First Light Of The Moon

## Content Information

Didi had briefed Zahra before inviting Arsling to the rink. It was a danger, they both knew, but Zahra assured Didi that she’d taken out her share of monster hunters, and facing down a packslayer would be a fun challenge. But it was Didi’s hunt. She’d call the shots.

She didn’t feel like she was in any condition to do that, but she didn’t want to let the pack down. She was still scared of Ash, heartbroken about Burg being so scared they’d left, worried Iva would be angry if she put herself at risk, and, to be honest, Ash did such a good job pretending to be an innocent girl who needed guidance and support that she couldn’t help but feel bad about the trap she was laying.

During midterms, not every Hellhound showed up for every practice, but most of the team was there. Didi feared that the reason she was still alive was because Arsling wanted to use her to find the rest of the pack, and she might be playing right into her hands given that several of them were on the team.

But she was tough, she was fierce, and she wasn’t alone. This was her turf, and the moon was rising outside.

Soon the girl arrived with a smile on her face and without her usual suit jacket, only her waistcoat, dress shirt and a ridiculously long scarff, she seemed relaxed and confident, confident that she would kill didi and the pack? Or just an innocent comfortableness with Didi and this situation?

Arsling knew the truth, fucking hell its great to see a firiendly face in Didi “hay Didi! Thanks for inviting me here, been a kinda crappy day”

Didi rolled up to her with a smile, looking her up and down and then going in for a hug.

“It sounds like it! Imma take a break from skating and we can talk?” She gestured to the bleachers.

“Sure might be more relaxing than all the other talking i’ve done today” Arsling says reflecting briefly on conversations with both Selene and Iva as Arsling takes her seat, secretly bracing herself for bad news or something worse

Didi popped off her skates in the aisle before joining the redhead in the bleachers.

She sat beside Arsling, trying to put her arm over her shoulders but settling for around her back when she couldn’t reach comfortably. She reached with her other hand to take Arsling’s in hers.

“If you’re all talked out, we could just get you on a pair of skates, too. Get you going fast and get those worries out. Whatever you prefer. But I’m here to listen if you want to talk about… you said family stuff?”

Arsling smirks “surely you can’t just shove skates on me? It’ll be like bambi on ice” her smile fades as she starts to think about Selenes advice, somewhere insider her she knows it to be right but she refuses to let that get in the way of what she wants and how she feels “yeah just how to deal with stuff around me mam, i don't really wanna go into it if you don’t mind”

“Yeah, no problem,” Didi let her gaze wander back to the skaters looping around the rink. “You know, you might be right about the skates.” She let a teasing tone enter her voice. “Being all tall and gangly you’ll probably just fall on your ass. A low center of mass is the way to go.”

She looked sidelong at Arsling and shot her a grin to go with the teasing.

“Thats fine, i’ll just have to get an arse like yours or skate on my knees” Arsling smirked back and pats Didi on the butt “hows Burgundy doing? She told me what happened to her brother, she handling everything ok?”  Arsling asks innocently with concern in her big green eyes, although it could still be a trick by an incredible actress

“No one’s got an ‘arse’ like mine,” Didi teased back. “But on your knees, I like the sound of that.”

Her smile faded as the conversation turned serious. “Burg’s okay; they’re tough. I think they need some space to process stuff, but they’ll be back. We can just… make sure we’re there for them when they do.” She found herself slipping into the conversation as if it were real, as if Arsling weren’t a hunter who might well be trying to find Burgundy to hunt him down. “If you’ve got your own stuff going on, it’s okay to focus on caring for yourself, whatever that looks like.” She caught herself and her eyes went a little wide. Quickly, she added, “Within reason, of course.”

“Whatever that looks like?” Arsling says curiously “look i vent like anybody does, i hang out with friends and i flirt with super awesome sport stars who make me feel normal, because thats what you do for me Didi you make me feel like the world doesn’t suck, like i can just be normal for once, i appreciate it more than most things in this world” Arsling places a little kiss on Didis nose

The derby girl scrunched her face at the nose kiss, grinning and letting out a giggle despite herself. Ash seemed so sweet, she couldn’t help but relax a bit.

“Wow you’re even too tall to kiss me properly; that must be terrible.”

“Oh its the curse i have to pay for being this attractive to you” Arsling says snarkily putting her legs on your lap “i think that's a fair trade, don’t you?” Arsling winks at Didi

Damn Arsling was cute. Disarming, too. Didi was just smiling affectionately at her when her thoughts caught up and she remembered to stay alert.

She looked away, a hand resting on Arsling’s leg.

“Feeling normal...” she said, a bit absently. “I’m glad I’m not *really* a sports star. Any kind of star. You’re just surrounded by people and alone all at the same time. Seems exhausting and lonely.”

