Tyran drags Y/N through the village with a wide smile, Y/N's face sweatdrops at the young boy's enthusiasm. It's been two months since she promised to visit the village more often and now Tyran is ready to introduce her to his grandmother.
"Come on Y/N! Granny said she wants to meet you!" He says.
"I know, I know. But are you sure she's fine with who I am? She isn't gonna try and kill me or tell everyone?" Y/N asks, walking so she doesn't fall over from Tyran's dragging.
"Of course, she won't silly. She understands what it's like to be judged and accused of being a witch...Well, you're more of being accused of being a reaper but the same thing." Y/N shakes her head amused.
"I think I've done way worse than her. Hell, I think I'll even put the devil to shame." Tyran laughs.
"And that's why you're awesome!" He says and continues to drag her along. She smiles at the boy softly, chuckling to herself that she has found someone so young, who has had losses that he doesn't even remember having. And fights that he never backs down in. How could a child be so strong and know of the cruelty of the earth, yet still have the child's innocence.
"Humans always find a way to amaze me." She mutters. He pulls her up to a house and opens the door, walking in.
"I'm home Granny! And I've brought Y/N!" Tyran says. The grandmother chuckles, picking up a cup.
"You have? I can't wait to meet him-" She cuts herself off as Y/N comes from around the corner, waving at the old woman.
"Hello, I'm Y/N. Uhm, nice to meet you." Y/N sees the older woman's grasp loosen on the cup and it falls from her hold. However, Y/N is quick to rush forwards and catch the cup before it smashes. "Are you okay lady?" Y/N stands back up and puts the cup on the table. The older woman looks up at the taller woman, mouth slightly agar.
"Y-Your real?" She asks. Y/N tilts her head in confusion before nodding. "Oh my-" She falls back onto the seat, holding her head.
"I told you she was real Granny. She wasn't a part of my imagination." Tyran says, walking over to the table and sitting down on one of the chairs.
"Sorry about scaring you, I should have let you get comfortable before introducing myself," Y/N says, smiling at the old woman. The grandmother shakes her head, patting Y/N's hand.
"No no, it's okay dear. I shouldn't have jumped to you being imaginary." Y/N chuckles sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
"I mean you had every right to, it's not every day that a kid tells their family that they made friends with someone who brings death." The grandmother chuckles, shaking her head.
"How about we start over, hmm." The grandmother gestures to the seat opposite her "Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable." Y/N nods at the older woman, sitting down on the wooden chair, the grandmother following in suit and smiling at the younger woman.
"Thanks, lady."
"Please, call me Lillian," Lillian replies, Y/N nods. "Now, I am curious as to how you met my grandson?" This gains the attention of Tyran, who looks to Y/N with pleading eyes. Y/N looks slightly confused before smiling, patting Tyran's head.
"Well, I had dropped something while on my way home, and this little rascal had quickly picked it up and ran after me to give me it." Lillian smiles.
"Sounds like him." The elder woman looks to Tyran. "Tyran, dear, could you get us some drinks please, the bottle should be in the bottom left cupboard. I'd get it myself but this damn leg is acting up again" Tyran nods, standing up.
"You should get that checked out gran" He grabs the cup off the table.
"I'll be fine, just comes with old age," Lillian replies before Tyran disappears into the kitchen. Y/N looks the woman up and down before frowning.
"How long," Y/N asks, Lillian looks over to her with a surprised look before chuckling.
"I shouldn't be surprised if anyone was to know it would be you." Y/N stays in silence before Lillian continues. "They don't know how long, could be months maybe years... It's a sickness, I'm slowly becoming less able to move... It was bound to happen eventually."
"And you're not gonna blame me?" Y/N questions. Lillian shakes her head.
"Of course not, we both live with curses that we hate yet we still walk with them. We accept that they're a part of who we are. Besides, its been in my family for generations. My mother had it and her mother had it. As did my daughter, Tyran's mother. Just that it caught up to her quicker." Lillian frowns, looking down at her hands.
"When are you going to tell Tyran?" Y/N asks. Lillian shrugs.
"I was hoping that Tyran will be able to look after himself by the time I'm gone." She says. Y/N places her hand on Lillian's hand, smiling at her.
"3... no 2 Years left..." Y/N holds back a frown, tilting her head at the woman.
"You're not afraid of death. Tyran tells me of a poem that you like. Do you too respect death and only accept its calling when you know it's your time?" Y/N asks. Lillian nods.
