Quote:
Those first few hours and days were the hardest. She didn’t even have a little control and there was no doubt in her mind that she’d nut out and start eviscerating people. She could deal with the loneliness, but the thought of such a loss of control was something that would undo her completely. But there was an even more primal and truthful reason. She was afraid. Luthor had done something. Before she was kidnapped and lost time, before she had Clark remove the tracking device she was just Chloe. And now she was…something else. Meteor rocks were able to do many things, but give the ability to become a wolf? A creature straight out of legend? Something more had to have occurred.
I loved how the story started with a description about how miserable, alone and paranoid Chloe has become about her ‘condition’. I also liked the reference to ‘gray day’, which I initially took to be a reference to the weather, but was later explained to be… something else. This was a GREAT way of showing all the ‘little inconveniences’ as well as the huge anxieties that Chloe has to go through ever since she turned into a Wolf-Lady.
Hmmm, it’s also very interesting that Chloe believes that this Wofl condition of hers is not a ‘random mutation’, but something that was intentionally done to her by Lex. I don’t know whether she’s right… perhaps he DID fiddle around with her mutation to intentionally (or unintentionally) bring about this very strange kind of Krypto-reaction… or perhaps this is more of her paranoia speaking?
Quote:
Chloe was forcibly brought back to the situation at hand when Lois called out her name. From across the room. As much as Chloe knew she loved Lois and as much as Lois loved her, the girl was more often than not too abrasive to be a functioning member of a community. On the best of days, Chloe had a dominant personality. With the wolf? Her dominant personality was enhanced to the nth degree. Chloe knew that if Lois was persistent and her normal self, things would get ugly. So it was with great reluctance that she joined Lois.
heh, very nice! I liked this mention about how Chloe’s dominating instincts are coming to the fore because of her wolfy self. I’ve been feeling like Chloe has always been a dominant personality, but that she’s been beaten into being a submissive sidekick for everyone for far too long. Perhaps this Wolf thing is just what was needed for her to get her spine back and start prioritizing herself again.
Quote:
“Chloe, something is off with you and you’re gonna tell me what. And don’t give me that song and dance about how everything is fine and that you’re fine. I know it isn’t true. You’ve been avoiding your friends, you’re not drinking coffee or eating this muffin, your fridge looks like a butcher stocked it, and I go to your apartment and you’ve got colored labels on everything. So go ahead and tell me just how fine and normal that is. Just know that it’s a load of bullshit and I ain’t buying it!”
squeee! Lois has always been a tricky character. Sometimes she can be too abrasive and end up with me hating some fanfic version of her… but when she’s shown in the role of the observant, no-nonsense, caring, attentive and devoted cousin… I adore her! :D And I like this version of Lois who is not only observant about what’s happening around her, but she’s not hesitant about sharing and acting boldly and decisively on her observations.
Quote:
Chloe felt her hackles rise. She could feel the heat steal down her spine and she knew that her eyes were gold. She also didn’t know what to do. Lois was her family. She smelled like home. She smelled safe and she wanted nothing more than to bury her nose in Lois’ hair so she wouldn’t feel alone. Chloe wanted to be close to Lois and she was both hurt and angered at Lois’ outburst. Chloe wanted Lois to submit but she also wanted the comfort that only Lois could give since she was family. But more than that, Chloe didn’t know what she would do if Lois rejected her…if Lois didn’t believe her. Chloe wanted so much to bury herself in something that wasn’t foreign. The Talon was foreign. It was too loud…too bright. And even though her apartment smelled like her, it too was foreign. A wolf’s den was cozy. It was compact. But her apartment wasn’t. It was so…empty.
I REALLY loved this part. Ava is doing a great job in building up on how Chloe’s perspectives have been changing, in all these very surprising but plausible ways, ever since she’s had these extra senses kick in… it’s not only the extra senses, but a whole alternate perspective on ordinary situation. I LOVE how her view of life is being reduced to ‘basic instincts and needs’ like ‘hunt, love, trust, comfort, safety’ and the like. It’s amazing! AND it’s also amazing seeing her battling these two warring instincts within herself… the need to dominate, and the need for Chloe to be loved and comforted.
