Chapter 2
Sabrina's head hurt. A lot, actually. The pain was tremendous, catastrophic, Pucktastically...Sabrina giggled at her own inane thoughts as she stared up at the sky. Stars glimmered above her. Fifteen stood out clearly, the rest turned into a haze of silvery light. Fifteen stars for fifteen years of looking up at them, but they too were soon covered by rough and roiling clouds, gray as dust.
How had she gotten here again?
She started to laugh even harder and felt something warm and wet roll down her cheeks. Sabrina touched her face and chuckled at herself.
Silly, she thought, you're not supposed to cry when you're laughing.
For whatever reason, she cried harder, sobbing for some situation she wasn't sure about.
Why laugh, why cry, why anything? Sabrina couldn't help but think that all of this emotion was just too taxing, too tiring. If she could just fall asleep despite her throbbing head...
"I found her!"
"Ow," she mumbled, covering her ears from the sharp sound as red dripped into her vision. What was something red and wet that came from her head? She wheezed out another snicker. She sounded like a game show host.
"Grimm!" Someone landed beside her.
"Go 'way." she grumbled as something shook her shoulders. The voice kept saying that same word, but, luckily for her, she became accustomed to it and she slipped back into an easy bliss, just a few ticks away from drowning in the oblivion. Unfortunately for her, the voice wasn't going to let her to her peace. It was rapidly becoming a shrill falsetto, but they paused and took a deep breath, gathering them self.
"Sabrina, please."
Sabrina frowned. Those two words should never be said by that voice. It was so against her mind's unspoken rules that she had to open her bleary eyes and catch a glimpse.
She began to laugh anew, throwing her arms around his neck. "Ha, I must be dreaming, because the real Puck is halfway across the world ignoring me."
He looked down worriedly at her, his face the only thing in focus. The rest of the world's ambiance blurred into a rainy smudge.
"You've really got yourself into something this time." His tone held a discordant note of anger that didn't fit with the way he pulled her against him, one hand tight around her waist, the other pressing against her shoulder blades.
"Mhm." she agreed, tracing a nonsensical pattern on his back, crimson dripping onto the fabric.
"I don't think you can stand." Puck said, taking out a handkerchief to sop up the sticky mess on her forehead despite her efforts to wave him off.
"'Course I can." she slurred, rising abruptly to stop him from tying that bandage over her head. Couldn't he see it wouldn't go with her clothes?
He quickly stood up to meet her, and she giggled as she wobbled back into his arms. "Whoops, looks like you were right."
Puck stilled her and finally tied the handkerchief around her injury. "Alright," he said, getting under her shoulder to support her weight. "Come on, Grimm." he ushered, moving them at a relatively fast clip for the wounded girl.
"Where are we going?" she murmured, glancing around at the forest scenery that was fading with her consciousness.
"Home." Puck asserted, trying to hide his concern.
"Why don't we just fly?" The girl made a fluttering motion with her hand, that in her state, looked more like a fish out of water.
"We're going to meet with your family soon." Puck looked at the sky, wishing that the heavy downpour would cease.
Sabrina started to shiver with cold, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Funny, if this is a dream, then why do I want to sleep so badly?" she grinned, "Irony, am I right?"
Puck tensed beneath her. "Stay awake or you'll be sorry, dogface."
Sabrina laughed distractedly, snatching a piece of Puck's blonde hair away from the other plastered strands.
"I don't understand why everyone thinks we're so different. If anything, we're too similar."
Puck gave her a crazed look. "What are you talking about?" he inquired, tugging her away from a pit in the ground, wondering how her sluggish mind had switched gears so fast. Sabrina started humming a string of random tunes.
After a few minutes, Puck assumed that she'd forgotten what she'd said in the first place. Suddenly she fixed him with her blue eyes, and he wouldn't dare let himself romanticize them with some old fashioned soliloquy, but-dear heavens-were they azure.
"We're the same, ya know? Both stubborn, for starters, and we share an aspiration for freedom. But most of all," she paused, giving him a conspiratorial smile, like they were sharing a joke, "We both have to do stupid things to get the others' attention. You have to pull dumb pranks and I have to almost get killed." she grinned lazily, "Not that I try or anything."
Puck turned away from her and muttered something under his breath in a different language that sounded distinctly like a curse. "Sometimes I wonder if you do try." Any subsequent conversation they could've had was cut short as a man ran to them.
"Sabrina!" he called, relief so tangible that she winced. Jake, she was sure of it in that instinctual part of her brain. The girl was traded over to her blood family from Puck, her mind absently reflecting and refracting on the relationships that connected and intertwined people.
