A Furry Situation

I awoke first with a stir, followed by a jolt. I sat up and rubbed my head with a groan. It felt like i'd been whacked over the head with a shovel. Where was I anyway? I looked around to find that I was laying naked on top of my bed covers, my room was in its usual state of disarray as if a tornado had passed through. Something wasn't right though, what was I doing in my bedroom? I'd never dream of staying inside my cabin on my wild nights out. I'm usually out in the forest, deep in the wilderness. I imagine whatever made me come inside must be the cause of this splitting headache. It was difficult to recall what had happened last night. Let's see...



I remember heading to the edge of the clearing, as usual. I remember the full moon finally breaking through the clouds and illuminating the forest. Then my transformation began. That unforgettable feeling of bones cracking and reshaping as I grow in size. My muscles pounded as they pumped to immense proportions. Thick, dark fur sprouted from every pore on my body. My lower face shifted, jaw and nose lengthening into a muzzle, my teeth sharpening into menacing fangs. Hands and feet moulded into paws. My entire body shifted from that of a man to that of a wolf just like every other night of the full moon. Nothing out of the ordinary. After the change, I bounded into the forest and savoured my freedom from mundane life, well away from any human contact. Nothing different from...

Wait a minute, I wasn't alone in the forest. Nobody enters the forest if they know what's good for them, and I've made sure of that for years now! Yet there they were resting atop a broken log, like a sitting duck. I remember now, I only wanted to give them a scare, so they could run back to town and reaffirm the dangers of ever entering these woods again. But as I crept closer, my stomach rumbled. Transforming uses up a lot of energy, and it had been hours since I'd last eaten at this point. Usually I'd track down a deer to feast on or something. Not last night though, no, I found a different prey. I couldn't stop myself, my instincts took over. I leapt upon that young boy, and...

Oh god... Oh, shit! I couldn't have... But there's that unforgettable taste in my mouth, of human flesh. Dried blood was splattered over my arms and torso too. I remember ripping straight into his shoulders with my teeth, and then nothing after that... How did I end up back home? I'll have to retrace my steps, hopefully I'll find the remains before someone else does...

I leapt off the bed and darted out the room, when something stopped me in my tracks. The unmistakable scent of a cooked breakfast, paired with freshly brewed coffee. Did I start cooking before going to bed? Judging by the height of the sun, it was almost noon. Within that mix of scents was something else. Something hauntingly familiar. Or someone... Something was definitely wrong here. Cautiously, I crept into the kitchen. There, on the counter was a large plate of food. The coffee machine had been recently used, a large pot of french press being kept warm on its hotplate.

"So you're going to help yourself without so much of a hello?". My heart jumped from the sound of another man. His voice was deep yet melodious. I grabbed a knife off the counter and spun round, hands raised in a battle pose. There was a dishevelled, wiry man sat at the counter with a cup of coffee and half-eaten breakfast. He looked to be in his twenties with piercing eyes, wild hair and a short, unkempt beard that grew high on his cheeks. That overabundance of hair continued to cover his arms, legs, neck, pretty much any visible skin. I inched closer to him, knife aimed at his throat. He didn't flinch. He simply raised an eyebrow and said in that soothing voice "Chill out man, it's only breakfast. Maybe you should throw on some clothes and join me?". He pointedly glanced down to my crotch, like I shouldn't be naked in my own home.

I stood my ground, yet something nagged at me. He looked familiar, I couldn't shake the feeling we'd met before. Still, I didn't back down and demanded "Who the fuck are you! What are you doing in my house?"

He took a sip from his coffee and smiled. "You don't recognise me? Lil' ol' Zeke? What a shame, after all the commotion we went through last night"

I relaxed my battle stance in surprise. "You know what happened last night?" I questioned.

"Of course I do, silly! I even dragged your furry butt back here so you could rest. Believe me, I didn't have to be so kind after what you did. I figured I'd treat myself to some breakfast and your hospitality. It's the least you could do. You know, after you tried killing me and all".

There was a moment's silence as I processed what he said, stunned. "You... You're the kid in the forest!? But... I thought..."

"Well I'm clearly not a kid. I'm probably closer to your age, but yeah. It's a pretty crazy story"

"But I tore you to bits! You shouldn't even be in one piece right now, let alone alive!"

