Chapter Text
Day 0
Enid is running.
She doesn’t know where.
All she knows is that she has to get away. Away from the woods. Away from the school. Away from the other werewolves.
Away from Wednesday.
“Wear this.”
Enid’s eyes flicker open.
For a terrifying moment, she thinks it was all a dream. That she’s still lost as a wolf in the woods.
Then her eyes focus on the figure in front of her. A figure that immediately wipes away all her fears. A figure dressed in all black.
“I’m okay,” Enid says softly, brushing away the coat held in front of her.
Wednesday regards the wolf intensely. As if she knew where Enid had drifted off to moments prior. “You’re shivering from head to toe.”
“But I can’t take your jacket!”
“Enid.”
“Wednesday-”
“Enid!”
“Fine!”
Enid grabs the black jacket with a huff and throws it over her shoulders, instantly enveloped in warmth. She tries not to think about how her inner wolf revels in the familiar scent of parchment and ink. She also tries not to think about the word engraved on the coat sleeve. Addams.
Meanwhile, Wednesday scrutinizes the girl in front of her, still somewhat disbelieving that she’s finally found Enid after so long. An inexplicable part of her wants to reach out and grab the wolf and never let go. Aching to feel physical proof under her fingertips that Enid was, in fact, real.
But of course, she refrains. Old habits die hard.
“Are you hurt?” Wednesday asks, taking advantage of the sunlight streaming into the clearing to check for any sign of injury.
Enid shakes her head.
The raven’s eyes narrow.
“Not too bad-”
“I can build a fire and-”
“No. I’m really fine, Wends. I can make it back to wherever we’re going. No problem.”
Wednesday stares hard into blue eyes. “If you’re lying…”
“You’ll what?” Enid challenges, leaning dangerously closer with a smirk on her lips.
“Leave you out here in the woods,” Wednesday deflects, suddenly terrified of the twisting in her stomach. Of the feelings she’d been running from for 96 days. Well, more like two years, honestly.
“Now who’s lying?” Enid tilts her head. Watching the thoughts swirl behind mesmerizing brown eyes. God, how she had missed those eyes.
Wednesday clenches her jaw and throws her pack over her shoulder. “Let’s go, wolf.”
Enid pauses. Remembering the term Wednesday called her yesterday before they drifted off into yet another shared dream.
Mi lobo.
She wants to know what it means. Well, she knows what it means, literally speaking. But she wants to know what it means to Wednesday. To them.
Now was not the time for seeking that answer though. She’s weary down to her very bones. And though Wednesday valiantly hides it, she can tell the seer is too.
It’s only a few miles back to town, but it takes them an excruciating amount of time to cover the distance. They travel in awkward silence. Neither of them quite sure what to say, both quietly terrified this might all be a hallucination.
Eventually, Wednesday holds out a granola bar. “Eat this.”
“What are you gonna have?”
“I’m fine.”
“Wednesday.”
“Enid.”
The wolf sighs and tears open the wrapper, wondering if she was just going to lose all of their arguments from now on. How do you win against someone stubborn enough to pursue you through the wilderness for 96 days anyway?
She breaks the bar and holds out half to Wednesday. The seer frowns, but reluctantly takes half of the half. Enid counts it as a win and shoves the rest in her own mouth.
The food keeps her from the brink of collapse, but her thoughts still spiral. After spending over three months as a wolf, it was overwhelming to suddenly be back in a human body with a human brain, especially one that goes as fast as hers.
“Do you wish to talk about it?”
Enid glances at the seer quickly. “Did you just read my mind?”
Wednesday raises an eyebrow. “I do not believe our psychic connection goes that far.”
“You never know. I mean, I was able to speak into your mind as a wolf.”
“Are you still able to do so?” the seer asks in interest.
Enid shakes her head. “I think it had something to do with our powers being connected. So I’d have to be in wolf form. Which, uh, hopefully I won’t be in for a while.”
The sun disappears behind a cloud. The wind turns cold. Wednesday falters in her steps ever so slightly. “Tell me about your days as a wolf.”
Tell me you were okay.
Enid freezes.
The seer immediately backtracks, cursing herself for the blunt question. “Nevermind. You don’t have to. I didn’t mean-”
“It started off okay,” Enid interjects, cutting off the uncharacteristic ramble. “I mean, I was cold and hungry the first couple days. I found a few rabbits, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill them. Eventually I settled on squirrels, and the occasional dumpster food. Makes Lurch’s roadkill potpie seem like a five star gourmet meal now.”
“It technically is,” Wednesday can’t help but comment.
“That’s…sure.” Enid decides not to question the strangeness of her roommate’s family. A family she so longed to be a part of. “Other than that, I tried to keep a low profile. I got lost really quickly. It’s like my wolf wanted to be somewhere, but had no idea where that was. I was by this river for a while.”
“I canvassed the wrong body of water,” Wednesday says bitterly.
“What do you mean?”
“Lake Champlain.”
“You looked for me around the entirety of Lake Champlain??” Enid’s eyes bug out.
“And then some.”
“Jesus. You must’ve covered more miles than I did!”
“It’s no matter.”
“Wednesday-”
“Continue your story,” Wednesday says gruffly. Not anxious to relive her own 96 day experience.
