*edited*

  Hope's thoughts were loud, and furious. Whatever Emma said, it didn't please the tribrid. Hope ripped the door open causing Laya to jump. She had been waiting for her friend to finish her meeting with Emma.

Hope didn't even speak to Laya, she didn't need to. Laya followed the Mikaelson girl all the way to her dorm. A small bit of kindness left in the path of Hope's rage.

She believed it was her fault. It wasn't. Laya knew it. She just wished she could find the right words to say it to Hope.

When the tribrid entered her room, she went straight for the chest under her bed. Inside, lied an old thick book. In an old, gothic font, read Shakespeare's Greatest Hits.

Inside the book though, was some of the most powerful spells  in dark magic Laya had ever seen. The one Hope landed on was a spell that would end in death. Landon's death. Hope wanted to kill him.

When the tribrid met her best friend's eyes, Laya smirked. If Hope planned on killing Landon, she would help her. Landon wasn't going to expose her knew family. She wouldn't let him.

  Dr. Saltzman agreed to let the girls come along with him on his search for Landon Kirby. In Laya's mind, he needed the girls to come. Alaric was getting old, and frail, and he was only human.

Under Dr. Saltzman's Jeep, laid a student whom neither of the girls could see. "Hello?" The sounds of tools clattering rang through Laya's ears. A pair of burly biceps gripped onto Dr. Saltzman's Jeep pushing the student out from under it. Rafael sighed at the sight of the two girls, "Hey."

With that, Raf wheeled himself back under the Jeep. "Whatcha doing?" Laya questioned with a small smile plopping down onto the concrete next to her new wolf friend. "Adjusting the sway bar."

"Was it broken?" Hope's voice was callous, and annoyed. She wasn't exactly begging for another to come on this trip with her, and Laya. Especially the best friend of the boy she was ready to kill.

Their was loud metallic snap, and Rafael pulled a thin long bar from under the Jeep. "It is now."

Rafael kicked the board back under the Jeep, and wiped only some of the grime off of his face, his vision fixated on Hope. "You're going after Landon. If oyou want this car to work, I'm going with you."

"You should stay out of it," Hope advised. "He's a liar, and a thief."

"He took a stupid knife." Rafael turned giving Laya a pleading glance. "Nothing in this school is a stupid anything," Hope shot back. "Look. He's my best friend. And you? You seem vengeful."

'It's true'

From across Rafael's shoulder Hope sent a harsh glare her way. Laya simply tilted her head earning a sigh from her tribrid friend. "Let me show you something." Hope stepped forward, her hands outstretched, but Rafael was quick to stop her grabbing onto one of her wrists.

The werewolf looked to Laya, the smiley hybrid who gave him a reassuring nod. Some part of Raf told him, if Laya said, it was probably okay. Following his illogical thoughts, hesitantly, Rafael let Hope do as she was.

The tribrid placed her palms gently onto Rafael's cheeks. "Close your eyes." Rafael did as instructed, his eyes fluttered shut, and that's when it started. "Incierdia," Hope mumbled. Rafael's pupils swam around violently under the thin blanket of his eyelids.

Suddenly, the wolf jumped back, panting heavily. "What the hell was that?"

"Your best friend did that to a bus full of people on Route 29 last night, and Laya and I are the only ones who know how to find him, so give me the engine thingy." Rafael's expression went hard, and he stubbornly shook his head, "No."

"I have actual powers," Hope warned.

"And I have a long history of anger issues."

"And now, I have two friends fighting. Calm down," Laya hurried in between the two pushing them apart. "He can come."

Hope's face dropped, "What?"

"He knows Landon; he'll be an asset. And we need all the help we can get, so fix the car, and hop in." Laya grinned, a response to Rafael's small smile. Hope sent the wolf one last glare before stalking back to the Jeep, and getting inside.

Dr. Saltzman paused after opening his door, "And put a shirt on." Rafael pulled a questioning expression looking down on his tank top. "Wow, someone sounds jealous."

Rafael smiled assuring Laya it wasn't necessary that she stayed with him. Laya knew better though. "You really think I wanna be in that Jeep with angry Hope right now?"

Rafael chuckled, "As long as it's you wanting to, and not feeling like you have to."

"I've never wanted anything more in my life," Laya paused thinking over her words. "That sounds so wrong."

