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"These are my friends,
these are my friends
I love them,
I love them."
These Are My Friends - Lovelytheband
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V.
\\ FRIENDS AND FOES //
The next day at school, Aden felt very tired, which was odd since the full moon was a couple days ago and usually the power of it charged her for at least a week after. But still she managed to drag along throughout the day, even though she had a hard time concentrating in class, but eventually, lunch time came around and Maddy and Aden made their way to the canteen.
On the way in, they saw Rhydian standing in line for food, and Maddy gestured to Aden that they should walk over so that for one, Maddy could apologize to him for yelling at him about taking Shan's memory card, and two, most dreadfully, they could invite him over for dinner tonight so Emma and Daniel could officially meet him.
"Hi," Maddy greeted as they walked up to Rhydian.
But Rhydian didn't turn around, focused on the front of the line seemingly, "What?"
Maddy sighed, almost looking like she was going to back out of apologizing to him, but Aden elbowed her in the side and gave her a look that told her she needed to get over her pride and do it. Maddy leaned towards the alpha female, she she could be stubborn at times, but it also made her strong.
"Look, I'm really sorry about the memory card." Maddy apologized, "You were have right to have taken it."
Rhydian nodded, "Yeah, totally."
Maddy looked at Aden weirdly, not expecting it to go as smoothly as that, but she just shrugged as she looked back at Rhydian.
"Can you come for dinner tonight? Maddy's parents they want to talk to you, Madds, and I about...wolfing out safely." Aden cringed to herself at that last part, "I know it's really embarrassing but um, we should just get it out of the way."
"Out of the way, yeah." He agreed, but it didn't seem like he was fully aware of what they were telling him.
Maddy gave her another look, noticing Rhydian's weird demeanor and Aden just shrugged again.
"Don't look at me," Aden shook her head, "I have no idea."
So Maddy looked back to Rhydian, raising an eyebrow up at him, "And when you change, me and mom are going to braid your hair...
Aden chuckled to herself but he didn't seem to notice that at all, let alone what Maddy had just said.
"With ribbons..." Maddy continued, "And take pictures..."
Rhydian turned around, smiling and nodding his head at us, "Cool."
She sighed in annoyance, "You're not even listening to us are ya?"
Aden chuckled as she looked at Maddy, "I mean, that has become very clear."
"Sorry," Rhydian apologized, "Do you know what's on the menu?"
Weird question, but she nodded as she recalled the weekly menu for our school.
"Wednesday is veggie day." Aden told him, "Why?"
Rhydian said nothing but sighed in frustration. It was then, she realized what was going on and Maddy and she gave each other the same knowing look.
"Meat." Maddy and Aden said together.
Immediately, Rhydian's head snapped over to them, "Where?"
Yep, that certainly explains things. Aden thought to herself.
Maddy and she chuckled at his instant reaction and she spoke knowingly, "You got cravings."
"It's not funny. They're vegetarians." Rhydian frowned, "My foster parents. They're vegetarians."
Aden looked at Rhydian sympathetically. Wolfbloods needed a diet that included meat, their wolf sides craved it. Especially the closer to full moons it got. If there was nothing in his foster home's house but vegetarian, it was no wonder he was craving.
"Well, tonight's hog roast night." Maddy smirked at him, "Where you get a whole pig with all the trimmings."
Rhydian's face perked up, "A whole pig?"
Aden nodded, "Fancy it?"
"Yeah, alright." Rhydian agreed.
He then looked back at the lunch servers putting the food on the kid's trays in front of him and he frowned.
"I can't look at another vegetable." He groaned.
Maddy chuckled, stepping around him and getting in line to get her food and Aden looked at him, letting out a sympathetic sigh, "You're lucky I packed my lunch today."
He looked at her as if he wasn't sure what she meant.
So, Aden grabbed his arm, "Come on."
She led him over to the table she had set her stuff down at and sat him next to her. He watched as she went through her bag and pulled out her brown paper lunch bag. Aden opened it up, took out the plastic bag of turkey legs she'd packed from last night's left overs and handed it to Rhydian.
He looked down at it in his hands and back up to her, "I don't want to take your lunch, Ade."
