Julien was in a bit of a pickle.

He slowly pulled out his phone, sending Nevaeah a message not to come over.

Navi: Don’t let him eat you little red!

Navi: I’m coming over now •ᴗ•

Jules: That’s great, I believe you.

He glanced up at the man in front of him.

Jules: But I don’t think that’s such a great idea.

Navi: Why not!?

Jules: It’d be easier to just show you.

Julien linked his Tith to his phone and brought up the hologram feature for calls. It only took a moment for Nevaeah to answer, look around, and freeze.

「What…is that?」

What indeed?

Andrew seemed to have gone feral.

He was hunched in front of the door, scratching and scraping at the now tattered welcome mat with inhuman claws, a trail of white claw marks covering the hardwood floor from the guest room—door ajar and ominous like a dark mouth—leading to his hollow figure.

The scratching stopped.

And slowly…

*Creeeee*

He turned his gaze towards the holographic projection of Nevaeah hovering above Julien's head.

Then his amber eyes landed on Julien himself.

Julien gulped, taking a step away from the imposing man.

He would’ve prepared himself better a month ago if he knew it was going to be like this.

—

A week after Andrew’s fever ended, Julien raised his hand to knock on the guest room door, but before he could, the door swung open and Andrew stepped out.

“I’ll wait outside.”

Julien leveled Andrew with a confused look.

“What?”

He was just about to tell him that he was going to Nevaeah’s dorm to watch a docu-series on Imperator Sleiman—her taste not his—but his confusion erased the words entirely.

Andrew stared at him for a while, then a look of what Julien thought was realization crossed his face.

“Miss Graves’ dorm.”

Julien stared at him blankly, trying to figure out what he was on about.

Andrew didn’t pay it much attention, simply stepping past him and moving towards the door. Julien trailed behind him, the puzzle clicking into place.

How did he know that?

Julien was starting to think the walls had ears.

That wasn’t the only oddity either.

Andrew no longer seemed to sleep—or if he did, he was about 10x easier to rouse.

There were more than a few times when Julien would go downstairs and find Andrew pacing by the window—staring out into the night as though he wanted it to take him away—and if he wasn’t doing that, then he was nose deep in a book, his eyebrow twitching almost every time he turned a page.

Is he still sensitive?

Thinking that what Andrew needed was a change of pace—or really just wanting a change of pace himself—Julien took the initiative to show Andrew around Aus, the South Eastern Province of Discovery they lived in.

He wasn’t sure how familiar the man was with the area considering Julien himself rarely went out, but regardless, he used the opportunity to visit different Botanicals and reset his mind.

It’s been a while since I’ve done this.

Given their van was in the middle of being deep cleaned, they spent the whole day going from one place to the other using the connective and transverse lines of the CAE—as well as other more localized transports.

They started their journey in the Northernmost tip of their Province and worked their way towards the Southern end—their journey reaching its crux along la Rivière Charmé at one of the more beautiful Botanicals where Julien was concerned.

It wasn’t far from Theia’s main research center, making it one he visited often.

But unlike how he usually felt, there was a faint hum of unease in the back of his mind.

Julien had an eerie feeling that they were being watched.

He ran his hand through his hair and moved closer to Andrew.

“Hey, uh didn’t you mention working somewhere around here before? What was it…”

Julien trailed off.

Andrew was staring at the entrance to the Botanical with uninterrupted focus.

Julien looked that way as well, but he didn’t see anything.

“Andrew?”

Andrew slowly turned his head towards him, but his eyes remained glued to the gates.

“We should leave.”

Julien slowly nodded and followed Andrew out the back gate of the Botanical. Throwing a passing glance over his shoulder—he frowned.

I don’t see anything.

It was another few hours before they safely returned to where they started—with Andrew having taken them through the most roundabout way he could before letting them step foot on the grass of the surrounding park.

He still didn’t seem at ease.

The feeling is finally gone.

“Were we being followed?”

It felt weird to say aloud—as though he’d suddenly been thrown into some sort of B-rate spy movie—but it was the only thing he could think of.

Life’s bad enough without an additional observer.

Andrew ushered them inside, and only then did he give him a reply.

