Hound of the Baskervilles

[ghostwolf]

Two months ago, during the time when the different worlds converged, the tiny Lacie encountered a very large wolf. One month after receiving that negligible cut to her palm, she turned into a little black wolf puppy for a night, and wasted no time sinking her fangs into Kevin's hand when he tried to pick her up and keep her out of trouble.

Tonight, there are two wolves in the Baskerville House, and they've pretty much figured out what's going on.

Lady Shelly and Oswald agreed some time ago that Kevin would make a pretty good wolf, if it came to it, and he really can't help but feel like someone is laughing at him over it. His two stints as a bunny rabbit did not prepare him at all for walking around on four legs -- walking, not hopping -- and having a mouth full of huge teeth. He keeps tripping over his own feet, getting confused as he tries to sort through all the sounds and smells, and earlier his long tail got stuck in a door. It would be easier if he were a pup like Lacie, loping about the house and crawling under the furniture, but as a full-grown werewolf Kevin is huge, four feet tall at the shoulder and heavier than he is as a human. Finally, after spending half the night trying to endure the house, the white wolf ventures outside in an attempt to get used to this new form. After all, given that the Brat has turned for the second month in a row, it looks like he's probably going to be stuck with it...

When not at home with Glenwald and company, Kevin can be found wandering through the streets he often haunts during patrol, enjoying the late-night solitude of the mansion's gardens, or perhaps even sniffing about at Lady Shelly's house, just to make sure nothing suspicious is going on nearby. Hopefully, he'll be back at home safe and sound before the moon sets. If he isn't, somebody gets to deal with a mortified and very naked knight, who will proceed to sleep in their house for two days and then eat the whole pantry for breakfast. Ah, the noble life of a werewolf!

[fallingbackup wearing his shiny new coat, if you will. Due to busyness, there is no post as of yet for bittybratty's first transformation, but I will link it here whenever something is backdated. Slow, late, and backtags welcome as always!]

Comments

[ghostwolf]

Kevin -- who had actually had no intention of letting the Lady see him like this, and only ventured into the garden because he'd gotten distracted by following a squirrel, of all things -- cringes as the light from inside the house spills out. His ears go back and he sinks a little lower to the ground, an unconscious attempt to make himself look smaller, more submissive. The knight knows he's huge, and that he has fearsome teeth; he's a little less aware of his wickedly clever new face, but his paws are just about bigger than his actual feet, and he could probably break ribs with a solid slap.

The last thing he wants is to scare the Lady Shelly, who has been so good to him. Also he's in her garden sniffing at a squirrel, and that is embarrassing.

[smallkindnesses]

The animal's obviously-abashed demeanor gives the Lady pause. There's something vaguely familiar about the wolf--and that's before she even notices that it has red eyes...

"Eques...?" she murmurs softly, head cocked as she seems to be listening to something.

With his heightened earing, Kevin will be able to make out the Chain's soft voice, murmuring an explanation in Lady Shelly's ear. He certainly won't need stronger senses to see the look of shock come over her face, though she quickly recovers herself.

"Mr. Regnard..." she says softly, opening the door wider and stepping over the threshold.

[ghostwolf]

Being able to hear so far is a little weird, and the Chain's words only remind him of the time Eques had confirmed that he smelled of many things and the Abyss was not one of them. Her monotoned delivery of information leaves him just as bemused now as it did then. Still, his cover is obviously blown, and he has a feeling it would make Lady Shelly sad if he tried to sneak away.

So he sneaks forward toward her instead, still keeping his head low, the better to stare up at her. Tentatively, his tail swishes, just a little. At least, even if he is on all fours and has pointy ears, she will still call him Mister Regnard. That, he thinks, is reassuring.

[smallkindnesses]

It takes all of Shelly's resolve to stay still while the wolf approaches, and it comes as a great relief when Eques murmurs her observation that he seems to be, more or less, in as much posession of himself as he was when a man. The tales of werewolves being ravenous beasts, it would appear, are not altogether true.

Biting her lip, she steels herself, bends down a bit (but only a very small bit--good gracious, he's enormouse!), the better to return the wolf's gaze on his own level.

"Would you like to come in, Mr. Regnard? I was just about to sit down to a late tea."

... As a wolf, will he still enjoy tea...?

[ghostwolf]

The ears flick up at the mention of tea, because food is a thing that happens with tea, and he's had food on his brain pretty much all night -- thus his interest in the squirrel. Still, he hesitates, glancing back out into the garden uncertainly. The knight honestly does enjoy his visits with Lady Shelly. If he didn't he would find plenty of reasons to discontinue them. But precisely because the Lady would never yell or mock if he did something like knock over a lamp, the last thing he wants to do is bumble around in her house and mess things up.

