Aine-Bold, Tamsin-Regular
Episode 2
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More shots fired, pelting Tamsin's truck and narrowly missing her and Aine. Tamsin ducked down and grit her teeth. She glanced up and fired several warning shots back at the gang before climbing back into the drivers seat.
"Get On!" She hissed, pointing to the back of the truck. The wolf stared back, defiant. The closest one fired at Aine again but the bullet never reached her. Tamsin had backed up the truck just as the bullet meant for Aine's head pierced through the window and met Tamsin's shoulder. Tamsin screamed in pain.
"Those bullets are full of silver. GET ON THE DAMN TRUCK!" Tamsin winced.
She doubted the wolf could understand her but had to try anyway. Tamsin fired several more shots. They were barely a hundred yards away. She recognized the leader of the group. He was a Loki she had turned down. She couldn't recall his name but remembered drenching him in his scotch.
"Well boys.. Looks like we got ourselves a Valkyrie too!"
"I get her hair-" the youngest chimed.
"I'll get it all-" the Loki boasted.
I'll hang you by your intestines, She grimmaced.
She struggled to beckon Aine to get in as they approached. Any movement Tamsin made sent shock waves of pain barreling down her body.
The shots they were firing were not doing anything to intimidate the wolf Aine, but only made her angrier, wishing for them to approach. All the caution she employed was almost thrown down the river when she was nearly hit by several shots, but she stayed put. Her giant, furry head tilted to the side when she heard Valkyrie commanding her to go inside.
She growled, but then more shots were fired, and the blonde's screams filled the night's air, as well as werewolf's ears.
No.
Her growls were getting louder, but she stayed put, even though her eyes often peeked to see if the Valkyrie was heavily injured. She could almost smell the pain emitting from the blonde's body, but the wolf never gave up the sport that easily. Upon hearing their words, and having them come closer now, something brief, but sudden, in the urge to not let them go near the car, made Aine the wolf step out in the open.
If anyone's getting near the Valkyrie, it's me. I found her first.
Everything happened way too fast. The wolf, almost four hundred years old, was too fast for the first bullets firing her way, and soon enough she was at the youngest throat, but before she could do anything but to nip at him, there was another shot, grazing one of her hind legs, but enough to make her yelp in pain.
She snapped her teeth at the other man who raised the shotgun at her, but there were too many. She could not fight them alone. Her thought traveled to the blonde in the car, and she heard her shouting. Suddenly, the brief memory of earlier that day, the one the wolf had completely forgotten after the turning, which happened a lot, flashed through her mind, just as she turned around and ran for the car, dodging the bullets with ease.
She was of help, was she not? She gave me food and shelter. Valkyrie is not like these men. Valkyrie got shot because she tried to get me away from here.
Pain searing in her flank, the gigantic wolf leaped from the ground and threw herself on the bed of the truck, lowering herself down. Some of the men were crouching around the youngest one who had blood gushing from his throat, which was probably the only thing that made it possible to run away. That, and the blonde's crazy driving skills.
Tamsin's shoulder was searing. She was losing blood fast. She felt faint but tried to focus and drove closer to the massacre, careful to avoid driving in to Aine. She did her best to make eye contact and stare them down. With a bit of effort her eyes darkened.
The youngest one still had his gun on Tamsin and just as he lowered his arm, Aine seized him by the throat. His bones crunched and blood splattered on to the truck.
As soon as Aine hopped on to the bed of the truck, Tamsin roared the engine and and spun the truck around. Tamsin tore through the dirt road, away from the sound of furious screams.
Tamsin drove for as long as she could, until she believed they were a fair distance away from that cabin. She pulled to a stop off the side of the road but struggled to keep her eyes open. She felt a great weight dismount the bed of the truck and looked behind her. Aine approached her door. The Valkyrie instinctively gripped the knife and mustered enough strength to stare back at Aine. She felt her Valkyrie powers begin to take over her face as she looked at her but exhaustion overtook her. The last thing she saw were the wolf's eyes, staring intently at her.
Once the truck came to a stop, the wolf hopped off of it, expecting the Valkyrie to get out of it and get somewhere safe. When it did not happen though, Aine walked towards the door, the hair on her neck standing up and soft growl rumbling deep in her throat. She could feel the Valkyrie doing something once their eyes met, but it seemed way too weak to phase her. In a second, the blonde passed out, leaving the wolf both confused an curious.
