Heyo. This is my second Victorious fanfic, and it's a bit darker than my previous two-shot. This idea came about because I love supernatural AUs, but there was a certain pattern I noticed with that theme in this fandom - namely, that Tori is the werewolf and Jade is a hunter/vampire. I got to thinking about what would happen if the roles were switched, and here's what happened. There aren't any warnings at this point, although it may stray into darker territory later on. It's a Jori story, of course, but there's also a fair bit of Cade/Bori friendships. I'm very excited about this story, and also nervous about posting it.
One thing to note is that I've split this into four 'arcs'. I've written all of the first arc, and it works kind of as a standalone by itself (as in, when it ends, that could easily be the end of the story). BUT if I get enough feedback I'll write the second arc, and so on and so forth. Basically, if you want to read more, let me know. Because after writing arc one I've got the plot bunny out of my head, so I'm happy to leave it or to continue it (as I've planned the other arcs out anyway). So it's up to you guys. The first arc lasts ten chapters, so we'll see how we go by the end of that.
And, that's enough from me. Here's the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
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arc one: the monster within.
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"Cat? It's happening again." Jade grits her teeth, her eyes locked on the road ahead even as her vision begins to shiver, her perceptions shifting, her senses changing. Her phone is tucked between her ear and her shoulder, her hands gripping the wheel with such intensity that she wouldn't be surprised if she snapped it – after all, she's done that before.
"Are you -" Cat, on the other end of the line, cuts herself off. She knows better than to ask Are you sure? or Is this a joke? She'd asked those at the start, of course, but it's different now. "Come over," Cat says instead, a hint of worry coloring her voice. When Jade doesn't respond, Cat asks tentatively, "How far away are you?"
Jade glances at the clock, then her gaze flicks back to the road. A street sign flashes past, barely visible in the darkness, but Jade's senses are sharp enough for her to make out the name. "Five minutes," she replies after a quick calculation. "Ten, tops."
A shudder wracks her body and the phone falls to the floor, sliding under her seat. She leans down, fishing around for it for a moment, and then gives up as her hands begin to shake uncontrollably. She clamps them back on the steering wheel, trying to simultaneously stop them shaking and keep herself from snapping the wheel. She can hear Cat's voice coming from her phone, but when she opens her mouth to respond all that comes out is a faint whimper.
It's too soon, she thinks as her heartbeat speeds up and a bolt of energy shoots through her entire body, leaving her breathless – and not in the good kind of way. And in the back of her mind is a dim awareness, brightening and fading with every twist and turn of the road, some primal sense of danger. Like someone's following her. Chalking it up to pre-Change paranoia, she tries to ignore it.
After a minute there's silence; Cat must have disconnected. Jade focuses all her attention on the road, willing herself not to jerk the wheel, not to pass out, not to scream. And, unfortunately, all of those are very real possibilities.
Four minutes later she reaches Cat's house, slamming on the brakes and stumbling from the car. It's only a few feet to the house, but it seems to take forever; by the time Jade gets to the door, she's shaking so much that she can hardly muster the energy and the self-control to knock. A beat passes and then the door opens.
"Come in, quick," Cat says, the alarm in her voice reminding Jade of just how unsettling this whole process is. She's never seen it from the outside, but if it looks anywhere near as bad as it feels she wouldn't blame Cat for running for the hills.
As Jade stumbles through the door she feels Cat gently grabbing her arm, guiding her inside. This is the worst part of the transformation, Jade thinks with a grimace as Cat leads her down the hall, retracing their familiar path. It's the in-between stage, when she's no more wolf than human but simply a bizarre mixture of the two. Her features are unrecognizable as either, some ungodly combination that would be enough to terrify people far more stoic than Cat.
"You're okay," Cat is murmuring as they descend the stairs to the basement, Jade leaning on Cat as if her life depends on it, "you're okay, you're okay…"
Jade closes her eyes, focusing on her words, on the familiar lilt of her voice, the reassuring warmth of the other girl's hand on her arm. She follows Cat's lead as her friend comes to a stop, and only then does Jade open her eyes.
"We should -" Cat says hesitantly, gesturing to the chains over in the corner.
With a grunt Jade pushes her friend away, watching through blurred eyes as Cat stumbles backward, her eyes wide with surprise. "No… time…" Jade grits out, barely getting the words out before she collapses to the floor, her arms wrapped around herself and a low groan escaping her throat. She looks up at Cat, barely able to see her in the dim light, but she doesn't need to see her to be able to pick up on the waves of fear coming from her. "Go," Jade growls, and Cat hesitates only a second before complying.
As soon as the door closes, Jade allows herself a self-pitying whimper, finally letting go and allowing the Change to come over her. Once she stops fighting, it's a relatively quick process – it's just that it hurts like hell. Over the course of a few minutes Jade's body entirely rearranges itself, bones snapping and reforming, nails elongating into claws, hair turning to fur, senses shifting from human to wolf.
At last it's over, and Jade the wolf lies on the floor, breathing heavily and trying to find her center. It's a technique that she'd learned from the only other werewolf she'd ever met, and over the years she'd just barely managed to begin to master it. Her center, as the other wolf had told her, was the part of her at her core, the part that was neither wolf nor human. It simply was. If she could get in touch with it, she could subdue the wolf to an extent. When she could get it to work it was only just enough to dim the bloodlust, but it was better than nothing.
