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. ]

[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? ]

[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]

[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.]

[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]

[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.]

[danserai]

[ hold on . . . isn't that mr. bigby? was he the one howling before? ]

Quack?

[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.]

[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.]

[enblightened]

[Good, good. The duck isn't afraid.

Bigby lets out a low whine, his nostrils flaring as he snuffles. Perhaps he should try to return the duck to Fakir or Ahiru? That might be hard as he is now. A brief trip to a pond is one thing, but this is more difficult.]

Hrrrrrrrnnn.

[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]

...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.]

[danserai]

[ okay, she can't help but be a little miffed. she was really scared for a second there. ]

Quack quack!

[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. ]

Outside your Home

[everyrosehasits]

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.

[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. ]

[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.]

[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]

[oh. why is the duck mad? HE DOESN'T HAVE BREAD, PLEASE LITTLE DUCK.]

Hhhhhhn.

[A very pathetic sounding whine emerges from Bigby.]

[enblightened]

[Hesitantly, the abomination approaches, ears pressed back on his head. Though this man looks calm, he's also a complete stranger, so there is no way of knowing how he will be treated.

Still, despite his size, he tries to appear smaller, crawling low to the ground and stopping some feet away.]

[enblightened]

[It is true that the hunger is always there -- but even in this form, Bigby keeps control, for the moment. Because what he yearns for is more powerful than the predator always seeking the hunt.

He knows. He knows he can trust her.

Slowly, Bigby inches closer, leaning in to lightly brush his nose against her palm. Nothing more than that, in case it alarms her.]

[enblightened]

[Wolf. Right.

In a moment of clarity, his omen forms out of an inky black mass; it's a scruffy, skinny looking thing, but it'll help allow him to communicate since it is otherwise not an option for him.

Yes. A pause. Then he clarifies. Yes. Will meet your wolf.]