HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Pounding. Feet hitting ground. Ears ringing. Blood rushing in her ears. Only panicked gasps could be heard in the silence. A stumble, falter. Hands reached out and grasped rough bark. Only a second to rest and panic spurred her on.
She was shaking. A growl traveled up the nape of her neck, stirring up air that sent a shiver of foreboding through her. She twisted towards it out of instinct and strained to see or hear the entity hunting her. But there was nothing. Whatever had made that sound vanished in an instant. She wasted too long, perhaps, in looking for something that wasn’t there. What could she do, though? Run randomly and hope she evaded whatever it was?
It could smell her, she was certain of it. Fear was like a thick perfume on her skin, rising into the air and twisting the natural scent of their surroundings. And she was going mad with fear. Almost petrified with the intensity of it.
Every muscle shook. Her breathing was too unsteady. And her senses had expanded, going into overdrive; catching every sound and throwing its sound waves against EVERYTHING. She whimpered, gripping her head as the center of it pounded. Overwhelmed. She had to breath; To calm down. Except her mind was hazy with panic and she could no longer think straight.
When something clicked against stone, she heard it. Without wasting the time to turn towards it and figure out what it was, she was off again. Stumbling, but running through the trees. Rocks, vines, and loose branches tripped her up every time. And each time adrenaline kicked in. She slammed her foot against the ground and was somehow able to keep going.
Sadly though, constantly getting herself tripped up was slowing her down; despite her corrections. A howl, somewhere behind her made her heart skip a beat. It didn’t sound that far behind to be honest.
A rustling had started on all sides of her, echoing in the dense greenery. Without stopping for a breath, and feeling as though her chest was going to burst, she raced on. When suddenly and with no warning, she slammed into a tree.
That path had been a straight shot up until then and her power had kicked in right at the last second. And she didn’t fully see the outline of the tree until she had slammed into it. For a split second, she lost all feeling in her body. Despite that she was falling, it felt as though she were floating. Hitting the ground, she was too dazed to rise.
It occurred to her, distantly, that all the air had left her body. She gasped sharply, feeling a touch like a fish out of water. Who knows how long she gasped for breath, desperately trying to get her lungs to work and process the air. After some time, she struggled to get her body up; threw out her hand to the tree that should’ve been in front of her--
And landed on something soft and prickly. Every muscle froze. Her brain seemed to be caught somewhere between acknowledging what she was touching and the distant thought, So this is what it’s like to fear for your life…
Because she knew what she was touching. Had known what was chasing her even before she heard that first growl. Instinct, maybe intuition told her what kind of predator had marked her as its prey. All the legends in the world were wrong. Wrong in that they were ALL fake. She knew they were all fake because she had met werewolves. They were all completely unlike the legends.
Maybe with a grain of truth mixed in, but fake nonetheless. To touch an actual werewolf was unlike anything ones feeble mind could comprehend. Though her logical mind knew that not all werewolves were bad, a part of her that was stained by past trauma, couldn’t help but recalling old memories.
I’m going to die. She breathed, felt hot breath near her face, and lunged back. Her last attempt to get away from the panting beast. It was hungry, but she didn’t want to die!
And this close to her, the beast was fast. As it lunged for her, she threw her arm up. A soundwave bounced off of the trees around them, and she saw the outline of the wolf ducking underneath her arm. She was so small, she would die the moment it latched onto her throat! Everything was happening too fast.
She closed her eyes, and prepared for what would be unbearable pain.
~
But it didn’t happen. Her arm was still held out before her in a defensive position. Adrenaline still shot bursts of electricity through her veins. Panic and fear convincing her to not trust the small voice in her mind that tried to say, Everything’s alright. The larger, more primal part was convinced that she was still about to die.
Seconds ticked by as she waited for the beast to tear into her. One… Two… Three… On and on. Slowly and methodically. Until the cool air brushed her skin and the fear she felt, so hot, before gave way to confusion. Hesitantly, she shifted, and was vaguely surprised to feel soft sheets beneath her. Twisting again, she gave a soft noise of bewilderment as she noticed that something was twisted around her body.
Untangling herself from the sheets took a moment, but afterwards she threw them off and sat up. Shaky hands moved to her shirt, fixing it. She blinked, as though the fact that her hands were shaking surprised her. Gripping her hands together, she tried to steal their trembling. But it wasn’t just her hands-- Her entire body was shaking.
And now that she was more in tune with herself, she was way too hot for the coolness of this room. She shivered and slowly drew a hand across her skin. Was she… Sweating?
