Children of Gaia: A tale of two wolves (Closed for Mairu and I.)

It was a Saturday night on campus and all the students were partying hard, making all sort of noise and having fun. Jerome couldn't stand it, he had nothing against partying really, but the noise and smells just got to be too much for him at times like this and he had to go for a long walk through the woods to find some peace and quiet. They mocked him of course, saying that he was lame and a wuss for not getting drunk and dumb with them. But if he did, he'd not be in control and he had to stay in control, for everyone's sake, not just himself.

His mother explained to him what he was when he was in high school and the first change came over him. She called it a gift, from mother earth. Told him he was a child of Gaia and that he was blessed with heightened senses and the power to change into a mighty beast, the better to tear little red to pieces. He'd added that last part, he had a dark sense of humor, he had to, else he'd probably go mad with the knowledge of what he was.

The gift of heightened senses was a double edged sword, sure it made lab and various other classes super easy and he could always tell if someone was lying to him by the beat of their hearts, but when these parties happened or he was asked out to a concert or anything really loud, he balked and had to constantly fight the urge to run away, or destroy everything that was making noise. It sucked.

And the beast inside him always itched to get out whenever he was angry or, worse, turned on. Nothing spoils a date faster than suddenly sprouting fur, sharp teeth and a tail. So he went on these walks while everyone else had fun and partied.

Deep in the woods he picked up an oddly familiar scent, but he couldn't place it. Curious, he tracked it through the trees and brambles until he came into a clearing that smelled of rich earth, mushrooms and sweet grass. Shafts of moon light cut through the trees, illuminating a nearly perfect circle in the middle. It reminded him of the fairy groves that his mother would tell him about in her made up tales as a child.

There was a tree stump in the middle of the grove, So Jerome went and sat down, to catch his breath and look around. The place did feel almost magical, had the familiar scent drawn him here? Or had he just stumbled upon this place while tracking it? Chicken and egg there, he chuckled to himself, quickly giving up on puzzling it out and just enjoying the peacefulness of the grove.

A twig snapped in the woods behind him and he shot to his feet, baring his teeth in surprise. "Who's there!" He barked, angry with himself that he'd let something so near to him without realizing they were there.

Sasha was relieved when no one asked her to the party that was going on. she didn't like parties and with the heightened senses of a wolf she felt crazy sometimes. she couldn't take that much noise. she liked the more peaceful quiet nature of the forest where she could let her true self out.

Her wolf self that is. Her mother and father had bothed helped her when she was young to understand so when the first change came she was already ready for it and went with it learning to control it mostly. the only thing she couldn'tcontrol was how her mind went completely wolf on her and she didn't act like a human almost whatsoever.

There she was minding her own business going to the grove she liked when she saw a boy about her age. Sasha was puzzled and her wolf nature was more in line right now and she accidentaly stepped on a twig. She froze and then growled. she didn't like speaking in this form. she thought she could be asking the same question and crouched down. He smelled a little like her but she couldn't be sure so she prepared to be ready to fight growling deep in her throat getting ready to pounce not recognizing the boy.

"Okay, clearly I'm in your territory." Jerome called out, cautiously, scanning the area, trying to spot where the growl was coming from. "Relax, I mean you no harm, I was just out for a walk, you see, and I..." He sniffed, the scent, it was the one growling at him. "I smelled you, and was curious. You can understand me, right?" He asked, putting his hands out, palms up. "Come out and I will let you sniff me. I'm like you, I'm a child of Gaia too." The excitement over finding another like him broke all sense of caution he had over revealing his true nature to a stranger. His mother would have scolded him for being so foolish.

Sasha narrowed her eyes at the boy not completely understanding the meaning of his words but with one look at his hands she came out decided she could shred him if he made a wrong move and cautiously making her way to him sniffing his hands tilting her head at the strange boy still crouched her fingers barely touching the ground as she eyed him warily. wondering who this boy was and how he found this place.

"Are you hungry?" Jerome asked, surprised that the girl was going around in her partial form, didn't she worry about being seen? They may be powerful but they still had to keep their existence secret from the rest of the world. Seven billion to one was not good odds even for the mightiest of wolves after all. Their ability to pass for human was their greatest weapon.

