The room was full of a steady ticking, heavy in the warm silence and still air. Behind the heavy blackout curtains, Iago could see the sun, just barely up and angled enough to throw a tiny, thin ray of light into the room and across the opposite wall. He had been awake since dawn had barely started shining through the window, lying on his back and staring up at the shadowy ceiling. In the corner, the floor clock ticked and he had been counting them for what felt like the last two hours. Sleep had come difficultly to him last night, harder still to stay asleep, but he remained in his position---on his back, arms folded over his chest and eyes half-close. Beside him Will slept peacefully, and Iago wouldn't shift around to wake him up early. Considering their busy evenings, there was little doubt in Iago's mind that he would stay asleep even if he got up and started jumping on the bed, but he didn't want to risk it. Not even the aching twinge in his knee would make him move quite yet.

Instead, he turned his head a little to look at Will. He was shadowed, but the form breathed gently, peacefully. Closing his eyes, Iago fought the urge to wriggle closer and pull Will into his arms, but they hadn't gotten home until nearly one the night before. That didn't stop Iago from struggling to get to sleep, turning his active mind off and shutting out the dull pain in his right knee. He didn't like taking anything for the pain, not when the concept of addiction was a real one in his mind. Sighing, Iago blocked out the steady ticking and shifted for the first time in what felt like a few hours, sliding out of bed and onto his feet, shaking his right leg out before putting weight on it and stepping out of the room.

Their home took up one full floor of a large, sprawling home that had been converted into four separate apartment buildings. The main entry hall held several doors and a rounding staircase that led upward. One of the several doors on the main floor led to the basement apartment. Theirs was on the top floor, so they had a good view of the treetops and buildings around where they lived, and as such, the sun angled in their rooms before the rest. Stepping out of the bedroom, Iago moved through the quiet house to the bathroom down the hall, waking himself up with a memorized morning routine and wandering into the kitchen, whose windows faced the east and stared directly into the bright morning sky. Iago's stiff hobbling eventually gave way to minute limping as he started coffee and sat at the kitchen table, staring at the drip as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

The monstrous wolf moved faster than Will had guessed. He crouched lower in the bushes, watching the creature silently. The wind was in his favour, but it could change any minute and the beast would be able to smell him. His heart thumping loudly in his chest, he tried to decide what to do. In his hand he held a crossbow, a blessed silver arrow loaded and ready to shoot the wolf. But he knew that he couldn't simply bring it down on his own, and his partner had gone the other way, searching a cave where they had seen the creature sleeping.

Will adjusted his grip on his weapon, watching as the wolf's ears swivelled and it lifted its black muzzle to sniff the air. He held his breath as it turned its head, its blood red eyes meeting his and freezing him in place. It lunged before Will could do anything, biting his arm and making him drop his weapon. He screamed for Iggy, getting away from the wolf by kicking it in the head. He lost it through the woods, stopping to stare in horror at the wound on his arm. No... No...

He snorted awake, sitting up and glancing about the bedroom. He sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead, grimacing as the bandaged reminder of last night's hunt glared at him. He had been bitten. Soon he'd become the very thing they hunted. What would happen if Iago found out? Would he have to kill him? He bit his lip and covered the bandage with his pyjama sleeve, before crawling out of bed and heading to where Iago was. He would have to think of something, and luckily he had a whole month before the next full moon.

Iago yawned into his cup and puffed out a breath. He was slightly more awake now than he'd been half an hour ago, on his second cup of coffee and dressed for the day in everything but the coat that was outfitted with many thin, hidden pockets that were labeled with everything he and Will needed from day to day activity. Ruffling his hair, sending it all over the place because that was where it would eventually go anyway, Iago looked up when he heard footsteps and smiled a bit.

"Morning." He managed to sound slightly more awake than he was feeling---anything before ten was like trying to swim through molasses, and failing miserably. He yawned again, ruining the wakefulness in his tone and giving up entirely. He cast a glance to the arm Will had bandaged and knitted his brow. He couldn't see the bandages now, but had earlier, and had been told Will had fallen into a large bramble bush during their hunt the previous night. Though it was probably benign, Iago felt responsible for it because he'd been too engrossed in the cave he'd uncovered, but inside was a half-alive victim he'd had to call help for. He wasn't sure what happened after he told paramedics about how he had found her, but imagined it was nothing good.