Mountain Sound [Zander, Silas]

[Cookie <3]

She could feel the itch. Like nails on a chalkboard, screaming in the corners of her mind. Tickling up her spine and skittering through her shoulders. The hair on her arms bristled and her stomach twisted in knots. How long had it been? A week? Two? She could not remember. When was the last time she shifted? Since coming to the city, she hadn't had the chance to steal a few moments for her other half. She never went so long without changing at least once.

I don't usually wait this long, thought Micki.

And now that moonrise was only a few hours off, she could feel her other half clawing at the surface. Restless.

Finding a suitable place to turn was the hardest part. Boston was just too large of a city. Too many people. Too many lights. Too many sounds. And not enough space to let her other self roam. Downtown was definitely out of the question. And the waterfront was just asking for trouble. Was there no place she could go to find some peace? Still, that had not stopped her search. Bustling city had became sprawling, suburban homes and sidewalks.

And trees.

Trees and parks as far as the eye could see. It was an oasis in the desert. A glimmer of what she was used to, but it would suffice. Tall pines and billowing oaks. Grass and plenty of places for her to poke around in. And from where she stood, she could spot a dilapidated barn in the distance.

And to her right, something yellow caught her eye.

"'Park closed after dark?' Whatever!" she growled, frowning at the sign. As if a little sign would keep her out.

The itch grew more persistent with each passing minute, and the girl surrendered herself to her senses. Let her nose guide her to the safest place to shift. Into the brush behind the decrepit barn, her beast preened. Pushed and tested its restraints. 'Can I go now?', it seemed to say. Eager and ready.

And Micki let go.

It was like riding a bike. Painful, but something she willingly accepts. She can feel it burning through her bones. Calling and screaming, and finally she answers. Her beast shrieks. Pulling and tearing and hot. There is a familiar pain alighting through her flesh. An ache that starts at the base of her spine and sears outward. Muscles pull and stretch. Fur prickles along her body. Every sense is hyper aware. And gradually, the human recedes into the back of the mind - there, but only an observer. It is a wild thing. Long-limbed and furred and whimpering in a mass of flesh and fur and sweat. Time is a concept lost on the beast. No longer important. The shift is not quick - for that is an excruciating pain that she does not like to experience. But neither is it agonizingly slow. For survival is important, and hours in-between forms in dangerous. Vulnerable.

And when the pain diminishes and everything is right, the beast shakes. Stretches languidly and rolls about in the underbrush. Freedom. Bipedal hind limbs kick out, and curved claws dig into the soil. And with a deep breath, it takes in the scents of the surrounding woods.

It's not home, but it will do.

[Zander Burke]

Zander managed to convince Silas to come out with him. He promised the other wolf that if he didn't like it, he didn't have to come again, ever -- Zander was never really great at keeping those promises... but this time he understood Silas' hesitance. Zander wasn't happy to have shifted in Silas' apartment, it was mainly his fault that happened but he didn't feel safe. Thank fucking god nothing happened... he wouldn't have been able to show his face if anything... he just wouldn't be able to handle that, not again.

Of course, although he had managed to convince him... they were running a little late. As the moon rose further in the sky... the more Zander sped up. Why did it have to take so much goddamned time to get there? Zander had tried to keep small talk going to help take their minds off of whatever was happening at this point in time. There were already outside the city, he just needed to get there. Fingers were drumming impatiently on the steering wheel, shifting from the light drumming to gripping the wheel. Zander had experience driving while under this pressure, but it didn't mean it was any less difficult. This was the only time of the month that Zander was not his super cocky self, instead he was a little pushier... although it wasn't entirely him.

Brown and green eyes would flicker to Silas, "Hey. You okay?" he would ask, glancing back to the road... since he could only focus on one thing at a time at the moment. "Don't you dare shift in my fucking car." he would say, there was no heat in his voice... if anything he tried to make light of their sort of... now urgent situation. They at least needed to get past the suburbs... and into the wooded area at least. He knew that if they shifted anywhere in the forest the wolf always made its way to the barn. This time though he'd have Silas in tow.

