Chapter Two: Grind

Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoon Storm Hawks. It and all its respectable characters are © to Asaph "Ace" Fipke and Nerd Corps. Lupin and all plot contents within are © to me. All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I don't own them.

Note: I want to thank the peeps who reviewed my last two chapters and apologize for not replying them via the messaging system. I keep telling myself to, but then I forget and get distracted by shiny stuff elsewhere on the internet.

…I have no regrets. Tumblr is quite shiny and hard to resist.

With that said, thank you again, and enjoy the next installment for The Oncoming Storm!

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Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

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"So, what in the hell do you need motorcycle parts for, anyway? Didn't know you rode."

"Got one in my garage, Bear, you know this."

Bear chuckled. "I know, I know. I'm just pullin' yer leg. I assume those little punks I sent your way met with you."

"Yeah, thanks for that. Couldn't give me a heads up? A courtesy call or text would've been nice."

"I was busy!"

"Right, sure. With what?" Lupin eyed her taller friend, who grumbled under his breath, pouting slightly. It was always funny seeing the big man pout. It looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Jerry made me go shopping. Like I need more clothes. The man won't leave me be about it, I swear."

"Bear, you turn into a bear. You ruin your own clothes."

"Yeah, but at least I can control my changes. I'm a skinwalker. You're a werewolf. Big difference."

"I can control my shifts."

"Not on the full moon, you can't," he pointed out. Lupin scowled.

"Whatever. Any other time of the month, I can."

Bear only nodded, conceding to her point. He sighed and patted Lupin's shoulder with a large paw that nearly sent her careening off her bar stool. "Curse of being nonhumans. You'll get used to it." He paused to survey the bar they were currently seated in. Gary, the owner and bartender of the Blue Moon Tavern, came ambling over, replacing Bear's and Lupin's empty beer bottles with cold, fresh ones. They nodded their thanks. Gary pointed at Bear.

"Break's almost over. I don't want you drinkin' too much now, you still have your shift to finish."

"You got it, boss man," Bear mock saluted him with his beer bottle before taking a long swig. He turned back to Lupin as she sullenly stared at her own bottle.

"I should already be used to it," she finally grumbled under her breath.

"You've been in this supernatural gun show for three years now. I've been in it my whole life. Trust me, I'm still getting used to it. Three years ain't shit, girlie."

Lupin pursed her lips tightly, a stony expression flitting across her face. "That's where you're wrong, Bear. Can't play with fire without getting burned…not unless you were born with pyrokinesis."

Bear sighed. "I always forget about that. Not exactly a physically noticeable thing, either."

Lupin continued to stare at her bottle. Bear patted her shoulder again, this time more gingerly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean—,"

"I know, Bear. I know, it's not your fault, I just…got some…fucked up shit going on in my head that I really don't know how to fucking get over. I just…need to get it sorted or something."

"Easier said than done," he drawled, giving her another pat on the shoulder. "Anyway, what'd you need to talk to me about again? Said you had some information you needed me to research."

The werewolf nodded. "Right, yeah, that. Listen, I need some pick-ups done while I'm at work tomorrow. Think you and Jerry can go out and about for me?"

She dipped a hand into her leather jacket's inner pocket, producing a sheet of paper and presenting it to Bear. He took it in his hand, eyes roving over the written contents. Then he folded it up and nodded his bald head, grinning. "Yeah, I gotcha. Looks a bit short, though."

"Gotta get measurements for the rest of the parts. If anyone asks, just tell 'em I'm working on my bike."

"All this fuss for a secret squirrel repair mission. Starting to wonder if I shouldn't have sent 'em your way. I don't like this."

"Yeah, that reminds me. How did y'all meet, by the way?" Lupin was curious. Bear shrugged.

"Jerry. He was at a Jamba Juice, sitting outside with one of his friends, the kids were walking by, Jerry blabbing his mouth off, mentioned me and my 'mechanic friends' and they got everything out of him pretty quick. He said the girl was very charming, but her blond friend was the real seller."

Bear laughed. Lupin snorted. "Right. Pretty, blond and dumb."

"I know! Well, that's not entirely fair. He was smart enough. Just a bit clueless and not enough common sense. There is a difference."

