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“So, are you ready to head out, Tommy?”
“Sure,” Tommy lied flatly, “Lead the way, boss man.”
It was weird having a pair of werewolves hover over him like he was a fragile doll, even though the past week had been nothing but a group of werewolves treating him as such. It was weird for a number of reasons. For starters his previous pack hadn’t given two shits about him half the time. The other reason was that as a kid who grew up in the foster system, this whole treatment was far, far different compared to anything that he’d been shown before.
“We have plenty of spare rooms you can pick from and make your own,” Phil continued as they walked out of the building.
Kristin, who seemed to be the one actually in charge, offered a warm smile, “We can take you shopping later, if you’d like.”
Kristin and Phil were different, though every werewolf Tommy had met could be described that way.
Kristin was tall. Really, really tall. Tommy didn’t know how she had a good posture given how often she must have had to duck in her life just because of her height. She had long hair, a natural brunette appearance, and golden eyes. She seemed to enjoy the colors purple and black, and was dressed in a style that was a combination of what Tommy could only describe as whimsical and gothic.
Phil, on the other hand, was shorter than Tommy. Not short, but considering that Tommy was a natural six foot three it wasn’t that surprising that Phil was shorter. He had long blond hair, shorter at the front but longer at the back. Tommy had thought he kept his hair loose, but when Phil turned around he noticed that he did have a tie keeping his hair together. His eyes were also a gold color, matching his hair a bit. He also seemed to enjoy the color black, though favored green in his wardrobe.
Tommy just rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”
No one seemed to argue with Kristin. Tommy didn’t understand a single thing about werewolves, and the past week had flipped everything he had thought he had figured out on its head. For starters, he had no idea that werewolf packs in an area had a meeting point and were supposed to update each other once every three months. Second biggest thing he worked out? Werewolves weren’t supposed to turn minors, and it was considered a very, very big crime to do so.
Hence Tommy no longer being allowed to stay with the pack that turned him against his will (another crime, apparently).
There had been three packs in the area, and there had been a lot of debate on what to do with Tommy until Kristin got involved. Tommy didn’t understand shit about werewolves, but he was a little worried about the fact that Kristin walked in and everyone just instantly agreed with whatever she wanted when for multiple days they had been clawing at each other's' throats.
Yeah, Kristin was some kind of terrifying fucker and Tommy really wasn’t excited to work out what made her so scary.
“Are you hungry? We can text someone in our pack to make something for you so that you can eat when we get there?” Phil offered.
“I’m fine.”
“Do you have any allergies or dietary restrictions that we need to take into consideration? We probably should have asked that earlier.”
“No.”
They finally made it to Phil and Kristin’s car, which was the lamest looking car a supernatural creature could own – seriously, it made them look like doting parents on the way to a parent-teacher conference. They even had those family stickers on the back, though amusingly it was just a bunch of dogs instead of any human stick figures. There had also been some attempts to peel them off.
“Do you get motion sickness? Do you need to sit in the front?”
Tommy was tempted to slam his head against the vehicle, “No.”
“We know this is going to be a difficult adjustment for you. There is a reason why anyone below the age of twenty isn’t supposed to be turned into a werewolf outside of serious circumstances. But we do want to help you, Tommy,” Kristin said as she slid into the front seat.
“If there was a way to undo the change, we would give you that option, but unfortunately you are stuck like that. We just want to make sure you're safe and happy now that you are a werewolf,” Phil added as he got behind the front wheel.
“Yeah, I get it,” Tommy grumbled as he sat in the back seat, his backpack resting at his feet.
They sat in silence for a moment as Phil started to pull the car out and get onto the road. Then Kristin turned towards Tommy with a smile that Tommy was starting to get annoyed by.
“Do you want to pick the music?”
Tommy once again resisted the urge to slam his head against something, “No.”
It had been a long drive to Kristin and Phil’s den, one full of questions as the two adult werewolves tried to bond and get to know Tommy. Which lost its charm very, very quickly. Tommy mostly just tried to tune it out with short, noncommittal answers and focused on watching the scenery.
