Wolf Meets Wolf

Who: Grayson and Jessalyn
When: Morning
Where: Lakeshore near the woods

Jessalyn hadn't been able to sleep much after she had gotten home from her date with Madock. As hard as she tried not to think about the stuff they had talked about, it was hard not to. It was a confusing situation, but not one she wanted to give up on. She liked him too much to do that, and really, she was still hoping there was a loophole. So to get her mind off of things, Jessalyn got up early and left the house to make her way toward the lakeshore. Since she walked, it took her a bit longer than normal to get there, but once she was, she headed directly into the trees to find a good place to set her clothes.

Stripping, Jessalyn folded her skirt and sweater and set them down before shifting. It felt good and freeing and the moment she was in wolf form, she took off through the trees to the clearing. She loved running along the lakeshore, and sometimes through the water, even in the winter. There was hardly anyone ever there, so she never worried about scaring people, or drawing hunters. Jessalyn hit the sand and slowed herself once she got to the water's edge. She was feeling better already.

So far his time in Marquette hadn't been too traumatising, in fact it had been relatively peaceful. He might have made a shaky first impression with Sophie, but other than that, things had actually gone pretty well so far. But Grayson was a realist rather than an optimist of any calibre, and much preferred to take things as they came, perhaps even with a pinch of salt, and he knew better than to get his hopes up. Still, even with the possibility of something going wrong, and the warning of hunters, he still made sure to allow himself the time to stretch his legs. All four of them.

His dark pelt drew in the heat, keeping him warm and insultated against whatever chill was beyond that protective layer of fur, and he loped along comfortably at an easy, almost lazy pace, tongue lolling as he went. He had stated out running, going as fast as his legs would permit until they burned in protest and then he had let up and dropped into that easy trot that wolves could maintain for miles at a time. It was the smell of the water than had drawn him towards the lake, and when he emerged from the cover of the foliage, he gave his coat a full shake and stretched his legs back and forth, rocking the weight of his muscular body and feeling the joints pop and his vertebrae crack. Damn, that felt good. It was as he straightened up that he noticed the other wolf, his posture becoming still, almost like a statue, as he watched them.

Jessalyn noted the wolf and stared at it for a few moments. She was tense, wondering what kind of wolf it was... whether it would try to attack her, or leave her be. She wished Ransom was there with her, but she knew she could run fast if she needed to. Still, she was curious... Jessalyn began to trot toward the other wolf, remaining cautious as she did so. She would know soon enough whether or not it was threatening to her. But she rarely saw other wolves along the lakeshore and she didn't want to turn tail and run if she didn't have to.

Well this was new. Strange wolves didn't often trot up to one another, and it was that fact that led him to believe this was no wild, common wolf. No, this was a wolf of the were variety, and despite himself, he felt his curiosity peak, his head stretching forward to catch her scent as she got closer, but pulling it back after that in order to keep from seeming intrusive or just plain weird. His posture wasn't aggressive, he didn't view her as a threat, not when the two of them were compared physically; he was much larger, making him wonder if she was young, or just small in stature.

He wasn't running from her! That was a good sign. And he definitely didn't look threatened, or threatening. Jessalyn found herself several feet from him before she stopped, gave the other wolf one more glance over, and closed the distance between them to sniff at his neck. He was definitely a were... and if they had been in their human forms, Jessalyn probably would have stuck her nose against his neck anyway. He smelled lovely... very masculine, which made her wonder if he was the alpha in his pack.

It took more than the sight of another wolf to make Grayson Saunders turn tail and run the other way. Honestly, with his mind-numbing stubbornness, he would stand and hold his ground with a whole pack of other wolves making the charge in his direction. There was a fine line between defiance and idiocy, and Grayson toed it almost constantly. Remaining still and with a confident, dominant posture while she sniffed his neck showed the other wolf that he wasn't threatened by her, rather curious, and her instincts -- ignorant as he was to the thoughts running through her mind -- weren't far off at all. Grayson had been the leader of a pack, and no doubt still carried most of the traits inherent in the wolves who held such titles. When she had taken her fill of the scent thick in his ruff, he returned the favour, burying his nose in the fur around the back of her neck.

