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Max nods, and there's a softness to his eyes that suggest tears might not be far off. "I want it to be real."

All the rest they will figure out as they go, but this he knows with no shadow of a doubt. He can't picture life here without both of them at his side. Not anymore. So, if that makes him part of the pack, then he wants in. He's all-in.

"When you play poker against a vampire," Max says lightly, "you learn to have a real good poker face." He reaches a hand to Lucas' face to stroke him lightly. "I know. You're going to chip in. I just don't want you stressing yourself out or running yourself ragged for it. Either of you," he shoots a look at Rowan too.

"If this is going to be real then...we have to make a commitment to share the load. Help with each other's burdens and not take it all on ourselves. That's why they call it partners, right? And I guess... maybe that means if Lucas and I are part of the pack for real now, we can help with that too? I know we've got some learning to do but, I'd like to do what I can.

"It shouldn't just be them protecting us, right Lucas?"

Kissing the corner of Max's lips, Rowan noses into him, squeezing Lucas' hand at the same time. They smile at both of them adoringly, still unable to believe that this is really happening, that they have both of them. As what? Boyfriends? Mates? Both? Both descriptors make butterflies flutter in their stomach. "No more secrets, promise. I want to share everything with you." They agree, quickly, sealing the deal with a kiss to Lucas' lips as well. "Pack stuff too, every part of my life. That's what partners do, right?" There's a tiny touch of uncertainty there, because, well, diving in the deep end here for their first real relationship.

"You don't have to pay everything, though. I got gold from my wages still. Dunno if it'll be enough, but if not I can figure something out. I, uh. It's kind of hard to tell here, but I'm a bit of a cheapskate when it ain't tech or presents for people." There's a reason they went so long in their newbie clothes. They still think it was worth it, not spending money on clothes when their patron gave them their own back soon after.

"I'll have to figure out how to wear it so I don't lose it if I change. Sometimes jewellery works with clothes for dedication, but sometimes not. I like the idea, though." Their fingers drift to Lucas' neck, finding the chain of his dog tags there and tracing it around. Talking so casually with them about a rite has their stomach filled with butterflies and heart impossibly full of love. Being able to welcome them into this part of their life makes Rowan happier than they thought was possible. "I love you both so much." They murmur, hiding in them for a moment. "This feels like a dream."

"Yeah," Lucas leans into Max's touch slightly, his smile softening, fond. "We should help out, too, for sure. It'll be easier with all of us, too, right?"

Together. Partners. Mates. Whatever they all decided to call it, his stomach nearly flips at the thought. If he could meet his past self and say 'see here, it'll happen someday', he still wouldn't believe it!

"Could always wear it on a different finger? But, when you say dedication, you mean you have some kind of ceremony or something for transforming...or how does that work?" He very nearly derails with more questions right then and there, but Rowan's touch at his neck, their words remind him that he's yet to say it out loud yet. His smile only grows brighter while his heart leaps into his throat.

"I love you too," He looks between Rowan and Max, "Both of you. So much it hurts sometimes, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

This is a dream, Max thinks to himself. All of it, a wonderful dream. Fates-willing, maybe he'll never wake up. Maybe it will go on forever.

He feels a stab of guilt, though, at the mention of no more secrets. He keeps it hidden, locked way down inside. He still has one. Jackie. If they knew... they'd make him stop. But he can't. He can't. And besides, Jackie has already done so much to improve his outlook here. It's a good thing. It is! And if he could tell them, he would. They'll understand. Won't they? The vampires have a veil too.

It's not hard to hide the anxiety now, however, when he hears those words slip from Lucas' lips for the first time. His face lights up with glowing pride. "I love you too. Both of you. As much as life itself." Max squishes his arms around them, just too overwhelmed by the joy he feels to put it into words.

"God, I do have so many questions. What's it like to change? Do you actually end up naked every time? Is that why the ring might get lost? What do you look like?"

Hearing those words from both of them makes Rowan's heart feel so full. There's so much love here, how can they be so lucky? They squeeze them both in as well, marvelling at the way that they all slot in together, completing each other. This feels like home.

But of course they have questions, and they release their hold a little as they start to answer. "The rite of dedication's to make sure we don't end up naked when we change. Binds clothes and other stuff to us so we don't lose it. Otherwise we'd rip through clothes every time. It was the first thing I got back from my Patron. Changing is like... Mm... It's hard to explain. It's like a mix between stretching and sneezing.