"I have some jerky, I made it myself, you want some?" He was careful not to spook her with his movements as he pulled out a plastic bag from his coat filled with the salty strips of dried meat. She didn't seem to quite understand his words, but the sight and smell of meat seemed to communicate volumes. He offered her a bit, placing it on the stump and stepping back so she could examine it without being threatened.

"Why so skittish? I'm like you." He willed himself into what his mother called his Glabro form, mostly human, but with pointed ears, eyes that gleamed in the moon light, claw like finger and toe nails and a thick layer of wiry black hair covering his entire body. A body which carried almost half again his normal muscle mass.



He crouched down and leaned back, opening his stomach to her with one hand behind him and the other on his knee, to show her he was not a threat. This, his mother had told him, was the polite way to present yourself to another of Gaia's children.

"Homid is for hiding, Glabro is for greeting, Crinos is for killing, and Hispo if for hunting." She used to tell him. She never had one for their lupine form, he guessed that it probably would have been redundant with the Hispo form, or maybe she just couldn't come up with anything that started with an ell.

Loping might have worked though, nothing was quite exhilarating as running free through the woods as a wolf. It was dangerous though, his father had been shot by bastard hunters more than once, showing the scars that pocked along his side as proof. They might not kill their kind, but they still hurt like a mother fucker! For a day or two anyway, until Gaia's blessed kiss would knit the wounds, leaving only the scars as permanent badges of their battle wounds.

His father wore them with pride, each one held a story that he would never forget. Jerome had no scars, so he had no concept of why his father had such pride in his wounds. It made no sense to him. Wasn't it better to avoid such pain?

Sasha was still eyeing the boy when she saw the food. It smelled so delicious. When he placed it on th stump she went over nibbling on it. She watched as the boy became more like her. Then she saw what her mother and father had called a greeting. That if she was ever to meet another and was sure he was one to greet him or her this way. but his words where just curious to her at this point she was getting tired as she usually did lying down snuggled up to the tree stump shifting to her lupine form immediately and yawning but then she went over to him against her own caution and put her head on the knee that didn't have a hand.

Jerome nodded and laughed, pleased with himself that the she wolf had accepted his gift and eaten the offering of dried meat he'd left for her. But then, she shifted into her lupine form and he saw, for the first time, that her coat was of a silvery white. "The white wolf!" He whispered in awe, remembering the fairy tale legends his mother used to tell him. "The white wolf, with fur woven from the light of the silver moon, greatly blessed by Luna, sister of the great mother, Gaia." He repeated the legend as the she wolf seemed about to curl up for a nap. However, as if his words had been an incantation, she rose and came to him, resting her head on his knee.

He slowly reached out and scratched behind her ear, his eyes full of wonder and awe. If the legend his mother had told him was to be believed than this she wolf was special, practically a goddess amongst their kind. The kind that even Dragon spirits and Yama kings would bow to, thus was supposed to be her greatness. However, something about her humble display of trust in him made him feel more like an equal to her, not a servant. He'd never been told the second half of the legend, the part about the shadow wolf, with fur as black as coal, not unlike his own, watched over by Nyx, goddess of the night.

When Sasha had heard his words something had snapped in her and she was drawn like a magnet to him. She couldn't explain why but she felt as if she could trust him as she layed her head down.

Sasha's tail started thumping as he scratched her ears a deep rumbling starting in her throat and she was smiling. She turned to her side on instinct eyes closed. Then she heard something and sprang up growling ears perked trying to find where it came from or if she was just imagining things and instinctively started running fast back down the trail she had come shifting back to partial when she got to outside her room unlocking her window and slipping inside quietly as to not disturb her roommate if she was back shifting to human and snuggling in her bed not bothering with clothes

The she wolf allowed him to bury his fingers in her thick, silvery coat before a noise startled her and she bolted away. "My what a nice coat you have, girl" he said with a laugh, amazed that she was letting him touch her at all. He shook his head, wondering what had spooked her. He wanted to know more about her.

He placed his hands on the ground in front of him and willed the change to happen, sending his mind and body through the spiral of of forms, like his mother's rhyme, he went from glabro, crinos, hispo to lupine. Sniffing the ground where she had once been standing, Jerome picked up her trail and followed it back to her home. He circled it several times at a distance so no one would notice him, memorizing the address so that he could come for a visit during the day.

