Hullo there, everyone! This is a pet project for me, refreshingly different from everything else I have posted so far. This fic is dedicated to IrunwithWolves2424 , my pal who demanded her+tyler "running" together.
Naturally, I obliged. I'm always willing to take requests for writing, though it takes a bit to get inspired and piece together/collaborate/agree upon what we want to happen.
I own nothing except for the marvelous character Megan; actually, i don't think i own her either.
I also mess around with werewolf lore in this; Tyler does change at the full moon, but he can change other times too. Not willingly. Also, "The Wolf" I mention is his wolf side, an active part of his consciousness. I thought it was cool to delve into werewolf psychiatry, obviously.
This takes place in my home area, it's a special project for me. Please read, review,and hopefully enjoy; It'll be perhaps a three or fourshot, and it will be finished no matter who hates it. I'm being whipped. LOL.
Thank you, fans who have stuck with me; Cruel Summer will be updated soon, and my companion to If I Die Young is in the works as well.
A resounding crack echoed throughout the small valley, startling a flock of crows from their perch among the evergreens. The birds scattered in all directions, clouding the sky and squawking in alarm as the only man for miles around collected the chopped logs that had caused the disturbance. With one smooth move, his ax was embedded in a stump, left to await another demand for wood.
With the newly-cut logs safely stored in the small shed a short distance from the tree line, Tyler Lockwood brushed his hands off, drawing a deep breath and regarding the area that had become his home with an appraising gaze. He was accustomed to luxurious hallways, chandeliers, even simply reliable electricity, for God's sake. He had forsaken it all, making his way to Washington state and laying claim to an old hunting lodge of his family's. The place looked like it hadn't been used in decades, the lights were constantly burning out; he had to be content with the fact there was running water, no matter the temperature or cleanliness.
His eyes scanning the wilderness around him, Tyler felt a sense of satisfaction, nonetheless. Some primal urge within him, perhaps The Wolf, had coaxed him to this place, and he had to admit, he was as content as he felt he could be. The majestic Cascade range rising around him, the emerald splendor of trees and the valley's grass...
Closing his eyes, Tyler could discern at least three types of wildflower in this clearing alone. It was heaven to The Wolf.
Brushing sweat from his forehead and rolling back the sleeves of his plaid button-down shirt, Tyler ambled along the sloping valley floor, in the direction of his family's cabin, cottage...whatever you called a small dwelling in the middle of nowhere with about ten square feet of space inside altogether. He glanced up at the sky as he went; no sign of the moon. This month's transformation was a mere few days away, and so he had stocked what he hoped would be enough wood and supplies until then, and for a bit afterwards.
The wolf was breaking in its stride, making the days before and after the full moon especially difficult for the human to endure. It had come to that point; his human and werewolf sides were separate entities, warring over his body constantly, even when no moon shone from the sky. The slightest triggering action, nearly anything, sent him on an angry rampage; and when that happened, he transformed. No moon required, just some serious emotional upheaval. And so he had removed the "nearly anything" from the equation, escaping Mystic Falls and heading to the refuge of the Pacific Northwest.
Rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, Tyler was deep in thought, staring at the ground he trod on as he trudged towards the cabin. A few paces from the porch, a shrill shriek pierced the calm atmosphere, halting him in his tracks. Spinning around and straining every sense he could, Tyler tried to identify where and what the sound had come from.
Another panicked scream cut through the still air, and this time Tyler could tell it was human, and coming from the south end of the valley, a rockier area, tricky to navigate even for him. He frowned, knowing he couldn't stand by and ignore someone in trouble. He broke into a run, making his way toward the sound, dodging fallen branches and outcroppings of rocks. He was able to make his way up the slope in just a few moments, leaving grassy terrain and finding himself on a large ledge of sorts, overlooking a neighboring valley; but the landscape was not what held his attention when he reached the cliff.
The scene that met his eyes was horrifying; a grizzly bear, larger than average, was pawing the air agitatedly and roaring. Long, deadly claws raked the air as it stood on its hind legs, towering over a young woman, who was frantically clawing her way backwards, trying to escape the bear's rage. The cause of the grizzly's distress became evident in a moment; a young cub was crying loudly from its perch in a tall tree, a few paces behind the girl. She was blocking the cub from the adult grizzly.
