Meghan's Bedroom

[Meghan]

Continued from: Hallways

Meghan bounded into her room like a whirlwind, spinning rapidly round to face her open door. In a direct contrast to her energetic and speedy movements of only a few seconds previously, she carefully closed the door, making sure it clicked shut correctly but also that there was very little sound as she went. Just because she was still feeling the effects of the moon, making her even more energetic than normal didn’t mean everyone else was and at this time of night most were probably sleeping.

She moved over to her collection of hair dyes and other accessories, passing by countless representations of elephants as she went. It was crunch time, in determineing what she was going to do with her hair. “To colour or not to colour…” Meghan asked herself, picking up one of the bottles and staring at it.

[Meghan]

The power switch was flipped to on, Meghan humming cheerfully under her breath as she waited for her curling irons to heat up. She had decided, after some intense studying of the colour range she owned that there was nothing that really leapt out at her. No shade that caught her fancy tonight and while she could just sleep on it and see how she felt in the morning, Meghan wasn’t really that type of person. Impulsive summed up her up perfectly.

Meghan tapped out the tune she was humming with her fingers as she waited for the irons to heat hot enough to actually use. She wanted tight curls, real ones that would last longer than a night or two and that meant careful, painstaking twists. Meghan flashed her reflection a bright grin, mentally waving goodbye to her straight and flat hair.

[Meghan]

Post-Skip

Meghan beamed brightly at her reflecting, running a few fingers through her curled hair as she did so. She was pleased with the way it had retained all the tight curls despite a night of sleeping on it. Cheerfully she began to pull on a pair of black and purple striped fingerless gloves, adding a selection of bangles and bracelets to each arm once they were on.

It felt like an indie day, Meghan had decided, the night’s sleep making her feel fresh and invigorated. Mornings were fun. Of course, so were afternoons and evenings. She grabbed a mini sarong that was patterned in shades of dark blues and purples, tying it around her jeans at the waist, a final addition to her outfit. It matched well with her dark purple t-shirt.

“My ship sailed from China with a cargo of tea, all laden with presents for you and for me. They gave me a fan, just imagine my bliss, when I found myself going like this, like this, like this…” Still singing softly, Meghan spun in a loose circle and waved her hand backwards and forwards as the song suggested. The young woman skipped to the doorway, her immediate plans final in her mind.

She was going to track Cole down and hug him like he had never been hugged before. She would try the courtyard first.

Continued in: The Courtyard

[Meghan]

POST TIMSKIP

The day had spent rearranging her elephants on the desk, trying to get a design that pleased her, happily loosing herself in the ornaments, even acting out a couple of scenes with them. They were still trying to elect a new leader now that Tusks had moved on and it was a long and tricky process, with different elephants claiming different reasons as to why they should be among the elite, the favoured ones. It had been a while since she’d gotten a new one as well and Meghan was worried her statues were going to get stagnate left without new growth.

That had then led into the sudden urge to sort out her clothes, the desire vanishing just as quickly as it had come, Meghan opting instead to half flop inside her wardrobe, letting the clothing tumble over her. Perhaps if she left them in a mess then the urge to sort them properly would return. Sitting there in the near dark, pink shirt over her head, Meghan couldn’t help but think her plan had failed miserably.

Out of failed plans came new and improved ones, the pale pinkish light filling her eyes. There had to be something better to do than this and as she pulled her top off her hair, ruffling the already messy hair, her eyes fell on the elephants staring back at her. That was what she was going to do. She was going to visit Tusks – and Drake.

Continued in: Drake’s Bedroom

[Meghan]

POST TIMESKIP

She was stretched out on the bed, a lazy, satisfied stretch, feeling her bones pop and crack as she did, and it was amazing how good it felt to break your body like this, the way in which there was such pleasure and release when you relaxed to free all the aches and tense bones and muscles.

