Heart Beat
Vivian fell to the floor and held her little girl. Before any monster that she may or may not have been, she was a mother. Tears slid down her face in staggered patterns while she took shaky breaths. Juliet clutched onto her mother's dress and whined. "She's still breathing," Arlot said as he watched the light rises and falls of his twin's chest. The way his voice cracked gave Scarrden a ping in his heart and cued a tear to fall from his cheek. The children's father took Amiana up into his arms and surveyed her. He gave Vivian a worried glance and carried the young werewolf child away.
Vivian tried to compose herself to the best of her ability whilst watching her eldest disappear around the corner. "Where were you two?" she sniffled. "What were you doing? What happened?" she questioned again with an angrier tone. Arlot's wolf-like ears sank, and he froze for a moment, "Momma... It was awful. A creature... -No- The creature from that fairytale you used to tell... It came and attacked us. The creature with the strength of a wolf and gills like a siren! It had this aura of dark desire all around it and smelled the same as burning flesh. At first, I was just running after Amiana... to find tree frogs!" the boy exclaimed. The interjection startled Vivian but she bit her tongue and let her son continue.
"So when we heard a noise, we suspected it may have just been a recently banished siren searching through the rain for new waters. Momma, why does that creature from the story exist?" he ended in defeat. The dark-haired woman stretched her hand out to him, but she wavered for a moment as she saw Amiana's blood on Arlot's back. "This is not your fault," she spoke calmly before pulling her son towards her. "You brought your sister home. Alive," she smiled before looking away to wipe a tear. Juliet tugged at her sleeve and gazed up at her with a pouted lip. "Mommy, is she really alive?" Juliet whispered. Vivian let Arlot free of her embrace and brought her little girl into her lap. "Everything's going to be okay, sweetie." she reassured and kissed both of their heads.
The truth was that Vivian didn't know what was going to happen; Amiana wasn't alive, but she wasn't dead either, yet. Breathing didn't mean anything to beings such as werewolves and the other false-fleshly races. Nothing to do with monsters made sense, just like a better off 'fairytale' being in existence. Now there was only one thing anyone could do... Vivian sat on the stairs and did a most taboo thing to her kind; she prayed. In her head, the werewolf woman began to speak to the Supreme Deity, "Please, if you still listen to the beings in this world... and if you would have mercy on even monsters, then don't take my children. Allow my husband the knowledge to help her survive. I would do anything." Scarrden, if anyone, had to have a clue of how to deal with this situation at hand. Luckily, being a former doctor, the burly man did have his thoughts; unluckily, none of them seemed to have a history of good results. Sometimes, a prayer wasn't enough. In all situations, you just had to keep telling your heart to beat and your lips to smile.
Scarrden walked into his daughter's room to see Arlot holding his sister's hand. The heartbroken father sat a bowl of water down beside the bedside and patted his son's shoulder. "Pup, I'm sorry we didn't tell you about the... beast. Right now, the best chance of saving your sister is getting information about what's happening. I've heard many say that twins share everything, and while I don't know if that's true, I know you share a love for one another. Go with your mom, okay?" Scarrden smiled as he patted his son's shoulder. "What you're saying is that you have no idea what's wrong, aren't you? I'll take my leave and figure this all out. I'm not sure about the two of us sharing everything, but I definitely feel empty right now." There were no more words spoken.
Vivian looked at Arlot as he walked up to her ready to leave. "We can't leave with you like that, my darling. Wash up first. You're covered in... blood. Now hurry up and let's go. I know you want to hurry, but taking care of yourself is the first important thing in finding resolve." Arlot had to admit that he wasn't very happy at the order he was given. Who would be bathing in this godawful situation? "'Go wash up'," he mimicked, but he truly did need the cleaning and frowned remembering the other words that came from his mother's mouth. 'You're covered in... blood' she had said. Arlot looked at the floor covered in dirty, rust colored, and foggy water. "Arlot!" The boy was gasping for air at the sound of his twin's voice echoing in his head. She came to his sight even when his eyes had reopened after the soapy water. The young werewolf quickly made himself decent and set out to leave once more.
"...You asked why the fairytale was real... I suppose we all called it a fairytale because we wanted to convince ourselves that it never happened," Vivian cleared her throat. "The first time I truly met your father, he saved me from the same kind of creature that attacked Amiana. Scarrden, who was an outcast in Cursh at the time, killed it: the Beast of Cursed Blood. After the countless deaths caused by it, a law was formed that the blood of every race was to never be brought together again. Whoever would participate in such an act of treason would be a being of ultimate evil. I hope to watch the one behind this be deprived of their life and served to the scavengers," the woman spoke darkly. "We need to inform your grandfather and uncle of everything that has happened. Hell is only a howl away and someone there is always in knowledge of something," she scowled.