#when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright ✇ [v. werewolf]

[thebabysittertm]

@fierceathlete is back and isn't pulling her punches...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ❝ you’re just a big manbaby who’d rather act tough than show his real feelings. ❞

ㅤShe'd taken him off-guard, admittedly, so the only saving grace in hiding his surprise was the sunglasses and the other distractions associated with the stupid party that he was surprised she was even at. Meg Thomas wasn't actually someone he'd paid much attention to before this year, mostly because she was a jock (track, but nothing he did) who didn't really spend time with any of the jocks. Her house was out basically in the woods and she'd made it pretty clear over the years that she wasn't interested in partying or the usual shit that his idiot friends were into. That he'd been into for so long.

ㅤHe'd started talking to her just a little bit after he'd started dating Nancy, like Nancy was some strange gateway that opened up to allowing him new perspective and potential interaction with people that he wouldn't have talked to before. Some of them, it would have been social suicide to hang out with, but Nancy was just nice, and like Tommy called her, kind of a princess. She could talk to whoever, and it didn't really affect her social standing, like she was above their opinions - not like Steve. He'd never felt that kind of freedom, but maybe he should have started reaching out and broadening his social circles sooner, potential fallout be damned. The problem was that he'd been so lonely for so long that if he was suddenly dropped by the social circle he was used to, then what would he do?

ㅤNow, he didn't really care about that, but he was still trapped in the mess of it anyway. He had to maintain the expectations that had been wrapped around him lest anyone realize that anything too serious had happened to him after Halloween, but the act felt old and stale even without Meg Thomas calling him out to his face - fortunately without much of a crowd to take notice. The music was loud, everyone else was drunk, and he'd made the stupid mistake of brushing Meg off when she'd asked what the fuck was up with him - a few times at gradually increasing frustration levels. It wasn't like he could tell her anything, so he didn't really see what else he could have done, but the dismissive act was gone, at least.

ㅤ"Okay, shithead, what 'real feelings' am I supposed to be showing right here in a hallway surrounded by drunk people that makes me such a manbaby?" he asked, actually torn between annoyance and laughing. He couldn't even say she was wrong about not showing his real feelings, but the fact that she'd noticed was the unexpected part. He'd been phoning it in for awhile and nobody seemed to really care as long as he played the role.

[starsinshadows]

RPC Dev Tea Room ++ Winter Rush

Day 3 :: ice skating in the park when you see a figure sneaking off into the trees

