AN: Back again! I am having so much fun writing this fic, I can't wait to get further into my idea.
Hope you enjoy this chapter!
"So how long will we have to wait?" Rebecca asked. They were both back in the forest, trying to find a good vantage point on Mustang's house.
"I'm really not sure," Riza called as she scaled a small rock face. She hopped effortlessly up to the last protruding stone. Grasping the cliff edge, the pulled herself up, swinging her legs onto the soft forest floor. "It differs from person to person. We could be here a week, we could be here a month."
"Great," Rebecca remarked, unenthused. "And why does it have to be cloak and dagger? Why are we hiding in the trees?"
"It's not cloak and dagger and we are not hiding." Riza stood, finding the large house below her. Large was an understatement. The place was huge. Mustang's aunt clearly had money and was willing to spend it. "You know out secret can't be discovered. Anyway, didn't you just yesterday scold a man for creeping?" Riza grinned and added.
The property below doubled as a house and a business. The main house was a hotel which, from their observation, was very busy. Riza had guessed it must have had about twenty rooms and, judging by the cars parked in the car park, the place was full. It housed a restaurant and a spa which seemed very popular with the patrons.
Riza could see why the place was so busy. It was right in the centre of the forest. There were plenty of walks to do in the surrounding area, as well as cycle and mountain biking trails. In the winter they opened up and ran the ski slopes. Mustang's family had capitalised on what the area had to offer and had done well for it.
The house sat off to the right. It was smaller than the hotel, however it was certainly grand. It was one of those houses Riza had always dreamed of living in as a child, but knew she would never be able to afford it. Nowadays, she would settle for a small cabin in the forest somewhere. Cosy took preference over grandness.
There were several properties around the forest which Mustang's aunt had opened up to rent. Rebecca and Riza stayed in one of them, but during their exploration of the forest, they had found another four.
Shaking herself from her distracted thoughts, Riza scanned the house far below them. There had been no activity so far, but dawn had just broken. They had made it in time.
"I wouldn't call this creeping," Rebecca dismissed defensively. "We are merely… looking out for someone. Someone who doesn't deserve it." She added the last part under her breath. She knew well enough that Riza had heard her though. "You didn't answer my question."
"You've met the man twice now," Riza reminded her. "Would you willingly want to spend time with him?"
Rebecca was silent below her for a moment. "Good point." Silence reigned again. Rebecca stepped up onto a large boulder on the edge of the cliff below Riza. Honestly, it was a wonder it hadn't rolled down the hill by now. It was perched precariously, but it was sturdy. "We will have to eventually, wont we?"
Riza sighed. Roy was an asshole, their encounter yesterday had proved it, and the thought of spending time with him was not the most appealing at this time being. However, she felt responsible for what was about to be thrust upon him. It was because of her he was in this mess. She couldn't leave him to face it alone. She had done, and it had not been pretty.
"Yes, we will. So let's enjoy the freedom we have at the moment."
Rebecca turned silent and the pair got comfortable and waited for the members of the household to wake up. Riza's thoughts strayed to the past, of her childhood.
She had certainly had a rough one. Her mother had died when she was young and her father had turned her back on her. Riza had raised herself. Rebecca and her family had helped later in life, but it hadn't been easy for Riza.
She had met Roy when he had come to study under her father. Riza barely saw him, except in passing when he was leaving to go home for the day. He had been a nice, polite boy. He had always smiled at Riza and said hello or goodbye. Even though they didn't really know each other, young Riza had always thought he was someone special, simply because he had noticed her and had taken the time to speak to her, albeit briefly.
It made her wonder what had happened to that sweet boy she once knew.
Rebecca had also studied under her father. After Rebecca had left school for university, she had requested extra help and tutoring from her father. Later in life, Rebecca had confided in Riza that she didn't really need the extra help, she had just paid for the lessons so she could check up on Riza and spend some time with her outside of university. Riza had felt herself tearing up at her friend's confession. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.
"Come to think of it, I did notice you seemed to spend more time chatting with me than studying," Riza told Rebecca after the brunette had confessed.
"Your father was a boring teacher, no offence, and I missed you after I moved away."
"Believe me, none taken," Riza muttered, mostly to herself. There was no love lost between her and her father. She didn't even know where he was, or if he was even alive.
"It also meant I could visit home more often. I had always thought that for some bizarre reason, the university offered to pay for my tuition, and I sure as hell wasn't going to turn that down." Rebecca was silent for a few moments. Riza knew what was coming. She could tell what Rebecca's next words were going to be. "Now I know the real reason," she added bitterly.
"Riza." Rebecca's tone snapped Riza out of her thoughts immediately. "Twelve o'clock."