Holding herself, or holding herself together? She wasn’t certain. All she knew in that moment, was that the silence was excruciating and caused her to think about things that she really shouldn’t be thinking about.
Howls. Growling. Fear and panic that beat a steady beat within her body, heart and mind. She shook her head and gripped it, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to banish the memory. But the dream was too new. She could remember, all too clearly, how the ground felt beneath her feet. The distant sound of howls. Every beat of her heart that said times up. The way her power reacted, overwhelming her as it expanded out.
How she could SEE the outline of the wolf rapidly coming in to claim its prey.
She didn’t… COULDN’T be alone any longer. Barely using her power to see by, she stumbled to the door and threw it open. As it hit the wall, she flinched and instinct made her turn towards it. Shaking and waiting for something to happen. As usual, nothing did. She felt a tiny bit silly for it, but with her nightmare how could she not be paranoid?
For a moment, she stood in the entrance; shakily listening to the silence. Almost too scared to move. In the end, she decided that being alone was worse and hurried out. She tried to find Zander, but with how much this place changed… It proved difficult. Eventually, it was he that found her first. She froze as his Song crept across her mind.
“Z-Zander--!” Her voice was a croak. Her bottom lip trembled with the intensity of her emotions. All at once too grateful that he was there and a new rush of fear rising that almost drove the former emotion away. She stumbled towards it, noting the surprise as his Soul’s song became briefly disorganized. But she cared little as she grabbed onto him and buried her face into his chest.
“Anya…?” The voice mumbled, clearly surprised to see her in such a state. It was when she felt the hand on her head that tears started to form in her eyes. She sniffled and started to tremble. He must have noticed that because he said, “Hey, hey now… What’s wrong?” Unlike usual, his voice took on a comforting, worried tone.
As she hesitantly raised her face, she bit her lip in an effort to try and mask its trembling. His fingers swept tenderly across her face, catching stray tears. She was trembling so hard, she wasn’t sure that even her voice would work. “N-Nightmare,” she whimpered. “I was… Going to die.” And a small part of her was worried that she still was.
There was a pause. Slowly, the drow’s arms came down around her and pulled her close. Squeezed her into his warm embrace. “It’s okay now,” he muttered, chin coming down to whisper against her head. “It was just a nightmare. No one can get in. You’re safe.”
Safe… Was she really? So shortly after that nightmare, she wondered if that was true. But a few seconds in that comforting warmth, she began to relax.
“Now, why don’t we make you some hot cocoa? It can have marshmallows and whipped cream too!” A trace of a teasing tone had crept back into his voice, both things served to help abate her fear. She was thankful that he wasn’t asking more about her nightmare.
Slowly, she nodded and rubbed the back of her hand across her wet cheek. “Please…” Her soft voice barely carried any weight in the silence though she knew Zander heard nevertheless.
Putting a hand to the center of her back, the drow prince gingerly guided her to the kitchen. Once there, Anya took a seat and fidgeted while Zander went about, making that cup of hot cocoa. It was too silent. She wanted to say something, anything! She squeezed her hands in her lap, tightening them until they went numb.
A beat passed. And then another. And a flicker of a memory rose, almost driving out all else. Growling. Lunging…! Her breath caught, catching somewhere in her throat. She somehow managed to force out, “I… Had a nightmare. Where I was being chased. It was… I believe it was… A werewolf?” Silence. Zander’s Soul Song was calmly thrumming away, though a bit more attuned to her. She swallowed thickly and squeaked out, “I-I’m not… Prejudiced. I know I’m not. I don’t think I am, anyway. The guy that works the counter down in the Dead do Dance is nice so I don’t understand why I’m so…”
Her voice trailed off. Was it racist of her? Such a thought troubled her many times. When she got to know a werewolf, it was easier. But werewolves that she was just meeting… She just couldn’t help recalling her parents untimely demise. Mauled by werewolves… Every muscle would freeze as panic spiked heavy through her veins. And she couldn’t help feeling guilty for it because most of them didn’t do anything!
And yet… Some part of her thought otherwise…
Everything froze as Zander’s arms encircled her again. He was running a hand down her braided hair. “Shh… You’re not. You’re scared, and you have every right to be. It was a horrifying experience, one that you won’t swiftly get over easily.” Again tears pricked her eyes, but she was able to push them back this time. “Until you are able to handle this easier, you know that we’ll be here for you.” He continued to mutter, still patting her hair. “You have family, and friends that would move the world for you. You’re not alone.”
She sniffled, rubbing her eyes as fresh tears fell.
