#that last conversation was So Hard i do not havea good grasp of either of their voices

[justletmeplayminecraft]

Yes hello hi this isn't Endyboys Content but I was suddenly hit with the idea of Joerassic Bark being a safe area for a Werewolf!Ren when he turns because Joe builds him a special place for when he's having a Bad Night but there's also the rest of the dogs for the months when the lycan fury just isn't there and he's just a big ol' puppy and can just chill with the other doggos

i think this goes to show how behind i am on requests jkhfds this is set in S7.

but enjoy a ficlet of joe investigating the mysterious wolf at his sanctuary.

Joe clocks the new wolf in the sanctuary immediately. Well, as immediate as one's first visit in the dead of night can be. To begin with, the wolf is uniquely colored brown like soul soil instead of the white of bones. Secondly, the wolf is about twice the size of the usual wolves Joe houses. But they still run around under the moonlight like all the other wolves - playing and rolling in the dirt - so Joe assumes nothing of it.

The wolf is gone by morning, leaving nothing but oversized pawprints.

Interesting.

It's not that he keeps an eye out for the misplaced wolf, but it's not that he doesn't, either. His focus is centred on other parts of the server, and he trusts the wolves to be self-sufficient enough not to worry about them. But he makes it a habit to drop in each night, watching his wolves laze around and gnaw at the bones, just in case. He is, after all, the dog catcher of the server. And that was a very big dog.

The next time he sees the wolf is another moonlit night.

They're bowing to one of Joe's wolves, tail wagging so fast it could blow away a redstone trail. The pair jump around, chasing each other between the ribs with echoing barks. Joe settles beside one of the pumpkins, pulling out his notepad. The scrape of his quill fills the night air beneath the yaps and howls.

Wolf is brown (does not appear to be dirt)

Wolf is larger than average

Full moon?

Very playful

No aggression towards other wolves

Between one stroke of ink to the next, the wolf has vanished. Joe looks up to see the brightening sky heralding the morning. He yawns, rubbing through his hair. At least he has a few leads to follow.

-

The next few days are filled with a lot of reading. Firstly, he looks into different variations of wolves. He manages to find information about modified wolves but no information about wolves like this existing in an unaltered world.

Which leads to his second investigation: the moon cycle. It doesn't take long for him to dig up a lunar calendar, tracing back to the night he first saw the wolf. If he's done his homework correctly, he believes it must have been another full moon night.

When the wolf appears for the third full moon in a row, that confirms it. Whatever Joe's dealing with appears to be a werewolf. Which means, unless somebody has snuck onto the server, he's looking at one of his fellow hermits. That certainly complicates a things a bit.

He considers messaging Xisuma, but the admin would be the last to know of a werewolf in their midst. And he has his doubts that the werewolf is open about it if Joe hasn't heard nothing. But the mystery wolf is clearly finding some comfort in Joe's sanctuary. Joe's research changes course, notes piling up.

Enjoy ample space for running about (sanctuary already works for this)

Packmates (seems to bond well with other wolves)

Source of food (Can leave some meat nearby next full moon. Do werewolves prefer raw or cooked? Wolves eat either)

Enrichment (toys seem to be the obvious answer here)

Somewhere safe and comfortable for difficult transformations

The last point is the one Joe has trouble with.

Nowhere seems to detail what a difficult transformation entails, only that they exist. He searches, failing to find accounts from other werewolves. And it's not like he can talk to the alleged hermit about it. So, Joe finds himself falling back into more human instincts.

He renovates one of the kennels, making it larger and spreading a soft carpet across half the floor. He fills the space with comfortable pillows and blankets, even makes sure there's a water source accessible! Then, he attaches gate. A werewolf should be strong enough to open it, whilst an ordinary wolf would struggle. After all, what does Joe want when he's sick but somewhere comfortable, where his needs are met and he has privacy?

Now he simply has to wait.

-

The werewolf appears during the next full moon, tail wagging. It doesn't take long for them to spot the meat Joe left out (on a surface higher than the normal wolves can reach, otherwise it wouldn't last more than a few minutes.) The wolf tilts their head, tail raised. When they look around, Joe doesn't bother to hide. He just raises a hand when those bright blue eyes land on him. The wolf stays frozen for a long few seconds. Then, they grab a steak off the top and trot back over to the other wolves. Joe lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He doesn't try to approach - not after that reaction. His curiousity can be set aside out of respect for his fellow hermits. So, Joe simply observes. And he continues to do so each full moon. He builds more equipment for the wolf to play with (being purposefully vague to Cleo when he asks for ideas), marks full moons on his calendar, makes frequent trips to collect whatever meat he can get his hands on.

It becomes a routine, one he enjoys. He stays up late to watch the werewolf play under the moonlight. The wolves themselves seem excited for the visit too; expectantly looking off into the distance as the full moon rises into the sky. Joe sleeps half of the next day and always (miraculously) wakes up feeling rested.

But, as with most routines, there comes a time where it gets interrupted.

The werewolf is late one full moon. Joe's wolves seem anxious, pacing the perimeter of the sanctuary, eeriely quiet. It unsettles Joe in the same way watching Cleo detach an arm does. He knows, logically, the werewolf is not his responsibility. And if he's correct, that the werewolf is one of the hermits, then that is still one of his friends.

Joe frowns, but he wouldn't know where to start looking. So, for now, he sits by the pumpkin he always does and tries not to fall asleep.

