Remedy

I

Iliana

Guest
Original poster
REMEDY​


Hhhh...hhhh...hhhh...hhhh.

Every single muscle in his legs screamed out in pain, begging to be loosened and relaxed, but he dare not stop running. The pain would just have to be. His paws trampled across leaves, breaking them into shattering colors of red, gold, and dirty green. A twig or two snapped under the pressure of his entire body in each one of his steps; a weight that he was carrying himself. He continued to pant through his mouth, teeth bared back. A sliver of blood stained his bottom lip, dripping past the crevice of his neck as it soaked into the white of his fur. Each step he took with his hind leg was hell, opening the wound in the side of his stomach more and more. He couldn't afford to slow down or falter.

Hhhh...hhh....

The others were gaining on him. He could smell his own blood from a clear proximity behind him. If he looked behind himself, he would have been faced with the sight of the Alpha Female's red stained mouth, dripping with his blood and locks of his fur. She was the biggest of the pack, the Alpha Male presumably away for another hunt. It didn't stop her from calling her pack when Haru lunged towards her. The memory flashed back in a blur, the forest floor washing away to show the scene of the Alpha, snarling and snapping at him. Her brown tailed writhed and snapped left and right, warning Haru to act cautiously. It was too dark for him to make out the wild boar with a growling wolf rounding on him. He bent down on all fours, snarling back, desperately wishing he could speak to her. He had to let her know that the wild boar was somewhere in those trees, anticipating any faltering step.

Haru made one.

He barked at the Alpha Female, and she suddenly got on the defensive, barking right back. Her fur bristled, golden eyes set on Haru and Haru only. He could hear it; the boar's heavy breathing. It somehow managed to blend into the shadows and avoided being detected. How something that large managed to slip past his keen eyes, it was a mystery, but the rough breathing reminded him that it was still there. Waiting. Anticipating. Haru's tail lowered, the only gesture he knew at making peace with the other wolf.

It was a gesture short lived.

The memory faded when he stiffened at the sudden roar of the boar, followed by him lunging at the Alpha Female, trying to push her out of the way. Both of them got a piece of him. Haru's ears perked at the cracking of a branch to his left. Despite the burning, pulsing pain in every muscle in his entire body, he cut a sharp right, leaping as best as he could over a log. The price he paid for not stretching his hind legs were dire. His right paw snagged the log, twisting it in a disgusting angle. He heard the tear of his muscles before the pain whipped through him. There was a loud yelp before he fell down something high and ragged with rocks. When he no longer heard the rushing paws behind him or the ragged breathing of the Alpha, he knew he was away from them. His body instantly became weightless, falling from a dangerous height, all of his legs flailing but the right one. That one was dead in the air.

Hhhh...

Haru closed his eyes, seeing the image of a woman with long, beautiful white hair singing to him. The sound was the greatest melody he had ever known, the tune coiling around his tiny fingers as he reached up to touch the mere presence of her. She gave him a teasing smile, pulling her hand away from reach but never stopping her song. Haru giggled madly, kicking his infant feet wildly in the fair game of tag he was having. The song amplified in his head, the image burning brighter in his mind. He was home now. The weightless feeling left him, the pain and blood trailing through the air disappearing. There was only the song and her smiling face.

It was only when that face contorted into a visage of agony and death did Haru realize that his homecoming was short lived. The weightless feeling returned, gravity pushing down on his flailing, white body like heavy palm on his back. Every torn muscle revived, cutting a new, white line of pain through him. The song vanished, replaced by a hacking, seductive low voice.

"By blood slain
By blood remained
Daylight's peace and
Night fall's pain

By love born
By love slain
By blood the peace
Will dawn again"

Hhhh...

He was out before he hit the ground.
 
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Jackie was just your average girl.


She was born in a small town and never left. The kids that she started kindergarten with were the same ones that she graduated with thirteen years later. She was the popular cheerleader, minus the typical snobbishness that usually came with the title. Instead, she was friends with everybody. She worked her summers at an ice cream stand and spent all winter helping her neighbors with their farm. Everybody knew everybody - one of those towns were nobody locks their doors unless they're going out of state for over a week. Even then, they usually just got a kid to feed their pets every day and get the mail out of the box.


It wasn't until she went away to college that she truly experienced meeting new people and speaking to those who didn't know every little detail about her life. The ability to have secrets and develop friendships with people who didn't know each other was positively thrilling, and at first she adored the novelty. As time wore on, however, she realized how dangerous keeping secrets could be. When some of her 'friends' discovered her overwhelming fear of camping, for example, they had insisted on spending a weekend in the woods. It would be a fun adventure, they said, with drinking and s'mores and scary stories.


