The Harbinger

The Harbinger

“Being the Harbinger should put you at a level of respect with the Healer and the Judge, in my opinion. You’re as powerful as them, maybe more,” Catrin said. He said this seemingly out of nowhere. The two of them were spending time together in the garden, and they had been silent until that point. Yoruth was enjoying the time more so perhaps than any other moment in his life. He never wanted it to end.

“There is an excellent logic to why it does not command such a respect,” Yoruth said.

“Oh? And what logic could possibly be excellent enough to warrant a relative disrespect of the only man on earth who can see exactly what will come to pass, with no error or inaccuracy?” Catrin challenged. He scuffed his boot to tear a weed from the ground and looked at Yoruth, waiting for the explanation.

“Well, have you ever considered that I see what will come to pass, no matter what efforts anyone might make? I know these things, I see them, but if they are intolerable I can do nothing to stop them,” Yoruth explained.

“Surely there must be a way,” Catrin said.

“If there was, then I would be on a level with any paltry diviner. But any effort I make to prevent a future from happening will only feed into the continuation of that future. And if I accept the future, then that, too will bring the future about. I simply know exactly what will happen, including any efforts made to stop them.”

“And what is it like?”

“Oh, the seeing? It is like being there. I can know as clearly as I can be in the time I am in. I need only look. Even time seems to pass as if I were in that future, but I can always return, and no time has passed at all.”

“And in that experience, can you not attempt something different?”

“I suppose I might. I won’t necessarily remember all that I have tried, but even as fruitless as all that effort may be, I suppose I could try. I would if I needed to.”

“Ah, we pray that you never need to. Do you see any tragedy?”

“Not here, no. I saw the downfall of a great many to the west of here, which would have already come to pass, but not here. Not yet, at least.”

“Why did you not warn them?”

“I did, of course,” Yoruth said. He bent down to put his hand around a flower, pressing his nose to it to smell it – it was in full bloom, fragrant, and beautiful. He saw its eventual death, but that only seemed to sweeten this small moment. Perhaps the tragedy of endings sweetens the beauty of the present? It is better because it must end, Yoruth thought, though the ending was never any more pleasant.

“Yet you are sure it came to pass,” Catrin said, standing over Yoruth.

“Of course,” Yoruth said, standing once more. “All I see comes to pass. My warnings only serve to allow someone to mentally prepare for their future, not to change it. I told the Commander himself, who is more broadly being called the Wolf these days. He brushed aside the warning, so I told some others also. None of it will matter. Some will survive, many will die. Some will only survive in the short term, just the battle. And the world will change.”

“Change how?” Catrin asked, running his hand along a strand of grass to collect its seeds.

“In unpleasant ways. A sundering, in several senses of the word. Sundering of souls from body, of power from power, of society.”

“Will it reach this place?” Catrin asked.

“Yes. It will reach this place.”

“When?”

“It will do you only harm to know. Let us enjoy this moment. We will have others, but perhaps none as sweet as this.”

…

Several weeks later, the constant badgering and complaints about shadow magic came to a crescendo. The island gathered and spoke against the practice of the magic, banning it entirely. Of course, in the case of many, that would be rather vague. Yoruth, for one, could not be detected using his magic. Except of course his shadow form, which was an unsettling creature with the body of a great bird and a human head. Others might be more effected, but ultimately, it was a measure to ensure that those without shadow magic felt safe.

Catrin was not a shadow caster, but he felt it unfair to ban the magic his friend had only used for the good of others.

“This is an unfair thing to do,” he would say to anyone who would listen. “What have Yoruth and the others ever done?”

“Oh, he has done plenty,” said one woman. “Every bad thing he says comes true, no matter what I do. He’s cursing us,” she said.

“No, he isn’t. He isn’t able to change the truth and neither are you. He only reveals the truth.”

“I wish he wouldn’t, so it wouldn’t be hanging over me,” the woman said.

“It’s not Yoruth, not really,” said a man. “It’s shadow magic. Not Yoruth’s fault, but he has an awful magic that poisons the earth.”

“It never once did, until all this negativity came into being,” Catrin said.

“Nevertheless, can’t have all my plants dying, can I?”

