Ｊｕｄｄ Ｈａｒｒｉｓ
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(rank). fighter (location). gathering (mood). grumpy and agitated (tags). Aiden (mentioned: Samir, Sebastian, Mia, Natasha, Erika) // open
In the end, with all of his pack member’s eyes glaring at him, Judd grudgingly cleaned up the mess he created. He didn’t feel remorse at all for what he’d done, other than a faint wish to punch Aiden clean in the face. That, he knew, wouldn’t end ell at all. If he wasn’t Pine Knob’s most hated guy yet, he would be then. He tuned out the irritating scolding from Natasha and Erika. God, don’t they ever shut up? Their voices grained on his temper even more, and it was all he could do to keep his hands form flying out again. Instead, he concentrated on picking each shard up and studying their jagged edges… And imagining what they might look like seeking into Aiden.
After cleaning up, he roughly shoved Skylar aside and left the house without a word. His last “sign” to the pack was a brazen, rebellious middle finger sticking up as he walked away. The snow crunched under his feet, but the anger pulsing through his veins was enough to keep him warm. He needed to do something to let it out, something productive. He was tempted to shift into his wolf form and follow Aiden’s heavy tracks in the snow. Somewhere midway, Aiden’s footsteps had turned into pawsteps. If Aiden had shifted too, then there would be no stopping inevitable bloodshed between them. Judd gritted his teeth, pulled his beanie tighter on his head, and forced himself to keep walking away from more trouble.
Judd spent the rest of the day in his wolf form, running about the forest and charging at any animal he came across. His powerful black legs churned up the frozen snow behind him, and his tongue lolling out in pursuit of a rabbit. However, the creature was too quick for him, and it went bolting for the protection of its hole. Judd came to a skidding halt and let out a roar of frustration. His amber eyes scanned the forest and his nostrils flared, desperately searching for any other creature he could terrorize.
He kept up with this endless cycle of chasing and startling his prey, until he eventually caught himself a plump squirrel. His teeth gnashed away at the little creature, and as he did so, he gradually felt his anger melt away. Channeling it into his wolf form was always the best way to escape it – unfortunately it came at the expense of the mauled creature between his paws.
Judd stayed in this contemplative state, and everything from the morning gradually started to trickle out of his mind. The large black wolf laid in the snow as he gradually watched day turn into night. The darkness crept in early now, the shadows from the trees growing longer each passing moment. This was Judd’s favorite time of the day, and he wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could. Before he’d left the house, he’d received a text from Samir. There was going to be some dumb pack campfire bonding tonight, as if sitting around in the cold and roasting marshmallows would ease any sort of tension within the pack.
Even though he was rebellious and aggressive, he was loyal. If Samir wanted to have a stupid bonfire, then fine. Judd would show up for a bit, complete his commitment, and then head back to the house for a beer. His wolf let out a sigh as he watched the sun creep into the horizon. I may as well go and get this over with.
Judd picked up the squirrel’s backbone and held it firm between his teeth. His hackles raised in anticipation of the pain. The wolf shut his eyes and focused on the form he wanted to return to. The shifting process was a gruelingly painful one, and within seconds, the squirrel spine snapped from the force of his jaws.
His bones were elongating and his organs changing to fit into a human body. Judd saw flashes of light and blurred color, along with a tangle of nauseating scents, ear-piercing sounds. It seemed to last forever, but moments later, he was laying back on the snow. His fingers were clutching a nearby stone, fighting off the lingering pain of the shift. No matter what they said, it had never gotten easier for him.
It took Judd a few minutes to recover, and ultimately, the freezing snow soaking through his clothes was what got him up. “This better be worth it,” he grumbled. It would have been far easier to stay in his wolf form, but with his heightened aggression of the full moon, he thought better of it. If his wolf wanted to lunge at Aiden’s throat, there was nothing that could stop him.
Judd stomped through the snow grumpily, still feeling the aftereffects from the shift. His wolf was begging to come out again as the stars sparkled overhead. A twinge of anxiety pierced his chest. If anyone did happen to provoke him like earlier, nothing could stop his wolf from coming out.
Finally, he made it to the Pine Knob campfire. Some of his packmates were already gathered, with Dimidian covertly creeping in his wolf form and Erika striding in as a human. Arthur and Natasha were here, always inseparable. Sienna came as a canine, with bags of smores supplies hanging from her jaws. Sure, campfires were dumb, but Judd would kill for a smore – his mouth was watering already. Samir was here, poking kindling into the teepee fire and then… Judd’s eyes locked on Aiden’s. His omega brother, Sebastian, was leaning on him slightly for warmth. Of course, he had an omega brother – there were too many omegas in this pack.
