Luna winced, grinding her teeth together until her jaw quaked. She curled her fingers into fists until her nails dug painfully into her palms, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She could hear Katie’s strangled coughs and violent heaves from behind the closed door. Sophie had closed it behind her – Luna assumed it was to muffle some of the noise – but it did nothing to block her sister’s moans from her sensitive ears.

Luna gulped and bowed her head, trying to force down the lump choking her.

It was not just how much sicker Katie was becoming that was getting to her. Luna hated the things that she had endured over the years, they had mangled her up and were the source of her nightmares and her moments of uncontrollable panic. But over time, they had become almost mundane. She had grown used to the unimaginable agony, almost expected it. Until it had been Katie’s turn. She had never voiced it to her friend – who had been in the more terrible position at the time – but watching Katie’s suffering had been a new kind of trauma for her, one that broke her down in an entirely unfamiliar way.

Experiencing it had brought back memories Luna had hoped would stay buried forever, ones of her youth, of her earliest days in captivity. Back when things were far from regular, before she lost her voice. She had never begged, she had barely known enough proper English at the time to speak it properly – aside from the occasional time she had slipped into it – but the man who haunted her nightmares knew her voice, knew her cries. She often thought they spurred him on, and when she could no longer scream, it had gotten worse, as if he believed that a new level of pain would rip it free of her throat once more. It still made Luna feel ill to think about.

She knew this was different. Katie’s discomfort was biological, and she was with people who loved her and would do their best to help her, but hearing her pain had those old, dangerous memories bubbling to the surface in Luna’s mind.

On top of that, she was genuinely stressed about her sister. Katie was the most important person in her life. The one who had given Luna an identity and shown her kindness in a sea of cruelty. She was happy here with Lewis and Sophie, and she was eager to reconnect with her birth family, but Katie remained the only person Luna truly felt completely and entirely comfortable with. And now she was growing more and more sickly, and there was nothing Luna could do to help.

Luna squeezed her fists tighter and she felt her eyes sting as liquid began to swim behind the clenched lids. Her chests constricted and her breathing became haggard as it whistled in and out from her gritted teeth.

When the door in front of her swung open on a squeaky hinge, Luna flinched, then curled into a tighter ball as the quaking began. It was an uncontrollable quiver of her entire body, and she tensed her muscles even more in an effort to quell it, despite already being more rigid than an unyielding rock wall, though she did not feel nearly as infallible.

There were a few echoing footsteps, and then a warm hand was placed on her back, firm and steady despite her uncontrollable shaking. “Luna? Honey, are you okay?”

A whimper bubbled past Luna’s lips and her face scrunched as the first of her tears began to slip past the barrier of her closed eyelids. “Want…in,” she hissed, unable to relax enough to speak properly.

“Luna, you can’t go in right now. Katie needs to rest. Lewis is with her, don’t worry,” Sophie uttered in response. “Why don’t we go back to the living room and get you something to drink, okay? I have some peach nectar that you might really enjoy.”

Luna shook her head and her tears dripped from her chin to spatter on the floor below. “I want to stay.”

“I’m worried about the effect this is having on you. You’re getting too worked up. I know this is stressful, but you have too much anxiety to be here right now. Come on, maybe a swim is in order to help you relax.”

“I want to stay,” Luna repeated, more firmly this time. Beyond the still-open door, she could hear Katie’s loud, haggard coughing. It was another fit, and it seemed to stretch on. A strangled sob lodged in Luna’s throat and she curled in on herself until her neck was craned and her face was flush against the floor beneath her.

Above her, she heard Sophie sigh. “Alright, come here.”

Before Luna could properly protest, Sophie was grabbing her and dragging her into her lap. Luna found her face pressed against the woman’s torso as Sophie held her. A second later, she was up off the ground with Sophie’s arm looped around her tail to support it.

“No,” Luna whined as Sophie began to carry her back down the hall. “Put me down.”

