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andreal831 · 7 months ago

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So, I'm just gonna come out and say it: Despite probably only being planned in S4 - the idea of the Hollow and it's very elusive presence being the mastermind behind the Originals and it's history is actually engenious!

(Keep in mind, I'm talking as if I'm inside the universe - not as a viewer looking in. Also, fair warning, I alternate between "The Hollow" and Inadu since they are the same person.)

Let's start with the fact that thanks to Inadu, we know werewolves are just cursed witches cut off from their magic with interesting loopholes (such as the Unification Ceremony) - everyone from TVD should've called it because it's ALWAYS a witch creating a new supernatural species! The even bigger factors come from: why killing triggers the werewolf curse (Inadu was murdered - by her mother), the history that combined werewolf abilities were once divided and needed a witch-like ceremony to come together, the story of how Inadu's bones were kept/used until she got her body back, and the very idea that - unlike vampires - werewolves are a bloodline curse allowed to reproduce. If I'm not being clear, the story of the Hollow correlates a lot with werewolf lore. My only headcanons are that werewolf venom became a thing as a result of vampires being created - a natural defense with a supernatural twist - and wolfsbane is a weakness because she died in a field of wolfsbane. With the fact that werewolves existed 500 years prior, that's half a millennia of history that's got lost, destroyed, or spread out in time (since you don't watch Legacies: Long story short, a Shunka Warakin - a creature Ioway Native American mythos that hunts werewolves - made an appearance. Liberties aside, that essentially says werewolves had a rival predator/there were so many werewolves that a creature like this came into existence), and that's not forgetting how much that loss was furthered by Klaus & Elijah engineering The Sune & Moon Curse to lift his own - imagine how many werewolves died listening to following that crap. So, thanks to The Hollow, we have an entire lost-to-be-rediscovered lore for werewolves. Who knows, maybe the Fated Mates in typical werewolf novels might have some truth in them as well😁.

Next, New Orleans. The very idea that The Hollow is a corrupted, evil soul capable of dark and impossible feats says so much. For starters, her very presence and influence can turn good people into evil-doing followers. If I had to go back, let's start with Xavier Dumas (Jackson's grandfather and the guy who murdered Elias and Brooke Labonair - my HC names for Hayley's parents if you don't mind). It was bad enough he was already upset with Elias for trying to make peace with Marcel, once the Hollow sunk her hooks into him, she used him to get access to one of her remaining remains and when he was of no use, he was left to accept his crimes as a disgraced wolf. Next, we see Vincent and his then not-evil-wife Eva dealing with Marcel's hold on the witches. When Vincent started practicing its magic with Eva - who took it a step further, Inadu started to influence them and their bodies. But for whatever reason, Vincent stopped practicing but Eva was already in her grasp. Now fast forward. I'm sorry, but did no one ask why a twenty-something witch was able to overcome an Original's possession over her body? Not even Alaric and Tyler were able to do it when Klaus possessed them. Like, that's badass as hell, but now that we know about Inadu and her thing for sacrificing witch children, it's very likely now we witnessed the first acolyte of the Hollow's cult through Eva and we just didn't know it - and considering she'd already had killed witches for her, the juice she got for empowering Inadu came into play in the form of gaining her body back from Rebekah. (I also have a theory Finn was corrupted by Inadu's leftover essence on Vincent - explaining his different behavior as Finncent vs in his own body, but nobody's ready for that talk😝). Now, let's move to the last group, the Ancestors. The very fact she was impressed by them and how it connects to the Harvest is interesting if you wanted to say the Harvest was created to give power to the Ancestral Well and keep The Hollow imprisoned. The killing of young witches, the passing on power to super-witch that Davina went through in S1, coming back not quite right but more to the Ancestors' cause? The very fact of all that the Ancestors knew about Inadu's origin story says they knew what she was and was capable of since the beginning and when the connection was destroyed in S3, in all good intentions, Vincent let a very bad cat out of the bag for Davina.

Lastly were Inadu's abilities. Compared to many others in the TVD Universe, not only was she a master at possession, she was able to practice magic in a vampire's body - which no one has done before, bring somebody back to life after having their heart ripped out, alter her blood to be toxic to a vampire, telepathic moral corruption, create corporal illusions capable of physical attacks, crushing hearts from the inside... honestly, The Hollow was a full package of feats that shouldn't go underutilized. I even say she didn't even need to feel scared when she had her original physical body back because she already had a plan and Hope - being her blood and easily located, helped by the fact she fears her - only says she knew things would work out. My only regret is that if done right, Inadu would have followed Hope into Legacies because she'd be the Boogeyman only she can face.

