Thanks to a random plot bunny, I'm able to actually answer a reviewer's request! So, to Sgt. M00re, I present your Shaggy/Winnie fanfic idea! I warn you (and everyone else too) that I'm not quite sure where the hell I was going with the final quarter of the story. It just seemed like a very amusing idea to use, considering Winnie. More on that later and I hope it's received well….

Disclaimer: I really don't own anything….

Meet My Student: Winnie

The evening was perfect for the full moon that graced the skies over the small town. At least, it would be for almost everyone… The bright orb only meant danger and possible death for a skinny, brown-haired, always-hungry young man and his great dane. As always, it seemed that him and his friends couldn't go on a road trip in their mostly-green van without running into a few mysteries to solve, usually involving "monsters". But just because the monsters normally turned out to be just loser criminals in costumes didn't mean they posed no danger at all.

For one thing, there was always the chance that it actually WASN'T some goon in a suit, as some of their adventures throughout the years had proven… And Shaggy Rogers would really hate it if this particular mystery turned out to be just that particular one out of ten odds. Werewolves… Why'd it have to be werewolves?

Well, werewolf, to be precise. According to word around town, every full moon, a wolfman would show up and wreak havoc, trashing the local stores and businesses. Eyewitnesses described it as hulking, feral, and had a wild mane of red hair. Some had said that they hadn't understood why it was doing what it was doing, for it had been spotted once or twice throughout the recent half-decade, but had only started attacking the town this particular year.

And Mystery Inc just had to be driving the Mystery Machine through town a day before the full moon… What luck… And so, the adventure unraveled the way it usually did. Asking around, getting information, and then, to Shaggy and Scooby's normal discomfort, actually poking around when the time came. They didn't have to look for long after 10 pm hit, as loud howls and shattering glass alerted the gang to the lycanthrope's whereabouts.

Getting a good look at it proved to be costly, as the gang had gotten its attention. Like most of their escapades, the fivesome proved to be superb at running as the beast gave chase, growling as it went. Eventually, Fred came up with the idea of splitting up, which was fortunate for some of the tiring runners. Except for Shaggy and Scooby, who the beast kept chasing…

Which led to the present moment. Shaggy and Scooby, cornered in a small town alley, the snarling beast savoring the moment as it approached, punching his palm in a threatening gesture. Wait a minute… Wasn't that a human gesture? Shaggy thought it was feral. Hmmm… Still, a beatdown was a beatdown. "Like, zoinks!" Indeed.

Looking past the werewolf, Shaggy noticed that his friends had caught up to his position, peeking around the corner at the entrance of the alley behind it. Perhaps they could surprise it with an ambush?

It was a basic, effective plan. One that could have worked. However, all humans involved would be beaten to the punch as a loud howl sounded from… above? Everyone looked up just in time to see a silhouetted figure leap down off of one of the surrounding roofs. The beast that had Shaggy cornered got the worst view of all as the intruder was falling straight at him, seemingly ready to land one hell of a dropkick.

With a roar of its own, the newcomer landed feet first on the werewolf and proceeded to brawl with it, despite having jumped down a few floors worth of height. An eye-catching aspect of Shaggy and Scooby's apparent savior was that it also had a wild mane of red hair… Soon enough, the fight seemed to be over. Or at least, it wanted to be over as a distinctively human voice called out… "AAAH! Somebody get this thing off me! I quit! I quit! I'm a fraud! Somebody save me! YAAAAAHHH! OWW! THAT HURTS! THIS THING HAS CLAWS!? SHIT! IT'S THE REAL ONE! HEEEEELLLLPPPP!"

The crying man that was definitely not a werewolf was soon thrown out of the alley, his costume nearly ripped to shreds and his wolf helmet torn in half, revealing a face that would be familiar to the local townies. The three members of Mystery Inc remained quiet and hidden, just in case the newcomer was indeed a real werewolf, like the cowering scum on the ground a few feet away was claiming in fear. The team's bottomless stomachs weren't as lucky as their 'hero' turned its gaze toward them, its eyes practically glowing in animalistic adrenaline.

"Like, zoinks! Please don't hurt us! We're not gonna hurt you or anything! Please!" Shaggy begged. The creature tilted its head, a light growl uttered, as if curious. Shaggy dared to look. While the visibility in the alley was fairly dim, Shaggy couldn't help but think that the beastly figure that was sizing him up had a somewhat… feminine look to it. Whatever it was, it took a step forward. The faint sound of sniffing could be heard from it. Another step, more sniffing… An 'arf' of sudden realization was heard.

Then, it lunged at Shaggy. He, of course, screamed bloody murder, his eyes clamped shut in terror.

Until he realized that he wasn't feeling any pain at all. Just some additional weight.

"She rikes you, Raggy." he heard Scooby say before the dog laughed. Confused, the coward opened his eyes to see nothing but moving red hair. Trying to get a better view, he noticed that the apparent she-beast was actually nuzzling him while uttering little growls of what he concluded to be some sort of approval. Taking a gentle grip on her shoulders and gently pushing away, the werewolf-ette seemed to get the message and backed up a little bit, letting him get a good look at her. Yup, definitely a full-on werewolf, the full moon at work. But Shaggy became thoughtful. Something about this werewolf seemed familiar…

That thick red hair, opposing the wolf's brown body fur…

Those eyes…

The breasts (Yep, definitely a woman…). Well, those weren't familiar. But very noticeable, nonetheless. Nevermind that!

