Fate & Fur

@ BearGirl

Aiden frowned worriedly as he listened to her, and he decided that he needed to get her to calm down a bit before he could give her his advice. "I'm not going to hurt you, ok? If you want me to stop I will, just tell me." He assured her before carefully taking her hands in his to keep her from pinching her arms, gently pulling her into an embrace as she rubbed her back soothingly. "It's alright, Bailey. I'll help you, I promise. You don't sound crazy, you just want your life back, and that's reasonable." He reassured her, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. Once he heard her heart stop hammering as much and felt her calm down her carefully released her, looking down at her with a reassuring smile.

"We hate sage. Absolutely hate it, cant stand the stuff. Hang a bunch of fresh sage above your door on the inside, and they won't come anywhere near your apartment. You can also put some in your backpack or in your pockets and they'll leave you alone at school and at work." He informed her. "That should help with the unwanted attention. As for the texting and calling, I think blocking them is about the only thing to do. Sandra had said that one of them had a claim on you, probably Vi if I had to guess, and if you wanted to you could reject their claim and they'd have to leave you alone."

@ katahdin

The woman tensed up hard as Aiden reached out and took her hands into his. She didn't feel quite ready but before she could say anything, Aiden was lightly wrapping his arms around her and the thought of pulling away dissipated. Bailey dropped her head against his chest, beginning to feel a bit calmer - well as calm as she was able to feel in that moment. "The only people I can talk to about there being werewolves are the wolves, Aiden." Bailey said softly. "And I just need some space from them..."

Bailey closed her eyes for a moment as he pressed a kiss against her forehead before pulling away from him. As much as she appreciated him trying to calm her down, she wasn't ready for anything like that. She let out a small breathe of air, trying to relax as she dropped her hands down to her sides. "I can get sage." The woman said softly. That was doable and she hoped desperately that it would work. It would be nice to feel safe again. Her head tilted slightly when he mentioned the claim. "What is a claim?"

@ BearGirl

Aiden released her immediately when she pulled away, frowning as he took a step back as well. "I'm sorry, I just want to help... While you're getting the sage, get some lavender too, that should help you calm down and feel at ease. I think they make tea out of it too, might be something to look into." He advised, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked at her with a worried frown.

He frowned deeper when she asked what a claim was, pulling his hand out of his pocket to run it through his hair worriedly. "The claim.. Oh boy.. Well, when a wolf decides that they want to mate with someone, they sort of.. Mark the person with their scent. It's only a little touch usually, and it signals that that person sort of.. Belongs to that wolf. Then the wolf goes to their pack leader, in your case, Vi goes to Sandra, and tells her that they intend to have you as their mate, and she makes a note of it for later until the wolves are old enough to mate, and then every wolf who has made a claim on the person is gathered and it is decided who that person will mate with. Sandra would ask you if you wanted to mate with Vivian, and if you didn't want to then Vivian wouldn't be able to have any claim on you ever again.... It's very complicated, I know, but normally we don't have to explain it to people.."

@ katahdin

"I don't belong to them." Bailey said a bit harshly before turning her head away. Her hands balled up into fists, her anger starting to push up into her. "I never wanted any of this and I certainly didn't tell them that I BELONGED to them. If that is why they are high key stalking me then they need to stop." Her eyes started to well up again as her hands unclenched, now moving across her chest, holding onto herself protectively.

The woman let out a small breath of air, trying to calm herself back down. She turned her head back, looking up at Aiden. Bailey gave him a small nod. She wanted to thank him but she was quite sure how to at this point past just saying it. "Thank you, Aiden." Bailey hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I just need this all to stop. It's been... a lot and I just want to be able to sleep in peace at this point. I'll go get some Sage on the way home and look into getting some lavender... you being honest with me really means a lot."

@ BearGirl

Frowned worriedly as he watched her freaking out, shaking his head a little as she began to stress herself out again. "Hey hey it's ok, you don't belong to anyone, I promise. They don't own you, even if they've put a claim on you. All you need to do is tell Sandra that you want her to dismiss all claims on you, and she should. They'll have to leave you alone then, they'll listen to Sandra." He reassured her, resisting the urge to reach out and try to comfort her, but didn't want to freak her out even more. "They'll leave you alone if you speak with Sandra, I'm sure."

He offered her a kind smile when she thanked him, nodding a little as he shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from taking her hand or wiping her tears away. "It's no problem. Someone should be telling you the truth, as it doesn't do you any good to lie at this point. I hope everything works out with them... Oh, if you need any advice, just text or call me, if you still have my number. I'd be happy to help if you need any more advice, but I don't know how a face to face meeting would go if you start carrying sage around.. But If you ever need anything, like if they keep bugging you, just let me know and I'll come find you, I won't let them keep messing with you."

