Crashing the encampment party Who: Zania, Lily, and Mickey Where: The club, then the werewolf camp When: Early evening
Lily was headed in the direction of Zania’s club, eyes perpetually darting up towards the sky. The sun had begun its descent and there was absolutely nothing she could do to keep it sitting pretty where it was, in all its blazing glory. She was full of so many different emotions that she could barely function. She’d spent most of her day with Lochlan and despite them both being under intense stress with what the night held for them, they had an amazing time together. She had received a text from Mickey not too long ago asking if she’d like to have dinner tomorrow night, a whole nother kind of stress building within her about the conversation that she was going to have to have with him about that.. it was something she would deal with later. Unless something bad happened tonight, then there would be absolutely no dinner because she wouldn’t be leaving her house. She wouldn’t even be leaving her bed. Any distraction she had managed to afford herself previously had begun to wear off as the entire reality of the situation hit like it hadn’t before. She thought she had fully wrapped her mind around what was to come, but with each hour that drew closer to the rising of the full moon, the more she realized she had just begun to really get it.
She looped around to the back of the building, noticing a door propped open. She walked in slowly and looked around curiously. She hadn’t had a chance to actually see the club indoors yet; this would have been incredibly exciting if she didn’t have a dark cloud of doom hanging over her. “Hello? Zan?” She didn’t hear a response, so she continued further in until she spotted some bottles of wine and glasses. She was drawn to them like a magnet and looked around, still not seeing anyone. She took the liberty of pouring herself a rather large glass with the bottle that was already uncorked, bringing the glass to her lips as she continued to hold tight to the bottle’s neck. She took a few steps over to a nearby window, the darkness that had tinged the surroundings being completely unsettling. She couldn’t be here, not right now. She took several large sips from her glass before downing the rest of it, immediately pouring herself another. She didn’t take her eyes off the sky once.
Zania couldn’t leave for her club until the sun was fully behind the trees. At least she wasn’t far from her own house, being stuck at Lance’s all day, and she was able to swing by there, shower, and change clothes. It didn’t take long, not with her dreads and her inability to see in the mirror, hence put on makeup. It was just starting to get dark when she arrived, and she called out to Lily as she came in, a bottle in her hand, her portable stereo in her bag. “Lily, you here?” she asked, pushing the door open the rest of the way and turning on the lights.
Lily jumped as the lights came on, having adjusted to the darkness as it had settled around the club. She turned from where she had been standing, glass now empty from her second serving. Taking a few steps in the direction of where she had heard Zan's voice come from, she called out in return. "I'm here." Her voice was shaky, uncertainty heavy as she contemplated what to tell her about why she couldn't be here to help right now. She could always say she just didn't feel well, but she didn't want to tell such a big lie to someone she considered a true friend. And in all honesty, she wanted Zania to go with her. She didn't know what she would be experiencing tonight, but she knew she wanted someone there with her that she trusted. She waited until Zania came into sight, mustering up a smile. "Hey girly." She held up the bottle she still had in hand. "I owe you some wine."
Lily seemed a little shaky, but that might’ve been because Zania snuck up on her. She wrote it off and moved on, sure Lily would say something if need be. “Hey,” Zania smiled, taking in Lily and the half finished bottle of wine. It made her glad she’d brought more, since Lily had already started in. “That’s okay. I brought more. Plus, you’re here to help. I might have used the wine to tempt you.” That and the company. They rarely worked the exact same shift, so it was nice to spend some time together. Tonight was one of the few nights that Eatzy’s was closed for the night, a rarity for a 24-hour diner, but Zania thought it was appropriate.
Lily nodded warily, wondering if this was the time to start the conversation. Should she wait? No, she shouldn’t wait. Then that would prolong the inevitable and there’d be less time to find the damn camp. “About that…” She looked down to her empty wine glass, chewing lightly on her lip. “If I were to tell you something that sounds crazy, would you think I was crazy?” That question kind of answered itself, but she hoped at least a little bit of what she was trying to say would get through to Zania. As best it could in all its vagueness.
Zania raised a brow and wondered exactly how much wine Lily had had to drink. She knew where statements like that usually led and she could make a guess, but she wasn’t going to pave the way if she was wrong. “Depends on what you say, but probably not. There’s a lot of crazy in this world these days and I’ve found I’m a little more accepting of the possibilities.” Even before the zombies, she’d kind of believed in voodoo and witchcraft. Now anything seemed possible.
Lily hesitated, unsure of how to approach this. She had had a little bit of an inclination with Lochlan due to their previous conversation, but hadn’t had to breach the topic of werewolves prior to that. She decided a pretty direct approach might be the most effective, so she dove head first into it with a deep sigh. “How do you feel about werewolves?” She eyed Zan’s expression carefully, trying to pick up any sign on whether her friend was going to tell her to have another glass of wine or was really willing to listen to.
Zania sighed, then gave Lily a small smile. Talking about werewolves was far easier than talking about what she was. They had this in common, both their brothers being bitten. “Jack told you?” He should have, but Zania wouldn’t have told him what he should or shouldn’t do. She just thought that Lily would better understand how to be safe if she knew what was out there. Also, Zania couldn’t imagine keeping something like that from her brother. She’d have been annoyed if Justin had tried to keep it from her.
That was not the answer Lily had been expecting. It took her a moment to process what Zania had said, blinking at her several times. "What? You know, too?" Apparently she really was the last one to know about all of this. She wondered if she was aware of the existence of vampires, too. "Did he tell you?" She asked curiously, relieved she at least didn't have to do any convincing for her to be taken seriously. It would certainly save a lot of time.
“I kind of saved him from a wolf attack,” Zania said with a little smile. It wasn’t something she would brag about, but in this case it was very much the truth. “And my brother also got attacked, so I’m kind of in the know. Except for the part where they were building cages. No one saw fit to fill me in on that part.” And it still annoyed her. She wanted to go down and make sure they held up, that her brother wouldn’t end up fighting with the other wolves or rampaging across the town. “I didn’t know if he’d told you, though, so I didn’t want to bring it up.”
