Vincent
The full moon had passed rather peacefully for Florian, who had spent its duration in the company of his boyfriend, Freddie, and his parents, tucked away in the small cabin the Lovejoys called home. He'd drawn a portrait of Alfred and Elizabeth, sketched in pencil, he hadn't wanted to add more coal dust into the house than Freddie undoubtedly already dragged in. Just like that, the night turned into day, the sound of early songbirds filled the air, a stark contrast to the terrifying howls that rang out during the night. 

His arms were still unhappy with him when he woke up the day after. He'd had them burning from exertion by the time he arrived back at the estate earlier the previous day, rarely had he traveled so fast. He'd almost broken through the front door such was his need to know if his siblings were safe. If a werewolf wouldn't do it, it seemed Florian Barca would. Those he loved remained unharmed, or so he thought. News of Akira's injuries reached him the following day, she'd lost an arm, and Florian felt his heart sink and settle in his abdomen. _She alive?_ He'd asked, skipping words in haste. _Where?_ Now, for the second time in as many days, he was pushing those well-trained muscles as far as he could.

There were a thousand things he wanted to say and ask Aki when he parked himself at her uninjured side. _Which one of them did this to you? I swear it will pay for this. Was Mako there? Is he okay? What happened? Are you going to make it? Are you in pain? Please tell me how I can help._ All that came out was a gentle: "Oh Aki..."
Jennifer
Akira was never left alone. If it wasn't her father by her side, it was Jade or Mitica, or any other person paying her a visit at the doctor's. It was good for her, she needed the company, being on her own was dangerous as she kept battling her own internal struggle .

She was spiraling and picking herself up, again and again. Aki knew at that point that being left with her thoughts wasn't going to be productive. 

Dying wasn't an option, but it felt like the world was telling she should. 

When Florian came, she was finally able to stay more alert, the sedates in her system didn't make her babble things in Japanese that not even her old man could understand. She was still weak, but she was more alert. 

"Flo..." A soft whisper came out of her lungs, smiling the best way she could although she only had so much energy for it. 

"Don't feel bad for me." She said. "I'll be fine." 

Well, now she was an amputee, but she didn't have to think about how she'd do farm work after this. She didn't want to think about anything else.
Vincent
How could he not feel bad for Aki? She'd been attacked, again, and this time they had taken her arm. He knew what it was like to lose a body part, or at least to lose control of it. How he'd mourned a self that would never get to exist again, he still did from time to time. Sure, Aki might be able to get a fake arm, she'd pull through, she was strong. But she wouldn't be the same Aki again. She was a farmer, a job that traditionally required usage of both hands. That had to be something she realized too. 

"I'm sure you will be Aki." He said, taking on a supportive tone. "But I've been where you are, in a way. I know what it's like to lose a part of your body, I can't imagine what it's like to lose it to a werewolf though." _Which one of them did this to you..._ It had to be horrific. Nobody deserved to suffer such pain. "I know you're strong, but you don't have to pretend to be okay if you're not. Lord knows I wasn't when I lost control of my legs." Aki wasn't one to show vulnerability, but Florian still wanted to stress that she didn't have to put on a mask around him. He was uniquely positioned to relate to her situation, or so he thought.

If anything, they should feel bad for the wolf that did this to Aki. It was going to pay. They were _all_ going to pay. This was the last straw for Florian. The monsters had continued to take and take and take in their greedy pursuit to swallow Briar Ridge whole. He'd wanted one wolf dead, now he saw that none of them deserved to live. They'd all inevitably become like that dark brown one, they'd all inevitably rip the skin from this town. Just as his rage had started to settle, it came back and stronger than ever. He wouldn't show Aki, he knew she wasn't on the same page as he was. He bottled it up, ready to be used at a later moment.
Jennifer
To lose something that cannot be replaced, something out of her control. To feel powerless over the situation was an understatement for Akira, for Florian's words hurt in way she couldn't describe. She hated being a burden, she felt guilty for being alive. Her lips curled, her eyes frowned into an expression hard to read. Was it grief? Was it frustration? Anger? Or all of them at the same time?

Perhaps Florian would relate, but Aki had many layers, as her wrath was directed at someone else, it was herself.

"I'm not okay..." She admitted, her gaze turning away from her friend. "I haven't been for a while, Flo..." 

Losing a limb, her indulgence in alcohol and women, her own inner fight to find a reason to get up in the morning. 

The young Barca didn't need to know the baggage she had been carrying all this time. But, how long could Aki keep up her walls before they'd crumble? She didn't have much time, Briar Ridge as a whole couldn't afford it. But there Florian was by her side, she could feel that he was out for blood, he was ready to kill on sight. She wanted to avoid more bloodshed.

If there was one thing kept Akira sane in that moment, her dream with her mother. Her reassuring nod, her voice. 

"Something tells me we'll put an end to this." She said. "I won't stop fighting, please be assured of that. I don't want to give up just yet... I think you understand that, right?."
Vincent
He wanted to be someone Aki could trust, like she had been for him. But he feared he had damaged their relationship. Last time he'd come to comfort her he'd let his anger win. He wouldn't allow that this time. He'd been a shitty friend, even if his anger felt so right. Aki had been distant, she had walls up that previously hadn't been there. She hadn't been okay. Had any of them been okay recently? Had any of them been okay in the past months? Aki just recovered from a mysterious illness and now she was the most recent victim of a werewolf attack. She'd been attacked before, but this, this was something else entirely. He wanted to reach out, to place a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, he hesitated for a second before committing. He gently placed his hand on Aki's good shoulder, squeezing softly. "I'm sorry Aki." What exactly was he sorry for? For his rage? For Aki's lost arm? For the way the town was eating itself? 

