Chapter 35
"Run, Run little puppy, run,"
Alarice was aware, somewhere in her head, that salt water was the last thing she needed to be soaking herself in. However, she had very little options available to her, as it was, and staying on the ship a second longer, after that night, was simply not going to happen.
She pushed it away and inhaled deeply, searching with her nose for any scent of her 'family' that had just tried so hard to welcome her. A whisper of sound and she pushed herself back underwater, pressing herself into that tight little alcove she had found weathered into the side of old docks. Pressing her face up near the small spot of air, occasionally full of sea water itself.
Once the person was passed, she continued to swim, till she could find a spot to safely get out of the water and escape into the trees. After swimming uncomfortably long, she was able to do just that. Her heart was in her throat as she got into the brush as quickly as possible, shaking and wet.
Her ears elongated, even though the one was extremely sore, and as far as she could tell, useless to her. Finally she just went full were-hound. Inhaling, listening, everything in her screaming to pay attention.
Pay attention and get as far away as possible for now.
So she did that, scrambling to stay low, stay away from anything that smelled too much like another person or hell-hound if she could, eventually finding a tree, with massive roots and a hollow beneath it. Some place protected to hide and rest. She jumped at the chance, or, rather, crawled for it. She tucked herself into the hollow and for a moment, relished the brief comfort of being hidden.
She laid there under the protective roots of the tree, breathing hard and inhaling the moldy scent of wood and muddy dirt. The harsh smells of the rocks and plants growing around her hiding spot. A thing here or there, something crawled on her body, but staying still and hidden was preferable to alerting some one of her hiding place, because of a bug.
The moments under the tree began to stretch on, as she waited, and tried to rest herself. Every loud noise outside made her skin jump, and when it didn't, her own skin felt wrong to her. She drifted, from exhaustion into some state between awake and not, some still place where comfortingly, nothing mattered at all.
It wasn't really restful, whatever it was. The moment a dream tried to sneak in, she woke herself back up. She couldn't do it, she couldn't sit here under tree, like a scared animal. Movement was the only way she was going to keep the shame and guilt from affecting her. After a brief check, she crawled out from under cover, carefully.
Standing up felt weird, parts of her body aching as she did so. Her stomach felt sick, but she could do nothing for her physical ailments. Checking her surroundings again, while she rubbed at her wrists, before moving to somewhere else, again.
Sniffing for scents brought her the faintest smell of her Teacher.
A wave of guilt washed over her, and shame. Right, of course he was likely to show up, they were his students, and he was a Pro-hero. Her hands tightened against her clothes. She ducked down, and started to pull at the twigs caught in her hair and brush some of the dirt off. Eventually turning, and knowing she was heading away from her teacher, instead of towards him. She knew should go towards him, not away, but, she also couldn't face his silent judgment.
Her thoughts became a war as she slid down rocks, and continued on through the trees. Some telling her that she had to go back, others telling her she couldn't face him, just yet. He would be disappointed in her for leaving her friends behind, amongst other things.
She stumbled over a rock, and Alarice became a sprawled teenager in the grass and bushes, with light sniffling added in. Even as she picked herself up, tears were running down her face. Crying silently, she shuffled through the area, on hands and knees. Faintly, from her one good ear, she could hear what sounded like water, and she drove herself towards that. Heaving, when she finally got there, the pitiful little stream of water was barely enough to wipe the vomit off her face.
She was silent for a moment, her mind a storm of thoughts and recent memories.
"You're the one who escaped." came a voice that was familiar, but whose scent had been hidden by the smell of her own vomit.
"m-mar! " Alarice had stood up quickly, to face the other, whose face looked equally tear- streaked. The tension popped in the air as Mar moved fluidly, moving the water up from the stream, and pulling more of it out at her command; slamming Alarice in the chest, and using it bind her to a tree.
"Don't bother changing." Mar threatened, forcing water to gush out of the little source it was coming from, threatening to drown Alarice with the added water, even as the other struggled. It was a lot like trying to fight a current, any movement and she was pushed more against the tree's hard bark.
