Hunter for Liberty

"Goodnight sweethearts!" I heard as this woman tucked me and the girl's little sister in their respective beds. The woman? no, not my real mom but, in this dream she is and I am the little sister's big sister and I don't know maybe she is my mom and I am really this girl I just can't be sure because the faces, their faces were all blurred! Not so much that I can't tell changes of facial expressions but blurred enough that I can't really identify who they actually are. All members of the Pack live in pretty little houses with so much space to run on the forest grounds outside. I have been in this place too many times, different scenes, people and scenario. That's how I know things about this girl and her pack. After successfully tucking the little sister in she moved to the girl's bed where I am at the moment and fixed the sides of her/my supposedly thick baby pink fur blanket so the cold wind won't freeze her/me in her/my sleep. The girl and her family, they live in the northern part of the world and I did too just, not so much now. North Frostfields is the most magnificent place ever! I am sure of that, even though I haven't been anywhere else, I mentally and involuntarily noted to myself. Her thoughts maybe, not actually mine although it's so confusing cause this dream or nightmare feels like a memory most times hers alone, sometimes I feel like it's my own especially because I agree that North Frostfields used to be most wonderful place in the world. Could I be the little sister? but it doesn't make sense. I am well aware that I am not and was never in an only child situation. I have a sister yes, but never an older one, in-fact I am the eldest daughter of our parents. My head is hurting again from all this unanswered questions, might as well act the part, save myself from the creeps and energy it would take to act like I'm the girl while simultaneously thinking about how I am not actually her and that I am an entirely different person heck, even my name is different from hers. My name is Liberty with a capital letter "L" so I guess lights, camera, action! take 1000!!!! I smiled as I felt the mom's soft kiss on my forehead. She's the sweetest, coolest and ultimately the prettiest mom of all! I looked at her then to the younger sister opposite my bed and we said, "We love you and Dad Forever and more!" in unison like always. The mom giggled then raised one eyebrow while smiling with her head slightly turned to the side as she looks at us, as if saying, wait for it... The Little sister beat me to it and began begging for the mom to tell us our favorite bedtime story. So, our night routine truly begun with the mom turning the main light to our room off as the little sister and I simultaneously turned our bedside lamps to a dim one. I waited with anticipation as the mom settled on the edge of the little sister's bed. I could feel my chest warming lightly out of excitement, the occasional blows of wind coming through the open window making the curtains dance with its silent humming. The faint crackling that the fireplace makes every once in a while, the faint breathing coming from us and the little sister's twinkling eyes and wide smile waiting for the mom to start talking. The mom started to tell us the story of Lykos, the first man cursed with a beast within. I felt so lucky to have a softhearted awesome mom despite the fact that we aren't normal beings because, Lykos was the first of our kind. A man with two faces, a mix of human and wild animal. I haven't met my wolf yet as I am not of age to acquire one yet and neither does my little sister because she was three years younger than I am. I heard an exaggerated gasp from my sister and my eyes rolled at that. "What happened?" she asked bewildered as if she doesn't know yet, I shook my head thinking I was her once. That even if I heard the story one to many times before, I still listened attentively and asked questions that I know the answers to just because my sister is listening too. The story doesn't go out of style that way. "What did Lykos do Momma?" she asked with her big doe eyes widely looking at mom. I heard mom giggled at my sister's reaction and then turned to me so I raised both my eyebrows so that my eyes would open as wide as my little sister's and I said "Momma tell us!". My mom laughed a bit at my not so natural reaction. I slowly peaked at my little sister and she’s still in her perky wide-eyed self whose wide smile slowly graced her lips satisfied by my reaction as she turned towards mom’s direction. "Yeah, tell us, tell us!" she enthusiastically said bouncing a little on her bed. Well, that was close. She almost caught me not listening, I thought to myself and like my little sister I focused my attention on mom who continued with the story. "Yes!" my little sister exclaimed and I frowned, this was not her usual reaction when mom would tell us this part of the story. It’s where Nyx's Consort, Demeteus the god of Dark and Underworld cursed Lykos to be part-human-part-beast. I looked at my mom but she still has a smile on her lips as she looks at my sister. "You liked that he cursed Lykos?" I asked bewilderment lacing my tone. How could she like it? it was evil, it made Lykos sad, hurt and different from his usual hero self. He was the best warrior on the palace he belonged to and that stupid God made him like himself, a monster! "Wha-" she started with a frown on her face. We heard a knock on the door and knew exactly who it was, the only male in the family. Dad looked at us with an apologetic smile. It's fine though he couldn't have left the bonfire earlier even if he wanted to. Some men from the neighboring pack visited us and we welcomed them merrily but, the men stayed