Zander soon moved away, retrieving the hot cocoa and placing marshmallows and whipped cream on top. He placed it on the counter in front of her and guided her hands to the cup. “Careful, it’s hot.” He warned as she carefully swiped her hands across it, looking for the handle.
Finding it, she hoisted it to her lips and blew across its steaming surface. Taking a sip, she squeezed her face up as the taste burned her tongue slightly. But she fully embraced the burn and took another sip. She was somewhat better prepared for it this time, and sighed at the sweet taste.
“Feeling better now?” Zander’s soft, concerned voice interrupted the silence. A creak. He was probably leaning against the counter.
She considered it for a moment before giving a slow nod. Her face abruptly clouded over and her hands tightened around her steaming cup. Though the heat was certainly scalding her, she didn’t react. “I’m probably not going to be sleeping for a bit.” She sighed. “I apologize. I don’t want to keep you up. You can go without me.”
He chuckled. “It’s fine. I’ll stay up longer too! We can talk until you feel like trying to sleep. Sound good?”
Lowering her hot chocolate to the table, she thought about it for a moment. “That… Sounds good.” She offered a smile before rushing to add, “Please don’t let this affect your sleeping schedule though.”
A scoff met her ears. “No need to worry, I was already up for a bit before then.” A prickle of curiosity crossed her mind that she pushed away. As curious as she was about it, she wanted to talk about more light hearted subjects.
This would lead to her talking about things that had happened at school earlier that day, with the exception of Mason’s problem as all of that had literally taken place that very day. Zander was somewhat amused to hear about Eliza’s hijinks as the little ‘Anarchy’ causing child that she was. Even more so when Anya had to mention the many times that day she had to keep Eliza out of trouble.
Eventually, she covered her mouth to try and stifle a yawn. Zander seemed to perk up slightly at that. “Want to try and go rest now?” A sleepy nod was his only answer. As she slid off of the stool, he gingerly led her back to her bedroom. “Good night,” he whispered as she covered up. Leaning down, he gently pecked the top of her head.
“Night,” she yawned and snuggled up under the blankets as her eyelids got heavy. They fluttered shut as Zander rose.
As he went to the door and tugged it open, he glanced back at her motionless body once more before sliding the door shut behind him.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Pounding. Feet hitting ground. Ears ringing. Blood rushing in her ears. Only panicked gasps could be heard in the silence. A stumble, falter. Hands reached out and grasped rough bark. Only a second to rest and panic spurred her on.
She was shaking. A growl traveled up the nape of her neck, stirring up air that sent a shiver of foreboding through her. She twisted towards it out of instinct and strained to see or hear the entity hunting her. But there was nothing. Whatever had made that sound vanished in an instant. She wasted too long, perhaps, in looking for something that wasn’t there. What could she do, though? Run randomly and hope she evaded whatever it was?
It could smell her, she was certain of it. Fear was like a thick perfume on her skin, rising into the air and twisting the natural scent of their surroundings. And she was going mad with fear. Almost petrified with the intensity of it.
Every muscle shook. Her breathing was too unsteady. And her senses had expanded, going into overdrive; catching every sound and throwing its sound waves against EVERYTHING. She whimpered, gripping her head as the center of it pounded. Overwhelmed. She had to breath; To calm down. Except her mind was hazy with panic and she could no longer think straight.
When something clicked against stone, she heard it. Without wasting the time to turn towards it and figure out what it was, she was off again. Stumbling, but running through the trees. Rocks, vines, and loose branches tripped her up every time. And each time adrenaline kicked in. She slammed her foot against the ground and was somehow able to keep going.
Sadly though, constantly getting herself tripped up was slowing her down; despite her corrections. A howl, somewhere behind her made her heart skip a beat. It didn’t sound that far behind to be honest.
A rustling had started on all sides of her, echoing in the dense greenery. Without stopping for a breath, and feeling as though her chest was going to burst, she raced on. When suddenly and with no warning, she slammed into a tree.
That path had been a straight shot up until then and her power had kicked in right at the last second. And she didn’t fully see the outline of the tree until she had slammed into it. For a split second, she lost all feeling in her body. Despite that she was falling, it felt as though she were floating. Hitting the ground, she was too dazed to rise.
