Moonshadow, Link/V?

[Link Cyrus]

Crouching under the onslaught of animal kind surrounding him, Link stood up, narrowly avoiding exposing more of himself than he wanted to when a young puppy grabbed onto the edge of his shorts with its sharp teeth, tugging them down a little over his hips. Grabbing them and raising his shorts higher, Link looked at his twin, a startling direct look which seemed most out of character for Link.

"She's a werewolf Sky." Link said quietly, his voice somehow carrying over the happier sounds of the animal kingdom's representatives currently clustered around him. "I don't know why she was drawn here, but I think it has something to do with me." He bit his lip gently, looking down at the ground, plainly embarrassed by this thought.

Arching an eyebrow at his older brother, Skylar looked between him and the girl, who looked like she had literally just wandered in off the street, having lived on it for quite some time. "Werewolf huh?" He asked, his nostrils flared slightly in an odd emotion that could be disgust, anger, worry or fear. "You don't bite people, right?"

The nanobots buzzed around the room, occasionally getting trodden on and broken under the pads, paws and bodies of the animals. Instinctively, Skylar's power zapped out, forcing the small machines back together with only the power of his mind. He wasn't sure how aware this girl would be of his little machinations, nor did he overly know anything about magical beings in general, preferring current society and human beings. His interactions with the other young witches of Goulburn were done only grudgingly, his desire to distance himself from the magical world often being undermined by his brother's desire to bond with the other witches. With a sigh, Skylar moved fully into the room.

"What are you doing in Goulburn?" He asked simply, with no hint of accusation in his voice. To anyone else, it sounded like he was starting a friendly conversation, his brother, on the other hand, looked up warily.

[Lupe Randall]

"She's a werewolf Sky..."

As unsavoury as it was to be discussed as if she wasn't there, Lupe felt far more comfortable like that than when the boy directed his questions at her. He looked at her and She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, he was higher status than her, and he knew it.

"Werewolf huh? You don't bite people, right?"

The insult burnt her, like a branding iron on a steer. She would never, ever do to someone what Randy had done to her. She classified changing an unwilling subject into a beast like she was in the same category as rape. Even the hated word and the images it brought to mind was dulled by the anger directed at the male. How dare he suggest such a thing as that of her. She let a small snarl escape her lips.

"Not unless they are a completely deserving insolent fool, who puts a hand in my mouth while I'm eating, no"

The first male she had met she granted slight respect and trust, it was marginal, but there. The other male she was wary of from the start, and his suspicion of her made her even more cautious. If it came to a fight she would win, paws and claws and teeth beat soft flesh any day, but she didn't like the small metallic things swirling through the air which had increased with this new boy's arrival. If the first boy was a witch, what was preventing this other, 'Sky', character from being the same. She inhaled and sneezed the whirring things away from her face.

[Link Cyrus]

"Not unless they are a completely deserving insolent fool, who puts a hand in my mouth while I'm eating, no"

The strength of the anger and vehemence in her voice made Skylar take a wary step back, turning his head to catch his brother's face. Instead of reacting like he thought Link would, Link's face was passive, a completely neutral look that Skylar envied.

"Ok, ok, my bad." Skylar said, raising hands to show he meant no harm. "I've just never encountered a werewolf before, so all I have to go on is horror stories and the occasional idiot at school saying they got bit by a dog and now turned into a savage beast every Tuesday or something."
That would be Terry... Then again, he WAS hairy enough for that to be plausible.

Stepping back into a much more authoritarian position, Skylar folded his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow. "And exactly what brings you to this house? I get the feeling it wasn't for coffee, since neither me or Link drinks it."

Taking advantage of the 'conversation' between Lupe and Skylar, Link closed his eyes. As he did, the animals at his feet calmed, either sitting or lying down, as close to him as was physically possible.
The pent up magic inside of him was still running rampant. The power of the green world could only hold it in for so long. Giving a sigh, Link gave in to the call, throwing off his mental shields and unveiling himself to the animal world, his presense acting much like a sun would to a sunflower. They turned and looked in his direction, either waking from sleep or interrupted in their hunts. To them, it was as if their God were among them once more.

The apartment would survive a huge flood of animals pouring into it. Quickly, but firmly, Link's power trailed through the animals, convincing them everything was fine, and that he would visit as soon as possible. Sated, the animal world resumed its normal actions.Not knowing the effect he would have on Lupe, Link opened wary green eyes slowly.

