#if anyone is insane like me and wants to draw his bow here u go. feel free to reference. hell feel free to trace the damn thing

[fallencrowkarma]

Trying to make a ref for Kaito‘s bow for an illustration except i make up bullshit because none of the references make sense together🫠 But this is it until we get a full, official ref/look of his whole bow. I already regret my decision of wanting to draw a full illustration for him;;;;

[cryysiswritesthings]

A Summer of Lifetimes | Week 1: Festival/Tanabata

Fandom: Inuyasha Rating: PG Warning: N/A Prompt: Festival/Tanabata 

Festival/Tanabata | Heat Wave | Fireworks | First Kiss | Star Gazing | Hugs from Behind | Free Week - Destiny | Free Week - Reunion

Find it on: Tumblr | AO3

Collections: Sparks Fly in July Tumblr Tags: #kogkag #inuyasha #a summer of lifetimes #sparks fly in july #kogkag event 2020 #prompt: festival/tanabata #prompt: festival

The bright sun illuminated the colors of tents and stalls, the smells of cooked meat and fried dough wafting in the air. The laughter and calls of the Parisian people were backed by chords of music from anyone with an instrument. Merchants shouted their wares to passerby, and entertainers donned costumes of every shape and size. Paris's Festival of Fools was in full swing.

Wrinkling his nose, Kouga tried to blink the sweat from his eyes. Right now, the only perk of being Captain of the Guard was not having to stand on his feet playing crowd control. No, instead he got to sit on the back of his horse playing bodyguard to a corrupt Minister. That the men were giving him sympathetic looks when they had the more grueling work only made things worse.

But he tried not to let it distract him. He may dislike the bastard he'd been assigned to, but no one would ever say he wasn't dedicated to the job. 20 years of fighting in crusades and wars proved that well enough.

There had been peasant shows throughout the day on the makeshift stage, and an announcement of a performance by one of Paris's best dancers at the day’s end. Considering the crowd and what he’d seen so far, he wasn't exactly optimistic.

A flash of pink and bright green gleamed in the corner of his eye, and he automatically turned his head to follow the distracting colors. When he got a good look at who was wearing them, his eyes almost bugged out of his head.

Long black hair curled and framed a heart shaped face, bright cinnamon eyes standing out against olive-toned skin. The green fabric clung enticingly over her slim frame, its pink accents drawing the eye to every voluptuous curve.

It was the street dancer from yesterday.

His hands tightened on the reigns, body pulled like a magnet towards the woman hiding among the crowd. But his horse had other ideas, shaking his head against the tugging direction of his master.

Kouga blinked, coming back to himself. What the hell was that? He'd never reacted to a woman that way. It didn't matter how beautiful and enchanting she was. He was on duty.

But it didn't stop him from following her every move with his eyes.

A line of entertainers moved in front of her, blocking his vision. He scowled automatically, but an errant cough pulled him to attention.

Naraku was staring right at him. And if looks could kill, he'd already be dead.

Clearing his throat, he bowed his head to his superior. The Minister's glacial expression shifted from him, and Kouga risked a glance back to where he'd seen her.

Damn. She was gone.

Shaking his head, he forced himself to concentrate. While he didn't expect any kind of attack at a peasant festival, it didn't mean he could let himself be distracted. 

Now if only he could get the image of her out of his head.

~

It was getting late in the day, and the festival was finally coming to an end.

He was unendingly glad--much more of this, and he’d have probably gone insane. Not the festival itself, as for all his non participation it had actually looked like fun. No, he was tired of sitting on his horse in the damnable, unforgiving sun.

And he hadn’t seen his street dancer again since, dammit.

He kept his disappointment internal. It was probably for the best. Whatever it was about her, there was no doubt she’d been a distraction. The Minister hadn’t looked at him since first noticing his straying attention, so who knew what that bastard thought of the situation.

The cleared stage brought with it a chorus of relieved sighs. The soldiers were feeling it too. There was just the single dance left, being held in the Minister’s honor. It’s completion would signal the end of the festival. After that, they could all go home.

He could already picture it. First thing he was doing when they got back to the Palace was taking a long, hot bath. Clean up, wipe off all the sweat. Body odor encased in metal did not make a good combination.

Who Kouga assumed to be showrunner took the stage, hands sweeping in dramatic gestures. A new kind of music started up, something subtle enough to warm a man’s blood. Drums pounded, great gongs of sound. His heart jumped in his throat, restricting his air. Something crashed, the firing of a cannons in the distance--

Son of a bitch!

