The moon was a crescent, bathing the night in its near blinding white glimmer. The pale milky light caressed the trees and earth beneath it. It beamed in through the large glass window. The girl pulled her doona further across her shoulders, she closed her eyes slowly, savouring the warmth and the lunar light seeping into each of her cells. It was like the lunar deity was greeting her, welcoming her and her family to their new home.
The stars twinkled, she smiled. She hadn't wanted to go. To move so far from her home, her friends and family and ancestors, gone across a sea and a continent, she'd thought she'd feel so alone, cut from her heritage, yet as she stared up at the barely risen crescent moon and searched for anything familiar, she did not feel as isolated as she thought. She could feel Cerridwen was there, ever present. Inspiring and encouraging her with each breath, each sound, each step.
The smell of wet soil and fresh petrichor lingered in the earth, in the woods across the street from their house. It was savoury and familiar, exciting, although the teenager was eager to explore and learn each individual scent of the town, she couldn't help but dread the impending headache and nausea. The nightmare that was Seattle airport was bad enough, as was the drive to her house in La Push, Washington. They had to go through another little neighbouring town less than five minutes away from their house, likely no more than half an hours walk through the woods either, the teenager would guess.
Forks stunk, literally. It stunk of something sweet kind of like burnt sugar, sour oranges and soggy, overripe strawberries, it was strange and burnt her nose and evidently her parent's too, given the way they winced each time they inhaled and stared intently at the moving van in front of them, willing it to go faster. La Push was much better, although it did not hold a neutral smell either, it was much more agreeable, earthy and warm, pine needles and oak bark, salty like the nearby beach and something the teenage girl would describe only as wolf-y, although different than the typical wolf smell of her kind or a genuine wolf. It wasn't bad, just unusual. It made her anxious, whining like a scared pup when it grew stronger.
It was barely evening on a Friday in the middle of January. The slight chill of an early autumn slowly beginning to creep in. It wasn't likely to be too cold, even with the near constant drizzle of rain, thankfully, but the girl always tended to shiver regardless of the actual weather. Her breath fogged up on the glass as she continued to stare out at the nothingness beyond her.
Boxes of stuff littered the floor, some full, a few half-empty, and a pile of empty, deconstructed boxes forming a pile at the foot of her twin sized bed. The only real furniture in the space was her bed, nestled into the corner by large, outfacing window, the side table and her dresser, pressed by the door. It seemed entirely devoid of any real personality. So empty. It smelt vaguely of mothballs. The carpet was a pale cream. The only thing that really told of her room was her sheets. White and olive gingham, her quilt covered by a similar tone of green and splattered with orange and navy dinosaurs. The teenage girl was meant to be unpacking her stuff, and had managed some of it before getting distracted by the moon rise.
Her hand travelled to her face, rubbing at her nose, though she stopped as the heel of her hand nudged her teeth. There was a hard mass beneath it. She reached in and felt it, a canine, long and sharp, pointed out more than usual. She blinked and looked at the back of her palms, black veins and claws drawn. When did that happen? She wondered, taking a large deep breath. The pressure of her expanding lungs on her ribs was familiar and comforting. Her voice warbled as she began to hum a familiar tune, all the while thinking, calm. The girl was snapped from her reverie by a booming voice echoing through the house. "Fae!"
She winced, both hands shot to her ears. "Fae!" The voice called out again, loud like a church bell, feminine and with the thick welsh accent she associated with her maternal family. She wasn't even half shifted and her ears still felt like they were bleeding. Why did she feel like crying?
Her mother, Marie, bellowed again. "Faline Smith, you get down here right this instant!" There was an authority to it that had been lacking in the earlier call. It was an order then, Fae had no choice than to listen. Their pack fell into a typical dynamic, a democracy to a certain extent, although there was always an alpha in a pack. A typical family of three in every other sense than the moon.
She stood, shedding the warmth of her quilt like a coat. The brunette girl shivered at the sudden loss of heat. Her bedroom had grown strangely dark, she flicked the light on with her fingers and frowned slightly at the warm orange glow, like the setting sun, dull like she had lit nothing more than an oversized candle. Charming, Fae thought, unfortunately some things would be just like home, no fancy lights here either.
Fae shot one last look at the milky light, the silver glimmering halo that drifted from the glowing scythe. Her eyes flashed a brilliant yellow, the colour of marigolds and sunflowers. She dug her toes into the soft material of the carpet. Quickly, she closed the door behind her and trotted down the stairs. Her ears rung regardless.
