Disclaimer: I own…these pop tarts*pulls out the box* see. Tasty huh?

Warnings: brief non-romantic nudity and minor language.

AN: Holy update Batman! Sorry for the wait-and wow, didn't think I'd get responses this fast. Thanks so much, it means a lot! Here, you can have my pop tarts *Tosses the box*

Enjoy!

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Chapter 5: What the wind blows in.

Vivian Gandillon sat next to her wall with a brush in hand. A few jagged strokes were streaked along the wall; incomplete shapes raced along the still white spaces. Piles of sketches surrounded her still body. Despite the small chill in the air, Vivian didn't mind the cold. Looking down at a sketch for reference, Vivian mixed her paints before putting the brush to the wall again. Crisp strokes were perfect for the surroundings, but Vivian used jagged lines for the subjects within the surroundings.

Despite her concentration, she could her the front door slam perfectly well. Vivian growled in frustration; Esme' wasn't normally this loud, but then again, she hadn't been herself for a while…

Esme' wasn't the only one downstairs: she could hear the voices of Jean, Rudy and Bucky. Vivian set down her brush.

'Sweet Moon, what's all this noise for?'

Vivian opened her door and walked downstairs, about to investigate. It was in the kitchen. Her sharp words were going to go unsaid; the sight was completely unexpected. There, lying on the kitchen table was a boy. Surrounded by her mother, Rudy, Bucky, and Jean.

"Call Gabriel." Rudy told Esme'.

"Aunt Persia too?" she asked.

"Yeah. Perhaps Orlando as well."

Esme' nodded her head, reaching for the telephone. They hadn't noticed Vivian yet. She looked down at the figure.

He was her age, maybe younger. The dirty clothes he wore hugged his body unpleasantly; he was very frail looking. His eyes were shut tight, not loosening even when unconscious.

'He's in pain.' Vivian thought with a wince.

Vivian walked to get a closer look. He reeked of sickness, and Vivian's lip curled. His breathing was labored, and she gave a twitch of sympathy. For some reason, she felt compelled to touch him-give some sort of comfort. Her fingertips brushed his cheek; the boy was burning. He stirred briefly at the touch, and Vivian felt a thrill go through her.

'Sweet Moon, he's one of us!'

She couldn't smell it beneath the rest of the stench, but now she felt she should have noticed it sooner. He looked so weak, so defeated, and in such…pain. Vivian felt surge of protectiveness and odd indignation go through her.

'He is one of the Children of the Moon. One of my people. He shouldn't look so weak. Would he let himself become this way…or did someone do it to him. How dare they?! Ones such ourselves shouldn't be so weak-I'll teach those people a lesson!'

Vivian felt a little startled by the suddenness of feeling, but her pride wouldn't allow for one of her people to be put in this position, self inflicted or otherwise. Sympathy washed through her; did he feel caged up?

'He looks lonely.'

Vivian whimpered at the sight. He looked like a bedraggled puppy. She leaned close.

"Great Moon, what have they done to you?" she whispered, horrified and pained.

The four others looked up in surprise; they hadn't noticed her at all. Esme' had finished getting off the phone; only a few members needed to be called at the moment. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder, and pressed close briefly.

"Mom that boy-"

"I know hon."

"Its awful, what do you think happened to him?"

"I dunno babe." Esme' sounded just as sad as Vivian for a moment.

The door opened without preamble and in walked Gabriel, Aunt Persia, and old man Orlando. The three made their way to the kitchen table. Orlando and Aunt Persia began examining him, and the boy had only gave a few groans when prodded hard. Gabriel walked over to Esme' and Vivian. Vivian bristled when she smell his sharp, musky smell. It made her head spin, and she bit down a snarl.

"Where did you find him?" he asked Esme'.

"In the parking lot at Tooley's. He collapsed as soon as he saw us." she replied.

"We thought it be best to take him with us since he's our kind." Jean added.

"Yeah a hospital would have asked questions." Bucky pointed out.

"What's your take on this Gabriel?" Rudy asked.

Gabriel looked deep in thought for a moment, before looking up at the rest of them.

"Alright. For now we'll take care of him till' he gets back on his feet. When he wakes up, we'll explain how this pack works. Then the choice for him to stay or not is completely up to him."

Rudy nodded in approval. Aunt Persia grabbed a large bowl from a cabinet and filled it with water. In her calm rasp she gave instructions to everyone. Vivian grabbed a few trays of ice cubes, grateful that she filled them up before. Gabriel sided next to her, their elbows touching; Vivian tried not to bristle at the odd mix of unease and defiance. The two pulled necessary items out of cabinets in silence, listening to Aunt Persia speaking to Orlando.

Vivian handed a moist cloth to Aunt Persia, and watched as the wrinkled but deft hands gently wiped the sweat and grime from the boy's forehead. The boy barely stirred.

" Rudy could you bring me down a spare set of clothes?" she asked.

Rudy nodded in understanding and made room for Bucky who returned to the kitchen carry at least half the contents of Esme's medicine cabinet. Orlando was helping Jean remove the dirty clothes the boy was wearing. They peeled off like rotten banana skin, and when his bare chest was revealed, Vivian heard her mother's gasp. The boy had deep cuts all over him, and even Gabriel flinched at the sight of them.

