Sam walked into the apartment with several bags in her hands; she had, like always, bought more than she was supposed to. She dropped the bags next to the door and looked over at the table to see that Lara hadn't even bothered to look up at her instead she was scowling at two old- looking opened books. Sam recognized this scowl; Lara often did it during University when she was stuck on a paper or was frustrated about a test.
"Stuck?" Sam asked. Lara pulled her eyes away from the books to glance up at Sam. She let out a sigh before pushing her chair backwards and grabbing her empty mac and cheese bowl to put it in the sink. With the bowl in the sink Lara jumped up onto the counter besides the sink and massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers.
"Stuck, confused…frustrated…" Lara groaned. Sam walked over to her stressing girlfriend and stood between her legs. She trailed her fingers up and down the jean clad thighs, "you sound like a sexuality frustrated teen that is trying to come to grip with her sexuality," Sam joked to lighten the mood.
Lara looked at Sam and smiled, "only you would think of that," Lara said. Sam leaned forward on her tippy toes to give Lara a peck on the lips.
"Alright…tell me what's up," Sam demanded. She patted Lara's thighs before moving out of her legs and shifting to the side so she could jump down from the counter.
"Okay but this is going to sound insane," Lara warned. Sam scoffed and followed Lara to the table, "Please sweetie, what isn't insane with you?" Sam joked. She took a seat next to Lara and quickly recognized one of the books; it was the journal Lara fell asleep with last night.
"No, I mean this is pushing it." Lara gave Sam a serious look before taking a breath to begin her explanation. "Okay remember when we talked on the phone the other day?" Lara asked. Sam simply nodded her head. "Well I went to the manor and Winston showed me a vault that was hidden beneath the manor. It had some very valuable treasures and books; the place was loaded." Lara study Sam's face to make sure she was following. "When I was down there I was just looking around; there was this large book shelf that had a lot of large and dusty books, I pulled out one of the books and out fell this" Lara lifted the journal.
"I was wondering where it came from," Sam commented.
"It was tucked tightly between two books; I didn't really bother with it at first until I continued to scan the shelf and the room and realized that this was the only journal that was down there. Now, before we went down there Winston informed me that the stuff that was in the vault was either very valuable or was dangerous and had many people hunting for it."
Sam grabbed the journal and traced the ripped exterior, "So this journal…what's in it?" Sam asked.
Lara gave Sam a hesitant look before grabbing the other large book and closing it so that the cover was visible. Sam looked down at the book and read the title 'Werewolves: The Origins.'
"Werewolves?" Sam asked with disbelief. Lara nodded her head and stood up to pace back and forth across the hardwood floor of their apartment. "You mean like shape shifting humans like in Twilight? God I hate that movie…I mean come on society can't accept a homosexual couple but they will brainwash their kids into believing that the girl always needs saving by the handsome, strong guy…or in this case several-"
"Sam…focus…" Lara snapped her out of her rant. "Right…werewolves," Sam repeated. Lara stopped pacing and went to stand behind Sam; she leaned over her shoulder to grab the journal and opened it to the first page. "Alright…my father starts off with listing a few origins of where the legend started; I believe that these few were the ones that he thought were more relevant or made sense." Lara explained as she skimmed her finger over the handwriting of her father on the first two pages.
"I thought you had to be bitten and changed by the moon…unless you're Jacob?" Sam asked.
"No…those types of stories came years later after the supposed first werewolf. I mean the legend of werewolves' dates back to Christ and Romans. There are so many 'first' legends but what I found in the book," Lara pointed to the book she had gotten from IAA, "is that the common ground between the 'first' werewolf is that it isn't transformed by the moon; in fact they suggest that the human had the ability to shape shift when they wanted or were forced in that form," Lara said.
"Like Jacob?" Sam compared. Lara rolled her eyes but answered, "Kinda."
Sam stared down at the journal and book; she could feel Lara leaning over her and if she had eyes on the back of her head she would be able to see the scowl back on her face.