The property they pulled up to was surrounded by forest and nature, which Tommy thought could be a nice change of pace. He always liked nature, plants and critters, so he could enjoy that at least. The house built in the middle of the forest seemed cozy – like it had been built with the intention of housing multiple people, but wasn’t built to be large just for the sake of being large.
“Alright, this is our place, our den.”
Tommy pulled himself out of the car before Phil could make his way over to open the door for him.
“Yeah, cool,” Tommy said flatly.
Kristin just looked amused, “Come on, we messaged everyone already. It's time to meet the rest of the pack.”
Tommy was not looking forward to meeting the rest of the pack. He didn’t understand werewolves, but his last pack had a major pecking order and he had been at the bottom. Kristin and Phil might be extremely weird, and they might have some kind of moral compass, but he wasn’t interested in seeing how much his previous pack was similar to others.
“Do you need a moment?” Phil offered with a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
“No,” Tommy tried to settle his hands that were fidgeting with his bags, “I’m obviously fine.”
“Of course, of course,” Kristin said, still far too amused in her tone, “Then we can head inside then?”
Tommy tried not to pout as he was led into the house. And he was instantly greeted by three new faces, waiting for him in the entry room in a way that was totally not creepy at all.
The most intimidating of the three was a man that was actually taller than him, he had to be six foot five at least. His hair was long and pink, tied back in a long braid. He was built like a mountain, and Tommy wondered how he’d fit through any doors. He wasn’t smiling, and his green eyes bore into Tommy in a way that made him want to avoid at all costs.
The second guy was shorter than Tommy, probably around six feet tall. He was a brunet, with his long curly hair pulled back into a ponytail and curly bangs that framed his face. His eyes were a deep blue, though oddly enough they appeared to be two distinct shades of blue, probably a form of heterochromia. Tommy couldn’t see if he was muscular, since he was a large blue sweater, but he looked like a nerd so Tommy doubted it.
The last member of the group was a young woman, the shortest of the group, and wore a warm smile. Her hair was a mixture of pink and blonde, cut short to frame her face with two buns on either side of her head. Tommy could pick up the faint lingering scent of some kind of sweet baked dessert on her. Her eyes were red, and Tommy wondered if they had always been red or if they were related to her being a werewolf – Tommy’s eyes had been blue once, and now they were red as well.
“Tommy, meet Niki, our Delta, and Technoblade and Wilbur, our Thetas,” Kristin pointed each of them out for him.
Tommy had no idea what a Delta or a Theta was, but he had heard the terms a few times from werewolves. He had been called a Gamma by many werewolves, and he still had no idea what that meant at all. He was not going to admit that on his own though, so he just nodded along as the other three gave him their waves. Well, sorta, Technoblade kinda just nodded at him, while Wilbur gave him some kind of two finger salute. Niki did wave though, nice of her.
“He’s taller than me,” Wilbur made an exaggerated pout, “You didn’t mention we were gaining someone taller than me.”
Phil sighed as if he was tired, but Tommy suspected it was just because he was shorter than Wilbur, “That is not the main issue here, Wil.”
“Of course Wil is gonna whine about someone being taller than him, he can’t help it. He used to stand on furniture when we were young just to feel taller,” Niki giggled, which earned a betrayed look from the man in question.
Kristin clapped her hands together, “Now, now, as fun as it is to tease Wilbur, we can do that later. Especially given how many chances we have to tease him. Let’s focus on getting Tommy settled in first though, alright?”
“Do you want me to give him the tour and show him to his room?” Niki offered.
Tommy didn’t know how to react to that. He didn’t want Phil or Kristin to show him around because they’d coddle him and he wasn’t enjoying that at all. He didn’t want Technoblade to show him around because he was pretty sure the guy could accidentally send him flying through a wall, he didn’t want to know what that man could do intentionally. Wilbur looked like he’d be annoying and nerdy. But he also wasn’t too sure about Niki, she seemed nice… but those red eyes had a gleam to them.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea!” Kristin grinned, “Alright, Niki will show Tommy around. I’m sure you’ve already set up the furniture in Tommy’s new bedroom, Techno?”