He took this all in at a moment's glance; but his gaze sharpened when he caught a better glimpse of the girl, and he simply stared for a moment. Long, russet-colored hair had partially spilled from her ponytail, cascading across her shoulders; warm, brown eyes wide with fright stared out from a heart-shaped face; her white t-shirt hugged her torso and showed off a slight tan; tight, dark jeans set off her curves perfectly.
Tyler shook his head forcibly to remove the distracting thoughts, moving forward with no plan in mind except to save the girl. As he slowly edged around the cliff in the girl's direction, The Wolf stirred in the back of his mind, eager at the thought of a fight with such an opponent as the grizzly. Tyler quenched the animalistic thoughts, halting as the grizzly noticed him, slamming back down onto all fours and eyeing him warily.
Tyler flicked a glance to the girl, whose eyes had moved to rest upon him, a mixture of relief and suspicion warring in her facial expressions. Casting his eyes over her quickly, Tyler noticed something he hadn't before; one leg of her jeans was coated in blood coming from a large gash, so much soaking through that it was literally dripping rhythmically onto the stone and dirt beneath her. Looking back at her face, he caught side of her pallor and shallow breathing; she was obviously trying to keep it together enough to get away, but she was seriously injured and likely on the verge of passing out.
Another step taken by Tyler caused the bear to snort loudly, tossing its head and ambling a few feet in his direction, away from the girl.
"What's your name?" Tyler directed at her hurriedly, trying to maintain her focus and the bear's attention; when there was no reply, he pried his eyes from the approaching bear and saw the girl had passed out, a hand clenched to her leg. Looking back at the bear, he allowed a low growl to escape him, sidestepping the last few feet to the girl's side as the grizzly hesitated.
Examining the young woman's leg quickly, Tyler could tell it would need some serious medical treatment, something he did not have access to. He'd have to try his best, but getting her away from the bear would be a great start. It still hadn't moved, cocking it's head and snuffling loudly. The cub had even quieted, watching the humans with curious eyes, starting to inch down the tree.
Tyler quickly unbuttoned his shirt, removing it and wrapping it tightly around the girl's leg, tying it as tightly as he could, hoping it would stop more blood loss. Taking off his shirt would also enable scent of The Wolf to travel with the wind, a warning to the grizzly and other animals around.
He grimaced at the magnified scent of blood; The Wolf was never far from the surface at moments like this. He had to move fast. Looking back at the grown grizzly again, he saw it had moved around to where he had first come from, effectively boxing them in. Lifting the girl in his arms gingerly, Tyler peered over the nearest ledge. He couldn't risk the bear charging them if he moved in any other direction. There were a few small outcroppings of rock sporadically and conveniently placed along the face of the cliff wall below them; if he could make it from one to another, down to the river below...
Shaking his head at the ludicrous situation he found himself in, Tyler crouched slightly, then leapt from the ledge of rock, landing as smoothly as he could on another section of rock. The girl moved fitfully in his arms, moaning slightly, and he had to adjust his grip, assessing their position and figuring out what to do next.
Somehow Tyler made it down to the small river that curved back around towards the cabin. He laid the still-unconscious girl on the bank, removing his shirt from her leg and ripping away the section of jeans covering her wound, up to her knee. Hopefully she didn't like this pair too much...
Soaking his plaid shirt in the river (thankfully, he hadn't liked this too much either), he wrung the water out of it, moving to clean the girl's leg as best he could for now. As soon as the icy river water touched her leg, she awoke, gasping and lunging upwards to a sitting position.
"Wh-who are you? What are you...You are shirtless," She panted, attempting to crabwalk backwards to get away from Tyler.
He gently shushed her, moving towards her and indicating her leg. "You're pretty badly injured, and I'm trying to clean the wound. You don't need to be afraid, the bears are long gone. What's your name?"
Her brown eyes regarded him speculatively, brow furrowed in pain and doubt. Tyler gave her time to answer, averting his eyes for a moment and scanning the wilderness around them. But he soon found his gaze wandering back to her pouting lips, to her hair flung over her shoulders, to the neckline of her V-neck t-shirt...What was wrong with him? He had just met this girl, and not under the best of circumstances. Her muttered response jerked him from his thoughts. "Megan."
He knelt before her and proferred the soaked shirt he'd been using. "I don't exactly have a bottle of Iodine handy out here, you can try to clean it yourself while I figure out where we are."
She raised a brow in his direction, wincing slightly as she gingerly wiped at her leg. "I...feel ridiculously stupid right now."