"Okay…I-I'm confused…" Sam said truthfully. Lara rested her head on Sam's shoulder to figure out the best way to explain this.
"Okay, I'm going to tell you the legends that my father listed in his journal; I had to look these up since he didn't give much explanation. He listed three: the roman one, the Christ one and the Native American one. The roman one was about King Lycaon; he was serving a dinner for the Gods, he offended them by serving them human meat. Jupiter, as his punishment, transformed Lycaon into a werewolf so that Lycaon would be able to eat human flesh without it being so offensive."
Sam gave a Lara a disgusted look but nodded her head for her to go on.
"Now…this story is where the term lycanthropes came from; it's another name for werewolf. 'Lykos' means 'wolf and 'anthrōpos' means 'man'. That's one story…another story is during the time of Christ. In book Ten of Homer's Odysseus, the grandfather of the hero Odysseus is named Autolykos, meaning "he who is wolf." The people of Arcadia believed some members of their culture had the ability to turn themselves into wolves. If they tasted human flesh during the transformation they were doomed to live out their lives as wild beasts unless they abstained from human flesh for nine years."
"I'm starting to see a gruesome common thread," Sam commented. Lara brushed off the comment and continued.
"The finally legend is more descriptive and has an actual story to it. In this legend, there is a spirit-god named Wisakachek who was a shape-shifter who lived in the woods. He was a friend to humans whose default physical form was that of a wolf. One day Wisakachek was roaming the woods in the form of a man when he saw two brothers from the Fox tribe hunting. The boys, named Keme and Matchitehew had just caught a deer with their bows and arrows. Wisakachek walked up to the boys and presented himself as a lost and hungry wanderer from a different tribe. Keme offered the "stranger" some of the deer meat that they had just caught, and Wisakachek accepted. About a week later, Wisakachek appeared in the same part of the woods again and saw the same boys again hunting. Matchitehew explained that ever since they caught the deer a week earlier they hadn't been able to catch anything and were very hungry. Wisakachek, remembering the boys' previous generosity, told them he had no meat to offer them, but he could share with them his power to shape-shift into a wolf so that they could catch a deer more easily. At first the boys didn't believe him, but when Wisakachek transformed into a wolf and back in front of their eyes, they excitedly agreed. The only condition that Wisakachek gave Keme and Matchitehew was that they could not use their wolf-forms to hurt any humans, only to hunt," Lara paused to the information sink into Sam's head.
"See...common thread," was Sam's only input.
Lara continued, "Months went by and the boys used their wolf forms to catch enough deer for the entire village. One day, Matchitehew was in an argument with another boy in the village, and in his anger, Matchitehew transformed into a wolf and killed the boy-"
"I'm a genius," Sam interrupted Lara. Lara smiled and picked off where she left off.
"Now fearing their power, Matchitehew and Keme were both cast out of the tribe and forced to live in the woods. Wisakachek was furious. He cast a new spell on Matchitehew so that from that day forth, he would no longer be able to shape-shift at will. Every day he would take on a complete human form and every night he would transform into a mindless wolf. Keme, having done no wrong, was allowed to keep his shape-shifting ability. Having been cast out from the Fox tribe and knowing that Matchitehew would be unable to control himself in his wolf form, Keme left by himself into the wilderness. Matchitehew is now known as the Father of Werewolves, being the first one and creating the others," Lara finished and slumped back into her seat. Saying it out loud made it seem more impossible.
"Well this one explains the whole forced into a wolf at night; it just lacks the moon. But what is with the whole human eating and killing aspect?" Sam asked.
"It wasn't just a common thread in these stories; it was a common thread in all of the stories. In his journal my father listed some assumed traits and assumptions related to werewolves. In all the legends the werewolves are evil ferocious monsters with an uncontrollable urge to kill; most of the time they are believed to be connected to the devil; they are the devil's creature. There is no solid evidence that werewolves exist except for the confessions given by people who were accused. At one point it was a massive scare in Europe; people blamed the slaughter of livestock on werewolves. The people who confessed that they were werewolves usually turned out to be serial killers or had done terrible acts. There was a point that werewolf trials were just like the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. People were getting accused, beaten until they confessed and then executed," Lara informed.