It felt like his mind had the answer, but the part of his mind that had the answer was trying to shout it to him from a long distance away, the information failing to connect by just so… But he was driven back to the matter at hand as he apparently now had TWO canines to take care of, judging from the werewolf looking at him expectantly, panting happily almost like Scooby would at the prospect of a free all-you-can-eat buffet.

"Uhh… Like… Okay….? You think I'm a good person… Cool! Umm… Let's go, I suppose…?" Shaggy said, feeling awkward about treating a human-turned-wolf like a pet. He started to walk toward the alley's entrance, where Daphne, Fred, and Velma watched the odd scene unfurl. The she-wolf and Scooby followed.

"Like, you guys aren't going to believe this."

"We saw. Since when could you tame a werewolf?" Daphne asked curiously, watching as Shaggy's 'new friend' happily stayed close to the lanky foodie. Velma took a close look at her, the brainiac's mind always at work. An actual werewolf. It would make for an interesting study.

"Like, I dunno. Guess she just took a liking to me. Dunno why." Shaggy shrugged, just feeling thankful that he wasn't turned into werewolf chow in 30 seconds. Fred took the opportunity to tie up the criminal, who shrieked again upon seeing the now-happy she-beast nearby.

As they spoke, a thick layer of clouds began moving in on the moon, slowly covering it up. When it was fully covered for the time being, the group noticed a change to the she-wolf in the street lights. She seemed to shrink a bit in height and mass. Her wolf snout also slowly retracted, gradually morphing into a shape resembling a somewhat human face. Her patches of body hair also retracted, leaving behind a short layer of brown fur.

The embarrassing downside to this transformation was that the werewolf was still naked, a fact that would escape the wolf woman's notice as something more important to her was on her mind.

"Ugh! Finally! I'm me again!" the werewolf cried out, a voice that also sounded very familiar to Shaggy and Scooby. But any questions about her identity were answered with her next excited statement. "COACH! Oh my God, it's so wonderful to see you again! I thought it was you when I heard Zoinks, but I knew it for sure when I smelled you! I just wish I wasn't feral when I came along, but… then again, I guess it was a good thing I was, considering that damn faker was going to kick your ass."

"W... Wuh…. Winnie?" Shaggy asked. The now-grown werewolf grinned. "Wha'sup, Coach?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Fred cut in, surprised. "Shaggy, you know this girl?"

"Is there a reason why she's calling you a coach?" Daphne added. Last she checked, Shaggy was never any sort of athletic anything, professionally…

"Friends of yours, Coach?" Winnie asked her own question, the fanged smirk oh-so-familiar to Shaggy and Scooby but understandably unnerving to the others.

"Like, yes, long story, and yes. Uhh… Perhaps we should get moving, though. For one thing, the cops are still looking for a werewolf, even though we, like, caught the guy. Secondly, uh… Winnie?"

"Yes, Coach?" she answered, glad to be talking with her favorite teacher again. Nothing could diminish her absolute joy now. Boy, would Sibella be jealous of her!

"Umm…" the poor guy couldn't help eyeing the werewolf woman up and down. He tried to be polite and not look. But natural male instincts being what they were… He was at least glad he didn't blatantly stare. "You're, like…. naked…"

She was wrong. SOMETHING could diminish that joy just a tad…

The gang had waited long enough for an explanation. First, they had dropped the simpering criminal off at the police station. The criminal had turned out to be a big-shot local contractor who had pulled the repeated werewolf stunts based on hearing rumors about Winnie living nearby so he could get lots of repair business and thus, lots of forced profit. Basically, another dumbass scam, like most of Mystery Inc's opposition. Then, they drove to Winnie's place, which turned out to be a little cave on the outskirts of town, much to Shaggy and Scooby's chagrin. ("Who'd rent a place to someone that always looks like I do?" Winnie had pointed out.) Winnie gathered her possessions, which wasn't much. Just her clothes, a small collection of handheld video games, a few books, a portable generator, a small TV, and a stash of random foodstuffs. Luckily, the Mystery Machine had plenty of room for it.

It turned out there was a good reason why the werewolf didn't put any clothes on, despite her constant embarrassment about being naked in front of others. Because thirdly was the fact that, after they had packed Winnie's stuff, the full moon had come back out again, causing Winnie to return to her slightly-bigger, feral wolf form. The fright of three of the five members of Mystery Inc turned out to be unwarranted as Feral Winnie appeared unfazed by the transformation and was panting happily, her tail wagging as she constantly glanced at Shaggy. Velma took a mental note that perhaps werewolves could easily tell friends from foes during the full moon, despite the animal side having taken over. Either that, or Shaggy had really made quite an impression in this girl somehow.

After a while of driving, the group pulled over at a roadside hotel to sleep for the rest of the night. As curious as they were about their new traveling companion, their exhaustion was threatening to take over. Shaggy and Scooby agreed to sleep in the Mystery Machine when Feral Winnie refused to sleep in the van alone. By refused, that meant constant whimpering until Shaggy felt guilty. The coward could swear that he heard her snicker under her breath after he conceded to her request.