Most people hate Inadu for writing reasons and some hate her for being the reason the Mikaelsons were divided. But in the case of the latter, isnt that what made her a successful villain? A villain's job is to stop the heroes or antiheroes (the Mikaelsons) from getting what they want. The Hollow was a villain so powerful, so menacing, manipulating from the background while the living were clueless in their own troubles that inadvertently added in bringing her to power so she could be an active threat. TO was all about being a family and sticking together and she gave them no choice but to separate if they didn't want Hope possessed again. So technically, in life and in death, the Hollow is a successful villain as she kept the Mikaelsons apart and got to Hope in the end. Essentially an inevitable that did what no one else could do.

I am obsessed with how thorough this is.

I'll be honest that I don't spend a lot of time thinking about Inadu/The Hollow, simply because Season 4 and 5 are not my favorite seasons. But, not because I didn't like her story or the lore, simply because the writing starts to go off the rails and becomes very rushed.

But I agree, Inadu was one of the best villains in TO. And it's completely because, as you pointed out, she did what every other villain was attempting to do. She felt not remorse for it either. Don't get me wrong, I love most of the villains in TO, but the show, for the most part, would always back pedal at the end and make them "redeemable" villains. Which is why I liked Lucien, even in his last breath he did not try to be a better person. He was a villain through and through. Inadu took it even further because they don't offer any justification for her behavior. Yes, her family killed her, but because she was power hungry and murderous. She was essentially the Kai Parker of TO. And you're exactly right, people only don't like her because she was successful. They only like the villains when the villains are bad at it. Inadu had the entire city, including the Mikaelsons, running scared.

I loved that we finally got lore into the werewolves, they were such an underutilized species throughout TVDU. I'll have to actually watch Legacies if it goes into it more. I love your headcannons of how the werewolves evolved and played out. I would also add that Inadu likely added the "werewolf rage" to make them just like her. She was punished for her murderous mentality, so she wanted her family to feel how she felt, to behave as she had.

I only wish that we could have had a full season with Inadu. There was still so much to explore and a lot unanswered. She was incredibly powerful and I love that they never really defeat her. I agree, she should have gone on to Legacies. I hated at the end, Elijah and Klaus die to "kill" Inadu, but they had tried that before. I'm forgetting who it was, but Inadu was possessing someone and they killed that person and Inadu just went back to the ancestry plane and then possessed someone else. You may remember more and maybe I'm forgetting exactly why it worked, but to me, it was too easy.

I would have also loved to see the werewolves more invovled in the Inadu plot line, since it was their ancestor. But we only ever see Hayley. The werewolves completely disappeared after season 3.

I love this breakdown so much and I'm definitely holding onto it for future stories!

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mx-bebe31-blog · 6 years ago

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Shunka Warakin!Shownu

Have you ever heard of a Shunka Warakin AU? I loved writing this tbh A Shunka Warakin is considered to be a mix of a coyote/hyena/wolf but not quite either or! Those who have claimed to see it say it has a fur coat unlike any other animal they’ve seen before! It has a distinct snout and bodily structure. Enjoy!

You’re heartbroken when you go out to the field at four am to feed your beloved herd of sheep and goats. You were carrying a large bucket of water and tripped, screaming in peril at the sight laid out before you

The water splashed and soaked your cotton dress, leaving you to kneel in front of one of your sheep torn to literal,,, shreds

You’re horrified and scramble to get up and sprint back into the house. You let out the herding dog and wake up your papa to tell him what happened

You can’t look as you make your way back out to the field with another bucket of water. You continue your duties as a farm girl as the day breaks

Your papa says it’s just a coyote,,,, and you can believe that

But as the summer starts to grow into fall, more sheep start turning up dead

The water splashed and soaked your cotton dress, leaving you to kneel in front of one of your sheep torn to literal,,, shreds

You’re horrified and scramble to get up and sprint back into the house. You let out the herding dog and wake up your papa to tell him what happened

You can’t look as you make your way back out to the field with another bucket of water. You continue your duties as a farm girl as the day breaks

Your papa says it’s just a coyote,,,, and you can believe that

But as the summer starts to grow into fall, more sheep start turning up dead

You love your sheep, and beg your papa to do something

You clean out the barn and try your best to herd in every last sheep before you go to bed

But once the snow falls there seems to be at least one animal dead every other day. If you’re lucky you can find all your sheep and goats accounted for for at most, a week.