And I don't have all of my forms back, but I can show you what I have. If you want." They offer, feeling oddly shy about it. At least the two they have are the most human friendly ones. Neither should scare them off immediately.

How could he be so lucky to find Max and Rowan? Suddenly all those dumb love songs back home are making more sense now and it fills him with giddy energy, not to mention learning something so close to Rowan's heart, a part of them that they've held back until now.

"I want to see, if you're good with sharing." His face lights up with excitement, but still more questions come to mind! "And you'll need to explain packs, and like, where we need to fit into that? Is there a hierarchy? I mean you said you were the alpha...oh! And, was it something like you needed to be turned into a werewolf? That's how it works back home."

And he pauses to take a breath, still more questions on the tip of his tongue. Quick, someone shut him up!

"I want to see too," Max says earnestly. This is a part of them. He wants to know it and appreciate it. Nothing can scare him off now.

Max laughs and pats Lucas lightly on his thigh. "See, told you he was going to burst from questions. We might be here all night." And, honestly, Max is okay with that.

Rowan chuckles, and kisses Lucas. His curiosity is one of the things that they love about him, and they wouldn't have it any other way. And because they can, they then turn to Max and kiss him as well. "When have I ever complained about you two keeping me here all night?" They tease back, happily. It feels good to fall back into their usual pattern of playful banter.

"We don't get bitten or nothing. It's genetic; we don't always breed true, and sometimes it goes hidden for generations, but if you're Garou, someone in your family tree was too. Me and Ren, both our mums were human, so we looked human until we had our first change, and Silent's is a wolf-- fuck, no, I always forget. She's Metis, so both her parents was werewolves. That's against the litany - the rules, 'cos kids from two werewolf parents are always infertile and always have some sort of deformity. Silent ain't got a tail, Serenity's got a scorpion tail, and Revvie has seizures." They tick each of them off on their fingers, frowning faintly as they do.

"And packs are... it's like a family, right? Both humans and wolves are social creatures, it makes sense. Especially when a lot of people got to leave their family behind when they change for the first time. And then someone has to be in charge, because too many cooks spoil the broth and all that. It's just what feels natural and what works."

They wiggle out between Max and Lucas and sit beside them instead, crossed legged. "So we got five forms, right? This is homid," they indicate themself, then hold up a thumb, "and lupus is a wolf, then crinos is our war form, that's like the big beast mix of both, 8 foot tall all fangs and claws and shit, and where we're strongest." They tap lupus off on their little finger, and then crinos on the middle. "So then there's two in between forms too, hispo, which is like a nightmare form of a wolf, and glabro, which is in between homid and crinos. Sort of like a furry?"

And with that they shift into glabro, closing their eyes for a moment as they do so. Their clothes stretch out as they do, allowing for an extra half foot of growth, their figure staying in proportion, and their nails grow longer. The biggest change is in their face; round features turning to pointed ones, including their ears. It's a very different look, more fae and dangerous than their usual open and friendly one, but still attractive in it's own right, and still recognisable as Rowan, especially in their eyes. They fiddle nervously with the edge of their shirt, glancing at the pair of them to see how they'll react. "Most people don't look so human as what I do. I can get away going shopping like this. In fact, I don't think the lady at the tescos down the road has ever seen me any other way."

Edited 2020-10-18 08:11 (UTC)

Not genetic, Lucas wonders at that but not for long. His attention is glued to every single word. If he can't recall it later by regular means there's always a quick dip into the past. It's fascinating and only fills him with more questions. The different forms, how a pack forms, all of it. He wants to know it all, know Rowan in a way he hasn't before.

Above it all, though, is the singular desire to see them change, so he manages to keep a lid on everything else for now.

Rowan shifts and his eyes go wide with wonder. Like watching a movie special effect but in real life, suddenly Rowan's the same but different, making him the shortest of the bunch now.

"Wow..." Lucas can't help but to lean forward, placing his hand over theirs. He knows what it's like to be nervous this way. Sometimes people react poorly. "So this is...glabro. Right?"

Metis. Against the rules. Privately, something clicks into place for Max. Why Milla, no, Silent had reacted the way she did to him and that entire... situation. She's infertile. And if the first duty of being a Mate is to...mate then... poor Silent... no wonder all this has been so hard on her.

