Experiments Reborn

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Kain hardly spared Jami a glance as she exited the bathroom, but he glowered at Jami's human brother while they waited for her. They got into an argument, and then Michael was against the wall as Jami pinned him and growled. He was impressed... almost. He'd heard the insult, but he smelled the fury on Jami, and he'd chosen to stay back. However, the scent of blood filled the air and Kain wanted to kill something. He instead gripped the arms of the chair and fought the urge while Jami went for the door.

He began to follow after her, but Michael stood in the way. With a shove, he pushed the human out the door. "Go," he growled, closing the door behind him. He didn't think Michael would want Jami driving anywhere, considering the killer nature she had displayed. She had defended Kain yet again from those who would insult him, but he knew why. Jami thought of him as a friend, and she would continue to shield him from those who thought him a killer, even if he was.

He jumped into the back of the truck, curling up as he did the night before, though this time, there were people around. He didn't think many would notice, but to be sure, he tightened his wings and leaned against the window so they would be out of sight.
 
Jami sat in the front seat and she didn't fault Kain for wanting to be in the cab of the car instead of the back. Sure, the back would have been safer as this truck was like a u-haul in build, but even she didn't want to ride where she couldn't anything, especially after threatening her brother like that. She wanted to know where they were going, not willing to take the chance that he might bring them somewhere - for their own good, of course - they didn't want to go.

Michael didn't speak as they drove and Jami didn't attempt to make amends. For anything else, any insult or slight against her, she felt she might have had some desire to make it right, but for a reason she could not define, where Kain was concerned, she didn't have the grace to let it go - at least not right away. Maybe it was because she knew how he'd been treated for so long and she hated the injustice of it. Maybe it was because he WAS her friend, though, she didn't really defend friends to that kind of degree, at least not in the past. Or maybe it was something else she didn't understand?

Jami didn't know and right now she didn't care.

It would be better if Michael didn't want to see her anyway. In fact...it would be better if none of her family accepted her or wanted her to stay. It would hurt, but it would be safer for them.

The thoughts were still running through her head when they pulled up into the driveway and Michael looked around carefully at the empty street before getting out and motioning for the other two to do the same. Jami did so and slipped into the garage as Michael opened the door, waiting until Kain came in as well before shutting the door again. Jami turned on the light and then looked at her companion as Michael quickly retreated inside. "Try not to break anything, okay? We won't stay long, I promise."

She turned back to the door quickly as voices came from the other side, one of them Michael's.

"......she's not the same....a dragon-thing.....no, I am not joking!....Mom-"

The garage door opened and a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes, maybe in her fifties and looking quite fierce, came into the doorway. She froze at seeing Kain, eyes wide, blinking and then slowly, very slowly her eyes traveled to her daughter and Jami smiled weakly.

"Hi, Mom."

Jewel - for that was her name - nodded back slowly and her eyes flickered to Kain again, narrowing just a little in thought before she seemed to take a deep breath and backed up a little. "Jami, come inside and if your friend would like to come in, too, he's welcome. I would ask, however, that he keep his wings folded and his tail close to him."

It was rather easy to see where Jami got her levelheadedness.
 
Kain walked inside the garage before he was trapped again. He hated feeling four walls and a roof. Home was outside, not in this puny house. He growled at Michael's voice as he ran inside and began to hastily explain the story to Jami's mother. Not even a moment later, she appeared. She looked afraid of him at first, and his tail tip twitched in slight anticipation. However, her voice was calm as she spoke. She was actually inviting him inside. She, outside of Jami, was the first person to not be scared silly by his appearance.

Kain pushed Jami forward with a single clawed finger. "Go inside," he said, trying to keep the growl from his voice. If Jami's mother was going to be hospitable, he would have to attempt to do the same by not killing them.

The house was small, but he was tall. He made sure his wings were pinned to his back and his tail curled around his leg to prevent it from flicking and breaking the wall. He had to duck his head on some ceilings, but outside of his heavily clawed footsteps, he was quiet. He kept his fists clenched, as his claws were dangerous and were sharp enough to cut through the flimsy walls of their home.
 
Jami watched Kain carefully at first as they entered, but he seemed to be doing okay and she was soon distracted by her mother's hand on her arm. She started just a little and Jewel gave her a concerned look, her calm blue eyes lingering over her daughter's face, silently questioning but making no demands. They both watched each other and Jewel raised her hand almost hesitantly to cup Jami's face, gently letting her thumb brush over the green markings on her cheekbones. Tears appeared in hazel eyes and Jewel's expression softened greatly.