Riza's gaze snapped straight ahead, scanning nearby the house below them. She spotted movement instantly. Someone had walked outside into the darkness. There was enough light from the oncoming sunrise that Riza could tell it was Roy. No one else would be out at this hour.
Roy staggered before falling to his knees on the stones of the driveway.
"You don't think…?"
His head bent down and she watched as he retched towards the ground. Roy fell onto his side, his face extremely pale. Riza couldn't tell from this distance, but she knew the sweat would be pouring off of him and he would be experiencing incredible pain. Riza's heart rate spiked as the realisation of what was happening hit her.
Riza nodded. "It's time."
The pair simultaneously shot off down the mountain. They had to get to him quickly, otherwise he might do some serious damage.
Riza concentrated on the energy she felt bristling within her. Taking a deep breath, she calmed her racing heart, emptied her mind. She accepted the energy within, allowing it to take over her. Leaping over a fallen tree, she let it take control.
There was a loud crack as she felt her body changing shape. Her nose and mouth lengthened in front of her, turning into a golden snout. Fangs protruded from her mouth. There was a brief feeling of pain in her gums, but it dissipated quickly. She let herself fall forwards as two large paws hit the dry forest floor below her feet. She kicked up dust and pine needles as she ran, her strides lengthening. She felt her tail unfurl from her back and gave it a shake to loosen it off. It flew out behind her as she ran down the hill towards Roy. Instant warmth shrouded her as fur appeared all over her body. She shook her golden head and snapped her jaws to loosen them off. It had been a while since she last transformed.
There was another crack to her left as Rebecca changed as well. Both transformations happened in an instant. If someone was to witness it, their eyes wouldn't be able to pick out the individual changes happening to their bodies. It would appear to have happened like a magic trick, too fast for the eye to even register it.
A brown wolf ran beside her. They shared a look and both pressed forward in their race through the forest.
They were both werewolves, and Roy was on his way to becoming one right now. Riza's father was the one to thank for that.
One day, the summer before Riza had left for university, Berthold Hawkeye had left his study and approached Riza. She had been stunned and extremely confused. This never happened. He would always lock himself away in his study, only leaving at night after Riza had gone to bed to make some food. Riza knew this because she had stayed up until after midnight one night and waited for him to go to bed. Finding this out made her feel even more alone. Her father had made a point of avoiding her completely.
"Hello Riza," he had greeted somewhat awkwardly. It was like he was talking to a stranger. "How are you?"
Riza remained silent, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it.
Berthold coughed into the awkward silence. "Let me make you some dinner." Riza continued to stare at him as he left the living room and entered the kitchen. He banged away as he searched for a pot.
Riza recovered from her shock and found she was angry. What the hell? She was just about to march in there and confront him, when Berthold poked his head around the doorframe. He smiled softly. "Will pasta be okay?"
The anger drained from her, being replaced by loneliness and longing for this version of her father. Longing for someone who looked after her, rather than ignored her. She was still too naive, too desperate for her father to love her.
Riza nodded silently. He returned to the kitchen to work.
Dinner was eaten in silence. Riza was suspicious of her father. What had brought on this change? Why was he suddenly taking an interest now? Was it because she was finally leaving this hell hole?
Berthold cleaned up afterwards. He smiled at her and bid her a goodnight before returning to his study.
Every night after that was the same, except Berthold became more talkative as the weeks drew on. He was becoming more interested in her life and Riza couldn't understand it. Riza continued to hold her suspicions, she trusted her gut and it told her that something about this was off. However, a larger part of her made her feel like the little girl who missed her father again. She wanted this to be something real.
The day came for her to leave for university and Berthold actually drove her to the station and drove her off. He waved as she left, promising to write to her while she was away.
"Will you come home and visit soon?" He was hopeful. It made Riza's heart ache slightly.
"I'll get settled and I'll see what my classes are like. But sure."
He beamed in delight, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze.
It made Riza's stomach turn to think about that day, especially now, since she knew the truth. Her father had been running experiments on her. He had added a serum to her food when he had made her dinner, and it had turned her into this thing.
Not that she didn't like it. The thrill of it was incredible and, honestly, she wouldn't trade this power for anything. It was the fact that her father, of all people, had slowly turned her into a werewolf without even telling her. He disgusted her. That was the price she paid every time she changed. It was a constant reminder of what she really was to her father, just someone to experiment on, and it made her sick.
The same had happened to Rebecca. She didn't know when it had happened, neither did Riza. They both knew it was incredibly ridiculous. This wasn't supposed to be possible! Yet it was…
Riza's first change had happened at university. She had been out at a club with friends one night when she started to take ill. She bid them farewell, needing to exit the already stuffy club.
Her skin felt like it was on fire. Sweat was pouring off of her, making her incredibly uncomfortable.
