a day in the life of,, Adrien & Sarah

The sun set the mood painting their backdrop with deep rich shades of pink, red, purple and orange. On any othe occassion, with any other pair this place and time would have been one of romance and soft heady emotions but for the pair who sat beside each other now it was nothing but another night of work. This backdrop is lost almost entierly on the blonde, the roving itch that shifts through her veins would have knocked any man on his ass, but Sarah was not any man she was a captain, the captain. That the man beside her, just as silent and brooding as the pale woman, did not know of the ache in her limbs left her at odds with herself. Though she was as stuuborn as an old cart mule she knew she couldn't go about this alone, god olny knew how much she wished she could but she had to tell him, had to tell them all. A wave of sharp metalic pain passed through her body, her jaw clenches and the gloved hand resting on her saddle horn closes over the rawhide covered nub in response. She knew that Bram, their alpha, suspected something strange in the blonde but what of Adrien? Bram had questioned her and although she had deflected everything he had thrown at her she knew he was not satisfied in the least.

Tonight was the night, though Bram would learn of this tonight as well Adrien would get the privilege of hearing it first, call it right place at the right time, nothing more. Telling her second was not so easy as it sounded, not a man whom she had worked with for what seemed like forever, a man who had openly objected to her position and pushed against almost every decision she made, a man whom she had to earn respect from. It was about as difficult as sticking your hand into a bees nest. How would he react to this news? The better question for her was how would he react to the name that rolled around on her tongue. She had not, after all, arived at this destination on her own. Biting back another wave of needles she can't help but glance at the gruff quiet man beside her. Could he smell it? There was trouble in the air and it sat beside him. Cyd, the grouchy roan mare, shifted beneath her an irritated swish of her tail telling the blonde her patience was running out, she would have to move soon or be faced with one nasty rodeo ride.

A quiet sigh presses from her throat before her voice prasses through her lips. It's a strange sound, something that is almost too loud for the enviroment they are currently sitting in though it is only a little louder then a whisper. "Adrien, there's somethin' you need to know." She remains staring at the painted horizon a proud careful expression filtered over her face. She was past feeling sorry for herself and although she was not yet to excited or happy she would not offer her mixed feelings on this subject, Adrien would think what he wanted, he always did and she knew this would be no exception. The silence between them stretches, clearly what she had to say was not an easy thing and she is thankful that the man beside her is not one to pry but wait patiently for the words to come, at least right this moment. When the words did come they were brash and unsugared, raw and rough. "I'm infected." These two words are even softer then the ones before them and after they have left her lips she is silent, a nervous hand reaches to scratch absently at her forearm though she knows the ich hidden within can not be satisfied by this movement. She can not tear her eyes away from the horizon allowing the colors to paint themselves in her pale blue eyes while Adrien processed this new bit of information.

This post has been edited by Sarah Dawson-Bonham on Jun 14 2012, 02:06 PM

Each passing day had seemed to grow longer and longer as the month wore on, the white crescent of the moon expanding and growing larger like a mother in the terms of pregnancy. Wasn’t that all she was, the moon? A mother to his kind? Each night that passed brought Adrien and his kin a fraction – sliver of a moon – closer to bypassing evolution and becoming part of the next generation of man. Perhaps it was for that reason that each day seemed to wane into oblivion with each night even longer. Every morn that he awoke he found the heated fever of anticipation tingling beneath his bronzed skin, and each night he grew more restless in his sleep. Almost a century since his first change and each full moon still seemed to bring on a whole new level of freedom and thrill as though it were his first time all over again. “Like a virgin boy at his first whorehouse,” Bram had told him one full moon several decades ago. Adrien saw the dark, thrilling power in his alpha’s eyes and experienced the same feeling every time the beast took him.

But the anticipation leading up to it was the worst.

He’d drawn duty with the captain that evening. A poor decision on both their parts, no doubt, as Adrien often became overly moody just prior to the full moon and Sarah, being one of the few humans in the Blackmoon gang, was wise to avoid her lycan kin on their one night of animalistic bliss. Adrien shifted uneasily in the saddle. His heavy frame was supported by a massive lusitano stallion who seemed to sense the tension in his rider’s body because he was pacing from hoof to hoof anxiously and pawing at the soft, dry earth. The leather creaked and moaned as he tugged the stallion’s reigns to keep the beast from prancing about beneath his tension.

The soft brown of his eyes watched as the sun slowly began to dissolve into a canvas of pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows against the horizon. By his judgment there was only thirty, forty minutes tops of daylight still left before the sun gave way to his mistress the moon which meant Sarah only had thirty or so minutes to hike her skinny little hide back to camp and out of the wolves’ forest. Since their time together the two had been through a veritable dossier of arguments, heated debates, and conflicts that would instead of tearing normal people apart, only seemed to draw him in closer to her.

Adrien found himself thinking of the harsh, clear gaze from behind the soft pale skin that she’d give him when he’d make a crack at her lineage or the way the orange glow from a setting sun seemed to give her a halo that was certainly meant for a different kind of angel, not the she-demon she could be in a temper. All thoughts that swam in his head when she wasn’t there. All thoughts managing to worm their way into his mind and seed so deeply he couldn’t rid himself of them. All thoughts that, frankly, confused the hell out of him. He’d found a new-found respect and admiration for the young human that had become so strong and so dominant in a family of wolves. Neither one known for being of many words, it was often that the two would sit in silence for hours at a time during a regular patrol… though it was never an uncomfortable silence.

