Katelyn ran. She ran as fast as she fucking could.
Because there was no way in hell she was going to be devoured by a fucking werewolf.
Dodging through trees, she held onto her camera as the day's events flashed through her head.

---

She had woken up to see 15 texts from her ex, made herself a cup of bitter coffee, and headed down to her favorite bakery. She had a whole day of photography planned.
"Hey Katelyn!" Her best friend, and owner of the bakery, came sauntering over. Tan skin blended into dyed pink hair. Amber eyes gleamed as she slid into the other chair.

"Hey KC. How's business so far this week?"

"The usual. Already had to kick out the soccer mom of the apocalypse twice. I love her threats." She took on a much deeper voice. "'If you don't listen to your customers, who are always right, you're going to lose business!'"
I rolled my eyes and bit into my pastry, warm chocolate spilling across my tongue.

KC patted my arm. "Have fun in the woods all day and night. Don't get murdered by an axe-wielding psycho."

"No promises."
She grinned, catlike, as she strolled away to talk to the next customer.

---

I was jolted back to the present as my foot became stuck in a tangle of roots. I fell.
The tangle of roots broke easily as I thrashed my leg. I was up and running again, just narrowly missing the claws of the hell-beast behind me.
What the fuck? Werewolves aren't supposed to exist. Pop culture has gone way too far!

I ducked under a branch and squeezed through two trunks, finding myself in a little hollow. I backed up, almost stepping on the mushrooms around me. The forest was silent. No black and blue werewolf chasing me. I came to my knees, hugging myself. My camera, thankfully was safe.
I quickly turned it on, wanting to see what I had captured inside the little digital screen.

The last photo I took was of the werewolf. Vaguely human features were a blur, as the thing had been moving towards me as I took a picture. Blue ears and black fur made it look more like a furry than anything else, but it's mouth was open, revealing teeth.

Sharp teeth.

Teeth dropping with blood.

I turned off the camera, shaking and starting to hyperventilate. Holy fuck the supernatural are real. Was it just werewolves? Were there vampires? Ghosts? Witchs?

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustle. I automatically froze.
And let out a gasp as the werewolf entered the clearing.

It walked on two feet, elongated toes looking very dog-like. A tail swayed, slowly and taunting. Shredded clothing hung off of it, a white vest and blue jeans. It grinned. I could see the blood on it's teeth.
Fuck. I was going to die.

It pounced and I shut my eyes as a reflex.
Only nothing happened.
Opening my eyelids just a smidge, I saw it. A gash had appeared on its forehead, and if an animal could look mad, this thing looked pissed. It paced just outside the mushrooms, growling softly. It pounced again. And again.

Each time, something knocked it back.
I sat there in shock, leaning on one hand.
The thing finally let out a roar, clawing the shit out of whatever the magical barrier was, to no avail. Nothing happened.
It whipped its head around. It was covered in scrapes and scratches, grey eyes going wild and pupils dilating.
It let out a pitiful whine and dropped down, eyes closing, and almost automatically, a man was in its place.

He was pale, with black hair and a few blue streaks. A pale scar ran across his neck, and the same wounds that had been on the wolf were on him.
I just noticed he's naked.
I covered my eyes.

I don't know how long I sat there, looking like an elementary school girl, covering my eyes, but a voice spoke out.

"God. Fucking. Dammit. Ein."

A female voice, higher than mine but lower than KC's rang across the clearing. I felt her pass my me and in the direction of the naked man. Whom I presumed to be Ein.

"Excuse me Miss, I-"
I uncovered my eyes and hastily covered them again.
"Miss. Why are you naked."

"I dunno. Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Vaguely, yes."

"Alright. Open your eyes."

I did, hesitantly and ready to snap them shut again. I got a full look at the lady.
She was short, probably barely past my shoulder. Her tan skin was flawless, except for a scar than ran from the corner of her right eye to the edge of her mouth.
Brown eyes flickered over my face, reflecting the meandering starlight that shone through the trees.

She wore a plum slip. It wasn't much better than her birthday suit, but hey, it covered all the important parts.
Black hair ran in intricate braids around her shoulders.

To be frank, she was gorgeous.
And she had huge, purple butterfly wings sticking out of her back.
I took a shaky breath.

"I take it you're not a human?"

"I take it you are?"

"Yep."

"Yep."
We stared at each other before she shook her head.

"Well, you know we exist. Can you give me a hand taking Ein back to home base?"

"You want me to help the guy that almost killed me?"

"Not fair. He doesn't remember doing it."
I just sat there stubbornly.

She sighed. "Hi, my name is Aphmau. I'm a fairy, this here is the asshole known as Ein. He's a werewolf. Some idiot forgot to lock him up tonight, but you found him. We have to take you back to base camp, and please don't make me use force."
I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly.
"Fine."

---

"That's a fucking dragon."
"Actually, Laurence is a wyvern. Touchy about being called a dragon."
I shut up and adjusted Ein's arm on my neck. He wasn't as heavy as I would've thought.

"Lucinda!" Aphmau called, waving wildly with one hand, her wings fluttering madly.
A red-head swung her vision our way. Seeing the unconscious werewolf between us, she lifted the skirt of her dress and hustled over to us.
"Aphmau! You found him. The rest of the werewolves were quite moody while you were gone." She snapped her fingers and the man shimmered out of my sight. Hm. Teleportation. Gotcha.