Enid sighs. “Well, with food and water, I was fine for the first few weeks. I found a place deep in the woods where no one bothered me. Though one time I accidentally fell asleep by the river and woke up to this toddler poking me. I think they thought I was just a very large dog.”
“Not inaccurate I suppose.”
“Hey! I’m a big bad wolf!”
The seer lets out something of a snort, which Enid finds ridiculously adorable, even if it’s at her own expense.
The air suddenly feels warmer again.
“Anyway, the child wasn’t scared of me. But the parents certainly were. They brought out their pitchforks like nobody’s business. I had to hightail it out of that area for good. And then came the first full moon…”
Enid trails off, unsure if either of them were ready to discuss that night yet. Especially given the distant look in the seer’s eyes.
“I thought I could find you before then,” Wednesday whispers in regret.
“By blowing out your powers,” Enid mutters. Still unhappy at the lack of self-preservation her roommate displayed the last three months.
Wednesday disregards the chastisement, instead focusing on a question that had been in her mind all day. “When did you know about our psychic connection?”
“Honestly? I kinda suspected it on my first day as a wolf.”
“Really?” For the longest time Wednesday had just thought her mind was tormenting her with a recurring nightmare.
“I mean, I never dreamed as a werewolf before. Or felt that complex of emotions. So I thought I was either sharing dreams with you, or simply losing my mind. Turns out it was a bit of both.” Enid smiles wryly, trying to brush past that last part.
Wednesday doesn't miss it though. Doesn’t miss how close she had come to losing Enid to her wolf forever. “I should have found you sooner.”
“Wednesday…” Enid sighs, already anticipating this was going to be a debate they would have for years to come. She grabs the girl’s arm so that they’re face to face. Wanting Wednesday to look her in the eye as she says the next words. “You found me. When no one else could. When I couldn’t even find myself.”
“Like I said, it was the other way around,” Wednesday deflects, looking toward the ground.
“But you never stopped. And if you hadn’t been out there looking, I would’ve lost myself to the wolf in a matter of days. I know it. But because I dreamed of you every night, because I knew you hadn’t given up on me, I never gave up on myself. And now…we’re together again.”
Enid reaches out and gently tilts Wednesday’s chin up, letting her fingers linger longer than necessary. “96 days doesn’t seem like so long in the grand scheme of that, does it?”
Wednesday searches the blue eyes in front of her. In the grand scheme of what?
Two years? A lifetime? Forever?
“We’re almost at town,” the seer says in a low tone, not ready to face that question yet. She pulls away and continues onward.
Enid smiles sadly and follows the seer’s silhouette. She’s not exactly sure where she was going with that line of questioning anyway. At least that’s what she tells herself.
When they finally make it back to the bed and breakfast, Enid almost sobs in relief. It’s been so long since she’s been indoors.
“Enid, what’s wrong?” Wednesday asks anxiously, closing the door behind them.
The wolf blinks, just now realizing she actually is sobbing. She wipes at her eyes. “S-Sorry. I’m fine, I swear. I just…wasn’t sure when I’d ever experience this again.”
Warmth. Safety. Wednesday.
The seer curses herself once more. Enid may have forgiven her for taking so long, but she’d never forgive herself.
She looks uncomfortably around the room, suddenly feeling unsure. Hunting in the wilderness on minimal food and rest for 96 days she could do without issue. But comforting a girl who had been stuck as a wolf for 3 months? That she feels very ill-equipped for.
“What would you…like to do?” Wednesday asks hesitantly, resisting the urge to wipe away the wolf’s tears.
“Probably take a shower,” Enid says with a watery chuckle. “I bet I smell disgusting. I certainly feel disgusting.”
Wednesday honestly hadn’t noticed. Enid only ever smelled like strawberries to her. She points toward the bathroom. “Take as long as you need. There’s clothes for you in the bag.”
“Thanks, uh, here’s your jacket back.” Enid holds it out.
“...Keep it.”
Enid’s mouth goes dry. So she just nods and heads into the bathroom.
The shower is the longest, most painful one of her entire life. Revealing cuts and wounds she didn’t even know existed. Yet it’s also the best thing to happen to her in over three months. Outside of finding Wednesday.
When she comes out of the bathroom, she’s not fully healed by any means, but she finally feels human.
“Sit,” Wednesday points at the bed immediately, as if she had been waiting for Enid to exit. The wolf dutifully complies, too tired to put up any fight anyway. Wednesday grabs the first aid kit. “Where are the wounds?”
Enid sighs but lifts her shirt up a bit, revealing a nasty gash on her torso.
Wednesday frowns at the injury, wishing she could reach out and take the pain upon herself instead. But there’s nothing for it now. So she begins to wordlessly patch it up. Cold fingers moving with practiced precision, soothing the sting of the treatment before Enid can even register it.
It’s a tedious, slightly awkward process. There’s scratches everywhere. Enid’s arms, her calves, her back. But Wednesday takes the same amount of care for every one of them. Patching each wound up as if her own life depended on it.
“There’s no sign of infection,” the seer murmurs softly as she bandages the last cut. “Your werewolf healing has served you well.”
“Bet they’ll leave some ugly scars though.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Wednesday insists. Completely convinced no scar of Enid’s could ever be ugly.
By the time they’re finally done, Enid feels better than she has in a long time, perhaps even before she turned into a werewolf. Something about Wednesday’s touch was the ultimate medicine for her pain.
