Beyond the cottage walls a terrible storm battered the forest. A witch had barricaded herself within her quarters as soon as darkness had started settling in. Her powers had yet to return beyond a weak spark even a year and a half after the failed ritual that had cursed her familiar and nearly taken her life as well. She had been working since that day to try and fix things with him, but the going was slow. He didn't trust her much - and with good reason. She had been cruel and utterly vile to the poor boy both in private and in public. All of it was inexcusable.

The complication of the beast made it far harder to try and mend those horribly fractured bridges. It was almost like a physical manifestation of all the anger and aggression he had toward her, hidden away from the world. He was a timid child, but even the quietest could hide an immeasurable rage, and the beast was rage incarnate. Whenever it saw her it would try to attack her, and because something about it fell outside the realm of being a bound familiar: she couldn't control it. It could hurt her. That's why she was blind in her left eye, and why scars covered up at least half her body.

To make it worse he held no control over it. His daytime face was still fully bound to the rules between a familiar and their witch, but once the sun set it was a fight for her life til morning forced it back to sleep. That was why he would always leave every night, to get away and avoid hurting her further than he had. She didn't blame him for the wounds he'd inflicted upon her. Karma had been a long time coming for her, and still was, but he was always so guilty following any attacks on her and she could feel it like bile in her stomach through their connection. She didn't want him to have to feel that way, but she couldn't force him to think or feel differently. He wasn't a normal familiar by any means.

Heavy rain pounded against the roof and windows, wind howling like a banshee as lightning lit up the sky. She flinched when a loud crash of thunder followed in its wake. Normally she didn't mind storms like this, but the boy was stuck in the cottage as well. He'd gotten injured the previous night when a hunter had shot at him. She didn't know if it were just a hunter in search of meat or perhaps a disgruntled farmer from the nearby village - she didn't actually know what he got up to at night when his mind was reduced to an animal's instincts. For all she knew one of the Inquisition's trained attack dogs had tried to take a shot at him. If it were someone hunting him for sport however, or those hunters from the Inquisition truly had something to do with it, she would exact every terrible revenge on them she could think of.

Whatever the case had been a shot had grazed his leg, leaving him unable to properly walk until it healed. He'd been so tense when she'd been cleaning and dressing the wound, refusing to look at her. He was still frightened of her, scared she would yell at him for getting injured or physically harm him as punishment. Just an accidental touch could leave him curling up in defense and about to cry. She had actually teared up at the thought though he hadn't seen it, knowing it was her fault, and even now it still weighed heavily on her mind.

"How can I get him to trust me after everything I've done to him…" the witch asked herself, huddled in a dark closet with only a candle and the occasional lightning flash lighting up under the door crack for light, "He has every right to hate me…"

She pulled a blanket closer around her person, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. As the thunder calmed, she could hear a whine settling back down into a whimper. He'd been doing this since the storm had started an hour prior. It was late at night and he'd usually be asleep, so long as the beast didn't sense her presence in the immediate vicinity. Storms like this had always terrified him though, and with what she presumed was now super sensitive hearing and the fact he couldn't leave, the poor thing had to be frightened out of his mind.

More thunder and this time she heard the most heart-wrenching howl of fright yet. It tore into her soul and she found herself letting out an unintentional sob. A hand flew over her lips, muffing the sound before the beast could realize it was her. It broke her heart to leave him like this, but if she went out there he would more than likely start attacking her.

She tried to ignore it, burying her face in a book she had grabbed to read while she waited out the storm and waited to fall asleep. It was a highly advanced book detailing spells far above her current magical talent and the page she was opened to was a spell that could potentially break the curse on the boy. It would be many years before a full blood moon would arrive on Halloween - which was when it would need to be performed just like the last time - giving her plenty of time to try and build what she'd been lacking with the boy and to hopefully regain her abilities. It would take a long time to just remember the spell's incantations, let alone set up its very specific glyphs. She was sure there were some parts she would need to translate as part of the incantations weren't even phrases she recognized. She was lucky such a spell even existed, though it wasn't one meant to be performed on familiars. There was no telling if she'd even be able to pull it off, but she had to try. She had to free him from the mistake she'd made, set him free to live his life and return to his family. She would pay whatever price it took, even if it meant her life.

More wails of fright bit into the air beyond the closet and beyond her room, causing the witch to look up from her book. Her heart broke for the poor boy, all alone as he was. He was a prisoner of his own body, unable to control the beast or stop it from attacking her. She couldn't even imagine what sort of hell he was going through right now. She could sense his emotional state through their soul link, but it was usually such a jumbled mish-mash of confusion she couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Right now though, he was absolutely terrified, and she couldn't in good conscience leave him to face it on his own any longer. Her fears be damned; the poor thing needed comfort and she was - however unfortunately in his eyes - the only one who could provide it.

