Fantasy The Curse of The Howling Moonlight

[EvelienLocalArtist]

"Hold her off?!" Mary asked confused looking at Marius but seeing the dead look in her mothers eyes knew what was wrong, and she knew it was her fault. "Fredric take Lottie, Maddie get out now!" She instructed, it didn't take Maddie long to run out of the cabin but Fredric was frozen at the threshold. "Now!" She ordered and he finally moved at took Lottie out followed by Beast. Mary turned back to her mother who was dragging herself over to them staring right at them. "S-She's dead, Marius...there's no killing her if she's already dead. She controlled by something, but not herself. Her soul is gone but her body lives. Stop the body." Mary said her voice shaking as tears formed in her eyes. If her mother was just human they could easily dismember her, but her mother wasn't. Her mother, like her, was a witch. There was no telling what would happen now.

 

[Axeykins]

"We do not have to destroy her, only stop this....possession." It had to be, there was no other explanation for why she so suddenly changed into this creature of death. "Maybe..." His eyes scanned her for a moment before locking on the cross. "Mary...did you put that cross around her neck?"

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

"No of course I didn't I didn't want any of them seeing it. So I burried it back in the village. I don't know why she has it. " Mary said staring at it. 
(Mary's mother will die there is no saving her there is just the question of how, but you can still save Lottie. If you want to.)

 

[Axeykins]

((I dunno...depends on which would cause greater drama))


"Maybe that's what has causing this? She is no longer there, but something else has taken hold of her body and is controlling it now." He blocked what used to be Elizabeth from getting any closer to Mary. "Do you think it is worth the risk to try and remove that from her neck?"

 

[Valjean24601]

She lifted her head quickly, as if nothing was amiss and plastered on a bogus smile,"no, just worry about dinner, dearest. I'll make my own." Vivian slid from her perch and kissed his cheek lightly as she passed as entered the kitchen. Now her thoughts plagued her. Of her mother in the woods, the hunting party from the village, her pups, Ash... It was dizzying to think about all there was to worry about.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

"No!" Mary said grasping and pulling him back as her mother tried to grab him. She didn't want him to risk dying just to grab the cross not knowing if it would even work, but as what had once been her mother Shhh'ed them and tried to grab them her mouth open and drooling onto the floor. Mary knew that without slaughtering her mother it might be their only hope to stop her. "Try and take it off, just... Don't let her hands touch you." 
(Goodbye Lottie!) 
"Alright." Ash said softly, he could told her smile was fake but didn't want to press the subject. Once the meat was done he took it off the fire and put the juicy meat on their plates giving Vivian the bigger piece because she was no longer eating for one.

 

[Valjean24601]

His mate returned later with a mug of warm ale for him and a cup of cider for herself. Carefully she placed each glass down in their respectable places before climbing back up into her chair.


A genuinely sweet smile tugged at her lips as he had given her the larger peice of meat and shook her head. Vivian took the two plates and switched, setting the larger peice of steaming meat in front of him.


"I'll be sick if I eat so much, you eat it. You've been tracking this for the last two days. You deserve it." She nodded at the hunk of flesh.

 

[Axeykins]

"I don't plan on it." He turned back to her with a reassuring smile and quick peck on the cheek. Then back to her mother. "If this doesn't work...I will slaughter her." Lunging forward he quickly snatched the necklace, being careful to not be touched by her glowing black hands. Tearing it off as quickly as possible and praying that that had worked.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Ash smiled at her yet shook his head. "You know there is plenty more meat. I can always go out and get more." He said kindly just wanting to make sure she wasn't under feeding herself, especially since the steaks weren't that different in size.

 

[Valjean24601]

"You needn't go out in the cold." She waved off his suggestion dismissively before cutting off a slice of the grilled meat and pressing the juicy chunk of meat into her mouth. She sighed blissfully and went for a second peice. She'd consulted a few of the older she wolves in the pack about her pregnancy and they had warned her that the symptoms and pups would come much sooner than a human's pregnancy. She supposed that was what was best. She'd rather have her children sooner rather than later. Already the few months of waiting for them was killing her. And then there was how long Ash had waited for pups. Years and years and years where she only need wait four months at most.


"Ash? How old are you?" The question arose in her mind frequently but she had never bothered to ask.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Mary smiled weakly back trying to fight off the tears that kept rolling down her cheeks. After all this was her mother. Even if her soul was gone that was still her mother's body and the thought of Marius slaughtering her did not sit well with her. But Mary watched tensely as Marius ripped her uncle's cross off Elizabeth's neck.


"Save me..." She croaked terrified, life coming back to her eyes she stared at her daughter before throwing up thick black tar just like liquid on the floor and suddenly falling dead face first into it.


"Mother!" Mary yelped about to go to her dead mother's side. But Elizabeth's body suddenly was covered in the black smoke of death almost like she was on fire. And just like as if she were on fire after it was done there was nothing but a black pile of deadly ash on the floor. Mary looked down at what remained of the woman that gave her life and was no longer able to fight back tears. The person she had tried to save was now dead, and she would never get her back. The terrified look on her mother's eyes forever imbedded into Mary's memory. All the hopes she had of her future with her mother were never going to happen. Her mother would never know her husband lived, never get to see her children's weddings, never get to hold her grandchildren. Mary kneeled on the ground sobbing as it fully hit her. She never got to say she loved her, she didn't even get to say goodbye. Her mother was gone forever, and there wasn't even a body to burry.

 

[Axeykins]

Gripping that cursed cross tightly he watched horrified as Elizabeth died. Falling into nothing but a pile of black ashes on the floor. He was relieved that he did not have to slaughter her, but his heart broke as he watched Mary begin to sob over her death. "Mary..." He spoke so softly as he turned and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Shhh....everything is alright...." He stroked her hair soothingly. "I am so sorry that she died, but at least she is no longer suffering."