"We will. We... We have to." He didn't know how much longer the town could keep going the way they were. He didn't know how much longer Briar Ridge could survive without truly living. Sure there were days when life seemed normal; people still had jobs to go to, people still had families to take care of and children to raise, people still got together for dinner, visited one another, had birthday celebrations, but there was an edge to life now. There was an urgency, a pressure that had been growing for months and had reached a point where it was hard to ignore it. People, both cursed and un-cursed, were scrambling for what to do, for ways out, for solutions. Florian was only privy to some of those struggles. And oh how those would grow the following month. "I hope you're right Aki." He sounded unsure. "I'm not givin' up either." He'd lost too much of himself to give up now. "If there's anythin' I can do to help, just say the word."
Jennifer
An apology? Akira gave him a confused look, why was he apologizing? The woman couldn't understand why, if anything, it was her who had to apologize. But she felt she already had done it multiple times, and even then, there would be many to come. 

She understood his anger, it was righteous. Aki felt she couldn't afford to feel that way even if her heart raged over her circumstances. Why did things like this kept happening? Why did it have to be her? Why was this whole town suffering? Why weren't her efforts enough? She wished she could be anger like Florian did, but something within her stopped her.

At least for now, until Akira could afford to be selfish even if it was for a second, to value her life like the human she was. 

A heavy sigh escaped from her lips, dry and in need for some water. 

"This town has given me enough." She said. "But I appreciate it, Flo. You've always been a good friend to me... And I hope it stays that way, you know? That's all I ask from you... "
Vincent
"You could stay with us next moon, you and Mako both." Florian and Freddie had turned into an us. They'd become nearly inseparable. For the most part, where one went so did the other, it was the mines that stood between them. "Safety in numbers, I'm sure the Lovejoys would welcome you." Time had shown that that wasn't always the case, safehouses had seemingly become a thing of the past. It seemed safety was found in spreading out, wolves could only hit so many places in one night. He couldn't stand the thought of Aki and Mako alone in their home, unable to properly defend themselves from the dangers of the full moon. 

He noticed how dry her lips looked and turned to ask a passing nurse if Aki could get some water. Being a friend meant looking out for each other, meant standing side by side, meant having one another's back. Briar Ridge's lifeblood was found in that support, in the way the town would always look after her own, and how people stuck together through thick and thin. If he looked at his hands, he might see that red under his fingernails, ripped from his birthplace. "Me too Aki... Me too." _I can't lose you._ 

"So what's the plan?" He asked, trying to be lighthearted in a decidedly dark time. "Do we find you a real nice lookin' branch and paint it pretty? How 'bout a sword arm?"
Jennifer
Staying with them in the next moon, that seemed ideal, it was logical. But Akira knew deep down she couldn't.

 Before she could reject his offer, Florian was asking for water. Her expression softened as the young man was there to help her with something as simple as getting something to drink. Aki could see the man she knew before the werewolf attacks, gentle and caring, doing something as simple as staying by her side.

The Florian she knew was still there, and she hoped he wouldn't lose himself as the Full Moons came and went. She knew she only had so much time left. 

"The plan?" Akira raised an eyebrow, the joking question on itself making the woman laugh.

"Haha! I _wish_ I had a sword with me! I think I could use that far better than a gun!" 

What an interesting thing to muse about, Akira with a sword. She pictured herself in a kimono, haori and hakama, just like the warriors in the past. Her grandmother would tell her many stories about the Boshin war, when she was just a newly married woman trying to survive the waves of change. 

"I mean it could be useful yknow... A detachable blade, I could put many things on it so I can still work in the farm." Akira kept laughing.

"It might work!"
Vincent
Seeing Aki laugh brought a smile to his face. There was light in all of the darkness that they were experiencing. There was hope to be found yet. He feared that Aki's lack of an answer indicated an unspoken denial of his offer. She had always been one to want to do things on her own, Florian could hardly blame her, safehouses were far from safe and Aki had seemed more than a little bit uncomfortable when he brought up the fact that he was armed and ready last full moon. He just hoped that she would stay safe when the next full moon rolled around. She'd been through enough, maybe fate would take it easy on her once. But fate was not a kind force, and nobody could know how it would twist and turn.

"Swords are a lot more elegant than guns are, I am sure you would look mighty impressive with one swingin' from your arm," He laughed. "You could put a scythe in there for harvest season." The visual of Aki with a toolbox full of attachments swam through his mind. "I am sure the nurses and doctor, maybe even Noah Owens, could find a way to make that work."
Jennifer
A scythe, a hook, a blade to defend herself, an entire tool box. All these options had been laid there for Akira to choose and she was more than stocked to get things started as soon as her body allowed it. How possible it was to get the resources in a town like this would be put into question later, for Aki wished for a distraction. 

This way, the woman could feel like herself once again, even if those moments were fleeting. The same could be same for Florian, she was able to see the friend she first met all those years ago.

"That is so creative, I haven't even thought of that! We should definitely look into it. "

Sacrifices had to be made every full moon, and Akira was willing to go through it as long as his friends and what little family she had were safe. She longed for life to return to how it used to be. In these moments, it felt like it, Florian was smiling at her, they were talking like in the good old days, she could still see some light in his eyes. 

Perhaps that day would come, if her heart could take it. Akira only needed to hang in there for a bit longer.

```In the darkness, in the winding road
That's on my side
Oh bring it back, oh bring it down
In the rain, in a stormy day
Sunshine is a bit of hope? A whisper in the wind
So bring it back
Bring it down
So bring it back
Oh, bring back the yesterday```