Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and altered storyline belong to me, Faolen the Elven Wolf. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Children of the Sun and Moon

Chapter 1

In the Night of Wilderness

Morning dawned upon the cozy cabin in the forest, showering the sky with hues of indigo, crimson, and gold. Two of the three inhabitants of the cottage were already up and about, one chowing down on a bright and juicy red apple, and the other trying to rub the sleep out of their eyes while making sure they didn't fall down the stairs.

A thump resonated throughout the house and Sol popped her head around the kitchen corner, mid-way through a bite into her apple, only to see Luna sitting on the floor below the steps, rubbing her bum. The younger of the two laughed loudly at the pout on her sister's face, and the pouting teen stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry childishly at her sibling. The only problem was that eating and laughing aren't a good combination, and it had Sol choking on the bite she had forgotten to chew during her mirth. Luna was quick to jump up and pound on her sister's back, continuing even after the blonde raised a hand to tell her to stop after she caught her breath.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Luna, seriously!"
"Just making sure you don't die, ya know. All in a day's work as your older sister." She threw a lopsided grin at her younger blonde reflection, and chuckled at the scowl she was given in return.

It was the normal start of what would've been a normal day to them.

Only, Fate has a wicked way of screwing things up for them most of the time.

It was the second day André had been away, in the city for whatever work related reason that they didn't care enough to ask about. So without him to stop them, they had been eating a good deal of sweets in between their home cooked meals. Luna finally put it to a halt much to Sol's displeasure, and decided to work off the sweets' fat by doing a long and extensive training session that day.

That meant an hour and a half of free running through the trees to work on agility and speed, another hour of basic hand-to-hand combat for strength and even more speed, then laps around the paths of the forest for endurance. They had started doing routines as such when they were 13, when André first started teaching them swordplay once they found said weapon hidden away in his room. They never bothered to ask where he got it and why he had it, the only question they had being if he could teach them to use it.

And he did just that; he taught them most of what he knew and deemed acceptable for them to learn.

So now, every day that they didn't have training, they worked on their swordplay by themselves or when André had the time.

It was a simple life, one they very much enjoyed.

Training went by smoothly, and by the end of it they were thoroughly exhausted, pressed on taking a shower as quickly as possible so that they could take a nap.

The sun was getting low by the time they got home, but it wasn't exactly setting yet. They both showered quickly and dressed into comfortable clothing before settling down in front of the TV. Sol switched on Law and Order: SVU, grinning when the opening credits came in. Luna rolled her eyes at her sister with a smile before getting up from her comfy spot to take the trash out to the back.
2 minutes later, Luna rushed into the house, switching off the TV much to Sol's displeasure. Right before the blonde-brunette could voice said displeasure at the action, Luna's hand covered the opening mouth. The brunette raised a finger to push against her lips to signal silence before moving her hand away.
"His car was in the back when I went to take out the trash. If that's here, where is he?"

The hushed whisper seemed loud because of the sudden silence of the house. Something upstairs rustled and both their heads popped up quickly to the source of the sound. Armed with a kitchen knife and their knowledge of hand to hand combat, they went up the stairs silently.
"He better not be playing some peek-a-boo bullshit like last time." Luna snarled quietly to herself as they neared the slightly open door of the study. In front of the door now, they stood on opposite sides. Luna stepped back and with a mighty kick of her foot, all but ripped the door from its hinges.

"W-what?..!"

The study was a mess. Books were tossed carelessly on the floor, papers were scattered from the wind of the open window, the desk was pushed sideways and the chair was on its side. Luna took in the sight, eyes widening with each second. Solstice was by her side the second the door was kicked open, and by now her breathing grew ragged.

A howl and bang of thunder erupted from outside, and both jumped at the eerie sounds.
"Solstice! Luna!"

A panicked cry from below drew their attention and they all but flew down the stairs to the familiar voice.

"Daddy!"
"Papa!"

They only got to hug him for a second before he pushed them back gently but urgently.
"Listen, we have to go. Go grab the bags from the broom closet."
"But those are for emergen-" started Sol, eyes wide and slightly panicked.
"This is an emergency, and there's no time for questions as to why. Now go! Do as I say!"

The girls ran to the closet, grabbing the three bags stored there before racing back. When Solstice held out his bag to him, he shook his head, grabbing it and tossing it in a corner. A flash of lightning and roar of thunder later, and the lights flickered for a moment before going off.

"Let's go. Now"

Three bodies blurred as they ran through the forest, lightning being their only source of light in the dark night.
"Dad, what are we doing?! Where are we goi-!"

