(Untitled)

[wolf_caleb]

Date: Sunday, Dec. 30 (BACKDATED)
Time: Moonrise
Location: Caleb and Stella's flat
Characters Involved: Caleb Moore, Stella Sinistra
Rating: PG

Comments

[prof_stargazer]

Stella was not as nervous for this Full moon as she had been for the last one. Not to say that she was relaxed, by any means- on the contrary, she didn't think she would ever be able to have a stress-free Full moon for the rest of her life. Still, though, the last time they had tried this, things had gone well- and that had been when both she and Caleb were unsure of each other, trying to get back to normal.

Tonight, though, most of her fears were gone. A lot had happened in the last month, and Stella mused over the last few weeks, absently watching the way her engagement ring glinted in the firelight. Caleb's howls of pain had mercifully faded away, and now she was just waiting. They had discussed this over the past few days, and had decided that it was best for Stella just to wait on the sofa until Caleb was ready to join her.

She had thought she'd heard the door creaking open, but was not sure until she heard the soft 'woof' of breath Caleb let out. Turning around slowly, so as not to startle him, Stella looked over the back of the sofa.

"Hi," she said quietly, trying not to sound nervous, though her heart had picked up its pace a bit at the sight of the huge wolf entering the room. "It's alright, Caleb. You can come over if you like."

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb cocked his head to the side, curiously sniffing the air. Stella was nervous, but not overly, so he padded slowly forward. He moved to the front of the couch and sat down on his haunches in front of her.

Stella was the same, but completely different when he looked at her in his wolf form. Her colors were muted, which bothered him, but everything else was clear and sharp. She would never believe it, but even this way, she was perfect in his eyes.

Standing up again, he turned toward the kitchen, glancing backwards before continuing on. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Stella had already set out a big bowl of water for him, which he greedily drank from.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella got up slowly, following Caleb into the kitchen. He was already drinking when she arrived, and she smiled, glad she had thought to do this before he'd even asked for it. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps they needed to get a better bowl- an actual dog-bowl, perhaps, but wasn't sure what Caleb's reaction to that would be. She filed it away in her mind, knowing it was a discussion for another day.

She edged closer as he drank, so that by the time he looked up at her, she was right next to him. Stella gently reached out a hand, petting his head softly. He had liked this, last month, and Stella hoped it was alright that she was doing it again.

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb licked his lips and a moment later felt Stella's fingers running through his fur. He leaned his body against her, not quite realizing how big he actually was until Stella stumbled to the side.

Caleb froze, afraid to move or knock into her again, but she merely rolled her eyes and began stroking him again. He sat on the floor, his eyes slowly drifting closed at her touch.

Obviously there were some tactile things that translated between wolf and man, because it was just as relaxing as when Stella played with his hair.

Knowing she couldn't possibly be comfortable standing there in the kitchen, Caleb lifted his head to look at her. His nose ended up brushing against her hand and his tongue instinctively moved to lick her palm.

[prof_stargazer]

"Caleb!" Stella cried without thinking as the wolf's rough tongue licked her hand. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling- like a dog, really- she just hadn't been expecting it! She jerked her hand away, though after a moment she patted his head again, reassuring him.

"Sorry. You just startled me, there!" Stella tried to laugh, shaking her head.

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb had jumped back at Stella's cry, immediately dropping to his stomach, wondering what he had done. Then the flavor on his tongue registered, and he knew exactly what he had done.

He had licked Stella. Licked. Stella.

Caleb felt mortified and wanted nothing more than to bury his head beneath his paws. He settled for draping a paw across his nose when Stella began to pet him again.

It always seemed cute when a dog did it, so it couldn't hurt.

[prof_stargazer]

Upon seeing Caleb's- well, the wolf's- body language, Stella crouched down beside him, still petting his head.

"It's alright, Caleb. Really- you just startled me a little. It's ok-" He glanced up at her- those eyes that, for all the differences in his form, were still Caleb's- and Stella smiled, standing up and nodding towards the front room.

"Come on, let's go sit down."

Before long they were settled on the sofa- or at least Stella was. Caleb's head was resting on her lap, though she still hadn't quite convinced him to come up onto the sofa.