Lupin snorted again, refusing to make comment.

"Anyway, Jerry brings 'em by work, we talk, and I thought everything sounded a bit too…too…"

"Neatly pieced together?" The woman offered. He shrugged.

"Something like that, yeah. Figured I might send 'em to you. If they weren't scared by you, then they were probably as desperate as they sounded."

"You sent them my way so I could scare them?" Well, now. She wasn't sure to be flattered or insulted.

"Heh. Girl, you are the scariest short person I ever met. You made it through the Marines, you've been in combat, survived four werewolf attacks—all of 'em by your own damned Sire, I might add—and you grew up with that fucked up extended family of yours…I'm scared of you. You werewolves are made of sterner stuff than skinwalkers, and I was afraid of you before you were bit."

"You're scared of your own shadow. And you're a bar bouncer."

"You don't hear whispers in the city's underbelly like I do. Other werewolves are scared of the Red Beast's Sired pup. You got quite a name, girl."

That sent a chill down her spine. Violent images flashed across her mind. Ghostly scents and voices whispered across her mind, filled her nostrils. She shuddered again. "Don't. Don't do that. Don't even mention that bastard again, Bear," she whispered, a touch of fear quivering her voice.

Bear hesitated. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Just…" He sighed, exasperated. "Look, I sent 'em your way because I know you could use the extra money. The others…they're pretty well off. You're living out of an old mechanic's garage, Lupin. That ain't right."

"Why do people worry about my living situation? Jesus, I chose to live there. I'd rather live there than in some over-priced apartment that's just as shitty and cramped and in an even worse neighborhood."

"Your mother wouldn't stand for it and if she knew that we all knew, she'd skin us all and leave you for last. And I don't think even your stepdaddy would be able to save your hide." Bear pointed out. Lupin shuddered. Christ, she didn't want to think about it. "You should be using your GI Bill for rent on a better place, but I can't say much else on the matter. I'd say come live with me and Jerry, but we just moved and we're still settling and the extra bedroom's still got boxes we ain't even unpacked and gone through yet. And Jerry wouldn't stand to let you sleep on the couch, he'd rather wait for the room to open up. You know him."

Lupin sighed and nodded. "Right. Yeah, I know the guy. I introduced you two, remember?"

Bear chuckled, finished off the last of his beer and set the bottle on the counter.

"I remember," he rumbled back as he stood from his seat. "Anyway, break time's up. Gotta get back to my shift. I'll pick up these things tomorrow while you're at work."

"Here. This should cover the expenses. If not, just write down what I owe, I'll pay you back," Lupin added, fishing out the cash she'd gotten from Aerrow. Bear's eyes widened in surprise at the amount of money she handed him and hurriedly stuffed it into his jeans.

"Are you crazy?"

"They don't seem to have any bank accounts. You practically need a DNA test to set one up to prove who you are just so you can access them nowadays."

Bear had a comment lined up for that one, she knew he did, could see it in his eyes, but he seemed to think twice about it. It died on his lips and he just shook his head.

"I'll see you later, Lupin. Have a good night."

With that said, he waved and ambled off back outside. Lupin watched his retreat, and it was hard to miss the guy in a crowd. He was nearly seven feet tall and could have played professional football if he wanted. He was built like a steel fucking wall, but not everyone knew Bear like she did.

She twisted her seat around so that she was facing the main floor of the bar. Off in another room, people were playing pool or card games. In the main room where the bar was, chairs and tables were set facing a stage for a live band performance. They were usually local bands, some well-known and others not so much. She watched as the current band continued their performance, ears giving the occasional twitch, but for the most part, they remained still.

"You miss it," a new voice asked behind her. She shrugged, knowing it was Gary. The clunk of a new bottle settled beside her and she picked up the new beer, brought the bottle neck to her lips.

"Once upon a time," she sighed in response.

"Wallace and the others will be playing next Thursday for Halloween. You should be there. For old times' sake."

Lupin shook her head lightly.

"Don't sing anymore. You know that. I never even got my foot in the door, so I probably wasn't even that great."

"You say that, and I still don't believe you. But hey, whatever you tell yourself at night to justify it." Gary responded before turning back to some new customers who were approaching the bar.

