My life has been a roller coaster of a ride, that's for sure… Let's start with where we live. A little farm in the countryside of Meridell. We raise unis and kaus, but I won't get too far into the boring details. Then there's my dad. Dear old Dad. He disappeared around the time my mom learned she was going to have a third son. Supposedly, he went off to help in some war thing, but we have our doubts. Good to know I'm a father repellant, right?

So I came along, and looked nothing like I do now. I was all black with dark green eyes, and four real limbs. Drake took over the fatherly role of the family, even though he was only 6 at the time. I didn't mind it, but Bex… I guess you could say Bex was a bit of a rebel when it came to hierarchy. He didn't want to have to listen to Drake, and that was kinda when their hatred began to grow towards each other… But enough about them. They can each tell you their side of the story some other time.

My life went on as any normal toddler's would. I learned to talk, to walk, eat, and drink on my own. Then when I was 4, things changed. One morning, I walked into the kitchen and saw my mom getting her bag. Drake was standing near the door with an irritated look on his face.

What's goin' on, Momma?" I asked curiously.

Mom turned to me and explained that she had to run to town for some shopping and she was taking Drake with her to help carry stuff. At this, Drake caught my gaze and rolled his eyes with a smile while Mom wasn't looking. I giggled quietly. "Kay. When will you be back?

Around dark, I'm sure. You behave yourself, Sirius, and don't give Bex too much trouble." My mother responded. I nodded, looking towards Drake and crossing my fingers just so he could see. I received an amused smirk in return.

So they left and it was just me and Bex at home. And I, being 4 and bored, wanted to go out. I found Bex, lounging upside-down on the couch, watching TV. He always was really weird...

Bex, I wanna go outside." I whined. He made no response, just continued to stare at the television. My eyes narrowed and I placed myself in front of the source of distraction, fists planted on my hips with a defiant look on my face. "I wanna go outside." I repeated, trying to copy the tone Drake used with Bex when he was giving orders.

Bex merely snorted and turned himself right side-up on the couch. "Then go. I'm not stoppin' ya. "

I groaned in response. "But, Beeeexxx. You know I can't go out on my own. Mom won't let me."

Not my problem. Besides, Mom's not even here. She won't know.

I just continued to stare at him with my dark green eyes. After nearly a minute, he gave an exasperated sigh. "For the love of Coltzan, ALRIGHT! We'll freakin' go." With a groan, the 9 year old got to his feet and headed for the door.

A grin lit my face and I quickly followed after him. "Let's go for a walk." I said happily. Bex just sighed in response.

We walked for at least an hour. When I saw a food cart coming our way up the path, I began to realize the growing hunger in my stomach. Eyes growing wide, I turned and tugged on Bex's shirt as we walked.

Bex, I'm hungry.."

You can wait until we get home…

But I'm hungry now...

My brother growled a sigh and dug around in his pockets. "We don't have much money with us right now, but it'll probably get you something." He grumbled irritably.

As we came to the food cart, we noticed it was a jelly sales cart. Bex scanned over the price tags of the jelly and pointed to a strange looking one. "We'll take half of that." He stated.

As the salesman started to wrap up our selection, I looked at Bex. Let me pause here to let you in on something. Bex is colorblind. We're not sure how, or why, because no one in our family line-up has ever had that problem, but then again, neither of our parents was red either.. We think he was switched at birth. Anyways.

Bex, that thing is glowing…" I stated hesitantly.

Bex sighed. "Do you ever stop talking?" he asked, taking the jelly from the salesman and handing him the money. He then shoved the jelly into my hands and continued walking. I stared at the object for a moment, then looked up and ran to catch up with Bex.

But…

Eat it and shut up." My brother snapped.

Cringing slightly at the harsh tone, I stopped talking and, as my stomach gave a low rumble, began to hesitantly eat the jelly. It didn't taste bad. Not really, anyways. It was weird though. I finished it just as we turned onto the path that would lead us home. As we reached our door, a weird feeling surfaced in my stomach. It felt like a stomach ache. I cringed as a burp gurgled up my throat. "Bex, I don't feel good." I said quietly.

Bex went back to the couch and flopped down. "So? What do you want me to do about it? Go lie down or something." He replied dismissively.

Rubbing my stomach, I decided to do just that. I headed to my room, laid on my bed, and went to sleep. I was vaguely aware of a presence that came in some time later. A cool hand was pressed to my sweaty forehead. "Sirius, you okay, bud?" someone asked.

That wasn't Bex's voice. That was Drake. My eyes opened slowly to see my oldest brother sitting beside me on my bed. I felt sick. I was burning up, yet I was shivering. "I don't feel good." I repeated hoarsely.