She had lasted half the night before going back to campus.


Now she had something to prove. She hadn't been willing to go into detail about why she hated camping so much, so stories had spread that she feared s'mores and little fluffy bunnies. Finally she got fed up with it all and accepted a dare from one of her friends to spend the entire night in the woods in a little tent. Alone. With nobody else around. Just herself and the wilderness until tomorrow morning.


She was an idiot.


Now she was sitting in the middle of the woods, having set up her tent only after becoming so lost that she gave up hope of finding her way out before having sunlight to help her out. She had made a small fire in a little pit that she dug with a miniature shovel that she brought, and she was sitting on a pile of leaves that was almost comfortable. Most of her attention was focused inward, in the hopes that her thoughts could drown out the sounds of nature that she couldn't identify. She was actually doing a fine job of it, really..


Until a wolf appeared out of nowhere and collapsed five feet away from her in a bloody heap.


She yelped and jumped to her feet, diving clumsily into her tent as if the thin fabric would be any sort of real protection. It took a few minutes, but she did eventually realize nothing was trying to get in. She cautiously peeked out of the tent, seeing that the wolf hadn't moved. Maybe it was dead. Oh, how awful! She frowned at her conflicting thoughts and crept out of the tent, going over and poking the wolf with a stick. It didn't budge. She scooted a little closer and stared at it, seeing the faint signs of breathing. There was a nasty looking injury, which was probably why it wasn't trying to bite her face off. She couldn't just leave him there..


She bit her lip and went in her tent, grabbing a spare shirt and her little knife that she had borrowed for this excursion. After making sure yet again that the wolf wasn't going to jump up and kill her, she knelt down next to it and cut off a strip of the shirt. She pressed it against his wound carefully, her movements tentative. All she had to do was stop the bleeding, and then if he died it wouldn't be her fault, right? She pondered that, cutting another strip of the shirt. Catching on the seam, the blade sliced shallowly across her left index finger. She squeaked and dropped everything in surprise, staring at her finger as it bled.


Oh dear. Now there was just going to be blood everywhere.
 
He didn't remember how bad it hurt when he finally landed on a bed of leaves from the free fall. It was a miracle he even got the opportunity to open his eyes again. He had been out for who knew how long, bleeding from the large wound in his side. He should have perished from blood loss by then, he was sure of it. But, he couldn't complain when he peeled the lids of his eyes back, staring into a distorted space of nothingness. Vision blurred and swimming beyond any recognition of anything around him. A bird tweeting above him let his know that he was still in a forest and not in Wolf Heaven, or wherever dead wolves go. Haru huffed through his nose, a small whine of pain mixed between it.

There was no way that he was going to lay there and wait to die. He had done it. He escaped the Alpha Female and her pack. He free fell through so many feet of air that he was knocked out before he even hit the ground. A sliver of pain was enough to coax him to get up, trying desperately by using nothing but upper body strength. It was futile, his hind leg still fractured beyond recognition. He was no doctor, but an injury like that would take a while to heal. How was he to hunt if he could barely walk? Pawing the ground below him, Haru yelped when he pushed himself on his 3 feet. The wound in his side screamed in pain, but Haru barely felt anything. It was too numb and he was too tired to care.

One paw after another, the wolf shuffled himself through a thick underbrush, head down and ears low. A great bit of time passed since he landed on the forest floor, the twinkling of the pearl moon overhead telling him so. That meant that he hadn't eaten since that morning. No food, no energy, and no blood. It was a wonder he was alive. He whined, dragging the useless right hind paw around like extra baggage on a trip. He was walking so slow that bugs decided to zip around the matted area of red fur, trying to peek at the open wound and how much blood they could gather in their tiny insect pouches. They would soon be able to feast all they wanted.

A light ahead was his motivation, the smell of something...sweet tickling his sensitive nose. Step, limp, step, whine, limp, limp. The light grew brighter and brighter, like a miniscule sun on his level. The desire to bark at the light, begging for it to save him was too great, yet lack of energy suddenly bulldozed down on him. There was a weightless feeling again before he collapsed at the base of the fire, whining one last time.

And then, a shriek littered the air.

On instinct and instinct only, Haru's white wears flicked, rising ever so slightly. His head was lain to the side, unable to see anything but directly in front of him. The shriek was human. Female. Terrified. Wanting to chuckle at how a human was afraid of a dying wolf, the only movement he made with his mouth was opening it for another pathetic whine. Simultaneously, a twig cracked from ahead of him. The girl was on the move. He admired her bravery, because any other time, he would have snapped her hand clean off. Deal with a poacher once, one could learn to despise humans for the rest of their animistic lives. Never mind that he was once one. That was a tale told too many times in his memory. It had gotten old. Besides, it was much easier for him to learn how to adapt to a wolf's life than a human's, he was sure.

