Moonlight Nocturne

Miriam licks Elena's face.

 

Elena sputters a little at the sudden tonguebath, before burying her face in Miri's fur. "Did they tell you about her getting hurt?"

 

Miri lets out a confused sound.

 

"... Nick says she's in the hospital. I think it was another monster. He says she's going to be okay, but..." Elena definitely sounds like she's trying not to cry, guilt rolling off her in waves.

 

Miri wiggles forwards, resting her heavy head against Elena's shoulder, then carefully pulls the covers over Elena's eyes.

There's a crackling, crunching, and then Elena feels a pair of human arms hug her tight. "Ssh. Dunno yet. You just have to wait, we can go see her in the morning."

 

"... okay." Elena peeks out from under the covers, hugging Miri tight as she starts to sob into her shoulder. She's trying to hold back, but ... everything's just too much, right now. Her family is falling apart, and she's terrified.

 

Miri kisses the top of her head, hugging her tight. "...we've got you. It's going to be okay."

 

"What if Peter's dead? What if the rat zombies ate him? Or ... or if more monsters come and eat Mom and then I'm all... all... all alone..."

 

"We can't fix anything right now, and, uh. Are we chopped liver? Nick and I are right here!" Miri pouts. "You're not going to be alone. You're my girlfriend. I'm not going anywhere."

 

Elena stills, face still hidden in Miriam's shoulder. Then she moves to kiss her. "... 'm sorry. I'm not... used to having people."

 

Miri kisses her back, smiling. "Well.. get used to it." She giggles.

 

Elena squeezes Miriam's hand, smiling tentatively and rubbing her tear-reddened eyes. "Do you think it means something that... Bad things keep happening to my family?"

 

"..no. That's dumb. Things just happen, sometimes... I mean. I mean maybe your brother did something really dumb, but we aren't going to find out until we actually find him." Miri groans. "I dunno."

 

Elena rolls her eyes. "He probably did something dumb. He always comes... came... home with bruises and cuts and stuff he didn't want Mom to see. But he always tried to keep me from knowing anything."

She leans into Miri. "... I guess. ... does it hurt when you turn back into a human? It, like... crunches. And stuff."

 

"Kinda? I'm used to it, now, my pain tolerance is really high."

 

"... can I see, sometime?"

 

"If you can handle it, yeah." She smiles.

 

Elena makes a face. "I can handle it! I saw Nick rip a guy's arm off with his teeth, yesterday!"

 

"...oooh. I'm jealous. I want to rip someone's arm off!"

 

"... it was pretty awesome. He was rotting so he went like squelch and then this rat ran out of his chest and tried to climb in me, see?" Hiking her shirt up to show the injury. Oops. Is there still even a scar there?