"Oh, sweetie..."

It seemed no more was needed as Jami went into her mother arms and was allowed to cry, to cling to the woman who loved her and truly did accept her no matter what. Here was the proof.

"Shh. It's all right. Everything's going to be okay. Shhh."

Jami pulled back then, sniffling and she blinked, wiping at her eyes and attempting to regain some composure. It really didn't get a chance to come before there was a scream and the werewolf-hybrid jumped quite literally, spinning to see her sister, Summer, rushing for her. She was enveloped in a hug so tight she could barely breath and then her fifteen year old sister, blond hair with pink streaks, the bubbliest personality you'd ever meet, was pulling away again, already babbling.

"Where have you been?! I missed you! Do you know that Jason Baker got a girlfriend while you were away? We all hate her and I think he secretly still likes you but--hey, what's all over your face? Where WERE you? Why didn't you call? Did you get kidnapped by a biker gang? Oh, please tell me you didn't join a cult of some kind, Jami!"

Deer-in-the-headlights was the only way to describe how Jami looked right now and it was Jewel who silenced her exuberant daughter, simply turning Summer slowly so that her eyes met Kain's. Summer's mouth stopped running, dropping and her eyes grew wide in complete and utter wonder.

"Woah."

"Summer, your sister has just gotten back and I am sure she will explain what has happened if given the chance to speak. Now, Summer this is-" Jewel paused and glanced at Michael, but he had his arms crossed, an expression of bare tolerance on his face and so Jami answered quietly. "Kain."

Jewel nodded, starting over smoothly. "Summer, this is Kain, a friend of Jami's. Kain, this is my daughter Summer. I am Jewel and I have seen that you've met Michael. My husband will be home in a half-hour or so and his name is Noah. Would you and Jami like to sit and perhaps tell us what's happened?"
 
Kain heard a sob, and he turned slightly to find Jami in her mother's arms. The sight was enough was to make his ears turn down in... sadness? He didn't know. He couldn't remember what it felt like to have someone embrace him, but he'd been conditioned to hate being touched. There was no time to reflect on his memories as a pink and blonde-haired form zoomed forward and crashed into Jami. His ears perked as the young girl started talking, fast enough to make anyone dizzy.

He was dead silent as his golden eyes studied the females of the family, even as Summer was turned around to face him. She was staring at him, but not in fear. It was awe. He'd never seen that before. He almost wanted to open his wings and show her his full frame, but he had silently promised not to break anything in Jami's house. So he was silent as he was introduced, but then he was asked about what happened. Jami could tell the full story, but Kain couldn't remember how he got there.

So he just went from what he did remember.

"Greenwater... is a bad place. They did this to me. And to her." He growled when he spoke the company's name, but after a few seconds of silence, he recovered and continued. "They have been doing so since I've been there... thirteen years ago. We... escaped. But they will search for us. I believe they'll come here first... because I don't have a home." He was standing up, but his head was down and his arms were crossed. He looked up at her family, but his eyes were hard. He breathed an irritated huff, smoke curling up, but he waved it away with one claw before it could set off any detectors. He'd forgotten to mention he could breathe fire. Or be strong enough to fly or to tear their house to shreds.
 
Summer stared at the dragon-hybrid, completely and utterly fascinated, like a child really. She kept tilting her head to study Kain from different positions and Jami wanted to smack her little sister and tell her to behave....but she refrained. Kain didn't seem to be minding it...too much, and Summer wasn't running her mouth anymore, so maybe it was okay. Maybe. She still wanted to smack her sister. That wasn't a new urge, though, so Jami ignored it and focused on her mother who was watching the male hybrid with both a puzzled and worried expression. Jami knew she was starting to realize exactly what Kain was - that he was human underneath all the dragon traits - and her worry was FOR Kain, not OF him.

It made the female hybrid smile just a little, proud of her parent for being able to see past everything, just as she did, and get to what was important. Annnnnd then those blue eyes were on her and Jami shifted on the couch a little nervously, feeling like she was Summer's age and about to get a scolding.

"Jami, what exactly is Greenwater? I take it that it is not the place you thought?"

