Fatimah
Charlie had had about as much excitement tonight as he could possibly take. Seein' those babies get snatched, the way Charlie Marsh and Emery had been so damn distraught; and the fact of the matter was, them babies were still missing. He was sure he'd have to be up and about, figurin' out how to make sure everybody in town was safe - but first, he needed to get home. Needed to make sure his mama was alright, of course. Alma was on his mind, and he knew she was posted up at the cage, watching over Shady and all. 

But he was real worried about *Adrian*, too. She wasn't even all the way moved in, still had some of her stuff at the tent, and was prone to wanderin' durin' the night. He loved that Adrian was a free spirit, but if he was real honest, he wished that he could just tell her to stay put for a moment - just on a full moon! Then he wouldn't have to be so damn worried about them all the damn time! 

Charlie made his way up the steps real slow and had a seat on the steps of the house. The light was becoming brighter, washing the early morning grey into the light pinks and yellows of the sunrise. As time ticked by... Adrian still wasn't there. And that's when he was gettin' more and more worried. His stomach twisted. Maybe... Maybe she went back to her tent first. Maybe that was it.
Carolyn
Adrian wasn't sure what stroke of luck had kept her alive and sent Sugar to her side. The phantom pain of that wolf's teeth in her neck and shoulder still lingered, and her broken arm dangled uselessly at her side, pain jolting through her with every step she took. Tapshoe trailed behind her, the mare's reigns tangled in Adrian's good hand and stained with flecks of her blood.

It was a miracle that Tapshoe hadn't run off in the opposite direction of Marianne Wilburn's cottage and instead ran *Toward* It, nickering worriedly as the last dregs of the storm soaked her hide. She almost bowled over Adrian when she hobbled into view, Sugar holding her up at her uninjured side.

She made her way out soon after, thanking Sugar for her assistance and insisting that she'd be fine and that she was heading straight for the infirmary, and slunk away before Miss Wilburn could catch sight of her.

Her insistence had been a lie.

There was only one person she truly trusted in town- a man that she should have been with during the full moon in the *First* Place if it hadn't been for her misguided bravado.

The sight of the Cooper house brought a small smile to Adrian's face, and it only widened when she saw her beau sitting on the front steps. Charlie was beautiful in this early morning light, even as her wince of pain brought her eyes to close for a moment.

"Hey, handsome." She tried to sound calm, but her voice came out cracked. "Sorry that I'm a little late."
Fatimah
He was so tired, he was damn near ready to fall over on that step. The only thing keeping him awake was the fear and the roiling sour feeling in his stomach. It was making him jitter like he'd just touched a live wire; his insides felt the exhaustion, but his brain was on high alert. 

He saw Adrian as soon as they'd crested that hill, and Charlie stood up. He gripped his cane so he could walk a little faster, and his arms came 'round her body as soon as they were together. "Hell, Adrian," He whispered, and one hand cupped the back of her head to hold it to his shoulder. "You done scared me half to death, I thought..." He thought he'd have to go sending out a search party for her, too. That they'd be lost in the woods, just like Freddie Lovejoy. "I'm so glad yer home." 

Home. Home didn't mean a house, a shack, a tent. Home was who you were with, where you found comfort and solace. Charlie had never been more relieved to have her in his arms than right now. "Yer hurt," He mumbled, pulling back to look at her. "What happened to ya out there, baby?" Charlie was checking all her visible parts for bites and scratches. "I swear'n hell, you ain't leaving my sight next moon."
Carolyn
She didn't want to worry him more than she already had, but when Charlie wrapped his arms around her, nudging her broken arm? Adrian couldn't stop the pained hiss that escaped her, nor the tears that sprung to her eyes.

"Careful, honey- I ain't doin' too well right now." They tried to smile at him, to give him some sort of assurance that she'd be fine, but the thought vanished when she spotted her blood on his shirt. Foolish, *Foolish.*

"One of them got to me, I thought-" She exhaled shakily, "I thought I was goin' to die, Charlie. It had my neck in its jaws, just waitin' to bite down, and I..."

Another shaky exhale and Adrian shut their eyes. "It tore my back up somethin' good, got my shoulder, my neck- pretty sure my arm's broken, too. I know I need to go to the doctor, but I... I just need to see ya."

She leaned her head forward, burying her face into the crook of Charlie's neck. "Didn't think I was goin' to see you again."
Fatimah
When Adrian pulled back, and he saw her blood on him, Charlie went about as white as a ghost. The blood was seeping through her shirt, and on closer inspection, her arm was all *Wrong*. His breath left him in a rush, and he let Adrian rest her beautiful face in the crook of his neck. "We gotta get you to a doctor," He said, voice shaking. She was bleeding; just because she was out of the woods and away from them wolves now, didn't mean she was out of danger. She could bleed to death, hell, she could get an infection!

He held her close to him. "I ain't losin' you," He told her, and he held fast to the cane in his hand as he supported their weight on his good side. "C'mon darlin', I'm not... I'm not lettin' you get sick on me," He didn't wanna say the truth - that he was scared she could die. He wouldn't let it happen; he wouldn't never love again if it did. 

"I love you, Adrian, I ain't- you ain't goin' out in them damn woods again during the moon," He told her seriously. He liked that his lover was carefree, wild, and independent. But she could do that every other day of the month if she wanted, just not on a full moon. He'd damn near lock her in their bedroom if he had to.