Disclaimer: Lost Girl belongs to Showcase or SYFY and I am only playing in their universe.
A/N: WOW! Hey thanks readers and reviewers. I appreciate the interest expressed in the story and enjoyed reading your comments. There were several questions and I hope to answer them as the story progresses. I will be updating every two or three days unless life gets in the way.
Lauren's mind reeled at the thought of someone from her past invading her territory. She fought so hard to not let her old life enter her mind. The pain was just too bad. For two years Lauren had avoided everything that would be a reminder of home. The scent that made her mind scream, the one that smelled like Kenzi, had shaken her more than she would admit. The cries of the sprites drifted to her perch snapping her back to the here and now. With a snarl, Lauren jumped from the tree and moved to the side of the dark webbing.
The eyes of the little creatures were wide with terror. Sprites were very independent and Lauren did her best to allow them to live without her interference. They did not know enough of her to trust her fully and her current form would be less than reassuring as she loomed over them. Lauren made a grumbling huffing sound and the little bodies froze in place. Searching carefully Lauren finally located the source of the trap. A powdered charge had been set with a snap trigger. A ripe pear slice had been placed on the snap and when the sprites had moved the unexpected treat the released snap blew the magic infused powder over the entire area. Feeding off of the motion the powder sprouted to threads that expanded to the webbing that held its captives tight upon impact. The more the sprites moved the worst the web became sprouting more and more of the sticky threads.
Knowing better than to touch the sticky mess herself, Lauren found a branch to brush across the entire web. The leaves and smaller twigs tangled in the web and when Lauren lifted the branch she was holding the whole of the trap, sprites and all, in her hands. The sprites were not happy that she had not freed them completely and were buzzing in complaint. Lauren rolled her eyes at their antics. Breaking spells was not Lauren forte she would leave this to Hilde. It would be nothing to take the branch back to the house then return to find the hunter. She turned to move back into the brush when she heard tromping footsteps nearing her location. It was too late the hunter was back and he was not alone. By the sound of the steps there had to be more than one individual heading her way.
Holding the branch tightly in her teeth, Lauren leapt into the tree, using her sharp claws to climb easy back into the tree top. Lauren searched until she found a safe location to stow her charges. With a second jump, Lauren moved back to the ground and then disappeared into the underbrush. Whoever these hunters were, they relied only on traps and trickery. The amount of noise the footsteps produced was deafening to a true predator. Opening her mouth, Lauren tasted the air. It was bitter and there was something but it was too faint for her to pinpoint. Looking for more information she inhaled deeply and then truly wished she hadn't. Quickly Lauren grabbed a handful of leaves and pulled them to her face breathing in and out to clear the stench. A mixture of body odor, urine, rotten food and strong aftershave amongst other things had her gagging. She also had picked out what she had tasted earlier. It was despair mixed with that so familiar scent from her past.
Through the brush they came. The first was a huge man well over six feet. With a tentative sniff she determined he was an ogre. Lauren figured he had once been in excellent shape but now he was a shell of his former self. Dress in filthy rags and stumbling as if he was about to pass out, the big man made it through the brush breaking the trail for his partners. The next man was smartly dressed and the source of the god-awful aftershave. He was a handsome man and looked to be the one in charge. Lauren held her breath, she knew what was coming. Fighting not to call out Lauren watched Kenzi follow the leader into the clearing.
"Dear God," Lauren thought to herself, "Kenzi what has happened to you." Lauren would not have known the girl if she had not verified it by scent. Her head was drooped and she was unkempt in general. Tattered clothing on an emaciated frame, she walked like a pet at the handsome man's side. The fur along Lauren's spine stood up and she bared her teeth in a silent snarl at the condition of her one time friend. Something was terribly wrong here.
The handsome well-dressed man was the druid Massimo. Lauren realized this after a moment of racking her brain. She had only met the man a few times but remembered that she had been unimpressed. The druids were humans who specialized in the manipulation of the natural world to create spells, potions and talismans of power. A master druid could even create elixirs to extend their lives or the lives of others. It was only natural that druids and the fae would have common history. Most of the transactions between druids and the fae were of the unsavory sort. Druids had no problems using material from any source in their creations. Druids, Lauren also recalled, were also trained warriors and incredibly dangerous.
"Where the hell is it?" snapped Massimo loudly pulling Lauren out of her thoughts. She watched as the druid slapped the big man on the back of the head, "Stupid, where did you put the trap?" The big man stumbled and lost his footing for a moment, dropping to a knee before he could regain his balance. Lauren saw his eyes were dull and slow to respond but she could feel his determination. The druid had the ogre trapped in this state. It made Lauren shutter.
"Don't hit him," came a whisper from Kenzi. The voice was soft and broken. Lauren breath caught in her chest at the weakness in the girl voice. Kenzi had been confident to a fault before but now she sounded defeated.
