Fangs and Fur

Chapter 20 - Kirstie

A/N: So I just realized I haven't done an Avi chapter in a really long time, so the next chapter will be an Avi chapter. I love Avi and I need to represent him more!!

Enjoy! :)

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The night of November 4th:

Kirstie woke up at moonrise.

She'd noticed, last night, that Mitch had been acting really strangely. First, he'd disappeared right after the negotiations with the werewolves. Kirstie had been busy for nearly two hours giving orders to the clan and establishing border watch patrols, so she hadn't noticed Mitch's mysterious absence for a while. When she did, Kirstie searched for him. Then, when she finally found him, walking through the forest eating some sort of human food, she'd asked him where he got it and he shrugged her off, seemingly really happy about something.

Kirstie was determined to figure out what was going on.

Stretching, she climbed out of her hammock and went to stand outside the vampire cave. Once she saw Mitch, she planned on following him until she figured out what was up with him. Sure, she could probably just talk to him, but where was the fun in that?

After watching most of the clan leave the cave, Kirstie realized she must have missed Mitch. Just to be sure, she checked inside the cave, but there was no sign of him. Where could he have gone?

Time to play detective, Kirstie,  she thought to herself. Where was he when you last saw him? 

Last night he'd been walking away from the new border dividing the forest in half, eating an energy bar. An energy bar! That could only have come from his car. Why hadn't Kirstie made that connection last night?

Now that she knew where she was going, Kirstie ran through the trees, using a vampire's supernatural speed. When the car was visible ahead through the trees, she stopped.

Mitch was sitting on the roof of his car, legs folded underneath him. He was singing a song with that stunning voice of his.

But that wasn't why Kirstie stopped. Kirstie stopped because he wasn't alone.

Kirstie could tell from her nose that the tall man standing next to Mitch was a werewolf. Any vampire would recognize that particular smell. The werewolf had blonde hair and decent features. He was singing perfect harmony to Mitch, his eyes closed. He looked like a nice individual. But could he be trusted? He was a werewolf, after all.

Well, if Mitch trusted the werewolf standing next to him, who was Kirstie not to trust him? She walked cautiously forward until she was standing in a circle with the mystery man and Mitch. She waited for the werewolf to open his eyes before she spoke. "Hey y'all," she said, crossing her arms. She raised her eyebrows at Mitch and hoped he could explain this situation. "Care to introduce us?"

Mitch looked a bit guilty, like he hadn't planned on Kirstie finding him. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Kirstie, this is Scott. Scott, Kirstie. And Kirst, before you say anything, yes, he is a werewolf - "

"Have we met before?" Scott interrupted Mitch, squinting at Kirstie.

"Sorry?" Kirstie squinted back, confused. She was one hundred percent sure she'd never met Scott before in her life. She'd had a run-in with werewolves before, but that was many years ago, when she was a little kid. The older vampires in the clan had driven away a rogue werewolf, but it definitely hadn't been Scott.

"We haven't met, have we?" Scott repeated, still looking at Kirstie with a confused expression in his eyes.

Kirstie shook her head slightly. "Uh...no. I don't think so. Unless you're referring to last night, when I talked with your pack's leader."

"No, no...I was asleep during that meeting. I wouldn't recognize you from that. No..." Scott shook his head, smiling at his own cluelessness. "No, I don't know. You just look super familiar for some reason."

Mitch was looking back and forth between the two of them.

"We definitely haven't met before," Kirstie said firmly.

Scott muttered something under his breath. It sounded like "at least not in person." Kirstie didn't know what it meant, so she turned to Mitch.

"So, what are you guys doing on the border?"

Mitch grinned sheepishly. "Well, this is going to sound dumb, but I was giving Scott vocal lessons."

Kirstie smacked him lightly on the arm. "That's not dumb! Why didn't you invite me?"

Mitch shifted uncomfortably on the roof of Bae. "I assumed you'd be mad at me for hanging out with a werewolf. You are  the matriarch of the clan, and vampires and werewolves seem to be enemies."

Kirstie absorbed his words as she scrutinized Scott again. He looked trustworthy, but when the time came, Kirstie still planned to lead the vampires to drive out the werewolves. The werewolf pack stole the vampire's territory, and there would be unrest within the clan until it was taken back. At the same time, though, Kirstie didn't want to tell Mitch not to get attached. "How much do you trust Scott?" she asked him.

"With my life," said Mitch immediately.

"Whoa...haven't you only known him for, like, twenty-four hours?" Kirstie asked, laughing a bit.

"I don't know, I just feel like we were destined to meet," Scott said, jumping into the conversation.

"Destiny," said Mitch in a fake high-pitched voice, his eyes wide. Kirstie couldn't help laughing at his expression. Scott laughed too - a genuine, friendly laugh.

Maybe Kirstie would trust him. Even though part of her warned again not to get too attached...

"Kirstie, you should join the singing lessons," Scott said when they stopped laughing.

"Yeah!" Mitch agreed. "Okay - three part harmony, go!"

Scott sang the first note. Mitch joined in easily, harmonizing higher than Scott's note.

"Uh..." said Kirstie, not sure she could harmonize correctly. Mitch urged her on with a nod while he continued to hold his note.

Finally, Kirstie sang her note, perfectly completing the harmony.

At the beautiful chord, all three stopped singing and broke down into laughter again.

"That was amazing!" Scott said, holding up his hands for high-fives.

Kirstie couldn't keep the smile off her own face, but internally, she was worried. The threat of human police investigating Mitch's disappearance had almost - but not quite - been forgotten in light of the werewolves' arrival. And Kirstie doubted that the clan would be very happy about her kindness to Scott.

How long could this friendship really last?