“Yeah, he should be fine,” Technoblade answered, and even his voice sounded badass and intimidating.
Niki smiled at Tommy, “Do you want me to show you your bedroom first, or save that for the end of the tour?”
“I can wait until the end.”
There was no way Tommy was going to his room first. If he saved it for last, he could say he’s tired and be allowed to ignore everyone for the rest of the day. Hopefully, at least. He doubts a door would stop someone like Technoblade from wanting to mess with him if he was determined enough.
“Great! Well, obviously this is the foyer. We have it expanded into a kind of greeting room, just for any chances of visiting packs,” Niki gestured to the room they were in before she turned on her heel and led the way.
What followed was a pretty basic house tour for the most part. The kitchen was large and kitted out, with it being connected straight to the dining room and to the outdoors (apparently werewolves weren’t averse to catching their own prey… and occasionally they got too tired to even bother cooking it). There was a living room with a large TV. There was a game room, because Tommy was wrong – all of them were huge nerds. There was a music room, because apparent multiple of these fuckers played instruments. And then, Niki ominously hinted at something called ‘The Pit’.
“This… is The Pit.”
It was a lot less impressive than it sounded.
“This is literally a room full of nothing but pillows and blankets.”
The Pit was, in a sense, a kind of pit. The room had a sunken floor. It was entirely cushioned, so even if you tripped on the lower section of the room you’d be fine. Then, added onto the ridiculousness, there were so many pillows. Mostly large pillows, but there were some smaller ones, and ones that were oddly shaped. There were blankets in a corner that looked so fluffy Tommy wondered how that was even possible. It looked extremely comfortable and cozy.
Niki shook her head at Tommy’s statement, “Well, what did your old pack call theirs?”
“Their what?”
“Their pit? Almost every pack I’ve visited has something similar to this. Just… an area where your pack can spend time together being comfortable and stuff,” Niki trailed off, looking a bit upset the longer Tommy looked at her confused.
“My old pack didn’t have a pit,” Tommy explained when she finally stopped talking.
“I see…”
The way Niki said that put Tommy on edge. It was like when the teacher that had always been sweet and kind finally snapped and yelled at you. Her eyes were almost glowing a bright red, and Tommy swore even the air around her was warmer. Tommy wondered what had set her off, because he wanted to avoid doing so in the future.
Tommy looked around for anything, “So, is that a TV in the pit?”
“Huh?” Niki looked over, “Oh! Yeah, we do! It just means we have something to do when we’re cuddled up in here. It’s great for movie nights, honestly.”
“It’s large,” Tommy said.
“Yep. Kinda needed, given how big the room is. It basically doubles as a home theater half the time. It’s also not uncommon for us to just sleep in a pile in the pit,” Niki replied.
Tommy made a face, “Yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna join that.”
“There isn’t any pressure to join in. But if you ever do want to, the invitation is open, alright?” Niki added with a small smile.
“Yeah, whatever. Can you show me to my room now?” Tommy asked.
Niki nodded, “Of course. It’s upstairs, you even get your own bathroom.”
“Cool.”
While Tommy tried to avoid the pack as long as possible, he pretty quickly got bored. There were a few options for books to read, but not many and nothing Tommy was interested in. The room was pretty impersonal, though Kristin and Phil both offered to take him shopping for more items to put in his room. He was just so bored with the lack of anything in his room.
That was what led to him curling up in a corner of the living room and hoping no one else would disturb him.
So, of course, things didn’t work out that way at all.
“Tommy, right? Is that short for something, or is that your actual name?”
Tommy made a face as he looked over at Wilbur, “You’re one to talk. Your name makes you sound old as fuck. And wasn’t it the name of a pig in that one movie?”
“Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine,” Wilbur rolled his eyes before he sat down on the couch, “You’re clearly the other type of fire aligned.”
There was a beat of silence between the two of them.
“What?”
Wilbur turned to look at him, his casually cheerful demeanor gone. He looked almost analytical as he scanned over Tommy. It was unnerving. The younger shifted, moving a bit further away from the older werewolf until he was pressed against the armrest of the couch. Wilbur himself leaned back, though in a way that suggested that he was trying to take in more of Tommy’s appearance.
