Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author Note: Obviously set before Seth Rollins' June 2014 heel turn. The fic's title comes from an on-camera backstage altercation between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns where Wyatt declared that Reigns was an 'interesting creature.' Warnings: Intimidation of a woman by a couple of men, insinuations that worse could have happened to her.

INTERESTING CREATURES

Renee Young liked to think that she was approachable and good at her job. She enjoyed her work, getting to interview WWE Superstars backstage and in the ring. She got to do commentary on NXT and make sure there was some kind of voice of reason on The JBL & Cole Show. Basically she got paid well to work in the industry that she'd loved since she was a little kid. She knew that her parents were proud of her, particularly her dad who used to get her into WWE events through his job as a concert promoter. She'd never be able to thank him enough for that.

Some of the Superstars weren't particularly pleasant though and Renee wasn't always thrilled with how her employer, the Authority, treated people. But she'd seen how they dealt with those that defied them and she didn't want to lose her dream job so she settled for asking pointed questions on camera and boosting the profiles of Superstars that deserved better than the Authority currently allowed.

She'd made some great friends though, she was close to some of the Divas and she enjoyed hanging out with a few of the guys like Daniel Bryan who was adorable especially around his gorgeous wife Brie Bella. So Renee wasn't completely surprised when on her way back from a regular meeting in the production truck, someone called her name just as she was nearing the arena doors. She was taken aback when she recognised the accent and voice though. She knew who it was and knew that it couldn't mean anything good.

It wasn't going to be a good idea to run either. She'd seen what happened to those who thought that they could get away from Bray Wyatt when he had something to say to them.

So she took a deep breath and turned to face the Wyatt Family. Eric Rowan was wearing his sheep mask and Luke Harper was just staring at her, his vacant expression very disconcerting. With a minute flinch, Renee wished that she'd remembered to grab her jacket earlier. As it was, she was just wearing a stylish red dress, the skirt was a respectable length but plenty of leg was still in display as were her arms thanks to the dress' complicated straps. She forced herself not to cross her arms defensively and instead pasted on a bright quizzical smile. Maybe Bray Wyatt just wanted to ask for some mic time.

Bray stepped forward, a very unnerving smile on his face. His eyes glittered worryingly too, particularly as he got close to her. Renee was almost positive that he could hear her heartbeat. His breath smelled of whisky and he looked scarily pleased. Why did he want to talk to her without an audience present? Bray Wyatt was all about the power of his own words, about persuading the masses to see things his way. What did he want with her?

"Little lamb, looking so lost," the man in question crooned. "You need guidance, sweet words to guide you home."

Renee directed a quick glance towards the arena doors. "I'll be fine, thanks."

Bray stepped even closer, a silent threat visible in every movement of his copious body. God, what did he want? He'd never shown any interest in any of the Divas before, he rarely seemed to notice the difference between the male and female Superstars. They were all sheep to him. Renee wished that the cameras were rolling because then someone might notice what was happening to her.

All she could do was stand her ground and hope that she wouldn't have to fight off Bray and his followers. She was only armed with sharply-heeled shoes which might help a little but she doubted that they'd convince the Wyatt Family to leave her alone. She waited tensely until Bray spoke again.

"You think you're fine but you see, you are so far from it. You are a lamb to the slaughter, your eyes are closed and you're going to fall. Or do you think the hounds will save you?"

Renee's forehead creased, talking to Bray meant having to decipher his creepy riddles. So far it sounded like the kind of chilling threats that he regularly dolled out to his opponents but his main focus had been John Cena for a while now and Renee barely knew John. He was nice enough and she liked his girlfriend but they rarely talked when the cameras were off. And hounds? The only hounds that Renee knew in this context were the Shield.

The Shield, the men that the Wyatt Family had fought for months on end. Bray Wyatt was a man with eyes on everything, not just the opponent in front of him. Renee wouldn't say that she felt close to the Shield, but she enjoyed interviewing them and since they'd started getting cheered by the fans, they'd become more playful with her, making her laugh. Roman Reigns was the worst offender, he smiled and winked at her a lot and no, she hadn't failed to notice his impressive body and handsome face. She was only human after all. And while she wasn't friends with the Shield, she really didn't want to be part of whatever twisted scheme that Bray Wyatt had in mind for them.