     When Steve had gone from some popular jock kid without a care to being alert, aware of potential dangers in an environment and tired, he wasn't entirely sure, but he was willing to blame part of it on his 'babysitter' status and the rest on the very big change to his lifestyle that had come with the lycanthropy. Whatever it really was, it meant that the idea of the kids playing on the ice around the lake or even skating on it worried him more than he wanted to admit.      Somehow, he'd still agreed to take them and the afternoon had been a good time with no accidents involving children falling through the ice, there were two new snowmen standing guard by the lake edge, everyone had been pretty cold and drenched by the end of the day and there had been no more than 5 ice ball related snowball fight fouls. Steve himself had taken one of those particular hits to the shoulder and he wasn't sure exactly who had thrown it, considering he'd straightened up with a shout to try figuring out the culprit and immediately got hit in the face with another snowball - this time fortunately without the ice. He'd let it go with only a blanket warning to the group. No ice!      Yeah, like that worked. He was pretty sure Max packed one specifically for him right after, but he couldn't prove it and even Eddie had shouted from his spot on the other team when Steve got pelted with the thing. The bruise wouldn't last, but that had definitely been a great reason to call that particular game before someone ended up in the ER. Damn monster hunting kids were too ruthless for play fights.      Steve couldn't pretend that he wasn't worn out by the end and extremely grateful that there were parents picking up their respective kids, if only for the fact that his car was spared all of their wet clothes and the snow crusted boots that would have been dragged through the entire thing worse than they already did all winter. Theoretically, he could drive himself home and get a nice, hot shower before relaxing the rest of the night, and he should have been more tired, but he had about a week and a half before the next moon, so it felt nice to shed some excess energy. He wasn't sure how Eddie felt about it all, considering it sounded like the guy had been dragged into the day's activities by the combined efforts of Dustin, Mike and Lucas and it was probably more concentrated time outside than the guy had endured in at least a year, but he'd seemed to be high energy and spirits all day.      For not quite obvious reasons, Steve had actually been surprised by Eddie's presence. He'd seen the guy in school so he obviously knew Munson could come out during the day, but he hadn't been entirely sure and he still wasn't quite certain if the theory he and Robin had been cooking up had any merit. He knew Munson smelled off, that his body temperature didn't feel warm enough and that there was a scent of blood added onto his already confusing smell often. Vampire, Robin had guessed, and yeah, it seemed totally possible after fighting and being turned by werewolves, but Steve was still cautiously waiting to figure it out.      For that reason among others, he absolutely noticed that Eddie's van was still parked nearby and glanced around after shipping the last child off, apparently just in time to watch a dark figure disappear into the woods alongside the frozen lake that looked suspiciously like Eddie Munson. It was only natural to follow, and even on two legs, he was fast and quieter than was likely expected. It meant that he appeared about ten feet back from Eddie in time to watch a failed grab for a rabbit that darted away like a little furry rocket, and cleared his throat a little more loudly, just to be sure he was noticed before speaking.      "You, uh, need a hand?" he asked, making every effort possible to ignore the fact that Eddie had just taken a face full of more snow than even the kids had managed in the snowball fights that had broken out over the course of the day in a spectacular dive, and he wasn't so sure the bush that had been the rabbit's previous cover would survive any better than Munson's dignity.

@firelightfables​ can Eddie come out to play?

[quinceymorris-southerngentleman]

Quincey P. Morris: American Cowboy, Southern Gentleman, Explorer, Adventurer, Sailor, Vampire Hunter -- and Werewolf, at your service.

“ Your honesty and pluck have made me a friend, and that’s rarer than a lover. It’s more unselfish, anyhow. ” - Quincey P. Morris to Lucy Westenra in Dracula by Bram Stoker

_________________________

Independent Werewolf AU Roleplay and Askblog for Quincy P. Morris from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.

Novel-Based; Vampire Hunter; Werewolf AU

Sometimes low-activity

Non-selective and very open

Canon, crossovers, AUs, multi-muse, multiples and OC friendly

Multi-ship, multi-verse; ships with chemistry; no smut, use fade-to-black and mornings after/timeskip

Period and Modern-verses available

Dracula, Pre-Dracula and Post-Dracula eras available

Partially inspired by the Wolf Man

“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.”

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[thebabysittertm]

@godstrayed just can't help being an asshole...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤwhy don’t you invite me in for a few minutes so we can start over?

ㅤBilly Hargrove was a jackass.

ㅤThis was essentially an undisputed fact within the first week he'd been in Hawkins, and then a month later, it was just accepted by everyone in his orbit or forced to deal with him on a regular basis, Steve included. He had enough shit on his plate, considering like two days after their fight and then facing down a pack of werewolves with the Chief of Police, a psychic powerhouse of a little girl and a pile of kids, he'd realized the very awful truth: he'd been infected. Three days surrounding the full moon found him utterly wrecked with nobody to turn to for help with it, so he did the only thing he thought he could do.

ㅤHe pushed through and pretended everything was fine.

ㅤHis face healed up too quickly, but since he'd taken off basically the whole week between his actual injuries and the panic of that first full moon, it was hard for anyone to tell - except maybe Billy Hargrove himself, who knew what the damage had looked like. Steve had come back to school like nothing had happened, put on the act like he actually gave a shit about the social hierarchy that he'd been loosening his grip on before Nancy dumped him, and buckled down. Everything was fine, it would all be normal and nobody would ever have to suspect.

