Hello again! Time for chapter 2! I have some love to give! Nxtilla, here's more! kitkatkati, glad you like it so far! Ambiguous Cake, I appreciate vague summaries! Hopefully it still attracted SOME attention though, haha. ASmallNestOfWarmBees, you've been blowing up my stories! I'm very glad you like them! And now, let's get on with the story!
Hiraeth: A homesickness for a home you can't return to, or that never was.
The Sickness and The Transformation
Jake wakes up feeling overly warm, and it doesn't take long to figure out why. Dirk is holding him tightly, wrapped around him like he's worried Jake will leave, and he's burning up. Jake remembers the night before in a horrible flash, and despite the extreme heat, he's unwilling to let Dirk go. He presses his face further into Dirk's neck, inhaling his scent. Dirk always smells like he just had a shower, even if he hasn't.
Jake stays in bed for a long time, pondering exactly how long he's known he was in love with Dirk. It seems like it's been as long as they've known each other, too long of a stretch to pinpoint the exact second it happened. He almost feels like as soon as his toddler eyes landed on Dirk, he already knew, but then he decides that's not exactly right. Dirk probably just had a toy Jake wanted badly enough to have it capture his tiny attention span, and then Jake befriended him. He contemplates more opportunities he might have had to realize his affections for Dirk, but before he can settle on any, his stomach growls. He sighs, knowing he should get up and help make breakfast. Dirk will undoubtedly be starving when he wakes up, and Jake still has to ask his grandmother what they're supposed to tell Dirk happened last night.
Gently, he untangles from Dirk's grip, his feet barely landing on the floor when Dirk's eyes wearily open to gaze at him. He looks awful, and Jake's heart clenches for him.
"Don't go..." Dirk rasps, lifting his hand to rub at his eye before he grabs for Jake's shirt.
"Oh, you silly thing, you must feel awful if you're saying things like that," Jake grins, moving out of his grip. He tucks Dirk back in and smooths the covers. "I'm going to make some breakfast. You need to eat something since—um...you must have gotten my cold."
"Asshole," Dirk grumbles, and Jake snorts because that sounds more like him.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was still contagious. Now then, you should sleep. I'll bring you some of whatever Gramma and I whip up."
Dirk doesn't answer because he's already asleep again.
Jake descends the stairs and finds his grandmother in the kitchen, looking over what seems to be a book on the creatures of Derse. She jolts when he comes in and relaxes when she finds it's only Jake.
"You gave me a fright!" she reprimands. She waves her hand and the book flies back to its shelf in the living room. "I was reading about transformations."
"Anything informative?" Jake asks, and she nods, looking grim.
"The potion I made for Dirk is only going to aid in keeping him sane during the full moon. You already knew it has little to no effect on the transformation process. Dirk is in for a very painful weekend."
Jake frowns at her. "As in this weekend?"
"He's going to have an awful fever. I can brew a few things to help him, so it'll be wise to keep him here with us. I can call Dave and tell him Dirk caught the flu you had."
Jake sighs and nods, hating this. "Do you think...he remembers any of what happened last night?"
"It's hard to say," Jade tells him. "As soon as he was bit the fever started to set in, and that could have distorted what he saw and remembered. But since Dirk is such a sharp boy, I think he'll recall some of it at least."
Jake starts to ask what they should tell Dirk happened when they hear a large crash upstairs, followed by Dirk tearing down the stairs, still clad only in his boxers. His eyes are wide, and his hair is everywhere, a sight Jake doesn't think he's ever seen in his life.
"Good morning, Dirk," Jade says, unfazed.
Dirk glances at her but then turns to Jake. "You—you're okay?" he asks, looking confused and slightly terrified.
"Me?" Jake asks, motioning to himself. "I'm fine! What's the matter, Dirk?"
"You were attacked by a wolf!" Dirk almost shouts. "It was bigger than that kitchen table and you're –you're telling me you don't remember?!" He looks from Jake to Jade.
"Oh, you poor dear," Jade coos. "You must have had a fever dream. Jakey's fine! There wasn't any wolf. As big as a table you say? That's quite the dream!"
"I told you I gave you my cold," Jake adds, giving Dirk an apologetic stare.
"You had the flu, Jake," his grandmother says sternly, turning to frown at him. "And the sooner you admit it, the better!" She turns back to Dirk. "You weren't feeling well at the party last night and Jake helped you get back here."
Dirk is giving them a look like he thinks their hair is on fire.
