Squeak, Squeak {Jamie}

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Good call, Liam. Something wasn't right, but Jamie wasn't even really sure that he could have vocalized it if he tried. He just...didn't understand his own life, but if he was honest with himself, he never had. Honestly, he wasn't anything special and he knew it; he had no real direction except to stand by Liam and he wasn't stupid enough not to realize that the only reason he was going to college was because of some mysterious 'scholarship' that Gramma Jen had made him write an essay for and he'd miraculously gotten, he hadn't ever done anything impressive or noteworthy, and really? Would the world even care if he just didn't shift back to a human one day? Liam had been afraid of that the night before, he remembered it, and he also remembered that he hadn't been bothered by the idea at the time. Would he care if that were to happen?

Honestly, it probably wouldn't have mattered. As sad as it was, his world basically revolved around Liam. He was dependent and entirely focused and it probably wasn't healthy, but what would the difference really be if he provided comfort, protection and companionship as a wolf or a man? He basically fit the role of a beloved dog up until now, anyway. It was a little depressing to know, but watching those dog 'essentials' being rung up, Liam wasn't the only one to have an epiphany, and Jamie's wasn't all that great, either. Whatever, it wasn't like he was going to change anything about it, and he made absolutely no indication that he didn't like Liam 'hanging' on him because the exact opposite was actually the case. He was afraid to let on that he liked it lest Liam take it the wrong way and withdraw, but he wasn't going anywhere.

"The feeling's mutual, I promise," he offered easily, voice surprisingly casual for the kinds of thoughts running through his head, and let's be real, thinking about Liam 'getting away with murder' and Jamie 'not blinking' wasn't a great direction for his thought processes to go. Liam had nearly killed him, and not only had Jamie forgiven him, but they'd gone on like nothing had happened. Liam had gotten away with attempted murder, and Jamie was apparently without an ounce of self-preservation and built entirely of trust. He trusted Liam.

That trust actually eased his mind just a little, however dark his thoughts had been getting, and he tried to be annoying and read Liam's phone over his shoulder, just as a lame attempt at attention and breaking the ice; he was aware that something had changed, figured it had something to do with his own demeanor, and was working at fixing it. He didn't catch any of the text that Liam was sending, only saw that it was Amy, and he wasn't worried. He liked Amy a lot, but why would he think that Liam would have her over while he was shifted? "Sweet, tell Amy I said hi," he told Liam, tucking his hands in his pockets against the chill in the air and smiling, but otherwise leaving Liam to his text until the other man asked about dinner.

"Okay, so steak and then steak later is out, got it," he said, smirking a little and glancing sideways at Liam before his expression turned a little more serious. "Uhhh, I don't know. All I care about is that it has meat in it, sorry. I'm no help. Are you cold?"

He glanced down at his shorter friend in concern, taking in the way Liam tucked further into the borrowed hoodie like a little turtle and didn't even break his stride as he unzipped and pulled his jacket off. It was chilly, but he actually didn't feel as cold as he thought he should for this time of the year. Liam looked colder. "Here, take it while it still has the body heat built up. We'll be home in a few."

Arguing, Liam, would be useless. Just take the fucking coat. Obviously, Jamie had no fucks to give about people he might know seeing him hanging with his roommate.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam had a hard time admitting it, but he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if Jamie never made it back to human. Become a recluse, perhaps. Become a strange old man who never left his home and always was in the company of his dog. He would stick around until Jamie was no more, than possibly follow soon behind. Liam couldn’t imagine being without his best friend, in any form. Despite it all, Liam would honestly prefer to put an end to the shifting as a whole, to prevent that risk. He liked his best friend being human, where he could smile, laugh, and talk.

His lips did curl upwards a little bit, “Right. Too much steak isn’t good for you. I might make some grilled chicken.” Liam commented, then glanced sideways, and shook his head. Bad move. No, he had not buried into the jacket further to take in that scent of Jamie that seemed permanently woven into the fabric. Pffbbttt. Nahhhh. “I’m go—no.” Liam stared at the jacket, then at his friend. It would possibly be snowing soon, and last thing he needed was for Jamie to get a cold. “Dude, you’re gonna get sick. And you get one bad case of the man-cold.” Liam pushed at the jacket, only to have it pushed right back. Liam scrunched his face up, and sighed then tugged the jacket on, raising his brows at Jamie pointedly, as if to say ‘Better?’.

Actually, it wasn’t better. And instead, Liam did his best to make sure that Jamie didn’t get too cold. “This is better, actually.” And around his arm coiled, right around Jamie’s, his fingertips—now warmer---brushed the back of Jamie’s hand while they walked. Liam wasn’t brave enough to actually grab his hand, but the itch was there in his finger tips. The only relief he got were the tiny touches that he got from the rhythm of their steps. Liam held his bag in his other hand, and kept his eyes forward, not daring to look up at Jamie. Coward. “So, grilled chicken alfredo with a side of steamed vegetables?” Liam quipped, his teeth tugging at his lip ring in thought. “I’ll start on that as soon as we get home. Maybe you should play that Wii Fitness game that I got a while back while I cook. It’ll get you moving so you aren’t as restless as you were yesterday.” Liam suggested, shrugging his shoulder as he glanced at the people on the street.

Unfamiliar faces glanced back at them. Most of the faced didn’t even give them so much of a glance. Some glanced, then looked away quickly. A smaller few stared. Those were the ones that made Liam antsy, nervous. Did they recognize Jamie from work? Would they harass him because he had another guy hanging on him? Liam was a certain way with Jamie, even knowing his best friend was straight. He had never seen Jamie go anywhere with another man, so that was a safe assumption. But anyone would double think with Liam latched on. His green eyes flickered to the side, daring a glance up at Jamie to see how he was reacting, and he offered a small smile. “And yes—you actually do have to eat the vegetables.”

[AMY WINSTON]

Occasionally, Amy Winston found herself some nights with nothing to do. Jon was busy at the club, she didn't have work, Liam and Jamie were doing...something...whatever, point is, Amy had fuck all to do sometimes. On these nights, she indulged in a few of her pleasures. Perhaps a good book, or some television. Sometimes she decided to dance around her apartment, making a total idiot out of herself. She might even try and crank out posts for her online writing community. But whatever she chose to do on these nights, she always did it completely baked out of her skull. Tonight, it was playing her newest Video Game, something violent and mindbendy, with an Alice In Wonderland theme. The trippy scenes practically demanded anti-sobriety, while some of the gorier scenes made it obvious that it couldn't be anything too hard.

