Law of Beasts

What timing...||Open

@darkesthourstarters​

Tap. Tap. Tap. Clickclick. Tap. The sound of Hollis’ keyboard was echoing through his office at the law firm. There were only a few other people left this late into the evening and honestly, it was this time of the day when he was able to do his best thinking. The male reached over to his coffee and took a swig of it before before continuing his typing. Hollis had been working on this case for a mother trying to get full custody of her child for weeks now. It may have seen like a cut and dry case, but the father was a real piece of work and extremely manipulative, trying to spin everything again the mother. But finally, Hollis found something that was going to finally lean the jury towards the mother (which it should have been from the getgo). He was typing quickly and with purporse when suddenly, his entire screen went black, immediately followed by all the lights in his office and the firm, “Oh no.” He said aloud and slowly closed his eyes, “No, no, no.” He mumbled. Hollis turned around in his chair and looked out the window, noting that the entire city was black. What terrible timing.

Hollis sat at his black computer for a few more minutes but huffing and grabbing his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. No point of sticking around, he supposed. Hollis grabbed his cane and without saying goodbye to other stragglers in the office, he took what had to be 25 flights of stairs down to the ground level and eventually stepped outside. It was much harder with his bum leg, but he made it after a while. He took a deep breath when he greeted with the fresh air and looked around.

Yep.

Still black out.

His blue eyes shifted back and forth for a few moments before he approached another, “Sorry to bother you…” He began and lifted his hand, pointing around casually to the city, “Any uh…idea what happened?” He asked. Hollis just needed a bit of info then he would be satisfied. Hopefully this wouldn’t last long…

-

Ryan looked up to see Hollis walking over with his cane and raised her eyebrows. “Did you just walk all the way down from your office during this blackout? Dude you should have just like texted I could have given you like a piggyback. Although I suppose that would look really ridiculous, okay point taken.” She’d answered her own question, not waiting for his pushback. “Uh as far as I can tell just a random black out, but it got the whole city so it’s going to be quite a while until they fix it if you ask me.” She offered an apologetic smile. “Anything I can help with old man? Lawyer-y OR otherwise? I don’t have much going on, my rough plans were to check in on a few people, then join the large groups of partyers that are starting to congregate.”

-

Whatever image of a daycare manager there ought to be, Santiago certainly didn’t look it. Gone was his family-friendly sweaters and brightly colored button-ups. Instead, he’s dressed for a night of debauchery. Never one to turn away a good time, he busies himself with a box of pizza he managed to get out through the mad-rush. The consequence of public block parties, he thinks. He glances up at the voice first, the bowl of weed second. “Hm,” he pretends to consider, prying open the lid of the box. “This is a pepperoni, bacon, and sausage pizza. Might not be a fair trade.” He points to the six pack of chilled beer beside Ryan, nodding. “But if you can swipe that, we’ll share the bounty. And only if you roll. I’m shit at it.”

-

“I’m aware of what’s on the pizza, that’s why it smells so good.” Ryan rolled her eyes. Still, she had no problem with his counter-proposal and she grabbed the six-pack next to her. No one was looking anyways, and those who might be were far too drunk to care. “Next time ask me to take something challenging, honestly.” She stood up and walked past him, assuming he would follow and went to sit down a bit further away from the crowd and all the celebrating supernaturals. “I like that you assumed I was a girl who can roll, and for that I won’t bully you for thinking that I was going to be out here rolling j’s when I have a perfectly good bowl to light up in. If you need me to light it for you princess, I’m more than happy.” She held out the lighter and the piece of glassware towards the man, sticking her tongue out and winking as she teased him. “The beer was a good call though, something to wash down the dry mouth and the pizza with. I’m Ryan, by the way.”

