Tested and Tried

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire had finished her meal not too long after Jackie, noticing yet another filler question. "Work is... work." She would respond with a chuckle as the waiter cleared their plates. "It's nice and relaxed... calm. Julian is also a huge help when it gets busy." Jackie had met him once or twice, but not for extended periods of time so it was unlikely she knew of his race.

"How's your blog?" She would ask without thinking, keeping a relatively straight face while doing so.

Life.

 

[Life.]

"How nice," Jackie murmured, wanting to die at the moment in how lame she sounded. But it at least got a chuckle out of Valoire so Jackie must be doing something right. More than likely her appearing as a fool was amusing the woman considering Jackie was always cool and smooth when it came to conversations. Then it was Valoire's turn to ask a question. She asked about her blog.

"Hmm...to be honest it's still running but that's about it. I'm kind of growing...bored and tired of it. It's pretty much the same things at this point. Throw hate on this and criticize that...but I'm running out of ideas and excitement. I haven't really told anyone this but I might change my focus of my blog. I just have to find the right muse for it," Jackie responded as she looked to Valoire, "Although if I drop my blog now then there goes my source of income. I'll have to get a real job then. Which is why I want to start a new blog. Maybe I should do it on fashion? Hmmm or maybe make-up? Food perhaps? Or even travelling. Oh travelling sounds like fun, but also a lot of money." It appeared as though bringing up the question of her blog calmed Jackie down from her anxiety, she even felt her shoulders relax as she talked about it. This was the first time Jackie was really thinking into her decision on the future of her blog, and speaking it with Valoire made it all the more easier.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

"Change the focus?" Valoire echoed, mainly because she didn't believe it herself. It made her feel a bit better about the whole situation, even visibly relaxing somewhat. "Wouldn't you loose a lot of your supporters if you changed so suddenly?" It was a bit backwards... her worried over this. But considering it was the woman's only source of income and she didn't want to see her struggling to stay afloat as she tried to find solid ground again.

Life.

 

[Life.]

"Yeah I will lose followers for sure but...I never really started it for the attention. Really it was more of an outlet. It just so happen that that was the sort of thing some people were wanting to see, how some felt, but none ever wanted to say out loud. By chance I became the spokesperson for them. And well once I reached a certain amount of followers I felt obligated to continue. At the beginning I didn't have a problem with this considering I still had a lot to say, but now...I'm different from who I was when I started. It's been becoming more difficult to think of what to say or even feel. Wow...I never realized it would be this easy to say all this out loud," Jackie had been moving her attention from her hands to her wine glass to the etchings on the table and then finally they settled onto Valoire. "Hmmm well honestly it's really easy to talk to you."

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire nodded, understanding her motives. She did have a valid reason after all, her childhood not having been easy. But forcing herself to carry the hate so long just began of the amount of supporters she had rallied? That sounded difficult as well.

"It doesn't surprise me with how long we've known each other." She smiled as she said this, continuing. "If you wanted to switch the focus, I'd go for it. Even if you do end up needing some help I'd be more than happy too."

Val was about to continue speaking when something comparable to a fog crept over her mind, it sparking a sharp pain in her skull. Raising a hand head she would grimace, blinking a few times.

So this was the withdrawal...

 

[Life.]

Jackie felt even more motivated to start thinking about change for her blog once Valoire verbalized her support for her decision. She mirrored Valoire's smile, "Thanks that means a lot to me." The woman reached over to her wine glass once more and proceeded to take a sip from it, but as she lifted the glass up to her lips she noticed a change in Valoire's actions. Jackie placed the glass down onto the table and saw clear signs that something was bothering Valoire, maybe even bringing pain to her. "Are you okay?" Jackie asked. She reached over to grab a hold on Valoire's arm but when she did, she pulled back, surprised at how hot she felt. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" Jackie began rummaging through her bag in search of her cell phone.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Once Jackie asked if she should get to the hospital, Val's eyes would widen as she shook her head. "No..." she mumbled, it being followed by boughts of nausea as well as an occasional spike of pain elsewhere.

"W-we need to get home.." she finally said after a moment, remembering Cedric's words about how a transformation could trigger early. It also didn't help being 7:30 at night.

After the bill was paid, they had found their driver, he urged to get them back as fast as possible. The whole time Val barely focused on much of anything.

As they arrived at the door for her apartment, a certain someone was waiting outside, walking down from the door. It was clear Cedric wasn't all that happy.

Life.

 

[Life.]

It was hard to believe from the way how Valoire seemed to be in pain that she didn't want to go to the hospital, but Jackie did not push the woman. She may be a stubborn individual but she didn't want to be pushy to Valoire. For some reason it was easy for Jackie to heed Valoire's wishes, if it had been anyone else Jackie may have not listened to them. Instead the blogger stayed by Valoire's side the whole way from the time they paid out throughout the car ride and then finally when they reached Valoire's place.

