Chapter 17
Shinji lay in bed a few minutes later. Misato was beside him. Shinji, as tired as he was, was now reluctant to fall asleep. Shinji was still human, even though the sun had set, but he feared the possibility of a somnambulant transformation. However, a thought occurred to him.
"Misato? Are you still awake?"
No reply. Misato must have fallen asleep. Good, thought Shinji, that might make his job a little easier. Shinji carefully extracted himself from Misato's arms and slid slowly out of bed. Not bothering with any kind of heavier clothing, Shinji crept downstairs in his boxers and made his way to Misato's den office. He knew that Misato had a computer there, and he knew what he needed to find.
As he powered up the computer, Shinji realized that a smart woman like Misato was bound to have a log-in password. Now it was a matter of guessing what she used. The password screen came up. Shinji began to ponder.
What would you use, Misato? he thought, What easy to remember phrase would you use to safeguard your home computer? Hmm…let's start simple. Try… "shinji". No joy. Okay…how about…"alpine"? Still no.
"Damn," Shinji muttered, "What would Misato use for a password?"
"I'd use 'wolfsbane'," came the reply from behind him. Shinji turned around quickly. There stood Misato, wearing nothing but the tiny nightie that she had just bought to wear to bed.
"You left," Misato said simply, walking across the room to the desk, "I was worried."
"I had a thought," Shinji replied, "and I wanted to research it."
"Oh."
Shinji entered the password that Misato had given him. Sure enough, a few seconds later Shinji found himself looking at Misato's desktop. Shinji smirked. Misato had Windows XP. Shinji accessed the Internet and looked up the files on werewolves. He wasn't sure what else he might find in said files, but he hoped that it would answer his questions.
"So, what are you looking for, Shinji?" Misato asked.
"Answers," Shinji replied simply.
"Well, that's nice and vague," quipped Misato sarcastically, "What kind of answers?"
"Important ones," Shinji answered, still focusing his attention on the screen.
"About your transformations?"
Shinji nodded.
"About how to control them while you're asleep?"
Shinji shook his head.
"Well what, then?" Misato asked.
"I'll know it when I find it," Shinji said bluntly, "Now please, Misato. Let me work."
"Sorry," said Misato grudgingly. She sat in a chair on the other side of the room and pouted while Shinji scanned intently through web page after web page of information on everything from basic werewolf anatomy to the history and folk lore surrounding werewolves.
"Come on," Shinji mumbled, frustrated, "give me something I can work with, here…"
Shinji delved deeper into the Moonwatcher's Council's files, looking for any relevant information on recorded transformation patterns of werewolves. He found precious little that he had not already read. He re-read that the transformations take place every night and that the strength of the beast within him follows the cycle of the moon. Other than that, most of what the files from the so-called Council contained was information on how to contain, capture, or kill a werewolf. This made Shinji very unhappy, as it meant that his…condition…was not one that was generally accepted by those who knew about it.
"Damn it," Shinji muttered angrily, "Who are these so-called Moonwatchers,anyway? Maybe I should search them first."
"Shinji--," Misato began.
"Not now, sweetheart, I'm working," Shinji said briskly, cutting her off.
"You're working too hard," said Misato, getting up and walking over to Shinji. She wrapped her arms around Shinji's neck from behind and said softly in his ear, "You need to learn to relax a little more."
"Maybe you're right," Shinji sighed, leaning back into Misato's embrace. Then, he sat upright, as though jerked on a string, and said: "No. I have to figure this out, and it has to be done now. Why don't you go back up to bed, Misato? There's no sense in both of us staying up all night."
"I'm not going to leave you here alone," Misato protested, "I said I was going to stick with you, and I meant it."
"What did I do right to deserve such a great girlfriend?" Shinji asked, turning around to kiss Misato.
"Must have been something pretty good," Misato purred.
"Must have been," Shinji agreed, "But if you're going to stick around down here, go and put a robe on. I don't want you to get cold."
"I'll bring you one, too," Misato said, beginning to leave the room, "You're wearing about as much as I am."
"Mmm," Shinji hummed neutrally, returning his attention to the screen in front of him. Misato walked upstairs to fetch the robes.
Shinji ran a new search, concentrating solely on the Moonwatcher's Council this time. His results came up with one hit. Shinji clicked on the link. He came to a very arcane-looking website that bore the name of the society and contained very artistically crafted text.