Beside her, the grey and silver cat stretched as well, copying his mistress and bringing a delighted little giggle to Meghan. Ever since she had come across the cat cowering just outside the hotel a week and a half ago, it had followed her almost everywhere, the pair instantly falling in love and to all intents and purposes, adopting each other. Meghan knew the way of the cat, knew it walked alone, was proud and that the cat chose its owners not the other way round. To earn the approval of a feline therefore, was something to be treasured, and Meghan treasured it accordingly, reaching out to lightly stroke down the silver spine. Another soft giggle rose up as the cat - Samhain - rose in reaction, back arched in pleasure and begging with his body for more.

Quiet and peaceful was not how Meghan normally spent her evenings, but she had already tracked down Cole today for his daily hug and happy greeting. She had already spent some time with some of her friends and while there were plenty within the pack she hadn't seen today and wanted to, the effort required to actually leave her room was just too much right now. Absently, Meghan carried on petting her new cat with one hand, lazily flicking through her book with her other.

[Drake]

While Samhain seemed to have taken quickly to Meghan, Drake was finding it difficult to figure out if the cat liked him or not. Usually, the animal just stared at him, watchful, though not quite reproachful. He had been allowed to stroke the cat’s back a couple of times, but never for more than a few moments before the creature went back to Meghan, seeking her company over his. It wasn’t Drake could blame the cat- Samhain had clearly claimed Meghan as his and he was beginning to suspect the cat attempted to monopolize her attention whenever possible. It was, in all actuality, rather amusing, watching the cat try to draw all of her attention to himself while she was attempting to speak with someone or trying to do something that wasn’t lavish him with attention. It had been especially amusing when Samhain had, one night, sprawled himself across Drake’s lap in the tv lounge when he had apparently felt like Meghan wasn’t giving him his due amount of attention. He had stayed there the rest of the night, letting Drake pet him, almost as if he was trying to teach Meghan a lesson.

Having gotten bored of reading a book he had taken from the pack library in an attempt to amuse himself, Drake had put it aside and decided to wander the halls a bit, hoping to find something a bit more interesting to do. He had caught his reflection a couple of times and he still couldn’t help but shake his head a bit over the fact that he had let Meghan give him highlights. He had finally gotten used to them and, honestly, they didn’t look all that bad now that he didn’t get a shock every time he saw himself in a mirror. He even thought that he might keep it up for a while, just because it was something different and certainly more interesting that what he looked like without them.

Stopping at Meghan’s door, Drake hesitated for a moment. He didn’t know if she’d rather be left alone or not, but he supposed that if she did, he could always leave and head to the lounge or kitchen in order to see what was going on there. Knocking, he couldn’t help but wonder what sort of reception he’d end up getting from Samhain. The cat was just as likely to ignore him as he was to greet him.

[Meghan]

Meghan liked reading – really she did, it was enjoyable, books opened so many new worlds to her, showed her things she could have never dreamed of, took her to far away lands, deep into the mist of time. It showed her how things had been, were, could be, fantasy and fact. Some made her giggle, all the novels on werewolves, humans having discovered a taste for them, a craze for supernatural in general. She wasn’t so sure about the vampire craze, trying to turn them into romantic heroes and books where vampires were the main characters were generally avoided. Werewolf books though. Oh they, were funny if you were in the right mood for them, but right now, she wasn’t, not really. It was a good enough story in her hands, good enough plot, characters, plenty of wolves and heroic characters, plenty of dashing men and sighing girls and yes, maybe Meghan liked trashy romance novels more than she liked to admit.

It was just impossible to really focus on the story, the sound of a knock drawing her eyes up and away. Carefully, she placed her bookmark in the right page, closing the book and sliding it under her pillow; she loved each and every member of the pack, of her family but there were some who just really didn’t need to know what she was ready. Bright smile appeared on Meghan’s face as the familiar scent of Drake drifted through to her. She hoped he still had his highlights in, he was cute no matter how he did his hair, but it had… made her smile with real happiness to know he trusted her to play with it, to change it and it suited him. “Come in,” Meghan called out lightly, bouncing a little at the thought of Drake coming to see her.