That didn't mean she wasn't terrified as she stood up, grabbed the candle and ventured from out of her closet. She needed a few moments to remove the heavy objects in front of her door. Normally she would be able to just flick her fingers and move them back into place with magic, but with that particular ability lacking it took longer than she liked to move them. Once everything was out of the way as quietly as possible, the witch pulled the blanket back around her. She held it tightly, only her face visible from beneath it and an arm as she unlocked the door and grabbed the candle. She knew the blanket would offer no protection against such deadly claws, but the childish notion that it was armor put her mind at ease enough to keep what little courage she still had alive.

The door creaked softly as she pushed it open. The cottage was silent for the moment, save for the pounding rain and quiet whimpering. Her bare feet shuffled softly across the floor as she took great care not to make loud, sudden movements. If the beast behaved anything like the wolves it shared some aspects of its appearance and mannerisms with, the last thing she wanted to do was trigger the poor frightened thing into attacking her. It was bad enough her mere presence might be enough to invite such terrible consequences.

More thunder tore into the night and the beast's howls of fright hit her even harder. She had to bite her tongue to keep from making noise with both her hands occupied, but it didn't stop a new round of tears from rolling down her cheeks. She'd never heard him so scared before - or more accurately, she'd never used to take notice of how scared he might ever get. Maybe now was the time to fix that…

She rounded the corner of a short hallway that opened into the main living space. It was decorated very basically - a couch, a coffee table, a couple armchairs with an end table in between them, a bookshelf in a corner with some books on it, a fairplace across the way, and an area rug covering most of the wood floor beneath the furniture. There were no pictures, no knick knacks or anything to make the space feel more at home. The witch had been raised to turn down such frivolous things, and she was starting to hate it. It just made the room feel so…cold, empty, and lonely. Maybe she could start rectifying that if she survived the night, maybe even have the boy pick out some things for the bookshelf or for the bedroom that was nearly done. He'd been sleeping on the couch since she refused to allow him to sleep in the cellar any longer, but she didn't actually have a spare room to give him yet. It'd taken a long time to gather the gold to purchase the materials for an addition - mainly because most wanted nothing to do with a witch that had no magic. At least she could still mix potions, and grow ingredients for alchemists in the village and whatnot.

Her candlelight only partially illuminated the room as she searched for a beast that was good at hiding in shadow. Her steps were slow and deliberate while she clicked her tongue to make a soft sound calling out to him. She'd seen people doing it to call their dogs back to their side or calm them and while she was loath to treat him as anything close to a pet nowadays, she had little choice.

She found him huddled in a corner of the room with his somewhat short but fluffy tail trying in vain to wrap itself around his body. He was shivering in absolute fright, pitiful whimpers coming from him. More thunder caused him to cry out yet again before he hid his face in between his large clawed hands. If she didn't know what it was capable of, she would have thought he looked adorable and almost harmless.

Lupine ears suddenly stood up straight after the thunder died, picking up the soft clicking noises being made. Glowing eyes opened, peeking out from beneath his hands. Immediately his hackles rose and a low growl with fangs displayed greeted her, causing the witch to stop in her tracks. She stared at him for just a brief second before she broke eye contact, carefully and slowly setting the candle down on the coffee table before she dared speak to him.

"Easy little fella," she crooned, "It's okay…"

The growling didn't cease but he didn't try to attack her outright. Perhaps it was because he was too scared to move - a blessing at the moment as she crossed the rest of the room to the fireplace. A stack of wood sat ready and waiting nearby, of which she took a few logs from and arranged them carefully within the hearth. Smaller kindling was added before she dared to turn for the candle and use it as a source for the fire. It took a moment, but the smaller bits eventually took the flame and it slowly but steadily spread to the bigger logs while she replaced the candle on the table. The room soon lit up, the soft glow of the fire making it look and feel at least a little warmer.

A sudden loud thunderclap started the witch enough that she gasped, though it was drowned out by the beast's cries as her attention returned to him. She stood and started making the soft clicking noises again which drew his attention. His whimpers became interspersed with growling again when her hand extended as she approached, leaving her to stop short.

"Sonic…" she said softly, warmly, "It's okay. The storm won't hurt you, I promise."

She knelt down to eye level and the growling turned to snarling and the baring of fangs again. He tried to back up further into the corner even as she stayed in place, muscles coiled and ready to attack if she dared approach further. The witch knew he normally would have already attacked by now, so she could only imagine how scared out of his mind he was - especially when he had no control over himself right now. What she was basically facing was a wild animal, and she was daring to get in its space when it was giving enough courtesy to warn her when it usually didn't.

Still, she persisted, slowly - ever so slowly. She had to be patient and kind even when her ingrained upbringing was yelling at her to punish him for daring to defy her. But she refused to fall to it again, not after she'd been granted a second chance to fix her mistakes. She would right all of this, someday, but it would be a long road in getting there. It started with moments like this, where her patience and kindness were being put to the test. She wouldn't fall to old habits and lessons though - if the cycle were to continue, it wouldn't do so with her any longer.

