Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The full moon illuminated the forest below, it's rays of dim light peeking through the branches and leaves.  The wind gently swept through the forest, gently brushing it's way through the green grass and wildflowers.  For a few moments, there was nothing to be heard but silence, an eerie sort of tranquility.  The world was still.

Then a piercing howl cut through the air, causing any nocturnal animal to flee further into the bushes or hide in the overgrown grass and quiver with fear.  The beast's cries echoed throughout the forest, it's voice recognized by no one except the other creatures of the night.

...

The hours passed, and the dark midnight sky gradually shifted into a soft orange sunrise.  The soft chirping of birds declared the new morning, their songs dancing through the air;  It was as if they had come out of their nests to inform the rest of the wild that there was no longer anything to fear.

Lying in a small clearing hidden deep in the forest was a small wooden shack, with splintering panels and a creaking frame.  It was truly a wonder how the storage area had managed to stay up for over twenty years, despite it being a sore sight for the eyes- the few eyes that had ever seen it, anyway.  Any normal person would try and tear it down and use the boards for firewood.  However, it was sturdy and was in a more secluded location than other places, which was all it needed to be.

After a small sliding panel embedded within the sturdy door was opened, a hand poked out.  The hand clumsily searched around the frame of the door, before the fingers found purchase in a small iron latch.  With a small grunt and a strong tug, the latch came undone, allowing the door to swing ajar.

A girl with dark red hair stepped outside of the cabin and into the woods, she stretched and groaned.  She was wearing ill fitting clothes that were twice as big as she was, but they were starting to fray and split at the seams, as if they were forced onto someone too large for them.  As she finished stretching, she bent down to retrieve her boots, which laid next to the door.  She tugged on the pair, fingers awkwardly fumbling with the laces.  After tying her shoes, she grabbed her hat, which was also left on the ground, and placed it on her head.

Nicky stood up and walked towards a narrow trail, forgotten by most of the world, before turning around to look at the shack.  It was going to be another month until she had to go inside of the wretched hut again.  It still looked as unpleasant as it was the first time she had to lock herself in it;  The only thing that changed was how small the interior of the cabin seemed to get as Nicky had grown up. 

She sighed in resignation and began the trek back to her ranch, which was a long way ahead from where she was.

Taking her time getting back home, muscles sore and weak from the night prior, Nicky quietly observed the nature surrounding her.  The wildlife scattered off as she moved along the uncleared pathway, as they usually did.  Skittish creatures, after all.  Nicky was careful to maneuver around fallen trees and unearthed roots, stepping carefully around stubborn rocks embedded in the earth and jagged stones that poked at one's feet.  She knew these woods like the back of her hand, but it was still good to take caution.

As she made it past the thick brush and crowded treeline, she saw her family's farm resting atop a hill.  Well... it was just her farm, now.  Her father died when she was young- too young to even remember him properly- and her mother had recently remarried and moved away, which left Nicky in charge of the farm.  And Nicky was rather proud of the fact that she had been taking good care of the ranch.

But doing it all by herself sometimes felt... lonely, for a lack of better word.  But it was alright.  Nicky could manage the ranch by herself.  It didn't matter that she was the only one doing so.

The only real issue of being alone was during the full moon, when there was no one to watch the ranch.  It wasn't as if she could simply ask a friend to watch over it every time she had to transform into a monster... they'd realize what was going on sooner or later, and she'd rather not have to deal with that inevitable mess.  But it never was that big of a problem, as her animals seemed unbothered by her monthly disappearance.

As she passed the fences, she took a little bit of time to check on the livestock.  The sheep were grazing peacefully, the chickens were pecking at the ground- Nicky took a small detour into the coup to grab a few eggs for breakfast- and Stella, her horse, was munching on a pile of hay.  All was well, and that gave Nicky some much needed ease.

Nicky entered through the backdoor of her house, which was left unlocked the day prior.  She made her way into her kitchen and began to prepare breakfast.  After cracking a few eggs into the pan to put over the newly kindled fire, she waited until it was thoroughly cooked to shovel them onto a plate.  Nicky scarfed down the food, as the night of a full moon always burnt out her energy in the morning.  Her breakfast was uneventful, the only noise coming from her fork scraping against her plate and the occasional cluck of a chicken or bleat of a sheep.

Sighing as she finished her food, Nicky stood up to move her plate to the sink, not bothering to wash up the mess at the moment.  As much as she wanted to go to sleep, she knew that there was work that still needed to be done.  Cleaning up the animal pens, heading to the farmer's market to pick up some supplies and sell her wares... Nicky couldn't just take a break because she was a little tired.  Instead of dozing off lazily, she changed into clothes that properly fit her and started to get to work, despite every muscle in her body begging her to do otherwise.

Before unenthusiastically heading out of her house, Nicky took a few seconds to check her almanac.  She didn't particularly care for the weather prediction, but was instead checking the moon's phases to determine when the next full moon was.  After flipping through a few sheets of paper, she noted the next date: the very end of the month.  Then Nicky headed out to properly start her day, trying to keep werewolf related matters locked away for the time being.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the midday business traffic had begun to crowd the area of commerce.  Mice scurried about the cobblestone pathways, rushing from business stand to business stand to purchase what they wanted.  There were vendors selling cheese, merchants with jewelry, auctioneers raising their wagers for cattle, local visitors and travellers from afar and everyone in between had all gathered in the town square.

Nicky carefully maneuvered her cart around the outskirts of the market, trying her hardest not to hit anyone.  After leaving her horse in a local stable and giving her a carrot, Nicky set her stand up in between the local seamstress' business and the cobbler's store.  She had learned a long time ago that anyone who was visiting either of those shops was also likely to be in need of wool.  She began to lay the wool she had collected from her sheep onto the collapsable table, beginning to organize it by color.

A loud cough interrupted Nicky as she was sorting through her items.  Nicky turned around to face Mortimer MacCardigan, who was her competitor and also one of the most annoying people to ever exist.  Her feud with him had started in the prior generation, way back in her father's early years of farming (Nicky wasn't quite sure what started the whole conflict, but Mortimer hated her dad's guts so she hated his).  Behind him stood his son Nate, who was carrying a hefty bag of supplies that obscured the top half of his body.

This sudden appearance from her competitors took Nicky off balance, but she quickly recovered.  "Mortimer MacCardigan!  To what do I owe the pleasure?"  Nicky asked with a voice full of false sincerity, tipping her hat to the pair.

"I hate to inform you of this Miss Nicky, but I reserved this corner to sell my wool.  You're gonna have to move,"  MacCardigan smugly grinned.

Nicky blinked with confusion.  "Uh... How did you reserve it?"

The man pointed to the ground, and Nicky looked down to see whatever it was this man had up his sleeve.  "My initials;  I claimed this spot the other day."

After a bit of searching, Nicky saw what the Mortimer was referring to.  On one stone, what just looked like scratches at first glance spelled out a double M.  She didn't know if she should laugh or be appalled by his stupidity.

"MacCardigan, that ain't a reservation, that's graffiti."

Mortimer huffed and crossed his arms.  "Look, I always... I usually sell my wares in this area.  You have to leave."

"I don't think I need to do so, sir.  After all, I was here first."  Nicky answered, an impish smile growing across her face.

"Well, I was here before you were born!"

"You can't call dibs on the same spot for over twenty years!"

"Yes I can, and I just did!"

"Well, I still ain't moving."  Nicky said defiantly.

Mortimer grumbled something under his breath before turning to his son Nate.  "Boy, grab the merchandise, we're setting up the stall over there!"  He pointed to the vacant spot right next to Nicky.

Nicky silently cursed as she realized Mortimer was going to be just as stubborn as she was.  What was originally going to be a pleasant and relaxed day to sell her goods was now turning into a battle to see which farmer could profit more.  But there was an upside to a situation like this, Nicky thought.  A pair of feuding farmers with rivalry as petty as theirs would certainly attract more attention- and more customers.  So she remained silent as the two set up their stall, preparing herself for any tricks MacCardigan had to play.

Over the next few hours, Nicky and Mortimer began to banter with each other over who had finer texture and who had better pricing.  Nate remained quiet throughout their argument, awkwardly drumming his fingers against the wooden table.  Their antics entertained a small crowd of spectators.  Unfortunately for the MacCardigans, Nicky was simply more charismatic and likable.  After a few people in search of wool came through the area, a majority had decided to purchase Nicky's.

Nicky could practically hear Mortimer's teeth grinding as a vein began to pop out of his forehead.  She averted her gaze towards the sky.  "Such a nice day, isn't it?"

"I despise you."

"Aw, I hate you too!"  Nicky replied with a smile.  Then she began to notice the dwindling number of people walking about the market and figured that she should probably get going.  "Well, I suppose I should wrap up for the day.  It's been a pleasure."

Mortimer silently fumed as Nicky collected her belongings.

"But hey, now that I'm leaving somebody might actually buy your wool!"  Nicky said, trying to get one more rise out of the old man.

Nicky was positive that there was steam coming out of Mortimer's ears at this point, and she silently snickered as she left.

Chapter Text

A few days after the incident involving Mortimer MacCardigan, Nicky returned to the small town of Mouseford on a sunny afternoon.  She was carrying an armful of wool and a backpack that was slung over her shoulder.  But this time, she wasn't looking to sell to anyone who happened to come across her.  Instead, she was going to deliver it to a very important person.  Nicky readjusted her hold on the bundle of wool as she walked towards the shop owned by the local tailor- seamstress?  Nicky gently shook her head, unsure of the proper name of the profession.

Nicky entered into the small shop, the door swinging open and ringing a bell to signify a new visitor.  The shop glowed with a soft light, and the small interior was filled with mannequins and hangers that put beautiful dresses on full display.  The back of the building was crowded by a bunch of tables and drawers with work-in-progress outfits strewn across them.

"Hello?  Special delivery!"

A woman was situated behind the counter, working on a dress that with a needle and thread.  Her long blonde hair was tied up into a bun.  She turned her head towards the door upon hearing the chime, and a smile came to her face once she saw who it was.  "Nicky!  It's wonderful to see you!"  she said, running past the counter and rushing forward, her pink dress flowing behind her.

"Hey Colet-"  Nicky was cut off by the Colette squeezing the rancher into a tight hug.  Nicky smiled as she failed to return the hug, her arms preoccupied with the delivery.  "Good to see you too, mate."

Her friend Colette was the town's local seamstress, and a very good one at that.  Sewing came naturally to her, as if it were as simple as breathing.  Colette was trusted by many people in the town to sew up tears, make adjustments to unfitting clothes, and create eye-catching attire.  Colette and Nicky had a mutually beneficial relationship;  Nicky supplied wool to the seamstress for her fashionable endeavors, and in return Colette gave some very generous discounts to the rancher.  But outside of their professional connection, the two were very close friends.

"It's been too long."  Colette said dramatically.

"I saw you last week,"  Nicky pointed out, playfully rolling her eyes at Colette's usual theatrics.

"Too long I say, too long!  You simply must tell me what you've been up to since we last met,"  Colette insisted, gently pulling Nicky into the room.  "You can leave the wool by the table with the other fabrics, and you can sit down if you'd like."

Nicky let out a small grunt as she placed down her hefty load where Colette had indicated.  She leaned against the frame of the table, watching Colette travel across the room.  "Alright-  What have I been doing lately?  Uh... nothing much.  The usual."

"But Nicky, you're such an interesting character!  There has to be at least one interesting thing that's happened to you."  Colette persisted, resuming her previous engagement.  She picked up a long piece of fabric, eyeing it with scrutiny.

"Seriously?  I'm sorry to be a bore, but nothing comes to mind..."  Other than transforming into a bloodthirsty monster?  "Nah, I've got nothing."

"Not even a little drama?"  Colette teased.  "Not even with the one and only Mortimer MacCardigan?"

Nicky flushed slightly.  "Well- I suppose you would know about that, wouldn't you?"

"I had front row seats,"  Colette smiled, gesturing towards the glazed windows that gave her sight to the rest of the town square.

"Look it was just-"  Nicky chuckled with embarrassment.  "Just some friendly banter, yeah?"

"Oh really?  Then why exactly did Mr. MacCardigan curse out your entire bloodline the moment you were out of earshot?"  Colette asked, failing to suppress a small giggle.

"Ooh, I must've riled him up real good!"

"Oh Nicky, stop it!"  Colette said half-heartedly.  Then, in a mocking tone, she added,  "You should learn to respect your elders."

Nicky grinned widely.  "Well, what about you Colette?  What've you been doing?"

Colette paused for a moment, then sighed deeply.  "Well, my fingers feel as though they are about to fall off!  I've been so busy lately, making dresses and suits for everyone... Sometimes it's hard to do it all by myself.  Hmm... could you be a dear and bring me the shears?"

Nicky blinked in confusion, and then realized that Colette was referring to her tailor scissors.  Nicky looked around for them, finding the shiny pair of blades lying off to her side, placed in a way where half of it was hanging over the edge of the table.  She outstretched a hand to grab them, but upon making contact with the metal she felt a searing-hot pain travel through her hand.  Nicky hissed sharply and released the scissors, letting them clatter to the ground.

Colette turned her head, searching for the cause of the noise.  A concerned expression had come to her face.

"Heh, sorry mate!  Just stubbed my toe."  Nicky lied through gritted teeth, her hand still stinging after making contact with the silver pair of scissors.  After looking around a bit more, Nicky grabbed what looked like an unused piece of cloth to wrap it around the scissor blades, ensuring that the entire surface of the silver edge was covered.  Nicky had tried to play it off as if she were cleaning the scissors after they had fallen onto the floor.  She got back up and carefully walked back to Colette, fearful of touching the silver again.

Colette raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't say anything.  She grabbed the scissors by the handle and begun to cut away at the textile.  "Thank you, dear.  I have been rather overworked lately, and I appreciate you helping me."  Her tone hinted at otherwise;  Nicky suspected that Colette just liked to have company.

"It's really no big deal," Nicky replied.  "How come you're so swamped with work?  Is there a party coming up or something?"

Colette paused, registering Nicky's question.  She turned around slowly, eyes full of disbelief.  "The Fall Festival, remember?"

"Uh- yeah!  Now I remember!"  Nicky didn't remember.

"...You completely forgot about it didn't you."

"-Yeah I did."

Colette let out a small huff as she turned back to the dress she was working on.  "It's alright, I've only been gushing about it for- what, two months?"

Nicky sheepishly shifted her feet back and forth.  "Well... uh, remind me what it is again?"

"Oh, it's simply the most wonderful celebration!  There will be music, dancing, waltzes -can't forget about the good food, and everyone will be there, and it will be the greatest party we've ever had and..."

As Colette trailed on, Nicky suddenly recalled the significance of the holiday, and then started to piece together some clues.  The Fall Festival was meant to give a joyous farewell to the summer and introduce the chillier season.  It had been annually recognized in the town for a very long time, and from all accounts (except her own) it was one unforgettable celebration.  If there was one thing the folks around here knew how to do, it was how to throw a spectacle of a party.

Now, the reason Nicky was completely ignorant to all of this information was because the Fall Festival always occurred on the Harvest Moon.  Also known as:  The night where she becomes a "Mad Killer Dog".  Nicky had never participated in- let alone ever thought about- the event, mainly because she wasn't going to risk transforming into a werewolf and crashing the party.

"...And all of our friends will be there, and we'll have so much fun!"  Colette happily exclaimed.  "And you'll be there too, won't you?"

"Oh- uh..."  Nicky was taken off of her train of thought by Colette asking her a question.  "I- geez..."

"Oh, I must get your measurements!"  Colette insisted, grabbing a stool and pushing Nicky down to sit on it.  "What do you think about a pine green dress?  Or would you prefer a lighter shade-"

"Colette, I'm afraid I won't be going to the Fall Festival."  Nicky hesitantly answered.

Colette blinked, first with surprise, and then with disappointment.  "Oh... why not?"

Nicky stuttered as she looked for an answer, opening and closing her mouth but no proper words came out.  Nicky sighed and took a deep breath in.  "Look, it's just- I...  I have this tradition- superstition, whatever you call it.  I gotta stay at my farm during the Harvest Moon because of... it brings good luck?"

That weak response wouldn't have convinced the most gullible person in town.  However, Colette's disappointment morphed into a tired expression as she didn't push the topic any further.  "It's alright, I suppose."

Nicky silently kicked herself for making Colette feel bad.  "Hey, uh... I know this is probably a bad time to ask you, since you're so busy but... could you do me a favor?"