"It was a blame game…Werewolves were targeted when something unexplainable happened," Sam pointed out.
"Yes, it was also discovered that people with rabies were called werewolves. Werewolves were given a reputation of pure evil and uncontrollable rage."
Lara once again massaged her temples with her fingers. "I need liquor if we're going to keep going," Sam announced. She stood up and walked to the fridge to reach for the cupboard above it. She was able to open the small doors but her shorter frame made it so she was just out of reach of the tequila that they had up there.
Taking pity on her girlfriend Lara stood up and went over to stand behind Sam. She reached up and her 5'6" frame was able to grab the bottle with more ease than Sam.
"Two inches is a lot," Sam pouted. Lara chuckled at her and handed her the bottle and then reached back up for the shot glasses. When everything was down from the cupboard Sam set to work slicing lemons while Lara reached into the fridge to grab the 18 pack hidden in the back behind the milk.
"Alright, let's get this started," Sam said when they had everything on the table. They had several lemon slices, the salt shaker, the 18 pack, shot glasses and of course the tequila. Lara unscrewed the cap and poured the liquor to the brim in each shot glass. She put the bottle down on the table before licking the space between her thumb and pointer finger. She shook the salt onto her hand and then reached to grip her shot glass; Sam was already prepared.
"Ready?" Lara asked looking at Sam. "No…wait," Sam said. She jumped up from the table and ran into the bedroom. Moments later she came out with her camera and tripod, "Sam…" Lara groaned, "I don't think that is such a good idea."
Sam positioned the camera on to the tripod and positioned the tripod next to the table so that she and Lara would be in the shot along with the items on the table.
"Come on, Lara," Sam begged. She didn't wait for a response she turn the camera on and returned to the table. "I need you to repeat what you said earlier," Sam directed. Lara gave her an unsure look but then sighed.
"Fine but this doesn't get shown to anyone until I know what is going on, Okay?" Lara stated. Sam waved her hand at her but Lara grabbed it, "Sam…I mean it."
Sam saw the seriousness in Lara's eyes, "Okay, I'll lock any tapes we make in the bag."
"Thank you." Lara let go of Sam's hand and reached back over for her shot glass; Sam mimicked her action. At the same time both girls licked the salt on their hands then threw back the liquor before reaching for the lemon slices. Sam made a face at the sour taste of the lemon while Lara seemed unfazed by it. Throwing the lemon slice on the empty plate Sam had put table Lara reached into the 18 pack to grab two beers.
"Okay…I need you to give an overview of what we just discussed for the camera and for me, I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around this," Sam said.
The next ten minutes consisted of Lara repeating what they had already gone over but with less interruptions; by the time she was done Lara had gone through her first beer and was opening her second.
"The stories give werewolves a reputation but my father's journal…he suggested otherwise. In actuality the sense that I get is that werewolves are not what they are painted out to be. He describes it like a wolf but with the intellect and emotional capacity of a human," Lara commented more to herself as she reread her father's words about his 'subject'.
"It?" Sam questioned. Lara looked up from the journal, "Yeah…he had a subject…" Lara informed. Surprised, Sam grabbed the journal from Lara and began looking through the pages. "Subject appears to have full human bodily functions, human brain function and human physical features with the exception of teeth. Teeth appear to be a mix of human and wolf. Back teeth more pointed; front teeth more squared and flat," Sam read out loud from the journal. Lara scooted her chair closer to Sam's.
"Here flip down a few pages, it's a different date and a new entry," Lara told her. Sam flipped the page a few times until Lara put her finger on the page to stop her. "Subject shows signs of wolf traits; test shows that subject's hearing, and smell is ten times greater than an average wolf. Subject also appears to be able to see and navigate in the dark," Lara read. "These are his first entries when you get to the last few pages he talks about the subject actually changing," Lara said.