She's still in the process of trying to find her center when she hears something that jerks her from her thoughts. In wolf form she can't process things the way she can as a human. Thoughts come to her in sharp fragments, disconnected jabs that bled together into a jumbled mess. She tilts her head to the side, her pricked ears picking up noise from upstairs. Tonight isn't one of the worst nights; the first night of the Change is usually relatively mellow. The following night, however, she'll be more agitated, more restless… and, if history is any indication, more aggressive. For now, since she can't smell blood or see prey, she's reasonably calm.
Head still cocked, Jade tries to understand what's going on upstairs. Car. Door. Voices. Cat. What's left of her human mind – which, in wolf form, isn't much – manages to work out that Cat must have a visitor. Even when she's a wolf, she remembers Cat. She likes Cat. Her voice is soft and she smells like bubblegum. The other voice is familiar too, but Jade can't quite put a name to it.
Unsettled by the activity upstairs, Jade gets to her paws and begins to pace. She throws a look at the chains in the corner, some part of her remembering the feel of them against her fur, since some nights she needs to be restrained. A low growl slips between her teeth, her claws clicking against the concrete as she walks. It's silent upstairs for a moment, and then Jade hears a yelp. Cat, she thinks, and then all conscious thought leaves her.
She spins around and dashes up the stairs, her lithe body easily covering the distance that her half-human self had struggled with on the way down. At the top of the stairs she leans forward and noses the door, and feels a jolt of surprise – or the wolf equivalent of it – as it swings open. She hesitates for a second, but then she hears Cat's voice again – high-pitched, like she's hurt or scared – and that's all it takes. She noses the door out of the way and hurries through, falling back on her wolf senses to lead her to Cat. She can smell her, that subtle, sweet scent, and she follows it until she bursts into the kitchen. At first she's overwhelmed by the sudden influx of stimuli – the kitchen is a mess of open jars, half-empty bowls, glasses filled with dark liquid. A hundred scents bombard Jade's senses, but she zeroes in on the one that matters. And then she sees them.
Cat is standing in the middle of the kitchen, and there's someone there, someone holding her. Jade crouches low to the ground, letting out a growl. Cat is hers. She has to protect her. Without warning Jade lunges forward, aiming for the intruder. Before she makes contact, Cat lets out a shriek.
"Jade! Down!"
The voice breaks through Jade's concentration, and at the last second she veers away, crashing to the ground less than a foot away from the intruder, who lets out a startled yelp. Jade pushes herself up into a crouch, glancing from Cat to the intruder and back again. And in the split second that follows, something falls into place. Her perception shifts. Not fear but confusion; not intruder but friend.
The other person in the room is someone she knows. The name tugs at the edge of her mind, pushing its way in. Tori. She looks over at Cat again, seeking clarification, reassurance – something. She can tell that Cat isn't scared, like she'd first thought. Her yelp earlier must have been surprise rather than fear. And Tori… she's not an intruder. She's not here to hurt Cat. Jade's hackles go down, her tail lowering as she realizes her mistake.
"Good girl," Cat is saying, noting Jade's submissive stance. In wolf form Jade can hear everything, but she can't process it all. She understands words, but not always in order; her mind processes it all differently, so that sentences don't always make sense. But Cat knows how to talk to her. "Down," Cat says again, and Jade sinks to her stomach, lowering her head in deference. She knows Cat isn't her alpha, but she does feel like part of her pack. And when Cat speaks to her like this there's something powerful about her, some kind of authority that she doesn't normally have.
Tori, meanwhile, is staring mutely at the wolf. She clears her throat and finally finds her voice. "You named your dog Jade?" she asks, fear giving way to amusement.
Jade blinks, the words falling into place in her mind. She growls at the word dog, but too quietly for the others to hear.
"I, uh," Cat stammers, trying to come up with an excuse. Jade can smell her fear, her guilt, her confusion as she attempts to lie to her friend.
"I like it," Tori announces, laughing. "It kind of suits her."
Cat relaxes, her expression softening into something that Jade recognizes as a smile. Even as a wolf, she knows happiness. "I should get her back to the basement," Cat says, and then her eyes widen as she realizes her mistake.
"Your dog sleeps in the basement?" Tori asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." Cat frowns, like she's not sure what the right answer is. "I mean, no." She blinks. "Maybe?"
At this point Jade rises to her feet, feeling a flicker of amusement as Tori flinches. Jade playfully nips at Tori's heel as she walks past, careful not to actually bite her. But she pulls back suddenly, confused by a scent she'd only just noticed. It's metallic, like blood or steel, something that triggers some kind of primal feeling of fear. Jade whimpers, quickly moving away from Tori and toward Cat, who feels like warmth and safety.
"Come on, Jade," Cat says, knowing better than to touch her but gesturing for her to fall into step beside her.
They make their way back to the basement door. Cat pauses on the threshold, and Jade circles nervously around her legs. Tori's scent is unsettling, and she doesn't know why. In wolf form all she can think are small snippets, single words. Fear. Danger. Run. But she can't run. She knows that.
"Go on," Cat urges, her voice equal parts sad and worried. "I'll see you in the morning."
Jade rests her head against Cat's leg for a moment, feeling her reassuring warmth. Then she forces herself to turn around and go back down the stairs, into the darkness and the solitude, alone with her thoughts of blood and steel and a fear that she can't escape.
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And there you have it. If you have thoughts, theories, compliments, critiques, or anything else, please do let me know. The more feedback I get the quicker I'll update/more likely it is that I'll write arc two. So enjoy, review, and I'll see you all next time!
