Moonshadow, Link/V?

[Lupe Randall]

Lupe ran, her paws hitting the ground in a rhythmic flowing motion, she could smell the town ahead, and she inwardly vowed that it would be tonight's resting spot. She would have preferred not to sleep too close to humans, but the thought of the pack hunting her down somewhere there was no protection, however small, was terrifying. She ran her tongue over her lip, the little puckered scars still tasted like blood from when she had bit down last time she thought of the pack.

Coming to the edge of the area she looked at the large town. Street lights glittered softly, and a dog somewhere barked. She inhaled deeply 'Rubbish, people, jail-ew strong jail- dogs, cats, rats...' all the normal smells for a town, with slightly stronger animal smells, definitely stronger jail smell, and some strange smells that she just couldn't place, something like sulfur and others, which floated teasingly at the edge of her senses.

She padded silently forward and cocked her head to one side, she couldn't feel the presence of other weres nearby, but that could be due to the fact she was no longer in a pack.

The pack had all shared their feelings, thoughts and senses through the bond, the bond which made them obey Stefan, but since she had left, she had to work seven times as hard to look out for ferals or other dangers. Giving a minute shake of her head she continued to walk softly towards a dark patch in the area.

It seemed slightly cliché, but graveyards was where she felt most safe. The humans who went there were often too sad to pay any mind to a girl with red hair, and less likely to notice a large dog-like creature padding between the headstones. 'But I seriously doubt anyone is visiting at this hour...' she glanced at the moon, it was late, very late, or perhaps it was very early, she couldn't decide.

Walking from headstone to headstone she found a simple but unique headstone, which she decided to adopt, the grass around it was mown, but no footsteps littered the ground around it, and no flowers rested against the name and dates. She looked at the letters and frowned, dyslexia was easy to get used to, but it never ceased to infuriate her. Glancing around she shuddered as she changed form into the slender red-haired girl she was before the attack and her transformation. The half moon silhouetted her naked from as she unclipped the thick leather collar and slipped the thin dress from its hiding place and over her head. Leaning across she touched the indented words and mouthed the letters to herself W-I-L-L-I-A-M, M-C-B-R-I-D-E. She glanced at the simple stone and frowned, the first three letters made sense in her head, and she could make a guess to the rest, but it was easier to remember just the first part of his name.

"Hello Will, mind if I share for a bit?"

Receiving no answer, not that she expected one, she stretched out across the grass over the grave and shut her eyes. She would wake before dawn, and find something to eat, before continuing on her way. She doubted that the pack would have followed her all the way from Bathurst, but there was a slight chance, so it was better to keep moving. Thoughts of the pack now filled her head, even though she fought against them, flashes of the night the incident had happened and the haunting sound of Stefan howling in a desperate attempt to coax her to return.

Lifting her arm to her mouth she touched the skin with her teeth, she didn’t want to feel the terror, or the hurt, that came from thinking about the pack or what had happened, and the only way she had found to distract herself was to hurt physically, her sharp teeth punctured the skin on her arm, and the metallic taste and smell of blood clouded her senses, distracting her, as she knew it would, from the hurt inside.

She lay her head back down and began making a story for Will in her head, he had been a courageous soldier, who returned from war to live with his sweetheart on a farm nearby. It was a pleasant story, nothing to do with rape or broken promises or loyalties which made no sense. And before long sleep took her and she breathed evenly, with only the occasional slight twitch or whimper as she dreamed...

[Link Cyrus]

The unspoken call of the hunt filled Link's dreams. Images flashed through his mind as he slept alone in his bed. Small animals fled before him, the wilderness consumed him. The call of the wild was too strong, and too compressing. With an anguished whine, he threw back his shaggy head and howled.
Bolting upright into bed, his naked chest heaving, Link looked around, ignoring the dampness of his sheets. He had been sweating, a rarity for a cool spring night. A grape vine had made its way in from the living room to twine itself around his body, that's what the squeezing pressure of the dream had been. Lying back down carefully, he turned away from the window, avoiding the pleading looks of the many animals that were clustered there. THey didn't know why he hid himself from them, why his presense in their minds, always connecting, offering them love and support, had been reduced in size from an elephant to a tiny caterpillar.

