Ridgefield Wake Up Call

The morning after this

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It was still pretty early when Alice got back to the apartment, having left a note back at Gus's containing both her name and number for him to call if he needed to. She wasn't entirely sure if he would or not. but it made her feel better to know that she had left it. If he chose to ignore it, then Alice fully intended to pay him a visit before the full moon to see how he was feeling. It was better to double check these things, and make sure that they didn't have a confused coon on the loose bother tearing shit up and potentially outing them.

It was better to give some sort of guidance, no matter how half assed, and make sure that he had some idea of what was going down. Asher had done it for her, and so she would make damn sure that she did it for him as well. Speaking of Asher... She would need to tell him everything as well, which left a pretty big chunk of apprehension in her belly.

Would he be angry with her? Would he be upset?

It was honestly hard to tell, but she felt like keeping it a secret would only put her in a worse predicament later, and so she steeled herself for the anger. Luckily, with the sun just barely rising, Asher would still be dead asleep in his room, giving Alice the chance to at least wash up first. Rinse away the scrap and alcohol from last night, and feel fresh once more before dunking herself back into more shit.

Once she was clean and dried, Alice would shimmy on one of her large shirts, and having no hesitation in entering right into his room and hopping right into bed. Wrapping her damp arms and legs around the warm body, Alice would coo sweetly in his ear.

"Gooooood Mooooorniiiing Sunshine."

Asher was dreaming! Except it was Trasher that was dream! Or, at least it was the raccoon that was steering the dream. He was digging through the biggest dumpster he had ever seen, and finding entire slices of perfectly preserved pizza. It was a pretty stellar dream, even for Asher the human. He was just pulling out a big slice of pepperoni when he was jolted awake by something heavy and damp flopping down on top of him. Asher grunted as his eyes flew open, irises a deep maroon as he peered blindly into the drool stained pillow his face was pressed against. His heart nearly dropped out of his asshole. For a moment, he was stiff, hair on the back of his neck standing at attention, but the raccoon helped him realize that it was only Alice. Eager to pull her into a cuddle, Trasher squeaked in his mind, and Asher huffed out a laugh at her voice.

Groaning, he flipped to his back beneath her, and snaked his arms around her lower back to hug her against his bare chest. Bleary and still mostly seeing blurs, he peered into her makeupless face, then down at the wet hair that was resting in tendrils across his chest. "Heeyyoo." He breathed, morning breath awful, but that was an Alice problem to deal with.

Alice would hum happily as Asher pulled her into a hug, offering him a quick kiss to the forehead before nosing her way into the crook of his neck. This was the safest area to avoid the bombardment of morning breath that was bound to come her way, Alice having woken Asher up enough times to know it well. "How did you sleep?" She'd mumble into his neck, her own arms shoveling their way around him to give a tight squeeze before eventually loosening up.

"Did you miss me?' Best to ease her way into this news, so that she didn't turn him either into an anxious mess or a fireball of anger.

The cuddling was a newer thing, but it was happening more regularly now. It wasn't something he'd ever complain about. Shifting some to get comfortable, he let out a sleepy sigh and looked up into the ceiling as she mumbled against his skin. "Yeah, good." He said of his sleep. As for the question, his lips pulled up in a smirk at the corner. "Not too much, sorry. Kinda liked having you out of the house for th-" His words were interrupted by a heavy, deep yawn that made his eyes water. When he finished, he sighed again and abandoned the teasing, "You even come home last night?" He questioned, not remembering her coming in, but maybe he slept through it.

Alice would narrow her eyes st the teasing, prepared to over a scathing reply when Asher was suddenly knocked into silence with a yawn. Deciding that fate bad dealt with him instead, Alice would remain silent in her little nook, shaking her head at the question.

"No." She sighed, pushing herself up so that she could see his face. "That's actually why I woke you up." She wondered if he could see all the apprehension she felt on her face.

Oh, what? No? He squinted at her as she pulled herself up, probably looking so hot with kind of a double chin at this angle, and hair in a fucking rat's nest of curls in his face. That was why she woke him up? "What... uh?" He said, eyeing the tenseness of her face. "What'd you do last night, then?"

