*have a grumpy joot*

Yeah... Hello again guys. It's good to see some of you are still interested in this lil' old story of mine. Like I've mentioned before, a lot of stuff that had changed my life entirely happened, feck, I'm an adult person with an ex, a driving license, and final exams to do.
Adulthood, am I right, haha? Uh...
You might notice that my writing style has changed a bit, hopefully for the better. Bear with me as I try to finish what I've started here over a year ago. I'll also attempt to be consistent with what I've written before (man, I've reread the entire thing xD)

Aaaanyway, the special thing I've prepared for the finale - it's gonna be a choose your own adventure/ending! Woo, who doesn't love free choice, am I right? Enjoy yall
~~~~~

Almost in a flash you suddenly find yourself fully dry, standing in the multi-purpose room as everyone talks over each other, some in excitement, some in worry. Esidisi and Santana try to explain to everyone what happened in the bathroom, while Wamuu and Arya are hugging you with all their might, as if making sure it's still you, and Kars watches you with a silent judgement.
He is probably thinking if you remember the things he told you while you were in the wolf form.
You do.
Well, somewhat.
It felt like you were watching everything like a movie. You couldn't affect anything, just passively watch while crunching your imaginary popcorn and laughing sometimes.
You still have an urge to lick someone's face or play with a ball, but your brain is telling you what a stupid idea would that be.

Finally, Kars stands up, and everyone stops speaking and the two hugging you quickly let go. You can't read the man's expression, and when you try to read his thoughts, you get overwhelmed by the chaos in his mind. Instead you just stand there, awaiting your fate.
When he walks towards you, you tense up, worried if he'll hurt you, but instead, he gently but strongly wraps his hands around you in a hug.

"Glad you're back Y/N."
He says in the most honest sounding voice you've probably heard from him yet. He lets go of you just as quickly, and eyes the quietly squealing Esidisi and Arya.
"You. Saw. NOTHING."
He beams and backs away from you.

"My lord, may I suggest a celebration to rejoice over the human's return?" Suggests Wamuu, resting his huge hand on your shoulder.
"Just a small one, the little thing must be dead-tired after such an eventful day." Kars says, looking aside, probably hiding his leftover embarrassment.

As soon as he finishes talking, Wamuu seemingly teleports away into the kitchen while Arya drags Esidisi with her to prepare the tables and such. Kars walks out of the room with all the grace he can muster, and you're left alone with Santana. You give him a smile, and he takes it as an invitation to grab you and hug you with all his might.
"I was so worried Forti... When those vampires attacked and you disappeared... And then as the wolf... I thought you'd be gone forever..."

"There's no way I could leave you, Sanny... You're my closest friend here!" You gently pet his back, and he seems to smile into your shoulder. When you two finally let go, Santana suddenly looks way calmer, but also as if he's used up all of his social battery for the day.
"Sorry, I was bothering you, wasn't I, Forti?"
"You never do San, I'm glad you feel better now. Why don't you sit somewhere while I help the others prepare the room?"

"No need for that!" Shouts Arya as she drags the last chair to it's place, and pats the smug-looking cloud haired pillarmen's shoulder. "We're done already."
"Oh..." You say in disappointment. "Um, well, what about setting plates and such?"
"Ah, you're right, I'm so forgetful sometimes!" Laughs Arya while taking your hand and dragging you along behind her. "Come on, let's check the kitchen!"

"Welcome kitten! And miss Arya." Says Wamuu, looking away from his pans and pots. "How may I help you two?"
"We're getting some plates and utensils." Says Arya, still holding your hand tightly. You turn slightly red, as it doesn't seem like a friendship thing anymore.
"Are you alright kitten? You're turning a bit red. Are you changing into some animal again?" Asks Wamuu with concern in his voice, and the girl looks over to you before realising what she had done and quickly letting go of your hand, red as a tomato.
"Oh my gosh, sorry Y/N! I totally forgot, it felt so normal." She mumbles in panic.
Wamuu suddenly laughs loudly and pats Arya's shoulder.
"My my, and in my kitchen? I thought you were supposed to 'kiss the chef'."
"Thank you for the cooking, Uni." You say, pulling Wamuu down (uh, well, he actually leaned down for you) and kissing his cheek.

Now there are two panicking red-faced individuals in this kitchen. While they're recovering, you search the cabinets for the items you came to get and call over to the vampire lady.
"Come on, we've got work to do!"
The three of you, with Santana silently watching from a corner, set the table, and you smile at how much this feels like a normal everyday thing. Something in the back of your mind keeps trying to disturb your happiness, but you can't seem to realise what it is, so you just dismiss it as aftereffects of your transformation.

It doesn't take long for Wamuu to arrive, serving the first meal, and Sanny, Esidisi, Arya and you sit at the table, waiting for the Lord. But a while passes, and he's nowhere to be seen.
"I guess... We just... Eat?" You suggest, and everyone nods slightly. Slowly all of you start eating, and Wamuu peeks from the kitchen, saying "Lord Kars said he won't be joining us until later. He wishes you all a good meal."
You look at each other questioningly, but continue eating, as you chat about things like what it was like to be a wolf, how each of the people smellt, and even about the fight with vampires you all went through. When Wamuu joins you all after serving the last meal, you tell him about talking to the horses and he doesn't look one bit surprised.
"Their attitude sounds accurate. I wish I would be able to talk to them, it would make many things that much easier."
You promise Wamuu to attenpt to translate what they say for him.

The evening carries on, and you feel yourself being even more tired, whdn suddenly the doors barge open and Kars enters, sitting at the table.
"Sorry for the delay."
"My Lord, shall I serve you your-"
"No need, Wamuu." Says the purple-haired man as he fixes up his clothing. "I'm not hungry."
You are all a bit on edge, but nobody has the courage to ask Kars about what he was doing, and he doesn't seem to want to share. You talk some more, with Kars mostly silent or sometimes asking questions, and you can barely hold your eyes open anymore. Kars stands up and walks over to you.
"It's rest time, the human is falling asleep at the table."

Everyone dispersers, no protests, as Kars gently picks you up and careies you to your room, setting you on your bed. As he covers you with a blanket, you quietly ask him something your sober mind would never.
"What happened, Kars?"
He seems thrown of by your sudden remark, but he answers.
"I was studying something about that ability of yours. I'll tell you some other day."
With that, he gently brushes away the hair in your face and leaves as you quickly fall into slumber.

