Lost in thought - Maxwell

T; around noon
P; Lake serpent, Southside
W; clear skies, crisp air


The pas couple of days had been rather... weird. From meeting a tall and dark stranger, who wasn’t as much a stranger as a friend at this point, to finding out that werewolves weren’t just figments of scary stories and fairytales. Of course, a part of her already knew that, before Rafael had explained it to her. She had simply chosen not to believe it until she saw it herself. Now, she was finally back ‘home’, only to be told to take the day off from work since the cafe had been robbed in the morning and they wouldn’t be opening up that day. So, now, she found herself walking alongside the Serpent Lake, enjoying the crisp autumn air and scent of water, musky leaves and a promise of rain in the air.
Most people she crossed on her path seemed rather displeased with seeing her there. Why, she couldn’t quite guess. She knew that the Southside was considered a bad neighborhood, and as such, the inhabitants wasn’t the most pleasant beings around. Still, couldn’t they smile, just a tad, to a stranger? No? Guess not.
Dressed in a black dress that reach her ankles, cognac colored leather boots, a beige trench coat which was sinched in by the waist and a knitted scarf thrown over her shoulder, she embodied the tumbler fall girl aesthetic quite well. A simple eye makeup, a winged eyeliner and her natural long doe like lashes. Her lips, on the other hand, was not so natural; a burgundy matte lipstick defined her lips just enough to make her skin look like porcelain and her eyes as bright as the lips. Of course, being near water, her eyes had taken on a bright icy blue color, showing that she was indeed not human - or, in the case she was, she had some rare eyes.
As she was walking there, by the edge of the water, she pondered on if she should reach out to Rafael. A part of her really wanted there to be more than paella and white wine between them, but another part warned her that he might just have been polite to a lost girl in his forest. After all, why would someone like him bother with someone like her? Lost in her own thought, she was moments from walking straight out into the lake - which wouldn’t be a catastrophe in itself, as she was a siren and most likely just would be a bit embarrassed by transforming right in front of everybody.

Max was exploring. He hadn't really been to the Southside area before but had read a little about it on the internet, yesterday when he was googling "pretty nature areas near me". He knew, that much of it was a bit more of a unsafe neighborhood than Aston, but judging by the quick google, Lake Serpent was a pretty peaceful area. He had a day off and felt like using it outside, doing something new but yet well-known: Being close to nature. At the same time, he knew that it was a good idea to explore the region to have more background information for his tasks at his new job at Dr. Rothwell's.

When he arrived at the lake earlier that day, almost at sunrise, he immediately felt that tingling feeling of his body wanting to change. The wolf inside of him was calling. No one was around, not except from a brown hare that he spotted sprinting away, several meters away from him. The air felt crispy, cold but so very fresh because of the blue sky. It was like the bright blue color filtered the air and increased the oxygen percent. He quickly stripped down to underwear and hid his backpack with clothes in the thicket, before he changed to his wolf form. He sat down and let out a howl. He couldn’t resist because of the strong instincts that told him to behave like that. Then he got back up, his tail wagging, as he laughed a little for himself which meant letting out some weird noises. The wolf’s vocal chords wasn’t really capable of ‘laughing’ like a human. He shook his entire body before starting his stroll around the big lake.

Several hours passed by while he was just living in the present, enjoying the silence in his mind and all the strong, yet calming impressions from nature. When he returned to his starting point, he found a girl – or a woman – standing at the lakeside. He stopped and watched her from afar, sniffing in her scent which was led to him by the wind. Her odor was very flowery, bright, and made him think of sunflowers and daisies. Yet something about her smell was watery, which he now knew was very siren-like. She looked quite elegant, dressed in dark and a light beige at the same time. He walked a little bit closer, not sure if he should change to human form before approaching her. His clothes was pretty close to hear, almost parallel to the lakeside where she were, but 15 or 20 meters into the land. Maybe he could still change before she noticed him – she looked like she was pretty far away in her own thoughts. He continued walking closer to his backpack but keeping eyes and ears on her. A wolf would probably not be a normal sight near to the lake, so he didn’t expect her to.. not react to him being present like this.

Something about the girl was talking to him; He felt like he needed to find out, why she was there. Maybe he felt like the had something in common. The ‘I like to stand all alone and stare at nature’-gene, maybe.