She squirmed and Sophie’s grip on her tightened. Under normal circumstances, Luna did not mind being carried – she felt safe with Sophie and knew that the woman would never harm or drop her – but this was not a normal situation and Luna’s stress levels were already too highly elevated. As Sophie’s arms tensed more firmly around Luna, keeping her pinned close, Luna felt her heart rate accelerate until it was drumming violently against her chest, which now felt more like a boney prison that was compressing in on her.

Gripped with a desperate need to get free, Luna jerked her head back and contorted her body, trying to rip free. She felt Sophie stumble beneath her and seconds later she was being lowered rapidly to the floor. “Luna, you need to relax,” Sophie urged.

Instead of releasing her once she was on the ground, Sophie pulled Luna closer and Luna felt her throat close. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued to squirm.

“Relax, Luna, it’s okay,” Sophie pressed, but her voice sounded far away, muffled by a sharp ringing in Luna’s ears.

Her fight or flight surged within her like a swell racing towards the shore. Her heart continued to drum loudly, drowning all other noise. The grip was too tight, too restrictive. Feelings of helplessness, of being trapped swarmed in her head, blocking the light of anything else.

A sob ripped past her lips, quickly morphed into a screech as her senses were overwhelmed. She was gripped with the desperate need to get away, to pull from the grasp holding her, which had become a threat.

Feeling cornered, Luna tossed her head and clamped her jaws down. She faintly heard the pained grunt, but her stress urged her to bite harder, squeezing her jaws as tightly together as she could. A sharp, bitter tang coated her tongue as a viscous fluid pooled in her mouth, but Luna hung on for dear life.

It felt like an eternity before her rapid, shallow breathing began to slow and for her anxiety abate as she realized there had been no firm or brutal repercussions for her actions, which would usually land her in an even worse situation as scientists sought to punish her for lashing out.

Instead, there was only the warmth of the body she was pressed against, and a hand stroking repeatedly down her spine.

“It’s okay, Luna. It’s okay, everything is alright. Come on, Kiddo, just breathe. I need you to relax,” Sophie’s tone was soft, soothing, but also tense as if she had spoken them through gritted teeth.

Luna inhaled through her nose, feeling concerned, and finally opened her eyes. A bitter taste hung in her mouth and when she swallowed in an attempt to clear it, she nearly choked as the puddle in her mouth slipped down her throat. There was still blood welling up around her lips and as Sophie hugged her carefully, Luna began to realize exactly what was going on – where she was – and what she had done. She recoiled with a cry, releasing Sophie’s shoulder and pulling away to flop to the floor.

Tears flooded her gaze again as she watched Sophie clap a hand over the wound currently staining her white shirt a bright crimson.

Lewis stepped around her in order to crouch beside the woman. Sophie tried to wave him away, but he ignored her and shooed her fingers away. “Let me look,” he instructed.

Sophie’s face was scrunched into a pained mask as she reluctantly released her grip on her shoulder and shrugged her one arm out of the shirt. Luna got a good look at the rather deep looking puncture marks briefly before they were concealed by the blood pooling up from within.

The front door squeaked as it was unlocked and pushed open, but Luna could not tear her gaze away from the damage she had caused long enough to see who it was. Lewis looked up, however, his deep brown eyes clouded with concern.

“Lukshia,” he breathed. “Thank goodness. Can you grab me a towel and the bandages from the bathroom please?”

There was no response – though Luna had come to learn Lukshia rarely asked questions in the moment, and tended to save them for a better time, if she asked at all – and footsteps echoed down the hall. Lewis took Sophie’s place applying pressure to the wound.

Luna covered her mouth, tears streaking down her cheeks, and felt her stomach flip at the acrid taste still clinging in her mouth.

Sophie glanced up and caught her gaze, her face still twisted in a grimace. Her expression softened a moment later, however. “Luna, it’s alright,” she repeated.

Luna shook her head, her hands coming up to pull at the roots of her hair. “No,” she wailed. “No, no it is not. I hurt you. I am sorry, I am so sorry. I did not mean to.” She sniffed loudly as sobs began to wrack her frail form. She yanked harder at her hair and pulled her tail closer to her body so Lukshia would not have to step over it as she returned and silently handed the previously requested items to Lewis.

