Disclaimer: I swear, that man was already dead when I got there! Oh, you meant a disclaimer for fanfiction stuff. I am a FAN, what I write is FICTION, get it?
Chapter 9 – The Call Of The WildBarely resisting the urge to do bodily harm to my friend, I follow him through the house and into the backyard where everyone has decided to gather. -.-; So much for peace and quiet… Even though it started to get rather noisy –and boy did it ever- I still worked for a couple more hours before experiencing what seemed to be the fiftieth cramp that seized up my hand today.
Deciding to take a break from my tedious task of stupid note taking, I slide my junk off of my lap; rise slightly less gracefully than I'd wish for –Hah! Understatement supreme!- and stretch. Amidst the popping sounds of my joints protesting ANY movement at all, I let my gaze wander to my companions. Brian had done something to piss off Duo –probably informed the pilot that he was planning on stealing Deathscythe- and was now leading him on a merry chase around the backyard. Or however merry a chase can be with the threat of bodily harm hanging overhead.
Everyone not involved in the… fight… was watching with barely concealed –or open- amusement. That was until the two boys started to scramble over Gundams like obstacles to hurdle. The pilot of a certain Gundam nicknamed Nataku apparently didn't appreciate his mecha being "scratched by those heathens" and joined in the chasing as well as the throwing around of death threats.
Wincing at a particularly nasty and painful one (involving hot coals, breaking bones and pulling out nails) I decided that a walk was in order. Whispering my plan to Amy, I left when she promised to keep organized chaos –instead of order- in my absence. I trust her implicitly, she can crack heads just as well as I can, but she also has the added gift of tongues. If Ames can't come up with a remark suitably scathing for immature idiots, I don't know who can.
With a small wave, I was ready to be on my way. Except for one teensy little thing. The phone rang. Right in the middle of my great escape, too. I hate you Murphy. Really.
Drudging to the phone, I slip through the sliding door and close it with a 'whoosh' behind myself.
"Hello?"
"De? It's me, Jess."
"Jess? Umm, listen… I'm kinda busy right now…"
"De, I've got a problem. You see, the Suzaku no Seishi are at my house…"
"What?!"
"The Suzaku no Seishi are in my house and I was wondering…"
"So," I sigh, running a hand through my hair, distractedly. "It's happening to you too, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"You see, the Gundam pilots are at my house."
"Oh… wow."
"Yeah."
"Well, it's nice to know that I'm not going crazy. Anime characters are invading reality. Maybe we should get together to try and figure out how to…"
"Jess?"
"Yes, De?"
"Think about it. Brining the Gundam boys and the Seishi together…"
"Oh… You're right. Not a good idea."
"Not really." I agreed.
"What should I do, then?"
"Well, I'm using magic to send them back…"
"Magic, yes that would work…"
I could almost hear the wheels turning in her head, and I got really nervous. But before I could interject something, she was already leaving.
"Thanks, De! Bye!"
"Jess, wait!" The only thing on the other end of the line was silence. Shrugging, I decided not to worry. I mean, things could go wrong, but I'm pretty sure she can handle herself.
I suppose Jess calling wasn't such a bad thing. I mean, I love talking to her, and now I know I'm not the only one this happens to! YES! AND, if I leave through the front door now, it'll take everyone forever to realize that I'm gone. Certain busybody Gundam pilots won't even know I'm missing 'till I'm long gone. Another plus. I'll have to call Jess back later and thank her profusely for helping me escape. Even if it was only on accident.
When I'm good and ready of course.
The closest real forest to my house is a good fifteen-minute walk away. Three to get out of the development, one to dash across a highway –for stopping at the median- six to walk through another development, another dash across roads, this time a normal one and then finally, a five-minute walk through a park.
At first, the only animals I can see are the squirrels who have grown substantially in courage –and number- to infest neighborhoods. Then as I wander further, the trees steadily grow larger in size and closer together. Brush starts to appear between trees, blocking a path through them, covering previously untouched ground and moss slowly takes the leftover space. Sunlight now has to fight its was through overlapping treetops, casting gold accents upon the green and brown tones of the living canvas.