There was a flash of brilliant light, and in a colorful burst of smoke the showrunner vanished and his dancer appeared.

Just like that, the rest of the world fell away.

The hallucination that had begun to form drifted from his mind the longer he watched her. Battle cries and explosions faded from his ears, his heart slowing to a normal rhythm.

Sheer pink ribbon flickered through the air, forming circles around her as she spun. Her dance was liquid motion, drawing the eye with every dip and twirl. She was a vision, perfection personified. He couldn’t turn away from her even if he tried.

Kouga exhaled and sucked in a shuddering breath. That had never happened to him before.

Not the sudden onslaught of nightmares coming to life around him. No, that had happened to him over the years often enough. It was the shock of being drawn back to reality. Of not waking screaming from night terrors and scaring the shit out of the other soldiers. Of not being forcefully restrained when the illusions didn’t let him see friend from foe. Of not coming to at the end of a battle, surrounded by bodies from both sides and covered in blood.

She had no idea what she’d just done for him. What she’d saved not just him, but the innocent bystanders around him from. How the hell had she done it? What about her had pulled him back?

He needed to talk to her, but he couldn’t look for her after the festival. He’d have to wait until tonight or tomorrow. He wanted her name, if she’d be willing to tell it to him. He wanted to know everything he could about her. Maybe work up the courage to ask her to have dinner.

The exclamations going up around him when she bowed to the Minister told him it was the end of her performance. Cheers, applause, whistles, everything the crowd could manage. Gold pieces flew through the air to the stage, landing at her bare feet. His horse shook its head, nervous at the small objects flying so close to his ears. Kouga patted his neck, whispering reassurances in his ear.

When he looked up, workers had taken her place on stage to collect the thrown coins. She had disappeared. 

Naraku glanced significantly towards his Captain, forcing Kouga to straighten in his saddle and clear his expression. The last thing he needed was the Minister to start looking at him in any kind of suspicious manner. The threat of what he’d done to the last Captain of the Guard was enough to have him sleeping with one eye open.

Shouted orders pushed the soldiers into action, driving them toward the Minister and his carriage. As the peasants started clearing the area, Kouga spotted the assumed showrunner speaking to someone off to the side. Before he had the chance to change his mind, Kouga motioned one of the guards to direct him over.

The black haired male looked mildly surprised at the approaching guard, but answered the unusual summons. Kouga took the chance to clear his throat, fighting back a sudden bout of nerves.

“How can I help you, Captain?” The other male didn’t seem disturbed at having been called over. If anything, he looked deceptively passive. But now wasn’t the time for Kouga to worry about that. He only had a few minutes at most to spare.

“The dancer,” he started slowly, glancing back towards the stage. “Does she... “ Dammit, how the hell was he supposed to ask these questions of a complete stranger?

The showrunner only barely suppressed a frown. “She does not give private dances if that is your inquiry, sir. She is not a whore.”

“I would never imply such a thing about her character!” Kouga snarled, hands tightening on the reigns. “I only wondered if she spent time somewhere nearby. I… I wanted to introduce myself.”

Surprised, his eyes lost their hard edge. “Might I ask why, Captain? Beautiful as she may be, men of your… caliber,” he seemed to choose his words carefully, “hardly give attention to our people unless they want something.” Dark blue eyes slid to the Minister, but quickly returned.

Kouga followed his gaze, but chose not to comment. “I mean her no harm. As I said, I only wish to introduce myself to her. To talk, if she’s willing too.”

The showrunner looked thoughtful. After a long moment, he spoke. “I will inform her of your desire for an introduction. If she is willing, then in three days time you’ll find her selling wares at the alley next to the bakers. If not,” and here his dark eyes went hard, “then I suggest you give up. We are very protective of our friends, you see. Especially one such as her.”

Taking the warning for what it was, Kouga bowed his head in acknowledgment. “You have my thanks. Forgive my abrupt departure, but I have duties to attend. Excuse me.”

Miroku watched the Captain trot over to the Parisian Minister, dark eyes following him until the entourage left the courtyard. He and the others had heard of a Captain being called back from the wars in order to serve at the Palace of Justice. If he had been anything like that one, Miroku would have denied all knowledge of knowing the girl. But this one seemed genuine enough.

Off to the side, a heart shaped face also watched the retreating soldiers. She’d been hard pressed to hear the men’s conversation over the crowd, but what she caught intrigued her. There was no way for her not to notice the Captain’s reaction to her as she’d danced, but to request a meeting? It wasn’t unheard of, but still unusual.