ㅤThe month passed with his façade firmly in place and he could almost forget that it was real until the week before the next moon, when he was restless and anxious, quick to temper and if that meant he leaned into Billy's competitiveness, what the hell was wrong with that? A lot, actually, because he didn't know how hard Hargrove had been watching him, or why. He also had no way of knowing how the longer nights of winter were probably the absolute worst to start this bullshit on and a hell of a lot of other shit that was honestly pretty vital to his survival, but he was learning quickly. Too bad it was messy.

ㅤIt was messy and he didn't know how, but he was pretty sure that Billy Hargrove knew he was one of the monsters now. The guy had seemed curious, a little amused, when he'd gotten back, but then came the week before the moon and he'd doubled down on his antagonism as Steve snapped back, and Steve was pretty sure it was the three days of the moon that really convinced him. Steve didn't stay home those days because he couldn't risk the school calling his dad, so he ended up in class on essentially no sleep outside of the naps he could score in short bursts - he spent all night running through the woods, chasing rabbits and bounding through the fresh snow that had fallen and frankly? It was nice in the moment. Everything else surrounding it sucked, but he didn't feel like a monster. He was just tired those days, and Hargrove was up his ass, which he just didn't have energy for. The week after, he was in too good of a mood and feeling too relaxed and easy to really take it too personally, though he was pretty sure the bastard was being a dick on purpose.

ㅤThen came the silver, and that was just that. He hid the sudden shock of bright hot pain quickly so that other people wouldn't notice, but Billy had the saint's medallion and he'd been watching. It had been intentional, which meant that they both knew that he was a monster, and they both knew each other knew. The jackassery only increased from there, and frankly? Steve had seen what werewolves were like, had fought for his life against them, so he got it. He didn't know how Billy Hargrove knew about them, but he assumed it wasn't good, so he tried to just give him space. He wasn't relinquishing his hold on the social scene or his act because it was protecting him, but he also wasn't interested in anything to do with Hargrove. That was just dangerous.

ㅤIt made his sudden appearance on the Harrington doorstep even more surprising, and Steve wasn't even sure why he'd opened the door, but he stood there for a moment, staring at him and trying to decide if this was going to end with one or both of them bleeding or dying. His eyes flicked down to the very visible silver medallion hanging against the other's chest with a little internal cringe, but he made eye contact again right after. If he didn't go for this, shit would keep going as it had been, and nothing about it was good, so 'starting over' sounded like a good plan. Could he trust Billy?

ㅤNo, obviously not, nothing suggested he could trust him, but he licked his lips a little nervously, fingers twisting on the doorknob before he released a long breath, nodding and glancing away to move out of the way of the other entering. "Yeah, yeah, okay, let's start over then. Come in."

[thebabysittertm]

@greenscrunchy always looks fabulous but there are concerns...

ㅤFamily Video was unbelievably dead all night, which did not help Steve's case that they should have more than one person on a closing shift (for his sanity, not for the business load), so the store was in surprisingly good shape and all of the returned vhs tapes had already been put together. He had a magazine, but he'd already skimmed through it twice, and even the movie he'd put on in store just wasn't holding his attention. He was better about watching movies with other people, in all fairness, but the point here was that he was bored and the night was dragging on.

ㅤThat wasn't to say that the store was empty, though. Chrissy Cunningham had come in not long ago, completely ignored him when he'd said hello and started towards her, and made a beeline toward the horror section. The interaction had been strange enough that he'd backed off to see what she did, but so far, there hadn't been anything all that exciting. She was just standing in the horror section, staring at the covers on the movies - not even picking them up to look at the backs.

ㅤIf that had been all, he might have just wandered over immediately anyway, but he'd caught a weird smell off of her when she'd blasted past him, and while he wasn't some expert nose just because he'd been a werewolf for less than a year without getting himself killed, he'd had a chance to pick up a few things. She smelled like she was scared, and not like her normal self. She wasn't smelly by human standards, but he could tell that she hadn't showered as recently as usual and hadn't bothered with the perfume he knew she liked.

ㅤWhat? They'd been in the same social circle for their entire lives, of course he knew what she smelled like. He still hung out with those people sometimes.