Aiden still looked like crap. Judd kept his eyes locked on the other fighter, silently challenging him. One word and Aiden would be looking even more like crap… However, Judd reminded himself that Samir was less than a few feet away from him. If he tried anything, the alpha would put him in his place. A prickle of unease ran through Judd’s body. Had Samir heard about what happened earlier? Would he even care? Mia, the beta, had seen it all go down -- she better not be a snitch. Other than a plate, there had been no casualties or bloodshed. Besides, Judd was exercising his right; the other male had used the last of the hot water, and no one messed with Judd’s morning showers.F r e i d a E v e n s t a r
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(rank). hunter [color=#80BFFF](location). gathering (mood). excited and a little flustered (tags). Dimidian, Samir, Sienna, Aiden (mentioned), Sebastian (mentioned)
Freida kept smoking her cigarette on the porch as the madness continued inside the house. A door slammed once, with Aiden leaving as quick as he could. More shouts came form inside, and not long after, Judd had left too. Freida’s eyes widened as she watched Judd in his pursuit. Oh, please don’t follow Aiden, please… The scene earlier had been a stupid spat of male dominance. However, once Judd was pushed, nothing could stop him. She hoped to the winter spirits that the arrogant fighter wouldn’t take the morning drama a step further. If he went after Aiden just for some cold shower water… Freida shivered at the thought. She hated the innate, bloodthirsty nature of the wolf, and when it was combined with aggressive souls like Judd, it made an awful situation.
Thankfully, Judd turned in the opposite direction, heading west. “Hopefully he’ll stay there for a long while,” Freida breathed. She kept smoking her cigarette in silence, until it burned down to a roach. The hippie tossed it down on the snow, stomped on it, and carefully picked it up again. Even if she had a bad smoking habit, she would never turn into a litterer. How could she forsake Mother Earth like that?
Luckily, that seemed to be the drama for the rest of the day. The pack members went their own ways and started doing their own things. Freida wanted to get back to her conversation with Dimidian. The male had said something that she had just caught before the plate was sacrificed. She wanted to learn more about the cruel Goddess he bowed to. He was an interesting guy, and if she could just poke inside his head… She felt like he was one of the few people in the pack that didn’t look at her like a crazy, dumb hippie.
Freida’s wolf wanted to come out badly, but she forced it to stay inside. As much as she would’ve loved to romp around in the snow, she wasn’t quite ready for the pain that came with the shift. Besides, she preferred to go wolf when she was surrounded by her canine packmates. She’d save it for tonight’s bonfire.
Throughout the day, she kept checking the time on her phone. Five more hours. Four more hours. Three… To say Freida was excited for the bonfire was an understatement. They hadn’t done something like this in ages. It was the perfect night for it, under the moon and stars, surrounded by sweets and all her friends. Well, her friends and Judd. She hoped that the bonfire would smooth over the tensions of this morning. Even more so, Freida wanted to use this time to talk with her packmates. She’d felt a bit isolated lately, and she was really looking forward to reconnecting.
Her phone’s alarm went off, and Freida excitedly threw down her pen and shut her journal. It was finally time! She walked over to her mirror and even forced herself to run a brush through her wild hair. She kept on her trusty tie-die leggings, but she threw on a thick baja hoodie over her tee shirt. It was gonna be cold tonight.
Freida’s arms were drawn tight across her torso as she made her way through the woods. She loved the beauty of winter, but she was looking forward to the summer months where she could wear her light, flowy clothes and bask in the sun. She saw the inviting glow of the fire in the distance and immediately jogged towards it. She couldn’t wait to feel the its warm, welcoming embrace.
“Hey guys!” she chirped, not hesitating to get closer to the flames. Some were standing back, but Freida was eager to be near the center of the heat and attention. Judd and Aiden were giving each other a stare down, but nothing dramatic had happened yet. A soft smile crossed Freida’s face as she noticed Aiden’s little brother, Sebastian, sitting close to him. Sebastian was one of the newer guys to the pack, and Freida liked his sweet spirit. She let out an inaudible sigh, wishing that she and her brother were close. But it didn’t matter… Everyone in the pack was her brother and sister.
Fredia kept her hands reached towards the fire and inspected its structure. Samir set it up teepee-style this time, and it seemed to make the fire feel bigger, somehow. “You’ve got a nice fire going Samir! And a great idea too, we need to do this more often.” Something about it was magical, and she hoped that unlike this morning, the peace would last.
Sufficiently warmed, Freida made her way to one of the log benches. Just before she put her foot down, a grey mass caught her eye. She quickly withdrew her foot from where she’d planned on stepping. Good thing she realized that Dimidian had been laying there in his wolf form, before she’d stepped on his tail. That would’ve been embarrassing, for sure. “Oh, sorry,” she breathed, “didn’t realize you were there, dude.” His pelt blended in so well with the darkness. An uncharacteristic shyness suddenly overcame her, so Freida weaved her way around the large wolf and plopped down next to Sebastian. She gave the omega a friendly pat on the shoulder but couldn’t help glancing slyly over at Dimidian again. Trying her best to shake off the weird shyness, Freida glanced to her right and saw Sienna's wolf with a bag of marshmallows and chocolates. "Well, I'm starving, are we gonna roast some smores or what?" she prompted everyone with a smile. "I'll venmo you, Sierra, for the supplies!"Ｓｋｙｌａｒ Ｗｏｏｄｓ
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(rank). omega (location). gathering (mood). a little better and more confident (tags). Samir, Erika
What a day it had been. To her relief, others like Natasha and Erika jumped to the little omega’s defense. She hated the way Judd treated her but was too afraid to say anything. Maybe that’s why I’m an omega, she thought. However, her other packmates had her back, and soon, Judd was cleaning up his battlefield.