Lily’s eyes brightened when Zania shared that she had saved Jack, immediately reaching her arms out to wrap around her. There really were no words to express how grateful she was for Zan being there and putting herself in harms way to help her brother, so she wanted to show her feelings through action instead. She nodded her head as she pulled away, “I just found out today about the cages from.. a friend.” She wasn’t sure what to call Lochlan. He certainly wasn’t her boyfriend yet, but she considered him to be much more than just a friend. For simplicity’s sake for the moment, however, she settled on friend. “So wait.. Justin is a werewolf, too?” She brought a hand up to rub at the back of her neck, surprised at how many people she knew that had this going on. “I was thinking.. maybe we should go out there?” She hesitated, waiting for the backlash she had expected would transpire over her suggestion.
Zania smiled as Lily embraced her, appreciating the gesture even if she wasn’t asking for it. She’d just been at the right place at the right time and they were all lucky for it. Being a vampire also helped, as did feeding Jack her blood, even if she hadn’t known exactly what it would do. It prevented him from dying, which was the real objective. “You didn’t find out from Jack or Mannix?” she asked, surprised, but then not. Justin hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with the information either. “Yeah, everyone who was bitten that didn’t die is now a werewolf, including Justin.” His injuries had been minor compared to Jack’s, but he’d healed fast as well, even without vampire blood. “We could go out there,” Zania said hesitantly. “But it’s dangerous to be out tonight.” She’d also been looking forward to working on the club, but she knew she wanted to check it out as well.
Lily shook her head to Zania’s question, listening to her continue on. She wondered just how many people had been attacked and survived, who all would be going through a life changing experience come time the full moon rose tonight. She didn't blame Zan for being hesitant, not even a little bit. Lily fully understood how dangerous this excursion could be, but couldn't stand the idea of not being there for Jack through this. Whether he liked it or not, she would be there because that's what big sisters are for. She stooped to rest the wine glass and bottle on the ground, glancing back to Zania as she stood up straight again. "I totally understand if you don't want to go, and I don't want you to get hurt. I have to be there, though. I'm not going to be any kind of help right now." She quickly continued, "But I promise, I will help with settings things up here whenever I'm not at the diner. You have my full attention after tonight." She lifted her hand in a pledging fashion. "Scouts honor." She really hoped she wouldn't be upset at the last minute change of plans.
“I am not letting you go out there by yourself,” Zania said, picking up the wine bottle and drinking straight from it. Lily had at least one glass in her and Zan just wanted to even it out. She definitely didn’t want to get drunk if they were going out tonight. “We’ll do it another night. I’ll have a painting party or something and we’ll get it pulled together fast.” She wasn’t worried about finding people to help out; she’d just thought a girl’s night would be fun. Maybe it still could be, even if it was completely different. “Do you have a weapon with you, or do we need to stop by your house?” she asked, setting the wine bottle back down. “You know, they’ve probably shifted by now. Jack might not even know you’ve been down there. Unless he smells you.”
Lily sighed a breath of relief. On one hand, she was nervous at the idea of putting Zan in harm’s way. On the other, she figured she could handle herself pretty well if she saved Jack’s ass from a wolf. “Weapon? No. Not with me.” She honestly hadn’t even thought to grab one since she was so on the fence when she had left her house, but even now she didn’t like the idea of using anything on anyone. How would she know if it was Jack? Or Lochlan? Or Justin? Or someone she didn’t really want to hurt? She looked back to the window she had been gazing out previously, peering to see where the moon sat in the sky. “You think they already have?” She chewed lightly on her lip, turning her focus back to Zan. She figured Jack might be able to sniff her out if he wasn’t too preoccupied, but she wasn’t thinking too much on the aftermath of how mad he was probably going to be right now. “We have to hurry. Do you need to get anything from your house?”
She wasn’t thrilled to hear that Lily was wandering out at night without a weapon, but Zania figured she could protect her well enough. If the wolves came at them, then they’d deal with it, but hopefully they were all locked away in their cages. “If it’s based on the moon rising, yeah, my guess is that they’ve changed.” Into what, she wasn’t sure. That was the part that made her nervous. “I’ve got my machete with me, and my wind up lantern, so we should be good to go.” She could see well enough in the dark, but she figured shining a little light on their path would be a good idea, since she doubted Lily had the sense of sight that she now had. “Anything you need to pick up at your place?”
Lily took a few steps in the direction of the back door they both entered from, anxious to get moving, then stopped. “Do you think they’re going to need stuff to cover themselves with after? Did they think to bring clothes?” She wasn’t sure why she was asking Zania these questions as if she would have an all knowing answer. “Maybe we should stop at my house really quick for blankets or some shit.” She scrunched up her nose. “I wonder if they’ll be hungry or thirsty..” She mumbled the last part more to herself, continuing her movement to the door. “Do you know where the camp is?” She looked over her shoulder to her friend, holding the door open for her and taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.
“I think if they’re wearing clothes when they turn into a wolf, whatever they’re wearing will be ruined,” Zania said with a little laugh. She didn’t know if Justin had thought to bring clothes with him. A part of her was amused by the idea that he hadn’t, but that’s what he got for not including her in the preparations. Still, she didn’t think he needed to be wandering around town naked in the morning, amusing as that might be. “Let’s swing by for blankets or towels, but I’d hold off on the food. Make ‘em come by in the morning and eat with you or something.” She just wasn’t sure that taking food down to the wolf camp was that good an idea. In fact… “I should warn you, I’m not willing to get that close to them. I want to see how it’s going and all, but I think it would be better to keep some distance.” Mostly because she knew how werewolves made her feel, and she was pretty sure she did the same to them. “I think I know where it is. Down by trader’s circle.”
