CHOICES

Disclaimer: If I owned them I would be doing a lot more than just writing about them

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS

Not your average: Woah, that was a fast review; I only just uploaded it. Hehe glad you still like it, and yes I am proud of my English skills. Year 14, Upper Sixth, second year of sixth form, A2 year, call it what you will.

Watchman: Hey, it was longer than the last one! Don't make me whine pathetically – it's not a pretty sight. I shall watch for that link, sounds good. Shame about your story, I thought it started well...

Lunar: Yeah... I thought about that at first because it seemed to fit with his character, but even Carrot has limits and waking up a werewolf would shock anyone. Plus it wouldn't be nearly as much fun to do it that way Muhaha. Glad you like it so far.

Blank Ned: No, it's not fair, is it? I'm fairly proud of it myself. Glad you're still with me; I don't want to start losing my reviewers now!

Taliara: My thanks for the compliment! Hmm, it really almost made you cry? Wow... Um, I mean sorry... Hehe

Annie Wilkes: Ta very much. I always wondered too, so I decided to write it down.

Athena Lionfire: I know, I know, but she has seemed a bit less angry in the most recent books... Besides, she's going to leap back into character eventually, when I'm done torturing her

You are all loved and adored. Keep reviewing.

CHAPTER FIVE: MOONLIGHT PART ONE

Three weeks had passed. Three long, lonely weeks, and Angua had just about had enough. The entire Watch knew what had happened; there was no way to keep something like that a secret for long. Now the ones who didn't run when they saw her were whispering openly, and the few she cautiously had numbered among her friends were ignoring her.

So was Vimes, but even that she could have endured if Carrot hadn't been ignoring her too. She had been prepared to accept that he would need time to adjust, that things would be different between them, but this seemed unlike him and it was beginning to wear her down.

Apart from anything else a small part of her knew she should be angry, but instead she seemed to be getting depressed. And there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't even take the desperate leap of going and getting blind drunk, since the crowd in Biers were shunning her as well; she didn't even consider going to the Bucket. Growing desperate she might be but stupid she was not.

And now it was the night of the full moon, and she didn't have to work. Unable to bear being confined in her room any longer, in the room where she now spent her free time staring at the walls, she slid out of the ground-floor window left open at nights and hit the cobbles outside, taking a breath of the damp autumn night. She needed to run, to get out and escape at least for a few hours.

Yet at first she could only wander the streets, not sure where to go, unwilling to make a decision. The wolf wasn't used to such indecision and odd feelings; wolves didn't get depressed. This was upsetting her divided nature. Circling aimlessly in a wide loop, her mood grew darker still when it started to rain heavily; although usually she liked the way that rain cleared the air and brought clean fresh scents to her nose. Now it was just something else to make her feel miserable.

Knowing she was in denial, finally she stopped and sat down, thinking. Facing up to the fact that she wanted to see him, she sighed heavily and started moving again, with more purpose if with less hope. It would be his first Change tonight, and she should make sure he was coping with it. That would be something, even if she did have to stay hidden.

Yes, it was his first Change, and he had gone through it alone in a small shack behind the Yard that had once been a stable. It had hurt, which had surprised him until he'd reasoned that he wasn't used to this yet. Once the pain had faded, he had spent almost half an hour sitting growing accustomed to extremely powerful senses; his first breath had nearly stunned him. Then a few minutes growing used to four legs and a tail, and he was ready to move; he had noticed an almost unbearable urge to get out into the (relatively) fresh air and run.

The rain was a relief. It dampened some of the overpowering scents and made life much easier for a new werewolf. It also reduced the acrid odour of the city itself; he hadn't noticed it before, not this distinctly. It made him realise what Angua went through every time she Changed...

As he had done every time he thought of her for the past three weeks, he forced it out of his mind. He wasn't entirely certain what to think about what she had done, so he compensated by not thinking about it at all. Besides, he had enough to focus on at the moment; stretching, he broke into a run.

Eventually his paws took him to Sator Square, a wide empty space filled with fountains, and completely deserted at this hour. Stopping in the lee of a convenient fountain to catch his breath, he looked around with the rain dripping into his eyes. It was all quiet, and wet, yet something told him he wasn't alone.

It took him a few minutes of slow circling to pick up even a faint scent; Angua had hidden herself well, considering. Once he realised she was there he froze for a long moment, panicking slightly as he wondered what on earth he was going to say or do. Then it occurred to him that it wasn't like her to stay hidden; surely she would have come up to him? Puzzled, he turned slowly, looking about.

Eventually he saw her sitting in the lee of a fountain, staring morosely across the square. The sight was so unlike her that he had to stop and stare; he had actually never seen her truly miserable before. Now, though... Ears down, head low, her whole posture somehow limp and withdrawn, he almost wondered if he'd made a mistake and it wasn't actually her. Until she looked up and met his eyes.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

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Frosteh