Finn's P.O.V.

"What in the hell are you doing, boy!?" Jacob yells at me as I am digging my shovel into the dirt.

"Why, I am digging the hole, like you had asked me to, sir," I respond politely, yearning to not spur any unnecessary trouble.

"But hadn't I asked you to dig it six feet deep and three feet wide?" Shivers run down my spine at his words, but he must learn to have some patience soon, or else he will kill his only source of labor.

"I-I am getting there, sir, but it just takes some ti-" I am cut off by my shovel being ripped from  my grasp, leaving behind splinters and cuts, and then I experience a sharp pain in the back of my left thigh. I can't hold in my cry and I fall to the ground, clutching my bloodied thigh with a new gash in it.

"Serves you right for talking back to me, mutt," Jakob hisses at me and throws the shovel back at me before walking away. "I expect that done in an hour; don't disappoint!"

I lie there, whimpering in pain from not only my leg and various other old wounds brought to light, but from my heart as well. It isn't fair that my parents were murdered for being monsters. It is not my fault that I am what I am. I do not want to hurt anyone, but I just want to live my life and be free of all of this pain, like normal humans do....

"F-Finn?!" I hear a familiar voice gasp out above me and I open my eyes to see the only one who accepts me for who I am; Nash. "Buddy, are ya all right? Is Jacob still beatin' you?" I just nod slightly and tear my gaze away from the green, caring eyes that belong to my only friend. "Why don't ya stop diggin' your own grave and come with me so that ma can fix ya up?" How ironic: I wasn't digging my own grave, but it is in fact a grave that I had been digging; for who, I have no idea, and that frightens me.

"I-I r-really do not think that I should, Nash," I mumble to him. Jacob wants this completed in a hour by sunset.

"But 'cha might just go'n bleed out on me, and I wouldn't want that, now, would I?" Well, you and Maria are the only ones who wouldn't.

"I'll just lick my wounds later, I'm busy," I growl out to him, my growl more animalistic than human.

"Na~!  That's a lie!  Get your ass outa that hole now!  You're only twelve: too young ta die!" Despite my protests, he yanks me out of the hole.  "That grave oughta be for that ol' bastard," Nash grumbles and I grin slightly.

"If only."

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"Finn!  Hello there, honey!"

"Ma, we need the rubbin' alcohol, some gauze, and bandages.  Also, we ne-"

"The usual?" Maria questions, sighing at the sight of my left arm slung across Nash's shoulders to help me stay on my feet.

"Yea, ma.  Thanks."  With Maria's leave, my friend gently helps me into a rickety chair in the kitchen and then blows his jet-black hair from his face.  "Ya know, Finn, my ma worries for you...."

"Maybe it would be better if she didn't...."

"Don't ya go saying that kinda stuff!" Nash speaks with anger.  "People should accept ya; you are not much different from us humans, after all.  Damn discrimination."

"Hey, it has been around for as long as this world has existed.  And I don't think that it is only because people need something to blame and hate for this mess, but because they are scared of us..." I speak darkly, referring to my kind. I hate what I am, and all I want is to just be normal.

"What's 'ere to be 'fraid of!?  I like ya just the way ya are," Nash speaks and places a dirt-covered hand upon my shoulder, offering me a warm smile. 

"I still wonder where in the hell ya learned to talk like that: such a thick accent; kinda like those people to the south of this piece of land that was once called a united country," Maria says as she approaches us with mountain of supplies in her pale arms.

"It's just the way I talk, ma. It might be from pa."

"I though so too once, but you hadn't had known him long enough. It is just another thing that makes you different from others, and another thing that you give me to love about you." These people are so filled with love....

"Nash is really something," I pitch in with a small smile.  "He is an amazing person...."

"Ma, Finny, ya gona go 'n make me cry!" Nash says and pretends to wipe a tear from his face.  "Love ya too, bud."  Surprising me, Nash brings me in for a hug.  Before I can move to return it, he pulls away with a small frown on his face.  "What's wrong?"

"O-oh, nothing much out of the ordinary."

"Fine," Nash accepts my response with a small shrug, assuming I'll come and talk to him about it later. "Ma, I'll go 'n try ta find us some dinner."

"No. I'll do it," I say, trying to stand up but only realizing my mistake once I feel a rush of pain hit my entire body and I fall to the floor too fast for either of them to catch me. "Ouch..." I grumble angrily, peeling myself up into a sitting position.

"No can do. You are going to stay here and heal for a little while, Finn," Maria speaks in a strict voice.

"But I'm more efficient! I can use my nose! I can protect myself better! I c-."

"Stop right there, hon. You are like a second son to me, and Nash is quite capable. Besides, people, as much as you don't like it, have a reason to kill you, Finny!" I can feel a frown form on my face for more reasons than one, but mainly frustration.

"But if he gets hurt, he has a lower chance of surviving than I," I urge. "I can heal slightly faster, and I am used to pain and have a higher tolerance for it. Please, I must protect you two. I couldn't bear it if..." I trail off thinking of the wort that could happen, which is a lot. "I want to do it." I say firmly after a few seconds of silence. Maria bites her lip in though and I can smell a sudden strong emergence of a metallic smell.

