Accidental Familiar Part 2: Halloween Night
Hello Chickadees! Finally have my desktop set up (took 4 days, I’m not good with technology)! And I’m pretty sure it’s been a year since I posted the first chapter of this. But here is chapter 2! I’ve linked chapter 1 above the gif. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list. I intend to design some of the NPCs and Y/N Blackwater’s house in Sims 4 at some point.
Requests are open (gif not mine)
Warnings: cursing, a bit of violence, John not following directions
Summery: John can’t help but wander into the woods on Halloween night despite the warning given to him by the mysterious Y/N Blackwater. His curiosity gets him wrapped up in a new world. Guess the wolves are out of the bag now.
Part 1: Fog
John does his best to keep his mind off that night. He cleans the house, binds books, reads books, plays with the dog, anything to keep his mind off the oddness and supernatural vibe he can’t seem to shake. His mind keeps wandering back though. It’s like an itch he can’t scratch. He finds himself sitting on the couch Halloween night facing the window. He’s reading a book and definitely not watching the tree line, no of course not.
The sun begins to set and a fog seems to seep out of the trees. John finds his eyes drawn to the trees. He watches, falling into a sort of trance as he stares at the swirling fog. He notices a shifting in the fog, as if there were things moving in the trees just out of sight. He glimpses shadowy figures in the fog as they move in and out of the trees, heading deeper into the woods.
As John watches the treeline he notices a yellow light weaving in and out of the trees. He realizes it’s the lantern that Y/N was carrying. Which means it’s most likely her heading deeper into the woods.
John checks his watch. Thirty minutes until midnight. He turns his attention back to the treeline. The lantern light is gone. He sits for a while, debating with himself for what feels like hours. He checks his watch again, it's been three minutes. His eyes return to the treeline. He begins to drum his fingers on the arm of his chair and rubs at the stubble on his chin. Dog raises his head to look at John but settles back down, his eyes still on his master. John lets out a breath and pushes himself up from his chair. He grabs a flashlight from a kitchen drawer and hesitates. He grabs a knife instead of a gun, he’s already jumpy, he doesn’t want to accidentally shoot someone. He pats Dog on the head and murmurs a “Good boy” before heading out the back door, closing it behind him.
This is a bad idea. He knows it's a bad idea, but for some reason he can’t stop his feet from carrying him deeper into the woods. He feels his ears and eyes playing tricks on him as he makes his way through the trees. Every small sound makes his heart race and every shadow makes his blood run cold. He keeps his knife held in a reverse grip, blade pressed against his arm, tip pointed back to his elbow, and flashlight low on his body mass, down towards his chest and stomach.
The hair on the back of his neck is standing on end. He strains his ears to make out half heard sounds. He has a strange feeling he’s being watched as he makes his way through the trees, shining his flashlight around him. Rustling leaves, muted footsteps, and heavy breathing reaches his ears and John spins, tying to find the source. His heart is racing and it's a struggle to keep his breathing under control. John continues through the trees, struggling to keep his pace calm. His heart is in his throat as he continues, hearing the noises coming from both sides and behind him. It’s been a very long time since he’s felt this way. He’s being hunted, methodically, systematically hunted. The thought makes his blood run cold and his heart skips a beat. His breath catches in his throat as something begins to howl from behind him. The howls are taken up on either side of him and his pace quickens despite himself. Before he realizes it he’s running. He can hear the loud footsteps running around him, the howling continues. He can hear something picking up its pace as they run, intending to get in front of him to cut him off. John tries to pick up the pace but he is no match for the creatures. He can hear the creatures closing in. John comes to the skidding stop in a semi-clear area in the trees. He raises the knife and flashlight, falling into a defensive position. He can hear them pacing just outside his field of vision. The creatures growl and exhale loud huffing breaths as they circle him. The huffing breaths turn into chuckles and morph into voices, low and grumbling but voices. They come from all around him, multiple voices and several snippets of conversation standing out.
“Look at him, he’s terrified. I can smell it.”
“What should we do with him?”
“He shouldn’t be here.”
“Trespasser.”
“What a frightened rabbit.”
“Careful, he’s armed.”
“Is he a hunter?”
“No. Doesn’t smell right.”
“Should report to the Alpha.”
“No, we can handle it ourselves.”
There follows some growling and shuffles before they settle down again.