"If I am to die for Tyran to become who he is supposed to be then so be it. Fate has humour like that." Y/N chuckles.
"Tell me about it, fates a bastard when you get to know it." She jokes, causing Lillian to laugh a little.
"I'm back, and I've brought the drinks," Tyran says, walking back in with a bottle of ale and two cups, placing them on the table. Y/N looks a the ale, smirking.
"Lillian, I think we're gonna get along just fine," Y/N says, popping open the ale bottle.
3 Months Later
Sunlight streams golden through the window in a well-mannered announcement of the risen sun, its warm touch spreading over Tyran's face. His eyes flutter open, adjusting himself to the light as he sits up, stretching and yawning. His eyes suddenly widen, remembering what the day is before shooting out of bed and rushing down the stairs and into the kitchen, finding his grandmother sitting on the chair, sipping a cup of tea. She looks over at her grandson, tilting her head.
"What's got you so excited so early in the morning?" She asks, placing the cup down on the table. The boy looks a little disappointed before walking up to his grandmother.
"You don't know what today is?" He asks. Lillian begins thinking before snapping her fingers.
"Oh it's the annual festival today, shoot I forgot to pick apples." Lillian stands up, rushing out of the kitchen. "Hurry up and get changed Tyran, you need to go and help Y/N pick them." Lillian opens the door to another bedroom, seeing the sleeping werewolf on the bed, the covers kicked off onto the floor and a leg and arm hanging off the side of the bed, her hair all messy and sticking up, drool falling from her lips. "You need to wake up Y/N," She says, tapping the woman on the shoulder. Y/N groans, rolling over. Lillian sighs, pushing Y/N a little harder. "You will get up right now."
"5 more minutes." Y/N groans. Lillian pulls at Y/n's ear, only for it to be slapped away by Y/N.
"I'm trying to sleep here, lady," Y/N mutters, shifting around.
"Watch that tone missy, or I'll grab the wooden spoon," Lillian says, causing Y/N's eyes to widen- shooting up.
"Okay, okay, I'm up. There's no need to grab the spoon." She says, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Lillian smiles.
"That's what I like to hear, now you need to get changed to go and help Tyran pick apples for the annual festival," Lillian says, winking at the woman. Y/N stares at her dumbfounded before nodding, smiling. Lillian walks out of the room, leaving Y/N to get changed. Minutes later she walks out of the room, and down the stairs to the kitchen, where a sad, now dressed, looking Tyran sits.
"Hey, buddy, what's wrong? Aren't you excited about the annual festival? Your gran told me how much you loved going to pick apples with her." Y/N says, patting his head before grabbing an apple from the bowl- biting into it.
"Yeah I am...just feeling a little tired is all," Tyran says, forcing a smile on his face. He stands up and walks over to the door. "Let's get this done, the quicker we do, the quicker the festival can start." Y/N nods, placing the half-eaten apple on the counter before grabbing the bag on her way out. Tyran follows behind in pursuit.
They make their way through the village, Tyran looks around at all the townspeople decorating for the annual festival, the celebration for the creation of the village centuries ago.
"No one does remember." Tyran thinks to himself. Y/N notices the boy's silence and turns her head to see his frown, frowning herself before stopping, letting him catch up. He does so and before he could overtake her, she reaches down to grab his hand, smiling at him.
"You okay shorty?" Y/N asks. Tyran huffs a smile, slightly shoving the woman.
"I'm not short, your just tall." He replies. Y/N continues to look at him, her eyebrow raised. "But yeah, I'm okay. As I said, just a little tired."
"Well how about when we go over the bridge I'll let you ride wolf me's back?" Y/N offers, squeezing the boy's hand. Tyran looks up at her, giving her a genuine smile, nodding quickly.
"Yes please!" Y/N chuckles before she begins walking again, still holding onto Tyran's hand as he walks beside her. The two make it over to the bridge and close to the forest edge, away from any risk of anyone seeing her. She puts down the basket and bag before cracking her neck, poofing herself into the brown wolf. She uses her teeth to throw the bag over her back, before gesturing her head to Tyran to get on her back. Tyran smiles giddily as he gets onto the wolf's back.
"Hand on tight, don't want you falling off," Y/N says to him. He looks at her confused.
"Since when could you talk to me through mind thingy?!" Tyran questions. He hears Y/N chuckle in his head.
