Disclaimer: Lost Girl belongs to Showcase or SYFY and I am only playing in their universe.
A/N: Loved the comments on Lauren's powers. Again, many thanks to all the reviewers and readers for stopping by and checking out the story.
Lauren followed the river and then moved quickly through the train yards where the shadows were the thickest. The hardest part of the whole run had been approaching the house. The shack sat in the middle of a very open space. Keeping low, she watched for the others to arrive. Hilde had shared with the group how important it would be to have base of operations. Bo would need a place to recover. The beat up old shack that Bo and Kenzi called home was the first place that popped into everyone's mind. Everyone had good memories of the place. As Lauren waited, she somehow knew reclaiming the place would be harder than it looked.
Dyson got there first; approaching in human form he still was able to use Lauren's scent to find her. Knowing that she could not talk in her feline form he said quietly. "My place is being watched as we thought it would be. I couldn't spot all of them but there were at least two trolls watching the place. Someone else was there but I could not place what type of fae they were. It was strange. It felt muted somehow." Lauren huffed her understanding. Her ears perked up heard the telltale sounds of a motor approaching. Moments later Kenzi rolled up in the truck slowing down to allow Lauren and Dyson to jump in.
"You guys my back is crawling. I have to shut it off now or I am going to go crazy." Kenzi was literally squirming behind the wheel. Lauren gave a huff letting Kenzi know as best she could that it was alright. Kenzi said out loud, "Okay Hell's Bells, I get the message. Thanks for letting me know that whoever is looking for me is very close." She stilled then moaned in satisfied relief and rolled her shoulders. "Check my skills," the girl said and winked at her passengers. She stopped the truck just down the street from the front door of the shack.
"Okay, I am tired of running. Let's find out what we are dealing with." Dyson said in a taking charge tone of voice and he jumped from the car followed by Lauren. They paused reevaluating the area and found there was nothing to indicate any problems. Dyson said, "I'm going to try to look inside. Watch for my signal and then follow me."
Kenzi rounded the truck and gave a thumb's up than a salute. Dyson was going to say something but Lauren huffed and bared her teeth, telling the wolf to leave her alone. Kenzi was part of the team and needed to do her part. Dyson growled softly and then turned shifted to his man wolf form, claws and teeth but no fur. As the women watched, Dyson moved quickly towards the shack. They both jumped as Dyson's form went fuzzy and then disappeared before their eyes. Lauren's snarl was vicious; she went still and cast out to gather information. It was the same as before a void or hollowness, Dyson's presence had activated the trap. Lauren began to pace as she tasted the air trying to find the best angle for her attack.
After grabbing a handful of rocks and counting carefully Kenzi said, "I've got this, saw Massimo use this one while Bruce and I were retrieving traps for him." She held the gravel to her mouth and began to mumble under her breath then she tossed the rocks as hard as she could at the house. Lauren growled low at the girl's actions. She had just blown any element of surprise they might have had. Spinning Lauren readied for whatever was going to react to the noise and coming running in their direction. Instead of banging into the house, the rocks hit the trap and froze in midair. Glowing lines shot out from each stone until the entire barrier was edged in light.
Knowing she could thank Kenzi later Lauren dashed to the trap. Unlike last time where she shattered the void with a violent impact, this time it was all finesse. Moving to a glowing edge, Lauren flashed a razor sharp claw and sliced down the edge. She found the magic hung like light fabric. She dug in her other claw pulling a gap wide enough for her to enter. Once inside the barrier she wasted no time. Moving to the back of the house, Lauren worked her way to the roof. The shack was still in disrepair and the hand holds were easy. Finding the window she was looking for she gave it a wiggle and it swung easily. Bo's bedroom was just inside.
Momentarily Lauren was overcome with the memories she had of this place. It was as if nothing had changed. She could smell Bo everywhere, even after all this time. Shaking her head free of the distractions she focused on the here and now. Moving to doorway she crouched low and cast out. There were three distinct smells. Lauren rubbed a paw across her nose, "a dark witch and two goblins." The witch and goblins together were no surprise. Goblins were traditionally indentured to a witch as babies and worked for them through their life. Goblins as a species were generally simple creatures would never question taking the servants role. Lauren attention was caught when she heard them talking.