Lupin felt a stab of misery twisting in her chest, remembering her times on that stage, sneaking into this very bar as a teenager just to listen to other bands, of dreaming of performing live for people and getting that chance at last. A mixture of memorable and painful instances raged inside her. She finally left the bar after paying her tab. Bear waved her goodbye as she did so, but she barely glimpsed at him as she strolled down the street, still lost in thought, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her leather jacket.

She didn't have time fantasizing about childish dreams anymore. She had to focus on other things.

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The repairs were going rather beautifully, and the pace at which their newly hired mechanic was going at was a rather unexpected, but welcome one. Despite her warnings of working a job and attending school, she always showed up sometime in the day, without fail, and always with an assorted amount of parts. The first three days had been a source of tension, excitement, and anxiety to get things up and running on the Condor simultaneously to the repairs Aerrow's bike was receiving. Despite her admitted limited experience when it came to repairs on bikes, Lupin was proving exceedingly sufficient and reliable as a mechanic. The parts she kept bringing in were proving easier to obtain than originally thought, although she didn't seem all that surprised.

"If you know where to look in this city, you can find just about anything," she'd said the first day she'd come with box full of them. "I will admit, I didn't expect it to be this easy, though."

The repairs, at first, seemed to go slowly. Most of the parts that were most sorely needed she didn't have. But, at least it was a start in the right direction. The second day, however, proved to be a better day for the mechanic. Everything else she needed, a majority she had brought with her and the repairs began in earnest.

Someone was always with her in the bay, not entirely supervising her, but they were making sure that she didn't up and wander off. Years ago, they most likely wouldn't have minded, but after the several incidents and double-crossing agents of Cyclonia that had infiltrated them, it was difficult to continue holding out on good faith with people. They knew that Lupin couldn't possibly be an agent for Cyclonia or even knew who Master Cyclonis was, yes. But she was from this world and not theirs, and that was enough to keep up precautions for the time being.

The fourth day into the repairs looked promising enough. She was fast and efficient, and whatever work she'd left in the past three days prior, Aerrow would go through to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. He even tinkered and tweaked a few things here and there, but left the majority of the work to Lupin. It wouldn't do to undermine her hard work and steal her thunder. It would be a bit unfair. Not to mention, they were paying her.

Although, he did suspect that she knew someone was tweaking her work, but she never said a word about it. She simply inspected the corrections and then set to her work. In fact…she never really spoke much at all. She only played her music, sometimes humming to it, and the only times she spoke was to bark an order to her dog, Kosmo, who was always with her for her repairs.

Today, the fourth day in, seemed to be no exception. It was Aerrow's shift again to keep his eye on her and other than the music playing and the occasional pant from Kosmo, it was quiet. Radarr, who had decided to join him for the afternoon, whined a little at his side, looking up at Aerrow. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling the bite of boredom finally come nipping at his conscious.

It was anxiousness and even excitement that was making him impatient and giddy to finally having his bike repaired. But sitting here with nothing to do was making him remember how dull it was not being able to ride. He sighed, recalling that this wasn't the worst thing in the world. No, the worst had been when he'd been completely bedridden and unable to move at all. That had been worse, not to mention boring. At least he could move at the moment. And perhaps not annoy his squadron as much…

"Oi."

He started at the sound of Lupin's voice, blinking and looking to Kosmo, half-expecting her to give the dog a command. Instead, she was looking directly at him with those mismatched eyes, lips quirked into…well, not quite a smile, but close.

"'Mere," she said, motioning with a finger for him to come over. He glanced at Radarr, who shrugged with a soft whine. He shrugged back, and pushed off the work bench he'd been leaning against and complied.

She had her hand holding up the exhaust and a tool in the other hand. Kosmo was on her right side. He approached her left. Kosmo stood and came closer towards Radarr, sniffing with wide curious eyes and a whine in his throat. Radarr growled, backing up behind Aerrow to put a barrier between himself and the inquisitive dog.

"Kosmo. 'Mere, boy," Lupin barked at him as she snapped her fingers and the dog whined again. He was looking torn between listening to her and continuing his investigation on the strange, blue-furred creature. The former won out and the German Shepard trotted back, and sat beside his master, groaning at her. She patted his head. "Good boy. And you, I need you to hold this in place. I gotta screw it in place and this has a really awkward place for the bolt. I can't hold it and screw it in place at the same time."