"Wha—no. There...there was a wolf! It bit me!" He points at his shoulder until he notices there aren't any marks from the bite. Jade healed them so they wouldn't even scar.
"Dirk, you should go back to bed. We're going to call your brother to let him know we'll be taking care of you this weekend. If you go home, you'll only give him the flu, and trust me, you do not want to be witness to Dave Strider being sick."
Dirk keeps staring at Jake pleadingly, as if asking him to assure him he didn't imagine any of this, but Jake keeps his face impassive as best as he can. He moves to Dirk's side, turning him back towards the stairs.
"Come now, we have to get you well! Don't worry about that silly dream. It wasn't real."
"Jake, I'm telling you. I know that was real! It had to have been!" Dirk lets Jake steer him up the stairs, but he keeps looking at Jake as if he thinks Jake is pulling a trick on him.
"We'll discuss it more when your fever is down," Jake says. "Gramma is going to give you the medicine I was taking. It tastes awful, but it really helps!" He leads Dirk back to bed and gently pushes him into the mattress, tucking him back in. "Sleep. You'll feel better."
"If there wasn't a wolf, then where are my clothes?" Dirk asks, a triumphant look on his face. "Explain that."
"You were stumbling so much when I was helping you home that you got really muddy," Jake lies so smoothly he surprises himself. "Gramma is washing them for you now."
Dirk gives him a long stare, studying his face. When he finds nothing, Dirk flops into the pillows, glaring at the ceiling.
"Something ain't right about all this," he says huffily.
"I know. But once you've had your fill of breakfast and some of that medicine, you'll feel better about all of it. Fever dreams are tricky. I had one where you were walking around in silly poofy pants, and I convinced myself you actually owned them," Jake smiles.
"Okay, but nonexistent poofy asshole pants are one thing," Dirk says. "Very real and weird wolf attacks are another."
Jake leaves him to brood and moves back downstairs, hurrying to his grandmother's side.
"He's so bullheaded! That idiot isn't going to believe a word until I'm honest with him!" he fumes, crossing his arms. Jade turns to give him a fond look.
"You only have to wait a month. By that time he'll be changing enough to notice the truth himself."
"But...will we get in trouble?" Jake asks softly. "You said it's forbidden for humans to know anything about Derse, aside from us."
"Jake, sweetie," she says, turning to him fully. She reaches up and pets his cheeks. "Dirk isn't human anymore. You have to realize that."
Jake stares at the floor. "I do realize that, it's just...I don't want to."
"I know, because Dirk may be bullheaded, but he's got nothing on you." Jade smirks at him. "Give him the month to figure things out on his own. We can both tell him all about it when the times comes. Right now I don't want to overload the poor thing. We're honestly doing him a big favor by giving him this to focus on, rather than the fever in his body. He can't be feeling well at all."
Jake helps her make a very fueling breakfast of french toast and sausage, one of his favorites. He drenches Dirk's plate with syrup and carries it upstairs, hoping he'll find Dirk asleep, but of course, Dirk is propped against the pillows, looking sullen and grumpy.
"Breakfast!" Jake chirps, moving to the bed. He sits at the edge and looks over at Dirk. "Are you still thinking about that silly dream?"
"It wasn't a dream," Dirk says firmly, but his expression changes as he eyes the plate in Jake's hands.
"Yes, well, dream or no, you must be starving," Jake says, handing Dirk the plate. "After this, you have to take some medicine, so make sure you eat all of...it..."
He trails off because Dirk is eating all of it. He's ravenously eating all of it, barely using his fork. Dirk is getting syrup all over his face in his attempts to eat faster, tries to shove more food in his mouth even when his mouth is already full. Jake has never seen anything like it. Well. Not from a human, at least.
"Howy fuchhh," Dirk grunts, still chewing. He swallows and looks at Jake, an almost emotional expression on his face. "That's so fucking good."
"Gramma's french toast is the best," Jake says dumbly, watching as Dirk licks the plate. It isn't until Dirk is completely finished, sucking the syrup off his own fingers that he freezes and seems to realize what he just did.
"I—shit, I must have been starving to death or something," Dirk frowns. "As soon as I saw the food, my brain just shut off."
"It's no surprise to me," Jake shrugs, hoping he seems nonchalant. "I was the one doing most of the eating last night. You hardly ate a thing."
Dirk studies him. "You're the reason I know something about all of this isn't honest," he says in an accusing voice. "I can always tell when you're bullshitting me."
