Chapter 02 - Osvald Robertsson
31st of December 2013
Galataea Burnstein
Galataea pulled her truck past the automatic gate of her property and moved slowly down the drive toward her home. She had found the property in foreclosure and jumped at the chance to purchase it. It was a single-family home on three acres of land surrounded mostly by trees with an intact fence around it. The perfect place for a wolf pup to run around. As she stopped the car and stepped out, said wolf pup sprinted up to her from the woods. Molly leapt over a small bush, shifting through her forms quickly and seamlessly rolling as she hit the ground before standing up as Homid in front of Galataea. "Pretty Dusk, Ms. Brunstein. You bring meat?"
Galataea smiled at the shorter woman, petting the top of her head. "I did buy some meat Molly and your greetings are getting much better. First of all, how have you been while I have been away." Molly was bored as she explained the material Albert had left out for her on English and human culture. Molly was quick to go off on a tangent about how she chased after some deer in the woods early in the morning. Galataea laughed at the innocence of the wolf girl.
Molly was shorter than average in her Homid form, about 5'4, and had long, curly, platinum blond hair that Galataea had cut to the small of her back. Her eyes were a warm brown that shined with wonder when Galataea would tell her stories about battle and adventure and dulled with sleep whenever Albert "Cane-man" Kaihn would go on to explain the eccentricities of exchanging currency and personnel space. Despite his dull sermons, Molly liked Albert a great deal. He would always arrive with some expensive piece of meat for them all to enjoy and would chase her around the woods while Galataea prepared their dinner. His visits had slowed down recently due to his pack's actions to destroy a corrupt Pentex drilling operation in the north, but he usually visited every two weeks.
Galataea handed the groceries to the young girl who carried them dutifully inside. She followed her slowly, musing about her initial panic at taking care of the young wolf. 'Molly Volfskin' was her name now, a gift from One-Claw that Molly loved after the meaning was explained to her. She was a quick learner and Galataea thought about introducing her months ago, but didn't want Molly to be thrown half-cocked into Garou society when she was still so fresh. Galataea had to admit that this bizarre, near-family relationship was one of the better things to happen to her, not that she would ever admit it to One-Claw.
Molly Volfskin
Molly took the bags of food and put them away dutifully, purposely leaving the meat on the table. The world of the two-legs was extremely complicated, but Molly loved watching her mentor cook. The act of cooking food and the sheer quantity of flavors that existed in cooking were fascinating. By the time that Taea entered, Molly had begun sorting the meat out for freezing. "What we cook Taea?"
Taea rubbed the top of her head before moving her aside. As Taea picked up the knife, the pair began their ritual. Taea cut Molly a slice of meat to chew on as she calmly explained the dish she decided to make for the day. Molly would gather ingredients and dishes while listening to her. Occasionally, Cane-man would join. He would snarl at her and pat her head. No, he would smile, it meant he was happy. Cane-man would bring strange meat for her and bottles of sour fruit juice for Taea. Molly liked the Cane-man, which is why she called him that. Taea had special names for Cane-man and told Molly that it was a form of affection. Therefore, Galataea was Taea and Albert was Cane-man.
Molly missed Cane-man. Taea said that he was working against the great enemy with his own pack. Molly missed being in a pack. She liked when it was Taea and her eating together, but felt better when Cane-man joined them. He played with her in Lupus, laughed at her jokes, made Taea laugh. It felt like she was back with her pack again. Taea told her that, when more new pups changed, she would be introduced to the whole Sept, and be given her own pack to be a part of. Molly was conflicted about whether to be excited or not about that.
"Are you okay, Molly dear?" Molly blinked and looked up at Taea, who was gathering some ingredients herself and tossing them into the pot herself, instead of asking for Molly to get them. "You look a million miles away."
Molly looked up at her shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I was distracted."
Taea tossed the contents of the pan, not looking away. "About what?"
Molly cocked her head. "Why isn't Cane-man back? It has been many...weeks?"
Taea twisted her lips a bit asking for her to grab another ingredient. When Molly returned, she answered. "I haven't spoken to him in a few days, but I am sure One-Claw will visit you soon."
Molly blinked looking at her posture, which was a little tense. "You are worried?"
Galataea sighed, turned back to the pan, and lit the contents on fire. Taea's blue eyes shined against the flames, before she smothered the flames and moved the pan to the side. "We live in very dangerous times, Molly. I worry about any of my Sept-mates when they go out to fight. We may be strong, but our enemies have been fighting us for a long time and they know how to exploit our weaknesses. This is, however, One-Claw we are talking about. If it means making you sad, he won't die even if his head gets knocked off. That's just the kind of stubborn bastard he is."
Molly thought about the man. It was true, that he was very strong. His wolf form was swift and strong when they would wrestle while waiting for food. Molly thought back to the last time she saw him. He had come to visit after missing their regular meeting, so Molly was excited to see him. He stepped out of his vehicle in the pouring rain, lifting the brim of his hat to look better at Taea and herself as they watched from the porch. Molly remembered the startled look in his eyes as she ran across the wet ground and tackled him in Homid form, taking him down in a puddle of mud. Taea was doubled over laughing as Cane-man sat up, his hat floating slowly away in the puddle, still holding his two bags of meat and liquid out of the muck. At the time, Molly only remembered that Albert liked his clothes nice and was going to apologize, before he spat a stream of muddy water into her face and grinned a gray brown grin at her, chuckling to himself.
