Chapter 5
Chapter 7

After settling in, Larathe heads out with Michia and Lance to get some measurements taken, but going out into town does have its own set of complications.

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Amongst Strangers
Chapter 6: Out and About

“So much for not drawing attention.” Larathe muttered, shrinking into his seat somewhat as he, Lance, and Michia made their way down the side streets.

Many of the people were turning to stare at the canine riding in the car, some even pointing him out to others. A few even had a cell phone pulled out, snapping a quick picture as they rode past.

“Must be what it feels like to be a celebrity,” Lance muttered, slowing to a stop beside a chain of stores.

“I hate the paparazzi,” Larathe replied, hiding his face behind a paw as a group began to gather outside of the vehicle. “Seriously, I feel like I’m in the zoo.”

“You’re a doggy,” Michia said. “They don’t go in zoos.”

Larathe raised a brow, glancing over at Lance.

“Well, she’s right that they don’t keep dogs in zoos,” Lance said. “Wolves...that’s another story.”

Larathe huffed, slouching further into his seat. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asked, giving a start as one of the people outside knocked on the window. “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Don’t claw, bite, or threaten anyone and you’ll be fine. Just...expect that some of them might want to pet you,” Lance said.

“But he’s MY doggy!” Michia said with a bit of a pout.

“Then they’ll just have to ask you if they can pet him, right?” Lance said, turning to look at his daughter. “Maybe they’ll like him too.”

Larathe groaned. “I’m still here, guys...and this crowd is going to be impossible in a few moments if we don’t go now.”

Lance frowned. “Right…,” he said, removing his seat belt and clipping his keys to his belt. “Never thought I’d live to see the day I became something of a bodyguard.” He muttered as he climbed out.

Larathe shifted uncomfortably as the man pushed his way over, opening up the door for Larathe and Michia. As soon as Larathe stepped out, the group backed away, giving the wolf a wide berth as the girl climbed out behind him.

“What the hell is that!?” Asked a young man.

Larathe sighed.

“Looks like...some sort of wolf thing.”

“It’s a werewolf!” Another cried.

“Oh don’t be stupid, they don’t exist.”

“Says the one staring at one right now!”

“Does it LOOK like a full moon to you?”

Larathe glanced over at Michia who was bouncing along beside them with an entirely carefree grin on her face.

“Come on you two,” Lance said, shutting the door behind Michia. “Lets go.”

The wolf glanced over, following Lance as he made his way to the store front, pulling the glass door open for the two.

“Can you go get Michelle for us, Michia?” Lance asked as his daughter passed by.

Michia nodded, bounding past the wolf as she ran off into the back of the store, Lance letting the door swing shut behind them. Larathe glanced back as the crowed gathered infront of the windows, staring in at him.

“This is probably a stupid question,” the wolf said, looking back to the man beside him. “But do they need something from here or are they just that interested in me?”

Lance looked back towards the mass and shook his head. “I think you’re just a point of interest for them, honestly.” He said. “Your kind doesn’t actually show up around town often.”

“Or ever,” Larathe muttered.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Michelle called, making her way back out to the front of the store. “What can-“ she started, stopping short when she saw Larathe standing beside Lance.

“Remember that friend I mentioned who was looking for some custom clothing?” Lance asked, smiling slightly at her reaction.

Michelle stared silently for some time before responding with a rather quiet, “O-oh…”

“This is Larathe,” Lance said, looking between the two. “Larathe, this is a good friend of mine, Michelle.”

Larathe gave the woman a small wave.

“He’s my doggie!” Michia said happily.

“What? C-can she…?” Michelle asked.

Larathe frowned.

“Can he understand us?” Lance corrected, finishing her thought.

The woman nodded.

Lance looked over to the wolf expectantly.

Larathe gave a quiet huff. “Yes, I can understand you; Yes, I can speak; No, I’m not a werewolf; No, I’m not a girl; and Yes, I know these clothes are very poorly fitted.”

“Oh just be happy you have something to wear.” Lance muttered as Michelle stared at him completely dumbfounded.

“I’d much rather not bother with this stuff,” the wolf grumbled. “I don’t know how you humans can be comfortable in any of this.”

“That’s why we’re here.” Lance said, looking back to Michelle now. “Think you can help us?”

“Can…you want me to…do what, exactly?” Michelle asked, finally looking over to Lance.

Lance raised a brow. “Well, I thought you might be interested in coming up with some special clothes for him,” he said. “That, and I figured you’d be the only one who wouldn’t run out screaming if I brought an oversized wolf in.”
“I’m not sure if you’re calling me fat or not…” Larathe said, looking down at himself. “Last I checked I was pretty average.”