"It's okay, Rhydian, eat. I had a big breakfast this morning and I packed other things to eat too, so I'm fine." She nudged him, "You on the other hand don't look so good."
He gave her a grateful smile and nodded, "Thank you, Aden."
She smiled as she took a bite of her apple slices and eventually, Maddy, Tom, and Shannon joined them as they all ate and talked about anything and everything that came to mind.
☽ ☽ ☽
After lunch, Aden decided to catch up with Shannon considering everyone had been giving her a hard time about the Beast of the Moors since yesterday. So Aden just wanted to see if she was doing okay and chat for a little while.
"Hey Shan!" She called after her, "Wait up!"
Shan stopped in her trail and looked back, smiling when she saw her, "Oh, hey, Aden."
Aden caught up to her, joining her at her side as they walked through the halls together.
"How's your day been?" She asked her carefully.
"Well, people are still makin' fun of me, but I've just been ignoring them. Nothing I can't handle." She assured, "How about you?"
She nodded, knowing Shannon was tough. She never let something get her down for very long. So Aden was glad that she was keeping her chin up through this and not letting it get to her.
"I've been alright, a little tired." Aden told her, then chuckled, "Maths kicked my ass today."
"Well, if you need help with anything, let me know."
Aden nodded, smiling, "Thanks Shan, I will."
Shan then looked at her, recalling, "Maddy said you had dinner with your parents tonight?"
Aden had almost managed to forget about that. Inwardly, she was dreading the embarrassment of this dinner...but at least they could meet Rhydian and he can know he can turn to them if he needs anything.
"Yeah, they've been planning it for a while now." Aden told her, "It's been a good amount of time since we last sat down and had dinner as a family."
Shannon nodded as they walked through the doors to the courtyard but as soon as they did, she stopped, her eyes fixated on something in front of them.
Following her hurt gaze, Aden saw posters hanging on the wall, the pictures Shannon had put up, but they had been edited. Shan walked up to one of them and tore it off the wall. Aden looked down at it, seeing that someone had put Shannon's face on the body of the creature she captured and wrote a caption that said "The Real Beast of Stoneybridge".
"Are you frightened?"
Aden's head snapped up to see Jimi, his friends, and the K's gathered around looking at one of the posters and laughing.
"It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life!" Jimi remarked with a mocking laugh.
Growling, Aden balled up the poster in her hand and looked up at Jimi, feeling her anger starting to course inside her. Of course he was the one behind it.
"Aden," Shan tried to grab her arm knowingly, "Don't."
But Aden broke out of her grip, and she marched right over to where the group was standing. She parted two of them out of her way and went straight up to Jimi.
"Oh, hey, Aden." Jimi laughed, "Surprised to find out your friend is the real beast of—"
But Jimi never finished that sentence because Aden punched him square in the nose. He fell to the ground, immediately putting his hand over his nose because of the blood coming from it.
The crowd around Aden went quiet as Jimi looked up at her with wide eyes.
"Are you mental?!" He yelled at her.
She just stood there, looking down on him and challenging him to mess with Shannon some more.
"What on earth is going on out here?!" She heard Jeffries approach them from behind.
Turning around Aden saw him stop where he stood when he saw Jimi on the ground, blood covering his nose and hand.
"She just went for me, sir." Jimi told him.
"He's lucky I didn't hit him hard enough to break it." Aden growled, "He was bullying Shannon and put up all these posters of her around school. He's been—"
"-Enough!" Jeffries yelled, cutting her off, then pointed at Jimi and Aden, "Detention for the both of you!"
Aden looked at Jeffries, who was looking at her sternly, then at Jimi, who was still holding his nose, in noticeable pain.
"Eh," She shrugged her shoulders, "It was worth it."
Grudgingly, Aden followed behind Jeffries so he could check her and Jimi into detention right after next period.
Maybe punching Jimi probably wasn't one of her finest moments...but seeing Shan so hurt, especially after yesterday...Aden had just had enough.
At least Aden just had to get through detention and then she needed to hurry home to help set up an awkward dinner for Rhydian and her foster parents.