Zander would take slow breaths, if he ever had to explain this whole pre-shifting feelings to anyone (and he has) he described it as something similar to getting sick. At first you were fine, then when the nausea starts to set in, thats when you feel the most uncomfortable until it started to hurt. And of course there was the panic of 'this is actually happening now'. Right now Zander was in that in between stage where it was fucking hurting, holding it back, where the small edge of panic was creeping in.

Luckily they were pretty much close to where it was safe. He would pull the car over. "Hey. Silas, get out. Strip first, leave your shit here." The chill from outside wouldn't be felt, since his skin already felt like it was on fire. All he wore were those cheap basketball shorts that pretty much just slip off when he shifts. He would lead the other wolf deeper into the brush, with his car safely parked on the side of the road. He wasn't worried, he felt at ease in these woods... once deep enough he would turn to Silas -- eyes feral... yet he was still in control at the moment. "Its safe... we're fine." he would say, his tone hushed... words as soft as he is able to make them at the moment, he would be as close as Silas would allow him -- hoping to ease any of the other man's worries. The actions are mostly Zander's wolf wanting to be close to the other wolf.

---

Speaking of -- said wolf of course would eventually tire of waiting. It seemed to know that freedom was so close. He pushed hard, and Zander allowed it... letting go of all restraints. Shifting here, in this area, the pain wasn't any less... but it wasn't all that he was focusing on. Soon however, the wolf would be at the forefront of his mind, and Zander himself was soon forgotten. As soon as the cracking, popping and reforming of his skeleton was complete, there stood a spotted wolf... who to some looked very much like a very large dog.

It would very happily go and greet the darker wolf, with high pitched whines and a few playful nips to the other's scruff. But it wanted to run -- it was finally able to get out and run. The wolf would bound a few feet, whirling around to encourage Silas to come with him. If the other wolf wouldn't move, growling Zander would circle around nipping at the other's heels, sort of bullying the other forward.

It wasn't until there was another scent on the air... that caused Zander to pause... freeze more like -- as low growls rumbled in his chest. This was his territory, and there was someone else here... someone who wasn't allowed. His ears would perk to subtle noises, circling around Silas before standing pretty much in front, tail raised and ears perked forward chest still rumbling, growling lowly.

[Zephyr]

The surgeon’s reluctance to accompany Zander has nothing to do with not wanting to spend time with the other man and everything to do with wanting to spend time with another man. He knows how twisted this is, but he can’t control how he feels. He isn’t even asking Zander not to come around on full moons. His wolf seems to like Zander’s enough that it’s nice having him somewhere he can feel moderately comforted instead of changing alone and scared, like Silas had to do so many times before Matthias.

The conversation between Zander, Matthias and Silas consisted of a lot of growling on the part of the wolves, increased by the proximity of the moon, was pretty heated. In the end though, no matter how adamant Silas was to stay near Matthias, he couldn’t deny that the wolf was itching to have more. Even if it’d only be for one night, he could do this, could do this for Zander and Matthias, who seemed to think he knew more about what Silas’ wolf needed than the doctor himself did.

Now Silas sits half curled in Zander’s seat, pushing back the wolf. It wants out so badly. It smells Zander’s wolf, tight against the other man’s skin and it wants out. Lips curled in a snarl, he jerks his head over at the other man’s words and snorts lightly. “Yeah. I’m goddamn peachy. Not like some overgrown mutt is trying to scratch its way out of my chest or anything.” He growls, words more sarcastic than he’d been intending. Emotions are skewed this close to a full moon, and if he’s feeling this bad, he can only imagine how bad Zander must be feeling.

