All my wolves begin to howl.

For: Zeke Loomis (@xallmywolvesx)

Zeke adjusted his cap over his head as he made his way to settle on the bench. He was trying to get back into a routine with Fred, taking him on regular walks and back into rescue training. His physical therapist had suggested it would be a good idea as long as he took it easy. Tossing the ball for Fred to chase his head lifts as a man comes to sit, scooting over on the bench to make room. "You ok? Do you need a water?" He reached into his bag to offer the bottle inside. "You know its typically better to start with walking to jogging and working up to running"

"That's genius— Having different clubs for different genres." When she'd joined film clubs in the past, it'd always been a catch-all and she'd slugged through some truly awful pieces of cinema just to feel part of it all. Right now she didn't know what she'd like most, but once she's figured it out, being able to stick within her favourite genre will do wonders for building a reading habit. Once she has the consistency, she can venture back out again. She's excited for the future just thinking about it. "Are they really that flexible? You can just jump around whenever you want?"

Carleigha smiles up to her and nods in agreement. "It's a lot easier to reach more people that way, or rather for more people to be included no matter what their fave genres are. Not all of them are run by one of the librarians, we just have the space open for them to hold their meetings." Tucking her tote closer to her arm she nods. "Definitely. I mean sometimes the book that we are choosing to read may not be something you feel like reading and that's perfectly ok. Even I jump around to different book clubs."

for: Carleigha ( @xallmywolvesx ) where: somewhere in the street

Walking and reading had always been one of her habits. Even back in high school, she'd find herself behind someone bigger and read through the hallways. Even though it was a hazard and had gotten herself into a few messes more than once, it was just a habit that stuck, getting so lost in a book she couldn't put it down. She was mid way through the chapter, too focused to even lift her head as she made the turned she'd done so many times. Only this time, she collided right into another body. "No, I'm sorry, I wasn-" Her head snapped up hearing her name in that familiar voice, finding the familiar face to match. "Juan, hi..it's..um..it's been a while. how have you been?"

"You must be crawling out of your skin then," he gently teased, feigning absolute shock at the fact that she'd forgotten a book. "I would've brought one had I know." He tapped his fingers against his thigh. Elias had never had to spend any sort of time in hospitals, but he could imagine how uncomfortable that experience was. Just being in a hospital room for a limited amount of time made him antsy. He could only imagine, with how quickly Carly's mind worked, how caged in she felt being here with nothing to do. Rest was one thing, but boredom was another entirely. "I could run down to the gift shop if you'd like. I'm sure there's something down there."

"Oh absolutely, one of the nurses may have even mentioned restraints to keep me for snatching one of their spare tablets. Can you imagine the fun I could get up to with access to the hospital server" She chuckles and shakes her head reaching to touch his arm in gratitude. "No no, that's ok, I've got full reign on the tv atleast so that can keep me preoccupied. I appreciate more that you came to visit. It's been a long time since we're in this same place getting ready for an entirely different surgery. Granted it somehow also doesn't feel that long."

"Slow cooker might be a good idea. I've been working a lot of the late shifts, it'd be good to leave something for Eli and Noah. I mean, Eli is perfectly capable of cooking, but we both know it's more my forte." Zane chuckles, shrugging a bit. Not that he minded at all. Cooking for his two favorite people in the world was something he loved doing. "I'm always trying to switch it up for Noah, see what new things we can get him to try 'cause if it were up to him, we'd have mac and cheese or chicken nuggets every night."

"It's one of my favorites ways of cooking. I typically set something while I work. There's a chicken alfredo that even Noah will love." She reaches for a couple cookbooks from the shelf for him to review. "I've tried a few out of both of these. There's also a slow cooker peach cobbler I'd give my pacemaker for." She chuckles and holds a hand over her heart. "A little man after my own heart. That sounds like a great dinner though I can imagine it gets old. I honestly only have it when I come over to Noah-sit"

Kevin loved the holiday season, had ever since he was a kid. There was something special about Christmas time that brought out the best in people. Plus all of the traditions. Things had changed a bit after his brother's death and the season had lost some of its glamour, but there was still a spark there. Even if being an adult sometimes made it difficult to cultivate. "You know, my parents never saw snow 'til they moved to this country. So, technically Caribbean Christmas is in my blood. So, I guess I'd be traitorous to say no."