Another howl sounded, this one far closer than the first, and a flash of lightning erupted from the sky.
In front of them stood a horrendous and monstrous creature that resembled that of a mutated wolf the size of a horse. Spittle flew from its mouth as it barked wildly, red eyes gleaming with bloodlust and matted fur bristling horrifically. The twins stayed in their spots, frozen with fear as it grew closer; it snapped at them with each step, until it was only a few feet away. Suddenly, it let out an enraged and pained howl, twisting violently around to its attacker. Luna took in a strangled gasp of air and Sol gaped at the sight before them. There their father stood, a splatter of dark blood across his chest, his sword held in a defensive position and a dangerous gleam in his eye, as he faced off the mutant wolf. It let out a bone chilling growl before lunging at André, its gleaming yellow teeth like daggers ready to tear into flesh and muscle. In the blink of an eye, it fell to the ground, the hilt of the sword being the only thing sticking out of its body.

"Oh my gosh. You just killed that…that… that thing!"
"What the fuck just happened…!?"

"There's no time to be standing there like dog chow! Let's go!" André said as he grabbed the sword and pulled it out of limp body. The two continued to stare in shock at the pooling blood on the floor and the dripping life giving substance that fell from the sword. Multiple barks and growls from a short distance behind them got them to put themselves into overdrive, and in less than a second they were back to running again, following the short blonde hair of their father like their life depended on it.
Which it did.

10 minutes later of running at breakneck speed, they stopped in a familiar clearing.

"W-what...?" Solstice started as she looked around.
"What are we doing here?" Luna finished as she spotted the familiar shape of the willow tree, and the glimmering of the pond in the distance. "And how did you find it?"
"There's no time to explain. Here take this, you'll know when the time is right for it to be revealed. And one last thing; hurry, hurry, not much time."
He first handed Luna a letter from the folds of his jacket before digging into another pocket of the coat. Out he pulled two necklaces, identical in almost every way; they were made from a strange metal that seemed to glow faintly, in the shape of a crescent moon with a sun at its tips in the center. It looked to be made of overlapping chains, like celtic knots. The only difference between the two was the positioning of a clear, round stone; For Luna, her stone was on the moon, and for Sol, her stone was on the sun.

He placed it over them gently with a small and sad smile, and in just a whisper, said what seemed like a single word.
"Navaer"

They looked up at him in confusion, ready to throw questions at him when three more of the monstrosity he had killed off earlier hopped out of the surrounding brush. As he brandished his sword and positioned himself to attack, he simultaneously pushed them behind him and closer to the pond.
The beasts snapped and growled, walking side to side in front of them, looking for a weak spot.

Another rustle from their far left behind them drew the attention of Luna and she barely had time to react when one of the atrocities launched itself at the three. Drawing the dagger that she always kept hidden in her boot, she managed to stab the creature's flank before Sol landed a hard roundhouse to its head, effectively breaking its neck and killing the thing.

Seeing one of their own killed apparently set off the circling predators, and moments after the carcass crashed onto the ground, they launched into attack mode. Two moved to attack headlong, ending up dead in a matter of seconds by André's well placed hits. But the third seemed to be more intelligent, waiting until there was an opening to pounce. It managed to get the slightest of scratches on André, the thin trail of blood running down his cheek being proof of such. When the twins tried to move forward to help, he was quick to push them back. "Quickly, get to the tree!"

As they followed his orders and moved back towards the great willow, he backed up with them, keeping the mutant wolf away until the two were right in the gap between the tree and glistening pond. An echo of eerie howling sounded through the air and shortly after more of the creatures pounced from the bushes and into the clearing-turned-battlefield. With the newly arrived enemies circling around their position, the twins began to panic while André let out a sigh of what sounded like defeat.

Turning around to face them, his sky blue eyes welled up with unshed tears as he gave them both a quick kiss on their forehead before hugging them tightly.

"Valar protect you both, hîn nin."

"Papa?"
"Daddy?"

He shushed them quickly, before smiling. "I'm afraid your time here has come to an end. It is time for you to go back home. Never forget me, my sweet children. Le uivelin."

"Wha-!?"

With a strong push to them both, the girls few back into the pond, the water covered in shadow but clear enough to see the horrid bodies of the creatures pounce to attack André. Still holding hands as to not lose each other, they kicked and pushed to try to reach the surface but a force stopped them from doing so. To add to their horror, their hands were ripped away from each other, their bodies being dragged farther down and apart from each other. Air bubbles floated to the top as they yelled for each other, but only to gain nothing.

The last either saw before the blackness overtook their vision was something at the surface plunging into the pond; a head of what looked like blonde, shining hair.

Then, a bright golden light.

"Navaer" - Good bye
"hîn nin" - My children
"Le uivelin" - I will always love you