Colette's eyes lit up near instantaneously, as if her mood had switched at the snap of a finger.  "Oh, but of course I can!  You are my favorite customer, after all."

"Ah, okay!  Cool, lemme just..."  Nicky removed her backpack and undid the leather clasps.  She took out the shirt she wore whenever she had to undergo moonlit transformation, and spread it across a nearby table.  She silently watched Colette, trying to determine what the tailor's response was. 

"So, er, a buddy of mine completely ruined his shirt.  And since I knew you, I offered to try to get it repaired on his behalf."

Colette hummed absentmindedly, eyes gazing over the extensive damage the article of clothing had sustained.

"Look, if it ain't salvageable, I'll just-"

"Hm?  Oh no, I am absolutely up for the challenge!  It's just going to be a bit... tedious."  Colette answered.

Nicky let out a sigh of relief.  "Thanks mate, you're the best."

Colette gave Nicky a polite smile as she picked up the tattered shirt.  "If you don't mind me asking, why does this garment matter so much to your friend?"

"Well, it belonged to his dad.  Sentimental value I suppose,"  Nicky responded.  "How should I pay you?"

"Oh, that isn't necessary Nicky."

"But I should-"

"No no no, this is a favor for a friend."  Colette insisted, raising a hand to halt the matter from being discussed further.  "When should I have this shirt ready by?"

"End of the month, if able."

Colette gave Nicky a warm smile.  "End of the month it is, then."

Nicky gave a nervous smile and quickly glanced towards the door.  She was worried that if she stayed any longer she'd have to start answering some uncomfortable questions.  "So, uh, I'll head out now, yeah?"

"So soon?"

"Yeah, haha- gotta get back to the farm."  Nicky replied as she shrugged her backpack back on, and walked to the entrance of the shop.  "Goodbye and- thanks again."

Colette gave a small smile as Nicky left, and then her expression fell as she turned her attention back to the shirt.  Colette gazed at the tattered and torn clothing intently, as if it would answer the questions that Nicky had left her.

Chapter Text

The days blurred past, turning into weeks, until the day Nicky was dreading finally came.  She woke up in the early morning, feeling feverish, and her mouth was drier than a burnt crop field.  It also felt as though her stomach had tied itself up into complicated knots overnight while she slept restlessly.  She rolled over, cramps starting to spread across her body as she tried to bury herself underneath a blanket.  She screwed her eyes shut to try and focus on anything other than the sensation of pain blossoming all over her.

Why did the day of a full moon always have to be like this?

A long stretch of hours that crawled past far too slowly, a day of nervous anticipation that ended in a night full of torture.  Waiting was probably the worst part of the whole thing; Nicky would much prefer it if the whole thing could be gotten over with quickly.  She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in her bed, trying to fall into a restless sleep.

But alas, she had to get up.

She had to make sure everything was in order before nightfall.

She had to lock herself away.

...

The warm air had grown colder as the sun began to set, a small gust of wind blowing through the area and causing a shiver to run down Nicky's spine.  As the sunlight was slowly fading away, and she knew that there wasn't much time to put off what was necessary.

Nicky stood before the decrepit wooden shack, feet firmly planted into the ground.  She tried to instruct herself to move, but her body refused to.  And in all honesty, she didn't blame it.  She never had any good experiences with this place.

Taking a few hesitant steps forward, she tried recalling if there was ever a time where this shack wasn't unbearable.  Where she wasn't dreading the action of taking a simple precaution.  Why go through all of this over and over again, if it was just going to make her uncomfortable?

Her mother's voice rang clear through Nicky's mind as she approached the splintering door, words cold and detached. 

"It's important that you do this every month.  It's for everyone's safety."

"But I don't like the shed-"

"Do you think I care if the monster is comfortable or not?"

Before Nicky had to barricade herself in the run-down shack every month, her mother used to do it.  After all, Nicky was too small to properly reach the door handle.

"If you don't go inside right now, you'll turn into a savage devil and kill everyone.  You'll hurt people- you'll hurt me.  You don't want to hurt me, do you?"

Nicky opened the door.  It made a horrible creaking sound, as if it were a dying animal begging to be put out of it's misery.  It was truly a wonder it stayed up for as long as it did.  In one swift moment, Nicky stepped into the miniature cabin and slammed the door shut behind her, breaths becoming shaky and uneven.  Even after doing this for so long... it still hurts, it still scares her.

The walls seemed to shrink closer and closer, squeezing her into an uncomfortable and suffocating embrace.  Nicky shut her eyes tightly, trying to imagine that she was anywhere else.  Anywhere that wasn't here.

"You're lucky I didn't get rid of you when I found out what you were.  I could've thrown you into the wilderness and let the beasts devour you.  You're so lucky I love you."

Some nights it wasn't even a full moon.  Some nights Nicky's mother just wanted her out of the house, and told her it was the day she was going to transform.  Nicky always knew when she was lying, but she never dared to argue against her.  She just allowed herself to be locked into the shed, and through tears and broken sobs she would wait until her mother came back to get her.  But Nicky never complained aloud.  Nicky even managed to twist the action into a positive manner;  It was just to help her get used to being in there for long periods of time.

Sometimes it would take hours after sunrise for her mother to retrieve her.  

"Clean yourself up, those tears look disgusting on you."

Nicky would've thought that she would've grown past being a scared little kid by now.  But she hasn't.

She still hyperventilates whenever the door closes, when the lock is set into place, when the moonlight finally peeks through those tiny holes in the weathered ceiling.

And then she stops whimpering and starts screaming as her bones begin to creak and crack and take a new form, as coarse fur begins to sprout up, as her jaw begins to be filled with razor-sharp teeth and her nails claw against the floorboards.  And no matter how hard Nicky struggled and writhed and fought and tried to stop the process from fully completing itself, she always lost.

And then the air was filled with hideous screeches and howls as she tried to escape.

It didn't matter how much she screamed.  No one was around to hear her for miles.  No one was near who would care.

"You are the worst accident of my life."

"Attention everyone!"  Mayor Mousus announced, his booming voice catching everyone's attention.  "It is my honor to host the 37th Annual Fall Festival!  And before we properly get into any festivities, I'd like to take the time to recount this town's rich history..."  A few people in the crowd groaned.  "Oh, I'm just messing with you.  Have some fun!"

The crowd laughed as they dispersed, lively music filling the air.  A few folks began to sway to the rhythm, some in a frenzied sort of waltz and others in an elegant tango.  The town square was filled with light, the lamp posts burning brightly as the flames flickered in their own kind of dance.  The ashes of the ember drifted up and off into the dark night sky, fading away as the bright stars took their place.

Those who weren't dancing were relaxing along the sidewalk, eating food and chatting with other party-goers, gossiping about who had the finest attire and who was asking out who.  Colette smiled as she stepped off to the sidelines, finished with dancing for the night; after all, she had gotten her toes stepped on by clumsy partners more times than she could count.  She looked back towards the crowd, a sense of satisfaction coming to her.  All the hours she had spent sewing by candlelight and restyling clothing was certainly worth it, to have a night like tonight.

People were just having fun, not a single worry in the world.

All of Colette's acquaintances, neighbors, and friends were there.

Well... all except one.

Colette looked around, almost as if Nicky would show up at any moment and surprise her, despite the girl saying she wouldn't even attend.  She felt dejected, missing the wide smile and kind eyes that belonged to her friend.  It had been a while since Colette had seen a genuine grin spread across the Nicky's face.

Colette couldn't place a finger on why it was bothering her so much.  Maybe it was because Nicky had been acting a bit peculiar lately, so unlike herself in the past month.  Every attempt Colette had made to check on her friend had ended with Nicky nonchalantly brushing off her concern with a simple "No big deal" or "Don't worry about it".  The half-hearted statements did nothing to ease Colette's worry.

She tried to push her anxieties about the rancher away, but her mind just wouldn't let her.  Worry began to gnaw at her, so much so that Colette truly needed some closure as to why Nicky was acting strangely.  A thought came to her mind:  If Nicky wasn't telling her, maybe she was telling someone else.  

The seamstress navigated her way through the crowds to try and find their other friends, hoping someone could answer the questions she had. 

Her wandering eyes caught sight of Pamela, who had recently been released from serving food to hungry partygoers;  Pamela's family owned the local bakery.  As a result of her parents' occupations, Pamela was quite busy.  Colette quickly walked towards the girl to try and catch her attention, waving quickly.

"Hey Colette!  Sorry, I can't chat for long.  My little brother ran off to who knows where, and now I've gotta find him before he does something dumb."

"Well, that's okay!  We can walk and talk,"  Colette suggested, struggling to keep up with Pamela's fast pace.  "Pamela, have you talked to Nicky recently?"

Pamela thought for a moment while squeezing in between a crowd, and then replied with,  "Well, she visited for dinner last Tuesday, but that was it.  Why, did she decide to come over for the festival?"

"No-"

"Spike, if you don't get back here right now-"  Pamela exclaimed, causing Colette's attention to shift towards a young boy ducking out of sight, carrying what looked to be a large pie.  "I'm gonna nail him to a tree one of these days."  She muttered as she gave chase.

Colette watched in slight amusement, before turning her focus back onto the matter of Nicky.  After a bit of thinking, she thought of checking with Violet next.  After all, she was more observant than Colette was, so maybe she had an inkling of an idea of what made Nicky act so oddly.

She found the girl tuning her violin as the small makeshift orchestra was preparing to play another song.  If Colette was good with a needle and thread, Violet was a straight-up master at playing the violin.  "Hey Vivi!"

Violet's head perked up upon hearing her friend and she turned to face her.  "Oh, hello."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"  Colette asked, taking a quick glance at the other musicians.  "-In private?"

Violet looked back to the others, and nodded.  "It'll have to be quick though."

After heading to a slightly less crowded area of the festival, away from any prying eyes, the two began to speak. 

"So, what's this about?"  Violet asked with a smile.

"Nicky.  Have you seen her lately?  Have you noticed anything... strange, for a lack of better word?"

Violet's expression shifted into one of deep thought.  "I did talk to her a few days ago, but I haven't noticed anything off with her.  Why?"

"She's been acting a bit weird towards me.  Like, a few weeks ago she made up this dumb excuse to not come here tonight."

"The: "It brings good luck" reason?  She gave a similar spiel to me."

"I just don't understand it...  Why wouldn't she want to go to the festival?  I mean, I understand why you don't want to be here- you're not the most sociable person-"

"Ouch."  Violet said monotonously, clutching her heart to emphasize the grave blow Colette had dealt to her.

"But Nicky's different.  She loves being with other people, a night like tonight would've been great for a girl like her,"  Colette sighed, looking back towards the crowd.

"Look, we can't exactly force her to show up.  If she doesn't want to be here, then we can't make her be here."

"I know that, but she's been acting uncharacteristically somber lately.  I'm worried."

Violet paused for a moment before placing an awkward hand on Colette's shoulder.  "I understand, but-"

"Violet, you have less than a minute to get back to the band,"  an annoyed voice called out.  The pair turned around to face another girl.  "Or do you two lovebirds need more time?"

Violet's face flushed as she turned her attention back to Colette.  "Look, how about we talk about this later?  I, er- have to go."

"Alright."  Colette replied, mildly upset at the interruption.

As Violet walked back to play another song, Colette returned to the rest of the party, concerns left undealt with.  She sat down on a nearby bench, thinking to herself as she absentmindedly observed the rest of the scenery.

Then Paulina, the free lance alchemist walked over to Colette with a wooden cup in hand.  A slightly peeved expression present on her face as she sat down next to her.

"Hey."

"Hello, Paulina."  Colette could tell that something was annoying Paulina, and that the girl just wanted someone to lend an ear so she could complain about it.  "What's up?"

"Well, you know how I was supposed to meet with some nobles today?  Y'know, sponsorships and stuff?"  Paulina asked.

"Mhm?"  Colette was aware of this fact, as Paulina had been relatively excited about it in the past few days.  The alchemist was going to propose a new method of purifying water- at least, that was the most Colette could decipher through Paulina's rambles and incoherent mutterings.  In practice, it wasn't incredibly interesting, but Paulina believed the process could aid other towns and villages that didn't have easy access to a freshwater source.

"Well, turns out they don't particularly care about clean drinking water, they all just want to know if I know how to turn lead into gold."  Paulina muttered.  "Why do people act like that's the only thing I'm good for?  It just annoys me so much."

"Really."  Colette added to seem as though she were interested while her mind wandered elsewhere.

"And then I have to say that it's impossible to turn lead to gold- even though the science is plausible, but it has so many unforeseen consequences that practicing it is just banned altogether.  If anyone succeeded in doing it, the newfound surplus of wealth would create an economic crisis.  The market would collapse, Colette!"  Paulina exclaimed with a hushed whisper.

Colette wasn't particularly intrigued by Paulina's scientific inquiries or rules, since she was so worried about Nicky.  Then she mentally slapped herself- here was Nicky's best friend, sitting right across from her!  If anyone knew what was bothering Nicky, it would be Paulina.

Colette immediately changed the subject, "Say, do you think Nicky's been acting strange lately?"

Paulina chuckled.  "Nicky's always been a bit odd, but that's just her.  Like, waking up at the crack of dawn to do yard work?"

"No, not that.  I mean, she's been avoiding me lately.  She's sort of... removing herself from everyone."

Paulina made an awkward noise and sipped her tea.  "Look, I think she just needs some alone time.  Everyone needs some time just for themselves at one point or another."

Colette hummed, the response not being the answer she was looking for.  "It's just... I think someone should check on her.  She sometimes worries me.  And- Oh!"  Colette slapped a hand to her forehead, realizing that she had forgotten something important.  "I can't believe I forgot.  I fixed a shirt for Nicky and I have to give it back to her!  I should head over..."

Paulina's eyes widened as she nearly choked on her drink.  "Oh, now?  Right now?  But the party's still going-"

"The party will be here when I return,"  Colette replied.  "I should go over, I did promise Nicky to give it back at the end of the month."

"Well, I'm sure Nicky can't wait for tomorrow!  She won't mind, I'm sure of it-"

"But I don't want to let her down."  Colette answered.  "It'll just be a quick trip, no one will even notice I'm gone!"

Paulina grabbed Colette by the shoulders before she could run off.  "Well, since you're so insistent on getting the shirt to her, I could do it for you!  I have to head over there anyways to pick up-"

Paulina stopped talking upon feeling a small tug on her dress.  Looking down, she saw her little sister, Maria, who appeared to be mildly concerned.  "Hey, Pamela asked for your help.  She said something about a homemade catapult and pie... Or was it a homemade pie and catapult..."

"Where?"  Paulina inquired, tone full of exasperation with hints of fear.  Maria grabbed Paulina by her hand to drag her off, leaving Colette alone at the square.

Colette shrugged as she stood up, walking to her shop.  She was going to Nicky's house to deliver the shirt, and that was her final decision.

Chapter Text

Colette quietly traveled along the dirt road toward the edges of town, carrying Nicky's shirt in a small pink satchel.  The music and laughter faded away as she moved towards her destination.  A light breeze seemed to follow her as she walked, causing her to shiver and wish that she had worn a warmer set of clothes.  The air was now filled with the gentle rustling of leaves, a series of soft chirps of crickets, and the occasional hoot of an owl.  And while the late night calls of nature unnerved Colette slightly, it wasn't going to deter her from visiting her friend.

After all, it was only a half-hour walk to get there.  What could go wrong?

Colette was only a few minutes away from the rancher's home when she heard the snap of a twig.  While most of the surrounding ambient sounds would have gone ignored, this one sounded a little too close for comfort.  She spun around quickly, seeing the dim outline of a tall man following behind her, only a few steps away.  She involuntarily gasped and stepped back, keeping her eyes glued onto the shadowy figure.

Who was he?  How long had he been behind her?  How had she not noticed before?

"Hey,"  He said with a smile, approaching.  As Colette's vision adjusted, she noted his muscular frame and wavy brown hair.  He wore a fine black suit that looked familiar to her.  "Glad I caught up to you."

"Erm... Do I know you?"  Colette asked, politely smiling back.

"Of course you do!  I'm Gaspard Roditeur, the one and only.  You fixed my suit for the party.  Don't you remember?"  Gaspard answered, as if he expected her to recall instantly.

"Oh, right...  You must forgive me for forgetting, I made a great deal of outfits for the festival."  Colette said.  In actuality, she did remember Gaspard.  She just wished she didn't.  He was the sort of man who always got everything he wanted without being particularly deserving of it.

