So today wasn’t turning out like Emerald expected, not in the slightest. It just was turning out to be one of those days, one of those days that she really regretted not learning more about this car. The damn thing, a 2009 f-150 red Ford Pick up Truck was more trouble than it was worth. It wasn’t that it was a bad car, it was just the fact that when it broke down, she had no idea what to do with it.

Emerald knew her motorcycle like the back of her hand because she had the thing for so long, but this truck was a mystery to her in comparison. Ruby knew a lot about it and of course the little pup was borrowing the manual so she could help Emerald learn about it which meant that she was stuck on the side of the road with no manual.

Why was she stuck on the side of the road?

Well, the werewolf had been on her way back from Finger Lakes National Park, taking the Highways to save on gas and all of a sudden her truck started steaming. She pulled over quickly to find that the thing was overheating.

Of course, she didn’t have coolant in her back seat or anything that could help fix this problem so she was stuck waiting on the side of the road. Emerald tried to call Sapphire, but her big sister seemed to be working at the moment so she would have to wait until the darkness manipulator called her back.

The werewolf looked over her steaming car, the hood propped up as the steam bellowed off of it. A low sigh escaped her lips, eyes filled with irritation. She hated relying on others to help her get the job done but at the moment she really couldn’t do anything. Emerald knew she could always run home on foot, but the last thing she want was to leave a steaming Truck on the side of the highway near the woods. That was like asking for the thing to get stolen and the last thing she needed was to get a new car again.

Her parents had bought this one for her to replace the one she got rid of due to personal reasons . The Alpha Female stalked over to the bed of her truck and popped open the large cooler she had in the back of it. She reached in and grabbed an icy bottle of water and a bag of slightly frozen beef jerky.

“What possessed me to put this in the damn ice chest?” Emerald asked herself aloud.

Emerald sat down in the bed of her truck and tore into the bag of jerky with her sharp teeth. The she-wolf tearing into the jerky viciously. She was glad she dressed warmly today with her blue jeans and her long sleeved shirt, it looked like she was going to be there for a while. Emerald scarfed down the frozen jerky with an eager wag of her tail.

At least she had plenty of jerky to last her for a little while.

Jacob was thundering down the highway, on his way to the big city from his home to pick up some parts. The cost of shipping the bastards from NYC to the little area he lived was ridiculous, so he opted to pick them up, which was very much more cost effective so long as it wasn’t something big like an engine. His jet black 1967 Chevy Impala cruised down the road, its custom 352 Cleveland engine thundering under the hood, and the truth was, Jacob loved to just drive his car. It helped him focus, collect his thoughts, and release frustrations, the open road being a cure for most common day ailments that can drive some people nuts.

But as he continued, a small red dot began to materialize in the distance… as he steadily drew closer, he realized that it was a vehicle on the side of the road, an attractive young woman sitting on the tail-gate, eating something, and steam ushering out of the open hood. “Coolant… bet 10 dollars…” he muttered to himself. Slow now, he pulled over and his car gently growled to a stop behind the truck. Sliding it into park, he keyed off the ignition, and opened the door, stepping out. “Looks like you could use a hand,” he said simply. Jacob could pretty much diagnose the problem from here, but just in case, he had to be sure.

For the first time, he got a good look at her too… very thick hair was the most unusual feature he could make out at the moment, but that wasn’t a big thing. Moving to the trunk of his car, which could have easily fit six or seven people without stacking anyone on top of each other, he put in the key and opened it up. Looking at the contents, which were all organized into different compartments… it took him but a moment to find his quart of Coolant that he kept in case he needed himself… as if that would ever happen.

Grabbing it, he left the trunk open, just in case he needed any tools, and grabbed a thick glove, and approached the young woman again. “I’m guessing you need some Coolant…” he said, sloshing the contents of the quart and drawing close to her, about a foot away. Jacob was wearing a leather jacket, T-Shirt, Jeans and a tan pair of combat boots… his normal loadout, and stood at 6’ 3” and was very muscular. But now that he was closer, he realized that she was very tall for a female… roughly six foot, if he guessed right… which was very interesting. It was hard to see eye to eye with most females being as tall as he was, and it was a nice change of pace to know there were some his own height, or at least close.

