Nathan’s House
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“Finally done~!”
Katherine stretches out with a wide smile, the cracking of her back bringing much-needed relief since she had been sitting up for the past two hours. Nathan chuckled at her, saving the work he had on his screen before shutting his laptop.
“Now that the project is done, we can go train.”
“Ugh, I’m already tired!” Katherine whined out, her head hitting the back of the couch with a sigh.
“Kat, remember you still have a looming death timer over your head.” Nathan said sternly.
“Thank you, Nathan, for reminding me of my pending death sentence, I had almost forgotten.” Katherine replied sourly, a rather annoyed look on her face she turned to him.
“Sorry, I just wanted to- ugh never mind.” Nathan said shaking his head.
“No I-I get it. Remember that this is serious and don’t mess up.” Katherine said, much softer than her previous statement.
“It’s just you are so close to being at full control, you can already shift back without problem-”
“And today, you will completely shift by yourself.”
Nathan and Katherine both turned to Eric who had just walked into the living room.
“Oh morning Eric.” Katherine said rather casually.
“Morning, you ready to see if your training has paid off?”
“Um, not really…?” Katherine said with a weak smile.
“Sadly we don’t have luxury. Come around back when you two are ready, I’m adding two others to our run today.” Eric said as he disappeared to the back of the house.
Soon Katherine and Nathan found themselves outside however two others stood by Eric. Rose and Claire both look at them when they got close.
“Oh Claire hello!” Katherine said, giving the younger girl a smile.
However, Claire didn’t give her a verbal response, just nodded and turned away.
“She really doesn’t like me huh?” Katherine whispered to Nathan with a frown.
“Don’t take it personally, Claire’s like that with basically everyone except Rose.” Nathan said, giving Katherine a small smile.
“Hey, runt are you ready?!” Eric called over to the pair, his arms crossed over his chest and an impatient frown on his face.
“You know being rude won’t get you a lot of friends..” Katherine said with a pout as she walked up to him.
He merely raised an eyebrow in a “Do-I-look-like-I-care?” manner.
“Right forgot, you’re allergic to friendship.” She mumbled.
“Are you done stalling?” Eric said with a grunt, seeing right through her.
She just kicked the dirt and said nothing. Eric then turned to the others.
“Remember, watch out for each other, particularly the runt!” Eric barked at them.
He then turned back to Katherine and nodded.
“Remember, don’t try to force it.”
“Yeah, I know!” She huffed as she closed her eyes.
Katherine let out deep breaths and fell silent, trying her hardest to unfilter her mind and focus to shift just as Eric taught her. However, every time she tried to relax her mind, the fear of her situation started to boil up. She had been avoiding thinking about it for the last 2 weeks, trying to think of her current situation as a sort of dream in a sense. However as the last days of her sentence is merely around the corner, the fear of failure is strong. She hated things that she wasn’t prepared for, it threw her off and generally made her extremely uncomfortable. Eric who, was standing right beside her could see the frustration coming to her as her body tensed up.
“Katherine.” He said placing a hand on her shoulder.
She ignored him and continued to strain with her mind. She was visibly shaking at this point, and small tears dotted her eyes.
“Hey, Katherine look at me damn it!” Eric said, kind of roughly pulling her face up.
She finally opened her eyes, her facial expression was close to a child’s, fat tears now falling freely and her breath coming out uneven. She was afraid, so very, very afraid. Eric threw a look to Nathan who immediately ran over and gently pulled Katherine to him. She immediately pulled him to her, clinging to him as she cried, burying her face into his shoulder.
“Hey Kat, it’s okay, we won’t let anything happen to you.” He said reassuringly even though there was a deep frown on his face.
Eric was watching Nathan, Nathan was lying obviously. When it truly came down to it, there was nothing they could do.
“I-I’m scarred..I don’t want to die!!” Katherine cried out, his nail digging into Nathan’s arms.
