"They became my friends," Stacia says. "This was the first night we met. They're taking me to get cleaned up and calmed down so that they can explain what happened. I didn't know that I was a werewolf until all of this..." she gestures at everything. "...Happened. Even the best First Changes are a little traumatic."

Even in the best case scenario, where you know it's a possibility and you don't harm anyone, you're still so scared or angry or both that the only thing you can do to handle it is turn into an unthinking monster. And it seems like most people it happens to forget how bad it is, that first time. Stacia had started inviting herself along on new Garou retrieval trips just to make sure that someone was there who'd say "yeah, this sucks, I'm sorry".

The wolf -- Athena -- nudges the doll into a sitting position, as Bulletproof and Shield sidle out of the clearing. Ace continues to hover at distance, as though he has no intention of leaving.