Samhain climbed to his four feet, stretching slowly, taking his time. Every movement seemed drawn out almost, as if the cat was doing it on purpose. He yawned as the door opened, sharp teeth exposed to the male wolf, a large yawn that seemed to swallow most of Samhain’s face. He stood for a few seconds, watching Drake before very slowly turning and curling back down next to Meghan, apparently deciding that a rest was in order after all the energy used in standing and yawning.

[Drake]

Sometimes, reading was all a day seemed to call for. There were some days that just demanding he be lazy and lounge around with a book, a desire he usually gave in to when it came around. He saw no reason not to, especially since it was such a rare thing for him. Normally, when he read, it was throughout the day, reading a bit here and there while doing other things in between. He had never seen anything wrong with spending a day curled up with a book, no matter what sort of book it actually was. There was nothing wrong with a trashy novel every once in a while, though he couldn't imagine himself actually picking up one and managing to make it all the way through.

It was, in the long run, a good thing that Drake was unable to read minds. Had he known that Meghan thought he was cute in any sense of the word, he probably would have turned into a complete and total idiot around her. It was the way of the world, cruel in that way and totally unfair. There was always the possibility that he would surprise himself, but there was never any guarantee of that.

When he heard Meghan called for him to enter, he opened the door and stepped inside, watching the cat yawn and settled in on the bed. "He doesn't seem very thrilled to see me," Drake couldn't help but comment. "I take it I'm just not interesting enough to him in the long run." He gave a little shrug. Cats would be cats. "What are you up to? Am I interrupting anything?"

[Meghan]

Everyone, as far as Meghan was concerned, needed a couple of innocent, guilty pleasures, something that they might be a little bit ashamed about at time, might make them blush a little but something that they loved nevertheless. Something that wasn’t really evil or nasty or even truly embarrassing; Meghan was pretty sure if she stopped to actually think about it, she would have a long list of her own such guilty pleasures, including her love for trashy romance novels. Clearly, at some point she was going to have to introduce Drake to the pleasure of the trashy romance, of all the over the top characters and plots that made no sense if you allowed yourself to think too deeply about them – the trick therefore, was not to do that, but simply enjoy the story as it unfolded.

He was cute. Another simple fact that Meghan felt was simply part of the way the world worked. With his bashful smiles and the way his hair stuck up all over the place but still managed to somehow look controlled, down to his manner, always willing to please, always happy and always more than willing to go along with some of the crazier ideas that Meghan had.

The grin only grew when he finally entered, eyes flickering to the cat for a moment before Meghan shrugged lightly, reaching out to give Samhain a little tickle behind his ear, the cat leaning subtly into the touch. “You’re not anybody until you’ve been shunned by a cat, everyone knows that,” she told him with that same bright grin, hand pulling away from the cat to motion him forward. “Nothing much, me and kitty are just getting in some quality sitting.”

[Drake]

Drake supposed that, if he had a guilty pleasure, it was what was known as creepy pastas. The weird stories were entertaining and some were actually quite strange, the rare one sending a little shiver down his spine. He especially liked to read them at night when the only light in the room was from the computer screen, just because it seemed to make them even scarier, sometimes to the point where he dreaded shutting off the computer and plunging himself into darkness, just because he knew his imagination would get overactive in the darkness and he would scare himself. It was silly, he knew, but it was fun in its way, too. He certainly wasn’t going to admit that some of the stories were so creepy he half wanted to sleep with the light on when he was finished reading them for the night.

Pretty girls had always had always seemed to talk him into things that he never would have done on his own and Meghan was more capable of doing exactly that than anyone he had met in a good long while. He enjoyed getting rewarded with her lovely, happy smiles when he agreed to something that she wanted to do and he honestly admired her for coming up with some of the things she did. Meghan had always struck him as knowing exactly who she was and enjoyed showing it off to everyone else, something that Drake adored about her. Being around her made him happy. It was as simple as that.

