After the movie finished, Garret said goodnight to the boys and disappeared into his bedroom, while the two of them decided to watch another film before they went to bed too. Halfway through, Edmund said he could hear his dad snoring, so they turned the movie off to finally have their discussion.

“Okay, so, are we not telling your dad about the werewolf thing?” Sebastian asked.

“It was a shot in the dark to tell Hayden. Like, how do we even prove we’re telling the truth? I don’t exactly know how to control any of this stuff.”

“Seph said you’d be able to shift on command; with a bit of practice.”

“Alright but,” Edmund sighed, “I don’t know how he’d react to it. He could freak out and shoot me for all we know.”

Seb rolled his eyes. “He is not going to shoot you. Telling him would make things a lot easier on us you know.”

“He still wouldn’t give up living here if I decided to move.”

“But he’d know why you decided to up and leave the place you love.”

“What about your parents?”

“Huh? I’m not a werewolf.”

Edmund rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but how are you going to explain moving away?”

“Oh...” Sebastian bit his lip thoughtfully. “I think that they’d understand me leaving with you.”

“Leaving your parents and hometown just because one friend moves away is kind of silly. Don’t you think they’d be against you giving up everything here just for me?”

“Okay, firstly, you are my best friend. Secondly, they know that- they know you, and they would understand. And, lastly, what am I really giving up if you’re going to be with me?”

Edmund became a little flustered at that last point and decidedly looked anywhere but Seb’s face. “Don't say stuff like that. You have a life here. This town is everything we’ve ever known.”

“You’re cute when you get like this,” Sebastian said with a teasing poke at Ed’s side, “but don’t invalidate my words. This is our home but it’s only a place. We can make a home somewhere new too.”

Edmund shrugged, silently mulling over Seb’s words for a few moments. “I think we should tell them. All three of them.”

“Okay, it’s your thing, so you can decide and I’ll be here as support. When do you want to do this though?”

“I don’t know. Once I get a handle on the shifting if we can keep it under wraps until then?”

Sebastian nodded. “So, does this mean we are moving?”

“I don’t want to. But at the same time, I know it isn’t rational to be so... territorial.”

“Emotions usually aren’t rational, Eddie. And this is your home, so of course, you feel that you want to stay.”

“You’re right. Again.”

“Always.”

Edmund rolled his eyes fondly. “I’m exhausted. Let’s get some sleep.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement and followed him out of the room and up to Ed’s bedroom. They both changed into some sleeping attire before turning in for the night. The soft sound of crickets guiding them away to dreamland...

Moonlight pierced through the trees and glittered on the surface of the calm, clear stream just below where Sebastian sat. He closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath of the crisp night air. He ran his fingers through Edmund’s soft curled fur and the wolf nuzzled against his tight in return. It felt like the definition of peace.

A small splash from beside them however broke this peace and Seb turned his head to see what was happening. Not too far from them, two wolves, smaller than Ed, were play fighting near the water. Well, they had been near the water. Now though, one was soaked and the other looked like it didn’t know whether to run for its life or not. Before it could decide, the other pulled them into the water so that they both were equally wet now, and Sebastian couldn’t help laughing at the sight.

There were other wolves around too. Some laid peacefully like he and Edmund, others playing or simply walking around. Overall, they seemed to just be enjoying the peaceful atmosphere until something on the other side of the stream caught their collective attention.

Ed stood up and took a protective stance in front of Seb. The two wolves who had been in the water leapt out and came over to Sebastian. Even though they were both wet, he almost instinctively put out a hand to comfort the pair, just as Edmund growled at the darkness between the trees.

From that darkness, there emerged more wolves. A decent number, all with red dripping from their mouths and paws. Even as the wolves on this side of the stream gathered close, Sebastian couldn’t help feeling they were heavily outnumbered. If something were to happen- when something happened, what could he do to help?

As if to answer his question, the moonlight seemed to suddenly get brighter. Seb looked away from the other wolves to the moon and almost gasped as he saw it. It was so bright and so close. He could probably touch it if he reached out. So, he tried and then-

Fire- Blood- A woman running for her life-

Rain- Lighting- A child hiding underneath their bed-

Trees- Dirt- A man trapped in smoke-

Light- Doors- Lovers embracing with tears in their eyes-

Wind- Thunder- Screaming as loud as his lungs allowed-

Darkness- Mirrors- Eyes as blue as the sky-

“Here-- One-- Take caution-- The tyrant--”

“Sebastian!”

Seb suddenly gasps for air as his brain comes back to reality. There’s a brief moment of panic before he registers that the arms wrapped around him belong to Edmund, who is comfortingly reassuring him that whatever that was, was a dream. It was all a dream.

A sob escaped him and that was all it took before he really broke down crying in Ed’s arms. He never had been a stranger tonight terrors but that was a whole other level of messed up. The sounds, the smells, the feeling, it was all too real. Even as they played back in his mind, they were too clear. It was too much.

Edmund’s presence though was making it better. His gentle voice guided Sebastian through the steps of a breathing exercise. He tried to focus his thoughts on that. In, out. In, out. Finally, he was able to breathe normally again and his tears had subsided. Edmund still held him close though and he had no intention of moving away from that comforting grip.

“I’ve ruined your shirt,” He muttered, earning a laugh from Ed.

“A bit of snot and tears does not ruin a shirt. I defiantly have to wash this thing now, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“This is the one I got you last Christmas, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s nice.”

“It is... Do you want to talk about your dream?”

Sebastian closed his eyes. “That was no dream. It was a bloody nightmare. With some actual blood, even.”

Edmund hesitated. “You were talking in your sleep. Something about a tyrant.”

Sebastian’s eyes snapped open. “Wait, what exactly did I say?”

“It was mostly muttering. But you mentioned something about caution and the tyrant.”

“That's what I heard right before you woke me. A voice trying to warn me. I’m not sure which of those things I saw was meant to be warned against. Maybe all of them.”

Ed tensed. “What exactly did you see.”

Taking one last deep breath, Sebastian recounted the dream as best he could. He stayed locked in Edmund’s arms the whole time so he wasn’t sure how the other boy was really reacting to it. He could feel when he tensed up at certain parts and Ed rubbed his back when he seemed to be having difficulty with finding the right words.

“Eddie?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it just me, or is everything getting really scary?”

“It’s... something. Everything that’s happening is so much, I feel scared too. But, maybe that’s why you dreamt of those things. Because we’ve just found out about the supernatural and have to face a whole new world of challenges.”

“Maybe. I hope you’re right.”

Edmund didn’t reply, instead opting to pull Sebastian closer despite them already being flush against each other. Once more they laid in silence until the soft twittering of birds outside indicated it was morning. For a moment, Seb wished they could stay like this. No need to face wolves or nightmares or what to do next. Just the two of them holding each other in silence like this.

However, a low growl from Ed’s stomach broke the silence and made Sebastian laugh. “Guess we have to get up and face the day.”

“Stupid enhanced metabolism.”

“Are you actually complaining about being able to eat more food?”

“Hmm, good point. Do you want waffles?”

“Only if you’re making them.”