“Oh, Luna, I know it was an accident; it’s okay sweetheart.”

Luna shook her head again, curling in on herself once more. Her heart had returned to its frantic pounding. Sophie had done nothing but offer her kindness and support since the moment she had met her, and now she had repaid the favor with violence. The weight of the guilt sat heavily, crushing Luna’s heart and lungs until she could barely breathe. “I am a monster,” she whispered.

“No, you’re not,” Sophie objected. “Don’t say that. This was not your fault, Luna.”

“It’s beginning to clot,” Lewis announced. “It doesn’t look like the bone was cracked, though the muscle is going to take a little while to heal.”

“Not helpful right now,” Sophie hissed as he began to press the towel firmly against her shoulder. “Luna, come here,” she requested, holding out her good arm and beckoning with a flick of her wrist.

Luna did not move. She could not. Then she felt another hand rest on her head, and she jerked away, her tail sliding noisily against the floor as she scrambled back from Lukshia. “Stay away,” she whimpered. “I do not want to hurt anyone else.”

“Sophie, I need you to lift your arm,” Lewis requested. Luna flinched at Sophie’s sharp intake of breath and ducked her head so she would not have to look at the havoc she had caused.

“Luna.” Sophie had to say her name twice before she finally glanced back up. “Come here.”

Again, Luna tossed her head and dug her nails into the wood below. “I hurt you,” she sobbed. “I am dangerous. I need to stay away, you need to keep away, I do not want to hurt anyone else. I am sorry.” Luna felt her throat close once more. She had bitten people before, scientists and their lackeys who were hurting her, when her fear got the best of her and opportunity presented itself. But that had been a desperate gamble on a survival instinct. Never before had she attacked someone innocent, someone who meant her no harm and had shown nothing but generosity and acceptance.

Sophie had been so warm and welcoming and had offered Luna a home for as long as she needed or desired it – a gesture that meant the world – and to make everything worse, she was Katie’s mother. She had wounded the one person Katie valued above all else, and she did not even have a good reason for doing so. She had behaved no better than the aggressive animal she had often been portrayed as.

She sniffed again, bringing a hand up to swipe at her nose. She did not feel she deserved Sophie’s kindness, nor the right to meet her former family, not when she was such a risk to the people around her.

She had not heard Sophie approach and did not know she was there until she crouched down and draped one arm over Luna’s shoulders. “Luna, look at me,” she instructed, tensing her grip when Luna tried to shy away.

Reluctantly, Luna glanced up and gazed at Sophie through a blurred gaze. She blinked away the tears and forlornly regarded the thick bandage strips now secured around Sophie’s shoulder.

“This was not your fault,” Sophie began. Luna found herself being pulled closer to rest against Sophie again. The woman began to pet her hair, and even bent to kiss her brow. “This was an accident. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I know you are prone to panic attacks and traumatic episodes that you have no control over. I shouldn’t have grabbed at you like that while you were stressed. I should have respected your request to be released the moment you asked. I screwed up, and that’s on me. You are not a monster and you didn’t do anything wrong, and I am going to be fine, okay? Please don’t beat yourself up over it, alright?”

Luna sniffed again, but she could not help herself in nuzzling closer to Sophie. She did not feel she deserved it, but she still craved the comfort and assurances. “I am sorry,” she whispered.

“I know,” Sophie agreed. “But you don’t have to be; I’m alright. Besides, it didn’t even hurt.”

“You are just saying that to make me feel better,” Luna muttered.

“Luna, do you think this is the first time I’ve been bitten? I work in a field that involves rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals. I’ve taken a blow or two over the years. The Mer bite is definitely powerful, and I have no doubts you could have ripped my arm off if you had wanted to, but you were actually as polite about it as possible – for biting someone. It hurt initially, but you didn’t rip or even move. The worst part about it was the pressure. You’ve got some serious jaw strength, kid.”

Luna hung her head and did not reply. She curled her fingers back into fists, and twin tears dripped from her face to splatter across her knuckles. She did not find the information overly comforting and was not certain why Sophie seemed so relaxed about it. She could have done serious damage.