Knowing Miroku, he’d have given the man some excuse to give her time to escape the city. It wouldn’t be the first time someone of rank had taken an interest in one of their people. Those few days of notice gave them time to gather their belongings and vanish into the night. If she was smart, she would do the same.

Still though… she couldn’t forget the look in his eye when he’d seen her on stage. He’d looked… captivated. Like he’d never seen someone like her before. Like… like she’d given him hope when he’d long forgotten it.

No one had ever looked at her that way before.

Decided, Kagome returned to her tent to dress back into her street clothes. The Palace of Justice was easy enough to find, crawling with soldiers or otherwise. 

It would be dangerous, and she’d get in trouble in more ways than one if she got caught. But she wanted to meet him. She wanted to understand.

To see if maybe… she could recreate that look in his eyes.

[mammasapling]

Prologue - Part 5: Enter the Headmaster

Those who had been swimming hadn’t been given the chance to change so were all barefoot and wearing their clothes over their swimsuits. Jana hadn’t actually seen the park yet and she was sure that, in the sunshine, it was a beautiful place. It would be perfect to run around at night. The bronze statue in the centre looked incredible and was probably an awe inspiring sight but in the current dim light, it looked menacing and intimidating. The park in general held a menacing aura now. Jana caught up to Sonia as Usami called out into the empty park. She was about to make sure her friend was alright when she heard a strange laugh. ”Upupupupupupu!” Jana turned her head wildly, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from only for the voice to maniacally laugh again. ”Aaaahahahahahahahahah!” The statue? Once again, she turned out to be correct as a black and white teddy bear leapt up from behind one of the bronze creatures and greeted them all with a smile. At least... The white half was smiling. The black half was grinning insanely. Was her handbook still on detect speech? Okay Japanese speech to English text was what she needed right now. ”Why hello there! Thank you all for waiting so patiently~” The bear said.

 It spoke so politely but Jana felt nothing but fear listening to him. Why was she so frightened? He was just a stuffed toy like Usami... But Usami wasn’t just a stuffed toy and while she was harmless, there was no telling what this one could do. ”I am Monokuma, the headmaster of this academy!” That couldn’t be right. Surely the headmaster would be a person? ”And now that I’ve made my dashing appearance, I’ve only got one thing to say to you all.” Monokuma jumped down from the statue and began pacing in front of the gathered students. “This little trip of yours... Is so friggin’ lame! The lamest!” ”Ooooo just as I thought... It’s you!” Usami angrily told Monokuma, holding her sceptre ready to use it. “But how? Why are you here?!” ”Shut up, you!” He snapped at the rabbit before turning back to the student’s, red eye glinting in irritation and plushie body tense. “Now as for the rest of you... Your lukewarm attitude is making me want to vomit. It makes me livid! Heart throbbing school trip? What is this crap, anyways? I’m bored! So knock this crap off right now!” ”Oh I’ll knock something off alright.” Jana muttered under her breath only to receive a whispered scolding from Sonia. ”We’ve got world demands to meet, ya know! No one wants to see happy peaceful teenagers! They wanna see misery and despair.” Did this bear ever shut up? Thankfully, he stopped his little monologue as Fuyuhiko decided to pipe up, looking pretty mad himself. ”T-The hell’s up with this stuffed animal? Nothing he’s saying makes any damn sense!”