Needless to say, she already had her xbox on, her dash sitting idly as her avatar character watched her meticulously picking through her stash, sorting the seeds and stems from the purple and orange streaked bud. When it was all primed and ready, she stuffed the good shit into her little blue piece, and burned through it quickly, waiting as her buzz turned into a cloudy haze. When it cashed out, she set it back down in it's box, going to pick up the controller when her phone buzzed. Lazily, she picked it up, expecting a bored text from Jon, surprised to see it was from Liam.

'Hey Aims, up for a sleepover? Got something to show ya. <3 L'

She smiled, she was totally down for a sleepover! Turning off the xbox, she crawled around her apartment, retrieving her iPod, wallet, and keys before shoving her feet into her favorite (and much abused) blue converse. She tugged on a hoodie over her blue tanktop, and headed out, scratching Daisy behind the ears.

The drive seemed a little quicker than usual, in fact, she was there before she knew it, and was staring at her phone. Oh weed, you and your time-travel skills. She realized that she never responded back to Liam, and sent back a quick 'Totally, be right over.' Before climbing out of her car and scaling the steps of the Jacobs Apartment Complex, stopping at apartment 221.

Having grown accustomed to Liam's place, she knocked twice, before twisting the knob and letting herself in. "Hello?" She called out, barely shutting the door behind her when she heard an out of place sound. She was staring into the amber eyes of what looked like a very big dog. Oh. Oh! He was friendly, coming up to sniff at her, and lick her face when she bent down to pet him. Wait a minute. "Hey Liam! What gives man? I thought you hated dogs!" She called, not really caring, because she was too busy playing with this friendly sir! "Hey! Who are you? When did Liam get you? Was he trying to scare me?"

She didn't speak to it like most people spoke to dogs. She was really good with animals, and she felt it was demeaning to them to treat them as lesser creatures. She spoke to them like humans who couldn't talk back, more or less. They reacted the same either way. She looked up to see Liam standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and that was when she could smell the food. "Oh my God, what is cookin, good lookin?" She was hungry. Starving. Ravenous even.

She stood up straight, keeping one of her hands on the dogs head as she walked forward. He was following at her side, still super pumped to see her. Or maybe he was an ex drug dog, reacting to the absolutely noticeable reek of potsmoke she was carrying on her. Whatever man, dogs were weird.

They got to talking a bit, Liam explaining that the dog's name was Jamie, to which Amy responded with a laugh and a "Dude, you're an asshole!" before Liam got that Liam look in his eyes. He told her that dog Jamie knew some tricks too! Excited, she asked him which ones! 'He can play dead! Quick, point your finger and say Bang!'

Hmm. No sit? Stay? Roll over? Take it nice? Whatever. Still smiling due to the high still creeping through her brain, Amy drew her hands up like a gun, pointed it directly at the big wolf-dog, and shouted out "BANG!"

She was expecting nothing more than it to lay down, belly up. Because what else would it do? It was a dog. A super cute dog, but just a dog none-the-less.

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Jamie hadn't wanted to admit it at the time, but Liam suggesting that he play with that stupid Wii fitness thing while dinner was being made was a good idea. He tried the homework thing again, but that failed miserably, then he put on a different game and it also left him unable to concentrate. It was just too easy to get distracted by the sounds and smells in the kitchen, whatever he could hear from outside, pretty much anything that involved getting up off the couch; he'd really liked being a lazyass, but apparently, being a werewolf and a lazyass at the same time was impossible. Who would have guessed? If he wasn't worried that he might not come home until morning, he might have gone for a run (what was this craziness? Him? Go for a run?), and he was pretty sure that Liam wasn't okay with that plan. That didn't mean he wouldn't try to slip out before he shifted so that he could run in the park and work off some of this excess energy, but it definitely meant that leaving early wasn't cool.

Leaving before dinner was especially stupid, if only because he assumed having something in his stomach before he shifted might make him less concerned with hunting something down to eat it later (he was hoping he'd still remember the evening if Liam wasn't there with him every step of the way), so he had to occupy himself. Wii fit it was, which sucked because there was a reason he didn't play it.

Namely, he felt stupid. It was a video game. Video games didn't require physical activity. Period. Of course, that was actually the point this time, and playing the stupid game did keep him occupied until Liam saved him from boredom with the news that dinner was done and then further busied him with dinner clean-up, but once all that was finished?

Time to go.

He didn't really have a countdown (that he knew of) as to when the shift would happen, but he was getting more antsy as the moments passed, so that was how he gauged it. He couldn't sit still or focus well enough to even maintain much of a conversation without his attention veering off towards something going on outside or in one of the neighbors' apartments, and that meant it was time to get rolling. "Alright, dude, I have to take a walk," he told Liam, not even bothering with his coat this time because he'd be really pissed if he lost it out there somewhere and he'd deliberately worn clothes that he didn't care about, and headed for the door. It was obvious a second later that he should have started this process a few minutes earlier, since Liam first tried to call him back to help with laundry or something (which he refused, trying to quell that urgent movemovemove feeling), and then got in his space. The second tactic worked a little better, especially once Liam squeezed between him and the door.

Make no mistake, Jamie could move Liam out of the way, but the way the smaller man was hanging onto the doorknob, there was a chance he'd hurt him in the process. Since that wasn't allowed, he had to get Liam to let go, then move him and haul ass to the park. Liam tried to reason with his orders of 'Move, Liam, I have to go, move, now, hurry the fuck up,' with concerns about cars, cops, him shifting in public, nakedness, dog catchers and pretty much anything else the city had to offer, but Jamie only heard about half of it. The rest of it was drowned out by parkbunniestreessmellsfoodgrassrunrunrunhuntdogsbunnies, and frankly? The fact that he hadn't gone out running the night before or all day really wasn't helping.

"Liam. You. Need. To. Move," he ground out, leaning in far enough that Liam would have to press himself flat to the door in order to keep their noses from touching, and Jamie wasn't aware that his eyes had bled completely amber or that his teeth were making the slow first changes of his shift, only that the urgency was upon him and he had to go. Something changed about Liam in that moment, though. He flicked his eyes from his best friend's face down to his neck, aware of the slight bit of fear that had shown up and able to hear the rise in his pulse, but that wasn't all. He leaned his face in closer to Liam's neck, drawing in a deep, curious breath, and then flicked amber eyes back to Liam's face and offered up a toothy smirk.

"You're not scared of me," he growled, and distraction achieved, Liam wins this round. If he wanted to get out at this point, he'd have to throw Liam aside, and since he barely got the words out before he made a strangled, harsh sound and curled away from the man and the door, that obviously wasn't happening. It was too late to get out of the apartment building for this, so he simply tried to choke down his cries to avoid the neighbors rushing over to see if Liam was killing him (ironic, all things considered) and get his clothes off before he shifted right inside of them or ripped them. He managed, but it was a hectic, agonized few minutes before he was in the same basic situation he'd been in the night before. A large wolf, crouched before Liam and trying to catch its breath, though without the alley and the terror this time, hopefully.

