To Err is Human
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "Tommy's not evil, sure he sheds all over my lair but he's a good werewolf!"
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Well, I couldn't resist at least ONE dig at Lycanthropy in this chronicle. Yes, I am aware that Rahne doesn't need a full moon to turn 'wolf', but I'm pretty sure it'll have some sort of effect on her. Well, it does in my head, anyway. I was originally inspired by the idea from the mini-series 'The Tenth Kingdom', where Wolf (actually a half-wolf) went through his 'monthly cycle'. Tee hee,
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Chapter 26 - Full moon on the rise
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The full moon. Once used to determine the passage of time, it work in complete harmony with our planet. It has been worshiped by many religions, always considered a mystery. Of course, the most popular tale told, was that of the Lycanthrope. Of course, many disimissed it as just legend, something created by hollywood. Well, everyone that didn't know Rahne Sinclair, that was.
Rahne didn't need the moons powers to make her transformations, as it does for the werewolves of horror movies. But it didn't mean that the moon didn't affect her. Oh no. During the day of a full moon, she had erratic mood swings. One minute she could be the happy, good-tempered-if-shy girl everyone knew and loved, and in a heartbeat become nasty, snappy, excited..in a word, wild. Once night had fallen, and the full moon shone in the sky, she would switch between lupine forms all night, and when morning came, she would sleep for hours on end, waking wihtout a memory of what went on during her 'off day'.
Of course, the people of the Xavier mansion were well used to this by now, so they knew how to handle Rahne when she got like this. Calmly, quietly and without any sudden movements was preferable. They had also learned she would only warm up to certain people during this time. They usually consisted of Sam, Jamie, Roberto, Beast and most recently Dani. Anybody else that went near her stood in for a good chance to be bitten. And though her bite didn't make them werewolves, it still REALLY hurt! Needless to say, when Rahne got up one 'full-moon-day', everyone was more than slightly wairy of her.
She plodded into the kitchen, the sun already begining to set. Ignoring the rest of the residents, she opened the refrigerator, dragging out food. Kitty grimaced as Rahne began to fill a sandwich with various meats.
"So...Rahne...what're you putting on your sandwich to go with the sausage?", asked Bobby.
"Bacon", replied Rahne, adding the meat as she went along, "and ham, and turkey, and salami, and beef, oooh and some chicken"
Kitty made a gagging sound.
"Rahne, that will block your arteries completely", said Kitty, "plus it's really, really..."
Rahne gave a low, deadly growl.
"But for you, that's okay", said Kitty with a nervous laugh.
"I need tae fill up before I go out", said Rahne, "I dunnae want tae kill anythin' again"
"Oh yes...the killing", said Bobby, he remembered when they found half a chicken coop's worth of bloody feathers in Rahne's room when she first arrived at the Institute..
Sam sighed defeatedly as he walked in, grimacing at the food his girlfriend was cramming into her mouth.
"Yippie for full moons", he said dryly.
Bobby smirked.
"You're probably the only guy in Bayville who's girlfriend has TWO monthly cycles and the same time"
"A'h know", said Sam, forcing a smile, "aren't a'h lucky?"
"Quiet, eating", said Rahne, with a mouthfull of various meats, waving Sam off, "go get ready, I'll want tae get out soon".
Sam winced, leaving to get ready for the monthly 'moonlit walk'.
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"I don't think you're doing it right".
Forge groaned. It had been a month since he had become a father. A month was also the time period he had gone without sleep. The same, of course, could be said for Storm, who had currently vanished on 'an errand', taking Warlock with her, leaving him alone with his daughter...Alone until Danielle had decided to pop by, that was.
"I'm an Inventor for God's sake!", said Forge, "I can build the most high-tech gadgetry that the world has ever seen. I think I can put together a diaper!"
He picked up Imara triumphantly as he finished....and the diaper dropped off as if it had been resting on her the entire time.(1)
"Told you", said Dani, a little smugly.
"Don't you have somewhere else to go?", asked Forge, "somewhere with your real friends?"
"Kitty's on a date with Lance, Roberto's asleep already and Rahne's......err..indisposed", said Danielle.
Forge groaned, trying to fix diaper number 2.
"And you can't find any other friends in a mansion-full of people because......"
Danielle coughed.
"Because I had a teeny, tiny ever so little accident where I...err...broughtalltheirfearstolifeagain"
Forge rolled his eyes.