ㅤIt had him worried enough that he wanted to walk up right away, but he waited, watching her and the door - in case whatever had spooked her was still outside or came in after her. He expected a guy, maybe even her boyfriend, but fighting those werewolves and then becoming one had also opened up a lot of possibilities for weird shit. Giving it a few minutes to be sure wasn't ever a bad idea, in his experiences so far.

ㅤNothing happened.

ㅤOkay, well that could still change, but he wasn't waiting. She hadn't really moved and he couldn't see for sure, but he wasn't really convinced that she'd blinked since she started staring. He wandered up as casually as he was capable of, and despite too much time with a bunch of nerdy kids lightening him up, he was still pretty capable of being smooth. stepping up beside her to check out the movies she was looking at - monster flicks, mostly. Not the best sign, if he was the paranoid sort.

ㅤ"Didn't think you were into these kinds of movies, Chris," he observed, glancing sideways at her and the closer look wasn't helping his guesses about the situation. She didn't look great, so something was definitely wrong, and his eyebrows pinched together. "You okay? How long has it been since you slept?"

ㅤAgain, he glanced up towards the door, scanning the huge plate glass windows in case something was lurking around out there, then back to her. Why was she checking out horror movies, though? "Chrissy?"

[thebabysittertm]

@ripcreel is a little too intuitive...

ㅤㅤㅤ❛  i know you feel like giving up right now, but it's not gonna solve any of your problems.   ❜

ㅤThe high school didn't butt up right against the woods, but it was close enough that someone who was leaving the building alone (for a change, and a fantastic one, he thought) could stop and appreciate a little peace if they took the door opposite the parking lot and walked around the building. He'd promised out a few rides after extra-curricular activities, so he didn't really have anywhere to go and why shouldn't he take a minute to himself?

ㅤThe breeze coming out of the woods felt like a soothing balm on the constant irritation that was his life most days lately, and he knew part of that was because there was a full moon on the way and that apparently always made him anxious and restless, but that wasn't all of it and he knew it. The social hierarchy was exhausting here with its requirements on his time and attention, all just to make sure nobody noticed that King Steve suddenly didn't give a shit about everything in his life anymore and wonder why that was. He was holding the line and keeping the act going, even if it was wearing on him, to an extent that even his parents might have been impressed if they could have ever understood what he was dealing with - a fact that didn't help how he felt about it, either. He no longer ever wanted to impress either of them, and the childish part of himself that still wished he could earn their love just made him angry and sad.

ㅤAll of these were human concerns, though. Human, complicated and unfortunately necessary as he stood at the edge of the school staring into the trees and breathing in what felt like freedom to him. It would have been so easy to just walk out into the forest, shed everything that bogged him down and just disappear.

ㅤIt wasn't the first time the thought and bone-deep desire had struck him, and not even the first time it had happened in school-related company, but it was certainly the first time that he was somehow so deeply sunk into the draw of the trees that he hadn't heard someone coming up on him. His ears and nose were so much better than they'd been before, so it was a lot harder to accomplish - he didn't necessarily flinch at the unexpected voice, but he straightened a bit, tension strumming through him with a wash of a chill as it hit him what had been said. He glanced back over his shoulder before turning full-body to put his back to the woods, like that might dismiss the notion altogether, a laugh escaping his throat like it could dismiss the relevance of what Henry had just said.

ㅤ"No, pretty sure that's the kind of thing that would just make problems worse," he admitted, giving a casual shrug like it was nothing, putting the crown back on and flicking the switch for the charm once more. It was foolish to have slipped so badly, not that he could have guessed that someone who also wasn't 'normal' would have been the one to come upon him there. He'd very casually kept his distance from both Henry and Eleven since the wolves for this very reason. Henry knowing about the things they'd seen made it easier to put more effort, and a little more truth even if it was twisted, into the facade. "Not volunteering to run into anything that lives in those woods, anyway. You know you're really quiet? Like, give a guy a heart attack quiet. How've you been since uh, everything?"