Some of the wounds were deeper than others, and still looked raw and puckering. He tried to bandage them himself but had done a poor job. They peeled off with a disgusting sticky sound; some blood shined sickly, and emphasized the crusty edges of barely healed cuts. It looked like infections were starting in, and it smelled awful.

Bucky and Jean held the boy down; he was moving about unconsciously, and feebly protesting under Aunt Persia's ministrations. Esme' moved past her, and began busying herself with whatever Orlando was instructing her to. Vivian felt a tinge of sympathy for her mother's reaction but decided not to comment on it. Instead, she turned to look at Gabriel and was surprised at what she saw.

He was looking down at the boy with an expression she had never seen before. It was more than pity, but not just sadness at the boy's situation. His eyes looked softer than she had ever seen them before. His face never looked this expressive before. His mouth was set in a grim determined line, and he placed his large hands on the boys shoulders. Holding him in place better than the others had. The boy couldn't struggled beneath him, but his grip wasn't harsh and Vivian could have sworn she saw him gently massage the shoulders.

Gabriel looked up from the boy to look at Vivian. Their eyes met, and she felt a thrill go through her. He smiled tightly, and the moment passed quickly; Vivian was startled because she realized that she had no idea what he was thinking. Vivian quickly stuffed that train of thought to the back of her mind when she heard the boy groan in his sleep. His face look so pinched and wan, it looked like agony and Vivian felt her heart twist again.

Aunt Persia motioned Vivian over to her, and she hurried quietly over to her side.

"Here darling, press gently and then wipe downwards-like this." Aunt Persia demonstrated how to properly clean the cuts. Vivian tried to be as gentle as she could, and Aunt Persia smiled at her.

"Here, and you thread it like this." Aunt Persia handed her a needle and thread, showing Vivian the proper way to sew up the wounds.

Vivian didn't find it to be too hard, and she made tight weaves; the black thread contrasted violently with the boy's pale skin. Vivian turned to Aunt Persia, waiting for the old healer's approval. She was rewarded with a warm smile. Next, she was taught how to bandage the cuts up. The white of the bandages actually matched the boy's skin, and that thought made Vivian a little sick. When they were finished cleaning him up, Vivian reached for pile of Rudy's donated clothes.

Gabriel's hand reached the pile faster, and just barely brushed hers; she flinched at the contact. Any other time he would have given her grief over it, but no such expression was on his face at the moment.

"I'll do this." his voice told her that he wasn't going to explain himself.

"Fine." she quietly snapped.

She couldn't quite explain her irritation at the moment, but she put that aside to concentrate on the frail form on the table. Her heart was thudding rapidly and she wasn't sure why. She only knew she didn't want to see that boy in pain. She turned around when Gabriel gave her a look as he began to put the clean clothes Rudy offered. When he was finished, Vivian turned around to look at Gabriel.

Everyone look to each other, then to Gabriel. Vivian cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence.

"I'll take him. He can sleep in my rooms." she declared.

"Viv-" Esme's tone was in warning.

"Please." Viv snorted. She knew exactly what her mother was implicating. "He can't do anything-besides I can handle him, however it goes." she finished, daring them to disagree with her.

She turned to face Gabriel, emphasizing her defiance.

'I'll be damned if he refuses this. That kid is gonna be taken care of. '

Gabriel silently regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable and his blue eyes bored straight into hers. Vivian suppressed a shiver; she felt angry at herself for feeling the tremors fear go through her. Gabriel suddenly smiled, and Vivian felt that he was back to normal again, and she released a breath she didn't know she had been holding; she blushed at how audible it was.

"Of course." He smirked.

Vivian strode back over to the table, and tried to lift the boy up by herself.

"Um…so help here?" she asked, turning sheepishly over to Gabriel.

Together the two hoisted the boy off the table, and moved slowly so as not to hurt the boy. The two moved up the stairs in silence, and Gabriel fumbled with Vivian's closed door knob for a minute before he pushed the door open. He smirked when he saw her unmade bed, and Vivian dared him to comment with a glare. They gently set the boy down on her bed. Vivian tucked the boy beneath her covers, and she smiled when she saw him stir briefly.

Vivian had a feeling that the boy was ease now, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized that Gabriel was leaning quite close to her. His eyes had that strange understanding in them that seemed out of place on his features. He looked like he was about to say something. His scent was thick and it suddenly overwhelmed her.

"Don't you have work to go to?" she accused, not liking the sudden heat in her face.

She practically growled as she watched his broad shoulders move, and finally felt at ease when he shut the door behind him.

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The Boy had only stirred occasionally, his eyes half open and glazed. He never seemed to take notice of his surroundings, but he was slowly getting in better condition. This confused Vivian since it was common fact the their people healed quickly. She was becoming adept at changing bandages, and she was relived that he didn't smell as bad as he did before.

She spent her break looking after him, and she was secretly glad to have something to occupy her mind, and the Vivian could forget the fact that she didn't have any friends at school. It felt so awful to be so out of place, and she knew that wishing to fit in was probably a stupid idea, but she didn't care.

She sat in the chair, just watching the boy sleep.

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R&R!