Archive of Our Own

Pearl was tiling up on the roof when she felt it.

A cold prickle that started at the base of her skull and made its way down her spine, her body shuddering as one of the tiles she was holding slipped and she warily rubbed the back of her neck.

Her first thought was to ignore it as she had every other bad feeling, drive it wayy out of her mind!

It was just a shiver.

A bad feeling.

But… she'd thought that every time that same chill had run up her spine, right? and every time something terrible happened.

And everyone was gone. Everybody had left, and the only thing she knew was that Cleo and a few of the others were off to try and reclaim as many of the beacons as possible, but.. what if whatever was taking those beacons from them was dangerous?

What if it was going for them? Drift, Apo, Martyn, Shelby, Legs, Cleo? Not to mention everyone else, they could be in danger. They could be dead.

She'd made up her mind the second she took the feeling seriously. With an undignified clattering as she let the tiles drop, Pearl leapt off the roof and into a roll— breaking into a sprint and following the tug of the feeling as soon as she got to her feet.

Pearl knew hunting. She knew that whatever was behind this had to be fast and had to be deadly, so she had to be faster and she had to be deadlier.

A minute could cost lives.

The wind blew and the land around was a blur as she ran, the lantern on her belt flailing through the air and barely giving enough light to see further than a few feet.

Breathe.

Her breathing was shallow and heavy as adrenaline pumped through her body, she had to calm her breath or she'd burn out before she even got close.

Breathe.

Blood was pumping, the thudding rush soon the only thing she could hear.

Breathe.

The damn forest never seemed to end, the trees stark and foreboding in the lantern-light. Anything could be hiding out there.

Breathe.

Keep going. They could be inches from death right now.

Breathe.

Pearl felt something familiar. She felt something crack, deep in her body and mind.

..Breathe?

Her muscles ached and her lungs burned, every tendon brimming with an unnatural growing pain.

Breathe.

The land around her got a bit brighter, a weak blue light that made her body seize for just a moment.

Breathe.

Her mind was filled with nothing but run, faster, run.

Breathe.

A dull recognition filled her body as the seizing sent her flying into the ground for a moment, a sharp crack filling the air that she didn't have time to focus on.

Breathe.

She dug her hands into the soil and — ignoring how they were unnaturally bending and growing— roughly pushed herself up, not wasting a moment.

Breathe.

Something was happening to her. That much she could tell, her entire body was wracking with a pain she knew both intimately and barely.

BREATHE.

Her lantern flew off as a jolting crack rang in her ears, along with her own voice wailing in agony as it was joined by another crack, and another, and another.

SNAP—

Every moment was anguish but she couldn't stop, wouldn't fall to her knees and loose herself as she always did.

BREATHE.

She couldn't.

BREATHE.

They needed her.

BREATHE.

Another grating snap filled Pearl's ears as her back rang with pain, and she felt fur sprouting all over her skin. Her blood felt different.

PLEASE.

She was almost there, the decrepit old bridge just barely in sight as she moved faster than any human should.

ALMOST THERE.

Her ears, which she had felt growing and painfully moving on her skull, twitched as she heard something that had her pounding heart skip a beat.

KEEP GOING.

Struggling. Shouting. Fighting.

NO

She recognized the voices, heard Cleo grunt out and with another agonizing pop she sprinted across the bridge, leaping over the gaps and finally coming to a sudden thudding stop just out of sight as a few final revolting snaps reverberated throughout the castle ruins, and her ear-piercing shriek shifted to a snarling roar.

BREATHE.

The sounds stopped.

She raised her head, and two bright blue eyes reflected in the torch-light, canines bared as she heard her friends in danger.

Everyone was distracted by the sound which gave her a precious few moments to silently bound over to the left of the ruins, claws sinking into the old stone with ease as she practically leapt on top of the wall, her now hulking body silhouetted by the full moon.

She jumped, and all rational thought left her as Pearl lunged through the darkness and down towards whatever the thing that was approaching Cleo and smelt like Pyro but wrong was.

With a hard thump she landed and her teeth sunk into something that felt like a neck, dry flesh giving way whilst the air filled with screams that weren't hers.

There was still enough Pearl in her to stay conscious but her thoughts were a jumbled mess of violence and fear as she bit down harder, a wet crunch and the coppery smell of blood filling her senses, then jerked her body to the side— letting it out of her mouth and sending whatever had to be pretending to be Pyro bodily slamming into a wall.

Cleo was behind her, they were safe now. She carefully turned around to look at them and saw wide, terrified eyes look into hers, then her bloodied snout, and finally the rest of her.

Martyn and Legs were here too— the only other people who didn't smell wrong, different. Pearl focused her gaze towards the other four and it clicked in a terrible heartbeat.

Vampires.

Even if she'd still been as skeptical as she had mere hours ago they certainly weren't trying to hide it at this point, Pearl could see their fangs— some with dried blood on them for heaven's sake— and the subtle red tint in their eyes, all trained on her as four of her frien— no, as the four vampires all slowly started moving towards her, Pyro barely stumbling back up and looking down at his bloodied and crushed neck with fear, as though he expected it to have healed already.

Pearl bared her fangs and let out a vicious growl, the sound reverberating through her chest and making the vampires falter for just a second.

A second was all she needed.

She took one look behind her and saw that Martyn, Legs and Cleo were all hidden behind her.

