Three Wolves and One Human
Chapter 24:
Making Peace and Starting Fights
Parker came to leave Roe things everyday. After a few weeks, Roe wasn't home (she was at Irey West's house) and Zatanna invited him in for some lemonade. Dick was sitting at the table with them. Zatanna put her cup down and looked at Parker.
"Thanks for the lemonade, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson," said Parker.
"It's the least we could do since you come so far everyday," said Dick.
"I just don't want Roe to stop coming to school," he said.
"So, Parker, I remember in the principal's office you said a wolf attacked you," Zatanna said.
"I know it's crazy. It all happened in a flash... I saw the wolf for just a second," Parker said, rubbing the back of his neck "It's not fare Roe got the blame,"
"Tell me, Parker, do you hate wolves now?" Dick asked, holding his wife's hand over the table.
Parker looked at them and took a sip of lemonade.
"Nah, I think they're pretty cool," he said, leaning back in his chair.
Dick and Zatanna looked at one another before looking back at him.
"Yeah, me too," said Dick "My entire family are wolf crazy,"
...A few days later...
Roe nervously walked in the direction of the bus stop. Her first time back to school in nearly 5 weeks. Parker was waiting at the bus stop for her. Roe awkwardly stood next to him until he tapped her shoulder.
"Hey, you wanna see my ear?" he asked.
Without an answer, Parker pulled the padding that was covering his ear off and Roe flinched at the sound.
"D-Does it hurt?" she asked.
"It iches," said Parker, putting his fingers to it "You wanna touch it?"
Reluctantly, Roe reached up and Parker guided her hand by taking hold of her wrist. His ear had a few scarred patches and it was a bit rough around the edges but it was healed. Roe tried to pull her hand away but Parker held tight and seemed to be trying to examine her fingers. She pulled it from his grip and put her hands in her pockets as the bus pulled up.
...A few weeks later...
Roe sat at the table as she did her homework. Hailey was sitting across from her and going on about her day with Vixon. Their parents were washing/drying the dishes in the kitchen.
"You should get Vixon to teach you stuff too, Roe, your hunting will get way better, mine did," said Hailey, taking a chip from the bowl of potato chips between them.
"I don't want to," hissed Roe, scribbling down the answer to a math question.
"Huh, why? I can find water, tell what the clouds mean and I can read the terrain better. Why wouldn't you want to know that?" Hailey asked, confused.
"If you want to learn, try going back to school," Roe said through gritted teeth.
Hailey went from confusion to silent rage and sat back in her chair.
"No thanks," she said.
"And why not?" her older sister growled.
"Because I'm a wolf," Hailey stated.
"You are a human!" Roe insisted, getting to her feet.
"No, I'm not," the younger sister denied.
Roe sat back down and wrote the date on the top of her worksheet. She had an irritated look on her face.
"I've decided I'm better off living as a human," she said.
Hailey snorted.
"Don't kid yourself," she snickered "You know what you are! You're a wolf! Quit denying that part of yourself!"
They both stood up, leaned against the table and growled at each other.
"You're going to school tomorrow!" Roe exclaimed.
"No way, sis," Hailey snarled.
They turned half-wolf and their claws sunk into the table top. In a fit of wolf anger, Hailey flipped the table onto its side and Roe fell to the ground. The older sister looked over the edge of the table at her younger sister and their eyes turned wolf (which was unusual since they usually remained human-ish).
"You wanna fight?" Roe growled.
Hailey responded by getting down on all fours and snarling. Dick and Zatanna heard the ruckus and slid aside the doors that separated the kitchen and living room. Roe and Hailey snapped their jaws and tried to sink their claws into one another.
"Girls, stop fighting!" Zatanna exclaimed, trying to get between them but Dick pulled her back.
"Don't, they're acting on instinct. It's dangerous," he said.
"They're my babies! I don't care!" his wife yelled at him.
Hailey kicked Roe off of her and pounced. Roe tried rolling to gain the advantage but they hit the T.V in the corner of the room. They continually snarled at each other and Roe kicked Hailey into the sofa. The sofa slid and broke in the middle. Hailey's claws sunk into the leather and ripped it as she jumped off. Roe got to her feet and her little sister pushed her through the closed sliding door and they ended up outside. The sounds of the night accompanied the sound of the Grayson sisters trying to tear each other apart.
"Dick! Stop them! This is going too far!" Zatanna shrieked in fear.
Dick jumped down from the foundation, grabbed the back of his daughters' t-shirts and lifted them both up. He held them apart but they kept reaching over to claw at each other. Finally, they stopped and began panting. Dick carried them both back inside.
Dick and Zatanna sat their daughters on the sofa only for it to give way underneath them. At this, instead of a scolding, Dick told his children to go to bed. They obliged but yelled "This is your fault" at each other before slamming their doors. Zatanna looked around at the destruction of their home. Each time they had hit the wall, pictures had fallen down and smashed. She picked up a family photo taken shortly after moving to the country. Hailey was so small, sitting in the baby harness on Zatanna's front, and Roe was so energetic, sitting on Dick's shoulders. Tears began to fall and Dick pulled his wife in his arms.
I didn't intend for this chapter to have these plot elements but I moved some things around because I didn't like the original Chapter 24. The original Chapter 24 is the opening of Chapter 25!