But words clearly weren't working, nor was kneeling there waiting. She tried to recall something she could use, something that might appeal to his gentler side. She recalled times where he would react to music in the village at the forest's edge or birds chirping melodies outside around the cottage. He seemed drawn to it, and they say music could soothe a savage beast so…

She started to hum. Nothing in particular at first, but before long it started to morph into something that could be considered a lullaby of sorts. She had no words for it, but the tune was soft and gentle. She put her heart into the tune to try and make something beautiful and calming even without the aid of magic.

And he had a reaction to it. The snarling lessened and his fur started to relax back into place. She offered her hands again while still humming the made-up tune, but he didn't reciprocate the gesture. He stiffened again, baring his fangs at her. She withdrew, knowing she was pushing her luck and slowly stood. The witch returned to the fireplace, sitting upon the blanket which she'd laid out and facing the flames. She closed her eyes, continuing to hum despite the storm. If nothing else, it was relaxing to her and he wasn't trying to attack her. Maybe she should try doing it more often…

While she pondered and lost herself to the tune, the beast regarded her with wary eyes. He didn't understand what was going on - he only knew that the pink being had hurt him. He needed to hurt her back, for everything she'd ever done to him. She was scared of him, and he reacted to that fright with even more aggression. He knew no better, and that was how it had always been.

But something was different tonight. She wasn't afraid, or she wasn't showing it. He was the one scared tonight, trapped inside the small building and unable to go to his den and wait out the storm. It made him restless, antsy, on edge. On top of that he was wounded, and anything trying to get near that wound was just begging for him to bite it. He wanted to scratch at it and lick it to try and clean it, but the smell of it alone repelled him, nevermind even attempting to bite the bandages off and try and clean it himself.

He let out pitiful whimpers when more thunder rolled. It was quieter now, a bit more distant, but it still hurt his ears and the lightning flashes bothered his sensitive eyes. He tried to hide away in the shadows and turn his head, but unlike his den there were multiple places to let the light in and he couldn't escape it.

The humming drew his attention once again when she had made a call that had probably saved her a bite on her hand and possible finger removal. Evergreen eyes moved to the fireplace, where the source of his usual ire sat with her back to him. She was acting surprisingly trusting given their history and his instincts egged him to attack her while her guard was down.

But the humming gave him pause. Something deep within him was reached. What it was he hadn't a clue, but it was enough to stay his instinct to attack. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, threatening a resurgence in strength. He shivered at the notion, not wanting to have to listen to more thunder. He stood up on all fours, tail between his legs as he quietly limped closer to the witch. The calming noise was coming from her, and that meant if he got closer it might drown out the thunder that was scaring him so. He held no higher thought process beyond 'calming good' and 'storm bad'.

A sudden sensation pushing beneath her arm elicited a shocked gasp from the witch as she was pulled out of her relaxed reverie. Her gaze turned downward toward her arm where a furry head had jammed its way beneath her hand. A soft tickling on her other side snapped her gaze over only to find a little fluffy tail trying to wrap around her. He was still shivering, still scared of the storm as he was. Her gaze returned to her other side where he had his face pressed between his front paws again.

"It's okay, the storm won't hurt you," she promised, keeping her voice soft so as not to frighten him more, "I'll keep it away."

And so she continued to hum the relaxing tune. His shivering began to lessen and the whimpering began to calm. She ran a hand softly across his fur, watching as his head leaned into it. She no longer saw the glowing of his eyes as they closed and allowed him to finally rest. He was actually falling asleep, willingly curled up around her and allowing her to stroke his head. She smiled to herself as she continued to hum while the storm finally started blowing over. He really did seem to like the humming. It was nice seeing him like this, a little more like the gentle boy he was during the day. If it calmed the beast he became at night like this, perhaps she really would start doing it more often.

Soon enough the rain had lessened to a light drizzle. The thunder was gone and lightning no longer brightened the night sky. The boy was finally asleep and the witch was left to ponder on things. Her one-eyed gaze stared into the fire - half-blind after the ritual had gone wrong so many months ago and he had attacked her in a fit of unbridled and uncontrolled aggression. She didn't fault him for what happened; she only wished she could take it all back. She wished she could send him back from wherever it was he had originally come, free him from the living nightmare she had created for him.

She stared into the flames as they began to die. Her humming started to quiet down as she nodded off. She should really get back to her room and lock herself in until sunrise again, in case he woke up and realized she was still beside him. She tried to shift away, but his head shifted with her. Though asleep, he had wormed his chin onto her lap. He was so peaceful and she couldn't find it in her heart to move and risk disturbing him again. Maybe just for tonight it would be okay. Just for tonight, she could sing to him and chase the nightmares away.

She rested her head in her hand, settling the elbow comfortably on her leg. Her humming returned as she closed her eyes and stroked the beast's soft fur. Yes, just for tonight, she would protect him, even if things returned to how they were, even if he didn't remember tonight and they just carried on as they had been. Someday she would free him, but if only for a fleeting amount of time, she would be his guardian against the storm, both within and without.

"Sweet dreams Sonic," she whispered as she too drifted off, "I promise that the thunderstorm won't hurt you ever again…"