Hayley

[thisismybar]

Ric was... happy. Being able to sleep with Hayley -and really just sleep, god knew the sex wasn't lacking- even with Damon acting as a guard dog, had been good for him. No new bodies turning up, not missing chunks of time, those were pretty good, too. They weren't quite enough for him to let his guard completely down, but he didn't think there was going to be a whole lot of sleeping going on tonight, anyway.

And if there was, well, tonight Hayley would be even more equipped to play guard dog and take care of him. Elijah's reassurance helped keep that one metaphorical and mildly amusing.

He dumped the last load of camping gear onto the ground, and looked up at the sky to check the weather. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about being rained on tonight, but we should probably set up the tent." Who knew what tomorrow would bring,and it would be easier to relax somewhere enclosed. And limit bugs.

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[thisismybar]

"Obviously, most people didn't want a dog as much as I did, when they were kids." He doesn't actually mean that, but he doesn't quite know how to handle the compliment, verbally. He reaches out for her hand and squeezes it, firmly, as he makes a slightly depreciating remark, though.

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley stared at him for a moment, then laughed, shaking her head. "Well, I'm glad I can help you heal some residual childhood neglect."

[thisismybar]

That got to him, and he smiled. "You're healing a lot of things."

[littlewolf_girl]

She gave him a slightly surprised look, a little uncertain, though in a good way--just not sure what to do with that anymore than he'd been with her compliment.

"Good."

[thisismybar]

"And on that note-" He smiled, warm and relaxed again. Or trying to be, but maybe a little sheepish. "I want things to stay fun. For you, and for me. So far, so good. Mostly, anyway." He still hated that she had to be in pain to transform, though he really tried not to play that up. Just... grit his teeth through it.

[littlewolf_girl]

Her smile was a little wry, especially as the shivers were starting under her skin. She hated turning--loved being a wolf--but she'd give it up, if she could. To be normal. To not have to break every bone in her body twice a month. The few hours as a wolf were hardly a balanced payoff.

But being able to really enjoy those few hours was, at least, making the best of a bad deal.

Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to his lips, tasting chocolate and marshmallow, and trying to focus on the fun. "It's about time."

[thisismybar]

Even just being able to give her something, he supposed. Without that sire bond, he might not have even objected if she'd wanted to turn to avoid this, but since she couldn't, he was going to just... make the most of what it was, and do what he could.


"All right. Where do you want me?"

[littlewolf_girl]

Without the sire bond, she might have been tempted. Except for the part where it would...strip away every chance of anything normal forever. No husband and kids and the chance to grow old with someone, to build a life. Yeah, there were other perks that balanced it, she was sure, but.

She wasn't sure it was worth giving up the rest, just to get rid of this.

She took a breath and leaned down to start undoing her shoes. Really--ripping her clothes to pieces wasn't really a lot of fun, either.

"You want to just...wait here?" she asked, giving him a sideways look. "I can go off a bit..."

Yeah, he'd stuck around and watched last time, but she wasn't sure he'd want to do it again.

[thisismybar]

"I want to do whatever is best for you," he answered, calm and steady. "If that's me waiting here, I'll wait here. If it's something else, I'll do that."

He wasn't quite as calm as he seemed, but he was steady, oddly enough. This was about her. He was okay with whatever at least didn't make it worse.

[littlewolf_girl]

She worried at her lower lip, uncertain about what was better for her. "I...honestly don't know. This is still so...new for me." Him being willing to be there.

[thisismybar]

"Did what we did last time work? Well enough, anyway?" They were both feeling their way about, it seemed.

[littlewolf_girl]

She shivered a little as the first flicker of pain ran through her.

"Yeah. I mean, once you really...stuck around after." She'd been terrified he wouldn't be able to handle it, actually watching her change, not and still see her as herself.

[thisismybar]

He grimaced, just a bit and in sympathy. "Then let's stick with what we know works. If you need a change, you can tell me later," he said, very quietly.

[littlewolf_girl]

"Okay," she said with a half smile. "I guess we're doing this here..." She broke off whimpering a little, and made herself get up. It hurt, but she forced herself through the pain, pulling off her clothes quickly and moving away from the fire. The last thing she needed to do was fall in actual flames.

[thisismybar]

He got up and very nearly helped with the clothes, when he realized how close to the edge they'd pushed it. He also got the chairs well out of the way, as well as the remains of food. Then he simply stayed close, and stayed quiet.

[littlewolf_girl]

She was aware that he was there, but it really was a periphery thing when the change hit. Every time she was thankful that it got faster as she got older. Not easier, but at least it was over sooner. It always was hard to hold on to herself in the midst of it. She tried to stay her, hold on to the awareness, but it shifted out of her grasp. It didn't last more than three minutes, though it felt like a lifetime, and the wolf was there, growling a little, shaking herself off and breathing hard. Not growling at Ric, really, but she clearly wasn't overly happy with the transition process, either.

[thisismybar]

Ric stayed a bit away from the fire, and well away from her, so she wouldn't associate him as part of the pain or see him as a threat, but crouched down and held his hands out to her. Very quiet, very seemingly calm, but dear god her distress almost hurt him. "It's okay."

[littlewolf_girl]

She turned at the sound of his voice, spun low and crouched down, more defensive than anything, but his scent hit right after his voice and she straightened, moving toward him warily to sniff at his outstretched hand with a little whine. It hurt and she was happy to see him, but it hurt.

Apparently familiarity meant he wasn't quite the immediate distraction he was before.

[thisismybar]

He waited for her to sniff at his hand before he settled back on one heel. He didn't try to pet her, just kept his position open so she could settle as she wanted, in his lap or beside him, or somewhere else entirely. Letting her recover without being manhandled seemed important. "I know. I'm sorry."

[littlewolf_girl]

In his lap sounded lovely, really, but she was a little too big for that. She did scoot closer and lay down against him with her head on his knee, though. Leaning into him, she licked lightly at his hand, just a nuzzling sort of greeting, before sighing. She'd be fine in a minute and ready to play, but she was apparently taking a second to snuggle first.

[thisismybar]

As far as Ric was concerned, this very much counted as her in his lap. He waited for her to settle, then responded to her nuzzling by lifting a hand to very lightly, gently, stroke his fingers over her fur. Trying to be soothing and reassuring, rather than anything else. Barely there, really, since she hurt.

[littlewolf_girl]

She followed his hand, working to get her head more against him, feeling better and wanting more pets. Still more quiet than last time, when it had been so exciting to have a human there. Not that she wasn't totally happy to see him again, but. Not so bouncy, yet. Give her time.

[thisismybar]

He didn't need her to be up and bouncing about. As she settled more, so did he, sitting flat on the ground rather than crouching. He gradually grew a bit heavier with his touch, but only a bit. He was still treating her gently, and carefully, and would likely continue to do so. He'd certainly pet and snuggle for as long as she wanted.

[littlewolf_girl]

She closed her eyes and let her healing finish up and make her feel better, while his touch was soothing and warm and made her feel safe. Eventually she pulled back and sat up a little, tilting her head to look at him, then leaned in and licked his cheek--tongue not quite so dry as that of a cat, but nowhere near as slobbery as a dog's either.

[thisismybar]

And just a little rough. It made him smile. "You're welcome," he said, quietly, and ran his hand over her fur, one more time. He got back into a crouch, from there. "You ready to go, or you want to hang out here and be quiet a little longer?" He was talking to the wolf just like Hayley - maybe a little more simply- but it was as much for his benefit as her's. Probably more for his, actually.