Quote:
“Yeah, Lois, I’m a werewolf. A real, honest to goodness, furry, straight out of legend werewolf. My apartment has color labels on everything because a day or so after I shift into the wolf I’m color blind. You’ll never understand just how freaked out and depressed I was when I woke to grays. Everything! Gray! My fridge has been stocked by a butcher because I’m never full unless I’ve eaten meat. I can’t get enough of it and if it’s anything cooked more than medium rare I don’t want it. It gets better after I shift, but the craving is still there. I haven’t come to the Talon because the coffee bean smell is so overwhelming that I get dizzy and I can’t find my bearings. It gives me headaches. I’m not drinking that coffee because it’s too bitter without sugar and far too sweet with sugar. It wreaks havoc with my taste buds. And dogs and chocolate are two very unmixy things. But to make my life so much more interesting, I haven’t had my monthly cycle in two months and I’m deathly afraid that I’m gonna go into heat! And I don’t know the hows or whys!” No matter how much Chloe wanted to say all those things she couldn’t because she still didn’t understand herself. How could she even begin to explain it to Lois?
It was VERY interesting reading about all the physiological changes that have happened to Chloe, even when she’s in human-mode. The poor girl can’t enjoy sugar, chocolate or COFFEE anymore? Why didn’t you just carve out her heart and stomp on it, Ava? ROTFL! It was very interesting reading about these other little inconveniences that she’s been forced to adjust to.
Quote:
Chloe had been about to continue but the sound of Lois clapping interrupted her, “Oh, you are good, Chloe, very very good. I never really and truly appreciated your talents because, hey, we’re family and you’ve never played me. So let me guess. You aren’t drinking coffee right now because you’ve decided that Uncle Gabe is right and you drink far too much of it. And you won’t eat the muffin because you aren’t hungry. Reasonable answers. Ya even got your little aura of irritation going. I mean, bravo! Whoever said you couldn’t be subtle has clearly been fooled. But I *know* you. I realize that my mouth gets in the way of many of the more salient aspects of life, but I’m not an idiot and you can’t play me. So I’ll leave you alone… for now. In the meantime, how about we wait for Clark? That boy can nag on the hour every hour, but he can never seem to actually be on time.”
VERY nice! I loved how Lois returned Chloe sarcastic, mocking tone right back at her. Chloe was actually doing a very good job in covering up all the points that Lois had pointed out as ‘wrong and weird’, but I’m very glad to see that Lois didn’t fall for any of Chloe’s very reasonable sounding explanations. It’s truly a wonderful thing to see a Lois with brains and deductive skills as well as brash tenacity.
Quote:
“He can’t understand me. He’s unnatural. He’s wrong. He’s not for me.”
“You’re wrong. He’s like us.”
Chloe opened her eyes and the outside world came crashing down on her. In the span of one heartbeat and the next she heard and smelled everyone in the Talon and was overwhelmed. Everything ran together and one scent was indistinguishable from another. But even in the din, in the chaos, one person was different. One heartbeat went counter to the others. One scent was stronger. One voice tone more distinct. And Chloe knew it to be Clark.
Very, VERY nice, Ava! I am seriously enjoying seeing Chloe freaking out from the scent of her best friend. It’s truly so fascinating and interesting seeing how Clark ‘might’ be viewed if his outward appearance was discounted, and a person was truly confronted full on with the fact that he’s a super-strong, all powerful alien from another world altogether. He’s not just ‘different’ from everyone else on the planet, he truly doesn’t ‘belong’ to this planet… and that would be unnerving for someone forced to face up to it for the first time.
Chloe’s reaction to Clark’s ‘unnatural wrongness’ is also giving me an idea on how Lex (classic canon Lex) views Superman, and why he sees this benevolent, sweet, boy-scout, role model as an actual frightening threat.
Quote:
A strong growl answered Chloe. It frightened Chloe to know that the growl wasn’t from inside her head. It came from her. From her throat. “There is no ‘us’! Only you. Only one. Not two. Never two. Be with me.” A low keening erupted from Chloe’s throat and she rocked back and forth in distress. This feeling of being incomplete…of not being whole hurt so badly.
hmmm… curiouser and curiouser! I wonder where this ‘other voice’ is coming from. It ‘could’ be the Wolf-half of Chloe… or perhaps there’s another werewolf running around in Smallville?
Quote:
Chloe turned the faucet on and splashed water on her face. She couldn’t stay here. She had to leave. Chloe could do this. She dried her face and left the restroom. It wasn’t hard to spot Clark and Lois and Chloe almost made a run for it, but she couldn’t show weakness. Weakness meant death…especially in front of the other.
