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Tweak says, "Faeness Supreme!"

outdoorsymedic (outdoorsymedic) wrote in heureuxlake,
@ 2024-12-13 12:26:00

Entry tags:

Δ complete, Δ threads, → cole winthrop, → eric reed, ∞ 1997: 01, ∞ flashback, ◦ heureux lake

RP: First Full Moon of the Year (Flashback 1997)
Who: Eric (Werewolf) + Cole + Possible NPC Reed Wolves (Mentioned)
What: An Odd Feeling
When: 23 January 1997 (Full Moon - Wolf Moon)
Where: The Woods around the Heureux Lake
Warnings: TBD, possible bodily harm
Completion Status: Complete

The first full moon of the year was always his favorite. It held a certain sense of calm after the ball dropped at the beginning of the month and the chill that still clung so close to the ground through the woods had been more than invigorating even if he didn't feel it in this form. It was the rush of the wind mixing with the quiet stillness of the woods around him. Here he could keep the emotions swirling around him in check, break off from the pack and explore without his father roaring at him to stay close. What was the point? There was no one else out here among the woods who weren't Weres like them or shifters that took advantage of such a night. It was safe and he wanted to lose himself in it, and get out from under the thumb of Craig. It had become so much harder since they moved here even with him going through his paramedic training and striking out on his own. He didn't live at home anymore and his apartment had just enough room for him with an extra bedroom just in case Cappie wanted to crash and not have Amy hovering all the time. It was the hovering he couldn't stand that made him still feel like a new wolf at his first transformation and after feeling the agonizing pain as his body shifted and contorted in its form.

He felt alive so certain that the human side slipped away as he climbed and clawed his wave up a tree to get an undisturbed look at the full moon. He could feel the breath gathering in his chest staring at it, a wolf moon they called it. An old world idea, but the breath didn't lie and he exhaled in the purest howl he'd ever heard himself make. He needed to hunt and give into that instinct. He released long claws from the tree's trunk and leapt back to the ground, his paws digging to the cold earth. There was something close and he could sense it, something he could track easily and he ran into the direction while his mind filled the gaps. Whatever it was he was going to catch it and returned back after the first moon of the year feeling more like a wolf than he had since they'd moved here.

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clearmoon
2024-12-13 09:02 pm UTC (link)

Cole's youngest cousin was having another round of bullshit drama with her boyfriend-of-the-moment. She'd whined and whined not only for him to drive her to some party on the outskirts of the woods but also to wait 15 minutes in case she wanted to turn straight round and leave. Lucky for her, he wasn't doing anything. He'd been leaning against the side of his car for ten of those minutes, eyes turned towards the sky, before the cold seemed to seep into his skin.

He could've just got back in the car, where it was marginally warmer. He knew he'd only pass the time with a cigarette and he was trying to quit. Instead, he pushed off towards the woods, dry twigs crunching beneath his boots. As he walked, he tried to keep the moon in sight, more focused on angling around the trees than on anything that might be coming towards him in the dark.

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-13 09:19 pm UTC (link)

Human, whatever it was the smell was human but there was much left in him that told him to stop. Didn't they know there were werewolves in town? That you didn't go out into the Woods on the night of a full moon? His human mind was calling them every name in the book, idiot squarely among them. Most of them didn't know that depending on the moon it affected werewolves differently. He was low to the ground sprinting towards the scent hearing the laughter, and music playing softly underneath.

A twig snapped and his attention pulled towards the sounds springing towards the sound. One human was easier to explain away that a mauled group of them. He still should've stayed with the pack and his father's voice joined his own locked in his head as he pushed on towards the noise. A human had broken off and from the smell of him he wasn't all human.

Eric stopped short of seeing him in a clearing looking up at the moon. They did that staring at something that held so much sway over others just by existing. His breath heavy from the running and he pushed forward growling. If he knew what was good for him then he would rush back to the part and tell the rest of them tonight wasn't a good night to be caught in the woods.

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clearmoon
2024-12-14 01:02 am UTC (link)

The low growl made the short hairs on the back of Cole's neck prickle, twisting to stare in every direction until his eyes finally picked out the grey shape amidst the black shadows. His heart beat syrupy slow against his ribs, lungs emptying of breath that misted the night air. Muscles afire with tension, he took a step back. Was it play dead with wolves? Or run? It wouldn't be the first time Cole had tested the defensive runes engraved into the leather cuff around his wrist. While they'd saved him from scraped knees and twisted ankles, he wasn't sure they could protect him from this.

