Moonlight Magic

Chapter 5

A constant, gentle poking awoke Freak from his unconscious state. Groaning in discomfort, Freak shifted before opening his eyes, frowning at the feeling of objects digging into his back. Shock quickly overcame the discomfort though, when Freak got a look at his chest. Through the shredded pieces of what used to be his shirt, Freak could see blue fur where his skin used to be. Numbly reaching up to touch it, Freak froze once more, when he saw three fingers coated in the fur, rather than his five-fingered, skin-covered hand.
Before the boy could go into non-responsive shock, an envelope addressed to 'My Son' magically flew into his outstretched hand and lay there, as if waiting to be opened.
Finding the idea of someone sending him a letter, claiming to be a parent to him or not, much more interesting than his current condition, Freak decided to open it.

My dear, sweet son,
I hope that this letter never finds you, for, if it does, it means I am dead. I have dreamed of watching you grow up to be a wonderful and strong young man, but it seems I never got to congratulate you on your seventeenth year of life. First off, happy birthday my love! As you most-likely already know, if a wizard has creature blood in their family, said wizard will gain a creature inheritance on their seventeenth birthday. You may have thought you wouldn't be getting one, as your father's side of the family is not known for creature blood, but mine is very deeply intwined with it. Believe it or not, my son, but I am not human, nor was I ever. I am from a race called Nightcrawlers, which may remind you of the worms that live in the dirt, but we are a much superior race to human- and wizard-kind. Sadly, our race has nearly died out, and if you are reading this, then it means you are the last one of us alive. We have never been documented as a species, as our home is not on Earth, so I will have to tell you all of what being a Nightcrawler entails, but not here. In my vault at Gringotts- you will find the key to it having come with this letter- there is a chest full of books that I have filled with information on our species, as well as a journal detailing my integration into human and wizard society. To tide you over for now, as I hope you have a curious mind like mine, Nightcrawlers all have share similar traits and duties. All of our kind have blue fur covering the entirety of our bodies, glowing eyes of various colors, sharp canines, and pointed ears. Every male has a prehensile tail as well. Each of us does have our differences though, as some may have extra arms, extra legs, less fingers/toes, more rows of teeth, longer tongues, more/less eyes, different tail types, etc. Many of these aspects can run in families as well.
And just as appearances run in a family, our species' abilities and duties differ depending on the family as well. But our family, specifically, is a conglomeration of many, since our family is the last one surviving. Your full duties can be found in my journals, but there is one that I hope to never have to give you, the duty of Defender. This task is usually granted to the King of our race, but after an intelligent attack, his family was completely slaughtered. Our family was closely related to his, and that is the only reason I know of this task. You must not tell anyone else, even your most trusted friends, because this secret is the only thing that may keep our species alive. It is up to you to accept or decline, but the Earth depends on your choice. If you decline, the balance will be ruined and the apocalypse will begin, but should you accept, you will lose your soul and gain quasi-immortal life. I say quasi as the only way to kill you would be through a clean decapitation, as not even old age will affect you. I have hope you will never have to use this information though, because you are my baby, and I would never wish my burden onto you.
To get off of this morose note, for I no longer wish to think of it, I will give you a basic idea of what Nightcrawlers' abilities are. Compared to other races found on this planet, we have enhanced speed and agility, unmatchable hand-eye coordination, vast reservoirs of magic, strong adhesive hairs on our hands and feet, increased regeneration, and near-perfect night vision. There are some capabilities that are not commonly found here on earth, and they are some of the best, in my opinion. Our ability to summon bamfs- a servant race very similar to house elves- through the spilling of our blood and disappear into shadows are specifics to being a Nightcrawler. You may find the rest of my information on Nightcrawlers in my vault- for I can see how long this letter already is- as I have it waiting for you, just in case.
To be brief with the other matters I need to disclose here, the suit you will find that comes with this letter will always fit you, no matter how you grow, as I have heard of how tedious it can be to make holes in your clothes to fit your tail exactly from my father. There is also a necklace that is in the hidden pocket of the suit. This necklace is to help you blend in with the humans of this world. It will hide the specific aspects of our species that do not coincide with the appearance of a regular human. It is charmed to never come off once put on, but the visage can be dispersed if you merely tap the center of the pendant with a finger. Your magic will do the rest for you.
My dear boy, how I wish to hold you as I write this. In my time, you are still a baby growing in my stomach, but I can tell that you will be a handsome, lovely man someday. It will be my greatest sorrow if I cannot be there to watch over you as you grow up. Know that, even if I have not seen you, I will always love you the way a mother only can. No matter what you do, I know I could never stop loving the little baby that kicks whenever I sing and stays still when I read him a story. Please, never forget me? If I end up being gone for any part of your childhood and you see someone else as a mother figure, know that I could never hold it against you, but just remember that there is someone else out there that loves you even more than they do, okay? I know you are my baby, but it always hurts to be forgotten. Please, live your life the way you want to live it, and enjoy as much of it as possible. I pray to God that this letter finds you well, my beautiful baby boy.
With eternal love,
Mum