Alexander
With the cabin in good enough order and his extra cash stashed away in the loose floorboard by his bed, Bo's immediate next thought came to the fast-approaching lunch hour. He had eaten well enough in the big cities but the last two weeks had been nothing but raw foraged goods and jerky rations. He was dying for something good and hardy but the only thing left in his house was some pickles preserved in salt. Good in a pinch, but hardy? No. Bo's stomach grumbled in protest as he wondered what to do. 

It was only when he resigned himself to unpacking his travel bag that Bo remembered the Hirano family — mostly the daughter that was kind enough to trade him a handful of eggs and vegetables for labor or leather. She was maybe ten years Bo's junior but no less wise for her young age, strong and dependable on the farm and in the house in a way Bo wished he had the discipline for. They had started as cordial neighbors and quickly grew into a more familiar relationship the more time they spent together. They were close enough that, when Bo traveled to Kentucky for the fair, he wanted to bring the Hirano family back a souvenir of sorts both because he was grateful for putting up with an oddball like him and because he knew it would bring a smile to Aki's face.

Bo never had a sister but he imagined Aki was about as close to the feeling as he would ever get. For God's sake, the man saw a baseball bat lying around at the fair and snatched it up intentionally with the thought of bringing it home to her. What on earth was she going to do with a Slugger bat? Scare off the coyotes personally? Suddenly the idea seemed awfully ridiculous — even for him. 

Bo's stomach gurgled with need.

Pulling on his straw hat, Bo made for the Hirano farm, the Louisville Slugger bat tucked under his arm. He hoped he didn't look too much a mess coming off the Appalachian trail but figured that Aki had certainly seen him at far worse and wouldn't fuss too much at him since he'd been gone so long. A whole year... Bo paused his long-strides gait to the farm and cut his gaze across the view the ridge afforded him. There was Briar Ridge, tucked away like a fawn hidden by her mother, safe and protected and without a care in the world. 

But a year was a long time. Bo only hoped his tall shadow would still be welcome to darken the Hirano door on such a fine day.
Alicia
How much could one year change a person? Bo would get his answer as soon as he stepped in front of the Hirano residence's porch. Perhaps the first thing he'd notice was that the door had multiple scratches on it, with some of its paint chipped as it some kind animal had furiously attempted to break it. 

Now, it was hard to say if good ol Bo knew what had been going on in town. _Werewolves_ had been terrorizing the ever living crap of Briar Ridge for almost an entire year, shortly after he left to Kentucky, none the less! Whether or not these rumors were true were up for debate, some may see the paranoia in the locals as a bit of an exaggeration. 

But there he was, knocking on the Hirano's door. The home of a werewolf. Still, Aki was a good friends of his, soon he'd witness what a year could do to a person.

Akira took her sweet time to open the door. Her father just so happened to be out, and she had planned to leave somewhere else to stay safe. She couldn't just accept guests like that anymore, not after last time at the end of April.

The woman peeked over the keyhole, and immediately all her fears faded away. 

"Bobo?" 

Bobo, a good nickname that had never been forgotten. Akira opened the door, a big smile all over her complexion.

"Bobo! Long time no see!" 

Aki was delighted to see him back, it almost felt like he never left! Though her change was made obvious, one simply needed to look at her. Akira now had a long scar across her cheek that continued to the bridge of her nose, her arm was missing, too.

"Ahh come on in! Come on in! Papa should be back soon!"

Despite looking like she had been through the Great War herself, Akira still kept that same charm.

"How was you trip? Do you need anything? Water? Tea? Wait-we can out of that... Uh, we have coffee though, or do you want some food?"
Alexander
Hearing that nickname Aki alone was allowed to use transported Bo back in time. Maybe a year wasn't so long, as she certainly sounded happy to see his ugly mug even after disappearing for such a long time. Bo waited for Aki to unlatch the door, ready to grab the young woman in an all-encompassing hug, only to feel like the breath had been pulled from his lungs. Vaguely, Bo knew that Aki was talking to him, inviting him inside as usual, but Bo could only stagger a few steps forward before stopping dead. 

Her... Arm. 

Her arm was *Gone*.

"Aki," Bo wet his lips as he watched the young woman hurry deeper into the house. Watching her turn the corner like that, Bo wasn't sure she would disappear like a ghost. Because this didn't feel real, to see her injured so, even if she was acting as if nothing was amiss. "Aki, what — you've been —" The words lodged themselves in his throat and they seemed too quiet anyway, for the woman continued into the kitchen without him. 

