Amid the warm, sordid summer, where stars twinkled above a crackling fireplace, a group of kids were gathered around the hot flames. Some were skittish, while others were boisterous as can be. But nobody was as reclusive as the person still hiding in their burrow, their ears twitching to every sound of their laughter.
"Mom, can you tell us that story again? We want to hear more about that giant deer!" the youngest asked.
"Hmph, they're more than just a "giant deer", Ezekiel. Show more respect," his older sister chastised, crossing her arms defiantly.
"Hey, Elise is bullying me again!" the former cried, as if said person jabbed a sandspur in his side.
"Now, now, your big sister is right. This deer has nurtured and guarded our haven for many generations. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to live a peaceful life since the war ended," their mother said, her face wrinkled with adulation. "But can someone be a dear and fetch Edward from upstairs? That child hardly comes out of his den."
"I'll do it! Just leave it to me," the middle child proclaimed, standing up. His loud steps followed as he climbed up a stack of cabinets, finding himself in the cottage's attic. Here, where the room faced the rising moon, sat a young boy at his work desk. Screws and springs were littered all across the table, where they framed numerous blueprints and sketches. With coarse, brown hair and glasses concealing their dark eyes, he turned to face the person now stepping inside.
"What is it?" Edward asked in a steeled tone. "Can't you see I'm busy right now?"
"Mom wants you to come downstairs for storytime. Besides, with you staying in your room all day, everyone's starting to get worried," his brother declared.
"Ha, and is that really any of your business? No one asked for your opinion, Emerson!" the bespectacled boy snapped, his teeth set in a growl.
"It's Easton, actually," the latter quipped back, his hands curling into shaky fists. "So you can't be bothered with remembering your siblings' names, huh."
"Close enough, you nutcase. Face it, there are way too many E's and kids in this family. The only person I care about is Big Brother, and that's putting it nicely," Edward scoffed. "Bet Erwin couldn't stand to be around featherbrained fools like you. I have more important things to do than to play house." With hunched shoulders, Edward continued scribbling on aging pieces of parchment, until someone clenched their teeth.
"I knew it. You're becoming more like those despicable creatures."
And the pencil clattered onto the desk.
For a while, Edward realized how strange the world's workings were. Not even the most intricate machine could compare to how peculiar this was—from the first time when he witnessed dawn. Before that, Edward was a normal ermine, a small creature whose face was cutely innocent, yet whose sinister trickery could slaughter any prey. Despite him and his family living in seclusion, many of the other animals remained wary of him. They would peer from their grottos, hide away in the tree hollows, and bade them from the shadows, cautiously watching his every move. Nevertheless, their stares couldn't stop the curious ermine from exploring far beyond his home.
But on his last rendezvous, when he watched the sun melt into the horizon, he felt an unusual sensation tingling throughout his skin. In the briefest moment, he saw his smooth fur escaping into the wind, his small paws becoming furless hands, and his size quickly growing in magnitude. Transforming his body into that of a human boy.
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To others, this might appear like a shapeshifting spell. But to the beholder, it was him trading his instincts for humanity at sunset, ripping and reshaping anything that made him an "animal". The process itself was excruciating, as if every vein was pulled out from under his skin and painstakingly sewn together into a new patchwork. As chills coarse through his spine, so too did the adrenaline. Pouring liquid flames over his ice-cold chest, letting it churn and curdle in anguish at having become something strangely different. Despite his pitiful, agonizing cries, the transformation repeated endlessly. It became a continuous cycle, where he became an animal by morning and back to a human by evening. Where each transformation was gradually more painful than the last.
This was the curse unique only to the Haven of Kismet, a forgotten forest at the edge of the world.
"Ha, and maybe you should take a look at the mirror first! You're living in the skin of those despicable creatures yourself!" Edward hissed, grabbing Easton by the shirt collar. "So what if I'm becoming more human?! It's better than playing pretend at sundown, especially when we're just two-legged monstrosities!" After shoving his brother against a mirror, a thousand shards shattered from the impact, becoming crystallized in crimson.
"And by daybreak, we'll become animals again, having our judgment clouded and only relying on what keeps us alive. Even if it means slaughtering anything and eating their raw insides out!" Blood drew from where he had bitten his lips, yet it didn't stop Edward from tightening his grip.
Swallowing thickly, he resolutely sneered, "That's why I'll be going to where Erwin went. To become what he called an 'inventor'. At least that's the only way for me to become civilized."
"B-But we all know what happened to him…" Easton coughed out, his hands struggling against his older brother's anguished hold. "H-He…got torn apart…by those creatures…" Before his body steadily slumped to the floor. "All that's left…is just his fur. You can't change…what's already happened," he weakly admitted.
"I–!" Biting back his tongue, Edward grimaced, his eyes squeezing shut. He didn't want to recall it. Didn't want to witness the headlines that sensationalized the royal inventor's sudden disappearance. And he surely didn't want to envision his own brother's skin wrapped around someone's crown.
Amid the rising silent tenseness, the sweat rolling down his skin, and bated, scornful breaths, there was the gentle sound of their mother's voice from downstairs, telling an age-old tale.
"Here in this haven, there's a story that every child should know."
"Because deep within this forest, where light pervades through the copper canopies, the brook gurgles through rainbow pebbles, and the wind whispers through the grove, lived a majestic deer—a towering beast that rivals that of the tallest tree, yet whose gentle steps soothe the earth. Its antlers were dressed in marigolds come summer, appearing like blossoming branches embracing the sun. Its fur was dusted in shimmering flecks of yellow, each one sparkling like stars at dusk. And when you stare into the liquid gold of its eyes, you would notice the endless trail of tears flowing from them."
"They were known as the Forest Keeper."
"Since the haven's founding, they have been a guardian and nurturer of the haven's inhabitants, ensuring their safety and protection. Where they walked, flowers grew in bountiful patches. When the sun sets, they become a brilliant light that guides those who've lost their way."
"Until the day–"
"–When the humans invaded," Edward solemnly finished, unclenching his shaky fist. Glancing down at his sweaty palms, he squeezed his eyes shut. "...They say this was a blessing bestowed by the Forest Keeper, allowing us to take vengeance by wearing human skin. But at the same time…" Peering at the mirror that lay fractured behind Easton's bleeding back, he saw his distraught face, mauled by bloodshot eyes and dark circles.
"...We're all monsters in our own right."