The next few weeks were mostly quiet on the farm. Riva came by daily to tend to her garden, which was just beginning to sprout. With Dione and Sam frequently wandering nude around the farm, she often took to disrobing before she worked as well, and most days this led to Jev and one or more of the ladies taking a break mid-afternoon to have some private fun. Dione had been a bit nervous about Sam scaring Riva off, but when the prospect of sleeping with both Sam and Jev at the same time was broached, she'd enthusiastically agreed. She'd even agreed to allow Sam to feed from her in the process, the first of Jev's regular partners to do so, and while she'd been uncomfortable immediately afterwards, she claimed that night to have had the best sleep of her life. She was eager to try again when she could fall asleep immediately, something that would require her to spend the night, which was not something she felt she could pitch to her parents quite yet.
The day Cyd came home from her trip to Alaria was cause for great excitement. Dione baked a triple-chocolate cake, which seemed to Jev a strange choice, given Cyd's werewolf nature, but conceded that Dione would know her friend better. The flight came in early on a Sunday afternoon, and Jev, Dione, and Sam all went into town to welcome their friend home. Their reunion was a happier one than Jev, Sam, and Dione's, a few weeks before, Cyd having managed to sleep through the majority of the flight thanks to some potent pharmaceuticals. Cyd was eager to share stories of her time in Alaria, of her sister and husband and their three children and the various sites they'd visited in that time. On the drive back she'd happily passed her phone around to show off the photos she'd taken of her climbing the Endless Stair, visiting the Market of Lights, and hiking up to the Crystal Falls. Getting back to the farm, it finally seemed as though things were returning to their new normal.
The next day, however, Cyd didn't leave her house. They chalked it up to a combination of jet lag and an eagerness to return to work charged with new inspiration. Certainly, the flashing light of her welding tools emanating from her garage late into the night supported that. But then this continued over the next few days. She'd waved at Jev as he walked past to go to the store, but when he came by to hang out afterwards, declined, saying she wanted to keep working. By the time the fourth day of Cyd's withdrawal rolled around, Jev was beginning to grow concerned. As the sun began to get low and the shadows lengthened, he looked out the kitchen window towards the werewolf's house.
"I don't get it. She seemed thrilled to see us all when she got back. But I think I talked more with her while she was on another continent than I have since she's come home."
Dione waved dismissively.
"Cyd can be like that sometimes. I wouldn't worry too much. She's deep in her head about something. Once she's worked it out, she'll be back to normal."
Jev grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from a pitcher in the fridge. He turned to Dione.
"It just makes me worry I've done something wrong, y'know?" He took a sip from the glass before continuing. "I don't even know if it's me, if it's Sam or, I dunno, Riva? Maybe she doesn't like that Riva's been hanging around more? You're her best friend, has she said anything to you?"
Dione sighed patiently.
"Not much. But have you noticed that Cyd's kinda like a wolf?"
Jev feigned a surprised look. Dione laughed but continued.
"I don't mean the fur or the claws. But you know if she felt Riva was encroaching on her territory she'd be trying to chase her away, not hiding, right? And why does a wolf hide?"
Jev frowned, trying to follow Dione's logic.
"I don't know... Because they're scared? What's a two-and-a-half metre werewolf got to be scared of? The vacuum cleaner?"
This drew a bark of laughter from Dione, but she recovered quickly to continue.
"She's only a wolf some of the time, Jev. She's also as human as you or I. Which means just like you or I, she's scared of lots of things. Things which don't just get scared off by turning into a two-and-a-half metre tall werewolf. And you know what scares almost everybody? Change."
Jev crossed the room to go sit at the table beside Dione. She took the opportunity to swap her chair for his lap. She gave him a little peck on the lips before leaning back against him and continuing.
"She'll work her way through it eventually. She always does. But if you want to help her through it, well, you're better equipped to do that than anyone. Because it's your relationship with her that she's hiding from, Jev. Not me, not Sam." Her voice softened and she rested a hand on his chest, "You can show her that she can rely on you as part of her pack, and she doesn't need to hide from you."
Jev rested his forehead against hers.
"You think it's that easy?"
Dione puffed out her chest proudly.
"Hey, if there's one thing I can claim to be an expert in, it's Cyd. I do have over a decade of practice, after all."
Jev exhaled, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her body against his. He loved the way she moulded against him, like their bodies were one piece, split apart and pulled back together. He brushed a strand of green hair out of her face, then simply stared into her mossy green eyes before pulling her in for a kiss. Their lips lingered together for a moment before they pulled away.
"You know I love you, right?"
Dione smiled.
"I know." She stroked the side of his face, the forest of stubble that had been there now long replaced with a full beard, "I've known for a while. It's nice to hear it out loud, though."
She kissed him again, following it with another, softer kiss, as if it were a period at the end of a sentence.
"I love you too." She grabbed his glass and demurely took a sip of the cool water, "Thanks for the drink. Now, go take care of your packmate, will you?"
Jev smiled, rising to his feet as she did the same. With one final kiss, he headed through the door to Cyd's neighbouring property.
As usual, the door stood open. No flashes of blue light lit the garage, but he grabbed the safety goggles by the door as he entered anyway.
"Cyd, you here?"
Her voice rose from behind the welding curtain.
"Yeah, c'mon over, it's safe."
Jev replaced the goggles on the hook and joined Cyd on the far side of the welding curtain. She was sitting cross-legged on a cupboard, staring at her latest piece of work as if trying to understand what she'd made.