What Jackie didn't expect was to see a face she didn't want to see twice in the same day, Cedric. Sure she said that she was growing tired of her hate, but that didn't mean she was going to instantly drop years of constructed and integrated hate in one night. A frown was clear across Jackie's face as she continued to linger by Valoire's side. She wrapped an arm around Valoire in a protective manner without really thinking about what she was doing. To Jackie it felt right to do it. She looked at Cedric straight on and decided to ask for Valoire since she didn't seem to well, "What do you need?" Jackie would've like to say it in a meaner tone but she decided to try a calmer approach, although from the way her face looked at the moment the words weren't anything less of annoyed.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

"To make sure Valoire doesn't get herself into anymore of a mess." He responded plainly. The woman in question was now leaning heavily on Jackie, not bothering to argue or protest. "She's grown to be stubborn about all this." He sighed. "And right now isn't a good time to be."

Here he would ease Valoire off of Jackie's shoulder, helping her into the opened appartment and back into her bedroom. Should the blogger follow, he would hand her a small bottle of reasonabley large pills. "Only give her one, only if you notice anything out of the ordinary." With that he would begin to exit, saying "It's not my place to explain any of this to you. She'll be the one too" over his shoulder.

Life.

 

[Life.]

Cedric's words were not making any sense to Jackie. Was this perhaps a long-term effect from the accident? Valoire has never mentioned anything about any effects from the incident. Then again Jackie never wanted to push her to reveal anything, so perhaps this was something related to the accident. Really Jackie was hoping so. There wasn't really anything else she could think that could explain why her best friend--more than likely at this point crush--was feeling so ill at the moment. Although some pessimistic part of Jackie threw out a worst-case scenario in that perhaps Valoire was becoming a supernatural. It was not unheard of humans changing into a vampire or werewolf. But Jackie has never met anyone who has changed, or perhaps she did meet them at some point when they were human but then never saw them again once they turned.

Jackie hesitated for a moment when Cedric pulled Valoire away from her. She simply didn't trust the werewolf-man at the moment. The woman followed after him as he brought Valoire to her room. It bothered Jackie the way Valoire looked right now; in pain and clearly ill. She didn't know what to do for her, but it seemed as though Cedric did as she handed her a bottle that contained pills. Jackie looked up from the bottle that was placed onto her hand to Cedric glancing him a confused look as he described to her when she should administer the pills to Valoire. Anything out of the ordinary? He promptly left as soon as he instructed Jackie on what to do. But not without saying a few words that really left Jackie out in the fog. "Tell me what?" Jackie whispered as she turned her attention over to her ill friend.

Slowly, still thinking about Cedric's words, Jackie walked over to seat herself next to Valoire. She brushed away some hair from Valoire's face, "Hey. How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Water maybe?" Jackie's hand tightened around the bottle she still held, questions running through her mind but no clear answers being deduced from her thinking.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire was in and out of focus. She knew she had gotten home and that she was now lying in bed with Jackie beside her, and they Cedric had been there but that was about it. Regardless, the sinking feeling in her stomach only accompanied the hell she was experiencing. Everything hurt and burned, her mind throbbed and it felt as if every sort of stimuli around her had been amplified twenty times over.

As Jackie as how she was, she spoke minimally. "Awful..." nodding as she offered a glass of water. Once she would leave to go grab it, Val briefly buried her face in a pillow. She was going to have to say something to her... After she would return with the glass, the woman managing to sit up and drink something carefully before looking as if she wanted to speak, but remaining silent.

Life.

 

[Life.]

"Oh Valoire," Jackie whispered as she heard her friend's response. She gave a small squeeze to her arm when she saw Valoire nodding in suggestion to the water, "I'll be right back." Quickly the woman got up to retrieve some water, but not before she placed the bottle containing the pills on Valoire's nightstand. Once she reached the kitchen she pulled out a glass and filled it up with water. Jackie also proceeded to dampen some paper towels to provide something to cool off some of Valoire's body temperature.

It wasn't long before Jackie returned to Valoire's side. She gently placed a hand behind Valoire's back once she saw her making an effort to rise her upper body up in order to drink the water. Jackie placed the dampen towels on Valoire's head, watching as they stuck well for the most part as she sat up. The blogger watched Valoire, noticing her expression. It almost seemed as though she wanted to say something. "What is it? Want me to kiss the pain away?" Jackie teased, although some concern still showed in her eyes.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

The paper towel felt cool, although with her how high her body tempature was it didn't remain that way for long. As Jackie teased her about wanting to kiss the pain away, she gave a brief smile before it fell considerably. Her throat constricted as she opened her mouth to speak, not wanting to say anything but not really having a choice.

