Author's Note: Finally, an update! I'm so sorry for my extended absence. I have missed you all and this fic very much! My work schedule has been a bit calmer these past few days, and I'm hoping that it stays that way for a little bit. About this time last year, I was being deployed out of state to assist with the pandemic. It's been a pretty emotional time for me, and I can't tell you how great it is to have this fanfiction and this fandom in my life. You are all absolutely fantastic, and I can't thank you enough for your support and kind reviews.
Here's to hoping I have some extra writing time for a while, because things are about to get interesting for our heroes in the next few chapters!
ZzZzZzZ
Leaves crunched melodiously underfoot as Wyatt strolled through the haunted woods towards the Crater entrance. He was meeting with Mayar for lunch, his first time to eat in the dining hall within the Lunite caverns. She was on cooking duty, and wanted him to try her first attempt at making pizza. Wyatt wasn't sure how much he would enjoy the Lunite interpretation of pizza. He was certain that their diet was almost entirely plant-based, much like their all-vegetarian zombie friends. But for the pleasure of Mayar's company, he would gladly eat an entire mushroom pizza whole.
Looking around at the dimly lit forest, Wyatt wondered how he could ever have found the haunted woods so terrifying. The greying leaves beneath his feet blanketed the forest floor like snow, and the thick canopy of leaves about made the woods appear to be in a perpetual state of twilight. Sporadic sunbeams shone through the small gaps in the leaves, creating intermittent splashes of beautiful golden light, which broke up the pervasive browns and greys around them. This entire section of the forest was as otherworldly as the race that inhabited it.
Yes, they'd definitely have to come up with a different name for this section of the forest.
Suddenly, he picked up a familiar, sweet scent, and he smiled. Slowing to a stop, he heard the soft shuffling of leaves behind him.
"Hey, beautiful." He said with a smile, turning to face a beaming Mayar. She was peeking out at him from one of the large white rocks that surrounded the outer edge of the Crater entrance. "I thought you were in the kitchen this morning?"
"I was," She replied, stepping out and into the dim midday light. "But Hala volunteered to finish baking the pizza, so that I could eat with you."
"That's great!" He replied happily, as he walked towards her.
Her hair glowed faintly, cascading about her head and shoulders in her usual messy curls. She too began walking in his direction. Today, Mayar was dressed dark grey harem pants and a loose-fitting navy blue top. Despite being long sleeved, the shirt was a crop top, and revealed a small amount of her belly. Wyatt was surprised to see the dark ink of a large tattoo in the center of her stomach, in an intricate mandala pattern.
"You have tattoos?" He asked, completely distracted by this new information.
"So do you." She giggled, reaching his side and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Well, yeah." He replied with a shrug. "But yours is way more... complex."
All of the wolves had tattoos. They usually began getting them at around age ten, and each symbol indicated a different skill or milestone achieved in a wolf's life. They were a symbol of pride, and a source of beauty and individualism. He wondered if the Lunite tattoos meant something, too.
"They do." Mayar said with a nod, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss Wyatt on the chin.
"Different patterns indicate different meanings. This one," She pointed to the pattern on her abdomen. "means 'kindness.' I have an even larger one on my back which represents family, for my grandparents and my sister. And I also have smaller ones on each shoulder, which represent friendship."
"Wow." He replied, equal parts surprised and impressed. "Do they hurt when you get them?"
Wyatt knew that his tattoos had most definitely hurt, and his were all comparatively small. The wolves tattoos were applied with a sharpened piece of stone, dipped in dark ink. Hers had to have hurt quite a bit more, if their method was in any way similar.
Mayar shrugged. "It's not exactly pleasant, but our method is a little different than yours. We have a thin wooden tool with needles attached at the end, and the artists tap it into the skin over and over to create a pattern. I'll have to invite you to watch, next time one of us gets one done."
"Sounds like a date." He laughed, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead as he ran a hand through her thick curls. "I'll take any chance I can get to spend time with you."
"Me, too." She said, cuddling her face into his chest and hugging him tightly. His heartbeat sped up with joy at her close proximity.
For a moment, they stood in silence, interrupted only by the quiet rustling of the wind as it danced through the leaves. The air smelled like autumn, crisp and cool and cleansing.
"Wyatt?" Mayar said, her voice hitching upward in question at the end of the word.
"Hmm?" He asked, eyes closed as he snuggled his face briefly into her hair. He loved the feel of her next to him. He loved everything about her, in fact.