Right about now would be the time Matthias would have his arms around Silas and the werewolf jerks at the memory, unconsciously shifting in the seat closer to Zander, half wondering if it’s safe for him to be driving this close to shifting. He only growls at the other werewolf’s comment, knowing that there’s nothing either of them can do about it if Silas’ worse half decides to make a break for it now. Instead of saying anything about it, he focuses on suppressing it, pressing the wolf back as much as he can while he wonders where they’re going. Zander’s barn is much too far to get to when he’d this close to ripping his fucking skin off.

But he can’t find the words to ask. He’s too busy trying to keep himself from ripping his fucking skin off.

He doesn’t question it much when Zander finally stops the car, half scrambles out in a gasping, heaving mess even before the other man kills the engine. He’s in the grass on his knees and he’s so close to letting go, even with his fingers curled white knuckled around the door handle. He growls, half wanting to snap at the other wolf for presuming to tell him what to do, but Silas fights it, grunting as he pulls himself to his feet, trying to think of things other than the wolf struggling to push its way through Silas’ body. He methodically strips off his clothes, all of them, and once he’s tossed his boxers onto the seat in his pile of clothing, he cries out, doubling over face twisting in a snarl as a particularly painful wave overtakes him. “I’m glad you fucking think so, asshole. Where the fuck are we even…” And he doesn’t get to finish that sentence, as he falls to his knees. Legs trembling, Silas half stands and presses himself against Zander, knowing that the other man is hurting too, but needing the comfort of arms around him that he gets from Matthias. It isn’t the same because Zander is shaking, trembling with the pain of change…he isn’t the solid warmth that Matthias represents, but it has to be enough as Silas presses his face into Zander’s shoulder as his skin rips.

The doctor is pushing the wolf back so much, deathly afraid that it will hurt someone, that Zander changes before he does. When the other man falls out of his grasp, Silas falls, scrambling up against the car as Zander writhes and twists and ripples as the wolf forces its way through. His eyes are wide with the horror of watching another werewolf shift, and that lapse in defenses is what gives the wolf what it needs to push through powerfully and reduce Silas himself to a writhing mess on the ground.

After the trauma of shifting organs and bending, creaking bones, of legs reforming themselves and dark fur rippling up and over his naked body, a very tired and very sweaty wolf lies where the man once had. It’s a good thing that Zander had thought to tell him to take his clothes off, because the wolf doesn’t have any clothes to tangle itself in for once.

It doesn’t seem to realize, at first, that it isn’t in the apartment, with the familiar scents of the furniture and the man the wolf has claimed there. After a second, the wolf freezes, recognizing the scent of the other wolf, but nothing else. The smell of fresh air and grass, where it should be comforting, is instead frightening to the beast that has known nothing but hardwood under its paws. The grass is unfamiliar and frightening to it and the wolf snarls, leaping to its feet and spinning wildly in place for a moment before green-brown eyes find the form of the spotted wolf.

The bombardment of new sights and smells are too much for the sheltered animal and it presses itself up against the familiar wolf, shivering at the growl that rumbles the other animal’s body. It smells it now, the stranger. It tenses up, lips lifting in a snarl, muscles going taut. It has no idea what the hell is going on, but it doesn’t like this one bit.

[Cookie <3]

Post-shift, the brown-tan beast fumbled about in the underbrush, finding its way in the dark. It had been days since it last let loose. Cut free from its human cage. The final shivers chased up its spine as it settled into its skin. Perfection. Shadowed in the brush behind the rundown barn, green eyes stared out towards the moonlit field. The scents. The sounds. The landscape. Everything was different from what it was accustomed to. The creature whined. This was not home. But for now, it would make do. Out of its native habitat, the beast's natural curiosity got the better of it. The need to explore - and to hunt - drove it from its hiding place and into the open.

It crept out on all fours. Awkward and unbalanced, the bipedal creature looked very odd skulking about in the grass. Head held low and casting careful glances around the park.

A moment of silence passed.

Clear!