"Jackie..." she murmured, closing her eyes partially because of how her head was swimming, and also because she couldn't bare to look her in the eye at the moment. "I... didn't get into a car accident." She began to breath a bit quicker now, whether from it was the weight of the words she had just said or what she was feeling it was hard to say.

While waiting for a response, Valoire soon had to lay back down, unable to remain sitting up.

Life.

 

[Life.]

Jackie's mind began jumping too fast to dramatic conclusions. From the way that she moved and appeared Jackie began thinking of the ridiculous thoughts that maybe she was slowly dying. Because of her crazy conclusions Jackie could begin to feel her heart beating faster and faster from anxiety and fear. She would not know how to proceed from where she was at if anything drastic were to happen. Jackie lifted up a smile when Valoire did, but it soon fell once Valoire's disappeared. Then the woman said her name.

Her eyes were beginning to shut close. Jackie's heart continued to race and her palms beginning to sweat. "Yes?" Jackie softly whispered as she began saying something. But the next words that left Valoire's mouth were not ones she was expecting. She sat there in silence for a moment, attempting to comprehend what Valoire just said. "You didn't get into a car accident? If it wasn't a car accident...then what type of accident was it?" Jackie whispered, her sharp mind already formulating an answer to the question that may disturb their relationship. Although Jackie was an unpredictable ball of emotion so her reaction could explode in any and multiple directions.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire still kept her gaze downward as she swallowed, although not making much progress. She forced herself to continue despite how much she didn't want too. "I was... attacked..." the woman responded slowly. Her voice clearly wavering. "By a werewolf."

As she said this, all she could hear was how fast her heart fluttered, it most likely being unnatural. Val would refocus her gaze, looking up a Jackie with a pleading type of fear almost. Not wanting to lose the one person she needed at the moment.

Life.

 

[Life.]

Silence. In Jackie's mind and in the room as soon as Valoire answered. So much had been going through Jackie's mind that once the reality of the answer struck, her mind went blank. How should she respond? What's the right way to respond? What's going to happen now? Well Jackie knew for sure it'll be up to her to decide how things were gonna go, but it was too much at once for her.

She stood up quietly, her eyes not being able to look at Valoire. It wasn't fair of Jackie to do this and automatically set up defenses against Valoire but her mind was running on its own at the moment without any of her conscious thought. But just for a single moment she looked at Valoire. A big mistake at it since she saw the begging in her eyes not to leave her. As much as Jackie wished she could stay with her it would prove to be difficult considering she'd be throwing away years of beliefs and values.

"Just be sure you take your pills," Jackie finally said as she made her way out of her room, not looking back at all. Her heart was screaming to say because of the pain that will be brought onto her and Valoire if she walks away, but her mind instructed her to leave. Obeying the latter Jackie walked through Valoire's house in disbelief, nearly tripping on her way out. So her love- best friend is a werewolf...now what?

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire… didn’t know what to say at this point. Just watching the woman that had been previously so worried turn into a blank slate. Simply watching her stand and leave was hard enough, barely even hearing her say anything about her pills before leaving. The door slamming shut.

First, she was filled with dread. She having just lost a close friend and destroyed any chances at an advancing relationship. But this dread soon morphed into an anger of sorts. She shouldn't have expected anything to have changed, certainly not with Jackie. So why the hell had she been so stupid?

As her emotions began to consume her a pain tore through her back while her vision flickered. Gritting her teeth she would reach for the bottle of pills that had been left on the bedside table, managing to grab hold of it and force herself to sit up once more. Fiddling with the cap, she finally got it off and threw one of them into her mouth, using the rest of the water that had been brought to her to swallow it.

Lying back once more she closed her eyes, falling asleep wishing the night could've gone much differently.

Life.

 

[Life.]

Why Valoire? Why did she become a werewolf? Why didn't she tell her? Well Jackie knew the answer to that question.
Why?
Why?
Why?

Really Jackie wasn't blaming the right person, herself. Why did she come to hate supernaturals? Was it really all that bad in the past? At this point she couldn't really remember details, just the emotions behind it. Her mind and soul were clearly in conflict as this point. A dissonance within herself that was causing much anger and despair. She should've headed straight to her condo, but instead she made a quick stop to the local liquor store and bought more than she could handle. Whether she was going to drink it all that night depended on how she feels, and at the moment she probably needed it all.

