the moon pleaded stay

Kai enjoyed museums, it was the most frequent thing he visited when he entered a city. That is what had him inside Astoria’s Natural History Museum. What excited him most about this place is the prospect of there being more supernatural history within it. Normally he had to make decisions or pull from his own knowledge from his time on earth about what things were supernatural and what were not inside buildings such as the one he stood in at that moment. “I am sure they will have them out as soon as they can.” He answered the man, who likely was not talking to him. “Funny, I have journals from the seventeenth century dating to the present, I wonder if they would be worth something to historians.” Kai laughed, never having thought about it until that moment looking at someone else’s journal. It would be strange to have his personal history spread out for the world to see. He wasn’t sure he’d like it much. But, then again, maybe he wouldn’t mind if it educated someone.

―

“What?!” the response came out a lot louder than Teddy had intended, in part because of the surprise of being heard and because of what the man had actually said. “You’re kidding,” he started but this time at a much lower volume. There wasn’t a rule that you had to be quiet in a museum, but it certainly wasn’t conductive to the primary purpose of being there which was absorbing the artifacts in front of you. “That would be amazing - and that’s me speaking from a purely academic point.” If Kai had known Teddy, it would have been an absolutely bold-faced lie. There was as much personal interest there for him as there was an academic one. He began to babble, “Would you let me see them? Wait - no, I’m sorry, that’s really rude. I don’t even know your name. I’m Taerin or Teddy whichever you prefer.” 

Naturally she tilted her head back, letting her eyes close as the water trickled through her blonde strands. The feeling reminiscent to when her grandmother would wash her hair as a little girl, stirring an odd sense of comfort within her. — One that was easily lost at the mention of the very thing she’d been subjected to becoming.

The uncomfortability had rolled off her shoulders, possibly prompting the question and causing her brows to knit together, “uh- yeah it’s fine- “ the moon was admittedly the last thing she ever thought she’d come to fear in her lifetime. Her ex had peddled and sold the werewolf life so well that it was something she’d romanticized. But nothing about to the excruciating shifting and rearranging of bones had been the fairytale he painted. “were they trying to figure out how to avoid a turn?” clearly they hadn’t found the answer, though she desperately wished they had.

―

“Something like that.” With her hair wet enough, Teddy shut the shower head off, moving to grab the shampoo and conditioner in the shower caddy. His hands quietly worked through the blonde hair, almost like it was second nature. “There’s always been a community of the supernatural that’s been willing to support one another, but I understand why people would want to find some kind of ‘cure’ or kill switch to transforming.” He had thought about it himself in the back of his mind, especially early on. It was less of a physical appearance thing and more of a safety mechanism, but his searches had turned up nothing. “I think they ended up resigning themselves to the fact that it was going to happen one way or another,” his eyes widened slightly as he quickly went to adjust his tone. “Not that I want you to think that it’s all doom and gloom. I think it's really more about the mindset you take on the whole situation.”

location: anywhere outdoors open: @astoriastarter··

After this, Samara was never again doing anything nice. Nope, she was done. She’d thought the husky was lost, it seemed to just be wandering around. But she could see the glint and hear the tinkle of a tag attached to the collar on it’s neck. She bent down, but as fingers ruffled through the fur in an attempt to grab and read the tag, Samara felt the familiar shiver. “Really–?!” Words were cut off as hands became paws, and Samara shook her now fluffy neck, letting out a grunt. The stupid moon, and its influence over everything. Maybe others would have been able to shift into an animal so easily, but it was something Samara had practiced rather a lot. She liked herself, and really had no interest in shifting into other people, so she’d always practiced on animals, so it almost came to her even more naturally. She attempted to shift back, but to no avail. However, if she’d learned anything over the last few days, it was that the shift would wear off eventually on its own. Eyes opened to see the other –the real- husky disappearing down the street, no doubt spooked by the transformation. And Samara couldn’t blame it, honestly. Now she just had to keep out of sight until this wore off…however long that took. 

―

Teddy wandered around the corner just at that exact moment that the original husky rounded the corner. As they did Buddy, his golden greyhound, ear’s perked up at the very sight of the other dog. His owner was a lot less perceptive, apparently lost in thought about the part of his thesis that he’d been stuck on for the better half of the day. It was only when Buddy began to tug lightly on his leash that he looked up, noticing the husky. “Oh - ,” He cast a glance around for any other sign of humanoid life but not finding any, began to approach the husky slowly. Maybe they had just gotten out from a nearby house? There were stray dogs in every city, but this one didn’t seem to be a stray with the way its far was. Teddy stooped down, getting to eye level with it and giving it a friendly smile. “Hey there...Are you lost?”

