350 dollar fine | OPEN

[enblightened]

Who: Bigby, OPEN
What: It's the full moon and a boy's gotta get his howling out.
When: 2/16
Where: Around Trench





[After keeping himself so heavily confined and bound for weeks, the full moon this time was something that Bigby has been dreading. In fact, he had originally planned to brace himself, to hold back even during this time. He does not have to transform, after all.

But he remembers how much has been said to him. How cruel he is to himself. Too harsh, too judging. That is likely true, yet he still worries.

Eventually, he does let go.

And so, the abomination is unleashed, its howling scream echoing in the night. Only, it seems the biggest instinct that Bigby chooses to follow is... yearning. Yearning for those who are in his heart. Those he does care for so genuinely.

Some will find that Bigby in his monstrous form is sitting outside your home, howling horribly, but has no harmful intention. Others might discover him wandering the streets, sniffing the ground, whining, tracing a scent.

Either way, all in all, it seems the worst he has to offer this time is just some wretched noises.]

Comments

1/???

[danserai]

[ ahiru hasn't made the connection to bigby and loud growling noises, so she's cowering behind a tree, trying to muster up the courage to go home. ]

S-Scary . . .

[danserai]

N-No, I need to be strong. It's just a f-few steps away . . . I can do this!

[danserai]

[ then she hears another howl and goes: ]

— Quack!

4/4 END

[danserai]

[ and now she is duck.

this is worse. ]

[enblightened]

[It's the "quack" that gets his attention, for better or for worse. Bigby's ear twitches and he whirls around, sniffing the air.

Ahiru...?

Excitedly, he approaches, practically bounding along the street before he stops to see--

Oh. It's that duck from before. Isn't this Fakir's duck? Maybe Ahiru has simply been around the duck lately.

Bigby lowers himself to the ground, trying to look less imposing.]

[tonedeaf]

[ of course, this would be the one night where venti has chosen not to drink himself to sleep--- otherwise he'd be out like a light, snoring as he slumbers in an uncomfortable wooden chair at his dining room table. the howling doesn't sound particularly aggressive; he would know the noises that wolves or dogs make, given the wolvendom is part of his domain.

no, it sounds... sad. longing. and maybe venti would be a little more sympathetic if it wasn't in the middle of the night.

opening his door, venti peeks out. no weapon drawn. ]

Hello?

[ loudly calling out to see if maybe he'll get a response? any response? ]

[enblightened]

[One last strung out howl, then he pauses when he hears the door opening. The abomination stops, then tilts his head.

This is not someone he knows.

Cautiously, he approaches, letting out a low, curious groan.]

[tonedeaf]

[ well. whatever it is stopped. that's a good sign? it means that it might understand him.

taking a step or two out onto his small lawn, venti raises a hand and waves it. ]

Oh! A dog? A wolf? Hm...

[ he's going to have to get a little closer to take a better look. either way, he's not terribly surprised or frightened. ]

[rosae]

( Rose has heard that howling sound before. Though it was from a safe distance, out beyond the walls of the city while she stayed inside them.

This time it's much closer. She bolts upright in bed (she wasn't sleeping; even now that she has Sharon back, she has such a hard time sleeping, constantly worried something might come for her daughter) and quickly moves to her bedroom window to look down and see... a large creature sitting there outside.

She's never seen Bigby's monster form, but she knows this is him. That howl is his. Immediately, she's worried something must have happened to him, that he's hurt somehow. And someone else is bound to hear those noises.... The Hunters could come for him.

She moves quickly downstairs, grabs a coat over her pyjamas and quietly eases out of the door. Rose moves carefully, slowly, eyes as wide as saucers. Her heart's pounding; this is foolish, it has to be, but she doesn't have any other choice. She won't let anyone hurt him. )

Bigby...? ( She calls, softly, from the porch of the little Victorian home. ) It's me. It's Rose.

[enblightened]

[Rose.

Her knows her smell and voice immediately, even through the haze of his beastliness. It's why he's here, after all. It was familiar and comfortable. He remembers when she had first brought him here after his first full moon here, how much he thought it was endearing and cozy.

Yes. He does indeed know her.

Bigby approaches slowly, not wishing to startle her.]

