Frankie bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the idea of a stuck up werewolf. It seemed like such a contradiction in his mind. ”That’s…” he paused to clear his throat, struggling to keep the smile off his face. ”That’s really unfortunate. I mean, I get that one man's cure is another man’s poison but that seems like such a waste of a gift to me.” he explained.
"You can laugh, don't worry, it's a hilarious situation," She said, shrugging and laughing lightly herself, "It is a huge waste of gift. Someone that actually enjoyed staying outdoors would be much better at being a werewolf than half of those stuck up ones are." Selina smiled, glancing up at Frankie and letting her smile grow, "You know, now that I think about it, you'd make an amazing werewolf."
Now that he had her permission, Frankie started chuckling at the situation. It seemed so ridiculous for someone who hated nature to be someone who needed to live with nature. ”Really?” he smiled brightly at her last comment. ”Well, thank you, Selina. I take that as a high compliment.” Honestly, he thought being a werewolf sounded incredible! … Minus the bit about being hunted by the government.
Selina laughed and nodded, nudging him again, "You'd probably be a better werewolf than I am. After all, you'd already know how the human world works, where I'm too curious about it for my own good. As you can tell." She kept her smile up, looking up at the sky as she thought about what her life would be like if Frankie was a werewolf.
”I’m not so sure about that, Beta.” Frankie smiled though his cheeks were a bit rosy from the compliment. ”I may know a lot about the human world but I know very little about being a good werewolf.” he said, nudging her back lightly.
"I mean, you already know the biggest rules, just by being around me and camping in the woods," She replied, laughing lightly and hugging him tightly with her arm again, "You know to stay in the woods, and stay out of sight of humans, you know that you either stay on your pack's land, or unclaimed land, never on any other pack's land. And most importantly, you know that getting to know the pack and trusting them is essential. All I have left to teach you is about shifting, which you don't even have to worry about."
”Really? That's all I'm missing?” Frankie grinned brightly at how easy Selina made it seem. ”Well, I don't want to accidentally insult anyone but I do know how to howl… Or at least, imitate a howl.” he said, blushing softly.
Selina grinned right back at Frankie, a playful look in her eyes, "You'll have to show me this howl of yours later, when it's dark enough out that it won't be out of place. I can even howl with you if I can imitate something other than my own howl. That's how we track each other, and if the pack hears me howl, they'll come running to see whats wrong."
Frankie nodded a little at her comment. ”I think I remember hearing something like that in a documentary. Each wolf has their own… ”signature” when they howl so the pack can know who is calling them.” he said thoughtfully considering it had been a long time since he actually heard that. ”You really want to hear it tonight?” he asked, a little excited by the fact that she might join him.
"Yeah, that's right for both regular wolves and my kind," She confirmed, eagerly nodding, "And yes, I want to hear your howl, why wouldn't I?" Her grin morphed into a happy smile and she nudged him with her arm, "I wouldn't miss the opportunity to both hear you howl and help you make it sound more realistic. Plus I haven't howled in a long time, I need to practice my own skills."
”Even if I don't really know what I'm ”saying” when I howl?” Frankie asked, blushing a little. ”For all I know I can be insulting someone… or just swearing like a sailor.” he smiled at the playful bump. ”I’d be very grateful if you teach me how to make it better and now I'm looking forward to hearing your howl too. I bet it sounds incredible.”
(Hey, just thought I'd let you know; I’m going on a camping trip with my family later today and won't be back until the end of the month. I'll still try to get on and reply when I can, it just won't be very often.)
(You’re all good! Don’t stress about responses, have fun with your fam!)
“Howling doesn’t have specific words in it, it’s more…feelings? Anger, mourning, etc,” Selina said happily, her face flushed, “My howl isn’t anything exciting, but I can teach you how to howl as best you can.” She bumped him again, happy and content with sitting next to him doing something as normal as talking about howls.
(Thank you!)
“That makes sense.” Frankie nodded at her explanation before laughing a little as she bumped him. “Your howl doesn’t have to be exciting to be incredible.” he pointed out, gently brushing some of her hair back over her shoulder. “I can’t wait to learn how to howl like a real wolf from you. Hey, maybe we can scare off a few campers together.” he chuckled, half-joking.
Her face turned even more red as Frankie brushed her hair over her shoulder but she didn't pull away, if anything she almost leaned into the touch. "We could definitely scare off some campers if you wanted, and I really hope you do end up liking my howl. It's not incredible either, especially whatever howl I pull together that my pack won't recognise."