Her paws clawed at the door but could not open them, so instead she walked to the back of the truck, jumping on it, and peeking her muzzle through the broken window. The scent of fresh blood filled the narrow space of the truck, and Aine pushed herself in, removing the remainder of the glass beforehand. She could barely fit her whole body inside. There was still breathing, but it was shallow.
She nuzzled the blonde's waist, as if trying to wake her up, licking blood from the youngling that was still sticking to her jaws.
The Valkyrie saved me, I can't let her die.
The wolf grabbed the blonde by her jacket and pulled it, tearing the fabric of the shirt beneath it as well, revealing the glistening, bleeding wound. Grumbling still, the wolf licked it, finding the taste divine. While she was not the member of a pack in a really long time, she remembered how they healed each other couple of centuries ago, pressing the set of teeth against the wound and pulling the bullet that was sticking out, yelping at the pain of the short contact with silver. Trying not to step on the Valkyrie with her huge paw, and being as gentle as she would be with a wolf cub, Aine licked more of the wound until the bleeding slowed down and eventually stopped. Having Valkyrie blood made her less hungry, therefore less violent.
Valkyries are delicious.
Her eyes watched the blonde's face until the breathing became steadier, and then put head in her lap, to keep her body from freezing with the unnatural warmth of her own, since the wind was howling through the broken windows. Her eyes were still fixed on her face, and her body tense, in case Tamsin woke up and tried to do anything stupid.
A breeze licked at Tamsin's face and woke her. Her head pounded and her eyes refused to open fully at the moment. She inhaled deeply, and felt the crisp air rush in to her lungs. Her blanket felt strangely heavy, but delightfully warm so she reached down to pull it higher but touched a wet and rough spot. She opened her eyes. She saw her hand on the werewolf's nose and quickly withdrew her hand. Tamsin stared with her eyes wide and heart in her throat. The wolf hadn't eviscerated her, but she was still volatile.
There was still pain biting at her shoulder and she cautiously moved her gaze to check on it. There was dried blood but it looked like the wound had been cleaned.
After some while wolf Aine's eyes fell closed, though she was not sleeping, still very tense and ready to jump at any movement. Now that her wound cooled off a little bit, she felt slight stinging, but could not turn her head in such a small space. Instead, she huffed through her nose and remained motionless.
When the Valkyrie finally moved though, it caught her by surprise, especially when the hand landed on her nose, a snarl escaping her instinctively and her teeth baring. However, the look in Valkyrie's eyes told her that she was slightly scared, doing well in not moving at all for those couple of seconds. Grumbling, wolf Aine stood up, as much as it was possible, the hair on her neck still raised. She pushed Tamsin with her nose almost gently, sniffing the wound, before she turned around and jumped though the back window, hitting the blonde in the face with her giant tail, and then down into the snow, where she laid down and starter licking the sore spot where her own blood dried up a little.
Tamsin slowly sat up, stretched and felt her joints pop. Her neck was stiff. She peered out at the wolf, laying in the snow and saw her licking her wounds. Tamsin grabbed her first aid kit from the glove box then pushed open her door. As soon as her boots hit the snow she nearly fell over, just catching her door handle and steadying herself again. She took a moment and approached the wolf. She bent and extended her hand to stroke her head.
Tamsin opened the kit, dabbing at the wound and wrapping it up. She heard a few growls, but the wolf didn't snap at her. Tamsin looked at the horizon. It would be dawn soon. Tamsin pulled out a blanket and draped it over Aine's paw. She wandered back to the truck and collapsed on to the chair.
The wolf Aine did not take a second glance at the truck once she collapsed onto the snow, and she had almost forgotten about the Valkyrie for a couple of moments. All of the anger that she initially felt when she was first turned, had now subsided, though she still felt hungry a little bit. However, the power of the moon did not hold over her as much, as it almost disappeared on the horizon, and human Aine was now struggling to take over.
That was when Tamsin came out of the truck, having the wolf snap her head up in wonder, her grey eyes watching her intently as she approached with a box in her hands. When she petted her and touched the wound, Aine grumbled several times, but did nothing. She could feel relief and tiredness wash over her. Before the Valkyrie closed the truck door, the wolf was out.
-
Waking up to the first rays of sunlight greeted her with banging in her head and a stomach rumble. "Son of a b***. What-" Aine snapped her head up and winced at the pain in her waist, groaning at the sight of the wound, relieved it was not serious. Everything from the previous night was a blur, as if through the dream, but she could still taste the blood inside her mouth. Frowning, Aine looked at her skin, slightly bruised from the shifting, and then at the truck. Her eyes stared in wonder at the blanket covering her feet, and she pulled it to herself.