You’re sad and worn out, especially as the cold sets in

Blood is a lot more red when it’s on snow. You stare at the head of your sheep, into it’s dead eyes. You want it to stop.

You become something you never wanted to be. You had the desire to kill whatever beast was taking your sheep and your goats one by one

You were getting chickens in the spring and you wouldn’t let one of them die by the teeth of some other animal out there

It’s sprinkling outside with snow, but you march out into the few inches that have already accumulated, and sit right in front of the barn with a long gun. You have your wool sweater and your coat on, your knitted hat, gloves, and scarf. You wait.

You think you see those horrid creatures by the treeline, and they start to come closer until the wind shifts and they definitely smell your scent. Your sweat.

They retreat and you glare as you stand, readying your gun as you peer through the scope.

“Damn bastards.” You whisper in a cloud of breath as you realize they won’t come near the barn as long as they know you’re there

So you go out every night into the bitter cold, all gussied up with blankets, too, for when you finally fall asleep at around two am. The chair has frozen to the ground by now but you don’t see any blood in the snow when you wake up, so you’re fine with it

Winter is the season of the coyotes, so you press on

You press on until the night they can’t stay back anymore. They’re starving, and you know it.

You’re shivering, trying to see through the start of the blizzard that night. It’s coal black skies and the moon is high

“Come on you bastards! I’ll kill you!” You shout as you bring your gun to your shoulder. Through the cross hatch you can see the burly figure of something...but it doesn’t look like a scrawny coyote

You gasp as you take your eye off the scope and look into the distance with both eyes

It’s definitely not a coyote - and it doesn’t look like a wolf either

You’re scared as it only closes the distance between you two, suddenly deciding to run towards you in an act of desperation

Your gun jostled around as you quickly bring it back into position, trying to find it’s aim

The first bullet you shoot sounds like a bomb, but it does nothing to deter the creature as you miss

You crank the fore-end and another bullet is in place. You find your target and you know you at least hit the thing when you fire. You hear a loud squeal of pain in the frigid air as you look to see that the creature has fallen.

Did you kill it?

You’re panting from the sudden adrenaline, and you can hear the sheep startle in the barn behind you. Papa probably woke up too, but you cock the fore-end again, slowly walking forwards to see the damage you did

You know it couldn’t be dead. It looked too big to drop like that

You’re careful, ever so careful as you approach the creature lying in the snow. You hold your gun, always ready to fire as tears burn your cheeks.

You can understand the death of a handful of sheep from this thing, but you can’t forgive it if takes anymore than necessary. What you have seen was a slaughter of at least over a dozen animals

You think it’s a wolf at first. The coat it has is thicker than a coyote’s, and it’s shades of grey with blonde and brunette undertones

You can see that you definitely wounded it. It’s laying on it’s side, huffing and trying not to whine in pain

You can’t see much blood because of the thick coat, but blood does dribble down it’s snout from the nostrils

When you finally look in it’s eyes, you don’t know why, but you feel like it’s sorry. The cornea’s shine with what you can only describe as tears before it makes eye contact with you.

Your eyebrows soften as its eyes shut in pain. You wonder if you should put it out of it’s misery. You bring your gun up and aim, but as you look through the scope, its eyes open again, and you can’t do it.

“I’m sorry but that’s what you get for killing my animals. They’re more than that. I love them, and you hurt me, you...you bastard.” You mutter just as you hear the front door of your cottage squeal open.

It’s your papa,,,

“(Y/n), come on, give this up! It’s much too cold, you’ll catch your death!”

You sling your gun over your shoulder and leave in favor for your bed for one night

You sleep with a sound mind knowing that your animals won’t be hurt,,,

But the creature isn’t dead

There’s an imprint that’s lightly snowed over in the morning. There’s small droplets of blood, but it’s nothing that would suggest a kill.

“I didn’t kill it, Papa...Do you think it’s still out there?” You ask as you feed your animals

He grunts and mulls it over, sighing, “I’m sure it’s healing somewhere. Probably got a den in those woods there. Though I’ve only ever seen one. Must be a lone wolf - that’s why it’s gettin’ easy picken’s.”

