“Welcome Mr. Manning. Can I call you that?” The man in the vest asked, directing his interviewee to the recliner across from him.

Gavin settled into the recliner, crossing his legs over each other. It was strange to not have his tail out for once, but the email had requested he come in his ‘normal’ form. He nodded to the man across from him. “Gavin is just fine. Mr. Manning is my father.” He chuckled, trying to alleviate the tension in the room.

“Very well. Do you mind if I record this? All for my notes of course.”

“Go right ahead.”

“Excellent.” The man replied. “My name is Phillip, if we’re going on a first name basis. Figured I owed you that much.” He provided. “Now to start this off Gavin. Do you know why you’re here?” He asked. The man pulled a small electronic audio recorder out of his pocket and placed it on a small side table next to him as he spoke.

“Not exactly.” Gavin answered. “The email said I’d have to answer a few questions, and then I’d be paid for my time. Kinda need to save up for college, and it seemed like an easy few bucks.”

“That’s the gist of it.” Phillip said. “As you probably gathered from the building and my office, I’m a reporter. The public has started to become more interested in Lycans, and I’ve decided to write an expository piece on you.” He continued. “Rather than do what others of my profession have done and speak to more well-known members of your- “ Phillip hesitated for a moment. “ -caste, I decided I’d go with someone new. A fresh perspective if you will.”

Gavin thought it over for a moment. It was clear Phillip was trying to extort him for some reason. It’d only been a few short years since he’d turned, but he’d already faced more than enough prejudice for a lifetime. “If you want to. I’m still getting paid, aren’t I?” He asked. Extorted or not, cash was cash, and he did need some extra funds.

“Of course. Now to start, do you mind stating your name and age for the recording?” Phillip requested.

“Gavin Manning, twenty-four.”

“Excellent.” He replied. “To start why don’t you tell me a bit about your condition. When did you get bit, and how?” Phillip asked. He reached inside his vest and pulled out a pencil, despite the apparent lack of paper in the area. He began nibbling on the end as he stared at Gavin.

“Well I only turned a few years ago. It was just a few weeks before my 20^th birthday actually.” Gavin started to explain. “My buddy Dylan has always been obsessed with Lycans. When we were younger he had posters of them on his walls, can you believe it?”

Phillip nodded. “Yes, yes that’s all well and good, but what does this have to do with you getting infected?” The reporter prodded.

“I’m getting to that, ok? You’re a reporter right, I figured you’d enjoy a little exposition.” Gavin said back. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had someone like you pick my brain, and I’ve found they have a habit of exaggerating things if I don’t give them details.” He finished, slightly irritated.

Phillip raised his hands in mock surrender. “Very well. Just continue, please.”

The young man settled back into his seat. “Like I was saying, Dylan had always been obsessed with Lycans. So when we got the chance to actually go search for one, he was ecstatic.

“There were these massive woods just outside out town’s lines. They aren’t there anymore, sadly. Some big company came in a few months ago and cut them all down. Just a bunch of empty plots and sub developments now.” Gavin said sadly. “One night we heard over the news that a Lycan had escaped from a prison nearby, and was potentially hiding out in the woods. You can probably guess what we did next.” He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Phillip stared at him for a moment in disbelief. “Bloody hell, that’s bonkers. You could have been killed!” He exclaimed.

“Trust me, it gets worse.” Gavin said. “Besides, we were just kids. Everyone does stupid things at that age.”

“Well please continue on then. You didn’t do anything illegal though?” Phillip asked, timidly. “I’m required by law to report anything like that.”

Gavin shook his head. “No, no law breaking. My parents are lawyers, I’ve kinda been conditioned against illegal activities.” He said. “Now, back to what I was saying.

“We snuck out of my house one night and headed to woods. Armed with only flashlights and a small bag of jerky we just- well we just wandered for a few hours. It was a full moon too, which is even worse. I still don’t really know what we hoped to accomplish. It was a stupid move on our part, and someone could have gotten hurt.” Gavin paused and looked away for a moment. “Well, hurt worse that is.”

Phillip leaned forward in his seat to listen. “Please, do go on.” He continued to chew on the end of his pencil, the rubber cap swiftly being gnawed away.

“It was about three am when we realized we were being followed. Something large kept creeping through the bushes behind us, stalking us like prey. Dylan tripped over a branch as we tried to get away, and it struck. This large, furred form leapt out of the woods at him, and I jumped in front, trying to protect him.” Gavin said, his eyes getting this far off look as he stared at the wall of the office.

