It was now early in the evening, though Ulric felt for sure that is ought to be late at night. He was quite awake and alert as he drove the old car back to the ranch, but his body felt stiff and clammy.
He was on orders to head back to the ranch and inform the Betas that Jackie was alive, at the hospital, and that Kratos was with her. The Alpha had also given orders that Ulric was to get some rest, but that would of course be taken as a suggestion.
There was still the dilemma of the pack mistaking Ulric for an intruder, as they likely did not know he had been there the previous night.. But at least they did in fact know him and that Kratos accepted him; hopefully that would be enough.
As Ulric's mind wandered from one concern to the next, his eyes were ever on the road ahead of him. He had come out of Reknab Bend a short time ago and the road to the ranch was less than a twenty minutes drive out toward the mountains.
Ulric had been told where to look for the pack and that not many, if any, members would be at the cottage. So he turned off the asphalt and drove up a beaten dirt road which passed by the ranch, on the further side of the horse corral and corn field from the cottage, and lead up into the mountain. Passing under the trees of the forest and continuing on for a short time before a bend in the road, Ulric's little car came around the corner into the clearing and approached the dormitory houses.
Rumbling to halt the engine settled, then Ulric opened his door and pulled himself from the vehicle. He tried to stretch the soreness from his limbs in vain as he looked up at the "dens" and wondered in which one he would find the Betas. He had hope that his presence had not gone unnoticed and thereby avoid having to look around the area as an uninvited guest.. Uninvited that is, by his own disregard toward his adoptive brother's welcome.
****
Kratos had placed custody of the two intruders from the previous night in the hands of the pack. Securing the experienced werewolf spy in the ditch by the new dens and the woman at Kale and Zeit's pleasure; knowing well that even if the stranger could control her form, that not even an above average-sized werewolf could overtake two experienced Betas.
Then the Alpha had left to track down whereabouts of Jacquline whom he supposed to be dead; having been fatally wounded by the female intruder and perhaps killed by the rabid instincts of Timothy. The trail he found left him many questions and a reason to hope when he detected Ulric's scent, but the severity of Jackie's condition was evident under the light of the sun and his heart was heavy.
Continuing to seek out his injured pack member and adoptive brother, Kratos had followed the trail down to the cottage, then to the road and from there the trail was lost. He was left to assume his brother's intentions while placing himself in the mindset of a young lad in such a situation, and came to the conclusion that Ulric must have taken Jackie to an emergency center for help.
Kratos had not been raised within the pack which Ulric had, thus he recognized the danger of taking a werewolf to a human hospital where his brother did not..
Quickly returning to the dens Kratos informed the Betas and Gammas of his findings. Then he requested the service of Ziet's truck and drove to the emergency center where indeed he found Ulric and Jackie, whom was much to his relief alive! That was about the time Kratos broke in, though he did do so within the building or around anyone else. And at length Kratos returned to his adoptive brother's side, welcomed him to the pack then sent him to the ranch for a rest.
Now standing quietly by the window of the large room Kratos stood in silent thought. He knew Jackie was a strong person and a werewolf, though she would have done better under Sabrina's care without the chemicals in her veins. He was thankful for the prompt actions of Ulric, but of course the hospital would not release her now before a full recovery, and the dangers of bringing Jackie here would have to be considered.
Hour Glass:
Zeit dusted her hands as she stood up, just finishing up on switching one of her tires to the spare one she kept on hand. She made a mental note to head to town later in order to get a new set of tires anyways, all the running around with the wolves was seriously wearing down on the treads of her tires, and starting to cost a fortune in gas, and food to keep the hungary pack fed. Sometimes she was glad she had cattle nearby, if it ever came to it, the wolves would still have some source of fresh meat.
She patted her truck as she walked around tot he back, and unlatching the back hatch door, opening it so she could pull out some objects she had packed up that morning. The new buildings were already being inhabited, but Zeit thought she might bring a few housewarming items for the wolves, mainly because she was their neighbor, and she had some things she was ready to get rid of.
She sighed, reaching in to grab the first box off the bed of the truck, and pulling it closer so she could lift it out. It was about midday, meaning the wolves would need to fend for themselves for lunch, but dinner would need to be made. She thought to herself for a moment as she lifted up the box, perhaps some thick steaks for the wolves, since they would still be hungary from last night's run. She thought about it for a moment, pondering the best dinner combinations until she heard the sound of a truck pulling up.
She stood straight, peering down the road as she watched an older car pull down the dirt road. She stopped in her tracks, moving back, and carefully placing the box next to her truck, before standing right back up, a commanding gleam in her eye. Kratos wasn't around, which meant she and Kale would be in charge, and it was against her policy to let an intruder wonder on her terf.
She walked closer to him, right into his view, his scent familiar to her. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she asked bluntly to the stranger.
Soar:
Ulric stayed for a quite a while, although Jackie had a hard time remembering anything specific. Pain medication had dulled the pain, but also the details. Trying to recollect anything from the morning was like trying to see through fog—the main things she could see, but all the little details were one incomprehensible blob. At some point, she thought Kratos had stopped by too, but it was nearly impossible to tell if it had been a dream or reality. Fuzzy-headed on medication, Jackie didn’t mind admitting to herself she preferred believing that Kratos had. Only later, when she was more aware of her own thoughts, did she toss away that comfort.
She remembered dreamless sleeping mostly, with the occasional waking moments of staring at the walls. Sometimes she thought she heard the shuffle of a nurse as they leaned over to add more medication to the IV drip—likely enough to knock out a mule— but she quickly fell asleep after that. It was later afternoon before Jackie began to stay awake for longer bursts. While she still felt a grogginess weighing her down, the nurses had visited less frequently, and she could at the very least stop sleeping. Even though she found herself only capable of staring, she knew sooner or later she would be able to do much more. That’s when she began thinking of the escape plan.
Of all things, it had involved sporks. They hadn’t given her any hospital food (thankfully), but the last tenant of the room certainly had. She found a rather nasty little spork lying between the mattress and the bed post. It didn’t look like much… but with a smile she knew it was all she needed. The small mountain town was hardly sophisticated with its buildings; most had been built well before she was born. The hospital was no different. It was ancient, old, and creaking with old-fashioned, rotted, wood-framed windows. On an (un)related note, sporks had an affinity for gouging holes into things that were rotted and wooden.
While the plan fell into place quickly, it took hours before she had the strength to do it. Yes, she could have gritted her teeth and pushed herself to standing up as she had earlier, but her plan required her to be fully conscious by the end of it. The nurses wouldn’t have allowed her to progress very far, either She knew they were monitoring her vitals and would know if she would do anything too… strenuous. They would have been on her faster than a rat to cheese and her escape plan would have been shot down before it had even begun.
She was left to do nothing but wait and will her body to strengthen. She knew her body healed much more quickly than a normal human, but it was a boring, tedious game nonetheless. She couldn’t sleep anymore; it was too boring. Instead, she played a series of mental games to amuse herself, like count-the-dimples-on-the-ceiling or debating-whether-the-floor-was-crème-or-beige. She even toyed with a few impersonations, like Kratos or Arnold Schwarzenegger (which in pantomime, sounded remarkably similar). Towards the early evening, Jackie concluded it was time to make a move before she grew too tired to attempt it.
Her blue eyes flashed to the hallway; no nurse was in sight. This did nothing to ease her tensions; almost continuously she monitored the status of the door. Still wary, she pushed herself upright. Her heart rate sped up slightly. Her face felt hot and moist as sweat pricked from the strain. Her heart was getting faster, almost suspiciously so if the nurses were watching. Her breathing was quicker. A sharp pain stabbed underneath her chest and her body wanted nothing more than to breathe faster to compensate for it...
“Breathing, control your breathing,” she ordered herself.
Obediently, the quick flimsy breathes strengthened to a slow even rate. Her heart steadied on the monitor. With the same measured breathes, she stooped to the side of the bed. A wave of imbalance and nausea filled her; but it was very brief. Her heart remained steady enough that the nurses wouldn’t be too suspicious. Quietly she edged herself off the stiff mattress, with a quick side glance to the open door-way. She snatched the grimy fork, recoiled for a fraction of a second as the old clinging odor of year-old-eggs drifted into her nostrils, then progressed from there. It was hardly a graceful walk as she staggered towards the window; yet it slow enough that her heart remained evenly paced.
That was where the true ingenuity of the spork really shined. She supposed she could have broken the window as well, but the nurses would have heard it; Jackie preferred to work under stealth. For the next half an hour, Jackie contented herself in working quietly on chipping the molding around the lock. It was mind-numbing work, but she appreciated the distraction it provided.
Jackie hadn’t been foolish enough to let her senses drop completely. In the back of her mind, she had kept tabs on where the noisy nurses were outside her door in case any decided to drop in unannounced. Yet the close she got towards chipping away the lock from the window, the more engrossed she became, and the less he paid attention to outside. She didn’t hear the quiet footsteps approach her door until their owner was only several feet away. The spork clattered on the hard linoleum floor and Jackie made no effort to hide the gaping hole she had made in the window.
Dez:
Logan's eyelids parted slowly and the violet eyes behind them stared blankly up at the ceiling. Carefully, the woman pushed herself into a sit and grasped her head with her hands. She noted the fabric tied around her wrists, and slowly began to work at it while pondering that which had happened... was it hours ago, or days? She didn't know for certain at this point. She remembered walking, and remembered there were a few others present, but her memory failed to recall anything else at the moment.
'I passed out.' she thought bitterly to herself. How could she be so careless? She left herself weak, completely helpless to any sort of danger. Of course, in hindsight, there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it; it would have been unnatural for her to remain conscious after having spent so much of her energy. Coming to that conclusion, she resolved to work harder as to prevent a similar situation in the future, and temporarily deemed the previous events, those both known and unknown to her, unimportant. Instead, she decided to focus on her current whereabouts.
She slipped her legs off the bed and attempted to stand, her breath catching briefly as pain shot from her ribs. The other wounds and aches were suddenly dull, if not almost nonexistent in comparison. However, this was something not entirely unfamiliar to her and she continued to sit while she assessed her surroundings.
The area held the scent of werewolves. Although it was faint, it was unmistakably there. That was something even her far lowered human senses could recognize. And there was this underlying sense, maybe instinct if you will, that there were many. A pack? Though, it was hardly what she would imagine of a werewolf pack. Ever since she could remember, she had a certain image of werewolves set in her mind. In those images, she saw vicious snarling creatures that made their dwellings in dark caves. Monsters whose pelts were coated in the blood of their prey, whose muzzles were twisted into malicious snarls and whose eyes were full of fury and hate. This was nothing like that at all, but that alone failed to alter her deep rooted hate for the werewolves. No, there was certainly no way they could be so civil.
Letting her arms rest draped over her legs, she peered down at her wrist to check the time. Her watch was gone. Then she remembered it was in her backpack, along with her belt, her other shirts, her boots and so on. Not to mention the wallet that she'd just spent a day replenishing with money for her journey. Never mind being a captive in a strange place, she was more worried about her belongings for the moment. It soon become apparent to her that she must have lost them not long after she transformed, just outside of the town.
Logan stood now and glanced over the simple room before leaving it, walking out with a seemingly all too comfortable stride - she walked with her hands in her pockets and had an expression that lacked alertness. You wouldn't guess by looking at her that if she was threatened by someone at the moment (or thought she was being threatened for that matter), she'd likely leave them crumpled in pain and out of breath at the least. Typically, she wouldn't be so brash, but then again, this wasn't a typical situation.
Advancing through the house, which seemed to her more like a homey hotel than an actual house, she made her way towards the front door. In the driveway she immediately saw a woman and a man. The male seemed cautious from a first look, while the woman held herself with an air of undeniable authority. She seemed to have no trouble showing the other, who looked to be a stranger as well, that she was in charge.
Moving forward, Logan approached the fiery haired woman and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention without blatantly interrupting her. A firm yet questioning expression was on her face, and though she spoke no words, her desire for an explanation was obvious.
Mariel:
Kieoki wasn't helping with her being suddenly absent, though no one probably noticed or cared. She wasn't vain about this, but she did know when she was only making things worse and decided to slip away for some peace. She'd been only able to stand there, hiding like a fool behind a door frame and she'd only been able to watch as Timothy was knocked out, the danger from him being doused for the time being. Stunted into silence, Kieoki had quietly slipped outside and into the forest. She knew she probably spent to much time there doing what most would call sulking, but she knew she wasn't needed in the cottages, and she'd rather be alone anyways.
That was always something she could do very well. Slipping away in a moment without anyone realizing that is. So now, for the moment at least, she was sitting with her back to a tree in the forest, not to far from camp actually. She was with in hearing range of the camp because she was still faintly worried that something could go wrong. And she didn't move farther out until she realized that based upon her actions, she wouldn't be of any help to situations that arose. She hadn't helped Timothy, but probably made that situation worse. So with a frown Kieoki stood and walked further away, muttering in anger at herself. "Oh go on Kieoki, sulk away like the lost dejected child. Go on, hide out here till someone comes looking."
She paused at those words, starring at the forest floor for a moment before she picked out a tree and nimbly climbed up into it. Her mind was starting to whirl with contradicting thoughts, and a headache was on the rise. She realized that she was acting inappropriately -to some extent- and she had the feeling that someone would eventually be after her, but she didn't want that. She really knew that she was just trying to distance herself so things could be worked out without her screwing things over. She didn't want anyone chasing after her. She wasn't used to being with a pack yet, and didn't want others worrying. Hopefully, no one would follow her trail and drag her back. Her feet hung over a branch in the tree she'd climbed, and she frowned at the thought of someone trying to find her. They had more important things to worry about.
