text. She used the pen to scratch out her previous message, and afterwards, she decided to write a new one. This time, it would address Lucine. She had to think about how she was to word the instructions given to her by Serilda. She looked up towards the ceiling as she entered a brainstorming phase, resting one of her paws below her lower jaw for a brief moment before placing it back down and exhaling through her nose.
She eventually got to writing, licking her chops while focusing on said writing. She grinned once she was done, almost letting out a triumphant howl. She would've done so if it weren't for the sleeping man. She didn't want to wake him up when she was still using his pen. She looked over her new message with pride before returning the pen to where it had been before. Afterwards, she made sure to read her message more carefully, checking for errors of any kind.
Lucine, I got someone to help us! We gotta bring Callum and the dart down to her room. She knows about the black market and stuff. Maybe she knows where the dart came from. Please trust me? I surprised her with my writing skills, that's something, right?
-Raven
P.S. If I'm asleep when you read this, don't be scared to wake me up, yeah?
She thought she went off track a bit by the end, but she wanted to be sure Lucine would trust her word. She folded the message up once again and took it in her jaws, flapping her wings and lowering herself to the ground.
Once her paws touched the floor, she steadily trotted up the stairs and back towards the room they were staying in. She had to double check to make sure it was the right room before flying up to the knob, twisting it slowly, and cracking it open enough for her to slip right through. Once she was inside the dark room, she closed the door and approached the bed the teens were on.
She leapt up onto the inviting bed, almost immediately feeling tired. Suppressing a yawn, she found Lucine's free hand and slid the note into her palm, using her soft paws to manually close her fingers around the piece of paper. Once she was sure it would stay in her hand, the pup stepped back and decided to leave the bed before she could collapse and fall asleep.
She glanced back at the mattress as she landed on the floor once more, sighing. She didn't know if she could fall asleep with the knowledge that her partner was potentially dying. She had too much on her mind. She was wondering what would happen the next day... anything could happen, actually. After everything they had been through, whether it be personally or when they were together, anything was possible at this point. She frowned and stood up, spinning around in an impatient circle.
Her eyes felt slightly heavy by the time it was done, but she still wasn't falling asleep. She shook her entire body and sighed, her ears flattening. She shifted about restlessly, staring at every possible thing she could stare at. Time seemed to pass much slower than it actually was to her, and it was driving the poor pup crazy. At this point, all she wanted to do was fall asleep, but the many thoughts parading in her head were determined to stop her from doing so.
Eventually, the thoughts left one by one, until nothing was left except the urge to sleep. Her jaws parted in a particularly long yawn as she curled up right there on the floor and finally closed her eyes, curling her tail around her side as she lost consciousness and gladly gave in to sleep.
Raven patiently watched as Serilda took the note, looking up at her. She overheard the man's comments towards her, sounding frankly taken far aback. She was a little amused by it, but she didn't offer a single response to him. She took pride in her ability to write; it was something Night Wolves - or at least, she assumed - were normally unable to do. After all, they tended to live in wild areas where they wouldn't have to write. She began trying to teach herself when she figured that maybe one day, Callum would be unable to write. When he saw her fiddling with one of his pens, he had decided to try and teach her, silly as it sounded.
It came a long way.
Raven's eyes traveled to her note as it was placed in front of her, and then up at Serilda again. She nodded in response to the question, looking worried again. She didn't know how to feel about the next bit of information she was given. She was a bit disappointed that the woman didn't seem to know more about the dart, however, her interest did spike a little upon hearing that she knew a lot about weapons. As far as the pup was concerned, the dart was a weapon, as it was used to poison Callum. Poison wasn't typically considered anything else outside the lines of a weapon.
Her ears perked up as she heard a swear from the woman, followed by a short session of banter between her and the old man. She didn't mind the pen being taken from her... though, she would probably have to take it back if she was asked a question that wasn't in the 'yes or no' category. She hoped she wouldn't have to. The man seemed as though he was about to scold the pup for taking it in the first place, but she had to get the message out somehow.
She paid close attention to what the old man said about what time of the day it was. Early morning. The teens upstairs would probably not get as much sleep as they wanted, but at least they were getting something. Raven wasn't tired at the moment. She had a feeling she would be soon. However, she would more than likely protest if someone were to tell her to get some rest. She served as the main form of transportation for Lucine and Callum. She didn't want to leave them hanging when they needed her.