"So, they exist," Shinji muttered with satisfaction, "Now, where are they based?"
Shinji scrolled through the page's links and pathways. He chuckled with disbelief when he saw a link that said "Join the Council, click here". He didn't find much about an exact base location, but he found a profile page featuring the Council's founding members. Shinji smiled triumphantly.
"About damn time," Shinji sighed, "Let's see who we've got here."
Shinji began to scan through the profiles. He read about people from places like Wales, Dublin, and even as far east as Moscow. Every now and then he would stop on one person and read more in-depth about their profile. Finally, Shinji found the person who was labeled as the "Founder of the Council". Shinji printed the profile for later reference.
"Anything new?" Misato asked, walking back into the den. She now had on her pink bathrobe and was carrying a robe for Shinji.
"It doesn't say about where the Council's based," Shinji said, "However, judging by the profiles of the founding members, I'd say that the Moonwatchers are based somewhere in eastern Europe, possibly near Romania or the surrounding area."
Just then, a message window opened on the computer screen. In an eerie, green script, it displayed the question: Who are you, that you dare pry into the Council's files?
"What's that?" Misato asked, shocked.
"Probably just a glitch rigged by the programmers to come up on the screen," Shinji chuckled, "It's nothing to worry about."
The message on the screen changed. As though someone were typing it, the green letters wrote out: Perhaps you SHOULD worry, werewolf. We know all about you.
"Shinji…" Misato said hesitantly. She was starting to get scared.
"Okay, now this is starting to freak me out," said Shinji, "I think it's time we went back up to bed."
No. Remain, the message screen read, What would you like to learn?
"And now, suddenly it's being helpful?" Shinji asked incredulously.
All right, Shinji typed into the message box, his text appearing red below the green, you're on. Let's chat.
Very well, werewolf. What is your question?
I have several questions, Shinji typed, The first of which is this: how are you talking to me now?
We use a combination of hacking technology and simple magic spells to isolate the return signal and trace it back to its home computer, the screen responded, the magic allowed us to hear your comments and respond to them.
Who are you? Shinji queried.
I'm not at liberty to reveal that to you, the stranger replied, All that I may say to you is that I am connected with the Moonwatcher's High Council, the leaders of our Order.
What if I should like to confer with you all face-to-face? Shinji asked.
You would be killed on sight, most likely, read the computer message, You are a werewolf, are you not?
I may be, Shinji lied, Then again, I may just be someone curious about your history.
You don't fool me, werewolf, read the screen, What answers do you seek? I grow bored of conferring with you.
"Well, isn't he just the rude one," Misato muttered.
"Shh," said Shinji, turning briefly. Then, he turned back to the screen and typed: Is it possible for me to stay human while I sleep at night?
Except during the full moon, yes, the stranger on the screen replied, During a full moon, unless you exert conscious effort, you will transform into a beast.
What about somnambulance while transformed? Shinji asked.
It's possible, but has never been or observed in the specimens that we've kept alive for study.
Thank you, Shinji said, You've been very helpful.
Don't visit our site too often, werewolf, the screen warned, We might consider it a threatening gesture and track you down to kill you.
The message screen disappeared.
"Why that cheeky, miserable bastard," Shinji swore, "He just threatened us."
"Yes," said Misato, "but he told us what we needed to know, didn't he?"
"I suppose," Shinji said cautiously, "but what if he was lying?"
"I'll stay awake just long enough to see if you transform after you fall asleep," Misato suggested, "If you do, we'll know that he was lying. How's that sound?"
"Sounds risky," Shinji said honestly.
"This whole thing has been risky from day one," Misato pointed out, "Why should it get any better now?"
"Good point," Shinji conceded, "All right, let's give it a shot."
Misato nodded. Shinji shut down Misato's computer and followed her back up to his bedroom. Misato had effectively moved herself into Shinji's bedroom, since he had the larger bed that could fit two. After a suitably snuggly cuddle goodnight, Shinji surrendered to the sleep that had been trying to claim him for the last two hours. Misato sat up in bed and watched him carefully. After Shinji had been asleep for a full twenty minutes, he still looked no more hairy than he normally did.
That'll make him happy to hear tomorrow, Misato thought. Then, she curled up against Shinji and fell to sleep herself.