A look of worry came on Drake's face. "Hang on. I'll go get Mom." He replied quietly. He ruffled my hair with his paw as he stood up and left, returning quickly with Mom behind him.

What's wrong, Sirius?" she asked, sitting on my bed where Drake had and placing her hand on my forehead as well. Drake stood off to the side, leaning against my wall.

My tummy feels funny."I replied.

She took her hand away and looked at me. "Did you eat anything while we were gone?" she asked.

I explained the situation with the jelly, looking from her to Drake as I told the story. As I spoke, the neutral look on Drake's face progressively changed to show a great deal of anger. As I finished explaining, he stormed out of the room, a growl grumbling in his throat.

My mother sighed and rose from my bed, walking to my door and closing it. Once my brothers got into an argument, there was no stopping them. She then returned to sit beside me and was quiet for a moment. "I'm thinking what you have is just a tummy ache, Sirius. I don't think your stomach agreed much with that jelly that you ate. We can go to the doctor in the morning if you don't feel any better, okay?

I nodded wordlessly.

She sighed. "Alright. I'll go get you a bucket in case you get sick during the night, and then I have to go make sure your brothers don't kill each other.. " She rose to her feet and patted me on the knee before turning out the lights. Whatever happened after that, I don't remember. I fell asleep as soon as the door closed. Later on that night, I awoke suddenly to an extreme pain. Whimpering, I doubled over on my side, clutching my stomach and my eyes clamped shut. Suddenly, I heard a shuffling from somewhere in the room and instantly felt a presence at my side. "Sirius, what's wrong?" came Drake's voice.

It… hurts…" I managed to squeeze out. I heard feet running off and leaving the room. I began to notice a green light that began to appear outside my eyelids, but I didn't want to look to see what it was. As the light grew brighter, however, the pain subsided. I heard footsteps return and freeze in their tracks, gasps following. Confused, I opened my eyes and was nearly blinded by a neon green light coming from somewhere very near to my face. My eyes snapped shut again. The pain was gone now, but what was this new thing? I heard a light switch snap on and I tried opening my eyes again. It wasn't as bad now. I looked down at my hands. While they had been solid black, there were now glowing neon green flames. "What the…" I muttered. I looked up to see the stunned faces of my mom and Drake.

Again, Drake's face turned to rage and, again, he stormed out of the room. "BEX!" he shouted.

I cringed at the loudness of his voice, noticing that a headache had surfaced between my ears. My eyes drifted to my mom. "What happened to me, Mom?" I asked, my voice scared.

My mother came to sit beside me, looking at my head and paws. "Sirius, I'm not sure what this is, to tell you the truth…" she responded.

There was a crash from the other room, more yelling, and then Drake appeared, dragging Bex in. "Look what your stupidity did!" The oldest lupe snapped.

Bex looked to Sirius and his jaw dropped. Before he could say anything, Drake swung his hand and smacked Bex upside the head. With an irritated growl, Bex threw a punch towards Drake, though the older lupe dodged and tackled the red lupe to the ground.

BOYS! Stop fighting THIS INSTANT!!" Mom yelled.

I cringed away from the yelling, my head pounding.

Drake picked himself up off of his brother, an annoyed look clearly visible on his face.

Mom glared at both of them. "Now, you two go to bed. I'll take care of Sirius." She ordered.

Growling protests under his breath, Drake stomped towards the door, kicking Bex in the side as he went.

Bex grunted as he got up, rubbing blood off of his nose with one hand and his side with the other. Without a word or a glance towards me, he left as well.

Mom sighed, shaking her head. "What am I going to do with those two… Anyways. We're going to take you to the doctor first thing in the morning and see if he can tell us what's happened. Until then, try to get some sleep, honey.

I nodded and laid back down, pulling the sheets up.

With a kiss to my forehead, my mom stood and left the room, flipping the lights off as she went. Suddenly the brightness was back. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my pillow, but I couldn't escape it. This was proving to be a long night.

When morning finally came, I had a chance to look at myself. I saw just what had happened. I had glowing markings. A line that stretched from my nose to my rear, flames on each foot and ear, stars under my eyes. My tail had been taken over by rainbow flames and my eyes glowed now too. Not only that, but my eyes changed colors when I was in a certain mood. I felt like a freak. We made our way to the doctor's office. To avoid staring, I was dressed in gloves, a hat, a jacket, boots, jeans and my tail was tucked into my shirt. As we met with the doctor, we learned that there was nothing he could do. I was stuck like this. Stuck looking like a glowstick. A hatred began to bubble up in my stomach towards my red brother. He had done this to me.