Sophie caught her by the chin and gently tilted her head back up until they were looking at each other. Her expression was calm, but Luna worried at her lip and fresh tears brimmed in her eyes. “This wasn’t your fault,” Sophie repeated. “Oh, hon, I know you’d never hurt anyone on purpose; not unless you were forced. You’re such a sweet girl, Luna; please don’t tear yourself apart over this. It’s okay, I promise.”

Luna sighed and slumped down. Sophie seemed to take advantage of that as she shifted closer and pulled Luna against her, rubbing her hand along her arm. “Okay,” Luna caved. “I am sorry.”

Sophie hummed in agreement, but there was no need for anything more to be said. For a few moments, silence stretched, but Luna was comfortable with it. She brought a hand up to wipe at her tears. She still felt guilty, but she did not want Sophie to have to keep comforting her, so she forced her feelings down for later.

The four of them sat in silence – she and Sophie on the ground, Lukshia leaning against one wall with her arms crossed as she surveyed the room, and Lewis carefully wrapping bandages back into a little white box – until it was shattered by an explosive coughing fit that echoed down the hall and was bad enough to send Lewis hurrying back down towards Katie’s room. Lukshia paused for a moment before following.

“You can go,” Luna murmured as she caught Sophie staring after them. The woman had tensed like she wanted to get up and race to Katie’s side.

Sophie shook her head and pulled Luna a little bit closer, her injured arm still hanging limply at her side. “No, there’s no sense having everyone crowd around her. Lewis will make sure she’s alright. I’m better off out here with you. Do you want to talk about what happened, Luna? Why were you so worked up? I know Katie being sick has been stressful on all of us, and especially hard on you, but I have a feeling that’s not the entire story. Is there something else?”

Luna’s breath caught in her throat as she hesitated. She did not quite feel up to talking about it, but also felt she owed Sophie something of an explanation. “Some bad memories just came back,” she said finally, choosing to give a vague portion of the truth, rather than refuse or have to go into a painful amount of detail. “It was bad timing.”

Sophie did not respond immediately, and Luna swallowed heavily. She hoped that she would not press for more details because she was not sure she could handle retelling the story. But thankfully, Sophie did not seem intent on pressing for more details, and she instead gently squeezed Luna’s arm. “I think I owe you an apology as well, Luna,” she announced after a moment. “I should have had a lot more respect for your boundaries. I forget sometimes just how much you are dealing with, and I usually try to give you space when it seems like you need it, but I messed up on that today. I shouldn’t have just picked you up like that without warning when you were clearly distressed and there should have been no hesitation when you asked me to put you down.”

“It is alright,” Luna echoed in a hushed tone. She did not feel Sophie was the one in the wrong.

“No, it isn’t,” Sophie refused. “You have had more than enough experience with people trampling over your comfort zone, you shouldn’t have to deal with it here too. I care about you, and I try to make decisions when necessary based on what I think is the best thing I can do for you girls. But you are not a small child, and you have been through a harrowing ordeal. You are in a better position to know what you need at any given time and I am going to respect that more from now on.”

Luna’s vision began to blur with fresh tears, though these ones flowed from the overwhelming joy that ignited in her chest, rather than the guilt and sorrow that had been crushing her. She had never had anyone say anything quite like that to her before. There had been a few who had acknowledged her sentience and treated her relatively fairly because of it, but she could not describe how precious it was to be given that level of respect and control over her own being.

Her sense of self had felt owned for years, with a lack of control and no right to choose. Since Katie showed up, she had been allowed to feel less alone, like she had a companion to face the terrors of life with. And when they left it all behind, she began to feel a lot less like a controlled object, but she still was always prone to simply doing what anyone said because she did not know any differently and was quietly afraid that refusal would shatter the safe and accepting environment she now had.

As her tears spilled down her cheeks, Luna threw her arms around Sophie, squeezing under her arms rather than risking putting pressure on her fresh injury. “Thank you,” she choked, unable to manage anymore words as her throat closed up and she pressed her face into Sophie’s shirt.

