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She shouldn’t be here. Well, she should be here, because there was a corpse and as a banshee it was kind of her thing to find the corpses, but she shouldn’t be here – it such a situation. Usually she would find the body a long time after they were killed. Maybe not that long, but long enough for her to be sure that the killer was nowhere near the body. This time was different, though. One moment ago she was alone, looking at a dead girl who was ripped apart, and suddenly there were glowing eyes everywhere, watching her. Lydia stopped to breathe and she could feel her body going cold and stiff with fear. There was no one with her who could possibly help her now.
As the glowing eyes came closer she could feel a scream building in her throat. ‘You have to do something!’ she thought panic. ‘You have to move! You have to do something!’ The glowing eyes were inching closer again and she could see sharp teeth and claws in the dim light. The forming scream was almost tastable on her lips before it broke free with such an intensity that the creatures around her winced in surprise.
Her body was moving before she consciously realized it, Lydia was running as fast a she could. Not that it would actually help much, because creatures with sharp claws and teeth did also have supernatural speed more often than not. But she would not go down without a fight, or without a chance to get out of this mess alive. Running through the woods with heels was not one of her best ideas, she figured, but she didn’t really have the time to get rid of her shoes. Her mind worked desperately, searching for a way or a weapon as she made her way, not really able to think of anything else. The growls and pants behind her didn’t allow her to stop for a moment and gather some strength, breath and a plan. ‘Think, Lydia. Think!’
Suddenly there was a crash behind her, so loud that she jumped in surprise and nearly stumbled over a root on the ground. Against her better judgment Lydia took a glance over her shoulder and felt her jaw drop. In the dim light of the forest, a figure had crashed against one of Lydia’s chasers and took out another one at the same time. The figure had long hair propped up to a pony-tail and looked rather familiar. A low growl was audible and now that Lydia had stopped running she could hear a howl and then two others from a close distance. Then she knew who the figure in front of her was.
The glow-eyed creatures seemed to reconsider their life choices as soon as they heard the howls as well and slowly backed off. As soon as Lydia saw that she pulled herself together and walked closer. Cora met her half-way, hectic, slightly bloody, still wolfed-out and definitely worried. She pulled Lydia in as soon as she got close enough and looked at her thoroughly. “Are you alright?!” she asked, her voice a little rough and probably closer to a growl than a voice. Lydia wanted to retort something like a “Why wouldn’t I?”, but the look on Cora’s face stopped her and she simply nodded, taking in the transforming-back-to-human face. Her hands were shaking slightly as Cora moved closer and buried her head in the crook of Lydia’s neck, inhaling deeply. Lydia was pretty sure she heard a mumbled “Thank god…” and felt Cora’s hands tighten around her upper body. She closed her eyes and let herself sink into the embrace when Caro softly pressed her lips against Lydia’s jaw and whispered:
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”