Another man, a bit older than the last: “Well, it’s not so much that Yoruth is an issue. Or the others, really. It’s just that if we become known for our acceptance of shadow casters, they’ll all come flocking, and then we’d have a problem. We can’t support them, and they’d steal all the resources from the rest of us. It’s them coming here that’s the problem. And not just for us, for them, too.”

“And you believe they don’t deserve sanctuary anywhere on earth?” Catrin asked.

“Oh, somewhere – it only cannot be here. We cannot support them, so none of them should come. Some coming over would be a slippery slope.”

Catrin continued to try, but he soon realized that his efforts were fruitless. He kept himself appraised of the news, and tried to use that knowledge to show the destruction being caused by all of them, but they wouldn’t listen.

“The Healer is dead. He has been killed. And he is the Healer, the most respected mantle of all time. He was killed. And he would not have found sanctuary here. Perhaps if he had, he would be alive and able to help us all work to fix this issue. At the very least, we would have good medical care!” Catrin said on a street corner.

“We didn’t kill him, though, did we? So it’s not really our fault. Just unfortunate,” a man said as he passed.

Catrin told Yoruth all about his struggles, and Yoruth nodded. Unfortunately, he had known that these efforts would fail. He also knew that similar efforts would also fail. Truly the inexcusable actions of a few had poisoned the reputation of the many. There was no going back from that, it seemed, and things would need to get worse before they got better.

“Are the others, like you, are they all going to die?” Catrin asked, exhaustion and the grief of ongoing failure crossing his face.

“No, not all,” Yoruth said, smiling grimly as he handed a mug of tea to Catrin. “Many, though.”

“Who? Will they all be killed?”

“Are you sure you want that answer?” Yoruth asked.

“Yes, I must have it.”

“The Plantwright is to starve herself, trying to repair the dead fields, promising she would not eat again until it was from the field she was working on. That field will not produce for many years after her death is forgotten.

“The Reckoner is, even now, being hunted. She has the power to change things, unlike me, but I can see everything she will change, and she will eventually be caught, and killed. The Steelwright will die many times, his deaths undone by the Reckoner, and he will die a final time after watching her be killed.

“The Commander died in the battle, as I told him he would. He was set to agony by a man named Liam. He was killed by the same one who will kill the Reckoner. There is nothing any of us can do to stop him.

“The Healer died by his own oath: never to harm. He could have defended himself, but he defended his patients. Without his care, those patients also died, except one, who will go on to live a life of sorrow, never knowing why his caretaker was killed, or why his mother died next to him.

“The Bookwright will lock herself away, recording all she can with her pen and her hand scrawling details she never knew. She will record most of this era of pain, before her hand will write of her own discovery and death, and the book she wrote will be destroyed by the orchestrator of this all.

“The Stonewright will be thrown from a great height, which he will survive. And yet he will die when his works, deemed evil and profane, are thrown from the same height and onto him.

“And I will die-”

“Stop.”

“Sorry?” Yoruth asked, interrupted from his seeing.

“I do not want to know how you will die,” Catrin said. “Who will live?”

“Oh, about half. They will be successful in hiding. The Patriarch will be among them, dying of an illness after denying his friendship to the Crystalwright.”

“All of these are so incredibly sad. How do you handle it all?” Catrin said.

“It was a learned thing. I started knowing of many deaths, in detail, when I was young. So I have practice. The first fate I learned was of the Soulwright,” Yoruth said, thinking back.

“And what happens to him? Another victim of all of this?” Catrin asked.

“No, no – he, then she, then she, then he, and all of them for generations will die as children, just as their power is manifesting. The power will sunder several years from now, but then each will die separately in the same manner – being hunted by various hired assassins.”

“Oh, Yoruth, you have known that this whole time? That is what is in your mind?” Catrin said, pityingly.

“Not only that. A great many good things, too. But those wane with time as we enter a darker age. I should say that my successors may be haunted by an even greater darkness for some time, sorrow more consistent than sorrow should be.”

“Do you know that for certain?” Catrin asked.

“No. No, that one is a guess. I can see none of my successors. Perhaps they shall be happy.”