"Always could just never needed to though." She says before she begins her walk into the forest. The two don't notice the young boy watching from afar, his eyes widened in slight fear but yet in satisfaction. He recognizes that it's the wolf that had gone to attack them.
"Of course, you have that beast on your side, you are a freak. Everyone will know it. " Jake says, he thinks for a second before smiling devilishly." And I know exactly how to show them who this Y/N's person, really is."
----
The large brown wolf runs through the forest, jumping over fallen trees and large rocks. The young boy grabbed her thick fur to keep tight a hold, all while closing his eyes to feel the morning breeze on his face and weave through his hair. Tyran has a large smile on his face, feeling something he's never felt before...
Freedom. Something everyone wants yet only some can get. A word that could so easily build up or bring down kingdoms. And Tyran was feeling it, simply by feeling the wind, the same wind he's felt since birth, yet it feels different as he's sat upon the back of someone who could easily take his freedom with the snap of her fing-
*Snap* *Snap*
"Oi, shorty. You still with me?" Tyran shakes his head, his eyes focusing on the tall woman in front of him.
"W-what, yeah." He looks around, noticing they were no longer in the midst of the forest but now in a small clearing, surrounded by apple trees. "When did we stop?"
"About 5 minutes ago, you were silent the entire time. You okay?" Y/N asks, tilting her head with a concerned look on her face. "You aren't still tired are you?" Tyran shakes his head, smiling up at her.
"No no, was just daydreaming." He chuckles. "Happens all the time. But now let's get started on picking these apples." Tyran walks over to a large apple tree, looking up to see the lowest hanging apple. He tries to jump for it only to miss it. He huffs and tries to climb the tree, his fingers scraping the bottom of the apple before sliding back down, pouting. He hears snickering and turns around to see Y/N with a hand over her mouth, shoulders moving. "Hey, stop laughing! I can do it!"
"Of course, you can shorty." She jokes, walking over and reaching her hand up as far as it can go, wrapping her hand around the apple and tearing it from its root, placing it in the bag. "We've got a lot to grab, how about we work together so it'll be quicker?" Tyran crosses his arms. "Come on, I'll be sure to tell your gran that you didn't need my help?" Tyran looks at her.
"Fine." He stands up as Y/N grabs him, putting him on her shoulders. She then grabs the bag and holds it up to him.
"Now make sure to grab the juiciest looking ones, you know how well your gran can make an apple pie so we don't want to disappoint." Tyran nods, smiling before reaching up to the apples, much easier now, and pulls it off its root.
Tyran wipes his sleeve across his sweaty forehead, breathing heavily as he puts the last apple into the bag, sitting against the tree.
"Well, I think your grandmother will be set for ages with all these apples," Y/N says, picking up the bag of apples over her shoulder. "Let's start heading back before it gets dark." Tyran nods, standing up and slowly trailing beside the woman.
The two walk-in silence, only the sound of the rustling of the forest as well as the sounds of its animals, protected within the forest never-ending trees and bushes. They stop by a small lake for a rest, Tyran splashing some of its crystal clear water onto his face, while Y/N bites into one of the red juicy apples, savouring every bite. The young boy looks to her, hesitating on something.
"Ya know the more you stand there and not say anything, the more it'll bug ya," Y/N says, biting into an apple, looking off into the forest.
"How did-, actually never mind I forgot you can read minds." He replies, walking over to Y/N, standing beside her. She chuckles.
"I can't read minds, if I could read minds I'd be rich with all the betting I did." She laughs at her joke. "But no, I can just read people, especially someone who keeps opening their mouth before shutting it." She turns her attention from the forest to Tyran, smiling down at him. "Now spill it out, what do you wanna say." Tyran sighs, fumbling with his fingers.
"D-Do you remember what day it is today?" He asks. Y/N tilts her head in confusion.
"Of course I do, why do you think we're out here picking apples. It's the annual festi-"
"It's my birthday!" Tyran shouts, clenching his fists, now upset and a little angry." It's my birthday today, and you and granny forgot! Instead, this stupid annual festival is more important than my birthday." He begins crying. Y/N looks down at him, sighing.
"Lillian's going to kill me for this." She mutters, crouching down to the boy. He looks at her with teary eyes. "We didn't forget your birthday, kid, why do you think I took you out this far into the woods? To give your grandmother time to make you a delicious apple pie." Tyran sniffles, hiccupping.
"S-So you didn't forget?" He asks. Y/N shakes her head, resting her hand on his cheek, wiping a tear with her thumb.