Alice struggle to find the best way in starting this sort of conversation, biting at her bottom lip as she debated before eventually deciding 'fuck it' and going with the start. "So last night I met this dude at the bar." She began quickly, skipping over the fact that she had literally kicked his feet out from under him.

"And I was super drunk, and I sorta made a deal with him..." Ugh, it was really a blur how the deal had come up, but she think it had to do with their fight? Maybe...?

Okay, listen, not many good stories started with meeting dudes at a bar. And... a deal was a real weird fucking thing to keep her out all night. What kind of deal? Despite himself, he felt a prickle of... something in the back of his neck. Concern? Anger? Nah, not anger. Maybe just... kinda jealous, he guessed? They weren't anything serious, but he didn't like the idea of her going off making deals with dudes in bars. "...Okay?" He prompted for her to explain.

This is where thing got complicated okay.

"Well the deal was, I was going to turn him." She muttered out, quickly continuing on before Asher could interrupt. "We went back to his place to do this, and thing kinda go weird, and then he got scared?" Asher didnt need to know he had been jacking off to the thought of a raccoon biting him.

"Things escalated pretty quickly, and I bit him twice before he finally passed out." She'd finish there, her lips mashing together as her body stiffened for his reaction, a small, "please dont be mad." leaving her lips.

This was... a lot to take in three minutes after waking up. The deal was... to fucking turn him? Just??? For??? No reason??? What the fuck??? Asher blinked slowly into her face as she hurried out the story. They went back to his place and things got weird. Hey, yeah, Alice, things were going to get fucking weird if you agreed to turn him! He was hoping that maybe she would say she didn't end up biting him, and that she just ran off. But! Nope! She bit him! Twice! Please don't be mad.

Asher was... not mad. Just stunned. Confused. Impossibly, horribly confused. His brain fucking hurt. He was silent for a moment, moving to push her away from him so he could sit up in bed, his hands coming up to push his hair back away from his face. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled. What the fuck. What the fuck? "Why... were- What?"

If she could recall the whole reason as to why this whole thing had come about, she would have been happy to spill it, but unfortunately, that half of the night was a literal blur. As Asher pushed himself up, Alice would shift further onto the bed, pulling up her legs so that she may cross them. "I don't know." She sighed, a hand coming to mess with a strand of her hair. "I was really drunk, things just sort of happened."

She didn't know. She didn't know, because she went off alone and got way too fucking drunk and then agreed to turn some random fucking dude in the bar. For what fucking reason?? She didn't have one! It was possibly the most fucking stupid thing Alice had ever done, and she'd done some pretty stupid shit. Asher visibly tensed, anger spilling in in a rush, a dam breaking. His eyes, which had settled back into their regular brown, flickered into a furious red once again as her snapped his head around to look at her. "How the fuck did you even think that that was a smart move?" He questioned sharply, "Even fucking drunk? Why the fuck did you get that drunk anyway?" His hand waved accusingly in her direction.

Okay, so Alice had definitely been expecting some sort of anger to be thrown her way, but the second it was thrown at her, she couldn't help the fire that burned. Eyes narrowing to orange slits, Alice would straighten, her jaw tightening as she struggled to remain quiet during his tirade. Once he was finished, Alice would allow silence to linger in the air before finally speaking, a click of her tongue as she finally spoke.

"So now I'm not allowed to go out alone anymore?" She questioned, brows raising. "What? Do I need guardian Asher up my ass twenty four seven now?'

That wasn't the fucking point, but of course that was what she clung to. His brain was fucking hemorrhaging right now. How was that even something she wanted to argue about? This was about her fucking biting someone! "I didn't fucking say that." He snapped. "I don't care how much you fucking drink. You wouldn't fucking listen anyway!" Unfair to say, but the fire in his gut was growing at a violent pace.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? And also why the fuck was he cursing at her right now?

Who the fuck did he think he was?

"What the fuck are you trying to say." She growled out. "Why the fuck do I have to listen to you in the first place, huh?' Just because they had fucked didn't mean he had any sort of control on her life.

What the fuck was this even about? He wasn't saying any of that shit.

