7. Anthem
1.8k 19 56
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

The air let itself out of my lungs with a sound not unlike a dying man’s gurgle. “Hi, Fern.” I plastered one of those tired, strained smiles that I’d learned to use at church potlucks when I didn’t want to talk to anyone. 

“So you found your way here after all? That’s good.” She panted, still out of breath from her chase. “I was worried about you. Professor Church said you yelled at her and then stormed off.” She was dressed similarly to how I’d first met her, but with shorts now instead. Her long t-shirt with the college logo, I now recognized it as the Fifth Stone of the Meadow’s logo. She gave a halfhearted wave to Kain. 

Kain, returning a smile to Fern, then attempted to slide closer to me again, making my heart skip a beat. I stood up to avoid my feelings, inadvertently letting Fern appraise me.

“Goddess, you look like shit, Jules. Have you not gotten yourself new clothes yet? We are definitely fixing that today. Like, seriously, have you changed at all since you, uh… broke into my house.”

“No, I can’t say I’ve had the time, energy, or confidence to do that. All things considered, it’s a wonder that I’m even still sane. Then again, everything could be a hallucination for all I know. You two, what year is it?” I demanded. 

“I don’t know how humans measure years.”

“2019.” Kain smiled at me, very proud of her answer. 

“Close enough… So, what brings you two here.” 

“She brought me here.” Fern pointed at the wolf-girl, who grinned at us. “My aunts run a wild school, and Kain just finished there, so I was forced to be her guide for wildling orientation.” Fern rolled her eyes, clearly more than a little frustrated 

“Boy, that must suck. Being forced to do something that you weren’t expecting, with a person you don’t know. I can’t imagine how horrible that must be.” I said dryly. 

Fern winced, and slipped closer to me. “Look, I didn’t realize that Professor Church was, you know, acting like a man.” She spit the word like it was vinegar, and I narrowed my eyes at the sour tone. “That was wrong of her, but I was operating on no sleep because of your curse or whatever it was, and she’s, like, way more powerful than me. She’s from one of the old families. Like, she could do to me what that matron did to her.” 

I considered her words with an annoyed expression. They seemed accurate, but I’ve no clue who the old families are or what they’re supposed to be. “How do you know Church anyways?”

“Well, I’m currently fucking her daughter.” 

I coughed, choking on my tongue. That was not the response I was expecting. Kain wagged her tail, nodding, and continued staring at me. I did my best to ignore that. My brain was still processing her.  As I sat there, gaping at Fern, she gave an unrepentant shrug. 

“Okay then, we’re gonna file that away under ‘things that give me complicated emotions’. Now, you!” I pointed at Kain, whose ears instantly perked up at my attention, with her tail thumping a quiet staccato on the back of the bench. How much like a dog was she? “What's with the ears?”

“Well, they’re mine!” Kain beamed. 

“Yes, I gathered that. But I don’t get it. I know transformation magic is a thing; is that what that is?”

“No, these are just how I hear…?” Kain’s typical sunny expression clouded for a moment, replaced by worried confusion. “I don’t know what you’re asking. I’m sorry.” She looked at her feet. 

Fern, thankfully, stepped to our aid. “Ok, so Jules, since we’ve established you are an idiot—” I shot her a look. “Here’s a science lesson for you. Witches are pretty similar to you humans, er, to humans. Except we’re better because we have magic. However, our magic is kinda malleable when we’re babies, so it will change to match its environment as a way to protect the baby. So that means that if a child is lost in the woods, and it was found by a bear, the kid would turn into something the bear would want to protect, like another bear cub.” 

That’s fucking weird. “So, let me get this straight. Kain, here, was literally raised by wolves, and so she was turned into a wolf?” 