When the woman scratched her behind the ears, she grinned and closed her eyes. She felt her tail thumping against the counter-top, and she let out a pleased yap. She then took the time to listen to what Serilda was saying about the dart, tilting her head to the side. She hadn't seen too many darts in her lifetime. In fact, during her time with Callum while he was with the Syndicate, she had seen a few with various colors of fuzz at the tip, but she had never seen purple.
She almost yearned for Serilda's hand to return to her head after it was withdrawn, though she didn't complain. She instead ingrained her directions in her little brain. Bring the boy down here to see me tomorrow. I'll be in there. Bring the dart too. I might be able to tell you where it comes from.
She nodded, glancing at the room she would need to bring them to. She then watched as the woman left, then turned to look at the old man as he sighed. She stared at him blankly as he spoke, making relatively nothing of what he was saying right before he fell back asleep immediately after he finished talking. She made a small noise of confusion and kept her eyes on him for a few seconds longer before stealing a glance at the pen he had taken back.
I'm sorry...
She carefully took the pen back and went back to her note. She hadn't written in large letters, so she would be able to fit more text. She used the pen to scratch out her previous message, and afterwards, she decided to write a new one. This time, it would address Lucine. She had to think about how she was to word the instructions given to her by Serilda. She looked up towards the ceiling as she entered a brainstorming phase, resting one of her paws below her lower jaw for a brief moment before placing it back down and exhaling through her nose.
She eventually got to writing, licking her chops while focusing on said writing. She grinned once she was done, almost letting out a triumphant howl. She would've done so if it weren't for the sleeping man. She didn't want to wake him up when she was still using his pen. She looked over her new message with pride before returning the pen to where it had been before. Afterwards, she made sure to read her message more carefully, checking for errors of any kind.
Lucine, I got someone to help us! We gotta bring Callum and the dart down to her room. She knows about the black market and stuff. Maybe she knows where the dart came from. Please trust me? I surprised her with my writing skills, that's something, right?
-Raven
P.S. If I'm asleep when you read this, don't be scared to wake me up, yeah?
She thought she went off track a bit by the end, but she wanted to be sure Lucine would trust her word. She folded the message up once again and took it in her jaws, flapping her wings and lowering herself to the ground.
Once her paws touched the floor, she steadily trotted up the stairs and back towards the room they were staying in. She had to double check to make sure it was the right room before flying up to the knob, twisting it slowly, and cracking it open enough for her to slip right through. Once she was inside the dark room, she closed the door and approached the bed the teens were on.
She leapt up onto the inviting bed, almost immediately feeling tired. Suppressing a yawn, she found Lucine's free hand and slid the note into her palm, using her soft paws to manually close her fingers around the piece of paper. Once she was sure it would stay in her hand, the pup stepped back and decided to leave the bed before she could collapse and fall asleep.
She glanced back at the mattress as she landed on the floor once more, sighing. She didn't know if she could fall asleep with the knowledge that her partner was potentially dying. She had too much on her mind. She was wondering what would happen the next day... anything could happen, actually. After everything they had been through, whether it be personally or when they were together, anything was possible at this point. She frowned and stood up, spinning around in an impatient circle.
Her eyes felt slightly heavy by the time it was done, but she still wasn't falling asleep. She shook her entire body and sighed, her ears flattening. She shifted about restlessly, staring at every possible thing she could stare at. Time seemed to pass much slower than it actually was to her, and it was driving the poor pup crazy. At this point, all she wanted to do was fall asleep, but the many thoughts parading in her head were determined to stop her from doing so.
Eventually, the thoughts left one by one, until nothing was left except the urge to sleep. Her jaws parted in a particularly long yawn as she curled up right there on the floor and finally closed her eyes, curling her tail around her side as she lost consciousness and gladly gave in to sleep.
All was quiet.
There was a flash of silver, a spurt of red
Lucine rolled over in her sleep, making a small grunting noise.
Blood ran under the girl’s booted feet, as she stood in the dark throne room, all alone.
The girl curled up slightly, her body tensing.
She could smell it, and it pulled at the back of her mind, threatening to pull her under.