Until today.

Adrien inhaled deeply the scent of leather, sweat, and dust as the sun continued to fall and the sky continued to darken at a steady pace. Only twenty-five or so minutes. Her voice brought him back into reality and he sat up straighter in the saddle, scrubbing his scruffy jaw with a large hand as he listened. ”What I know is y’got about twenty minutes to high-tail it outta here before the monsters come out t’play, darlin’,” her began with a slow, husky drawl. There seemed to be an almost sensual quaver in the baritone of his voice. The wolf was very near the surface and he fell silent again with nothing much else to say.

But her next words struck him as odd. So odd, in fact, that he’d almost sworn he’d not heard them. So odd, in fact, that the shock of those two words being uttered from her lips made him turn in the saddle and regard her stupidly with a look of silent cluelessness for almost a full minute before they processed in his head. ”That…” he started, struggling to find the coherence to start formulating a sentence. ”That ain’t right, that can’t be.” Dumbfounded and confused, the pieces all seemed to fall into place and the transition was immediate.

His stallion whinnied nervously and pranced sideways as Adrien jumped from the saddle and, in a singular swift motion, dragged her down from hers too. The lusitano and the roan neighed fearfully at the movement and kicked and danced away from the two. He held her at arm’s length, large hands nearly white-knuckled around her shoulders as he gripped them. ”Who?” he demanded, a mixture of rage, confusion, and… relief? lingering in the flushed red face and wide brown eyes. He shook her not too gently, his anger more palpable and at the surface. ”WHO!” Adrien forced himself to release her and turned to pace away anxiously, his hand tugging through his thick hair.

He found the irrational anger he felt directed at her was more likely directed at his inability to process why he felt the jealous rage in the first place … either that or he refused to acknowledge it. He paused to turn and look at her. ”This ain’t a goddamn game, girl!” Adrien’s voice rumbled deeply in his chest, a semblance of a growl in the undertones. ”I seen stronger men than you not make it through their first moon. The hell were you thinkin’!” Where anger flared, concern seemed to overtake it. Adrien forced himself to take a deep breath and calm his nerves – or at least try to. The sun was continued to fall in the sky and each minute brought them both closer to her judgment, with he as the judge.

”Bram know?” he inquired but didn’t quite wait for an answer. He already knew it. ”Course he don’t. Y’don’t tell nobody nothin’. Jesus, Sarah, when were you planning on telling us? Do you have any idea what coulda’ happened if one of the new brats caught you sniffing around tonight? You’d be-“ Adrien swallowed hard and shook his head again to clear his thoughts. ”Look,” he started slowly, trying his best to keep the edge of his irrational anger out of his tone as he turned anxiously to watch the sun continue to fall in the sky. ”Who?” he asked again, leveling his heavy gaze on her with an overwhelming sense of an urgent need to know.

Was this a mistake? Should I have waited on Bram? These questions swam around in her head like fish in a bowl. Though she knew, she had to have known, this would have happened if and when she told her second. Bram was by far the more level headed of the pair, his wrath would have been far harder to take, it had always burned hotter under his skin and released is such cold calculated words. She had only seen his rage once before but she was fairly sure this would have gotten her hide far closer to hell then she had ever wished it to be. Bram had been busy though and she clearly didn't have time to make it back, explain, and suffer his wrath before the sun fell from the sky. So Adrien it was.

The quip that leaves his throat as she speaks is ignored save for the icy glance from the edge of her sockets. The silence that folows is tense, especially for these two but she knows as those two words leave her lips that this might have been a mistake. "That ain't right, can't be." The confusion that purses from his tongue causes her gaze to shift. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad after all. His deep brown eyes stare at her while she watches him make the connections. His face shifts so suddenly from dolt to hell-spawn that she has little room for reaction. There it was, there was the Adrien she had expected. Before she could kick a leg out of her stirup she was pulled from her horse by rough calloused hands exerting too much force to be considered anything but hostile. She wasn't even sure if she had gotten free before he caught her off guard that she could have stopped him, not in this fit. That he was angery at anyone else but her did not occur to her until he pressed her for an answer. His voice rang in her ears, even before he raised it. "Who?" The question pushed the other fish from the bowl like a whale. She had no love, not even a friendly amount of like, for his, their, pack mate in question. This still didn't mean she wished to throw him under the bus.

There was no time for an answer, so in the end it mattered little what she thought in that moment. Just as her shoulders began to ache under the pressure of his fingers his grip loosened. There was little she could have done to rid herself of Adrien up to this point so she took this opportunity to wretch herself from his grap and stand on her own. A momentary if not feeble act of defiance. Icy eyes watch him as he paces, his fists clenching and releasing in an untimely need to control the jumble inside him. His tongue lashes out and although he asks her questions she knows well enough to keep her lips sealed until he levels his gaze. No one should interupt the rumbling bear. Crossing her arms over her chest she continues to follow his pacing, an arrent hand rubs against her forearm in a gesture of discomfort. This talking business was not something that came easily to the blonde.

