The trees were full and blistering in the wind.
Two children played in the dappled sunlight—Ren and Lyra—lost in the kind of laughter that makes the world feel unbreakable.
In their bedrooms, shelves lined with small, intricate gifts: things they made for each other. Things they held above all else.
Time passed, and neither noticed. Day turned to dusk. Then night.
From far in the distance, a voice echoed through the trees.
Lyra heard it first.
Her ears twitched. She froze—then quickly covered her ears and tail.
No words. No movement. No breath. Just silence between them.
Then Ren's name.
Called again. Sharper. Closer.
He didn't move. Didn't answer.
Until the man appeared.
His father.
Ren took a step back without meaning to. His father's shadow stretched across them both.
A moment passed. Then the man scoffed.
"Can't believe you even managed to find a friend."
He grabbed Ren's wrist—tight—and began dragging him away.
Ren looked back, just once. Eyes wide. Wet. Tears fighting to fall.
Then, as if ashamed of even that, he looked forward again. And walked on his own.
---
Lyra stood frozen, ears twitching against the night.
But she'd seen it. The fear in his eyes. The kind you can't fake. The kind you don't forget.
---
"Father!" she cried, bursting through the front door. "I need your help!"
Her father looked up from the table.
"I made a friend," she gasped, breathless. "A human boy. And he's—he's in trouble. Please, we have to help him!"
His expression darkened instantly.
Her brother stepped forward."Humans are disgusting. Evil. Vile. Don't let one trick you just because of your age."
But before her father could reply, her mother stepped in—calm, quiet. She placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"Look at her."
And he did. Not just her face. Her eyes.
Something ancient burned in them. Something real.
He took a breath. "…Are you sure?"
She nodded.
---
The next moment, she was on his back.
He ran. Full speed. Trees flying past in streaks. Lyra's arms wrapped around his neck, whispering directions between sobs.
"Up ahead… left… that window—that one."
She'd been there before. Hidden in the shadows. But now she led him to the light.
He rose silently to the windowsill, And looked in.
What he saw made his stomach turn.
---
He placed Lyra down behind a tree. "Stay here."
Then he climbed back up. Broke the window. And tore the man inside apart.
---
Later, Ren trembled in the corner—silent, hollow-eyed.
The father knelt before him. Pulled him gently into his arms.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered."I'm so, so sorry…"
Ren didn't move. Didn't cry. Just… existed.
Until the man's voice broke again: "…You're coming home."