The wolf girl nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, my den mother was super nice, she knew I wasn’t part of her pack, but we couldn’t find my moms, so she raised me instead. I hope she’s doing ok, I haven’t seen her in a while.” Her ears drooped and Fern sat down next to her to rub her back and offer comfort. It was a very cute moment, and something kind broke in me. A dozen questions popped out of nowhere. Would it be wrong to give Kain head pats? Or run my hand through her hair? Pet her tail? Brain, stop. Don’t get distracted. I began to put a few pieces together in my head. 

“Okay, I think I can wrap my head around that. Is that why I turned into a girl, other than, you know, me being a girl?”

Fern just shrugged. “I don’t really know how wildling magic works. Honestly, other than, like, you two, I haven’t met many I liked,” she said dismissively. 

I shot her another look. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Kain. And seeing you, Fern. But I’m gonna head off now. I’ll see y’all later.” I turned and began striding away. 

“Oh no you don’t, Jules.” As I turned my back, Fern leapt up from the bench and caught me by the collar of my shirt. “You are getting clothes. And I will not take no for an answer.” 

“Funny, I remember Church saying the same thing.” I said as I extricated my shirt from her grasp and faced the pair again. “I’m perfectly fine the way I am, Fern.” I spit her name, in an attempt to get her to back off. 

“Jules, you dumbass, you can’t keep going around the campus dressed like you’re wearing your girlfriend’s clothes after spending the night. What do you get by just staying angry? Are you actually okay with looking like that? I’m just trying to help you.” 

Her words burrowed under my skin, as I looked down to reconsider myself. What the hell was I even doing? Why was I fighting this so hard? Was I just being irrational? My clothes looked dumpy on my body. Much too large, not fitting right. I kept having to fidget to keep the shorts on. I didn’t just look disheveled, but I literally did feel like I was wearing someone else’s clothes. Why am I so attached to these clothes? Slowly, words percolated into my brain. 

I gave a sigh. “I don't think I am okay. I hate how I look in these clothes, but they’re mine.” Tears began welling as I fought to maintain a steady voice. “I’ve just lost my entire life in less than a day. And these are all I have left. I don’t have anything, anymore. The only proof that anything in my life existed are these shitty clothes, and I never even got to say goodbye to anything. To anyone. I never said goodbye. Why didn’t I say goodbye.” 

A new wave of panic began to take hold, and my legs wobbled below me, threatening to spill me on the ground. But before my muscles could give out, I was wrapped in a jacket and squished by a pair of strong arms. They lowered me to the ground, and I pressed my face into their shoulder, strangling myself with sobs. My world became nothing outside the jacket around my shoulders and the person holding me. 

I fought to curb my emotions, trying to regain some semblance of sanity. I didn’t want to make a scene, and I especially didn’t want to make a scene in public. As my senses began to trickle back to me, I found that it was Kain who’d come to my rescue, but Fern was crouched right next to us. I shuddered into Kain’s embrace as the last vestiges of my overwhelming emotions fled. 

After another minute, Kain let me go, but an expression of pure worry was etched deeply in her face. I whispered a thanks to her, but I couldn’t tell if she heard. Her ears twitched slightly. 

I looked down at my feet as I regained my composure. “I’m sorry you two, that was wrong… I shouldn’t have lost myself. Like that.”

Fern gave a comforting chuckle and plopped out of her crouch onto the ground. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not wrong, I guess. I never really thought about what it must be like for you. Being a wildling must suck.” She paused as she considered her next words. “If… you…. If you don’t want to go tailoring, then that’s fine. I guess. But, just let me know when you want to go. Can you do the message spell?”

I nodded and steadied my breathing, releasing some of the pent up emotion with a deep exhale. “I’m better now. Sorry for…” I didn’t want to say the words, so I turned to Kain instead, as I was still in her lap. Her ears were flat back as she fretted, and I noticed her lips trembling slightly. “Thanks, Kain.” She gave an uncomposed smile, and blushed. 

I hefted myself to my feet and offered my hands to the other two. “Enough drama. Let's go get clothes.” 

“Uh… sure,” Fern said, suddenly sounding unsure of herself. 

