Even a lone wolf will howl back

TAG: @Irina  
TIME: Friday the 16th of April, 02.36 AM
WEATHER: Clear sky, windless and around 6°C
PLACE: Aston, The Wolf's Den
SURROUNDINGS: The music is playing and the air is buzzing with laughter and talk shared between the many guests of the pub. Once in a while, someone rings the bell at the bar, buying a round of shots to the crowd.
ATTIRE: Khaki woman's high waisted pantsuit with a white crop top, gold necklace, and watch link, white chunky sneakers link, nude lip, mauve eyeshadow with a pop of green link, braided ponytail and gold hoop earings link.
OTHER: Aelin got the passive ability to see other's emotions as colorful aura-halos surrounding their bodies. When touching she can either decide to feel other's emotions as her own or letting others feel hers unless the person has some kind of psychic powers that neutralize the magic.
Talks with a strong American accent.


Det havde været med en god portion modvilje, at Aelin havde ladet sig overtale til endnu en weekend i alkoholens tegn. Det var nu ikke fordi lysten ikke var der for en tur i byen, det var mere det faktum at hun i flere timer, nærmere bestemt siden de spæde morgentimer, havde siddet i sin egen lille boble af musikalsk keativitet. Dertil havde udsigten til at iklæde sig andet end en oversize t-shirt og trusser, ikke ligefrem virket særligt lokkende.

“What about Late Night?”

“Nah, we just went there last weekend…”

“True… But what about Brewed then?”

“No thank you. My ex just got hired there as their doorman and I can’t deal with his jealousy if he sees me kissing someone.”

“Ohh. Neither of us want that, Vic.”

“Yeah, just what Jace said no one what that kind of drama.”

“Okay so Philotes it's then or what? What do you say, Ally?”

Aelin løftede blikket blikket fra kladden på sin mobil, hun havde været i færd med lettere åndsfraværende at notere sine rå tanker ind på, til den sang hun havde været i færd med at skrive, da slænget var dukket uanmeldt op foran hendes dør. “Ehm, I did rather go to The wolf's Den? I sorry guys but I'm just not in the mood for the full nightclub feel tonight.” svarede hun med et halv undskyldende smil til de fire venner. Lydløse blikke blev udvekslet mellem venne flokken, før Jace trådte nærmere Aelin og lod sin ene arm ligge sig omkring hendes skuldre med ordene: “The queen has spoken, to night we conquer The Wolf's Den!.". Tonen var tydelig drillende, uden skyggen af spot, men derfor tillod Aelin sig alligevel leene at placere en drillende albue i siden på sin kammerat, som modsvar til hans påstand om hun skulle være noget der lignede en dronning, så han måtte krumme sig en anelse sidelæns sammen med en hngh-lyd.
“Hey!” udbrød hun overrasket. Bevægelsen var hurtig da han i samme moment som armen blev fjernet fra skulderne, snuppede mobilen ud af hendes hænder og trådte nærmere de andre “But only if she promise to be present?”. Sukket var tungt, overdramatiseret og i stærkt følge med himmelvendte øjne “Fine...” svarede hun med et skævt smil på læben og en fremstrakt hånd, hvor mobilen blev lagt “I wonder who on earth I pissed off in my past life, since I got you guys as friends?” konspirerede hun med et glimt i de mørke brune øjne, der understøttede at hun naturligvis ikke kunne ønske have sig en bedre gruppe af mennesker i sit liv.

Gruppen var ankommet til pubben omkring ti tiden den aften. Humøret havde allerede været højt i taxi'en på vej dertil og var bestemt ikke blevet mindre som promillerne steg. Den ene time tog hurtigt den næste og de følgende derefter. Flere havde i løbet af natten sluttet sig til deres bord, hvad enten det havde været for at udbringe en høflig fuldemands skål, en sludder for en sladder eller for at deltage i hvad end drukspil, der havde været i gang med det kortdæk de havde erhveret sig fra baren.
“I'll be back in a second, just keep playing.” undskyldte Aelin sig og rejste sig fra sin plads, hvor hun med lettere besvær fik kæmpet sig ud mellem stolene. Uden alt for meget slinger fik hun lagt kursen mod kvinde toilettet og måtte kun en enkelt gang vige udenom en poolkø, der nær havde ramt hende i ribbenet, da dens ejermand i sin beruselse ikke lod mærke til, hvilken kraft han var ved at lægge bag stødet til den hvide biliardkugle.