"Hey, are you okay?" someone had asked her, but she barely heard it through the jumbled thoughts in her head. She staggered, almost falling over. An arm grabbed her. "Hey! Take it easy!" the same voice told her. Riza gasped in pain at the person's touch. Her skin was extremely sensitive. The touch felt like it was scraping away her skin. She wrenched it free and took off running.
"Hey!" The voice called again. "Wait!"
Riza barely heard them.
She ran until she could no longer. She ended up in a wooded area, not knowing how she had made it there. Time seemed to have passed incredibly quickly. It felt like her mind had shut off and her body had taken over, pulling her to this spot.
That was when she faltered. Falling forward, she felt an incredible pain overtake her entire body. She felt like screaming, but her throat was constricted. She couldn't even take in a breath. That caused her to panic. Her whole being felt like it was on fire. Riza squeezed her eyes shut tightly, begging for it to end soon.
Then it did.
Riza opened her eyes slowly, blanching against the harsh streetlight above her head. Her head throbbed and skin tingled. It was like she had pins and needles throughout her whole body. Sitting up, Riza was confused as to where she was. Looking down she noticed she was still in her clothes from the night before. Then the memory of that night hit her like a bullet.
Large paws, sharp fangs, blood…
It made her sick.
Riza didn't know what she threw up on the pavement. She didn't want to look at find out.
"What am I?" she whispered through her tears. She had never felt more scared in her life.
"Werewolf" a quiet voice whispered through her mind.
Riza Hawkeye cried.
An anguished yell brought Riza back to the present.
"Riza!" Rebecca's voice sounded through her head. The brown wolf's gaze met hers and it was panicked. She knew what that meant. Roy was about to change, and he was doing it in plain sight of everyone in the house and hotel. They had to get him into the forest and out of sight.
"On it," Riza skittered to a halt on the loose stones in the driveway. She kept low and slowly made her way across to Roy. If she went any faster it would make a hell of a noise, especially against the stones.
Her heart ached for him as Riza watched him convulse on the ground. He was fighting it, just like she had done. A pile of sick lay in front of him from earlier. She heard a loud "schwift" sound, like fabric loudly rubbing together, and human Rebecca knelt in front of him.
"I'll get this," she whispered, motioning the sick. "Get him into the trees."
Riza nodded. Her head bent to nudge Roy. She was careful not the hit any bare skin while doing so, remembered the incredible pain she had experienced during her first change. He was currently shirtless, so Riza had to nudge his leg. In any other situation, both women would have been thrilled at the sight. It was a pity he wasn't a very nice person.
Black eyes flew open and Roy's mouth opened in horror at what he was seeing. Both eyes were completely black. A sign Riza only had a few seconds to move him.
Sorry, she thought to herself. Placing her snout under his back, she lifted him off the ground. He screamed in pain at both the touch and the feeling of the stoned underneath digging into his over sensitised skin.
"Roy, listen to me." Rebecca took his face in her hands, dragging his failing attention to her. "Riza and I are going to help you, but you need to be as quiet as possible. Understand?"
A brief nod from him was all Rebecca needed. "This will hurt. I'm sorry."
Rebecca lifted Roy onto Riza's back. All the while he whimpered softly, biting his lip in an effort not to scream.
"It will be over soon, I promise," Rebecca whispered.
As soon as Rebecca signalled Roy was secure, Riza took off into the forest. Her paws thundered underneath her. Her only concern now was to get as far away as possible from the house. The noise she made was irrelevant.
She made sure to stay on level ground, so Roy wouldn't fall off. The upper half of his body rested against the back of her neck. She was large enough in her wolf form that it kept him upright. He held on to her fur loosely, his grip failing every few seconds. She only had about ten seconds before the change came. She needed to put as much distance between them and the house as possible.
When the change overtook him, Roy fell off her back. Riza skidded to a stop and turned, watching with sad eyes as he turned into a massive wolf. Riza changed back into her human form, hoping something familiar might help him. He probably still wouldn't remember her, but it might be worth a shot. Maybe the reminder of his humiliation yesterday would get through to his humanity quicker. The quicker they could get through to his humanity, the better it would be for everyone. He would be able to have some form of control over this form. Riza just hoped they were far away enough from civilisation.
After what felt like an age the struggle stopped. Riza had lived through the change, but witnessing it herself made it much worse. Roy stood on shaky legs and sniffed the air above him. When he picked up Riza's scent, his head whipped round and he growled menacingly. But Riza didn't budge. She stared straight back into those black eyes.
Roy was an impressive sight. His fur was jet black. If there had been less light, or Riza didn't have her enhanced vision, she wouldn't have been able to see him.
"Roy," Riza called quietly, testing his response. Nothing. "Roy," she tried again slightly louder. After a moment, he lifted his head, ear perking up. The growling stopped.
Good.
Riza didn't know how long she had but she would make the most of it.