“What do you mean?”

“An outcast. Can’t eat the meat that others get. Can’t go into other territory, either.”

“Should I just kill it then? Next time?”

“If you don’t, I will. Damn thing’s been giving me a run for my money.”

That creature, unbeknownst to you or anyone else,,, is actually a man named Shownu

He’s not a werewolf of any kind, nor a coyote

He knows himself to be a Shunka Warakin - something of a werewolf, that could maybe be called a cryptid

He’s something crossed...some people say it’s a cross of a wolf and a hyena, or both. Maybe a coyote and a hyena - but it isn’t one or the other.

It has a coat like no hunter’s ever seen, and his proves it. His coat is darker than most Shunka’s, and with copper undertones. He also has a distinct snout and facial structure in his Shunka form.

He can’t help his change every night. When the moon rises he barrels over into an animal world where his only instinct is to survive off of meat

He knows who you are, and he knows exactly why you sit out every night by that barn

He wishes he could meet you in person,, but there’s no one around here except you, your father, and the person that delivers feed and straw every month.

When you shot him, it hurt like hell, but he still looks upon you in good light. He understands why you would chase him off with a gun, and is grateful that you didn’t end his life while he couldn’t even beg for mercy

He was going to shift that night too,,,,, to show you that he’s human,,

But his change isn’t voluntary. He changes back into human form when the moon becomes weak, at around three thirty am.

By day he sits in his den with his only friend - a forest nymph who embodies the sun. He calls himself Minhyuk, and has a multitude of friends in this seemingly enchanted forest

Minhyuk tells him stories about you - he’s seen you many, many times

You do frequent the forest to pick plants, berries, and gather wood. Your father chops down rotting trees for firewood, too, so Shownu doesn’t know why he has yet to meet you

But the day he does,,, it’s eventful

Ever since that night you just keep watch from inside. You don’t hear any howling and you don’t see anything come from that forest edge.

You wonder in guilt if you really had killed that creature...That it just had enough energy to go back and die in the comfort of it’s own den

You feel like a killer when you think of it that way. Poor thing was probably all alone and didn’t have so much as a pack of his own to cope with

But your father is proud that you would take such an initiative to sit out in the snow just to protect your income

When the spring comes, you go to the farmer’s market about an hour out. You’re excited to pick out some new animals, especially since your father has made new coops for the chickens.

While you’re back, your father sets up the new animals while he tells you to go restock on the ingredients for the kitchen

You grab your trusty basket and mason jars and head out with a new spring in your step

It’s a field day for you in the forest. You’re picking berries, petals off of edible flowers, and certain stems of plants

You also remember your garden at home that you can’t wait to tend to

But as you head back, you suddenly realize that this is the very place where that creature once resided.

You stop and look around you, seeing the sun high in the sky and the blooming forest all around. In winter, it looked dead and bleak, but now it looks quite serene

You remember your father’s words and remember that it was probably alone in a den of it’s own somewhere

For some reason you wonder if you could find it - the den

You figure the thing abandoned it long ago, and deem it safe enough to try and find.

It takes you a while, you head deeper but it’s surprisingly well in sight when you do find something you would consider a den

It’s in the edge of a cliff you’ve seen a dozen times before, and it looks more like a bear cave than anything, but you know there’s no bears around this part of the countryside

You peek in, but it’s far too deep to see anything.

You desperately want to go inside. It looks huge! But...you’re also scared.

Scared that if you go in, you might never come out

After all,,, even if that thing did abandon it, no doubt something took it’s place

You creep away, satisfied that you found it, and start to head back the way you came.

“Waitwaitwait!” You hear a quiet, small, and human like voice

You turn your head waiting to see nothing, that it was just a squirrel or something -

But no

You squint and try to figure out if you’re hallucinating because you swear this thing in front of your face looks like a human mosquito or,,, or fairy -

You look like you’re about to scream when you finally pinpoint a face

“No! Don’t run - You’re (Y/n), right?”

You clutch your basket to your chest, “Y-Yeah! How the hell do you know?!”

Even if he is a fairy, you can still see his eyes just light up as he flutters in the air

“I’m Minhyuk” He greets, sticking out a hand.

