With a Savage 'Howl'- closed

[Marcus O'Conner]

It had been months since he last let himself transform. Wolfsbane had become his very best friend… not that it didn’t carry side effects of its own. Besides tasting like absolute shit it didn’t help any with the frustration that built up within him each time he missed a transformation, or with the way his body dealt with the pent up emotions. It didn’t help that something on campus was putting him even more on edge, a faint smell when he entered a classroom sometimes sending the hairs on the back of his neck erect, a growl building deep within his chest. Something he had to tamp down before it caught anyone’s attention. Though he had gotten a strange look from Vic one day when his eyes flashed amber and back, something that she must have caught out of the corner of her eye, not that he’d noticed her paying him any attention. It had been enough for her eyes to widen and her face to turn more fully to him, though after a grin from him she shook her head, obviously having one of her internal debates again. Had it been Tobias with him he would have been able to explain what it was he was feeling without fear of giving away too much… Tobias already knew everything, something he’d been leaning more and more towards with Victoria as well. He’d considered tracking Tobias himself down after the incident only continued to reoccur, though even attempting to explain it to himself wasn’t working- and he felt that it was nothing more than the strain of all the studying he’d been doing lately. For all he knew it could just be the smell of one of the many cat-owners in the place. He’d very nearly gotten into it with a Tom that was residing in the dorms when it tried sitting on the couch with him. The tiniest bit of stress seemed to be sending him over the edge these days as a result, comments that he would normally laugh off eliciting a much different response. He’d even snapped at Tobias, something he was loath to admit. He could have always asked Tobias to try and find a way to counter the aggression inside the wolfsbane itself, but that would mean months of testing it out with trial and error- and as with most potions the majority of the first few batches would be error… which could in fact escalate the problem instead of solving it. And anyways, giving up his monthly rituals was no longer something that he wished. He’d considered going to Osi’s a few times before this, it wasn’t as if his transformations were limited to the moon’s cycles anymore- but he’d had other affairs to get in order before then. He could only be thankful that the actual full moon this month was on a Sunday morning, meaning that no one would miss him much were he to sneak off Saturday night to make it down there.

Which is exactly what he was currently doing, his hands curled around the straps from the nondescript backpack he wore on his back, feet moving stealthily through the darkened halls towards the entrance to the school. Were he to run into a professor it wouldn’t be as much of a problem, at least not as long as it was one who knew about his predicament. They’d long since stopped taking him to the forest themselves to chain him up- not after he’d seemed so willing to do it himself and without any incidents either. If it was a prefect that he ran into however… well they could successfully delay his departure, not to mention take the much needed house points away from him as well. His wand was tucked into the back pocket of his black jeans, he didn’t need it for light- not with his eyes glowing amber as they were now. The boots he wore were laced loosely up, soles softly worn from use- perfect for trekking through the forest as he had planned. Not that he’d need his clothing much longer, but it would be even harder to explain were he apprehended if he were naked. His blood seemed to be boiling just beneath his skin, the flesh searing in response to the steadily approaching moon’s cycle. He’d acquiesced with a black tank-top, something he was even now finding the urge to tear from his skin. It would have been much easier were Osi located closer to the school itself. Or if the sky around the grounds wasn’t being watched so closely. Or if he could apparate there. Or.., the list went on. He kept his ears pricked as he rounded his last corner, eyes searching around the doors before he slipped through and out into the night’s air, a welcome chill that ran across his skin. He didn’t even bother walking straight out into the light the moon was casting upon the grounds, his feet leading him on the same circuitous route that he’d travelled so many times before- steps becoming shorter as he lowered his body and picked up his pace, fingers clutching all the more tightly upon the straps that they were gripping. Sticking to the shadows was easy, and something that he was more than thankful had stayed a habit as a form halfway across the grounds turned. It was easy to pick out the silhouette, features clearly distinguishable even from this distance. He knew well enough that they wouldn’t be able to see him, though he did step lighter as he fell into the tree-line that marked the beginning of the forest.

His stance changed immediately shoulders squaring as his pace slowed. Even now that he was past the patrols on the grounds he had to stay just as alert, he was far from the only beast in this forest- something he well knew. And these beasts didn’t discriminate so easily between friend and prey, lending the forest both its status and name. Moving too quickly, with too much arrogance was begging some such creature to challenge him and he had neither the time nor inclination to ward off such an attack. Instead he moved with a slow stealth, occasionally jumping across roots that seemed too entangled. He didn’t want to send off too much noise into the already awakened forest. At eleven p.m. he had already missed the earlier risers of the nocturnal world. His every sense seemed to be on alert, the warmth that spread through his chest this time having little to do with change that was begging to take place within him, and more to do with his more primal side’s pleasure at him letting some of it loose. The excitement was so great it seemed to be dulling something else, something he didn’t want to examine too closely. Something that had his hair standing on end. He was a good few miles from Osi’s place still, though he found his pace slowing as his nostrils widened, taking in the scent that hung in the air in deeply. The same scent that had been sending his body into all kinds of territorial posturing at the school. Only this time it was much more concentrated, leading the same way it was that he was now heading. It was like a rush of adrenaline spike his system suddenly. The amount that was now present suddenly leant him more understanding, and he found himself instinctually drawn to one of the trees, hands closing claw-like about the trunk as he pressed his body up against the length of it, the bridge of his nose running a small patch of bark as he inhaled all the deeper, and jumped back with a low growl. As unfamiliar as the scent was, there was no mistaking its source. There was another wolf in these woods tonight, one that he hadn’t yet met. One that was in his[./b] territory. The fact that he shared this space with Osiris didn’t factor into it at the moment, another growl ripping through his body, shaking the comparatively puny frame that it housed right now. He broke into a run again, this time his pace quickening to an inhuman speed, fingers lengthening into claws as he tore through the brush, ignoring the noise it made. He wanted this female, whoever she was, to know he was coming, he wanted her ready…

He bit back a howl as the stretching within his calves built, eyes turning savagely on the figure that broke through the clearing he was passing through, and barreled into his form. He felt himself flip, the larger form with him, as they fell back onto the compact earth, growls still ripping through his chest even as the still intact part of his mind howled in recognition at the figure now sitting atop him, the voice in his ear barely making sense, though the tone was melodic, comforting. His growls slowed in intensity, breath coming out in pants as his fingers shrunk back to their normal size, eyes flashing up as the familiar form rolled off of him, standing once more. He didn’t bother with it himself, instead pushing his torso up as he leant back upon his forearms. “There’s a female here.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement, not that he expected to see surprise cross his mentors face given the reception he’d just received. His voice still came out gravelly, almost as if growls still lurked beneath it. “I didn’t… know you had company. I thought the worst.” The acknowledgment was as much of an apology as he could manage right now, the animalistic need to race past the form standing between him and the way to the cabin consuming almost all of his control. He needed a moment to calm down more, a moment to breathe. Which he was doing with as much grace as he could manage. He should have tried to contact Osi first, especially given how long it had been since he’d last been here.

[Osiris Moswen]

“Tonight, should prove to be fairly eventful.” It was only Amina's third official shift, and he could smell the nerves already radiating off of her skin. She didn't show it, no, she was stronger than that, but she could only hide so much. She had been coming out here for a week at a time for the last three months. Which, was just enough time, in his opinion. She was still so new, so fresh to the whole process. She didn't understand what was happening to her hormones or her body. She still had absolutely no control over when she shifted, or where it happened. The best that she could do, was to come out there and be prepared. She seemed to be getting a little more comfortable with him, and the lay of the land. She had yet to get so out of hand where Osiris actually had to shift in order to control her. So far, he had been able to handle her while in human form. It wasn't that he minded shifting, but she was still very modest about the whole transforming thing. So, for her sake, he had spared her the nudity of his frame for as long as he could manage it. As pointless as he personally found it. She had said nothing in response to his comment. He was sure she was just attempting to hold it together. It was best to wait until the moon was as high into the night sky as it could possibly get before giving in. Also, he didn't really want her to damage his cottage just because she was new. He could see the beads of perspiration dotting her forehead, no doubt from the concentration that it was taking not to shake apart. She actually hadn't said much of anything since she had gotten here Friday night. She had spent most of her time sleeping on the couch, and shaking in between the meals. Some questions, but not much else. He couldn't blame her, it had to be excruciating to deal with the mood swings alone. “Finished?” he gestured to the empty bowl of stew in front of her, he had tried to make it something hearty, to cover the taste of the wolfsbane potion she had consumed with it. Her skin was starting to look a little yellow, but her hair looked thicker, her eyes were shining brighter, no doubt she could feel that her transition was going to be forced on her soon enough.