Holding out his hand, he decided to finally introduce himself with a preparatory hand-shake. “My name’s Jacob. I own a mechanics shop not too far from here. I would like to help you with your truck if that is alright with you.” Another glance at the vehicle, and he figured it was a 2009… maybe 2008 Ford F-150. Generic truck.

Despite the situation was in, Emerald was sorta glad she could get away for a little while, even with all the cars barreling by. It was a nice chance to relax and have a good time...eating frozen jerky.

God she had to get out of here.

Just when she was pondering going out to go hunting in the forest, a car drove up to the truck and actually stopped. Not exactly believing in the kindness of strangers, the werewolf tensed looking over at the person who stepped out of the car. Emerald made sure to take in his scent, just in case if he tried any funny business.

He smelt like a mechanic, or at least that's what she noticed most mechanics smelt like. oil, grease, that strange electricity smell she would sometimes get from power tools, all molding together to make who this guy really was. Everyone had a unique scent this seemingly helpful civilian being no different. The werewolf would use this scent to track him if need be.

Eh, maybe I'm just being too paranoid. But considering what situation I ended up in the last time I was stuck in a truck in the middle of nowhere, I don't think anyone can blame me for this. Emerald thought, looking at the male curiously.

She was sizing him up and if anything happened he would be harder to take down than what she was used to so maybe she should try to make nice first. With her extremely muscular build, missing chunk of her left ear, the visible claw marks around her neck area and the whole tail thing she probably looked a little intimidating to most people. To this guy though, she doubted but if he tried anything that would be his mistake.

"That would be nice Jacob," Emerald replied, that deep slightly growly voice coming out. The wolf girl hopped down from the trunk "I didn't notice the temperature when I was driving and it just sorta overheated. I kinda forgot to check it."

Why was it that the woman’s stare seemed to be a bit more hostile than he would have liked? No… not hostile, precautious… defensive maybe. He was being evaluated as a threat… a normal reaction for an attractive young woman stranded in the middle of no-where. She looked like she had been through a war though, a bit of one ear missing and scars riddling what little of her flesh he could see, but that was only at a cursory glance… he didn’t dare look hard enough to make it obvious. Not letting that slow him down, he moved to the side of the truck, placing one hand on it. If she was paying close attention, she would notice that the skin of his hand closes where it touched the vehicle, for the briefest of moments, gained the same texture and color as the truck.

Mid-stride, he turned around, having used his senses and knowing more about that truck than the person who built it, and returned to the trunk, where he fished out a tube from another compartment. Not saying much else, he proceeded to the front of the vehicle, put on the thick glove to protect his hand from the heat, and removed the extremely hot coolant cap. Letting the rush of steam escape, he waited a moment, then took the small tube of Liquid Weld and removed the cap, using the glove to feel for the hole that the Coolant was leaking from. After a moment, he found it, sealed it, and then turned to where the woman was standing, likely nearby.

“You had a hole in your coolant container. Give a minute for that Liquid Weld to set in, and then we should be able to fill it up and you be on your way.” he said, pulling a rag he had stashed in his back pocket and trying to get the coolant off of the thick glove. After a moment, he gave up, the fluid already having seeped into the fabric… no big deal. “You might also want to get an oil change soon. Gonna need it in the next thousand miles or so.” Damnit… without realizing it, he had just given a hint to his power, as he didn’t check the oil physically. Well, hopefully she didn’t catch on, because his face didn't show anything different.

The guy wasn't such a bad guy, after all he was helping her out with his apparent mechanic expertise.This didn't mean she was letting her guard down just yet. Being on edge out in the middle of nowhere like this was normal for the werewolf and she tended to be more defensive around males. She had fought more males so they were more of her opponents than anything else.

Maybe, just maybe she wasn't giving this guy enough of a chance. The wolf woman's eyes still followed him like a hawk but she would lay off a little bit. It looked like he found the problem rather quickly but instead of chalking that up as weird she shrugged it off.

"Makes sense, I haven't gotten it checked for that sort of thing in a while. It' s been in a garage because I don't really drive it all that often compared to my motorcycle," Emerald explained as she gave the mechanic a small shrug.