Finally, morning came. Winnie slowly awoke, the first thing that she saw was the face of her favorite teacher, still sleeping. A feeling of happiness came about. She didn't know why, but she could get very used to this. Perhaps it was because she was alone for quite a few years since her time at Grimwood ended… Or maybe it was because of who she was with. He was pretty cool back at school… Who knows? But all she knew now was that the present moment would be a great time to finally get some clothes on while the boys were still asleep, now that she didn't have to worry about the full moon for a while.

A half hour later, Fred, Daphne, and Velma entered the van, a big bag of to-go breakfast in hand for the man, the dog, and the wolf. All three took to the meal as the van drove off toward who-knows-where. "Alright, Shaggy. I think it's explanation time." Daphne said in a friendly but firm manner, breaching the topic head-on. After all, they weren't expecting another companion, much less an actual werewolf.

"Uhh… Like, well… Remember when Scoob, Scrappy, and I took off on our own for a while?" Shaggy began. The trio nodded. "Like, we had a few adventures of our own during that time. Uhh… Winnie here's from one of them. Like, I decided that we needed to bring in some extra money. I noticed an ad in a local paper looking for a gym teacher for an all-girls school. I figured with the way we, like, run all the time, I could probably help get some students moving. Not the best logic in the world, I know. But I went for it. Umm… Turned out that there was a slight secret to this school…." Shaggy paused, letting the story cryptically trail off, much to Winnie's amusement as she fondly recalled how scared the poor guy was when he first showed up.

"It was, like, a school for female monsters. Like, we were scared stiff! But, after meeting the ghouls, well… who am I to back out of a deal? It was weird, strange, and kinda dangerous at times, but I thought it went pretty well."

"Damn right it did. We still wished you could've stayed for longer. Ms. G. ended up covering the slack as the couple of replacements didn't exactly cut it…" Winnie said, a frown suddenly upon her. Shaggy noticed. "Huh? Like, what happened?"

"Well, remember the new students that scared you off? Well… Note to Management: Careful what you say to extraterrestrials. First replacement got a dose of irony when he got anal probed after raising a stink about the odds of being anal probed. The aliens didn't do it for research. Let's just say they were mad about how racist he was and leave it at that… The aliens ended up expelled as a result. Then came the second replacement. Umm… We ended up getting a first-hand lesson about how some human males are attracted to those younger than them. Poor little Tanis… Oh, don't worry! She's fine! Sibella caught him before he could do anything." Winnie concluded, noticing the worried looks on Shaggy and Scooby's faces upon hearing how she mentioned the adorable little mummy.

"So, like, that one got fired, right?" Shaggy asked.

"Didn't have the chance to be. Sibella was so mad, she uhh….. she drained him dry." Winnie finished, hoping Shaggy wouldn't be disappointed in her friend.

"Uh, what does she mean by that, Shaggy?" Fred asked, as the three left-out humans didn't know what she meant.

"Sibella's a vampire." Shaggy said, as if that explained everything. Which it did, judging from the looks of realization upon their faces. "Sigh… Like, I guess that couldn't be avoided. I'd have punched the jerk out if I'd have caught that guy. Well, try to, anyway… I'm not that tough." he said in a 'such is life' kind of tone.

"Yeah, that was bad… After that, Ms. G. wanted to find a way to contact you to bring you back somehow. Man, did we want that! You were the best, Coach…" she said, giving Shaggy a sudden hug as she was sitting next to him. "But you didn't leave us any way to contact you. No phone, no address, not even an email… Even with the few resources she had, Ms. G. couldn't find a way to get any info on you. Do you always drive around in this van all the time? Because seriously…" Winnie trailed off with a low growl, giving him a stern look, despite still hugging him. Shaggy began to squirm a little.

"Uh, look, Winnie… Sorry about that… I really am. I just… well… umm…" Shaggy stammered. The three other humans couldn't stop snickering at their friend's predicament. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

The werewolf sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know. Those new students were intimidating… But they weren't replacing us, you know. We still had some time until actually graduating. You dummy." she explained, playfully slapping him upside the head. "If only you knew what was going on... But at least everything turned out relatively fine. I'm a fully graduated werewolf now! Too bad I'm only barely managing to eke out a living in some cave in the middle of wherever the hell we are…"

"Hey, like, it'll be fine, Winnie. Umm… At least you're with friends now. And, like… uhh… lots of people don't find their path in life right away. I mean, like… look at me! Sure, being part of Mystery Inc is great and all, but we kinda just... stumbled into solving mysteries, if you can believe that." Shaggy said, awkwardly returning the hug she was giving him as a way to console her.

"Sure…" Winnie said with a sardonic smirk, her sarcasm thick.

"What, it's true. We were just on a road trip one time, going from town to town to explore, when we came across a town who had a bit of a monster problem. We were curious. It turned out to be some guy in a costume. Then, a few days later, a circus was in trouble because of some ghost clown. We got curious. Hmm…. Like, didn't it turn out to be a disgruntled employee? And then, another. And another. And another. So we decided to kinda make a career out of it."

"Wow… And then you go on your own and end up discovering real monsters like us? Alright, I get it. Your life's strange. Mine is too. Enough with the sob story, crime buster." she said, playfully shoving him away lightly.

