A/N: These are short stories just for fun and feels. Don't think about them too much. Stories may not be in chronological order. This fic is also available on Ao3.
Annette watched Lena scramble about the room, frantically tossing clothes every which way. This went on for several minutes, until Annette sighed.
"It's really not that big a deal, Lena."
"How could you say that?!" Lena cried. "This is an important event that concerns the entire Strike Package. We have to be ready. I have to be ready!"
"It's basically picture day," Annette muttered. "They'll come, snap a promo or two of you and maybe ten other guys, leave, and that'll be the end of it. I'd hardly call it 'concerning the entire Strike Package'. The whole thing will probably take, like, twenty minutes."
Lena refused to be pacified. She held up two dresses of similar color, examining them for a moment before tossing one on the bed. She made to put the other one back, then spun around mid-stride and swapped the two. "Which is why I need to make them count," she said. "Every person in a position of power has the responsibility to set an example for their subordinates. I don't want any of them to think I lack proper fashion sense."
Annette smirked at that. "You mean you don't want Shin to think you lack proper fashion sense."
Lena's face reddened. "W-Well, he's one of my subordinates, isn't he?"
"True enough," Annette admitted. "But I do wish you'd stop worrying too much. I think you at least have a slightly better grasp of fashion than the werewolves do. If they can clean up well, so can you."
But rather than calm her friend like she'd hoped, her words froze Lena in place. "The werewolves!" she cried. "They've never done this before, have they? I should go and–"
"And nothing," Annette said, firmly grabbing Lena by the shoulders. "Lena, look at me. It's. Fine. Everything's. Fine. The werewolves. Are. Fine. We've got someone coming to work with them right now as we speak. So please just relax, okay?"
Her heartbeat slowing somewhat, Lena gave a tiny nod. She sank down onto her bed. "Thanks, Annette."
"You're welcome."
As Lena rubbed the fabric of her dress between her fingers, she thought about something. "Wait, Annette. You said someone's coming to work with the werewolves?"
Annette nodded. "Yeah. I thought you knew? You're getting a specialist too, you know."
Lena hadn't known, which puzzled her. Perhaps Grethe had sent a memo and she missed it? "Do you know who it is?"
Annette shrugged. "No idea. I only heard they're arriving today, so we should be meeting them soon."
Just then, a knock was heard. The girls exchanged glances. Lena slid off her bed, crossed over, and opened the door.
A girl who looked to be her age with curled blond hair stood on the other side, smiling as her green eyes moved from Lena to Annette. "Greetings to you both. Are you ready to head down, Lady Reina?"
Lena's eyes widened. "Lerche?! You're the specialist? But, if you're here, then that means..."
–––––––––
"So they sent you, out of everyone?"
"No need to sound so disillusioned, Nouzen. We just so happened to have business here in the Federacy, so I decided there's no harm in lending our expertise for this event. I'm doing everyone a great service by coming here in person."
The only thing slightly more bizarre than seeing a wolf stroll casually down the hallway was the fact that he, at first glance, appeared to be talking to himself. Upon further inspection however, anyone who looked at him would be able to see the (relatively) small black bat nestled between his tall ears.
"And I am truly grateful to have you and not, you know, an actual expert," Shin said, deadpan.
Viktor Idinarohk rustled his leathery wings, miffed. "I'll have you know I am far more versed in putting together my wardrobe than you are yours. Occasionally I get the feeling that you prefer to be a wolf rather than a human."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Shin asked dryly.
"Hmph, to each their own, I suppose," said Vika, "but you should know that when Milize eventually walks down that aisle, she'll expect to see a man waiting for her, not some overgrown Newfoundland."
Shin suddenly and violently shook his head, as if to be rid of a pestering insect. Vika, dislodged from his perch, was sent tumbling through the air with a startled squeak. Before he hit the ground, the bat disappeared with a small pop, and a boy about Shin's age stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance.
He straightened his attire as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, and shot Shin a glare. "Rather impolite, wouldn't you say?"
"So is sitting on top of someone else's head," Shin replied, human once more.
