Learn to Howl {Alex Vreeke | Jumanji}

14; ice blue & respect

She could feel them, the wolves the way they weaved amongst the trees, despite all her powers, she had been away long enough that her human form was alien to them. The sky above was growing darker as they approached the statue, and the growl of the canine predators overlapping with the crash of sudden thunder. She was changing without meaning to, the crack of her spine and the bridge of her nose, both elongating; it's disgusting to watch, but at this stage she can barely feel a thing. It's a bit gross, but it's also a bit awesome, Spencer thinks, as he watches her run ahead of them, still vaguely humanoid, but primal in the way she moves, drawn, like all the other predators seemed to be, to the Statue. A werewolf, a real - not real - live werewolf. 

"Tetra." He calls her name out of curiosity, and when she turns back, her eyes shine in a way that reminds him of cryptid photos, eerie and inhumane. She tilts her head like a dog, crouched down and supporting her weight on her knuckles. Without thinking, he closes the distance between them and scratches behind her ears, like some sort of Pavlovian response to that little doggie head tilt. Fridge laughs, just a little, when Tetra leans into it, face still half-transformed and off putting. "How far've we got left, girl?" Spencer asks in that sotto way that people do when they're talking to their pets. That gets the rest of them, even a disgusted Bethany, to give a chuckle.

"What're you doing?" Martha asked, and Spencer gave a half shrug.

"I mean, we're getting pretty close-" He starts.

"Yeah, but couldn't you tell that from looking?" Fridge gestured to the statue looming in the distance.

"Right now, are you afraid that Tetra's going to hurt you?" Alex's voice rang out from the back of the group, and Fridge was very quiet. Tetra pressed her nose into Spencer's thigh, transforming just a little more, looking less like the middle step of an Animorphs cover transformation. Alex's knowing gaze moved from her to Spencer, who gave him a slight nod of approval.

"No." Fridge admitted, and Tetra yipped, though it sounded a little strained.

"We need to trust each other-" Spencer said, which was cut off by a quiet huff from Martha.

"I mean, it's a little messed up that you trust her more as a dog." Though as she said it, Fridge turned to her.

"One, I'm taller than the dog, two, she don't have thumbs and therefore can't steal the jewel, and three," he paused before sheepishly admitting, "I'm a dog person, okay?" Now fully transformed, Tetra slowly makes her way to him, head bowed, deliberately making herself smaller, and he gives her a quick pet. "We cool." He says softly to the dog, forgiving her for her earlier aggravation, and she in turn bumped her nose against his chest.

"So, um, Bethany, where are we at?" Alex asked, and Bethany's gaze snapped to him, blinking rapidly as she was brought out of the moment of solidarity between the wolf and Fridge. Looking back to the map, and then around at them, she swallowed thickly, making her way to the front of the group.

"I think... we just follow this path." She said softly, looking in awe at the vine-strewn path laid out before them.

"No," Alex hissed, hands clenched into fists by his side, "it can't be that easy." Tetra strayed from Fridge to take her place by Alex's side, his hand resting on her back as he felt her join him.

"The Defenders..." Bethany read out from the map. Tetra's hackles rose as she heard the bushes beginning to rustle.

"What does that mean?" Fridge asked softly.

"There's only one way to find out," Spencer said, turning to the shorter man. "Fridge," he said, with all the smoulder he could muster without actually smouldering, "give me the jewel." After an awestruck pause, Fridge fumbled about for his bag, looking for the jewel. Tetra lowered herself, resting her chin on her paws, keeping her mouth tightly closed as the tug of the jewel in her chest grew stronger.

"Spencer!" Martha whispered, and he gave her a meaningful nod, before Fridge presented the jewel to him. Alex crouched down beside Tetra, he could see her shaking with effort, keeping so still with the jewel so close and exposed. His hand on her neck kept her grounded. The moment Spencer held the jewel, the path ahead lit up with fiery torches, lighting the way directly to the statue.

And then came the drums.

Tetra howled. Her claws were buried deep into the soft dirt beneath her feet, nausea swelling within her at the very sound of those beating, horrible drums. They never foretold anything good.

"I hate those drums." Fridge agreed with the wolf. Spencer edged forwards.

"What?! No way, you're not just going to walk in there!" Martha snapped at him, and Spencer shook his head.

"No, that's what the game wants us to do; follow the path." His gaze was trained on the path, on the lights that lead into the distance. "It's a trap." It seemed to have him captivated, however, and it was Bethany who began to move, making her way to the ivy covered elephant statue to their right.

"When you see the elephant, begin the climb..." She murmured, and that's when everyone, bar Tetra's, gaze moved upwards.

"I'll go through the trees." Proposed Spencer, to which Fridge snorted.

"The trees?" He asked, to which Spencer confirmed.

"Do you think that's what that meant?" Martha asked, at the same time as Bethany, with much reverence, agreed with Spencer, in that it must be what it meant.

"That's the move," Spencer told them, so sure of himself, "we're in the final level of the game," he paused, "and I'm pretty sure this is a Bravestone thing." Bending down, he rested his hand on top of Tetra's head. With one hand on the jewel and one on her head, Spencer felt the wolf still at the connection, seemingly at peace. "We're gonna get you guys home." A pause, he gave her a light scratch between her ears. "I promise, Tetra, you're going home." And with that he was off, up climbing into the trees.

"How does he do that?" Alex asked, bewildered.

"Climbing is one of his strengths." Fridge said, bending down to pet at Tetra too.

"Ah, I getcha." Alex nodded, knowingly. Fridge snorted, brow furrowed.

"Yeah, cake makes me explode." There was a long pause, before Alex turned to him and said.

"I think I knew that." They watch for a few more minutes, as Spencer leaps from tree to tree, full of majesty, before there's a yelp and he falls to the ground. It's a harsh thump, followed by screaming as he's devoured by the jungle's apex predators. The group of adventurers screams for him, but there's nothing they can do.

"Oh my god, you guys, panthers." Bethany whimpered, the cats prowling away from the body they had just destroyed. Tetra got to her feet, snarling, but Fridge hand a hand on her scruff of her neck, stilling her.

"No," he murmured, fear coming off of him in waves, "those are jaguars."

A crack of thunder brings with it a very shaken looking Spencer, and he runs back to the group, away from the jaguars that watch them all with interest. Tetra growls.

"Spencer, oh my god, are you alright?" Martha asks, and though he tells them that he is, Spencer looks terrified.

"Dude, what happened?" Fridge asks, and Spencer waves him off, telling them all he doesn't want to talk about it.

"Alright, so we need a new plan." Fridge says, to which everyone agrees. Everything in Tetra's body wants her to tear those jaguars to shred, and everything in her mind knows that she'd die if she tried. She's so preoccupied with this internal conflict that it's not until Spencer and Fridge return from their heart-to-heart that she even realises they had disappeared for a few minutes.

"Okay," Fridge starts, hands on the straps of his backpack, a new confidence within him as they all listen to his plan to get to the stone in one piece, "I don't know video games, but I do know football."