~ = TW - If you see this, that means this trigger will come up in todays chapter: Panic Attacks. If you see that, please skip until you see another one of those. That signifys that that part as ended and you can read foreward. If you still can't handle that, I implore you to leave now. Thank you <3
_________________________________________

The cold had passed, some.

Maybe winter wasn't coming..?

Still, the chilly air managed to linger just a hair making her dig her head deeper into his shoulder. He was carrying her now, having seen that she finished her meal quicker than anticipated.

"Nmph.." "I know - kid - I know..!" He spoke hastily. Half-limping and half-walking he held her up with one arm, clutching his still bleeding side with the other.

Irene, he was moving at an incredibly slow pace...

He was trying but--it felt like the entire world suddenly got heavier and made it their goal to force it all onto his body. Nobodys elses.

But..he needs to keep her safe! That's why he has to keep moving! He just got her back he-he can't lost her again!

She looked up at him, worridly, as he slowly began panting, 'Cass..Cassi is just..a block away from here. I can make it.'

"I can make it.." He repeated aloud, loud enough for her to hear.

His voice was hoarse.

Her brows
knitted together.

Too hoarse.

A whine left her as he began to move slower, his ears and tail drooping like gravity fell ontop of them.

She grabbed the neckline of his shirt, trying to form words she didn't know how to say. But when she saw his eyes, even she knew there was no helping him at this point.

Face paled and crusted with dried blood, his dull--almost lifeless eyes rolled into the back of his head as if he was trying to keep himself awake before stopping place, limbs trembling.

"I..can make it..I..can.."

TMP

He fell to the ground. And right ontop of her too. "Pu-Paa! Paa!" She whined, trying to get out from under him.

All his weight was ontop of her now, almost crushing her still developing tail and back. Little grunts left her to no avail as she trued to wake him up and get him off at the same time.

Eventually, something warm snd went managed to trickle off of him and down her side. That was enough to make her yelp like a frightened dog before finally getting out from under him.

She did her best not to make any noise.

Or show how much he hurt her.

She doesn't have the right to complain.

She never has. Still..he was bleeding too much!

Too fast!

Getting to her knees, she ignored the scratches on them that burned when digging into the concreat, soely focused on getting him to wake up.

She weakly shook him the best she could with her little arms, pitiful whines and ineligible pleas leaving her.

But..nothing. He didn't even budge.

Then..she realized.

Mouth parting and going dry at the thought crossing her mind.

Where..

Where'd his heart go?

Wishing she were back under him now, the tiny werewolf did her best to listen for the larger werewolfs heartbeat.

Why coudn't she hear anything?

Was-Was he? No..No! N-No way!

His face was pale..his breathing shallow but..He couldn't possibly be dead!

He..He promised he wouldn't leave her again?

He wouldn't break a promise would he?

"Pa.." She was trying her best to speak.

"Pa-P," She hadn't known how yet.

But that woman, the one who called herself mother, did call him one thing.

And one thing only.

"Papa Wolf!" She shouted. The first word she ever spoke since the expeirment. It was scratchy and tone-jumbled but she did say it.

Her first word.

And received no praise.

"Pa..Papa..Wolf" She repeated.

Her eye lids burn, tears gathering in her waterline at the pain. But they never fell.

Cus'..Cus' grown pups aren't supposed to cry. It's unbecoming of them! Papa Wolf never ever cried..why should she?

She shouldn't even be feeling sad anyways. Forgotten trash like her..doesn't deserve it.

But - she sat beside him and held the tip of his ear. That's all her fingers could grip - What exactly can she do..?

Her ears flickered upwards.

What was it Papa Wolf said again?

"We're going to see a friend of mine; Cassi. She's going to help us, I hope..but, if she does, make sure to never call her Cassandra. She hates Cassi, so, call her that instead. Not Cassandra. Kay',
little pup? Man, I love annoying her. Haha!"

Right! Miss. Cassi was around here..somewhere. She bit her lip, sniffing around for a woman.

She wasn't quite used to her new..features..as much as she should be but she could catch the faint scent of a woman!

There's alotta women out here but..the one she smells...it has to be Miss. Cassi!

Nobody else has a scent like she does!

She could get to her and bring her to Pap Wolf but..Would she come back?

And take her away from him?

She swallowed around the ache in her throat. She can't have that. On shakey limbs, she began taking his arm into her hand and tugging.

Tugging so hard, her arms burned and her feet slid against the sidewalk.

Papa Wolf had stopped bleeding..which-which was a good thing! It meant..bad people couldn't telk them.

Either of them.

The tugging felt like it was taking years..and it kind of was.

The building where the womans scent had coming from had only been a few blocks away bit it took 30 minutes for her to even get Papa Wolfs body and her own to the front door. And the extra exertion she was putting on her still developing bodg truly wasn't helping.

Halfway through the journey, her feet got torn and caught on a jagged peice of the sidewalk resulting in her falling flat on her tail bone. But she pushed through, walking it off.

There totally wasn't a stray tear in her eyes from the pain.

And if you saw it, no you didn't.

That never happened.

Okay? Okay.

Finally, she paused infront of the door. The womans scent had faded, inquiring that she had reached her destination it was a shoddy looking building that was behind all the rest. Hidden in the shadows. Cast away from society. Kind of like she was.

This had to be it.

Miss. Cassis abode.

But will she answer?

She shook her head free of negative thoughts; she had to answer. And if she didn't? Well, then, this poor baby wolf would die trying.

Bang..

The first one was soft.

