The witch and the werewolf

Watch my pupils dilate with each rune across my body.

Max had never missed more than a day of school since they were enrolled at the age of five, ten years had passed and Max's absences were always explained to the Banal's of the town, but.

They missed an entire week with no explanation, of course everyone grew concerned for the child, no one knew what had happened, Father Yamato and Mrs Sissy Iris did an amazing job of keeping everyone in the town in the dark, including Corvus and his family, he only knew what happened under the full moon.

Corvus was starting to get better with each shift, soon he wouldn't need Max with them at all the times of the day, but he would miss them dearly.

The bushes ruffled and Father Yamato emerged from the tree line, which was weird in itself, since he usually walked up the path like a modal citizen. "We're here." He spoke, one hand still inside of the bushes as something clutched onto it for dear life.

"About time." Mr Constellation grumbled as he slipped into his wolf, the fathers bird was no where to be seen, it was at home resting and comforting Max's familiars into their new life.

Father Yamato frowned, he'd learned to let simple things like that slid after a while, but that time he didn't, Corvus looked over at him as Father Yamato looked at his hand that was still in the bush, debating weather he should pull it out.

Corvus gasped when Max emerged from the bushes, they hung their head, their shivering arm clung onto Father Yamato's hand and their cuddly in one palm, their right hand was limp in the long sleeve.

"Max?" Corvus questioned as he wandered forward, his hands twitched to hold onto Max and strangle whatever had made them so, so blue, their sent was there, cookie dough and trees and brooks and fire sparks, but there was a layer of ash and blood over it. "Max?" Corvus said as he stood in front of Max, his neck bumped into their chest as he had to crank their head up to look into the thirteen-year-olds aquatic eyes.

Max sighed and kneeled down, their views of each other swapping, now Corvus was looking down at Max and Max had to look but to see the ten-year-olds eyes. "Yeah?" Their voice was soft and tired, it ached deep in their throat where they had cried and cried for days until it broke.

"Are you ok? Wh-what happened?" Corvus asked as he placed his hands on Max's shoulders and tangled his fingers in their hair.

Max's eyes looked to Father Yamato for permission, if they were going to be a pack and coven they needed to know what had occurred, they looked back to the black-haired boy with lavender eyes, his hair was long and straight and had been tied into a low pony tail, one bang covered he left eye as he looked through it to see Max.

"I-" Max sighed and looked down. "I got into an accident at work." That's right, Corvus blinked with realisation, Max had taken up a job at an engineering company, "Wrecking Robotics", it sponsored the robotics club at school, Max had just turned twelve at the time, but they were a founder of the town, and they had many skills, far beyond what even adults had, they helped everyone they could and anyone would've been glad to have them near, so it was easy for them to get a job.

Max wanted to be an engineer so they could build toys and robotic animals, they had watched "Voltron" once, but it immediately sparked their ideas for making sentient robots and bringing them to life.

"Ah... Uh." Max's tongue felt thick in their mouth, confused on how to continue. "A razer had come loose, you know, the ones embedded into those special tables?" Corvus nodded. "Well." Max clicked their tongue. "Someone had turned it on and forgot to turn it off, I was carrying boxes." Corvus did not like where this was going. "And they had covered my vision, and someone bumped into me." Mr Constellation grew to look concerned for his son's tether as his wolf lean in to listen, head resting on his paws. "My arm was flung into the razer." Mr Constellation's ear flicked. "I assure you it was a clean cut." Like that made Corvus feel better, he barley knew what it meant. "As my arm was cut off."