April 29, 2012 What, what is this?

David was on his way back to Old Man Moon. He needed some answers. These thoughts, they were bothering him. Burning into his mind, torturing him. Why was this happening? Why now? He needed some answers, and if answers weren't available, he would prefer advice. He loved his family but this, this was tearing him apart.

"Man this sure does suck." He said sighing afterwards.

Reaching for the sky, he looked at his palm. What is this really? A curse? Or a gift?

"A curse...or a gift.." He whispered.

Gwen had arrived early this morning intending to talk to the Old Man, having missed Hazel's explanation of all the goings on. She didn't really even know what she was yet, or even why...or even what they were doing here. Why were there even werewolves in the first place? She knew everything had a purpose, but what was hers?

When she arrived, she deeply inhaled. The smell of the outdoors was growing on her as much as she still detested its filth. Venturing off the path a little, she gazed at the foliage and was immediately enamored. Once she saw the trees in their full morning-dewed glory, she had to draw them. She had always done her landscape work as a mismatch of others' pictures, but this was different. Everything could be done herself. After finding herself a nice dry spot to settle down, she knelt in the grass, cringing a little bit at her action. Pulling out her sketchbook and pencils, she began drawing all that she saw.

She didn't know how much time she spent there, but she heard a familiar voice nearby that yanked her from her drawing-induced daze. Stuffing her pencils back in her bag, she closed her sketchbook and got up. Once she returned to the path, she saw David with his arm outstretched for the sky.

"David?" Gwen asked as she emerged from the forest, sketchbook in hand.

David heard the familiar voice but kept walking.

"You're here early, Gwen. What's up?" He said without stopping. Normally, he would stop to greet her but, he need the guidance of the old man. His mind kept racing. Questions, so many questions. And all for what? Why was this happening to him? Why him?

"I have an idea. Let's check out the shore of the island." He said.

"That way, you don't have to be in woods, where it's pretty lonely. Come on, let's go."

Gwen blinked. She was being talked to but ignored? Sprinting, she caught up to him and walked next to him. "Uh, yeah, I wanted to talk to Old Man Moon, but I got distracted..." She slid her bag to the side and shoved her sketchbook inside, careful of the cover. The last thing she needed was to to lose another cover to another sketchbook.

"Uh, sure? The shore? Why not? And the forest isn't that lonely...I've been here a while, and there are plenty of birds and other noises to keep you company..." she trailed off, realizing that these pleasantries weren't what she wanted to talk about. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I mean, you must have come here for a reason, too..."

Hazel ran through the woods, savoring the feeling of the wind flowing through her fur. Tree branches soared above her, roots and brambles raced beneath her, and various forest animals fled from her path. She didn't mind, she wasn't chasing them. If she'd been on the hunt, Hazel would have no problem concealing herself. The animals would have no clue she was there until her powerful jaws clamped down on their necks. As it was, Hazel let her presence be known. Branches snapped beneath her feet and thin, flimsy branches smacked her sides. This wasn't a hunt, it was cathartic, it was necessary. The Uratha needed to embrace both aspects of themselves. If they denied the wolf inside, then they denied their most primal, instinctive selves. Hazel had been denying her inner wolf too much. This was her letting it out to be free to run.

As Hazel ran, she caught a familiar scent. It was soft, feminine, and clean. Gwen, Hazel thought, recognizing the scent after a second. She turned and followed where the trail led. Gwen was probably here to seek answers from Old Man Moon. Hazel felt bad that she'd never gotten around to answering the girl's questions. Hazel promised herself that she would answer the girl's questions as s.oon as she found her and continued to follow the trail. After walking at a leisurely pace for a while, Gwen's scent met up with that of David's. So they were together, that was good. Maybe David could help with the girl's questions, but, knowing David, the subject would probably never come up on its own.

Hazel walked until she could hear the two of them ahead of her. They were awfully loud. If she were hunting them, they wouldn't be difficult to find, and they'd be dead almost effortlessly. Hazel silently snuck around the two until she was ahead of them on the path. She slowly stepped out on the path and sat there patiently, waiting for the two of them to come across her.

"Who me? Nothing is wrong. Don't worry about it." He said looking forward, hands behind his head. Just ahead he saw Hazel and smirked.

"How long have you been following us?" He said in a joking manner. He didn't really care up to this point. He just needed his mind cleared. He wanted to relax. And this was just the place. He looked up to the sun. It's warm rays hitting his face. It felt rather great, to be under the sun and just relaxing. He closed his eyes and laughed. What should he worry about? Everything will be alright.

