{"sf1_id":820977,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Return of the Errant Weres","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":4070,"posted_at":"2015-02-18T17:27:00.000Z","tags":["FAMILY","Human","Love","Plot Development","Reunited","Story Progression","Werewolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/820977-return-of-the-errant-weres","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/820977","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=820977\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#93 of The Moonrise Chronicles","content":"                Back in\nPittsburgh, there was a funerary atmosphere to the house. Billy felt terrible\nfor buying her those chemicals, Maggie's mother and grandmother were\ninconsolable, and everyone else was very subdued. Even Leo was moping, for he\nknew better of the situation and had to keep it secret. That made him very\nuncomfortable. And now with Edward gone, which wasn't in the original plan, he\nwas thinking that he either had to wait this out or demand to leave\nimmediately.\n                He was\na wiser man than most, so he stayed right where he was. But oh, when this mess\nwas sorted out, he was going to be wishing he was elsewhere. This girl was\nquite bright, but there were times when her plans didn't take into account anyone\nelse's feelings. That made her very good at what she was doing. Emotions often\nled plans astray, else-wise he, Leonardo, would not be here now.\n                He\npaced the floor of this house, preoccupied both by the situation and the\ngeneral appearance of the objects around him. He was very curious about all of\nthe changes to the world, and that included all of this wonderful technology\nthat he could never have imagined in his younger days. Even here in this simple\nhouse, there was an amazing array of devices, from something that heated food\ninstantly to the boxes with the moving pictures, much like his phone device the\npope had acquired for him and the thing they called a lap-top. He was never\ngoing to get used to having such things, but they were damned convenient. And\nthe fling ship, the thing they called variously a jet or an airplane. Who could\nhave imagined it?\n                He had\nof course, but never to the extent that these enormous metal beasts roared\nthrough the clouds like dragons.\nHe shook his head. Five hundred\nyears had created quite the gap between his time and the present, but it was\nnice to know that everyone seemed to remember him, even if it was mostly for a\nsingle painting, of which he had actually done two. Oh well, such was fame.\n                He\nwould never have thought that the world was round, nor that he would be halfway\naround it helping out weres descended from families barely in their infancy in\nhis day. But it was a great time to be alive, even with all of the turmoil he\nsensed was going on in the world. Maybe this was his time to shine, and this\nEdward and his young girl; maybe they too had something to do in their future.\nThey had already beaten the odds and were still going strong. He had no idea\nwhere they were right now but he hoped they were going strong. Edward was a bit\ndim at times, and she was a bit too bright, and when those traits clashed,\nthere was bound to be problems.\n                He\nsmiled inwardly. In other words, they would make the typical couple if they\ncould just get connected on the right level.\n                He\nhoped that Edward figured things out, but he didn't have high hopes for him.\nThe young man was very reckless, and his inexperience in handing his abilities\nwas plainly evident. Then again, that wasn't all bad. Take for example the\nstrange winged forms they had encountered. Leonardo knew the legends, though\neven in his own day they were just that; mere legends of winged weres able to\nfly. They were the whole reason some cultures believed in demons, for when\nangered or ravenous, this form of werewolf was a terror to behold. The recent battle,\nsuch as it was, had not been anything close to what it could have been. For\nthat, everyone had better thank the girl when she returned. Her clever ploy had\nworked, but for it to be truly effective, they were going to have to leave the\narea before someone caught her scent.\n                He\nshook his head. He was too old to be partaking in fights, much less ones he\nwasn't likely to win. But he owed these two his present situation with the pope\nand he was an honorable man. He had brought the armor and made sure Edward's\nseed in the woman named Verona was safe. It was just possible that this child\ncould be even greater yet than any of them.