"What a catch," giggled one of the goblins. "We were assigned to wait for the human girl and look what we caught. No one thought the wolf would come here. The man will be so happy." He sounded like a bad knockoff of a cartoon villain's dopey sidekick. "It was good that he gave us that spell."
With a hissing voice, the witch replied, "I could have caught this wolf without the Wanderer's help." Lauren knew that was a lie. Witches were just slightly above humans on the food chain. They were part of a genius called magical fae. Most were not strong like shifters or succubi, but they could work spells and use their bodies to mimic more powerful creatures. Witches could also act as carriers for more powerful being, holding the magic of others within their blood.
Older witches could gain power over time but this witch was not strong at all. The witch spoke again, "The human has to be close by. I felt her break the Wanderer's ward as she entered the city hours ago. The wolf showing up here is a sign that she is on the way. This was her home she will return here. Kill the wolf and we will wait for the little human to arrive."
"The blood king won't be happy if we do that." said the second goblin sounding slightly more intelligent. "The Wanderer doesn't know him like we do. The wolf is his friend and more than that Trick is the light fae Ash …"
"Hush Ed, you fool," hissed the witch again. "We will just say the shifter attacked us. By law we can protect ourselves. It was self-defense. It's the Wanderer we are working for anyway, and he is more than powerful enough to protect us from Trick."
Lauren growled softly and made her way to the edge of the stairs. They were near the kitchen. Dyson was flat on the floor out cold. Lauren focused and listened hard. She was very relieved to hear his heartbeat was strong. They had just knocked him out somehow. A frying pan on the kitchen floor gave her a hint. As the small group was looking over Dyson, Lauren jumped from the stairs landing softly behind the couch that had been thrown to the side of the main room. Holding still she waited for some type of reaction.
The goblin named Ed sniffed loudly and then released a horrendous sneeze. "Damn," he said after he wiped his nose. "They must have had cats in here. I'm allergic you know."
"Here take my hanky," said the other one, handing over a bright red checked cloth with a badly embroidered "Ted" on it.
"When you two are done, will you kill him already. I am having a feeling we are about to have some company." giggled the witch. She pointed to the utensil block on the counter top full of knifes. "Pick one and use it." she cooed.
As if by magic, Kenzi came flying in the front door with a baseball bat in hand, "Okay Bitches you are mine." She ran at Ed and Ted swinging the weapon with all her might. She had followed Lauren's lead and made her way past the spell and been waiting at the front of the house.
Everything happened at once, the two goblins jumped and spun around. Screaming in unison when they saw Kenzi and realized they were under attack. In their panic they ran right into the witch knocking her to the ground and sending the hex she had been ready to cast bouncing around the room until it finally blew a hole in the floor. Heading towards the stairs, the goblins had another fright as Lauren stood in shifter form and growled loudly. The goblins swung around and then froze being caught in the middle two threats. They sank to the ground, holding their hands up in defeat.
Kenzi smiled as she placed her bat on her shoulder, "That's right boys. I'm back in town so you better…"
Lauren snarled loudly and made a diving leap directly at Kenzi. Screaming Kenzi hit the ground as Lauren crashed into the witch that was running at Kenzi back. With a quick stroke of a claw the witch's throat was taken out and the knife she was holding, ready to stab through Kenzi's body, fell harmlessly to the ground with the rest to the witch.
Lauren snarled loudly again at Kenzi who still was on the floor and then at the Ed and Ted pile causing them to huddled closer together. Grabbing the witch's body, Lauren hauled it outside. In a fast shift, she touched the ground and bade it open to receive the witch's remains. The earth rolled and the body was pulled under in moments. The ground rolled again and it was as if the witch had never been there. Shifting once again, Lauren returned to the house and quickly checked Dyson. He was coming around; she could see the knot forming on his head. She huffed in agitation and turned to find three sets of wide eyes looking at her.