“Yeah, almost feel sorry for Selene, poor girl probably can’t tell whose paparazzi or actual friend, must be...depressing” Arsling says somewhat relating to the feeling of being alone in a crowd before cheering up “so do we wanna see me knocked on my arse or what?”

Didi nodded; she’d been thinking of Selene, of course. “We had the most weirdly chill conversation the other day -- me and Selene. After all the ruckus at PLO this weekend, too.” She shook her head. “She’s got layers, that’s for sure.”

Then she patted the other girl’s leg. “But yeah, let’s get you in skates.”

They found a flat portion of the arena, out of the way, and Didi helped Ash to her feet. It was a lot harder than it looked, watching the Hellhounds, but Didi was giving her the basics: how to get rolling, where to put her weight, and so on.

“Now, go for it -- straight line, to the wall and back!”

Arsling got to the wall alright, and almost looks like she's about to smash into it before spinning herself around and jokingly shouting "so when do I get my gay badge of honour!?" As she skated towards you smirking

“Around here we just call those ‘bruises,’” Didi said, with a laugh. “And probably soon enough. You did great, let’s start working on some curves~”

Arsling pats her chest and butt and says "curves worked on!"

--Later--

Arsling waits outside the rink for Didi,  afterall she did have a bonfire she wanted to attend, and even if the rink and learning how to skate was fun she didn't want to miss a chance just to do something that wouldn't be any kind of exhausting.

With Arsling outside in the light of the moon and the doors locked, the pack had her right where they wanted her. A half-dozen wolves materialized from the woods, ranging from a gigantic black wolf to a merely enormous grey wolf.

In case there had been any doubt that these creatures were supernatural, the grey one stepped forward and spoke in low, growling tones.

“Packslayer. I know about your curse. I know you face a choice, to let yourself change or continue trying to slaughter people who are drawn to you. The pack would welcome you, adore you, give you a place to belong and be safe. We haven’t lost who we are; we’ve become more. When I was turned, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Her yellow eyes were piercing. “Don’t you want to stop being afraid?”

Arsling tutts, she's had enough of this bullshit in one day, turning towards a nearby vending machine and getting herself a cola "packslayer, that's a new one, and deeply insulting" Arsling grabs her can of fizz casually cracking it open and sipping on the content "sorry cú but I'll have to decline, I'm not the Irish bitch you're looking for, I've had two people already today tell me to let it happen, to change into something that would dishonour the lives of those I was…" Arsling hesitates for a moment "*forced* to kill, make it all mean nothing that whole speel, but" Arsling downs the rest of the drink and throws the empty one in the bin "you're going to force the issue" Arsling looks up "it's a beautiful time for a late night jog don't you think?"

“It would dishonor them to stop killing? You really do need to be saved from yourself and the monster you’ve chosen to be.”

With a flick of her ear, the rest of the wolves got the signal to start closing in and Fluffy tensed to strike the moment Arsling turned to flee.

"Well then ladies" Arsling says adjusting her outfit "race you to my dorm" Arsling darts off her strong legs carrying her far in a few seconds, it won't be hard for the wolves to catch up and Arsling knows that, she'd escape from wolves before but the environment was in the monsters advantage this time, no stairways, no pre planned traps, not even something to throw the wolves off her scent, Arsling is truly alone, not even the world will help her now

Fluffy pounced and two wolves moved to try to intercept Arsling. If the redhead had hesitated for even an instant, Fluffy’s teeth would have found her calf, but instead they tore a patch from her pants leg as Arsling ran, barely losing her stride.

The human was fast, but only by human standards. In no time at all, that grey wolf dashed out in front of her again, four hundred pounds of muscle heading her off and leaping to knock Arsling to the ground.

Arsling stops in her path but dodges the wolfs attempt to knock her down ripping the shoulder of her dress shirt she backs up towards the edge of the bridge they managed to get to Arsling looks over to the other side of the bridge seeing a truck coming towards the truck she thinks fast “Nowhere to run, but one place to fall” Arsling lets herself fall back off of the bridge slamming back first towards the end of the truck, a second later she would’ve been roadkill

Fluffy’s eyes widened and she dived off the bridge after Arsling -- to bite her, to save her, both. In mid-air, her golden eyes locked with the human’s, and there was no malice there, only determination.

Then she struck asphalt. The truck had been too fast, and she tumbled across the road behind it and into the roadside ditch.

Arsling laughs in victory and defiance leaning up her legs dangling off the edge of the truck flipping fluffy the V hand sign before remembering that fluffy is probably a American and changing to the bird shouting “next rounds on me!” as the distance between them grows