[IC] Werewolves in the City

[Arrayah]

She couldn't breathe. That was the first thing she noticed when she awoke from whatever dreams she'd been having. The air was thick with smoke, and she could not get oxygen. The second was the heat. It felt like she was burning from the inside out. The air was pressing down on her, suffocating. Her eyes opened and all she could see was red, everywhere. The flames danced in front of her eyes, as if they were beckoning her to enter them. For a moment, she thought it was over, that this was the end. Werewolves could survive a lot, but fire was just as deadly to them as it was to humans. Her body, however, had a different idea. It's main goal was to find her mother, her sister. It would not leave this house until they were safe. It was not giving up on life just yet.

Each breath was painful, each step agony. The flames licked her ankles as she tried to find the safest route through her home. More than once, she found herself staring at some precious memory that was now ashes, and wondering if she should just lay down and let the beast take her. Each time, her body pushed forward on its own, determined. When she finally made it to her mother's room, she was not prepared for the sight that lay before her.

Mother was dead, probably from the smoke. She had not been able to save her. She was gone forever. Without even thinking, she knelt beside her mothers bed and wept. She did not care that the fire was quickly catching up to her. She couldn't. Not if her mother was gone. As the tears fell down her face, dark laughter began to sound throughout the room.

"Are you ready for me? Because I am coming." The darkness flew at her then, and she screamed.

Kiara woke and just like in her dream, she could not breathe. Tears ran down her face and her hand was on her chest, as if it would help her, but it didn't. "It's coming," was all she could manage to gasp, though no one was around to hear her.

[The Roman07]

"So how much you bettin this time asshole?"

A Pasty old man in a worn out security uniform chewed hastily on an unlit cigarette as he shuffled the worn out deck of cards in front of him. The yellowed toothy grin shown the confidence behind his smug gesture.

"Two beers.... and next fridays nightshift." Roman replied softly while leaning back on his aluminum folding chair. Freshly pressed navy blue button down with a patch of a white wolfs head outlined with a gold shield patched onto his arm draped loosely and untucked around him showing off the form fitted white undershirt underneath. His hands never leaving the pockets of his black BDU's.

"You haven't even looked at yer cards sport, how ya know yer gerna win this time?" The old man raised a bushy gray eyebrow.

Roman leaned back on the chair and gave a half assed smirk. "I got luck on my side... plus your a shit bluff Steve."

The old mans brow frowed and he gritted his teeth so hard it almost chewed the cigarette in two. Slamming the deck down on the flimsy table made of some plywood and a couple milk crates and shown the 5 cards hidden under his liverspotted and bony hands. "Read em an weep! Two pair!" Steve blurted out dropping his already massacared cigarette on the ground. Roman just smiled and grunted as he slowly rose off his chair and gave a pat on Steves back as he checked his cell for any missed calls. "Better luck next time Steve... I'll be collecting those beers Monday, but for now I gotta check on a cute red head." Roman stuffed his cell in his pocket before walking off not even looking at his cards. Steve just sat there trying to figure out what happened.

"Wait... what? I won! Didn't I?.... wait didn't I?" He shouted to the already gone Roman in confusion.

Giving a quick glance down at the unturned cards he flipped them over only for his jaw to drop in amazment at the sight of a royal flush.

"DagNabbit! You little cheatin dog you! I'll find out how ya did it you son-ova-BITCH!"

Steve rambled on to himself before reshuffling the cards again attempting to figure out how he cheated. "Damn cheat always gives me his days to work, what's so special about Friday?"

Roman walked down to the nearby bus stop and hopped on the 3am to his avenue. Pulling his cell back out before tossing out a mass text. "Next moon is this Friday... get your shit together before than and meet at the usual spot, please no late runners... I'll bring the burgers and hot dogs."

[wolverbells]

Exhausted from a long day of work and getting back to the apartments semi-late, Rosalie laid in bed asleep, no dreams coming to her, only a blank mind.

Her eyes fluttered open when she thought she heard the sound of a muffled scream. She froze for only a second, letting her eyes adjust and her mind clear itself of the sleepy haze. Sure enough, another scream rang through the empty apartments and she shot up out of bed, her mind immediately going back to the burning fires, and sprinted out of the room, almost running into every closed door she came up to. At the moment, it didn't matter to her that she was only in a pair of her yoga shorts and an oversized t-shirt; no where near as intimidating as she should look if someone were attacking them in some way.

She recognized the voice and ran down the hallway to where Kiara had been sleeping and opened the door without knocking. "Kiara, are you alright?" She walked in the room, her eyes darting to every corner, and checked everywhere for any sign of danger. Once she cleared the room she sighed of relief and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry..... I thought someone was... I'll go, I apologize." Rosalie spoke softly and gave her a small apologetic smile, filled with chagrin as she quickly walked out of the room. She would give Kiara enough time to figure out when had happened, and it she needed anything, she knew she'd let everyone know.

