110Summary: The wolf was restless tonight.
Set somewhere between the end of season two and the start of season five.
So, this isn't so much an offshoot from Night Disturbance as an AU of that fic. :3
Thanks to Darlingfox for giving me the plotbunny for this! 8D
Pace the Night
By Dark Ice Dragon
First Quarter Moon
The wolf was restless tonight; M-21 could feel it pacing in his head, wanting out, wanting to run, wanting to feel the wind in his/their fur. The enclosed walls made his skin itch, the dead air not helping. It had been a slow build over the day, M-21 only realising he'd had more energy than usual just before the children left school, not wanting to stand still for even a minute, patrolling the grounds more often.
The children being at the house had helped, somewhat. They had kept him distracted, their antics syphoning off the extra energy. But when the children had left, the restlessness had made itself known again, worse than before, non-human instincts on its tail. M-21 had retreated to his room and there was no stopping the soft growl that escaped his throat, no matter how much he tried to trap it as he searched for the calendar he had bought recently.
First quarter moon.
M-21 wasn't surprised. He had last felt non-human instincts rising to the surface a few weeks ago, but it hadn't lasted for long and he had had enough warning to lock himself in his room, though he hadn't done much more than lay on his bed, staring at the wall. He'd thought it had been a one-off (he'd hopedit had been a one-off), the symptoms gone completely the next day, feeling like he'd imagined it.
This. This was different though. He had far more energy compared to what had happened before that it practically made his skin thrum.
He didn't know what the full moon would unleash. Maybe the wolf would be in complete control, or maybe the instincts would be at their peak but he would still be himself. Or maybe he would be like a traditional werewolf, his body transforming fully and then he would infect people with his werewolf blood.
He should warn the others.
Later.
M-21's breath came in short gasps as the needto get out and run increased. He wasn't a danger (yet), he knew he wouldn't hurt anyone the way he was currently. What he also knew was he needed get rid of all the extra energy he had.
He couldn't leave through the front door (everyone would notice; everyone would ask. It would waste time) so M-21 opened his window, paused when he had it open as much as possible, just breathing in the night air and identifying the scents mingled there, and then leaped out.
The night was calling to him.
xOx
M-21's mind was a mess, he could tell that much, but any attempts to think deeper than that just caused his thoughts to scatter further (and he needed to think, needed to be aware, even if he didn't know what for).
He was following a path, even though he couldn't trace where to, the rooftops not the usual route, the scent trail faint this high (they were overlaid with week-old trails - they were traversed, but not so frequently), but still recognisable all the same. The route he had taken was a meandering one though, crossing over the trail a number of times - he just wanted to run, not particularly caring about the speed or the time he took to reach his destination. He could notice his running style was different, his centre of balance lower, his jumps not as high, but longer.
It didn't matter.
Drowning himself in his senses did, tasting the air (chock-full of cars, food, and humans), feeling the flicker of annoyance every time he tried to listen to something because his ears were wrong and he had to turn his head to hear it properly (and there was something wrong with that, a sudden twinge in his stomach, but there was no danger nearby so he ignored it).
He eventually made it to the school (his school; part of his territory) and he hunkered down on top of the rooftop, surveying the city around him.
It was quiet there, not as many cars or people passing by, just the gentle wind as it swept over him.
The moon was high in the sky, wispy clouds obscuring it, but the stars glittered keenly next to it. The air was crisp, enough to be felt, his breath slightly visible in front of him. He wasn't howling at the moon - that meant something, but he wasn't entirely sure what.
After some time, he could faintly hear two people jumping across roofs, coming closer to him. He frowned when he had to turn his head to hear them better, his ears still not doing what he wanted them to do.
The wind picked up just then, blowing the approachers' scent in his direction. They were familiar, known to him instantly: packmates. He relaxed, standing up to greet them with a lopsided grin (he didn't like his lack of tail, but they didn't have tails either, so they should understand him; they normally did anyway, when he barely spoke at all).