"Why would I lie to you about a nonsensical wolf attack?" Jake huffs, starting to get defensive.
"Hell if I know," Dirk says. "That's why it's fucked up."
The day drags on slowly, and Dirk seems to be refusing to sleep. He drinks the potion Jade gives him, thinking it's only medicine, and it seems to be on the verge of making him pass out at last, but then Dave stops by to bring him some clothes, and destroys the slight chance.
"You look like shit," Dave informs his brother, standing near the bed as he drops the bag of Dirk's things on the floor. "Like complete and total shit, little brother, is how you look."
"Thanks," Dirk says stiffly. "It means a lot."
"So you have what English had?" Dave asks, looking to Jake, who is sitting on the bed with Dirk. "Must've been one hell of a cold, since I can't remember the last time Dirk got sick."
"It was the flu," Jake says. "And it's pretty contagious. You might not want to get too close."
"Yeah, I already figured the cause was gettin' too close," Dave smirks. "It's no wonder Dirk got it then, since you two are always close like this. Real close."
"You've made your point, Dave!" Dirk hisses, looking flushed. Jake feels awful for him. His fever is still high enough to make his face red.
"So you're gonna play nurse all weekend, Jake?" Dave asks, ignoring his brother.
"Um. I suppose?" Jake says uncertainly, looking at Dirk.
Dave smiles. "Good. That'll perk my baby bro right the fuck up."
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Dirk snaps, glaring at him. "In case you haven't noticed, I feel like shit and now isn't the time."
"Yeah, yeah, I just came to visit. Make sure you aren't dyin'." Dave looks over at Jake and winks. "I brought him some more pants so make sure you don't get those dirty too."
Dirk throws a pillow at him, but Dave leaves the room before it can hit him, presumably going to the kitchen to converse with Jade.
Dirk finally sleeps, fitfully, and Jake places a damp cloth on his forehead, petting his sweaty hair. He can tell Dirk feels awful, and he wishes there was more he could do to help, but this fever means there really isn't anything that can be done. Dirk's body is fuming to the touch, boiling with the changes happening inside of him. Jake curls beside him and easily joins him in sleep, waking up hours later to his grandmother standing over him, shaking him gently, saying dinner is ready. Jake blushes because Dirk has once again cuddled him up, and Dirk whines when Jake untangles himself.
The weekend passes slowly, and by Monday, Dirk's fever is down, but he still doesn't feel great. Jake wishes he could stay home another day, but Dirk won't hear of it. His advanced classes need too much attention, and it's only on their walk to school that Jake suddenly remembers he didn't do any of his homework.
Halloween night is spent at Roxy's this year, and Jake makes himself comfy on the couch between Dirk and Roxy, eating a slice of pizza. They start with the more silly Halloween movies, waiting until nightfall to play anything too scary, and Jake already has his choice ready to go when Roxy's pick ends, the credits scrolling down the screen.
"At last!" Jake says triumphantly, hopping off the couch. "It's my turn! And I do believe the sun has set!" His friends are all giving him indulgent grins, even Dirk, though Dirk's mouth is still full of pizza. His appetite increase has only been getting worse, and Jake takes the moment to notice Dirk has eaten one pizza entirely by himself.
"What masterpiece of bullshit do you have for us this time, Jakey?" Roxy asks, stretching her arms above her head.
"Not bullshit!" Jake huffs. "I've brought us The Descent and you're all going to be terrified!"
"Isn't that the cave movie?" Jane asks. "I've never actually seen it, but I remember it being in theaters like...years ago."
"It's been out forever," Dirk says, giving Jake a crooked grin. They'd gotten Dave to rent it for them when they were younger, and had both refused to admit they were scared. They managed to watch it all the way through, and they were feeling proud of themselves, but then Dave had barged in the room and startled them. To this day, Jake says Dirk was the one who screamed, and Dirk says it was definitely Jake, but Dave says it was both of them, and that the whole thing was hilarious.
"Bring it on," Roxy says. "Mama loves her some scary movies."
Jake puts the movie on and turns off the lights, scurrying back between Dirk and Roxy. While the previews play, Roxy looks over at Dirk.
"Did you eat all of that sausage pizza by yourself?" she asks incredulously.
"Guess so," Dirk says. "I've been hungry pretty much nonstop lately."
"Well, you did just get over being sick," Jane interjects. "It's to be expected!"