If there was one thing that never got old for Teddy, it was visiting Astoria’s Natural History Museum. When he had first moved here, it had been one of the first places he had made a point of visiting and promptly buying an annual pass. When his colleagues learned about it, they had told him that he would have been given one from the university but he had been too enthusiastic about it and too impatient to wait. And yet here was almost three years since he had moved to Astoria, and it was still one of his favourite places to go even just to sit and think. But this time he had gone for a specific reason. The museum had finally completed its preservation efforts on journals that had been unearthed in the 16th century, and he’d be anxious to take a look at them. He peered at it in wonder through the glass. “...I wish I could actually see the other pages,” he breathed, mostly to himself and under his breath.”

Laura wasn’t one to grace salons often, but she was almost certain Teddy was right. Her naturally wide gaze following his, “I don’t mind getting in,” her shoulders had lifted into a shrug despite the slight awkwardness that had rolled off her friend as a result of the suggestion. With him opening up his home to her they had spent too much time together for her to take his words any other way than with the intention to help; a small, grateful, smile capturing her lips as she carefully climbed in and took a seat in the tub. 

Already sporting a shirt she had no qualms about getting dye on– what was some water? With her knees drawn to her chest due to the confined space, she waited for Teddy. “What was the paper about?” the blonde piped up, conversationally. Laura liked to hear Teddy talk about the things he was reading up on, storing away little bits of knowledge from their conversations just for the fun of it, “you said it was confusing,” for a brief moment she threw her glance over her shoulder  before training her head forward again.

―

As soon as Laura stepped into the tub, Teddy looked somewhat skeptically at the scissors on the counter before trying to arrange his expression into something that looked a little more confident with what he was about to do. He started the shower, grabbing the shower head down and turning the water to warm before motioning for her to tilt her head back so he could start washing it for her. 

There was something to be said about silence that made Teddy mildly nervous. He suspected it had started with standing in front of a large lecture hall and being met with confused silence at a question he had posed during his first several years as a fledgling professor. But he had grown used to the quiet that had come with Laura moving into his apartment. If anything, it had become comfortable for him. He was surprised though when she piped up asking about his paper. “It was an observation from this werewolf scholar from the 19th century. It was about the phases of the moon but I was comparing it to the lunar phases now. Does the water feel okay?” he asked when Laura turned back around.  

“Sometimes thinking too hard about something can take you in the opposite direction you were hoping you would go.”

“I think so.”

“I don’t know. Not having to worry about full moons would be nice, but otherwise my quality of life overall isn’t that bad. My friends, family, and colleagues don’t treat me any differently so there isn’t much to complain about.” 

“Uh...no. No I haven’t told her. I’ve thought about it a lot but haven’t said it yet. I think you always want the person you love to reciprocate the feelings but I’m happy with what we have now. I’m in no rush. And it’s up to her if she does feel that way about me.” 

“Ahahaha...Sara? I’m kidding. Not really. I’ve always enjoyed the smell of cedar.”

“I would normally say no. But after what happened this last full moon...If it came down to it, maybe. But I hope it never comes to that.” 

location: teddy’s apartment status: closed | @bongtaerin·

Elizabeth waited a few days before heading over to Taerin’s apartment. Considering the last time he had shown up at her place with soup, she had decided to return the favor. Though hers were something from the Crescent kitchens, but it was still tasty. Aside from returning the gesture and checking up on him, there was another reason she felt the need to talk to him. And while she still debated about mentioning said-thing to him, she didn’t exactly plan on airing out her concern with her other friends. Knocking on the door, she smiled when he opened the door and held up her care package of food. “Thought you might want some food–courtesy of the hotel. Brought a soup and some pasta that has been getting good reviews from our guests.” She paused, wondering if she was rambling. Elizabeth hoped not. “And I wanted to see how you were doing if you were up for company?” 

―

It had been a hell of a week. Teddy’s entire body seemed to ache. Actually, not his body. His entire being. He had always thought that his students were exaggerating when they said things like that, but this time, he really felt it. Losing Blake, Santi getting shot, Leon going missing, and not one but two fights (the one with Sara hurting much more than the physical fight he got into) - all of it had piled up resulting him taking sick leave from the school. The faculty had understood of course. He was so grateful for them. But it still didn’t help matters. So when he saw Elizabeth at his door, he stood there blinking in surprise for a couple of seconds before moving aside with a grateful smile. “That’d be really nice. Come in,” he started just as Buddy ran full tilt towards the door, curious about the new visitor. “Buddy - calm down,” Teddy said wearily, giving the greyhound’s collar a gentle, but firm tug. “Sorry, he just gets excited whenever someone new comes over.” 

Sara furrowed her brows. She knew it wasn’t a common question to ask, but also, the younger woman knew that this shouldn’t be too much of an odd question, especially when they were trying to build a romantic relationship from a long-term friendship. “Why do you always feel like you’ve done something?” She furrowed her brows, leaving the baby monitor on the table and moving back to where he was. “I’m just asking. Is this the full moon talking?” Sara knew it was drawing near. Ever since she’d gotten hurt with Adrian, she’d been trying to keep track of lunar cycles. Besides, the lady in the news last night mentioned something about it too. Her arms went around his middle and planting a small kiss on his back.