Together, the pair laughed. Whilst Rafael finished up, Laya kept him company. And before they knew it, Raf was done.

  
   Hope's tracking spell led the group to a small wooded area on the side of the highway. Five minutes into the walk, and Hope declared, "I don't know why he's still out here. He has a whole day's lead on us. He could be anywhere."

Laya merely sighed at Hope's judging comment. "Maybe 'cause he doesn't have a reason to run," Rafael retorted defensively. Hope scoffed, "Logic that would be perfectly believable if he hadn't you know, ran."

Rafael stormed forward, "Wait━" Laya shushed them. Not far away, twigs snapped. "You hear that?"

"Someone's here," Dr. Saltzman affirmed. Laya nodded, and with the hybrid's assurance, Dr. Saltzman dashed through the trees. It didn't take long for the teenage hybrid to catch up with him, but it's what she stopped at that caught Laya's attention.

A woman in white, covered in grime hid behind a tree. Her eyes were wild as though something bad had happened. When she noticed the four, she stood. "I-It's okay," Dr. Saltzman promised. "I-I'm not gonna hurt you."

As Dr. Saltzman stepped forward, the woman stepped back. "Were you on the bus?" Finally, Hope and Rafael caught up to them pausing at the sight. The woman still stared at everything curiously. Like she hadn't before seen a tree.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

"Is she a survivor?" Hope queried.

"Uh, smells like it. She reeks of smoke." Laya nodded glancing back at Rafael before refocusing on the strange woman. "I think she's in shock. Look, I need to get her to the police so she can get some medical attention. Uh, why don't you three go ahead? Don't engage. We don't know how dangerous Landon is."

"He's not dangerous━" Rafael tried to protest, but Dr. Saltzman shut him down. "I said don't engage."

"Come on." Hope expected Rafael to follow already begging her trek away from the three, but he didn't. Rafael glared at Alaric almost as though he was challenging the headmaster. Laya faked a smile, taking Rafael's much larger one in her own, and pulling him away. "Come on, Wolf Boy."

Rafael glimpsed back at
Dr. Saltzman one last time before following Laya.

"What exactly happened on that bus?" Laya didn't want to answer. Rafael was confused enough as it was. "No one knows," Hope replied. "It's like something incinerated it from the inside."

Laya simply sighed focusing on the dead leaves beneath her feet. Rafael was angry though, the wolf sped up so he could be next to Hope, like that would make a difference. "Look, whatever he did, I know there's a good explanation. He's the most loyal friend that I've ever had. He was there for me on the worst day of my life. After my girlfriend died, he's the only thing that kept me going."

There it was. The reason to stay away from Rafael. Laya made one for every guy she ever had a crush on. Liking a boy with that much baggage would leave Laya in a world of heartbreak in pain. That was her reason. Just friends.

"So let me get that knife back for you, and then we both can hear him out, okay?" Rafael's pleas pulled Laya back into reality. She was too tired to realize she had zoned out. "Appreciate the passion, but maybe you should exert some of it making new friends."

"Hope," Laya warned. The tribrid paused, a stubborn eyebrow raised, "What?"

"Imagine that was me down there. Maybe you don't call me your best friend, but your mine. And if you were down there, I wouldn't be so cruel." Hope looked back in fourth between the two standing across from her.

"I'll get you the stupid━not stupid knife and the answers you want. I promise."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because I don't lie."

Hope chuckled dryly. "Everybody lies."

Rafael let out a defeated sigh. The werewolf was giving up. "Laya goes with you." Four words, and Rafael was filled with hope looking up to the tribrid. "He's in the root cellar. You have three minutes to do this your way."

Rafael glimpsed back at Laya with an eager grin heading for the old, abandoned house. Laya was not far behind ready to see this human. If Rafael wasn't so close to Landon, she would've been more okay with Hope's plan, but they were brothers. Laya knew what it was like to lose more than one of those.

Rafael pulled the old wooden doors open stepping down slowly. In the corner of the cellar, sitting down with his knees pulled to his chest was Landon Kirby. The runaway human.

"Raf?" Seeing his brother, Landon pushed off of the dusty ground rushing Rafael into a hug. "Holy hell. How did you find me?"