-

So, she was born this way then, Delphine thought to herself. She wasn’t turned like Delphine was and it wasn’t against her will. Envy hit her like a ton of bricks and jealousy pricked beneath her skin. Her turning had been traumatic and she still suffered from the bleary memories today, it had been entirely against her will. Had she known what he was when she was human, she would have stayed far away from him, would have certainly never agreed to marry him. Alas, things had gone bad for her and now here she was; a hundred years later and with a hefty grudge against him, wherever he was. “I guess I’m a little envious,” she explained, having seen the confusion on the others face, “this isn’t the life I would have chosen for myself if I’d had a choice. The freedom you have with yourself, being yourself, is really admirable. Even if the humans aren’t around to see it, it’s nice.” 

-

Ryan’s face crumpled a bit. She knew there were people who didn’t choose to become what they were, but she hated seeing people not be proud of it. She wanted them to have and know that peace. “So if you weren’t born like this.... and you aren’t a wolf, let me make a sweeping assumption that you’re a vampire? There’s not a whole lot of other things you could be turned into.” She didn’t want to pry too much, especially because the other woman voiced clear discomfort with her own identity. “My mom’s a vampire you know. I’m adopted, obviously, but she’s pretty awesome.”

꧁ ꧂

It wasn’t difficult to notice the woman in the near distance whilst she remained seated, munching away at her chips with little care for the downpour that could fall any minute. Obviously, it only became clear that the fast moving figure was a woman once she moved close enough, otherwise, Alara might argue that it was some spooky hell creature over there exploring the shadows. “Of course,” a soft reply with a confirming tone and a small smile. It was only slightly surprising to hear Ryan openly admit her species, it wasn’t often people did so, but in the spirit of honesty… “You want to turn into a wolf so I can feel you up?” Alara teased, turning on her seat with a small nod. “I’d love to.” She added with a more serious tone. Did she want to get up close and see a wolf? Uh, yeah, of course she did. “I’ve always been curious to know if I can communicate with wolves such as yourself.” People who turn into wolves, rather than pure wolves, she meant. “So side-note, if my voice pops into your wolfie brain, you’re not having any sort of mental collapse.”  

-

Ryan snorted a laugh out as the other woman teased her. “I mean who knows, maybe this is my go to pick up line. Women love cute dogs, so maybe I decided I want to capitalize on that.” Her sentence dissolved back into laughter. Then Alara started talking about talking to her as a wolf and Ryan’s face lit up. “Wait, are you one of those witches that can talk to animals? I’ve always wondered if that would work oh my god I’m so down.” She looked around for some sort of cover, though there wasn’t much. “I can duck into the bushes to strip down, or I could just do it here... I’m not opposed to either. Modesty is lame and we are mere scientists on the verge of very important experimental data if you ask me. You got a preference?”

🍃

“Thank you…” Lola replied not sure what was the right way to respond to being called a cat person. Cats were temperamental, independent creatures. Lola really didn’t see herself as emotional but independent sure. “I actually don’t own a cat, but I do own a frog.” People liked that. Found it interesting. Lola had Mint even since she was a pre-teen when here magic started to bud. Since distancing herself from the coven Mint had become much more of a normal frog, hardly ever speaking to her, but she didn’t mind. It anything it was nice to have a silent roommate. Lola listened to the woman talk with moderate interest. It was better to known thy enemy after all. “To pet you during a full moon is taking on a lot of responsibility,” Lola pointed out. “You don’t seem the type to try and harm someone” but all wolves do “but it sounds like no one is quite  themselves during the full moon. If you did harm someone or break something– well, if I had been the one to pet you I’d feel partially responsible.”

-

“A frog is a weird pet, but like not in a weird creepy way just in a, it’s not every day that you meet someone who has a pet frog. That’s pretty cool.” Ryan shrugged. She preferred her pets with fur, but also understood because frogs looked pretty awesome. “I mean in fairness, I also never shift away from the pack on a moon. That’s just stupid. I’m not out here trying to hurt an innocent bystander.” A frown crossed her face. It would be irresponsible to do something like that. Even as a beta well in control, Ryan knew how important the pack was to stability. “I don’t know, I’ve never hurt someone during a full moon and I intend to keep it that way.” She wasn’t sure why but something about the way the woman had said it felt... accusatory.

.

