half a heart without you.

The night was breaking and relinquishing power to the sun as it was rising. Deep within the trees, the pack had already begun running. Danny could hear them panting and howling. His clothing had been thrown into the pile with everyone else's. The wolf inside him was clawing for the sweet release of a run and he was prepared to let him have it. The shift was nothing different from the hundreds of times he had done it before. His senses heightened and as his bones cracked and reformed; fur sprouted from his skin. The pack connection was immediate and the thoughts of the other wolves could be heard. From the sound of it, the others had been craving this as much as he had.

The voice of his sister broke the silence as he was sprinting to close the distance between them. You're late, Danny. You were supposed to meet us almost an hour ago and I just gave the call to come in.

His pace slowed and he let out a low growl. Then go, Roan. I don't need the pack to go for a run.

The resounding silence that followed clued him into her mood. She was not happy that he was late for whatever reason, but he didn't have the patience for her shit today. He just wanted to run. Eventually, the bond faded and he was left in the forest alone to run.

(sorry for such the long wait!)

Chance folded her legs under herself, knees shaking a little bit as she tried to meditate and slow down her breathing as the candles around her in a circle flickered. Her parents who were quite powerful and benevolent witches had passed away in a car accident that had instantly killed her father and then soon put her mother into a coma until her heartbeat flatlined, although that had been a couple years ago. Now she lived in small apartment at the corner of town a block away from her aunt who was a professor at the university. Although her aunt knew of her family's magical abilities, she had no way to offer Chance any kind of guidance except for their family's books and diaries.

Chay let out another breath, focusing on the rise and fall of her chest as she felt the warmth of the 5 candles on the floor with her. Her room was quite neat except for her desk area and closet (because she constantly changed her outfits before actually settling on something) and her bed was always made and floor was always clean. For the past week she had been jittery and anxious, her magic thrumming underneath her skin in a barely there manner that told her that she needed to find better ways to control her energy. For the moment, she was trying to focus her energy in a way that would stop her from feeling so energetic. Feeling like the breathing exercise had done its job, she pulled an amulet that had been made for her by her parents and held it up, analyzing the way the smooth crystal reflected in the soft light. She reminded herself that magic had more to do with her intent and tried to hold the amulet between her fingers, concentrating on pushing her energy into the amulet so she would be able to draw from it when needed but wouldn't feel pent up and brimming with magic.

Chay continued breathing, even when the amulet began to heat up in her fingers, and then opened her eyes to see the candles burn brighter and larger until something in the air shimmered and she was knocked over - except, she didn't land on her hardwood floor, she felt herself crash onto what dirt, grass and some branches. Inhaling sharply at the sudden change of scenery, she muttered a small and emphatic, "Fuck!" before seeing the amulet that had been made for her but had never been warded or enchanted until now in her hand. She looped the chain around her neck, feeling more at ease but pushed herself up from the forest floor, looking around and seeing that she was definitely not in her apartment and was instead surrounded by trees. Chance shivered since she wasn't dressed at all for being outside in some sleeping shorts, socks, and a cropped hoodie. She let out another sigh and cursed at having fucked up what should've been a simple spell but had now caused her stranded in the middle of the forest which also probably meant the middle of werewolf territory.

The entire morning had been a blur after his pack had left. The young wolf had run the perimeter of their territory, zigzagged through the trees and swam through the creek before curling underneath a shade tree near their path entrance not quite ready to face his sister or the human world. He smelled her before he heard her. A girl who brought with her the smell of fruity soap and a faint hint of smoke. In an instance, Danny was alert and on the prowl.

He knew the woods well enough to know where coverage was around the spot that the girl was. He approached silently and attempted to keep his wolf from charging to protect its land. From his hiding place, he was able to watch her hiss out a "Fuck!" and pull herself up from the dirt. He couldn't get a clear look at her face, but she radiated familiarity. Her brown curls had managed to trap some of the leaves from the ground in their clutches.

Danny felt his wolf's strong desire to fight, but fought it off and continued to watch the girl. She wasn't wearing the right clothes for being out in the woods this early in the morning. What was she thinking hiking in her pajamas? She hung something around her neck and he watched her shiver.