John swallows the lump in his throat. He’s as dangerous as these unseen people, and he’s armed. Breathe John. He tells himself. “Who are you?” His voice rings out loud and clear. He continues to scan the area, looking for something, anything in the dark trees.
“Oh, it speaks!” A cruel voice responds.
“Don’t be a dick, Tan.” A scolding one replies.
“Just having fun. Can’t blame me for that.” The cruel voice speaks.
“What should we do with him?” A third voice asks.
“He’s trespassing. He shouldn’t be here.” A fourth voice speaks up, quiet and young.
“We know.” Comes the chorused reply.
“Let’s rough him up a bit. Teach him a lesson.” The cruel voice speaks up once more.
“Tan…” Comes a warning.
“We won’t hurt him. Just rough him up a bit.” The cruel voice brushes the warning aside.
John doesn’t have time to react. A large furry figure charges him, blindsiding him and taking him to the ground. Loud snarling growls erupt from all around and more figures emerge. The flashlight is knocked from John’s hand and sent spinning along the ground. John is yanked around in multiple directions. He tries to fight back but is having a hard time of it. The creature is blindingly fast and pulling him this way and that causing disorientation. On instinct, John lashes out with the knife, feeling it sink deep into the creature. The creature roars in pain and throws itself out of John’s reach, taking the knife with it. The rest of the creatures step further back, expanding the circle of space they had created when the first one rushed John, and he is finally able to see what the creatures are. Some look like completely ordinary humans, but others, like the one standing in front of him inspecting the knife sticking out of its arm, do not. Large, with wolf-like features blended with its human genes, it stands on two legs and has thick, shaggy, grey fur that seems unkempt compared to the others around the circle. It looks at John, baring its large, aggressive looking teeth and growling at him, a wild anger in its eyes.
John rolls over in an attempt to stand but the beast pounces, scratching him across the back and causing John to cry out in pain. The creature flips him over and hauls him up by his shirt. It bares its teeth and growls in John’s face. The reality of the situation hits home and John realizes just how out of his depth he is as he’s lifted off the ground by the creature.
“Now I am going to kill you!” The words are snarled at him. Low and garbled, causing cold fear to shoot down his spine.
Clawed hands appear, attempting to pull John and the creature away from each other. The other voices speaking up.
“Stop this!”
“Let him go!”
“That’s enough Tan.”
“The Alpha will not be pleased.”
The others manage to get Tan to release John with difficulty, but before they can fully pull him away he lashes out, catching John across the face with his claws. John falls backwards, hands catching him and lowering him down carefully.
“What’s going on here?” The new voice cuts through the commotion as the others manage to get Tan away from John. One of the creatures kneel over John, gently gripping his chin to turn his head so it can inspect the claw marks. The creature’s features change into an ordinary young man with curly hair.
“Trespasser.” Tan snarls, pulling the knife from his arm and shaking off the ones holding him.
“You need to learn self-control, Tanner. Not everyone who wanders into the trees is an enemy.” A familiar voice cuts through the quiet murmurs.
John’s head feels light and his vision is swimming. The scratches throb painfully and he can feel the warm blood sliding down his face. He tries to move to see who is talking but movement is painful.
The face above him swims in and out of focus as the young man places a hand on John’s shoulder. “Try not to move.” His voice is soft and concerned.
Tan- Tanner- snarls at the owner of the familiar voice, hair raising and teeth bared. “He attacked me. And you have no authority over the pack, Witch. You have no say in what we do!” He spits the words at her, speaking her title like a curse.
“Tanner! You will show Dame Blackwater respect! She is my trusted ally and you will treat her as such.” A dark skinned woman with dark curly hair held back from her face by a braided band steps into John’s field of view. She steps up to Tanner, head high and practically radiating authority. “We are in her territory. Her words might as well be mine and you will treat them as such. Is that understood?” Her tone low, dark, threatening.
Tanner glares for a moment before looking away, his features changing to his human form. His arm shows no sign of the injury. “Yes, Alpha.”
The Alpha continues to look at him for a few more moments before turning to someone else. “Where is the trespasser?”
“He’s over here.” The young man kneeling over John speaks up. He had removed his shirt to press against John’s face in an effort to stop the bleeding.