But then what? Should she slip back into camp later and act as if she'd never been gone? Or should she go back now? But what good would that do? She'd just be a nuisance as she'd sit there awkwardly as she tried to not screw something up. This thought produced a fake smile on Kieoki's face, and she chuckled at herself. "Lovely Kieoki, play yourself up some more to sound lost." She rolled her eyes and then moved her left arm that'd been resting on her lap until it was swaying free over the branch. Kieoki closed her eyes, enjoying the silence of the forest, trying to ignore the pain coming from her arm. At least her sash had stopped the bleeding. A soft breeze tickled her legs and started to lull her to sleep. After all, she hadn't slept last night and was fairly tired. Surely it wouldn't hurt to doze off for a few minutes? Kieoki agreed with herself and let herself drift off to sleep.
Soar:
The dying orange lights of the sun cast ugly shadows across the newly built-room. From outside a glossy new window peered a scenic view of the forest, hinting only traces of snow, and a setting sun that was drifting close to the horizon. A faint star had even begun to peak from behind the darkening azure veil of evening; it was Venus, likely, given it’s location in the sky.
Theo had been watching as the sky transformed from early morning, to afternoon, and now evening. He had barely moved, save to eat or stretch. While he had been brought up to be patient and understanding of the way nature worked, his interest had been unnaturally focused even for him. Yet, it wasn’t the nature that captivated him. It was his thoughts; they were troubling him.
Last night hadn’t gone well. Theo himself had been an angel all night, with mental barrier upon mental barrier to ensure nothing went wrong. Yet it wasn’t him that had caused the trouble—so many of the pack had wandered off, been overtaken by their own wolves, and several hurt as well. Theo knew first hand the destruction a werewolf could wreak. There was no controlling it, no reasoning with it, no calming it. The only way to tame it was to reach the human aspect of the wolf, and hope that whoever it was could fight it back.
The pack helped sometimes. Werewolves were no different than regular wolves. They liked traveling in a pack and felt safer in numbers. Hierarchy and rules provided the strict structure to subdue the wolfish instincts and allow the human to remain in control. But sometimes the pack was not enough. Sometimes the wolf could wrench itself free and sometimes others became hurt.
It was all his fault Jackie had gotten hurt, or possibly killed. He had been careless the first transformation, before officially joining the pack. He hadn’t understood how dangerous a werewolf was when they weren’t controlled... and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from turning the strange woman. She had survived that time, but not without getting dragged into a giant uncontrollable mess of the pack. Anything that happened to her now was certainly his fault; without him, she wouldn’t have been forced into this life.
The brooding might have gone into the night if he hadn’t heard that sound first. It was slight, although sudden, and caught him by surprise. It was likely someone from the pack stirring, but he couldn’t help but feel slightly curious on what it was. Quietly he crept from his room and wandered down the hall.
“Hello?...”
Cassie:
It had started getting colder and colder. Now, the sun was sinking below the horizon like a downed ship. Kaleb sighed, in his wolf form, having stayed that way after being forced to change the other night during the full moon. He looked back at the sun again, the pretty colors dancing across the land and the clouds above in the sky.
Kaleb began to walk on, his heavy winter fur keeping the cold from sinking in and making him cold, or at least, really cold. He started trotting, his paws flinging out and hitting the ground, their pads giving him good traction on the dirt.
He ran, the forest racing past him in a blur, all the colors and trees swirling with color. He wasn't sure that he was headed in the right direction, but he tried to follow his nose to where he thought there would be the city.
--------------------------------------------------------
Soon, he had reached it, and sniffed around for the scent of his home. He followed his nose, and when it had started getting really dark, he found it. The stars twinkled above, and a breeze had started blowing through. He was glad when he walked inside and realized his house was warmer than outside.
But then it hit him, a stench so great he began to retch. For a few moments, he threw up, but then he was left there dry heaving on the floor. Not having realized it, Kaleb was back in his human form, and not really covered.
He ran to his room, and looked around for some clothes before he went to investigate what was going on. If he ran into his mom, he didn't want to be indecent.
Once he had some nice, toasty materials on, he went into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, and a stench wafted to his heightened nostrils, but it wasn't what he had smelled earlier.
Kaleb went into the living room, and saw that it was empty. He thought he saw something move, so he walked foward, and looked behind the chair, where the stench was the worst.
Kaleb backed up, his stomach clenching. The small body of his street kitty lay there, limp and nonmoving.
But...how? Kaleb began to think, Mom would've......no.... and the horrific thought struck him.
He walked where his nose led him, to his mom's room. Terrified but slightly optimistic, he walked in. The scent hit him like a brick wall.
"Mom.....," he whispered.
Then his foot hit an object. Or actually, a body. Kaleb's eyes widened like big moons. His pupils waned to pinpoints in his eyes. Even his irises shrunk a bit. It felt like he had been hit by a truck, no, more like ten trucks. It wasn't just that she was.....dead...... The overwhelming scent of the body filled his nostrils. It felt weighing, like the whole room was caving on him and bringing him down. He started coughing, and fell to his knees. Then he noticed the bottles.
Around his mom they were spread. Beer bottles and pill bottles. Her medication for depression and other pills lay all aroud. His eyes were hot and tears fell in waves down his face. He sobbed. But he knew he couldn't stay.
-----------------------------------------------------
Kaleb raced out of the house. He Shifted, and now only wet trails were on his fur. He ran, his paws carrying him far in a short amount of time. He got back to the houses in what seemed like an instant.
Kaleb Shifted back, and darted inside. The room started spinning, and he couldn't get the smell out of his head. He doubled over and felt like he was going to puke again. He looked up, but everything was a swirl of color. He couldn't stop crying on top of all of it, the wet, hot droplets of water tearing down his face and falling on the floor. He fell to his knees on the floor, then was completely down. He lay there, sobbing, his body racked with the fear and hopelessness. Now, he was completely alone.
Soar:
“Hello again?,” Theo ventured, creeping farther down the hall.
Someone was there, he was certain of that much. He could hear some other body moving frantically, and he could smell their presence too. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite tell who it was; Theo hadn’t learned many of his packmates by smell, or in some cases name. In fact, he knew so little about any of them, he still felt as though he was living in a house of strangers.
Sobbing. They were sobbing hard now, their body likely racked with the sadness. Of all things, it had been the last he expected. Theo was not the best at dealing with emotions, yet there seemed something morally wrong in just walking away. Taking his chances, he walked silently towards the horrible, lonely sound. It led him towards a room.
He brought his hand and knocked twice on the door, but he found that the door simply parted at the second knock. Theo saw the sad huddled shape of Kaleb, shaking with each new sob. Suddenly Theo felt like an intruder, but it was far too late to be walking away.
“Are you… alright?” the boy asked uncertainly. It was an obvious question, but unfortunately the only thing he could think to say.
Nequaria:
Not terribly far from the ranch, a lone werewolf crept among the mountains. Her dark fur hid her against the rocky mountainside, but her vibrant green eyes boldly stood out from her dull coat.
She had no intention of coming close to the nearby pack of werewolves. She had known the pack was close for a while, but their carelessness on the night of the full moon had reaffirmed her beliefs that it was a large pack containing inexperienced, young wolves. She had seen first-hand the strength of their alpha, as she had been observing them for quite some time, and this caused her to keep even more distance between the pack and herself.
Although she was trying to evade them for as long as she could, she knew it wouldn't be possible for very much longer. She was running out of food, and she would either have to resort to venturing into town, or perhaps even picking off livestock from a nearby farm. Either way she would have to pass through the territory of the werewolf pack.
With a sigh, she meandered her way down a rocky slope, causing a few pebbles to tumble down the stone hillside. She fought to find solid pawholds on the cliff face as she climbed down. She couldn't take it any more. She had to take the risk.
Maybe the pack wouldn't notice a stranger on their land.
She would pass through their territory as quickly as she could and still try to remain hidden. If all went well, she would reach the nearby town without much trouble and be able to stock up on food before finding a new hiding place.
The dark-furred werewolf rarely dared to stay around humans for long. An incident that shattered her old pack had also destroyed any trust she had in humans. Even when in her human form, she felt as if she stood out from the true humans around her. This caused a great deal of anxiety, thus resulting in her rather solitary existance.
When her paws finally touched down on the grass, she shook her fur out and collapsed on the damp ground. Her legs ached from weeks of climbing through the rugged, stone hillsides. Her lime-colored eyes darted around for a moment, making sure she was alone. Once she was certain she would not be disturbed, she shifted her position until she felt comfortable.
She would continue on her way into town after she had rested for a little while.
Cassie:
Kaleb heard a door creak, and someone, one of the pack, walk towards him. If he had been in his wolf form, his ear would've flicked backwards. He flipped his head around when the member, Theo, asked him if he was alright.
Kaleb, fueled by anger and sadness, flipped out completely. He jumped up and, screaming, leaped on top of Theo. He brought his hand back to punch him, but then realized what he was about to do. He backed up, and fell on his knees again.
"No, I'm not okay, Theo. And I-I'm sorry for that," he began, looking up at Theo with sad eyes. He didn't know if he could call Theo his friend, and especially because of what he just did. He sighed sadly, his breath breaking.
"I just went over to my house, to see if...." he broke into crying again, his face dark and despairing.
Mariel:
Kieoki, who'd fallen asleep in the tree, was deeply asleep for once. Unlike normal, she was totally tuned out from the world, lost in her dreams that weren't all too pleasant at the moment. Bright lightning flashed across the sky in her dreams, not really frightening her as much as sending a chill of horror down her spine. Not because she was scared, but because she knew what was coming. Wait. Something was wrong with this nightmare. She wasn't supposed to know what was happening. Nightmares didn't work like that. She never knew the fangs and growls and pain were coming until it actually happened. But yet, she knew it was going to happen this time before it did.
She outstretched her arms that were now tiny, marveling for a moment in their tiny size. But this didn't last long. She glanced upwards as another flash lit up the night, illuminating the sudden appearance of a pack of snarling wolves. Her little self froze, terrified by the large and violent creatures. But she knew what was happening and she made herself move, made herself break the pattern of the dream. She shifted into her wolf before the eyes and snarling faces of the wolves in front of her. The wolves stopped snarling as they saw their prey shift into a wolf before their eyes. Kieoki flattened her ears to her head, grinning wildly in her wolf form as the shocked pack took a step back from their prey.
Kieoki let our a chilling snarl of her own at the pack, taking the reigns of the nightmare with her own paws and throwing it out the window. The pack's leader stepped forwards, snarling in confusion. Kieoki left nothing to chance. Another second and she leaped towards the pack leader, her claws outstretched and her teeth bared. The leader snarled and met the leap, claws digging into Kieoki's shoulders. But she was stronger than her younger self, her past self who had no defense. The leader was more than surprised when Kieoki easily rolled him off, lashing back with her claws against his face. The pack started snarling, their fur bristling as the fight continued. Who was this wolf anyways? The fight continued until the dueling pair broke apart, both huffing for breath. Kieoki had the upper hand in the fight, but she never noticed the silent signal the leader gave to his pack. Next thing she knew, the pack was lunging towards her in unison.
Kieoki woke from her nightmare with a start, almost falling out of the tree in the process. She managed to grab a branch as she fell and she swung down with little grace. She landed with a soft thud as she cursed to herself, leaning against the tree's trunk as she took in a breath to calm herself down. Kieoki took another breath, glancing down at her hands. She was shaking? She quivered and tucked her hands under her arms, trying to calm herself down. A sudden sound greeted her ears, rock maybe? She didn't know nor care for the matter. She shut the sound out and tried to pull herself together.
Soar:
Theo hadn't expected Kaleb to be forthcoming, but he certainly hadn't anticipated being attacked either.
Woosh. A fly of color landed on top of Theo, making him temporarily loose his balance and fall toward the floor. Instinct kicked in, allowing him to catch himself the last second before he face-planted into the floor and steady himself. He looked at Kaleb, yet there was no sort of companionship in his furrowed green eyes. No, there was something feral in his eyes, urging him to attack Kaleb and overcoming all reason...
His attacker backed away suddenly, withdrawing on the fight. The savage expression lingered on Theo's face for a fraction of a second more, looking as though he still wanted to strike his perceived attacker. Then another expression took it's place: horror. He recoiled, backing up a few feet from the spot. It wasn't because Theo was afraid of if Kaleb would attack again, but rather that he might.
Yet he had no intention of leaving either. He peered up at Kaleb with the closest portrayal of sympathy he had ever shown to anyone of the pack. He didn't know much about Kaleb, but given his despair, he had a good guess what had happened.
"To see if anyone was still there?" Theo supplemented quietly.
Cassie:
Kaleb sat there, feeling sorry for himself but also for Theo, for the way he had attacked him. He heaved a shuddering sigh, his shoulders rising and falling.
His hair fell over his eyes, lending to the darkness that was in him. His whole body felt like a live wire. He still hadn't trained enough to help control his other form. Beneath his skin the wolf danced. It raced along his muscles, threatening to break to the surface. He grimaced, closing his eyes. He wanted badly to give in the the pleasure of leaving his skin and Shifting to something of fantasy; something that shouldn't exist. He barely overcame the feeling of wanting to Shift. Then he was just sitting there, sweating slightly and breathing like he had run for a bit.
He saw when Theo looked at him, and he could tell that it was to try and make him feel better. He just looked down though.
"Yeah..........," he paused, "To see...if....my......................" Another pause followed, and he sat there in silence.
"To see if my....mom," he choked out the last word, tears rolling down again and dripping onto the floor. "If she was okay, but....she wasn't." his eyes flicked up to his pack mate and back down. "My mom....she's.....dead." in the
"I guess I just have to move on now."he said, "I have a life here, now, with the pack. So I can't stay stuck on this." Kaleb finished, looking ahead out the window that showed a dark expanse.
"Well...what do we do now?"he asked Theo, looking back up at him.
Soar:
Theo leaned on the door frame, his head faced downward, as Kaleb spoke. Brown curls fell into his face, shielding his eyes from sight and his mouth flat and emotionless. He didn’t speak a word as Kaleb spoke, nor reveal any of the thoughts that may have been going on in his head. When Kaleb had finally paused, Theo allowed the silence to remain.
Finally his head lifted and his hair was tossed back into a wild mess behind him. His eyes were pensive, quiet, and solemn while he surveyed Kaleb, as though searching for something.
