A/N: Most of the reason for the delay on this chapter was school issues and stuff (my Literature teacher is asking us to read 30 chapters of a book in three days. The chapters are about eight pages long each... Normally that's not a problem for me, but the book is BORING...). However, I'm also having issues with cramming in all the stuff that I have to have done by the end of this summer for Exterior to collaborate with Goddess. I feel like I have a deadline or something! Anyway, yep... Er, so, if you see anything that doesn't mix correctly time-wise with Goddess, please tell me, and I'll try to fix it. Also, I couldn't find last names if I've used them previously, because I suck at skimming. Therefore, if I mess up their last name, please forgive me and tell me. Heh heh. Okay, on to Exterior!
Exterior
6
The soft humming seemed to echo endlessly through the mountains.
"La, la, loo.. doo, lalalala, mm... mm..."
A haunting tune, yet plain and simple.
"La, la..."
Over and over again.
Time seemed to stop for the young chicken farmer, as his eyes detected faint glowing from a spot in front of him, and spots where the grass flattened; yet no feet stood.
And the next time he blinked, he saw her.
Clothed in a pale yellow gown, sitting on the rock, holding several Toy Flowers, gently picking the petals off and dropping them to the ground. If you looked very hard, you could almost see straight through her... And though she had color, she was tinged a misty white. She was almost unreal... No, she WAS unreal...
"Go ahead and stand up," Gotz said. "She never sees me when I do, anymore." A small choking noise, which if Rick hadn't been looking at his dry eyes, would have seemed like crying. "...I come here, sometimes, to see her... The little leftover parts of her." A swallow, and a whisper meant only for his aching heart. "...Alissa."
Rick stood, a part of him touched at Gotz's obvious feelings for his wife, even now, when he had everything taken away from him except for this tiny piece of her, a sliver of what had once been.
But something else made him disgusted at the grown man's... whining and whimpering.
The humming stopped, and suddenly, the glowing Alissa's head snapped towards him.
Him. Not Gotz. Him.
She became even paler, if that was possibly. And... She flickered, the dim light disappearing for a second and then coming back.
Her eyes opened wide, as she looked straight at him. Goddess, she could SEE him!!! She could see straight into his soul with ghostly eyes...
Her mouth opened in a silent scream that pierced the night, her form dimming more and more as her mouth closed in anticipation of something Rick could never guess.
There had never been a sound, and there was not another as Alissa Rellton faded away.
And Rick could hardly stop himself... The ground rushed up to meet his head.
When Karen was fourteen, her parents decided to send her to a summer school in the city, and that was when she met Maria.
Maria wore a light tan throughout the year, and spoke with a calm Spanish accent. Actually, she looked exactly like Kai, but prettier and not nearly as wild.
Maria also knew everything about makeup and boys.
Sometimes, though it cost money at a ridiculous rate for the long-distance fee, she would call Maria, just to see what was up.
It was one of those days where she needed to feel like a girl... To talk like a girl, to gossip like one. Because of her lack of girl friends, she rarely got to do it in Mineral Town.
Her finger dialed the number without a second thought.
"Hey, this is Maria Cordova's cell phone! I'm probably shopping right now (giggle), so just give me a name and a callback number and I'll get to ya! Hee hee!"
"...Hello? Maria? This is Karen Stone. I just was calling to say hi-"
"Hello?"
"Maria!"
"Karen? Oooohhh, we haven't talked in so long. So, what's up?"
"Nothing much."
"You get a boyfriend yet?"
"Me? No..."
"Any new crushes?"
"...Not really."
"Nuh uh. I can hear it in your voice. Come on, spill."
She glanced about the Inn. Ann was over by a table near the stairs, dusting it like it had done her a great misfortune. Doug was in the back, and there was nobody else there besides Cliff upstairs, unless he was out.
"...You see, there's this guy..."
"Uh huh. Is he hot?"
Hm. "To tell you the truth, no."
An aggravated blown-out breath of air. "Honey, you've got, what, eight boys in your town, that I'm SURE are hot because I've seen pictures you sent me..."
"There's five, and you've only seen three. Kai, Gray, and the Doctor."