“You’re not gonna die! Katherine, we-I won’t let anything happen to you.”He responds however his eyes are firmly glued to Eric.
It was very apparent by the look in Nathan’s eyes that he was dead serious on that account. Eric merely rolled his eyes walked up to the pair and knelt down.
“Look, I’m not Nathan so I’m not going to make you promises I can’t possibly keep. However, what I will do with every ounce of my ability is prepare you. There is no way out of this kid, this isn’t just about you, it is about everyone’s safety. You’ve seen what will happen if one of us goes unchecked. So cut the waterworks and get your ass in gear.”
Nathan’s glare could peel wallpaper with its intensity that Eric was visibly ignoring, his eyes trained on Katherine. Katherine had finally stopped crying and turned her head enough so that she could see him. Her eyes are slightly puffy and red from her tears.
“You’re a dick.” She said, sniffling a bit.
“Yeah well you’re a runt. What are you gonna do about it?” He said a tad bit childishly with a soft smirk.
Katherine said nothing and stood with Nathan’s help. She then turned to Eric, a frown her face.
“I’m not a runt.”
“Then prove it, Runt” Eric teased.
“Are you two for real?” Nathan started, giving the two of them an annoyed look.
“Are we running or not? I’d rather not have my whole day wasted.” Rose finally spoke up as her and Claire stepped closer to the trio.
“Yeah, sorry about that…” Katherine said, giving the girl a weak smile.
Katherine then went back to her meditating state, this time however she was about to find a quiet head space. It was soon that she felt the familiar clip in the back of her mind and then her shift began. It was still a rather uncomfortable transition but now that she invoked it of her own will, it was over quickly. She stood up straight, her legs a bit shaky given this was her first time being fully aware of her shift. She let out a loud bark as she turned to the rest of her group.
“I did it!!!”
“Told you could do it!” Nathan said with a smile.
She then suddenly fell on her stomach, her legs clumsily bucking under her.
“… Well you shifted, that’s definitely progress.” Nathan said with a chuckle.
It took a few minutes but soon Katherine managed to set herself straight up again. Eric then nodded back to Rose and Claire who immediately shifted with Eric and Nathan following. Rose was a similar dark brown as Nathan thought her coat was a bit brighter. Claire on the other hand was an ash, blonde coat with rather piercing green eyes. Rose was closer to her size while Claire was larger in the frame however only by a little. Soon the pack was off, running through the forest with abandonment. Katherine was feeling such a rush, it felt good, well more than good to be honest. She felt like a child, no cares in the world just her and the pack. All too quickly night fell and they all returned to Nathan’s house. Karen waiting for them with a practical buffet spread. After eating her fill, Nathan brought Katherine back to her house. The car ride was more or less silent until they pulled into her driveway. Katherine was staring into space, a sad expression on her face.
“..What will happen now?” Her voice came out in a whimper.
Nathan looked at her, a frown on his face.
“They will test you, most likely. I don’t know how..”
“Super..” She said with a weak chuckle.
“I meant what I said before Katherine. I will come to you if you need me.”
She let out a laugh, looking at Nathan.
“You’re sweet Nathan, but you and I both know it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference.” She in a rather defeated tone, that weak smile on her face.
“Katherine, I swear to you, I will come to you. I will.” He promises, looking her directly in the eyes.
She looks at him, seeing the burning determination in his eyes.
“Thank you”
She then got out and walked into her house. Her mother was in the living room, relaxed and watching TV.
“Oh welcome home! How did the project go?” Olivia asked, her eyes glued to the screen.
“We actually finished it tonight so it was good.” Katherine responded a bit robotic.
Katherine paused before the opening to the living room, staring at her mother. Thoughts swirl in her head as she thinks of the upcoming days.
“You want to watch with me? I know you saw this season already but..” Olivia trails off as she looks over to Katherine.
An old episode of supernatural was playing on the Tv which made Katherine let out a dry chuckle and shake her head.
“No thanks Mom, I think I just gonna rest for now.” She said before continuing upstairs to her room.