Bo removed his hat and kicked his boots clean of dirt before ducking his head to enter the farmhouse. As he walked down the narrow hallway into the kitchen, he caught the tail-end of Aki's offer and muttered, "Coffee would be a blessin'." He sat himself down in an available chair, the bat across his knees as he watched his friend hurry around the humble kitchen like a mouse on a mission. So tiny. So young. And actin' like nothin' was more a bother than refilling the coffee pot. "What *Happened* To yer *Arm*, hun?"
Alicia
There was a time when Aki could pretend the full moon didn't betray her every month, when she could pretend everything was okay. At this point, it all backfired after more than eight months of hiding. After setting up the fire to heat up some water, the woman was taking a couple of eggs out of a basket when Bo demanded answers. It wasn't just a question, it was _the_ question. 

The short answer was: she wasn't the same Aki he had known years ago.

There was a soft hum coming from the kitchen. "You don't know, do ya?" 

Her small frame came out of the doorframe, obscuring her missing body part. Her one hand scratched the back of her neck. Did he know about the curse that plagued this town for almost a year? Has he been told about Mayor Cooper's death? What about the Sheriff or April?

"Werewolves." Akira let the word roll her tongue loud and clear for Bo to hear, given how outlandish it all sounded.

"It began right after you left, Bobo, they've been attacking the town each full moon... It's become an infestation at that point."

Aki sighed, for she knew this was just the tip of an iceberg, she didn't want to overwhelm a good friend who just returned home. He didn't need to know she had been one of them for over nine months, recently found out and held at gunpoint so she could spit her truths. The last thing Aki wanted to do, was to make it about herself.

"I'm glad you haven't been there to see the worst of it all. Winter was specially hard for everyone..."

However, that didn't answer his question. The arm, it was gone, did she have the stomach to tell him?

"Ah... By the way! We got some fresh eggs here, I was thinking I could make you some as well... Have you had dinner?"
Alexander
*"I can hear her across the field. I think she's come to take me home." The soldier sitting next to him had whispered. It had been so quiet that Bo almost thought he had misheard. A minute or two passed in silence before the wet 'fwop' of the lad's tossed helmet startled Bo back awake.* 

*It wasn't a dream, then.*

*"Shut up," Bo had thoughtlessly hissed, just mad he had been woken up from his first decent sleep in days, "What the hell you spoutin'?" When the lad ignored Bo and instead scrambled to his feet, Bo was instantly* Awake. *His hands grabbed uselessly at the soldier's trousers, too weak with fatigue to hold tight and the wet mud making it impossible besides. "Hey!" He shouted in the hopes of — something.*

*But the other solider just grunted and fought Bo off, spouting something about hearing his mama callin' for him. The struggle wasn't very long — though Bo didn't hear anyone's mama callin', he did hear the new burst of gunshots comin' from across the trenches.*

"I had no idea," Bo said, his voice low and steady, remembering the finality of that lad's body pushing him down with sudden dead weight into the cold mud. 

Don't question it. Nod. Express your sympathy. If Aki was calling it a werewolf, what the hell had done that to her? A wolf? Somethin' worse? Mr. Hirano would give him the truth, Bo reasoned. Whatever had happened to Akira to make her believe some fairytale creature crawled out a book's pages and bit off her arm, Bo wasn't going to get a reasonable answer from her — he never did from victims. 

"I didn't come knockin' to have you feed me for free." The bat on his knees felt like a lead weight. "Where's Mr. Hirano?"
Alicia
Bo had no idea of it at all. Was it supposed to be a relief? A false sense of security? How could this man look at Akira in the face once it had been confirmed that she was one of the monsters that terrorized Briar Ridge? 

Would he have to shoot her if he wanted to live?

Sooner or later, he'd have to find out on his own, to run to the safehouses, to purchase silver bullets. Bo had returned to a warzone.

"Oh... Then, there's a lot to talk to you about... A lot."

It had been months since Akira had been fighting against her hunger, so far succeeding it, managing to not hurt other people each full moon. Only time would tell if she would surrender to the beast, as the slightly pointy fangs rubbed the corner of her tongue while she spoke.

"Don't worry about that" Aki waved her hand. "You came home, you deserve a good meal!...Or at least one I could make, hehe, you know me." 

The small woman disappeared again into the kitchen just for a moment, just so she could return with two mugs of hot coffee. Her tiny hand had managed to hold both of them by the handle, using two fingers on each to hold for dear life. It was a miracle she didn't spill any liquid on her clothes.

"Papa is at a friend's place now, but he shouldn't take long to return, I'm sure he missed you a lot."

 There, she spotted the bat Bo had been carrying with him for a while.

