[Worm]

HALCYON

From that moment, his shift went by in a blur. Hal grabbed his hoodie from the employee area. He was moving with no conscious effort, in fact he was half asleep. This normally happened around midnight, and for some reason, progressively it would wax and wane with the moon's cycles. He wobbled back towards Ash's table. "Alright, let's go." He threw a thumb behind him, pointing towards the door. His eyes were droopy and exhausted.

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

Hal raised her eyebrows at her prospective date. He looked haggard, to say the very least. He was stumbling and appeared to be half asleep, so she felt impelled to say, “Hey man, are you feeling alright? We can rain check this if you want...” Then, if he is actually turning into a werewolf nightly, he probably doesn't get any actual sleep. Of course he's tired. “But, if we're still on, of course I'd love to walk with you.”

[Worm]

Hal quirked his head, unsure what exactly Ash was saying. It all was pretty hazy. Something about rain? He looked outside the windows, covered in handprints and faceprints from an earlier customer's kid. It looked dark, but not rainy. He shook his head. "Nah, let's go. I want to hear your story." He grinned, pulling his jacket over his shoulders.

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

"Alright. If you're sure you're okay," Ash said, a tinge of hesitation in her voice. Regardless, she didn't want to miss this opportunity and soon the pair were outside with the cool night air reddening their cheeks. This weather was Ash's favorite--cold, but not windy. Enough that one's breath could look like one's soul leaving the body. They were alone now, and Ash was given the opportunity to tell her story.

"I...I know you don't like talking about this, but how often do you black out? Do you remember anything about last night?"

[Worm]

HALCYON

A poof of steam came off of his face as they walked outside. It was perfectly chilled. Hal huffed just to watch the steam come out as he wriggled the hood of his jacket over his head. "Last night?" He shrugged, unsure why this was a topic of intrigue. "I uh - I worked? Uhm... I know I woke up this morning with a bag of bread torn up on my chest." He chuckled.

"Don't remember how that happened. But I think I wake up like that every morning." He scratched the back of his neck, unsure if he was answering her questions appropriately. "I'm not really sure how often it happens." When his mom was around, she kept track and tried to help him stay on track. After she died, nobody was looking out for him. Not even himself.

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

Ash took her steps as carefully as she chose her words, "Well, I think I know where you were at, at least for a little bit, between working and your waking up this morning..." She swallowed, pausing and letting the footsteps make the noise for a moment when she stepped in front of him walking backwards and looking up at him, "Can I promise you won't think I'm crazy?"

[Worm]

HALCYON

Hal turned his head to Ash, a bit concerned about what might come out next. "Oh yeah?" He kicked a rock into the street after speaking. "I don't think I could find you crazy." He meant that he wasn't sure any of this was real anyways.

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

"Yeah. Well," Ash's eyes locked onto the rock and she kicked it further ahead of them, "Alright. Then. Hooo, here we go." She exhaled loudly not knowing at all how to say what she was about to say, "Okay, well, I think I saw you last night. But you weren't really you. You know, you were a...a...well? You were a wolf. You were, like, full lycanthropic. You were a wolf man. I think that's why you're tired all the time and wake up in strange places." She gulped and looked up at him sheepishly, expecting the worst response.

[Worm]

HALCYON

The wind curled behind Hal's hood, he wasn't sure how to take the information, or if he could. He looked down at the ground and at his hands. They started shifting in front of his eyes. Hair sprouted down his knuckles as they stretched into claws. He shook his hands, trying to rid the curse of Ash's words. "No, no. That doesn't make sense." He was panicking, sweat rolling down his face, steam billowing from there. "What happened yesterday?" Even his eyes were struggling to remain human.

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

Ash studied Hal's face as he processed her words. Could he possibly believe her? What were the chances that he could? Then, at this point, it wouldn't surprise Ash in the slightest if he was willing to believe anything when it came to his late night escapades. His hands that were now shaking caught Ash's attention and she knew she was right instantly, and she was about to witness his transformation. Her eyes darted back to his and shook her head, "Hal, it's happening...what I saw yesterday was a werewolf, he...he...he came in through my window. That wolf had the same scars as you and look--look--it's happening now. I'll tell you now that you didn't do anything wrong, but I can try to help you."

[Worm]

HALCYON

Hal shook his head furiously. He couldn't accept it. If he were a werewolf, wouldn't his mother have told him? Told him anything? This had to be a dream. He watched claws push out where his fingernails normally are. He groaned, struggling to keep himself human. "This is a dream, this is a dream." A tail began forming at the base of his spine, stretching the skin in the area, causing Hal to lurch forward. He growled now, foam pooling from his mouth as his snout extended. "Wake up!" He screamed, echoing through the empty parking lot where he and Ash stood. And then, there was blackness again.

A six foot something creature limped towards Ash, with feral eyes. He cocked his head, teeth still bared. "Help me?" His voice was not Hal's, it was a mixture of beast and sickly human. The visible eye was a bright yellow, focusing in on Ash. He let out what sounded like a bellowing laugh before lunging towards the girl. He couldn't control it. It was either fear, or a desperate hunger that led him to chase her. He needed to bite down on something, anything!

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

Ash stood with her hands in front of her, fingers splayed to show that she offered no danger to the changing man as she watched his claws protrude from his fingertips, his tail sprouting out as if it was only natural it be there. She took a couple of steps back when that yellow eye honed in on her, "Y-yes, help you figure yoursel--oh fuck!"

All the poor woman could do was run, which was probably the worst thing she could have done. The moment he lunged, Ash turned on her heels and took off running. To where, she didn't know. Her house obviously wasn't safe. The wolf had gotten in there before with little to no difficulty. But running toward the town was a bad idea as well. If anyone saw him, they'd kill him. They'd kill Hal. But, if she didn't get somewhere safe soon, Hal would kill her.

[Worm]

HALCYON

All Hal could do was follow the chase. It was as if his body was doing all the work without a single cell focused on thinking this through. His arms were muscular, reaching to the ground now, moving in sync with his legs as he chased her. It was like one of those dreams when you're running from something, running through tunnels and winding through things, but he was the one chasing. He huffed, drool stringing behind him through growling fangs.

[sylvanSpider]

ASH

Ash could feel her legs beginning to wear out. The wolf was right behind her--and faster. She'd ducked out of the way of a wayward flying claw or two and was thankful she possessed some form of agility. She was the prey that she'd been in so many dreams and lucky for her, she seemed to be able to dodge well enough to make it them as well, but she was unable to account for how tired she was getting, and fast. "Would you...just....stop? she wheezed between breaths but not daring to slow down. "I want to help you--if you--*pant, pant* get caught--*pant* byanyoneelse--you'll die." Eventually she ducked into an alleyway, not accounting for the fact that it was a dead end, and now she had her back against the wall and to her front all she could see was sharp teeth and equally sharp claws.

[Worm]

Her scent led him through the darkness of night and into the alleyway. Ash's musk made a nearly visible trail for him to follow. Once she was pinned, he licked his lips. His walking slowed, until he was hovering in front of her, reveling in the thought of his next meal with a predatory grin. He sniffed her hair and let out a long howl. He couldn't wait to tear into her.

[sylvanSpider]

Ash froze for a moment feeling his hot breath in her ear sending chills down her spine. It was the howl that brought her back to realizing this was a life or death situation. As Hal's head was tilted back to howl she grabbed for the first thing she could--a stick that had fallen off of someone's firewood stack or something and intending to throw it at him instead missing, and with a whoosh of air right past the wolf's ears the stick clattered to the ground on the other end of the alley. "...Oops" she gulped.