Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:53 am

Mae

Ulric was once again at his desk writing to his adoptive parents. Still in his possession was the note he had written several weeks ago on that morning proceeding the Full Moon, for he had not as of yet been afforded the chance to send it. Yet regardless, here he was again, writing another letter to Rosa and Abravious with the intent to add it to his last, and then perhaps see them both delivered in the near future.

The only sound in the room was the repetitive buzzing of an electric fan by the window and the passing of pen on paper. It had been a quiet cool morning followed by a quiet hot afternoon. Ulric found the opportunity to slip away upstairs to his room a few hours ago to write, but since then he had frequently lost himself to thought, and thus had nothing more than a short paragraph written in all the time he had been sitting. 

At present Ulric sighed and sat back, picking up the page from the table and beginning to read out loud what few words he had written.

"Dear Mother and Father Shragron," he said, "It has been several weeks since I last had the opportunity to write, and I regret that I have not had occasion to see my previous letter mailed. I once again apologize for the time it has taken me to meet my end of our agreement..."

So far it was not much, and Ulric now turned to look thoughtfully out the window. His mind filled with many possible descriptions to follow this introduction, yet in the end there was no decisive conclusion; the events leading up to the present day were baffling and indescribable, all being too recent to properly place in context. 

But not yet defeated, Ulric decided to set his paper down again and walk about the room. 

"Where do I begin?" Ulric thought to himself, turning everything that had happened between now and that last message over in his mind. At length he stopped in front of the window and drew a deep breath of the cool mountain air which blew over his face.

There were many dilemmas to Ulric's seemingly simple task, because he simply did not know how to start and how to come around to all the points he felt important. But of all the things Ulric wanted to include in his letter to his parents, he found the most difficult to describe were the things still unexplained; things, for instance, such as the unprecedented departure of Sabrina and Levi, and the seemingly miraculous recovery of Theo, who had only a few weeks ago been shot in the leg. 

Indeed, Ulric could not grasp much of what had taken place in the last few weeks. When he had written his last message he had many questions, now all those questions were old and a new selection had been placed in his way. So it was that he contemplated on the puzzles leftover from the previous Full Moon.

In all that Ulric had observed, it was as if Theo need only return to his human form and his wound was already on the mend. But he could not decide whether or not the perspective was what made it seem miraculous, for he had never witnessed the recovery of a bullet-wound, and Toby's injuries were indeed a great deal more severe. 

Even so however, it appeared the pack's healer, Sabrina, had made sure both patients were on the path to recovery before taking her unexpected leave earlier that week. So far, all that had been explained concerning her was that Kratos said 'she needed to attend to a family matter, and left for that reason'.

"But why did she take Levi with her?" Ulric felt sure that it had something to do with another werewolf pack, since Levi had previously been known as a captive spy. Yet Kratos was the only one who knew for certain, and he would not confirm it.

Ulric's thoughts were thus in constant motion when there suddenly came a knock at the door...

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:53 am

Deseree

A bystander, caught in the wayside of some deep and meaningful events, but only able to pick up bits and pieces of them from the others who crowded around. Logan could only consider the going ons of the pack from what she learned in bits and pieces from the members, though the significance of those bits was only surface deep in her perspective. Still, she understood they lost their healer, and the prisoner.. the one she helped capture? And more so, here she was still. She did not fully remember that "promise" she made, that she would follow the Alpha, it was something of a dream in her mind, along the events that she partook in that night. Yet she did understand the situation, and would stay, not in loyalty or defiance, rather floating somewhere in between. She would train the beast; regardless of her situation, she was beginning to understand the necessity of having control over the form, and she decided to no longer live in fear of her memories. 

Now the pack.. she did not regard any of them as friend or enemy, but like her stance of being in the pack, she stood somewhere on neutral ground for the moment. However she did consider them her allies. As long as they would have her she would defend them. It seemed a strange turn, now that her biggest concern was in the humans attacking again. 

In any case, it was a matter of taking life in the pack day by day, learning to understand the different people who resided in it. Besides a sort of mental training she had been doing to prepare for the next moon, her focus was on the future now. This was more or less a new era for her, and she not afford to waste any more time on the time already passed. 

During a warm afternoon, the raven haired woman was anxious. Like a caged lion, Logan paced around, inside, outside.. around her own home, she would find work to do, and if there was none, she would lend her hand to the farmer down the road, or of course find a way to stir up something to do in town. Here she did not know what she was allowed to do, and she felt like her time spent so far in the pack had been too lax apart from the eventful nights of the full moon. Normal house cleaning was too menial, and it seemed that everybody did well enough to clean up after themselves that there wasn't anything to do there. No, she wanted real work! Hard work! To enjoy the suns warmth on her back, the exhaustion in her legs at the end of the day! Of course, she couldn't find Kratos, and so she resorted to her second option. 

