Wolf Moon

[ticktockgrin]

The world hadn't actually ended, it just seemed like it. Dwayne has to keep telling himself that sometimes, between long nights at the radio, on his endless rounds of the yard perimeter and all the hundred little things that their new home (for now) required to keep running. The world was running on duct tape, spit, and baling wire, limping along, but it *was* still turning.

They'd come pretty damn close, but it wasn't quite over. They were the ones left and that meant they had a lot of work to do.

And maybe most importantly...Josh had officially Survived.

It was hard to believe how many weeks has gone by, but he'd *lived*. Some days were still a little shaky, but the traces of fever were completely gone. The wolf had won, and Dwayne's desperate last-ditch Hail Mary had actually *worked*. Somehow, that made everything right, when he could roll over and watch his mate asleep, warm and well and *alive*.

Now all that was left was for him to get used to the Change, to figure out what kind of wolf he was going to be. There was no going back, but it had saved Josh's life, kept Dwayne from having to go through this hellish epilogue of a world alone, and that alone was worth it... Even if he had any doubts at all that Josh could handle the Change. There would be some acclimatization, some trial and error... That was why Zach was keeping his distance and Rhys spending nights in the little caretaker's cabin... But it would pass.

Josh would have a mate, and a pack, and he would get used to it, given a little time. Dwayne was sure of that, even though the approaching full moon gave him nerves. The first change could be tough, and Josh... He was still recovering.

So Dwayne did all he could to keep things running.

Comments

[tinkermoose]

Josh had survived and was showing all indications that he would, eventually, thrive, despite the overwhelming horror of their situation, and how iffy even his survival had been there for a while. He's still shaky sometimes, yes, and absolutely mortified over the handful of times that he's caught himself snapping at some unfamiliar scent or unexpected sound or, worse, snarling at Rhys, to the point where it's safer for Rhys to spend nights at the caretaker's cottage out on the grounds and for Zach to stay completely away. And it was absolutely clear how essential the latter was on the occasions Josh caught the older wolf's scent on the air and it sent him stalking restlessly from room to room, hackles up, until Dwayne came back and he could bury his nose in his mate's neck and center himself again. It's getting better, he knows, but it's embarrassing and frustrating and he feels bad for Dwayne's, for their packmates, being relegated to the outskirts and the desolation beyond their little refuge because of him.

Today, unsurprisingly, is not a good day, not with the full moon so close, it's pull singing unfamiliarly in his blood, and he keeps close to Dwayne. Keeps his focus within the safety of these four walls, where his and Dwayne's scent mingle in every room, and Rhys's is familiar and welcome. He's nervous, but he's not letting himself be frightened, not after everything he's gone through to get here, how much Dwayne and Rhys and even Zach have gone through to help him. It'll be fine, he's got a pack and a mate and Dwayne's example to follow, and it's going to be a grand adventure, dammit, not the nightmare he knows Zach's first shift was.

None of which stops him from pausing to press his nose into Dwayne's neck with a low rumble as he curls his fingers into his mate's shirt. "You won't let me hurt anyone, right?" he asks, even though he knows it's a stupid question, because of course Dwayne would never let that happen.

Two Days Later...

[ticktockgrin]

Of all that he could be worried about, it was strange that the biggest reassurance Dwayne had on the night of the full moon was that the weather was cooperating. Maybe he was feeling like it was an omen, or maybe he was just relieved that he wasn't going to have to work around nature going awry, too.

But the morning had been clear, breezy, and a little chilly, and a little bit of cold was far from the worst conditions to deal with. They could do a shift in bad weather, but a calm, pleasant night was a lot more pleasant.

He wanted tonight to be pleasant. No disasters and no panic. They'd had good conversations leading up to it and everything seemed good, but that flutter of worry was still there, because this was the night where they'd find out for sure how Josh was going to deal with his new condition.

Rhys had already given him two vials, with quiet explanations. One red vial in case Josh couldn't finish the change on his own, because getting stuck halfway through the shift was dangerous.

The other vial, the gray vial, was in case Josh couldn't control the wolf. With Dwayne there it wouldn't be a problem, but for the crow shifter's sake... It was better to be safe. And for Josh's, because Dwayne knew Josh would never forgive himself if the change got rough.

To much to worry about, and Dwayne was being a fussy old Wolf. He sighed and looked at his own pale eyes in the mirror, inspected his beard for signs of impending gray, and slipped out to the bedroom. Sweatpants and a t-shirt for tonight: turning from a human into a 200-pound wolf wasn't very wardrobe-friendly, not was trying to get those clothes back on in the morning.