Jessalyn probably would have giggled had she been in her human form. Rarely did someone else sniff her. But she didn't back away or anything, and instead let him get her scent since he had been nice enough to let her get his. She wanted to know who he was! Where he came from, where his pack was... Was he new to town? Or had he been here this whole time and she just hadn't known it? Would he be willing to shift into his human form to talk to her?

Jessalyn whined a touch in her throat before nudging at him with her muzzle before she turned away and began to run back down the lakeshore, the way she had come. Hopefully he wouldn't leave! Or he would get that she was returning to her clothes. It was okay though, if she came back and he was gone, she would just track his scent down.

It wasn't normally acceptable to sniff the other person in any kind of first meeting situation, but Grayson was a wolf very much in tune with that animal side, and it liked to have all the information, it liked to get that distinct, unique scent and lock it away in its brain for future reference, if and when it was needed again. Maybe that was because he had been born into a big pack and gone on to lead it, or maybe it was just who he was deep down. Whatever the case, it wasn't like he was the kind to fight his nature. Never had been, never would be.

That whine had him lifting his nose from the scruff of her neck, not because he thought he'd harmed or spooked her in any way, but because she was essentially 'talking' to him and giving her his attention was just polite. She nudged him and had he been in human form, he might have smiled. It was safe to say that she was very different from the other wolves he had met in the last few years. It was refreshing. As she rushed off, he watched her go, and connected all the dots. She was going for her clothes and then she would be back, and so, he would do the same. With a flick of his tail, he turned and ran back the way he had come.

She was in a hurry once she reached her clothes, and shifting back into her human form, she shivered at the cool air hitting her body. Jessalyn dressed quickly, putting her sweater on backwards twice before she managed to look presentable. Her hair was a crazy, blond mess, but she wasn't too concerned with that right now. Jessalyn reached down to slip on her shoes, hopping toward the clearing of the trees to return to where she had come from. She hoped that he would be there, because wow! Another born werewolf in Marquette. She couldn't wait to tell Ransom.

Walking down to the beach again, she kept her eyes open for him. She could still smell him, so she knew he was nearby... hopefully he wouldn't be too afraid to come out and meet her human to human.

It didn't take long for Grayson to find where he had stashed his clothes, tucking them under a bush out of the way should someone happen upon the small clearing he had chosen to use for his transformation. From there, he made his way back along his own trail, walking over the paw prints more out of coincidence than any kind of forward planning; they would at least look scattered and smudged now and not wholly identifiable. When he reached the lake again, he could already tell that the other wolf was waiting, he could smell her even before he cleared the trees again.

Sure enough, when he stepped free of the foliage, there she was, and he walked towards her with a casual kind of ease, no aggression or wariness in his stride. If she'd meant him any harm, she would have gone for his throat in wolf form.

Jessalyn's eyes snapped to the guy when he came into view. She smiled, not at all thinking she should be cautious. He hadn't seemed dangerous or threatening, so she walked toward him, ignoring the bits of sand that got into her shoes. "I'm Jessalyn," she said, once he was close enough to her. "I've never seen you before."

Wolves could read body language than any other animal, it had to be said. That was Grayson's honest opinion at least, regardless of the fact that he was more than a little biased. They relied on it too much to be anything less than experts at the end of the day. "Grayson," he returned with a smile on his face. "I've only been in town a few days." Which would, obviously, explain why she hadn't seen him before.

"Oh! Well, then welcome to Marquette I guess." She couldn't help but study him up close now. She was just excited that there was a new werewolf in town when she was so used to her own pack! Even in this form, Jessalyn found herself wanting to smell him. "Did you move here with your family?"

"Thanks." Unless he was remembering it wrong, she was the first person to say those words to him, and he appreciated it. While he hadn't been looking for a welcome wagon, it was nice to hear the words, regardless of the source. The fact that they were coming from another wolf was a bonus. "Uh, no, I came alone." His smile had faltered only for a fraction of a second, and then he pulled it back so as not to unsettle her, or make her think she had accidentally said the wrong thing.

