What Goes Bump In The Night 5

>The following few days were filled with activity. All those that were most senior in the pack were gone from sun up to sun rise. No one really knew where they went or what they were doing, and any questions were met with vague answers and orders to keep Anonymous busy. The entire town became a hive of activity, so much so that even the humans that lived there were becoming wary.
>A strange scent now filled the night air, the scent of corpses and spells. Strange lights could be seen off in the distance. Noises far more feral than howls filled the air. Things now roamed the outskirts of the town so dangerous that it was ordered to hunt in groups no less than five, if they were allowed to hunt at all.
>It was a strange, nerve-wracking time for Sunset and the rest of her pack, filled with long, sleepless nights and anxiously waiting for [i]something[/i] to happen. For Anon, it was a rather enjoyable time.
>The giant really wasn’t allowed to leave the estate, especially when the sun had set, but everyone did their best to keep him preoccupied. Games, movies, conversation, food; the pack did everything they could think of, all the while probing their new packmate’s abilities.
>Anon was extremely tough, that they were already well aware of. After a game of “pick the tree up and throw it as hard as you can”--a game that Bonbon had made up after she and some of the girls had found a great oak tree ripped from its roots by… something and proceeded to drag it home--it was found out that he was also very strong as well. Even he seemed surprised just how easily he was able to pick the multi-ton tree up. That surprise turned into concern and fear when he tossed it forty feet like it was a stick
>He was heavy as well; far heavier than he should have been. Big Mac could pick him up, but only barely. It took two or three of them to lift him off his feet. Thankfully, strength, durability, and weight seemed to be all the abilities that he possessed. His sight, smell, speed, and reflexes were no greater than any normal human. They might not have been able to hurt him, but they could run circles around him, especially in the dark. This made the estate wide hide-and-seek games they played an uphill battle for the giant.
>Along with his physical abilities, the pack was able to tease the secrets out of him. He did try his hardest to curb these attempts, but fifty curious lycan were impossible to deny for too long. They found out about his home, his family, what he used to do as a profession. All of his was normal, mundane, boring really. Then he spoke about the other world; the world that he had come from before appearing here.
>A land filled with talking horses and dragons. Where magic allowed creatures to control the weather and the celestial bodies. A place where friendship was a powerful force in the universe. These horses were also said to spontaneously break out into a song and dance number daily.
>Of course, no one believed him. Coming from a different world was one thing, being able to take attacks that would cripple and kill any other person was another, but talking magical horses was just a few steps too far, though Lyra seemed to be very excited about the whole idea. Still, despite all the pack said, Anonymous insisted that it was the truth, swearing up and down that a little purple pegacorn had allowed him to step through a giant mirror into this world. After this, Sunset was teased for days, her pack members saying that she had brought a crazy giant into their pack. Were it not for some of the boys in the pack stepping it, this teasing would have resulted in a plethora of fights.
>Crazy boy or not, Anon did begin to grow more comfortable within the pack, meshing into their way of life and lycan culture. With his strength, he was able to help with chores that would take four or five people to do. He also had a brief stunt in the kitchen, trying to help Big Mac and Granny with their cooking, though he was quickly kicked out due to his size and nonexistent cooking skills. Many of the boys had also taken him under their wings. Not an evening went by without all of them going to the showers together to get cleaned and gossip, and Sunset always found it hard to nap with the giant due to all of them laying so close.
>Sunset did her best to protect and watch over him. He was her catch after all; it would reflect poorly on her if he were brought into the pack and she didn’t do her best to help him accumulate. It was her that showed him around the estate. She, with the help of Grammy Smith, was the one to tell him the oral history of their pack. She even taught him some lycan greetings and other mannerisms. This earned her some more teasing, but the teasing quickly stopped when she received the exclusive right to be the little spoon for the giant every night.
>The days were hectic and busy, yes, but there was something fun about teaching and playing with a new packmate, especially when you could be as rough as you wanted with him and they wouldn’t be hurt. All good things came to an end however, and that end was when Luna parked the pack’s van near the front door and blindfolded Anon.
>Applejack and Granny Smith helped him into the back of the van--the only place where he could sit, and just barely, since his head brushed against the van’s roof--before piling in. Sunset was ordered into the van as well, with the rest of the pack being told to go inside of the manson and stay there until they all came back.
>“So… where are we going?” Anon asked from the back.
>“We are going to an arranged meeting place, as doing anything here might become...difficult,” Luna said, buckling up and adjusting her mirrors. “My sister, niece, and many others will be there. Today we will all formally speak and discuss you.”