"Fae!" Marie hollered once more. Her back was to the door of the stairs. Fae let out a cry from her lips, hands slamming the sides of her face, as if to muffle the sound echoing. You're a wolfblood too, you should know better. She wanted to snarl, but all that came out was a whimper.
"Ma!" She said. Dark brown eyes fixated on the figure of the woman. She was fairly short, shorter than Fae at least, with her hair cut into a raven black bob, the colour looked near artificial unless under direct sunlight. She wore a long grey cardigan, white three quarter length pants and a beige shirt.
Marie spun on her heel, she smiled at Fae briefly. Her eyes widened, the look of realisation causing her lips to part then shift into a grimace, "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, pup. Here. Give me a second."
She reached for her handbag, a large monstrous creature of faux leather, gold zippers and an inner lining of a water resistant, leopard print material and small pockets that she didn't really use. The sound of keys and plastic bags and whatever else filled the endless supplies in the bag carried like a chaotic orchestra, until finally she found what she wanted.
She hurried over to the fridge and pulled out a small bottle of water. One from the airport, Fae realised. It was sealed and lukewarm in her hands, it had likely been packed away for less than twenty minutes. Marie then held her hand in a fist, palm facing downward, the teenaged girl hesitantly lifted a hand and placed it palm up below her mother's hand and in dropped to it two white pills. They looked and smelt like her mother's favourite cure-for-all-ills, grocery store brand ibuprofen. She placed them in her mouth and swallowed them dry.
"Now come on dear. I'd like to get to Port Angeles before seven, nothing better than a bit of a late night shop, we'll even get you some new stuff too." Marie began to usher the girl toward the door. Fae stumbled briefly, tapping the pockets of her dark jeans. Thankfully her phone was there, she stumbled once more, smoothing the creases from the grey wool of her sweater.
Like a fox, she darted ahead of her mother. Pale hands snatched her shoes from the doorway, they were old, once a rich burgundy, now more so the colour of unoxygenated blood and near a rusty tone in some places, they were about two years old and the tread had been near worn off to a smooth surface. She burst through the door like a tornado and down the driveway like a bat from hell, the pavement was cold and damp and rough beneath her toes.
Fae skidded to a stop in front of the singular car owned by her family. It was old and large enough, a Ford territory, but the matter that concerned her was the creature draped across the hood. "Da?"
The timberwolf in question stirred, lazily lifting his head off of his paws and blinked innocently. Fae scowled at it, she looked sharply over at the neighbouring house. Thankfully no one was home. "Dad, are you fucking kidding me?" She whispered-shouted sharply, "What if someone saw you? Get off the car please."
The wolf refused to move, he rolled his eyes golden eyes nonchalantly, shaking the tawny brown and white fur around his shoulders. Fae sighed, turning on her heels. Her ears pricked as she heard the turning of the door, if her mum caught them, they'd both be dead. "Da, get off the car, you're an adult, you know better."
He continued to play dumb, the wolf turning his head away like a petulant child. Fae snarled. The wolf glanced up at her with a gaze of disinterest and then placed its head back onto his paws. She rolled her shoulders and let out a low growl, yellow eyes twisting up to reveal themselves from behind a dark brown. She was challenging her father, though the wolf stared back with a stern look, as if to tell her to stop it and respect her elders. Fae rolled her eyes and felt her features change back, and with that change came a change of tactics. Perhaps it was not the smartest to invite conflict, the consequences of fighting her dad would not be fun. Her mum would not be too happy with her.
She quickly turned to the house and shouted, "Mum! Dads on the car again!"
The wolf shifted back quickly. Bones turned and twisted and shrunk, and posture shifted until the tawny brown mop of curls stood above her, no longer on the car and haired male and yelling urgently to his wife, "No, I'm not! She's lying!"
"Sean, I can hear your heartbeat, stop lying. You know better." Marie rolled her eyes, turning her head as she shut the door. The man turned to his daughter, mouthing the words, 'you're dead to me' Fae laughed. "For that, you get to stay home and finish unpacking the lounge, try and find the telly, dear. We'll bring home dinner."
"Oh, no! Why can't I go with yo-"
"Girls trip." Marie cut him off sharply. She forced a saccharine smile and tilted her head, she made a flicking motion with her wrist to Fae, she clambered into the passenger seat. "Have fun, mate!"
"Fuck off." Sean shouted, his brown eyes shone in the bright light of the rising moon. He made a heart with his hands and mouthed 'love you' and waved them off with a sarcastic smile, no doubt to retreat inside and mope whilst unpacking the kitchen and living room. Marie and Fae laughed and before long, they were on the road, the twilight sky and the ever wonderous presence of a GPS.