Rolling her eyes, she motioned for Kenzi to stand and follow her. The brothers went to move but she growled long and low at them and they settled back down. In the bedroom, Lauren shifted back to her human form, holding her hand up when Kenzi tried to speak. "Kenzi get some salt and pour it around and in the witch's blood. Find every drop. You must hurry. Then help Dyson up and tell him what happened. I can't let them see me so I will be waiting up here if you need anything yell." She pushed the girl out the door and then got in position to listen. The fast shifting and long trip had Lauren's energy levels running low.
Kenzi still shook up by the attack followed Lauren's words. Grabbing the salt she started running around the house. Ted and Ed watched her with interest, seeing what she was doing they pointed out a few areas she had missed. When she thanked them, they just smiled back. Moving to Dyson, she was relieved to see he had regained his senses but had to be convinced not to kill the two goblins sitting on the floor. Again they just smiled back and thanked Dyson for his restraint. As Lauren watched the others she decided that the goblins weren't bad guys at all. In fact they seemed to have pretty gentle dispositions. They were just following the orders of the dark witch. It was typical of how some under fae lived their lives.
Kenzi must have figured this out too because she said, "Hey you two, make yourselves useful and go to the pickup truck outside and unload the groceries and supplies for me please. Bring them in the house and put them on the counter." The two goblins got up and nodded then walked outside to return moments later with the first load of bags. After Kenzi cleaned up Dyson and the brothers unloaded the truck. Dyson was finally up to asking the twosome a few questions. Kenzi handed out sodas to everyone as she took a seat on the arm of Dyson's chair.
"Why were you here?" Dyson ask the goblins as Kenzi handed him an instant ice pack for his head.
"Our witch was hired by the Wanderer to find this one." Ed pointed at Kenzi. "The witch was to kill her or bring her straight to the man so he could do it. We go where our witch goes." He took a long swig of his soda and nodded his thanks to the girl.
"Why me?" said Kenzi with alarm.
"Influence on his prize I guess." said Ted then after seeing the confusion their faces he said, "You know his daughter, Bo the succubus. She will be pledging to the dark side soon. He doesn't want anything to disrupt that. He has teams of dark fae working to keep anyone she knows away from her. He won't let her out of his sight. Powerfully strong he is."
Ed sighed, "It's sad you know. She was always a good egg. Mean but fair." The two brothers shared a look like this was the highest of complements. "After the fae go dark or light there are all these rules and expectations. They are never the same." finished Ed.
Dyson said, "Can you tell us anything else about this wanderer?"
"Nope." the brothers said together. The looked around with small grins and wide eyes. They both finished their drinks and were now looking around like they might enjoy a bite to eat.
"Okay then you can go," said Kenzi not wanting Dyson to hurt them but not wanting them to stay either. They smiled and thanked her and then just stayed on the couch. Kenzi repeated herself a little louder, "I said you can go, so beat it, scram and all that." Again they thanked her and remained seated.
Finally Ted said, "We don't have our witch anymore. Didn't like her one bit but she was ours. With her gone we have nowhere to go. Best if we stay here till something comes up."
"Oh hell no!" said Kenzi at the thought of goblin roommates. They were nice little guys but no. Seeing the girl's dismay, Dyson smiled and made a phone call. He turned to the brothers who were watching Kenzi pace back and forth across the living room, "Okay you have new employment and a place to stay. Go to the Dahl and talk to Hale, the keep. He is waiting for you."
The brothers stood up and gave slight bows of thanks to Dyson and Kenzi and headed for the door. Ed said with a smile. "I like the Dahl."
"Yep," said Ted. "Told you something would come up." Pulling the door shut behind him.
Casting out with all her sense, Lauren could not feel anything out of sorts. When the witch died so did the outside spell, the magic was slowly fading. Taking a deep breath Lauren moved down the stairs to join the other two. Giving Dyson a quick once over to ensure that he was alright, Lauren helped Kenzi clean up the blood from the floor. The salt had destroyed any curse or residual magic that might have been released. It was just a matter of old fashioned housework now. That finished Lauren took a steading breath and turned to Kenzi, "Do you think you could create a druid's spell to protect this place?"