"And here I thought I was finally thawing that icy heart of yours, and making you see the importance of friends."
"You of all people can't be lecturing anyone about an 'icy heart'. Or friendship,'" Shin growled.
Vika thought about it, then shrugged. "Fair enough. Now, we mustn't waste any more time on idle chatter. I expect the Lerche is waiting with Milize right now as we speak. Let's go."
Vika led the way, and Shin followed, though he did so with a questioning look. "I'm not getting dressed first?"
The prince glanced over his shoulder at him. "Oh, you haven't heard? There's been a slight change of plan."
–––––––––
"It's just me and Shin who are going to have the photoshoot?" Lena asked, her confusion evident. The two of them were waiting in the spacious room for Shin and Vika to arrive, surrounded by several open trunks with a wide array of clothing spilling out of them.
Lerche nodded as if all was well, neatly picking out items and hanging them on racks. "Indeed. A slight change of plan, but nothing to be concerned about. We will also be providing the outfits the two of you will be wearing, hence why I told you you'd be fine in exactly what you are wearing."
"But why just us two?" Lena pressed, starting to feel less and less certain about the whole thing. If they had been in a group, it'd be one thing, but the two of them alone…
"There are many who'd agree that you and Sir Reaper are the face of the Strike Package," Lerche supplied. "Using you in promotional material to increase morale seems the obvious solution. Additionally, less people to work with means the process will go more smoothly." She eyed Lena curiously. "Are you dissatisfied with this arrangement? I had thought you more than anyone would be pleased."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lena protested.
Lerche seemed to decide against commenting. Instead she hung up one last garment and stepped back to analyze the selection. Lena snuck a peek, and saw a range of clothing that, as far as she could tell, had nothing in common with each other–including what looked strangely like a sailor uniform.
Lena frowned. "Um, Lerche, what exactly are we–"
"And here we are!" Vika's voice rang throughout the room as he entered with Shin. "I trust everything has been prepared?" he asked his apparent assistant-specialist.
"As scheduled, Your Highness," she replied.
"Excellent." He turned to a bewildered Shin and Lena.
"In order for this process to go as smoothly as possible, you both will need to do exactly as we say. Understood?"
"Within reason," Shin said, ever suspicious.
"Wait, so you and Lerche are in charge of the entire photoshoot?" Lena asked. "Exclusively?"
"Trust me when I say we were the best people for the job," Vika said with a flick of his hand. "Now then–Lerche, give them the first set."
Lerche plucked two sets of clothing from the racks she'd put together and handed one each to Lena and Shin. Her fingers were cold when they touched Lena's, reminding her that the girl wasn't actually a living being.
Lena didn't mind that. What she did mind was the wardrobe choice. As she'd feared, their first outfits were sailor suits. Matching sailor suits.
"Are these what you call 'promotional material'?" Shin asked, unsettled.
"Of course not," Vika said crossly. "What do you take us for? These are just part of the trial run, to test the functionality of the cameras and such."
"Do not concern yourselves with them," Lerche added.
Lena thought that would be rather hard to do, considering she'd be wearing it, but obliged. Soon she and Shin were both fitted with their backs to the wall, standing next to each other rather awkwardly.
Shin would never say it, but he thought Lena looked rather cute in her outfit.
And Lena couldn't admit it, but she thought Shin looked rather handsome in his.
"Now is that the kind of attitude you should be taking towards your co-star?" demanded Vika from behind the tripod. "All else aside, you're both friends, at least, aren't you? I should be able to see that in these photos!"
Shin's eyes narrowed. "'All else aside'?"
"What His Highness means is, move closer, if you would."
The two reluctant "co-stars" took approximately one step closer to one another, avoiding each other's gazes. Followed by a whole minute of silence.
"...I think that's about as much as we can hope to get out of them for this one, Your Highness," Lerche said with a sigh.
"Very well," Vika muttered. His disappointment evidently wasn't enough to keep him from snapping a photo anyway, though. "They were just warm-ups, anyway. On to the next!"
