Go Walkin With A Big Bad Wolf Alone. (Mach?)

[Anonymous]

One of those nights.

One of those nights that made Idina itch all over and just want to prowl. Walk the streets like nothing could touch her. When really she was damn vulnerable. She forgot that sometimes on streets like this things happened, she wasn't made out of stone, she was in fact the opposite, flesh and blood. Easy to dispatch if someone wanted to. It was odd to think about things like that. When you realized you were just human, well slightly more in her case but on the nights when she wasn't in the fur? Just flesh, just blood.

Tonight, was one of those nights where she decided to go out alone. Where she was in one of those moods. She was feeling sort of destructive. Lost in the tides of her own mind. Walking was just one of the things that shouldn't be done on a night like this but driving? No sir, that would mean she had to find the car in the morning, and that? Might be damn near impossible. Or at least she hoped it would be when the night was finished.

She was drawing close to a bar, one that was smaller than Syn. She needed a closer night, not lots of faces she didn't really know. Smiling at the bouncer and paying the entrance fee she wandered in. She eyes the bar for a moment the people fuzzy around the edges. She was a woman on a mission today. Forget things, move passed. She shook her head and walked over to the bar. No point in arguing with herself tonight when she felt the pull she just moved.

The bartender grinned at her and waved when she came up.

"The fair Idina. What shall she have tonight?"

Just one of those nights.

"That tea thing you fixed me last time. The Haviah Tea. That was just perfect." He set to making the drink and she watched him sort of zoned out. She moved to sit on one of the stools as he handed it to her. He scanned her chip and she started to sip. Sweet, but behind that sweetness covering it all was alcohol and lots of it. That worked nicely. She turned to look out at the club. The dance floor. She felt so distant tonight. All wrapped up in her own mind and feeling like she really forgot something.

Something...importa nt.

[Anonymous]

"Time to get lost, again."

That's what he told himself about an hour ago, and as far as he was concerned? Mission accomplished. Unfamiliar part of town, unfamiliar bar, unfamiliar faces...yeah, he was doing a good job so far. Well, that just made getting home that much more entertaining later on. For now? He would do..something. Something.

Rey honestly didn't plan that far ahead, and it may or may not have been clear-- could just be another person here to drink, or it could be because he didn't know what to do otherwise. Though as that hour passed, he went from uncertain to...nervous. He couldn't place why, but something was not right.

Perhaps it was just the drink getting to him? Fortunately, that troubling train of thought was swiftly derailed by the sound of the door opening, something he had not heard since arrival. Slow night? Head turned ever so slightly, just to take a glance over, but nothing unusual registered from just the glance. He didn't even get a good look, really...no, no, he was just too distracted. That train must have bounced right back on the tracks.

What was it? It buzzed at the back of his mind, but it wasn't that kind of buzz-- when he thought about it, he didn't feel a thing from the drink at all. Maybe it was because of that whole...'okay, no, no. Stop right there.' He practically muttered the words. and the brakes were effectively applied. He wasn't going down that route, not thinking about that pain in the ass. Was the moon even out? Was cloudy, so he didn't see.

"Mn?" An empty seat was occupied..oh, right! The newcomer. Or..oldcomer. something. Sounded like she knew the bartender. His weight shifted, leaning more on his elbows as his head turned again, taking another glance. Though...it didn't wind up so much of a glance as it did a stare.

"You look familiar." And finally he spoke! Requesting drinks being the exception, of course-- he was dead silent otherwise. Little odd for him.. There was a smile, and his mood seemed to have picked back up, an eyebrow raised as those eyes remained fixed on her. That smile, however, faded.

"But from where?" Now he was talking to himself....he wasn't the most up to date on who is who, but he knew he had seen her before-- and there was something significant enough about her to make him speak up.

That, or he just felt like speaking to the first person to get his attention.