He nodded at her comment about being shunned by a cat even as he moved forward at her motion to do so. Perhaps she was right. It certainly felt better to think she was than to think that Samhain simply didn’t like him unless the cat was trying to get back at Meghan for a perceived slight. “Everyone should get in some quality sitting time when they have the chance. It’s a good way to spend some time.”

[Meghan]

That was the point of a guilty pleasure, something that didn’t make too much sense, that might seem odd or embarrassing if someone else learnt about them but you found yourself going back to it time and time again. So long as it was a harmless pleasure, then Meghan didn’t see anything wrong in that. If you enjoyed it, if it made you happy or excited or made your heart pound in fear – the good kind of fear, the one that made you breathless, the one you liked to create again and again – then there was certainly nothing to be truly ashamed about, nothing to hide. She hadn’t heard of creepy pasta before, but if Drake ever spoke of it, then Meghan would be eager to learn. It was always fascinating to learn something new, to learn something new about someone else as well, and to gain a further insight in them. It would make her happy.

So would learning that Drake thought she was pretty, it would make Meghan blush a little, bright and pleased smile on her face. She normally didn’t consider herself overly pretty, not really, not compared with the rest of the pack. There were so many beautiful females in the hotel, stunning woman that could take your breath away by a single glance and it was hard to believe yourself to that degree, that you might be worth a second glance. It was okay though, she didn’t need to have other people compliment her like that, although to hear it from Drake would have been the best.

The grin on Meghan’s face grew even brighter as Drake sat down next to them, Samhain lifting his head to look at the other wolf for a moment before very slowly, deliberately, stretching, his hind legs just bumping up against Drake’s leg, gently touching. To her it was clear that the cat was making a point, was laying his own sort of cat claim on Drake, saying he was allowed to be here. “What have you been up to today then Drakey?”

[Drake]

Drake had discovered the wonder that was creepy pasta completely by accident one sleepless night while he had been surfing around on the internet, looking for something that would keep his attention while he waited to get tired enough to go to bed. Some, he had quickly discovered, were actually fairly silly and left him simply shaking his head rather than afraid to face the darkened room. Others, though, had sent a chill down his spine and given him the temptation to turn on the light in order to chase away the dark. That had made him laugh at himself, though, realizing how crazy it seemed for a werewolf to get so freaked out by something like a story someone had written and then tossed up online, especially when he knew for a fact that the darkness wasn’t hiding anything. That was what he got for allowing himself to get wrapped up in such things, though. If he found out that Meghan didn’t know about creepy pasta, he would have to introduce her to it. Maybe she would enjoy reading the things and maybe she wouldn’t, but neither would know if she didn’t read a couple.

As far as Drake figured, he was at the bottom of the heap where good looks were concerned, but it wasn’t something he really thought about. It was just one of those things he accepted and kept going, knowing there was nothing that could be done about it. He supposed it might be a guy thing, not really bothering to think much about something like that. That by no means meant he thought all females obsessed about such things, because he knew that not all of them did. He would have, however, been surprised to hear that Meghan didn’t consider herself as pretty as the others, though.

He couldn’t help but give a quick, half smile when Samhain bumped his leg. It wasn’t chasing him off, so he assumed the cat was all right with him being there, at least for the time being. He looked back to Meghan when she spoke. “Not much. I did a little reading and then decided to wander around the hotel a little.” He gave a little shrug. “Before I knew it, I was at your door and thought that seeing what you were up to was a really good idea.”

[Meghan]

There were times when Meghan had seriously believed there were things lurking in the dark of her room, just waiting for innocent and unsuspecting female werewolves to lower their guard completely, and then they would pounce! She just knew it. Those nights tended to end with her huddled on her bed, blankets around her, torch clutched tightly in hand. Occasionally, Meghan had considered making a tent or fort out of her bed covers and hiding under it but that would only give the darkness a chance to sneak up on her, to catch her when she wasn’t looking. On even rarer occasions, she would even flee her room, waiting silently outside Cole’s room or office, not really needing to speak to him or even see him, just drawing comfort from knowing he was near. So Meghan had an over active imagination at times. There was nothing wrong in that.