"Okay, let me rephrase my question", he said, "why are you HERE?"
Danielle sniffed.
"Because I'm an orphan", she said sadly, adding a few more pitifull sniffs, "and our tribe threw me out and I miss my own kind, and you're the only Cheyenne who isn't afraid of me, and you're like..."
"Do not say family, do not say family!".
"Family"
"You said it, and I told you not to!", said Forge.
"Don't care, said it anyway", replied Dani, "besides, Imara needs to know her history, and I, a member of the tribe, feel it is my scared duty to carry out her education"
Forge sighed as diaper number 2 fell off, eventually resigning to wrapping the thing around her with duct tape.
"You are aware that she can't understand you right now", pointed out Forge.
"Education begins early", said Danielle
Forge arched a brow at her.
"Do you know how much you sound like Black Eagle just now?", he said, "it's creepy"
Danielle blinked.
"Oh no, I'm turning into my grandfather!!!!", she wailed, causing Imara to cry.
Forge picked up the screaming child, attempting to rock her to sleep. He gave Dani the glare that all new parents learn. It was a tried, dangerous glare that came from lack of sleep. Dani gave a cough.
"I'll....errr...be going now", she said with a nervous laugh, before running for the door.
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Sam was still 'walking' Rahne, or, more precisely, she was walking him. It had all been fine until she'd seen a squirrel. Damn that squirrel, damn ALL the squirrels!
"Rahne, will you just slow..oww...down!", prostested Sam as he was dragged down the wooded path at a startling speed.
The wolf on the other end of the lead ignored him completely, she wanted to chase that squirrel, and she was gonna get it, too!. Sam winced as he bounced down the hill.
"Owww...Rahne...stop", he said, "leave the...POINTY ROCK!....squirrel..SHARP! alone!! OUCH! Stop, PLEASE!"
Suddenly, Rahne put on the breaks, allowing Sam to come to a screeching halt, flat on his face, in a puddle of mud.
"Thank you", he groaned, flopping his head into the mud, his hair full of twigs, leaves, and various nasty, slimy things.
Rahne only blinked at him, suffling his hair, wagging her tail.
"Can we stop with the runnin' for a few minutes", said Sam, "just 'till the bleedin' stops?"
Rahne gave a yip, tugging at her leash, trying to pull Sam along. Sam could only muster a groan as she dragged him through the river...this was going to be a very, very long night.
"Bad werewolf. Sit..stay!", he said, trying to get to his feet.
Rahne eventually chose to stop...right next to a police car.
"Am a'h being punished for something?", said Sam, limping after her as she snuffled the cop taking a break at the road side.
The cop looked at Sam suspiciously.
"Isn't it a bit late to be walking your....dog?"
Rahne gave a growl. Dog? DOG?!!!!
"Oh, she likes to be out at night", said Sam with a nervous laugh, patting Rahne on the head.
"That's an interesting dog", said the cop, looking at Rahne, "what breed is she?"
Sam blinked. Uh oh.
"She's a...err...Scottish Wolf....gan?"
The cop raised an eyebrow.
"A Scottish Wolfgan?"
"Yeah", said Sam clearing his throat, "a very rare breed"
"Oh", said the cop, kneeling down to stroke Rahne's fur, "she's a very beautifull lady. Is she available to dam? I have a really handsome Malmute and they'd have some lovely puppies...."
"No...no, no", said Sam, shaking his head, "no"
"Oh...that's a pitty", said the cop, "oh well, carry on with your walk, have a good night"
"You too", smiled Sam as Rahne dragged him off again, "phew, that was a close one, huh, Rahne?"
Rahne replied by spinning around and biting his hand, before growling, dragging him off again.
"....Or not", said Sam with a sigh, "why is it when you and a'h take these 'moonlight walks', a'h always end up bleedin'?".
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Warlock grinned as he got home with Storm, grinning stupidly at his foster-father as he entered the room.
"What have you done this time?", said Forge suspiciously, "you didn't beat up those Star Trek fans again, did you?"
"No", said Warlock with a smile, "I will look after Imara. Storm wishes to see you"
Forge arched a brow before sighing, walking out to the hall.
"I have something to make you haaaapy", sang Storm, grinning from the doorway.
"Is it alcohol?", asked Forge hopefully.
