Chapter 2
The very next day, Sonya received a call from Theo. "Yeah, I don't think this is going to work." Theo's voice said from the other side. Sonya groaned, but really, what had she expected? "What's wrong?" She asked immediately.
"He's terrified of me, that's what. He won't eat, he freaks out constantly, and he refuses to sleep anywhere but the ground. That, and he won't go more than six feet near me."
Sonya rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll be right over in a minute."
Theo was right. It was a disaster. When she opened the door, there was furniture askew, something had smashed on the ground, and Newt was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Newt?" She demanded as soon as she saw Theo. He groaned in response, rubbing his forehead. "He's in the bathroom right now. He's refusing to let me in."
Pushing past Theo, Sonya made her way down the halls until she found the bathroom door. To her surprise, it slid neatly open, letting her inside.
There she found Newt huddled on the ground. He was whimpering,clawing at the ground around him; too busy to notice her. Sonya approached him slowly, as not to startle him. When she was less than three feet away, she stopped. Slowly, she reached her hand out, until it was less than a foot away from Newt's face. At the last second, he whined, and moved further away from her. Unwilling to give up, Sonya tried again, getting closer this time. Once again, he darted away. Finally on the third time, she succeeded, managing to run her fingers through his hair. This time, he stayed still. She could've sworn she even heard a purr from him, but that was crazy. Werewolves didn't purr.
"He seems to like you a lot more than me." Theo spoke up, appearing in the doorway. Newt's brief state of calm vanished, and he immediately darted away. Sonya slowly stood up. "Well, you tried Theo. But looks like I'll be taking care of him now."
Theo shook his head. "Sonya, that's a big burden for you to take on. I can't ask you to do that. Plus, you have a life, a job."
Sonya snorted. "What, as a part-time artist looking for people to buy my work? No, I'll definitely have enough time to take care of him. Besides, it's something I'm good at."
"I'll pay you." Theo insisted. Sonya shook her head. "Relax, it's on me."
She faced Newt, who was still sitting crouched in the corner. "Newt, come on. You're coming with me now." Surprisingly, Newt obeyed, following on his hands and knees; almost like a dog. To see him like that almost broke her heart, the fact that someone had trained him to be like that, was so undeniably fucked up.
Newt trailed behind her, as she led him to her car. When she opened the door however, he refused to get in. Sonya groaned. Looks like this job was going to be even harder than she thought.
After much persuading, and some help from Theo, she finally got Newt to get inside the car. While driving, Sonya couldn't help but think how difficult this was going to be. She'd never dealt with a patient this bad. Newt's human capabilities were rather low. Yes, he could understand her, but at the moment, that seemed about all he was capable of. From what she'd seen of him, he seemed to be much more animal than human. While driving, she made sure to talk to him, explaining what some of the landmarks they passed were, and which houses belonged to whom. She wasn't too sure if he was listening, but hey, the were needed as much human interaction as possible.
They finally pulled up through the dusty driveway to her house. It was rather small, but for now, it'd have to do. Parking, she opened the car door for Newt. He immediately sprang out, landing on all fours. For a minute, Sonya was afraid he'd bolt, but to her relief,he stayed put.
He stayed on his hands and knees, occasionally letting out a sniff. Warily, Sonya spoke up. "Listen, I need you to stand up and 're a human now. So you need to act like it."
Newt let out a whimper, but reluctantly did as he was told, slumping himself up to full height. Although he towered over her, he still seemed a bit afraid of of her, keeping his distance. Sonya sighed. She'd have to change that. That would be their first step. Gesturing for him to follow her, she led him inside.
Her home only had six rooms; two bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and a living room and kitchen. Truthfully, it wasn't exactly the ideal place for a werewolf. But it'd have to do.
"I guess I should probably show you your room." Sonya said. Newt didn't respond, still slumped over with his hands in his pockets. He followed her though. Hastily, Sonya grabbed several of the stray pieces of clothing and junk strewn across the floor. This room was supposed to be a guest room, but due to the shortage of guests at her house, she mostly used it for storage.
Newt hesitantly sat down on the bed, sniffing around. "Well..this is it." Sonya spoke up. "This is your room now. If you need to go to the bathroom, there's one right down the hall. If you need anything else, just come get me. Oh, and…a lot of my artwork and paintings are in the living room. They're really important to me, so.. you know, try not to wreck them."
Newt nodded, proving he understood.
Sonya examined the were. He'd definitely need a shower and a haircut, along with a pair of new clothes. There were also several of his cuts and scratches that worried her. She knew she'd be pushing him a little too much, for he'd already had a lot of excitement in one day. But then again, he looked like he hadn't been properly washed in weeks, and his clothes weren't giving off the best odor.
Finally, Sonya spoke up. "Well, if you're going to stay here, you'll need a bath." Newt's face turned to that of horror, and he bolted off down the hall. Sonya groaned. Then again, she hadn't expected this to be easy.