It's the guilt thing. As the Lady well knows, Breaks are all prone to it. Who knows just what unthinkable lengths Kevin would go to if he broke one of her lamps with his wolfy butt...!

[smallkindnesses]

It's oddly endearing, seeing such a big, majestic, fierce animal behaving so very hesitantly, and the Lady gives a reassuring smile, reaching out to him.

"Come, Mr. Regnard, you know you are always welcome in my home," she says gently. "Your change in form makes no difference in that, at all."

After all, hasn't she cradled him as a bunny, and carried her Break around on her shoulder, when he'd had a sneezing fit and become a cockatoo? She can't very well pick him up in this form, of course, but she can still show him hospitality, at least.

Stepping back, she holds the door open wide, the better for him to pass through.

[ghostwolf]

When the Lady offers her hand, the wolf sniffs at it instinctively, briefly brushing his cold, wet nose against her palm. It's not exactly the change in shape that Kevin is fretting over, but it's not like he could explain what is worrying him even if he tried. So, cautiously, he steps over the threshold, careful not to bump into anything as he goes.

He's seen the front foyer of Shelly's home plenty of times. It looks different, from his wolf eyes. He tilts his head and flicks his ears, peering at this and that.

[smallkindnesses]

The cold press of his nose brings a smile to her face. (For all her beloved Breaks' tendencies to behave as nothing but terribly clever, spoiled housecats, she's always had a fondness for dogs.) Wishing to allay Kevin's discomfort, Shelly hesitantly reaches out, running her fingers gently across his fur. Her breath catches--his coat is terribly soft.

"There, now," she murmurs. "You see, everything's alright. Would you like something to eat?"

[ghostwolf]

Again, the wolf perks up, tail swishing more actively. He's already eaten tonight, but his stomach is even bigger than it was, and even if he's a lazy one he's still a predator. Kevin is finding it a little alarming that he's giving serious thought to chowing down on the local squirrel population -- though that may be just as much because squirrels get angry and flick their tails wildly when you chase them, and that's funny. Even so, tea, at least, is civilized, and the knight finds this comforting.

[smallkindnesses]

His obvious interest answers her question loud and clear as if he'd spoken it aloud. With a pleased nod, Shelly leads the way back to the kitchen, where the kettle is just beginning to whistle and begins preparing their tea.

"I believe I may have some cold roast beef in the ice box," she says. "If you'd prefer that to tea sandwiches, I certainly wouldn't blame you."

[ghostwolf]

Kevin follows her, claws clicking upon tile as he goes. He means to head for the icebox, as he may well be able to get it open on his own. Instead, he winds up pausing to sniff everything in the kitchen. It is a fascinating place full of fascinating smells, and he didn't really get to enjoy the kitchen at home much. Raven was in there. Raven is a pretty good reason to not be in the kitchen.

He sniffs at the flowers on the table, and the cannisters on the kitchen counter -- he can see over both easily. He sniffs at the tea and the spice rack, lingering over these as he attempts to sort out all the individual scents, and then he sniffs at the salt and pepper shakers. These make him sneeze, and he's obliged to duck his head in some semblance of canine politeness until the fit is over. The tickle doesn't leave, however, and he plops his rear end down with a whump so that he can paw at his nose. Note to self: Do not stick nose in loose seasonings.

[smallkindnesses]

Oh, poor Kevin! Setting the teapot on the table, she kneels down and strokes his fur while he gets over his episode. How strange this all must be for him!

Once he's regained control of himself, she rises to pull the aforementioned treat out of the ice box, setting it on the table since he's tall enough to reach it there, and she suspects he'd prefer it, there. A moment later, she pours the tea into a dish for him, and a cup for herself.

"Would you care for a biscuit, Mr. Regnard?" she asks. The chocolate ones are out, of course, but she doesn't suppose one of the plain ones would hurt, if he had the taste for one.

[ghostwolf]

His ears lower sheepishly as she pets him, remembering the embarrassment of the belly rub incident earlier this evening, but he lets her do it. He does like it, being petted and having his ears scratched and all that, and Lady Shelly is probably one of the only people he'll ever come close to admitting that to. In a way, deep down in that part of him that feels things he doesn't really think, Kevin believes she deserves to know, has a right. After all, she is the sort of person who thinks to feed a werewolf at her table instead of making him eat on the floor like a dog.

Taking his place at the table, Kevin eyes the roast beef, mouth already starting to water. He waits politely to eat it, however, and replies to her question with a soft whuff of a noise that she'll hopefully interpret as a "yes". Kevin basically wants to eat everything.

[smallkindnesses]

Shelly smiles, depositing a biscuit or two on his plate. This may very well be the strangest tea party I've had, to date, she thinks to herself, far from ruefully. Taking up her tea, she sips it thoughtfully.