The uneasy feeling hit her in the gut again as the bear finally settled, his scolding coming to an end and his brooding gaze leveling in on the thin blonde. This seemed so much easier in her head. How did she tell someone, a business partner if you will, that you had one hazy tequilla night with someone they both had to look in the eye the next day? Probably just like Sarah was about too. "Falco," the name that had been rolling around in her mouth fell out without thought. There was an odd sense of humiliation that flushed her pale cheeks for a brief moment. That he had been her first, that he had taken advantage of an angry youth with the sting of alcohol, were things she couldn't say to the heated face before her. "and tequila." She was fairly sure he could put two and two together, his brain did work the same way...well more or less, Adrien obviously had tact and far more self control then one Falco Manin.

If he didn't now why she was hesitant before she was sure he would have understood now if his reason wasn't clouded with rage, or if he had been a woman, the later was hopeless but the prior might still be in the running. There was a defensivness that passed over her face, like a wounded animal backed into a corner, it was unlike the usually strong young woman to show such things but she was too much like a wounded animal in that moment to justify hiding it. She was a proud creature but even she knew she could not go this alone. Adrien had not been the person she had expected to go through it with but a glance at the sky told her he was her only hope of making it through the night unscathed. When her gaze meets his deep brown eyes again she frowns, her arms tighten across her chest defensively. "I'm sorry," She sounded far more wounded then she wanted and so pausing she cleared her throat to try again her rough, quiet, strength returns. "it was supposed to be Bram..." her voice trails off, she hadn't intended to make him sound incapable of dealing with this. With a huff her arms fall to brace themselves on either side of her hips. "Well, it looks like it's yer lucky day Bonham." Her shoulders shrug lightly trying to make light of both the beast that huffed in front of her and the one that seared her insides.

This post has been edited by Sarah Dawson-Bonham on Jun 14 2012, 02:07 PM

Adrien felt the wolf nearer and nearer the surface with each passion moment. Whether it was for the sun that kept setting and drawing the full moon closer or the just trying to tear his way out of his skin to let the anger flare in a beastly, monstrous trumpet he was unsure. The heat that seared beneath his skin caused his bronzed skin to flush and his nostrils flare like a wild stallion’s. Each breath that he huffed surprised him that it didn’t come out as steam or smoke. But still, he managed to restrain the raging beast… at least for now. As soon as the moon was fully beyond the horizon he knew as well as she that neither of them would be able to do much to keep themselves in the realm of man.

Adrien’s fingers clenched and stretched instinctively as he paced restlessly. The anger was still there. The confusion, the frustration, the betrayal. The last emotion caught him off his guard, and it was quite evident on his face when he leveled his gaze at her. Why he felt the sting of betrayal when her words came tumbling out her mouth he couldn’t place. The two had been comrades in crime for years together, and though they didn’t always quite get along as well as peaches and cream, he’d had a certain respect for her and, lately, found himself with a certain admiration of her. But he had no real claim to her persay. She was as free as any of them were and came to the Blackmoon pack of her own accord. So why was it now that he felt as though she’d lied not to their alpha, not to the pack… but to him?

Another deep growl rumbled in his throat at the mention of the culprit behind the betrayal – not Sarah, but Falco. ”Falco… his voice echoed, deep and tight with anger, though it was obvious he was attempting to restrain it. The wolf roared to be released, the anger and rage bubbling to a boil just below the surface of his skin. But as soon as the heat flared up something blew out the flame of the stove that fueled his anger in an instant. For as long as the two had worked together, Adrien knew almost every single look, quip, and glare that she could give him. But this one he’d never seen. The look of sheer humiliation and vulnerability was something he’d not known was in her vocabulary of expressions, and now that he’d seen it a wave of regret washed over him.

All of his anger dissipated immediately at the sight of the fragile, humiliated woman before him. He’d never seen her so vulnerable before so… human. Adrien’s chest rose and fell in a deep exhale as he turned back towards her. ”Look,” he told her finally, taking a few steps towards her to close the gap between them as the sun finally began to touch against the horizon. ”We ain’t got much time left to talk so let’s just make it count. Y’shoulda come to us.” To me, he added mentally. ”We coulda prepared you for what was comin’, kid. I just…” His voice broke off and in place of where anger had been before was a soft, almost pleasant lopsided grin. ”S’gonna hurt like hell.”

Adrien turned his gaze back towards the horizon that was crimson and fading fast. They didn’t have much more time. Adrien unbuttoned his shirt and stripped it from his chest, letting it fall unceremoniously to the dusty ground as he unbuttoned and unzipped the denim of his jeans, but for her sake let them remain on for the time being. The muscles beneath his chest rippled with tension as he felt the beast beneath howling to be free. He scrubbed a hand through his messy hair. ”Look, it’s gonna hurt, and it’s gonna be scary as hell, all the new senses y’got flyin’ at you,” he began, shaking out the tension in his hands. ”And quite frankly you may have trouble controllin’ her. But whatever you do…” he smiled genuinely for the first time probably since the two of them had met and reached out to tuck a strand of white hair away from her crystal blue eyes gently. ”Remember who friend and foe is. I ain’t going back to Bram explainin’ why I ain’t returnin’ with you.”