☽ ☽ ☽
Emma and Daniel were not happy with me when Aden got home. While she'd been in detention, Jeffries called them and told them about her punching another student. And although they didn't disagree that Jimi deserved it, they were mad that Aden risked herself losing control. Even though she knew how to control her wolf self, even in anger, they were still right. She needed to be careful and not risk it.
So Aden got a lecture and as punishment, she had to do all the dishes after dinner.
"Madeline, save some for Rhydian." Emma scolded.
Aden looked up from setting up the table to see Maddy eating a piece of the ham that had been cooked and placed on the table.
"Mum, I think he'll survive." Maddy rolled her eyes.
"Hey, your mother's gone through a lot of trouble getting the dinner prepared." Daniel said, raising on of the steaks he was cooking in the air, "The steaks are high."
Maddy and Aden both grimaced at his horrible joke...and suddenly Aden was having second thoughts on the greatness of the idea of inviting Rhydian over.
"Stop it you silly sausage." Maddy's mom joined in, laughing.
Ohhh no, pleaseeeee, for the love of all that is good in this world...can we not go there? Aden begged internally.
"No, seriously, you two better stop that." Maddy groaned.
Aden nodded in agreement, "Please."
But Daniel just laughed, "Hey, I ham stopping."
"Alright, that's it, we're calling him." Maddy said, "He's not coming-"
Right as Maddy said that, there was a knock at the door, letting them know that he was already there. Aden sighed to herself, knowing there was no way of getting out of this.
"Oh, that'll be him." Daniel said, hurrying towards the door.
Maddy and Aden gave each other a look before following behind Daniel. They watched as he opened the door and sure enough, there stood Rhydian with a nervous smile on his face.
"Rhydian, I'm Daniel." He introduced, "Come on in."
Alright...so far so good. Aden thought to herself.
She let out a calming breath as Rhydian stepped in and Daniel closed the door behind him. Aden started to think that the dinner wouldn't be so bad after all...
"Pleased to, uh," Daniel gestured to the plate in his hand, "Meat ya."
Annddddd...there it goes. Aden grimaced at his joke again, covering her face with her hand in embarrassment.
Maddy looked equally embarrassed beside her.
This was going to be a long dinner for sure.
Luckily though, the jokes seemed to stop by the time they all sat down for dinner. They all gathered at the table and started eating. At first it was quiet, but after they started eating, it became very obvious that Rhydian was very hungry. He was practically shoving the food down his throat.
"Help yourself, mate." Daniel smiled slightly, "Have as much as you like."
Rhydian nodded, seemingly thankful for all the food that had been prepared. Aden took a small bite of the ham and watched as Rhydian's face changed into a look of curiosity.
"It's gotta be cool having a family you can be yourself around." He suddenly said.
Aden didn't know what she was expecting for him to say...but it wasn't that. It made her really stop and think about how lucky she was that she found a family that was as great as the one she had right in front of her.
"Well, you're more than welcome anytime you want." Emma smiled, "And if you got any questions about anything, just ask."
Rhydian thought for a moment, and then it seemed like he eventually decided on a question.
"On the full moon, do you change in the house, in here?" He asked.
But Daniel shook his head, "No, we got a secure room in the cellar."
Rhydian raised a curious eyebrow up, "In the cellar?"
☽ ☽ ☽
"You like it?"
They all gathered in the cellar and Aden was watching as Rhydian looked around. From what she could tell, he was curious...but she could see it in his eyes the idea of spending full moons in the cellar wasn't too appealing to him.
"We call it the den." Emma told him, "We got everything a wolf desires, and it's safe for us, and, well, for everyone else. It's all about responsibility."
"But don't you ever just want to run free?" Rhydian asked, "Isn't that what being a Wolfblood is all about?"
Aden couldn't blame Rhydian for feeling confused about that. When she first came to Stoneybridge from living out in the wild, it took a while for her to figure out that being a Wolfblood wasn't just about giving into her animal side...but finding the strength in finding control, and finding a balance between being a wolf and being human.
"Well, no," Emma said, "Being a Wolfblood is not just about giving into our primal desires...it's about being a responsible part of a wider community."
"Yeah, we got a rich heritage and culture." Daniel said excitedly, "And we got books here that you wont find in the school library. It's true that Rome was founded by the Wolfbloods, Romulus and Remus. And Genghis Khan's tribe weren't called the wolves for nothing. Aden knows all about this, she read every book that has to do with Wolfblood history."