He left his spot of safety to creep around the clearing and find a better view of her face. In his distracted efforts, his foot planted too firm on the crunchy leaves and cracked a small branch. He froze hoping that the girl hadn't heard.

Chance sighed and rubbed at her temples knowing that best case scenario she was at the forest near the edge of town and worst case scenario she was somewhere in Scotland or something but she doubted her powers excelled enough to do that. Her Magic was becoming more and more sporadic which meant she needed to train more and more.

"All I wanted was to watch Netflix and relax like a normal person," she grumbled a slight whine in her voice when she said, "how the fuck did I end up here?"

She thought about her options and figured she could try focusing on the energy in her amulet but she had never teleported from her magic before and what if she ended up in Europe or Australia?? Her mental musings were cut short when she heard a small branch snap and remembered there were other alive and most likely dangerous creatures out in the wilderness. She had never really been much of a camper, had gone on the occasional hike or nature walk but really knew nothing about survival so again - she was fucked. She tensed up, quickly turning to where she thought she had heard the sounds coming from, tucking her fluffy curls behind her ear. She still couldn't see so she softly hummed, not needing to speak the Latin in the spell since this was one of the first spells she had ever perfected. In a few seconds her outstretched hand held a small ball of light, part energy and part fire, it hovered above her palm and let her see more than she was able to before.

"Look, I'm really not that great of a meal so don't eat me, yeah? I'm just tryna get home so I can watch Orange is the New Black's first season," she spoke softly in what she hoped was a calming manner and prayed to a higher being that what was out there wasn't a massive bear and was a fluffy rabbit instead.

Fuck. The girl spun to face him and Danny watched as the palm of her hand began emitting light. Fuck, fuck, fuck. The wolf instincts spiked at the sight of her magic. His response to protect his territory was stronger than before. But on top of that, he was able to see her clearer than earlier. Her messy curls were tucked behind her ear. Her eyes reflected the light from her palm and looked as if they were smoldering their own fire.

Then she spoke. Her sweet voice was calm and even. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought she had no fear. But he could smell it, hear the slight quiver in her voice. She joked that she wasn't a good meal but, as far as he could see, there were two options: try and scare her in wolf form or shift and face her as a human. He shook his head. He wasn't about to shift back.

A deep threaten growl issued from his throat. Slowly, he pushed forward from his cover into the clearing thinking the witch would give him a good fight.

Hearing nothing else move in the night, she wondered if perhaps she had imagined the shuffling and the branches snapping - she did have a vivid imagination - until Chance heard a deep, fierce growl as a large wolf emerged from the darkness. The hairs at the back of her neck rose and she shivered again in her pajamas as she instinctively took a step back. She could tell that the wolf was larger than normal and the tell tale buzzing of energy in the clearing wasn't just her own magic but that of a shifter - a werewolf to be specific, so it was no wonder the wolf was probably going to rip her throat out for "encroaching on territory" even if this was all just a mishap.

She bit her tongue from letting out more curse words and the ripple in her emotions (mainly the growth in anxiety because she refused to start some kind of supernatural unsettling) caused the light in her hands to grow in size. She really needed to get out of here, so with her free hand she grasped the amulet around her neck and tried to remember anything she knew about teleportation spells, willing her magic to cooperate as she stared the werewolf in its eyes. She felt the amulet warm up underneath her fingers and knew that she just needed a few minutes to steady her breathing to try and reverse her previous accident.

The wolf circled the girl and watched as she panicked. In an instant, the light in her hands burned brighter and Danny was thankful that he hadn't been looking directly at it. The witch must have been young. She didn't seem to have a good grasp on her magic and he could tell she was trying to calm down to perform some spell. Her hand held the stone on her necklace tightly. Her heartbeat was erratic, but her breathing was slowly. He wasn't going to attack her. She was already traumatized enough and he couldn't find it in himself to hurt her. Her flustered face was attractive to him.

Instead, he leaned back and growled once more. The sound bled into a howl. He then launched himself over the girl and flew into the woods toward the exit and his clothes. Either she would figure out how to get out of the woods, or another from the pack would find her.