Gaspard was quite rude towards other customers, flaunting his riches in such an obnoxious manner that made any reasonable person in a nearby vicinity want to roll their eyes.  He had flirted towards Colette on more than one occasion, and she had absolutely zero interest in him.  However, she wasn't about to be openly rude to a paying client.

But why was he following her?  Why not announce his presence before?  Colette felt her stomach twist the longer she stood with him.  She tried to ignore the alarm bells ringing in her mind as she tried to smile back.

"It's alright," Gaspard replied with a smirk.  "So, what brings you out to the middle of nowhere?  Why aren't you enjoying the party?"

"I'm visiting a friend."  Colette answered.

"Really?  Who?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

Gaspard blinked, and his grin shifted a little as he searched for a response.  "I was just wondering.  Don't get so defensive."

Colette took another step backwards, trying to remain cordial with him.  "Well, what brings you here, to the middle of nowhere?"

"I'm just following a pretty girl like you."  Gaspard chuckled.  Colette did not think it was funny.  "The party just- isn't the same without you."

Colette tightly pressed her lips together.  "Mhm."

"I was actually wondering...  If you're not doing anything right now, we could head back to my place?"

She didn't know where he lived, but she could certainly assume that it was in no area near here.  "I- uh- I'd rather not.  I'm sorry, I have to visit a friend."

"C'mon, it'll be nice!  I've got some nicely aged wine in the cellar; we could have a couple of drinks-"

"Really, I'm in the middle of something-"

"Whatever it is you're doing- it isn't that important,"  Gaspard interrupted, becoming a bit frustrated.  "Why don't you want to?  It'll be a great time, I promise-"

Growing impatient and nervous, Colette decided to be a little more forceful with her rejection.  "No.  I have to go now." 

But as Colette turned around, Gaspard roughly grabbed her wrist.  "Hey!"

"I wasn't done talking to you yet!"

"Well, I'm done talking to you!"  Colette exclaimed, trying to break free from his bruising grip.

Gaspard shook his head and pulled her closer.  She could smell the cheap alcohol on his breath and wanted to gag.  "I don't get it, I really don't!  You dance with all those other men but treat me like trash?"

"Let go of me!"  Colette insisted, raising her voice to try and draw anyone's attention.  Her heart sank as she realized that she and Gaspard were all alone in the road, too far from the town and quite the distance away from Nicky's farm.

"I'm offering something nice for you, the least you could do is be grateful-"

Colette slapped him hard across the face with her free hand, causing him to reel backwards and relinquish his hold on her.  After a few moments of shock and silence, Gaspard looked back up at her.  In his eyes there was nothing except unbridled fury.

Colette took a few hurried steps back.  She then turned around and ran away, and Roditeur followed in enraged pursuit.

There was a shortcut to Nicky's house through the thick woods, that Colette had found out about after she and her friends had a hiking trip through the area.  Colette had complained about her feet being sore at the time, but now she was eternally grateful for the barely-trodden path.  She made a sharp turn into the depths of the forest, hoping that Gaspard wouldn't be able to follow her through the labyrinth of trees and shrubbery and she could reach the farm safely.

As she fled into the dense brush, trying to lose her assailant, she heard a small grunt and a curse from behind her.  Gaspard had stumbled into the thick thorny bushes and had momentarily gotten stuck.  Colette didn't linger for a second and took his mistake as an opportunity to gain some distance away from him.

Within a few dozen meters, she was met with an intersecting junction in the rough terrain, the earthly path splitting off into two seperate directions.

Unfortunately, in her haste, and her sheer terror, and with the darkness of the midnight sky enveloping the forest and making everything seem ghastly unfamiliar, Colette took the wrong turn.

She was no longer heading in the direction of Nicky's house.  Instead, she was unwittingly heading in the direction of something far worse.

Gaspard's blunder didn't prevent him from continuing on his wild chase, and his footsteps fell closer and closer to Colette's, his angry demands for her to come back getting louder and louder.  Colette blindly stumbled through the foreign woods, panicking and calling out to her friend.  Her dress got caught on the outstretched branches of crowded bushes, and those wooden tendrils clawed at the cloth and carelessly tore it apart.  She was purely panicking now, instinct guiding her feet when her mind was lost to fear. 

Colette almost made it to a nearby clearing in the woods when she tripped over an unearthed root.  She roughly fell to the ground, scraping her knees and hands against the dirt and stones.  Pain blossomed across her ankle, which was quickly replaced by fear as Gaspard finally caught up to her.

He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the clearing, and she screamed a few more times.

"Stop yelling!"  Gaspard demanded, violently shaking her.  He leaned in closer and hissed, "No one's gonna hear you.  It's pointless."

Colette pushed back, falling onto the ground as Gaspard paced around her.

Unbeknownst to both of them, a creature with extremely keen senses had heard the struggle.  Within less than a few seconds, the barrier that had kept it at bay had been torn off of it's hinges, and it took off in a wild sprint to get to them.

"Look, I tried being nice to you,"  Gaspard seethed, "I tried giving you a chance!  But you- oh, you just had to be a little stuck-up snob!"

"What do you want from me?!"  Colette questioned.

"I want an apology.  A proper one!"

"Please... just leave me alone."  Colette whispered fearfully.

Gaspard came one step closer to her.  "Not until I get what I want."

Suddenly, a flash of fur leapt out of the brush and landed between Colette and Gaspard.  The two stared in shock and horror as an unnatural beast skidded across the pathway, it's claws digging into the soil to stabilize itself.  The horrible animal rose to it's full height, towering over both of them.  The monster emitted a low growl directed towards Gaspard, and then it suddenly lunged forward, teeth gnashing and eyes full of rage.

Gaspard shrieked and stumbled backwards.  It followed him closely, having switched to move on all fours as Gaspard retreated.

At this point, the boy turned away with his tail in between his legs, screaming for help as the beast chased after him.  Meanwhile Colette had ducked behind a tree to conceal herself from the monster's line of sight.

Colette clasped both hands over her mouth, trying to stop herself from screaming and giving away where she was hidden.  Over her own rapid and labored breaths, she strained her ears to hear what was occuring.  Gaspard had long since stopped hollering and the beast had long since stopped snarling.  Now the only noises were of dirt shifting underneath immense weight and brittle twigs breaking.

Colette closed her eyes tightly, praying that she wasn't found.

There was no way she could outrun a-

A Werewolf.  She could only hope that it would leave her be.

After a few moments of trying to regulate her breathing, Colette noticed a presence by her side.  Another set of heavy breaths.  Opening her eyes and fearfully looking to her side, she saw the werewolf, it's snout a few inches away from her face and it's vacant eyes were shining brightly, contrasting against the dark surroundings.  Colette let out a scream as she scrambled backwards, causing the creature to pull away, as if it were startled.

She didn't get very far.

With her back pressed up against the base of an old tree, Colette watched in terror as the wolf keenly focused on her.  She couldn't look away, she couldn't run away, she was paralyzed with fear.  Her head and heart were racing, memories flying to her mind in what she thought were her last moments alive.

And then... nothing happened.

...If it were going to kill her, it would've done so by now.

But instead, it was watching her, almost... concernedly?  Why?

Colette tried to get her breathing to a normal pace, and then let out a meek, "Hello?"

The werewolf took the word as an offer to approach the girl, and it took a few slow, cautious steps towards her.  As it came closer and closer and escaped the dark shadows, the moonlight began to reveal more of the beast's form.

Colette could now see it properly.  It was a very large creature, taking wide strides with it's front and hind legs.  The werewolf had smoky gray fur with copper-shaded tufts strewn across it's mane, and it's sharp ears were composed of similar coloring.  It wore a set of clothes that were far to small for it that had been torn at the seams and fraying along the edges.  But the detail that caught Colette's attention the most was the wolf's kind, intelligent green eyes.

Eyes that were all too familiar to Colette.

"Oh my... Nicky?"  Colette asked in disbelief.  There was no way-

A soft bark in response confirmed Colette's suspicions.  Nicky was now sitting directly in front of her, watching over her like a cattle dog would for a wounded lamb.  Any thought of the Nicky being an aggressive monster before was replaced by an newfound fondness as she wagged her tail back and forth.

Colette let out a sigh of relief, leaning her head against the trunk of the tree, and then looked up at her friend again.  In her head, she began to piece odd interactions and clues together.  It seemed so obvious now in hindsight.  "It makes sense now.  That you're a...  You're a werewolf."

Nicky tilted her head curiously and sniffed the air.  She turned her gaze to Colette's leg, letting out a worried whine.

Colette looked back down at her foot, noticing a slight swell.  "Oh."  She winced, as the adrenaline wore off and she was now painfully aware of her injury.  After trying to put a small amount of pressure onto it, Colette let out a groan.  "I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk right now..."

Upon hearing her dilemma, Nicky inched closer to the tailor, gradually lowering herself to the ground.  The werewolf nudged her arm, placing her snout against the inside of Colette's elbow.  It took a few moments for Colette to understand what Nicky was trying to communicate to her;  She wanted Colette to climb onto her back.  Getting a piggyback ride from a werewolf was certainly not on Colette's bucket list, but it might as well have been.  Seeing no other feasible way to get out of the dark woods, Colette let out an amused sigh as she reached across her friend's back  With a small grunt of effort, she had climbed onto Nicky, fingers gripping onto the werewolf's fur for dear life.

Nicky began trudging out of the woods, Colette in tow, and they escaped the treacherous forest.

...

In a large ditch deeper in the woods, there laid a motionless, muddied and dirty body.

Chapter Text

The Fall Festival continued strongly for several more hours, but eventually the party-goers parted their ways to go back home, needing rest and peaceful slumber.  Now that there were very few people still up and about, Paulina could finally get an opportunity to head out.

After all, the last thing she wanted to do was call more attention to the matter than necessary.

With a handheld lantern to guide her through the darkened streets, Paulina set off to find Colette.  It had been hours since she had left to go to Nicky's house, and she hadn't returned.  As the time passed Paulina's fear grew greater and greater, but she couldn't express her anxiety to anyone at the party.  No, that would have more consequences than it was worth.

The absence of the seamstress was thoroughly unnerving.  Paulina tried to stop herself from jumping to the worst case scenario whenever it entered her mind.  Instead, she tried to come up with other reasons Colette could still be out so late.  The seamstress was always tardy, maybe she stopped by a friend's house, maybe she got lost, maybe...

Maybe Paulina should focus on finding Colette instead of a dozen different what-ifs.

So the alchemist went alone into the dark night, going out in an impromptu investigation.  She walked slowly across the dark road, quietly calling out to her friend.  But there was no sign of her.

She wasn't too far away from Nicky's house when she stumbled across a broken twig.  For some reason that Paulina herself couldn't explain, it caught her full attention.  She looked around the area a little closer.  Then she found a small, barely noticeable shift in the ground.  Paulina bent down to examine it closer.  It was as if someone turned their heel quickly, creating the mark of a semicircle within the dirt and dust.  Paulina turned her gaze to the side, finding a small break in the foliage, created by someone stomping their way through it.  Why would anyone go off the beaten path?

With a small exhale, Paulina got up and walked cautiously towards the bush.  Paulina was able to see a set of footprints- two, actually.  One pair of steps was much larger than the other, and Paulina assumed they belonged to a man.  The impressions in the soft soil couldn't have been made anymore than a few hours ago.  Given the distance between each of the footprints, Paulina assumed that they were both running.  But from what?

Paulina looked around the rest of the area inquisitively, thinking over the night.  From what she knew, Colette hadn't left with anyone.  So who did the extra pair of feet belong to?

This trip was leaving her with more questions than answers.

She went further into the forest, following the trail of clues closely as she continued to search for Colette.  Her eyes shifted around the forest, cautiously looking for any sign of danger or the girl.

Paulina's curiosity turned into anxiety upon seeing a bit of cloth snagged onto a branch.  She quickly moved towards the prickly brush, and with slightly shaky hands she grasped the piece of fabric and examined it.  It was a soft rosy color, one that looked all too similar to the dress Colette was wearing this night.  Her fear worsened as she saw a small bag laying on the ground a few paces away.  It was also pink, and also distinctively Colette's.  Her name was embroidered on the side in loopy cursive letters and there was no mistaking it.

And inside it was a long-sleeved checkered shirt that looked like it belonged to a farmer.

Paulina's heart sank to her stomach as she realized that Colette never even made it to Nicky's house.

The alchemist followed the trail of footprints slowly, finding more remnants of Colette's dress and more reasons to worry.

Oh, what happened to you Coco- ?

Then she saw it.  The claw marks.

Something had left very ugly and jagged scratches in the bark of a tree.  She traced the damaged wood with her hand, and came to the terrifying conclusion that these marks were too large to be made from any normal animal.

So it could only be a werewolf.

She looked around her surroundings, trying to discern what had happened.  Judging by the angle of the claw marks, it seemed like the werewolf came from the opposite direction of Colette and the mysterious person.  What happened here?

She swallowed back a large lump in her throat as she cautiously moved forward, finding more tracks belonging to a werewolf and a singular person (the one with the larger pair of shoes).  They led off to the side and deeper into the dark woods.

Paulina's lantern flickered, and she realized she was running low on oil.  It wouldn't be long before the light died out and she was left in complete darkness.

...Should she even continue at this point?  What if it was too dangerous? 

No.  She needed to find Colette.  She needed to find Nicky.

Paulina noticed something odd while following the marks on the ground; while the footprints of the person fell into a single direction, the werewolf was taking sharp turns to the left and right, as if it were zig-zagging behind the man.  Unusual.  Paulina tried to visualize the chase, trying to discern why the wolf wouldn't just attack him head on.  Maybe it wasn't looking to kill, but rather herd him away?  Paulina fearfully moved along, straining her ears to hear something, anything.

The footprints eventually stopped near the edge of a large hole, which was seemingly bottomless from the lack of proper lighting.  Paulina carefully approached and timidly looked into the dark abyss, holding her fading lantern above the chasm.

And there was the running man, lying face down at the bottom of the ditch.

Paulina gasped and pulled away.  She shouldn't have been so shocked.  She wasn't sure what sight she was expecting other than a body.

That was a problem...

Paulina steeled herself and peered back into the ditch, trying to ensure that what she saw wasn't simply a trick of the light.  That this was all really happening.

After taking a longer look at him, she noticed the slight rise and fall of his chest.

He was breathing.

He wasn't dead.

...That was a bigger problem.

Nicky awoke to the sounds of floorboards squeaking and the cry of a rooster.  She felt a warmth grow across her face, and as she struggled to open her eyes she saw the bright rays of the morning sun peek through the open window and into the room, welcoming Nicky to another day.

Nicky groaned as she sat up, feeling sore from the night before.  Reverting back from being a wolf had always taken a toll on her, but this time the exhaustion felt worse, as if she had run a marathon.  Her muscles ached as she stretched and looked around.

Somehow, she had woken up in her house- in her bed- it took her an embarrassingly long time to realize it.  But that was unusual, wasn't it?  Last night she was in that old abandoned shed, but now she was here?  Something wasn’t right…  As she slowly registered the new developments, she became increasingly aware of the fact that someone was moving around in her house.  Nicky stiffened, unsure of who it was or what they were doing.

Nicky placed her feet onto the ground, intending on confronting whoever it was that decided to break into her house and tuck her into bed with a warm blanket.

But as she tried to stand up, her legs felt wobbly and she fell face-first to the ground, only managing to get out a single curse as she collapsed.  She hit the floorboards with a loud thud and then heard someone rushing into the room.  Turning her head upwards, she saw her friend Colette, looking at her with a fair amount of apprehension.

Well, that was the last person Nicky expected.  There was a moment of uncertain silence as both of the girls stared at each other, unsure of what to say.  And then, in an attempt to muster her award-winning smile and reclaim any dignity she had left, Nicky pointed her index finger to the seamstress whilst sticking her thumb in the air. 

"Hey, how ya doin'?"  That was so stupid.

"Are you alright?  Oh goodness, I hadn't realized you had woken up yet-"  the words tumbled out of Colette’s mouth as she awkwardly grabbed Nicky from behind, wrapping her arms under the other girl's arms as she attempted to get her to sit upright.  With a moderate amount of huffing and puffing, Nicky was now positioned so that she was sitting on the bed, with Colette sitting beside her.  "Are you okay?"  Colette asked again, eyes full of worry.