“Sometimes things happen and you can’t do anything about them,” he began in a quiet voice, one that had been deliberately stripped of its emotion. He turned away to watch a small moth flit towards the window, as though he was speaking to the moth instead of Kaleb.
“My father used to turn mortals and I couldn’t do a thing about it, because I thought it was the right thing to do. Actually, my entire pack used to, because we all thought it was the way it was supposed to be. I ran away because I thought I hated my father, but really I hated the way things were.”
He shifted, turning away from the window and looking at Kaleb straight on with a serious face,”But then I turned her, Kaleb,” there was no holding back the surge of emotion, the doubt, the sadness, but most of all the anger,”and I couldn’t do a thing about it. I did just what my father would have done, and I couldn’t do anything about it!”
The moth flew away into the darkness, but Theo did not watch it go. Instead he slowly turned around to look at Kaleb, his fists slowly unclenching as he turned away the anger,”So to answer your question, we can’t do anything but accept what happened and move on. I’m sure your mother loved you, but especially now, you can’t allow the emotion to take hold of you or more people will get hurt”.
Aim:
Chime went back to her room after all that happened. She had saw the alpha bring back a girl, the werewolf who attacked Jackie. Though she was in human form, she know the scent. Hiding in her room was what she did when something happened that she didn't like, this being the female staying here. Not even knowing if she had woken up yet, Chime paced around her room.
She ended up sitting on her bed, quietly scolding herself. Why was she so much like a child? Getting up, she decided that she was going to take a walk instead of sitting here. She walked to the door and let herself out, after looking both way of course. She caught herself and put her head up high, no way she was going to do that.
"Besides, she is probably a good person, just doesn't quite know how to control her werewolf form." Chime told herself in a whisper.
Walking down to the door seemed to take forever, she thought she heard someone crying at a time but choose to let someone else take care of it, she wasn't in shape to comfort anyone, how could she when she was a nervous wreck? Irritated that she was scared of this new person, she started angrily mumbling. What right did she even have to be here? Though she knew that her being here was better then her roaming, it annoyed her.
Getting to close to the door, she saw the female. Nosily and quickly Chime hid behind a doorway, peaking out now and then to look at her. Chime felt like a child, again, hiding behind something like she had done something naughty, but she couldn't help but be scared, not really knowing how the other would react.. At least Zeit was in the room.
May:
With the click of the car door shutting came a demanding voice over his shoulder and Ulric quickly turned around to face it. Immediately he was met by the green eyes of the Beta whom he recognized as Zeit Chandler. Ulric then lowered his head and stooped into a bow as a habitual sign of respect.
"Ulric Shragron." He explained, bringing his face up to meet her eyes again. "We were previously introduced a few weeks ago when I came to your ranch with my mother, Resme. I apologize for not announcing my presence here sooner."
The visitor's manner was a sincere attempt at formality, though perhaps it would be found rather odd by those whom were not raised in likewise fashion.
"I have orders from your Alpha, Kratos, to inform you of his whereabouts and the whereabouts of one of your members, Jacqueline Ryder." Ulric said as he continued to explain. "I am to tell you that they are both at the Reknab Bend Threshold Emergency Hospital, and Jackie is safe for the time being.."
It was at that moment that a person whom Ulric did not know approached from behind Zeit and placed a hand on her shoulder. She bore an inquisitive expression upon her face but did not speak a word of question.
Through the scent she carried it was immediately clear to Ulric that she was not of the pack, so he became silent that Zeit might give her full attention to the woman.
*******
A few moments after Jackie's spork clattered to the ground of the hospital room, the door came open and was for a moment left unoccupied. Then in peered Kratos with a somewhat amused smile upon his face.
"Are you ready to jump out a window already?" He asked sarcastically.
As he slowly came into the room Kratos made an obvious gesture to look down at the fallen utensil. He then pressed his hands into the pockets of his pants and looked Jackie in the face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come on you unawares; I assumed you were still sleeping and came to check up on you.. Though I admit I did not request permission to do so." He explained briefly. "How are you feeling, can I get anything for you?"
Kratos had decided beforehand that he would not attempt to force Jackie to stay in the hospital; he knew she was a determined person. But there was still a problem to be dealt with if they simply shattered a window and vanished, thus he made no mention of the matter for the moment...
Soar:
Earlier tension and concern over possible drug-laden nurses dissipated. Quizzically Jackie glanced at Kratos, silently taking him in. His tall powerful frame seemed out of place in the dainty little hospital with peeling floral print. Half a question seemed to form on her lips, but then idly it was dismissed.
“You’re quieter than the nurses,” she observed with even tone.
Slowly she leaned down with outstretched palms towards the spork. A quick stitch of pain shot through her side, a protest from the sudden motion, but it was ignored with a brief grimace. Victoriously, she closed her fingers around her weapon, and examined it in her palm. The disgusting white plastic had been chipped and warped now from its fight against the window frame, but it otherwise was just about as useful as it had been before. With a nod of acknowledgement towards her handy tool, she brought a decisive gouge into the window.
Clunk.
Clunk. Clunk. Chink.
“The only thing you could do,” the spork buried itself furiously into the window sill.
Clunk. Chink. Thunk.
“Is get me out of here before the nurses come back”
Clunk. Chink. Pieces of old, shredded wood fell like snowflakes on the floor.
“Before I do something stupid”
Riiiiiip. A large piece of wood, the size of her pinky, was freed from its splintery bed. Unfortunately, it had also found a nice home imbedded in her thumb. The woman cursed, removed the piece from her finger, than nursed the wound in her mouth. Her eyes closed venomously on the window, than snapped up the spork from her lap, and began again with renewed vigor.
May:
"I suppose jumping out a two-story high window might count as something of that sort." Kratos said, briefly recalling the embedded knife in Zeit's kitchen wall. "You certainly are skilled at bringing to pieces the average building.."
More seriously now Kratos continued with a lowered voice so as not to be overheard by anyone passing on the outside of the room. "It's likely they won't release you for a week yet if you continue to improve.. However, Ulric filled out most of the papers with his own information, so we have no risk of any agencies seeking out the ranch if we were to leave without requesting permission. Still, there are different risks which must now be weighed on Ulric's behalf.."
It would seem then that the Alpha's thoughts were briefly caught away someplace else, before he sighed and changed the subject.
"I caught the person who attacked you last night.." He informed. "She looks to be nearly in her mid twenties. She is an obvious above average size, and judging by her stature she has done fighting previous to now. Whether or not her actions were fueled by some kind of emotion, I cannot say, but my guess is that she was acting under the influence of the moon."
Kratos pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. "She's being held under Kale and Zeit's now, but what becomes of her has not yet been decided. Also, I found that you were not the only one to be attacked by her last night. I assume just after you escaped that she discovered the werewolf spy I've been seeking for weeks and attempted to take him out as well."
Soar:
Jackie seemed to have determined the conversation to have evolved into a need for her full attention. Her pale fingers temporarily reprieved the spork of it's window-destroying duties. She folded it gently into her fingers on her lap, and spun, slowly, to face Kratos.
Her face grew harder. While her skin still looked pale and sickly and her movements limited and haggard, there was something unmistakeable resolute and firm about her weak body. Pale lips pursued in annoyance.
"If you think I'm staying in this horrible hospital for a week, then you're crazy. I don't care if I have to burn the papers or jump out a two-story window, I plan on leaving tonight. Clear?" from there Jackie smiled ironically, then firmly continued to shove the spork back into the window.
It was only after a great passage of time, when it seemed almost obligatory, did she skip over to the next statement. Her voice dropped an octave. It was as resolute as before, but with sinister and cold edge that made the sunny hospital room grow colder,"Then please tell my attacker, that next time I'm coming back for blood.
May:
Kratos became silent after Jackie's last comment, and though he had thought to reply after a moment, he instead said nothing for a long time afterward. The hushed footsteps in the halls were louder than his presence, and were it not for his breathing, one could have easily forgotten he was even standing in the room..
But soon the footsteps ceased and even the breath of the Alpha became quiet. The only disturbance was the click-clack of Jackie's spoon breaking apart the old wooden windowsill...
It could not have been known until a low growl rumbled from Kratos' throat that he had changed his form just then, as he had made no other sound. His warning, though directed at Jackie, was not a threat and was barely audible above a breath.
----
Were it not for the silence which ensued in the hall at that moment, things might have gone much more smoothly on the other side of the door...
But people wandering in that hall grew less and less, until only one figure remained; a broad woman dressed in black from boot to sleeve.
She had come a long way to end up in these halls, and as she at last drew near her goal she was forced to slow her steps.
Slowly and as quietly as she possibly could, she drew a breath, then she listened; no sound could be heard.
---
Kratos' bright yellow eyes were firmly concentrated at the door and his ears were strained for any sound.. The senses of a werewolf were no doubt improved in the enhanced form, but even then Kratos could detect nothing save the scent.
There was another werewolf in the hall, not one the Alpha recognized. It's scent was heavily mixed with that of other werewolves, many many other unknown werewolves..
Kratos could not guess the stranger's exact intentions, but that regular people had been subconsciously caused to avoid it was enough for him to know that it was hunting.
~~~~~~~~~~~
[meanwhile]
Timothy suddenly jolted awake and stared about the room. His hands were clenched at the rim of his blanket and he seemed to note every detail of his surroundings.. Yet his mind was not focused on what he beheld about him, nor upon any particular thought.
As he slowly relaxed, Timothy began to try to assess himself and discover what exactly was wrong. He knew he had awoken from a nightmare of sorts, but whether it was that nightmare or the previous night which had frightened him there could be no telling. Every memory in his head was so distant and foggy that he felt if did not concentrate on them that it would all become black again and be lost forever..
Briefly Timothy could not even stir within himself a desire to remember, but at the same time he desperately wanted to; there was something about either the previous night or the nightmare that had made his mind strain to keep the memory..
"What was it?!" Timothy said with frustration, unfurling the blanket from him.
He brought his feet over the side of his bed and stared down at his hands. And as quickly as that he had suddenly stopped struggling to retain the memory and had let it slip from his grasp completely..
He gazed at his hands in a dull wonder; he had no claws, no black fur, no pads on his palms.. Pain began to dawn on him as well, but that sensation wasn't new, he'd had it for some time though not as intensely.
"Why does this even matter?" Timothy caught himself mid-thought. He looked up again at the room before turning aside and casting himself back down on the bed. He felt as if his heart had suddenly gained a great weight, though he did not understand why.. He did not even know what is was that he had thought so important, yet knowing that the memory was gone with no chance of ever being restored in his conscious mind made him depressed.
Mariel:
Kieoki sat there quivering for some time, trying to remember what her dream had been about specifically. She knew that it had been her normal nightmare, but this time it'd ended differently. She shuddered and tilted her head upwards and against the tree behind herself, starting to work backwards from the last thing she could remember about the dream. She started with the memory of the wolves popping up, threatening to devour her whole because she was small and good prey for a wild pack. And then...and then...normally that would be the moments when the alpha would jump at her and start the attack. But...that hadn't happened, had it?
And then like a snap, she remembered the rest. And her shivering stopped. And a grin spread across the side of her face. Sure, she didn't know what would've happened when the entire pack had descended on her, but she'd shifted and fought back. That was the important thing, Kieoki realized with a wider grin, happy with herself. She glanced down at herself, forcing her still slightly-shaking hands to cease movement. She lifted her hands then, holding them up as she gazed upon their larger size.
The only thing she couldn't figure out is why the dream had gone differently. She sighed, unable to answer her own question and so she stood up, rubbing the feeling back into her legs that had gone a bit numb. They tingled and she shook them out, wincing from the sensation. How long had she been away? She turned her gaze towards the sky, shocked to see that the sun hadn't moved more than an hour or two ahead in the sky. She frowned, wondering how time seemed to move too fast or too slow and yet it stayed the same as ever.
Kieoki turned her head in the direction of camp. She couldn't see her new home through the trees, but she had a good sense of direction and could faintly smell it on the soft wind. She frowned, not really wanting to head back to camp just yet. She sighed, trying to remember if she was happier now, or if she'd been happier before she joined the pack. She started slowly walking back to camp, taking her time as she tried to answer the question. She gave up after a few minutes though, deciding that it didn't matter all that much.
Soar:
Jackie gave no audible recognition at Kratos' silence. For a moment, it seemed the woman was unaware of any sort of disturbance as she continued to pull splinters of wood from the door frame. But Jackie, though however inexperienced at registering her own heightened senses, could register a lack of it. The hospital was eerily quiet now, and Kratos had stopped speaking. She might not have smelled anything, but Kratos seemed to have sensed something and Jackie trusted his judgement.
Then, with a slow steady motion, the spork stopped. Her eyes had remained flashing from the side of her periphery vision. She brought the tattered, warp remains of her precious utensil close towards her chest with an expression much like a lion about to pounce. Whatever else might happen, she was ready with a weapon.
Kratos growled and Jackie tensed, sliding her weapon more securely in her palm.
****
Hour Glass:
Ziet listened very closely to Ulric, his scent was familiar to her, and there was a bit of Kratos' too. She crossed her arms as she listened, making sure she caught every detail. "So that's where they went" she said, "Thank you for this information." She liked the politness he showed to her, and that he respected her for her rank in the pack. She gave him a small smile, "Since you are familiar with Kratos, I don;t need to chase you off" she said pleasantly, "And you are welcome to share lunch with the pack."
It was then he went silent, which confused her for a moment. Then, she felt the hand on her shoulder, which nearly made her jump. It was the classic case of Ziet not paying attention to everything, which had let the wolf come up behind her, and startled her, and that was one thing. Ziet hated to be startled, and she hated people coming up from behind her. It wouldn't have bothered her too much if it had been a pack member. But the scent told her something else.
She pulled her shoulder away from the female, and turned facing her. She let out a low growl, making the female's position aware to everyone else. "You on the other hand are not pack" she said, "Why are you here?" She watched the female closely, ready to attack if needed, and she was prepared to run her off.