When we got home, I locked myself in my room and just laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling. What now? I thought.

***

Life went on as normal as it could after that. I went to school, learned to write, learned to read. The minute I picked up reading, it was like a whole new world had been opened before me. I buried myself in books for hours at a time. They helped me get away from the world. Let me live someone else's life through their eyes. Their non-glowing eyes. I loved it. Something else I learned was that I now had a sort of power, if you will, over fire. I could make one appear or disappear. It certainly came in handy when I was feeling… mischievous.

Then came Halloween. I was 8. Drake had gone out with his friends and I was just sitting on the couch reading. Around 9 that night, I heard the door open and then my mom's voice said, "Back so soon?.....Drake Rudel. What the hell have you done to yourself this time??

My eyes widened and I looked up and froze. Drake was standing in the entryway, saying something in a quiet voice. He sounded like he was in pain but I couldn't see anything from where I was. Mother led him into the kitchen and made him sit in a chair while she went off to get something. Being a curious little kid, I got up and cautiously walked towards the kitchen. My brother's head was hung towards his chest, his right hand wrapped around his left wrist tightly. There was blood seeping through his fingers. He was visibly trembling. My floppy ears pulled back. What was wrong with him? I was afraid to ask. Afraid to move. Something was definitely different.. He was breathing hard. Biting my lip, I hid from view, hoping to overhear what had happened. My mom returned to the kitchen and I heard her open the first aid kit, a sound I was familiar with. She must have been bandaging his wrist. "Now, tell me what happened." She said calmly.

With a sigh, Drake went into the story of how he and his friends went wandering into the woods, how they stumbled right into the middle of a werelupe pack, how the others escaped unharmed, but he had been bitten. I had to stifle a gasp. A werelupe? Drake had been bitten by a werelupe? I had read a book on werelupes. Whoever was bitten by one was turned INTO one. I had heard enough. Silently, I went to my room and began searching for that book on Werelupes. Once I found it, I curled up on my bed and began reading. I had learned to take advantage of my glowing. Mom would usually tell me to turn out the lights, but I could hide under the covers with a book and read forever and never need a flashlight or anything.

That night, I stayed up late, reading the book when suddenly I heard weird noises coming from Drake's room. Curious as always, I got out of bed silently and made my way towards his room. As I went, I could hear a series of sickening cracks. I padded into his room and froze. That wasn't my brother. There was a huge, black beast standing with its back to me, Drake's shredded clothes lying in a heap at its feet. I took a step backwards, bumping into Drake's dresser and suddenly it turned to me. I looked up into its glowing red eyes and that was all the warning I had before it shifted and, fast as lighting, made a swipe at me. I turned in an attempt to get away, but that ended up being a big mistake. Instantly, pain ricocheted through my shoulder and I fell to my knees, grasping at it. My hand met a bloody mess… And no arm where an arm used to be.. Tears burned my eyes as I looked up to the beast again. Something was different about its eyes. They were that steely blue color that Drake's were. That image was the last thing I remember. I passed out right after that.

***

The next time I awoke, beeping sounds filled my ears. I felt numb. As I slowly came to, I was vaguely aware of a hand on mine. And then a voice met my ears.

Dude. You are in soo much trouble when Mom gets here." Bex said quietly, chuckling to himself and it sounded like he bit into something.

How did we get here?'' Drake asked, his voice quiet as well. It was his hand that held mine.

We flew, how else?

I could sense the glare Drake sent towards our other brother. I stayed quiet, listening to their conversation.

Calm yourself, Drakey. I called an ambulance when I found you two.

And… Mom…?

On her way here.

My hand twitched slightly as I thought about what Mom would say. I didn't think it was that noticeable of a move, but Drake flinched and I could feel his gaze on me. Rats. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked up into his worried face. I tried my best to smile up at him, but I'm not sure it was really convincing. I could see a deep, deep despair in his eyes… His eyes… They were yellow…

Sirius, I'm…'' Drake's voice broke into my thoughts.

My smile held as I squeezed his hand. "It's okay, Drake." I grunted quietly. My voice sounded foreign to me. It was strained, raspy. I went on anyways. "It wasn't you… I know what happened… It wasn't your fault…" I promised him, holding tight to his hand. I noticed the tears forming in my brother's eyes as he stared at me, his free hand lifting to brush some hair out of my face. My small smile finally dropped. He was beating himself up on the inside, I could tell. I was about to say something when suddenly the door flew open and there stood Mom. She swiftly shoved Drake out of the way, took one look at me, and then turned towards him with rage in her eyes.

