It wasn't the stomp of thunder that woke me up late that night, but in fact, it was the terrified screams from Turquoise, who had never heard a sound like thunder before. I was up on my feet almost immediately, rushing to her. I carefully picked her up and held her in my arms. I rocked her until she was calm again. That was when she figured out that she was hungry, too. I sat on my bed and fed her. It surprised me that Peridot was still asleep. She almost always woke up when Turquoise began to cry. Turquoise was happy when she was done eating. As I got up to put her back in her crib, she began to cry again.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "Do you want to sleep with Peridot and I?"
I sat back down on my bed, and Turquoise immediately calmed down. I smiled. She just wanted to sleep with Peridot and me. I lay back down with Turquoise in my arms and fell asleep. I heard Turquoise soon follow. The rest of the night, all I heard was the pitter-patter of rain and silence from Turquoise.
I woke up the next morning. The room was dark. It was clearly still raining. Turquoise was still asleep next to me.
"Morning." I heard Peridot say. "Sleep well?"
"Turquoise got scared by the thunder," I answered. "That was the only interruption."
"Did you sleep well after?" Peridot asked curiously.
"Yeah," I answered. "Turquoise was calm with me. I fed her too, so that probably did something for her."
Peridot took Turquoise from her spot next to me and kissed her head. I saw her eyes flutter open, and she looked up at Peridot. She reached toward Peridot's face, making her little noises happily.
"My wolves," I said quietly to myself.
I heard the quiet rumble of thunder in the distance, and my instincts made me immediately look at Turquoise. She was curiously looking out the window, watching every little drop of rain fall. She looked up at Peridot again and made a noise to get her attention. Peridot looked down at her curiously, clearly anxious.
"What is it?" She asked.
Turquoise looked back at the window and made more of her little noises. That's when it came to me.
"I think she wants to go outside," I said.
"In the rain?" Peridot asked.
"I think so," I answered.
"Do we have to?" Peridot asked. "It's so nice and warm in here."
"You're a werewolf," I answered. "You're practically a living space heater."
"...it's nice in here!" Peridot cried.
I rolled my eyes playfully. "Come on. It won't be that bad," I responded.
"...are you sure?" Peridot asked.
"Are you nervous?" I responded.
"No," Peridot answered. "I just really don't want to get wet right now. It's nice and dry in here."
"You'll live," I said. "Plus, this is the first time it's rained since before Turquoise was born. This will be good for her."
"...fine," Peridot replied. "Just make it quick. I wanna be dry again soon."
I sat on the floor with Turquoise as Peridot took a tiny yellow poncho out of the closet. She helped me put it on Turquoise, who didn't seem to like the thick plastic. I put her little hood on, and she was ready to go. I had to make myself not respond to her irritated noises. I was not sending her outside without that poncho.
"Alright. Outside," Peridot said.
I put on my own rain jacket and followed Peridot out of the room. I zipped up my jacket with Turquoise in it, letting her see everything as we walked. Peridot opened the back door and gestured for me to walk through it. As soon as I did, rain began to slide down my jacket. I double-checked that Turquoise's hood was on, and then I stepped out fully into the falling water. Turquoise immediately began to look around curiously, reaching out and feeling the water drip down her tiny little hand. She seemed shocked that this falling water was even real, and her face was just absolutely precious. Peridot came outside, her hair immediately falling around her face from the weight of the water in it. She looked beautiful.
"...Turquoise is enjoying this," she said in her deep voice, reaching to hold the baby's hand.
"She really is," I replied.
Turquoise happily wrapped her hand around Peridot's finger when she was close enough and looked up at me for approval. I nodded in response, which made her start reaching for Peridot. Peridot took her carefully, making sure not to drop her.
"You like the rain?" She asked.
Turquoise cuddled up to her, closing her eyes happily.
"She likes it," Peridot said.
"I can tell," I responded.
I looked at the ocean, which was roughly crashing against the beach. The wind from the storm had made the waves bigger. They weren't anywhere near our house since Peridot had been smart with its location, but it still worried me. I didn't want Turquoise to get caught in the waves and swept away. The thought scared me. I couldn't lose her.
"Are you alright?" Peridot asked.
"I'm just worried," I answered. "...what if...when Turquoise gets older...she gets caught in the waves when it's raining? Sh-she would drown! We could lose her!"
"Calm down," Peridot replied. "Werewolves can hold their breath longer than humans can. Not terribly much longer, but we can still do it. I'm sure it would be enough time for one of us to come outside and save her."
"...how are you not worried?" I asked.
"I worry all the time," Peridot answered. "And now I have two people to worry about. I just don't want to make you feel worried too."
I looked up at the rain, which was beginning to fall harder than before. I sighed, looking back at Peridot once again.
"You promise we'll be able to keep her safe?" I asked.
"I'm not going to let her out of my safety," Peridot answered. "I wouldn't let myself stay if I ever did."
"Don't say things like that," I hissed. "You scare me when you do. You make me think you're going to kill yourself."
Peridot became silent as she looked into my eyes. I looked into hers, trying my best to maintain my glare.
"...if you don't want me to, I won't," she said.
