Chains And Changes

Starring:

Angel_icon.gif Dajan_icon.gif Matthew_icon.gif

Summary: It's that time of the month! Matthew is introduced to his new accommodations at Angel & Co's for the next three nights. Dajan sees more of her new roommate than she probably bargained for, Angel is not intimidated.

Date It Happened: February 20, 2002

Chains and Changes


Hyperion Basement

To say that Matt is a bit nervous as he steps down into the basement proper would be a complete understatement. His heart has been racing 90 miles a minute since the sun rose this morning, and now that it nears sunset? It may very well explode! He may be in a new package, and washed up now, but deep down he's just as scared as he was the first time they saw him, and now it's more than obvious. "The door is really strong, right?" he asks with a stutter as he readjusts strap of the bag on his shoulder: tomorrows clothing inside of it.

Dajan floats down the stairs beside him. She hasn't let her feet touch ground much today because Matt's been so — jumpy. And jumpy Matt jumps at noises he doesn't expect, which makes him jumpier. She doesn't answer his question. She looks expectantly to Angel, arms folded. Body language indicates she's still not crazy about the so-called Champion of the city, though Cordelia's vouching has softened her attitude toward him. A little.

Angel's own body language indicates that he cares very little about the opinions people may have of him. He takes a careful look about the room, contemplating the security measures already in place and those to be taken. His reply is a simple one as he drums his fingers against the heavy iron bars, "Strong enough."

Well, so far Angel hasn't eaten him, and you know what? After a month in /this town/ that is mighty high praise. Taking a deep breath, he nods at the bars. "A lot better than the chains I was gonna try and use on my own…" Matt agrees. "He's gonna be out there tonight, itn' he? He's not gonna lock himself up in his pen."

"Use the chains anyway," Dajan suggests, mildly. Doubling up will make Matt feel that much better, she hopes. But she looks to Angel, and back to Matt. "Doubt it," she says, with an apologetic shrug.

"Probably," Angel says with a nod, actually agreeing with Dajan on something as he nudges the hefty chains across the floor with his foot towards Matthew, "But then again, I'll be out there too."

Matt's eyes go to Angels at that sentiment, and shortly after paces over to pick up the chains and begin to sort them out. Such a pleasant evening, no? "I really don't know what he wants… but he, he might come looking for me again. If he can find me twice, he can find me three times." This bit of information, while directed to both of them, is mostly given to Angel as Dajan's heard it by now. "He wants the girl, too."

"And you'll kick his ass? You've got silver bullets?" Dajan asks, hopefully. She pauses, thoughtfully. Maybe Angel doesn't need them. Maybe vampireness is enough by itself. She is still getting the hang of supernatural stuff that doesn't involve her and her werewolf roommate. "The baby? The baby and her mom? Are they gonna — tonight? Oh my god, they are…!"

"They're fine." Angel gives the chains another swift nudge, rattling them to indicate that Matt should hurry up, "They're upstairs. Been staying here since he tried to get them the first time. And if he's stupid enough to actually come here, well … " He silently wonders how a werewolf-skin rug would look in the lobby. Probably bad.

At that prompt, Matt pulls off his shirt and goes about the process of fastening the chains and securing himself. Without his shirt on, two things become visible: the fading scars of his run in with his wolf, and the Hatchet cursed mark on his chest that is obviously of occult origin and not wolf bites. "I feel really bad for that girl… the first night you change? It's gonna be really rough on her. At least she won't hurt anyone, won't have to deal with that."

Dajan rotates slightly so she's not watching Matt take the rest of his clothes off, just for the sake of his modesty. She's worked with film students for four years, so it's not like she's never seen a guy out of his clothes, but she's being sensitive to his feelings — or at least, she hopes she is. "Yeah. I take it mom's secured too?" she asks of Angel without turning to look at him.

"Locked up," Angel answers with a deal of confidence - he's clearly satisfied by their arrangements, "Although chances are Cordelia isn't going to appreciate dipping into the salary fund to pay for two extra cells." Neither is Wes, actually, considering the money is technically his. Oh well.

Once he's good and chained up, Matt moseys his way into cage, and swallows nervously. "Yeah, and I'm bettin' those are kinda hard to write off as business expenses now that its tax time, too, huh?" No, it isn't a serious question. "Hey, if you go lookin' for Jack, somethin' you should know: He ain't like me, or us now I guess. He says he's in charge, he's in control when he changes. Not… not just wild."

"That'd be the big guy's dealio, not mine," Dajan says. "Boss wants him stopped, but she doesn't want me shredded. And while I have been taking shooting and knife throwing lessons — not so much crazy about the idea of taking on a pack alpha. Especially one who's got his human intelligence. That's a bit outside my skillset, y'know?"

"Not too far outside mine," Angel says with that same confidence, although he's still not expecting to be successful when it comes to taking on a werewolf in a straight fight. He'll need to be crafty. He points at Matt suddenly, "You need to focus on making sure those chains are tight enough to be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable means you're not getting out."