>“Oh, okay,” the giant said, panic entering his voice. “So, are you guys going to try to kill me or something?”
>“I very much doubt it. Some might suggest it, but we’re more civilized than that. As is tradition, we are meeting on neutral ground, far away from any unwanted eyes.”
>“Why do I need a blindfold?”
>“Though you are one of my pack now you’re still a human, and thus you’re not allowed to know the exact location of this place. These grounds are of ancient significance; even I cannot bend the rules that apply there. Now I would get comfortable, it’s a rather long ride.”
>Sunset could hear the van’s suspension shift as Anon leaned against the van’s side.The giant sighed, tugging at his blindfold. He could have easily ripped the fabric into pieces, but looking back, she could see that he was just adjusting it.
>“Alright. Just don’t drive crazy please. I get car sick real easy.”
>Unfortunately for everyone involved, Luna did not drive like a normal, sane individual. For her, cars were a new concept, and as she had no fear about being injured if they were to get into an accident--none of them would, but that wasn’t the point--she drove with all of the self-preservation of an angry elderly woman.
>Red lights and stop signs were ignored, turns were taken going so fast that it was a wonder that the van didn’t flip over. If Luna felt a speed bump she went faster, so that the van would lift off into the air when it eventually hit another bump. The alpha also refused to drive any slower than eighty miles an hour, even with traffic present.
>For everyone, Granny Smith--who was known to barely bat an eyelash at almost everything-- included, it was a terrifying experience. Sunset was positive that the van would most likely need repairs once they got home. They were forced to stop more than once when Anon got too sick, and in the end Sunset had to sit back with him, keeping a bag of ice on his head while she sat in his lap, the only reason why she wasn’t being thrown around like a ragdoll because the giant had his arms around her waist.
>Due to this reckless driving, they traveled what must have been the length of the state in just a few hours. Towns gave way to forest and homes and that gave way to forest. Soon they were traveling down a small dirt road, the trees so thick that no light could be seen past it’s canopy.
>The air smelled different here. It had a strange charge to it that made one’s hair stand on end. Fireflies could be seen flying all around along with other, stranger things. There was also a noise; it was a light, floaty noise, like the chiming of a bell.
>In the front of the van, Sunset could hear Granny mumbling something about “magic” and “those thrice-damned fey”. Even Luna seemed uneasy, slowing her speed as she looked around. Applejack had her hat tilted down over her face, arms crossed over her chest. To most, it would have looked like she was sleeping, but Sunset could see the tension in her arms and shoulders. The pack’s second might have had her eyes closed, and almost looked relaxed, but the farmer was ready for a fight.
>Sunset was too preoccupied to be worried, anxiously staring up at Anon. The giant was a sickly shade of green, a thin sheen of sweat coating his face. Sunset could hear his stomach gurgling, and she was acutely aware that she wouldn’t be able to get out of the way if and when he decided to empty his stomach.
“How you holding up there, Anon?” she asked.
>Anon whimpered, resting his head on her shoulder. He grabbed the bag of ice, placing it on the back of his neck. Sunset felt his belly heave, the gurgling growing louder. She swallowed, looking toward the front of the van.
>“Are we almost there? Please tell me we’re almost there.”
>“It’s a couple more minutes,” Applejack said. “Ain’t that right, Granny?”
>Granny Smith seemed to ignore her granddaughter, still muttering to herself.
>Sunset wrapped her arms around the giant’s neck, just under the ice bag. She slipped a hand through his shirt, racking her nails across his back. That seemed to calm him a bit as he placed his nose against her throat, letting out a pained groan.
“We’re almost there, Anon,” Sunset said. “Just a bit more. You got this big guy. Just a few more minutes and you can get out of this van. Stay strong. Please, by the pale moon, don’t puke on me. Please.”
>The next few minutes were tense ones, until the van skidded to a stop. Before Sunset could breathe a sigh of relief that she wasn’t stepping out of this van covered in vomit, she was lifted from Anon’s lap by the giant himself Before Anon threw himself toward the back doors. There was a crack, and the van rocked as his body hit the doors, his hands desperately pawing at the handles. When he got a hold of one he nearly ripped it off the door in his haste to pull it.
>The door opened, and Anon rolled out of the van with one final groan, causing the suspension to creak. Sunset was quick to follow him as Luna put the van into park and Granny and Applejack unbuckled their seatbelts.