There was a sudden pinch to his back. He mistook it for a mosquito and continued to lay dormant, letting the pain return in his body and consume him. The mosquitoes could drink their fill once he was dead. He didn't too much enjoy the thought of being eaten alive by tiny bugs. The shuffling near him died away before returning. She had gotten closer, probably noticing how he was as good as dead. Would she bury him? Or maybe eat him. Was that what the fire was there for? To cook some unsuspecting animal alive or dead? Haru tried to will himself to move, but the sound of ripping fabric held him in place. There was no longer any point for him to fight it. She was going to kill him.

A spiral of pain swelled on his wound. Haru groaned from deep within his throat, his body suddenly vibrating slightly with the sound. It was both a warning and a plea of desperation. The girl was pushing down on his wound, slowly. That made it worse. If she was going to kill him, he at least wanted her to be quick about it. Haru twitched his paw, clawing the ground and whining for her to get it done with. The procedure went on for minutes; slow, torturous painful minutes. Once or twice he peeled his lids back to look her over. He came up with the conclusion that she was too pretty to be a poacher. Looks could be deceiving.

This hurts...he said in his head, huffing through his nose to push away a leaf that was tumbling around freely. She suddenly came to an abrupt stop, hissing when droplets of her blood cascading down on the base of his neck. Breathing faintly, he slid his brown eyes to her, nudging the ground with his nose. You're really bad at this.

 
Jackie picked up the shirt and tore off a little piece, tying it around the bleeding finger to stop it. It wasn't a deep cut or anything - she had gotten far, far worse before. Still, it was annoying that she had managed to injure herself doing something so absurdly easy. When somebody spoke to her, she just nodded and picked up the knife to continue cutting the shirt more.


"Well, yeah, I've never really oh my GOD you just talked to me!" she said, her tone changing halfway through as she dropped everything and stared at the wolf. He was looking at her. This was bad for two reasons. One, because he was conscious and a wild animal and she was within easy snapping distance if he was in pain and decided to lash out. And two, well..


She just heard a wolf talk to her.


Panicked, she scrambled up and back away from him, ending up tripping over the rock that she had been sitting on earlier. She squealed and fell on her back, blinking up at the stars. Perhaps she had finally lost her mind like everybody used to say she was going to do. All just a matter of time, they used to say. She slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head and looking over at the injured wolf warily.
 
The reaction was fitting, though not as fruitful as it could have been if he wasn't in such deep and agonizing pain. Not able to enjoy the fruits of his own labor, Haru just continued lying miserably on the forest floor, eyes blinking away from the empty space that was occupied by the human girl only seconds ago. He got a good look at her when she was standing, that was. Long brown hair, lips the color of a peach kissed rose, and a smell of everything feminine and more. He took it that she hadn't been in the woods for long since she still carried the scent of the city, but it was just as well. Someone with that kind of caliber and sensitivity shouldn't have been away from the street life for long.

Haru remained silent while she yelped and groaned, his guess being that she tripped. He had enough fun. Now, it was time for him to return to what he was doing before he spoke to her: preparing to die. Another howl in the distance instantly got him on edge, his tail twitching before remaining limp once more. Even something as simple as wagging his tail was torture for the wolf. The wound, as catered as it must have been, had been too long without care that the rest of his body rebelled against exerting too much energy. In short, he was a lying wolf vegetable. A star twinkled somewhere in the distance and Haru blinked his eyes towards it, wondering if he'd still be alive when it was gone.

I'm sorry. If it helps...I didn't think you could hear me. When he spoke, he felt stronger. The blood loss may have been eating away at his body, but he could talk through his mind all he wanted. Sure, his voice was weak and coated in a deepened tone of a man, but he could have recited her a book if he wanted to. Strength of body and strength of mind were two completely different entities in themselves. Haru was beginning to wonder if she had gotten too scared and ran off to get poaching help, but the smell never went away, so he knew she was still there. An ear twitched lazily on the ground, the low, wailing whine returning to his jaws when the cold air brushed against the open wound in his stomach.

Who are you...? He asked innocently, figuring that he had might as well knew the girl's name before he passed out or died, one of those two becoming pertinent sometime soon.
 