"Maybe he's pregnant," Roxy grins. "Does that make Jake the father?"
Jake feels his face heating up and is very grateful the lights are off, and Dirk tosses a pepperoni from one of the other pizzas at Roxy's face, making her squawk indignantly and jump over Jake to swat at him.
Jake enjoys Roxy and Jane's reactions at the scary parts of the movie, and he's feeling very accomplished when the film reaches its end. They watch Jane's pick next, which is one of the original Halloween movies, and Jake notices Dirk has now started eating one of the other pizzas, and is nibbling the crust almost mindlessly.
The night passes by quickly, Roxy having to pause the movie at odd intervals at the sound of the doorbell so she can give candy to the trick-or-treaters. Jake tries to keep an eye on the time, because it's a school night, and his grandmother likes him to be home. It's in the middle of Dirk's terrifying puppet movie that Jake nods off, his body leaning against something perfectly warm and solid.
"Jakeyyyyy," Roxy coos later, poking at his face. "Your phone is ringing."
"Knock it off, Rox," Dirk's voice says. "I'm sure he can hear it."
Jake blinks awake and realizes he's tucked into Dirk's side, Dirk's arm around him. He hurries to sit up, stammering apologies as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.
"Hello?" he asks.
"Jacob English!" His grandmother's voice shouts in his ear. His blood runs cold. What time is it?! "It's midnight, young man! Where are you?"
"I—still at Roxy's! I fell asleep, I'm sorry!" he says, already standing on his feet. His friends look amused at his expense, which is nothing new.
"Asleep? You should have come home if you were tired! You know I don't mind where you go on weekends, but it's a school night! Come home this instant!"
"Yes, ma'am, I'm coming!" He waves to his friends as he stumbles into his shoes, jogging out of Roxy's house and onto the sidewalk. She hangs up and he wonders if she's going to ground him. She never grounds him for long, mainly because she forgets she's grounded him. Sometimes he casually reminds her, and she triumphantly reinforces her punishments, but most of the time he lets her forget so he can still go to his friend's houses.
As he's walking home, he freezes when he hears footsteps behind him. He does not need another werewolf attack in his life right now—but then he remembers it's not a full moon night, and while Halloween night is the one night a year the veil between both worlds is the thinnest, it's also the least likely time for an otherworldly visit. Most of the creatures of Derse think it's too cliché to come to the human realm on the actual night of Halloween. They like to wait for lesser anticipated nights, aside from werewolves, who only can attack on the same nights every month.
It turns out to not be any sort of magical creature. Dirk is running towards him, holding Jake's movies.
"You forgot these," he says, handing them to Jake, who cradles them.
"Oh, thank you! Roxy would have undoubtedly stolen them for a few months." Jake starts to turn to head back home, and is surprised when Dirk walks with him. "Dirk, you know how Gramma is about school nights. She won't like you staying tonight."
"Yeah, but—" Dirk starts, fidgeting a little. He looks closely at Jake, like he wants to say something but is also trying very hard not to. "I should at least make sure you get home okay. I mean, there could be another wolf attack."
"Oh, Dirk, are you still on about that?" Jake asks, sighing a bit.
"Shut up and walk," Dirk says, pushing him forward.
They reach Jake's house, and his grandmother is standing on the porch with her arms crossed, her foot tapping as she stares him down. He groans, knowing he's in for a lecture.
"You go right up to your room and sleep! I'm waking you up earlier tomorrow just to teach you a lesson!" She looks at Dirk, who is still right behind Jake. "And Dirk—" Her eyes soften at the sight of him, and she pinches his cheek affectionately. "You can just stay here tonight. It's too late to send you walking home."
Jake throws his hands up. "I get chewed up and spat out, and he gets a welcome home parade! Well, this is just fair and bully. A fine day at the English household, for sure!"
"Dirk doesn't live by my rules," Jade says simply, pointing at Jake in warning. "Now go wash up and go to bed!"
He does, and he grumbles the entire way upstairs. When he emerges from the bathroom, freshly washed, he finds Dirk on his bed, scrolling through his phone.
"Jane and Roxy say goodnight," he says without looking up.
"Yes, well, goodnight to them as well." Jake falls into bed beside him, exhausted. He pulls the covers up and listens as Dirk shuffles around, the blankets pulling on the other side of the bed as Dirk slides under them. Dirk sighs deeply and rolls towards Jake, spooning behind him, and Jake feels his heart stop. "Dirk...wha—?"
