Hazel Eyes in the Moonlight

by Oddling

25 - To Feel Again

The next day greeted Jim about as well as he had expected it to. Even before his eyes opened, Jim’s body was screaming at him to eat something to replenish what he had lost the day before. What he had not told Fluttershy was that a werewolf’s rapid healing came with a price, of sorts. Yes he could heal almost any wound, but the process put a lot of strain on his body. The repairing of his body required a lot of energy to fuel the ability, which was usually countered by eating a substantial amount of food, preferably meat or any other high protein substances. High fiber foods were also useful, but proteins burned cleaner in the system of a werewolf. It could have even been comparable to different grades of fuel for a car.

With a low groan and a couple of greatly appreciated stretches, Jim roused from his spot on the bed. He went straight for the bathroom to relieve his other bodily needs, as well as to grab a quick shower. The smell of blood still lingered in his fur and he hated the smell of old blood. Once he had finished rinsing his body under the hot spray of the shower, Jim proceeded to dry himself off enough so that he would not drench the floors as he left.

Jim exited his room and walked over to Scootaloo’s room. He quietly opened the door and peeked inside, noticing the lump under the blanket. A sly grin slowly spread over Jim’s features and he silently entered the room. He came to a stop just beside the bed and he watched the lump for a few moments. It slowly dawned on him that the young filly was not asleep. Her body was too still and her breathing was just a little too consistent. Jim’s grin widened a pinch more and he kneeled down. “You ready?” he asked.

Scootaloo huffed and she slid her head out from beneath the blanket, a smile on her face. “How did you know I was awake?”

“Trade secret,” he said with a wink before he stood up. “Come on, I bet you’re hungry. I think I can smell some scrambled eggs from downstairs.”

Scootaloo’s smile widened and she nodded before darting to the bathroom connected to her room. Once her business had been taken care of, the werewolf and werepony left the room to venture toward the promising aroma escaping the confines of the kitchen. Of course, Jim was not as enthralled by the smell as Scootaloo was; he was really just hankering for meat. So much so that he was even trying to remember the name of that one place that he had heard about during his first day in Ponyville. If they accepted his offer to pay them when he received his first stipend then he would be able to enjoy something more than eggs, without the need to hunt for it himself. Although… eggs still had protein, maybe it would do as another snack.

The pair soon stepped into the kitchen, looking toward the stove. Yet again, Jim bore witness to Twilight Sparkle at work, her horn aglow as the eggs sizzled in the pan in front of her on the burner. Jim’s brow lifted curiously at the size of said pan as he noticed how large it was. There had to have been around two dozen eggs in there! It then occurred to him the reason for such a large amount. Twilight’s friends would be hungry when they awoke, which would be at any moment, so it only made sense that there would be such a sizable portion made. He also remembered how the last time had gone when he had been lost in thought while watching Twilight and he gently rapped his knuckles against the doorframe.

Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound of knocking and she looked over her shoulder to see Jim and Scootaloo. She smiled down at the filly. “Well, good morning sleepy head. Did you sleep well?” she asked.

Scootaloo nodded happily. “Yeah! The beds here are so soft, I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud!”

Twilight giggled and glanced at the cooking eggs to make sure they weren’t getting burnt. Flipping them around with a spatula she said, “That’s reassuring to hear. It took me a while to find the right spell combination, but it looks like I managed to successfully create a cloud-like material out of cotton. I’ve tried to get Rainbow to test the beds I made a few times, but she’s always insistent on spending her naps in random places. I’m glad you liked the bedding.”

Jim’s brow lifted again. “Is my bedding made of the same material? I did notice it was softer than what I expected when I first slept on it, yet it’s firm enough to support me in just the right way.”

Twilight hummed a light laugh. “Actually, no. Your bed is just a standard issue one for royalty. I hope you don’t mind.”

Jim chuckled and shook his head, though Twilight did not notice since she was watching the cooking food. “Not at all. I was simply curious. Although, I think I might be inclined to take that bed with me if I ever find another place to live. It’s just too perfect to leave behind,” he joked, though he was a little serious about the idea. That bed really was the best he had had the pleasure of using.

Twilight giggled again and glanced at Jim with a playful smile. “You really like that bed, huh? What if I said that you were welcome to stay here indefinitely?”

Jim’s eyes widened at the thought. Essentially Twilight was inviting him to stay, as if this could become his permanent home. Home… that was something that he had never truly had since his mother was taken from him. Could he even find it in himself to consider Twilight’s castle his home? Home was where the heart was, or so it was said, but Jim had never really felt like he had a heart. Not until recently, that is. But when did he start thinking that way? Why was he feeling like he might cry at the thought of finding a home in Twilight’s castle? Why did the thought make him smile?