No comfort was brought to Jackie once she step foot into her condo, instead more anger flared up inside of her. Anger at Valoire, anger at the world, but especially anger at herself. Jackie reached down into her paper bag and pulled out the first liquor bottle for the night, tequila. With a quick twist to the top, Jackie opened the bottle and took a large swig coughing a bit afterwards once she finished swallowing it down. The woman kept on drinking the bottle as she walked over to her laptop that laid on her bed, picking it up and then slamming it down to the ground. She reached over and pulled out the steel bat from underneath her bed and continued on to smash the laptop to bits. Jackie wanted to scream as she did this, instead burning tears streamed down her face. She felt so sad and angry that screaming at this point would be pointless. Although smashing her computer was not any better.

Once she felt satisfied that the laptop was completely obliterated, Jackie proceeded to finish the tequila bottle and pulled out a backup laptop from her desk. This one she didn't destroy. Instead she logged onto it and erased all that she was online. She was done with all this hate she fueled. Now she needed to rethink things in her life. She felt angry at herself for not accepting Valoire right away and still not being able to. What was it going to take to face Valoire, her friend once more? Jackie at this point continued to open another bottle and drink until she blacked out.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

When she awoke, saying Valoire felt horrible was… quite the understatement. She was sore, any movement basically out of the question unless she wanted to be in any more pain. Her mind was a muddled mess of what had happened last night, the emotions she felt, and what she was going to do about it. The woman should’ve done something. Cried, screamed. But not in her current state, which was more than enough.

She laid there rather lucidly until she heard her front door open. Her heart began to pound. Was it Jackie? Did she, for whatever reason come back But as a face appeared in the doorway, she mentally scolded herself for being so optimistic.

“I’m assuming the question, ‘how are you feeling’ could be the worst possible thing I could ask right now.” Julian said, leaning on the door frame to her bedroom. He got a barely audible mumble in response. Not bothering saying anything more, he would move around her room, grabbing clothing much more comfortable than what she was currently dressed in. Tossing them onto her bed, he would say “Can you try and change into that? I have to get you there, you know.”

After he left the room, she did, although it took a little bit. After this she slowly walked towards the door, Julian allowing her to lean on him as they exited the building. The ride wasn’t too long, but it did succeed in making her feel even worse. She laid in a the reclined passenger seat, her eyes closed trying to ignore the deafening sounds of the other cars passing by.

Then they reached their destination. A large warehouse like building that had been first began construction with donations and then finished with government funding as soon as they realised how vital it was. It was the local werewolf pack’s headquarters, certain facilities of theres being undeniably valuable at the moment.

Cedric was waiting outside, watching as the car pulled up. Once Julian stopped, he opened up the passenger side door and didn’t even bother asking her to stand, simply carrying her with ease. “I’ll let you know how things go.” He told the vampire, the man nodding before the door was closed and he drove off, seeing as someone had to open the cafe today.

He brought her into the building, it first appearing to look something similar to a hospital. He took a few halls, made a couple turns, and finally arrived to where they needed to be. It still had the same bleached hospital-esc look, but the room was wide. There being hospital beds along one wall with padded rooms along the other. She didn’t really need to guess on what those were used for.

Valoire was laid in one of the beds, a nurse having came over by Cedric’s request and inserted an IV in her arm as well as hooked her up to a heartrate monitor. “Get some rest.” He said with a sigh. “I’ll be back in a few hours to check up on you.” What that he left, the woman not bothering in protesting, glad to finally be able to get back to sleep.

Hours later when it was around 11 PM, Val was suddenly woken up by what felt like an all consuming pain followed by a rush of adrenaline. Her heart rate having sped up considerably, the nurse would move over to her, calling Cedric as he would enter the room as if on queue. “Look like the fun’s begun…” He muttered, carefully removing all of the lines and wires from the woman. “Valoire, can you hear me?” He asked while doing this, she giving a small nod, eyes wide as she stared at him. “Good. I want you to put all of your focus onto me. Ignore everything else.” She did so as he finally finished, pushing back the sheets on the bed and lifting her out of it, hastily moving her to one of the opened rooms across the way.

Laying her down on the floor, he would close the door from the inside. Sending him a confused glance, he would simply chuckle. “You’re father would kill me if I didn’t help you through this. Now…” He knelt beside her, running a hand lightly along her back. She winced at his touch, the man nodding slowly. “Bone structure rearrangement has already begun.” Looking her in the eye, his voice was firm. “I know this is going to feel like crawling into hell, but trust me when I said it gets easier with time. Based on the looks of things it's going to be slow, unfortunate but speeding it up would only kill you.” Then the man moved back, sitting along the wall.

And they waited.

Life.

 

[Life.]

A sharp, piercing pain pulsed in Jackie's head as she felt herself waking up. Drinking last night was a mistake, talking to Valoire was a mistake, her life was all a mistake at this point. The exaggerations rolled on within Jackie's heart and mind. Dramatizing the situation more than what it really is. And honestly there was a simple solution to the scenario, for Jackie to accept that Valoire is a werewolf and continue on to be her friend. It was an easy thought, but difficult to put into action.