Couldn't even compare to a knock. So it wasn't a surprise when there was no answer.

But her hands hurt so bad..!

It was hard enough to clentch them into fists--but now she had to bang on a door where the door knob wasn't even close to her hands?

Seriously?

The fatigue at set in, now..her vision growing horribly dark. But, with the last little peice of consciousness she had left, Puppy Wolf had managed to look at Papa wolf. His breathing stopped.

Heartbeat, still gone.

Blood, no longer dripping.

She clentched her teeth together, facing tbe door with a burning crimsion of determination in her eyes.

He needed her.

She couldn't let him down!

Reeling her fist back, she gave another knock.

Bang!

Still nothing..

And so, she kept going.

Bang!

Bang!

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG!

Knock-Knock.

"Y/n?"

You snapped your eyes open, sitting up too quickly as another headache washed over you.

Another morning.

Another nightmare.

Another day of Mom consistently knocking on the door for no reason.

Early-ly, at that.

Probably just to say morning.

...

You..don't usually say it back.

Anymore.

Noticing you weren't going to respond, Aphmau cleared her throat a little awkwardly, "Anyways - uh - Are you..getting ready."

Your ears flickered upwards.

Ready? Ready for what..?

"I know it's your first day back 'n all but-"

Wait...

"--I wanted to drive you today! Since..Well, I just thought you may not want to ride the bus. I also just..want to be there with you.."

What was the
date again?

As Moms words went in one ear and out the other, you slowly turned to the clock Kawaii~Chan had given you.

It showed the date and time.

Neat, huh?

She figured you'd have trouble waking up now since Aaron was no longe her--that's not the point.

The time. It read 7:00AM. The time you usually wake up for...

No.

No, today can't be--...You looked at the date.

And your heart promptly sank straight to your stomach.

"...Well..you don't have to talk to me Y/n. I made you breakfast. Pancakes....come down when you're ready for me to take you to school."

School.

S c h o o l.

The world slowed down.

You just woke up and the world was slowing down.

Aphmaus words and her feet strutting away were nothing but white noise to you as you reached a clamey and shakey finger to your chest, feeling the tremoring heartbeat shattle beneath your skin.

School was today. You promised Aphmau you'd start attending school again if she let you off the hook durning the beginning of last month.

You'd see them again. Your..friends.

Rocky. Alex. Ethan. Nico. Sophia.

Logan.

They'll know
what's wrong..

Asher.

There was a faint ringing in the back of your head. Everything was fading away in the background. You--You weren't ready..!

They..They weren't ready! They didn't need this--to know the truth of what..what happened that day at the lodge.

The day that you changed for the better--

(W̶̡͇͓̳̪͇̿̃͐̉͒̃Ơ̴̧̻̦̬͔͓̻͉̤̹͂̂̋͋͊R̴͇̘͈͓̖̺̿̽͂̅̋̾͂͌͘S̸̡̡̱̳̯̠̀͛̾̄̅̀͌͑́̕̚T̸̨̡̧͎̙͉̳̙̫͔̩͈̼̯̿̓̍͂̃̋̔͂͊̆͝)

The day you lost..

...

Why couldn't you breath anymore?

|𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓛𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻|
1: Undergoing the progress to maturity. AKA;
𝙂 𝙍 𝙊 𝙒

..The window felt cold on your forehead as you rested against it.

Houses passed like little blurs in you vision.

People did too.

..You did your best not to cry. But a few tears managed to escape the corners before quickly wiped away by you.

Whether it was from anger, stress, or sadness was anybody guess. You wanted them to be happy tears. But what's the point in lying? To yourself?

The pancakes you ate resulted in noises leaving your stomach every now and again, the nerves bubbling making it so your food couldn't settle.

It only got worse when Mom slowly pulled up to the school, finally infront of the carpool line having been last for your sake.

And despite her slight glance at you in rear-view mirror you made no move to get out of the car.

She sighed, "Y/n?" "..." "Y/n you gotta get out eventually. I have to get home." "..." You curled in a ball, tucking your arms in your shirt. Aphmau leaned back in her seat, pinching the bridge of her nose as a sudden drearyness fell over her.

Honestly?

"I don't want you to go either.." She said, just barely above a whispear. She saw a shift before nothing, your shiny e/c eyes staring at hers through the mirror.

Tensing.

Like you suddenly realized you were too scared to look away.

'I wish you weren't scared of me...'

"This will be the first time in a while that I've been away from you for so long. I'm scared too," Momma took a big breath, "But today, I will be the bravest I've ever been because I know you'll have a great day. You'll be safe. And see all your friends and maybe..ju-just maybe..."

'They'll be able to make you happy again. Since I can't..'

Those words were never said. They had died on her tongue.

Guilt weighed heavy on her heart..you knew that long before arriving back home. And it wasn't like you were activly trying to make her work hard too earn your forgivness. Trust. Love.

You didn't know why you couldn't just give it to her.

But you just can't.

And maybe..

Anger flashes through
your mind at the words
spoken to you while
heading out the door.

You grit your teeth, guilt gone.

You don't exactly want to.

Still, you were aware she was saying these things to make you less scared.

Help you.

Well, she failed.

Saying she'd be, "The bravest she'd ever been" was simply another childish way of burying her worries and trying to prove that she was here for you. That she can protect you.

However,

The tremoring of her heartbeat betrayed her words, so much so.

It just proved she was scared of being without you now. Scared that, when she's not around, something could happen to you.

Something bad.

But she didn't. Need to protect you.
Not Anymore.