Who was your real family in the end? The ones who raised you, or the one that made your heart raise in tempo, the one you give that helpless piece of anatomy to?
Sabrina's reality collapsed inward, flashing black, weaving in and out of a wakeful perception of the world.
So cold.
"We have to heal her!"
Well, well. Who knew you cared.
"And how do you propose we do that?"
If I die I won't even get engaged. Is that supposed to be sad?
"We could take her to New York, fairy cocoons can heal almost anything."
No, don't bring that up.
"Too far. I'm sure I have something."
Poor Jake. So unorganized.
"Why is this taking so long? She could die."
Nah. Not just yet, fairy boy.
"I get it! Believe me-"
I believe you, please stop yelling.
"Yeah? Well, guess what! The last time you took too long with that stupid coat of yours, Briar Rose was killed!"
No, no, definitely do not bring that up.
There was a loaded silence and Sabrina saw that both shadows outside of her senses had stiffened.
One snapped out of it faster than the other and muttered while looking through the pockets on their person, "I know. I know. I'm not going to let that ever happen again." Jake paused, then added haltingly, "I know the feeling you're getting right now, really I do-that's why I'm not going to hold you to what you just said. That emotion is the most sick, twisted, desired emotion out there. Tell me, do you know what its' stage name is?"
Puck stumbled back, aware of the line that he'd crossed, but too proud to give any remittance to the wounded man.
He glanced at the prone form of a girl at his side. She didn't look peaceful like dead people were often described to be. He could only hope that that meant that she was fighting with all the ferocity in her soul. He let his eyes meet the fractured gaze of Jake as he found the vial he had been searching for.
Puck grimaced as he whispered, "I know the name."
.-.-.-.
"Daphne!" came a stunted gasp as Sabrina shot up in her bed. She had messed up, she knew that. But she would give out apologies later, for now she just wanted her little sister.
She glanced around, breathing heavily, sure she was still there-still screaming for Daphne to get away. Her surroundings became apparent to her and she blinked. She was in her room, the only sounds that of a clock ticking somewhere and breathing. But not her own.
Sabrina stared down at the slumbering form of Puck, whose head was resting on her bed, the rest of him in an old chair. The boy's hair was ruffled wildly like he had run his hand through it over and over. They were close enough that, if this were some cheesy romance novel, they could've been holding hands, but they weren't.
So she did it for him, grabbing one of his care worn hands, needing to grasp something that was solid and warm and alive.
Sabrina wanted to wake him up and get some answers, but she needed a moment to collect herself so that she didn't burst into tears and blubber a nonsensical question.
Puck stirred for a second, and Sabrina tensed. However, he settled back, his hand muscles twitching for an instant, tightening around her own, then relaxing.
The girl's heart raced like she had just gotten out of some immense trouble. She took in a deep breath and let his hand go, pulling her arms to her sides, tucking the moment into a corner of her mind that was overflowing with memories.
"Puck," she said rather quietly, shaking his shoulder. (Were they broader than she had remembered?)
"Mmfph. I'm awake, Jake. I don't need your help."
"Puck!" she snapped impatiently, her need for answers overruling her instinctual manners. His head snapped up, knocking into her nose.
"Ow!" Sabrina yelped, holding her offended extremity.
He rubbed his red eyes, he squinted at her like he wasn't quite sure if she was real. "You're awake." He almost sounded reproachful, and Sabrina was pretty sure that he'd left a part of himself in dreamland because he sounded relieved to see her.
"Where's Daphne?" she asked quickly, her voice giving an annoyed croak in protest of being used. Sabrina clasped a hand at her throat, clearing it forcibly several times.
"Calm down," Puck said in a sating voice, eyes raking over her in a skeptical way. He was convinced that she was going to pass out again.
She ignored his borderline kind behavior, saying, "Where is she? Please, please." Sabrina looked like she was only two seconds away from hysteria, sitting up farther, ready to jump off the bed and pound away after her little sister.
"She's okay, Sabrina!" Puck had to yell to get her to look at him fully. "The Marshmallow is just with your parents, unharmed."
At this, Sabrina wasn't ashamed to admit that she cried. Her only regret that Puck was there to watch-there to hold this tender moment over her head on a sunnier day.
Surprisingly, he was quiet, letting her channel the emotion through the tears.
"Come on," she finally said, wiping at her red eyes. "I want to go see Daphne." She tried to get up, but Puck pushed her back down.
