{"sf1_id":800699,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Setting the Stage","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":2777,"posted_at":"2014-12-27T21:21:00.000Z","tags":["FAMILY","Human","Plot Development","Story Progression","Werewolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/800699-setting-the-stage","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/800699","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=800699\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#76 of The Moonrise Chronicles\n\nStill building up some plot here. Things are going to get a little complicated for the writer in a little while as far as this story goes, so bear with me if this is the last installment for a bit.","content":"                Edward\nfinally relented and placed his ring upon Alexei's finger. As it was, he had\ngrown another few inches overnight. His face was still rather boyish looking,\nbut his body was stretching and filling out. When he awoke later in the day,\nhis ravenous appetitive was back.  Marcus\nrather threw up his hands. \"You know what we have in the freezer here!\"\n                \"It's\nfine for the moment. If we can be cured, so can you. I think this might be the\nbest way of divesting yourself of meat that could get you thrown in jail.\"\n                His\nlogic was unquestionable. Packages were removed and set to thawing over the heat\nof the wood burner, and then allowed to cook until it was at least mostly done.\nAlexei didn't care. He shoveled it in as fast as they could hand him a plate.\n                Edward\nforced them to stop feeding him at one point. \"Alexei, let your body deal with\nwhat you have in you at the moment. Then you can resume.\"\n                The boy\nlooked about twenty years old now, or maybe a little older. His face had expanded\nand matured until he looked very much the image of his father. His body was\nchanging so quickly.  He was gaunt despite\nhis growth, and he needed all of the food to supplement the accelerated growth.\nEdward knew that there was more than one way of overloading a body, hence the\ncaution on slowing down his intake. It was met with a protest.\n                \"But my\nstomach is still empty!\"\n                The\nvoiceuttering this was no longer a boy's, but that of a young man. It broke and\ncrackled at times as the words found his vocal chords no longer able to hit the\nhigh notes, and the baritone quality was creeping in to replace his former,\nhigher-pitched qualities.\n                \"Your\nbody is digesting the food as fast as it can, but if you go headlong into this,\nit could end up bad for you.\"\n                Verona\ncut him off. \"He needs to eat. Will you look at how his body is growing? He\ndesperately needs to maintain his metabolism to the level it's currently at!\"\n                He\npatiently heard her out. \"My dear, I am well aware of that. But unless you want\nhim to tip the balance and end up old and gray by the end of the week, you will\nlisten to me.\"\n                \"But\nfather,\" interjected Maggie, \"you know how bad the hunger can be, don't you?\"\n                \"His\npresent discomfort will pass. What he becomes when he is finished with this\nwill be permanent, to a degree. From this point onward he'll age normally, as\nfar as anything the Kind does can be considered normal.\"\n                Tensions\nbegan to rise until Alexei held up his hand. \"I think he is correct. I am not\ndying, though if this is what it is like, I will postpone that day for as long\nas is possible. If he believes that I should moderate, I will. I have endured\nmuch in my life, and a little thing like hunger, not matter how terrible and\npersistent, can be ignored.\"\n                That\nsettled the matter, though not everyone agrreed. Verona turned her back on\nEdward and refused to talk to him for the remainder of the day. Maggie noticed\nimmediately and was offended by her actions. She was going to confront her and\ntell her off when Edward pulled her aside.\n                \"Let it\ngo. It's not like you've never been angry over something. She can be mad at me\nif she wants to be.\"\n                \"But\nit's not like you're doing this on purpose!\"\n                \"But I\nam! He needs to regulate his intake for now. His body is a bit like a balloon.\nIt'll take a lot of stretching but give it too much pressure and it'll burst.\"\n                \"Ugh!\nThat's gross!\"\n                He\nsighed and ruffled her hair. \"I didn't mean that he would burst. I just mean\nthat there is such a thing as overloading a body. As it is, I think he might\nvery well be getting to the stage where he flips over to bearing a werewolf.\nWhen that happens, who knows how he'll react?\"\n                \"Yeah,\ndon't I know it! We had better be prepared to hold him down if it comes to\nthat.\"\n\"You may be right little one, you\nmay be right. But there are many ways of soothing the savage beast.\"\n\"You're talking in riddles again,\naren't you?\"\n\"No, I spoke plainly.\"\n\"Then I'm getting more ignorant as\nyou grow smarter.\"\n\"Sorry. I'm just saying that\nviolence doesn't always need to be met with more violence.\"\nShe looked him in the eye.\n\"Whatever. I really hate you being a know-it-all. \"\nHis laughed was heartfelt. \"You and\nme both. But it is sort of nice when you can some good with it.