with them for a while longer to drink and bond and tell stories of their "heroism" to one another. Maybe them being males, most might have stolen a few spot lights to tell their own instead. "Dad! hurry, we're still in the best part!" my little sister exclaimed pointing on my bed, showing Dad where he could sit and he followed her instruction which puts a smile to all of us as he walked so quietly in his tip toes. when he settled down, I sat on his lap and he engulfed me with his warmth as he mouthed a soundless "I love you forever and more sweet Cassidy" to- apparently, Cassidy, "my little sister" who smiled at us. this is feeling more real the more I get zapped in here, listening to lore, being hugged by a father and a mother when mine were long gone and this room... is feeling more familiar than ever and it is scaring the shit out of me. Am I fucking Coraline? "SOOO..." Cassidy said dragging the long "O" sound. she looked at me in the eye and in all seriousness said, "Nope, I don't like that he was cursed." I raised an eyebrow at that because that was totally not how she reacted earlier. "But I like that the curse made him closer to Nyx." she said and I frowned once again. How was he closer to her when he isolated himself after slaughtering an entire village out of rage and hatred because of what he had become? Let's not forget that his most loyal comrades were dragged into it as well. "No, it didn't." I said with finality. I felt my dad slightly tightened his embrace unto me. "Yes, it did! Lustre helped him right Dad?" she said asking dad to help her strengthen her argument and I rolled my eyes. Not fair! "Yes, he did princess. Lustre, the God of Light and Miracle toned Demeteus' curse towards Lykos down a bit by giving him phases for his newly acquired persona. He will be in his human self if he still remained to be the old him, the hero and good man that he was." Dad said "Well yes, but he still has the second phase!" I exclaimed and crossed my arms around my chest. It really pisses me off that he was cursed by a god who was the consort of the Goddess he fell in-love together with and then another God who became that Goddess' husband "Helped" him slightly, like can’t you be more generous and fully help a man in need? "If he really wanted to help Lykos, why didn't he just make him human again?" NO, he did not return Lykos to his own usual self because he knows that the Goddess will not accept any of them Gods anymore if he did because, maybe then, Lykos will not feel so undeserving of the Goddess anymore if he became the good man, the protector and hero Lykos again. "Well, everything happens for a reason right mom?" she asked mom this time. Ugh! such a baby. We saw mom nodded but did not say anything. "Maybe he is still not as powerful as Demeteus because he was just a celestial warrior promoted to be the God of Light and Miracle." my dad said, looking skeptically at me then my sister with his head angled sideways to the left, brows scrunched together while his thumb and point finger lightly brushes his chin. Then he looked at mom after a while saying "What do you think mom?" Mom chuckled raising her shoulders up as if she's not sure. I love my mom she doesn't take sides! But I still love Dad as well, he loves us so much... "Yes! plus, he made Lykos change into his Wolf Phase, I'm calling it wolf phase because Dad have it and he’s not a beast and a monster." she said with finality and I smiled at that, good point sis! "So..." she paused and we waited patiently for her to form the right words she wanted to say, my sister is only five and she already argues like this. Such a smart brat she is but I love it because she's awesome! "Uh..." she said again. "I mean Lustre made Lykos change into wolf phase only when it's Full moon, for as long as he still adores the moon because Nyx is the Goddess of Night and Dreams." she said looking at us one by one probably waiting for us to absorb what she's saying, cutie! "From everyday half-human-half-wolf to that, isn't it better already?" she said and I nodded. Well, when you put it like that... she gulped a lot of air, mom moved to make her sit on her lap as well and hugged her like how dad is hugging me. "Lustre gave him a "Mate" too, so he can still admire Nyx from a far without a broken heart anymore..." she trailed off hugging mom as she stood and buried her head into mom's neck hiding it from all of us. We all laughed and right there I understood what she meant. Mom cleared her throat asked us if she should continue with the story and just like that the story yet again had more depth than before and I thanked my smart-ass sister for that, I won't tell her though. When the story ended, Dad closed the door to the terrace outside our room as mom tucked us in for the last time tonight. We live in two story simple cabins, the whole pack has their own cabin per family and it's the northern part of the world where it always snows so there is no need for aircon nor refrigerator, believe me when I say that. We sleep with a few windows open as our own version of aircon, there are days when we close them all off, when there's storm of course but on normal days or nights like this we leave some open. I know some thinks does it not freeze you up at midnight or early morning hours? nope. Dad makes sure we sleep peacefully. He already follows a routine making sure the hearth doesn't lose the fire keeping us warm through out every night for as long as I can remember. Mom and Dad kissed us both on each side of our cheeks, we wished everyone goodnight and after we said "I love you forever and more" to one another they left us to sleep in their room. I looked at my sister on her bed and saw her looking at me. I was shocked, I thought