\n                He\nstepped outside and looked to the sky. The weather was still bordering on\ninclement, but there were little rays of sunlight peeking through the dense\ngray clouds. The weather didn't bother him as much as the feeling there was\nstill a chance of those creatures having followed them back here to this city.\nHe searched the clouds and shivered.\n                Returning\nto the interior of the house and despite his emotional turmoil, he decided to\nbe like everyone else and to bunk down for the night. Beds and couches were\nsoon occupied, and while it took longer for some, eventually everyone fell into\nthe expert hands of the sandman.\n                Come\nmorning, there was the smell of coffee and bacon, biscuits and gravy, and a few\nthings that were unrecognizable to the old nose of the master. There was a\nslight haze in the air from the frying pan, and despite the temping smell no\none could manage to move a muscle. It was like they were paralyzed by some drug.\nFear crept into Leo's mind as he wrestled with what was causing his lethargy.\n                All at\nonce it let up, and he flew off the couch to stare into the cooking room. There\nwas the girl and her partner, happily preparing food and pulling down dishes.\nHe shook his head and then growled at them.\n                \"It's\nnot nice to use your powers to no good end!\"\n                Maggie\nwas all grins. \"I didn't want anyone up and spoiling things before the food was\ndone. Since you were the closest to the kitchen, I figured I wasn't too worried\nabout you.\"\n                Even\nso, there were noises erupting from around the house as the others recovered\nfrom their own paralysis. There was soon a crowd of sleepy eyed watchers,\nmouths hanging ajar, staring at the little girl who was dead. They nearly went\non the defensive when Billy let out a yell and scooped Maggie off the floor and\ntwirled her in the air, coming close to striking her head on the light fixture.\n                \"You\nlittle sneak. You did it again!\"\n                \"Oh put\nme down! What else was I supposed to do? You guys would have fought tooth and\nnail and for what? Grandma almost died as it is. And someone on father's side\ndid die. So I stepped in and handled it my way. And before you go telling me\nwhat you think of it, just don't. I swear to god if you do I'll walk out that\ndoor and you'll never see me again!\"\n                \"Mags!\"\nEdward's tone was severe.\n                \"Oh\nfine! Sorry. But really, it was the only thing I could think of to make this\nend well.\"\n                The\nones who knew about her first trick were stunned that they had not seen it\ncoming. But it made sense. If she was assumed to be dead, nothing was going to\nmatter to Leeds, and a pointless battle was therefore averted.\n                Kathryn\ncame over and pulled her from Billy's embrace. \"Such a child I have raised!\"\n                \"Hmph!\nIt would have been nice to know a little more about my background you know.\nLike, am I going to sprout wings one of these days?\"\n                \"I\ndon't know pumpkin, but I hope not.\"\n                \"Why\nnot? I think it would be totally cool!\"\n                At this\npoint the entire household erupted into a flurry of overlapping questions as\nthey realized that she was really still alive, as it was taking a moment or two\nto sink in. Edward sidled over to the master.\n                \"I\nassume then that you kept her secret to yourself.\"\n                \"What\nchoice did I have? She is right you know.\"\n                \"Oh, I\nknow she is. \n                Leo\nlooked at him and smiled. \"Then it seems you are capable of learning after\nall.\"\n                \"Very\nfunny old man. I told her this metal in my head was a curse.\"\n                The\nmaster's face grew serous under his beard. \"Curse? A curse is merely how people\nview a situation. They can neither be laid nor lifted except by the individual\nwho feels they are under one.\"\n                \"But\nthis metal...\"\n                \"Is\nnothing but metal. So it has enhanced you beyond reason, and yet you still\nremain in control of it. Intelligence is a curse when one knows not how to\nmanage it and stupidity is therefore a boon to those who cannot handle the\ntruth. Do you know how many stupid cardinals there were in the Vatican in my\nday, because they had the fervor of the religion, but none of the sense of how\nto guide the people? It's still that bad today. The present pope at least has a\ngood measure of intelligence and religious belief to clean out the larder and\nrestock it with something fresh.\"\n                \"Yes,\nhe does seem unusual for a pope. Speaking of which, do you think he would do a\nwedding?\"\n                \"Really?