\"\nMarcus interrupted them. \"I hate to\ncut it, but can I have a word with you, alone?\"\nMaggie giggled. \"Sure! Edward,\nleave!\"\n\"That's not what he meant and you\nknow it Mags. We'll finish up our conversation later.\"\nShe sulked out of the room like a\nchastised puppy. He knew it was all an act.\n\"What can I do for your Marcus?\"\n\"I don't mean to denigrate all that\nyou have done these past few months, but do you think it wise to attempt to\nrebuild the community here?\"\n\"I appreciate your concern, but I\nthink it will work out just fine. What better way to keep tabs on everyone, and\nto lend support should an emergency arise? Have as many of us as possible in\none spot. True, it might make us easier to track down, but as far as I can\ntell, there can't be too many left out there looking for us.\"\n\"I'm just not sure of this. It\ndidn't work the first time around.\"\n\"When at first you don't succeed,\ntry, try again!\"\nMarcus gave up. \"If you say so. I\ndon't much trust the world anymore son. It's a pretty evil place.\"\n\"Nah! Not evil, just human. If you\nwant to rise above all that, then you need to pull in the Kind from all\nquarters. Make this something special, sort of utopia, only not something quite\nthat corny sounding. I think that if everyone can have a chance to be\nthemselves, let their hair down, if you will, then maybe we can foster more\nunderstanding within our own ranks.\"\n\"That's a tall order son.\"\n\"Not as tall as you think.\"\nThe old man gave in. \"If you say so\nthen I will trust you. You have shown yourself to be quite the remarkable\nperson, especially for being what you are in so short of a span of time. But\nplease don't bring down anything on our heads we are ill prepared for. It just\nwouldn't be right.\"\nEdward started laughing. \"Marcus,\ntrust me, with the secrets that we as a species have been forced to keep,\nyou'll be ill prepared for everything that comes this way. But that doesn't\nmean that you'll dislike it.\"\nThe man shook his head. \"I don't\nlike the sounds of that young man.\"\n\"Oh relax. I'm talking about the\nfact that there are more of us that you can imagine. I'm not saying that there\nare thousands, but the strain carries on in quite a few folks. For the moment,\nwhy don't you continue to get to know Maria? When Alexei is feeling better, he\ncan join in your conversations.\"\n\"And what are you going to do?\"\n\"Me? I haven't quite figured it all\nout yet. I need Maria and her brother when I go to Pittsburgh.\"\n\"Pittsburgh? Why in the hell would\nyou go there?\"\n\"I'm going for Maggie. There's\nsomeone there she needs to meet.\"\n\"Another of the Kind?\"\n\"Yes. It will traumatic for both of\nthem I think, but it must be done. So who knows, you may have more guests\nlining up to live out here. There just might be a boom town here in no time!\"\nBilly overheard. \"Boomtown?\"\nMarcus shushed him. \"This was a\nprivate conversation!\"\nEdward shrugged. \"One way or\nanother, we're all family. We share a common gene, and I'm guessing if you go\nback far enough, you'll find it started with just one person. My thought was\nthat we need to try and gather the people with the gene here, just like what\nwas originally planned.\"\n\"Cool. I could use some company out\nhere, though it's alright for the moment. I haven't been able to talk with my\nlovely cousin in years, and now I got this Russian dame to talk to too.\"\nRemembering something, he pulled off a ring. \"Here, this is Maggie's. She's\nbeen kind enough to let me borrow it so that we can understand one another.\"\n\"Keep it for now. She won't need\nit. Maria is wearing hers and Alexei is making good use out of mine for the\nmoment. They might as well go to where they do the most good.\"\nBilly slapped him on the back. It\nwas a blow that could bruise a bear. \"Thanks Ed! It isn't often I can hear\ntales different from the ones I grew up with. Does this broad really have a ton\nof daughters and granddaughters back in Russia?\"\nEdward's face fought to contain his\namusement. \"Yes.\"\n\"That's it? Just a simple yes?\"\n\"What more do you want?\"\n\"Details!\"\n\"Then ask her directly. I was a bit\nout of it for a lot of that stuff. But let's just say that there very well\ncould be a boost in child prodigies in the next twenty years or so.\" \nBilly let out a war whoop. \"Hot\ndamn Eddy, you're a regular werewolf wrecking machine!\"\n\"You have no idea...\" He wasn't about\nto tell him about the bear. People were still thinking fairly highly of him. No\nuse in disabusing their naiveté. \nBilly sobered up for a moment. \"She\nseems like a nice lady, this tsarina. Sort of like me in a way, a little rough\naround the edges, but not bad if you can get past that the first encounter.\"\n\"She is very nice. And besides\nthat, she's very smart and an excellent tracker from all of the years of living\nin the wilderness. And yes, she has quite the extended family out there where\nshe was hiding.\"\n\"Any chance of bringing them over\nhere?\" His eyes were sparkling.\n\"I don't know. There's a chance\nthat Maria may not stay here. She has lived in the wilds most of her life, so\nchanging suddenly may not work for her.\"\n\"Oh? That's too bad. Oh well, easy\ncome, easy go.