He chuckled and kneeled, taking the exhaust pipe in his hands while she scooted closer, tool and bolt in hand as she twisted to get to that awkward little place. "Hold it higher—that's good, right there. Just like that."

"For someone who claims to not be that great with bikes, you're doing a fantastic job," he said after a few beats. Lupin made a humming sound in response.

A minute nearly ticked by before she scooted back and sat up, not even looking him in the face when she said, "And you are not just a bunch of out-of-towners, if I'm not mistaken."

He felt his breath hitch in chest and he managed to give a nervous laugh. "Erm…what makes you say that?"

"Really?" She finally looked at him with a stare that clearly needed no words because it said it all: 'Are you really trying to play dumb with me?'

She held this without wavering and he finally had to be the one to break contact. Damn.

When he glanced back at her, she was cleaning her hands with that grubby bandanna of hers, carefully scrubbing a bit of grease off of her fingers. "You're not military, and this is not some Lockheed C130 Hercules aircraft. I should know, I've been in the military and I've been on one of those planes. I'm not stupid and I find it insulting you'd think I would be, after bringing me here and insisting I do my repairs in your own bay. So, which one is it? Another world or aliens?"

"I'm…I think you lost me." He blinked at her.

"I'm asking where or what you are. Are you from another world or are you extraterrestrials? Either one isn't going to make a difference to me, it's not like I'm going to go running crying to the police or the government. Know how quick they'll lock my ass up for crying wolf like that?"

She smirked a bit.

"Believe me, your secret's safe with me. Especially since you found me trustworthy enough to parade your nonhuman crew members in front of me. And this guy ain't like anything we got anywhere, trust me," she motioned to Radarr, who narrowed his eyes and growled at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Easy there, tiger. I ain't gonna throw you in a cage or anything. It's just a warning. Keep him out of sight."

"We've already established that early on, thanks," Aerrow sighed. "So we're that obvious, huh?"

"Well, just a bit. You're not exactly in season for a convention to be wandering around like ya do. Then again, neither am I. But I can't really give two fucks what people think, and I'd like to see them try."

She motioned to the ears that gave a swivel and a twitch, as though to demonstrate. She had a quirky, wry little smile pulling at her lips as she turned back to the bike, finishing up the exhaust and securing it in place.

"I know this might sound…kind of awkward, but, what exactly are you, if you aren't human? Or at least, I'm assuming you're not. Er, that came out wrong, I mean—"

"I know what you meant, kiddo."

"Kiddo? I'm twenty! I'm not a kid anymore!"

She paused and looked at him, eyebrows raised at him, and there was even a mite of embarrassment that streaked across her eyes; there one moment and gone the next.

"Oh. Well, then. I'm still older than you. At least I'm old enough to drink," she went back to what she was doing. He scowled, a bit of annoyance rising up.

"How old did you think I was?"

"Sixteen."

"Come on."

"No, really. I thought that," she sighed, and waved a hand at him, never taking those mismatched eyes off her work. "Anyway, to answer your earlier question, I'm guess you don't have werewolves where you come from."

"What's a werewolf?"

She sighed again. Kosmo lay down beside her, blinking his watery brown eyes at her and heaved a heavy sigh. "This might take a while."

"We've got all afternoon," he offered in a placating tone. "Unless, you have somewhere else to be in the next five minutes, that is. Or you're not comfortable talking about it."

He hadn't considered that until the last second and felt a little sheepish at digging. Not everyone was comfortable talking about certain subjects as others. And the pause she gave and the look that accompanied it only seemed to further his suspicion. She pursed her lips at him, glanced at Radarr, then sat back up again. Kosmo whined, lifting his head up and licked his chops, alert and wide awake.

She began wiping her hands with that bandanna of hers again. "A werewolf is a monster," she started and he couldn't help but notice the bitter way she said 'monster'. "A cursed monster, to be exact, who looks human most of the time, but on full moons…turns into a wolf-creature and hunts humans as prey."

That sent a chill down his spine and the first instinct that came to mind was to back away. She didn't meet his gaze. She just picked at her nails, trying to get to the grime there.