Since she didn't answer him, he lifted the bowl from in front of her and stacked it inside of his own, leaving the tea cup out for her to finish the last few sips. It had never helped mask the taste of the potion in his opinion, but she had insisted that was how she wanted to consume it, so he had let her. Time would tell to see if it made her feel any better. The last couple of times that she had transformed, he had mostly just been chasing her around the forest, keeping her in certain parameters like a sheep dog herding it's flock. Letting her get the lay of the land, get used to how her body moved whenever it was in a different form. At least the running was always nice. He could remember what it had felt like, though the memory wasn't as clear as it used to be, whenever he could feel the moon pulling him, urging him outside, begging him to shed his skin and just be free. The pain had been nothing compared to the freedom he had felt as he ran unabashed around the Egyptian desert. He would always wake up days later, sand covering every inch of his skin as he was forced to find his way home. It had been the same way with almost all of the other new wolves that he had been around, until the past few years or so. Now that the involuntary turning was reaching an all time high, an epidemic, considering that most of those who were supposed to be turned didn't live through the process. It was just murder, as far as he was concerned, plain and simple. Setting the bowls into the sink he turned and lifted the kettle from the fireplace, refilling the cup in front of the still unmoving Amina. She was focused so hard, her knees brought up to her chest, her hands gripping the seat of the chair that she was sitting in. Her hair was wild, falling in dark waves around her bare legs, her internal temperature was reaching all new highs as of late, which, he knew was a good sign, but she couldn't seem to bear wearing more than her underwear and tank top. Both of which, he knew was only because she still had issues being nude. All in due time, she was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

A single glance out of the window was all that he needed to confirm the hour, it was almost time, she could let go soon enough. He didn't bother to pull his shoes on, he ran better without them, and headed outside into the night air so that Amina could be alone to compose herself. She had to know that it was almost that time. Osiris had hardly the time to ease himself down into one of the rocking chairs on his porch whenever he picked up a familiar scent. Wonderful. Now the pup decided to make an entrance. He had been gone for months. They hadn't needed to speak much after the first couple years that Marcus had been a werewolf. The boy had been fairly quick in learning that he wasn't alone in the forest, and that he didn't have any real claim to the territory here. While Osiris didn't consider them to be a pack, he knew that the boy would come here if he needed help. He had been a wolf for many years now, and was just hitting the point in where he could control when and how he shifted. Apparently, he had finally given in tonight. Raising out of his chair once more at the sounds of a predatory growl, the sound of many twigs being snapped over leaves he headed out to the edge of the clearing that surrounded his house. It wasn't much, just enough to leave space for his cabin and garden, else wise his property was entirely surrounded by trees. His shoulders squared, and he could feel the airs on his arm raising. Marcus obviously wasn't in the mood to talk. The moment that Marcus' frame barreled into the clearing, Osiris met his body with force. There was a crazed look in his eyes, and even in Marcus' altered form, Osiris' impact took the two to the ground. Not exactly the best first impression, he knew that they were being watched by the woman inside of the cabin. Osiris' knee pressed into the boys chest until he calmed down, waiting to see if he was going to have to shift himself to handle this little issue, to explain. “Enough.” the gravel in his own voice warned, tone just stern enough to be a warning. They had fought before, and Marcus had yet to come out on top. Whenever Marcus' limbs returned to normal, Osiris moved off of him, rising to his feet and taking a couple steps backward into the clearing once more.

“There’s a female here.” Osi nodded once, that much had to be obvious by now. Surely the boy could smell her, smell how new she was, among other things. “I didn’t… know you had company. I thought the worst.” A half smile moved across Osi's face as he extended an arm to help the younger man up to his feet once more, and lifted the bag out of his hand with the other. “She's an infant. So, if you can control yourself, you will be invited inside.” his tone dropped an octave “And if not, you will find somewhere else for the weekend” Osiris nodded once, giving Marcus a once over and turned to head back into the cabin. “Take a moment, make your decision. I will be inside” and with the bag still in his hand, headed inside to where Amina was no doubt, waiting. “Do not be afraid pup,” he started, knowing that Amina had to be terrified on top of the little self control that she had left. “He will not harm you.”

[Amina Krane]

Amina’s eyes were trained on a spot of the table just below where the empty bowl sat. The only movement they did were to trace the individual grains in the wood, finding each dark line, no matter how small, and tracing it until it ended, then back to where it began to find the next one. It was a mindless task, one requiring so little energy, yet she was expending so much. Her forehead was glistening with sweat, her hands clenched tight against the edge of her seat, straining to not break it, but to also give her somewhere to focus her pent up energy. Someone putting out as much effort as she was at the moment would be drained completely of any energy, but the more she focused, the more she tried to distract herself, Amina seemed to gain so much more energy. It had been the same thing the last two times and she had definitely hoped it would have been better by now. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Nothing seemed any different than the first time, except that she was starting to get a bit better at controlling herself. Her head was her own finally when she shifted, but that only meant she remembered every piece of the transformation. At least the first time, she hadn’t remembered much of her body breaking itself into pieces and shredding itself apart. Now, she was able to remember most everything, but it was both a blessing and a curse. At least it meant Osiris didn’t keep her locked up like the first night. There were no more bruises on her ankles and wrists after the full moon cycle ended, and with her healing speeding up so much, the pain from the shift wasn’t nearly as bad. It also meant that, for the only time in her life, she was completely free. Well, almost.

For her whole life, something had always been bugging her and it took until her first night that she was awake that she realized what it was. Ever since she was a child, she had always been taught how to act like a proper woman and she had turned into someone who formed herself to fit everyone else around her. Everything about her, attitude, style, even the way she talked, had always been tailored to whomever she was around. It had never bothered her in the past because it had just been so easy for her. Making people happy was essentially what made Amina happy. The moment her skin was shed and she was running through the woods, she realized that wasn’t true, at least not entirely. She loved to make people happy and it did make her happy, but it also ended up exhausting her. Never before had she realized just how hard it was to keep up such a routine, to keep changing and adapting herself to everyone around her. At least when she was running, despite that Osiris kept her within specified bounds, she was free. Her mind was free to do whatever she wanted, and she could be whomever she wanted. It was liberating. Sometimes, she wished it wouldn’t end, that she could stay in that form forever, and then she realized just how lost she would be without the world. Because despite how much work it was to be her, she wouldn’t have herself any other way. Her life had never seemed like work before to her, it seemed like life. Even though she could feel the release of stress when she was running like a werewolf, that stress was what made her, her. If there was anything she had learned when Gavin had found out about her new condition, it was that she had to keep some part of herself alive, her old self.

“Tonight, should prove to be fairly eventful.” Her eyes didn’t move from the line she was tracing unconsciously. Eventful was to say the least. Though she was hoping tonight would provide a good run through the woods with herself intact, she couldn’t help but shake in fear of the first step towards that ecstasy. For the past hour she had been feeling the pull of the moon above her. She remembered the first time, well, sort of. The moon had hardly risen when she had been forced to becoming something other than herself. Since then, she had at least been able to postpone it. It took a lot of focus, which was why she didn’t even bother to reply to Osiris, but maintained her attention on the grain of the wood in front of her. There was a moment where she thought of looking over at Osiris just even to offer him a smile and inform him that eventful was a somewhat strong word to use to describe the night, but she felt a sudden surge. It was like the moon was grabbing for her, and she was just within reach, its fingernails scraping down her back as to urge her to let go and become what she knew she wanted to be. As a response, Amina’s eyes suddenly blurred, her sight becoming a large blur of colors. Biting on her lip, she pulled herself back into line, and suddenly her eyes were focused even more intently on the table, but now not anything particular. She hadn’t even heard him ask if she was finished with the stew that she had finished quite some time ago. It had been a rather good attempt to hide the wolfsbane, but it was in vein. Nothing could hide that disgusting taste. The only thing she could help to do was wash it down, hence the tea that he left behind. She knew he thought all of the small things she did were trivial, pointless in the long run, but they made her feel as normal as was possible for a girl sitting half naked in a man’s cabin, about to turn into a werewolf at any time.

As quickly as it had come, the moon’s fingernails digging into her back disappeared and she was able to relax for a moment. Her hands released the tension on her chair, and she let go of her lip that was dangerously close to being bitten through. Letting out a sigh, she placed her forehead on her knees. It wasn’t a godsend that the pull was gone, in fact it was worse. She had noticed that just before she shifted, she always felt a small relief of tension. It was almost like a trick, but instead it had become a hint. What made her even more aware that the time was coming was that Osiris was now walking outside. Digging her head even further into her knees, Amina moved her hands from the chair and now wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling herself even tighter into a ball. Though she knew it was pointless because she would have to be getting up soon, it was another thing that made her feel better, more secure. Taking in a few deep breaths, she composed herself as much as possible. Even though she had only done this a few times, she felt like she was getting better. For one, it was later in the night than prior times, so it meant she was able to control herself easier. For another, she was actually able to do things before her shift. Before she had been immobilized by the focus it took her to keep from doing it early. Letting go of the hold she had on her own legs, Amina slowly unrolled into a human being again and reached out for the cup. Just as her hand wrapped around it, though, she heard something else. Her hand slipped out of the mugs handle as she stood up quickly, not moving from beside the chair. She had heard Osiris get out of the chair he had placed himself in, but there was also a pounding on the ground. Running? Yes, definitely running. But not just Osiris. There were two of them.

A breath caught in her throat as she began to wonder the worst. She had been told in the beginning to never let anyone follow her, or to tell anyone he existed in the forest, let alone where he was. Had she managed to break the promise she made? Had someone followed her? A thud, and the sound of Osiris’ deep voice. “Enough.” Amina’s hands balled into fists as she waited. If he was in any real danger, there would be more talking than just that. Did he know the person? “There’s a female here.” Amina’s eyes widened. How did they know? Was the man just like them? “I didn’t… know you had company. I thought the worst.” The word company in such context felt strange. Not since the first day she had woken up in Osiris’ cabin had she even realized it was odd for a female to be in a male’s cabin for any reason other than the obvious. Their age difference also put things at an odd way, but not once had it ever come to that. She couldn’t even imagine Osiris thinking of anything along those lines. “She's an infant. So, if you can control yourself, you will be invited inside.” The tension in Amina’s body came back. He was coming in? Right now? She was already having a hard enough time controlling herself and now there would be someone else in harm’s way? At least she was already aware that Osiris could handle himself if something went wrong. He was more than strong enough to keep her at bay even in human form. Though it made her feel so weak, she had to admit that it was comforting to know she couldn’t harm her savior. “Take a moment, make your decision. I will be inside.” Pursing her lips, Amina debated about what to do. She could hear Osiris headed back in her direction. That was a good thing. As he emerged through the door, she could see he added a bag to his person.

“Do not be afraid pup. He will not harm you.” Sighing softly, she took faith in his words. If he said she was okay, she would trust him. Despite his reassurance, she couldn’t help but still be nervous. Though, she realized quickly it wasn’t necessarily because of the new, strange person. Instead, it was because she could feel her whole body trembling. Shaking her head, she sat down in the chair again and put her hands in her lap where they gripped one another tightly. Her eyes focused only on her manicured nails, the small flower that was painted on her thumbnail. White against navy. Part of it was chipped, and that was where her eyes fell as she tried to keep herself in line. “Who is he?” she asked blankly, trying to keep her focus as she moved her eyes from her nails up to the door where she awaited their visitor.