I lift my arms and face to a gentle breeze, closing my eyes to strengthen my other senses. My nose that is inferior to the inhabitants of the forest could nonetheless pick up the pine scent of trees mixing with the light scent of flowers. There was also an undertone of the musky scent of wet fur from a previous rain. All blended together in a heady aroma that I loved. The breeze died down then suddenly picked back up again in intensity, causing my extremely overlarge shirt I was wearing to flap wildly in the wind.
An ecstatic grin was etched on my face; nature has always had this effect on me. I spent much of my time exploring when I was younger, building up a comfortable familiarity with outdoor places in general and I found myself quickly falling back into my habits as a child.
With my arms still out, I opened my eyes and spun until the world was a blur of green, gold and brown streaks. And kept on twirling. In fact, the only thing that stopped me from continuing forever was the world tilting, throwing me off balance and onto the velvety moss. Laughing, I luxuriated in the feel of the soft ground beneath me; stretching languidly and rubbing my face in the tickly green fuzz.
My laughter slowly ebbed, then disappeared completely and I sighed into the quiet of the forest. I was centering almost self-consciously, and the more centered my soul became, the calmer and more stable I was acting. Mentally, I berated myself for forgetting that important part of my abilities. Because they were so focused on nature, I needed to immerse myself in it on occasion.
Sitting up, I shook my head at the fool I've been. Running is a quick fix, and wasn't a match for the upheaval in my life. Metaphorically, I had just placed a band-aid n an infected wound. It looks fine on the outside because the injury is no longer bleeding, but underneath it festers.
Mentally kicking myself should have upset me, but not even that could overcome the serene calm that permeated my soul.
And no matter what people will tell you, I DO have a soul.
It just happens to be older and a little more… tarnished than other peoples.
Kind of like my 'good name'.
Shrugging off my train of through because it was turning rather morbid, I decided that it was time to continue my little jaunt through the forest. Languidly, I got to my feet and started wandering farther into the forest, walking the way I've trained myself to in order not to scare away the animals.
As I wander, I weave in and out of the trees, trailing my fingertips across the bark as I pass them, sometimes detouring to circle a tree completely before proceeding on my hike. The bird chirped my music as I spun around trees like they were Maypoles, and as I wove my way through the forest I caught glimpses of other creatures.
A small reddish-brown fox had frozen at the sight of myself, because humans automatically mean death to the entire species. But when I made my body language say that I wasn't interested in her, the vixen decided I wasn't interesting either and went about her business. I smiled, liking the fact that the creatures treat me as if I were one of their own.
Suddenly I'm broken out of my good mood by the sound of snarling and high-pitched whimpers of pain. One thing that keeps me from being entirely one with the animal kingdom is that if something's in pain, I help it. End of story. So of course, I run toward the sounds of fighting instead of away.
It's hard to run full-speed in a forest when you haven't been to visit for a while. Bushes have grown in where there where none and trees have fallen where clear spots used to be. So, I had to vary my path a bit at the last seconds to keep from injuring myself, therefore keeping my speed at no more than a fast jogging pace.
Nonetheless it got me to the spot of fighting relatively quickly. Just not quick enough to break it up before one of them got injured badly. The other party had left, for reasons unknown –they most likely heard me and ran off- and all that was left in this little glen of a meadow was a very young-looking timber wolf. When I reached her side, I immediately started to check the body for fatal wounds, which was rather hard through the thick black and white coat.
The young wolf began to growl and snap at me until I laid my hands on her muzzle, making her stare into my eyes. Her blue eyes –a sign that she hadn't matured yet- started to fog over as I mesmerized her and wrapped her in a cocoon of serenity. I was starting to take the pain into myself, leaving the juvenile wolf with half the pain she originally had when a low throaty growl reached my ears.
