Demonized (Rachel)

[Nash Belcront]

HEAVEN'S GATES WON'T OPEN UP FOR ME It hurt, whenever he changed like this. It felt like his bones were being melted, in order to give way to the skeleton of the wolf he was to become. He was panting, but at least the transformation was done. He looked at his clothes, and picked them up in his mouth, tying them around his neck in a difficult fashion using his teeth and paws. Upon getting used to his form once again, the man turned beast huffed quietly, blue eyes focused on the woods ahead of him. Thankfully, most kids stayed out of the forest at night. In this town, wolves certainly weren't common, so it was likely if anyone saw him, he'd be hunted. As far as most people knew, there weren't a lot of dangerous animals in the woods, save for bears. So a wolf...he was sure he wouldn't be welcomed if this was the case. He felt the dirt, twigs snapping under his paws as he continued walking. He was hungry. Maybe a rabbit? Sure, he wasn't really a feral beast. He was a human. But that didn't mean that he sometimes didn't feel the urge to hunt. Getting to his paws, it took a while, but he eventually found one. Getting into a crouch, his tail swept just over the ground, and he leapt and killed a brown hair with minimal effort. By now, he was used to this. Standing, hare in his mouth, he trotted down to the stream, dropping the kill next to him and taking several laps of water with his tongue.  Rachel Winters

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

[Rachel Winters]

dreams left for dead in the water

DROWNED & GONE, JUST SMILE & LET THEM GO

It always ended that way.

The girl with a head of snow should have known better, but something about childish innocence kept a glimmer of hope spark within the recesses of her heart. She'd been pushed down and pushed down and pushed down again, but every time she got back up and practically begged for another. Her classmates didn't care about her. No one cared about her. And she knew this – knew it all too well – but every single time someone tried to say otherwise only to stab her in the back for laughs, she'd always fall for it. Not a soul invited her to an outing or even just casual chat without ulterior motives. Those motives almost always ended with her ending up hurt or humiliated, if not both. And yet, even after the hundredth time, she still found herself falling prey to their “jokes” or their “pranks”. And she knew. And she hated herself for it.

By now, the tears that had been strolling down her cheek as gravity willed them downward had finally come to a halt, leaving nothing but a stinging in Rachel's eyes in and a trail of caked on, dried teardrops in their wake. It'd been about an hour since she'd be abandoned, all alone, within one of the thickest parts of the woods outside Hensworth. Most people would have guessed themselves lost so late at night and without anyone to guide them. Thankfully, she, herself, spent a good amount of time in these areas talking to the animals, and had already figured out where she was and how to get home. Her parents would be furious, though. She'd long passed their personal curfew. If she stayed an hour longer, she'd pass legal curfew, as well. Now, though, she didn't want to be around humans, family or no. Now, all she wanted to do was be alone, to fall asleep here in the forest and never have to worry about grades or looks or what's trending. The birds who fluttered above her head didn't care about that. All they cared about was going about their lives. “Poor Rachel,” they were chirping, not necessarily at her. “Poor Rachel, poor Rachel, tricked again, tricked again.”

Another invite. Another prank. The teenager should have seen the warning signs when they asked her to show up so late in the night at a place so secluded.

“I hate everything,” she said quietly, burying her mud-caked face in her knees and trying not to pay too much attention to the way the birds from before – startled – flew away. Filth covered her from head to toe, wet dirt clinging to her skin, her clothing, her hair... The taste of dirt lingered in her mouth, and when she grit her teeth, so could feel it in her mouth. Spitting it out would be worthless at this point. Only thing that would be able to help would be to gargle water like she would mouth wash and hope that would work. Water. There was a stream nearby, wasn't there? Maybe she could get herself a little cleaned up before she'd have to go home and face her parents wrath. Walking there and carrying out the thought would be better than moping and reminding herself that the rest of humanity treated her like the scum on the bottom of their shoes.

The white-haired high schooler must have remembered the distance being longer than it actually was, seeing as she arrived at the creek in almost half the time that she'd imagine it would take. While washing up in some random water system in the forest was typically not a very good idea, she knew from experience, as well as having read reports on how the water here was especially clear. She could drink it if she wanted to and she'd likely be just fine. The first priority: her hair. While it was normally as pale as the moon that hung above her head, results of the recent prank left it more of a coffee brown than anything. One dunk of her head in the stream. Shake it out a bit. Two dunks of her head into the stream. Comb it out a bit. Repeat. Within five minutes, aside from it being sopping wet and dripping everywhere, it was practically back to normal. Next? Clothes. Thank goodness no one else would be caught dead out here this late at night.

Rachel Winters: seventeen, unemployed, mud-free, soaked, and freezing. Running around in clothes dripping with water was better than going naked, she'd figured, but they certainly did nothing to help keep her warm. Grumbling, she mused, “... I'll try to remember to bring a spare set of clothes next time I go anywhere.” As a gust of wind swept by, effectively chilling her to the bone, she also decided, “I should probably start heading... home...” Words trailed off. Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Was it... a dog? No, too small. A wolf? They usually didn't come to these parts of the woods, did they? The immediate reaction was, Holy [crud], did it see me - The second reaction was, Wait, it's a wolf, it wouldn't care, even if it did. And it's not looking my way or growling or anything... It probably hasn't seen me yet. Another thing caught her attention, though – clothes. Dry clothes. Tied around it's neck. What the...? Approaching cautiously, curiosity winning out over everything else, she started slowly, “Hello. I don't mean you any harm – I'd just like to talk. I can, um, understand animals. I'm wondering what a wolf is doing so close to civilization in these woods, is all.” Casting what was wrapped around it's neck another glance, she added, “And, um, I'm also interested in the clothes you've got there. You're not using them, so... Would it be too much trouble to ask to borrow them? Mine are a little wet... aha, as you could probably tell... and I'd be a lot less cold with your's.”

Nash Belcront

[Nash Belcront]

HEAVEN'S GATES WON'T OPEN UP FOR ME He didn't know why, but he was hearing sniffling nearby. His ears pricked but he didn't look up from the water, the sweet, cool liquid chilling the fire that felt like it was still raging inside of his body, melting his bones. He felt a bit more relaxed and sat down, panting in order to see the pain through as it subsided completely. Now that he was finally out of his nightly pain, he looked up, but the sniffling had subsided, and he didn't see anyone there. He was about to walk away, when someone stepped from the bushes. In an attempt to scare them off, he whipped around and started growling, feral eyes flashing. His growls festered and suddenly, slowly subsided as this person, a girl who looked near his own age, explained herself. The growling finally stopped, and he looked down at his own neck. Okay, so first, she said she could talk to animals...what? Well then again, he turned into a wolf in the dead of night, so it wasn't really that strange of a concept to him, just to hear her say it outright. But he didn't just want to start talking to her, but he did step closer, taking a few sniffs of the air around her as he circled her. He didn't smell her anywhere else, that was for sure. So complete strangers were better. Reacting to what she said before, he sat down, lifting his head so she could reach at the knot at his neck once he noticed her soaked state. "Here." He motioned, waiting patiently for her to take them. Rachel Winters

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