He's so caught up in that line of thought he doesn't quite realize what's going on until he looks up and sees Rowan changing and... growing. His eyes go wide. The better to take in all of this. Rowan still looks like Rowan, but the sharpness is alluring in a completely different way. His breath catches in his throat. But Lucas' words remind him to breath. And to say something so Rowan knows he isn't staring like this because he hates it.

"Wow," he echoes Lucas, "You're... gorgeous." It's honestly the first thing that came to mind.

Lucas reaches out, and it's so strange, how his hand is now suddenly smaller than theirs. With the pack it's different; Rowan knows each one of their forms as well as they know their own, but this is new. Carefully, they turn their hand so they can lace their fingers together, only to flush as Max speaks, glancing over at him.

"Hey, you ain't never said that about me normally." They chuckle, though, the moment broken, as they reach out for him, then pause and pull back so they can use their hand to lift their shirt, revealing the thin, pale and silvery fur that now covers anywhere where they had body hair before. "Besides, I look less human under my clothes." Dropping it again, they then hold out their hand for Max again.

"And yeah, this is glabro. I have lupus back as well, but I can't speak like that. Not as yous'll understand, anyway."

Meanwhile Lucas just marvels at the size difference now. He's the smallest one in the room and that's just so wild! he has to laugh at Max, though, "Damn dude, way to get called out."

But his attention is drawn back to Rowan as they reveal wispy fur where hair normally was, Lucas cup his free hand over their clasped ones, to better resist petting their stomach like he wants to now.

"So, does it hurt? Changing like that?" It didn't seem to hurt, but maybe they were used to it? He'd read a few horror stories from back home and the idea that any of this might cause them pain makes him wish he thought to ask that first.

"I'm sorry! Okay!" Max's whole face flushes pink. "Regular you is sexy and cute! This I wouldn't call sexy but it is... really pretty." And seeing that delicate fur does nothing to change his opinion.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be weird..."

He looks away a bit ashamed, and also because he'd really want to touch that fur otherwise. So, he's a little surprised when they take his hand. But he squeezes it tight anyway.

His eyes do come back up suddenly when Lucas asks that question.

Rowan laughs at Max, but not unkindly, leaning in as though to kiss him, and then remembering last moment that it might be weird in this form and holding back. "I'm only joking, love. I'm just glad you don't think I'm too weird like this. Really, though, most of us ain't like this. I got lucky with mine."

They keep a hold of Max's hand, shuffling in a little closer to the pair of them again. They don't curl in close for the same reason they held back from kissing Max, but they'd like to. Maybe if they can settle their curiosity, then they can change back soon and cuddle again. They leave their shirt pulled up slightly for that reason, leaving the option there for either Max or Lucas to touch if they want to. "It don't hurt, really. I mean, it's a bit of a shock the first couple of times, but it's kind of like a really long stretch."

"Well if it is weird then I'm weird too. Actually, we're all a bit weird in our own ways, aren't we?" Lucas grins sheepishly, stifling another teasing laugh on Max's behalf. "Because he's right, this is a good look on you."

There's relief in his expression to hear that it's not painful to change, and he takes the still lifted shirt as an invitation to lean forward, gently stroking their exposed stomach and mapping out the changes there.

"Oooh," He all but cooes, smiling at Rowan and then Max in turn, "You're so soft..." And laughing at himself now with no regrets.

Max was getting ready to bend his head into that kiss, which would have been an all-new experience for him in the first place, him always being the taller one, but then they hold back. Aw... he guesses it might have been a little weird but he's really not as freaked out by this as he expected to be.

In fact, since Lucas has already taken the lead, Max can't help but follow. He's too intensely curious not to. Gently, he strokes his hand over their soft fur, smiling at the feeling. And wondering what it would feel like to be chest to chest with it. Jesus, maybe he is a weirdo.

"It's so nice..." Max adds. "Is... is your fur the same in other forms?"

After a moment, Rowan pulls their shirts over their head, and then curls back into both Max and Lucas, letting them play. It feels strange, but relaxing at the same time, the same way it does when one of the pack grooms them in crinos or lupus. There's more muscle camouflaged under the fur than before, hinting at their additional strength.