[Lupe Randall]

"Ok, ok, my bad. I've just never encountered a werewolf before, so all I have to go on is horror stories and the occasional idiot at school saying they got bit by a dog and now turned into a savage beast every Tuesday or something."

Lupe rolled her eyes. Horror movies were very inaccurate. The pack had been like a family, taking care of each other and protecting the members from all but that which came from within. She winced, thinking of Stefan and the pack would only be a detriment to her in this unknown area.

The movies she had seen before her first change all seemed to be loosely based on ferals. The rampant drooling beasts which spurred the rumours and superstitions. There was something different about a feral's mind. They weren't nurtured in their first few weeks of changing, so they had little control over their transformations and most didn't retain memory through their forms.

The boy in the doorway folded his arms and she felt something within her wilt a little like a leaf in summer. He was higher status and although her fractured loyalty was demanding she trust the boy on the floor covered in animals instinct demanded she not offend this male.

"And exactly what brings you to this house? I get the feeling it wasn't for coffee, since neither me or Link drinks it."

She gave a small snort as she remembered coffee. It was not a vital part of her life before the change. In fact she found it bitter and horrible. Still nothing breeds longing like denial and the passed on knowledge that coffee could send a Were insane with a caffeine rush when consumed in either form made certain no pack members indulged.

"Caffeine, bad for dogs, no can do."

Why exactly was she here? She glanced at the boy, Link, surrounded by peaceful animals before returning her gaze to the boy in the doorway. What answer could make sense to one who had never felt the call? Someone who had never had their mind entwined with another’s? She decided to keep it simple.

"He was dreaming about me. I heard him."

Simple enough. She considered elaborating for a moment but the sudden rush of thoughts from Link silenced her. She could feel his pain now. That raw, torn feeling like a bloodied wound. His pain was much more recent than hers and the rush of emotions carried fleeting memories. The ghost of a song sounded in her ears and she felt the sudden disappearance of friends, gone from the internal radar.

She stared at the boy and too late realised the connection was working both ways, that raw images from the incident with Stefan were leaving her to be shared with this male she hardly knew. The pain was exposed. The night's events tingled and she could feel a faint taste of bile rising in her throat. Forcing both sets of memories aside she opened her eyes which had closed unbidden and stared at the male. She could feel the ripple of his thoughts playing across her mind, touching, weaving. Like grass-heads in the wind his thoughts and feelings danced.

Her ears and tail perked up a little and she tested this new connection. It was not like the connection between the pack, thoughts and feelings shared instantly. This was more like trying to read. She knew the letters, their shapes and textures swirling through her mind, but the words wouldn't form in rows. The meaning was lost. The boy felt like an image burnt onto her eyes from looking at a bright light. She glanced away and back, no change.

Stepping away from the group of happy animals she turned her back on the males slowly. She could tell instantly where Link was sitting, still assailed by content animals, but the other boy was nowhere to be found. She swung around swiftly, in case he tried to creep up behind her. Like Stefan. The boy wearing a singlet didn't seem to want to harm her, even though he was male, and she sniffed warily.

The small metallic oddities still swirled and clicked around her, like so many strange mosquitoes. Their noise was amplified in the wolf ears which still adorned her head and when one tiny machine flew too close she swatted at it.

"Quit it"

She snarled slightly at the object, before directing a glare at the darker-haired boy. He was obviously to blame for the nasty little things. Glancing at the two males she appraised them then glanced at the window. In her rush to find this were, or being which called to her, she had ignored the time. The boys were dressed for bed and she had even seen Link get up before his song, yet it hadn't clicked. These were humans, living inside, probably with adult humans.

Her caution on her way to the apartment would have all been for nothing if it meant a parent would storm in and find her. Authority was bad. Pounds were terrifying and police were just as awful. She shuddered slightly and with great effort retracted her ears and the tail which stretched the skirt of the dress out behind her. Better to at least look human.

"Are there others?"

Weeks of silence and sneaking made her whisper almost inaudible and she glanced at the window. It would take her approximately seven seconds to barrel out and down the fire escape if she estimated correctly. She could always come back at another stage. Although this silent time between night and dawn was probably best.