Rose walked into her own room and picked up her phone, seeing the screen lit up. She frowned at the reminder that had been texted to all of them and walked back out towards the kitchen area.The apartments weren't in the best living conditions, but the pack had made the best of it and had been doing a fairly well job of laying low in them.

Her mind went over the text many times, and she frowned as she sat down on a chair. As much as she loved her extra 'abilities', as she had called them; being born into the culture wasn't always sunshine and rainbows. She sat her phone down and leaned back on the chair, sleep far gone out of her system. The worst part was that she worked that day.

[Dragonbud]

Cal always thought the best time to think was at night time, and she had a lot on her mind lately. She was struggling to adjust with life right now. Wolves are creatures known for their adaptive natures, so Cal couldn't figure out why she was so restless. She had been unable to sleep this night, finding herself burning despite sleeping in just her underwear. And despite how much she squeezed her eyes shut, they still stung from an unseen light. Finally giving up on sleep, Cal snuck out of the apartment. She knew many of the pack members didn't like her sneaking off in the night, but Cal was going stir crazy.

It didn't help that she was no longer going to school. She had almost nothing to do all day but get in trouble. Cal looked up and down the abandoned street, making sure she hadn't been followed. She didn't really fear being mugged or jumped, she would easily be able to fight off anyone who came at her. Cal paused beneath the light of a streetlamp, leaning against the cool metal pole. With almost unnatural speed and position, Cal pulled a cigarette and a lighter out of her pocket, lighting the cigarette dangling from her lip with a soft glow.

She was suddenly taken over by a strange sense of homesickness. To her, the pack was her family. She could not remember her birth family at all, after all of her years alone. The fire and the fear, it brought about a horrible feeling of displacement. She didn't really like the apartment. There was plenty of space for everyone, but it wasn't the same.

Cal's thought was cut off by a buzzing in her pocket. She looked down at pant leg, a faint glow piercing the dark. Cal stuffed her hand into her pocket, pulling a cell phone out. Cal unlocked it with a swipe of a finger, wincing as the screen felt almost ungodly bright. Cal grumbled out a "Who the hell is texting me this early in the morning?" As she read the message on her phones, her expression changed from one of mild annoyance to one of confusion. This Friday? The full moon is this Friday? With a feeling of dread Cal looked up at the moon. It was true. The moon was almost full. Later this week it would be time.

And if Ronan was texting everyone, that must mean he was getting off work. She almost considered texting him, asking him for a ride back to the apartment, but she didn't want to get in trouble for sneaking out. She didn't need to get another stern talking to from the Alpha.

[Obscene Symphony]

Sierra scratched her head, face contorting into an expression somewhere between incredible frustration and incredible discomfort. She knew coming to the city would be a bad idea, and here was her proof.

Fleas.

It was probably one of the most humiliating things she'd ever experienced, even with no one to mock her for it. She was a werewolf, an amazing accomplishment of nature, and somehow she was still able to be stupid enough to sleep under some bridge and wake up with fleas.
One would think that when she changed back to a human that the fleas would leave, right? That would be the logical thing. But no, they remained, crawling around in her hair, biting and itching, making Sierra seriously want to tear her hair out, for days. This was worse than that one time she’d gotten lice. So much worse.

She forced herself to stop scratching her scalp (it was already raw, she didn’t want to break the skin) and tried to focus on something else. She drew her legs up closer to her chest and leaning back against the alley wall, watching fog appear and dissipate in front of her as she breathed, just barely lit up by the streetlight. It was very late, or early rather, and she was tired, but the damn vermin crawling all over her wouldn’t let her sleep. And it was cold. Her sweater and jacket helped a bit, but the torn jeans didn’t, nor the worn converse. Where she would normally be shifted into her wolf form for the night, she was hesitant to do so here. There were no wooded areas to take shelter in, and she had no place to store her clothing if she shifted anyway. Still, she craved her thick fur in the chill.

Luckily, something happened to take Sierra’s mind off of her body's complaints. A rancid smell wafted over, the smell of cigarettes. She looked over to see a boy –no, that’s a girl- standing under the streetlight and smoking. Wrinkling her nose at the odour, Sierra leaned a bit forward to get a better look at her. The smoker wouldn’t be able to see her here in the darkness, but even still, Sierra pulled her hood further over her head, in an attempt to cover the bright streaks of green and yellow on the tips of her hair, as if it would make her less visible. Strange for someone to be out this time of night, even in the city.

Sierra saw the girl look up towards the moon, and her eyes followed the path. The moon was nearly full. In fact, if what she’d been taught was correct, it would be full in a couple of days. No wonder Sierra had felt antsy lately.
Shrugging, Sierra decided to abandon all hope of ever sleeping tonight and stood up, scratching her head as she turned away from the smoker and stalked down toward the opposite end of the alley, silent as the night and eager to escape the awful smell. Maybe she’d find a rat to catch or something.