"Whatever. Can't you date one of them?"
She snorted. "Kai's not even around in any time except for the Summer... Besides, Popuri would probably kill me. Gray is completely zoned out, and though he's cute, he can't handle a relationship. The Doctor... Need I say more? And as for the other two..." A glance at Ann. "Well, one doesn't know it yet, but he's soulmates with a girl."
"Cute!" Maria squealed.
"...Though she doesn't know it either. And as for the other guy... That's the one I'm telling you about."
"Aww... You should have gone after them before. Maybe you can still get one...?"
"Maria," she giggled. "No, I cannot."
"Suit yourself, Miss I Want A Hot Guy But I Won't Make A Move."
"...Anyway, he's got some issues. And don't get me wrong. He's not UGLY... He's just not, you know, HOT. He's actually kinda cute... In a geeky, chicken-like sort of way."
"Okaaaayy..."
"What?"
"...You really must like him, to look past that." There was a scribbling sound suddenly, and the phone line gave a little static noise. "But understand me, Karen. You're WAY too hot to go with a guy that's just... Cute. Don't be with him because you pity him."
"It's not only that. Sometimes..." Karen dreamily put her chin in her hand and leaned on the counter. "...Sometimes, he's really strong. And I THINK he's hot. And sometimes, he acts so..."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"It's like there's a totally different Rick. A really hot one."
Breathing.
"...Maria? Are you listening?"
A muffled, "I'm getting to it. I apologize. I wasn't prepared when she called me. No, I haven't mentioned anything."
And then, "I'm sorry, Karen. What?"
"I said, it's like there's another Rick. It's been that way ever since this Fall."
She could swear she heard whisperings in the background. "Um, listen, Karen. I've gotta go. But before I do, I just want to say... Don't get too involved with him, if you can help it. You're just... How do I say it... Too good for him."
A small, small part of Karen wanted to say, 'How do you know? You haven't even met him! You've never even laid eyes on him!' But she didn't. Because another part of her was saying that Maria was right.
He was dreaming. He had to be dreaming.
No... It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.
Because the scene happening in front of him... It couldn't be real. It was horribly, desperately wrong... He wanted to stop it, but he couldn't. He was just watching. That was all he was doomed to do.
"Gail, come."
The four-year-old scowled. "Nuh-uh. Mommy, I don't want to."
"I said, COME. Now. You listen to me when I speak."
The little girl shook her head, eyes wide.
"Gail!"
And before his very eyes, the mother slapped her own child.
The woman froze, all signs of the craziness of before disappearing as she rocked back and forth in horror. "...Oh, Goddess. Gail. Gail, are you okay? Gail, honey..."
The little girl stared up with eyes that understood, hand pressed to her cheek, then to her mother's, comforting. "Mommy, I'm sorry you don't feel okay."
"I'm sorry too, Gail." Her breathing became hitched. "I don't know what came over me, I just..." She paused, then leaned down and gently took Gail by the shoulders. "...Honey, if I ever... Just... Never let me get alone with you on the mountain. Do you understand? I'll try not to do it, but if I keep attempting..." Alissa stopped and sucked in a breath. "No. We won't think about that unless the occasion arises. Do you promise me? Promise me not to get on the mountain alone with me?"
"I promise, Mommy. But what happens if we DO get on the mountain alone together?"
"That must NEVER happen, Gail, do you understand? Never. Never!" She shook her head and calmed herself, her blonde hair beginning to go in all directions, mussy and wild.
"Okay. I promise." Gail stuck out a pinky. "...Aja and Joanna told me that if I hook pinkies with someone and then promise something, it can never be broken, cross my heart and hope to die. Um... Stick a needle in my eyes, something like that." She looked up with a solemn and serious face that could only belong to a four-year-old. "So let's pinky swear."
Alissa smiled and offered up her own, and they gently shook. "It's a deal, then."
"It's a promise."
And as Rick felt himself being tugged away from the dream, tugged away from Alissa and Gail, who would never be more than a five-year-old child, a memory, he knew what had happened.
It wasn't possible that a five-year-old child could resist the wishes of a grown woman, who in a state that Rick himself was quite familiar with, couldn't control herself. It was impossible, and as the next scene began to dance before his eyes, he already knew exactly what it would be.