"No", said Storm, "even BETTER! Come and see...close your eyes"
Forge paused.
"How can I 'come and see' if I have my eye closed?"
"Just close your Godamn eyes!", snapped Storm, then added with a sweet smile, "Honey"
Forge gave a defeated sigh, closing his eyes.
"Last time we did this, I ended up VERY happy indeed", he commented.
"Mind out of the gutter, please", said Storm pushing him along until they were outside, "Annnnnnd open!"
Forge blinked open his eyes, grinning at what was sitting in the driveway.
"My truck!", he said happily, then looked over at her, "how did you get this?"
"I had to drive to the other side of the city", said Storm with a grin, "but I found the new owner, who, incidentaly is a very big Brady Bunch fan. I persuaded him to sell me the truck back....but I had to add your Marcia clock into the deal".
Forge blinked.
"Ordinarily, that would have made me cry, but I got my truck back", he said, hugging her and giving her a kiss, "I have the best wife, EVER!"
"I know", said Storm, not very modestly.
"So...what happened to the 'family car'?"
"Oh, you mean MY car?", said Storm, arching a brow, "MY car is in the garage. I love MY car. MY car is the best"
"Did you keep it for yourself?", said Forge sarcastically.
"Hell, yeah", said Storm, "after driving Charles's Bentley around I thought, 'Hey girl. you deserve a car of your own!'".
"Okay dokey then", said Forge, "..at least you can't complain about the CB radio going off when you drive the truck anymore"
"We're not going to start that 'conversation'", said Storm pointedly, herding him back inside, "and can we get that duct tape from around our daughter's waist, please?"
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Werewolf Rahne growled, trying to chew through her leash, being unable to do so.
"The professor made it so you couldn't chew through it", said Sam pointedly, watching her tussle with it.
Rahne replied with a snarl, going back to pulling, trying to get herself away form the tree she'd been tied to.
"Sorry", said Sam with a wince, "but you'd be really, really mad at me in the mornin' if a'h let you kill stuff".
"But I wannae kill stuff!", she replied, her voice always more...er...growly in her transitional form, "let me go hunt!".
"You want to kill NOW", said Sam, "but once this whole weird...moon thing is over, you won't"
Rahne growled, slashing at the tree with her claws.
"You're really mean, you know that?!!", she growled, "you're tall, and Southern and..and...mean!"
"Ma'h heart bleeds", said Sam dryly.
He'd learned a looong time ago not to take anything Rahne said under the influence of a full moon by heart. Rahne muttered darkly, giving the tree another clout before sitting down. She sulked for a few moments before giving a smirk. She sat her self down in the most seductive position she could think of and batted her eyelids at the Southerner.
"Oh, Saaammmmiiieeeee"
"You should know THAT one won't work", said Sam, rolling his eyes.
"Damn ye and your stupid chivalry!", snapped Rahne, crossing her arms, "now ye've made me depressed!"
She morphed into a wolf, sat on her haunches and began to howl mornfully.
"That's nice, Rahne", said Sam, "ah'm gonna do ma'h homework now"
With that, he put on his ear phones, happy working on his homework. Rahne glared at him, before giving a wolfish snort, turning around in circles and plopping on the floor, resting her chin in her paws.
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Finally, the sun began to rise, signifying another day. Sam yawned, putting his things back in the bags and walking over to Rahne. Still 'leashed' to the tree, the lycathrope was back in her human form, sleeping soundly. Sam sighed, untiying her and picking her up.
"Bacon", she mumbled in her sleep.
Sam chuckled, shaking his head as he blasted off to the Mansion, knowing there was no way Rahne would wake up again now. When he got back home, he headed into her room, putting her gently on her bed and covering her with a blanket.
"See ya later, Wolfie", he said, kissing her forehead, plodding sleepily to his own room.
"Gooood morning!", said Roberto cheerfully, as always, up with the sun, "you're really cut up and bruised today"
"Uh-huh", said the Southerner sleepily, collapsing on his bed.
Roberto rolled his eyes, leaving him go to sleep. Routine, as usual.
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(1) - Inspired by the movie 'Three Men and a Baby', a film that inspired a whole chapter of this fic, which will come later.
And there's another most fun chapter. I know it doesn't have much to do with the story, but it was in my head and wouldn't get out. We'll be back on track by the next chapter, I promise. Do review. Until next time...