The sound of another howl made Jackie tense and look around. It was a pointless gesture since it obviously wasn't close enough to see, but instinct never made her feel very intelligent anyway. She frowned worriedly, looking back at the wolf on the ground. Did he have friends looking for him? Would other wolves come here? Ones that weren't injured? She wouldn't stand a chance if they did. The urge to just bolt and leave him there was rising rapidly, but she didn't move. She couldn't. He wouldn't make it out here alone. Besides, maybe she had just imagined it all.


Or maybe not.


"T-That doesn't actually help.." she stuttered quietly, standing up without bothering to brush herself off from her tumble. She edged closer to the fire, moving into the light as she looked over at him warily. He wasn't going to be going anywhere. Logically she knew there was no reason to fear him right now. Yet.. she couldn't shake the feeling completely.


She gradually moved back over to his side, kneeling and cutting more strips from the dropped shirt. It would be somewhat useful, right? She wasn't a vet, she had no idea how to take care of a wild animal like this. His sudden question caught her off guard and she nearly cut herself again, but managed not to. Instead, she just looked over at his face and tried very hard not to picture him jumping up and eating her like the wolf in Red Riding Hood.


"My name is Jackie," she said, then held up one of the strips. "I'm going to put these on you to try and stop the bleeding. I know it hurts but there isn't really anything I can do about that.." she added apologetically, then carefully set about pressing the strips on. Her hands were covered in blood that wasn't her own, but soon she was done. She paused for a moment, then reached over to her bag and rummaged around a bit before pulling out a bag of beef jerky.


"Are you hungry?"
 
...Sorry. He had no idea why he was apologizing so much to her. He hadn't done anything that any other wolf would have done in that situation, right? Wrong. Wolves don't try to protect Alpha Females from other packs. They would just attack whenever they could, and if somehow, they miraculously defeated the Alpha, then they would claim reign over the pack. That was the way of the wolf life, at least, as far as he could tell from his studies. Being a wolf for so long, there had to be some way that he could brush up on his adaptation skills. Haru learned from a safe distance what the life of the pack was like. He had never been a part of one and never wanted to. Each time his white fur was flashed around a group of forest wolves, the opposition had their fangs bared and claws ready. Trying to help that Alpha Female was what got him royally screwed. So, in fact, it actually was his fault.

He just didn't know why he was apologizing to her about it.

Learning her name was the first step to having a graceful departure. Jackie. It was so northern and city-like. After looking over her outfit and listening to her mumbles, he concluded quickly that she was definitely city bred. No hunter would be wearing that kind of makeup and speaking with such fear. Yes, he could hear the emotion in the precipice of her sentences. Once or twice, his lips twitched up into a smile, cold black nose rubbing on the ground because he never moved. The dark was getting darker, a fitting ending to his life. No more lights, sounds of the forest, some unknown voice speaking to him for no reason at all. It was quite Gothic for his tastes, but what other choice did he hold?

A growl suddenly bubbled, making Haru's paw twitch when his wound was violated again with the pressure.

Ow...Are you sure about that? This hurts pretty bad. Her reassurance fell on short breaths. Haru was hurting and hurting bad, wondering if death would be quicker and less painful. Doubting it, he scratched his bloody paw on the ground again, moving his head to the side but only managing to dirty the side of his face. He gave up, putting his head back down on the ground in defeat, eyes sliding closed. A savory smell tickled his nose, wafting at him from where Jackie knelt. It was too delectable to be her. He didn't eat nor bit people for that matter, so he knew the smell wasn't her skin. Still, it was making him inexplicably restless, thumping his tail on the ground ever so slowly in excitement.

It's a bad idea, but yes, I am. Are you what's smells so good? he asked, eyes still closed.
 
"I'm sorry that it hurts so bad. I really don't know what else to do for you. I don't even have a normal medical kit with me, let alone anything for animals. I'm no vet. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning," Jackie suggested, munching a small piece of beef jerky. As he asked if it was her that smelled so good, she blinked and shook her head, then realized his eyes were closed.


"No, it's not me. Here," she said, reaching in the bag and pulling out a nice big chunk. She set it right beside the tip of his snout on the ground before quickly withdrawing her hand. No need to get bitten and munched on instead of the jerky.


She settled back in her spot and examined his wound, frowning a bit. This was way out of her depth. Wolves terrified her, and now she was here caring for one. On top of that, she couldn't help but wonder if she was actually asleep next to the fire and this was all a dream. A wolf was talking to her. That wasn't exactly a good argument for being sane. If her friends could see her now, they would be stunned. They used to call her the country city girl. Even though she had grown up in a small town, she wasn't the type to go on a hike or anything. It wasn't that she didn't love being outside, just.. Things like this could happen! A wolf out of nowhere, bleeding everywhere.


"What's your name?"
 
