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The smell of grass after the rain, a comforting scent that always manages to make me feel calmer.
My eyes scan the surroundings: thin, tall trees extending high as if trying to catch the sun, green grass mixed with lavender, and other colorful flowers intoxicating the air with their fragrance.
The place feels carefully crafted, or at least changed to feel like it. Herbs were planted on all sides of the house, gently being touched and hugged by the cool wind.
On the far side, there is a dining area open to the nature with a campfire in the middle, surrounded by chairs. And looking at the cabin, I see signs of aging.
Moss decorates the inclined rooftop, making the building not stand out much from the forest, like it's part of its ecosystem.
I see Colette and Yui entering the cabin. Dalia stands by my side, studying the expression on my face with amusement.
"Wow." The only words I manage to get off my chest before looking at Dalia, seeing the smile on her face,.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She says, nudging her shoulder on mine, prompting me to slowly walk with her towards the cabin.
I nod my head. "You really built it?" A grin comes to my face, my shoulder playfully bumping into hers.
Dalia's sweet laugh escapes her as she stops walking, making me stop as well and look at her. I watch as she looks at the herbs around us—clearly something she planted as they are all lined up carefully.
"I remember little about the reason why I did it, but it was my home for a long time before the agency." Her voice rings with memories and mixed feelings.
My hand naturally falls to her shoulder, and she puts hers on top of mine, guiding my fingers to her cheek. Her eyes are now closed, and her chest is rising up calmly.
After a few seconds of being in this little world of ours, Yui shouts something we can't hear, making us walk towards the house to check.
"This place has too much dust!" Yui states angrily, coughing in a cloud of dust that can be seen in the air as they appear to have thrown themselves at the sofa without checking first.
Dalia walks to them, gently slapping Yui's back so they can cough properly.
"Strange." Dalia starts looking around, looking for something she doesn't find. "She should still be working..."
"Someone else lives here?" I ask curiously, making Dalia look at me with a half smile.
"Yes and no," Dalia gestures for me to follow as she continues her search. "It's a malfunctioned spirit, one of the first projects I worked on."
Walking around the house, I see that three doors separate the rooms, but one of them seems to lead downstairs, to a basement of sorts, where we go.
Getting down, we find a dark room, neatly cleaned, with only some spots having dust, with a silhouette sitting on the far end, back resting against the wall.
Dalia flicks a switch, making the light bulb in the room turn on, and as the light reaches the figure, I see that it looks like a human.
A white porcelain face paired with a carefully tied up white hair, a black goth Victorian dress making its pale features stand out, old knee-high lace-up boots protecting its feet, and a fingerless washed dark red glove with flowery patterns sewn to its material.
"Why do you call her 'malfunctioned'?" My question is met with a sigh from Dalia.
"It's because it's hard to craft something like a human soul." She kneels near the doll and starts to analyze her. "And most times, when someone tries to do it, they end up with a soul that isn't human."
"But in her case, she is the closest thing to a human I could make; she only needs maintenance from time to time." Dalia's voice holds a clear affection for the doll, almost a childish type of love.
I knell beside her, gently cleaning the dust from the doll's shoulder. "Is there something I can help with?"
Dalia opens her mouth. I notice that she is about to decline my offer, so I put a hand on her shoulder, making her remember that I'm on her side.
With a sigh, her lips soften into a smile. "Can you open her dress for me?"
I nod and comply, watching as Dalia's hands tap on the doll's chest, opening a small hidden hole, and grabbing from the center of her featureless chest a white flower.
Dalia starts muttering some words, and the flower starts to react. A small glow in the center starts to appear, making the flower seem more and more lively.
After she's done, she returns the flower back to the doll, helping me close the dress before getting up to her feet, and I do the same.
Looking at the doll, I start thinking nothing will happen, but as I turn to ask Dalia, the doll's eyes open, revealing the same gray tone as Dalia's.
The doll starts looking around her before her eyes fall on me. She extends her left hand to me, and without hesitating, I grab it, helping her get up.
She looks at my face; her curious hand starts to trace my face; and after a few seconds, her eyes fall on Dalia.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to check on you for so long," Dalia says, to which the doll bows her head.
