The Universe's Mixer

Looking over his spells one last time, Howl nodded in satisfaction. Between his books and his own training, he felt sure this was it. Or as close as he was going to get. That little voice in his head nagged that he couldn't be sure, and to not set himself up for disappointment. There was really no predicting the City's influence. By now, he'd already begun to think there was some sort of consciousness behind it. There had to be, or why would someone like him have been brought here? It couldn't be coincidence that one of the greatest wizards known to his world was abruptly relocated here.

( The time had come to contact Jareth. )

The giant wolf seemed uncaring of the havoc it had wrecked over the City proper. One bite was all it had taken, and its curse, its disease, was spread over the whole place. Those untouched were lucky. Or skilled in keeping themselves safe. But the wolf didn't care. It didn't think of any of those who had turned as its children. Or its responsibility. It didn't seek them out, or even acknowledge them when it saw them.

It stuck to itself. Being out of the zoo had been scary at first, but then it had discovered the park and the rest of the places that it could go. It roamed in both its wolf from, and that of the man. Having stolen and stashed clothing in its cave made it a lot less noticeable to the people who encountered the man. They didn't stare and point and giggle when there were clothes involved, and that had been a lesson learned very quickly.

Mostly, it was a wolf at night. Because it could get away with moving around a lot better in the darkness. There were less people about, and less brightness to give away its position. Its dark coat hid it very well. Night was when it hunted, but during the day it managed to find other food. None meat foods. Things that it wouldn't have thought of trying before escaping the zoo and its keepers. Apples. Vegetables. Oranges. It stole these things, as it didn't have the paper or metal things that the humans exchanged to get them.

Observation taught the wolf much in its short time out. It liked to learn. It liked to try new things. It liked this world outside of a cage, on the other side of the bars from the ridiculous fake environments. It didn't want to go back. It knew that they were looking, though. It knew that it had to be careful.

This night, it left its cave only after smelling the breeze that came in from the outside for a long while. Making sure that there was nothing out there to see where it came from. It didn't want anybody or anything to know about this cave. It was pretty sure it could take out any rivals, but it knew the people from the zoo would have other ways of bringing it down. Things that it wasn't used to having to fight against. It didn't want to face those things.

Once out in the park proper, the wolf stopped to smell the air again, deciding which way to go to hunt tonight.

Jack was still adjusting to City life. He’d met some strange people and working in the mayor’s office at City Hall had certainly been... educational. Some of the complaints that came through the mayor’s office were absolutely bizarre and almost inscrutable. He’d never heard so many wild stories, and coming from someone who lived in Wonderland, that was certainly saying something.

He’d stayed late at the office and was now walking home in the dark again. The last time he’d done that, he’d met a very strange character. He was hoping that, this time, his street wouldn’t move on him and that he wouldn’t meet anyone. That would be better.

Apparently, the cards were not in Jack’s favor tonight. There was a snarl as he passed an alley and the next thing he knew, inhumanly strong hands were dragging him backward into the alley. He struggled against the grip, trying to free his hands and wishing he was carrying his sword.

( Fred was trying to figure out her place in the world. )