Monday night dinners at the Breckholm house were probably as ordinary as one could get. for dinner Jenny had served up a vegan lasagna with garlic bread and a salad. typical vegetarian crap.
"hope you like it!" Jenny said with a mouth already full of the lasagna. Rhi poked at it for a moment, beginning to wonder what would happen if she quit being a vegetarian and resorted back to meat. her mom wouldn't care, and Rhi would feel so much better. one less burden removed from her life...
but those thoughts were proof that she was turning into something else against her own will, and it made her feel uneasy and sick.
"you feeling okay? you've been looking green today ever since i got home. is the school serving any good lunches lately?" Jenny asked, a crease of worry beginning to form on her forehead.
Rhi nodded quickly. "yeah, i'm fine. just daydreaming, i guess." she bit into the lasagna and tried to concentrate on its delicious spinach flavors, while the rest of her would much rather prefer a normal meat lasagna. so she grabbed a piece of garlic bread and bit into that, but it felt dry and tasteless on her tongue. that was strange and worrying because she usually loved garlic bread, but there was nothing she could do now with her new taste buds taking over.
after dinner Rhi helped her mom clean up, then went back to her room to look up some more info on lycanthropy. she found some things....
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... and began to wonder if she was clinically insane.
but her fingers automatically moved to her stomach again and she knew that there was no way in hell that she would ever imagine those symptoms.
Rhi's heart started to pound as she continued to look through the various links, then turned her phone off before she got locked into the world of lycanthropy forever. she kept denying it and then believing it, over and over again that she was a werewolf and thinking that she was diagnosed with lycanthropy.
but the black wolf in her dreams had told her otherwise of what she truly was, and she had to believe that.
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once in bed, Rhi wondered if she would see the mysterious black wolf again. she grew fearful, hoping against hope that she wouldn't go back into that forest, but like a cruel punch in the face she was standing in that green illusion again.
the sky wasn't as blue as it was in her dream last night; instead there were some clouds looming in like there would be an upcoming storm, and the sun didn't shine as brightly this time.
Rhi slowly walked around, taking in the surroundings of the dream forest. bushes and fronds waved in the cool breeze, small animals skittered this way and that through the undergrowth, and above all she noticed the ominous silence that surrounded her. Rhi half expected the monstrous black wolf to leap out at her, but nothing happened. all was quiet, too quiet.
Rhi wondered what was going to happen until a twig snapped behind her, and she whirled around as a man walked up to her. he was wearing a black cloak with a hood that hid his face and identity, and he walked up to Rhi until he was standing only a couple inches away from her. "hello, child. welcome to the Evergreene. this forest is home to many of our kind, and serves as a safe haven for those of us who hide from—"
"wait, what? is that what this place is called, Evergreene? and you said this place is a safe haven?" Rhi was curious to know what the hell this man was trying to say and why this place was a safe haven.
the cloaked man nodded patiently. "yes, young one. Evergreene is an endless forest providing an unlimited amount of prey to keep us satisfied forever. it is indeed a safe haven for all newly appointed lycans to protect you from the forces of Malice."
Rhi swallowed nervously, feeling her anxiety go up a little. "w-who is Malice? i'm really confused right now, and i don't even know what i'm doing here..."
"please stay calm, child. you're in a safe place. Malice is the biggest and strongest werewolf alive right now, and by far the deadliest creature on the planet. he has committed many crimes by turning thousands of innocent humans into uncontrollable werewolves, and has killed thousands more." he took a deep breath and paused before continuing. "my name is Grey, and i'm one of the main protectors of Evergreene. i can't show you my identity yet, but i can continue to tell you more about your... new self."
Rhi shrugged, rubbing her arms nervously. "i don't know... this is all way too shocking for me. i feel like i'm out of place, like i'm imagining all of this, and how i'm not really a werewolf but just..."
"no, you cannot think like that," Grey suddenly interrupted, quite sharply and almost angrily. "you ARE a werewolf, Rhiannon. you have to believe it and face it or else you will not survive. i shall see you again in the next full moon." Grey started to fade away, and Rhi almost grabbed his cloak to summon him back, but she woke up in her bed in a cold sweat without so much as a blink.