Nicky hated being the object of Colette’s concern.  "Pfft, I'm fine mate-"  Then the rancher slowly recalled her initial train of thought.  A series of questions flooded to her mind, the first of which was, "Wait, what are you doing in my house?"

"Oh, I just decided to stay for the night.  It was really cold outside and I was just so tired.  I didn't think you'd really mind, but I couldn't exactly ask for permission- since you were a giant dog- and I say, werewolves are actually really cute!  You were so fluffy.  I'm not sure why everyone's scared of them..."  Colette prattled on and on, barely taking a second to catch her breath.

Nicky barely registered the fact that Colette so nonchalantly mentioned her status of a werewolf, still bewildered by the whole set of events that was rapidly unfolding.  "...How did I get in my house?"  Nicky murmured to herself, pressing her palms against her temples, trying hard to not be overwhelmed by everything.

"The back door was open."  Colette answered.  "And really Nicky, you shouldn't leave your doors unlocked like that!  What if someone broke in, or the wind blew it open or-"

Extremely confused at this point, Nicky raised both her hands to stop the other girl from saying anything more as she attempted to process the information.  "Slow down mate!  What's going on?  Why do you- How do you know that I'm a werewolf?!"

Colette paused, expression morphing into one of confusion.  "You don't remember?"

"No?"  Nicky answered nervously.  She never was good at recalling what occurred in her transformed state.  She searched her memories, but everything was coming up blank.  "Wait- what happened?  How did you- how did I-"

"Oh, it's a long story."  Colette answered, putting a prolonged emphasis on the vowel in "long".

"Tell it to me."  Nicky nearly begged, searching Colette's eyes to try and see why her friend was avoiding the subject.  Had Nicky done something bad?  Did she hurt anyone?

Colette let out a small sigh.  With mild hesitation, she took the time to recount the hours leading up to this moment- obligating to leave some facts out, of course.  After all, how was she supposed to explain Gaspard's- disappearance?  Nicky was better off not knowing that part.

"...and I then I found you.  Or- it's more like you found me."

"So you took a shortcut through the forest to get to my house and got miserably lost?"

"Yes, that's the gist of it,"  Colette replied, with an apologetic smile.

Nicky pressed her lips together tightly, biting the tip of her tongue nervously.  "Um... where does this leave us?"

"Well, I suppose we should have breakfast."

Nicky blinked once.  Twice.  "Huh?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm famished from last night."

"Breakfast?"

"Yes, one simply cannot start the day without it!"  Colette giggled, brushing off Nicky's confusion.

"But-"

"But what?"

"It's just- you're taking this really well," Nicky admitted, giving a half-hearted smile.  "Why?"

"Why what?"  Colette asked, looking genuinely confused.

Why are you acting like nothing's wrong?  "Why are you being so- normal about this?  You're not- you're not treating me any different."  She shifted her gaze downwards, unable to look Colette in the eye.

Colette reached out to grab Nicky's hands, holding both of them gently in her own.  "Nic, I love you.  You're one of the kindest people I know.  Why should being a werewolf change that?"

"Because I'm all wrong."  Nicky still refused to look up at Colette properly.  She was never ready to tell anyone, let alone have her secret be exposed in this manner.  She was so afraid of what they would think of her.  It was her problem, her burden, and she didn't need to- she couldn't bother anyone else with it.  Any normal person would have turned away with fear or disgust.

But here Colette was, sitting only a few inches away from a monster, hand holding hand, face to face.  And why was she?  Any normal person should be running, hiding, doing anything they could to get away.  She should be screaming at her, insisting that Nicky had to stay back and that her very existence was monstrous, whether she was transformed or not-

Nicky was afraid that if she looked back up, she'd see an inevitable shift in Colette's eyes.  That the seamstress would finally realize how much of a monster Nicky truly was, how much of a threat she posed to everyone.  That Colette had grown to be fearful of her.

But then Colette pulled herself closer, slowly, wrapped Nicky up into a comforting hug.  "You're wonderful, Nicky."

Nicky still couldn't look at the girl, as tears had begun to spring up and they turned her vision blurry.  But that was okay.  She returned the embrace, allowing herself to sob for a bit.  They stayed like that for a while, neither of them uttering a single word for fear that it might break the moment.

Then sharp knock on the front door broke the pair out of their solace.  Nicky whipped her head around to the source of the noise.  "Nicky, are you in here?"

"Oh, uh-"  Nicky said, quickly wiping away the wetness in her eyes to give herself some form of composure.  "I should get that," she said, standing up and walking towards the front entrance.  Colette stayed in place, quietly wondering who it was.

Nicky took a deep breath and opened the door, and saw a mob of people stand outside, armed with pitchforks and torches.

Chapter Text

And who else would lead the group than her dear friend Nathan MacCardigan?

"Uh… hey."  Nicky awkwardly greeted as she leaned on the doorframe, trying her hardest not to panic.

"Nicky!  We're on the hunt for a vicious beast!  A monster attacked two people last night!"  Nate exclaimed, slapping a hand on the shoulder of another man who stood beside him.

Unlike the rest of the crowd, which consisted of the familiar faces of local farmers, this fellow wore a fine suit and looked like an upper class citizen.  However, the suit was extremely dirty and it seemed as though he had been dragged through several puddles of mud.  The moment Nate's hand made contact with him, he swatted it away, looking rather disgusted by the action.

Nate looked mildly offended, but ignored the guy in favor of persuading Nicky on a manhunt she had incredibly high stakes in.  "If you wanna join us, you can.  Grab your pitchfork- or, uh, whatever you have readily available.  Jacques brought his ma's knitting needles."

"They're actually quite sharp!"  A voice hollered from behind the crowd.

"Huh?"  Nicky asked, taken completely off guard.  She quickly recovered, saying, "What do you mean- what beast?"

"A terrible werewolf!  Yes, it’s true!"  the boy in the filthy suit tearfully and dramatically exclaimed.  "I barely escaped with my life…  I'm afraid Colette, the seamstress, has died…"

Nicky paused for a few seconds in disbelief before letting out a snort of laughter.

Nate raised his eyebrow in disapproval.  "What's so funny?"

Nicky held up her hand as she chuckled.  "Sorry, just- Colette!  Get over here!"  she hollered to her friend.  Colette walked over and peeked past the door frame rather shyly.  Nicky gestured to the very much still alive Colette, face breaking out into a cheeky grin.  "What's this about my dear friend being dead?"

The man looked like a dying fish, as he ungainly opened and closed his mouth in shock.  "But- how?!  The monster attacked us!"

"What monster, Gaspard?"  Colette asked innocently.  But hidden behind that soft-spoken demeanor was rage mixed with contempt.  Anyone who didn't know Colette well enough would've been unable to detect that fury.  Nicky glanced back and forth, trying to determine why Colette was so angry with Gaspard.  She also wondered why Colette was lying on her behalf, but line of thinking was fleeting in nature.

"Colette- you remember, don't you?!"  Gaspard insisted, extending his hand forward, as if he needed to touch Colette to confirm that he wasn't hallucinating or dreaming; this action made Colette flinch ever so slightly.  Nicky snatched him by the wrist before his hand could get past her doorway, a stern look clear on her face.  She released him from her tight grasp, shoving his hand back. 

He nervously cleared his throat, intimidated by the rancher.  "Colette- last night- a werewolf!  You were right there, you must remember!  I fell into a ditch for crying out loud!"

"I remember you begging for a date and being oh-so sullen when I refused."  Colette remarked, growing annoyed.  "And I remember you being drunker than a dog that lapped up an entire barrel of spilled ale."

Gaspard shook his head in disbelief.  "But-"

"But what? "  Colette asked, stepping past her friend and onto the front porch, feeling much more confident now.  She placed both hands on her hips and tilted her chin upwards.  "After I left you whining in the road, I spent the rest of the night with Nicky.  Is this your poor attempt to embarrass me further?"

Nate, after listening to the conversation, addressed the group, letting out a sharp whistle.  "Pack it up fellas!  He's the boy who cried wolf!"  Turning back to Nicky, Nate murmured, "Sorry for the inconvenience.  Uh... don't tell my dad."

A chorus of grumbles and groans followed, and the crowd slowly dispersed.  Gaspard spun around, desperately tried to find someone, anyone who would listen to him and his unbelievable story.  He turned back to Nicky and Colette, in utter shock and confusion.

"Have a nice rest of the day, sir,"  Nicky curtly said and shut her door.

After Nicky had slammed the door in Gaspard's face, she let out a huge sigh of relief.  She turned towards Colette.  The moment the pair made eye contact, they burst out into uncontrollable laughter.  In between fits of giggles and whispers akin to "How on earth did we get away with that?!" they managed to make their way into the kitchen.

"So... care to explain what that whole thing was?"  Nicky asked, voice hinting at a bit of irritation.

Colette's smile faltered a bit.  "Okay... I may have missed some details."

"Yeah, I figured.  C'mon, I'll make us some eggs and you can tell me what you left out."

After eating a rather hearty meal and Colette awkwardly admitted everything, the pair waltzed outside into the warm morning air.  Nicky guided Colette towards the horse pen, offering her a ride back to town.  After all, her friend shouldn't be putting too much weight on her bad foot. 

"Top of the mornin' to you, Stella!”  Nicky greeted the horse, a genuine grin spreading across her face.  Stella nickered in response as the rancher opened the gate.  "I didn't leave you alone for too long, did I?"  Nicky gently stroked Stella's mane as she prepared her for a ride into town.

Colette let out a soft giggle as she witnessed Nicky's antics with the horse.  "Will she be alright with two people riding her?"

"Of course, she'll be alright!  After all, it'll only take a few minutes to get to town."  Nicky explained, placing a pillion saddle on Stella once the horse exited the pen.  She swiftly mounted the horse, then offered a hand to Colette so she could hop on as well.  Colette awkwardly climbed up, a nervous expression present on her face.  As Stella began to trot forward, Colette's arms quickly circled around Nicky's torso to keep herself from falling off.

"Is this your first time on horseback?"  Nicky asked, tilting her head to the side to address Colette.

"Er- yes, it is."  Colette confessed, leaning further into Nicky's back.

Nicky gave her friend a warm, reassuring smile.  "It's alright.  Just hold on."

They had begun their journey on the road, Colette taking Nicky's advice to heart and hugging her friend like a lifeline.  The world slowly blurred around them as Stella began to pick up her pace.  Nicky took in a deep breath of fresh air, thrilled to finally be outside again.

"How're you doing so far?"  Nicky asked, keeping her head towards the road.

"I'm trying not to topple over!"

Nicky chuckled.  "Don't worry mate, we're almost there!"

The rest of the ride back into town was thankfully uneventful.  Since it was still early in the morning and the town threw a massive celebration the night prior, the streets were relatively empty.  They stopped a few meters away from Colette's business.  Nicky dismounted and assisted Colette get off as well.  The blonde mouselet attempted to smooth out her hair, which had been lightly mussed up from the wind.

"Thanks for the ride,"  Colette said.

"No problem.  But I may owe Stella an apple later for being such a good sport."  Nicky thought aloud.

"Well, that sounds like a nice idea."

Nicky smiled.  "Hey, uh- do you need help with anything else?"

Colette paused for a moment, but shook her head.  "I'll be fine now that I'm back home.  What about you-"

"Oh, I'm all good."  That was untrue, Nicky was exhausted and wanted to go home.  "Hey, would it be alright if I stopped by later today-"

"Oh, and we could have dinner together?  That sounds like a lovely idea."

"Hey, quit taking the words out of my mouth!"  Nicky joked.

A group of girls suddenly rounded the corner, as if on cue to interrupt their conversation.  One of them rushed forward, eyes full of excitement.  "Colette, you must simply tell us everything!"

"Uh- everything?"

"Yes, what happened with Gaspard?"  The girl leaned in closer and lowered her voice.  "Is it true that he soiled himself?"

Colette let out an amused snicker.  "My, word travels fast, doesn't it?"

Nicky decided to let Colette be for now.  After all, it seemed as though she had to clear up a few rumors.  Nicky was about to climb back onto Stella to get back to her ranch when Mercury Whale suddenly ran towards her, hollering something incoherent.  Nicky stopped in surprise and waited for him to approach her.

The messenger attempted to say something, but was apparently out of breath.  "Ha- sorry, I- had to run to catch you..."  he huffed and puffed.  He took a couple of deep breaths in and out, panting with great effort.  "Paulina wants to see you.  She says it's urgent."

Nicky sighed as she resigned herself to visit Paulina before heading back to her farm.  It wasn't that she disliked the girl's company, it was that she simply wasn't in the mood.  But if Paulina said something was urgent, then that something was urgent.  Nicky headed towards where Paulina was most likely holed up at: her laboratory. 

Paulina was always in there doing some convoluted experiment.  Hell, she probably spent more time in the lab than in her own home.  To put it simply, Paulina frequently lost track of time whenever she was engrossed in a project, deeply focusing on her work and forgetting about nearly everything else.  Once she spent two days straight in there- at which point Pamela literally had to drag her out to get some food and rest.

Surely enough, the door to the lab was wide open.  Nicky strode inside, knocking on the door as she entered.  Various flasks of different sizes were cluttered around the workbenches, boxes containing equipment and samples and who else knew what were crowded around the walls, and there were some complicated equations strewn across the wall.  All in all, this working environment was a mad scientist's most favorite dream.

However, the room seemed to be devoid of life.  Deciding to be safe, Nicky called out to her friend as she walked a little further into the room.  "Hey Pauly, Mercury told me to visit you!  Said it was important-"

The door was forcefully slammed shut, and Nicky nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound.  She whipped her head around to see Paulina looking rather peeved.  Apparently she had been hiding behind the door?  Which was weird, even for her.  What made it even weirder was how disheveled Paulina looked; the girl had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was untidy.  She looked both exhausted and agitated, which were very uncommon emotions Nicky had seldom been witness to.

"Uh... mate, are you okay?"  Nicky asked concernedly.

"Hm.  I didn't get any sleep last night."  Paulina answered, walking past the rancher and towards a table with a box on top of it.  With one swift movement, she turned the box upside down and the contents spilled out.  The alchemist turned around and crossed her arms, wearing a serious expression.  It reminded Nicky of her mother scolding her whenever she did something wrong.  "Care to explain?"

Nicky approached the table slowly, confused.  She quickly surveyed over the items, finding a pink bag, a pair of boots, some torn up pieces of cloth, and-  "Hey, that's my hat!  I was wondering where it went-"  Realization dawned on her quickly.  Nicky snapped her head back up to see Paulina giving a stern look.  "Oh."

"Oh?  Do you have any idea how bad this looked?"

Nicky swallowed back a lump in her throat.  "Look mate, whatever you think this is- it isn't."

"I think- no, I know you turned into a werewolf last night and chased someone into a ditch."  Paulina stated with an exasperated sigh.

"Look, Paulina- I swear, I didn't mean to-"  Nicky timidly tried to defend herself

"I found him."  Paulina cut her friend off in an attempt to explain everything.  "I ran back to town and got Craig to help me pull him out of the hole- after I removed everything belonging to you.  You shouldn't leave your stuff lying around like that-"

"Was he badly hurt?"  Nicky asked.  

"Not really.  Just a few bumps and bruises.  He was pretty shaken up though..."  Paulina paused, taking a deep breath in.  "...He kept muttering about a werewolf.  Since he was so out of it and it looked that he had been drinking all night, I suggested we kept him in the doctor's office.  Gaspard was supposed to stay in the clinic overnight so we could make sure he was okay- but he was being really difficult with the staff and left against my recommendation."

Nicky elected to volunteer some additional information.  "Well, this morning he tried to form a werewolf hunting party but they quickly disbanded."

"That's not good."  Paulina murmured.

"Well... I mean, they isn't an active manhunt out to get me-"

Paulina sighed and looked at Nicky.  "That's not important."

"Then what is important?  What is the point of all this?!"

Paulina spoke quietly despite them being alone in the room.  "Nicky- something like this, it isn't good.  Someone could've been hurt- really hurt."

Nicky tensed up.  "Well, he didn't die, so I don't see the problem."

"He was lying in a ditch, Nicky!"  Paulina finally shouted, upset by how unanxious Nicky was acting about all of this.  "I need to know what led up to that happening!"

"I don't-"

"Where were you?  Where did you go?  Can you remember anything?" as Paulina rapidly bombarded Nicky with questions, Nicky held up both of her hands to try and get her to stop.