“Tommy…” Wilbur said slowly, “How much do you actually know about werewolves?”
“Not a single thing, no one has explained anything to me,” Tommy answered.
“And you didn’t think to question anything? To ask about things?”
“Well,” and Tommy dragged that out as long as possible, “No one else asked if I knew anything, so I didn’t think it mattered.”
That earned another odd look from Wilbur, but at least Tommy wasn’t as bored anymore. Annoying Wilbur was kinda fun, and he definitely was the least intimidating member of the pack. He should annoy him more often. Besides, at least now Tommy might actually learn what everyone was talking about.
“Okay… let’s start with elemental alignment,” Wilbur sighed, “Have you noticed how every werewolf either has blue, green, red or yellow eyes?”
“Yeah?”
“Right. So that is because of elemental alignments. When you get turned into a werewolf, you gain some minor elemental magic. What element you get is based on your personality, what your personality aligns with. Blue is water, green is earth, red is fire and yellow is air,” Wilbur explained, “You have red eyes, meaning you have some minor fire magic.”
“So that means… you have water magic?” Tommy asked.
Wilbur grinned and lifted his hands. Water formed in his hands as a small little bubble of water. Tommy leaned in closer, entranced, as Wilbur formed that bubble into a small wolf that ran along between his fingers. Then the wolf came to stop, posed like it was howling and started to freeze over. Suddenly, Wilbur was placing a wolf ice statue into Tommy’s hands.
“Most werewolves can only do minor party tricks with the magic. I mean, you can probably figure out how to use it in a more combative way if you wanted to, but for the most part it's small little things like that,” Wilbur added.
Tommy made a face, “Hold on, you said that it’s based on your personality right? But I’ve seen werewolves who act differently with the same eye color.”
Wilbur nodded, “Okay, think about it more like this: water can be a simple steam, a violent tsunami, a brutal snowstorm or a gentle sun shower. Earth can be a simple meadow of flowers, or a towering and immovable mountain. Fire can be the gentle campfire keeping you warm, or the wildfire that destroys the forest. Air can be a simple breeze on a hot day or a tornado that tears everything apart.”
“So, there is more than one way to have a personality that fits a certain element?”
“Yep,” Wilbur smiled, “Once you spend some time with people of certain elements, you can kinda figure out what makes someone a certain element.”
Tommy nodded, he guessed that made a lot of sense when he really thought about it. He had never really seen any werewolves use magic before now, but seeing the proof it was hard to argue against it. Besides, he was very excited to figure out how to do his own magic. Fire magic could be very fun.
“Anyway, I’m sure you’ve heard us throw around the ranks before? Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and such?” Wilbur prompted.
Tommy nodded and Wilbur continued, “There are many different rankings a werewolf can be. This has nothing to do with your personality. You're born with a rank, you will always be that rank, it’s not gonna determine your personality, your hobbies, your interests or even how you’re like in a romantic relationship. Just, getting that out of the way because a lot of new werewolves can be weird about it sometimes.”
“Okay then…” Tommy drew out the words as he said them.
“Sorry, that was off tangent,” Wilbur offered a polite smile, “Anyway, your rank determines your main abilities as a werewolf, not your social standing or power in a pack. These abilities are meant to work together and support a pack. There are seven potential ranks a werewolf could be: Iota, Theta, Delta, Gamma, Beta, Psi, Alpha and Luna.”
“Iotas are the warriors. They seem to be one of the most common werewolf types. They’re kinda the jack of all trades. They’re fast, but not the fastest. They’re strong, but not the strongest. This might make them seem redundant at first, but that combination turns them into some of the most brutal fighters in a pack, and they can be flexible with how they decide to approach a fight.”
“Thetas are the healers. We have the ability to magically heal other werewolves. This ability isn’t endless – we can’t heal scars, nor old injuries that have already mostly or completely healed themselves. We can’t regrow any lost limbs or let a blind wolf see again. But we can help other werewolves heal from injuries that could otherwise kill them.”
Tommy pulled back, “You’re a healer? Technoblade is a healer?”
“Yeah? And?”
