This is prior to Sunset and Silence, as you may or may not have guessed, and is the same basic type of writing. I'm still waiting to hear if you guys like this or not...

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Moonrise

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Sunset. Crunch of autumn leaves. Owl hoots.

Voice. “The moon will be rising soon.”

Weary. “Don’t remind me.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

“Fine?” Bitter laugh. “Of course. Being a bloodthirsty monster that wants only to kill - yeah, that does count as fine, doesn’t it?”

Stern. “Stop that this instant.”

“Why? It’s the truth…”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s…” Exasperated sigh. “I won’t let you go nuts.”

“You can’t stop it.”

“Yes, actually, I can.”

Skeptical silence.

“And you can’t hurt me, either.”

“That I can’t believe.”

Shrug. “It’s true. You’ll see - and remember, as well.”

“I never remember.”

“Because you go mad. This time, you won’t.”

“How can you possibly promise that?” Wanting to believe.

“Oh, don’t tell me you hit your head and are now amnesiac…”

Reluctant laugh. “No, I’m not. Just a skeptic, I guess.”

“That’s fine. You won’t be one later, anyway.”

“I hope you’re right….”

“Of course. I always am.”

“You wish…” Words trail off into whimper. Bone cracks; flesh stretches. Pained whine.

“Are you all right?”

Teeth snap.

Vaguely affronted tones. “None of that, now. We don’t need a display of dominance already, do we?”

Rumbling growl.

“Your funeral.”

Leaves crackle. Loud thump. Whimpers.

“There.” Satisfied. “Now we can hunt.”

Eager snarl.

“Calm down. We’re not going after people. A nice deer should be fine.”

Growl.

“I said no. Come on.”

Paws crackle on ground cover. Feet create barely audible rustle.

Long howl shivers toward moon.

Heavy breathing.

Whisper. “Not yet… Wait, wait…”

Silence…

“Now.”

Rushing paws, feet. Snarling, growling. Hoof-beat stops abruptly.

Praising tones. “Oh, well done. Now, I’m assuming you want some of this? It is your kill, too, after all.”

White flash. Suckling noise.

Fangs gleam. Sound of rending flesh, gulping. Satiated croon.

Peace.

Stretching. “Satisfied now, my friend?”

Yelp.

“Yes, a successful hunt is quite nice, isn’t it?” Pause. “I do believe now would be a good time to explore that cave system…”

Faint sound of walking.

Time passes.

Moon slips close to horizon.

“The night is almost over.” Audible smile. “We should start heading back.”

Agreeable whuffle.

“Race you.”

Pounding feet and paws. Dead leaves crack.

Moon sets.

Whine. Snap of shifting bones. Faint rustle of shuddering cloth…

Awed, slightly pained tones. “I remember!”

Smug. “I told you so.”

“Yes, you did.” Pause. “I remember… everything…” Shocked. “I killed! You let me - encouraged me - to kill!”

Unfazed. “Yes. So?”

“So I didn’t want to kill… I don’t -“

“There’s nothing wrong with killing something for food, you know. I’ve watched you scarf down burgers often enough.”

“Yes, but -“

“And it calmed you.” Calculated pause. “Would you rather have hunted humans?”

“No… no…”

Somewhat gentler. “You’re tired out. You can’t possibly think straight right now. How about we get you home, and you can yell at me tomorrow?”

“Home. Sleep. That sounds nice…”

“And you didn’t hurt anyone.”

“But the deer -“

“We can talk about tomorrow.

“Tomorrow…”

Sounds of cloth moving, uneven footsteps. Sound fades…

Dawn breaks.

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Well? Come on, I need to know what you think of this!