But he knew, and so did the plants. The deaths he had inflicted by attacking Daso were too many for him to forigve. Throwing his blanket over his head, he attempted to ignore the numerous meows, whistles and chirps that clamoured for his attention.
But the instance he fell asleep, it happened again. His magical powers, surpressed during waking hours, flooded out during the sleep ones, touching each and every animal for a distance beyond what Link could usually manage. It reassured the animals of Goulburn, promising eventual comfort, but giving none for the time being. With a sudden snap, his powers focused onto one spot, a graveyard, where a small arrival to Goulburn was sleeping. Feeling her emotional pain, Link's subconscious mind prodded and probed, gently, but growing harder and harder in their pursuit. At last, it gave one final jab, powerful enough to connect Link and the girl for a brief moment, waking Link from his fretful slumber. As he bolted upright again, his eyes focused on something beyond his walls, beyond the animals, beyond the trees and other buildings. They focused on a pitfall of loneliness and despair, almost equal to his own.

[Lupe Randall]

Lupe woke with a cross between a yelp and a scream, the familiar feeling of sharing thoughts and feelings was strong in her head, and terror that the pack had found her, caught up with her and connected with her mind made her leap to her feet, legs ready to flee, ready to make the change and run on four legs as far and fast as possible.

But the voice was not one of the pack, the feelings unfamiliar, different to the voices and feelings she knew so well, so her legs, tensed for flight relaxed slightly. 'A feral? or another pack? or another loner like me?' curiosity and a slight glimmer of fear-riddled hope tingled in her veins and she sniffed the air cautiously. She felt for the feelings, and the voice, with her mind but the presence in her head was gone.

An echo of the gentle, guilty thoughts seemed to buzz in the air around her and she stood and faced the direction it was coming from. Pulling the thin black dress over her head and carefully placing it back in the collar she crouched and let her canine form take over. Giving a minute shake she set off in the direction the feelings, or remnants of the feelings were coming from.

The town was relatively large, and streetlights lit the pathways brightly, so Lupe flitted carefully from shadow to shadow. Humans were relatively foolish she had discovered since she had left that life, and most didn’t see what they didn’t want to see, but even still it would be bad to be recognised for the mythical creature she was, and being a farming town it was possible some houses had guns.

Following the feeling cautiously she expected to come to another graveyard, or a dump, somewhere that a lone Were could be without drawing too much attention, but all of her senses disagreed, there was no dump ahead, and no graveyard that she could sense.

The feeling was real though, and gradually getting stronger as she crept through the hushed town. She was getting close, she could tell, and her nose tingled at the smell of small animals. Stopping across the road from a block of apartments she frowned. There was a cluster of assorted animals around one window, and the grass seemed to lean towards it, almost fondling the wall. Raising one slightly darker patch of fur, which took the place of her eyebrow, she tilted her head and took a step forward. The feelings and voice was fairly strong, but it wasn't saying anything in particular, more like a promise of words to come.

Flitting to an especially dark patch of shadow she inhaled deeply and listened, she could neither hear nor smell humans nearby so with one final glance she shuddered and changed to her slender human form. Pulling the dress out of the collar and over her head roughly she cursed as there was a ripping sound, the tear was minor however so she shrugged it off. Repair work would come later.

Walking silently towards the window she sighed as the animals shied away from her, recognising her instinctively for the predator she was. She tilted her head slightly, she couldn’t see what the animals wanted from the window, she could see the vague outline of a bed, but nothing that would appeal to animals, unless they too could feel what she was feeling, the need to be comforted, and the desperate resolution not to hurt anyone else, she whined sadly, for the hurt the boy inside was feeling, and for the pain inside herself

[Link Cyrus]

He was falling again, into the darkness of his dreams. Screwing his eyes shut, Link willed himself to wake up, and not fall into the abyss that was his subconscious. Feelings and thoughts assaulted him. The grip of power around his neck, overloading his brain and making him sink into blissful blackness, only for the emotions of terror and pain to replace it. The urge to succumb to the will of the alpha. Curling up, Link cringed, throwing up walls of magic to protect himself from the presence.
With a jolt, Link came to life. Staring at his ceiling, he sighed, covering his eyes with his hand, feeling the sweat on his brow. Wiping it off, he sat up, making sure not to focus on the window. The sweat was covering his body, giving him a chill as the cool air struck his bare skin. Shivering, he moved the cotton blanket to the side, getting up and heading into the lounge room. The plants felt his entrance, shivering with joy as he passed by. Reaching the small alcove that was the kitchen, Link got himself a glass of water, looking into the darkness.