You almost mutter under your breath “And I’m going insane”

You stick out a finger and he’s giddy as he shakes it up and down before grabbing ahold of it with both of his hands, surprisingly able to tug you a step forward with his puny body

“Come on! I’ve been wanting to introduce you to someone”

“E-Eh... ,,,, ????” You don’t know what you can do. At this point, you think you must have suffered heat stroke and went into dreamland

This…’Minhyuk’ fairy pulled you toward the cave you just had a bad feeling about

“There’s a person out here, you know. His name’s Shownu, and he’s really shy - he doesn’t have anyone but me”

You’re trying to balance your basket and keep up with Minhyuk’s surprisingly strong and fast pace

You are lead into the cave and you’re frozen, on autopilot

But you suddenly feel warmth and see fire lighting up the cave walls as you get closer

When you get into the main area, it completely blows you away

You really feel like this is something out of a storybook

An open den in a cave, a fire in the middle burning perfectly, and furniture and decor strung around

There was,,, a human - or what looked like one - sitting on a wood bench by the fire

He seemed totally caught off guard that you were here, but he only looks to the fairy who dropped your finger. Great - so he can see him too?

“Minhyuk,,,,” He mumbles, bowing his head and wrapping a hand around the nape of his neck

The man,,, Shownu? He was,,, well, he was the first man you’ve actually seen that you could consider handsome

You grew up with Papa, being homeschooled by a maiden until you were fourteen until your father could take over. The only men you see are at the market - and they’re usually Papa’s age, and very round with big hearty voices

Shownu,,, is none of that

He wears what you can assume to be a shirt made of some sort of skin and thick cloth material, with actual fabricated shorts, presumably from the market. His skin is set off by the fire and it looks beautiful. His hair is short, black, but it really suits him

“Don’t worry, Shownu! This is (Y/n), the girl from the farmhouse over yonder. The moment has finally come where you can get another friend!”

“I-I have friends. I have you and you’re other fairy friends.” He shyly tries to protest but Minhyuk twirls in a tight circle upwards while pointing a finger

“Hey, me and Wonho are nymphs! It’s Kyunnie whose a fairy!”

There’s an awkward pause as you look around the den, the question itching the back of your mind

But formalities first

“Um..Yes, I’m (Y/n). You’re..Shownu? Nice to meet you.”

You hold your basket with both hands and bow. He nods to you, unsure of what steps to take next.

“You too,,,, would you like to sit?” He offers, moving over a bit and you shyly take it, basket in lap as you stare at the goodies inside

“Want some berries?” You offer suddenly, looking at him expectantly

He’s hesitant, but takes a couple, popping them in his mouth

After introductory conversation, you stare into the fire as you think

“So..why do you live in the wild? If you need shelter, you can always come to my door. There’s not a lot of people or travelers around here, but my Papa would have to let you stay. Ahjummas in the town are really nice and could give you a room.”

You have concern and hope in your eyes, wanting to coax this man into a better living space

“Um...well...I think I’m just alright living here. I’m okay, trust me.”

“Yeah...I’m not doubting you, but it’s much more comfortable living in an actual house. A-And anyone here would be happy to help you, you could get sick out here, or be attacked by -”

Your hands coil and tighten around your baskets handle as you remember the winter. There must be coyotes, wolves, a bear or two, that thing

But Shownu’s expression doesn’t change. He only rolls his palms together as he hums

“I’m okay..” He assures

“Well...if you’ll let me I can come visit some more. I can bring you medicine if you fall ill, some real blankets, some more clothes if you like. Really, if you need anything, just come by my door. I won’t report you as long as you promise you’ll be alright here.”

Shownu looks over stoically, but his eyes tell a different story

He’s really grateful, and he realizes how angelic you really could be. Not only merciful,,, but humane and full of amity

“Okay. I promise. But be careful out here. Minhyuk is the guardian of this place, so he will always find you and bring you here safely. And...don’t come at night. It’s dangerous. Promise?”

You nod with enough force to shake your hair, “Promise, Shownu.”

You stand and bow again, “I’ve been out here long enough picking these for dinner, but market day is tomorrow. I’ll try to be home by three so I can give you some gifts. Expect me, alright?”

