as written by Knosis and Tiko
Re'Altarm didn't stop until she nearly collapsed. The only times she had slowed down in her escape from the city was when the direction got confusion again, in which case Jesse had led her the right direction out of the city. She sucked in huge gulps of air as she slowed to a walk. Her right shoulder burned, and her legs shook from exertion. And oh, did her head ache, but at least she was away from all the confusion, the loud noise, blinding lights and strange smells of the city.
The forest around her was teeming with life and far from quiet, but it was peaceful and one could actually think out here. And one thought led to Jesse. Spinning around to see if the tiny wolf had kept up, she began to whimper that she had forgotten him so soon.
____
Jesse had long lost Re'Altarm in the woods when he had been forced to give up the chase as the fire of exhaustion burned up his legs, leaving him panting profusely. He tried to follow at a slower pace, picking up her trail as he went, but he wasn't the best tracker around, and he kept getting himself turned around.
Finally he threw his head back and let out a long keening howl before he waited with one ear cocked, praying she would respond in kind to give him a bearing on her direction.
____
Long whining whimpers escaped her throat as she paced around in a circle, lost. When Jesse did not show up after she had regained her breath, she started to try to retrace her mindless dash through the woods but at a much slower pace. Anxiety built up in her, and the nervousness of being alone in the woods gripped her tight, but her legs were tired and would no longer go any faster than a slow trot.
The howl shot through the night air from a distance. Ears perked at the sound of the howl and instinct drove home. She started walking slowly in the general direction of the howl before raising her head to give a long, low howl back, silencing the night creatures in her general area. Hopefully, it was Jesse.
____
Jesse smelled her before he saw her and his pace picked up to an slow lope as he broke through the underbrush and into Re'Altarm's path. The relief that washed over him was immediate as he approached her and butted his head up against her shoulder to express his happiness in having found her.
With the immediate danger past he lay down on the damp earth before flopping over on his side.
He hadn't run so hard, or so far in his life, and for the moment, he didn't want to do much else but lay sprawled there on the cool forest floor.
____
Re'Altarm watched him and tilted her head to the side slightly. A low deep rumble escaped her throat and sounded somewhat like a chuckle and her lips curled back as if she were trying to smile, which only made her look more like something from a horror film.
Her legs had finally decided they were tired of holding her weight and she thumped on her belly before crawling over where Jesse was, laying a massive leg across his belly.
But as weary as her body was, her mind was wide awake. Sounds were clearer now than they had been, and the smells always caught her attention. Watching her was like watching a puppy learning of the world around it for the first time.
____
Jesse woke to the sunbeams filtering down through the canopy overhead and he squinted against the light as he threw an arm over his eyes. They had fallen asleep sometime during the night, and slept well into late morning. He felt the weight of her arm on his stomach and he awkwardly removed it and lay it gently back at her side as he sat up.
His hair was standing in all directions, and bits of leaves and twigs where sticking out of it.
That was the least of his concerns though as the fog of sleep was beginning to fade in the wake of the realization that both he, and Re'Altarm where out in the middle of woods without a stitch of clothes on.
He looked around for anything of use, and finally settled for dropping a handful of dead leaves onto his lap. After everything Re'Altarm had been through, the last thing she needed was to wake up to a naked man sitting next to her.
"Hey, Re?" he asked.
He touched her shoulder lightly to try and rouse her.
____
Blinking and groaning, she covered her eyes with her arm and flipped over on her back, laying spread eagle on the ground. The night before was a blur. Her muscles ached from the nights exertion.
"Mmm.." She muttered. "Morning.." She said, looking over with a gentle smile. However that smile faded as soon as she realize that Jesse was at least partly naked, and quickly looking down at herself, she realized she was too. Gasping, she bolted up straight and wrapped her arms about herself and folded her legs underneath. A bright red blush formed on her cheeks.
"Well.. This is interesting.." She muttered, obviously shameful at her nakedness. This would be the part she would have to get use to. "Where are we..?"
____
"Uh... in the woods?" he answered sheepishly.