Medical supplies. Vet. Equipment. It was all coming back to Haru in tiny fragments, but he would never grasp the full concept of it. It was only in his nature to know some things about the human world because he was once one of them. A long time ago and a mere babe, but he had still lived the life of a human. The wolven one just reigned dominant and was going to be how he died. Born as a human, killed as a wolf. By blood slain, by blood remained. Haru's into body spazzed suddenly, his muscles convulsing so harshly that he reawakened any tenderness and peace her healing may have given him, ripping the hole in his side again. Instead of yelping, he barked. Loud. It wasn't her fault entirely, but Haru had to get mad at something. He had to lash out to get the voice out of his head. The same one that had lain dormant in the back of his mind for so many days and nights.

Quiet!

Then, a second later, it was over. He was back to breathing irregularly and letting his body lay plastered to the forest floor. Reality slipped back to him in tiny bite sized pieces: the rustling of the leaves under foot, the smell of both Jackie and the delicious jerky, the hot fire that was his blood, dripping relentlessly into a ragged sliver of fabric. The shock had disappeared, leaving Haru with nothing but his breathing, inside and out of his mind and nose.

I don't think I'll make it to the morning, he sniffed, waiting for the jerky to land at his mouth. She was generous enough to try to patch him up then she would have been generous enough to offer him something to eat. Scoffing down an entire animal was his actual plan, but the wild boar fought back and fought hard. That's when he remembered that he hadn't eaten in over a day. The last time he did...he couldn't go back that far. The smell was ruining his train of thought again and he went with plan B: remain absolutely stoic until the food just...fell in front of him. To his surprise, the plan worked. He grew quiet, his eyes still closed while his breathing became softer after much strain.

He didn't necessarily mean to snap his jaws dangerously close to her fingers, but the second the jerky hit the ground, he used every little ounce of strength he had left in his body to snatch it up. Just as he thought, it was both heaven and hell. The meat went down into a spiced, savory flavor in his throat before dropping into a pit of burning acid in his stomach, upsetting the wound in his side. It was alright though. There was some peace, even for the moment.

It's Haruke. I think. I can't remember. Wolves don't really have names, but if I did have one, I think it's Haru. That's the only thing I can think of. This time, he peeled one eye open, sliding towards her while a tongue licked at his nose to get the last tinges of jerky that may have been smothered there. Why are you talking to a wolf? Aren't you suppose to be with...people?
 
Jackie flinched back hard when the wolf snapped at her, realizing afterward that he hadn't been aiming for her. Or had he? She stared at him, uneasy. The wound on his side was oozing blood again, and he kept having odd spasming fits that made her think he wasn't stable enough to be anything but dangerous. If he had a violent outburst, she would be helpless - even though he was wounded. How pathetic was that? She frowned to herself, watching him eat as her mind raced with fearful thoughts. In the back of her mind, she was still somewhat listening to him, so she registered his name.


Haruke. Haru. Which one was it?


"How come you have a name if wolves don't have names? I don't understand how you would forget your own name, unless it's due to your injury," she said, taking more of the shirt and stripping it down to press against the fresh blood of his wound. When she was done, she gingerly set a small pile of jerky next to his muzzle - her fingers not lingering more than a half second.


"I'm talking to you because.. you're talking to me," she said simply, shrugging, then sighed. His next question was more complicated, and she knew it'd probably sound stupid to a wolf.


"Yes, I'm supposed to be with people. I'm out here because my friends thought I couldn't do it. It's kind of a long story, but.. They were right. I can't do this. I'm pretty sure I've lost my mind already and now I'm talking to a wolf that's not really there. I should just go home before more wolves show up or a bear or something else with sharp teeth.."
 
Don't laugh when I tell you this, but... Haru stopped in his tracks. It had repeatedly come to him; it was such a wonder why he hadn't realized it before. This was the first time he actually had someone to talk to and who could talk to him back. That wasn't just rare. It never happened before. The conversation would have made for a good parting gift, but the soothing unraveling of the nerves and muscles in his stomach told him otherwise. He would make it through the night and maybe some days after that. With a lot of care and attention, that was. Jackie was the only one who he had to give him those two things, but he could easily tell that she wasn't used to that kind of...treatment. Telling her would be a bad idea.

Haru continued to stare at her. Not just look. He stared. It wasn't necessarily a rude thing since wolves do have an open sense of awareness, and Jackie was full of a lot of expressions and body language. Like when she flinched the second he bared his teeth to grab at the free piece of meat lying for the taking. Her fingers would have been mangled after he was done with the bite. Just a few inches closer. He also noticed how defensive she became once he asked her why she was talking to him. Clearly something was bothering her and instead of openly answering him, she attacked him with her own questions.