A lone woman stood on the mountaintop, facing a rising full moon. In seconds, she was joined by two other wolves, normal wolves, probably the very ones that had changed her.
They began to howl joyously, and he could almost feel their thirst for blood, their thirst for revenge on something that they didn't know, and never would. It was HIS thirst, HIS revenge. It was Rick watching himself, except for the most horrifying part of it all.
"...Mommy?"
The whisper was extremely soft, yet it cut through the howls more easily than screams. The woman turned, and her eyes were a blazing yellow.
The eyes were looking at Gail.
...They didn't understand. They didn't even recognize their own flesh and blood.
All they saw was a harmless little girl, just waiting. And she was. She held out one arm, and it glowed in the light of the full moon... The Harvest Moon.
"...Mommy, I want to be like you. I don't want you to be alone. I don't. I want to be with you, forever... We'll be a family again. Daddy won't have to cry every night you go out... Because you'll be safe, because you're with me, and I'm with you. We'll be TOGETHER."
The words were not acknowledged, just Alissa... No, not Alissa. A creature. A creature that had been Alissa. Just the creature walking towards the girl, teeth bared, the two wolves following behind.
A motion from the creature, and they fell back.
He knew the possessive feeling.
'Mine. She's mine. All mine.'
Rick couldn't watch. He just couldn't. He stopped resisting the tugging, let the black edging in closer and closer to the dream take over, let it disappear.
But not fast enough.
He heard a scream, a whimper, and then the howl of a werewolf. Two wolves' voices joined in, and then... A third.
But he could hear the voice of ordinary Alissa too.
"You broke your promise, Gail. I'm sorry you have to be this way. I'm sorry."
He woke, and he was in his own bed, sweating and shaking. Gotz was nowhere to be seen.
A warm, dry breeze blew in through the open window of his room, and he could hear voices outside. The voice of his sister, and of another girl. He felt a warm glow despite himself.
Karen?
The glow disappeared.
No, it wasn't Karen. It was just that Jill Green, that strange girl whom Popuri had come to be good friends with.
He had almost forgotten about the dream, in his short-lived giddiness.
The dream. It WAS a dream... He had probably just fainted last night, and then Gotz had put him in his own bed. Goddess, what time was it? The clock on his bedside table read 11:06.
Rick stood and stretched. Really the best sleep he had gotten in a while, besides the dream. At least he felt rested and awake, not tired and feeling like he had to lash out.
But as his mind went into overdrive, he realized one thing didn't make sense.
The last howls he had heard. Why had Gail been a werewolf? It had already been two seasons and a half or so for him... She had been bitten only minutes before the howls.
Giggles from downstairs interrupted him.
"Well, anyway, I've got to go. The crops need tending to." He could see Jill's tight, protective smile in his mind. And then it melted into a happy, calm one as she hugged her best friend goodbye. Jill sure could be cute, if she actually tried. She wasn't an ugly-looking girl at all. "I'll see you later, Popuri. Have fun with Rick."
A snort. "...Yeaaahhh... We'll have lots of fun. He's probably still conked out upstairs. Do you think Gotz made him work or something?"
"Probably."
"Anyways, maybe I'll draw on his face with a marker or something."
A laugh. "...Popuri... He'd probably kill you." It was a joke, but Rick suddenly realized it was quite true. Especially when he heard Popuri's voice quiet down. She had actually taken it seriously, and her tone became stiff and hard.
"Yep, so, bye Jill."
"Bye, Popuri."
Great. Just great. His little sister hated him now.
Who cared what that pink-haired brat thought anyway? She was always annoying him and sticking around him and prying into his life with Karen.
Goddess, Rick wanted to slap himself. Well, maybe he would slap (or punch, or stab...) Popuri. Or worse.
Rick swallowed. 'Don't, Rick. Don't let the werewolf take you over. Why don't you... Go see Karen?'
"Hey."
"Hey."
They both stared at each other for several seconds.
"Er... Do you want to come in? Mom's out, but Dad's here."
"Okay."
