singillatim | built my house out of sails and wood.

[ With how easy it is for him to lose focus with so many senses demanding his attention, it makes it hard for Edward to truly take notice of anyone approaching until they're really, really close. He hears, smells, feels too much — things in the woods, distant sounds and smells, the way the crisp night wind stirs his fur but doesn't chill him, body suited to this environment.

Then, suddenly, a man speaks — and the wolf startles, that whining abruptly cut off into silence. It takes him too long to realise he recognises this man; with all of his senses going haywire, all Edward can see at first is stranger and frightening, and some part of him immediately shouts to run, dart away into the dark safety of the trees.

....But another part stops it. The part that realises it can still understand people speaking, can comprehend the words and make sense of them, even if he's incapable of speaking back. And.... he knows that voice, doesn't he? Cautiously, so tense it hurts, the wolf peers widely out of the trees, and chances a slow step forwards, enough so that the man will be able to see the shine of his eyes in the darkness.

With that, he stares, stunned. Bigby....? He's here? Edward's afraid and ashamed for anyone to see him like this, but....

Slowly and obediently, he starts revealing himself, but it's as though someone's holding a gun to his head... as he wills his legs forwards, one heavy paw hitting the snow at a time. Standing there, he lowers his head and tail again, as though embarrassed... and then he starts whining again. It's all he can do to convey how upset he is to be seen like this... ]

Edited 2024-09-03 20:40 (UTC)

[ Even with the animal now closer to him, Bigby still can't quite tell who it is. It's not any of the people he's seen as wolves, which does narrow it down, but.. then again, the people he knows are wolves aren't exactly the type to display this sort of behavior, not even towards him.

Still, he is sure it's a transformed human. No ordinary wolf would act this way. Though it does make him wonder who from town would even react like this in the first place.. Are they just distressed because of the wolf situation in general?

As Bigby thinks about it, he exhales a breath deep enough to be a sigh - he knows he's not good at this, not good at the whole gentle thing - and kneels down in the snow to be on a more even level with the wolf. ]

You're not stuck. [ That's got to be it, right. This person doesn't know how to transform back. Why else would a wolf just.. look this pathetic.. ] All you have to do is think about being a human, and you'll turn back into one. It's not that hard.

[ Edward jumps just a little when the man kneels down closer — skittish as ever — but wills himself to stay still again once Bigby continues speaking to him. Once again, he finds himself marveling at the fact that he can still understand human speech, apparently. He grasps each word, comprehends them, and—

—is sent into another wave of anxiety by them. Oh, he has learned how to change back by this point all right, and it's horrible! He's completely naked when it happens! The wolf actually shakes its head and takes a step back as though to express how horrified that idea is making him right about now. He couldn't dare transform back in front of Mr. Wolf...! The indecent exposure of it all....!

Unsure how to convey any of his own thoughts into something that the other man can understand, Edward whines nervously again and flattens himself right against the snow, belly pressed against it as though to attempt to express that he needs to keep himself hidden... His chin follows suit as he lowers it to rest on the ground inbetween his paws, big brown eyes gazing solemnly up at Bigby — don't want to change back, must stay like this! ]

.. are you shaking your head at me?

[ Sorry, Ned, but you're getting the one thing you may dread most in life - the tone of disapproval. It's hard to say whether or not Bigby would be using it if he knew who he was dealing with here, but there's something about the entire situation that's making him exasperated enough to use it.

After all, here he is, giving an explanation on how to change back since this wolf clearly is not having a great time, and they're just telling him nope? If it wasn't for the fact that this wolf is more pathetic than feisty, Bigby really would assume it's one of the local teens that love harassing him. ]

You can't stay like this. [ He speaks so slowly. Like he's explaining all of this to a kindergartener, looking at the way the wolf is so close to just.. attempting to bury itself into the snow.. ] It's not good. You don't even look like you're having a good time.

[ Those words, and their tone, are an immediate surge of horror in him. Not the.... the disapproval...!

