Liek stood in front of his elder brother hanging his head in shame. Cale was livid.

"What do I tell the others, Liek!? You did not fulfill your duties as an adult! How dare you embarrass me like this!?"

Liek stood silent and stared at his feet. The previous scenario replayed in his mind over and over again.

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It had all seemed so simple. He made it to the nearby cabin, and silently made his way onto the thatched roof. There, he drove his arm through the roof between the supports, making himself a hole large enough to drop through. Everything was going as planned.

Once inside, Liek found him. But he was not alone.

Three young children sat in bed with eyes as large as saucers as their father spun tales of ghosts, ghouls, and witches. Liek stopped in his tracks, and listened to the magnificent stories. Something did not sit right with him.

"Papa! Look over there! Is that a ghost?" One of the children exclaimed, pointing to the rafter where Liek was crouched.

Liek froze. What would he do? The man turned his gaze onto him and stood up. He was very large for a human. His legs were like tree-trunks, and his arms rippled with power. Liek knew that he would be quite the trophy. He readied himself to attack....

"Oy! Come out, lad. There's always room here for one more who likes a good story." The man smiled.

This caught Liek off guard for a moment. Unfortunately, the words came at the precise moment he was ready to attack. He felt himself moving, but it was too late to stop. Down he fell from the rafter, and crashed onto the floor below. As Liek pulled himself to his feet, he could feel his face burning up. Cale would not approve of Liek's failure to land properly.

The large man began to laugh, and his children giggled along with him.

"What's yer name, boy?"

Liek only stared back. He hadn't forgotten what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to kill this man. But it was this very man that was inviting Liek to sit down beside his children. Weren't all humans supposed to be dangerous and malicious? And how was he supposed to kill another man in front of the eyes of his children? Liek began to doubt his conviction.

He would have to find another. Yes, he would make his escape and find another man to kill. This man was a good man. He was sure there was such a thing. If there were good men, could that mean that there were evil werewolves? And if that was the case, what would that make him?

Suddenly, Liek smelled danger. Something else was here.

"Watch out!" Liek screamed.

He leaped forward, and knocked the man down just as another shape slashed the air where the man was standing. The children screamed. Liek stood and turned to face his adversary, but it was too late. Something exploded inside his head, and he was easily knocked aside. His eyes rolled back and refused to focus on the chaos surrounding him.

Something was attacking the man viciously. Liek could hear and smell the blood as it sprayed forth from the open wound in one of the man's arteries. The man's breathing was already labored as he tried to defend himself. Soon he would be dead from the loss of blood. The children's screams were shrill, and only added to Liek's confusion. Just as quickly as it started, the screams quickly ended one by one.

Slowly, Liek's eyes began to focus on the horrors surrounding him. The man lay curled in the corner of the room with three of his arteries ripped open. There was already a pool of blood surrounding the body. The three children lay in bed with each of their necks broken. He groggily stood up and stared into the face of his brother.

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"Why did you not kill them!? What do you have to say!?" Cale screeched.

Liek continued to stare at his feet.

"I wanted to kill a man more than anything. But not that man. He was a good man."
"What do you know about good men, Liek? You know nothing about the ways of men. They are an evil race, and we are superior. You cannot let your weaknesses get in the way of your judgment!"

Liek nodded. His brother was right.

"Give me your hand." Cale ordered.

Liek obeyed. Cale gripped Liek's hand and placed it around his thumbnail.

A werewolf's thumbnail was his weapon. Every werewolf grew their thumbnails long and kept it pointed. It was incredibly strong and sharp, and was used almost always to slash open their prey.

Liek felt a searing pain travel through the palm of his hand and the joints of his fingers as Cale slowly pulled his nail along the inside of Liek's closed fist. Liek began to grow dizzy. Cale spoke.

Even as Liek could hear the nail grinding against bone, he never forgot the words his brother said:


"Wounds heal with time,
Yet scars will always serve as a reminder of past mistakes.
A lesson is learned with each jagged badge.
Cherish them and wear them proudly."


After those final words were spoken, Liek felt himself sink to the ground. Darkness covered his eyes, and he surrendered to the blackness.

"Goodnight, little brother."



to be continued...