“Congrats, I’m drafting you as my guide now too.” I said, re-adopting my dry tone. She rolled her eyes and snorted.

“There’s a Wallen witch on the other side of campus. She’s nice, I suppose. I took Kain there to get her some clothes a few days ago.” 

I looked at Kain and her denim ensemble once again. “And she gave you those clothes? Did they come pre-paint splattered?” 

Fern cleared her throat. “Kain, uh, wanted clothes that, and I quote, ‘made her look like she would eat your heart out’. I wouldn’t let her have a leather jacket because she kept trying to chew on it.” 

“Was not!” Kain protested. “I was testing how durable they were. If your clothes can stand up to being bitten, then what good are they in a fight?”

I half-giggled at that. “And you’re expecting to get into fights?” 

She gave me a completely bewildered look. “Well, duh! Once I get a girlfriend or two, I’m gonna have to fight people for ‘em. Cause any girl I like is worth fighting for.” 

“That’s very admirable, Kain.” Fern said, somewhat flippantly. “But we don’t really fight here. We solve our problems with talking. ”

“Oh.” The wolf girl looked admonished. “Sorry.” 

“Anyways, let’s get you some clothes, Jules.” Fern began walking away towards one of the pads scattered across campus, forcing me and Kain to play catch up. 

~

Ember Wall is the matron responsible for sewing and tailoring, I learned as Fern led us on our short trip. I can’t remember what else Fern said she represented, but whatever. The Wallen witch worked out of a literal hole in the wall. Like, there was an actual brick wall, with doors in it. And you open a door, and there’s a shop there. Wow. Magic is wild. 

The shop interior was unsettling at first. A dozen sconces with glowing orbs all shone around the store, each shining a different texture and tone of light. Below those were mirrors that seemed impossibly reflective. Countless mannequins were scattered around in various positions. Above them, the rafters of the shop seemed to stretch endlessly, and hung between all the beams were a seemingly infinite amount of massive spools of different materials; all different types of fabric and patterns. 

At the back of the store, a woman in a perfectly fitted pant suit was rolling a ball of yarn across a desk, entertaining a rather fat cat. 

Upon hearing a bell jingle, the woman looked up, letting the cat best her hand and snatch the yarn away. 

“Ah! Welcome to my workspace.” The woman spread her hands in greeting. “Hello again, Kain. And Fern, my dear. I see you’ve brought me another victim.” She said, with a playful smirk. 

I shot Fern a glare and mimed leaving the shop.

“Miss Aria, that’s, uh…. Don’t—” She gave a panicked thumb at me. I waved, with a deadpan expression.

“Ah, and who might you be?” The woman stalked towards me from behind the desk. I hadn’t realized it before but she was very tall. Statuesque even. She stopped a step in front of me and appraised what I was wearing with a skillful eye. I suddenly found myself missing the few inches I’d lost in my transformation. 

“I’m Jules. An involuntary wildling. Evidently my old clothes don’t really work anymore, so I’m being coerced into getting new ones.” I picked at my loose t-shirt. “Well, not coerced. I’m just kind of in a perpetual state of anger.”

The woman, Aria, laughed. “Ah, welcome to civilization, young Jules. How may I serve you? Did you have anything specific in mind?” 

“Well…” I paused and rubbed the back of my head. “To be honest, I never thought I’d get this far.” 

Miss Aria shifted to a relaxed posture, “Perhaps a demonstration then?” She clapped twice. “Taylor, the door please.” 

The cat, which had been lying on the table batting the yarn around, froze and hopped off. Her form began to grow and twist. Fur receded, leaving pink skin, and increasingly human proportions. A moment later, a woman stood where the cat had originally been, wearing a long skirt and a puffy blue blouse. Her outfit just sort of screamed housewife to me, and that was complemented by her pudgy figure as well, not unlike her feline form. In a word, cute, but in a mature, experienced way.

The former cat stepped past us, flashed a look between me and Kain, then flipped a lock on the door. “Lights on or off, Aria?” 