"I imagine it must feel very different, being a wolf," she says, "I do hope it's not too much of a trial, for you."

[ghostwolf]

Other than the fact that the brat likes to chew his ears and belly rubs are apparently his kryptonite, it's not actually so bad, really. At the very least if anybody tries to put a stupid waistcoat on him now, he isn't going down without a proper fight. Wolves don't bark, but Kevin makes the same whuffing noise as before, and sniffs at the roast beef. Now that Lady Shelly has begun, he is allowed to eat.

It's difficult, being dainty like this. He manages to only eat a tiny bit at a time without snarfing down the entire plate in one go or dropping anything on the floor or strewing it across the table, but it's obvious that it takes him a lot of concentration, and it isn't exactly an elegant process. He can't help but flash a fang or two, now and again, much as he would like to keep them tucked away in Shelly's presence, and he keeps pausing to lick his muzzle, wanting to be tidy. It's a good thing he isn't the sort of canine inclined to give kisses. His tongue is as huge as the rest of him, and there is no face that would remain slobber-free if the wolf took it into his head to be affectionate.

[smallkindnesses]

Shelly, meanwhile, pretends that this is all entirely normal and that he is not inadvertently showing off those enormous teeth, or his tongue. She sips her tea and nibbles her biscuits quietly. At any rate, he doesn't seem to be terribly put off by his present state, awkwardness aside.

"I hear the little one has taken to the change quite naturally," she comments, by way of making conversation.

[ghostwolf]

At this, Kevin's ears flatten out and he can't help but raise the side of his lip in a fang-filled wolf sneer, making a whiny groaning noise that means Oh gods, don't even get me started. Yes. Yes, she has taken to it, and for once in his life the knight wishes he had a mouth he could rant with because there are some words that really need to come out. Fortunately, being entirely capable of becoming a Break, Kevin does have a flair for the dramatic in there somewhere. He settles for draping a paw over his own eyes in an attempt to convey his considerable angst on the matter.

Lady Shelly probably gets it, anyway, having met the Brat before. Imagine her fifty times more annoying than she already is. With teeth.

[smallkindnesses2]

It takes some considerable effort for Shelly not to burst into giggles, at Kevin's expressive antics. She'll have to persuade Eques to give more descriptive reports of these nights when they transform. It's rather surprising, actually, how the Chain can occasionally wax poetic over the things that go on in the Baskerville house--particularly in relation to Kevin...

"Well, I suppose it's for the best that she's only a wolf once a month..."

[ghostwolf]

With a grumpy grunt of agreement, the wolf drops his paw, nose pointed toward his tea. He always enjoys the way tea smells, but tonight it's particularly nice. Still, it seems like something is missing, and he tilts his head at it a little.

Ah. Right. He's a tiny Break. Kevin glances around the table until he finds the sugar bowl, noses at it, and proceeds to make puppy eyes at Lady Shelly over it. Help him out, milady? You know better than anyone how Kevinkind take their tea, and you also have opposable thumbs.

[smallkindnesses]

"Ah! Of course!"

Shelly reaches for the sugarbowl--how silly of her to think his being a wolf would change him that much! Taking up the spoon, she begins scooping... and scooping... and scooping, a small, amused smile forming on her lips. She's watched him (or versions of him) sugar his tea a thousand times, but it doesn't quite hit home how extensive his sweet tooth is until you add it yourself.

"Please forgive me, Mr. Regnard."

[ghostwolf]

He wuffs at her, softly. Don't worry about it. Barely seen behind him, his tail swishes back and forth. His own sweet tooth is something that's only recently come to light; even though he's always had it, he never really allowed himself to indulge in it before he came here. It's still something that embarrasses him a little, just because of how prevalent it's become in his life. The Baskervilles bribe him into good moods by putting maple syrup treats in his path wherever he goes, for pity's sake.

It hasn't escaped him during their visits, however, that Shelly tends to have multiple sugar bowls in the kitchen, and that they are uncommonly large sugar bowls. Given the way all the Breaks flock to her, he's certain she keeps them so that the Breaks will all remain properly sugared up. He isn't strictly a Break and doesn't want to be, but the way the Lady extended her warmth and kindness to him automatically does help him feel a little less guilty about the dent he puts in her sugar stash. She's used to it, no doubt, so...

[smallkindnesses]

"There," Shelly says, finally ladeling in the last spoonful.

With a smile, she pushes the saucer of tea back toward him, where he'll be able to drink from it with relative ease. She is indeed used to her sugar supply being depleted, and she rests her chin in a hand to watch him drink. It's peculiar, how endearing he is, in his wolf-form. She can't say that she likes him better, this way, but she finds herself looking forward to his visits in this form, in the months to come.