I don't think you're crazy. I think your friends are crazy. They left you here with nothing but these supplies? That's...not safe. He snorted once again, lifting a leaf or two off of the ground by the pressure of wind. His brown eyes stared long enough, returning to a close so that he could once more be alone with his darkness and her voice. Fatigue was hitting his head and hitting hard. He stifled a yawn; one that was well hidden under the smirk he now wore, fangs bared and glinting in the tiny amount of moonlight that happened to seep through the overhead foliage.

There are wolves out here, you know.
 
"They didn't leave me out here, I came out voluntarily. Well, sort of voluntarily.. I had to. I mean, it's better to suffer a night out in the woods than to deal with months of ridicule."


Jackie frowned a bit to herself, brooding about how they had teased so badly. It was weak of her to not just ignore them - she knew that already. Yet, she was supposed to be this country girl from a small town. She spent days upon days working on farms and helping out around town, yet she couldn't handle camping? It wasn't like she didn't have her reasons, but that didn't matter now. Nobody knew anything except what they saw or she told them. Secrets.. stayed secrets.


"I know there are. I heard them. They're probably looking for you, right? Your friends?" she said, shaking her head. She was like sitting wolfbait here.


After dumping the rest of the jerky within reach for him, she added a few more strips of cloth to his wound and sat back against the log as she gazed at the fire. Here she was, sitting with a wolf in the middle of the woods. She had barely any food, no medical supplies, and a tent that would do absolutely nothing for her if it so much as rained.


She was going to die.


"You should rest."
 
No friends of mine. He was tired. He was exhausted. He was in pain. He was most likely going insane. Images of the wild boar and the Alpha Female came back to him in small snip-its. Snip-its that would most likely be the cause of his lack of sleep for the night. Haru could not get the image of blood from his mind. His own blood that dripped off of the Alpha Female's gleaming white fangs. His blood that was scattered over who-knew-how-many leaves all over the forest floor that he limped on. The blood of the human girl that was still sinking into the base of his neck, though the warmth of it had been replaced by a dark cold. Blood each and every where he turned, eyes open or not.

Even if they were my...'friends' like you say, they'd still try to kill you and eat you. We both have some horrible friends, don't we, Jackie? That was the last thing he said before the wind lulled him into a sleep. The jerky still lay beside his nose, the smell tantalizing his taste buds and motor senses. As hungry as he was, the energy finally drained out of him. Whatever she had done to his stomach had stopped the bleeding, making breathing easier and a lot less painful. The throbbing in his broken hind paw had dulled, though he still knew the bone would be that way for a while. The pain was his lullaby, the numbing being all he needed to not move an inch.

Another howl cracked in the distance, but this time, Haru remained motionless. He was too exhausted to fear for his life. When one already kissed the sky of death once, do they really need to fear it again? His life was saved, barely, and nothing else mattered but the darkness. Sleep called out to him, curling an seductive, crooked finger in front of his closed lids. He could still smell Jackie and the jerky as clear as day. The two smells mingled with one another was odd, but comforting. It meant that it was not a dream; it was evidence that she was actually there and he actually gotten to experience something thrilling that night.

As if coming dangerously close to dying wasn't thrilling enough.

Haru breathed regularly, a short whimper or two squeezing through his deep exhales. However, at any rate, he was out and the pain was a myth. He slept in the same position, the cooing of the wolves in the distance adding into his lullaby.
 
"What?!" Jackie squeaked, horrified.


She got no response, of course, because Haru had decided to stop speaking to her. After a moment of examining him, she determined that he was either sleeping or had passed out. Now she was thoroughly paranoid about a wolf attack happening while she slept, but she was too exhausted to stay up all night long.


She stood up and went in her tent, rummaging around a few moments before she came out with a spare blanket. It was a dark brown and thick, so she knew it would be warm. She tiptoed over to Haru's sleeping form, gingerly covering him up. Wolf or not, he was still injured. She picked up her water bucket next, dousing the flames of her fire. Once all the coals were blackened, she set the bucket aside and went into her tent.


A few minutes later she was deep under her blankets and staring up at the top of the tent. There was a wolf outside and more in the woods. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep knowing all of that. She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to pretend that she was laying in her bed at school and her roommate was just a few feet away. Her exhaustion chipped in, helping make the images feel more realistic and blocking out the sounds of nature outside.


After half an hour, she fell asleep.
 
