Lyra's mother, Elizabeth, hummed merrily in her kitchen as she prepared dinner. The roast was nearly finished and the biscuits were just beginning to brown when she heard an alarming crash from her daughter's bedroom.
"Lyra? Are you alright?" Her mother called. There was no response. She glanced at the calendar and sighed.
"Lyra? Answer me sweetheart. Are you alright? Do you need me to come up there?" Her mother called again. Elizabeth heard her daughter's door creak open. Elizabeth glanced up from her cooking to look towards the sound. There standing before her was a large brown wolf with glowing green eyes. The creature let out a low growl and Elizabeth frowned.
"Don't you growl at me young lady!" She scolded the wolf. Lyra snorted sarcastically and rolled her eyes before padding over to the table. With a small leap she jumped onto the chair and pouted.
"Look I know it isn't pleasant, but you simply are going to have to learn to deal with your condition." Her mother lectured. Lyra sighed and rested her head on the table. There was a light scratching at the back door.
"That'll be your father…" Lyra's mother sighed. Quickly she unlocked the door and a larger black brown wolf lumbered inside.
"Well you're late." Her mother said simply. The wolf sighed and rubbed lightly against Elizabeth's legs. Lyra's father glanced at his daughter and wined softly.
"Don't ask me why she's sulking Rex, she's your daughter…" Elizabeth exclaimed as she set about putting food on the table. Rex trotted to his daughter's side and nuzzled her gently. Lyra growled and tried to shrug him off. Rex persisted and Lyra quickly turned and aimed a bite at his ear.
"Lyra! Don't snap at your father." Elizabeth said as she set the rolls on the table.
"Munph…" Lyra huffed angrily as she once again laid her head on the table.
Dinner passed with only minor incidents and Lyra shut herself in her room and managed to turn on her stereo. The heavy rock actually shook the empty glasses on the table and Rex whimpered.
"I don't know how she can stand to have her music that loud with her hearing being as sensitive as it is." Elizabeth said frowning. Rex cowered under the table.
"Rex, if you want her to stop go talk to her." Elizabeth said firmly. Rex looked up at his wife with pitiful eyes and whined further.
"Pouting is not going to make the music stop." Elizabeth said as she tidied up the kitchen. With a heavy sigh Rex slowly made his way towards his daughter's room.
Lyra? Rex thought softly.
Go away. Came an angry reply.
Lyra sweetie talk to me… Rex said as he pawed at his daughter's door.
I don't want to talk to you right now. Lyra snapped.
I can't stand to see you so unhappy. Please honey just come out. Rex persisted.
Dad knock it off! You just want me to turn down my music. Lyra growled.
Well that would be nice but that's not the only reason I want to talk to you. Lyra I know you blame me for this but I didn't think it would carry on to my pups. Rex said sadly to Lyra's door.
I'm not a pup dad! Lyra screamed in her mind, I'm a human! I'm human damn it! Rex winced as he recognized the mental sound of his daughter crying. The music was turned up even louder and Rex's tail dropped between his legs as he sulked off to his study.
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Lyra woke up to find herself curled into a ball at the foot of her bed completely naked. With a sigh she looked through her closet for clean jeans and a t-shirt. She quickly changed and shuffled off to breakfast.
"Morning sweetie." Elizabeth said cheerily. Lyra glared and didn't reply.
"Do you have your voice back?" Her mom asked ignoring the death glares Lyra was shooting at her.
"Yeah, I have my voice back." Lyra said bitterly.
"Good, so you can go to school today then." Her mother replied.
"Fantastic." Lyra replied sarcastically. There was a loud yawn and Rex entered the kitchen. His sleepy face was almost completely consumed by his nearly black beard. Elizabeth tucked a stray wisp of blonde hair behind her ear and quickly kissed her husband.
"Morning!" He said cheerfully.
"Why is everyone so damn happy?" Lyra asked as she sulked over her cereal.
"Language darling." Elizabeth warned as she prepared Rex's eggs and sausage.
"Would you rather that I said, 'why the f…"
"That's enough Luchian." Her father said sternly using her werewolf name. Lyra glared and finished her breakfast. Without saying goodbye she left the house and drove to school.
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"Hey Lyra! Wait up!" Anna called. Lyra spun around and watched as her friend came running towards her.
"Hey there Anna." Lyra said softly.
"So how'd treatment go?" Anna asked as she ran a hand through her red hair. Lyra sighed.
"Same as always, it hurt like hell and was really embarrassing, but I'm alive." Lyra said shrugging.
"I hate that you have to go for treatment every month. I mean, I don't even really know what your condition involves and you have to suffer through it…it must be horrible Ly." Anna said sympathetically.
"You have no idea…" Lyra muttered softly.
"Well maybe sometime I could go with you for moral support." Anna offered.
"As much as I'd like that, I don't want anyone seeing me like that…" Lyra said grimly.
"Okay, just…well I'm here you know." Anna said softly. She rested her hand on Lyra's shoulder.
"Thanks Anna." Lyra said grinning a little. Lyra entered her first period class and immediately noticed an unfamiliar scent. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she realized that the new scent was laced with werewolf blood.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, we got a transfer student." Anna said nodding towards the other side of the classroom. Lyra's breath caught.
