Bad Moon Rising

[Casey]

Coffee in one hand and a poorly folded paper in the other he stood and raised a eyebrow. How long had that girl been here? Seriously even he left and it was his job to stay in the library all day. He dropped the newspaper onto a table. Someone would either read it or throw it in the recycling. At least this way it had a chance to be fully read. Much better than the skimming he’d been doing.

“You need any help miss?” he said leaning next to her, tie threatening to swing into his coffee.

He fully expected a no and to be sent on his way but why not offer. What else was he going to do? Figure out cold fusion? Or better yet, invent a drink that would never result in a hangover. He’d defiantly make more money on the second one, especially being on campus. With the time he spent doing nothing in the building he could probably do both, after all he had the resources for researching them.

[Teagan]

"None of this makes any sense," Teagan murmured to herself as she tiredly flipped through the pages of an ancient looking book. The words lay jumbled across the page in an illegible scrawl that more resembled chicken scratch than a professional print. Her unfocused vision only added to the problem. If she wanted the world to stop fading in and out, perhaps it was time to take a quick rest before continuing...her eyes took the cue and drooped low. The temptation of slumber beckoned to her, and the chair suddenly felt way more comfortable than it had moments earlier.

No! She had to keep researching! Giving up now when she had already logged so many hours into the process would be a waste of time! Teagan forced herself to sit up, accidentally banging her knee against the table. Yeah, that was a sure-fire way to get her adrenaline rushing again. Pain.

"Need any help, miss?"

Teagan raised her gaze to meet that of a tall man she recognized as the librarian from the night before. Or, so she'd assumed he was. His attire didn't fit the average librarian status quo: jeans and a t-shirt leaned more toward the construction worker side. She rather liked the aura he gave off, something homely and firm. For a moment, Teagan debated declining his offer. Last thing she needed was to involve a civilian in the mess. Wouldn't that be peachy?

But in all honesty, she sucked at researching and needed help. Since anyone else was out of the question...

"Yeah, actually," she gave him a grateful, tired smile. Rubbing her eyes, she continued. "I'm doing a report on myths and what not, but I can't seem to find anything on nocturnal beings that are animistic-like in character. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find something on that, would you?"

Her expectations hit rock bottom before she even finished the question. Yeah right, like the librarian would know anything about the supernatural.

[Casey]

He paused and rubbed his chin, “Actually I can think of a few. The first and most obvious to me is werewolves, or lycanthropes. A few different vampire legends describe them as being somewhat animalistic, but those are a tad obscure. Incubi and succubus could fall under that description. Then you got skinwalkers from Native American lore.”

“I know it’s the most popular but,” he shrugged, “I’d stick to werewolves. There’s lit dating back to the Greek times. All that talk gotta figure it comes from somewhere.” He smiled at her and took a sip of his coffee.

After he put his coffee down and walked away. He returned with a leather bound book that echoed when he dropped it on the table. The only thing new about it was a piece of paper sticking out the top like a makeshift bookmark. “Guy came in here earlier with a similar question earlier. Think you’ll get some use out of this thing too.” He picked up his coffee and gave her a mock salute, “if you need me just ask for Miller.”

[Teagan]

She looked up in surprise as the man began to recite off a list of possible creatures according to the specifications she had described. Man, how much free time did a librarian have at a university? To say Teagan was impressed would be an understatement; the man was like a walking encyclopedia. "A werewolf..." Teagan mumbled, repeating the idea over and over in her head. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made.

Her eyes downcast in a tired concentration, she didn't even notice the librarian walk away. The attacks had all occurred at night and it just happened to be that time of the month where Washington was graced by a full moon. Police reports she had discovered online and the notifications students received via their school e-mail both mentioned animistic behavior at the scenes. It sounded plausible...but Teagan didn't know much about werewolves other than the full-moon concept. Aiden had mentioned something about them in the first week, but the topic had never surfaced in any other conversation after that. She needed to know what the creatures were like in real life. If what had knocked her over the night before was indeed a werewolf, then obviously the name was only a reference to their animal counterparts, and the creature still retained a human shape. She didn't remember any claws or fur; just the massive strength pinning her down.

A book slammed onto the table in front of her, causing Teagan to jump in surprise at the loud sound. "Huh?" Blinking, she returned her attention upward. That librarian stood in front of her again, this time with books in tow. Along with the one he had stunned her numbed mind with, he set an old, leather bound text on the desk. "Gah, you startled me. Heh, sign I've been in here studying too long, huh?"