"It's weird," Dirk says quietly, his voice vibrating against the back of Jake's neck. "I haven't been able to sleep the last two nights. It's like I only can when I'm here."
Jake wants to ask what he means, but he falls silent, trying and failing to calm his steadily thumping heart.
The days pass in a blur, and every night Dirk wants to stay with Jake. Dirk can never articulate his reasons, and Jake's grandmother never asks him to, is just oddly indulgent in letting Dirk practically live with them. They've spent so much of their lives joined at the hip, but Jake can't remember a time Dirk was ever this willing to be around him constantly. When he asks his grandmother, she just smiles at him in a knowing way and doesn't comment, and Jake is starting to wonder if it isn't because of the bite Dirk received weeks ago.
Dirk and Dave spend Thanksgiving with the Englishes as always, but this year Dirk manages to eat at least half of everything by himself. Dave spends the majority of the night in slack-jawed awe of his little brother's new eating ability, and Jade and Jake try and offer subject changes that Dave doesn't seem to want to latch to. By the end of the night, all of them are too full to move, aside from Dirk, who is, of course, finishing off a pumpkin pie and holding it out of reach from Dave, who somehow wants to force himself to eat more before Dirk finishes it all. Dave ends up crashing on their couch and Dirk makes his way to Jake's bed, shamelessly cuddling with Jake, same as he's done every night this month.
When the next full moon draws near, Jake waits with nervous trepidation to see what will happen. He's been careful to keep track of the moon's cycle, and it's falling this Thursday night. He's already told Dirk to plan to stay with him that night, much like every night this past month, and his grandmother has assured him that everything will be fine, thought she doesn't seem very sure herself.
Thursday finds Dirk trailing after Jake, complaining about his chemistry class, saying he didn't get the bonus points on his exam even though he clearly deserved them, because his teacher marked him off for penmanship. Jake withholds a comment saying Dirk's does have poor penmanship, because Dirk tends to write too fast in order to articulate his rapidly firing brain more quickly. Besides, Dirk already got a perfect score on the test he's complaining about; he only lost five bonus points for his sloppy handwriting, but of course, Dirk is outraged as if these five points are worth much more. It's part of the stubborn huffiness that Jake loves about him, even if it is considered a flaw.
When they reach the house, Jake breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of his grandmother, working away at the kitchen table on one of her various inventions. She looks up at them and winks at Jake's worried expression, telling him silently not to worry so much, and he can't help but be comforted, at least a tiny bit. Jade knows what she's doing. She always does! Even if he's completely lost on what's going to happen tonight, he knows they're in the most capable of hands.
"How was school, boys?" she asks, lifting an oil covered hand to wipe at her forehead. Somehow she doesn't get the oil on her face, and Jake wonders if it isn't from years of practice.
"Ugh," Dirk says.
"Ah," Jade grins. "I'm guessing it wasn't great?"
And Dirk goes off again about his chemistry teacher, ranting and raving the entire conversation word for word. Jake shakes his head and moves to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water for himself and a can of orange soda for Dirk. He tosses the can at his ranting friend, who swipes for it, catching it easily while continuing on with his tirade.
"I've never met a decent scientist who had nice handwriting," Jade says after Dirk pauses to take a breath. "Did the teacher give you the extra points after you explained all of this to them?"
Dirk scoffs. "She gave me three of them. Like the other two were coveted for only the students with perfect calligraphy to match their equations. Can you even believe that? That's like telling a film-maker, 'oh yeah your movie was perfect and we'd give you the Oscar but you used ugly actors so we can't'. Guess that explains Leonardo DiCaprio though."
"Leonardo DiCaprio is extremely good-looking!" Jake defends from his spot by the fridge. "I get rather nettled when people say he isn't as handsome as he was in Titanic. People age! And he's aged quite well! He deserves an Oscar more than any other actor, and I'll fight whoever says otherwise!"
A long pause follows his emphatic speech, and then Jade turns back to Dirk.
"Aside from Jake's...concerning devotions to middle-aged men-"
"Gramma!"
"-I'd say three out of the five is well enough. You won the battle, Dirk. Try not to make the poor woman's job too much of a living hell this year."
"Why couldn't you just be the chemistry teacher?" Dirk asks her. "You know more about—everything than anyone I've ever met. You could do it with no problems."
"I'm too old!" Jade laughs, but she looks entirely pleased.
