WHO:Blossom, Tyler & Caroline WHEN: Backdated; July 19th; full moon WHERE: Tyler's Transformation Cave WHAT: Full moon transformation and watching over the wolf WARNINGS: None STATUS: Complete
Tyler was nervous. These last few months he was always a little high strung during the full moon - a combination of trying to keep his temper in check, which was much harder to do when the moon was full, and a dread of knowing that that night heâd be going through excruciating pain.
But this time he was nervous because of Blossom. She knew he was a werewolf, and she knew the experience was painful. But he knew that she didnât really know what the transformation entailed. Heâd considered for a while showing her the video his uncle Mason had filmed of his first transformation, but had decided against it because that would make it worse than it really was. Not that it wasnât awful, but the first change had been the worst by far. It had been three hours of mind-numbing pain. Now, the transformation probably only took about half an hour even if it felt like longer to him.
The way up to the cave wasnât easy, though now Tyler could navigate it with practiced ease. That had been one of the reasons Tyler had chosen it. If, by chance, he managed to escape his cave, he didnât want any hapless hikers to fall prey to him. Only an experienced mountaineer would try this path, if it could be called that. Or someone with enhanced abilities, and he was willing to help Blossom at any point that she needed it.
âThe caveâs spelled, thanks to our friend Bonnie,â Tyler explained to Blossom once they reached the plateau. âHumans can come in and out as they want, but a transformed werewolf canât pass the mouth of the cave so you both should be safe if you stay out here.â
Blossom had been curious, almost since heâd told her just what had happened, about how the transformation worked, about the specifics of it all, but she hadnât really wanted to pry. She knew it was a sensitive subject, that Tyler wasnât entirely comfortable discussing it all either. But she was willing to wait until he was ready to tell her.
Or in this case, show her.
The hike up was a little complex at times, but sheâd worn her âsensibleâ sneakers, light jeans to protect her legs. She could manage this without too much trouble, although she was grateful Tyler stuck relatively close so she could reach out when her feet caught.
âThatâs helpful at least.â It took the stress off Tyler too, knowing that he wouldnât be able to get out. âAnd if weâre standing guard, no one can accidentally wander in.â There should be no innocent little accidents that way.
This was Carolineâs first time at the cave since Bonnie had spelled it. Though if it was anything like the traps in their dreams she had a good idea of how it would work. Sheâd be lying if she said she wasnât curious to see it in person though.
âBlossom and I will be fine,â she assured Tyler. Yeah he had a strong instinct to kill vampires when he was a wolf but Caroline was perfectly capable of handling herself. It wasnât like this was her first time. And Blossom was human, or a superhero? Either way Tyler would probably go after Caroline first. And with the whole pink lightening thing she was sure Blossom could handle herself as well.
Tyler swallowed, looking at his two favourite girls in the moonlight. Maybe someday soon heâd be able to actually enjoy these full moons, when his hybrid powers crossed over. He couldnât wait for the day when this wasnât something he was going to have to worry about every month.
âAnd then breakfast in the morning,â he said, not letting any of his fear of the upcoming transformation carry into his voice. He leaned down to give Blossom a kiss, and then, when he could feel the transformation coming, he stepped past the threshold of the cave.
While he was still in control, he knocked back the wolfsbane potion that Lily had been making him, retching as the liquid poured down his throat like battery acid. He managed to keep it all down though, before the transformation started, twisting his arm and his back into an unnatural position, the sound of snapping bones ringing out in the air. He tried to bite back his cry of pain, but couldnât.
There were a lot of unfortunate parts to this transformation business, it wasnât like they tried to sell it in the movies, like it was bad at first but it suddenly stopped being that way with no explanation at all. But then the movies liked to have uplifting endings, didnât they.
Returning Tylerâs quick kiss, Blossom gave his shoulders a small squeeze as she did so, trying to give him an encouraging smile afterwards as he went to take care of his potion drinking, before the snapping noises made her wince.
It was bad enough knowing he had to go through this, hearing it was a little disconcerting, and Blossom could feel her heart spike a little at the desire to go and comfort him, but having to keep her feet planted where they were, her fists balling up tightly. âSo do you have the same appetite that he has in the morning after this.â Conversation, she could try and make conversation with Caroline to not hear the snapping and groans and pain coming from Tyler.
âIâll leave breakfast to the two of you,â she said with a smile. She didnât need to eat at least not regular food. Plus she had Peeta and Sonic to get home to.
Hearing Tylerâs bones break was still hard. Even for Caroline. And she had been doing this for a few months now. Plus sheâd seen it in the dreams. She could only imagine how difficult this must be for Blossom. So if she wanted conversation for distraction Caroline would give it to her.
âNot quite,â Caroline replied her eyes still on Tyler. âMineâs more for blood.â No point hiding it Blossom knew what she was. âBut I donât work up as much as an appetite as him.â She wasnât the one transforming into a wolf after all.
She really did hope that his transformation sounded worse than it was, but from the groans and noises, she doubted that was the case. âHowâre things going with your little hedgehog?â Blossom was curious, just as much as she wanted something else to talk about entirely. She guessed that hedgehog care was possibly easier than most animals (they were tiny and tended to not really get far right?) but probably wildly different from most pets.