The pack parts as the Alpha approaches. As the people step out of the way John is able to see the other speaker. He focuses on her, the woman from before. Her name swims to the front of his mind. Y/N Blackwater. She’s dressed in odd clothes; a long dark, multi-layered skirt with a flowy dark shirt tucked into it, sleeves reaching her elbows. A leather belt with pouches wraps several times around her waist and a pendant with strange symbols rests against her chest. Once again she holds an extinguished lantern at her side. An extinguished lantern? So no light…. but something is lighting up the clearing… John’s mind is starting to wander from shock. His attention is drawn back to the woman as she starts towards him. His eyes are drawn to her right shoulder, to the strange bright red eyes of the reptilian creature that clings to her back. John can see gleaming black claws clutching at her shoulders and a dark armored tail sweeping back and forth behind her.
Y/N steps up to John and kneels down by the Alpha. She takes the wadded up shirt from the young man, gently pulling it away from John’s face to examine the wounds. “What happened?” Y/N asks quietly. Tanner begins to speak up but she cuts him off. “I don’t want to hear it from you.” She said, tone cold and firm. She glances at the young man who was helping John, her tone growing softer. “I want to hear it from you. Jake isn’t it?” He nods. “Alright Jake. Tell me what happened. The truth please. All of it. I’ll know if you’re lying.”
The young man glances at Tanner, then at the Alpha. She nods and he swallows. “We were guarding the area like you said. This man entered the area with a flashlight. He didn’t seem like he had a purpose, he was just looking around. We surrounded him. Tanner wanted to rough him up a bit, for fun-” Tanner growls at the young man, taking a step forward threateningly. The Alpha turns, snapping at Tanner. He looks away and she slowly turns back to Jake, gesturing for him to continue. He nods, starting again. “We tried to persuade him not to but he wouldn’t listen. So he started to rough him up, throwing the guy around, pushing him in different directions. And he,” Jake gestures to John, “had a knife on him and stabbed Tanner with it. Tanner got angry and attacked him. We managed to separate him from the human when you and Alpha Tabitha arrived.” The young man finishes with a glance at the Alpha.
Y/N nods, checking on John’s wounds again.
Alpha Tabitha turns to Dame Blackwater. “Who is he?”
“He’s with me.” She answers, beginning to wrap John’s face in the shirt. “I’m sorry Tabitha, but we have to continue this later. I have to deal with this.”
“I understand.” The Alpha says, rising to her feet.
“I’ll be in touch.” Y/N says as she slowly helps John to his feet. The dark scaled creature jumps to the ground and stands beside Y/N, red eyes locked on John.
“Talk soon then. I’ll deal with the pack.” Tabitha says, sending an angry look Tanner’s way. “May the stars guide you, Dame Blackwater.” Tabitha gives her a small smile, giving a traditional Witch farewell blessing.
Y/N smiles back at Tabitha and gives the Werewolf’s tradition goodbye in return. “May the moon protect you and guide your way until we meet again, Alpha Tabitha.” With a nod she begins to lead John away, supporting him as they walk. Her lantern lights up and she holds it out to the scaled creature. “Lead the way Coal.” The creature snorts and takes the lantern handle between its teeth, leading the way through the trees and fog. A few feet into the trees the air becomes thick and eerily quiet. The only sounds are their footsteps and the faint creaks of the lantern as it swings on its handle.
John tries to speak but the woman cuts him off. “Say nothing. Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other for now.” John remains silent for the remainder of the walk.
The silence seems to stretch as they move through the trees, growing thicker with each step. As John watches where he’s placing his feet he realizes they have joined a small path through the trees. John looks up to see a wooden fence standing in front of them. The strange black creature steps up to the fence, crouches, and leaps up onto it, stretching out black batlike wings and flapping them a bit while it gains its balance on top of the fence. It turns its head to watch John, red eyes locking onto his. The gate swings inwards without prompting and John is led through the yard. He turns to look over his shoulder at the gate, watching as it swings shut and latches itself. Because of this he sees the scaled creature leap off the fence to the ground. It goes through a dramatic transformation as it falls. The small wings on its back disappear and long black fur begins to sprout from its scales. The tail becomes thick and fluffy with fur. The creature, now looking like a large, black, long-haired cat shakes itself before trotting smugly passed John and Y/N to the back door. Its eyes are the only thing that remained unchanged, still a startling shade of red.
