Flannel Looks Good on Werewolves
Main Street wasn't far. Separating our comfortable, lower-middle-class neighborhood from the "bustle" of what was essentially the heart of town was a wall of trees and a long, highway-like road. It was about a fifteen minute drive, which meant I had the pleasure of listening to my children emulate the historical Wilhelm Scream for the entire drive.
"It's more like 'AuUuUuUugh'," Dylan was saying, swapping almost impressively between normal speech and horrifying shriek.
"Or like 'ooooooooough'," Lucy tried. I was parking by now, which was a massive relief, because the noises were inhuman.
"No, no, you're both wrong," Collin corrected. "It's more like 'auuUuuWoOOoOOOO'-"
Somehow, the attempt at emulating the scream triggered an awkward howl out of him. I looked up in time, startled, to see that he'd tilted his head back and everything, before managing to choke it off. A look of mute horror was on his face in no time; Dylan's eyebrows had nearly disappeared into his hairline.
"Whoa!" Lucy squealed, clapping her hands, totally oblivious to her brother's horror. "Do that again!"
"Collin?" I asked, turning to look at him, but he quickly grabbed the strings of his hood and yanked them tight, disappearing as best he could and scrunching up.
"Uh," Dylan said, exchanging a confused look with me. "You okay, dude?"
Collin said nothing.
"Come on," I said, uncertain what the right thing to do here was. "Hey, let's get out, yeah? We've got to get some clothes."
"No," Collin said, voice muffled. His voice was thick with some emotion.
"That's not a bad thing," I tried to say, but he pulled in tighter.
"I don't understand," Lucy said, perplexed. "I thought it was cool. Why's he upset?"
"Dylan, honey, can you get your sister out of the car real fast?" I asked, unclicking my belt. I popped open my door and moved around to Collin's side; thankfully, Dylan was already moving. "Collin? Honey, what's wrong?"
But he said nothing.
"You have to talk to me," I said, squeezing his arm. I flinched when he yanked it back. "Please?"
"You wouldn't understand," he said, voice tiny. "Please stop asking. I don't want to talk about it."
I floundered for a second. I didn't know what to do. This was uncharted territory. There had never been something that my kids couldn't- or wouldn't- talk to me about.
"Okay," I said finally. "Well, come on then. I need you in the store for your sizes."
"I can't go in there, Mom. Look at me."
"You're not the only one, kiddo." This was Jade; somehow, she'd snuck up on me, expression concerned.
Collin groaned. "Go away. I look like a clown."
"Can I tell you something?" Jade knelt down next to me and reached out to very gently touch Collin's arm. By now, Dylan and Lucy had joined us, too, and Dylan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw Jade touch his brother.
"What?" Collin asked, peeking up over his arm at her.
"I've shown pictures before of how I used to look, right?" Jade said, grinning.
"Yeah," Dylan piped up. "You were super nerdy."
"Exactly. Ages ago, I used to be super dorky and quiet. I used to get bullied all the time."
"She did," Ivy said, standing behind her. She had her arms crossed, and her expression was suddenly unreadable, cast in shadow.
"Why would you get bullied?" Collin asked, uncertain. "For being a werewolf?"
"I was a late shifter," Jade explained. "Not only did I hit puberty late, but I didn't master my transformation until I was nearly seventeen years old. That's late for most werewolves around here."
Collin lifted his head, eyes wide. "You were stuck looking like this until your seventeenth birthday?"
"Yup." Jade shifted. "You know who helped me get control of my form?"
"Who?" Dylan, Lucy, and Collin all asked together.
Jade turned, smiled at me, and said, "Your mom."
Three pairs of eyes moved to me, and I stiffened. Somewhere deep in the recesses of my memory, the cobwebs stirred.
"Your mom took the heat off of me," Jade continued. "There was one super mean girl in particular."
"Was she a... werewolf?"
"Nope," Ivy snorted. "God knows she wanted to be, though."
"She was just mean," Jade said, shrugging. "She'd come find me and start picking on me, because she'd noticed a lot of the other werewolves- particularly from the other packs- talking about me behind my back. Your Mom would come running and take all the attention off of me."
"And it wasn't easy," Ivy said, grimacing. "Remember that one time she found your diary?"
I blanched. "I do now."