Matt has done this a few times. And heck, even once successfully! But he nods in agreement with Angel as he checks the locks and the slack (or lack there of) of the chains, and makes sure they are fastened to the bars nice and tight. With a hard jerk, metal clashes against metal, and a bit of skin peels at off of his right wrist as he test the strength of his work. It holds up. Unfortunately, as his face twists painful, and he grunts out uncomfortably due to something that has little to do with the chains and more to do with the puppy wanting to come out and play, he's running out of time. "Ah!"

"Any mystic sigils or anything that'd help lock him in beyond the mundane locks and chains?" Dajan asks, looking aside to Angel. "Spells? Like that?" She turns, alarmed, as Matt makes that sharp noise. "It must be dark outside. Not much longer to moonrise, I guess."

"I'm not big on the magic stuff," Angel admits, watching Matt carefully even as Dajan speaks, "If you've got any mojo you want to work then feel free."

Matt's breathing becomes shallow and harsh, "Lock it." he asks of them as he jerks hard against his chains again trying to make sure. Matt's strength isn't on the superhuman scale just yet, but he sure isn't shabby on the mortal levels, and it shows again with how hard those chains clash against the metal that's holding him. When Matt opens his eyes, they are black as pitch.

Dajan shrugs. "I might be able to get the boss to throw some mojo. Witch I'm not. I can only help patch him up afterward if he rips himself up trying to get loose." She bites her lower lip, pensively. "It's go time, big guy. See you tomorrow, Matt." She hits the ground at a run and slams the cell door on him, hard. "Is there a key or did it lock from slamming?"

"It's locked," Angel says, taking a step back towards the weapons rack to look over everything on display there, "We should be fine."

There is still enough of Matt in there to give Dajan his friendly smile, but there is… a bit of worry in those black eyes of his. A dark acceptance. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." he manages to say before another grunt takes his voice from him. Though from the sound of the words, there wasn't any certainty at all that he would. He kneels down to the ground and bends over as the final lap begins.

Dajan could turn and bolt. And indeed, her instincts are screaming at her to do just that. But she's in. Her job. Her friends. Her roommate. The supernatural underbelly of Los Angeles wants her, and she's in its grip. Matt's a friend now. She won't leave him alone. She won't look away. The nightmare is real, she's wide awake, and her eyes are open. "We'll get pancakes," she says, encouragingly, voice only shaking a little.

"Might be better if you didn't stick around to watch this," Angel suggests, glancing sidelong at Dajan but still keeping his attention focused on the soon-to-be-werewolf, "Won't be fun."5r

The transformation, all told, doesn't take very long once it's actually begun. Pink skin sprout dark gray fur. Bones twist and contort in ways they were never meant to, fingers and toes shifting into claws. Ears becoming sharp and more defined, and that snout…

Matt's wolf really is a beast. Like the kid who spawned it, it is bulky and muscular. This is not the agile dog or fleet footed hunter. It's strength is obvious, and the sheer size of it stresses the chains that were already tight on the kid that was there before. This is the monster that haunts children's nightmares. Matt's screams shift as his flesh does, becoming deeper and more guttural in turn. When the transformation is finished it ends with a bestial howl that booms out forceful enough to rattle glass. And when his eyes direct on the pair, Matt is nowhere left inside. They look at Angel and Dajan with the want of slaughter.

"I know," Dajan says quietly, biting her lower lip. But she stays. Even as the last vestiges of humanity fade from Matt's face and body. Even as his screams turn into growls. Even as the body of a teenage boy is lost in the form of a ravenous predator. She stays. She swallows hard a time or two, but she doesn't move. She knows that what there was of Matt may remember tomorrow that his friend didn't abandon him. She hopes that tomorrow there is still a Matt. "'Til dawn, he's like this?"

"Til the full moons over," Angel says with a nod, moving forward to rap the bars with the shaft of a battle axe he's picked up from the rack - just checking to make sure everything is sturdy, "Secure."

As the battle axe touches the bars, Matt jumps forward putting all that muscle of his to use. The movement is instant and violent, the kid moving the distance in a blink of an eye. The metal clashes again loud and sharp enough to leave a ring in a person's ear. But the chains do hold, for now. Standing upright, the beast's chest heaves in and out as the chains are pulled completely taught.

Dajan hitches in a sharp breath as the Matt-wolf-thing lunges forward. She takes a step back, but only the one. She masters herself, visibly putting an effort into calming herself so she doesn't hyperventilate and pass out, audibly whispering, "Just. Good. Effects." Hey, whatever gets you through the night, right?

Angel himself does not jump when the wolf lunges, rapping loudly on the bars with the battle axe's hilt and frowning at the werewolf, "Quiet." That done, he turns around and goes to sit on the bottom-most step leading out of the basement - prepared to settle in and watch.

And so it goes for Matt for the rest of the night. Every so often he tests the chains, every so often he howls. The wounds heal over quickly that he deals to himself, the chains not being made of silver, and so each lunge is as fresh as the first one.

Dajan doesn't begrudge Angel his stoic stillness. He's a vampire. And apparently this is all old hat to him. She settles beside him on the step, also watching. Eventually she does doze off. The howl wakes her. She fights the urge to sleep as long as she can, but drops off again until the next howl — making for an uneasy night, but she doesn't go upstairs.

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