"Alone?" That confused Jess for a second, since she couldn't imagine going somewhere without her family or pack. She tugged a bit at the hem of her zip up sweater as she tried to work through that bit of information. "Are you here visiting? I'm sorry I'm being nosy, I just haven't met another born werewolf in this town, other than the ones I grew up around..." Cursed werewolves were all over the place these days it seemed.

He didn't mind her asking questions, and he hoped his lazy, slightly crooked smile showed as much. Honestly, he was already wondering if it was possible for anyone to get aggressive or annoyed with someone like Jessalyn. In fact, the wolf in him already wanted to protect her, which was just plain odd, considering he didn't really know her and she certainly wasn't pack. "It's fine, don't worry. And I've been alone for a while, I just moved here. I thought I'd try and settle down for a while."

That meant he didn't have a pack, didn't it? If he had been alone for awhile? Which also meant he either lost his pack, or he was run out. Which made her feel awful for him and want to immediately embrace him into her pack, even though it wasn't her right to do so. Jessalyn frowned, though the rare expression was brief. "It's a good place to settle down in. I think you'll meet a lot of nice people too." And maybe he would find a new pack! She knew he had to be lonely. "My dad, he's a professor at the college... if you ever like, have questions or something." It was her own way of saying he was a werewolf, like Jessalyn, and could probably help him if he needed it.

Though he didn't make it obvious, he appreciated that she didn't make any kind of comment or remark in regards to his situation. Sophie had been very delicate in the way she had addressed it and hadn't lingered on the subject, and she had just been involved with a werewolf, not one herself. Jessalyn obviously understood better than any human could, even ones with ties to the lycanthrope community. Obviously she was a born werewolf, and he got the hint when she mentioned her father, and he nodded his head to show that he got what she was trying to tell him, that smile still on his face. "I'll keep that in mind. It must be interesting having a professor for a dad."

"It is, I guess. It means I'll at least pass history class in school," Jessalyn said with a bright smile. "He's really great at helping with the homework, although sometimes he sort of takes over and does it for me... he's even corrected my teacher's notes a few times. We're the only two in my family," she explained. "I mean, I have a sister, and brother, and my mom's going to have twins next year, but so far I've been the only kid born a lycanthrope." Jessalyn realized she was rambling along, so she paused and slipped her hands into her pockets with another smile. "Where are you from?"

He figured out before she reached that point in her explanation that she meant only she and her father were lycanthropes. That was interesting to him, someone who had been born into a purely werewolf family, in a whole pack of purely werewolf families. The lines had remained that way for years before the pack had scattered and fallen, and Grayson allowed himself a brief, nostalgic moment before he gave her another smile to show he didn't mind her rambling and answered her question, "Denver, Colorado. Were you born here?"

"I was! I've lived here all my life... so far." And she wasn't sure she would ever leave, even if she might want to someday. Without really thinking, she stepped forward to smell the front of his shirt, wanting to memorize his human scent along with the other. "Did you like Colorado?" she asked, as if she weren't doing anything strange. "I've heard it snows pretty bad there."

She really was unbelievably endearing, and Grayson found he was hard-pressed to think of another wolf who had so quickly won him over in the past. The fact that Jessalyn had gone a long way towards doing that while in wolf form spoke volumes, at least for him. Grayson didn't even blink when she sniffed at his shirt; neither side of him saw it as particularly odd or peculiar. Besides, it wasn't as if they were in a crowded public place. "I did. And you heard right. I lived at the foot of the Rockies, basically, so there was a lot of snow there."

"That must have been fun," Jess said, grinning as she stepped back again. "Having the mountains to explore! And all that snow to run through! Marquette gets pretty bad in the winter... it's suppose to snow again in a day or so, but I never mind it." She really just liked to play in it and roll around in it... even if she was cold and soaking wet by the time she got home. "There's a lot of fun places to explore here though, places that not a lot of people go, but if you ever want me to like, show you around! I can totally do that." Showing another wolf around, an older, alpha one if she was reading him correctly, would definitely be something she would jump at.

