Disclaimer: not mine

Yes, I have made the distances between places bigger since the distances on the game map are crazy.

Chapter 3

David set up the camp, keeping an eye on the sky and another on Prompto who had become very listless as the day went on. He'd started burning up a while ago and while he knew it was normal it also worried him with how stressed the kids body already was. He could see flecks of gold in his eyes now too and the kid had hungrily wolfed down the meat heavy meal he'd prepared, body needing the fuel for the coming change.

"How're you feeling?" he asked softly and Prompto looked at him, something…animalistic in his eyes now. "Prompto?" The boy blinked, focusing properly on him. To his shock Prompto crawled to his side and burrowed into him. He wrapped his arms around him, running his fingers through shaggy hair. "It's okay, you're okay," he murmured. He felt Prompto rubbing his face against his shirt and felt a flash of nervousness which caused the boy to whine softly. Okay, there was nothing threatening in this, was he…looking for comfort? How scary must it be for a kid to be without family or pack, shifting alone in the wild? "I'm here," he promised, rocking him gently. He felt Prompto's chest expanding and contracting and realised he was breathing very deeply. "Prompto?"

"Smell good," the kid mumbled. "Safe."

David blinked; he was memorising his scent? Okay, that actually made sense. If he knew his scent then when he shifted he'd hopefully keep that with him. "Thanks. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need anything."

"Hold," he whispered, sounding like he didn't believe he'd get what he needed, and David tightened his grip.

They stayed like that as the sun set, the world darkening, daemons moving in the distance, and then the moon began to rise and Prompto scrambled out of his hold, pacing the Haven despite his lingering injuries, limping still but the coming change giving him the energy to move. He was panting, eyes almost fully gold, and then he began tugging at his clothing. They weren't a perfect fit, too big, but better than wearing one of his shirts as a dress.

"Prompto," he called softly, and golden eyes focused on him. "Let me help?" he asked, and the boy hesitated, whining again, but then he staggered towards him and David quickly but carefully stripped the clothing from the too thin body. He knew the only reason the kid was moving around so well was because of the moons effect on him. "You'll be okay. I'm right here, I'm not leaving you," he promised, keeping up the gentle words as Prompto fell to his hands and knees, high pitched, pained noises coming from his throat as the change began.

David watched as the child's body underwent a violent transformation, feeling sick for the pain he knew it was causing but he made himself keep talking. He had to stay calm, fear meant prey and the last thing the kid needed was him shooting him in self-defence. Finally, it was over, and the pup rose to its feet shakily. He looked a lot better than he had the other night, though being clean accounted for a lot of that. He was limping, but nowhere near as badly, as he moved to the edge of the Haven. "Prompto," he called softly. "It's not safe out there." The wolf turned to look at him, sniffing, and he remained still, hoping he would recognise him. David slowly held a hand out towards him and Prompto stretched out his muzzle towards him. "That's it, you know me, I won't hurt you." He saw Prompto waver and then he took a timid step forward. A cold nose pressed into his palm and he remained still, letting the pup smell him and then he laughed as a rough tongue dragged across the skin. "Thanks, wolf slobber."

Prompto cocked his head to the side and he figured the kid couldn't understand him but was reading his scent, body language and tone. He moved closer and David cautiously moved his hand to run through the coarse coat. Prompto sat utterly still, obviously unsure, but then suddenly dropped across his lap.

"Feel good, huh?" he asked as he scratched behind a pointed ear. He would do this all night if it kept the kid calm and safe on the Haven. He reached into his bag with his free hand and pulled out the container of food he'd prepared at their last stop, opening it and dumping in onto a plate. "Dinner," he offered and Prompto ate it quickly. He then pressed his head up and David chuckled but went back to scratching and petting him. He really was just a big puppy.

He'd never thought he'd ever be so close to a real werewolf, despite the safety classes in school. Those had been geared more towards identifying and escaping MT's though, not normal wolves. The idea that people would hunt this kid…how could they not see that what he was didn't change who he was?

