The Blue Werewolf

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 5: Silhouette

--October 30; 7:44 PM; Cleaning the house

"There," Lilo said, brushing her hands together, "that's all taken care of." The sound of a car was heard outside; Lilo and Stitch's attention was drawn to the noise, as it grew louder, softer, then stopped altogether. "And just in time; Nani's home."

"Phew." Stitch said, as he gazed around the living room. All the claw marks, wreckage, and destruction were cleaned up. Jumba had no idea what had caused it. They were able to ask him during their cleaning, and he offered suggestions; none of which helped them at all. It wasn't an experiment; that they knew for sure. They hadn't seen Gantu all week. Stitch was led to believe it was he that caused the wreckage.

He'd spent more and more time wondering about it. He flipped through a few pages of the book, but couldn't read much of it, and was waiting for Jumba to translate it with his newest invention. Perhaps then he'd be able to settle his mind, but he was convinced already that it was a werewolf that bit him outside two days ago, and he knew about being bitten by a werewolf all too well.

"Hey Lilo, Stitch." Nani greeted, coming through the door and laying a few bags out on the floor. "I have some stuff in the car, do you think you can get it and bring it inside while I put it away?" She asked while walking into the kitchen.

"Sure." Lilo replied, as they both ran to the door. "Did you buy the pumpkin?" She shouted through the door.

"Yeah, it's in the trunk, but get it last." Came the response. Lilo ran down and met Stitch at the bottom of the stairs outside; he was already getting bags upon bags onto his four arms.

"You sure are handy." Lilo commented. Stitch smiled as he turned around, all the bags hooked onto his arms like apples on a tree. "I guess I'll get the pumpkin then..." Lilo said. She jumped onto the truck and unlatched the lip of metal on the back, jumping off and taking it down with her so she could climb in. In the back sat the big orange ball, lazily sleeping against the side of the dark green paint.

Lilo crawled on hands and knees to the back and rolled the pumpkin to the front on the lip, then hopped off and gripped it in a hug. She hefted it without lifting, to see if she could carry it. It was a bit heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle. With a grunt of determination she backed up, using her body as a flat plain to aid her in carrying the bulbous, orange plant. As the pumpkin left the lip of the truck, Lilo felt the full of its weight and toppled over, losing her balance.

"Two-way!" She uttered, as she fell over, her feet slipping from under her.

"Gotcha!" She heard Stitch yell, and felt two hands stop her from hitting the ground. The pumpkin landed with a soft thump-ump-ump and swished to halt, gliding along the leaves.

"Thanks Stitch." Lilo said, looking up at his face.

"No problem." He said, lifting her to her feet and walking to the pumpkin. Without much effort at all he lifted it up, and placed it on his head for better balance. "After you." He said, his lower arms ushering her ahead.

"Ok, put it on the kitchen table." She said, running up the steps and holding the door open for the arriving pumpkin. Stitch went through, barely scraping the sides, and huffed over to the table where he set it down with an exaggerated slam.

"Hey, not so hard." Nani yelled, "I want that table to stay up for at least another couple of days before you break it."

"Soka." Stitch apologized.

"Don't yell at him, he was just bringing it in." Lilo begged.

"Alright, alright, no harm done." Nani said, inspecting the table. "Take it out back and put it somewhere in the sun, I want it to bleach a little bit before we carve it tomorrow."

"Right," Lilo said, "Stitch?"

"Eh." Stitch nodded, taking the pumpkin again. Lilo ran to the back door and opened it like the front for him, this time Stitch had more trouble, but eventually he got it through (with minor cracks along the doorframe). Lilo glanced around for a place to put it, and gasped.

"Stitch, there's more damage!" She exclaimed.

"Huh?" He asked, trying to look beyond the orange ball blocking his vision.

"Just put it down." Lilo ordered, and so he did. He glanced in the direction she had pointed. "Look." Along the wall where the Tower protruded from the back of the house, large, long claw marks scraped the side all the way up its length. They seemed to be leading up, but scraping down, suggesting someone—or something—was climbing down feet-first.

"Isa choota."

"I know; this is weird." Lilo agreed. "What do you think did it?" She asked rhetorically.

"Miga." Stitch replied. His eyes widened, he hadn't expected that he would actually reply what his mind had thought, but his lips had apparently acted on their own.

"You? What makes you think you did it? I mean, I know you're destructive, but those are not you're claw marks, they're huger compared to yours." She said.

"Isa...logo yokooba..." He replied truthfully.

