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Wednesday awoke with a start. She felt around blindly and groggily for a presence that was decidedly absent.
Blinking her eyes open, she looked around the dark room, though her ‘side’ of the dorm was also very empty.
She and Enid had been together for around three weeks now. And it had been difficult, but oh so rewarding. They had both learned endless new facets of each other's lives. For Wednesday she had learnt of her girlfriend's improving home life, her near-absent father finally making the effort he had avoided for almost seventeen years.
And for Enid, Wednesday had trusted her with knowledge of the Addams curse, and all that it entailed. The heartache when they were apart, the lack of sleep when apart, the near-inability to lie and the near-physical pain if ever Wednesday were to deliberately try to hurt Enid physically or emotionally.
And Enid had been so very adamant that her own love for Wednesday made her feel exactly the same. It was a perfect match, if ever there was one, or at least close to it.
But there were always speed-bumps.
While Wednesday had indeed promised to not blame herself so heavily for Enid's injuries, there were times the sight of the scars, or more accurately the sight of judgement as others saw the scars could send her spiralling, and while never nearly as potent as that first day together, it still hurt.
As for Enid, the one who bore the injuries, and the scars that they birthed, life was still in the adjustment period. She continuously had difficulty with her longer ranged depth perception, and her drastically changed appearance had sent some lesser minds she once called friends into retreat, citing they ‘didn’t recognize her’ anymore.
But with every hardship, came change, and growth.
With Enid’s guidance, Wednesday became more at ease with her emotions, her ironclad control softened into something more dynamic, giving her a talent for diplomacy she’d never once had. And she found this new state not to be a vulnerability, but a boon, as it is significantly easier to obtain the cooperation of those she needs for an investigation if they actually like her in the first place.
And with inspiration from Wednesday, Enid became far more assertive, and far less flexible to those who meant her disrespect. Insults still abounded, her late shift still a blotch on her reputation but they were water off a duck's back as far as she was concerned. She was a scarred wolf, tried and tested in real combat. She was stronger, faster, hardier. But she never once, lost that heart of gold that had smitten Wednesday in the first place, not to those that mattered.
As for their shared circle, Wednesday and Enid joined their numbers, Eugene joining Yoko and Divina, with Bianca making appearances as often as she liked, which was quite often, to Enid's joy and Wednesday's (begrudging) acceptance.
She and Bianca had softened their rivalry after the Rave’N, especially after Enid regaled the raven with the report that she and the nightshades had risked their own safety and lives ensuring the population of Nevermore escaped successfully when Crackstone attacked.
Three weeks, so many changes. Not the least of which Enid and Wednesday sharing the wolf's bed. Where the titular wolf was now distinctly absent.
After regarding her surroundings once more for good measure, Wednesday shrugged the covers off and made to stand in the centre of the room. If Thing were awake she would bid him report if anything had gone awry, but before she could do so, she gazed out the spiderweb window.
And there she was.
Standing in the light of a waxing gibbous, hair flowing in the wind. Wednesday could have been convinced she was ethereal.
She stood, at the very edge of the balcony, hands clasped in front of her, though Wednesday could be mistaken as the wolf faced out into the night sky, her breaths slow and deep, she seemed oddly… at peace. All throughout the day she seemed mired in this rut of tension, all day every day in spite of Wednesday’s best efforts.
Tonight might be when she finds out why.
The hinges of the windows creaked their protests, the sentiment unheeded as Wednesday climbed through as gracefully as one could such a window.
If Enid heard, which she most surely must have, she made no acknowledgement, save a further loosening of her tense shoulders.
Walking calmly over, Enid wordlessly shifted to the side, their positions an inverse of when they first found each other out here all those months ago.
Wednesday simply waited. Enid would speak when she was ready, all Wednesday would have to do is listen, and give whatever her wolf needed from her.
“D’You ever… get the feeling that it’s so much… lighter, at night?”
Wednesday cocked her head at the idea. She was a night owl, all things concerned. But that was out of convenience not… sentiment. “I confess, I do not.”
Enid just blinked, still staring off into the distance, the slightest of smiles on her face
“But… I will admit I wouldn’t be opposed to understanding.”
The wolf nodded, before breathing deeply as she seemed to reach far back into the recesses of her mind for the words.
“Think about it… In the day, everyone’s awake. They’re around, up and about and all sorts. They look at you, they judge you, they chat, they-they gossip. It’s just so much to hear- to-to feel… all the time.”
She took a calming inhale of the cool night air.
“But at night… they’re all gone. Asleep. Dead to the world, in their beds, their homes, their dreams. All gone. And in that time, I can just… be.”
A lone tear streaked down her good eye.
“I don’t have to be… Enid, the scarred wolf. The late bloomer. The gossip queen. I can just be… Enid Eleanor Sinclair… seventeen year old werewolf with… too much to have happened to me. That’s why I come out here, when you’re asleep. Cause for just an hour a day, I get to be who I used to be, the girl that was… that was stolen from me.”
Wednesday put a firm hand on the wolf’s shoulder. “You’ve never stopped being her. I see it every day.”
“Yeah but I don’t… at least not in the day. How can I? Outside of you, Yoko, Divina, Eugene, even frickin’ Bianca… no one treats me like that anymore they don’t… look at me like that anymore. But I still want to be that… it’s who I wanted to be when I first came here, it’s who I still want to be despite everything. So I come out here, to get away from it all and just… be.”
Wednesday moved closer, pushing the wolf to the side with the arm on her shoulder, until they faced each other. “Then we’ll just have to remind them. Every day, day after day, until they remember.”
Enid smiled at the words, so unabashedly genuine in their sentiment, the smile split her face wide. It was a crooked thing, the scar having permanently damaged it, but it lit Wednesday’s heart aflame like nothing else.
The raven stepped even closer, before bringing her arms up beneath the wolfs, and gripping the back of her shirt with all the love she could safely impart without tearing the fabric asunder. The wolf soon after, wrapped her arms around her raven, one hand coming to place itself on the back of Wednesday's head, pressing them further together.
“They will remember who you are, Enid. And if they do not, I will remember for you… I couldn’t ever forget your indelible mark on my soul.”
Enid chuckled wetly, tears now freely flowing as she pressed her nose into the raven’s soft black hair.
“Until then Enid, I only ask that you invite me out to your nighttime sanctuary… I’ve missed the sight of my wolf unburdened.”
Enid nuzzled further into Wednesday’s hair, murmuring barely loud enough for her to hear. “Only for you… my raven.”