A/N: I would like to formally apologize to Alex_chuan for this as one of the characters are based of him. (The drawing above is also done by him)
"You shouldn't talk to vampires, they only want trouble," Jazmyn scolded as they walked out of the gym hall and out into fresh air.
"I think I can decide for myself who I do talk to and not talk to, thanks," Lupita answered and pulled her arm out of Jazmyn's grip.
"I know, but just so you know. You clearly haven't spent that much time with other species anyway," Jazmyn whispered that last part; it was probably not meant for Lupita to hear but she did.
"I know a lot about the other species, so don't come here and say that vampires are dangerous because I know," Lupita growled and walked away. She wasn't in the mood to punch the girl she had only just met, and she wasn't sure how much the halfling could take. The thought of getting flashbacks also wasn't pleasant and this girl was sadly pushing her close to the edge.
"Wait!" Jazmyn shouted and suddenly she was in front of her. She was almost as fast as a full-blooded werewolf. "I'm sorry. I know I don't know that much about you and it was wrong of me to assume. I am just scared for you. You are new here and... I also want to still have you as a... friend?" Was she... blushing?
Ah, so she was jealous. Maybe.
"Don't worry, you will still have me as a friend, but stop assuming things about me," Lupita said sternly and walked past her.
"Don't you want to come home with me?" Jazmyn asked her but made no move to follow.
"No, I'll be fine," Lupita said and continued to walk. She didn't hear anything and guessed Jazmyn had listened to her.
After a while of just walking in random directions, Lupita finally reached the forest. It was nice that it was so close to the school; it made it easy to run off if she needed to.
Lupita walked for a while before coming upon a large tree. She looked up at it before quickly kicking off her shoes, hiding them, and then looking back up at the tree. This would be hard, but she would manage. She took a deep breath and slightly bent her knees before pouncing and grabbing the nearest branch. She thought she was good but her hands began to slip ever so slightly, making her claws spring out and burying themselves in the wood.
"Flott," she mumbled and hoisted herself up on the branch. Her claws were still stuck and tugging too hard might break the branch she was on, but not tugging hard enough would never take her claws out. Maybe one hard tug could get them out.
"På 3," she told herself and readied herself. "1... 2... 3!" She tugged as hard as she could and her claws came out of the wood but lost her balance in the process and almost fell off making her claws dig themselves back into the wood out of reflexes.
This would take a while.
After getting her claws out of the wood again and finding a way to not dig them in to the point they got stuck but that she would have a sturdy enough grip to not fall, she began to climb again. She jumped from branch to branch, digging her claws halfway into the wood before pulling herself up on the branches and continuing this seemingly endless cycle until she reached a hole in the wood. She reached her arm in and searched around for a while before finding what she was looking for along with something... soft?
Lupita pulled her hand out. She had a small book and a necklace in her grasp, but also something orange. She laughed when she saw the tiny creature try to get out of her grasp - it was a squirrel.
"Hei," she said, sat down on the branch she was crouching on, and leaned her back against the tree. "Hva er det du gjør her?" she asked it and gently took it in one of her hands and placed the book and necklace on her lap. The tiny animal squirmed in her grasp but she tried to calm it down. And after a lot of calming words, it did. It sat on its hind legs and looked up at Lupita with big, beady eyes. "Du er søt." She rubbed her nose to its and it happily returned the gesture.
She didn't know when, but suddenly, Lupita was pouring her heart out to the little animal in her palms. It was rare that she got to speak like this to anyone, and she felt kind of awkward talking to an animal that could as well be her lunch, but it felt nice to get all of the things off her chest. She told the little animal about how her first day had been at this strange school. She told it about both her strange flashbacks - in detail - and how they still had her shaken up. She also told it about the halfling she met and how she was scared of getting closer to her in fear of hurting her or her family, but also how incredibly nice it felt to finally get to know someone who seemed to like her, and she also told it about the strange-smelling vampire. The squirrel seemed to soak up every word she was saying and it felt amazing to have someone just listening for once.
In the end, Lupita then let the tiny animal go and it ran back into its home; she should have checked if the hole was inhabited before hiding her belongings there. She wanted to do this more often. It was nice just to talk and not have anyone intervene or give her weird looks as she talked, though she hoped she hadn't traumatized the poor thing.
A sudden breeze brought her back to reality and she looked down at the stuff in her lap. A simple book and a moonstone necklace. Both were of great value to her.
The book had a simple look; just brown with simple silver markings on the edges. The necklace was also simple; a teardrop stone that hung from a black leather string. But they were so much more than what they looked, and Lupita had no idea if she would ever survive without them.
"Never seen someone climb that high in a tree. Let alone a werewolf!"
Lupita nearly dropped the necklace in her hand at the sound of the strange voice. It wasn't a deep, manly voice, but far from the typical human feminine voice. It sounded slightly gruff and sounded a lot like a werewolf.
