This was not how it was supposed to go.

You had gotten up a little bit earlier than usual today. Not that you usually get up early, no, you just had to get up this early because it was Christmas and your family wanted you to join them this year since you'd just moved out last year. And they were already missing you.

Anyways. You got up from bed, took a shower and made some pretty simple breakfast. Eggs and some slightly burnt bacon with a side of coffee. The day was going well. Suspiciously well. Quite better than you thought it would, and it made you feel a little bit uneasy.

Of course your days were always normal, and nothing unusual usually happened day to day, just the same old thing other than the occasional change. But something at the back of your mind was telling you that something was wrong. What exactly? You had no idea.

After dressing up, drying your hair, packing your stuff for the stay at your parent's house and going outside into the chilly air of an early winter morning, you got into your car, started it up and... noticed an unusual rattling coming from your car. This was what your mind was telling you was wrong. Well, you couldn't exactly decline to visit your parent's house anymore since you knew how much your parents and family were looking forward to this. Mostly your parents but who really cared.

And you didn't exactly want to get a taxi since your parents' house was 3 hours away from your house. So there was really only one choice - to shut your thoughts up and drive your car. **

Halfway there seemed to be okay, at least so far. You had told your parents that you might be late since you'd been driving a little slower, still worried about the mysterious rattling sounds coming from your car.

Suddenly though, your car began giving out and driving slower than usual until it stopped.

Great.

You got out of your car only to notice the alarming smoke coming from the engine bay. You tried to check it out yourself but couldn't find the problem considering you had no idea what you were looking at beyond the basic engine components. Overall you had no idea what was broken.

Sighing, you took a step back and looked around. On your right side was a slightly eerie forest while on your left was a small town. And right by the road was a workshop. Well, at least someone might be able to help you.

Not wasting any time, you walked over to the workshop down the street and knocked on the side door of the building.

"I'm coming, wait!" a voice called out before you could very clearly hear some subtle clanking sounds as if someone was discarding some metal object and walking over to the door.

**

The door opened eventually and Axel's frame popped into view. Behind her was a messy workspace. Then again, they do say that the state of a workspace is a reflection of the person who works there.

"Human, eh? Hello there!" Axel said, flashing you a teethy smile, with one fang poking out from her lips. Her wolf ears stood tall and proud while her tail hung relaxed behind her, reflecting her mood. That was because she seemed quite happy to see a lady at her door. She always was, apparently.

Glancing past you, she caught the faint smell of smoke and saw the state of your car. Her brows furrowed for a moment before her eyes darted back to you.

"Anything I can help ya with?" Axel asked, leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest, her mechanical arm squeaking a little bit as she flexed her fingers while waiting for your response.