The Darkness Within

06 - Tour and Questions

"Ready for the tour?" Evelyn asked her after breakfast. People were beginning to leave the dining hall to attend to their daily duties and Evelyn had made time to show Ciara around. She nodded her head in response and followed the young werewolf through the building.

"Obviously you know the dining room and living room. Lots of the pack gather here in their free time and you're welcome to do so as well." Evelyn led them through both rooms and to a hallway she had been in before. "This hallway leads to the pack-leaders' offices and this is where official business is held, things like visits from other packs or other species."

"Other species?" Ciara questioned, the soreness in her voice mostly gone simply leaving slight scratchiness from disuse.

"The most common species to visit are vampires, but we've had faeries, a succubus once, and we even once met a dragon that was passing through." The casual tone that Evelyn used made Ciara's eyebrows shoot up.

"Those are real?"

"Oh I forgot, you're human. Yes, those are real, alongside many other species. We all mostly keep to ourselves but occasionally we interact. The creatures of darkness tend to keep away from the creatures of light and vice versa." Evelyn led them further down the hall and motioned to a closed door. "This door you might recognize, it's where the pack doctor treats wounds and where Clay was treated."

The hall came to an end and Evelyn led her back to the staircase in the living room. "Werewolves are creatures of darkness so we mostly interact with vampires. Shapeshifters occasionally stop by but that particular species tends to enjoy life alone or with their family groups and there's not very many of them so it's rare we see one. Demons and succubus are close friends but they started a war seven hundred years ago and for their horrible crimes none of the others will interact with them, despite them also being creatures of darkness. Witches disappeared just after the war started and they suffered great losses, and so it is extremely rare you even hear about them."

Not really comprehending the idea of that many types of supernatural species, Ciara just nodded along as they reached the second floor.

"This floor has our daycare and school for the pups, my twin runs them." Evelyn stopped in front of a set of double doors before opening them and walking in. Inside was a large room decorated with school posters and children's artwork. About ten small desks were spread around the room facing a whiteboard. On the floor, before the board, was a rug with a forest landscape and different forest animals hidden among the foliage for the pups to sit on. That was where she saw Lila, sitting on the rug with a children's book in her hand, reading to the three pups sitting before her. Ciara was happy to see that Clay, while still wearing some bandages, was doing much better than two days before.

As they entered, the four werewolves inside looked over at them. Lila had a happy and welcoming smile revealing her canines, seemingly at home in the daycare, and the three pups became visibly excited.

"Alpha Evelyn!" the pups yelled before running over and letting Evelyn pick all three of them up and spin them around. It was a cute sight and it put a small smile on Ciara's normally expressionless face. When Evelyn set the pups down, one of the female pups turned to Ciara, sniffing audibly.

"You smell funny," the little girl said.

"Sarah!" Lila admonished, scooping the young werewolf up. "You don't say things like that. She smells like a human there's nothing funny about it."

"Sorry," Sarah said, seeming genuine.

"Hey, you're the female who saved me," Clay said, looking between Ciara and Tala who was dutifully standing at Ciara's side.