#mamonoclosed

Adrian had been aimlessly walking along the edge of the forest. The trees made him feel comfortable, yet he didn’t really want to go into the forest today. He wasn’t the right mood to get naked and kill wildlife. Sometimes people came through this area where the trees began, usually with the intent to go for a short hike or something. He felt almost like a gatekeeper walking along the edge like this rather than wild animal he felt like when he went into the deep woods to hunt.

A voice startled him out of his thoughts however, and when he looked up he was greeted with the sight of a slightly confused young man. Well, he never was opposed to chatting men up.

The thing about lovely days, to Effie’s mind, was that they were only truly good if you could share them with other people. Aspen was squirrelled away in the back room of the shop - as usual! Such a hardworking boy! - so she’d decided to call on her second bestest friend so they could go for a walk in the park. Oh, she was so excited! They could talk in Greek, and she could ask more about his home - oh! And they could get food! Practically humming with excitement from head to toe, the dryad had more than a small spring in her step as she bounced her way to Toli’s.

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Man, four legs were totally faster than two. Like, sure, he had to keep to the edges of the forest to avoid being seen and, like, being shot at or whatever, but making journeys was way quicker in this form. Freddie had taken an impromptu nap - he'd only lain on his couch for ten minutes, but suddenly he was sleeping, and then he was late. So, in the name of speed, he'd shifted right there in his apartment and slunk his way out to Moonpies with a duffle bag of clothes between his teeth. Ten minutes later and the clothes were joined by two pizzas and a bottle of Pepsi, and the wolf was off to the library. Smelling strongly of dog and pine needles, carrying a now-empty duffle bag and two pizza boxes, Freddie sheepishly loped over to the girl outside the library on two sneaker-clad human feet, giving his usual dozy grin in greeting and holding up the pizzas. "Hey, little lady! Got our feast right here! Awesome, right?"

While she had waited, Mira had turned to the good ol’ habit of people watching. How could she not with all the interesting people coming and going into the building. It just made her want to visit even more. But she had promised to meet up with Freddie so until then she was somewhat content to watch as another person entered, this time with blonde hair and tanned skin- Mira was interrupted mid thought as Freddie popped up behind her. She had no clue how she hadn’t smelled him first with the boxes of pizza and the pine needles in his hair.

[x]

The call of the custie seemed to finally set Freddie in motion, and he lumbered sleepily into view, one hand behind his back, concealing a slice of pizza. Beneath the usual scents of yeast and tomato, and beneath the stronger scent of the barbecue sauce smudged on his cheek, the very familiar washing-powder-and-burnt-milk smell of a human alerted the wolf that he needed to be on his best behaviour - didn't want to get another clip around the ear from the boss, right? 

[x]

Peeking over the large man’s shoulder, Effie watched with considerable interest as the number of food in the fridge dwindled down to nothing. Her own fridge looked much the same - it was much easier (and nicer!) to simply find other people to provide for her, and even after all this time, she was mistrustful of food that had been sat in artificial coldness for so long. Her eyes flicked from the counter to Toli as her face lit up with a wide smile, delighted at his suggestion. Oh, that would be so fun! Ναί! Αυτή είναι μια εξαιρετική ιδέα! Ακούγεται υπέροχο. Είναι κρίμα που δεν μπορεί να πάει και να πάρει τα δικά μας προϊόντα, δεν είναι;

[x]

An instinctive responding grin slowly lit up Freddie’s face, albeit dimly, and he bobbed his head, feet moving aimlessly beneath him. From the kitchen, a shout came to remind him that the steaming pizza beside him was for the woman who had been waiting behind the chatty customer for… uh, maybe a long time, actually. Huh. Still moving languidly, he slid it across the counter and watched her collect it with a blank expression, almost asleep on his feet, before turning back at the question. “Uh, dude, it’s whatever. You’re, like, still hanging around for the pizza, right? So, like, it still counts as the same drink. Or, whatever, that’s what I’ll tell the boss, right? Yeah?” Barely masking a yawn, the wolf extended a paw for the cup. 

[x]

Sensing her lanky friend’s offence and meaning no harm, Effie trotted closer and softly butted her head against the backs of his calves, cajoling Aspen playfully, “I do not doubt it, little witch! You have a great depth of love for your companion, yes? That is special.” Almost like a cat, she rubbed her furred cheek against him before laughing and settling on the sun-warmed floor to wait for him to finish. Every now and then, a particular smell would make her nose wiggle and her ears prick up, but for the most part, she drowsed quietly and enjoyed Aspen’s quiet company.