"Luckily, I got so many wires crossed wrong in my head, that you humans don't even smell delectable to me, in human or wolf form. You can pretty yourself up on the outside, but on the inside, you…you're not very good smelling to me, let's just leave it at that. So, full moon or no, you're quite safe around me. Not many werewolves are out there like me." She snorted and tucked away the bandanna, nabbed a tool from her tool box and turned back to another part that needed securing. Aerrow hesitated before he offered to hold it for her and she scooted aside to let him in closer.

"So…you just…turn into…something else on full moons?"

"There's more to it than that, but…something like that, yeah."

He frowned. "How many others like you are there?"

"Dunno. Don't care. I don't run in a pack. Not really for them. And not many like me, either. They call me a kin killer."

Kin killer? He was almost afraid to ask, from the cold tone she assumed, it didn't sound very pleasant.

"It means I kill my own kind. It's a bit frowned upon amongst our kind. Kind of like human-on-human killings. But with werewolves…it's a bit more shameful than having your face plastered all over the ten o'clock news channel and the world knowing your name. It…I don't really know how to describe. It's almost as bad as…being a bone eater. A cannibal."

She grunted as she screwed in another part, tightening it into place and he removed his hands slowly before feeling satisfied that it would hold. Lupin worked on the next bolt that would screw it into place.

"Can you…change whenever you want?" He eyed the tail that sat beside her, motionless except for the occasional bristling of the fur.

"Of course. I couldn't do it at first…it…it took time." She paused, lips pursing tightly into a thin line, brow scrunching up. Whether it was in distaste at the answer or in concentration, he wasn't sure. "I couldn't always shift other parts of my body either. The ears and tail, I mean. They took some time and figuring out too."

"How long have you been this way?"

This answer took time to come forth. She finished her work and straightened up again, eyeing her work, running her hands over the parts she's completed, lips still pursed tightly together. Her ears were pressed against her head, and her tail was bristled. It was hard to miss the tension in her shoulders or the distant look in her eyes. Radarr whined uneasily beside him, looking between Aerrow and Lupin.

"Three years," she finally replied. "Almost to the day."

She began gathering her tools up. Kosmo stood and began helping, dumping tools into the top of the box while Lupin arranged them and before long, was closing it all up.

"That's about as much as I can do for the day. At least it doesn't look as gutted as it did before. I'll have the parts I need for the engine by tomorrow, so we can get that up and running by the end of the day, hopefully. Then it's just minor tweaks here and there over the next few days, some troubleshooting to make sure everything's running the way it should…"

"We can take care of that."

Lupin glanced at him from the corner of her eye before she gave a curt nod. "Fair enough. I understand. Your bike and all."

She shrugged at him and picked herself up, taking the tool box along with her. Kosmo followed close on her heels as she headed back toward her vehicle. He stood and followed halfway to her vehicle, but stopped short, looking back at his bike. It was starting to look like its old self again, she was right. Less gutted and scored with blast marks and more like how it used to before…

He turned back to look at Lupin, who had finished packing everything away. Kosmo was sitting up in the front seat, looking pleased as can be. She caught his gaze and gave him a little wave.

"I'll catch you guys in the afternoon after classes. Sound good?"

He nodded wordlessly before he hesitated and then called to her, "Atmos."

She scrunched her face in a quizzical manner, tilting her head at him.

"It's where we're from. Our world, it's called Atmos."

The questioning stare smoothed out and she made an 'O' with her mouth and nodded, ears twitching twice. "I'm…assuming you're stuck here?"

"Long story," he nodded. She seemed to contemplate his answer.

"We got all afternoon tomorrow," she offered. "Unless you don't feel like telling it to an outsider like me."

She shrugged, as though either way it wouldn't matter to her, but he could see that hungry look for answers written plainly in her eyes. He looked at Radarr, who looked back at him. His friend growled and shrugged. He looked back at Lupin.

"Maybe," he nodded. "If you don't mind me bugging you while you work."

"Never said I didn't." She patted the door to her car and gave him another wave. "Tomorrow it is, then."

Then she clambered inside and once again, he watched her back out of the bay and down the ramp before sighing and closing it up. He grinned a little.

Tomorrow. He had a very good feeling about tomorrow.

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