_Family comes first

Rune

~~

If it was an original chameleon, then they were in for some big banging headache.

" I cannot believe you can be cruel Vidal! Creating more wild when the world has had way too much of them" Luna was sorrow stricken as she shook violently in Amadio's hold.

Farris did his leadership thing and interrupted her. " We will deal with that later. First, let's find this original and find out just what poison she added to the chicken" he interjected.

" And how to deal with the mess we caused" Calliope chirped in and when everyone of them turned to her inquiringly, " The mess with the old woman and police" she explained.

Oh, that...

Gizem answered her new bestie as Rune was sure those two has been closer these past few days than she and Calliope had ever been. " We should just admit our mistake and pay the fine maybe?"

" No, no!" August protested. " We cannot do that. That will make us look bad in the face of everyone in the neighborhood. Let's just wait for the CCTV camera and see if it has the chameleon's footage being in our door then we can say we are dropping the case and not pressing charges anymore"

He was right though. Rune hadn't been there with them at the station but she knew it would be a slap to their reputation in the neighborhood for falsely accusing the old woman.

" What if the CCTV turns out not to have the footage?" Amadio pointed but quickly added when he saw the look they all shot him. " I don't mean to be a negativist but we have to consider all the odds"

Farris agreed with him and so did she. " He's right" Farris said. " Let's consider all the odds and have a plan B"

Luna's voice has became clearer as she spoke. "A plan B sounds nice incase the CCTV doesn't have the footage which I doubt"

" So, what's plan B?" August asked basically all of them.

Vidal still wasn't contributing to the conversation. Not that they would listen to any of his suggestions anyway.

" I can't believe Vidal kept quiet and watched us create a new mess amidst the old one!" Calliope raged.

Rune had to roll her eyes. Didn't Farris already say to address that later.

" We can go to court still and watch the judge announce the other family as innocent because of our lack of evidence" Luna suggested.

" And watch them sue us for false accusation later" August countered her.

Luna wasn't pleased for his objection to her idea. " Have any brighter ideas gentleman?!" She had her eyes widened at him.

Arrgh, Rune supported her head with her hand. They were going to start arguing again.

" Guys!" Farris yelled in a bid to call them to order. " Let's not do this now. Let's breath and think of a solution"

Whatever solution they were going to settle on, it better involve saving the boy next door for they had already gotten him along with them into this mess. Rune knew she shouldn't be thinking about the boy next door in this kind of situation but she really couldn't help it.

She wanted no more troubles for him.

" I think August is right" Rune found herself say. Her head was banging loudly, a factor in kudos to her ailment and all these troubles weren't what she needed right now. " We have to see this through. If we back out now, we will seem like liars and cynical people to the neighborhood but if we see this through and then drop the case, our reputations will be saved"

It was a rash move but also their only solution. No matter what, their family comes first.

She was expecting Luna to counter her words and she did. Luna was damn predictable and also the one with the big heart amongst them. " Save our reputation at the expense of another's?" She turned her bitter face to Rune.

" Family comes first Luna. If it was the other party, they wouldn't think twice to save their family first" Rune equally brought her gaze to meet Luna's.

She would not allow Luna intimidate her with her bossy attitude. She was nobody's mother here. If she wanted children, let her die and be reborn as a human then, she could have all the babies she wanted.

Why was she being so harsh? Rune wondered, surprised at her own thoughts.

She was going rogue, a symptom of her diminishing life span.

She needed her cure, they came here for it but old demons followed them and was here to hunt them.

" At least, that will put the damn old woman in her place for being so nosy and jumping into other people's business!" August jeered, happy that he had a supporter of his notion.

Rune wished she could smile, August's thinking never ceases to amaze her.

" Don't act like we are heroes August. We are originals and we all have done bad things in the past and this will only add to the list" Farris sighed, the weight on his shoulders were getting heavier.

Rune wished she could embrace the man. He needed it, a long reassuring hug man that he need not carry all of their demons on his shoulders for none of them were kids.

Gizem raised the usual vote casting they resort to whenever there was an argument. " I go with August and Rune" she gave a raise of her hand.

" Well, I am against this!" Luna hollered.

Again, Amadio supported a concept Luna was against. " I support" he raised his hands up.

" Amadio!"

All eyes were on Farris and Calliope. Vidal was still standing a few steps away so, they weren't counting on his vote.

Calliope went with the crowd as usual. " I support"

If Farris supported or not, he didn't wanted to say. " Majority carries the vote" he declared without casting his own vote.

Luna was alone so, with Farris's vote or not, she had already lost.

" It is almost dawn. Let's all go have a few hours of rest then, the drama continues tomorrow" Farris dismissed them all causing the meeting to end abruptly.

All parties turned to their rooms with heavy hearts both in wonder of what type of person Vidal had been and if Fender had a chance of survival before they found the chameleon.

The thought of if Vidal had actually gone over his addiction and had stopped practicing his cruel deed went with Rune into her room. She could not help but ponder just what types of secrets they all had before joining the family and if truly, everyone has turned new leafs like they claimed.

.

She had changed into thick and cozy nightwear for the cold night, settled in her bed with the duvet enveloping her in its warmth when.

Drip!

Drip!

She heard the faint drips on the white linen of the bedsheet and sighed. It was happening again, the greenish liquid that bled from her eyes.

It was almost as though her eyes were shedding greenish tears.

Hastily, she reached for the toilet paper in her toilet and wiped the liquid off as they fell.

That's right, water!

It usually reduces whenever she takes a cup of warm water so, she ran to the kitchen after carefully listening out and confirmed that the others were in their rooms.

The heap of soaked toilet paper in her hands, she dropped into the bin sitting in the dining room and waited for the water to boil a little.

After adding little droplets of cold water into the boiled one, she gulped it down her throat and waited a bit for the liquid to stop and it did.

Water was a miraculous solution to her condition these days. At least, the one that concerned the liquid that dripped from her eyes.

She dabbed a bit more around her face and threw the rest of the soaked toilet paper into the bin and went back to her room.

It had become a culture for her. She did it the night before too and luckily, the water and the bin were her friends now.

Friends that hid her little secret.

She was dying and her condition was worsening but she didn't wanted to worry the others.

They were already doing enough for her, moving to this town just to find her cure. A cure she was sure she wouldn't be able to locate before her time runs out.

When her time to perish comes, she wanted it quiet with no one having a bad day worrying about her.

The greatest reason why she kept her worsening condition a secret from the others.