"Oh, hush, you are not," Jake says, turning to put the rest of the water into the fridge.
"I'm sure Jake would rather us hire Mr. DiCaprio to play a teacher for the remainder of the school year than to have me set foot in a classroom," Jade says, grinning at Dirk.
"Well, perhaps I would!" Jake hisses. "At least I would appreciate him!" He totes his backpack into the living room, letting it fall into the floor with a loud thud as he settles on the couch, digging out his homework. He despises chapter reviews more than anything on the planet and he has two of them to finish.
"Scoot," Dirk says, moving to his side. He drops on the couch and yawns widely, reaching for the remote. He flips the channel to a "How-it's-Made" type program, and Jake works on his reviews with the pleasant droll of the boring show playing in the background. By the time he finishes, he's almost forgotten about his woes for the evening. He looks over to see Dirk is curled up, asleep against the arm of the couch, and Jake carefully pulls his bag towards himself, placing his books and his completed work inside before he leaves to put his bag in his room. When he comes back downstairs he goes into the kitchen, and his grandmother looks back up at him.
"Any changes?" she asks.
"Changes?" Jake repeats dimly.
"It's a full moon, Jakey," Jade frowns. "And if my clocks are right, the moon should be out right about now."
Before she even finishes her sentence, Jake swallows a curse and runs back to the couch, but it's too late. Dirk isn't there anymore. Or he is there, but...not the Dirk he was expecting to find.
"I—um... Gramma!" Jake yells uncertainly, and Jade rushes into the room. She freezes, her hands moving over her mouth as her eyes go wide behind her glasses.
"My word," she utters almost silently. "I've never seen anything like it!"
In Dirk's place is a large, orange, extremely fluffy fox. The fox is fast asleep, curled into a ball on the couch, its large tail swaying slightly as it twitches from its dream. Dirk's clothes are wrapped around the fox's legs, and his sunglasses have fallen off, into the floor. Jake leans down to scoop them up and place them on the table, eyes still trained on the fox.
"Is...is that Dirk?" he asks, and he looks back towards his grandmother, who is looking positively giddy.
"Yes, Jake! Oh, he's so precious!"
"Gramma! This—how did this happen?! He was bitten by a wolf, not a fox!"
"I told you there was no way to know how the potion would affect him! It took away all of aggression of the transformation, and...from the looks of it, turned him into a more docile creature." She kneels in front of the couch and pets Dirk's fuzzy head, smiling as the fox emits a tiny squeak.
Jake's head is swimming as he observes all of this. Dirk is a fox. Dirk is a fox. Dirk is a fox. The guy he's known his entire life and is very much in love with is a fox. He knew tonight wasn't going to be easy, but actually seeing this, knowing it's real, knowing it's going to be real every month for the rest of their lives—
"Jakey, come here," Jade says quietly, noticing him. She motions to him until he moves close enough for her to grab his wrist, and she gently pulls him down, pulling his hand towards the orange fur. He gasps when he touches it, his hand sinking into the incredibly soft fur. Dirk squeaks again, definitely seeming to enjoy all the attention. Jake and Jade both pause when Dirk's eyes open to look at them.
"Dirk, I'm going to need you to listen to me, alright?" Jade says softly. "We have a lot to tell you, but you must promise to try and keep a level head."
Dirk blinks, and opens his mouth and—a tiny yip comes out. He blinks again, sitting up and confusedly looking at them before he looks down and sees his body, his eyes settling on his tail. He moves it around, whacking Jake on the arm with it. He stays still another few moments.
And then he freaks out.
"Gramma, what do we do?!" Jake yells over Dirk's yips of terror, the orange fox flying around the room in what seems to be a very confused tantrum.
"We probably should've planned this better..." Jade muses, watching Dirk lose his foxy mind. "In all honesty, I was expecting an episode, but I wasn't planning on him being a fox."
"Why does that matter!" Jake exclaims.
"Because I was planning on explaining being a wolf to him, not a fox! Foxes are different animals!"
"I know that, but either way, explaining to him he was going to be an animal every month would have probably been nice beforehand!"
"Ah, yes. I see your point."
They stop talking when the noise dies down, and they turn to see Dirk on his back, his paws in the air as he pants from all the energy he's used. He turns to look at them, his tongue sticking out, and Jake can't help but grin.
"Awww. He really is kind of cute—"
And then Dirk lunges at him.