Jim chuckled and shook his head. “That… actually sounds like a nice idea,” he said. His gaze dropped down to see Scootaloo smiling up at him and he reached out to ruffle her mane a little, an act that the filly seemed to enjoy and feel annoyed by. “It would be nice to have a home again,” he murmured, more to himself than anypony in particular.

Twilight’s head tilted slightly at the last part. She briefly wondered what he meant by it, though her mind was quick to try and bring up many possible answers, none of which she wanted to consider. The gentle sizzling of the eggs drew her out of her thoughts and she turned back to tending to them. It only took a few more moments before Twilight was satisfied with the eggs and she levitated the pan away from the burner to deposit the fluffy batch of scrambled goodness into a large bowl on the counter. She looked back to Jim and Scootaloo with another smile, though it was a little smaller than before. “Breakfast is almost ready. All I have left to prepare is the toast.”

Jim nodded. “Thanks for going through the trouble, Twilight. Is there anything you’d like help with, though?” he asked.

Twilight’s smile widened and she shook her head gently. “It’s no trouble at all. Even though I usually don’t get up this early, normally, I do like to cook. Spike’s cooking is better than mine, though, and the only thing I can think of would be if one of you could take the shredded cheese and the ketchup out to the table. I think I’ve got the rest pretty much under control.”

Jim smiled in turn and looked down to Scootaloo. “I’ll grab the stuff. You go pick a seat and I’ll be out in a second,” he said to her.

Scootaloo grinned with a nod and went to the dining room to select her spot at the table. Meanwhile, Jim watched her go for a moment before he shook his head and sighed, still smiling. “She’s a good kid.”

“That she is,” Twilight agreed and giggled at the fond memories she had of the little pegasus’ antics with her friends. “She may be a little too gung-ho about a few things, but she’s a sweet filly with a good heart. All of the CMC are wonderful.”

A chuckle rumbled through Jim. “So where are the cheese and ketchup?” he asked.

“In the fridge.”

Jim walked over to the fridge and opened the door. The inside caught him by surprise as he laid eyes on its inner workings. Though the outside resembled any common appliance from Earth, the inside was alight with the glow of magic. A pleasantly soft blue light illuminated the inside, crystal clear gems being the source of the light as well as the objects that powered the arcane device. He had to admit that it was a very intriguing design.

“Wow… this is the first time I’ve seen a magical fridge. You’ll have to explain how it works to me later,” Jim said as he reached in and took the intended items out. “This world is full of neat little surprises.” With the cheese and ketchup in his possession, Jim turned away and closed the door with his tail.

Twilight giggled behind her hoof. “It’s actually very simple. Lapis Lazuli are a fairly common gem in Equestrian soil. They are naturally prone to absorbing the ambient magic around them, which causes the temperature to drop in their immediate vicinity. All we do to the gems is inscribe a rune into their surface that converts a small portion of the stored magic into light,” she explained happily.

Jim’s expression slowly morphed into a sly grin as he eyed Twilight. “I’m impressed, that’s really clever. Who came up with that idea?”

Twilight’s smile turned sheepish and she sat down as she tapped her hooves together lightly. “Well… I did, actually. It was just a little project I did when I was still living in the castle with Celestia. I never thought that my magical gem research would lead to a new technology, though.”

Jim’s grin melted into a genuine smile as he watched Twilight. He knew that she was intelligent, but to see her be so modest about something as amazing, yet simple, was refreshingly inspiring. He was suddenly finding himself more respectful of the young princess and he wanted to show her that. With a gentle bow, Jim let his honest opinion be known. “Twilight… you might not think much of your discovery, but it truly is incredible. Creating the foundation for such technology, yet showing such modesty… you’re really an amazing mare. I’m envious. You’re even the first person I’ve ever met who’s been so…” he paused for a moment, then sighed as he gently shook his head. “I wish I had a broader vocabulary. You’ve been a wonderful pony, Twilight, and you deserve every bit of credit and respect for it and more.”

As Jim spoke, Twilight’s eyes slowly widened and a soft blush took its place upon her cheeks. Her friends had given her praise for many of her accomplishments in the past, even joining her in a few of them, but nopony had made her feel so... validated? Pleased? Nothing else in her lifetime had ever made her heart nearly skip, nor had she been so incapable of stopping her smile. “Th-that’s very kind of you to say. Thank you, Jim.”