She rubbed her eyes and the proceeded to pull the journal toward her, glancing in curiosity at the note sticking out of it. "Thanks, I appreciate the help." Teagan opened it to the page the note marked, and then glanced at the scrawls left on the backside. "It looks like that guy left something behind." She held the paper up to the librarian so he could get a look at it.

[Casey]

He smirked as the girl jumped awake. Sometimes it was just too easy to get people and he was a sucker for surprises. It was a hard for him to find himself in a situation with a bad surprise, specifically one of his own invention. Though the previous statement was only from his perspective, others had a tendency to voice otherwise.

“Nah,” he laughed, “You’ve been studying for to long when a ten pound book landing next to yer head has absolutely no effect. Though if you can avoid it, I’d call it quits soon. With all the problems around campus best to keep sharp.”

He leaned in, his tie hitting the table. His eyes lingered on the signature but otherwise did not react to the note. He shrugged and turned away. “Oh well, maybe he left something to help ya,” and continued on his way.

[Teagan]

Call it quits? Teagan would love nothing more than to dramatically shove all of the volumes in front of her onto the floor to make room for a spot to lay her head down and fall asleep. But doing nothing got people killed. And with her luck, she'd end up dead within the hour. No, the better choice would be to keep researching and digging for information.

"Perhaps, and maybe not." The librarian didn't seem very interested in the note she had found, so Teagan followed suit and stuck it in the back of the journal without another thought. Not a loss on her part. "Thanks," she called to the librarian as he waltzed away. Her eyes reluctantly scanned the front page of the book, fingers absentmindedly flipping over the pages. More reading really was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.

Stray pencils lay in disarray around the table she occupied, and with a start Teagan realized that the entire table was a disaster. Books and papers were scattered about without rhyme or reason. If she had any hopes to leave soon, this would have to be fixed before she could go. Die, papers, die. She rested her head on one hand, mindlessly straightening the pencils next to her with the other. She'd get around to the reading and the cleaning...right after her head stopped hurting.

[Aiden]

Naturally, Math class was a no-go. Aiden couldn't really blame the girl, honestly, who liked math? But it was frustrating at the same time, because now there was a werewolf on the loose, and Teagan wasn't where she should have been. Had Teagan caught on to the whole werewolf thing and was hunting it as Aiden contemplated his next move? It was possible. How had she scared it off last night, though? Aiden was sure that she didn't have a gun with her...

...No matter, it was a conversation for when they found her. If that was possible. Aiden had been on a few campuses, but failed to realize just how large universities were. If it wasn't just the amount of land the school sat on, it was the levels and the complexity of the buildings. Seriously, how did kids find their classes these days? Finding the math room had been hard enough, and now trying to find one person in the entire school was insane.

He stepped out of the giant cafeteria, shaking his head at Yuki. "I guess the next major stop would be the library," Aiden suggested, making his way over to the large building nearby. He entered the library, weaving through the mass of people entering and exiting. He stopped, looking around. The library was multiple levels...this was starting to hurt his head. "Alright, we'll just take it slow, check each level, and then move on." Hopefully that'd work.

Twenty minutes later they finally made it to Teagan's level, where Miller incidentally lead them to her after Aiden asked if he'd seen her. "Teagan!" Aiden said in a low tone, a grin on his face. "Damn, you look like hell. I guess I do need to consider you probably didn't sleep though," he said, glancing at the papers. "Before we get into the 'how-did-you-find-me's, and the 'why-did-you-follow-me's, let's talk about this werewolf. It looks like you have a lead?"

[Teagan]

"Teagan!"

With a jolt, the slumbering girl was, for the second time in the last hour, abruptly awoken from sleep. This time there was a completely different tone and volume level associated with the speak. Which meant that it was a different one...and one that she recognized. Confused, she looked up to see who was so out of the loop that they forgot to whisper in the library.

What in the wor-

"Damn, you look like hell. I guess I do need to consider you probably didn't sleep though."

Aiden. Freakin'. Wood. A glance back confirmed Teagan's suspicions that Yuki wasn't far behind the faction leader, which made sense, but them being on her school campus did not. Crap. This couldn't be real. She resolved never to pull all-nighters in the library again. If she was hallucinating now, no way would she be able to take a final after studying for 24 hours straight. "Aiden? Yuki?" Teagan sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to make the vision of the tall teens disappear. Last time she had seen the duo was a few weeks ago in Seattle after...well, after the shocking trip to the future and them never showing up at the meeting point.

"Before we get into the 'how-did-you-find-me's, and the 'why-did-you-follow-me's, let's talk about this werewolf. It looks like you have a lead?"