"What happened with the others anyway?" Shaggy asked, curious.

"Well… Because of what nearly happened with that pervert, Tanis and Sibella gave up on dudes and started going out with each other. Although, they still mentioned you at times… I think they still like you. I'm not sure what happened to Elsa, really… One day, she gets a letter saying that there was trouble at her pop's castle. She leaves. Few days later, I saw a strange news article on TV about a city being taken over by some 'sewn-together undead hippie chick named Mariska'. (1) I dunno about the hippie thing, but I recognized Elsa's face anywhere. I would guess some sort of demonic possession as far as what happened goes. It happens, unfortunately. Sure hope she got better somehow… As for Phantasma, who knows with that crazy ghost? Knowing her obsession with music, I would have to guess that she might be currently chasing down the spirits of the recent music legends that passed away, probably for autographs. Lemmy of Motorhead? David Bowie? Glenn Frey of The Eagles? Watch yourselves. Sorry it isn't all good news, Coach." Winnie finished, knowing that some of her explanation isn't what her favorite human had expected.

"Like, at least we know… Better than not, I suppose, right?" Shaggy asked, not sure how else to react. Poor Elsa… Winnie nodded. "Yeah. So, what's up? Can I come with? Or are you just gonna drop me off somewhere? Or what?"

"Well, seeing how you were living, I don't think dropping you off somewhere's an option." Shaggy answered. Where could she go that she wouldn't be ostracized for being a werewolf 24/7? No hiding her body fur. And even if she could pass it off as 'being brown-skinned', there's the matter of the definitely wolfish features of her face that were always there, feral or not.

"Is bringing her along a good option either? What about full moons? Wouldn't she need to… hunt or something?" Daphne pointed out. Winnie snorted in response. "Hey, Red! I think I can control my instincts fine, thank you! I didn't maul Shaggy last night, did I?!"

"She's got you there, Daph." sniped Velma before adding her thoughts into the matter. "Well, technically, you would be an extra mouth to feed, but I don't think it'd be bad to have someone new along for the ride. Besides, we're nearing the end of this trip anyway. We have a place where we settle down for a while. Any friend of Shaggy's can consider herself welcome there. No worries about what people think, because you'll have friends around."

"Really? You guys wouldn't mind…?" The hope in Winnie's voice was practically tangible. Truth be told, she was getting tired of having no one to spend time with. The few times she had tried to mingle among humans after graduating from Grimwood hadn't gone well and there wasn't even another werewolf around for miles. Well, until that one showed up nearby… But Winnie could instantly tell it was a fake. She hadn't any reason to interject in the faker's business, despite how offended she was. At least, not until last night, when she happened to hear a very-familiar catchphrase and simply had to investigate…

"I know I, like, wouldn't mind." Shaggy said with a grin. "It'll be good for ya."

"I hope so." Winnie answered. It had to be better than where she was.

Winnie's life was better. Mystery Inc stopped their ever-onward road-tripping to relax for a while in their apartment building in their childhood hometown of Coolsville, USA. Winnie could never get her head around why anyone would actually name a town 'Coolsville', but she grew to like the area when she could explore it (which was rare without a proper disguise of some sort, just to be safe). The first few nights in an actual apartment took a little getting used to for the buxom young werewolf, considering she had spent the last few years literally roughing it. Hell, Shaggy didn't want to know how she even came across video games, a TV, and a generator to call her own, not to mention how she kept herself fed without money... Nonetheless, the best part in her opinion was actually getting to lay in and sleep on a nice, soft, comfortable bed again. Although a close second best part was Shaggy himself.

As days went on, Shaggy and Winnie spent time getting to know each other better, this time as two fellow people, rather than the platonic bond between teacher and student. Of course, being a werewolf, Winnie shared Shaggy's love of food, particularly anything involving meat. As for Shaggy, he may have created a metaphorical monster when he introduced her to console videogaming and, even worse, online multiplayer. Not exactly a good thing for a short-tempered lady like her to be on the receiving end of a losing streak combined with some snotty brat's trash-talking.

But then again, Shaggy found himself enjoying the moments when he'd find ways to calm his agitated friend down. Back rubs were very effective, he came to find out.

When his birthday came around a couple of months later, the gang celebrated and inadvertently discovered another something that Winnie apparently couldn't handle very well: Alcohol. Despite her nature, it would happen that she wasn't exactly an angry drunk. No, she was a flirty drunk. Flirty and territorial…

It happened when Velma was trying to give Shaggy her gift, the man of the hour seated on a couch. The glasses-wearing brunette was in the middle of saying her piece about her gift when she was gently nudged aside by a stumbling Winnie. "Yeah, yeah… How about the stud here open MY gift now? Hic… I think he'd find it a bit more pleasing…" she slurred with a dopey smile on. Shaggy wondered if he had heard her right. Stud?

"Uh, like, Winnie… What gift?"

"Yer lookin' at it, stud. The clothes are… hic….are da wrapping paper… Unwrap me!" she practically commanded, spreading her arms out in presentation, clothed in short shorts and a tank top. The gang somehow doubted she was wearing anything else, although they were somewhat used to Winnie's rough-and-tumble attitude by now.