It occurred to her, distantly, that all the air had left her body. She gasped sharply, feeling a touch like a fish out of water. Who knows how long she gasped for breath, desperately trying to get her lungs to work and process the air. After some time, she struggled to get her body up; threw out her hand to the tree that should’ve been in front of her--
And landed on something soft and prickly. Every muscle froze. Her brain seemed to be caught somewhere between acknowledging what she was touching and the distant thought, So this is what it’s like to fear for your life…
Because she knew what she was touching. Had known what was chasing her even before she heard that first growl. Instinct, maybe intuition told her what kind of predator had marked her as its prey. All the legends in the world were wrong. Wrong in that they were ALL fake. She knew they were all fake because she had met werewolves. They were all completely unlike the legends.
Maybe with a grain of truth mixed in, but fake nonetheless. To touch an actual werewolf was unlike anything ones feeble mind could comprehend. Though her logical mind knew that not all werewolves were bad, a part of her that was stained by past trauma, couldn’t help but recalling old memories.
I’m going to die. She breathed, felt hot breath near her face, and lunged back. Her last attempt to get away from the panting beast. It was hungry, but she didn’t want to die!
And this close to her, the beast was fast. As it lunged for her, she threw her arm up. A soundwave bounced off of the trees around them, and she saw the outline of the wolf ducking underneath her arm. She was so small, she would die the moment it latched onto her throat! Everything was happening too fast.
She closed her eyes, and prepared for what would be unbearable pain.
~
But it didn’t happen. Her arm was still held out before her in a defensive position. Adrenaline still shot bursts of electricity through her veins. Panic and fear convincing her to not trust the small voice in her mind that tried to say, Everything’s alright. The larger, more primal part was convinced that she was still about to die.
Seconds ticked by as she waited for the beast to tear into her. One… Two… Three… On and on. Slowly and methodically. Until the cool air brushed her skin and the fear she felt, so hot, before gave way to confusion. Hesitantly, she shifted, and was vaguely surprised to feel soft sheets beneath her. Twisting again, she gave a soft noise of bewilderment as she noticed that something was twisted around her body.
Untangling herself from the sheets took a moment, but afterwards she threw them off and sat up. Shaky hands moved to her shirt, fixing it. She blinked, as though the fact that her hands were shaking surprised her. Gripping her hands together, she tried to steal their trembling. But it wasn’t just her hands-- Her entire body was shaking.
And now that she was more in tune with herself, she was way too hot for the coolness of this room. She shivered and slowly drew a hand across her skin. Was she… Sweating?
Holding herself, or holding herself together? She wasn’t certain. All she knew in that moment, was that the silence was excruciating and caused her to think about things that she really shouldn’t be thinking about.
Howls. Growling. Fear and panic that beat a steady beat within her body, heart and mind. She shook her head and gripped it, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to banish the memory. But the dream was too new. She could remember, all too clearly, how the ground felt beneath her feet. The distant sound of howls. Every beat of her heart that said times up. The way her power reacted, overwhelming her as it expanded out.
How she could SEE the outline of the wolf rapidly coming in to claim its prey.
She didn’t… COULDN’T be alone any longer. Barely using her power to see by, she stumbled to the door and threw it open. As it hit the wall, she flinched and instinct made her turn towards it. Shaking and waiting for something to happen. As usual, nothing did. She felt a tiny bit silly for it, but with her nightmare how could she not be paranoid?
For a moment, she stood in the entrance; shakily listening to the silence. Almost too scared to move. In the end, she decided that being alone was worse and hurried out. She tried to find Zander, but with how much this place changed… It proved difficult. Eventually, it was he that found her first. She froze as his Song crept across her mind.
“Z-Zander--!” Her voice was a croak. Her bottom lip trembled with the intensity of her emotions. All at once too grateful that he was there and a new rush of fear rising that almost drove the former emotion away. She stumbled towards it, noting the surprise as his Soul’s song became briefly disorganized. But she cared little as she grabbed onto him and buried her face into his chest.
“Anya…?” The voice mumbled, clearly surprised to see her in such a state. It was when she felt the hand on her head that tears started to form in her eyes. She sniffled and started to tremble. He must have noticed that because he said, “Hey, hey now… What’s wrong?” Unlike usual, his voice took on a comforting, worried tone.
As she hesitantly raised her face, she bit her lip in an effort to try and mask its trembling. His fingers swept tenderly across her face, catching stray tears. She was trembling so hard, she wasn’t sure that even her voice would work. “N-Nightmare,” she whimpered. “I was… Going to die.” And a small part of her was worried that she still was.
There was a pause. Slowly, the drow’s arms came down around her and pulled her close. Squeezed her into his warm embrace. “It’s okay now,” he muttered, chin coming down to whisper against her head. “It was just a nightmare. No one can get in. You’re safe.”