Slowly, I looked up and into the green eyes of the most unusually colored wolf I have ever seen in my life. The majority of her coat was comprised of a golden/cinnamony brown with white markings. Besides being the most beautiful wolf I've ever seen, she was also the angriest. Because if I'm not mistaken, she thought I was the one responsible for this young ones condition.
The brown and white wolf growled again, her head down low and her tail straight away from her body. She was about to attack, and I didn't want to be near the pup when she did. Rising with almost infinite slowness, I started to back away from the injured body.
Fast as lightning, the angered bitch leaped towards me, intent on bringing down her chosen prey.
Namely me.
Oh, joy.
Both of us were shocked when a gunshot went off. I could see the impact of a bullet on flesh from a distance of about 3 feet away. Wasn't exactly pretty.
She went down hard, slamming into the ground and rolling a few feet away. Tossing a look over my shoulder as I raced to help the newest victim, I discovered a particularly flustered Gundam pilot who I would definitely have a discussion with later.
Once at my patient's side, I yanked off my shirt and did a nice striptease for the entire forest.
Joke, haha? Fine then….
No I didn't start running around sky clad, though I did have better uses for my shirt than to be wearing it. Namely to be ripping the cotton material into strips so that I could bind the wolf's wound. Maybe even the snapping muzzle which, loosing patience with my patient (hah! A regular comedian today, huh?) I grabbed and held firmly.
"I'm going to help you, so just shut up and cooperate." Okay, so maybe I don't the greatest bedside manner, but that's not the point! The point is…. Well, uh, I don't exactly know what the point is, hehe…
Ahem, anyway, mistress wolf decided to growl and try to yank her head out of my grip. So I just growled right back, glaring at her to make sure she got my message. Don't mess with the bitch unless you want to get bitch-beat. Don't look at me like that, I'm pretty sure I have pheromones in here somewhere.
Yeah. Right.
But wolfy got the memo and settled down so that I could help. I was tying the first strip around her abdomen when I was interrupted again. Will I ever be able to finish anything?!
"Aww, don't tell me I'm the bad guy again!"
"Afraid so, Duo." I called back over my shoulder, "But at least I wasn't trying to save my assassin from you."
"In case you forget, puppy over there just tried to make you its lunch if I'm not mistaken. It's the same thing."
"Hmm…" Even though I was talking with Duo, my attention hadn't strayed from binding… Okay this is getting annoying. I can't keep calling her 'the wolf' in my mind, it's driving me crazy! So while I was touching her, I decided to um… open up communications and ask.
So at the risk of sounding like I completely lost my mind –to Duo anyway- I started talking to… her.
"Y'know this would go a lot easier for the both of us, if we just started getting along."
At first, there was shock but she eventually answered. ~Hah! Fat chance human.~
"Why yes, I am one. How nice of you to notice." Rubbing my head, I tried to remember that pissing her off by being sarcastic wasn't going to help. "Now if we can move beyond speciest thoughts –oh goddess I've been watching WAY too much Dr Dolittle 2—we can start getting this little show on the road. I'm Deanna or De, and I'm gonna get you out of here so I can patch you up." I was reminded rather forcefully about the juvenile waiting a few feet away.
"Sorry, her too."
Apparently Duo took this as a chance to explode. "Deanna, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! Have you COMPLETELY lost your mind?!"
Turning around, I blinked innocently, "I'm just talking to… what's your name?"
~Sybil.~ The wolf replied, her voice laid thick with amusement.
"…Sybil." I grinned brightly in Duo's poor, confused face. Then I went back to my covering of Sybil's wound. That done, I took the remaining strips to the overgrown pup and wrapped up what I could of her own wounds.
"Hey Sybil, what's the little one's name?"
~Kendra,~ Sybil grumbled, ~and I can't believe that I'm helping you.~
"Helping me is to help yourself." I replied breezily as I grabbed my cell phone from its ever present spot on my hip. Dialing Amy's cell, I repeated a mantra in my head. '…pick up, pick up, pickup pickupickupickup…'
She did on the second ring, "What's wrong?"
