the wolf is free

Well, everything since the Hunter’s Moon had. Lyra was friendly with just about the entire town, save for a select few of the population, and to see so many people she had known die was surreal. She was still recovering from it, honestly, but didn’t talk to anyone about her feelings. She hadn’t lost a family member in the events of the Moon like others had. They hurt more and needed help more than anyone else did. At least that’s how she felt about it.

For some reason, though, her heart was extremely heavy lately, as if her soul was trying to tell her something she wasn’t yet ready to understand. Truthfully, she didn’t understand anything that had been going on lately and she had been trying incredibly hard to find answers, but just as soon as something seemed within reach, she was pushed back several steps and often had to start over. Most days, it felt as if the answer was too close for her to find, and that’s what was bothering her so much. It was like the sickening feeling of being watched when walking alone at night, but not being able to locate the source of the discomfort.

Times like these called for a huge cup of hot chocolate from the diner and quality time with her mother, though she figured Freya would be incredibly busy with her council duties as everyone in town was still demanding that The Council somehow wave their hands and solve everything in a day. While she agreed that the leaders of the town could have been doing more to help, she didn’t think that they could solve every issue on their own. In her opinion, the town needed to work harder together if anything were to be accomplished, but not many people would listen to a rebellious child with a criminal record.

It didn’t take as long as she thought it would to hike to her mother’s house, perhaps because she had been lost in thought the entire time. She had considered asking Tris to drive her there, but didn’t want to risk interrupting his work. He had to be busy; she knew already how thinly stretched the guards were with everything. Besides, it wasn’t too cold that she couldn’t just walk herself places. Upon arriving at the front door, Lyra let herself in with the key she still kept on her necklace chain and called for her mother as she made her way to the living room.

Normally, Jess would have opted for a scone and a coffee to go, but this was an outing with a possible friend. “Oh well, it’s actually not been all that bad, just a bit more paperwork than normal.” That only really affected her and Orion really, and made things a bit more interesting during the slow days. Thankfully, she didn’t have to deal with most of the grieving family members. No, she just did the paperwork and spoke to the attorneys. Good thing too, she wasn’t exactly what anyone would consider empathetic. 

After the waitress came and took their orders, she tilted her head as she spoke to Lyra. “But what about you? How are you dealing with all this drama going on?” The fact that the girl hadn’t decided to cancel certainly said something. Most people were still held up in their houses, too afraid of this ancient hag to continue with their day to day lives. A notion the witch scoffed at. No matter what was going on, the world kept turning.  

It was curious that bank workers would have paperwork when deaths were involved, but she didn’t want to pry at risk of sounding stupid; she didn’t know how involved banks were with the life and death of its clients. She gave a simple nod and fidgeted with one o the sugar packets on the counter. “Sorry to hear that. It doesn’t sound too fun.” With her job in the spring and summer as a teaching assistant, she understood how boring it was to be trapped in a boring room most of the day, but she never had to handle paperwork. That was all Mr. Ridley’s job, and she was all too happy to ignore that part of it.

“You could likely eat a horse and not put on a single ounce.” He’d been like her once, young and full of energy. Now look at him. He couldn’t even look at his own reflection without thinking about how old he had got. But the wolf was still spry. That was where he found himself really living. He glazed over the exact name of the meal he ordered, all he saw was fried eggs and meat, paired with a black coffee. He waited for their drinks to arrive before springing his trap. She had brought him here but it had brought about his own agenda. “I saw your mother recently..” He sipped at the coffee and settled it down before continuing. “She told me about Tris.”

“Doubtful, but I’ll try it someday.” She grinned at him. Currently, she was hungry enough to eat a horse, but was perfectly content to wait until her food arrived. Patience was something she was working on, even if it was something the wolf did not understand too well sometimes. Once her drink arrived, she began to gulp half of it down before placing it onto the table and shifting in her seat. At the mention of her mother, she looked back up at her uncle, raising an eyebrow. That was a loaded topic to bring up so casually and she wondered just what was coming next.

Orion followed in her steps, entering the diner with his stomach practically tearing itself apart now. He was s t a r v e d. The cookie had helped, a bit.He gave nods to a few of the patrons, he knew the whole town by face if not by their bank statements. Sliding in the booth opposite Lyra he followed suit, grabbing a menu and casting a quick gaze over it. He knew exactly what he wanted, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking. Just in case. “I think if you were able to fit cake in your bag I’d have grown very fat a very long time ago.” 

His lips pressed together as he attempted to hold back another smile. This was terrible for his image, all this cheery smiling. Still, the pup was funny in her own way and he appreciated that. “They are quite fresh, I assure you,” he promised, the smile breaking through to become a grin. “Baked them this morning.”