"Well, you certainly shredded my backpack to pieces last night. Another thing you owe me for, by the way. I was just taking it off when you jumped me out of nowhere. I managed to escape while you were distracted with my bag. It's a good thing there were snacks inside. Jerky, trail mix, all that good stuff. It gave me some time to get away and form a plan."

I released a breath of relief and a sharp laugh. I didn't kill anyone last night! That's always a cause for celebration. But there was still something wrong with the story. "If I didn't attack you last night, then why do I have what I assume is your blood all over me?"

"Shhhhh! Don't interrupt! I'll get there when I get there." he cried. I rolled my eyes, this Zeke guy certainly had a flair for the dramatics. He cleared his throat, then started up again "I sprinted deeper into the forest, trying to put as much distance between us. You make a terrifying werewolf, dude! You look nothing like the way furries draw them"

"Uhh... Thank you I guess?". I couldn't tell if that was a compliment or an insult, really.

"Yeah, so running blindly into the forest wasn't the best idea. I thought I'd lose you, but I only got lost as hell. I underestimated how big the forest is. Unfortunately, I stumbled into a dead end at the same time I caught sight of you charging at me pretty close behind. I guess you tracked my scent or something?  I was trapped against the wall of a ledge, so I did my best to climb up top. Before you could super jump after me, or whatever werewolves can do, I managed to trigger a rock-slide that swept you away and whacked you clean on the head. You stumbled off and collapsed, and I didn't stick around much longer"

I rubbed the top of my head, that explains the splitting headache. Must've been a hell of a boulder to knock me out... "So if you escaped from me, which is a feat in and of itself, how come you're now in my kitchen and treating yourself to my food?"

"You haven't figured out what happened to me after surviving a clash with a werewolf? I guess that bump on the head did more damage than I thought. I mean there is a reason I'm wearing this." he said, tugging on his shirt.

It didn't escape my attention that Zeke was wearing my clothes, I only washed that shirt a few days ago. But he grappled with me in the forest, and I undoubtedly destroyed everything else he had in his backpack, so that's no surprise. As I thought over the details, I recalled the moment I spotted him resting in the forest. He looked so young and scrawny back then, nary a hint of stubble on his face. But this guy was clearly a man, quite fit and hairy. I recalled the taste in my mouth this morning, and it hit me. "You said you didn't escape unharmed. So I must have been successful at some point. And while you were escaping, you inadvertently exposed your wounds to the full moon and..."

"Bingo! You clawed my arms up pretty bad, plus you managed to chomp down on my leg before I could finish climbing the ledge. You probably would've torn it clean off if I hadn't managed to loosen some rocks to cause that rock-slide. Now look at it". He stopped to pull his left leg up onto the counter. It looked positively healthy. I could just about see the telltale scar of a werewolf bite through the thicket of hairs coating his calf. He ran a hand over his leg with a smirk. "That healing factor is pretty great huh? I'd probably have died from blood loss if I hadn't stumbled into the clearing with this cabin. The moon was high overhead, and it began. I thought I was delirious when my leg began to glow, then the flesh regrew until it was good as new. But the changes didn't stop. My legs got hairier and hairier until they no longer looked human. The fur spread elsewhere and my bones snapped as my body started to transform. You go through that every month? It was more painful than almost losing my leg! It was so overwhelming that I passed out.

"When I woke up, the sun was rising and my body was reverting back to a human. Except it seemed to stop before I fully turned back to normal. I was taller than usual, more lean muscle than I ever had, and far, far hairier than I should be. I didn't realise I'd gotten older until later when I saw my reflection in your bathroom. It was a lot to take in at the time... Anyway, I ventured back into the forest to see you'd also reverted back to a human and everything made a lot more sense. So I dragged you back to what I assumed was your cabin, and now we're all caught up!"

Goddamn it all, I turned him?? What in Christ's name was I thinking? Sensing Zeke was waiting on a response, I shook my head to clear my thoughts then said "I can still recall my first time, and it was under much safer circumstances. It doesn't get any easier or painless, but you'll grow numb to it eventually. You have no choice, I'm afraid..." There was an awkward silence as we pondered the irreversible matter. I coughed and continued "But this still doesn't make much sense... I turned you into a werewolf, but also a man? You were just a kid last night"

"Hey, I wasn't a kid, I was 16! I have a driver's license and everything! I don't know how these curses work, there's no doubt that I'm clearly not 16 anymore. Maybe you transferred some of your DNA to me with that bite, and it merged when I transformed. Or maybe that healing power glitched and sped up puberty so I'd be prime wolf material. Either way, excess body hair doesn't run in my family so this isn't on my end"