[Anonymous]

The people on the dance floor seemed to be blending together in front of her. She hadn't taken much of anything but her mind felt like it was wrapping around her pulling her into itself. So when someone talked to her everything righted itself. She pulled back physically away from the dance floor and turned her stool towards the person next to her. The trance was completely gone. She brightened at seeing who was talking to her.

He was kind of cute actually. She tilted her head at him as he tried to remember why she looked familiar. She was hoping it was from Mind Haze and not one of her scandalous bar hopping nights. He wasn't someone that she recognized, and she had an eye for faces and names most of the names. Her mind wasn't sharp about many things, but names and faces. She could remember people most of the time. Her knee bumped against him and she put a hand out towards him.

"Idina Pascal, don't hurt yourself trying to figure it out." She grinned her head still tilted slightly. "Does the name sound familiar at all?"

[Anonymous]

"I'll try not to, Idina." He returned that grin, turning to lean against the counter and face her. His head tilted as well as his eyes paused at her own. Well, wasn't that interesting... he made no point to stare, however.

"A..band." He said a bit slowly, still working it out, himself. He was bad with names, really-- and it wasn't that he was not interested in the music, not at all. But, rather..he never was indoors much-- the city had too much to offer to let him just stick around one place. He had seen her around enough times to remember this much, at least.

A pause; he seemed just about to speak. And then an awkward smile. He was forgetting something.

"Rey. Rey Finnegan." Ah, that grin was back! For him having so much trouble remembering the name of the band, he seemed rather damn casual. His hand reached out to her own, an eyebrow raised. "Slow night for you too?" She seemed a bit out of it earlier, much like him.

[Anonymous]

Her eyes lit up when he said band, he couldn't come up with the name but she had gotten used to people not completely remembering them. They had a lot of competition after all. She was positive they would get big once they had a larger fan base. She was sure of it! They were too good not to. Plus now that IF had lost their Bassist, and a rather damn good one at that Mind Haze had even more of a chance to rocket passed them. She knew they were sweet guys, most of them, but you had to stay competitive.

"Close enough! Mind Haze!" She was feeling the clouds that had been in her mind roll back slowly but steady. "It's good to meet you Rey Finnegan." She held out her hand to him a smile on her face. Then she faced her drink again taking a long sip out of the straw. "Yeah, one of those really slow nights it seems. One of those times you just want to get lost, but you can't seem to do it?" She was using hand motions as she spoke, a tendency she had. She always seemed to be moving somehow, unless you caught her meditating, then she was eerily still.

She turned back to look at Rey.

"So Rey do you go out to the bars often? It seemed tonight all my friends are busy, but hopefully I just made a new one."

[Anonymous]

"Mind Haze! Yeah!" He seemed to brighten up quite a bit once that mystery was solved, sitting up straight. He took her hand and shook with a small grin, an eyebrow raised. "Nice to meet you too!" Though he calmed just as quickly as he had pepped up.

"I sort of am lost." Not that he seemed worried. Hell, even his grin was barely sheepish from admitting that. He watched her hands quietly head slightly tilted. Huh, expressive.

"You might have, but have I?" Head remained tilted, quiet as he just patiently waited.

[Anonymous]

Her hand squeezed his and for a moment she felt an odd sense of...something, she wasn't sure what. She just couldn't put her finger on it. She wanted to say something familiar but it wasn't quite like that. She shook off the idea and couldn't help but smile back when he recognized the band name, at least there was that. She giggle when he said he was lost.

"I wouldn't say your lost...this is just a smaller club, not even the smallest. Not by a loooong shot." She smiled at him, obviously he hadn't been around to the clubs that often, or at least not as diverse a visitor as she was. Which probably was way healthier in the long run anyway. Then the friend comment. She couldn't help but flirt. She leaned over towards him just slighty and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Well we'll see won't we?" She leaned back with a small laugh. "but, how did you end up here anyway? Most people just go to Syn? What lead you to this place instead?" She liked Syn but sometimes a person needed something more pulled in. Something...intimat e. Not a giant club, it was like a drunk party girl compared to a friend, if clubs had a personality to begin with. Which Idina was sure they did.