Teagan stared at the boy, taking a moment to let the fact sink in that, for whatever reason, Aiden and Yuki had actually followed her to college and were standing in front of her in the middle of the library. Somehow, the whole environment seemed thrown askew. The two hunters didn't belong in libraries. Teagan associated them more with demons and blood and guns than calmly strolling along on the campus, textbooks in hand.

"How did you know it was a werew..." Her thought trailed off as she question why she had even bothered to ask. Of course they knew about the werewolf. That was the only logical explanation as to why they were on the campus. "Never mind." She scanned the table, locating the journal and tossing it to Aiden. "Here. Read the entry near the middle. It's the one with the hair on the page."

She crossed her arms and leaned back. Regardless of whether or not she felt comfortable with Aiden and Yuki invading the campus, she couldn't deny the sense of relief she felt for the help that had arrived. Besides the librarian, Lucas was the only one on campus she could look to for help.

Oh crap.

Lucas.

Aiden and Yuki could not know about Lucas.

[Aiden]

She was confused to see them, that was for sure. The way she went rigid at the sound of his voice, the dazed glint in her eye when she turned around, and not to mention they looked like they could be students, especially with Aiden's backpack that Teagan very well could have thought she was dreaming. Yeah, like the dreams of a hunter ever turned out to be pleasant anyway. She kept silent so Aiden kept talking--there was work to be done, lives to be saved.

He glanced at the books before realizing what exactly Teagan was doing. Drawings and depictions--and most not pretty--of werewolves covered the pages. "Wait a second...you were actually researching? Teagan, read a book to hunt?" he said both playfully and sarcastically. So this werewolf must've had Teagan pretty spooked, at least enough to look it up. Though if she had learned anything in her time in Oregon, she would already know about werewolves.

He sat down at the table, and pulled one of the books up. "I've been tracking this thing since it was in Idaho, its been moving west. Last killing was a town over, and I decided that it was too close to you for comfort. And since its here on campus, I figured that good ol' me would do you a service," he said with a grin. "Oh, and Chewie here decided to tag along and learn from my awesomeness," he added, throwing a thumb over his shoulder at Yuki.

"So, what do you got?" he asked, taking the paper she pushed his direction. He scanned it, and looked back at her. "Yeah, I knew this all already," he said, setting it back down. He pulled over another book, and noticed a few pages sticking up towards the back. He pulled out a small slip of paper, and read the small note at the bottom, telling the finder not to mention...something. Don't mention it. "Who the heck is Sylus?" he asked aloud, setting it back down.

[Teagan]

Alright, so all Teagan had to do was not let the conversation drift toward her...friend? At one point yes, but she wasn't quite sure about now. Acquaintance? Sure. As informal as it sounded, it was the best she could do in her lethargic state. Lucas could not be mentioned. Ever. What would they think if they discovered that he was a demon? And that she hadn't exorcised him on the spot?

She could do this. Teagan mentally shoved the thought into the back of her head, a technique she normally employed while waiting for a prank to be unveiled. Peace. Innocence. Tranquility.

....reaction to insult.

"I know, right?" Teagan rolled her eyes, most likely dark from a lack of sleep. "College does strange things to a person." She gave a half-attempt at a smile before settling into a silence as Aiden explained tracking the werewolf. So it wasn't a new problem, just one recently discovered in her area. Great. Lovely. Splendid. Why couldn't he catch it before it ruined her experience? She lifted an eyebrow at the Star Wars reference, mentally storing it for use later at some point. It fit the Japanese girl, in some strange way.

Aiden rummaged through the material, scanning each item in a way that mirrored his skill and the amount of time he did doing so. She felt a twinge of envy for the ease he reviewed the information with. Teagan had just stayed up the entire night, unable to concentrate. He'd probably do really well in college, she mused, if he ever got the chance.

"Just the guy who left a bookmark on the page with the werewolves," Teagan shrugged, not really concerned about it. Just some paper. While it was sometimes nice to have a signature she could forge, her mind was focused on other things at the moment. "So, silver bullet to kill it, right? Only question left is how do we go about locating the werewolf?"

She stifled a yawn that interrupted the end of her sentence. "Without using me as bait, that is. It attacked last night. I don't know who is was, but it was powerful." Teagan uncertainly remembered the strength of the grip that pinned her tightly to the ground.

