Enid Sinclair ran through the corridors of Nevermore, guided by her sense of smell, ignoring everything else but Thing's grip on her shoulder. She could do it almost with her eyes closed, thanks to the capacity of her senses and familiarity with the premises.
Despite this, during her run she couldn't help but notice the presence of another young lycanthrope. A first year student, cowering in a fetal position in a corner of the corridor, repeating "Not the fingernails, not the fingernails..." as a mantra while holding back tears.
Yes, Woe had decidedly walked by.
Enid inhaled again through her nose, focusing on the scent of the young Addams girl. She was still puzzled by the similarity to Wednesday's. It made sense, given that they were the same person in some cosmic-magical way that gave headaches just thinking about it. But since the night before she had noticed what traits of their scents were defining for each of the variants: Wednesday was dominated by ink of old books, Needler smelled of antiseptic and graveyards, Friday had a sweetish scent...
And Woe smelled of metal and clotted blood.
So perhaps it was appropriate where her footsteps were leading her. Enid instinctively recognized the hallway she was in. It was the most direct path to the fencing classroom.
It's fitting, I suppose, thought the she-wolf, that Woe would end up gravitating toward the Academy's place focusing on sharp objects and possible bodily harm.
The classroom door was ajar when the werewolf arrived. She could hear voices on the other side. Bianca, Woe, and a male voice with an annoying tone that made her frown instinctively. Despite her good hearing Enid was still so focused on discerning a scent with her nose that she couldn't pick up the whole conversation, but she could have sworn Woe was threatening someone. She didn't know if it was Bianca or the other person with them. The she-wolf decided not to wait any longer and went inside.
The scene she encountered made her act even more on instinct than she was doing so far.
Bianca, alarmed, trying to stop what was about to happen. A male student whom Enid recognized as Sterling Teague (a "pompous buffoon", in Wednesday's words) ready to attack Woe with his sword. And Woe, immobile, smiling creepily. The same smile that still surfaced from time to time on Wednesday's face when she thought of some particularly creative torture.
Enid moved.
The speed at which she dashed caused poor Thing to fall off her shoulder and roll on the ground, stunned.
Enid didn't notice, but the tension in her leg muscles caused the bottom of her pants to burst, leaving her calves exposed, partially covered by golden fur. Her sneakers also broke, pierced by feet that had enlarged by almost two sizes and grown claws.
You see, Enid Sinclair was an example of lycanthropy outside the usual norm. Her late bloomer condition was just a hint of something much more strange and unusual about which Wednesday, seeking clues to help her paramour, only managed to find information in an ancient codex on werewolves written around 1235.
Most werewolves had limited morphic abilities outside of the full moon: extended claws, sharp fangs, in some cases slightly pointed ears, and so on. But nothing else.
Enid? Enid was not a slave to the whims of the moon. The trigger for her first wolfing out had been the desire to protect. The ancient medieval text referred to such beings as custos lupus, the guardian wolf. Those who would protect the pack at all times regardless of the lunar cycles. They were extremely rare, many never became aware of their condition believing themselves incapable of wolfing out during the full moon and were abandoned by their packs to a life of lone wolves that invariably ended in misfortune.
But if a guardian wolf found its purpose...
For this reason, Enid Sinclair could transform whenever she wanted and to whatever degree she desired.
So when she tackled Sterling Teague, knocking him to the ground, what the poor bastard saw above him after regaining control of his senses was not a cute blonde girl of average height and blue eyes.
Only partially transformed, Enid's face was a mask of lupine fury mixed with human rage. A short snout revealed teeth that were already too big for a mouth that had not fully grown. Soft golden fur was beginning to spread across the forehead and sides of the face. Her ears had perked up, pointed. Her blue eyes glowed unearthly, with golden flares.
In front of him, grazing his terror-stricken face, Teague could see a hand with extended multicolored claws. The back of the hand was covered with golden fur running up the forearm. The entire arm was under tension, with extremely marked musculature that seemed about to burst through the clothing covering it at the slightest flex. A steady, deep growl escaped from Enid's throat.
And then, she spoke, in a deep, cavernous, barely human voice emitted by vocal cords meant for roars, growls and howls.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Teague didn't respond at first, emitting only a pitiful whimper.
"Answer me!" roared Enid.
Teague gave a gasp, as if he had come out of a trance. He stared at Enid, and she could see another emotion appear on the young man's face, still marked by terror.
Indignation.
"I'm... I am Sterling Teague! Heir to the Teague Family! I will not allow you to...!"
Enid drew her hand closer. Her claws were now in direct contact with the skin of Teague's face.