They may not have been on horrible terms anymore, but they certainly weren't comfortable.
They sat Indian style across from each other on the floor, Rick chewing his lip as he observed her graceful movements.
She twisted a finger through her hair, the blond part, and her green eyes lazily traced the hair as it fell back to its original spot. Then, they turned to Rick. They looked each other in the eye for several seconds... And then Karen turned away.
'Goddess, she's pretty.'
"Rick, I've been wanting to ask you something for a long while."
"Yeah?" He took off his glasses and began to clean them, glancing up at her, the nervousness fading out of his system as the werewolf part of him took advantage of the situation.
"...You've been acting different lately."
He mentally winced. 'Well, yeah. I kinda have. And, Karen, you won't believe this, but it's because I'm a werewolf!'
"I want to know what's going on. I want to be... Involved in what you do."
His mouth began to open, and he could feel the words pushing up from inside his throat, words of everything that had ever happened to him. How he changed into this beast all of the time... How he had learned of a piece of the past, a terrible piece of it. How he was rapidly changing...
How he felt about her.
"I don't want you to be alone."
Rick froze, his mind whirling along at a thousand miles per hour. Where had he last heard that?
And as he realized, cold chills ran down his spine.
Gail. It had been the exact same words from Gail's mouth... Before her mother turned her into a werewolf. Being by himself was lonely...
But he couldn't allow Karen to get hurt. He couldn't. If she knew about his werewolf self... Would she want to join him? He wasn't sure about that; but the possibility scared him more than losing himself, like Alissa had.
No. He couldn't let Karen go through this. Being this... Being a werewolf... Was a fate worse than death.
And staring into her green eyes, Rick made a decision.
"I've got to get home. Popuri will be worried about me."
Her mouth practically fell off her face. "...What?"
"I said, I've got to go."
He stood, and was making his way towards the door, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Rick!"
Emeralds pierced him through.
"Rick, there's something you're not telling me."
"You're right," he said, nervous.
"Are you going to tell me now?"
Go ahead. Tell her. She's not a fool or a little girl like Gail. She can handle this. Go on. Tell her about ME. Tell her who she REALLY likes... Tell her you can be like me all of the time. And maybe I'll let you know how it feels to kiss her.
Rick began to shiver. The woman in front of him, the one he loved... Her asking him to tell her. The voice in his head. Or really, his own voice, his own self gone wrong.
Both making him do the same thing, a common goal that they both wanted accomplished.
And despite Rick's earlier decision to keep Karen safe, to not tell her a thing... He could feel that part of him wearing down. He could only weakly gaze into the stubborn green eyes and feel himself melting.
"Rick. Rick! Tell me. Now."
Tell her, tell her, TELL HER.
He let out a long sigh, his head beginning to hurt from all the pressure, especially his own thoughts and wishes. His mouth opened, but Gail flashed in his mind.
It shut. The answer was still inside him.
"Rick!"
All right, stubborn fool... We'll compromise. You won't tell her...
"Come to the mountain with me, tonight, just before the moon rises." His lips were moving without him even doing it. He wanted to cover his mouth, but his hand stayed frozen at his side. "I'll show you what I have to hide."
...You'll show her. And a piece of advice: you should have complied with what I wanted earlier, because showing her is probably going to be a lot harder on the both of you. Moonlit Dreaming- Thanks! It's okay, I'm just glad you're reviewing and still reading! Thanks for doing so! Evil Azurill- Thank you! Do you like Rick? I like working with him as an author, because he provides lots of thoughts and whatever. I like him in Harvest Moon, too. I think I've married him at least once! Um, yep. So, welcome to being a reviewer for Exterior! Ekoaleko- As usual, you've really made my day! Hee hee! I do like making up little extra-plot twisters, because they're fun! Although, I didn't put much Karen in here... Though the next chapter will be a lot of her, promise! Thank you for reviewing and supporting! EEEEEeeeeeeeee, love you all! Thanks for reviewing!
A/N: Wow, a lot of talking done in this chapter. Sorry about the whole thing with Maria (did that feel like a filler?), it's just that I need that to prep for the next story (yeah, I'm planning it. Finally). Okay, my talk time!