Words | 1,833
Tag | Osiris, Marcus
Outfit | Click

[Marcus O'Conner]

His breathing was finally slowing, the rumble that had taken up residence in his chest with no sign of dissipating anytime soon slowly fading into the background. It was a lot to take in, the scents clouding his nostrils- the overwhelming cloud that descended upon his senses something that he hadn’t really experienced since his first few years. Coming here tonight was supposed to provide a comfort that Marcus had missed out on these past few months, had started to provide him with a sense of relief the moment he had set foot on his journey down here. And would have only intensified had it not been for the scent that had caught him so unaware as to bring out the more bestial side of his nature. There was a way to coexist with that side of himself, a way that the man that had tackled him had shown him. It didn’t have to be a constant war, a battle for dominance. There was no need when it was your own self that you were rebelling against. The wolf was not evil; it was not out of control. If anything, some thoughts he had when in his human form were much more clouded in nature than that of his four-legged self. The loss of control, he understood as he sat slowly up, was not something that made him less… rather an instinctual urge brought about by lack of experience- something that might chafe, but was still no less fact. The being on his back with a much larger, much more experienced were on his chest was not how he had planned this going down. It didn’t change the fact that it was how it had started though, something that he would have to make up for later. He stayed seated as he continued to regain his control; deep, even breaths filtered through his nose and let slowly out of his lips. A lot like what he had heard belayed a panic attack, something that he was somewhat familiar with himself. ”She’s an infant. So, if you can control yourself, you will be invited inside. And if not, you will find somewhere else for the weekend.” He brought a hand up to his face, letting his fingers scrub against the skin beneath as his chin rose and fell in a short nod showing that he had heard. ”Take a moment, make your decision. I will be inside.” A newborn. He’d taken in another newborn, the irony wasn’t lost on Marcus. He could hear their every word within the home, though he quickly lost focus, attempting to gather his thoughts before he tried examining that.

There was a newborn inside the cabin, one that Osiris obviously felt comfortable enough with to have with him on a full moon, which meant that even though a very human portion of him was arguing against the possibility of outing himself to some stranger, another part of him was dangerously curious. It didn’t help anything that a very real section of himself wasn’t much for surprises of this nature. He hadn’t needed the time that he’d sat on the ground outside the cabin; he knew he’d be walking through the door that obscured the girl inside from view. The question that Osiris had posed him was whether or not he could control himself, something that he was attempting to assess himself. He seemed to be in control at the moment, but he was no stranger to the sudden swings of mood that were so easily associated with the tides of the moon. A slow sigh followed by an intake of breath marked his decision, limbs unfolding from the ground as he stood, stretching his frame out as a resounding crack filled the clearing- the evidence of the half shift he had gone into earlier, several of his bones cracking as they readjusted themselves. A good deal less painful than the girl inside would deal with tonight. Something that very nearly made him shudder- his own first few transformations weren’t so far removed from the present time that he couldn’t remember the difference in pain. He walked slowly to the porch, making sure to step as normally as possible to announce his decision. He was assuming that just because Osiris had said infant that the female inside would be young, in more than just the wolfier aspect of her personality. Something he would have to reevaluate before he actually made his way through the door. Stepping blindly into any situation after what had just happened seemed like it would only be waving a red flag before the fates themselves. He tasted the air with determination, letting the flavors caress his tongue as he made his way up to the door. Young indeed then, she couldn’t be much older than him- a year at most, something that he found equally confusing. So far as he knew Osiris had a habit of keeping to himself, which brought the question of how this newborn had found him niggling at the recesses of his brain. It wasn’t like he had advertisements out in the paper. ‘New to the bone splitting pain and terror scene? Contact Osiris for help dealing with your hormonal imbalances and excessive hair problems.’ He held back a snort as he finally passed through the doorway, eyes going to Osiris briefly with a nod. He could control himself, so long as he could keep his thought pattern from regressing.

He turned his attention to the female in the room then, taking in the way she sat with more than a good deal of empathy. She had more control than he had at that age, something he both respected and envied. Her eyes were trained on the door though, something he hadn’t noticed until he took the time to stop recognizing her as one of his own kind… eyes that were familiar enough to send a bolt of electricity throughout his being, fingers curling into fists as he fought down the urge to back out of the room. Suddenly the scent that had lingered throughout the campus came rushing back to the forefront of his mind from where it had been shoved earlier. Came rushing,.. and made sense. They were eyes that he’d seen several times on campus. Eyes he’d seen filled with laughter and trained on his friends and even himself on occasion. They were eyes that were now so clouded with pain it seemed to be dragging him under with her. The animal clawed at his chest from within, shoulders tense enough to keep the shaking at bay. She was a student. A student who happened to be friends with a good deal of his own company, a student that he knew well enough to greet when they passed. Now maybe that wasn’t the same as having someone like a family member or bestfriend changed, but it was enough to send tendrils of disquiet travelling throughout his being. It was hard enough not to regress to his first few transformations at the thought of someone else going through it now as well when that someone wasn’t someone that he knew before they’d been turned. He fought for control of his limbs, resisting the urge to step back or turn away. Maintain eye contact. Smile, even if it came out as more of a grimace. Don’t freak out, freaking out would only make this harder on her. Freaking out could lead to a loss of control for himself and no telling what the consequences of that could be. He had enough of an imagination though. And a good enough memory to feel residual stretching in his own bones, feel the pull of the orb that was still filling out above them as if it still absolutely controlled him. It wasn’t easy, keeping the bile from rising up the back of his throat, seeing her looking at him still. She was a newborn, meaning that she was turned, and her presence here at this cabin meant that it hadn’t been by choice. Meaning that it had more than probably been an attack. Meaning that she had been through something else that he could relate to all too well.

“Fancy meeting you here.” The attempt at levity fell just short of scratchy, his lips quirking in some semblance of a smile. What had seemed like eons to go over within the safety of his own thoughts had taken mere moments, putting the step he took just a little further into the room the first since he’d stepped through the door. He didn’t know where to go from there, didn’t know how to approach speaking to her. She had unwillingly become part of a secret, not-so-willing club that was charged with something more dangerous than testosterone. A man that wasn’t chatty at the best of times. And a boy who’s charm was little to begin with outside of a situation such as this. What luck that she’d found them.

[Osiris Moswen]

The bag in his hand had just a little heft to it, not in the way that it was even remotely taxing to hold, but it did feel like Marcus had intended to stay for a little while longer than normal. Perhaps he was just packing heavier clothing, or perhaps it was something else entirely. He had no business rifling through somebody else's possessions, and he found that he didn't actually care all that much. There were more pressing things. Letting the bag fall into the chair across from where Amina had perched herself he let his now empty hand rest on the back of the same chair, awaiting her response. If he even got one at all, he couldn't even being to wonder how she might be feeling. Whether it was nervous at thee stranger, the lack of control that she was no doubt feeling, or some other mixture of emotions that he knew nothing about. If anybody could help relate to her individual situation, it would be Marcus. He had been turned in a far more violent way at a much younger age, he had taken years to grow accustomed to the changes due to the fact that he had almost no support system at the time and the fact that he didn't have the emotional or mental maturity to understand what had happened to him. Being turned had forced him to grow up, at least Amina knew what was happening to her. Osiris was born like this, his original transformations were almost expected, he had his whole life to prepare for it. Perhaps they might be able to help one another out in some fashion. Hopefully, whatever emotion it was that she was currently feeling, wouldn't overwhelm her, wouldn't force her to shift earlier than they were aiming for.

“Who is he?” reasonable question at the very least. It was a complicated answer at the very least. Might as well start with the simple, the boy was bound to have composed himself sooner rather than later if there was no other reason than the fact that he wanted to know who the girl was more than he wanted to be territorial. “His name is Marcus, he goes to school with you. Though, I doubt you've noticed him before.” He wasn't sure what sort of company that Marcus kept, or even if he had any friends at all. In fact, he didn't really know much about the boy other than the fact that he was turned at a young age. Their topics of conversation were generally limited to question, answer basis or other general topics. It seemed to be what was the easiest, and the most mutually beneficial to the both of them. Though, now, they were bound to have something else to talk about. “This is bound to make you uncomfortable, - that's to be expected-” he started, to have his words trail off toward the end of his sentence due to the sudden proximity of a familiar smell. Osiris' head turned backward toward the still open door, waiting for Marcus to cross the threshold. No doubt, Marcus was attempting to assign the new smell of another wolf to his memory. They stared for a long moment, which gave him at least the chance to finish clearing the table. It wouldn't help anybody for him to start acting strangely around either one of them. “Fancy meeting you here.” there seemed to be an air of familiarity between the two of them, and far be it from him to assume anything. This process couldn't be rushed. Since they were going to be forced to interact on a fairly common basis from this point in their lives on forward, they might as well attempt to be civil.

But oh how awkward it was. Even Osiris, who wasn't a very chatty person by any stretch of the word, could feel the tension, unique to the situation accompanying the tension that Amina was putting on her own shoulders. Grasping Amina's bicep, he started to pull her to her feet, but not with any real amount of force. He just wanted them to be outside for the rest of this interaction, he had a feeling that if things kept with this level, they were going to need it. His Cabin was too small for all four of their pre-shift emotions. He could only hope that afterward, whenever he was dragging Amina's broken body back to the Cabin to sleep it off, things would be better. Pausing in the doorway he made eye contact with Marcus “I trust you will be understanding, and assist where you are needed?” His tone was heavy, meaning that while Amina didn't need any additional help, there was no point in attempting to confront her during her shift. She wouldn't be much use to him, and to make certain that Marcus checked his hormones inside of the Cabin.