Rhydian looked at Aden curiously but she just shrugged her shoulders. She had read all of them because she loved reading and wanted to know more about who she was and where Wolfbloods came from. It helped her to get a better idea of who she was when she was struggling with her identity when she first arrived.
"Yeah but most of us agree that it's better to tame our instincts." Emma reminded Daniel.
"Most of us?" Maddy spoke up suddenly.
Aden stiffened a little, realizing that Emma had slipped up. She didn't want Maddy to know about it just yet, Aden knew that. But it appeared Emma was going to have to explain sooner than she thought she would.
"Yeah, I just meant-"
"No, you said, most of us." Maddy wasn't having it, "You always taught Aden and I that we kept ourselves locked away."
Daniel sighed as he looked to his wife, "Maybe we should-"
"She's not old enough." Emma cut him off.
Emma hoped that that would end the conversation...but, of course, it was Maddy, and Aden knew she wasn't going to let it go.
"Old enough for what?" Maddy asked, proving her right.
Emma and Daniel were quiet, unsure of where to even start. Aden wanted to speak up but she wasn't sure if it was her place to say anything so she just stayed silent and let it play out.
However, it was actually Rhydian who spoke up and broke the silence, "There are other Wolfbloods that don't lock themselves away, aren't there?"
Yeahhh he got it right on the nose. Aden thought to herself.
Maddy's eyes widened at the new information and looked at her parents, "Is that true?"
"We were going to tell you after your first transformation," Emma told her.
"We didn't want to scare you." Daniel added.
But she looked at her parents, "Scare us?"
"There are other Wolfbloods who, well...they don't exactly share the same values as us." Her mom told her.
"Wild Wolfbloods." Aden clarified.
"Wait-" Maddy looked at her, "You knew about them too? And didn't tell me?"
"Your parents asked me not to, Maddy. And at the time, I agreed with them that it was better if you didn't know." Aden told her, "Mads, my old pack, they didn't live like you and your parents do. They were wild Wolfbloods. I was one before you guys found me. I know what they are like. They hate humans and Wolfbloods like us. They're very dangerous."
Maddy then looked at Rhydian, "It really wasn't you in that photo."
Rhydian nodded, "I told you it wasn't."
Maddy's eyes suddenly widened, "Shannon and Tom are out there!"
Aden's lips parted, "What?!"
She chased after Maddy and Rhydian as they headed for the stairs.
"What's wrong?" Daniel called after them.
Maddy went to her backpack and started fishing through it until she pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper. Aden's lips parted as she recognized it to be the picture Shannon took in the woods.
Aden cursed to herself, not having realized it until that very moment. She knew it wasn't Rhydian in that picture...but she never stopped to think that if it wasn't him...it had to be another Wolfblood.
"Look, Shannon took it the other day!" Maddy said, "I thought it was Rhydian, because I didn't know about wild Wolfbloods."
Aden raked her fingers through her hair, "I'm so stupid...I should have realized it was a wild Wolfblood. I can't believe I didn't piece it together...and now Tom and Shan are in danger!"
"It's not your fault, Aden. There hasn't been a wild Wolfblood in our territory since you arrived here." Emma said, then turned to Rhydian and Maddy, "Where did they go?"
"To the woods, here." Rhydian pointed to the picture.
"Yeah, but where? Where is here?" Daniel asked him.
"I-I can't explain but I can find it."
"No," Emma shook her head, "You three stay here."
Maddy shook her head, "We're coming with ya. It's me friends out there."
"You'll be staying right here." Emma said sternly, "If there's a wild Wolfblood out there, we'll sniff it out."
And with that, she and Daniel grabbed their coats and keys and raced out the door, leaving the three of them standing there.
Aden looked to Maddy and Rhydian, wondering if they were thinking the same thing she was thinking. She couldn't just sit around while Tom and Shan were out there with a wild Wolfblood roaming about the Moors.
"We're going after them, right?" Aden looked to them.
Rhydian looked to both her and Maddy, waiting for them to make a decision when Maddy finally nodded.
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"They're pretty good company
They cheer me up when I feel bad."