As lost in her own thought as she was, she had closed her eyes for a moment to gather her mind once more. Then, she heard something move. It wasn’t the usual footsteps of some humanoid who wanted to get away from her as soon as possible. It was more... canine. She turned her head slightly, listening to the sounds surrounding her, and suddenly she realized that it either had to be a very large dog, or a wolf. A wolf, in Southside? That wasn’t quite the typical. She opened her eyes, looking over at the wolf for a moment. Enchanted by the being, she exhaled a soft ‘wow’, which made a passerby look at her as if she was daft. She ignored the passerby, keeping her eyes on the wolf; completely mesmerized. Did it look back at her? No - she must be imagining things. After a moment, she decided to give the wolf some peace and privacy - all leaving brings was entitled to as much - by turning around and looking back at the lake. She began a soft humming, recalling a lullaby of a serpent in a lake. Lost in her own thought once again, she placed her arms around herself, smiling as she allowed herself to miss her family just a smidge. They had not approved of her moving away from Oregon, but she had not really given them much to say in the matter. Of course, Tic had been completely against it. Why, she had never really understood. After all, Tic had other things on his mind, having a new girlfriend and all that. Gently, she crouched down to allow a hand to run through the soft and damp grass near the waters’ edge. “I wonder,” she mumbled to herself. “I wonder if that wolf was simply just my mind telling me to call Rafael,”. With those words, she stood up again, straightened her back and pulled out her phone from her coats’ pocket, contemplating to text the werewolf. Once again, she turned to get a glimpse of the wolf, but it had vanished. Slightly disappointed, she returned her focus to the phone, starting a new text draft.

The girl turned her head and looked at Max. It made him stop in the middle of a step. She didn’t look worried which pleased him and of course her ‘wow’ made him feel a bit flattered. Many people were scared of wolves. That was a mistake. Wolves didn’t want to eat humans, only rabbits and deer’s. Humans were way more dangerous to them than the opposite.

The girl and Max stared at each other and he felt his tail start wagging. You’re such a dog, he thought to himself. Even in the shape of a wolf, his dog instincts were strongest. The girl looked away, apparently deciding to leave the wolf alone. Max liked her even more for that. He had tried before that people started taking pictures of him which always made him feel akward. Like he was faking something; They thought it was a real wolf, when in reality, it was almost as if someone was standing in a wolf costume in front of them.

When the girl wasn’t looking anymore, he started running, not sprinting, just a relaxed trot, to get to his clothes. He hid behind some trees and bushes and got dressed. His clothes were just some black pants, a dark blue sweater and a black coat. He tried to fix his hair but managed to make it even more ruffled but fortunately, he wasn’t aware of that. He put on his small, black backpack and then started walking towards the girl. She was sitting with her back turned against him. Something about her posture told him that she was lost in her own thoughts again. His theory was confirmed when he heard her talking to herself. A big smile spread over his lips. ”No it wasn’t,” he answered her. ”It was a wolf telling you not to. Wolf’s always saying no to guys who doesn’t call first.” He walked to stand beside her with a respectable distance to make sure, he didn’t invade her private space, especially because he might have startled her. He wanted to sit down beside her, felt that weird kind of urge to just sit and talk and stare at the lake with this fall-aesthetic-tumblr-like girl, but he wanted to make sure that he was welcome. Therefore he waited to see her reaction to his presence.

She should have known better than to talk to herself. She should know that even branches had ears, and an opinion, if you were willing to listen. The same seemed to be the case for a young man answered her little rhetorical question to herself. Slightly surprised, she got up on her feet, looking straight at the young man. He had a trusting face - the type of face you used as a guide when describing the best friend of the heroine in fantasy novels. As she stood there, phone in hand and a drafted text to Rafael, the man then told her that the wolf had told her not to text first.
Then he added that a wolf always would say no to a guy that doesn’t call back first. To that, she couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “Is that so? Is there anything else the dear wolf wants to tell me? How ruffled his fur seem to be at the moment, perhaps?” She asked, a sweet voice that hinted a bit of teasing. It should be quite obvious that she was concluding that he was the wolf - or in some way was linked to the wolf - since he could speak on its behalf.
“Do you always eavesdrop on young women’s conversation with themself?” She then asked, as she put the phone back in her pocket. Her question could have been interpreted as her being slightly displeased with his intrusion, but if he looked at her, he would see that she meant it all in good fun.

Max laughed a bit because of her incisive, but fun, remark. His hand flew to his hair as she mentioned his fur – he knew himself enough to suspect that she was talking about her hair. Damn it. This hair never got my back.. he thought to himself while he quickly ran his fingers through his hair to try and fix it, but he gave up only seconds later; It was a lost cause, he knew it. His hair had its own life. ”I think the wolf has a lot on his mind but not regarding his fur. It’s fine. The fur. It’s just as it should be. On a wild animal…” he tried to explain the hair away but he knew he didn’t succeed which brought an almost resigned smile on his face.