[rosae]

( She doesn't know if there will be any recognition of his name, or of hers, but he's moving closer. Rose's eyes widen further, surprised, but she stays where she is. The last thing she wants is to startle the creature in turn. And now that she's seeing the beast plaguing her friend in person, it's more shocking than she could have imagined. Huge and horned, sharp-toothed and clawed. Clearly capable of being very dangerous.

And she remembers what Bigby had told her of it. How it feasts on people.

Rose doesn't dare move, barely breathes. Suddenly, she thinks of Sharon — what if she wakes up, comes out here...? The woman tenses, and then... slowly takes a step closer, towards the stairs of the porch. It's a way to put more of herself inbetween him and the front door. She's closer to him; she's the one he'd target.

...But it's not just that. Because she can see that same painful branding on his head, the "A". And Rose knows somewhere in there is her friend. Her heart aches at the thought, and she's slowly holding a hand up, gentle and placating. He's not being aggressive, but she expects he could turn violent any moment. Maybe she can stop that from happening. )

Hey. Hey, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt you.

[eudaimonikos]

[From inside Michael's home, there is an answering loud howl! It's a cacophony of howls!

Michael himself sticks his head out of an upper-story window after a few seconds of this, just to get a read on the whole outside-wolf situation. Well. It's not exactly a wolf. He probably should've expected that. For all that he's spoken with Bigby about his changes recently, the man doesn't come to his mind now. From the way he talked, it sounded like he was gonna do something a lot worse than just make a bunch of noise. He's also not really sure if this is a beast? It seems fairly chill. So he yells down:]

Hey, so, are you like, a person, or...?

[enblightened]

[That's Michael.

The recognition is what excites him the most. In response to Michael's question, he lets out another wretched call:]

SKRSHHHEEEEEEEEEAAAAH!!

[It could be a yes. We just don't know.]

[eudaimonikos]

...yeah, I don't know what I thought was gonna happen.

[Of course it's not just gonna speak English back at him.]

Is it weird if I ask if you wanna meet my wolf? [She's howling. He says like this is not incredibly obvious.]

Outside your Home

[nothinglikea]

Rose hesitated to call it home. Instead, it was a boarding house for those who could relate to her quandary: new, yet without anyone waiting for their arrival. She's been given a flimsy nightdress, one she would have been ashamed to have offered her her maidservant, Trudy, before. All of the before.

But before, she didn't bleed like opals and hear the occasional thought. perhaps she was made of sterner stuff than she granted herself credit for? perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. as long as she pondered the perhaps, the less she engaged in the reality.

so there's a young woman with long, curly red hair venturing out in a thin white nightdress, calling out] Hello? Hello? Hello to whomever might be out there? I swear to you that I'm alone with none waiting for me.

[enblightened]

[The voice and scent in the air is new to him. The abomination pauses in his howling, ears flicking as he searches the dark for the source. It is the white clothing that catches his eye first, then her hair, both complimented by the moon's light.

She'd be afraid, of that Bigby is certain. Too new to know him, to know that he means to harm. Yet, he tries anyway, hesitantly approaching.]

Hrrr? Hnn?

[nothinglikea]

[she smells like lilacs. anything other than roses, people back home had been so intent on giving her rose-scented everything that she got thoroughly sick of the scent. and perhaps she's both too brave for her own good, but now that she's on her own, really on her own, she doesn't want to let the dictates of home rule her life.

when she sees him, her eyes widen, but she tells herself that being afraid would be foolish, especially given that she didn't let herself be afraid even as the Titanic sunk out from beneath her]

Hello? I'm Rose. I don't think I met you yet, but you have nothing to fear from me, I promise.

[obeir]

[ Likely brought on by his blood corruption, K finds himself experiencing an uncharacteristic bout of exhaustion during his trek home. It rapidly grows so severe that it forces him to seek a temporary respite, and he all but collapses on the front steps of an unfamiliar residence. The occupants within are silent; he hopes they won't mind. He plans to be on his way just as soon as he can stand again.