"It's the same colour, but proper thick in all the others. This is more like weird body hair really. I dunno if it's softer or not... I guess wolf fur is a bit wiry, so probably not." They think for a moment, comparing in their head. "Yeah, I guess crinos is a bit softer than lupus, so this is probably the softest. You'll have to tell me."

"Sounds like some more investigating is in order," Snickering, he sits back for a moment to properly admire Rowan without their shirts. Then Lucas lightly touches Max's arm, eyebrows raising slightly. Double team hug time? Because he's wondering the same thing or just wanting to smoosh his face into their stomach, whichever happens first. Weird? Naaaawh.

Either way he's going in for a hug around Rowan, the only way to compare their soft fur to other forms is to make sure he's got a good sampling~

The minute their shirts are off all the way, Max's eyes are drawn in, looking over them with wonder and admiration.

At the touch from Lucas, he nods. And immediately pressed himself to Rowan, finally letting himself nuzzle his face against their soft chest. It's exactly as nice as he hoped.

"I agree. I think we need to see the other ones to compare."

Having them both nuzzle into them like that has Rowan squirming a little, ticklish at the unfamiliar sensation. But they're both warm, and Rowan wants them to feel comfortable with this form, so they try not to squirm too much, wrapping an arm around them.

"Well, I can't show you all of them 'cos I ain't got them all back. And Crinos... I dunno how you'll both react to it. Most humans it creates a fight or flight reflex in, but neither of you are scared of me normally either. Anyway, the only other thing I can show you is lupus, and I can't talk to you like that. So when you've had your fill of this I'll change."

"Heh, someone's ticklish," He smiles against them, settling down a little so Rowan's not too squirmy between them. "We can definitely help with the favor at least."

No worries there, but the comment about Crinos has Lucas thinking. He's curious, of course, but what if it does make him and Max want to run from Rowan? That can definitely wait until another time...

"Well, my vote's for lupus, and then more cuddling." He grins at Max. "Right?"

"Oh ho, now. That makes two ticklish ones, doesn't it?" Max will, however, resist the urge to tickle more.

"Wait... a reflex, like, unconsciously?" Max does wonder. Maybe because his particular sensibilities are a bit warped already (thanks to living with a vampire) he might be immune. They'd have time to test that later.

"Yeah, I second the motion. Let's see it."

"Yeah, well, it's weird like this. Good weird, but normally when people touch my fur I'm in crinos or lupus." Rowan's glad neither of them seem to be taking advantage, even though, knowing them, they'll save it for another time. They curl in, pressing a kiss to each of their crowns while they can, then wiggle out from underneath them.

"And it's uncontrollable, yeah. Humans can tell we're dangerous, subconsciously. Animals too. We'll see what happens when I can, though." Rowan says, before closing their eyes and changing again. It takes a little longer this time, the shift from glabro to lupus more dramatic, but when it's done, they're sharing the bed with a wolf. Smaller than most, but still larger than most dogs, and rangy, tail wagging a little cautiously. Rowan's fur is thick and luxurious, a mottled silver all over, matching their eyes which haven't changed colour.

They pad one step closer, watching both humans, then nose into them with a cold, wet snout. They both smell so good in this form, warm and strong and inviting, blending together along with Rowan's own scent on their hands and clothes and faces.

Lucas is definitely guilty of being the other ticklish one, "Make that three, right?" But Max is also guilty!

Sitting back gives Lucas a few moments to consider again what their other form might actually look like. Maybe closer to werewolves back home? His eyes go wide watching those changes take place until at last Rowan's fully a wolf. Blinking a few times, he smiles and waits for Rowan to approach.

"Hey," He says quietly when they nose him, gently catching his fingers in the fur of their neck and booping their nose with his own. Their eyes are the same as always and that makes him smile brighter. "Thank you...for sharing this part of you with us."

The circumstances for why now didn't matter anymore.

"All of this is kind of good weird..." Max says, still tentative. But their kiss soothes back some of his lingering anxieties. They will figure it all out. They've already committed to this.

"Hey, hey... I'm not that ticklish." Except he is.

He goes quiet as Rowan slips away from them, waiting for the big reveal. And it sure is a sight to behold. Wow. Wolves are big.

"Ah," he yelps playfully, "cold nose." But he's laughing and his eyes are twinkling with amazement as his fingers dig into the fur on their back, running through it and testing its thickness.

"Yes," he adds to Lucas' statement, "Thank you, Rowan."

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