The edge of the woods afforded him enough privacy to shift back from his wolf and dress from the clothes he had worn. He ran his fingers through his hair as he jogged back to his truck. He would grab breakfast at the diner and then head over to his sister's.

Hearing the beginnings of a howl, she forced herself to not freak out and raise her heartbeat, instead forcing even breathing to come from her lungs. The wolf was oddly stunning with beautiful fur and hadn't attacked her just yet, so for that she was thankful. She closed her eyes tightly and she felt her stomach lurch as she no longer felt dirt or packed soil beneath her feet, but instead hardwood floor of her bedroom. The sudden change in scenery caused her to fall over, catching herself on her elbows and with a groan. Thankfully, the candles were no longer lit so there was no fire hazard and she was able to just lay on the floor for a couple seconds and regather herself. Doing any kind of magic that she didn't plan out always caused her to feel drained and exhausted afterwards.

She gradually got up, looking at the clock by her bedside and seeing that hours had passed even though she felt like it couldn't have been more than half an hour. She shed her clothes, still feeling dirty but resolving that she would get up later and shower on her way to her job at the book store and covert shop in the basement where she worked for 1 of the few other magic users in the area, researching and making potions and gathering necessary herbs. It paid well and she didn't have to touch the insurance money that she had gotten from her parents' death since just looking at the money she'd inherited made her feel sorrow and loss all over again. She was in the midst of maybe thinking about going back to school since she had just graduated from college a year and a half ago but she figured she really needed to get a handle on her magic first. For some reason, it was becoming even more unbridled than before - she usually had a handle on it but for some reason, it was just acting up recently.

Chay fell into her sheets and promptly fell asleep, only waking with a startle when she heard her alarm go off.

Roan was just exiting the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso, another wrapped into her hair when she heard the apartment door beginning to open. She took a deep breath and was able to catch the scent of her brother. "Daniel Mars, what the fuck was that this morning? You were over an hour late for the pack run. Pack being the key word there." She was yelling from the bedroom and Danny followed the sound of his sister's voice and invited himself to sit in the chair near her desk.

"Sorry, Roan. I slept through the alarm." Danny ran his fingers through his hair and gave her a shy smile. His older sister had been Alpha over the pack for just short of a year. She took it seriously and saw his lateness as an act of defiance. She couldn't allow her younger brother to walk all over her; she was particularly harder on him for this reason. "Have the witches ever been on pack land before?'

Roan had moved from the bathroom to the closet and peaked her head between the door and the wall with an inquisitive look on her face. When she had been appointed Alpha, the entirety of the pack's history was connected to her. "Yes, but it has never been good when they are. It's usually the starting of a war. Why are you asking?"

"I was almost finished with my run when I heard someone in the clearing near the creek. I went to investigate and I could feel the magic radiating from this girl. She looked young, maybe twenty-one or so. She lit her palm on fire and then disappeared." He paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side. "I'm pretty sure that she had no idea what she was doing."

"Did you attack her?" Roan knew how uncontrollable the wolf could be when they had been shifted for too long and Danny's seemed more volatile than the rest of the pack.

"I couldn't. My wolf wanted to; I could feel it in every inch of my body. But I just didn't. I ended up jumping over her and running to shift back and come here."

Roan disappeared back into the closet and came out minutes later dressed in a loose blouse and a pair of shorts. "I have a meeting with the witches' counsel next week to discuss the terms of the treaty anyways. I can bring it up. Do you think she was new and just doesn't know?"

Danny shrugged. "I have no idea. Are you going to KT's Diner?"

"It's tradition." was her only response.

@ crediamo
(omg I swore I responded to this!! SO sorry, feel free to tag me or bump this thread if I'm taking a super long time to respond!)

Chance jumped up, hearing the blaring of her alarm clock and blindly searching her blankets for the offending source of all that noise before finding it on the floor, having fallen sometime during the night. She hit the snooze button and groaned, falling back into bed and rubbing at her temples. Her body was sore from the miserable mess that had been the previous night but she knew there was no way that she could stay in bed, despite the migraine that was already laying havoc on her senses.