"What makes you think I give a damn who you are?"
Teague's face reddened, fury winning out over fear for an instant. It would prove to be a mistake.
"My father is Harrison Teague! Rest assured, he'll know about this soon enough! We're a powerful family, with resources and money...!"
"Money?" said Enid, a mocking tone entering her still monstrous voice.
Observing the scene, Bianca advanced a step, as if wanting to intervene, but Woe reached out her arm halting the siren's advance. The young Addams shook her head, looking at Bianca, making it clear that it was best not to meddle.
"Money," repeated Enid, "Really? Is that the card you intend to play? Because if we're talking about money, my mate's family has enough to buy yours whole and force them to work as clowns in a circus until the end of time."
"I... I..."
"Yes. You," said the she-wolf, "You attacked ONE OF MINE!"
The last words were not uttered, we can't even say they were shouted. They came from Enid's throat as a primal roar that echoed through most of the Academy.
They also caused a feeling that Woe could not identify but was not entirely unpleasant to creep up her back.
Enid pulled her claws away from Sterling Teague's face, but proceeded to grab him by the throat. Enid stood up, lifting Teague's full weight with one hand, strangling him. Teague began kicking and clutching at the werewolf woman's arm, trying to breathe.
"Here's what you're going to do, Sterling Teague," said Enid, "You're going to go to your dorm room, you're going to pack your stuff, and you're going to leave Nevermore. You're not going to tell anyone about what happened here, you're going to make up any story to justify your leaving and for your own good you're going to forget what happened in the last few minutes, understood?"
Teague managed to whisper a faltering "Yes" before Enid brought his face suddenly close to hers, locking her now lupine-golden eyes on his.
"If tomorrow comes and you're still in Nevermore, I'll rip you open from groin to neck and devour your entrails while I bathe in your blood."
Teague nodded, mute and pale. Enid released him, letting him drop. The young man got up and began to run for the door, stumbling. Enid exhaled and the tension began to fade from her face, slowly returning to her baseline human shape.
The first thing she did as soon as Teague was already out of the fencing classroom was to facepalm and let out a canine whine while checking the state of her clothes, "Aaaagh, what did I just do? I got carried away. Again! If any of this gets back to the principal's ears I've screwed up!"
"Judging by the stain that was forming on that bastard's pants I don't think he's going to talk," Bianca said with a half-smile. The situation had ended up being a most satisfying spectacle.
"I hope you're right, Bianca," Enid replied, allowing herself to relax a bit before focusing her attention on Woe, whose impenetrable gaze was fixed on the she-wolf.
"Woe, are you okay? He didn't have time to do anything did he?", asked Enid, worried.
I am fine. You didn't have to intervene. I had the situation totally under control. Those were the words Woe would have wanted to speak, the words fighting to get out of her mouth.
Instead, they were quite different ones that escaped from her lips almost like a choked gasp.
"That was magnificent," said the young Addams, unable to hide her admiration for the lycanthrope.
Enid blinked, in surprise, before smiling nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck and gestured with her other hand as if to downplay what had happened, "Aah, it wasn't that big of a deal. Just the usual threats of dismemberment and cannibalism. Nothing original..."
Bianca looked at her with some exasperation, "Seriously, you're getting more and more of Wednesday's influence with each passing day."
Enid was about to respond to the siren when she felt a tingle in her now bare feet. Looking down, she could see Thing gesticulating and frantically tapping the floor after poking her foot.
"Thing!" exclaimed Enid, "Oh, gosh, you're right. Woe! We need to get back to the quad and meet up with the others to..."
Enid's voice began to dwindle to a halt and silence, as an expression of realization and fear began to light up her face, as if she had realized or remembered something terrible. It all culminated in Enid holding her hands to her cheeks as she screamed in visible panic, "OH MY GOD, WE LEFT NEEDLER WITH AJAX IN THE QUAD!"
And she ran off, leaving everyone else behind.
Thing tried to go after her while gesticulating before stopping resignedly and turning to Woe, holding up his thumb and pinky at the same time as the equivalent of a shrug.
Woe let out an exasperated sigh.
"Who's Needler?" asked Bianca.
"Another one of our cousins...visiting," replied Woe, "I'd better get back to the quad, or Sinclair will end up having a nervous breakdown. Which would be fun but something tells me not to be appreciated by everyone around here."
The posture Thing adopted in response to that comment could only be interpreted as a "D'uh."
Bianca shook her head. Addams, multiple Addamses all around Nevermore.
"Give me a minute to change and I'll join you. I want to see the rest of the show."
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