Day 90; Video 003

[bostonhowler]

[The breeze pushes her heavy hair behind her. She takes a deep breath and then puts a smile on for the camera. It's tentative, but there.]

I owe apologies. Quite a few of them. Riley, Charlie, St. Raphael, Derek....

[She pauses.]

Dilandau.

I had some personal trouble recently and lashed out at those that didn't deserve it. I apologize for not being able to keep my temper and for not explaining anything.

[Another pause.]

And for still not explaining anything.

I just... Please accept my apology. For those that don't wish to, [Dilandau] I understand.

I'm going to be staying at the lighthouse a bit, I think. I need the perspective and if something happens again, there won't be anyone to take the brunt of it. Except some seagulls, but they're usually pretty forgiving.

Comments

[bostonhowler]

It is very frustrating. I have it harder because I can't do the full shift. Some wolves can, but I'm not one of them.

[undomesticated]

Yeah, I've met a couple. They like playing into the really bad stereotype of chasing werecats up trees.

[bostonhowler]

[Brigid laughs. She can’t help it.]  

None of ours have done that. Most of them are Alphas, so there’s a bit of a stigma in chasing cats up trees.

[undomesticated]

You'd be surprised at how little that matters when they see a tail flicking and catch the scent of a big cat. I mean, nothing bad ever happens, but I swear, they all digress to pups.

[bostonhowler]

Not ours. It would be nice to see some of them stop being so stuffy. Then again, the pups do have a tendency to chase squirrels on the full moon.  

[And it’s hilarious to watch.]

[undomesticated]

I don't always mind it. Especially if it's the younger ones.

[She'd played 'can't catch me' with quite a few younger shifters, wolves, cats, bears, and whatever other type her family had come across. She loved playing with the young of any clan or pack. The wolves had always been fascinated by her being able to shift into a full cat, so she'd done that more often than not and let them try to tag her tail.]

[bostonhowler]

If you knew the pups in our pack, you wouldn't say that. Vicious little things that they are. No one is allowed to find out about us, or marry in if they can't handle dealing with pups in full force. Alpha says it weeds out the weaker folks.

[Brigid doesn't agree, but he's the Alpha, what's she going to do?]

[undomesticated]

Sounds like some of the packs my parents warned me against.

[bostonhowler]

[Brigid smiles a bit sadly. Anyone that marries in manages to pass the test. Honestly, it’s a miracle that their pack is as large as it is.]  

They're easily bribed. A bit of ice cream, some chocolate, cartoons and they love you for a while at least.

[undomesticated]

All you need is long enough to slip away, right?

[She grinned, thinking about some of the kids she'd wound up babysitting while visiting other shifter groups.]

[bostonhowler]

Nah, just long enough to remind them that you control the ice cream and the TV. Then, they usually settle down pretty quickly.  

[She smiles. Her pack feels further and further away, every day she stays here.]

[undomesticated]

That's sort of a kid thing in general, though. Not just a shifter thing.

[bostonhowler]

[Brigid wrinkles her nose.]

I'm so used to the pack that I sometimes forget that other people aren't in one. It's... weird sometimes.

[undomesticated]

Don't you spend any time outside of the pack? What about school? Or just hanging out?

[bostonhowler]

Not really. I stick to myself at school, since I’m usually too busy to hang out much. And my best friend decided to go to the opposite coast for school. So… no, not really?  

[Brigid’s comfortable with that, too. She knows what it sounds like, but really, she’s comfortable with where her life is at right now.]

[undomesticated]

Busy doing what?

[She'd visited friends at school, but she'd never attended the rigorous classes herself, having been homeschooled by her mother. Even then, she still got regular breaks during the day and would sometimes 'forget' that she was supposed to come back during them. It was easy to get distracted in the wild.]

[bostonhowler]

Well.  

[Brigid ticks them off on her fingers.]  

I have a full course load for a double major. Then, I have my job, helping out the Alpha and the translations for the bestiary that he wants done. Plus, since my school doesn’t offer it for credit, I have Gaelic classes three times a week. Then, there’s church and volunteering there, I also help out in the nursery on Sundays. I also volunteer as a Big Sister, for Big Brothers, Big Sisters through the church, and that’s usually an afternoon or two a week. Why?  

[She sees nothing wrong with being this busy.]

[undomesticated]

So... a lot of volunteer stuff.

[Nothing wrong with being busy, but she never fully understood trying to cram as much as possible into the hours of the day that didn't exist. But hey, it wasn't her life.]

[bostonhowler]

Not really. The church is once or twice a month, outside of the nursery, and Big Brothers Big Sisters is once or twice a week.  

[Brigid shrugs. She doesn’t find it burdensome.]  

But I work more than thirty hours a week at my job and with homework and everything, I tend to be very busy.  

[She’s also on the Dean’s list.]

[undomesticated]

Don't you take any time for yourself, though?

[Riley hadn't even peeked at colleges yet, something her mother was actually kind of pissed about.]

[bostonhowler]

My time for myself is cooking, or doing the translations. I like doing things like that.

[Brigid doesn't understand this 'time for yourself' stuff. She doesn't do anything she doesn't like to, except homework.]

[undomesticated]

Translations?

[Color her curious, Brigid.]

[bostonhowler]

Translations. Most of the pack books are in Gaelic, since we’re all Boston Irish. So, I’m translating them into English, so that others can read them.  

[No big deal.]

[undomesticated]

Yeah? Maybe you can give me a few lessons. I always liked the sound of Gaelic, but we never stayed in Ireland long enough for me to pick any of it up.

[bostonhowler]

[Brigid bites her bottom lip and has to go over it in her mind several times before figuring it out.]

Is féidir liom iarracht a mhúineadh agat.

I can attempt to teach you? I read it better than I speak it.