Dalia continues. "This is Olivia, a 'friend' of mine." The way she looks at me before saying friend, I guess it will be something to be discussed later. "And we have guests upstairs too."
The doll, who is still finding support in my form, nods her head at me before taking a step away.
Dalia gestures for us to go upstairs, and so we do, with the doll grabbing a broom behind the door and following right behind.
Time: 10:26
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"We will leave now," Dalia says from the chair, looking at me with a smile. On her hand is a piece of paper with a number on it, which she puts on the table, sliding it for me. "Call me if anything happens, okay?"
Apparently, our 'free' time isn't as free as I thought. The agency has sent some little inconveniences to be dealt with by our unit, but as they are minor things, two will suffice.
Dalia walks to leave the house before noticing Yui lying flat still on the now-cleaned sofa, the sounds coming from their phone belonging to a game.
Without mercy, Dalia strides towards Yui, grabbing their ear and pulling them out of the house, the last sound being heard of them being a scream accompanying an apology.
Colette looks at the door, her feet tapping the floor on a tight rhythm. After some seconds, her eyes fall on me, nodding her head.
Well, she did say that she needed my help; guess this is the time then. Colette rises from the chair, pointing to the door before leaving the house.
A sigh escapes my throat. This is going to be one of those days.
The forest around us beams with life and colors; animals all avoid us, running away from our sight. But they appear to be more afraid of Colette than me, like she's the predator.
"Want to give me some context before we start?" I ask, matching her fast pace so I can be by her side.
"I need your help tracking someone." Colette's words end with an unwanted growl; whoever it is she's looking for, they must have some story.
I figure it's best not to ask who it is; after all, I don't want to push her.
"Well, if you have some clues, we can start now."
Colette shakes her head, stopping her feet as soon as we reach the place she wants to. An abandoned village hidden deep in the forest, all around us old, worn-out houses standing up still only by luck.
Claw cuts mark a pair of trees with a layer of ropes tied up around them, like an improvised punching bag.
"This is it." Colette's hands linger on the stone wall of a house, my eyes focus on it, making me spot a burnt part of the wood that once was the roof and that now fills the inside of the house.
By instinct, I start moving, my feet guiding me to find clues, but as I do, I feel my world upside down.
Colette grabs my arm and throws me back easily, making me fall to the dirt path and grass. The air in my lungs escapes.
I look at Colette, trying to understand why she did that.
"First we train, and before the sun goes down, we investigate." She really likes to take on the role of a military woman, huh?
Without complaining further, I get up, readying myself for a fight.
Time passes, and I think I can understand a little more about Colette. I start hitting some punches and dodging hers more often than not, but as soon as she notices that I'm learning, she ups her game.
Her punches became stronger and faster, bringing some sweat to my forehead.
"You're not looking at the right places," Colette sighs. "Looking at my hands will lead you nowhere."
Colette says, demonstrating why, by faking a punch, she makes me raise my hand to block it, only to be met with a punch in my shoulder.
I take a step back with the punch, and I take a deep breath, concentrating on her eyes and seeing where she's looking.
My chest is where her gaze stays, scanning my shoulders.
An idea comes to mind: I approach her, and as she raises her guard, I raise my guard on my chest to draw her punch to my face, and she does it.
But before her punch lands, I duck, hitting a punch on her stomach before jumping back.
"Good, you're learning." Colette smiles—a rare sight and generally one that means danger.
Her punches start to get stronger and stronger, to the point that every time I defend, I feel that she can break my bones if I'm not careful. Her smile becoming a poor excuse to show her sharp teeth, a growl slowly growing in her throat.
Colette's style of fighting becomes more animalistic, and before I notice, she jumps, grabbing my shoulder and driving me to the grass below. Her eyes burning yellow, and her teeth being dangerously close to my shoulder.
My hands travel to her chest, trying to push her away, but her weight overpowers me easily.
Burning sharp pain, her teeth sink on my shoulder, making me kick my legs in the hope of getting her off me, but to no avail.
I raise my hand, connecting a punch to her nose. That seems to have worked; Colette falls to my side, and I quickly get up, blood falling from my shoulder to the dirt.
As my eyes go back to Colette, I watch as her body twitches, her bones breaking and changing, her form becoming familiar, not human.