…

Some months later, and Yoruth had been stepping outside less and less. He had seen increasingly hostile looks and seemed to be unwelcome anywhere, so he went nowhere. Catrin had been kind enough to help him get what he needed, but of course, Catrin’s association with him had marked Catrin for hatred, also. So eventually Catrin took as much food and water as he could and holed up with Yoruth in the hope of waiting out the harsh feelings. Yoruth had no such hope, but allowed Catrin to have it.

And then, the day came. The sun rose as any other day, but it seemed redder to Yoruth, with his knowledge of what it would bring.

Knocks on the door were the start. Yoruth and Catrin did not answer, but the knocks grew more insistent, to the point that Yoruth knew they were not knocks made with hands, but knocks made with axes. It was not to be long, then. Yoruth, doomed, held a knife. He would try, do his best to save Catrin. He would fail.

The door burst open, and Catrin stood in front of Yoruth to block the path between the angry mob and their target. The axes and torches were too much for a singular knife, and Yoruth watched as his best friend fell at their hands, victim due only to his unwavering friendship and for no wrongdoing.

Yoruth saw all of their deaths. The people in the crowd would die in a variety of ways. One of them, by Yoruth’s hand. Just the one who had landed the killing blow on Catrin.

Yoruth saw himself pushing his knife into the man’s neck, which would kill him. But before it did, the others descended on Yoruth. Yoruth knew that if he cast his shadow, he could survive a few moments longer – but he didn’t want to. He wanted to save Catrin, to find some way to prevent his death, fruitless as it might be. Whatever previous attempts he might have made, this one was not fruitful, and the shear fact that he was still doing this meant that none of them had been. He would have to repeat what he assumed he had done many times before.

Yoruth voluntarily forgot all that he had learned in the months of looking into this future. Then, if he was lucky, he would be able to stumble upon a decision that would change the outcome as he looked again. He didn’t think it was possible. But even fruitless, he had to try. To him, it would be an endless loop for all eternity – he would never give up. But for the rest, this horrid fate would continue on, and Yoruth and Catrin would die.

As he forgot what he had learned, he found himself once more, in the garden, with Catrin. An eternal moment of silence, of bliss. And he began looking once again into the grim future, trying to find a path to get at least Catrin out of this alive.

The Government (Part 4)

Ethan, Jake, and Max all had to continue their normal routines to avoid suspicion, but that only meant that they had to spend the rest of their time wisely. They had noticed that the two agents outside never stopped watching, and with the full moon approaching, they had to find a way to be anywhere else while Max was changed. That was something that Ethan was trying to tackle.

Each night, he researched square mileage, traffic, and searchability of all kinds of different outdoor spaces in the area. He evaluated them based on how close they were to one of their normal routes, also. His hope was that they would be able to make as if they were going out as normal and evade the two agents in the process, who had thus far stayed with the house.

Of course, on Saturday, that might change. Assuming they knew the correct start date for the transformation, which seemed likely, they might abandon the house that day. So Ethan also evaluated the routes for the ability to throw off anyone following. The routes that were too straightforward would make it easier to be followed.

They also checked in on Adrian during that time, keeping him up to date on the goings-on and receiving updates from him as well. While his apartment was not being surveilled, he had been asked several questions by a ‘bouncer-looking man’ about what sorts of weird things he had seen in the area. He hadn’t given anything away, of course, and it sounded like there was a good possibility that they didn’t have any specific leads on his identity, only that the werewolf that bit Max might be in the area.

As the days rolled around and everyone hoped the agents would leave, they settled into the understanding that the full moon was going to bring about a bit of a hunt no matter what. They couldn’t stay, and leaving would ultimately confirm that Max was a werewolf after all, so they’d have to be prepared to evade the government for all three days, and then figure out what their next steps might be if they managed that.

In the few days before the full moon, while Ethan had narrowed down two spots that would make good options to hide, Andrew was trying to figure out what might be allowing the two agents to stay awake so long. He was still researching the shape-shifter, as well, but neither gave any solid leads. The only thing he knew was that they were likely some kind of supernatural creatures, themselves, and a kind that the public didn’t know about. Whatever they were, they clearly had a knowledge advantage in the situation.