“Technoblade looks like he could bench press a mountain and crush a man’s skull with his bare hands! How is that a healer?” Technoblade really didn’t look like the healer type to Tommy.
Wilbur rolled his eyes, “Remember what I just said about ranks not determining your personality, hobbies, interests and such? Yeah, Technoblade very much enjoys fighting and combat. He just also happens to have the ability to heal others. He actually uses it to his advantage in fights, since he can heal himself during a battle making him annoyingly difficult to defeat.”
Tommy paused for a moment, “Huh…”
“Yeah, so me and Techno are twins. Identical twins, though we now dye and style our hair differently, and us having different personalities meant we got different elements and therefore eye colors. But because we’re biologically identical, we’re both gonna be the same rank – and that just happened to be Theta,” Wilbur shrugged.
“Okay then. So, you kinda decide what magic you get, but you have no control whatsoever over rank. I think I am getting it.”
“Yep! Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, Deltas,” Wilbur continued, “Deltas are the hunters. Deltas have the unique ability to track down anything far better than most other werewolf ranks, coupled with their enhanced speed and stamina. They are the fastest of all the ranks and use that speed to great advantage. Along with that, Deltas can sense a packmate’s location if that packmate is in trouble. Kinda like a panic button. In the past, Deltas main role was to be the main source of food for the pack, but in modern times they struggle to find uses for their abilities outside of being very good at running errands and chasing adrenaline highs.”
Tommy made a mental note to never challenge Niki to a race.
“Gammas are the seekers. Gammas have the very unique ability to know what ranks another werewolf is, or what rank a human will be if they are turned. Another ability they have is the ability to tell if a werewolf was turned or born a werewolf, as well as being able to tell if a werewolf was turned consensually or not – even to the intensity of how badly they wronged. Like the difference between getting turned by accident and not minding, over actively not wanting to be a werewolf and being turned against your will. They also have the ability to mimic the abilities of every other rank, with the exception of Alphas and Lunas.”
“Wait, how do they sense these things?” Tommy needed to know how that worked if he was apparently a Gamma.
Wilbur kinda shrugged though, “I’m not really sure? Gammas I’ve talked to describe it as either a vibe or an aura that resonates off of someone? They can just feel it.”
“Sounds weird,” Tommy said.
“Well, you’re a Gamma. When you figure it out, let me know how accurate that is.”
“Anyway, Betas are the guardians. Betas know exactly when another, non-pack, werewolf has breached the territory line of the pack. They are the strongest members of the pack, being able to both deal out strong hits and take strong hits. They also tend to be strong… I guess you could call it nesting instincts? A lot of them end up being really good at either architecture or interior design as they just want to build good dens for their packs, and they have strong protective instincts over young werewolves. Phil is a Beta and he was the one who designed this entire house.”
“Psi are the paladins. They’re pretty rare, one of the more rare types of werewolves. They’re basically like Betas, but a little to the left. They’re strong, and they form extremely close bonds with Lunas. Once a Psi has pledged themselves to a Luna, they can pick up on any negative emotions a Luna experiences, they know when a Luna is in danger, and a Luna can even willingly give their Psi some of their magic to use to protect them.”
Tommy scowled, “That sounds unfair! Why do Lunas get such special treatment?”
“Oh, trust me, wait until I get to Lunas. But first, Alphas,” Wilbur dismissed, “Alphas are the mediators. They have the ability to telepathically link themselves and their pack together, allowing them to communicate from a distance or even when they're in wolf forms. They also have the ability to sense and influence their pack's emotions with consent if needed, which makes them able to ease any tensions or emotional pain in the pack. That is why most Alphas end up as leaders, though it's not that uncommon for another rank to be in a leadership position even if there is an Alpha in the pack.”
“And finally, Lunas. Lunas are the mages. are considered the spiritual and mystical guides of a pack – this is due to their most powerful ability, the ability to get one vision of the future every full moon. This vision isn’t guaranteed to come to pass, as events and decisions can change what happens. And what the vision reveals depends on what the Luna wants to know about. They have the ability to communicate with ravens and crows, so long as it’s not too close to the new moon.”
