The air outside the Red Pines barn was thick with post-show heat, bug spray, and the kind of giddy madness that only follows a musical exorcism. The makeshift parking lot had become an impromptu fan zone\u2014pickup trucks pulled up with tailgates down, beer coolers cracked open, headlights on for ambiance. Someone had lit a citronella candle on the hood of their Ford and called it a VIP table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feral Eclipse filed out one by one, still dripping, still riding that adrenaline high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cassie was immediately mobbed by a group of teens who looked like they\u2019d lost a bet with a thrift store. \u201cYOU SAVED ROCK AND ROLL!\u201d one girl cried, holding up a homemade poster that just said HOWL MOMMY<\/em> in glitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSweet,\u201d Cassie grinned, signing it without breaking stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel, tail flicking lazily behind him, posed for selfies with fans who dared get close\u2014though one kid ran off squealing, \u201cHE WINKED AT ME AND MY SOUL LEFT MY BODY.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah stumbled toward the van, but two fans intercepted him with a battered snare drum and a sharpie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were like an angry wizard back there, man,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI blacked out after the second song,\u201d Jonah replied, scribbling his name upside-down. \u201cGlad it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rico was holding court near the folding merch table (which was actually just a milk crate and a flatbed trailer), showing a young guitarist how to do a hammer-on while simultaneously swatting mosquitoes. \u201cWe play loud enough, they usually leave,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Maya had cornered a guy who asked if her amp \u201ccame in pink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoes your ribcage come in rearranged<\/em>?\u201d she snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stood to the side, arms crossed, watching it all with a tired, satisfied grin. His black polo shirt was damp with sweat, his jeans dusted in hay and stage gunk, and his claws still faintly glowing under the weird pink light of a bug zapper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark appeared beside him like a silent ghost, passing him a lukewarm bottle of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey love us,\u201d Mark said flatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019re insane,\u201d Thane replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSame thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then it happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A man in overalls and a mullet that defied physics approached, cradling what at first looked like a wrinkled pillowcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI made this for y\u2019all,\u201d he said, proud as sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He opened it to reveal\u2026 a full-sized, taxidermied possum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wearing a tiny leather jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With \u201cFeral Eclipse\u201d scrawled on the back in puffy paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd erupted<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel lost it<\/em>, laughing so hard he dropped his soda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya recoiled. \u201cIs it\u2026 blinking<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the gloss,\u201d Cassie whispered, eyes wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah whispered, \u201cIt\u2019s got tiny sunglasses\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis name\u2019s Randy,\u201d the fan explained. \u201cThought he\u2019d look good on y\u2019all\u2019s merch table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rico gently accepted the offering. \u201cHe\u2019s\u2026 perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark deadpanned, \u201cIf I wake up and that thing\u2019s on my pillow, I\u2019m setting the van on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane finally chuckled, shaking his head. \u201cOkay. Okay. That\u2019s it. Show\u2019s over. Let\u2019s load up before we inherit anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As they packed up the van, Gabriel buckled Randy the Possum into the front seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRandy rides shotgun now,\u201d he declared. \u201cHe\u2019s earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane just muttered, \u201cThis is why we can\u2019t have nice things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And with that, Feral Eclipse rolled out of Red Pines, headlights piercing the night, Randy\u2019s tiny shades catching the moonlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready for the next chaos, claws and all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The air outside the Red Pines barn was thick with post-show heat, bug spray, and the kind of giddy madness that only follows a musical exorcism. The makeshift parking lot had become an impromptu fan zone\u2014pickup trucks pulled up with tailgates down, beer coolers cracked open, headlights on for ambiance. Someone had lit a citronella […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3253,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions\/3253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}