"Are you sure this is okay Brittany? I'm human, I'm already the odd one out and I don't want to cause a scene or something. I know that there are already people who are pissed that I'm the only human who got into the OSU vet school. I know I'm not supposed to be here." Santana said as she fiddled with her dress. She had never been to one of these events before. It was the first time that she had been invited and she was nervous. Even if the animal people were human, there was a beast lurking very close to the surface.
Brittany grinned brightly as she wrapped an arm around Santana's shoulders and pulled her into a hug, "It'll be fine San. I invited you and it's not like you're the only human that knows about our kind. Just look at this as a learning experience, you know seeing Therianthropes in their natural environment, trying to find a mate and form a bond. Just pretend you're like—Jane Goodall."
Santana winced, but relaxed in Brittany's arms. She was about the only person in her vet's class that talked to her and treated her like a human being. Which was surprising given that Brittany was a cat of all things. "That's actually not a good comparison. I don't want to be the Jane Goodall of the therianthropes. It's a party, right? So, it's supposed to be fun and everyone is supposed to have a good time. Is there anything that I need to know? I heard that these events could get a little—violent."
Brittany nods, "They do get violent sometimes, alcohol and alphas are not a good combination when it comes to finding a mate." When Santana's eyes go wide she laughs, "Don't worry you're not an alpha, and you're human. We can't form a mate bond with a human. Just don't get involved."
Santana bites her lip, deciding to keep that one close to her chest. She wasn't even sure that Charlie was her mate, she hadn't heard from her since that fateful night. Quinn had been nice and understanding and she had only gotten into the program because Russell Fabray had pulled some strings for. She was grateful to the Fabray's but she still wasn't convinced Charlie was her mate. Nothing she had read had even suggested that it was possible for Therianthropes to mate outside of their own classification. There were no panther-lycans running about. "No problem there."
Brittany smiles before pausing, "Also stay away from the therianthropes that go through a heat cycle you can tell—oh wait, I'll let you know who to avoid."
"Thanks Britt, I don't think I could do this without—"
"Santana?"
Santana froze, that voice was familiar, one that she hadn't heard in a few months, if it hadn't been years. She flicks her gaze to a blonde who was currently surrounded by a few other women in line, they were quite possibly other wolf-people. Her eyes widen and a small smile crosses her face, to see yet another friendly face even if Quinn didn't look thrilled by her presence. She probably shouldn't be surprised to spot Quinn here of all places, it was a 'mixer' and Quinn was looking for a mate as well. "Quinn! What are you doing back in Ohio?" She had heard from Rachel that Quinn was at Yale, and she knew from Shelby that Rachel had many trips to 'spy' on her old rival. She had simply rolled her eyes and wished Rachel luck, assuming that the two of them had begun to hook up.
Quinn pulled away from the throng of women who were looking to be her mate and studied Santana carefully for a moment before tilting her eyes towards the large warehouse doors. She could hear the strong beats, and she could smell the pheromones that laced the ear. She hated these things. "You mean in Ohio? Apart from the fact that my parents still live here?"
Santana rolled her eyes, "I mean yeah, but aren't there mixers in Connecticut?"
Quinn narrows her eyes as she flicks her eyes to the blonde standing beside Santana for a moment, cat. She could never tell what type of feline, but she didn't seem to be a threat, even as she moved in a fashion that suggested that she was going to protect Santana. "Not like this. My parents are insisting that I find a mate, so here I am. I wasn't going to go to Wyoming, or California, or worse Florida."
At the look of confusion on Santana's face, Brittany nudged her gently. "Those are the epicenters for people like us," she whispers quietly to Santana.
Santana nods at the statement and spots that Brittany's body was tense, like she was getting ready to pounce. There wasn't actually some blood feud between cats and dogs, that she knew of but maybe Brittany could sense the danger that seemed to exude off Quinn. It was different than in high school, Quinn was different. "Relax Brittany, I know Quinn. Her father is the one that pulled the strings to get me into the vet program here."
"Oh—but Santana she's an—"
"I know, it's okay, she's friendly—most of the time," Santana whispers back.
Quinn arched an eyebrow, "I can hear you," she reminds them both and sighs when the other blonde shoots her an amused smile. "Santana, you can't be here."
"Of course, she can. She's my guest!" Brittany says immediately scowling. "All because wolves are the only ones that can create other wolves doesn't mean that you're in charge of everything."
