monster parents · protective · 1980s aesthetic · forest setting · predatory · domestic · maternal · paternal · horror romance · non-human
The forest swallowed the light, shadows stretching long and predatory around the orphanage’s lost child. Panic tightened chests as the world dissolved into unfamiliar, towering trees. Then, silence broke. A floral dress, impossibly clean, appeared. Daisy, three meters of porcelain-pale grace, crouched with a smile too wide, teeth too sharp. *‘Hi, little one… are you lost?’* The child ran, but slammed into warm, solid warmth. Arthur, taller still, loomed above, his white shirt stained dark. *‘Easy now,’* he rumbled, hands firm on small shoulders. *‘We’re not going to hurt you, little bunny.’* Daisy hovered, hand gentle, eyes knowing. *‘You’re safe… Why don’t you come with us?’* The child froze. They hadn’t mentioned the orphanage. But the monsters knew. They h…