[Link Cyrus]

Green eyes met brown as Link and Lupe's eyes met. For a moment, Link was in Lupe's mind while she was in his, their memories, feelings and thoughts mixing like water sinking into a patch of earth.
But it was the power of the earth itself which called him out of it, preventing him from losing himself in the pack call. It ran rampant in his blood, boiling it and urging him to join in its call. Wrenching himself out of it reluctantly, Link looked to his alph- er, his younger brother.

"Quit it"

Link looked back at Lupe, cocking his head to the side. When she swatted, he realised Link's nanobots must be around. How she noticed something the size of a cell, he didn't know, but anything was possible...
Lupe suddenly stiffened up, her look changing from wary to warier...

"Are there others?"

Skylar arched an eyebrow. "More than me and Link? Or the-.' He swatted his hand like she had, indicating the robots. "Link and I live alone, while I have as many more nanobots as I want, and then some." To prove his point, he called the multiple nanobots from around the house, until, even despite the minuscule size, a small cloud of them were perceptible. To add to that, larger machines zipped out of the two mouse holes in the room, sparking and zapping. Another twitch of his eyebrow, and they had disappearedm returned to their original places.

[Lupe Randall]

Link looked questioningly at her and she felt compelled to reply.

"Noisy... In my ear."

It probably didn't make much sense, but when she could hear a rabbit scuffling underground from a sixteen kilometres away on a quiet day, or put an ear to a track and hear a train half an hour before it arrived, the tiny metal machines clicking whirring and making general nuisances of themselves directly next to her ear drums was noticeable to say the least.

"More than me and Link?"

She gave a tiny nod then stiffened as the alpha-boy swatted the air, she felt herself cower a little at his seeming mockery.

"More people..."

His reply was double edged, almost a threat that, in lieu of parental figures they would be protected by the swirling masses of tiny machines. Larger robots wizzed out from holes in the skirting of the wall. Her instinct told her to pounce, but her logic reminded her that not only had she eaten enough to last her through to the next morning, but that plastic and metal are not edible. Clenching her hands into fists she ignored the machines as they darted back into the holes with what sounded like a mocking whizz. Stupid technology. She raised her eyes to the boy in the doorway and seeing no threat, or at least not an obvious one beside the gender, she decided to go out on a limb. It wouldn't be the first out of character move for her that night and she doubted it would be the last.

"Where are your parents?"

There was nothing wrong, really, with two teenagers sharing a house. In fact it was probably way more legal than a bunch of teenagers roughing it in the bush and living off scraps or wild animals. Living like wild animals for that matter. Even still the tinge of suspicion which hung around males in general twitched in her mind. Not all males were evil, somewhere deep inside she knew it, the only problem was convincing the rest of her of that fact.

[Link Cyrus]

"More people..."

Skylar kept his face carefully blank as he answer the question. "Link and I are emancipated, we're legally classified as adults by the government. We live here with each other, we're twins." He shared a small smile with Link, whi gave one back. The two were often surprising people when they announced they were brothers, let alone twins. The two were as different from eahc other as day was to night. "Of course, I might ask you the same thing. Where's your family?" He frowned. "Or is it pack?"

"Where are your parents?"

Skylar visibly winced, while Link looked down. He should have known his questions would get one in return. "They're..." He faltered, unsure of what to say without upsetting his brother.

"They died, about ten years ago." The whispered reply came from Link, not Skylar. Skylar frowned at Link, this particular piece of information hadn't been shared with their friends, let alone a random stranger.
His eyes set on Lupe, Link smiled sadly. "We have other family, but they're far away, or don't want to look after us. We've got each other though, so it's ok."

The plants rustled as they moved slightly, while several of the animals barked, meowed or made other noises. You're our pack. Answered one of the mother dogs in the room, while her two pups yipped in agreement. A tomcat chose to answer by purring as hard as he could while winding around Link's ankle.

And you're a part of the Green World. The plants spoke / felt to Link. He was never sure what to classify their communication with. And you always will be.

Link smiled, more serenly this time. "And we've got a bigger family, just not related." He told himself, and the beings around him. "Matt, Merldot, "Skylar grunted in disbelief." and a few other friends. They're our family, one we made ourselves."

[Lupe Randall]

"Of course, I might ask you the same thing. Where's your family? Or is it pack?"

She ground her teeth together, fists clenched and the urge to snarl tickled in her throat. She would not say a word. After Link's whispered explanation she felt slightly sorry. She hadn't intended to hurt, only figure out what normal, or semi-normal teens did about parental figures. The animals and plants also seemed to reassure the boy that he was needed, loved.