“Sleep, Enid,” Wednesday whispers.
The wolf tries to fight it. Tries to stay awake a bit longer, just to catch another glimpse of brown eyes. But the physical, mental, and emotional trials of the last 96 days finally catch up to her.
She sleeps.
Day 1
Enid wakes to the sound of water.
Another surge of panic flashes through her. Was she a wolf again? Sleeping by the river?
No. No, it was just the shower running.
Then she realizes something else. She hadn’t dreamed last night. Which meant…
A knock on the door startles her out of her thoughts. She goes to open it.
“THING! Oh my gosh!” Enid scoops up the hand and holds him close to her shoulder.
Thing taps rapidly, stuttering in his excitement at seeing the wolf again. You’re back!
Enid nods with a wide grin.
How did you change back to a human?
The wolf pauses thoughtfully. “To be honest. I don’t know. Wednesday…”
She hesitates. Not ready to tell the hand about all of the unspoken things going on between her and her roommate right now.
Thing doesn’t need an explanation to put the pieces together anyway. She never gave up on you.
“I know,” Enid chokes out.
That’s all that needs to be said.
Minutes later, Wednesday exits the bathroom with freshly braided hair.
“Hey, you’re wearing the shirt I got you!” Enid exclaims. She notes how tattered the t-shirt looks, as if Wednesday had worn it several times while on the hunt. The very thought makes her stomach flutter.
“Indeed,” Wednesday mumbles, fighting back unfamiliar heat on her cheeks.
Thing waves from the desk.
“I was beginning to wonder if you got crushed by a tree branch.”
Sorry. Went to get help after you collapsed. Had to fight off a pack of squirrels on the way. You were gone by the time Fester and I got back. But we saw werewolf prints so assumed you found each other. Fester went back home once we confirmed you had checked in here last night.
“Well, make yourself useful then. I’m sure Enid is starving.”
“Hey!” Enid objects. “I know you’re hungry too!”
“I can hear your stomach growling from here.”
Don’t worry, I’m on it! Thing scuttles out the door.
Once he’s gone, Enid frowns at her roommate. “You didn’t sleep last night.”
Wednesday pretends to rearrange the items on the desk. “Just because you didn’t dream, doesn’t mean I didn’t sleep.”
“Maybe, but I also kinda just know. The other bed doesn’t smell like you.”
The raven looks over sharply, causing Enid’s cheeks to flush scarlet.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that in a weird way!” Enid squeaks. “But, why didn’t you sleep? I know you’re exhausted.”
Wednesday inhales deeply. “I…”
Spent the entire night watching you. Making sure you were okay. Making sure you didn’t disappear.
“Couldn’t.”
The wolf goes to kneel by the chair the other girl is sitting in. “After we eat, you’re going to sleep.”
“Enid-”
“You can’t just not sleep the rest of your life, Wednesday.” Enid hesitantly reaches out and brushes her hand over a bandage on the seer’s arm. She achingly wonders how many wounds she left the girl to patch up on herself after she fell asleep. “I’ll still be here. I promise.”
Tortured brown eyes meet stubborn blue ones.
The blue ones win.
Thing comes back with enough room service for five people. The two roommates eat it all.
“Here,” Wednesday holds out an object.
“Oh my gosh! You brought my phone?” Enid grabs the device.
“Agnes kept sending updates.”
“Wow, I have so much to catch up on! Three months of Nevermore gossip!”
“The school has been closed the entire time.”
“Oh, well. At least we didn’t lose our room!”
Out of all the things to worry about the last three months, that had not been high on Wednesday’s list. But now that she thinks about it, she supposes she’s grateful for that as well.
“Anyway. You need to sleep,” Enid insists. “While I catch up on my timeline.”
Wednesday rolls her eyes, but climbs into her bed. Immediately, the exhaustion she had held at bay for days slams into her like a tidal wave.
She falls asleep to the sound of Enid playing a Tik Tok.
It’s the best lullaby she’s ever heard in her life.
Day 2
Enid is running.
Front and hind legs working overtime to cover yards of distance in a single leap.
A bullet embeds itself in a tree next to her.
She whines, but continues forward. Claws digging into freshly fallen snow. Ignoring the trail of blood she’s leaving behind.
Another bullet hits the ground near her left paw. Somehow closer, despite the relentless pace she’s driving. Another scrapes her side. Not enough to seriously injure, but enough to sting like hell.
“We’ve got her!” The hunters shout, closing in on all sides.
The wolf looks around desperately for an escape route.
There isn’t one.
Then she sees it.
Two braids.
She bolts.
The silhouette doesn’t turn. But it gets closer and closer. Until Enid is right on top of it.
The wolf jumps.
Only to crash into…nothing.
Except freezing cold water.
The shock rips her back to reality.
The river.
The hunters shout on the shore, bullets landing harmlessly in the water. She struggles for a foothold, but the current begins to sweep her away.
She’s drowning.
Then she sees it again.
Braids.
With one last gasp of effort, the wolf swims to the opposite shoreline toward the silhouette.
But when she pulls herself out of the water, she’s alone.
“Enid!”
“Wednesday!”
Both roommates simultaneously sit up gasping in their separate beds.
It’s 3:46am.