When he mentioned the oil needed to be changed Emerald nodded a little. It might be time for the change-hating gal to give this monster of a machine a little TLC. While she didn't ride it all that often she was sure that she could get Ruby to do some of the same enhancements on it that she did with the Green machine. That and do maintenance on it, since Ruby was so interested in the mechanics of things.

"You mentioned you had a shop up the road right? Can I get it changed there?" Emerald inquired head tilted to the side with curiosity. The Renegade X Woman failed to even mention his random knowledge or just plain didn't notice.

The alpha female might look more human than some of the fully anthropomorphic animal mutants but she still shared the same instincts as they did. One of them being the general characteristics and mannerisms of her wolven counterpart. It was something that could be far more easily noticed than a small change of color or general knowledge.

Jacob did notice that it didn’t seem like she was wondering what side dishes would go well with his corpse, and he appreciated that he was slowly earning a little bit of trust… enough to not be considered a threat. She spoke about her motorcycle, and how it was her primary means of transportation, and the mechanic simply smirked, adding on a “but you live in New York, and it gets pretty cold up here to by going seventy on a bike and exposed to the elements. Not to mention the road conditions wouldn’t be up to par.”

Having been enough time, he turned around, and unscrewed the cap to the coolant, and poured the contents into the radiator. It wasn’t enough, but it would get them to the shop, where she wanted to get the rest of it taken care of apparently. Never the man to refuse a customer, he smiled and nodded. “Of course. It’s not too far up the road from here… a few miles. That coolant should last long enough to make it up there.” It was during her last comment though that he noticed something… a slight growl in her voice.

He took a moment to look at her as he finished up the conversation. “We can handle everything in an hour unless you have some place to be. If so, I can give you a ride and have my tow-guy come pick up your car.” It was now that he noticed that the one ear that wasn’t missing a chunk was a slight bit more pointed. Still, nothing too big… but in combination with the thick hair, growl within her voice… it was possible that she was a mutant. Still, there wasn’t enough evidence to make a confirmation, and Jacob did nothing to lead her to believe that he had caught on to those details. Besides, being a soldier and believing in equality, he wouldn’t hold it against her if she was a mutant… that, and she certainly wasn’t too rough on the eyes. Jacob had always been a sucker for tall, confident women.

The cold wasn't something Emerald liked all that much and usually when it was too cold she would either layer clothes or stay in wolf form most the time. Of course this guy didn't need to know the extent of her powers so she decided to stay quite.

At least the wolf woman's car was being fixed, even if it was temporary. The wolf woman figured she would have to take it to a shop eventually, she couldn't just avoid driving that truck forever. After all, Emerald's parents had gotten it for her as a gift after she sold the other one for scrap and despite the fact she didn’t want it, Emerald couldn’t say no to it, especially considering how nice it was. Who knows how much they had to spend in order to buy it.

"Nah, I really don't have anywhere to be,"Emerald confessed as she kicked the dirt idly with those steeled toed combat boots. "I was just driving back from a hunting trip so as long as I can get home sometime I should be fine. While I wouldn't mind walking I guess a ride would take me there faster so sure I'll ride with you."

So far, it didn't really seem like he minded the whole mutant thing. Which either meant he was a tolerant, sane person or he was a mutant himself. Honestly, Emerald was surprised he didn't address the tail yet, which despite it's inactivity was laying was still visible.

Then again he hadn't exactly gotten a chance to look back there...maybe that was a blessing in disguise. All in all, Jacob seemed like a nice guy, a nice guy that probably doesn't mind picking up "damsels in distress" on the side of the road, but at least he stopped. That was more than she could say for the people that drove by. The alpha female tucked a stray strand of hair behind her non mutilated ear ear, smiling at him a little bit without showing those pointed teeth of hers.

"We should probably get going,strange stuff tends to happen when you linger on the highway for too long. "She told him as she walked over to his car.

Jacob pulled out a smartphone, tagged the location with his GPS, and sent a text with the location to Bobby, his tow-truck guy. Not a moment or two later, it responded with a ‘Got it Boss’, and he quickly tucked it back away. He looked up just in time to see the young woman tuck some hair behind her ear and smile slightly, which made him smile in turn. “They say people who smile more often live longer,” he said, trying to pay her a compliment without blatantly hitting on the woman. That would make the 15 or so minute drive a long, awkward drive… not something he was sure he was ready for.

