Blue Moon

She's not here either, pup. Talen grounded his teeth slightly as the beast showed him the scent trails. Nothing of Valeriana. The other half sighed.

We have to try somewhere else. We need to... Talen was getting anxious. It had been a week since he lost Valeriana and a week since the witch subjected him to the curse.

Sun is coming up, pup. We need to head back. Talen knew that he should listen, but it had been over a week of searching while in his other form. And there was nothing to show for it. As soon as Talen got back, he would be ordered around again. Talen sighed in his mind and looked to the horizon.

Fine. The beast shrugged its shoulders.

As the light slowly started to show against the dark sky, lighting the world in vibrant hues of crimson, the beast started to run. Talen wasn't sure what the witch would do if she found out that he and his beast were looking for Valeriana.

With no luck. The beast started to slow down as it neared the house, just past the trees.

Pup, why not give up on it? We are not going to find her. Another doubt that plagued his mind. And his other hlaf kept serving the doubt on him.

I have to try. The beast snarled, probably exasperated, but Talen ignored it.

The beast stopped a few feet into the lawn as the sun hit them both. A howl broke from the beast as they started the painful transformation. Talen, for once, didn't want the pain to stop. Even though, he could barely feel it as it were. Maybe because he really wasn't up for what he would have to do, or maybe his own mind registered that he was at fault for Valeriana's kidnapping. Whatever it was, it kept eating at him. He didn't even realize he had finished transforming till he was kneeling in the grass, staring at the house in a daze.

Pp, we need to get moving... Talen sighed softly and slowly stood up from his kneeling position.

He started toward the house, looking at it disgustedly. His own home had become his prison once again. He stepped inside and slammed the door.

"Ah. We're home." THe singson voice of the witch started to trail down the stairs. Talen barely looked up. "Have an air around you today. What's wrong Valorin?"

Talen said nothing as she came over to him and tilted his head up. She was using the glamour again to look like Valeriana, her hair grey still from her other form. How sickening in Talen's stomach that she would take on the girl's form.

"Fruitless endeavor, ain't it?" The witch gave a cruel smile. Talen stayed silent as the anger boiled in his chest. He stared right in her eyes, hoping all the hatred would be evident in his eyes. "Aw. How mean we are to the witch."

"A pot calling a kettle black, I see." That's about the time that the witch's eyebrows furrowed and her eyes turned to fire. Quite literally.

"I'd watch your tongue, Valorin." Talen narrowed his eyes. His own nerves were starting to wear thin.

"It has been a long run, and you won't do anything to me, beside the contract. I do not know why you are even dealing with me in the first place? Don't you have other poor souls to curse or something?" The witch was fuming in the face.

But the fire slowly died in her eyes. She took a deep sigh and Talen knew he had toed the line. But at this moment, he believed his own suspicions. He narrowed his eyebrows at her watching her carefully.

"Curses are hard, Valorin." She gave him a look, one that looked like shame. Talen blinked in surprise.

"What of the contract then? And what about Valeriana?" The witch slowly turned away.

Talen reached and grabbed her arm and regretted it as soon as he did. A shock of burning sensation went through him, causing his knees to buckle and crash to the floor. His grip released from her arm as he fell to the floor in pain, inhaling breath that didn't seem to want to come. He felt his whole body was on fire. He could barely breathe.

"Should have warned you. Sorry." The witch kneel in front of him.

He was breathing heavily as he laid there on his side. The witch sighed softly and lifted him to move him to the wall. She was much stronger than he had anticipated.

"Don't curl up, Valorin. It will only be more painful." Talen grounded his teeth slightly, feeling some of the burning sensation fleeting away.

"What... the hell... was that?" Talen clenched his hands at his sides, sweat pouring down his face. She pulled out a handkerchief and started to dab his face.

"It is part of the contract. Any violent thought or actions, it does this." Talen grounded his teeth. He slowly started to cool down, closing his eyes tightly. "Valorin."

Talen opened his eyes to look at the witch. She was still dabbing his face, a mild concerned look on her face.

Why do you look like you care? Talen grabbed her hand gently to stop her. SHe looked confused. Though Talen was more confused at her sudden mood shift. "Why?"

She looked at him, tilting her head in confusion. "Why what?"

Talen slowly stood. "Why the change?"

The witch sighed and shook her head. A hard look returned to her face.

"You don't need to know. I need you to go and get liverwort."

"But..."

"Go now."

Talen wanted to protest, but knew that might not have been a good idea. He would have to try again. Maybe get a hint to where Valeriana was.

"Curses are hard, Valorin." Talen wondered what she meant. And then how she acted.

She still cares about the Valorin line, pup. Remember your great-grandfather. Talen furrowed his eyebrow. He was trying to recall what the beast meant. [i[Alden Valorin started this, remember? A broken heart cannot hide all wounds.

Talen looked back at the witch's retreating figure. So she's still... The beast went silent, confirming Talen's suspicions. So she was still in love with the Valorin line. The rejection had started the curse. But what about Valeriana?

The beast sighed softly. Your great-grandfather cheated on the witch, remember? Talen felt his chest started to twist.

But would she hurt her own descendant to get back at the Valorin line? THe beast had gone dead silent. Panic started to fill Talen's chest. We need to find her.

The beast huffed slightly. We have looked everywhere.

Not everywhere. We need to go to the city. Maybe the witch has her there. With a new sense of determination, Talen headed into the greenhouse room. Liverwort had been growing in here and he needed to check the plants anyway.

How do you expect us to go to the city? We do not exactly blend in.

"We have to try something."

He started to move towards the rose, his rose, that his family grew when he was born. That was where he always started to check. The rose was important, even though his family never told him why. But it had connection to him. So he deemed it extremely important. He started to move through the cover of the other branches that were guarding it. What caught his attention was the glow etching from underneath the branches.

What in the world... He pulled back the branches, seeing the fountain and the glow emanating from the rose that was growing on the top of the fountain. Why the hell was his rose glowing?

He had a nagging feeling, though he wasn't sure of what. He tried to approach it, but all he got was a dark figure blocking him. Braum's brooding figure stood in front of him, his eyes glowing.

"You shouldn't be around here Talen." Talen was shocked. Braum knew why Talen took care of the greenhouse. It was the only job that was truly given to the Valorin boys. To keep them from getting bored.

"Why not?" Braum's expression turned hard after a spark of confusion.

"Because you are not suppose to. I will take care of your rose for now. Off with your errand. Go on." Talen was about to argue, but quickly bit his tongue. Braum could easily take him down. "Off you go."

Talen wanted to protest, but was ushered out quickly. He wasn't one to try and go against the will of his guardian. But this wasn't just Braum. This was Braum under a spell of the witch. He would have to find another way to check what was going on with his rose. He went on the liverwort search for now, trying to figure out why they were guarding the rose. And maybe an input on where they were keeping Valeriana.