\nYou two have gotten down to being that serious have you? That is good. I always\nwished that I had found someone that I could have coupled with, but the\npolitics of the days were nearly as bad as they are now.\"\n                \"I'll\nbelieve you. But as for my question?\"\n                \"I\nthink he would kiss the devil himself to help you two. And that's going far\nsince I don't think either of you are Catholic.\"\n                \"No,\nbut for Maggie, I might even go that far.\"\n                \"I\nwouldn't worry about it. From what I understand in your country, a marriage is\na matter for the government, not the church. You will need to get a license\nbefore you can wed.\"\n                That\ngave Edward pause for thought. How were they going to get a license? She was\ntoo young, and by that reasoning he was too old. That was humorous because she\nhad been a werewolf a bit longer than he had, and yet he was the adult. These\nwere things you couldn't really discuss in front of a clerk in the halls of\nrecords though. They would have the guys with the strait jackets down there in\nno time.\n                Maggie\ncame along just then and Leo stuck out his hand in congratulations. \"Well done!\nI think you two will make a remarkable couple.\"\n                She\nwhipped around to Edward. \"Opened your big mouth did you?\"\n                \"Hey! I\nasked him if he thought that the pope would do it. I hardly want us to get our\nhopes up and then have them come crashing down again.\"\n                \"He'll\ndo it.\"\n                \"Yeah,\nthat's what Leo said. But he did mention that we need to get a license to make\nif official, and I don't know how or where we could do that. After all, you're\ntoo young.\"\n                She\nsmiled and turned to the master.\"You might want to put your hands over your\nears for this one.\"\n                \"I\nbelieve I already know. You speak your mind as you see fit.\"\n                She\nturned to Edward. \"Remember me having my mind blanked?\"\n                \"Yes. I\nknow how to do that.\"\n                \"Yes\nyou do,\" she growled. \"Well, it can do all sorts of things, like inhibit things\nthat come naturally to you.\"\n                He was\nsuddenly excited. \"Do you mean like blocking my ability to see into the\nfuture?\"\n                \"I\nwasn't thinking along those lines, but yes, if you want to go that way, then\nsure. I was talking about myself.\"\n                \"I\nguess I'm lost then.\"\n                Maggie\nwas dressed in an old robe for the moment, so she didn't bother changing out of\nit. She transformed into a werewolf, which wasn't strange at all, but when she\nbegan to morph back, she didn't look the same. Edward recalled that their feral\nand anthro forms could take on different appearances, but it never dawned on\nhim to adjust his physical appearance as a human. It made a certain amount of\nsense to do so for an added bit of anonymity. \n                The\nrobe rode three inches higher on her legs now, and she had a more mature face.\nShe glanced around the room, got a sheepish grin and flash Edward with a quick\nlook at her chest. She had a nice little set of breasts riding on her ribcage\nnow.\n                \"Mom\nsaid the Kindred can change their human appearance with ease. I got my memories\nback and I remembered that I used to play hide and go seek and cheat by\nbecoming someone else. It was part of the reason she took me out of school.\nThat, and the fact that I guess I'm actually over twenty years old.\"\n                Edward\nhit the floor. \"What?\"\n                \"I\ndon't know why that should be a shock to you. Look at Verona!\"\n                She\nheard her name called and came over. \"What about me?\"\n                \"You're\nolder than you look, right?\"\n                \"Gee,\nthanks for bringing that up.\"\n                \"No! I\nmean, you looked really young for a long time, right?\"\n                \"That's\nnot helping Maggie,\" she growled out.\n                \"Oh\nfuck you Verona. You know what I mean. How long did you look like a middle\nschooler?\"\n                \"Oh!\nWay too long. I had to wait years before anyone believed me for my real age,\nand that's because I am always behind in my looks.\" It was then that she\nnoticed the girl had added a good six or seven \nyears to her appearance.\"\n                \"How\ndid you do that?\"\n                \"Because\nof my father's genes. This whole time, right up to a short time before the\nbattle I was under the impression that I was this little child. Once I found\nout the truth, I found I was able to make adjustments to my form just like\nthis.\"\n                Edward's\neyes were wide. \"Why didn't you show me this before?