The brown-tan yelped, bolting for the field. A chorus of keening barks and yodeling yips erupted from the young wolf. Tumbling in the grass, it cut loose. Leaves caught in its mane and fresh mud slicked its paws. The werewolf raced through the cool night and chased its tail. A chance for it to really let go. Freedom and to just be; the very things the beast would cherish, if it knew what it meant to do so. It payed no mind to the concept of time. The eagerness to stretch and run overrode such a meaningless thing to the werewolf.

But it could not ignore the new scents that tickled the edge of its sense. One oddly familiar, the other unknown. Skidding in the damp grass, the small female stumbled on large paws. Flopping to the ground, it waited. Others? Ears twitching, she picked up the shivering growls carried in the air. Others. It was a vague thought - an inkling of the human within - that winked out as soon as it passed. But interest was sparked. And in its simple mind, it was eager to discover something new.

The lanky brown snorted and rose, loping towards the scents. Males. But that did not deter it. Slowed its gait a little, but did not stop its search. It wandered back towards the entrance of the park - near the decrepit barn - and paused. The scents were stronger here.

A whine chittering through its teeth, it pressed its belly to wet earth. They were near - somewhere. But where, it could not say for certain. Nevertheless, little wolf waited with what felt like butterflies twisting in its gut and its tail thumping hopefully against its sides.

[Zander Burke]

Of course the wolf didn’t except the other to be responsive… but it didn’t stop Zander from trying to nudge the other along. It wanted to head towards its home by the barn, in the fields… or just run through the woods. For the moment the other wolf wasn’t a huge issue, it was something that currently irritated him… but with Silas here Zander just wanted to show him everything. A few licks to the darker wolf’s face as he pressed himself into Silas as well… accepting and providing comfort or safety whichever was needed most at the moment. With a few prods of his muzzle, Zander will try to get Silas moving again, even going as far as using his head to push Silas’ rump forward. The spotted wolf whined eagerly, trying to urge him forward.

Of course the yelps and yips of the unknown weren’t completely ignored. His first priority at this point in time was to get Silas mobile. But of course the scent grew stronger, and Zander would pause in his urgings, and just stand next to the other for a moment. Nose tested the air, as his eyes and ears flickered around searching for the source; The other was closer now, closer than what Zander would have preferred. The whine zeroed in his sight and smell, and the spotted wolf would stalk forward taking slow, quiet careful steps, head low.

After a minute or so, when he thought he knew where she was, he would suddenly lunge. If Micki was where he thought she was – there would be a smaller snarling wolf in her face. His ears (one floppy) would be perked forward, tail high over his back, and hackles up, spiky along his back. If she didn’t move he would snap at her growling, lips pulled in a snarl. Even Zander’s wolf was more bark than bite, it was surprised of how… large this wolf was. But of course it had to press buttons, test its boundaries… so he was either extremely stupid… or he had no self-preservation.

He wouldn’t attack, unless the other attacked first – although he didn’t know what to make of this one. It smelled like a wolf… but definitely didn’t look like one. So he was naturally… confused.

[Zephyr]

This is so far from the dark wolf’s comfort zone that it isn’t even funny. The animal has never been outside, let alone in a park in the middle of the night. At least it isn’t by itself. The spotted wolf, while not familiar in and of itself, is at least exceedingly more familiar than anything around it. The other wolf had been present for one of its shifts and they had played, and there is something about the other wolf that the dark beast cannot quite put a paw on. Some inherent trust that has to do with the man, but that is beyond the animals comprehension, and it doesn’t question what force leads it to press itself against the light wolf.

It might wish that its man was here, but short of sitting on the ground and howling for him, it doesn’t know a way to summon him, and when everything around it seems like it’s caving in, that doesn’t seem like an option in the least.

So forward.

Still, coming to the realization that it should probably move and actually moving are two completely different things. It tolerates the licks and the nudges, whine morphing into a low growl as the other wolf continues to try and move it, but still the bigger wolf makes no movement to actually try and stop the other wolf from nudging at it…it just stays where it is, the scents from the park filtering through its nose.