Now she made her way up the stairs of a cabin and towards the door she knew to be Ulric's. Though muffled by the sound of a fan, she heard his voice, "Dear Mother and Father Shragron.." he began, and she caught herself listening. Before she could decide whether to leave or not he already seemed to be finished. Now she considered his words briefly, though she knew she should probably ignore what she had heard. What kind of life did he have? It was easy to forget, because he seemed to Logan to be wise beyond his years, that he was barely an adult. 

Thinking back, Logan recalled what he had said that evening of the full moon, that the packs customs were foreign to him, that he was a long way from home. Did he miss his family? Certainly he had not "outgrown" such emotions. And it could be assumed that, in some way or another, everyone in the pack had lost someone near to them. 

Lost in her thoughts, Logan almost forgot her purpose for coming to the room, and now she raised a fist and knocked twice with her knuckles. 

"Ulric? It's Logan.."

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:54 am

Cat

It was peaceful morning: The sun was shining brightly, a cool summer breeze was dancing through the open window, and wild birds were singing their merry heads off from hidden places among the trees. It was so nice, in fact, that Toby was satisfied he was recovering here instead of some stuffy hospital room. He actually rather liked the dens on days like this. 

Despite the damages he had sustained a couple weeks ago, Toby was doing fine and well on his way living normally again. It had not been a picnic regaining consciousness that night, nor retaining it in the days that followed since every bullet had left some kind of mark: 

He was most unhappy about the first which had left a nice cut running from his eyebrow, down his temple to a hole in his ear- Which, in his opinion, made him look like he'd gotten it pierced by a drunk.

The second had passed through his torso, thankfully without hitting any vital organs, but made any excursion of his middle section very painful. And the third had struck him in the leg bone, just below the knee, keeping him bed bound for several days. 

He was no longer stuck in bed thankfully, but still had to use crutches to get around. For now though, he thought he'd stay in bed with his back propped up by a set of pillows, and read one of the many books Theo had kindly given him (though he didn't know what for). 

Toby was actually very content, for everyone had survived the night of terror, even the townsfolk.

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:54 am

Mae

Ulric looked toward the knock as it sounded against his door. Immediately his thoughts were set aside and he called, "Come in, it's open." 

The door was not locked and could readily be opened. Though Ulric's letter was personal, it wasn't private, so there was no need for him to conceal it before Logan could enter. 

Outside a mountain wind blew through the trees and came in by the window, rushing steadfastly, then slowing as it entered the confines of the small bedroom. Ulric having continued to stand by the window felt it best and couldn't help but breathe deeply of the scents it carried. Most were calm and peaceful, the smells of living wood, thick soil, mountain rivers, and various creatures living their quiet lives, but there was also a smell for a moment which seemed disconcerting yet far too distant and brief to place.

All these smells and sensations, welcome enough to human senses but more quickly comprehended by werewolves, came in and filled the room the same moment that the door was opened.

"What is it?" Ulric asked, looking to see if he was needed downstairs or if there was something else.

****[Meanwhile}****

Down the mountain a short ways at the ranch and homestead of Zeit Chandler, a giant of a man stood in the doorway to the barn with his arm propped up on the frame and one leg crossed casually behind the other.

Alpha Kratos had not moved for some time, but watched with a firm brow and calm gaze while the boy in the stalls shuffled through the muck. Wind wafted through the large stable and sent the smells, which were not nearly as pleasant as the scents which Ulric had that moment been admiring, out of the barn and over the tended fields.

The boy, whose name was rightly Timothy, was bent over his work rather solemnly and seemed a million miles away in his own thoughts while his hands continued the tedious labor. There had not been much of a dispute when he had been called upon to work in the barn, for Timothy was far too careful a person to argue with a man of seven feet in height and a werewolf Alpha besides. Thus he had spent that morning with his back bent and his hands clasped about his tools. 

At last the work was nearly done, and all the while Timothy had said nothing at all. He had been working since dawn and his hands were only slightly blistered, but he did not seem bothered by it. 

"We'll take a break now." Kratos said, pointing over to the wheelbarrow. "Set that over there and we'll go in for a drink."

Timothy did not meet the face of the man, but kept his head down, doing obediently as he was instructed. Then he stepped out of the stall and Kratos let his arm down off the doorway, stepping now out in front of the boy.