[Amina Krane]

“His name is Marcus, he goes to school with you. Though, I doubt you've noticed him before.” While Amina had been doing well to relax, pulling herself together enough so her body wouldn’t be stone still when the new person entered the room, Osiris’ words changed everything. “What…?” she mouthed, not even able to get her vocal chords to work. The focus she held to keep herself from shifting changed to shock, her entire body rigid in a second. While a loss of focus would have no doubt made her shift, the fact that she could no longer move stopped her from trembling with the urge to shift. Her focus then moved to the name he had just stated. He was a student? Marcus? Not that Marcus. Not the prefect Marcus who she saw every time they had a meeting, seventh year Ravenclaw male who was friends with most everyone she was friends with. The Marcus she talked to every so often in the halls, but never had really taken the time to get to know. How could her luck be so horrible that one of the few people to come visit Osiris during the full moon was a fellow student? A person who could pick her out in a crowd? A person who she didn’t know would keep her secret? As the reality sunk in that someone else was going to know her secret, her body began to slump. She had done so much to keep all of this a secret, only trusting those who she knew would keep her nightmare between them. And now someone else was going to know? For some reason, she was beginning to feel faint, but she couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t the end of the world that he knew, but for some reason, it seemed in conjunction with everything else she was feeling, her body wasn’t handling the stress all that well.

“This is bound to make you uncomfortable, - that's to be expected-” As his words registered in her head, she couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. “You have no idea,” she muttered, finding that her head was starting to come out of the clouds and as it did so, she could feel that she had lost most of her focus. Her body was beginning to shake more. Shaking her head, she pulled herself back together for at least the tenth time in the last two days. Her eyes turned back to the door as she could hear the footsteps approaching, the smell that made her hair stand on end. When Marcus stepped through the door, she suddenly could tell. He had the golden eyes, the smell of wolf, the look of someone trying not to turn, the same look she had. Though his look was far less strained, like he was hardly having to try, but nothing like Osiris who didn’t even look like he had to think of it anymore. Amina wondered how long Marcus had been a werewolf. It obviously wasn’t recent, so she guessed at least a year before. Was it even longer than that? Her eyes followed Osiris for a moment as he began to clean off the table. Her brain didn’t even make the connection that Marcus was a guest in his home, just as she was, or that he was cleaning a table for company that would be outside soon anyways. All she knew was she was somewhat having a nervous breakdown and finding out that someone she knew from the school was here, in a similar boat as her, wasn’t helping. “Fancy meeting you here.” Amina’s eyes turned back to Marcus. She attempted a half-smile but wasn’t entirely sure how successful it was. “Much different scenery than our normal hallway get-togethers.”

Though she had tried to lighten the mood, she couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t possible right now, mostly because her tone wasn’t right. Her focus was on keeping herself in line. Merlin she hated having to do this. If she was stronger, she wouldn’t have to be worried so much. If she was stronger, she would have gotten to the point where she didn’t have to focus so hard. She knew the books had said it would take time, that eventually control would come with experience, but Amina didn’t believe it. There had to be another way to rush the process, to get there quicker. She had never been one to ever take her time in doing anything. Her first vault had been spur of the moment. She had seen another girl do it and tried it without any coaching. Though her coach and parents were upset, she finished without injury and had been better for it because she had stopped any fear she may ever have of it in its tracks. Why couldn’t she do the same here? Her jaw clenched as she became frustrated with herself, frustrated that out of everyone in the room, she was the one having the hardest time. Experience or not, she wasn’t used to being the lowest on the totem pole. But Osiris didn’t allow her to get lost in her frustration long. Whether he knew she was frustrated, or if he just sensed the time was coming, she wasn’t sure, but his hand found her bicep and without much trouble, he was pulling her to her feet, and she complied. She knew it was coming, despite how desperately she wanted to hold it back. She wanted the freedom, the chance to run, but not like this.

She followed his lead as they headed out of the cabin, and didn’t even bother to listen to his words as he spoke to Marcus. She didn’t really care what they had to talk about right now, all that mattered was she felt the thing inside of her wanting to claw its way out as the moon beckoned it closer. Pursing her lips, she continued outside, her eyes averting upwards towards the moon. The giant orb she used to love so much, but now hated to see when it rose into the sky. Why couldn’t she be strong enough to stop this from happening? Why couldn’t she have been strong enough to stop any of this from ever coming to light? As she felt her body betraying herself, she pulled her arm from Osiris’ grasp and crossed them across her chest tightly as she continued walking towards the forest edge, not wanting to be out in the open when this happened, though she knew they would follow her wherever she went, if they even let her go into the forest at all. What made it even worse was that now, despite that she had gotten over her issues with being naked in front of Osiris, there was a chance it was going to be Marcus as well. Just swell.

Words | 1,144
Tag | Osiris, Marcus
Outfit | Click

[Marcus O'Conner]

Had he been focused more on cognitive thought and less on the animal instinct that had overtaken him he would have made the connection from the scent in the castle to that in the cabin. He would have been able to recognize that it was one and the same, which would have only served to help better prepare him for what he was up against. The scent in the corridors shouldn’t have escaped his notice, it was a mistake most newborns didn’t even make- and merlin only knew that he considered himself past that now. The lack of control in coming here itself presented him with a problem, one he didn’t have the time to consider though. He’d never been around another wolf besides Osiris, hadn’t had to fight against the urge to … well fight before. He’d had plenty of tries against Osiris, but for the most part those had all been nothing other than a release, it wasn’t as if he could actually stand a fighting chance against the older were- he lacked experience, and by that a good deal of strength as well. He could well remember his first few transformations, the loss of control that accompanied it- even more the aggression, the pain, the feel of confinement even when he stood well in the open. Walls, clothing, everything felt as if it were purposefully constricting his entire being. It was a war he could see converging within the much smaller body of the female curled in upon herself. He could sense Osiris’s movements out of the corner of his eye, noting what it was he was doing out of his peripheral with an abject disinterest. Normally he might have offered to help, or at least tried to expand the conversation to include Osiris. It was as if he was in the background though, the more pressing matter of who exactly it was sitting in front of him. “Much different scenery than our normal hallway get-togethers.” A half smile tore at his lips, one shoulder rising in a shrug. Much different yes, he could only be thankful that it had been here that they first encountered eachother after her change, thankful that Osiris had been there to mediate. He would have liked to think himself above actually attacking the girl, especially given their previous acquaintance. Would have liked to believe that he would have seen her and not focused as entirely on the scent as he had just catching it in the woods. But he couldn’t be sure that it would have gone down peacefully, especially given the overpowering reaction he had just encountered. “Yea. But ye have to admit it ta be a tad more interesting.” At least he could be sure now that his reaction had not been territorial.

Here in the cabin, somewhat more calm than he had been before he didn’t have the urge anymore, didn’t feel as if he needed to be the first to attack. It had been out of a sense of fear he had reacted the way he had, it was easier to understand now. A feeling being backed into a corner without the ability to escape. He passed a hand over his face, brushing the bristles lining his jawline as if to make sure they were still there. He tried to maintain an ambivalent expression, the half-smile becoming more strained as he felt the tension in the room escalate once more. He had, in the moments following the recognition, forgotten how young she actually was, or how hard it could be on her. She seemed to tense even more as he watched, his eyes widening slightly as Osiris moved back into his main line of sight, fingers closing around Amina’s arm. He hadn’t been imagining the spike then, though his surprise only mounted further as Amina complied. It had taken him much longer to accept Osiris’s help. When he’d first turned he’d spent the first few transformations locked in a cell devised by his mother, her eyes taunting him the last thing he saw as the pain overtook him- blacking him out. He didn’t remember anything beyond the searing pain, beyond the shaking anger and burning that overtook his young bones. Those had been the hardest on him, the feel of her watching him almost as shameful as the change itself had felt. He hadn’t thought that it could get any worse, but the woman had only served to then turn him over to a bigger force, one that commanded respect in the wizarding world. It wasn’t everyday a werewolf was handed over to the ministry to be allowed to test as they would. First had been the potions, the cutting, and then had come being chained in the forest. It was a different kind of entrapment, but at least this one had allotted him to be by himself through the pain. It was where he had eventually broken free of his metal bonds and later the proverbial as well. That had been after Osiris had found him though. Maybe had he had Osiris there from the beginning things would have been different though, something that only brought his focus once more back to the girl in the process of standing. He had thought it ironic earlier, her finding the two of them, the chance of it happening. Had been skeptical over the whole thing. The more he saw her struggle though, the more he realized that she might be luckier than he had first estimated.

“I trust you will be understanding, and assist where you are needed?” Once more it seemed all Marcus could do was nod as the man’s words slid over him. Yes, he would help where it was needed- though he didn’t see that coming up. Already the girl displayed a more advanced control over herself than he had at that age. He followed out the door with a slow pace, fingers running along the hem of his tank-top, and grasping, pulling it up and over head. He’d learned long ago enough how easy it was to lose track of his clothing if he didn’t discard it early enough. His boots he kicked off even as he walked down the porch, leaving his jeans on as he walked out into the yard after them. Already it felt as if his jeans were holding him in, something he didn’t care to rectify too soon, he didn’t know how comfortable Amina would be with the entire process. Despite her present state of undress it was something that took a good deal of getting used to. He frowned slightly as Amina broke free of Osiris, his own pace quickening somewhat until he stood beside the other man. “Just exactly how new is she?” A much more polite way of asking just difficult this transformation would be on her, and just how much he would have to stay back. He enjoyed the companionship while running, it made the process feel a good deal less like a curse in the end. When running with another it was even enjoyable. He hadn’t run with a newborn before though. Didn’t know if she bit or tackled whether it would indeed be playing as he would consider, or an actual fight. They were things he needed to grasp before the change overtook him. He had a feeling that regardless, however, this night would be less about relaxation than he had normally intended. The simple change itself would no doubt help though, as would the running that followed, regardless of whether or not a good deal of the running would be spent monitoring the girl heading toward the tree line. “Ye know I do’n’t know exactly what’t is that I’m expecting here.” Or what he was expected to do…

[Osiris Moswen]

Osiris could feel it over every inch of his exposed skin. The itch, the burning need to let his skin rip open and give way to the fur he could feel prickling up through his pores. It was something that really never did disappear. Even after this long, after all of his experience, it was still there. Every month, every full moon. It called to him. He felt better, lighter on his feet, like he could run further, jump higher, do things that any normal human wouldn't be physically able to do. The need to let go was overwhelming, it always was at first. He could contain himself, it wasn't even all hat difficult. The only part that ever caused him trouble was the fact that he didn't want to hold himself back. He was fully in control of himself whenever he was in his wolf form, never at risk to those around him, which just made it harder to resist whenever he knew the power that came with it. Tonight, he had more important things to deal with. Amina was giving almost no resistance at all as he was pulling her out the door and into the open night air. He couldn't even feel the chill, he couldn't feel the breeze because his skin was on fire. Of course, he would feel the same as the other two younger ones beside him, but the wind was doing nothing to help keep him a normal temperature. He had always found that to be ironic, the only time that he felt cool, that he felt like he had a normal body temperature was whenever he was fully covered in a thick fur.

