Once Upon a Second Chance

(42) - The Moon's Pale Light

Ruby smiled softly from her place sitting at the log as she turned to look at the sleeping thirteen-year-old who had begun to stir. She slowly got up and went to sit next to Diana whose eyes fluttered open.

"Well?" the older brunette asked gently. "What do you remember?"

Diana narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, trying her best to recall everything that happened while she was in wolf form the previous night. "W-Well, I um... I remember drinking water at the clearing... um... running along the edge of the woods, and..." She sighed. "I don't remember anything else."

"You blacked out," Ruby nodded.

"Yeah," Diana frowned.

"That's okay. I used to black out too when I first began controlling my turns. Remember what we talked about—you need to feel completely confident in yourself and your body—the human and the wolf. Insecurity is what causes you to lose control," Ruby instructed.

Diana sat up against the tree. "Is that what you're so good at being a werewolf?" she asked. "Because you're always so confident."

Little Red Riding Hood chuckled. "I wasn't always. I... I used to think my nature was something to be ashamed of, that I would be better off if I was normal."

"What could have convinced you otherwise?" Diana asked intently. "Being normal would be so much easier."

"Because I was lucky enough to learn that 'normal' is subjective. All it takes is meeting the right people to show you that the real you is the you that they would rather have around." And no matter what it took, Ruby sword that she would always be that one person to make sure Diana knew she was loved and accepted. The werewolf spent years hating herself, thinking she was a monster. She would be damned if this innocent girl went through the same thing.

"But I used to be normal and I was perfectly fine," Diana argued. She was normal among wolf standards; she wasn't born a werewolf like Ruby. She was an animal who followed her primal instincts—she didn't mean to run into town and nearly hurt that woman and the teenagers who had come to her aid.

"You were. There's no arguing with that. But, there's also no arguing with the fact that what has happened to you is something that you have the ability to embrace, something you view as an amazing change in your life, not something meant to make it harder. Because I tell you, when you have loved and accepted every part of yourself, you will never feel more alive," Red smiled.

Diana nodded but still sighed quietly.

Ruby smiled sadly before standing up and getting her bag. "But, in case balancing your turns ever becomes too difficult, I wanted to give you something."

She took out a pale white coat that slightly remembered her red hood, but was smaller.

Diana tilted her head as she got up. "What's this?"

"It's a turn-prevention cloak. The same kind that Granny got from Gold to keep me in human form during Wolfstime. I know that you're primal form is a wolf, so I wish there was a way for it to be vice-versa, but-" Ruby was cut off.

"No, no, it's more than I could ask for. At least with it I don't have to worry about hurting anybody," she said in relief.

Ruby internally sighed, afraid that the gift would have a negative effect like she'd worried about, that Diana would use it as a crutch to escape the feeling of burdening that came with the possibility of unintentionally hurting somebody if you lose control. She wanted it to be seen as merely a precaution when things got difficult.

But deep down, she knew that either way, if the cloak put the girl's mind at ease, it was worth the deal she made with Gold to get it. He had requested some of her fur for an ingredient for potions. As uncomfortable as the thought made her feel, she knew that with the Dark One, it could have been a lot worse.

"Just promise me one thing," Ruby said, bending down to Diana's level. "That you will use this coat as a last-resort. I don't want you to rely on it all the time. I want you to enjoy being a wolf and embrace every part of you. Can you do that?"

Diana smiled and nodded. "I promise."

"Okay," Red said, returning the smile. "So, let's try it on."

She helped Diana put in the cloak and when the teenager turned around she asked, "How does it look?"

(A/N): Sorry for the shorter chapters lately. I'm just trying to get some small filler side-stories in before the plot really kicks in to high gear.