Outlaw Moon Howling in the New Year

Outfit

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Today was the day and it seemed just like yesterday they’d all gotten together in Katya and her’s backyard. In the same note though, it had been a long time and they were one member short and several added to show for it. Trying to think positively, Natalie had taken the planning seriously to make sure it’d be a welcome place for everyone to want to spend time at. With the business closed for their private event, it wasn’t like they didn’t have a lot of room to move about and really have good time.

The tables were decorated with fun runners in all manners of colors for New Years, flashes of color in pinned streamer balls and balloons were here and there with sound makers and confetti. It might be several weeks after, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get into the spirit of things.

With the kitchen having cooked for them all, a variety of amazing homemade bar food of all kinds was keeping warm on the food table, sodas and lemonade ready to be poured right by it and if someone wanted to be more adventurous, ingredients for a few simple mixed drinks sat available.

Tables sat open with board games galore from Outlaw’s own stash and a few she’d taken out from the pack area. A pack of unopened balloons were laid out on one particular for a stomping game and a limbo stick if they felt up to it. Name the game and they surely had something for everyone.

As the last of the tables were set up, she smiled widely at the first wolf to arrive, a sticker sheet in hand. ”Yay, I’m glad you made it!” The wolf jumped forward, all happy yips towards the newcomer.

Attire

---

Dove had been ready for this, just to hang out with all the wolves again. Not much could bring her mood down right now as she felt herself falling into her own steps and just getting rather comfortable in her own skin all over again.

Once inside; if she was the first or not it didn't matter, she'd see Nat and go to give her a hug, her own wolf essentially husky-talking hello's at Natalie's wolf as she said hi.

"Hey! It's great to see you again, this place looks amazing, " she said with a smile as she'd snag a sunglasses sticker and stuck it on her chest before slipping off to grab a drink and see whom else she could bug a hello from.

Look

---

Flora was nervous! She'd only met Dove and Dakila so far and while they seemed lovely, she was still terrified to meet a bunch of wolves at once! Brought a new meaning to the phrase "thrown to the wolves". Ha, ha, ha!

Anyway, she was the second person to arrive after Dove, and she stepped into the familiar bar to see it positively transformed for them. How lovely!

Gosh, she wished she'd brought a plus one or something. Not that she'd be able to explain anything to a plus one anyway! Sigh.

Flora's gaze softened as she met the person greeting them at the door - maybe it was Natalie?

"Hi, um! I'm Flora!" She stated with a nervous albeit friendly smile. Her wolf was already overwhelmed being close to at least two of her species. She accepted a sticker with party hats on it and placed it on her dress. She didn't really know what to do, so she stood off to the side and hoped they'd like her!

Outfit

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She was heeerreeeeeee!!

Both the wolf and Zelda were big red furry balls of excitement as she made her way in, eyes yellow as she took in the scenery around her. It had been waaaay too long since she'd been surrounded by other wolves, and nothing could quail her excitement.

Not even dumb Dove who was already here.

Ignoring her per usual, Zelda would zero in on the new wolf instead, eager to pull her straight into a hug, but also very focused on the sticker sheet in hand. "I'm Zelda!" She'd sing in greeting, grabbing herself a stickler with several balloons.

outfit

---

Dakila had been here to help. He'd let Natalie do as she wished, plan her plans, be creative, and he'd made sure that they had the food and everything she could possibly want as much as possible. It felt good, though, to have her really take charge. She had a knack for it, and Dakila was impressed with what she came up with.

He'd gone downstairs to take a phone call--last one, he swore, before he was going out of contact as much as possible from work concerns for the evening--and now was coming back up to find that several of the younger women were here already. Glad to see it, hoped they would be friends and such. Even if he could not hold his breath about Dove and Zelda...

Hoped they'd see Winter. And Eddie, who they had not heard from in a while and he was certainly concerned about. He dared to hope his mentor had a bead on him, but at the same time knew it wasn't all in Dove's power to keep track of someone who was proving a bit of a wildcard.

Already he missed Edward, and he wondered if Solomon would show up. It was a shame that both David and Dante had decided the pack wasn't for them after all, but he was glad they'd made the decisions they'd needed to make for themselves regardless.

The current gathering might not have been everyone, but it was at least healthy.

Not interrupting, he simply came into the main floor and mingled behind, observing and muttering a very quiet "Successful Second already," to Natalie when he had just a moment of her attention.

The first to arrive was Dove and moved into the hug, squeezing, wolf responding to the noises with her own, jumping around and grappling in a boisterous display. All while this was going on, a sticker would be put onto the back of her friend’s shirt ever so carefully.

”Thanks! I’m so glad you could make it.”

And as Dove took her own sticker, there was a small thrill of amusement zinging through her.