"You don't have to," He said with a sharp sigh, head shaking as he shifted in his weight so he could turn and look at her fully. He was in his fucking boxers still. This wasn't the type of morning he fucking wanted. "But you ended up doing some fucking stupid shit because you got drunk, so maybe you fucking need someone there." Sounded reasonable to him. If you couldn't keep from doing dumb shit alone, don't drink alone.

As Asher calmed, Alice would feel herself do the same, the raccoons fur lying flat as she mulled over his words. It was reasonable, in a sense, and she had ended up doing a pretty stupid thing in the end. Still, she didn't like the idea that she needed someone to keep watch on her to make sure she didn't drink too much at a bar. She was an adult, and she would much prefer to be treated like one thank you.

Sighing, Alice would drop her hands back into her lap.

"It was a dumb decision." She conceded with a nod. "But it's not the end of the world either, and I can handle myself." She had thought she'd done pretty good by at least leaving her name and number. She was already better than Ashers sire had been.

At least she wasn't getting all defensive still. He didn't like to fucking argue. At least she agreed it was a dumb fucking move. Asher sighed, and buried his face in his hands, rubbing at his eyes. "Yeah, but... ugh, Alice." He exhaled in almost a whine, face scrunching as he tried to address the problem. "God. Was he drunk too? Do you think he even remembers?"

As far as she could remember, he had been pretty fucking hammered too.

"I'm pretty sure." She nodded, eyes moving towards the ceiling in thought. "He ended up passing out towards the end, so there's a chance that he doesn't remember." She felt like an attack would be a pretty hard thing to forget though.

Asher's hands pulled downward, features of his face drooping against the weight of his fingers. They were both drunk, and both agreed, and then... god, this was so dumb. "Okay." He said with a sigh, nodding. "Okay, we gotta... We gotta try and see if he's infected. I think its not a guarantee."

Well, she planned on doing that from the beginning, it did make her feel a bit better to know that Asher would be with her though. You could never tell how someone would react to a Were attack, and if he were to get feisty, at least she had backup.

"Okay, but when?" She had been planning for a week before the full moon, but she wouldn't be opposed to sooner. "And how will we know if he's infected or not?"

It felt better to have a plan being set in motion. Helped chill him out. They'd handle this. Better together than her just trying to figure this out on her own and not telling him. "Before the next moon." He said with a nod, "Just in case he is, we can have him with us." As for how they'd know... "Um, I think... if it took hold then his wounds will be healed. My bite healed in like a day."

Alice would nod in agreement. They would seek him out before the full moon, check his wounds and if he was healed then it would be assumed that he was infected and take him with them for his first shift. It was kinda nerve wracking to think about, but she found that the raccoon was all for it, chittering excitedly in her head at the idea of having another coon to play with.

"That works for me." She hummed, glancing back to Ashers face. "What do we do if he isn't infected though?"

Okay. God. This was a lot. The next question was fucking tough. What do they do if he wasn't? "I... don't know. He saw you shift?"

"Uh, not really."

She had luckily done it in the hallway rather than in his room.

"But he had agreed to be bit, so does it really matter at this point?" He had to know she was a Were if he agreed to that.

He hadn't seen, but he agreed to be bit. "He was drunk, though. I don't know if he knew what he was agreeing to. I just..." He sucked in a breath through his teeth. "I wanna see if he connects you to the raccoon. If he knows what you are... it feels like we should probably... ugh." He had a headache now, being put on the spot with making some executive decision. They should probably what? Turn him? He'd know too much.

There was perhaps and off chance that he hadn't entirely known what was going to go down, but then, why would he had agreed to a bite? She hadn't tried to use any sort of fancy words, or cover up her plan in any way, so how would he have gotten the wrong idea...

"Oh, shit!" She suddenly exclaimed, her hands rushing to her mouth. "He was fucking jacking off when I went into the room." There might of been a smile forming behind her hands as her mind played back the memory.

Then there was some revelation. And it absolutely freaking broke his brain. "He what." Asher said, his face blooming into a puzzled red that nearly matched his eyes. "What the fuck like?? Was he into animals or???" What???? Whaaaat????