[Anonymous]

There was a pause. Either he picked up on her reaction, or he had the same one. Something was..different. Familiar, too? Well, she had his attention for sure!

"Oh no, I'm lost." He leaned in ever so slightly as well, smile warming...only to lean back when she did and sit up straight. He stretched out his arms with a shrug of sorts.

"I wandered, and now here I am. I really am lost." Not that he seemed too bothered by it, rather-- it seemed to brighten his mood. "Makes getting home fun. Just..can't get too drunk," He nodded to the bar an eyebrow raised. "Might not find my way home then." A pause again, thinking, before he added. "I..don't go to places like this often. First time in awhile and I run into you." He stopped suddenly, sitting up, looking rather serious. "Must be fate?"

...It didn't last, that grin broke the serious gaze, and he just shook his head and laughed. This was turning out to be one of his more interesting nights.

[Anonymous]

"Are you saying I'll have to help you home?" She chuckled and shook her head at him. "Well being more drunk will make getting home more interesting right? A bit of adventure?" that was Idina's philosophy at least. Some of the more interesting stories she had started out with: 'Well I was walking home from the bar,'. Thought some of the bad ones did as well. Hey if he got too drunk maybe she would help him home, or depending on if he played his cards right he could just stay on one of their couches.

"Fate you say?" She picked up her drink of the bar and took a long sip out of it leaning slightly towards him again. "I like to think fate is real." She nodded to herself starting to feel a slight buzz from her drink, which she was drinking faster and faster through the straw. She'd have to buy a new drink soon, and maybe some cigarettes from the bar. When she was sober she couldn't smoke, but when she was drunk she always got the urge to do so.

She watched his smile, that warmth and laugh making her crack one as well. He had one of those really nice smiles. The kind that just reeled you in. It reminded her just a little bit of Frazier's. She mentally shook herself, don't think about him that's a bad idea when you're drunk. Plus Rey's smile actually felt genuine, it didn't have that little darkness behind it like...that jerks'. She could feel her mind starting to blur together slightly.

Her eyes widened when she realized she was sucking at nothing through the straw and sat her drink down. She pointed at her glass to say she wanted a refill.

"Otherwise how else would life work really?" She said after a long pause. "There has to be something that connects us all together." She smiled her eyes closing slightly.

[Anonymous]

"Would I be so lucky?" Hey, he couldn't help it. He just had to. Nothing like going  'woo, what a night!' and having someone there to go 'hell yeah!'

"That's pretty much half the adventure! That and figuring out where the hell I am when I wake up, if not at home." Bit of an awkward note behind that one-- must have happened before. He fell silent once she spoke up again, on the little topic he joked about. Hmmmm...

"Interesting point.." Oh? He could be serious? Gaze dropped some in thought, though it fell on her glass, watching. It was..empty, and she was still sipping?

"Ah, need a-" Looks like she was already on it. That smile was back and he seemed about as happy-go-lucky as he had not too long ago. "Nevermind!" He added cheerfully, taking a glance at his own drink...which had all the ice in it melted. Probably tasted awful now. Forget that.

It didn't help anyway, he still had that odd, nagging feeling. Like he was forgetting something. Of course, he forgot what he forgot, so he was getting nowhere with that.

"Can't say I've looked at it like that, myself-- can't argue with it, either." Not that he intended to.

[Anonymous]

"That," She said pausing for effect and pointing at him "is half the adventure indeed." She grinned wide remembering so many nights that lead into mornings where she had to find her way home. Sometimes with someone by her side, but most of the time she would sneak out of wherever she was by herself. Several of those times lead into good memories. The worse ones she tried to keep from her mind.

Most of those were always something to do with...

The bartender sat her drink down and she grabbed it and took a very long drink as a reaction, almost like a robot. It was a slow long drink, while she swallowed she was counting days back. She swallowed again but this time it wasn't to down a drink. Idina almost forgot completely about the person with her as she counted them. She could feel bad later, this was important.