Renee swallowed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Before she could stop him (how could she, given the size of him?), Luke Harper reached out an intimidating hand and grasped a handful of her dress' straps. He pulled hard and chunks of the fabric tore. Renee gasped and tried to wrench herself out of his grip.

Bray just laughed. "See, your eyes are still closed and so is that pretty heart of yours. I might swallow it whole one day, before the dogs get it. Then what would they become?"

On some invisible signal, Harper tugged hard again and more of the dress tore. Renee bit out a curse and thought about kicking him but didn't, he might hold on and try to carry her off or something. Her heart was racing and there was nobody around to help her. The parking lot was empty; Bray had planned this encounter perfectly.

His breath was warm, it made her feel sick to her stomach. Bray just smiled and Luke Harper stared, like she was meat on a butcher's slab.

Bray's gaze bore into Renee and she felt her insides clench up. But he only breathed a single word.

"Run."

Then he cocked his head and Harper let go of her, he even pushed her back a little. Renee stumbled but found her feet and very quickly ran for the arena doors. Behind her Bray was laughing. Renee got inside, her heart pounding and her hands checking her dress. It was hardly staying together at all down one side. She looked like she'd had a very bad night already and the show hadn't even started yet. Her thoughts felt incredibly blurred, Bray Wyatt was too good at getting inside people's heads. But why had he singled her out? Did he want to get his hooks into the Shield so that he could use them against Cena? How did freaking her out play into that? Was he trying to unleash the monsters within the Shield like he seemed to want to do to everyone else? Or did he just want to mess with them, to set them on edge for a completely different reason? Whatever his thought process was, she had to find the Shield.

First she went to catering to grab something to tide her over until after the show, then she found somewhere to sit down, very carefully hiding the state of her dress. She always brought a spare outfit with her for on-camera just in case so she could still work the show and look respectable, but she really didn't want to use the Divas locker room to change. There'd be a lot of questions if the girls saw the state she was in and maybe some rumours would get started too. Not every Diva was a friend after all; she'd learned that early on.

Tucked away in a corner of the wardrobe room, Renee bit into a sandwich and took deep breaths. She was fine; she hoped she didn't smell like the Wyatt Family after her close encounter with them. She also hoped that Bray hadn't sent someone to follow her, ever since that children's choir had shown up on Raw wearing sheep masks there was really no telling who Bray had in his thrall. Renee checked her watch, she had time to track down the Shield before she needed to switch outfits and get ready for her first interview of the night.

So she headed for one of the back hallways, the kind of place where guys who never used a locker room might hang out. It didn't matter if the fans were cheering or booing them, the Shield always stayed separate from everybody else backstage. Renee plastered on a relaxed expression as she walked, garnering herself a few interested gazes when they noticed the mess her dress was in. Renee rolled her eyes as though it was an embarrassing incident that she didn't want to talk her about. That just about covered it anyway, if you ignored the way that Bray Wyatt's expression had made her stomach curdle.

She had a sandwich in one hand and was just taking an agitated bite out of it when a sharp voice cut across the hallway.

"Hey!"

She startled way more than she usually did and suddenly there was the Shield. Having melted out of the shadows, they were now stood in front of her. Roman Reign's gaze zeroed in on the ruined half of her dress, Renee managed a tight smile.

"So I met Bray Wyatt outside. He wanted you to know that."

Seth Rollins circled her, his pointedly raised eyebrow saying a lot more than he did. "Clearly."

Renee's smile got even tighter. None of them were looking at her with pity in their eyes thank God, but she still felt uncomfortable. Speaking of which, someone was taking a bite out of the sandwich that she was still holding in her hand. Yep, there was Dean, hovering near her left side, his grinning mouth stuffed full. Some things never changed and that lightened her heart.

"I hope you're allergic," she told him pointedly.

Dean spoke with his mouth full. "I hope you got more."

Renee threw the rest of her sandwich at him. Seth's expression wrinkled at how quickly Dean gobbled it up.

"You'd better not puke during our match," Seth warned his teammate.