"Dirk, really, we didn't know it was going to be like this!" Jade tries to explain while she rushes to catch Dirk around the abdomen, stopping him from pouncing on Jake. "We would have told you, but—well, how could we?! I assumed you wouldn't believe it until you saw it!"
"Why are you attacking me?!" Jake squawks, batting the fox away as his jaws snap at him. "I didn't turn you into a fox!"
"Ah, I think he's upset about us pretending the wolf attack never happened," Jade says thoughtfully. She sets Dirk on the couch cushions, and Dirk settles there, his eyes narrowed at Jake.
"Gramma, he's glaring at me!"
"He's upset!" Jade says, petting the fox lovingly. "You'll turn back to normal in the morning, dear. And then you can yell at us all you like. But for tonight you need to stay here, even if you're angry with us. There's an entire world out there that would love to get their hands on you, and trust me when I say you don't want that." She touches Dirk's fluffy tail until Dirk makes an irritated noise, and she lets it fall back onto the couch. "Jake, why don't you explain things to him? I need to finish up dinner."
"Don't leave me here with him!" Jake says, backing away. "He wants to kill me!"
"You're being dramatic, he's still Dirk!"
"Look at him!"
Dirk is glaring at Jake, his tail swaying angrily. Jake has no doubt Dirk is silently cursing him in a foxy language.
"Dirk, Jakey didn't tell you because we agreed it would be best not to. But you mustn't bite him, do you understand? Even if you're angry, you were bitten by a werewolf and the potion I gave you made you this way. If you were to bite Jake, there's no telling what would happen to him in a month. The potion might not work the same, and I know you'd be very upset if he ended up losing his mind every full moon."
Dirk makes another yipping noise, but doesn't let up on his angry gaze. Jade leaves the room, and Jake shuffles on his feet, feeling foolish for fearing such an adorable creature. But Dirk is that creature, and Dirk is upset with him, and last time he upset Dirk, they ended up bloodying each other's noses in a violent scrap. Of course, they were thirteen, but Jake still remembers it well. He sighs and moves to the other end of the couch, avoiding Dirk's eyes.
"I don't...exactly know where to begin." Jake fidgets and looks at his feet, trying to think of a way to word all of this. "If it was you in my shoes, you'd make it so easy because you always know what to say. But I'm horrible at it! So I'll just—I'll say that it was never my intention to keep you so awfully in the dark about certain things. It's not that I never wanted to tell you, it's that I really can't. I'm not allowed to. I can only tell you now because you're not human anymore, but you won't be allowed to tell Roxy or Jane or even Dave. If you do, all of us will be in serious trouble."
Finally, he dares to look over at Dirk, who doesn't look angry anymore, just very confused.
"You were bitten by a werewolf the night of Roxy's party. You pushed me out of the way, and you were bitten instead of me. We were fortunate enough to be close to Gramma, and she was able to mend your wound and give you a potion that helped stave off the more...aggressive side-effects of the transformation. You would have turned into a mindless wolf like the one that bit you if we'd been even a few minutes further away." Jake swallows, horrified by the thought. "And werewolves, and vampires, and zombies, and...all of that stuff is very much real. They don't live alongside us or anything like that—I mean, I'm sure some do. You will, after all, but...almost all of them live in another dimension that's alongside ours, and sometimes they cross over for various reasons, but humans aren't really aware of it. Gramma is because she's a witch. And I am because I'm her grandson."
He decides he'll save the bigger part of that story for later, when Dirk can ask. He doesn't want to go into it himself without provocation.
"I'm awfully sorry to have kept all of this from you, but I hope you understand I had to. As for the werewolf attack—I could have told you, but I didn't, and I see now that I should have. I hope you aren't angry with me."
He looks at Dirk again, who seems to have mellowed out. He knows he'll be in for a Strider lecture later, but at least for now, Dirk can't talk. Jake scoots closer to him and lifts his hand.
"May I?" he asks with a grin, and Dirk makes another huffy noise, but allows Jake's hand to pet him. Dirk shivers and rubs against Jake's hand, his tongue emerging again as he nuzzles into Jake's side. Jake decides he likes Dirk better this way, because Dirk can't tell him off until morning, and Jake can say whatever he wants with no consequence! Well. No consequence for a while.
"By the way...Dirk?"
Dirk opens his eyes and looks up at him.
"You do have awful penmanship."
Dirk growls and lunges for him again, and Jake runs to the kitchen into the safety of his grandmother's arms.
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