He didn't have much better of an idea than she did. They had been running blindly, and he had no sense of direction about him even under the best of circumstances.
"What do you uh... remember from last night?" he asked.
He scratched at his head, dislodging twigs with the movement before trying to pick bits of leaves out. This was his first time waking up in the middle of the woods, and he decided he much preferred his bed.
____
Her brows furrowed slightly, trying to recall much of anything from the night before. "Mostly I can recall how I felt through the blur.. Though.. I remember an accident.." She murmured, biting her lip. "My fault.." She muttered quietly. "I remember.. Fear and confusion and frustration.. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone or to get away.." She murmured. "I remember running and finding you.. But that's about it.."
"I hope I didn't hurt anyone.. I can't recall..." She began to mimic him and started to pull leaves out of her own hair. "But.. It felt like I was finally awake after being sick and asleep so long.." She murmured. "And it was wonderful.."
____
"The cops showed up at the bar last night," Jesse explained. "We couldn't stop them from taking you and you shifted in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital. It wasn't your fault."
He moved his head to get a look into her eyes.
"You hear me? It wasn't your fault," he added with a weight of conviction. "Nothing that happened last night was."
He could only hope none of the victims in the car accident had been fatally injured so she wouldn't need to live with that over her head.
"You did the right thing, you got away. You'll get a better reign on your new senses and instincts soon, but until then everything's going to be new and overwhelming. But it's not all bad, some of it's kind of awesome really," he added with a quirky grin.
"Though I don't usually recommend sleeping in the woods."
____
"So that's what happened.. I couldn't remember why I was in the middle of the street.." She murmured. "But I guess that makes sense.." However, she didn't seem convinced by Jesse's words that the accident wasn't her fault. She sighed softly, and laid her chin on the top of her knees, a worry line showing up between her brows.
He could see the mountain of 'what if's' running through her mind as if she were saying them out loud. Still, at his last comment, she managed a faint smile for him. "I've slept in the woods before.. That doesn't bother me.." She said, chuckling slightly. "Sleeping with no clothes on in the middle of no where, well.. I kind of feel a bit exposed.."
She sighed again and stood up, dusting off the leaves and dirt off herself. It would seem most of her right arm was healed, though a sharp red scar puckered the skin over her shoulder and was still very fresh. "Well.." She looked up at the sky. "I think it's close to noon.. Though it's hard to say.." She saw the trail of paw prints and pointed. "Better indication where to go than any.. And we might as well face the fact, we're gonna have to sneak in some how, bare skinned.." Her stomach made the most horrific sound as it growled to let her know how much she had eaten in the days to come before her turning. Her blush turned darker.
____
"That's normal. After my first shift, I woke up hungry enough to eat a horse. It takes a lot out of you," he explained.
He was famished himself. Their metabolism burned hot, and they needed the food to fuel it. Though where they where going to find food out here was beyond him. He supposed their best bet was to find their way back to the city.
"I suppose waiting here to be found isn't the most likely of options," he said as he joined Re'Altarm and getting up.
He offered another sheepish grin at their predicament.
He wanted to ask her more about herself, and what brought her to Lutetia, but the last time he had broached the subject she had been evasive. He settled instead for an inquiry about the now.
"So, what are you planning to do now? Well.. not now now, but you know, after we find the city?" he asked.
____
"Well.. I don't know.." She answered honestly. "Not like I had a lot going for me before, eating off the streets.." She said turning to Jesse to gaze at him with her honey colored eyes. "I was.. Kind of hoping your pack would accept me in.. But hearing all the problems I may have caused, I don't know if your leader would consider it. I seem to be bad luck." She laughed sheepishly.
"But.." Her eyes grew darker and she looked down at the ground. "I am alive.." She murmured. "And I swore if I lived I would make sure that monster wouldn't harm any others.. So, I have a werewolf to kill.."
A growl escaped her throat at the thought, baring her teeth at the memory.
____
"Hey, Baron will know that none of this was your fault. You didn't ask for any of it, nor did you murder a guy in our alley hours before your first shift," Jesse reassured her. "And hey, haven't you ever watched Never Cry Wolf? There's no orphans among wolves? We'll get you back on your feet. You can ever crash at my place until we figure something out."