"Okay, look, all I know is what Colette told me, okay?!"  Nicky interrupted, speaking a little too harshly.  She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

"...Colette's alright?"  Paulina asked.  It sounded like a huge weight was taken off of her shoulders.  

"Yeah?  She stayed the night at my place."  Nicky clarified, a little more relaxed now that Paulina was less irate.  "...She says that Gaspard tried to- he attacked her and she called out for help, and I apparently heard her so I rushed in.  After that- I'm not sure what happened."

Paulina listened intently.  A sullen expression crossed her face and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...Paulina?"

"Look- I'm sorry."  Paulina said after a moment of silence.  "I didn't know he was- geez, now I feel like a total jerk."

"I'm sorry-"

"No, no.  It's not you.  I'm not mad at you..."  Paulina let out a tired groan.  "Maybe I should've left him there.  Then we wouldn't be dealing with this whole mess."

Nicky wasn't sure how to respond.  "Look- he might have been terrible, but you did the right thing.  Besides, I'm not sure if anyone will believe Gaspard anymore after-"

"After he ruined his pants?"

Nicky, despite the seriousness of the situation, couldn't help but let out a weak laugh.  "Geez, he really did that?  I thought it was just a nasty rumor!"

"Yeah.  It smelled awful."  Paulina answered, a small smile ghosting across her face.

The pair chuckled a bit.  "Hey mate- when was the last time you slept?"

Paulina's blankly stared at a wall as she tried to recall the exact time.  "Uh..."

"Yeah, I guessed.  How about you go home and take a nap?"

"Sounds alright."

For the second time that day, Nicky walked one of her friends back to their house.

And then she went back to her house, and promptly collapsed onto her bed.

Eventually Nicky headed back into town; she did promise to have a meal with Colette, after all.  But as she walked into the seamstress' workplace, she felt an uneasy sense of dread roll over her.

Colette rushed forward to Nicky, eyes full of anxiety.  "Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry- I didn't mean to but I'm a gossip by nature-"  the words rapidly spilled from her mouth, and Nicky was barely able to keep up with what she was saying.

"Hey, relax."  Nicky suggested, noticing how upset she was.  "What happened?"

"I know."  Violet said.  Apparently she had been standing there the whole time?  Why was it that none of Nicky's friends liked to announce their presence?  It irked her, but that annoyance was immediately replaced by worry.

Nicky's breath hitched.  She already knew the answer to the question, but decided to ask anyway, "Know what?"

"That you're a werewolf," Violet answered after taking a quick glance towards Colette, who looked deeply uncomfortable after sharing Nicky's biggest secret.  Violet on the other hand seemed relatively unperturbed with the fact.

"Ah.  I see."  Nicky nodded, trying to remain calm.  "I mean, I was planning on telling you eventually- but uh... thanks Colette."

The trio stared at each other in awkward silence.  "...How mad are you?"  Colette asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm not mad.  Just- a little weirded out."  Nicky answered.  "Everyone's taking it... surprisingly well."

"I'm more surprised you managed to deceive me for so long,"  Violet commented.  "But I suppose everything makes sense now."

Nicky rolled her eyes.  "My sincerest apologies.  Uh... are you..."

"I promise not to tell anyone."  Violet pledged.

"Really?"  Nicky asked, not sure why the loyalty displayed by her friends was still so shocking to her.  

"Of course.  But Colette also needs to learn how to shut up."  Violet added.

"Hey!"  Colette gave Violet a light smack on the arm and an annoyed look.  "I'm not that bad!"

"I'm right though!  Nicky, agree with me."

"You were grilling me for information!"

Violet rolled her eyes.  "Oh, don't be dramatic.  I asked you one question, and then you immediately confessed to everything-"

"Well it's not like I can effectively lie to you!"  Colette huffed.  "You would've found out eventually!"

Nicky watched in amusement for a bit.  "C'mon guys, we really should go get dinner.  Let's put this discussion on hold for a later date."

Colette huffed, failing to get the last say in the matter.  "Alright.  How about we go to Pamela's and order some?  I hear it's soup night."

"Sounds great."  Nicky said.  As Violet nodded her agreement, Nicky held the door open to let her friends pass through.  After walking a for a few seconds to the Tangu restaurant, Colette realized something.

"Have you told Pamela yet?"

"Uh..."  Nicky's eyes widened with sudden realization.  "No, I haven't yet."  She had to do that eventually, right?  Pamela was one of her closest friends- it didn't feel right that everyone but her was privy to Nicky's secret.

"Oh great, Colette's going to tell her everything too-"

"VIOLET!"

Chapter Text

A couple of weeks passed by and the werewolf incident had been chalked up to nothing more than a case of too much liquor.  The town continued as normal.  Except for a few rowdy children, who insisted on making wolf-like howling noises any time they saw Gaspard in the streets.  This behavior, whilst admonished by a few sympathetic adults, was also incredibly hilarious to observe.

Gaspard would eventually leave the town altogether, having enough of being ridiculed and ostracized.  In Colette's words, "Good riddance, now he won't be a nuisance anymore."  Nicky and her friends had their decent share of laughs over the whole incident, despite only one of them never receiving true context. 

The five friends had all agreed to meet up and have a picnic; the days of pleasant weather were rapidly dwindling, and it had been a while since they had gotten an opportunity away from their work.  It would have been nice to have a day just for themselves, where they could relax and spend time with each other.

At least, that was the pretense that Pamela was given.  In actuality Nicky felt this building pressure to inform the baker of her secret, and felt most comfortable doing it with the rest of her friends by her side.  But if she was going to inform Pamela, it had to be away from her workplace; after all, there were too many ears that could overhear them.

So Nicky found a nice spot in the woods farther away from town, secluded in nature.  There was a large oak tree that could provide them with some nice shade, a small meadow full of flowers that were bright and vibrant, and a river ran through nearby with clear blue water that sparkled when the sun beamed down on it.

The perfect spot, if she did say so herself.  Nicky gave her friends a few instructions on how to get there and quietly waited for each of them to show up, relaxing in the scenery.

Violet had showed up first, bringing along her tea set.  Paulina had arrived not long after with a couple of sandwiches.  And finally, Colette and Pamela came around the bend, shouting their hellos and walking towards the trio.

"Hey!  Sorry we're late, someone just couldn't figure out which blanket to bring."  Pamela mentioned as she set down her basket.

Colette rolled her eyes.  "The selection process was a lot more difficult than you give it credit for."

"Yeah yeah, as long as we can sit down it'll be fine,"  Nicky laughed as she helped Colette set down the checkered blanket.  As soon as the area was set up properly, the others put down their items and began to eat.  The group eagerly grabbed the muffins Pamela brought, pleasantly surprised by how fresh they smelled.  They made friendly conversation for a while, recounting stories of what they had been up to, who they had seen, what they were planning on doing next.

Eventually, Nicky felt that it was time to confess to Pamela.  She couldn't lie to her any longer.

"Hey, uh- Pamela?"  Nicky began, swallowing back a lump in her throat.  "I need to tell you something…"

Pamela momentarily stopped chewing on her lunch.  "Is this about you being a werewolf?"

"I just have to get something off my chest.  I wanna be honest with you, because you're one of my closest friends and-"  Nicky's voice trailed off as she finally registered Pamela's words.  "-YOU KNOW?! WHO TOLD YOU?!"

"Of course I know!  You're trash at lying!"

"What- wha-  You never said anything!"  Nicky stammered.  "How long have you known?!"

"Since like, six months ago!"  Pamela answered.  "I knew after you refused to eat my homemade garlic bread!"

Nicky's shocked expression morphed into a mixture of utter disbelief and frustration.  "Pamela… You wonderful idiot… Werewolves can eat garlic!  Vampires can't!"

Pamela crossed her arms together and scowled.  "Then why didn't you have any?!  I worked really hard on it!"

"Paulina said it was too garlicky!"  Nicky answered, pointing an accusatory finger at the other girl.

Paulina gave an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of her neck.  "Oh no, the bread was perfect-  I just didn't want to share."

"PAULINA!"

"I'm sorry,"  Paulina apologized while chuckling, indicating that she was not sorry at all.

"Wait, so if it isn't garlic that hurts you... then you're allergic to onions, right?"  Colette said.

Nicky turned to Colette, addressing her with a small amount of confusion.  "No?  I can eat onions."

"Oh, so it's still vampires.  Onions and vampires can't mix, got it."

"Onions don't affect vampires either, Coco.  Where did you even get that from?"  Violet inquired.

"Well, I heard a story about a couple of vampire hunters who bought a sack of onions to fight a vampire because it was cheaper than garlic."

Violet paused.  "...Did they come back?"

Colette thought for a moment and then had a saddened look of realization.  "Oh."

"Hey, maybe the vampire and the hunters put their differences aside and had onion soup together!"  Pamela joked, attempting to comfort Colette.

"I doubt it."  Violet murmured.

Nicky felt a tap on her shoulder that distracted her from the conversation.  Paulina looked at Nicky with an inquisitive look, as if she were trying to piece together a complicated puzzle.  "If a vampire bites you, do you become a vampire-werewolf hybrid or would your wolf gene counter the vampire's infection?"

Nicky furrowed her eyebrows, unsure of how to answer the question.

Luckily, Violet did it for her.  "If a vampire were to bite Nicky right now, she'd turn into a vampire.  But she would be cured of her lycanthropy, and wouldn't transform under a full moon anymore."

"...How do you know that?"  Pamela asked, slightly weirded out.

"Okay, but what if it bites me when I'm already transformed?"  Nicky questioned.

"A vampire doesn't have a strong enough bite force to puncture through your hide,"  Violet responded, placing her tea cup onto the blanket.  "But in the highly improbable scenario in which one does happen to infect you, your accelerated healing should prevent you from becoming vampiric."

Everyone around Violet nodded, accepting what the other girl had to say as the truth.  All except Pamela, who once again asked,  "How do you know that?!  Are you like, secretly a cryptozoologist or something?!"

Violet let out an awkward giggle and said, "I just read a lot."

"What else have you read about werewolves?"  Nicky asked curiously, leaning up slightly.

"Erm... what in particular?"

Nicky immediately followed up Violet's question with, "Am I allowed to eat chocolate?"

"Yes."

"Yes!"  Nicky cheered.

"As long as you're not transformed into a wolf,"  Violet added, smiling at Nicky's excitement.  "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Tell me everything,"  Nicky eagerly insisted.  "I'm going on a whole self-discovery journey."

"Well, uh... there are limited reports of werewolf sightings that are actually verifiable.  But most witnesses agree that a werewolf is a large creature, at least ten feet tall."

"Hm, gonna have to disagree with you on that.  Nicky was only around eight feet tall."  Colette said.  After Violet shot her an annoyed glance, Colette continued, "Hey, don't doubt my measuring skills."

Although mildly miffed about the interruption, Violet continued to talk.  "A werewolf can easily reach running speeds of over 30 miles per hour, and are well known for their enhanced strength."

"Look mate, I sorta already know all that.  Is there anything about other werewolves?  What are they like?"

Violet pursed her lips together, searching for any information she could find.  "Well, er... they're known to be- aggressively protective, I suppose."

Nicky shook her head.  "Nah mate, I'm talking about individual stories.  Like, what cool thing did one do one time?"

"Well, there is one account in which a werewolf massacred an entire village, except for one elderly woman."  Violet mentioned.  It was honestly the first example that popped into her mind, and she began reciting the passage she had read verbatim without second thought.  "She was spared because she cultivated monkshood around her home, a plant which is speculated to be a strong werewolf deterrent-"

"Wait, back up.  An... entire village?"  Nicky asked fearfully, her stomach twisting with disgust and fear.

It was as if Violet suddenly realized the words that came out of her mouth and immediately sought to rectify them.  "Oh, no- probably not an entire village- you know, historians can exaggerate- a werewolf will usually have their bloodthirst satiated after one or two kills-"

"Violet.  Shut up."  Pamela demanded.

And Violet did just that.  But it didn't remove the bitter taste left behind by her words.  Embarrassment came over her and there was nothing Violet wanted to do more than to dissapear at that very moment.

Colette placed a comforting hand on Nicky's shoulder.  "Don't worry about that, darling.  You'd never hurt a fly."

Nicky didn't feel reassured at all.  "Sure.  Uh... is there anything you guys wanna know about me?  You can ask ahead."

"Hey... we don't have to keep talking about this if you don't want to..."  Pamela said.

"Nah, I'm cool."  Nicky replied brusquely.

"Okay.  Just like- this conversation can end if you feel upset."

"I said that I was fine."

The others sat still in a moment of uncomfortable silence.  "When did you contract lycanthropy?"  Paulina asked after a bit of hesitation.

"I didn't contract anything.  I was just- born like this."

"Really?"  Paulina asked with a hint of surprise.

"Yeah- my dad was a werewolf.  My mom's normal."  It was one of the few times Nicky's mother ever mentioned her dad to her, to blame him for his daughter's failures.

"Well, that would explain it."  Violet said suddenly, as if she had just found the answers to every question in her mind.

"Explain what?"  Paulina asked.

Violet searched for a nice way to clear things up.  "Well, er... a child born of a werewolf and a human is exceptionally rare; but in the cases where it does occur, it's theorized that the child is less likely to develop aggressive tendencies whilst transformed.  They retain most of their personality and memories.  Nicky wouldn't attack people she's familiar with, and that's why she didn't attack Colette."

As Violet finished speaking, Nicky felt this indescribable sense of relief wash over her.  Knowing that she would never set out to hurt any of her friends left her feeling reassured.

But still, a nagging voice in the back of her mind whispered it's doubts.

"Wait, what happened with Colette and Nicky?"  Pamela inquired.

"Oh... long story."  Colette nervously giggled.

"Dude.  I literally don't have anywhere to be right now."  Pamela turned her head towards the sky, trying to determine the time based on where the sun was positioned.  "And I don't need to be back for another couple hours."

"Yeah, but... Oh, why not, let me tell you about the night of the Harvest Moon..."

Gaspard had left the town of Mouseford over two weeks ago.  Since then, he had travelled to other towns and villages, looking for someone willing to aid him.  After all, he wasn't crazy!  He had seen a werewolf plain as day- well, night, since it was a full moon- that didn't matter.  What mattered was the fact that Gaspard's reputation had been sullied and no one respected him anymore.  He needed to find a way to prove that he wasn't crazy, to prove that there was in fact a werewolf lurking about Mouseford.

Unfortunately for Gaspard, the word of gossip moved faster and farther than his own two feet, and nearly everyone who talked to him thought that he was a fool doubling down on his absurd claim.  Everyone thought he was the boy who cried wolf and wouldn't give him more than a few seconds of notice.

All except one.

A dark fellow, clad in a long black cape and a hood that obscured most of his face sat down next to Gaspard at the local tavern as the latter half was drinking to dull the humiliation he experienced.  The beer was cheap and there didn't seem to be a limit to how much he could order, so it was the perfect spot for him to drown out his misery.

The stranger made it seem as though he had no other choice than to sit next to Gaspard, seeing as the pub was rather full, and swiftly ordered a lemonade.  Although he slouched when he sat down and shied away from eye contact, he had an air of mysterious importance to him.  After he received his drink, he turned to his somewhat drunk neighbor.

"So, you're new here."

Gaspard finished off his glass before turning to him.  "Yeah, what of it?"

"I hear you've encountered a werewolf,"  The stranger said, taking a lump of sugar and mixing it in with his drink.  He idly stirred it with a wooden stirrer so the sweetness could dissolve, and spoke once again, "Not many people live through that."

"Well, guess what?  I did."  Gaspard bragged.

"Impressive.  Did you manage to kill it?"

Gaspard debated to himself for a moment before answering, "No, it ran off before I could get a strike in."

"Really?"

"Yeah!  I was super heroic, actually.  I stared it down in it's beady white eyes and dared it to come a step closer, and it ran off like a coward."  Gaspard embellished, weaving a long string of lies to inflate his own ego.

The stranger let out what sounded like an amused snort of laughter.

Gaspard's near-friendly demeanor instantly shifted into something a little more serious.  "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing... it's just a second account I've heard tells me that your supposed bravery came at the cost of your underwear."

"Who do you think you are?"  Gaspard angrily demanded, standing up suddenly, knocking over the stool he was sitting on in the process. 

The stranger seemed unconcerned by his rage.  "Listen man, you don't need to start a scene."

"Why the hell should I listen to anything you say?!"

