Chapter Text
The chilly autumn breeze floated through the air, summoning swirls of leaves and shards of pine straw. The trees had shed the last of their coats, leaving the piles to swarm the fields and barren woods, piling like termite mounds across the frosty ground. The earth smelled of dust. The clouds were spread over the sky as if with a butter knife, thin enough to let the sun shine through; Though it’s light was dampened and grey. The cold nipped and stung the wood’s wild inhabitants like the angry bite of a mouse. Small, Feeble, Determined, Furious.
The metal exoskeleton of a car whooshed past the property, bright yellow like a daffodil and patterned black and white. Daniel gazed out the window, a small black lamb cuddled in his lap. It had been years since he had last been here, he was... perhaps a lad of 17? Nevertheless, he gazed upon this wretched scene, trying to piece together what had fallen apart while he was gone.
Soon, The vehicle slowed to a stop and the door clicked open. He gently retrieved Cupcake from his lap, careful not to wake her. He waved as best he could to the taxi, whilst cradling a lamb. Daniel faced the old dwelling, not as monolithic as he last remembered it.
He took the old key from under the porch’s stairs, opening the door, it’s hinges creaking as they always did.
The inside was a sickening sight, leaves forming a thick carpet, somehow inside. He let Cupcake down now that she was awake and inside. He trudged through the leaves to an open window, shoveling them out handful by handful. Cupcake was the only thing keeping him from going mad at that moment, he watched as she pranced around, kicking individual leaves and startling at the sound of her own footsteps.
He blinked, finding himself laying on the ancient mattress in the indigo-hued darkness and invasive cold. The wind flew and howled and danced just outside his windows, calling him to it. He stood, limping, exhausted, tracing the walls to the front door. He flung it open, light from his phone’s flashlight bleed into the cold. He had no clue what he was doing, it just felt like the thing to do. Despite everything.
He stepped into the blue, snuffing out his phone’s light and letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He stepped onto the dirt, ignoring the chills that ran up his back. There were no lights here, just his eyes, the unlit moon and the stars. Oh, How the stars shone so brightly on that farm was something he would never forget. The clouds had fled long ago, leaving the most brilliant of shimmering stars in clear view.
Daniel continued to walk, staring into the dizzyingly infinite height of the sky. He smiled, remembering suddenly why he came here. Suddenly he paused, looking back at his childhood home.
Amber eyes peered out of the darkness below the porch’s deck. Round and sclera-less like a wolf, but also lambent like a candle flame. They blinked, disappearing in a second. He watched for them to return, a pit churning in his stomach.
“Excuse me?” someone called from behind him, He caught his breath, shaking it off as a trick of the mind. He turned around, Meeting with a man about his age, storm lamp in hand, looking down at him curiously. “Are you alright?” He asked, grimacing. “Y-yeah. Just looking at the stars.” He explained. “I should.. I should go, I thought I saw something. I should check it out.”
“What kind of something?” The stranger pushed.
“Pardon?”
“Like, um, A wolf with kinda weird eyes?”
Daniel Hesitated, “Yeah? ”
The stranger looked more panicked now, Taking a quick breath. “Okay, Okay. If you see it again, hit it with anything silver, Okay? If it bites ya, uh, don’t let it do that.” Daniel bit the inside of his cheek, “Before you go, do you mind giving me your name?” He smirked a bit, “I can’t give you my name but I can tell you my name. It’s Kevin. I live.. not too far from here.” He reached out for a handshake, which Dan took.
He laid down again, the wind still tapped on his walls, but it was quieter. The blue was less intense, the cold was more of a chill now. Cupcake laid by the bedside on her little bed, He wasn’t living luxuriously anymore, but he was living.