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, David's mind spinning with ideas on how to get Prompto home and to explain to Sara. They had been trying for kids since they married but bringing one home with no warning hadn't been the plan. Would she see passed Prompto's species to the hurt little boy who just wanted someone there? Surely she would, his Sarah was a wonderful person, he loved her with everything he had, and he knew she loved him. They both knew she would outlive him by centuries, but she had told him that she would rather spend a human life with him than without.

As the sun rose Prompto's body convulsed, the change reversing, until he had a lap full of naked, exhausted child. He gently ran his fingers through blonde hair and the kid turned his head to press into his touch, eyes barely open to slits. "It's alright, sleep," he murmured, scooping him up into his arms and carrying him over to the sleeping bag. He got a pair of shorts on him and then settled him down to sleep.

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Prompto sat in the front seat, watching the scenery as David drove. He felt a lot better now, he got food whenever he was hungry and plenty of water and something David called juice which tasted nice. He could remember the full moon, being confused by David but recognising his scent, lying across his lap as the man talked to him and petted him, keeping him safe and calm. He…he wanted that, to be safe…to be a person, not an animal or soldier. It was why he hadn't left; he couldn't bring himself to go back out there alone. But he'd have to…this man lived in Insomnia, capital of Lucis…hone of the Lucis Caelum, the most powerful vampires ever to exist. He couldn't live there; he would be killed for being a werewolf.

In two days they would be in Hammerhead, the last stop before the city…where he'd have to leave. He didn't want to but there was no choice. He didn't know where he'd go, but it would be away, somewhere with more water, food, no packs to run him off… he rested his head on the window, trying to memorise everything.

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David smiled as he watched Prompto curiously exploring, the area safe enough while the sun was still up. He pulled out his phone and made his nightly call to his wife, assuring her he'd be home soon. He wanted so badly to tell her about the boy, but he didn't dare, not over the phone.

Prompto was healing well, gaining more strength every day, and as he did he was beginning to act more like a kid should. He was hesitant to speak and ask questions, but David could see them in his eyes, working to coax him into being more verbal. How long had he been on his own? How long would it have been until the animal mind overwhelmed his humanity permanently? The more he spoke, the more obvious it was that Prompto was the refugee, his accent was definitely from Niflheim. He was young enough that he should lose it through exposure to how they spoke. Was his behaviour due to how he came to be alone in Lucis or was it deeper than that? He glanced over again, seeing him watching some of the wildlife. He had the sickening feeling that Prompto had been better off alone in the wilds than back where he had come from. Abuse? He prayed not but it seemed likely.

He began cooking and the smell, plus the lowering light, soon had Prompto by his side, watching and likely trying to learn from observation. He plated up and began to eat, once again Prompto was watching and mimicking him. He'd noticed him watching him and copying what he did, from eating to how he spoke with people, he was learning. "We need to talk kiddo," he finally said, and he saw Prompto tense, eyes going wary. "He," he called, reaching out slowly to ruffle messy blonde locks. "It's okay," he tried to comfort. "We'll reach Hammerhead tomorrow evening and we need to talk about the options before we get there," he explained, seeing how tense Prompto was, hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt, head down. Like he was expecting the worst, that David would just tell him and not ask what he wanted. He got up and sat down behind Prompto, gently pulling him into his arms, feeling how tense he was.

He gently rubbed the tense back, holding him close. It took a while but Prompto slowly began to relax, a hand coming up to clutch his shirt. "It's alright, I'm not going to abandon you or decide for you," he promised and blue eyes rose to meet his. He'd come to discover Prompto's eyes weren't just blue, but they were actually slightly purple, very unique. "I would like to take you home with me, to give you a home and family," he explained, and those eyes went wider than he'd seen so far, the boy going still in shock.

"Me?" he whispered, and David nodded.

"You. Sara and I have been married for five years and all that time we have wanted children, but it's never happened. We've been talking about adopting a child and I would like that child to be you. You can't keep living however you have, if you hadn't come to my camp that night…"

"Would be dead," Prompto finished for him unflinchingly, resting his head on David's shoulder.