“Dimmed, half brightness for now.” 

Taylor waved her hands, and all of the glowing sconces of light shifted to a dull yellow light that darkened over the course of a few seconds. Miss Aria turned to me. “Now, my dear Jules, watch and please let me know if anything catches your eye.” 

The tailor closed her eyes, and began humming a seemingly discordant set of notes, punctuated randomly with sharp whistles. I felt, more than I heard, an undercurrent of something else within her murmurs. Like sensing a conversation through a wall, being able to hear speaking but not understand the words. At first nothing seemed to be happening from her impromptu music number, but I slowly realized that the mannequins had shifted to neutral poses with their arms slightly stretched out. And above us, a torrent of hissing sounds began as hundreds of serpent-like strings twisted their way down from the rafters to the felt models. The threads wove together in a whirlwind of color and canvas, and in their wake, the mannequins were left with dazzling displays of various outfits.

As the spectacle unfolded, I began to make sense of the magical chaos. Aria’s whistles commanded the dummies; the humming controlled the cloth. As the storm of threads moved, a reverberating set of notes weaved together pants. A slow-rising pitch sewed a dress. And a staccato tempo embroidered a robe’s sleeve. She was conducting a symphony of string, and it was beautiful to watch. 

She hummed a few final notes to bind together a few stray bits of thread, and came to a stop. It was difficult to tell what exactly she’d done in the dim light, but I had a feeling that was intentional. This woman liked making a performance, as it were. With a satisfied huff, she turned to her audience. “The lights, Taylor.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I heard Taylor swish behind me, and the sconces of light returned to a full brightness.

All of the models in the store were now garbed in a seemingly endless amount of different clothes and fashions. There were beautiful ball gowns, suave cocktail dresses, suits, pajamas, summer wear, everything. I saw at least one set of lingerie, and I actively avoided looking for any others. Aria gave a deep bow, “If you’d like to peruse any of these, Jules, just let me know what stands out to you. If there are any alterations you’ll need, simply let me know, and I shall make your adjustments before I send them to your home.”

With that, I began browsing. I ran my hands over one of the gowns. It seemed to be made of the softest velvet I think I’d ever felt. Which, to be fair, was not much. I liked the dress, but I couldn’t imagine myself wearing it. I appreciated the artistry in the golden rose motif embroidered along the neckline. Miss Aria clearly had skill. It just wasn’t me. 

I moved on to the next outfit, a slick navy-blue suit. With a moment of consideration, I shook my head there too and moved on to the more casual clothes. I didn't want to think about formal wear right now. Browsing the sea of outfits, I found something that wasn’t too dissimilar to what I was wearing, a comfy-looking t-shirt and shorts. 

“Do you see something you like, Jules?” Aria’s sudden voice from behind me made me jump, and I knocked over the mannequin in my surprise. 

I tried to stand the damned thing back up while pouring out apologies, but the felt limbs just refused to stay straight and it toppled over again. I looked at the tailor sheepishly.

“Sorry, for messing up your display, ma’am. It was very pretty.” 

She smiled at me and gave another sharp whistle. Instantly, the model animated and stood itself up, retaking the pose I’d knocked it out of. I could still sense something strange under the whistle, just like before. The magic itself, I surmised. 

“Do not fret yourself. I thought you had heard me coming. Now, is this something you would like?”

I considered the outfit again. And honestly, considering my choices. I think I did want it. I still felt wholly uncomfortable wearing dresses or skirts. Maybe that was just the last vestiges of the false masculinity I’d groomed for years. 

“Yeah,” I breathed. “Can I get a few of them? In different colors? Neutrals and darks.”

“Of course.” 

I turned to begin perusing the outfits more before I froze. “Wait, Miss Aria. How much will I have to pay for these? I don’t have a lot of money, but I was told I had like a service fund or something. Can I use that?” 