"In the still of the night." He began mournfully, his light voice breaking the silence of the small apartment. "I can almost feel you lying next to me. That's how it should be."

Putting down his cup with a sigh, he returned to his room, looking at the window. The animals who had gathered there were gone, finally given up in Link's mind. "And it's hard to let go, when there's always something there reminding me of how things should be." With a shaking inhale, he looked at his bares toes, scrunched against the wooden floor. "I've tried to get you off of my mind, I tried to ignore my part. But everytime I close my eyes, you're all still inside my heart."

Link's voice soared out. In an overly dramatic effect, his window slid upwards, letting the window blow past the teenage boy, tugging on his boxer shorts and ruffling his hair. "Why can't I laugh, why must I cry, everytime you catch my eye? Why does it rain here in my heart, every day that we're apart? Why can't it be, just you and me, what will it take to make you see, these are the words, to my heartbreak lullaby." Link's voice dulled as his throat threatened to close up. His eyes burned with unshed tears for the lives his stupidity had cost. Falling to his knees, his arms hanging uselessly by his side, he made the picture of a broken heart.

"Like the stars in the sky, you still keep on shining your light down on me, but out of reach." He whispered, ignoring the calls of the animals around the neighbourhood. "And I want to, in time, come back to my senses, and see the signs, but I just can't change my mind." Looking up at the sky, he slowly got to his feet, the window sliding slowly closed again. Turning his back on the promises the window gave him, he left his room, the nest of animals claiming sanctuary and hope. "I try to look the other way and keep my heart on hold. But every time I'm close to you, my heart tries to take control."

Looking at the plants that gave him solace, he gently stroked one of the enquiring tendrils that reached out for him."Why can't I laugh? Why must I cry every time you catch my eye? Why does it rain here in my heart every day that we're apart? Why can't it be, just you and me, what will it take for you to see, these are the words to my heartbreak lullaby." As water splashed on the ground, Link's heart released his rain. Tears of shame, sadness and pain streamed down his cheeks to fall bitterly to the ground. Trailing off, relinquishing his hold on the plant, he whispered, "This is my heartbreak lullaby."

Turning around, he froze as he saw a silhouette on the other side of his window. The final stirrings of his song died, fading into the silence of the apartment. As Link stared at the figure, his power dashed forward, released temporairly by the song to wrap around the figure like a comforting blanket, exuding feelings of love and safety, the emotions Link himself was trying hard to bury. Whoever this person was, they had the power of the wild within them, the call of the hunt. As Link's magic touched the lifeforce of the creature, it hummed against his power, sounding like the bay of a hound who had caught the scent of bloody, the loyalty and pride of the pack and the severe loneliness that one who touched both worlds, but belonged to none, could exude.
Bright blue eyes focused intently on the girl on the other side of the window. She was like him, but yet, she wasn't.

She was a werewolf.

[Lupe Randall]

Seeing a figure stirring in the bed Lupe took a step closer to the window, and in responce the animals backed off a little further. She had eaten already that day several times, but needing almost four times the energy of a regular teenage girl meant she was almost always on the look out for a quick meal. As if they knew this the animals began to drift further away, first the rabbits and birds, followed gracefully by the cats and after a few moments the dogs.

Giving a small sniff she shook off the feeling of rejection and continued to watch the sleeping form, the boy tossed and turned and struggled, the voice which she had heard clearly in her head was muffled and made no sence. He was giving off feelings of submission and fear, and she felt a twinge of pity for him, being trapped in a nightmare was an awful sensation, almost as awful as being trapped under a giant paw. She halfheartedly watched him leave the room, and as the distraction he had provided faded memories of the giant paw which had pinned her down began replaying in her mind.

With a groan of frustration mixed with pain she lifted her arm to her mouth. Running her tounge over the bites from earlier in the evening she shifted her lips further up her arm to where the skin was clear, covered in tiny puckered scars, but no open wounds. Biting down her vision cleared as the pain brought her back to the present. Her sensitive ears caught the sound of a running tap, then singing. She stepped closer to the window and frowned slightly as she listened to the words. This boy was sad, very sad, and she felt sympathy for his pain, pain was a regular part of every day for her, but she would never wish it on someone else.