[thebabysittertm]

tag dump

✇

[starsinshadows]

@greenscrunchy​ gets a starter cause I said so...

     The early December weather in Indiana should have made the idea of an outdoor party unacceptable, but with a bonfire going and enough alcohol, most of the teenagers present had only bothered with sweatshirts and body heat to supplement despite the snow on the ground outside of the fire’s heat. Steve had given up his coat to the “flavor of the week” – a pretty girl named Becky that he would actually probably date for a month or so, possibly through Christmas if she continued to not ask questions and stayed content to just be casual and have fun. She was currently laughing with some of her friends on the other side of the fire, beers in hand, and probably gossiping about their boyfriends or some poor kid that wasn’t popular and didn’t deserve the bullshit.      He leaned back on the lawn chair someone had brought out, looking sprawled and comfortable as he sipped at his beer like the King he was supposed to be, and he put on the smiles, shot back insults and sharp jokes as was required of him whenever the attention landed on him. Becky had come over fifteen minutes before to sit across his lap and make out, probably to show off to someone, but she’d gone back to her friends for the time being. He was her ride, so she’d make her way back to him before the end of the night, and she’d make sure she had a story to tell them all in the morning, he was sure.      He didn’t care. At least, that was what he told himself, and it was mostly true even if not in the way that he wanted it to be. He didn’t care about any of this, and it showed in brief, quiet moments when he stared at the fire and the exhaustion that he tried to keep hidden eased out at the edges of his being and the strange little streaks of gray that were appearing in his hair caught the firelight. Few people dared mention it, not willing to have Tommy H, Carol or half a dozen other people turn on them, but the kids had also noticed and Nancy had asked if he was sleeping at all. Only Robin knew and she’d passed on this particular gathering – not that he could blame her. He was ‘holding court’, so to speak, but he wasn’t interested in any of it and hadn’t been for awhile. Part of him wished he could just wander off into the woods and leave the circus behind, but that was the whole point of the charade to begin with; he had to hide the fact that he didn’t belong here anymore.

[starsinshadows]

@greenscrunchy​ should know that the feels are basically the jugular here and that’s kind of bad manners...            ❝ we’ve all had bad days. but we learn. and we stick together. ❞ ( steve! )

     He wasn’t quite sure where that came from other than Chrissy breaking what had seemed like a heavy, but almost comfortable silence. He’d assumed she was just tipsy and zoning out, which was fair and he’d had his share of evenings like that before the wolf mess. Now, there wasn’t much a high school party could offer to really get to him, not so far, but he wasn’t letting that on to anyone. It was why the comment took him so off-guard. She was looking at him from the passenger seat, and he flicked his glance over to her before back to the road. “You believe that? Not sure I think any of those assholes back there would give half a fuck if one of us died. They’re in it for the good days, not the bad ones. It’s all bullshit.”

[thebabysittertm]

Day Nine: a quiet night, the only sound being the call of coyotes/wolves in the woods

ㅤㅤㅤㅤsummoned especially for @nancewheelr

ㅤHawkins on a full moon was a lot more dangerous than most of its residents seemed to understand, but those that did took it very seriously in that 'if you know, you know' kind of way that was even more secretive than the typical small town bullshit. Chief Hopper knew, Joyce Byers knew, a pile of kids and a few teenagers, but that was it unless Steve believed the stories about some lab that Hop and Mrs. Byers said were running experiments on monsters, possibly even creating them. To hear the kids talk about all the 'old legends', Steve was pretty sure that the lab wasn't inventing anything new, but given his own condition lately, it was in his best interest to take the rumors as seriously as the rest of it.

ㅤIt was in his interest because as of last November, Steve was one of the bloodthirsty monsters, though maybe he was light on the 'bloodthirsty' part unless you asked the local rabbits. He was hell on rabbits, and that was not a source of pride, but there were a lot of them, they were fast enough to be a fun chase and they were both big enough to be a good snack for a wolf while being small enough to go unnoticed. Hunters, and more specifically Hopper and the 'Monster Squad' of kids who had somehow figured out werewolves and other monsters previously, would notice if deer were being brought down by a lone animal and only partially eaten, and Steve didn't need that. He also hated the idea of killing a deer that he couldn't possibly eat, though the actual killing was something he tried not to think about much to begin with.