And then without warning, Pearl lunged forward and went for the first thing that moved.

~~~

Cleo was cornered, stuck against a stupid old chair as she felt the air around her shift like something was about to attack, she tried to brace as best she could but it was too late and—

Everyone froze as the sound of splintering bones filled the air, and a familiar voice let out an agonized scream that sent a jolt of concern through her heart which quickly curdled to a primal fear as the scream was replaced with one deafening roar that seemed to promise nothing but death.

Then, there was silence.

Everyone had frozen in place and turned to the source of the sound but Cleo had a gut feeling whatever made it could move fast and as she jerkily scanned around her, two things stood out.

One? Pyro's right next to her, and his fangs are bared.

Two? There is a big fucking wolf(???) creature, hunched over one of the walls with every muscle tensed to jump.

She got one good look at its vivid blue eyes, and before she could blink it pounced down— they flinched back and fell onto the ground, but.. they hadn't been hurt?

Cleo looked back up and almost joined in the chorus of screams and "WHAT THE FUCK"'s filling the air as the creature had Pyro's neck in its jaws, canines as long as her fingers chomping deeper and deeper into his flesh as he wildly struggled and tore at the beast whilst black-red blood poured out and coated its teeth, his gurgling screams swiftly cut short as a sickening visceral crunch filled Cleo's ears and the wolf sent him barreling into the same wall it leapt from with a disgusting snap as the taste of bile filled her throat.

They tore their eyes from his mutilated body and came face to face with the monster behind it staring at her with those same piercing eyes.

A choking fear screamed at them to do something— hold up her sword, tell it to stay back— but any words they might've held died in their chest as they couldn't help but take in the creature.

The thing was giant, easily nine feet tall if on its hind legs with claws and teeth that could've torn through them like wet paper. It was covered in a strangely familiar thick brown fur that was now coated in blood from the front, and Cleo was frozen in place.

..

Once when they were far younger, they had asked their mother why they couldn't go outside once it got dark. She'd smiled at them but there was a change in her voice when she said that if they wanted to know, they should watch the nearest field once it got dark.

That very night they'd rushed out the door, looking out into the fields with wide eyes as the sun finally set.

It took 20 minutes, and they had very nearly given up and gone back inside— but a shift in the endless dark void of the grass caught her attention, then glowing white dots far in that rustling vegetation.

There was a wild goat further to the left of their view, haggard and alone.

The wolves stalked closer, silent despite their numbers. The poor thing never had a clue.

She didn't see it well, but the sounds of tearing flesh and snarling had been enough to send Cleo running back inside for their mother, who welcomed them with open arms and a couple choice words.

"They'll always go for the weak one, Cleo. The oldest, the youngest, the lone, what have you. Which is why," and they remembered their mother grinning wide and squeezing them oddly tight in this moment. "people stick together. Creatures like that don't like it when you're too close to be torn from your group. If they had it their way, everyone would be alone and they'd be scared."

She'd stood up and set Cleo on her chair as she tended to the dying fire next to them, and little Cleo had spoken up.

"What if you are weak, mother? If you're.. alone, or hurt, or—"

Their mother cut them off.

"You make 'em think you're not. Bluff, lie, make yourself seem bigger, anything to make 'em think you're not weak. If you can do that, you certainly won't be."

..

The memory flashed before their eyes— and as they looked up at the hulking creature in front of her, alone and afraid, Cleo was sure that they were about to die.

But then? to their shock, it turned around and faced the vampires.

They need the others— they got to their feet and to their utter relief Martyn and Legs were close. Cleo quickly and furiously gestured for them to come over, the vampires all too distracted and dismayed at Pyro's sudden attacker to stop them.

Martyn's eyes were wide, his breath short and fast as he and Legs both stood next to them. "That's.. what the fuck is that?"

"I don't know. I— I've never seen anything like this before." Legs didn't look as shaken as Martyn, but Cleo could see the tremble in his hands clear as day. "There's got to be an explanation. There always is."

"Whatever it is, I.. don't think it wants us, look." Cleo turned to face the wolf again. It had its back turned against them— if Cleo was hopeful, they'd say it was almost like the beast was trying to hide them from sight— and its focus entirely on the four in front of it. They could hear a rumble building in its chest, see its stance change to something far more prepared for violence than when it'd stared at them.

Pyro was grumbling on the ground and clutching his neck as he got back up, the flayed muscles barely knitted back together compared to how the vampires had been shrugging off everything else with ease.

It turned back to look at her and she could've sworn she saw it relax for just a second at the sight of them and the other two, then tense once more as it looked over at the four in front of it, ears flat against its head.

The beast bared its fangs again and Cleo couldn't help but gape as they got a better look, the blood soaked teeth gritted in a snarl as it puffed itself up a little more and growled so loud they could feel the sound travel through ground and the very air around them, near everyone in the castle flinching back.

Then— time seemed to move in slow motion as Cleo watched the wolf lunged towards the four on its hind legs, wildly swinging with a paw and hitting Owen square on the face then quickly slumping back down to four legs and using its body to slam Shelby further from the humans behind it, towards the other end of the castle, it didn't seem to be doing this to hurt. It was doing it to keep them from Pyro.

They saw as it lunged to bite at Scott but crunched air as he transformed into a bat and skittered over to Pyro, turning back into his human form and helping him back to his feet just as he'd healed enough for the heavy bleeding to still.

It was caught off guard by an angry Owen leaping towards it and burying a knife into the creature's flank, an instant regret flashing through his face for the brief second Cleo could see it as the wolf bellowed out in pain and with both front paws slammed him onto the ground, a sick crunch joined by a shrill scream as it heaved all of its weight on him and kept pushing harder.

Pyro, now back on his feet (if still rather stumble-y in their opinion) drew an axe and ran towards the wolf, the sound of an ear-splitting roar muffled the slick thunk of the axe hitting the flesh of its shoulder and Owen's sigh of relief when the creature stopped crushing him as it barreled into Pyro— sending him once again into the wall but this time continuing to attack, slicing jagged lines down his arms with wickedly sharp claws and repeatedly slamming him into the hard stone.

"Do we—" Cleo didn't turn away from the scene, the violence transfixing them. "Should we.. help it?"

"No way!!" "Only if necessary." The intensity of their replies caught them off guard and Cleo got the feeling that they missed something important as the vampires shouted between eachother and drew their weapons.

Scott, Owen and Shelby all jumped onto the wolf's back and raised whatever they were holding into the air— The wolf snapped their head up to face Shelby, who was highest, Cleo saw her grip in the creature's fur along with her weapon slack and Shelby's mouth move as she uttered something they couldn't make out, with a look that Cleo would not describe as anything but despair as the other two shouted and plunged their silver weapons into the back of the wolf.

The sizzle of burnt fur and muscle flashed through the air and the rancid smell made Cleo gag on the spot, they felt their heart skip a beat as the beast wailed in pain and blood poured from the blistering wounds.

It bucked and struggled to some avail as a stunned Shelby was sent flying onto the floor, Scott soon joining her as the fur he held was torn out and he slammed onto the wooden ground next to Shelby with a grunt.

Despite all this Owen managed to keep hold, a vengeful grin spread across his face as he plunged his sword into its back again and again until it finally caught his arm with a claw and sent him smacking headfirst onto one of the rotten old chairs near Cleo and the other two, snarling and barking at the man as he struggled back upwards.

He turned to look at the three first, the wild bloodlust clear in his face as he took a step towards them that was quickly halted by the beast grabbing him tight and bodily throwing him the opposite direction— Cleo felt ill as she saw the wolf stand defensively in front of them despite the dozens of deep cuts scattered all over its back, and Owen's face lit up with realization.

They watched it falter for just a second at his expression then lean down ready to pounce and whilst it winced and more blood pooled on the ground, Cleo found their mind already made up as they snatched a broken chair leg and pulled out a knife.

"That's it. I'm not just standing around and doing nothing."