“Yes… Don’t leave for a few days.”

—

With nothing he really needed or wanted to do with the sudden house arrest, Julien found himself either meandering in the living room or staring down at the first floor—watching what Andrew got up to instead.

That’s when he noticed a few other changes.

There was the time Andrew was making dinner and Julien accidentally knocked his mug over, causing it to shatter on the floor. Andrew recoiled like he’d been hit in the head—which is weird enough on its own—but when he stepped on a broken shard and Julien went to check on the wound, it was gone.

If he hadn’t seen it once already, he would’ve thought he was crazy.

There was also the way Andrew acted.

Though he attempted to be subtle, Andrew’s puppy-guarding was slowly getting worse—even within the house. If Julien so much as stumbled over his feet, he’d be there, if he got anywhere close to the door, he’d be there too, if Julien even uttered the ‘O’ in ouch on reflex—even if he was uninjured—he would fidget.

When Julien confronted him about it, it’s like he hadn’t even noticed. But thankfully, he got the message.

“It won’t happen again.”

Hopefully.

Then there was Cello—the beagle whose name came from a book.

If before Cello wouldn’t give Julien the time of day, now she seemed to actively prefer his company over Andrew’s.

Julien walked into his room to let him know that Nevaeah was on her way when he found the two of them in a staring contest—the brave puppy growling a warning at Andrew while Andrew looked like he was trying to appease her.

He felt a bit bad about that one actually.

Julien could no longer deny that something was wrong, and 15 days after Andrew’s awakening, he decided to consult a ‘professional.’

“...And that’s why I called you.”

Who better than Nevaeah—whose specialty was extremely specific, deeply unhelpful knowledge—to answer his questions.

Though if he asked what she had for breakfast that morning he’d be met with a blank stare.

Nevaeah took in his recount, stroking Cello’s back like a cheesy villain and nodding her head. She confidently declared.

“It’s werewolves.”

And Julien looked at her with what could only be described as a fox's confusion.

“Don’t look at me like that and hear me out.”

She projected a blank hologram into his living room, pulling out the pointer feature and using it to draw on the ‘board.’

It was a childish diagram, but better than what he could do.

“First of all, he was bitten by a feral wolf.”

She circled the wolf on the board before pointing at him.

“And what day was he bitten?”

“Christmas.”

“December 25th.”

She circled what Julien could only assume was the moon.

“And when did he have his fever?”

“The day after?”

She slammed her hand against the ‘board.’

“That my friend, was the night of the full moon.”

Julien scrunched up his face.

“Objection your honor! Circumstantial evidence.”

“I object your objection!”

She erased her original diagram and wrote a list instead.

“So what happened was; he got bitten by a wolf, he had a fever on the night of the full moon, which, you claimed grew worse at night, he suddenly healed from grievous wounds in an instant, he can hear you from a mile away, and now he’s being territorial.”

“I wouldn’t say territorial…”

“But am I really wrong though? In conclusion,” she clapped her hands together.

“He’s a werewolf.”

He scoffed.

“Ok, let’s say he is. Andrew.”

Andrew came out from the other room and tilted his head.

Nevaeah motioned to him with an ‘exhibit A’ expression on her face.

Julien rolled his eyes.

“What do you think about her theory?”

Andrew seemed to seriously consider the question.

“It’s plausible.”

Julien was dumbfounded.

I can’t believe he’s buying this.

It even had him questioning himself.

Nevaeah showed a triumphant smile and gave Andrew a thumbs up.

“So, Mr. Wolf, do you have anything else to add?”

He looked over her list.

“Hearing, sight, smell.”

He glanced at Julien for the last one.

“It’s different.”

Julien and Nevaeah shared a look.

—

After that, Nevaeah went off to do her own research, saying that she would be able to prove it without any shadow of a doubt but Julien still wasn’t convinced…mostly. But just in case, he decided it’d be worth it to keep a better eye on his silent companion anyway.

Just in case.

Then a mere 9 days after the theory was first proposed, Andrew proved it to be correct.

—

That morning started off like any other. Julien woke up to the smell of breakfast, refreshed himself, cared for his plants, and accompanied Andrew in walking the dog—a task he had to take over because of her sudden aversion to the larger man.