'So don't act like we're the same,' You thought a touch bitterly, 'You and I are scared for entirly different reasons.'

. . .Your breaths had grown erratic and violent. You forced them to even out.

Still...

for her though. she needs you.

You had to push down this bitter anger from this morning.

You had to be the one to push down your worries and be there for her. Protect yourself.

No matter how Furious
Or
Scared

you were of Mom.

She needed you. Much more than you needed her.

"..I'll be the bravest I've ever been too." You said, also barely above a whispear. Moms eyes caught your again in the mirror. This was the first word you've spoken to her since the beginning of the day..!

Masking her shock, Mom forced a smile. "Great! That's..great! We'll both be brave then." "Mhm." You stepped out of the car without another word, slinging your backpack over your shoulders as various kids began flooding into the school building.

None of which were your friends, thankfully..

...

Was the school bigger or was it just you?

"Also..Y/n," Aphmaus voice suddenly became nervous. Serious. "Remember what I told you this morning?" Aphmau asked.

You had to clentch your fists into balls to not draw your claws from the anger.

You had to dig yours fangs your tongue to not snarl from the anger.

You had to fix your gaze at the ground to not glare from the anger.

"Yeah," You scoffed, hand on the car door now, "How could I forget?"

You slammed it shut.

And without looking back at Aphmau, you turned and entered the school. The only sign that she had driven away was the faint screech of tires on the road.

So much for not getting angry...

***

'The bandages itch,' You think, doing your best not to pick at your neck.

There was also one under your eye.

Your fingers too.

This morning, Aphmau had told you what to do when people ask about what happened at school.

"Mom was teaching my to ride a bike! And I fell."
You'd say.

Reciting the words in your head felt loud, now.

She was telling you to lie to your friends. So you could protect them from what happened at the lodge. But, deep down, probably in that angered and irrational part of you...you felt like this was her way of saving herself.

Your scowl fell.

'...Why is she looking at me like that?' You glared a student who had glanced at you for mearly a moment before turning to her friend and speaking again.

She gave you a strange look.

Of cours she did, you're glaring at her.

Stop it, look up!

You walked faster to your classroom, suddenly feeling like everyones eyes were drilling holes into every part of your body.

You took a deep breath, nearly tripping over you untied shoelaces.

You..you had to calm down. It was okay.

Nobody knows. No one. They weren't at the lodge. So they couldn't have known.

Everything. Was. Fine.

...Your clothes felt confining after a group of boys looked at you, laughed together, before talking again.

"...." Sweat pooled on your face...and, unfortunately, under your arms.

..crap..

'E V E R Y O N E K N O W S. . .'

Their talking about me.

No their not.

She knows. He knows.
They know. They all know!
They have to!

They seriously don't!

THEN WHY ARE
THEY LOOKING
AT ME!?

Maybe because
you're glaring at anyone
who looks
at you for a milli-second.

Was there a reason your thoughts were louder than normal?

Why were you so sweaty?

Why am I so sweaty!?

Can they see that
I am sweating?

Smell it?

I'd hope not...

Can they tell
I'm stressed out?

..Is that a werewolf-?
They dyed their ears-

NO--DO THEY KNOW EIN!?

I'm pretty sure they don't-

THEN WHY ARE MY THOUGHTS SO LOUD.

At this point, you were running down the halls, struggling to breath as the walls came in closer. The lockers, louder. Peoples voices, more prominent.

If people weren't staring at you before, they sure as heck were now...

Turning the corner, you instantly rammed into something soft. Smelt sweet too.

"Whoa! You good? Why're you still in the halls if class is starting soo...!" "I'm..Sorry about--" "Y/N!" Your heart sank at the fimilar voice.

Rocky was the one you had bumped into.

Your friend.

...

Breath.

"Ro..Rocky! Your hair is..shorter!" You smiled stiffly, tensing when Rocky wrapped you in a tight embrace.

"Thanks! I got my hair trimmed a little and then my Mama twisted my hair up! Cute, right? Anyways, where were you? We all thought you up and died or something! You nearly missed the child-parent dance. But, there was freak snow storm, so they reschedualed it! Now you can go with Aaron so--..Y/n?"

Rocky had a tendency to ramble. And usually you'd listen to her in full. But, still winded from..whatever just happened in the hallway, Rocky hugging all the air out of you, and the mention of him.

Dad.

Rocky felt how tense you were and frowned, backing up to look you in your eye. "Hey, are you okay? Why do you look like that?" She said with concern.

It was one thing to run down the hallway so frantically and scared but it was another thing to look so..out of it as you were.

You weren't like this when you left.

"...Where are the others?" You asked, quickly deflecting the question.

Rocky noticed that. But did not comment.

"We..Well, Their all in class already! C'mon, they'll be excited to see you! That should cheer you up! Nico also has something he wants to say to you." Rocky grinned. She turned to enter the classroom but stopped when she realized that you weren't following. Infact, your hand and slipped out of hers. Limp.

She frowned.

Seriously, what was going on with you?

Turning around quickly, Rocky enveloped you in a more concering hug. Her breath near your ear made you flinch in a way that made her hold you tighter. It was loving. "We really missed you." She whispeared. Wordlessly telling you, 'It's okay if you wanna talk.' But it wasn't. It wasn't okay. You..couldn't. So, relaxing into Rockys hold, you could only manage to say one thing.

"I..missed you guys too."

"Like crazy?"

You relaxed even further, her scent comforting you. You wouldn't tell them the truth. Even if it makes you sick to your stomach to lie to the ones you love.