"Come walk with me." She said, pulling back slightly to link her hands in his and pull him forward.
"I thought we had pizza to eat?" He asked, brows dipping downward in question.
"We do," she replied. "But first, I've been wanting to talk to you about something."
"Uh-oh." He replied with a wry half grin. "Am I in trouble? Because when my mom used to say that, it was definitely because I was in trouble."
She giggled again, and propelled him forwards into the woods as she lead him away from the Crater entrance. "Of course you aren't in trouble. You're too sweet to be in trouble."
"My mother would have heartily disagreed with you." Wyatt replied, swinging their interlocked hands back and forth between them. He tried to ignore the jab of grief that ached in his chest as he recalled his mother's stern expression, that time when she'd caught him filling Willa's boots with poison ivy leaves.
Mayar laughed at the memory, but her eyes were filled with sympathy.
"I am sorry about your parents, Wyatt." She said, as they continued to walk.
He shrugged. "I'm sorry about yours, too."
She nodded reflectively as they started a wide loop around the rocks that marked the crater entrance. "I never knew my mother, though. I imagine that it is far worse to lose someone when you know them beforehand."
Wyatt considered this.
"Well," he said. "I guess I never really thought about it like that." He sidestepped deftly around a small white rock that jutted out of the ground, as he continued to speak.
"When we 'lose' a wolf," He continued, "we don't consider them to be gone. They're just with us in a different way. My parents are the stars on a clear night, and the wind on a cool day. They aren't lost; they're right here with me."
He pulled her close, as she seemed to consider his words thoughtfully. "Just like you're here with me, now."
She smiled, and he looked down to face her. Mayar's eyes gazed out across the woods as they continued to circumambulate the Crater. After another few quiet minutes, as they once again approached the entrance, Wyatt suddenly recalled her earlier statement.
"Hey, didn't you have something you wanted to talk about?" He asked, leaning down to offer her a quick peck on her forehead.
She blushed slightly, but shook her head.
"I just... wanted to tell you that I love you." She said, not making eye contact with him.
Wyatt felt his brows dip down. Mayar had never struck him as a dishonest person. But even if he wasn't the mind reader in this relationship, he was certain that she was being dishonest now. But why? What could she be keeping from him?
It occurred to him (however much he disliked the thought) that there were probably many things about Mayar that he didn't yet know. Regardless of their relationship timeline, though, and all the things he had yet to learn, he did know Mayar. She was a good person. His person.
"Mayar," He said, as they reached the crater entrance. "I love you too. Which is why you don't need to be keeping secrets from me." He turned inward, so that they were facing one another, and raised a hand to gently cup her chin.
She blinked up at him, worry etched softly into her delicate features.
"You're right," She said. "I just... Everything is so perfect with us right now. I don't want to ruin it."
"Hey," he said, offering her a smile and a half shrug. "Nothing is perfect one hundred percent of the time, right?"
She huffed out a laugh. A cool wind whipped up around them, causing Wyatt to hug her closer, and Mayar to reach up and pull her hood up and over her hair for warmth.
"Come on," She said. "let's go inside and eat. I'll tell you what's on my mind."
"Now that," Wyatt said, "Sounds perfect."
He took her hand, and together they descended the narrow set of stone stairs into the Crater, as Mayar began to speak.
ZzZzZzZ
They were sitting in a small shop called "Pretty in Pastels." It was a tiny yet gaudy space, filled with jewelry and clothing tinted in rainbow-bright hues. Willa reached out across the plastic jewelry display, which shimmered with bright lights and multicolored baubles, and slapped a brooch out of Wynter's hand as her friend moved to slip the pilfered item into her pocket. The bright pink monstrosity, shaped like a star, clattered onto the plastic shelving.
Wynter yipped in quiet protest.
"Cut it out," Willa hissed, her eyes glowing dimly in her frustration. "This isn't one of the Acey's lockers."
Wynter let out a soft growl of annoyance, but raised both hands in defeat.
"Fine." Wynter said. "I didn't even want it, anyway."
"Wynter. You have money; just pay for it. I won't even make fun of you for wearing it." Willa considered her statement briefly, tilting her head to one side. "Well, maybe I'll make fun of you a little. It's pastel pink, for moon's sake."
Wynter sighed, picking up the brooch and forlornly pinning it back onto the pink and turquoise cork board.