[Yuki]

University. This was a setting she had no particular desire to return to, even with her academic prowess considered. On the trail of a werewolf, the tracking done by the two remaining hunters of Portland--Aiden and herself--had led them to the state of Washington. Again. Naturally, their--or rather, her faction leader--had decided to pay a visit to Teagan's campus out of concern for her well-being. Or basically, as Yuki saw it, Teagan was a magnet for trouble that could not be ignored. With that child's lack of luck, the werewolf would head straight for her. It was as if she had a giant, neon red target tattooed to the front of her head, and a werewolf would spot it hundreds of miles away.

And so, as casual as any other young student, she and Aiden had walked through the school campus in search of the ex-faction member. One thing Yuki was not accustomed to was the fact that the students in American schools wore normal clothing, not uniforms. Though it had not been required at her school, it was frowned upon to wear "indecent" clothing, such as anything sleeveless or skirts and dresses shorter than knee-length, which posed a bit of a problem for her, as her wardrobe consisted of many so-called "indecencies." And so she had resorted to school uniforms. But here, no one wore a uniform. Everyone was dressed in everyday clothing. Yuki was familiar with this western tradition and had herself bought more American-styled clothing for this very situation. Her current outfit consisted of converse shoes, jeans, and a t-shirt, and no extraordinary style for her hair either, just an average ponytail. Any other place, she wouldn't have cared for changing her style, but Yuki knew better than anyone that at school campuses, having a different sense of fashion would draw unnecessary attention. And that would only prove annoying under their current circumstances.

After a bit of searching, they had found her in the library...sleeping. Pathetic. Shouldn't she be researching?! Even if she hadn't realized what creature was drawing near, surely she didn't come to the library to doze off. She should have been studying for something. Therefore, Yuki felt no sympathy for her when Aiden gave her a somewhat rude awakening. The child really did look awful though. As she (slowly) came to her senses, Yuki examined the literary material on the table. Scattered and stacked were volumes about mythical creatures, as well as a few stray novels, probably from other students who had carelessly left them there. Had Teagan realized that there was a werewolf nearby, or was it simply coincidence that books related to the topic now sat in front of her?

...No, she had actually been researching. From behind Aiden, Yuki raised one eyebrow as he vocalized her thoughts. College doing strange things to people? Indeed. Explaining their arrival at her library, Aiden made a motion towards Yuki, except he had called her "Chewy." Chewy? E nglish adjective. However, she did not understand his usage of the word. As far as nicknames went, she was not a substance to be eaten that could be construed as having a springy texture or that required much chewing.. Analyzing such a concept in metaphorical terms made no sense either. if Aiden was making a stupid joke, which Yuki suspected he was, seeing as she was most certainly not following him for his "awesomeness," he was doing it rather poorly, and she let him know by giving him a stomp on his foot as she advanced towards the table to examine some of the books. As she took a seat, Aiden picked one up, one that looked more like a journal. Yuki eyed it as it left the surface and watched as Aiden's expression turned from one of curiousity to perplexion.

Sylus? The person who had bookmarked the page on werewolves? Yuki furrowed her eyebrows. That was odd. Who would do that? It couldn't be a coincidence. Perhaps this student had been a hunter and had faced a similar problem? Or maybe he had simply been doing a research report on werewolves. Yuki shrugged it off as something to contemplate later. For now, they had to take care of this deadly canine problem. Silver bullets were the trick. How would they lure it in now? Teagan as bait would most certainly...or not, she thought, as the child cut her thoughts off. The werewolf had already beaten them to the punch. A sort of 'I-knew-it' wave of emotion ran through Yuki. The child really did have a knack for getting into trouble. Kidnapped, trapped, used as bait--perhaps that was karma for the tricks she so much enjoyed pulling on others.

Wait...it had attacked her last night?! "What happened during that battle, Teagan?" she asked in all seriousness. "Surely you did not defeat a werewolf single handedly. And if you did, you would not be in here reasearching. How did you manage to escape?"

[Teagan]

"What?" Teagan huffed, slightly offended. "You don't think I could take it on by myself?" She sent an insulted glare toward Yuki. There was a moment's pause before she reluctantly caved in. "Fine. You're right. I didn't."

They both looked at her, expectantly. Crap. This was the part where she couldn't deny Lucas's involvement. But did she have to mention it was Lucas? Deceitful demon; why on earth did he have to create this conundrum?

"I had dinner with a friend last night and the stupid thing ambushed us on the way back to the dorms. We were going to study," she glanced down at the books on the table, "but this wasn't part of the plan." No mention of friend's gender, name, athletic ability or species.

"I didn't get a good look at the face, but what's confusing me is..." Teagan rubbed her eyes, overwhelmed by her frustration over this entire werewolf situation. "What did it attack me? I haven't provoked anyone! Not even a prank."