At least he got that wish. Liam didn't freak out or try to get away from him, which made those first moments less stressful, but it didn't negate the fact that he was high on energy and low on things to do. It also didn't help that he was mostly human in that brain of his, so he still had some dignity. Basically, Liam would have had a rough, busy night ahead of him trying to keep Jamie occupied if he wasn't taking him out to the park, and distracting him from scratching at the door was a full-time job. That was, until Amy hit their floor, and then the scratching stopped as he snuffed at the crack under the door, trying to figure out why he knew that smell. Who wa---oh, fuck.

He backed off as she knocked twice and opened the door, looking over at Liam with what was obviously intelligent and unhappy with this turn of events, but he turned to the door as she opened it and he absolutely had to sniff the hell out of her as soon as she was in the apartment. HA! That's why she smelled so familiar, besides the fact that it was Amy. She had to be positively baked for all of the pot smell coming off of her, which he couldn't help getting all up into her business for. She smelled excellent, and she was talking to him like a person even though she didn't know, and he liked her. That got her face lickings when she leaned down, and he grumbled and barked at her when she asked him questions, even though she obviously wouldn't understand a damn thing he was thinking. That was fine, as long as she was cool about it, and no, he definitely wasn't picking up a contact high from her. Nope.

Dinner leftovers sounded fantastic, Amy, good thinking.

Wait, why was Liam telling her that he did tricks? He wasn't a dog, goddamnit! Play dead? Bang? Oh, well, he could do that one, but he wasn't going to just lay down or roll over, because that was fucking boring. He could do better, and he would, starting with staring up at her as she pointed her fingers at him, then jerking and yelping as she yelled 'BANG!' He dropped like a rock immediately after, twitched a little like he might get up, yeah, no, he wasn't getting up. He stopped moving and waited.

LOL, poor Amy. It was a good thing he couldn't laugh as a wolf, because he might not have been able to keep a straight face on this one.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Things went well at first with keeping Jamie distracted. Liam wanted him to stay in the house—just s he could try to understand the shifting more. He wanted t understand, but also keep an eye on Jamie. He was honestly worried about him; a number of various scenarios could happen, and Liam wasn’t entirely ready to let Jamie out of his sight just yet. Dinner went smoothly, and the video game seemed to help—before Jamie said he had to take a walk.

HAH. Nope. Nope. Look at all these nopes. Liam attempted to rope Jamie into helping with clothes, but when Jamie flat out refuse, Liam tore across the house and managed to wriggle himself between Jamie and the door. When it came down to it, Liam knew that Jamie could easily move him out of the way. They could play wrestle all they wanted, but Liam was not a fighter, and Jamie could take him down if he ever seriously wanted to. It was the knowledge that Jamie wouldn’t that helped Liam as he grasped the doorknob. “You need to stay in tonight, at least until we fully understand what’s going on. Plus, this way you won’t have to streak across the city for your clothes, and you won’t get caught by dog catchers. At least for tonight, and we can go for a walk later once you’ve shifted.”

Liam backed up, pressing himself harder against the door when Jamie moved in closer. Large green eyes met the amber ones, and he managed to take notice f the sharpened teeth. For just that moment, the heat of fear that flooded through his body, and he could taste his own pulse on the back of his tongue. But there was something else that drowned out the fear. Jamie wouldn’t hurt him, wolf or not. So the sudden rise in temperature, or the dropping feeling in his stomach, or even the itch in his lips that started again—couldn’t count towards the fear. The smirk didn’t help things what so ever, neither did the growl. “No, I’m not.” Liam admitted, and though he admitted it, his fingers tightened on the doorknob, almost to a painful degree. All of it to keep from reaching out and grabbing Jamie, and tugging him in. Forcing him to press Liam painfully against that door, pin him in place without anywhere to run, to---WOAH. Liam, snap out of it.

He managed to pull himself together enough that he whispered soothing words to Jamie while his bones twisted, his body shifting. Liam kept on, until there was that great wolf in front of him again, and he sighed, reaching out to pet him. “Hey, there. Let me get you some water.” The man pushed to his feet, wandering to the kitchen to grab one of the large bowls that he used to mix batters, and dumped a bunch of ice into it, then filled it with water and placed it in the living-room for Jamie. Then came the knocking on the door.

There was only one person that could be, and with Jamie here—even if it was a threat, Liam wasn’t too concerned. He glanced up anyway, watching as Amy let herself in, and he smiled at her. Watching Jamie carefully, but he seemed to recognize their other best friend, the third to their trio. “Yeah, I hate dogs. But that, is a wolf. Not a dog.” He corrected, pulling out another plate to make a dish of chicken alfredo for Amy, then set it on the table. “His name is…” What was the point of lying, really? Amy was going to see it for himself. “Jamie.” Liam shrugged, and wandered back to the kitchen t grab a fork and knife, grinning at the asshole comment. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t give him food though, he already ate and he’s getting a steak later.” Liam took a seat at the table after placing a can of coke next to Amy’s plate, and cracking one open for himself.
Well..there was an idea.

“He’s pretty clever, actually. He can play dead. Quick, point your finger and say ‘Bang!’ Like you’re shooting a gun.” Liam instructed, raising his brow, the corner of his lips curling. He had been expecting Jamie to just flop over as most dogs did---but then again. It was Jamie. And there were many reasons why Jamie was his best friend. And one of those reasons was because Jamie could be just as much of a troll, sometimes he even got Liam. Like now. Liam hadn’t expected the jerk, the yelp, or the sight of Jamie just dropping like someone plucked all his strings loose, twitching on the ground. Had Liam been a little more prepared, he would have played along. Freaked out on Amy. But his surprised reaction was almost just as good. Liam’s coke can thunked on the table, and his jaw dropped, mouth open and staring at Jamie.

He then glanced at Amy, his mouth opening and closing.
Honestly? His own genuine shocked and surprised reaction was so much better than if he had tried to act it out.

Poor. Poor Amy.

[/blockquote]

[AMY WINSTON]

As Liam led Amy to the table with the ridiculously good smelling food, Amy was preoccuping herself with the dog, wait DID LIAM SAY THAT WAS A WOLF? "Wait, so you're afraid of dogs...so you got a wolf? Where did you get a wolf?" The question was valid, she thought. But the answer didn't matter, because omg food. She started eating, not really bothering with delicate bites, because munchies, yo.

While Liam wasn't looking, she fished out a piece of chicken and fed it to Jamie-the-Wolf anyway, because his head was in her lap, and he was cute. "You are just so fucking cute! You wanna snuggle up with me tonight Jamie? We can have a couch party!" The suggestion to her new four-legged friend struck her with another question. "Oh hey, where is actual Jamie?"

