The Fall

Nova adjusted the strap of her pack, the forest stretching endlessly before them. The air in the valley they traveled through was humid and heavy, and as they walked, the faint chirping of birds offered a melody to their steady footsteps.

Nova studied Kael's back, her eyes tracing the defined lines of his shoulders and the way his shirt clung snugly to his frame, hinting at the muscles beneath. Faint scars etched into his arms caught the light when he moved, subtle reminders of battles fought and survived. His quiet strength was palpable, every step deliberate and sure, and Nova couldn't help but notice how her own smaller footprints seemed to disappear in the wake of his.

His scent lingered in the air around her—smoke and pine, with an underlying warmth of earth. It was grounding, steady, like everything else about him. There was a silent broodiness to Kael, an ease in the way he embraced the quiet. He didn't need to fill the space with idle conversation, and that comfort in stillness fascinated her. He seemed at peace with the solitude, even as it wrapped around them.

Nova's lips quirked slightly as she watched him. He wasn't trying to impress her, wasn't even aware of how her gaze lingered on him.

Her thoughts churned as the silence grew heavier between them. Finally, she broke it. "How much farther do you think it is?"

Kael slowed slightly, turning to glance at her. "Three days, maybe four," he said. "Depending on the terrain."

Nova let out a small sigh, adjusting the strap of her pack. "That's a lot of walking."

Kael smirked faintly, his gaze returning to the path ahead. "You'll get used to it."

Nova frowned, her brow furrowing. "It feels strange, being out here like this. Like we're walking into a place that exists outside of time."

Kael gave a soft chuckle, his gaze returning to the trail ahead. "That's because places like this are what's left of our world. Untouched, unclaimed. The kind of place where people like us can still exist."

The silence stretched between them again, but this time, Nova wasn't content to let it linger, longing to hear his voice, and to connect to this world they now shared. "What do you think it was like?" she asked suddenly. "You know, before… all of this. When we weren't hiding."

Kael's stride didn't falter, but his expression darkened slightly. "We were proud," he said after a moment. "Noble, even. We ruled over vast territories, offering protection to those within our borders. Humans feared us, yes, but they also respected us. We were guardians, leaders. We had purpose."

Nova's chest tightened at the weight in his voice. "What happened?"

"Humans happened," Kael replied bitterly. "We underestimated their ambition, their greed. They were always advancing—weaponry, tactics, numbers. And with each step forward, they became more dangerous."

Nova frowned, her pace slowing slightly. "But why would they turn on us? If we were offering protection, wouldn't that make us allies?"

Kael's laugh was short and humorless. "You'd think so. But humans… they crave control. They don't like sharing power, especially not with something stronger than them. It didn't matter that we kept their borders safe or fought back the things that hunted them in the night. What mattered was that we posed a threat to their dominance."

Nova's chest tightened at his words. "So they turned on us?"

Kael nodded, his gaze darkening. "At first, it was subtle—discontent, distrust. Then it became open hostility. They spread lies, stoked fear, turned the people against us. And when they had their armies ready, they came for us."

She frowned, her footsteps slowing. "And we didn't fight back?"

"Some did," Kael admitted. "But the elders… the old ones… they were afraid. They thought it was better to disappear, to let ourselves become myths and legends. They thought if we stepped into the shadows, humans would leave us alone."

"But they didn't forget," Nova said softly, her heart aching at the thought.

"No," Kael said bitterly. They wanted to make sure we could never rise again. They sent hunters after us, men who were trained to track us down and destroy us. And we let them. We let them kill our kind, burn our villages, desecrate our sacred places. We let them reduce us to whispers and shadows."

Nova clenched her fists, anger bubbling to the surface. Nova's heart ached at his words, the weight of history pressing down on her. "That is so wrong! Why didn't anyone stop them?"

Kael glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "Fear is a powerful thing. The elders got their wish, we became nothing more than legend. The histories are still taught, only now we breed fear in our young as well."

"That doesn't make it right," she said firmly. "We were strong once. Why can't we be strong again?"

Kael paused, turning to face her. "Strength isn't enough. We've lost something—unity, purpose. Without it, we're just individuals trying to survive."

Nova met his gaze, her golden eyes burning with determination. "Then we find it again. We bring our people back together."

He studied her for a long moment, an unreadable expression crossing his face. Finally, he spoke, his voice low. "You sound like you're trying to start a revolution."

"Maybe that's what we need," she said softly, her resolve unshaken.

Kael gave a smile, though it was tinged with sadness. "You're ridiculously optimistic."

"And you've given up," she scoffed, frowning slightly.

Kael's gaze grew distant. "It's hard not to Nova, we're so scattered. There are still packs out there, hidden in remote places, but they're a shadow of what they once were. Our laws keep us from drawing attention, from retaliating. It's survival, but it's not living."

Nova walked in silence for a moment, her mind racing. She had always thought of werewolves as predators, creatures to be feared. But hearing Kael's story, she saw them in a new light. They weren't monsters—they were survivors, clinging to the edges of a world that had turned against them.

"We shouldn't have let it happen," Kael said quietly, his voice thick with anger and regret. "We should have fought back, shown them that we weren't to be trifled with. But instead, we let ourselves be hunted, our pride stripped away piece by piece."

They continued on, the conversation lingering in Nova's mind. She couldn't help but imagine the kind of places Kael had mentioned—hidden enclaves in the northern forests, the depths of the Amazon, Alaska, perhaps even in the labyrinthine catacombs of Europe. There could be more of them out there than they knew. For the first time in her life, she felt a flicker of belonging, a sense that she wasn't alone.

"These are my people," she said quietly, more to herself than to Kael. "I don't know why, but I feel it. Like I was meant to be here."

Kael glanced at her, his expression softening. "You are," he said simply. "You belong here."

Nova smiled faintly, the weight of his words settling over her like a warm blanket. She didn't have answers yet, but she felt like she was on the right path.

Kael's words hung heavy in the air as they continued their journey, the forest closing in around them like a living, breathing entity. Nova's thoughts swirled, the pieces of their story slotting into place alongside her own questions and fears. She didn't know what the future held, but one thing was clear: she wasn't going to let herself be a shadow.