Disclaimer – I don't own Sirius the Jaeger. This was one of my projects for Open Novella 2019 which started in January. The prompt I picked was Fantastical 2: The Dark Lord. The prompt was "On a full moon night, the Dark Lord gains an unimaginable force and successfully surpasses the gates of hell, summoning his darlings along as he descends toward a fragile planet called Earth. A sudden darkness takes over your kingdom. Echos of terror fill the air. It's time you revive the darkest side of you that everyone fears to conquer the Dark Lord. You have to do whatever it takes to save your kingdom and your loves ones. But, are you willing to take the risk?"

We were allowed quite a bit of creative freedoms with the prompts, but what I ended up with – let's just say I've started on the second fanfic already.

Child of the Dark Moon
Prologue

The frigid air chilled the bones deep, yet the nomadic people appeared unaffected by the harsh weather. Willard shifted his feet slightly feeling the icy wetness which permeated his choice of footwear while pondering the wind which stung his exposed facial features. His gloved hands tucked under his arms in hopes they might stay warm while he slowly proceeded towards their objective.

In contrast, the archeologist observed the people he found refuge with living in solidarity with the land. The nomads extended hospitality not only towards those invited by choice into their yurts but also the wilderness outside. In pursuit of his current mission, the Jaeger utilized his background in archeology and presented himself as a foreigner learning about the native culture.

The leaders of the various units informed him they held wolves sacred yet saw no difference between the Sirius and the wolves which roamed the land. For a long time, Willard only heard the native people speak of sighting one of the white-haired people with their blue eyes which at times glowed with an otherworldly aura. Eventually, some of the native people let slip details regarding the location of the Sirius village.

The Jaeger found of even greater importance the details regarding a woman with black hair who lived among the Sirius. A few weeks later he set out despite the winter weather in hopes of retrieving the young woman pictured upon the rather worn photograph in his pocket. Each step through the frigid snow brought him nearer the village, yet each step also meant another chance of a failed mission.

Scent remained one of the factors Willard worried the most about as he climbed from the flatlands into the rocky landscape which hid the village. Despite taking precautionary measures the Jaeger knew the wind might change course and bring his scent towards any of the Sirius who roamed the wilderness. Experience hunting the monsters which plagued humankind didn't mean a positive outcome in a mission, particularly a difficult one.

Luck favored him, or perhaps not.

He found the village without the Sirius detecting him. Willard carefully observed the place in hopes of finding the person he sought after. He found the village of the Sirius in this region quaint, if not peaceful which proved a direct contradiction of what he expected. From a distance, he noted only a small number in the village. Soon, his patience was rewarded.

A woman with black hair dressed in beautiful traditional clothing for the region came out of one house. Willard frowned upon realizing the home was located closer to the mountain and farthest from the entrance, meaning escaping with the young woman he sought to rescue would prove risky, yet his mission hinged on rescuing her and returning her to her family.

Glancing down, Willard pulled the worn picture from his pocket and looked down at the young girl of Japanese descent standing for a family portrait with her father and brother. Tucking the picture back in his pocket he carefully sneaking his way into the village, but he purposefully took paths which would hopefully result in crossing the path with none of the Sirius.

Upon arriving at the home, he saw the woman go in and out of. The woman stood over the stove stirring food, but she didn't notice his approach. Willard took a deep breath. "Iba Saichi?"

The woman froze upon hearing the name, but eventually looked up and spoke in Japanese. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"I'm a Jaeger sent by your father to find you and bring you home to your family."

"No. This is my home."

Willard frowned. "You're human, not a Sirius. This is no place for you."

He watched Sachi glance anxiously at the door before glancing down at the food she attended, almost as if she were expecting someone. Sachi let go of the spoon she stirred the food with and proceeded to put the fire out. She stepped over towards one of the beds and pulled out a satchel and began packing items she might need in it. For a few minutes, her hand hovered over a beautiful scarf, but eventually, she packed the scarf into the bag.

She hung the bag over her shoulder and faced him with a rather determined look on her face. "Alright. I'll go with you, but only because I have no choice."

"You weren't trying stalling for time, were you? Do you think your father would have arranged for just any Jaeger to retrieve his daughter from this forlorn place?"

"That's why I have no choice." Saichi's hands clutched the satchel tightly before falling into step with the Jaeger as he commanded. Willard knew full well she might yell at any time, yet she kept silent. He half expected a greeting of wolf howls or the sight of the eerie blue eyes which haunted the stories recounted by the human nomadic people he'd spoken with.

Instead, he found himself greeted by the sound of a child's footsteps running through the snow-covered streets along with the sound of a child breathing heavily in excitement. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sachi freeze, but fear appeared on her face as a small child came hurtling around the corner and crashed into him before letting out a resounding sneeze.

"Yuliy!"

Willard soon found himself face to face with the young Sirius who followed the small child. The white hair and blue eyes were vivid like the human nomads described. From nearby the Jaeger heard Saichi speak in a strained voice. "Mikhail."

The distraction Saichi unintentionally provided allowed Willard the chance of swinging his fist which in turn contacted the young man's jaw and knocking him out cold. A growl from nearby made Willard look down at the child which collided into him. The Jaeger saw first a lock of white hair escaping from under the hood the child wore and then the blue eyes which lit up in a rather haunting manner.

Instinctively Willard grabbed his gun so he might shoot the child Sirius in the head. Saichi quickly dove towards the monster and covered the small thing with her body. The Jaeger's mouth twisted into an even deeper frown upon seeing his gun now pointed at her head instead of the head of the Sirius. "Miss Iba. What are you doing? Move."

"Don't kill my son." The woman held onto the child Sirius tightly but turned so she looked him in the eye. Willard caught sight of one blue eye looking at him from under the hood but saw the one stray lock of white hair was accompanied by locks of black hair as the child glared at him from behind Saichi as she continued protecting him with her body.

"He'll alert the village."

"I'll keep him quiet, but I won't try escaping."

Sometimes plans changed and change the plans did. Willard found himself headed down into the frosty flatland not only with the young woman he was sent to find but a small child as well. Every so often the Jaeger glanced behind him in search of any beast following them, yet luck remained with him. Saichi kept her word regarding keeping her son quiet by holding his head to her chest, but she moved fast while carrying her small child.

Snow started falling from the sky which in turn covered their tracks and scent from anyone who might pursue, yet thankfully didn't proceed towards a state where they need find shelter, but the snow eventually stopped. After a few days, the three came upon frozen railroad tracks which they followed towards the nearest station. The chances of finding a train waiting to take passengers at such a forlorn station anywhere was slim, and yet they found one headed east.

He thus found himself sitting across from the mother and small child. The child buried his face into his mother's side. Willard watched Saichi reach into her bag and pull out the colorful scarf and wrap the warm piece of clothing around the child's neck. The Sirius child, in fact, looked like a normal child, yet the Jaeger knew otherwise. Willard also knew the child's existence wouldn't go over well.