[Leviathan]

Zoey “Snow” Rune
An iron stench permeated a smoggy atmosphere surrounded by peeling wallpaper and exposed wooden rafters. Construction equipment lay sprawled on plastic tarps along with messy paint cans of various pigments. Streams of ruby liquid flew through thick air and collided upon the concrete floor in an eerie trickling sound. One small hand held onto a bloodied man’s shirt underneath his adamns apple while the other swung with intense force. Plummeting reddened knuckles in the dazed brute’s bruised face over and over until he cried out, begging her to stop.

“I think that’s enough for now Z.” A statuesque woman commanded from behind a shadowed veil of light. Stepping forward each clack of her high heels echoed through the dimly lit establishment. A woman in her forties emerged into a single ray of gleaming moonlight, regally dressed in a business suit, and ready to hear answers.

“H-here, in my jacket. Take what’s in the wallet but I swear I’ll have the rest to you by Friday.” He nearly choked in reply. Both hands lifted in a submission manner, surrendering as if he hand nothing else left to offer. Snow took this opportunity to dig into the inside of his leather outerwear, still clutching onto his collar, and tossed the grey crocodile billfold to her employer. A look of satisfaction appeared on the older woman’s face though she seemed more interested in the wallet itself than the cash inside.

“Alright.” She sighed. “Friday. This is your last warning Wayne.” A waving hand motioned for the scum to exit post haste as she didn’t want to see this disgusting sight much longer.

This chic woman was an up and coming drug lord—lordess. No one took her seriously so she was always getting ripped off. With not being able to afford enough security or someone to retrieve these thieves she was eventually referred to Snow. The petite girl was just as effective but cheaper, taking any job she could muster and never asking questions. Snow felt proud that she could be the packs lifeline should they need fast cash in an emergency. She saved the rest hoping to put herself through college one day but that was a pipe dream and not likely.

Fingers uncoiled the material and Wayne slumped backward on both hands before gradually lifting himself up with a groan. He wiped his face with a palm and spit a clot of blood near Snow’s combat boots, shooting a death glare at her before taking his leave. Unfazed Snow watched the man limp away until his form disappeared, that was also her doing. She did not pity him. Everyone she came in contact with in this line of work held some form of bad within them, and the rest was none of her business.

“Thank you.” The drug lordess started looking slightly nervous. “I planned on paying you the full amount but since jackass didn’t bring back enough--can you settle for half today?”

“Oh, it’s no trouble…because I know where to find you.” A cheerful voice broke the strain of the previous events, and the corner of her mouth upturned in a devious smirk. Her boss for the day stared wide eyed in hesitance before handing over two hundred and fifty four dollars…and some odd change. Not much but it’ll do. “Only kidding!” Snow corrected while flashing a pearly white smile, and wandered to the dumpy bathroom with the money, and to where her bag had been placed earlier.

A cracked mirror reflected a pretty pale skinned woman with smoky eye shadow who began tugging off a shiny black wig, which revealed bright alabaster tresses in a slightly messy bob. This hairstyle accentuated her face with visibly Asian features. Slender fingers slid out colored contacts with ease to place in a solution filled container. She shook her head a bit allowing all the matted ivory strands to settle back into place. Fingernails brushing fringe bangs to their regular spot, above doe eyed stormy depths. Quickly changing out of an all-black get up to an over-sized white button up shirt and denim jeans, casual attire as always, she stuffed the dark clothing into the fashionable tote. It was safer to don a disguise while fulfilling these requests lest they find her on the street with her fellow friends, and start trouble.

Amidst leaving a savory aroma of late morning steak sandwiches served at a worn down food truck wafted toward her nostrils, a vibration then ring alerted Snow to retrieve her cellphone, snapping her out of a dreamlike state. Back to home sweet home she thought with a crack of her neck and strolled toward a bus stop, a bit disappointed a juicy cheese steak would be completely out of the question…even if she had the time. A chill nipped at her exposed neck but Snow did not mind, the cold blanketing her somehow felt consoling though brought back painful memories.

[Mayadere]

Hide stood groggily in the kitchen with his head on the counter, holding a rather large icepack to the right side of his face. The entire right side of his face was rather swollen and looked as if it was going to start to bruise, who knew a human wielding a bar stool would hit so hard? Or maybe it had been his fault for diving his face into the corner of the stool and then spinning around and smacking his face into the counter... It could have been either and at the moment he was not particularly up for trying to figure out which it had been, his face hurt and he was starting to get a throbbing headache to accompany his face.

Sadly though, he did not get long to dwell on his pain while no one else was about. A scream reached his ears, followed by the thudding sound of feet on the floor. Hide didn't move from his spot in the kitchen though, he merely waited. And all within a minute or so, the sound of the feet retreating and then silence once again. It honestly felt like no one was getting any sleep anymore. His lack of alarm for the scream was normal, well, at least he thought so. Since the fire, no one had been doing entirely great. Slowly he lifts his head off of the counter, dropping the icepack into the sink before he pulled out a kettle and began to fill it with some water. He plopped it onto the stove and turned the burner on before he reached for his backpack.