"Do you wanna keep your pretty little face intact?"  The shadowy figure answered.

One moment the room was filled with a tense silence, and in the next Gaspard had grabbed the stranger by his collar and slammed him down on the table.  Gaspard was about to shout angry words at him before he was roughly tugged off.  His arms were pinned to his sides by two burly men and he felt a cold blade of steel press against his neck.  The rest of the tavern attempted to ignore the brief scuffle.

The stranger stood up, and Gaspard could finally see his face properly.  He had dark red hair and sly green eyes, and a smirk that looked oh-so slappable right now.  And he addressed the two men, who were apparently his subordinates.  "Now, that wasn't particularly nice.  But we do need him to be able to talk.  So don't rough our new friend up too much- not just yet."

And so, despite kicking and yelling and burying his heels into the ground, Gaspard was dragged out of the pub and into a carriage, which promptly whisked him far away from the slums of the town he was in.

The stranger and his lackeys brought him to a rather large estate with pristine white walls which were adorned with neatly trimmed hedges.  The interior of the manor was nothing to scoff at; there were dark red carpets and statues of shiny metallic armor, and sparkling chandeliers that dangled from the ceiling.  But Gaspard had no time to admire the view as he was guided through the spacious house and taken upstairs and into a well furnished study.

Inside was a warm fireplace with two chairs placed beside it, one already being preoccupied.  With the polished wooden floor, every step further into the room made a very audible clacking sound as Gaspard stumbled through.  He was promptly placed down on the opposite chair so he could face whoever it was in command of all of this.  As the guards stood by Gaspard closely to ensure that he wouldn't be any trouble, the strange cloaked figure exited the room, deciding that he wasn't needed any further in this conversation.

Sitting across from Gaspard was a woman with dark fiery hair and a demeanor that exuded with elegance.  "Ah, I see my son was successful in retrieving you.  Was it any issue?"

Gaspard took a quick glance at the two men beside him and shook his head just as fast.

"Now, onto introductions.  I am Vissia de Vissen."  The name rang familiar in Gaspard's mind.  He thought to himself, trying to recall her identity.  

Vissia de Vissen was one of the famous suppliers of equipment to deal with supernatural opponents.  She had made quite the name for herself with the quality of her works, consisting of an expensive variety of all sorts of stuff; there were rapiers and arrows, crucifixes and rings, earrings and necklaces and anything else that could be forged of silver.  But what on earth did she want from him?

Gaspard realized that she was expecting him to speak, so he cleared his voice.  "I am Gaspard Roditeur, although I'm sure you've already heard of me-"

"Your name doesn't matter."  The woman replied.  "Your story, on the other hand, has caught my interest."

Gaspard tried his best to give her a polite smile.  After all, she may be his only chance of getting out of this mess.  "Yes, what you've heard is true.  I was viciously attacked by a werewolf and just barely escaped.  No one believes in me, though."

"I see."  With a snap of her fingers, one of her henchmen turned on his heel and approached the fireplace.  Gaspard's eyes trailed behind him, unsure of what he was doing.  With one swift movement, the guard grabbed ahold of an ornamental sconce and pulled down on it.  A sharp click was heard, as if a lever had been locked into place.  With a churning noise, the wall above the fireplace spun around to reveal a hidden compartment.

Pinned to the walls were large pieces of fur of varying textures and colors; some looked silky smooth, and others were thick and bushy.  They were arranged in such a way that made them akin to trophies that one would have won, except they were much more earthly in nature.

A sinister smile flashed across Vissia's face as she saw her collection, and she took less than a split second to recompose herself.  "If you truly encountered a werewolf, then you should have no trouble in identifying it's pelt."

Gaspard's blood went cold and a shiver made it's way down his spine.  He swallowed nervously as he got up to examine the furs in front of him.  He prayed that his foggy memory wouldn't deceive him.  His eyes settled on a light brown hide, coarse to the touch.  "I think it was this one... but the werewolf I saw had darker fur."

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Vissia nodded and gestured for Gaspard to sit down again.  "Do you or anyone else have an idea of the true identity of this werewolf?"

"I don't know."

Vissia did not falter for a moment in the face of uncertainty.  "How very interesting.  Now, the new question is what we should do about this information."

"I... I'm not sure."  Gaspard hesitantly said.  He didn't know why he was so nervous; he'd never been nervous before!  But something about this woman struck him down a few pegs too many and he now felt like he needed to be quiet and avoid upsetting her.  "Should we assemble a hunting party?"

Vissia let out an amused laugh.  "Oh, no.  Prior to this event, Mouseford had no previous encounters with any werewolf.  It was likely a vagabond who went running around that night, and the homeless werewolves are always most difficult to catch. We don't know if it's even there anymore."

Vissia stood up and walked closer to the fire, examining her precious pelts.  The flames of the fire illuminated her face, making her eyes glint in an unnerving manner.  "The simple matter is this;  There was a werewolf in Mouseford.  And I make it my business to take care of animals like that.  Mouseford possesses a very strong standing in the marketplace and I desire to grab ahold of it.  But unfortunately, I cannot have a business there without the presence of a threat."  

"And if a threat doesn't exist, I may just have to make one."  With another small gesture, she summoned the other guard to her side.  Leaning nearer to him, she whispered something.  Over the crackling noises of the fireplace, Gaspard thought that he heard something along the lines of:  "Select a mutt for the next full moon."

The man nodded and left, leaving her alone in the room with Gaspard and another guard.  She turned around, and acting surprised she smiled at Gaspard.  "Ah, how rude of me to forget our guest.  Say, wouldn't you like to stay for dinner?"

Gaspard's mouth twisted slightly and he vehemently shook his head.  "No, I'm good."

"Really, I must insist-"

Gaspard slapped both of his hands on the arms of the chair as he pushed himself upwards, trying his hardest to conceal how nervous he was.  "Thank you for having me Miss Vissia, but I really need to get going."  He quickly walked towards the exit, keeping his eyes glued on the woman to ensure she didn't do anything else.  However, as he walked backwards he stumbled into two other people.

It was the smug guy from before- dressed in finer attire, but his stupid grin was immediately recognizable- and a girl who looked extremely similar to him.  Without apologizing, he shoved past them and tried to make his way out of the manor.

The girl scoffed and waltzed into her mother's study.  "Who is that idiot?"

"It's the guy I was telling you about earlier,"  The other one said with a smirk.

"Oh!  You mean the one who-"

"Children.  Not now."  Vissia commanded.  She turned to the other guard and gave him a sweet smile.  "Could you do me a favor and ensure that our guest doesn't leave the premises on his own two feet?  After all, he was stumbling around like a drunkard.  It would be... most unfortunate if something were to happen to him."

The guard nodded seriously and left as the two siblings stepped aside to allow him through.  "Really mother, what is all this about?"  The girl whined.  "Vic has been keeping it a secret from me!"

Vic rolled his eyes.  "I can't keep a secret if I don't know what's going on, Vanilla."

Vissia turned around to face the fireplace again, watching the dying embers flicker out.  "We have a new venture to partake in.  There is a werewolf in Mouseford."

A wicked smile began to spread across her face as she imagined all the possibilities that would come forward in the next few months.  What new business connections and prospects would leap up once she had the town under her control.  Once she had her claws buried deep into the heart of Mouseford, there would be no chance of removing them.

Chapter Text

As the days drew nearer and nearer to the next full moon, Nicky's stomach filled with more and more dread.  After the incident from the last transformation, Nicky was undoubtedly scared, as much as she tried to conceal it.

The glorified wooden box she used to force herself to go into for the safety of others was all but destroyed;  The door was found broken and discarded a few paces away from the shed.  Nicky grimaced as she looked at the now useless shed, never thinking that there would ever be a time where she would come to miss the place.

Because where else would Nicky transform?  Staying outside was completely out of the question, as was staying at her farm.  It was too risky- she could wander off the property and get herself into some serious trouble.  She needed a place that lacked both visibility and accessibility.

Fixing the shed seemed to be a bad idea as well.  Given the state of the broken door, and Nicky's less than stellar knowledge of craftsmanship, there was no way she could fix the shed without assistance.  Even if it had miraculously returned to how it was before the Harvest Moon, with the newfound knowledge that Nicky could break out at any time made it a completely unviable option.

In fact, the only reason she ever stayed in there was because she was psychologically conditioned to do so.  At least that was what Nicky heard Paulina say, along with a string of other fancy scientific words which Nicky promptly tuned out.

So, where did that leave her?  Where was she supposed to go now?  The number of days was rapidly dwindling and there wouldn't be much time left at all to figure it out.

Nicky felt completely lost, panicking over what to do until she received a letter from Paulina.  It was incredibly vague, but in it Paulina hinted at having the solution to her current predicament.  In a rather desperate moment, Nicky expressed her worry to her friends.  Leave it up to them to brainstorm a plan.

With no better ideas in mind, Nicky decided to visit the alchemist's lab once more.

Much to Nicky's surprise, Violet was also there, standing in the middle of the room as if she were unsure of what to do.

"Hey Nicky!  Sorry, the others couldn't make it.  Colette's making a dress for some high-profile client and Pamela's always working, so it's just us three."  Paulina explained, hunched over a desk with large flasks and beakers.

"Ah, that's alright.  But what is this about?"  Nicky asked, walking forward and leaning against the same station Paulina was working at.  One of the more notable aspects of the table was the fact that there were multiple pieces of torn paper covering most glassware, all of them stating with Paulina's familiar scrawled writing, "Maria:  DO NOT TOUCH!!!".

Violet slowly approached until all three of them were together, at which point Paulina decided to speak.  "So, you know how at the picnic Violet was talking about... er-"

"Monkshood."  Violet said.

"Monkshood!  I mean, I call it aconitum but it's the same thing- anyways, I did a bit of researching on it myself..."  Paulina paused for dramatic effect.

"And?"  Nicky asked after Paulina silently prompted her.

"And it's a surprisingly viable method of weakening werewolves!  Which gives it the more common name wolfsbane,"  Paulina explained, grabbing a glass vial of some viscous liquid which had a light hue of purple.  It had a faint flowery odor, but Nicky felt a bit overwhelmed by the smell.  "Anyways, aconitum is so incredibly potent that some werewolf hunters opted to use it to weed out potential werewolves."

"Really?"  This was the first time Nicky was hearing of such a plant.

"Yes, although the method fell out of practice.  If ingesting monkshood killed you, chances are that you were a regular person.  If it didn't, then you either had a stomach made of iron or you were a werewolf."  Violet explained.  "It was really counterintuitive, since everyone was dying because many hunters overestimated the amount of monkshood to use-"

Paulina realized that Violet was about to launch into another educational rant and quickly interrupted her before she could do so, keeping the trio focused on the matter at hand.  "So anyways, me and Vi have been working together to get some aconitum-"

"Monkshood."  Violet corrected, a bit annoyed.

"Just call it wolfsbane."  Nicky suggested.  All these different names to describe the same thing was starting to confuse her.

"...Alright, we got some wolfsbane and I think I've diluted it enough so that it won't be toxic to you,"  Paulina said, a twinge of hopefulness in her voice.

"It should prevent you from... er, getting too rowdy during a full moon."  Violet added.

Nicky paused, taking a quick glance at the concoction Paulina was holding.  The solution to her problem.  "So let me get this straight:  Your plan is to poison me a little before the full moon kicks in so I won't go running around like wild?"

"Basically, yeah.  But don't say poison- think of it as a sedative-"  Paulina began to say as Nicky took the vial out of her hand.  The rancher swung her head back and swiftly drank the liquid.

She immediately wished that she hadn't as she was met with a extremely bitter taste that burned her taste buds as soon as it made contact.  Nicky nearly gagged, but willed herself to swallow the medicine.

After putting a hand to her mouth to cover up a cough, Nicky looked back at the other two girls.

Paulina had pressed her palms together and covered her mouth with her forefingers.  Violet looked like she was about to scream as her eyes widened with alarm.

"What?"  Nicky asked, confused as to why they were both so upset.

"Nicky..."  Paulina said, slowly trying to process what Nicky had just done as to not immediately freak out.  "You weren't supposed to drink all of it."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?"  Nicky mumbled out, feeling a bit... tired.  But hey, that meant that it was working, right?  Just a bit faster than expected.  "You should've explained better."

"You didn't give me the chance to explain at all!"

Nicky barely registered the fact that Violet guided her to a nearby stool and made her sit down, her friends words getting drowned out by the waves of exhaustion rolling over her.

"She will be fine, right?"  Violet asked nervously as Paulina paced around the room, eyes trailing after the panicked alchemist.  "You made sure the wolfsbane was reduced to an extremely small concentration."

Paulina was busy gathering some other chemicals and medicine to try and counter the rapid effects of the wolfsbane. "I know, I know, but she wasn't supposed to take that much!  Four ounces?!  That's quadruple what we had planned, who knows how she'll react to that much-"

Nicky fell off of the stool and had collapsed to the ground with a small thud, Violet failing to notice that she slumped over as if she were suddenly possessed by sleep.  Paulina immediately rushed to her side, and when she reached the rancher, Nicky was already snoring.

After a bit of staring and not enough discussion, Paulina turned to Violet.  "...How are we gonna get her home?"

Everything else that followed was a blur to Nicky, who faded in and out of consciousness.  It was a restless sort of sleep, and each time Nicky woke up she felt more and more tired, giving into her exhaustion near immediately and passing out over and over.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but her first somewhat-clear moment awake was caused by someone sitting beside her in a bed.  After feeling the slight shift in the mattress, Nicky weakly opened her eyes.  Then she saw Violet, giving Nicky a somber smile as the rancher tried to sit upright.

Violet had took it upon herself to care for Nicky until she was better, reasons being both out of guilt and out of convenience; Violet had no other important obligations, while the rest of their friends had to care for their families and take care of their businesses.  No one would bat an eye if she weren't at a performance for a few days for sick leave.

"Hey, how are you feeling?  ...I made you some tea, it usually makes me feel better when I'm sick."  Violet said gently, holding up a small cup that steam wafted out of.  It smelled lovely, and knowing how good Violet was at brewing tea it would taste just as well.

"Ah... thanks mate."  Nicky murmured, her throat feeling scratchy and rough.  With shaky hands, she tried to guide the drink to her lips.  The liquid was warm, but not scalding hot- just as she liked it.  It soothed Nicky's throat and she gave Violet a small smile.

She had never really been sick before.  Must have to do with being a werewolf, Nicky supposed.  These chills that ran up her spine were completely foreign to her, as was the exhausting nausea.  She felt like crap and wanted to go to sleep, but at the same time was in too much discomfort to rest.  Nevertheless, she felt this urge to convince Violet that she was alright.

"Feelin' better already!"  Nicky said in a completely unconvincing manner.  However, Violet didn't pay it any mind.  For some reason other than her fake optimism, Violet looked saddened. 

"Hey, what's eating you?"

"Look... I'm sorry."  Violet admitted.

Nicky was uncertain of what to make of the apology.  What was she apologizing for in the first place?  "For what?"

"It was my idea.  To try to use monkshood- wolfsbane- to keep you from going out tonight."  Violet confessed.  "You got really sick and it wasn't my intention, but..." 

Paulina might have made the medicine, but it was her idea.  It was her idea to try to play doctor and make something far more dangerous than anticipated, even though she thought she was being careful.  But she wasn't smart in handling the medicine, and she very nearly could have killed Nicky.  If the amount of wolfsbane were a little bigger, if they didn't boil it for long enough, it was just a few milligrams away from taking Nicky away...

Paulina told her not to focus on what could have been and instead keep up with what was.  And that sounded like reasonable advice, but Violet couldn't help but feel upset by how close they were to being in an entirely different situation.

But right now, she had to focus on Nicky.

In the midst of Violet's inner turmoil, Nicky blinked, trying to figure out how to respond to the shortly spoken information.  "Mate, it's fine, really.  I'm okay.  But..."  Nicky thought for a moment.

"Tonight?"  Was the first thing that she needed answers to.  "The moon isn't for... shit, how long have I been out for?  Three days?"

Violet pressed her lips together to form a tight line and gave a slight nod.  "To be honest, I was surprised you recovered as quickly as you did.  You drank a lot more than you should have."

"Ah, geez..."  Nicky muttered, bringing a hand to her forehead.  "How close is it to nightfall?"

"We have a few more hours."  Violet answered.

No wonder Nicky was in so much pain, the full moon was just around the corner.  "Okay.  Uh... you can probably- go home, or something."