Chay rose from her bed, or rather rolled out of it, and hastily pulled her long, messy curls into a high bun to get it out of her face since it had gotten all tangled while she was asleep and no doubt rolling around. She peeked in the mirror and noticed the dark circles underneath her eyes. She groaned again, knowing she was on a time crunch and ushered herself into the bathroom where she brushed her teeth and turned the water on so it would be hot when she was ready to get into the shower. Once she rinsed her mouth with the toothpaste and then water, she stripped quickly and entered the shower, starting on her hair first since that usually took the longest time. As she detangled and conditioned her hair, she thought on what had happened the previous night and steeled her resolve in figuring out whatever the fuck was going on. Her heart clenched and she shut her eyes tightly knowing that all this would have been easier if she had her parents to guide her magical spark along like they should've been able too, but the car crash from years ago had stolen that away from her.

Knowing she had further research to do, she quickly finished her hair, shaved her legs, washed up and stepped out of the shower. She dried herself off, wrapping her hair up, and then quickly pulling on a skintight pair of black jeans, a navy green v-neck and her dad's faded black jean jacket decorated with a couple patches on the left sleeve. Noting that she still had an hour left before she had to go into her shift at work, Chance, grabbed a banana and ate it as she cleaned up some of the mess she had left behind on her bedroom floor from before. Once that was done, she finally styled her hair, using about 3 different hair products to get her desired curly hair look, and then set about putting on some makeup, perfecting her sharp liquid eyeliner with a grace that spoke of practice.

Still feeling tired from last night, and feeling curious still about the wolf she had crossed paths with that night, she looped the pendant that helped anchor her magic around her neck, grabbed her things and got on her way. She worked a few blocks away from where she lived and usually just walked to the bookshop that had an underground magical library that she helped with - assisting supernatural customers with spells, research, and to some extent preparing potions and the like, although everyone was screened so that the community continued being benevolent. The bookstore was alright, and had a couple other stores like KT's diner, a shopping plaza, an ice cream parlor, and a barbershop.

@slumflower, I didn't want to be needy! I figured you'd respond when you respond. But I'll remember that for next time!

Danny shake his head, trying to lose the dreamy fog he felt had clouded his mind. The witch he had seen last night in the woods was plastered onto the back of his eyelids and he could see her shocked face every time he blinked. Roan rambled through the wait time for seating and the wait time for food. She had so much to say about the pack and about people at her work. Danny sat silently and nodded occasionally.

As he glanced out the window of the diner, he noticed her -- the witch from the woods. Her hair was done in the same way as before but in the light of day, Danny was able to take in all her features. The jeans she wore clung to her hips and they swayed back and forth as she passed the window. He watched as she passed by the window, not noticing his presence, and then as she disappeared into the bookstore down the plaza.

"Danny, do you know her?" Roan asked.

He couldn't tell her. He bit his tongue and smiled cheekily. "Nah, she was just hot as fuck."

His sister's eyes dropped back into a roll and she brushed a long stand of straight brown hair over her shoulder and benefitted her brother with a small chuckle. In order to keep up the facade, Danny was present for the rest of their breakfast. Roan glanced at her watch and sighed, "Time for work. Nurses never sleep." She pushed herself out of the booth and tossed a ten dollar bill onto the table. "I love you, little brother. Stay out of trouble today." She rumpled his matched brown hair and quickly left the diner.

Once he was free from Roan's watchful eye, he followed in the mysterious witch's footsteps and headed toward the bookstore. The door swung open easily and with a sharp inhale Danny knew the witch was still inside.

(nah, lol I love this roleplay! feel free to, also I don't know why I keep using names that start with C lol)

Pushing the door open and stepping inside, she was enveloped in the sight of warm lights and the smell of freshly printed papers. Deeper than that, she could feel the shift in her own energy when she entered the space, knowing that the presence of magic users and wards on the building recognized and accepted the power that she held. In a lot of ways, it was like coming to her second home. Chance's boss gave her a wave from the upstairs section that dealt with non-fiction and autobiographies and she flashed Chris a smile as she took off her jean jacket since it was a nice temperature inside.

"Good morning!" she called out to him and he briefly stopped organizing the books to respond to her.