"Like crazy..."

***

Walking into the, classroom were suddenly getting a strange sense of deja-vu as Rocky pulled your nervous self into the classroom.

You noticed lots of other kids talking with eachother and smiling.

It seems Miss. Melody wasn't here yet.

But you didn't pay attention to any of them, for once. You didn't feel as though they were talking about you.

You only paid attention to the group of kids talking in the back of the classroom who caught your eye the moment you walked into the room.

Their scents and faces were unmistakable.

Rocky elbowed you, snapping you out of your trance. "GUYS'!" She shouted, making every single student practically snaps their heads to her loud voice. "LOOK WHO'S HERE!"

You felt your nerves bubbling all over again. Why did she always feel the need to make a scene!?

"Y/n?" His calm voice called.

Your nerves dissipated. Turning your head slowly, almost fearfully, you turned your head to lock eyes with Asher who blinked at you owlishly with parted lips.

"Asher?" You called back.

"Y/N!" You yelped some when the rest of your friends practically tackled you to the ground with Alex and Asher simply just standing up from their seats to talk to you.

Rocky, wanting to feel included, belly-flopped ontop of you all elicting a pained groan from Logan.

"You heavy..Why would you flop onto us like that!? Are you stupid!?"

"You guys' tackled her without me! I wanted to feel included!"

"Included in breaking our backs, yeah.."

"Ethan, you have no room to talk! Your elbow is in Nicos face!"

"..."

The weight of having a secret to keep hidden was soon replaced by the weight of your friends crashing ontop of you, bringing sweet tears to your eyes.

Blinking them away, you wipe your eyes, bringing your friends as close to you as possible. The other students just went back to what they were doing as they were quite used to your groups antics already.

And that was even before you knew them...

Managing to sit up, you smile. A genuine one at your friends.

"You guys' missed me that much!?"

"Heck yeah we did!" You let out a small oof when Ethan hopped into your lap.

He was still shorter than you.

"We took care of your house, fed Bubbles--" Nico silently winced while remembering what he did "--I even cleaned your room! It took me ages, but I did it! All on my own!"

"Hey! Me and Alex helped too!" Rocky huffed.

Ethans grin turned into a frown, "Nu-uh. All you two did was feed bubbles non-stop. I was the one cleaning!"

Now it was your turn to wince. Ethan cleaned your room...The same one you wrecked durning your temper tantrum?

Ethan cupped your face, eyes brimming in that same sunshine happiness that you left him with, "You proud of me?" He crooned.

...oh...

"Ehhhh, yeah! Super proud of you. Thanks Eth'." You said rather uncomfortably.

Ethan pumped a fist in the air, "Yes! I knew I did an amazing job! Look, look! My hair grew out!"

"Ethan, I'm not sure if..Oh wait, it did."

"MovE! I want a turn with my future wife too!" Logan huffed, moving to push Ethan out of the way until Asher grabbed the back of his shirt.

"First of all, quit crowding her. Secondly, Ethan is the youngest out of all of us. Be nice." He scoffed, letting go of Logan with a slight jostle.

Logan stuffed his hands into his pockets with a pout, "Hmph.." But not without leaning against Asher slightly as he read.

Though he seemed rather indifferent about you finlly coming back to school, both him and Alex could tell he probably missed you the most out of everyone.

He's just more...paitent.

Always has been with you.

"Wait, so..you guys' were the ones feeding Bubba?" You prompted.

"Oh yeah! We all took turns. Nico and Sophia were first, so--" "Nn..hic.." "Mm? Nico?"

At the mention of the poor traumatized fish, Nico suddenly fell to his knees in messy sobs. His little mei'fwa ears were pressed flat onto his head as Sophia gave him a tired look.

While everyone looked concerned for Nico his twin just seemed...over it, honestly.

"N-Nico!" You quickly got to your feet, looking down at him worridly. Your heart pounded in your ears.

Was he hurt? Did something happen!?did you..do something wrong-? Again..?

"What's wrong? Nico, Ar-Are you okay!?" "I..I..!" He couldn't get the words out.

1. Because his voice was too small.

And 2. Because his sobs wouldn't ket him.

Sophia rolled her eyes, "He ate Bubba."

Your eyes widened in horror, "WHAT!? Bu-But I saw him this morning, he was fine!"

Alex facepalmed, "Tell what happened after." "Oh yeah! Don't worry, he spit him back up." Sophia smiled inoccently, her tail curling upward and around her body to poke Nicos head a little.

"That's why became a..uhm...Asher, what's that word again?" He didn't miss a beat all without looking up from his book, "Pescatarian."

"Yeah! A pesca-larion!"

"That's not even close to what I said."

"Shhhut up. I said it right." Ethan nodded, making Asher glare his way. Logan had to hold back his chuckles before Asher decided he wanted him turned into a frog.

"Oh. Well don't worry about it, Nico." You shrugged, taking the cat-boy by his hands and making him stand to his full height again.

"One time, Mom thought he was dead and tried to flush him down the toilet. Then Travis and Dante came in and also thought Bubba was dead. So they tried to bury him outside," You laughed to yourself a little. That little fish is resilient, that was for sure. You'd never forget the time Bubba jumped out of his tank and slapped Travis in the face for that. Your friends seemed amused too. Even Asher managed a small smile.

You even grinned yourself, "Oh! Then there was the time that Dad-!"

Oh..

..Dad..

You slowly quieted down, words vanishing into thin air.

That came that weight again.

Your friends all go silent as well, exchanging looks of mild confusion.