Lily snapped her fingers at Zania’s suggestion of just making Jack eat with her in the morning, lifting her pointer in the air afterwards in a declarative manner. “I like the way you think!” She slowed her walking pace slightly, contemplating how close she was willing to get to the cages. She wasn’t looking to tempt fate by sticking limbs in there, but she wasn’t sure what she would do if Jack appeared to be in any kind of pain or torment. There would be no thinking, she would just act. Really, it was probably better that they missed the shift if it had happened by now because it just didn’t seem like the most comfortable experience life had to offer and Lily would have hated to have to sit by and watch helplessly. “Alright. My house then we’ll head right there. You up for a jog?” She had picked up her pace again, ready to sprint if Zan gave the word.
“I was just thinking that leaving food down by the cages was a horrible idea,” Zania laughed. She imagined ants would get to the food before their brothers did, plus, there was the issue of putting food just out of a wolf’s reach. She didn’t want to see if they’d break through their cages in an effort to get to it. Picking up her bag, including her machete and lantern, Zania gave her a nod. “Sure. Ready when you are,” she grinned. It was going to be hard to match Lily’s pace. When Zania ran these days, she moved ridiculously fast. It was a perk, unless she was trying to look human.
Lily could have laughed at herself. “So that’s why you wouldn’t let me come by myself. I come up with the most brilliant ideas to start werewolf riots.” She realized as they were no longer within the walls of the club that she should probably keep the terms werewolf, werewolf camp, and anything else out of the ordinary to a minimum. She turned in the direction of her house, picking up her movement to a jog before breaking into a full run. She was kind of working against time here, even though there was plenty of it with night having fallen not so long ago. Unfortunately, that fact didn’t ease up her anxiety about getting there as soon as possible.
“Yeah, taunting the caged wolves with food didn’t seem like the way to go,” Zania grinned. Werewolf riots. Hopefully that was a joke. If they got down there and the cages were broken open, Zania was going to make Lily sprint back to her house and lock herself in the rest of the night. When Lily took off, Zania set off beside her, easily running without even losing her breath. In fact, the reason she breathed at all was instinct. “Why are we in such a hurry?” she asked as they ran. “They’ll be there all night, right?”
Lily kept herself at a steady pace, maintaining her breathing easily as cardio was a big part of her life. She glanced momentarily to Zania as she asked why they were rushing, fighting the urge to frown. Every second she wasn’t there was a second something bad could happen; at least if she was there, she could try to do something. Possibly. “I’d just feel better if we were there like.. five hours ago.” She allowed herself to get a few more breaths in before speaking again. “Did Justin mention anything to you about these knockout serum things that are there? Incase someone breaks out or lashes out or something?” No matter who had their hands on the serum, she didn’t like the idea of them at all.
Zania wasn’t sure what they could have done then or now, so she didn’t press it. The reason she wanted to go now was to see what they were dealing with. Did those that were bitten double in size and become some kind of hybrid human-wolf monster? Did they turn into giant wolves? Did they maintain any of their human minds while changed? And lastly, did they change at all? She had a lot of questions that could only be answered by going down to the werewolf camp. “A knockout serum? No,” she frowned. “But if anything like that exists, I’m guessing Nic might know about it. Want me to call him?” If they were trying to knock out the werewolves, she hoped that someone with medical knowledge was handling that part. Otherwise things could get even worse.
Lily’s eyes brightened at Zan’s offer to call Nic, hopeful that he would have information in regards to the serums she was so wary about. “That would be great.” She was beginning to get a little winded, a small cramp creeping it’s way into her leg from not stretching prior to the impromptu workout. She ignored it, trying to remember everything she was told about it. “Lochlan said that.. a doctor had dug.. into their medical files to make specialized ones for every one of them.” She took a minute to regulate her breathing again before continuing. “But the doctor’s one, too. So.. I don’t know who’s going to have control over.. whatever the hell it is.” Thankfully, her house was in sight. Had she not been so distracted with everything else happening, she may have found it odd that Zania seemed to be breathing normally, as if they were out on a casual stroll. But luckily for her, Lily was focused on where the items she was going to grab for the boys were so they could get in and out in record time.
“Yeah, Nic’s dating the doctor, so he should know what’s up. Let me give him a call,” Zania offered, digging her phone out of her purse as they ran. She really wished someone would keep her in the loop on things like this, but she supposed they didn’t think to, since she wasn’t a werewolf. “Hey, are you down at the camp?” she asked when Nic answered the phone. There was a pause as he answered, then she continued on. “What do you know about these knockout serums? Lily just mentioned ‘em to me.” She listened through Nic’s explanation, glancing over at Lily with a little smile. It was probably the best answer she could have gotten. “Yeah, we’re coming down. See you then.” Hanging up the phone, she dropped it in her bag, then turned to Lily. “Nic said Micah came up with the tranquilizers and they tested them on Micah beforehand, but they haven’t had to use ‘em. Things are under control.”
“Perfect!” Lily was glad she had mentioned the serums, answers to all the questions she had flashing through her mind about them would be lovely. She remained as quiet as she could when Zan had reached Nic, unable to hear his responses but assuming that the information was good since she seemed to remain pretty calm. Once she was off the phone, Lily was relieved to hear things seemed to be going well so far. Some of her worries that something had happened in the meantime had faded, but she knew that didn’t mean that they were in the clear. She continued to push herself, taking two steps at a time up her porch and scrambling for her keys to unlock the front door. She held the door open, appreciating the chance to really catch and regulate her breath for a moment before continuing inside. She didn’t pause to invite Zan inside, assuming she’d just follow along behind her.
Zania followed behind Lily… or she tried to. She’d been inside Lily’s house many times in the past, but not once since becoming a vampire. When she tried to walk through the door, she ran into an invisible wall that knocked her back as if she’d run into a real one. Zania paused, looked towards Lily who’d continued on inside her house, assuming she’d follow. “Can I come in?” she called out, hoping that it just seemed like a polite question, rather than a request for admittance.