>Poking her head out of the van, Sunset saw a very large, wooden building. It was two or three times larger than the manson back home, with moss covering its expansive roof and its wooden paneling an…. Odd color. The building itself was camouflaged by trees, almost melting in the background. There were also lights surrounding the place. Not electric or candles; they had dull blue glow to them, pulsing as if they were alive.
>Another groan caused her to tear her gaze away from. She looked down to see Anon on his belly, cheek pressed into the dirt. She knelt down, placing a hand on his back.
“You okay there, Anon?”
>Anon tore the blindfold off, blinking slowly as he looked up at her. He opened his mouth, closed it as vomit threatened to fly out. Looking miserable, he swallowed.
>“I… I’m not getting back in that car if Luna drives,” he said. “I don’t care if I have to walk. I’m not getting back in there.”
>Sunset said nothing, just giving his back a few reassuring pats as the others got out of the car.
>“Hey! Are you those wolf guys? We’ve been waiting for you forever!”
>Sunset’s head snapped up. She could see someone running toward them wearing a set of white robes. She was mortal from the look of her, though a quick one from the way that she moved. Sunset was barely able to get to her feet--stepping in front of poor Anon in case she tried anything funny--when the rainbow-haired girl stopped a foot from her and offered a hand.
“Hiya! The name’s Rainbow Dash! You can call me Dash, or the fastest alive. I also go by the coolest too if you were wondering,” she said puffing her chest out.
>“Yep… that’s fucking… Rainbow,” Anon said, rolling onto his side. “Oh lord, my stomach…”
>Sunset studied the hand offered to her, then to the girl herself. She sniffed the air, nose scrunching as she smelled the scent of undead on her. If that wasn’t enough, she could see the telltale marks of fangs on her neck.
“You’re one of those acolytes to the vampires.” she said.
>“Yep! I’m vampire-to-be for the Celestial house,” Rainbow said, bouncing on the heels of her feet. “I’m overseen by Lady Rarity. She sent me here to watch out for you guys.”
>“Well met, Rainbow,” Luna said, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
>Sunset could see her packmaster doing her best to be gentle, and she honestly needed to. Mortals were fragile creatures; if any of them put too much strength into anything they did she might be seriously hurt, none more so that Luna.
>“I trust that my sister is already here?”
>“Uh-huh, the Lady Countess got here last night with everyone,” Rainbow said. “She might be sleeping now, along with the rest of the lords and ladies, but the acolytes have orders to wake them as soon as you arrived.”
>Slowly, laboriously, Anon got onto his knees. Fingers digging into the road, he pushed himself into a kneeling position, then a standing one. He stumbled, placing a hand on Applejack’s shoulder to steady himself, nearly knocking the big girl off her feet.
>Rainbow looked up at him, her eyes huge. Anon was nearly twice her size, so she had to crane her neck up quite a bit.
>“Holy shit, you’re HUGE!”
>“Yeah… I’m something alright,” Anon said, rightening himself.
>“Why don’t we go inside?” the packmaster suggested. “It might do you some good to sit down, Anon. Please lead the way, Ms. Rainbow.”
>Rainbow, tearing her gaze from Anon, turned toward Luna. She saluted, heels clicking together. “Yes ma’am! Please, follow me. I’m sure the others are already going to wake the lords and ladies anyway, so they all should be ready by the time we get there!”
>With that, she spun around and danced toward the building, leaving everyone just standing there, watching her go.
>Applejack turned her head to the side, spitting. “That gal looks like she licks a lot of cunt.”
>Granny smacked her. “Watch yer language young lady! Ya ain’t wrong, but no cussin’!”
>With that, the group took off at a leisurely pace toward the building. With each step they took, it grew darker, and that chime grew louder. It felt as if they were being watched. Anon seemed oblivious to it, but everyone else was on edge right up until they reached the entrance of the building.
>It was wide and open, with sturdy, thick oak doors with studded iron lugs. Strange runes were carved into the doors, each glowing with the same eerie blue light as the orbs floating. Those orbs were close, lazily floating in the air. If Sunset looked hard enough, she swore she could see faces in those blue flames.
>“Them’s will-o-wisp,” Granny said. “I ain’t seen these things in a hundred years...”
>Anon looked around. “What are you talking about? I don’t see a thing.”
“You don’t see those floating balls?” Sunset asked.
>The giant frowned. “No, I don’t. You sure you guys aren’t seeing things?”
>"Nevermind that," Luna called. "Come, let's go meet my sister. Cover your necks and watch out for her bat puns. I feel she'll be in rare form today."