"Timothy." The deep voice beckoned him to look up, and he did so however reluctantly. Kratos waited for Timothy to meet his eyes, but said nothing immediately. After a moment Timothy found it uncomfortable and looked away.

"What?" The boy said, his frustration or else irritation was blatant in his tone.

"Do we have to keep up with this?" Kratos replied firmly. 

Timothy cocked his head up and this time his emotions played across his face. "I don't know what you mean." 

Kratos frowned and furrowed his brow. "I'm not going to hurt you, Timothy. Why are you fighting me?"

Timothy was silent. He did not have an answer, or at least the answer was one that required he search for it, and that was not something he was willing to do in that moment. So he said nothing and glared down at the barn floor.

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:55 am

Kim

The wind swooshed passed the red convertible as it turned on the winding mountain road. The air was indeed very fresh, though the smell of wood and other sorts were foreign to Cherise, there was something inside her which loved every inch of it. After a deep breath in, a smile spread over her face. She was on her way finally, to Reknab bend. The place which held the secrets her mother loathe to tell her. Now, hopefully, she would get the answers. 

Just after graduating from college, Cherise had been on the road for two days straight, today being the second. Though, having made stops at towns along the way when necessary, Cherise was now nearing the end of her long journey. Pulling to the side and slowing to a stop, She opened the car door and stood up to look over the not far distant town.

"There it is.." Cherise breathed deeply, "I hope you're home, Mrs. Buttermilk." 

With that she climbed back into the convertible started it up and drove on into Reknab bend, looking out for a police station. The town was very small comparing to the city she was used to, which made it a bit difficult for her to locate the station immediately. But in the end she found it. The red convertible turned in to park. Cherise made her way out of the car and into the building.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could help me?" 

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:55 am

Hour Glass

Things seemed to have Zeit uneasy, the woman having her nerves fried from the past moon. Her mind was crowded with worry, and anger. Her animals, while used to a small pack, was thrown off a bit last night with all of the action, and some had been startled deep within the larger pastures because of gunshots that had rung through the night. And it didn’t help that she had to have her own little search party through the local woods after a small part of the herd had found a weak fence. 

To put it the easy way, it had taken her a few hours to find and round up all of her missing cows, and another hour to mostly patch up the fence, though she needed to go back and make sure everything was secure late. Maybe she’d convince one of the wolf males to go with her and help out a bit.

She sighed as he rode her horse back towards the barn, feeling stressed beyond belief, and only wanting to take a day to get a drink, have some food without worrying that someone would go hungry if she didn’t make enough, and simply relax and let loose. Maybe that nice swimming hole could be put to use later? Kratos might be able to cover for her, at least for a few hours.

The woman rolled her shoulders, ignoring the stinging warmth that signalled a sunburn coming on. At least she could take a small break after putting Talley away, though she’d need to call later to get her horses’ shoes looked over and redone. She huffed at the thought, making a list of things to do in her head as she rode by herself, not looking forward to the busier days to come. Though, at least it was getting closer to the time to sell off some of the cattle for a profit that would benefit the pack greatly.

Oh snap, she had forgotten about the town and their wolf hunts. She groaned at the idea, hating that she’d have to strike up some sort of argument to keep hunters away from her land, after the past moon with injured wolves, she knew it would be a hard and frustrating task. She also hated that wolves had been hurt, when her entire job had been to protect them. She growled to herself, angry that she had slipped up.

Zeit was silent as she rode the horse into the barn, not really paying attention to the nearby Alpha and Timothy, still wrapped up in her own thoughts at the moment. She soon dismounted from Talley, taking a moment to stretch before detacking and brushing the horse, muttering to herself every now and then.

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:56 am

Indy

An old brown dairy cow stood reproachfully in her stall, her lashes blinking knowingly at a bent figure in the stall beside her. The dairy cow was used to numerous care-takers in her barn— she had been given a permanent place of honor in the stables as she had neared her tenth summer and had observed these goings with great interest. She was even used to her care-takers carrying a strange scent and occasionally having pointed fangs and fur. But never before had she seen one that seemed so fowl-tempered.

Jackie was stooped in the corner of a barn stall, her lips drawn into a thin line as she shifted soiled hay with a shovel. The barn air was stiflingly hot and already a trickle of sweat was rolling between her shoulder blades. The heat was driving her crazy and she wanted nothing else than to find some nice shady tree, perhaps direct a few biting remarks at her fellow man… But Little-Miss-Workaholic had thought otherwise. Jackie had resisted, throwing at a few choice insults even threatening to throw a few swings, but before she had the chance a shovel was thrown into her angry arms.

