(2025-04-28) Unfinished Roses

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Author:	Saaron
Summary:	Callyna leaves her home on a mission for her mothers, the owners of a flower shop. Something feels odd, though, like her mother had one of her premonitions, warning her of an incoming danger.
Rating:	T for Teen

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Violent death of a pet, fear, panic, worgen attack, blood, wounds,

“Lyn?”

The girl doesn’t answer the voice coming from downstairs. The paintbrush in her hand traces strokes of a vivid red at the bottom of her canvas. In the background, the gloomy houses she sees from her window have taken a lighter tone. The sun pierces through the painting’s lightly tinted blue clouds, light beaming at the red roses she’s begun to paint.

“Callyna!” says the voice, louder, now at the door of her room. This wakes up the girl from her focused daydreaming. Callyna drops her palette, spreading the colorful oil paint on her dress. She exhales softly, looking at the mess.

“Yes, mother?” Callyna says to Maida Lancaster, one of her two mothers.

“We need your help with the shop. Now,” Maida says. The urgency in her voice is unusual, which instantly raises concerns within Callyna. Something was going on, and although the teenager didn’t know what, she wasn’t certain her mother knew either. Maybe Maida was following one of those premonitions she had, warnings of incoming danger. Those gut feelings her mothers always told Callyna she should be listening to.

The slight discomfort spreads throughout Callyna, who now felt that sense of danger as well. She sits, unmoving, in front of the canvas. She stares at Maida.

“What’s happening?”

“Nothing, my dear,” Maida fakes a reassuring smile. “We need some viburnum flowers for a bouquet, and Elsie would enjoy a little rest away from the pups. Maybe you could take her on a walk, and go get some of those flowers for us?”

Callyna stares at her mother, her brows furrowed in worry. She sees the effort her mother makes, but still, the feeling in her gut isn’t going away anymore.

“Can I… finish painting the flowers first, at least?” she says. All she needs is a yes, a ‘don’t worry, my dear, it can wait for a little longer’. Just one answer that would bring her a sense of safety.

“You’ll have all the time in the world for that later,” Maida answers, the worrying smile still on her quivering lips. “Our clients need the bouquet as soon as possible.”

Callyna gives her a small nod. She gets up and stares at her mother in the doorway.

“Lyn, what are you waiting for, now?” Maida says, her smile fading, and the urgency in her voice coming back once more.

“You’re in my room… I need to change first. I’ve got paint all over me,” Callyna says. She doesn’t mind going outside with an outfit that is a little messy. All she needs is a little sign that everything is going to be okay.

“Just go. Please,” the urgency has turned into a pleading look. Callyna understands that she must obey now, and that, maybe, things won’t be okay. She nods once more, walking past her mother to leave the room.

“Lyn…” Maida says, throwing her arms around her daughter’s neck. Callyna lets herself fully go into that embrace, tightening her arms around her mother. The latter lets go and plants a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “I trust you. You’ll find the most delightful flowers.”

Callyna nods shyly to her mother, then rushes down the stairs. “Elsie,” she calls out, the mastiff immediately getting to her feet and joining her, quickly followed by her cohort of puppies. Callyna kneels down and pets the tiny mastiffs on the head. “No. Finley, Emily, Henry, just mommy this time,” she says, with the same fake, reassuring smile her mother put on earlier. She steps through a door, putting on the bright red cloak on her shoulders, and enters her mothers’ flower shop. She closes the door, trapping the puppies on the other side. She greets the customers, Elsie walks close to her.

Fay Lancaster, her mum, greets her with a joyful smile. The kind you put on in front of your clientele. “Ah, sweetie, you heard your mother, right?” Fay says. “You remember what the flowers look like, I assume.” Callyna nods. “Where they grow?”

“Outside of town, on a hill to the North,” she answers, almost mechanically.

“Good. Now go, before mother starts worrying,” Fay winks at her.

“Yes, mum,” Callyna says, staring at the ground. “Come, now, Elsie.”