Making a snap decision, Cole whirled his back to the wolf. Every footfall echoed loud as a heavy door slamming. His car was only as far away as the road, but all too late it occurred to him to wonder if there might be more. He sprinted harder, drawing the predator further from the party. Curling as tight as he could around a massive tree, Cole tried to take in his surroundings, make sure he wasn't bolting straight into the heart of the pack. In the split second of inattention, his boot caught a tree root. Momentum carried him chest first into the ground.

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-21 11:23 pm UTC (link)

The growl seemed to have his desired effect. The man stood stock still in front of him, obviously afraid. He could smell it, but he didn't run right away. Curious. He took a step closer into the clearing. Seeing the man turn tail and run had the desired effect. Eric could feel the wolf pulling him towards the retreating man like a magnet. All he wanted to do was scare him, maybe teach him a lesson that full moons weren't safe for non-weres to be wandering around the woods.

He kept himself low to the ground following the man as he fled. Pulling back against the instincts that told him to sprint after his quarry and attack. He saw the root before the man did and watched as he tripped. The opportunity pulsing through him, it would be too easy for him now. Fear was evident in his eyes as he approached.

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clearmoon
2024-12-22 01:48 am UTC (link)

Cole flipped over onto his back and instantly regretted it. Looming over him, the wolf looked fucking huge, so much bigger up close than when he'd catch glimpses through the trees. Just as Cole was getting his elbows under him to push himself to his feet the beast closed the distance. Breath stopped in Cole's lungs as fear threatened to overwhelm him. Logic and panic were screaming at each other in his head; he couldn't move, and he desperately needed to move.

Everything felt slow, the mist of the wolf's breath taking an impossibly long time to rise towards the sky. Cole's attention went with it, catching on the moon glowing bright and clear through the bare branches of the trees. It had always called to him, even before he'd known about his father.

Now, Cole tried to call on it, to draw some of that power into himself. Except when it came, it didn't come from the night but from the wolf in front of him. Whatever it was, it passed through Cole's senses like vapour. He couldn't hold it, couldn't use it. "C'mon!" Sheer frustration pushed the word out of him.

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-22 07:41 pm UTC (link)

If Eric could laugh he'd be doubled over his form. Even warring against the wolf he was toying with the man laying out in front of him calling out to the moon. Should he just lick the man's face? Wait, calling out to the moon? His maw snapped shut and he looked back up through the trees at the full moon overhead. Who was he that he was cursing at a silent moon? Eric took a few steps back and sat with his eyes glued to the human.

Do something then. His thought came out in a bark. There was something going on that he'd never seen before. How was it that he was more curious than willing to push into the wolf instincts? The full moon was about being free. There were little repercussions for him in this form and yet here he sat tame as a house dog.

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clearmoon
2024-12-22 09:12 pm UTC (link)

Gaze still glued to the wolf, Cole's breath stuttered out of him as it sat. He wasn't stupid enough to think it was tame; there had to be something more going on. "You just waiting for me to run again?" He'd heard of Tarrytown's selkies racing human swimmers in the lake. Was it a were toying with him? If he made that assumption and was wrong, he wasn't going to last much longer.

Slowly, Cole got to his feet. It had only taken that one mistake to learn not to let his attention wander. Now that he could feel the moon's power hovering around the animal, it was impossible not to be aware of exactly where it was.

As he took a step back, another branch snapped beneath the heel of his boot. If he walked slowly, would the predator let him go?

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-23 02:17 am UTC (link)

He tracked the man as he scrambled to his feet. If he was honest with himself he didn't know what he was waiting for. He'd never seen someone reach out to the moon that wasn't a witch or a were and one of those groups didn't have a choice. He'd been howling at the moon earlier but there was an exasperation in the man's voice and he could hear the frustration in a prayer unanswered.

He dug his paws into the ground in front of him and huffed out another bark. It sounded petulant to him, but it would only sound like a wolf making a noise to the human. The branch snapped and the wolf urged him forward, but his hackles stayed down. It was curious. A few more steps and the distance was closed again and nudged at the man's hand. Eric tried to express his skepticism as best he could, there was something different about him but without proof it was nothing more than a diversion from a game that he'd managed to play over the course of the night.

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clearmoon
2024-12-23 03:16 pm UTC (link)

The wolf getting to its feet froze Cole where he stood, but it didn't seem to be attacking. When the wet nose nudged against his hand, a breathless laugh shuddered out of him. He kept very still, counting it as a win that he so far hadn't lost any fingers. "Feels weird to pet some dude I don't know," he muttered. "Or chick. Sorry, I dunno how to tell the difference in wolves." Maybe he did know them in human form? That would make this whole interaction make much more sense.

Now that he was suddenly thinking about the number of werewolves in Tarrytown, Cole could hear faint howls echoing in the distance. There were definitely others around. Whatever power Cole had felt when he' called out, he wasn't sure it had actually done anything, and he didn't know whether it would work on a group bigger than one. Heart just barely beginning to slow, Cole asked, "Want to walk me back to my car?" He didn't take a step back, waiting for the wolf to give him some indication he could move.