They had moved inside, where he had removed his muddy clothes and replaced them from the ever-present bag that he kept in one of the guest rooms. Molly had always wondered why he kept his spare clothes in a bag, when he could just put them away like Molly and Taea do, but neither adult had given her an answer. After that, he had come to help make dinner in more relaxed clothes, like what Galataea wore on rainy 'weekends'. They had short sleeves and exposed a jagged scar in the middle of his left forearm. Molly had asked where he got it, and both adults had stilled.
"I made a mistake, and a rather costly one I have to add." Was how he responded. Galataea was tense for the rest of the night and when Albert left, he took his bag with him.
Molly blinked, waking up from her daze to find herself at the dinner table. Galataea looked up from her meal with a slightly concerned look at her sudden jerking motion. "What's wrong Molly? You haven't touched your food."
Molly looked up at her, eyes wide. "Is he mad about scar? Is that why he left?"
Taea looked very confused. "Scar? What do you mean?"
"I ask about his scar and then he left and took his bag with him. He never take bag with him."
Galataea cocked her head to the side, opened her mouth for a moment, and then sighed. "You are overanalyzing things again, Molly. That scar is a very sore subject for Albert. That being said, we had as good an evening as we ever had and he promised that he would come and visit you soon. Albert Kaihn does not make promises lightly. He has been working in the north with his pack to destroy a Wyrm facility up there. That takes time to research, plan, and eliminate to ensure that nothing and nobody will be left to pick up the pieces. He took his bag with him that day to wash his clothes. He muttered some nonsense about not wanting to inconvenience me on cleaning a man's clothes who wasn't my lover and then left. He will be back, Molly. If you want we can call him after you finish eating."
Molly nodded happily and then dug into her food, with gusto. Galataea just watched her, sipping on that liquid that Cane-man used to bring. By the time that food has been consumed and the dishes had been cleaned, night had long since fallen. Galataea poured herself another glass and opened the window of the kitchen to get some fresh air. Molly was about to ask her if they were going to call Cane-man, when she caught a scent on the wind. Blood, deer, and something wolfish. Taea looked to her in concern. "What's the matter dear?"
Molly looked up at her. "I smell wolf." Then she shifted back to her real body and sprinted out the door after the scent. As she grew closer, she could tell that this scent smelled like her. It was a Garou and it smelled like Galataea and her, a Get of Fenris. Molly shifted into Hispo, following Cane-man's advice to always be as protected as possible for the situation, and chased after the smell. She found a great grey werewolf, ripping great gobbets of flesh out of the carcass of a great stag. Molly was fascinated by the great raging beast and slowly closed in. As she closed in, the creature stopped itself and then turned to face her, snarling.
Molly took one step back before another Hispo, Galataea, slammed into the creature and brought his head down onto a stone. The creature grunted before it stopped moving and reverted to a naked human male. He had sandy blond hair, now matted in the blood of the stag, with a very well-made body. Molly shifted to Homid. "I think he is Get."
Galataea shifted to Homid as well looking from her, to the male, then back at her. "I think you're right, Molly. That means, if all goes well, you will have a fellow Get on your pack when you get introduced."
Molly jumped from one foot to another. "You mean I am going to join the Sept?"
Galataea smirked. "Yes, seeing as how the last moot was a few days ago, you and Mr. Galliard here will be joining the Sept at the next full moon."
Osvald Robertsson
Osvald, yes that was his name, woke up tasting blood. He opened his eyes to look into the open body cavity of a dead deer, and shot up to a sitting position. Osvald wracked his brain for any information about how he got there, but there was nothing. Nothing about how he got to that spot in the woods, covered in blood, naked, and cuddling with a disemboweled dear.
"You look more confused than scared, that is good." Osvald stiffened and spun around into a crouch, arms up in a defensive stance looking around. In front of him were two women, one of them was leaning against a tree calmly, while the younger one was hoping from foot to foot excitedly. The calmer one looked him up and down. "Looks like you have some fighting experience."
Osvald looked down at his own position. "I suppose I do." He stood up straight, putting his hands down. "Who are you and what is going on?"
The younger one closed in quickly, grabbing him around the middle. "Pretty darkness, new puppy! I am Molly Volfskin." Osvald tensed immediately, staring from the new girl to the other woman, who had a hand over her face.
"Molly, you're confusing the boy and getting covered in blood, please step away." Molly stepped back smiling up at him. The other woman spoke up again. "Hello, my name is Galataea, what is your name?"
Osvald nodded, at least it was a question he could answer. "Osvald Robertsson. I would say it is nice to meet you, but I am naked and it is very cold out. Could you please explain what the hell is going on?"
The older woman took a step forward. "Okay, what is the last thing you remember."
Osvald decided that he would answer as best he could to get out of the cold as quickly as possible. "Waking up spooning that deer corpse."
She chuckled. "How about before that?"
"My name is Osvald Robertsson."
She cocked her head to the side. "Yes, you already mentioned that."
Osvald looked up to the canopy. "I can tell you what happened in the last three minutes, what my name is, and that's it."
The woman stared at him, mouth agape. She held up one finger before walking to a tree and slamming her head into it. Molly gasped and ran over to her. Galataea turned back from the tree to look at him. "Please tell me your joking?" When he shook his head, she sighed and then started laughing. "Oh, god One-Claw is going to find this hilarious. Why do I get the strange cases?" She sighed once more before looking back to him. "Come on, we have a house through the wood here. I will try my best to explain the situation on the way." She turned to Molly. "Molly dear, go back home and start a kettle of hot water for some tea." The smaller woman suddenly turned into a wolf and ran away. Osvald stared after the wolf before looking back at Galataea. She smiled at him. "Oh, you understand that is unusual? That's good, now let's get going and while we go, tell me what you know about werewolves."