It would've been easy to think that Aelin had been blissfully unaware of the danger of getting a pool cue poked right into her ribs, judged by the large amounts of alcohol that had been chucked down since she and her friends arrived at the pub. But somewhere under the alcohol fumes, she registered the elongated piece of wood coming right at her. Did that mean that her reaction was fast enough to move away, no... In her head, she moved way faster than the body seemed to, but thankfully a helping hand grabbed the fellow of the man, stopping his movement just in time.
Aelin turned her head towards the dark-haired woman with a thankful smile on her lips “Oh thank you, that's very smooth... No not smooth, fast. Your reaction was fast.” she tried to explain and save her own words, only to feel how the feeling of awkwardness crept closer to her. The saddle brown aura was strong, but it wasn't that that really made her head tilt slightly to the side, it was the aroma coming from her. Under the cover of taking a deep breath of relief, Aelin took the scent in, trying to figure out what it was. She hadn't been around that many werewolves, what she knew of, and still trying to navigate with her own moon curse she hadn't really connected the smell of werewolves with werewolves yet. “I'll stop talking now.” she proclaimed making a grimace giving her a remarkable similarity to a suffering animal. For a moment she almost let her own embarrassment keep her from continuing her path towards the bathroom together with the other woman, but with a bladder seconds away from bursting, she pushed the feeling aside.
Thankfully the both of the bathroom stalls weren't occupied. Aelin only made to step closer to one of the stalls before being met by a question. Without thinking twice, she decided to answer from behind the closed door “If only, it's just another Friday night. As my friend Vic so kindly reminds us off, there's always a reason to lick some salt off a good-looking body, and I can't say she is wrong on that part.” she said with a burst of laughter in the voice before follow up with her own question “Your accent, sorry I can't help by notice it, but you aren't from Gaia are you? Also, my name is Aelin.” she flossed the toilet and stepped out from the stall before stopping next to her by the sink, washing her hands.

“Russian and Bulgarian.” she repeated thoughtfully, before letting her eyes walk down over her newly found bathroom friend or heroine “I can see that. Meant in the best way - you're quite beautiful.” she finally admitted as the eyes landed back at her face. Showing no shame in giving the other woman a compliment, before turning the water off and turning against the paper dispenser, pulling out some tissues to dry the hands with. Leaving her standing half-turned away from the dark-haired beauty.
“Well nice to meet ya, Irina. I'm Aelin or as more people know me, Manon, but here I'm just Aelin.” she replied with a heartwarming smile, turning around and dunking the paper in the trashcan on the wall between two sinks. Getting caught a little off guard by the question asked. Blinking a couple of times, trying to decide if she really had heard right, making her letting a thoughtless “What?” out. Lifting her hand up in front of her, as if she tried to waver away her own word. “You... Do you know? How do you know?” she asked with a lowered voice while leaning closer to Irina. Not having thought a lot of the scent coming from herself or brunette, as a clear giveaway.

The chuckle was contagious and Aelin couldn't help to let go of a chortling sound “True, I might be under the influence of alcoholic beverages, but that doesn't cause blindness...” she kindly responded back, lifting an emphasizing brow. She truly had meant it when she had told her that she was stunning, not even a drunk mind could change that. It was just so much easier to compliment others when the liberty of drinks kicked in, especially when the other person was female. Sober Aelin would never just throw such commendation towards a total stranger for the fear of the words rubbing in just the wrong way, so many women would twist the compliment into an insult thrown indirectly. Irina luckily took it with a smile, even though she clearly didn't believe the dirty blonde.