Oh thank God Asher came to the same conclusion she had, otherwise she would feel real fucking stupid that she had gone through with the biting. "That's what I had thought." Alice snickered. "Like a furry fetish or whatever." He hadn't even seemed phased by her when she had come in in full coon form, only offering a 'sup' of greeting.

Asher was fucking losing his mind. They'd agreed to let her fucking bite him, and he was fucking jacking off to it? Fucking gross, dude. What the hell. "Ew, oh my god." Asher cackled, dropping back onto the bed, grinning as he looked at her, "I don't want him."

Poor guy, getting denied into the coolest club around just because he had a thing for a animals.

"I bet he would really enjoy being an animal though." She suggested with a snort. "Perfect material for later."

No. Nope. No. Holy fuck. Also holy shit this dude whipped out his dick in front of Alice. He was going to not let himself be upset by that. It was just fucking weird all around.

”No. We’re sending him back to the factory if he’s turned.” He refused, moving a hand to swat her upper thigh playfully.

Alice would smack back at his hand, giggles shaking her body as she gave her head a few shakes. "Whatever, you know we cant just ditch him." It wouldnt be so bad if he hadnt changed though, their current dynamic being fine as it was.

”Ugh. Yeah, I know.” He said with a sigh and a nod. They’d deal with it. “Dunno if I like the idea of someone else, though. Kinda happy like this.” The hand that had swatted aimed to just sort of rest on her thigh now, the raccoon shuffling up close to his little girlfriend so he could nibble at her ear. She felt different, he realized. Couldn’t place it. But just different. Heavier, more of a presence. He didn’t have the words for it, but he figured... maybe he just liked her a lot. Which was stupid because of course it would be Alice. But there wasn’t really a way around it.

The coon would tilt her head into the nipping, a hand coming to press at either side of the males face as she offered little purrs of contentment. It was kinda nice how close the two little shits were to each other, and Alice couldn't help but wonder if it reflected how her and Asher were. Sure, they fought sometimes, but in the end they still made up, and it wasn't like she was unhappy with him by any means.

He had helped her out a lot, even if he was a cocky fuck.

"Yeah, who knows if a third would mess this dynamic up." She sighed, a hand coming atop his. "I'm happy with just you." Even if the idea of another coon was fun, it was also a bit nerve wracking to think of what it might do to their relationship.

This was good. Back to what it began with when he woke up. Except, she wasn't close enough, so he reached up to grab for her and tug her down closer to him, back to laying against him please. If she did, he would move his arms around her, anchoring himself to her, and squeezing in a bout of intensity that he didn't exactly anticipate. Just. He wanted to be closer. And not even a sexual sense, just, he felt the urge to pull her into him. It didn't make much sense, but he wanted it. Asher grunted exaggeratedly with the effort of the hug, a smile curling across his lips as he did. An inhale moved through his teeth as he pulled in her smell, enjoyed her warmth, just existed.

It was good. Just the two of them. He didn't know if it was the animal or him or both. Probably both, right? The raccoon was eager to pull Alice's closer, too, nibbling and wrapping his arms tightly around her and insisting that they press as close to one another as they could possibly be. It was a lot, almost overwhelming, but he wasn't fighting it. "You tryna say you looooOOOoove me?" He teased, but actually he kind of was serious??? He just didn't have the mental tools to express things the right way.

Alice would fall gracefully onto her side as he tugged, shifting her body so that she was able to rest her head against his chest. It was nice to feel his warmth, to hear his heart beat in his chest, comfortable enough that she might of liked to lay there all day if she could. The coon would shove her face into the other, offering her own nibbles, purrs of contentment rumbling in her throat at her companions closeness.

Alice would huff for lost breath at the squeezing, her own hands coming coming to pull him tight in return, although not with the same amount of strength he had chosen to give her. A hand would then move the rest on his chest, just in front of her face, fingers giving a little thrum that halted the second the statement was made. Eyes widening some as her breath was yet again caught in her chest.