Sasha woke to her blaring alarm and hit it off the table the sound causing her to sit up and place it back. She didn't mean to hit it off it just happened. She definitely wasn't a morning person though so she layed back down for a few minutes before getting up and getting everything before eating she needed to get done and then stretched revitalized and went to the kitchen getting the eggs and sausage out and cooking her breakfast.

While she ate she pondered over that boy. He had been like her so she wasn't worried and was calm and he probably wouldn't remember her anyways so she just shook it away.

After she finished her breakfast she bot up washing her dishes and then got her extra stuff to go out. jacket phone and shoes. she barely ever wore shoes in her house cause she like going barefoot but couldn't when she went places.

She then left walking to the coffee shop and ordered a dr pepper. She did have a caffeine addition but couldn't stand coffee. So she sat down relaxing since she had no classes today.

A tall stranger watched from a distance, keeping himself upwind from the girls house, waiting for her to leave her "den". He'd tracked her for months now and would have caught her last night if there hadn't been another around to ruin his plan of attack.

He wore a black, wide brimmed hat that cast his face in shadow and hid his silvery grey hair, a black vest with a crisp, white preachers collar, a pearl white cotton long sleeved shirt underneath, black dress pants and a long black trench coat over top. He put on a pair of dark Sun glasses as the girl popped out of her den and headed toward the local coffee shop. He followed her at a distance, careful not to spook her again. He went into the coffee shop a minute after her and ordered a tall black coffee before calmly walking over to the table next to hers where he sat, facing her, sipping his coffee.

He pulled out a pocket bible and began to read aloud, his voice level so only she could hear him. "Then God blessed them and said, Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground." He closed the book and put it away, glancing at her pointedly, whispering. "I know what you are, beast."

It was then that Jerome walked in, having been drawn by an unmistakable scent. He looked around, with his hands in his pockets, not sure what the she wolf would look like in her human form, his only guide, her scent.

Sasha found herself frozen to the spot when the hunter came in alarms going off in her head and every cell screaming at her to run.

Then he pulled out a bible. "oh hell." she muttered unde her bresth. it was another insane person thinking she was some sort of evil devil. she took a deep breath as he started reading, maybe he just found the place by accident.

His next words sparked an anger and she almost growled. "as i know what you are hunter" she said in an icy tone trying not to make a scene. "maybe we handle this somewhere more private?

The preacher man grinned darkly, nodding his head. "So, you have met others of my kind? Good, then you know what is to come. Or so you think. You will find I am not as easy prey as most men." He rose, brushed his coat out and offered her his black, gloved hand. "Very well, come with me and we shall... Handle this... Elsewhere, it matters not where, I am your undoing, dog." He had no fear of her like others would, he smelled of righteous confidence and condemnation.

Jerome noticed the two of them then and walked over, curious about what was going on. "Hey there, whats up?" He asked the girl, giving the priest a wide berth, sensing something odd about him. The priest looked at him with annoyed disdain. "Who are you?" He asked scornfully. "And what business is it of yours?" Another dog, he thought, growing weary of the situation. He wasn't sure he could keep them both from changing in his presence. They wouldn't risk revealing themselves for the beasts they were in such a public place, he was sure in that, but again, this boy had frustrated his plans.

He backed up, keeping both of them in his sights. "So, you have a mate, it won't save you, bitch. Not forever. I will eventually find you alone and you shall feel the wrath of man." He slipped a hand under his coat, ready to defend himself with a silver dagger should they try to attack him.

Sasha stood up when he did but did not take his hand smacking it away "we'll see" she had a feeling she couldn't shift near him but she was still strong.

When the boy asked her what was wrong she breathed in his scent recognizing the scent from last night. "nothing we were just going somewhere to discuss some private matters." Sasha raised her eyebrow at the priest though and just got amused.

That was until his words when he backed away. "first of all im not a bitch and no this isn't my mate. and im not a dog forgot to mention that earlier."

Then she saw the preacher going into his coat and sniffed. dagger silver. seriously what was it with these guys and silver. Sasha sighed but wasn't ready for a battle and wanted to keep her kind hidden so stepped forward. "why don't you just take me now and we can leave. there doesn't need to be a scene alright?" she gulped not really wanting to go but didn't want anyone getting hurt.

