”I know that.” Frankie laughed with her. ”If it was the government, I'd be much more worried. But I imagine the feeling would be pretty similar.” he explained. ”Besides that paranoid werewolf Alpha of yours is still in control of a whole pack. One word from him and the rest attack.” he reminded her, shrugging a little.
"Not all of them," She added quietly, a tiny smile on her face, "You have a friend in that pack Frankie, and I wouldn't harm you ever, and I would protect you from them if that did happen." Even just admitting something as simple as the fact that she wouldn't hurt him felt like she was telling her friend that she was developing feelings for him. It was probably just her own imagination, she told herself, he wouldn't read into what her words meant. That she would go against direct orders from her Alpha just so she didn't have to hurt him.
Frankie's brows shot up in surprise, he could feel his face turn beet red at her admittance. ”I… Thank you, Selina. It means a lot to hear you say that. I'm glad I have you for such a good friend.” he stammered out. Even though she was currently in her wolf form, he couldn't deny the want to kiss her a little for what she said. She was very beautiful though; no matter what form she was in.
Selina smiled back and nudged his leg with her paw, laughing gently, "I'm glad I was able to become good friends with you too, and it's no problem, I know you would do the same. Or at least I hope you would." She was content laying there as a wolf next to him, even if she was almost wanting to shift back into her human form for the time being. The only thing she didn't have to do that though was her clothes.
”I would.” Frankie assured her, a little softer though confident in his words. ”I don't want to hurt you either and if you were in trouble, I would help if I could.” he smiled kindly. He wasn't exactly sure how much he was capable of in order to help her, if she ever was in serious trouble, but he was absolutely certain that he would do something… anything he could.
She nodded, matching his kind smile as she finally pushed away from leaning against Frankie and just sat beside him, her tail still swishing happily, "I think I'm going to go shift quick, if you don't mind." Selina glanced over at him, fairly sure that her clothes she had borrowed from him were still tucked away in the woods.
He rubbed behind her ear once more before she stood up. ”No, I don't mind.” he nodded a little, letting his hand fall back to his side. ”I think I’m just gonna change my clothes real quick while you shift.” he told her since he was still wearing the same outfit from their hike yesterday, looking fairly disheveled and not to mention the lake and river water that had dried into them.
"Well then, I'll be back in a little bit," She said, a happy smile on her face as she stretched out her legs and silently padded off. It almost looked like she had never been there, with how quiet she moved into the woods, only the quieting birds giving her away. Like she had said, she changed quickly once she found her clothes, grinning when they were still in the same place she had stashed them. Even with making sure she was alone before changing, she was back within ten minutes, looking happy but still watching for any of her pack members.
”Alright.” he nodded, slowly standing as well. He stretched, watching her disappear into the terrain before heading into the cave to change. It didn't really bother him that some of his stuff had been moved by the wolves, though he was still nervous that the Alpha had been there. He shook his head to clear away his worry for now and peeled off his clothes. It was amazing how much they stuck to him even though they had dried. He came back out, in fresh clothes, a couple minutes after she got back.
She just smiled at him as he exited the cave, taking up her previous spot on the ground, this time sitting with her legs crossed as she looked out into the woods. "If you want, we could wash your other clothes in the river in a little while, then at least even if they smell like the woods, they're pretty clean," She offered, looking up at the treetops without worrying at all that she was wearing the same dirty clothes as she had been for a long time.
”Nah, it's alright. I’ve got enough clothes to last a while. I can just take it all to a laundromat when we go into the city.” he smiled as he sat down beside her. He was already planning to let her borrow something fresh for that day. ”That does sound interesting though. I’d be interested in trying it sometime.” he admitted. Honestly, he would probably prefer the smell of the woods over laundry soap but… I guess I’m just not quite ready for that yet. Maybe later in the season.
Selina nodded, glancing over at him again as he sat down, her attention on the woods now instead on him, "That works too. Washing them in the river is more to just get a little more time out of them before they need to be properly washed." She looked up at the sky once she finished talking, or more accurately through the treetops at the shreds of sky that could be seen.
Frankie hummed softly and nodded. ”That makes sense. Thanks for the tip.” he smiled, following her gaze for a moment and letting himself relax. I was right… I still kinda want to kiss her. ”Another beautiful day out… I’m glad we got to spend all this time together.”
"I'm glad we got to as well, even if it was interrupted by my pack," She replied, her voice soft but happy. It was nice, sitting next to Frankie in the quiet woods, the only other sound than their talking being the birds. Selina glanced over at him after a minute, smiling as she did so, "What's your favorite color Frankie?"
He smiled at the sound of her voice and leaned back a little to enjoy the peaceful environment around them, his fingers lightly bumping against hers. ”Hmm? Oh, green. Dark forest green.” he told her, though silver was swiftly climbing the list. ”What’s yours?”
(It took me so much digging to find his hair color XD)
Blue, or light golden," She replied, wondering if he would notice that her second color choice was quite similar to his hair color. Selina was well aware of his fingers as they brushed her own, and she hoped her movement was subtle as she shifted her hand so that their fingers overlapped even more. Gosh, she wanted to hold his hand, but at the same time she was reluctant to, wondering if it would ruin their friendship.
(lol)
Frankie smiled at her. ”Sounds like the colors you’d see on a day like this one.” he said as he looked up at the sky and missed her intended meaning. His face reddened slightly as he tested the waters and curled his fingers around hers, glad she hadn't pulled away.
She nodded, smiling back and looking back up at the sky, "Yeah, they're really pretty colors, and I've seen both of them today, which makes me happy." To say her face didn't flush slightly as his fingers curled around her own was a lie, as her face was already quite red. She didn't pull away though, staying quiet and happy.
”I’m glad you're happy.” he said, though he cringed a little at how cheesy that sounded. He chuckled a little in embarrassment and ran his free hand through his sun-bleached hair, wondering where she had seen her second favorite color.
Selina glanced over at him, her smile never leaving as she studied him, then asked another random question, "How old are you?" Her fingers laced between his as she talked, but she did so gently and slowly, giving him the chance to pull his hand away at any time.
Frankie had no plans to move his hand away, enjoying the contact. ”Twenty-two.” he answered though he felt he may have told her that before… Oh well. He didn't mind the conversation. ”How old are you?” he smiled as he looked back at her.
"Twenty-one, old enough to drink if I was a human," She said with a soft laugh, trying to think of some questions to ask him that she hadn't asked him earlier. Sadly, she came up blank, but didn't say anything, letting the silence be a time that Frankie could ask any questions he wanted to ask.
”But you are human… Aren't you? At least partially?” he asked, looking at her a little confused by her choice of words. Just because she could shift into a large wolf didn't make her any less human than he was. Plus, for all he really knew, the word ”were-” could have just meant ”half”.
Selina nodded, shrugging, "I am, yes, but I don't have an ID like you would have, that's what I mean." That had to be one of the downsides of being a werewolf, no identification from the government. She couldn't legally drive, couldn't go to a bar and drink, couldn't do anything that required her to show anyone identification.
”Oh! Right.” Frankie realized, nearly smacking himself in the head. Of course, she wouldn't have one. Trying to stay hidden from the government would obviously mean no legal documentation of your existence. Now that he thought about it, she probably didn't even have a birth certificate or anything like that. ”I’m sorry. I didn't think of that.”