"Listen to me." I stepped toward her. "Don't you ever, ever do that. You are a life not worth losing."
Peridot leaned in, and I followed. Her forehead was nearly touching mine, and our lips were only inches apart. Then came a loud clap of thunder. Immediately, Turquoise screamed.
"We need to get inside!" Peridot exclaimed.
"Right," I responded.
As fast as we could—Peridot, not quite—the three of us went inside. We went straight to the bathroom, where Peridot turned on the bathtub faucet, and I undressed Turquoise. I placed her in the tub when it was full enough, and I began to wash her. Peridot knelt down next to me, watching Turquoise's reaction to the water.
"You need to get in here too," I said. "You smell like wet dog."
"Mean," Peridot replied.
"No, really," I said, smirking a little. "You actually smell like a wet dog."
I pulled Turquoise out of the tub and began to dry her off. Peridot was watching me curiously the whole time. Eventually, Turquoise was dry, and I helped her get dressed again.
"Nap time," I cooed.
As I walked, Turquoise fell asleep in my arms. I carefully placed her in her crib and kissed her head one last time before leaving the room. When I walked back to the bathroom, Peridot was there waiting for me.
"Care to join me?" She asked, playfully grinning.
"I'm not so sure," I answered. "I think you can take a shower by yourself."
"It would be better with you," Peridot said.
"Let's keep in mind that I had Turquoise a little under two weeks ago," I responded.
"I know," Peridot said. "Care to join?"
"Alright," I replied. "Just a shower, though. Nothing else." I cocked my head to the side. "Well, I mean, some cuddling would be nice too, I guess."
"I'm the cuddle monster," Peridot said. "You don't even need to ask."
I was sitting in Peridot's lap, leaning against the one warm arm she had wrapped around me. I was tracing the contours of her hand with my fingers. I had sometimes compared her to stone. She seemed unbreakable, and striking her would only lead to my own pain. It brought me back to the time when I was sixteen, which was only two years ago, and hadn't known that information. I had tried to defend myself against Jasper, only, instead, to do a number on my knuckles. They were bruised for over a week. It seemed now that Peridot's skin seemed to feel like anything but stone. It felt human but with a little more burn to it. I had known that burn since the day we had met. She had pulled her hand away and stared at me, terrified. Now, everything that once made no sense to me now made sense, including our biological daughter, who was fast asleep once again.
"That feels nice," Peridot said, looking over at me.
"You're soft today," I responded. "Does the texture of your skin change depending on your mood or something?"
"No," Peridot answered, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe it's what you're feeling."
"You don't feel like a rock," I said.
"You also aren't punching me at the moment," Peridot replied.
"True," I said.
Peridot leaned back against the house, crossing her legs and sighing. She seemed to be fully relaxed. It must have been the shower. She had let me wash out her hair.
"Why are werewolves' and vampires' skin so...strong?" I asked. "Or...is it just bony? I don't understand..."
"It's an evolution thing," Peridot answered. "With vampires being our natural enemy and—I'm sure you know—both of us having incredible strength, we had to develop defenses of our own. We evolved to have skin like stone that can't be broken through, that is if you're a vampire. If you're a vampire, it can only be broken apart."
"Which is why there's a certain way you have to kill them," I said.
"Right," Peridot replied. "They don't break as easily as we do. We can take puncture wounds and stabs. They have to be cut or pulled apart."
"And that's how werewolves evolved to be stronger?" I asked.
Peridot smiled. "Exactly right," she answered. "You're smarter than you give yourself credit for."
"I just put the pieces together," I replied.
"Not many people could do that," Peridot said. "And then again. Not many people can know about us, either. Vampires too. A human that knows about vampires would get themself killed."
I let myself gasp a little. Peridot met my gaze, her eyes narrowing.
"That's different," she said. "You're an imprint. You're practically connected to us."
"So I'm allowed to know about vampires?" I asked.
"You wouldn't get yourself killed," Peridot answered.
I nodded, looking out the window. It was much darker now, nearly bedtime for us. Peridot picked me up and carried me to our bedroom, carefully placing me on the bed.
"Do you want to cuddle?" She asked, laying down next to me.
"That sounds great," I answered.
Peridot wrapped her arms around me and buried her nose in my hair. Her warmth quickly sent me to sleep even before she had closed her eyes. It was dark for a while, and then I was in a dream.
It was the distressed shout of a girl, that was what I heard. I had to make myself see what was happening. There was Topaz, on the ground, right next to a crackling fire. She looked over at me with absolute fury in her eyes. Suddenly, the fire spread all around us. There was no escape.
"You ruined this!" Topaz shouted. "You've ruined all of my chances of redemption! You took her from me!"
I barely dodged her as she came flying toward me. Now, she really was furious.
"How dare you!" She shouted.
"Please!" I cried, backing up. "We had no choice! She was going to hurt me!"
Topaz's expression softened. She stiffened up. Suddenly, she was human. She was freckled all over, and her hair had an orange tinge to it instead of being fiery red. Her green eyes pierced mine. I could feel her sadness. Between a quiet sob and a sniffle, she spoke.
"...this is all my fault..."
Then I woke up.