Dez:
Logan let her arms rest at her sides and stood firmly in place. Her shoulders back, chest out, chin raised just slightly - a solid stance that showed fearlessness, and in turn better revealed the air of dominance that lingered about her. While the other woman may have held a high authority, Logan only saw her as another stranger.
Her suspicions of being within the territory of a pack were verified upon hearing the words of the female who stood before her, and with this knowledge in mind, anger flared up inside her soul. The rage was concealed behind a blank, if not still subtly curious expression, but remained present. Her body was full of aches, her shoulder was bare of the weight of her lost belongings, and her stomach never ceased for a moment to remind her that she hadn't eaten a bite in over two days now. Her overall composure was a thread from being lost entirely.
"I woke up here and asked myself the same question." was her quiet response. She briefly considered dismissing herself and walking away in search of the town she had been before the full moon, but despite her hate for the werewolves, she couldn't bring herself to leave just yet. In her current physical state, it would take a good deal of willpower to choose to walk for what could be several miles, and she hadn't quiet summoned it up.
Unsure of what to think, let alone say at the moment, there was a gap of silence before she spoke again. "What is this place?" she questioned, examining the area, "And how far are we from the town?" her gaze briefly caught on the nearby male, then finally her eyes once more became fixed on those of the woman before her. Logan also wondered who brought her here and why, and how many werewolves took residence in this place, but those were questions to be asked later or perhaps never asked at all.
Aim:
Chime saw that Zeit was talking with the stranger, well, two strangers, and decided now was a good time to move. She walked out and went for the door, it was a good time for a walk. Once out, she stayed on the pouch for a few minutes before heading for the forest.
She ran the first few steps but then started walking, trying to clam herself, which proved not to be very hard. The trees had many leafs and counting them was a calming past time. Though she did keep her feet moving, she did slowed down quite a bit. It was then she heard someone else, which wasn't uncommon, but it still freaked Chime out a bit, till she saw Kieoki.
Chime walked up, what was her name again? Did she even know? "Hi." Chime smiled, she then realized that she didn't know many of the people who lived here, it was a little weird actually, living a whole month here and still not knowing the people who lived in the same house as you? Yeah..
He was in a large, deep ditch--the walls were too tall for him to make a leap out of. He supposed he could climb out; the walls were steep, but made of dirt. Only a second glance provided a glimpse of some sort of tall barbed fence that would provide more hassle once he got to the top. Some subtle buzzing sound warned him also that it might be electric. Were he in full health, he probably would have tested it anyway... but... augh... not now.
He debated on whether or not he should shift, as without the Moon to support it, his wolf form was a strain to keep a hold of. He'd already held it too long. But on the other hand, he was obviously still a prisoner to the enemy, and he did not want to become more vulnerable than he already was...
Augh.... but his head... The pain almost won the argument in his mind before he heard voices above him--some distance off. Gritting his teeth, he sat down in the dirt cross-legged. Judging by the smell on the air, he was either in, or very near the enemy Pack's main territory. The alpha had not excercised his right to slay him when he had surrendered...yesterday, was it? So what then did he keep him alive for? What did he want of him?
****
Sabrina felt worn out. All day, non stop tending, nursing, boiling, sewing, medicating, checking.... whew! She had only just sat down to rest on a couch in the main room of Den One when she heard a disturbance upstairs, in Timothy's room. Not wasting a second, she was on her feet again and hurrying up the stairs.
She paused at his door and listened, just in case he was in the midst of another fit, but when no further noise reched her ears she slowly turned the knob of his door and entered with a soft knock. "Timothy?" she asked gently, "Are you awake?"
Kieoki ended up turning her eyes away from Chime as she side-stepped the girl and continued back to camp. Kieoki hoped that the were wouldn't come chasing after her as she entered the campgrounds, pausing for a moment to see where everyone was. She frowned at the gathered information, wondering if she should go see what was going on with the two odd scents that were floating around the camp. She decided against it though, because she'd probably just screw everything over. She frowned and shook her head before she sneaked around the one cottage until she hit the window to her room. She dragged it open and silently jumped over the ledge and inside without much sound before she shut her window again. She gritted her teeth in the pain in her arm and peeled off her cloth bandage.
She frowned at the wound, letting her arm hang at her side as she rummaged around in her dresser, muttering to herself about where she kept her thread and needles. Where in the world were they?
Chime got back to camp just in time to see Kieoki disappear to the side of a cottage, she ran that way and, again. just in time, saw her jump in a window, probably the one that led to her room. Walking over to it, Chime looked in, she seemed to be looking for something. Wanting to look friendly, plus she didn't want to look like a spy, she gently knocked on the window, "Hey, you do know you can use the door, right?" She said, looking at the female werewolf, her eyes weren't concerned for the women injury, but they also said she wasn't trying to be rude.
Kieoki frowned and walked over to the window and shoved it open, glaring at Chime a bit as she spoke. "Do you need something?" Kieoki said flatly, not really in the mood to have a nice chat with someone else. On the other-hand though, she was never really in the mood for having a nice chat. She preferred silence to noise. Not the smartest idea to try and come back to camp, now was it?
"What is wrong with me?" He asked plainly. "And I don't mean being a werewolf.. Why does everything feel so wrong?"
Had Timothy not done it so many times previous to then, he would have buried his face in his hands with frustration and withdrawn. Yet he showed no sign of such an action now, he simply wanted an answer, though he felt sure that Sabrina would not be able to give it to him..
*****
With ears straight forward and eyes sharply focused Kratos watched the doorway. There was a warning in the air to which all of his senses were reacting and though no sound could be heard beyond the wall, the smell of the intruder still lingered in the empty halls.
In broad daylight the Alpha would not be able to step out into the hall in his alternate form to investigate, yet Kratos dared not lower his defenses. Taking a silent and slow step away from the door, he flashed a glance toward Jacqueline and the window near her. Then staring at the doorway for another few moments he moved swiftly to her side; his massive paws barely making so much as a whisper of movement as he came to crouch at the window next to Jackie.
It took Kratos only a second to scan the area under the window and decide on a possible escape route, but he did not yet act upon retreat..
*****
Zeit's growl alerted Ulric of the Bata's feelings toward this other woman, but as merely a guest he was unsure of what he could do. For now it seemed sufficient to be patient and watchful, allowing for the Beta to show length in her authority.
In any other werewolf this decision to remain passive should have invited instinct to note the possible defences of the stranger in case of attack, but it was not so for Ulric. He looked at the stranger as a human being; he noted the color of her hair and skin, her stature, her clothes, her scars and the emotion in her eyes.
The woman suppressed a sigh. Kratos was probably a pacifist of some sort; one who didn't believe in seeking a fight. Even if said fight was practically pounding at the door.
Or what if it was something that even Kratos would be afraid of? Even to Jackie, the thought didn't sit too well. So instead she followed the crouched werewolves' eyes to the window, and half-wondered if her diligent work at chipping away at the window might have some use after all.
She kinda swayed outside the window, showing no signs of leaving. "I'm Chime Slyer, what's your name?" She asked, trying to break the ice. She put her hand in the window, reaching out for a handshake.
It wasn't that Kieoki hated Chime or anything. She actually had no real vision of how she looked at the girl before this meeting. Kieoki was really just a bit embarrassed to being seen in what she was wearing, and that she was injured as well. She hated seeming cute or weak. It irked her more than this intrusive girl ever could.
Kieoki sighed, shook her head and nodded to Chime, deciding to give her her name. "I'm Kieoki." She said tersely.
"As for why everything feels so wrong, as you put it, I've been trying to figure that one out since I met you. Whatever it is, the answer is inside of you some place. Your wol--er, subconcious is aware of it, but for whatever reason, it just can't surface," she went on, "There's a reason you can't remember anything before the day the Alpha found you. Your life, obviously, did not begin there. Maybe you're just not ready to know yet. Maybe not being able to remember is your mind's way of protecting you. This is a process of healing. But in time, when you're ready, I'm sure the answers will come. Until then, we'll work together to get you through this. We're a family now, Timothy."
****
The voices had faded now. Whoever had been talking above had moved on. What a relief! Hesitantly Levi sniffed the air for a moment to be sure that no one else was near. Content that they were not, he finally let his wolf form forsake him. The pressure in his head fled with it, though the headache was not completely gone.
He sighed in relief as he fell foreward onto his human hands. His father had told him that Half-Breeds often had better control of their wolf forms and could shift at will... like Sabrina. Well, Sabrina had over eighteen years of experience under her belt. Even before she could shift she had been being trained for such an experience. Levi could only brag of a measly five years worth of even knowing he was a werewolf. Still, he supposed he had gotten the hang of it pretty well. Just, not as well as a Half-Breed ought to.
He pushed himself to his feet. Having shrunk in body size, his bandages slipped off easily. With a little adjustment he refitted them. His shirt was practically in ribbons from last night's abuse, but these too he adjusted until he considered them appropriate attire. What with the wound on his once large and muscular neck, there was plenty of bandage material left over to wrap up places under his clothing that had become too breezy.
This work was enough to occupy him for a little while...
****
There was a stranger in the small town of Reknab Bend. But then, there had been a lot of those recently, hadn't there? This one, however, was not like the others. He had not sought out any particular company. He had not stopped at any of the fine local diners. He hadn't said so much as a word to anyone... and, to be truthful, no one had gossipped about him, because no one had even known he was there.
In stature he was certainly interesting enough to gossip about, even intimidating. He was dressed entirely in simple black apparel, and he was a very large, muscular man--like a professional weight lifter. He looked to be perhaps in his early twenties, though his black hair already looked flecked with grey... almost like a wolf, actually.
But where ever he had gone, people had avoided him, put him out of their minds. They probably did not even know why. They simply did.
He had come to the town earlier that morning. He had come alone. Then, around noon, he went to the local hospital. He hadn't gone inside though. He'd gone around back. Now he leaned casually against the old wall with his arms folded across his chest, looking every now and again up at one window in particular.
Chime got a little closer to the opened window, pressing up against it for support, the weather had been really nice lately, at least to her. Though she did guess others may think differently... "Eik? Ack! No, that wasn't the right one either... hmm.." Chime smiled faded a little as the unpleasant nickname came to mind but widened it again. Deciding to focus on Kieoki's answer, she would think of something later.
Though snow is my favorite. Yes, on those nights with snow on the ground, full moon in an open clear- Kieoki sharply cut herself off in her mind, stopping herself from thinking about those certain memories at the moment. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to handle herself if she started thinking about those things now. And the last thing she wanted to do was start crying in front of this girl. Well, that was the last thing she wanted to do in front of anyone, mind her. But Kieoki was a bit curious now. Where would Chime decide to take this dreary conversation to? A small smirk flickered over Kieoki's face as she thought this before she turned her eyes back to Chime, waiting.
He observed that Beta Zeit conducted herself in a blunt manner toward the 'intruder' and made it clear that she was not welcome.
Ulric wondered at this, having watched the other woman come out of the house and immediately approached Zeit for an explanation as to why she had awoken here.
However it was far from Ulric's humble nature to assume or guess the facts; thus he remained silent and watchful.
The wiser of Logan's mind pleaded that she turn her back and walk away, ignore that which Logan saw as blatant challenges. But as you might guess, such was hardly her nature. Not long after Zeit had finished talking, she raised an arm and brought a fist down into the woman's face with such force that it would have knocked her over, had Logan not grabbed her shirt by the collar and held her in place.
"I'm not sure what I have done to cause you to be so sharp with me, woman, but listen; I am tired. I am hungry. My items are lost. My body is aching and I have no knowledge of where I am. I will gladly leave your presence, and this territory, if you will show me which direction the town is." she held Zeit's shirt at the collar firmly with both hands, and as she spoke, her grip only tightened. Her eyes remained locked on those of the other with a cold, sharp glare that in itself seemed to dare the woman to do just one more thing to make her mad. Logan cared nothing of the other person still present in the immediate area, as right now, her attention was focused solely on the stranger before her.
His thoughts were his own in that moment, he let nothing be seen beyond his eyes as he turned back toward the door and withdrew his werewolf form.
"Get away from the window Jackie." The Alpha whispered as he aggressively approached the door. He had weighed all consequences and risks; on every hand was laid the potential fate of one individual or several... It was not a decision Kratos would have liked to make in that moment.
As the door slid open and the Alpha's black boots met the hall floor, he had ended his turn and the play was rotated to his opponent.
Timothy's eyes had not turned away from Sabrina since she had begun speaking. A knot seemed to form in his throat and his face felt hot; the feeling of loss which burdened his chest had increased.
"Family?" Why did it hurt so much if he could not remember it. He could not figure out a way to speak without releasing his tears, nor did he know how to explain the words of his heart..
His main thoughts were focused on self-pity, he knew not that the same heartbreak had overtaken Kaleb on that day. Nor indeed the heartbreak many of the Calagathorm Pack members had already fought to endure; the loss of a life once loved, finding themselves alone without a heart to hear their cry..
Such was the state of these strangers, side by side in suffering, and yet to realize it.
In his alternate form Kratos would be able to discern the smells carried on the clothes of each individual whom had passed by, and likely track them to their place of residence in town. Undoubtedly he would be able to track the other werewolf, but he dared not leave Jackie.
Again the Alpha checked the hall and even guardedly stepped away from the door to where the stranger had stood not moments before. But no further evidence had been left by the stranger aside from the quickly fading smell. Just before Kratos returned to Jackie's room, nearly all at once the medical personal appeared again and began trafficking the hall.
Just then, from around the corner came the Nurse responsible for tending to Jackie.
"Good evening.." She said casually, greeting Kratos at the door and making her way into the room. "Just coming to check in on you, how's everything going in here?"
Never mind that. As if an answer to her silent please, Kratos finally got up and moved to the doorway, a decision already reached. Jackie meanwhile had loitered in the seat by the window, starring intently at where she had chipped away at the lock. It had taken her so long to chip away at it... it was really a shame it couldn't be used. Or... Amusement gleamed in her eyes. With one final movement, the defeated-looking spork severed the final fiber of wood that held the lock to the window and Jackie tugged it out of it free into her palms.
