Time ticked as she waited for the next train, her book lagging in the middle, and brain fried from another pointless day tapping keys. At least when she got home there would be a cigarette and pittie happy to see her. Her foot bounced as her legs lay crossed to provide a surface for the novel to spread over. It made sense that it was a tripping hazard when a stranger made contact and nearly met the floor in the process. “New to looking where you’re going?” The brunette snapped, a compilation of the day in one sentence. A groan pulled free with a release of breath. “Sorry.” If she could only stop there. “But I really don’t think that was on me.”

Sedona had known the moon was coming, creeping up on them like prey, even when they were at the top of the food chain. Whispers were going around about a bear-like creature who wandered the woods outside of town. Only a few had caught a glimpse, but no one could determine exactly what it was. Of course, she knew, but she expected a werewolf wasn’t on any of their radars — just how she wanted it. That’s why they’d been all the more careful this time around, sticking to the deeper sections of foliage where their rampage might’ve gone unnoticed. As the moon made room for the sun, their body returned to flesh. The animal was controlled by the rays breaking through the tree line. Their skin crawled as each individual hair seeped back into place, their body contorted as bones shrunk and shifted, left raw to the natural world. Sedona went to the hollowed-out stump they used to hide their belongings, pulling out their flannel and T-shirt first. It hadn’t even gotten over her head when she caught sight of someone else in her safe haven. “What the fuck,” they said, maybe a little too loud. “Turn around, what are you doing?” A hand waved them away while the other held the fabric over their exposed flesh.

She had been hungry for days; the only reminder of what all she'd left behind. All of the dancers were on a strict diet. Animal blood to stay stable, but know the feeling of never having enough. They received only human when it came time to perform at their highest capacity. Peach had never been taught how to hunt or control the urge. After her meals were provided and used as a training device to leave her just weak enough to need their hand, she was free but lost in every other sense. The light left her eyes sometime in the last 48 hours. What day of the week was it? How many had it been since she fed? Questions rolled through the fog but never reached the shore. Peach used the cloak of night to navigate her next move and reduce the number of eyes on her as she did. It'd been an accidental meeting, the blonde only catching a scent, her senses at their peak as she fought off survival instincts. "Bit late for a swim, don't you think?" The route around the lake hadn't brought any other company since she'd started to lurk. What made him different? "I heard there have been animal attacks around here recently," Peach hinted, leaving room for excuses if necessary, but hoped for clarity on who she'd stumbled upon. The only others she'd ever known like her were at the company, and he wasn't like them; he was lighter.

Someone here was different; she could taste it against her satin-stained smile. What was supposed to be some silly summer carnival had suddenly gotten far more enticing. Here kitty, kitty. Tightly lined eyes shifted through the faces moving against her way of traffic. She couldn't decipher exactly what it was, other than a difference in heartbeat, the rhythm of those that thumped around them. The brunette weaved between warm flesh, taking note of their pulse with each pass. His appearance caught her by surprise. Nothing abnormal or striking about him — normal — but he couldn't fool her that easily. "Hi, so sorry to bother you." Alma reached for a gentle touch to his bicep to draw his attention. "I am all kinds of turned around. I've been looking for this hand-squeezed lemonade everyone's raving about. You wouldn't happen to know where that booth is, would you?" The girl's expression sank in succession, as if this had actually caused her internal turmoil.

Luca watched as she handled the reins, hands as sturdy as her spirit. He was impressed, really. Not everyone had the touch. Horses absorbed the energy of their rider, and to stride with confidence reflected who was behind the bit. “Looks like he’s feeling better with a fresh pair of shoes,” the Italian chuckled, his arms folded over one another on a broad chest. While the gilding hadn’t seemed too fond of the process, the result had their spunk back in full force. That’s what he did it for: the animals. Sure, it didn’t hurt when the rider was as pretty as Beatrix. “You’re welcome, by the way.” A smirk already in place. That’d rile her up.

He stuck the cigarette into the brick of the building that supported him while waiting for an unsuspecting guest. Rhett could find just about anyone he wanted — a perk of being a Becker. Connections were everything in his line of work. The empire he’d been raised to inherit provided less than it stole. This was simply how it had to be; this was his destiny.

Any minute now. And as if on cue, his target came into view from the doors exiting the rink. A smirk creased his lips and lifted his cheeks — he still had it. Rhett pushed from the shadows and into the streak of a streetlight. That gave him enough time to be noticed, giving a two-fingered salute in greeting. “Look at you," the blonde hummed with a glance up to where Wolf's new life circled. "Have a moment to talk to an old friend?" A sickly sweet smile. They both knew without exchanging a word. "You could say it's imperative."

She had enjoyed a night out with friends, being smart not to drink too much since she had rehearsal the next day. Enough to have fun but be able to drive herself home before 1AM. The blonde wished her comrades a good time before shutting the taxi door to leave them behind. Peach parked nearby, only having to walk a few streets over in her heels, though it was really the pointe shoes she'd worn earlier that were the culprit. As she went to rev her engine, it only sputtered. "You're kidding me," the girl groaned, twisting the key again. Nothing but whirring came back. Peach reluctantly got out of the car to dig through her trunk in reach of jumper cables, but then she'd still need to find someone willing to let her siphon off their battery. "Hi, excuse me, do you think you could give me a hand? I think I need a jump," she asked the first person to pass by, having already waited a few minutes before seeing another face.