Road Dogs

[Penelope Lloyd-Fraser]

It was dark when Penny woke. The inside of the van was hot, hot enough that the mid-day sun might have been beating down on it, but that same heat could easily have come from the other bodies that laying sleep around her. The air was thick with the smells of stale sweat and alcohol. Untangling herself from the blanket that she'd been curled beneath, Penny raked a tangle of faded-blue hair out of her eyes and looked around in the darkness, wondering why they weren't moving anymore. She groped her way to the back door and shoved it open.

The cool night air hit her like a slap to the face. Immediately, she caught the scent of tobacco on the breeze. Her eyes adjusted to the starlight and she saw that the van was parked at a roadside, whilst two silhouetted figures stood some six feet away. Penny rubbed her eyes and climbed barefoot out onto the dirt road.

“Nara? Where are we?”

[Nara McKenna]

Ethan, the guitar player of Dark Muse, was sharing a smoking break outside with Nara. He inhaled with a smirk on his face, the red light at the end of the cigarette lighting up his face briefly as he pointed behind his back. The sign said 'Reynolds Park'.

"Well, you kept complaining about city motels and such..." he paused to let out the smoke through his nose. It wisp around his face and disappeared into warm breath that was exhaled. "So we took a vote while Kevin was sleeping and here we are!"

Nara flicked away her half smoked cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with a boot heel. "Just don't tell him. Let 'em sleep. Less bitching I have to hear the better."

Big brown eyes turned away from the snow dust covered fields of the park to Penny and her bare feet. Being a Garou, even in human form, had it's advantages. More so for some. Nara shrugged her lips downwards and brought her attention back towards her companion. "Figured you'd like the surprise."

Penny was a Lupus and this would be heaven for her, being born from wolf. Nara was the opposite, born of man and raised in that environment until her first change. From different spectrum they came, they complimented each other well. They always had when their paths crossed. Penny was a godsend since the Chicago nightmare. She was the perfect distraction and now something more.

[Penelope Lloyd-Fraser]

Penny paced forward a few steps, half-turning to get a better view of the surrounding area. Even though it was dark, she could pick out a vague outline of the scenery. There wasn't a skyscraper or neon light in sight. Penny smiled a little.

“Not that I'm complaining.. but why here?”

They didn't just stop for any reason, after all. Either the band had a gig or Penny and Nara had some work to do.

[Nara McKenna]

"My gig isn't for a couple of days," she said, shrugging. "Figured it be nice."

Penny was still looking at her incredulously. The Fury smirked and dug hands into her leather jacket pockets. "Seriously."

They were close to Denver where the next set was booked. There would be plenty of supernatural insanity to keep them occupied for a good while there. Since picking up Penny in Minneapolis, there was always something. A newly Awakened Mage was the cause of the power outages, a pack of Anarchs were toying with the local Glasswalkers by firebombing grocery stores, or the best was a Nuwisha trying to see if the local Sabbat could be exterminated by planting evidence on Nara's band that her crew were ghouls. Oh the fun of it all.

"We all could use a break," she smirked and gave Penny the once over. "Unless you want to bypass this and continue onto Denver ..."

[Penelope Lloyd-Fraser]

“Are you kidding?”

It had been a log time since she'd had a night out under the stars – or at least one that went uninterrupted. Suddenly feeling very much awake, thanks to this pleasant little surprise, Penny couldn't help but grin at Nara.

“All of us?” she asked, looking excitedly off towards the woods as she rubbed her hands together to stave off the cold. “I mean, are the guys up to it?” she added, with a playfully glance at Ethan.

[Nara McKenna]

Nara chuckled, and looked to Ethan who merely crossed his arms and gave a knowing look to the two Garou. "We could always camp nearby. Though Kevin will steal the van I bet. That is, if you two wanted quiet time in the woods together."

His suggestion was not only truth, but to tease as well. Nara coughed and ran a hand through her hair nervously. "Yeah, a run in the woods would be fun..."

[Penelope Lloyd-Fraser]

Just the thought of romping through the woods in lupine form was enough to silence Penny, who exhaled a long breath between puckered lips. It had been a long time since she'd let herself run free like that, and the thought of experiencing it now was daunting in a way it had never been before. She looked to Nara with a little shrug and a smile, as if to say: I'm game if you are.

[Nara McKenna]

The half smirk disappeared as Nara turned her back on Penelope and grew smaller, more feral. The Fury's back hunched over as fur sprouted all over her skin and clothing, which eventually disappeared due to the blessings of Gaia's magic. Human legs bounded over the bushes, but landed Lupine as Nara ran off towards the tree lines, not bothering to look back, knowing she would be joined soon enough ...