The culprit rippled through her senses, like a healing wound ripped open again it stung and hisssed as the recognition in his eyes made the situation far too real. Brom had sensed the change within her, the subtle signs and shifting of chemisrty within her own body, how Adrien had missed it she could only guess. Perhaps their time together had been too much as of late, she had seen Bram far less, maybe those larger gaps gave way to new senses or perhaps it was the fact that she was far too good at hiding it behind her caloused facade. Her tongue had not softened, her actions had remained the same, that hard edge in her voice was still there when she argued with her second but that tinge in his voice as he spoke to her now cut far deeper then she would have liked to admit. Betrayal.

She hadn't prepared for that, nor had she meant for it to be there to begin with. Adrien and Sarah were one in the same, though neither of them would admit it, they were quiet, gruff folk who spent more time with themselves then anyone else. Sarah knew herself well, far better then most could claim to know themselves. Things like this did not sit easily with her, things brought on by momentary lapses in judgement, later followed by shame and self loathing. Feelings were just not something she did well when it concerned her job or her pack. That she would have hurt, in any capacity, the ones she saw everyday she hadn't taken into consideration, hadn't thought...that was her issues right there, she didn't think out any of this. She had buried it in hopes of, what? That it would go away? That she could deal with it on her own? Damn her pride! Look what you've gotten yourself into now Sarah!

The change in his voice brought her back to the surface, focus returning to her eyes as she watches him work through this new information. His words, now more then ever, sit heavily on her shoulders. A fear, one she had come to know far more intimately then she'd like to, bubbled to the surface. Her icy gaze steeled in front of it, forcing it back down into the roiling depths of herself. Her gaze falls momentarily to the dry dusty ground, feeling more like a chastized child in that moment then a captain of anything. His sudden movement causes her gaze to return to his as his fingers work in an almost nervous hurried motion, unbuttoning the fabric that restrained him. A veritable onslaught of butterflies rose in her belly, not at the sight of Adrien, though she could not deny that the fire in her veins purred quietly at the sight of his tanned flesh, but rather the mixed emotons, nervousness, excitement, and fear. She'd never been so close to a pack member this near the full moon. It was clear he struggled with himself, now more then ever.

She allows his words to sink in, though she remains silent for the time being, not trusting the fire in her veins to behave itself with simple speech. The smile that lights his face gives her pause. Well i'll be! Adrien is capable of real emotions after all! A quiet smirk tipped one side of her pale features before she spits out a string of words laced with a venomous teasing she knew very few could get away with in Adrien's presence. "Don't get yer hopes up Bonham, my job won't fall into yer lap that easily." though she sounded confident her insides continued to roll about with nervous energy. She knew she couldn't just stand there all night like a dolt so with a fluid, if not slightly painful movement she spun on a heel as a quiet whistle was given. The roan mare danced nervously, the pain in her veins was clearly something the mare could sense, her dark nostrils flaring as she eyes the blonde a moment. A steady hand is placed on the beasts shoulder before Sarah begins to pull the fire arms from her person to secure them in the various holsters tied to her saddle. Unlike the rest of the pack, she had never had anything else to defend herself with, until now.

There is a nevous shake to her usual steady hands as she pulls the leather from behind the horse's head. The iron bit slides from the mare's mouth without any resistance from the mount. Sarah ties the bridle to her saddle horn, there is no doubt that the mare will flee and any harm she can lessen for the poor mount is taken. She knows the mare will bolt for home, she is after all, a beast ruled by it's stomach. With that done Sarah strips herself of anything not nessicary in make it home the next day. Holsters, belt, jacket, etc.

It is chilly as the sun begins to slip from the horizon but she finds herself far warmer then usual, the thin cotton that hugs her torso feels oddly confining as the dull itch in her veins intensifies. Standing beside Adrien, eyes glued to the horizon she can't help but wonder what is to come next. There is an unhidden fear in her eyes as she clenched her jaw through yet another wave of pain, this one more excruciating then the last. Soon. The word echoes through her mind, a mantra said in excited fear. Without thought her hands move to pluck buttons through cotton holes, what little modesty she had in the face of any man let alone one she worked with day in and day out was thrown on the back burner. Growing up in a house full of men had hardened her for times like these, accidental barging in's while bathing became something of a norm in a house with one bathroom and three people. So when the cotton slides from her shoulders she doesn't flnch, her eyes remain watching the stars as they begin to peek out from behind the the soft red glow that lines the horizon. Unlike the man beside her she does not spare him from indecency, her shaking hands take more time to slide the brass button from the stiff jean fabric but in the end she is left standing in a puddle of fabric. The only thing sepearting her from the wild beast that begins to rage within are the thin lacey-edged under garments.

With a deep, shakey sigh, she steps sideways her pale arm brushing against Adrien's tanned bicep as her chest epands gently with each gulp of air. Her gaze never leaves the horizon. "I'm scarred, Adrien." Her voice leaves her in a whispered rush. It is a statement she had only proclaimed a few times in her life and just like those other times she sounds little more then a child. How could she have been fool enough to think she could do this on her own? Her frame quivers, be it from cold or fear she does not know but the trembling of her legs forces her to sit. Carefully pulling her knees to her chest she sits in the dust waiting for whatever was to come next.