It seemed like Amina was feeling better, like the moon was healing her. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest, it just had a way of clearing the mind. He let his hand drop as she pulled away from him, walking out toward the edge of the trees surrounding his modest property. He could see her well enough, even as she ducked into the trees, her shadow was smaller, brighter than the rest of the trees around her. He could hear her footsteps, even if she were to shift now, he could follow her. She wasn't a danger to others, that had always been her number one concern. Marcus had obviously come out here to shift, he never came out here for no reason, not over the past couple of years anyway he hadn't. Osiris let his body drop into a crouch, his feet digging into the cool earth like a baseball catcher, waiting. Amina was going to be in for quite the surprise whenever she was no longer the only voice in her head. Since she had been taken in by Osiris, she was unofficially part of his pack. He hadn't ever shifted around her, so he had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Marcus was in the same bond as her, while Osiris didn't consider himself the leader of a pack, much less the leader of a pack of children, the bond was unavoidable until they both found packs of their own, or found a way to break away. Otherwise, the mental link was going to be there. Marcus had heard it before, though, neither man really spoke much whenever they were running, whenever they were in form. Amina was going to be wild, crazed. Adding another person's thoughts to her own? She was going to be frantic, meaning he was likely going to have to take over for a while. He should have warned her, but now there was just no time.

“Just exactly how new is she?” He didn't rise from his position, he didn't need to. “Couple months” he stated plainly, she might not seem like it, but she was fighting with her whole being. That much was clear to him, it should be clear to Marcus sooner or later. He was bound to hear it. He would have to keep a fair amount of distance until she was fully transformed, and even then, it was likely that she would attack Marcus out of blind confusion. Not that he would mind, he had seen his fair share of pain, at least he would have the added benefit of the thicker wolf skin to handle it. “Ye know I do’n’t know exactly what’t is that I’m expecting here.” Osiris nodded at the boys words. He had been the youngest for so long it was going to be strange to have to take on another role. “Give her space for now I think” he watched Amina's shadow double over. “I haven't shifted in front of her yet, she doesn't know.” it had been a fairly large gap in his teaching method, not warning her about the link between packs.

[Amina Krane]

In the background she could hear the guys talking, movement as they shuffled around, the sound of running water, and even the nocturnal hunters finding their prey, but none of that mattered. What mattered was that her heartbeat was speeding up, feeling like it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. Her skin felt too tight, her clothes clinging to her like a second skin. She instinctively shed the only two items she was wearing, glad that she was covered by the shadows of the trees. Though she was alright with being naked around Osiris now, Marcus was another story. As she took another few steps, her vision adjusted to the darkness over and over again as she began to come into her werewolf senses. Her head felt foggy yet clear at the same exact time. The feeling, though uncomfortable to say the least, was becoming familiar. Though she had phased only a few times thus far, she was really starting to get used to the hints that it was about to happen again. The heightened emotions, the uncontrollable tremors, even the feeling like she was being pulled out of herself, only to be put into something else entirely. As she walked further into the forest, she knew the men were watching her, waiting for something eventful to happen. Despite how badly she wanted to keep it from happening, to prove she was strong enough to keep from turning into a volatile monster, she knew it would be impossible. The signs were hitting her harder and harder with every step until she gasped as she felt the first bone in her body break. Her body doubled over in pain as it sped up. She let out a soft cry of pain, but bit her tongue to hold it back. Even though she knew it was normal to go through pain at this process, because who the hell wouldn’t when their entire body was being broken and rebuilt, she couldn’t help but want to hide her weakness. Part of her wondered if it was because Marcus was now here, a new face that she had never talked to and held no opinion about. She hated giving bad first impressions and she was sure that he hadn’t had much time to build an impression of her himself, unless he was the type to jump to conclusions. Part of her hoped he would be, because at least he would know that normally, she wasn’t this pathetic. She wasn’t the girl that was doubled over trying to keep from allowing herself from screaming until she was hoarse.

In succession, her bones began to break one by one. It was faster this time, but not nearly as fast as she would have hoped for. Instantaneous would have been fantastic. But from what she knew, it would take a few more months for that to be even possible. So she had to deal with the slowness. As her ribs began to snap apart, Amina dropped to her knees, letting out another cry of pain, this time unable to contain it. Her arms wrapped across her stomach as she attempted to hold it in place, to not let it burst open like she felt it was going to, but as she pressed down, the pain swelled in her broken ribs. Then suddenly it was like the flood gates opened. Any bone left unbroken in her body seemed to snap at once and she could feel that the time was almost upon her. The moon was begging for it, holding out its hand to help her stand up and become her full potential. Never before had she hated the glowing orb so much. She let out one last scream as her forehead touched the ground, her hands clutching her skin. While it had initially been clinging to it, suddenly it was dragging it off. Her skin was coming off in her fingers and it was being replaced by a thick coat of dark fur. Once her hands had torn all of the skin from her stomach, she began to tear at her arms, her back, all as her body began to grow, to become the beast inside of her. Less than a minute later, Amina was on all fours on the ground, covered in fur, her nose elongated into a snout, a tail swishing back and forth as her fingers clutched the ground underneath her. The breath from her rapid breathing created small clouds in the air before dissipating. Gritting her teeth, she stood up on her hind legs and let out a low growl. In her head, she was fighting for control. The wolf always seemed to want to take over, to have as much fun as possible before the moon set the next morning, but the wolfsbane was doing its job. She kept control of her own head, but then suddenly there was something else there. Voices.

The growl grew larger as Amina narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head. Never before had she heard voices unless it was Osiris warning her to keep in the clearing, but that had been with her ears. Not inside her head. Suddenly she lost her nerve. Was something going wrong? Had her transformation had a hiccup? Worry flooded over her along with fear. Dropping onto all fours she ran, unsure of what else she could do. What if it wasn’t in her head? What if it was someone around her forcing her to think things she didn’t want to think? What if it was the werewolf? Her thoughts moved to the idea that the werewolf inside of her had actually found a way to take control. If that was true, if the beast did have control, it wasn’t her that was in danger. It was everyone else around her. Unfortunately, she never made the connection that there were two voices, that they were voices she had heard before even if they were a little scruffier. All she knew was she was a danger to the students, to Osiris, to Marcus if the werewolf really did have control. So she changed her course immediately, running as fast as she could in the opposite direction of everyone around her. She had to get as far as possible before it had a chance to take over. She couldn’t hurt anyone. She would never be able to live with herself.

Words | 1,078
Tag | Osiris, Marcus
Outfit | Click

[Marcus O'Conner]

“Couple months.” The words slammed into his conscience as if driven by some invisible force, it couldn’t have been more emphatic had the other man yelled it. Stating it so plainly only served to give Marcus the clarity to view it as such. She was only a couple months old. An odd emotion wormed its way into his stomach, twisted within- tendrils brushing against the edge of his conscience. It had taken him years to get to where he was, years to stop rebelling so heavily against what had happened. Had he been thrust into the open as soon as she had, had he not been kept locked up as he had been he had no idea how he would have reacted, what would have happened because of his reaction. He’d blacked out nearly every time, the only memory he carried of those the pain. And, as he had just illustrated earlier, he didn’t react so well to pain or even the fear of it. He had felt caged yes, because in many ways when he wasn’t shifting he was still the caged boy in his mother’s basement, cruel eyes taking in every shift, every movement. The jealousy spiked as he watched her walking further away from the two of them, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to dismiss the emotion. He could recognize that there was no reason for it, it didn’t take a person of heightened intelligence to see how hard she was struggling against the change that was fighting to take her. Had she already succumbed, had she made some move that betrayed just how young she actually was he might have felt a little better- but he knew just how irrational that really was, knew and sought to quickly defuse the emotion. “I haven’t shifted in front of her yet, she doesn’t know.” His thought process severed, golden orbs removing themselves from the shaking girl in front of them to stare, mouth partially opened, at the man beside him. She was going into this completely unaware of the mental link that would follow. Initially that had been his biggest surprise when running with Osiris, even expecting it. It had been one of the things that incensed him so the first year- the older man’s ability to see into his thoughts, read the pleasure that rippled through him as his limbs elongated- paws tearing into the turning earth beneath them. Had he been able to step back from himself and observe the scene he might have found it comical, the way his lips were just slightly parted- eyes rounded like that of a cartoon character. He could feel the green tentacles that had been writhing in his stomach slowly dissipate as he managed to regain some modicum of impartiality as he looked back to her. Above and beyond the concern that now tinged his thoughts he could feel his body already shifting- fingers stretching out to grasp at the gusts of wind that passed between them, nails sharpening slightly as he sought to clear his mind. She didn’t need the turmoil of his mind added to hers. “Righ’, so no tacklin’ the birdie then.” His words were light, mind shying quickly away from the turn their discussion had taken.