Normally he never carried anything with him, but since the fire and having gotten a job at Delicate Ferocity, he had started to carry a backpack. The manager of the store was very friendly and understanding that Hide had a big family to help take care of, and despite having been there for a short time, gave Hide all sorts of small gifts. Today's gift in particular was tea. His manager had sworn up and down that this tea was a cure for all sorts of ailments and had given him four metal tins of it. And not only that, but it was accompanied by five different tea infusers. Each one was a different shape, but he had to agree, the shark one that bit onto the side of the cup was his favorite.

Carefully he plops the tins down onto the counter and pulls himself out a clear glass cup. It wasn't long before the water boiled, and by that time he had already had the infuser filled and was already pouring his water into the cup by the time his cellphone began to beep at him. Dropping the infuser into the cup of hot water, he dug into his pocket and pulled out his old flip-phone. Quickly he scans over the screen, a text from Roman basically telling them when the next full moon was going to be. With a slightly tired frown, he hits reply to text him back.

"Cigarettes. Can you grab me a pack or two? I'll pay you back when I get paid next week." Hide then hit send and snapped his phone shut before stuffing it back into his jacket pocket before he plopped down into onto the kitchen floor with his tea. The smell was almost painfully strong, but he found it to be quite relaxing and warm in contrast to the slight chill he was still dealing with from his thirty minute walk home. He didn't really care if anyone else managed their way out of their rooms to get some tea, he knew the scent of it was strong enough to fill the entire apartment easily, but he was fine sitting on the floor by himself. So fine about sitting on the floor by himself that he nearly forgot how bad the right side of his face hurt while he stared up blankly at the ceiling, just holding his warm cup of tea.

[NotFish]

There was more than one person having nightmares that night. Erica was laying in her bed, the covers long since discarded in her fevered writhing. As she slept she was chased through her mind by dark creatures of fur and teeth. Finally the sound of a scream penetrated her nightmare and she started awake, coated from head to toe in a cold sweat. Her shoulder was aching, where she had been bitten, and it felt like her very bones were on fire. Did everyone go through this? She thought to herself as she sat in her bed.

Idly, she wondered who had screamed. Perhaps it was her own scream she'd heard and she pushed the thought away, trying to get away from the sense of despair that had fallen on her. She got out of bed and walked over to the window, pushing the creaking window open and closing her eyes as a cool breeze swept into the room. She brushed her dark hair out of her face and shivered slightly. The night air was cold but pleasant.

On the table beside her bed she heard a bell tinkle and looked over to see she'd gotten a message. Erica walked over and picked up her phone to read the message and immediately felt her mood sour again. "Burgers and Hot dogs?" She said to the empty room. How could they be so flippant about this. Erica's life had already been changed beyond repair and on Friday it was going to change even more, the idea filled her with dread and anxiety, and they were laughing it off with burgers and hot dogs?

Erica dropped the phone onto the bed and decided to get dressed, knowing she wasn't likely to get any more sleep that night, She pulled on her clothes, collected her phone and left her room. She walked through the dilapidated old apartment building, ignoring her surroundings and deep in thought.

[RollerToaster]

Jethro was still awake, he didn't sleep very often anyway, seated in an old patched up armchair and reading a hard cover book by the light of a single flickering candle. He was clothed in a pair of cargo pants and hiking boots with a fur lined jacket over his scarred upper body. The book he was reading was volume three of a series entitled "Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle.

He glanced up from his book as a scream sounded from a room nearby. It sounded like it had come from Kiara's room and, while he stopped reading, he made no move to get up. If they were under attack he would have smelt something long before now. Whatever had caused the scream was likely in the woman's own head and it was up to her to deal with it. Kiara was a grown woman, after all, not some whimpering pup that needed to have him hold her hand. If she wanted to talk he knew she'd come to him eventually, so he returned to his book.

[Arrayah]

Someone entered her room, but she barely noticed, still stuck in her nightmares as she was. She'd been having these dreams for weeks, but she had not told anyone about them, not yet. Kiara knew that they were omens, that something was coming for them, something that wanted them all dead. But even though she knew this, how would she explain it to the others? None of them would understand. They would believe she was crazy. Believe that maybe after the fire she had lost it. She couldn't even tell them what it was, just evil, dangerous, and terrifying. So terrifying that she was getting no sleep these days.

So she sat there, head in hands, unsure of what to do until the smell of tea wafted its way to her nostrils. Before she even knew what was happening, Kiara had gotten out of bed and padded to the kitchen, where the scent led her. Without even knocking, she walked in. Only then, did she pause and wonder what the hell she was doing. Perhaps, after having so little of it, chasing after something that would help her sleep was just second nature.

She should have just stayed in bed. After all, Kiara was sure she looked horrid. Hair messed up from sleep, tear stains on her face, puffy eyes, and not to mention the terrible scar that could be seen on her leg below the hem of her shorts. It was rather embarrassing, so much so that her normally confident voice - which had not really been so since the fire - was quiet, questioning. "Could I have some?" Some would say it was rude to barge in and then ask for something, but it was how they did things around here. With all but the Alpha that was.

