03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
She finally decided to climb into his truck much to Harlands relief, he closed the door behind her not before just instinctively telling her to put her seat belt. The walk around to the driver side felt like the longest walk ever with so much on his mind: why didn't Sookie ever tell him? Was this why she left? What does Kenna really know and what doesn't she know? Could he be a Father? Where was she going to stay? He had the room of course, how will he just explain this to everyone in Stillwater?
Inside the truck Kenna would notice the truck was fairly clean save for last weeks and this weeks coffee cups that littered the floorboard and occupied the two cup holders. Harland still listens to cassettes, loads of change stashed everywhere with receipts, and hanging from his rear view mirror was a old arrow head (one from believe it or not was found by Sookie). The truck once Harland climbed in had to be primed to start (which Harland did by compressing and releasing the gas pedal a few times) but despite the many steps between the truck fired up with zero problems.
He cut the heat on for her and set off, they spent most of the ride in silence even the radio was just under a audible hear.
"..you said Sookie, your Mom, she got cancer? Is she-," he paused and grunted, turning down a road just a few miles north of the bar, "did she beat it?"
The inside of the truck was about what Kenna expected, nothing too surprising but she liked the feel of it. It felt someone kind of homey and comfortable and in spite of it not starting up as easy as a the turn of a key, it was pretty damn good in it's own way. She didn't know what to say so she said nothing, holding onto her backpack like it was a lifeline and chewing on her lip as she wondered what exactly her father would have to show her that was so important? Proof he couldn't be her father probably.
The question that came put knots in her stomach and tears to prick at her eyes. She stared ahead and slowly shook her head. "She died last week," she said, her voice catching at the end.
He wasn't ready for Kenna's answer his grip on the steering wheel tightened, Harland shifted gears a little to hard, and he grunted. The hurt in her voice wounded him, for all the gruff on the outside that everyone saw daily they missed the soft interior, he honestly didn't know what to say...
"I'm sorry," he grunted softly finally, "I ain't sure what to say during moments like this Kenna, you will uh learn to heal in time...on your time, when you're ready," he kept his eyes anywhere but on her, the excuse of watching the road of course, "your momma wa- she uh..when I knew her she was a little wallflower, the smoke alone hippie...the beauty to my beast," he cleared his throat to correct himself, "I wasn't a monster but I was wild as fire back then loyal to what I am...eh kinda wrapped up with work so to speak, she kept me grounded if that makes sense..." and once again he fell silent as old memories replayed in his head, the good and bad, and the ones where he was now trying to see the signs or hints if Sookie ever dropped them about...his eyes looked over at her finally...her....
The truth was there there was nothing Harland could have done. That none of this was fault. Sookie had made her choice to hide her pregnancy, to leave, and she didn’t give him any signs of what she was carrying when she did. There was no way for him to have known and so there was never a reason for Kenna to hold a grudge against the idea of an ‘absent father’. It didn’t fit the scenario.
Kenna never knew why her mother had left the way she did. Maybe Harland would have a better idea but Kenna wasn’t expecting that he would. For all Kenna knew, there had never been any contact between the two of them since Sookie had left. Maybe she was wrong. Only Harland would know that.
She also didn’t expect him to have all the right answers when she finally told him the news though she did crack a smile to imagine her mom as a free loving hippie type. It seemed to fit somehow even if Kenna never saw that part of her.
The rest of what he said was so vague though that she was left more confused. “Not really,” she admitted that it wasn’t really make sense to her what he was trying to say. “But don’t feel like you have to try to clarify. It’s okay if it’s too hard.” She was trying her best not to put too much on his shoulders. “And don’t worry, I don’t expect you to just take me in or something. I’m planning to go back home and out of your hair again soon.” It was a lie. She had no plans to return home, to foster care, she’d figure out where to go from here if she had to but she couldn’t just dump herself on his doorstep and expect he’d drop everything in his life to be her daddy. She wasn’t naive to think it would work that way.
It would all make sense and for the rest of the ride Harland fell silent. Eventually arriving to another backroad and then a dead end dirt road where a old run down cabin sat, it was one of the packs meeting spots during a forced change. He left the truck running, "I know you want answers and a lot of what I can tell you won't make sense, you wouldn't believe me so I got to show you," he opened his door, "Just uh, sit here for now...it might scare you but, I would never hurt you."
Climbing out of the cab of his truck Harland took a second to remove his boots he grabbed a backpack stashed behind his sea before closing the door. Tossing the pack down Harland removed hi coat and walked to the front of the truck, looking one last time at Kenna...
The change didn't hurt much anymore but that first call to the beast within rippled across the bones and a small deep holler of pain escaped Harland as he doubled over. His clothes ripped and he dropped down to all fours something between a howl and a yell escaped Harland. He would change into his werewolf form a little quicker than a first timer. He was larger than any dog or wolf Kenna had ever seen..but here it was...the secret that Sookie knew and for most reasons now that Harland could speculate were why she never told him about Kenna..why she maybe left....why she might have told Kenna about him now...the werewolf looked back at the truck...
This was getting weirder and weirder and Kenna had to admit that her kidnap and murder scenario was seeming more of a possibility. It might scare her? He didn't want to hurt her? And was he taking off random articles of clothing now.
Kenna sat in the cab, staring at him with a confused and worried expression, having zero idea what she should be expecting at this point. When he body suddenly started to grotesquely misshape itself she let out a scream, covering her mouth and pressing herself flat against the seat as if she could get further back if she pushed hard enough.