"What's a long story...what are talking abou-?"

"Everyone, dinner's ready!" Nani shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Never mind, tell me later, come on." Lilo said, running into the house. Stitch followed more slowly.

--October 30; 10:30 PM; The Tower

Stitch flipped a page out of his book. Jumba had handed him the copy that his invention had made—it was designed to copy the book right down to the letter and cover, but translate it into any written language. So far, he found nothing; only what he knew.

"Werewolves; the mythological creatures...when bitten it is supposed you become a werewolf..." The elevator hummed to life and Lilo appeared out of the floor below Stitch. He glanced to the left and shut his book as she arrived.

"Aloha." She greeted, tossing a bowl of ice cream up to him. He caught it, not expecting it to come flying at him so quickly. "It's meant to be orange, it's pumpkin flavor." She said, reading Stitch's startled expression. He preferred mint chocolate-chip, but he wasn't about to complain. Lilo hopped up onto his bed, and ate her bowl along with him.

"Did Jumba's translator work?" She asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Eh, English hard to read." He said.

"I tried to teach you, but no..." Lilo stressed the "o", "you just had to not pay attention." She giggled. He laughed—more or less a sigh really—and ate another spoonful; the ice cream wasn't bad. Not entirely favorable, but not bad. "Why did you get that book anyway? You're not scared that there are werewolves out there are you?" Lilo teased.

"N...naga." Stitch replied, trying not to put any emotion into his response.

"Oh come on, we talk about werewolves, mummies, monsters and ghosts all the time." Stitch merely looked down and ate another spoonful. "Well, anyway. Now that I have your attention, what was it you were trying to tell me before dinner?" She asked, nonchalantly, trying to keep the curiosity out of her voice.

"Uh...isa naga ziba-"

"Oh just tell me, it's not like I'm going to make fun of you for it." Stitch felt a wave of heat flush through his face. He tried to pause for as long as possible, eating a spoonful and chewing it for a long moment. "Stitch..."

"Alright...alright..." He surrendered. "Miga shuta...eekata boocha..." He said, lowering his voice with every syllable.

"You think you're a what?"

"...A werewolf..." He repeated. He looked away for a moment, waiting for Lilo to laugh, but heard nothing. Warily, he turned his head back to her, and saw her looking up in deep thought.

"What makes you think that?" She asked him, her tone made her sound interested, which surprised Stitch's expectations of her reaction.

"Stitch can't remember well but was bitten." He told her.

"When?" She asked, almost immediately.

"Two nights ago."

"Where?"

"Outside." He pointed, and Lilo looked in his direction, then back at him.

"Well, let me tell you, you're not a werewolf. If you were, I would have seen you, or heard you, or noticed something last night. There was a full moon, and you looked at it twice before I went to sleep. Nothing happened."

"But-"

'There's one out tonight even, c'mon, I'll show you." She said, standing up in his bed and pressing the button that opened the skylight.

"Naga!" Stitch exclaimed, shielding his eyes from the moonlight that filtered in on his face. Lilo stood him up and moved his arms away, and forced his eyelids open. The shine on his glossy pupils shuddered as his eyes twitched rapidly. Nothing happened, as far as his appearance went, for thirty seconds.

"See?" Lilo said, "No werewolf. There's no werewolves...not in Hawaii anyway. They're only in North America; they haven't come here yet." Stitch sighed, and pushed the button to close the skylight. "Let's go to bed, I'm beat." Lilo said, taking Stitch's bowl.

"Oketaka." Stitch agreed. It was getting late, bed sounded like a good idea. Lilo took the elevator down and disappeared from sight. Stitch opened the skylight again, now reassured that the moon was safe to look at. "I'm no werewolf." His mind said, as he stared at the full moon to prove his statement.

Lilo placed the bowls and spoons in the sink and washed her hands. Wringing them off, she walked over the tile floor, her bare feet making soft padded clicks. She thumped on the wood, and trampled up the stairs. At the top, she took it slowly, her feet now shuffling across the carpet. Pressing the button she rode the elevator up to the Tower and sighed with exhaustion as it reached the top.

"G'night Stitch." She said, turning around to face Stitch's bed. Just a she did, she saw a shadow leap through the skylight in one bound; it seemed sort of large, but maybe it was just her eyes. "Stitch?" She asked, climbing to his bed. He wasn't under the covers. She reached up to the hole and slipped her head through, grunting with frustration and strain. Her eyes panned the dark red surface, but found nothing. "He went outside again." She said, and dropped back into the room.