And then it dawned on her.
She stood up, pressing the gauze that fell off of her to her wound with one hand, the other holding the blanket tightly around her torso and wobbled over to the car, grabbing the door handle.
"Tamsin."
She breathed once she saw the detective sleeping, remembering that the blonde was shot the previous night. Even though she was not cold, and the blanket offered comfort, the wind stung the skin of her legs as she dragged over to the passenger seat, closing the door
. Her fingers touched the blonde's shoulder, before spotting the kit in her lap and returning the favor of cleaning and dabbing the wound. You crazy, crazy woman.
Tamsin turned to the side and felt a presence next to her. Her eyes snapped open and her hand was ready to extend her knife.
Aine's eyes widened a little when the knife flashed her way, but she was quick to grin at Tamsin's words even though her facial expression was sleepy and she felt her jaw sore.
"This is the last time I party with you."
"There's no need for harsh decisions. I'm much more fun when the moony is not about."
Tamsin glanced at her shoulder.
"Thanks for not..er-"Tamsin struggled to find a better word.
"eating.. me alive."
She turned as best as she could but winced. She happened to look over at Aine and caught a glimpse of her cleavage and had to will her gaze away.
"No, thank you, for saving my hide from those people."
Truth was that she had no idea why her wolf side did not attack Valkyrie when she had a chance either. Aine pushed it to the back of her mind.
"There's clothes in the bag on the backseat."
Aine noticed Tamsin looking at her cleavage, and could not help but smirk as she reached over for the clothes.
Tamsin put the car in gear and drove.
Aine's eyes traveled over to the Valkyrie couple of times as she pulled pants from the sitting position the best way she could, groaning lightly at the sore bones. The worst was over though, and now she could properly relax... at least until the following full moon. She did not bother with the jacket after putting on a shirt, though, since her skin was still burning. Soon enough, the tiredness washed over her and she fell asleep.
After a half hour she pulled in to Elora, a small town nearby. She spotted a butcher shop and deli and pulled in to the parking lot. Aine was out. Tamsin thought about waking her up, but decided against it. She strode in to the shop and the butcher eyed her shoulder.
"Good morning," He acknowledged.
"Morning. I'll take these." Tamsin dropped her packages on the counter.
She picked out a pack of raw steaks and a block of smoked cheddar. The butcher raised a brow but rang her order through and watched as she left.
Tamsin's phone rang.
"Whaddup, Curlycue?"
"There's been a werewolf attack just outside of Elora. Where are you and Callahan?"
"I'm not.. outside of Elora. We'll be back soon."
"Get here, and make sure Callahan's with you. In one piece."
"She's intact. Mostly."
"Tamsin-"
"She's fine. I'll call you later."
-
Next time she woke up, Aine noticed Tamsin standing outside of the truck, and she got out too to stretch her legs.
"Where the hell are we?" She muttered, eyes falling on the bag in Tamsin's hand, the scent causing her to smirk, which faltered a bit as she remembered something.
"I've left my phone in the woods. Dammit."
Shaking her head, Aine exhaled sharply, feeling the chilly morning air soothing her hot skin. "Luckily it was a new one. Nothing important on there."
She leaned onto the truck next to the blonde, looking at her sideways.
"I'm... sorry you had to see that last night. And I totally owe you one. Or a few."
"It's been a while since I've seen a werewolf up close and.. never on my lap." Tamsin smiled.
"We're in Elora..as for your phone- if you don't have any pictures or texts relating to the case..or tequila, then you're in the clear."
Once they arrived back to the city and in to Tamsin's apartment, the Valkyrie tossed her bag to the floor and headed to the kitchen.
She grabbed a bottle of water and passed one to Aine.
"You can put your bag in my room. Shower is down the hall, towel's in the closet. I gotta make a few calls."
Aine wanted to retort something clever, but she was still way too tired for it. Instead, she just smiled, opening the door of the truck again.
"Yeah, I might have a couple dozen of pictures of a certain detective licking salt off my stomach." She joked, getting inside and shutting the door behind herself.
Once they were in Tamsin's apartment again, Aine looked around the place, that looked slightly different now during daytime. Then again, it was not as if she could see anything the night previously... The thought made her smirk, taking the bottle and drinking half of it in one, go, sighing in relief. At least the taste of blood was not on her tongue anymore.