The impulse to curl. Not felt since before she had left the pack. The pack, she must not think about the pack. This unfamiliar urge to cluster was one for when the cold night air turned the grass to shimmering crystals, a pile of fur and paws insulated against the chill and slow rotation meant each pack member spent an equal time with their tail into the wind. He was not her pack. She had no pack.

She wanted a pack. Not her old pack, loveable as they were, things could never return to the way they had been. Not ever. But the urge to submit, obey, answer to someone higher ranking was ingrained in her now. Just as she rebelled against it from Stefan, in absence of him she sought it out.

"They're our family, one we made ourselves."

Lupe looked at the boy sadly. After so many years of chopping and changing foster families, the pack had been a nice change. Solid. Dependable. Loving. Too loving in the case of Stefan, or was it not loving enough, only needing? The thoughts of the pack began to flow through her mind like water slipping through clenched fingers.

"No family. My pack..."

She shook her head, her fists again turning to clenched balls of pain and fury. Sharp teeth found lips and blood was drawn. Blood made things better at times. Times like this.

"Things didn't turn out so great."

The bitter statement followed by the bitter snarl, repressed at first but freed now. Not so great. Understatement of the century. It was like saying a high-rise building was 'a bit on the tall side' or a microscopic amoeba 'little'. Lips broken, but not enough she raised her hand to her mouth and touched the back of her hand to her mouth. Sharp pointed teeth found skin. There were veins here, but she knew how to avoid them, the rush and flow of blood within, loud in her sensitive ears. More pain, physical pain. It made the memories just that little easier to bear and she felt her shoulders relax a little.

[Link Cyrus]

Link gave a squeak of protect as Lupe raised her hand to her mouth, tearing into the soft flesh which, until recently, had been marred and scarred. Getting to his feet slowly, he walked to Lupe, his arms raised up to show he was not willing to fight, nor to go on the attack. If he had been a canine, his ears would have been down, tail tucked firmly between his legs.
Her palm dripped blood onto the floor, where it was quickly absorbed by some sort of plant remnant which still hadn't returned to its pot. The call of the wild, particularly the pack, still wove its way through Link's veins, making him burn to let loose and join the animals teaming around the room. Very slowly, he reached out and grabbed Lupe's hand, bringing it up to his face. Taking a careful sniff, though his human nose was no replacement to the fine sense of a wolf, or even a dog, he whined a little in his throat, his tongue flicking out to lick at the wound. Power snaked out to wrap around the wrist. As his tongue went over the wound, it sealed, leaving clean flesh in its wake.

"Link!"

Link shot up, tugging the arm up as he straightened up, called back to his human sense with his brother's shout. Losing his balance, he fell back, release Lupe's wrist and falling onto the wooden floorboards. Feel his surge of fright, the animals in the room turned as one to Skylar, growling, hissing or other warning noises. A particularly enthusiastic frog leapt from its perch among a shelf of bonsai trees to land splayed on Skylar's head. Giving a yell of his own, Skylar shoved himself out of the room, falling to the ground like his twin. Their vision obscured by the wall, they heard the incredibly loud croak of a frog who was pleased with itself.

[Lupe Randall]

Her teeth unclenched and she let her hand drop to her side. She could feel the drips of blood trickling across her skin, and taste it on her teeth. Link approached her slowly and she let her lips fall across her bloodstained incisors. He was no threat to her. He was like pack.

She winced and bared her teeth as he reached out a hand to her wound, but did not draw away. His skin touched hers, and again she could hear him like a rustling field of wheat. Her muscles clenched as he drew her hand towards his lips. A small whimper reassured her. All was well, he would not hurt her.

A flash of pink wetness against her skin and the tingling began again, like blood returning to a limb after sitting on it for too long. Her head bent over her arm, leaning closer. There was no pain, and from what she could see, no wound either. He smelled like wet dirt. Tears and the warm scent of disturbed sleep lingered around him.

Closer and closer she drew until her eyes were level with his. She could see the hunger to be free, the longing that came with touching something undomesticated and tasting the unleashed power of the wild. It was the same look the younger members of the pack got every full moon, when the urge to change and run reckless and free beckoned. She could feel it. It was impossible to tell if he was feeling it through her, or her through him. Her body shook and her eyes latched to the skin across his shoulders and torso. It would be easy to change him. To turn him into her pack. They had made their own family. Why shouldn't she?