He woke up freezing, a new one for him. With all the fur on his body and the blanket that he felt drape over him minutes into his slumber, he was sure to be nice and toasty for the remainder of the night. In pain, but comfortably warm. However, what heat he managed to have before was gone when the first shimmer of golden sunlight peeked at the horizon. The forest went from being a royal blue to a milky dark-orange, red tinting the last bits of the horizon while the sun slid into view. With the light came the heightened sounds of the forest. Birds awoken from their slumber and began chirping to one another wildly. Other animals, insects, and sounds gradually increased as the day dawned. The cold settled in over the forest like a blanket and like a pillar of ice of Haru's naked body.

...Naked body?

His eyes shot up when he realized the reason the grass felt good against his skin. Because he was wearing skin. Eyes not being enough, his entire body shot up, which was a horrible move. The wound in his stomach became horribly disturbed, probably reopening the wound that had attempted to seal to a close hours before. The pain was excruciating and it rewarded him a hard hiss.

"Ow..." It was a sharp sound, but it came out of his mouth instead of in his head. The pain was a mystery in those matters of seconds. He looked down and came face to face with his bare legs, one foot horribly broken and bloody scraps of fabric laying in his side. His skin was pale, legs big and muscular. There was a tiny amount of hair below his belly button that trailed off to...His eyes widened in size, blinking down at himself for a second before he grabbed the blanket and threw it over that place. The second he used his hands, he felt an odd sensation go through him. He had hands....feet....a face....Haru's fingers trailed over his lips, nose, and eyes. They eventually got to his hair and, out of sheer curiosity, plucked a strand or two. He brought it to eye level. White.

His breathing picked up as he felt something sticky and hardened on his neck. It had bothered him as soon as he shot up under the blanket. It felt odd; like it did not belong there. He picked at the unknown solid with his finger nails, bringing his fingers back to see a deep, crusted auburn in return. Blood. Jackie's blood. Almost forgetting about the woman, he turned his head around to see a tent that probably harbored the woman, but he was in no shape to move. Instead he stared at the tent absolutely bare, not knowing what else to do. When she awoken...she'd be in for quite she shock.
 
Jackie woke up to the sound of chirping birds instead of the blaring annoyance of an alarm clock. That was the first thing that reminded her where she was. The second was the rock poking into her spine through the sleeping bag she was in. She sighed and shifted slightly to ease the pain, then rubbed her eyes and opened them to see the tent was all lit up with sunshine. Though she hadn't woken up during the night, she still didn't feel very rested. She had horrible nightmares filled with wolves and blood and.. eugh.


She sat up and stretched her arms up over her head, then looked around the tent. Might as well change and dress, then go out and make some breakfast before packing up and getting back to school. She climbed out of the sleeping bag and stripped down, pulling out fresh clothes. First came undergarments, of course, then some dark jeans and an ivory tank top covered by a chocolate brown wrap sweater that tied around her waist and barely skimmed her hips. It was warm and soft, which made her smile. She had done it! Survived camping. She felt victorious as she brushed her hair up into a messy bun and emerged from the tent.


She turned and pulled her bag out from the tent behind her, rummaging around for the poptarts and apples she had stuffed in there. When she found them, she turned back around and finally saw the naked guy sitting in her campsite. She squealed in surprise and jumped back, tripping and taking a tumble against the side of her tent.


SNAP!


The tent collapsed down, the cracked support stick under her legs and she fought her way out of the light fabric that was trying to smother her. First a wolf, then a naked man, and now a broken tent?


Really, universe? Really?
 
"Jackie?" It didn't come out as scared as he wanted it to, but that was because he was more amused at her flailing than concerned. He remembered just a short amount of hours ago that when she first heard him speak, she was careening backwards, falling over something. Now that she had seen him and all of his...glory...she had reacted even more harshly. He watched as her body tumbled all the way backwards, breaking the tent while she drowned in flailing limbs, fabric, leaves, and tent poles. With the wounds, he couldn't make a move to help her out or to see if she was okay for that matter. Instead, he bit his lip (still surprised that he had molars to bite down with), and closed one eye when he heard her yelp.

"Get it together. It's me. Haru." Whether that would make it less terrifying to her or not, it was the only thing he could come up with to calm her down without having to physically get up to accompany her. If he could, he would of. He looked away from the chaos and down at his feet, the left one lying at an awkward angle while the right one twitched. Would he even know how to walk? He was surprised the few words he did say came out so fluently. He really couldn't remember the last time he had to use opposable thumbs, a voice, any of his motor skills. Maybe everything would come back to him. He was a human before he was a wolf, before the...the....

"By blood slain
By blood remained
Daylight's peace and
Night fall's pain

By love born
By love slain
By blood the peace
Will dawn again"

He blinked once, the horrible voice flooding around in his head before the rustling coming from Jackie snapped him from his trance. He sat there, blanket still over his lower body while the wound in his side oozed a new amount of blood.

