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Nathan didn't know what to expect in his dreams, but it was nowhere near the sterotypical ones legends told of. They were abstract, filled with ethereal sensations and thoughts. Flickers of the night before, the smell of the clean air, the still silence of the moment, the werewolf's words, the blood on his hands. Under it all, he could feel himself brooding, churning but not out of anger. It was restlessness, in it's purest form. And yet he was strangely peaceful, as if it was meant to be that way. It made no sense to him, but then again, his entire life stopped making sense after last night.

The thoughts gradually started to slow, bringing him back to reality, stirring groggily in his bed. Bringing his hand to his face, he rubbed his eyes, groaning in relief as he felt no fur or muzzle. Maybe it was all some crazy nightmare from the painkillers. Somewhere throughout the night, he had crawled under the blankets, still naked. Clenching his eyes, he rolled over turning his eyes away from the sun that shone through the partially closed blinds, hoping he could get back to sleep.

An urgent whisper quickly pulled him out of his rest. "Dude!"

Nate groaned pulling the blankets over his head. "Screw off...."

"Get up dude!" Daryl, Nathan's roommate and best friend, shook his shoulder violently, an alarmed urgency to his voice.

"Screw off, let me sleep."

"Seriously Nate, get the fuck up!"

Opening his eyes a crack, he grumbled as he saw his clock on the nightstand. "It's six fucking thirty, get out of my room."

"That werewolf you were talking about? It's in the empty room sleeping!"

"Fuck, really?" His hopes that this was all a bad nightmare were quickly dashed as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Fine, I'll deal with it."

"Deal with it!?" Daryl whispered back in alarm. "It'll rip you to shreds man! Or worse, turn you into one of them!"

"That's not gonna be a problem anymore." He muttered, pushing the blankets down, much to Daryl's disgust.

"What do you-Oh come on! Warn me if you're naked!" He hissed in protest, making for the door.

"Your fault for coming in my room." Nate replied, pulling a pair of flannel pants and a loose t-shirt on.

Walking into the hall, he raised an eyebrow as he watched Daryl peeking through a crack in the closed door of the room. Being an aboriginal, Daryl was very superstitious. He firmly believed his people's stories, and that belief extended into the realm of western mythology. In hindsight, his caution made sense, but with Nate's lack of sleep, it only served to annoy him. "For fuck sake, she's harmless. Leave her alone."

"Harmless? And she!? How the hell do you know!?" He whispered nervously.

"Fine fine, shut up." He pushed past, approaching the sleeping werewolf, oblivious to the human approaching her as she laid asleep, tangled up in the sheets. With the scenario of waking up an angry werewolf playing through his mind, he leaned over her, speaking softly. "Ummmm... Whatever your name is, you need to get up. My roommate's panicking."

"I am not!" Daryl shot back angrily.

Ignoring him, he tapped her shoulder a little. "Hey, wake up call buddy."

An unconscious snort was all he got from her as she refused to even notice.

Lacking any clear reaction and feeling a little more confident, he took her shoulder and shook her gently. "Come on, wake up."

Without warning, her hand came out of nowhere to swat away Nate with a slurred reply. "Go away.....'nless you've turned again...."

Her claws grazed his cheek and shoulder, leaving a superficial scratch that yielded only a pinpoint of blood and a slight stinging sensation. For Daryl however, staring with horrified eyes, it was the equivalent of watching his friend being horribly mangled. "O-o-oh my god... It's got you! You're gonna turn into one of them!"

"Shut the hell up Daryl! It's just a tiny scratch, not a-OOF!" His retort was cut short by the werewolf rolling off the bed onto the back of his legs, knocking him to the ground.

Now fully awake, the werewolf groaned, rubbing her head with ears pinned back sitting on his legs. "Augh, my head.... What's going on?"

Lying on the ground under the werewolf with a panicking roommate and a lack of sleep, the frustration lumped up into a single mass, boiling Nate's temper over without warning. "Will you GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!!!" He roared, glaring at the werewolf.

"Wait, did she just speak English?" Daryl asked in astoundment, a look of shock on his face.

"Yes I did." Answering without looking away from Nate, she slid off of him, sitting up to place her hands on his shoulders. "Hey, simmer down, you're starting to turn."

Taking a few breaths and closing his eyes for a moment, Nate nodded, not used to snapping like that. Standing up as she released him, he checked his stitches carefully. "Sorry about that."

The werewolf stood, giving him a worried look. "Just remember to keep your emotions under control. Strong emotions may start to turn you right now."

"Turn you? What's going on here?" Daryl asked, her warily. He glanced up at Nate, his expression suddenly turning to one of alarm as he pointed with a shaking finger. "Uh Nate? Your eyes are... and your teeth..."

