Turning Year

Chapter 1: It's My Fault

He knew it was his fault. He was the one who begged and pushed, but he just wanted to she her change. To feel her soft warm fur. He knew that she was small and fragile. And that she was food to anyone that wanted her, but he still pushed.

"Mom! Please? Just for a few minutes!" Stiles begged, raising the pitch of his voice, whining like a child.

"Stiles, no honey. I know you want to go for a run, but not today. Not at this time of night. You know the village is running low on food, something could happen."

It was true, something could happen, but he just had this ache inside. He wanted to go run in the woods with his mom, to feel the grass in between his toes, it was always a bonding moment for the two of them. He would remain human during the run, as he wouldn't get his animal for a while, and was counting down the days with anticipation, as well as dread.

"I know, but it's like, 10:00 P.M. Nobody's going to be out this late hunting."

"You're right, it is 10:00 P.M, which means you should probably be headed to bed young man."

"Mom." He groaned.

She sighed. "Fine, but only for five minutes!"

"Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Stiles squealed.

She walked outside to take off her clothes out of her son's gaze, then walked back in.

Stiles smiled, even though he had seen his mom's animal before. But he was always struck be the shear beauty of her.

She was a rabbit. A beautiful white rabbit. He loved running with her, because he got to see her beautiful coat shine in the moonlight. It was like it sparkled. Her animal was petite, as she was, yet full of attitude, matching her own personality.

They made their way outside to the woods and started on their run. For such a small animal with little legs, she was fast.

They were racing through the woods, everything silent except for the soft squishing of the leaves and mud beneath Stiles's feet. All of a sudden, she stopped.

Her ears twitched and perked up. She turned her head around to look around her, but there wasn't anything to see in the darkness. She looked at Stiles with a look that Stiles understood to be "stay here." 

She took off quickly into the woods without her son, running towards the unknown.

Stiles listened as hard as he could, hoping to hear something, yet at the same time praying that he wouldn't, because he was all alone in the middle of the woods.

He looked around, but the only thing he could see was the breath coming out of his mouth. The coldness started to creep up on him, and he shivered.

All of a sudden a loud pop was heard, startling Stiles.

He whipped his head around looking for anything.

'That sound. Was that a gun shot?' He thought.

His heart stopped. He ran through the woods as fast as he could, eyes quickly moving, searching for his mother. Stiles had never been made more aware that she was so small and the woods were so large.

He had been running for what felt like hours, though it had probably only been a few minutes, the panic creeping up on him further.

He paused, resting his hands on his knees, bending over to try and get more oxygen. His heart was hammering and he could feel the beads of sweat rolling down his back. He wiped his forehead, trying to get the sweat off.

Then he heard something. A small whimper. He turned around and looked at where the sound was coming from. A small lump of red and white was laying on the ground. He slowly stepped forward and bent down.