"Not at all." the blond answered back quietly and then she proceeded to explain everything, from the day she'd arrived to the day she'd escaped with Kain and everything in between. The only things she left out were Kain's threats to her, his overall behavior and his attempt to snap her neck. They didn't need to know that in her opinion. It meant nothing now as far as Jami was concerned.

Jewel looked pale by the end of it and the mother looked between the black-haired male and the blond female, her expression pained and sad. Then she did something that Jami did not expect, didn't have time to warn against. Her mother stood and without hesitation, without fear and without expecting anything in return...she hugged Kain. He dwarfed her by a great deal so the hug was not anything like it had been between Jami and Jewel, but it was still a hug and the mother pulled back after a reasonable amount of time, stepping back to look up at Kain.

"You, young man, are welcome back here any time Jami comes to visit. You will find your home, but consider this a second one."

She looked at Jami then, but her daughter was looking at Kain, something between apprehension and hope on her face.
 
Kain listened in silence, but he looked up every so often. Every time he did, Summer was always looking at him. He didn't think himself that fascinating, but Summer seemed to disagree. He could smell the irritation on Jami, but he didn't lash out. He watched her after some time, wondering if she would back off. She didn't, but his golden eyes continued to study her. Jami's stories about Greenwater had holes that he remembered, but it had been the times where he'd given her death threats and almost followed through with one.

He heard the scrape of the chair on the floor before he saw Jewel stand. She came forward toward him, and he took a step back, but it wasn't enough to avoid her embrace. Kain rumbled with a deep growl, but he didn't shred Jewel to ribbons like he might have someone else. He had promised not to harm any part of Jami's family, but... he didn't want to hurt Jewel. She was fearless before him, the dragon. He didn't understand. Still, he couldn't stop the snarl that threatened to escape when the touch lasted longer than he thought it would. She released him, and he saw that she hadn't been scratched by the spikes on his back. He looked down, his matted and dirty hair shaking over his face and horns, waiting until Jewel spoke.

She had opened up her home to him. He was a monster, yet she would allow him to return if he ever needed it. Her mother believed he would find his home.

He looked at her with something like hurt in his eyes. Kain had never felt happiness after entering Greenwater, but he was... grateful, at the very least. However, he didn't know how to voice it, so he only nodded once at her. He felt Jami's eyes on him, but he didn't glance at her at all. He was still trying to figure out how he felt about Jewel's embrace and how unafraid she really was of him.
 
The look in Kain's eyes and the fact that he wouldn't look at her at all broke her heart in many different ways and Jami found herself making an excuse to head to her room, something about packing and needing clothes and stuff. She hurried down the hall and Jewel looked after her with a soft sigh before looking back up at Kain with a genuinely warm smile. Yes, she was well aware that he didn't know how to react and the growl had surprised her a little - probably as much as the hug had surprised him now that she though about it! - but the older woman was still very much unafraid of the male before her.

If her daughter trusted him after all they'd been through, she saw no reason not to do that same and it was very clear to her that Jami was fond of the dragon-hybrid. The poor boy looked like he needed a mother's care, too.

"I'll be right back, dear. Don't mind Summer. She'll behave." Jewel sent her youngest a look and Summer sighed and folded her arms, but reluctantly nodded and Jewel disappeared down the hall after her daughter.

She entered the room with a soft knock, seeing Jami sitting on the bed, holding - of all things - a dragon pendant on a chain in her hands. She was staring at it as if it might contain all the answers in the world and Jewel smiled softly, coming to sit on the bed beside her eldest daughter, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You like him a good deal, don't you?"

"He doesn't care." was Jami's quiet, frustrated answer as she spun the pendant, not looking up, refusing to do so really.

"You don't mean that. If he didn't care, he wouldn't still be with you, would he?"

"He stays because there's no one else to tell him anything."

Jewel tilted her head. "And he's here with you now, tolerating all of us because..?"

Jami faltered, glaring and she flung the necklace away with a growl, claws growing as she gripped her head. "I don't know! He confuses me and he doesn't make any bloody sense! He's half decent one minute and then an a** the next and I never know what I'm gonna get. Do you know I've tried to touch him, to show him that I won't hurt him and he ALWAYS jerks away? And then he lets you hug him! I don't understand! What am I doing wrong?!"

-------------

Meanwhile.....