Having dropped off the bag on Tamsin's bed, the wolf took the towel and headed into the shower, hot water evening out perfectly with her body temperature and relaxing her muscles. She examined the wound that still stung a little bit, but she paid no heed to it. She could hear the Valkyrie's voice through the sound of the water.
Once she was done, Aine wrapped the towel around herself and walked out into Tamsin's room, her hair falling curly on her bare shoulders, and she headed for that water bottle, emptying it whole.
Tamsin put her phone down and held her head in frustration. Damn Massimo. I should have killed him when I had the chance. There was only one person who ever held any real hold over him and she was missing. Aine's voice grabbed her attention.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to borrow more of your clothes until mine arrive."Aine said at once, grinning after Tamsin hung up the phone.
"Unless you want me walking around the place with a towel."
Tamsin's eyes traveled from Aine's wet curls to the flush tone in her cheeks.
"You're welcome to walk around without it-" Tamsin quipped with a smirk.
"-but you might want to close the drapes. My neighbour is part-hawk." She finished.
She peeled her bloodied shirt off and winced a bit as it fell off her shoulder.
"Wear whatever you want, the towels are fair game too. Now..excuse me but Girl needs a showaah."
"Yeah I'm sure you'd like that." The wolf shot back, taking a glance out of the window before shrugging nonchalantly.
"Let him watch. He wouldn't be the first or the last one."
A chuckle escaped her lips, and she turned in her spot to take in Tamsin's torso now that the shirt was off. However, her eyes caught something immediately and she moved after her.
"Hey. Hold on."
Aine approached her from the back, fingers immediately landing on her shoulder blade, moving the bra strap down. Under the skin there were markings similar to the scars after lightning, and a bit darker.
"Holy s***, they weren't joking, were they?" She slid her fingers from the shoulder blade and to the wound in Tamsin's shoulder.
"I've seen these before." She said in a low voice, ignoring how cold skin under her fingers caused goosebumps on her own.
"It's the poison they put on silver bullets, and it spreads through the system. If it reaches your heart, you're done. That's why lone wolves died more often, because by the time they shift back to pull them out themselves, it's already too late. I didn't see anyone use it in a century." Her eyes traveled to the side of Tamsin's face, a small smile curving her lips.
"Lucky you my wolf self had enough experience to act right away." Her fingers moved down the arch of blonde's back, unable to control herself.
"It would be a shame otherwise." She paused.
"The markings will disappear within couple of days."
Tamsin's gaze followed Aine's hand and on to her wound. She hadn't looked that closely until Aine said something. The pattern branched out, with tones of grey and white. Tamsin wasn't surprised but her eyes lowered at hearing that Aine had experience with the poisoned bullets. She probably lost loved ones that way.
Tamsin felt Aine's fingers trail down her back and a rush of heat swept up her neck and ears.
"Thank you."
Her eyes met Aine's and she had to remind herself to breathe. All she had to do was take one step closer to close the gap between Aine's mouth and her own.
She took a step around Aine towards her bathroom.
The seconds ticked by slowly as they looked at each other. The wolf's eyes widened a little bit when she noticed that the Valkyrie was as tense at she was. Having them close to each other caused the Valkyrie's scent to slap her in the face again, bringing back the moment they had the night previously on the bed that happened only couple of feet away from where they stood.
But then, she remembered that she nearly got the blonde killed several hours afterward, the proof of which Tamsin wore on her shoulder blade right now. The moment was there, but Aine held back. She did not have that extra drop of tequila in her blood, and her choice was proven right when Tamsin stepped around her.
"Yeah, anytime."
The wolf breathed out finally, watching her disappear through the bathroom door. Setting her jaw, the wolf reproached herself and turned around. She walked towards the chair on which a folded shirt was laid down, and she took it. That would have to work.
Tamsin leaned back against the closed door and exhaled. It took her a moment to let go of the handle.
Leave Callahan alone.
She stretched her neck and slipped in to the shower. The steam whirled around her and she relaxed in to the heat. She tried her best to keep her shoulder out of the water. The droplets stung a little but to her surprise it hurt less than she thought it would. She tilted her head back and let the water flow down over her face before she shook it off. She took her time, enjoying scent of the body wash and the comfort that the heat brought to her muscles.
She stepped out of her bathroom and with some difficulty, slipped on her clothes. She pulled a usb out of her closet, a spare disk drive and immediately headed for her laptop.
"Hey Rocky, you should see this,"
