Tale as Old As Time [Finished]

[accalia]

"follow this one then, please. this one will lead you to the rooms prepared"

Julie: a wise man indeed. A fight avoided is almost always better than a fight won. If we're done here perhaps the Master would like to change back to human shape? Would Master Lance prefer i avert my eyes when he does so?

[yamikuronue]

The wolf lets out a low growl, tensing as though to leap before glancing up to Obsidian.

[CalamityJade]

Morden followed after Echo, seemingly humming to himself. "So...how did you manage to get wrapped up in all this?"

Obsidian sighed. "Stand down, Lance..if she was gonna attack, she would have while I was fighting you. And I'm not a hundred precent sure he can." After all, he was sure that would have gotten him out of the headlock.

[accalia]

"This one was needed, so this one came. When this one is needed elsewhere this one will go there instead. Why should there be more to it than that?"

Julie: Hmm.... a very young pup indeed. well then I can at least help with that.

A pause, then Julie snaps harshly at lance

Julie: You! Pup! Listen up! Remember your humanity! call it up! remember your name! speak it! deny the wolf! deny it! You are not a wolf! you are human! remember! Call to yourself! draw your humanity around yourself! shed the wolf, for you are not it!

[yamikuronue]

Obsidian's command gets a soft grumble of acknowledgement, but when Julie begins shouting, the pup's hackles raise again, and he digs into his stance further with a snarl.

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian blinked a bit. Well...that...sort of made sense. didn't look like Lance was listening, but snapping him out of it. "Sorry...guess it's a bit TOO much like me about twenty years back." Obsidian reached out to put a hand on Lance's back. "Hey kid! Snap out of it and get yourself back to normal. Got a couple things we have to talk about and you're not gonna be able to talk like that." Let's see how it worked coming from him.

Morden smiled. "Nothing, really. I know you came here to help, and you appear to be doing that. But I'd think getting into such a mess would be an interesting story. After all, I can't imagine you picked being here at random."

[accalia]

"This one was needed here..."

And with that cryptic sentence Echo falls silent until they reach the rooms that Siegfried and Echo had cleared for the guests.

"Please, choose the room you wish for the night."

Julie's incisors catch the moon light and she flexes her hands as if they had claws, but otherwise remains human.

Julie: Listen whelp, listen well.  You are not the master of that body, you are a visitor. Let go and bring back the master of that body. We've already shown you you aren't Alpha here. Do you want another lesson in that regard?

[yamikuronue]

The wolf tenses as Obsidian puts a hand on him, but then sidles closer to him, still growling at Julie as he presses his body against Obsidian's.

[CalamityJade]

Morden gives a slight sigh before he picked a room. "Thank you." Well, he hadn't expected it to be quite THAT easy, but this was rapidly becoming quite interesting.

Obsidian sighed. "Right...okay, let's say the kids real bad at this, how else does he actually change back." Shit, he REALLY hadn't planned for this. He figured that he'd either never see the kid again, or he'd have to put him down...and now all THIS shit is happening and he was finding himself out of his depth. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

[yamikuronue]

The wolf gives a derisive snort.

[accalia]

Julie: there are two ways. One, and the easiest, is for his human identity to reassert itself and lock the wolf away. the other.... well it looks like we might come to that.

Julie begins unbuttoning her vest

Julie: i like this suit so i'll take a moment to see it's not ruined.

Julie strips bare, showing no embarrassment at all, once completely naked she folds the last of her garments into a pile and shifts into wolf form. Her coat is pure white from age, but her muscles still lean and toned.

The wolf growls and Obsidian hears Julie whisper in his hear over the growling. Julie's voice is bright and cheerful compared to the bass rumble of the growl.

Julie: Take my clothes inside please? this will take a few hours.  Now Whelp.... Run

And with that last word Julie nips playfully at Lance and dances out of reach again, bounding to the top of the wall surrounding the garden.

After seeing Morden to his room Echo bows and then goes in search of Siegfried, eventually ending up in the kitchen.

[yamikuronue]

The wolf responds to the playful nip with a snarl and a serious attempt to take some flesh out of her; he's in hot pursuit when she runs, risking his Alpha's displeasure for the chance to take a bite out of her insolent hide.

[accalia]

Julie respond to each lunging attack by dancing out of the way, sometimes cuffing Lance or nipping at him, always moving. She seems to know what Lance is doing before he does and is never there to meet his teeth or claws.

Julie: Give it up whelp, you're far too young to take me. You have your youth and your speed, but I've had years to learn this body, to hone it, to know it's limits. You haven't.

[yamikuronue]

What the wolf does have, in addition to youth, is determination, and ten years of pent-up frustration. A few times it's a close call, but he eventually starts to lag behind, then veers off down an alternate path.

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian was...well, not expecting that. He didn't even have time to voice his slight protest before she shifts and then it seemed a little silly. He managed not to jump physically when the voice suddenly was in his ear. "...Right...shit, that's not what I was expecting."