Surreptitious

Chapter 10: "You Smell Like A Wolf" Part II

A/N – My apologies for the psychology lesson in here, but I hate loose ends and unexplained phenomena, so it was the best way I could think of to explain stuff!

(…)

"Ya know, most people would run the other way when they see a wolf." Hope smirked at Josie.

The two girls were seated bundled up against each other on a bench in the old mill, talking easily and catching up. Hope remained wrapped up in her blanket, not having bothered to find a set of clothes to re-dress herself after transforming back into her human form. Josie was happy to lightly shawl one arm around Hope's back over the fluffy material. It reminded her of the softness of Hope's fur between her fingers.

"But it wasn't just any wolf. It was you." Josie answered in turn, her gaze soft as it was cast on Hope. She could see every luminescent speck encircling the iris of the other girl's eyes and felt like she could spend an eternity counting each and every one of them.

"And you're not scared of my wolf at all?" Hope frowned, yet there was a curious smile on her lips as she looked back at the younger girl. She felt…touched, somehow. She couldn't quite explain it, but somewhere deep in her chest it meant the world to her that Josie held no fear or any other ill feelings towards her wolf. It was just so easy and so often that werewolves were labelled in a negative light and described as aggressive monsters.

"Should I be?" Josie shook her head, almost incredulously, then added in question, "Why would I be?" Something nagged at the back of Josie's head. She was confused, and rightfully so, as she thought. It was Hope's wolf that initiated the bond between them, and made it official. Why on earth would there be any sort of aggression from the wolf that Josie would need to be fearful of? This seemed strange, to say the least.

Hope shrugged and shook her head almost imperceptibly. "I try to stay away from everyone. I can't always control my wolf." She then averted her gaze and chuckled, but the sound was more bitter than humored. "I almost killed Landon when I came across him in wolf form. Besides you and my dad, he's the only other one who has seen my wolf."

The elephant in the room was utterly imposing in that moment.

Landon.

"Hope, I…" Josie started, but Hope quickly shook her head and wiped away the moisture that had started to accumulate in her eyes.

"I knew he was gone, you know? I don't quite know how or why… but when I woke up, I just knew." Hope uttered the words softly and with confusion.

Josie was very well aware of how Hope knew. She had told her while she was sleeping. It was that revelation to an unconscious Hope that caused her subconscious wolf-self to disappear in the forest of Josie's mind for nearly a week. That whole week she had felt like dying due to Hope's complete absence. But she knew Hope was grieving and that she had to do so. Now it seemed like it had helped, as Hope was more composed when speaking about her deceased love.

The fact that Hope was not aware of any of this at all, however, once again bothered Josie. There was something disturbing mixed into the vibrations of the air around them that the witch just could not quite place her finger on, but it was starting to make her heart drop slowly.

"Can I ask you something?" Josie finally spoke again after a small eternity in silence where they both simply stared into the trees in thought, the sun slowly setting behind them. Hope slowly came back from her reverie and turned her gaze back to her companion, nodding. "What is it like when you're in your wolf form?"

Hope paused and looked down at the ground, clearly searching for the right words to try and accurately depict what it was like to be a wolf. "Well… It's amazing." She sighed happily. That would always be her first description. "It's so liberating. It feels like there are no chains, literal or metaphorical, in the world that are strong enough to hold me back – to chain down my spirit." A broad smile crept across her lips as she spoke and Josie couldn't help but follow the beautifully curved lines as they stretched further, enthralled by their exquisiteness. "It is like the deepest part of my soul is set free to just… be everywhere at once." Hope giggled, seemingly giddy as she relived the feeling in her memory. "Does that even make sense?" She asked when she refocused on Josie, seemingly amused.