~~~

Owen moved first.

Pearl swiped at his head hard and didn't wait to see where he landed, getting on all fours and ramming Shelby as far as possible. She needs to keep them away from Pyro, he was out of the fight for the moment and she'd like to keep it that way.

Scott next, she lunged towards him and the thudd of nothing closing between her jaws threw Pearl off kilter just long enough for Scott to reach Pyro and help him back up.

No worry, she'd just—

Something sunk into her side, and it burnt.

She roared in agony and rose to her full height, the fear replaced with an all consuming rage at the sight of Owen with a knife digging into her flank that helped in ignoring the burn of silver as she slammed him to the ground with all her might, knife forgotten on the ground as her front paws dug into his shoulders and she felt his clavicles snap under the strain, heard his rough screaming.

A sound.

Footsteps, fast and joined by heavy breathing, she needs to stop it—

White hot pain rang through Pearl's shoulder and she didn't take a moment to think as she shrieked out and hit whatever caused it towards a wall, her snarl deepening and blood-soaked teeth aching for more as she faced Pyro, axe barely in hand as his head smacked against the cobble once more.

"FUCKING—" Owen yelped as he got back up, his bones slowly snapping back into place. "— WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO?!"

She was cutting at his arms, an axe wouldn't do much if his limbs are too mangled to hold them.

"I don't know— Shelby, you know the most about.. creatures, what is this weak to?" Scott hadn't been struck by her yet and he'd rather it stayed that way.

There's so much blood, both hers and his, the wall behind him is splattered in the stuff and Pyro'd long dropped the axe as Pearl unrelentingly tore at the man.

Shelby had been frozen the entire time, eyes wide and watery as she finally spoke. "Werewolf." ("You're kidding me.") "They're.. dangerous, but they transform back into a human when someone who cares for and trusts them says their name, and they're weak to silver. My father brought lots with him when he.."

"Perfect." Owen stared daggers at Pearl, already pulling out his sword and grinning as Scott followed suit. "You two— we get on its back so it can't reach us and we hit it hard at my signal."

"Very well." "…"

Pearl, of course, did not hear any of this.

She kept going, kept attacking, but for just a moment she stopped at the sight of Pyro's agonized face as he barely wheezed out a few croaky words. "please. please don't."

For just a second, she felt sense return to her as the coppery scent of his blood filled her nose.

"JUMP!!"

Pearl felt three thuds against her back and quickly snapped her head to see whatever it was but balked as she just barely came face to face with a terrified Shelby, silver knife in hand.

She was frozen in place as Shelby stared into her eyes with a rising fear, then searched further up her head and took a shuddering breath as she saw a red flower buried deep under thick brown fur.

"No." Shelby's voice was but a whisper, her eyes wide and tearful, face quickly draining of any colour that still remained.

Pearl felt her grip slack.

"It.. can't be." She'd never seen someone look so shellshocked in her life. "Pear—?

"NOW!"

Her back burst with pain so intense she thought that she'd died for a moment, screaming out so loud it hurt her ears as she felt her flesh blistering and splitting—

Blood was pouring out—

She bucked and twisted—

Shelby went flying—

Her eyes were brimmed with tears—

It hurt so much—

Something thudded to the floor—

She was screaming, screaming till her throat bled—

There was still something on her back—

It was stabbing at her again and again, she has to get it off her—

She wildly flailed and scrabbled at her own back—

Something caught on her claws and she yanked—

Owen went flying back into a chair and thunked onto the floor—

Pearl saw red as he got up and took a step towards her friends, adrenaline dulling the pain as she dug her claws into his flesh and threw him as hard as she could away from them, snarling and barking at him as threateningly as possible despite each movement filling her back and mind with that silver pain.

She looked at Owen and flinched back at the pure understanding spread across his face as he looked at Cleo, Martyn and Legs, then back to her.

He knew why she was fighting now, and that could be dangerous.

Pearl tried to repress another wince as he stared— Silver wounds didn't heal easy like this, not for her.

But unbeknownst to Owen she could feel the chunk of her shoulder the axe struck knitting itself back together, the new flesh itchy and burning as she found she could finally put weight on it again.

Perfect.

"So, Wolf." Owen looked calm, too calm. She'd soon change that. "I have to ask— why risk your neck for a couple of humans?" He looked back to the other vampires, all slumped on the ground because of her. "You've managed to do this, and if we keep going I think you could probably kill.. half of us?"

Pearl grunted and quirked her head slowly from side to side showing rippling muscle behind the fur, teeth not quite bared but still showing as she thought and fumed over his words.

"Hey." Cleo's voice was a whisper, far too low for a human to hear. "Twitch your ear twice if you understand me."

Luckily, Pearl was far from human right now.

She twitched her ear twice, and heard a triumphant exhale from them as Owen spoke again.