Kenzi beamed at the request, "I am on it. Stand back and observe the greatness which is me." Almost running she moved to the kitchen and started passing her hands over every item she had purchased. This was going to take some time. By the looks of the amount of items set around the kitchen Lauren's credit card had taken a big hit when Kenzi picked up the supplies. Lauren and Dyson moved outside and check out the area for any signs of danger. After an hour it was clear that there were no other threats.
Returning to the shack, Dyson growled as he sat on the couch. He gingerly placed the ice pack back on his head, "I think I better get over to see Trick and learn what he knows. I will stop by and talk to Hale too. Even the goblins know that there is something up with Bo, we're going to have to move soon." the big guy stood and handed the ice pack back to Lauren. "Welcome back to the city Doc." He smiled and then moved towards the door but not before Kenzi grabbed him and pulled out a few of his hairs and kissed him on the cheek. He watched as she dashed to the kitchen with a determined look on her face. Shaking his head as he opened the door, Dyson was please Kenzi looked so happy, but really hoped that he would not be killed by some spell when he returned home tonight.
"This is going to take some work." said Kenzi as she began chopping up something bright yellow. "You take the bedroom, I've got the couch." Lauren made to argue but Kenzi was having none of it. "Wait," Kenzi yelled and ran over plucking some of Lauren's hair. She gave her a tight hug and then said, "Thanks for saving my life again. You are one awesome puddycat! Damn scary but awesome." Kenzi gave her arms a last squeeze and ran back to the kitchen.
Picking up her duffel, Lauren walked up the stairs to the bedroom. This was exactly where she did not want to be. Entering the room without anything else to concentrate on was heartbreaking. Nothing had changed; it was as if the room was waiting for Bo to walk through the door. Lauren busied herself with cleaning up. There was dust on everything and after a good twenty minutes she had the place looking shipshape.
Ready to put her few belongings from the duffel away Lauren threw open what had been her old drawer. She stopped mid-motion. The drawer was neatly packed with some of Lauren's belongings from her old apartment. Things important to her that she had been forced to leave behind and thought she would never see again. Bo had to have been the one to do this. Most of the items would look like junk to anyone else, but Bo knew what they meant to Lauren. What drew a shuttering breath from Lauren was the paper around on particular item. It was folded neatly but had been opened and replaced many times as if someone had looked at the contents many times. Lauren opened it to find a picture frame holding a photo of her and Bo. Lauren remembered they had been out just enjoying life, arms around each other looking to be care free. It was a lifetime ago.
There was a soft knock at the door and Lauren wiped her eyes to see Kenzi at the entryway. "Sorry forgot to warn you." Kenzi said quietly, "When you left with Taft, Bo insisted that we go to your place. She couldn't find you and it hurt her you know. Bo said these were important to you and we brought them back for safe keeping. It was like she had a little something of you."
"Oh Kenzi," said Lauren with a crack in her voice. "I have made such a mess of things…." The tears welling in her eyes.
Kenzi dropped down to sit beside her, "You were wrong to leave Lauren but I for sure understand why you had to do it. When it came down to it you saved Bo's life Lauren. It cost you everything to do it. It cost you your humanity. Now it is what you have become, the Plant whisperer or Pussy Galore or…" Lauren had to laugh at the last one. Kenzi giggled "Come on you knew I couldn't miss that one. Whatever you are now and I will think of a good name for you, you are going to save Bo again, with my help of course."
"Of course." said Lauren with a smile
"Bo needs you Hotpants. She always has." The girl gave Lauren's shoulder a squeeze and grabbed a brush from the counter. Shaking off the warm fuzzies, Kenzi said I her normal tone, "Think that we better add Bo's hair to the mix. Hope this old stuff will work." She was pulled a few strands from the brush as she left the room.
After Kenzi left Lauren sat still for some time lost in her thoughts then put everything back and shut the drawer. Throwing her duffle on the dresser she pulled out something to sleep in then slammed the clothes back into the bag. She needed to get out of the room and do something, anything to make herself useful. Almost at a run she was down the stairs, "Kenzi I'm going out." The druid looked up in time to see the door slam shut.