\"\n                \"There\nhasn't been time, now has there you big idiot? I tried it out a few times\nbefore I made it to where you guys had met up, but until now, there didn't seem\nto be the time for it.\"\n                \"So\nthat means you are both old enough and able to look the part?\"\n                She\nflashed him again, holding the robe open for a little while longer. It was\nfunny to see her actually embarrassed. That wasn't a common theme for her.\n                He\nforgot that there were others around and slipped his hands inside her robe and\npulled it open. \"And you can do this, and still change back to your younger\nversion?\"\n                She was\nred in the face. \"The younger version is my real self silly. Physically, I am\nabout twelve or thirteen. Everyone had me convinced of it too. That was\ngrandma's doing, bless her cranky old heart. She stripped me of my identity\nexcept for the basics, which allowed me to remember who I was, just not the\ndetails of what I was. I rediscovered that on my own before I met you for the\nfirst time. I think she would have liked me to still be ignorant of the facts,\nbut I'll let that pass as her being overprotective.\"\n                \"And\nyou've know this for how long?\"\n                \"Not\nlong. But like I said, I was intending to stay away for a while and work out\nthe details of my life. But then you, you stupid idiot, you tracked me down. I\nguess I'm not disappointed by it though.\"\n                Edward's\nmind was racing. \"You mean that we can get married without a lot of hassle?\"\n                Verona\nlaughed. \"Not likely. Being what we are makes everything a hassle if we try to\ndo it by the book. \"\n                Maggie\nwas thinking too.  \"Does it really matter\nif we have a piece of paper? I mean a ring doesn't really make a difference,\ndoes it?\"\n                \"It\ndoes in some instances,\" Edward said with a wry smile, \"otherwise we wouldn't\nbe here, now would we?\"\n                She\ntapped her foot on the floor. \"That's not what I meant and you know it. I was\ntalking about wedding bands.\"\n                Leonardo\nstepped in. \"I believe what the young lady is inquiring after is whether or not\na marriage is anymore more than a commitment between two people. The answer is\nthat it is not. We accept the limitations that our accepted social conformities\nmean to us, but paper and metal a marriage do not make.\"\n                Maggie\ngave him a hug. \"Thanks Leo, but I think that I want a little social conformity.\nI have a feeling the rest of my life is going to be one crazy ride.\"\n                The\nmaster knit his brows together.\"Crazy ride?\"\n                She\ngave him the look. \"Like it has been right up until this moment. There are so\nmany things out there just waiting for us to discover them. I can only imagine\nthe trouble we'll get into investigating them all!\"\n                \"Oh the\nvibrancy of youth. More power to you girl, if that's what you want. My days of\nsuch exuberance are behind me. I will gladly return to my new position and live\nout my remaining days in obscurity. Dealing with the cardinal has been more\nthan enough excitement for my life, and to be honest with you, the thought of\ntackling your kin made me queasy.\"\n                \"Then\nthat's all the more reason to stay on my good side, isn't it, since I'm half\ndemon on my father's side.\"\n                He\ngrinned. \"No, you are no demon. I would rather say you are an angel.\"\n                The\nroom got quite as her eyes glowed. \"Do you really think so? I don't like false\nflattery.\"\n                \"Yes for\nyou are like a work from the hand of Josse Lieferinxe himself. An angel is not\na matter of outward appearance only, and you have more than a sufficient supply\nof that. It is the pure heart within that makes all the difference.\"\n                Billy\nhad moved next to Edward.\"Listen up buddy, for this is here the learning\nstarts. Women love this sentimental stuff.\"\n                \"Not\nMags.\"\n                Her\neyes returned to normal except for a single tear. \"After all I've done, you can\nstill say that?\"\n                Leo\nface was set, but his countenance was one of gentle compassion. \"What you have\ndone, you have done for the right reasons. Is not that a sign of a good and\nstrong heart?\"\n                She\ngrew a little taller. \"Do you really think so? I've done some terrible things.\"\n                \"Child,\nmany have done terrible deeds for matters they felt were important. Little\nJoan, known as the Maid of Orleans, went into battle at around your age.\"\n                \"You\nmean Joan of Arc?