The five stages of grief. or as they were originally known, the five stages of receiving catastrophic news. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Welcome to stage one, everyone. Note the girl sitting in the corner nursing a lemonade.

Counter to popular belief, it is possible to get drunk using lemonade. It involves ice, sugar and sheer stubborn willpower. Beth has plenty of all three, and is busily achieving the desired mindset.

Beth's wearing dull colors, with only a hint of makeup and lavender scent. To her nose it's overpowering. If comfort food was clothing, it would be this combo. A sweater, a shawl, a long skirt. She looks strange but no more so than anyone else here.

It's around 10 o'clock at night. The curfewers are starting to trickle away and the college crowd is trickling in. The music is uncomfortably loud, especially to Beth's ears.

Erebus is sitting at the bar only a few feet away. Calmly sipping on a rum and coke, he was hunched over to the countertop, his black hair hanging down in his face. Alcohol really had no effect on him anymore, after the long years of trying to drown his sorrows in ale. So, why would he be here? To feel like a human again. It's surprising how quickly you can loose your humanity when you have to feed off of them.

Beth would normally be scared of the guy sitting basically next to her. But at the moment the girl's too busy worrying over her grip on sanity. So she gives him barely a glance, besides wondering what in the world his drink might be. Ah well... she wasn't a drinks person.

Now, she is not about to say anything. Even with the added giddiness from the sugar, Beth is still a naturally cautious person. So she settled for only a few surrupticious glances. In that light, her eyes glowed, like a wolf's at night.

With a glance over at the woman next to him, Erebus finished off his drink and looked over at her.

"Rough day, I suppose?" He asked, his voice sounding deeper than he remembered it to be. Had it been thant long since he had spoken to anyone?

Her grin was bitter. "Rough week. Been having some trouble with insomnia." She didn't go into what that'd been doing to her. Job interviews are not good places to zone out. She couldn't concentrate. She couldn't eat most things. She had the wierdest cravings. And worst of all, she was obsessing over the stupidest stuff. The moon. Gah.

Shaking her head, as if she were a cat with water in its ears, Beth blinking blearily. And took another gulp of her lemonade, determined not to think about it. Figuring both to be polite and to distract herself (okay, only to distract herself. But it was polite anyway.) she asked "You?"

Erebus looked straight ahead as a grin crossed his face. It was a strange expression, because his eyes looked sorrowful.

"I've had a rough lifetime. As for insomnia... get some excercise. Or take some drugs. Both work." He said as he signaled for the bartended to fill his glass once more.

Curiousity, normally surpressed, is free to express itself when you're drunk. "Don't like yer job 'r somethin'?" Shot in the dark, of course.

Beth's expression segued into bitterness again. Her voice slurred slightly as she said "First one- tried it. Din' work. Second one- wha'd'y'think I'm doin' here?" She's getting drunk. Obviously.

She was drinking... lemonaide. Well, I suppose everyone has to have a differnt tolerance level, but seriously... lemonaide Did lemonaide even have alcohol? Erebus didn't think so, but to each their own...

"Hate my job... yeah, I suppose you could say that." He said, taking a drink after the bartender filled his glass once more. "And alcohol..." He paused, thinking of the lemonaide in her glass. "In't exactly the drug I was thinking of... perscriptions was more on my rain of thought."

Beth glared half-heartedly at him. "Well then I prescribed it to myself. Y'happy now?" It worked, after all. This was very distracting.
ooc: Short, I know.

Taking a drink, he looked back to the table. He didn't want to talk to an angry drunk... let alone a female angry drunk. So... he simply waited for her to calm down a bit.

((feh... I wrote ashort post too.. ))

The glare sortof petered off in the face of his lack of reaction. Too bad, really. Beth was, for once in her life, feeling aggressive.

Taking another long draw of lemonade, she managed "Uh... so, what's so bad 'bout yer job, 'nyway?" Change the subject, away from the thing that made her act like such a brat.

Putting down his glass, Erebus let out a sigh.

"I... I work for a very bad guy." He said, almost laughing at his understatement. Death was truly the ultimate 'bad guy' in the history of the world. Nevermind that we actually need him... he's still a thing most of us fear above all.

Lucky for Beth that she was both too young and too unnish to worry about a job like that. She was really too busy worrying about her own problems.