That was what was up! Regular Jamie was not present. And there was food here? Amy did not understand. "Did he have to work?" That must have been it. She took a swig of coke, glad that Liam perpetually stocked her favorite soda. She turned and did her part of the trick and thats when things got wibbly.

Instead of just doing what a NORMAL dog would do, this wolf-dog let out a yelp that made Amy jump about a foot in the air. It staggered a bit before crumpling to the ground, letting out a few pitiful whimpers. Oh God.

OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod.

Amy looked at Liam with wide eyes, who looked so shocked, as though he hadn't been expecting that. OhGod! Did Amy do that? She stared from the Wolf to her hands, still locked in the gun position, trying to make sense of the situation. Too bad for Amy, the THC was still crawling through her senses, leaving everything senseless and disorienting. "Oh my God. Liam." She said, the words coming out halting and confused.

She took a deep breath, and then continued, sure that this was the only possible explanation. "Okay, I have good news. Apparently, I am telekinetic, and I have mind-bullets. I also have bad news. I think I just killed your dog!" She was gearing up for panic mode.

Seriously? Okay, telekinetic powers were cool as shit, and she had always secretly dreamed of having them, but WHY DID THEY HAVE TO MANIFEST RIGHT THEN? Oh God, she was a dangerous weapon. A lethal killing machine! The Government would be looking for her! Liam would totally stop being her friend! What about Jamie? Or Jon? WOULD THEY ALL BE HAULED IN FOR QUESTIONING? This was horrible! This was terrible! That dog could not be dead!

She dove on the ground, going to check on the hulking wolf that was so not moving. There wasn't even a reassuring rise and fall of it's chest! Of course, there wouldn't be one, seeing as how it was dead! She looked up from beside Jamie, at Liam, her eyes wide and helpless. "I'm sorry."

[JAMES KENNEDY]

When he first shifted, that water and the soft words out of Liam had been nice, but once he'd shaken off the shakes and the hurt from the actual shifting of his bones and muscles, he was all kinds of energy and need to move. That had been quelled a bit by the energy that had been used up by the shift itself, but he still had some ridiculous energy levels and a body that was built to move. He wanted to run, damn it. Although, chicken was good, too, and Amy had some that she apparently didn't mind sharing. Jamie didn't mind nomming on that, and he was even gentlemanly about taking the meat without touching Amy's fingers with his teeth, though he flicked his tongue out to get at some of the sauce on her skin, just because he could. Yeah, 'just because he could' was a damn good reason for pretty much anything he wanted to do about then, so Liam beware. On the other hand, snuggles with Amy sounded awesome, as did a couch party. Would Liam let him on the couch? HA! Didn't matter! Amy was a person, and she said that he could snuggle on the couch, so he was going to. After the park and the bunnies and the running.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, MIND BULLETS!

Okay, so how ironic was it that the one person in the room who actually stood a chance at being dragged in by the government and experimented on was believed dead from mind bullets from one of the other occupants? Amy wasn't normal, but she certainly wasn't up to shooting Jamie with her brain. That didn't make it any less hilarious, and Liam's shock only made the whole thing more awesome as Amy dropped to the ground trying to figure out if he was actually dead. God, she had to be totally destroyed to not notice that he was still breathing (you try talking a wolf into holding its breath), but she wouldn't be fooled for long. Jamie let her go until she apologized to Liam, and then he whined, gave a short bark and rolled into a position that was still partially laying down, but very much alive and able to reach her face for some more licking.

That was his version of an apology, actually. He didn't mean to scare her, even if it was hysterical. How was that for a trick and playing dead? Yeah, he was the best, hands and paws down. He'd be there all night, and then again the next night. Hoping that the licking would get his apology across but not trusting that to do the trick, he pressed his muzzle in against her body, tucking his nose between her arm and side. It was a sign of trust and affection, and the best he could really do without trying an awkward doggie hug that might come across as being more aggressive than she liked.

Did she forgive him? Would he get another piece of her chicken? He'd really been digging the chicken, maybe more than he had when he had his own plate, though he didn't know why. Would they go to the park? Surely Amy could talk Liam into taking him. Jamie had faith in her abilities, though not her psychic abilities. Those were still as unimpressive as usual, apparently, and that was okay. It would have been hysterically and horribly ironic if she'd actually shot him with some kind of mind bullet. He'd have deserved it for faking, but that wouldn't have made it any less terrible.

Anyway, about this park. He stood up and barked to Liam, giving his tail a wag or two and then nudging Amy's arm, like one of them might get the point. He wanted to be outside, not in the house being a dog. There were real dogs out there that he could go fuck with, and bunnies, which were delicious and fun to chase. The absolute only thing that would actually make him feel better about staying in that evening would be a steak, but he also wasn't all that interested in delayed gratification. He didn't have that kind of attention span right then, damn it! Instant or forget it!

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam really had not been expecting Jamie’s theatrics. He watched Amy as she stared at her hand, then the calm before the storm. At the mention of her mind-bullets, Liam let out a huge snort and covered his nose and mouth with his hand, trying not to outright burst out laughing. “Jamie, stop fucking with her already. You didn’t kill him Amy, he’s just a little asshole who’s got far too much energy he knows what to do with.” Liam grinned, finally standing to his feet when Jamie came back to ‘life’, and proceeded to lick and nuzzle all over Amy. Liam crossed his arms over his chest, watching the exchange, before lifting a brow at the bark.

Right, he had made a promise to take Jamie to the park after he shifted. He was far too energetic to keep in the house, even with all the toys he had bought. Maybe they’d have enough down time after the park. “Alright, but you know the deal.” Liam wandered back to the kitchen where the Petco bags were, and rummaged until he found the grayish collar. He ripped the price tags off of it, and approached Jamie, carefully dropping into a crouch. “Just in case, alright?” Liam fastened the collar loosely around Jamie’s neck, and smoothed his fur around it so it rested naturally, and didn’t muss the fur too much. He cupped his huge head in his hands, and leaned in to press a kiss against Jamie’s wet nose, before rising up to his feet.

Despite his shifted friend’s energy and hilarious antics, Liam had almost a solemn look on his face, and tone in his voice. “We’re going to go to the park, and let him run around a bit, and I’ll explain where Jamie is. C’mon.” Liam reached out to take Amy’s hand, helping her to her feet, and carefully leading her to the door letting Jamie out. “Stay close, Jamie. And don’t fill up on rabbits because I’ll heat that steak up for you when we get home. Plus, you have that raw-hide if you want it, too.” Amy may not have animal-talked Jamie when she walked in, but Liam was taking it to a whole new level. He was speaking as though the four legged friend would understand all his words. Liam snatched Jamie’s black hoodie off the hander by the door, and tossed Amy his own red one in case she needed it.