You…" she growled.

My ears folded back and I looked away as my mother advanced on him. I heard a smack and then a crash. Eyes wide, I looked back and saw Drake on the floor, a chair toppled over at his side. He had his hand pressed to his face. He groaned and took the paw away, looking at it. I couldn't see what he saw.

How could you do this to your own brother, you beast?" Mother accused, pointing a finger towards him.

Mother, it wasn't his fault..." I said quietly.

Silence, Sirius." She snapped, looking at me and then back to Drake. "Get out.

I… Wha-?" Drake stared up at her in disbelief, as did I.

I said out, Drake. You are no longer welcome in our home. Go. Go be where you really belong: with a pack." Mother responded, threatening to smack him again.

Drake only continued to stare at her.

Has that bite messed with your mind, boy?! I said GO!!" she screeched, swinging her foot swiftly into my brother's thigh. With a gasp of pain, Drake managed to get to his feet clumsily and ran out the door.

My lower jaw quivered as I watched him go. I had already lost dad before I had even known him. I didn't want to lose my brother too… I looked from the door, to my mother, to Bex, and back to mother. I didn't know what to say. I wanted him to come back. To sit with me. That sadness in his eyes was all I could think about.

Just then, a nurse came in. "Is there a problem?" she asked, looking to me then to my mother.

Mom sighed, shaking her head. "No. Not anymore, there's not..."she responded.

The nurse nodded absentmindedly, walking over towards me to look at the machines I was connected to. Bex took this chance to slip out of the room.

The nurse then turned, addressing my mother again. "Well. The doctor will be in in a moment to talk to you about Sirius's arm. There may be something we can do to fix it." She stated.

My mother only nodded in response.

Nearly half an hour later, the doctor entered the room, a file of papers tucked under his arm. He pulled a rolling stool from beside my bed and sat, looking towards my mother, motioning for her to pull a chair up near him. As she did so, he opened his folder and set it on his lap. "Mrs. Rudel. There is a new procedure we have that may be able to fix your son's arm. Granted, it won't be a real arm, but it will function as one." Without waiting for a response, the man turned his folder around and handed it towards my mother.

She looked it over for at least 5 minutes before she finally looked up. "And it would be like having a real arm again?" she asked.

The doctor only nodded.

Biting her lip, Mother looked down to the file again and then stood, offering it to me. "What do you think, Sirius?"She asked quietly.

For a moment, I just stared at her. She didn't seem angry any longer. Only sad now. Maybe she would let Drake come back. I then looked down to the folder and took it from her, trying to keep it steady in my one hand. What I was looking at was a picture of a mechanic arm made purely out of some metal. Blinking, I looked up, then back down at the paper. "I…. guess… it would work…" I said hesitantly, offering the papers back to the doctor.

He took them with a nod, looking to my mother. "So you would like to go through with the operation?"He asked.

My mother looked to me, and I looked to the doctor. She nodded. "Yes." She responded, her voice quiet.

The doctor nodded. "We'll begin prepping him for the operation immediately." He stated, rising from his chair. For a moment, he looked down at me sympathetically, and then left. Almost instantly after, a nurse came in with syringe in hand. She injected it into the IV bag and I felt a rush of cold in my one good arm that began to spread throughout my body, making my eyes heavy. I could see tears wetting the fur beneath my mom's eyes as I slipped out of consciousness once again.

***

When I woke, I was still in my hospital room, but I felt different. My mind was hazy and my memory was blank, but when I looked around, I saw the metallic arm attached to my shoulder and everything came rushing back to me. I lifted the arm stiffly and stared at my silver hand, turning it this way and that.

It's called Automail.

I jumped at the voice, looking around until I saw the doctor writing stuff down on a clipboard off to my left.

He put the clipboard down and then came to look at me. "How does it feel? Can you move it okay?" he asked.

Blinking, I nodded dumbly before I remembered how to speak. "Er.. Yeah, it moves pretty good.. It feels funny, but I guess I'm just not used to it." I responded hoarsely. A thought then struck me. "Uhmm... Sir? Could you do me a favor?" I questioned.

Meeting my eyes with a curious stare, he said, "And what would that be, Sirius?

I looked away, gaze scanning the room carefully to make sure we were alone. "Do you think you could.. put me back to sleep for a while.. I don't want to deal with my mother right now…" I admitted.

