August Catch-All

[sing_for_me]

Who: Alex Benedetto and various people
When: Mostly the full moon
Where: Various places
What: Dealing with a slightly more volatile merrow
Warnings: May contain violence!

If anyone else would to do anything for either the full moon or anywhere in the month of August feel free to pm me or hit me up at mightycheese

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Wolf

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex winces as peels off the skin that had stretched out from the emergence of her fins, the smell of blood in the water making her cringe. It stung, much more than any of her other changes. New scales have formed beneath her skin surrounding the fins. The thoughts buzzed in her head loudly. How much more was going to appear? How much more was going to change? Worrick was here now, but Nicolas had gone missing. Would Worrick disappear as well? She didn’t want to lose any more people. She didn’t want to lose what was hers..

Her thoughts are interrupted by a familiar scent, ears perking up at the sound of footsteps not too far away. Someone was on the other side, tumbling out from the woods..and into her space. Her growing frustrations suddenly muted, but it they were still there. Her attention was just now directed elsewhere.

Her movement through the water remained careful, as if not wanting to alert the intruder of her presence. The water ripples lightly above as she swims just beneath the surface, her head only emerging when she closes in, blackened eyes peering up at the figure. ]

[divineconfetti]

( this is the third full moon that wolf has seen in aefenglom. the previous too had pulled new bestial aspects from him, and sometimes they had faded or become less conspicuous as time passed, though in general their essence had made itself permanent upon him. he has known, though perhaps he has ignored, the fact that a full transformation would come for him eventually. it was something in the future, and wolf had present concerns and worries to address.

but the full moon dawns upon him, and the change first makes itself known to him as a shiver — slight, at first, but then it is like an uncontrollable shudder one might do if chilled down to their bones. the involuntary aspect of that continues as the shuddering gives way to a sort of tearing, as if he were stretched so much at the seams that they began to become undone, the human skein he wore torn away until it revealed the beast beneath. wolf is grateful he is alone at home for this; he has to tug at articles of clothing that grow tight, taking off what he must. it is especially true for his prosthetic — his arm grows and the machine does not, and so he has to hurriedly grapple with the straps and clasps with a hand simultaneously in its own transformation. he is fortunate that he unlatches the prosthetic before it mangles what remains of his arm, though it does throb with pain from where the metal frame that keeps it attached to his upper arm dug into the flesh.

the moon does more than just change his physical shape. it calls out to him, drawing him from the safety and anonymity of his house and into the wild landscape of the city and its surroundings at night. his mind warps, a confusion of the new form and its accompanying instincts, and for a while he would find himself hard-pressed to recount what exactly he did. but he ends up ambling out of the woods and towards the shore, yellow eyes glinting in the dark as they ate up the sight of the huge full moon reflected upon the surface of the water.

the scents here are diluted and confused by the water, but he feels the prevailing edge of something oddly familiar. it makes him very wary, and as he approaches the shoreline, he can feel the fur along the nape of his neck bristle and stand on end. his eyes scan, but the darkness of the water conceals the danger from him — at least, until a cloud passes over the moon, robbing the water of its glare and allowing him to see the creature lying in wait beneath.

alarm and the confused ouroboros of hunter-and-hunted instincts blare inside his head, and wolf's lips peel back from his new set of canine teeth, and his clawed right arm tenses to lash out should she lunge at him. )

[sing_for_me]

[ His eyes glow like yellow gems, shining brightly as they enticed her even more. How pretty would those be in the palm of her hand? His fangs have a similar effect, but of course, with the added threat. Her own mouth opens slightly, bubbles of air escaping between the teeth that sharpened as the months passed, her finned ears fanned out.

But that wasn't how merrow hunted. Not from the very start.

She reveals herself further as she surfaces just past her shoulders, water dripping down her hair and skin, some droplets catching on her lashes. The claws stay under for now. However, the moment her lips made it past the water, she begins to hum . The tune is soft and gentle, a contrast to the intensity in her eyes. It wasn't anything from her repertoire of songs, a melody made just for this prey. Something slow, nostalgic in its sound and feel.

Relax.

Come closer. ]

[divineconfetti]

( tension races in the moment, and then it fades, fizzling out as the seconds ebb away with the tide. the figure of the merrow is still beneath the water's surface, flickering in and out of sight as the clouds pass by in the sky overhead. but she doesn't move to strike, and so wolf doesn't either. they stand at impasse until time robs some of the tension from his shoulders.

some of it returns when she drifts to the surface, head and shoulders emerging from the lapping waves. distantly, wolf sees that she is familiar, and perhaps he knows who she is, but it doesn't register in this moment, between the scent of danger and the instinctual aggression of monsters standing off. had his mind been clearer, he would have been more prepared for what happens next. he has encountered merrows in dreams. he knows the trickery they employ.

and yet, when she begins to hum, it all melts away. it turns to smoke, becoming intangible. the turnskin does not relax completely, but enough to let a sizable lapse in his guard slip.

he takes a step forward. perhaps he intended to circle her, but that would just be a lie he would tell himself. )

[sing_for_me]

[ Her lips curve into a small smile to match the song, adding a bit more weight to the melody as she sings louder. On a cold night, there was a warmth to it, like honey mixing with tea. Cozy, inviting..