She looked before her, and her and the boy lying on the ground in front of her were the only things in the room. He had been stabbed, but instead of it being through his chest, like she remembered, he was cradling his wrist.
She stood there, standing at him, unable to move. There was a breeze, but she didn’t know where it was coming from, as the dark room had no windows or doors.
The girl took a step forward through the blood.
“Callum..” she said, her voice gentle and yet precarious, “Callum, are you okay?”
The boy in front of her tensed up, turning away from her.
“Callum..” she said again, her voice coming out in something similar to a laugh, “Callum?”
“Go away.” the voice boomed through the throne room, but it wasn’t the boy’s voice anymore. His form had shifted, morphed into a young woman, who was sitting on the throne itself, bleeding profusely from her eye. She flashed Lucine a grin, leaning forward.
“C-Callidora?” the girl asked, taking a step back. The vampire on the throne laughed.
“You can’t help me.” she told Lucine, tilting her head. She was holding a knife, “You ruined my life.”
Lucine stared at the knife, and recognized it as the knife Callum had given her. Her hand instinctively went to her belt where it was kept- but she no longer had a hand.
She looked up in fear, as Callidora’s form shifted again, this time to the woman she recognized from a small painting as her mother. The throne was gone as well, instead it was a wooden table, the woman laying on top of it, surrounded by flowers, the knife covered in blood clasped in her hands.
“M-mother..?” Lucine asked, walking towards the table. The closer she got to the table, the more the form began to shift, until she was looking down at not her mother’s body, but Callum’s, clutching Torvald’s sword in his cold, pale hands.
“You can’t help him.” the voice rang through her ears again, and caused her to whip around, but nobody was there.
“Monster.” it spat, and at that moment Lucine realized the voice was not one voice, but a mixture of voices. Everyone who she had ever cared for, everyone who she had ever tried to help.
She fell to her knees in the sweet smelling blood as the voice continued.
The chorus kept echoing inside her mind, chanting “Monster, monster, monster..” the one thing she feared becoming. The one thing she would never let herself become.
“Stop it!” she shouted, placing her hands over her ears. It was then that something fell out of her belt into the blood- the knife. Lucine opened one of her yellow eyes, and reached out to take the knife.
Everything stopped. The voices were gone, as was the table. It was just Lucine, alone.
She took the knife, and counted to ten, aiming the knife in front of her heart.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9………
The girl let out a gasp, opening her yellow eyes and sitting up in the bed. Light was pouring through the window, brightening up the room and giving her light in order to see her surroundings.
She knew exactly where she was- the inn where she and Callum had decided to spend the night. Calming her breathing, she turned her head to look at the boy next to her.
She knew she had experienced a nightmare, she had them every night, and they were common enough that she no longer remembered what their contents were. Sighing loudly, Lucine bent down and gave Callum a small kiss on his forehead, before blinking when she finally processed that something was in her hand.
She looked down at it, to see the piece of paper resting there. She blinked and adjusted herself to look at it, holding it in her hand as she read.
It took Lucine a minute to process that the note was from Raven, and once she had gotten passed her initial shock of the fact that the wolf could write, she processed the next thing- Raven had found someone who might know what was going on.
She broke out into a small, hopeful smile, and pulled her tired body out of the bed. If Raven had found someone to help them, that was great. Though she doubted it would be of any real help, a little optimism went a long way.
Crossing over to the desk, she placed the note down on top of it, and picked up her wooden hand. Tying it on was always annoying, but she set to work, eventually managing to get it attached. When it finally was, the hand began to glow for a few seconds, before the glow dimmed down. It was sort of the way that her hand woke up whenever she put it on, the magic activating to be able to do what she wanted from it. After that process had finished, the girl dressed quickly, and then got to work with collecting what she was going to show to whoever Raven had found.
She collected the broken pieces of the dart and placed them in a smaller pouch, and afterward, took her journal and bookmarked all the pages which she included about poisons. Closing it and placing the pouch on top, she found her small coin purse as an afterthought and placed it with the other things.
After she had finished collecting her things, she eyed the wolf pup on the floor and smiled, bending down before her and giving the wolf a couple pets behind the ears.