"Oh, for fucks sake, you can't be here because she's here," Quinn said, she couldn't deal with the annoyance that some had towards her community, and instead she points at the doorway. "Mom made me take her to this." She wasn't quite sure how Charlie would react it had been nearly eight years after all.
Santana blinks at the knowledge for a moment, before forcing a smile on her face, "She's trying to find a mate?"
Quinn narrowed her eyes for a moment before sighing, she wasn't getting paid enough for this. She wasn't getting paid at all in fact, which meant that this whole mess was none of her business. "That was so incredibly fake, please tell me you haven't kept some torch alive for my twin. Like of all the things I couldn't deal with right now that is it."
"Wait—what?" Brittany says turning to Santana. "You dated a wolf?"
"When I was sixteen, it was a thing—and I've dated other people Quinn. I mean I'm not dating anyone now because I'm focusing on school. You can't fault me for being curious and being slightly pissed off, she abandoned me she didn't even say goodbye she just left—no emails, no texts, no anything. So, I'm just angry and irritated and I do want to give her a piece of my mind."
Quinn's shoulders slumped for a moment, her mother was going to murder her. She could already feel the headache coming on, "Right. Whatever you say. Look, personally I'd avoid making a scene, stay in your corner and she'll probably stay in hers. But you probably aren't going to do that which means just avoid getting eaten."
"You're not going to get eaten," Brittany insists immediately. "We don't eat people!"
Santana rolled her eyes and tugs on Brittany's arm, "That's Quinn, she's a bit of a bitch—"
"Heard that too," Quinn snipes but there's no malice in her tone as she heads back to the women that had surrounded her. She really hoped that Santana didn't get mauled or eaten, her parents would probably blame her.
Brittany glances at Santana for a moment, "You dated a wolf?"
"Dated as in past tense, we broke up and before I had time to think about it or regret it or something she disappeared. Like just up and vanished, I tried calling her, I tried to talk to her, I mean I even showed up but she was simply gone. I mean it's no big deal, I just thought she loved me. Or something, I don't know. It's complicated, but I'm over her. I mean it's been what? Eight years? You move on you meet other people who don't just disappear." Santana frowns when Brittany doesn't stop staring at her. "Seriously it's no big deal."
"Except it is a big deal, wolves are the only group of animal people that can turn humans into animal people! I mean yeah the process is practically lethal and as such practically forbidden—you dated a wolf and you lived to tell tale about it?"
"Charlie was harmless, is harmless. I mean she could transform at will, and her wolf seemed to really enjoy being around me. I mean at the very least enjoyed eating all my food and deciding that my bed was clearly more comfortable than the cage that she was in."
"Cage?"
"She had been shot—I thought she was a wolf when I found her. My dad took care of her, she was lucky. I mean that I found her. She might have been chipped or something, or she could have been hit by a car. She was pretty out of it when I found her." Santana frowns slightly, "What?"
"You lived? That's when they're at their most dangerous."
Santana shrugged, she didn't know why it was so surprising Charlie seemed sentient as a wolf, maybe it was odd. Even with her classes, it wasn't as if she got to view and study them, they were suspicious of her, not that she blamed them. She could only imagine what the religious people would say or the fear that people would feel if people who could turn into panthers lived amongst them. Instead she chooses to scan the room, there are people dancing people talking and some are just getting more to drink. For a bunch of wild animals, she had seen more intense parties in high school.
Brittany frowned, there was totally more to the story and Santana wasn't giving her the juicy details. "So, where is she?" Brittany nudges Santana who suddenly had stopped and was laser focused at something that was across the room. Brittany immediately follows her gaze. There standing leaning against the back wall was an identical twin to the woman she had seen before who seemed to be staring back at Santana intently. Almost immediately Brittany grabs Santana's arm when she notices the wolf's eyes shift slightly, which seems to alert everyone around her. "Santana."
Santana immediately pulls her arm away from Brittany, Charlie wasn't going to hurt her she knew that much. Sure, she had made the promise years ago and had promptly decided to disappear on her thus hurting her in ways that she wasn't quite sure were imaginable. So instead she just keeps staring at Charlie daring her to make the first move. She was an alpha, wasn't she? It's only for a moment but when Charlie suddenly looks away deciding she's had enough does her anger and hurt erupt. "Hell no. You don't just get to ignore me," she snips angrily.
"San. You're not supposed to make a scene!" Brittany hisses but quickly follows her. This couldn't end well.
