Fantasy Monster Hearts (1x1)

[valkyrie-edgy]

A cry echoes across the reservation, ending in a loud howl, a cry for help. The sound of rattling metal jangles through tall grass, as well as a faint sound of tearing and more cries of pain. A boy is stuck, a half-werewolf, howling as he tries to tear away from the barbed wire he's tangled in. He's desperate, both sides of his mind panicking as his flesh tears at the barbs of metal. He wasn't sure what he had been doing, assuming he'd been trying to escape the preserve all changelings like him were stuck on.
He kicks violently, trying his best to get unstuck, to no avail.

 

[rainywrites]

Raven had been picking berries from a bush, every so often transforming to fly up and get one of the higher ones before coming back down. about half of the berries ended up in her stomach, but the other half were going in the basket for dinnertime. she considered that a win. the forest wasn't enormous, but it was large enough to house the few hundred of their kind that lived there with little complaint. but when she heard the howl, she recognized it. being a changeling meant you got pretty good at destinguishing one animal noise from another. she knew who it was, and based on the distance away, she knew what had happened.

running towards the werewolf in her human form, she sighed. she'd been right. he was stuck. "cousin..." she sighed, coming closer to him. "here, calm down, i'll get you out." she was small for her age. all birds were, as a general rule. and with hollow bones, the werewolf could easily snap her in two. she didn't particularly like the idea of that, so she tried to avoid getting within swiping distance while trying to free him. "it's okay, it's okay. i'm right here, cousin."

 

[valkyrie-edgy]

He sniffs, stopping his movement once he hears someone close. His ears move backwards, listening as she approaches. His snarls get quieter and quieter as he hears who it is, his remaining sentience recognizing Raven. He whines, kicking still, in pain. He'd since lost most ability to speak, ever since his mind had mostly gone with the half transformation. His fur is matted in some places with blood, dripping onto the dirt below.

 

[rainywrites]

she waited until he was quieter to come near, patting his head lightly. it was just a silent calming gesture as she began to tug at the wire. "oh, cousin, what have you gotten yourself into?" she needed to get him out of this, before the humans on the other side saw that he'd been trying to escape (or thought that, if he'd just gotten stuck. she didn't know, with this particular changeling). she tried to get free the bleeding bits first, but it took a bit of time. halfway through, she ended up changing to her bird form to more adeptly pull back the wire. she grabbed with her feet and flapped back until it got detangled the whole time, she cooed or trilled calmingly in his direction, trying to keep him still for this whole process. she knew that while he was good and kind, he was also dangerous. it wasn't his fault, but she needed to be careful.

when she finally got close enough, she transferred back to her human form and pulled away the remaining thorns. "there." she said, proud of herself for what she'd done. "come on, now. all fixed."

 

[valkyrie-edgy]

He whimpers quietly at his injuries, licking the blood, smearing it across his skin by accident. His tail wags when he looks at her though, and he nudges her with his head. He's quiet now, rolling around in the dirt.

 

[rainywrites]

she sighed at the blood. raven wasn't a healer by any means. she didn't know how to handle this. still, she knew she was someone who could get close to him, and she knew that rolling in the dirt would only give him infection. "come on, now, we should get you to the pond. wash you off." she laughed as he nudged her, petting him affectionately and hugging him around the neck. it felt like they were kids again, wrestling and shifting and playing nice.