Sophie squeezed her with her good arm and Luna exhaled softly, all her previous tension slipping away for a moment. It felt incredible just to be held and to feel loved. She was not entirely sure Sophie had known her long enough to truly care for her or consider her part of her family, but it felt like it sometimes and that was enough for Luna.

“Sophie?” Lewis’ worry filled tone shattered the moment, and Luna pulled away and sat back on her tail as Sophie turned to look at him. Luna glanced up too. Lewis’ dark face had creased with lines as his eyebrows dipped together, and he was wringing the fingers on one hand.

“What’s wrong?” Sophie lurched to her feet and Luna felt her heart stall in her chest. They seemed very concerned and she hoped Katie was okay.

“I have to make a trip back down to the park for some equipment. I was talking to Lukshia about it while we were in with her…Katie’s getting worse, fast. You know she’s stopped eating because she can’t keep anything down, but between the coughing and her throat beginning to swell, she having trouble breathing properly. She needs to be on IV and I think it would be safest to prepare to put her on oxygen as well. We won’t have a choice if this gets much worse.”

“It’s that bad?” Sophie’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Luna watched Lewis hang his head. “I’m trying, Sophie, but I’m not a doctor and honestly, I don’t think one could help her. We don’t know enough about their biology to isolate what’s causing this, much less treat it.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair. “The best I can do is try to keep her comfortable enough to fight it on her own.”

Luna felt her eyes begin to water again. She did not understand all of what Lewis was saying, but it sounded very bad.

“We don’t have all of that equipment at the park,” Sophie stated after a long pause.

Lewis shook his head. “No, but we have enough to get her on an IV supplement for now. Lukshia has offered to obtain the rest. I’m not sure who she is, but she seems to have her fingers in more things than I want to know, because it takes some serious connections to pull professional medical equipment out of thin air. The good news is, I can use all of it – I have the training – we just need to acquire it.”

Sophie pulled out a chair from the table and sunk into it, putting her face in her hands. “Do what you have to.”

Luna’s heart clenched as Sophie’s broken tone. “I-is Katie going to d-die?” Her voice cracked, and she coughed on the words as she asked. Part of her did not want to know the answer.

When Lewis turned to look at her, his lips were pressed into a grim line and his dark brown eyes were glistening with barely concealed pain. He did not reply immediately, and when he did, it was whispered with a deep helplessness as he shook his head. “I don’t know, Luna. I really don’t know.”

Before Luna could even react, her attention was drawn to the smothered whine that Sophie made in response to Lewis’ statement.

Luna closed her eyes to fight back more tears. As painful as it was to consider losing her sister – her best friend – she imagined it had to be twice as painful to lose a daughter. And Sophie had already lost Katie once. She had just gotten her back, and Luna could not imagine what it must feel like now that she might have her daughter potentially ripped away again.

Luna dragged herself over and leaned her head against Sophie’s knee and wrapped her arms around her leg. It was all she could reach while on the ground like this, but she hoped that it would still provide some level of the comfort she was attempting. She closed her eyes again and felt Sophie’s hand come to rest on the crown of her head.

“I’ll do everything I can,” Lewis declared, softly breaking the silence. “There’s still a chance. I have to go now. Soph, you should go sit with her. It’s best that there’s always someone keeping an eye on Katie right now, in case something happens, and Lukshia is probably going to need to take off too, by the sounds of it.”

“I’ll go sit with her,” Sophie agreed.

“I want to come too,” Luna decided. She knew she could not do much to help Katie get better, but she wanted to be close regardless.

She glanced up and watched Sophie grimace. For a moment, she was convinced Sophie was going to refuse.

“I don’t know if you should be getting too close; I’m still worried about you catching this, especially now that it’s getting so severe,” Sophie started, though it sounded like she was talking more to herself than to Luna. “But I did just make you a promise, and I intend to keep it. But Katie needs to rest, so if having two of us in there is going to keep her up, you’ll have to leave okay?”

Luna nodded. It was more than fair, and she would never want to cause detriment to Katie’s wellbeing anyways. “Okay,” she agreed. She just hoped everything was going to be alright.