She soon found herself lying face down on her bed, her pillow practically smothering her. Her life had taken quite a tragic turn, something she honestly is still having issues fully understanding.
“And now I’m gonna die..” She says with a desperate laugh that shakes her whole form.
She soon falls into a restless sleep, her less-than-happy thoughts haunting her dreams.
Judgment day arrived all too soon if you asked her. Morning arrived much too happy and way too loud in the form of birds chirping outside her window. Katherine let out a groan as she tried to roll over and place her pillow over her head. And just as she was about to drift back to sleep the sound of her house’s doorbell brought her back.
“For fuck’s sake…!” She hissed
“Katherine! Kristen is here to see you!”
Katherine was instantly fully alert and tense. She slowly rose from her bed, the thought of running away filling her mind.
“Katherine?” Her mother called when she didn’t hear an answer.
“Y-Yeah I’m coming!” She responded finally.
She let out a huff and quickly dressed and soon found herself downstairs standing in front of both Kristen and surprisingly Kristen’s older brother, John. She was about to greet him but stopped short at seeing the rather unhappy expression on his face.
“Kristen.. good morning.”
“Morning Kat…”
An awkward silence then bloomed between them, Katherine constantly throwing wary glances at her brother who honestly was looking at her like his glare was enough to burst her into flames.
“Why don’t you say, good morning brother?” Kristen said tensely and she gave her brother the side-eye.
“..Hi.” He practically hissed out.
“Well, are you delightful?” Katherine responds with a tight smile.
He merely sneers at her in response.
“Well, I’m guessing by your brother’s spectacular mood that you are here to kill me?” Katherine said rather bitterly.
“No!”
“If needed yes.”
Kristen and John turned to glare at each other instantly while Katherine nodded with the same tight smile.
“Mom, I’m gonna head over to Kristen. Be back later on… I hope.” She said, mumbling the last part under her breath, as she walked out of the door.
“Have fun!”
They all crowded into John’s car, Katherine in the back seat behind John. She was shifting a bit uncomfortably as his seat was too far back.
“Um, can you please move your seat up?” She asked kindly.
“No” Was his immediate response.
The sound of a loud sigh and Kristen’s head slumping on her hand was her response to her brother’s antics. Katherine then moved over so that she was instead behind Kristen, John’s eyes following her. One very awkward car ride later they soon arrived at Kristen and John’s house. Kristen escorted Katherine through the house with John tailing their every move. Soon they arrived at a door that Katherine was fully sure was never there.
“Wait, you have a basement??”
“..Something like that.” Kristen answered as she opened the door.
They entered what Katherine could be described as the literally Bat-cave.
“Whoaaa..”
“Yeah.”
There was a small crowd of people who turned to the trio as they entered. At the center of the crowd was Kristen’s father who had Katherine pinned under his gaze like a fly. She instantly froze, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in fear. It was very much like her experience with not-Maria. He walked over, eyes still locked onto Katherine.
“Katherine, I truly regret this meeting.” He said with relative sincerity.
Katherine merely nodded with a weak smile.
“So is this where you kill me?”
He let out a laugh, shaking his head.
“I gave my word to Kristen that no harm would come to you unless absolutely warranted. All I want you to do is shift.”
Katherine’s eyes narrowed in suspicion but his expression neither changed nor shifted. So she did as she was told. It felt a bit different than with her pack but she managed. She was silently patting herself on the back for being prepared and not wearing any of her nice clothes. When she had finally finished her shift, she looked up to the crowd. There was a mixture of looks of intrigue and distrust. Kristen looks more in between nervous and in awe while her brother still looks like he has the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes. The only one who appeared more or less casual about her transformation was Kristen’s father. He was more or less unimpressed and vaguely bored. Katherine’s ears pulled back as she sat down, trying to seem as nonthreatening as possible. It wasn’t until Garret suddenly pulled out a gun and started shooting that things got crazy. Katherine managed to dodge each bullet though barely and once he stopped firing she looked back at him with wide eyes which were quite amusing given her form. She then proceeded to bark loudly, most likely cursing the man.