Despite his light attire he doesn't seem bothered by the February chill. Small mercy of being a Coldblood. He's been aware of distant howling for the last while — not an unusual occurrence in Trench, certainly, but that it's happening in a residential area means it's more likely to draw the attention of Hunters. Something he doesn't particularly wish to stick around for.

Eventually he sees the source of all the ruckus: a great lumbering creature of some kind. A beast? He observes in tense silence as the creature moves about with their head held low to the street, seeming to be tracking a scent. Then there's mournful whining, a sound that startles the android. Whatever or whoever this is, they don't appear to have harmful intentions, at least. They just seem... sad. Maybe lost.

And that's why, when the creature comes closer, he doesn't shrink back or prepare to defend himself. He (hopefully) could, at a moment's notice, but — instead he leans forward and holds out a hand, as one might do for a stray animal they hope to coax closer. Trying to show that he means no harm, either. ]

Hello there. You're having a time of it too, hmm? [ His voice is soft, hushed. He's both mindful of the late hour and doesn't wish to startle the creature. ]

[enblightened]

[The approach is not one that he expects. The abomination is used to being faced with fear, loathing, and violence. Pity, on occasion. Still, like this, he does not anticipate the cautious approach.

Not because this man seems frightened. Almost as if because he does not wish to scare Bigby instead.

Still, he does not know him, so Bigby stays where he is, uncertain. A rumbling whine escapes him as he observes this stranger, not quite knowing what to make of him yet.]

[shiro2hero]

[It's 3AM do you know where your friends are?]

[Quick headcount - everyone who should be in Mouse House is in their rightful places. The humans, the animals. The omens. So the screeching outside can't be one of the residents, logically.]

[Which is probably why Shiro's Omen comes sprinting out of the front door. A mass of pale fur, flashing teeth. Not even bothering to open said door, choosing to phase through it as mist. The lioness skids to a stop on the porch, claws extended, and lets out the deepest, most booming roar her kind can possibly muster.]

[... the fact she cuts it off mid-sound once the scent of a familiar creature registers is probably hilarious.]

[No sooner does she cut off then her human joins her out the door, in only pajama pants, brandishing his glowing right hand like a weapon - his only weapon, really.]

[enblightened]

[SHIRO.

He would, normally, be cautious due to someone and their omen bursting out ready to throw hands, but the setting is a bit hilarious; Shiro in his pajamas, the lion looking almost startled.

A strangled bark of a noise emerges from Bigby's throat and he paws at the ground. SHIRO. SHIRO IS HERE.]

[wwrench]

Though Wrench remembers their conversation on the network, he has no idea just what shape or form the man takes when he undergoes one of these transformations. What he's sure of is that the creature that's snuffling and darting a path just on the outskirts of the wooded area is unfamiliar to him. Wrench isn't sure what that means, but he doubts it bodes well for his ability to make the rest of the trek to where he's been staying unbothered.

He slips the knife from his waist to his hand as slowly and silently as he can, and holds the blade cautiously against his hip as he watches the creature's effort to pick up a scent. It doesn't look dangerous yet, but he has no interest in giving it reason to go on the attack.

[enblightened]

For a moment, Bigby continues like this, sniffing the ground and huffing as he follows some kind of trail. He isn't typically used to being followed in this form; the beast prides itself as a predator, after all. To be challenged as anything else incites it terribly.

Thankfully, Bigby has a peace of mind right now.

He stops as he's smelling, catching whiff of something else he does not know. A low growl escapes him. Is it him who is being stalked and followed? Should he retaliate? Or simply leave?

Bigby lets out a warning snarl, turning to face whoever it is.

[morningstud]

[Maybe taking a stroll at night is a bit too dangerous, given how Deerington had been, but the problem with being ageless and immortal is that a handful of years as a mortal means that one happens to still consider himself immune to harm, even when he obviously isn't.

But, of course, that does mean when he finds a strange and rather frightening-looking creature wandering the street a bit like a dog, his reaction isn't fear.]

Hello there...?

[He's not about to be rude.]

[enblightened]

[The voice is familiar, almost a distant memory for a moment. With a low rumble, he shakes his head and tries to clear it.

It's him. Lucifer.

Bigby stops and turns around, sniffing the air curiously before he spots the source of the voice. He hesitates, uncertain if he is welcome.]