Gwen knew he was lying through his teeth, but decided to drop it for the moment. If he wasn't feeling up to telling her yet, she wasn't going to prod further. Last thing she needed was to upset him. Persistence like that always annoyed her, so why should she do it to him?

"Hazel!" she exclaimed, beaming. She could finally ask questions. "What are you doing here?"

Hazel cocked her head to the side, looking at the two of them in perplexed amusement. Did they really expect her to respond? She couldn't even stand on two legs for an extended period of time in this form, and they expected her to speak to them? Hazel tried to laugh, but it just came out as a short bark. Hazel continued to sit, once she changed back she could talk, but as for now, she was a wolf.

David kept walking.

"You should be careful. Never know what might happen if someone were to see you. I mean, that isn't us." He thought about what might happen during the day. Who is he kidding. How the hell could he do that? Shaking that aside he said

"How do you guys feel about swimming?" He smirked

"Swimming?" Gwen stammered. "In that?" That water didn't look inviting...Who knows what could be in it? She grimaced at the thought. It's one thing to sit in some solid dirt in the ground, but who knew what could be festering in there? Looking down at herself clad in jeans and a blue button-up shit, she mumbled, "What would we even swim in?" She set her bag on the ground and stared at the water, wary of it.

Hazel exhaled from her nose loudly before she laugh-barked again and bumped Gwen's side with her own. She took a few steps back and then propelled herself forward. For a moment she was in the air, but then she plunged into the cool water of the lake. It was refreshingly cold, and Hazel welcomed it.

"See? It's not that bad." And just then he went behind some tress and a few minutes later, he came out in his boxers.

"Now, let's do this!" He jumped right in. The cool water gave him chills down his spine and came up from under the water and laughed. He hadn't expected the water to be that cold and soon came to the shore.

"You don't have come in, I mean, it's cold but, it's a nice day. What are you going to do?" and he swan out in the water.

Flustered at the sight, Gwen turned her back to the water and David and began unbuttoning her shirt. Even though she detested having wet underwear, she didn't want to change; it wasn't natural to her yet. She hated dirty things, but this whole thing was new to her. I might as well try new things, she thought.

Once she removed her shirt, she nudged her bag towards her with her foot. Folding her shirt carefully, she soon tucked it against the flatness of her sketchbook and followed suit with her pants. Throwing her bag a bit farther to keep it from the splashing, she looked down at herself in nothing but her underwear to see a black bra with white polka dots and a red bow accompanied by the matching piece. Why had she worn that this morning? Why couldn't she have picked something plain and clunky?

She took a few steps away from the lake, took in a deep breath, turned, and ran for the lake, jumping as the others had done. Submerged in the water, she could feel her face flush; she had never been this embarrassed. Kicking upward, she inhaled once more above the water, hoping the other two wouldn't laugh at her choice.

Hazel barked happily as Gwen joined them in the lake. She was glad that Gwen joined them, afraid that the girl's need for cleanliness would deter her. Hazel dove under the water, swirling around beneath the surface, enjoying the coolness of the lake. She went deeper, just under Gwen, so that the other girl could feel Hazel's sleek fur coat with the tips of her toes.

David saw that they were enjoying themselves and swan along the shore to the point where he was not visible. He got out and laid there. Basking in the sun. Just enjoying what nature had to offer. He soon got up and went back to his clothes putting them on while speaking,

"I have nothing to worry about." He smiled and began to move towards a tree with a nice amount of shade and sat there. Enjoying this fine day.

When she felt Hazel underneath her, she screeched and scrambled toward the shore in a blind panic. "There's something in the water!" she screamed, not having the slightest clue that it was her friend. Once she got to a depth she could stand in, she rose to her feet. In her fright and the rush, she tripped on a rock and landed hard in the shallow part on her knees, successfully bruising and skinning them. Crawling for the shore, she dragged herself onto it. Flat on her stomach, she breathed heavily, still frightened by the feeling of the thing that rushed past her. This wasn't a good idea after all.

Hazel followed Gwen onto the shore, barking at her in amusement. David was being a bad influence on her. She bumped Gwen again lightheartedly. She hadn't meant to cause her pack-mate any legitimate distress. Hazel had only meant to poke fun. Hazel padded off and flopped down on the sand next to David, taking deep breaths to slow her heart rate down to normal. She wanted to change back soon, and any outward exhilaration usually made the process either longer, more painful, or both.