“I…think you’re pretty far from average,” Michelle said, finally taking a few tentative steps towards the wolf. “So…you want clothes?” she asked, stopping a little ways away and looking Larathe over.

“At least something he’ll look decent in,” Lance replied, looking over at the wolf. “A variety, if you can manage it.”
The wolf sighed. “I don’t bite…” he grumbled, shifting somewhat.

A bell caught the groups attention as the door swung open, a few people making their way inside to get a better look.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Michelle sighed, finally noticing the mass outside the store front. “You certainly know how to be discreet.”

Lance shrugged. “Your store doesn’t exactly have a back entrance.”

“It does too!” Michelle said. “And you know I could have come to you instead.”

Lance smiled. “Think of it as free advertising.”

“Last I checked, this city didn’t have many wolf-people running around,” Michelle replied, pulling a tape measure from her pocket as well as a little notebook. “Come to the back, if you would.” She said, making her wayto the back, holding the door open for them.

Larathe glanced at Lance who simply waved him on. Michia took ahold of his paw, pulling him along after Michelle, the man following behind the others.

Michelle let the door swing shut and locked it before turning her attention to the wolf. “So, what don’t you like about what you’re wearing right now?”

“Oh geez, where do I start?” the wolf asked. “The pants are by far the worst, I can’t put them on without them dragging all my fur the wrong way. It’s really tight at the knees and it gathers like crazy at the ankles. I swear this thing is going to make me sterile if I have to sit in them for long, not to mention the part that I couldn’t get my tail to fit comfortably,” he said, hiking the pants up somewhat.

“Also; I need to wear a belt all the time just to keep them up since we had to cut them,” he continued. “The shirt isn’t as bad, but it’s tight. Not to mention the part where it’s just hot in general.”

Michelle looked the wolf over and heaved a sigh. “Well, a lot of that I can probably fix but I’m not so sure on the heat. I don’t really see you wearing all white…”

The wolf shrugged. “Clothes are just…clothes, aren’t they?” he asked.

Michelle blinked. “Oh honey, you’ve got it all wrong,” she said, making her way over to a closet and heading inside.

“Oh now you’ve done it,” Lance muttered, shaking his head.

“Done what?” Larathe asked, looking thoroughly confused.

“Clothes,” Michelle called from inside the closet, “are a statement!”

The woman made her way back out with several garments draped over an arm. “What do you think of what Lance has on right now?” she asked, looking at Larathe.

The wolf looked over at the man and shrugged. “He looks like a man?”

“Okay, but what if he wore this?” Michelle said, tugging a dress from the pile and holding it up to Lance’s chest.
The man sighed. “Really?” he asked, Michia giggling behind him.

Larathe shrugged. “Then…he’s a man with a dress on?” he asked, looking very confused now. “I don’t get it.”

Michelle looked over at Lance, then back to Larathe. “Which do you like better? The dress or his normal clothes?”
The wolf scratched his head and shrugged again. “Honestly, I’m not sure why you guys even wear clothes. Are you always cold or something?”

“Have you ever been shaved before?” Michelle asked with a grin.

Larathe shook his head. “Why?”

“Well; imagine that how you feel with all those clothes on is normal. Now, when you take them off, it gets a lot cooler, right?” she asked, tossing the dress aside into a nearby hamper and picking out a collared shirt, holding it up infront of Lance.

The wolf thought for a moment before giving a nod.

“Well, that’s what your fur is like. You have built in clothing, basically,” she said, adding the shirt to the hamper as well. “As humans, we don’t, so we need something to help us stay warm. Not to mention, we can use clothes to sort of decorate ourselves.”

Larathe gave a quiet hum, thinking for a while longer. “I guess that makes sense,” he said. “But why do I have to wear clothes then?”

“It’s really just to help you fit in,” Lance said. “I’m sure if Michelle used a loose cotton knit or jersy knit it would be a lot cooler than what I gave you, right?”

Michelle raised a brow, giving lance the shirt before picking out a pair of slacks, holding them at his waist. “You’ve done some research,” she said, looking lance over once again before turning to Larathe. “How about now?”

The wolf tilted his head, giving a slight frown. “I guess he looks a little more fancy in that,” he said.

Michelle smiled. “Then we add a tie and a jacket and he suddenly looks like a businessman.” She said, retrieving the clothes and tossing them into the hamper. “But now he just looks like some average guy, right?”

Larathe gave a nod. “Yeah.”