-:-

Carla was careful in selecting what she would bring on the hunt. Sometimes, she would have to rely on some limited options, but with Victor and Olivia, she would be able to include silver netting and some other special items she wasn’t able to touch, herself. For her own use, she still equipped silver, but in such a way that she would never have to make contact with it. This was standard practice for her, so she already had her ammunition box full of silver bullets for her pistol. The gun wasn’t her first choice for handling the situation, but it was in her back pocket just in case.

She made sure to include some ritual supplies, as well, though there were so few situations where they might be usable. More than one of them also required the use of silver, so she wouldn’t be able to perform them unless Victor or Olivia were helping. Their ability to touch silver was the only thing she envied about them.

She packed up each of the items in a case that would be unassuming in public, one for each of the three of them, with the items they would each find most useful. She left the office to join Victor and Olivia, then, not worried about being noticed. After all, she had references for several of the neighbors in the area, and this close to the full moon, she could use their shape nearly as long as she wanted.

-:-

Eventually, despite all efforts to stop it from happening, Saturday came. They each went through their normal morning routines, which gave Ethan a chance to test if the agents would follow him early in the morning – they didn't. It was entirely possible that they would ignore anyone but Max, meaning that there would be no benefit to splitting up, at that point.

Jake kept a careful watch of the agents, trying to see if there was anything different about how they were acting that day. He noted nothing different in the morning, but just past noon, he noticed that one now held a tote bag and the other a briefcase that they hadn't had before. Jake hadn't seen where they had come from, and he didn’t get a chance to see what was inside them, either; the agents never opened them, as far as Jake could tell.

As the day stretched on, they debated the specifics of their plan once more, watching the clock as it marched its way towards sunset. If they waited too long, they would risk not getting into a place where they'd be able to hide before Max transformed. If they went too early, they would be adding time for the agents to discover their location. Their compromise, based on the option they agreed would be best, was a little after 3 pm. When that time rolled around, they found out about some slight oversights in the plan.

“I'll go out and start the car, and then you two will join,” Ethan said. “That way they won't be as prepared to follow, since they might think I'm leaving on my own until we're already driving away.”

“Wait, no way you're driving. We might have to shake these guys off, if they do follow us,” Jake said. “I should drive.”

“You're a bit erratic. We wouldn't want to attract extra attention.”

“You would follow all the laws even if there weren't cops around. Shaking a tail might involve breaking the speed limit.”

“We don't exactly want to add a tail by breaking the speed limit, either."

“Guys, quit arguing about it. It's a waste of time,” Max cut in.

“You are somewhat of an expert on shaking a tail, Max,” Jake joked. “Who do you think should drive?”

“Oh, man, don't make me pick between you two. Whoever I pick the other one will get mad.”

“Well, the alternative is arguing it out,” Ethan said. “And it's you who would get the consequences of a wrong choice, so it's only fair that you should get to decide. We won't hold it against you.”

“Fine,” Max sighed. “Ethan, you're a better driver for the most part, but Jake is willing to do crazy stuff, which normally would be a problem, yeah, but in this situation I think it really might be better to have someone who's a little more unpredictable because I don't know if we'd ever get clear of those agents, otherwise. I'm picking Jake. Sorry, Ethan, I really do think most of the time you'd be the better pick. It's just this time.”

“No, it's fine. I’ll be the navigator, then. I know the route, but I can tell Jake how to get there,” Ethan said.

“Alright, this is going to be the fun part,” Jake said, seemingly causing Ethan physical pain. “No grandma driving today.”

“I do not drive like a grandmother,” Ethan said, offended even though he knew Jake was just trying to get this rise out of him. “Men are more likely to be given a ticket for the same driving offense, especially younger men, so if anything, grandmothers have more leeway to drive however they want.”

“That makes sense. In that case, I'll be your grandma for this evening. See you in a moment.”