Closing the lid to her truck, he smirked slightly. He could technically fix the truck right now, but he would wind up being tired, and it would reveal his secret… some people didn’t take to mutants kindly, and being precautious was never out of style. Moving to her side of the car, he unlocked it and opened the door for her, and when she stepped in is when he noticed the tail. He hadn’t noticed it before for some reason, simply because he didn’t want to lose his modesty and simply ‘check her out’. He acted like he didn’t notice though, but suddenly, he was a lot less apprehensive.

Now he wasn’t fixing her car right now simply because he wanted a chance to talk with her on the drive.

Once she was in the car, he moved to his side and climbed in, firing up the engine which growled from under the hood. He slid the metal bar in the middle dash to high-heat, and moved the vent to point in her direction. It took only a few moments before warmth flowed into the cab. After checking his mirrors, he pulled out and turned around, turning the car back towards his shop. The growl from the engine, a custom 351 Cleveland, increased as they picked up speed towards the shop. A small part of him wondered if the leather seating was comfortable with a tail, but he didn’t dare bring that up at the moment. “How long were you stuck out there before I got there?” he asked absently, trying to break the ice a little.

The engine of the car roared like it was a beast of the wild and the duo were off. Emerald had this distinctive feeling that this was going to be one of those long drives and figured she should be somewhat cordial. The Alpha female wasn't as anti social as it seemed, she just had a habit of alienating people with her wolfish mannerisms.

"About two hours," Emerald admitted a sheepish grin appearing on her face. Those sharp teeth of hers showing making an appearance with the toothy grin. "I was waiting for my older sister to get done with god knows whatever so she could pick me up. It's one of those it can take only a few hours or it can take all night, kind of situations."

What the middle Lupin girl wanted to say was "Yeah my sister is sorta unreliable" but didn't because as much as they fought, Emerald still had a certain amount of respect for Sapphire. Sure the older girl was absolutely insane but she was still family and being a pack animal, Emerald had to respect that.

There was a small moment of silence between the two, with the wolf woman staring outside the window longingly at the trees. It was at times like these she wished that she had hunted a little while longer. Or that she kept her take downs.

There was no use crying over spilled milk though and it might be a good idea to try to break the ice. This time however, Alpha Female decided that she'd be the one to break the it. Wether or not it would freeze immediately again afterwords would depend on how Jacob took blunt questions.

"So, how often do ya pick up stranded people on the side of the road? Or do you only pick up chicks on the side of the road?" Emerald inquired, her voice not accusatory or anything of that nature, she sounded legitimately curious. The werewolf's head was even tilted to the side in inquiry similarly to a curious pup, her tail idly thumping against the leather seat.

It was like Jacob was talking to not just a young woman but a wolf. This was what he got from picking up a sad looking stray on the side of the road.

“Sweet Cheezits… two hours? And no one stopped? And I’m sorry, but if I had a family member calling, I’d answer, regardless of what I had going on. Family is too important to shrug off, especially as cruel as the world has become.” It was his way of thinking… family was very important. Lord help anyone who threatened Jacob’s family too… because he was not against seeking justice with his own rifle.

A bit of silence before anyone spoke again, and Jacob considered turning on the radio but mercifully she rescued him from that by asking another question. He responded to the trap-like question in a simple manner. “Being a mechanic, I like to help when I can… I am not about to leave someone stranded on the side of the road during a cold winter day if I can help it.” he said simply. He then glanced at the thumping noise, and realized it was her tail. Time to address that particular thing, as he was pretty sure he put everything together at this point.

“I have met a few animal-based mutants… if I have to guess, I would say you were part wolf.” he said in such a tone that there was no surprise in it. It honestly didn’t matter too much to him… he still found her attractive, confident and strong. Being a mutant in today’s world was hit or miss… but he also realized that it was very possible that he could have suddenly made her defensive. Taking his hands off the steering wheel, he let his hands fall to his lap, and the car continued to drive perfectly centered in their lane.