Quickly regaining her composure, Lupita looked down. Down there was a tall, slim person with very messy brown hair. It didn't look like they had brushed it in months. They also had an accent that wasn't the normal one that most of these people had.
"I know you are up there! Just wanted to know how you di-!"
In a second, Lupita had pinned the person to the ground and was growling lowly at them. Up close, Lupita could get a very good look at them, and smell them. Definitely a male by the lack of chest and the strong bone structure, though they were pathetically slim for one.
"You are fast," they said and gave her a cheeky smile while Lupita still held her threatening expression. "Listen, I just wanted to know how in the world you got that high up in a tree."
"Effort. And trial and error," Lupita growled and stood up before looking the person up and down. "I also have some muscle."
"Ouch!" the person said and placed a hand on their heart. "I'm Alexander Silas by the way. Werewolf. He/him if you don't mind."
So she had been right.
"Can't say it is a pleasure," Lupita said. She got off him, jumped up on a branch, and began to ascend again.
"And why is that?" Alexander said and tried to follow her example but failed and ended up holding the third branch he got to for dear life as he tried to get his feet on it.
"You could be a threat," Lupita said and jumped down to the branch he was on. She sat crouched in between his hands and looked down at his straining face.
"I assure you, I am no threat," he said and tried to pull himself up but Lupita placed a finger on his forehead and pushed him down. "Come on!" he whined.
"Why are you here?" Lupita asked while keeping her finger on his forehead.
"I heard someone speak and I went to check it out. I saw something in the trees and I first thought it was a nest but it was far too big to be a nest and - this is starting to get hard - birds don't really nest here now. I wanted to know if you were a threat and considering all this, you aren't," Alexander explained and Lupita saw his hands slip.
"That last thing you said was wrong," she said and gave a push with her finger, causing him to fall and land on the ground with a loud thud before he groaned.
"Ok, sorry," he said but stayed on the ground while coughing and groaning.
"Stay away from me," Lupita said and was about to go back to climbing when her stomach growled.
"I have food at my place! It doesn't look like you have eaten in a while, at least not a good meal!" Alexander shouted and sat up.
"How do I know you won't poison me?!" Lupita asked and kept climbing, but the offer for food was tempting.
"How do you know I will?" Alexander retorted. "I have meat!"
Lupita had reached her branch and saw the squirrel from before, staring at her with its pitch-black eyes. They stared at each other for what felt like hours before the small creature looked down at the man below, back at Lupita, and then it ran back into its hole. Lupita took that as her sign to follow the strange werewolf.
"Fine," she groaned as she gathered what little belongings she had. "I'll follow you." She began descending, more carefully this time. She could feel a tingling sensation start in her wrist and he was pretty certain she had done something to it after the stunt she pulled.
"My boyfriend can help you with that. They are really good with healing potions and all that," Alexander said when he saw her rub her wrist.
"It doesn't hurt," Lupita defended and put her wrist down. She was lying, just moving it sent a shockwave of pain through her entire body.
"I'll let my boyfriend check you anyway," Alexander said as they began walking. It was kind of strange, she was an entire head taller than the man, but he didn't seem to be faced by it at all. He was smiling brightly and walking with a small skip in his step while keeping a comfortable distance between them.
Lupita didn't comment on what he said as it would be nice to at least get it checked.
The two walked through the thick trees for a while. Lupita was constantly smelling the air, making sure they didn't accidentally step into another pack's territory. They never did, which was surprising but she wasn't complaining.
After a while of just walking between endless rows of trees, they finally reached... what had they reached? It just looked like trees and rocks and smoke and-... wait smoke?
Looking closer, Lupita was able to see a small hut-like home in the forest. It was covered in branches and it blended in perfectly with the forest around it, the only aspect giving it away being the smoke coming out. If you didn't know where to look, it would just look like a strange bush.
"There are a lot of bugs in this forest, so I advise you to not keep your mouth gaping like that," Alexander said in a cheeky tone and Lupita growled at him. "Wow! Relajate, tranquila."
"What?" Lupita asked.
"It's Spanish for 'relax'," Alexander said and walked to the hut as quickly as possible when Lupita growled at him once again.
Lupita reluctantly followed him in and her eyes went wide. The inside was very spacious, you could fit up to 4 people at least, maybe five if the last one was a twig, like Alexander. On one side was what looked like a bed, with brown sheets on the ground and a pillow. On the other side was something that resembled an eating area with a small hole dug into the ground with rocks around it and glowing hot coal in the pit. A small pot hung above it. It smelled delicious and there was a weak bubbling sound coming from it.
"Karri!" Alexander shouted out while saying the 'r' in a way no English person would ever. "Where are you mi vida?" Alexander began to walk around in the small hut while Lupita tried her best not to destroy the roof. "Sit down there." Alexander pointed at the bed and Lupita sat down.