"Oh ho!" The preacher man laughed heartily over Sasha slapping his offered hand away, more amused than offended. "Yes, we shall." He replied darkly, hoping she would just try and attack him so he would have cause to defend himself.

Jerome looked at her and then the preacher dude. "You think that's a good idea?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck to get the hairs to stand down. This was weird, they were both grinning like cats who caught the canary. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked, leaning toward the girl.

"Hey, woah, who you think you calling a bitch, preacher man?" Jerome spat, needlessly jumping to her defense even though it was clear she could handle herself. He glanced over at her thinking that he would like to be her mate, but keeping it to himself.

"I warn you boy, stay out of this." The preacher warned Jerome.

"Fuck you, old man." Jerome shot back, getting angry.

Sasha cut them both off and stepped forward offering herself up for the taking. "What the hell you doin?" Jerome asked, surprised by her action. Why was she just going to go with this chump? He felt the urge to change and fight for her but he found that he couldn't, it was like the beast inside him was running into a brick wall and couldn't get out. "Whats going on?" He asked, his voice shaking.

He shook off the fear and stepped forward, next to her, a girl he didn't really even know. "If she goes, I go too." He stated boldly, slipping his hand in hers without a second thought. The preacher eyed them both coldly knowing that he couldn't turn his back on either of them now. "Well played, very well, the two of you, exit and go to the right, keep walking, I shall be right behind you, if either of you try anything, one of you will pay the ultimate price. I advise you not to test me." He motioned for them to turn around and stepped behind them.

.....

"yes you are" Sasha didn't want him caught up in something she wanted him to leave so he didn't get hurt.

She was suprised that the boy jumped to her defense and didn't leave so she had taken action.

"what does it look like im doing mister?" he suprised her even more when he came up beside her. she wanted to throw his one question back at him but it wasn't good for her to create more enemies and had enough to deal with but shook off his hand.

"fine." she started walking the way the preacher told her determined once she got him privately she would show him just how good she was.

Jerome shook his head in disbelief, this girl had some guts, its too bad this asshole was probably going to spill them all over the place the first chance he got.

"I hope you know what you're doing, lady." He whispered to Sasha as they walked out of the coffee shop. "My name's Jerome by the way. What's yours?"

"No talking!" The preacher spat, nudging the boy in the back with something hard and blunt.

"Alright, alright, take it easy, man." Jerome said, more annoyed than scared. "Well dad, looks like I'm about to learn why you were so proud of your scars..." He thought to himself knowing that this guy was going to try and kill them both if they didn't do something soon.

The preacher man walked them a few blocks away and down an alleyway. He told them to face the stone wall and put their hands over their heads. "What you gonna do to us mister? You a fag? Gonna play with my dick?" He asked, trying to rattle the old religious nut so that he might do something stupid, to him, not the girl.

"You've a sickness, boy, and I've the cure..." The preacher said coldly, pressing something against the back of Jerome's head. "Oh shit! Oh shit! Calm down man, I didn't mean it!" He balked, unsure that even a child of Gaia could survive a point blank shot to the head. He turned his head to look at the girl, mouthing the words "Run!" His eyes wide with panic.

"You poor child, now that your reckoning has come, only now do you regret your sins? Does the blood you've drank now taste as ash on thy tongue?" There was a certain mad glee in the preachers voice. He was enjoying this, holding them at gun point. "Confess they sins and I shall free thee of thy damnation!" He intoned.

"oh i know exactly what im doing." Sasha was grinning having fun with the game. She felt sorry for the boy as he was taking the blunt of it. she just needed a reason for self defense.

Oh did she get one. She started chuckling then leaped up pushing against the wall with her feet landing behind the preacher snatching his gun while he was stunned and kicking him so hard between his legs that he went flying.

Sasha didn't stop there though. She had to make sure he didn't come back so after throwing his gun so far she didn't know if he would ever find it she went up to him picked him up and threw him down, making sure he was unconscious but no dead. Then she got her phone out calling 911.

