Cresent Moon (BoyxBoy)

Life is hard.

Sure, it's not just because I'm a seventeen year old walking demon in skinny jeans, trying to prove to myself and the world that I'm not evil. I've got problems even bigger than that; maybe because I'm in love with my best friend, who just so happens to be in a breed of creature that is my race's mortal enemies, and just so happens to be in the same gender as me. Don't tell me that it's messed up, I already know it is.

The first time I knew I felt this love towards him was when I was twelve. I'd heard stories from my brothers that warned me about the wild beasts that roamed our forest in the full moon night; of their wicked teeth, monstrous claws, and savagely bloody breath, that dripped red along our snowy paths. I'd been afraid, deathly afraid, of what I might've come in contact with on one of my usual strolls through the chilled wood, miles away from my family's cave.

The night I spotted his tracks was a specifically cold one. I remember easily the scent he gave off, not the bloody and filthy stench my family leader had described during one of his long and terrifying reports of seeing these beasts; it smelled more like a strong, musty earth aroma, filling the winter air with its power and presence. I knew that the cave was too far away for me to run, even if I could blaze there in minutes. The sound would give myself away, and I couldn't afford to lead the beast directly to our hideout. The only safe way out of this situation was to hide.

I dove into a snow bank, after dusting away most of my tracks out of the crystally white stuff, I covered my body with the cold liquid. It was impossible for a creature to be colder than I already was, so I feared not of frostbite.

At first, all was silent, but soon came the loud sound of stomping footsteps in the snow. I could hear his breath and knew he was not far off, though I was confused as to how mortal his voice sounded. I dared not move to see what the creature I'd been warned about since childhood looked like.

"Damn it!" He cursed, and I heard the sound of his foot shoving in the snow in frustration. "I've lost the tracks of the demon." I only heard one breather so I knew he was alone, though I could also tell by the lightness in his voice that this boy was not any older than I. "How the hell does Cartor expect me to catch one of these things? They're quicker than fucking leopards. It's obviously got away. Shit!" He had a strange vocabulary that was amusing, yet slightly new to me. I figured it was the way his family spoke, because it seemed unnatural in his way of speaking. I knew then that this was not one of the creatures Devlous had spoken maliciously of. I did figure that this was a human, sent to rid this area of any of my kind, so I stayed silent.

After about ten minutes of silence, I figured this boy had left me alone, stuffed in this snow bank, but I wasn't about to give myself away. I only shifted a bit, so I could look to see if he was in the area I'd just heard him talking to himself in. The snow brushed away from my eyes, and I spotted the area of the trail I'd heard his voice from, and found nothing out if place, besides a bit of snow. I wrestled myself out of the snow, smoothly, not wanting any of the stuff to be left on my sweater. That's when I heard his voice.

"Aha!" It sounded from behind me and I quickly spun around, ready to face anything wicked or beastly. I figured that he'd been fooling me from the beginning with his false scent and voice. "I've got you, devil!"

I was shocked to see a boy, of around my age, standing behind the snow bank I'd sought refuge in. He was young looking, with full and childish features, holding his face full of life, and bright eyes that looked madly at his target, me. His hair flew around atop his head, giving his look an even savager approach. He was holding a piece of wood, obviously intended to kill me with. I lifted up my hands to my head, attempting, childishly, to defend myself. My hands were all I had, and I closed my eyes in fear.

But nothing happened. The boy didn't make another sound, and I opened my eyes to take a look at the beast who was about to take my life.

Tears were dripping down his face, freezing instantly in the cold air, and his arm that'd been holding the wooden stake was now at his side, the stake flung deep into the trees. His face looked different now than it'd just had, and not because he'd set down his guard; he looked soft, and warm, like I could've went up and given him a big hug. I was sure that my stiff and cold form gave him the opposite impression. I looked like a statue, ready to crumble.

"You. Aren't. A. Beast?" He managed through sobs, "you're- you look just like anybody..."

"You aren't a monster." My words were less of a pain to say, due to my stiffness in this situation. I wasn't about to start crying in front of a boy who was about to kill me. "Devlous said you'd gnaw on my cold, dead bones. You aren't gonna do that, right?" I probably sounded like an idiot, but fear was still pulsing through me, unlike blood.

He laughed through another sob, "Cartor said you'd stick your fangs into my neck. That I'd only feel dryness fill up inside me, until I was like a dead, empty balloon."

"I won't turn you into a balloon." I assured him, "as long as you don't gnaw on me..." I was unsure about this proposal, but it was better than death. Plus a little reassurance never hurt.

He lifted out his hand, which he'd just wiped a few frozen tears off with, "I'm Kendal. I- I live down this trail-" he pointed behind his shoulder, turning his torso in that direction "-with my uncle and aunt. Cartor is our leader. He warned me about demons."

"I... I'm Tlizea. I Live in a cave. A really weird cave that has a lot of rugs and blankets inside of it. I live there with all of my brothers and sisters, except they really aren't my bothers and sisters... They're just kids who grew up the same way I did. In darkness." I felt embarrassed to say such a thing to a boy my age, but it didn't seem to faze him. "Devlous is our leader, and he hates the hellhounds..."

"Is that what you call us?" Kendal crossed his arms defensively.

"well you called us demons!" I shot back, glancing towards the area that Kendal had thrown the stake to make sure I was still safe to speak in such a way. "We obviously don't appreciate that!"

"Well I'm sick of it!"

"Of what!?"

"The way we treat each other! Wouldn't it be better if we just got along?" Kendal wasn't making sense, wasn't he just trying to stab be to death... Well another death.

"Says the boy who Tried to kill me moments ago..." I muttered.

"I... That.... See? That's exactly what I mean! How come us 'hellhounds' have to prove our worth by bringing home the soul of a demon? Why can't we just, like, have a coming of age celebration or something?" I then realized that this boy liked to talk, and to do a lot of it.

"A what?"

"Never mind. I have to leave! Cartor will be wondering where I've been, especially if I don't come back with nothing. Maybe we can talk again sometime?" I was shocked. We were supposed to be enemies, not friends. What was wrong with him. I'd never had a friend before, and I didn't really know what it felt like, but I figured that it'd be something like what it was like to talk to Kendal.

Soon we were meeting weekly, and I knew that Devlous had been wrong about the beasts that inhabited our full moon. I knew that Kendal wasn't evil, and that we weren't enemies, though our ancestors might've been. I'd never met anyone so full of life, well I'd never technically met anyone living, but I knew he was my friend.

We swore to secrecy about our friendship, knowing that the leaders in both of our packs would never allow such a blasphemous scandal to occur in their very forest. Little did they know how blasphemous this would turn out to be.

A/N

That was much longer than I'd anticipated, but I'm not disappointed with my work. I hope you all enjoyed my first chapter, but, trust me, it hasn't even started yet