The two landed a little distance away from him, and they stayed there, watching him.
"Hey, M-21," the...hm. Names. They had names and his was bundled around metal and static, but the name wasn't quite... A click of the tongue?
"Hey," he replied back, giving up on the name. His name didn't matter - he was a packmate; that's all he needed to know. (Not right; never right. Names were important.) There was something wrong in the way he'd said that though, his packmates showing him the whites of their eyes.
Oh. He'd answered with a growl; they didn't know what he'd said, did they? "Hey," he tried again, sounding the word out carefully. He was sure that had been right this time.
"How you feeling?" Metal-and-static asked, stepping towards him, Oil-and-gunpowder only a step behind.
How was he feeling? He tilted his head as he considered the question. He didn't feel as restless as he had at the start of the night, and his thoughts had finally settled, calmed, even though he knew they still weren't quite right.
"Better," he said slowly.
Metal-and-static smiled. "Good."
There was a small pause. "You wanna come home?" Metal-and-static asked, his hands spread wide.
He nodded, closing the last small gap between them. He had done what he'd wanted and he would go wherever they went. Always.
xOx
The journey back didn't take very long; even though the pace was a little slower than what he'd used to get to his school, they moved in a straight line towards home. Metal-and-static and Oil-and-gunpowder kept twisting around to check he was still following.
He could hear Darkness-and-blood talking with Metal-and-static for a short while, his voice distorted with a slight echo to it. He'd made especially sure to stay as quiet as he could during then, not wanting to draw attention.
They stopped at one of the rooftops beside home, Metal-and-static jumping to his window and sitting on the sill, his legs dangling outside as he leaned into his room to retrieve…three pairs of shoes? Metal-and-static slipped on a pair and then waited, a pair in each hand.
Oil-and-gunpowder turned to him. "You remember we're not supposed to make a mess inside?"
He winced, ducking his head. Yes, he definitely knew that.
"Ah…" Oil-and-gunpowder didn't say anything, shifting on his feet.
Metal-and-static threw one pair high into the air and Oil-and-gunpowder leaped, grabbing them and putting them on just before landing on the window-sill.
When they turned to him, he nodded, knowing what it was he needed to do.
When they were inside, Oil-and-gunpowder shut the window after swiping at it with a hand.
"So, are you hungry?" Metal-and-static asked, rocking on his heels a little bit. "When you didn't come down for dinner..."
They went looking for him. He should have known that would happen when he left, but the need to get out and run had overwhelmed everything.
He frowned, concentrating on finding the correct words to answer his question.
"Not hungry; had big lunch." He'd had a craving for meat then, and hadn't thought much about the extra food he'd been eating.
"Hm," Oil-and-gunpowder said, glancing out the window. "Why did you...run out the house?" he asked quietly.
"I wanted-" No, that wasn't right. "-needed out. The moon..." There was something about the moon again, but he couldn't place what. He shook his head, crinkling his nose.
"S'all right - we'll ask in the morning," Metal-and-static said, throwing an arm around his shoulders.
He would be able to answer properly then, he knew that, even if he didn't know why. He gave a little huff, leaning into Metal-and-static's touch. Metal-and-static snapped his head to stare at him and he blinked back at him, tilting his head.
"Mm. It's nothing. So, do you mind if we sleep here?" Metal-and-static asked, nodding to Oil-and-gunpowder.
He blinked at them in confusion, staring at them for several seconds. "No." They were packmates; why would he mind?
Metal-and-static just chuckled quietly, a grin on his face.
He watched Oil-and-gunpowder move around his room before climbing into bed and falling asleep straight away.
xOx
M-21's back was sore. That was the first thing he was aware of. His back was sore because he had curled up into a ball for some reason when he had fallen asleep. Except he couldn't remember going to bed.
The next thing he was aware of was that he wasn't alone in his room, clearly hearing two sets of even, deep breathing. Two sleeping people. When he breathed in, he could recognise Tao's and Takeo's scent in the air and no-one else's. Safe, then.