A wolf stares back at me, its glowing yellow eyes stalking my face, blood tinting its teeth. A loud howl escapes the beast before it runs away, leaving me with unanswered questions and a painful wound.
Flamma flies towards me from the tree she was resting on; it appears that my pain woke her up.
"What happened?" She asks frantically, her tiny hands touching my wound. "You okay?"
I nod my head. "I'm fine, but I don't know about Colette." Luckily, the bite was not deep enough to be fatal.
"She just... got excited with the fight and became that thing."
Flamma, listening to my words, looks at the sky that's quickly turning dark, giving life to the night. Her eyes focused on the barely visible full moon, hiding behind a cloud.
"It's not surprising; the red moon is tomorrow," Flamma says with a shake of her head and a sigh.
Tomorrow? Why didn't anyone tell me that?
As I walk to follow 'Colette', Flamma taps my cheek to stop me. "Leave the girl; she will need some time to calm down. And it's best not to risk another wound."
"You sure? Cause I don't want to leave her like that." I say, my words filled with worry. I never thought I would worry about her like this.
Flamma nods her head. "If you go now, you'll only worsen her situation."
Well, fuck.
I look around. What will I do now? Just go home and sit on the sofa till she gets back?
My eyes fall on the houses; maybe I should occupy my head for a while before going back.
Most of the houses are impossible to enter; they have too much debris inside, blocking the doors and windows.
But one of them seems safe to explore, and without thinking much, I open its door, meeting the smell of dust inside.
A simple house, only one floor, a kitchen and dining room filled with broken plates and cups that house the floor, making me glad I came with my boots, a cut from those things, and a thousand ways to die.
Walking inside, I see the house doesn't have much; most furniture is old and broken, but one thing calls my attention: a mark of mud on the floor, making its way to a half-open room.
Grabbing my phone, I turn on the flashlight as the sun finally gives up to the moon. The ray of light from my phone gives me enough courage to enter the room, and once inside, I see two beds, each at one end of the room.
The place looks like a kid's room, as the beds are small and the furniture seems to have legs cut low enough for a child to reach the top.
Strangely, some parts of the floor have dark spots, like a liquid was dropped and left a stain that the wood absorbed. Approaching the light on the stain, I spit on the wood before rubbing my finger on it. The dried-up powder mixing with the water reveals a color that only belongs to one thing.
Blood—really old blood.
Back at the house
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I decided that after what happened, it would be good to call Dalia; she told me to come immediately back, and here we are.
On the other side of the sofa, Dalia sighs before taking a long sip of her tea while I explain what happened.
The training, the village, and Colette losing control and becoming a wolf in front of me.
"It's a good thing she didn't hurt you badly," Dalia says, rubbing her temples. "Just please keep in mind that she didn't mean to do it."
"I know," I put my hand on Dalia's shoulders, my action bringing a small smile to her face. "And besides, it wasn't that bad."
"Kinky." Yui smugs at me, suddenly popping out of behind the sofa, the cramped, dark small space that doesn't even make sense for them to be.
"I meant to say it was not enough to rip a part of me off, so that's a win." I correct Yui, and their smug only brightens before a forced furrow appears on their face.
"Lucky her." With those words, Yui returns to the darkness behind the sofa, and the muffled sounds of a game on their phone return.
Ignoring Yui's comment, as usual, I look around, noticing one of the doors tightly closed and a trail of dirt being cleaned by the doll.
I sink my back into the soft sofa cushion, a troublesome expression taking over my face. "I wanted to talk with her."
"Just give her some time," Dalia says, putting her head on my shoulder, the strands of her hair smelling of herbs and sweet pastries. "Tomorrow will be a hard day for her."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Why so?" I ask as Dalia's tone seems to imply something more than just the red moon.
Dalia looks up at the ceiling. "Even if Colette doesn't say, she hates to feel like a monster, to be feared, to be scared."
"And we can't be near her while she's chained," Dalia says as she looks at the heavy bag they bought, a sad light glimmering in her eyes. "Even restrained, she may bite."
Silence takes over the room, and when the clock strikes nine, we all walk to our rooms to sleep, once again me sharing one with Dalia.