With wide eyes she stared at the monster, hands clapped tightly over her mouth in horror. When it turned to look back at her she felt her body get suddenly cold in shock and fear. Her breathing quickened with panicked panting cries before scrambling to first her door and then trying to get to Harland's to push down the lock.
Harland in his wolf form heard Kenna scream, his black ears turning like sensitive radar dishes. He moved toward the passenger side slowly showing not really a submissive side but he was offering her the peace of mind that he could be trusted by keeping his head low, tail tucked, and he sat outside of her door. A low growl that rolled into a yawn of sorts before he stretched laying on the ground...
Tears of fear welled up in her eyes as she stared at the wolf but he never did anything that looked threatening besides moving closer to her. Her lip trembled as her body shook, her heart racing. It took some time for her to calm down and to remember that this was more than just a monster of a wolf but that she had seen Harland, the man she’d been told was her father, turn into the thing.
It was a good five to ten minutes until she finally got the nerve to open the door, very slowly, as the wolf hadn’t move from its laying down position.
Her cheeks were red with emotion as she carefully stepped out, very wary. “Hello?” She spoke to it tentatively. “Can you understand me?” She asked.
The Wolf sat patiently on the ground its eyes and head the only thing moving, the scariest part Harland thought was over but then again it wasn't every day someone watched a man turn into what he currently was. He wanted her to not be afraid of him first so when he changed back Harland could fill in the rest, the rest that he had kinda had time to put together on the drive over.
When she began to exit the truck the wolf that was Harland still remained on the ground crossing his ĺarge paws, kind of nodding to her question as he let out the cross of a grunt and growl lowering his head for her hoping she'd figure out she could touch him.
She took slow, steadying breaths as she watched the wolf. When it acknowledged her question it was at least confirmation that he hadn't just turned into some wild beast that had no control. She took very cautious steps towards the animal and finally crouched down at it's side, not wanting to be directly in front of it's face...and teeth.
She didn't know what else to say so she didn't try to ask more questions but after a long moment she tentatively reached out to run her fingers over it's fur near his neck and shoulders.
The Wolf let out a soft whimper at her touch leaning into it to let her know he was comfortable, she was being cautious and that was smart. After a few moments the wolf stood and pattered off biting up the backpack before disappearing into the tree line.
It was Harland the man that came walking back out buttoning up his fresh red flannel, "Showing you what I did is going to make it easier to explain a little bit about me...about you," he'd lean against the truck watching her, "It's safe to say you haven't experienced the change and with Sookie telling you about me that just says you're really my kid and you could be like me...a werewolf."
Kenna wasn't sure what to do at first when the wolf walked away, wondering if it maybe wanted her to follow it or something, but there was no real indication of that so instead she stood by the truck, leaning against the hood and chewing on her fingernails, lost in thought.
Soon enough Harland had returned and looked up at him, caution and curiosity in her gaze. Her lips parted as if to reply but found no words. Her? A werewolf? She had only just learned by actual evidence in front of her eyes that werewolves were even real. No way she was one.
"Me? I- I can't be...that...can I?" She felt confused and scared but was trying to put on a brave face. This was the last thing she'd expected when she came to find her birth father.
last edited Jan 14, 2024 3:16:44 GMT by Kenna Shaw
"It's a lot I know," Harland was trying to be sensitive to the situation because who the hell would expect their maybe Dad to be what Harland was? Nobody, yet the world was bigger and nastier than the mundane could even grasp!
"Truth is, if you are mind Kenna then this is the reality of it and you gotta be ready...we'll be ready," he sighed and pulled out a cell phone from the pants pocket (a flip phone) and punched a few numbers, "...give me a second?"
Placing the phone up to his ear he let the line ring and then, "Hey, Gem, listen uh...can you come to the old cabin? ...yeah..yeah..no, everything's fine I got a situation and I need you..yeah see you soon,"'I love you' were the words that came to mind like so many other times yet he just closed the phone and turned back to Kenna, "Want to head inside? I want you to meet someone from...the pack..."
To say that this was a lot was an understatement. To an adult it would still be a lot but to a young, relatively naive 16 year old girl, this was really a lot to handle and given everything else she was dealing with at the moment...like her mom's death and quite literally running away from being put into some kind of foster care situation, ya, she was overwhelmed.
"The pack? Pack of what?" Cards? Her mind couldn't even get to the logic that wolves typically roamed in packs and thus it made sense that werewolves might be the same.
Gemma’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of Harland’s name on her phone. She pulled her headphones off from whatever audiobook she was enjoying and answered the phone. “Hey you, what’s up?” The old cabin? She found herself practically jumping up in concern as she began to stammer responses asking if he was okay, if everything was alright, was something wrong. All met with answers that at least calmed her enough to know she had time to get there. “I’ll be right there.” Her tone still sounding concerned, but she trusted him. If he said everything was fine, it was.
Five minutes later she was wearing some dark wash jeans, black boots, some slightly over sized belt buckle barely visible under the edges of her light grey and white flannel shirt that was tucked into her jeans, blonde hair slightly messy as she grabbed her car keys and hopped into the jeep. It might seem ridiculous, but there wasn’t a time where Gemma would ever not show up when he called needing her. He was her oldest and dearest friend… friend that she couldn’t help but see and fight the butterflies that took over in her stomach, or the blush that would sneak into her cheeks whenever he called her one of his little nicknames for her. She tried not to think about those things too much, but damn was it hard when she was around him.
It would take her at least another ten minutes before her jeep would be visible coming up the drive.