There were multiple troubles of being a shape-shifter. One of them was that there were written rules that one has to abide by, with some of the lesser rules differing per pack. It was to save everyone the hassle of bringing upon trouble to the pack, trouble usually in the form of non-magic folk finding out about their existence. To break any of the rules would automatically have the troublesome shifter punished in what the elders agreed fitting for the crime- rarely does it end in the termination of life. Those methods were of the olden days when packs were larger and weren’t on the verge of extinction.

In the modern day, troubleshooting of such problems with the mortal realm usually calls upon a favour from those who practice magic. Fae’s were usually called upon, though there were times when they are forced to seek other beings for assistance. The payment being the shifter’s (usually unwilling) assistance for a specified number of days, as agreed upon and signed with a binding contract.

Another trouble was the full moon. For lower level wolf-shifters, most cases juveniles, the calling on a full moon is too much to ignore for the inner wolf, hence the forceful change. The madness was a myth, but juvenile shifters were as much trouble as non-magic juvenile with only the difference of their wolf-like exterior and added strength.

Of course, with the canine body, a long expanse of hairy body, there was also the never-ending problem with flees.

“I was trying to be quiet. I swear! But the damn flees.” Yuri griped as she sat at the far end of the table, knowing full well she could be heard, keeping her eyes downcast. It was her hearing, on the grounds of letting a mortal see her in her shifter form on the full moon. Said mortal was out cold, safely tucked in one of the beds at their sickbay, nary a scratch on her, ready for the memory wipe done by whoever the elders have called upon.

Yuri snuck a glance at the five elders conversing at the far end in the old tongue. As good as Yuri’s hearing was there was no point to it when she couldn’t even understand a word they said. She chewed on her bottom lip, twiddled with her thumb, trying to look the part of a solemn pup as she could. It was a known fact that the elders had a soft spot for the younger generation, and Yuri was going to milk the whole minor act. It was unintentional, she would never hurt anybody. It wasn’t a prank, she wouldn’t do something to break the rule, even if most think it was.

“Kwon Yuri.” One of the elders spoke. It was the balding man, with a protruding beer belly, and a raspy sort of voice from all the accumulated years of smoking tobacco. Yuri knew him as the grandfather of her friend’s cousin’s aunt's partner. No close relations enough to be granted an easy leeway. Unfortunately, she had no close relation with any of the current elders.

“Yes.” She looked up, giving the room a quick survey before letting her eyes fall back to her twiddling thumbs. No smiles, all straight faces. Not a good start.

“Care to explain?”

Yuri a breath, trying not to let her nervousness get the better of her. “I- I was out late. Was doing a project in the city library with some of my classmates. I was too focused on the project. I got out of there as fast as I could.. but I got caught in the park. I hid in the bushes just as the change happened. I was hiding, I swear I didn’t mean to do anything. The girl, she came around, she was texting. Then flees… I couldn’t…” Yuri gritted her teeth. The flees. When you need to scratch..

The elders fell in another hushed discussion. Once again, Yuri couldn’t understand the words.

“Very well. We’ll discuss with our contact the details of the contract. Until then, you are dismissed. We hope you won’t find trouble on the way out.”

Yuri exited, sarcastically mimicking the last sentence under her breath.

The contact was not a fae. Yuri knew fae’s. Their scent was almost overpowering of the dizzying level of magic and the sugar, don’t get her started on the sugar. Sooyoung, a very close friend, reeked of it. Didn’t automatically mean she was any good at magic. Yuri had been invited to a tea party with her once. The teapot exploded on them and the cupcakes wouldn’t stop levitating off the plate long enough for Yuri to grab a bite. Not that they were worth it, she nearly spat out her portion from how loaded with sugar it was.

She knew the scent of a fae, and this contact was no fae.

Yuri had stuck around the kitchen area just to be able to sneak a peek at this contact that, chances were, she would have to serve. She wished the contact would ask for something else. Send her to the mountain to obtain a rare plant or something and have her be done with. As much as Yuri liked to befriend people, being bossed around didn’t sit well with her. She would not stand for being ordered around like a slave. She was a free spirit and no contract will bind her to anybody.

The contact did not look like the friendly type. Dark, black coat that ended at their heels, and what looked to be black boots, she couldn’t really tell from what little Yuri could see of their heels. As Yuri’s luck would have it, or lack there off, the contact’s coat had an oversized hood, covering their face from view. The contact looked every bit sketchy – if you looked up the word in the dictionary you’d get the image of this contact.