“I can control mechanics. Comes in handy, being a mechanic, but it can be fun.” He decided to back off the conversation for a moment. It could be overwhelming, considering that he had singlehandedly confided in her that he was a mutant, and revealed that he knew she was a mutant. It could be a little too much, and he wouldn’t blame the young woman if she backed away from him. It was also his version of a test, to see how she handled situations like this. Stress could bring out the truth of a person very quickly, and if he had to guess, she was more on the ‘fight’ rather than ‘flight’ end of that spectrum.

“The whole wolf mutant thing might have scared them off. Also, yeah that’s big sister Sapphire for ya, the job and her creepy ass art must not be interrupted or she will get into, “Emerald placed her hand on her hand and let out an overly dramatic gasp “A funk!”

Emerald let out a laugh at the end of that, enjoying the fact that she could rib on her sister without revealing how nutty she was. Most people thought Sapphire was just eccentric, but as someone that knew the real side of her she knew better. The werewolf nodded at his answer knowingly, he seemed to be a sort of a heroic guy.

Or at least a nice enough person to not leave someone stuck on the side of the road. This conversation turned the tone of the car into pleasant one and Emerald didn’t really mind it, not one bit.

“Yep that’s me, part wolf. Also, Ya sure it’s not because you couldn’t saw an oversized puppy on the side of the road in a big metal box and you just felt the urge to save her,” Emerald joked, that same wolfish grin on her face. It was the same playful tone she used when talking about her sister without the slightly irritated malice put at the end. “How about I bring you the newspaper in my teeth as a reward for helping me?”

Despite her jokes, Emerald was actually curious about Jacob’s powers and when he mentioned that it was control over mechanics she wasn’t exactly surprised. That might explain why it took him such a short time to identify the problem in her car.

Or he could have been just a nerd like her sister was about cars. Whatever the reason she was glad that he just happened to drive by. Maybe this day wasn’t going to turn out so bad after all. It wasn’t often that she stumbled upon another person that didn’t ask her a million questions when they first met her. Down to business, a perfect way to live life.

“My baby sister would love that power,” Emerald told him. “She’s a little mechanical genius and she’s usually the one that fixes my stuff when it gets broken or I accidentally break it.”

The time seemed to be passing a lot quicker now that they were being cordial with one another and it was nice, he caught her in a bad mood but that seemed to be going away pretty quick.

Jacob couldn’t help but shake his head at her description of her sister. “Ah… your sister is one of those types of girl. In that case, you have my sympathy. I never had any siblings, so I don’t really know how that is…” He wouldn’t delve into the fact that he was utterly lonely during that part of his childhood… his parents always at work, and his intelligence making other jealous and unwilling to befriend him. Still, if you looked at the man, you couldn’t tell he was sad at all.

“You have a nice laugh.” It was a simple, almost harmless statement, but a giant leap for Jacob to make. The significance of his comment could not be understated, as it was a direct compliment, not a small, side comment that could be taken either way. It was his first, direct statement saying that something about her was something that he liked. Still, it was small enough that if the situation became weird, they wouldn’t have to go any further… a stepping stone.

Continuing but observing her reactions, he directed his attention to the other part of her conversation. “Well, I don’t think a newspaper is going to survive in your teeth, to be fair!” he joked, having noticed when she laughed that they were quite sharp. “In all seriousness though, I don’t mind helping people out. Maybe it’s just the Grunt in me.” he then realized that it was very possible that she would ask further questions on that aspect. “Staff Sergeant Jacob Corbulo, U.S. Army vet.”

He listened thoughtfully about the other sister, the younger one, who was into mechanics. “Well, if she ever needs to learn a thing or two and wants to earn some money, I am hiring intern mechanics at my shop. Never can have enough mechanics.” The sad part was, that was actually very true… he never seemed to have enough mechanics on hand, always losing one to a shop in a big city or whatnot. Not that he couldn’t do the work himself, but it was nice to have help when he needed to step out of the shop once in a while.

Speaking of, he just realized he needed to send someone a text saying he would pick up the part tomorrow… or just… later. Depended on how the rest of the day went, but as they made the right hand turn into the Junkyard/Shop, he had a feeling the day was already going pretty well. The grounds were very tidy for a junkyard, all the decommissioned cars piled in stacks to the right and behind the shop, which had an entry way, four bays for vehicles, and an upstairs, which is where he lived.