"But, you'd die doing it. You're alone, Wolf. This has nothing to do with you, so leave! You don't need to perish for the filth."

Pearl pretended to consider his words once more, but in reality she was listening intently to Cleo.

"Okay. I have a plan, Martyn and the Doc are in on it. Maybe. You need to distract this fucker, bring him close enough that he won't have time to react. Make a sound if you think you can do it."

A low growl worked its way out of her throat as she stared at Owen, who made a show of carefully handling the silver blade in hand as the vampire took a couple casual steps closer.

"You're fighting a pointless battle, one that can only end one way."

Closer.

"We just want to deal with these ones, we won't even kill them as long as they don't fight anymore!"

Closer..

He turned to look at the other vampires, looking over at Pyro, who'd barely healed from her attack, then Scott and Shelby— who were both still knelt on the floor and looking at the scene unfolding in front of them. "I'm.. sure these guys won't hold a grudge. We certainly won't stab you again, if you don't maul us!"

He's almost there.

"Come on," He's impatient, the frustration at a clear lack of response quickly getting to him. "I know you understand me— just nod or something."

Nearly..

Pearl chuffed and bared her teeth in the best impression of a smile she could give, letting her body relax as much as possible as she slo-owly nodded.

"Brilliant! If you just move to the side so we can have a word with these guys," Owen held his blade with a lot more lax, but it was still in hand. "You can go do.. whatever it is werewolves do somewhere else—

"Now!" NOW—

In a heartbeat she lunged forward and grabbed Owen's shoulders with an inhuman strength he couldn't hope to match, yanking him towards Cleo and feeling him suddenly freeze in place as he stared at her with shocked eyes, his back rather forcibly facing Cleo.

"What the hell—"

"I wouldn't move if I were you. This stake is rather sharp."

There was a pause, Scott and Shelby getting to their feet and approaching as close as they could whilst Pyro slowly got back up— his body coated in a mess of blood and viscera as it oh so slowly healed.

The Doc and Martyn were stood close to Cleo, each with a stake in hand and a hesitance stark compared to their own grim coldness.

Nobody moved.

Owen carefully cleared his throat and seemed to consider his situation, white hot anger that was simmering under his skin.

"So… what's stopping me from breaking free before you can strike and ripping your throat out?"

"Good question," and Pearl could see in their expression and the tensing of their arms as Cleo pushed the stake closer against his back.

"First, I think I could get this pretty far in before you kill me. Second," they gestured to Pearl, who snarled at Owen with crimson-stained canines. Then to Martyn, and though his hands were shaky there was a building resolve in his eyes. The Doctor wouldn't kill, but there was a deep hurt in his eye that told this was something personal. "I think they would slaughter you."

The small smirk that had spread across his face faltered just a bit.

"..Fair points."

Pearl could smell his blood, old and powerful as it was, running a little faster.

She wanted so dearly to tear him apart, to rip and bite— but the logical part of her that had survived the transformation knew that would be rather stupid.

"So." Cleo eyed the other three vampires and drew the stake back a little, their voice stern and unwavering. "Here's what's gonna happen, Owen." They drew a knife and used it to point in that direction. "You and them? You're all gonna back off and let us leave, or I take this stake and I kill you."

Owen didn't move, didn't give any sign he heard their threat.

Instead he turned and looked into Pearl's eyes, his red pupils boring into her reflective blue.

Looking for intent, for how hard she would fight.

He found it.

"..Fine." He forced a smile, fangs bared and rage filling every inch of his form as he held his hands in mock surrender. "You win. We'll leave you be for tonight, let you lick your wounds. Happy?"

"Oh, chuffed." Cleo deadpanned, before shoving him forward and towards Pearl.

She moved to the side, not taking her eyes off Owen as he slowly walked past.

He didn't look back.

Hissing curses under his breath, he made his way to the other vampires and with a few words Pearl didn't care to hear they all grouped up and started to move, Scott and Shelby— who turned back and stared at her with an expression that, shockingly, filled Pearl with such a guilt that she actually staggered back— helping Pyro stay upright.

She had to explain, had to tell Shelby — Pearl took a shuddering gasp of air and tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth was a pained and inhuman yowl that screamed of something important being lost.

Shelby stood there, stood until Pyro groaned, coughed up some blood and Scott gave her a pitying look before patting her on the back. "Come on, we have to keep this one from keeling over."

"..yeah. okay."

Shelby took one last look at Pearl's blood soaked form, and continued walking.