"Changing? You mean like…changing into a wolf?" Sam said in disbelief. Lara nodded her head and shuffled the pages to her father's last entry about the subject and read once again out loud, "subject made a full transformation into wolf. Physical features included black fur, pointed ears, sharpened front teeth, shoulder height 86 inches, tip to tail 52 inches, weight 46 kilograms; subject physically looks like a wolf but appears to understand when we speak to him. Subject was able to change back to human form and nothing looked to be changed or altered. My calculation would be that human and wolf are one and compatible; one does not dominate the other. Subject's main form is human but it is not greater than his wolf form; able to use all aspects of both forms."
Sam grabbed for the tequila bottle and refilled their shot glasses; they repeated their actions from earlier. "This is real…I mean your father is actually talking about someone changing from a human to a wolf. How far back does this journal go?" Sam asked.
Lara flipped to the front of the journal to the first entry, "the first date is February, 2nd 1998," she read. Her head was swimming with questions; she had so many things that she wanted to know.
"What is the rest of the information?" Sam asked; she had taken back the journal and was just flipping through the pages.
Lara sighed; this is where she was stuck. "I don't know it's confusing and unfinished. I feel that my father walked into this blind; he keeps jumping from one thing to another. In one part he mentions family and then pages later he mentions copying the gene. Also he mentions that the 'subject' is indirectly being hunted but then he doesn't bring it up again," Lara said. "I don't know but I definitely know he wasn't finished and I'm almost a 100% sure that he was supposed to get rid of this journal."
Sam gave Lara a confused look, "why do you say that?" she asked.
"All of my father's journals have either been in his library or at IAA but this one was the only one that wasn't. It was hidden in a vault in my house not at IAA. You'd think that IAA's vault would be more secure?" Lara speculated. Sam rubbed her hand on her forehead; she really needed another shot.
"You-you think he was hiding this from IAA?" Sam asked. Lara nodded her head, "My father would have needed equipment to do his study and a place to study his subject and I know he didn't do it at home so where else would have he done it? I feel that they made him shut down the project."
Sam grabbed the tequila bottle and not even bothering with the shot glasses took a swig and then handed it to Lara. Lara gripped the bottle but didn't take a sip.
"I need to figure this out but I feel that I can't use IAA for resources?" Lara informed before bringing the bottle to her mouth. She let the liquor slid down her throat and spread a tingling sensation through her body.
"So what's the plan?" Sam questioned. The girls had given up on the shot glasses and were just passing the bottle back and forth.
"Not sure but for now I'm just going to research; see if I can find something else. But…this stays between you and me." Lara stated. Sam nodded her head and gave Lara a bright smile.
"Okay but can we please take a break for tonight; I don't think my head can't take anymore," Sam begged. Lara chuckled as she closed both books and got up to put them in the kitchen drawer where the secret compartment was. When she turned around she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Sam with a lemon slice in her mouth. She wasn't eating the lemon she was holding the outer layer between her teeth with the inner skin facing Lara. Sam gave Lara a mischievous look and bent her index finger back and forth; directing Lara to come to her.
Lara smirked when she got closer; she noticed the salt on Sam's neck. She reached her girlfriend and leaned forward resting one hand on the table and the other on the back of Sam's chair. "Have trouble with the salt?" she joked. Sam just gave her sly look before slightly bending her neck back; Lara took her cue and leaned forward even more to reach out and slide her tongue along the smooth salty skin of Sam's neck.
She heard Sam release a muffled moan at the contact. She pulled back and was handed the tequila bottle, which she took a long sip of before bending down and going for the lemon in Sam's mouth.
Sam wrapped her arms around Lara's neck when she went for the lemon and when she was sure Lara was done she pulled back and spit the lemon onto the table before connecting her lips onto Lara's salty, lemony one.
Hope you guys are liking it. And if you guys have an prompts that you want my to write while I'm working on this than let me know. I do have a deviantart page if you guys want to leave your questions or prompts there. Review