“Welcome to Jacob’s Junkyard and Shop.” he said with no small amount of pride, pulling into the spot next to the building that was reserved for him.

Emerald smiled a little when Jacob mentioned that Sapphire was one of those girls. That was probably the understatement of the century. It was wildly known by the Lupin family that Sapphire's snootiness was unmatched by most people. While she did have a softer side to her, it was hard to see past all the posh and primness she seemed to emanate from her. Such a huge contrast between her siblings, especially Emerald, who really couldn't care less.

That compliment of Jacobs made the werewolf arch her brow a little. Either that was just a harmless compliment or a blatant hit on but either way he was trying to be nice so that much could be appreciated.

“Thanks, that's not a compliment I get often so thanks.” Emerald replied, sincerity in her voice.

She still laughed at his joke about her fangs because he was probably right on that. Those choppers of her could tear through pretty much anything so not trusting her to pick up a newspaper was probably a good thing. He did make a mention of his ranking in the army which made Emerald pause. She didn't quite know how to respond to that considering she wasn't familiar with the rankings in the military. If they were in wolf terms then it would be easy but since it wasn't then she had no clue what that meant.

As for Ruby possibly working there, it wasn't a bad idea but the Alpha Female didn't know if she could fully trust Colt yet and entrusting him with her baby sister was not on her top priority list. Ruby meant the world to her and she wasn't going to let her baby sister come out here in the middle of nowhere despite how nice the shop was, without fully knowing the guy.

“Very nice,” Emerald compliment him as they pulled up to the parking lot. “Do you get a lot of business all the way out here?”

Jacob pulled silently into the parking space, not really replying to her thanks. A ‘you’re welcome’ sounded odd in his mind, and chances were it would sound weirder if he spoke it, so he let that one slip by. It seemed that, by her reaction, the idea of telling her that he was in the military was relatively harmless, considering that the information went whizzing over her head. That was fine… probably best to leave that little bit alone too… a full explanation of the Military Ranking scheme, and what part he played in it, was not exactly the most invigorating of topics.

He smiled as she complimented his shop, and followed it with a direct question that brought pride to his voice. “We don’t get many customers in number but the quality is through the roof. Most of the judges, high ranking police, and other upstanding members of New York come here because we don’t slack off, we don’t overprice, and we don’t advertise, meaning there usually isn’t a wait before the work gets done. We also do everything that can be done to a car, from generic oil changes to paint to restorations.” There was no short supply of explanations he could continue to give, but instead, it was time to move inside, out of the cold.

Opening his door, as well as her door, without touching them, the engine finally ran silent as he stepped out of the vehicle. There was a large warning sign on the main window, speaking of the alarm system that would electrify anyone who was trying to break in. Out here, a good security system was the key to survival, especially when so close to the Big Apple. Too many people wanting to start trouble for no good reason. “Alright… I disable the security. Shall we?“ He opened the front door to the waiting room, which was equipped with a 32 inch flat panel TV with built in DVD player, free WiFi for customers, and ample seating in the forms of comfortable couches.

After leaving the car, Emerald took a chance to look around the shop. It was a nice place and even as she entered the place she noticed it had enough gizmos and gadgets to keep everyone happy. While this was nice and all, Emerald had been to better places before. Additionally, judging by that little speech he gave earlier he seemed to think they were all that and a bags of chips.

It was easy to be happy with the work you did and to love your place of work but it seemed more like bragging than anything else. Even with this waiting room, it was hard to tell whether or not this was for the customers or to just show off how much money the shop made.

As if it was compensating for other small fatal flaws that she did not see yet. There was no such thing as perfection or a squeaky clean record, especially in business with cars.

"So how long do you think it will take for my car to get fixed out of curiosity," Emerald asked taking in her surroundings, including every single exit and entrance in the building.

Old habits, died hard with her and she wasn't taking any chances despite how nice Colt was being with her and he was being nice, but her trust in people in general was sort of low. One good deed didn't just make someone completely trustworthy, there had to be a lot more than just that to win the favor of the Alpha Female.