Re'Altarms intents to go after the werewolf that had bitten her where somewhat unsettling, but the growl in her throat spoke of an intensity that mere words wouldn't discourage. It was a topic that would need to be broached careful. For now he tried to keep matters light.
____
Re'Altarm shook her head, shaking off the memories and the hatred it bared. "Sorry.." She muttered.
"I've never watched a movie, honestly.. Can't see or own something you can't afford..." She gave an uneasy laugh. "Anyway.. I'm starving... And as cute as you are, I think we're seeing way too much of each other, way too soon.." She grinned teasingly as if it didn't bother her, though her blush gave her away.
Walking over to Jesse, she leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. "Thank you.." She murmured. Turning away swiftly after, she started following down the small signs of their travel through the woods the night before, only stopping to see if Jesse was coming.
____
"You get used to it," Jesse answered sheepishly as he followed after her.
Truthfully he was still getting used to it himself, but it more or less came with the territory.
"And seriously? You've never seen a movie? Not one?" he asked.
Having grown up in a wealthier part of Lutetia, Jesse found the thought nearly alien and incomprehensible that someone might not have seen or done things that he took for outright granted.
"Well, I know what I'm making you do when we get back to the city. How about books? Have you read any books?"
____
"Not a single one.." She said sheepishly.
"Only books that were tossed out.. Most of them were partly destroyed though. And some I don't know the names of because the cover and title page were ripped off.." She said. "But yeah, I've read a few at night when it wasn't raining. I've also spent the night in a few libraries, and those nights were bliss.." She smiled fondly.
"You see, where I came from, we weren't exactly rich.. And were always laden with war.." She frowned. "So when I finally had a chance to get away, I did.. But.." She bit her lip. "Let's just say I wasn't suppose to leave..." She murmured.
____
"Well, what other sort of things did you do recreationally?" he asked.
He hop, skipped, and winced his way along as he tried to avoid stepping on sharp twigs, rocks, and other unpleasant things with his bare feet. Between that, and the underbrush slapping at him every step of the way, it was going to be a long day.
____
"I don't think you really wanna know." She said, looking back at him struggling. She frowned. "If I could shift again, I would carry you if I could.. Would be easier on you and faster in the long run."
The rough travel hadn't really phased her that much. The sticks, she had mostly avoided, but she had been barefooted most of her life. The calluses that had built up over the years protected most of the sensitive bits of her feet. But Jesse was from the more wealthy part of the city. He had never had to deal with this type of abuse.
"Then again.. It could be possible that I shift and I eat you I guess."
____
"Most newly changed can't shift at will, not initially. It took me a few months before I got the hang of it," Jesse answered. "And I still have trouble shifting back after. Probably not a good idea to try it anyways until we have some food in us. Especially you."
He winced again.
"Besides, this isn't so bad... getting closer to nature, right?" he asked with a quirky grin. "How far out do you suppose we ran?"
____
"I couldn't really say.. I just.. Ran as far as my legs could carry.. As far as I could from the intersection.." She murmured. "Considering I can't hear traffic.. Pretty far." She murmured.
She winced. "But if you get any closer to nature, you may be nothing but a baked wolf by the end of it..." Her stomach growled again. "Yes yes, I hear you.. I'm working on it.."
____
Jesse grinned at that. "Is it that obvious I don't get out of the city much?" he asked.
Overhead the sky was growing overcast as they picked their way through the woods. Even he could smell the approaching rain, and he knew full well that wouldn't bode well for Re'Altarm's tracking if the approaching storm caught up with them before they made the city.
"Where did you learn to track?" he asked.
____
The girl bit her lip. She hated delving into her past. She was poor now and had nothing, but that was a whole lot better than what she had back then.
"I was trained to do so." She answered. "I tend to see things that that people wouldn't normally notice. Made me useful when tracking out enemies or scouting ahead of the group." She murmured.
She shivered lightly and looked up to the sky as the breeze picked up. "Well.. This is going to get interesting..." She whispered to herself.
