𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 ━━━ ✧ ⋆ （ acotar ）

✧ ˚ 𝐢. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞

✧ ˚ 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓. Asteria would go to bed with a hopeful smile, only to be awakened by her own nightmares when the moon had long since reached its peak, tears staining her cheeks. Most times she would have no memory of the dream that had frightened her so much.

She found comfort in the woods on nights like these. The first time she'd had a nightmare had been not long after they fell into poverty. Asteria was too young to remember much about their lives before, but she could tell it had affected her family emotionally. After that first night, Elain stayed up all night to braid a flower crown made of peonies and daisies, and Nesta read the tale of a beautiful village girl that fell in love with a beast to herㅡit had been her favorite story ever since, and the sole reason she knew how to read.

Feyre, on the other hand, had ended up using the paint she had been saving to paint the night sky on Asteria's dresser drawer the very next morning.

Even back then, the youngest Archeron had been enamoured by the night time.

The winter snow that blanketed the forest floor crunched underneath her boots. Pale hair reflected the bit of moonlight that managed to peak through the trees overhead, the rest casting ominous shadows upon the ground. Leaves shuddered as a stray gust of wind howled through the air, the cold seeping into Asteria's veins through her coat.

The forest was eerily silent that night. Had she had Feyre's knowledge of wildlife, she would have known something was amiss.

A familiar chill crawled up her wrist, and Asteria felt herself smile.

"Hello again, little friend," she murmured. The small shadow circled her wrist in what she thought was excitement. "I've not seen you in a while."

The shadow had been a part of her life for as long as Asteria could remember. It seemed to come and go as it pleased, too shy to meet her in the presence of others. It was her only friend unless you counted the child she'd care for when the woman next door needed some extra help.

A fallen branch snapped somewhere in the brush, and Asteria's steps halted. Her shadow friend fled up her arm and hid itself in her hair, its path leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

First, she saw its eyes. Large yellow irises that glowed with intelligence that no normal animal should have. Then, it stepped out into the open, and Asteria felt her lips part in awe.

The wolf was massive, over half the size of a horse. She should have been terrified, should have run back to her home as fast as she could, but Asteria found that her legs refused to move. Despite her terror, she thought the creature was quite beautiful.

It seemed just as wary of her as she was of it as it slowly stepped closer. Asteria found her hand raising on its own accord, and the wolf's head snapped towards the movement, pupils dilating as it focused on the limb. Its eyes moved back to her, studying her carefully.