One of the elders was conversing with the contact in hushed voices, the common tongue, recounting their mortal problem and the usual talks of a contract for their service.

Yuri growled as she turned her back to them. Were the elders really alright with putting her under this sketchy being’s command? They were absolutely bat crazy if they think Yuri wouldn’t put up a fight with this. She had sniffed their scent. For sure they had covered it up with something as all she could get was the scent of lavender. Who does that?

She sunk onto one of the chairs, ignoring the two younger shifters fighting over the last piece of pop tart. She had to find a way to get out of the contract. She cannot work for someone like that. She will not!

“Kwon.” Yuri shot up from her seat. The two fighting youngsters scrambled to get out of the room, one of them managing to snag the pop tart and stuffing it inside their shirt. The words ‘I didn’t do it’ already at the tip of her tongue as she turned. Her eyes shot to the elder, her body relaxing for a split second before stiffening again.

“You will be accompanying miss Jung for the next three months, or until miss Jung no longer requires your assistance. It is what we have agreed upon.” The elder spoke, staring directly at Yuri. She could already see the warning in the look not to argue.

They really are crazy.

“Bu-”

“Miss Jung,” the elder spoke once again, cutting off Yuri before she could throw in her thoughts. The elder turned to the contact, inviting her to step into the kitchen. “miss Kwon will be accompanying you until the end of your contract. She will fetch anything you ask of her, follow you wherever you go, and if need be, protect you from any unwanted advances. If she begins to act out, you are free to punish her in any way you like, so long as it does not do irreparable damage.”

“That’s not fair! Why does one memory wipe require me to put my life at stake for her? I don’t even know her!”

“Be quiet, Kwon. Do not argue with me. All of this has been stipulated in the contract.” The elder snapped. Yuri bowed her head, pursing her lips in a thin line.

“Well” a soft, lilting voice said. Yuri’s eyes flew up, watching miss Jung as she carefully rounded the elder, stepping up to about a feet from Yuri. “I like her already. She’s not like the ‘yes ma’am’ type I usually get. A nice change.”

Yuri could almost feel her jaw dislocating from its hinge. Did miss Jung just refer to her as some sort of possession? The nerve of the woman!

Yuri clamped back up, grinding her molars as she stood ramrod straight as miss Jung circled her, sizing her up. The elder stood back, glaring at Yuri the whole time, ready to pounce at her if she displeases their contact. Or should she start calling the woman ‘mistress’?

“Little skinny to be protecting me, aren’t you?” Yuri let out a low, throaty growl. The elder's sharp bark of her name reverts her response to a short snort.

“Cute. But I won’t prejudge. I’ll see what you can do, for now, I’ll manage with protecting myself.” Miss Jung stopped in front of Yuri. “Three months, you’ll be in my service. You do whatever I say, when I say it. I will usually require you to gather things I will need while I’m busy with my term. I do not require you to be by my side every hour, only when I need you. Three months and our contract is terminated.”

“Well, miss Kwon,” She reached up with both hands, gently easing her hood down to her shoulders. Yuri almost gasped at the intense brown eyes staring right at her.

For a brief moment, she felt something knotting up in her chest. A zap of lightning ran through her spine all the way to her limbs, freezing her entire being like she was made out of ice. Her heart made a slight throb, then it was gone. Everything fell back to normal.

Except, Yuri didn’t feel like fighting miss Jung anymore.

“do we have an agreement?” miss Jung finished. She lifted her hand halfway up for a shake. Yuri met the rest of the way, clasping the offered hand in a firm grip.

“Your hand is cold.” She blurts, earning a quirk of a brow from miss Jung.

“Thank you for that information, Sherlock.”

“It’s Yuri. Kwon. Jus- just Yuri.”

Miss Jung gave a slight nod of her head, retracting her hand from Yuri’s grip. “Well, Yuri, I hope you have your things packed and set the rest of your agenda straight. We have to get going if we want to reach my place before sunset.” She doesn’t give Yuri a chance to reply, turning on her heels to walk up to the elder who greets her with a wide smile.

Yuri snorts, more for the elder’s reaction, as if getting rid of her was the best thing that could happen to them. Some pack, Yuri rolls her eyes.

“Are you coming?” Miss Jung calls to her. Yuri raises her eyes back to meet hers. She blinks, feeling something flutter in her. Her feet shuffle forward before her mind could fully decide and she trails after her retreating back.

Miss Jung was going to cause loads of trouble for her, her mind told her. Fortunately, Yuri liked getting into trouble.