Chapter Text
Aurelia had always had dreams, dreams of things that she couldn’t comprehend. Sleep never came easy for her. Not because of fear, but because she wanted to understand. Her dreams would be of glimmering fur, of snapping jaws, of flashes of claws and teeth. She knew that something was going to happen when they began to bleed into her waking life. When she would drift off in the middle of a meeting or see things out of the corner of her eyes. It all came to a head-on night, during the full moon. She hadn’t intended to be in the woods, but she had felt drawn there for some reason. Her mind was a swirling pit of darkness and depression, so she just let her body be on autopilot for a while. Finding a bench, set in a thick grove of trees, she sat down and lost herself in her thoughts. She wasn’t even phased as she heard a growl behind her, simply taking a deep breath and waiting. She looked up and saw a massive, black wolf at the other side of the grove.
She knew she should be doing something. Running, screaming, hiding, anything would have been better than nothing, but she was oh so tired. Instead, she simply sat there, watching as the creature thundered closer, teeth gleaming and snarls rumbling from its throat in a terrifying declaration of intent. All her dreams came rushing back to her at the image in front of her, the recognition of what this was, and the comprehension finally coming to her.
It came to a stop before her, its body towering over hers and its horrifying visage twisted in a snarl, spit dripping from its open maw. Its eyes, however, were what truly captured her attention.
With a sad smile, she leaned forward, ignoring its dangerous teeth and terrifying strength, and gently bumped her forehead against its own. Despite the threat it posed, she closed her eyes, remaining there as she listened to its growls slowly fade, an understanding taking bloom within her heart.
Because its eyes were tired too.
When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to be met with glowing blue eyes. Slowly, the monster’s face morphed into a human one, the blue eyes remaining.
“It’s you.” The man standing in front of her whispered. “You are the one that I have been dreaming about.”
His voice felt like a dream, like coming home. Aurelia wanted to burst into tears at the sound, she hadn’t felt at home in a long time. The man quickly pulled her into a hug, letting her bury her face in his neck as he buried his in her hair. She took a deep breath and catalogued the scents that she found there. The earthiness of the forest he had been running in, the underlying scent of evergreen and...home.
She didn’t know how long they stood there, in the middle of the woods, but she knew that she wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.