When the operator came online and asked what the problem was she was smiling "i have an unconscious man here who believes in werewolves. he was rambling on about it. you can find him in the alley to the right of the little coffee shop on main street." then she hung up and turned back to the boy. "wanna come to my place?"

The preacher went limp in Sasha's hands as she threw him down, playing possum while the girl enjoyed her momentary victory. He knew enough to wear a cup to protect himself from being kicked in the balls, even still, the strength of her kick was almost enough to keep him down regardless.

"Holy shit! You dropped that fucker like he was hot!" Jerome turned around, slapping his knees and doubling over in laughter. "You a bad ass!" He praised her. "Hell yeah I do! Lets get the fuck out of here before that psycho wakes up! Shit, he ain't dead, is he? You bout sent him back five feet with that kick!" He asked, rushing out of the alleyway.

"yes i did but he's gonna wake up quickly and then he is gonna come after us and no he isn't dead" she ran with him leading to her place putting all the locks in place and went to the living room running her hands through her hair and pacing.

"He was playing me. I don't know who he is but I do know he is different than others." she kept herself from shaking putting up her usual brave front forcing herself to calm down and sat down beside him. "also the name is Sasha."

"Hey, if he comes after us then we can just kick his ass again! I mean, I would have helped you but you were too damn quick. I didn't have the chance. But you sure looked good. Where did you learn that wall spring you did, anyway? You like a martial artist or something?" He did a rather sloppy attempt at karate chops as he asked.

"Playing you? How? He looked like a nut to me, but... Oh shit!" He remembered trying to change but being unable to. "You mean... Was he the reason I couldn't change? I mean, that's not possible, is it? How could he have any control over our gift? He's just some crazy dude, right?"

He looked over at Sasha as she sat next to him and told him her name. "Sasha, I like that... Sssasha." He said her name kind of sexy like, grinning from ear to ear. "Its sexy." He added, as if it needed explaining.

"Next time might come all too quick for me. when i was about 8 my mom and dad started teaching me self-defense as my father had come across a guy like that before and wanted to make sure i just didn't rely on my wolf. To answer your question yes. He was the reason you couldn't shift."

"Anyway onto a different subject. You were they guy from last night weren't you?" Sasha smiled liking the way he said her name her ears and tail almost wanting to come out.

"You're dad was smart, i could never get into that shit myself, but you look good doing it. Jeez, that guy really spooked you, didn't he? I mean, I was kind of scared to, but now that we know he's out there and mad as a hatter, we can deal, yo. You can fight and I'm... Well I'm pretty sneaky when I wanna be. You and I, we'd make a great team, you know?"

"Weird, you think he's some kind of mutant or something? He's no wolf like us, and he don't smell dead like a vamp. And what was up with him looking like a preacher? He don't act like one, that's for sure!"

"Okay, okay... But we got to go back to this guy later on, okay?" Jerome nodded, a little reluctantly. "Oh yeah, that was me, I almost didn't recognize you in your human form, but I knew your scent. So, did you like the jerky?" He asked, giving her a bright, toothy smile.

"Hey, is that your grove I found you in last night? I kind of like it there! How'd you find it? Its like something out of a fairy tale. I bet there's spirits there if we went into the umbra." He had no idea if she knew about the umbra or not, but his mother had shown him how to pass through the gauntlet when he was fourteen, so he could always run from danger, to his fathers chagrin. However, it was more than just a bolt hole, porting through to the shadow world of the umbra. Some of the wisest members of Garou society spent years there, learning the secrets of the spirit world from ghostly masters.

"Yea still is. Even if its not for you im warning you should at least learn some. The reason im so scared is because of how much damage the one guy did to my father that was like the preacher guy."

"I would rather keep my distance from that guy. I don't want anyone getting hurt. That includes you and myself. The preacher thing is common with hunters. They think we are demons and they are righteous and killing us is just getting rid of a disease and they are helping to cleanse the world."

"I would rather never go back to talking about him but whatever. um yes i did like the jerky" Sasha blushed hiding from his gaze wanting to snuggle up to him. damn what was the matter with her.

"Yea that's my grove. i found it when escaping my first college party. Maybe. the umbra is a nice place i like to watch the Weavers. They kinda interest me unlike earths spiders. I go there most fridays. Also when my roommate comes let me explain why you are here"