Early Morning
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I leave the bed before Dalia can wake up; the thoughts have stolen my sleep, making me wake up at night a lot.
Walking to the door, the doll approaches me with one of the hoodies I bought with me. Good, it's better to use one that doesn't have a bitehole in it.
"Thank you," I grab the hoodie with her, and I start putting it on. I feel something I haven't felt for some time. The doll helps me put on the hoodie, reminding me of how Tina used to help me too.
I shake the memories away. I need to work.
"You have a name?" I ask her, calling her 'doll' isn't really practical or human, and even if she may be a failed one, I feel the need to respect her as one.
The doll shakes her head. "Can I give you one then? Just so I don't have to call you 'doll'." I ask, and she seems to freeze for a moment. Something in her eyes, in the way they shine after my question, makes me realize something.
I don't know why Dalia didn't give her one, but she seems to really want a name... Well, I don't see why not do it.
Taking a closer look at her, I try to see something in her that I could name her after.
My eyes see her up and down, and something comes into my view: dirt on her boots. The herbs and flowers outside—is she the one who takes care of them?
"What about Flora?"
Closing her eyes, Flora takes my hand and brings my hand close to her chest, where that flower core of hers is, and she seems to wait for me to do something, but I don't know what.
"Flora?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. This is getting strange quickly. "Is everything okay?"
Flora opens her eyes, nodding her head, and to my surprise, when she lets go of my hand, I notice something I hadn't before.
Yellow roses on her hair—were they there before? I guess they must have been, or else I would have seen her putting them on.
"I'll be going then; see you later, Flora."
Flora waves me goodbye before closing the door. This world is just a box of surprises.
A laugh makes me almost jolt in surprise. Flamma appears from the top of my head with a smile. I don't know if I should be concerned that I don't even notice when she's with me, but I only notice when she isn't.
"I wasn't expecting you to do something like this," Flamma says it with a grin.
With clear confusion on my face, I ask. "Do what? Name the girl."
"You don't know?" Flamma climbs down to my shoulder and looks at the garden. "Just don't think much of it; just another action of yours that proves that I was right about you."
My mind pushes me to ask more, but I decided better not to; I'll probably learn later anyway.
Back at the hidden village, I enter that same house from yesterday. Now that the place isn't dark, it is not as unsettling as before.
My feet guide me back to that kid's room; besides the blood, there must be something else here, a clue to what I'm looking for and to what Colette wants to find.
"Something has been here not long ago," Flamma states, bringing my attention to her.
"You sure?" I ask, looking around for clues.
Flamma nods. "The place has a smell of a supernatural." She takes in a deep breath, her eyes traveling to one of the beds. "They took a nap there."
I approach the bed, letting Flamma fly over to it and have a better chance to catch the scent. "And not this one time; this person has done this for years."
Looking around again, the room really looks cleaner than the rest of the house, and the furniture isn't broken here.
On the floor, I see that the blood I saw yesterday is still there, and something else too—a mark I didn't get to see because of the darkness.
An X, and having a better look at this specific plank, the nails have been ripped off; as they say, X marks the spot.
I use my nails to grab its sides and pull it up. A hole in the dirt beneath it is revealed, and on it is a wooden box.
I take it and lay the box on the bed. "Do you think it's safe to open it?" Flamma asks, climbing the box and walking on top of it.
Using my fingertip, I give her a head pat. "If it wasn't, you would have been the first to know."
Flamma seems to understand what I mean, quickly jumping away from the box and flying back to my shoulder.
Deciding it's best to kill two birds with one stone, I put the queen's box next to it, opening it first. The smell of honey and citric fruits hits me.
Vines wrap around an item, hidden inside a clean cloth. Taking the item from the wrappings, I see a broken sword; the blade smells of lemon; and on the cloth are traces of rust that seem to have been cleaned from it.
But not all of it. On the guard, I see markings of what seems to be a name, illegible by its condition; I can only make out the last two letters, UR.
My heart shrinks, sadness crawls my skin, the feeling of blood in my hands and the fire of a battlefield, red locks of my hair hide most of my vision, but I feel like I'm crying.
Flamma claps her hands, making me come back to reality, with tears climbing down my eyes and a feeling of wrongness in my heart.
