stardustly | au scenarios open post

Oh god. He recognized Steve's scent far too late, and he pressed his ears flat against his head, whimpering and wanting to vomit with the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. What had he done? Even if the wound wasn't serious, he'd bitten Steve, and he knew that could only mean one thing.

Sam stepped closer to him again, his body language less of the savage wolf it had been a moment ago and more that of a scared animal. He nudged his muzzle under Steve's chin and tried to lick at his neck; as much as the knowledge that he was licking his best friend's blood made him want to retch, he had to do something, and it wasn't as if he could turn back during the full moon.

(Little did Sam know that his saliva could heal someone he'd newly turned; what could have easily been a mortal wound was more like a flesh wound after a few moments of licking. All he knew was that instinct said it was a good idea, and that he didn't know what the hell else to do.)

The wolf reappeared before him and Steve looked down warily at the animal but refrained from moving away just yet. The fight seemed out of the wolf and plus the serum would eventually heal the wound of his neck. It didn't concern him as much as it probably should have. The wolf's presence probably should have concerned him more too, especially when the licking started. What? But it surprised him so much he stayed in place, only shifting back when he felt the pain receding far too quickly to be normal.

Not a regular wolf then? T'Challa explained briefly when they first arrived about some magical properties around Wakanda but Steve hadn't bought too much into it at the time. Now, he questioned plenty of things about it all.

"Uh - thanks," Steve voiced, rubbing at his healed neck, awkwardly. "It doesn't hurt anymore." It still kind of stung but the wolf looked - troubled? Worried in a way and Steve being Steve wanted to reassure even a wolf. "You should - be careful. There are a lot of guards around."

Sam twined around him, catlike, whining a little in his throat. He didn't care about the guards - they didn't seem to care about him, either, other than their distaste for a wolf in their country. They hadn't shot at him, at least, although they would have needed silver bullets to do any real damage.

(He didn't know if they had silver bullets, if other shifters had the same vulnerability to silver wolves did, if they needed to protect themselves from rogue panthers. T'Challa wasn't exactly forthcoming with information, although that didn't surprise Sam. He was just glad the guards weren't shooting at him, whatever the reason was.)

Sam nuzzled his face for a moment, his breath hot on Steve's cheek, before pulling away. He didn't just look worried, he looked sad. He didn't know if Steve would want to be around him after this, and he wouldn't blame him if he didn't. He'd attacked him unprovoked, after all, and turned him into a werewolf. It would be hard for anyone to handle.

Something about the wolf's eyes kept catching Steve's attention, they were almost familiar but how could they be? He certainly didn't know any wolf's or really any kind of so-called supernatural being. Staying away from magic mattered a lot to him to maintain some sense of normality. Patting the wolf's head, he tried to smile a little and look as reassuring as possible.

"It's gonna be okay. If you want to rest, I could keep a lookout." He kept talking as if the wolf understood him and could reason. He didn't have any fear at the moment because he didn't know anything about shifting or werewolves in general. The full moon shone down on them but again Steve didn't focus much on it.

"Are you hungry? Is that why you--" Attacked me.

Sam let out an indignant-sounding whuff. He was hungry, but the thought of eating another human was appalling. He didn't have to eat in wolf form to survive, he just liked hunting - or, rather, the wolf did, and he hadn't been able to hunt since they'd arrived in Wakanda. But that didn't mean he wouldn't appreciate some food, if it was the right kind of food. Nothing cooked, thank you very much.

He licked Steve's cheek and curled around him, settling down on the ground and resting his head on his thigh, rather like a dog. Sam didn't need a lookout - he didn't think anyone would hurt him here on the palace grounds, not when he had the king's protection (as begrudging as it was), but he would take the opportunity to rest anyway.

In some ways, he nearly found the wolf endearing, which made very little sense when he never usually cares one way or another with animals. He liked them just fine but never really sought them out if he could help it. They just tended to be a lot more fragile than humans were. "I think you'll have to eat later." Having to hunt didn't appeal to him, nor did watching the wolf eat an animal.

Patting the wolf's head, some of the tension seeped from the line of his shoulders. "I didn't think any wolves existed here. You must be lonely." Besides the initial attack, the wolf didn't seem too violent. The full moon probably should have gave him pause but he barely focused on it. "You don't have a pack or uh mate?"

It wasn't like Sam could have hunted if he'd wanted to, anyway - not that Steve knew that, but he'd been pretty thoroughly warned off by T'Challa. It just meant that he ate an almost Steve-like quantity of nearly rare meat just before and just after the full moon. (He probably would have helped himself to a steak at that very moment if he'd been able to.)

There was a whimper of agreement at the remark about loneliness. Not that Sam had ever known any other werewolves, but something inside of him yearned for someone to share his life with. Of course, he was probably going to regret that wish pretty shortly, once Steve found out what he'd done. And when Steve mentioned a mate, Sam lifted his head and gave him a flat look that was meant to convey a sense of "Really?"