Except Ethan who, obviously, can't ever read a room.

"Dad what? What'd Aaron do? C'mon, Y/n, finish the storyyy!" He whined. But he soon setteled down when Ashers free hand rested on his shoulder.

"That's enough. Miss. Melody is going to be here soon, so, we should sit down." "Oh..uhm.." Ethan, suddenly noticing the most vacant looked in your eye frowned.

What..just happened.

"C'mon, guys'." Alex had lifted Ethan into their arms now. "Ashers right. Lets..sit." Giving you worried glances, your group of friends dispersed, sitting in their chairs and waiting for the teacher to arrive.

You were only pulled out of your trance when Asher grabbed your hand and led you to your seat as well as his in the back of the class.

You both took a seat.

Staring foreward as the clock ticked.

And ticked.

And ticked.

And ticked.

And ticked.

Until--

"I really missed you."

It stopped.

Slowly turning to Asher you watched as she stared back at you, eyes calculating yet full of genuine concern.

"I missed you too, Asher...Uhm, I brought you a book back from...The...He-Here. It's the lost volume on 'Souls.' I know you kind of like that sort of thing soo..."

"Oh..thanks.." Asher took the hefty book from your hands and put it in his backpack. Then he looked back at your again, expectedly.

You frowned, a tiny bit agitated.

If nobody in this entire school knew, Asher of all people was the only one who knew.

"Why are you staring.." You glared anxiously. Asher rose his brows in surprise, surprised your tone took such a drastic turn.

"Sorry. You just...No, 'Ashy'? 'Ashy Flashy'?...A hug?" He said incredously.

"...Sorry, what were you saying?" You were breathless. Asher sighed, facing foreward in his desk again.

"..Nevermind."

The ticking stop. A bell rang. And class began.

"Hello class~!" Miss. Melodys honey like voice rang about. And a pleasent calmness seemed to wash over the room.

"Hello Miss. Melody." The class sounded almost robotically, but no less happily.

Miss. Melody smiled kindly, happy to see all her childrens faces. But she seemed to grow even happier at the sight of you, relief spreading over her features.

"Y/n!" You jumped at the call to your presense. Everyone was staring now. You hated that.

"It's good to see you in our class again. I was starting to grow worried!"

You knew Miss. Melody was only being kind. She was like your...school Mom! But..all this attention.

It was making it harder to breath. Everyones eyes felt like weights on your back, forcing you to look at the ground.

"Your friends told me you went up to a lodge on bunny hill! Me and my partner plan on going up there for our anniversary soon~! Tell me, did you have fun?"

...

~

'No.'

Your heart stopped.

The memories of that horrible--god awful week came rushing back quicker than you could try and calm yourself down.

Bunny Hill.

The lodge.

Scrouchy.

Aphmau.

Aaron.

E̴̻̖͒͐͆̌͝Î̴̧̘͎͙̞̪̯̇̐͐̽̓͆̐̈́͜͠N̸̛͓̂̔̆̓͝͠͝!

Why couldn't you breath anymore?

"ˀᵗʰᵍᶦʳˡᵃ ᵘᵒʸ ᵉʳᴬ ˀⁿ/ʸ"

Was someone talking to you? You couldn't tell.

Your own breathing was now impossibly too shallow, eyes stinging so badely you you couldn't see.

Your stomach, as cold as ice and your heart thumped and twisted so painfully you felt physically sick to your stomach.

What's going on? Wh-What was this?

Why wouldn't it stop..

You opened your mouth before closing it again, pointless squeaks flying from you.

Why did you feel like you were d̵̞̺͎̳̰͕̙̦̓̈́͠ẙ̷̜͍̼̭̀͊͋͛̊ͅî̶̧̛̠̬͉̮͜͝ͅn̴̨̪̘͔̜̳͈͖̈́̑͋̎̓̈́̚g̵̡͎̬̜͒͂̇̑̔͒͐̽!?

"˙˙ᵘᵒʸ˙˙ᵉʳᴬ ˀ˙˙ⁿ/ʸ"

"˙˙˙ʸᵈᵒˡᵉᴹ ˙ˢˢᶦᴹ 'ʳᵉʰ ᵗᵒᵍ ᵉᵛ,ᴵ"

"They call this bloodline...The Ultima."
"Aaron..you're a werewolf? An...An U-Ultima?"
"CAN'T YOU LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE AND JUST GO!?"

The gentle arm on your shoulder persisted, trying to pull you out of your chair. But you yanked yourself away.

"The best thing, you could do for me? Is die."
"How DARE you!? You hurt your own father!? Why did I ever take you in! I should have left you on the street to rot."
"Your just a kid. You wouldn't understand."

You felt yourself being moved.

"If you...If she tries to attack you..Use the potion on her and run away. Hear me? Run. Away."
"I loved you. I fed you. I clothed you. And this? THIS is how you repay me? By being an ungreatful little brat and mistreating your father? By staying with that..that MONSTER!"
"

Picking you up off that ally. Calling you my own. Was the biggest mistake of my life. You're nothing but a burden, Y/n. You always will be."