One hand moved to motion toward the stairs, his head bowing ever so slightly toward her. “Please, I understand this may be odd considering the circumstances, but it is rare I have company.” Rare was putting it lightly. He never had company that wasn’t business relates, and even then he certainly wouldn’t consider them company.

Her smirk turned into a laugh and a wide, bright smile when she saw Vlad’s expression. She was more than happy to take him up on his offer now that the air seemed to be cleared of their awkward first encounter, and she was, admittedly, a bit hungry. At his gesture, she headed for the stairs, only looking over her shoulder once to be sure that he was following her.

Everyone in the town was aware of the attacks. In a town so small where almost everyone knew everyone, this type of news was impossible to miss. While most were panicked by what was going on, Jess was almost excited by it. For a town full of supernatural beings, Nightmare could be so painfully boring. It might have been a horrible way of thinking, but if that ancient hag tried to come for her, this was a chance for her to really see how far her powers had developed. 

Of course Jess hadn’t forgotten about her coffee date with Lyra. She’d made sure to write it down in her calendar after Lyra had left the bank. Jess showed up at the diner at ten forty five. Honestly, the thought of breakfast seemed heavenly. The scents coming from the kitchen were divine. Immediately she spotted the girl and took a seat next to her at the bar. “Good morning,” Jess greeted.  “I don’t know about you but I’m starving.” 

“Good morning to you, too!” Lyra turned in her seat to smile at Jess once she sat down. It was near impossible to resist ordering something, so she was thankful to have a book to pass the time. She closed her book and put it in her bag and grabbed a menu, deciding that she wanted something more substantial than a muffin to go with her coffee. “You and me both.”

Though Tris wasn’t exactly one for public affections, he actually enjoyed having her on his arm. It had been years since he’d had a proper girlfriend, since highschool, really. He’d never been lonely exactly, he had his fair share of company over the years, but nothing serious, nothing like Lyra.

“Lucky us, hm?” he said with a laugh, taking a plate as it was handed to him and following her along the buffet line, piling his plate high with the food that he knew would be delicious. It always was at these gatherings. His dessert plate wasn’t nearly as full as Lyra’s, but he had decent portions of everything. And overly decent portions of meat. He loved himself a good steak.

“I don’t think we have any magical food. I’m pretty sure it’s just garlic powder,” he teased, getting comfortable next to her and digging into his food easily. He was grateful they cooked the steaks properly, and hummed happily as it nearly melted in his mouth. “Food’s good this year.”

While she let the idea of the magic being ‘garlic powder’ stew in her mind, Lyra looked around at the decorations. They were similar to years previous, but each celebration always had something different and new about it while remaining traditional, which was something she loved about the town’s parties. To her, every aspect was magical, especially the garlic powder, because it worked wonders on her taste buds. “Of course it is!”

By the time her steak was gone, her lipstick was as well, so she wiped off the remnants with her napkin and ordered another glass of wine from the server that passed by their table. It was almost time to dig into her dessert plate, a thought that made her smile with pure joy. “I hope we see Toni soon. I stayed home all day getting ready. I didn’t get to see her dress.”

He laughed and nodded as they walked, turning the street corner so that the diner came into view. Already he could smell something on the wind. Something fried and terrible for his arteries, but something that made him salivate in apprehension. The cookie hadn’t done a very good job of tiding him over now that he could smell his real breakfast. “The cookie came from you though! I hardly had a choice in the matter, it was that or wait.” 

A few days had passed since the attacks had happened and Lyra still didn’t know what to think. And, honestly, she should have been at home hiding, but being cooped up for an indefinite amount of time wasn’t something she enjoyed at all. So, in her usual spirit of rebellion, she headed to the diner for breakfast, but had the good sense to at least keep a knife in her boot in case anything happened. It felt strange to do that, especially since Nightmare was quite the opposite of its given name and she had grown up trusting just about everyone in town, much to her mother’s dismay.

Toni was about dead on her feet when they finally reached the diner, but she couldn’t hide the grin as they looked around. She was just so excited to be in a human town. She caught up to Lyra at the door of the diner and gasped at the cold air that greeted her. She shivered, surprised by the sudden change in temperature. It was like fall inside the building, though it was still summer outside!

“Wow,” she breathed, clutching the straps of her backpack as she made her way to a table, sitting in a booth under a window, just as she always did in the diner back home. “Why is it so cold in here?” she asked Lyra, more than a little confused.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly, her voice slightly above a whisper, and slid into the booth she rubbed her arms and shivered. “Is it some kind of magic? You can tell when it’s being used, can’t you?”