Feeling like a broken record Aelin couldn't help to repeat herself with a perplex “What?” trying to wrap her head around what was being told. She, Irina, was a werewolf? And she had known because of... The eyes widened as realization finally hit her “You, it's the smell right? I, you,” stumbling over her own words, the lips disappeared in a small line before she let go of a deep sigh, waving a hand in front of her, as a silent way to signal she should forget whatever she just has tried to say. Trying to collect the thoughts before letting the mouth run off once more when the other wolf broke the silence with another question, two in fact. “Uhm yeah? I got bit at the beginning of 2019 and I've no knowledge of other moon wolves, I mean werewolves...” she answered throwing the arms out to the side of her, in a gesticulation indication she didn't understand a single thing about all of this. It felt like she was rambling about some weird-ass "Red riding hood"-story and not her own goddam life.
“You know what? Vodka sounds fantastic at this point.” she agreed with a nod and followed Irina out of the restroom and back to the bar.

Standing beside Irina, Aelin turned her body a little to front her “I'll, promise, but they don't know that I'm a, you know... And I don't think they even know that I, we exist? So please don't say anything about it?” she begged before lifting the shot glass in a cheer. Leaning the head back, chucking down the vodka with a following wince for the sharp burning sensation from the liquor. “Shall we? I think you'll like Jace and Vic in particular.”.

When you looked at it with logical eyes, it wasn't that surprising that even in the human form it was possible to locate other wolves by their scent. But somehow it never crossed Aelin's mind, even though she had noticed the enhancement of the different senses since she got bitten. Not that it was that weird at all, keeping in mind that she had been all alone to figure everything out with the curse. The fact she hadn't killed or turned someone by this time was truly a miracle. “I would love to meet again and... Learn? Surely you know a lot more than I do, and I'm not even sure that what I know is the truth?” she sighed at the last part and shrugged. She would be foolish not to take the opportunity to learn how to live with this, preferably before getting got blood on the hands.

“I could be wrong in my assumption? Jace is the only one in the group who grew up here, so he might know, but just never spoke about it because of how it sounds? I mean, I still think that I sound like a lunatic, in my own head when I think about the fact that I turn into a wolf-like creature every time the moon is full.” she admitted with a small chortle before turning her head towards the friend group, gazing at the only male sitting at the table, narrowing her eyes a little in a thinking manner before looking back at Irina, when the glasses got filled with another round. Smiling to the pretty brunette “For new friends.” she said, lifting the glass in a cheer and gently grabbing Irina by the arm, as soon as the empty shot glasses were placed on the bar, leading her to the table “Hey guys meet Irina, my savior of the night.” she introduced the other wolf, who right away was met with friendly faces and a
choice of hi, before the group made room for her at the table.
“Do you play?” Vic asked and nodded at the deck of playing cards laying on the table, almost before Aelin and Irina had taken a seat.

She had never really given it much thought to ask or even hinting that the town was full of paranormal beings, only heard of in myths and fairytales, but Irina had a point - a quite good one. Aelin didn't have to come forward as a moon wolf, and potentially scare the friend group away from her, if they didn't know or believed her. “One day or night I'll find a way around it, but not tonight.” She was already processing the fact that she had met one just like herself, and that she by smell had known what Aelin was.

Nosey as ever, Vic couldn't help herself when she leaned in at the table, placing both elbows against it and holding her head with a pearly white smile as she asked, the newest addition to the group “Your guy? Tell us a little about him. Is he from time? Does he have a brother, or two? Aelin could differently need a blind date with a cute guy - or girl... She plays on both teams, so a sister could do too?” Her eyes opened wider with raised eyebrows, waiting for an answer.
“Vic!” Vic turned her head towards Aelin when she muttered her name “What?” She asked, unclear to see what the fuzz was about “There's no shame in liking a bit of variation? But honestly Ally you really need to get shagged. Who knows maybe you would turn it into a song?” The attention turned back at the pretty brunette “Did you know she's a professional singer?”.

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