Love was a very strong one, and one that she had never offered to a man outside of her family before. If she were though, she supposed that it would be used for someone like Asher, she certainly cared for him the most at least. She just wasn't sure if it was the coons emotions that made her feel this way or her own, and if they were her own, was it just because he had helped her so much?

She supposed, even if it was the latter, that most relationships were built on things like that... Right?

"I couldn't tell you if it is love or not." Alice finally sighed, her gaze moving to lock with his. "But I definitely care for you more than I have any other person in my life." Did that qualify as love?

It was a bit more serious than they'd really ever gotten, and he couldn't entirely place why everything felt so intense. Her words pretty much hit the nail on the head for him. He didn't know what to call it, really. He hadn't ever loved anyone, not even his parents. So to kind of look at a situation and apply that serious of a definition to it was pretty daunting. There were better words for it, easier words, and she said them. He literally didn't care about anyone more than he cared about her. He had a hard time caring about anyone, and he cared about her so much it fucking scared the shit out of him. But instead of running, as he was prone to do when things got too intense, he found himself leaning into it. The little creature in his brain, literally, leaning into it. Reaching out, or... in, or. He really didn't even have words to describe what was happening.

She felt so heavy, and not weight wise, just presence wise. So incredibly here. Pressing in, enveloping him, warm and good and just. What the hell was even happening. Somewhere in the midst of feeling that, he acknowledged maybe this wasn't exactly normal? He didn't know. Just knew he was parting his lips to mumble, "Same here." and then leaning in to kiss her. The raccoon, who was already pressed so tightly to Alice's, purred so loudly in his brain that it nearly felt like he was going deaf. The world sort of faded out, the potential of a third raccoon, the fight they just had, the fact that Alice had so willy nilly tried to turn someone. Kind of didn't matter. Just them, the two of them, the raccoons and the feeling of her and him together. He could hear their heart beats, hear them sync. Their breathing, too, fell in time with one another. It was bizarre.

And then, shit got stranger. He didn't know what triggered it, but the little goblin in his brain literally pulled Alice's so close to him that... for just a moment, a brief suspension of time, Asher could only see one raccoon in his mind. At first he feared irrationally that somehow his had just killed hers. It made him jump in surprise, pulling away from the kiss, but unable to do more than just hold her tightly and stare at her with vibrantly red eyes. Upon further thought, he realized... it wasn't either of their raccoons. But it was. Just. Both. At the same time. What. He... there weren't words to describe it. It was just... almost like they'd just mixed together. Into one singular super-coon. "Hhh-uh." He tried to make words, but this was incredibly distracting. What???

The silence wasn't as baffling as it might of typically been, the presence of the coon calming any of the anxiety that began to bubble up in her stomach at her own statement. Ashers coon leaning so much into her own, that she might of thought that they were both hers. Asher felt so close to her, closer than what was true, her body leaning into his chest as she waited for his response, her gaze continuing to seek his.

Eventually, he would speak, and while his words were not so elegant, they resonated with her completely, Alice offering a small smile as she leaned into the kiss. It felt sweeter than usual, warmer, all their previous problems drifting into nothing as her mind focused solely on the feelings that were blooming now. If her heart could truly grow, it might of burst in that moment, her fingers tightening around Asher, her body squeezing as close as she could get.

The raccoon would be doing much of the same thing, her purr growing louder and louder as she continued to insist that they get closer than they already were. Alice wasn't quite sure how much closer they could get until suddenly there was no longer two coons inside of her mind but one. It startled her, her own body jerking away with Ashers, Orange eyes just as wide asking the very same question of what had just happened. It wasn't a scary feeling by any means, more like a connection had been made, the final puzzle piece being slammed into place that created a bigger picture that neither her or Asher were willing to acknowledge just yet.

A picture that only the coons could see.

Alice would open her mouth to respond, but no words would come, her mind so distracted with the happenings inside of her mind.

There was comfort in the fact that Alice seemed to be just as surprised as him. Super fucking surprised. And confused. Mega confused. Almost as if... it was doubled. Mirrored twice, like he could feel the same feeling twice. "What... what?" He questioned, head shaking as he willed himself to sit up a bit more, propping up on an elbow as he looked at her puzzeledly. The raccoon in his mind chattered and purred, and then... just separated again. And it was just Trasher, and Dumbster. Separate again, but he could feel it. Feel some kind of tether there. Stronger than any pull he'd ever felt for her before. "What just... happened?" He questioned.