"I must be hideous. You'd think I'd be scarier as a wolf..."he joked all of a sudden, smiling at the flailing feet that belonged to the girl.
 
Oh god the naked man knows my name!


Jackie froze, startled into not moving thanks to hearing her own name. After a few moments, however, the man announced his name. Haru. Her eyes widened and she nearly choked on her next breath. The wolf was a man?! A naked man?! In her campsite?! Naked?! With no clothes on?!


This was one fucked up fairy tale..


She fought her way free of the tent and sat up, kicking aside the snapped support stick of the tent before managing to stand. Her hands automatically straightened out her clothes and brushed dirt from the back of her thighs, but her eyes were on Haru. She stared at him uncertainly for a long moment, tilting her head before finally walking a little closer - while staring at the ground to avoid tripping, of course. There was no way he thought she had any sense of grace at this point. When she looked up, she considered everything, and frowned a bit.


"You were scarier as a wolf.. but waking up to find a naked man in your campsite is kind of exactly the sort of thing that freaks people out," she said, her voice a bit squeaky as she tried to wrap her mind around everything.


"Why aren't you a wolf anymore?!"
 
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There they were, a naked man and a girl tripping over herself at the sight of him. He watched Jackie intently, seeing her in a whole different light, so to speak. Hours before he was on the brink of death, not having enough time to make out every little bit of her features. However, now that the sun was out and beating relentless on the canopy head of him, he could get a good image of her. She was just as gorgeous as he deemed she was last night, this time knowing that he wasn't going crazy. Even after being a wolf for most of his life, he still got that quickening heart beat when he saw a woman, not that the chance was plentiful. Only 3 times had he come across a human girl anywhere near the woods where he resided, and now that he came face to face with one, actually having a conversation together, he couldn't help but stare harder than what he assumed was normal for a man to do.

It started with her hair. A complete and utter mess after that crash into the tent. He found it suited her, sticking all over the place instead of lying flat to her head and ramming her face which was petite and acute. She had such small features, almond shaped eyes, a nose that similarly reminded him of a tiny bud beginning to blossom into a lovely flower. Her lips were plump, probably the most noticeable about her other than the color of her eyes. They were a beautiful, luscious, prim-rose pink. He wondered for a second if that were their natural color before she began walking up to her, eyes downcast. Never the one to judge, Haru sat firmly in his grassy bed, taking care to breathe slowly so as not to further annoy the gash in his side. It was starting to burn again.

"You were scarier as a wolf.. but waking up to find a naked man in your campsite is kind of exactly the sort of thing that freaks people out."

"That happen often?"

"Why aren't you a wolf anymore?!" He paused for a second, staring up at her innocently before averting his eyes skyward, the only way he could truly think without being entangled in his thoughts. It took him about 10 seconds, chewing over facts and fictions before sliding his eyes back to hers, giving her the most innocent of shrugs.

"You broke my spell." How cliche. The pain started back and Haru went to growl...but it came out more seductive than angered like his wolf's voice would have made it out to be. Still, fire was fire and it was leaking through every sinew in his side again, the result of having snapped up so quickly. Desperate for a soother, he swiveled his face back towards Jackie, giving her the look of a lost puppy.

"It hurts again, Jackie."
 
"N-No, of course it doesn't happen often! I mean, actually, I wouldn't know," Jackie admitted, disconcerted by how he gazed at her so intensely and how she just could not focus on anything except the fact that he was naked. "I don't go camping, remember? I don't really know what's 'normal' for this sort of jaunt.. But, considering nobody mentioned waking up to random naked people like you might at a frat party, I'm going to assume it's not an everyday thing.." she added, then paused as he responded to her question about his non-wolfness.


His.. spell..?


God, if you're listening, I want you to know that I was kidding with the whole fucked-up fairy tale thought. And I don't appreciate your sense of humor right now.


"I didn't break anything," she said, shaking her head until he made an odd sound that she assumed was pain. She frowned and watched him, tilting her head when he looked at her. Well, that was strangely adorable. Hurts.. what hurts? She looked down, examining his side without getting closer to him since she was still rather wary of this whole situation. It looked bad - really bad. She pondered for a moment, then looked back at the ruined tent.


"Hm.. Hold on a minute," she said, walking over and setting to work ripping the tent into large sections and long strips to tie parts together. When she was done, she had a robe type of garment that she assumed would fit him. It'd get him into town, at least, and they could go to the free clinic.


She assumed wolves didn't carry insurance cards.


"Here, put this on, and we'll get you some help for those wounds," she said, handing it to him.
 
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