Soon enough another wolf was coming in, a face she didn’t recognize, but a new name came to mind right away. Wolf getting close with a super fast wagging tail, she’d offer the sticker sheet as Flora introduced herself. ”Hi, it’s great to meet you. I love your outfit, its so cute.” Natalie was definitely going to have to spend some time during this to get to know her for sure.

As Flora moved off, Zelda came right in and headed straight towards her after hellos and she warmed for it, glad to see the pack already embracing someone new.

There was the sudden presence of Dakila that had Natalie looking up towards him, quiet words easily picked up and she gave a shy smile, weight shifting. The wolf wagged her tail, soft whines in hello singing out. ”Thank you. I’m really hoping everyone has fun. It’ll be a nice way to welcome in Flora.”

They were still missing Eddie and Solomon by her count.

Taking the sheet in her hand, she pulled off a sticker and placed it on his shirt.

Dove gladly ignored Zelda since she was doing the same; they were like two similar ends of a magnet just repelling against each other essentially. She'd pluck up a beer while Zelda said hello to Flora, a wave from Dove to her as she brought the beer over to Dakila.

"Hey there, good to see yah again, " she told him as she'd offer him one of the drinks. She had no clue what nefarious plans Natalie had but she would happily see what they might be as she sipped her beer and kept her back partially turned to the redhead.

Flora was instantly overwhelmed as more wolves arrived. She thanked Natalie for the compliment on her outfit and smiled at Zelda. She had such pretty hair! Offered a wave back to Dove and tried not to feel overwhelmed by all the sights and smells of new wolves to mingle with. It was a lot!

Dakila was here too, which helped, and she offered him a smile before looking back at Zelda.

"It’s nice to meet you. Seems like a good group."

She remembered there being more people in the group chat though. Were more arriving soon?

Oh, there was awoo king!

She knew she'd sniffed somewhere, he was just hiding from her. >:(

Probably trying to skip out on the date that he'd promised her for skipping out on fight night. >:((

Well, he wasn't going to get away with it that easily, she'd corner him later about it, but FIRST Flora!

"Most everyone is really cool!" She confirmed eagerly. "And it's gonna be so fun having another wolf around to play with."

Outfit

---

amid the clamor of the young women mingling, Solomon arrived hopefully without drawing much attention. Quiet, but not guarded, he entered the party space with a soft smile and an appreciative eye for the decorations. Natalie had gone to great lengths to recreate the spirit of the holiday, even belatedly.

He was not much for parties anymore, but he supposed he’d been awfully reclusive lately. There was some shame in it, for all he never committed himself to being a constant presence. Still, they had lost a pack member, and perhaps he should do his part in maintaining a sense of unity.

He approached no one in particular as he meandered through the space in search of a seat, but he did catch Dakila’s eye with a amiable smile and a dip of his head. And, if he path happened to take him nearby Zelda, then it must have been coincidence. He clenched his fingers closed as he passed, making effort to deny the wolf’s impulse to reach out to her. Or was that his own?

Dakila accepted the sticker from Natalie with a gracious smile and a squeeze to her shoulder, but there were others around and his attention could only linger so long.

Dove was here to offer drinks--which seemed to be a thing she did--and he accepted with a flash of a grin. "Good to see you, too, Dove." And a little wave to Flora to assure her that she was being witnessed as well. Glad to see her, knowing it could be overwhelming to come to a regular social gathering with all new people, let alone when you were all wolves with the heavy presences that came from that.

Hopefully Zelda wouldn't be too much for her, at any rate. They could be good friends if all went well.

Similarly nodding to Solomon when he quietly showed up--a relief, in a way, considering all that had happened with Ed--he stuck it out over here, sipping at the drink Dove had given him and making his observations of it all. The ones who avoided each other, or the ones who were drawn...

Things weren't perfect, but Dakila had lived through significantly worse before.

With Solomon arriving, they were down to just one and she wondered if Eddie had even got her text figuring he’d never responded. It was… worrying, the wolf sniffing the air as if it might give them insight as to where he was.

Despite the worry though, the venue was filled with the pack and she smiled for it, excited to have them all together again.

”So, with everyone mostly here,” she spoke up, moving to the center with some unease at being louder than normal, but still carrying forward all the same. ”We’ve officially started the first game which will be in play throughout the day until we have a winner.” Like a bonus for any conversation or board game that happened.

”Double check that you all picked up a sticker sheet when you came in.” Natalie lifted a few up, waving them. ”Everyone’s are different so you can keep track of who you are as you try to get all your stickers stuck on everyone else first. You don’t want to make it easy for each other though, so be sneaky. I think I put one on almost everyone, so consider that a warm up round,” she finished with a laughing smile.

Oh Nat you were cheeky! She looked at the stickers she had and a devilish smile crossed her face as she looked at her stickers and then everyone else around her. Oh...she was going to slip a sticker on everyone she could now!