"So, can you fly? Can you breathe fire? How fast can you run? Are your spikes sharp? Do you eat raw things or do you cook them first? Do you like human food anymore? How do you wear shoes or do you not wear shoes? Looks like you might not need them with those scales. How come they aren't all over our body? Will your horns straighten out as you get older? Do they fall off like a deer's?"

Summer had seen her chance and was taking it. The blond-pink haired girl barely seemed to pause for air, much less answers and Michael, standing in the doorway, smirked a little, not offering to help at all. This...was highly entertaining.
 
Kain was watching where Jami had left. He'd hurt her in some emotional way. He'd forgotten about that. Physical pain always dominated in his fights, but Jami was pained because he wouldn't look at her. He could hear their footsteps all over the house, but he didn't hear what they were saying if they spoke. He had a child at his side prodding at him with questions. He waited until there was a gap in her questions to give his answers.

"Yes. Yes. Fast. Yes. ...Raw... Yes. ...I don't need them. Because I'm an experiment. I don't know."

He growled the word experiment, but Summer didn't really seem to mind if she'd noticed. But he got distracted by something else. He heard an outburst in the other room, and he knew it was Jami. He caught the last of her words, how she tried to touch him and he always pulled away, even though he'd allowed Jewel to do so. She was just like him: she didn't understand, and she felt like she was doing wrong. Now she was hurting him, but it was his fault. He moved away from where he was standing, away from Summer and Michael. He followed his ears and nose through the house until he came to where Jami and Jewel were. Jami looked extremely upset, and Jewel seemed puzzled.

He didn't know how to approach her, so he stood in the doorway, his large frame with his pinned wings and lowered head to compensate for the ceiling was almost awkward in a way. It was like he was too shy, even if he could have lashed out and knocked a wall over in a single strike.
 
Summer looked extremely impressed, surprised and pleased by his answers - and probably by the fact that he'd been able to retain her questions! - and she smiled happily, pulling out a notebook from seemingly thin air and starting to write almost frantically. She didn't even see when Kain left, so absorbed in her new project and Michael didn't stop the other male, wanting a repeat of last night even less than how much he wanted Kain out of his parent's house. No, he'd leave the hybrid alone. Both of them.

--

"Sweetie, you aren't doing anything wrong. You're being a good friend and that's all-" Jewel cut off, taking notice of Kain as it was a bit hard not to considering his size and the aura that just seemed to surround him and Jami looked up sharply, her green eyes catching his gold for a brief moment before she looked away, just as uncertain as he was. Had he heard her? Scratch that, of course he had else he wouldn't have come looking for her. But how much had he heard? Did he care or....why WAS he here?

Jewel looked between the two and smiled faintly before she stood and calmly retrieved the necklace her daughter had thrown, pressing it back into her hand and placing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be in the kitchen, ready to intercept your father." She left then, moving past Kain with another smile, something reassuring and Jami sighed after a time, glancing at the male and then smiling just slightly at the sight he made.

She rolled her eyes and stood, moving to her closet because she really did need to pack some things. "You can come in, but don't think I'm going to talk and be happy with you sitting there like a stone, growling at me occasionally if you do enter."

The female hybrid started packing things in a duffel bag she pulled out of the closet and she glanced at Kain for a moment before looking away again, focusing on her task....sorta. "How much did you hear?"
 
Kain watched Jewel leave, but he caught the smile. She really didn't mind that her daughter was part werewolf, part elf, and that another experiment she escaped with often acted more dragon than human. Still, she trusted Kain enough to leave them alone, but he didn't think she was expecting him to shut the door behind her. They were alone, but Kain wasn't going to allow Jami to do all the talking this time.

He reached down, plucking the dragon pendant from her grasp and pulling it up to study it. It didn't look anything like him. Not that it was supposed to be modeled on dragon hybrids. He'd seen pictures of ancient dragons, but this one looked different. He didn't allow Jami to speak, because he placed the palm of his hand on her neck and stepped forward, pushing her against the wall. It was very unlike the first time he'd done so, since he wasn't trying to kill her. It was only so that she wouldn't move while he was trying to for her.

"I heard enough." Kain paused, looking down. "I don't... know. How to feel. How to... understand." He paused again, growling at himself for sounding so stupid. He puffed smoke from his nose before he tried a different approach.