"Oh? What's this?"
Alexander
*Don't worry, she says.* Bo mused to himself as he gently took the offered coffee mug from Aki. She seemed to be getting around well enough with the singular arm, at least. He'd seen plenty of veterans adapt well from a loss like that — figures Aki would do him proud too. The coffee was a blessing to Bo's nerves and he drank a big gulp of the warmth before Aki brought his attention back to the bat. 

"Brought you somethin' from Kentucky." Now that she had her eyes on it, Bo felt a little less guilty about the gift. Having a weapon just outside her vision had felt like a dirty lie but now it was just as intended — a delightful surprise. Hopefully. "Couldn't afford even a slug of bourbon so this felt like the next best thing." Bo waved Aki closer and set the grip of the bat in the palm of her hand. The wood was heavier than it looked, but with the right footing and grip could be easily swung even with one arm. 

"Give even Babe Ruth a run fer his money, eh?" Bo grinned as he watched Aki examine the bat. Of all the gifts he brought for the Hirano family, they never did give him any indication if it was a bother or not. You gotta chase off the cat if you don't want him to keep leaving dead birds at your door, after all, and so far all Bo got was saucers of cream for his trouble. He awaited excitedly for Aki's reaction to this new treasure.
Alicia
The word Kentucky repeated in Aki's head for a bit as if she tried to mentally locate it on the map. Right, she and her father spent a few weeks in that same state while they were on the run, doing odd jobs here and there just so they could afford food and transport. Travelling from the Wast coast to the East sure was an ordeal for the Hirano, but she didn't have memories of her time there specifically, only a few moths short of setting in Briar Ridge. 

"A-A gift?" The woman's dark eyes widened, setting her own mug on the coffee table just so she could grab the bat on time. Akira looked like a child on Christmas, with a playful smile that curled on her complexion from ear to ear. She even waved it a little to get a sense of its weight, doing little to muffle her giggling as if a year had never passed between them. Only her scars could show the passage of time. 

"Bobo! I love it!" Akira said, resting the bat on her shoulder as if she were ready to hit a home run. Sure, she couldn't learn baseball now that she had one arm less, but any sign of friendship was something she cherished close. Being outed a werewolf meant to lose friends, to burn bridges, to be accused of deceit and to make the townsfolk give her dirty looks as the children ran away to hide behind their mamas' back.

Of course Akira didn't want to lose Bobo. Only time would tell if this gift of his would be something she'd cherish with a the same smile, or with heartache. 

"You just got here and you're already being as kind as I remember you." She continued. "Now I have even more reasons to make you dinner!"
Alexander
Seeing Aki like this, Bo couldn't help but think of his little brothers squabbling over the latest distraction Bo was able to bring home. They were never new, and they often times were dented or warped in some way, but that didn't stop his brothers from being menaces until Bo let their grubby hands grab hold. Didn't matter if it was a flower crown the boss' daughter weaved, or a particularly good grass-whistle, or a toad Bo had shoved in his pocket for the last hour. 

Thinking on it, those brothers of his were not that much older than Aki — maybe a year or two difference at most.

They probably would have given Bo lip for bringing back such a useless souvenir or pawned it off on their own kids. It was odd to think about them as men grown, with their own families and lives when the last time Bo had seen them they had been bawlin' their eyes out knowing Bo was going off to the War. If he saw them now, would he even recognize them? Would they care to see him again? Thoughts like that were just one of the many ghosts haunting Bo any damn day. 

Seeing Aki happy made it just that bit better. 

Bo cracked a smile at the young woman and rested his head in his hand, wondering what trouble he had just brought to Briar Ridge by equipping his favorite menace with a Louisville Slugger. "Glad ya like it. Then after dinner, let's take it outside and see that arm of yours in action. There's gotta be somethin' we can use as a ball." As a tanner Bo could probably fashion some little baseball from scraps of leather he had lying around.
Alicia
Akira was more than excited to try out her new toy. Perhaps to some her childlike wonder would be puzzling as she was getting closer to her thirties. On top of that, a huge part of her had the feeling she wouldn't make it to winter. Still, even in the face of death, she would try to make the most of her time on Earth. She found love, she partied, she got to travel on a boat from the other side of the world, she got to still keep some people in her life.

Because of little moments like these, Aki still had reasons to fight, to find her humanity although the full moon betrayed her. She'd get to see Bo one last time. 


"I don't have one myself but..." The woman pondered, tapping her chin with the top of the bat. Would missing an arm stop her? Of course not, getting a ball was more important. "Nothing wrong with rolling up a bunch of socks! Or maybe I should ask Kela if his lil Lani got one..." 

But now, Aki had to keep her mind distracted with her next task. She didn't even finish her own coffee when she disappeared into the kitchen. "Let me get you something, first!" 