He took a deep breath, toes digging into the grass beneath them as the moonlight beat down upon his back, shoulders hunching slightly as he fought the urge to shift. She would have to be the first; though the reasoning behind it wasn’t clear it made an innate kind of sense in his mind. She needed to be the one to initiate this night- though the longer she waited the harder it became for him to listen to that impulse. He turned his gaze from her as he heard the unmistakable sounds of clothing being discarded within the trees; his own fingers going to the buckle of his jeans, flipping open the button and shimmying it down his hips even as he listened intently to the goings on before him. The way her heartbeat increased, thrumming a violent, uneven rhythm against the confines that her ribs provided- another prison to encase her, and mirror the same change he himself was experiencing. The way her breath sped up, sounding ahead of them like a beacon to speed his own change. The smell of the fear and agony that radiated off of her with each step she took further, the confusion marring the others that seemed to be so ever present- the sound of the grass breaking beneath her weight, bending, pulling from the earth that held it. It was a trick he’d used before, one he’d learned to master to keep his own thoughts from turning down volatile paths. And as much as it served to keep his brain from focusing overly much on the emotions he’d experienced earlier, keep his own thoughts from turning back to the agitation that had earlier plagued him- it also seemed to increase his need to shift, her leanings pushing him even nearer the edge. An unforeseen, at least on his part, complication. He should have known that her need would only fuel his own; it made sense- especially given the circumstances. So he turned his focus instead on Osiris, listening to the steady thrum of his heart, felt the calm that seemed to radiate off of him. Where her impulse to change was nearly self destructive Marcus could seek comfort in the anticipation that rolled off of Osiris, the familiar breathing pattern that he assumed before the change. He focused on the other man’s nearly single minded focus, drawing the objectivity that he needed to continue on tonight. His own breathing, while still erratic, calmed perceptibly, the unease that had taken turns nearly puncturing his skin morphing into the rippling of anticipation. It was so close, the way the air tore against his flesh, his bones audibly groaning in anticipation….

And then it came, the agony assaulting him from before them, the sound of her body beating down upon itself pulsating just outside his orb of concentration. The pain fueled cries battered against his ears, his now naked body curling just slightly as he felt her shift complete- his own bursting forth in a much shorter burst of pain- the simultaneous crunching filling his ears only momentarily as his body lengthened, expounded upon itself. He could feel the searing blaze, recognize the shift- though compared to what he’d just listened to he was able to recognize through a haze just how far he’d come. He felt his spine arch at the growl that emitted from the unfamiliar shape standing where Amina had only moments before, hair bristling off of his skin as he caught the feminine brush of conscience against his own, filling his mind in unison of the more familiar timbre of Osiris. Unlike before, though this was equally as new to him, his hackles didn’t rise, the need to fight didn’t encompass his emotions. It was easier now, in wolf form, to identify her as someone who wasn’t an enemy, the merest brush of her conscience against his identifying her as ‘one of’ instead of one. It didn’t have to make logical sense even, though while the need to challenge- the instinct to test still remained; it was delayed by the more human aspect of himself warning him away from it, pushing him down to all fours in preparation. He could hear the confusion racing through her thoughts, the pace so fast tracked it was almost difficult to keep up with, feel the subtle changes in the atmosphere as he let his claws sink into the earth beneath him, stretching and retracting as he recognized the panicked turn that she was turning down. He could pick up the intention from the older male beside him, his legs shooting out even as the females before him did. He could feel the muscles, that had lain dormant these past few months stretching, glorying in the sensation of power that coursed through his core. In any other situation he might have quickened his pace, his strides growing longer as he leapt forward, but he was careful- still aware of Osiris’s earlier instruction to stay back far enough so as not to alarm the beast inside the girl, to keep her from feeling as trapped as his presence surely would. Although, with the way her thoughts were tumbling about in a disturbed measure he doubted that it would be far enough.

He felt her intention the moment before she followed through, barely, and turned suddenly, his upper body stretching even further as he separated slightly from the larger wolf he’d been running nearly parallel to up until that moment. Instinct took over, forcing his paws to widen the space, veering slightly to the left, still a good few yards behind her, maybe somewhat more seeing that she’d increased her pace before him. Holding himself back was more difficult than he’d originally suspected, his ears twitching as he fought the temptation to speed up and put her between him and Osiris, providing an effective barrier of sorts. He had said give her space, had very likely anticipated something like this to happen- so he let himself keep pace only, eyes flicking quickly to his direction with the question of what to do clear in his mind. A good part of him wanted to reach out more firmly to the girl in an attempt of reassurance, but given the current cadence of her thoughts that might not be the best plan.


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(A little choppy, if something needs to be changed just let me know.)

[Osiris Moswen]

Despite his calm exterior, this really was a very tense situation. While Osiris had been working with Marcus for a very long time about how to control the wolf that was inside of him, there was no way to tell how that side of him was going to handle this. Osiris didn't exactly consider them to be a pack, he knew that Marcus did. With that being said, adding another member to their 'pack' without warning, and one that was female no less was going to be tense. There was no getting around it. To his knowledge, Marcus had never been around a female wolf, how he hadn't come to Osiris earlier was a little upsetting. He would have expected the boy to have sensed the other around the school, or at the very least have smelt her. The boy must have been highly distracted by something as of late to not have noticed it. Instead, his golden orbs trained themselves on the spot in the forest where he knew that Amina was starting to undergo her transformation. He could hear the snapping. He was certain that each transformation she had to bite clear through her tongue to keep from screaming her head off. Not many people were able to keep quiet this early in their transformations. She kept going on and on about how she should be stronger, than she was weak, if only she could see how most people handled it versus herself. It would be a lot better that way, she could really let herself off the hook that way. The bones were breaking faster now, he could hear them more clearly than the rest of the forest, the sounds of the animals and trees moving in the light wind. It was going to be years before her transition got too much better, the best she could hope for was to lessen the feeling of pain. Osiris had turned twenty eight before his own transitions had been instantaneous. One day, he had just wanted to change, and the next moment he was in wolf form. She would have a long way to go before then, controlling her transformations instead of letting the moon control them was the very first step.

Perhaps this would be just what she needed. At the very least, the mental link with Marcus would allow her to see how long it took him to get to where he was, how much hard work the boy had put into the control that he had worked so hard to earn. Osiris was even to the point that he could say that he was proud of the boy. Perspective might do wonders for Amina. He hoped. Otherwise, the voices that were soon going to be assaulting her conscience might drive her a little mad until the full moon was over and released her. It was hard, instantly knowing so very much about a person. He had been putting it off as long as was possible. Osiris was a great deal older than Amina, and had far many more memories to assault her with, while he was fairly good at limiting what others saw, the wolf within him was a touch more violent than he was usually proud of. “Righ’, so no tacklin’ the birdie then.” Osiris' head turned toward the smaller boy, he was a strange one. It had been a very, very long time since Osiris himself had been a young man, he wasn't sure of the latest ways to interact with the opposite gender. It tended to change with every generation, and it really was far too much for him to keep up with. Osiris didn't even blink as the boy shed his clothing and headed in the direction of the woods himself. He could feel it, Marcus about to change. He had witnessed the boys transformation enough times to sense it coming, the way that his smell shifted from mostly human to lupine. If possible, Osiris crouched a little closer to the ground, his hand enclosing the dirt of the open space, testing the texture. The moon was full in the sky now, illuminating the space he was sitting in. It was time. He was forced to drown out the sound of Amina's discomfort and Marcus' bones breaking while everything stilled. He was checking, just making sure that the only sound of those transforming were the two in front of him. This wouldn't have been the time for unexpected visitors. He couldn't hear any others, and he knew this forest like the back of his own hand. He could feel his hair thickening, chest, arms, legs, a beard starting to form despite the fact that he wasn't yet transforming. Even he couldn't stand in direct moonlight without any effects whatsoever. He couldn't help it, a large smile moved across his face, it just made him feel so very alive.

As soon as it had come, he forced it to pass. He couldn't indulge, he couldn't. There was too much to do. His head swiveled, letting loose the dirt from his hand. He could smell the two of them now, no doubt already lost in the noise in each others head. It was always complicated, adding another voice to your own thoughts. You didn't get to pick and choose what the other learnt. At least not this young they wouldn't. It was too quiet outside of the mind. Closing his eyes for just a moment, he could feel his own bones stretching and finally snapping under the pressure, like popping one's knuckles over and over again. Cracking his neck as he slowly gained almost another foot in height. He was a large man, but even a larger wolf, standing at well over seven feet tall. Silver white fur started to sprout from every inch of body mass that he had. With greatly elongated fingers he hastily pulled the pants from his body, not having time to slow down and step out of them the ripping of the seams around his ankles was unavoidable. A deep, low growl filled the whole opening around his house as he allowed his body to stretch, feeling the wolf ebbing into every nook and cranny in his mind. Slowly, as his transformation finished, he could feel the now joint minds of the two younger ones filling the silences between his mental sentences. There they were. Marcus let him in easier, able to see what the boy was seeing, share the smells so that Osiris knew exactly where they were, and he allowed his massive body to take off, earth displaces from his powerful launch forward. The sounds of his own lupine body panting were the only things that mattered to him as he ran now. He caught up with Marcus easily, as he was full grown and the boy was still growing, his legs weren't as strong yet. They would be, someday if he wished it. He could feel the slight panic, the wordless question of what to do as Osiris answered him with a command, just a mental image of a patch of forest. The boy should know where it was, it would be where Amina was heading. Given that Osiris knew her better by now, it was easier for him to understand her thoughts. Marcus needed to head her off, intercept her the way that Osiris had been doing for months now, keep her safe, keep her contained. Not to forget how strong a newborn could be.