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-23 11:26 pm UTC (link)

He may not have been able to tell but he guess correctly the first time. Eric scoffed and shook his head. He wasn't asking for pets or scratches. He just wanted the man to perform whatever magic he was trying to invoke.

Eric heard the howls of the packs before the human did. There was something important standing in front of him. A human with a connection to the moon? Whatever he was, it would have to be shared. Eric's tongue lolled out of his mouth nudging his hand again. There was still the entire pack to contend with. Really the man owed him, if someone else found him then it wouldn't have been as neat. Eric scoffed again pointing in the direction they came from.

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clearmoon
2024-12-24 12:40 am UTC (link)

Following a werewolf deeper into the woods was potentially the stupidest thing Cole had done in a while. On the other hand, not doing what the deadly predator obviously wanted him to do might be just as life-threatening. Besides, he was curious. He'd gone looking for answers about his mom's witchcraft and not really found any. "Guess it's time to find out what I inherited from Dad."

Moving a bit less slowly now that it seemed the wolf wasn't going to take any wrong move as an excuse to fight, Cole still stepped carefully in the direction they'd both come from, towards the clearing where he'd had the best view of the moon. "This would feel a lot safer if I were immune to being turned wolf." For all Cole knew, he was. Máni showed up every year around Cole's birthday, but that didn't mean he'd been forthcoming about what his son could do. "No offense," he added, "being a wolf would just fuck up my job prospects."

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-24 05:11 pm UTC (link)

Dad? What did his father have to do with any of this? Eric glanced back up at the moon shining through the trees. It would be too weird that the man walking beside him was some son of a god, right? He knew gods and demigods existed, but the offspring of a moon god seemed niche and weird even by Tarrytown's standards. Eric kept his head down following the sounds of people and music he could hear through the trees. The man's parentage wasn't his problem though he wanted to tell him not to test out the theory while staring down a wolf.

Again he wanted to laugh, make any noise at the man's words. Instead he clicked his teeth together before breaking into a wide smile. As far as he knew no one had any natural immunity to being turned once bitten but the man was perfectly safe now as they wound their way back to where the cars were parked. Eric scoffed, he wanted to be offended but his paramedic work suited him. Besides, being 'sick' because you turned into a wolf once a month was more than enough of a reason for him to take advantage of days off. The world knew they existed, and that included having to accommodate their sudden absence around the full moon.

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clearmoon
2024-12-24 11:12 pm UTC (link)

The party was too far away for human ears to hear, so Cole headed straight to his car, relieved to see no cousin standing near it expecting to be taken home. He could still feel the moon's influence around the wolf, like it was hovering there, in a way he definitely hadn't noticed before. Maybe whatever he'd done had convinced the were Cole wasn't prey; he didn't want to test whether that also applied to others. Especially not others he cared about.

Cole was pretty sure the were could understand him, which didn't give him any clues about what to say. Running a hand over his hair, he shrugged. "Cole Winthrop." He gave his address, too; it was easier to remember than a phone number. Maybe the wolf wanted to drop by and explain any of this shit, or just take Cole to task for whatever it was he'd done that had stopped the wolf attacking him. "If this is as weird for you as it is for me, we can have a beer."

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outdoorsymedic
2024-12-29 12:27 am UTC (link)

Again Eric huffed, shaking his head. There was no telling whether or not he'd remember the name when he shifted back to the hot paramedic that disappeared once a month. He didn't broadcast it to his coworkers, but human resources knew otherwise he would've been fired a long time ago. He lifted a furry brow. An address, really? That was entirely too much information to be given while a wolf and he hoped it didn't push out the name he just heard.

At the mention of beer he licked the man's hand. If he didn't remember the name then he would at least remember the face. Catching him unaware in a bar felt almost more fun than in the woods looking to the moon for help. But after a night like this a beer sounded like a perfect end if he had the will to pull one from the fridge in his apartment.

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clearmoon
2024-12-29 01:11 pm UTC (link)

Cole had not entirely dropped his natural human wariness of wild predators, but deciding that the lick was the wolfy equivalent of a handshake, he laughed. "Good to meet you too." He hoped whoever it was would find him one day, if only so that Cole could confirm for himself that this was really happening and not some kind of moon-induced hallucination. (Who knew, maybe that was the power his Dad had passed along.)

"Alright, getting off your territory now before the rest of your pack find me." He slipped into his car, winding the window down so he could watch and give the wolf one last wave as he turned around to head back home. Given all that had happened, he decided he deserved a cigarette after all.

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