Frostbite

[Trifle]

Elisabeth sat on her back porch, little flecks of snow pelting her cheek. It was late winter, and her wolf was to disappear like he always did. She sighed, resting her head on her hand and contemplating over the reason why he did. Maybe there was better prey in a different area. That didn't seem logical, however. Leaving for the promise of an abundance of bunnies was ridiculous; the pack he lurked around with was tiny. They'd be able to survive off of Colorado's quarries.

Picking herself up, Elisabeth slid open the back door to her house and stepped inside. The warm air combated with its frigid counterpart until she shut the door, ending the war. Removing her boots, she wormed her way through sealed packages and canvases of all sizes. Her father's profession was painting, and he often liked to clutter the back room with his supplies. Lately, he'd been spending an abundance of time at his studio, and it left Elisabeth by herself. Her mother wasn't in town at the moment; her occupation required weekly trips to other locations.

Brushing off flakes of snow, Elisabeth marched to the couch and plopped herself onto it. It felt good to be alone, but it was crushing. She wanted her wolf. Its crushed-leaves and burnt-wood scent. Its majestic stature and rough fur. She wanted to meet it, to keep it all to herself. But it was gone now. She'd have to wait an entire year for it to come back.​

 

[Shelby]

The crunching of the snow beneath his paws ran in his ears lightly as they flickered back and forth, the quickly moving figures before him beginning to speed up as they weaved their way through the thicket of threes. He, however, stayed back, taking himself with a brisk trot as his head was beginning to hang lower as his breath came out in pants. No, he was not tired, though he could not deny a wariness that was beginning to overtake his body. The ending of winter, the coming of spring. Though the weather in the air was still cold, freezing almost, one could not deny the change in times with the seasons. Soon the snow would begin to melt, and soon flowers were going to poke their way out of the ground again. Green would started to color the ground as other various colors would come back. Except he would not see it in these eyes. He would not see it in the limited colors that he saw now. Or, a least, not that he could remember.

Blue eyes darted back as a small whimper of a groan escaped from the wolf behind him, causing Liam to turn and look to the elderly wolf that usually stayed by his side. The poor female had not much fight left in her, though she still lived. With her diminishing brown, nearly grey, coat and her small, trembling frame, he was honestly surprised that she had survived through another winter. Her body shook as she stumbled in the snow, but tried his best to keep up with him. Giving off a light snort, Liam trailed back and brushed his head against the nape of her neck gently, sighing to himself before he looked ahead of himself. The other wolves were already making their way back to their land, a house that they always frequented during this time of year before their bodies began to change again. Why? He couldn't exactly say. Instincts? Probably. But he ushered the old wolf on, grunting and barking out little bouts of encouragement as he watched her take the steps in the snow, their tracks leading them to their destination. With the wind chill, however, and with the still falling snow, their tracks would be covered soon.

With the coming of night soon upon them, and with the waning light that was being presented to them, Liam knew that they had to be a little quicker. In the distance, though he could not see them, he could hear his other pack mates, the four of them ahead. Two other males, one older then he, one younger than he, and two other females, one older, about the age of their 'alpha', and one his age. His ears pointed back slightly as he could see his breath coming from his nose, his paws clumping into the snow beneath him. Almost there. Just a little bit longer. A general sickness began to overtake his body at that point, his lips pulling back into a bit of a snarl, though he was not angry. This may have been another reason as to why the elder was moving so slowly; the change was coming, and it seemed to hit her harder than anyone else.

There were no lights to show their paths, and despite the scent from the snow, he could still smell his pack. They weren't much farther, and after traveling a little more of distance they finally made it to the house. This wasn't normally the place that they sought out; somewhere deeper into the woods they had their dens and their own area with which they lived. But this place was held for them when winter would be coming to a close. The other wolves were sitting outside, lying down or generally conversing with low growls and barks to one another. Apparently they weren't ready to change yet, however Liam knew that he was, as well as Amelia. With the way her body hunched and with the way she groaned. Instincts. He wouldn't doubt that in a few hours the others would start to feel the effects as well. Something was changing though he could not seem to grasp he concept completely. Not in this mind, though something else screamed at him to understand and that he knew what was going on, yet he didn't. Growling to himself, he pushed those thoughts aside and and ushered Amelia into the house, watching as her body crippled down to the middle of the floor. Soon, when the morning would come, they would all be different. They remember what they had done, yet there would still be spotty blanks in the pits of their mind. Everything would go back to normal, or, maybe, everything would be completely different.

 

[Trifle]

Elisabeth awoke.

She had fallen asleep on the couch, and now it was early morning. Thank God for it being the weekend, or she would be hours away from being late to school. Sitting up, she placed her feet on the cold, hardwood floor and let her eyes adjust to her surroundings. Near her was a bundled red blanket; it was most likely her father's work, as she didn't remember being on the sofa before she fell asleep.