He released her hand and there were a few moments of silence as they exited the dorm, and walked down t the nearby park. “The playing dead thing was a joke, I didn’t know he’d take it that far—but that’s all it was. A joke. What I’m about to tell you, you need to come out of your high enough to understand what I’m going to say. But it has to be a secret that stays between Jamie, you, and I. You can’t tell a soul, because it’ll put Jamie in danger.” Liam turned to watch the werewolf as he took a slow seat on the bench. He hoped Amy would take him seriously. He hoped her high would let her believe it, but he also wanted her sober enough to understand the severity of his words. “You were asking where Jamie is, human Jamie? Uh…he was with us the whole time.” Liam pushed at his lip ring idly, lowering his eyes a bit.

“You have to stay over tonight, so let Jon know you’re with your hideous girlfriends, but you have to see it with your own eyes. I don’t know why, or how. But Jamie, our Jamie…my Jamie, is over there, tracking a rabbit on all fours.” Liam scuffed his shoe on the concrete, still having a hard time looking up. “He shifts back naked, so he’ll prolly be a little pissed and embarrassed when he does come back, but that’s him. Please don’t get pissed, just…stick it out till morning. I stay with him the whole time. He’s been coming back home for the past few months really dirty, tired, messy. Crashing out on the couch, or not coming home until early morning. It didn’t make sense until yesterday. I followed him, and saw it for the first time. That’s…kind of why I invited you over. I needed someone else to see it, someone else to tell me I haven’t gone ‘round the bend.”

[/blockquote]

[AMY WINSTON]

'Okay, okay. Don't freak out. If you freak out, Liam freaks out, and then calls the cops, and the FBI, and the president, and then you're chillin in Roswell. So don't freak out.'

Sadly, Amy could not convince herself out of the freakout that was starting. She could feel the words bubbling up in her throat, a rushed explanation of things, a plea not to send her away forever, a million and a half things that constituted as a freak out. But before she could vocalize any of those things, she was cut off and distracted by a low whine, a sharp bark, and a sudden tongue all over her face. Her heart restarted, and her first reaction was to shove the wolf away from her, but that was quelled by relief. She grabbed Jamie by either side of his muzzle, nuzzling her nose against his, showering his face with kisses and love, and exclamations of joy that he was not dead.

"Okay, false alarm," she reassured Liam, as the great wolf burrowed into her lap, happily accepting her absentminded scratching behind his ears. "Smart dog you got there. Asshole dog you got there, but smart none-the-less." She go to her feet, watching the wolf run to the door, barking expectantly. Oh, they were going to the park? Good. Maybe the cooler air would sober her up a bit, clear her head. It was getting cooler at night, and she hadn't thought to wear much more than her Jacket over her tanktop. Liam was nice enough to hand her his favorite red hoodie, which Amy was super grateful for, butttttt......

Beggars can't be choosers of course, but Amy was rather uncomfortable holding the article of clothing. It was such a silly little thing, but for some reason, the color red made her very anxious. If one were to look around her apartment, they would find very little red, if any at all. Even the blood splattering on the two people on her own hoodie was pushing it. Wearing such an obnoxiously bright red sweater might send her into an anxiety attack in her current frame of mind. The last time she had attempted to borrow Liam's hoodie, she had worn it for five minutes before taking it off. She kept having the strangest sensation, like one minute it was shrinking on her, clinging to her frame so tight that she couldn't breathe, and the next it was gargantuan, hanging off of her, swallowing her whole. She couldn't handle that again, so she just smiled. "It's getting pretty chilly out there, I think I might need something heavier than your hoodie, but thank you Liam." No need to explain her creepy acid flashbacks that were apparently triggered by the color red.

She walked to the closet next to the door, and opened it, only finding Jamie's leather jacket. Wait, he never went anywhere without that thing. It was his favorite. Where was he? "Where did Jamie go without his jacket?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, before looking back at Liam, who was fitting a flea collar around Wolf!Jamie's neck. "You think he'd mind if I borrowed it for our walk? I don't wanna freeze." Without really waiting for a response, assuming Jamie wouldn't mind at all, she slipped the jacket off the hanger and around her shoulders, fastening it tightly. She wasn't one for leather, but she could get behind how comfortable and warm it was. All wrapped up and ready to go, she followed Liam out the door, making sure to lock the door behind her.

The park was nice, and the walk over definitely cleared her mind some. The jacket was toasty warm, and she was comfortable. She alternated between keeping pace with Liam, and jogging next to Jamie, who was all but jumping for joy. What a cute freaking dog-wolf thing. She was totally enjoying her time out, so when Liam got all serious faced, she wasn't really following. He parked it on a bench, and she followed suit, stuffing her hands into Jamie's pockets. Whether there was stuff in them or not wasn't much of a matter, since she wasn't going to snoop, that was rude. Even if she was a little curious.

Anyway, there was no time for curiosity, since Liam was explaining where Jamie was. She listened, her eyes getting wider and wider, wondering if she was higher than she thought, wondering if she was imagining that he was saying all these things. But the high was wearing off, the crisp night air on her face doing a good job of sobering her up. The whole time, she didn't speak, couldn't speak. Couldn't think of a damn word to say, or a damn thing to do other than just stare at Liam, mouth open wide.

When he finished, she was very quiet for a moment, attempting to process the absolute mind-fuckery Liam was attempting to deliver her. Okay, so that big ass wolf happily running around chasing whatever was Jamie. Like, human, black haired, adorable Jamie. Because Jamie was a werewolf. Her wide blue eyes moved from the wolf to the full moon, and then back to Liam before she finally spoke, choosing her words carefully. "Okay. Well, it's a good thing I didn't really kill him earlier. You know what they do to girls like me in prison."

She wasn't high. She wasn't crazy. She didn't think Liam was either. She didn't think he was fucking with her, she could tell that he was completely serious. And the strangest part wasn't that she believed him. The strangest part was that she didn't mind. So, her best friend was Teen Wolf? No big deal. At least she hadn't actually shot him earlier. Though, come to think of it, telekinesis seemed like a pretty realistic condition now.

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Wow, so Amy? Best person to dump affection on in the world, especially after a scare. He'd have to remember that for future reference, but for the time being, she gave him all kinds of kisses and nuzzles, all kinds of thrilled that he wasn't dead, and then called him smart and an asshole. He could deal with that. Actually, as long as the 'smart' was recognized, the 'asshole' part was just plain funny. The fact that Liam agreed to go to the park only sealed the awesome on this deal, to the point that Jamie barked again and licked at Amy's hands some more when Liam said they could, completely ignoring the whole 'deal' bit until the man returned with something in his hands. Jamie stared at him, putting his limited attention span to use trying to figure out what that was in his hands, and then it clicked.

Oh. Collar. Lame.