What should Jackie do now? Was there really anything for Jackie now? The depressive thoughts intruded her mind. Her heart ached and her mind pounded. She rested an arm over her eyes, attempting to block out any light that could reach her eyes. Jackie could leave this world, but then each time she thought about it the image of Valoire's pleading look popped into her mind. She couldn't do it. Some part of her knew that she needed Valoire.

Jackie groaned as she shifted in her bed, feeling nauseated and lethargic. She wouldn't even be surprise if she was still a little drunk. Considering that her mind felt fuzzy yet pounding with pain just caused the woman to feel irritated. Maybe she should just sleep off another day. There was no one she needed to see, no one who wanted to see her, no one who needs to contact her, and no one she needs to contact. Well actually she needs to contact Valoire, but she wasn't ready for that.

Just as she was about to fall back asleep she felt her pillow vibrating. Valoire? was Jackie's immediate thought as she sluggishly reached over to her phone. But a large sigh escaped her lips as her eyes registered the caller ID to be her "manager". She didn't need any of his crap at the moment so she declined his call and turned off the device. As much as she wanted to keep it on in hopes of maybe having Valoire call her, Jackie knew he wouldn't stop calling her. Especially after the stunt she pulled last night. The woman can remember it clearly. The emotions and thoughts that were motivating her to delete her existence off the internet. This was probably something her manager was not pleased about, but Jackie did not care. It was about time she stopped, although Jackie would have liked to end it on a different note.

The despondent woman wanted to sleep some more, but after the ringing of the phone she couldn't bring herself to that sedative state. "Ssshiiittttt..." As much as she didn't want to, Jackie needed to move. Her body was awake and it needed to either hurl away most of the alcohol in her system or digest something to ease it. It felt as though everything ached, but Jackie knew it was just her head.

It was actually surprising that it did not take long for Jackie to heave herself up and inch her way towards her kitchen. But just as she was about to step foot into the kitchen, Jackie heard the sound of her door unlocking. If it was a robber Jackie felt resigned to let him take anything at this point. But the person that stepped into her condo actually shocked Jackie to the point where she momentarily forgot the pain in her head and heart. "Mom?"

"Hey Jacquelyn. How are you?"

Hearing those three words broke the woman. She ran forward and wrapped her arms around the tiny woman in front of her, pouring out all that she was withholding these past hours. Jackie's mom stroke her hand down Jackie's head as she bawled her eyes out. A few good minutes passed before Jackie was able to compose herself and talk to her mom in a somewhat audible voice, "How did you know to come?"

"Mother's intuition," she smiled, "As well as the fact that some part of the Internet has been blowing up with your disappearance." She wiped away a few tears from her daughter's face, "I know my visit has been long overdue but I do hope you'll share with me what happened." Jackie nodded, glad to have someone hear her out.

--------

"Mmmm so Valoire is a werewolf now?"
"Yes," Jackie sighed. The woman was laying across the couch with her head lying on her mother's lap and a dampened cloth worn across her forehead. "Then I don't see a problem."
"But Mom she's a werewolf."
"And your point?"
Jackie opened her mouth ready to say something but she didn't have anything to argue with. Any excuses that left her mouth would be ridiculous. There wasn't any good reason now for her to continue on this hate. "And didn't you say it yourself? That you wanted to change. Why not start by supporting her?"
"But I can't simply just throw my beliefs overnight. Then I wouldn't be me."
"Jacquelyn this hate you've held for supernaturals...that's not you. That is something that cannot define you and shouldn't define you. You are so much more than that. Valoire sees that. And you should too. If you truly love someone you'll find yourself changing into a better you. Not a better version, just a better you."

Jackie listened closely amidst the consistent pounding in her head. But really her mom's words were making sense. What Jackie was online was an old part of herself. She needed change, "You make it sound so easy." Jackie heaved a sigh as she threw an arm across her eyes. "It'll take time. But the first step is always the hardest. Once you take that step, everything else will be easier."

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

It was one thing to accept no longer being human, as you had for the longest time. But it was something else entirely to try and rationalize your body forcefully breaking and rearranging itself. Valoire had remained there on the floor, eyes closed as she braced the occasional change. While it hurt, nothing was visible yet… which she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

It had started in her chest and torso, but had snaked its way outwards now encompassing most parts of her body. But the worst part was actually feeling it. Her bones grating against each other, snapping and elongating. By now she has grown more than numb to the horrid pain she was experiencing.