“Be careful,” Fay sends her a kiss, which Callyna almost forgets to grab. The teenager sees a sad glimmer in her mum’s eyes, just for a split second, before she turns back to her client, the professional look on her face back on. “My apologies. I know exactly what bouquet suits your needs.”

Callyna lets Elsie out, and closes the door behind her. Still, she can hear her mum’s booming voice. “Truth be told, you should be careful and get back home soon. From the overcast sky, I think we can expect a heavy rain soon,” she says. “It bodes well for your wedding day, doesn’t it? I’ve heard humans from other kingdoms say ‘Rainy marriage, happy marriage’!”

Fay’s loud, professional laughter resounds within Callyna. Perhaps it’s nothing? Perhaps her mothers are wrong about their gut feelings, and their just some kind of fear? And Callyna’s own gut feeling is nothing, too, just something she ate? A general sense of anxiety? Perhaps her mothers aren’t even worried at all, and she’s just imagined the whole thing? Overexaggerated things?

It doesn’t take long before time reveals something is going wrong on that particular day.

The round clusters of white and pink flowers in hands, Callyna is about to return to the capital, lost in daydreams and worries. That’s when she notices the chaos, going around. From afar, on top of her hill, she sees people escaping the city, screams echoing through the capital. Windows crashing, people fighting, beasts roaring, guns firing.

Callyna holds on tightly to the flowers in her hand, unable to let them go. Elsie barks at the chaos happening, so, so, so far, yet hitting too close to home.

The teenager can’t believe what she’s seeing. Rain started drizzling. With one hand, she pulls on her red hood, runs further, and falls in-between a few bushes, hiding. Elsie approaches her, comfortingly nuzzling her face. Maybe she imagined all of that. None of it is true, just her imagination running wild, a daydream interfering with reality. Elsie, her, is very real, and she’s there, by her side. That’s the whole world, the one that exists. She’s sure of it.

Fear still overwhelming her, Callyna hides in that bush for who knows how long. Perhaps hours. And perhaps it’s the scent of the flowers overpowering hers, or the paint she had spilled on her dress, but the beasts lurking around don’t find her for a long, long time.

But find her, they do.

Elsie wakes up from a nap by Callyna’s side, growling. Snarling.

No, no, Elsie didn’t snarl; she never snarled. That was something else. Someone else.

The mastiff jumps above Callyna’s head. The sound of a powerful hit propels the dog to the side with a whimper, the leaves ruffling around. Callyna watches as red paint spills from behind her. Like the one she used in her painting, earlier that day. This time, oddly warm. The beast beside her keeps growling, but she just can’t. She can’t turn around a look at it. Face what monster lurks at her side.

Its heavy breath warms her neck and sends a chill down her spine simultaneously. Another noise follows, leaves ruffle again, and Elsie barks. The mastiff’s intervention gives Callyna the courage to turn around, just in time to see her precious pet throw herself at a wolf-like creature wearing human clothes. The two beasts’ jaws lock onto each other’s necks, more paint hitting the leaves, before seeping into the ground.

Not a sound has come from Callyna, not one scream has escaped her mouth. Only when Elsie finally stops moving after a valiant fight does the teenager lets out one single sob, stopped immediately by halted breath. As if taking this as a reminder of her presence, the beast turns back around to look at her, shoving the dog’s corpse away. Weakly, it reaches for Callyna. She should run. She should escape, but her body is frozen, her legs stuck in place, her hands still clamped up around the flower’s broken stems. She never let them go. Not one second.

The creature pulls itself up, tries to howl, but paint spills all the way down its torso, pouring like a fountain all around them. It raises an arm and strikes powerfully at Callyna, scratching the top of her head.

Both the girl and the creature fall to the ground, Callyna’s hands still around the stems. She watches them fall beside her face. She watches as the white flowers begin to turn red, while everything begins to take the same tint. She’s frozen in place, still, unable to move, unable to get up, but this time it’s not fear that spreads throughout her body. It’s anger, fury, a desire to devour, to hunt, to kill.

Everything is red, then dark.

And the painted roses are still unfinished.