Isra felt almost dazed at how vibrant the other woman was. Ryan didn’t seem phased in the slightest despite Isra’s apparent inability to hold a decent conversation. “I’m Isra,” she murmured, watching the other stand up. “Okay?” everything felt just a tad unreal as Isra did turn away from Ryan as she removed her clothes. While the decision had clearly been made, it still felt like Isra should have tried to tell the other not to shift. 

But just like that, the seraph was faced with a wolf, and all previous hesitation was gone. Ryan seemed almost too majestic to touch as she approached the bench, but her bright personality shone through, from the wag of her tail to the expression Isra thought was discernible. Hesitantly, the seraph reached to smooth a hand over Ryan’s fur. “Oh,” she murmured softly, not quite prepared for how soft the werewolf’s fur really was. The temptation to throw her arms around Ryan hug her tight hit Isra in her chest. Instead, she flashed the warmest smile she could manage. “You definitely weren’t kidding, I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything as soft as your fur. Is it weird that I don’t want to stop petting you?”

-

Ryan couldn’t really display her amused grin as a wolf as well as her human face would, but it was there all the same when the woman first put a hand against her fur. People always forgot when she showed this to them that she wouldn’t really be able to answer them so she shook her wolf head in response to Isra’s question. She wasn’t going to complain about being pet for the rest of forever. She pressed in closer to the woman, tail still wagging, to encourage just that. She’d shift back in a bit, but right now she wanted to make the most of this. 

Cecilia smiled, it was genuinely heartwarming to be one of someone’s favourite vampires, especially when it was someone like Ryan. She was so full of life, something Cecilia clearly was not, as a member of the undead. She sat up straighter in anticipation of the first time she would actually ever see a werewolf change, her eyes going wide as she watched the clothes rip to pieces and the shift happen. Amazed was an understatement, Cecilia was in complete awe of Ryan, a laugh breaking through at the bark. She lifted her arm when Ryan lay her head in her lap, bringing her hand back down to run her fingers through the fur on the wolf’s head and neck. “I forgot to ask if you’d understand me in this form, but wow you really do have the softest fur,” she smirked, not even realizing she was still petting her head. “I’ve never seen anything like that, I’m more than amazed right now,” she added, almost at a loss for words, now realizing she would be the only one talking. 

-

Ryan could spend forever like this if she was being honest. Not all werewolves liked shifting, many of them hated it, but Ryan loved being a wolf. Especially when she chose the shift, rather than the moon choosing for her. Her eyes slowly shut as Cecilia ran her fingers through her hair. Even as a human Ryan loved her hair being played with, but as a wolf it was like heaven. She could understand what Cecilia was saying, though it didn’t help her respond much. That was the only drawback to being in wolf form. And of course that on a normal day, humans would freak out if a wolf was just walking down the streets of New York City. She barked in agreement about how soft her fur was, pressing her head back against the vampire’s hand to encourage more head scratches. She was content to just sit like this for ages, even if she couldn’t help carry the conversation. Though, as she continued to think about it, she wasn’t exactly sure how she would shift back without clothes to change into... Her excitement had momentarily distracted her from stashing clothing before shifting. That was a problem for later.

•| — 𖥸 — |•

“What— why wouldn’t I—“ Cutting herself short when Ryan continued to talk and she realized she was referring to stint in council jail because of Alina’s actions. “I’ve been out for a while, it just took some time to run into me I guess.” Giving a soft chuckle. “I’ve spent a lot of time catching up on work since the ordeal kind of delayed everything.” Thankfully given the fact she didn’t need to sleep Selene had caught up on everything and at least got it somewhat back on track for herself. “Oh how they have. It is rather poetic.” She laughed, took the charger from them and plugged in her dead phone. “Look at you being prepared though and me being the least prepared.” To be fair her portable charger had died hours ago, she rarely charged it anyways. If anything she just kept a spare charger in her purse to plug in for emergencies. What she hadn’t factored though was a complete citywide blackout. “So how have you been? Catch me up on yourself. Have you graduated law school yet? You know since it’s been ages since we’ve seen one another.” She teased, flipped her hair back over her shoulder. 