She drew back as he glanced at the window then forward again as he continued to sing as if he hadn't noticed her. She crept closer as he walked out of the room again after the windows had seemingly opened themselves and watched as the boy stroked a plant which seemed to have a mind of its own. She took one final step forward and watched as the boy finished his song and turned around. Her eyes met his and she felt the connection again, she probed tentativly before the link between them was severed, but she couldnt feel anything which suggested he was a werewolf.

Deciding to make the second out of character choice for the night she tapped gently on the glass with one finger and waited for the boy to make the next move, if he seemed friendly then perhaps she would stay, if not, well she had nothing to lose from running again except the friendship of a dead soldier and a safe graveyard.

[Link Cyrus]

Walking slowly up to the window, his green eyes wide in the pale glow of the street light, Link looked at the figure on the other side of the window. Nothing she did, form her stance to her general feeling in his magic suggested she was a danger, but that meant nothing, Link had experienced shielded magical creatures before.
His magic didn't agree though. Seemingly tired of Link's withdrawal from animals, for all that it had only been a day, it co-operated with the plant side of his power, and the wood in the window responded. The window slid up,allowing the girl entrance.

Shrinking back slightly, Link opened his mouth, letting out a frightened squeak. Clearing his throat and attempting to find his voice, he suddenly felt self conscious. At school, he wore long pants and long-sleeved undershirts when he could get away with it, generally only showing the skin on his hands and face to everyone, but here he was, clad in only boxer shorts in front of a girl who wanted to enter his room in the middle of the night. Feeling the blood rush to his face, he crossed his arms across his chest, his frame being on the athletic side of slim, slight muscles were required to handle animals sometimes, even with magic.

The plants in the room, unused to a magical creature being around turned in the shadows to face her. The scent that came off of her, one that was a mix of blood, dirt and sweat swept through the room and into Link's sensitive nose. Inhaling deeply, Link frowned. There was a slight scent of fear too, a bitter smell mixed with the other scents the girl gave of. This was someone who was fleeing, or in danger.
With a sigh, Link slumped.

"Are you ok?" He whispered into the silent room, not focusing on the girl, but rather at the plants next to the window.

[Lupe Randall]

Swiftly withdrawing her finger as the boy inside walked towards the window, Lupe swallowed nervously, this could be a huge mistake, a trap or an ambush, or another male trying to take advantage of her. Millions of reasons why she should turn tail and run, literally, clamoured for her attention as the window rose again, seemingy of its own accord.

Stepping closer to the open window and taking a deep breath through her nose she analysed the small room. The smell of plants and sleep was thick in the room, as well as the salty smell of sweat on the teenage boy. Sweat was always present on humans. Even straight after a shower their skin still gave off the slightly metallic scent. Gritting her teeth and bracing herself for an attack, from any direction, she stepped into the room and faced the male before her.

She ran her eyes up and down his body once, he did not seem to have the right kind of muscles for a werewolf, and his skin did not have the deep colour which came from being in the sun like the weres from her pack, niether was it freckled like the red haired boy from a previous school. As the boy folded his arms protectivly across his chest she glanced away, assuming that he wasn't as used to being semi-clad as the previous boys she had lived with.

Searching for a distraction to take her mind off the pack she looked at the plants in the room. Strangly, they seemed to be looking back at her, and she regarded them suspiciously. Taking a tiny step backwards she frowned as the plants followed her, like a sunflower to the morning light. She looked back to the boy as he inhaled, before speaking.

"Are you ok?"

Simple words, she knew, and they should have equally a simple answer, honesty however, wouldn't settle for the simple option. Opening her mouth to speak she cleared her throat nervously, people made her very uncomfortable, and it was a delicate question.

"That depends on how you define 'ok'. But even then, the answer is probably 'no'"

Shrugging slightly she touched the leaf of the nearest plant gently. She looked at the boy and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What are you?"

Ah yes, blunt, simple, straight to the point. She had no time to waste if this was merely some kind of sick joke and she regarded the boy nervously, glancing behind her to make sure her route of escape, namely, the window, was still accessable.

[Link Cyrus]

The power Link held was rolling off of him in waves now, so potent that even he could sense it. In answer, the plants began to crawl around, absorbing as much of his errant energy as they could before it was unleashed into the outside world. Looking around his room with fearful eyes, Link covered his mouth, his eyes wide, sinking to his knees once more. He had thought he had enough control over his magic for this to not happen again. His hands slid up to cover his eyes, and he slowly began to rock back and forth, too caught up in his own predicament to acknowledge the teen wolf in the room.