Her next question almost made him embarrassed, but after a quick look on her face he could see, that she didn’t take it that hard. He still felt embarrassed though because frankly, she was right, he had been eavesdropping. ”Not really, actually. In my defense, young women seldom use my presence as an excuse to call other men.. I guess that might be some kind of compliment..” He knit his eyebrows for a second, looking confused because of the thought, before he brightened back up in a smile. ”Do you hold many of these discussions with yourself? I guess it’s smart, you must win a lot of them..” he asked as a repartee. He thought to himself, that she kind of looked like the type who talked a lot to themselves. It wasn’t a bad thing to him, he had the same habit himself.

As the young man tried to fix his hair, she knew that she had been right in the assumption; he was the wolf. Even though she had yet meet other races besides werewolves - that she knew of, at least - she was quite aware that there was several races to be encountered. Still, he had laughed at her remark, making her fairly confident in him being a friendly being, and not like how Rafael had seemed to assume that she had been a threat from the get-go. ‘’Fur is fur, got it,’’ she said with a soft and almost understanding smile. She knew the frustration of hair not doing what you wanted it to - so no weird glances from her on that account. ‘’Even though,’’ she then added, raising an eyebrow as a slightly cheeky smile passed her lips. ‘’I do get the feeling that the wolf isn’t as wild as it wants to be perceived as,’’.

It seemed that he felt a bit awkward about being busted in the eavesdropping, but she simply raised a hand and chuckled. ‘’No harm done,’’ she simply said, with the same soft smile as before. ‘’Quite frankly, I guess I was grasping at straws to find an excuse to call him.’’ she explained, as he mentioned taking it as a compliment that she had taken him as an excuse. Then, his smile brightened as he asked if she was often in discussions with herself, which made her chuckle. ‘’Sadly, yes. I’ve been known to do it quite often - to most peoples annoyance.’’ she said, shrugging. ‘’And I rarely win a discussion. No one wins, because no one loses. I don’t like discussions, as a matter of fact. I’d rather leave things be than risk hurting someone with opinions that are only my own,’’ she explained, only to realize that she was just blabbering on about how she didn’t like discussions.
‘’My apologies. I tend to talk a lot,’’ she said, looking briefly at the lake with a crooked smile. She then looked back at the young man, before she reached her hand towards him. ‘’I’m Lavender, by the way. It’s nice to met you,’’ she said, smiling ever so softly at him once more. Usually, when shaking someone’s hand, you would stretch your hand out in front of you. However, in Lavender’s case, she was almost always forced to rise her hand up quite a bit; considering that she wasn’t much more than 5 feet tall. She was quite the little being, despite her race being known for being tall, slender and elegant. Of course, she was slender and moved efter so elegantly when she danced, or even just walked, but her height wasn’t with her. They had blamed her bought start on life for that, but now she had come to realize that this was how she was intended to be. Besides, didn’t most men find it cute when a girl was rather short?

Max actually just assumed that the young woman knew, that he was the wolf. He was so used to being known as a shapeshifter from the minute people saw him; It didn’t occur to him that this girl could be in doubt about that. He was used to being the only confused part of the conversation. His smile grew a little, as she acted understanding about his hair. She made him feel like it didn’t really matter. He liked when people showed that level of kindness without seeming to put effort in it; With others, it sometimes looked like kindness costed them something. Max wasn’t one of those people as he could have a hard time not being nice to other people. ”Hey, hey, hey!!!” he objected as she talked about the wolf not being wild. ”The wolf is very wild. Roaming the nature. The king of the forest. And enormously wild.” The smile didn’t leave his face and he had a light tone in his voice. Of course he did know, that she was right. The wolf wasn’t wild, he was just a very friendly dog in wolf costume. And he didn’t mind being that. Also because he, boyish as such, believed that after all, if he needed to, he could be wild. He could defend himself and those he loved. How that would work practically in a world filled with demons, werewolfs and what more, he simply didn’t think about.

”I don’t want to meddle, but I just hope this Rafael is worth you using all this energy on whether to call or not, especially if you end up doing it,” he said to her, kindly. He didn’t want to ask more about it because he didn’t want to act even more prying than his eavesdropping had already indicated him to be.