“So why’d you do it?” Phillip asked. “What compelled you to valiantly jump in front of your friend with no knowledge of whether or not you’d survive?”

Gavin paused. “I don’t really know. He’s my best friend. I couldn’t just leave him there. He was just laying on the ground, and I knew if I didn’t do something he’d die.”

The interviewer nodded. “And what happened after that?”

“It bit into my shoulder and threw me around.” Gavin rubbed his left shoulder. “It felt like my arm was going to be ripped out of its socket. After a few seconds it let go and flung me against a tree. I blacked out shortly after that.” He said. “Dylan said the beast ran away after that. He called 911 and I woke up in the hospital the next morning.”

With a crunch, Phillip bit through the end of his pencil. The two of them stared at for a moment before he set it to the side, next to the recorder. Gavin coughed slightly and chose to just move on, ignoring it. As much as he wanted to get on the interviewer’s nerves it wasn’t the right move.

“Anyway. I don’t remember much of the next two or three days. I got tested and found out I had the virus, and after that, just lots of therapy. Stuff about getting used to it and prepping for my first change. Would you believe they had me stay in this horrible little room the first full moon after I got bit? Bars on the wall, no furniture except this thin mattress. It was terrible.”

Phillip began biting slightly on his knuckle, listening to Gavin narrate. “Tell me about your first transformation then? What’s your other form like?”

Gavin chuckled. “It was painful. Incredibly painful. Ever had a broken arm?” He asked.

The interviewer shook his head. Gavin was a little surprised at that, but some people are just careful growing up, he thought. “Imagine every bone in your body shattering, then the muscles tearing into little shreds. The first shift is always the worst, and you don’t control it. Meds don’t work, and anything artificial is torn off or pushed out.” He answered.

Gavin pulled his mouth open and pointed to the back of his jaw. “I used to have some fillings back here. They all pushed their way out the first time I changed. Felt like my teeth were being pulled out of my skull.”

“That sounds absolutely terrible. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Phillips said, trying to be empathetic. Gavin doubted he was truly being sincere, but it didn’t matter. “What’s your form like? I know some of you prefer to stay in that state the majority of the time. Is it hard?” He asked.

“Honestly? It’s not as hard as you’d think. It’s like flexing a muscle. The first few times are difficult and you burn yourself out after a few hours, but it gets easier with time. Now a days, I can stay in my other form perpetually. I actually prefer it.” Gavin said with a weak smile.

“Why is that? Why don’t you want to stay in your natural form?” Phillip questioned. “What about it is so alluring.” He asked, drawing the last word out.

Gavin took a sharp breath, trying not to get irritated as he thought of a way to explain. It was difficult to put into words why he preferred it, but one thing was certain: being human sucked.

“I feel- stronger, I guess. Faster. I wouldn’t say it’s easier to think but I certainly process things in a different way.” Gavin explained. “Everything is crisper too. Sights, smells, sounds. Even the ground beneath my feet. Everything seems clearer, easier to work through.” He said. “It just feels right.”

Phillip folding his hands in his lap and nodded. “Feels right…” He repeated quietly under his breath. “Are you physically stronger then? Or do you just feel like you are?”

“Well seeing as I rapidly gain more muscle and have to consume extra protein and more calories per day or else I feel weak, yeah, I’m actually stronger. I can run much faster than I could before too.” Gavin answered. “Granted I wasn’t the fastest before, but I could easily outrun most people now.”

“What about downsides? You mentioned having to eat more?”

Gavin nodded. “Not much more, just a few extra hundred calories a day. You can get cheap food pretty easily if you know where to look. I’d say the biggest downside would be the shedding. Oh, and having to shave in the summer.”

Phillip paused. “The shedding?” He asked, seeming confused. “You have to shave?”

“Of course. If I don’t I’ll get heatstroke. You think all that fur comes without the increased padding? It’s like wearing a full parka all the time. I uh-“ He hesitated. “I have to pant as well. It can get a little messy since we don’t sweat.”

The interviewer nodded, glancing at his watch. “We seem to be running out of time. I just have one final question for you Gavin, before you go.” He paused, staring at the young man across from him over the rim of his glasses. “If you could change back to human, would you?”

Gavin stared back, holding his gaze. This was a question he’d been asked -often times by himself late at night- more than once over the past few years. While the specifications of the question were a little more nuanced than he had the time or the desire to get into, there was a simple, six-word answer that summed up his response.

“No. Not in a million lifetimes.”