She looked at her sticker sheet and then looked at everyone else as she discreetly peeled one off and would start to look for her first target to sticker!

Most everyone. Most everyone was really cool. That was interesting to note though Flora wouldn't ask about it. She smiled instead and nodded her head. Waved back at Dakila.

Mainly, Flora was preoccupied with her wolf bouncing around in her brain. It was an unsettling feeling, and she was having trouble concentrating on what people were saying - something she realized as Natalie called everyone's attention.

They were supposed to put stickers on each other! Uhhhhh, okay! Flora smiled sheepishly as she eyed a sticker sheet, picking it up and feeling awkward about walking up to strangers to sneakily put stickers on them! But she'd try.

Oh this was gonna be so fun!

Way fun!

Super fun!

And it gave her the perfect excuse to let her wolf play with every single wolf here!!

Grinning like a little devil, Zelda was more than ready to play this game.

Dakila chuckled. He'd known Natalie was up to something, but this hadn't crossed his mind.

Unlikely to win--and figuring someone else in this group could use the morale boost of victory more than he ever would--he would nonetheless participate. It would be encouraging for mingling.

So he took his sheet and then after a moment he moved to Natalie to ask her quietly, "When would we like to announce your little promotion?" Didn't want to spring it on her, but figured... it was worth telling. She did such a good job running the show, though, he didn't want to immediately take the reigns, even in good intentions.

Oh dear. He feared he was quite the sitting duck. It was a clever way to enforce mingling, if it appealed to a person’s competitive nature. Solomon was was not so inclined.

He could count on Zelda approaching him, at least.

Smiles and laughs were had and Natalie would take it for the win it was, glad to see the pack on board, the idea well received. She wondered who would take the win in the end, Dove or Zelda, but then Flora might surprise them all.

Setting down the extras, she’d take a brand new sheet of stickers and would be about to figure out what to do first when Dakila had her attention. Blinking up at him, a small burst of anxiety rippled through at the question, but also excitement. It was the sort of question that made it more real, afterall. ”Oh!”

Looking over at everyone, Natalie considered, wondering when for sure. ”Uh, maybe in thirty minutes or so so everyone’s enjoying themselves and settled?”

A good enough answer for him, and he smiled all the more for it. "Works for me. You want to be the one to tell them?" He expected not, and he was happy to do it himself if she was feeling against it... But he would love to see her own it out loud.

Flora melted into the background as much as a werewolf was able to in a pack of other werewolves and spotted someone else who seemed to be enjoying the sidelines. He was older. She eyed him curiously and took a seat near him, smiling but giving him space.

"I'm Flora."

Was he someone's grandfather? Must be hard when you were the only grey-haired wolf in the pack.

"I'm not going to sticker you. Don't worry."

What a stupid thing to say.

Solomon was content to watch the game of sleight of hand from an outside perspective, and so would not make a move to grab a sheet of stickers of his own. He’d suspected it would go unnoticed, and was not bothered by that in the slightest.

However, he was almost immediately approached. Whom it was was not such a surprise, however. The wolf approaching him was a stranger to him. He’d seen word about a new wolf called Flora, but this was the first he had a name to the face.

She was awfully young, and the wolf within her was green and wild. How recently had she been infected? He wondered if she was aware of the possibility of coming un-infected. She seemed content to try to embrace the group, if timidly and at her own pace.

He supposed he was the least intimidating to approach. His wolf regarded hers with a mellow raising of his head, interested by the presence of another newly turned wolf.

Her promise made him chuckle, and he was easily endeared to her. “I would not blame you.” He said with a knowingly arched brow, and gestured at himself where he sat, ”I’m the easiest target.” A smile bunched the whiskers around his lips.

“I’m Solomon.” He added with a kind dip of his head in her direction, avoiding the social cue to extend his hand for a handshake. She perhaps would become overwhelmed if that metaphysically connection was made.

That worked for him as it did her, giving some room for Natalie to prepare. She knew it was coming up, but having an exact time more or less made it feel more real while also settled in someways. It would be fine, she was sure, but there was still that wriggling feeling of ‘what if’. As for her telling them, she, er… Natalie blinked and drew in a small breath. ”If you do it with me,” she asked, landing on an in between.

Dove wondered around the space, cruising casually past Solomon who was distracted talking to Flora, a devilish look on her face as she just peeled and stuck a sticker as quietly as she could on the gentleman's shoulder before trying to make her sneaky escape!

Sticker attacking via stealth, lets hope she got it!

"Absolutely," Dakila assured Natalie, and with a squeeze of her arm, he let her off his gentle hook and into the open waters. They had people to mingle with until it was time to interrupt with their little revelation.

He had a feeling that it would be well met, no problems. Anyone who knew Natalie liked her perfectly well and they could see what she had done here. And for those who didn't know her? Well, they'd know soon enough. If they could trust Dakila, they could trust Natalie too.