Finn was the wild, and the wild was Finn. Just as his frame was a melding of wolf and man, there was now no difference between the two.
It made the three women so easy to find.
He crouched low within a nearby gulley, tail wagging in anticipation. Like any sensible predator, he studied his prey, looked and listened for their strengths and weaknesses.
The small one was of little import. She seemed thin, weak, and smelled of carcinogens and pollutants; she would be useful perhaps only as satisfaction after he had fed. The one who smelled of cheap perfume, three days old, looked slightly more filling. It was the woman seated away from them, seemingly uninterested in anything around her that caught his attention. She bore no artificial scents. In fact, she smelled vaguely of arousal. Curious, he hunkered down, and quietly observed.
"Janine, c'mon! We could really use a hand here." Carly swung her long red hair back over her shoulder as she braced herself against the ground, trying to stabilize the last tent pole.
The black-spike-haired girl with her narrowed her eyebrows, angling her pierced eyebrows. "Move your ass, you little waste!" She held the tent pole as steadily as she could, given that it was over twice her size.
Janine came to, setting the book of area wildlife down against the stone she was perched on. "Sorry, Vivian." she muttered, making her way quickly to them. The three, working in tandem, quickly finished setting up their tent.
Soon after, the positions were the same. Janine scribbled notes in a spiral notebook at her side. Her mane of auburn hair was tied in a simple ponytail, and she cleaned her glasses with the open end of her flannel shirt. Carly kneeled down inside the tent, as she did her best to arrange her hair in a manageable position, while Vivian crouched by the nearby stream, smoking a cigarette. Idly, she flicked it away. "Christ. I hate fuckin' camping."
Janine looked up from her notes. "Don't do that. It's dangerous."
A red-painted middle finger was her response. "Loser," she hissed.
Carly shot a look in Janine's direction. "Give it up. You're chasing rainbows, kid."
"Yeah, and you're wastin' our fuckin' money doin' it!"
"No, I'm not. The legends are more accurate than anybody'd like to believe. Combined with the recent news stories of animal attacks..."
"Yeah, yeah, we know," Vivian scowled. "Werewolf. Fine, catch the fleabag, put it front 'n center in the Enquirer, whatever you feel like. Just make sure we get our cut."
Janine frowned, absently kicking the dirt with the heel of her hiking boot. "I'm not in this for money. I've told you that."
"Yeah, you aren't, but we are. Vivian and I didn't front you the cash for this little getaway for nothing."
"I'll pay you back for that. You know that."
Carly sniffed. "Damn straight. Just don't get yourself mauled first. Dead broads pay no tabs."
"Nah," Vivian sneered, leaning against Carly. She idly picked at the blonde woman's tight sweater. "I think she wants to have his pups, doncha?" They laughed, letting loose mock howls as they pulled each other inside the tent.
Janine looked away from them, focusing on her notes. She regretted bringing them along, but she could never have afforded the equipment on her own. She glanced up when the two zipped the tent flap closed, presumably to start frenching again.
A moment was spent daydreaming, about what a real werewolf might look like, and how it would react to her. She wondered if it really was real, and then if she could find it.
A rustle of a branch nearby caught her attention, quickening her pulse.
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