He would've thought the effort would be in vain without anything to watch (and he's fallen asleep with the entertainment of the werewolf a few times even still) but the anxiety in the air renders any attempt impossible. Perhaps it's like babies, and Joe finds it difficult to sleep with his wolves' distressed whines. It's a worthwhile hypothesis, if he finds time he could research that further. Either way, it means when the werewolf arrives, Joe is still awake.

Despite having no visible injuries, the wolf appears worse for wear. They move sluggishly, low on their front legs. Their paws are more dragged across the ground than lifted. When one of Joe's wolves approaches, the werewolf bears their teeth, ears flattened and tail between their legs. Joe likes to think he's become pretty knowledgeable about wolf behaviour and this wolf does not look happy. Joe taps his foot. He folds and unfolds his hands. And then he sighs, finally standing up.

The werewolf stumbles back, claws scraping the ground as Joe approaches. He holds his hands up, gently urging one of the wolves coming to investigate away.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Joe starts, and promptly realises he has no idea what to say. "I noticed you appear off-colour tonight, and as a patron of this fine sanctuary, I wanted you to know there's a comfortable kennel where the other wolves can't bother you that has your name on it." He pauses. "Not literally, of course. Unless you would like me to place a sign saying 'that big brown wolf'?" The werewolf doesn't move, blue eyes watching Joe warily. He's fairly certain he isn't breathing at all, if the tight, building pain in his lungs is any indication and he should do that, actually-

The werewolf takes an unsteady, lumbering step forward and it's about then Joe realises the wolf is about as tall as his torso. And that jaw could definitely fit around his arm.

The werewolf waits, watching. Oh.

"Right! After me, then."

To his relief, the werewolf follows him. The other wolves keep their distance as Joe leads them to the kennels; the one he set up. It hasn't been used until now, Joe flicking open the gate. The werewolf pads in, sniffing around the blankets.

"You should be able to open this gate yourself when you want," Joe tells them. "There's a water source there, I can bring the food over and-" The wolf cuts him off by flopping heavily into the pillows, nudging at the blanket as they get comfortable. Joe watches in awed silence until his brain finishes rebooting. "Right, I'll bring the food over and leave you alone for the night!"

When he returns, the werewolf has curled up comfortably amongst the pillows and blankets, nose facing the water source. Though their muscles are still tense, they seems far more relaxed than when they arrived at Joe's sanctuary. Joe slides the plate stacked with meat across, trying not to flinch when the wolf lurches forward to grab one.

"And I will leave you be!" Joe announces quickly. "I'll be nearby so you can-" He's interrupted by a whine. Joe frowns, squinting at the wolf. "I'm afraid I don't understand." They rub at the floor, staring at him. "Do you need anything? I have food, there's water here, I-" Joe yelps as the wolf reaches forward and... Very delicately grabs the fabric of Joe's jeans. They tug Joe closer.

Joe rests his chin on his hand.

"You want me to stay here with you?" He finally guesses. The wolf nods, releasing Joe for a little yap. That's... Okay. If this is a fellow hermit, Joe doubts they'll want to hurt him. If they aren't, he's sure he can deal with that after a very painful respawn.

He sits gingerly on the ground, trying not to invade too much of the wolf's space. A tricky job, it turns out, even with the increased kennel size. It seems his efforts are in vain when the wolf rolls over, wrapping themselves around Joe until they can stick their head in his lap.

"Oh," Joe whispers. His fingers stroke through the silky fur. "Oh. Alright."

They settle down together, curling close. Joe continues to pet the wolf's head, sighing. Despite his many nights spent awake, Joe finds it's a lot harder when a large animal is breathing slowly beside him. Joe sighs, sinking into the fur.

He wakes up blearily, feeling the ground beneath him shift. Something licks his head, Joe opening his eyes a crack at the sound of the gate opening. The shadow of the wolf blocks the doorway, the sky just beginning to brighten. Joe hums, curls back up, and returns to sleep.

-

Joe rushes downstairs at the sound of a knock. He shoves several stacks of wood into his inventory, trying to brush through his hair. He swings the door open, plastering on a big smile.

"Ren!" He greets. "What can I do for you on this fine day?" Ren manages a smile more fake looking than Joe's, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"I, uh," he ruffles the back of his hair, sending some of the strands loose. "Man, this is harder than I thought it would be."

Joe has no idea what this Ren might be referring to, but he offers an encouraging, "It's alright, take your time!" Ren bounces on his toes, taking a deep breath.

"I wanted to thank you for your help, uh, last night?" Last night... Oh!

"You're the werewolf!" Joe declares, before realising that's maybe not something he should say in such a surprised tone. Ren blinks, before he breaks into another nervous smile.

"Yeah, that'll be me." Ren laughs, ducking his head. It's more nervousness than Joe thinks he's ever seen on the man. Werewolf. Do werewolf still identify as men or do they- "I'm- I guess I should-"

"I'm not going to judge you for what you do and don't tell us," Joe interrupts, before Ren can apologise for something he doesn't need to. "I'm glad my sanctuary is serving its purpose." Ren's smile looks a bit more confident this time.

"I appreciate it. Truly." Ren tilts his head. "It was a... Pretty rough transformation last night. I wasn't sure if I'd even make it to your place, dude. And then it was just..." Ren sighs with quiet relief. "You really know how to make a diggity dog feel special."

-

"Good!" Joe claps his hands together. "Because I did a lot of research, but I couldn't find many first hand accounts, and secondary sources are always less reliable."

Ren laughs. For the first time, Joe notices the sharp canines hidden in his smile.

When Joe sees Ren, dog ears proudly on display, he smiles, and asks where Ren got his hair cut.