There was a tiny shift in Violet's already saddened expression, as if she were conflicted about something.

Eventually, Violet spoke.  "Nicky, I'm afraid I can't leave."

"...Why not?"

"Paulina said she wanted you to take another dose of the wolfsbane- a smaller one, this time.  I want to stay here to make sure you're alright."

"That's probably not necessary-"

"Nicky.  The last time you drank too much and passed out for three days straight."

"...Okay, that's fair, but after I take it you can go home."  Nicky insisted.

"Why don't you want me to be here?"  Violet asked, hitting the nail right on the head.

Nicky sighed.  She didn't want to lie to Violet.  "Okay, my transformation can get a bit... messy.  It's rather disgusting, to put it nicely.  I'm not sure if I want you seeing that side of me."

Violet was unsure of how to respond.  "Does it... hurt?  When you shift?"

"Sometimes?  I mean, I can barely remember when I transform."

"Then how do you know the process is 'disgusting'?"

Nicky shifted a bit, uncomfortable.  "Look- I don't know, I just don't want you to be here for it."

"Nicky,"  Violet began softly, looking into the rancher's eyes.  "I'd never be repulsed by you.  What's happening tonight shouldn't be frightening, or gross or something to be ashamed of."  She took a brief pause as she looked away.  "But if you really don't want me here, that's alright-"  Violet moved slightly, and Nicky's hand immediately shot forward to cling to her arm.

There was a beat of silence, as Nicky struggled to determine what she wanted.  On one hand, Violet staying here could forever change her perspective of Nicky.  Even if she promised that she wouldn't be scared, Nicky suspected she knew how flimsy a promise could be in the face of gnashing teeth and deadly claws.

But then again, the offer of not being alone for once was tempting.  Nicky still felt rather weak and tired and afraid.  And honestly?  If there was one person in the entire world that she had to be completely vulnerable with, it would be Violet.

Because ultimately, there was something about her that made Nicky forgo her confident demeanor.  Whether it be her gentle eyes or quiet voice, Violet just possessed some quality that made her feel safe.

She wanted to feel safe right now.  She couldn't bear to be alone for another moment longer.

So, in a near desperate whisper, Nicky begged, "Please stay."

And Violet obliged.

And when the time came for Nicky to take the wolfsbane, she drank the bitter drink, ignoring how horrible it tasted.  She laid back down rolled over in bed, looking outside of the window at the slowly darkening sky.  It wouldn't be long before the moon would set it's silvery gaze on her. 

"Hey, last chance to back out."  Nicky tiredly joked to the girl sitting behind her.

Violet let out a soft hum, and instead of leaving she gently carded her fingers through Nicky's unkempt hair.  Nicky shied away from the touch, and Violet quickly retracted her hand.  "Oh, I'm sorry- it's just something my mom used to do with me when I got sick."

It surprised Nicky more than anything.  The sensation itself was extremely pleasant, it made her feel... loved?  Was that the right word?  Despite being unable to identify how to describe it, Nicky determined she didn't want it to stop.  "Nah mate, it's fine."  Nicky quickly said, hoping Violet would resume her previous action. 

Violet, a little slower this time, resumed tenderly running her fingers across Nicky's scalp, trying to coax the girl to go to sleep.  Nicky's eyes closed once more, giving into her need for rest as she curled up into a little ball.

In just a few minutes later, the moon peeked through the window and Nicky started to shift.  Bones began to crack and mend themselves, her fur grew shaggier and rougher, and her snout grew wider.  The clothes she had changed into begun to stretch and fray.  It sounded like it hurt, but Violet remained by Nicky's side until the transformation fully set in.

The wolf had taken the rancher's place.  And as Violet walked around the bed to get a better look, only a single thought came to her mind.

"Colette was right.  You are just an overgrown dog,"  She murmured with a faint laugh.

And then Nicky's eyes widened, her line of sight slowly focused on Violet.  Nicky sniffed the air lightly, and then a small thumping sound could be heard as her tail wagged against the mattress.

Violet had to stop herself from giggling like a child, amused by how friendly Nicky was being.  "You are quite adorable, actually."

Nicky took the praise as an indication to lean closer to Violet, resting her head on the violinist's lap.  With big eyes, the werewolf looked up to Violet expectantly.  Violet sighed and began petting her friend again.  And when she stopped, Nicky let out a low whine.

"Oh, alright."  Violet joked, patting Nicky's head again.  Nicky was being rather affectionate, soaking up any attention that Violet could give her.

It seemed as though Nicky was perfectly content to stay right there, which meant that Violet wouldn't be able to move.  That wasn't entirely terrible, it just meant that Violet would be a little stiff in the morning.  So Violet finally gave into sleep herself, cuddling a werewolf as she sat half-upright.

Chapter Text

Mouseford was eerily quiet.  And Pamela hated it.

The bustling activities that came with the morning seemed like a distant memory, the clamorous noise of hundreds of footsteps echoed throughout the empty streets.  There was no joyous laughter, no friendly exchanges between neighbors, and no one dared to venture outside.  They all stayed hidden in the faux comfort of their homes; some of the more worried citizens had already begun the process of boarding up their windows and doors, trapping themselves inside and keeping every threat out.

Last night came as quite a shock to everyone.  A werewolf somehow managed to sneak into town undetected and ravaged the butcher's store, eager to feast upon the abundance of fresh meat.  The owner luckily came out unscathed and quickly alerted the rest of the townsfolk.  The guards on duty responded quickly to the dilemma, despite being horribly unprepared for such an occurrence. 

They attempted to subdue the creature.  Instead they quickly ended up with three injured.  People watched on in shock, shaking in terror as their sworn protectors fell one by one.

The guards were horribly outmatched in both speed and strength until another group joined the fight, armed head to toe with silver weapons and knick-knacks.  Their arrival was unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome.  The werewolf fled the scene shortly after, and Mayor Mousus called for an immediate lockdown for the townspeople.  Everyone would stay indoors for their own safety.

Pamela stayed up all night, trying to console her fearful younger siblings with a couple of jokes and funny faces.  Most of her family stayed awake and kept vigilant watch outside for any sign of trouble.  Not that any of them would be able to sleep anyways.  Especially not Pamela, who knew a little more than she wanted to.

Knowing of one particular werewolf who she didn't want to see get hurt took a great toll on her.  Her mind was racing with dozens of questions and not enough answers.  Was it Nicky or just an overgrown dog?  What if there were two werewolves hiding in Mouseford (Unlikely, but not impossible)?  Did Nicky actually come into Mouseford?  And if she was outside when she shouldn't be, it brought up a whole new slew of questions.

Wasn't Nicky supposed to be knocked out tonight by the acontinimum- whatever Paulina called it.  Violet was watching over her and made sure she got the medicine, right?   But if it wasn't working, then how come Nicky got so sick after taking it the first time?  Pamela couldn't reason herself into believing that Nicky was the one wreaking havoc across town.  And if Nicky wasn't in Mouseford, then she was safe, right?

Still, Pamela didn't like this one bit.  She had no idea what was going on, or what to do.  She felt rather helpless, being cooped up inside while everything happening out there was out of her control.  What could she do other than wait?  She looked around the room, at her family, who were thankfully all still safe and sound.  It calmed her.  A bit. 

Her mother and father were discussing something quietly in the corner, away from the prying eyes of their children.  Vince, her oldest brother, had grabbed a frying pan and was holding in a manner akin to a swordsman prepared to lash out at any threat, pacing around the interior of their small bakery.  Everyone else was situated in a few booths that stretched across the bakery, being comforted in each other's presence but making no time for idle chatter.  Her two youngest siblings were clinging to each other as they fell asleep, still sitting upright.  No one felt safe in their own bed.

It was the one time their house was quiet.

A sharp knock finally sounded on the door, which was a welcome interruption to the unnatural silence.  Pamela leapt up immediately to answer the door, nearly pulling it off it's hinges in the process.  The moment she saw who it was, a wide smile grew on her face.  "Craig!"

The friendly guard gave a tired smile and stepped inside.  Pamela's family quickly greeted Craig as well, as he was a familiar face, before scolding Pam a bit for not checking who it was first.  Craig walked further into the bakery to give the news.  "We're making our rounds through the town and giving out the all clear.  The sun's up, so the werewolf should've de-transformed by now."

"Whew, that's a relief."  Pamela said.

"We haven't found it yet though."  Craig mentioned.  "No one's seen hide nor tail of the beast since it ran off."

Pamela let out the biggest internal sigh of relief upon hearing the werewolf who might be Nicky was probably safe.  "Any other orders from the big man?"  Pamela was referring to Mayor Mousus, of course.

"Nah.  Mousus is in his office, thinking stuff over.  Apparently those guys who showed up are part of this werewolf hunting gang, and their occupation here is under investigation.  I really hope they don't stick around, they seem chalk full of jerks."  Craig explained.

"Did anyone get hurt?"  Pamela asked.  "Badly?"

"Everyone's alright, just a little beat up and tired."

"Well, can we get you and your team anything?"  Johnny, Pamela's father, asked as he approached the guard.  "You must be starving!"

Craig smiled.  "Sir, that would be nice, but there's about a dozen or so of us-"

"So?  We've been dead all morning, and we need to get some more customers!  I'll even give you a discount for your hard work last night."  Johnny insisted as he walked towards the kitchen in the back, intent on preparing enough food to feed a small army.

"I'll tell him to make some beignets."  Pamela added, knowing that offering the delicious treat would be the final push that convinced Craig to stay for breakfast.

The guard grinned and turned back towards the entrance.  "I'll go round up the rest and we'll be right back!"

Pamela kept a firm smile on her face until the door closed shut.  And then she stood there for a few moments too long, until her older brother barked an order to her to set up some of the tables.  It still felt like it would be a slow day at work, but the Tangu's still had to put on their best appearances for the few who would come. 

Pamela had just finished setting up a small table in the corner when the door swung open, signifying a new customer.  But she paid the arrival no mind until the footsteps began to approach her, at which point she turned around and faced a sleep-deprived Paulina, holding hands with Maria.  "Dude, you look awful."

"Thanks, I haven't noticed."

"What can I get for you both?"

Paulina, suddenly remembering that she had her younger sister with her, quickly redirected the girl to hang out with Pamela's siblings.  She turned back to Pam with a troubled frown.  With a hushed whisper, she said, "Look, I'm not sure what happened.  I'm planning on checking on Nicky later, but..."

"But what?"

"Last night shouldn't have ever happened."

"But it did."

"But it shouldn't have.  The sedative was working before."  Paulina muttered.  "Too well, might I add."

"Okay, so if it wasn't- You-know-who running around in the dead of night, then who?"

"I- I don't know."  Paulina responded tiredly.

Never had she sounded so uncertain and scared, and that made Pamela a little more nervous.  "Okay... let's focus on what we do know," the baker suggested.

Paulina thought to herself for a moment. "...Maybe the real worry here isn't the werewolf, but the people who came after it."  Paulina pondered.  "They showed up out of nowhere, with everything you'd ever need to stop a werewolf attack... it can't just be a coincidence, can it?  We should look further into the hunters."

"Well, I know a guy who we can ask."  Pamela said, nodding her head towards the door.  A dozen more customers had walked in, led by none other than Craig.  It seemed as though he had gathered most of the guards and convinced them to breakfast.  Pamela quickly waved Craig over, indicating that she had prepared a large table for the group near the window.  "I'll get some stuff together, see if you can save us a spot at their table."

When Pamela returned with some plates of fresh food, Paulina was already sitting next to Craig, making polite conversation.  Some of the guards opted to go to different tables, which left quite a few seats open.  Pamela quickly grabbed one of the vacant chairs and sat down, inviting herself into the discussion.

"Hey Pam, we were just talking about last night."  Craig said, helping himself to one of the large plates of food.

"Oh yeah?  Actually, I wanted to ask you about those guys you were talking about earlier, the ones who helped fend off the werewolf last night-"  Pamela began.

"Geez, where do I start?!"  Craig exclaimed, an annoyed expression crossing his face.  "First they come into town unannounced and then they start trying to boss us around?  This is our jurisdiction!  And when we tried to do the standard search procedure to find the werewolf, they kept getting in our way!  "Oh, this method is faster- We're far more experienced than you, you should listen to us-" dumb stuff like that.  God, half the night was spent just arguing with them."

"Who are they?"  Paulina asked.

"Some group of werewolf hunters.  Wouldn't say anything more than that for the "privacy of their employer", whatever the hell that means."  Pamela and Paulina exchanged a quick glance to each other, one of worry and fear.

They weren't just a group of random hunters.  No, someone was funding them.  Someone ordered them to come to Mouseford.  Their intentions, while unknown, could only mean trouble.

Craig rolled his eyes as he took another large bite out of the pastry, still not finished complaining yet.  "I'll be damned if they spend another second in town without the mayor's permission.  They can't operate here without it, but he might be swayed to think that those idiots will help with fighting the werewolf.  Which we can do fine by ourselves, if they stopped sticking their snooty noses where they don't belong!"

"Didn't you guys get your asses kicked?"  Pamela pointed out.

"We were unprepared before.  Next time the monster rears it's ugly head, I'll teach it a lesson."  Craig said, his eyes narrowing as he cracked his knuckles.

Paulina's face grew into an expression of concern.  "I truly admire that you are equally brave and stupid."

"Well, you know what they say-"  Pamela began, before getting a swift kick under the table from Paulina.  She was about to complain before she saw that Paulina was now wide awake and staring towards the entrance, completely focused.  Pamela followed the alchemist's gaze until she saw what it was that had gotten her attention so quickly- or rather, who.

Violet and Nicky were now in the bakery, chatting away about something.  Or rather, Nicky was rambling and Violet was listening intently.  And they seemed to be alright.

"Hey!"  Pamela called out, waving the pair over.  The pair promptly approached the table, but there was something unusual about them.  They walked as if there was nothing to worry about.  Did they not realize what happened the night prior?  They must not have... Pamela wished that they could stay oblivious to all that was wrong, that it wouldn't be inevitable for their happy, carefree demeanor to change.  But they still had some questions, and these two could give them the answers.

"Hey mate!  Gave Vi a ride back into town, and we decided to get some breakfast together.  What's the special today?"  Nicky quickly said, grabbing a nearby chair and sitting down at the table.

Violet, on the other hand, stayed standing for a bit, analyzing the worried expressions of her peers.  "Everyone's been acting rather unusual lately, have you noticed?"

"Oh... you guys didn't hear?"  Craig realized.

"Hear what?"  Nicky asked.

"There was a werewolf attack last night."  Paulina said.  "You guys didn't... see anything, did you?"

Nicky's eyes widened and her mouth twisted into a thin line, an expression that she usually wore whenever feeling guilty about something.  Violet took it upon herself to answer the question, albeit a bit nervous.  "What?  A werewolf, really?  Well- we didn't see anything...  I mean, I slept over at Nicky's house, I'd think we'd notice if there was a werewolf running around- wouldn't know anything about it.  We stayed inside all night, actually-"

"Are you sure?"  Pamela asked, interrupting Violet's panicked ramble.

"I never saw a werewolf outside the farm.  I stayed with Nicky."  Violet repeated, and a subtle shift in her frown that indicated that she did not want to argue on this topic any further.  "All night."

"...Okay."  Pamela conceded.  If Violet's being honest (which she usually is), then Nicky couldn't have been at Mouseford.  Two werewolves must be here, then.  This isn't gonna be fun...

"Why are you saying it like that, Violet?  Is- is that an innuendo or-"  Craig began to ask.

"CRAIG!"  Violet half-whispered, half-yelled.

"Okay but like... Are you sure it's a werewolf and not some weird-looking bear?"  Nicky asked.

"We don't have bears in this region."  Paulina reminded the farmer.

"Okay, weird looking coyote.  On steroids."  Nicky suggested, bouncing her leg up and down underneath the table.

Craig shook his head.  "It was a werewolf, clear as day.  But if I ever see that dog again, I'll make it my mission to stop it in it's tracks."

"Well, I wouldn't be to sure about- Oh, hey Shen."  Pamela said with a hint of surprise, looking past her friends.  A spectacled timid-looking mouse was standing behind them, carrying what seemed to be several thick and ancient volumes, all with strange letterings and symbols woven in the spines.  It was truly a wonder how she hadn't noticed him before, but then again Shen was usually a meek person who didn't particularly like catching other's attention.