For a moment, the doctor just gazed down at me intently. After a moment, however, he sighed. "We might be able to pull that off, sure." He responded with an understanding smile. He left the room and returned moments later with the syringe in hand. Mimicking what the nurse had done earlier, I felt the same rush of cold as the meds met my bloodstream and the world slipped away again.

***

The next time I came to, it was dark. And while I should've been alone, I sensed someone in the room with me. Thinking it to be my mom, I tried to roll over, but the wires wouldn't allow that. Accepting defeat, my eyes opened and I tried to make out the figure that stood before me. Eyes widening, I gasped. That wasn't Mother.

Suddenly, the figure flinched, bringing a finger to his lips and whispering, "Shhh...

Staring harder, I let out a relieved sigh. "Drake…. What're you doing here?" I asked, my ears folding back in worry. What if Mom found him here?

Drake bent forward, moving the hair out of my eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I left. I didn't get a chance to really talk to you earlier" He replied.

As he spoke, I looked upon his face and my eyes slowly widened with horror. "Di-Did Mom do that to you…?" I asked, my voice shaking as I spoke. I slowly reached forward with my real arm, hesitantly feeling the scabbed gash over his eye.

His hand rested over mine, his eyes closing as he sighed. "I'm fine," he whispered, though I could easily tell it was a lie. He gently removed my hand from his face.

It was then that he noticed my new arm. Seeing him gazing at it, I lifted it for him to get a better look. "The doctor called it automail," I told him, offering my hand forward.

For a moment, he just stared at it, but then he lifted a hand and ran his finger along the sleek metal as he sat at my side. "Glow… I'm sorry…" he said quietly, his gaze fixed on my hand.

I could see how upset he was. I wanted him to stop worrying. I was fine, yet there he sat in a world of sadness. "Drake…" I whispered, making myself sit up, though it wasn't all that easy. "Like I said before… It wasn't your fault. When I looked into your eyes last night, I saw fear behind the monster's face. I know you didn't mean to do it." I let my eyes drop to my new arm. "Besides. I'll get used to it." I looked up again, meeting his gaze with a small reassuring smile. It seemed my smile was lost on him, though. He was thinking again, staring silently into my eyes, and the longer the silence dragged on, the more upset his face got. The more upset he got, the more he tried to hide it. His ears folded back and he looked away. "Drake…?" I said quietly, trying to break through his self pity.

He looked back to me once again, silently acknowledging me.

D-… Do you really have to go?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. I was afraid of what the answer might be.

He gave a sad sigh and only nodded in response.

Until when?" I asked, fighting back tears now.

Drake's gaze shifted to the window, gazing out into the night. "I dunno, Sirius…" His voice was quiet as he spoke. " I may never be able to come back…" he replied, uttering the words I did not want to hear.

My eyes closed, head shaking from side to side. "It's not fair… The way mom treated you…" I whimpered, looking down to my hands as my lower jaw quivered.

Drake sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Glow, shh… I know it wasn't fair… But she'll get over her rage eventually. I'll try to come back as soon as I think this has blown over." He stated, offering his hand out to me.

I felt him flinch as I placed my metal hand in his furry one, but after a moment, he gave it a squeeze. "I'll hold you to it." I told him. He then nodded once at me and rose from my bed, letting go of my hand. As soon as his hand left mine, though, I felt something inside me drop. I had a dreadful feeling that I wouldn't see my brother ever again.

Go back to sleep, Glow… I'll see you around sometime soon, hopefully" He started headed for the door, looking back once he was there. With one last sigh, he disappeared into the darkness, becoming one with the shadows.

Only once I was sure he was gone did I let the tears finally spill from my eyes. I brought my knees up to my chest, hugged my arms around them and buried my face, letting the tears flow freely, my body shaking with my silent sobs.

***

I don't remember falling asleep, but the next thing I remember was a bright room. Squinting, I looked around to discover I was still in the hospital. The curtains were wide open, billowing still which told me they had just been opened. Something told me that it was the cause of my sudden wake up. Groaning quietly, I turned my head away from the light, pulling the thin blankets over my head. There was a chuckling sound coming from somewhere in room. Eyes widening, heart leaping, I pulled the covers off, sat straight up, and scanned the area around me. When my eyes landed on Bex, all my high hopes plummeted. I thought Drake had stayed after all. My ears drooped and I sagged back into the pillows behind me.

And then Mom came in.

Sirius, what's the matter, dear? Are you in pain? I can get the nurse if you-" Her hand began to settle on my knee, but I shoved it away, crossed my arms across my chest and turned as far away from her as the wires would allow me to.

I'm fine, Mom." I snapped.

