Right…um…hi. *nervous grin* That's really all I got. It's cold and snowy over here (which is rather normal), we might have some cold days off next week, I bought the next Soul Eater book...yeah, I got nothing. Question for you guys, what do you think Hans's next move is gonna be? I mean, do you think he's gonna be a good guy or a bad guy? Just asking, 'cause I'm not really sure what angle I wanna go for. *sheepish*Your input is very welcome. Also, if you notice Scrap's talking more, Hans's efforts to get her to learn another language would expand her learning and reasoning capabilities, so she'd be more literate. Just saying. For those of you who wonder, he's using the pictures to teach her what is "good, better, and best", and since he's a werewolf he'd obviously put wolf as the best.
January 26, 2014
Scrap's POV:
"Am…gut?" I squeaked hesitantly, and Captain Gunsche nodded a few times. His finger silently tapped on a little pictogram of a cat with the word "Katze" drawn under it. "Am besser?" I tried, and he nodded again, his finger moving over to a lupine creature with "Wolf" written under it. "Am besten." I replied with slight confidence, and he smiled, patting my head gently as I fidgeted and allowed the caress. These past two weeks in the cave had been mentally exhausting, not because of my predicament and trying to get out of it, but Captain Gunsche mercilessly drilling me in German pronunciation and words. I was already able to read bits and pieces of his notes to me, although most of it was lost in translation.
I still didn't trust him at all.
He held out his hand, and I sulkily handed him my plate, watching as he put it carefully on a table and squatted back down next to me. He smiled again, and I gave him an uncertain look, fidgeting a little. He showed me a single sentence on his notepad, and I bit my lip as I slowly translated the fragments I knew. Du…you…bist…are…eine…a…wolf. I blinked in surprise, looking up at him and shaking my head. "Nu uh." His lips twitched slightly, and he shook his head, writing a little on the pad again and then showing it to me. Du bist ein Werwolf. I blinked a few times, uncertain as to what the last word meant. German had some words that sounded a lot like the English ones…but… "Werewolf?!" He nodded a few times, his expression neutral. I sat back and stared at him, feeling cowed and frightened by this development.
"But…the full moon…I don't do that!" I said indignantly, and he made a biting motion and pointed to me, then shook his head. "You mean I don't 'cause I haven't been…bitten?" He nodded with a pleased look about him. I relaxed a little, and he patted my head a few times, like he was making sure before he got up again, a gleam of metal showing against his leg as I swallowed hard, seeing the long barrel of the gun strapped to his hip. He stretched slightly, walking to the large wooden table he had set up and sitting down, crossing his legs as he looked at me silently. I stared back, fidgeting a little still and then looking down, my ears burning with embarrassment. He leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling, and I looked up again, my mind burning with curiosity. It was times like these where I wished the most he wasn't a mute, or that in didn't understand much of his German.
It scared me too, because he had no way of demonstrating any of his emotions. He could be smiling at me one second and furious the next, even though he outwardly showed no sign of it. I would have no way of knowing until he snapped my neck. He finally seemed to stir from his thoughts, leaning forward and uncrossing his legs as I gulped involuntarily. He looked down as he wrote something on his notepad, then handed it to me. "Du bist die einzige andere Werwolf ich habe gefunden in vielen Jahren." I read slowly, translating as fast as I could, feeling his rose-red eyes burn into the back of my neck as I scanned the lines."I'm the only other werewolf you've found in a long time?" I tried hesitantly after a few seconds, looking up, and he nodded quietly.
I swallowed hard after a few moments, edging back a little. "And…you're going to bite me aren't you?" I whispered, pressing up against the wall, and he paused, looking at me silently. I trembled harder as he knelt beside me, his hand taking the notepad from my unresisting fingers as he reached for my head. I jerked away with a squeak, and he made a calming motion, reaching around to gently scratch at the spot Captain Bernadette had discovered, calming me against my will as I cowered against the wall. He continued to gently scratch at the spot above my ear, his face hidden by the turned-up collar of his coat, his eyes calm and collected as I whimpered a little, resisting the urge to press against his hand. Eventually he stopped, and I blinked as he rummaged around inside his coat for a few moments, then pulled out a book. It was very worn, but I could still see the blessed English lettering as I started to reach, but pulled back. He made an encouraging gesture, nudging it forward, and I gingerly took it, looking up in surprise as he immediately stood, walking out of the cave as I looked back down, curling up in my pillow-blanket nest, opening the book.