He opened his eyes slowly anyway (why were they in his room and why hadn't he woken up when they had?) just in case he was wrong, still feigning sleep. Takeo had pulled a chair over to the window while Tao had claimed the foot of his bed, his back leaning on the wall. Beside him was his pocket computer. There was no-one else in sight.
... Something must have happened, because waking up to Tao and Takeo being in his room was one thing, but not waking up when someone had gone onto his bed...?
Carefully, M-21 stretched out, making sure he didn't brush against Tao. The soles of his feet felt weird, his skin not moving like it should. He scratched the bottom of one with his other foot and frowned when he felt something flake off. Dirt...? That was another thing to the growing list of things that didn't make sense.
There was a soft exhale from Tao and M-21 looked across at him, waiting; Tao would tell him what had happened last night, without prompting. He hadn't been in a fight (he didn't feel bruised and he didn't feel any aches; he couldn't smell blood from any of them either) but what had he been doing outside without his shoes on?
As soon as Tao was awake, Tao glanced at him. For a second, all Tao did was watch him. "M-21?" he said, peering at him carefully. That…didn't really alleviate M-21's worries.
"Morning," he said dryly, supposing he should say that, considering the circumstances. He pushed himself upright into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his neck. "What happened?"
And that was Takeo up completely, straightening in his chair. He stared at M-21 for a second, looking him over completely before letting out a small breath of relief.
"Ah..." Tao looked away for a second, at his pocket computer. "Do you know what it was last night?"
That…was a very vague question. M-21 wasn't sure what he was talking about, so his eyes drifted around his room as he thought. When his eyes passed over his calendar, he froze, the pieces clicking into place.
M-21 squeezed his eyes shut as everything rushed back to him. It felt like a dream, his thoughts flighty, but he knew it wasn't - there were too many senses involved, and it explained the confusing little details. "Shit."
Tao laughed weakly. "Yeeeah. You kinda wolfed out on us last night. No transformation, but you weren't all...here." There was a brief pause as Tao studied him, his expression gentle. "Do you remember anything?"
"All of it," M-21 said, sighing, slumping against the wall. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised - he didn't think he was a traditional werewolf like in the stories, and this hadn't happened on the night of a full moon either. But it did look like he might lose his entire sense of self when the full moon came...
"It felt..." M-21 gritted his teeth, letting the air out of his lungs in a long hiss. "It felt natural to think like that," he admitted. "Normal." He hadn't been able to fight against it. And for the most part, it had made sense. He could tell why he had thought certain things while the werewolf instincts were at play; he thought like that on a daily basis, just using different words and more inhibited. Maybe that was why the instincts had taken him over so easily.
"You didn't seem that different from usual," Takeo said, and M-21 turned to stare at him incredulously. He knew what he had been thinking then, but he was sure he'd acted a lot differently.
"Well," Takeo started, shifting in his chair, "you didn't hurt anyone, you headed for the school, and you recognised us."
"Yeah," Tao agreed, nodding. "We could still recognise you as you - just grinning a little wider than usual," he teased.
M-21 snorted. That grin had not been 'a little wider than usual'. But, it was comforting to hear. If he was still mostly himself on the night of the first quarter moon, then hopefully that would be the same for the full moon.
"Hey," Tao said softly, tilting his head back, "even if you do lose yourself on the full moon, we know now, so we'll be prepared if it happens."
M-21 couldn't help but snort, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"We know you worry," Takeo added, understanding in his eyes.
He really couldn't hide what he was thinking from them; they just read it off him if he did. "We should be getting ready," he said as a response, sliding out of bed. The clock said it was about time he should be waking up anyway.
"Hmm. You sure?" Tao asked, stretching.