With a little laugh, Steve continued to stroke over the wolf's head, almost absently as the night wore on. After a little while, he pulled back and stood up, brushing off his clothes to look less like he spent hours in the woods or something. At least, he knew better than to wander around without alerting the king first now to provide a guide. The vastness of Wakanda made it very easy to become lost in. "I should get going. It's late and the guards will be changing soon." They wouldn't hold their tongue about him being there.

Besides who knew if the wolf would turn on him again. "You take care of yourself. It's dangerous out here."

Sam rose to his feet when Steve did, nudging his thigh with his head. Little did Steve know, they had the same destination - and he sure as hell wasn't going to be out here when the sun rose, not when he'd have to get back to the palace bare-ass naked. He'd be better off in the suite they'd been given, even if he changed back in the common area because he couldn't open the door to his bedroom with paws.

Besides, the easiest way to make Steve believe that all of this was real was, unfortunately, to change in front of him. In fact, it was probably the only way he'd believe it before he changed at the next full moon. (Would he change? What if the serum somehow kept the bite from working the way it normally did? Sure, he'd healed quickly, even for him, but- well, it didn't matter. Either way, he had to tell Steve the truth.)

The wolf started to follow along with him for some reason but Steve was too tired to really battle against it. If the wolf wanted to be safe from the guards and other creatures for awhile, Steve understood and he could lead the wolf back out tomorrow. Would the king be mad over an animal in his suite? He had remarked about a no pets rule but this seemed to be an exception, clearly. Later on, he'd discuss things with the king and locate a few more answers for himself about their current home.

When they reached the suite, he opened the door and let the wolf in first before he locked things up again. "You can stay for now just don't break anything. This stuff looks expensive enough to buy, well, an entire country." With a shake of his head, he moved into the kitchen. "Are you thirsty?" Did wolves drink milk? "I'm going to have some milk. I'm still not sure about the water here."

Sam gave Steve a clearly unimpressed look at his one-sided conversation - probably the same look he gave him whenever he was human and Steve commented about the water in Wakanda. He wondered what T'Challa would say if he knew that Steve didn't trust the water here - after all, it wasn't like the country wasn't more than technologically advanced enough to filter their drinking water if it was necessary.

(He really hadn't appreciated T'Challa's pointed comment about pets not being allowed, or the way he'd looked at him when he said it. It was a bit like being less than human - to be fair, he wasn't human, but neither was the king.)

Claws clicking on the floor, Sam crossed the room, sitting down next to Steve. He wasn't thirsty, but a snack sounded good right about now. You know, before everything inevitably went to hell.

Something familiar about the wolf kept tugging at the back of his mind but he ignored it, knowing it couldn't mean anything. Pouring a glass of milk, he sipped at it on his way to sitting down on the couch. The wolf continued to keep close to him, giving him looks he knew he had seen before.How odd.

"You tired?" Steve asked, setting down the glass of milk on the coffee table. "We have to get up early to sneak around before the guards make the rounds.

Sam also gave him a look of "don't you dare set that glass down without a coaster, you heathen" that was a lot like the same one he gave Steve every time he tried to do the same thing back home. More or less identical, in fact, if you discounted the furriness. He put his paws on the edge of the coffee table and nudged a coaster over to him with his snout, although he couldn't actually put it under the glass without a pair of thumbs.

In response to the question, he hopped up onto the couch, fitting his body around Steve's, letting his tail thump on the cushions before he settled down and rested his head on Steve's thigh again. There wasn't anything else to do, so sleeping was probably the best option.

Or trying to sleep, anyway.

The look on the wolf's face coupled with the coaster clicked more then a few things into place. Oh. Okay. Picking up the glass, he settled the coaster underneath, worrying the entire time about the current state of his mind. "Sam?" He questioned, settling back as the wolf rested against him again. It really couldn't be because wolves and people didn't turn back and forth. Sure, there were rumors about it but he knew better than to just listen to such things.

"You remind me so much of my friend Sam."

There was a tugging in his bones, one that made Sam realize he must have lost track of time. He raised his head to look out the window, but it was impossible to see the horizon with the trees that surrounded the palace. Still, the sky was lighter than he had expected, and that meant that the sun was nearly up. With a groan, he pulled away from Steve, tried to get far enough away from him that he would have room - but only managed to get as far as the other end of the couch before his bones started twisting and cracking.

Although Sam had never seen anyone else change, he was pretty sure that it wasn't a very attractive sight. And it definitely didn't sound pleasant, between the bones breaking and reforming and the low gasps of pain that occasionally escaped. Once he had fingers again, they dug into the couch cushions, flexing against the material.

When the change was finally over, Sam laid limply back against the couch. Shifting back and forth always took it out of him, especially during the full moon. He thought about grabbing a pillow to preserve his modesty, but he couldn't be bothered to reach for the one he'd knocked to the floor.

"Could you start a pot of coffee?" he croaked, not bothering to open his eyes. Normally, he would have gone to his room to try and get a few hours of sleep, but he and Steve really needed to have a talk.

Being unfrozen after seventy years gave Steve a whole new level on the odd scale and after dealing with aliens along with a whole host of other things, not as much surprised him anymore. At least, until Sam started to change back from the wolf into his human form. The sudden onslaught and the sounds surprised him do much he froze on his side of the couch, only snapping out of it at the sound of Sam's voice speaking to him.