"Vucoti ehis li confnir de batobot goawy. Si tir ti kampiun svabol coi ui ekess waph hefoc nomeno, persvek wer ifnitot treskri. Si mi... xoalir, shar... Si tir ti agantal vucot svabol ekess kiwieg." Maybe, hopefully, she would understand. He was struggling, and she probably knew that, but he didn't know how to ask for help. He was ignorant of everything because he'd forgotten the outside world. Greenwater had taken so much from him, and he was trying to get it all back.
 
Jami wanted to feel irritated with him for taking the necklace away from her so rudely, but she found herself merely watching Kain and standing slowly to face him. Faint alarm flashed in her eyes when his hand came over her neck and her back hit the wall. Was she going to have to use her power on him again? Damn, what kind of damage would be done to her house?! Maybe...no, wait...there wasn't any pressure, not true pressure anyway and Jami found that the growl she'd been letting build in her throat, echoing around the room softly, died down.

He wasn't hurting her, but she wasn't exactly comfortable in this position either. Still, Jami listened to Kain try to explain what was on his mind and then when he switched to the dracon tongue, she narrowed her eyes, attempting to follow it as quickly as she could and feeling some satisfaction when she only missed a few words that she could clearly guess at because of the related context. Now came the tricky part of answering and while Jami was slower than he'd been, she was starting to really have a handle on the words and sentence structures now.

Occasionally, however, she found herself throwing in an English word, not knowing the dracon equivalent so easily.

Her tone was quiet, but firm and she held his eyes, refusing to look away. "Vucoti. vucoti wux tir ti kampiun. Vucoti wux tir ti vucot svanoa ekess waph nomeno tobor. Vucoti throden youwei aungwey wux vur vucoti wux re xoalir. Si shilta ocuir batobot, Kain. Si tepoha agantal ocuirtor batobot, shar wux tir ti tuor ekess jikahshi ve svadrav si visp wux nomenoi youwei. Wux glare vur vebren vur xoal ekess xurwk ve gethrisj mojka vur yenta thric ekess froneel si yenta ekess wux, vur vucoti wux tir ti vucot svanoa ekess tir tikil weyotipre, shar coi tiric ti xurwk coi tikil nuri... nuri... frustrating!"

Damn, that last word, she couldn't find the translation for it and Jami sighed, reaching up past his hand around her throat to rub at her temples, eyes closing.

"Si mi xoalir ekess letoclo wux, shar wux tepoha ekess origato ve. Vucoti batobot ti froneel si yenta usv tir ui gethrisjir ekess qe creolnali wux hefoc vur yth re ti agantal gethrisjir ekess ocuir youwei wer diieson idol usv iaco shafaer svanoa ekess tir creolnali, shar si tir doege about wux vur si mi ti gethrisjir ekess chian wux vhira wer xuut donoap. Sjek yth re rinov gethrisjir ekess gahri nomeno, wux re gethrisjir ekess tepoha ekess yor ekess enel ve vur.... si filiik si rigluin ekess oontanx vi tonnilt molik."

Jami opened her eyes again, and she gave Kain a rather helpless expression, questioning. "Tir wux tuor ve ekess pok tepohair zyak kiarf eluithol persvek wux? Tir wux tuor ve ekess pok xoalir? Vucoti wux tir ti kampiun, shar noorot tir si. nomeno ui filki lae z'ar ekess ve lae coi ui ekess wux, tangis sjek sia tobor ui weyotipre loupon douta. Si mi ti winhal toladaf, Kain. Astahii claxon froneel de wux, shar astahii re tirir wer diieson youwe ekess ve, kiri. Wux lost shio wux tepohada aovbijar eorikci ago vur si mi tepohair coi stolen mojka jaka. Si shilta ti confn spical okarthel. Si shilta ti qe mrith sia svihelen. Si shilta ti waph wer tobor si tuor ekess tepoha."

She didn't know if anything she was saying was getting through to him and Jami finally just looked down, her voice soft. "Shio yth tepoha ui kiq lyrik vur yth jalla jinthil batobot." When the words had left her mouth, she slowly reached up and took Kain's wrist, pulling his hand away from her neck, knowing that if he didn't want to move, she couldn't make him with force, not like this anyway, but she was giving him a chance to just let her go peacefully.

"I don't like being held like this, Kain."
 
