Office hours, Monday, RIDICULOUS o'clock - aka. Daytime.
When the line connected, Drac uttered a line he hadn't for about 75 years: "Wayne, I need your help with Mavis."
"Drac." There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "Buddy. I told you not to call me at work."
"Forget about your stupid work, this is important!"
"It always is! But I'm at work. You know. Working. With other people? Not all of us can work with family."
"Yes, yes. Subtle, Wayne. You have a human job." Drac deadpanned. "Look, I just need you to talk to her. I don't know what's going on with her..."
"Call Wanda. She's better with the kids than me, anyway. Mavis is probably just mad at you for something stupid. It's a kid-dad thing. She'll get over it. Promise. Wanda will understand."
"She turned into a WOLF, Wayne."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second, then the sound of scrabbling and a chair overturning and a series of doors opening and closing as Wayne protested low into the phone. "I swear man, I didn't do anything like that! I wouldn't do that to you, man. Martha and I were just friends! I swear, Drac. I didn't even like her that well, not really... and Mavis doesn't look a thing like me..."
"Will you shut up? I'm not saying that." Drac growled. "She's not a werewolf. She's a vampire. She's just turned into a wolf."
Wayne's voice was still a bit strained. "Wait, then what? How? I didn't know you could do that!"
"I can't! I don't know how she did it!" Drac sent a strand of magic out to grab Mavis from where she'd been napping and held the phone out to her. "Here you go, sweet fang. Talk to your uncle Wayne! Explain everything."
Mavis clawed happily at the phone, whimpering and giving a series of yips. After a minute or so, her face changed as if listening to the voice on the other end, and she gave a short howl. When her attention went elsewhere, Drac took back the phone.
"Well?" he asked. "Is she okay? What did she say?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Drac exploded at the phone. "You're a wereWOLF, Wayne! You BECOME a wolf! You should be able to speak it"
"I'm not one now, am I?" came Wayne's exasperated voice right back. "I don't know, man. None of what she said sounds familiar. And her accent is terrible; maybe it's a dialect or something. Romanian or something. Can't you translate it at all?"
Drac's reply was rather droll: "As you will remember, I failed Wolf linguistics. Despite the guarantees of a certain best friend who promised to tutor me in return for going on a double-date with him and a pair of twin sisters who, it turned out, didn't speak anything but French Ghoul. In which I was (and am) fluent."
"Ah yeah." Wayne chuckled. "Man. Murray was so peeved when he heard what he'd missed out on, there. Did I tell you I ran into those ghouls the other day? Really nice couple of kids. They're working in..."
Drac put the phone down with a frustrated sigh. Wayne wasn't going to be of any help, so maybe he should try Wanda afterall? Maybe Martha had talked to her about this sort of thing! Mother to mother! It was possible, right?
He picked up the phone and dialed again...
An hour and four calls to different werewolves later and Drac was not a bit wiser. He stared gloomily at the black wolf cub sitting on his desk. After a moment of staring right back at him, Mavis cocked her head slightly to the side and she reached a paw out to him with a concerned whimper.
Well, that wouldn't do! He pasted on his biggest smile for her. "Daddy's fine, my precious one. Don't worry!" That's what Daddy's did. "Everything will be just fine!"
He set Mavis back on the floor to play and pulled out his now battered and war-torn copy of A Survival Guide for Single Fathers of Tween and Teen Vampires. Another read through to hopefully find some answers, and then he would work on his next class lecture. And then when the sun went down and it was a decent hour to make phone calls, he would start calling more monsters.
[office door is open, but there's a barricade at the door because of a certain pup. Feel free to visit!]
"Drac." There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "Buddy. I told you not to call me at work."
"Forget about your stupid work, this is important!"
"It always is! But I'm at work. You know. Working. With other people? Not all of us can work with family."
"Yes, yes. Subtle, Wayne. You have a human job." Drac deadpanned. "Look, I just need you to talk to her. I don't know what's going on with her..."
"Call Wanda. She's better with the kids than me, anyway. Mavis is probably just mad at you for something stupid. It's a kid-dad thing. She'll get over it. Promise. Wanda will understand."
"She turned into a WOLF, Wayne."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second, then the sound of scrabbling and a chair overturning and a series of doors opening and closing as Wayne protested low into the phone. "I swear man, I didn't do anything like that! I wouldn't do that to you, man. Martha and I were just friends! I swear, Drac. I didn't even like her that well, not really... and Mavis doesn't look a thing like me..."
"Will you shut up? I'm not saying that." Drac growled. "She's not a werewolf. She's a vampire. She's just turned into a wolf."
Wayne's voice was still a bit strained. "Wait, then what? How? I didn't know you could do that!"
"I can't! I don't know how she did it!" Drac sent a strand of magic out to grab Mavis from where she'd been napping and held the phone out to her. "Here you go, sweet fang. Talk to your uncle Wayne! Explain everything."
Mavis clawed happily at the phone, whimpering and giving a series of yips. After a minute or so, her face changed as if listening to the voice on the other end, and she gave a short howl. When her attention went elsewhere, Drac took back the phone.
"Well?" he asked. "Is she okay? What did she say?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Drac exploded at the phone. "You're a wereWOLF, Wayne! You BECOME a wolf! You should be able to speak it"
"I'm not one now, am I?" came Wayne's exasperated voice right back. "I don't know, man. None of what she said sounds familiar. And her accent is terrible; maybe it's a dialect or something. Romanian or something. Can't you translate it at all?"
Drac's reply was rather droll: "As you will remember, I failed Wolf linguistics. Despite the guarantees of a certain best friend who promised to tutor me in return for going on a double-date with him and a pair of twin sisters who, it turned out, didn't speak anything but French Ghoul. In which I was (and am) fluent."
"Ah yeah." Wayne chuckled. "Man. Murray was so peeved when he heard what he'd missed out on, there. Did I tell you I ran into those ghouls the other day? Really nice couple of kids. They're working in..."
Drac put the phone down with a frustrated sigh. Wayne wasn't going to be of any help, so maybe he should try Wanda afterall? Maybe Martha had talked to her about this sort of thing! Mother to mother! It was possible, right?
He picked up the phone and dialed again...
An hour and four calls to different werewolves later and Drac was not a bit wiser. He stared gloomily at the black wolf cub sitting on his desk. After a moment of staring right back at him, Mavis cocked her head slightly to the side and she reached a paw out to him with a concerned whimper.
Well, that wouldn't do! He pasted on his biggest smile for her. "Daddy's fine, my precious one. Don't worry!" That's what Daddy's did. "Everything will be just fine!"
He set Mavis back on the floor to play and pulled out his now battered and war-torn copy of A Survival Guide for Single Fathers of Tween and Teen Vampires. Another read through to hopefully find some answers, and then he would work on his next class lecture. And then when the sun went down and it was a decent hour to make phone calls, he would start calling more monsters.
[office door is open, but there's a barricade at the door because of a certain pup. Feel free to visit!]