"You can pick the music if you want." Marie stated, gesturing to the aux cord, Fae nodded, plugging it into her phone. She searched through, looking for a playlist she felt like, then ran through the criteria of, 'is it something my mother would complain too much about' and then the other, 'how much would she judge me about it' until she found one she deemed acceptable.
"You okay, little 'un?" Her mother questioned, concern bleeding into her tone and aura. She reached over and rested a hand on top of Fae's spare. She flipped her palm and entwined their hands. Marie's hand was warm and she squeezed it gently, "Have the painkillers kicked in yet?"
Fae nodded, humming an agreement. "Ma, where are we going?" It was late, nearing six at night.
"I told you, Port Angeles." Fae's brow crinkled in confusion, had she? Wait, wasn't Port Angeles the closest city? Her jaw dropped slightly, did her mother seriously want to take a trip into the city that took the better part of an hour to get to? Most of the shops would be closed by the time they got there!
The teenager tucked her feet up, on the seat. She looked down at her shoes, on the floor of the passenger seat, she frowned slightly, teeth latched onto the flesh of the inside of her cheek, fingers tapped a beat against her thigh. She didn't have socks. Fae glanced to her mother, dark eyes scanning to see if her mother had any solution to her problem, or if not, if she would mind if Fae divulged her issue asked her to go back home to get some, or even better, postpone the trip entirely. She cleared her throat slightly, gaining Marie's attention with ease. It would be better to ease into it, Fae noted. A question to open the floor. "Why are we going to Port Angeles, again?"
Marie smiled, she raised her hand to gesture to the skyline, the twilight was slowly shifting into a dark, stormy grey, "To explore, like our kind have done for centuries. Cerridwen gave us this transformation for a reason; to explore and nurture and find wonder, Fae. She inspired us, so we survive, we howl, we sing."
Fuck. Her face muscles felt tight as the edges of her lips pull downward. She'd have to be a miracle worker to win this, but she could try regardless. The girl took a deep breath.
"Why don't we do that in Forks or La Push? Run and hunt and explore as wolves... but you know, in the towns we have to live in." She cleared her throat, staring out at the empty highway. She fidgeted with her bracelet, a small silver chain with dangling star charms. Fae was unsure as to why they had to leave the area at six in the evening and not even stay in the local area.
"Because I want to go to Port Angeles without him complaining about how much we spend and I want some new shoes, so I'll buy you stuff if you don't tell your father..." Marie trailed off, she stared straight ahead, flicking the headlights onto high beam once more, after the passing car was a far enough distance in the rear view mirror, a shit eating grin overcame her face, she remained looking at the road however, "or I'll La Push you off of a cliff. We clear, Fal?" Her mother snapped quietly, she giggled at her stupid pun. Fae winced at the unusual nickname.
"That's child abuse." Fae told her mother light heartedly.
Marie grinned, she gestured with her head to her handbag in the backseat. "Also hun, there's a spare pair of socks in my bag. I'm old, not stupid."
Fae rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Absolute legend, mama."
Her brown eyes crinkled at the corners, her lips twitched up into a content smile. The car drew silent for a second, nothing other than the sound of the engine and tyres on the road, until the opening of the next song begun. Marie looked over, eyes drifting from the road, dark chocolate brown met dark blue eyes. They glimmered with a slight judgemental quality to them. The teenaged girl looked away, then shot a brief side eye to her mother, as if to check her reaction. The two sat in silence, enjoying the ambiance of the music and the car, until it began to pick up.
Pale fingers, nails covered delicately with chipped black polish twisted the volume higher, her voice picked up, travelling from a hum and silent lyrics slipping from barely parted lips to to form a passionate session of car karaoke, "Windows down, heater on / Big bolts of lightning hanging low / Over the coast, everyone's convinced / It's a government drone or an alien spaceship - Either way, we're not alone / I'll find a new place to be from / A haunted house with a picket fence / To float around and ghost my friends / No, I'm not afraid to disappear / The billboard said, "The end is near" / I turned around, there was nothing there / Yeah, I guess the end is here!"
approx 2.9k words
ok i know twilight is set in the 2000s but i was like 3 in 2008 so i can't really give a compelling, authentic experience of the mid 2000s and almost every other fic is historically inaccurate so that means i can be too. <3
some of the lore from wolfblood is being changed to fit my own lore, hope no one minds :)
Thanks for reading the first chapter of Wolfblood.
Who should imprint on Fae? Bc I'm relying off of the readers.