Lily stopped moving, glancing back as she heard Zania call out. She furrowed her brows, puzzled why she was asking permission; she’d be here before, she knew she was more than welcome to come inside. Then, the pieces clicked together like a puzzle. She turned back towards the door to face her, thinking back on how she had been suspicious at the diner the other day but wrote the thoughts off as paranoia. “Zan.. you can come in.” If she was a vampire, she wasn’t worried that she would hurt her. Her head was spinning at the idea, though. If someone told her a year ago nearly everyone she was surrounded by was some type of mythological creature, she would have brought them to a mental institution herself. But here she was.. one brother a vampire, the other a werewolf, friend a vampire, and close friend a werewolf. What was next? “Anything.. new going on?” She tilted her head to the side, unsure if she wanted to blatantly ask the question on the forefront of her mind now.
“Thanks,” Zania smiled, stepping inside the house. It wasn’t that she was trying to keep things from Lily, but that she wasn’t sure how Lily would take it. Clementine had been a doll, almost weirdly so, and she didn’t expect everyone else to be the same. She also didn’t know if Mannix had come clean to Lily about what he was, even if Lily knew about Jack. They were two different things in her eyes. A vampire was a bit scarier when the thought of drinking blood came into the equation. “Um… no?” she blinked. “I mean, I’ve got my club, and I’m kind of seeing this guy, but not really, and I think I’ve finally decided on a tattoo or two.” But she didn’t think that was what Lily was asking. She’d been so focused on the werewolves that it seemed an odd time to catch up. “Why?”
Lily knew now was not the time to have the I-think-you’re-a-vampire talk. They would probably have some time to talk later tonight, assuming tonight would be quite long for the both of them. For now, she chose to focus her attention back on the immediate task at hand and the points she brought up herself. “Who are you seeing?” She took a few steps back, motioning for Zan to follow along as she moved to her room so they could talk. She went to her closet once inside her room, digging under a small pile of miscellaneous things until she pulled out a beat up, dirty looking backpack, the one she had traveled with outside the dome. She didn’t like looking at it, but she kept it in case she’d ever have to be on the move again. “And what tattoos are you getting?”
“This guy Lance,” Zania said, biting her lip for a second. She knew he was supposed to have a drinking party with Lily and that he’d skipped out. He could just as easily do the same to her. “I don’t know that I’d say we’re seeing each other. I don’t think he’s the type to commit to anything. But something about being around him makes me happy, even if I’m pretty sure he’ll eventually break my heart.” It was better than being around Mickey, who broke her heart every time she saw him. He’d seemed like such a good guy, but the things he said and did pulled her in such opposite directions that she couldn’t stand it. “As for the tattoos, I want to get lines up the back of my legs with bows at the top of my thighs. And the word ‘bulletproof’ along my ribcage.” She also wanted words on the bows, but she was still deciding on that.
Lily had worked at brushing the backpack off, reaching to pull several light blankets off the top shelf of her closet. She was glad that her back had been to Zan at this point as she went slightly pale for a moment. She had definitely gotten over his standing her up since she met Lochlan because of it, but she was incredibly concerned they had flirted while he and Zania were seeing each other. Talking. Whatever it was they were doing. “How long has that been going on?” She tried to ask casually, unsure of how she felt about Zan with Lance. From their conversation, he didn’t seem to be interested in any kind of relationship.. but maybe Zan would change that for him. She just wanted her to be happy, more than anything. Blankets in arms, she smiled softly at the visualization of the tattoo possibilities Zan had come up with. “Those would be super hot.” She nodded her head to back up her own statement, working at getting the blankets neatly rolled to fit in the pack.
“Not very long,” Zania said, watching Lily carefully. She couldn’t see her expression, but she could hear her heartbeat, and she got the impression Lily wasn’t impressed. She supposed she wouldn’t be either. “I met him the night before you did. He was drunk on my moonshine when you found him. Since then he came into the diner and we chatted, then I hung out with him all day today. He was kind of depressed and I wanted to cheer him up.” And in return, he’d cheered her up. It usually didn’t work out that well, but in this case it was nice. Talking about her tattoos was an easier conversation and Zania smiled. “Thanks. Now I just have to find time to get them.” And face December, as well. She hadn’t seen the girl since the night she found out about vampires and she’d kind of been dreading it, though not as much now that Serge clarified that December was not hunting her.
Lily had relaxed some, mind working over the timeline Zania had painted out. In her opinion, it was safe to assume that they hadn’t really established a thing when she had met Lance, so Lily decided she was in the clear there. She managed to get four blankets squeezed in the backpack, not concerned with space since it had been decided that supplying a camp full of werewolves with just a few servings of food was not a good idea. She stood and threw the bag over one shoulder, working her arm through the other loop so it would be secure enough for the second half of their run. Knowing the distance was a little longer, she made the mental note not to push herself too hard. “Do you need anything before we leave?”
“No, I’m good,” Zania said, not as concerned about Justin as Lily was about Jack. It helped to know that Nic was already there and would have said something if there was a crisis. For her, this was about solving the mystery of what the werewolves became on the full moon, and being there for Lily. Just to be prepared, she went ahead and got out her machete and the lantern, knowing it would be dark in the forest even with the full moon overhead. “So, I don’t mean to be nosey, but are you seeing Mickey?” she asked with a little smile as they headed towards the door. “I saw the two of you at the diner the other day as I came on shift.”
Lily hadn’t been expecting a question about Mickey from Zan, glancing to her with surprise before she moved a hand up to adjust the right strap on her shoulder. “Oh, you did?” She held the front door open for Zan, pulling it closed tightly behind her once they were both outside. “We hung out last night. I guess we were kind of seeing each other?” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “But I met someone else that I’m kind of serious about.” She remembered Mickey mentioning that he and Zan were friends, looking to her from the corner of her eye to see if she reacted in any kind of way to that statement. “I feel really bad, ‘cause I know he had a bad experience with some girl before. It’s not that I don’t like him, I just.. I don’t know, there’s something really strong between Lochlan and I.” She had had a case of verbal diarrhea, all the thoughts and feelings on the subject coming from her mouth without really thinking about it. Who said a good girls night couldn’t happen on the night of a full moon, with werewolves and cages and camps and machetes?