"Hey-"

"Shen!"  Craig exclaimed, waving excitedly.  His frustration from before had dissipated as soon as he saw the shorter boy.

"Those two act like they never see each other."  Paulina observed.

"Well, ever since my promotion-"  Shen said and the group had to hold back a collective groan.  Shen liked to bring up the fact that he was the newly appointed head record keeper every chance that he got.  He had worked incredibly hard for the promotion, and while they were proud of him he also procured the position six months ago and needed something new to brag about.  "-I've been swamped with translating old texts, researching various subjects, interviewing famed authors-"

"We know."  They collectively said.

"...Oh."  Shen gave an awkward smile as he set down his work and took a seat at the table, beginning to prepare his own plate of the food presented.

"What are you doing here man?  Come out of your book cave to get some food?"  Craig asked.

"Oh yes, I'm starving!  I was up all night researching werewolves... You'd be surprised how many papers there are!"

"...Papers?  Not books?"  Violet asked.

"Well, of course you have those horribly inaccurate fantastical novels, but the legitimate research done on werewolves is under a restricted section."  Shen answered.  "Mostly because the accounts were written by the werewolves themselves, and we don't want exceptionally rare autobiographies getting damaged- and er, the material itself is quite controversial."

"You have a restricted section in the library?"  Violet mumbled, looking saddened at the prospect of reading material being withheld from her.

"Oh no, it's in the mayor's office- and I'm not supposed to divulge that information, so just forget that I said that."

"Why were you researching werewolves?"  Pamela asked, trying to convince Shen to spill some more info about the entire situation.  "And you can't just avoid this topic now, since we're already super invested.  We've been talking about it all morning, haven't we?"  The rest of the table nodded along, and Shen quickly decided that what he had researched wasn't meant to be that secretive.

"Mayor Mousus asked me too.  He said that we needed to learn all that we could so we could better prepare ourselves."

"Alright, so what did you find out?"  Craig asked.  "Any weaknesses, anything important?"

Shen took a small sip of his orange juice before answering.  "Well, it's a very unusual case we're dealing with here.  Most sightings of a werewolf don't take place in urban establishments, they occur in more rural locations like farms or forests.  If given the choice, a werewolf will likely choose to go somewhere that has a smaller population.  Some theorize that this is so they don't have to deal with any competition for food."

"So why did it invade Mouseford?"  Craig asked, confused.

"Yeah, shouldn't it be somewhere like a farm, chowing down on lamb chops?"  Pamela asked, giving a curt glance to Nicky.

Nicky grumbled something under her breath, but before she could form a proper retort Shen said, "That's the thing- It just doesn't make sense for a werewolf to come here!"

The table looked around themselves, searching for an answer that couldn't be found.  Eventually Paulina spoke up, "Are you familiar with the push-pull concept?"

"No?"  Craig said, a confused look coming across his snout.

"Basically it's the driving forces that influence someone to move to a different location.  Uh- at least that's one of the interpretations."  Paulina said.

"The promise of economic stability or better health care would be a pulling factor to bring someone to a different town.  A push would be war, famine, anything that makes living in that area difficult or dangerous."  Violet further explained.

Pamela blinked slowly as she processed the information, and it occurred to her that maybe her two friends had talked about this scenario with each other before.  "Okay, I kinda understand."

Shen nodded thoughtfully.  "I think I know what you're getting at.  If there isn't anything "pulling" the werewolf to Mouseford..."

"Then something pushed it out of the forest."  Violet concluded.

The table grew quiet for a moment afterwards, unsure of what to make of the theory.

"Look, that's a nice analogy and all, but right now we need to push the werewolf out of town.  And then we'll push out the werewolf hunters, and anyone else who thinks they have the right to boss us around."  Craig stood up, having finished his plate a few minutes prior but had stuck around to hear them out.  "You guys can keep doing the philosophical discussions, but I've got work to do."  Craig turned towards the door after leaving behind some money to pay for the meal.

"Hold on Craig, do you even know how to stop any of this?  The werewolf, or the hunters?"  Nicky asked, hiding her fear fairly well.  Even when her whole world was turned upside-down a few minutes before, she sounded rather unbothered by the idea of a werewolf being hunted.

Craig paused, and that was all the confirmation the others needed.  He didn't know where or how to start, but still felt the need to act.

"I'll do what needs to be done."

Chapter Text

The fear of the attack hadn't died down in the next few days.  Despite the mayor's insistence that there should be no further sightings or incidents, in lieu of the next full moon being a full two weeks away, panic arose.  People claimed to have seen a werewolf lurking around the woods, when in reality it was just a stray dog.  Everyone was double checking their doors at night to make sure they were locked properly.

Rumors over who the werewolf could be caused rifts in the town.  Accusations were thrown around left and right, no one quite sure of who to trust.  A local butcher was just one victim of such abhorrent lies, accused by his rival.  He lost over half of his clients over the false accusation.  Tensions rose higher and higher, and it wouldn't be long before the delicate thread that kept everyone in the community together snapped.

Mayor Mousus had to find a way to save the townsfolk- not from the werewolf, but from themselves.

He was currently mulling over the request he had just received.  Vissia de Vissen, a world renown weapons manufacturer, had offered to join Mouseford's economy.  Under any normal circumstance, Mousus would deny the application on the basis that Mouseford was a strictly peaceful market.  An arms dealer had no place here.

But these weren't normal circumstances.  The werewolf had struck fear into town, and maybe de Vissen was what the people needed to calm down.  A sense of safety could be a benefit from her arrival.

Octavius also considered the future of Mouseford if he made this decision.  If he were willing to break that rule for this exception, then what would follow after?  Another slew of excuses to justify introducing a trader whose ideals broke the very foundation of which Mouseford was built upon?

This is why he sought for a second opinion, from someone incredibly impartial.  Ratcliffe had stepped down as the head of the record keeping department a while back.  Now, she was enjoying her newly acquired free time reading long novels and caring for several foster kittens (Ratcliffe claims that she wants nothing more than to be rid of them, but Octavius begged to differ).  She was an intelligent and serious mouse whose appearance only amplified those qualities.

"I retired from my position, you know.  That means that I am not obligated to work for you anymore."  Ratcliffe said, eyes tired and serious.

"I know.  But your insight on certain matters is invaluable to me."  Octavius said.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the werewolf, would it?"

"Unfortunately, yes.  I have received a letter from Vissia de Vissen,"  Octavius pulled the letter out of his breast pocket and handed it to Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe unfolded the letter, readjusted her glasses, and quickly began to skim over the contents of it.  Her eyes widened in alarm, but her tone made no indication of worry.  "This is a ludicrous proposal."

"I knew that was what you would say."

"I'm not a politician or an entrepreneur.  What good advice do you expect me to bring to this table?"

Octavius gave her a small smile.  "You're my friend, Ratcliffe.  You know when I'm about to make a stupid decision and tell me outright not to do it."

"You rarely listen to me half the time, though."  Ratcliffe said with a slight smirk.  "But you still want my opinion?  Well, this sounds like a horrible idea."

"I know, but outlined in the last section of this letter," Octavius began, pointing to the paragraph, "She makes a promise to assist us in identifying the werewolf-"

"-And disposing of the problem properly."  Ratcliffe finished the sentence.  "I'm not sure.  She's asking for free reign to sell whatever she wants, in exchange for a pinky promise."

"Her reputation precedes her, however.  The de Vissens specialize in this sort of issue.  I would like this period of panic to be over as quickly as possible."

"And after this situation is over?  What do you intend to do to get rid of her?"

Octavius frowned.  "One problem at a time."

"You're accepting her application anyways,"  Ratcliffe discovered, feeling mildly annoyed.  "If you had already decided, why refer to me for help?"

"No, I haven't decided.  I'm leaving the process of making this decision open to the public's opinion."  Octavius informed Ratcliffe.

"...You want to have a popularity contest?"  Ratcliffe asked.  She was confused.  The application for joining the Mouseford market had demanded a certain list of criteria that had to be met from the seller.  Public approval was not one of them, until this very moment.

Octavius nodded.  "Her presence here, if she joins our market, affects everyone.  It is only fair for them to be the ones to make the final decision.  And in the case she does, I want an airtight contract, with no way for her to abuse our system."

"Now, that is something I can help you with."

The public meeting took place in town square on the next weekend.  Vissia would present her offer first, and then anyone who attended could ask questions pertaining to her job or motives.  And of course the town would let her join their market, she's practically the best thing they'd had since the invention of the cheese wheel.

Vissia was expecting this to be a cake-walk.  She wasn't expecting for someone to argue against her admittance to Mouseford's economy.

She had just finished delivering her speech when a hand shot up in the air.  It was a young-looking boy who had a hideous haircut and a pair of glasses that were far too big to properly fit on his snout.  "Excuse me, Miss de Vissen, you claim that you're going to remove the werewolf from Mouseford.  But do you have any evidence that the werewolf is still here?"

Vissia blinked.  "But of course the threat is still here.  Werewolves are prone to staying in one location-"

"I've done research pertaining to the migration habits of werewolves.  Once they feel that they may be in danger, they will move to a different location.  Sometimes they'll even cross country borders, moving dozens of miles away from the area of incident.  They don't stay still in one place for very long."  The boy added.

Who is he, a know-it-all scholar?  Vissia put on a faux smile as she began to rebuke his argument.  "I have years of experience in dealing with werewolves, and I can say that there is a high likelihood that the beast is still in town.  And besides, it is better to be safe than sorry.  I would loathe to have something unfortunate happen to the people here because I was not allowed to help."

Another member of the audience coughed loudly, catching Vissia's attention.  He spoke with a slow drawl.  "Er- excuse me Miss de Vissen, my name is Mortimer McCardigan.  I own a little plot of land a little ways out of town and own a sheep farm.  Are you perhaps willing to do any discounts on your merchandise for people who are at the most risk of a werewolf attack, due to their occupation?"

Vissia considered it for a moment.  "We can discuss further details when I become a member of this trading network."

The boy from before raised his hand again.  Vissia took no notice of him as she addressed another member of the audience, and then another.  At long last, the boy's incessantness became too difficult to ignore; he was beginning to annoy other members of the crowd.  "Yes, what else do you wish to know?"

"Are you in anyway connected to the werewolf hunters that appeared here two weeks ago?"  He asked.

"Yes, I am.  They are part of my personal hunting group."

"Oh, that's rich!"  Another boy crossed his arms tightly across his chest and wore a scowl of disapproval.  From the looks of it, he was a guardsman.  "You're little party didn't have permission to operate in this town!"

"I didn't realize my assistance was such a problem."  Vissia said coolly.

"Oh no, we loved your help," another voice called out from the crowd, dripping with sarcasm.  This one belonged to a baker.  "It's just a little too convenient that you showed up just in time to save our skins."

Her skepticism quickly spread to others in the crowd, who were beginning to realize just how perfect the timing of her arrival was.

Vissia wasn't beginning to sweat about it, though.  "Of course, I sent my hunters here because I've heard a rumor about werewolves running around in Mouseford.  It was merely a precaution, to protect everyone here.  I didn't want to raise any false alarms, so I didn't make the public aware of their presence until I deemed it necessary.  It has become evident that they are needed."

"We can take care of Mouseford just fine-" the guard argued.

"Right, because you did so well during the last incident."

That seemed to shut the guard up, but the spectacled boy from earlier took this as an opportunity to speak up again.  "Are your methods for weeding out werewolves proven to be effective?  Your presence here may simply agitate the werewolf- if there is one still here."

Vissia wanted to tell the boy to shut up.  Instead, she chose for the more civil and presentable approach.  "Who are you, again?"

The boy looked startled.  "...Erm- Shen."

"Shen."  The name rolled off her tongue as if it were a nasty insult.  "What experience do you possess when it comes to hunting werewolves?"

"I've read books-" Shen nervously said, pushing his glasses back up his snout.

"Books simply cannot compare to real life experiences, Shen.  I know what I'm doing, and I'm do it well."

"What do you plan to do when you capture a werewolf?"  Another girl spoke up.  Vissia turned her attention to her, and for a moment, she grew confused.  See, she thought she may have recognized the girl.

"Well, we must put it down like every other savage and rabid animal."  Vissia answered.

"Why?"  The girl spoke passionately.  "Werewolves pose no threat to people, except on full moons-"

"I'm sorry, are you actually sympathizing with a monster?"  Vissia asked incredulously.

"Have you considered that the werewolf has an occupation outside of the times when it is transformed?  That they're people, with lives and jobs and feelings?"

Ah.  Now she remembers. 

This girl was an alchemist.  She and Vissia had a brief discussion, in which Vissia decided not to hire her.  It wasn't that she was bad at her profession, quite the opposite actually.  Simply put, their goals differed too much.  Vissia wanted a worthwhile profit, the alchemist wanted to waste everything away for the benefit of others.

Now, she was begging on the behalf of a werewolf.  Vissia shook her head gently.  She's heard that silly song countless times before, from the family of a werewolf to the werewolves themselves.  And every time, she decided that the cost of rehabilitating them, or creating systems in which they could be safe, was not as profitable as the hunt.

"Werewolves are vicious.  It's deep in their nature, and they cannot change it.  Until someone miraculously finds a cure for this wretched disease, we must do our duty to put them out of their misery."

"That's a lie!  That's the most blatant lie-" the alchemist argued.

"Do you truly prioritize the well being of a monster over the safety of your community?  Of your family?"  Vissia asked.  The best she could do in this current scenario was to add fuel to the flame, to make people so blinded with hot rage that they ignore the immorality of her business.

"Now, now."  Mayor Mousus interrupted, trying to diffuse the argument.  "The time for this open ended discussion is coming to a close.  We have time for one more question."

Vissia looked out to the crowd, who all looked conflicted and unsure.  Then one spoke up.

"How many hunters are there?"

Vissia did a quick mental count.  "A dozen."

And then the debate was over, and Vissia let out an annoyed sigh of relief.  She was starting to get sick of the scrutiny she faced against the few members of the audience.  But her thoughts turned back to the alchemist, and Vissia began to question her motives.

Why was she trying so hard to get Vissia to admit that it what she was doing was slightly unethical?  If anything, she should've been trying her hardest to please Vissia, get on her good side.  As far as Vissia could tell, the alchemist had no sponsors of any kind, judging from their last interaction.  And she needed sponsors to properly conduct her research.

Sticking her snout in the face of someone as powerful as the de Vissen family and sticking out her tongue wouldn't do her many favors.  Something motivated the alchemist beyond money.  Something... or someone.

A dozen.  Nicky could deal with three, maybe four people who'd want nothing more than to see her dead.  But a dozen?  That felt overwhelming.

Her face had paled and she felt a bit shaky, but she managed to excuse herself from the meeting without much issue.

"Hey!"  Colette followed behind Nicky quickly, trying to catch up to the other girl.  "Hey, are you alright?"

"Sure, just got a bad stomach bug."  Nicky tried to play off her nervousness as being sick, hoping that no one else in the audience would realize her suspicious behavior.  Oh, she should've never come to this meeting at all.

Paulina and Pam were wonderful, they really were.  Nicky hadn't known that they were planning on arguing against Vissia.  She was actually grateful for it, but at the same time... it felt pointless.

The pair didn't have the same level of persuasion that Vissia did.  And besides, the townsfolk were too afraid.  They'd rather listen to a confident person showing a solution than reasonable doubt.

But Vissia did present a few good arguments- No, they were no good.  They might be true, but Nicky didn't think they were any good.

Do you truly prioritize the well being of a monster over the safety of your community?  Of your family?

She didn't.  She wanted nothing more than to keep everyone safe-

You're selfish.  You still deem yourself suitable to walk where other people walk, other people who are unburdened with such horrible qualities?  Can you even call yourself a person?

"Nic, it looks like the ballots are getting ready.  We should put in our vote."  Colette said, pulling the girl closer in a comforting hug.  Nicky frowned.  It doesn't matter what you do, the result is definite.

...

Sure enough, Vissia was accepted into the marketplace with an alarming majority saying yes.  And, despite their best efforts, everyone who argued against her looked disappointed.  Craig and Pamela looked the most angry, Shen seemed the most embarrassed, and Paulina- Paulina just looked sad.

Nicky wants to tell them that they tried their best.  That was all she could ask of them- Paulina and Pam, not Craig and Shen (they mean well, but their motives for wanting Vissia out of town don't involve Nicky).  They did their best.

But Nicky had lost her optimism.  Everything from this point forward would be an uphill battle.

Everything from this point forward would be out of her control.