Dark tendrils wrapped themselves around Ezra, embracing him in an almost protective cocoon, if it weren't for the constant pain that throbbed through his body. It began as a dull discomfort at his neck before spreading like wildfire, setting every nerve ending aflame. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out and the dark tendrils forced their way between his parted lips like viscous fluid, dripping down his throat. Ezra had no choice but to swallow the foul tasting liquid, out of fear of choking. The pain was still there but far more muted than before, feeling more like hot coals after a fire had died down. Then darkness enveloped him, pulling him into a deep slumber once again.

Ezra gasped as he jerked awake, his skin coated in a thick layer of sweat that plastered his bangs to his forehead. He wiped away at the sweat, running his hand through his hair as he panted, confused as to why he had such a dreadful headache. It almost felt as if he had been hit by a bus. Memories poured back into his mind, filling the blank gaps and snapped his head around in search of that man he had seen last night, the beast who had sunk his teeth into his neck.

His hand flew up this neck and his breath hitched when he felt smooth skin. There was no sign at all that someone had bitten into his flesh and his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I could have sworn…" Ezra's voice trailed off when he realised that his ankle had also stopped throbbing. Just as he had been very certain of the man last night, he was also very certain that he had sprained his ankle by falling down the stairs. And another peculiar thing was that all the blood that had stained his clothing was also gone. It was almost as if nothing had ever happened last night.

Had it all been a strange nightmare?

Ezra would have said no, that it had all been too real and that the inkling feeling in the back of his mind was saying otherwise. But he could not help but to feel relieved at the prospect that it could have been a dream, one spurred by tales of Halloween. And thus, he decided that it was a dream after all, probably procreated after he hit his head or something of the sorts and had passed out, which would explain his headache. Still, he wanted nothing more than to leave this cursed place.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Ezra picked himself off of the ground and hesitantly walked towards the doorway. He peered around the corner before deeming it safe enough to step out in the hallway and made a quick grab for his backpack, stuffing the blanket inside. Ezra barely even zipped up his bag, his hands were trembling too much to work properly, and he threw it over his shoulder before bolting out of the front door, nearly tripping over his stiff feet.

Ezra did not stop running as he sank into the mud left behind from the night's rain, nearly losing a shoe once or twice. The cold mist bit as his face, dampening his skin with droplets of water and obscuring his vision as branches grabbed at him, tearing at his flesh and clothes in their attempts to keep him from leaving the Forgotten Forest. Ezra's lips broke out into a relieved smile when he saw the trees beginning to thin, giving way to pavement. In his momentary distraction, he slipped and face planted with a cry.

He groaned as he heaved himself up, scowling when the frigid mud began to seep into his clothes. "Great, just what I needed," Ezra grumbled out, shaking his limbs in hopes of getting rid of some of the mud. Wiping his face clean, he continued towards the road in a slower pace, his muscles straining from having run all this way.

Ezra felt relief wash over him when his house came into view as the street lamps switched on, surprising him. He stopped and stared at the lights in confusion. It couldn't have been night already, he had just woken up. He shrugged it off, wanting nothing more than to be in the safety and comfort of his home. Running up the stairs of his porch, Ezra swung the door open and hopped inside into the warmth only to be thrown back.

He looked up at the doorway in confusion as his body ached with a dull stinging pain. Ezra hesitantly scanned around the frame, searching to see if Sabine had placed something as a prank to prevent him from coming inside. He couldn't see anything and his frown deepened.

"What are you doing, silly. Come on in," Hera said, beckoning him inside. Ezra dumbly nodded and took a tentative step inside. This time nothing happened as he walked through the doorway. Hera paused, frowning. "What happened to you?"

Ezra looked down and grimaced at the sight, he was completely covered in mud. "I… we played outside and I kind of fell," he replied lamely, rubbing the back of his head. His mom gave him a weary look that told him she did not quite believe him, but felt relieved when she didn't push for answers.

"Well, go take a shower, honey, and then come down to join us for dinner, okay?"

"Yes, mom," Ezra smiled, feeling very happy to be home. Clumsily pulling off his shoes, he made his way to the bathroom after grabbing new clothes and sighed in relief when hot water washed away the grime from his body.

Feeling refreshed and clean, Ezra strutted down the stairs and into the kitchen. Hera was mixing minced meat with spices while Sabine leaned against the counter, observing. They stopped chatting when they saw Ezra approach them and smiled.

"Heard you came back home drenched in mud," Sabine snickered and gave a knowing smirk. "Had fun?"