He chuckled lightly and shrugged. ”It would be a fun prank and maybe help keep them away from your pack’s land, especially if they’re a little drunk and don't have guns.” he said a little thoughtfully. ”Then again… that sounds a little risky.” he admitted, shaking his head. ”Maybe we should just stick to you teaching me and I’m sure I'll love your real howl even if I have to settle for a disguise tonight.” Frankie said completely honest though he blushed fiercely as soon as the words left his lips.
"We can definitely stay to just teaching, no pressure," She replied, her face growing equally as flushed with his words, "Maybe I can show you if we're ever somewhere that's far from pack lands." Selina reached over and gently messed with his hair, the action not thought through until she realized she was doing it and pulled her hand back to herself. It didn't stop the redness on her face from growing though.
”That would be… nice…” he trailed off as she touched his hair. ”Did… Did you just pet me?” he laughed a little awkwardly as his blush darkened. He remembered when he was younger, his mom used to run her fingers through his hair like that practically all the time. It was something he honestly missed.
Selina glanced away, almost hiding her growing blush as she quickly mumbled, "Sorry, it's a habit.." Spending most of her time around fellow werewolves ingrained some habit into her, such as petting members when they were in wolf form, or pulling put leaves from any members hair if needed. It had been habit to just ruffle his hair, but from how red her cheeks and ears were, she was still very embarrassed.
”It… It's ok. I don't mind. I just wasn't expecting it.” Frankie assured her, his face still bright red. ”My… My mom used to do that a lot when I was a kid. I always had leaves and sticks caught in my hair so she’d… do that same thing.” he said softly at the memory before clearing his throat to keep back the nostalgia.
"We do it to members in our pack, for the same reason, and because it feels nice to get pet when in wolf form," She replied, her voice holding less of the mumble as she explained. Selina still kept her hand strictly to herself though, messing with the corner of her shirt to give herself something to do, "And yes, if you're wondering, I did forget that you're not a part of the pack."
Frankie smiled a little at her explanation, very interested to learn anything about her and the other werewolves. Though his eyes widened at her final admission. ”You… you really think of me as if I were a part of your pack?” he asked, a little awed. ”Even though I haven't met anyone else besides you. I mean, I'm flattered, really but I… Uhh, wow.” he chuckled a little, running his hand through his hair.
His shocked, or at least in awe reaction clearly didn't help her blush as it got deeper and she nodded gently. "I do yea," She mumbled, bumping into him gently with her shoulder, "Don't let it get to your head though." Selina smiled a little at her attempt at a joke, clearly trying to move past the situation.
His own blush was impressively dark as well. This was the highest compliment that he had ever heard from a girl… Much less a beautiful one like Selina, and it was for just being his complete honest self…
Frankie chuckled a little when she bumped him and nodded at her final comment. ”I won't.” he smiled, though he was taking it to heart.
'That's good, I won't hear the end of it otherwise," She replied, a soft smile on her face as she finally started to get past her embarrassment. Her face was still flushed, and probably would be for a long while, but she seemed less awkward as she asked finally, "Now, back to more pressing matters, what should we do until it gets dark? We have a lot of time before we can start practicing to howl. Also, we definitely have to get further from pack lands before we practice anything. Otherwise Alpha will get territorial."
Frankie laughed a little. ”Hey, I know when to tease and when to keep a secret. And I definitely don't make fun of a sincere compliment. Don't forget, I have a little sister.” he added with a smile. The gray-eyed boy hummed at the question before shrugging a little. ”Well, if you want… I could start cooking something for dinner. Campfires are a little inconsistent with how much heat goes to the food.” he joked, even though it was true in his experience.
Selina shrugged in return, then added in with a nod, "If you'd like, sure. Do you want to stick to the food you have for now? Or should I go catch something?" She didn't mind either way. Frankie's food was good, but she understood if he wanted to save those for later if needed. Animals were easier to find out here than city food anyway.
”Umm… Either one is fine. I’m honestly going to have to buy some more food when we go to the city.” Frankie admitted, rubbing the back of his neck slightly. ”I think I have some instant ramen or some pancake mix I can whip up.” he shrugged a little as that was all he could think of at the moment.
"It's up to you, I can eat what you make, or if you'd prefer, I can get something for myself so you only have to make enough for one person," She offered, pointing to the woods and looking around at his small camp, "I don't want to eat all your food, especially if you don't have enough to last you for the next few days."
He shrugged a little. ”I think you might like the pancakes better… and I can ration out the rest of the food for a few days.” he assured her. ”Plus that berry bush near the river can help. Maybe there's other edible plants.” Frankie said optimistically with a smile.