Cedric then decided to speak. “So… what happened last night?” Valoire grimaced, the sudden thought of Jackie causing another spike of discomfort. “She… left…” she mumbled, the man nodding. “I assume you told her?” “I had no choice.” “Right…” He would stand moving towards her, kneeling down once more with a sigh. Bulges beneath her skin had become more frequent as bones finalized their position. “I'm surprised you’ve lasted this long… know you can fall asleep, Valoire. I’ll be fine.” She didn't respond. “Or are you doing this on purpose as a punishment to yourself?” Still, no response. “You know it's not your fault, right? She’s the one who's so set in her ways that she doesn't give a damn who the label is thrown on. So I think that this was unavoidable. Eventually she was going to find out and walk away.”

Valoire processed this before looking up towards him, knowing he was right.

“If you just relax instead of punishing yourself for no reason, it might make this more bearable.” Cedric finished, although not moving from his place beside her. Taking his advice she would simply close her eyes, releasing her tensed muscles. From here, it was almost like clockwork. The transformation moving much more smoothly then how jagged and slow it had been. “That is…” He murmured, watching as the woman’s form swelled, skin rippling as fur began to sprout, Her gums began to bleed as more teeth forced their way out of her skull, the bone itself taking a much more canine shape.

Once it was complete, the clothing she previously had been wearing now nothing but scraps of cloth littering the floor around her, Cedric couldn’t help but chuckle somewhat. Even in this form she was still rather small, only barely reaching what looked to be about 5'9” with a lean frame. But aside from this point, he had to see if she managed to retain any sort of reasoning. There wasn’t any real method behind those who did and didn’t, some simply had a bit more willpower than others. In all honesty, while she still laid there, chest heaving, he had expected to be lunged at immediately.

Moving to where her head was now positioned, he looked her in the eye, calling her name. “Valoire?” Seeing as he had done this countless times, even if she did try to tear him to shreds, it would be relatively simple to keep her restrained so he could get out.

The woman in question was fucking terrified. While she felt awfully sore, enough to not want to move, it was still… strange to say the least. She had remained somewhat conscious despite there being a small coaxing in the back of her mind to let go. Was it due to the intense emotions she still felt about Jackie? Most likely. She was ripped from her thoughts as her name was spoken. But instead of doing what she wanted, that being to turn and face the man, she didn’t have much control of herself. Her body apparently on autopilot, she stood unsteadily, snarling and trying to reach for Cedric. The man stepped back, looking into her eyes for a moment. “I know you can hear me, Valoire.” He said calmly, watching her. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Try to regain control.”

If she could actually speak to him at the moment, it most likely would’ve been a sarcastic comment about how easy that was. But she tried regardless, it first seemed as if she was a simply spectator to the clumsy lunges she made towards him. Eventually though, she slowly began to restrain herself… somehow.

Nodding slowly, he would still keep his distance, glancing towards the door to the small room. If no one would interrupt, which he would assume they wouldn’t, she could make more than enough progress tonight.

Life.

 

[Life.]

"Do I have to drink it?" Jackie sat in front of a icky appearing drink. "You chose to drink last night. And might I add blackout drinking. So yes as punishment for putting your body through so much stress you need to drink my conocotion. Don't worry it doesn't taste as bad as it looks, plus it can help with your hangover," her mom gave a glare over her shoulder towards Jackie as she reaffirmed her order. "Fine, fine. I'll drink it," she finally gave in, throwing up her hands in defeat before wrapping one around the cup in front of her. Holding her breath, Jackie chugged the drink down not wanting to prolong the process. "Oh bleh. What the hell is in it?" the woman nearly spat out the last of the drink as she slammed the cup down onto the table. "Nothing bad. Mostly food and then I added some of my own taste to it."
"Ugh well your taste sucks, Mom." But Jackie couldn't help but smile softly. Despite how crappy she was feeling at the moment Jackie was glad to have her mom there. But reveling in this moment of happiness caused Jackie to wonder how Valoire was doing and feeling at the current moment. This in turn brought back heartache and a frown to her smile.

"You need to go see her," her mom interrupted Jackie's thoughts. "What? No I wasn't thinking about-" she stopped her futile attempt in covering up her thoughts, "How did you know I was thinking about her?"
"Your change of face plus there isn't really anything else for you think about."
"What's that suppose to mean? You make it sound like I don't have any other friends."
"Hey I'm just stating the obvious, plus you've always been one to stick to something till the end. So now that you're having issues with your friend you feel the desire to fix it, which YOU should. I say you cause you're the problem."
"Well ouch," Jackie smiled with sad eyes, but her mom was right. This would have never been made into a problem if Jackie had just acreated Valoire right away. Her mom certainly was blunt when it came to Jackie, which isn't surprising considering Jackie is too.

