Keke! I've actually gotten off my rear end to write! Praise the Squirrels!
Prey
Rawr, Fear Me
Archie didn't have time to dodge or attack the canine beast before him - only yell as it came down on him. The beast's eyes flashed between two colours, gold and hazel while it clawed his chest repeatedly. The gashes bled and sang with pain each time his flesh was scored.
His cerulean-hued eyes caught sight of the gold medallion that dangled like a collar from the beast's neck. A calligraphy A shone in the light - it was Atlanta's medallion.
"Son of a bitch!" The warrior swung his unpinned left arm, his fist connecting squarely with its jaw. Whining, the beast backed off just enough for Archie to wriggle free, with the help of Jay and Odie. "Son of a bitch got Atlanta!"
"Calm down, man! We don't know that yet." Odie urged, staying with the younger injured teenager while Jay went off to assist Herry to combat the beast.
Herry slammed into its side, one arm wrapped around its neck and the other across its back. "C'mon, let's play dog-breath!"
The canine creature snarled, teeth bared as it shoved against the heavyweight, thrusting him against the wall. It was a wonder how the commotion wasn't noticed by the rest of the neighbourhood.
Jay flanked it, attempting to slice through its fur with his xiphos, but was promptly swatted to the side with one paw. An unearthly howl erupted from the beasts maw as it leant back, in a bipedal stance, nose pointed to the sky. That's when Theresa came out of nowhere, landing on the beast's back, arms wrapping firmly around its neck.
The strawberry-blonde's head snapped back as her mind was flooded with Atlanta's face and expression the way it had been in class that day, after she'd been tripped. That expression…
When Theresa came to again, she was on her back, pinned by the wolf-like creature whose muzzle was pushed into her face. The clairvoyant's green eyes shifted to the medallion, it was Atlanta's for sure… yet, upon looking past the jewellery… were those breasts concealed beneath that increasingly familiar rust-hued fur?
Before anything could be said about it, Herry barrelled into the beast, now classified as female. The two went straight in the front door of the brownstone into the entrance hall where they wrestled.
"No! Don't hurt her!" Theresa cried as Jay went to help her up.
The leader paused in his act and stared at her in confusion, "Huh? It's a girl?"
"Yes!" Theresa suddenly grabbed the collar of Jay's shirt and yanked him down close to her face. "It's Atlanta!"
"What?" Odie squeaked along with Archie in unison. Neil was quite oblivious to this revelation as he was currently gawking over the bloodstain on his shirt from Archie.
Herry, however, was too focussed on wrestling Atlanta, to listen to anything else. Atlanta snapped her jaws in his face, snarling rabidly. The two were locked in a death battle, and it looked like Atlanta was winning.
"Well how are we gonna… gonna get her back?" Jay asked. How was he going to do this? What if she was trapped in that form?
Odie recalled the tranquilizer gun and promptly retrieved it from the back of the truck. Good, it was still loaded. "Theresa! I need your expertise for this again."
Upon turning around, and glancing the gun she snatched it from his hands. The strawberry-blonde took aim and waited for an opening. There! She fired.
Atlanta yowled as the darted embedded itself into her shoulder, releasing Herry to stumble back through the doorway into the living room. Coffee table was reduced to splinters as he legs suddenly gave out, dropping her 250 pound frame onto it.
The girl-turned-beast's head was beginning to head now and as she hoisted herself on all fours, her stature was visibly weakening. With a soft whine, Atlanta slowly lowered herself down, half on her belly and half on her side. Within moments it was done.
The six remaining crowded around her gargantuan wolf-like form. Archie kneeled in front of her, placing a hand on her muzzle before running up the side of her face and through her mane of firey red hair that melded with the rest of her fur. "When will she change back?" He asked quietly, ignoring the pain his position sent through his chest. The pain was dull, and - though he wouldn't admit it - masochism wasn't alien to him.
Speak of the devil. Wolf feature began to shrink and meld away into more human ones as Atlanta's large form began to shrink. Claws shrunk back into her fingertips, fur melted into soft skin and teeth receded into her gums.
"Oh, crap! She'll be naked!" Odie squeaked and dashed to the linen closet to retrieve the first blanket he found. Upon returning, the boy of small stature found that she was already more than half-way back into human form. Only odds and ends were left to be fixed such as the remainder of the tail and muzzle. Odie quickly draped the bed sheet over the youngest of them all.
Moments after the transformation was complete, Atlanta groaned and stirred, and Archie was right by her side. "Atlanta…?"
Said girl whimpered and curled up on her side, brow creasing. Trembling hands grasped fistfuls of her long red hair before she bolted upright, wide awake and panting like she'd awakened from a nightmare. Upon glancing down, lifting the sheet, the redhead shrieked and pressed it firmly to her chest.
Archie took a step forward to lay a hand on her shoulder, "Atlan-" He was promptly shoved away with a cry from his girlfriend. Atlanta whimpered and wrapped the bed sheet tightly around her slim frame, trying to piece together what had happened.
"What in Zeus' name is going on?" Athena's aggravated, yet concerned, voice boomed from the doorway.
The seven teenagers looked up, and in response, Athena's jaw dropped. "Oh my…"
--
"Well, not until it was too late did I realize what exactly Cronus had injected into Atlanta." Dionysus announced in a defeated tone.
"So… what was it?" Jay asked, taking a step forward. He didn't exactly want to know in the idea that Atlanta, a kid sister to him, had something dangerously wrong with her.
Chiron then interjected, a heavy book in hand. The centaur placed it on the stand he often used and flipped it open, "I have that answer to tell." Atlanta was the first to crowd around the immortal creature, more than eager to figure this ordeal out.
Pages were flipped until they stopped on one that projected the image of a hulking lupine creature, looking terrifying enough. However, behind it was a much less frightening creature on all fours, looking more wolf than beast.
"I'll spare you the Latin and Greek for this creature, it is a werewolf. A man or woman who has gained the gift or curse of being able to transform into a wolf - or in more common cases, a beast of one." The centaur's eyes skimmed over the ancient words on the page, "At one time, many different species of werewolves were abundant, and not all were bloodthirsty killers. However, man found that werewolves were soldiers of evil and therefore, chased them to the ends of their earth - all but a very few number were slain. It is rare to find but one, let alone an entire functional pack."
Biting her lip, Atlanta leant forward on the tips of her toes, "What else? What kind am I?" She feared of what kind of werewolf she may be… a killer? Surely, the way she manhandled her friends… the redhead shook her head, uncut firey tresses swaying.
Chiron grunted and stroked his chin in thought. "Looks can be deceiving, Atlanta. Just because of what you look like when you transform, doesn't dictate what type of werewolf you are."
"Well how do I find out?" Atlanta leant forward even more, the precarious angle bringing Archie to grasp her waist and bring her back. In those moments of her slim frame pressed to his, he noticed her skin was unusually hot.
Sighing, Chiron closed the book. "Observations, tests need to be made - but for the time being, no matter what type of werewolf you are, restraint and control must be taught."
"And that begins with me." Ares' deep, grating voice bellowed, causing the seven teenagers' head to turn. Atlanta groaned inwardly; Ares already disliked her for several reasons. One being he hated the idea of a girl being able to beat his pupil, another that she was dating his pupil, and thirdly, because of her occasional disobedient and rebellious attitude - mainly towards him.
"Your one-on-one restraint training begins now. I expect you to be changed and ready in the arena in five minutes."