"There's um, a-a lot of crazy witchy people looking for you. There's a bus full of burned up people." Laya's vision fixated on Landon waiting for his response to the words. "That wasn't me!"

"Then who was it?" Confusedly, Laya whipped around at the sound of her best friend's voice. "You said three minutes."

"Like I said, people lie." Raf glared, "Corporis Impetu!" Hope thrust out her hand, Landon flew back, slamming against the wall of the cellar. "Hey!"

"Stop." Laya's single word earned a roll of Hope's eyes. "Dimittas." Laya whispered. Landon, panting like a dog fell to the ground. "Move Laya."

The hybrid held her ground, shaking her head. Hope huffed looking past her friend to Landon, "Where's the knife?"

"I don't have it. I must've lost it when I ran."

"After you burned the bus?!"

"That wasn't me, I swear. I barely got out alive."

Furiously, Hope charged forward. "Last chance, who the hell was it?"

Landon paused, like he was trying to remember. "There was this girl ..."

Four words. Four words to start one of the most unbelievable stories Laya had ever heard. At this point, she could understand why Hope would want to kill him. This kid must've thought they were stupid.

Voicing her opinions, Hope angrily stated, "I don't believe a word you're saying."

"You have every right to be mad at me, but I am telling you the truth. Come on man, help me." Rafael turned to the girls, then glanced back at Landon. "I believe him."

Laya sighed. Rafael's trust was admirable, but this was irrational. Women didn't breath fire. It wasn't normal even for the supernaturally gifted like herself. "You believe that a fire━breathing woman burned the bus alive?"

"Yeah."

"And Landon happened to be spared?" Laya asked beginning to fall on Hope's side. "He told you that he ran."

"And conveniently lost the knife on the way," Hope concluded. "Yes."

"She kept coming at me like she was gonna take it from me. She was burning everything in her path."

"You want to explain to us what you were doing stealing the knife in the first place?" Laya questioned. The hybrid was growing impatient with this human. If he was lying, he was an incredible actor.

But if he was telling the truth, they had something a lot more important that Landon to worry about. "I don't remember stealing it."

"Of course not. How about pretending to be compelled?" Hope inquired. Landon stood, waving his finger in the air defensively. "That was to avoid being thrown back in the werewolf dungeon."

"Transitional cellar."

"Small spaces!" Landon was inches away from Hope now. Their noses almost touched. The boy that broke her heart.

"Hope, you have to understand that Dr.Saltzman had already told me the school wasn't gonna let me stay. If he thought I'd talk, he'd lock me back up. There wasn't a good ending for me! I didn't want to steal from you, and I don't want a fire━breather chasing me. I'm sorry for all of it!"

Landon spun around pacing around his corner of the cellar anxiously.

'I believe him'

Hope gave Laya a look, and Raf stepped up to the pair. "He's not lying. I know him. Now, if he says that there is a fire━breathing woman running through the woods then there is a━" Dr. Saltzman practically jumped down the stairs in a scared manner.

"━there's a fire━breathing woman running through the woods." Hope eyes went wide glancing back to Landon. The boy sighed falling onto his bum. "Did I, or did I not say 'don't engage'?"

Laya rolled her eyes. "Landon here's about as dangerous as a sack of puppies, okay? We're fine."

"Looks can be deceiving. Now, our bus refugee, turns out she's a pyromancer." Laya scoffed. "Thats impossible. Dorian says━"

"Dorian says it's a pyromancer."

"Wait, wh-what's a pyromancer?" Landon questioned in a shaky voice. "A fire breathing witch."

Rafael chuckled wryly. "Ric, she wants the knife."

"Okay, well, where is it?" All eyes fell on Landon. "I-I lost it in the woods. I was running around in circles all night trying to find a place to hide."

Dr. Saltzman huffed glimpsing to his feet. "Okay, okay. Well, let's, uh, find it before she does, huh?"
Dr. Saltzman, and the girls were the first out of the cellar. Still not in the best mood with Landon, Laya decided to keep quiet.

By the time the five made it out all together, the woman in white stepped up to them. A low growl emitted from the woman's throat. "We don't want any trouble." 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

The woman held out her hand, demanding the group give her what she wanted. Dr. Saltzman didn't move, no one moved. The woman in white's gaze fell on Landon, and she growled yet again.

"What does she want?"