“Good girl, Raven,” she said in a soft voice, her petting turning to itching, “Smart smart girl.”
She looked up at Callum in the bed, continuing to scratch Raven behind the ears, and she felt herself filling with both love and worry.
Please let this work…
All was quiet.
There was a flash of silver, a spurt of red
Lucine rolled over in her sleep, making a small grunting noise.
Blood ran under the girl’s booted feet, as she stood in the dark throne room, all alone.
The girl curled up slightly, her body tensing.
She could smell it, and it pulled at the back of her mind, threatening to pull her under.
She looked before her, and her and the boy lying on the ground in front of her were the only things in the room. He had been stabbed, but instead of it being through his chest, like she remembered, he was cradling his wrist.
She stood there, standing at him, unable to move. There was a breeze, but she didn’t know where it was coming from, as the dark room had no windows or doors.
The girl took a step forward through the blood.
“Callum..” she said, her voice gentle and yet precarious, “Callum, are you okay?”
The boy in front of her tensed up, turning away from her.
“Callum..” she said again, her voice coming out in something similar to a laugh, “Callum?”
“Go away.” the voice boomed through the throne room, but it wasn’t the boy’s voice anymore. His form had shifted, morphed into a young woman, who was sitting on the throne itself, bleeding profusely from her eye. She flashed Lucine a grin, leaning forward.
“C-Callidora?” the girl asked, taking a step back. The vampire on the throne laughed.
“You can’t help me.” she told Lucine, tilting her head. She was holding a knife, “You ruined my life.”
Lucine stared at the knife, and recognized it as the knife Callum had given her. Her hand instinctively went to her belt where it was kept- but she no longer had a hand.
She looked up in fear, as Callidora’s form shifted again, this time to the woman she recognized from a small painting as her mother. The throne was gone as well, instead it was a wooden table, the woman laying on top of it, surrounded by flowers, the knife covered in blood clasped in her hands.
“M-mother..?” Lucine asked, walking towards the table. The closer she got to the table, the more the form began to shift, until she was looking down at not her mother’s body, but Callum’s, clutching Torvald’s sword in his cold, pale hands.
“You can’t help him.” the voice rang through her ears again, and caused her to whip around, but nobody was there.
“Monster.” it spat, and at that moment Lucine realized the voice was not one voice, but a mixture of voices. Everyone who she had ever cared for, everyone who she had ever tried to help.
She fell to her knees in the sweet smelling blood as the voice continued.
The chorus kept echoing inside her mind, chanting “Monster, monster, monster..” the one thing she feared becoming. The one thing she would never let herself become.
“Stop it!” she shouted, placing her hands over her ears. It was then that something fell out of her belt into the blood- the knife. Lucine opened one of her yellow eyes, and reached out to take the knife.
Everything stopped. The voices were gone, as was the table. It was just Lucine, alone.
She took the knife, and counted to ten, aiming the knife in front of her heart.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9………
The girl let out a gasp, opening her yellow eyes and sitting up in the bed. Light was pouring through the window, brightening up the room and giving her light in order to see her surroundings.
She knew exactly where she was- the inn where she and Callum had decided to spend the night. Calming her breathing, she turned her head to look at the boy next to her.
She knew she had experienced a nightmare, she had them every night, and they were common enough that she no longer remembered what their contents were. Sighing loudly, Lucine bent down and gave Callum a small kiss on his forehead, before blinking when she finally processed that something was in her hand.
She looked down at it, to see the piece of paper resting there. She blinked and adjusted herself to look at it, holding it in her hand as she read.
It took Lucine a minute to process that the note was from Raven, and once she had gotten passed her initial shock of the fact that the wolf could write, she processed the next thing- Raven had found someone who might know what was going on.
She broke out into a small, hopeful smile, and pulled her tired body out of the bed. If Raven had found someone to help them, that was great. Though she doubted it would be of any real help, a little optimism went a long way.
Crossing over to the desk, she placed the note down on top of it, and picked up her wooden hand. Tying it on was always annoying, but she set to work, eventually managing to get it attached. When it finally was, the hand began to glow for a few seconds, before the glow dimmed down. It was sort of the way that her hand woke up whenever she put it on, the magic activating to be able to do what she wanted from it. After that process had finished, the girl dressed quickly, and then got to work with collecting what she was going to show to whoever Raven had found.