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Ash looked up at her curiously chewing at the tasty piece of meat. "Do you mean how old I look or my true age?" He asked swallowing. None of the wolves minded answering questions like this but it was always tricky with what answer the person was looking for.

 

[Valjean24601]

"Both." The young shewolf answered without much hesitation and then slid another slice of meat between her lips to cease the growling of her stomach and pawing of the pups within her.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Mary shook her head sniffling. Her body shaking like a leaf in the wind. "I-I did this.... I d-did this t-to her... I shouldn't h-have brought her back. . . then this wouldn't have h-happened, it's a-all my fault..." She cried into Marius's shoulders.

 

[Axeykins]

"Shhh!" He held her tighter to keep her from shaking. "This is not your fault! It is all your uncle's fault, he is the one who killed her." He whispered sweetly into her ear. "You had good intentions, but just did not know that this would happen. All you wanted to do was see your mother alive and well again. So you could help give her a better life. You have no idea how sweet and compassionate that is Mary."

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

"Well..." He thought he could answer this straight away but it was a little harder than he thought. First off he didn't even remember his exact birth date. Second, born wolfs age differently than turned so he couldn't rely on Amber's method of figuring it out. "Well I recall hearing about Benjamin Franklin and electricity when I was about 13 so I'm about...110 years old. But I'd say I look around twenty-maybe I don't know. How old do I look?" He asked with a playful smile.

 

[Valjean24601]

Her eyes widened in shock, one hundred and ten years old? She set her fork and knife down and sipped at her cider for a moment to let that sink in. Ash was older than her by... She furrowed her brow in thought... Ninety two years. Again she had to glance at him to see if it was a wise crack of his or to find a gray hair or bunion of some sort. She found neither and swallowed her astonishment before it overwhelmed her.


"You don't look a day over twenty two, Ash." And indeed he didn't, he still had a golden glow of youth about him yet there was an score of secrets and hardships beneath his skin.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Mary didn't say anything she just cried. Even with Marius's comforting words and arms around her it didn't help with the pain. Then suddenly there was a heartbreaking howl the echoed into the night. If wolves could cry it would sound just like that, and it made Mary realize the others were watching through the windows. "Lottie..." She sniffled quickly getting up trying to stop her crying. She didn't want her little sister dying on top of all this. Her eyes watery and filled with tears she stumbled out of the cabin, finding the rest of her family crying. Beast was howling and whimpering sadly, and Fredric was standing by the window constantly trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes but it wasn't working. Maddie was clinging to Lottie's body. Going over to them Mary thought she might have been too late, but she put her hand onto Lottie's heart. There was a very faint heartbeat. "Lottie..." Mary whispered despite her own tears she tried to comfort them. "Its done now it's okay, everything will be alright." She said while doing everything she could to help heal and save Lottie. It took what seemed like forever for Lottie to finally start breathing normally. But her eyes didn't open she laid in Mary's arms asleep. Upon realizing this Mary laughed with happy relieve kissing her sister's forehead and hugging her tightly. "Thank god." She muttered wiping away her tears.

 

[Axeykins]

"Oh thank God..." Marius wiped the wetness from his eyes. It was more than a relief to see that her sister had lived. After the tragedy of losing their mother the last thing they needed was to lose another loved one. "You should move her to the couch or spare room where she can rest and be taken care of. I will go get rid of this cross for good and be right back." He looked down at the vile thing, Mary's mother was dead, her sister nearly following and his hands all the way down to his wrists were stained black because of it. It needed to be burned.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Ash smirked seeing her look of shock. "That's just how being a wolf works. Once we hit our prime we begin to age extremely slow in order for there to be more time for us to reproduce more offspring and claim more area. For purebreds a century of ageing can be more like a couple to ten years , and for a mutt a century can be anywhere from ten to twenty years. It all depends on how much of a wolf they are." He explained taking another bite. Then looked at her curiously. "How old do you think my father is?" He asked with a smirk. His father looked only to be nearing middle age but in all reality was far from it. 
Mary nodded picking up her sister and carefully carrying her into the cabin. Her other siblings followed still crying and continued when they saw the pile of ash on the ground. "Mum's really gone...?" Maddie sobbed. Mary set down Lottie on the couch and turned to comfort her siblings hugging them both. "Yes, but she's in a better place now. She is with god now, okay? She isn't really gone, she will still be here with us. Watching over us." Mary said comfortingly trying not to start crying again.

 

[Valjean24601]

"Far older than one hundred and ten, I suppose." She shook her head in disbelief and again gulped down her cider. Again another question surfaced and she couldn't help but ask,"how will I age? Will I grow old and haggard while you and our pups stay young?" A note of worry crept into her voice, she was not bred like he was but she wasn't a mutt nor was she a pure bred.

 

[EvelienLocalArtist]

Ash shrugged thinking about it. "You look freshly 16, so how then how old are you really?"

 

[Axeykins]

Marius headed deep into the woods to get rid of it. Digging a small pit he tossed the cross in it and set it ablaze. Watching as black flames leaped at him menacingly. He only stayed long enough to ensure that it was only a pile of ashes and completely buried then spat on the ground it was in before heading back. Wrapping up his blackened hands along the way, hopefully they would heal soon enough, most likely when he transformed again. "How is everyone doing?" He came over and sat next to them. "There is no need to cry. Your mother is in a far better place now, watching over you like the angel she always was." He spoke to them in a very sweet and fatherly tone. Trying to be strong for them.

 

[Valjean24601]

"Seventeen. I'll be turning eighteen at the month's end." Vivian replied quietly as she set down her cider and continued to gnaw on her slab of steaming meat.