Slight Figure of Speech (Chloe, werewolves)

[Karl]

(We haven't used our werewolves in so long, and Sawyer looked so good on tonight's Lost that I just HAD to break out Karl. )

Things had been quiet among the werewolves in the Hogsmeade area ever since the incident with Gretchen's pack. Karl, for one, didn't quite believe that Gretchen, or, for that matter, Fenrir, were really gone for good. He had heard rumblings of some incidents in the woods that he knew for a fact had not been their doing. Gretchen was probably lurking nearby, trying to get her pack organized again. But Karl was pretty confident that Zander and the rest of the pack could handle whatever happened. They were very tight as a pack, and even Skye didn't seem quite so meek anymore.

Karl was out chopping wood, a job which he had particularly taken on for himself. Hopefully, with the warmer weather approaching, he wouldn't need to do it quite so often anymore. But the nights were still chilly, and Karl wanted to make sure that everyone would be warm enough.

Chloe was at work, but she would be home soon. Karl had a full view of the road from here, and he kept looking up from his work every couple of minutes to see if he could spot Chloe approaching.

[Chloe Owen]

Things had seemed extremely quite. Chloe wasn't complaining about it, however. She liked the quiet because that meant that they could relax a little. Of course, they had to listen and watch for different things but for now they didn't have to watch or listen extremely hard.

For the time being, things were going well. Paige had walked in at work and for the first time, Chloe felt some kind of good connection with her sister. Paige's visit left Chloe in a great mood. She was still hoping that her sister's visit was going to lead to something good. The rest of the day at work went by fairly quickly.

Her shift ended and it still felt extremely different that Becky wasn't there. There were other waitresses, but it wasn't going to be the same. She would walk with Becky half way to her house every day once their shift was over. Now, she walked all the way home alone.

On her way home her thoughts drifted to different things. The house came into view but the smell of wood hit her as did the sound of it being chopped. Her attention went to the direction of the sound and a smile crossed her face. All previous thought fled as she made her way over. "Working hard," she asked as she walked over to Karl.

[Karl]

Karl broke into a smile at the sight of her. Though the weather was still cool, he had worked up a sweat while chopping wood, and had taken off his shirt. As she walked over to him, he paused to pick up the shirt and used it to mop the sweat from his brow.

"Hey, Chloe," he said, his voice low. "Just takin' care of the firewood. How was your day? Work OK?"

[Chloe Owen]

"Yeah, work was good," she said with a smile. "It was like everyday really." Chloe shrugged. There wasn't many things that changed at work but she was happy with that. "My sister stopped by for a little bit. I took my break when she came in so we could talk. It was strange at first but I think things are going to be a lot better than they were."

She had told him that she did have a sister. Chloe only told Karl that she and Paige didn't really talk that much and things were completely off when she was turned.

"How about yours? Everything been going okay today?"

[Karl]

“Your sister?” Karl said, somewhat surprised. He remembered that Chloe had told him he had a sister, one who looked just like her but was also different. He had thought that the two didn’t get along, and he had hoped that would change. He didn’t remember his family, but he felt terrible that Chloe had kin who didn’t want to talk to her. Even though the pack was as close to a family as they could have hoped for, it just seemed to him that kin was important, too. Especially if her sister looked like her… it would be like being split in half.

“I hope you can work things out with her,” he said. “Tell me more about her.”

[Chloe Owen]

"Paige used to be a dancer. Growing up our mum would tease Paige all the time about her weight and forced her to lose weight. Paige never really needed to lose any kind of weight, she was fine just as she was but mum pushed her to do something. She turned to dance and I never got the chance to see her dance but from what I heard and read of the reviews of the dance, she was really good." Chloe let out a sigh. "I was supposedly the favorite out of us and Paige didn't like it. Everything she did was spiteful and she wanted to be noticed. After the night everything happened, I don't really know what happened other than Paige continued to dance until she was injured. She came back here and now she's trying to start over."

Chloe was glad that Paige was willing to become closer. Paige needed it especially after the way she was treated when they were little. "She even met some guy. She was pretty unsure about what to do but we talked for awhile and I think she's going to have everything figured out." There was a light smile on her face. "And she told me that if everything works out well with this guy, she would like to go on a double date so that she can finally meet you."

[Karl]

Karl just listened to her talking. Just seeing her happy was enough to make him happy, and he had the biggest smile on his face as she talked. He knew that, although Chloe didn't talk about it much, she had always been very sad and worried about her sster. Hopefully now things would start to get better and Chloe wouldn't worry any more.

"That sounds nice," he said. "I don't gotta wear a suit and tie or anything, do I?"

[Chloe Owen]

Karl's question made Chloe give a soft laugh. She moved closer, disregarding the fact that he was sweaty. She put her arms around his neck and shook her head. "No, you don't have to wear a suit and tie. We'll find you something to wear when the time comes." Chloe leaned in and kissed him very softly.

She figured that they wouldn't go somewhere extremely fancy but even if they did, she could find Karl something to wear. "Want to come in and get something to drink?"

[Karl]

Of course, wardrobe wasn't the only issue for Karl. His table manners still left a lot to be desired, although Chloe had been working on this with him. But forks and spoons were such awkward instruments, and he still didn't entirely understand the purpose of them. Wasn't it simpler just to eat with one's hands? And why were some things acceptable to eat with the hands, such as sandwiches, but others were not, like meat?

"Yeah, a drink sounds good," he replied, wiping some sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "I get pretty thirsty working out here."

[Chloe Owen]

She wasn't embarrassed by Karl at all so it wouldn't matter to her if he still thought that using sliverware was a little awkward, however, she knew that Karl was trying and she would help help him for however long he wanted her to until he was sort of comfortable with it.