“They also have the ability to use magic – their strongest magic being their aligned element, but they can also use some minor magics of the other elements and domains. So a water aligned Luna could flood an entire building, but also make some flowers bloom. Divination, wards, cleansing are pretty common magics they learn as well. Lunas magic is strongest on the full moon, but as a consequence, a Luna werewolf is weak when the new moon rolls around. During a new moon, Lunas become desperate for safety and security, almost lethargic, and can’t use their magic or shift forms. They are the rarest of all werewolf ranks, and most werewolves will live out their entire lives without ever meeting one.”
“Okay, I get that the new moon thing kinda sucks, but do Lunas really need a whole other pack member dedicated to protecting them?”
It didn’t make much sense to Tommy. Lunas sounded like they were extremely powerful. Seeing the future, even if only once a month, was extremely useful. They can communicate with birds. They have access to all elemental magic and their magic was better than any other werewolf’s magic. Sure, once a month they were probably pretty helpless, but having an entire werewolf that was just dedicated to protecting them seemed a little excessive.
“There are a few reasons why, actually,” Wilbur’s voice was quiet and flat, “It’s considered taboo to cause any harm to a Luna in general, considering that if a Luna gets too emotionally or physically distressed it causes their magic to act up in self-defense. This can result in the Luna being more powerful during full moons, but far weaker during new moons, and can shorten their lifespans if it goes on for too long.”
“However, there is a far worse consequence to this. A Luna who has been too abused, who has suffered too much emotionally, mentally and/or physically can have their magic develop into shadows. It’s a Luna’s last line of defense. Twisting corruption, the most terrifying curse that can come from being a werewolf. The shadows are a type of magic that is sentient and manipulative. Any werewolf that is influenced by the shadows will be affected in a variety of different ways. They could be crueler, more aggressive, more hedonistic, more obsessive, or more paranoid. Every werewolf is affected by the shadows differently.”
“They either react to other werewolves with great aggression, great fear, or a desire to corrupt them – as any werewolf or human that gets bit by a shadow werewolf will become one. Shadow werewolves eyes are pure black and have shadows following them – almost as if they’re wearing them. Many werewolves when corrupted by shadows also have different abilities. They lose some of their ranks' abilities, but are swapped out for more twisted versions of them.”
Wilbur looked straight into Tommy’s eyes, “If you see a black eyed werewolf, run. Run and don’t look back. And whatever you do, do not let them bite you.”
“That… is a little terrifying,” Tommy admitted.
“You know Kristin is a Luna right? That’s why it wasn’t difficult for our pack to gain custody of you, no one is going to argue with a Luna.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry kid, you’ll be fine. Kristin is a great leader for our pack. We won’t let anything happen to her. And she won’t let anything happen to you.”
That was not as comforting as Wilbur probably thought it was.
After a few days of settling in properly to the pack and den, which involved a lot more shopping trips than Tommy thought reasonable, Tommy had finally found his place in the pack. It was, admittedly, being annoying and having fun, but he wasn’t complaining. It was nice to not have to worry over his own survival the entire time. Even if Tommy didn’t know where he stood with most of the pack, there was some reassurance in the fact that they hadn’t snapped from his antics.
So, when he smelled something sweet coming from the kitchen, Tommy took that as an invitation.
When he entered the kitchen, he was greeted by the sight of Niki. Her hair was mostly pulled back into a bun, with a headband keeping the rest of her hair out of her face. She was wearing a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up, jeans and a pink apron with a white and black moon pattern all over it. She also had pink and blonde wolf ears and a pink and blonde wolf tail. Tommy was not aware that werewolves could do that.
Niki perked up when Tommy approached, “Hey Tommy, what’s up?”
“Are you making something?” Tommy asked instead of answering.
“Yeah, I am,” Niki gestured to the food around her, “It’s a fun little hobby, I really enjoy it. And everything I make always gets eaten given how many calories a werewolf needs. I’m experimenting with some recipes for Yule, actually.”
“Yule?”