–––––––––
Their next two trial runs had Shin and Lena dress up as characters from famous plays, one of which involved a masked man and a singer, and the other a pair of star-crossed lovers. Both yielded the exact same results, with either Shin or Lena becoming too hesitant at crucial moments, which in turn made the atmosphere feel stiff and strained.
Lena knew she had to do better, but the heart was not an easy obstacle to overcome. Her heart and her mind went into overdrive whenever he was close, and that was something she simply couldn't help. And when she thought about any of those photos circulating for all to see, it only heightened her anxiety.
Shin was, unfortunately, of a similar mind. He wished he could just go about this like any other job he'd been pushed into, but knew he couldn't, because it was Lena. And that made all the difference. Thinking about his nervousness being captured on camera for others to look at didn't help matters, either.
This continued on until Vika, having run out of patience, called for a break.
"I'm sorry," Lena said quietly.
Vika merely sighed. "Perhaps I should have expected as much. You and Nouzen don't have a lot of experience being in the spotlight, do you? It takes time to grow used to such things, but given the nature of the war, time is a luxury we often do not have."
After a few seconds of thought, he walked over to the bag he'd brought with him and pulled out a book. It looked worn, the cover plain and faded, as if it had seen a lot of use over the years. He handed it to Lena. "Why don't you and Nouzen head outside for a little while, breathe in some fresh air? Lerche and I need to confer on a few things, so I expect you'll have time to read a story or two from this book."
"Oh, well, thank you," Lena said, surprised by the gesture. She didn't think Vika was as avid a reader as Shin, and so didn't expect him to be carrying leisure books with his other things.
As she made to leave, she heard Vika call to her. "Take that cloak with you as well. The wind is rather biting today, and it wouldn't do for you to catch a cold." Lena looked to where he had gestured and saw a vivid red garment peeking out of one of the trunks.
She wasn't sure if it was quite her style, but decided refusing Vika's offer after having caused him so much trouble already would reflect poorly on her, so she draped it across her shoulders–for it had no sleeves and was really more of a cape than anything–and fastened it with a word of thanks before stepping out to meet Shin.
The weather was nicer than she'd expected, which made her wonder about the wind Vika had warned her about. Those idle thoughts soon ceased when she spotted Shin. He was in wolf form, sitting underneath the large tree. She greeted him and sat down, unsure of what to say. It had definitely been her fault the promotional photoshoot was going so poorly, but how could she explain exactly why that was?
Lena was fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, trying to find a safe place to start, when Shin broke into her thoughts.
"You don't need to apologize," he said.
Lena looked up at him. "How did you know?"
"I figured you were probably beating yourself up for what happened in there, thinking it's all your fault. But you don't have to do that. I was there too, after all. I deserve at least half the blame." He said all this in his usual calm tone, and Lena had to smile.
"You know me rather well," she said.
"Well, we're friends, aren't we?"
Those words brought Lena back to earlier that day when they'd first started the photoshoot. She remembered Vika's words to them.
All else aside, you're both friends, at least, aren't you?
"That's right," she murmured."We're friends."
There was a lot about her relationship with Shin that she didn't understand, but at the end of the day, he was still her friend. Despite him being a werewolf, and herself a human, they had managed to find common ground, and she knew she could rely on him for anything. They'd help each other and tackle their problems together, as they always have. This was just more of the same. There was nothing to overthink. In fact, looking at it that way, Lena could hardly believe she was panicking over something as simple as posing for pictures.
Unbeknownst to her, Shin was thinking the exact same thing. They both chuckled, and the tension in the atmosphere finally dissipated.
"Ready to head back in?" Shin asked.
"I suppose so," said Lena. She looked down at the book she'd brought. "It's a shame I'll have to return it to Vika without even reading it, but it can't be helped."
"I wanted to ask about that," Shin said. "What kind of book is it, anyway?"
Lena turned it over in her hands, then flipped through the pages. "I think...it might be a book of fables."
Shin wanted to see for himself, so she set the book down so he could nose through it.
They were the classics every child read growing up, and Lena felt nostalgia come over her. It was swiftly replaced with a slight annoyance that Vika apparently thought she would need something like a children's book to calm her nerves. "Well, it was nice of him to lend it to me, as well as this cloak."