Carleigha tugs her beanie down to protect her ears against the chill of the air. Even when she was traveling, she made it a point to come back home for Christmas to be with her family. Even if it meant braving the frigid temperatures and snow she loved spending the holidays with them. Her eyes lit up in curiosity at his response. "Really? Have they liked it? Please tell me they got to do all the fun snow things, snow angels, snow families in the front yard, ultimate snowball fights?" She rubs her hands together. "You know I haven't actually had a Christmas in the Caribbean. We have our traditions, the feast, Coquito is one of my favorite drinks, but I've yet to actually be in the Caribbean."

Eli almost hoped that she'd missed the confession, sandwiched in between talk of his kid. "Just kind of feels like everyone else thought it was inevitable, you know," he replied, with a slight shrug. "Not that that's bad or anything." He and Zane had been best friends for so long and somewhere along the line, the line between romantic and platonic had blurred. Everyone else had just been better at recognizing it than either of them had been. So, he couldn't really fault anyone for having expectations of their relationship, but sometimes those expectations felt like a lot of pressure. Almost as if they should've skipped all of the usual relationship building stuff and gone straight to marriage. "I think you're too young to be worrying about all that." Eli brushed her concerns off easily even though he that Carly's health hadn't ever been something easy to ignore; he just hated the idea of her potentially not living a full life. "Guess it's your turn now."

Carleigha settles at the counter nodding in understanding. She knew that a lot of it came from a place of love, wanting to see a person happy but she understood the pressure that came with it. Back when she was with JP, there were those in her life that were happy for her, even jokes about marriage that needled at her insecurities. "I get that, I really do and I'm sorry to have added any pressure. You deserve to figure it all out without outside influences or expectations." She shrugs faintly taking a sip of her water before setting it back on the counter. "To be fair, I've been worrying about all of that for most of my life, I just had a nice interlude." Her head lifted at his words and she raised an eyebrow with a soft smile, "My turn? If you're talking about happiness, I am happy. If you're talking about romance...well, I don't know if that's in the cards. Maybe at one time, with J-but well you know I screwed that up."

"I know." Esme replies sympathetically, offering her brother a smile. She could understand how stir crazy Zeke probably felt. Esme had suffered her own fair share of injuries and she had always been itching to get back on her feet. "Eh, isn't that what family's for?" They tease, chuckling quietly. "Remember when I told you all I was pregnant and due in like, a month? I'm pretty sure ma almost passed out."

Zeke smiles and leans against the counter. He couldn't deny that he was shocked when he found out about Esme was pregnant, but he was just as excited to be an uncle. "I think we were all on guard to see if she was going to tip in our direction. Once it sunk in though, I swear you could see her mind whirl with everything she wanted to do and how much she wanted to spoil you both"

"Trying being the key word here." Vince chuckles, shaking his head. "I don't think I'm being very successful so far, but that's on me for waiting until the last minute. I'm usually more of a planner, but it seems like time has gotten away from me this year. Hopefully you're having better luck than I am."

Carleigha chuckles faintly and shrugs. "This is mostly last minute shopping. I honestly am not great at keeping secrets from my family so if i want to actually wrap presents I have to do everything last minute. Granted that usually means they get random presents year round." Adjusting her hat she turns back to him, "Maybe I can help, who are you still shopping for?"

Though she'd done similar in her own industry, Beth couldn't wrap her head around receiving advanced reader copies of upcoming books. Perhaps it's the implied deadline that scares her most; with a film, she can already see before she starts how long it'll take her to finish uninterrupted, but a novel has taken her from an afternoon to months to flip to the last page before. Knowing she'd held onto a story she didn't give the proper time to would eat her from the inside out. Maybe one day she'll be as consistent a reader as Carly, though, and she'll be able to venture into it. "Book club sounds like a good shout." She comments with a laugh. "Social pressure might force me to develop a more consistent reading schedule."