I can always depend on Ames to know when I need her.
"I need you to get in your car and drive over to the park as fast as you can without getting arrested."
"I'll be there." She replied, voice determined.
I hung up with a vague, "See you." And turned to my present companion.
I think it was probably the sugary sweet grin on my lips that did it. Anyway, Duo started to edge backwards in fear and I admit to finding it extremely amusing. But I took pity on the poor soul –after all, he has to spend most of his time with me—and let that scary look fall from my features.
"You get to help me carry Kendra," helpfully, I pointed to the black and white pup, "and Sybil." I waived in her general direction. "Because I am so not going to carry upwards of 60 pounds of wolf by myself. Especially not as far from the park as we are."
Duo sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Fine. How do you want to do this?"
Looking back and forth between the wolves, I bit my lip. "We're going to have to do it one at a time… We'll take Kendra first. Sybil should be able to take care of herself for a few minutes even with that wound. Right, Syb?"
~Of course I will! And don't call me Syb. It's insufferably human.~
"Right." I rolled my eyes and walked over to Kendra with Duo. "Don't worry darling, we'll have you out of here and fixed up in no time." I whispered to her, being uncharacteristically gentle.
In return, she nuzzled my hand. During this exchange, Duo had pulled his black over shirt off. I realized what he was thinking and helped him slide the sturdy fabric under Kendra. On three, we both lifted and began our tedious progress towards help.
During the trip, my hands were a little too busy to pet her comfortingly, so I settled for surrounding her with the feelings of warmth and acceptance, if not love. Unfortunately, I was in front, so I relied on Duo to tell me of every fallen tree or rock in my way, and he was surprisingly trustworthy at being my eyes. Not that I expected him to not tell me of these things, but I didn't think that I'd be able to understand his directions so well.
Bah humbug, why can't I NOT be in tune with people? Yes I know it's a double negative, but if you look closely, I used it correctly! So there! I was broken out of my really weird train of thought by the sound of a van door sliding open. Relief rushed through my body and Duo and I maneuvered to place Kendra gently in the van.
"Uh… Deanna. Mind telling me why you're bringing home a wolf?" Amy's voice was just slightly bordering on hysterical. Not that it's easy to tell mind you.
"Wolves. Plural." Was all that I had the energy to explain before I headed back to the woods, dragging Duo --literally-- in tow.
"I'll be here when you come back and you'd better have an explanation!" She yelled after me, frustration coming into her voice as well.
I mumbled something only mildly obscene under my breath --oh my, what restraint I have-- to go with the flow of trudging back into the forest to get the heavier wolf.
This was not looking to be one of my better days.
Or weeks.
Or--oh fuck it. This wasn't looking to be a good LIFETIME.
Siren Alecto: Umm… and that's the end of this chapter
Eiryn: Yeah, we kind of have some difficulty getting it out ::glares::
Siren Alecto: It wasn't my fault, wench!
Eiryn: What did you say? ::raises an axe threateningly::
Siren Alecto: Nothing! It was probably just a reflex from reading too many Inuyasha fanfics.
Eiryn: ::puts axe away from wherever she got it from --muse space?--::
Siren Alecto: ::sighs in relief:: Anyways, what happened was that I wasn't motivated to write for an extremely long time. And when I was, my brother downloaded a virus onto the computer. Therefore we had to get it fixed but in the process lost ALL of my files. We didn't even have Windows up and running for a month because we had to find a stupid cd code before it would open. So as you can see, my hands were tied.
Eiryn: Along with your brain.
Siren Alecto: Maybe SOMEONE should have come back sooner, then
Eiryn: It's called a VACATION. I deserve one.
Siren Alecto: Hah. So where'd you and your lover go?
Eiryn: ::fumes:: Shut up.
Siren Alecto: It's nothing to be embarrassed about, just---eep!
Eiryn: ::pulled the axe back out of -muse space?- and starts chasing Siren Alecto around, trying to kill her::