The woman gave me a very curious look before bursting out laughing. “Oooh, wildlings. It’s always such a treat making clothes for you. You don’t have to pay for things here. I can’t imagine a society that doesn’t clothe the people who live in it.” She shook her head sympathetically. “Oh you poor dear. The human world must have been so barbaric to you. You’ll be much safer here. And treated better.”

I stifled a snort, thanked her for the clothes, and returned to the crowd of mannequins. I saw a few more things that I liked, all in the same trend as the previous clothes I’d chosen. Simple, comfortable. Nothing flashy, nothing fancy. However, my solitary search was cut short when I heard Kain’s voice shout from the other side of the room. 

“Hey, Jules! Over here. I found something super cool that I think you'd like.” 

I made my way through the fashion forest to find the girl standing in front of a leather jacket and black jean outfit, complemented with leather boots. In a word, goth. in two words, punk goth. Not gonna lie, I actually really liked it. I don’t know if it was something I’d ever have worn before, but fuck it. My sense of reality didn’t exist anymore, so I can do what I want. 

“I think you’d look good in this.” Kain said, staring at the outfit hungrily. 

Fern pushed her way through two rather poofy dresses and heaved an exasperated sigh. “Kain, you would still say she looks good if she was wrapped in molted lizard skin. I really don’t think your input is needed right now.” 

I lightly smacked her arm and flashed her a ‘quit it’ glare. “Your input is always appreciated, Kain.” I corrected, and turned to the tailor who had been following us, “Maybe one of these, I guess? With, like, pink or purple accents? I don’t know how clothes work.” 

“You don’t even know how clothes work?” Fern gasped with mock horror. “Did the humans not have clothes?”

“Obnoxious,” I snorted. “No, it’s just that options for guys weren’t particularly complex. Jeans and a button-down shirt and you’re good to go.” 

Aria sniffed in disgust. “How droll.” 

“Speaking of things, do you need to know my address or something? Or does magic take care of all of that.” My mind ticked away for a few seconds before I realized. Fuck, I don’t know even know my address. Does this world use addresses?

The other woman, Taylor, joined our small gathering, sidling up to the other witch and whispering in her ear. After delivering a message, she gave Kain a wink and reverted to her cat form. 

“Kain, you’re not gonna go chasing the nice cat, now are you?” I gave her an offhand grin. 

“What? No. I’m not a dog.” She retorted, before quietly adding. “I didn’t really want to chase the cat anyway.”

Miss Aria picked up her… assistant? “Was there anything else that caught your attention? My wife’s informed me that another client will be here soon, and I’d like to prepare a space for them.” 

I gave a brief glance around me, more for formality than actually looking for anything “Uh, no, Ma’am. I think I’m happy with what I’ve chosen. Although would it be too much to ask for one of the jean/t-shirt combos to wear right now? My current outfit is getting on my nerves.” 

She gave a soft laugh, “Of course, I have a changing room in the back that you can use. Just let me prepare.” She began humming another short musical number and the clothes began to unravel themselves, with the resulting piles of string flying back into the infinite rafters and spools. This time though, I tried to focus on exactly what sensation I felt under her notes.  

The sensation was almost physical, like her humming had an overwhelming level of bass, without an increase in volume. My neck hairs stood on end, as the magic flowed over me. Dozens of little prickles danced across my skin. I concentrated on just one of them; tried to really feel it. And I did, I felt the magic. It was like a string was suddenly pulled taut, but with a sense outside any that I normally used. I could detect the power that Aria was using; I could feel how the note causing the prickle connected to a particular material, a black silk thread used to weave one of the gowns. It made me curious to try it myself. I wasn’t sure if I could summon that magic, but I’d already done the time stop spell once, so I wondered if I could do this too. Granted, the time stop was by accident, but still. If I wanted to learn to do magic, this didn’t seem like a bad place to start. 

As the hurricane of receding clothes finished, the tailor was left with a pile of clothes in one hand, and her cat in the other. She quickly offered the new clothes, and returned to holding the feline with both hands. “The changing room is just through that door there,” she pointed with an elbow. “To your right.” 