[Leviathan]

Zoey “Snow” Rune
The aroma of fresh food made Snow salivate slightly and she could not tear eyes away from the solo food truck. People were beginning to show up to board the transportation and Snow bit the bottom of her lower lip giving in just as the bus came to a halt. A grumpy looking older gentleman opened the door waiting for the platinum blond to ascend steps but she leaned against the doorway innocently. “Hello Sir.” She managed the sweetest tone of voice that he could have possibly heard in ages. “I need to grab some food for my family but I need to get home as soon as possible.” He seemed to be listening, keenly scanning the timid woman, and began scratching his bearded chin in interest.

“I know you’re busy and have a tight schedule. How rude of me to ask a favor of a stranger…but I have hope that you can help me…A nice man like yourself.” Deep brown eyes adverted as she began fidgeting with the tips of short fingernails.

“Go on. Five minutes.” He grumbled while reaching into his pocket to pull out a pack of lucky strikes. “I need a smoke break anyway.” Snow lit up and bowed before rushing to the opposite side of the street to purchase cheese steaks for all the pack to munch on. None of these wolves were vegetarian after all, how silly that would be otherwise.

After paying a ridiculously outrageous price for bulk sandwiches…though she negotiated a significantly lower price than posted, feet sprinted back to the bus where the driver let the broad pass. She handed him a cheese steak and a glimmer of a smile appeared before vanishing just as quickly. Snow could not help but smirk, lucky she had sway in ways other than combat. Taking a seat near the front the ride home would be non-entertaining but many were visibly tempted by the delectable scent of melted cheese lingering through the small space.

---

Snow strolled into an almost dead quiet building that smelled aromatically pleasing but when the newly bought sustenance entered it began mixing into a completely different perfume. She could not decide if it was disgusting or heavenly. “Rise and shine.” She yelled after a nimble foot closed the door behind her.

“Food has arrived. More for me if you don’t want any though. Either way I am content.” Lean shoulders shrugged while making way into the downright homely kitchen as hands clutched plastic bags with food. Clear containers holding delicious thinly sliced steak on long buns were set upon the counter top. Her angelic face scrunched up while picking up a couple of dirty dishes left from last night, and tossing them into the fully loaded sink. There would not be enough plates for everyone—not unless she wanted to a Stepford wife and wash them…like that would happen. Never. Hopefully some would have an appetite, things had been awfully tense around after the fire but she kept her head held high.

[drallinix]

Adrian sat on the roof of the run down building. He leaned against the doorway to the stairs that he had come up. A cigarette hung in his mouth as he sat deep in thought. As the Beta it was his job to be strong and reassure the others, but he had no idea how to do so. theu had just been attacked and were now homeless and on top of it all the full moon was next Friday. Almost the moment he thought it his phone vibrated in his pocket. He whipped it out and surveyed the message. His brow furrowed as he quickly typed a reply. "Erica will change for the first time on that night I need to get her out of city limits we will leave today. I will take my bike." he typed the mass text and put his signature at the bottom of it.

Flicking out his cigarette and stepping on it he walked back down the stairs. Snow was just getting in with food and offering it to anybody. Adrian merely waved his hand as he walked by signaling he wasn't hungry. He suddenly appeared behind Kiara. Tapping her on the shoulder Adrian said in a soft voice "may I have a word?" before stepping to the side and gesturing into a vacant room.

[The Roman07]

Roman stood quietly as the bus slowly lurched its way from stop to stop. People jumping off and on and off again periodically as he chewed an unlit cigarette waiting patiently for his stop. His cell vibrated in his pocket but he already knew who it was. Like clockwork... Hide asking for cigarettes. He had to stop someplace anyway so there was most likely a corner store open late (or early) on the way. Once the soothing sound of screeching airbrakes irritated his eardrums one last time, he stopped about four blocks away from the apartment. Taking a quick detour to a nearby pet store often closed by now, Roman slipped around the back door and pulled out a tiny set of picks in his cargo pocket.

A couple quick presses and a flick of the wrist made the picks give a satisfying audible "click" which echoed throughout the back alley. A few moments passed in which Roman quickly and quietly slipped in grabbing a small brid cage filled with a couple parakeets and a big brown floppy eared rabbit. Before slipping back out he left a 50$ bill on the counter cuddling the rabbit under his left arm and the bird cage in his right. Just when he managed to close the door behind him a ragged, foul smelling bum walked up to him with a cigarette in hand.

"Hey buddy, got a light to spare?" The rhaspy voice stunk of booze and the all around aura of stench was repulsing but Roman set the bird cage down and pulled out a small zippo from his back pocket, lighting the mans cigarette.

"Thanks buddy.... now, give me your wallet!"