  Usami stepped forward towards Monokuma. “Be careful, class, leave this to me and please stand back.” ”Usami, are you sure?” Jana asked slowly. ”As long as I have my Magic Stick... I don’t know why Monokuma is here but I will keep you all safe.” Usami didn’t stand a chance. She was so busy reassuring the class that Monokuma leapt towards her with a roar. The students watched as the two stuffed animals exchanged blows... Or rather, Monokuma beat the stuffing out of the rabbit, taking her sceptre and smashing it under his paw. ”Noooooo!” Usami cried. ”Victory! Now... How to celebrate such a flawless victory.” He leaned down to the rabbit, the grin on his black half getting even wider. “First of all, white rabbits are waaaaaay too plain~” She could see Usami shaking in fear. ”Sooooo I’m going to remake you in my image! Ahahahah~” Was that even possible? Jana didn’t really have time to think about it as Monokuma pounced on Usami again. This fight was even more one sided as Monokuma pinned her down and both of them disappeared in a cloud of cartoon like smoke only for things like screws, bows and the occasional nappy went flying. ”Will you keep still?!” Monokuma snapped. “This piece isn’t going to shove itself in, ya know!” ”Nooooo!” Usami squealed. “That’s a no-no. That’s a big no-no!” But it was no use. The smoke and dust cleared and Usami was no longer a white rabbit The bow on her ear had stayed but she was now pink and white, reflecting Monokuma’s black and white with the eye on her pink half now bright red. But at least it was still round and somewhat friendly; Monokuma’s right eye looked a bit like a red bat. Embarrassingly, Usami was now also walking around in a nappy. ”Noooooo! Change me back to normal!” Usami cried, tears pouring out of her eyes. Could stuffed animals really cry? ”Ooooohhhh? Defying your big brother’s fashion taste? Are you a trouble maker, Monomi~?” Monokuma asked, sounding almost innocent apart from that constant something in his voice that made Jana want to back away several feet. ”W-what? B-big brother? Monomi?” Usami asked through hiccups and small sobs. ”Mhm. Your current position is so wishy-washy so you are now my little sister~” ”Hey!” Usami yelled back, already mimicking the way Monokuma moved. “Why do I have to be the younger one?!” ”That’s not really the point...” Jana whispered. ”Jana, you really should stay quiet and not draw attention to yourself right now.” Sonia reminded her. ”But-” ”Jana!” ”Fine.”

~ ~ ~

“So that’s how it’s gonna be~” Monokuma said with a finality in his voice and that glint returning to his red eye as he held up a paw threateningly. Jana has missed part of their conversation while being told off by Sonia. “And from now on, Monomi, if you ever disobey me, I’ll never forgive you!” ”Oh, if only I still had my magic stick. I could have beaten awful Monokuma.” Usami mourned. Her confidence and playful nature was completely gone. ”It’s your fault for leaving yourself open~” Monokuma taunted. “Even the smallest opening can mean life or death on the battlefield~” Annoyingly, Jana had to agree with him on that point but only that one. ”What’s with this stupid performance?!” Fuyuhiko snapped. She really wished he hadn’t. It was one thing to whisper to yourself like she had been doing because at least for a while, Monokuma hadn’t been paying attention to them. But now... Now they were in for it. ”Who friggin’ knows.” Akane responded to Fuyuhiko. ”Whatever this is, it’s obvious something bad is happening.” Chiaki added, looking in worry towards Usami. ”W-Wha’? What is this? What’s going on?” Teruteru piped up, shaking in his clothes much more noticeably than when Jana threatened him earlier. ”And now she looks all weird.” Mahiru added, mimicking Chiaki and looking at Usami but not using her name. Why? Her name was Usami, not Monomi. ”She looks like me now and you don’t like it? How insensitive.” Despite the phrasing and the way he hung his head, Jana doubted Monokuma truly felt hurt by Mahiru’s words. ”Aaaaaahhh! There’s more of them!” Ibuki screamed. ”Wh-What does this mean for us? What exactly is that black and white demon?” Peko asked, intense gaze focused on the bear. ”Hey, I’m not a demon! I’m a bear, Monokuma!” ”I-I don’t really get it but now... There’s another stuffed animal?” Kazuichi said aloud, maybe he was just thinking out loud? It sounded like something he was probably meaning to keep inside his head. “And it’s talking? How is that possible?” ”Grrr... I am not a stuffed animal! I am Monokuma, the Headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy!” Monokuma grumbled to himself for a few moments as various students tried to understand how this... Thing could be their headmaster. ”Anyway.” Monokuma continued. “You’ve all gathered. And as headmaster, I have a formal declaration to make. From this point on, the killing school trip shall now commence!” The... The what? ”S-Sonia... Could you please double check this was translated correctly.” Jana asked, gaze transfixed on Monokuma in outright terror as she held out her handbook to her friend. Sonia didn’t take it. She was even paler than before at the statement. ”N-no you really did just read that. T-this has become a killing school trip according to Monokuma.” ”A school trip where everyone gets along is just so damn boring! So let’s begin this killing school trip with you, the contestants~” No one could move or even speak for a few moments there until Teruteru spoke. ”U-us? Killing contestants?” ”NO!” Usami yelled, breaking herself out of her misery and stepping towards Monokuma. “I will not allow a bloody event such as this!” But Monokuma didn’t care one bit. His leg snapped up and hit her straight in the face, sending the rabbit flying. ”Usami!” Jana cried out ”OW!” Usami yelled as she went flying. “It hurts when you kick me!” ”Oh Monomi, you have such a small brain. How many times do I have to tell you?” He wasn’t even using her proper name and he’d just hurt her. Yes the rabbit was suspicious and had taken them away from the school but she was harmless! She was making sure they were alright! Jana clenched her fists, biting back the urge to growl and attack Monokuma herself. She couldn’t let anyone see that and besides, who knew what the consequences would be? ”Unless it’s a manga, the little sister is never more intelligent than the big brother.” Usami soon went back to her moping.