The raven had been asleep since the previous afternoon, and the wolf had fallen asleep soon after.
Wednesday recovers first. Though, recovers may be a strong word for it. More like grips the edge of the bed until the world finally stops spinning, then glances over at Enid.
The wolf looks nearly feral in the pale moonlight. Curled up in a ball around herself, claws shredding the bedsheets.
“Enid.”
Wednesday carefully gets out of her bed and walks to the edge of the other. On instinct, she reaches out toward the girl, but the wolf pulls back, looking at her with wide, terrified eyes.
The seer’s stomach knots, unused to Enid being the one to pull away. She slowly retracts her hand. “May I turn on the light?”
After a long moment, Enid nods. Wednesday switches on the lamp, hoping it will chase away the terrors of the darkness. She doesn’t know what to do. So she just stands there, trying to convey that the wolf wasn’t alone.
A solid 15 minutes pass before Enid has gathered herself enough to speak. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Do not apologize.”
“I…” Enid wipes her tearstained face. “I had almost forgotten about that night.”
Wednesday suddenly wants to do a million things at once. Track down and decapitate those hunters. Go back in time and never let Isaac bury her under that tree. And most of all, wrap the wolf in front of her into the tightest embrace.
She settles for stepping a couple inches closer to the bed. “You did not say humans had hunted you.”
The wolf shakes her head. “I didn’t want you to worry. Or feel bad.”
Too late. Wednesday tries to think of something more useful to say. “Surely you must know I am not the type to do either of those things.”
“You do for me,” Enid says softly. Knowingly.
Wednesday isn’t prepared to deal with such a statement on only day two. But she can’t bring herself to deny it either.
“Perhaps,” the seer admits with an uneven breath. “But I much prefer you tell me in advance.”
“Is Wednesday Addams saying she wants me to talk to her?”
The seer is relieved to hear the slight teasing in the wolf’s tone. “It appears it could be…beneficial at times.”
Enid lips twitch upward. “You could just say you missed my rambling.”
Wednesday only stares back. You have no idea.
The wolf becomes serious again under the intense gaze. “That was one of my worst nights. There were others, which I don’t think I can talk about right now. But, I’ll try in the future.”
Wednesday nods, and chooses not to comment about how she had seen the entire dream from Enid’s perspective. Including the wolf’s hallucination of her.
That could also be talked about later. Or never.
“I don’t think I can go back to sleep,” Enid sighs.
Wednesday doesn’t either. “Perhaps we could do an activity.”
Enid raises her eyebrows as Wednesday pulls out something from her bag and lays it on the bed. “You brought Uno??”
Wednesday shifts in embarrassment. “I know you’ve enjoyed this game with Yoko in the past. And I anticipated we’d need an activity to…lighten the situation.”
“Wends…” Enid almost starts crying again. Melting at the idea her roommate had brought her favorite game with the singular goal of cheering her up. She motions for the seer to sit across from her on the bed. “Have you ever played?”
“No. But the game seems simple enough.”
Two hours later, Wednesday is eating her words.
“You are cheating.”
Enid giggles. “I’m not!”
“It is highly improbable that you would win so many rounds in a row.”
“Guess you’re not good at everything,” the wolf teases.
The seer pouts in that way Enid has always found ridiculously adorable. “I have designed a perfect method of calculating the statistical likelihood of each following card.”
Enid snorts. “Did you account for all the Draw 4s I had in my hand though?”
“I may have…underestimated them,” Wednesday grumbles.
Enid is grinning. And the sun is rising. And the nightmare seems like a distant memory. Because Wednesday was really here with her now. Not a shadow she was chasing after anymore.
They stay in the hotel room for the rest of the day. The original plan was to go back to the Addams’ house, but Lurch had gotten held up with some last minute errand for Pugsley. Neither roommate is complaining though, it was nice to just spend time together.
But of course, just as day breaks, night follows quickly after.
“I don’t want to sleep,” Enid moans.
Wednesday is thinking the exact same thing. “You need rest though. Someone told me recently you can’t just not sleep forever.”
“That person sounds wise at least.”
“Debatable.”
“Rude!” Enid says in mock offense.
There’s a glint in Wednesday’s eyes for just a moment before it passes again. “Sleep.”
The wolf sighs. “I will. But you better sleep too.”
“Perhaps.”
“Wednesday.”
“I will try.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Wednesday clenches her jaw. “I will try.”
“Better.”
The light is turned off. Blankets are pulled up.
And for all their trepidation, they both fall into sleep quickly.
A dreamless one.
Day 3
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go to your house? I don’t want to intrude,” Enid says nervously. “I mean, I could go back to San Francisco.”
A jolt of panic goes through Wednesday’s veins. “Do you…want to go back to San Francisco?”
“Not really,” Enid admits, glancing at the girl next to her in the back of the car. I want to be wherever you are.
“Then it’s settled,” Wednesday states, trying to keep the relief out of her voice. The idea of being separated from Enid again made her feel like vomiting, and not in a good way.
After hours of driving, they finally pull up to the Addams’ mansion. Though Enid thinks castle would be a more fitting term given how grand and mysterious it looks. Lurch brings their bags inside while Gomez and Morticia greet them at the door.
“Welcome home, my little stormcloud!” Gomez greets his daughter with a fierce hug that Wednesday allows after over three months away.