This post has been edited by Sarah Dawson-Bonham on Jun 14 2012, 02:05 PM

The heat beneath his skin began to burn and tingle with a welcome familiarity as the crimson of the sun deepened to the violets and blues of an early sunset. The muscles in his body tensed and shifted as he shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Adrien had been experiencing the same sensation for once a month for almost a hundred years, yet each time felt alive and different and new. Each time felt like he was being reborn, birthed into his true skin as his human self shed away in place of the wolf. It was an exhilarating euphoria. Where other men got their kicks from whiskey or woman, Adrien’s high was as natural as the moon rising in the sky every night.

Tonight, however, was different. Tonight, he wasn’t alone.

Kicking off his first boot, Adrien used his toes to pry off the second before hunching over to tug away the old, thick socks underneath. He reached over to scoop up the shirt and other garments and carried them to where his mare grazed anxiously nearby. The animal was a young, hardy beast only a few years old, but she’d not quite yet experienced her rider’s transformation firsthand yet. Adrien could sense – and see – the tension in the horse’s muscles, the whites of her eyes as she paced restlessly. She could smell the wolf on them both, but hadn’t quite yet managed to run off on him thankfully.

As his normal routine, he stuffed the shirt, boots, and socks into one of the large saddlepacks he’d packed with him today. Following Sarah’s lead, he easily removed the mare’s bridle and fastened it along with his gloves to the horn of the saddle. She was a good animal and would be found in the corrals of the Red Ridge gang by morning alongside Cyd, no doubt. If she did not, it wouldn’t be the first time Adrien had been out a change of clothes. Sarah’s words managed to spark another small grin to his face and he shook his head softly as he loosened the cinch on the horse’s saddle. His hands moved swiftly and had done the act a thousand times before.

”It ain’t your job I wanted,” he told her as his fingers worked to tie the last knot of the saddle tie. It’s your trust. The confidence was there in her voice, he could hear it, but it seemed forced. He remembered… he knew the horror the first shift brought along with it. Excruciating, blindly agonizing pain and an onslaught of all new sights and sounds assaulting you from every angle. It was, all in all, and overwhelming experience the first time on his own. Luckily, she wouldn’t have to face it by herself.

Adrien shuffled out of his denim and tugged them from his body, bundling them up and stuffing them lastly into his saddlepack leaving him free and nude as the day he first came into the world a screaming baby over a hundred years ago. The feeling was always exhilarating. Giving the mare a good smack on the rump the beast, wild-eyed with fear at the smell of wolf in her flaring nostrils, reared up and rocketed away towards home leaving nothing but a nude lycan and a trail of dust behind her. He finally turned his gaze back to Sarah and felt a new kind of heat rushing beneath his skin as he watched her carefully unbutton her own clothing to remove it from being shredded. The two had seen eachother at the worst more than a hundred times, and there was usually no cause at all for any kind of modesty amongst the pack… but there was something very new and delicate about the way her hands shook as she fumbled to remove her outer clothing. Adrien felt a rumble of excitement tighten in his chest as he finally returned to her side to face the impending moon that lingered just past the horizon.

The last few inches of crimson died behind the horizon and for an instant the sky seemed to turn a myriad of purples, blacks, and blues, like a rainbow of oil sifting across the surface of a puddle. He inhaled softly, her feminine scent mingling with that of cold sweat and dust. The wolf rumbled deeply in his chest as he felt her body crumble beneath shaking legs to the ground and he crouched to follow suit. Her voice was almost soft enough for him to miss it, but the helplessness and vulnerability was as loud and clear as day. Adrien felt a tightness in his chest as the first rays of the moon peaked over the horizon and he leaned forward to nuzzle against the back of her neck, inhaling the perfume and softness of her hair against his skin.

”I know, Sarah,” he purred against her soft skin as he felt the shift began to take over him. ”Don’t be… I’m here…” The last word was gargled and muffled as his vocal chords began to shift and transform from human to lycan and the sound of crunching and shifting bones began to creak in the air.

It was time.

There would be no reprieve from the onslaught that followed, this was her doing, this was something she had done to herself. Of course she had some help but she could not stare into the face of that glowing silver orb and deny that she had wanted it, and at that very venerable time, him. It wasn't days, or hours or even minutes but mere moments afterward that the regret sank it's snarling teeth into her flesh. She had welcomed him in and he had used her, she knew it the moment his hungry fingers caressed her flesh, she was nothing more then a toy to him. But tequila had muddled her instincts had dulled the fight in her as whiskey never would and as much as the rake of his teeth over her throat repulsed her she could not soften the feral moan that would follow it. This was something she had wanted but she could not deny that it had come about in the wrong way. These things, thoughts of a night so long past and buried she rarely glimpsed them awakened at the sight of her new mother, the mother she had never had, the mother wretched away by illness and winter. She was reborn. This gift did not come without it's price, however, and with each creeping inch of silver that grew over the horizon she could feel her toes being pressed closer and closer to the edge of oblivion.