"Hey kid," Chris grinned, pushing his glasses up as he leaned over the second floor ledge to see her make her way into the back where the employee room was as well as the entrance to the basement where the other, less mundane part of the store was. Most people who knew about downstairs came through the back or through the employee entrance.

Chance liked Chris because he was a fatherly older man with graying hair and dark brown skin and a kind smile. He was one of the more established and well respected members of the coven and had always treated her with kindness and for that, she had always respected and appreciated him. She went to the back room where she usually set her things aside, and set her jean jacket up as well as tying her hair up so it wouldn't get in her way, leaving only a few curls around her temples to frame her face.

She pushed back through the sealed doors that were glamoured for uninvited people and humans to look like a small supply closet with a couple bins and a mop. What it actually was a door, that opened up to a set of stairs that led her downstairs. The thick scent of spices, herbs, and natural plants being grown in caged off made her relax and gently touch her pendant without even recognizing that she did so. Luckily there weren't many people in the shop due to how early it was and since it had been the full moon last night which meant energy was dwindling while everyone recuperated from whatever they might have been up to. She made her way to one of the counters and leaned over it, snapping her fingers playfully at her friend and witch, Carmen.

"Puta," she lazily murmured without any bite to her words before reaching her hand out so she and Chance could do their little handshake, something they had always done.

"How was your weekend?" Chance asked, eyeing the one customer who was flittering across the section on plant growing which meant neither of them really needed to pay her much mind.

"It was chill," Carmen said with a shrug, leaning forward on her elbows, "Ma had me practice some spells, and I went out to the club with Sara who's visiting from Delaware. You?"

Chance mulled over telling her close friend about what had happened last night but just as she opened her mouth to explain what had happened, she felt her pendant heat up on her chest, right at the center between her breasts. Even though her v-neck didn't reveal most of the pendant, it still shimmered, and suddenly the last thing she saw was her friend's curious look before she felt her internal organs lurch and she was suddenly transported from the downstairs basement store to the front entrance, a few feet from a young man who had apparently just entered the store. She groaned, feeling the vicious headache she had this morning appear once more. She leaned against one of the book shelves, looking frantically around the bookstore but relaxing by a fraction when she realized that there were no humans in. The young man was very beautiful and well-built, quite a few inches taller than her but probably about her height, and from the energy she could feel off of him, very clearly a werewolf. She met his eyes and thought about the wolf she had seen last night, her cheeks blushing as she forced herself to stand straighter and hold her chin up because if there was anything she hated, it was looking like she was weak.

From above she heard Chris's voice go, "No teleporting in the shop, Chay!" and felt her face continue to warm up although she sighed and yelled back, "You got it, boss!" not so much as shifting her eyes away from the young man who stood about a foot away from her.

In a blink, she was standing before him. The slender young woman looked faint and out of breath, but Danny was too stunned by her sudden appearance to move to her rescue. Her wild curls were tied back away from her face and for the first time Danny was really able to take in the girl's full lips and brown eyes. Her skin looked soft and she smelled sweeter than the small trace he was able to pick up when he walked in.

A graying man yelled from the second floor and Danny was able to get her name, Chay. For a second, he allowed himself to ponder if that was short for something. Then his focus was back on the beautiful witch in front of him. He smiled at her wide and toothy. "I think I need some help finding a book for my sister." He had hoped that she couldn't recognize his human form and he would be able to talk with her alone. He needed to figure out why he felt such a need to protect her. Why didn't he point her out to Roan at the diner? There was so many questions he had had before confronting her, but now as he stood before her with a smile pasted on his face, he couldn't seem to remember any of them.

Chance gripped the pendant around her neck, feeling the warmth leave the stone and become cool as it went back to resting around her neck. Her stomach did a weird little flip seeing the young man's wide and toothy grin. There was no way that she could know for sure who the wolf she had seen last night, but if the pack had felt threatened she was sure they would have just brought it up at the next coven-pack meeting instead of finding her at her work place. Her eyes checked him over, detecting broad shoulders, soft eyes and perfect teeth that still had her stomach turning. The fact that she found him attractive only made her a little bit more wary. She didn't really ascribe to some of the other witches' beliefs about shifters and packs being savages and things like that but that was also because Chay didn't really get along with a lot of witches besides her boss and Carmen and maybe one other mutual friend. She had more human friends than she did supernatural, to be honest.