Ezra glared at her. "If you must know, yes, I had a very fun and interesting night," he huffed out, putting on his sarcastic tone. Sabine rolled her eyes before pushing off the counter and helping cut vegetables. "Are we having burgers?"

"Yes, we are," Hera smiled and paused to look at Ezra. "How would you like yours?"

His mouth watered as he stared at the meat, it looked oddly enough very appetising raw. Ezra opened and closed his mouth a few times, frowning in confusion and for some reason his upper jaw began to ache slightly.

"Uh, well done," he stammered out, "Wait, no! M-medium! I-I mean medium-rare! Agh, no wait! Blue rare! Yes, blue rare!"

Ezra let out a breath of air after finally managing to say what he wanted, feeling somewhat relieved he had gotten that over with. He turned his gaze up to his family who stared back at him with a look of pure confusion, their mouths slightly agape as if unable to comprehend what Ezra was saying.

"I meant toppings, dear," Hera finally said after a moment of silence, still slightly stunned at her son's outburst. Ezra's face heated up, feeling completely embarrassed that he had completely misinterpreted his mother's question. He had no idea what overcame him that he had wanted his burger that rare; he never ate meat more raw than medium-rare, and so the sudden craving to have it blue rare was bizarre.

"You also know eating minced meat practically raw is a hazard to your health, right?" Sabine stated, one of her eyebrows raised skeptically.

"Y-yes, I know," Ezra mumbled out, still flustered. "I… I'll go set up the table…"

Sabine and Hera exchanged worried glances as they watched Ezra awkwardly bring out plates and cutlery to the dining table. The food was done just in time when Kanan came home, having been called to work, and they sat together at the table. Ezra stared at his browned patty perhaps longer than necessary.

"Everything alright there, Ezra?"

"Hmm?" Ezra looked up to see his family staring at him. His cheeks grew warm and he gave an awkward half-smile. "Ah, yes. Everything's alright, I just feel slightly, uh, dazed," he finished lamely and reached for the ketchup, squeezing out the sauce until it covered the meat completely in a thick layer of red.

"Stayed up late last night, then?" Kanan asked, smiling as if recalling his own childhood.

"Yeah," Ezra grinned, stamping down the guilt. It was getting harder and harder to fabricate this lie, and decided it would be best for a topic change. "How was work? I heard you got called in?"

Kanan finished chewing and everyone leaned in for some news. It wasn't often that something happened for him to get called into work, crime was quite low in this peaceful town after all. "Ah, it was nothing, really," he vaguely answered, his face slightly pale. "It was just some ravaged animal attack and will be sorted out soon enough."

"Someone died?" The boy asked, and Sabine shot him a glare.

"Ezra," she warned, "Dad had a long day, give it a rest."

"No, it's fine," Kanan cleared his throat. "Someone did, unfortunately, die, but there is no need for panic. The animal who did this will be found and dealt with by the animal control."

Ezra frowned. There were no large predators in their area that he knew of, which would leave the only possibility to be a very hungry stray dog that could have killed someone. And yet, in the very back of his mind, Ezra knew that it wasn't a dog. How he knew this, was a mystery to him, and he did not want to mull over it, feeling the strange inkling feeling he had felt back in that wretched mansion.

A thick silence fell over the dining table as his family continued to eat.

"Aren't you going to eat, dear?" His mother finally spoke up, snapping Ezra out of his thoughts.

"Ah, yes," he said as he grabbed his hamburger and almost reluctantly brought it to his lips. For some reason, the food seemed to have killed his appetite, the cooked meat being much less mouth watering than when it had been raw. The thought weirded him out, but pushed it down as he bit into the burger.

Ezra had to force himself not to gag, the food having been one of the blandest things he had ever tasted, drying his mouth almost immediately. He coughed it down, chugging water to rinse away the remains.

"Are you okay?" Sabine asked as she leaned in. Ezra waved his hand in dismissal.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he choked out, and lied, "Just got a piece stuck in my throat."

Ezra continued to eat his meal, despite his body begging him not to. He knew he had to eat, there was no way he couldn't be hungry after having slept the entire night and day. He sighed in relief when he had finally finished eating, leaning back into his chair to relax as he fought the uneasiness of his stomach.

"That was good. Thank you, mom," he sighed out.

"Hey, I helped too, you know," Sabine muttered out. Kanan smiled at the scene as he began picking up the dirty plates and cutlery, and took them to the sink.