Things began to change rapidly when the strange scent approaches. Ears flatten along the dark wolf’s skull and it lowers its head, lips lifting in a vicious snarl, the fur on the back of its neck prickling dangerously. This isn’t a joke, this isn’t what it is used to. It’s human isn’t here to protect it and there is some ominous presence approaching them. The other wolf is moving away, head low.

So the strange wolf is here. Close.

Licking its chops, the dark wolf follows behind its lighter counterpart, ears still flat and tail thrashing at its rear. It takes slow steps, keeping at the other wolf’s back for a moment until it’s fellow suddenly lunges. The dark wolf freezes for a moment, hesitating with every single muscle in its body tense and on guard.

The beast takes a different approach than the spotted wolf had done. Instead of lunging, full cock, the dark one moves slowly, emerging from the shadows silently. Its lip is curled, but its snarl is silent. Tail is raised and ears still flat, it gives the strange looking creature a wide berth, brown-green eyes never leaving its form. This is a wolf. Its scent is clear as day, but it is odd looking. It is bigger than either of them with massive paws and oddly shaped hind legs.

Gaze never leaves the form of the tawny stranger…a female it can smell now. Tongue swipes over the wolf’s nose as it begins to arc around, circling the strange beast silently while it appraises it. It may look odd, but the dark wolf doesn’t see this beast as a threat. It is low, belly pressed to the ground, whining lightly, tail wagging. Whatever this is, the wolf doesn’t think it means to harm either of them. Pulling its gaze from the strange shaped wolf on the ground, it tries to catch the brown-blue gaze of the spotted wolf before it begins to approach the stranger, steps slow and wary. Ears still flat to its head, the dark wolf stretches out its head slowly and sniffs around the female’s tail carefully, muscles absolutely tense.

It’s ready to leap away in a flash if the odd wolf so much as looks at it wrong.

[Cookie <3]

What odd looking creatures.

The leggy werewolf stretched out towards them, leaning forward slightly. Walking like dogs - built like the wild wolves from her homeland - but smelling like her. Werewolf. The biped snorted. Laying in the grass, remaining at just below eye level with the smaller beasts, curiosity kept it in place as the two neared. Jitters crawled all over its skin and under its thick fur. Come! Come! the creature seemed to radiate a sense of eagerness. Nearly pulling itself up with the urge to explore.

But the dappled one lunged, and Micki scampered back. Spooked. Head pulled back into the ruff of her neck, eye whites glinting in the dark and gaze downcast. The biped lurched up onto its haunches. A hasty and ungraceful move. Sitting with its hind legs splayed at an uncomfortable angle, the female yelps. Forearms pressed to its chest, its claws dug into the loamy soil. Seated upright, it just barely towered over the odd-looking werewolves. Still, the tan kept its eyes lowered and ears flattened out to the sides.

There were two. The biped knew this for certain now. Caution, not fear, is very present in her scent. While the loudest and boldest yapped at her, the other comes up from behind. An ear twitches in his direction. But she does not move. Allows the darker wolf to persist with its exploration.

Micki whimpered, sniffing lightly.

It is not as… aggressive as the spotted one. Nor nearly as standoffish as the other. A tense calm radiates through the female and it gradually sinks back towards the ground. It is a shuffling move - much maneuvering to make up for its elongated limbs - but eventually it finds a comfortable position. Head lowered and body rolled partially to the side, another keening whine slid past sharp canines.

No threat, see? Micki's tail thumps against the ground, if only for a second, before tucking against her belly.

The lanky female steals a few cursory sniffs of the spotted one's scent. Tidbits of information filter through its mind as it catalogues the data. Male. Werewolf. Current resident of this place. Only the key things that mattered at this very moment. Running on instinct was the beast's way of coping.

Green eyes moved to the darker werewolf stalking nearby - wherever he was now.

Patience, that tidbit of humanity whispers in the recesses of tan beast's mind. And it heeds the instructions. If only for the moment...