"Do you need some time or..?" She began, but stopped when he shook his head.

"No. I'm glad you here right now." Then thought of a cheeky one liner to break the ice "Though I'll admit, it was kinda fun watching you try and tackle my dad." He jokingly said, she couldn't help but laugh.

"You are unbelievable. Joking even at a time like this." She rolled her eyes in amusement.

"What better time to joke than when things get rough." He replied in matter of factly tone.

She was about to suggest getting some air when a clap of thunder sounded and a flash of lightning lit up the sky.

"That's odd." He stated, and she looked at him confused, "Nothing about a storm was forecast today." He explained.

"It's just a storm. It'll pass." She replied, then kicked herself for sounding so stupid.

She took one last look out of the window, before turning back to Tyler. As she did, her eyes widened with shock.

"Tyler... Your eyes!" She said trying to hold it together.

"This has never happened before... I don't know what's happening to me." He said trying to get grip on his inner wolf.

Then he dropped to the floor, as his face began to change and his nails extended to claws. Slightly concerned, she knelt down beside him.

"What can I do?" She asked. "It's the weather messing with my senses. I'm not exactly experienced with this." He explained. Then continued, "don't let me think about it."

"Don't let me believe that I'm turning! I'm not." He said again.

Quickly pulling herself together, she gently lifted his head. "This might be crazy but it's the only idea I have." She briefly explained.

Then, much to his surprise, she kissed him. Yep. That did it, he thought to himself as everything he felt in the past few seconds, faded away.

"Good thinking Batgirl." He replied cheekily.

"Tyler.... What the hell was that?" She asked, still slightly concerned.

"I don't know." He said, "I've heard the stories but I never thought it'd happen to me." He continued before finishing, "My wolf senses are evolving. I can now use them without having to actually be a wolf." He finished.

"That's a good thing right?" She asked.

"Well...Yes. But it only ever happens when there's a threat in town. Particularly one threat." He said surprisingly calm.

"Threat?" She quizzed. 

He answered her with one simple word. "Kitsune."

They both exchanged a look of horror. Elena had read about kitsune in old myth books but never even thought that they could be real.

"Looks like we have a town to save." He said, she didn't respond.

No words could even begin to explain what we going through her mind at that moment. He then stood up tall beside her and held out his hand, she didn't hesitate to take it.

"Are you ready for your whole life to change?" He asked.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready... But I'm not gonna run scared either." She replied firmly.

"Good. Because there's a war coming. We're gonna need all the help we can get." He said.

She shuddered slightly at the thought that if they failed,  Mystic Falls would be nothing but a ghost town.
They looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. That neither one of them were going to let that happen. They would stand and fight. They would fight together. The storm still raged outside but they knew what they had to do. They decided to pay a visit to an expert. Mason Lockwood.

******
The car ride to Mason's was a long and silent one. He lived on the outskirts of town, where he could catch wind of anything unusual. Neither had anything to say, mostly because by now they knew each other well enough to know what the other was thinking with just a look, which they thought was an advantage.

Arriving at Mason's felt weird to Tyler, he'd only ever visited once back when he was twelve and it was because his dad thought that Mason would straighten him out, in reality, that weekend was spent with Mason, helping Tyler break the hold his dad over him. Infact if it weren't for Mason, Tyler didn't think he'd be half the fighter he is today.

Getting out of the car and walking up to the door, he grabbed Elena's hand. He wasn't stupid, he knew what Mason's reaction would be... All the playful teasing and sarcastic comments.

Elena had never met Mason, she'd heard all of Tyler's grand adventure stories though, so she had some idea of what to expect. They both had a pretty bad feeling about this kitsune thing. Tyler thought they were just stories, he had no idea that any of it could be real. But it was real.... and it was dangerous.

*****
When he opened the door, a look of surprise spread across Mason's face. Tyler never came to visit, Richard had always forbid him to after the incident when Tyler was twelve. But by the look on Tyler's face, and his lady friend, it was nothing good.

"What's wrong?" Mason said straight and upfront.

"It's a long story." Tyler replied then added, "Have you got time?"

"For you Tyler? Always." He cheesily responded then gestured for them to come in.

"So...Who's your lady friend?" He asked mockingly.

"Oh! Right! I totally forgot, you two have never met, Mason, this is Elena, and Elena this is my uncle Mason." He said sounding half proud.

"Hello there." Mason greeted.

"Hi." She responded awkwardly.

"So... You're Tyler's latest girl of the week." He cheekily commented before Tyler jumped into the conversation.

"Not the case Mason! And it's been a year for your information. Ignore him Elena, he's just fooling around." He quickly explained.

"No, no... That's okay." Elena responded.

"Anyways we have bigger things to talk about." Tyler said keeping eye contact with Mason.

"Okay..." Mason replied in a quizzing tone.

"One word. Kitsune." Tyler explained simply.

"Oh no." Mason whispered under his breath.

"We were hoping that you could help us understand what we're dealing with." He said hopefully.

Mason glanced from Tyler, to Elena then back to Tyler. "No way! Stay out of this! It's not your problem, let someone else deal with it." Mason instructed, hoping that the rebellious boy would listen.

"Like who? Sheriff Forbes! Mason if we don't do something the town's gonna burn to destruction! We have to do something... Please help us." Tyler practically begged Mason.

With a sigh, he responded, "Alright. Fine! Just be careful... Both of you." He said.

That's when Tyler knew, if Mason was this concerned about the kitsune war coming their way then it was worse than anything he could imagine.

"Okay. I promise." Tyler vowed.