"ˀᵘᵒʸ ʰᵗᶦʷ ᵍⁿᵒʳʷ ˢ,ᵗᵃʰᵂ ˙ᵉʰᵗᵃᵉʳᵇ ᵒᵗ ᵉᵛᵃʰ ᵘᵒʸ 'ⁿ/ʸ˙˙ʷᵒⁿ ᵉⁿᵒˡᵃ ᵉʳ,ᵉᵂ ˙ʸᵉᴴ"

"What ice cream do you want when you get home, Y/n?"
"What did you..do..to..What..How are you doing that, Y/n!"
"When you..get home I want you to heal your injuries. Then sleep in your bed. And eat as much ice cream and pizza as you want. So much, you'll feel full for..for days even..! Share with your Mom. She'll get..pouty-like if you don't. Stay warm and clothed. Don't forget to feed Celestia and..and Alexander too."
"I'll be fine, sweetpea."

"!ₑ̴͚̞͕̟̊̂͑̋̂̏͘͜ₘ̶̘͕̺̰̿̂̉̽̈́̊̔ ̸̨̫̕ₜ̸̭̺̀͠ₐ̷̝̫̥͊ ̴͖̽͌̀ₖ̶̥̾ₒ̷̬͕͔͙̅͂ₒ̸͙̫̗͍̻̠̃͝ₗ̶̲͈͎̟̪̗̒̓͊̒͝ ̴͎̣͊̈̍͘͝ₙ̸͔̹̜̹͇̲͑͜/̷̜̼̜̤̅̎͐ͅY̶̺͓̺͎͗̿̄́͝"

"I'll always be here for you."

The sting in your eyes were replaced with a blur as tears flowed down your cheeks, feeling like lava against you. Breathing was becoming even worse, voice watery and cracked with tears and snot. You could feel yourself sitting on the ground now, cold and dirty.

The soft but worn hands came out to grab your shoulders roughly but you pulled away, trying to regain control of your breathing again.

The hands left.

And then, that feeling too over.

That feeling when you say things you don't mean.

Do things you'd never do.

Mind fuzzing..fading...

Then suddenly, the hands returned. This time, more gentle than before. A shadow took over your being as whispears brushed against your arm, the hands running up to your shoulders, down your arms, squeezing your hands, and then back again. And aftering seeing that your breathing began to slow down and gain control again they stopped repeating this motion. Instesd, the person tentivly wrapped their arms around you before rocking side to side.

Their voice was becoming more clear.

"Calm down. Breathe. It's okay." They coaxed.

They kept repeating those same words over and over again with you slowly relaxing in their embrace.

Calm down.

Breathe.

It's okay.

Then, you never felt more tired in your life...

Panting softly, you rested against their shoulder making them tense a little.

"Are you okay?" He spoke.

You lifted your head in surprise.

"Asher?"

~

Ripping yourself away, you rubbing frantically at your eyes as to not let your best friend see your tears. Though, based on what just happened, it would see that that ship had sailed along time ago.

Anger. Embarrassment. Helplessness at the loss of control again.

All those feelings plagued your mind so much, you couldn't even control what you were saying next.

"What do you want." You spoke harshly, coldly. Forcing yourself to not meet Ashers eyes as he flinched back at your tone.

Still, he swallowed the lump in his throat and wet his lips to speak again.

"You..You were having a panic attack in class. Everyone was staring. I was helping you."

"Panic..attack...?"

"Do you not know what that is?"

"Would I be asking if I did?"

Asher narrowed his eyes your way, folding his arms across his chest.

"A panic attack is when you...think of something that's a threat to you. Think you're in danger. Basically an episode of intense fear or anxiety. That being said...what's wrong. And what's with the bandages? Y/n. What happened." He asked sternly.

Tightening your hands into fists, you looked a little scared for a moment. Something that didn't pass Ashers calculated eyes.

You..can't tell him. Mom told you not to tell him.

But...if you do--

Would he even believe you?

He..was your friend.
Your best friend, at that.
Of course he'd believe you
...Right-?

Of course he wouldn't.
He's honestly better off not
knowing anything. E̴̻̖͒͐͆̌͝Î̴̧̘͎͙̞̪̯̇̐͐̽̓͆̐̈́͜͠N̸̛͓̂̔̆̓͝͠͝ could
k̶̻̅í̷̱l̴̈́ͅl̴̩̭͠ him, y'know.

But..But you--

Killed Ein? Yes, we know.
But are you sure?
Really sure? They never found a body, afterall~

Asher wad paitently awaiting an answer. And here you were, shaking your hands out to stop the nausea from creeping up again while having a mental debate with yourself. Pathetic.

Yes. It is pathetic. Sit back, okay? I'll take the reins.

...You felt f̶̯̆a̶͙̜̲̩͙͑̋̓ḓ̸̨̰̑e̶̫̺͈̊̕͝d̸̙̲̤͎͊̈́͆̈...

Closing your eyes, you looked up at Asher again. This time, your gaze was lightless.

"It's none of your buisness. I'm fine." You scoffed, standing to your full height to enter the classroom again.

Asher stands quicker, though, reaching out to grab your wrist.

"Yeah, because having a panic attack just screams 'I'm A-Okay!'!" He mocked.

In any other circumstance you would've laughed. Made fun of him back.

But like this?

You couldn't even manage a smile..

"It is my buisness because I am your friend. Your best friend. I'm just worried--All our friends are! Nico even tried reaching to you before me! Talk to me. I can tell somethings wrong and," Asher looked away from a moment looking concerned before focusing on you again, "And I can tell when you lie. Please just..talk to me. I know I'm not good at comforting people...But I'm trying. Let me try and understand you."

You scoffed, humorlessly. It made Ashers frown deepen, your hand gripping his tightly while the other one dug into your palms.

Blood fell to the ground.

"Understand me..Help me..You don't even know me!" You snapped. Asher yanked his now bruised hand away, cradeling it against his chest.

