i’m not 100% sure where i want this to go quite yet so any feedback/thoughts or anything is appreciated!! this is super super rough draft (so there might be mistakes/vagueness) but i would really love to know if this interests anybody at its bare bones before i put any more time and effort into it
The wet ground beneath her strides slipped and squelched with every pounding step, nearly sending the creature sprawling around every tree, but she kept pace, sprinting through the woods on all fours. It had poured that entire night, leaving the furry being drenched from head to toe. It was mere minutes from the sunrise, mere minutes until the nightmare could end. Her hyper-sensitive ears perked up as her pursuers yelled after her, the flicker of their flashlights bouncing. She was faster than them.
The treeline came into few, along with the patterns of brick buildings. Her bright green eyes squinted in determination, but the color began to fade as she felt her bones and muscles shift within her looming frame. She fought through the pain, which luckily had dulled over the years, with a groan. It was routine by now, the experience of her anatomy completely changing every month. Her joints locked back into place, the fur lining her back began to shed, and her jaw crunched as it shifted back to normal. Her claws retracted, paws changing into hands before her very eyes, and suddenly she had to adjust to running on just two feet. The footsteps she left behind in the soft dirt no longer resembled that of a dog. She would be slower now, and she feared capture. If she could make it to the town-
Now fully morphed back to human size, though fully naked and retaining some beastly traits, the girl hugged herself as she ran, knees quaking uncomfortably. Usually, she wasn’t on the run during a shift, so her entire, traumatized body ached and screamed at her to stop. She made it to the closet building, city hall, and skirted around the corner and out of few of her chasers. Frantically she searched around, dizzy and near-delirious, and stumbled into an alleyway. She hid beneath a tarp covering a wide trash bin and curled up, covering her mouth with a hand to quiet her wheezing. The girl waited with baited breath… Only the silence of dawn had followed her. The hunters must’ve lost her trail.
She still had patches of dark fur here and there, her face was still lined and inhuman ears still protruded from her head. Her teeth hadn’t fully shrunken, either, leaving her gaping, unable to fully close her mouth with the massive canines. Carefully, the girl crawled from her hiding spot, taking the tarp with her and draping it around her trembling body. Slowly, the limped through the abandoned streets of the town, to a place she knew she could find safety, as well as some clothes.
The girl banged on the door with a fist, shaking the wooden frame with each pummel. It looked as if it would fall off the hinges at any second, but that’s how it had been for years, and it surely wasn’t about to change. Inscribed in the wood were symbols and runes of protection, to ward of anything… unwanted. Turning back to glance anxiously behind herself in the cramped alley, the girl shivered as she waited. The door’s lock finally clunked, and before it could open, she collapsed, her body giving up to the exhaustion. A pair of strong arms caught her and dragged her inside as her eyes flickered shut.
“You really got fucked up last night, didn’t you?”
Peridot lifted her weak head, clasping the ceramic soup mug tightly. “That’s an understatement.” She sat on the rug beside a blazing fireplace, clothed in an oversized knit sweater and a pair of old sweatpants. The innkeeper stood at the counter to a small bar, resting an elbow on the surface. The wall was lined with bottles of whiskey and rum, glasses and plates arranged neatly and architecturally. “I… don’t even know how they found me!”
“Were you sloppy?” the innkeeper questioned critically, crossing her muscular arms over her chest. She still wore her pajamas, a simple black t-shirt and basketball shorts, and her dreadlocks were pulled into a messy ponytail.
Insulted, Peridot wiggled her nose. “No! I did what I always do. I went to my crypt and locked myself up, and they somehow broke in. I had to run for my life.” Her empty stomach growled ravenously. Carefully, the girl blew on the steamy soup and took a sip, though it burned her lips. “Bismuth, what do I do now? I don’t have a safe place for full moons! I don’t want to be wandering freely, I’ll kill people!”
“Calm down, you won’t kill people. Have you ever before?” The innkeeper wandered to the fireplace, crouching beside it and reaching in with a bare hand to poke and prod the logs. Peridot averted her guilty gaze to the side and chewed her bottom lip. “Okay, that’s not the point. We’ve all accidentally killed some people, it’s hard to avoid. The point is- we’ll figure something out for you, alright?”
Peridot brushed a hand through her pale blonde tousled hair, laying back on the rug with a sigh. “I mean- I guess! It’s just- stupid. I’ve been using that crypt for twenty years! That was my safe space!” The rug scratched at her tingly skin. Gods only knew how long Bismuth had hung onto that piece of garbage rug. In fact, the same could go for pretty much everything else in the inn. Besides the small, blocky TV hanging over the corner of the bar area, everything reeked of musty vintage crap. Bismuth couldn’t let go of her decorations, even if some of the ridiculously old sword hilts and clay pots were broken or cracked, she still found a place for them on the shelves. It always made Peridot shrivel whenever she came to visit. But this was a necessary, unavoidable visit.