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She could speak the language almost as well as he could. He was impressed... almost. She'd grasped it, and she had explained the situation as clear as she could. Multiple times he wanted to interject, but he kept himself quiet even when he dared to try and roar his words. She was trying, for him and for herself. He hadn't seen that before, and he'd threatened to destroy the tentative friendship they had.

He was good at destroying, not building. He was realizing that, even though Jami had stuck around with him the entire time. All we have is each other, and we should remember that. He couldn't remember something he'd never really thought of, but now... now he could.

As she finished, she grabbed his wrist, but he didn't pull away. She only wanted him to let go, and he did. His claws came away from her throat and fell away down to his side, pulling his hand from her grasp. He turned away, letting his wings stretch, careful not to knock anything over or put a hole in her wall. The muscles had tensed and cramped, meaning that he'd need to fly or at least hover for a while to work them out again. He couldn't do that, not until night time.

Another moment of silence before, "Si mi... Bivai." Kain let the words sink in. For the first time in his life, he'd become apologetic. Their situation was rapidly declining in hope. At this rate, Kain would never find his home and they would be on the run, should Greenwater ever find them. "Si tir ti... tuor ekess jikmada tivol. Si tepoha authot kiarf di batobot jalyur. Si jalla ti tepoha xoal'si ekess jikmada wux. Wux... Letocloa ve. Si... Vinxa... Ihk batobot." Thanking someone wasn't a part of Kain's every day life. He had never thanked Greenwater for changing him, because he'd hated it. Living with it for so long... he'd just grown used to it. To have someone help him now was a real moment, a fleeting second he could be thankful for something someone had done that was benefical for him.
 
At first Jami wasn't sure she'd heard right and her head whipped up, eyes wide. She expected him to glare at her then or growl and stalk away, anything to let her know she'd been hallucinating and he was fed up with her, but that didn't happen. It didn't happen like that at all and the dragon-hybrid spoke further, making Jami wonder if he had actually started choking the life out of her and this was a vision her mind had conjured up to take away the panic.

As his words registered slowly in the blond's mind, Jami found herself starting to smile, a genuinely warm expression that lit up her green-hazel eyes in a way they'd not shown in weeks. She nodded to Kain and tucked her hair behind her pointed ear, cautioning herself back to a semi-neutral mood. He'd made a step of progress, shown her that there WAS hope and it wasn't just in her imagination, but that didn't mean Kain was anywhere close to being 'fixed' or even 'okay'.

She didn't want to freak him out with her happiness and Jami kept her words simple. "Si onelka wux vur wux re aldoer. Batobot ui svabol thurirli tir."

The female hybrid looked at the necklace in Kain's clawed hand then and she reached forward, taking it from him, being sure that her touch didn't linger for too long. She brought the pendent up to her eyes and smiled faintly at it, fondly before unclasping it and looking up at Kain. "I want to give this to you. I don't want anything in return and it can't hurt you in any way, I promise. Bend down." Sure, it was a command, but Jami didn't really make it sound like anything but a friendly request and if he didn't comply, she'd give the necklace to him anyway.
 
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She was still cautious about her touch. They were making steps, not leaps. It seemed that her mother had been sort of an ice breaker between the two, but they would continue to work at it. He watched as she studied the pendant for a few seconds before ordering him to lower his head so he could wear it. Kain had never worn jewelry, but if it would help her get used to him, as well as the other way around, he would do so.

Kain bent his head down so Jami could clasp the necklace, but when she was done, he straightened up and looked down at it. It was plain, but it smelled like her. Of all the things it could have been, her scent was... comforting. He couldn't place why he felt that way, but then again, they'd had a draconic and heartfelt conversation. He felt that way because they were friends and would remain so until they found a place where they could live in peace.

Unable to find the words to thank her again, he nodded before he slid the pendant down so it hung beneath the dirty, blood-stained shirt he had on. He realized that he was unclean compared to Jami, but unlike her, he could hardly fit into any normal sized room, much less a shower. He sat down on her bedroom floor and studied his claws before bringing one wing around to inspect. Though there were tears and holes in the membrane of his wing, he was still able to fly. They'd been there, but it was the only thing on his body that never healed from anything. Physically, at least. The mental and emotional torture Kain had suffered from his time at Greenwater would take years to unravel completely. At the very least, he had someone with him now, someone who wasn't engineered to kill him, but help him. It wasn't the fixing Greenwater had wanted, but it was what he was going to get.
 