 “We got off topic there for a while, so allow me to explain the new trip rules~” Monokuma stated, totally ignoring the rabbit. ”W-what do you mean, k-killing school trip?” Mikan fearfully asked. She was another one Jana wanted to protect and she would definitely do so in the future. Mikan was always so skittish but this was the most tense she had seen the nurse all day. ”Isn’t it obvious? You guys are gonna try to kill each other.” What?! Kill each other! But... Animals was one thing but other people?! Jana couldn’t do it. There was absolutely no way she was capable of that. ”Oh, I see.” How was Kazuichi so calm?! “KILL EACH OTHER?!” He screeched. Jana would be impressed at how high his voice went if the situation weren’t so dire. ”An island life where you can’t leave unless you all get along is kinda boring, don’t you think? So now I want to change the rules! If you want to leave the island... Kill one of your friends! And then survive the class trial without being identified as the killer!” Monokuma instructed, laughing with insane glee as the teeth on the black half became pointed. They had to kill someone among them and not get caught? Commit a perfect crime? How could they?! Why should they?! ”Class trial?” Chiaki asked slowly. ”Thaaaat’s right~ The class trial is the real charm of the trip! Allow me to explain more clearly. If one of you gets murdered, all surviving members must take part in the class trial. The killer will of course, be among you. It will be a big debate showdown between the blackened student and the other spotless students. You will present your arguements as to who you think the blackened is and then vote. The outcome will be based on the majority. Should you arrive at the correct answer, only the killer will be punished and the rest of you may enjoy your island life. But be warned, choose poorly... The killer will be the only survivor and the rest of you receive the punishment~” Only survivor? That... Didn’t sound good. That sounded like death was involved in the punishment. ”So, get away with murder and you’ll live and get to leave this island~” Monokuma added as one final statement. Death was involved in the punishments! She was right! ”What exactly is the punishment?” Kazuichi asked slowly. He was as pale and tense as the rest of the class and sounded as if he didn’t really want to know. But they all had to know exactly what they were facing. ”Oh well basically, it’s an execution.” The bear spoke so calmly and casually about it, as if it were just a short detention. He would murder the student who was found guilty of murdering another student... He was mad! Jana’s free hand sought ought Sonia’s wrist, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She could feel her friend shaking in her loose grip. ”E-execution?” Sonia asked fearfully. Both girls yelped as Monokuma was suddenly in front of them, leering up at them, red eye glinting madly. ”The pleasing punishment that follows the class trial~ It’s one of the perks of the killing school trip! Upupupu, what kind of spine chilling punishments will we see~? I’m already getting excited! There might even be some unique ones... Like impaling your head through an arcade machine claw!” He told them gleefully before heading back to his spot in front of the statue. Jana felt a little sick at the mental image he’d given them. ”Now, any method of killing is fine.” The bear went on to list them but Jana tuned him out, she couldn’t listen to any more of this. She was scared and nauseous and wanted to go to sleep or just run somewhere. Anything to work all this off. She looked around, in front and behind her. Everyone looked scared and pale but all seemed to be denying the idea that they would kill someone. She snapped out of it when Sonia tapped her arm. ”You should listen... He seems to have a reason for us to want to kill each other.” Sonia’s voice was so quiet and shaky. She could hear it crack every so often. Her friend was as terrified as she was. Akane, Nekomaru and Peko were all in fighting stances, facing Monokuma. Peko was the only one with a weapon, reaching for the sword strapped to her back. ”You want force? I’ll fight back with force!” Monokuma growled at them all before turning his back on them and facing the statue. “Surge, O gods who dwell between light and darkness. In accordance to our contract, I summon thee now! Come forth, Monobeasts!”

