Lycanthropy and Me: The First Semester(mlm)

Day 28, Sunday, Waning Gibbous

The family-like structure of packlife gave Hunter and his friends a different set of boundaries. Often he would wake up in someone else's bed or living room. There was no need to go 'home' at the end of the day, as 'home' extended to every house on Canis Drive.

For that reason, he woke up in Grayson's bed, embarrassed and confused.

This was not Syracuse. This was Redwood.

Neither Arif or Grayson were around, the TV was off and he could smell someone's breakfast from down the hallway. Well, this is weird. He looked down at twisted sheets. I might have overstayed my welcome.

After stretching and straightening out the sheets he checked his phone. Professor Garou had sent him an email the previous night requesting that he stop by the Grimwald office at 2.

He probably wants to talk about Ashley, or the passing moon. He thought. The lack of information regarding her condition was unsettling, but he was sure it had something to do with her wolf side. Perhaps she shifted prematurely and went on a rampage in the woods. Maybe she even crossed paths with an actual wolf.

Redwood was among the very few colleges designated for Lycankind. Government intervention would most likely occur to prevent scandal and protect secrecy. But with the sudden presence of government officials and police involvement, He worried that the school's image would become priority instead of Ashley's wellbeing.

He glanced through his inbox. The next thing under Garou's message was a student newsletter. Hunter scanned through it quickly, hoping for an update on Ashley. Instead, there was an events calendar, an ad for the bookstore's current sales, a study prep course for midterms--

He froze. Midterms? Already? In the midst of his moon madness, he had forgotten all about his upcoming exams. He was glad that his teachers all adopted the use of a digital syllabus. Not only did he have midterms to study for,  he also had two papers to write. The stress hit him like a ton of bricks.

Grayson returned then, back from his morning run. "Good Morning."

"Morning." Hunter rubbed his hands together, a nervous habit. "Uh, thanks for letting me crash here. I'm sorry for taking your bed. You could have kicked me out if you wanted to."

Grayson shrugged."It wasn't a problem. You seemed really tired."

"I should get going..." Hunter slid out of bed and reached for his crutches. Between the pleasant company, free food, and calm atmosphere he was way too comfortable.

"Oh." Grayson was surprised to see him leave so soon. "At least have breakfast first."

"If I stay here any longer, I'm not gonna wanna leave. I wasted too much time already. Oh! Not here. I mean, l-last week when I was uh, running around and uh, kind of out of it. I didn't realize midterms were so close." He admitted. "I'll be cramming all week now."

He felt a slight pressure in his legs, but he ignored it and crossed the room.

Grayson walked him back down and out of the dormhouse. The grounds were damp from an earlier rain shower. The walk looked a lot longer with crutches.

"Are you going to be okay?" Grayson asked. From the look on Hunter's face it seemed more like he was leaving for a lifelong journey rather than heading back to Howard.

"Y-Yeah." He carried the crutches under his arm. "Uh, anyway. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me for the past few days. I don't think I would have been able to make it through the shift without you. I think I was so focused on getting away from my problems that I didn't prepare myself for living on my own. So, thanks."