“So you’re seeing both of them?” she asked, raising a brow. Zania wasn’t sure how she felt about that and tried to look at is as Lily’s friend, not Mickey’s. Her relationship with Mickey was complicated enough as it was. “Okay, so as your friend I’m going to say pick the one you feel strongly for and stick to it. Don’t string them both along. And don’t keep things going with Mickey just because you feel sorry about his last relationship.” God, why had he told her about that? Zania wasn’t going to expand on it, since she didn’t know how much Lily knew. The less, the better. “If you saw Mickey last night, when did you see Lochlan? How on earth do you have time to manage them?” she said with a little laugh. And Lance would have been in the mix too, if he hadn’t skipped out on her.
Zania’s advice was exactly what Lily needed to hear. She had gone round and round about it in her mind when she was able to pre-occupy herself with something other than the night’s events, but hearing someone else say it kind of solidified it for her. She cared enough about Mickey to be honest and not lead him on if she wasn’t going to be fully invested, even if she was worried that it would hurt him. “Ahh..” A chuckle came from Lily as well, bringing her hands up to rest on either side of her face. “I sound terrible, don’t I?” She honed in on Zania’a question, “I met Lochlan last night before Mickey and I hung out. He works at O’Reilly’s.” She dropped her hands back to her sides, picking up her pace just slightly. “Then we ran into each other this morning on a run, and ended up spending most of the day together.” She glanced up towards the moon again, wondering how he was doing. “He’s going to be there tonight.. werewolf status.”
“No, no, I didn’t mean you sound terrible, I just mean the longer you draw it out, the more likely you are to hurt one of them. Or both of them. Mickey’s a really great guy, and I’m sure Lochlan is too. I know it’s probably hard to choose, but, well, you usually have to,” she said with a smile. Guys might not want to choose either-- in fact, she knew a few who liked to keep multiple girls on speed dial-- but they rarely liked to share a girl with another guy. She was a little surprised to hear that Mickey had gotten over December so quickly, but she supposed it was easier with a distraction like Lily around. “You must be close if he filled you in on tonight. Any way you’ll know which one’s him?”
Lily nodded her head thoughtfully, leaning towards her to playfully poke Zania in the ribs with an elbow. “You little well of knowledge and wisdom.” A small smile made its way onto Lily’s lips when Zania mentioned that they must have been close, still surprised herself how fast they had connected. A piece of her was worried that maybe he was so open with her because he wasn’t entirely sure he’d even be making it out of this alive, but she tried not to overthink it. What they shared felt so authentic, she would be heartbroken if it was all apart of some doom mindset. “I don’t think I’ll be able to tell.. to be honest, I don’t even know if I’ll know where Jack is. Unless they keep certain characteristics, maybe I could figure it out.” She tried to imagine what would make the most sense to continue to shine through a transformation, but it was hard to guess without knowing what exactly they were changing to. “Do you think you’ll be able to know which one Justin is?”
Zania laughed, jumping a little when Lily poked her. She'd never had a sister, but sometimes she thought that if she had, she would have wanted one like Lily. There were few people she got along with as well, who seemed to genuinely like being around her. Maybe it was because when she was with Lily, she tended to fall into a good mood if she wasn't there already. "I think I'll know," she said, looking over at her with a small, secretive smile. She knew she'd know because she knew her brother's scent. She didn't think she had the sense of smell that a werewolf did, but she was sure that she'd know him from the others by that alone. "If I can figure Jack out, I'll tell you him as well." Jack would be harder to identify, but he was still familiar.
Lily smiled softly as Zania offered to try and help her figure out Jack, curious as to if they would be successful or not. She wasn’t sure she would focus on just one of the.. wolves? Man beasts? Either way, she thought it would be terrible to hone in on one thinking it was Jack or Justin or Lochlan, and then come to find out it wasn’t them at all. “I hope everything is still okay.” She rubbed at the leg that had started to cramp up on the way to the house, looking over to Zania. “Up for another run?” She knew to pace herself better for this one since stretching her muscles would take more time than she believed she could afford for her mental health. In the end, she knew the anticipation of what was waiting at the camp would be enough to push her through until they reached their destination, though.
"I think Nic would've said something if it was bad," Zania said hopefully. She didn't like heading out to the woods on a night like tonight, but her curiousity was going to get the better of her eventually. It was Lily she was worried about and her ability to keep her safe. "Sure, I can run, but we might want to slow down when we have to head into the woods. I'm sure there's a path, but there's also more to trip over." That had to be why every girl in every horror movie fell when she decided to run into the woods. Often she wondered why they just didn't hide in the dark, but she figured logic wasn't going to win out when it came to movies like that. At least this wasn't a movie. Hopefully those rules shouldn't apply.
"But what if something happened after you hung up?" Sometimes Lily wished she could be one of those people that just didn't care, but she knew she never would be. Worrying and her were just two things that went hand in hand, at least when it came to those that she cared about. She nodded to show she understood why booking it through the woods should be avoided, taking a breath before picking her pace up to a jog, then a steady run. She held her backpack tight to her by gripping the straps as she moved, glancing over to make sure Zania was with her. "Do you think you'll be able to maneuver through the woods okay?" She doubted she would be the most graceful, the wine she drank beginning to catch up with her. What a bad idea that was.
"That's true," Zania said with a little frown. She supposed something could always happen and, if it was truly an emergency, Nic wouldn't call her immediately. She also suspected Micah was Nic's first priority, not Justin. It wasn't that she wasn't worried about what might happen there, but that she doubted there was anything she could do to stop it if it did. Her objective at this point was keeping Lily safe, since she didn't think Lily could manage on her own. "I'll be fine. I can see better at night than I used to. Which I should probably tell you about sometime," she said, giving Lily a little smile. She really should tell Lily what was going on, but was now really the time to do so? She didn't think so.
