Fenrir: Dawn Rising (Part 1)

"What?...Luna, sure you do...You know who you are, you're just learning...-more- of who you are..." Looking to Terra for her support, he asked, "Right?"

"I don't know..." Luna shook her head, depressed.

"Luna..." Terra said. "If... This life. Knowing, what you are. A vampire. If you'd prefer to be "normal"... I can do that." The tigress almost hesitated with her offer.

"Wait... what?" Luna asked in disbelief.

"Just like before, I can change your memories... Make it so none of this ever happened, for either of you. You could go back to living, just the way you were, if you want..."

Ris' eyes widened slightly. She can't be serious...or could she?

But no matter which option the fox may have wanted, it wasn't up to him...

Turning to Luna, he waited, his tail anxiously flicking from side to side.

"B-but..." Luna was in a slight shock, comprehending the magnitude of the decision she was about to make... "Wait a minute! You still can't change me from being a vampire, you'd just erase my memories of it," Luna said, almost as a excuse.

"Fenrir can fix that. I don't know how, but it would probably involve purging your vampire blood with magic or... something," Terra replied.

"Oh..." Luna said, her ears drooping.

Do... do I want to? I could be, normal... completely. No more voices, just normal me...

Ris was totally for Luna no longer being a vampire and forgetting all about him, but then a thought struck him. Painfully.

'If...If Luna goes back...then it's all a secret again...Everything she's come to understand today will be gone...'

But...

Luna took a brief glance at Ris, hoping not to make eye contact.

That still doesn't change him then, and it'll go back to him keeping it a secret from me. Do I really want that?

"The choice is yours, honey," Terra said, finishing fixing the wound in her shoulder, making her much more pleasant. As she stood up, she said, "I don't want to try to influence you, but I'd hate to see you go, dear."

"Luna..." Ris hesitantly began, glancing up at the lynx before again looking towards the ground. "If it means anything...I...still love you just the way you are now...If I know one thing for sure, it's that the memories we've made together are real."

"Do you love me any differently, Ris?" Luna asked, turning to him with her troubled eyes.

With a small grin, he replied, "As long as you never attack me like that again."

"I can't make any promises, but that wasn't the answer I was looking for," Luna replied with the same humor, happy to know that it hasn't changed.

After waiting another minute or so, his grin slowly fading, the Arctic Fox quietly asked, "Luna...what will you do?"

"W-well..." Luna started.

Terra anxiously hung on every word. C'mon, Luna... Don't do this to me.

"It's great that I finally learned who I am, who my parents are. And now the voices are gone, and I just feel more at peace with myself... And you and I, we're so much more open with each other now, and I can imagine how much a relief it is, now that you don't have to keep that a secret anymore."

"On the other hand... I loved my life before all of this. And I could go back, but better than ever... Just, completely normal..."

Luna thought long and hard. Her tail flicking idly as her ears were flattened against her head as she weighed her decision.

...

A simple hug. Terra's eyes went wide as Luna's arms came around her. Wha... What does this mean?... Is this...


... good-bye?

Ris was wondering the exact same thing as Terra. Did that mean Luna was saying her goodbyes now, or was she embracing her new life? He hated the suspense of it all.

Luna's answer rang indefinitely in Terra's ears. "I-I'm sorry... M-mom."

N-no... Terra didn't... couldn't believe it. She tightly wrapped her arms back around the lynx. No, no, no! Luna, don't put me through this again! I can't bare another moment without you in my life!

The distraught mother clenched tightly onto her daughter, shaking her head softly. Ris could see that Terra was on the verge of crying.

Is this how it all ends?...

She's just going to... pack up and leave.

She won't even... remember me... at all...

The vulpine's heart sank. He was so ruthless earlier about Luna becoming a vampire, so determined to keep her normal and pay Fenrir back for what he had done...but now he wanted Luna just the way she was.

It wasn't fair...

"I'm sorry for all the pain you went through, to keep me safe, to at least, give me the taste of what a mortal life would be like," Luna said. "And I'm sorry I haven't been calling you "mom"... Mom."

Terra's ears shot up instantly. "L-luna, does this mean?..."

The lynx smiled a teary smile up at her mother. "Yes! I want to stay."

"Oh... Luna!" Terra wore the biggest smile she ever had. For a moment, she forgot about everything else in her life, only focusing on one of the greatest feelings of love she's ever felt. Her child accepting her for the first time, right here, right in her arms. "Luna, I love you so much..." Terra said between soft cries. "You're never going to regret this, and you made me a very happy mother."

Ris' ears perked up at the news as well. Luna wasn't going to change back! She wasn't going to forget everything they had! She was going to stay here after all!

...But...he didn't want her to stay.

"Luna, when you say that...You don't mean stay here in the castle...do you?"

Both feline's ears perked. Not wanting to break the hug yet, Luna just simply replied, "I... I don't know yet, Ris..."

"Right..." Ris mumbled, his ears and tail slowly drooping again. "W-Well...Tell me when you decide...'kay?"

"Ris, don't put any pressure on her," Terra half-growled. "And if she learns, vampires -can- teleport, you know."

At that, the fox couldn't help but throw a glare Terra's way. 'They -can- teleport...That doesn't mean they will...'

"I'll be happy with any decision you make, hun," Terra told her daughter, smiling down at her.

Luna returned the smile. "Okay... Mom."

"Well, I think your father could use some cheering up, too," Terra mentioned. "Up to you, Ris. Wanna go talk to daddy?

Crossing his arms over his chest, he said with just a titch of annoyance in his voice, "First off, Fenrir's not "daddy" to me, even if he might be to Luna." With a flick of his tail, he continued. "Second...can you guarantee he won't try to kill me again while we're talking?"

"After an apology like that? Doubtful. He's still mellowing out right now, anyway," Terra replied.

"Again, this is just like the case with you, Terra. Fenrir only apologized because he thought he had hurt Luna. He doesn't give a crap about me."