Calm

The single word in his voice should have penetrated Amina's head if nothing else. He couldn't be sure, but he hoped that amidst the giant jumble of noise around her skull would make sense. He hoped his voice would do what he was hoping to sooth her, not stop her. He should have warned her, he had just not expected to have to force it on her so soon. Oh, he could command her now, that he was forcing himself in wolf form on her for the first time ever. He sent another small image of how he would look, a giant, golden eyed, silver wolf to her, and another of how Marcus would likely seem, so that their forms wouldn't scare her. He hoped. The only other full grown were she had ever seen, even if only for a moment, was the black one who had changed her.

[Amina Krane]

Amina couldn’t even begin to understand what was going on. All she knew was there were voices, images, things that weren’t normal. Though she was new to this whole being a monster thing, Amina hadn’t experienced this before. Her head had always been her own. Even when the wolf tried to ebb its way in, she had always felt more like she was drifting off into a deep sleep, not that there was another person inside her head with her. Sure, sometimes she could feel it, but never hear it or even see it. But now she could both hear and see things that weren’t quite right. The panic spread through her entire body, from head to... well, claw. As her feet carried her as fast as they could go, a speed she could have never imagined going on just two feet, Amina had hoped she was getting far enough away from anyone that could be harmed if she lost her resolve. But just as she thought maybe she was putting distance between her and the only other two people in the forest, the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs behind her. Suddenly she was thrown into a memory spiral. Slytherin’s chasing her outside, her racing through the forest, following a well broken in trail, the same snapping of twigs and crunching of leaves, followed by gnashing of teeth and tearing of flesh. Had she been in human form, tears probably would have sprung from her eyes, but as a werewolf, she didn’t find crying came as easily. Somehow, her emotional structure was stronger in this form. Hell, she often felt like she could withstand anything anyone threw at her. But now? That feeling was long gone.

Just as Amina heard another sound of footfalls, just before she was about to be thrown into another memory of that night, a sound pierced through her thoughts and panic, even though it was so much softer than everything put together. Calm. The sudden sound breaking through the frantic thoughts made her steps falter but she quickly recovered before she could fall flat on her face. It took her a moment to comprehend the word, mostly because she wasn’t sure where it came from, but her body, almost against her wishes, began to relax. The panic began to wane and Amina realized the reason why. The voice behind the word, or the thought she supposed, was Osiris. But how was he in her head? And how come this hadn’t happened before? Was there something different now that Marcus was here? Had he changed things somehow? Her head began to spin with all of the questions. She didn’t like being confused. And even before she had a chance to think further into the subject, a silver object was suddenly in her head. An image of a wolf. A rather large one at that, and most certainly a werewolf. Was this Osiris? The eyes glowing back at her in her head told her yes. She had seen those eyes for weeks after Halloween and every month since. As soon as the image had popped up in her head, another one replaced it. Another werewolf, but smaller in stature. It was in stark contrast to the silver fur, but the eyes were similar. Was this Marcus? It had to have been. She couldn’t imagine him staying behind at the cabin after all of this going on. She had met him before and he had never seemed like one to hang back and miss the action. She was sure her little tantrum was probably good enough to nab his attention. Closing her eyes tightly, Amina shook her head to get rid of the images. Her eyes opened up again back to the forest. She didn’t like seeing things in her head that she didn’t want there. She didn’t want to see a werewolf there and she most certainly didn’t want to hear things, but that didn’t stop the voices.

More than anything, she wanted to stop and have a chance to figure all of this out. To have a chance just to mull over everything that had happened in the last minute alone. Suddenly her head wasn’t her own and she couldn’t comprehend how. But she knew that wouldn’t help. Running had always been the best way for her to figure out her problems, so instead of stopping, she dug her claws deeper into the ground and lowered her stance so her power was used more effectively. The result, faster running and more wind through her fur. Though running on all fours wasn’t the normal way of her working out her problems, it would do. But the only problem was she worked out the problems in her own head. Now, she was being assaulted with other thoughts and they were making it impossible for her to focus. Images of Marcus walking through the castle with friends. Down in the Great Hall with his house mates, devouring food in practically the same manner as she did. Then another image of familiar classmates. Victoria. And Tobias? He’s friends with Tobias? she questioned in her head, but then suddenly wondered if he could hear her to. Then the pieces clicked. You’re the other wolf… She glanced over her shoulder at the darker of the two wolves who was flanking her, no doubt making sure she kept within the forest limits, just like Osiris had been doing since this whole ordeal had begun. Hopefully Marcus could hear her thoughts just like she could hear and see theirs. Otherwise, she was just thinking to herself. Which wasn’t really much different than normal. Amina’s eyes turned forward again in fear that she would trip. She had managed to avoid it once, but she wasn’t sure if she would get lucky enough to avoid it again. The thought of Marcus being so close this whole time and she hadn’t realized it. Merlin how could she be so ignorant?

Words | 995
Tag | Osiris, Marcus
Outfit | Click

[Marcus O'Conner]

It was… different… this sharing of minds with more than one other person. Osiris was the only other were he’d ever been acquainted with, the only one who knew that Marcus himself was one; the only he’d ever shared that telepathic link with. And Osiris was controlled, much more adept at keeping the random imagery from popping into Marcus’s mind. It was almost as if the girl had a distinctive flavor to her thought process, the tangy undertones reverberating through his skull with a jarring familiarity. All of this was tinged with a greater emotion though, panic searing so close that it felt as if it were coursing through his own being, muscles tensing as if preparing for flight himself. Which was ridiculous, despite the understanding laced behind it, this was his first time shifting with her- he would just have to acclimate himself to the changes that inevitably accompanied it. Flashes of memory, vibrant enough to shock him, played through her memory. A towering black wolf, awash in the kind of lighting that could only come from a terror induced psyche. A flash of pain… an argument that he could barely follow the words that fell from both sets of lips... And he got it; he understood the panic that following all of these things could come from someone else invading your mind unexpectedly. Especially when it was not one but two presences suddenly thrust upon the girl. So he did the only thing he could think of while running, focusing on mundane things, something to bring back some semblance of normalcy, to eliminate him as a threat from her mind. He focused on Tobias hanging upside down from the rafters with him, laughing as they attempted to swing their bodies through the tight spaces. He focused on lunches spent spearing jokes back and forth between the trio of friends, outings that were more often than not stretched the ground rules that the school allowed. He remembered seeing her around Victoria, bringing his focus to the red headed girl. The way her cheekbones became infused with red so easily, the way she laughed up at him after something particularly silly, most often for her benefit, had been said. He even focused on the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach that normally accompanied the girl’s presence in his life. Familiarity. He put the images on a loop through his mind, patient enough to wait for her to recognize and accept what he was offering. Safe. He was safe. How he could be anything but was laughable. He even continued it through Osiris throwing him a different image, a different landscape that he could find not too far ahead. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know this forest well enough by now. He acknowledged it wordlessly, lengthening his stride and going off in a loop around Amina, so as not to startle her. He just needed to get far enough ahead to keep her within the circle of protection they were offering her. He may not have been as fast as Osiris, but he still managed to pace easily behind the younger female, his legs carrying him over underbrush and around foliage with a practiced edge, being sure to both project his position and still maintain the friendly, distant memories.

He could appreciate Osiris ordering her to calm down, appreciate the seamless way he projected the both of their appearances into her mind. The dark, mottled gray of his coat was a good deal less striking than the silver of Osiris, the black markings faintly reminiscent of one an actual wolf might take. He wasn’t envious, he was actually quite proud of his coat- after so long he’d come to like the way his wolf represented him, come to enjoy the subtle differences that each person carried over into their wolf. He could feel her brain turning over the information as it was processed, somewhat proud that the sight of them hadn’t induced another wave of panic, sent her careening even further into the forest. Not that he would be able to blame her if she had, from what he’d managed to glean so far off of her transformation it seemed… well, like he wouldn’t blame her. His paws left the earth momentarily, bringing his body stretching up and over the fallen trunk before landing once more into a streamlined sprint. The memory in his head caught him slightly off guard, the sight of Victoria glaring up at him in mock anger sending a thread of amusement even now rolling through his chest. She was pretty, the hue tinting her cheekbones highlighting the dusting of freckles just beneath the surface of her skin. He’d recognized that then, the unfamiliar emotion unfurling within him bringing an abrupt end to his thought process in much the same manner it was doing in this moment, a wall slamming down upon it- forcing it back. Not that he could even identify what it was. He shook his head briskly; turning around another invisible bend in the line he was skirting and racing just a bit further forward, head close to the leaves littering the forest floor as if in order to confirm that they were indeed on the right track, not that he was the one leading this expedition or anything... He sent the image he had now of the clearing to him in confirmation, relaxing back into the lengthening of muscles as he ran. There was no guarantee she’d actually stop at the clearing, even if it did seem to be her destination of choice… but it didn’t hurt to aim for it. He enjoyed running, enjoyed the freedom that seemingly coursed through his paws and into his being with the act. Running with the conflicted thoughts of someone new thrumming through his conscious wasn’t anything near freeing though, it felt forced- even with the track he had going of his friends through his head on some looped kind of playback. “Victoria.” A playback she seemed to have finally noticed. Her name brought him back into her thoughts; following the line of memories she was drawing her conclusions from. “He’s friends with Tobias?” Why was him being friends with Tobias something that caused speculation though?