”How could anyone find that annoying? I think it’s lovely,” he answered with a little laugh. ”I think, first of all, you should let yourself win more of these discussions with yourself. That might make you more happy about them. I prefer to end all of them with a ‘oh my god, you’re right, Max, you’re so clever’. Just a tip from a pro.” He was being silly, but he couldn’t help it – it was one of his personal traits which just emerged so quickly when he felt comfortable around someone. Of course he didn’t know the girl, but he just felt the vibe, the safe feeling of right chemistry which made him thrive in a conversation. He thought a little about the other part of the discussion. ”I see your point and I often feel the same way. But I don’t think you always hurt people just because you win or lose the discussion. If we were discussing if I were to jump of a bridge, and you were saying I shouldn’t, I’m pretty sure I would get more hurt if I won that discussion,” he weighed in.

”It’s nice to meet you and your talkative self too, Lavender. I’m Max,” he presented himself. He took her little hand and pressed it a little, as he looked down at he face and met her glance. He hadn’t really considered her height before as he’d seen her by his wolf shape, which always made it a little hard to estimate their height. He thought it was sweet – she seemed to be a funny and cute little being. He could just hope that she felt the same way about him. Except the ‘little’ part of course. ”I’d ask you to grab a coffee with me and show me more of your talking-skills but I kind of also want to sit here and look at the lake with you,” he said, honest. The words and the message could seem flirting which wasn’t exactly his intend. He was not not flirting but he wasn’t flirting either. He was just being nice and showing interest in her as he would be in many cases with interesting girls. He did find her very pretty and extra interesting, though. That might have influenced his behavior a little of course, but it was without him being aware of it.

“The wolf might want to be perceived as wild, but taking into account that it has a young man defending it, I would say that the wolf might just be one big cuddly ball of fur with slightly overgrown teeth,” she said, now clearly teasing the young man since he felt it oh so important to state that the wolf indeed was very wild.

Then, as he continued to state that he hoped Rafael was worth it, she shrugged ever so slightly. “The thing with other people is that you never know if they are worth the time and effort you put into them before your time is up.” She said; knowing that it sounded crude, but being one to have too many brushes with death already, she had stopped considering if people was worth her time. “But I do appreciate your point of view,” she said with that same kind smile as before. To her, kindness wasn’t a currency - it was not something you needed to deserve.

From meddling in her private affairs to giving her tips on how to like discussions better, that young man seemed to have a trick or two up his sleeve. She smiled, but shook her head softly. “You are indeed right, Max. However, I prefer to avoid discussions as much as possible.” She then stated, although she had proven terrible at avoiding them. “And don’t you dare jump off a bridge, silly goose!” She chuckled, biting her lower lip for a brief moment, before presenting herself and reaching out her hand; which he took as he greeted her and her talkative self. That statement did of course made her chuckle ever so slightly once more. Did he do that on purpose? Most likely. His offer on coffee conflicted with his own wish to stay and look at the lake. Of course, being a siren she was most likely always going to choose being near the water, so that wasn’t really a hard choice to make. Besides, flirting or not, she found him somewhat comfortable to be around. Quite the opposite to Rafael, where he had scared the living fudge out of her first time she met him, Max had a calm and yet pleasant smile and tone - and the Lord knew that she needed more calm and pleasant in her life! “So, lake-watching now, and maybe a coffee at some point in the near future?” She suggested with a crooked smile resting in the corner of her mouth; showing off a slight dimple.

“Oh my god, did you just say that?” he asked with a big grin on his face, opening his mouth trying to look outraged. He didn’t really succeed because of his smile. ”You should be thankful the wolf’s not present right now, I’m sure he’d.. bite you.. so hard..” he said, looking confused at the last part because he actually didn’t really know how his wolf shape would ever attack this kind little girl. It was very hard to imagine that happening.

He nodded appreciative at her words about not knowing if people is worth your time before you’ve already used it up, looking a little down-hearted. ”I guess you’re right about that. Or I’m actually not sure. I think with some people.. you just know.. you know?” he asked thoughtfully. He felt that warmth in his chest that he had felt with Persephone; But he was doubting as he hadn’t seen her for a long time. Maybe he didn’t know about her after all.

Max laughed with her. ”Okay. Let’s make a deal to avoid discussions and jumping of bridges, both of us.” His voice was friendly, warm, as he gave in without further discussion even though he thought to himself, that it might be a mistake of her to avoid discussions. Conflict-averse acting was rarely the right choice even though you of course should pick your battles.

