"Ok ok mom. I'll take Grans' meds over to her today. " I walked out the door, heading down the winding forest path.
"Stay safe Red! The hunters are out around this time, please be cautious." My mom hollered back as I was starting down the path. I sighed, watching her close the door while walking backwards. Once I saw the door close, I bolted down the oh-so-familiar trail, Grans' basket with her medication and some food flopping against my arm.
"Hey uh- excuse me-" I stopped, a small voice coming from the bushes a few paces behind me. I walked back, stopping in front of a rustling bush.
"Yeah kid?" I responded, starting to move some branches out of the way, before seeing someone leap out of it, into my arms. "Holy shit, kid. You do realize I'm a stranger, right?" I asked, looking down at the being in my arms. She didn't seem much younger than me- maybe a year or two younger?
"You smell like them- can I stay with you for a bit, please?" She looked up, her face covered in scratches and bruises, some bleeding, some covered in dried blood. I put my hand up to their hair, patting it a few times before lightly pushing her off.
"Sure. I'm Red, and I use any pronouns. What about you?" I looked at her curiously, one hand still resting on their hair lightly, the other going through my basket for the first aid I packed.
"Uh- I'm, I'm Neptune. I use he/they pronouns." Neptune looked up at me, his eyes watering slightly.
"Alright Neptune, here-" I pulled out a few bandages, handing some to him. "Patch up whatever you can get of your face, and I'll do the rest."373Please respect copyright.PENANAEOIsn5V5IL
"Okay." They nodded, taking the bandages from my hand, and began putting some on his face.
Once finished, we both started walking and talking. Something popped to mind, the 'smell like them' thing.
"Hey, Neptune. Can I ask you something?" I cocked my head slightly, looking at Neptune with some curiosity.
"Go ahead, Red." They looked up at me momentarily, before facing their head to the ground, fidgeting with their hands.
"What'd you mean by 'You smell like them"? Just curious." I brought my head back up, facing the trail.
"Oh- wolf smell. Werewolf. You smell strongly of it." He kept his face down, watching my feet to know where we're going.
'Ooohhhh...' A flood of realization hit me. Fuck- only Mom and our cat, Fluffers, knew. I sighed, stopping and facing him. "Well damn- I didn't think I'd be figured out that quickly." I giggled. 'Shiiiiiiiiiitttttt...... I forgot about last night.' I sobbed internally, forgetting that I needed to shower before heading out.
"It's fine." He turned around, stopping next to me. "I'm one too. No need to worry." He patted my shoulder, before going down the trail a bit further. "You coming?"373Please respect copyright.PENANAQiVRzamKGX
"Yep- just give me a sec." I picked up the basket, putting it further on my shoulder, before catching up with Neptune.
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[Insert the epic, awesome, awe-amazing time skip]
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"And we're here. Can you step to the side real quickly, Neptune? Maybe pick some flowers." I turned towards them, back facing the small wooden cottage. 'Jesus Gran.. why do you have to live so far from us?'
"Yeah, sure!" He gave a thumbs up, before heading to the side trail with plenty of flowers.
I walked towards the door, knocking hard on the slightly moldy wooden door. I waited a few minutes, before hearing the oh-so-familiar "Come in!" I walked in, Gran sitting on her bed. "I brought you your medication and some food."
"Thank you dear.." She sat up slowly, before grabbing her glasses and smiling lightly. I walked over to her, putting her medication on her nightstand. "Now, can I tell you something I found?"373Please respect copyright.PENANABn12JkBdzt
"Sure, Gran." I sat down next to her. 'God, please don't let it be some stupid spiel on how lgbtqia+ is bad or how werewolves are a danger to the human race.'
"Well kid, let me tell you how tr4nn13s are ruining our kids-"
At that moment in time, I could feel myself grow steamy hot with rage. My face flushed a dark mahogany, and everything after that seemed like a blurred and scratched out VS tape. Next thing I knew, I was a wolf. About 6'2, maybe a bit more, very fuzzy with fur covering as much as I could see. I looked around the room, seeing a bit of blood and gray hair. 'Oh fuck- I did not just eat he-' A knock to the door brought me back to reality.
"Hey, Red- can I come in?" Neptune asked, probably holding a good amount of flowers. Just then, I thought of a nice prank to pull on my new friend. Any remaining clothes my grandma had worn, I hurried to toss on, then leaped under her covers. "Come in dear child." I tried croaking out, doing my best mimicking her voice. Neptune walked in, and eyed me slightly. Hopefully they hadn't caught on yet.
"Hey uh- Red's grandma, why are you eyes so big and such a firey shade of amber?" He questioned, still holding onto his pick of flowers.
"Oh, to see you better dear child. And these, these are how my eyes have gotten over the years. Such a shame, they used to be a beautiful golden color." I responded, snickering mentally. This would be wonderful.
"I see... Red's grandma, why are you so hairy?" Neptune cocked their head slightly, looking at me with question spread across their face.
"Oh, dear child. I'm too old to bend over and shave. My knees and arms are too weak to bend over without hurting." 'I mean, she did have trouble shaving and showering.'
"Ok.. one final question. Why are your teeth so big?" Neptune took a step closer, seeming to want to inspect me and my answer.
"Why dear child... all the better to...." I stood up, towering over him, before continuing. "Support you for who you are! And remove those who don't approve from this forest." I gave Neptune a hug, feeling them hug back.
He laughed, while saying, "Hey Red, you might wanna go back to human form. There are hunters around here, y'know." 373Please respect copyright.PENANA6NP5ds4rik
"Fuck, right." I let myself change back, feeling calmer than I originally had. Grabbing any spare garments that fell off, I set them back on before grabbing the basket again and pulling out a ham sandwich. "Want some?"373Please respect copyright.PENANA6kEoZyJMSQ
"Sure-" They grabbed the sandwich, eating it in a matter of minutes while I collected myself again. Once he finished, I suggested to start heading back.
"Yeah, we should. Lemme grab my flowers though." Neptune grabbed his flowers, before heading back to the outside. We laughed and talked the entire way back, just enjoying ourselves and having fun with the company of a new friend.
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HAHAHAHAAA ITS DONE AND REVISED *sobs*
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