Re'Altarm didn't stop until she nearly collapsed. The only times she had slowed down in her escape from the city was when the direction got confusion again, in which case Jesse had led her the right direction out of the city. She sucked in huge gulps of air as she slowed to a walk. Her right shoulder burned, and her legs shook from exertion. And oh, did her head ache, but at least she was away from all the confusion, the loud noise, blinding lights and strange smells of the city.
The forest around her was teeming with life and far from quiet, but it was peaceful and one could actually think out here. And one thought led to Jesse. Spinning around to see if the tiny wolf had kept up, she began to whimper that she had forgotten him so soon.
____
Jesse had long lost Re'Altarm in the woods when he had been forced to give up the chase as the fire of exhaustion burned up his legs, leaving him panting profusely. He tried to follow at a slower pace, picking up her trail as he went, but he wasn't the best tracker around, and he kept getting himself turned around.
Finally he threw his head back and let out a long keening howl before he waited with one ear cocked, praying she would respond in kind to give him a bearing on her direction.
____
Long whining whimpers escaped her throat as she paced around in a circle, lost. When Jesse did not show up after she had regained her breath, she started to try to retrace her mindless dash through the woods but at a much slower pace. Anxiety built up in her, and the nervousness of being alone in the woods gripped her tight, but her legs were tired and would no longer go any faster than a slow trot.
The howl shot through the night air from a distance. Ears perked at the sound of the howl and instinct drove home. She started walking slowly in the general direction of the howl before raising her head to give a long, low howl back, silencing the night creatures in her general area. Hopefully, it was Jesse.
____
Jesse smelled her before he saw her and his pace picked up to an slow lope as he broke through the underbrush and into Re'Altarm's path. The relief that washed over him was immediate as he approached her and butted his head up against her shoulder to express his happiness in having found her.
With the immediate danger past he lay down on the damp earth before flopping over on his side.
He hadn't run so hard, or so far in his life, and for the moment, he didn't want to do much else but lay sprawled there on the cool forest floor.
____
Re'Altarm watched him and tilted her head to the side slightly. A low deep rumble escaped her throat and sounded somewhat like a chuckle and her lips curled back as if she were trying to smile, which only made her look more like something from a horror film.
Her legs had finally decided they were tired of holding her weight and she thumped on her belly before crawling over where Jesse was, laying a massive leg across his belly.
But as weary as her body was, her mind was wide awake. Sounds were clearer now than they had been, and the smells always caught her attention. Watching her was like watching a puppy learning of the world around it for the first time.
____
Jesse woke to the sunbeams filtering down through the canopy overhead and he squinted against the light as he threw an arm over his eyes. They had fallen asleep sometime during the night, and slept well into late morning. He felt the weight of her arm on his stomach and he awkwardly removed it and lay it gently back at her side as he sat up.
His hair was standing in all directions, and bits of leaves and twigs where sticking out of it.
That was the least of his concerns though as the fog of sleep was beginning to fade in the wake of the realization that both he, and Re'Altarm where out in the middle of woods without a stitch of clothes on.
He looked around for anything of use, and finally settled for dropping a handful of dead leaves onto his lap. After everything Re'Altarm had been through, the last thing she needed was to wake up to a naked man sitting next to her.
"Hey, Re?" he asked.
He touched her shoulder lightly to try and rouse her.
____
Blinking and groaning, she covered her eyes with her arm and flipped over on her back, laying spread eagle on the ground. The night before was a blur. Her muscles ached from the nights exertion.
"Mmm.." She muttered. "Morning.." She said, looking over with a gentle smile. However that smile faded as soon as she realize that Jesse was at least partly naked, and quickly looking down at herself, she realized she was too. Gasping, she bolted up straight and wrapped her arms about herself and folded her legs underneath. A bright red blush formed on her cheeks.
"Well.. This is interesting.." She muttered, obviously shameful at her nakedness. This would be the part she would have to get use to. "Where are we..?"
____
"Uh... in the woods?" he answered sheepishly.
He didn't have much better of an idea than she did. They had been running blindly, and he had no sense of direction about him even under the best of circumstances.