The back door opens and John is led through the sunroom, a large cauldron sits off to the side tucked into a corner, and into the dark house. Lights begin to flicker on, revealing a busy, well used kitchen. Vials, bottles, and bins sit on shelves on the walls. Dried plant bundles hang on the walls and from different areas of the ceiling. A bookshelf takes up all of one wall and part of another, filled with strange books and more labeled bottles. It has a warm feel to it, the walls painted a dried sunflower yellow color. The table and chairs are the same dark wood as the cabinets, but none of the seat cushions match. The table is cluttered with items, including a large open book and a notebook and pen left there in the middle of note taking.
Y/N leads John to a chair and has him sit, catching him as he stumbles over the woven rug under the table. Y/N spins away from him, waving her hand through the air. To John’s amazement the large book marks the open page with a bookmark and closes, floating over to a bookshelf with the notebook. Other items on the table put themselves away and others gather themselves up and arrange themselves in a neat row on the table. A book flies off the shelf and over to Y/N, flipping through its pages to find what she needs. The wood stove springs to life and a burner lights up with a bright, cheery flame. A small black cauldron jumps up from the floor, filling itself with water and setting itself on the stove to boil.
The strange black cat jumps onto the table and stares at John with its red eyes. John focuses on the cat, entering into a staring contest. As they stare at each other Y/N gathers her hair into a bun and gets to work.
Ingredients jump off the table as needed and fly to her. Strange smells begin to fill the kitchen as the potion begins to brew. The kitchen begins to warm and John starts to get uncomfortably hot.
He’s broken out of the staring contest when Y/N steps up to him, taking his chin in her hand and gently removing the shirt from his face. She begins to clean the wounds on his face, being as gentle as she can but he can see the anger in her eyes and her purposely slow movements.
The little cauldron hops off the stove and onto the table, settling upon an intricate metal stand to keep it from singeing the table. A spoon flings itself from a pitcher filled with other cooking utensils and into the cauldron, causing the contents to splash a bit. Y/N shoots it a glare and it almost seems to sulk. A box of bandages and gauze slides across the table and opening, making it easy to access. A black pouch does the same, unzipping itself and revealing a small set of surgical tools. A drawer opens and a clean cloth floats out, dipping itself under warm water from the sink, wringing itself out and floats over to Y/N. She uses the damp cloth to clean the blood off of John’s face. She then takes some gauze and a spoonful of the stuff from the cauldron, gathering some of the potion onto the gauze. She begins to apply it to John’s wounds, causing him to hiss as it starts to sting.
“Good. You deserve it.” Y/N says , angrily, voice tightly restrained. John tries to look up at her and she clicks her tongue in annoyance. “Don’t move.”
John stills and allows her to continue her work. “Sorry.” He mumbles.
“You should be. You have no idea how dangerous that was. How idiotic. I warned you to stay away. I told you to stay inside. But did you listen? No! And now look at you. Bleeding at my kitchen table with me trying to prevent you from getting lycanthropy. Honestly, Mr. Wick, you’re quite lucky nothing important or time sensitive was happening otherwise you’d be screwed. As it is, I’m going to have to set up another meeting with Tabitha, which is really inconvenient for both of us. I hope your curiosity is satisfied.” A little trashcan slides over and Y/N drops the used gauze in it with some force. The trashcan slides away. She turns to the table and sets up her needle and thread. John just sits there quietly, watching her. She turns back to him with needle and thread in hand, thread so fine he can hardly see it.
“What is that?” He can help but ask.
“Spider silk. Now hold still. It should be numb by now so you shouldn’t feel this.” She tilts his face up towards her and begins to stitch him up. They remain quiet as she works. John closes his eyes as she works, unable to feel the needle and thread moving through his skin.
After some time, Y/N finishes with the stitches and sets the equipment aside. “There. It’s going to scar but it shouldn’t be too bad. As long as you don’t do anything stupid and pop the stitches.” She begins to clean things up, items moving around her and putting themselves away. A cup flies out of a cupboard and sets itself gently on the table by the cauldron. Y/N scoops some of the potion out and into the cup. She then opens the fridge and pulls out a pitcher full of blue liquid, pouring it into the cup and replacing the pitcher. She sets the cup in front of John. “Wait for it to stop stirring then drink it.”
John looks into the cup, seeing the contents swirling around in a little whirlpool. “What is it?”