~~~~~

In your dream, everything seems normal at first. You walk through a forest, looking at the lush green trees and the moss pillows, when suddenly you hear someone calling you.
"Y/N! Y/N!"
You start trotting, eventually almost sprinting, as the forest around you slowly gets colder and more bare, until you're in a winter forest. The voice doesn't seem any closer, until you glimpse a person in the distance.
"Mom...?"

~~~~~

You wake up with your face covered in tears, while someone was apparently trying to carefully wake you up. You turn around you in your sleepy confusion to see Wamuu sitting by your head, gently petting your hair, and Santana who's sitzing at the edge of your bed with a concerned look.
"Kitty-" "Forti-"
They both speak at the same time.
"Oh, um, you go first..." Says Santana to Wamuu while scooting a little closer to you. You take the chance and grab Sanny's hand, holding it close to your heart to calm yourself down.

"Kitten, we came to bring you breakfast, but we heard you crying and we saw you were pulling on your hair, is everything okay?"
You think about what to answer long and hard, until you feel your heartbeat has slowed down and you wipe your eyes.
"I had a dream, and I think I saw my mother there..."
The two men look at each other in confusion.
"Your mother? Why would that make you sad?"
You realise the Pillarmen's family dynamics are logically definitely pretty different from human ones.
"Um, well, my mother raised me ever since I was little, taught me everything I know, took care of me, loved me..." You pause as your eyes start stinging once more. "I- I miss my parents..." You say, slightly sobbing again.

Santana slowly leans close towards you and hugs you.
"Shhh, it's alright human, take your time..."
You feel like Santana somehow understands what it's like to be seperated from your family. Calming down once again takes you a few minutes, but when you finally do, Wamuu beckons towards the table.
"Come to eat something Kitten, you must be starving..."

~~~~~

Your day is pretty usual from then - changing into your normal clothes, chatting with the two in your room about some things human... But you never stop having the image of your mother in your head, calling out to you.
On a whim, you ask Wamuu: "Do you think I could... Talk to Lord Kars?"
Wamuu seems thrown off by your question, but slowly nods.
"Let me go get him, he hasn't been responding to my messages."

Santana also excuses himself, saying he's got some business to do. You find yourself sitting all alone. Before you start losing yourself in your thoughts again, someone knocks at your door.
"Y/N, it's me, can I come in?"
It's Arya, she looks concerned.
I heard everything from Wamuu. Are you alright now?
You think for a bit before shaking your head no.
"Oh baby..." She says, sitting beside you, resting an arm behind your neck and leaning her head against your shoulder. You sit in silence for a while before she speaks up.
"Why don't we run away? Just you and me? You can shapeshift, so can I..."
You shake your head once more.
"And risk being hunted down and killed by them? No thank you..."
"They wouldn't kill you! Just me. But it's fine, anything for you."
Arya says, like it's an obvious thing, and you can't help but turn toward her, grabbing both her shoulders.

"Are you stupid?! Of course I care about you, why would you just sacrifice yourself because of something this dumb?! I am not escaping if it means you getting killed."
Suddenly, a voice sounds from the hall. "Look at the lottle vampire - give it a finger, and it bites of your hand, doesn't it?"
You get chills. It's Kars, and he seems to have overheard your whole conversation. You jump in front of Arya, while looking towards the door.
"What do you want?"
"Haven't you called for me yourself? Y/N...?"
Your name slips off his tongue slowly, and you get chills once more.
"C-come in, but only if you won't hurt Arya."
"I won't."
He sits across the table from you, giving cold stares to the vampire that is sitting behind you, holding around your waist.