Either something was going to have a much easier time getting in, or something was going to have a much easier time getting out.
Now Jackie delicately slipped down from the seat, her feet meeting the cold ground. Slowly she brought herself to the edge of the hospital bed and sat its edge, watching warily at the entrance like a hawk. As it was, she nearly attacked the nurse as she came into the room. And even then she starred at her venomously.
"Much better before you came in," Jackie snarled.
"How long have you been in here and when did she wake up?" She asked, throwing a glance at Kratos as she checked numbers.
"Not too long.." He replied briefly as his eyes turned toward Jackie. "I came in about thirty minutes ago and by then she was already up."
"Mhm.." The nurse hummed skeptically, but before she spoke again Kratos seized the moment to continue.
"Actually we just bid evening to a friend a moment ago.." He said, tucking his hands into his pockets. "We were playing a game of cards when I got the upper hand, but it was cut-short on account of our friend growing tired and suggesting another game. He just left to go get it in fact.. You didn't perhaps see him down the hall, did you?"
"Maybe, I don't know. I passed one person on my way up but I don't recall any details." The nurse said. "... Looks like you're doing okay Jackie, but you need to get your rest. I'll have to ask you to leave now, sir." It was then that the Nurse caught sight of Jackie's handiwork and a look of alarm crossed her face. "What happened here?"
Kratos turned his head to look at the wood chips all over the floor.
"Hmm.. Looks like someone doesn't like it in here." He commented lightly. It then became immediately apparent that the nurse assumed Kratos to be the culprit; Jackie still looked peaked and frail having lost so much blood, it was no surprise that the nurse didn't believe her capable of pulling to pieces a windowsill.
"Sir, I must insist you leave now." The nurse said, this time forcefully and determined. She then began trying to usher Kratos out of the room by stepping forward in casual movements. However, on account of being a dominant werewolf, the Alpha did not heed the subtle gesture. Instinctively he took a step forward and intensified his height; an obvious gesture of aggression or dominance which, unfortunately, was recognizable by regular humans as well as by werewolves...
There was a rather fierce look which passed over the nurse's face and all too quickly Kratos caught himself and used the extra step to turn around and exit the room. Negotiating with the nurse after such a move would prove futile; she knew that the seven-foot man was not ignorant of his actions, so after closing the door she made it clear that she expected him to leave and left down the hall without another word..
Kratos stood in the hall for a moment afterward in silence before sighing and wringing his brow with his hand. The nurse would undoubtedly be back to investigate the window, and she'd probably bring others. So after a length of time Kratos finally turned and went downstairs - after what had happened though, he had no intention to leave the building.
"The pack's nice, huh?"
She tightened her grip on the woman's heands. "DO I make myself clear?" she aske din a commanding tone.
She spoke again, her tone still firm, although softer than before. "You're the one who doesn't understand. I can't leave this territory until I get my things, which are near that town. I don't want to stay here, and I don't want to talk to your alpha, I want to leave this place. For someone who's so eager to see me go, you're making it hard for me to do just that." finally, she loosened her grasp, before letting go altogether and tugging away from the beta's grip. Turning away from the others, she began off in a random direction. "I'll find my own way." Logan muttered, stubbornly refusing to further ask for help.
Without another word to disrupt the horrible silence, Theo left. He hadn't meant to be rude, and he doubted Kaleb did either, but apparently both of them had nothing else to say.
At first, Theo was at loss at what to do with himself. He still felt uncertain. And anger at himself was waxing. Emotions coiled like angry balls in the pit of his stomach, threatening to snap out at any thing that got in his way until--
Oomph.
No need to worry about what to do. Apparently he'd already figured out that one without even trying.
He had just crashed into Logan. The new girl. The crazy savage wacko. Both were more or less interchangeable definitions of her. And running straight into her would prove to be an excellent distraction from emotional turmoil.
The hunger was the worst. Everything would be far more bearable if she wasn't so hungry. All she could think of was sinking her teeth into a big steak, with a baked potato on the side. Or eating a hot bowl of hearty stew. But she'd go for about anything at the moment.
Logan had hardly walked a few yards before something abruptly rammed into her back.
"Aaugh!" yeah, there was definitely a bruise there. She bit her tongue to avoid spewing out any foul language, before turning around to meet whoever had managed to slam right into her. She had expected to see the woman, but instead a man stood there, who's features she briefly examined. No words immediately came to mind, so instead she just raised a brow at him, waiting for him to say something. The silence was broken a couple of seconds later when her stomach decided to let loose a series of growls and groans, much to Logan's irritation. Great timing.
Nothing like an awkward silence to glance things over. Theo spent this precious awkward moment mostly considering how not to get chewed alive by this woman. Even when she was in complete control, she seemed to do a pretty good job getting into trouble anyways. At some point, Theo imagined, he'd have to stop Ziet from trying to kill her with a spatula.
On that cheerful thought, the silence was broken by several malicious snarls from Logan's stomach. Theo blinked in confusion, staring over Logan's lean frame and angry face before coming to one conclusion: If he wanted to avoid getting hurt by her, he was going to have to feed her.
"Hey, Whatever-yourname-is... why not you come with me to the kitchen? I promise Ziet won't mind unless she sees anything. "
With an encouraging, and slightly amused expression, Theo motioned openly towards the direction of the kitchen. This was followed by a silent cat-like stalk and a pressing his finger to his lips. If they were going to get in, they were going to need to operate covertly.
She grumpily stormed to her car before rushing into the house, finding the nearest place to change so she could shift. She briefly passed HawkThorne, who was int he kitchen cooking up a meal for himself. Ziet quickly hide herself and changed into her wolf clothes, neatly folding what she had been wearing into a neat pile. She then shifted, becoming her familiar striped wolf self, ready to run out her anger, and maybe track and chase off another wolf on the pack's territory.
She quickly left the house, leaving in a blur out the open door and sprinting out into the open fields. Maybe she would find some interesting to chase, or something to check as her face swelled a bit. When she saw that wolf again, she was going to prove herself and give the wolf a few bruises to remember.
She followed the other, although walked as she normally would. They had hardly begun their little venture to the kitchen when the woman she had just walked away from rushed in, only to rush out at again; this time as a werewolf. Or at least, Logan was fairly certain it was the same person. Either way, it made her hair stand on end; considering that was the first werewolf she had seen, to her knowledge, since she turned, and it was shocking. Nevertheless, she focused her attention again on the man leading her into the kitchen.
"Logan. Logan is my name." she muttered, finding a seat. She noticed another person in the kitchen, and quietly she envied the meal he was preparing. "Hey.. will you explain what's going on? Why did I wake up here?" she asked, resting her arms on the table, crossed over each other. Leaning forward, she added, "And if you say anything about talking to the alpha or doing chores..." Logan trailed off, before releasing a long, tired breath. "I just want simple answers, please." the last word was hardly audible, and somewhat desperate in tone. She didn't want any more fighting now, just a little knowledge, a simple explanation.
Once in the kitchen, Theo sort of loitered by the table, uncertain of what to do next. That is, until he noticed a few hungry glances from his "guest", and realized he ought to feed her if he wanted to keep his head. Right. Too bad he was about as aqueduct in the kitchen as a five year old to nuclear science.
Fortunately, where his own capabilities as a chef failed, leftovers came to the rescue. A few pancakes lay in a pan, already cool to the touch, but still very much edible. Theo began to busy himself in prying the pancakes out the pan.
Some time after Logan spoke, Theo let the silence hang. Not because he hadn't heard her because he was consumed with his pancake scraping duties. No, more because it was an awkward question that would warrant awkward answers. She would not be pleased to know what had happened last night...
But no use putting it off; she deserved to know. With a deep sigh, the 16-year old slowly brought the plate of cold pancakes along with an old bottle of maple syrup and a fork. Maybe with food, she would take the news better.
"Logan.. alright Logan. My name is Theo. That's the simple part. The not so simple part...," The curly-headed teen grimaced, pausing as he debated his words before altogether giving up on "putting it gently".
"I'm just going to come out and say it. Last night... well you know what always happens on those nights. And you sort of her... came across our little pack. And I guess decided to go on a savage rampage? You sort of horribly attacked one of our pack members... dunno if you remember anything about it, doubt it-- but don't worry, I think she might be okay. Eventually you were incapacitated and brought here, for everyone safety really, not just yours"
In a desperate attempt to smooth it all over, Theo added pathetically with a half hearted smile,"But don't worry, its not like you're the first one. I mean its quite normal to go crazy like that.
Oh yes, smooth.
She was silent until Theo opened his mouth again. And then he used the word "normal". Big mistake. That word hit Logan like a ton of bricks. "Normal?" she asked slowly, in that way a woman does when they want you to change your wording, and do it quickly. "No, it's not normal. Maybe, in a society of freaks like this little pack you have built, you can feel normal, but it's not normal. It's not normal to completely loose control of yourself, it's not normal to worry about MURDERING someone because you get into a little fight with them. Normal people don't change into big brutal beasts every month. Normal is going to work and being with friends and having a life, without having to worry about telling your loved one, 'oh hey dear, by the way, I'm a monster, hope you don't mind'. If I was normal, I wouldn't be here right now!"
By the time she was done yelling, she could feel her heart slamming against her ribcage, and with every throbbing pulse her head felt more and more like it was going to explode. Letting out a shaky breath, she began to scarf down the pancakes. At over half way through, she stood and went into the kitchen, opening cupboards as she tried to find the one where the medicine was be kept. Or at least, that's where her grandfather always kept medicine. Dishes, baking necessities, snacks. Nothing. So she found her way to the bathroom instead, and lo and behold, the cabinet was stocked with pain relievers.
After taking an appropriate dosage, and taking the time to wash up a little, she headed to the kitchen.
Theo remained silent as Logan yelled at him; knowing full-well trying to defend his species would probably result in more yelling. A woman's fury was nothing to be trifled with unless you had a death wish. Theo did not.
Therefore, Theo opted for the path of passive resistance. Like a brick, he didn't say or do anything, but observed her anger with an interested detachment. He watched the watched her snap up the pancakes in a few hungry bites before going on to raid the medicine cabinet down the hall.
She returned to the kitchen, and Theo starred back at her uncertainly. Could he dare talk to her now? Maybe the pancakes might have calmed her. Maybe the moment away would have made her less angry. No, strike that thought; she was probably still pretty furious. But the only other alternative was to continue to ignore her. Perhaps at some point earlier in his life, this may have been an option for Theo... but unfortunately, to ignore an angry first-generation would be leaving an awful lot to chance.
Chance that she wouldn't leave the ranch. Chance that if she did go to the city, she wouldn't go crazy psychopath on them. Perhaps he could follow her; but unfortunately, it would be a case of the blind leading the blind. Theo wasn't entirely sure, given the right set of circumstances, he'd be any more in control than Logan.
The teen sighed, studying Logan like he was trying to say something really thoughtful.
Instead he blurted,"Umm... sorry you're a crazy monster and you're stuck with other crazy monsters?".
"I should leave.. I don't think the 'alpha' will be happy to find me still here whenever they get back. Anyway, which way is the town?" she left the house, expecting Theo to follow. Then her eyes drifted over the area, namely towards the worn road in which it seemed many vehicles had passed over time and time again. Without waiting for a response from the teenager, she began on the road. If there was a town nearby, this would surely take her to it. Possibly. Even if there was a chance it wouldn't, she'd still be on a road, which of course was far better than wandering through the forest.
The morning wasn't going well. Someone was in the hospital on her account, which no doubt made for some very unhappy pack members. And even in her now awake and well aware state she'd managed to enrage one person and burden a stranger with unnecessary ranting. Of course, she was likely to disregard it all later and act completely as if it never happened, as was how she handled things she preferred not to remember. She was perfectly content with forgetting and moving on, blaming it all on the fact it had been a full moon; there was no regret for her actions and she had no intention of apologizing.
The fight was over relatively quickly, and then both women stormed off; the Beta went inside and emerged almost immediately afterward in her secondary form only to charge off into the woods, and the stranger was invited indoors by a member of the pack. Ulric did not yet know the names of the individual pack members.
Things outside then fell quiet for a little while and Ulric stood silent and motionless by his car. It would've been too much to ask Ulric to go exploring or in the very least to go inside - he was tired beyond his wits. Thus after nearly dozing off on his feet, Ulric decided to get back into his car and slump into the driver seat....
A faint thump brought Ulric out of his light sleep. The stranger from before had just come out of the large cabin and started down the forest road.
Ulric sat up slowly and laid his head on his fist with his elbow rested on the steering wheel. The stranger hardly seemed to notice him as she passed his car. Dropping his hand he leaned back in his seat, for a moment he watched her walk away in his side-view mirror and debated on the proper course of action.
Timothy walked the hall very cautiously; the night had been rough, and he was looking to avoid confrontation with Kieoki. He did not notice how keen everything looked, smelled, and sounded; he believed it to be a result of crying so much.
As it would happened, he arrived at the bottom of the stairs just as a very unfamiliar woman exited the house and suddenly he became very stiff. His heart began pounding in his ears, he felt his fists tighten and all his senses become incredibly focused.. It seemed to be a repeat of the event when Savannah and Ulric first entered Reknab Bend.
"Who was that?!" Timothy would have vocally asked if he could, but his thoughts never got passed his lips.
Without really thinking about it Timothy threw a fierce glance up the stairs, then toward Theo. In a split second he appeared to heavily debate some irrational idea and came to a definite conclusion.
Casually she glanced out the window. She saw the stranger leaving. Odd. Hadn't the Alpha ordered Zeit to keep an eye on her until he returned? But she sighed again and touched her temple. It's hardly my business. After last night I'll never expect this pack to act professionally again.