~ ~ ~

At first, all was silent but then the statue rumbled and cracked to reveal five huge metal beasts all surrounding Monokuma. Sonia and Jana took several steps backwards, as did most of the class. Some silently, some gasping and others screaming. Jana couldn’t understand; this was supposed to be peaceful but now something had come out of nowhere and turned their already strange reality onto its head. She seemed to have totally zoned out again as suddenly, Usami was suddenly standing in front of them, tiny arms out stretched as if to shield them from the beasts and Monokuma... Monokuma was on the metallic beast with wings, screaming about punishment time. The winged beast stretched out  revealing several gun turrets, aiming them all at the tiny rabbit. She was hit with bullet after bullet, and Jana could only watch, frozen in place by fear and her own senses being overloaded by the noise and the brightness of each shot. One bullet stayed too close to her and Sonia and she quickly pulled her friend out of its path. Sonia hadn’t even seen it but then, Jana’s eyes were better than most. There was soon nothing left of the rabbit except a little bow covered in bullet holes floating down before coming to rest on the park’s pavement. ”U-Usami?” Jana mumbled in complete shock, neither seeing nor smelling any sign of the rabbit. The class was in uproar, all yelling out in fear and asking what the hell was going on. There was at least a little amusement from Jana as she saw that Gundam kept hamsters in his scarf but even they were frightened. Monokuma was just cackling and saying... Something. Jana had long since put away her handbook, she didn’t care what anyone said right now and why should she?! She’d just watched a gorgeous day become the beginnings of a fight for survival. She’d witnessed the death of a teacher figure who’d been kind of annoying but totally harmless. And anyway, Sonia would probably fill her in later... Or tomorrow. Everyone looked so tired and frightened and pale. Today had been so draining first from the excitement and then from the fear and the danger presented to them. Jana was tired too, her body felt heavy but at the same time, there was this big ball of anxiety in her chest and too much adrenaline running through her to be able to just go to sleep. She could see everyone staring at each other... Had someone said something? Jana wasn’t really in a good state of mind to bother following the conversation with her handbook.

~ ~ ~

Sonia tugged at her arm, leading the two of them back along the bridge to the first island and towards the cottages they’d seen by the hotel. There were little nameplates on each of the letterboxes now and Sonia stopped outside of her own one, dully wishing Jana a good night and pointing her to her own cottage. Across from Sonia’s own and then two doors to the right. Jana headed there, heading inside and spending all of a minute just sitting on the comfortable bed. She couldn’t just stay still, she had to move, she had to stop thinking about Usami’s death and the fact that leaving the island meant killing someone else. Jana slipped off her jacket, boots and left her e-handbook on the little table beside her bed before quietly heading back outside into the night air. She turned to face the hotel, intending to just walk that way to get to... Well Jana didn’t actually know where she wanted to go. All she knew was that she couldn’t sleep and her thoughts were racing out of control and she just needed some space to think and calm down. Hajime was there by the pool. Sitting hunched over something and looking about as troubled as she was. While she wanted to go and comfort him as he seemed like a nice enough boy, Jana had to put herself first this time.

 Turning silently back towards the cottages, she jogged down the path that separated the boys from the girls and kept going towards a large brick wall with a gate that was currently locked for the night. Didn’t matter to her. Jana put as much power into her legs as she could and jumped, grabbing the gate’s handles and pulling herself up to grab the top then dropping down the other side. Back onto the beach. Jana kept jogging for a few moments, waiting until she was hopefully out of view of the camera before breaking into a full out run. She ran faster than any person, bare feet hitting the sand hard but she didn’t mind the sensation. Her grey eyes became a rich golden amber and black veins crawled up her face and along the backs of her hands as she ran and left the cottages and the cameras behind. Then suddenly, instead of human feet, red furred paws were impacting the sand. Instead of a red haired person running along the coast, the silhouette of a lithe and powerful wolf was running across the night time horizon and towards the bridge leading to Jabberwock park. Jana didn’t slow down as she crossed the wooden bridge, she didn’t slow until she was within the park once again when she screeched to a halt and started to sniff the air. A scent. She wanted a scent. She was determined to find somethi- there! There by the statue! She was hunched a little as she approached, sniffing cautiously and ears pricked to take in any sounds that might be a cue to run. But she reached the little perforated bow without any trouble and let out a loud, mournful howl before shifting back to her human form in the blink of an eye. There was no flash of light, no smoke, no complicated transformation sequence, she was simply a human in one breath and a wolf the next. Jana picked up the bow, holding it close to her chest before gently tucking it into her jeans pocket and running back, remaining human so she didn’t lose her little treasure.

 Once back at her cottage, Jana found all of the things she’d packed for Hope’s Peak and found her favourite light pajamas. Usami’s bow was placed in a drawer in her bedside table and Jana finally found it in her to drift into an uneasy sleep.