Jim smiled again and nodded. “You’re welcome, though I feel that I should be thanking you. I’m sure there are many things that you’ve done that have contributed to… the quality of the life that I’m currently living. We may not have had the best start, but… I’m glad that we met. I look forward to becoming better friends with you, and the others,” he said and looked back to the items in his hands. “I’ll get going now, don’t want to keep Scootaloo waiting too much longer.”

Twilight nodded lightly and her smile warmed a little more. “Jim…”

Jim paused mid-step. “Hmm?”

“Thank you… for everything you’ve done for her.”

Jim’s smile widened a little more, but soon vanished as he recalled Rainbow’s words last night about Scootaloo’s parents and how he felt there was something amiss. “There’s no need to thank me, and rest assured that I will not leave her to fight her curse alone. However… I still need to speak with you about a few things that have been on my mind. Let me know when you have the time,” he said and left the kitchen.

Twilight watched him leave and her smile slipped away steadily. It was clear that Jim had his suspicions about Scootaloo’s relationship with her family. They had not done the best in hiding their knowledge of it. With a soft sigh, Twilight returned to getting the rest of breakfast ready.

---

~~***~~

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Breakfast concluded shortly after Jim and Twilight’s talk in the kitchen. As if on cue, everypony, and dragon, had come downstairs as Twilight carried in the heaping piles of scrambled eggs and toast. Jim and Scootaloo had busied themselves with talks of what they wanted to do that day, which ended up turning into a small list of tasks.

The first thing that Jim needed to do with Scoots was to take her to school. It had taken a little convincing, but the little pegasus eventually agreed that she felt fine enough to go to school. Once there, she could take a moment before class began to talk to her friends about what had happened. Any further discussion regarding the finer details could wait until after school. Once school concluded for the day, Jim planned on taking Scootaloo back to Twilight’s castle so that he could try to get a better feel for Scootaloo’s new body and how it functioned. He also wanted to set up some time for testing her emotional responses and what might trigger her to enter beast mode… as well as what might coax her back into calmer levels of sanity if she started to lose control. Part of him even wanted to talk to her about what it was that she had felt was worth fighting for to regain herself during her transformation, but he eventually decided against the idea. Whatever her reason was, that was enough for him. He did not need to know, nor did he feel it was right for him to pry. He had his reason for staying in control, and she had hers. That was all that mattered.

Jim’s plans afterward were to escort Scootaloo home. At the mention of that, Jim quickly took notice of how Scootaloo’s entire being seemed to lose a portion of its joy and energy. It took a lot of self-control for him to not ask about her family, and even more to refrain from growling in annoyance. There was enough evidence leading Jim toward the conclusion that Scootaloo’s family was mean to her, or neglected her, yet he knew he had to keep an open mind just in case he was wrong. He had been mistaken in the past on a few occasions, so it was important that he stay his anger unless he could prove his assumptions. Unfortunately, any chance he had for asking her about it had vanished when everyone entered the room for breakfast.

Still, Jim did find himself thankful when all was said and done with their morning meal. Twilight’s friends had proven to be quite a pleasant distraction in the end, for Scootaloo and himself. Rarity was full of little stories and gossip and the way she interacted with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash made for quite a few chuckles. Pinkie, of course, was as chipper as ever. She bubbled with excitement about her most recent party related stories and even took the opportunity to inform Twilight of her talk with Jim about his own planned shindig soon. Just as the pink mare had expected, Twilight almost lectured her about what they had promised beforehoof, but Jim was quick to settle the matter.

However, there was an event that transpired that Jim could have gone without. As every pony, dragon, and werewolf sat comfortably in the afterglow of their hearty breakfast, Rarity turned a curious eye to Rainbow Dash. “So… Rainbow, darling… what was with your behavior yesterday?” she asked casually.

Rainbow’s ears stood straight up and her eyes widened at the sudden question. “Huh? What are you talking about Rares?”

Jim’s ears also perked up at the odd question and his gaze steadily drifted between Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

Rarity’s calm expression slowly morphed into a playful smile as she lidded her gaze toward Rainbow. “Oh, don’t play coy, dear. Why were you so, dare I say, intimate with Jim yesterday?”

Both Rainbow’s and Jim’s expressions turned to ones of shock. Had Rarity used a more reserved selection of words, they might not have reacted like that, but it was too late to retract the question that had been on the minds of the fashionista and Twilight. Rainbow stuttered for a moment as her mouth worked silently. “WHAT!?” she shrieked.