She could feel him, the heat of him as he nuzzled the back of her neck but the sensation of that touch was gone, overshadowed by something else, something new and frightening and painful beyond words. It came as something familiar and yet totally different. The dull ache she had grown accustomed to over the last few months, but it was centralized rather then just the full bodily fatigue it radiated beginning in her joints. Dull and throbbing at first it began to grow in intensity, grew hotter like liquid lava pouring through her veins, it scorched from the inside out more painful then even she had braced herself for. Pale blue eyes continued to stare at the moon, her jaw clenching to combat the need to wail like a child, she would not cry, she wanted this and she must pay the price. Nothing good ever came without it's price.

The quiet guttural words spoken against the nape of her neck sent a cold shiver through her thin form before erupting into pain, not here,not there, but everywhere.”Adrien-” Her voice is strained and full of something unfamiliar to her, fear. The horrid sound that followed his strangled last word echoed in her own body, bones breaking only to shift, realign and mend. She would not cry, could not even if she had wanted too. The force behind this shedding of skin was far to great to allow her anything but struggled breaths of air, her lungs working fervently to pull in enough oxygen to keep her conscious. The water, salty and searing began to build at the bottom of her eyes, she would not cry. With one last fleeting glace at the moon she relinquished her control, the last of her human instinct, the instinct to struggle and fight dissipated. Cool flesh covered fingers let go of the reigns allowing her mother to guide her, to take her where she must go. As her lids fell, pulling in with them the gathered wetness along their rim, the pain, if at all possible, intensified, radiating from her core in a fire too hot to be compared to anything except the center of the sun. As the heat moved from limbs to spine she felt a strangled rumble in her chest in protest, no longer did she have use of her vocal chords. In the midst of this resurrection the pain in her body was overshadowed by a sharp pointed pinprick in her mouth, this was followed by the soft spreading of something metallic and odd to these new senses.

Just as quickly as it began it eased. The fire dulled to something familiar and slightly itchy as the last bone realigned itself and began to mend. Though the fear brought on by pain eased it was quickly replaced by the fear of sounds and smells, both familiar and alien. Her lungs heaved with a heavy sigh before slowing to even out her breathing. Laying on her belly, the ground felt far colder then it had moments before but before she could resign herself to figure this out the breeze shifted bringing with it a reminder that she was not alone. The strong earthy smell of Adrien pressed into her nose and before she could gather the reigns and ease into this new furry skin the animal took control. Her frame, still far smaller then his snapped from the ground in a fluid graceful movement she would never have been allowed in her skin. Lids peel back in a snap as her attention rests on the larger, darker wolf. She felt helpless, like someone sitting in a ride at the fair, her movements were dictated by a person thirty feet away pressing the button. Struggling against the urges her body demanded, this new animal was it's own beast and it was not satisfied by her simply easing into it's saddle.

Deep blue eyes framed by an almost white hide watch Adrien, a low feral noise erupting from it's chest as it stands at alert. "”Remember who friend and foe is." The words echoed through her head but she was grasping feebly at straws without any traction on her finger tips to actually grab a single one. The pale beast moves quietly, circling, the hair along her spine bristles in defense, an odd sensation to say the least. As much as she wanted to lay back down and ease into this situation the beast in control continued to circle, it's stance was dominant, head held high, eyes narrowed. Sarah continued to grapple with control but for every inch she made in progress an inch was lost behind her. She could feel the quick thud of her heart, the dull throb of blood as it coursed through her veins, the small pebbles beneath her paws and the stiff breeze that rustled the hair along her spine. The sound of something small and near distracted the beast, it's head snapped to follow the sound losing interest in the quiet brown wolf. In this pause Sarah lunged forward to grasp the rough leather reins and pull back with a tug. In response the beast seemed to dull a bit allowing her to focus it's attention away from whatever grouse rustled the brush nearby. The last thing she needed was a feast of something she had no intention of ingesting.

A glance was given to the other wolf, Sarah had far less interest in grappling with Adrien then the beast within did though a low gurgled growl rose from her chest anyway. The taste in her mouth was overwhelming, tangy and sweet, it churned her stomach. Turning away from Adrien she ventured East, her paws were slow, her mind too easily distracted to keep her in any semblance of a straight or steady course. The smell of water finally pulled both her and her beast's attention, a pink tongue slides along her jowl leaving behind a stained red trail before it is pulled back within the confines of her maw. Her pace quickens to an easy trot, this new need seems to distract the beast enough that she loses all interest in the wolf trailing her, the irritated hair along her spine smooths itself as the muscles in her limbs constrict suddenly. With a loss that Sarah can not quite recover from the beast slides back into the drivers seat, it's thickly laced muscles release themselves just as suddenly as they had constricted allowing her a burst of speed. Pale gray nose twitches steering her to the edge of a small creek. As her muscles ease their rhythmic pounding Sarah easily gains control over the beast once more, slowing to a stop before stooping to rest on it's belly once more. Lapping at the quiet flowing water her deep blue eyes find Adrien to her left and although she can not contain the quiet rumble in her chest that the beast insists upon it is quieter and less feral then before. With each mouthful of water the terrible bloody taste leaves allowing her stomach to settle.