She reacted positive to his wish to spend time with her and he smiled at her. ”Sounds like a great plan. Then let’s watch.” Without further ado he sat down beside her on the grass, patting the spot beside him to encourage her to sit down with him. ”Lavender, are you a siren? I’ve never talked to one before,” he asked her frankly without wanting to act like he didn’t know or like it was something he just didn’t talk about. He still didn’t know if it was unpolite to confront people about their race of if it was just not necessary to those, he’d met before, but he’d decided to treat it like he wanted others to. He wouldn’t mind people mentioning his shapeshifting as it was such a big part of his life. Therefore he chose to stay curious and verbalize his thoughts on the subject. He did start out lightly, though, as he asked her something that he did know the answer to, but it was a choice as he offered her a way out if she didn’t want to talk about the subject. If she chose to lie, he’d know she didn’t want to talk about it.

The big grin on his face told her that she hadn’t offended him immensely. However, he did mention how she should be grateful for the wolf not being there to bite her. To that, she shrugged calmly. ‘’This close to the water? I am quite sure that the wolf knows better than to attack something that could very well drown it before it even managed to take a nibble,’’ she said, as she looked out over the water. She was almost certain that Maxwell knew what she was - and if he didn’t, he was just as naive as she herself had been before she met Rafael.

his point of view, when it came to people being worth your time and effort, she smiled knowingly at him. Someone clearly had a portion of his heart with them, since he said it like that. ‘’When push comes to shove, your time is never wasted. If you decide to spend your time on someone, that is time you clearly thought the person deserved. Heartache, mourn and loss doesn’t void that notion of them deserving time,’’ she said. Having lost her grandmother mere weeks ago, she knew far too well how time wasn’t wasted on someone you poured your heart into.

Conflict-aversion wasn’t a thing she would do too much to consider. She knew that he found her point of view a bit silly, but since he made the ‘you get your way, and I get my peace’-decision, she simply gave a nod in agreement, before the matter was closed. No need to discuss the element of discussion itself, afterall.
However, as she agreed to spend some time with him, he plopped down onto the grass next to her; patting on the spot where he wanted her to sit. She did as he asked and sat down next to him; keeping her eyes on the waters. Her eyes reflected the glossy waters, even leaving behind a slight glimmer which hinted at her race; which he guessed moments later. His way of phrasing it; saying that he never had met someone like her, made her smile slightly. ‘’Oh, yeah.. I am a siren,’’ she said, closing her eyes for moment without the smile fading. It was a smile that revealed that one of her teeth - a canine - had an embedded diamond to adorn it. ‘’So, how do you find sirens to be so far? Am I making a good impression?’’ she asked, before she opened her eyes and looked over at him; hoping that she indeed had given a good impression.

”Hey. That was a lot,” he answered with a little laugh. ”You took it too far. I’m scared now. Please don’t drown me.” He raised his hands in a surrendering manner. He was just joking, of course, even though she did impress him a little. He hadn’t thought about it that way – her being this close to her true element made her a lot stronger than she looked.

He smiled, notting at her words. ”Such wise words.. Is this Gandalf the wizard speaking?” he asked her teasingly, referring randomly to Lord of the Rings as that was the first ‘wise-speaking’-character that came to his mind. ”But you’re right. I’ll remind myself that at my next heartache… I’m sure I’ll find that very uplifting,” he said, a little ironic, as they both know that was something you’d hate to hear while feeling like that.

Max looked at the water for a minute, the sky reflecting itself on its surface. It was like a heaven trapped on earth. A smile grew on his face as she asked if she was doing a good impression. ”Yes, I think you’re doing very well,” he answered and turned his face to look at her. ”I thought Sirens were taller, but I like your height.. and you smell like water and flowers.. you’re like a.. cute little waterlily.” He was teasing her a little even though it was true. ”Of course except you treading to drown me but I’ve decided to leave that little fact out of account,” he added, his smile growing bigger on his face.

”I’m actually not quite sure.. do you ever shape shift into like.. mermaid version? Or do you always just walk around smelling like the ocean?” he asked her curiously with an open look on his face. He wanted to learn more, both about sirens in general bot of course also about her.

She would never consider even trying to drown him. Still, as he phrased it so perfectly, she realized that he was either a shapeshifter or a werewolf. He was, regardless of which of the two, the wolf that she had spotted earlier - not that she had been in doubt all that much, but it was nice to have it confirmed. ‘’ No worries, Max. I prefer to not make a mess of new friendships if I can avoid it,’’ she explained with a soft tone and a calm smile. After all, she wouldn’t go near the water without ensuring that she was alone first. She had made that mistake before, and it still haunted her to this day.