Shit. She thought worriedly. The new girl sat calmly in the corner reading a book about ancient myths. The girl had platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Lyra scanned the girl's outfit and gulped. Concealed expertly beneath the folds of her clothes were several stakes and one or two silver knives. Lyra also could smell a vial of holy water.
Great, a hunter. That's all I need right now. Lyra thought bitterly. The new girl looked curiously in Lyra's direction and seemed to study her for a moment. The huntress opened her mouth to say something but the teacher entered the room and everyone grew silent.
"Welcome back Miss Goodman," Mr. Keeler said to Lyra, "I'm glad to see your treatment went well."
"Thanks Mr. K." Lyra said blushing a little. The new girl raised an eyebrow at Lyra and then went back to the book she was reading. Lyra nervously sat in her seat half expecting to have a stake driven through her heart at any second. When the bell finally rang at the end of class Lyra tried to hurry out of the classroom but found that the huntress was approaching her.
Be cool Lyra, she thought to herself, be cool.
"Hello, I don't believe I met you yesterday." The girl said pleasantly.
"Um, yeah, I have this condition and I had to be treated for it…I'm usually gone once a month or so." Lyra said nervously.
"That's too bad. Well anyway, I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself." The girl replied.
"Oh, well I'm Lyra." The werewolf said managing to smile weakly.
"My name is Tabitha." The huntress said as she outstretched her hand. Lyra timidly took it and firmly shook the new girl's hand.
"I'm glad to meet you Lyra," Tabitha said, "maybe we'll see each other around."
"Yeah, sure…" Lyra said struggling to keep her heart beat under control.
"Well I've got to go to class, see you later Lyra." Tabitha called as she walked away.
"Yeah, later…" Lyra managed weakly. It took a few minutes after Tabitha left for Lyra to regain the ability to walk.
"God I was sure she was going to kill me…" Lyra whispered softly. Slowly Lyra made her way to her next period class and prayed that the young huntress wouldn't be in anymore of her classes.
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"You have the exact same schedule as the new girl?" Anna asked Lyra at lunch.
"It would seem so…" Lyra said as she thunked her head against the cafeteria table.
"I don't understand what the problem is, she seems nice enough." Anna mused as she looked over at the blonde girl eating lunch by herself in the corner.
Right, she'll probably smile sweetly at me when she drives a knife in my heart. Lyra thought bitterly.
"Look, she just creeps me out a little okay?" Lyra said defensively as she looked up.
"Maybe you like her." Anna teased.
"Oh shut up Anna." Lyra said groaning.
"Well I'm no expert but I think she's cute." Anna said grinning at her friend's reaction.
"Anna, go to hell okay?" Lyra said glaring at her friend.
"You first." Anna said grinning. Lyra sighed and laid her head on the table again. She closed her eyes and listened to the various cafeteria noises. She could not only pick out individual conversations but also noted that the vending machine across the room was humming abnormally. Suddenly Lyra realized that footsteps were approaching her table. The werewolf sniffed the air and nearly choked when she recognized the scent of the huntress.
"Um…Lyra? Are you alright?" Tabitha's voice asked with concern.
"I'm alright." Lyra said without opening her eyes.
"Why are you laying down on the cafeteria table?" Tabitha asked.
"I left my pillow at home." Lyra muttered sarcastically.
"You'll have to forgive her, she's not in a god mood today…though she's never really in a 'good' mood." Anna said chuckling softly.
"I see, I'll go then…" The new girl said sadly.
Yes! She's leaving! Lyra thought triumphantly.
"Oh, you don't have to go." Anna said good-naturedly. Lyra nearly ripped out Anna's vocal chords.
"Really? Can I sit here or would it not be okay?" Tabitha asked glancing worriedly at Lyra.
No go on, invite my murder to dine with us! Lyra thought bitterly.
"Don't mind her. You'll get used to her strange behavior." Anna said patting Lyra on the head. Lyra sighed and buried her head in her hands.
"Um…Lyra?" Tabitha asked shyly.
"Yeah Tabitha?" Lyra mumbled into her arms.
"Would you look at me please?" Tabitha asked softly. Slowly Lyra lifted her head and looked into Tabitha's eyes. Tabitha studied the grouchy girl for a few minutes before smiling.
"That's what I thought." Tabitha said happily.
"What?" Lyra asked.
"I don't think you'd feel comfortable discussing it in front of your friend." Tabitha said seriously.
"Hey, I'm her best friend!" Anna said pouting.
"Actually Anna, I'd like to hear what she has to say." Lyra said unsteadily.
"Fine then." Anna said angrily, "I'll go." The red head angrily stormed off.
"So then Tabitha." Lyra said turning her emerald eyes to the huntress, "what did you see?"
"You're condition, you're a werewolf aren't you?" Tabitha asked with a gleam in her eyes.
"Well huntress you've found me out, what are you going to do now?" Lyra asked barely controlling her fear.
"Huntress?" Tabitha said innocently.
"Don't play dumb. Aside from the concealed weapons and the holy water, I know your family." Lyra said softly.
"Well now, aren't you the clever one?" Tabitha asked.
"I try." Lyra said dryly.
"So I guess you're expecting me to stab you or shoot you right?" Tabitha said sighing.
"Yep." Lyra replied.
"Well sorry to disappoint you," Tabitha said, "but I don't kill werewolves."
"Oh?" Lyra asked as she started to relax. Tabitha stood and grinned devilishly as she whispered softly into Lyra's ear,
"I eat them."