My friends were pretty special. It's not everyday that someone has the power to turn into a wolf. But they weren't born with this power. They were cursed for generations and probably for more generations to come. I didn't envy them honestly. Having to shift every full moon might fuck up your schedule. But I don't think Alex or the others minded. They had excepted their fate a while ago.
Alex had been my friend since childhood, but ended up moving away from her parent's house to run the farm here, and she didn't expect to find it so empty. I heard from her and the rest of Echo Village of what happened. She managed to rebuild the town from scratch. It must have taken her a while, and by the time I found where she lived, the town was prosperous again. I didn't see what the town looked like when she came, but I'd rather not. It was the perfect place for me to settle down. So Alex built me my own house. It was a cozy little place and I loved it. And it was next to the travel agency, so I could visit places if I wanted to. I might even visit my parents whenever I had free time. As long as it wasn't on a full moon anyways. I had to take care of my friend's child whenever she was forced to shift for the whole day.
Alex also had given birth to a cute little girl named Alison. The brunette child herself was in Allen's arms as he talked with Rod and Alex. The Snow festival was today, so everyone in town had come to the festival grounds to enjoy the town's cooking. It was a good opportunity for free food. I stood next to Alex as the boys talked about something. Every so often, Alex would feed Allen a spoonful of soup. It was quite cute to me.
Neil stood with us as well, but he was a bit more separated. He seemed to be glaring at the ginger-haired parents, or maybe it was the cold. It was pretty chilly for this early in winter. When his eyes met mine, they narrowed slightly, "What?"
"Nothing," I turned my attention back to Rod as he continued speaking.
"There's nothing like good, warm soup on a day like this one," he smiled brightly, "I love events like this! It's a really good way to be able to communicate with the good people in this village. I'm glad that I moved here."
"I'm sure that you do," Allen rolled his eyes, "Sometimes you really don't shut up about them. It can get very repetitive."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Alex lightly scolded him, "He's just very excited."
"A bit too excited for a man his age." Neil cut in. But Allen didn't even acknowledge him and just kept talking.
"It can be too much at times. Trust me. He's been like this ever since we were both kids. It was a lot to handle."
Rod huffed his cheeks, "You guys are being so mean to me. I'll go stand with Tina if you keep this up. She actually appreciates me."
"We'll all joking, Rod. No one here really thinks that you are annoying," I gave him a pat on the back, "But I'm sure that your girlfriend will enjoy eating soup with you. Why don't you go talk to her right now. She's with her friends, but she might want to see her boyfriend."
"You're right," he perked up, "See you guys later." He skipped on over to where the journalist was talking with Iroha and Felicity. I felt a bit jealous as I watched the two greet each other. I noticed how close Sanjay and Amir were as they spoke with Olivia. They had been together for a while. They were apart of the pack of werewolves in Echo. Along with Rod and the girls. Even Allen and Alex were happily in love, the little girl by their side evidence of it.
"So should we head out early?" Alex asked her husband, "Alison looks a bit tired. She went to bed pretty late last night."
"Sounds good. See you later Hazuki," the stylist gave a small wave as he and Alex walked out of the festival with their child. The kid yawned as she waved a bit at me lazily. She was still a toddler after all.
"Shouldn't you go talk to someone else now?" Neil's voice caught my attention. He had a sour look on his face as he finished his food, "I'm not very interesting. And I'm not in the mood to talk."
"But I don't want to put you by yourself. I'm sure that you will get lonely if I do that. Since Rod and Alex both left you."
"Why do you care if I am? It's not that important to you."
"Because you're my friend, Neil. I want to make sure that you have someone to talk to."
Neil gave me an incredulous look, "I don't know why you'd want to be friends with me, but whatever." He turned away from me with a huff and crossed his arms. I gave out a small sigh. He was so hard to open up to. But I didn't mind. I still want to be friends with him. I heard about how Alex broke his heart and feel bad for him. And I might have a small crush on him. He was intimidating, but I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But I won't give up on him. I know that he could use a friend. Even if I had to get through that wall that he builds around himself.