“One of the eight sabbats. Werewolf traditions are really, really old, and we celebrate different holidays than most humans. Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, Samhain and Yule,” Niki smiled, “I’ve already baked some divine yule peppermint fudge, and I am in the middle of making a chocolate yule log.”
Tommy nodded slowly, “Cool.”
“You can have some, if you’d like.”
“Cool!” Tommy instantly reached out and grabbed a fudge piece before shoving it into his mouth.
The so-called divine yule peppermint fudge tasted exactly like what Tommy expected – like chocolate and peppermint. It was sweet, and had Tommy reaching for a second one to shove into his mouth. That had Niki burst out into a fit of laughter, her head tossed back and her tail wagging behind that.
“You don’t have to wolf down your food just because you’re a werewolf, Tommy,” Niki said when she finally managed to stop laughing.
Tommy made a face, “Fuck you, I do what I want.”
“Oh?” Niki hummed, a smile on her face.
“That’s right,” Tommy nodded as he reached for a third, “Anyway, what’s with the ears and tail? Are you a furry now?”
Niki froze entirely at that, staring at Tommy like he had laid a pterodactyl egg at her feet. Tommy didn’t break, maintaining eye contact as he slowly bit into the third piece of peppermint fudge. Werewolves might not to the whole establish dominance thing, but Tommy certainly did and he was winning.
“Did you just ask if I was a furry?” Niki drew out the question, sounding more and more perplexed as she did.
Tommy took another bite, “Yes.”
“Well… I don’t actually know? I don’t know enough about furry culture to know what counts,” Niki said, “But to answer your other question, werewolves have three forms – human, wolf and our transitional form. While we already have slightly heightened senses in human form, our transitional forms are much, much better. Sometimes we shift into this just for fun, but right now I am using it so that I can use my heightened senses for baking.”
“Wait, really? That’s so cool!”
Niki nodded, “It is, isn’t it? Useful, and fashionable.”
“How do you do it? The whole… transitional form? I don’t even know how to shapeshift into a werewolf outside of the full moon yet,” Tommy quietly admitted.
Niki went quiet for a moment. Tommy wondered for a bit if that was a good sign, but distracted himself with the dessert Niki had allowed him to help himself to. Her brows were furrowed, and he could tell, somehow, that her ears and tail were displaying more cautious behavior. He wondered if that was some kind of werewolf instinct thing, or if he had picked it up from his old habits of watching nature documentaries. It had been a whole since he was able to curl up and watch one of those.
“That’s not… an easy question to answer,” Niki quietly interrupted Tommy’s thoughts, “A newly turned werewolf doesn’t gain access to that ability until their first full moon. But after that, they theoretically can change whenever they want. It’s both more and less simple than you think it is.”
Niki sighed, “You can’t really think your way through it, honestly. It’s more about feeling. About connecting with your inner wolf and letting it guide you. It’s instinctive. Natural.”
“Is that just your way of saying you don’t understand how it works?” Tommy scrunched up his face at her, “Because that was like no help at all.”
“Yeah?” Niki giggled and turned back to her baking, “Your ears and tail are cute by the way.”
“WHAT?!”
Tommy instantly reached up to feel his head, where his ears should have been he felt the beginning of fur covered ears. Following the furred appendages, he felt the pointed tips of wolf ears. He then looked behind himself and saw a tail with golden fur behind him. Niki only laughed after, probably able to hear what he was doing behind her, and Tommy tried not to get too embarrassed by her amusement.
“Oh, fuck you!”
“You’ll be shifting into your wolf form in no time, Tommy!”
Tommy rolled his eyes at Niki, “You don’t need to sound smug.”
“You know, if you want, I could teach you some tricks on how to use fire magic?” Niki offered.
Tommy thought about it for a moment.
“Does that mean I can set things on fire?”
Niki nodded, “Yep!”
Tommy couldn’t fight the grin on his face, “Fuck yeah. Let’s do arson!”
“I was mostly going to have you light candles at first,” Niki gestured to the pile of candles stacked on one of the shelves.
“But then arson, right?” Tommy looked up at her, giving her his biggest puppy eyes he could muster.
“Oh, of course, I always support a person’s right to commit some arson.”
“Fuck yeah, arson time!”