"It gave me time and space to stop stressing out," Jade continued. "And your mom's support, even though she wasn't a werewolf, was what helped me get mastery. Not only that," she added, "but it was because of your mom that I picked up fashion at all."
"No way," Dylan whispered, looking at me as if I'd just revealed I were actually Superman.
"Yes way," Jade said. She clapped her hands and pushed up. "Your mom may not be a werewolf, but she's got your back. I can speak from experience. So- you coming?" She offered a hand out to Collin.
He took a huge breath, then slowly loosened the strings of his poor hoodie. It came to the middle of his forearms, and his pants looked like highwaters.
"Good choice," Ivy said, clapping him on the back. "You've got a good support team, sweetie. You're not alone."
I felt a lump in my throat, watching my kids gather around Ivy and Jade. Some old, rusty part of me stirred at the mention of those memories, and like an old movie player, it flickered to life only to belch out incomplete scenes.
Jade had been badly bullied, that part I definitely remembered. I'd always assumed the diary thing was just a terrible, recurring nightmare that I had, but apparently, it was a wholeass memory I'd tried (unsuccessfully) to suppress.
Neat.
The first store we popped into was one that had been made exactly for situations like my own. "Wolfitters" was the name, and it was a large, warehouse-sized operation with clothes for all body types and ages. Werewolves weren't known for being gentle on their clothes.
"All right," I said. "We need to be able to get enough for at least a week's worth of outfits, but if I were pushing it, I'd say we need two weeks. On top of that, fall's closing in, Collin, so you need to make sure you've got some thick sweaters."
"Okay," Collin said uncertainly. We weren't the only ones in there; around the store, there were other families with kids in similar states to him, and I realized that he was staring at them with wide eyes.
Aegis is right, I thought, realizing more than ever that we really could not miss that bonfire. Damn. Collin desperately needs to see others like him, especially before he starts up school. At this age, appearance is everything; he needs to see just how normal this is, for those like him.
I ran a hand through my hair, and we began the most painful part of the outing: Dressing a hormonal preteen stuck in a half-human, half-werewolf body.
"I think you should get more flannel," Lucy commented. "Werewolves look good in flannel."
"Can't argue there," Jade said. "Flannel can never go wrong."
"I hate flannel," Collin groaned.
Ivy jumped in. "Try it- you might like how it feels on your fur. And uh... skin."
"What about this?" Dylan said, grinning as he held up a pair of leather pants, straight out of the '80's.
"Help, or sit down," I said, pointing at him.
"I am helping! Maybe a wardrobe refresh is what we need!"
"I'm not going to school dressed like I'm headed to the disco," Collin snapped. He grabbed a flannel from Lucy's hands, earning a triumphant cheer from her. "I'll try it on."
Turns out, Lucy was right. Flannel just always looks good on werewolves.
While Collin was digging through clothes in frustration, I looked up in time to see a girl looking our way, around the same age as the twins. She was just a few inches taller than Dylan, but she had bright green eyes and long, chocolate brown hair. She has to be a werewolf, I thought, though a pair of bright eyes didn't exactly constitute as proof. She walked over to where we were, eyes on Collin, and tapped him on the shoulder.
He jumped half a foot in the air.
"Hey," she said, smiling. "I think I saw you on TV, right?"
Collin looked horrified. I was about to go bail him out, when Ivy grabbed my shoulder and dragged me over to where Jade and Lucy were. Jade had a good grip on Dylan, who looked crushed to be out of the loop.
"Uh," Collin said, looking like he wanted to run. "Maybe?"
"Yeah. Your mom was really cool."
I relaxed slightly, and so did Collin. "She's okay," he said, awkward. "Uh..."
"I'm Annie." She beamed at him. "My mom's on the PTA. I'm a werewolf," she added, grinning. "Half-breed, though. No telling when my form's coming in." She sighed dramatically. "I'll probably be dead last, this year."
Collin shot a deer-eyed look at Jade, who winked at him. "Uh, I'm Collin," he managed to say. "And, uh... probably not. I'll bet it comes... soon. That's a good thing, right?"
"Getting your werewolf form? Uh, duh!" She laughed, though it wasn't mean. "That's everything around here. Who wants to be stuck in human form? You'll see," she added, patting him on the arm. "I heard you didn't know it was gonna happen."