M-21 double-checked what his body was telling him, but nothing else was protesting so he nodded. "I wasn't injured last night, and I'm thinking normally now." Which didn't mean nearly as much as it would have before, because he'd thought he'd been thinking normally last night as well. At least he'd unconsciously minimised the number of people seeing him act suspiciously when he'd stuck to the rooftops.
...
Which was the kind of thing he'd do normally... He really hadn't been acting that differently, huh?
Once Tao and Takeo were out his room, it didn't take M-21 long to get ready. Just as he was closing his door, he heard someone walking down the corridor behind him.
"M-21," Frankenstein greeted, and M-21 stilled, his breath catching in his throat. Frankenstein knew about werewolves. He'd known enough to recognise what was inside him when he'd first arrived. So maybe… But could he really ask…?
"Ah, Frankenstein…" he said, unsure. Frankenstein paused, waiting for him to finish, a mild curious expression on his face. M-21 pursed his lips, struggling to find the right words so it didn't sound like he was making a demand. "Do you have any data left about werewolves?" He couldn't be too hopeful of Frankenstein having anything though – Frankenstein had said they'd always been hiding and even if he had found some werewolves, it had to be from over eight-hundred years ago. He couldn't still have data from back then.
Frankenstein's face cleared and he smiled, nodding. "Of course." One look was enough to recognise the Frankenstein wanted him to follow, and he did, his stomach clenching with nervousness as Frankenstein lead him towards his lab.
When the doors hissed shut, Frankenstein turned to one of the many machines in the lab, it lighting up at his touch. "I don't have that much data on werewolves, but what little I have, I can give it to you." The screen started to throw out windows of scrolling text too fast to read and Frankenstein paused to study it.
"My data may not be fully relevant to you, but it could still be useful to read."
M-21 stared at the screen, wondering if that was Frankenstein's 'not much information' (and, really, he should know by now that Frankenstein's measurements of anything weren't normal to anyone else). "I… Thank you," he said hoarsely, not looking at Frankenstein. Any data was better than nothing, and he could trust that whatever Frankenstein had found, it would be thorough.
"But," –he frowned, glancing back at Frankenstein- "why did you never offer this before?" He'd had this data for all this time and kept it from him.
Frankenstein blinked at him, before chuckling. "You didn't ask."
…R-right. Of course. Back then, he'd only just been invited to the house, he hadn't known he could ask for things, he hadn't known that what Frankenstein considered 'little' was more than what other people put into an entire book.
"I'll have it prepared and ready for you on your table when you come back," Frankenstein said, tapping at a couple of keys.
"Thank you," M-21 said again softly, just before turning and leaving.
He slowly walked up the stairs to the house, preparing himself for the day to come. Tao and Takeo hadn't seemed to think him weak for letting the wolf instincts overwhelm him, but he couldn't help but think it of himself anyway. There didn't seem to be any overflow of instincts from the night before, but he'd be trying to keep track a close eye on himself over the next month.
"Heeey, M-21," Tao called out as soon as M-21 entered the living room, and he started, surprised that he – that everyone else was still in the house. He thought they would have left by now.
"Hmph," Regis huffed, fixing him with a dry glare. "Making us wait for him like this."
M-21 gaped at them for a brief second before he shut his mouth, unidentifiable emotions swelling in him. "I had something important to take care of."
Regis didn't look at all impressed. "More important than your duty to the school?"
In some ways, it was. If he was a danger to the children… "You're admitting you need my help protecting the children?" he asked as they made their way out the house, Tao giving him a clap on the shoulder once he reached them.
Regis spluttered. "I didn't say that! It's your job to protect them," he finished, frowning.
And he'd been doing just that. Relieved, M-21's started to smirk as he prepared his retort.
Written for the No True Pair prompt, 'M-21 and M-21 can communicate without saying a word'.
There's going to (hopefully) be three parts to this. The second part's finished; the third part is getting rewritten. Buut, the parts aren't connected in any way apart from M-21 wolfing out. I'd tried to make them connect, but it didn't work. Ah well.