"Control the magic, control the magic, control the magic." He whimpered as he rocked. Within him, his magic seemed to growl, lashing out. For that instant, the two sides to his magic, animal and plants, split. Surging out of Link, the animal side charged blindly out. As it did, Link felt a sudden surge of what seemed like surprise from that half of his power from finding a lack of animals in the general area. Finding only one target, his magic raced towards her, flickering over her skin. Her injuries, both old and new, began to hum with his magic, as it sought to heal whatever had happened to her. The rest of his power raced past her, aiming for the window when it slammed down. The green side of his power, normally reserved for gentle growth, lashed out in protection of its master, rounding up the animalistic energy that filled the room with an almost visible tendril of magic. Bringing it back to rest within the boy, the green energy strayed towards the numerous plants within the room, lightly tapping into them to recover some of Link's lost energy.

Breathing heaivly, finding his body trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and fear, his skin slick with sweat, Link looked into the comforting darkness made by his hands. He didn't want to face the world, but it seemed the world wanted to face him. Slowly edging his fingers down, until he could barely see the dark silhouette of the girl, he squeaked. Making a second attempt, clearing his throat first, he whispered, "I'm... I'm a witch."

[Lupe Randall]

As the boy's voices, inside and out, continued and the strange feeling like tiny feathers running across her skin began Lupe tenced and watched the male in front of her cautiously. He seemed like less and less of a threat as she watched him, but the deep fear she had inside her, the terror of being caught, trapped by a male made her continually nervous.

The boy sank to his knees and rocked backwards and forwards, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. As the strange sensation of magic touched her she yelped and jumped a few feet back, it felt like rough fur touching her, and reminded her of the pack, where sleeping was done usually in a large pile of fur and paws. Baring her teeth and giving an almost silent growl she bent her knees and elbows slightly, it felt like a rough tongue was cleaning the wounds on her arms and she looked down to the sight of neat scars. No open wounds and no blood. The window slammed shut and she snarled, a deep sound from the middle of her chest. After the initial shock she calmed a little, but remained in the crouched position, it would be easy to spring forwards and knock the boy off balance, and there was sure to be at least one other way out of the small apartment.

Lupe's attention was briefly attracted to the plants, and she glanced at the moving flaura nervously, flsh blood and bone she could fight, tree and leaf, she was not so sure. She looked back at the boy who was panting she watched. There was a lot to be learnt from just watching, and she inhaled his smell slowly. He smelt even more like sweat, sweat and fear and she could see pale grey droplets glistening on his skin. She cocked her head to one side as he squeaked and spoke.

"I'm... I'm a witch."

Lupe blinked, werewolves had been hard enough to come to grips with, but the idea of other fantasy creatures existing was worrysome. With two slow deep breaths she considered the possibilities. 'a. he has a really loose window, and feeds the local animals. b.he is a were. c.he is only human and playing a massive game d. he is what he says...' After ruling out 'a' due to the fact in her entire life, both as human and were she had never seen a bad window slide up before, 'b' because he was not quite were enough to compare with the pack, or any of the ferals she had come into contact with and 'c' because his feelings seemed genuine and the fact that plants seemed to be almost hugging him concreted that he could only be as he said, a witch, she looked him over once more and straightened a tiny bit from her semi-crouch.

"I don't understand..."

She ran one finger over the new scars thoughtfully.

"How? and why?"

With a tiny shudder she shut her mouth. It was time for the male to speak, and for her to listen.

[Link Cyrus]

"How? and why?"

Looking down at his hands, which were trembling, he noted, Link bit his lip. "I'm not sure." He murmured. "I was just born like this. Animals always liked me, I could get things to grow quickly." He stopped, realising what he was saying. Covering his eyes, he groaned.

In answer, the plants moved once more, trailing across the floor, leaving a polite distance around the girl to briefly touch Link, winding around his extended legs and nestling around his waist. Drawing the calmness from the plants, Link looked down, his lower lip slightly extended. He was unhappy, and anyone who knew him could tell.

"But you." He looked up, looking surprised at his own daring. "You're a werewolf. And you're not from around here either... Not from anywhere close by... The nearest pack is near Kiama, but they're not missing a member."