This was a stupid deal, and one that he didn't actually remember agreeing to, so if he had, he didn't want anyone to bring it up. He huffed and sat down, not quite as pleased with remaining still so that Liam could put the collar on and sincerely considering twisting his head away and being a pain in the ass about it just because he could (remember how that was a good reason for everything tonight?), but he let it go and then shook himself once he was wearing it, trying to get it to stop feeling weird. He wasn't really a jewelry kind of person, and if he wore a necklace, it was a long, loose one. The collar, even being pretty loose as far as collars went, still felt like exactly what it was and that was strange.

Whatever. It was getting him to the park, even if Liam was being all explain-y about the whole thing; how he was going to explain where Jamie was (silly, he was right here) to Amy and telling the wolf himself to stay close and not fill up on rabbits because there was a steak at home and a rawhide. The steak was a good point to remember, but the rawhide was still just dried whatever-rawhides-are, and bunnies were still live prey. Guess which Jamie preferred? Yep, the ones that ran away and required chasing. He glanced up at Amy, eyes probably just a little too understanding of her question about his jacket, but he nudged her hand once she had it on, licking again at it and offering what little permission he was capable of. He didn't mind if she wore it because he sure as hell wasn't in need of it right then, and he liked the way she smelled with his jacket and smell on top of hers. It just felt reassuring, like she was his and safe. He didn't like that other smell on her, underneath the pot and over top of her own scent. Maybe his could cover it up.

He did as Liam had asked as they walked out of the apartment and to the park, sticking between the two of them and only occasionally getting a few steps ahead, though that was as far as he ventured while they were on the sidewalk. It was weird to him, being so open and obvious as he walked down the street, mostly since he'd been sneakier on the nights he didn't consciously remember shifting in the city, but with Amy and Liam there and the collar on his neck, anyone who looked just assumed he was a really big, really wolfy dog. Whether he liked that or not, it was suiting their purposes right then. It was only after they arrived at the park that Jamie glanced up at them, realized that Liam was moving on to conversation that Jamie would have cared about if he was human and the smells of the park weren't drawing his attention so strongly, but right then? Yeah, right then he didn't give a flying fuck. Liam was going to talk about stuff with Amy that he couldn't add anything to the way he was, and he was going to go figure out what that smell was.

He missed the mention of him 'tracking a rabbit on all fours' because he was doing exactly that, nose to the ground and nudging around in the bushes at the edge of the trees, digging at the underbrush to try to flush something out, trying to figure out where the bunny smell was strongest. There was something over here, wasn't there? So help him, if he didn't get at least two bunnies, he was looking for those dogs.

WAIT. Was that movement? He froze, staring at the spot that had moved, watching and listening for it, and then BAM! Bunny. It took off from its spot way too close to him in an attempt to make a safer hiding place, but Jamie was on it. He was utterly silent in his pursuit, long legs bringing him upon a bunny that wasn't used to quite this kind of efficient predator, and his jaws clamped down on the little critter with a finality that definitely meant he'd found dinner. Well, second dinner, since Liam had definitely fed him that yummy chicken stuff, but shifting was hungry work. Once he'd killed it, there was the question of etiquette, though. He logically understood that Liam and Amy didn't want any of it, but wasn't it polite to offer? Or at least, show off the fact that he was damn good at what he did? Hell, yeah.

He didn't actually prance over, but there was definitely some pride to his saunter at having caught the quick little bastard. He had every reason to be proud, and though he didn't intend to nom on the bunny right there with Liam and Amy, he didn't really want to venture too far from them. He wanted to make sure that other animals knew that they were off-limits. Bunnies weren't all he could take down.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Jamie was an asshole, that was pretty certain. But that was possibly why they were such good friends. Though, watching wolf Jamie all over Amy was just utterly hilarous. Really Jamie? Could you be anymore obvious? The walk to the park hadn' been too bad, enjoyable almost. But as he spilled everything to Amy, h watched her face close for reaction. He expected that she would burst out laughing. Call him an asshole, a trol, a jokester. Never in a million years had he expected her to actually believe him. He hadn't expected that she would be so calm about it either. He stared at her in shock for the second time that day. His mouth opened and closed like a fish's while he stared. 

"Yeah, yeah it is. Also, I think us guys have it a little worse in those situations." Liam lifted a brow at her, and crossed his arms to huddle himself up for warmth. He didn't feel quite so uncomfortable this time with Amy here. He didn't have to be alone with the giant wolf, but after the first shock of it--things had gone pretty smoothly. "It's weird. He's still Jamie, but he's more...carefree." Liam explained, watching Jamie's furry form disappear between the trees. "He worries about so much all the time. It's like he's always holding himself back from something. When he's like this, it sort of feels like he can actually just let go of all the poblems and hurt of being a human." Liam leaned back against the bench and looked at Amy. The words were on the tip of his tongue, it would just feel so natural for him to tell her how he felt about his best friend. But even then, he wasn't entirely sure. Liam rocked his head backwards and stared up at the night sky through the leaves. "I just wish he could be that carefree on two legs. He deserves to be happy." 

He let out a long sigh, and straightened back up. He slid sideways and thunked his head on Amy's shoulder, "My Jamie. My best friend is a werewolf. What the hell am I going to do?" There wasn't much that he could do, actually.  He could be there for Jamie and keep him safe, butthat was about it. Speak of the devil, he saw the subject of their conversation starting to trot back to them. Trot. There was some bizzare bounce to his step, and something about the shape of his head was all wrong. "Done already, man? That was a wea--" Oh dear god. The mishappen form on Jamie's head was an animal, and as Jamie got closer, Liam could see it was a rabbit. A very dead, bloody rabbit. 

Liam issued a sharp yelp, and scrambled up on the bench like he was trying to get away from a mouse. "Jamie?! The fuck, dude?!" Liam skittered to the far end of the bench, staring at the rabbit. "Good catch. Keep that away." Jesus Chris, what the fuck and a half?! "Y-you aren't...you aren't going to eat that right here, are you?" Liam askd, trying to stare past the rabbit to Jamie, locking onto amber eyes trying to read them. 

[AMY WINSTON]

You know, for hearing the news that Jamie was a werewolf, or even that werewolves existed, Amy was being pretty freaking chill about it. The whole thing was nonsensical, a study in madness, completely and utterly ridiculous. And Amy found it to be the most natural thing in the world. Common sense? Not her strong suit. Absurd, childish nonsense? That was where Amy found refuge. Idly, she sat on her park bench, listening to Liam ramble on about safety, wondering if there were other things out there. If werewolves existed, surely other things might. Vampires, Faeries, Angels, Ghosts.