"Everything okay?" Flamma asks with genuine worry, making me nod my head.
"Yeah,"
She opens her mouth to talk. I feel what she will say: 'It doesn't look like it.', but why do I feel it more now?
My grip on the sword handle tightens, and I put it on the belt of my jeans before opening the other box.
A piece of paper and an old necklace seem to be its contents. I pocket the necklace on my hoodie and focus on the paper.
'Colette,
After so long, you came for me, but you shouldn't have.
I don't want to see you; don't you know this already?
This is all YOUR fault, and you still decide to come seeking me, and for what?
To make me remember? suffer?. All of the village...
DON"T come for me anymore; this is your first and last warning.'
The pieces are starting to finally make sense; family issues are what seem to be the thing here.
Makes sense why she didn't want to tell anyone.
I'll need some more evidence, but for now, it's best to get back and rest for the day.
But first, I'll train a little; it's better to do it so when Colette is back to normal we can resume it.
Back at the house
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Sweat runs down the side of my face and falls to the ground. My hands move towards grabbing the knob of the front door, but as I do, the door opens.
Flora bows at me, holding in her hands a wet towel and a glass of water. How did she know I was near? And what state would I be in?
Without having the energy to think more, I smile at her, grabbing both the water and towel and walking inside.
My feet thank me for sitting on the chair; the burning sensation in my muscles slowly calms down.
Drinking the water, I feel the cool liquid take away the dryness that rested there a moment ago. The towel helps as well, and I use it to wipe the sweat away from my face.
Looking around, Colette's door is still closed, and Dalia and Yui are nowhere to be seen, probably in the city.
I start forcing myself to think about what I discovered, and without noticing, my eyes close, my body declining my own will.
Sleep claims me; the last thing I feel before completely turning off is someone putting a cover on me.
Hours later
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The feeling of someone nudging my shoulder makes me wake up. A yawn escapes my mouth as I slowly open my eyes, adjusting them to the light in the living room.
"Listen." Colette orders as she puts the bag with the chains on her shoulder. "Dalia and Yui aren't coming tonight, meaning I'll need your help to chain me, and after that, you lock the door to your room and go to sleep."
"Got it?" Colette asks, grabbing my shoulder and putting me on my feet. Her nails are long, and by just a little, she manages to not cut me with them. Her eyes glow yellow, and her teeth stand sharp and ready.
She's acting a lot more forcefully than usual, but still, I nod my head and let her pull me around, best to not say anything right now.
In the basement, she throws the bag on the floor; the loud sound of the chains hitting the ground hurts my ear slightly, and looking at Colette, she puts her hand in my pocket, making me stumble away.
My phone, she takes it and looks at the time. "Fifteen minutes." My phone is thrown back at me. I'm glad my reflexes are still sharp, because otherwise, with the force she threw, it would have been broken for sure.
Finally, the chains are revealed: heavy silver.
Colette sits on the floor, and on the wall, two metal pipes are what I'll have to secure the chains to, and so I start binding her hands, legs, and, to finish, her torso.
"Tell me if it's too tight." I say, looking at her for an answer.
"If it isn't, it will not work." Colette answers, avoiding my eyes as I finally put the lock on. Now, she's fully locked and unable to get up or bite me. "You can go now."
Shaking my head, I sit next to her. The feeling of the cold chains against my shoulder is unsettling; I can't imagine how she's feeling.
"What are you doing?" Colette asks, growling loudly at me, but before she can say anything more, I show her the letter I got from the house, holding it in front of her so she can read it.
Some seconds go by of silence, Colette's shoulder tenses, and I see the sadness behind her glowing yellow iris.
"I know it isn't the best time, but I just wanted to show you if anything happens tonight," I say, putting the letter back in my pocket. "Want to talk about it?"
Colette's eyes travel to the ceiling; she clicks her tongue and side-eyes me. "Talk will solve nothing."
"Maybe." I start playing with my fingers, forcing a small smile on my face. "But it's not about how it can solve something; this is about how you feel."
...
"It's not as easy as you think, talking," Colette says with a heavy groan.
I maintain a small smile on my face, and I try to approach the subject as gently as possible. "So let's start easy. What are you feeling right now?"
