Igniting Sparks

Chapter 6

A/N:
Warning! This following chapter can be triggering for people in tough mental situations. please do not read if you're susceptible to stories dealing with mental health issues and suicide ideas. 

Edited by @KitWulf 29-2-2020

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The silence was unnerving.

Azura was home by herself and it felt like the walls were closing in on her. Ever since the nightmare she had during that afternoon, she'd felt less and less uncomfortable being alone. She anxiously paced around the room, counting her steps to make sure the walls hadn't actually moved, but it gave her no relief.

Every time she had closed her eyes, images of Charlie and Nora plagued her mind. Their dead bodies haunting her. The unnerving voice telling her it was all her fault, was becoming louder and more frequent.

She could even hear it throughout the day now. It was becoming more and more convincing as well. Azura had a hard time separating that voice from her own mind and it was driving her crazy. It became harder to segregate reality from dream and she'd already caught herself believing the nonsense the voice had put in her head.

Azura clenched her fists again, digging her fingernails into the palm of her hands. She was sweating and had a hard time ignoring the shaking of her hands. They'd been trembling for a few hours now. By clenching her fists she hoped it would go away, but it had not helped so far. A heaviness descended on her chest and she drove her fingers into her palms even harder. It started to hurt, but it was a good reminder of what was real.

It took another ten minutes of restless pacing around her room before she had made up her mind. She needed to run. It had been several weeks since she'd last shifted, and it hadn't once been done since she arrived here. She had not gone outside much at all since she had arrived, actually.

Azura practically ran outside, throwing her coat on while doing so. She stopped as she reached the end of the driveway and looked back at the house. It was small, and maybe fifty meters away was a bigger sprawl; the main house of the property. Lucas's dad had been living there till he passed away and Lucas had offered the house to his best friend and his wife after. She still didn't know why he hadn't taken the house for himself, but he probably had his reasons for that.

The cool crisp air was doing some good, allowing her mind a reprieve to wander to the houses, but that didn't last long. Her restlessness soon emerged again and Azura quickly walked away to the nearby forest.

She needed a good spot to keep her things yet not be too close to the city. If she were to change it would mean undressing and taking everything off. Including her ring, the one thing that kept her identity and true nature hidden. She didn't want anyone discovering her clothes, so after reaching the forest, she continued walking for another hour through the snow before reaching a small cave.

Azura took off her coat and her clothes, then wrapped them up in a small bundle and placed them behind a small rock. Not too visible, and dry from the snow. The fresh air gave her goosebumps across her naked skin. The cold felt good to her, embracing her as if she was an old friend.

Unfortunately, she knew she was still susceptible to hypothermia so she had to change quickly. The only thing she still wore was her ring. Azura grabbed it and hesitated for a moment. If she took it off, she would no longer be protected. Anything could pick up her smell and find her.

She was quiet for a moment, listening for anything out of the ordinary before finally removing it, tugging it off. For the first time in a long time, she could see. All the smells hit her at once. When she was wearing the ring, her smell was hidden from anyone, but it also prevented her from smelling anything.