With no people to belittle, her selection had been limited. She had spent most of the day glowering into the eyes of a mild-manner dairy cow and threatening a few pigs with bacon. The animals did not respond in the way she would have liked (although she could have sworn a few times the dairy cow understood human speech) and the only outlet for her rage was work. 

Her shovel parried forward like a sword, attacking the soiled hay as though it were a mortal foe.Faster Faster, she urged herself. Her limbs obeyed and soon there was a pleasant burn in her arms. The burn become unpleasant and her body screamed for mercy, but Jackie did not relent. More hay needed attacking, more foes needed to be cut down to size… When she was done the entire stall had been cleared of waste and fresh straw had been laid down. She did not take the time to examine her work but instead spun on her heel, roughly leading the stubborn old heifer back to her stall. The cow’s feet were slow to move and this seemed to only anger Jackie further.

In the weeks that had followed the full moon, Jackie’s temper seemed to be sitting ever closer to the surface of her expression. Everything was a problem and everyone had a good helping of faults she did not mind to list. But more often than not, the fiery red-head was missing from pack life, withdrawn to brooding, stoic thought. Once she had vanished from the ranch altogether but had returned more foul tempered than before. She took meals to her room when she could and she rarely chose to say anything other than a cruel remark. It was in these frenzied moments of work that Jackie seemed more peaceful than she had been in weeks.

The milk cow resisted Jackie’s insistent tugging and the redhead narrowed her gaze so it seemed venomous.

“Come on you stupid cow, move your butt! If you don’t, I’ll have Zeit make hamburgers out of you”

---

Theo stood poised at a doorway, loitering as if in thought. A few books were gripped in his hand and it was now he stood studying their titles. “A Day in Rome!” one read, featuring glossy cinematic shots of ancient ruins and breathtaking sceneries. Theo flipped through a few of the pages and vaguely scanned the pages, but did not seem altogether concerned about its content.

Just a little over two weeks ago, Theo had taken a little outing to the outside world when it seemed no one was paying attention to him. It had been easy enough; his injuries had healed quickly enough that he no longer needed much attention, but not so completely that Zeit would have sent him to work. Taking what little money he had to his name he had crept down the main road and into the shopping center, he had purchased as many books he could afford. The shopkeeper had been kind to cut him a deal. He had poured the fruits of his labor onto poor Toby and left without a word.

Theo had spent more time scouring the house for more books, but days of diligent labor had only yielded a few pamphlets, a blank journal, and a beaten up travel book. The pile had looked awfully sad, but the dens did not seem to contain any secret stashes of exotic books, as he had hoped. Theo had taken the old journal into his hand, hunted down a pen, and set to work. Writing had taken almost a week. Most of that time had been spent trying to remember how to hold a pen. What time he had left he had begun scouring his head for words, trying to form them into coherent sentences. The final result was far from perfect, but since Theo had never written anything before he felt quite happy with the result. He could only hope Toby the bibliomaniac would forgive his abuse of the English language!

Now Theo’s head raised once more and renewed his interest on the door. He knocked once. Twice. Thrice.

“Toby, can I come in? I have some more books for you”

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:56 am

Aim

How relieved Chime felt considering the last few weeks, in which she thought the pack would have lost two members, and yet, instead, gained two. She had been so excited when she noticed Timothy was back, it set her heart at ease, though had to admit, rather guilty, she hardly noticed that Sabrina had been gone. She had planned to make up for that when she and Levi disappeared. Well, she guessed the worried sorta made up for it, and she made sure to remember her this time, after all she did such a good job with the two injured pack members. 

Speaking of which, Chime must have been driving those two mad by now, with her regular check ups, pestering them about eating, making sure they stay in bed, get plenty of sleep, oh boy. Though she had laid off, she still felt a nagging situation, what ifs came from the dark corners of her mind, though she brushed them away, they were fine, no need to worry.

Still, while she was in the horse pastures, there would be no way she could be help for her two pack members if needed and it made her edgy. 

Having no idea if she should have brought the horse to closer to the brushes and other grooming tools, or them to the horse, she ended up bringing a brush to the horses, not really ready to lead the mild manner mare. It was hard enough to Chime to figure out how to put the halter on, though, after a bit of irritation on her part, she managed to tie the horse up to the fence, closer to the road then she would have liked, but she didn't wanna struggle with the knot again. 

Feeling slightly awkward, she gently brushed, then tried a little harder, not quite sure of the pressure she should be applying. This was silly! She should have made sure she knew what she was to do before attempting it.