“Enid!” Morticia offers an equally warm hug to the werewolf.
“Uh, thanks for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Addams,” Enid says shyly.
“Of course! You’re welcome here anytime,” Morticia says.
“And please, call us Gomez and Morticia,” Gomez insists.
They’re ushered into the house, and the entryway alone is so grand that Enid finds herself staring in awe. Growing up with a large family and pack, Enid was used to spacious areas, but never like this.
Wednesday notices her roommate gawking. “Would you like to look around?”
“Yes!”
The seer begins to lead her through the estate. The three sitting rooms. The expansive kitchen. The fencing facility. The greenhouse. The torture room (which Enid vows never to go in again). On and on until they come to the last two rooms in the house.
“This will be your room,” Wednesday opens the door to a guest bedroom on the second floor.
It’s spacious. With high ceilings, a large bed, and a window that brings in more daylight than any other room in the house. Almost as if the Addams had especially designed it for Enid Sinclair.
“Oh my gosh, you guys brought my stuff from Nevermore??” Enid’s eyes go wide as she races into the room and looks through the belongings she hadn’t seen in over three months.
“Lurch got them yesterday.”
“Wends!” Enid throws her arms around her roommate. “Thank you.”
Wednesday stands there stiffly for a moment, unprepared for the physical affection and how it causes her chest to stutter. Though they had hugged multiple times previously, it was usually after near death experiences. So this felt…different.
She slowly raises her arms to return the embrace. “Lurch is the one that did the work.”
“Yeah, but I know it was your idea,” Enid mumbles in the seer’s ear.
Wednesday tells herself she’s relieved when the wolf pulls away rather quickly. As if she isn’t longing to continue holding Enid for some ridiculous, infinite amount of time.
“Wait, where’s your room?”
Wednesday can’t help but notice the flicker of anxiousness in the question. “I’m the next door down the hall.”
“Can I…see it?”
The seer almost blinks. She hadn’t had anyone in her room other than family in, well, ever.
“You don’t have to!” Enid says quickly, recognizing the boundary immediately.
Wednesday doesn’t respond, but starts walking down the hall, leaving it up to the wolf to follow.
The entrance to Wednesday’s room is dark. But when the door is opened, Enid is surprised. She had expected something gloomy, perhaps all black, with gothic curtains and paintings and torture devices.
What she sees instead is a simple room by Addams’ mansion standards. With a large desk, a bed, and neatly arranged books on seemingly endless shelves. There’s no torture devices, and light streams in through a moderately large window. Of course, there’s zero color in the entire room. Except for one thing that catches her eye on Wednesday’s desk.
Letters. Letters that Enid wrote Wednesday over the summer in bright pink ink. Letters that Wednesday had kept.
Yet another thing for them to talk about later. They seemed to really be piling up.
“This suits you,” Enid says with a smile.
“It has served its function,” Wednesday says evenly, glancing down at the letters on her desk and resisting the urge to shove them in a drawer. “Let us return downstairs though. Dinner is ready.”
As they gather around the dinner table, Enid glances around. “So, uh, where’s Pugsley?”
“He went to a nearby outcast camp for a while. He was going stir crazy with Nevermore still being on hiatus,” Morticia explains.
“Yeah, don’t blame him.” Enid nods as Lurch places large platters of food in front of them.
“Don’t worry, it’s not roadkill potpie,” Morticia says playfully.
“Oh, um, that honestly doesn’t sound so bad after my time as a wolf,” Enid mumbles bashfully.
Wednesday stiffens noticeably in her chair, and everyone in the room is smart enough to not go further down that road.
Dinner is normal. There’s conversation. Banter. Death threats. And so much warmth and affection that Enid is nearly crying by the end. Because in all her life, she’s never experienced this.
“Enid, are you alright?” Wednesday asks, recognizing the wolf’s growing emotions. Gomez and Morticia share a knowing glance at their daughter’s concerned tone.
“Y-Yeah,” Enid manages. “Sorry. Dinner was amazing. Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Mr. and Mrs. Addams. This whole house is amazing!”
Your family is amazing.
Your daughter is amazing.
Morticia smiles warmly. “You’re welcome to anything in the house. What’s ours is yours.”
“Yes, including our vast selections of poisons in the parlor,” Gomez chimes in proudly.
Somehow that only makes Enid want to cry harder.
“I think it’s time to depart.” Wednesday stands up abruptly.
Enid gives her a grateful nod and follows her upstairs. They linger by the wolf’s doorway.
“Well, I guess this is me,” Enid says awkwardly.
Wednesday glances down the hall to her own room, suddenly lamenting the ten foot distance between them. “Indeed.”
“Goodnight, Wednesday.” Enid smiles, and before she can lose her nerve, leans forward to place a light kiss on the seer’s cheek. Then she scrambles into her room and shuts the door before she can see the other girl’s reaction.
Meanwhile, Wednesday just stands there dumbly. And has this even dumber thought of calling out and asking Enid to stay with her.
But she doesn’t. Just goes to her own room and shuts the door.
She leaves it unlocked though. Just in case.
To their surprise, they don’t dream that night either. But perhaps that’s only because they both spend far too much time lying awake, thinking of the other.
Day 4
The next day unfolds exactly as one might expect.
The roommates spend every moment together. Walking the grounds, reading, scrolling Tik Tok, and bickering about anything and everything.