@ katahdin

Bailey started to calm down a bit as Aiden continued to explain what all of it meant for her. She didn't really want to reach out to Sandra, but she could. It wasn't possible to text the woman but she did have a number that she could call. Now, Bailey would just have to hope that Sandra would follow through with canceling everything for her...But Bailey needed to bring herself to dial that number. Even over the phone, Bailey didn't feel strong enough to talk to them.

"I still have your number." Bailey said softly. She hadn't deleted anyone's number, having wanted to know when they tried to contact her. Though, now she was sure she would keep Aiden's number in case she needed something. He seemed open to helping her despite how she was currently feeling towards him and his kind. "I will message you if I need help with anything else. Thank you so much again, it means a lot to me." Bailey looked up at Aiden with big eyes before slowly taking a step away. "I should leave so I can get to the store before it closes."

@ BearGirl

Aiden nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets, offering her a kind smile. "It's not a problem, really. I'm happy to help, and I'm sorry I put you in the middle of this.. I shouldn't have kept bothering you at the diner when I knew better." He apologize with a sigh before stepping away, forcing another smile.

"I should let you go though, and I probably need to leave before Sandra gets mad at me.. Hope everything works out, Bailey." He said before disappearing further into the fog, shifting into a brownish grey wolf before heading back into his own territory. He'd normally have just driven but he'd given his car keys to the members of his pack earlier to get them to leave, so shifting was the second fastest option to getting home.

@ katahdin

Bailey headed off into her own direction, making her way to the shopping area before heading home herself. She was going to fill herself and her house with sage if she needed to, in order to get rid of this problem. Though, Bailey also ended up getting herself some lavender like Aiden suggested.

After setting up the sage above the door to her apartment, Bailey started to pace a bit, wondering if she had done enough, wondering if she had done it correctly. Though after an hour of worrying, Bailey picked up her phone and sent a message Aiden's way.
Is this enough She messaged along with a picture of the sage. Originally she was going to do a lot more but ended up just tying a few together and putting it above the door.

@ BearGirl

Aiden headed back to his pack's house, settling a few small disputes between a couple of teenagers who were fighting over some girl in their math class before he headed upstairs to his room, settling into his bed with a sigh. He started to drift off to sleep but was woken up by his phone buzzing, sitting up and looking at the text.

He was surprised to see it was Bailey who had texted him, but he smiled and chuckled at her question and the picture she had attatched, replying quickly. That should be plenty. No wolf will come within a football field of that apartment. I'm pretty sure I can smell it from here.

@ katahdin

The woman let out a sigh of relief at Aiden's response before sending him a quick 'Thank you' message. She then laid her phone done on the side table and started to get herself ready for bed. Bailey was rather looking forward to getting a good night's sleep. Now she felt like she didn't have to be so afraid of someone coming in.

It was almost a week later before Bailey messaged Aiden again. I need to talk to you. Can we please meet in person?

@ BearGirl

Aiden was surprised to get her text a week later, having been a bit upset that she hadn't texted him, although he was glad because he figured that that meant that his advice had worked and she was happy.

Of course. I can't come to you because Sandra's been watching me like a hawk. Is there a chance you can come into my territory? If not I'll figure something out if you need me there now. He sent the message almost immediately, hoping she wouldn't think it was out of eagerness but instead out of wanting to be helpful and be there for her. Although about ten minutes after the first text he sent another one.

If you're still using the sage, would it be possible for you to shower before we meet? If you can use lavender or some other smelly soap that would be helpful too.

@ katahdin

I can come to you. Just let me know where. I will go shower now and just text me where and when. The sooner the better though.

After Bailey sent the text, she headed to the bathroom and took a long shower, trying to get any scent of the sage off of her. Even using her soup that had the most potent smell. After doing that and getting dressed, Bailey headed out to where Aiden had told her to meet.

@ BearGirl

Aiden had asked her to meet him in a little park on the other side of town, sitting on a bench talking to a few of his pack members that had happened to run into him while he was out, giving them advice on some sort of issue they were having, although as soon as he caught scent of Bailey he sent them off, promising to speak with them later.

He looked over at her as she approached where he was sitting, standing as he looked over her worriedly, looking to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Is everything alright, Bailey? I didn't expect to hear from you.."

@ katahdin

Bailey looked up at Aiden as she approached him. She reached up, rubbing her puffy eyes before dropping her arms back down and fiddling slightly with the sleeves of her rain jacket. Once she got closer to him, the woman started to shake her head. "No, it's not. The sage worked for the first couple of days and that was great. I didn't see them at all but then I was told that I had to stop bringing Sage with me at work because it just smelled too strong. A-and they figured it out so they keep coming to the restaurant. They've been getting really angry with me because I keep trying to avoid them a-and-"

The girl stopped for a moment before raising her hands up and rubbing her face again, stopping herself from starting to cry. "I-I just need someone to vent to a-a-a-and." Bailey hesitated for a moment before moving right into Aiden's chest, wrapping her arms around him as she hid her face into him. She started to cry into him.