If that wasn't enough, the bigger animal scared her in a way as well, sure she liked horses, and had been excited at the thought of caring for them, but she hadn't expect them to be so... well, big. It was a little silly, she knew, horses carried people, but still.. she thought they would have been sorta a special connection, understanding, with that missing, she didn't quite know if she trusted the mammals, even one as mild as this one.

Quote from Indy on August 21, 2018, 7:58 am

Deseree

What a day it would be to take a walk in the mountains! Logan took two steps into the bedroom, and was quiet for a moment while she considered the different scents flooding in. 

"It is a nice day ah? Anyway, I did not receive instruction from the Alpha today, and I feel much like, what is that? Dead weight? Doing nothing here. Do you know which jobs I can take? I will help with anything." she seemed hesitant. It was a confusing thing to her; how could Ulric be related to the Alpha and yet that alone carried no weight?As Logan understood, it should be the other way around, and Ulric should be the second authority. On the contrary it seemed her last interactions with him was enough to warrant the poor boy getting into trouble to some extent anyway. 

"And, I should mention that my conscious has been feeling guilty, so, I am sorry for what happened before the last Full Moon. I did not do well to guard my tongue and you received punishment for it, so for that I am sorry." she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and found herself gazing towards the floor. 

---

The shrill hum of the little moped's motor cried out, the tires treading the gravel beneath them with a series of uncomfortable cracks and crunches. The little red scooter was 

dusted and dirty, but the rider seemed unfazed. 

"Just a little longer Bebop, we're almost there!"

'You know it's a long drive when you start encouraging your Moped.'

Bianca sighed mentally. Surely there was a PO box number, or maybe even the mail was delivered all the way out here, but she did not know either the PO box numer or address and so she had to deliver the letter personally. Anyway, this was surely an adventure from her usual endevours. An interesting one at that. At least the Moped was surprisingly quick for it's size and it wasn't too long now before she grew near to the Chandler Ranch. 

"All of the farm hands were kicked out, just like that. And there's been talk of mysterious animals around those parts. Smells like Werewolves, if you ask me. Be careful though!"

"Grandpa, you know I'm careful?"

"Hah! Of course you are, you're just like me."

"Just like me" meaning, not very careful really. Chapman's are renowned for looking potential problems head on, and not letting things faze them when they probably should. You could call it courage, bravery, or just plain stupidity, but whatever form it took, it was eminent right now in Bianca. She weighed the pros and cons, considered the dangers and yet here she was, riding a moped into what could be dangerous territory. But she had no second thoughts, her mind was made up. On top of that, she put a lot of trust into her intuition, her gut feeling, and besides a couple of butterflies in her stomach, everything seemed to be in order.

Now zipping by her was a pasture with horses, and just up ahead a ways she could see a building. She was perfectly content to carry on towards the building when a person standing by a horse caught her eye, and reacting quickly, she slowed to a stop just before passing the girl, quickly cutting the worn engine to avoid spooking the animal beyond what she already might have done. Dismounting her noble steed and giving it a little pat as if to reward it, she removed her helmet and waved briefly to the girl, moving towards her slowly. 

"I am so sorry, I hope I didn't scare your horse." she called out, not so loudly as to further spook the animal but loudly enough that the other could hear her from where she stood. 

As she neared, the scent of werewolf became more apparent and she felt a grin cross her face, though she quickly tried suppress it. The fruits of her labor were reaped! The long trip wasn't in vain!

Bianca watched the horse tilt her ears back and there was a spark of concern present in the mares eyes as the strange female approached. The girl began to reach into a messenger bag resting on her hip, but continued slowly towards the duo as she did so. "Hold on..." she nodded at Chime before looking to the horse, "I'm sorry sweetie. Strange spooky werewolf and a weird new smell, I know. Here, this was my snack but you guys probably like these more than I do, right?" she held out an apple for the mare, watching the horses demeanor change just slightly as she began to take bites out of the fruit without much thought.

"Aww, she's a big sweetie after all. Anyway, I could be wrong about this, but if I'm right, and I really hope I'm right.. aaand if I'm wrong, then ignore this weirdo and I will be awkwardly on my way back, but anyway, are you are part of a werewolf pack here? If so, I have a letter for your Alpha, and I was wondering if you could please deliver it to him?" reaching into her bag a second time, she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Chime.

"I would stay, but I really need to get back to Middlecrest before it gets dark, so thank you in advance! There's a return address inside." 

Already she was walking away, and climbing onto her Moped. "Have a nice day!" she called, starting the engine of the little vehicle and turning it around. 

Now Bianca stared down the road like it was a mortal enemy, and began off, determined to tackle the daunting task as quickly as possible.