I thanked her, told Kain and Fern to meet me outside, then scurried to the indicated room. She’d given me a pair of black jeans and a purple t-shirt. Pre-fitted for me, I assumed. Just running them over my hands, I could already tell they’d been made expertly, a far cry from the Walmart crap I normally got. 

Holding the shirt in front of me, I expanded that same magical sense I’d felt earlier, and thrust a small portion of that awareness into the fabric I was holding. It twitched. I had just done a magic. I giggled silently to myself, before pulling my own shirt off. I found that the witch had included a simple cloth bra and some underwear in the clothes she’d given me. After a moment of indecision, I elected to ignore the bra for now. It still kinda freaked me out. 

I threw the shirt on, before stripping out of the shorts I kept having to pull up every few minutes, and slipped into the rest of the clothes. It felt… nice. Nice to finally have clothes that fit. I modeled myself in front of the mirror, I didn’t look half bad. I even had a butt now! That was exciting! I laughed. It felt good to laugh, even if I was laughing at how ridiculous I felt. But, I guess it's not ridiculous to feel happy.

I stared at my reflection for a bit longer, mentally reviewing how I’d gotten here. I didn’t want to just be a wreck, and even just hanging out with Kain and Fern for the last hour had been nice. It felt like normal, a new normal, but still normal. I’ll figure everything out. Don’t know how long it will take, but I’ll figure it out.

I gave myself one last once over. The head of my raven mark barely peaked past the collar of my shirt, and my two chain marks were on full display. I ran my hand over the two broken links on my left wrist. What did they mean? I decided to push that question till tomorrow. If I explore the campus, I could stop by the library, see if they have a book on magical symbols. I was beginning to doubt that the chains were Crow’s mark. It made more sense to me that the one on my back was her mark, so what were these?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and exited the changing room with my small bundle of clothes tucked away under my arm. Miss Aria was playing with her… ok, I have to admit, calling the cat her wife just sort of makes me uncomfortable. Regardless, the tailor was rubbing the cat’s belly and cooing to her. I thanked them both as I dodged through the store. 

I found Kain laying on the grass, staring up at the big puffy clouds, with Fern nearby looking bored. 

“So, what now?” I asked. “Or is this the point where we go our separate ways.” 

“Well I’m hungry,” Kain announced from the ground. Fern shrugged. 

“If y’all want food, I have a bunch of stuff back at my place. I could probably throw something together,” I said

“Heck yeah!” Kain threw both her hands into the air like a victory salute. “That sounds awesome!” 

“I’m glad you’re so excitable, Kain. It’s a breath of fresh air, honestly.” I chuckled, before looking at the wolf girl’s guide. “Fern?” 

The older girl held her hand to her heart. “I will never say no to home-cooked food.” 

I chuckled. “I suppose the cliche about college students is the same both here and back home… Now, how do I take you two with me using those pad thingies?” 

~

We all just sat around lazily in our post-meal haze. After we got to my apartment, I took quick stock of what I had on hand, and realized I had the stuff to throw together a strogonoff. After clearing it with the others, that’s what I decided to cook. Unfortunately, I didn’t know a recipe off hand, so I tried to introduce Fern to the world of computers. She quickly declared that she didn’t like them, but Kain, however, fell in love with the technology. So with her at the computer to call out recipe steps, and myself in the kitchen, we managed to put together a decent noodle dish, with plenty of leftovers to boot. 

It was nice to break in my new kitchen with people that I could tentatively call friends. Kain attempted to snuggle up to me after we ate, but I, politely, pushed her away. 

“You are a very good cook, Jules,” she said, slightly pouting from the opposite end of the couch. 

I chuckled. “Hard disagree, I’m good at following a recipe.” 

“Regardless Jules, it was good food.” Fern offered from her recliner. “But we should get going. I was originally supposed to take Kain to her room, until we got… distracted.” I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, I was done being social. Kain flashed a toothy grin at me from Fern’s comment.

