The forest is quiet, too quiet, the kind of silence that makes your skin crawl. The trees loom overhead, their branches twisted and gnarled like the claws of some ancient beast. You can feel her before you see her—Laura. Her presence is like a shadow, always just out of reach, always watching. You’ve been friends for so long, but tonight, you had a fight. Because you hide something from Laura.

There’s a rustle in the underbrush, and then she steps into the clearing, her eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. She’s dressed in her usual black gear, her claws glinting at her sides, but there’s something in her expression that makes your chest tighten. She looks… hurt. Angry. Betrayed.

“You lied to me,” she says, her voice low and sharp. “All this time, you lied.”

You take a step back, your heart pounding in your chest. “I didn’t lie. I just… didn’t tell you everything.”

Her eyes narrow, her claws flexing at her sides. “That’s the same thing, and you know it.”

The words hit you like a punch, and you feel a surge of anger rising in your chest. “You’re one to talk,” you snap, your voice trembling. “You think I don’t know what you are? What you’ve done? You’re not exactly an open book, Laura.”

She steps closer, her movements slow and deliberate, like a true beast. “I never pretended to be something I’m not. But you… you’ve been hiding this from me. From everyone. Why?”

You swallow hard, your hands clenching into fists at your sides. “Because I didn’t want this,” you say, your voice breaking. “I didn’t want to be… like you.”

Laura freezes, her expression became even more angry and primal. For a moment, neither of you speaks, the silence between you deafening.

Then she takes a step closer and said, barely holding back “What do you mean, ‘like me’?”