She turned then, and approachd the door. There was no hurry, no concern in her step as she walked down the hallway. But at the top of the stairs she froze, midpose in sweeping a rogue lock of her platinum hair our of her face. She saw Timothy standing at the bottom, and some subconcious red flag went up. Something was wrong. She felt her heart begin to start pounding hard--there was something wrong with him--his face--she'd seen that look in his face before!
"Timothy, no!" she said, hastening down the stairs to grab his shoulder in some attempt to break this trance before something rather tragic occured.
Regardless, it seemed like a stupid idea to set her off on her own. Everyone in the pack seemed too busy to watcher her… and as it was, he doubted she’d like too many of them watching over her. So far, she’d only seemed to tolerate him. Ah yes, there was the stupid idea that had been festering in the back of his skull. Go to town. Make sure Logan didn’t try to kill anyone. And meanwhile, try not to do likewise.
Therefore Theo prepared to follow close behind—not before snatching a pair of hiking boots by the door. As he turned to close the door, he saw a set of eyes fixated on him… was that Timothy? Theo began to feel anxious. He hadn’t talked to Timothy much; he was rather reclusive and kept to himself; but Timothy’s control made Theo look like a well-trained poodle. And that stare that kept burning at the back of Theo’s skull; well it was hard to tell if it was out-of-control, but it certainly didn’t feel healthy to have Timothy’s interest.
Theo rushed out the door in a heart-beat as soon as he managed to shove his feet into the shoes. He had no plans of waiting around. His hiking crunched underfoot as he approached the woman, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he felt himself moving farther away from the house.
“Hey Logan,” Theo paused a moment, to ensure he had her interest,”I think you’re going the wrong way. You should go on the paved road. Unless you really like apples, I guess ”.
Kieoki mentally winced at the thought of Timothy. She just couldn't interact correctly with people, could she? She'd been trying to help in the situation, but the more and more she thought about it, the more she realized she'd probably made the situation worse. Idiot. She shook her head and walked off into the forest, keeping herself behind a tree so at least Chime wouldn't see her walking away. Kieoki realized though, that always going off into the forest to be alone wasn't a good thing, and it wouldn't solve any of her interaction problems. But it wasn't like she'd found a quiet place in the house, and so this was the next best thing. But maybe she should be trying to interact with people? She should at least try, but after thinking about it she realized she didn't know how. She wasn't used to all the company. And granted, she knew she wasn't the only one with problems, and yet, she was the only one acting like she had problems.
Suddenly angry with herself, Kieoki sat down and leaned against a tree, her back to the house as she frowned at herself. Yeah, most of the people here had their various backgrounds, and yeah, she'd been this way for a long time now, but a lot of them hadn't. And yet here she was, acting like a baby by stowing herself away in the forest. No one else was doing that, now were they? But then again, most of them had lived around people all their lives before they were turned. So they at least knew how to interact with others more than she did...but instead of hiding, Kieoki realized she should at least try to talk to someone. Yes, she'd just shot down the conversation with Chime, but that was because the girl had been in her room. Or was that really the reason? Could the reason have had been that Kieoki just was to ignorant to even try to talk with someone here? Kieoki sighed and shook her head at herself. She really was acting like an idiot. Everyone in this pack had their flaws, their backgrounds, their different pasts, and yet she was the only one refusing to even try to make friends. What had she been thinking when she joined the pack? That she could be left alone and still have their protection? As if. She couldn't expect them to trust her or to protect her if she wasn't willing to do the same back.
Kieoki stood, realizing that she needed to try and fix her situation. She decided to start with accepting help with her arm, and so she untied the piece of cloth she'd had there, and frowned when she saw that it'd healed shut by now, though the skin was still red. Of course. By the time she decides to interact, it's fine. But while looking at herself, she realized another problem that was making stand out. She really had nothing appropriate to wear, did she. Seriously, what she was currently wearing wasn't casual clothes; it was something she'd wear to a formal party, or one of those dances she'd seen happening in towns that she'd passed. And for the first time, Kieoki realized she was embarrassed with herself. But how would she work at getting something casual? She doubted that Krat would let her go all the way to the town at the moment. And sure, she could go without asking, but that was only a good way to get him upset without need to. Maybe someone else had some extra clothes? But the thought of asking made Kieoki cringe. She slowly walked back into view of the cabins, but sat down this time against a tree, while being able to see both cabins at the same time. Krat wasn't here right now, and so maybe she'd ask him for permission to go herself when he got back. He doubted he'd let her, but it wasn't as embarrassing as if she'd ask someone else for something extra that they had. Frustrated, Kieoki sat with her head resting on her one hand, her eyes closed.
"Had she not seen me? Was she blind?!" Chime found herself thinking these words, a little frustrated. She mentally noted to herself not to stand in front of Kieoki's window anymore, since it seemed to be her door.
Getting up, she examined her elbow, it hurt but nothing that wouldn't be better soon, still she hated it when her elbow the that springy thing. "Maybe she remembered something important she had to do..." Chime found herself deciding that it must of been that, what else could it had been?
Sighing, she walked towards the front of cabin, Kieoki was interesting, Chime wished that she could of thought of something that both could really get into, another time perhaps. She lifted her face to the path back to town, then nearly had a heart attack. Freezing, Chime watched as the blacked haired stranger walked away from the pack, she didn't look as scary as before but she still didn't wanna get in her way. Chime decided to looked around, shouldn't someone be watching her? Or was she supposed to be leaving? Zeit wanted her to leave...
Still, seeing someone in what she guessed to be his truck, she walked over. Gently bumping the window with her hand, which, of course, didn't have the hurt elbow, she pointed in the towards the stranger, hoping he would do something about it. She had seen this guy with the stranger earlier, maybe they know one another?...
Kieoki stood, watching them as she frowned, shy for a moment as she hesitated. She brushed her arms off quickly -as if to brush her anxiety away- and then ran after Theo, catching up without much problem. She only heard a few words of what he'd been saying, so she didn't even try to cut into that conversation, but started her own, trying to remember to smile as she looked at them both and spoke, her one hand grasping her other arm. She really wasn't good with people, but she could act.
"Ah- are you two by any chance, heading to the town? Because I'd love to come if you wouldn't mind." Kieoki said with a smile that was laced with hesitance. Interaction was much more difficult than she'd expected. Why couldn't she act like she did around Krat? Well, probably because she was trying to be nice. And considering that acting in a negative way wouldn't come off very well...she was at least trying her best.
"Why are you wearing that?" she asked, the question stated bluntly. Not in a condescending manner, but a genuinely curious one - like something you'd hear from a little kid wanting an answer to something. A lot of things about other women confused her. Not that she was totally naive either, but there were times like now that questions would pop into her head that she wanted answered. She usually questioned things like high heels, perfume and makeup. Not that she necessarily had anything against those things, but if something seemed impractical, she questioned it. If was safe to say she never really got in touch with her feminine side, as she never really the had the chance.
The question Kieoki asked - if she could tag along wile they went to town - was left unanswered by Logan. She seemed too fixated on the dress Kieoki was wearing, but the reality was probably that she wanted to avoid answering it.
"As you can see, I'd rather not be wearing this." Kieoki said with a sigh, wishing that she'd just snuck off to town by herself and had avoided this conversation. She didn't like talking about herself, or being the one the conversation was based on. But, maybe this happened to others? She doubted that, but she tried not to let her discomfort show. She really did want to tag along with them, and she'd rather not have Logan stare at her the entire way or something like that. Or Theo for that matter. Kieoki wasn't looking at him right now, but she could only hope that he wouldn't end up staring too.
She leaned down and began rolling her pant legs up until they were rolled to her knees, then she tucked in the tank top and put her hands into her pockets. That being done, she began down the road without giving any indication as to whether or not she wanted them to follow.
The two didn't seem a threat, so she didn't really oppose the idea of them coming along, but she didn't understand why they wanted to tag along with her. "So why are you coming with me?" she asked to one in particular. "You're not allowed to leave here without someone else?" she added to previous question, keeping her eyes on the path ahead.
Driven by curiosity of what Kieoki could have been wearing, he peaked up a little. Part of him wished he hadn’t, because Kieoki clearly seemed uncomfortable about her attire. And by seeing what it was, it made him uncomfortable. Trying to smooth things over, he gave a bit of a nervous laugh. Then realizing this made it rather obvious he had looked up, he went to starring at his feet as he struggled to think of something to say.
“We really need to get out more,” he observed quietly; mostly it was directed at Kieoki, since Theo suspected Logan was “out” quite a bit, “This whole stay at the ranch like reclusive monks is driving us all crazy”.
By that point, the three were a good distance away from the dens. In a few more minutes, they might be out of its sight entirely. And with any hope, they could make their grand escape to civilization without being caught and turned in like hardened criminals.
"You can say that again. It doesn't help when some people are already crazy either." Kieoki said without thinking about anyone in particular. Sure, she could possibly throw herself into that category if she really wanted to. After all, she used to be a lone were who instead of trying to avoid packs and their territory, she didn't care one bit and just went where she pleased, regardless of who else lived there. And then, for some reason, she'd just decided to join this pack, out of all the packs that she could have tried to join, she'd chosen this one for some reason. Kieoki rolled her eyes at herself, giving up on trying to find reason in her decision.
Kieoki glanced back when she thought they'd be out of sight. But she could still see their home faintly and so she glanced at Theo, a grin on her face. "Looks like we'll make it without trouble. But in case anyone starts yelling, I'm gonna run." Kieoki said with a laugh, almost happy at the prospect of out-running someone else from the pack. But, in case Theo wasn't the fastest runner, Kieoki wished for no one to bother them. Let the trio go to town, for goodness sake.
Nevertheless, she continued to cling to her spite. Mostly out of stubbornness - there was that feeling of knowing you were wrong, and yet wanting to hold onto a certain ideal because you could, and because you had been for so long. A childish mindset, but it was hers nonetheless. And then there was something more she denied with a childlike stubbornness..
"Why do you stay there? In the pack.." she asked, trying to keep some sort of conversation going. Besides that, she was curious. They could go anywhere. And yet they chose to follow this alpha. Maybe it was a simple concept - the alpha was a friend they trusted. Or maybe it was due to some longing for those similar to themselves. Either way, she wanted to know. Her eyes continued to remain locked on the path on ahead, occasionally moving from one place to another as she wondered in which direction it was the town was located, and if perhaps there were any shortcuts.
"Us, Crazy? Never"
Theo couldn't help but continuously peak behind his shoulder. That invisible boundary that had confined him and separated him from normal humans for so long felt like one of those absolute things in his life; it couldn't be broken. He couldn't help but feel sooner or later, someone would come charging out. Sooner or later. Yet crazy paranoia aside, there was something nice about walking in the morning a "free man" so to speak.
And with friends. That was a new one. It wasn't that Theo was anti-social, but merely friends had never been one of those things in life he'd never gotten around to. So despite the risk of capture, he couldn't help but grin like a five year old.
"Sounds good to me," Theo answered cheerfully to Kieoki,"Hopefully we're almost out of range for them to notice. Hopefully".
Theo would have been content to let the silence hang from there, or even just some light talk. Yet her certainly hadn't expected Logan, who had been fairly quiet and cold throughout their walk thus far, to bring out the big guns: Why were they even in a pack? He wasn't sure about Kieoki, but that particular question brought up all kinds of awkward. None of which he cared much to go into, so he therefore opted for the simplest of answers.
"Free food," Theo explained with a nod.
The nurse inspected her handiwork. Jackie nearly scoffed in amusement as the nurse overlooked Jackie as the culprit, and off to the giant man. Apparantly no one had taught her “don’t judge a book by its cover”, which annoyed Jackie deeply to be so undervalued. She was almost tempted to send her rack reeling towards the nurse, to show she wasn’t as helpless and pathetic as she looked, but held back the impulse in fear the nurse may take to this violence by strapping her to the bed.
Kratos left the room and the nurse watched with a wariness; which was the only intelligent move Jackie has seen the nurse do all day. She turned to Jackie, squinching her nose in distaste as she surveyed Jackie sitting in the chair.
“Miss, you really should get back in your bed. You’re in no condition to be up”
Jackie glared at her.
“Miss, if you need assistance--
The nurse had said the golden word, and having great value on her independence, Jackie slowly hobbled towards her bed. Sitting in the chair so long had made her muscles stiff again, and the short walk was therefore a painful one. She hated to say it, but as she shifted herself onto the creaking hospital bed, it felt significantly better than the hard chair. Of course, she showed no signs of relief to the nurse; she gave her the cold silent treatment as usual.
The nurse sighed and shook her head, “I’ll send the doctor up in a few moments to check in on you”.
And with that, the nurse thankfully left. Jackie was nearly considering returning to the window sill and finishing what she started, but on cue, there came a visitor to distract her from her bid to freedom.
“Hello Jaqueline,” a stranger greeted from the doorway.
The stranger stepped into the light, revealing a middle-aged man. But if anyone would have thought the aging man was someone to take advantage of, they would have been sorely mistake. Or likely blind. For this man was tall, limber, and muscular; no doubt intimidating to someone with half a wit about them. His face was hard and collective, framed by short sandy-blond hair and five-o-clock shadow. Coldy icy blue eyes glanced at the room, evidently amused (in particular, the slayn windowsill). Then his eyes settled on Jackie’s large glaring eyes with a hard glare of his own.
“Well, looks like your new friends play rough, don’t they?,” the man commented wryly, seeming undeterred by Jackie’s lack of response.
“’My new friends’ have ears like a rabbits,” Jackie retorted snidely. She snatched a pad of paper and pen from her bedside and handed it to the stranger, who walked up and took it from her frail hands.
The man scribbled something earnestly on the pad of paper and handed it back to Jackie. Jackie seemed to pause, considering the words, before thoughtfully writing something of her own. There was something strange in her eyes as she did so, something cold and manipulative—much different than the shallow rage and frustration she often exploded.
The two interchanged a few more times with the paper before the man eventually raised his hand to signal enough. The man made no move to leave, and instead both Jackie and the man considered each other like two birds of prey.