Clark greeted her and flashed her that big grin that used to make her heart melt. That grin that was so comforting before was now only the baring of teeth. A thinly veiled threat.
Squeee! I LOVED how Chloe viewed Clark’s open, sweet smile as a threat. Her animal senses are playing havoc with her intelligence and her ‘normal human reactions’ to everything.
I also think that her fear of Clark is forcing her to view everything about him… his smile, his voice, movements, strength in context of ‘potential threat’. I mentioned on she’s having the same view of Clark that Classic-Lex has had for years? BOTH of them have their views coloured by fear and panic… which is not good. I do hope Chloe manages to get over her fear of Clark soon, before it drives her to do something desperate and stupid.
Quote:
Before she first changed, the little inflective whine he employed to get his way was merely irritating. Now it was grating and a sign of weakness and she wanted nothing more than to remove his throat. But she *knew* that he was stronger than her. Her fight or flight was seriously messed up when it came to him and that was the problem. Chloe couldn’t make him fit anymore and she didn’t know how to fit with him.
Loved that! That Chloe can’t find a way to make Clark ‘fit’ into any of her life’s experiences. Very interesting! And it was also fascinating seeing how his presence is triggering some desperate fight or flight response in her… even when the human side of her keeps trying to reassure her animal side that he SHOULD represent comfort and safety to her.
Quote:
She was also confused because if these things were apparent to her wolf then Clark had to have known. Clark had X-ray vision. His hearing was even better than hers. He was around Lana before and after she was pregnant. He should’ve known something was wrong. He wasn’t stupid no matter how bumbling he was. Clark had moments of surprising intuition. He just relied on how special he was too much and it made him lazy and complacent. But this was too obvious to be overlooked by his lazy. “So how could he have missed it? Is it because the kryptonite smell that’s always around her? Was it always around her? What did Lex do?” And now Lana smelled odd. As if something vital to her and found in everyone else was missing. It made Chloe feel itchy and anxious, but she had to maintain the jovial act or Lois would notice and be unbearable so she plastered on a big smile and waited for Lana.
I loved how CHloe ran down the list of things that proved how Lana was NOT pregnant. No dual heartbeat, no hormonal scent change, etc. And it was also an interesting note about how CLARK has not seen these obvious discrepancies when HE also has the same facilities to be able to check and discover Chloe’s revelations.
Hmmm, I wonder what Chloe meant by the ‘something vital to her was missing’ comment. What’s missing in Lana? Are we going to find out later?
Quote:
Chloe was a big enough person to realize that Lana was really and genuinely only trying to help, but Lana’s simpering and odd smell were the last things she needed. Well next to last Chloe conceded. Lois’ suspicions and Clark’s hurt looks and general alien nature would probably be the last things she needed. “Do the rules allow for a three way tie in that particular category?” At any rate, Chloe left Lana to her simple thoughts and concerns. She was mildly interested to know why Lana thought she was pregnant and why Lex was trying hard to foster those thoughts because something in her was telling her it wasn’t about his undying love for the girl. “He’s probably behind it all. But how and why?” These thoughts consumed her and it was time for her to do something about it. “Which is why I need to tell Clark. Dammit!”
Heh, and I really liked the way that she blew Lana off. I mentioned something about how Chloe is constantly picking up the slack in other people’s lives and prioritizing THEM above herself… It’s obvious that this werewolf experience is something really frightening and traumatic, BUT it is teaching her to place her own self above others for once… Perhaps some good will come out of this experience… once she manages to adjust and control her wolfy self.
Hmmm, I’m also looking forward to finding out (Ava’s explanation) about why Lex is going through this ridiculous pregnancy charade, and what he hopes to accomplish with it.
Quote:
These were things she’d ponder later. Now, however, she needed to leave because she couldn’t stand to be in the Talon for even one second longer. If it were just Clark or just Lois, or just the Talon she knew she could’ve handled it. But today was a gray day and she knew it was all downhill. As she left the Talon and got into her car, all she could hear was the echoing words: “Be with me.”
‘be with me’? I DO wonder where these words are coming from, and what they might mean. It ‘might’ be Chloe’s inner-wolf trying to negotiate with her… or it ‘might’ be another werewolf trying to woo her towards becoming it’s mate… or it might be a whole pack of them trying to convince her to join them. LOL! I guess it could be anything… I look to finding out the answer to this mystery, as well as all the others that have been raised in this chapter. Please update soon, Ava.