The bum reached into one of his many torn up pockets and pulled out a rather new looking switchblade. Without notice he lunged the knife towards Roman. Turning his body sideways he just barely missed Roman tearing his work shirt in the process. Instinctively taking his free hand and grabbing the mans wrist and squeezed. The bum screamed in pain as he felt the tiny fragile bones relocating. After buckling over from the pain Roman wrapped the mans arm around his own neck and slammed him into the nearby brick wall rendering him out cold. After a second to recompose himself he noticed a pack of cigatettes peeking out his shirt pocket. Giving a quick tug revealed an almost full pack in which Roman pocketed after throwing a few bucks on his unconcious body.

"Honey I'm home." Roman joked as he closed the paint peeled door behind him.

Some were inside the kitchen while others were just waking up. Tossing the pack of cigs on the nearby end table across from hide while placing the cage full of birds near the kitchen counter. He sat down on one of the few metal chairs occupying the poorly furnished kitchen. The smell of whatever Hide was brewing was filling his senses like he snorted a handfull of potpouri. It wasn't bad, just eerily strong.

"Can I have some?" A familiar voice wimpered.

Roman turned to look up at a nest of red hair that may or may not be a person. Leaning back on the cold metal chair slowly petting the big brown rabbit in his arms.

"Good morning sunshine, good to see you got your beauty sleep..."

[Mayadere]

"Yeah, you know you can have some, you don't have to ask." Hide says simply with a soft smile, though it looked a bit pained with how the right side of his face was looking at the moment. He quickly pushed himself up from the floor and set his own cup of tea down onto the counter. Quickly he pulled out another, slightly larger mug and placed it beside the four other tea infusers. He lightly motions towards the four tins he shoved in one of the counter corners. "There is Lemon, Mint, Peach, and some fancy-ass french name I cannot pronounce correctly. I got some of the fancy-french stuff, its not too bad, rather sweet though with a bit of a bitter after taste. Feel free to have more than one cup, too. But if you want more of a certain kind, you'll have to tell me so I can poke at my boss for some. Apparently she's got a huge collection of this tea stuff."

He wasn't going to ask about the scream, not unless she brought it up herself. He wasn't going to comment on how miserable she looked, either. It just was not in his nature to do so unless he felt it was necessary. And at the moment, he thought she needed some good, warm tea. And maybe a hug or a cuddle. But that was not his place, so instead he would gladly offer her anything he possibly could.

Hide wasn't fully paying attention when Roman entered, or even noticed when he had. As he looked up though, he caught sight of the bird's cage on the counter and the rabbit... his eyes quickly found the pack of cigarettes. A grin forces itself onto his face, or well, part of it. At this point, the right side of his face was starting to sport the colorings of a bruise all along his jaw and cheekbone. He quickly swipes the pack from the small table and opens the top, counting each toxic stick within the small container.

"Cigarettes, sweet. Thanks Roman, I'll be sure to pay you back next week." And with that, Hide practically slipped himself out of the kitchen and away from all the commotion that was starting after Snow had arrived with food. "I am going out to smoke really quickly. Be sure to save some food for me." He mumbles softly before slipping right out the door to the apartment without another word, not even bothering to stick around to hear any complaints or anything else of the alike. One might have thought that the fire and nearly suffocating because of it would have caused him to stop smoking, but all it had done was cause him to smoke more than he ever had. That, and he no longer asked people to sit with him while he smoked.

The very early morning chill did not even seem to phase him as he hobbled down the side of the apartment and made his way across the street. He didn't feel comfortable smoking that close to the apartment, something about it just sent triggers all throughout his mind and he lost his nerve to even shove one of the thin sticks between his lips. With a light shake of his head though, he digs into his pocket and pulls out a small zippo lighter and then goes about pulling out a cigarette to light. It was so quiet out, but he knew in just a few hours the streets would be filled with cars and people rushing to work or to take their children to school. A soft sigh escapes him as his shoulders slump, staring down at the cigarette he now held between two fingers gently.

But he did not have time to dwell on a single thought as something slammed into his back, sending him flying forward onto the cold concrete. Thankfully he caught himself before his face smacked into it first, but it did not do much good as an unseen force slams down onto his back, causing him to drop to the ground anyway. Before he was even able to register that he was chest first on the ground, he was put under assault by what he could only assume were utterly vicious stomping. Pain exploded all along the left side of his ribs where he could feel the painfully sharp heel digging through his skin and crushing whatever it hit. The feeling of his ribs being crushed was not something he would soon forget.

The stomping of the left side of his rib cage continued for what felt like ages, the air forced from his lungs, he was hardly able to breathe aside from gasping breaths between each stomp. His eyes were glued shut at this point, having started to tear-up after the first crushing stomp, they burned. Eventually though the stomping did come to a stop, it was followed by nothing but the sounds of Hide's own pained sounds of gasping desperately for air that just did not want to fill his lungs correctly. The pain from his shattered ribs was just too much, blood had even started to trickle from the corners of his mouth...

His few moments of trying to catch his breath did not last long as a powerful force slammed into his stomach, hard enough to send him flying into the ally between the other apartment buildings and head first into an old, rusty green dumpster. He slunk to the ground like a sack of bricks, landing in a heaping pile of whimpering and choked sobbing sounds. He was still desperately trying to catch his breath, but it just wasn't happening right, especially after such a powerful blow to the stomach. It hurt too much, way too much.

