Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Twenty-Six 🌑

"Do any of us?" I countered. Up until I had met the wolves, I hadn't even been convinced by the prospect of 'soulmates'. 

Accalia's eyes flickered with surprise. 

"I know you'll find them. Uziel found his soulmate," I reminded her, in a slightly quieter voice, as we began to peruse the shelves of the library. I flashed her a bright smile, which she returned. 

"That's true," she said, "Thank you, Ophelia. It's good having you around," she added, with a fond expression. 

"I'm glad! I just want to bring some fun into your life," I said, "Which is why I think we should leave this library and go somewhere." 

Accalia met my gaze then and her lips curled up at the corner. 

"Let me guess- by 'go somewhere' you mean that you want to go back to the forest," she said. 

I revealed a sheepish smile. 

"Maybe," I said. 

I couldn't hide anything from her. 

"It will be fun, Accalia. Maybe you can show me how to use my powers!" I suggested. 

Accalia smirked at that statement. 

"You need to keep your voice down, honestly," she said, "People are going to think you're crazy." 

"I am crazy, I don't see how vocalising that is going to change anything," I replied easily. 

At that utterance, Accalia sighed. 

"What am I going to do with you, Ophelia?" she asked me, as she pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead and then ran her fingers through her chocolate-brown hair. 

I folded my arms in front of my chest. 

"Come with me," I said simply. 

"And skip out on our final class of the day?" she asked, as though she was thoroughly surprised by the fact that I was even suggesting we do this. 

Maybe I was wrong; maybe she didn't know me that well. 

I shrugged in response. 

"I want to get some more sketching done and the forest helps clear my mind. I'm not suggesting we go there and go full wolf-mode, but I would appreciate your company," I admitted. "I want to go and sketch- you want to go and find your soulmate. Let's go," I said. I had already stood up and walked a few steps away from the table, before Accalia came after me. 

She grabbed a hold of my forearm and turned me to her. 

"I'll be honest- I'm scared too," she said. 

"Hm? You can trust me," I said, as I took a step to the side. 

Accalia's hand fell back down by her side, but I immediately missed her touch. 

"I know that much. I care about you. I don't want to bring you along with me and get you into trouble," she said. 

"Are there bad wolves out there?" I asked. 

Accalia frowned. 

"No. However, there's your father. There's the sickness," she stated. 

After she had said that, my mind went back to what her father, Luka, had said the previous evening. 

"The sickness. Right. Your dad told me about that," I told her. 

Her eyebrows raised a little. 

"I should have known that he would. That's why I didn't want to get you involved before. You understand that, surely?" she asked me. It was a serious question. 

We started to walk on again and out of the school building. 

Fortunately, nobody stopped us. 

They probably just thought that we were going to get some food. 

"Yes," I said, "I do understand, Accalia, but one way or another I am a part of this world now. You can't shut me out of it." 

"I care too much about you to do that," she confessed. Her voice became low as she said it and the gold in her eyes became warmer. "I understand your want to go back to the forest, too. We're all drawn to it. It's Lykos' forest. You know that much. Our kind are meant to exist there because, well, we are wolves. We can't get inside of our DNA and tear it out." 

I stopped walking and turned to her again. 

"You sound as though you want to do that," I commented. 

Accalia looked towards me with a glimmer of guilt in her gaze. 

"I can't confirm or deny that," she said honestly. "I sometimes wish my life was normal. Can you blame me?" she asked. 

No. 

I shook my head. 

"You're coming with me to the forest and I'm going to draw you. I know that won't fix anything but...I don't know. It's just an idea to distract you," I said. 

At that statement, Accalia managed a smile. This one looked a little more sincere. 

"I know I look as though my thoughts are everywhere most of the time, but I hope you know that I care about you, too," I confessed, as we hopped on the bus, which began to go in the direction of the forest. "I feel useless. I wish there was more I could say to ease your mind or-" 

I stopped speaking, as soon as Accalia wound her hands around my own and gently squeezed them. It was a perfect distraction. 

"You're doing plenty to help me take my mind off my worries," she said, "Just by being here- by being you." 

I felt my heart warm at the compliment, and couldn't help but smile back at her. 

"Don't be so critical of yourself," she told me, as the bus came to a stop where we needed to get off. 

Once we were off the bus, I turned back to her with a slightly amused expression. 

"I have to be critical of myself. I'm an artist- it's what I do," I said. 

Accalia smiled back at me. 

"I expect to see some of these works of art, you know," she told me. 

"Definitely," I said, as we headed in the direction of the forest again. 

As soon as we arrived, I felt as though I was home. It was a strange feeling, but I knew that thought wasn't far from the truth. I was a wolf now. This was my home.