\"\n\"It's not a sure thing Billy. She\njust got reunited with her brother, and there is someone else she would like to\nmeet. So she'll not be leaving soon, if she leaves at all.\"\n\"You know Eddy; a guy could get to\nliking you way too much!\"\n\"Very funny! Go and pour your\nattentions onto someone else big guy!\"\n\"If only!\" he sighed as he left the\nroom. \nMarcus had to smile a little. \"He's\na good boy. I do feel bad for him that he's been so willing to sacrifice for us\nwithout ever having time for a female. Is there a chance that someone from among\nthis Russian's children might make a suitable mate for him?\"\n\"There are many possibilities my\nfriend. I would think that somewhere in all this mess he just might find\nsomeone he could live with.\"\n\"That would be good for him. He\nsees you with both his cousin and your girl, and he feels cheated.\"\n\"He's a good man. Maggie worries\nabout him too. She said that he is lonely. No man like him should feel that\nway. But the fact is I'm not a matchmaker. He will have to find love on his\nown. He might even have to go to Russia for it, who knows? But I think he has a\nchance at it, don't you?\"\n\"Billy is a very good man. He likes\nlooking tough, but he has a teddy bear's heart inside.\"\nA little voice was heard from the\ndoor. \"He ate a teddy bear's heart?\" Maggie's grin was enormous.\n\"Shut up Mags. We were just discussing\nBilly, someone I believe you have some pity for?\"\n\"Yes, I do. It's nice to see him so\nengaged right now. Maria is telling him stories, and he's all ears.\"\n\"What stories?\"\n\"How should I know? I don't have my\nring on, remember?\"\n\"Sorry. I can still translate\nwithout mine.\"\nMarcus caught that. \"How?\"\nEdward backpedalled when he\nrealized he slipped up. \"Well, I guess it's just from everything that has\nhappened to me. My brain got scrambled and when it got restored, it came with a\nfew new apps.\"\n\"Apps?\"\n\"Abilities.\"\n\"Is that so? Is this something you\nwant to tell us about?\"\n\"Not really. I don't wish to be\nsecretive, but it's not something I wish to speak of right now.\"\n\"As you wish. I want you to know\nthat we are going far in trusting you young man.  You come from a very strong bloodline, and\nyour family has done remarkable things. Just remember though that being\nremarkable comes as either being good or bad. Be careful how you wield any\npower that has been granted you. \"\n                Maggie\ncoughed into her hand. \"I don't think you need to worry about him. He's more\nthan capable of controlling himself. I think he got that stuff out of his\nsystem in Russia.\"\n                Marcus\nwas going to ask more questions, thought about it, and then decided that he\nreally didn't want to know. He made a tight bow and left.\n                \"Maggie,\nyou need to keep your mouth shut a little more often, especially right now.\nThere is a lot hanging in the balance.\"\n                \"I\ndon't get it. Are you embarrassed by the things you did?\"\n\"Maybe. You see, for the moment,\nthere is a lot riding on what I do. Now, I could do nothing, and you and I\ncould leave and never ever be found again and probably be happy. But where\nwould that leave everyone else?\"\n\"In a lurch I guess.\"\n\"Right. So bear with me.\"\nShe giggled. \"Bear? Like that poor\nbruin back in  Russia? I might be able to\ntake you on!\"\n\"No, not like that stupid bear! Now\nshut up for a little bit, will you?\"\n\"Fine. I'm just trying to lighten\nthe mood. You've gotten rather serious as of late.\"\n\"And for good reason. Once Alexei\nhas recovered from his most recent growth spurt, I think we should look up your\ngrandmother.\"\n\"Really?\" The excitement in her\nvoice made it quaver.\n\"Really. But it won't be all fun\nand games Mags. This is going to get serious, and you absolutely must do\neverything I tell you to do or else.\"\n\"But it's my grandma! What harm can\nthere be in finding her?\"\n\"That's what you're going to find\nout. So promise me, if you love me; that you'll do everything I say, without\nquestion.\"\n\"I don't like this secretive stuff.\nWhat aren't you telling me?\"\n\"A lot. If I told you know, it\nwould ruin a lot of things that might work out otherwise.\"\nShe was feeling suddenly nervous.\nIt wasn't a feeling she enjoyed. \"I don't get it. I'm not getting any vibes at\nall about this.\"\n\"It's a tenuous thing, as strong as\na steel cable, and yet as intangible as a wisp of smoke. Even I'm not sure of\nthe outcome of our visit.\"\n\"But grandma...\"\n\"Left you to the winds, so to\nspeak. Have you never wondered why?' \n\"Well...yes.\"\n\"Did she love you?\"\n\"I think so.\"\n\"Then it had to be a very pressing\nmatter to have pulled her away from you.\"\n\"I guess so. But what?\"\nHe smiled thinly.\n \"That is what we are going to find out. So you\nhave to trust me and I mean implicitly. Anything less might ruin the whole\nthing. Obeying me just might make this trip worthwhile.\"\n\"Oh, fine! But you had better make\nthis worth my while right now!\"\n\"What did you have in mind?\"\n\"Well, there are a whole lot of\nwoods around here. Can you think of a better place for two wolves to have a\nlittle fun?\"\nHe sucked in a breath. \"Sounds like\na plan to me. Give me a few minutes to explain our absence. Maybe, just maybe,\nwe can have a little time alone without interruptions.\""}