This was honestly just a lot to take in, Alice still struggling to find the words that properly explained what the fuck she was feeling. There was a lot of emotions to take in, and in some strange way, she felt like not all of the emotions were hers...? Like she could sense that Asher was just as bewildered by all of this, and it wasn't just because he looked it either.

He rose, and Alice would push herself up as well, her hand lingering on his chest as the coon inside of her mind formed back to what she was used to. Two separate entities, but also not the same? There bond definitely stronger than it had been when she had first entered the room this morning. "I have no clue." She gasped, her opposite hand coming to rub at her forehead. "That was-" God she didn't have any words to really say what this fucking was. "Different...?"

Different was a word for it. "They literally melted together." He said with a shake of his head, confused by the words he was even saying. Dammit, did he wish he had someone that knew better than them around for shit like this. "I think... I don't know. There's a... bond, now?" Did their raccoons just??? Raccoon fuck? But in their souls?

Yeah Asher, she had seen it happen, but like... Why?

The raccoons thus far had been pretty fucking close to the real deal, but Alice had never, not once, seen two raccoons meld into each other like that before now. It was so bizarre... "A bond is one way to put it." She sighed, biting at her bottom lip. "I could literally feel you."

His heart was hammering, and he found himself involuntarily mirroring her, his own lip running across the edge of his teeth. "Yeah, uh." He said, laughing incredulously through his nose. "Maybe, uh, maybe thats what happens if you spend enough time together? Dude, I don't know." 911, their raccoons just melted together and now things were really weird!! Help.

That made sense, right?

Alice really wasn't sure at this point, throwing her arms into the air as she fell onto her back, a low creak sounding from the bed. "Hell if I know." At least there were two coons now again, and things were like somewhat normal. "Maybe we could reach out to that Coyote doctor again?" He had seemed pretty experienced, and Alice hadn't actually gotten the number of any of the other Weres she had met. "He could know something?"

She had an interview tomorrow that she needed to worry about!

This was so fucking confusing but... at least he wasn't confused alone?? Alice came in with a good fucking idea, though. He forgot about that dude. Forgot about Alex, too. He figured that Eli guy was a better bet, since they actually met him in person. He'd literally only met Alex once in passing. They'd been to that dude's house. "Yo, that's smart. Uh. Yeah, I think I have his number. I can... text him?" Where was his phone? He literally hadn't even gotten out of bed and he kind of just wanted to lay back down and go to sleep. This morning was a long fucking week.

He crawled toward the bedside table to grab his phone off the charger.

Alice was full of great ideas if you would just listen to them more Asher!

"Sweet." She sighed, rolling over onto her stomach so that she could watch him type on his phone. "If this doesn't work then we are totally screwed." What if this was like a super bad thing?

But how could a bad thing feel that good? Did it even feel the same for him? She was almost sure it did, but like...

"It felt really nice though." She ventured, orange eyes peaking up at his face.

Screwed, but only because they wouldn't know what to call whatever happened. She echoed sort of what he was going to say as he scrolled down through his saved numbers in search of it. "It... did. It was weird, but it felt good. Like." He met her eyes, inhaling some as he tried to find words. Asher just wasn't that eloquent, "Really good." An affirmative nod. It wasn't like he felt like it was a bad thing. It was just a confusing thing. And overwhelming. But hopefully they would have answers soon. He'd have to go through Alex's shit to find it, but he'd pull it up eventually. "Here," He said, and pulled open a new text thread.

It was a relief to find out that it hadn't only been good on her end. Nodding as Asher located the number and began typing away to the doctor, a smile forming on her lips as she inched her way closer to him, pushing herself into his space so that she could watch the text exchange, eager to find out just what the doctor would have to say about all of this. "Good job." She congratulated on her squeeze in.

"This dude is gonna block me." He grumbled, head shaking. He didn't know how to word any of it without sounding fucking insane.