"I don't know."

The woman waved her hand reinstating the importance of her desire. "Lan?"

"Maybe she wants the knife you said you don't have." Before Landon could reply in his own defense, the woman's eyes glowed a striking firey orange. A color that meant nothing good for them. "Back in the cellar, go. Go, go, go, go."

The five rushed back in the root cellar. Laya was the last pulling the hatch shut just in time to block the flame and be thrown down the stairs, and into Rafael.

The cellar was spinning. Raf helped Laya to stand straight, but the hybrid needed a little more time. "Where the hell is it?!" Hope's anger was noted. Laya couldn't remember why she was angry though.

Then, he pulled it out. The knife.

Laya's senses refocused. He lied. "I'm sorry, I panicked." Rafael's eyebrows pulled together in a pained, and confused furrow. "What the hell, Lan?"

Dr. Saltzman grunted stumbling over to the teens. "Hope, doors." Doing as told, Hope spun around. "Got it. Adiuuatur." The tribrid thrust out her hand, water expelled from the motion covering the flames and exterminating  them.

"Okay, it's a quick fix. It won't last long."

"Alright, Great. I need a cellphone."

"Take your pick." Landon pointed to a barrel filled with phones, jewelry, anything with value. Dr. Saltzman didn't seem to care, he pulled a cell out and hastily dialed a number.

Laya did though. The hybrid traipsed over to the barrel examining its contents. "What is all this?" Within seconds, Hope and Rafael took their places next to Laya wondering what the hell was this doing in here with Landon? With the boy who lied?

Rafael pulled out a card, and gasped. "It's from the people on the bus."

Simultaneously, the three looked back to Landon who was very defensive about the matter. "I didn't bring it in here. I━" Hope whipped around to Laya in a furious haze. "━if he says 'I swear' one more time, I'm gonna melt him."

Dr. Saltzman put Dorian on speaker, so they could all hear him. "Please tell me you have something."

"Connection sucks. Wh-where are you?"

"Root cellar full of contraband that our pickpocket Landon Kirby claims he didn't steal." Laya's vision fell on the human, standing in the corner. Almost as though he was too ashamed to speak.

Say, he was telling the truth. Maybe he was just the boy in the wrong place at the wrong time. How many times do you end up in the wrong place though? Something didn't quite set right with Laya.

"There's a fire━breather outside. Can you prioritize your rage?" Laya sighed ignoring the pair's arguing, returning to thumbing through all of the shiny things that the barrel contained. "Dragon!"

"What?" Laya would've laughed if they weren't in such a lethal situation. Dragon's weren't real. They were the villains of stories parents used to scare their children into submission. Maleficent was a dragon. There was no way Laya had just met a real life Maleficent.

"Dragon," Dorian repeated. "She steals treasure, breathes fire, hides the loot in her lair. She's━she's not a pyromancer, she's a━"

"Dragons don't exist," Dr. Saltzman cut off. "Or look like normal people," Laya added. "There was a time we would've said that about vampires."

Alaric scoffed, "Okay, fine. She's a, a human dragon. Now what?"

"In anything I've ever read━"
"In fiction."

"━the way to take down a dragon, you need a buttload of courage and a sword." Hope pulled the blade Landon had given her out. "How about a knife?"

    Hope, and Laya were a team. Had been since they met. If they weren't different colors, you could've sworn they were blood. Two halves of one whole.

So, when Hope volunteered to go out and face the dragon. Laya wasn't going to sit idly, and let her do it by herself.

Hope muttered an incantation and the cellar doors flew open. Laya took Hope's hand, and together, the two jumped out of the cellar. "Volant!" Laya thrust out her hand, and the woman in white, the dragon flew back. Hitting a tree with a loud crack. "Didn't anyone ever tell you smoking's for you?"

The woman Laya liked to call Maleficent was fast on her feet though. Her eyes morphed into their striking orange counterpart. Hope and Laya simply smirked. "I know. Quitting's hard."

Maleficent reared back, the fire flowing from her throat glowing red hot as the flames rocketed their way. "Scutum." Laya held out the knife, a barrier not visible to the naked eye protected them from the fire. "I think it's time for an intervention."

The barrier was fading quickly  though, and Laya's knuckles were beginning to get warm. Hope took her best friend's hand in her own like Laya had previously done.