"How could we ever forget our little rascals birthday." She jokes, ruffling her hair and standing up. She turns around, holding her arms out. "Now come on, hop on or we'll be late." Tyran wipes the rest of his tears, smiling before jumping on Y/N's back, holding her shoulders. She grabs the bag of apples in one hand and begins walking again.
----
The two breakthroughs the forest line, the sun still high in the sky. Tyran gets down from Y/N's back, now walking beside her. She moved the bag of apples to rest over her shoulder, her other hand resting by her side as she begins walking over to the village.
"Hey, wait for me," Tyran says, rushing forwards to grab Y/N's hand. "I've got small legs compared to you, I can't always keep up with you."
"Won't be like that for long, before you know it you'll be as tall as me and able to walk faster than me running," Y/N says, chuckling and booping his nose with their intertwined hands. "But for now your my little short stack."
"Hey, I'm not that short." Tyran whines, pouting.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say shorty," Y/N says and they begin walking to the village. "Now when we get there you have to act surprised okay. Can't let your granny know I told you about this."
"Hmm, what do I get in return?" Tyran says, smirking. Y/N deadpans.
"Wow, I see how it is huh. You're gonna snitch on me to your gran. You know the horrors of that wooden spoon." Y/N jokes. Tyran continues to look up to her, his brow raised. She sighs. "Fine how about this, you don't tell her and I'll take you up to the cliff later." Tyran thinks for a moment, before nodding.
"Deal!" They make it into the village, and Tyran has a massive smile on his face already, preparing himself for getting back home and hearing the shout of celebration...but he wasn't prepared for the one he heard.
"LOOK! THERE'S THE FREAK AND THE BEAST!" A voice shouts, they look to see that it's Jake, pointing at the two with a feared expression. The villagers first look to the boy before looking to Tyran and Y/N. "She's the wolf who attacked us! And he's the one who made her attack us!"
"You mean the wolf months ago that showed up?" The chief asks, "And for some reason said animal tried to attack you and your friends and not Tyran?"
"Yes! And it's right there!" Jake says, pointing to Y/N. The chief looks to the woman, who shrugs.
"But I don't see any fur on her or sharp teeth. And she's most certainly not wearing any grandma's clothing." He jokes, causing the others to laugh.
"Yeah because she can change from a beast to a human!"
"Son what your describing is that of a Beastmen, no one has seen one for years. And besides, they wouldn't come this close to a village." The chief explains.
"But she is!" Jake shouts, fists clenched. He looks to Tyran, anger in his eyes. "You're a freak! You and your granny probably made a deal with the devil and got that thing to protect you!"
"Jake I've told you a hundred times, stop saying such awful things! " His mother says, walking over and grabbing his arm. "Can't you just let Tyran have his birthday in peace and not bully him and his grandmother! I mean, your already grounded for going out of the village, and heavens knows where you went off to, don't make me ground you even more for this."
Tyran and Y/N walk over, she drops the bag of apples, staring down at the boy while Tyran holds a frown yet terrified expression, that Jake could know what and who Y/N is. Y/N however stays calm. Jake's mother looks to the two, a guilty expression on her face.
"I'm sorry you two, I don't know what's gotten that thought in his head." She looks to Tyran." And forgive my son's incompetence of listening to me, I've told him a hundred times to not call you that."
"I-It's alright miss," Tyran says, looking down. Y/N sees his expression and frowns herself before bending down to Jake, tilting her head.
"No! Stay away from me beast!" He shouts, trying to pull away from his mother's grasp, but she keeps him in place.
"Now, why would you call me that kid?" Y/N asks, "I'm nothing but a human, just like you and the rest of these people. Someone who just wants to help wherever she can."
"Liar! You're a beast! You work for the devil and demons!" Jake shouts, causing Y/N to sigh. She sniffs up, suddenly catching the smell of something. Her eyes widen for a second before returning to normal, smiling at the boy.
"I'm sorry If I gave you that impression, but right now it's that kid's birthday." She says, pointing to Tyran, "And you're taking all the attention away from him." She stands up, picking up the bag of apples and grabbing Tyran's hand and walking off back to their house.
"You should be very disappointed in yourself mister." Jake's mother says, dragging him away. The boy however is anything but disappointed, and instead smirks at the two walking away. Tyran and Y/N make it back to their house, opening the door and walking into the kitchen.