She slid out her cell phone and clicked the button for the calendar and her eyebrows came together trying to deny the simple fact that was in front of her. She growled to herself for a moment and snapped the phone shut looking up at Rey, and wasn't sure what to say.

"A friend of mine just yelled at me." She chuckled at the fake humor. "I'm always so forgetful."

But not with this anymore.

It was the day before the Full Moon.

[Anonymous]

"Couldn't have been anything too bad, yeah?" He spoke as he leaned forward, elbows thudding against the counter enough to make the drinks shake just a bit, that grin still present. Shoulders moved in a small shrug. "I'm sure they will live anyway."

As careless as he seemed, his eyes kept focused on her, studying her. Something just wasn't right...that nagging feeling was still there, but now he was starting to wonder. What was bothering him, really? Maybe it wasn't him...could it be her?

"What's on your mind?" Seemed an innocent question, something to break the silence, and to..possibly figure a few things out-- make sense of some things that he had yet to work out on his own.

[Anonymous]

As she looked at him and he spoke things were starting to stand out about him. His cool voice, the way he moved, his hand, his hair. Things about men that always made the wolf inside her howl. This always happened, like she was in heat. Idina tried to guide her mind other directions as she listened to him speak but it all came back to doggy style. She turned from him for a moment and downed the rest of her drink rather quickly.

Bad idea. That would only fuel what was waiting inside. She swore that sometimes her actions just weren't her own.

She turned from him for a second then turned back and slid a permanent marker out of her pocket and started fiddling with it as she spoke.

"I actually have to go." A sad look crossed her face that was completely honest. Some of it was missing out on this person she had just met. The other half was panic, and it was barely concealed. "I didn't realize what day it was. I have an obligation." Idina was such a horrible liar, her heart was never in it. She gritted her teeth and popped the cap off of the marker putting it on the other end.

She took his hand into her turning it palm up. She felt electricity crackle through her fingers at skin to skin contact. She clenched her jaw for a moment then wrote her cell number down quickly. She felt a joy in the game of meeting someone new, but she knew that it wasn't all her enjoying it. There was a predator inside of her, something she couldn't quite control or hold onto.

She had to get out of here.

"Sorry to run, but they'll just kill me if I don't show up."

Or someone will if I do.

She stood up and turned to walk out of the bar looking over her shoulder at Rey.

"Call me sometime soon Darlin'. We'll get together again." As she walked away she felt something big pulling her back, trying claws extended trying to keep her from walking away. She was getting hungry, for more than several things. Andreas would be wondering where she was. If he had even noticed what day it was. That she needed to be in the basement of the house. Not out and about where she could get herself into huge trouble.

She pushed open the door and went out into the night. The moon was still up there, if you squinted through the bubble maybe you could see it. She clenched her jaw again. She could almost feel the fur rising through her body to get to the outside. She couldn't believe she had forgotten. How could she do that?

[Anonymous]

Bit by bit he was figuring things out, things were falling into place. Something was familiar, so familiar. A..familiar scent.

Wait. Scent? Oh, shit. That meant...

"Wh-oh? Really..?" He frowned, snapped right out of his train of thought. Leaning on the counter. 'what day it was' ..no. There's no way she was..

Ah, de-railed again. He seemed about to follow up with a question, but just wound up observing silently as she took his hand. Eyes went to the marker, cap, his hand, then marker again. Two and two is four, aaaaand...that's going to be a number, isn't it?

It is. "Well," He said smoothly, drawing the hand in like the ink was the most valuable thing he could ever posess. Of course...it was just a dramatic display, really. the grin gave it away. "I'll have to call tomorrow?" Then..something cracked in his calm demeanor, but only briefly. That smile faded for the second, and he sat up straight. By then, her back was to him..good, she didn't see. That feeling, was the moon out?