Werewolf: A Therianthrope with genes tied to lupine or wolf-like creatures, more commonly known as lycanthropes. Werewolf has sometimes been used for the broader category of therianthropes, including cynanthropes, and on rare occasions, ailuranthropes. I looked at the index after that paragraph, trying to understand all the big words these people used, then flipped to the appropriate pages. Cynanthropes: One of the many sub-categories of Therianthropy, in this case the canine diversion. Rarer than lycanthropes, but not entirely unheard of. Ailuranthropes: One of the rarest forms of Therianthropy, feline form. I groaned, looking up from the book and massaging my temples, already getting a headache. I almost wish Hans would just write it in German, because even that won't give me as much of a head-pounder.
I snuggled into the pillows, flipping to the page that most worried me. The one that explained the process of turning a human into a werewolf. The process is exceedingly simple and equally hard to counter, and one of the few myths that is even partially true. The already existing werewolf either bites or scratches a victim, enough to draw blood, and the cure is instantly and almost irreversibly transferred. It is theoretically possible to counter the disease with the vampiric one, but only in the early stages and only before the victim is completely turned into a new Were. This event is also extremely unlikely, since the transformation takes all of a single night, from the moon's rising to the moon's setting and the dominant werewolf would protect the future pack member with their life and the lives of any already existing pack members, if necessary.
I swallowed hard, involuntarily looking towards the entrance of the cave and clutching the book tighter in apprehensiveness. I then looked down again, curling up a little more and wriggling until I felt comfortable again before reading. The process is unfortunately rather painful and no little dangerous, especially to those born without natural lycanthropy genes. The dominate Therianthrope's animal DNA meshes with that of the already existing human, causing pain and partial body shifting during the first few hours. After the genes have successfully bonded, the pain intensifies dramatically as the changing lycanthrope's body begins altering from the inside-out, becoming faster, stronger, with greater endurance capabilities, and higher stamina. This is the point of no return as far as saving the affected human, as any actions taken during or after this stage are almost always doomed to failure and the vampiric bite will be ineffectual, unless delivered by an extremely powerful Nosferatu.
I whined slightly in fear, shivering at the thought of so much pain as I gripped the book tighter, huddling into my blankets. Once the initial stages of transformation are complete, the process varies slightly. The more powerful the werewolf and the closer the time of biting is to the full moon, the more powerful the new were will be, and the longer the amount of time in the pre-transformation coma the potential lycanthrope will fall into shortly after the previous stage. This coma lasts for the rest of the transformation period, and the victim will awaken a lycanthrope like their attacker, which assumes the dominant role until they decide to allow the younger Were to leave the pack.
I closed the book with a snap, curling up miserably and shuffling my blankets over my head with a whimper. I didn't want to be a werewolf. Seras and Alucard weren't werewolves. Captain Bernadette wasn't a werewolf. Integra wasn't a werewolf. I didn't want to be a werewolf! I heard footsteps again and curled up more, only for the blanket to carefully get pulled over my head. Captain Gunsche looked down at me with slight concern, and I stared up at him in mute fright as I edged away a little. He sighed silently, as if knowing why I was frightened, and I squeaked as he reached for my hands, pulling the book away. He wrote something on his notepad, then handed it to me as I took it curiously. "Es ist okay. (It's okay.)" I shook my head a little, whimpering. "I don't wanna be a werewolf." I whispered, and his face went blank.
