To not give a bite

   Thomas was very excited to finally show his friend what they had dreamed about for years. Driving to Scott’s new place in town felt wonderful, exciting even. Scott had moved in with a few old buddies, of whom Thomas didn’t have the highest opinion of but still good guys. What this meant is that his old buddy was no longer states away. And beyond all that, it was Scott’s birthday. Thomas had been planning on giving lycanthropy to Scott for a number of years. Pausing at a red light Thomas excitedly shifted his hand to a paw and back again.
   Oh just to show him! Best birthday present possible. The excitement was almost too much for Thomas. There wasn’t any parking at the door, so he parked a block away and got out and walked. Ringing the doorbell I should there in anticipation. I took a few deep breaths and thought about all the different ways to break the news to Scott that he had found lycanthropy.
   Answering the door was a very groggy Scott. He looked like he had just woken up, standing there in pajama pants. It’s a birthday so Thomas just laughed inwardly at the thought of sleeping in.
   Stepping into the apartment Thomas nearly tripped on an old beer bottle and looking around was not impressed. The place was quite dirty. Nothing an hour or two of cleaning couldn't fix but still a mess non the less. Scott’s dog immediately began jumping on Thomas and whining for attention. With a sharp look Thomas’s wolfish presence was enough to quiet the dog. His excitement for showing Scott was a little lessened.
   “Sorry about the mess,” Scott said, slipping a shirt on, “I keep telling my flat mates to pick up. Oh and the beer isn’t mine.” Unfortunately Thomas didn’t quite believe him catching the scent on his breath. There didn’t seem to be the same light in Thomas’s eyes anymore either. The desire to show him lycanthropy quickly diminished.
   “Oh, no worries, I’ve seen worse,” Thomas said, trying to get his mind off of the state of things. Looking up he saw the clock was about 3 PM. He was a little bit overtaken by the state of the place, the scent of his old friend and the negative atmosphere of it all.”
   “Been a while man! How have you been?” Scott said while pulling his laptop up and as if he had never broken whatever conversations he was having there began typing away.
   “Really good Scott. Just thought I’d drop by and wish you a happy birthday,” Thomas replied. “Been a while. Haven’t seen you around at all. When you said you were moving back in town I thought I’d see you a bit more.”
   “Yeah, it’s been too long,” Scott said, looking up. There was quite a pause in the conversation and Scott typed away with Facebook bloops randomly in the background. Scott’s dog whined a bit and I reached down to scratch his ear. “That dog sure loves you, what’s your secret?”
   “I… Just am good with canines I guess. How have you been?” Thomas asked.
   “I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been getting a lot of praise at work, plenty of time to do whatever I like with whoever, and the lady’s like me if you know what I mean.” Scott said. Thomas simply said, “sound’s good.” but he couldn’t see the professed joy in Scott. Scott was smiling, but it just felt off to Thomas. Scott was definitely different from the friend he knew so long ago.
   “So you mentioned you had a birthday surprise for me?” Scott said. Heart sinking at the state of his friend’s place and how different Scott was from a few years ago Thomas couldn’t bring himself to show Scott lycanthropy. Thomas had to think on his feet.
   “I was, well, selling my old Xbox 360. I was wondering if you wanted the games. Kinda a lot of them but, hey, it’s your birthday. We haven’t seen each other in how long? A few years?”
   “Yeah, about 3. And hey, thanks man!” Scott said.
   “It’s been far too long. We used to hang out all the time. I feel like I hardly know you anymore man.”
   “Yeah, I’ve just been really busy lately you know. Sorry I haven’t kept in touch like I should have.”
   “Don’t apologize, life happens,” Thomas said.
   “Well, I wasn’t planning on anything for a birthday party, but wanna play some Halo like we used to? Just talk and catch up on some fun levels.”
   “Yeah, I’d like that.”

*   *   *

   Upon leaving he pulled out my phone and called my wife Julianne. Ringing for a few moments she picked up. “Hello hun, how did it go?”
   “It didn’t.”
   “Oh?” she asked as Thomas walked down the street a short distance to his car.
   “He’s not quite ready.”
   “Really? You always used to tell me Scott was the only other person you’d consider giving lycanthropy to.”
   “Scott was, but people change. I’m hoping he can be again. I have a duty not to give it to people who aren’t ready.”
   “If you showed it to him he might change. Is it really that bad?”
   “It takes more than that to change a man. That takes time. He’s not a bad man at all. Still really good, and a good friend still. People just become who they spend the most time with in a way, and he’s definitely become a lot like his drunken lazy slob flat friends. I don’t see that changing for a while.”
   “You do need to be really strict with the rules for biting. What are you going to do then?”
   “Nothing I guess. Stop bothering him for a while. Hope things improve. Pray maybe. What am I supposed to do maul his buddies and whip them all into shape?” Thomas said, getting into his vehicle.
   “No. Remember you just have to trust him.”
   “I do, but not like that. I’ll just try and be a friend to him again, just try to be normal I guess.”
   “Have you seen you? You go hunting in the woods and bring back a deer for me to cook with that cheesy wolf grin of yours? Normal isn’t quite your thing hunny.” Thomas laughed a bit at that while starting his car.
   “I suppose not. It doesn’t get much dumber waiting around for a change in another,” Thomas said, shifting his hand back and forth from a werewolf paw to hand. “I’ll just offer him lycanthropy if things are right. Till then, I won’t worry about it.”