Chapter 5
After Natsuki went through her transformation, she stared at Mark with those pink eyes he had stared into just a few days ago. She was a pure white wolf with glowing pink eyes. Her wolf form was just a bit smaller than Mark's.
Staring at each other for a few seconds, Natsuki turned around. Looking back at Mark, she waited for him to join her.
Once Mark moved beside her, Natsuki took a second before suddenly dashing ahead. Quickly giving chase, the two took turns going after one another. Playing in the woods by themselves, Natsuki pounced on Mark, knocking both of them to the ground in a ball of fur.
Rolling over, Mark used his hind legs to push Natsuki away to give himself time to roll back onto all fours. Once he had, Natsuki pounced, gently nipping the back of Mark's neck as the two toppled over once again.
This went on all night until the sun finally began to rise.
Feeling the sun's rays wash over him, Mark's eyes were the first to go back to normal before the rest of him followed.
Shrinking down to his human size, the fur that covered Mark slowly fell off his body, replaced by his smooth skin. Laying on the ground, Mark gasped for air as he fully transformed back into a human.
The process wasn't nearly as painful as turning into a wolf, but it did sting quite a bit.
Laying on the floor of the woods, Mark slowly pushed himself to his knees, rubbing a hand across his face.
"That was so fun!" Natsuki's voice echoed. Looking back, Mark saw the pink haired girl was completely naked, thanks to her clothes ripping when she transformed.
Quickly averting his gaze, Mark then realized that his clothes were gone as well.
"Don't be embarrassed, Mark." Natsuki said as she strolled carelessly in front of him. Placing her hands on her hips, Natsuki showed no shame. "We're part of the same pack now." she extended her right hand out to him. "C'mon. I left some spare clothes in the treehouse."
Once the two made it back, Natsuki climbed up first. Following soon after, Mark climbed up just as Natsuki pulled a pair of short shorts on. Glancing at Mark, Natsuki tossed him a pair of shorts and a belt.
"They might be a bit loose on you. I didn't know your size, so I played it safe and went with a size above what I thought you were."
Putting the shorts on, Mark was surprised to feel that they fit perfectly. "You guessed right, Natsuki."
She smiled as she shrugged. "Figures. I'm just that awesome."
Handing him a shirt, Natsuki pulled one over her head before turning to Mark with a smile. "We should get back to town. If we're both caught missing, they might suspect we were doing something else."
An hour later
Making it back home, Mark stretched his arms as Natsuki sat beside him. Having nothing better to do, Natsuki decided to spend the rest of her day with Mark.
"So, what'd you think?" Natsuki asked. "For your first time transforming, what were your thoughts?"
"It was surprisingly fun." Mark replied. "Hurt at first, but fun. I didn't know you'd be such a blast to be around."
"Well, I hope you don't get bored of my company too fast." Natsuki said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, werewolves live forever." Natsuki replied. "So, I hope you can tolerate me for all of eternity."
Mark looked at Natsuki. "You're joking, right?"
"Nope." Natsuki shook her head. "Believe it or not, but I'm actually over three-hundred years old."
Mark fell silent as he took in the news. "Doesn't it get lonely?" he finally asked.
"Hm? What d'ya mean?"
"If you can't age, doesn't that mean you leave all of your friends behind as they grow older?"
"Pffft, nah." Natsuki shook her head. "Why do you think me, Monika and Yuri get along so well?"
Mark fell silent as he thought of a reason. "Do they age?"
"Nope." Natsuki shook her head again. "Vampires and werewolves don't age, but witches do, unless they use a spell to halt the aging process."
"That's..." Mark fell silent again. "Question."
"Shoot."
"Out of you, Monika and Yuri, which one is actually the oldest?"
"Yuri." Natsuki replied. "She was born in the thirteenth century while Monika was born in the fifteenth century. And I was born in the eighteenth century."
"Huh..." Mark rubbed his eyes. "What about Sayori? If she's human, then..."
"She'll age, then die." Natsuki said as if it was no big deal. "That's what happens."
"But...I can't just live on without her. She's my best friend."
"Well, there are options for that." Natsuki told him. "You could ask Yuri to turn her into what she is. Or you could simply bite her yourself. Or, if you don't want to hurt her, I could bite her."
Mark shook his head at these suggestions. "That's not right. She might not want this and we'd be forcing it on her."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that technically what I did to you?"
"Well, yeah, but you said you did it because I was sick. You were just helping me."
Natsuki shrugged. "It's up to you."
End of chapter 5