Shaggy blushed at her offer. She couldn't have meant that, could she? She was clearly drunk. They were close friends and would always be so. Right? Velma then tried to politely cut in. "Um… Winnie, if I could just give Shaggy my gift now…"

"Aw, no! Later… He's mine now." Winnie pouted, almost childishly collapsing onto Shaggy and wrapping herself around him. "Mine, mine…" she murmured, the foodie smelling the booze on her breath. Velma sighed in exasperation. That wolf could be so unruly sometimes… "Winnie, please. Our gifts are the last ones. Just… let me give mine and you can give him… uh… yourself after. See? I have a box in my hand. An actual gift." Velma said, trying to reason with the drunk that she wasn't trying to out-innuendo her or anything.

"And I have a box in my shorts… Shaggy's box…." Winnie slurred, giggling afterward about the juvenile pun. Shaggy reached a hand out to accept Velma's gift, looking apologetic. Winnie's giggles started to slow down, the werewolf drooping as drunk unconsciousness beckoned, which made the others wonder how much she had to drink anyway. Knowing her, probably a whole keg…

"Mine…" Winnie quietly muttered, barely heard by Shaggy over the background music that the group had playing on an iPod on speakers. It was then that her head slumped on his shoulder and she had officially passed out, her body sort of pinning Shaggy's on the couch.

"Like, this was interesting… Uh… I guess I'll put her to bed so she can rest. I hope she, like, doesn't have a hangover." Shaggy said, worrying a little. He didn't know if werewolves could get bad hangovers, but he imagined it wouldn't be pretty…

"Dude, you know how she is. Hangover City." Fred said, pointing out a small messy pile of beer cans and the occasional wine bottle. Winnie's 'handiwork'… "Look, I understand if you wanna take care of her when she comes to. All we ask is you watch yourself. This is new turf for us, werewolf with a hangover… Who knows what kind of temper she'll have."

"Like, I know. But… It's a risk I think I'm willing to take." Shaggy said in a resigned tone, but with an air of feeling like it'll be worth it. Taking care not to accidentally drop her, Shaggy got to his feet. He took Winnie in his arms, bridal-style, and proceeded to take her out of what would be a crowded, noisy room go a drunk.

The next morning would be a rough start for Shaggy as he spent a half hour holding Winnie's messy mane of thick hair out of the path of her vomit as she hugged Shaggy's toilet. Funny. She didn't recall eating anything with carrots in it. But there they were… "I'm sorry, Shaggy…" she pitifully moaned before another wave of puke came up. The human wished he had a gas mask as werewolf vomit seemed to have a hell of a pungent stench, more so than the human version. Poor Scooby left the apartment soon after the puking began, his sensitive nose feeling like it was burning.

As the latest wave subsided, Winnie whimpered, feeling like she had caused Shaggy so much trouble on his birthday. Recognizing her sorrow, Shaggy began to rub her back. "Like, it'll be okay, Winnie. All this place needs is a couple of flushes, some open windows, and perhaps some Lysol spray." he said as upbeat as he could muster.

"But I made such an ass of myself last night… Drunk all your booze. Least I think it was all your booze… Then I… Then I…. I blew it." she moaned, clumsily reaching up and pulling the toilet handle to flush the vile contents down the drain.

"You didn't do anything really crazy. Really! Like, no problem. If anything, the others probably found it funny, that's all." he reassured. He didn't like seeing his pretty friend so down. Wait… Pretty? Where'd that thought come from?

"No… Not that… I… I wanted to…. Umm…" she stammered, growing uncharacteristically shy. Shaggy was reminded of how Tanis used to be back when he was teacher. Somewhat increasing the pressure of his back rub to help comfort her more, Shaggy waited patiently. No need to rush the poor werewolf. "Um… Do you like me?" she practically whispered.

"What? Like, of course I do. What makes you think I didn't?"

"No, Shaggy. Do you LIKE me…? Ya know, like a man likes a hot chick and just has to make her his…" she trailed off, letting her implication hang in the air like a balloon. Shaggy went bug-eyed with surprise. Winnie liked him? No, wait. She loved him? That would explain her actions last night, although he thought she was just being horny in general when drunk. Besides, he knew he wasn't exactly a catch with the ladies. His distinct lack of courage didn't sit well with most women, so he had heard…

As for him, he liked Winnie well enough. Without the responsibility of being a teacher, he had found her to be a fun and spirited companion who shared a few common interests. And she had certainly developed to be quite a beautiful young woman. There were a few times within the couple of months she had stayed with Mystery Inc that he had an inappropriate thought or two about the busty redhead. But actually going for it? Well, again, the lack of courage at work… Not to mention the whole interspecies thing, not that he was wholly opposed to it, of course. It was more of the matter of how it would work.

"Uhh… Like… Well…" he gulped.

"Shaggy? Are you shy?" Winnie asked, having gotten to know him well enough that his hesitation might be just out of nervousness than from him trying to reject her gently. But there was that possibility as well… Maybe he didn't like women of other species. Perhaps he still saw her as that little tomboy of a schoolgirl.