They both felt sickened.

~~~

"..Doc? What's wrong with it?"

Martyn's voice seemed to snap the Doc out of his shocked trance, and he took a look at it with a clinical focus that seemed to ground him.

"I heal people, not.. this. It'd be hard for me to tell unless we get somewhere safe." he turned to address the beast, looking into those wounded eyes. "We need to return to Oakhurst, tell the others what happened."

"We will, soon." Cleo sheathed their knife and stake without taking their eyes off the four in front, regarding them with more than a little disdain as they halted at the entrance to the crypt to talk amongst themselves.

The wolf was.. tense, to say the least. Their glare hadn't moved from the vampires since they'd started leaving, but there was something in the way they held theirself that spoke to Cleo.

It was in pain, so much pain. But it wouldn't let anybody see.

"Ah— Beast?" Scott had broken off from whatever conversation he'd held, and despite the distance between the groups Cleo could see the malice in his wide smile, the thrum of power that seemed to flow from every chosen word. "We're all adhering to this deal, but.." He paused, and made a show of looking up to the sky. "I do hope that you'll have the full moon to protect you the next time we meet. I think you might need it." He turned, and the vampires followed. The wolf was still.

"Wait—" Martyn frowned, pointing at the wolf then back at the other two. "Is. the wolf coming with us?"

"That.. hold on." Cleo gestured at Legs and Martyn to move back, then slowly got face to face with it— making sure to telegraph their every move well before they made it.

It seemed to relax at the sight of her, the blood covering most of its coat glistening in the moonlight and giving the beast an ethereal glow that took Cleo's breath away. They felt as frozen as they had the first time that they'd come face to face with it, but not from fear this time.

There was something familiar about them. A recognition prickling in the back of their mind that'd been easy to ignore until it was quite literally staring them in the face.

The way they tilted their head to the side as she frowned, a fond joy radiating from it despite everything that had happened.

Werewolf. That's what Shelby called them, right?

A human that transformed into a beast under the light of the moon. Mind warped and body twisted, but a human under the fur and claws.

Hang on a second. Pearl, she'd seemed to know something about them back in that crypt with Shelby and Drift. It felt so long ago now. They were glad she was safe at home.

Unless..

Unless she wasn't at home at all.

What if she was here, right here?

With hands stained crimson they held the wolf's head close and moved it down to level with them, barely noticing the baffled look on their friend's faces as they gingerly ran hands through the fur— and now they were back in Oakhurst, helping their bizzare roommate fish out dozens of twigs and chunks of bark after she'd somehow managed to climb a giant pine tree only to fall off moments later.

Cleo looked into their— into her eyes, and they finally saw it.

"Pearl?"

Then with a shuddering, human gasp, the wolf— Pearl, Pearl is here and she's a bloody werewolf?!— broke from their embrace and rose to her full height, looking up at the full moon with a palpable relief despite the countless wounds she'd gained.

And the sound of snapping began.

It was so fast that Cleo only just managed to keep from flinching back and hitting the ground, looking on in horror as Pearl's body jerked and twisted— the sound of bones breaking and shrinking as she hunched in on herself and whined in pain, claws digging deep in her palms as her hands cracked and drew back, her tail shrinking back into her body with a pop and pointed ears moving and shrinking across her skull with a nasty tearing sound.

"PEARL!—" Cleo darted back towards her only to be carefully held back by the Doc, who gestured at her and gently said "Don't. She's in pain, and might act without thinking." He paused, looking up at the figure in front of them. "Pearl wouldn't want to hurt you."

They opened their mouth to protest but the argument died on their tongue as they turned to face Pearl again, fangs bared and eyes tightly shut as she heaved for air. Her arms had both splintered and dislocated in quick succession, and her legs soon joined with ear-grating crunches as the bones shifted and changed.

~~~

Pearl looked up at the moon, reveling despite everything that'd happened.

It was going to hurt. She was far from finished hunting.

But for now, this felt.. alright.