"But...what am I suppose to say or think?" she didn't want to admit it but Jackie was scared. She was afraid that she'd still feel some hate towards Valoire just because she's a werewolf. But then there's the possibility that she may accept it. Her eyes were looking down at the very etchings of the table in front of her when she felt the warmth of her mom's hand on hers. She lifted her eyes up toward her mom's, "You'll figure it out honey. It comes at the moment. You cannot plan these things ahead. You have to let your heart speak."

Let my heart speak...

Jackie sat there for a moment letting the words sink. Then a smile appeared on her lips, "I'll need some help with an apology." Her mom mirrored her smile back, "I'll be glad to help."

Between the two women it was decided that a bouquet of flowers were the easiest form of an apology for Jackie. The first suggestion of gifting a puppy by Jackie was quickly shot down in light of what the situation was. The following suggestion of perhaps gifting steaks was not any better. So eventually the list ended on flowers, simple but meaningful.

"Alright sweetie I'm going to head off to bed now. I've stayed up much longer than I thought I could handle and need my rest now. Tomorrow we can go together and buy the flowers and you can deliver it right after," Jackie's mom stood up from the table with a yawn. "Right after? Can't I wait like a day or two after?"
"No. The longer the tension, the more difficult it could be to mend it," she bent down and gave a kiss to her daughter's forehead before walking off towards Jackie's bedroom. Jackie sighed and pulled her spare laptop in front of her. She wanted to buy a flower but which one should she buy? Plus she still felt quite awake for sleeping most of the day away. It didn't take long for the woman to find which flower to give. Once she was satisfied with her choice she decided to head to bed as well, knowing full well that her body still required rest from the hangover she brought upon it. She got herself ready for bed and crawled in right next to her mom. And finally over the longest period of some years, she slept with ease, comfort, and warmth from being close to her mom.

The sun rose up in the sky and so did her mom. As much as Jackie loved her mother, she would've much preferred to sleep in more. "Rise and shine sweetie! We got a full day ahead of us of shopping!" Jackie's response was to simply pull a pillow over her head. "C'mon!" her mother yelled as she wrapped her arms around Jackie, finding the few ticklish spots she still had. The woman gave a slight yelp of laughter and surprise, "Mom! Stop. Fine, fine! I'll get up." Once Jackie was up the day went on smoothly. The two went to a cute restaurant for brunch, visited a few stores to see what merchandise was on sale (really Jackie's mom wanted to see what deals she could get from the big city), and finally compared a few of the flower stores close by.

Jackie had to buy a flower pot of hyacinth since it was not usually a flower made into a bouquet. "So I have my apology now...what next?" Jackie asked turning towards her mom. "Go see her," her mom rolled her eyes knowing that Jackie was simply stalling. "I...don't know if I'm ready."
"Jacquelyn Grace I did not raise you to be a coward. And never have I seen you so afraid of something. Just go and do it with confidence as you always do."
Again she was right. Jackie was rarely scared of things so what was the real reason stopping her, nothing simply excuses were trying to hold her back.

"Fine. I'll go."
"Great I'll still be here when you get back. Just don't be too surprised if your place is a little rearranged."
Jackie rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face as she picked up the flower pot and walked out the door.
StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Thankfully, no one did interrupt. However being optimistic wasn't necessarily the best way to go about it. Valoire wasn't able to control herself due to the overwhelming sensation of everything else, throwing herself towards Cedric constantly until he managed to slip out of the room, the door being rammed into until she gave up on trying to pursue him.

At around 5 AM, the night would've ended for her, the man reentering the room to Val lying on the floor in a half-conscious, exhausted state. He wrapped her in a blanket he had brought and laid her on the hospital-esc bed she had been on before, waiting for Julian to arrive.

Valoire during all of this was spent to say the least. Fragments of the night before still lingered in her mind despite it being a mostly muddled mess. Every limb felt as if it had been removed and reattached in a backwards and awful way all while experiencing what felt like a hangover reaching levels she wasn't sure Jackie could beat and trying to generally cope with the situation. Because of this she didn't really notice when she had been carried out of the room and set on the bed or anything that could've been said to her at the time.

Eventually she was woken up by the vampire's arrival, being a bit more coherent at this point.

"You survived." He would teased, passing her the clothing he had gotten for her. "Barely..." she mumbled, Cedric nearing the bed once more. "Seeing as you're awake, I can tell this to you both. You're going to need to sleep this off and as much as you're not going to want too, eat to replace everything lost during the transformation. You'll get your apatite back soon. And..." he passed Julian a slip of paper. "That is my cell number. I don't think you're going to transform twice, but because it has a tendency to happen seeing as you can't control it yet, we can't be too careful. Call me immediately if it begins." Her coworker would nod while Val simply gave a grunt in response.

