'and a bite for luck', a story in three acts

Awsten was supposed to do great things. Even after outliving four partners, they still said that Awsten would do great things. They stopped saying that when the werewolf boy showed up. The new boy, who couldn't even hold a crossbow, never mind loading and shooting one. Who doesn't know the difference between a nixie and a mermaid, who thinks he can kill a vampire with a clove of garlic, who doesn't know that 'Big Foot' is politically incorrect terminology, and who has stolen all of Awsten's glory just because he was stupid to be scared and just lucky enough to have a usable weapon at hand. Any other person, at any other time, would have been werewolf food in thirty seconds flat.
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So, naturally, the Academy decides to partner them up.