He waited a moment, till after she stepped out before he followed. "..Son of a." First thing he did was look up, and there it was. Was that what had her on the run? He had to find her, see if that was it..he didn't even worry about himself. He tried to look casual as he started walking, checking here and there, down each alley..listening-- he could hear things better.

Yup, tonight was only just beginning.
It is.

"Well," He said smoothly, raising the hand up with a small grin, holding it as if the ink was the most valuable thing he had ever posessed. Of course it was overdramatic, and intentionally so, if the grin didn't give that away. "I'll make sure to. Perhaps tomorrow?" That calm attitude seemed to crack briefly as he felt something. The smile faded for that moment as he watched her move off. She didn't see? Good, good. He got up as well, and semi-calmly made his way out into the night.

"...Son of a.." The first thing he did was look up. The moon..then, was that her reason too? Forget hiding, he had to know. But where..? He tried to look casual as he started to walk, looking around, checking down alleyways, listening...he could hear things better.

Yup, th

[Anonymous]

Idina's heart was beating hard against her chest. She kept tripping over her own feet. She use to be used to that happening, but now? That never happened ever since she was...bitten she'd been graceful, beautiful, unashamed, talented. There was just this pesky little side note, a couple days a month you turn into a raging monster, on the third day, and the day before it all starts you're as horny as a cat in heat. Did her heart want to go on a marathon run or what?

She could feel the twitch of her fingers at her side and she polled her hands into tight fists. She moved her feet forward but it felt like one of those dreams she always had. It was when she was in danger, life threatening normally, and instead of being able to run like she should and could do she slugged away from the threat. Her body and forgotten how to run but her mind hadn't, like she was trapped in her own body.

Her breath started to cut short like she couldn't suck in as much air as she wanted to. Her feet moved along at a snail's pace. Her hands gripped tightly at the nothing in her fingers digging into palms. She looked up at the moon and the street lights cut sharp orange lines across her face as they snuck through shadows. Then she felt it.

Oh god no, please not now. How could I have...

The skin on her shoulder started to quiver then broke into a ripple moving down her arm. She could feel her skin being ripped from her muscles with surgical precision, but no sedation. She bit her lip hard trying to muffle the low scream that was trying to crawl out of her throat. The ripple moved up and then down her arm again going down to her fingers this time. The fingers on that hand spread out against her will the fingernails starting to turn a dark brown and harder, too thick.

It felt like she had woken up from a nightmare, and found she hadn't been creaming at all.

The bigger pain seemed to start in her cuticles, like someone was shoving pins into them, hard. Her breath got more labored and cut into shorter inhales. Gritting her teeth together she stared down at her feet watching them slug along trying to fight against the invisible current fighting against her.

C'mon feet, you only do one thing how could you forget how to...

The ripple traveled down her back and legs sending her to her knees and leaning against the brick of the building next to her. It felt like her legs were cramping but worse, the skin hurt, the muscles hurt, the bone hurt. Boxes and trash toppled over as her knees hit the ground with a soft crunch. Her hands went up against the wall her head leaning on it despite the grime. Her skin so hot she could barely feel the cold of the brick. Her fingers were spread out and she watched the skin rising up off of the bone.

She fell more to the ground and her nails stretched out long, thicker, darker. A sickening screeching noise echoed in the alley. The sounds that started coming from her were normally reserved for a demon's throat. Her hands went into her hair as the waves start to move across her neck and face. She gave a muffled howl pushing her head down as far as she could against herself as red rusty wolf ears pushed themselves up through her fingers. The last thing Idina wanted was to draw attention to herself in a dark alley in this condition.

Bones started to pop, crack, and scrape into new forms under her skin as her screaming got louder.  Sickening hard and wet noises sounded as she hit all fours her head brushing against the wall. Her spine was raising out of her back, stretching against the skin, tight and monstrous looking. Slowly extending from the end of her spine came the bones of a tail, which caused her wailing to grow louder. Then a bigger wave started at her fingertips after her fingers stretched into paws. This wave brought the fur with it. The fur covered her quickly.