They left the room and allowed her to dress, she sliding off of the bed, using the wall for support. The world spun causing the discomfort she felt to worsen. Closing her eyes and gripping the wall beside her, she took a breath to fight back the nausea budding in her stomach even though there was nothing for her to expel.

After fumbling with the clothing she had, she finally put it on and shuffled towards the doorway, Julian allowing her to lean on him as they made their way out of the building and into his car. The motion of the vehicle once they were on their way didn't help either, but thankfully they were home rather shortly.

He helped her back into her home and towards her bedroom where she was more than happy to fall into the mess of sheets and pillows. "I'm going to get to something to eat." He announced. "Are you going to be alright for now?" Valoire gave a muffled 'yes' in response, not bothering with anything more as he would turn, leaving before Jackie would arrive.

Life.

 

[Life.]

Jackie managed to make her way to the area that Valoire's place was located at, but even when she stood a block away the anxiety began to weigh her down. Maybe she's not home right now. I could possibly stop by that ice cream place over there and grab a treat. Or-or I can head into that bookstore and start up on reading again now that I'm done with my blog. Yeah that sounds like a good idea. Maybe I can become a famous fanfiction writer- Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt her phone vibrate. She looked down to he phone and saw a message from her mom, more than likely telling her to do it.

And right she guessed it since the text read 'DO IT'. Despite the horrible stepsiblings she had, her mom really was always there for her. Even when Jackie didn't want her to be. The woman clicked her phone off and tried to even take a gulp, but her throat felt so constricted that she didn't know if she could even breath. Just take a step forward. That's all there is to it... She leaned herself forward expecting a leg to follow but they felt rooted to the ground. Jackie sighed realizing that this was going to be much harder than it seemed. Just when she was about to try and lift up a leg again some stranger ran right into her, obviously distracted by the phone in their hands. "Hey watch it-" the person began until they realized who they bumped into, "Oh hey! You're that anti-supernatural blogger right? I'm a big fan. But I was wondering what happened to your blog? Did someone hack it? Or did the website finally shut you down?"

Oh that's right just until two days ago Jackie was an extravagant blogger opposing supernaturals. Now here she was blogless and seeking forgiveness from a friend. "Oh hi there. Um actually I decided to stop the blog." Jackie could've lied to them but she decided that it was about time she spoke more truthfully.

"What why?"
"Because...I don't feel that way anymore." It was becoming more easier and easier to feel it.
"Yeah right. You can't just suddenly change your mind. I bet someone told you that you had to take it down."
"Who said I couldn't?" the fan was beginning to irritate Jackie, "Who said that you can tell me what to feel and what to not feel?"
Realizing that they must've stepped over a boundary from the increasing volume of Jackie's voice caused them to stumble a bit on their words, "Well it's just that I-uh well I mean-it doesn't seem real that you could change all of a sudden."
"Well get this around your fat head, dickface. I. Am. Done. With. The. Blog." With each word her hands tightened around the flowerpot she held till her knuckles were ghostly white. The fan threw their hands up and began walking back slowly, "Alright, alright. Sure. So maybe you've changed. But I doubt you'll last without your blog." Oh were they ever so persistent. Jackie's left eyebrow was twitching at this point and her eyes focusing on in the person in front of her. By having someone tell her that she can't change caused a desire in Jackie to do the opposite and change, just to spite all her fans. She stomped a foot right in front of the individual and brought her face close to theirs. "Watch me," she hissed, turning away from the stranger before stomping the whole way over to Valoire's entrance.

She realized it was an odd way to leave a conversation but Jackie knew that if she stayed any longer she may have had to pay for someone else's medical bills. With some anger still boiling in her blood, Jackie's nervousness was subsided for a couple of minutes while she gave a confident knock on Valoire's door and stood there holding the flowerpot in her hands. Only when she calmed down did she realize where she was at. Perhaps she should just leave the flowerpot and leave?

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Valoire had been in and out of sleep ever since she had gotten home, partially because she was going over what she did remember from the night before. It was strange, having such a thing happen to you. The whole thing did feel more closely to a dream than reality, but it did happen whether she liked it or not. At this point, Val was just hoping it wouldn’t happen again tonight.

She had actually finally fallen asleep when a loud knock on her door dragged her out. Figuring it was Cedric as he didn’t have a key, she would mumble something along the lines of ‘coming’ before working up the nerve to climb out of bed, shuffling towards her front door while using the wall for support.

But upon opening it… she was woken up quite a bit.

Val’s fatigued eyes widened as she saw Jackie standing there, ignoring the fact that she was holding a plant. Gripping the the door handle tightly, she had half a mind to shut the door in her face as last night stuck out in her mind. Actually, she began to do so, closing it half way so she didn’t have to look the woman in the eye.

“W-what are you doing here?” Valoire would ask softly, preparing for some type of verbal onslaught.

Life.