Suddenly, she had a very real feeling that there was something in her head. Like a forgotten dream, the ghosts of which were tugging at her memories, as though begging her to remember. A too-small door, a sea, a maze, a croquet mallet, a tea party, a court room. She was used to images like these flashing through her mind. They frequented her dreams often, not like she remembered those. Only glimpses.

The only thing pulling her out of her miniature reverie was the fact that Liam was screaming like a girl. She looked up, startled, then back down at Jamie who had rejoined their little party. What was that in his mouth? Oh. It was a rabbit. A small part of the back of her mind recoiled for a moment, frantically trying to look past the blood to check that it wasn't white. But no, it was a plain brown little bunny. The scene was gruesome, but nothing too serious. Jamie was currently a wolf. Wolves ate bunnies. "Oh Liam, relax!" She chuckled at her friends overdramatics. "Jamie, sugar, why don't you take that rabbit somewhere where Liam isn't freaking the hell out, huh?" Maybe he could retire to the nearby woods for a moment, where he was certain to find more bunnies.

She cast a sideways glance at Liam, the same silly little grin on her face. "You don't have to do anything. You have to accept him and love him as he is." Where the hell did that come from? She was treating Jamie's Lycanthropy as though he was coming out of the closet. Then again, Liam probably would have jumped for joy at that particular announcement. Amy leaned back on the bench, hands in Jamie's pockets, staring up at the stars, the lush full moon. "Everything is gonna be a-okay. Trust me."

[JAMES KENNEDY]

As was obvious by now to anyone following this thread, Jamie wasn't all wolf in that doggie brain of his. He had human reasoning, even if it was simplified and not capable of the epic complexities that human brains could manage, and he wasn't stupid. He'd brought the bunny over to brag, but Liam had freaked out and jumped back onto the bench like it was going to hurt him, and that caused Jamie to hesitate, leaning his head and the bunny a little closer to the ground. He probably looked like he was considering putting it down, but he didn't, just held it there and flicked his amber eyes between Liam and Amy. Liam was being loud, but Amy...the breeze was bringing a foreign smell his way, and he was pretty damn sure it was coming from her, even if it didn't make sense. She usually had this sweet smell to her, kind of sugary, but this was more flowery, with a smell kind of like tea or something. Again, made no sense.

Then, as quickly as her smell had changed, it was hers again and she was telling Liam (whose only nice comment about the bunny had been 'good catch') to relax and suggesting that Jamie take the rabbit elsewhere to eat it. Probably a good idea, especially if Liam was going to wax poetic about his 'situation' again. Amy at least offered good, normal advice for a very strange problem, but Liam had been all odd and sentimental about it. Whatever. Jamie didn't have to be involved in the conversation, so he was going to go eat his bunny in peace.

Amy's advice was followed pretty much to a tee by Jamie, who trotted off to the trees to find a comfortable place to settle down and nom his catch, and he was all about doing that, had even laid down with it and started into it, when the wind changed. He hadn't even been consciously paying attention, but he absolutely noticed when he was suddenly smelling things that he hadn't been able to smell before. A wolf. Female...familiar? His ears and head perked up, eyes flicking around for the source of the smell, and he stood, well aware of the fact that she was close. He knew her, though he didn't know how he knew her. He didn't remember another wolf and that should have bothered him, especially since Liam and Amy were so close, but she didn't strike him as being threatening. He was okay with her, as strange as that sounded.

Actually, he was more than okay with her. Would she want some of the bunny? He'd share it with her, once he got to her. That meant he had to bring it along, which made it awesome that it was just a bunny and nothing too annoying to drag around. He grabbed it up in his teeth again and focused on her scent, headed that way. Liam had Amy, so he'd be okay for a few minutes, and Jamie could hear them yell if anything happened. It was alllll cool.

[RAMONA CASSIDY]

Meanwhile, lurking in the woods nearby, a female was watching the wonderful caricature of intimacy with a certain level of disgust.

From the distance that Ramona Cassidy sat, one wouldn't assume she would be able to hear the conversation going on between the short young man and his scent shifting companion. However, Ramona was no ordinary observer. At the moment, she was in the form of a hulking black wolf. Of course, being female, she wasn't quite as big as Jamie was, but she wouldn't be mistaken for a rottweiler, either. As such, she kept to the shadows, laying head on her front paws, watching the other wolf and his...friends closely.

The reason for her current creepitude was nothing short of jealousy. Since her arrival in New York about five months prior, she had spent every full moon familiarizing herself with the grey wolf currently sauntering back to his posse with a rabbit clenched in his jaws. Three nights out of every month, he had run with her, more wolf than man. They had hunted, roamed, played together. A few times, after shifting back, still in his animal brain, he had taken her. He never stayed long enough to come back to himself, running back to wherever he came from. She could have easily tracked him, but what would she have said? 'Hello, mystery man. I know this might be difficult news to swallow, but you've been blacking out and turning into a wolf every month. I can also do this, and we have been hanging out, and sometimes we have sex. Wanna chill while neither of us are covered in fur?'

Yeah. That would have gone over well.

All the signs were pointing to the fact that he had no recollection of his shifts, and she wasn't about to be the one to tell him. She had gone four years without telling anyone her secret, she wasn't about to tell him only for him to have her committed. There was no way he'd believe her. She had decided that he would figure it out on his own, and then she could make her presence known. She could be patient. She could wait. She could handle crippling loneliness every other day of the month, so long as it paid off in the end.

When he didn't show up the night before, she paced the park for the entire night, waiting for him, finally waking up the next morning in the middle of the woods, next to her pile of clothes. Ramona wasn't a social creature for a myriad of reasons. One being that she didn't like to lie to people. When one was a werewolf, one found that they had to lie to a lot of people very often. As such, she had spent much of the last five months alone. If she was being perfectly honest, she had been alone for a lot longer than that, and she was getting really tired of it. When she found that not only was she not the only werewolf in the world, she wasn't the only one in the city, she got excited. She relied on this other person, whether she liked it or not; so when he didn't show the night before, it was like being punched in the gut. She felt pathetic, waiting for him like that, but it had been worth it. She caught the scent of him, familiar and comforting, all woodsy and...boyish. Naturally, her senses kicked in, pushing her body into a run, heading straight for him. It was only when she reached the edges of the nearby woods that she smelled the others. One was obviously feminine, smelling of some kind of cotton-candy scented perfume, mingled with marijuana and the familiar smell in a more...humanized way. The other was masculine in it's way, a bit like powder, though not obnoxiously so. The shock of it slowed her roll, bringing her to a stop, where she observed.

It seemed as though the topic of discussion was on her mystery wolf-man. She settled back and listened for a moment, but it was for naught. Ramona had a good control on her temper, most of the time. She had learned it early on after her shift so she wouldn't burst out of her skin every time someone did something to offend her back in High-School. She had taken Kickboxing, studied meditation, took an anger management course. Anything and everything to keep her from flying off the handle as a human.