Normally, Lily would push for an answer after a statement like that, but this circumstance wasn't normal and she knew they both needed to keep their full attention on the task for at hand. "I would love to hear about it." She pushed herself to sound as warm and inviting about that talk as she truly felt about it, hopeful that the persistent worry of right now wouldn't get the best of her tone. Even if Zania hadn't been confident about leading the way, Lily would have requested for her to as she could feel the warm fuzziness of alcohol settle within her sight. "How far do you think we are?" She asked curiously, losing track of their current location.
Zania would love to give her the whole story another time, when it was a bit more appropriate. She knew Lily was focused right now and she didn’t want to take away from that, so she nodded and continued on, leading the way through the dark with her lantern. When Lily asked how far they were, she stopped and listened. She heard voices ahead… and growls. It sent a shiver up her spine, even if there was nothing threatening about it. If the werewolves had been attacking people, she figured she’d be hearing a different kind of chaos. “Not far,” she said continuing on. “We should be coming across them any time now.”
Lily had slowed her pace before coming to a full stop after Zania, taking the opportunity to catch her breath. Once Zan's feet continued moving, however, Lily followed suit. She brought a hand up to rest on her forehead, preparing herself to be on the lookout for any pesky roots or low hanging branches. Just because she was on the lookout didn't mean she would be able to avoid any clumsy stumbling, though. Miscalculating what was meant to be a careful step, she still managed to trip over her own foot and stumble forward towards a tree. Mumbling an obscenity, she regained her footing and continued forward with intentions of remaining as quiet as possible, despite the annoying sting running up her arm from a sharp branch catching her during her stunt.
Mickey had been at the encampment most of the day, only missing a few hours to catch some sleep because he knew he’d be up all night and he knew he had plans to work on Zania’s bar in the morning. He’d seen almost everyone come in though and the transformation, which was surprisingly...not what he expected. Things were actually rather tame considering. There were wolves, but that was it. Just wolves pacing in cages, making noises, but not really getting anywhere.
It was easier though, making the shotgun strapped across his back and the knife at his belt useless, for the moment at least. Or until he heard someone approaching from behind. He had the gun in hand pointed at the noise in the clearing, ready to scare off anyone who shouldn’t be there, or deal with anything that wasn’t just a wanderer.
Zania saw a flash of metal in the moonlight and sped to stand in front of Lily, moving faster than any human should be able to move. Her eyes were sharp in the darkness, and she took a deep breath, trying to confirm the scent. There were wolves around, distracting her, but this one should could identify anywhere. “Mickey?” she called out. “It’s Zan. And Lily.”
Lily was disoriented while she recollected what had happened in the flash of what seemed like a second. She hadn't even realized the one that had darted in front of her was Zania for a few good minutes, frozen where she was with both caution and bewilderment; if there was any doubt within her as to Zania wanting to talk about her seemingly new abilities later, it was immediately erased after witnessing that. She was finally able to articulate one of the questions coming to mind, this one seeming to be the easiest question to answer. "Mickey? What the hell are you doing here?" She began pushing her way through the remaining brush that she could see, her leg falling victim to another bloodthirsty branch. "Wait, are we here?" Once through, she attempted to dart around Mickey to eye what exactly was going on with the encampment and the werewolves within it.
“It’s me,” Mickey told Zania, half lowering the gun, but it was still in his hand when Lily burst into view and for a moment it came up again, then he let it drop. “No. No, no, no,” he said, one hand already on Lily to steer her out of the way. “No way are you here, you’re going home. Now. Zania, take her home. And stay there.” He had a feeling Zania was going to tell him to shove it about staying away, but no way was he letting Lily stick around this. What if it got worse? Not a chance.
The scent of blood hit the air and Zania turned to look at Lily with annoyance. Had she stopped even trying to be careful? If she could smell the blood, then so could every single creature in those cages, and who knew if they were blood-thirsty or not? “You’re bleeding,” she told Lily, glancing down at her leg before turning back to Mickey. “She was going to come with or without me. Let her at least see what happened and I’ll take her back,” she argued. Mickey was in no place to tell her what to do after that, but she’d still make sure Lily got home safe.
Lily smacked at Mickey's hand out of instinct, her mind registering it as another obstacle to overcome before she would get to see her brother. When she actually stopped to process what was happening and being said, she spun to face Mickey and Zania fully with a frown. "No one is taking me home. I'm staying until they're back to humans." She pointed violently towards Mickey's gun. "So put that thing down before you hurt yourself." She wasn't even going to think about the fact the shotgun had been pointed at her just a minute ago. "Where's Jack?" She crossed her arms, also choosing to ignore the fact she had come out of the woods conspicuously scathed.
Mickey was already reaching for something to stop the bleeding on her leg, handing her an old scrap of cloth that he carried like he always had. Mechanic habit. “Before I hurt myself?” he asked, raising one eyebrow, but letting the gun fall back across his back and out of the way. “You aren’t staying. You’re going back in case this nice little passive encampment turns into a war zone and I can’t protect you.” He looked at Zania. “You already know this argument, but for the sake of everything I’m making it again. Go home. This one is actually dangerous for you.” Except it really wasn’t all that dangerous considering the worst of the wolves seemed more annoyed that they were locked up than anything else. “Go home Lily. Jack’s fine. I’ve got him. And the others. This is not safe.” Not until he made it through the night.
Zania shot a glare at Lily for her behavior, annoyed that she was making declarations that she didn’t think were all that intelligent. Why did she think they should stay through the morning? Zania couldn’t even stay that long. Did she think there was something she could do to help them? “I thought you just wanted to see what was up and leave blankets for him,” she said before turning to Mickey. “Is it really actually dangerous, Mickey? Do you know that for a fact?” she said, a bit annoyed that he’d make that decision for her without letting her see what she was up against. “I won’t get too close. They’d smell me. Probably already do. But I want to see what I should watch out for,” she said, creeping closer.