"Link!"

As his head shot up she jerked back to avoid crashing heads. The resolution to not even contemplate turning him was set in her mind, all that remained was to convince her body. As the younger boy fell away she felt her wolf ears twitch and her tail lash in an attempt to right herself. The snarls and other noises of disapproval mirrored her own anger at the loud twin, but the power of gravity could not be stopped. She flung out her arms in an effort to break her fall and a third thump sounded on the floor of the apartment.

She had slept in the pile and thought nothing of the fur and flesh and semi naked bodies. This was different, this was weird. She shoved herself away from the boy before anything weirder happened and crouched beside him.

A tentative finger. A gentle prod. Her first attempt at touching another being not for food since she had left the pack. The urge to bite had receded and was replaced by concern.

"You alright?"

[Link Cyrus]

Rubbing his abused body parts, Link looked up as he was poked, his muscles twitching around the area he was poked. He jumped away a little, before relaxing.

"You alright?

Link shrugged, used to bumps and bruises. "Yes, thank you." Looking over at his brother, Link's brow narrowed into a rare frown. "Are you ok Skylar?"

Hearing his brother grumble as he sat up, Link covered his mouth to hide a laugh and a smile as the large bullfrog remained splayed out on top of Skylar's brown hair.
The frog, realising the new, heightened elevation, let out a deafening croak again, collecting itself and leaping from Skylar's head to Link's outstretched hands.

Glarning at his brother, Skylar narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell would you taste her blood? You've not heard of HIV ir AIDs or whatever?" He demanded. "No offense." He added, throwing a look to Lupe. "I just don't want to encourage him to be tasting ANY blood willingly."

"You know I'm immune to those diseases." Link replied coolly. "I'm sorry, the magic took over."

"No excuse." Skylar retorted.

Link sighed. "I'm sorry." He murmured. He gently stroked a husky pup who was scratching at his leg for attention. Looking up at Lupe, Link quirked his mouth. "Where are you staying? Your pack won't enter this place unless called."

[Lupe Randall]

Muscles under his skin flickered, like the skin of a horse she had slept next to one freezing night, when even her fur seemed useless against the wind, and common sense demanded that when the opportunity presented itself in the form of a horse shed she take it. He was jumpier than the horse though. It slept peacefully even as she curled up next to it to share the warmth that smelled of grass and dust. Link was nervier than anyone or anything she could remember seeing, except perhaps herself on a bad day.

He was not hurt. Not seriously, just the pain that comes with falling on a hard surface. She crinkled her nose in pity, he would probably not be able to sit without discomfort for days.

“Are you ok Skylar?”

The other, singlet-clad brother grouched and Lupe heard himself push up off the floor. Link’s eyes widened and a palm clapped to his mouth as if to hold something back from escaping. She glanced at the other boy as the amphibian declared its superiority, perched happily on the dark hair. She blinked and let an amused smirk colour her face. Frogs were not her favourite food, too slimy and difficult to catch, but they would do in a pinch, as would most things. Instinct to snatch the morsel from the air was withheld, restrained, subdued. She tossed her head and refused to think about food.

"Why the hell would you taste her blood? You've not heard of HIV ir AIDs or whatever?"

Not to mention the extra chromosomes. Humans had 23 pairs of chromosomes, wolves 39. Lupe was fairly sure she varied between the two, with more than 23 in her human form, but less than 39 in her wolf. She was a filthy half-breed, fitting perfectly nowhere. She didn’t know if it was transferable by blood. She stiffened slightly. Come to think of it she wasn’t sure if the werewolf-ism on the whole was transmitted through contact with body fluids. She had been mauled, her leg torn into by Randy mere weeks after his first change, that was a mix of saliva and blood. She shuddered slightly and nodded to Skylars remark about offence. Offence was the least thing she would be taking if she accidentally turned his brother.

"Where are you staying? Your pack won't enter this place unless called."

She twitched at the mention of her pack. Although it was a relief to know they should not appear out of the blue. The fact that they had followed her, she didn’t know how far for, or for how long, still gave her nightmares at night (and in the day) and the chilling sound of Stefan howling haunted her dreams. She glanced out the window. She could feel the open area of the graveyard in her sixth sense and she pointed to it cautiously.

“There is a grave. His name was William. He doesn’t mind to share.”

Whoever said a teenage werewolf couldn’t be a little creepy now and then.