It had been fun. When Grayson had been young, he and his brothers had gone running in the mountains often and spent most of their free time up there adventuring and exploring, getting into all kinds of trouble, the kind only kids could get into. "Well I like the snow, so it won't bother me too much." He smiled. Snow reminded him of home and when things had been comfortable and right in Denver with the pack. Not that he was the type to get overly nostalgic, but he had his moments like everyone else. "That'd be great, thanks." Having someone like Jessalyn show him around would be a nice change of pace; everyone else he had met so far had been so serious, or at least much more... mature. It would be nice to socialise with another wolf who wanted to really embrace life.

"Awesome!" Jessalyn beamed and found she couldn't wait to tell Ransom about the new werewolf she'd met. "Do you live nearby? I had to drive here, but it's not that bad of a walk when it's nice outside... I mean, like, if you need a ride home or anything. Unless you plan on staying longer, than I guess you wouldn't need one at all." It was still polite to ask, right?

"Uh, it's walking distance. But that's not saying much for a werewolf, is it?" Their definition of 'walking distance' wasn't always the same as that of humans, to say the least. Obviously Jessalyn had been raised with manners, which Grayson could appreciate. He'd grown up in a house with five brothers, and while it had rarely been quiet, it had at least been moderately polite. "But too much exercise is bad for you, I heard. Thanks." That was his laidback way of accepting her offer.

"Oh! Good." She smiled, realizing she hadn't expected him to actually say yes! Not that she minded, she was more than happy to take him home. She could ask more questions. Jessalyn motioned for him to follow her up the sand, back to where her car was parked. "So, I know it's a nosy question, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but... what happened to your pack?"

It might have come across as a little weird for him to accept the offer, given that they were practically strangers, but they knew as much as they needed to know to start with, and they had given their first impressions in wolf form. They had gotten off on the right foot -- or paw, if you liked -- and Grayson felt confident that some sort of bond would form as a result. Following Jessalyn, hands in his pockets, he glanced in her direction when she asked the question, giving a shrug of his shoulders to try and show her that there were no hard feelings for her asking what she had. "It came apart. One of my-- our members, he was never happy." Grayson paused, glancing skyward briefly and squinting a little in the light. "He sold us out to some hunters."

"Oh." Jessalyn frowned, unable to truly comprehend how that could happen. And how a member of your own pack could be responsible for it. "I'm sorry," she said, and she truly was. Now he was alone, without a pack, and she knew it had to be hard and lonely at times, if not all the time. "Did you catch him?"

"Thank you." Most of the time, those regrets or condolences did little to comfort him, but then again, it was so rare for Grayson to give as much of an explanation as he had only moments ago. That said a lot for just how much he trusted Jessalyn already. "Not yet, no. I've been trying to find him ever since it happened, but... no luck."

"I'm sure you will eventually. People like that always seem to... get their comeuppance I think." Jessalyn pulled her keys from her jacket and unlocked her car as they came upon it. "Or at least I think they should. So have you met anyone interesting since you've been here?" She figured it was best not to dwell on the bad things, as she didn't want to make him think about things that made him sad.

"I've got my fingers crossed," he told her before he moved along with the conversation, following her lead, content enough to do so if it meant letting the topic of his old pack and its destruction drift into the background. "A few people," he said, nodding his head, taking a good look at her car as if he was interested in the make and model. "You're the first wolf I've come into contact with though. Face to face, I mean." He wasn't naming any names for the time being, not sure if he should.

"There are a lot of us here," Jess explained. And she had to resist the urge to take Grayson back home or to the Weiss house. She almost wanted to show him off! The only wolves she knew were her own pack, and the bitten wolves in school. "Marquette's full of... different people. It's had a run of bad luck lately, but hopefully that will turn around soon. It'll be a long winter if things don't get better."