"Pfft, if you had actually cooked, then I don't think we would be here," Ezra stuck his tongue out as he got up from his seat. "I think I am going to bed earlier, I kind of feel tired after having been up all night."

It was half a lie, though he felt more sick than tired.

"Alright, do you need anything else before bed?" Hera asked gingerly, and Ezra smiled, basking in the warmth of his mother's love. He felt so lucky to have been adopted into this family.

"Nah," he shook his head and left the dining room.

"Going to bed so soon?" Kanan asked when he spotted Ezra leaving.

"Yeah, feeling tired," he said. "Goodnight!"

He heard his family wishing him a goodnight back as he closed his door and plopped onto his bed. Curling into a ball, his stomach churned and caused him to feel even more uneasy, his food threatening to come back up. Luckily, nothing did and he fell into a restless slumber.

Ezra found himself in total darkness. He looked around, peering into the shadows in the hopes of finding a sign as to where he was when all of a sudden a candle lit up in the distance, its flames flickering weakly. With careful steps, he walked towards the it, attracted to it like a moth to a light. In its warm glow, Ezra could finally make out details of his surroundings.

Beautiful wallpaper decorated the wall, adorned with various frames, deer skulls, and other interesting trinkets. There was a movement against the wall, almost lethargic and mesmerizing that Ezra could not help but to lean in for closer inspection. It gleamed under the flickering light and had an aroma that made his throat constrict with hunger as saliva pooled into his mouth. Extending his finger, Ezra dipped his finger into the viscous fluid and brought it up to his face, his tongue extending to have a taste when he froze.

More fluid had begun to ooze out from the wall, the smell overwhelming his senses, making him lightheaded. But he ignored the sensation as horror took its root. It was blood that was pushing itself out from the walls and he had nearly licked it! Ezra reeled away from the wall, suddenly feeling sick that he had wanted to drink the blood. His back collided with something hard and he flinched when bloodied arms wrapped around him, holding him in place.

"Soon, my spawn," the man chuckled deeply, his voice having an unhinged tone to it. "Soon, I will come for you."

"No," Ezra whispered out and tried to struggle, but his body felt too heavy. Blood began dripping from the ceiling, splattering onto his forehead and the droplets rolled down, but Ezra refused to open his mouth despite the growing burning sensation in his throat.

The man laughed at the boy's defiance. "Soon I will, and there will be nothing to stop me."

"No!" Ezra said a bit louder this time, the blood dripping onto his lips and his pupils dilated at the taste.

"Embrace what you are, my apprentice. Drink the blood."

"NO!"

Ezra woke with a start, gasping for air as he clutched his sheets tightly around him. There was a click of the door, and the lights flickered on. His eyes snapped up to see his dad and mom standing by his doorway with worried expressions.

"Is everything alright? We heard you scream," Hera said in a soft voice. Ezra could only nod, still being much too frightened from his nightmare to speak.

"I'll go get some warm milk," Kanan announced as he disappeared back into the shadows and downstairs. Hera walked in, leaving the door slightly ajar as she sat on the edge of the bed, taking Ezra into her arms.

"Shh," she rubbed his back in calming motions as Ezra sobbed into her shoulders. "It'll be alright, it was only a dream. Shh."

As comforting as her words may be, Ezra could not find himself believing them. The nightmare had felt so real... and the man... he remembered that man from the house! But hadn't that only been a dream?. Soon, I will come for you . The words echoed in his head, sending a violent shiver down his spine and he tightened his hold onto his mom.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hera asked and the boy shook his head. There was no way he would be able to explain his nightmare to his mom and the man from his previous dream at the mansion. Kanan walked and handed Ezra a warm glass of milk. It was something they always got him when he had nightmares as a little kid and it had always worked to calm his nerves, but now his stomach churned at the sight of the drink.

He gave a silent thanks as he downed the milk, despite having his stomach having its own reservations. His parents made a move to leave and Ezra quickly reached out with his hand, grabbing his mom's wrist.

"Please don't go," he whispered out, and Hera sat back down on the bed whereas Kanan took a seat by Ezra's desk. "Please wait until I'm asleep."

"We're not going anywhere," Kanan promised, his teal eyes softening. Ezra took in the words of comfort with desperation as he sank into his pillows. His mom tucked him in better and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead as she continued to comb through his sweat-ridden hair. Kanan, in a gentle voice, began to tell a short bedtime story, and combined with the tender touch of his mother, Ezra's eyes began to droop and he felt himself slip away into a dreamless sleep.