Oliver Burton

It was already late, there was no trace of the sun as the night absorbed day, he had worked late again. There was a merger going on and he had to finalize the last of the details. The man hadn't had much sleep either, trying to make sure everything went off without a hitch was proving to be more strenuous than ever before. Not to mention, he had bought the property he had been eyeballing. It was a vast piece of land just outside of the city limits. There was plenty of space for his inner bear to roam, of course the conditions were hardly ideal, it wasn't the arctic or Canada. It wouldn't be long before he built a home there, but judging how things were and time constraints would he even be able to enjoy it? He had a city flat just a few blocks from his highrise. It was hardly the space his inner animal desired. It was hardly a place he even felt at home in.

The last month he had been the last one to leave the office every night, his bear felt like a caged animal, pacing relentlessly down that metaphorical line. He had once again pushed down to suppress those instincts and needs. Different shades of agitation coloured his pallet of emotions as of late. There was very little time for himself and even less time for letting his inner bear free. Tonight he was particularly on edge, it felt like the polar bear wanted out. It practically felt like it was clawing at his insides as if threatening to break through the surface of his weak human skin. Paperwork was the bane of his existence and he was swimming, no drowning in it. He was done, finished. A growl escaped him, a sound that was grating and hardly human as he hastily threw his things in his briefcase absent mindedly that he hadn't even bothered to do up the latch properly. He wanted out of this cage, this glass prison building. It didn't matter how pretty it was on the outside, but the inside was feeling more and more like a rusted cage.

Those moments in the elevator felt like eternity, he didn't even utter a word to the security man and people who came after hours to clean. They saw the look on his face and didn't dare say a word. He moved with haste, knowing that if he spent a moment longer in here his inner bear would force through his feeble skin, burst through and who know what kind of damage and turmoil would ensue. This is what made it near impossible for most weres to have any kind of stable job, especially the predators. There was constantly a murderous animal wanting to come out. But not many had the resolve like Oliver had, but even still, a month of neglecting his inner beast just a few days away from the next full moon. It was precarious, agonizing game he was toying with. A balance he would surely lose if he continued to play with it, test it, push it until he obliterated everything.

He descended those shallow concrete steps, powerful strides bring him that much closer to home. He would walk, he had far too much energy mingling and churning within him a tumultuous pit of feral. He was entirely oblivious to his surroundings, including the fact that his briefcase was half opened, the poorly hinged latch had nearly come undone in the elevators. As he hastily walked it only jarred it open further with the weight of the important contents of that merger and other invaluable documents within it were moments away from spilling out.

That was when they suddenly began to fall out, one by one catching the howling wind created by cars.. But he was too fixated on getting home to notice. That was when a voice, a small demure voice reaching through the engrossed haze he was within, he could barely hear it. But that was the very reason why it captured his attention. There was something about the voice, maybe it was the gentleness within or maybe it was so out of place in this frantic wasteland? Or perhaps it was its frailty that spoke resonated something within him. Regardless, he froze, mid-step, his face hard and etched in a frown he simply could not help because of the foul mood that had all but absorbed him now.

The surly English man whirled around to face the source of that voice, his face illuminated in warm artificial light given off from a nearby lantern. There stood a petite dark-haired woman, she had seemed so small, shy, and fragile. Like one touch without care could cause her to shatter. She was still mid-reach as though she were trying to reach for him, most likely to garner his attention. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. It was in a split moment that papers were thrust toward him. His papers, what the.. He took the papers perplexed for a moment. He looked down as the briefcase spilled the rest of the papers from it. A grumble escapes him, he had been so absent-minded. So distracted. His dark shadowy eyes met her chocolate gaze, roving over her features. There was something different about her, something to do with her energy that he couldn't quite put a finger on. He had been so absent-minded.

"Uh thank you.. Miss?" His tone was dark, yet trying to be pleasant his, his accent probably helped with that. After all, she had only been trying to help. He bent down to gather the rest of his papers, save for a few when a sudden gust of wind swept them up and took them down the street and across the road. "Shit.." He rarely ever swore. He quickly shoved the papers and the ones she handed him and shoved them into his briefcase. Without these papers, the merger could be ruined.. They hadn't made other copies yet and this was the final draft! He ran a frustrated hand through his shadowy black hair. The woman looked entirely exhausted, he almost asked her if she was alright. But he needed to gather up those papers before he lost track of them. "I can't afford to lose these." He frowned before getting up to chase after them. He felt bad just leaving her there standing.. After all, it could have been much much worse if she hadn't caught it when she did.