So long as she could drown out the noise from the cave, sheâd be able to stick around through the transformation.
Caroline could tell the noise was getting to Blossom. Especially when Tyler cried out in pain every now and then. Not that she could really blame Blossom. It was a hard thing to watch. Especially for someone you cared about. Unfortunately it was something Blossom was going to have to get used to, if she wanted to be there for Tyler which Caroline assumed she did. But for now Caroline was here to help in whatever way possible.
âOh my god, heâs so cute,â Caroline gushed. She was a proud mama, even if it was to a hedgehog. âHe doesnât do a ton. Lots of sleeping. But I love putting him in random places. He fits perfectly in a coffee cup. Itâs just adorable.â She got out her phone to show Blossom pictures. Hedgehog distraction for the win.
It was a needed distraction, maybe because Blossom hadnât been expecting it to be like this. But a chance to focus on the adorableness of Carolineâs pet hedgehog at least let her distance herself a little from the fact that her boyfriend was having every bone in his body broken and reshaped to take on a painful transformation.
âI really never wouldâve considered a pet hedgehog, but he is so cute.â Maybe they could get Bubbles a hedgehog rather than a puppy.
Blossom kept swiping through the photos for a little while longer, pausing occasionally to âawwâ at whatever funny pose Caroline had put little Sonic in before she glanced back over her shoulder at the opening of the cave, since it seemed to have quietened down a little.
Tyler was still himself during the transformation, and through the haze of pain he was pretty sure he could hear the girls discussing Carolineâs hedgehog of all things. He fought down a wave of annoyance over their unworried chatter, and had to remind himself of how it had felt just seeing a video of Uncle Mason transforming. If it was taking Blossomâs mind off things, well, maybe it was better.
But the transformation itself didnât take that long. It wasnât easier, but at least it wasnât as drawn out as it had been the first month. Black fur grew from his body, and in the place of Tyler was a large black wolf, glaring out of the cave with yellow eyes at the two girls.
Lilyâs potion did work wonders. The wolf was a little drowsy, and may have been almost calm until the scent of vampire reached itâs nose. Locking in on Caroline, the wolf growled and then lunged at her with unnatural speed, only to crash into what appeared to be an invisible wall.
This was usually the part where Caroline took off. She stayed for support during the whole transformation part but once he was a wolf it was a little dangerous for Caroline to be around. However with Bonnieâs spell on the cave she could actually stay the whole night. And now she could support Blossom through watching her boyfriend become a werewolf.
âWow,â Caroline said as Tyler crashed into the invisible wall. âBonnie did a good job with the spell. Iâve only seen that in my dreams,â she told Blossom. âOnly it wasnât Tyler it was this guy Klaus. But I donât think Tyler has dreamed the part where Klaus is locked in a house yet.â And if wolf!Tyler understood what Caroline and Blossom were talking about then whoops. Caroline let part of his future dreams out of the bag.
All in all, it wasnât as terrible as Blossom had imagined maybe. And she sort of had visions of a much bigger, uglier wolf too, like those horror movies where they were somewhere between man and monster. Tyler was just more like a big, scary wolf than a hideous half-human, half-wolf thing.
Of course he sort of made sure they knew he was dangerous with the leaping and the crashing into the magic wall and stuff. âBut it holds okay, right? For Klaus?â And⌠if they could lock Tyler in a house, why bring him all the way out to a cave to lock him in? But then, big and furry wolf would probably tear the place to shreds trying to get out, and someone who didnât dream might see something.
âDo you think he knows what weâre saying?â
The wolf tried running through the barrier twice more before it gave up. Before Lilyâs potion, maybe he would have tried longer, but instead he paced the mouth of the cave, ears back and teeth bared.
Tyler had briefly considered doing the transformation in his apartment after Bonnie had mentioned the spell, but he had a lot of things in there that heâd rather didnât become oversized chew toys, and more than that, there was the issue of people hearing him crashing around, as they surely would. Besides, if, for some reason, the magic didnât hold, it was far better to be out in the mountains where he might hunt something innocent like a deer, instead of in the city where heâd undoubtedly be hunting humans or vampires.
His ears did flick toward Blossom at her question, but if he could understand her he made no motion to acknowledge it.
âYeah,â Caroline said with a nod eyes still on poor wolf!Tyler trying to break through the cave and get to her. It was a relief not to have to run off, but she wasnât going to let herself feel too safe. The last thing she wanted was to die of a werewolf bite. âAnd Klaus is way more powerful than Tyler so we have nothing to worry about,â she added trying to assure Blossom.
âI donât know,â she added. âIâve never really tried talking to him as a wolf before. And the only other time Iâve been here with someone was his first transformation. He didnât remember any of that.â But Caroline was pretty sure that was more due to the fact that it was still new for him.
It was very difficult to not want to test it, to see if heâd know them. But she wasnât that silly, and she took the warnings to heart. He was a werewolf, not an oversized dog. âI guess not remembering that wouldâve been preferable to what heâs likely remembering now.â Tyler had been relatively upbeat about the last transformation though, so Blossom was hopeful that at least maybe the pain of the shift wasnât that extreme.