-

“Okay, I mean that might be on me. I’ve been SO busy the past few months. Like I knew you didn’t get executed but at the same time, I guess also it’s weird to expect to always bump into people in a city this big.” Still she was glad to see Selene again. Something about her always felt homey in a way Ryan wasn’t quite sure of. “I learned my lesson last time I didn’t have a charger. That paper took forever to rewrite. Plus I like to text at work and I run through my battery too fast.” She shrugged. It was part of an increased effort to be organized and prepared, though she still seemed to leave a wind of chaos in her wake. “Not yet, but I’m in my last year so it’ll be soon. Then I just have to pass the bar and I’ll be a full fledged lawyer out there. Hopefully helping change foster and adoption laws, but a job is a job.”

-

Delphine stood on the sidewalk, basking in the light of the sun. Even after all these years, she still liked to do this occasionally; to remind herself that she was free to do so. That the curse  inflicted upon her by her awful ex husband no longer dictated her going out during daylight. Thanks to her daylight ring anyway. Even after hundreds of years of having it, she still found herself so thankful for it, for Devin who procured it for her. For teaching her a different, less heartbreaking way to live. Sighing, she finally moved from her spot of standing on the sidewalk to a nearby bench, deciding that, on this rare day off from her career, she’d enjoy the fall weather that was starting. 

An absolute burst of energy sat down next to her, taking a seat and immediately jumping into conversation. It nearly brought Delphine to whiplash but she found that she enjoyed the new turn of her day. The woman seemed to be a breath of fresh air from some of the more recent conversations she’d had. Delphine basked in the way that she seemed open with her nature, so honest and seemingly happy that she was what she was. It was so different from how she normally was that she couldn’t help but let out a self conscious laugh. “I’ll take your word for it,” she smiled, eyes flitting over the woman’s face attentively. “You’re so…” And she paused here, thinking of what exactly she wanted to say. “You’re so open about what you are; it’s admirable.” 

-

“Have it your way.” Ryan shrugged. It may have been unreasonable to expect that a random stranger wanted to pet her but she liked attention and something about the energy she was feeling during this blackout was making her bold. “Why wouldn’t I be open about it? The humans are locked indoors right now, so it’s not like I need to worry about the accords.” She tilted her head, confused by the other woman’s statement. She’d said it as if being a werewolf was something that she expected people to keep to themselves. “Been a werewolf my whole life, so it’s not like I know anything different.”

There was something nostalgic about the blackout. Salem wasn’t so far from the big city but far enough that darkness was still possible. Lola used to sit out and watch stars with her brother and oven coven members. Such a thing was impossible in the city. So she sat, her head tilted back as she studied the stars. There was the sound of cutting air and Lola felt the shift in the wind. A woman, looking bubbly but a bit winded, sat beside her. “People sure do like to talk,” Lola replied her body tense. It was obvious to her what this woman was. “Sorry, I’m allergic to dogs,” she lied. “I’m sure it is rather soft. Do you find its softer when the moon is more full?” The silly question was more for herself than the woman. Something to take the edge off.

-

Ryan was not sure what this girl’s deal was but the tension in her body didn’t escape notice, so she decided to dial it back a bit. “That sounds like the worst thing ever honestly. Dogs are like the best, though you do kind of seem like a cat person. Also werewolves aren’t dogs but I can take a hint too.” She laughed, settling into her seat on the bench and looking up at the stars, the moon shining though it wasn’t full. “You know, I’d argue it the other way. The full moon is kind of like supernatural PMS leading into getting your period. I feel gross and stressed and stuff, so if it was to be softer it would be during voluntary shifts. I’ll have to test it, although I don’t know who’s going to volunteer to pet me during a full moon. I have good control but still.....”

Cecilia had missed the darkness, she’d lived in cities so long now that she never got to see the stars anymore. Sitting on a bench, she tilted her head back and admired the scene without light pollution. She smiled and looked over as Ryan joined her, raising a brow at the new fact she just learned. “Is that right? I should have gotten to know a wolf sooner then, I might have learned that,” she smirked. “Well you have gorgeous hair so soft fur isn’t that much of a stretch, I’d love to see it for myself though. As long as you don’t bite me,” she laughed, not actually worried that Ryan would bite her at all. 