Hide would have been thankful for the fact that whatever had attacked him had left just as they had appeared, without a single trace. No scent, no presence, no nothing. He had not even caught a glimpse of whatever it was while he was being stepped on. Though his eyes had already been very blurry after the first stomp, so no one could really blame him for that. And while he really wanted to think how stupid he would look trying to explain how he had managed to shatter all these ribs on thin air, he wasn't sure what else he could tell anyone. He hadn't seen anything more than bits of shadows, there was nothing to report.

With small shallow breaths, Hide merely continues to lay there among the trash while his mind still attempted to catch up to what had happened. But he really couldn't think far past how bad he hurt, it almost felt like each breath was stabbing knives into his lungs, did he even have any skin remaining on his left side? Would anyone find him here? He was quite sure he wasn't able to make much noise, he could hardly breathe... and whatever was hitting him didn't make a sound, either. Maybe someone would remember he didn't like to smoke by himself, or maybe they would at least look outside to check. He could only hope.

Panic had start to mix in with his pain, though it did not seem like it would do much good. As he continued to struggle to catch his breath, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his consciousness slipped into nothing.

[NotFish]

Erica was pacing back and forth in the hall of one of the upper floors, surrounded by decayed wallpaper, soiled carpet and the smell of mould. Even now she could still remember her old home, the little town house in the inner suburbs where she lived with her father and cat, she idly wondered if her cat was ok. She used to think that life was boring, now she found herself missing the days where the biggest thing she had to worry about was whether she was wearing the clothes that were in fashion that week. She shivered at the thought that she would never have that life again.

Now she was a monster. She tried not to think that way, to stay positive, but whenever she looked at the others, all she could see was the animals they could become. And the fact that she was one of them brought up all kinds of confusing feelings. Was it them? Or us? She thought. She had always been a human being, and now she couldn't call herself that any more. So what was she? Erica hugged her clothes around her as she struggled with her little crisis of identity and when she looked up she found that she'd stopped outside Jethro's room. Jethro scared her, but she also felt a deep respect for him. She hesitated a moment before knocking on his door.

[RollerToaster]

The book Jethro was reading snapped shut with a bang that echoed through the room as he turned his attention to the door. He didn't have to ask who it was as, even through the damp wood he could smell the scent of their newest addition to the pack. Erica. Jethro could still remember the day she was brought to them, almost dead. She was born a human and by rights she should've died as one and he was tempted to let her slip away rather than suffer on. Maybe that would've been a kindness. But she had clawed her way back to life and that had impressed him. She wasn't aware of it, but her will to live was one of the strongest he'd ever seen.

He placed the book on the small end table that was placed next to his chair and called out in a gruff voice that, as many knew, could accommodate roaring laughter and intimidating threats in equal measure. "Come in Erica. My door is never locked to family." He called out, leaning back in the old armchair and crossing one leg over the opposite knee.

[Obscene Symphony]

Sierra had been walking through back alleys, sniffing around for anything fit for eating and cursing the fleas in her hair. She was glad for her sense of augmented smell even in human form, although now it only meant that the smells of garbage and pollution were stronger. Still though, she was able to pinpoint the smell of food as it wafted by.
She followed the scent, one of melted cheese and meat, through another alley and caught a glimpse of a white-haired person carrying bags into a building. Damn. Growling under her breath, Sierra leaned against a dumpster in this new alley, clutching her growling stomach as the sick feeling of hunger pangs rocked through her gut. If this went on much longer, she'd have to shift and eat a stray cat or something. Those fuckers were everywhere.

Sliding down the wall next to the dumpster, she sat on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest once again. The fleas were still bothering her, but she was so tired at this point that she began to nod off, forehead resting on her knees. That was, until she heard someone coming out of the building she was sitting against.
She tried to ignore it, figuring it was just another late night smoker as the familiar stink of cigarettes reached her. She'd actually almost fallen asleep by the time she heard a heavy thudding in the street.

Sierra's eyes snapped open, and she stood, peering around the dumpster into the street. In the dim yellow glow of a streetlight she saw a man on the ground, sputtering and wheezing, looking as if he had been attacked. But that was impossible. There wasn't a soul around except for the man and Sierra herself. She took a step around the dumpster to investigate, but just as she did so, the man started moving.
Her eyes widened. He wasn't moving under his own power, it was as if he was being dragged by some unseen brute. Sierra jumped back as he was slammed into the dumpster, yelping, "What the fuck!" and trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and the bloodied pulp of a man. He breathed heavily and quickly, possible hyperventilating, obviously panicked. Sierra wanted to run and get the hell away from whatever demon was possessing the area. This was crazy. Was this the type of shit that went down in cities? No, impossible, no matter where you went some things remained impossible.