Enid kisses Wednesday’s cheek that night too.
And still, no nightmares occur.
Almost as if the kiss was keeping them at bay.
Almost as if the last three months had never happened.
Almost.
Day 5
Of course. You can’t hold back the inevitable forever.
Enid is running.
Lightning flashes through the sky. Rain soaks her fur.
Police sirens wail in the distance. No, not the distance anymore. Only yards away. Close enough for her to see the blue glow of their motorbikes racing after her.
She presses the pace faster. Only a few hundred feet left.
“It’s the werewolf that crazy girl was looking for yesterday!” one of the officers yells.
Enid freezes. Skittering so quickly to a halt that dirt flies everywhere. She turns around. Immediately blinded by blue and red lights.
The motorcycles slow to a stop. The officers climb off, guns drawn.
“Hold!” A man, the sheriff, steps forward in the blinding light.
Enid almost staggers when she gets a whiff of his scent. Sweat and cheap liquor on the surface. But that’s not what has her reeling. That would be the lingering scent of parchment and ink that she smells ever so faintly.
Wednesday.
She was here. Yesterday.
Maybe Enid could use this sheriff to track her down. Maybe he’d be understanding toward werewolves.
The man holds up his shotgun.
Enid huffs. Predictable.
The shot rings out.
But the wolf is long gone. Having jumped high in the air and back in the direction she was running.
The officers yell and get back on their bikes. But they’re too late now.
The distance closes. Twenty yards. Ten. Five.
She launches across the invisible line.
The police skitter to a stop.
“Crossed the border, Sheriff!”
The man glares at the werewolf. Enid meets his gaze sharply.
“Alright, move out!” he calls.
But he flashes his gun at the wolf all the same.
Wednesday’s eyes snap open.
She stares at the dark panels of the ceiling. Enid had been hunted. Not only by other wolves and human hunters, but by the police.
Police that Wednesday had tipped off.
She gets up and yanks her door open. Revealing a girl on the other side who had been pacing in the hall, trying to gather the courage to knock.
“Oh! H-Hi…” Enid smiles sheepishly, though Wednesday can still see the lingering trauma in those blue eyes.
They stand in tense silence for a moment, both trying to process the scenes they had just witnessed.
“Sorry, um, I’m just gonna go-” Enid starts to scramble back to her own room.
“Enid.”
The wolf turns around.
Wednesday steps to the side, indicating for the other girl to come in. Enid does so hesitantly. When the door closes, Wednesday sits stiffly on her bed. “You may sit.”
“Oh, okay.” The wolf slowly sits on the other side, wondering why she feels so nervous being in Wednesday’s space when they literally share a room at school. They both lean against the headboard and stare out the window.
“The police hunted you.”
“Yeah…”
The seer clenches her jaw. “Because of me.”
“What? No!” Enid turns to look at the other girl in the dark. “They would’ve hunted me either way, I’m sure.”
“I fail to see how that is any better.”
Enid winces. “Right. But, I’m okay now.”
“...Are you?” Wednesday whispers quietly.
The briefest of flashbacks runs through Enid’s mind.
“Are you okay?”
“Since when do you care!”
Oh how far they had come since then.
Enid slides her hand over on the bed ever so slightly, just enough so their pinkies brush. “Yeah, I’m okay, Wends.”
And she means it.
Maybe not forever. Maybe not for this year, or this week, or even this entire day. But for right now, with Wednesday, she’s okay.
Neither of them are sure how long they sit there. But the moonlight is fading by the time Enid speaks again.
“I should go back to my room.”
Wednesday’s pinky twitches. As if wanting to reach out and interlace with the wolf’s. As if wanting to ask her to stay.
But she doesn’t.
So Enid returns to her room.
Day 6
Enid is running.
Down a steep mountain. Mud beneath her paws.
A werewolf behind her howls to the rest of the pack. She hears their footsteps. At least five other wolves looking for blood. Her blood.
She glances up at the sky. It was nearly dawn. Just a few more minutes.
One of the werewolves behind her pounces. Its claws scrape her hind legs.
She howls in familiar pain. Then kicks back. The wolf crashes to the dirt.
Enid keeps running.
She’s tackled this time. The rest of the pack surrounds her.
Survival instincts take over. Claws cut into fur. Teeth sink into flesh.
Until, at last, the sun rises.
The other werewolves shrink back down into their human forms. Bloodied, but still very much alive.
“We’ll get you next time, alpha,” one of the wolves growls.
Enid gnashes her fangs at him. Then bolts off into the woods.
She has to sleep.
She has to let Wednesday know she’s okay.
Enid lurches up in her bed drenched in cold sweat. She tastes blood. Unsure if it’s her own or the lingering memory of the wolves she fought that night. She looks down at her legs. The scars are still raw.
As her emotions spiral, so does her wolf. She can feel it under the surface, aching to get out despite all the recent time she had spent in that form. She needs to calm down. She needs…
She rushes to her door and opens it.
Wednesday.
The seer stands there rigidly on the other side, having already made the desolate journey down the hall between their rooms. “Enid, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I…” Enid still tastes the blood on her tongue. Feels the flesh under her claws. “I mean, no, not really. Um, could you maybe come in?”