"No," Collin said, shaking his head.
"I'll bet that was a scare and a half. I promise, you'll see," she added, smiling brightly. "We're here to get my brother some new clothes, because he's stuck in the half-way, too. He's all cranky; he ripped up his favorite shirt and pants on accident, trying to fit into them."
"I feel like I'm all weirdly shaped," Collin muttered, looking at his arms. "Everything looks awful on me."
"Except flannel," Annie pointed out. "Guys always look good in flannel, even in the half-way. Trust me." Someone called her name, and she glanced over her shoulder, already starting to step in the direction of the voice. "You'll be at the bonfire tonight, right?"
Collin nodded. "Yeah, I... I think so."
"Cool. See you there!"
I felt my shoulders drop in pure relief when she'd left. Anxiety had completely flooded my system, but seeing it all work out was like a bucket of ice water over my head on a hot day.
"Relax," Ivy said, patting my arm. "He's got it."
"Never leave me alone again," Collin hissed, popping up next to us and looking terrified. "I don't know what to say to anyone, looking like this! I don't know what I'm doing!"
"You did great," Jade said soothingly. "Come on- I think that's everything, yeah?"
We counted out his set of clothes. About a week-and-a-half's worth of shirts and pants each, plus a pair of wide-toed boots, because his feet were... enormous. And clawed. His shoes had already begun to shred.
I was already doing calculations in my head. I'll skip this round, I thought. Lucy still needs a winter wardrobe, plus Dylan, and I need to make sure they're prepared. I can probably get a jacket, which is good, because my good one's got holes in it...
"Mama," Lucy said, holding my hand. "Do I get clothes, too?"
"You do," I said, smiling. "You're next, kiddo. You and Dylan. We had to go to a special store for Collin."
"Ugh," Dylan groaned. "Dude, you're getting all the special attention. If I'm not a werewolf too, I'll retire from life."
"You don't want this," Collin grunted. "I drool all the friggin' time, and eating is a nightmare. Sleeping's worse. I'm massive. And I keep dreaming about eating steak raw." He shuddered.
"And yet, you're still my baby," I cooed, and Collin groaned, playfully shoving me off.
"Don't call me your 'baby', Mom, I'm almost a foot taller than you."
"You'll be my baby even when you're thirty-two and three feet taller than me."
"Will I be your baby at thirty-two?!" Lucy piped up, clapping.
"You'll be my baby even at eighty-two, honey bun."
"Yay!"
"No, thank you," Dylan scoffed.
"You'll be my baby until you hit thirty-three. That's your limit."
"What?! How come he gets a limit?" Collin demanded.
"Hey, why do I get a limit and nobody else?"
"I'll trade you, dude, I don't want to be babied! Look at me!"
"I don't want to be babied either, but I also don't want to be left out!"
"You're both my babies forever and ever," Lucy announced. "And if you're my babies, you have to let me put diapers on you!"
"Never mind," Collin said immediately. "Being Mom's baby isn't so bad!"
We laughed, and I watched the three kids push each other around. Lucy started chasing the two, shrieking about butt powder and baby wipes.
"It's funny," Ivy said suddenly, and I turned to look at her, only to realize that both she and Jade had been intently watching the four of us interact.
"What is?" I said, immediately tense, because she had a strange look on her face.
Ivy hesitated, looking at me for a moment. Jade said nothing.
"Watching you with them," she said finally, "it's almost like... like seeing the old you again."
I stiffened. "The old... me?"
"You have to admit, Sylvie, you've changed," Ivy said softly. "You're... quieter than you used to be."
I looked away, back toward my kids as I tried to school my expression. I knew it. Always a disappointment.
"That's not a bad thing," Ivy said, maybe sensing that I was upset. "I just... wish you would..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but I shrugged stiffly.
"There's nothing to tell," I said, staring ahead. "I'm just... socially out of practice, that's all."
"Then we'll warm you back up," Jade said quickly, in the silence that followed that statement. "Come on. Let's finish up here, and then: the Bonfire."
I walked ahead, but I knew what I'd said had hurt Ivy. I just... I didn't know what to do anymore. I didn't know what to say. I knew what she wanted me to say, but that was the truth, and like hell I'd be saying any of that. Not yet.
I didn't know who I was anymore.