The feeling is back again.

It didn’t happen everyday, but ever since coming back from their Botanical trip, Julien would feel like they were being watched—only for it to disappear when Andrew looked in whatever direction the stare might’ve been coming from.

At first, he thought this silent observer was the person Andrew was supposed to keep him ‘safe’ from, but he wasn’t so sure that was the case anymore.

Though Julien himself had never seen their stalker in person.

“Is it the same person?”

Andrew was staring at the leftmost gate of the park.

“Yes.”

He frowned, something Julien hadn’t seen in a while.

"They're not leaving.”

Julien looked in that direction as well, but as always, he couldn’t see anything except a few passersby and the statue automatons.

I wonder what they want.

“What do they look like?”

Andrew continued looking that way.

“I don’t know.”

Then why’d you say they were the same?

“How can you tell then?”

Andrew tapped his nose.

“They smell familiar.”

Julien furrowed his brows.

“Is it someone you know?”

Andrew shook his head.

Julien looked at his face. If Andrew was the type to make jokes he wouldn’t have believed him, but he was dead serious.

A werewolf…

“What do they smell like?”

Andrew's eyebrow twitched.

“Mint…”

Curious.

Julien whispered.

“What do I smell like?”

Andrew finally looked away from the gate.

“Cedarwood.”

That’s specific.

Julien thought about asking him if the whole world smelt like a candle store, but he refrained.

“I think they’ve seen enough, let’s go back inside.”

Regardless of who the person was, Julien didn’t take kindly to being watched so overtly.

He glanced at Andrew who took up the rear.

He was just making a few exceptions here or there.

—

Even after entering the apartment Andrew couldn’t seem to relax. He paced between the window and the door, between his room and the foot of the stairs, and hovered around Julien whenever he’d come back down to grab a snack or a glass of water.

Julien would be lying if he said he wasn’t beginning to feel restless as well.

“Dude, you can go back outside if you need to, I’m not going anywhere.”

Andrew froze in his tracks.

Julien could’ve sworn he saw a flicker of color within his irises, but it was gone before he could name it.

“Mala idea.”

Andrew took the hint and moved the pacing to his room.

Julien looked that way, rubbing between his brows before turning towards the window.

The sun was beginning to set.

‘Nevaeah said it was a full moon today right?’

He muttered to himself before pulling out his phone and sending her a message.

If she was right, then Julien may actually be in a bit of trouble.

Jules: Andrew’s going stir crazy right now.

It took a few minutes before he received a reply.

Navi: Take him outside.

Jules: Ha. ha.

Jules: It’s a full moon tonight right? What should I do if he becomes a big bad wolf?

Navi: (≖o≖├┬┴┬┴

Navi: I thought you didn’t believe in werewolves.

Jules: The idea is starting to grow on me.

Navi: Then you’ll be happy to know I found evidence that’ll tip the scales in were-favor!

Navi: Don’t let him eat you little red!

Navi: I’m coming over now •ᴗ•

Julien wanted to tell her not today but he held off for now. Putting his phone away, he looked at Andrew’s door.

It was silent.

He looked back at the window, the sun was almost gone.

Maybe I shouldn’t stay here either.

He looked at Andrew’s door again, listening out for any sign of strangeness.

Then the scratching began.

*scratch scratch scratch*

It was faint, but it was undeniably coming from that direction.

But it could’ve been Cello

*scratch scratch scratch*

He hoped it was Cello.

Julien continued to stare at the door.

*scratch—*

The noise stopped.

He slowly inched his way towards the entrance.

He was stuck between trusting his instincts and trusting what he’d always believed in. But the longer he stared at Andrew’s door, the more his instincts screamed at him to get away.

And he had no intention of denying them now.

Step by step, he crept towards the door.

*tp tp tp*

*tp tp tp*

*tp tp—*

*Creeee—*

His foot landed on a squeaky floorboard and he felt his heart stop.

One beat, two beats, three beats.

Julien heard Andrew’s door slowly creak open as his heart began to race.

He shivered.

There was a cold gaze on his back.