Keeping an eye on Adrien seems much easier said then done, the subtle sounds of movement however near or far seem to distract the wolf, her ears shifting to listen for a while before being consumed by some other sound. Sitting on her haunches she tries to define the sounds as something, to filter out the useless and yet distracting sounds of small wildlife and nocturnal birds. She seems calm, collected and herself until something very faint and very near catches her attention. Blue eyes shift to the brush several feet away before something uncoils itself and moves towards the water. Snakes have never been something Sarah liked, even when not clad in fur. The beast rears it's ugly head but even it's defensive energy can not outweigh Sarah's need to get away from said angry slithering culprit, it's tail flicks in a quiet rattling threat. The hair along her spine bristles once more, her bushy white tail tucking itself beneath her belly as she finds her feet moving backwards in rapid succession. She is only given several feet of leeway before she collides into Adrien, something she and her beast had forgotten about almost entirely. The impact into the dark wolf causes a quiet yelp to escape from her throat, her blue eyes capturing his deep brown eyes for a split second before she returns to the advancing snake. Her beast rears again, this contact and close proximity is not deemed okay by it's standards but again it is outweighed as a quiet whine presses from it's throat. Sarah quickly finds herself on her belly, crouched behind Adrien, as if he were some sort of brick wall that would shield her from the bad tempered and in reality, tiny thing that advanced towards the warm spot she had left behind. Another whine, quieter and less urgent squeaks from her nostrils, blue eyes darting from Adrien to the snake. There is an itch in limbs to run, her fleshed instinct, something the beast keeps in check holding her to the cold ground just behind the larger wolf. In this moment of human fear she looked nothing more then a frightened pup hiding behind it's older, wiser sibling, urging it to carry on where she could not.

Adrien let the soft perfume of her white hair wash over his senses as he nuzzled against the back of her neck instinctively. A soft purr of pleasure rumbled in his chest and he closed his eyes to the darkening sky and let himself fall into his euphoria of the freedom of life. He was always much more adept to his senses during the full moon, and not just because the wolf had a better nose, better eyes, and betters ears than his human self did. It was an innate ability to allow all of his senses to come alive, to feel each nerve ending in his body become electric and heated at the slightest touch. He found the sensation to be positively orgasmic at times, and the added stimulant of having her there with him this time seemed to set the wolf on edge. Something deep and primal seemed to swell in him at her scent, and her voice softly muttering his name elicited another grunt of approval as he let the beast take over.

The sensation started with the bone wrenching sound of crunching as each piece of marrow broke and mended themselves to their new shapes. Ligaments and tendons stretched and shifted positions to elongate his lengthened stride. Fingers and toes crunch together and the palms and soles of both hardened to become the rough, leathery pads of the massive canine’s feet as the remainder of his human form seemed to disappear beneath patches of dark brown, grey, and black fur that had begun to spread across his skin thick and rough. To what was almost euphoric to him, Adrien was keenly aware of the matching sounds of his companion’s body breaking and remolding itself for the first time, knowing all too well how frightening and horrifying it was for him. He had no doubt it would be as terrifying for her.

As the last of his transformation became complete, the night became alive with a whole new carnaval of sights, sounds, and smells. The dust in the air mingled with the scent of fresh wolf fur – made even unusually more so because it also smelled like his captain. Adrien’s massive form gave a violent shake and a deep stretch, his jaw yawing widely to loosen the tension that was deep in his muzzle. He looked through the wolf’s large, alert eyes and saw no longer the sight of a strong, confident woman that he’d come to know, but a scared, trembling wolf that was foreign to him. Immediately he was aware of the stench of fear on the night air radiating from her, the way she circled him slowly for an instant he knew was her instincts assessing him as a threat.

Instinct of his own fell into place and he stood tall on long, lithe legs, ears and tail erect and standing easily a head over her in height and mass alone. Dominance was the first thing taught in a pack, he knew, and while the young captain remained his relative “superior” in the saddle and on the job, his male instincts told the wolf to show he was not afraid of her. The rustle that seemed to tear her wolf’s interest away from him provided him with a small window of opportunity and he took a few steps forward, only to be greeted by a snap of her head and a deep, throaty growl aimed in his direction. By instinct, Adrien returned the notion, the warning rumbling deep in his throat as he leveled his gaze on her.

But almost immediately as the pale wolf had issued the threat she had turned and began to pad eastward towards water as though drawn there by a higher power of cognizance. Adrien, both human and wolf, felt the need to follow. Though his mind raced with a hundred different smells and sounds, the human portion of his thoughts found themselves admiring the way that she moved through the dusty underbrush like a ghost – pale and fluid. He’d seen her in action with a rifle or gun and had marveled at her ability to wield them both, but this was a whole new admiration for a whole new weapon she’d found.

He followed at a distance, giving her all of the space she needed to acclimate herself to her new body and senses. Adrien had had nearly a hundred years to hone his control over the beast. He saw no reason to not allow her the same luxury to get used to it at her own pace. The smell of water caught his nose and he followed suit a bit downwind of her to let the cool, crisp water of the creek soothe his throat and belly as he lapped eagerly at the creek. But the refreshing coolness didn’t last long as he was knocked sideways when a warm, furry body collided into him. His head snapped around at the sound of the all too familiar rattle and his eyes searched the brush for the unmistakable movement of a slithering body.