"Getting you into the city won't be easy…there will always be the danger of discovery. Living with us you will never want for food or somewhere to sleep. We work and travel a lot so you will be on your own at times. Also, Sara is a vampire," he watched his reaction, seeing Prompto tense automatically but then frown in confusion, like he was trying to chase a memory and David wondered if Prompto had run into a vampire before.

"Won't eat me?" he asked timidly, and David hugged him.

He knew werewolf blood was meant to be like chocolate to vampires, so he understood the fear. "No, she gets blood supplied like everyone else in the city and she only ever bites one person, me. She's over a hundred years old Prompto, she won't hurt you." He would make sure his wife saw him as a child before a wolf. "We would have you home schooled, at least until high school. Hiding your scent would be hard but I know the military has ways, so it is possible." He paused and looked down at wide eyes, seeing the uncertainty there. "If you don't want to risk that then…I could take you to Lestallum. It's a city and there is a far more mixed population. You wouldn't have to hide as much there. We could find you somewhere to live, I would send you money. You could go to school and be relatively normal there."

"No…stay with you," Prompto whispered, pressing closer and David closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Okay, we'll work it out then. I have a cousin in Tenebrae, there is enough physical resemblance that we could say she sent you to me, wanting a safer life for you than one in occupied territory. It'll help explain your accent too if anyone hears it," he offered and Prompto nodded.

He'd need a way to hide Prompto's scent and disperse the likely smell of wolf already in the car. The hardest part was that he had no paperwork for him. if anyone wanted to test his story of them being related, blood tests would not only show he was a wolf but that they weren't related. It was risky but if Prompto wanted to risk it, to live in hiding for life, he would do it. Enough people had failed this boy. Maybe he was crazy, getting so attached so quickly, but he'd always been that way. He trusted his instinct and it said to help Prompto.

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Prompto looked around as David parked beside the petrol pump. He looked out at a store, caravan, the weirdest vehicle repair station he'd ever seen and another building. He got out and moved to David's side, feeling his hand come to rest on his shoulder. It felt good, safe.

"Welcome to Hammerhead, Prompto. We can eat at the diner tonight and stay in the caravan," he pointed the places out as he spoke which Prompto liked.

So that big round building was a place to eat. He followed him into the shop where he paid for the fuel and talked with the man behind the counter. They then went to the caravan to pay for the night. They then went into the big room and then David was picking him up and putting him on the tall seat.

"David Argentum, good ta see you. And who's this?" the man behind the counter asked.

"Takka, good to see you too. This is Prompto Argentum. My cousins boy, she asked us to take him in where it's safe."

"Ah, well, welcome to Lucis kid," the man smiled and Prompto nodded, nervously gripping David's shirt. "Seems he's taken to you. The usual?"

"Sure, and some of your hot sandwiches and milk for Prompto."

"Coming right up."

Prompto pressed closer to David, there were a lot of people in the diner, more than they'd seen anywhere else. An arm went around his shoulders and he relaxed a little.

"It's alright, once we've eaten I need to go to the garage and talk to Cid. You can come with me or wait in the caravan."

"Come," he answered immediately, and David nodded.

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Cid looked up as one of his regulars walked in, eyebrow going up as he saw the child pressed into his side, wide blue eyes taking everything in. "Bought time you got here, got that part ya needed."

"Thanks Cid. Is tonight enough time? I've been gone longer than planned and Sara is not happy."

Cid chuckled at that but nodded, it was doable. "Who's the kid?"

"Cid, this is Prompto. We're adopting him."

"Really?" that was a surprise.

"He's technically my cousin," David shrugged. "His Mother wanted him away from Tenebrae and the Empire."

Well, that made sense. Life in the city wasn't gonna be easy on a kid with foreign looks like that though. A glance at David and he knew the boy knew that, but he was hardly going to abandon the kid. He glanced back at the garage where his own granddaughter was doing her schoolwork. Not like he could talk about taking on family. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll bring the car round."

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David glanced at Prompto as he drove towards the first checkpoint. He hoped the smell of food and car grease was enough to mask his scent, but it was too late to try anything else. He frowned as he got closer, seeing the agitation. "Ready?" he asked and Prompto looked up at him trustingly, nodding. "Here we go."

TBC…