Chloe smiled at him and started to lead him into the house. "I don't have to work tomorrow," she said as they entered the house. "Chef said that I didn't have to be there. It'll be nice not having to get up really early in the morning." She would still get up in the morning to help have breakfast ready for everyone.

"What all have you done today other than work on the firewood?"

[Karl]

"That's good," Karl said, smiling. He would never admit it, but he really missed Chloe during the day when she was at work. He always found ways to keep busy and with so many other pack members in the house, he was never lonely. But that didn't mean that he didn't think about her during the day.

"I was helping Skye out in the garden for a while," he said. "She's getting so much more confident these days.... I really think David must be helping her a lot."

[Chloe Owen]

Without a second thought, Chloe walked straight into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. She filled it up with water and handed it to Karl.

"I've noticed that she walks more confidently now too." It was good to see everyone grow. They had all come a long way since they first came together. Skye in particular. "How is her garden coming?"

[Karl]

"She does," he agreed. "She's also not so afraid of the humans anymore. Being with Zander's pack really helped her a lot... Fenrir was always just putting her down and making her feel useless. He did that to almost all of us. Everyone but Pearl."

Back when they were with Fenrir's pack, everyone knew that Pearl was the favored one. Though Fenrir had never taken a mate, Pearl had always been considered to be the alpha female, even then. Now that she was with Zander, it seemed a perfect fit.

"The garden's gonna be good this year," he said, taking a drink from the glass she handed him. "We planted a lot of stuff, and expanded it even wider than before. She says there will be enough for us to keep and store all through next winter, if necessary."

[Chloe Owen]

Every one had come so far since they came together and every one had their role to help the pack. Each one of them did their part to help them remain on their feet. Blending in had been somewhat hard at first but things came a little more easy.

Chloe leaned against the counter. "That's great." A smile spread across her face but then it faded just slightly. "You know, I have no idea how things would be right now if none of you showed up when you did."

[Karl]

Karl was quiet for a minute. The situation in Fenrir's pack had become very bad when he and the others had decided to leave. Zander had left first, of course, because he and Fenrir were forever clashing. Zander's ideas about things had been so radically different from Fenrir's; there was just no way they were ever going to get along. Zander was meant to be an alpha, just as Pearl had been. Pearl had followed Zander.... and without Pearl, there was just no way that Skye and Karl and David could stay with Fenrir. He had wanted them to work with the Snake-Man, to use their powers to hurt people. Maybe some of their packmates might have been OK with that, the three of them were not. They had to leave.

"I don't think Skye would have lived if we had stayed," he said grimly. "Fenrir was horrible to her, especially without Pearl to protect her. I did what I could, but Fenrir wasn't very nice to me, either. We couldn't work with the Snake-Man, and if we had tried, I think we would have been killed. David might have been all right, but he probably would have just slipped away from the pack. He was always on the edge, anyway. I'm glad we left, and that I found you. It was better this way."

[Chloe Owen]

"Well, you don't have to ever worry about that again. I believe that we're all going to be alright, especially Skye. She seems a lot different than the first time you all came around." Chloe gave a smile of encouragement. They were all going to be fine, at least for a little while anyway. It was time that things started going right.

Everything seemed to be going good for the entire pack. Things were quiet, which wasn't really a bad thing. They all looked out for each other and helped when they could.

Chloe pushed herself off the counter. "Have any of you eaten yet? I could cook something real quick if you haven't."

[Karl]

"Skye's not the only one that's changed," Karl said, smiling almost shyly. He remembered all too well how shaggy he had once been, in ragged clothes that had hung off of him in shreds. Now he dressed in clothes that were patched, but at least in one piece. He still wore his hair long and he didn't often shave, but his manners were softer, less gruff, than they had once been. Maybe it was the influence of the whole pack that had changed him, but Karl was pretty sure it was all because of Chloe. He had wanted to be good enough for her, so he did his best to learn and adapt.

Chloe's comment brought him from his thoughts, and he looked around the kitchen. "You might want to check with Skye first. She likes to do most of the cooking. She might have something planned. I'm surprised she's not in here now, actually."

[Chloe Owen]

Another smile appeared on Chloe's face. "No, she's not the only one who has changed," she agreed. Karl had changed a lot, and she wasn't going to complain about that. He was still Karl.

"If Skye is going to cook, I won't get in her way. I could take a shower before dinner." She still smelled like the Hot Panini and she felt like she needed to get rid of the smell. "I could go find her and ask if she's planning anything."

[Skye]

As if on cue, Skye walked into the kitchen carrying an armload of freshly-picked vegetables. By the look of her, she had been hard at work all afternoon. Her clothes were stained with dirt from the garden, and her hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Smudges of dirt and the sheen of sweat were also visible on her face. But she still walked with the same delicate grace as always, as though she were walking on air.

"Oh, hello, Chloe," she said, smiling at the girl. "I was just about to start making some soup."

Setting the vegetables down on the table, she paused to wipe the back of her hand across her forehead.

"Did you have a good day at work?"

[Chloe Owen]

Before Chloe had the chance to take a step, Skye entered the kitchen. A light smile spread across her face. Everyone pulled different jobs to keep everything going. "Soup sounds amazing," she replied.

Life before running into Zander and the rest of the pack was so much different and Chloe didn't think that she wanted to ever go back to that. She was still becoming adjusted to the fact that she didn't have to worry so much about different things getting done.

"I did," she said. "Slow lunch today however. I got the chance to sit down and talk to my sister." Chloe couldn't remember if she ever told Skye that she had a sister or not. "It's going to take her a little bit to come around but maybe you can meet her soon."