"As long as you let me patch you up," Maria finally says with a sigh, causing me to grin. Okay, maybe my urge to protect is a little too strong for my own good, but that doesn't change the fact that I will do anything for them.

"Thank you, Maria," I say in a small voice with a warm smile. "I won't let you down."

"I have told you to call me 'mother', have I not?" I chuckle at her words as Nash helps me to my feet and to his room so that I can remove my clothes, as a wolf in human clothes is just a little suspicious.

"Okay, 'mother'," I speak with a small smile as Nash helps me limp into his room and take off my clothes.

"Want me ta leave?" he asks and I shrug.

"Wouldn't be the first time that you have seen me turn," I say, throwing the last of my clothes to the floor.

"Now, ya speak of it almost like it is a bad thin'."

"It's a damn curse, that's what it is," I growl, and try to become relaxed as I feel my teeth poking my lips. It is not a good thing to turn when I am angry, because I might lose my mind and my instincts would take over.

"Stop halfway! I still wana talk to ya, and I know that is easiest 'or ya."

"Fine," I say and let all of my muscles relax as I take a seat on his bed. As I do not totally have full control of my abilities, turning or even staying in one form can be difficult, but I have found being in the middle of a wolf and a human is the easiest, as one would expect, and takes the least amount of energy and concentration to hold. When I get older, I just hope that this becomes easier....

"Wow, fastest I've seen yet!" I open my eyes-- which I had not even realized that I had closed-- and stare up at Nash, noticing my vision is slightly sharper and sounds seem louder, as well as the new smells around me that I wouldn't be able to smell in my 'almost-human' form.

With no hesitation, Nash reaches out for my head and pets me, and I close my eyes and relax again, enjoying the contact. "You ears are so soft and pretty: I love the dark-brown color."

"Well, they are the same color as my hair, right?" I ask him quietly, still enjoying his hand now scratching behind my ears.

"Well, 'course, but 'ere is just somethin' 'bout 'em that just... Feels different, ya know?"

"Not a clue; I do live with them, and I haven't exactly befriended any others of my kind, so I have never seen another person with fluffy ears atop their head, a tail, or a lack of human ears. I don't exactly get any warm and fuzzy feelings looking at my own ears." Nash laughs at my words and I just chuckle lightly.

"What a long, detailed explanation. Can't I just say I like your ears?"

"Don't turn into a woman on me," I joke and squint at him with my deep-blue eyes, as if accusing him.

"I won't: nothin' ta worry 'bout!" I can tell that Nash turns serious as his playful grin drops and turns into a firm line on his face. "But why ya gota go and do my job for me?"

"Because I have nothing if I lose you two; if I can help in any way and keep you out of danger, I will do it. And you two need each other; so it would be the best-case-scenario if my life is lost rather than one of yours."

"Are we like your pack, in a way?" Nash questions out-of-the-blue.

"No clue, Nash. I just have this weird drive to keep you two safe, but I don't think 'pack' is the word I would use."

"Well, how 'bout 'family'?" Nash says with a happy grin which rubs off onto me.

"All right. I think that word is much better." I get up from his bed, but before I begin to turn into a full wolf, I decided to push his buttons a little. "Just looking at you, people wouldn't be able to guess your personality. Honestly, you look like a cold badass to-be, but, instead, you preach about family and friendship. Your looks don't match you words or accent in any way, and I love that contrast: it might just come in handy some day." Despite my last few words, Nash turns defensive and starts to blabber on about how he knows it is true but it isn't something he can help. I don't exactly listen as the world seems to grow around me and my senses sharpen even more, Nash's ranting becoming more difficult to block out with the seemingly increasing volume when, in reality, my hearing is just improving at an impressive rate.

I don't realize when Nash stops speaking, but I come back out of my mind when I feel a hand run gently down my back, making me look at Nash. "Looking at 'cha makes me wana have a pet dog," he says with a goofy grim that makes me want to claw it off. "But we should get ya ta ma before she starts ta freak." Nash quickly folds my dirty clothes and places them on his bed before opening the door and having me limp out of the room in front of him.

"There's my beautiful wolf-boy!" Maria calls to me, making me roll my eyes. "Now let me see that back leg of yours and then you can be on your way." It takes Maria's skilled hands no time to clean and patch up my wound, and I managed to hold in all
whimpers of pain. "I guess that I have got to let you go out now...."

"Don't take any stupid risks, ya here!?" Nash says from beside me, scratching my head right behind my ears again, a spot that I love.

I nod and stand up, limping towards the door that Maria rushes to open.

"Be safe Finn, got it?" Nash calls from in the house, waving like a maniac.

"No matter what, make sure that you come back, hon!"

You bet I will. If I had to leave those two, I would die. There would be nothing left and I would just remain an empty shell of my former self. They are the only ones that I can call a 'family' anymore, and the only ones that I probably ever will.