 “I just… I know you didn’t sign up to look after a little kid when we got together and–” Her thoughts got cut by Binnie’s cry overheard through the baby monitor, so Sara excused herself to go pick up her boy from his crib. She changed him and return to the kitchen–still wasn’t enough to make him stop crying. She noticed a slight change in his temperature, but didn’t think much of it. “I think he might be coming down with something.” Sara tried calming him down by bouncing him and turning him towards Teddy. “Look, uncle Teddy is still here… he’s making us food.” Sara drew in a deep breath. She’s always hated when Binnie cried like that, because she’d feel helpless.

―

“Isn’t it better for me to think that I did something first than make you think it’s you?” Taerin asked. There wasn’t any accusation in his voice, but he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of uncertainty mixed with something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He ran a hand through his hair as Sara pressed a kiss to his back that felt oddly far away, as if he wasn’t full present. “No. Maybe? I don’t know,” he heard himself saying. Consciously he knew it had to do with the moon. That had to the only explanation. But he was getting tired of it constantly being the excuse. Taerin would have said more had Binnie’s cries not cut him off. 

He returned to his post by the stove, busying himself with the food, not realizing that he was scowling as the young boy’s cries became clearer when Sara returned to the kitchen. Normally, Binnie’s cries never bothered him. But this time they just felt so piercing compared to how they normally were. Still. He did what he could to force some cheer into his voice in the hopes that Binnie would calm down. “You love bacon and eggs, don’t you?” he said happily although each wail seemed to irk him all the more. 

Raine had no idea how the wolf they were fighting had managed to anger the two of them, but they were glad for the help as they got tangled into a close interaction. Their fists hit, but not as hard as the other one’s, who was struggling to get back on their feet, smacking Raine into the side of their head and sending them backwards on their butt. The other wolf appeared and jumped into the two on one fighting. Raine getting their legs out of the way before reaching back to a stand. Their target really had nowhere to go, being pinned down by one wolf and then by the other. But they seemed stronger than both Raine and the stranger, or at least capable enough of taking them on. 

Whereas the practice Raine had had over the past couple of weeks was just fighting at bars, and losing most of the fights as well on account of being far too drunk or stoned to do much of a damage. But it wasn’t much different from Seafare really, so they could use this slight advantage. They jumped back in trying to grab the other wolf’s food, resulting in getting a boot into their face and stumbling backwards. They felt blood in their mouth, but ignored it long enough to jump back forward, looking for an in between the meshing bodies to kick the wolf into their stomach. If only them and the stranger were a better team at this, but Raine wasn’t even sure they spoke the same language. Or what their intentions were with the wolf caught in their rage. 

―

Fights and Teddy weren’t usually synonymous. He could count the number of fights that he’d gotten into: a grand total of zero. With, he supposed, the exception of this one. He didn’t think that he would know what to do in a fight; his limbs were naturally uncoordinated on a good day. But here, it seemed that that didn’t matter to his werewolf form. 

Laura flashed an empathetic smile in Teddy’s direction; as much as she loved to keep up with research that interested her she had to admit, a lot of it went over her head. The blonde naturally gravitating to the quick facts sections, mostly skimming the discussion and conclusions. – Though a part of her knew she could easily attribute his willingness to help her to him just being characteristically kind. 

Nodding along with his suggestion, a surprisingly enthused okay left her lips as she headed off to gather as many towels as possible. Laura failed to remember the last time she’d been equally as anxious and excited about something, her positive emotions prevailing. Setting one of the towels on her shoulders, her green eyes sought out his before shifting to evaluating herself in the mirror. “So.. I guess we should cut it first…” blasphemous words had they fallen on the ears of her past self, “that way we make sure we don’t run out of dye?”

―

Teddy didn’t try to rely too heavily on fate or the concept of it, but he couldn’t help but feel like Laura had picked a good day for this hair change to happen. The salon had had a last minute cancellation and were more than happy to slot Laura in later that day if all of this went south. After thanking them profusely, he headed into the bathroom, armed with the supplies they’d need. Teddy laid them all out on the counter before rolling up his sleeves. In a small way, it felt like he was back in his parent’s home helping Izzy do this as she prattled on about how whoever she had just broken up with was going to regret it. 

"Cut first it is,” he said with a smile as he went rummaging around in the bathroom cupboard for his scissors and clippers. “They usually wash your hair in salons, don’t they? I guess we should get your hair wet first.” Teddy motioned albeit, a bit awkwardly towards the bath shower. It wasn’t like he was suggesting she undress, but he also didn’t want to give Laura the wrong impression. “It’s not the most glamorous but if you get in, I can get it washed and ready to go if you want. I can leave too if that’s easier.” 

MJ: Yes, let's do that! I'd love that.

MJ: That's how I feel every full moon with all of you guys. But hopefully we can just chalk it up to being the worriers in our group?

MJ: I have a class clown in my second period class. Annoying, but not horrible.

Taerin: We're definitely the worriers. I'll take that title if it means that no one else has to worry about it.