"What do you uh... remember from last night?" he asked.
He scratched at his head, dislodging twigs with the movement before trying to pick bits of leaves out. This was his first time waking up in the middle of the woods, and he decided he much preferred his bed.
____
Her brows furrowed slightly, trying to recall much of anything from the night before. "Mostly I can recall how I felt through the blur.. Though.. I remember an accident.." She murmured, biting her lip. "My fault.." She muttered quietly. "I remember.. Fear and confusion and frustration.. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone or to get away.." She murmured. "I remember running and finding you.. But that's about it.."
"I hope I didn't hurt anyone.. I can't recall..." She began to mimic him and started to pull leaves out of her own hair. "But.. It felt like I was finally awake after being sick and asleep so long.." She murmured. "And it was wonderful.."
____
"The cops showed up at the bar last night," Jesse explained. "We couldn't stop them from taking you and you shifted in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital. It wasn't your fault."
He moved his head to get a look into her eyes.
"You hear me? It wasn't your fault," he added with a weight of conviction. "Nothing that happened last night was."
He could only hope none of the victims in the car accident had been fatally injured so she wouldn't need to live with that over her head.
"You did the right thing, you got away. You'll get a better reign on your new senses and instincts soon, but until then everything's going to be new and overwhelming. But it's not all bad, some of it's kind of awesome really," he added with a quirky grin.
"Though I don't usually recommend sleeping in the woods."
____
"So that's what happened.. I couldn't remember why I was in the middle of the street.." She murmured. "But I guess that makes sense.." However, she didn't seem convinced by Jesse's words that the accident wasn't her fault. She sighed softly, and laid her chin on the top of her knees, a worry line showing up between her brows.
He could see the mountain of 'what if's' running through her mind as if she were saying them out loud. Still, at his last comment, she managed a faint smile for him. "I've slept in the woods before.. That doesn't bother me.." She said, chuckling slightly. "Sleeping with no clothes on in the middle of no where, well.. I kind of feel a bit exposed.."
She sighed again and stood up, dusting off the leaves and dirt off herself. It would seem most of her right arm was healed, though a sharp red scar puckered the skin over her shoulder and was still very fresh. "Well.." She looked up at the sky. "I think it's close to noon.. Though it's hard to say.." She saw the trail of paw prints and pointed. "Better indication where to go than any.. And we might as well face the fact, we're gonna have to sneak in some how, bare skinned.." Her stomach made the most horrific sound as it growled to let her know how much she had eaten in the days to come before her turning. Her blush turned darker.
____
"That's normal. After my first shift, I woke up hungry enough to eat a horse. It takes a lot out of you," he explained.
He was famished himself. Their metabolism burned hot, and they needed the food to fuel it. Though where they where going to find food out here was beyond him. He supposed their best bet was to find their way back to the city.
"I suppose waiting here to be found isn't the most likely of options," he said as he joined Re'Altarm and getting up.
He offered another sheepish grin at their predicament.
He wanted to ask her more about herself, and what brought her to Lutetia, but the last time he had broached the subject she had been evasive. He settled instead for an inquiry about the now.
"So, what are you planning to do now? Well.. not now now, but you know, after we find the city?" he asked.
____
"Well.. I don't know.." She answered honestly. "Not like I had a lot going for me before, eating off the streets.." She said turning to Jesse to gaze at him with her honey colored eyes. "I was.. Kind of hoping your pack would accept me in.. But hearing all the problems I may have caused, I don't know if your leader would consider it. I seem to be bad luck." She laughed sheepishly.
"But.." Her eyes grew darker and she looked down at the ground. "I am alive.." She murmured. "And I swore if I lived I would make sure that monster wouldn't harm any others.. So, I have a werewolf to kill.."
A growl escaped her throat at the thought, baring her teeth at the memory.
____
"Hey, Baron will know that none of this was your fault. You didn't ask for any of it, nor did you murder a guy in our alley hours before your first shift," Jesse reassured her. "And hey, haven't you ever watched Never Cry Wolf? There's no orphans among wolves? We'll get you back on your feet. You can ever crash at my place until we figure something out."