“C’mon, you don’t think you’ll be able to find another creepy church crypt? In this town? I bet we’ll find you an even better crypt in walking distance, Dottie.” Peridot pouted, rolling her sore neck to the side and stretching out her legs.
“Yeah, I guess… Mine was pretty good, though. Impenetrable, beautifully designed, iron bars on the door…”
“I hate to break it to you but if hunters broke in, then it wasn’t impenetrable.” With a snort, Bismuth rose and Peridot glared as she passed by, each heavy footstep creaking the paneled floors. The girl rose once again, her mouth watering as she hoped her soup had chilled enough to eat. The bells attached to the front hallway door chimed, and Bismuth spun fast on her heel.
“Oh thank god you’re awake,” came an all-too-familiar, terribly shrill voice. Two women entered the toasty warm living room, one of them holding a bundle of blankets. Something shifted within them, and, curious, Peridot forced herself to her feet. Bismuth gasped, bounding to meet the pair halfway and scoop up the bundle.
“Well look who it is, my favorite little gremlin!” the innkeeper cooed, littering kisses along whatever was swaddled. Peridot tiptoed closer, past the shrill woman’s disapproving stare, and Bismuth pulled back the edge of the blanket for her to see.
It was a baby, all bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, and he giggled as Peridot came into sight, reaching out his tiny fingers. He had been sucking on a pacifier, but it dropped from his mouth as he gaped. Protectively, one of the women quickly reached down and snatched it, holding it close to her thin chest.
“Is he… yours?” Peridot questioned scornfully, making intense eye contact with the slim-framed woman. “Ew, Pearl. That’s gross.”
“No, he’s not,” the woman answered quickly, swatting sternly at the girl’s shoulder. “And don’t say ew, he’s… Rose’s.” Peridot’s face twisted in confusion, and she threw a pleading glance towards Bismuth, though only received a small head shake in return. She only had a loose grasp on the family dynamics of the pack of otherworldly creatures, and she preferred to keep it that way. So she let it go with a roll of her eyes, slinking over to the bar and climbing onto one of the stools. She still felt the chill of the night nipping deep in her skin, and she wasn’t in the mood to chitchat with her fellow immortal. Not today.
“Why’d you guys come to visit, anyway? Is something wrong?” Bismuth’s voice tinged with concern, and as their conversation suddenly grew purposefully quiet, Peridot flicked on the TV and eavesdropped.
“No no, not necessarily,” Pearl responded, voice dropping low. “But he just didn’t have a good night last night. I think it may have been the… you-know-what.” A moment of silence.
“Oh- ohh, right, the full moon.” The baby gurgled for attention, and to please him, the other woman, tall and curvy with a big, fluffy afro, took him instead and began to playfully bounce him. “Do you really think that affects him?”
“I can’t tell, but who knows? It could.”
“I just think he’s a growing baby,” the other woman spoke with a distinctive British accent, that sometimes Peridot thought was fabricated. She knew the least about this woman, named Garnet, despite having known her for nearly 25 years. But a mysterious aura always followed her, and she sure had found the perfect way to play it up, with playful winks and wise speeches about how you only live once. But she was kind and thoughtful, and a good friend to have in a world of fearful hiding. “He just started teething and he’s not too happy about it. Right, Steven?”
“This is all just so new to me, I don’t want to mess up somehow,” Pearl continued, “We don’t know if he’s even mortal or not. He could be.”
“That’s a good point,” Bismuth replied, letting out a big yawn. “But the only way you can learn is by experiencing it yourself, and not come running to me every time he starts crying. As much as Auntie Bissy would love to see her little gremlin every single day, I’m a busy bee.”
“I know you are, and I appreciate the help so far. This is just… overwhelming. A lot has happened in the past few months.”
“Not just with him, either. What’s up with this funky little town? Things have gotten crazier and crazier,” Bismuth chortled, then approached the counter where Peridot sat.
Peridot tipped back her head and gulped down her soup with ease, wiping off her mouth and setting the mug down. Bismuth glanced into it, then gave the girl a strong pat on her shoulder.
“Jeez, hungry? Do you want anything else?” Bismuth asked, grabbing the empty dish and sliding it across the counter to the very edge. “I can make you a sandwich, or two. Or three.”
“I’m okay, thanks,” Peridot cracked a small, apologetic smile, picking at a scab on the back of her hand, a reminder of her transformation back into being a normal human. “I’m gonna stop by the deli on my way home.”
The pair of immortals took the two other barstools, and Garnet set the baby on the counter to coddle him, tickling his stomach and pinching his cheeks. The rest of them turned their attention to the early morning news, as a title card that read BREAKING NEWS showed on screen. It then switched to the newscaster.
“Breaking news from the town of Wellburgh; police found what seems to be the remains of an animal on the corner of Park Street and Brook Road last night, and town officials are saying it could potentially be a coyote or rabid fox. Pet owners are being warned to keep their furry friends in check, and if you spot or have any information about this dangerous creature, call the number on screen.”
