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 Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 9:41 pm
Toby was warm and soft and smelled much more like himself than like a dog. He dropped Maia off and then went to investigate. It turned out the known were was moving, and that could be nothing, but it was most likely off on a hunt. They had to alert the local branch to be sure nothing worse happened, to perhaps even case the area with a helicopter.
Toby nodded in agreement. Sure. He'd turned the running lights back on so it would at least be well-lit but wandering the building alone at night could be kind of unsettling.
Dari reassured Toby that he could handle the situation if Toby wanted to walk Maia to her apartment... or his own apartment, as it were. Toby tilted his head and furrowed his brow.
"No, go ahead."
When the pair has left the room, Dari texted Maia.
See if you can't get him to sleep as well. I have things under control.
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 9:54 pm
Maia reached for Toby's hand after quickly texting an affirmative to Dari. She'd do her best to make sure Toby got some sleep to night. She was prepared to refuse sleep until he laid down in bed if she had to. "I don't think Seamus will be joining us," she mused aloud. What did Toby need to get to sleep? Tea? She was sure She could figure out how to make some.
"Are you tired, Toby?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:03 pm
No? She'd seemed so pleased that Seamus agreed to spend the night with her. She must have changed her mind. He was privately a bit happy about the decision. He hated to admit it, but Seamus was a small prey animal for a werewolf and it would be a pain to have to fight an all new set of temptations. He raised his board and scribbled down a note.
Nope
He showed it to Maia for just a moment, and then decided to elaborate. Writing it out took some time as they walked. "Biologically programmed" was probably a bit too difficult a word for a new reader. Finally he as able to offer:
Werewolves are meant to be awake all night until sunrise when they turn back into humans
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:11 pm
"Well, that's not fair," Maia frowned. No rest meant Toby would be exhausted once he turned back and he still hadn't agreed to take the day off tomorrow. "At least rest," she encouraged him, gesturing to Dari's bedroom once they entered the apartment. "I'll make you something to eat if you're hungry. Do you want some tea? I could read to you."
Or sing. But she doubted her voice would be putting around to sleep.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 8:38 am
Tea would be difficult to drink with a snout, at least difficult to not be embarrassed by the lapping. But anyway, nothing did much to soothe a werewolf to sleep. It took real effort, concentration, a little bit of luck...
Yes, he'd be exhausted tomorrow, but that was just a part of it. This happened every month without fail. You could never really get used to the change but forty years helped to get used to the schedule. He shook his head and raised a clawed hand dismissively. He was fine. It was barely fair that he should have a comfortable bed while the others had cells.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 8:53 am
Maia sent Toby a stern expression. She took his hand and led him into the bedroom. "Rest," she insisted. "I'll get you something." she'd ended up making the entire box of pasta and found that'd been far too much for she, Seamus and they'd even had left overs when she'd made a plate for Toby. She took the pan out of the fridge, scooped pasta out into a bowl and heated it in the microwave.
"Here," she said, returning to where Toby was. "I made too much earlier." She texted Dari; Toby won't sleep. How do I get him to?
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 8:57 am
Toby took the bowl but then just stared at it. There were two methods he could employ. One was to stick his face into the bowl. The other was to pick up noodles with his hands and stuff them in his mouth. It seemed rude to deny something Maia had made herself but it was most often humiliating to try and do anything 'average' while in this form. On the other hand, he could always use more food. What to do?
A text was returned in moments. Be nice or beg. Whatever it takes. Of course her 'being nice' might help some things along, but that was purely coincidental.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:07 am
Maia considered that. She wasn't keen on the begging idea but if being nice didn't work... She looked to Toby, putting her phone away. "I'll go see if I can find that book," She said. She'd allow Toby to eat alone, he hadn't seemed to want to eat in front of her earlier.
She picked up the book from the end table in the living room. "Do you want to start from the beginning?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:14 am
Toby considered his options a moment longer and then decided to use his hands rather than muss his face. He couldn't do much to chew just noodles so mostly it went down whole or nearly-whole. Maia caught him at the end of the bowl, noodles in-hand. He paused a moment, just looking at her, and then gulped those down too and brought the dish to the kitchen and washed his hands. Anything to feel normal. He returned to his board and scribbled down with now moderately damp paws:
Anywhere's fine
Unless Maia liked it enough to want to start over again he saw no issue with picking up from where she left off.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:22 am
Maia didn't think Toby should have been worried; she of all people knew eating was difficult. That had been how they'd discovered her. "Alright, we'll start where I left off." She sat on the bed and then laid down, waiting for Toby to join her.
"Come on. This version has colored pictures. I'm where they meet the beavers."
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:26 am
Colored pictures? Toby vaguely remembered little ink drawings but this whole color thing was new to him. Hey, why not? They'd spent a while on the lawn together anyway. He hadn't considered, though, how much smaller the bed was. He paused at the edge and moved to crouch. No, too low. Could he--? His legs didn't work that way any more. Uhh...
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:36 am
Maia set the book down and got up to help Toby. "Crawl on," She suggested, demonstrating. He was so tall, she should have known he'd have trouble. "Or maybe act like you're going to sit and let yourself fall back. The bed will catch you."
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:40 am
Well, getting up there wasn't the issue, it was being up there. there really wasn't any room. They'd be right on top of each other. Well, if she was sure...
He crawled on fairly easily, even with the digitigrade legs, and lay down on his side to try and leave Maia as much room as possible, but there really wasn't any. He was taller and broader and ore beastly and he wouldn't be at all offended if she changed her mind. He set his board on the bedside table and tried to scoot back further toward the edge.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:44 am
No space didn't seem to phase the selkie, she was more concerned about Toby's comfort than her own. He needed the sleep. Maia scooted in next to him and opened her book. She began to read.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:50 am
In time, Toby's stiff posture relaxed into a more comfortable one. He let himself lay more organically on the bed and nearer to Maia as she read. Any time he made sightly contact he didn't feel her stiffen or pull away and, even though he wasn't entirely comfortable with it himself, he thought it obviously wasn't going to hurt to be so close.
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