âBut hopefully heâll be nearing the end of these, right? I mean, he said that hybrids donât transform, so he shouldnât need to go through this much more. Does that mean he wonât attack vampires as dangerously?â If Tyler was part vampire, surely that meant whatever went on with Tyler and Stefan wouldnât be a risk for Caroline or the others again.
Tyler was obviously not going to make it out of the cave to catch his prey, and while he could hope, he doubted theyâd just wander into the cave and let him take care of them there. And he was tired, no doubt because of the potion heâd drank before his transformation. He fixed both the girls with a stare before he retreated further into the cave and laid down; the only part of him that was visible from the shadows his golden eyes, reflecting the light of the full moon.
âYeah. If he becomes one he canât control when he transforms,â Caroline confirmed. And luckily Klaus wasnât around here to order Tyler to bite people. So there was no danger if he did become one. âHopefully that transfers over.â For Tylerâs sake. And hers as well though she wasnât sure how she would feel about it just because of that close connection to Klaus.
âBut anyway,â Caroline said now that Tyler seemed to settle down. âTell me whatâs been going on with you! Other than the dating a werewolf thing.â
With Tyler apparently settling, Blossom found that something slowly started to unclench in her, like the tension and worry ebbed away. Of course, it was possible that the conversation with Caroline helped that. Launching into her new found control over those lightning bolts was the first thing to broach on, before Blossom sort of steering things school wise and just let the conversation flow. It was easy enough, just talking for the sake of passing time really.
And Caroline was very good at finding a new topic if Blossom got distracted by the wolf behind them in the cave.
She was almost slipping to the side, leaning against the wall for a bit of support, while trying to keep telling Caroline about Mojo Jojo and how his plans were just so silly that she sometimes felt bad for foiling them. She was certain that theyâd be reaching the end of the moon soon, right?
The hours passed, and the wolf laid there, growling occasionally, loathe to let the vampire out of its sights. But with nothing else to do and the Wolfsbane potion calming his mind, he eventually fell asleep.
It wasnât quite dawn yet when Tyler woke up a few hours later, naked on the uneven floor of the cave. Heâd have been cold, but since the werewolf transformation he always ran hot, as though his skin was on fire. He stood and stretched, and then headed to the back of the cave where heâd stashed his clothing. He slipped on his his jeans, and then headed back to the mouth of the cave, his shirt in hand.
He approached quietly, and lightly touched Blossomâs shoulder. She looked about ready to drop, but he smiled at seeing her even so. He hadnât remembered managing to break free and tear anyone to pieces, and he was pleased to see that his memory hadnât lied. âYou talking about that crazy monkey again?â he asked.
âI havenât heard about the monkey yet,â Caroline insisted. But now that Tyler was awake, and fine and both he and Blossom had survived the night Carolineâs job was done.
âWell,â Caroline said clapping her hands together. âNow that thatâs over with Iâm going to head home,â she was tired. âYou two enjoy your breakfast.â And before either of them could protest Caroline took off at vamp speed. Not that she wanted to avoid them but she had a feeling they could use some alone time.
âHey,â at Tylerâs emergence, Blossom managed a very tired but genuine smile, wrapping an arm around Tylerâs waist, âheâs a silly monkey, not a crazy one.â Although sometimes she did wonder since he seemed a little unhinged sometimes.
Blossom was turning to tell Caroline that she would be more than welcome to come with them, but it was barely out of her mouth before the vampire was gone and there wasnât even dust left in her wake. âOkay⌠I mean, breakfast sounds awesome, if youâre up for a diner?â Because Blossom would be entirely unable to make anything today.
âRight. Silly,â Tyler corrected himself. He was more than a little surprised when Caroline just disappeared, though he couldnât say he was disappointed. He was sure that Blossom had some questions, and he was happy to spend some time alone with her to answer them. He moved to place his hand under her chin and tilt her face up so that he could plant a kiss on her lips. âIâm so up for a diner. And then maybe we can get some sleep.â
Blossom just leaned against Tylerâs very nice, solid chest to hum into the kiss, almost smiling against it too. Frankly some food and then some sleep sounded ideal for her. She was pretty glad that she knew what was going on if only so that she knew Tyler was doing okay through it all. She definitely had a bunch of questions, but she was more than sure she could wait until food and sleep were over before that happened.
âWell, how about that diner not too far from your place? Then we could go to yours and sleep a while and maybe grab lunch later and⌠chat?â Unless there were other plans that Tyler made, she didnât want to hog his whole day up, but she definitely wanted to be sure he got home okay. Even if he was the one that turned wolfie and got to sleep for a while instead of her, who had tried to stay awake the whole night in case something bad had happened.
Once they broke the kiss, Tyler wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, kissing her again on the top of her head. He rarely made plans for the day after a transformation if he could avoid it, partly because afterward he often felt like heâd been put through an ultra marathon and liked to have the day to recuperate, but heâd made extra sure to leave the whole day free so he could spend it with Blossom if she wanted to. âThat all sounds perfect, babe,â he said. âAnd donât hold anything back. Any questions you have, Iâll answer for you.â