Holding Ghost's hand had become a rather natural thing now. In the future, it would have been weird. There was tension between controller and manipulator and their close living quarters. Today, in the now, they were living just as close as before and it wasn't weird at all. Maybe because he was 11 now and she was 21 or maybe it was because they each had someone now, someone besides each other.

"Do you sink Sebby will like zis?" Jude had picked up a book on study techniques, A Smarter Way to Memorize. Ghost had breezed past the books and was into the clothing segment of this stall, her hand the only tether between them.

It was the Brooklyn Annual rummage sale. A whole block was marked off and people were warming everywhere looking through other men's trash to find their treasures.

"He might. Though we have plenty of books. We could get him a new one of those if they're still around. Why don't you look for something else?" She squeezed his hand and let him go. "Don't get lost." A matronly kiss on the forehead (which Jude promptly smudged off) sealed the deal. He wouldn't get lost. And he wouldn't let her get lost either.

Deeming this stall a dud, they made their way on down the line. Booth after booth with only minor purchases. Nothing too fancy. Nothing at least, until Jude found the box of old action figures. He dove in immediately as Ghost drifted near at hand.

There it was. An old school masked hero, The Wolfamarine. Yeah, yellow spandex was lame but it was the idea. One mutant versus the world. He was a total rebel and yet still a good guy. A real hero. Jude stood up with his prize in hand, his legs were stiff from sitting so long.

He paid the guy sitting in his rainbow lawn chair and then looked around. No Ghost.

They had made it to the end of the block-wide sale and so the barricades next to the booth marked the end of a magical sale and the beginning of real life. His stomach rumbled. Maybe she had stepped away to grab something to eat for them? The small boy squeezed between the barriers and galloped a few steps looking around. There was a bakery at the end of the road. Maybe she was there.

A slap. He heard a hand hitting flesh and a woman making a sound that meant it had to hurt. Ghost. She was always in trouble! Jude ran toward the sound. A mess of metal trash cans was knocked over in the struggle.

"I will save you!" With Wolfamarine in hand he launched his entire body weight at the man standing with his arm raised. He did not fall over as planned. Jude's weight and momentum only forced him to take a single step back to steady himself. And Jude was caught in greasy, mechanic arms.

The woman, he noticed, was not Ghost.

Being a mutant werewolf did have it strong points one of which being if someone wanted to mess with you, they would likely get an angry, terrifying wolf staring at them, showing them what exactly they had just messed with. It wasn't very often though someone was dumb enough to attempt to take on a werewolf, especially not one who looked like Emerald did. Ever since she had started wearing her jacket less she had noticed that less and less people wanted to even try to mess with her or go near her.

Perhaps it was the fact she looked like a force to be reckoned with even more so now that her well defined muscles and scars were on view to the general public, or the fact that she no had taken a liking to military clothes. Most likely though it was the fact that she looked far more wolf now than she did before, her features being sharper, teeth being longer, hair was thicker and the fact she refused to hide her tail anymore. While She didn't look like a complete and utter monsterous creature with fur covering her face, she did stand out.

Emerald still had a large appetite though and her eating habit had not diminished in the slightest. The bakery young Jude so happen to run by was the same Bakery, Emerald got her dozen rolls every week. So as the boy ran by with action figure in hand, had just happen to catch her intrest. Kid shouldnt be wandering around by himself Emerald thought as she heard the clatter of trashcans.

This was when pure instincts took over and a loud growl escaped the werewolfs throat. She opened the door up to the bakery, Tossing her purchase that was previously clutched tightly in hand at a baffled baker.

"I'll be back in a bit to pick these up! Hold them for me!" She called out as she bolted to wear she had seen the boy dissapeared and heard the trashcans. Upon arrival, the She-wolf found the young boy in the clutches of a particularly shady looking character, with a woman crying beside him. The woman was dressed, if one could even call it that, in clothes that Emerald would never we unless it was behind closed doors. Her mind quickly processed what was going on and another growl escaped her lips, far louder and more agressive than the last one.

