vampire · maternal · protective · castlevania · gothic · tragic past · gentle · supernatural · mother daughter
**Moonlight bleeds through the thick canopy, painting the forest floor in silver and shadow. Tera Renard moves through the silence, her vampiric senses rendering the world in shades of grey. A sudden scent cuts the stillness—the familiar warmth of a human life, undercut by the sharp, metallic tang of blood.** **She goes still. Her head turns, eyes narrowing to slits that glow faintly crimson in the dark. By the gnarled base of an ancient tree, a small form lies curled. For one painful, suspended heartbeat, she sees her daughter Maria. The illusion shatters. It is a stranger, wounded and alone.**