Jake left and got in his car, starting it up and waiting for the others to join him. He was watching the two agents as he did, and they were watching him, the pretense of going unnoticed apparently abandoned entirely by that point. He pulled his car out a bit, as if he were leaving by himself, and he saw their notice wane a bit. And then, the other two came out the front door, Ethan initially going to his own car before switching to Jake's and getting in. Jake paused a moment to let them in before whipping out of the driveway just a little faster than he normally would have.

“That was good thinking, acting like you were about to get in your car,” Jake said.

“I thought we would be taking my car. I didn't notice you had grabbed your keys instead of mine,” Ethan replied.

“No, mine's better anyway. Actually, I think I forgot to renew the registration, so maybe we're home free on being tracked that way.”

“That's not likely, and that's illegal. Now we have an even better chance of getting pulled over,” Ethan said.

“They won't check between here and where we're going. Right or left?” Jake asked.

“Left,” Ethan said.

“They following yet?” Jake asked.

“I don't see them,” Max said, twisting around in his seat to look behind them.

“Good start, then. Now what's next?”

“Go straight at this light, then left at the next one,” Ethan said.

Jake did so, following instructions and getting updates from Max, who hadn't yet spotted the agents. Everything was going well, until Jake saw them. The man had pulled in front of them from a side street, and the woman was coming up behind them. Jake pulled off without Ethan's instructions.

“Hey, that isn't the route. Are you just trying to be unpredictable?” Ethan said, confused.

“I don't know how, but they managed to sandwich us in, just there. One in front, even, like he knew we would be on this road. Max, is the other still behind us?”

“Yeah, I just saw her turn,” Max said, watching.

“Maybe she told him where we were so he could come around,” Ethan suggested.

“She wasn’t behind us until really recently,” Max said.

“Did you consider any factors that someone else wouldn't have access to?” Jake asked.

“I guess not. So you think they did the same thing I did, and narrowed down our options? In other words, they predicted where we would go?”

“Yeah. Which means it's time for a plan change,” Jake said.

“Any of the other options would have the same problem. All the good places to go would,” Ethan said.

“Then we'll go to somewhere that isn't a good option,” Jake said.

“There are some obvious problems with that,” Ethan said. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Yes, I do,” Jake said.

-:-

Carla was impressed with the group's ability to evade their agents. At first, their efforts seemed to be unhelpful, since they really couldn't have shaken off the agents from the start. But once Victor and Olivia were visible, they managed to lose them both.

That was fine, as far as Carla was concerned, because they might take any number of routes, but they were likely to end up in a very finite number of places. And since at least two of the group still needed sleep, unlike Victor and Olivia, they would be hard pressed to hide even in the two best locations she had marked. That's why she told Victor and Olivia to give up tracking them and split up, one in each of the two places, and start searching.

If they were there, then it was almost guaranteed that they'd be found while Max was still an obvious werewolf. That meant that the worst case scenario had now shifted. Now, the worst case was that they had gone somewhere that wasn't a very good place to be.

The hard limitations still applied. They still wouldn’t be able to go anywhere that they would run into other people. They could only go so far before they would have a fully transformed werewolf with them, likely to be spotted if they stayed on the road. And they would have to stay there for three nights and two days.

The benefit of checking the worse hiding places, Carla thought, was that each one would be fairly easy to rule out. The problem was that there were more of the mediocre hiding places than the good ones. She made her list, and she determined all the possibilities, but that list might take her more time than she had, if she wasn't careful. They'd have to be very smart or very lucky, but there was still a small chance that they could avoid her.

-:-

“So, why are we here?” Max asked. “It doesn't look large enough. Couldn't they search the whole thing?”

“Yeah, they could. But we'd have to be out here, rather than in there,” Jake pointed to a large building adjacent to the moderately sized open space park.

“An event center? The lights are on right now,” Ethan said.

“Yeah, and the moon is about to come up,” Max said, worried.

“In this one specific context, that is going to help us blend in,” Jake said. “For now, just go somewhere that's not out in the open so no one sees you change.”

“Okay, but I don't like the idea of shoving my tail in my pants and going into a crowded building covered in fur,” Max said.

“No, don't hide your tail. Let it hang over the waistband,” Jake said.

“Jake, what are you doing?” Ethan asked. “How is this going to help us evade those agents?”