She collected the broken pieces of the dart and placed them in a smaller pouch, and afterward, took her journal and bookmarked all the pages which she included about poisons. Closing it and placing the pouch on top, she found her small coin purse as an afterthought and placed it with the other things.
After she had finished collecting her things, she eyed the wolf pup on the floor and smiled, bending down before her and giving the wolf a couple pets behind the ears.
“Good girl, Raven,” she said in a soft voice, her petting turning to itching, “Smart smart girl.”
She looked up at Callum in the bed, continuing to scratch Raven behind the ears, and she felt herself filling with both love and worry.
Please let this work…
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to F**KING SCREAM.
He couldn't move the way he wanted to. He couldn't get away from any of the pain, any of the suffering. The boy was in a cage, chained to the bars. There were chains around his wrists, his ankles, and even his neck. He was alone, all alone, with no one to help him. There was no Raven, and there was no Lucine. No Lucine.
No Lucine.
He couldn't see it, but something was penetrating his stomach. Immediately, pain blossomed, and he couldn't stop it. He couldn't get away from it. At the same time, something else was scratching his body repeatedly, adding onto the pain his brain was trying to blur. He could hear the sound of his skin tearing, but he could do nothing to prevent it from happening.
He suddenly gained the ability to kick and thrash, letting out a yell of pain as the torment continued. He heard a brief crackling sound just before he felt heat growing closer. He froze on the spot, his eyes widening in fear. He couldn't escape from the chains, from the invasive pain, from anything. He felt as though he could never escape from anything. Ever.
"Lucine?" he pleaded, his voice sounding as if gallons of smoke had been shoved down his throat. He suddenly found it hard to breathe without coughing fiercely. It was then that he saw fire appear around his cage, completely surrounding him. "No! Please!" he shouted, tears sliding down his cheeks as he thrashed harder than before. The sounds of the rattling chains resounded in his ears as he pulled against them. Pulled, and pulled, and pulled, but it wasn't enough, it was never ENOUGH-
His body felt as though it had been set on fire, and the sensation finally caused him to scream. Oh, how he SCREAMED. He wailed loudly for someone to save him as the tears kept coming. He couldn't stop crying and begging for his life like the child he really was.
"Please!" he screamed. "PLEASE! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!! PLEASE!!!"
Blood pooled out of the reopened holes drilled into his stomach. It dribbled from the corners of his mouth, and he could taste it. He could taste the sweetness of his blood... and it tasted good.
Why did it taste that way?
...Why...?
The chains were suddenly gone. The cage was gone. The fire was gone. He was in a dark space, all alone, just before a dark forest materialized around him.
He knew this place, but he couldn't process it due to the pain still lingering throughout his entire body. He took ragged breaths, coughing and sobbing on his knees. He could barely describe the pain anymore, especially as it slowly increased, most of it in his arm. His frightened gaze darted to his arm, and when he impulsively pulled up his sleeve, the veins underneath the skin were almost black, and the skin itself was paler than it was before.
He set his jaw tightly when he felt more sharp pain in his gums. A few seconds later, he felt something in his mouth, spitting out whatever the object was... and there was more than one. Two teeth came out of his mouth, and they were his own. He gasped in horror, lifting a hand and touching his lips as he looked around the forest.
"Lucine...?" he whispered as more blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth.
His arm stiffened, as did the rest of his body, and it caused him to fall over and collapse on his side. He whimpered when his body then began to tremble against his will. He felt something sharp poking through the holes in his gums, and it nearly made him scream. The area where he had been injected with an unknown poison leaked a black liquid resembling some form of blood. All of the warmth previously in him left until he was essentially frozen.
The boy hissed and thrashed on the floor as the light of the full moon shone upon him. It was taunting him, calling to him. He was so lost, so confused... he was human, wasn't he? Why was this happening?
Why?
...There was a flash of silver, and a splash of red...
...The Curse, it stopped the other curses and reigned over them...
...But when it was lifted by Death...
...It shouldn't be here anymore, it shouldn't, it went away, it shouldn't be back...!