"Always nagging me about every little thing! Have you ever thought that maybe I don't want your help? That you're not nothing but a pain to deal with!? Constantly acting so cold to me and then suddenly wanting to care! Give me a break Asher. Stay out of my buisness! And while you're at it, do me one better
and S̴̖̩̕͝Ṭ̴͎͓̹́̍̐̈͛A̷̞͔͉̐͗ͅY̵̫̖͕̋͋̾͝ ̷̧̈́̚̚͠O̴̱͕͗͝Ų̴̟͆T̶̛͍̲̼ ̸͚̲̠͚̑̽̑͘O̴̬͊͠F̸̡̬̼̼̓ ̸̣̌͋M̸̢͛͌̅Y̸̛͕͉̖̒ ̸̫͎́̏͊͌̓Ľ̶͇̘͙̓̒̈́͠I̴͔̱̿F̶̪̬̗̽̚̕͠È̷̗̇!̷͔͉͈̞̌̇

Furiously turning to Asher, guilt ate your heart when seeing what you saw.

Asher looked shocked, sure, his eyes horrified and yet swam with hurt. But what really got you, was that little sliver of a tear that rolled down his cheek.

Off his chin.

And splashing into the little pool of blood you left from your claws digging into your palms.

...Asher never cries...

You wanted to reach out to him, apologize.

Hug him.

Call him Ashy-Flashy and tell him everything that had weighed on your mind and soul the second you left that stupid stupid lodge.

But you didn't, watching as he quickly wiped away any signs of tears he had. Face hardening.

And that, my friends, is when your bond with Asher was officially:

severed.

Looking at the ground, Asher did his best to hide to hurt in his face. He was trembling in-place, as if trying not to sob out and cry.

Not infront of you.

"Do..you.." "..." "Do you really hate me..that much?" "...Either your deaf or a moron. Get away from 𐌵𐌔. "

He gets the point, Y/n, knock it off..

Because with every word you say, Ashers heart is the one that breaks even more.

Not that'd he'd let it show.

He glared hard your way, "..So that's it huh? After everything we've been threw.."

"..."

"...Fine then. You want to be all alone? Be alone with nobodys help. You must be stupider than I thought if you think that will get you anywhere. But don't think for second that I'll ever forget what you said. Whether you get over this silly little phase or not. Jerk."

Asher bumped your shoulder harshly as he walked into the classroom. And a faint murmur of, 'I hate you' left your lips.

As Asher slammed the door, he thought it was directed at him.

That was far from the truth.

You never went back into the class.

And when others left for lunch, Asher didn't bother even looking your way.

He stared threw you.

Just as you did him.

No matter how many looks his friends gave him.

~~~

"What the heck was that Asher!?" Logan glared.

It was lunchtime now. Your friends, sans Asher, were hoping you'd sit with them to help you work threw whatever went down between you and the witch.

But nope.

Infact, you were nowhere to be found.

You weren't even sitting in the lone corner of the caferteria.

Asher ignored Logans shout, however, eating his food while reading the book on souls you gave him.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" "Logan, quit yelling."

"Why!? Sophia, this guy drove our friend away. And he's not even explaining why!" "Asher..why isn't Y/n sitting with us?" "Yeah! Me and Ethan were gonna tell her about this rock we found. We were going to throw other rocks at it!" "What happened?"

"Asher." Nico suddenly spoke sternly.

The whole table went silent.

Oh, shi-

When Nico starts talking, it means he's serious.

Asher, unnerved by his friends sudden speech, groaned and slammed the book shut. "You guys' think I know? Y/n flipped out on me when I was trying to help her threw that panic attack."

"Did you ever find out why she was having a panic attack?"

"..no..I tried but..I think something happened." "So you see it too." Alex suddenly mutters.

That made a few of the kids raise their brows in surprise. Those few being Ethan and Rocky, of course.

"It's hard to not see it.." Logan huffed.

"Wait, what's going on?" "Yeeah..I don't know either Ethan.." "Wanna play fry stacker?" "Yeah!"

"Something happened at that lodge. I can tell. And did you guys' see the bandages on her neck? Her cheek? Whenever we asked about it, she'd deflect the question straight back at us." Sophia pointed out.

"Not to mention..she only ever seemed to freak if we mentioned her Dad. Aaron." Logan rose his brows, "Do you think..he.."

"No." Asher quickly dismissed, "No if Aaron died Y/n'd be a lot more distraught. There's something else. I can feel it in the air."

"With your witchy ways?" "Yes, actually." "Wait, for real?"

"I sense it too Asher..Y/n smells toxic, now." Alex greminced. "Toxic!?" Ethan panicked with a handful of fries.

Oh no, were you poisoned!?

That's just as bad as being sick!

"But we don't know enough to immediately assume she's sick or something. I'm going to try and figure out if there's something magical going on. Lik aaa..curse or something!"

"..A curse?" Logan stared.

"ShutupLogan! Y/n wouldn't act irrational like that unless A. Something seriously happened or B. She was cursed. Miss. Lucinda has taught me to read these sort of things. I can't tell if it's an actualy curse but..can't hurt to check right?"

"..I just love how curses was the next option you went to, bro.."

"I said that was 'B', Hush--Look, I want you guys' to try to talk to Y/n and see if something more traumatic happened to her. I'll figure out if something more spiritual happened! Yeah, that's it."

Exchanging a look with Nico, him and Logan nodded.

They understood that him, Alex, and Sophia wanted to find out what was wrong with you. They did too. More than anything..

But the way he was talking..he seemed more desperate to help you than the others were.

"Uhh..Asher? Are you sure what Y/n said didn't affect yo--" "I'm fine. Somethings wrong, and we're gonna find out what." Asher said a little frantically, "Rocky. Ethan."

Looking at Asher, Ethans fries that Rocky stacked on the tip of his nose fell to the ground. "Aww, my tower!" "It's okay. We stacked 6 this time. New record!" "Nice!"

"...Yeah, Y/n definitely won't suspect either of you two."

"Hey!"

"Look. All you two have to do is taking Y/n out after school and find out what's making her act like this. Okay?"

"Sure! We can throw rocks at that other big rock!" "Yes!" "Buut..Don't you think you're being a little coo-coo bout' this? Maybe Y/ns just having a bad day..Oh! I can show her that funny hand gesture Alex made in the car when her Dad got cut off while he was driving!" Ethan grinned, leaning foreward to raise his hand up.

But Alex quickly grabbed his wrist before Ethan could made a rather..distasteful gesture.

"Ye-Yeah, no, Ethan. I don't think Y/n will like that."

"Aww..It's so fun though!"

"Uh-huh--Seriously. Don't."

Glancing at Sophia, Alex gave the girl a nervous fanged smile when noticing her glare.

The tip of her mei'fwa tail brushing ever to gently against Alexs' neck wasn't helping either. If Ethan actually made that gesture, that tail would've wrapped around their neck and strangled them.

Asher honestly could've cared less as he dove his nose back into their book, "Something happened at the lodge. I know it. Y/n wouldn't..act like that towards me if.." Asher mumbled that last bit to himself.

But Logan?

He heard it.

Him of all people were going to hear it.

He then continued eating his lunch, mind lingering on you all the while.