Elisabeth picked herself up off of the couch and made her way into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. Alone again. Lately, she had gotten more distant with her family. They felt like acquaintances rather than people who shared her blood. It made her upset. She was all by herself, with no one else to converse with. No one else to share stories with, or to share her likes and dislikes with. Nobody cared anymore.

A small, unnoticeable telephone rang on the corner of the kitchen counter. Picking it up, Elisabeth answered.

"Hello?"

"Ah, yes, is this Elisabeth Smith?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded coarse, like they had some sort of disease that affected their throat.

Elisabeth countered, "Yes, who is this?"

"This is Maria from Expressions Inc. I work with your father to sell his art, and he is supposed to have a piece ready for me. When I arrived at his studio, however, he remembered that he left it at his residence. Daniel--ahem, your father--told me that you should know where it is. Do you know?" It hurt Elisabeth's ears to listen to her talk.

"No. I can look, though."

"Alright, thank you. Please call back with the result of your search."

"Sure."

Setting the phone back onto the counter, Elisabeth took a look around her. Her father rarely kept work in his house; they were almost always at his studio. Unless he left it in the big pile of unfinished artwork on the back porch, she wouldn't find it within a mile of the home. Looks like she'd have to go outside again.​

 

[Shelby]

A little sliver of light started to show through the little crack between the dark curtains that hung on the windows, keeping any suspecting watchers at bay, not that there ever were any out here deep in the woods. Nevertheless, as his face pressed against the cold wooden floor of the small log cabin, the rays of the sun stuck their way into the house and peered into the eyes of Liam. He groaned lowly in his chest before he sighed and started to open his eyes, squinting before shaking his head and blew out a heavy breath. Still there was a sense of nausea that racked through his body, however he passed the feeling aside as he slowly started to raise himself up, a chill hitting against his bare chest as he looked around. Soft snores could be heard coming from the mouths of the other occupants that lay in the house, the girls on the beds that lined the walls, the youngest boy, Caleb, laying on the couch, while Mike, their 'alpha', kept himself on a slowly deflating air mattress. How he ended up getting on he floor? He couldn't honestly say, though he wasn't ready to complain about the matter. Fine; just let it be.

Grimacing, he rolled his neck before he finally decided to stand and headed over the dresser on the other side of the wall to grab out one of his shirts before he pulled it over his head and headed over to he door. He hated mornings like his; he hated the days when he would turn back into the human he was to feel this sickness that seem to envelop him. While he had gotten use to the feeling over the eighteen years that this had been happening to him, there was still something about it that bothered him. Nevertheless, he couldn't deny how the cold wind made him feel a little better as he stepped outside, his arms folding over his chest as he let the wind blow through his hair. No more running through those woods with a reckless abandon until next year. No more having to lose the sense of humanity and lose his sense of stability with his mind. Still, he missed it, even now despite how he had just changed back. There was a sense of freedom that he had with being a wolf that he did not have as a human; as a human he kept to himself, generally, or at least only to the people that he frequented with that were apart of his pack. But as a wolf there was a sense of danger that came with it, one that he craved, even now.

"Hey."

Raising his brows, Liam turned to see the door opening behind him, and then saw Mike come out of the door. "I'm surprised your awake," Mike spoke as he pulled a shirt over his head, grinning as he leaned against the railing of the porch.

"Pretty hard to sleep after the change," said Liam as he yawned.

There conversation was short, the two only saying a few more things to one another before the others began to rouse in the house. When they had all awaken and readied themselves for the day, they set back off with their bodies bundled in their warms coats, their boots now padding through the snow. After Mike locked up the cabin they walked the distance it took to get back to their regular establishment, a place with little houses for them that stood miles outside of the town that was placed next to them. It was about mid afternoon by the time they had all gotten back, a sense of grogginess still overtaking all of them, though he knew that the feeling would soon pass, probably in the next day. Nevertheless, as he lead Amelia back to her house, the steps leading up to the porch creaking under the weight of their bodies, and at the sound Liam reminded himself that he was going to have to fix it all again. As well as any other damages that might have happened throughout the course of the months that they had been gone. Food would be needed to be picked up, other necessities needed to be bought... He himself lived a simple life style, much like those of everyone else that was apart of the pack, however none of them seemed to complain. Well, except for LeAnn, the girl who was of his own age. But generally he tended to ignore her. Or he poked fun at her for her measly little complaints.

He started the fire to the fireplace before he stood up, clapped his hands together, and turned to look at Amelia who sat down in one of the chairs of the living room, smiling to herself as she leaned back a bit. Would she last another year? "Is there anything you'll need for the house?" Of course he knew the answer was yes, but he still asked nonetheless, and when he was given his answer he nodded his head proceeded to head over towards where he knew his car would be parked, probably buried under snow, which it was. But he brushed it away, uncovered it from it's spot, defrosted it from the inside and out and then hopped in before he started to head into town to go pick up the things that he would need.