Take another, just another few steps.

Closer, enough to get a better look at those eyes.

A scaled hand raises up towards him, careful and smooth in its motion. It was either for him to take, or to invite him towards her even more, but it posed no threat in the way it was held out. ]

[divineconfetti]

( he should know better. the denizens of the fountainhead palace would play sweetly on their flutes, and then they would use the selfsame instrument to cast a spell to steal away your youth and vitality. that had been an insidious ploy, and this one was similar, though far more brutal in its intention. distantly, in the back of his head, there is an alarm bell (be it shinobi training or turnskin instinct or both), but it is held in check by the power of the spell.

one step closer, then another. his expression is apprehensive, but the predatory eyes are cloudy, slightly vacant. between the newfound power of the lycanthropic influence over his thoughts and the song, it's hard for him to think.

the scaled hand lifts up from the water. wolf looks at it, not moving to take it. it's not even so much caution — he is a man not terribly accustomed to casual displays of closeness, affection, tenderness, care. his life had never allowed him such things, and he had never thought to take them for himself. so for the time being he remains inert in this particular manner.

but it does not dissuade him. another step closer. )

[sing_for_me]

[ The closer he comes, the further into the deeper parts of the water Alex goes. She waits until Wolf is about knee deep before grabbing at his calf and pulling his leg forward. She lunges as he falls back, pinning him down by his shoulders against the water bank. It’s still shallow enough for him to raise his head above water, unless she decides to push down more.

Hovering over him, her eyes glow in the darkness created by her hair as it fell around his face, watching expectantly to see what he would do next. The way her tail glided from side to side was almost akin to a dog that had just gotten a new ball. More than murderous intent, it was a playful, but certainly dangerous, challenge that reflected in her eyes. Although Wolf may or may not see it as such. ]

[divineconfetti]

( wolf doesn't have an innate fear of the water. before he had come here, he had learned a secret mibu breathing technique which had actually allowed him to breathe underwater — he hadn't had the opportunity to test it here, and perhaps he should have already suspected he was without it now, but just as his erroneous belief in still having his power of resurrection dulls his sense of self-preservation, so does this. it isn't until her clawed hand reaches out to grab his leg and pull it out from under him does he realize just what is happening. and how much of a fool he has been.

the turnskin snarls as he falls into the water with a splash, instinctively trying to sit up but finding himself otherwise pinned by the creature. he bares his teeth, a serrated growl tearing through his throat. it's only in times like these that his diminutive size becomes painfully apparent, because, even though he is fully-transformed, wolf is still not so large, impressive, or strong as other monsters.

but he is still a fighter.

wolf does not pick up on the nuance of her intent. were he still in his more human shape and more in control of his faculties, he might, or perhaps have tried to use words, but as it is now, he reacts purely on instinct. his missing arm is a frustrating hindrance, as it also upsets his balance, but he tries to gain purchase in the sand with his feet (paws) just enough so that he could twist his body, swiping at her with his clawed right hand with as much force as he can muster. )

[sing_for_me]

[ The oncoming swipe has her reflexively pulling to the side, but not fast enough to not get hit. She rolls over, but all while still holding on to Wolfe. She attempts to keep it going, tumbling along the shore to return back to her position on top.

This time, she doesn’t give him as much leeway this time around, attempting to push him underneath the waves for longer when she gets the chance. Moving him deeper in might work better in her favor, but he’s still putting up a fight. Although, it probably wouldn’t as fun if he didn’t. ]

[divineconfetti]

( the swinging mitt connects, and it bowls her over sideways, but unfortunately for wolf she pulls him along with her. they roll over several times in the surf; water splashes over him multiple times, stinging his eyes and filling his nose and partially-parted jaws. he splutters, chokes, snarls. in the end, he accomplishes little, still ending up pinned under her, precariously close to water that would be over his head no matter what he did about it.

though she can always try to force him under. she does, and a cascade of bubbles leaks from his jaws as he struggles against it. he has so little leverage in his arm — so he must use whatever else he has at his disposal. he writhes, trying to get into a position where he can kick at her with clawed hind paws, snapping at hands or arms or whatever is close enough to bite. )