The stare-down could have lasted hours, if a rather frazzled and tired-looking doctor hadn’t stumbled into the room. His nose half-buried in medical papers, he nearly didn’t notice the man until he nearly ran into him.
“Oh!,” the doctor exclaimed, stopping short of running into the very-scarry-looking stranger. It was no wonder why a look of alarm spread over his face. A frail intellect like himself wouldn’t have lasted two seconds if the stranger had decided to turn violent from being run into.
Visiting hours are over sir,” the doctor stated after a few moment’s pause. His voice was meek, perhaps even afraid, but something about it was soothing, like he was asking a lion not to eat him,” We need to run our rounds and visitors often get in the way of our patience’ care”
“Tom Felton,” the man smiled. He took the doctors hand and shook it heartily. The doctor looked terrified,”I’m family”
The doctor sighed,”Yes, well, even family is not allowed in past a certain hour. You can see err,” the doctor peaked at his charts,”Jaqueline in the morning”
The stranger, Tom, laughed,”Well alright then, if you insist. Good luck with your rounds,”
And with that, Tom left. The doctor seemed to spend a few seconds unwinding all of the fear from the man’s entrance, before busying himself with an explanation on Jackie’s condition (which she, of course, didn’t pay attention to).
While the doctor was occupied, Jaqueline snatched the top sheet off the pad of paper her and Tom had written on and promptly disintegrated it in her palms by patiently tearing it piece by piece. Had she been more awake or aware, she would have realized that their “conversation” had gone onto the second page.
The old fraying yellow note paper seemed emboldened by Tom’s words. A sort of finality that made even the flimsiest of paper ominous.
“We’re coming soon”
The words lay spread on the nightstand, forgotten by Jackie who had quickly drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Kieoki gave up trying to think of a reason though, and shrugged, glancing ahead as she spoke. "Truthfully, I have no idea. Krat managed to convince me, I guess? I was doing fine on my own, after all. I've been by myself for almost seven years." Kieoki said as she air-counted on her fingers the years to double check herself. Well, now that she thought about it, it was more like six years, but then again she'd just turned eleven when she'd set out on her own...so seven years wasn't a lie entirely.
Amusing herself, Kieoki realized that she was telling them so much more than she'd ever planned to. Not that this was a terribly bad thing though...because she realized that it was nice to not lie about herself or box it in if it was just small things like this. As long as the topic stayed away from how they were turned, or if it was genetic, she realized she didn't mind talking about herself. Being sociable was actually more pleasant than she'd expected.
*****
Ulric had watched the trio go with every intention to remain passive, until Chime had approached him and tapped on the window of his car. She made a gesture toward the stranger, whom was now joined by two pack members, as they followed the dirt road through the trees and vanished from sight of the dens.
In all honesty Ulric did not know what the young lady wanted him to do, but he opened his door nonetheless and got out to further investigate the problem.
"Is there something I may do, Ma'am?" He asked sincerely.
*****
After being forced to leave Jackie's hospital room Kratos had gone down in search of the unknown werewolf intruder. He had followed the subtle smell for a short time, down one hall and then the next, but with the passing of time and people it was eventually too thin to be detected in human form.
At that point Kratos had come around to the lobby, tired and somewhat slow of judgement, so he sat down on a couch and casually pulled up a magazine to read.
The Alpha had memorized the smell of the intruder; he would know it if he smelled it again.. And though he had made the motion to do so, he never read one word off the magazine. His eyes were vigilantly trained elsewhere; his glance was constantly on the passersby as he took silent note of every face he saw and voice he heard.
Thus Kratos had sat for some time in silence and pretended interest when something else occurred.. An elderly man had entered the lobby minutes before, walked to the desk and and made an attempted to wait, then he had looked toward Kratos and at last approached him.
"Sir, may I sit here?" The elderly man asked.
Kratos looked up briefly to see the man's face, then to the seat next to him and nodded. The elderly man then smiled and sat down. Kratos immediately noticed a thick musky smell hanging in the air and clinging to the clothes of the man.
"Thank you." The man said after a moment. "I usually stand but it seems today is going to be a long one."
"I know what you mean." Kratos remarked, not really having any further interest in the old man.
"I don't suppose you live in town," The man continued. "I've been around awhile and I've never seen your face before."
"No, I live near the foot of the mountains, I don't come into town often." Kratos said and he briefly glanced at the man again. His face was very wrinkled, with bushy brows and a wiry beard, a leather cap covered his forehead and most of his dark brown hair.
"Ah, so around the Buttermilk ranches, perhaps the Geltons or the Chandlers? Not many folk that haven't been there for generations like to settle at the mountain foot." The elderly man said. "Though I've heard there are some who own small cabins up there. I don't suppose you've seen the wolves around?"
Kratos lowered the magazine to his lap and tried to think back. "No, I don't recall ever seeing any wolves up there."
"That's good, a lot of folks around here have been worrying about the farms closer to the mountains. Livestock seems safe enough, but these wolves are known to come right on into town to attack people.." The man explained. "There's going to be a town council meeting in a few days to discuss the possibility of a hunting party. We haven't heard from several people in awhile; One woman was found dead in her house just earlier today, they concluded it was an overdose of something, but she'd been dead awhile and her son was nowhere to be found."
Kratos held a firm gaze, his attention had been captured by this stranger. "Do they believe wolves were involved, and I don't suppose you know the boy's name?" He asked.
The elderly man brushed a finger through his brow. "From what I've been told, the police found fur in the boy's room and prints in the yard. But no, though I've heard of the family and I recall the boy liked to photograph, I never knew their names and they don't have any relatives in town."
Kratos remained silent for a moment in thought, wondering if it could have any connection to someone in the pack.. He did not know that Kaleb had been by his mother's house just earlier that day.
But the elderly man did not pause long to consider the same thoughts.
"I've heard that Miss Chandler released all her farmhands earlier this year, and I've been worried that something has happened to her." The elderly man continued. "Some folks say they've seen her around town, but no one has had a chance to talk with her.. Her father, Mr. Chandler, was a fine man; he would often allow wanderers to stay at the ranch as signaled by a lit lamp on his porch. I believe she did the same for awhile.."
"She did," Kratos said thoughtfully. "That's how I came to be under her roof."
The man looked up to meet Kratos' face. "Ah, so how is she doing?"
"She's well, everything is always under control; she's quite a business woman." Kratos replied with a smile. "She's got plenty of help, and protection. I think most of her new farmhands come from out of town.."
The man smiled then was silent for a moment. "It's good to hear she is doing alright.. So what is your name?"
"Samuel Shragron." Kratos said without a moments hesitation. "I was raised in the city not far from here, I came to this town seeking a bit of quiet and perhaps a better future."
"It's good to meet you, Samuel. People around here know me as Mr. Trodder."
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Trodder."
[Meanwhile]
Before Kratos had left the room he had subtly explained to Jackie that he suspected the stranger had lost patience, gave up the advantage, and would likely change the game. But it was not so..
The stranger never lost the upper-hand, what she wanted could only be achieved if she stepped away, thus she did so.
The Alpha had assumed that she did not want to confront him, but it was more likely that she did not want to corner him.. She did not yet know how far he would go, and she was not yet willing to test him.
So down the stairs she had gone and around the corner. Very calculatedly she mingled her identifiable werewolf scent with the various perfumes she wore and which filled the hall. She had made a guess that the Alpha would not willingly go far from his injured friend, and used the time he wasted to her absolute advantage.
By the time Kratos had actually gone looking for the intruder her scent was already too faint to be followed far. So she had gone up, nearly immediately after the nurse had directed the Alpha away, coming up the stairs opposite to the ones he went down and arriving quite ahead of Jackie's later visitor.
Casually she walked the hall alongside all the passersby, glancing toward the nurse as she exited only to pause as a tall masculine character came up the stairs and approached Jackie's room.
The stranger wondered briefly about the identity of the man, for it seemed clear that he was not a werewolf. So subtly as he went in, she came slowly and listened alongside the door. Of course she only heard as much as they said, but it was not without some gain..
"Tom Felton," She thought to herself. "Now there is a name that deserves looking into... He clearly knows about the werewolves, yet he is not one. She is suspicious; she does not want her Alpha to hear whatever business they conduct."
The dark haired woman cast a glance toward the stairs that Kratos had gone down. Silently she stepped away from the door, nodded as if to herself, and slipped out of the hall just as the man excited the room.
Still, he felt sure that if something didn't happen soon, he would certainly go mad. His stomach growled furiously at him. So that was it? Had he been cast down here to starve to death on account of the Alpha's inability to take his life personally? No, they wouldn't have bothered treating his wounds if that were the case.
Like a caged wild thing, he began to pace back and forth, considering the height of the walls and the likelihood of those barbed wire fences at the top being electrified...
****
Like a hound after a fox, Timothy had no sooner made it out the door than Sabrina was on his heels. She would not let him get away with a stunt like he had with Savannah again.
"Well, erm, I was going to... er... Do you know her?" Chime finally asked, pointing again at the female stranger. Maybe she had been wrong about this dude knowing who the other was, then who was he?
Part of Kieoki's reply, that she had been alone for seven years, piqued Logan's interest. Why was she alone for so long? Of course, no doubt everyone had their story to tell, and maybe she could hear this woman's another time.. No, she couldn't. She would be gone. Logan was going to leave this "territory" and continue her travels. There was no use in staying here.
"What do you usually do?" she asked, then realized her question was somewhat vague. "What's the purpose of a pack?" her eyes examined the long path ahead, then moved to the trees. The road was probably the most direct route, but she wanted to avoid dealing with any more pack members that might come their way. And considering how the two teenagers had seemed so paranoid, she didn't think the scenario would be unlikely. Wordlessly, she began to walk to the trees - her intention to continue to follow the route of the path, but out of immediate sight of anybody who came down the road. She only looked back briefly to see if the others were following, before continuing on her way.
Theo, however, said nothing to this thought. He knew that it would do little good, outside of elevating Logan's paranoia and painting an even nicer image of the savage werewolves who could hunt by smell and scent. At the very least, Theo liked the trees better than the road anyways. So perhaps it was not a total loss.
Of course, Theo's mind was at a total loss of Logan's questions. Again. That woman really seemed to like putting him out of his comfort zone. Hunting squirrels, running silent through a forest, tracking bears, he would have been the guy to go to. Soul-searchy type questions, the whole 'Why are we even here'... well, those were difficult.
Nontheless, Theo figured he might as well try to give her a straight answer. He tried to swallow the natural awkwardness that seemed to mount off of him, but he should have known that was useless.
"A pack.. right. A pack. Weelll," Theo's forest green eyes drifted uncertainly over the foliage above, before settling back to words,"You know how we were mentioning earlier about all of us being savage horrible monsters? Well a pack helps with that one... makes sure you can't do anything stupid. Or at least tries."
Theo coughed, then added as an afterthought,"And sometimes it helps with that whole sense-of-belonging thing people are always stumbling after, too".
She frowned at Logan's question though, because she realized that she had no clue as to the answer. Kieoki glanced at Theo, and realized that he seemed to be having the same problem thinking of an answer. She raised an eyebrow at his answer though, realizing that it was a good one, though it didn't really apply to herself in too much of any type of way. Because, she had fairly good control over her wolf, or at least enough control not to do anything stupid while she was a wolf. But this only stemmed from the fact that she used to only travel in her were form because it was much faster and if she ran into any danger, she could fight better, or sprint away before anything could happen.
Nevertheless, Kieoki had to faintly smirk at Theo's answer and say nothing. Because, she really couldn't think of anything to add.
Shakily, he lifted his hand and rubbed his face, at which time he realised he didn't have his galsses on. "Oh." he moaned aloud, struggling to loose himself from the stubborn embrace of his sheets and blanket. This took longer then it should've due to Toby being all but blind without his specticals. But when he was free at last, he scrambled about in search of his opticals and finally found them near the closet door.
Ah. Now things were clearer. Toby could make sense of where he was at any rate: It was that strange cabin bunk place that Alpha Kratos had taken them too, and this was Toby' room in the establishment. But how had he gotten here?
Last night was all a blur, so were the past few days infact- And it wasn't due to his wolf-side.. Toby and his wolf were very much the same person; A terribley tidy, completely in control nerd. So then why was everything so fuzzy?
Last Toby could make sense of was chasing after Timothy in attempts to get him to calm down, but being repeatedly attacked and interrupted by some snotty she-wolf... Did one of the Betas show up and end it? Because Toby seemed to recall heading home, feeling relieved and tired.. But then, something else happened...... What was it?
Did he get lost? Yes... Yes.. He got lost.. Or something, and someone had attacked him and asked him a whole lot of questions!
But what kind of questions? Who were they?.. And how did he get home?
Toby shook these thoughts from his mind and quickly made himself ready for the day by brushing his teeth, combing his hair, taking a shower, changing into fresh clean clothes, and going down stairs for breakfast- All the while figuring a difficult math problem in order to clear his head.
He came down the stairs as a regular young man in proper attire, not really looking for anyone imparticular, but keeping an eye out none the less.
There were no other questions that sprung to mind, or rather, none that she felt like asking at the moment, so Logan chose to remain silent. The sound of leaves and stems crumpling underfoot, or the occasional sound of a bird chirping were, for the time, the only noises that kept the trio from remaining in complete silence.
Theo and Kieoki seemed very different people. As did everyone else in the pack. She wondered about their backgrounds, how they became werewolves, how they came to find the pack. But most of all, she wondered why she even cared. Being a traveler, she came across so many strangers. So why was it now that she was curious about people she hardly knew? They were werewolves. If anything, she should have cared less. She blamed it on the fact she was still tired and tried to focus solely on getting to the town.
Now they walked a decent distance from the path, but Logan kept them parallel to it, and didn't go too far out, for the sake of not getting them entirely lost. However, there were worse dangers present than getting a little off course, which Logan was completely naive of..
Of course life usually never let such moments last.
Snap!