Lily shook her head, physically showing she wasn't intending on budging on this one. "You don't have to protect me, I can take care of myself." She did accept the cloth that he had offered, placing it gently on her leg before applying some pressure to stop the bleeding. "Thank you." Her tone softened, glancing up from where she had been inspecting herself just in time to catch Zania’s glare. Her decision to stay had been so spur of the moment, she could see what the look was for. "I'm sorry. You don't have to stay.. I'm sure Mannix is around here somewhere." With Jack being here, she doubted their older brother would be far behind. "You saw me back at the club and on the way here. The only way for me to not freak the fuck out tonight is to be here." She pointed outwards towards where the cages were set up, as if it wasn't obvious what she was talking about. "Please don't be mad." Her eyes pleaded to Zania as much as her voice did, glancing back to Mickey for a brief moment. "I'm not leaving."
This was what Mickey got for being a nice guy. If he could be more like Mannix he wouldn’t have to deal with this. At least Zania was looking at Lily like she was insane. That helped matters. “If I had to take a guess at what could take you out, it’d be one of them,” Mickey said, though the wolves weren’t really that threatening looking. At most they were abnormally large, but not like car-sized. Just bigger than pets. Instead he turned towards Lily, watching her with pleading eyes. “Take care of yourself how? This is what I do, I handle these sort of things. I did it out there and the tiny black haired girl over there has roped me into it again, but I will not be able to do that if I’m worried about something happening to you. Please. Go. Let Zania get you there. This is calm, but we have no idea if they’re all here or if there are others out there. I’d rather know you’re safe for dinner tomorrow.” He was trying to be nice, letting the stern slip away even if that was the tone he’d used with Zania. Lily was different. The last thing he needed was her getting ripped up because he couldn’t move fast enough.
“Your brother can’t stay till dawn any more than I can,” Zania told Lily as she looked out at all the cages with a bit of wonder. She had truly expected monsters in the cages, the kind that walked on their hind legs and tore everything apart in it’s path. “They’re just wolves,” she said with a little smile, glancing back at Mickey and Lily. “Like the ones that bit them.” And though she really hoped those hadn’t been human before she killed them, at least she knew what she was dealing with. “You know I killed three of those things, right?” she told Mickey. “One with a poker iron and two with a machete. And these might be different, but I can probably outrun them if nothing else.” She didn’t want to find out if there was a difference, since that would mean killing someone, but she liked to think she could handle them. Even if that was wrong. Zania turned back to Lily. “If any of these are out and roaming? They really can kill you, Lil. They almost killed Jack.”
Lily swallowed hard at the mention of dinner tomorrow night, realizing it would be a real asshole move to show up and have the talk she was planning for then. "We should talk before.. that." She shifted her attention back to Zania, easing up slightly on the cloth she had applied to her leg. "They're operating off the full moon, right? Once that starts to go away, they should start going back to normal.. so that will probably be around the time you and Mannix have to be gone by." She eyed Zan as she spoke, hoping she registered exactly what she had been saying about needing to be gone by daylight. Zania’s attention to the werewolves and her statement on how they looked quickly pulled Lily's attention away, trying to take a few steps closer to towards the direction of the cages themselves. She didn't turn around when given the sensible warning from Zan, too fixated on trying to get to Jack. If she could figure out which one he was, that is. Finally, she broke her gaze to return back to Mickey and Zania. "If there are rogue werewolves running about, I'm safer being here. Who is to say one wouldn't make its way into my house and attack me there?" Safety really wasn't a priority for Lily at this point. She was more just looking for a reason to calm Zan and Mickey as quickly as possible.
“Yes, I remember. You told me,” Mickey told Zan, with a look that clearly said stop smiling. “I also think these ones are smarter than those and I remember not being okay with you fighting those either. It’s just me. I know you’re going to ignore me, but I say it anyway.” He looked at Lily, her eyes on the cages and fought the urge to visibly show is annoyance. “Because Mannix and Zan can’t stay is why people like me are here. To keep things in order. I’m not entirely sure you are safer here. I don’t feel good about that.” Her first comment filtered through and without meaning to let it show his features fell a little. “Talk about what? Did Mannix say something?”
“I’m not ignoring you, Mickey. I’m also not looking to pick a fight with something that could potentially be human,” Zania said, smile fading a bit, but not too bothered by his scolding. She didn’t mind him wanting her to be safe, but it annoyed her that he seemed to think her helpless… and that he seemed to be fine with December being out there. “You’re not safer here,” she said, turning directly to Lily. “I don’t recall hearing of anyone that was attacked in their homes. Almost everyone was attacked outside. The wolves sustained multiple gunshot wounds and still kept coming. They were not easy to kill.” She might have enjoyed it and been successful, but that didn’t make it easy.
Lily’s patience was quickly fading. She appreciated the concern from both sides, but being told she couldn't do something she had already set her mind to never ended up well. Besides, this wasn't just a matter of pride; she was going to be there for Jack, no matter what came at her and no one was going to hold her back from that. She knew that in all actuality, she wouldn't be able to do much if something were to happen, but knowing that she could have tried and didn't would push her over an edge she wouldn't be able to come back from. She wasn't going to put herself in that position and she wasn't going to lose another sibling, if she could help it. "No, Mannix doesn't even know anything yet." She glanced around, curious as to where he was, before focusing back on Mickey. "We'll talk after this, okay? I'm not going anywhere, so you can focus on this until everything's back to normal." She made a point to stress that she wasn't going anywhere, taking a few steps back from Zania and Mickey and closer to her destination. She wasn't planning on killing anything, so the fact that the werewolves were hard to kill meant little to her at the moment, even if it should have. "Let's see if you can find Justin. I'm going to look for Jack." Her gaze had shifted to Zania, her resolve remaining strong.