Re'Altarms intents to go after the werewolf that had bitten her where somewhat unsettling, but the growl in her throat spoke of an intensity that mere words wouldn't discourage. It was a topic that would need to be broached careful. For now he tried to keep matters light.
____
Re'Altarm shook her head, shaking off the memories and the hatred it bared. "Sorry.." She muttered.
"I've never watched a movie, honestly.. Can't see or own something you can't afford..." She gave an uneasy laugh. "Anyway.. I'm starving... And as cute as you are, I think we're seeing way too much of each other, way too soon.." She grinned teasingly as if it didn't bother her, though her blush gave her away.
Walking over to Jesse, she leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. "Thank you.." She murmured. Turning away swiftly after, she started following down the small signs of their travel through the woods the night before, only stopping to see if Jesse was coming.
____
"You get used to it," Jesse answered sheepishly as he followed after her.
Truthfully he was still getting used to it himself, but it more or less came with the territory.
"And seriously? You've never seen a movie? Not one?" he asked.
Having grown up in a wealthier part of Lutetia, Jesse found the thought nearly alien and incomprehensible that someone might not have seen or done things that he took for outright granted.
"Well, I know what I'm making you do when we get back to the city. How about books? Have you read any books?"
____
"Not a single one.." She said sheepishly.
"Only books that were tossed out.. Most of them were partly destroyed though. And some I don't know the names of because the cover and title page were ripped off.." She said. "But yeah, I've read a few at night when it wasn't raining. I've also spent the night in a few libraries, and those nights were bliss.." She smiled fondly.
"You see, where I came from, we weren't exactly rich.. And were always laden with war.." She frowned. "So when I finally had a chance to get away, I did.. But.." She bit her lip. "Let's just say I wasn't suppose to leave..." She murmured.
____
"Well, what other sort of things did you do recreationally?" he asked.
He hop, skipped, and winced his way along as he tried to avoid stepping on sharp twigs, rocks, and other unpleasant things with his bare feet. Between that, and the underbrush slapping at him every step of the way, it was going to be a long day.
____
"I don't think you really wanna know." She said, looking back at him struggling. She frowned. "If I could shift again, I would carry you if I could.. Would be easier on you and faster in the long run."
The rough travel hadn't really phased her that much. The sticks, she had mostly avoided, but she had been barefooted most of her life. The calluses that had built up over the years protected most of the sensitive bits of her feet. But Jesse was from the more wealthy part of the city. He had never had to deal with this type of abuse.
"Then again.. It could be possible that I shift and I eat you I guess."
____
"Most newly changed can't shift at will, not initially. It took me a few months before I got the hang of it," Jesse answered. "And I still have trouble shifting back after. Probably not a good idea to try it anyways until we have some food in us. Especially you."
He winced again.
"Besides, this isn't so bad... getting closer to nature, right?" he asked with a quirky grin. "How far out do you suppose we ran?"
____
"I couldn't really say.. I just.. Ran as far as my legs could carry.. As far as I could from the intersection.." She murmured. "Considering I can't hear traffic.. Pretty far." She murmured.
She winced. "But if you get any closer to nature, you may be nothing but a baked wolf by the end of it..." Her stomach growled again. "Yes yes, I hear you.. I'm working on it.."
____
Jesse grinned at that. "Is it that obvious I don't get out of the city much?" he asked.
Overhead the sky was growing overcast as they picked their way through the woods. Even he could smell the approaching rain, and he knew full well that wouldn't bode well for Re'Altarm's tracking if the approaching storm caught up with them before they made the city.
"Where did you learn to track?" he asked.
____
The girl bit her lip. She hated delving into her past. She was poor now and had nothing, but that was a whole lot better than what she had back then.
"I was trained to do so." She answered. "I tend to see things that that people wouldn't normally notice. Made me useful when tracking out enemies or scouting ahead of the group." She murmured.
She shivered lightly and looked up to the sky as the breeze picked up. "Well.. This is going to get interesting..." She whispered to herself.
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