“She passes.” He simply said placing the gun down and turning back to the crowd.
Katherine looked less than pleased as she growled at his back.
“Hey hey, none of that Kat.” Kristen said walking over to her.
“HE SHOT AT ME!” Katherine practically shouted.
However, Kristen just gave a small smile.
“Sorry Kat but I can’t actually understand what you’re saying..”
“Oh, fucking course!” She said with a snort, rolling her eyes.
“Hey don’t get mad at me. Come on let me get you some clothes to change into.”
Katherine follows Kristen upstairs, being very mindful of her tail. It had been a while since she had last entered her house a lot of things had changed.
“It’s been a while since you were over hasn’t it.” She asked as she saw Katherine looking around.
Katherine nodded, still looking around. They soon arrive at Kristen’s room and after fishing out some clothes for Katherine to wear she finally changed back. After getting changed the pair sat in a bit of awkward silence.
“…. Your father still scares the piss out of me..” Katherine said with a pout.
“Yes well, that kind of his job.”
“So did I really pass? I feel like I’ve been punked or something.. I thought there would be more?”
“Trust me you’ve passed just fine. If you were in any danger, you would have known.”
“So that was what? A test to see if I would get berserk?”
“More or less yes, newly turned werewolves are prone to violent outbursts unless they have full control. You showed that you were not only conscious of your actions but you were also quite terrified of my father.”
“Well yay for that I guess.”
“I am sorry for all this.. things have really been messed up between us as of late.”
“Yeah well, a lot has happened.”
“But don’t worry, I trust you and so does my dad. My brother will take some time but he’ll come around to trusting you.”
“Sure as hell doesn’t feel like it. He looked like he wanted to kill me.”
Kristen let a soft chuckle.
“Yeah well, that really isn’t your fault. It’s not anything that has to do with you personally but with werewolves as a whole.”
“Werewolves? Why?”
Kristen let out a sigh and turned to fully face Katherine.
“Before I was born, I did have another brother. He was the eldest of us three, his name was David.”
“Whoa really?” Katherine said in disbelief.
“Yeah, it surprised me too when I was told. David was really close to John so they didn’t really want to talk about him due to what happened.”
Kristen took a pause, her eyes falling to the floor before continuing.
“It was a few years before I was born, things were a lot different then. There were a lot more supernatural creatures running around, at least that’s what my mom told me. John and David were out together when the signal for a rogue came out. By the time my parents had arrived, the rogue was dead. And so was David…”
“Kris..”
“My mom said that I was a lot like him, very open-minded and easygoing. Said he always looked for the best in people. After that, my brother was never really the same.”
“I’m sorry”
“Not much anyone can do about it now..” She said with a shrug.
“Still, I am sorry.”
“Thanks, Kat..”
“You never did tell me about how your mother was a hunter.” Katherine asks mostly in an attempt to change the subject.
“You be surprised to know it was actually my mother who was the hunter originally.”
“You’re kidding?! So your mom brought your dad into the hunter business?”
“Something like that. My mom was actually was of the most famous hunter in New England if you can believe that.”
“Wow, honestly I wouldn’t under normal circumstances, your mom was always kind.”
“Yeah well give her a sliver dagger and put in her a room with a rogue, that will paint a very different story I’ll tell you that.”
“Wow”
The pair continued to talk well into the night about various details about the supernatural. Things felt almost normal as Katherine lay in her bed later that night. However, she could not help but wonder about Kristen’s story about her mother.
“She said that there used to be more supernatural creatures than now… “Katherine mumbled in thought.
What had changed since then she wondered. Eventually, she fell asleep however an unsettling feeling was burning in her gut. Something was coming, something big. She couldn’t tell whether it was bad or good but what she could tell was that it was going to impact all of them.