“No worries, it was nice to hang out. God knows I needed it.” We collectively moved towards the door, and I opened it to be a good host. And certainly not to encourage them to leave sooner rather than later. “Just shoot me a message if you ever want to hang out or anything.” 

The wolf girl pointed a finger gun at me as the pair walked onto the pad and whisked away. 

I didn’t have much time to myself, however, as shortly after closing the door, someone knocked. I half wondered if Kain wasn’t coming back to try to flirt with me more. Instead, however, Taylor, from the clothes shop, in human form, was there with quite a large box at her feet. She beamed at me as I opened the door. 

“That was quick,” I said. “But I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Is everything in there?” 

“Of course!” She said, then leaned a little closer. “Although, and don’t tell anyone because technically we’re not supposed to, but I threw in a few enchanting stones with beauty spells, so you can impress your girlfriend.” She winked at me. 

“She’s not my girlfriend.” 

“Oh, ok. I believe you,” she said, clearly not believing me. “Anyways, I have other deliveries to make, so is it ok if I leave the box here? Wonderful!” And she disappeared as well, without letting me get a word in edgewise. Ah, there’s that witching world hospitality I’m so familiar with, I thought grimly. 

The box itself was fairly heavy, and I wound up having to essentially cartwheel it from the doorstep to my bedroom. In that time, I found myself regretting getting so many clothes, if only so the box would be lighter. I then spent the next few hours trying a few outfits on and sorting them, as they had become a jumbled mess in their transport through my living space.

As the sun was finding its way past the horizon, more knocking filled my apartment. I quietly swore. I didn’t really want to deal with more people today. Grumbling to myself, I went to greet whoever was at my door this time. 

As it turns out, it was actually Kain this time, sans Fern. I’m not entirely sure, but I think I blushed bright red when I saw her. I was not expecting to see her again so soon, but I don’t think I minded either. She had her usual excited smile, but there was an edge of nervousness with it. 

“Hey!” 

“Hey.” 

She paused and words froze in her mouth. I gave her a concerned look and wondered what this was about. Kain gulped and suddenly what she wanted to say spilled out. “Doyouwanttogoonahuntwithme?”

“I-I’m sorry, what?”

“Do… do you want to go on a hunt with me?” She twiddled her fingers. “I just thought it would be fun, and that it could be like a thank you for the food today.” 

“Kain, I—” 

“I’m sorry that was stupid, just forget I asked. Thank you for the food.” She turned to leave, but in a madcap decision, I grabbed her shoulder. 

“Just hold on, Kain. Let me go get changed. My, uh…” I looked down at what I was wearing. “Pajamas aren’t really good clothes to go out in.” 

The wolf girl instantly brightened. “Really? Are you sure? C-can I wait inside?”

“Oh, sure,” I smiled at her and held the door open.

And that's Chapter 7.

Title song is Anthem by Leonard Cohen.

Now, I want to apologize for this chapter taking forever to come out. I took a short break to write another story, But Moth What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks about a lonely trans girl being found by a moth girl. It is very cute and very fluffy, and I'd love if you checked it out. After finishing that, I just kind of lost the spark for this story for a few weeks, and the opening scene here was just a slog for me to write. I finally pushed through and finished this chapter. I have a pretty clear plan for what next chapter will be, so hopefully I won't run into any more unexpected breaks. 

Once again, thanks to Telomere for her advice. 

And I really am sorry for the super long wait. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart to everyone who's been keeping up with the story so far. As always, I appreciate all feedback, comments, and critique that you're willing to give. 

E. Also, popping in like a week later to say that I messed with the tags more based on how the story's been shaping up. I originally opted not to have Girls Love as a genre for the story, because I wanted Jules to not be in a relationship for reasons that on reflection were pretty dumb. Considering she's been having good chemistry with Kain, I felt it was worth adding as a tag now. 

56