“Just wait a second, you'll see. This place has a little bit of room for us to try and avoid people, but it also is going to give us until about ten tonight and most of the day tomorrow that we'll be impossible to find. After that, the building should be empty, so we could always break in as a last resort.”

“An absolute last resort,” Ethan emphasized.

They both waited as Max went into a poorly maintained bathroom, watching the moon just start to crest over the horizon. No one else was visible on this side of the park, which was good, Jake thought. It would be bad if they were even followed here, though there was still a possibility that the event would allow them to go unnoticed.

Soo enough, Max came out of the bathroom, wolf head, fluffy tail, and clawed hands the only real indications he was a werewolf. If they had any time, Jake might have tried to make it look like the wolf head was a latex prosthetic or something, but honestly, people would probably doubt that it was real even more if they were jealous at how good it looked.

“Perfect. Now to go inside,” Jake said, leading them across the small section of the park that separated the dirt parking lot they had parked in from the event center. As they approached, Max and Ethan were nervous about whatever Jake's plan might be, but Jake was confident as he approached the door and paid an entrance fee for three. He brushed off concerns that they had already missed most of the day, and led the other two inside.

It was a furry convention. As soon as they were inside the doors, they saw all manner of people trying to emulate what Max had naturally, though some of them in less-than-natural colors. Jake would have to remember to get some temporary hair dye for Max if they ever did this again. Not that it was likely. But even with the blond fur, Max was a hit.

“Really good commitment on the costume, that makeup must have taken all day. Where'd you get the claws, man? They look really natural,” said a man wearing less-than-natural wolf paw gloves. He also had a tail on, which happened to look fairly similar to Max's, with the way Max had his positioned.

“Oh, hi,” Max said. “Yeah, I'm late because of it, right? Always too much to get done, not enough time.” Max was obviously nervous at the attention, but he didn't seem to hate it.

“Yeah, definitely. I think the wolf fursonas are maybe a little overdone, but I have to admit, with the full moon coming up and everything, it's pretty thematic. And you did a nice job on it. There's a booth here somewhere that has a lot of wolf stuff, you should check it out. Even if you don't want anything they've got, I know they'd love to see your costume.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Max said. “I’ll make sure to check it out.”

“I think this was one of my better ideas,” Jake whispered to Ethan.

“I don't think I could bring myself to confirm that, but I haven't found a way to deny it yet,” Ethan said. “Still, I have never been to anything like this before, so I am out of my depth.”

“Well, I’ve been to other conventions,” Jake said. “For other things. This is probably about the same. They have panels and activities and you can buy stuff. I am not entirely sure what you can buy here, but if you really want to get into the spirit, I’m seeing enough tails they must be selling them somewhere around here.”

“I don’t think I will get into the spirit,” Ethan said.

“Well, we really are here for Max, so if anyone thinks asks if you’re having a good time, just tell them you’re only here because of your friend. And make sure to be super defensive about it, that’ll sell the whole thing.”

“How did you know about this, anyway?” Ethan asked, giving Jake a dirty look.

“Well, someone mentioned it offhand a while back, and I thought it would be super funny to put a werewolf in a fursuit contest at a furry con. So I researched if there were any furry conventions around the full moon, and I found this one. I was going to suggest it before we found out agents were casing the house, and I figured it wasn’t appropriate anymore, but it turns out it actually was very appropriate.”

“So do they have a fursuit contest?” Ethan asked.

“I think it’s tomorrow. But we’ll be here tomorrow, so he might as well enter,” Jake said.

“That would draw a lot of attention,” Ethan said.

“I mean, it would, but having a hyper realistic costume and not entering a costume competition would raise a lot of questions. But if he enters, then at least he would be attracting the right kind of attention. Either way, people can’t just go to a convention and not participate in anything. You either have to show off your costume, buy stuff, go to panels, or play some of the games. Which reminds me, there is a game of Ultimate Werewolf tonight, and we should all join in.”

“Once again, a werewolf at a game of Ultimate Werewolf?” Ethan said, his concern not dropping at all.

“Yeah, obviously. It’s super fun to have a real werewolf, but also, you really think someone would dress as a werewolf and avoid werewolf-themed events?”