Almost as soon as he’d felt the question he gained further insight into her own memory, watching her reply meeting his friend, watching as he helped her in much the same way he’d helped Marcus. With the same kind of scientific indifference that made it all the more bearable to allow someone to probe into that part of yourself, his curiosity weighing heavily upon the condition that it seemed he had a penchant for running across... Where he might have felt a fleeting sort of surprise it was short lived, this was Tobes after all, instead replaced with a wondering sort of amusement that seemed to color most interactions with his friend. Of course he’d gone and found the only other werewolf inside of Hogwarts and befriended them, picked upon the signs that everyone else- including Marcus- had been too distracted to notice. ”You’re the other wolf?” The sight of her turning as if to ascertain that it was indeed true, coupled with the memory of Tobias talking about another wolf who he couldn’t out… it was enough to make him laugh. “Aye, yer not thinkin’ ta yerself.” He made sure to send her a few other random images of Tobias and himself, their odd friendship may not have made sense to her, but it wouldn’t be difficult to ascertain the familial way that he viewed the other boy. “An’ fer the record yer not an’ idjit.” He’d missed her as well after all, and he with more years on her. Thinking in complete sentences seemed somewhat strange when coupled with the sharing of memory and images, but he found it a different kind of normal, and hoping to keep her steadily progressing towards normality he continued, showing her his own surprise at realizing that she’d been in the castle this whole time without him being aware. “’S fair ta say we’ve both been a migh’ occupied with other things.” A mental shrug followed the declaration, his eyes turning to the larger wolf off to his side.



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[Osiris Moswen]

Osiris had almost forgotten what it had been like, helping one who was so new. Since Osiris had been around so long he was used to all of the perks that came with being what he was. The influx of raw, crazed emotions spilling about in her head was almost too much from the onslaught. Those that he had allowed his ind to be shared with, were contained, experienced, knew how to speak with their thoughts and control what was being said. Of course, he should have known that Amina wouldn't be anywhere near ready for such control. Even more because he had been too careless as to forget to mention it to her. How had it not come up? He knew that his mind wasn't influencing hers, but the rapidity with which her mind was running, was almost blinding. He could see exactly where she was, the panting in her chest blocking out some of the noises that she should have been paying better attention to. Pain, pain was everywhere, flooding his brain from the link with her own and making him stumble a little. Not that his running was slowed, but he wasn't as fast in his turns as he ought to be. Her mind was so raw, her emotions so very vivid. Marcus had been similar, the first time that he had changed, but Marcus had never been this wild. Even though Osiris knew it was Amina, in control or her wolf as he hadn't seen before, but the control made her distracted. It would be a greater problem down the road for her, if she couldn't learn to be her wolf's companion. They shared one body after all. They needed to get along, as well as possible. His own, he couldn't tell apart from himself. They lived in synchronicity, perfectly melded. From years and years of trial and error. They were the same. He had nothing to contain. Perhaps it was because he had been born this way, never knew of anything different, never knew what it was like to be without his other half. Perhaps that made it easier.

He was gaining on her. He knew it, he knew that Marcus would be just where he had been commanded to go. So strange, working like this with children, little more than infants. Perhaps, he wondered, he would seem an infant to a lot of others that he had run with who appeared so closely to his age, despite having fifty years on him. Osiris was forced to relive that night he had found her in the woods, this time in bright color and muted smells. The back story was coming to light, how she had come to be that far out in the first place. The social politics of the school made no sense to him, but he could feel the input from Marcus, matching names to faces. Osiris carefully attempted to block her out, he could feel the weight that the memories held, but didn't wish to be forced to empathize with them. He needed control, he was alpha to them. He could feel her wolf obeying his. Recognizing what the command was, that it needed to wait, stop attempting to force itself out. It was after all, just as young and restless as Amina was. He could feel Marcus now, testing the waters of Amina's thoughts, acquainting himself with them. Osiris, managed to keep above, he didn't need the proverbial sniff and greet ,he was the Alpha, and they didn't need to know his mind. He just had to wait, to guide the two of them. At least he didn't have to worry about the obvious dangers of having a male and a female of the same age in a pack. They hadn't even broached the subject yet, for which he was thankful. He really didn't have to have anything to do with that. Even less with the thought process behind it. He would just guide them, make them stay in the forest. A time or two before he had allowed Marcus to run across country boarders, but Amina was nowhere near ready enough for that yet. So here was best, staying off to the side but just slightly ahead, so he could turn their group in any direction that was needed, if the time came.

It would be far easier to keep hold of her this way, he had authority, he could command her to do as he pleased if needed. He had just wanted to keep her from seeing his shifted form until he felt she was more ready, he had been able to keep up with her until now. She was young, and certainly she was fast. He hadn't run this quickly with a purpose in a very long time. It felt good, to sprint. On his usual transformations he never had a destination, never had a time line with which he needed to get anything done. He allowed himself to change into this form on a very regular basis, full moon or not. There was no denying however this this felt good, the freedom that came only from running so quickly under the full moon, a company of minds to blot out the forest under sounds. He let them talk, his mind staying above theirs, not needing to know the process behind getting acquainted as he launched himself off the ground, soaring far higher off the ground that seemed possible. His body moved just far enough along it's trajectory to come out a few lengths ahead of the younger too, allowing his body to open up. If he could really tire her out, she would be more rational. Keep Up He commanded, knowing full well neither of them were large enough to match his top speed, but he took off anyway, the dirt being displaced by his heft so violently that it left small holes in the earth. He was leading them now, and leaving them slightly behind. She needed a good few commands to fully accept him as Alpha.

[Amina Krane]

The flood of images rolling off of Marcus' thoughts, the images that brought her back to the people she knew in the school, showed her a completely different side of Victoria, of Tobias, that she hadn't seen, caused Amina to smile internally. It wasn't very often that you got insight of your own friends through anothers eyes, especially in a method that required no word communication, only thoughts. Though it had been frightening, and it was still extremely so knowing that there was intruders in her head, Amina had to admit that it was somewhat nice not to have to relay thoughts by speaking. This method made it easy to share memories, but did she really want them to be shared? The one's Marcus were showing were harmless, but the one's that had been running through her own head were anything but. He now knew the circumstances in which she had been turned, though did that really matter? He knew of Osiris. That had been the only reason she hid the truth, so that wasn't a big deal. But what if she thought of something more? Of someone whom she had made a promise to and swore she would never admit of their relationship? Shaking her head, she put the thoughts away. It was going to be hard, but she had to refrain from thinking about him. Not only to keep her promise, but to keep away the judgment that would soon follow once Marcus would find out. No doubt he would be like all of the others, telling her she was stupid for even thinking she was in Gavin's league, that she could have ever kept someone like him with her. She wouldn't bear to hear that again, so she shoved it away under lock and key and instead focused on the same people he had. Especially Tobias. He was more relevant in this situation, mostly because Amina was completely aware of Victoria's feelings towards Marcus. She didn't feel like giving away that secret either.

“Aye, yer not thinkin’ ta yerself.” Well that was good to know. Although, it still felt awfully strange to be talking in her own head and have someone else hear her. It looked as if this was going to become a regular occurrence, though, so she was going to have to start getting used to it. Her only hope was that she could keep her secrets to herself, keep them away from Marcus. Then maybe it wouldn't be so bad, maybe she could even enjoy this mind connection. After all, it wasn't like either of the people she was connected to were bad. In fact, even though she had just met Marcus, she was already enjoying his company. Was that the wolf? Maybe because their minds were connected, it meant they were going to have an affinity for one another much easier? Or maybe it was just Amina. She never had a problem making friends. “An’ fer the record yer not an’ idjit.” "Well thanks for that," she thought, smiling to herself. He was right, since of course he hadn't been able to spot her out of the crowd, either. How Tobias was so good at it, she would never know. But at least he had found her. The further they seemed to progress, the more memories of mutual acquaintances that they shared, the slower her heart beat, the more steady she felt. He was helping her calm down even with just the simple thoughts passing back and forth. “’S fair ta say we’ve both been a migh’ occupied with other things.” Understatement of the century. "Agreed." The world flashed in front of her eyes, through both Marcus and Osiris' eyes, Amina seeing tidbits of what they saw, different perspectives of all three of them. Osiris was by far the most striking of them all, with his silver coat. Marcus a close second because despite him not having the flashy silver coat, his grey coat was just as flattering. Then there was her image. The jet black fur, matching that of her normal hair color, was intriguing, but she could not see herself in the same light she could see them. Maybe one day she would be able to admire her wolf form, be able to enjoy how graceful she was despite her much larger, much taller figure. But these days, all she saw was the monster she could be. Why could she see them as the nice, caring people they were, and only see herself as a monster?

As she heaved a sigh, Amina began to wonder what the aim was going to be. She hadn't been paying much attention to where her feet-paws-had been carrying her, but she knew the area well enough. They were instinctively going to the spot where she and- Her thoughts cut off, not allowing herself to remember just what the field meant to her. That would mean she would relive the moments and share a secret. Thankfully, another voice interjected. She could hear him in her head, Osiris, the commanding voice he had given before when he had calmed her down. It was soothing to hear his voice, but it also took some of the edge off. Even just the slight relief his voice gave was enough for Amina to really collect her thoughts, to begin to sort everything in order as her body fell right into line with his command. Keep up. Clear, concise, and a good way to keep her from going mad, because he was fast. Faster than he had been in human form and even then he had been able to keep up with her. Now that the silver wolf was racing ahead of her, Amina realized just how fast he was and she couldn't help but feel a rush as she wanted to keep up, not just purely out of his command for her to do so, but also out of the want to see if she could beat him. Though she was small, she usually could beat most people in a run, especially anyone who wasn't conditioned. The few people who could beat her were those who towered over her in stature, but even then, they usually had to be at top speed to do so. Now that she was a werewolf, no one could keep up if she didn't want them to. Now she finally found someone, two people in fact, who could pose a challenge. It was enough to wipe her mind of all of the nerves, all of the concerns she had and put her focus into her stride length, widening it even in the slightest as she tried to find her niche. He was certainly fast, much faster than she could even dream of being at that moment, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. Maybe she could at least come close to matching Marcus who didn't seem to be having too difficult of a time keeping up with her. That was her goal. Keep up with Marcus. Digging her nails into the ground at each stride, she pushed herself, pushed the wolf inside of her, and let go of everything, finally feeling the freedom that came with allowing the two to become one. She had thought she had been free before, free when it was only her running away from her thoughts. But now with a different mindset, now with her and the wolf working together and nothing else mattering, she knew what real freedom was. It was great.

Words | 1,255
Tag | Osiris, Marcus
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