"Sorry," She said with the tiniest of shrugs. "Habit."
Willa rolled her eyes as she watched her friend place the pink brooch back onto the display. It glittered obnoxiously as lights from the case reflected off of it, and she crinkled up her nose.
This was definitely not her kind of store.
They had been to another one, a camping and outdoor sporting establishment, which both of the wolves had heartily enjoyed. Both Wynter and Willa had purchased tiny fire starter kits, which where conveniently situated onto little key chains. They also had miniature flashlights attached at the end, though with their much sharper eyesight, it really wasn't needed.
Bree and Addison had both pitched in funds to purchase a large, sky blue canopy tent, for their group of friends to lounge beneath tomorrow on the beach at Shore Day.
Willa wasn't a particularly enthusiastic being, but she had to admit that even she was excited to experience the city's celebration tomorrow. The air felt chilled, and it probably wouldn't be the warmer swimming weather that everyone had been hoping for. However, she and Eliza could still go on the rides together, and play games with their friends, and walk along the shore looking for seashells. Willa didn't remember ever having gone with Eliza to the beach, even before they'd started dating.
It was going to be great.
Then, when the fireworks display started, she would kneel before Eliza, ring in hand, and give her the romantic proposal that she so very much deserved. She would place the ring on Eliza's finger, and they would kiss with a backdrop of beautiful fireworks illuminating the ocean sky behind them.
"-to go?"
"What?" Willa snapped her head to the side, where a beaming Bree was looking up at her. Her hair had been styled and curled in loose waves, which framed her smiling face beautifully.
"I said, are you ready to go? Marz just finished Addy's hair, so you're up next!"
They were each taking turns getting something called a 'blowout.'It apparently involved having your hair meticulously washed and conditioned, then styled. They were all insisting that Willa get one, since she had revealed the fact that she planned to propose to Eliza.
That revelation had definitely been a tactical error, on her part.
Addison bounced up to the little group of girls, her own white locks looking glossy and smooth.
"Do you like it?" Addison said, brushing a snowy lock self-consciously away from her face. "Is it too short?"
Willa took in her friend, who was staring expectantly at the two wolves. After a few moments of observation, Willa still couldn't see any sort of difference in Addison's appearance. "Um, it's the same length as it was before."
"No it's not!" Addison insisted, turning to the side and glancing into a nearby mirror. "Marz said they cut off nearly half an inch, and they added layers!"
Willa just arched an eyebrow.
She knew that Addison had endured a life-long struggle with her own hair. Most of her life, the cheerleader had been forced to hide her hair beneath a wig. After the wig, Willa was fairly certain that Addison hadn't so much as trimmed it. She was finally free from having to hide who she she really was, and her white hair was a symbol of that. Therefore, going to a hair stylist at all was probably a pretty big step for her. Willa needed to be supportive.
So, Willa did her best to suppress her naturally blunt nature, and offered up what she hoped was an encouraging smile.
"It looks great, Addison." Willa said, presenting a smile that showed her fangs. The fangs glittered in the lights of the gaudy store decor, making her teeth appear extra sharp in the reflection of the mirror.
"Yeah," Wynter nodded, flipping her own hair lightly over her shoulder. "It looks almost as good as mine."
Of course, Wynter's hair was in its usual half up/half down style, with two braided buns atop her head. She had insisted that she did not want or need a style update, since her hair 'was already perfect.'
"Go on, Willa," Addison said, looking away from the mirror and back towards the alpha wolf. "Marz is ready for you."
Willa hesitated. She had never let anyone besides her mother work on her hair before. And that had been years ago, at this point. Now, she basically let her hair do what it wanted, occasionally trimming it herself. For most of her life, Willa had never given much thought to her appearance. She was too busy taking care of the pack.
It was crazy, to think how much more open Willa had become to change in the past year. She was friends with humans and zombies, a reality that she had never foreseen. She was in love with a zombie. She was at the mall, for howling out loud. But Willa was a werewolf, an alpha. She wasn't afraid of anything. Even a slight modification to her hair.
Plus, she really did want to look great for her proposal tomorrow at Shore Day.
Sighing, she dismissed herself from the little group of girls, and walked the short distance from the little boutique to the salon.
Curl Up and Dye was an apparently new zombie hair establishment, and none of them had been there before today. However, they all agreed that it was important to support zombie and werewolf businesses, and so they had decided to give it a shot.