He smiled at her somewhat wise words. In all honesty, it was heartache that caused the wise notion, not some wise old woman caught in a siren body. ‘’Uplifting or not, I find it helpful regardless. And, if you don’t mind me saying... Whoever caused you to question if they were worth your time and effort... They might not be. I know that voids whatever I just said, but you can only give so much of yourself without feeling like you are disappearing into obscurity,’’ she said. Once more, she spoke from experience. Her ex, her former best friend’s older brother, had been a waste of her time and energy. He knew what she was struggling with, and he still pushed her beyond her limit whenever he wanted to. He was the primary reason she wasn’t going back to the waters.

As she had sat down next to him and asked if she had done a good impression, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly by his answer. So, not only did her height please him - her scent did as well. Water lily... Maybe that should be her new nickname. It was certainly unique enough, she thought to herself. ‘’I did not threaten you, Max. I simply stated that this close to my element, the dear wolf might not be so fortunate as to not get his fur wet,’’ she chuckled teasingly. ‘’But i am glad that i have done a somewhat good impression. Albeit, being more reminiscent of a water lily than a fellow wolf,’’she then added with a soft smile on her lips. Then, he asked if she ever took on another form, shapeshifting into what he knew to be a mermaid form. ‘’Yeah, I do. However, mermaids and sirens are quite different beings to each other. We look alike, I’ll admit that. My legs will be replaced by a tail, and my eyes change into a different hue. I would show you, but... Well, we’re in public and I don’t care much for putting people at risk,’’ she explained in a calm and soft tone, as she looked out over the still water of the lake. It ached in her to return to the water, but she knew it was instincts and not a need. She was sitting with a handsome man, that without a doubt would make a great catch for the nearly-feral siren in her. She needed to keep her instincts at bay, as she wasn’t interested in harming anyone. ‘’But what about you, mister wolf? What is your true form? Is it the handsome man you have presented yourself to be, or the mighty wolf I encountered not too long ago?’’ She asked, as she felt like showing some interest in him was only appropriate.

Max laughed a little at her words. He noticed, that she called their incipient relation a friendship. It pleased him, of course, as that was what he was hoping for her to think about him. ”I’m glad to hear that. That would be such a bad habit for you. Not all wolves are just as overbearing as me,” he answered with his smile still sparkling in his eyes. He didn’t worry about her threating him – Lavender felt cordial, like a friend, the type of person that he always trusted almost right away. He hadn’t been wrong about that feeling ever before. Maybe he was a little ingenious – or no, he actually knew, that he was – but he’d keep being naïve until proven otherwise by the world.

He listened carefully to her words with a little nod. ”I guess you’re right.. I think I’ll give it a little more time.” He shrugged his shoulders. Giving advice to others and taking action yourself was to different things; It was always easier to know the right thing than doing it. ”I just feel like I really miss consistency.. And I just want to, you know.. find the people, that I’ll spend my life with, and then just.. be with them.. I’m kind of tired of meeting new people.. Or I’m not, I love meeting new people..” He wrinkled his forehead as he was being self-contradictory. ”I guess I’m tired of having to meet new people – that it’s one of my needs.” This honesty surprised him; He didn’t really know where the words came from. It must have been something his subconscious mind had been brewing. The surprise also made him a little unclear – it was hard to find the right words, not to mention construct a whole, coherent sentence. Hopefully, Lavender could work with what he gave her.

Max smiled and chuckled a little with her, as she said she didn’t give him any threats and then proceed to threaten ‘the wolf’. As she described a siren being different than a mermaid, a wrinkle reappeared n his forehead. ”But how do you see difference between a mermaid and a siren? Is the tail and eyes different?” He looked a little confused – to him, she’d describen a mermaid. He actually didn’t even really know, that mermaids did exist in the real world and not just in children’s fairytales. But of course they did. After all, it didn’t really surprise him.

A smile lit up his face, as she called him a handsome man. He was always appreciative of compliments – never too proud for that. ”I guess my main form is this.. handsome..” He put a silly, proud look on his face. ”Man. Actually I rarely choose my wolf shape.. It’s like, once or twice a month I just feel like wolfing a little,” he explained with a calm voice. ”My main shapeshifting form is a dog,” he smiled a little more, knowing that it might seem kind of silly to be more a dog-person instead of a cool, dangerous wolf-person. But that were his station in life and he’d accepted that.