"Yes… Like, I am…" he replied, suddenly stopping his ministrations. Feeling safe about her stomach's stability, Winnie detached her grip on the porcelain throne and turned toward Shaggy, admittedly looking like she lost a fight with the alpha male of a werewolf pack, substituting the blood with vomit residue and little food chunks. But she didn't care. She needed to know, bits and pieces of specific memory coming back to her.

"Shaggy… You can tell me, you know. You think I'd laugh at you or something?" she said almost ironically, considering her current embarrassing situation. Shaggy chuckled at her choice of words.

"No. It's not that I'm worried about… I'm, like, rather used to being the resident goof." Shaggy said, his face a little red from self-depreciation. Who was he kidding? A guy like him and a woman like Winnie? What could he do for a werewolf? If anything, SHE'd be the one to protect HIM from danger, for one thing! She already proved that fact true once before.

"Well, what then? You know I'm here for you. About anything. Anything at all. Even with this killer migraine I got goin'…" she said, ending with a groan as her head throbbed in pain again. Once again, the coward wished he knew what werewolves did for hangovers, but the only one he was in constant contact with apparently didn't get that lesson yet from her father or any other older werewolf. Way to roll snake eyes on the ol' dice, life situations.

"I… uhh… Like, I do… think about you… A lot these days, actually… I like how we've been getting… umm… close. And a part of me wants to… uhh…" Shaggy wondered why he always turned into such a mumbling basketcase when it comes to telling a beautiful woman his feelings. He briefly remembered when he asked his last girlfriend, Googie, out years ago. Just as awkward… "Wants to… well… Like, dammit…" he grew frustrated. This was it. He had to just man up and say it. This wasn't facing a monster, real or some thief in a suit. This was just Winnie. Wild, lovable, fiery, caring (when she wants to be), dependable Winnie. "Winnie,WillYouPleaseGoOutWithMe!?" Shaggy said very rapidly, his face burning red. His eyes were closed, dreading the look she could have as a reaction.

Winnie's sharp eyes widened. Did he just ask what she thinks he asked? Her hope flared. "Care to run that by me again, Speedy? Might wanna slow it down for those that aren't The Flash." she joked, lightly punching him in the shoulder before snickering. The food expert groused, seeing in retrospect that he had walked (ran?) right into that one.

"Alright… Alright… Umm… Would you like to…." he paused. Damn nerves… What he wouldn't do for a Scooby Snack right now. Nice and easy, ol' boy. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?" There! It was finally out in the open. If there had been an audience, there was a chance that some people might have let loose a 'Finally! Jeez!'.

Winnie grinned. Her intended mate was interested after all. Now all she had to do was make sure he understood what he was getting into…

"YES!" she exclaimed before weakly throwing herself at him in a tight hug, not caring that her excitement caused her head to throb again. She would learn to limit her drinking from then on. "Just… one thing you need to understand, Shaggy, before we get comfortable with the fact that we're dating now. It's…a werewolf thing…" she trailed off, her own face beginning to burn. How would he take this?

"Like, what is it, Winnie? I'm sure it can't be that bad." Shaggy answered, returning the hug she still had him in, his hands gently rubbing her back again.

"It might be, if we…don't work out…" she muttered. She recalled the stories her old man used to tell her about the odds and ends of werewolf instincts. Some of it was indeed pretty rough. "What do you mean?" Shaggy asked, a little concerned. Wasn't it a few seconds ago that she was ecstatic? Whatever her hang-up is, it did seem like it might be a big deal.

"Werewolves tend to… uhh… When they mate, they…. They mate for life… Whoever I give myself to, my natural instincts make sure I'm with that mate for as long as I live. Probably a reason why we're often a 'pack' species… Who the hell knows? If we were to break up, I couldn't be attracted to any other man or woman, human, werewolf, or otherwise. Ever. I'd be as dry as the night is long… So, if we were to…. screw each other's brains out… we'd better make damn sure we're fine with being tied to each other forever. Especially if I happen to accidentally turn you during sex or something... Ya know, a love bite here or there… It's been known to happen… And if it does, you'd have the same permanent dry spell if we end up having some giant mega-argument or something, no matter how hot the babe you find. It's why you never hear any proven legends about werewolf polygamists or werewolves being caught cheating on their wives." she concluded her speech with a sigh, awaiting her former teacher/closest guy friend/intended mate's response.

He was hesitant, but responded eventually. "Wow… That's kinda… limiting. I mean, one shot and that's it? Like, I understand your concern. But… I'm never one to let an argument end anything. Like, that's kinda what happened when I went off on my own with Scooby and Scrappy and ended up at your school. I forgot what it was about, but I had disagreed with Fred about something and it turned into something bad. So, like, we left for a while. But eventually, we came back because I missed them. Took a few apologies, but… like, here we are."

"So, what you're saying is…?" Winnie asked, not expecting a side-story for an explanation.

"I'm, like, more than willing to give us a try. But of course, we wait on that certain activity. See how things go and we'll talk about it later. That kinda thing." he answered, pulling her closer to him. Winnie, knowing her breath must stink to him with her face being that close to his, tried pushing him away to spare him, but was thrilled by Shaggy's decision. It was sensible and allowed the duo to be certain of themselves and each other when the time came.