"Caleb," Stella finally said, "Either you get up here and rest, or I am going to come sit on the floor so you can lay down. It's your choice," she explained slowly, knowing that Caleb was still getting used to listening to words.

[wolf_caleb]

Rolling his eyes, Caleb rose to his feet, then jumped up on to the couch. The problem was, he was too big and it didn't leave much room for Stella, and couldn't possibly be comfortable for her.

After a few moments of trying to get settled, he gave up and hopped back to the floor. Looking at Stella, he woofed softly and began walking toward the bedroom, stopping long enough to look over his shoulder to make sure she was following.

It couldn't be any harder to get dog hair from the bed than it was from the couch, and Stella needed to be able to sleep. He would wake her before it was time to change back and she could leave him alone for that. But until then, he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.

He went to the side of the bed and waited for Stella to enter the room before woofing softly and resting his chin on the top of the bed.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella was perfectly comfortable on the sofa- sitting comfortably, that is. She wasn't thinking much about sleeping at this point, especially considering that she never got much sleep on Full moon nights anyway.

However, she did follow Caleb into their bedroom, suppressing a laugh as he settled his head on the bed. It just looked so funny- this enormous wolf, acting for all the world like a harmless little puppy. Smiling and shaking her head, Stella walked around to the other side of the bed, resting her back against the pillows and sitting up, looking over towards Caleb.

"Better?" she asked, patting the bed beside her so he would jump up.

[wolf_caleb]

Tail wagging despite himself, Caleb jumped up on the bed and settled down next to Stella, resting his head on her stomach. There was no doubt that he was looking at her adoringly, but again, he couldn't seem to help it.

Still tired from the change, he yawned widely and let Stella's fingers running through his fur lull him into a kind of doze. It was still early for Stella he knew, but he needed to rest for a little while.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella smiled to herself as Caleb settled himself on the bed. However, she couldn't quite stop the leap her heart made when he yawned, revealing a mouthful of insanely sharp teeth that were very close to her! Taking a deep breath to settle herself, she continued to stroke his smooth fur, mentally repeating the mantra that had gotten her through the past few Full moons-

It's Caleb. It's Caleb. It's Caleb.

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb felt the wave of anxiety coming from Stella and he lifted his head, looking at her quizzically. He'd been lying perfectly still, not wanting to do anything that startled her, but something had.

Feeling unsure, he scrabbled backwards on the bed, putting some distance between them.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella glanced down when Caleb lifted his head, but as she still wasn't entirely adept at being able to read his wolfish expressions she wasn't quite sure of what was going on until he moved away from her.

"What is it?" she asked, glancing around the room for something that might have startled him- there hadn't been anything, any motion or sound-

Except, of course, for her own heart starting to race when he had yawned.

"Oh," Stella sighed, finally remembering how sensitive Caleb's senses were right now, and realizing what must have startled him. "Sorry. You yawned, and your teeth-" Stella grimaced a little, shaking her head in apology. "They were just really close, Caleb. Just made me jump a little."

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb cocked his head to the side, focusing intently on her words. Understanding speech was still slow at times, but he knew his name and teeth and understood the tone behind her words.

His tongue automatically went to his teeth, feeling them for himself and unfortunately exposing them again to Stella. Feeling sheepish, he ducked his head and dropped his tail lower.

Caleb let his head rest on his paws as he watched Stella, unsure if he should approach her again or not. He hadn't meant to scare her and wanted to avoid doing so again.

[prof_stargazer]

From Caleb's reaction, she could tell that he was embarrassed about what had happened, which made Stella feel terrible. She hadn't meant to upset him- she hadn't wanted to react at all, really. However, seeing very large, sharp teeth close to one's face would certainly make anyone jump!

Letting out a deep breath, Stella turned around and scooted herself down the bed all in one motion, ending up with her feet on the pillows. She draped one arm over Caleb, cautiously setting her head down in the soft fur of his neck.

"We'll figure this out," she said softly, since she was so close to his ear. "We will."

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb watched when Stella began to move and assumed that'd he screwed up and she was getting up to leave the room. It was a pleasant surprise when she ended up snuggling against him. Her breath against his ear caused him to shiver slightly at the unfamiliar sensation.

When he realized that his tail was thumping wildly against the bed, he forced it to stop. He lifted his head enough to nuzzle against Stella, before dropping it to his paws again.