If it's possible for a wolf to look utterly stricken, Edward the wolf manages to. Of all people, Bigby thinking of him with disappointment is a particular stress... given how much Edward does value the man's opinion and sees him as a figure to respect... a leader....

Maybe it's this that finally, finally prompts him to consider the horrific task of turning back. The wolf continues staring mournfully up at him as it listens, giving a few more breathy whimpers and licking its lips anxiously. There's nothing he can possibly do except to find a way to explain... and the only way to do that is to change back into a human. Otherwise, Bigby might just continue to think of him in the worst light possible...

So he slowly gets back to his feet, underside coated in snow that drips off of him pathetically... tail hanging dejectedly between his legs. He has never wanted anything less.

The wolf lowers his head almost to a bow, some gesture that is just meant to convey that he's... about to do something. And then he turns and retreats behind the nearest, broadest, tree he can find. There's a few moments of nothing but some shuffling, and then silence as he concentrates on turning back. It's almost ridiculously easy, actually — he wishes the process were more difficult. There's a concern that it might happen someday without him meaning for it to.... ]

.....Mr. Wolf? [ Comes the voice, its rich accent sounding much less rich, more quiet and subdued as Edward calls from behind the tree but doesn't dare even peek around it. Good god, this is horrible. He might pass out from the stress. ]

I-it's me. It's Edward.

[ He does allow the wolf to retreat, mostly because it looks so pathetic in the moment that Bigby is pretty sure it isn't even thinking about attempting to run away from him..

And it seems like he's right about that one. Even as the wolf disappears behind the trees, there's no sound of it fully moving away. And a moment later, instead of any sound beloning to a wolf, there's-- ]

Edward?

[ Bigby sounds absolutely baffled. He instinctively repeats the other's name out of that sheer sense of surprise and confusion, both mixing together. ]

That was you?!

[ Look, it does make some things make sense. Edward kind of seems like a wet dog in human form most of the time, so of course he would act like that, even when given the ability to turn into a wolf.. But-- God, Bigby can't help but think about how he's just going to get himself killed if he's going to go around as a wolf yet act like that.

He's still processing this entire thought, but then he does realize why the other man isn't coming out from behind the trees. Bigby sighs, starts to undo the buttons on his thick, warm coat and takes it off to throw it in the direction of the treeline. ]

Put this on before you freeze your fucking ass off! [ A thing that could literally happen with what the weather is generally like out here.. This isn't even a modesty thing, Edward. Bigby doesn't give two shits about modesty.

He's just trying to protect your literal butt from frostbite. ]

[ Little is absolutely no stranger to shame... but this surely "takes the cake", as they say.

As the seconds tick by, he starts to feel the usual sensation of numb disbelief, underlying the awareness of his stress. If he knew the word "dissociate", he would surely be beginning himself not to do it just now.... Fortunately, Bigby has a tendency to be very good at keeping (forcing) people to remain in the moment. As the other man barks at him, Edward blinks, flinching out of his own stun, eyes wide as he stares down to the coat before he reaches out to accept it with a grateful nod. ]

Th-thank you. I deeply apologise— [ He quickly retreats behind the tree again so he can wrap the thing around himself in a way that covers up.... as much as he's able to. Can he just die now, please. ]

I am so sorry, [ he's apologising again, ] for this inconvenience, and for this— this display of indecency. I didn't want to return... I knew this would happen... [ He swallows, hard, still refusing to come out from around the tree and sounding completely miserable as he speaks. The coat helps, but he's still in a very precarious situation, here...... ]

[ Sorry, Edward. There's bad news for you. There's the clear sound of footsteps across the snow that make it very obvious that Bigby is heading in your direction.

Sure, he understands that the other is Victorian enough to need to cover up in the first place, and Bigby kind of understands that even the coat by itself likely is not enough for that, but he also feels like it's a little ridiculous to have this sort of conversation while Bigby is standing there and looking like he's talking to absolutely no one while the other man is hiding himself behind a tree.

He lets out a sigh as he steps. ]

You don't have to apologize.

[ People apologizing to him is weird enough in the first place. It's not something people do.