What?

Blinking a few times, Steve managed to climb to his feet, tilting his head away from Sam in his current state of undress. "Right, yes," he croaked out, making his way into the kitchen to do just that. He returned a few moments later, setting the coffee mug on the table. "I think we have some talking to do here."

By the time Steve came back, Sam had at least wrapped a blanket around his waist. He'd anticipated the conversation that would follow, and figured that Steve would probably feel a lot more comfortable if he wasn't sitting on the couch buck-ass naked. Not to mention the questions that would be asked if any of the others walked in.

He took the mug gratefully, sipping the coffee. God, this wasn't going to be easy. "I was in this little village in Afghanistan," he began slowly. "Wasn't much of a village anymore by the time I got there. I went into this house that'd been cleared, and this skinny-ass dog leapt out of nowhere and bit me. Nothing major, I thought, so I bandaged it up and kept working. Couple weeks later, full moon rolled around, and bam. Suddenly I was a wolf." The story sounded absurd; there wasn't any way of getting around that. But it was the truth.

While Sam talked, Steve remained silent to allow him the chance to explain. But the explanation only caused more questions in the end so many of them that Steve didn't know where to even start. "Can you - do you have abilities other than turning into a wolf?" Steve had always enjoyed mythology and the like but reality rarely lined up with fiction.

"Does the rest of the team know?" Would he be the last to know something again? It really frustrated him to be left out of most things for usually the purpose of sparing him.

Reaching out, he tried to squeeze Sam's hand.

"I heal faster than an ordinary human. I'm tougher, too. And I'm stronger and faster, although I'm not exactly in your league." And in all the time they'd spent working out and jogging together, Sam had been holding back to what a normal human could do, so nobody would suspect. "I can smell better."

"Nah, nobody else knows." Maybe Fury; he didn't know what SHIELD knew about him, but he'd always taken care to keep it secret. Sam gave Steve a small smile when he squeezed his hand. At least he wasn't pulling away from him. (Yet, anyway.)

The abilities confession made a few more questions pop up and slam around his mind. "Wait, does that mean you've been holding back on me during our runs?" If so, he would be indignant to mingle in with the hurt he already felt for the hiding. Had Sam not trusted him with the truth?

Smell better? "How good with the smelling thing?" Probably far better than he could. "Fury probably knows because he tends to know most things."

"Trust me, you can still outrun me," Sam teased him. As a human, anyway; he could probably come a lot closer as a wolf. And it was irrelevant, anyway - unless the serum prevented it somehow, Steve would be a werewolf, too. Probably some kind of super-werewolf or something.

"Pretty decent." Sam shrugged. "It's, uh, heightened closer to the full moon. And obviously not as good as when I'm a wolf." He shifted awkwardly. He hadn't kept it a secret from Steve for any malicious reason, but because he just didn't know how he'd react, or if he'd even believe him. Of course, now he'd definitely been given enough proof.

As Sam explained a few things, scenes from last night washed back over him and he could not help but to gasp. "You bit me," he accused with narrowed eyes and folded arms. "Wait, isn't that like contagious or something?" At least, in werewolf lore others were turned into werewolves by being bitten. Hold on. "Is - oh - will that -" He sputtered with the questioning, face turning paler by the minute. No, he could not become a wolf! The serum had to put a stop to it, right?

"Do you usually attack people, Sam?" He had disapproving face in place, folded arms tightening against his chest. "I - this can't be possible. How."

Sam dropped his head into his hands, unable to look at Steve. "I know, okay? You startled me, and I haven't been able to, well, indulge my instincts since we came to Wakanda. And- fuck, I'm sorry, Steve." He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. "Something just went wrong for a moment, and it's a shitty excuse, but that's all I got."

He couldn't blame Steve for being angry with him. He was mad at himself for allowing something like this to happen. He'd been so careful for so many years, and the one time things had gone wrong, he'd savaged his best friend. What if he'd killed him? How would he have explained that to everyone?

Maybe he really was the monster the Wakandans thought he was.

A frown tugged at his lips but sympathy filled his eyes all the while. He understood not fitting in, after all, and Wakanda had a lot of carefully crafted rules in place. It made sense they wouldn't enjoy a werewolf very much when they were so caught up with a panther spirit. Still, he worried Sam would lose control again with a much worse outcome. "We could talk to the king and see if something can be set up for you to help?" He's not mad, honestly, more like disappointed and scared.

Looking down for a moment, something suddenly occurred to him. "Wait, you bit me. Is that going to do anything to me?"

"I think T'Challa's idea of helping would be kicking me out of the country." Sam just snorted. If the king found out, he'd definitely make sure he didn't have the opportunity to harm any of his subjects - and kicking him out would probably be the kindest solution. Given their antipathy towards wolves, they probably had some kind of vibranium and silver alloy around.

Sam fidgeted at Steve's question. "I don't know, honestly. Way you healed up, could've just been the serum, or it could be. Uh." He had a hard time saying it. "Could be a sign that you're gonna end up like me." Or, for all he knew, the serum would make things even weirder.

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