"Happy Birthday Tyran!" Lillian shouts, holding up an apple pie with a wide smile. She then sees Tyran's sad expression and before she could ask what's wrong, he runs up to his room, his door slamming. Y/N frowns, putting down the bag of apples and sitting at the table. Lillian looks at her, frowning.
"Jake happened. We got back to the village and he was there shouting at us, calling him a freak and me a beast. Ruined everything for Tyran." Y/N says, leaning back into the chair.
"Oh that boy is gonna be the death of this village one day, he's going too far," Lillian says, putting down the pie on the table and grabbing a knife and 3 plates, cutting the pie up into pieces. "I've talked to his mother about it, but even she can't control him she says, he's a wild one." Lillian puts down one of the plates in front of Y/N before sitting down herself, another plate with a pie in front of her. "Luckily Tyran is a strong boy, he got that from his mother."
"That boy, Jake," Y/N says, looking down at the floor. "He knows what I am." Lillian looks at the woman in surprise. "When I crouched to him, I smelt it on him. Wolfsbane. I don't know how that brat got it, but he did. His mother did mention that he went out of the village for a while, must have got it out of town."
"He must have, we don't sell anything like that. But then again, the next village is quite far away."
"Someone else knows who I am, he couldn't have gone alone or someone's given him it. Y/N says, clenching her jaw. "I may have to lay low for a while, not bring too much attention to myself." Lillian nods.
"It seems you must, but don't go breaking that promise of yours." She says, smiling. Y/N looks to Lillian in surprise.
"How did yo- You know what, never mind." She says, chuckling. "You're not gonna get the spoon out are you?" Lillian laughs, shaking her head.
"Of course, not dearie, you did exactly what I thought you would." Lillian looks to the woman, a soft smile across her face. "You remind me of my daughter, you know. She always seemed like she'd be hard to handle to those outside of the family, but she wasn't. She had the kindest soul."
"And I'm sure her soul has gone someone amazing," Y/N says, smiling at the elder woman. The two continue to talk for a bit longer, the day starting to get later and darker. Y/N finished her pie before picking up the other plate with the untouched pie. "I'm gonna go and check on him now, see how he's doing." She turns around and begins walking towards the stairs.
"He sees you like a mother you know." Y/N stops in her tracks, "When I'm gone, look after him like he's your own, okay?" Y/N doesn't turn around to face her and instead nods, making her way upstairs.
Even without a verbal answer, Lillian smiles. She knows that deep down, Y/N already does see Tyran like her son, and she'd do anything for him. Even fight heaven and hell and all its creations for him.
--
Y/N makes her way up the stairs, the plate with a piece of pie on it in her hand. She gently knocks on his door.
"Oi short stack, can I come in?" She asks, putting her head close to the door. She doesn't hear anything and opens the door, peeking her head around the door. "You okay buddy?" She sees Tyran under his covers, they pulled over his head. She sighs, walking over to and sitting on the edge of his bed, placing the plate on his nightstand table. "You shouldn't listen to him you know, he's just an insecure boy who still wets his bed." Y/N chuckles to herself, before turning her head to look at the boy. "You know your gran told me that you, uhm, see me as a mother. At first, I didn't know what to think, never been someone's mother before. But your mother deserved that title, your true mother, and she didn't get to live it for long. But, if you'd let me, I want to live that title for her, to let both your mother's soul and your grandmother know that you'll be okay, and safe..." She admits.
She waits a minute or so for a response, but she doesn't get any. She looks at the blankets in confusion, reaching her hand to pull them back, when she does she sees nothing but pillows arranged to look like someone laying down.
"What?!" She sniffs the area, seeing the shirt he was wearing before was over one of the pillows to make it look like he was still there to Y/N's smelling ability. "Oh, you...gotta admit, smart move kid." She opens the window, looking down to see a cart with hay, seeing a deep impression of where someone landed in. "Smart kid indeed." She goes running out before a note catches her eye sticking out from under his pillow. Her eyes widen in terror, she drops the note and rushes out of the door.
The letter falls to the ground, written in black ink reads:
'Going to the cliff, need to clear my head."
【Ａｓｐｅｎ】
First Created: 1/1/2022
Last Updated: 29/09/2023
So as you know from earlier chapters, Wolfsbane doesn't have the normal effects as it would on a werewolf-like Y/N, instead it's described as being like catnip. But that's because she had gotten herself used to it to just being that of a happy drug. In these years of her life, she wasn't as common with it and it just still harm her. In this version, yes it does harm her- just not as bad- and instead, it causes other things to happen.