I felt slight pleasure in the way she recoiled from me. "Sirius… What's gotten into you?" she asked, as if she didn't know. It was my turn to explode. I needed to.

Why did you have to send Drake away, Mom?! He didn't mean to do it!" I yelled, hands balling into fists. I could feel the color in my eyes shifting from blue to red. "He could DIE out there, Mother. What if I never get to see him again?!" Angry tears were forming in my eyes, threatening to spill over into my fur.

All she did was stare at me for a moment while I panted, my jaw quivering. I kept a defiant glare fixed on her, though. Finally, she merely lifted her snout a bit. "It's what's best for the family, Sirius Arran. We can't have a beast like him loose in the house. Just look at what happened.''

I could tell there would be no reasoning with her. She had made up her mind…

Just then, the doctor entered, pausing momentarily at the door as he noticed our tense faces. Clearing his throat, he walked over to me. "Good morning, Sirius. How's your arm feeling?" he asked.

Fine." I replied shortly, arms crossed against my chest once more as I leaned back and glared at my mother.

The doctor blinked in confusion, looking from me to my mother and back. "Well… If you're feeling alright, I think it's safe to let you head home today. All I ask is that you go easy on that arm for a while, alright?''

I only nodded and I heard my mother growl quietly. "Sirius, stop being rude and answer him." She snapped.

The doctor raised a hand. "No, no. It's alright. Mrs. Rudel, would you mind coming with me to sign some release papers?" he asked, heading for the door. My mother followed him out, leaving me alone with Bex.

I could feel his eyes on me and I turned to meet his gaze. We hadn't spoken a word to each other since the night before the incident happened. The red melted from my eyes, only leaving a blue color that reflected how I felt. I wiped the tears away that had built during my fight with Mom and looked away from him as more began to leak out. Propping my elbows on my legs, I buried my face in my hands, trying to fight off yet another wave of tears. I wanted Drake, my brother, my fatherly figure. I wanted him to comfort me. To tell me it would all be okay.

Then something unexpected happened. I felt a paw settle on my shoulder. It wasn't Drake. It wasn't my mom. Sniffling quietly, I lifted my head to see Bex standing beside me, staring at me with a look I could not read. He gave two soft pats to my shoulder, and then left as soon as he had come, walking out the door. I stared after him, confused. In all my years of... Well… Life, I hadn't ever received any sort of encouragement from Bex. That was definitely new.

***

After that, not much else happened. Not for a while, anyway. I met a few friends, learned a thing or two, found more books that I fell in love with... I never really forgave my mother, but all in all, I didn't mention it as often as I had at the beginning. Life was pretty normal.

One thing, however, was definitely not right. When I was 10, I had begun to notice changes in my mother. She would break into coughing fits randomly. When she was making dinner, her hands would shake so bad that she often nicked herself with the knife. Some mornings, it would take her a while just to get out of bed. Something was definitely wrong.

And then one morning, she didn't get up. It was nearly noon when I finally decided to go in there. What I found did not surprise me. I had heard her coughing all night, only to have it cease almost instantly at one point. She looked like she was sleeping now, though no sounds of breathing met my ears. She was gone. Ears folding back, I went to find Bex.

We had a small funeral of our own. Some of the neighbors came by to say goodbye to their friend Rekhyt Rudel. Me and Bex had dug the grave, and then we had help lowering the wooden casket down into the ground. Once everyone had left, we began to throw the dirt back in.

I was shaken by my mother's sudden death, of course. But also, I was sort of glad to see her go. Near the end of her life, she had looked like Death herself. A part of me was glad that she no longer had to suffer.

***

Over the course of the next year, I became more independent, taking walks for hours out in the countryside by myself. It was then that I began to discover the wonderful petpets that littered the land of Meridell. I often brought home sick and injured pets, nursing them back to health and then releasing them into the wild once more.

Then one day, I came across a little Gallion with a broken foot. As usual, I couldn't leave it behind and I took it home with me. When it came time to release it, it wouldn't leave. I tried to get it to stay for nearly an hour, but every time I turned to leave, it would start following me. Grinning to myself, I lifted the little guy in my arms and took him back home. Bex only allowed me to keep him for good after I used the fact that he had a pet of his own against him. Bex had a little Zomutt I had found a while before. Not to mention I had a habit of setting Bex's tail on fire when I felt like it. So I got to keep the little Gallion, who came to be known as Cinder.