You explain to Kars what happened that morning, but he seems like he heard it all already. Out of nowhere, he gives you an offer.
"Would you like to... Go check on your parents...?"
You freeze. You would never expect that he would say something like that.
"Do you mean it...? Yes! Please my lord!" You plead, bowing towards the man.
His expression changes a few times before growing into a little smirk.
"Alright. And that vampire can come with us."

Before long, you're fully dressed and standing at the balcony Kars seem to enjoy looking from. It is a cloudy day, and Arya is almost entirely covered by clothing, so she should be fine in the sun. Kars lists off rules.
"No running away, or the vampire gets it, and I'm eventually catching you again. No trying to contact other people, or they're dead too. Always stay close to my side, so goes for the vampire." He looks over to her and she nods, just happy about you being able to see the outside again.
"From studying Nagare, I know you should be able to transform into some kind of a flying form too. Try it."
You try to focus on your inner voices.
'Please, I want to see my parents again' you think, and a familiar voice answers: 'Is that really what you'd like?'

You agree enthusiastically, and you realise you have shrunk. Somehow you've kept your own mind this time.
Kars looks impressed.
"Osprey, huh?"
'W-what's that?' you try to ask, but you can only screech. Nevermind, you'll find out later.
Arya in the meanwhile hops over to you, looking like a jackdaw.
'H-Hi!' she caws, and you understand and smile. 'Oh, we can speak in a language Kars doesn't understand...?'
Kars frowns "I don't want to hear you speaking more than usual, I can't tell if you're conspiring against me!"
The two of you laugh, while Kars gives you suspicious looks, but finally you're ready for takeoff.
"If I see you're tired or falling, I'll catch you." Says Kars reassuringly, standing at the edge of the balcony. He jumps off and flies just under you, waiting for you to jump.

You successfully jump and spread your wings, feeling the strong wind holding you afloat, and you're ecstatic about your accomplishment.
"Look Ari, I'm flying!"
The jackdaw covers it's face with it's wing as if trying to hide something, before realising she's a bird and instead following after you without a word. All three of you fly in a formation with Kars leading, and you enjoy the feeling of the wind in your face. When you land, it's already afternoon, slowly getting darker. You hop along the ground until finding a puddle of water and taking a look at yourself.

'Huh' you say to yourself as you spread your wings and turn your head. 'Not bad'
But then comes the time to change back, and it feels even easier than changing forms. You just think about what it'd be like to be human again, and poof, you're back.
"Yay, we did it!" You cheer and hug both Kars and Arya, the two of them having very confused looks, as they kinda somehow lightly hug too.
"Now let's find your house." Says Kars, quickly freeing himself from the hug and swiftly walking forward. You trot after him, looking around. You landed not too far from it, you actually even see the place where you got kidnapped and get chills.
"I wonder if anyone took care of my dog..."
"Yes, Wamuu actually returned the next day to check, but the body was gone already."

You continue walking, until reaching the street your house is on. As you look around, you get chills. Something is wrong...

~~~~~

Now comes your time! For the continuation of this chapter, and for finding your ending, you'll need to choose one of these two choices. Don't worry if you don't like your ending, you can read all of them. Feel free to comment on your choice.

A) As you reach your house/flat, you grow more and more on edge. You notice the door has been broken into, and a wave of cold washes over you. All three of you rush inside, turning on the lights, only to see a mess of broken furniture and blood smears. You notice signs of struggle.
Arya quickly covers your eyes and walks you out of the door as Kars searches the house. You hear angry stomping before a quiet dripping sound comes from some room he just opened."Those damned vampires!" He screams in anger, while you sob in Arya's hold. You can easily guess what he found...
Please continue to 25A

B) You slowly walk up to the door, ringing the bell, while Arya and Kars give you encouraging looks. The door opens to reveal your parents, at first confuse, but quickly crying while hugging you close.
"Oh Y/N, we were so worried when we came home and neither your dog, nor you were here! We called the police multiple times but they didn't help..."
They look at the two behind you.
"Is that your... Boyfriend/girlfriend?" (according to your preference - in this universe, your parents know and support you, if bi/pan/omni, choose whichever one you like better xD)
"M-mom!" You blush. "We'll explain everything..." You all walk inside.
Please continue to 25B

So, yeah... Almost 3k words huh... Guess I'm still in form. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.
In case the chapters aren't written yet, I'll try to do it as soon as possible/when I feel like it.
In advance, I estimate there'll be 6 endings, though I can't guarantee that won't change as new ideas come to mind.
Thank you once more for sticking around, yall are awesome.

-ya gurl Ellie