Her entire body shook, out of hunger or fear she did not know. But the man had passed out, and the... thing seemed to be gone now. Cautiously she approached, her steps silent, drawing her hood as far over her head as it could go, as if that would protect her. She knelt beside the man, now definitely unconscious, and looked him over. He was in bad shape, that much was true. The familiar scent of blood hung heavily around him, making the air thick and rancid. But there was another strong scent there too, aside from cigarettes and what seemed to be tea. Forgetting herself for the moment, she lowered her face to his (where blood dripped from his mouth), and took a long sniff.

No way. The man was a werewolf, no doubt about it. Sierra's mind spun. She'd always known that her pack couldn't have been the only ones, but here? In a city? It was more than unlikely. In her perplexity, Sierra almost forgot that the man was in critical condition, and that she knew next to nothing about first aid. So, with shaky hands she grabbed two handfuls of the man's shirt and gently shook.

"Dude, wake up, don't be dead, come on..." When there was no reaction, she let go of one hand and gently slapped his (mostly) uninjured cheek. "Hello! Dude! Wake up! Hello!"

[wolverbells]

As the sound of others coming in to the apartment or waking up filled the room, Rosalie began waking up again. She had dozed off while sitting and thankfully woken up in time to see that it was almost four in the morning. With a groan, she stood up from the table and and stretched. By now, almost everyone was either in the room or doing something of their own. She smiled at Snow as she sat the food down on the table and for a second, let the scent of it sink in. "I've got to get ready. I'll eat something on the road though." It wasn't really a good excuse, but Rose wanted the others to get enough food, so she would regularly not eat with the pack.

The best part about her job was that she didn't have to dress up. Fitted leggings and a fitted tee would do just fine. "I'm going to be late..." She whispered to herself as she shrugged on a black leather jacket and grabbed her purse. She didn't expect to have taken so long getting ready and now she was nearly running out of her room. "I'll be back around noon. I'll bring some stuff for Friday." She spoke so fast she was amazed that her tongue didn't get tied.

Rose quickly skipped down the stairs and left through the back alley door, shutting it quietly behind her. She pulled her hair up in a bun as she made her way around the building towards the sidewalk, humming quietly to herself, before coming to a complete stop at the familiar smell of blood. She stayed frozen and sifted through the scents quickly. Blood, cigarettes, tea, some sort of cologne, and a completely different scent she'd never come across. Her eyes narrowed as she caught the slight wolf edge to the scent and began walking forward slowly. She pulled her phone out and sent a mass text quickly before she took another step, 'There's a wolf outside of the apt... There's also blood.... and Hide's scent?'
After hitting the send button, she kept walking, gasping when she saw Hide on the ground near trash, looking like he had been through hell. Rose's eyes zeroed in on the female standing by him, anger overcoming the shock. "Get away from him!" Rose nearly growled as she ran over, not caring if it was a stupid move. Was this girl accompanied? Was it an ambush? Surely one girl couldn't have taken Hide out. What if she had been watching them? It didn't matter now. The smart thing would have been to wait for Jethro, Roman, or Adrian, but Rose couldn't wait for the others to come outside. "Hide? Hide!" She was there within seconds, kneeling by him and checking his pulse and breathing. For a minute, she was more preoccupied with trying to assure Hide was alive and well when she remembered she had turned her back on the female. Her head snapped up and she turned, glaring at the young girl, her hands shaking as she stood up. "What the hell did you do?! Who are you?!"

[Dragonbud]

Eventually Cal was all thought out, and the cigarette between her lips was a mere stub with an orange glow at the end. With a soft sigh Cal dropped the cigarette to the ground by her feet, snuffing it with the toe of her shoe. She should probably start the walk back to the apartment. The last thing she wanted was to get scolded by her family pack, for being out early in the morning without telling anyone. It was just about time for everyone to be waking up, another long day for them.

As much as the pack truly felt like a family to Cal, she was far too shy to call them such. Perhaps it was her crippling fear of becoming attached to something, only to lose it and become abandoned. Even then so Cal would sometimes slip and call the older wolves in the pack mom or dad. After that she would cuss for minutes straight, get all flustered, and often have to leave the conversation.

She decided it would be best to do through the back door, maybe avoiding any stern pack members. As she walked up the back steps of the apartment building Cal swore she had heard voices and smelt the fading scent of cigarettes, but passed it off as her just being tired and stressed. She opened the door slowly and closed it as softly as possible, as if not sure if she wanted the rest of her pack to realize she was back. She listened to the quiet conversations and the soft glow of whatever cheap lighting this place had. That with the smell of tea and food wafting through the air, it almost felt homely. She sheepishly walked into the kitchen, trying to contain her hungry stares as she looked around at her pack members.

[drallinix]

Adrian felt hi phone vibrate and checked it. Rose said there was another wolf, Hide, and blood. That was all he had to see and he was off. Running out the door he came saw her across the street with another girl. Runign up he found Hide was wounded badly and Rose was growling at the other girl. Adrian instantly placed himself in-between the two with his back to Rose. He shielded her and Hide with his body as he got into a gave the girl a look of death. She was mangy looking and obviously smaller if she appeared hostile he would take her out.