He stalked forward, fur bristling and ears erect as his lips curled back to expose a mouthful of sharp white teeth at the serpent’s advance. His wolf brain screamed retreat, but his human brain rationalized out the situation and found the solution. A deep, throaty growl rumbled in his chest as the rattler coiled and prepared to strike again and Adrien felt his own muscles tighten as the whimper from Sarah seem to strengthen his resolve. With the lightning speed of a hundred years of honing his killer instincts and with a snarl of deadly force, Adrien lept forward and snatched the rattle on the tail of the snake and snapped his neck sideways all in a single, fluidly fast motion. His neck snapped to the side and at the same instant his jaws released and the rattler, tail and all, flew across the desert dust before it could even snap at his muzzle.

The threat now nullified as it slithered away angrily from a dozen or so feet away, Adrien turned his attention back to the pale, whimpering pile of fur and nuzzled against her softly to reassure. His rough tongue lapped against her forehead a few times as if to say Everything’s okay. Settling down back on his haunches, he threw back his head and lifted his voice to the sky to sing in the songs of his ancestors. Nudging her in an all too human gesture, he rumbled in his throat again and burst into another long, eerie howl across the night.

The threat, however small, seemed far more daunting then the captain wanted to admit. Had she been on something other then four feet she would haave just shot the damned thing, but with lax of revolver or boot she found the angry serpent, terrifying. Cowering she pushes Adrien forward with a quiet whine. His action is fluid and as he moves forward, bristled and defensive, she might have even considered him elegant if it wern't for the fact that he was Adrien. Watching him carefully, head cocked gently to one side, she studies the speed and strength behind his actions. She laid quietly as he approached, the beast within faught against the quiet and all but rioted against the nearness of her babysitter. The reins remained firmly in her control, the beast within remained quiet as the rough of his tongue smoothed itself over her forehead. Rising from the ground to sit on her haunches, her head cocks to one side, a large white paw seats playfully at his muzzle as he pulls away before sitting beside her.

The sound that rose from his chest causes her ears to slide forward though she remains silent. The soft nudge against her shoulder prompts her that it her turn, she struggles a moment, this is something beyond her. With a careful inner movement she gives the beast some slack allowing it the freedom to follow suit. Like a rush of fire through the dry Texas brush the beast rushes through her veins, throwing her head back a quiet breeze brushes over her vocal chords. The sound that vibrated from deep within her chest is foreign and although it startles the woman clinging to the rough leather reins it feels far to natural to deny. As the sound dies in her throat she finds the rush that follows invigorating, to both woman and beast. Pulling taunt the strings that bind her to this wolf she presses the flat of her forehead against the warm shoulder of her darker counterpart.

It's odd how easy it is, how natural affection comes to the blonde when not dampened by the constrictions of her human form. Adrien has always been her rock, someone that is there when she needs him, but the bond between them is often strained by their work, pack hierarchy, and expected gender roles. Their bond, work or otherwise, had not been all rainbows and puppies, the blonde had struggled against him for some time his vision of a boss had not always been satisfied with Sarah. She was a woman on a misson, full of too much anger and strapped down by the general lack of anatomy between her legs. Affection, in any form, was far more difficult when you had to prove yourself to everyone including yourself. Now, however, she finds none of this standing in her way. Her feral side continued to rage against her, uncomfortable with the close proximity between the pair of wolves but as the moon slid through the sky she found it's fight dwindling. Though she knew well who he was, the beast beneath her skin still longed to assert itself, to prove itself.

Pulling herself off the ground Sarah stretches easing the tension in her knotted muscles. There is an itch, something she doesn't quite understand, that pushes her away from the stream. The movement in her limbs clears up the confusion that had muddled her feelings only moments before. The night moon was at it's zenith and the wolf had to run. Run unhindered and free. Sarah slows the beast a moment to glance over her shoulder regaurding Adrien through large deep blue eyes, a quiet playful bark rushes from her lungs. She couldn't hold on any longer, the reins are ripped from her fingers even before she has time to right herself she finds herself surging forward. She is aware of Adrien's presence though she can not distract the wolf in her long enough to verify this, the air that rushes by her keeping the wolf too occupied to do anything but continue forward in a rush.

The ground races beneath her. The sensitive pads on the bottom of her feet coupled with the large cupped ears atop her head filling in the picture she sees through crisp clear occulars, like the few inches you lose behind a picture frame. The euphoria that comes with every constriction and release of her muscles was something she hadn't felt in so long she finds it hard to even recall the details of the time before. Everything flies by her in a blur of small crisp snapshots, the brush begins to thicken before she finds herself surrounded by the familiar smells of the blackmoon woods. She can smell them. They are here, and although she did not come here for them she finds her frame slowing. With a graceful leap Sarah launches herself from the damp forest floor to the top of a fallen tree. Long dark nails dig into the soft bark, her head shifting to follow the breeze catching the scents of her pack mates. The beast within falters, unsure of itself for the first time, this pause causes a ripple of fear to pulse over her nerve endings. She peers at Adrien the uncertainty is clear as it swirls around in her large blue eyes.