Looking up at the girl under fair lashes, Link's green eyes blinked. Denied anywhere to go, his wild magic had centred around the girl, making her glow with an aura of power in his magical vision. While she wouldn't see what he saw, she'd probably feel it. A faint outline of a wolf appeared at her feet. Frowning at it, Link gasped as he realised it must be the girl in wolf form.
Jerking his eyes away from the glowing form, Link's brow furrowed as he met the girl's eyes. Blushing instantly under her scrutinising look, his eyes dropped, wishing he had more clothing than a thin pair of boxer shorts.

[Lupe Randall]

Lupe watched the boy with a slight frown creasing her forehead. She was still not sure if she could trust him, but he seemed in pain. As much pain as her, only portraying it differently. In a way he was running too, but mentally, not physically. She pushed gently on the force between their minds and smelt grass and fur, a mental barrier which was a faint green, probably bright to eyes not clouded by canine irises was around the mind of the boy and she was not able to access his thoughts the way she had been with the pack. Even still he felt familiar and instinct demanded that she find an alpha, no matter how weak or unstable they were. She took a step closer and watched as he covered his eyes.

Hearing a small hissing rustle she glanced to the floor where a variety of plants were rushing to their friend. She watched in silence as they twisted their way up the boy's bare legs, remarkably leaving no scratches or visible spines on his skin. He pouted and she waited for him to speak, standing almost motionless in front of him. She could still feel the heat of the magic and the faint trace of fur on her skin but she ignored it.

"But you. You're a werewolf. And you're not from around here either... Not from anywhere close by... The nearest pack is near Kiama, but they're not missing a member."

She looked at him closely, so there were other packs of Weres, Weres on speaking terms of some level to this almost-human male. She sighed and ignored the clamouring memories of the pack, jostling for attention in her mind.

"No, I am not from here... Bathurst, actually, or at least I was. Now, not so much, not from anywhere."

She glanced at the boy as he gasped, and followed his eyes to her legs. They were bare under the knee length dress, and covered in faint scars. Free however from the usual smattering of bruises and cuts. She could feel the magic pulsing across her skin but there was nothing of interest that she could see except the tear stretching between her hip and belly button, much higher than his gaze. Their eyes met as he looked up and she stared back at him, still curious and apprehensive but less worried than she had been. The boy looked down and colour rose in his cheeks. She fiddled with the edges of the tear nervously before crouching slightly, avoiding stepping on any of the outstretched plants and looked at him.

"Are You Ok?"

[Link Cyrus]

"No, I am not from here... Bathurst, actually, or at least I was. Now, not so much, not from anywhere."

Link nodded minutely. That made sense. His magical animal senses, formidable in all senses of the word, stretched out for quite a distance. His powers had touched the closer werewolf packs recently, and they hadn't been distressed over losing a bitch.

"Are You Ok?"

Link stiffened. Nothing he had said or done, he thought, had shown he was upset. Fiddling with a plant which was curling around his wrist, leaving a streak of brown dirt there, Link shook his head mutely, then nodded.

"I uh... I'm a witch.' He repeated again. "My power works over animals and plants, and stuff happened the other night.' Tears spattered the wooden floor, being swept away by the green stream that was a grape vine. 'My friends needed help against someone, and he went around and killed animals for no reason. Babies, old ones, any that crossed his path. So I fought him, and he punished me by killing every animal nearby." He sniffled, sitting down heavily, narrowly avoiding crushing a plant. 'Because of me, thousands of animals died, and they didn't deserve it. I don't deserve to know them, I just make them hurt.' He buried his head in his knees, shoulders shuddering as he cried. In answer, the plants continued moving until he was sitting in the middle of a nest of green.

[Lupe Randall]

Lupe watched the boy in silence as he slowly disappeared into a pile of leaves and vines. She glanced towards the window where she had entered.

"I think they forgive you..."

She remembered the frantic scrabbling of claws on glass and the longing eyes of the creatures, clustered as close as they could go to the source of the power which drew her from her comfortable graveside in the middle of the night. The power desperate for a release into the world it had been forcefully torn from.

"They need you. We-they, understand. It wasn't your fault..."

Taking a deep breath and glancing around once to reassure herself that there were no immediate dangers she crouched to the floor, letting her arms hang by her side and her feet, poised for flight, relax slightly. She stared at the boy.