If Beth were someone else, she might have offered some good advice at this point. She, however, said this. "We need more drinks." She said it loudly, drunk-loud, the way someone talks if they don't realize they'd normally be quiet. The bartender, probably very used to this, would probably amble over any minute now.

With a smirk, Erebus took another sip of his drink and peered at Beth from the corner of his eye.
"So... about your insomnia. Nightmares, or you just can't sleep?" He asked, after clearing his throught lightly.

(feh... bad post)

Beth hunched, not glad at all he'd brought that up. She didn't want to think about it. "Dreams. Sleep walking optional." Each word stood on its own, clipped, saying with the last remnants of her tact that she really did not want to talk about this.

The demon got the hint and went back to his drink.

The art of conversation is something I've apparently lost...

"Well, miss.... I didn't mean to intrude. Just thought I might be able to help..." He said, looking at her once again. She really was rather pretty... not exaclty the type he went for (did I really just think that? Erebus, you're pathetic.) but still attractive.

Beth muttered glumly "Not unless you're a therapist." She thought for a minute. "Look, mister, it's really not something I like talking about. I don't like things I don't understand."

Ah, the bartender has arrived. Beth surrendered her empty glass, hopefully getting a refill sometime soon.

"I've... been around. I might be more help than you think. Besides," He said, actually turning to face her. If she had looked at him in the right light at the moment, she might have noticed something strange about his eyes... the again, maybe not. "It's human to fear what we don't know..."

Taking a sip of her new lemonade, Beth considered it. On the one hand, he was a stranger she'd just met in a bar. On the other... he was a stranger she'd just met in a bar. It was doubtful he would decide to lock her up in a hospital somewhere.

"The moon. Full. Pretty. And then I wake up and want to go outside. Sometimes I do. Usually end up walking on the beach 'r something. Thinking about the tide." She could say other things, about the black and white eyesight that came and went, the sense of smell that even now amplified her perfume in her own nose, the dog that bit her about a month and a half of her. But she saw no reason to connect them. So she didn't.

"Funny thing is.... Funny thing... The funny thing is that I feel as if the moon's always there. Sorta like being the ocean and having the tide pull you around, I guess." Hey, she payed attention in science class. How rare.

Erebus recognised her syptoms as soon as they reached his ears. But how to tell a mortal that she would soon become something.. more.

"Well... I'm sure they have to do with your life. Anything... unusual happen to you lately? Anyone tell your fortune, warn you of the moon... any dogs bite you?" He asked. Was he pushing it by asking her that? Oh well... only soon to find out.

Beth flinched. Denial-land has no room in it for questions like that. Which is an answer in itself. She didn't answer, drinking as if it would wash away what he'd just said. Even if she didn't understand it. She didn't want to.

If she'd been someone else, she might have admitted it. But she wasn't, couldn't be, someone else. She was just Beth, and she was too used to being scared of everything. And everyone.

He sensed that he had upset her and thought back to what he would have done when he was still... human. Embrace her? No... I don't know her well enough...
He decided to put a hand on her shoulder. The contact with a warm human body came as something of a shock to him. Cadavers weren't exaclty the same as thier living, breathing counterpart.

"Do... do you know what you're becoming?" He asked softly, leaning close to her ear.

Beth might have flinched. If she hadn't had a lot of experience with what that showed a bully. Flinching was not part of her options. Hunching more and having a lot more lemonade was. Surprisingly, she finished the entire glass in one gulp.

"No... no." Her words were soft, whether meaning no, she didn't, or no, it couldn't be happening. "No." That word, however, was nowhere near the cowering Beth tone. This was angry. This was animal instinct reacting to threat. This was a far cry from little Rabbit girl. She could feel her lips curling into a snarl. And, well, if she didn't realize at that point, she did realize how much better it was to be angry rather than afraid. This was a good change. "What the hell is happening to me?" Still angry, but no longer angry at him. Angry at the world. Angry at her bastard of a brother. Angry at that bloody wolf. The people she should be angry with.

This was a good change.

With a knowing look, Erebus gently pulled her by the arms intil she was standing. He stood as well, then leaned down an whispered into her ear.

"If you want to know, then perhaps we should continue this conversation someplace.... better suited for talking." He said, still holding her arm. His tone wasn't rough.. it was surpisingly gentle. It was true Erebus has lost his humanity ages ago, but he still felt for this young woman.

But for what reason was beyond him.

