AN: I don't own Cal Leandros or the Mountain Goats, unfortunately. This is my first piece of fanfiction, so please review. If you have time, please share any constructive criticism and thoughts you have. Thanks.
"Come here, Ally!" I called to my West highland terrier, and she eagerly came running. Her toenails clicked softly on my apartment's worn laminate flooring.
I began humming as I clipped her leash to her blue collar. Glancing out the window, I saw that several centimetres of snow had already fallen, but Mandy's bladder was not to be deterred. When a dog's gotta go, she's gotta go.
Together we carefully descended the snow covered stairs that led to the alley between my apartment building and the laundry mat next door. I didn't exactly live in the best part of town, but it was the best a struggling engineering student in New York City could do.
Mandy took care of her business behind the lone lamppost while I shivered fiercely, trying—and failing —to stay warm in the January wind and snow. I turned so that my back was to the wind and I was facing the street, which was fairly quiet for ten o'clock at night. Then again, not many people were brave enough to venture into my neighbourhood at this hour.
I'm not sure which came first: Mandy's sudden growl, or the loud thump that came from the alley behind me. They seemed to occur simultaneously. I whirled around swiftly, not sure what I was expecting to see. I do know one thing, though: whatever I was expecting, this wasn't it.
Two young men were lying tangled in the snow, seeming to have materialized from the air itself. One of them looked to be in his late twenties, with long blond hair trailing down his back in a braid or a ponytail, I couldn't tell which. He quickly untangled himself from the other man, who lay in the snow unmoving.
It was then that I realized the air had taken on a coppery scent, and that the snow around the two mysterious men was slowing turning red. I took a few steps forward automatically, wanting to help but not sure how. The blond man didn't even seem to register my presence, despite the fact that Mandy was now yapping loud enough to be heard by all my neighbours. He was too busy shaking his comrade, who I now could see looked to be around my age, with messy black hair and skin almost as pale as the snow.
Making my decision, I scooped Mandy into my arms and, ignoring her protestant whimpers, took the last few steps that separated us from the men.
"Cal," the blond one was saying, desperation bleeding into his voice, "don't do this to me."
Now that I was closer, I could see the extent of "Cal's" injuries. Blood was flowing heavily from a several centimetre long gash across his forehead, and he looked to be bleeding from his nose and ears as well. His chest was rising and falling steadily, although he appeared to be unconscious.
The older man took a clean towel and a roll of white gauze out of his coat pocket and attempted to slow the bleeding. His movements were measured and precise, and I wondered absently if he was ex-military or something; now that I thought about it, he did have that whole battle-weary look to him.
Forcing myself to concentrate, I shook my head to clear it. The snow was still coming down strongly with no signs of stopping. I bit my lip, deliberating.
"You guys could come inside my apartment," I offered tentatively, not sure what I, whose middle name was Logic, was thinking. "That's my building there."
That finally got his attention. Grey eyes measured me evenly, and I crossed my arms self-consciously. Then he looked back at his still unconscious companion, who seemed to be growing paler by the minute, and appeared to reach a decision.
With a curt nod of agreement, the blond man gathered Cal in his arms and stood up without any noticeable effort. This display of strength made me question why I had just invited two strangers into my apartment, but it wasn't like I could change my mind now.
As Mandy and I led the man up the stairs, I realized I didn't even know his name. "I'm Andy, by the way," I told him shyly, as I unlocked my apartment door.
I received a terse "Niko," as my response.
AN: So, what do you think? Please review!