Safe… Was she really? So shortly after that nightmare, she wondered if that was true. But a few seconds in that comforting warmth, she began to relax.
“Now, why don’t we make you some hot cocoa? It can have marshmallows and whipped cream too!” A trace of a teasing tone had crept back into his voice, both things served to help abate her fear. She was thankful that he wasn’t asking more about her nightmare.
Slowly, she nodded and rubbed the back of her hand across her wet cheek. “Please…” Her soft voice barely carried any weight in the silence though she knew Zander heard nevertheless.
Putting a hand to the center of her back, the drow prince gingerly guided her to the kitchen. Once there, Anya took a seat and fidgeted while Zander went about, making that cup of hot cocoa. It was too silent. She wanted to say something, anything! She squeezed her hands in her lap, tightening them until they went numb.
A beat passed. And then another. And a flicker of a memory rose, almost driving out all else. Growling. Lunging…! Her breath caught, catching somewhere in her throat. She somehow managed to force out, “I… Had a nightmare. Where I was being chased. It was… I believe it was… A werewolf?” Silence. Zander’s Soul Song was calmly thrumming away, though a bit more attuned to her. She swallowed thickly and squeaked out, “I-I’m not… Prejudiced. I know I’m not. I don’t think I am, anyway. The guy that works the counter down in the Dead do Dance is nice so I don’t understand why I’m so…”
Her voice trailed off. Was it racist of her? Such a thought troubled her many times. When she got to know a werewolf, it was easier. But werewolves that she was just meeting… She just couldn’t help recalling her parents untimely demise. Mauled by werewolves… Every muscle would freeze as panic spiked heavy through her veins. And she couldn’t help feeling guilty for it because most of them didn’t do anything!
And yet… Some part of her thought otherwise…
Everything froze as Zander’s arms encircled her again. He was running a hand down her braided hair. “Shh… You’re not. You’re scared, and you have every right to be. It was a horrifying experience, one that you won’t swiftly get over easily.” Again tears pricked her eyes, but she was able to push them back this time. “Until you are able to handle this easier, you know that we’ll be here for you.” He continued to mutter, still patting her hair. “You have family, and friends that would move the world for you. You’re not alone.”
She sniffled, rubbing her eyes as fresh tears fell.
Zander soon moved away, retrieving the hot cocoa and placing marshmallows and whipped cream on top. He placed it on the counter in front of her and guided her hands to the cup. “Careful, it’s hot.” He warned as she carefully swiped her hands across it, looking for the handle.
Finding it, she hoisted it to her lips and blew across its steaming surface. Taking a sip, she squeezed her face up as the taste burned her tongue slightly. But she fully embraced the burn and took another sip. She was somewhat better prepared for it this time, and sighed at the sweet taste.
“Feeling better now?” Zander’s soft, concerned voice interrupted the silence. A creak. He was probably leaning against the counter.
She considered it for a moment before giving a slow nod. Her face abruptly clouded over and her hands tightened around her steaming cup. Though the heat was certainly scalding her, she didn’t react. “I’m probably not going to be sleeping for a bit.” She sighed. “I apologize. I don’t want to keep you up. You can go without me.”
He chuckled. “It’s fine. I’ll stay up longer too! We can talk until you feel like trying to sleep. Sound good?”
Lowering her hot chocolate to the table, she thought about it for a moment. “That… Sounds good.” She offered a smile before rushing to add, “Please don’t let this affect your sleeping schedule though.”
A scoff met her ears. “No need to worry, I was already up for a bit before then.” A prickle of curiosity crossed her mind that she pushed away. As curious as she was about it, she wanted to talk about more light hearted subjects.
This would lead to her talking about things that had happened at school earlier that day, with the exception of Mason’s problem as all of that had literally taken place that very day. Zander was somewhat amused to hear about Eliza’s hijinks as the little ‘Anarchy’ causing child that she was. Even more so when Anya had to mention the many times that day she had to keep Eliza out of trouble.
Eventually, she covered her mouth to try and stifle a yawn. Zander seemed to perk up slightly at that. “Want to try and go rest now?” A sleepy nod was his only answer. As she slid off of the stool, he gingerly led her back to her bedroom. “Good night,” he whispered as she covered up. Leaning down, he gently pecked the top of her head.
“Night,” she yawned and snuggled up under the blankets as her eyelids got heavy. They fluttered shut as Zander rose.
As he went to the door and tugged it open, he glanced back at her motionless body once more before sliding the door shut behind him.