"Most annoying night of the month." Alex complained as the entire extended pack, more than 50 Wolfbloods of the tame pack gathered in Miller Woods for full moon night. The equally large wild pack was gathering in the National Forest for their own run.
"No one likes the lack of control the new moon and full moon cause us." Charles Chase agreed as the pack members began stripping and stashing their clothes in anticipation of the full moon, which would begin rising in a few minutes. "But at least our brains still work, werewolves don't get that during the full moon and control is damn hard for them to achieve at all. So us having to endure two nights out of the month where we don't have control over our transformations, so we can have control the rest of the time, is worth it. And it isn't like it isn't fun to run in the woods any time."
"True." Alex agreed, glancing at Cordelia who was grinning in anticipation of running free in the woods. Just because they were locked in wolf form until the moon set didn't lessen the fun of running and playing in the woods. He felt the change coming and bent over, landing on his paws.
Charles Chase, now a huge Grey Wolf, lifted his muzzle to the sky, the moon and howled. His pack answered him. And then they began to run, Alex chased Cordelia and Jesse chased Aura and Charles remembered chasing Cordelia's mother and sighed wistfully. Oh well, she was with the One Pack, the Wolfblood afterlife and he'd see her again one day and they'd run, he chase and she'd let him catch her.
Time to enjoy the hunt, there was a rabbit calling his name.
Buffy, Willow and Johnathan were occupying what had rapidly become 'their' table at the Bronze and Buffy realized she hadn't seen their Wolfblood friends since they'd gotten back from the zoo.
"Aren't Alex and them usually here by now?" She asked.
Willow frowned in thought and then nodded. "You're right, they usually are. I saw them get off the bus after the zoo trip and they headed straight for their cars. They didn't say anything about not coming out tonight, so I have no idea why they're not here. But now you have me curious because like us, they're here almost every night."
"I've got a more immediate concern." Johnathan said. "Tor and company are acting weird."
"Who?" Buffy asked.
"The bullies from the zoo, look at them." Johnathan indicated the four teens who were working their way around the Bronze.
"They're really getting into people's personal spaces, aren't they?" Willow observed after watching them for a couple minutes.
"They are." Buffy agreed. "They don't usually come here, do they?"
"No, they tend to get kicked out when they do." Willow told her. "Because the bully thing carries over to after school hours too. Hey, they weren't on the bus for the trip back to the school, how did they get back?"
"I don't know, but they seem real interested in the pack's usual table." Johnathan pointed and the girls saw the bullies weird behavior increase as they seem to examine the table and seats. They moved on, insulted a few people and left.
"That was wiggy." Buffy decided. "Anyway, I'm feeling the need to be out and about tonight, so I'm going patrolling. Be careful going home, okay?"
"Holy water, cross and stakes, just in case." Willow assured her. "Not that we've run into any vampires now that we know they're out there, but it pays to be prepared." Johnathan was nodding in agreement.
"Be careful yourself." He told her.
"I will, I actually think not patrolling nightly helps me. I feel more alert, with my senses feeling jazzed. The nightly thing gets routine and I start missing things. I'll see you guys at school tomorrow."
The other two teens wished her goodbye and good luck and Willow was about to say something when Oz appeared and asked if he could join her.
"Sure." Willow enthusiastically agreed and Johnathan excused himself, deciding to head home himself and happy for her, she seemed to be moving on from Alex quite nicely.
Buffy stepped out of the Bronze and heard a voice, an angry voice. Following the sound she found something surprising.
"I told you four to go home and stay there! What part of that don't you understand?!" Principal Flutie was berating Tor and company. "I do not like being challenged. Go home, if you disobey me again, detention will be the least of your worries."
To Buffy's amazement, the four teens ducked their heads and seemed to shrink under the gaze of the angry adult berating them. They headed to a car in the parking lot and drove off. Principal Flutie turned to look at her and Buffy felt...uncomfortable. Something about the Principal seemed odd and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. And then something even stranger happened, the sound of howling could be heard in the distance. A lot of howling, she didn't know it, but a single wolf's howl could be heard up to ten miles away. A pack of them, farther.
'So that's what they're doing.' Buffy thought. 'Some sort of pack thing.'
Principal Flutie was looking up at the sky and listening to the sound, the expression on his face was annoyance. He clearly heard the howling too and didn't like it. At all.
A/N Credit www dot britannia dot com on the specifics of a wolf's howl.