Erika seemed to linger for a moment, and Skylar caught herself glancing up at the girl. For the most part, the Icelandic girl kept to herself, so seeing her rush into the fray was quite the surprise. Skylar blinked and opened her mouth to thank the older girl, but before she could get the words out, Erika left in a huff. Judd followed shortly after, and that was it. Still sitting on the floor, Skylar took a few moments to process everything that had happened.
It was a tense situation, but no one had shed blood. Well… Skylar’s nose twitched as she smelled its warm tang and glanced down at her hands. In all the commotion, she hadn’t realized that she’d cut her hands trying to frantically sweep up the debris before Erika stepped in. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it was just enough to sting. Skylar quietly excused herself and made her way up to her room to bandage the cut. It wasn’t anything she was worried about – it should heal within a few hours. Now that she was alone in her room, she could let out the emotions that she so carefully kept bottled around the others. Hot tears of both pain and sadness trickled down her cheeks. Why did Judd have to humiliate her like that? Why couldn’t she just wake up and have a normal day and cook breakfast for everyone? Why did today have to be a full moon?
Skylar kept to herself for the rest of the day, trying to get more sleep in between asthmatic coughing fits. She had no energy to get up out of bed and no desire to see her packmates after the embarrassing scene this morning. However, around 5 o’clock, she checked her phone and saw an excited text from Samir. He’d sent it a few hours ago – she must’ve been asleep then. Still, she was glad she caught it and liked the message in the group chat. She wasn’t quite feeling up to a bonfire, but she knew that Samir would want her to be there. He was a great guy, and although she never said more than a few words to him, he always made her feel welcome. With any luck, maybe Judd would be too ashamed with his previous behavior to show up near the alpha.
However, Sky knew that her asthma would make it difficult to attend the bonfire. The cold air had been strangling her throat all day, the smoke from the fire wouldn’t make matters any better. With a sign, Skylar decided that going in her wolf form would likely give her the most relief from her symptoms. Her wolf still had a difficult time breathing, but somehow, her asthmatic triggers weren’t quite as severe while in her shifted form.
Shifting, unfortunately, would be the hardest part. Skylar rarely ever shifted, terrified of the pain that came with it. Though tonight with the full moon, Skylar could feel the beast, frenzied to get out. It was better now than never. Wishing to get it over with as quickly as she could, and in the comfort of her warm room, Skylar’s mind focused on what she wanted.
The pain shot through her veins instantly, and she slammed her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Soon, her pale hand started to gradually fade away, as it was replaced with tan fur sprouting out of her arm. Each prickle of hair coming through her skin burned, and every pop of her bones felt as if a bullet were going through them. Her shifts always took longer, since she was one of the least accustomed to them.
This painful process went on for another several minutes, until her wolf lay trembling and quaking. She opened her pale eyes, her surroundings coming in blurry and out of focus. She still felt extremely weak, but on the bright side, her lungs felt more capable of taking in breaths. Skylar rested for a few more minutes until the after effects of the shift had worn off, and then she gathered her paws underneath her and daintily climbed down from her bed.
Her wolf was hardly bigger than a dog. Like her human form, her wolf was delicate and petite. Her paws made it down the stairs, hardly making a sound. Even though she was small, Skylar could get around the house without making any sound -- that was as long as she wasn’t wheezing from her asthma, of course. The tan wolf slunk out of the house and off towards the forest. For once, she felt free and somewhat healthy. Tentatively, she broke out into a trot, enjoying the feel of the wind in her fur and the much-needed exercise. She felt better than she did in a long time. Maybe I should shift more often?
Unfortunately, Skylar felt a familiar twinge in her lungs as soon as the campfire came into view. She forced herself to a slow walk, trying to let her breath catch back up to her. So far, though, she wasn’t coughing and that was a blessing. Skylar flattened her ears in a sign of submission to her packmates, some of who were in their wolf forms as well. She let out a little woof of greeting, and then settled near the edge of the circle, as far from the smoke as she could get.
She let out a few occasional coughs and wheezes, but so far, she was doing pretty well. The fire’s heat felt soothing on her aching body, and the general chatter of everyone helped her feel more at ease. Skylar was careful not to meet the alpha’s eyes, but she gave him an appreciative nod. She loved how he tried to bring everyone together, and how welcoming he was. He was a kind leader who looked past rank and provided for everyone. Not many people were like him.
The petite wolf’s eyes traveled from their alpha and landed on an inconspicuous Erika, who was leaning against a nearby tree.
Ever since this morning, Skylar had been meaning to thank the pretty hunter. Being in her wolf form, it was a little harder to communicate, but Skylar was sure that Erika could read her body language and understand. But she was nervous… Erika was such a quiet and intimidating figure, and with her arms crossed, it didn’t seem like she wanted to be approached. However, Skylar felt bolder in her wolf form and forced herself to get to her paws and walk over to her. She sat down next to the tall girl and glanced up at Erika, with her eyes shining with more appreciation than she could ever verbalize. Thank you.