"No! NO! PLEASE!!!" he screeched, his bones shifting. It brought pain along with it, causing more screams to tear out of his throat. He grabbed his wrist and squeezed it harshly, beginning to suffocate due to his loud sobbing and screaming. His sentience was being shrouded by a feral fog, a fog that should no longer be there, yet it was, and no one was around to help him.
After the hissing came the growling, and after the growling came the howling, which came out of a mouth that shouldn't be emitting such a sound. Dark grey fur began to grow where his skin was, his fingers snapping and forming claws where his nails were. He could feel every second of his anatomy forcibly changing. It wasn't just the call of the moon causing the change to occur. It was also the hunger attacking his stomach. This hunger wouldn't be satisfied by any normal piece of food. No.
Only blood would satisfy it.
Vein-diggers...
Before the boy had woken up, Raven began to stir. She was brought out of her dreamless sleep by a hand petting her behind the ears, as well as a pleasing voice. She yawned shortly before yipping quietly in a cute manner. She leaned her head into Lucine's hand, as if asking her to keep going. The sensation of her hand scratching behind the pup's ears felt too good for it to stop now.
She felt accomplished after last night, and Lucine's words cemented this feeling in her mind. She knew what they had to do, and they would get somewhere today. Maybe not too far, but they would get somewhere.
She would've grinned if it weren't for what happened afterwards.
Shortly after Lucine had awakened, Callum began twitching in bed. His breathing hitched and sped up. His face was contorted with pain, and his infected arm was completely stiff. Halfway through the nightmare he was enduring, tears slipped out from underneath his closed eyes and slid down his pale cheeks.
"Please, it hurts, it hurts...!" he murmured hoarsely. He squirmed underneath the blanket before curling in on himself and whimpering. His jaw was set tightly for a brief moment before he began hissing quietly. He balled his fists and squirmed a little more.
"No... Lucine... save me...!"
It wasn't long before the boy's eyes flew open, accompanied by a frightened scream. Sweat poured down his face and accompanied his tears. He panted and curled in a little more, letting a few sobs escape him. What appeared to be blood slowly began to soak through the bandage over the spot in which he had been injected with the poison in the dart. However, it wasn't red like it should've been... it appeared to be black instead. The veins underneath had darkened a little further since the night before.
Callum whined in pain, unable to get the images of his recent nightmare out of his head. "...Lucine..." he whimpered, almost as if he was begging for her. His eyes were still closed, and he was having trouble controlling his breathing. His arm was pounding painfully, which was an unfortunate upgrade to the previous tingling.
"It... it hurts..."
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to F**KING SCREAM.
He couldn't move the way he wanted to. He couldn't get away from any of the pain, any of the suffering. The boy was in a cage, chained to the bars. There were chains around his wrists, his ankles, and even his neck. He was alone, all alone, with no one to help him. There was no Raven, and there was no Lucine. No Lucine.
No Lucine.
He couldn't see it, but something was penetrating his stomach. Immediately, pain blossomed, and he couldn't stop it. He couldn't get away from it. At the same time, something else was scratching his body repeatedly, adding onto the pain his brain was trying to blur. He could hear the sound of his skin tearing, but he could do nothing to prevent it from happening.
He suddenly gained the ability to kick and thrash, letting out a yell of pain as the torment continued. He heard a brief crackling sound just before he felt heat growing closer. He froze on the spot, his eyes widening in fear. He couldn't escape from the chains, from the invasive pain, from anything. He felt as though he could never escape from anything. Ever.
"Lucine?" he pleaded, his voice sounding as if gallons of smoke had been shoved down his throat. He suddenly found it hard to breathe without coughing fiercely. It was then that he saw fire appear around his cage, completely surrounding him. "No! Please!" he shouted, tears sliding down his cheeks as he thrashed harder than before. The sounds of the rattling chains resounded in his ears as he pulled against them. Pulled, and pulled, and pulled, but it wasn't enough, it was never ENOUGH-
His body felt as though it had been set on fire, and the sensation finally caused him to scream. Oh, how he SCREAMED. He wailed loudly for someone to save him as the tears kept coming. He couldn't stop crying and begging for his life like the child he really was.
"Please!" he screamed. "PLEASE! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!! PLEASE!!!"
Blood pooled out of the reopened holes drilled into his stomach. It dribbled from the corners of his mouth, and he could taste it. He could taste the sweetness of his blood... and it tasted good.