Wednesday nods and steps inside the room. Enid swiftly sits on the bed and pats the side next to her. Soon they’re sitting in the same positions as the night before, only this time on Enid’s bed.
“That was the last full moon before I, before you, found me,” Wednesday states quietly.
The wolf tries to swallow down the metallic taste in her mouth. “Yep.”
“There was no dream that night.”
“I didn’t have much time to sleep.”
“When I woke up that day I…” Wednesday’s throat suddenly feels tight.
“I know.” Enid nods, not needing the seer to force out the words. “You used the largest amount of your powers to find me.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because when we had our shared dream the next day, it was well past sunrise. Which means you blacked out.”
Wednesday sits unmoving, once more disturbed at how well her roommate can read her. She glances over, recognizing the wolf’s anxiousness bubbling over in the form of rapid breaths and unsheathed claws. She almost reaches out to grasp Enid’s hand, but refrains. Instead opting for an attempt at verbal comfort.
“You are an impressive fighter.”
Enid looks over in surprise. “You saw the whole fight?”
“Indeed. It seems I see everything that you see in the dream.”
“Well, I got a whole bunch of ugly scars on my legs from that fight. So I’m not sure I was all that great.”
“Your scars are not ugly,” Wednesday says automatically.
Enid smiles wryly. “Friends have to say that I suppose.”
The raven twitches at the word. “You of all people should know, I never do anything out of social obligation.”
The wolf snorts. “I suppose that’s true.”
“...Enid.”
“Yeah?” Enid glances over at the seer. She’s shocked to see large brown eyes already staring intensely back at her.
“Your scars are not ugly.”
Enid flounders under the genuineness of the tone. “Um, thanks, Wednesday.”
She swears she sees the seer flush ever so slightly. But it must’ve just been a trick of the moonlight.
“Are you-how are you feeling?” Wednesday stumbles over her words, still unused to this type of role.
“Well, you’ve taken good care of all my wounds, so I’m feeling pretty good physically.”
“And the nightmares?”
“Not gonna lie, they suck. But…it sort of helps to know that you’re sharing them with me? Not that I want to put you through this either!” Enid clarifies quickly. “Just that, since this seems to be a thing now, it’s nice there’s at least some benefit. Knowing you’re there.”
Now Enid is pretty sure she’s the one blushing.
Wednesday studies the wolf who suddenly won’t make eye contact with her. “I do not mind the dreams. If it helps.”
“Thanks,” Enid mumbles, feeling her claws finally retract as she calms down. The taste of blood is gone too. “Um, we can probably go back to sleep now. If you want.”
Wednesday hesitates only for a moment before standing up. She moves slowly toward the door, giving the chance for one of them to say something. Anything.
“Wednesday?”
“Yes?” The tone is overly eager, even to Wednesday’s own ears.
“Um…” Enid fidgets, glancing at the empty side of the bed next to her. “Goodnight.”
Wednesday turns away to hide her disappointment. “Goodnight.”
The door closes.
Enid collapses on the bed with a frustrated sigh.
She dreams again that night. This time only of brown eyes.
Down the hall, Wednesday only dreams of blue.
Day 10-19
The days at the mansion start to bleed together.
Enid spends her time wrapped up in an Addams’ cocoon. Gardening with Morticia. Playing chess with Gomez. Cooking with Lurch. Getting manicures with Thing.
And most of all, falling in love with Wednesday.
Not that that’s anything new.
In some ways, it’s not much different than how they interact at school. Wednesday still plays her cello at ungodly hours. Enid still blasts kpop music just to get back at her for it.
In other ways though, everything is different. Because now they share loaded glances. Share mutual trauma. Share dreams. And they never talk about it. Not like that anyway.
But Enid still kisses Wednesday on the cheek every night.
And Wednesday still shows up at Enid’s door after every nightmare.
But she never stays.
And Enid never asks her to.
Day 20
The days stop bleeding together when the first werewolf howl pierces the night.
Wednesday stiffens where she sits at her typewriter, causing two keys to clank together at once on the page. She immediately curses herself for drawing attention to it. But from the look on Enid’s face, it seems like the wolf would’ve heard it anyway.
“Enid.”
“I’m fine,” the wolf says quickly.
“The marks you’re carving on my bedpost say otherwise.”
“Shit!” Enid pulls her hand back from the closest thing she had grabbed. “Sorry!”
“It is of no matter,” Wednesday responds quickly, walking over to stand in front of the wolf. She studies Enid’s face intently. “You are not fine though.”
Well damn. Apparently Wednesday had gotten just as good at reading her.
“Wends, I really am. We prepared for this full moon. I have my headphones. Lurch made my favorite meal. Morticia gave me this bouquet of flowers. And Gomez had Thing sure up the perimeter from other wolves. You all have really spoiled me.”
“Yet you are still not fine.” If said by anyone else, the statement would sound brusque. But from Wednesday Addams, it sounds overly concerned.
“I…” the wolf glances at the full moon through the window. It calls to her, even now.
“Would it help if I played?”
Enid thinks for a moment. There was something truly mesmerizing about watching Wednesday play in the moonlight. She nods.
“Then I shall go fetch my cello.”
The seer quickly departs to grab the instrument from the parlor downstairs. On her way, she passes by Thing.
“Are you absolutely sure the perimeter is sealed?” she asks the hand urgently, not even caring how anxious her tone is.