Rarity winced at the volume of her friend’s remark, but she was far too curious to back down just yet or rephrase her question. “Now Rainbow Dash, we all saw your physical interactions with Jim. You gently butted him with your head when we were rushing to help Scootaloo and then you were practically his shadow after we found him at Zecora’s. You even went into his bedroom last night, for who knows what, but it was at least three hours before you went to your room. I’m simply curious to know why, is all.”

Jim’s shock quickly subsided after hearing those words as he pieced together the picture that he and Rainbow had somehow formed. In their eyes it would have been strange to see the two interacting the way they did. He could not blame Rarity for seeing something else. They had no idea that Rainbow had been doing all of that in a unique attempt to try pushing past the fear she had felt towards him. Rainbow had explained herself that evening, due to Jim simply speaking with her about what he could do to help her feel more comfortable around him. He felt responsible for her unpleasant experience, since he had allowed himself to fall into the control of his curse in the cave, so it seemed only right that he do what he could to help her. As he talked things out with Rainbow Dash, she had taken it onto herself to try overcoming the little things first, mainly the fact that Jim’s sheer size had been one of the intimidating factors about him.

Rainbow and Jim had spent most of the night testing out little things to see what they could work on to ease her into a better comfort zone around Jim. Yet only the two of them knew about it, which could only lead to Rarity and Twilight questioning things. Jim turned his gaze to Rainbow and she looked back at him, though a deep blush did form on her cheeks as their eyes met. He offered her a smile before he looked to Rarity.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Rarity, but nothing really happened last night,” Jim began gently. “You see, things have been… a little complicated between Rainbow Dash and myself. Actually, I’m sure she isn’t the only one who’s felt the way she’s felt about me, but the point is that she and I had a little heart to heart last night. I scare her. Plain and simple. She’s been scared of me since she first laid eyes on me. My actions in the cave… only compounded the problem. So… she and I talked about it and we made a little bit of progress towards helping each other with that last night.”

Rarity and Twilight glanced to one another as Jim explained. It was clear that they also held some of the same fear as Rainbow did, but they were more surprised that she and Jim had actually talked about things like they had. Rainbow Dash was known for many things, but being honest and open about her fears was not one of them. Still, it was a good thing that their friend had made some progress in facing the problem.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo simply sat quietly as she looked to each person/pony talking. She was a little unsure how the earlier part of the discussion came about, but she did understand the fear part. It surprised her to know that her idol had been afraid of Jim, but it made her feel better knowing that her two favorite people were trying to get along better. Yet, despite that good news, Scootaloo’s mind started to wonder how her friends were going to react to her new look. Would they feel scared, too? Would she have to prove herself to them again, to regain their trust in her?

As the young pony delved deeper into her own world of questions, the adults at the table continued to explore their own issues.

“So, what all did you two talk about then?” Twilight asked. “Maybe I can learn how to overcome my own fear of you as well.”

Rarity looked to Twilight in mild surprise. “Wait, you mean you’ve also been scared of him? You’ve not shown any real fear of him since after that incident in the cave.”

Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Well… I don’t think any of us can forget how scary he was back then. I will admit that I’ve had to thank Luna on a few occasions in easing my nightmares about that day. Still, it has helped that Jim’s been more… open to expressing himself. He and I have talked, too, and it’s easier to see him as a normal individual now than it was before,” she said and smiled at Jim.

Jim smiled back and closed his eyes. “Well… since we’re on the subject in a way I suppose now is as good a time to say it.” His eyes opened slowly and he looked to each of the mares. “I am deeply sorry for scaring all of you. However, like I explained to Rainbow last night, I cannot promise that I won’t scare you again. Thanks to the things I learned from Zecora, I’m now certain that I can lose control. However, the conditions for it have changed. I can feel and express my anger, frustration… rage… yet I do not lose myself like I used to. I don’t know what it would take, but I do know that my curse can remove my control. The same applies to Scootaloo, and I plan on helping her learn of her own triggers at some point, but that is a topic for another discussion. What I really wanted to say to you all is… as the closest group of friends I have, none of you should fear me. I… I want to protect you all. I’ve never been able to do so in the past but… but now… now I can. I can fight to keep my friends safe, and I will succeed this time. Whatever this world did to my curse, it’s allowed me the chance to finally be… the person I’ve always wanted to be.”