Suddenly, Lupita saw a head pop out of somewhere. They had pale, smooth skin with a few freckles; short, curly light brown hair with two small nubs sticking out of it, and strange ears with big, brown eyes.
"Karri!" Alexander said excitedly and jogged over to them. "I hope you don't mind that I brought a guest. They were hungry and they are hurt."
"You can use she/her for me," Lupita said and squinted at the head. Slowly, the person came out. What caught Lupita's attention first was their legs. covered in fur and looked broken with hooves instead of feet. A faun. Lupita now understood the ears and the incredibly gentle and innocent eyes.
What now caught her attention was the bindings wrapped tightly around the faun's chest. Alexander did combine both he and them when talking about him.
"Hi, I'm Karri," the faun said in a high-pitched voice which gave him away.
"Lupita," Lupita said and stared at the strange couple. No wonder they lived on their own. A faun and a werewolf. A goat and a wolf. A strange combination to say the least.
"You are hurt?" Kirra asked and walked over to her, their hooves leaving heavy thumps as they walked.
"It is nothing serious," Lupita said but gave the faun her hand when he pulled his hands out. Their hands were small and delicate but rough at the same time. It felt nice.
The faun took their time to examine her hand, moving it in angles that sent shock waves of pain through Lupita and in other motions that made her want to just lay down on the forest floor and cut off her hand to end her misery.
"I think you sprained it. And pretty badly," Karri said and walked over to a little chest that Lupita hadn't seen when she came. Karri came back moments later with a small box and bandage in his hand. "I am going to apply this cream, It will reduce the swelling and help with the pain," he held up the box so Lupita could see it, and then he opened it for her to smell the contents. It seemed safe enough. "And then I will bandage it. Try not to move it for at least 48 hours. You are a werewolf so you will most likely recover quickly."
Lupita nodded and they began to apply the cream. It smelled good. Nature. It was strangely cold as well, which Lupita couldn't understand why, but she wasn't complaining. It felt nice. Karri then went to put on the bandage, and while they were doing that, Alexander went over to the pot and poured whatever was in it into wooden bowls.
"Here," he said and handed her a bowl once Karri was finished with her bandage.
"Thank you," Lupita said and looked down at the bowl. It looked just like a normal soup, with a few meat chunks floating around along with a few vegetables. It didn't look bad at all, nor did it smell bad. Lupita carefully blew on the soup, brought it up to her lips, and took a sip. It was very delicious.
"Is it good?" Alexander asked as he ate his own soup with a wooden spoon. Karri was sitting beside him now while eating an apple, though Alexander did hand them a few spoons of soup that didn't have any meat, which the faun happily ate.
Lupita just hummed and took another sip, making sure to get a meat chunk. She quickly finished her plate and Alexander refilled it without her even having to ask. She got two more portions before she said she couldn't take more of their food. Also, she had to make a comment about how Alexander had to put on a little more weight if he intended to look threatening so he could protect his mate. At the mention of mate, both of the adults blushed.
When it finally turned to nightfall, Lupita went to stand up but was quickly pulled back down.
"You are not going anywhere," Alexander said and swiftly moved some leaves and stones out of a spot in the hut and placed a blanket down. "You are hurt, and you will sleep here. I will not have you getting attacked because of your wrist, knowing I could have done something."
"And what authority do you have?" Lupita challenged.
"How old are you?" Alexander asked while crossing his arms.
"18?"
"I am 22, so I am older. This is also my territory and you are under my roof. You sleep here tonight, no questions."
Lupita's jaw hit the floor. No way this stick was 22 years old. His other point also made sense.
Karri quickly extinguished the flame in the pit and went to lay down on the blanket on the side of the hut while Lupita laid down on the other one. Alexander walked over to Karri and laid down beside him while wrapping his arms around them.
"Te amo," he whispered and Lupita heard a small kissing noise.
"Love you too," Karri whispered back.
Lupita felt a twinge of jealousy and moved to get comfortable. She fell asleep to the sound of wind in the trees.
Translations:
Norwegian:
Flott = great
På 3 = on 3
Hei = hi
Hva er det du gjør her? = what are you doing here?
Spanish:
Relajate = relax
Tranquila = relax
Mi vida = my life
Te amo = I love you
A/N: sorry for not being more active on this story. I am trying my best since this is the first original story I am posting on here and want to make it as good as possible. (It might also be for the lack of engagement that I am getting slightly de-motivated by I still love this story and will continue no matter what.)
Also, would anyone else like to have a tiny feature in the story?
If you have any questions, feel free to ask and if you see any spelling mistakes it would be lovely if you pointed them out.
Hope you are all taking care of yourselves both mentally and physically. Make sure to eat and drink something.
If no one has said it to you yet: I am incredibly proud of you!!
Hope you have a lovely day/night/evening.
Love you all and thank you for reading. Leave a vote or comment, they are very appreciated! ❤💖❤💖❤💖