***

Several months passed, and then winter was here. The time was mid-December and there was snow everywhere. Bundling up in my favorite hoodie, I set out for my daily walk, Cinder at my heel. We had been walking for some time when I noticed Cinder had stopped. He was half hidden in a bush. Chuckling quietly, I walked back to him. "Cinder. C'mon, boy. Let's go." I coaxed, nudging him gently. The little dragon-like creature made a noise, but didn't move. When I looked harder at him, I noticed he was sniffing for something. I still thought nothing of it, however. But then he scampered into a well-hidden path, making a screech-like bark sound. Sighing, I followed him. "Cinder, there's nothing out here but snow and-…" I trailed off as I saw the dark red spots in the snow. Fresh spots. Blood spots. Something was hurt. Bad. "Find it, Cinder. Go." I told him. The gallion took off, following the trail. As we went, I noticed the prints in the snow were far too big for a petpet, and even bigger than an average Neopian.

Cinder tracked the creature for at least 15 minutes before we finally came upon it. My eyes widened as I caught sight of the creature. It was laying on its side in a small clearing, its back facing us, which was where a nasty looking wound was slashed. The thing was massive and covered in course jet-black fur. Curious, I carefully skirted the creature, wondering what it was. When I saw the front side of it, I took a step back. It was a werelupe. A huge, black… wounded werelupe. I felt a slight ache in my shoulder just looking at it. It's arm was slumped over its face, massive black claws glinting in the light of my glows. I could see a single scar on the wrist of the arm that was hiding its face. Four more were slashed into his other arm. I could see one of his ears from my position and it looked slightly chewed on. As I observed it, it shifted slightly, the arm falling from its face. There was another scar on his snout. I could tell its breathing was ragged. It must have gotten in a fight with something, by what I could tell. I took an involuntary step closer and its eyes snapped open. Golden-yellow, bloodshot eyes. Something stirred in me, but I couldn't quite explain it. Then his huge head lifted, a growl rumbling in his throat and that's when I saw it. That scar. On his left eye. I stumbled backwards, losing my balance and falling on my butt. "Drake…" I croaked. Cinder came up beside me, trying to make a menacing growl in return, though it sounded as aggressive as a rabid teddy bear.

The werelupe's head dropped back down to the snow with a groan. He looked so weak. I scrambled to my feet and edged closer to him. Once again, his head lifted, lips pulling back to show off his massive fangs.

I stopped in my tracks. "Drake… It's me… Sirius." I insisted, stepping closer again. The werelupe looked up, his eyes searching my face. He then let out a little whine, his tail wagged once, and then he lowered his head back to the ground with a flop. Tears forming in my eyes, I ran forward and carefully wrapped my arms around his thick neck. "Drake, what happened to you?" I whispered. He suddenly went stiff in my arms. I watched as his ears perked, nose twitched. Then a snarl rose in his throat once again. Struggling to his four paws, he gently pulled away from me, rising shakily to his two hind legs. He had to stand at least 8 feet tall now.

He turned to me then and, carefully, grabbed me by the waist, lifting me up into a tree.

Confusion crossed my face. "What's going-''

Suddenly, a second werelupe burst into the clearing, aiming straight for Drake. Drake rose to the attack, using his massive forearms to slap the other away. I could already tell my brother was at a large disadvantage. He was lagging from the blood loss. I had to find a way to help before I lost him altogether. I decided to do what I knew I could do. Focusing intently on the attacking werelupe, I imagined him in the middle of a fire and suddenly he burst into a mass of green flames. With a yelp, he dropped to the ground, rolling in the snow in hopes of extinguishing the fire. After several long moments, he managed to put it out, but he wasn't looking for a fight anymore. He turned and slinked off, tail tucked between his legs. I grinned triumphantly. "We did it, Drake!" I announced. I looked down just in time to see my brother drop to the ground. My eyes widened as I let out a gasp. "Drake!''

I jumped down from the tree and went to his side. He was shaking, shrinking. Within moments, he had shrunk down to a very thin shadow of what I remembered my brother to be. There was a new gash bleeding on his throat, though the one on his back had scabbed over now. "Cinder! Go get Bex." I told my little Galion. With a chattering sound and a nod, the little petpet bolted off in the direction of home.

I then knelt beside my brother, pulling my hoodie off and trying to cover Drake as much as I could. All he wore was a very tattered pair of shorts, held tight to him by a rope he used as a belt. I could already see him shaking as he lay there. Thinking quickly, I scavenged some branches and lit them, making a large green fire beside my brother. He was unconscious from what I could tell.

Ten minutes passed before I finally heard the crashing approach of my other brother. As the red lupe broke into the clearing, he doubled over, panting, his breath fogging around his snout in the frigid air. "What's… wrong…" he panted. Then he saw who I had found and his jaw dropped.