An awkward silence seemed to crop-up between the two, Mar hesitating to radio, or maybe she already was. Alarice couldn't tell, but she was staring awfully hard at her.
"Feeling shame? For running away? You should." Mar prodded, scolding the hell-hound at the same time. Alarice tried to glare back at her, sniffling even-so from her recent crying. Mar tightened the water around her, as she looked for some reaction from Alarice. More tears came from her face, both of them, crying.
"M-maybe, what about you then?" Alarice managed out, with some difficulty, feeling the water shift around her. "A-are you going report that you found me?"
Mar gave her no response, God the other's face was like a waterfall. They both probably looked terrible. "I'm thinking about it."
Alarice couldn't stop her panicked tears that rose up at the confirmation she was likely going to be going back to her sister's poor excuse for care. She tried to shift, trying to call Mar's bluff. Water collected around her face in a bubble, blocking off access to air. Just as she was about to inhale the water, the water moved away. "Don't test me,. Alarice... I have questions for you."
Alarice didn't say anything. She wasn't in a great position, and she had nothing to really say, and couldn't imagine what kind of info this woman wanted. She managed out the only thing she could; "If I answer, will you let me go?"
Another silent pause, aside from the sound of the creak, and their own wet sniffles.
"Is it true... Is it true your sister... is going to trade one of her kids to us? That she's been trading the kids to others?"
Alarice looked at Mar, not sure how to answer her, but she nodded.
"It is true." she said under her breath, still not releasing Alarice. More tears came form Mar's eyes, her shoulders shaking on top of that. She looked away from her, further confusing Alarice.
"You.. aren't okay with this?" Alarice asked, and wasn't surprised when Mar looked almost angry at her when she look at her again. She tensed up, waiting for a punishment from the other.
"Why would I be? It's disgusting to treat children that way! They're.. their children!" Mar hissed back at her, but the water did not threaten the other.
"I... I mean, you... If its not something you're okay with... then don't help them." Alarice said with some hesitance, not sure what to say either, but trying.
"You wouldn't get it." Mar growled back at her, the water increased in a threatening amount. The stream, after all, was still flowing.
"P-parasus isn't going to stop, she isn't going to stop using them..." Alarice said hesitatingly, not sure if she could continue, bile rising up her throat again. "She is just going to keep using any hell-hound she gets a hold of,... eve...even if they're her family."
Mar looked her in the eyes, and Alarice wanted to look away, meeting the others gaze, as if trying to convince her. Mar released the water, Alarice dropping onto the floor of leaves and grass. "You shouldn't leave them, then." Mar said, Alarice getting herself to her feet again.
Alarice stood there quietly, confused, and unsure, and inside, knowing exactly what she meant.
"Get! OUT OF HERE!" Mar barked at her, and Alarice ran off. Swallowing down her fear of running into her teacher, and following his scent as soon as she found it.
000
Aizawa hung back from engaging, tempting as it was. There were few, if any, hell-hounds about, spread out and searching for the escapee. The hell-hounds at the docks were alternating, save for the one who was always there. They came back at random times it seemed too, so that made timing things difficult. He pulled back to plan this out with a better view.
~Hello, hello, my good fellow~
Came a foreign chime in his head. Who the... He whipped around to find he source of the voice in his head. Quickly, before they could-
~Do not use your quirk, it'd be most impolite.~
He finally did spot them, their small dot like eyes, from beneath a bush, looking like some sort of nightmarish, undead dog waiting to attack. Their nostrils flared, and Eraserhead was about to move, as soon as he saw this, when he was struck hard, in the back of the head. A great weight landing on his back and pinning him to the ground.
~So arrogant, coming alone!~
The gaunt thing crawled out from under the bush, another came out beside him, eggshell colored. It trotted out of sight, moving around him, while the hound on top of him continued to lay on him. Eraserhead struggled to get the creature off of him.
~we always hunt in a pack!~
He was getting tired of this hell-hound's attitude, appearance, and overall the entire thing. Just as he felt the weight of the other get off of him, he suddenly felt himself some where else. Suspended almost, and he couldn't really see anything at all.