"I am angry," Colette says. "But unlike you, I don't have the luxury of showing it without being called a monster.
Without someone taking it as proof that I need to be put down like a rabid dog, that I'm just like what the stories tell you."
"But everyone gets angry; that's human." I state this, earning a stare from Colette.
"Up until the point when you're not human."
Tiredness climbs my eyes once again. Was this talk enough to wear me out? I feel like my energies are being drawn out of me.
"I don't think you're a monster." My head falls to Colette's shoulder, the woman tenses at the contact, and as darkness swells up my vision, I let out one last whisper.
"And even if you hate me, I'll still like you..."
Colette POV
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What did she just say?
I must have heard her wrong, and even if I heard right, she didn't mean them; it was just mumblings from a tired woman.
The fae appears from the detective's hair, an angry expression on her face. "Dammit, that doll takes too much energy."
"Hey, you need to get the detective out o-" Before I can finish talking, the fae flies away, little bitch.
This way, I'll end up hurting the detective; she's way too close to be safe.
Moonlight reflects on the floor, coming from a tiny window on top of the wall.
Slowly, but surely, it turns red. I fight against the restraints; screams escape my mouth as I try to make the fae come back, or at least the doll maid, or anyone who can take the detective away from me.
The voices get louder, and the moon barks like a mad dog, forcing me to the edge of my mind, trying to take control of my body.
And for a moment, it does. I try closing my eyes, not wanting to watch what I'm about to do, but it's impossible; my body isn't mine anymore.
The transformation happens within seconds—the feeling of thick layers of fur covering my body, the change in form, the insatiable hunger for blood.
My body wiggles on the chain, and without much effort, it slid off them; the detective didn't tighten them enough.
The detective's body slides till her head comes to rest on the ground, and my sharp teeth start to get impatient. My vision is on her; the delicate features of her face—she looks just like Camille; sometimes I can't even tell them apart, which makes things harder and harder.
I push the memories away. I feel my mouth open, ready to bite her neck and finish the prey.
But something holds me back... Am I?
I try forcing my body to take a step back, and slowly it does, even as it still tries to walk forward.
A fight starts in my mind, but I feel it. Slowly, I regain some control, but just how long can I fight it?
Far into the night, sometime close to sunrise.
Dalia POV
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"You need to stop worrying; the detective is probably fine." Yui says, and I know they are right, but I have a feeling in my chest that says otherwise.
Until Olivia appeared, I never felt this anxious. It's not the first blood moon Colette has gone through, but I know very well the danger.
"This job from yesterday was my last." Yui states with a tired sigh, having to walk faster to keep by my side. "I'll enjoy the rest of the week in bed, so you will have to find someone else to help you."
"I'll see what I can do." I say to shut them up for now, even if I don't mean those words.
The house finally comes into view. I rush to the door, opening it, and quickly walking inside. Taking off my shoes in a hurry, I run to the basement. The red moon doesn't last long, and today was no different, almost an hour in duration.
As I descend the stairs, I feel my heart stop beating. Neither Olivia nor Colette are here; the chains lay flat on the floor, along with Colette's ragged clothing.
"Oh no, no, no, no." Rushing back up, I almost trip on the stairs. Yui, who is preparing to sleep on the sofa, looks at me, watching the expression of anxiety on my face.
Yui raises an eyebrow. "Geez, you're scaring me here. You're acting as if Colette escaped or something."
"Which she didn't, right?" The dry laugh of Yui slowly dies down as my silence becomes an obvious answer. "Oh, shit. Let's search the rooms."
I nod, rushing alongside them, but our feet stop as we notice claw marks on the low part of the door leading to Colette's room.
My hands lay on the handle, my mind preparing itself for the bloodshed waiting on the other side, and my eyes close as I push the door open.
Some seconds of silence go by. I wait for Yui's reaction, as I don't want to see it.
"Shit," Yui voices sound like they are... grinning? "Now that's hot, I'm not gonna lie."
I open my eyes as Yui's words make zero sense, and looking inside the room, two figures seem to be lying in the bed.
A naked Colette hugging Olivia's back...
"Oh boy, that's going to be fun to watch." Yui says, leaning on the door frame.
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