I triple checked. Promise.
Wednesday is only satisfied once Thing has given her verification on every possible area of defense. Then she packs up her cello, and stops by the kitchen to grab a few of Enid’s favorite cookies, before finally heading back upstairs. She pushes open the door to her room.
It’s empty.
Her cello falls to the ground.
“Enid?”
She runs down the hall to the other room and knocks.
No answer.
She knocks again.
Silence.
“I’m coming in.”
Wednesday pushes open the door.
Empty.
She checks all the spaces. The bathroom. The bed. The closet.
Nothing.
“Enid!”
She runs into the hallway, frantically searching the rest of the rooms.
Every single one is empty.
She throws herself down the stairs, causing her parents to nearly jump in surprise in the living room.
“What is it, my little viper?” Gomez asks.
“Enid!”
That’s all the two parents need to hear. They jump up and start looking as well. Soon the entire household, Lurch and Thing included, are tearing apart the mansion, looking for the missing werewolf.
“She must’ve gone out to the grounds,” Morticia says solemnly. After a frantic ten minute search.
“How did we miss her?” Gomez asks in confusion. “We Addams aren’t easy to sneak past.”
Wednesday isn’t listening. She’s already outside, running through the mansion grounds.
The gardens are empty. So is the pavilion. So is the family graveyard.
Which only left…the woods.
“Enid!” Wednesday’s voice is hoarse from screaming. She runs as fast as her legs can carry her around the perimeter. But the grounds are huge. It could take hours to search every corner.
A wolf howls in the distance.
Wednesday’s blood runs cold.
Is she already too late? Will she have to start preparations for yet another three month long hunt? The very thought sends a lump to her throat and makes her legs quiver below her.
More desperate searching.
More empty woods.
No. This can’t be happening. She had just gotten Enid back. Only 20 days ago. She can’t lose her again. S-She can’t…
Wednesday’s vision narrows on a motionless figure.
There. Lying in the middle of a wide clearing. The most obvious place to look. If she hadn’t been full-blown panicking.
“Enid?”
Still no response.
Wednesday scans the treeline. No movement. No threats.
Her gaze snaps back.
Enid looks unharmed. Still very much human. Wearing Wednesday’s jacket.
She stalks over.
Enid is lying with her eyes closed, but they immediately spring open when Wednesday stands above her.
“Hey!” Enid smiles widely, as if she hadn’t just caused a defcon level 1 reaction in the Addams household. She reaches up and takes off her headphones. The music is blasting.
So that’s why she hadn’t heard anyone’s calls.
Wednesday could strangle her. If only the wolf didn’t look so damn beautiful grinning up from the ground below.
“I, um, have something for you,” Enid says nervously, fumbling with an object in her pocket.
But then she finally sees it. The panic. The anger.
She instinctively reaches out. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“What are you doing?” Wednesday asks sharply, twitching away from Enid’s hand.
“I-I just wanted to be outside. My wolf wanted to be under the moon.”
Wednesday’s eyes grow impossibly wider.
“Not like that!” Enid says quickly, jumping to her feet. “I swear I’m not about to wolf out. In fact, I feel calmer out here! Under the moon. Safe.”
The harshness in the seer’s gaze only grows.
Enid tilts her head in confusion and concern. “Wends?”
“You were not in the room when I returned.” Wednesday hates how shaky her voice sounds.
“Oh…” Enid says softly, slowly starting to put the pieces together. “I’m sorry. You took a little longer than expected, and my wolf wanted to be outside. But I left you a note saying where I was going!”
A note. Something Wednesday Addams wouldn’t have missed at an active crime scene. Yet overlooked entirely in her panic at the sight of her empty room.
“You didn’t see it…”
The seer scowls and turns around. Stomping back toward the mansion.
“Wednesday, wait!”
The seer is already running though, and despite her werewolf speed, Enid can’t quite catch up with her in time before they reach the house.
“Wednesday!” Enid barrels through the entrance.
“Enid!” Morticia exclaims, suddenly wrapping the girl up before she can get any further. “We were so worried!”
“O-Oh,” Enid stutters, unused to motherly concern. “You were?”
“Of course! We were tearing the place apart looking for you!”
Oh. Enid feels terrible now. Beyond terrible. Inconsolable.
Wednesday had spent three months looking for her. And on the first full moon back together, Enid made her think she ran off again.
Fuck.
She should’ve just waited in the room.
“Um, I-I’m sorry. I have to go.” Enid pulls away from Morticia and bounds up the stairs.
The door at the end of the hallway is predictably closed.
She knocks frantically. “Wednesday! Please let me in. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to worry you!”
Nothing.
“Wednesday! Please!”
She tries the knob.
Locked.
It hadn’t been locked the entire time she had been there.
She knocks again. Futility.
Eventually, she sinks to the floor, back pressed against the door as tears slip quietly down her cheeks.
The gift she was going to give Wednesday burns a hole in her pocket. The gift she was going to use to finally confess her feelings.
“I’m sorry,” she sobs.
Her eyes are too blurry to notice the shadow. The shadow from the other side of the door.
Where Wednesday also sits. Back against the wood. Knees drawn to her chest. Tears in her own eyes that she refuses to let fall.
Wondering how many times she could survive losing Enid Sinclair.