After Hours

[Heath Rafferty]

"I didn't think it was none of my business," he said with a shrug. He glanced into the rearview mirror to make sure they weren't being followed. Hesitantly, he started forward again, the engine making a worrying sound after the sudden stop and sudden start. He had to remember to stop being so hard on the poor girl.

"It's okay, though. I'm a shifter," he said. "So I'm not going to out you. And I guess that means I can be frank with you. Those feral wolves are a pack of infected werewolves that used to go way out past the mountains during their shifts. Hard to tell why they're hanging around here now unless this was a show of power."

[Choi Jun Yong]

Well, he was right, it wasn't his business... but even Jun Yong would have been curious enough to ask if he suddenly saw someone throwing magic around.

Jun Yong relaxed just a little. So he was a shifter too (even though Jun Yong was only half)? Turning to focus on the road again, he set his an elbow against the door and leaned his chin in his palm. "They could wanna take more of the forest for themselves." Or maybe they got tired of having to go so far to shift.

[Heath Rafferty]

"It's a good possibility."

The wolves were restless and people said the vampires were starting to act up, too. Everything was so volatile lately. And Heath used to think that Hazleton was immune to all that big city drama. He sure as hell wished it were.

"So, you're a witch, then, right?"

[Choi Jun Yong]

"... Well, half, yeah." He was in the forest to shift, not throw curses around or play like a reckless teen on a dare. Not that Heath would know this.

When the hell would this town ever have a calm day? There always seemed to be weird shit going on. They came here years ago for a better place to live, which Jun Yong especially needed. So much for that though.

"Is it normal for those wolves to attack just anyone?" He was kind of curious now, considering they were moments ago running from the angry ferals' unwarranted attack.

[Heath Rafferty]

"Half, huh? All right."

Heath accepted it; there were a lot of people who were half one thing, half another. There wasn't much keeping them from one another, except explicit stereotypes or prejudices. Overall, though, no whole group saw another whole group a certain way.

"What, the feral ones?" Heath let out a sigh and tried to relax against the back of his seat. The truck rumbled and shook a little as they came up to a rocky path rolling upward. "Yeah. Not the normal ones, though. It's just... what's pushing them down here? They're usually smarter than this."

[Choi Jun Yong]

The bumpy road set his nerves on edge for no real reason except his paranoia, and Jun Yong tried not to show it. The wolves were way behind them. A bumpy road wasn't going to flick the car over.

"It's not like they're regular wolves. I dunno that anyone can figure it out without asking one of them." And casually hanging around for a feral to shift back in order to try and make conversation didn't seem that smart of a plan.

"What benefit would they even have coming down here anyway..." Jun Yong added as an after thought. Unless there was something more intimidating up where they usually were (which was hard to think of againt a pack of ferals).

(I'll have you know I spelled road, rode at least three times.)

[Heath Rafferty]

Heath nodded knowingly. That was exactly the problem: they couldn't stick around and simply ask the feral wolves what was going on. Heath didn't know any and it sounded to him like Jun Yong didn't either. Being afflicted as they were, feral wolves weren't forthcoming with their condition and Heath could see why. He wouldn't want to spread that info around, either. But without that information, it meant that they didn't know what was going on or why. Was it biological? Something in the air? Was it something they ought to be worried about?

Scratch that--they were definitely worried about it, especially after a bunch of innocent shifters got the sharp end of their teeth.

"Not sure," Heath said, also trying to figure out what would send them down the mountain. "But there's been a lot of supernatural action around here lately. I bet that has something to do with it."

(Dude, I know those feels too well.)

[Choi Jun Yong]

Maybe Jay would know someone who had some inkling as to what was happening with the ferals, but Jun Yong was far from having anyone to ask, despite being curious himself now. Normal wolves could be figured out, the same couldn't be said of feral werewolves. They were so unpredictable that even he didn't want to be around an angry feral, since the only 'help' he could be happened to mean shifting and strangling one until they passed out.

And that didn't sound very helpful.

Jun Yong wasn't the best at keeping up with what went down in town, but he did have enough of an idea to know not all the magic folk were lying so low. "...That could be drawing them closer."

He sighed internally. "What can the smaller shifters even do with the ferals coming down here now?" he added thoughtfully. No way were they safe, especially little ones who couldn't defend themselves or escape well against bigger animals. Those ferals better have a legit reason for it, since he didn't consider them monsters, but certainly an unpredictable danger when they weren't in control (even if he could be considered one at times too).

Not to mention them ripping up defenseless animals.

[Heath Rafferty]

"My boss has been talking about setting up a task force. I guess to drive the ferals back up the mountain. The problem is that we have to wait on cops to investigate why they're down here in the first place. If we send them back up without knowing the full story, they'll just come back."

And then they'd go back to hunting and harming innocent shifters. Being one himself, Heath could hardly sit back and watch it happen right in front of him. He sighed, then glanced over at Jun Yong.

"Did you say what you do for a living yet?" he asked, a somewhat hopeful tone seeping into his voice. "Know any cops, maybe?"

[Choi Jun Yong]

"It doesn't seem possible to get anywhere until they find that story out." he said thoughtfully, rubbing the nape of his neck. What was really going on around here any more?

Come to think of it, he should tell Little fox to watch out for the ferals.

"My friend and I sell art at a shop downtown." Nothing helpful to Heath in this case. "No, don't know any, sorry." Sadly, he wasn't going to be any assistance to finding out what was going on. Not unless he could catch a feral and try to talk it out of them somehow.

"Why? Not enough cops around to help?"

[Heath Rafferty]

"Not enough of us in the force," Heath said, hoping that Jun Yong caught his meaning. He ran a hand through his hair and turned his gaze out the window as he slowed at a stop sign. After this stop sign was the highway, which they could take out to downtown. Away from here. Somewhere safer. Heath would have to find out more later, since he wasn't sure how much Jun Yong was privy to and he didn't need to drag hapless travelers into the mix.

"I guess we're just going to have to find a feral and ask them for ourselves."

[Choi Jun Yong]

"Ah, right..." More supernaturals. And if there were more, would they be intent on letting that be known? The ones who were pretending to be human to everyone might not be all that easy to pick out, even to another supernatural. He himself couldn't feel them out so easily, except maybe other witches, but he didn't have the sense of smell of a dog to pick up on different scents. That, sadly, didn't exactly come with his snake senses, even if the night vision part was useful.

Despite being chased by ferals just now, the curious risk taker in him wanted to delve further into what was going on.

What? Sometimes painting wasn't exciting enough, sue him.

"Now how do you do that? Bait one?"

[Heath Rafferty]

Heath looked over at the kid in surprise. The way he was talking, it sounded like he wanted to be a part of it but when Heath said we, he meant himself and the other rangers. Maybe some cops. But this kid? What did Heath even know about him? (He didn't know anything.) For all he knew, he was more powerful than Heath. Witch, was it? Half? Still more powerful than Heath, since he couldn't use anything close to magic.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Bait one."

He gripped the steering wheel a little harder, then cleared his throat.

"That magic you used, that barrier. Think you could do it again?"

[Choi Jun Yong]

Was he being too obvious? Well, Jun Yong didn't know how to outright say it, so that was easier on him.

After a brief pause, he nodded slowly. "... Yeah. It's the magic I know best." Reflective spells too, but those also counted as barriers. "Why?"

Okay, maybe he also wanted to know in the hopes of having less ferals to nip at him with the wolves moving down the mountain. Whatever the reason, color him interested.

[Heath Rafferty]

"We could use it to trap one, I think. Is there any way you could make the barrier around the creature?"