As Dark reached the northwest corner of the Niwa territory he caught an unfamiliar scent and stopped, his brother and sister halting behind him. ~What is it, Dark?~ They caught on to a very faint smell, and beneath it, the smell of blood. ~Stay here.~ He began to trot off at a steady lope close to the ground. Daisuke protested, ~Why can't I come?~
~Because I want you to take care of Riku.~
She snarled. ~I can take care of myself! Why– ~
The alpha's black lips parted a bit to reveal startling white teeth. ~Do as I say!~ The order rippled through both siblings and the redder wolf lowered his head. He'd never been ordered to do anything from Dark in his wolf form so he was completely unprepared for the sudden, automatic compliance of his wolf.
~You didn't have to order us.~ His voice was soft. Dark covered his teeth.
~It's a rogue werewolf. I'll be back soon, or call you two over.~ He trotted away and Daisuke stood next to his sister awkwardly as she bristled, thoroughly pissed at her inability to disobey Dark's orders. Time passed and they scratched clear a place to lay down, a single circle of dirt in the snow.
~Nn…Riku?~ he asked, little dots of snow resting on his red-gray coat as he shifted. She turned to him and curled her tail over her paws to keep them warm. He felt himself blush and for once thanked God that thick fur covered his face. Still his ears slicked back with uncertainty. ~Riku, um, I was wondering…~ Did he really want to do this? It was fine that they just remained adopted siblings, and if she didn't feel the same way... Didn't even think that she could… Things around the Niwa household would become much more awkward. He wondered if he should have prefaced this with 'Don't think this is weird, but…' or perhaps 'I know this is an odd thing to ask but…' Too late now.
~Daisuke?~ She snapped him out of his thoughts.
~I was wondering if… you could ever think of me, even a little bit… as more than an adopted brother?~ His nose was almost touching the snow and he closed his eyes to steel himself for the answer. Why had he brought this up? So stupid! Why would she feel that way about him, when there was Dark? But these feelings had started a while ago, when exactly he couldn't remember, but… He started to wonder what it'd be like to kiss her, and hold her and for her to be his…
~ Daisuke…~ Riku ventured, and he flinched.
~Y-yeah?~
She walked over and laid her body parallel to his, then dropped her head onto his two front legs. ~ I've been wondering the same thing about you. For...well, a while.~ For a moment he was stunned, then he placed his head between her shoulders and sighed with relief.
~R…Really?~ Riku nodded and after a moment, added, ~I think Emiko will be pretty happy about this…~ He snorted and agreed, and suddenly, for both of them, the night was a lot less cold.
Dark couldn't help his wolf from approaching the obviously wounded werewolf just a pace ahead stiffly, tail raised and ears down. The strange werewolf met his eyes impassively and remained where he was, slightly crouched down in the snow. His coat was dirty blonde, darkest on his paws and spine. A bright red trickle dripped from his nose and marked a path off into the white powder. His back right leg was bleeding just around the ankle and Dark caught a whiff of gunpowder. He could see the whites of the werewolf's blue eyes and knew he had to be careful. Dark guessed by the wild-eyed look that this was his first transformation. Still didn't explain those wounds though. ~Hey. What happened to you?~ he ventured, and forced his alpha to relax. Whoever this was, he wasn't much of a threat and didn't seem to be trespassing on purpose. The dirty blonde blinked in surprise, ~You can talk…?~ then looked away and added, ~I… got shot.~ Dark circled him once.
He was about Daisuke's build, a beta, too, and his large paws told him he still had some growing to do. ~Your first time transforming, huh.~ It wasn't a question, and Dark had the feeling if he left him to fend for himself, he wouldn't last until morning. In fact, he was lucky that Dark's pack had found him instead of the regular wolves, whose territory slightly overlapped here. They would have killed him. ~You want me to walk you home?~ Aside from that, his sense of smell must be totally compromised by the wound – he hadn't noticed Dark until he had came well into view. The new wolf started at him with his mouth slightly open.