“So you know about what kind of events there are here. What are some that are lower effort?” Ethan said.

“For you, there’s a panel on doing your taxes. For me, I’m going to see about some of the music, maybe see about a comedy show, Max is going to Zoology 101 if I have anything to say about it, and then after that we are all going to play Ultimate Werewolf. Remember, we blend in the more we participate,” Jake said.

“How would I even know where any of this stuff is?” Ethan asked, desperately trying to get out of having to actively participate.

“Ask around. There’s probably also like a pamphlet or something somewhere. In any case, I’m going to get Max on the same page, and then we’ll meet back up for Ultimate Werewolf. Sound good?”

“Fine. The panel had better actually be about taxes, though,” Ethan said, splitting off into the crowd.

Jake had to wait a moment to get access to Max again, since plenty of people were giving him compliments on his costume. He seemed to be getting into the role well, responding as if he had really spent a lot of time and effort on the thing. Jake didn’t hear everything, but just as he got close enough to hear the conversation through the crowd, he found his opportunity to drag Max out of a conversation for a second.

“Dude, I just really appreciate the body type you went for in the costume. You could have done the whole muscle thing and all like most of the more masculine wolf ‘sonas, but I think it’s good to have some representation for the skinny wolves and the twink wolves, too, so I’m glad to see you went for that,” a man was saying. He himself was not skinny, and certainly not a twink. He was likely a little older than Max, too, and a bit taller. This man’s compliment was less than well-received.

“Well, you know, I’ve got a friend who did the whole muscle wolf thing, but that’s extra work, you know? But I don’t know that I’d say I’m a twink,” Max said.

“Hey, Max, you’re gonna miss the presentation,” Jake said, pulling Max away from the man before the situation could get worse. “You really will if you don’t hurry a bit.”

“What? What presentation?” Max asked, confused. “Where’s Ethan?”

“We’re blending in, so we’re participating. There’s a game of Ultimate Werewolf later tonight, so we’re all meeting up then, but I think you should go to Zoology 101,” Jake urged.

“What? Why?” Max said, confused.

“Well, if anyone’s trying to find us, they’re more likely to spot us if we’re out in the open, but also I think you’d like the Zoology panel,” Jake explained.

“Alright, where is it, then?” Max asked.

“No idea. Ask around, someone’s bound to know,” Jake said. “Just don’t get stuck talking to everyone.”

After that, Jake took his own advice, asking around for any live music or comedy shows and finding the room just in time for the start of the performance. He was a little worried about Max, but if someone did come looking for them, being split up might be better. They might not know who Max was immediately if he wasn’t near one of them. That assumed anyone would look for them here, which he hoped was unlikely.

He asked around for the game once the performance was over, finding out that it was further down a hallway, where things were quieter. He met up with Max in the hallway.

“Did you know what that was?” Max asked. Jake thought he might have been blushing under the fur.

“It was zoology, wasn’t it?” Jake asked.

“I mean, it was, but it sure wasn’t limited to what you learn in middle school biology,” Max said.

“Didn’t they ask for your ID? Didn’t that tip you off that it wouldn’t be a middle school situation?” Jake asked.

“Oh. I guess it should have. I didn’t know why they wanted my ID, honestly.”

At that point, Ethan rejoined them.

“Was your thing a little, um…” Max asked.

“No,” Ethan said, guessing what Max meant since it was what he had been afraid of. “It was just a lecture about how you can do your own taxes. I didn’t learn much, but it wasn’t all that weird, either. Except someone that I think was supposed to be a marmot, or something? And a bunch of tails, but I’m getting used to them.”

“Now will you admit that this was one of my better ideas?” Jake asked.

“No. I don’t think I ever will, at least not officially. It’s not very based in sound reasoning. Or maybe it is, but there are some leaps in logic to get there, so I won’t count it,” Ethan said.

“I guess I can accept an unofficial one. Now for a game,” Jake said, leading them all into the room.