While he and Dean argued, Roman's focus stayed on Renee. He didn't get close and he didn't try to touch her, Renee hadn't expected just how grateful she'd feel about that. It also made her relax; being focused on by Roman wasn't nearly as unnerving as being focused on by Bray Wyatt. Roman wasn't smiling though; instead he looked stony-faced with fury.

"He got under your skin," he stated, his meaning double.

Renee twitched up a shoulder, the straps spilling haphazardly in reply. Roman inclined his head, his gaze narrowing in a clear unpleasant question. Renee quickly shook her head; Bray hadn't forced anything on her, he'd settled on making her skin crawl instead. Roman didn't look any less unhappy.

"He wants to light a fire under us, he's going to get an inferno."

Renee frowned; she really didn't want the guys playing into Bray's sick and brutal hands. She just wanted them to know that they needed to keep one eye out for him. But she also knew that there was no stopping the Shield when they went after something. Win or lose, they'd keep on coming.

She was also aware that Bray had deduced that she could be used to anger the Shield. Seth and Dean were joking around nearby but she could see how tense and angry they actually were. On some level she was flattered that she mattered that much to a group that almost completely kept to themselves, but she was also unhappy that she could be used against them because yes, maybe they were her friends after all, maybe they did matter to her.

She listed towards Roman, tired and wrung-out all of a sudden. Roman's hand was comforting and warm at her back and for a long moment she leaned into his touch. He wasn't asking for anything, he was just standing there, helping her out, and she was grateful.

Seth was the first to break the quiet. "Paige'll grab your gear, no questions asked."

Renee smiled just a little, because that just about confirmed her long-held hunch that Seth and Paige were dating. Renee was glad to be right. She liked Paige, the young Diva wore what she liked and deliberately didn't tan despite the fact that the tanned look was considered not only normal but necessary by practically everyone else backstage. Paige was also aware that most of the Divas locker room couldn't stand her because she'd won the Divas Title during her first night on Raw. Paige had a huge target on her back but she kept on coming back for more, fighting regardless, uncowed.

Dean nodded towards a curtained off area. "You can change there before your inevitable production meeting. Have fun with JBL and Cole."

Renee grimaced but nodded her thanks. Roman's hand stayed warm at her back until Paige arrived with Renee's bag. She winked at Renee and kept her company as Renee changed into a filmy turquoise top and leather skirt. Renee bagged the ruined red dress and left it with the Shield's stuff. Yes, she trusted them. They weren't angels and had never claimed to be but they cared deeply about their own version of justice and personally, they hadn't yet given her a reason to run in the opposite direction, thank God. When she pushed past the curtain, the Shield had gone. But that was okay; Renee had things to do too.

She put in a smile and delivered her usual mix of interviews for the TV audience and for the website. She didn't give anyone a reason to doubt her performance, because what would the Authority do if she told them that the Wyatt Family had harassed her with the aim of disturbing the Shield? The Authority would love that, they'd probably encourage the Wyatts to do more of the same. Renee's heart still beat very quickly throughout the night though and she kept a constant eye out for Bray and the rest of his Family. The next time he called her name, she was going to keep on walking. Or would that just make things worse?

After the show, when she dipped into the back corridors to retrieve her bag, the Shield were waiting. Dean wanted to know why she hadn't brought him another sandwich; Seth told her that Paige and Emma were going to call her tomorrow to sort shit out. Roman kept a hand at Renee's back.

She sat beside him in their Hummer, glad of the tinted windows and the fact that they'd parked well away from everybody else (of course). She was glad that Roman was beside her too, a strong immovable presence. He was exactly what she needed. Renee closed her eyes and just breathed, gathering her thoughts and finally allowing herself to dwell on what had happened to her – she'd been at the mercy of Bray Wyatt.

She breathed in, vivid images flashing through her head, her grip on her bag so tight that it really hurt the soft flesh of her palms. Seth and Dean chattered in the front seats – arguing over radio stations and who wrote what song and Jesus fuck, Dean, please don't start singing Toto. Roman stayed silent beside Renee, but his hand touched hers, smoothing away pain without comment. Renee didn't push him away.

-the end