Tyler had stood up, squinting at the trees around them and sniffing the air subtly. "I wouldn't worry about it; you're not the first hiker to come up against a grizzly, but you're probably one of the luckiest."
"How...did you find me? I thought I was a goner, for sure..." She muttered, trailing off as she winced violently, fighting a wave of dizziness. "The way I'm feeling, I guess I could still be a goner."
As she spoke, Tyler felt a raindrop hit his bare shoulder. Then another. And another.
Cursing the state of Washington, the natural process that was rain, and his having felt the need to help a damsel in distress, Tyler turned back towards Megan. "We need to move now. This will be a torrential downpour in about thirty seconds. Can you walk?"
Megan looked around, and of course seeing no helpful materials, tied Tyler's shirt around her wound as best she could, trying to hide her face with her hair as the pain brought hot tears to her eyes. She was a strong woman, with a lot of pride; she had to muster all of her strength and dignity to get through this. Placing her hands on the ground to gain balance, megan shoved herself to her feet, teetering on her good leg and nearly gasping with pain. "I...can walk."
Her pride was obvious, so Tyler pretended not to notice her pain for the moment. The rainfall increased exponentially, as he had predicted; large drops pounded his bare chest and dripped into his eyes, drenching Megan's hair as well, and plastering her t-shirt to her skin. She awkwardly folded her arms, mentally swearing herself out for having chosen a white shirt.
"We, um, better get moving," Tyler muttered, walking past Megan briskly. "If you can't keep up, let me know and I can carry you."
At his words, Megan reddened, bristling with anger and embarassment. Of course she could walk herself, this...this very large gash in her leg was...just a scratch. And no way in hell was a strange man, however attractive, going to carry her. She grew dizzy just looking down at it. Gritting her teeth, she turned and began to walk along the riverbank behind Tyler.
Tyler soon outdistanced her; his legs were longer and his strides faster, and his ass looked too good in those jeans, and his hair looked way too nice dripping wet...There were many reasons why Megan couldn't keep up, none of course having to do with the fact that there was a foot-long 2-inch deep slice in her leg. Damn grizzlies. Damn wild men who had to help a girl in trouble. Damn rain. Damn horticulture project. Damn issues for driving her into the wilderness and into encountering aforementioned problems.
Attempting to navigate a particularly difficult rocky slope within the forest, Megan slipped slightly, which jarred her injured leg; stopping altogether, she allowed the tears to fall as she lost sight of Tyler's bare back, moving ahead of her. She was barely conscious at this point, dizzy and nauseous; she wanted to go home, she wanted to take back the random grizzly encounter, she didn't want to appear weak but her leg hurt so damn much.
The rain continued on, impervious to her condition; she was soon completely soaked through, crumpled on the forest floor and feeling lower than the dirt she was sitting on. Raindrops pattering on leaves and branches blocked out the sound of approaching steps; Megan let out a gasp when a hand fell upon her shoulder, throwing herself backwards and nearly passing out again with pain.
"Easy," Tyler's voice crooned. "You really are seriously injured, and we need to get to shelter."
Megan barely heard him through the haze of pain she struggled to breathe through. She felt the seeping of blood from her leg resume, and blinked furiously. "I..."
"Don't protest. I'm not gonna judge you for needing help. We just met." With a small chuckle and no other warning, Tyler reached down, snaking an arm under Megan's legs and around her waist, lifting her to his chest effortlessly. She hissed in a breath between clenched teeth at the movement, giving in after a moment and burrowing her head into his shoulder, trying hard not to pass out or vomit all over him. He was still shirtless, and she found his musky scent oddly comforting. That thought brought her back to earth, and her cheeks flamed; she kept her face down, focusing on breathing regularly and nothing else.
When she was settled in his arms, Tyler set off again, traversing the forest like he was certain of where he was going. That thought set off a dim warning bell in her head, but Megan honestly couldn't afford to care right now. She was in pain, it was raining, and this hot man represented shelter and painkillers to her right now. She must be delirious. Closing her eyes, she let Tyler's gentle movements and the sounds of the rain lull her into unconsciousness.
And that concludes part one of the #TeamWhatWouldTylerDo fic. What did you guys think? Please let me know; I am also unsure of ratings at this point. going M simply gives me more creative room, so...there we are. Thanks for reading! xoxo Bon