Carleigha grins up to her as they made their way through the booths of the fest. She loved being able to see the authors talking about their books. It was a big reason she loved setting up book readings at the library. She smiles and nods in understanding. "You'd be an excellent addition to our book club. There's a few, depending on what you'd like to read. Fantasy, Scifi, Romance, Historical Fiction. Can even jump around depending on what you're in the mood to read, sometimes I do"

for: zeke ( @xallmywolvesx ) where: zeke's place

Zeke knew he was making it through all of this in part due to his friends and family. His weeks hung up in his cast, now slow moving but more mobile in his brace he couldn't be more thankful. He was used to the fast paced life of a firefighter, even when it wasn't fire season, he was used to spending his days on the rig. Now he was working his way through physical therapy just trying to get full motion. Everything had slowed down so much more than he expected.

closed starter for @xallmywolvesx (your choice) holiday shopping @ one of the shops in town

Carleigha was determined to ensure her family and friends had a great holiday. She knew things had been a bit hectic in the last month or so, with her surgery and all. She was doing well of course but she still wanted to do something to make up for it. The perfect presents were a big part of that. Her head lifted from the aisle as she heard a familiar voice and she smiled spotting Vince. "Hi there, trying to catch up with some holiday shopping too?"

Taking the book, Zane flips through it quickly, though he's sure Carly has made a good selection. "I mean, I do love a good good about dinosaurs." He jokes when she mentions him picking out something for himself, laughing softly. "I wasn't looking for anything in particular but you know I'll probably peruse the cookbooks before I check out. I' should've been wanting to figure out some new things to make for dinner. I know I can just look online, but I like going through cookbooks. You can't beat looking through a book."

Carleigha smiles up to him and nods leading him over to the cookbook area. "I can think of so many good ones. I've found some slow cooker cookbooks that are great. So easy to just set it to cook while you're doing something else or at work and come home to a great meal. There's a chicken alfredo recipe that I'd kill for, not to mention a chicken chilli that uses beer as a base"

"God, I do love free stuff." Beth can only grin, a small spring in her step at the thought. Sometimes money could be such a barrier to enjoying hobbies she'd like to try, be it the cost of supplies or access to facilities, so to get anything free would give her the kick to take that now slightly easier step into trying something new, or returning to an old favourite. In this case, books could be quite expensive if you aren't sure you're going to enjoy them, so any free excerpts or first chapters, or a chance to talk the premise through with the person who knows it best is invaluable. "I should go to more of those events at the library, too. And the library in general, actually." | @xallmywolvesx

"Same, It's hard for me to not get on Netgalley to see what good books I may be approved to receive to review" Carleigha tucked a curl behind her ear and grinned up to her friend. Free stuff was one of her favorites things about these events. She sometimes found herself overwhelmed with Advanced reader copies but still she loved them. She had a habit of throwing out an occasional giveaway on her bookstagram because she enjoyed seeing people get so excited. "You are welcome to any you'd like to go to. We've got some great ones. Book clubs, Movie nights, Advance reader copy fun"

"Mhmm. Just take your time, alright? There's plenty of time to get back into shape." Esme replies, giving her brother a look. "I think it might be the latter, but you never know. Maybe she'll end up an astronaut. Lord knows Alicia loves keeping me on my toes." Alicia was definitely Esme's mini me in many ways. "No, we don't. Bless mom and dad for putting up with all of us and our shenanigans. I do have to say I prefer you on Earth with us and not off orbiting the moon. I can't keep an eye on you if you're up in space!"

"I know, you know me, I'm not used to sitting around this much, I mean I know its healing but still." He grins over to her, "You know I'll help her with any contact I had from back then. I still know a few people." He chuckles adjusting in his seat and runs a hand through his head. "Fair enough, the ISS is pretty far out of your range. But I'm happy to be home on earth. Its far better to actually be around my family even if I do give them the occasional heart attack"

His smiled widened the moment he saw zeke, a new level of appreciation for the other seemed to have settled ever since his accident. And if Ace didn't worry enough before, it had doubled now. " Whoa, update, " he beamed, noting the switch to brace. " That's gotta be a lot more comfortable than the cast, huh ? Those things itch like mad. " Eyes narrowed playfully, a laugh escaping. " oh, you're so wrong there, my friend. i could easily find a way to mess up soup. But yeah, of course i'll join you. I'm yours for the next couple of hours, so feel free to boss me around if there's anything you need doing. " He wanted to help, in any way that he could.

Zeke chuckled showing off his new found semi-freedom. "It does, I honestly was going out of my mind. Where I found the antennae I ended up using I really don't know." He pulls a couple of bowls down from the cupboard setting them on the counter chuckling to his friend. "Honestly I'm good, atleast one of my family members has been by everyday since I came home. So pretty much everything is handled. I appreciate the company though. It's been weird not working"