Laya grinned holding out just long enough for a rock to come soaring out from behind the girls, and pelt Maleficent in the head knocking her out. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry, I couldn't find a rock."

"There's literally a lair full of heavy objects."

Laya ignored them two's bickering and spun around staring at her knuckles. She didn't feel them burn, but now they were black. "Oh, my God! Are you okay?" Rafael gingerly took her hand, scanning over it as though it was a fragile trophy.

Laya smiled, gently pulling away. "I'll be fine. It'll heal."

"You sure?" Laya nodded, noticing Maleficent had gotten back up yet again. "Hope, alley━oop." Hope nodded throwing the knife with as much force as she could give.

Laya ran, hopping onto a short box, she leapt off it, grabbing the knife. Laya shoved the blade into Maleficent's chest falling to the ground with her as she did. Laya sighed staring down at the woman in the white.

"When I was younger, I used to think it was a shame they killed Maleficent. I've always liked the color purple." Rafael stepped up to Laya, and the fallen women. "You're strange."

Laya grinned pulling the blade from Maleficent's chest, and handing it to the boy. Like an assembly line, Rafael passed it onto Hope. "Promise kept."

Hearing nothing but silence, Dr.Saltzman and Landon Kirby deemed it safe to come out. "You three alright?" Dr. Saltzman's vision fixed on the unconscious woman in white. "Let's give her a proper burial. See if you can find a shovel."

Rafael headed back to the cellar, doing as instructed, he searched for a shovel. Hope followed him. Laya was going to, but she stopped dead in her tracks hearing Dorian's voice on the phone.

"Found it. The soft spot, that's how you kill it."

"Uh, knife in the heart did the trick."

"Huh," Dorian sounded unnervingly surprised. "Okay. So much for research."

"What are you reading, Game of Thrones?"

"Puff, the Magic Dragon." Laya smiled.

"This just doesn't make any sense. It has got to be something else." Laya turned, ready to ask Dr. Saltzman if she could talk to Dorian, but that's when she noticed the reptilian creature in Maleficent's spot.

"Nope. It's a dragon, alright. I've got to call you back." The creature pushed up onto its feet. "Dr. Saltzman... " Hope, Rafael, and Landon found a shovel after all. A tool they didn't seem to really need at the moment.

"Oh, my God."

Maleficent lifted off of the ground, the dragon's wings pushing out strong gusts of wind.

With that, it left. Maleficent was gone. "Was that a━?" Hope turned to the boys, taking the role of leader. "You guys go. Get to the car, and get out of here."

"What about you guys?"

"I have an idea."

"What?" Dr. Saltzman inquired.

'𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘵?'

'𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦'

'𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘪𝘤'

Hope nodded silently agreeing with her friend. The tribrid pulled out the knife. "She wants this. She's going to be back."

Dr. Saltzman nodded glimpsing back to the boys. "Alright, you two go to the car. I'll met you there. Go, go." This time, the boys did as told fleeing the scene.

Alaric sighed turning back to the two students other than his very own daughters closest to him. "You two wake up with a death wish today?"

"Something like that."

    Just as expected, Maleficent came back. "Alright, it's coming back. Now what?" Hope and Laya shared an anxious glimpse before Hope replied. "You should take cover."

"Like hell."

Laya gave the headmaster a look. "Then tell me, how we're gonna explain to your daughters that all that's left of you is hot ash."

"The dad card? That's a low blow." Laya simply nodded, knowing for
Dr. Saltzman's safety it was best to get rid of him. Alaric sent Hope a hesitant glance, and then tribrid gave him a reassuring nod. "Alright."

As an any wise human would do, Dr. Saltzman ran and hid as the girls had told him to. Hope pulled out her spell she had previously ripped from the Shakespeare book.

"You need to say it with me." Laya nodded, and together, the girls took both sides of the knife hilt in one of their hand's. "Tenebris anima vestra contundito mortem. Et conteret spiritum. Frange vitam."

The dragon screeched closing in on them, but the girls stayed strong. "Nolite corde. Ut sub terra esse, ad tenebrae usque in sempiterum." The girls repeated the spell, and the dragon got closer.

Wind pushed down on the pair, Laya's hair whipped around as she chanted. The dragon screeched loudly, and before they knew it Maleficent was feet away from them.

