Hi again, (finally). Took a break to do some commissioned work, including sculpting a damn unicorn – never again ...
Over here a 99 year old ex-army vet. survived Corvid 19 and set out to say 'thank you' to the hospital & staff for saving his
life by walking to the end of his garden and back using his walking frame. His goal was to raise £1,000. Last time I looked
he'd raised 12 million pounds. It's his 100th birthday next week. Happy birthday, hero!

Chapter 15
-oOo-

The night air always made the scent of things more pronounced, so much more defined. It was a fact that particularly held true within the middle of an ancient forest made wet with rain, and the colour of the scents that surrounded Dean was a vibrant, living green. Breathing in the enhanced smells of the soil, fungi, mosses, ferns, trees and everything else, it was almost like he could smell the forest actually growing. Dean smiled to himself. 'No stink of wet werewolf yet though'. The moment he thought that,something clamped itself firmly around his left calf and tugged. Dean heard himself let loose a startled yelp.
"Jumpy much? You gonna move anytime soon? I can't get out."
Stepping to one side, Dean scowled down at Sam emerging from the tent.
"You could'a just asked, a man should be able to appreciate nature without you getting' grabby."
"I did. Good squeal though dude."
"I didn't 'squeal'."
"Oh, you so did."

On all fours, it's gait hesitant and unsteady, a pale furred creature emerged from the hidden shelter. The beast that Hope had become moved a few yards away from the shelter entrance and laid itself down on the cool, wet ground, giving the trembling aftershock of change that coursed throughout it's body chance to ebb and fade away. Joel had taken pains to drum into Hope the sense in waiting out this relatively brief period before risking heading off anywhere, explaining that every werewolf was at it's weakest and it's most vulnerable in the time immediately after the transformation process. It didn't take very long for the tremors to finally die out and the female werewolf pushed herself up off the ground, rising fully until she was standing upright on her hind legs.

On catching a brief glance of the creature when it was running on all fours, anyone outside the world of the supernatural would assume they had glimpsed a normal wolf, an extremely big wolf, but still just a wolf. Other differences between werewolf and wolf generally only became more obvious to Joe Public when unlucky enough to have become prey. Aside from the size difference and having the ability to walk and run on two legs, to those who were familiar and had contact with werewolves, there were other notable differences. A werewolf's hind legs were far sturdier and much more muscular than any wolf's. Their elongated back paws were fur free, the colour of the visible leathery skin always reflecting the ethnicity of the werewolves human form. They ended in five over long toes, each tipped with thick, pointed, lethally sharp and slightly downward curving claws that couldn't be retracted. The overall presentation was more that of some terribly mutated human foot than the hind paw of a wolf. Likewise, the front paws were a twisted and deformed mimicry of over-sized human hands, including the retention of opposable 'thumbs'. Both male and female werewolves had overtly muscular barrel shaped chests. Like their feet, werewolves' abdomens were bare of fur or, at most, only very finely furred, leaving their firm, sculptured abdominal muscles on view. Both males and females tended towards slender waists and hips, and neither gender had a tail. Muscular and thickly pelted 'shoulders' and neck supported a huge, oddly angular, head that was topped by rigid, upright ears in the style of an American Dobermann. The supernatural monster's eyes held none of the softness or gentleness that could be shown in the eyes of either dog or wolf. Instead their eyes were deep set, harsh, and steeply slanted. They sat either side of a short, wrinkled snout which gave all werewolves the appearance of a permanent snarl. Finally, there was the maw. A wide slash of a mouth that was more akin to that of a Great White than any wolf. Filled with outsized jagged teeth that were perfect for biting, shredding and tearing, like the shark, werewolves had the ability to flex and extend their upper jaw if necessary. A skilled and experienced Hunter would likely describe a werewolf as being 'Just your everyday monster really.'

Tilting her head back, the werewolf sniffed the night air, reading her immediate surroundings and taking stock of what other living creatures were close by, them not yet having becoming aware of the near presence of an apex predator. A low rumbling sound from behind drew her attention and her light blue eyes met the dark amber ones that belonged to Joel's larger, dark coated werewolf. The female waited a few beats before strolling towards her rightful place behind the alpha at a pace slow enough to teeter on the edge of disrespect. The male growled when she meandered passed him, letting her know that her action hadn't gone unnoticed. When the female initially failed to dip her head in apology, his eyes narrowed and he pulled his top lip back from his teeth in warning. At last the female respectfully lowered her head. Satisfied, the alpha turned his back on her and began leading the way deeper into the forest. Every now and then he stopped to sniff the air, looking to catch the scent of a worthwhile prey.

Suddenly the alpha dropped down onto all fours and began to run. Tuning into the scent the male had picked up, the female also switched to all fours, quickly catching up with the alpha and racing alongside him, her speed equalising the difference in the bigger male's greater stride. Her every sense zinged and sparked, reacting to the glee of the hunt.

-oOo-
Chick.
Good health stay with you. xxxx