she was sleeping already. "Avery, are you mad?" she asked so softly that I almost did not hear it. I frowned and got up on my bed to go to hers. Great, so my character has a name. It's apparently Avery with a capital "A" and not Coraline. "What? no, I am not mad Cassidy." I said looking at her. "Why do you think that?" I asked. "We argued." she said her cheeks turning pink. "I was not fighting with you I just want to say what I thought..." she trailed off and I deadpanned at her and she gasped. She has this comical expression to her face like she did something bad. Silly. I chuckled softly and climbed up her bed, she wasn't moving so I rolled my eye. I take it back she's a dummy! I opened my arms wide and finally she got it! She stood up and tackled me with a hug which I returned and we fell together bouncing lightly on her bed. I tucked us in and decided to sleep on her bed, why are younger siblings so adorable? "No harm done princess..." I said softy. She hugged me again and I started to lightly tap her ass to shush her to sleep. Nope. Not singing her a Lullaby. "You're the best sister..." she said softly as sleep slowly took over her and I kissed her hair then closed my own eyes. Hearing the words echo in my mind. "Best sister" like a broken record getting louder each time it surfaces. "Hey!!!" I heard some one screaming somewhere and it is getting louder each time, so much so that it dims the echoes of "Best sister" now. "Heeeeey!!! comeback!!!" the loud calling said again but this time... it's so loud it is shaking this world, this dream I am at as if the very vivid room, fire place and blankets were evaporating into smokes all the while the entire room is shaking like it's the end of the world earthquake or something.... "NNN-" "Noooo!" I shouted falling into the blackhole that suddenly appeared under my bed. -SSSSPLAAAAASHHHHH! "What the-" "-Glad you're awake" Chaste whisper yelled. "What is wrong with you???" I asked mainly annoyed, slightly bewildered and a tad bit shaken from the nightmarish dream. "You missy, were screaming like some exorcised cow! and the royal hunter is close by! lower your voice will you?" She whisper yelled again looking utterly irritated and scared. With her past mate tragedy still hunting us all, who wouldn't be scared? "Now, I am just- soaking wet, happy?" I asked sarcastically. " Where are we?" I asked looking around us. "In a cave or something... just across the water falls-" She trailed off closing her eyes when a faint growl was heard from outside. "How long have I been out?" I whisper asked. "Not long, but you were humming and then you just started pacing in your sleep then I was shaking you to wake you up and you started screaming" She quietly replied. "When do you think they'll leave?" I asked her referring to the Royal Huntsmen outside. "I don't know, they just got here." She answered back peering outside trying to look through the thick gush of water that acts like a curtain over the cave's opening. The falls is like a door to the cave's opening. "Nice hideout, how'd you get us here?" I asked amazed at the place, not that it's picturesque and fairytale-like and all it's just that it's SAFE. The water masks not only our location but our scents as well. "See that tree?" She pointed at the tree trunk on the right side of the cave entrance with protruding roots, which i did not notice earlier. "Your loot got stuck in one of those roots while we were violently thrown here and there due to the wild rush of water and I held on to it and threaded towards its direction... and I reached it, saw this cave, I looked for you and took you here. That's how." She narrated partly shaken and proud that she managed to save us. "yeah, suck not being able to shift and run away when in other's company." I said angry at the past, the goddess, how not being able to shift was a matter of choice and not. It was a forced choice we had to take to keep our location and identity from those murderers out to get our blood. "What's important is we're safe now and they can't see us. We can wait till day break, hopefully they would have left or until you're dried out before we go." She said looking at me for concurence. "Yeah, why can't we just go home now?" I asked feeling the chills creeping in my bones. Guess with adrenaline gone, it's clear to see we're not totally safe here. it's hidden yes, but there's no heat or light aside from the moonlight dimly reflected by the water plus it doesn't help that there's this dark, and colder god knows how vast / deep premise of this cave which I won't dare explore in this state. "Uhm.. you're soaking wet? If I take you there now, how can you explain faith why we're both different levels wet and why you're palms are bleeding? cause if you haven't noticed yet, you're palms have been bleeding and is now soaking the third change of improvised cloth gauze from my favorite shirt? "Right, early morning it is..." I answered quietly. Shoot, damn that human weasel Gary for betraying us and trying to steal our loot as if he's in any match to us even if we don't shift. Well, not that he knows we're werewolves anyways. "Liberty, five last loots and were done with Eddie and his gang alright?" Chaste asked sternly demanding agreement. "Yes, five last loots and we're done." I answered back. Fuck these devils! Devil moon Goddess, Devil Alphas, Devil Royal Huntsmen and EVIL DRUG LORD Eddie. At least with Eddie we can always take him and his fellow human pawns down if we wanted or needed to. "Get some sleep. I'll take watch." I told Chaste as I have only now noticed how tense and exhausted she looks. She's all dried up now, guess I was out for quite some time... Since I am still very wet... I decided to walk around to generate