"Was wondering about that, too," Shin said. "It looks nice on you."
"...Thank you." Lena's heart, which was just calming down, was beginning to race again, and in an effort to distract herself she tried to straighten out her red cape. For some reason, something about the movement caught Shin's attention.
"What's wrong?" asked Lena.
"Does that cape have a hood?"
She thought that was a rather odd question, but nodded. "Yes, it does." She showed it to him. "Why?"
He drew her attention to the children's book, which turned out to have a small bookmark hidden inside it. The pages were open to a particularly well-known tale, with an illustration of a red-hooded girl and a large, menacing wolf.
Shin and Lena looked up at each other.
"Vika," muttered Lena.
"He probably thinks he's being funny," grumbled Shin. He stood. "Alright, let's go back," he said. He smirked. "Who knows, maybe he's got another 'joke' already waiting for us."
–––––––––
As it turned out, he did.
"You're dead, Vika," Shin snarled.
He was still in his wolf form, only now he was outfitted in a yellow raincoat, complete with a matching hat and rubber boots on each of his four legs. Lena stood next to him in the same wear, clutching a yellow umbrella and looking absolutely mortified.
Even Lerche seemed to sympathize. "This is going a bit far, Your Highness."
"Not at all," Vika replied merrily. "In fact," he said, smiling more widely than Lena had ever seen, the camera shutter rapidly clicking away, "I think we finally have just about everything we–"
Just then, the door opened, and Annette poked her head in. "Hey, Vika," she called. "Are you two done yet? Did you actually get one with Shin in a raincoat? What about the maid outfit? Or the–"
Upon seeing that the room was still very much occupied, Annette fell silent. As the four of them stared at her, each with a different expression on their face, she cleared her throat. "Well. Looks like you're still wrapping up, so I think I'll just see myself out now." And she vanished as quickly as she'd appeared.
Vika's smile wavered under the dark stares of the human colonel and her werewolf subordinate.
"...There was never any promotional photoshoot, was there?" Lena asked, her voice flat.
"Oh, I'm sure there is…somewhere in the world…" Vika trailed off weakly. Shin growled and shook off the rain gear, while Lena neatly folded hers up. She'd have to have a talk with Annette later, but for now...
"I did say it wouldn't go undiscovered, Your Highness," Lerche whispered.
"In all fairness," Vika said, backing away as Shin advanced, "we really did have business here in the Federacy, but I just thought of an interesting way to pass the time while we're here…"
"A maid outfit?" Shin asked coldly.
"Well, it's becoming more and more common these days, you know, men wearing–"
That was as far as he got before Shin lunged. Vika disappeared with a small pop, and Lena was treated to the rather satisfying sight of a wolf chasing a bat all around the room. While the room itself was wide, the ceiling was low, so there was no place Vika could truly be safe from those huge jaws.
"Would you be open to calling off Sir Reaper, Lady Reina?" Lerche asked, though she didn't sound too hopeful.
"Maybe," Lena mused. It wasn't as if there was anything to worry about. Shin wouldn't really harm Vika…probably.
"Perhaps if I gave you one of these?" Lerche prompted. She held the camera up, displaying one of the photos.
It was of Shin and Lena sitting under the tree, Shin as a wolf, Lena wearing her red hooded cape. They were looking at each other, the book of fables sitting between them, opened to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.
Lena took a moment to stare, admiring the lighting, the shading, the purity of the atmosphere. She reached out and held the camera in both hands. "When did you…?"
"They say when you are completely taken with the person before you, it can feel as though you are the only two people in the world, and all else simply fades into the background. Seeing the two of you, I can believe that."
"In that case…alright." Lena gave a smile, which Lerche returned. Then Lena's face became stern. "But you have to delete all those other ones, too."
Lerche's smile turned wry. "Consider it done."
A/N: This is supposed to be a werewolf thing, and it still is, but there's really no way Vika can exist in this universe and not be a vampire. Lerche is as she was in canon, i.e. undead.