Strangers▪ Matei Covaci imagine

Sixteen

Once a month I get to experience what it's like to be human. And once every month I become yet more convinced that being a human is hell on earth.

My alarm wrenches me out of a deep sleep and into the hellish reality of dark moon day. My body aches, my senses are dulled and all I want to do is curl up in a ball and go back to sleep. I grab my phone to switch off the alarm named "DARK MOON DAY". Sure, like I needed reminding. There's a familiar small piece of paper wedged between my phone and the case. Not today.

Even without my heightened senses, I can still hear the television downstairs. Normally I would beg for a day off school, but we've already had that conversation, and after last night I don't want to test my dad's patience again.

Begrudgingly, I begin to throw on my uniform, shoving some makeup into my bag. Looking in the mirror, I absent-mindedly touch the pendant around my neck. This is the only day I wish that I lived in the wild; on dark moon days, wildies spend the whole day sleeping. Right now, that sounds like bliss.

I make my way straight to the front door, not wanting an altercation with my dad. Nevertheless, he hears me coming down the stairs and calls my name. I walk to the doorway and see my dad on the sofa, buried under a massive duvet and holding what I presume is a mug of strong coffee.

"Remember what I told you." He says, not even looking at me.

I decide not to gratify him with a response.

I step outside and immediately freeze. There, as if the gods are testing my loyalty to my dad, Matei and Emilia's mother is standing by the bins. Foster mother, I correct myself.

She notices me and waves me over, a caring smile on her face. As I approach she notices my uniform and her expression changes to pitiful.

"Oh, honey, they're not making you go to school, are they?" She asks.

I nod, secretly indulging in this rare case of sympathy.

She shakes her head, the wind gently blowing her blonde hair across her face. She bares no resemblance at all to Matei and Emilia. I guess now I know why. "Not on my watch. Here, why don't you come inside? You can stay all day if you want."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to intrude..."

"We'd be happy to have you. Besides, you can keep Emilia company. I've got work to do and Matei isn't even up yet."

I glance above her and notice one of the windows still has it's curtains drawn. "I'd love that."

-----------------------------

I take a sip from the large mug of hot chocolate, watching Emilia as she does the same. She's bundled up in an armchair on the other side of the living room, under even more blankets than me. It's enough to make my heart melt.

"Thanks again for the drink, it's delicious," I say.

"Thank you for keeping me company." Emilia replies "I've been bored to death and it's only 9 am."

"What about Matei?" I ask.

"He's no fun on dark moon days. He won't even leave his room unless he's hungry."

I smile and nestle deeper into my blanket, feeling more at home by the minute. I look around the room, properly taking in my surroundings. The cream coloured walls, wooden dressers and ornate, cardinal red armchairs... I would never guess that two teenagers live in this house. There's a severe lack of family photos or items that would belong to young people, but then again I shouldn't be surprised. By the sounds of it, not much would have survived Matei and Emilia's old house.

"Can you tell me more about wild wolfbloods?" Emilia asks after a while.

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Where do they live?" She asks.

"All over the world. Not near cities, obviously. They travel a lot, depending on the season. It's not part of wildie tradition to stay in one place for too long."

"Why not?"

"Because humans get suspicious. In the past, when all wolfbloods were wild, they were hunted by humans, who thought they were just wolves. Because of that, wildies had to migrate from place to place, always leaving behind a Beyanath. It's a mark to bless the next pack who finds it. But as humans developed there were fewer places to hide, and sometimes humans stumbled upon wildie camps. I guess that's where stories about werewolves come from..."

"So where are they now?"

"Most of them were wiped out. Sometimes, through ansion, wolfbloods can talk to their ancestors. They can guide you, or tell you about events from their time. It's not like a normal conversation with words, it's more...like a feeling."

"I wish I could do that..." Emilia says wistfully.

"One day, if I teach you well enough," I assure her. I notice how her expression changed once I mentioned ancestors, and I decide to give the young wolfblood some motivation.

"Emilia, have you ever heard of firewalkers?" I ask.

"No, what are they?"

"Wolfbloods who have overcome their fear of fire. Wildies believe that firewalkers hold extreme power, and that- one day -firewalkers will lead all wolfbloods into a paradise. Blydissiad."

"Blydissiad?"

"Yeah, its sort of a golden age for wolfbloods. Emilia, I know what you and your brother went through. I can't even begin to imagine what that was like...but what I do know is that you are incredibly brave and, if the stories are true, you are destined to do great things."

Emilia gazes at me in awe, and I can make out a glimmer of hope in her teary eyes. I feel a sense of accomplishment; no matter what my dad says, it's my duty to ease their suffering in any way I can. A moment later, she gets distracted by footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Ah, speak of the devil, here he is!"

Matei appears in the doorway, complete with bed hair, half-asleep eyes which widen when they see me, and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Fuck.

"Here, you sit. I'll get you a hot chocolate." Emilia says.

He mumbles something which sounds like thanks, collapsing into the armchair in his sister's place. We stare at each other for a moment; I'm guessing he wants to ask me something like why are you in my house?

"So, you didn't come up to the ruins." He says.

"No, I didn't."

"...you don't have to be scared of us, y/n"

"Why would I be scared of you?"

"Well, not me. TJ and Selina."

"I'm not scared." I protest, aware that I'm killing the conversation.

"I heard you and that guy the other night"

"Mmhm"

"And I heard what he said about you after," He adds cautiously.

I nod slowly, cringing. "So did I"

"You're not gonna..."

"What? No! Absolutely not. Under no circumstances, ever!"

He smiles. A genuine, adoring smile. "You sound pretty certain about that"

"And you look pretty happy about that," I reply confidently.

He doesn't reply, but his smile widens into a shy laugh. I have to bring the mug up to my mouth to hide the fact I'm also grinning. He does the same, and we both take a long sip.

"You look like shit." He says.

"I know. So do you."

"I know."

Author's note

Wow, that was a long chapter! As always, please vote and comment if you enjoyed. Next chapter will be up within a week! xxx