Unfortunately, when she was in wolf form, it was harder for her to maintain it. Once she realized exactly what the tattooed midget was telling the girl, her body raised up on it's hackles, and a very low growl emanated from her body. It seemed like the girl had no idea about Jamie (she mentally filed the name away for later), and the boy was filling her in. Did Jamie know about this? Was he okay with telling her? Was she to be trusted with a secret like that? Who the hell did this little fruitcake think he was anyway? It was all she could do to keep her distance, to watch from afar, because if she got close to the little group, it would have escalated into a fight. She didn't like the idea of this man just going around telling who the fuck ever. It wasn't right. She laid her body down, crossing one paw over the other, resting her head on them and let out a huff; watching as the short, stupid young male lost his shit over the rabbit. It was just a bloody rabbit, no big deal. Actually, it smelled pretty delicious. The wind was carrying over the scent to her, and she inhaled deeply. She should have hunted earlier.

Suddenly, the wind shifted, and Mona froze, the fur on her back prickling up as Jamie seemed to catch her scent. Whether it was familiar or not, Mona wasn't sure, but she wasn't sticking around to find out. She straightened up, and bolted deeper into the woods, not wanting their 'reunion' of sorts to be so close to the rest of his group. Finally, when it was apparent he was chasing her, she whipped around, her tail asserting her self-confidence, while remaining friendly as she crashed her body into his, tackling him playfully. She licked his muzzle, hoping he wouldn't be too too surprised. She hadn't even stopped to consider where they were, but if she took the time to look, she would have noticed that they had ended up on some nature path. She also might have noticed, if she wasn't so busy showering affection on Jamie, that there was someone very close approaching. For the time being though, Mona had little to no fucks to give.

[HOLDEN MOORE]

Holden Moore was not a happy camper.

It had been only about a week since the college graduate had transferred his credits out to Barrie University in New York City, and Holden hadn't landed himself a proper job or place of residency. He'd transferred a little late to take part of student housing help of any kind and to be honest, Craigslist ads were about as useful as the school funds department, meaning he was still living in the Holiday Inn Express two blocks down from Madison Square Garden. The setup wasn't horrible, but at $150 a night, he was wracking up a bill that even his parents would turn their faces up at in an unfavorable way. He'd been allotted a month total in finding a place to settle, or he'd have to bus his happy ass back to the greater Pittsburgh area and attend some lame school full of hypocritical creeps and chub-o ladies.

Nope. No sir. Wasn't happening!

Day after day, Holden had been hitting the pavement, daily paper and print out of ads, his messenger bag of wonders, and his prized cell phone slash center of his universe all in tow as he visited shitty apartment after apartment in search of something in his price range that seemed at least halfway livable. He didn't worry about furnishing, whatever his parents wouldn't send - and they were going to be sending a lot - he would forge for himself; it paid to be an industrial art kid sometimes, it helped in the way of making a bit of extra cash here and there. Shit, if he had to, he'd find a welding apprenticing to make a spot of cash until he could go on with his art degree.

Today though, had been particularly rough. Not only had he made the mistake of taking the subway to the goddamn Bronx, he had to wait an hour until the credit card company unlocked his account in order for him to buy a metro pass back towards the land of the civilized. It wasn't that ghetto, but he had no intentions on living that far away. Still, if things didn't work out soon enough, he'd have to give it some consideration...

The day had waxed on, and still no luck. One Italian hoagie later, a rather unenthusiastic Holden found himself wandering through Central Park for no particular reason, at all, really. He should be calling that last apartment on his list, something about the Lost Boys complex or something, but it was so far from where he was now, and he didn't want to risk getting even more lost than he already had today.

'Go, go, go! There here!' His mind insisted, though he didn't know where he was supposed to be going or who on God's green earth 'they' were. Ignoring the thought as if it were something he just couldn't be bothered with, Holden shuffled his songlist to the next track and carried on his way, minding his own damn business. No one in their right mind should be listening to the voices in his head, so he was trying - and failing horribly - at ignoring the scratching and pawing going on in that thick head of his. Something wanted out, but he didn't quite understand who, what, or why.. Was the stress of finding a place to live really getting to him? Shit. Maybe he needed to stop, play a game of 'hey mister' and acquire himself a bottle of Jack to help tuck him into bed tonight - sometimes being shy of legal drinking age had its disadvantages.

The idea of having a seat on a park bench was rather appealing, but still, the urge to keep his pace steady and his hands in his pockets forced Holden to keep on his path. Pulling out a cigarette from his pack in his bag, he was soon enjoying the delight of a early evening nicotine fix. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Flick the ash. Repeat. This lasted for only half of the normal whole consumption because something in him was more interested in the scent of what seemed to Holden to be.. a dog.. And a fucking stinky one at that.

"The hell is wrong with me.." He mumbled quietly and to no one in particular. Screw it! If his mind was going to start shouting orders, he was gonna ask questions to invisible people. Maybe there was some crazy dog groomer having a field day in the park bathing all the stinky dogs.. Only, there weren't any such people around.. Actually, it seemed uncanny that the park be this sparse of people. Whatever. If this was some slasher movie in the making, he was high tailing it the fuck out of dodge before any axe wielding leatherface got his lanky ass.

Following the pathway deeper into the wooded area - because that's what sane people in slasher flicks with the creepy feeling in the back of their head did - Holden stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets, the ear-buds he had shoved in his head so far down there that the sound of the wolves in the distance just faint enough to give him a chill. Something darted out, startling the young man; he made no sound but only drew in a breath. At once, the voice he'd been pushing aside yelled out at him, in the same time that he felt his legs giving out. The smell of dogs all but choked the air out of him in those moments. What the fuck was going on!?

'THEM! THEM! IT'S THEM! THEY'RE WHO I'M LOOKING FOR! YOUR KIND! MY KIND! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT TO PLAY! I WANT TO HAVE FUN TOO!' Holden fell to his knees with a small whine, his eyes locked on the massive fucking beasts - one black and one grey in color - as they wrestled, almost playfully. There was a shudder through his body before Holden could realize what exactly was happening, he wasn't there anymore. Was he dying? Had that food been poisoned? Fuck. Really? The last time he'd gotten laid was like, before he even moved out here. What a shitty way to fucking go! It wasn't any of that, but for all he knew, it could have very well been a fucking heart attack. Didn't that shit run in the family? Fuck! When eventually he would come out of this, his own wolf form, he would probably have a few words for the voice in his head; but for now, the college boy was royally fucked.

Letting out another whine, this one out of discomfort of being stuck in so many layers of human clothing, the white wolf that had replaced Holden was struggling to get free. Would his newfound friends help him? Or would he have to rip apart the clothing on his own?