Jim smiled happily, having finally taken his first steps in expressing his feelings for the ponies that had entered his life. He was unsure of how Rarity felt about his including her as a friend, but the kind smile on her face seemed to show that she liked the idea. Pinkie’s smile had somehow reached lengths that defied logic, but it made her joy very clear about what Jim had said. Jim’s gaze finally landed on Twilight and her face was simply… glowing with warmth and happiness. If he were to be perfectly honest with himself, Jim would have sworn that he could feel love in her eyes, but not the romantic kind. No, what he felt from her was what he had seen from the humans on occasion when real friends met on the street. To most it would seem to be a simple feeling shared between two or more people, but to Jim… it was something he had longed for.

The world began to blur for Jim and just as he started to wonder why that was he felt warmth spread over his side. He blinked and turned his head. There, looking him in the eyes with that same caring gaze he had seen from Twilight, stood Rainbow Dash… hugging him. She was crystal clear for a moment, her strikingly beautiful rose-colored eyes looking deeply into his hazel ones. Then, as with Twilight, his world blurred again. He was unsure why everything had blurred again, until Rainbow’s hoof came up and she wiped away the tears of his left cheek. He glanced at her hoof for a moment before he brought his hand up to rub away the moisture beneath his right cheek. He stared at the wet sheen on the tips of his fingers. I’m crying?

As if she had heard his thought, Rainbow chuckled gently and she hugged him tighter. “It’s okay, big guy… I know all about crying liquid pride.”

Jim laughed weakly thanks to her little joke. Then he returned the hug and rested his head on top of hers. “Liquid pride… good one, Rainbow. I’m not afraid to admit it when I cry, you know. This time it’s because I’m… happy.”

Jim’s ears flicked to the soft sounds of hoofsteps and before he knew it there were four more bodies joining in the hug, with him sitting in the middle. He lifted his head to look at the happy smiling faces of Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Scootaloo. His heart filled with something warm and fluffy, a feeling he had not felt in forever… love.

Author's Note:

Okay... I surprised myself again with this chapter. I think I might be getting the hang of this... feelings thing. Then again, probably not.

Seriously though, I just don't know where this chapter came from. I was originally going to do something completely different, then this happened and took me on a wild emotional ride with Jim. Somewhere along the way, I gave Jim a heart and actual feelings instead of having him just be a cold killing machine with a messed up past. It's actually kind of cool, to be honest, since this is probably the first time I've explored a character's emotions on this level. I might be filling myself with artificial ego here, but I'm happy with myself with these developments in Jim's character.

I could go on more about that, but I'll keep it to myself for now. As always, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Look forward to the next one!

Also... as of this chapter, Hazel Eyes has gotten over 1k views. I'm amazed and humbled that so many have seen my work (even though it's only a tenth of that who are actively reading it currently). Though I'm still doubtful of my writing skill, I'm glad that I've managed to entertain you all enough to want to read more of my work. I'll keep striving to improve and I hope to continue giving you all a good read.

Comments

[Aurum]

I'm honestly quite surprised this hasn't gotten over a hundred likes yet. I was browsing through HIE fic a few days ago and of the ten or so I chose to read this was the only one that didn't reek of bad writing and clichés galore (aside from the whole 'saving the CMCs from timberwolves or some other Everfree creature' cliché. Seriously though it's been done to death and I often give up when authors use it but I pulled through for this story).
This actually managed to hold my attention enough to read it all the way through. I've been on this site long enough to know your writing isn't bad at all. Better than most, even.
Anyway, I'm quite intrigued by the Earth Jim came from. I hope it gets to be explored more. Also I've been wondering, is he not weak to silver ? Silver seems to be a popular weakness for werewolves from what little I know of them.

[Oddling]

Thanks for the compliment on my writing. It means a lot hearing that I'm at least decent when I put my thoughts to digital paper.

As for Jim's Earth... thus far I haven't really seen a need to expand on it. I have a few more little spots where Earth will be referenced to show why Jim acts in certain ways toward different situations. Although... if I had to give some idea of what his Earth is like, I'd say it'd be somewhere between the Industrial age to modern day.

In regards to whether or not Jim is weak to silver, I haven't really thought about that, but it does give me a few ideas. I'm not sure if I could incorporate it into the story yet. The weakness to silver really never occurred to me since the story revolves more around magic.

[Shadow_Quill]

Ack staph messing with my feels.

[Unbound]

*just sittin here...waiting and watching for my jimluna ship to sail into port...* also amazing story, been watching it for awhile now and one of the best werewolf stories ive come across. made this account just to tell you as such. also the fluff writing has been great lately, but if im being honest, i kinda wanna see jim break something soon :3