From then on you know Shownu as the nomad who lives in the woods

On one hand you’re blown away that such a thing as Minhyuk exists, but you become great friends with him after a while. While walking to Shownu’s hut he giddily twirls in the air as he spouts how much Shownu loves his gifts from you

Blankets, shoes, large flannel’s and shirts, and everything inbetween. Even weaponry or traps that would help him catch small game to eat. You couldn’t have him starving on you. You even started bringing well water by the pitcher (because creek water is hard to get and not as nice)

In return he gives you the perfectly cut fur from his game to trade and sell. Since Papa would question where you got the money, you put it all towards Shownu

By the time winter approaches again, Shownu’s hut is almost as cozy as your own home. You can comfortably walk in even without Minhyuk by your side. Sometimes you surprise Shownu, but he only smiles and brushes it off as he offers you a snack or a cup of water

But as winter does approach again,,, you wonder if there will be any danger like last season. You can’t believe it’s been a year since then.

“Have you ever seen anything weird in these woods, Shownu?” This must be your third time asking

“Hm...Not with my own eyes. Minhyuk likes to say there’s a werewolf, but that’s silly. I’ve seen coyotes but no wolves around here. Not even cougars or bears. Odd, isn’t it?”

You agree,,, but figure that what you saw that night must have died or ran off, with you being the only witness to it’s slightly strange anatomy and size

You visit Shownu a lot less in the winter. Especially when the snow sticks to the ground you can’t have any reason to go into the woods, or your father would know. You would leave footprints and you can’t risk Shownu’s life like that.

So you just settle for blissfully looking into the distance, hoping Minhyuk is keeping Shownu company. You hope they’re both warm out there

You worry when there’s a particularly horrible blizzard, but you have to go to sleep nevertheless

But something greets you that morning that nearly makes you upchunk your dinner from last night

“Papa, it’s not dead.” You say when he comes out to your frantic calls. He has a gun in his hand but he only sighs down at the blood

“Honey you need to let that go. They’re animals. Coyotes are mangey scavengers that only want meat. I’ll clean this up, you finish working.”

You’re frustrated all over again, but you can’t sit out there with a gun again. Pops wouldn’t let it happen.

So that night, you don’t care what the hell happens, you put on your boots and your coat and you take off into the woods with a gun for protection

You want to see Shownu and ask if he heard any coyotes or saw something at the treeline. You also,,, just want to sit in Shownu’s den and have him comfort you while you’re dealing with this frustration

The wind howls as it’s snowing - you forgot your hat and your mittens, and you don’t have anything under your coat but flimsy sleepwear

Underneath the snow are branches and dead thickets - you trip over one trying to get through the inches and inches of snow

You scream when your gun goes off, your body shaken as the noise vibrates through your bones

You whimper and cry out as the gun recoils out of your hand, landing near your head as your face is in the snow

It’s so cold it burns but you can’t move because you’re in shock. Did you shoot yourself anywhere?! You’re freezing and you can’t tell anymore, so you lay there until you can hear again

You feel like your name is called amongst the ringing in your ear, and you’re afraid it’s your father, but it’s much too close for that

You sigh as you try to move, but you indeed feel something holding you back

Lifting your top half you keep yourself steady on your heads despite how they burn being buried in the snow. You see that there’s blood seeping into the landscape, and you know you’ve been shot somewhere in your leg. Your pants cover the bullet wound and you can’t tell where it comes from but you sure as hell can’t walk anywhere like this

Tears sting your eyes as you become scared. You can’t even see Shownu’s den from here - you’re stuck in the middle of your house and Shownu

“Shownu!” You scream into the howling wind. It’s practically useless as you feel your voice being swallowed up by the snow fall. You call five more times for help, each time becoming more desperate and filled with fear

You might,,, die like this. You’ll freeze as you have no choice but to lay in the snow. You dig your hands into the snow, trying to pull yourself forward, but it’s hardly any use. The ground is too uneven and filled with debris - it only hurts as you dig your fingers into dead thorns and try to drag your freezing body

You suddenly hear something that you can compare to a dog panting

You scream and try to reach for your gun when you see something you never thought you’d see again,,,

The creature. It towers over you as your frozen fingers can’t reach the gun half lost in snow

You see the clouds of breath that comes from it’s nostrils but it’s only standing over you and you can’t predict what it will do next

You can’t predict what it will do next,,, but you certainly don’t expect it to nuzzle your cheek like a pet

And you don’t expect it to circle around you to sniff at your leg before whining in pain

It lays by you, as if it were a big spoon. The fur is more than enough to start warming you up, it’s chin resting over the top of your head, and it’s paw drapes over your stomach

When you breathe you know it sounds like you’re in pain - and you are, but you don’t know what to do

But whether it’s from the cold, the fear, or the pain you can’t help but close your eyes and trust that you won’t be an appetizer

You wake up in Shownu’s den. It’s like you can tell it’s early morning, and you can tell that a lot has happened

“Shownu?” You murmur as you sit up on his makeshift cot he uses as a bed. The fire is already roaring, and he sits on the bench where you two first met

He’s quiet, probably upset at you for being in danger.