~My father, he saw me 'transform'…~ He licked black lips and finished, ~not sure if I have one to go to.~ A shudder ran through his snow-dusted fur. ~Qualia…~ Dark almost could sense Emiko's reaction as he said, ~Hey, you want to stay with us for tonight?~ As the wolf shook his head the blood scattered in tiny drops. ~I don't want to be a burden– ~ Suddenly, he visibly staggered and would have fallen if Dark hadn't shoved him upright with a back shoulder. ~You sure about that?~ Dark paused. ~ I could drive you home tomorrow.~ The stray caught Dark's meaning and after hesitating he murmured, ~Just tonight.~
He began following Dark back to the other members of the Niwa pack, his back foot never touching the ground. What's your name anyway? Mine's Dark.~ A half grin showed on the dark blonde's muzzle.
~That's a weird name. Mine's Argentine.~ He licked some blood off his nose and Dark noticed a red welt on the werewolf's snout. Eventually they made it back to Daisuke and Riku, who trotted up to the newcomer curiously. Argentine tensed into a crouch, but relaxed a little as Dark introduced them as his brother and sister.
~So you're all werewolves? Did you just bite each other or…?~
The black alpha shook his head. ~We were born werewolves, but I'll explain later. We should get you to my mom first.~
~I've never heard of that.~ Argentine pondered and with a glance at Riku, added, ~Or a female werewolf for that matter.~ Her nose wrinkled, and she snapped rather coldly, ~Well, I guess you learn something new every day.~
Dark rolled his eyes, Daisuke remained silent, and they walked back to the Niwa home with a bit of tension in the air.
Krad opened his eyes. He was half curled in his bed, naked. It was almost sad, how used to that he was by now. Quickly he snatched up the covers that had been kicked down to the foot of his bed and covered himself, head included. Whenever he returned to his human form he always felt a bit like a meaty square of jello.
No fangs, claws, fur – it was a wonder the human species had survived at all. On his dresser, his beeper went off with a loud irritating jingle. He groped around for it, then grabbed it, pulling it into the cocoon he'd created. "Hello?" his voice came out raspy.
"Dammit, Krad, I've been trying to reach you since last night! Haven't I told you to keep your cell phone with you at all times?"
Krad stifled a yawn and winced as the wounds from yesterday sprang back into awareness. "And I recall telling you that inevitably, there will be times when I am not available."
The higher-ranking officer snarled, "Funny how those times always seen to coincide with the full moon. Just get your butt to the station. A man's son went missing and the son's girlfriend was found shot in the woods behind his house." Krad kept silent, mostly because he'd tried his hardest to be unavailable fairly regularly. Had all his absences been on the nights of the full moon? Had he gotten careless? He shook his head. These people wouldn't believe his condition unless they watched him transform themselves.
"I'll be there in an hour."
"You'd better be, blondie." Just as Krad was about to hang up, he added, "Because you keep my other officers in line."
Krad grinned a little. It was true; his coworkers were more scared of him than the lieutenant. Still, that pet name was annoying. "Bye." After lingering in heavenly warmth for a few more seconds he snatched some clothes out of his dresser and headed into the bathroom. He gave his face a quick once-over but, being blonde, he hadn't gotten much past the peach fuzz stage, so the razor remained where it was. As he reached for the comb he paused, then backed up slightly from the counter.
~Huh. When did that happen?~ He turned to one side with his hands on his narrow hips. Somehow he hadn't noticed the faint six-pack thing going on around his belly. ~Some werewolf side-effect, no doubt.~ Still, he was slightly pleased. A least in those rare instances when he was outside naked, his neighbors weren't being scarred for life. [Fire: Paused here because I ROTFLMAO-ed. Just thought you should know.]
Or… perhaps they still were. Oh, well. He brushed his hair and hopped into the shower and was on the road fifteen minutes later with the delightful taste of bacon fresh in his mouth.