\"\n                \"Yes,\nshe was known as that also. She was a very sweet and forward girl, just like\nyou.\"\n                \"And\nlook what it got her. She was burned at the stake.\"\n                \"Yes she\nwas, but it thankfully left no permanent scars.\"\n                Edward\ndid a double take, but Maggie spit it out first. \"She was a werewolf?\"\n                \"Well\nyes. All the best people are. Sometimes they don't know it, but our society,\nand by that I mean your society would\nnever have gotten to where it is at without the blood of the Kind running\nthrough the veins of so many.\"\n                \"But\nshe was burned before you were born wasn't she?\"\n                \"Yes,\nand so she was my elder by many years, but she was beautiful right to the end.\nWe had met on several occasions, but she refused to allow me to paint her. She\nwas always afraid someone would recognize her. It was a silly fear, but when\nyou have suffered flames as she did, once is more than enough.\"\n                Maggie\nwas jumping up and down. \"Did you? You know...\"\n                Leo\nlooked ashamed. \"She is considered a saint today my child. No one needs to know\nthe facts. Much of what everyone believes is false in one form or another.\"\n                \"Amen\nto that.\" Billy was cutting in, because everyone else was just listening to\nwhat was going on without commenting. \"I'm not sure how much reality I want to\nhave sifting into my poor head at the moment. I like adventure well enough, but\nthis is getting to be a little crazy. I was never good at history. Too many\ndates to remember, and names, and places too. I'm more of a person of action.\"\n                \"Oh now\nBilly, don't tell me you've lost your taste for the wild side of life!\" The\ngirl was giving him a mischievous smile.\n                \"No,\nbut I think I have another one awaiting me elsewhere little one. I made it my\njob to find more of those like my family, even if I wasn't one of them. And I\ndid that, or rather, you found us. Now I think it's time to do something\ndifferent.\"\n                She\nrealized that he was serious. \"Like what?\"\n                He\nlooked over to her great aunt. \"Like go to Russia and live in the wilds. Don't\nyou think that would suit me?\"\n                She\nremembered all the werewolf females that were patrolling the area that Maria\nhad made her own. \"I think it would suit you just fine Billy.\"\n                \"Yeah,\nme too. The ole U.S. of A. is a great place to live, but I want something a bit\nmore challenging. I can't think of a better place than Russia.\"\n                \"Do you\nplan on staying there?\"\n                \"I\ndoubt it. Alexei has promised to make arrangements to fly us back and forth.\"\n                Maggie\nlooked to her great uncle. \"Is that so? And what of you and Verona?\"\n                \"I have\na place in St Petersburg, and she has her place in New York. I think we could\nbe quite comfortable living back and forth until the child is born. Then we'll\nneed to settle down to one for a while until our life adjusts.\" The elders\nsnorted, knowing that your life never adjusted once you had kids.\n                Edward\nwas listening, hardly believing his ears. At this point, matters of the heart\nas well as matter of equal importance, seemed to be coming together into\nsomething good. He was tempted to look to the future, but he blocked his mind\nfrom following that idea. If this was going to work, then perhaps it was best\nto let it do it on its own. His interference hardly had the beneficial effect\nhe had thought it might provide. He would be better off picking the next\nlottery numbers than trying to predict the outcomes of so many lives. He found\nthat he had all he could handle with Maggie, and now that they could be\ntogether, there was little else that he wanted in his life.\n                He\nsmiled and looked around the room. This whole time he had been wrapped up in\nwhat the future would hold and was missing the amazing things in the here and\nnow.\n                Maggie\nsaw the look on his face and knew he was finally getting it. He was smart\nenough, though not yet wise, and he had a good heart that just needed\ntempering. He would do just fine. When his eyes came back to her, she slipped\nopen the robe again and gave him her best bedroom eyes.\n                She\nnoticed the flush rise in his cheeks. \nApparently she had the goods he was looking for. That was a good thing\nto know. She already knew it of course, but it was always good to hold a man in\nthrall and she him react in a positive way. \n    But always let them think it was\ntheir idea and their idea alone. There was no use in letting them think\notherwise."}