He was far from the males of the pack, rough and tumble the whole lot, and from her brief encounters with school, the boys there seemed the same. This male, although she could feel the power radiating from him like warmth from a fire, gave the impression of weakness and a vulnerability that matched her own and although she had sworn never to trust a male again she felt drawn to him, like a moth to a flame.

The mental image of tiny wings getting burnt made her shiver slightly and she could feel the hairs, slightly longer than average, on her arms standing up. Watching the tears trickle from the boys face reminded her of her own terrified tears and she dug in the small pocket of the dress and pulled out a grubby handkerchief. She held it out to the boy and was briefly reminded of the white flag offered at the cessation of a battle. This was not a typical war field, and never had there been two parties less likely to fight each other.

[Link Cyrus]

Sniffling, Link's green eyes looked up at the dirty white handkerchief, wondering what he was supposed to do. Realising she was offering it to him to dry his tears, Link shakily took it, dabbing at his cheeks, leaving small streaks of dirt there. Dirt didn't overly worry him, as a result of working so much with animals and plants, so he took no notice.
It was cotton however, the handkerchief, which was something he could influence. Before his eyes, the dirt fell away, rejected by the material, leaving the handkerchief, albeit a little wet, pure white.

"Thanks." He murmured quietly. Looking past her, at the animals, he recoiled slightly into the plants behind him, who held him close. They usually didn't hold much love to animals, who either ate them or destroyed them for no reason, but right now they acknowledged Link needed them. In answer, the wooden window slid up slowly, letting the crowd of animals enter the room, maintaining a wary distance from the girl.

Hiding his face from the collection of animals now climbing over him, Link cowered further into himself. When he felt no touch of fur, feather or hair for a small while, he looked up warily, receiving a large, long lick right up the face from a Great Dane who had somehow traversed the fire escape and squeezed through the window and into his room. Giving a yelp, Link fell over backwards, and was instantly leapt upon by a pile of affectionate beasts. Cats purred their hardest, dogs licked Link and beat their tails with a steady rhythm against the wooden floor, birds sang sweet songs. The cacophony of sound escalated to a barely audible level, as the animals showed their happiness at being reunited with Link.
Charging into the room, woken by the sounds of his twin's friends, Skylar, sleeping in an outfit similar to Link's, though with a singlet, froze as he saw the animals, smiling with relief, but then grimacing as he saw the girl.

"Who're you?" He demanded, ready to call on the nanobots hidden around the apartment within a second, to protect his older brother.

[Lupe Randall]

Lupe watched as the dirt faded away from the hankerchief. It was whiter than when she had pulled it from her draw the night she was bitten, whiter than she had ever seen it and she watched the boy curiously. Hearing the window slid up she whirled around in her crouched position and braced herself for an attack.

The animals rushed through the open window and she relaxed, her clenched muscles releasing one after the other, animals were no threat to her, humans and Weres, yes, but animals could do nothing. She sighed quietly as the animals skirted around her, even the dogs. All could sence her status as predator and gave her a wide berth. She glanced at them sadly, she was hungry, and it waas true she had eaten animals before, mainly rabbits with the occasional sheep or kangaroo, but the feeling of rejection was hard to bear.

She watched in silence as a Great Dane walked past her, tail sweeping through the air dangerously. A rare smile flickered across her face as the enormous slimy tongue of the dog swept across the boy's face.

The thudding of bare feet on the floor was the only warning she got, and she lept to her feet and half turned, ears and a tail springing from her body, and her whole stance prepared to flee. The boy who burst through the door had a look like he would take the entire world in his hands and crush it to protect the boy on the floor.

She bared her teeth and a hack-snarl emerged from between them, not unlike a cornered animal as the boy's smile at the animals turned to a grimance with his appraisal of her.

"Who're you?"

Her teeth were clenched so hard it felt like they were stuck with rock candy, and her nose was scrunched back as far as it would go as a second, smaller growl escaped her. She glanced at the boy on the floor, who didn't seem to object to this newcomer in the room then back at the one in the doorway. Her fists unclenched and her teeth came unstuck, but she surveyed the boy with distrust.

"Lupe."

She volunteered no other explaination as to her presence in the room. If he wanted to know he could ask, she had no bond to him, no reason other than caution to pay him any mind at all. He smelt like sleep, and metal, but even unsuspicious males could have bad intentions.