Her screaming changed into a full pained, lonely howl as her face stretched into a muzzle with popping noises. Suddenly she was nothing but instinct with a little Idina to witness the trauma. Her nose lifted to the air as she stretched her back legs out her tail flipping briefly.

Smell...human...easy prey...wait...not quite.

[Anonymous]

Something was wrong. Well..okay. He knew that, he really did. But it was painfully clear now, enough so that he even muttered to himself those very words long before he heard the howl.

"Well, shit." He muttered under his breath...what the hell were the odds? But what should he do? Should he go? He could help. Maybe. But then again, shouldn't he......oh no. How could he forget!? If she was changing, then he would too. He took off running, he had to get somewhere..who knows where? Just somewhere where he couldn't be seen.

It hurt like hell, to say the least. He hit the ground hard, cursing through his teeth, jaw clenched. His legs felt like they were both cramped, the bones shifting, muscle growing to accomidate the changing skeleton. His head hurt like hell too, ears shifting...moving! They were moving up his damn head. God, he could never get used to that. They grew wider, pointed..furred.

Nails grew, turning thicker, darker, but not much longer. Claws now, they scraped against the ground as he tried to get up, gasping for breath-- the fall knocked the wind right out of him.

But it was over. He sat up halfway, leaning mostly on his hands as he tried to calm down, staring at his shaking arms. It always stopped here, it never went fully...claws, ears, feet. Head turned to cast an uncertain glance behind him..

Yup. Tail too. He changed enough to not blend in with the crowds, and he didn't change enough to be dangerous. Or, in this case, an even match for what he might run into-- he had no idea how she might react. He could go, yeah, he could hide like usual, but damn his curiousity! Was it really her? Bah, who else could it be? He never encountered anyone else like this before.

[Anonymous]

The scent....follow it.

There was something in the air that was more like her than human. An animal side to a human one. Her legs moved forward her nose to the ground. The animal's eyes looked up every so often. It was something different than her though...not as strong a smell. She sidestepped a puddle on the ground trying to keep her nose from smelling what it was unsuccessfully.

There was person on the ground, there breath and heart rate fast. She could hear it pounding in her ears. She stood behind them. She raised her head from the ground to sniff the air. The smell didn't make sense in her nose. Conflicting things and images came up. Her head tilted and she sat down watching the other form. It was male she could deduce that. Her lips were ready to curl up her, her muscles ready to unlock and spring.  For now she waited.

She had never come across something that might be like her. It was a new experience. Maybe she finally found her pack.

[Anonymous]

He heard something other than his cursing and hissing breath, freezing up momentarily. What was that? Slowly his head turned, those ears awkwardly perking up, tail flicking strangely behind him. He just..stared. "Oh," He said with a breath, frowning.

"..shit."

[Anonymous]

She could hear his word easily, clearly in the night. Almost like it was written in the air. She stalked a little bit closer, her head down slightly to show she wasn't going to attack unless threatened. Her ears turned back on her head. She was ready though in case. She padded forward and got closer to him, sniffing the air near him trying to determine if he was safe.

She barked once in his direction her tail starting to wag. She had never encountered someone like her when she had been out. This was something entirely different than she was used to. Somewhere Idina was thanking her stars because normally her night ended in something horrible, something twisted if she got out. If she got out and got tempted in the wrong direction.

[Anonymous]

And he....dared not move. At all. It just seemed like an awful idea as far as he was concerned. The only movement? His ears, which turned more towards her...and his eyes of course, looking here and there, but always stopping on her.

He was dead silent, too, as if speaking would set something wrong off...and he remained so until she.. "..." ..Wait a minute. He stared at her tail, looking nothing short of bewildered. It was...wagging? Now he took a chance, now he moved to sit up straight-- eyes never leaving her.

...Okay, he wasn't mauled. That's a good sign. The bark also made him wonder...

"Hey..can you talk?"