“(Y/n) I told you never to come at night. It’s dangerous and you could have died.”

You blink “I...know. I’m sorry.”

It’s quiet as you remember the creature who must have not eaten you. You wonder why - to an animal, meat is meat. Humans get attacked all the time.

“You know how I always ask if you’ve seen something strange in these woods?” You ask tentatively as you stare at him through the licks of the flames in the air. Shownu meets your gaze and nods

“Well -”

You’re cut off by Shownu sighing, his shoulders drooping as he talks before you can continue

“(Y/n) I lied. I’m...the thing. T-The hybrid that isn’t quite a wolf or a coyote or a hyena. I’m not a werewolf nor a skinwalker - it’s called a Warakin. My name...Even my mother gave me my name from it. Shunka Warakin, (Y/n). I’m sorry.”

You’re stunned,,, You’re not quite sure how to take it in, and you want to accuse him of joking or pulling your leg but;;;; Shownu isn’t like that.

“W-What?” You ask, mind confused and in a haze. You’re not sure if the bullet caused an infection and you’re really just going into a comatose world made up of fairies, nymphs, and,,,, these Warakin’s.

“I didn’t want you to hate me. I know taking animals from your farm is wrong...but there’s only small game around here, and..I feel guilty. I only let you see me in my human form, because I knew you’d kill me for doing this to you.”

And that’s,,, when you realize Shownu has been the one causing so much frustration, heartbreak, and pain.

You don’t want to be mad at him now,,, but you can’t help but feel a sudden lump in your throat

“So...Y-You…”

“I’m grateful you didn’t kill me that night. Though, I wanted to leave this place, the bullet took a really long time to heal.”

“Sorry….I didn’t know. I don’t like killing.. I was just scared you would hurt me. Well - and - I didn’t know it was you. I would never do that.”

He nods before taking the pot off the fire and bringing out plates for breakfast

“You have a bullet in your shin. Do you know how that happened?” He asks calmly as he gives you a plate with a small portion of fish and raspberries. He then leans down to inspect the bandaged wound

“Yeah..it was an accident. I tripped over the dead thickets, and the gun recoiled.”

Shownu doesn’t say anything else as he leaves it to heal

“It’s nearly seven thirty, and you can’t get back to your father on your own. What should we do? I want to take you back…”

“I know you would carry me, but yeah, father would be worried and angry. There’s no explanation..”

“There’s a nymph around here that’s strong. With the help with Minhyuk, Kyun, and Ki...they might be able to help you make it back without being visible.”

You nod and finish your breakfast. “I’ll tell father that I just went into the village...maybe he will believe me.”

The plan is set in action, but before Minhyuk comes with his friends, Shownu grabs your hand with a worried look

“Do you hate me..?”

You shake your head, “No. Really, Shownu, I could never hate you. You need to live..and at that time I thought it was just another animal. You’re not that.”

“Then will you still visit me after your leg heals?”

You smile and nod, “Of course.”

Over the last year you had come to know Shownu really well. He felt like a friend, a best friend alongside Minhyuk. But while you could always be best friends with Minhyuk, you couldn’t with Shownu

He was too perfect sometimes,,, in personality, looks, and just who he was

While you heal you think of lots of things about the people you’ve met. You work on the farm trying to hide the injury from your father or feign sick on the days you can’t find the strength to carry on walking

Minhyuk visits your window at night, and this is how you and Shownu communicate as it takes a hair over two months for your leg to heal. There’s a scar, but you’re grateful Shownu still did everything he did. You felt guilty you couldn’t help him with his bullet wound

But you know once you’re ready to make the trek back to Shownu’s den, things might be different

Even if they’re different, you know he and Minhyuk will always be by your side

_______

This was long. 4.8k! I think I’m in love with this AU though, it’s just strange enough to be unique. And I can’t help it I’m a sucker for Shownu uwu.

-S

#monsta x #monsta x fanfic #monsta x shownu #monsta x au #monsta x shownu au #shunka warakin au #shunka warakin #shownu #shownu au

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