David laughed as the girl was scrambling on the floor yelling for her life.

"Relax, you'll be fine. Here, let me help you up." He said while reaching out for her hand. Smiling as he was doing so. He turned his head towards Hazel

"You know better than that! Haha, good one though!" He said booming with laughter

Gwen squirmed in dismay at Hazel's nudge. The thing had come above the water! Looking up, she saw Hazel trotting away and yelled, "Hazel!" She now knew it was her. "How mean," she huffed, still flat on the sand, shaking from the shock.

When David offered his hand to her, she took it and allowed him to help her wobbly self up. She got up on her legs, fearing that she had scraped them badly. Wiping away the sand and blood, she saw that her shins were clean, free of any injury. Gwen shivered more, what had she become? Grasping at David's shirt, she looked up at him with a pleading gaze, silently asking him to do something. Anything. Not only had Hazel scared her to death, but she also fell, only to realize that she didn't actually injure herself. To make matters worse, she was absolutely filthy. Sand stuck to her body that was damp with infested water, her hair a mess, and she was near-naked to top it all off.

A tremor wracked through her body as she asked, "What...But I'm positive...I definitely cut myself. You saw it. The blood with the sand? But...there's...there's nothing there." Gwen started to tear up and soon it became a choked sob. She didn't like being scared, didn't like the feeling of filth, and definitely hated being exposed to people she hardly knew. The girl couldn't contain herself anymore. This day was just getting better and better.

Hazel whimpered when Gwen began to cry. She hadn't meant to upset the poor girl, it was just a joke. She sighed inwardly. Hazel should have known from being on the butt end of David's little jokes that it wasn't nice to be the victim. She was being a horrible pack-mate. Gwen was supposed to feel welcome and safe in The River Spirits. Instead Hazel had made the girl nearly break down into tears. Hazel knew that until Gwen was back inside, in someplace clean, that she wouldn't be able to calm down in the slightest.

Hazel nudged David and pointed in the direction of the lodge with her nose, indicating that he should take Gwen back to get cleaned up. Hazel turned and walked into the forest. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Hazel thought angrily to herself. She was so stupid. Hazel knew that Gwen wasn't one for jokes, and yet she had pushed the girl's buttons in all the wrong ways. Hazel was so stupid. At this last self-effacement Hazel let out an angry growl directed at no one but herself. No, she would deal with her own issues later, right now she needed to focus on making Gwen feel better, and she couldn't do that as a wolf.

Hazel stopped walking and took a few deep breaths. Then she started to change.

David looked out into the city.

"Such a beautiful day." Just then he started walking back towards Old Man Moons place.

"I'll see you guys there." He said eyes closed and whistling as he went

Gwen watched as David just left, brushing her aside as if her tear-stained face meant nothing to him. So this is family, she thought, if this is family, I should have just stayed at home. Forgetting Hazel was even there, she reached out for him after he left and continued to sob uncontrollably in place. No one was going to help her. They left her alone. Again.

Fine. She could take care of herself. Rubbing her eyes, she took a step toward her bag, but soon was overcome by her emotions. Falling to her knees in the sand, Gwen pulled her bag near her and opened it. She took her shirt and wrapped it around her still-wet body, not bothering to even button it. Hugging it close, she felt the sand that was rubbing against her skin grind into her. She was dirty and exposed and confused. Even if she tried, she couldn't quite explain why she was upset. She just was. It was a cumulative of the past few months, of just everything. The family, the weird wolf-girl powers she seemed to have obtained some way that she still wasn't clear on, the filth. She thought she'd try something new because she was something new. Boy, was she stupid.

She thought of the place she had just left, the house she had grown up in and the disinterest her guardian had in her. Nothing she had ever done could obtain his attention other than when she needed something from the store. Nothing was ever good enough. When she was told that she now had a family, she got her hopes up that it would be just like what she read in the books. Even though she was certain she disliked David, she still wanted to be there for him when he was anguished by something. She was told they were a family, and she always believed that families never had to like each other; however, they always had to love each other in some way, to care in the slightest for the others' well-being. And here he just up and left. Gone. It had to be her fault. It just had to be. She was the constant in all of this.

When Hazel had finished changing, she stood up as straight as she could. Her body was sore and aching, as if it was still recovering from a beating that had happened a week ago. Changing was a painful process, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick stretch and a walk. A breeze passed through the air and sent a chill down her spine, reminding her of her nudity. Her clothes were back at the lodge. Hazel shrugged it off, she didn't mind. There was a difference between being nude and being naked. As long as Hazel wasn't exposed to people she didn't know or trust, then she had no problem with her body being unclothed.