"Uh, no you're not. You are way worse off than she was-the Marshmallow was mostly just shaken. She was up here a while ago, but they took her out to get some ice cream so that she wouldn't pace a rut into the floor." Sabrina glared at him, knowing that she really didn't want to move, but would never to be the one who admitted that he was right.
She returned, "Well, I better be at the door to meet her-and tell everyone what happened."
Puck folded his arms over his chest. "You can have your reunion with them just as well here as there."
Sabrina huffed and didn't move, unwilling to admit that the prospect of going down the stairs was about as appealing as getting hit by a glop grenade.
"Here," Puck said after the stuffy silence. "You should eat something." Puck got up and grabbed a covered plate from the side table and passed it to her. Sabrina's mouth started to salivate before she even knew what it was, she was so hungry.
Sabrina tore off the covering and found a steaming plate of spaghetti and meatballs-regular, not squid ink. Sabrina's lip tipped towards a smile, realizing how strange her life was that she had to specify that fact in her mind. That, however, brought a new thought to her mind. "Who made this, Puck?"
The boy have gave her a sidelong look. "Who d'you think?"
She stared at him for a long moment, sure she knew the answer, but also sure that it couldn't be true.
"You?"
Puck let out a breath like he'd been holding it. He thrummed his fingers on the bed, and even though they didn't make any noise, Sabrina thought she could still hear the rhythmic drumming.
"How?" she inquired.
Puck snorted, sitting back in his chair, his usual humor replacing the strange mood he had slipped into. "I cooked it, how else?"
She glared at him halfheartedly. "That's not what I meant."
Puck grinned and leaned forward in his chair to flick her in the forehead, causing her to let out an indignant noise.
"Ah, you meant why-which happens to mean a very different thing altogether than 'how'."
"Fine. Why?"
"Well," he sighed dramatically as she tucked into the warm meal. "Here I was, practically staring at a vegetable, bored out of my mind, so I decided, what the heck-I'll make the invalid something good for when she wakes up. And, because I'm feeling generous, I'm not even going to charge you."
"But how do you know how to make spaghetti?"
Puck sighed through his nose. "You're just full of questions, aren't you?"
"You could always leave." she said irritably, though she felt infinitely better from eating. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Nah, you have a bit of a rebellious streak. You'd probably try to crawl out the window to escape and find your family."
They were quiet with each other now, Sabrina noting that he still hadn't answered her question.
"So," Puck began before Sabrina could reassert herself around a mouthful of spaghetti, "Want to tell me why you were with your sister in the middle of the woods?"
Sabrina choked and spluttered. "I-It's not what you guys think." she said after she'd finally stopped coughing.
"'Not what you think'?" he mocked. "Do you know how much grief you caused? Your family was ready to flip freaking mountains to find you two again."
"Well, it wasn't like we just sneaked out to spite all of you. We were on a mission for Granny."
Puck scowled. "Yeah, she mentioned that. But she also said it was in town."
He always managed to do this to her, made her feel like she had to justify herself. "It was, but we heard something in the woods-"
Puck snorted. "Haven't you learned anything from our horror movie nights? You never go after the creepy noise." Sabrina's cheeks blazed.
"It wasn't creepy! We just thought..." She shut her mouth so fast her teeth clacked. She folded her arms and looked away from his aggravating, albeit handsome face.
"What's it to you? You haven't been here for months. Why are you even here?"
Puck's face seemed to fill with shadows, bouncing off the sharp, elfish planes in a way that made him seem older. Which, of course, he actually was.
Inversely, he spoke breezily. "It's a funny story, really. I was awoken by a call at three in the morning from halfway across the world-from some little town named 'Ferryport Landing'." Sabrina bit her lip, but she met his eyes defiantly. He stared back just as strongly.
Puck slammed his fist down on the side table, the abruptness scaring her a little. "And what do I get on this phone call? A pleasant hello and then-'oh by the way, Sabrina's been kidnapped, just thought you ought to know that your fiancée is in imminent peril again.'"
Sabrina was very off put from the genuine anger and hurt in his voice, but, as always, it wasn't very long before his inner nature returned-for Puck was many things, but angry wasn't one of them.
He threw up his hands. "I can't just keep doing this! This whole run and save the girl routine, I'm getting gray hairs just thinking about it!" A silence shrouded the room, sharp as a scythe.
"You're unbelievable." she finally muttered. "I didn't even need your help. Not this time. I would've been fine." Why did it sound like she was trying to fully convince herself?
"Please, Grimm. You were bleeding out in the cold rain in the middle of the forest, probably with whatever creature that Daphne said was following you guys about to make you into mince meat."