She might even remember this time.

~~~

It went on for five more minutes, five minutes of nail biting torment as the three silently winced at the sounds until they finally ended. Cleo peeled their eyes open (when had they even closed them?) and saw a figure standing where the beast had been, familiar blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight as Pearl gave them all a weak smile.

"Uh.. hey, guys." Her voice was hoarse and weak, her body— still mostly covered with far shorter fur now— shook ever so slightly, and the blood coating most of her front was stark compared to the unstained half of her paled face. "I.. have no idea what just happened. And I think I've lost a lot of blood."

Nobody moved.

"Shit," She started, looking down with shock and devastation at her figure. "My clothes! They must be ruined out there—

"What the hell." Martyn's voice dripped with disbelief and he looked as though he was trying to read invisible ink. "I— seriously. What the hell??"

Pearl numbly shrugged, quickly stopping halfway as she yelped out in pain.

She slowly turned to Cleo, eyes now lidded and low. "Cleo.. I need you to hold me."

"What!?—" Incredulously they felt a warmth rush to their face that was thankfully hidden in the low light. "Hold you? Why??"

"I'm about to fall over."

"Shit—" Cleo practically fell over themself getting to Pearl as she started swaying on the spot, internally cursing that they were shorter than her as they wrapped her arm around their shoulder to keep her from collapsing.

The wounds hadn't stopped bleeding, dozens of nasty blistering stabs that must've hurt bad. "Doc, it's not good. Do you have any.. bandages? pain relief? Anything?"

Legs' demeanor changed to something frantic as he quickly rummaged through his bags, muttering under his breath with every item he looked over.

"I.. don't have much on me. Yarrow, a pot of honey, bandages— but nowhere near enough to deal with the damage she's sustained. I'll try and help the worst of it, but if we want to help her we need to get back to Oakhurst. Pearl," He addressed her directly, voice firm and hands steady. "I need you to sit down so I can treat your back. Cleo, please help her down and hold her still if needed."

"It's fine," Pearl's voice held humor but they saw a haziness in her eyes that told the blood loss was getting worse, though she seemed surprisingly grounded compared to how she should. "I healed weirdly fast, got whacked in the shoulder with an ax and now look!"

Cleo frowned at her words, but looking at the shoulder she was gesturing to showed a large chunk of what looked to be newly healed flesh where there should be a gigantic wound. How did they miss that?

"It doesn't matter! You can't feel it now but once all that adrenaline wears off you're gonna have a bad time, Pearl."

"Exactly. Now, sit on the floor so I can stop all of your blood from leaking out."

She looked as though she was going to try convince them against it more, but with a rather stern glare from Cleo she gave in— carefully leaning on them as the two sat cross-legged and face to face, Pearl's back to the Doc as he prepared. They had a feeling that the night's events were beginning to catch up to her.

"Oh, Martyn?" Legs turned to face him, rather awkwardly standing to the side as this went on. "I need you get something to keep her warm."

"Uh—" He jerked to life, eyes already darting around for a source of warmth. "Yeah— yes! I can do that. You can count on me, Doc."

Legs nodded, and as Martyn started rummaging around he muttered, "Though he needed something to do." then got to work.

The Doc started with carefully moving Pearl's hair (which was now unbraided and messy, Cleo noted) away from her back, leaving the dozens of burnt stabs exposed. Next the bandages were set below him as he took the yarrow and twisted hard, nodding to himself as it shredded and fell into the wrappings.

The pot of honey was swiftly cracked open— he took a large glob and smeared it over the yarrow and bandages, mixing and crushing it together for a few minutes until it took on whatever quality he needed.

"Pearl, take this and bite down on it at my word." Legs drew a stick from one of his satchels, holding it down and giving her an unreadable expression. "I'm afraid this'll hurt a fair bit."

She met his eye for a brief moment and groaned, whatever energy she had left making her anxiously fidget with the stick as she tensed and waited.

"Alright," He messed with the mixture one last time. "On the count of three. Are you ready?"

She didn't speak, but they both saw as she took a deep breath, put the stick between her teeth and nodded.

"One," Cleo gingerly took her hand in an effort to ease her mind, but soon found themself committing the feel of Pearl's hand in theirs to memory, firm and calloused— not dissimilar to their own.

"Two," She looked up from the ground and gave them a weak grin, squeezing their hand a little.

"Three." Cleo squeezed back.

"Now." Her face contorted in anguish and she bit down with a muffled yelp as Legs started applying the poultice with as much tenderness possible in a ruined castle, at night, after being attacked by vampires. Who had been their friends. Considering everything, Cleo reckoned he was doing a pretty good job coping.

They were quickly shaken out of that thought as Pearl gripped their hand tight enough that began to hurt, white knuckled and sweating as a few pained tears seeped out of her tightly shut eyes. It was hard to watch, but Cleo knew it'd be worse to look away.

Luckily, the Doc's.. okay at what he does. With a few muttered apologies he soon applied all of the poultice, wiping his hands on a rock and tearing bandages the right length. "Right. Pearl, I'm going to wrap these bandages around your back if that's okay with you?"

With a shuddering gasp for air she spat the stick out, opened her eyes and took a glance at Cleo— the relief in her eyes clear as she gave a tired smile. Then guilt as she looked at her hands and realized how hard she'd been squeezing, quickly let go (leaving them feeling.. dissapointed. hm.) and held her hands like they'd been as burnt as the rest of her. "Crap. I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"It's fine. Honestly." Cleo offered a smile of their own, worn down ever so much by.. everything. "I'm made of tougher stuff than that."

She snorted, and they all felt a little lighter.

"It's all good Doc, go ahead."

"You got it. Cleo, can you help me move her hair outta the way? There's.. a lot." Legs gestured towards all of it with a smile that they found odd.

"Oh— sure?"

"Perfect, just take as much as you can and.. keep it held up?"

Nodding, they went to bunch some up before pausing and staring at her. "This is okay, right? You don't mind me just.. grabbing a bunch of your hair?"

"Cleo," Pearl fixed them with the flattest stare they'd ever seen her give. "A minute ago three vampires jumped on my back and used it as a hold." She shot a playful smirk, bright despite the pain she must be in. "I won't mind. Honest."

"If you say so." As soft as possible they bunched up her hair, soon using both hands to hold back the tidal wave of brown locks.

Almost unconsciously they found themself studying Pearl's battered form, curiously musing over the fur that'd remained after the transformation. How long would it last, they wondered? Did it impede Legs' work at all? It was hard to say.

Anyway. He soon got to work applying the wrappings across Pearl, hissing in sympathy as he came across a blistered knife wound embedded in her side that he made sure to bandage securely, all of the poultice had been spent on her larger wounds.

"And.. we're done." The doc clapped his hands together in silent celebration, gesturing for Cleo to release her hair. "How does it feel, Pearl?"

"Hm.." She rolled her shoulders, wincing some but not nearly as much as before. They saw her look down at herself, face contorting into something deeply uneasy for just a moment before shifting back to that careful consideration. "Better. Though, heh, I guess it'd be hard to feel worse?"

The joke didn't quite land.

"Eh— guys?" Martyn poked from around the corner, his face stretched with a concern that seemed to ease just a little at the sight of the other three. "Phew. It's bloody spooky out here!" Cleo frowned a little at the fact he had nothing to use for warmth whatsoever, but that feeling quickly changed to surprise as he crouched down next to Pearl and, with a whoosh— removed his cape and clumsily drew it over her.