ㅤIf there was one thing that he'd learned from his parents about coping with stressful situations, it was to do his best to maintain appearances and keep moving forward, which didn't exactly give him a lot of time to process what was happening in the moment, but at least it made him efficient. He could freak out about coming back to himself with blood on his skin and in his hair or fur in his teeth when he had time for it, which he could admit had happened a few times over the last few months, but he was falling into a rhythm with the whole thing finally. It wasn't a good time and he felt totally out of touch with himself as a wolf - or maybe just finally able to let go of the unnecessary clutter of being human, which was a thought that was intruding more and more often, but he was growing more confident that if given any option at all, he'd run rather than hurt a person. That was important.

ㅤThat was also what made it alarming coming back to his home through the underbrush of the woods behind his house to the smell of a human, specifically one that had been outside, by the pool house. He'd left the door ajar when he'd gone in there to change shapes earlier the night before, so it was no issue for a wolf to nose his way back into the building for a little bit of cover as the first threat of dawn started on the edge of the horizon and his muscles quivered under the thick fur he wore, but the scent was stronger inside the little building. He froze, golden amber eyes locking on the human girl staring wide-eyed at him from the other side of the room near where he'd left a pile of clothes and an anticipatory shiver running through him with that edge of pain that said the shift was coming whether he liked it or not, but he couldn't stay. This was dangerous.

ㅤThe problem was that he didn't have time to go, either. Dawn was there, the moon fleeing before the sun's light, and he moved to dart for the door again in a last ditch effort to escape her view, but he was struck with agony like a lightning bolt through him and his front feet went out from under him. Conscious thought was not something he kept a good hold on as muscles tore and bones twisted screams from his throat that changed in sound from animal to human, but there was one thing he heard on repeat and probably would hold in his mind for a long time after.

ㅤ"No, no, no, no, no."

ㅤHer voice, her eyes locked on him, and it was only as he neared humanity again that the name returned to him with the full weight of the horror - Nancy. He suffered for only a few moments before he'd shed the wildness of forest and fur for the boy she'd known, but he wasn't sure that his eyes were entirely his when he first looked up at her, terrified and pleading with her not to freak out, even if silently. The amber faded back into the warm hazel brown she knew so well, and the only signs that anything had happened at all were the lack of clothes, the sweat, dirt and a bit of blood.

ㅤ"Nancy, wait, I can explain," he started quickly, voice rough from the experience he'd just endured, but undeniably his.

[thebabysittertm]

@knowseverythingaboutyou is extra rude today...

❝i know it comes easy, but try not to play dumb with me.❞

ㅤOkay, so she was pissed.

ㅤThat much was pretty clear because while Maria had no problem roasting him just like most of the people in his life for his intelligence and the fact that he was surrounded by geniuses all the time, she didn't usually do it when shit was hitting the fan. Maybe he was misreading this situation, but he was dirty, bloody and picking his way through the woods when he ran into her, and he was pretty sure that counted as some kind of shit hitting a fan. Question was, how did he proceed, if 'playing dumb' wasn't working?

ㅤ"Is there an answer you're looking for?" he asked more carefully, watching her for a reaction and hoping he came off more 'exhausted teen' and less 'cautious animal' because both of them were in his brain and he knew damn well that one was safer than the other. "Cause I'm tired, I'm lost and I'm pretty sure there are monsters in these woods like right now, so I kind of want to leave. If that's okay."

ㅤNevermind that he wasn't lost and he was technically one of the monsters in the woods, even if he meant nobody any harm and he was more likely to run away from people whenever he could. This was that other wolf's fault and he was fairly certain the other had run off or he wouldn't be here like this, but he'd honestly hoped to get home before he ran into anyone. At least he was dressed, or there'd have been absolutely nothing he could say to Maria right then.

[starsinshadows]

Steve Harrington

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