Sabrina tightened her grip on her arm and turned to meet his gaze, a strange sort of triumph lit in the depths. He loved being right, even now.
In an almost imperceptible movement, she reached down and undid a hidden side pocket on her loose jeans and produced a long, steady knife. With shaking fingers, she tossed it so it landed in front of him. Puck stared uncertainly down at it, unsure of what it meant.
"That creature following us was a Wolf, and I killed it." Sabrina's eyes were as heavy as granite.
Puck recoiled, eyes wide. "But the Wolf is being kept by Red Riding Hood, right?"
Sabrina pursed her lips. "Our Wolf isn't the only wolf recorded in the Grimm fairy tale accounts, haven't you read any? There's at least three or four of them spread throughout the stories." Puck opened his mouth to retort that-no-of course he hadn't read them, but Sabrina beat him to it and covered his mouth with her hand before he could say a word. She went on with her explanation.
"None of the other Wolves are as powerful as our Wolf, and all of them used to be...used to be in the Hall of Wonders." She took a deep breath, ignoring the stone that had ironically settled in her stomach.
"This Wolf was from one called "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids". In it, the seven kids are dumb enough to be deceived by the Wolf putting dough on his paws and six of them got devoured. The seventh waited for his mother, and after they rescued the others and filled the Wolf with rocks and sank him to the bottom of the river." Puck finally swatted her hand off of his face crossly.
"You know, just because your family's last name is 'Grimm', that doesn't mean that all of your stories have to be so messed up."
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You would say that, coming from a comedy."
Puck shrugged. "Life's better when you can laugh at everything."
Sabrina muttered under her breath. "Well, you've made that abundantly clear."
Puck shook his head as if to clear it. "So wait a minute, you mean to tell me you killed that Wolf?"
Sabrina winced. "Perhaps 'killed' is a strong word. After I got Daphne to run away, I lured it to the cliff and got it to jump off."
"So why were you bleeding, for Pete's sake?" he pressed, glancing at the spot where magic must have healed the wound. She touched the smooth skin superstitiously and grinned wryly. "I guess he felt that he had to get even after I cut his face."
Puck gaped at her, speechless for once.
"That's not all though." Sabrina's voice had taken a sudden turn, now sounding miserable. "The Wolf didn't die. I know because when I looked over the edge, it was limping away like what happened had barely phased it. It can still go hurt more people."
Puck sighed, leaning back. "That's Everafters for you, we've been clinging to life for so long it's really hard to let go."
Sabrina went into a brooding silence as Puck grabbed the knife and scrutinized it for a moment before handing it back to her. "Don't worry. You'll have another chance to use this yet, I guarantee it."
She smiled thinly at him, tucking the blade back into the thigh sheath.
Puck stood up and stretched, joints popping.
"Well, I'm going to go contact your family and tell them that you are indeed, very not dead." He then scoffed and gave her a conspiratorial grin. "As if. Your snores were way too loud for a dead person."
A flicker of a true smile fluttered across her lips.
Puck left her room and closed the door so that she could rest in peace. He then fully intended to immediately do as he had said, but when he tried to move, his knees felt weak.
Puck couldn't help but look behind himself at her door as if he could see her through the thick panels, his mind whirling.
Puck thought of what she'd said while her head was bleeding out in the rain, that they were too much of the same. She'd said some compelling thoughts out there where the world had been varying shades of gray scale.
How could she have possibly said that they were too similar?
Was that really what she believed?
No, no, she was delirious.
...But was she?
Yes! Yes! She was! Bad brain! Stop thinking traitorous thoughts!
His introspection was spinning sickly around his head, making it hard to stumble downstairs to the kitchen. He arrived right as the phone started to ring. He took the call and cradled it to his face. A worried voice on the other side spoke, "Puck? Puck, has anything changed?"
It was Veronica, and he could tell that she wasn't alone. In the background he could hear the soft mummering of the rest of the family. They wanted the news that only he could give them. He took in a deep, relieved breath-gathering himself-but quickly got on with it.
After all, five days was a long time to wait.
"She's awake."
.-.-.-.
Wooh! You guys have no idea how long I've had the first 2/3 of this done. Anyways, I finally hunkered down and finished-because who has time for what you actually planned when fanfiction is waiting? I'm pretty happy with this and will try to get the next chapters done, but no promises on when. I'm not to to worried about quick updates because this is more of snapshots of their lives in the same timeline as opposed to an actual story with a plot. So yeah, hope you liked it!
Your reviews give me the happies, so don't be shy! ^^