"Come again my little apprentice. Don't? Don't what?" Massimo snapped and then slapped the big man again. "Don't hit the big stupid man? Oh okay." He turned and slapped Kenzi across the face hard. "Better now? Anymore to add?" The druid growled. "How about you find my trap little apprentice, find it now. We have an order to fill. Those little beasties will make us a fortune."
Tossing her head back and shooting the man a look worthy of her old self, Kenzi appeared as if she would fight back for a moment then the look faded. "Yes sir." She hurried by the man and grabbed the big man's hand. "Bruce, come on." The big guy smiled blankly and nodded. Lauren watched as they moved to the drainage area. Looking for the trap they became more and more agitated searching the pipe and then expanding to the whole area.
"I'm waiting," drawled the druid.
Kenzi swallowed as she turned. "It's…it's gone."
The druid growled, "Let me get this straight. I use one of my most powerful location charms to find us a good source of sprites. I trap one of the little bastards and use his wings to create a tracking spell that directed us straight to the nesting site. I do all of that and you two idiots can't even set up a simple snap trap." The druid was now pacing back and forth. Spinning around he, was grinning thinly, "You know what I think? I think it's time for more medicine." Lauren watched as the man reach into his pocket and pull out a pouch. Kenzi started to shake her head and stepped in front of Bruce.
"No, this is not our fault. We set the trap. It was right there." she licked her lips nervously. "Maybe it didn't work."
The druid barked a harsh laugh, "That would be the first time in four hundred years, little apprentice. No, here is what I think happened. You had one of your bouts of conscience. I saw the tears when I showed you the wings from that insect. You wouldn't even touch them. Pathetic girl, the only way I can count on you and your stupid friend is to numb your mind enough for me to do the thinking for you." He waved the pouch in her face.
"Bruce will not survive another round of that crap." said Kenzi with panic in her voice but trying to stand up to the druid and as always trying to protect a friend.
"Too bad, so sad," said the man and he opened the pouch and pouring a small amount of powder into his hand. Kenzi stood strong but tears were running down her face. Lauren knew that Kenzi would never leave a friend in need and she was definitely protecting the ogre. Lauren's feline instincts were starting to take over as she watched the druid and timed her next move. Turning his head and taking a deep breath, the druid then aligned his hand in front of his mouth to blow the powder towards his two underlings.
Lauren let out a roar as she charged from her spot in the underbrush. The druid sprang backwards sending the powder flying everywhere but in its intended direction. Kenzi turned and knocked Bruce to the ground. Lauren landed between Massimo and the girl. Kenzi let out a little scream but quickly covered it as she made every attempt to pull Bruce away to safety. Looking back to check on Kenzi, Lauren huffed a warning and bared her teeth. As expected the dark haired girl worked even harder to push the big man to safety.
The Druid quickly regained his footing and his wits. "What the hell are you? I have never seen your kind and that is saying something. " He was looking at a tall sleek feline shifter. There were human aspects but it was like nothing he had ever seen before. The muscular frame was covered in dark blonde fur with muted stripes and spots of darker brown down the back and along the hind legs. The hands were human-like but stronger looking with thick sharp claws. The feet were more animal like resembling a cougars or lions in shape but longer. The head was a stunning mixture of cat and human. The snarl from this lovely face showed vicious looking teeth. Making the assumption that this was a female, through the fur nothing was showing to indicate male. "She would be a prize," thought Massimo who then said, "Are you a shifter that did not complete the dawning and became under fae?" He gazed at the wild beauty and considered for a moment he really had not expected an answer. Who knew how intelligent this thing was. It was an under fae so there was not much to work with.
"Move Bruce," Kenzi whispered hiss echoed and it caught Massimo's attention. The druid chuckled, "You stay close now, little apprentice. You are going to learn a thing or two right now on why it is so good to be a druid." Massimo flashed a ruthless smile at Lauren.
Lauren had been holding her ground and not attacking in hopes that Kenzi and the big man would make a run for it. No such luck. They had moved back but did not make any attempt to get away. Massimo spoke again snapping his fingers as if to get Lauren's attention, "I think you are very powerful and your blood will be useful in so many ways. I believe I will need all of it. Let's make this an even battle." He started chanting and then poured the pouch he held over his head. Lauren growled and huffed as she listened to the man. She was in for a fight and her heart sang at the challenge.
A strong gust of wind blew and leaves and other loose material flew in the air causing Lauren to turn for just a moment. When she looked back a huge bear like creature stood in Massimo's spot. Lauren let out her tell-tale scream and attacked. With a huge leap she vaulted over Massimo's head slashing with her claws. The creature the druid had turned into was quicker than it appeared and bent low avoiding the sharp claws and struck out as Lauren landed with vicious slashes to her back. She felt the blood start to trickle down her body.