Why did it taste that way?
...Why...?
The chains were suddenly gone. The cage was gone. The fire was gone. He was in a dark space, all alone, just before a dark forest materialized around him.
He knew this place, but he couldn't process it due to the pain still lingering throughout his entire body. He took ragged breaths, coughing and sobbing on his knees. He could barely describe the pain anymore, especially as it slowly increased, most of it in his arm. His frightened gaze darted to his arm, and when he impulsively pulled up his sleeve, the veins underneath the skin were almost black, and the skin itself was paler than it was before.
He set his jaw tightly when he felt more sharp pain in his gums. A few seconds later, he felt something in his mouth, spitting out whatever the object was... and there was more than one. Two teeth came out of his mouth, and they were his own. He gasped in horror, lifting a hand and touching his lips as he looked around the forest.
"Lucine...?" he whispered as more blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth.
His arm stiffened, as did the rest of his body, and it caused him to fall over and collapse on his side. He whimpered when his body then began to tremble against his will. He felt something sharp poking through the holes in his gums, and it nearly made him scream. The area where he had been injected with an unknown poison leaked a black liquid resembling some form of blood. All of the warmth previously in him left until he was essentially frozen.
The boy hissed and thrashed on the floor as the light of the full moon shone upon him. It was taunting him, calling to him. He was so lost, so confused... he was human, wasn't he? Why was this happening?
Why?
...There was a flash of silver, and a splash of red...
...The Curse, it stopped the other curses and reigned over them...
...But when it was lifted by Death...
...It shouldn't be here anymore, it shouldn't, it went away, it shouldn't be back...!
"No! NO! PLEASE!!!" he screeched, his bones shifting. It brought pain along with it, causing more screams to tear out of his throat. He grabbed his wrist and squeezed it harshly, beginning to suffocate due to his loud sobbing and screaming. His sentience was being shrouded by a feral fog, a fog that should no longer be there, yet it was, and no one was around to help him.
After the hissing came the growling, and after the growling came the howling, which came out of a mouth that shouldn't be emitting such a sound. Dark grey fur began to grow where his skin was, his fingers snapping and forming claws where his nails were. He could feel every second of his anatomy forcibly changing. It wasn't just the call of the moon causing the change to occur. It was also the hunger attacking his stomach. This hunger wouldn't be satisfied by any normal piece of food. No.
Only blood would satisfy it.
Vein-diggers...
Before the boy had woken up, Raven began to stir. She was brought out of her dreamless sleep by a hand petting her behind the ears, as well as a pleasing voice. She yawned shortly before yipping quietly in a cute manner. She leaned her head into Lucine's hand, as if asking her to keep going. The sensation of her hand scratching behind the pup's ears felt too good for it to stop now.
She felt accomplished after last night, and Lucine's words cemented this feeling in her mind. She knew what they had to do, and they would get somewhere today. Maybe not too far, but they would get somewhere.
She would've grinned if it weren't for what happened afterwards.
Shortly after Lucine had awakened, Callum began twitching in bed. His breathing hitched and sped up. His face was contorted with pain, and his infected arm was completely stiff. Halfway through the nightmare he was enduring, tears slipped out from underneath his closed eyes and slid down his pale cheeks.
"Please, it hurts, it hurts...!" he murmured hoarsely. He squirmed underneath the blanket before curling in on himself and whimpering. His jaw was set tightly for a brief moment before he began hissing quietly. He balled his fists and squirmed a little more.
"No... Lucine... save me...!"
It wasn't long before the boy's eyes flew open, accompanied by a frightened scream. Sweat poured down his face and accompanied his tears. He panted and curled in a little more, letting a few sobs escape him. What appeared to be blood slowly began to soak through the bandage over the spot in which he had been injected with the poison in the dart. However, it wasn't red like it should've been... it appeared to be black instead. The veins underneath had darkened a little further since the night before.
Callum whined in pain, unable to get the images of his recent nightmare out of his head. "...Lucine..." he whimpered, almost as if he was begging for her. His eyes were still closed, and he was having trouble controlling his breathing. His arm was pounding painfully, which was an unfortunate upgrade to the previous tingling.
"It... it hurts..."