"Sorry, there's not exactly much for warming people up out here." He stood back up, anxiously peering all around with a shiver. "Bloody hell it's freezing— can we leave this horrible place already??"

Pearl looked down at the dark fabric draped over her with silent gratitude whilst Cleo smirked, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Huh. Are you sure you're a noble?"

"Yes— of course I am! ..Why, has anybody said anything??"

"Calm down Martyn, it was a joke."

"Oh. I, I knew that."

They all suddenly jerked in Legs' direction as he cleared his throat with emphasis and looked rather pointedly at the still injured Pearl. (who, Cleo saw, was forcibly holding back laughter at Martyn. It wasn't well hidden.) "Shall we head back now?"

"Right." Cleo felt the gravity of the situation hit them like a brick, quickly sobering and making direct eye contact with Pearl. "Do you need help walking?"

"Nah," With a heave she pulled herself up, ever so slightly wobbling on the spot as she met their gaze. "I'll be a-okay! Probably. I'm made of tough stuff, Cleo."

"I'll say."

And with that, they finally left the ruins. (Pearl lasted about 12 minutes before practically collapsing on an unsuspecting Legs.)

.

Walking. Cleo was sick of walking.

They'd been travelling down the path in awkward silence for what felt like hours, though the monotony had been cut off for a time when they'd come across the trail of destruction Pearl had left on her way to the castle, deep claw grooves in the earth and crushed vegetation where she'd ran.

They had found her clothes though, muddied and mostly untorn to her utter delight.

"Hey— Pearl?" Martyn perked up a little, curiosity sparking in his eyes as he started to speak. "I gotta ask. We've seen you use silver tools and stuff, how come it never burnt you like back in that castle?"

"I'm.. not sure?" Pearl looked conflicted. Very conflicted, like there was a particularly difficult puzzle that she couldn't figure how to fix. "That's— never happened before, I've never.. changed like that." She took a breath. "Right?"

"Huh.." Despite the growing concern in their chest, Cleo watched with amusement as Legs' face furrowed in frustration as he tried to find an explanation for.. literally everything beyond a simple 'Pearl is a werewolf.' They had a feeling it wasn't going well.

More time passed, and they fell back into that painful silence.

They were nearly back now, the canopy above parting and grassy fields coming into view.

Martyn whooped in celebration and ran into the field. Pearl soon hobbled after him and admired a sunflower for a moment, then tore it out of the ground and gave it to him with a wide smile ("For good luck! And your brain.").

Cleo felt a tug in their chest that was quickly ignored as Pearl yanked more of the flowers from the earth, jumping back over to them and passing everyone a sunflower for luck.

It felt nice.

But there was something they'd been ignoring.

"Pearl?" Cleo began, the change in their voice apparent enough that her, Legs and Martyn turned to look at them. "I think we need to talk about what happened."

She paused. Looked at the others, then back at Cleo. She looked tired. "I think.. you're right, Cleo. I don't even know where to start, though."

"First.." They faltered. What should they ask first?

"First," The Doc spoke up— looking to Cleo for a beat, and continuing once they nodded. "What is this? If it's something contagious, I need to know."

Pearl snorted a little. "It's not a disease, doc. Or— not a normal disease, I guess. It can spread through cuts and bites to humans, and.." She stopped, her eyes wide as some revelation hit her. "I think I know how this happened. I just.." Her voice broke a little. "I thought that it hadn't done anything to me."

"Okay…" Cleo could see the cogs whirring in his mind, dozens of questions and theories behind his eyes. "What is it then, Pearl? I can't believe it's werewolves, that's just.. Vampires are one thing, but that kind of transformation is.. it isn't possible." (Martyn frowned. "What about the whole turning into bats thing?". Legs' didn't answer.)

"Legs— my parents are werewolves. Right now, they're probably roaming the estate for prey. I'm being totally, one hundred percent honest— they're real. Just thought I wasn't one of them."

Legs sighed, but he didn't argue against it.

"My turn." Martyn pointed to himself with an authority that.. didn't quite land. "How did you know we were in trouble? I could've sworn you were all the way at your house before!"

"I'm kinda not sure?" Her brow furrowed, and Cleo found themself deeply interested in whatever she might say next. "It was a feeling. A really weird feeling, that kinda,, led me? I'm not sure, it's kinda stupid now I say it."

Cleo shook their head a little. "Considering everything else that happened, I think this is one of the.. less weird things?"

"Maybe."

"Anyway, my question now." They put a hand on her shoulder, and found that they finally knew what they wanted to ask. "Are you in control, when it happens?"

"I think so." She seemed to unconsciously lean into the touch, eyes low and dark as she spoke. "I have.. no idea what happened there. It's never, ever happened before— I'd remember something like that!" A pause. "Or not. It felt.. really familiar, the shifting. I think it might have happened before. It just didn't let me remember."

Pearl looked up at Cleo, and there was a sudden firmness to her. "I think I need to fight to keep myself when it happens. Hard. You guys, in danger? That was something I'd fight for. Even if it's.. re-eally painful."

"Huh." That.. whatever this was, it was as new to Pearl as it was to them. They had to be gentle. "It.. means a lot, that you'd do that for us. I think everyone else will be rather glad—

"No. Please." The insistence in her voice caught Cleo off guard, raw and desperate— proof that in the ways that mattered, she was still human. "You can't tell them, not yet."

All three of them looked at her with concern, but Cleo soon took it in stride and said "Uh.. right, sure. Why not?"

Pearl sighed, and she suddenly looked far older than she should— the shadows across her face long and sharp, the fur on her body finally gone to reveal countless bruises and cuts. "First off, I'd rather they didn't hear when I'm half dead. Jeez. Second,, Cleo. I'm a werewolf hunter. I can't.. I need to process this. And.. if we tell them, when we tell them, I won't exactlyy be lil' ol' Pearl to them anymore. At best, I'll be an upper hand against the vampires. At worst?"

She didn't finish. Cleo had a feeling they knew what it was.

"Okay." They spoke quietly, looking across to Martyn and the Doc. "We won't say anything until you're ready."

"Of course not. I won't tell anybody else about your… condition."

"Yeah! We could be a bit of a,, secret squad! it'll be brilliant." Martyn triumphantly held the sunflower up in front of the actual, now rising sun. "It can be a code, in case something.. werewolf-y happens?"

Pearl actually laughed when he said that— she winced a little at the tug against the bandages, but she let out a proper laugh and punched him on the shoulder. "Werewolf-y? That's brilliant, I'm stealing that."

The grin twisted to something a bit more genuine, her hands twisting and fidgeting as she gripped the sunflower a little tighter. "Thanks. I.. that's really nice of you guys. Think the blood loss is getting to my head, this is far too sweet for me. Annnd I'm seeing double. That's new."

Cleo sighed in exasperation at the casual tone in which she described the new symptom, but they made sure to walk along closer and prepare for another fall. "I swear you're gonna be the death of me. Thank god we're almost at Oakhurst."

"Uh.. you are here." The new voice took them off guard and Cleo looked up to see the tall wooden walls of Oakhurst, along with a rather baffled Abolish. They looked over at the Doc and at Martyn, all four of them had been so distracted in their conversation they hadn't noticed the town literally right in front of them at this point. "You guys look like hell. What happened, and… why is Pearl covered in blood wearing Martyn's cape?"

They all froze.

"It's,," Cleo scrambled for words, any excuse that'd explain Pearl's being with them, and her countless injuries. "A.. long story."

"I can tell."