"What about my..." He stopped, remembering reflection from the night before. "Great. Hang on." He stepped across the hall into the bathroom, gazing at his reflection in the mirror. Sure enough, his eyes had changed into feline eyes, and his canines were once again long and sharp.

Glancing around the corner, Daryl slammed the door shut, startling him. His voice was muffled slightly by the door, but his panic was still evident. "Sorry Nathan, but this is for your good."

Knowing how superstitious his friend was, Nate knew there would be no getting out past Daryl, unless some god decided to directly intervene. "Come on man, I'm already one of them, and it's not like what you've heard."

His words did nothing, of course, to assuage Daryl's worries. "You're a werewolf now!? Okay ummm... Hold on, I'll call the hospital, you'll be okay man! They can figure it out"

Before Nate had a chance to argue back, the werewolf spoke in a clearly irritated tone. "Let him out you idiot, he's fine."

"Aaah..." Daryl's voice climbed an octave as Nate could only imagine what was happening on the other side of the door. "N...Nice doggy..."

"'Doggy?'" Her voice dripped with disgust. "Oh I'll show you doggy!" The door shook as he assumed the werewolf swept him off of his feet. Throwing open the door, Nate ran out into the living room where she knelt on Daryl's shoulders. Before he had a chance to scream, she clamped her hand down on his mouth, leaning down to growl at him. "First, I am not a doggy, I'm a goddamn wolf. And second, you're probably the most paranoid idiot I have ever met in a long time."

Kneeling down before Daryl, Nate sighed "Look, do you see me panicking?"

Daryl shook his head promptly.

"And have I ever steered you wrong."

Again, another shake.

"Then calm down already. The werewolf, errr...."

"Adala." She offered.

"Adala's okay, alright? She's knows what's happening to me, so just keep cool, okay?."

A nod from him made Adala remove her hand and knee. "Okay, but seriously, what's going on with your eyes and teeth Nate? And where'd she come from?"

"I already said, I'm a lycan now, and she turned me."

"Lycan?"

"Lycanthrope, were-animal, shapeshifter, ecetera." Adala explained. "And before you say 'Don't touch me,' me scratching won't turn you."

Rubbing his back, Daryl rolled over, wincing at the soreness her knee left. "Huh. Still doesn't explain why you're here though."

"I uhh... Kinda went on a rampage last night, so Adala's here to make sure I don't do it again while I finish turning into a lycan." Without warning, Nate's strength seemed to suddenly disappear, and he stumbled over to the wall, bracing himself against it. "Wow... Tired again? Will this happen every single time?"

"Your body's still getting used to turning over." Adala explained, holding him up and looking a little worried. "In other words you need to get back to bed again."

"Huh." He mumbled, already feeling lightheaded. "Daryl, if you kick her out I'm gonna..."

"Don't worry man, you're less likely to chew on my leg if she's here. You just get some sleep."

Nodding, Nate crawled back into bed, once again flying through the abstract dreams from before. The churning returned, stronger than before, but still carrying the sense of calm with it. However this time, it wasn't the night before that he was reliving, but the camping trips of his youth. Memories presented themselves in hazy fragments, clouded by the passage of time. Then, just as they appeared, it was as if his mind scrubbed them clean of the degradation of time, the moments suddenly as clear as the days he experienced them, and then more. Colors became more vivid, smells more intense, sounds seemed bigger than they were. He remembered the forest and fields, the feeling of running barefooted through the grass. Or were these actually memories? The the sensations were all too real to be memories, right? The field he stood in, he didn't recognize, the forest was foreign. As a deer bounded along in the distance, the instinct to give chase surged through his veins. Maybe it was his animal-self that was creating this. Maybe it wanted out, to be in the world beyond being part of a human.

He didn't have time to puzzle it out though, the dreams quickly evaporating as he awoke. Opening his eyes, he felt oddly refreshed, like he had slept through the entire day. The time on the clock, 9:56, however said otherwise. Sitting up to stretch, he stopped when he heard the sound of fabric tearing. Looking down, he found his shirt in tatters, along with his pants, each stretched around his lycan body. Sighing in frustration, he plucked the remainder from his spotted fur and pulled himself out of bed.

Walking down the hallway to the kitchen of the suite, his new sense of hearing picked up the sound of conversation, his ears twitching a little towards the source of the sound.

"Well, you are pretty cute as a human. What do you say? We could hit the town tonight, grab some drinks or something. Nate'll keep himself busy, he's working on a new exhibit for the museum."

Adala giggled a little, an amused note in her voice. "And how come you're so interested in me now?"

"Hey, it sounds like we're going to be stuck with each other for a while, may as well be friendly."

Rounding the corner into the kitchen, Nate sighed and shook his head at his roommate's thinly veiled attempt at winning Adala's attention. "Several hours ago, you were scared shitless of her. What changed?"

When Daryl's eyes looked up to see Nate's new lycan body, the seemed to grow as big as dinner plates. "Woah uuhhh... Nate?"