In Afraid of His Shadow, I have a Blue and Green, in the sequel is Black and White, the last in that trilogy is Red and Violet. In a prequel to that trilogy I have Deep Blue and Fire Orange. I also have one which is just Magenta and Magenta (They have a two pieces of one whole thing going on)

Look I understand the design impact of Black & White or Red & Blue as much as the next person

But we NEED more options for color coding our paired romantic leads

The Epilogue: Carla

Carla had to do a lot of paperwork for this case. Most of it was fabricated. Some of it was fabricated with the help and permission of her organization, and some was fabricated by her without the knowledge of her organization. For example, the death certificate for Max was fabricated by her organization, standard practice in most cases. But the “use of equipment" form was filled out incorrectly, despite being for internal use.

They made their own bullets, and the materials were often expensive. Silver, specifically, was not cheap, so they discouraged its waste by requiring an account of how many silver bullets were used and whether or not any were recovered. Carla reported the use of one silver bullet, and that bullet was in fact gone. However, it had never been shot. A copper bullet had. They were easier to fudge the numbers on, as they were purchased. But they would count the silver bullets to verify her report, so she had left one silver bullet in that open space park somewhere. Someone might find it, sure, but it was mostly a novelty. She had other things she was worried about.

She was good at her job, right? She hadn't ever had someone get away. And it wasn't just werewolves, she'd dealt with a few other creatures in her time. And yet, despite the large amount of paperwork that said otherwise, Max had evaded her. Had been let go. What he'd said stuck with her, eating at her mind.

When she had been captured, she hadn't hesitated to join this organization. She'd been hunted by some awful person for who knows what reason, turned into a werewolf against her will, and here was an organization who could take away the werewolf curse. Turn it into something she chose. And on top of that, she'd be helping capture or kill those werewolves like the one who bit her.

But Max wasn't like that. He wasn't even like her. He hadn't chosen to be a werewolf, but he wasn’t bitter about becoming one, either. And he made her think. Max seemed to be a decent person, despite being a werewolf.

She had been a decent person, too, those six years that she had been a werewolf. She had never attacked anyone, never bitten anyone. She'd only tried to evade capture. She hadn't been a danger, and it seemed Max wasn't, either. If Max was to be believed, the werewolf who turned him was decent, too. She was having second thoughts about her job. The job she wasn't ever allowed to quit.

It was quite the pickle. But for now, until she could figure out what to do about these new feelings, she would have to continue her job as normal. And finish the paperwork and cover-up for the Max case. And she had every confidence no one would ever know that she had let the kid go.

After all, she was good at her job.

----

This is a little teaser on a companion to the novella. It is started, it is mostly figured out, but it is not done, and it is not the current project. It is also not lighthearted. It showcases the more serious and dark aspects of the world I created, including the dark underbelly of the organization Carla works for (who'd have guessed they were baddies, right?). If you liked Werewoof Undies, let me know! If you hated it, how'd you get this far! If you have suggestions for generalized improvements to my writing, let me know, if you have fanart PLEASE let me see it, and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot them my way.

Thanks for reading!

Read Alice in Wonderland for the first time the other day. The thing that surprised me most was at the very beginning, Alice talks (somewhat metaphorically) about death for a minute. She is shrinking and worries that she will continue to shrink until she is snuffed out, like a candle flame. She says she doesn't know what would happen to a snuffed candle flame, since she's never seen such a thing.

What an interesting metaphor for a child not fully understanding what death is

My own experience to add on the walking front: On relatively level ground, especially with proper pathways or roads, the walking distances hold true. Walking through craggy mountains without trails, the max is about 15. Helping along someone who is not doing incredibly well healthwise (say, extremely dehydrated, somewhat older or unfit in some way) while you're in the craggy mountains without trails, drop that to about 6 or 7 max. Basically, factor in the conditions of the paths being traversed and the people traversing them - marathon runners will be able to go further than 68 year olds, or a group which has normal people and someone injured or sick.

As an addition, biking can massively expand your range, given you have trails and are in decent shape - 10 miles an hour isn't too crazy, and 50 miles in a day isn't impossible either, depending on how much biking you're used to. If you're very fit, it can go up quite a bit more. However, weather plays a big part in speed and range, as headwinds slow you down and tire you out, and it's harder to keep rain off as you bike than it is when you're walking.