Marz, the stylist who was working that day, greeted her with a smile. They looked vaguely familiar with their maroon hat, grey infinity scarf and gold nose ring.
"Hey," Willa said, cocking an eyebrow. "Don't you work at ZomBrews?"
Marz grinned.
"Yeah, I do. I'm working a few jobs right now, to save up for beauty school." They straightened their back proudly. "I'm gonna be the first zombie to graduate from the Seabrook Cosmetology Institute."
Willa had no idea what that was, but was certainly supportive of zombies and wolves achieving new goals, especially those that had not previously been an option for them.
"Good for you." Willa said, nodding her head approvingly.
"Thanks," said Marz, grinning and gesturing to the chair in front of her station. "Take a seat. Time to start stylin'."
Willa hesitated, staring at the chair with trepidation.
"C'mon," Marz said, waving her forward. "I don't bite."
Willa actually snorted at that, relaxing slightly as she took a few hesitant steps towards the chair.
"Nothing drastic." Willa warned as her eyebrows arched down.
"Don't worry," said Marz. "I know exactly what to do. You're gonna look fierce, girl." They winked at her reflection in the mirror.
Willa settled herself into the chair, staring back at the confident-looking zombie.
"Alright." She said with another glare, as Marz rotated the chair so that Willa could no longer see her reflection. "Let's do it."
The hairstyle took longer than the other girls' had. Willa had a lot of hair, and Marz had washed and deep conditioned it, adding in a scalp massage for good measure. Then Willa had sat, watching mall-goers strolling past the salon as Marz's hands worked. Willa couldn't see what she was doing, but it felt as though the zombie was braiding it.
Willa felt a little nervous, hoping that she wouldn't end up with two buns like Wynter. It looked great on her packmate, but she had zero desire to wear the style herself. Despite her worries about the new look, though, Willa had to admit that her hair smelled amazing. The conditioner had been scented like rose petals, and her locks felt soft and bouncy.
"All done." Marz said suddenly, taking a step back from the werewolf.
Faster than a human could ever have managed, Marz had swung around the chair so that Willa was facing the mirror. She felt her mouth pop slightly open, and before she could stop herself, she was smiling. The left side of her head head been intricately braided in neat rows along her temple. The white streak in her hair was even more visible now, running in plaits against her scalp. The rest of her long hair, thanks to the conditioner and oils that Marz had used, was shining like water reflecting against the sun. It cascaded beautifully across and behind her right shoulder.
The zombie hairstylist was right. Willa looked fierce.
"Holy moonstone!" Wynter's voice said behind her. "You look hot."
Willa grinned, and next to Wynter and Bree, Addison whistled in a mock catcall.
"Ow-ow!" Addison yipped, and both Wynter and Willa's eyes widened in shock at the accidental cursing.
Addison was definitely more of a swearwolf than she was a werewolf.
"Language, Ads." Chided Wynter, wagging a finger at the cheer captain.
Addison blushed, but they were all laughing, including Marz.
"Thanks for making us all look great!" Bree gushed, offering the surprised zombie a hug.
"You guys already looked great," Marz said, their eyes shining with amusement as they returned the hug. "But it was still fun. Thanks for coming to the salon; I haven't had many clients, yet."
"Well, don't worry," Addison chimed in. "We'll definitely be recommending you to everyone. You're a hair genius!"
"Thanks." They replied, blushing faintly at the compliment. "I'll probably see you guys around at ZomBrews!"
The group exchanged their final pleasantries and paid Marz, with Bree giving them an excellent tip for good measure. Then, they spent the next hour at the food court, chatting and drinking something called an "Orange Julius." After that, Bree and Addison had to head home for their final cheer practice before tomorrow's Shore Day performance. Willa admittedly didn't care about cheerleading, not even a little bit. Nevertheless, she and Wynter gave them a supportive wave, promising to meet them later tonight at the crater.
Willa wondered, as she sipped the strange orange drink, what the storytelling night would entail, exactly. She could only imagine what Lunite tales might entail, and how they would differ from the stories she and Wyatt had grown up hearing from their own elders. As she and Wynter made their way out of the mall and back towards the Forbidden Forest, they each discussed what they thought Lunites might tell stories about.
It was going to be a fascinating night, to be sure.
And then, tomorrow, she would put her romantic plan into action, and become the future Mrs. Lykensen-Zambie.
Probably.