"Still ticking in here."

He gave a low whistle. "Wow, you're ummm...."

While Daryl struggled for words, Nate turned his attention to Adala. "So why'd I change this time?"

"Weird dreams?"

"I've been having some, yeah."

"It's probably the Lycanthropy developing then. Expect more random turns for now."

"Great..." He sighed, running his claws through his hair. "And I have work tomorrow."

"Hey, you could disguise yourself as one of the static exhibits." Daryl suggested with a chuckle, having overcome his stupor.

"No, just no." Nate replied flatly, taking a seat at the table. "I'd rather not send the guests screaming out of the halls when I sneeze."

Adala's mouth curled up into a smirk. "Works better than you think."

"You've done it before?"

She chuckled, sipping her drink."I've done a ton of things."

Looking over to her, Nate got his first look at Adala's human body. Her amber eyes unsurprisingly had turned grey, retaining the piercing clarity of a wolf's. Her physique, while shorter in stature, was virtually identical, save for the lack of fur and other wolf features. Her hair however retained its length, having been pulled into a braid, folded neatly and tied off with a length of leather string, giving her a more rugged look that was reflected in her choice of clothing. She wore a form fitting tank top, a bright red, along with loose cargo pants with a wide canvas belt. Nate felt that even though she fit the mould of a stereotypical tomboy, the style suited her her perfectly.

Daryl checked his watch, setting his cup in the sink. "I've got to head out now, hit the office before my boss leaves." Passing by Nate, he patted him on the head. "Now you be a good cat and not claw up everything while I'm gone."

"Do that again and I'll use you as a chew toy."

Daryl gave a nervous laugh as he stepped out the door, avoiding Nate's annoyed stare. Sighing a bit in exasperation, he poured himself some hot water, unwrapping a tea bag. "Sorry about him. He's a little desperate for a girlfriend."

"Don't worry about it." She said with a dismissive wave. "Besides, I'm more in the market for other Lycanthropes."

"Other Lycans?" He asked, cradling his mug and blowing steam off of it. "There's more of us?"

"Yep. More than you'd think for a city I'll introduce you to them later."

An awkward silence fell over the two, with neither one sure of what to say next. Nate sipped at his cup, struggling to decide what question was the best. Everything seemed to present itself at once, making him long for the calm he felt in his dreams. "So ummmm.... Adala, right?"

"Yeah, what's up?" The human lycan practically jumped on the opportunity to break the silence.

"You seem to know a lot about being a werewolf. I take it you were turned a long time ago?"

She shook her head in response. "I wasn't turned, I was born a lycan. My mom's human, my dad's a werewolf like me."

"So you're a half-werewolf?"

"Nope, full blooded from the day I was born. Either you are or you aren't. There's no halfway point."

"And your mother is still a human?"

"Still is, though they're starting to discuss turning her."

Wrinkling his nose a little, Nate tilted his head inquisitively. "I don't know why anyone would want to voluntarily become a lycanthrope. It'd just complicate anyone's life way more than it already would be."

"How can you be so sure?" She countered, an expression of insult upon her face. "You haven't even been a lycan for 24 hours yet."

"Well, now that I'm a lycan too, I have to deal with not only my job and the rest of my life, but also the fact that I can sprout fur all over my body, and scare the shit out of everyone when I do so. I'd say that's a little more complicated than it was before."

Adala started to say something, but quickly stopped, biting back her comment. She gave an annoyed huff, crossing her arms and looking out the window.

Not quite sure how to comprehend her annoyed reaction, Nate passed her silently as he crossed over into the living room, opening his laptop and taking a seat on the couch. He stretched out in a very feline manner, his toes curling and mouth opening wide in a long yawn. On the coffee table, a notebook with sketches and accompanying notes sat open as he tapped away, glancing at the sketches every so often. It took a few minutes for Adala to give up being stubborn, her curiosity eventually winning out as she paced over, looking over Nate's shoulder. "So, is this for work?"

He nodded, still typing away as he spoke. "I work at the UBC Museum of Anthropology. We just got a new series of artifacts in. I'm just cataloguing them for when we actually put them on display." He scrolled through the document he was working on, showing her a variety of pictures of the artifacts

"Huh." She knelt down, resting her arms and chin on the arm of the couch as he looked. "Hey wait a second, back up a little." She blurted, a hand extending with a pointed finger. When he stopped, she pressed a finger to the screen, over a carved wooden pendant strung upon a sinew string. "Where's that from?"

Lacking any notes on screen, he reached over, flipping through pages of his notebook, until he reached the sketch of the pendant. "This? It was donated by the Haida nation from Haida Gwaii. I take it you recognize it?"

"Yeah, I do." She murmured, tracing the outline with her fingertip as if she could feel it through the screen. "That's my family's sigil."