I watched in surprise as he drew something much slower than normal, then handed me the notepad. There was a wolf-man hybrid, then an equal sign, then his name. There was also… "Null?" I muttered, tilting the notepad a little. I was right. There was his name, then another plus sign, and then the word null. Null meant zero in German. So…him plus zero equals werewolf? Does that mean he's like the most powerful one there is? My eyes widened as something occurred to me. "You're…the only werewolf?" I asked, and he nodded silently, taking the notepad back. "But what about all the other ones the book talks about?" I asked suspiciously, pointing to his pocket, and he shook his head again. He pointed to my own pocket, then his heart. I blinked in confusion, and he sighed and drew something at his usual brisk pace and handed the notepad back. I took it, wincing at the sight of a silver bullet embedded in a roughly-sketched heart. Guess he meant my cube.
"But there aren't any other people like me?" I asked, and he shrugged silently with a scowl. "You tried looking and didn't find anyone?" I tried, and he nodded with a weary look. "But I already have a pack." I whimpered, and he looked down, pulling the notepad away as he did so. He drew something and sighed silently again before handing it to me. "Ich muss mehrmeiner Artzu machen, bevor Hellsing gelingt, mich zu töten. ( I need to make more of my kind before Hellsing manages to kill me too.)" I flinched at the slight accusation, and he drew in a deep breath through his nose before taking the notepad away again and sitting down next to me. I flinched as he gently prodded my stomach, and he nodded to himself. He made a snapping motion with his mouth, then pointed to my stomach with his pen as I swallowed hard and scooted away.
"C-can't you bite anywhere else?" He raised an eyebrow, and my eyes widened as he suddenly dissolved into a glowing white mist, his form arching and writhing as a huge, smoking wolf formed, my head level with his shoulder. He nosed my stomach, and I realized with a gulp that his teeth were big enough my torso was just about the only place his gigantic teeth would be able to get a good enough grip to break skin, unless he wanted to rip off my arms or legs. He melted, his human form taking shape again as he stood up, writing something on his notepad and then showing me. One? One what? I thought in bewilderment, and he pointed upward, then drew a round shape on the notepad. "Full moon?" I whispered, and he nodded silently. One night until the full moon? He's gonna turn me into a werewolf…tomorrow night?
Integra's POV:
"The actual turning process takes the span of one night, from moonrise to moonset. It says the werewolf transformation can be countered by being bitten by a vampire, but it doesn't mention if it turns the human into a vampire, stops the human from becoming a werewolf, or kills them before they can become a vampire or werewolf." Walter said with a slight amount of irritation hidden in his smooth voice, and I sighed, leaning back in the chair. "Has Alucard or Seras found anything yet?" He shook his head slightly. "Although Alucard covers less ground, he thoroughly searches under every brick. Seras has found traces of her scent, but they're all on the riverbank." he said briskly, and I looked up again as Seras staggered through the door, looking exhausted.
"Has master found her yet?" she asked weakly, and I shook my head silently as she moaned and practically fell into the seat in front of my desk. Speak of the devil, I felt the tingle at the back of my mind that signaled his presence, shortly before the Vampire King himself stepped out of the wall. "I didn't locate her master. No trace." he said shortly, before turning and walking through the wall once more as I sighed heavily. Alucard tended to be very possessive, and Scrap, as one of his "possessions", much like myself and Seras, was something he would be very stubborn over reclaiming. I was honestly surprised he hadn't asked me yet for a little more of his power to repossess said property the "easy way". Then again, he also had a healthy amount of pride, and coming to me directly to ask for power was a level he would not stoop to unless truly desperate. Let's hope we find her soon…I doubt the werewolf that took her will wait much more than he has to change her, if he's even waited at all.
7.20 PM, USA Central Time
Hey guys, great news. NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! So happy! *giddy giddy giddy* Anyway, I bet you're all very displeased over the slight cliffy. Hey, I get psychotic, gleeful, unholy enjoyment out of making them. You people should try writing a story, then put some cliffies in, and feel how much fun it is for yourself. Really, it'll be worth it. Trust the crazy person. ;) Um…that's really it. Heck, I might even get the next chapter out tonight, so cross your fingers.