The lycanthropy curse does seem to affect everyone differently, I suppose. I was already out of college when I turned, and my human self barely changed since I was already quite wolf-like. Then I know other fellas whose turnings are so drastic that they no longer resemble their old selves. Fellas like the hirsute man in front of me. I collapsed into a chair and buried my head in my hands, the weight of the situation overwhelming me. "Fuckin' hell, how could I be so careless." I moaned. "I've spent years as a werewolf and not once have I slipped up and turned someone... And a kid to boot! Fuck! When word gets out about this... I'm in deep shit..."

Sensing my anxiety, Zeke reached over and stroked the back of my head, making shushing noises. "Hey, don't worry, it's not your fault! I shouldn't have been in the forest in the first place, it was just the only place I could think of going. Besides, I doubt anyone's going to come look for me. The reason I was out there's because my parents basically disowned me. They caught wind of this rumor going round that I was gay, things escalated when I didn't deny it, there was a big argument, and I barely had enough time to pack my bag before they kicked me out of the house. I had nowhere else to go, no friends at school to turn to, nobody I trusted. So I came here to clear my mind. Sure, I knew it was dangerous. But I never expected to run into a werewolf of all things"

I stopped moping and looked up at the poor guy. "Shit man, I'm so sorry about that... I don't know what to say, you've had a rough 24 hours... But I meant I'd get in trouble with the werewolf council". He snorted and I grimaced at him. "Hey, it's a real thing! How else would we keep order? See, we're not exactly meant to turn other humans into werewolves without an explicit reason, and proper consent. We're not even meant to hunt humans down anymore, it perpetuates the stereotype that we're all mindless creatures that murder for fun. And I was stupid, I let my instincts take over and now this has happened..."

"If it makes you feel better, I literally have no complaints here. If anything, you've helped me after the shitty thing my parents did yesterday. You've given me a new path in life I never considered. I suppose I could tell a few white lies if and when the wolf police turn up at the door. For a price, of course." He winked at me and I sighed. He was certainly building up to something. "So between you almost killing me, destroying all of my belongings, turning me into a werewolf and an adult, then me dragging you back to your home, providing you a decent meal, and not turning you into this secret meeting of werewolves, I'd say you really owe me big time"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms "OK, what do you want from me? Money?"

"Well you've got a nice place in the forest. Pretty secluded, nobody for miles. And I'm currently homeless and unemployed. The least you could do is allow me to stay here while I get my life back together. Maybe throw in some wolf lessons too".

I was afraid of that... I guess I do have a spare room for guests that never gets used. And I do tend to isolate myself in the forest for days on end. He's actually the first person I've physically interacted with in weeks. I live a very secluded, rustic lifestyle after all. Maybe if I had a proper social life, i wouldn't have resorted to werewolf instinct last night. Most werewolves don't live and hunt in the forest any longer, I'm a literal lone wolf in that regard. Maybe a room mate would be helpful after all...

I sigh loudly and say "Alright, I guess I could offer you a room. But I want to see you pulling your weight! If you're not employed then I want you keeping this place habitable. The moment you get a job, I want you paying me for rent. No throwing wild parties, no disturbing me while I'm working on my art, no loud hobbies or activities whatsoever! Plus I never wear anything around the cabin, and I ain't about to start now that you're here, so get used to it".

Zeke sneaked a peek at my crotch again, and grinned. "Done, done and done" he said, a little too enthusiastically.

 "Oh, and now would also be the perfect opportunity to teach you the Way of the Wolf. Hunting, camouflage, howling, scent tracking, whatever. I want you damned fluent in our culture before the council susses us out and gets you to register your identity as a new wolf. Maybe they'll go easy on us if it appears you've chosen the wolf life yourself. Think you can handle it?"

"It sounds like a lot of hard work..." he whined "Buuuut, I suppose it's not like a have a choice. I'm kinda stuck with this for the long run"

"Damned right you are" I say with some grit in my voice. I stuck out my hand. "Then it's settled. Great to have you on board, roomie."

Zeke gave my hand a shake and replied "Pleasure to be here, wolfie!"

After parting hands, I stood up from my chair and said "Now if you'll excuse me, I desperately need a shower. I'm still covered in your blood and all..." I left the kitchen with at least some peace of mind. How things have changed since last night...