To her, Drake was cute, he was funny, witty, had that smile which made her insides shiver and Meghan couldn’t believe she was the only one so affected by it. Then there was that hair, that impossible, impossible hair which made her want to play with it, see what colours and styles she could create.

Samhain was just a big softie at heart, wanting attention and while he was sometimes a surprisingly possessive and jealous cat, Meghan refused to believe that he could ever not want Drake there. “It was a good idea,” Meghan agreed brightly, a swift little nod of her head, quick and pleased that he had decided to come visit of his own accord. “Clearly we’re going to have to do something to make you coming to visit worthwhile then!”

[Drake]

Drake could understand the occasional urge to curl up in bed, pull the covers over your head and stay that way until morning, but he could also see how that would give something in the darkness the perfect opportunity to sneak up and attack. He had been known to sleep with the light on when he got especially spooked, but he sometimes wondered how good of an idea that was. If there was something in the darkness- and he wasn’t saying that there was, but he wasn’t saying it was impossible either- leaving the light on could make it easier for something to find him. He hadn’t ever gotten spooked enough to leave his room, though he supposed that it was probably for the best. If he did, he would have probably ended up in the kitchen, all the lights on, eating his way through any junk food he could find just because that was comforting and would probably get his mind off the creepy stuff.

If she had suggested it, Drake would have let Meghan experiment with his hair. He had let her give him the highlights and they had actually come out much better than he had been expecting. Not that he had doubted her ability with putting them in- he hadn’t- but he had doubted his hair’s willingness to cooperate and not turn some really oddball color. He had put a great deal of trust in Meghan when he had agreed to the highlights and he was willing to trust her again should she get the urge to try something else with it. It again came down to him being drawn in by a pretty girl with a pretty smile and puppy eyes that could make him agree to pretty much anything. A pretty girl with a great smile, beautiful heart and a personality that couldn’t get beat, Meghan had him wrapped around her little finger, whether she realized it or not. She had been the first friend he had made in the pack, so she held a special place in his heart as it was.

He wasn’t sure if he’d call Samhain a softie, exactly, but the cat did have a nice side to him and he did, occasionally, show it. Not that it made Drake like the cat any less, though, because he did like Samhain, even if he sometimes thought the cat didn’t particularly like him that much. “I’m glad you agree it was such a good idea. I would’ve hated to find out that it had been a bad one after I was already here and had interrupted.” He gave a quick smile. “I think my coming to visit is already worthwhile.”

[Meghan]

At least with the light on, then you could see them coming and Meghan was of the view that whatever it was that lurked in the darkness was something that could only move unseen, that you had to blink and turn away and when you looked back, it had shifted, found a spot to hide closer to you and so the darkness was their ally. It made sense then, if blackness, if the lack of light helped them, then the opposite would have… well, the opposite effect. Light was good, protecting, it kept the monsters at bay and after all, they already knew where you were. It didn’t matter how quiet werewolves could be, they were still big and obvious to the monsters in the dark. Junk food was another effective anti-monster device, good for keeping the hoards at bay as well. The comfort of eating delicious things gave you strength, not to mention the sugar rush that such large quantities could provide meant you had the speed needed to avoid them. Who wanted to get in the way of a sugar high wolf?

Trying something new with Drake’s hair was something that was almost certainly going to come up between them sooner or later – and probably sooner rather than later. Changing hairstyles, hair colour was one of Meghan’s favourite activities when she was bored and if she could play with someone else’s hair then so much the better. The idea that she might have anyone wrapped around her little finger, let alone someone like Drake was not a concept that had occurred to Meghan, nor was it likely to.

Cats rarely, if ever, showed that they loved someone in any obvious fashion. That wasn’t the way that those bundles of fur worked, they were harder to please, to show they were happy with you, but if you didn’t get a face full of claw then that was victory and proof you were loved. “Yay, I’m glad,” Meghan replied brightly, pleased that he thought that, that he liked spending time with her. “We still have to do something special though. Or something at least, I’m out of balloons and you need balloons for special.”