~~~

Pearl was comfy.

Really comfy.

Her eyes were closed too, which was odd.

When on earth had that happened?

She furrowed her brow and tried to remember what'd brought her to this point, only for the memories of the last night to hit her like an avalanche. Her.. transformation, the following fight, it flashed through her mind and in a blink she was trying to get back up— the vampires had only promised the night, and god knows what time it was now—

"Holy CRAPP—" Her back sent a stabbing agony all over the second she went to sit, and Pearl was once again extremely aware of the beating she'd taken. Burning pain wracked her body and she had to fight the urge to scream, instead opting with watery eyes to try and take in her surroundings.

Pearl was home. All of the windows had been closed, leaving her in a low light that she could see through surprisingly well.

Another thing to process.

She, with far more care this time, managed to sit up and found that she'd been placed in a temporary bed. There was nobody else in sight, and a gnawing fear began to rise in her gut.

Suddenly— the door creaked open and just as Pearl's head was darting for any weapon in sight, she relaxed as Legundo quietly entered. And promptly fell over himself at the sight of her not laying down.

"I— you're AWAKE??" He rushed forward and carefully grabbed her by the shoulders, peering in close at her face and scanning her pupils, "Okay.. you don't have any lasting brain injuries. Hopefully. ("Hopefully??") Everyone's going to be glad you're okay, Cleo is outside right now. We thought you'd be sleeping for a lot longer."

Pearl found herself rather caught off guard. Her brain, still half asleep and completely baffled by the current events, decided on one thing and one thing only. Cleo was going to make far more sense than anybody else right now.

"Right.. I guess I'm just cool like that. How long have I been asleep?" Get the important stuff out of the way, then she can go find them. "Oh, and the vampires haven't poked their heads round any corners have they?" Her stomach rumbled. "OH! Do you have any food? I'm starving."

"Uh." Legs' seemed as confused as she was now, but he rolled with the punches. "You've been asleep about.. nine hours? It's the afternoon now. Nobody's seen any vampires, we think they're probably recuperating, and I do have some potatoes on me if you want them."

"Perfect!" She snatched one just as he started pulling them from his bag, biting down and groaning with delight at the starchy reward for the night before. "God, I needed this. Everyone's okay, right?"

He squinted at her, and Pearl felt a little uncomfortable under his eye.

"Everyone is fine. It's you we're worried about right now."

"Ah! Well, that's.. kind of you guys, but I'm a-okay. Sharp as ever!" She grinned, and took in a deep breath.

Then yelped and almost jumped out of her skin as Cleo walked in.

"Hey— sorry for interrupting whatever you're doing, Doc, just wanted to check— OH! Pearl. You're.. awake?"

The three remained in a painfully awkward silence, until Pearl's brain caught up and realised they were waiting for her to speak.

"That I am! How, uh, how are you?" Hm.. She'll blame that on the blood loss.

"I'm fine. Everybody is fine too, they wanted to know what'd happened to you— we told them you'd wondered out and got caught off guard by some wolves." They squinted at her a little, then over to the Doc, then to her again. "How are you? Seriously?"

"I'm fine, really." She stretched, admiring the new bandages wrapped all around her upper body. "My back still hurts pre-etty bad, but I've dealt with worse before. Honestly, it's feeling a lot better than I expected!"

She hadn't known how either of them would react, but the glance between Legs and Cleo wasn't what she had expected. It lasted a good few moments, and there was a shift in the air that nobody wanted to address.

"I. That's.. good?" He did not look like he thought it was good.

"..Yeah. We should talk about that later." Cleo shifted in place, and it was clear there was something they wanted to say. "However, there's two more pressing subjects."

Pearl found her interest growing as they strolled over to the containers and drew from one a familiar bit of clothing. "My dress!" She practically jumped for joy (Legs looked like he was a minute away from a heart attack at this point.) and looked to Cleo with pure gratitude.

"Ah—" They looked a little surprised at her reaction, but a smile soon grew at the corners of their mouth as they passed it to her. "I can't take all the credit. Abolish and Avid dealt with the fancy leather, I managed the shirt. Added a couple patterns, hope you don't mind."

"Don't mind?! Cleo, this is the coolest thing ever. I will treasure these cool patterns till the end of time." Holding it up, Pearl let out a giddy little sound that left her clutching her side in mild pain as she saw dozens of the same rose tied into her hair blooming from the former tears in her shirt.

"You're too kind. Uh— second thing, before I forget." They turned to Legs, a slightly apologetic expression painted across their face. "Doc, I'm afraid this is something I need to speak with Pearl about in private."

The Doc looked dead curious, but he relented. Just before he walked out, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't strain yourself from now on Pearl, supernatural healing or not— those will take time to scar."

"You got it, Doc! I.. appreciate you patching me up."

"Of course."

He closed the door, and there was a quiet.

"So." Cleo sat on the bed next to them, yawing some and rubbing a bruise on their knuckles. "I have a question."

"Okay. I might not have all your answers."

"That's fine." They took a deep breath, and Pearl couldn't help but copy them. "So.. You're not human."

She couldn't help but flinch. "I— maybe? It's.. so complicated, Cleo, I don't even know if I have transformed like that in the past."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," She was living through a memory as she spoke, the thrill fear of seeing her family as monsters— "My parents were turned some years ago. I decided to become a werewolf hunter, devote myself to avenge what was done to them."

The burn of her muscles after a hunt, the sticky red blood covering her hands. "I've killed a fair few, but it's always been tough. I.. had an idea. To gain an edge."

The burn of the liquid as it went down, the sickening copper taste. "A potion of sorts, full of all kinds of bits and bobs— the key ingredient being a werewolf's blood— to give me the strength of one and nothing more! At the time I thought it hadn't done anything, but now?"

She looked down at her hands, saw the blood trapped under her nails.

"Now, I guess I was wrong."

She looked up again and Cleo's face was rapt and focused, drinking in every bit of information they could. "Hm. Nothing wrong with not being human, Pearl. Just matters what you do, right? The choices you make. As long as you stick to the ones you'd choose, you'll be just fine. And…"

They paused.

She had a feeling that they were undergoing a bit of an internal struggle, a major decision playing out in front of them.

"I know more about it than you might think. Rather not get into it right now, though."

Pearl snorted a little, and bumped their shoulder.

"'slong as you're not gonna turn into a werewolf next full moon or kill me in my sleep, I'm cool with whatever."

"I'd never do that. Even if you slaughtered two thousand.. seven hundred and.. agh, whatever. Point is, I'll stick with you as long as you want me to."

"Guess you'll be sticking around a loong time, heh."

They both grinned.

"I guess I will."