Let alone Edward's absolutely excessive amount of it. ]

I just-- I don't get it. [ Perhaps it's a little blunt, but Bigby feels like it's the easiest way to move this conversation along. It sounds like the other is having trouble even finding the right words, so maybe what Bigby has to do here is force the other to talk, to at least be a little more direct about all this. ] What are you so worried about?

[ He'd almost say 'it's not like it's a problem for me to see your dick', but.. uh, well, that might just make Edward pass out on the spot. At least Bigby is aware enough when it comes to that. ]

[ Oh god, he's approaching...! Edward exhales sharply and crouches down a little, one hand clasped to the front of the coat, making sure everything stays covered... ]

Mr. Wolf, please—!

[ What is he so worried about? What isn't he so worried about?! This is horrible! From start to finish, the whole thing— ]

I'm— I'm indecent— [ That word again. Sure, Little has spent the majority of his adult life around sailors, but from his very beginning, it was always very formal, proper. Certainly upon his promotion to lieutenant and then his rise in rank from there, he maintained utmost propriety in such manners. One would never find him undressing in front of the men...! ]

It is a terrible enough punishment to become a beast, but that I might be like this when I turn back...!

You're wearing a coat now, right?

[ .. granted, there may be some nuances to covering up that Bigby - being the way he is - may not entirely understand yet. Yes, he gets that a lot of humans don't want to be seen naked by other people, but in his mind covering up the most delicate parts with Bigby's long coat should be enough to nullify that worry, right? Who cares about someone seeing their knees? Or a bit of thigh?

(To not even get started on the delicate Victorian ankles..)

And, indeed - when Bigby fully moves into the treeline, he can see that Little is more or less covered up by the coat. Not entirely, but.. you know. Enough from Bigby's point of view. At least he's thankfully mostly looking at the other man's face. ]

See? It's fine. I've been walking around without clothes for longer than I have been wearing them, you know. I'm the last person in this place to think anything about it. [ .. not that it might help Little's poor nerves.

But at least Bigby is.. trying.. in his own way.. ]

Besides, what's so punishing about being a wolf?

Yes, but— It is but one simple coat!

[ Edward sputters. Listen, he wears, at minimum, three layers of clothing at all times. He doesn't even have an undershirt on...!

He tenses back as Bigby moves around enough to see him, one hand pressed flat to his chest to keep the coat front against himself like that. Bigby's reply about walking around without clothes on for longer than he's been wearing them is... certainly... a response. Edward's brows shoot up, flushed and embarrassed, and mortified, but it's that next question that has his mind remembering that the man he's speaking to... isn't actually a man at all.

That's right. Bigby's a wolf, in his world. And even here.... Kate had mentioned that the sheriff had acquired this power here, too. Little swallows, now worried that he might have offended the other... ]

I apologise— I know it is your... your natural state, but... Well, this.. ability was placed upon me after... June's horrific events.

[ It catches in his throat a little, like a new confession all of its own. ]

I know this is a punishment for my actions. For what.... I've done.

[ If it was anyone else, Bigby might have made a dry joke about whether or not he has to take off his pants to share with the other as well.. but he's pretty sure a joke like that would absolutely murder Edward. Better to not go there, especially when he doesn't want to keep the other man out here like this forever. He might freeze, even while wearing Bigby's coat. ]

...

[ Bigby seems a little dumbstruck by the other's comments that aren't related quite as much to his state of undress though. He isn't sure what to say at first, especially when the other man's line of thinking is so far away from his own.

Then he frowns, raising a hand to helplessly scratch the back of his head a little. ]

Edward, you heard what we said at the meeting after that, right? No one could help what happened that month. The Darkwalker was all up in our heads. Why would you need to be punished for that? Especially when being a wolf is far from a punishment in the first place?

built my house out of sails and wood.

"it doesn't even seem like there's something going on worth whining about" Bigby READING him

KJHGKJHDF i'm so sorry, little.. bigby like "wow, look at that, most pathetic wolf i've ever seen"

ned FAILS wolf academy.....

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(cw: a naked Victorian)

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