The Forgotten Strays

...

The second Bigby Wolf marched out the door with Tweedle Dee, Holly put her glamour back up and hurried over to Gren. He was still in his true form, clutching the gaping wound on his shoulder and sobbing to himself.

She had never heard him cry before. She'd seen him angry plenty of times, she'd seen him happy, tender, thoughtful, and all the other emotions he never showed anyone else. They'd known each other centuries, and she'd never seen him like this. Not broken.

That fucking monster. Where did he get off barging into her bar and mutilating her friends?

"Jesus..." she breathed, hands hovering in the air, not wanting to touch him. Trolls had strong stomachs by nature, but she hadn't seen that kind of brutality since leaving the Homelands. What if she hurt him and made it worse? She wasn't even sure this was fixable.

Gren didn't seem to be aware of her, he was in that much pain.

Swineheart was the only option. Holly rushed over to the door the Woodsman had fled through.

"Woody!" she yelled. "Woody, get your ass back here!"

He was probably long gone by now, but damn, she needed help with this. How was she supposed to get Gren across town in this state? They'd have to take a cab, and there was no way anyone would let him in looking like this. Even glamoured, a guy recently missing an arm would stand out. Not only that, she wasn't even sure about Swineheart. She'd never had to go to him before. He could turn her away if she couldn't pay for Gren's treatment, and there wouldn't be a damn thing she could do about it. Fables like her usually looked out for themselves, but this was too bad for a bottle of liquor and a couple of hours sleep.

"Gren, you need to put on your glamour," she said, crouching next to him. He didn't respond, just groaned and whimpered. Holly tried to stay firm, but the facade wavered at the sight of him looking so broken. In his true form he was a fearsome creature, the kind that had terrorised warriors in the Homelands for centuries. It was just wrong to see him like this.

"I need to get you across town to Swineheart," she said slowly and deliberately. "I can't do it with you looking like this. Hell, I can't carry you, not even if I lost my glamour."

He clenched his jaw, breath hissing in and out through his teeth, eyes unfocused.

Holly cupped his scaled chin gently but firmly. "Gren, honey. Look at me. You need to put your glamour back on."

With a flash of green light, his human form was back. Holly was looking into one human eye, one white one, damp skin touching her hand. Was that from sweat or tears?

She pulled him to his feet, trying to ignore the pained groan that accompanied it.

"It'll be alright." She sighed as he didn't reply, just wheezing in and out. "That fucking animal." Her gaze caught on the arm lying several feet away. "Why'd you have to start that with him? Gren... Damn it. I should've done something. I shouldn't have just stood there and let him do that."

She felt fucking useless.

Holly fetched some cloth to use as a bandage. "Use this, should stop you losing as much blood."

He removed his blood-drenched hand for a second so that she could press the bandage onto the wound. With a grimace, he clamped his hand over the bandage and straightened up a little. His eyes were still narrow slits, teeth gritted and posture hunched.

Gren still hadn't said anything, but at least he was still conscious and moving. Now all she had to do was get him to the doctor. She hooked an arm around him, letting him lean on her. Fables were tough by nature, but how much blood was spilled across the floor now? They weren't invincible, even they couldn't shrug off the loss of a limb.

"It'll be alright," she repeated, more for herself than anyone else, watching as he winced with every step. "I'll take care of you."

...

Everything hurt like hell.

Gren felt like someone had pulverised every inch of his body, and his arm was roaring with pain. He forced his bleary eyes open, trying to get his bearings. As his arm burned again, he reached over to rub it and found his fingers clutching air.

For a second, his heart lurched at the sight of the missing arm. Then he remembered the fight... the Sheriff transformed and savage. That moment when the wolf gave in to his bloodlust and tore Gren's arm right from his body. It hadn't been fast either, he'd really had to work at it to rend the flesh apart.

Gren winced. It hurt just fucking remembering it.

Strange... he didn't feel like he'd lost an arm. His shoulder hurt, sure, but he could still feel his phantom fingers. He felt like he could move his arm, like it was just glamoured to be invisible.

Holly appeared while he was still staring at the place where his arm should be. She was frowning, that look she always got when she was worried about someone. He'd seen her make the same face a hundred times about Lily, especially these days. "You've been out cold for a while. Swineheart patched you up. I'll have to pay him later, which means no more free drinks for you."

Gren groaned, grabbing the back of the couch with his good hand and dragging himself into a sitting position. "Where am I?"

"Still at my bar. I didn't want to leave you to it back home. I know you wouldn't take care of yourself properly. And besides, your place is a dump."

"Thanks, Holly," he said with a nod. "You're a pretty fucking good lady."

She looked away with a slight smile. "Jeez, how much of that medicinal stuff did Swineheart give you?"

Gren frowned. "I'm serious."

Holly met his gaze and sighed, taking a seat with him on the couch. She hunched over, staring at her hands for a moment. "Y'know, when he came in, I almost hoped he had news about Lily."

"No chance," he said with a snort of derision. "Those dicks up in the Woodlands don't care about her. Or any of us."

"I doubt he even knew who Lily is. They're probably only investigating Faith because she turned up right on their doorstep. Poor girl."

Gren narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't mean Lily–"

"I know," she said curtly. "I know it doesn't. But... she's never disappeared for this long before. I just want to know."

He knew that feeling. Gren had known Lily almost as long as he'd known Holly. She was pretty different to her sister. Lily had a lighter spirit – more relaxed, less cynical – and was a lot less capable at looking after herself. Even so, she'd always treated him well, known when to give him space and when to joke. The sisters were probably the only people who didn't annoy him on a regular basis. They were good people, and they deserved a lot more than Bigby Wolf and the rest of the people in the Woodlands gave them.

He clenched his fists. Fist.

"Those bastards. That fucking bastard."

Holly lay a hand on his shoulder, pushing him gently back down into the couch. Her expression said she wasn't going to tolerate a disagreement. "Hey, now, you calm down. You're going to have to rest while you heal up."

Gren shrugged her off. "I'm fine."

She folded her arms and got up, giving him a flat look. "You lost an arm, Gren. Those don't just grow back." Holly pursed her lips, like she wasn't sure whether to continue. "And... don't start anything with Wolf again. You've made a real fucking mess in my bar."

Gren met her gaze and nodded. He realised it had been pretty fucking stupid of him to goad the wolf in Holly's bar. He hoped that didn't come back to bite her in the ass. Of course he'd fight her corner if it came down to it, but after what Wolf did last time...

"If something happened to you..." Holly's expression softened. "Let's just say I don't need to worry about you as well as Lily, okay?"

He blinked, a little taken aback. "Alright."

They both looked away awkwardly. Neither of them were really good at this mushy stuff. That was always Lily's thing. Him and Holly just talked shit and left each other's issues alone. They were always there for each other, but... they didn't need to get any more sentimental than that.

"Are you gonna get me a drink while I'm here?" he asked.

Holly smirked. "Nope. You're going to stay there and sleep. I've shut the bar for the night."

He scowled at her, but settled back on the couch obediently, much to her amusement.

"Want me to fetch a blanket?" she asked with a snort.

"I'd prefer that drink."

She gave him a rueful smile, probably still annoyed at him for smashing up her bar. But she'd look out for him while he recovered.

Gren closed his eyes and tried to ignore the feeling in his non-existent arm. He let out a long breath, and dropped the glamour. At least he could sleep here, knowing he was safe.