Laya kept chanting. Her vision was beginning to blur, and her arm was growing tired. Laya was sure it was merely a side effect of black magic, but her vision was fading faster.

Then, it was white.

Laya launched forward, gasping for the tiniest breath of air. Her throat was dry, and her skull felt as though it was squeezing in on her brain.

Maleficent was dead.

They did it.

   Hope examined the woman in white earnestly. A stab to the neck killed the dragon. "Guess that was the soft spot." Laya gave her friend a nod, pushing off of the ground.

Hope did as Laya did. Whilst the two repositioned themselves,
Dr. Saltzman found it, the death spell. Laya internally groaned. Just as everything was running smoothly.

"What is this? This isn't earth magic, girls!" Hope tilted her head, staying calm. "This wasn't an earth magic problem."

"We don't allow black magic. It gets inside your heart, and poisons your mind. Now, I looked the other way this morning 'cause I knew you were upset, but this━this is a death spell. A spell you couldn't have known you need to use on a dragon, which... which means you had other plans for it."

The bush on the ground by
Dr. Saltzman's feet gained Laya's guilty eyes. "Landon did something stupid, maybe evil. We won't know until we learn more, but... he's still just a kid, girls ... and so are you. This hatred... this vengeance ... this is your father. It's your brother. It can't be you. I won't allow it."

Laya fingers pulled into her palm, clenching tight. "What gives you the right?" Her words came out a mere whisper than what Laya intended for them to be.

"What gives you the right to mention my brother after you... you ki━" Laya couldn't get it out. Laya couldn't even say the word because that would mean it was real. He was really gone. Dr. Saltzman killed him.

"Laya, I'm so so━"

"It's okay." Laya wiped away the tears that plagued her vision, and willed herself to stop crying. "Let's um, lets bury her. Go ahead, we'll see you back at the car."

Dr. Saltzman exhaled softly before nodding, and leaving the girls to themselves. It was a symbol of their life. Two best friend's who had no more family, no one, but each other.

Laya turned, a single small tear streaked down Hope's pale cheek. Laya smiled sadly grabbing Hope's arm and pulling her into a hug.

"Alright. Let's do this."

  Together, Hope and Laya buried Maleficent properly. She died fighting, Laya only hoped she would go out that way. The girls headed back to the Jeep. A small part of Laya was relieved that they were caught.

Getting in trouble for doing black magic was so much better than the sickening feeling it left. To Laya's surprise, Dr. Saltzman was the only one at his Jeep. Both Rafael, and Landon were gone.

"Where are they?"

"Gone. I found these on the windshield when I got back."
Dr. Saltzman handed each of the girls a letter. One from each of the boys.

Dear, Laya.

I couldn't leave knowing you were angry at me. It didn't seem right after you showed me such kindness. When you told Hope you'd do anything for her as your best friend, I hoped that would mean you'd understand why I couldn't let Landon leave alone.

You've been through a lot. I can see it in your eyes, I know the look of loss. That is why I can only say, I'm so sorry.

━Rafael

PS: Spongebob is way better than TMNT

Laya smiled at the postscript. Rafael was kind to write a letter. Hope was still reading her own letter.

   Laya found herself back in her dorm, reading over the corny letter yet again. And again, and again. She memorized the words. Laya didn't quite understand why the letter felt so important to her, but it was.

Th hybrid pushed off of her yellow comforter, and quietly padded over to her closet pulling it open. On the top shelf, hidden to visitors, lay a brown converse shoe box.

Anyone else would assume it was nothing. A small box filled with mementos of Laya's grief ridden past. It was so much more important to Laya though.

Before her brother died, when Laya and Marcel lived together, the werewolf left a letter on her pillow every night.

Delicately, Laya pulled one of the papers from the box skimming over the words. It was short and sweet. Marcel always had a gifted way with words.

Laya glimpsed back. Sitting on her desk, watching any individual who passed by were two portraits of her two brothers.

One was a simple candid shot. Marcel never knew Laya had taken it until she got it printed and showed him. The other, Metias knew about. He was smiling brightly, he was happy.

Laya grinned, plopping back onto her bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling until... not long later the hybrid finally fell asleep.

Pictures of her brothers are at the top. Metias is her younger brother and Marcellus is her older brother.