Of course, it didn't stop Winnie from occasionally teasing the poor man sexually from time to time, now that they were dating… Anything from adding a sway to her hips when walking away from him to sexy outfits to 'accidentally' giving him a peek at the 'goods'. But Shaggy endured, knowing that such behavior was just part of her charm.

Four months later, the gang felt like road-tripping again. Although, mystery-solving sure became different, now that the resident bait had a protective girlfriend along… Specifically, what seemed to be their usual routine of working out mysteries was neatly shortened to Winnie pouncing into action and whupping the "monster"s ass upon first encounter, like a smaller She-Hulk. Velma soon took to independently researching famous cold cases via her laptop, as her need of figuring out clues to local monster problems dwindled. She had to keep that brain of hers sharp, after all. Still, she did enjoy sight-seeing with her good friends.

Although, a month into the road trip, the 'old routine' reestablished itself one more time when Shaggy and Winnie inevitably had their first argument as a couple. Oddly enough, it was about Winnie trying to do something nice for her boyfriend but he felt unworthy at the time and that he should do something for her instead. A battle of who should be the more courteous one? It'd have been a lot less strange if they were demanding that the other should do more nice things. Then again, Fred and Daphne did have that one argument about that ascot of his… But that was another bizarre story…

Nonetheless, it was back to the info-gathering, the fleeing, the clue-finding, the trap-setting, and of course, using Shaggy and Scooby as the fleeing bait to lure the creep-of-the-day into the trap. Naturally, the trap proved to be a waste of time when Winnie, who had stubbornly stayed behind in the Mystery Machine the whole time, decided to save her stubborn boyfriend at the last minute with her brutal werewolf style ass-kicking.

When the cops came to arrest the costumed crook, Winnie immediately, in front of all present, begrudgingly ordered Shaggy to "pamper the hell out of her", putting an end to the strange-as-hell quarrel (but not without embarrassing Shaggy a little, of course). They quickly made up as they drove off for the next town. Shaggy learned that Winnie wasn't going to put up with him being down on himself. She believed he was a good man, so he should too, she had pointed out.

The subject of mating never came up again since they started dating, both not wanting to give themselves or each other undue pressure. It wouldn't come up again until Mystery Inc found themselves upon one of the biggest names in impulse decisions: Las Vegas. It was ten months into their relationship and both had become practically inseparable, Winnie's boldness being the yin to Shaggy's nervous yang.

The group had decided to (what else?) split up and do their own thing. Scooby chose to go with Velma, figuring that his best friend wanted to explore with his girl. After a few casinos and winning a handful of dollars, evening set upon the city. However, Shaggy recalled a fact that he had to always keep on his mind since starting the relationship: When the full moon occurred… That night was a full moon. And it didn't look like they'd reach the gang's chosen hotel by the time the moon rose. But they tried anyway, much to Winnie's chagrin about wanting to explore more.

Eventually, Shaggy had to duck into an alley so that Winnie could transform without attracting unwanted attention. As Feral Winnie hovered around Shaggy, who she recognized as 'mate' instead of 'friend', the coward tried to look for a way they could blend in somehow. An anthropomorphic bare-breasted wolf would eventually draw some strange attention, if only for the lack of clothes rather than the potential danger. Vegas wasn't called the City of Sin for nothing. And him without an oversized jacket or something to lend her…

It was then that he noticed what would be his saving grace, even if it did make his stomach drop a little from what he had heard about the concept. In one of the buildings across the street, it was advertised that a "furry convention" was going on. That had to be it. He and Winnie could blend in there for the night with Winnie posing as a 'costumed girl acting in character'. It was nuts. Insane. Far out (not the good kind).

It was also something to be expected of Las Vegas. Shaggy hoped the saying was true about whatever happens in this town. He supposed this idea must be better than what could happen out on the streets. And so, taking a deep breath and beckoning his animalistic love to follow, he crossed the street quickly.

Things went smoothly enough at first, even though he was weirded out when the rabbit-costumed receptionist wanted to clarify that they were a 'human-on-furry couple', which was apparently some sort of thing. He didn't want to know, even if he and Winnie were technically one of those if they thought about it. Feral Winnie whimpered in confusion as she sniffed around the large room with plenty of costumed couples representing various animals, real and fictional. Lots of strange scents in the air, according to her enhanced nose. Some nice scents, but some foul stenches as well. Shaggy noticed one or two other people that didn't bother with a costume either, but came with a 'furry' significant other.

After a short while of the gathered people's mingling, what seemed to be some sort of official (dressed as a bull) spoke into a microphone and announced something about rooms having been made 'available for private use'. It didn't take Shaggy long to figure out that he had stumbled into one of THOSE kind of furry conventions. With only an audible "Zoinks!" when he figured it out, he quickly scrambled for a way to get Winnie back to the safety of their hotel room without drawing any attention. Considering he still had two long blocks to go, his options were slim to none.

His frantic thinking was interrupted by the wild Winnie suddenly grabbing hold of him, throwing him over her shoulder, and wandering through the crowd and away from the exit. Ignoring his panicked requests to be put down, Feral Winnie went through a doorway. It was one of the private rooms, complete with bed, blankets, pillows, romantic décor, and a variety of 'toys'. The werewolf kicked the door shut, causing Shaggy to gulp when he took a good look at the room.