It wasn’t so much that Mickey thought of Zania as helpless, but more, if she was out of the mess, she was safe. He liked that thought process better. “You need to listen to Zania and me,” he told Lily, wishing she would. Though how he was supposed to focus on anything with the ‘we need to talk’ hanging over his head, he had no idea. That was just going to weigh on him all night. He caught her shoulder before she could even consider moving and steered Lily towards the others. “No, no you’re not. If you stay, you stay with Zania and you stay here. With the others. And I’m protesting it the entire way.” It wasn’t so much that he was giving in to her resolve, he just was almost certain she wasn’t listening to him. “Jack’s there,” he said nodding towards the right cage. “Justin’s there.” He’d seen them all as human go in and remembered where they were.
“What are you going to do once you find him?” Zania asked Lily, since she’d always assumed that the point was to find her brother, make sure he was okay, then go back home. Because what was she going to do? Zania could think of a lot more productive things to do than sit around and watch caged wolves… like paint her club. When Mickey pointed out which was Justin, she smiled a little, watching the wolf in the cage. It really was amazing. “They just shifted? Did they seem in pain? I don’t want to get too close in case they react to me.” If it was just Justin, she’d take the chance, but there were too many werewolves for her to risk riling them up.
Lily narrowed her eyes at the question of what she would do once she found Jack, lifting her hands out of aggravation. She didn’t know why she needed to explain she wasn’t going to let her little brother go through this transformation by himself. It didn’t matter that there were at least a handful of other people going through this right now too, or that there were others at the camp; these people weren’t her or Mannix or the people who should be there for him right now. “I’m going to watch and make sure nothing bad happens. You both are so convinced things could go haywire, I’m not going to be anywhere else right now.” Her aggravation subsided when Jack was pointed out by Mickey, her eyes brightening once she fixated on him. At least he didn’t look like some terrifying beast. She turned her attention briefly to Mickey, curious about the answers he would supply to Zania’s questions. “Did anyone seem to struggle at all?” She added, confident he’d mention pertinent information about Jack and Justin, but also hopeful that things went as well as possible for Lochlan too.
He shook his head. “Didn’t seem to hurt anyone, just...no longer people,” Mickey said. “Couple of howls, but nothing awful.” He kept his hand on Lily’s shoulder, holding it a little firmer. “You stay right here. It’s more than Zania riling them up. I don’t want anyone. Right now, everything is fine but we haven’t really tossed people at it yet so we have no idea how that might change things. So you stay here.”
Zania nodded, glad to hear that none of them seemed to be in pain. That was one of the things she’d worried about, though it definitely wasn’t as high on the scale as them being monsters. Seeing the wolves was such a welcome relief that she thought about taking a seat just to watch them. In her opinion, if Mickey was safe, so was she. The problem was, she’d never get Lily to go home if she settled in. “What’s the plan for in the morning?” she asked instead. If she couldn’t get Lily to leave, she might go check in with Nic and ask Mannix about how the wolves had reacted to him. She doubted Mickey had spent a lot of time talking to him, even if they were both there.
Lily smiled softly at the notion that the transformation seemed as though it didn’t cause pain. Of course, she wouldn’t know for sure until she talked to Jack and Lochlan, but just the idea that they might be okay was enough to perk her back up from her previous state of constant worry. She knew there was still some night ahead of them, though. Anything could happen. She looked down to Mickey’s hand on her shoulder, up to him, then sighed. She would stay put for now, not really having the choice to wander off because she was confident Mickey would chase her around and carry her home himself if she went rogue. “Fine.” She sounded less than thrilled, not liking the idea of having to watch from afar, but at least she was here. She couldn’t complain about that, not with how hard she had to fight just to stay.
Finally. It wasn’t much but it was a start. He still wanted Lily to go home. Not to mention her being her and their need to have a talk of some sort was weighing on him. And it was taking over most of his thoughts. He considered asking her right then and there, but he didn’t think that she was going to tell him. “I’ll be here until morning. We’ll let them out, send them home and then I’m coming by your place to get keys for the club,” he told Zania.
“If Lily’s going to stay here, I may go back and work on painting,” she said, turning back to Mickey. It looked like the situation was under control, and she wasn’t going to waste her whole night watching wolves pace back and forth in a cage. “Call me if you decide to go home and I’ll come get you,” she told Lily, then looked to Mickey. “And you call me if something happens down here. I don’t want to have to wait till I’m stuck in my house to find out.” That was the most frustrating part of being a vampire-- being completely useless once the sun came out.
Lily nodded her head to Zania, guilt plaguing her for bailing out on their plans. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” She really did mean it when she said she would work day and night until things were ready to go, but she knew she needed to do a little more than just that too. She supposed she’d have plenty of time think of something tonight. She reached out to hug Zania before settling back in where she was, contemplating ways she could break away just for a few minutes to get closer. She didn’t know that she would be successful, but she decided she at least needed to try.
Mickey hated that Zania was leaving, but he nodded. “Just keep the doors locked,” he said. “And I’ll see you in the morning. You can show me drawings.” He looked back at Lily, and let out a sigh, not sure what to do with her. He wanted to see her, and the sight of her had him wanting to smile, but now he was just worried about her. And what she needed to tell him.
“It’s okay,” Zania said, hugging Lily back. At this point, she was getting used to people disappointing her. It really made more sense to get the job done herself. No one really wanted to stay up all night painting, even if wine was involved. She just hoped Mickey didn’t back out on her because she couldn’t build the bar on her own. If it meant paying him double, then so be it. “You two be safe,” she said, giving them a small smile before heading back the way she came. “Night, Lily. See you tomorrow, Mickey.”
Lily bid Zania farewell with a small wave, quietly looking to Mickey as Zan disappeared out of her sight. The closer they got to this anticipation over the full moon coming to an end, the more it dawned on her how difficult a decision she had before her. She turned herself to face the wolves, instead. Now was not a good time to have this conversation, not when Mickey had to be focused on what he was doing and not while she was half distracted on ways to get to Jack without spooking anyone. She brought a hand to rest on the back of her neck, chewing lightly on her lip as she stood in silence and pushed everything else out of her mind. She was here for Jack, and he was the only person she needed to be concerned with right now.