Now, Akira tried her hand at cooking. At one point in her life she could had been considered a kitchen hazard, but ever since her mother passed away in her teens, she and her father split their tasks evenly when it came to getting something in their bellies. She still couldn't be trusted with baking cookies, or be left alone with a casserole, but she could crack some eggs to do a decent omelet at the very least. If only she had more ingredients available, she'd make them just like aunts back in Japan made them. 

"I'm glad to see you back, Bobo, really." Aki added, her expression softening as she started beating the eggs, making sure to keep the bowl in place as she clearly began to get used to her new life with one less limb, a sigh escaped from her throat as she had to readjust herself to keep prepping the meal. 

"I hope this town treats you well, a lot has changed..."
Alexander
Bo took a moment to drink another sip of his coffee before getting up from his seat and following Aki into the kitchen. He could hardly stand to watch her twist and turn, this way and that, while trying to figure how best to handle something that should be so easy that had suddenly become a lot more difficult. As veteran, though, Bo knew better than to insist on doing it himself. 

This was a victory Aki needed to earn herself. 

So he just stood nearby and watched, sipping his coffee like a good little houseguest and refilling his mug when the coffee ran low. He didn't drink the stuff often but it was nice to have it every once in awhile. He couldn't tell you much anything about blends or brews, and maybe the Hirano family couldn't either, but Bo swore their coffee always tasted the best. 

"My house wasn't too rough," Bo supposed he had Alg to thank for that, actually, "And I got to meet some new faces." Well, Aki didn't need to know the complications that came with seeing Algernon again. Bo cleared his throat as he inched away from that spot of conversation. "Besides the... Werewolf attack, what else is worth learnin'? Yer Pops doin' okay? You said he was out with some friends, so that seems the usual for 'im. What about Jade?"
Alicia
In times like these, after losing so much of herself, being able to get up in the morning and make some eggs was indeed a victory she had come to earn herself. Akira was proud of it, really, as her biggest current dream was to simply regain control for as long as she was allowed to live. It was the control of her life that it had been stripped away from her, both from the Full Moon's betrayal and the consequences that came with it. 

Making dinner, helping to find the cure, fighting her own hunger for months. This was part of her self imposed redemption. 

"Papa is doing... A bit tired." Aki sighed as she poured the mixture into a pan. To say he was tired was an understatement, it wasn't physical exhausted that came with his age, it was poison in his heart. Ever since the founding of the anti werewolf coalition, Akira had seen her own father grow weary and spiteful, he began to get his hands on bullets and an extra gun, he began to take guard duty in his own porch when Akira was around. Mako, being an old man, was getting ready to fight a war he never asked for, against his own neighbors.

But he chose his side already to not betray his own blood. Akira understood, for if she were in his position, she'd do the same. 

"His backpain has been getting better at least, I just wanna make sure he doesn't get too fond of opium y'know.." She chuckled, moving the pan get a good shape on the omelet.

The mention of Jade made Aki's cheeks turn red, her smile grew. 

"Ah... So you know about her!" She said. Of course Bo would know about her by now, she ran the local library after all. 

"How do I say this hmm.." Bashfully, the woman rubber the scar on her cheek. "So... Bobo, remember the stories you told me of you in the trenches? Y'know... With some of the other men?" 

That was a good way to start it.
Alexander
Tired, huh? Mr. Hirano was getting to that age. He wasn't exactly a spring chicken when Bo met the family for the first time; a year apart could do a lot to a man of his advanced age. Bo made a mental note to check at the house more frequently until he got a chance to see the old man himself and clock how he was doing. Backpain could manifest in a number of different ways and none of them were pleasant. Hell, even *Bo* Was starting to feel pain in his lower back when he was bent over for too long. 

Bo ran his free hand down the line of his lower back with empathy in his heart and pressed his fingers into that *One* Spot where the pain always flared. Sorry, Mr. Hirano. Maybe it was a bit presumptuous for Bo to go around calling *Anyone* Old.

"Tell me if you need more help around." Came Bo's quick response. He had already helped patch the roof, mend the henhouse, extend the fields, and everything in between so at least Bo felt confident that his worth was well established. "You know I'll do just about anything for some extra eggs." 

There was more to say about it but the instant Aki started to talk about Jade, Bo shut his mouth real quick. So his intel was right — Aki found herself a sweetheart while Bo was gone. And here she was, working up the courage to tell him! Good news in turn with the bad was always a blessing. Bo watched Aki gather her thoughts, hiding shit-eating grin in his coffee mug. "I remember talkin' the night away with stories like that, m'hm." He answered, vague enough for Aki to use as needed. 

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