The silence was comforting this time and Jami found she was happy again, relaxed as she went about her packing. She didn't speak, feeling that for once words weren't needed. Mentally she calculated where they might go first. She'd had to get Kain clothes. True, his tail and wings made it difficult, but with some scissors, sewing material and buttons...lots of buttons, she could make something work. Hopefully...

No, what she really needed to worry about was WHERE they were going. They could head up into the mountains, live wild and Jami was sure that would be appealing to Kain, but it wouldn't help him in the end. No, he needed civilization as much as she did, if not more, but it needed to be...somewhere safe. She didn't think any such place existed to be honest. So the next best thing was perhaps simply finding a place to stay that was a medium of the two - close enough to a city that each of them learned how to function with people near, but far enough away that they could escape easily if it was called for.

And with Greenwater, it probably would be.

Hmm, perhaps she could rent out a cabin....

"....What do you mean someone experimented on her?! Where is she?! JAMI!!"

Jami jumped, startled at her father's voice and the calm she'd felt evaporated as she stood and looked at Kain, a cautionary look in her eyes. "Just...umm...stay here for a minute." she whispered before moving out of the room. About halfway down the hall she met up with her father, an older man with dark blond hair and Jami's former brown eyes. He looked thunderous with anger and the werewolf inside her bristled at it even as the logical side of her knew that the anger wasn't directed at HER. At least...she didn't think it was.

Her father's eyes swept over her anger turned to rage and yet disbelief, too, and his voice was hoarse. "Wh-what happened? Who did this?!"

Jami frowned. "M-Mother didn't tell you?" She glanced back at her mother who stood at the end of the hall and Jewel shook her head subtly. Jami understood then. Her mother knew Noah. Jami's father was a police officer and his first inclination was to find the people that had hurt his daughter, bring them to justice, but Greenwater...they were huge and powerful. It would take patience and skill to bring them down. She'd tell her husband everything, but not now when he was in the heat of fury.

The female hybrid looked back at her father and swallowed hard, shaking her head. "It...I am not going to tell you. You..you can't do anything right now and-"

Hands descended on her shoulder, their grip probably harder than her father realized and Noah didn't notice when his daughter winced and tried to take a step back, memories she wasn't prepared for flashing through her head. "Jami! Tell me who did this to you!"
 
Kain's ears flicked when he heard the shout. Jami's father slammed down the hall and met his daughter in the middle. Kain had been told to stay put, but he ignored the warning. He stood up, one claw holding the door as he watched and listened. Jami was looking between her mother and father before she denied Noah any information. Her father raged even more, but then he did something Kain didn't like to see. He grabbed Jami by the shoulders and it looked like he was threatening to shake her. Jami tried to back away but it was a futile attempt.

No one was to touch Kain's guide. His... friend.

The dragon hybrid leaped from Jami's room to the hallway, right behind her. He roared over her head at Noah, claws moving to curl around Noah's hands to shove him away. Then he had a better idea, at least in his head. He pulled Jami back and out of her father's grip, his wings whipping around Jami and creating a shield around her.

"...Don't," he snarled at Noah. It encompassed everything he wanted to say but couldn't voice. He didn't really think protectiveness was something he was good at, but he wanted Jami... calm. Like they had been before her father showed up. Besides, he hadn't hurt anyone, just like he promised. He might have scared her family, but there was no harm done to them.
 
The roar shook the walls, but that sound, that thunderous sound...Jami hadn't jumped at that like she had her father's shout. In fact, relief seemed to sweep over her face even as terror swept over her father's. His hands had remained frozen on her shoulders as he stared at the..the creature before him, barely comprehending what the was seeing. Then Jami was being pulled from his grasp and he released her as if burned - he had little doubt he might be by the dragon-thing before him if he didn't comply - and his daughter was hidden from his view.

Jami for her part was grateful for the intervention. She'd not realized that she would be relieved at Kain's appearance, she hadn't known having her father so angry would trigger memories of Greenwater like that - no, being touched had - and now she willingly pressed back into the large body behind her, letting the male hybrid protect her for a minute as she gained back her equilibrium. His smell was a comfort she'd not anticipated and each breath he took she could feel throughout her entire body. It soothed her, brought her own heart rate down for a few precious moments and Jami felt in those moments that she was...well, home.

Odd.