Just as the foursome reached the back door the rays of the morning sun peeked over the horizon and onto their furry hides. Riku managed to slip inside without any fuss at all. Daisuke and Dark on the other hand stayed behind as Argentine transformed back. Since Daisuke had only ever seen Dark transform he was totally unprepared for the tendon-snapping spectacle that bite-made members of his kind had to deal with. He almost threw up, and when the writhing mass had settled back into human form, it looked like Argentine might, too. His dark blonde hair was matted and clung to his neck, and his body was covered in sweat. With a single glance Dark told Daisuke to go to bed and the redhead frowned. He opened the back door and handed Dark two towels after wrapping one around his own waist.
Just before he left he tugged on one of Dark's wings and the thief colored. He'd totally forgotten to hide his odd appendages and Argentine was staring at him. Dark made himself decent and folded them as close to his body as possible, "Uh, I'll explain those later" then handed Argentine the other towel and glanced at his wounds. His nose was obviously broken but no longer bleeding. Which was good, but that back leg…ugh. The older Niwa brother took Argentine's arm across his shoulders and helped him stand. The boy was shaking. "Hey, you're all right now. See? All human." As he opened the door and held it with one shoulder, Argentine looked up with a hopeless expression.
"This is going to happen every full moon, isn't it."
His teal blue eyes begged Dark to lie, but he simply said, "It gets…better" and eased him down the hallway and onto a kitchen stool. The thief then snuck down to his parent's room and knocked on the door. "Um, Mom?" Emiko answered the door looking flustered. "What is it? You know these last few transformations are hard on your father, Dark." He scratched the back of his neck.
"I know, but I kinda…" How exactly was he going to word this? "… invited a werewolf kid to stay with us tonight...?"
She stared at him and he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "He's in the kitchen, and he's wounded too, so I was hoping you could –" She shoved past him with an exasperated, "Dark…!" and paused as Argentine came into view. Dark had forgotten how bad he looked; dried blood caked his lips and chin, and fresh crimson leaked from his ankle. "Oh! Young man…" Argentine startled at her loud voice and his eyes opened wide as she ran one hand over the break in his nose. Emiko turned to her son with fire in her eyes, and he wilted a little. "The first aid kit from the pantry. Now!"
As her oldest went to fetch it, she ran warm water over a towel and began cleaning off Argentine's otherwise handsome face. Dark came back and she opened the kit on the counter and asked Argentine, "Would you let me look at your ankle? We might have to take you to our doctor."
He shook his head fast. "No doctors." But he stretched his ankle out to her and she added, "Well, ours know all about our family's… condition, so –" She cleaned around the wound as she spoke. "Oh, good." She'd noticed an exit wound the single BB had made. "It went right through. You're lucky it didn't cut this tendon, otherwise you might not have made it here." Dark passed her some disinfectant, padding, and gauze and she set to work wrapping the thin ankle.
"Yeah, lucky," he murmured and watched her. For the first time Dark noticed silver scars on his neck, obviously new. Bite marks. Argentine noticed his gaze and covered them with one hand self-consciously. "Who bit you?" Emiko finished with his ankle and began examining his nose again.
"I don't know. A big gray wolf. He's dead now, though, because that gold-striped Hikari wolf killed him."
~Why am I not surprised,~ Dark though sarcastically just as Emiko announced, "So, it looks like the other BB just nicked you, but I'm still going to have to pop your nose back in place."
Dark pointed out, "Mom, he's lost a lot of blood already."
She sighed in irritation. "If I don't, it will start healing back crooked. Although…" She frowned and cupped Argentine's chin with one hand. His skin did look ashen, and it was a little colder than the regular one-hundred degree skin temperature werewolves usually had. "Do you know your blood type, um…" Dark mouthed his name to her and she was able to continue, "Argentine?"
The boy shook his head.
"Well, that's alright." She pulled out a small blood testing kit and determined after a few minutes that Argentine was O positive, which was convenient because Dark also was, and she just happened to have a bag of his blood in the refrigerator. Actually she had one for Daisuke and Riku too, just because of the hazards that came with being werewolves. Better safe than sorry, that was her motto. "Ah, good. I'll give you some of Dark's then." They both seemed disturbed by this.
"Since when was there a bag of my blood in the refrigerator!"
