A hungry wolf {Alexander Barett}

[kahira]

Alex shook his head as Connie finished, "No, don't worry about it, you've offered enough help, and you don't even know me." Alex said and gave a smile, "I'll figure it out on my own." he said. Yes, part of him wished there was a place he could stay, but he didn't want to bother Connie, and he didn't trust the pack here yet and knew he wouldn't want to stay with any of them... not yet. If this was their territory though, Alex probably wouldn't want to stray out into the forest. He didn't want to use any money either from anyone, even if they offered. No... he'd manage by himself. He had gotten this far, lasted this long, he could certainly last awhile longer.

Finishing his plate and glass of water he leaned back in his chair, satisfied. He was definitely full now and dared not eat another bite. "Do you... uhm... want me to help you... clean up?" Alex asked with a quiet tone as he carefully put his fork on the plate. He wasn't to sure what to do with himself now. Things were seeming to get a bit weird for him now.

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie smiled then shrugged when he turned down her offer to help. He had to help himself before he'd accept more help from anyone. "Alright, that's fine. But if you need anything, you can always come back and find me." She shrugged, picked up the plates and dumped them into the dish washer. She glanced back when he asked if he could help and she only smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Dishwashers are wonderful things." She laughed as she shut the door and sat back down, sipping her soda. "There are a few things I should tell you, though, before you leave." She smiled faintly. "Not everyone is as nice as I am. There are several other strays in town though, we don't run them off as long as they don't cause a problem. Just be careful what you say when you smell other wolves."

She frowned, wondering what else she should tell him. "Also, be careful of some of the other strays. They won't attack the pack or the humans, but they might go after other strays that wander too close to where they den." She shrugged. "I can't think of much else I can tell you... Do you have any questions? I can answer whatever you want to know."

[kahira]

Alex chuckled at the dishwasher comment, yes... they were nice, but he did miss the calm that came with washing dishes by hand. It distracted the hands and mind. He could use some distraction right now. He watched Connie sit back down and ask if there was anything else she could help him with or if he had any questions. He was about to shake his head and say no, but something from a few days ago popped into his mind then. "What's up with some of the people near by? I ran into a group of them last week, didn't see them at first but when they saw me they shouted werewolf and before I knew it I was running away with bullets blowing holes in the trees... I lost them but... from how Julia had explained it to me in the past they shouldn't even really know werewolves exist... but these guys seemed intent on killing me... but I hadn't done anything..." Alex asked, frowning with worry. He hoped he wouldn't run into that problem as a human wandering the town.

He had been scared that day, never had he had a gun pointed at him with such furosity. Sure he had run into some people out hunting for deer and such, but those shots were out of fear rather than anger. These were pure anger and he was sure he was going to die that day. What could cause so much hate in a person? Had the werewolves near-by harmed them in some way? Or was it a past experience? Part of him was afraid to find out.

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie watched him absorb the warnings she gave him, about the only thing she could do. But when he asked her about humans shooting at him and yelling werewolf, she stiffened. "You were attacked by humans with guns?" Her eyes glowed faintly yellow. Hunters. How could she forget about hunters? God this was dangerous territory.

"Alex, you need to be careful. Stay in your human form as much as possible around here." She blinked and her eyes shifted slowly back to their normal brown. "I can't believe I almost forgot. Those were most likely hunters. Humans who have somehow learned of our existence. They know silver can kill us, and turn silver into bullets or other weapons to attack us with."

She stood and paced, agitated. "I'm sorry, Alex, I nearly forgot to tell you about the hunters. I'm glad you said something. For the most part, they leave us alone. But there are a few who hate us just on principle, and will try to kill us even though we haven't done anything to harm them." She turned back to look at him, concern creasing her brow. "You were not hit by the bullet, were you? It won't kill you outright unless shot in the heart or head, but even a little bit can be fatal if it's left to fester in a wound."

[kahira]

Alex seemed a bit shocked at Connie's reaction, so they were a big issue. Oh dear... He listened silently, watching her get up and pace. She seemed angry. He remained silent as she explained further and with each word seemed to get more worried. When she asked if he had been hit, he frowned. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He sigh and then turned to the shirt he wore and pulled down the collar a bit to reveal a cut about an inch in a half in length on his shoulder. It was healing but still noticeable against the skin. "It's not bad, just skimmed the skin... it did burn a lot but I splashed some water over it a few hours later and that seemed to tame it." Alex mumbled and released the shirt.

He stood up from his chair and placed his hands behind his back as he stood there, wondering what Connie would reply to this. He hadn't known silver was fatal... that was a scary thought, but he had figured werewolves weren't invincible, even if they were quite strong. "They can't... tell us apart from regular humans can they? In our human forms that is?" he asked, he was concerned now. What if he ran into a hunter in town? He was a poor fighter, especially when it came to a gun pointing at his face. If he ran into a hunter... he'd probably die. Especially in his state.

[Connie Lynn Marshall]

Connie turned when he said that he had been hit, and was surprised to see him standing there without a shirt on. He must have gotten up and taken it off when she had her back turned. She looked at the cut on his shoulder. It was healing, at least it looked like it. She moved over, but a closer look only showed that it was healing. "I don't smell any silver," She said. "And it looks like it's healing okay. I don't think any got stuck in the wound. You're lucky." She smiled at him and stepped back away from him. "Silver burns like that. Even just touching it with your fingers it will burn you."

Connie's brow creased and she shrugged. "It depends. Some of them can by the way we move, I think. Even in our human shift we still have some wolf-like aspects. I'm not sure how good they are at telling us apart from humans. I've only run into one hunter, and I was seven or eight then." She shrugged. "Well, no, I take that back," She mused, thinking of Jackson and his fiancee. "I've ran into a couple more, but neither of them know what I am. The first one I ran into did."

She set her coke down and looked over at Alex. "I try not to befriend hunters. If they find out what you are, most of them will attack. Some might not, but still, it's just asking for trouble. I only know of a few around town, and those are the ones who claim to be hunters. There are more, I just don't know who they all are and how good they are at telling us apart from normal humans."

[kahira]

Alex nodded, understanding. Well, he hoped that he wouldn't give himself away as a human. Julia seemed like she had done a good job it so why couldn't he. He looked around the home, "Well... I... I should go I guess." he mumbled, shrugging back into his shirt and looked at Connie, "Thank for all of this, I'm in your debt." he smiled. He meant it too, if there was anything Connie ever needed, he'd be glad to help however he could.

With that all said and settled, he headed towards the door with careful steps. No doubt it would be cold outside, but he didn't think he had it in him to shift again, not so soon. He was tired. He'd probably head into town, find a spot behind some buildings and curl up and hope he'd be left alone by the others in town.