Beth shrugged, looking... put upon. Yep. She definitely had a right to look put upon. "Yeah. Sure." She half turned, vaguely wondering what they would talk about. Something weird. Something that had given her a huge attitude adjustment, just now. She wasn't sure if she was angry or frustrated or just normal scared, but it was as if there were two personality-things inside her head. And frankly, she liked the angry one better.

Erebus took her arms and led her out the the street and around the corner. There weren't any streetlamps, but it's not like it would bother him... or her.

She'll be able to see in the dark soon enough... she might as well get used to it.

Turning to her and looking down, Erebus let out a sigh and leand against the wall on his elbow.

"How can I explain this to you without making you think I'm crazy?" He thought a loud, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Okay, stranger from a bar leading her into a dark street. Out of habit, Beth began to get nervous. But gods, she was so tired of being scared. It didn't help.

The angry side of her wanted to act aggressive. The Bethian side wanted to run. Both sides settled for sounding tired. "I already think I'm insane. Might as well join the club, eh?"

With a sigh she folded her arms, not leaning on anything but taking the oppurtunity to relax. She wasn't used to getting this little sleep, after all. It was probably one reason she was taking this so well. Well... relatively well.

With a nod, Erebus gatered his thoughts before he spoke. Something that was always good to in the precence of Death had become a habit.

"After you were bitten by a dog, if that's what happened, you probably started having.. dreams and obsessions about the moon. Along with this, you have an attitude aside from your own, a feirce angry thing inside your mind. Correct?" He asked, looking down at her.

Beth shrugged. He seemed to be going somewhere with this. And both sides of her mind were too tired to bother feeling emotions about it. Her glands were about played out, anyway. She'd been on emotional overdrive for a couple weeks now.

She felt like she should reply. She didn't want to. But some clarification was needed. "More like I have a choice which way I react. Rather than going with my normal one. I don't normally get angry about stuff."

He nodded, the looked down at the ground.

"All of these things are leading up to what you will become. Do you know what werewolf is?" He asked. Might as well get down to the point.

Werewolf, werewolf, werewolf.... No. Can't say she does. "Not... really..." Though she has a sinking feeling that an old movie she watched once is jumping up and down trying to get her attention.

"A werewolf... well, the dog that bit you was one. To be a werewolf is to be a human that changes into a wolf on the night of the full moon. That's why you keep thinking, dreaming, and hallucinating about it...." Erebus stated, hoping that he made himself clear.

"Oh." That about covered it. Her mind was a blank. Her face was blank too as she slowly sat down on the sidewalk, noting absently that she seemed to be feeling numb.

This is shock. It is your friend when you find out you have been turning into a wolf.

Oops... ok, maybe he had been a bit too direct. Leaning down to put a hand on her shoulder, he saw that she seemed somewhat dazed.

"Are.. are you alright? I know it's a lot to take in, but you should accept it as soon as possible..."

Somewhat dazed? Make that really, really dazed. This is clinical shock. Her brain is getting a lot of blood because she is trying desperately to think. It isn't working because she hasn't been sleeping enough. That blood has to come from somewhere, so the rest of her body is getting too little. Thus the numbness.

Needless to say, she isn't really up to reassuring the guy about her wellbeing right now.

With a sigh, Erebus sat down beside her. Looking over, he saw that she really -was- worse for wear...

Dammit...

"Allright... miss, you're going to be allright. It's still a week until the full moon. You have a week to ajust. I can help you, if you like..."

ooc: Meh. I might have just described hypothermia.... I confuse them a lot.
ic: Beth had to fight to speak, but she did. "Been... there.... Last moon. Thought... 'nother dream." She had a third floor apartment. She'd spent a very, very long night in wolf form confined in a small box. It hadn't helped her sanity very much.

Her pupils were dilating. Wildly. And the wolf eyesight chose that point to kick in. Lovely. Just frickin' lovely.

Erebus wrapped his arms around her in an embrace.

"Calm down... you're not insane, you're not strange... You're... just one of us, now."

(feh.. bad post.)

Beth didn't flinch. She just... sat there. But behind her yellow-green eyes, wolf eyes, which reflected what little light there was with that eiree light that animal eyes gave off....

"Us? You're...?" Also insane? Weird? A wolf? Something different? There were a lot of ways she could have ended that question.

Erebus sighed and unwrapped his arms.

"When I told you that I worked for a gud guy... I wasn't kidding. I've been working for him for 300 years... I'm not human, either." He said, looking into her wolf eyes, showing his eerie metallic blue ones.