Connor is starting to think that his father is right. He's drunk the tea three times now, and he can feel it starting to take a toll on him. Physically, mentally, even emotionally- he can feel all three species struggling for dominance inside of him. The wolf, the eagle, the bear…
And the man. He shakes his head, tries to clear the blurring from his vision. It's probably not a good sign that he has to remind himself that he's still human.
"Connor?"
Not that it matters now. He's almost there, so close to Washington he can almost smell him- the scent of fear lies thick in the air- and he knows it won't be long until he can pry the apple from the man's hands.
"Connor!"
And then… what? He tries not to think about it. Right now, the apple gives him a goal. Having a goal holds him together, keeps him from giving in to the urge to run-through the forest, hunting his prey alongside the pack, until-
-it's underneath him, and the eagle swoops down-
-the bear stomps the ground and roars-
He shakes his head again, more violently. Keep it together. Focus on one thing at a time. The apple first. He can figure out where to go next from-
"Ratonhnhaké:ton!"
He jumps a little and glances backward over his shoulder. The sound of his own name- even badly mispronounced- is enough to pull him back to the present moment. Haytham's standing just behind him, looking genuinely worried. "I'm fine," Connor growls.
"You're not," Haytham says. "If I thought there was any chance you'd listen, I'd send you away now. You're in no condition to take Washington on."
"You're right." Connor turns his back on Haytham again, and strides with purpose toward Washington's headquarters. There's a crowd of bluecoats surrounding it, but he's itching for a fight anyway. "I'm not going to listen." He's fine, whatever Haytham says. Fine.
But by the time the men around the building are dead- by the time they've fought their way through the interior to Washington's throne room- by the time the man himself is in sight- Connor can't pretend anymore. He's fading. Fast. It's not like being ill, or injured. His body is as strong as ever, even after the fighting. Stronger, even, than it should be. His mind, on the other hand…
Dimly, whatever part of his mind is still human wonders if this is what the bleeding effect feels like. Not being able to keep track of his mind, feeling out of place in his own body… His body is strong, but he can barely keep himself together long enough to move it.
"There," Haytham says, voice quiet. By now he has one hand on Connor's back, guiding him forward, keeping him from falling. Connor keeps forgetting how many legs he's supposed to have. He keeps wondering why he doesn't have wings. Haytham keeps talking. His voice is completely unworried, like there's nothing wrong. They could be making small talk on a New York street corner. "On the far side of the room. Do you see him?"
It takes Connor a few seconds to understand the words, and even longer after that to force out an answer. "I see him," he says at last. His tongue feels heavy. "Do you have a plan?"
"I-"
"I see you!"
Washington stands abruptly, and Connor can see the madness on his face. He holds the apple above his head, maybe to threaten the two Kenways, maybe because he plans to use it. Either way, it doesn't matter. The second he sees it, Connor snaps. Right now, it doesn't matter what the apple is doing here, only that he's come so far to get it back.
The bear roars, rearing back on it's hind legs-
-the eagle takes off like a bullet from a gun, shooting across the room-
-and the wolf snarls and snatches the apple out of the man's hand.
For a moment, he stands there, clutching the strange golden ball in his mouth. The men are shouting, both at once, but the words don't mean anything. The wolf is angry. In pain. Hungry. He growls, lays his ears back against his head.
One of the men comes closer, and the wolf hesitates. It knows the man's scent, but it doesn't know if that's good or bad. The scent brings to mind emotions too broad and complicated to handle (father, the scent means father, but what does that mean? The wolf knows predator and prey, it doesn't know… this). Instinct takes over. The man is trying to speak, saying something in a tone that's meant to be calming, but the wolf doesn't listen. It crouches, ready to leap.
And just at that moment, the golden ball explodes into light. The wolf can feel it around him, and then he can feel it inside him. It feels wrong. And then the whole world changes.
-/-
Whew! Sorry for the long (ish) delay. I ended up spending my spring break playing Infamous and writing other stuff, then I got back to school and had writer's block, so then I had to plan out the rest of this story before I could get back to it...
But the good news is I know how this all ends now!
The bad news is I got bored and now Connor's kind of a werewolf (were-wolf-eagle-bear?). Whatever. See you whenever the next chapter goes up. :)