She gave a small smile in response, moving her hand so that she was no longer leaning against the bookshelves.

"Well, I can help - I'm Chance," she said, tucking one of the stray curls behind her ear where she had a couple cartilage piercings.

"Do you know what she would be interested in reading?" Chance asked politely.

Chance. "I don't really know what she would care for honestly." That wasn't Danny's best idea for a conversation starter because while he knew his sister better than he wanted to, she didn't read very often. "Maybe something romance-y. She's single, so that would be good right?" This was awkward. As a result, he scratched the back of neck and just smiled.

The finally made eye contact with the young girl and noticed that she had been gripping some sort of pendant that hung around her neck. He wondered for a moment what it could be since he hadn't paid too much attention during the witches lecture. As he waited for her to show the section with romance novels, he tucked his hands into the pocket of his jeans.

She raised an eyebrow at the younger man at his response and gave a small snort at his response. She didn't agree with that logic since Chance had been single for quite a while but had been picking up philosophy theories and crime dramas lately though she enjoyed the harlequin novels too. He was kind of cute scratching the back of his neck though so she couldn't help the little uptick of her own lips.

"Does she have any hobbies? Is she into historical stuff or romantic comedies?" she asked turning and walking two rows over until they were around most of the adult romance titles, motioning for him to follow behind her.

Chance reached up to grab a title that she had read herself, about two sisters who lead very different lives and although romance was a heavy theme in each of their lives, it was also about courage, family, and strength. She checked the inside of the cover to make sure it was what she remembered, and then held the book out for the man - whose name she hadn't caught yet - to take.

She bit on her lip, pausing to think and then added, "There's also a wider selection for non-fictional books in the back she might find useful, y'know, things about plants that can heal certain kinds of attacks, moon rituals for guidance, shifter lore and histories if you'd like a look."

For some reason, she couldn't help but fidget a little with her fingers, rubbing at her arms even though logically, there was nothing for her to be nervous about.

Danny followed the witch through the aisles and stopped when she did. He watched as she fingered through a book she had grabbed from the shelf. It looked like it had an interesting story, but he was really just judging it by the cover. Considering his lack of knowledge about his sisters reading preferences and his ulterior motives for coming in, he took the book from the girl and appraised it.

After looking through the first couple pages and reading the description, he looked up at the girl who was rubbing at her arms. With a cheeky grin and a low voice, he leaned in so she could hear, "I think she knows all there is to know about shifter lore and she's more of the rub-some-dirt-in-it kind, so I don't think she'd want plant magic."

He took a step back from her and chuckled lightly. "I think this one will do for now." Danny lifted the book in his hand a little higher to signal he was talking about that one. Thankfully, he was able to see the checkout counter. As he headed toward it, he gave the witch a smirk, "Thanks for all your help."

Chance watched him thumb through a couple of pages of the book and turn his head up to her. Her heart thrummed loud enough that for a moment, she thought that he would hear it, considering the lack of the distance between them. She gave him a nod, hearing his response.

"Have a nice day!" she called out, seeing him head towards the check-out counter with an impish smirk resting on his features.

Somewhat still confused about the interaction, she scratched the back of her head and figured she really should head back downstairs to the back and sort some of the supernatural books. She gave him one last look and shook her head before making her way back to her co-worker and friend. As she did that, she also checked her phone for the time and sighed when she saw that only the first 30 minutes of her shift had passed.

The bookstore trip was successful. He was able to rattle the tiny witch and he managed to grab a gift to suck up to Roan with. Climbing into his truck, he threw it into reverse and pulled out into the street to head home.

Back at his apartment, Danny changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. With his ear buds in (he had several noise complaints filed on him before), he punched the volume up louder. The punching back hanging from his ceiling looked like a viable candidate for stress relief and he began his workout with fast paced cardio.

This was his escape. He could feel the stress melting from his muscles as he punched at the heavy bag. Unfortunately, no matter the effort, he couldn't keep his mind off the witch. Her smile, her smell, the feel of magic that radiated from her. It was exhilarating.