And from Argentine, "I don't want to turn into a big…chicken."
Dark flushed and his wings flared out angrily. "I am not a god-damn chicken! I am part of an ancient prophecy –"Emiko glared to silence them both and handed the full IV bag to Dark. "Hold this." She turned to Argentine. "I'm sure a little blood transfusion won't give you wings. Besides, this is just red blood cells." She rubbed the crease of his arm with a cotton swab and added, "I am a little surprised you're not… more surprised about Dark's wings though. Are you feeling okay?"
Argentine snorted and would have laughed if he hadn't been so exhausted. "I don't think I could be surprised by anything tonight." He winced as the needle slid in but otherwise was quiet, and eyed Dark's wings again.
"And… you can fly with them?" The thief smirked.
"Sure can. I would give you a demonstration, but seeing as I'm not fully clothed –" His mother barked, "Speaking of which, go put some pajamas on. While you're at it, go get the guest bedroom ready for Argentine." Dark narrowed his eyes in annoyance but secured the IV bag on the door hinge and stalked off, leaving Argentine and Emiko alone.
"Did you used to be a nurse?"
She nodded.
"I still am actually; I just have very few hours. It comes in handy when things like this happen." She fetched an extra blanket from the closet and Argentine took it gratefully, wrapping it just under his arms. "Did you want anything to eat, or drink? We've got plenty of everything." He declined. He hadn't been able to hold anything down the last two days before the transformation, aside from juice.
"I'll just get you some broth anyway, alright?" He smiled a little – typical mom behavior, although he wasn't familiar with it.
"Okay."
As she busied herself, she asked casually, "So, did you want to call your parents and let them know you're here?"
"Actually, it's just my dad, and… I'll just call him tomorrow." He wasn't sure if his dad would even want him back inside their house, after…
Emiko ventured, "Argentine, I need to know…some of what happened to let you stay here in good conscience." She checked his color again and, finding it much improved, removed the IV from his arm, leaving a flesh-colored band aid in its place.
"My dad, my girlfriend and I were out hunting when… When I started to transform. Qualia had been bitten a few weeks earlier than me but she… She didn't…"
He searched for the rights words and Emiko filled in for him gently, "Make it all the way to wolf form did she." Usually, if a girl was bitten she didn't make it through the transformation – it was just too much strain on her body. Natural born female werewolves on the other hand were just…hardier.
He shook his head.
"My dad… he was scared; I was scared. I'm sure it was just an accident, but…he ended up shooting at her and me. I don't know what happened to her, I just ran…" He looked utterly miserable and without another word she put her arms around him.
"Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry…"
He didn't really know how to react to her but did let himself relax in her grip, closing his eyes for a half-second. She released him after a moment and went back to the broth. "Here, this is ready now." Argentine thought he wouldn't want any but after the first sip gulped the entire bowl down greedily, entirely forgetting the laws of table manners. As Dark reentered the room he caught Argentine licking his bowl clean and announced himself with, "Okay, ew. If you were that hungry you shoulda said so." He laid out some pajamas onto Argentine's lap and added, "The rooms ready now, by the way. I'm guessing you're not going to school tomorrow, right?" The dirty blonde put the bowl down.
"No, I'm actually home-schooled."The teen turned to Emiko, "Thank you for everything, by the way."
Dark snorted, "Hmph. Well, I'm going to bed, then. I'll seeya in the morning if you get up early enough, blondie." Dark then picked up the teen under his shoulders and began escorting him to the guest bedroom, pausing as Argentine murmured, "Whatever you say, big bird."
"You make sure to get better so I can pummel you for that later."
The new werewolf stretched, "M-hmm." and leaned into the alpha for support. As an afterthought the dirty blonde added, "Oh, and… Thanks." The thief raised his eyebrow but when he realized it was said sincerely, nodded.
"I can make it from here," Argentine pointed out, and just as he was hobbling his way to the bed Dark murmured, "Yer welcome, lil' cripple." But by the time Argentine turned to retort the oldest Niwa brother was gone.