-

Ryan could hear like a little tiny Lysander in her brain that was yelling that looking at the stars in total darkness could be romantic and she simply decided to ignore that and deal with it by becoming a wolf. She’d address the implications of that later probably, but for the time a wide grin was on her face. “I promise, no wolf biting. The last thing I want is one of my favorite vampires to die at my hand.” She hopped up from the bench. “Okay, prepare to be amazed.” Shifting was a process, but it happened pretty quickly so in a few seconds she’d ripped through her clothes, and was standing there as a wolf on all four paws. She offered a short amused bark before getting back on the bench and laying with her head in Cecilia’s lap. 

.

A dozen different things were on the tip of Isra’s tongue. Part of her wanted to ask the other if she often offered little tidbits about werewolves up to strangers, or to fix her with her sternest stare and inform her that blackout or not, shifting where anyone could see wasn’t the best idea. Isra swallowed them all because the prospect of being able to pet a werewolf was more than enough to make her hesitate. She was a hardened agent, with a reputation for a degree of violence..but all of that could apparently be easily managed when there wasn’t a real threat nearby. All of the humans in the area were inside rather than risk playing with whatever monsters the dark conjured (never mind that there were just as many monsters in the daylight) When Isra realized she’d been staring at the blonde woman for far longer than appropriate, she opened her mouth. “I love dogs,” she said quietly. It was quickly followed by, “I’m not saying werewolves are dogs, I know they aren’t the same thing at all, but dogs can be almost wolf-shaped, depending on the breed,” in attempt to try and keep from offending more than Isra already had. Brilliant, excellent attempt at interacting with someone, she mentally berated herself. “Sorry..I’m not good at..people. Or with people,” Isra summarized plainly. It was an understatement, really, but surely the other could see as much.

-

Watching all of the emotions flicker across the other woman’s face as she decided whether or not she wanted to pet a werewolf was like a free movie screening to Ryan. She did her best to keep her face neutral, relying on the lawyer training not to crack a smile, but not entirely succeeding. “Oh no, I totally get what you mean. One of my roommates has a wolf dog named Boris and he’s just the best. I’m a dog lover too. Wolves are different but they’re just like cooler better dogs if you ask me.” She flipped her hair back before laughing at her own self-compliment. “It’s fine, I’m only kind of people. I’m Ryan, by the way. I figured I should tell you, because if go wolf I can’t exactly say anything.” She shrugged her shoulders before standing up. “I will at least give you the courtesy warning that I like these clothes so I’m gonna strip down, yes right here in the street, before shifting. I’ll stand behind the bushes sort of but if you’d like to avert your eyes this is the time. I don’t care either way. It’s not like there are humans out or anything.” 

Ryan had long forgone modesty, it just wasn’t reasonable for full moons, so why bother with it any other day. She shrugged her shirt and pants off, dropping them neatly before letting herself shift. Shifting into wolf form was easiest on the full moon, but if she let herself connect with the wolf other times she could do the whole shift whenever she wanted. Once finished she trotted from behind the bushes and hopped up next to the girl, her tongue flopping out and her tail wagging, lowering her head so the woman could pet it.

where: at one of the block parties

tw: drug use (will also be in tags)

Ryan was having the weekend of her life. Law school and work were both not a concern with no power, and for the first time since starting school up again she felt totally free. It wasn’t to say that she didn’t still party when she had time, but there was something about knowing she didn’t need to wake up and remedy the hangover for a class that made it sweeter. She was packing a bowl with weed when the delectable scent of pizza hit her nostrils. She turned to see Santiago with a pizza box in hand, and waved him over. “If you’re willing to give me a slice or two of that I will absolutely share this.” She raised the bowl and lighter in her hand. Sharing food and weed seemed like a great way to get to know anyone in her personal opinion.