At first, Theo couldn’t process what had happened. All he knew that instead of walking, and now he was on the ground. Hunched over something. It wasn’t particularly uncomfortable at that moment, just unsettling. Then an intense burst of nauseating pain hit him. The boy groaned to himself, trying to see if the others had even noticed where he was. He realized his arms had been clenching something, unconsciously. It felt a lot like his foot; of course something about it was off. And wet. Daring himself to look, he nearly gasped in surprise.
Something cold and metal seemed to be clamped on his foot. Although clamped wasn’t really the word. More like “trying to tear off his foot”. Because there was an awful lot of what… red? Theo felt dizzy just looking at it.
He grit his teeth, trying not to start moaning like a baby. Although even his best efforts couldn’t hold back the pain, and he started to moan anyways. He tried to distract himself, starring at the strange metal contraption. It looked an awful lot like a fox trap, but Theo couldn’t understand how a fox-trap would trap a human. Maybe the name of the object wasn’t everything.
In any case, Theo had always been under the impression that those old fashion types of traps weren’t really used anymore. And that they were set more into the forest, where foxes were more likely to be. Theo tried to continue the train of thought, but the pain suddenly seemed to double and the teen felt himself consumed by the pain entirely.
It wasn't until after a few seconds that Kieoki realized no one new was there. Confusion flashed into her eyes, and she turned to look at the others then, when she finally saw where the sound had come from. Her eyes widened as she saw Theo on the ground, moaning in pain, his one foot caught in a...a trap? What was that old looking thing doing out here? Kieoki frowned, not deterred by the sight of blood. Immediately, she was thinking about ways to remove it from his foot without hurting him further. She didn't know how they worked though. Did they have some sort of catch that if hit, would open? Probably not. Maybe she could pry it open? Thankfully, because of his ankle, there was a small gap where the teeth of the trap were apart because they hadn't cut through his whole ankle.
Kieoki dropped her dagger and knelt down by Theo's foot, untying the sash from her waist as she spoke. "Would you help me with this?" Kieoki said, referring to Logan as she looked at Theo. "Theo, I know it hurts but do me a favor and try not to pass or or something, okay?" Kieoki said as she wrapped her hand in her sash and gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry if this'll hurt, but we need to see." Kieoki said before she tried to gently wipe the top of the metal trap off in order to see the teeth and where it was digging into his ankle. Angry with herself for not knowing how to unlatch it, Kieoki slipped her fingers into the small space on either side of his foot, trying to leave room for Logan to get the other side. "Theo, I don't know how this works, but I'm going to try and pry it open, okay?" Kieoki said as she gripped the metal, hoping that Logan would help her.
It didn't look as bad as Logan had originally thought it would be. She remembered seeing much larger versions of the barbaric trap set around her own town to keep feral dogs at bay (including werewolves, though they never caught any). Those traps would have easily snapped a man's leg in two, even one of Theo's build. Thankfully, this was just a small one. Though, it was covered in a thick layer of rust, meaning the wounds would definitely need sterilized professionally, and the boy would likely be given a tetanus shot.
"How fast are you? You need to run back to those cabins and tell someone. There was a man in a truck, I think.. see if you can get him and bring him here. Be careful." she asked, or rather, she commanded of Kieoki, although in a fairly even tone rather than a demanding one.
"It's just a fox trap. You'll be alright.. though you need to go to the hospital. Stay still." she told him, not really expecting him to pay any attention. Just because it wasn't serious didn't mean it wouldn't hurt, but it seemed more than anything the idea of it was causing him more agony than the pain itself. Now more than ever she wished she had her bag, which had a small first aid kit in it. "Tell me about your alpha." she stated, hoping it would give Theo something to think about while they waited.
Another wave of pain hit and Theo was forced to look away from the tree, his jaw clamped so hard he thought it might snap. He was presently aware of Kieoki trying to say something of him... to not pass out? He might have rolled his eyes at her if he had that kind of pain-free time. On reflection, it seemed that Kieoki really didn't think too highly of his pain threshold. All the more determined not to start squealing.
Although once Kieoki started tugging on the metal teeth, Theo thought he might loose it. Any thoughts of not moaning where mostly lost; he really couldn't help it. He was only too happy to see Kieoki be replaced by someone who had a little more experience with deathtraps. Although on later thought, it might be a little disturbing that Logan did know so much about those sorts of traps. His thoughts drifted from there.
Until Logan started speaking.
"What, hospital!?" Theo's eyes went wide like a rabbits,"They're crazy nut jobs over there! No, I refuse to go. I'll be fine, maybe... I mean werewolf physiology heals faster"
He crossed his arms, plainly ignoring Logan's question about Kratos until his fate was clarified as being hospitalless.
"Thanks for helping him." Kieoki said with a soft nod before she grabbed up her sash and wiped her hands clean before she used it to tie up all the extra material in her dress. Wonderful. Now she would have to sneak out later in order to get some form of attire. Kieoki scowled into the ground, annoyed at the trap. Causing her so much trouble just when she wanted to get to town. How hard should that be? Rolling her eyes, Kieoki made sure her knot was tight, and then she was off, her bare feet pushing her body forwards as she ran up the path, going faster as she stretched out her stride.
Kieoki had a look of pure joy on her face as she ran, despite the fact that she seemed to only make things worse when the people around her were in bad situations. Kieoki almost stopped running when she thought about this fact though. In three separate instances, when she'd been trying to help, she'd either made the situation worse or cause further injury to the one she was trying to help. Kieoki;s smile faded as she sped up the path, and she slowly took on a determined look. She needed to stop thinking that way she was in those situations. Because, obviously, she couldn't get that right. Breathing in heavily from running, Kieoki's eyes lightened as she saw the cabins rise into view.
Following Logan's instructions, she looked for -and then found- the truck. Kieoki ran over to the driver's window, but someone, Chime?, was already standing there. So Kieoki frowned and then poked her head into view of the driver. "Hey. Theo had his foot caught in some stupid old trap. Can you come get him?" Kieoki said bluntly, not wanting to play around.
Once she finished tying on the strips of old worn jean, she crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby tree. "You know, the worst they'll do is give you stitches." of course, this was more hypocrisy on Logan's part. When she was ten, she had cut her foot on a sheet of metal and had to get stitches. It took probably half of the medical staff to hold her down and get them in, and there was a pretty good chance she'd managed to kick a doctor in the face and knock one of his teeth out in the process.
"They'll probably just clean it and bandage it, and give you a shot. It shouldn't take long." she looked out in the direction of the road now and awaited a response from Theo.
Only words would free him now.
"No, that's not the worst they'll do!" Theo said earnestly. His mind desperately searched for some solution to free himself from this predicament.
"They'll probably turn me into the police or something... I'm not even a legal citizen," Theo paused, his mind drawing a temporary blank. Desperately he continued to talk,"I mean, I was pretty much born thousands of miles from here, in the middle of nowhere. No papers or anything when I was born... I'm off the charts. And I know this country, they really really like their papers".
It was Theo's only hope if Logan took this, and his desperation showed quite obviously as it leaked through his eyes. Otherwise, he could only fuss and kick as she tried to drag him into the hospital, but Theo suspected Logan could probably take him down given he was injured. And also given that Logan looked strong enough to wrestle an ox. It would be humiliating, to say the least, to be manhandled into a hospital by a girl.
It was not quite a conscious conclusion on that Timothy was reacting much like with Savannah in the alleyway, yet this time he embraced the action on that it was parallel with his every knowledge and instinct. Unfortunately, that sense of agreement was his fall.
Had Theo recognized and answered Timothy's silent plea for support when he met with that decision, the rest would have unfolded sooner and the danger made more clear. As it was however, Timothy judged Sabrina a threat by her mind and ability, and upon finding no advocate in Theo, he forsook pack mentality to accomplish the purpose of his actions.
Around the corner of the second den Timothy had fled, quite aware of Sabrina's pursuit. But as was always the case, the young lad never needed a moment to consider; his every thought already calculated to perform action without a wasted breath.
He ran barefooted to the edge of the clearing, then just as he passed beneath the tree-cover he was man no more. As if practiced a billion times over Timothy suddenly took his second form and ran steadily on without a moment lost to the change!
He went swiftly, nearly as swiftly as he went the night before in pursuit of the smell of Jackie's blood - seemingly quicker than his body was capable. He moved like no creature ever seen before; a unnatural pace which optimized his every movement to its fullest capacity!
Under the filtered light Timothy's dark stripes camouflaged his body to the shadowed branches across the forest floor and more than once it would have been easy to loose sight of him. Several times he diverted his course in an attempt to loose his pursuer, yet all the while intending for her to find him. But at one point he vanished; coming to a stop so suddenly mid-pace in a thick bramble as to have suddenly gone invisible!
At this moment Timothy was aware of everything around him. He knew how far Sabrina was behind him, he knew where the stranger and her company were walking and that they had left the road.. He also knew that the scent of his blood would eventually give him away; he had aggravated the healing process of the wounds he sustained the previous night and had caused them to bleed again.
Then SNAP!
Timothy jolted forward from his position intently before suddenly freezing again. His ears were focused forward and his eyes fixed. He could see them now, through little openings between the leaves which concealed him, but he didn't move. All too quickly after the sound hit the air the scent of blood could be detected. He heard many of the words which they spoke but didn't place them to any meaning.
Then one, Kieoki was her name, yes he knew her, she got up and swiftly left back toward the dens.. Also Sabrina was here now.. He guessed she was undoubtedly watching and waiting for him to give her a reason.. But he was all too prepared for her to make a move against him as she had done several times before. He knew she was not a fool, and anyone to deem her incapable had been deceived by her pretended passiveness; she had all the strength and strategy any werewolf ever needed..
But still Timothy did not move; his thoughts unknown and his next actions unpredictable.
She was not going to take a risk and let him make the first move again. Neither was she going to do something he expected her to. She had to throw his wolf for a loop - do something he completely would not expect... and she had to do this carefully. He had shifted in broad daylight! He never ceased to surprise her. So he was a half breed. There was no way he could have done that otherwise. Did he have control over his wolf? I doubt it, but that does not matter, Sabrina thought, That's not my top priority right now.
She considered all of this within a few seconds, and then she made her move. She flashed through the underbrush, and even though she was curently in the form of a very large white animal, she stayed amazingly well hidden until she got to where Logan and Theo were. She rose then to her full height on two legs and visually assessed the situation with those bright yellow almost cat-like eyes.
"Don't worry Theo, you're not going to the hospital," she said softly, approaching him and kneeling down. Her ears were still pinned back in Timothy's direction, keeping tabs on his position and movements. If he was watching, her own body language was purposely sending his wolf subtle hints; possessive, protective, dominant - This injured boy is mine. He is my pack. You are my pack also. Respect my rank. Do not interfere unless you mean to help me protect him. "The Alpha didn't hire me as the local medic for nothing," she added in her friendly human-speech to what she had said before, smiling a little at Theo. She quickly retrieved a few rolls of bandages from her ever trusty pouch and reinforced Logan's jean-wraps to slow the bleeding. She lifted her eyes momentarily towards the stranger... she'd done a pretty good job. Sabrina was not sure how she would feel about a great white wolf materializing out of nowhere though.
Looking Theo in the eyes again she said gently, "Try to keep calm, okay? I'm going to take you back up to the Dens, and we'll get this cleaned up properly. You're going to be alright." With very little effort, she lifted him up into her arms.
She looked at Logan. "I know you're heading for town, but I would appreciate it if you returned with us for now," she said. "There's a boy out here.... Timothy... he doesn't exactly have the best control, and he has somehow managed to shift form without the moon. It's a potentially hazardous situation I would like to avoid."
Logan watched as the werewolf went about reinforcing the bandages. There was a certain interest to her expression, and she carefully studied the woman's movements and mannerisms. She wasn't quiet sure herself how she felt about being in such close proximity to something so large and potentially dangerous. However, the white female werewolf acted very normal. As a result, it was as if Logan's mind couldn't choose whether or not to take on a dominant attitude or a submissive one. Then there was some mention about a rogue werewolf boy..
"I was told to leave the territory just earlier.." she muttered, more to herself than anything. Then she noticed an increasing pain in her upper arm, and became aware she was gripping it with her hand rather tightly, so she unfolded her arms and stuck her hands in her pockets, pushing away from the tree. At the moment, she felt something like a yoyo. It seemed she couldn't get away from the cabins without someone interrupting her.
"How long will it be before he changes back to normal? Can you catch him? And why have me stay, will he follow me?" Logan asked, releasing a small, inaudible sigh shortly afterwords. She didn't mind staying, if it meant that this werewolf wouldn't harm anyone who was innocent. Well, that was a lie. She did mind staying, but would put up with it nevertheless. "Where is he now?" she added onto her previous questions, examining the area with mild curiosity.
It almost seemed to good to be true. He couldn't help but cast a gloating glance at Logan, grinning and beaming like an idiot. Then a wave of pain hit and cut this short so he could grunt and feel the wrath of stepping in a fox trap. Oh, he was going to watch where he went from now on. Theo only felt grateful he had the foresight to put on his hiking boots before he left, or the situation might have been lots worse...
Theo's mood darkened considerably as Sabrina started talking about Timothy.
"Timothy's out... this can't be good. I saw him at the stairwell when I went out to leave, I was just trying to get away before he got any ideas... guess not.," Theo now turned a steely gaze at Logan,"I would seriously recommend hanging around Logan. Timothy's brain really doesn't work like the rest of ours and who knows what he'd do if he found you"
Then pain began to pulsate in his foot again and Theo's eyes began to water and contort from it.
"Not if we can help it," Sabrina said to Theo. Her ears were still trained back on Timothy, listening to his movements if there were yet any aside from his breathing to be heard. "You're a werewolf, you'll recover twice as fast as a normal human--and my clan remedies can reduce even that time by half."
Logan spoke again, drawing Sabrina's attention. "I do not know when Timothy will return to his human form. He is very hard to predict. Catching him would not help the situation this time." She looked Logan in the eye and said in a quieter voice, though none the less calm, "Do not look for him, but he his very close. He is watching us now. Follow me, and stay near my side."
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