“Now, you aren’t going to follow any of these trends since you’re not a human,” Michelle said. “But that means you get to have your own style,” she said. “Lets get you out of those clothes so we can get measurements.”

“We’ll be waiting outside,” Lance said, taking Michia’s hand. “You behave.”

“Yeah, okay…” Larathe mumbled, reaching up to pull the shirt over his head. He pulled the belt off as Lance and Michia closed the door behind them, pushing the pants down and kicking them off with a sigh of relief.

Michelle blinked, turning her back rather swiftly, covering her eyes with a hand. “I…didn’t mean all of it,” she said.

“All…huh?”

“You can keep your underwear on.”

The wolf paused for a moment. “Underwear…” he muttered, the word finally registering in his mind. “Oh…. Really? Do all you humans get this embarrassed when someone’s naked?”

Michelle cleared her throat. “I’m not used to working with people who strip completely naked,” she said, turning around. “Lets just get this done, hmm?”

Larathe shrugged. “What do you need from me?”

“Hold your arms out,” Michelle instructed. “At shoulder height.”

The wolf did as he was told, watching the woman from the corner of his eye as she wrapped the thin yellow tape around him, scribbling notes in her notebook as she worked.

“You know,” Larathe said as Michelle placed his paw on his hip, measuring along his arm now. “I can’t tell if you’re actually doing work, or just having fun posing me in these weird positions.”

The woman grinned. “Maybe a little bit of both,” she said, reaching around his back and wrapping the tape around his waist, moving it down to his hips.

The wolf gave a start, flicking his tail somewhat. “Careful where you’re putting that!” he huffed, glancing down. “I hope you’re not- HEY!”

Michelle glanced up as the wolf jumped back.

“What gives?” he asked, brushing his paws over his crotch. “I’m really not into humans, just so you’re aware.”

Michelle sighed, waving the tape measure at him. “If you want a pair of pants that don’t crush you and doesn’t make you look like a girl, you’re going to want pants that don’t ride up your tail. Especially since you haven’t got the usual anatomy down there. And I’m not much for wolves either, just so you’re aware.”

The wolf huffed. “Grab anything and I will smack you,” he grumbled as Michelle continued with her measurements.
“Same goes for you,” Michelle said, measuring along his legs now. “Though I’ve got no idea how I’m going to make you pants.” She said, writing down the last of her measurements into her notebook. “Right, you’re done,” she said. “You can get dressed.”

“Much rather not,” Larathe grumbled, stooping over to pick up the pants. “These really suck…”

“Tell you what, I’ll talk with Lance and we can get your wardrobe figured out over the next couple days and I’ll have him get your pants as soon as they’re done.”

The wolf nodded. “Pants that aren’t this terrible would be nice,” he said as he laced the belt around his waist.

“Well hopefully you wont have to wear that for much longer,” Michelle said.

The door swung open, Lance rushing through with Michia before shutting it behind him. “Gotta go,” he muttered. “You said there was another way out?”

Michelle frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Overheard someone calling what I assume to be law enforcement,” Lance sighed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Larathe asked.

“It means we gotta go,” Lance replied.

“And you’re gonna have to keep this one hidden on the way out,” Michelle said, gesturing to the wolf.

“Got a coat we could use?” Lance asked.

“Not one with a hood,” Michelle replied.

“It’ll do,” Lance said.

“Right then,” the woman sighed, retrieving the coat from the closet and tossing it to Larathe. “Get that on and you three go disappear.”

The man thanked her before exiting, checking the allyway as Larathe followed him out, Michia tagging along with the wolf.

“Are we in trouble?” Larathe asked, looking around.

“You could say that,” Lance replied, checking around the corner. “Stay in the shade and I’ll come get you in a minute or two, okay?”

“How do I know you won’t abandon me?”

Lance frowned. “I didn’t earlier, now did I?”

The wolf shifted. “Fine,” he grumbled.

The man nodded. “Come on Michia, we gotta go get the truck.

“But what about doggy?”

“He’s gonna wait for us to pick him up, okay?”

Michia looked up at Larathe and shook her head. “I wanna wait with him!”

Lance sighed. “You can’t right now, okay? Come on, lets go.”

“NO!”

Larathe sighed, kneeling down. “Go with your dad, Michia.”

The girl frowned. “But I don’t wanna.”

“Tell you what, I’ll sit with you on the way back home if you go with him. Sound good?”

Michia thought for a moment before sighing. “Okay,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said, giving Larathe a small smile.

“Just get that thing over so we can go, please.” Larathe muttered.

“C’mon Michia, lets go.”