"Uhh… Winnie?! Weren't we going to talk about this? Like, ya know, when we're ready?" he asked, his voice noticeably higher pitched from panic. Winnie replied by pulling him off her shoulder gently, holding him up off the ground, and happily licking his face. Shaggy couldn't help laughing a little at the enthusiasm, but the fact that her instincts might have overridden her free will was still heavy on his mind. She then pulled him into an embrace, his head smothered between her huge furry breasts as she yipped in excitement.

He had thought that their first time would be when Winnie was in her usual human-esque form. He preferred that option, if only for the fact that she had control of herself, considering what she had said about the unavoidable stipulations of mating. But it would seem he was cornered. More than just literally cornered in a little bedroom. If he refused too much, who knows how Winnie's animal side would take that. He knew the feral side of her understood him and things that went on around her somewhat from past full moons. She recognized him in her feral state that fateful night they met again, after all. And her human side knew what happened when she transformed back. Her human side agreed with waiting. But did her feral side disagree and finally had enough? Or was she completely in control the whole time and wanted to take some action?

If this turned out to be another one of Winnie's ways of teasing him, he was going to have quite a few words with his girlfriend when she reverted back the next morning (or next cloud cover, whichever came first). Figuring that there wouldn't be much harm in it since it was Winnie (and his current face-to-boobs encounter was effectively turning him on), he wrapped his arms around her somewhat-bigger-than-normal frame. "Alright, Winnie… If you really want this, like, let's do it then." he said, letting fate and his girl decide what they will…

Morning came and Shaggy was rudely awakened by a knock on the door. It took a minute to regain his bearings, but memories came flooding back. Full moon. Transformed Winnie. Furry convention. Sex room. Sex. A lot of sex. Howling. Licking. A werewolf over him. A werewolf UNDER him. A bond. A very important bond. Yes, it all came back to him, piece by piece, in the span of a couple of minutes. No wonder he felt like he had been run over by a bus.

Sore all over, he managed to rustle himself out of the torn-up bed and stumble over to the door, forgetting he was still naked. It made little difference. Winnie had destroyed his clothes in her fit of passion-frenzy. Opening the door a crack, he was met by the same bull-costumed official that had made the announcement. "Like, yeah, man?"

"Morning, sir. Just thought I'd help wake up the stragglers. Seeing as we always have to clean up for the next night, this is a nights-only convention, but we do serve breakfast in the lobby, so whenever you two are ready, come on out." For whatever reason, 'Mr. Bull' seemed a little too cheerful to Shaggy.

"Sure. By the way… Like, do you have some extra clothes on hand? My girlfriend kinda… destroyed mine." Shaggy said lamely. He had never been in such an awkward position. Fortunately, 'Mr. Bull' was accommodating to the foodie's problem. The catch? The only shirts they had were ones that advertised the convention, revealing to all that saw where he had been. Just typical… And of course, Winnie got a laugh when he explained why he was grumbling about the shirt. "Oh, just replace it with a Vegas shirt at the next souvenir stand, dummy!" she joyfully suggested.

The werewolf never felt greater. She was content and felt like she had the strength of a thousand of her kind. She knew it had something to do with the fact that she and Shaggy had mated. She hadn't been in complete control, which was normal for full moons, but she was aware enough to know what happened. She felt what happened too. She wanted more… Perhaps the next evening.

Still, it happened. Which meant….

One quick stop at a Vegas Wedding Chapel solved Winnie's sudden worries about Shaggy possibly being mad about forcing the werewolf mate lifestyle on him. In fact, he seemed nervously elated to be her mate. Perhaps, with the option no longer hovering over his head, he had felt that no matter what problems they might have, they'd work them out. Or maybe it had something to do with having survived being 'taken' by a fully-transformed werewolf? Something along the lines of 'If I can survive that, I can survive anything'? The fact that he was still in love with her despite… that incident… would be enough to settle her mind.

But marriage was nice. 'Besides' Winnie thought gleefully. 'There's no way Sibella and Tanis could ever top my wedding story!'

Author's Note: So, yeah… That ending though… Shaggy and Winnie in a Furry Convention… Now I know plenty of people either are bothered by the concept of Furries or just can't stand it at all. I get that. It is kinda strange, indeed. But, considering Winnie being a fully-transformed werewolf at the time, I kinda think that she could easily be disguised as a Furry by blending in with other Furries to avoid attention from cops or something. And where better than Vegas? Right? I just hope you all think it was pretty funny, despite the implied "yiffing".

Secondly, I'm thinking of making this a 5-part series of one-off "What if?" stories where Shaggy and Mystery Inc come across one member of the Grimwood Ghouls and Shaggy ends up hooking up with the Ghoul-in-question. The only connection the stories would have is the technical fact that I'd have written them and the gimmick of the series of stories. If you like the idea, tell me via REVIEW!

Reference Footnote: 1) Mariska is one of the villainous bosses of the video game, Lollipop Chainsaw. The idea for Elsa's fate here was based on the fact that they both look like they're sewn together, albeit for different reasons. Elsa being a creation, like her parents. Mariska, on the other hand, is a reanimated dead hippie chick that somehow got chopped to pieces (most likely how she died) and then sewn back together. Mariska's fighting abilities reflect her psychedelic gimmick and attitude.