"You have two strikes against you buddy, if you let the kid go and give up, I wont break to many of your bones." Emerald told him, cool blue eyes looking at him with a steely glare. She strode down the alleyway, making note of her surroundigs as she did so, just in case she needed to fight the guy, she would know her terrain.

The girl was smaller than him and she was a girl. It was like the cogs were visibly clicking in his head as he sized Emerald up. He thought he could take her. Instead of answering her, he hawked what had to be the biggest loogie in Brooklyn. Jude started to wonder if the man was actually quite ill.

He spit, with admirable accuracy at Emerald's shoe. "Get lost."

He spoke to his woman, the threat of the tail and the compact muscles clearly dealt with. "Is this your brat?" Then he tossed the somewhat-upside down Jude at the woman on the ground.

Semi-upside down Jude's landing was in no way graceful. The woman he landed on felt like all knees and elbows at his rate of decent. The toy clattered out of his hand and skid to a halt at Emerald's mucus laden foot.

There was an old phrase never judge a book by its cover that seemed to ring true in the tale of idiotic pimp Vs angry werewolf. One thing was for certain you should never disrespect an Alpha, Ever, especially not an Alpha female who had not been having the best of weeks. Once that glob of spittle landed on the wolf girls steel toed a feral snarl escaped her lips, bearing her teeth in anger.

“Even if he was that’s not gonna stop me from smashing your head into the ground.” Emerald snarled, clearly ready to tear this man’s face off.

This seemed to get the attention of the male who only chuckled, still thinking he had the upper hand. He decided it would be a fantastic idea to lunge at the werewolf, attempting to knock her over so he would be able to beat the crap out of her like he did his “Employee”. Problem was he didn’t expect the girl to be a mutant, nor did he expect her to have steel toed boots on. Steel toed boots that in fact, hurt a great deal if they struck ones chest, which is what happened here. The man was kicked in the chest, causing him to fly backwards, hitting the ground head first, the sheer force of the fall.

Emerald watched the man crash down on the pavement, head first, wincing a little. She hadn’t meant to kick him that hard, but it looked like he wouldn’t be getting back up for a while. The wolf girl shook her head at his fallen body, going over to him to check him for a pulse, he had one all right and he was just knocked out cold. Without a second thought, Emerald went over to the boys toy, picking it up from off of the ground. She helped the baffled woman up, who preceded to go over to the fallen body of her “employer” before running away. Emerald smiled at the boy, handing him his toy.

“Looks like you have had an exciting day, huh kiddo?” Emerald grinned widely at the boy, ruffling his hair. “Alright, where are you parents, so I can deliver you and your little buddy here back to them?”

A few awkward "I'm Sorry" and "Excuse me"s later, Jude was off of the woman and turned around ready to help when— the man flew backwards like magic. His eyes got big and round as he whipped his head around in time to see the wolf girl put her foot down. Her foot? She'd ninja kicked him?

She went to check the guy but he was a complete puddle. Drool slipped down the side of his cheek. Complete K-O.

Well then the only thing left was for Jude to help the woman up to her feet. He had to be a gentleman. She scuttled away with a wheezy thanks that didn't sound entirely healthy. He frowned after her when she checked on the man before leaving. Did she have no sense in her head?

Next on his check list? Wolfamarine.

He turned and it was there. Being offered to him. Jude looked up that muscly arm to the real-life Wolfamarine and snatched up his toy. Exciting day? She could say that. He nodded and tinkered with Wolfamarine as if shy.

The hair ruffle. Jude hated the hair ruffle. He mussed his hair back into place (which probably looked no different than when ruffled) before he bothered to answer Miss Wolf's question. "My Ghost was at ze swap meet. I sink she came zis way so I follow." Then there was the trash can and the getting thrown... really it was all a blur.

"You are super hero, no?" He held up the jointed plastic as if comparing the two. They both had tails... and ears... and muscles. "Miz Wolf?" Miss Wolf would make a good hero name. Though it had a more romantic ring in his native tongue...