"And you must be KC!" She said, turning towards me. She was human enough, but something about her just stood out. Maybe it was her crimson eyes. Or her perfect teeth.

Fuck, Katelyn, you're so gay.

I only just registered what she said.
"You know KC?"
Her nostrils flared. "KC is my biggest competition in the bakery world. She is also a meif-wa."
"A what wa."
"Meif-wa. Cat girl, if you will. Surprisingly good bakers and surprisingly good at magic."

I ran a hand over my face. My best friend was part of the supernatural world. Great. Why not.
I held out my hand. "Katelyn. Human. Little freaked."
She smiled. "Lucinda. Witch. Mildly calm."
Aphmau 'hmm'd, drawing both our attentions to her. She smiled.
"May I take Katelyn for a tour?"

---

Starlight moved in the rivulets of water that trickled down the pond fall.
Starlight moved in the amber eyes if he fairy next to me.
Quietly and discreetly, I turned on my camera, lifting it up fast so she wouldn't be able to react as I took my photo.
The flash was on.
He head swung towards me, but lazily, like she had all the time in the world.
"Can I see the photo?"
"Too over saturated. Let me take another without flash."
"Agreed."
And so I did. And then I took another. And another. And a whole parade of photos.
I was flipping through them when milk-chocolate smooth and colored hands closed over mine.
"May I take a picture?"
I looked up, blushing madly.
"Su-sure."
She smirked as she took my camera from my hands. It looked natural. A fairy holding my camera.
The click sounded through the clearing.
I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. "May I see?"
She chuckled. "Sure."
And my camera was back in my hands.
The background colors were perfectly contrasted to my blue hair, pinks and purples blending with greens and oranges to create a photo that looked highly photoshopped.
"May I ask you a question, Miss Katelyn?"
I nodded.
"What's a human doing out in the woods, in the middle of the night?"
"Photography. It's my career."
"Fair enough. Your turn."
"What?"
"That's a human game, right? Twenty questions?"
"Oh. Um. Right." I bit my lip nervously.
"How about... How many different types of creatures are living in this community?"
"Well, not a lot. There's just a lot of variety within our community. You have your werewolves, your meif-wa, your witches, and your fairies." She winked as she said the latter species.
"We also have one possessed girl."
"Possessed by what?"
"The bitchiest ghost to ever bitch."
I barked out a laugh.
"What is it like in a normal world?"
I have her a side-glance. She shrugged her shoulders.
A purple glow set over her, and when it was gone, her wings had disappeared.
"I can almost recreate normalcy. Almost. But I want to hear about it as well."
And so I told her about our world.

---

Aphmah's laughter happily met my ears.
"Wait! Wait! I'm not done yet! So this guy, Zane, he's rejected by Travis, right? So he meanders over to my table, looking all gloomy and emo, and you want to know what he says?"
I'm met with a smile. A kind smile.
"'Please tell me I'm not the only gay person here!'"
I can tell from her eyes that she doesn't understand.
"What is this 'gay' thing you keep mentioning? Is it an object? A deity of yours?"
I snort. "Irene, no. It's a way of showing love, almost, but it's who you show love to."
"Huh?"
Fuck. Great going Katelyn. You confused the cute fairy.
"A gay guy, he would be attracted to another man. A gay girl, who we call lesbians, she would be attracted to another girl. There's a whole bunch of different versions."
Her eyes lit up. "We have a term for that! We call that Fae!"
I purse my lips. "Isn't Fae an umbrella term for fairies?"
She giggles, moving to sit on the railing. "No, silly. I'm the fairy, remember?"
I glanced at her back. She was keeping up the illusion pretty well.
"Fae are what you call these 'gays' and 'lesbians'. We just smoosh them all under that one word. I, myself, am Fae."
Cool. The cute fairy was gay.
"Well, I, myself, am a lesbian." I naturally mock her proper tone.
She grabs my shoulders (with minor difficulty, as she's a full two heads shorter) with fire in her eyes. Literally. Her irises are on fire. I decided to ignore that.
"If I am Fae, and you are a 'lesbian', then there is only one logical conclusion!"
I raise an eyebrow. "What would that be?"
She grins broadly. "We must partake in the human hobby 'making out'!"
I stumble back, laughing. Laughing hard.
Aphmau pouts. "I fail to see how 'making out' is funny. From what you told me it is a serious thing."
I whistle. "Yeah. It is. It's just, 'human hobby of making out' it a strange way to phrase it. Also, you don't make out with people you just met. At least, I don't."
Her pout becomes pout-ier. She stays silent.
I sigh. "Hey, Aph?" I say, holding up my camera.
She glares at me.
"Smile for the camera."
She did not do that. So I smiled for her.
"Hey Aph?"
She narrows her eyes.
"How about a kiss in the cheek instead?"
And she did.

LIVELOVELAPIS101 ITS FINALLY DONE
I hope it isn't too late. Sorry, editing is a birch. Not even sure I got everything.

2006 words. All types on my phone. What are thumbs.

:,)