Bex, we gotta hurry. He's hurt. He's shivering and sweating and he won't wake up." I whimpered, my voice shaking in fear.

Bex didn't say anything else. He came over to where Drake was laying, scooped him up in his strong red arms and started for home. "Put that fire out and come on." He told me.

With a wave at the fire, it was out instantly and I quickly followed after.

Once we arrived home, Bex told me to grab towels and blankets and to lay the towels on the couch. I obeyed as fast as my feet would carry me. Bex then laid Drake on the couch. "Now, cover him up with the blankets while I try to find what we did with that first aid kit." He stated.

Again, I did as I was told.

By the time Bex returned with the first aid kit, I had 5 blankets stacked on top of Drake. Bex then offered me the kit. "You're better at this than I am." He said. I really couldn't argue with that. Taking the kit, I withdrew the disinfectant and a cotton ball and dabbed the stuff at the wound on Drake's throat. I then bandaged it up. "Bex, I'm gonna need help getting the other one. It's on his back." I called.

Bex returned to the room with some clothes, dropping them in an arm chair and coming to my side. We managed to get that one patched up as well. "Now... We wait for him to wake up." Bex stated, flopping down into a free seat and flipping the TV on. With a sigh, I sat right in front of the couch, my head leaning against Drake's side.

It took 35 hours before there was finally movement from beneath the covers. With a groan, my brother finally stirred, freeing his arms from the cocoon of blankets. "You're awake!" I exclaimed, my colorful tail wagging excitedly. He chuckled quietly, a smile on his lips. With a grunt, he pulled himself up into a sitting position, using the couch to lean against.

I couldn't fight it any longer. I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him, careful not to hurt him, but I wasn't letting go any time soon. "I missed you sooo much, Drake." I whimpered. I felt his arms wrap around me as well. "I missed you too, Glow." He replied. He then released me and I reluctantly let go of him. I watched as his gaze swept around the room. "Where's… Mom?" he asked hesitantly.

Me and Bex looked at each other. "Think you can walk?" Bex asked Drake.

For a moment, Drake just stared at the two of us before slowly nodding. His arms shook slightly as he pulled the massive pile of blankets off of himself, but he got up and stood. I grabbed the new clothes from the armchair and handed them to him. You might want to change first." I mentioned

He took the clothes and disappeared for several minutes before returning, dressed in his old jeans and one of his sweatshirts. "Okay, what's going on?" he asked.

I took hold of his hand and lead him out back to where we had buried Mother.

There she is." Bex commented, hands digging into his pockets with a sigh. "Died of heart failure." He explained.

I looked up and saw Drake staring at the grave, his face unreadable. He appeared to be reading the tombstone. "Did she ever say anything about forgiving me?" he asked quietly, eyes still attached to the grave.

Ears drooping, I shook my head. "I tried constantly to talk sense into her, to let you come back, but she just wouldn't stop to listen." I stated sadly.

He nodded silently in response. "I figured as much.'' He sighed, turning back towards the house and heading inside. Following, I found him seated on the couch, pretending to watch TV, though I could tell he was far off in his own world of thought. Walking over, I plopped down on the couch beside him, curling into his side and resting my head on his chest. He put his arm around me and I could sense his smile spread. "Welcome home, Drake." I whispered, watching as Bex came in and sat himself in the armchair.

Having found the remote, Bex flipped the channel to some music channel that had some drummer documentary on.

Drake grimaced. "Hey, change it back. This is crap." He stated.

Bex snorted. "No way. I've been waiting to catch this on for a while." He returned.

Don't make me come over there, Bex." The oldest lupe threatened.

Bex merely smirked in reply and proceeded to crank the volume up before he tucked the remote behind his back.

With a growl, Drake slid out from under me. "Alright, that's it. I warned ya." He said, getting to his feet shakily and going after the red lupe.

With a yelp, the chair Bex was sitting in toppled backwards to the ground. Grabbing the remote, the red lupe bolted off somewhere else in the house with Drake in pursuit.

I, however, remained on the couch, just laughing at the two of them. It was nice to have things like they used to be. Hopefully, it would stay that way for a long time.

*coming soon*

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Cinder - text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text

You finally look up from the book to find Sirius gazing at you intently. "The rain stopped about an hour ago but I didn't want to disturb you." He comments, a slight grin perking at the corner of his mouth in amusement of something.

Eyes widening, you return the book to him with a thank you and make your way towards the door.

Thanks for keeping me company." He says, opening the door for you.

You step out with another thanks and continue on your way, your mind spinning with everything you learned about the little lupe.