When Hazel had left David and Gwen to themselves, Hazel had gone the opposite direction from the lodge, which meant that if she wanted to get back to regain her clothes, she would have to go back the way she came. Once again, she shrugged it off. She was in the woods, which she had no problem with. All the same, she walked as carefully as she could without slowing down to a snail's pace. While tripping over a root and twisting her ankle wouldn't cause he permanent damage, it would still hurt like a mother until it healed.

As Hazel neared the lodge, and the place where she had left Gwen and David, she heard the sound of sobbing. Was someone lost in the woods? Or was someone hurt? Hazel peered around a tree and saw Gwen curled up on the ground in a sobbing heap. Hazel practically bristled with anger. David was supposed to take her to the lodge, the absolute arse. A low growl rumbled in her throat, which would have been more impressive had she still been on all fours and furred. As soon as it left her throat, Hazel stopped herself. She didn't want to make things worse, if that were possible.

"Gwen..." Hazel said, taking a few steps towards the girl. Hazel knew the girl probably didn't like nudity, but it wouldn't be right for Hazel to leave to go get clothes and then come back. She needed to stay with her and help her now. Clothing could wait. "Hey..." Hazel knelt on the ground in front of the girl. She put an arm on the girl's back, consoling her awkwardly by rubbing it slightly. Uratha were physical creatures, with anyone else Hazel would have her arms around them and her body pressed against her. Uratha found comfort in being physically connected to someone. However, Gwen was new, and she liked her personal space. Hazel could tell, because, again, Gwen was a lot like her when she first joined. Any unwanted physical contact would be an extreme violation of trust.

So, Hazel did the best she could.

There was a cool breeze blowing through the trees surrounding Gwen and Hazel. Just behind them to the east was the lake- a wide expanse of green-tinged water eventually curling towards the south behind some trees. The sun shone brightly in the bluish sky, shining warm rays of light down onto the trees and inhabitants below.


David, upon entering the lodge, finds the immediate contents to be empty. The blinds are open, letting a dusky, filtered light seep through into the immediate, heavily-furnished room. Upon listening closely, he would hear very little.

The sound is sudden for Gwen and Hazel, quiet footsteps audible as they escape the treeline a short distance from the pair. Two young men - both dressed in blue, patch-worn jackets - step out along the bank of the lake, their eyes already intent on the naked and crying women as they quickly approach.



"What a fucking baby," one of them - a black haired younger man with a wide, disfiguring scar on the side of his face - says with a chuckle as he looks at Gwen, a low chuckle escaping his throat as he continues along. Neither of the pair seem particularly bothered by the nakedness of the more experienced Forsaken. In fact - though they've likely never been met before - it may be possible to smell the scent of the predator around them. The moment after the first man speaks, the second - a similarly aged one with sandy-brown hair and thin lips - scowls and jerks his gaze towards his companion. "Lookin' hot babe," he shouts out to Hazel, his eyes intent on the woman's rear as he and his companion walk in their direction.

Letting out a sudden cough as his eyes shoot wide, the sandy-haired young man reaches out and smack the other's arm lightly, his brows furrowing together. "What the hell man!" he calls out as they continue their slow pace along the lakeside, "This isn't our shit!"

While Gwen was losing herself to her thoughts, she felt a hand rubbing her back. Jumping, she was shocked and looked up with her puffy, glazed eyes to vaguely see a nude Hazel . "Hazelllll...." she groaned and fell into her arms. Nude or not, she didn't care. She didn't like exposing herself, but she couldn't care less if others chose to do so. Living in the city, you were prone to see many things as a child you probably shouldn't have.

It was true. Gwen hated to be touched, but in situations like this she couldn't help but wrap her arms around the woman's bare back. The only time people ever seemed to touch her in her past was when something was wrong with her, when she physically needed help. She needed it mentally now. Just like she had tried to pat David's shoulder earlier days ago, she understood this was reassuring.

When she heard the men approach, she jerked up and out of the woman's arms to glare at them, her eyes clearing from her sadness and shifting into annoyance. A fucking baby? She hardly ever cried. Cocky bastards like that hardly have their shit together anyway, she tried to reassure herself. Whatever she had been upset about, she forgot in a moment's notice. How dare that bastard hit on Hazel...She was prepared to defend herself and get whatever meager attack she could if need be. Whispering, she asked, "Hazel, who are those guys?"