"I've heard about that." The 'run of bad luck', that was. Between two or three different sources, he'd heard about the various different weird occurrences that had struck Marquette within the last year or so. "Isn't there a saying about thinging getting worse right before they get better?" To ensure she didn't misunderstand his meaning, he went on to say, "This being the 'worse' period, before it gets better. Hopefully it'll clear up soon."

"I hope so. I'm not sure what else could possibly happen." She smiled, despite her worry, and finally got into her car. Once he joined her, she started it up and buckled her seatbelt before heading off. "But with the ghosts all over the world now, I'm not sure what's going to happen. If more things will appear, or people like us will start revealing themselves? I guess it's a wait and see kind of thing."

Grayson didn't always wear his belt when in a car, but he did this time if only because Jessalyn couldn't be any older than seventeen and some part of him wanted to try and set a good example, not that she really needed it, from the looks of things. She had been the first to fasten her belt, after all. "So long as it doesn't all happen at once, it shouldn't be too bad." That was hope talking rather than any kind of concrete knowledge. Who knew how the world would react if they all came out of the shadows, so to speak?

"I guess we just have to wait and find out," Jessalyn said, glancing out her window. "So where are you living now?" She figured she needed to know if she was going to take him home! "You should find a place close to the pack lands... there's a lot of space to roam around without people seeing you. It takes me a little bit longer to go to school? But it's totally okay with me."

"I'm staying at the Venture Motel," he told her, assuming she would know how to get there. It wasn't the best place, but until he actually got some money from the work he'd signed up for at Babylon, he would have to make do with whatever he could afford, and right now, that was a room at Venture. His smile was quiet when she mentioned 'pack lands'; already he'd been able to ascertain that there was more than one pack in Marquette, in fact from what he could tell there were several, and that just made the wolf in him all but pine with the need for companionship. "That'll have to wait until I can afford a decent place, I think."

"Oh! Right, the Venture. That's not too far at all." She beamed at him, hoping that made him feel better for some reason. Like living close to the beach would. She knew she would love living close to the beach. "There's some affordable places around town. You might want to try Tourville? They're apartments, but they have like, one bedroom and two bedroom ones... for affordable prices. Much better than a motel, you know?"

His chuckle was quiet. "Yeah, I don't plan to live there long, if I can help it." Living in motels wasn't exactly comfortable, his wolf side hated it, it wanted some kind of territory to call its own and that was made near-impossible by all the strange, alien scents coming and going at a motel. "Tourville was the one place I was looking at." Hopefully it wouldn't be too long before he could get out of the motel and into an apartment. Just because he didn't plan on staying in Marquette indefinitely, that didn't mean he wasn't planning to get a place; he jst had to wait until he started getting paid.

Jess could understand the need to have a place to call your own. She wasn't sure she could stand living in a building with a bunch of other people. Her pack mentality would probably drive everyone crazy. She liked living out in the pack lands, where they have space and some semblance of freedom. Pulling up to the motel, she parked the car and offered Grayson another smile. "It was really nice meeting you. I hope you come to like Marquette, despite it's, er, quirks!"

It hadn't been easy for Grayson to adjust after living with other werewolves as long as he had; diving into the world of humans the way he'd had to was still working a number on him, and he wasn't sure he would ever really get used to it. He'd been spoiled, being born into a pack and growing up in one, he was sure of it. "Thanks. You too." Slipping off his belt, he returned her smile. "And thanks for the ride. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Jessalyn told him. "Be safe! And I'm sure I'll be running into you again." She grinned, hoping that would be the case. Another werewolf in Marquette was exciting and showing him around definitely gave her something to look forward to.

"You too, Jessalyn." Grayson climbed out of the car after giving her another smile and turned back to look at her through the open door. "I'll see you around." He had no doubt that he would, either; they'd gotten off to a great start, especially for two wolves from different packs as it were -- Grayson was a loner, but he'd come from a very different walk of life and he was an Alpha personality -- and he was looking forward to socialising with her again. With that, the smile still on his face, he closed the door and turned to head inside the motel.