My face fell a little, remembering the way my father used to react to my little jokes. I wonder what he was doing… was he searching for me? Waiting for me to return, though he had no evidence that I was even alive? That thought caused my heart to clench painfully.
“Well, that one is popular in movies,” I continued like there was nothing wrong. “Silver being the only weapon to kill werewolves. Are vampires real, too?”
Rhys:
"Nope. Not as far as I know, anyway," I clarified with a small smile. "Why? Please don't tell me that you want to be like Twilight…"
I scrunched my nose in disgust.
“How could you even think that?” I shook my head, letting out a shudder. “Twilight, no offense to the fans, is an insult to all books ever created.”
Rhys:
I laughed quietly, grinning over at her again. "That's totally true. I'm glad that's not where you're going with a these questions."
“I’m curious by nature,” And I want a distraction. “So I ask questions. I seek answers. That’s how I ended up like this, yet I still haven’t learned my lesson.”
Rhys:
"Ah…" I hummed softly, shifting my hands into the pockets of my light jacket. "What other questions do you have for me, then?"
“Do some of you live amongst humans?” I tilted my head, gaze back towards his soft yet sharp features.
Rhys:
I nodded slowly, glancing back over at her. When I noticed her looking at me, I gave her a small smile. "Some, yes, but not many. Only the wolves who know how to hold their forms well enough that they won't get caught."
His smile caused my heart to swell, but I immediately pushed the feeling down. I was raging because I was a different being now. Nothing more than that.
“Can you do it?” I clasped my hands together in front of me. “Hold your form well?”
Rhys:
I shrugged and seesawed my hand. "I'm not as good as some, but I've got a little control over it. Like right now, I should probably be a wolf, but I'm holding onto this form so that I can help you."
My face dropped a little. Was I an inconvenience?
“Oh…” I murmured, tearing my eyes off of him. “What… causes the shift?”
I blinked at her reaction. Had I upset her? What had— Oh… “…should be wolf… holding onto this form so I can help you…”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that you’re keeping me from being a wolf. I want to help you, really. I’m holding this because I want to help you,” I assured her before thinking over her question. “Ah… I think it’s something in our saliva. It gets into the bloodstream and affects us in a way that makes us turn.”
“Thank you, Rhys,” I said softly, looking ahead. “You said there are only a few who can hold their forms. What causes you to turn into a wolf and back human if you can’t control your changing? Is it hunger, or something more?”
Rhys:
“Oh, usually the cold. Turning is temperature-based. Wolf when it’s cold, human when it’s warm. But the moon has something to do with it, too. I’m not sure got that works, but it affects some more than others,” I explained with a shrug.
"So once it gets cold, I'm going to turn into one," I said softly, looking down at my hands. "And I won't turn back unless it gets warmer."
Rhys:
“Well… How long ago were you turned?” I questioned, glancing over at her again.
"A few days," I answered slowly, casting my eyes down again. "Two weeks, maybe? I'm not sure. I spent a few days unconscious, and my conscious days freaking out."
A few days before I turned eighteen. Quite recently. Perfect birthday gift, if I have to say so myself.
Rhys:
I hummed, rubbing the side of my nose in thought. “I’m not sure. Everyone reacts differently. Since you were turned so recently, your shifting is still a little wacky. You could shift right now, even, with little to no warning.”
I didn’t want to shift. Never again. I clenched my fists, remembering the intense pain when I first got bit. The blinding pain as if I was being torn to pieces and stitched back again. Repeating, constantly. It must have gone on for a little while before I lost consciousness, but it felt like years. I didn’t remember anything else. Just the pain.
“I see,” I murmured. “How much longer till we get where you want to take me?”
Rhys:
I looked back down the road and pointed out a medium-sized house with light blue siding and white accents. “See that house? That’s where we’re going. Just another couple of minutes’ walk.”
So many questions brewed in my mind while we walked to the house. Did they have an Alpha and a Luna? How many werewolves were in this pack? Did they have a hunting season like in the myths? Did they have mates? I didn’t think I liked that idea—falling in love with someone without even knowing who they are. I didn’t like possessiveness, so I hoped along with the other myths, the one about mates was false.
And then the final questions that kept coming back. Would I be able to go home, or was I stuck here? Would I be able to see my fa—I immediately cleared that question away. There was no way he’d accept a monster. I feared he would want me dead. Call me nature’s freak. Tell me I wasn’t his daughter, and she was dead.
“Okay,” I answered when I realized I hadn’t said anything. After that, I didn’t know what else to say.
Rhys:
We walked for a moment in silence, and I figured she was just deep in thought. I hoped that she could be comfortable in her own skin again some day, like most of us were. Some people just didn't take well to the change, but I really hoped that she would.
"Did you have any other questions?" I murmured gently, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.
I snapped out of the depressing thoughts and instead shook my head.
“No, I don’t,” I replied, heaving a tired sigh. “Thank you for helping me again, Rhys.”
Rhys:
I nodded once and smiled over at her again. "It's no problem. I'm always glad to help," I assured her gently. "Ah, we're here. C'mon in."
I looked at the pretty house and as I entered, I felt like an outsider. It didn’t feel like home. I looked around hesitantly, biting down on my lip.
“It’s spacious,” I noted, trying not to look at the beautiful sculptured face of the werewolf beside me.
Rhys:
"Yeah, it's meant to be able to hold both wolves and humans alike, so they had to accommodate for that when they were building it," I explained with a glance around the room.
"Rhys! Hey, we need your help," a young woman called from farther inside the house. She stepped out to reveal long blonde hair and dark brown eyes set in a face of tanned skin. "Sierra hasn't shifted back into a human yet, and Daniel just said he saw her hunting in the woods a while ago. He said she was stalking someone, a man I think he said. Could you go check it out? I can help with her, if that okay."
(Wait for T?)
(Well, we were really waiting to catch up here. lol. So I really would just have to skip to when he arrives with Sierra and Joe. But I don't really want to RP with myself. lol.)
(Well, maybe if Rhys left, Zenith panicks and shifts?)
(Sure, that works for me.)