~~~

It was the end of the day.

And honestly?

In the 3 months since the lodge, this was probably the worst you've ever felt. Mentally, physically, emotionally, the whole package.

You couldn't help the disappointment that crossed your face either. The look of utter shame.

You hurt Asher. Made him cry.

All he wanted to do was help you and you made him cry.

Ÿ̵͈́̉o̵͈̘͒͘u̸̢̞͒'̵̖̓r̸̡̼͋͂e̴̙͗͝ ̵̖̱͒̅a̶̯̥͑ ̵̮̞̈́h̵͓̭͠ǒ̵̹ͅŕ̶̨͈͠r̶͉̫̋ī̴͓̂b̶͚̪͐l̸̬͓̽è̷͍ ̵̖̈́͐p̸͉̈́͐e̴̹͋͝r̸͙̻̕s̸̖̅̔o̸̚ͅn̴͍̿̈́~

'Yeah..I know.' You thought bitterly.

Taking the bus home seemed like too much effort now. Especially knowing Nico and Sophia were already probably sitting there, waiting for you.

Waiting to bumbard you with questions on, 'Why did you do that to Asher!?'

Or

'What's with the bandages on your neck?'

And ohhh we can't forget the--

'Are you okay?'

You'd respond with 'Yes', like always. Then completely controdict your response by saying something you don't even think is remotely true and hurt your loved ones beyond belief.

So what was the point really? Honestly, what was it? They probably already hated you for hurting Ashers feelings.

They never needed you anyway.

You watched as the bus pulled off.

They didn't need to get put in harms way because of your big mouth..

You sighed a long drawn out one at the dreary and depressing thoughts plaguing your mind.

"Whatever. I should just walk home and nap..."

This was just pitiful at this point...

So lost in thought, you hadn't even taken notice of the fresh face coming up from behind you giving a gentle tap on your shoulder.

Turning around quicker than you would have like, you grabbed onto the wrist with an almost bruising force making the girl about your age wince in pain.

"Ouch..! Hey, that hurts Y/n! Let go!"

"O-Oh..!"

Drawing away, you fixed your hands to your sides.

"So..Sorry you startled..me..Uhh..How do you know my name?" You asked. And the girl all but smiled at you, as if you were silly to ask such a question.

"We're in the same class! Which you're missing the way."

You blinked at her. You don't recall every interacting with this girl or having her in a class.

Math? No.

Reading? No.

The library for your, 'Special Class'? And somtimes P.E? No.

Recess?

Not at all.

So, again, what class was she on about that takes place at the end of the school day. It made no sense.

Sensing your confusion, something furry suddenly brushed against your calf. Looking down, you thought it was your own tail sagging as much as your mood had been all day.

But, color you surprised, when it was her own tail.

Facing her again, you nearly let out another unnecessary yelp when spotting the girls own werewolf ears and tail.

Though, they were blond. Much like her hair.

Hold on, have there even been any werewolves at school before?

...No. No way that's what was going on here. You were horrified at the sudden revelation, horrified to ask the question.

But if your suspicions were true...Aphmau was going to get an earful.

"I'm sorry. What class do we have together again?"

"Oh! Sorry. It makes sense that you don't know! It was created over the break afterall. I think it was to be more..what's the word..inclusive! But anyways,"

She smiled ever so brightly at you

"The class we have together is the Werewolf Class! Pretty cool, right?"

"...Come again?"

𐌕𐋅𐌉𐌔 𐌉𐌔 𐋅𐌄𐌓 Ꮤ𐌄𐌀𐌊𐌍𐌄𐌔𐌔?

𐋅𐌌.

ᛑ 𐌃ꝊᏔ𐌍. ᑳ 𐌌Ꝋ𐌓𐌄 𐌕Ꝋ ᏵꝊ.