46)

“When it’s the full moon you just have to change, you can fight it on the first night, and the last one and it makes you stronger to try, but the middle night everyone changes, you can’t help it.”

…? I carefully did not glace at the rest of the other werewolves for confirmation on that. I had been woken up by the moon rise on the second night, but had just curled in my bed for about ten minutes trying to ignore it until I drifted off, the third night I only vaguely remember waking up for a second or two before rolling over and going back sleep.

Guess It was because I was older then most people who got bit, or maybe even because I refused the change the first night when most people had either knew it coming, and were curious to try out the new toy, or didn’t know it was coming and had no idea what was happening to them.

“….annnnd, silver.” She sat up straight, happy to have something else to tell me. “We can’t heal or change shape if we get shot with a silver bullet like in the movies, or with anything else made of silver that stays stuck in you. But we can wear silver jewelry just fine as long as it isn’t a ear ring or anything like that. Mom still has a bunch of stuff from before I was born, but she doesn’t were it anymore.

That got me a nervous look from the mom, and made me wonder if werewolf women had to were silver ear rings or some of those piecing to stay human while they were pregnant.

…and wolves-bane is just a flower that farmers used to make a poison from the roots to kill wolves, but it might make us sick if we eat it or someone puts it on a arrow with it, but Mrs Karras says I’m too strong for it to do anything to me unless I eat like a bucket full.”

She shot a grin over to Adora, who grinned back at her in return as the mom gave her boss a horrified look.

Adora gave her deputy a look. “You kept asking me to babysit. The hunters used such weapons on us once. The young should be told so if those days come again, they will still be around to remember after we are gone.”

Then she whispered, rather sadly. “...and your daughter will be around for a long time.”

Dam. Smart, curious, pretty, and a touch of grim.

Sounds like I found a keeper. Or she found me. Guess I should make a point of showing a real interest soon, actually very soon. We’re both too old to be playing games.

The kid paused, looking around a little, aware that she was missing some of the context around her, at least until I made a “Get on with it” motion at her with my hands and a encouraging sound.

“So we can turn into wolves, and even while we’re human we’re stronger, and faster, and tougher then humans, and we can see, and hear, and smell a whole lot better too.’

She paused again “And we do smell better, like smell smell, better. All those soaps and shampoos and perfumes make my nose burn.” she rubbed at said appendage and snorted as she glanced at Charles.

Who looked unabashed. “I assure you young lady, human girls like the smell, and those are the ones I’m trying to impress.”

Sara, who had been looking a bit troubled, started the first of the questions. “Do you really think of yourself as not being human?”

Malinda blinked at her a few times, blushed and began to squirm as she whispered. “We’re better...”

Her mom blushed and shot her a side look, Adora nodded a little, while her grandson glanced off to the side. Apparently this was a bit of an issue in the family, markedly, between the wolf born and the one bitten.

I held up my hands out to block out everyone but the girl. “This is our conversation, the rest of you are just here to listen in, and I don’t want to talk about that.”

I held my hands out to he girl. “How long can we stay in a wolf shape?”

She grinned, relieved to talk about something else. “As long as you want, but mom makes me turn human again before bedtime since she says wolves are nocfural, and it’s hard enough to get me to sleep all night.”

Her mom whispered “Nocturnal sweetie.” and her daughter nodded. “What mom said.”

The mom rolled her eyes.

With all the eye rolling happening around here, I best make sure to check for cobwebs pretty soon.

I waited until I had her attention again. “Does being a wolf affect your mind.” She looked a little confused. “Does being a wolf make you think like a wolf instead of a human.” She still looked confused. “No, why would it?”

Her mom expanded on that for me. “She doesn’t know. She’s been changing ever since she was two years old, which I’ve been told is young, so she doesn’t know what it’s like to just be in human shape all the time.”

She looked down as she remembered “It’s confusing to have your sense of smell get even sharper, and to have to think about how to move around on all fours. At least we keep human vision as far as colors go. Really though, after you adjust to it being a different body it’s more or less just a different option.”

She raised her hand in a vague helpless gesture. “Other then the nights of the full moon, when you get so pumped up and energized you just have to get up and do something, and you do get some of that even just by turning. She glaceed at Adora. “But I’ve been told you get better control of that as you get older, and that it’s a lot worse for men.”

Her daughter nodded eagerly. “And you get stronger too, and not just by getting old, changing bodies a lot makes you stronger, faster too.”

Her mother shot Adora another look, the sheriff shrugged. “She had questions, as her elder it’s my duty to answer, and I did not tell her everything. Not the parts her mother should tell. It won’t be that long before she is a woman.”

Well. That brought everything to pause, as people, the men, looked embarrassed, and too many expression from the women, and the girls, were going on for me to track.

I sure others may be interested in how being a werewolf affected woman stuff, but I wasn’t going to ask. And would cover my ears while going “Na, na, na, na, na.” if anyone else did.

Don’t matter how old you are, you’re still allowed to be childish about some stuff.