...that anyone had fallen for yet, she amended silently.

[Yuki]

She rasied one eyerbow at the girl. "So your friend aided you in this escape and you both outran a werewolf?" Her question almost came off as sarcastic. "Did your friend get injured? Did you at least deal a blow to the creature?" She was trying to be serious, but it sounded like a mock interrogation. Something didn't sound right in Teagan's story. Yuki didn't think the girl was lying. She just felt like something didn't quite fit in the puzzle. Her and a friend had been walking, the thing attacked, and they escaped? What of the friend. Had he or she become aware of supernatural phenomena, or had she mistaken it for another creature? Why the thing had attacked her was strange a question enough, not because it had actually attacked Teagan, as that was a common occurrence amoung supernatural beings, but because the thing had targeted her when it was supposed to be a city away. Of all the people to attack, why her? Perhaps she merely had the scent of a hunter, and animalistic instinct had taken over during its strike.

Yuki bit her lip in thought. She didn't know enough about werewolves to say anything for sure. She had only read lores and myths about them, and the fact that she had never actually faced one limited her knowledge in the same way that Teagan's lack of reading limited her knowledge on other occcassions. But she supposed what was more important that figuring out a reason as to why it had attacked was to figure out how to prevent another attack from happening. First, they had to locate the creature. If what she had read was correct, it did not always reside in its animal form. It could easily be a student at the school, or perhaps blend in as a staff member. Hell, it could have moved on from the school by now. But maybe it would be back for Teagan.

She gave an internal sigh. Mendokusai. This was the result of lack of experience. She looked expectantly at Aiden with a hardened stare. Hopefully he knew a thing or two more about that foul thing than she did.

[Aiden]

How could you draw a werewolf to you when you didn't even know who it was? He went over several scenarios in his head, and unfortunately they all involved then winging it. He frowned to himself, vaguely registering that Yuki and Teagan were talking. What would be the best way to do this? What would Malcolm do? He sat back in the chair and gazed absently at the table, his eyes tracing the outline of the werewolf on the page of the open book.

Not use Teagan as bait. Well, in this situation, it was almost impossible to use bait because they didn't know if the werewolf would even take the bait. Finally, he looked at Teagan with an expression that let her know he was still working out the plan in his mind, and shrugged a bit. "I think we're all going to have to be bait."

"My line of thinking is that we take up strategic points that cover most of the school, and we're basically just going to be on patrol all night until it moves. If one of us sees it, we contact each other and go to kill it. I just want you guys to remember," he said, directing this comment moreso toward Teagan, "that they still look human for the most part. When it comes to killing it, just remember that its a monster that'll kill you if you don't kill it first. Don't let the human looks get in the way of that," he said with a serious expression on his face.

He slid Teagan's binder, which had a map of the school in the plastic cover on the front, to the center of the table, and mentally traced the routes which they could use as lookout points. "Alright, I'll take this building here. Teagan, you take this one, you should get a good view of the dorms from there. And Yuki, you'll go here," he said, pointing with his finger.

"Just call each other if you see anything, its supposed to be clear tonight, so cloud cover won't be an issue. If anything gets too out of hand, they have the emergency terminals, just activate one of those, that way people will head inside. Portland, are you ready for one last mission?" He said with a smile on his face, nostalgia ringing in his voice.

[Teagan]

Teagan patiently listened to Yuki's questions, trying to figure out how to answer them without revealing too much information. "Yes to both question. The werewolf should have a decently-sized bruise, or in the least be sore. And my friend is okay. He.....he's a wrestler and thought it was just some creep attacking a girl." Lucas? A wrestler? Yeah right; not with that wiry frame.

Aiden finally chimed in, causing Teagan to sit up in alarm. "Another all-nighter? I just pulled one..." Her voice trailed off as he continued rattling off his battle plan. Sound, actually. She didn't think he understood exactly how large the campus was though; it'd be a large distance for them to cover, especially in the case that one of them actually did run into the werewolf.

His last statement made her pause in thought. One last mission? He said that like they were still a group...still a team. Did he still want them like that anymore? Despite the consequences? Despite the result? Despite....despite knowing all of them died after growing close together? Teagan's eyes narrowed slightly. Countless hours this debate raged through her mind, only recently coming to the conclusion that she could never escape.

Did she have a shot of returning to Portland? Surely....surely the fact that she had actually attended college for a week counted for something, correct? It wasn't an option she had considered yet, returning. But maybe it held more merit than she realized...

"I suppose I could take a nap or something before tonight," Teagan yawned. "Count me in."

"