Empty vials have lined up in front of the small cauldron. The cauldron and spoon are carefully filling the vials with the potion. Little labels appear on the vials as they are filled and seal themselves up. Writing appears on the labels, neat swooping letters, and the vials march off to find their place on the shelves.
“I mixed the draft with Kool-Aid. Should make it taste better. No promises though. Drink it. It should keep the lycanthropy from taking hold.” Y/N says with her back to him.
John eyes the now still contents of the cup with suspicion but drinks it down. He grimaces at the taste, trying not to cough.
“Good man. Coal will take you home.” The cat turns to look at Y/N, offended. She ignores this. “If you develop a fever, notice a sudden change in eye color, food habits, strange and sudden shifts in behavior, or develop chills and shakes, come back and see me.”
The black cat, Coal, hops off the table and heads to the door, looking back at John.
John stands slowly. “Wait. Are you not going to explain what happened? What’s going on? What you are?”
Y/N sighs and turns to him. “You were attacked by a werewolf tonight. As a result and because Tanner is not the most strict with his personal hygiene routine, you were most likely exposed to the lycanthropy disease. I’ve treated you the best I can to prevent it from taking hold in your system.” She gestures around herself. “I am a witch.” She points at him. “You are an idiot.” She turns back to the counter, her back to him once more. “Good night, Mr. Wick. Stay out of the woods.” He’s clearly been dismissed.
Coal comes around and presses himself against John’s legs, directing him to the door. John reluctantly follows the cat, still confused and head spinning trying to process everything.
With her back to him Y/N misses tears and dried blood on the back on John’s shirt.
~
John follows the strange cat out the back gate and to the road. It takes a few minutes for them to approach John’s house. John stops and looks over his shoulder “She’s my neighbor? I thought I was the last one on this road.”
“That’s the point.” A scratchy voice says in front of him.
“What?” John whips his head around, looking for someone. All he sees is the strange not-cat with red eyes sitting in front of him, tail flicking. “...who?”
“Me.” The cat’s tail flicks again. “It’s just the two of us out here. Who else would it be?”
John’s eyes go wide and he takes a step back in shock. “But-”
The cat shakes himself. “By the stars, you’ve seen werewolves, doors opening and lights turning on by themselves, and all sorts of stuff moving, flying, and floating around you tonight but me talking is what gets you? Humans are strange.” His ears flick and he stares at John. “Guess it could just be the shock wearing off.” His head tilts.
John raises a hand to his forehead. He can feel the tiny stitches under his fingertips. “But you’re a cat.”
The ‘cat’s’ ears lay back and its tail flicks in irritation. “I am not a cat! I am a dragon! Drag-on! I just look like a cat. Y/N put a disguise charm on me.” He turns his head away, nose in the air. “And of course I talk. I’m a familiar. And my name is Ciolalmelfr.” He glances at John and looks away. “But Y/N calls me Coal to avoid attention. You can call me that too, I suppose. It is easier for the untrained to say anyways.”
John pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay… Coal. What do you mean by that’s the point?”
Coal flicks his tail and looks back at John. “People aren’t supposed to know Y/N lives here. Her house and the area are warded. Anyone who isn’t supposed to know or doesn’t need to know she lives there simply don’t know the house is there. It’s a safety feature. A lot of witches do similar things. Y/N’s set up is one of the most intricate I’ve encountered, but that’s to be expected. She is a Master Dame after all.” Coal answers, puffing himself up a bit as he brags. “It’s not surprising that you didn’t know.”
John rubs the back of his neck, his head beginning to hurt and his lower back ache. “Alright.” He starts towards his house again. Coal follows to where John’s front lawn starts and then stops, sitting on the road and watching John. John continues for a few more steps before glancing back. He stops and turns to Coal. “Problem?”
Coal’s tail swishes back and forth. “You have a dog. A big one. I don’t have a death wish. I’ll stay here until you get inside, thank you.”
John shakes his head again and crosses his lawn, climbing the steps to the front door. He grabs the hidden key and unlocks the door. He gives Coal a wave before stepping inside, shutting the door behind him. He glances out the window and sees Coal still sitting in the same place. Dog comes bounding around the corner, excitedly greeting John. John greats the dog, patting him on the side and scratching him behind the ears. When John looks out the window again Coal is gone. John shakes his head. What a weird night. He reaches out and locks the door.
~
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