@ BearGirl

Aiden frowned worriedly as she began to explain everything, silently cursing Sandra and the others for bothering her. They had some nerve continuing to speak with her even after she'd made it clear she wanted nothing to do with them, and if he had the chance, he'd more than likely give them a hard time for it.

He was surprised as she moved into his arms, his heart just about breaking when she began to cry, wrapping her in his arms instinctively as he drew her close, rubbing her back soothingly as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "It's alright, Bailey, everything will be all right, I promise.. Have you talked to Sandra about dismissing their claims to you? That might help solve some of the problem, and you can also mention that they've been harassing you."

@ katahdin

Her fingers wrapped tightly around Aiden's shirt as she cried into him, holding onto him tight. It was true that she was still afraid of werewolves, her heart was beating so quickly now that she was pressed against Aiden. But the fact of the matter was Bailey was starting to see Aiden outside from the wolves that were terrorizing her. He was someone who was helping her, who was there for her and was giving Bailey the space that she had asked for. The others weren't. And, quite frankly, Bailey needed someone to be there for her and Aiden was the only one who knew everything and who could help.

As he asked his question, Bailey shook her head against him. "No, I-I've been too scared to. I don't know what I am going to do if they say nor or what if calling her just makes things worse? And I don't want to talk to her or the others but I know I should call Sandra because she's the only one who can make them stop but I..." Bailey took in a big breath of air before just shaking her head a bit again.

@ BearGirl

"If you tell Sandra to dismiss their claims they won't be able to speak to you unless you give them permission." He informed her, gently brushing his hand over her hair to smooth it out, nostrils flaring when he caught a whiff of sage, although he'd put up with it for her. "If you call Sandra and tell her to dismiss all claims made on you she'll have to, and they'll have to follow her orders to stay away from you. I know you're scared, Bailey, but it will get better if you do that, I'm sure."

He gave her a little smile, gently wiping her tears from her eyes and cheeks as he looked down at her. "I know you're afraid, but I also know you're incredibly strong, and one little phone call won't kill you. I can be there when you call if it makes you feel better." He offered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I just want you to be happy, Bailey. It's awful seeing you like this because of me and them.. I'll do anything to fix it, even if it's never seeing or talking to you again. Just knowing that you're happy wherever you are is enough for me."

@ katahdin
Bailey closed her eyes as Aiden started to wipe away her tears. She took in another breath, getting herself to stop crying. "I feel like such a baby." The woman whispered to him. "I've just been crying so much lately. It's just... I've been so scared and stressed out, And maybe a little lost." Her hands slid out from around him and moved to Aiden's sides, gently holding onto his shirt. 

"I just never knew that werewolves existed, and then to find out that some of the people that I am close to were... it makes me wonder what else is out there. And how safe I really am. Especially when the people who were my friends are doing this to me now. What would those who aren't my friends do?" Bailey looked up at Aiden gently. "You're the only one who has been helping me, who, at least kinda understands that this isn't easy for me."

Letting out a small sigh, Bailey reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "I am going to call Sandra and I want you to stay here with me while I do it." She said softly. "I am just not completely sure what to say to her anyways."

@ BearGirl

Aiden nodded a little in understanding, keeping his arms around her as she calmed down, glad to see she'd stopped crying. "If they were really your friends they'd understand and give you space, in my opinion. It seems to me that they don't really care about you if they don't respect your wishes." He explained, brushing her hair away from her face gently.

"And maybe some other time I'll tell you about what else is out there, but I don't think today is the day. But I won't let anything happen to you, Bailey. I'll protect you, ok?" He smiled gently, nodding a bit as she pulled out her phone, pressing a reassuring kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right here. Do you want to sit? All you need to do is tell Sandra to dismiss all of the claims on you made by her pack members, and tell them to stop bothering you and respect your wishes."

@ katahdin
"Okay," Bailey responded softly, closing her eyes as Aiden pressed a kiss to her forehead. She seemingly calmed down more from his action. As he asked if she wanted to sit, Bailey gave him a small nod and followed Aiden to one of the benches in the park. Once she was situated, she made a call to Sandra. 

'Hi Bailey! I am surprised to hear from you, what can I help you with?' Sandra voice came from the phone. 

Bailey took a deep breath before responding. "I want you to dismiss all of the claims made by your pack members."

Sandra was silent for a long moment before speaking, 'How did you learn about that?'

"It doesn't matter. Dismiss them. I want them to stop. I don't want them to torment me anymore"

'Bailey, I think you're being a bit rash. They just want to speak to you -'

"They have been stalking me and making my life Hell. I don't want to see them!"

'Listen, I can tell them to leave you alone for a few weeks but I don't think I should dismiss the claims until you talk to them. Take a few weeks, I promise they won't come near you but after that, talk to them and then I'll dismiss the claims if you still want me to.'