Nina gives a meaningful look to Jeff as she approaches the two men, which causes him to give a nervous glance to Jake. The dark-haired man curls a lip at his friend, to which Jeff looks back to Nina and shakes his head sadly. Nina sighs, shouldering past the men to get a drink.
"S'for the best," Jake says to his friend, "you don' want in the middle of that, Jeff."
"Still shouldn't be that hard on her," came the reply.
"She doesn't like it, she can work up the nerve to tell any of us off, yeah?"
Seeing the two men in a bit of a new light, you make your way over to them.
"I don't get it," you say to them, "Nina seemed a lot more confident when she was working the desk."
"M'sure she was," Jake says, "you weren't pack then."
"What does that mean?" You ask.
"It means she didn't think you were, well..." Jeff says, dancing around the topic.
"A threat. Nobody outside the pack is," Jake replies with a fair amount of frankness.
"But I'm not..." You protest.
"She doesn't know that yet, and to be honest, neither do you."
"She just wants a friend," Jeff cuts in, getting some of his confidence back.
"And I keep saying," Jake shoots back, "she'll get what she wants when she can damn well ask for it."
"Doesn't seem like Greta has a problem with that," you comment.
"Damn right, and she gets more of what she wants because of that. If you can't speak up for it, how much do you really want it?"
"Sounds like the law of the jungle here."
"It doesn't have to be," Jeff says with a sigh. "Just... folks here don't like it if you beat around the bush."
"To put it lightly," Jake adds. "Really, with what we are, why would you?"
"Well if Greta's the leader she says she is," you muse, "what's up with the twins?"
"Frankie and Gerri?" Jeff says with a puzzled look. "Well, they're a little..."
"Oh, look at you running your damn fool mouth there," Jake snaps. "Don't even finish that sentence. Frankie and Gerri are touched more than most. They're mainlining something most of us can't even understand."
"What does that even mean?" You ask.
"It means that even if you don't like 'em, you should listen when they say something."
"Even though most of it is just confusing," Jeff says in a resigned tone.
"When you start to understand them, that's when things get interesting," Jake quips with a grin.
Another shiver goes through you, and you feel a tightness in your joints, your arms rubbing inside your sleeves, your fingertips throbbing. You bring your hands up into your field of vision, and see your nails inching forth, curving and sharp.
"I...ah... think I'm going to have enough 'interesting' for tonight," you say as you stare.
"Fair enough," Jake replies, the grin not faltering.
Not quite listening to him by this point, you step away from them, still looking at your hands. Your fingertips and palms swell slightly, darkening. You press your hands together, feeling the leathery texture. Your wrists are poking out from the sleeves of your coat, and the realization seeps in that you're still growing larger, pale blonde hairs poking forth from your skin, quickly joined by more. Your eyes dart about the room, glancing to the others. Greta taking off her boots to show clawed toes and feet topped by wisps of ruddy, spreading hair. Even Nina, shy though she'd been, sucking in a breath and biting her lip as her eye teeth curve into new shapes.
The band strikes up a tune that you can feel down to your bones, and the realization sinks in. This is happening. Now.