The Wild Within

The fire crackled softly in the quiet shack, its flickering light casting dancing shadows on the dirt walls. Nova lay curled near the edge of the room, her golden eyes half-closed as she watched the man sit down beside the flames. His movements were slow and deliberate, almost cautious, as if he were trying not to disturb the fragile balance between them.

He leaned forward, adding a small piece of wood to the fire before settling back. The silence between them stretched, heavy but not uncomfortable. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, almost a murmur, as though sharing a secret meant for her ears alone.

"You ever feel a little out of place in the world?" he asked, his amber eyes reflecting the firelight. "Like you're different?"

Nova's ears twitched, but she didn't move. Her gaze remained fixed on him, wary but curious.

He continued, his tone steady. "Our kind... we come from the deep. The dark. Some say we were cursed, others say we were chosen. Depends on who you ask." He glanced at her, gauging her reaction before continuing. "What's certain is that we're not like them. Humans. We're stronger, faster, and we live longer—sometimes much longer. But power like that doesn't come without a price."

The words hung in the air, and Nova felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold outside. She shifted slightly, her body still coiled with tension but unable to look away from him.

"A long time ago," he said, his voice taking on a storytelling cadence, "there were whispers about us—about what we were. Some believed we were born from the union of beasts and men, others thought we were touched by gods, or demons. What's true is that we've always been feared. And hunted."

He paused, staring into the fire as though seeing something far away. "When the humans found out about us, they didn't see us as cursed or chosen. They saw us as monsters. And maybe they were right." His voice softened, a trace of something almost like regret threading through his words. "We did what we had to do to survive. Some of it wasn't pretty."

Nova's tail flicked involuntarily, her ears pinning back as she absorbed his words. The crackling fire filled the silence as she tried to process what he was telling her. It was too much, too fast, but the weight of it settled in her chest like a stone.

"That's your bloodline," he said finally, his gaze shifting back to her. "That's what's inside you. Whether you want it or not."

For a moment, she thought she saw something in his eyes—a flicker of remorse, or perhaps pity. She bared her teeth slightly, unsure if it was meant to comfort or warn her. He was right about one thing though, she had never felt quite right around others. Since she was young, other children had always steered clear from her, even when her parents went out of their way to throw awkward birthday parties to try to help her make friends. She stared back into his eyes, not wanting to appear weak before him.

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I don't expect you to trust me, not yet. But you should know this: the world out there isn't kind to our kind. If you're going to survive, you need to learn who you are, what you are."

Nova's eyes narrowed, her growl low and uncertain. She wanted to reject his words, to push him away, but something deeper—the same thing that had stirred when she first saw her reflection in the stream—told her to listen.

He rose to his feet, his shadow stretching across the room as he moved toward the door. "I'll be back," he said simply, his voice fading into the night. "Think about what I said."

Nova watched him go, the wooden door creaking shut behind him. The fire crackled on, filling the empty space he left behind. She lay still, her thoughts swirling like leaves caught in a storm. The deep, dark place he spoke of felt both distant and disturbingly close, like an echo she couldn't escape.

Her breathing slowed as she stared into the flames, the flickering light calming her as it danced around. She sighed, realizing she didn't have much of a choice. Any more time on her own, and she might not have survived. She needed help, and whether his intentions were pure or not, she would have to take a leap of faith.