She couldn't see much past Kain's wings, but she could hear that Summer was at the end of the hallway, peeking around with eyes that probably resembled saucers, her mother was eerily silent, probably just watching everything with some worry, but remaining as levelheaded as always, her father...well, he still smelled of fear and he'd backed up slowly to join her mother and Michael had...oh hell no!

Jami touched Kain's wing-bone gently - resisting greatly the urge to really FEEL the wings themselves and let her fingers trace over them - signally that she was okay, though, he probably wouldn't believe it. No, she was furious now and she half-ducked under his wings whether he decided to move them or not and stalked toward her brother who had drawn a gun and was aiming it with unwavering persistence at Kain. Her sibling looked uncertain as she approached, the gun finally wavering as if he couldn't truly decide whether to shift it toward her or not and Jami moved far faster than Michael could anticipate, not letting him make the choice at all. He barely had time to open his mouth to protest before her hand came up and her claws were shredding through the metal with a loud screech, The weapon fell apart, useless and for a long, tense moment, it took everything the werewolf-hybrid had not to do the same to the male before her as she'd done to the gun.

Livid green eyes stared into startled and now scared brown ones and Jami spoke quietly, but the growl in her voice was unmistakable.

"We're leaving, Kain."
 
Kain's glare was enough to melt anyone's face, if his fire wasn't good enough for that. He didn't look down as Jami pressed herself into his body, but he felt it. She was much warmer than he imagined... if he had imagined what temperature her body was. His glare didn't waver as Michael pulled the gun on him. In fact, his golden eyes bored right into his, almost like he was daring Michael to shoot him. Bullets were of no consequence.

He watched the rest of her family gather, but no one said anything. His wing flinched as Jami brushed her fingers on the bony arm, but she was pushing her way out and he lowered the protective stance he'd taken up with his wings. His jaws stayed parted in a snarl as Jami stepped up, the gun almost touching her. His eyes were trained upon her, but he saw every movement she made, even if no one else did. The screech of claw on metal hurt his ears, but the weapon was disabled and no one would be shot.

However, Jami seemed to surprise them all by announcing their departure. She did have the bag all ready, but maybe her family thought she would stay for one night. Kain couldn't interject, but he lowered his claws and closed his mouth. Jami would have to take care of her family. He felt like he'd done enough simply by frightening them beyond anything they ever saw.
 
"Wh-what? Jami...you can't-"

Jami whirled on her father and such was the dangerous, almost feral light in her eyes that he stopped speaking, staring really at the child he didn't really recognize anymore. "I will not stay where Kain and I are threatened!"

"He threatened us!" Michael interjected and Jami snorted, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "Give me a break. He roared at you. He could do far worse and he hasn't despite every reason you, especially, have given him to."

"He did more than roar last night." her brother ground out and Jami gave him a leveled look. "So did I."

The silence was uncomfortable then and it was Jewel who intervened, her voice soft, but holding clear command in it as well. "Michael, Summer, I want you both to go to the kitchen and finish up dinner." When the two looked like they'd protest - Summer out of curiosity and Michael out of alarm - she gave them a stern look and even the twenty-five year old didn't argue as he walked away with his little sister in tow.

The mother turned back to her husband, her daughter and her daughter's friend then and she addressed her spouse first. "Kain, this is Noah, my husband and Jami's father. Noah, this is Kain. He came with Jami and like her, he's been experimented on."

Noah's eyes flickered from the dragon-hybrid towering in his hallway to his daughter who looked like she was ready to kill something - or someone - and he glanced back at his wife, voice faint. "They are..."

"Friends. They escaped together and I am more than sure that there is a symbiotic connection between them." Jewel smiled just a little and kissed her husband's cheek before whispering in his ears, something that both Jami and Kain would catch due to their advanced hearing. "I would be careful about upsetting one lest you piss off the other." She almost seemed to chuckle while saying it, amused more than anything it seemed and Jami glanced at Kain before looking back at her parents. Her father looked incredibly uncertain and awkward, not knowing what to say, but Jewel was calm as she took her spouses hand and then looked at her daughter.

"Will you stay for dinner at least, sweetie? Please don't leave angry."

Jami pressed her lips together tightly, thinking and soon enough her lip ended up between her teeth before she nodded slowly and let out a deep breath. "All right. Just...keep Michael away from me and Kain."

Her mother smiled. "I can do that."
 
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