Snarling in pain, Lauren did not stop moving instead she ran and bounced off the nearest tree. Springing off that solid surface of the trunk she rocketed back at her burly opponent and was able to get two good swipes across his chest. The bear bellowed in pain but was lucky enough to catch Lauren's leg with a flailing arm. The blow sent Lauren skidding along the ground. With brutal efficiency, the druid pursued the agile feline slamming crushing blows at her legs and body as she scrambled along the ground. Each strike just missing the mark as Lauren weaved and dodged his blows in her attempt to get away.
The druid had made a mistake when he chose his warrior form. The bear was powerful and deadly but it was not fast or nimble. Lauren's shifter form was both of those things and more. As she twisted her way across the small clearing she saw her chance. Waiting for the next powerful fist to hit the ground, Lauren grabbed on to the meaty appendage digging her claws in deep.
Another roar of pain came from the druid and she held on as the man flung his arm in an attempt to detach the claws. Lauren felt herself being lifted. She pushed with her legs allowing her to climb up the bear's arm and use the momentum of the beast's own movement to send her over the druid's massive shoulder. Making a soft landing on the ground behind the bear, Lauren slashed her razor-sharp claws across the back of trunk-like legs. Her target was the back of the knee. The shriek of pain as the big body crumpled to the ground told Lauren she had hit her mark.
As the druid fell he started to shift back to the form of a man. If one did not know better you would think this was a sign that the battle had been won but Lauren knew better. She sprang up and dealt a crushing blow to the man's jaw, breaking it easily. Moaning in anger more than pain the druid had lost his ability to move his mouth and curse his opponent. The words of a curse had to flow over the druid's lips to activate. With the blow to the jaw, Lauren had more than affectively taken away that option.
The druid's hands flew up and grabbed a talisman at his throat before Lauren could stop him he broke it. Thick black acrid smoke billowed from the man and Lauren dove backwards not knowing what was happening. The druid shifted shape again but this time it was demonic in nature. The huge ugly form was reptilian looking with massive icy black eyes. Lauren hissed at the abomination. It roared and held its hands out to its side with eerie blue flames appearing in each upturned palm.
Lauren inhaled deeply and caught the essence of the flames and smiled to herself. The druid hissed and spoke with a leathery tongue, "You have fought well under fae but now it is time to die." He roared and the blue flames glowed brighter in his palms. Laughing Lauren calmed her mind and heart and she felt the shift come over her. In the blink of an eye she was standing in human form in front of the monstrosity.
There was a gasp behind Lauren. Had Kenzi had recognized her? Lauren could not worry about it now. "I think I liked your bear form better." said Lauren with a calmness that only added to the sarcasm of the comment. The druid was still as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Lauren held her hands out to the side, "Well aren't you going to kill me or something. I have all this really powerful blood you want." She smirked at the creature, "But you see I really have had a long day and I want…." The demon screamed and attacked.
Throwing its scaly arms in front of its body, the druid shot blue flame directly at Lauren. Closing her eyes for a moment then reopening them flashing a piercing glow, Lauren felt the chi flame hit her body. Reaching her hands out Lauren grabbed the flames and pulled. The demon squealed in anger but Lauren kept pulling, drawing more and more blue energy from the beast. She directed it in a spiral around her body. Weakening, the beast could not stop the flow of power out of its body dropped to its knees. As the small stream of chi became smaller, Lauren directed it to her mouth and began to feed. The druid's human body returned but it was too late as the last of his chi flowed from him. Massimo fell dead at Lauren's feet. Eyes blazing brilliant blue, Lauren stood in a whirl of blue chi energy.
"Lauren is that you. What the hell are you?" Kenzi said voice shaking.
"Too much chi." whispered Lauren. Her body was burning with the extra energy inside her body and swirling around the outside. She bent down and picked up the only thing close enough to grab, a small leaf from off of the ground. Lauren staggered then dropped to her knees. With a yell she punched her fist into the ground. In deep concentration, Lauren released the energy from her body into the earth. The earth rippled with the offering. Pulling her hand back quickly she turned her head. Kenzi gasp as now Lauren's eyes were a penetrating green. Lauren took hold of the swirl of blue around her body and directed it into the hole left by her fist. As the last of the energy burrowed its way down into the earth, Lauren dove to the side. A crunching snapping noise filled the air and from the hole where Lauren's fist had been an enormous cottonwood tree sprang from the earth.
Kenzi opened her mouth but nothing would come out. The girl was in shock at what had she had just seen. Bruce on the other hand said, "Cool." That pretty much summed it up.
"Show's over," came a sharp voice and everyone looked up to see Hilde in a tree hold in a branch full of buzzing angry sprites, "Time to go home child." Lauren laughed as she rolled over and flattened herself against the ground. Kenzi too overwhelmed promptly passed out.