It was just like camping! Not that Ryver had ever been camping, but this was exactly what he'd always believed it would be like. When the pack had gotten to Barcelona and joined up with the Ulfrics old CORE he had felt comfortably at home. They travelled like gypsies in several Winebagos that stoppd along the route at camping stations. Avoiding big cities they travelled slowly. It was nice though, being a part of this travelling band of fighters. They had a nice comraderie that made him feel safe. Of course the pack was with him, and his brother Malcolm, but Ryver knew that being in Europe was dangerous.
He couldn't remember why, but he knew that whatever had been done to him had been done here. And being back meant that those people might find him again. It was so strange to have giant blank spots in your memory. Like he could try to think about things and just find nothingness. The boy who knew everything was almost completely ignorant about his own past. As night fell and the stars twinkled in the sky overhead he had taken a seat on a wooden box around one of the small fires lit by the CORE captain. He was alone pretty much, watching the others where they sat. Memphis and Loke making arrangements with the CORE, and Lacey and Malcolm playing cards. Then the fire caught his eye and he ignored the others.
At first he just stared at the flames as his pupils dilated to small pinpoints. There was a hypnotic quality to the dancing flames and he couldn't seem to tear himself away from them. His eyes stared and his mind slowly quietened. Thoughts were mere white noise in the back of his mind as the flames danced. Then..........everything..........just.........stopped. It was like he left his body, he moved but it wasn't him anymore. Ryver was gone. Standing from the box the body of the boy moved towards the fire and reached a hand into the leaping flames. The smell of burning flesh would reach the others as his hand gripped one of the logs and lifted it. When one of the CORE members came close to try to stop him, the body swung the firey log and hit the man right in the face. The body convulsed as pupils became huge saucers, and then he was moving towards the CORE captain with a predators stalk. The body of the boy couldn't be stopped and he struck out at any who came close with skillful attacks that had more strength than he normally would possess.
Normally the boys body would be shifting with this much blood, but he maintained his hold, because he wasn't truly there. It took three people to finally pin him down and he went dead in their arms. Chest heaved raggedly as he snarled and then began to convulse. He shook beneath their hands like an epileptic, and blood frothed from his mouth. Then when he spoke it was in a voice as cold and distant as the stars in the night sky.
"They're coming!"
Like a light he switched off and his body just lay there like a doll. His breathing stopped, heart no longer beating. It would take Malcolms skill as a doctor to revive him, but that was only the beginning of their problems. Three members of the CORE were heavily injured, one nearly dead, and Ryver was to blame. As the boy lay comotose all eyes were on Malcolm, demanding an explanation with their stares.
As Malcolm dealt with the crowd of onlookers Ryver dreamed. In his dreams was a darkness that spread wildly across the land. He could feel the evil pulse against his skin. A face swam in his vision. The face of their brother Emmett. Again and again Emmett came to mind in the dream. Fragmented and distracting. Before leaving Hawaii he had written something for Malcolm about their brother. At the time he hadn't known why, only that it was supposed to be done. Sometimes his gifts worked that way. You did things because you knew you would do them, not because you knew why. Now, in the dark dreamscape, he was beginning to understand.
What a trip, there was never a dull moment from her own vivid nightmares that seemed to follow her daily and change to reflect the faces of the pack and her friends, to the endless flying. She was never so god damn happy to put her feet back on the ground when they arrived in Barcelona. Although she was far from happy being in Spain, it was simply for a lay over of sorts.
Sleep was finally caught up on, what wasn't being disturbed with the constant stream of phone calls she received over and over again from a very over protective Attorney. It wasn't until Loke had to threaten to rip his throat out for Christmas that Michael finally backed down. No news was good news wasn't it?
The promise she had made to Ash stood, she would be there for the pack in any way she could. She would support Memphis how ever he needed it. It was now what she did as they rested for the night. She stood behind him, tapping on the screen of her fang-dangled Blackberry going through information even if she wasn't talking on the phone. It wasn't until she smelled something... well off. It smelled like food but didn't. After all she didn't make it a habit of eatting human flesh, or rather cooked human or cooked lycan flesh. She watched Ryver in mute horror nearly destroy the couple of CORE members that sought to control him. Only when he collapsed and Malcolm could handle him did she move to help.
She couldn't help but feel protective of the brothers, Malcolm had been only welcoming to her and what wasn't to love about his oddness and stammering. It was endearing and charming in a way that made Loke just want to put him in her pocket and keep him there. And where Malcolm went there was his brother. An Outsider to the Outsiders, she let Malcolm handle the CORE men that where hurt since her gift would never work on them but instead scooped Ryver up after Malcolm had finished with him as if he weighed no more then ten pounds and carried him off to find him a quiet place to sleep off his bout, assuring Malcolm she was more then able to care for him and herself if he decided to lop her head off with a stick. Actually quite thankful that he had no done this without his brother around.
Once she had set him into the tent she herself was using and tucked him in she stared down at the younger brother and at his crispy hand. A glance out of the tent at the rest of the wolves and CORE members trying to gather calm again before she lifted his hand and drew her tongue over the baked skin. The taste of charred skin and blood covered her tongue but that very rare gift surfaced, one she barily used herself. Ella Mae, they had devoured her back when she first became wolf, first felt the change. The pack from Reno had devoured her body and taken her spirit into them all. It was here Ella Mae housed, that part of her anyway. The Munin that hovered with that hillbillesque voice tickling at the back of her mind. A string of very non-lady like cusses followed but she could feel the heat radiating from her lips and tongue as she drew it over his ruined hand over and over again still her lips and mouth were stained red and black from the blood and charred flesh. It would heal ... faster. Hand settled Ryver's back beside him before she wiped at her face trying to clean it of the smeers. It felt better knowing no one had seen, it was so uncomfortable to be able to heal but only with the mouth. Talk about a rumor mill that could cause. Dropping on to her back, amber eyes disappeared behind her lashes listening for when Malcolm would finally come looking for his brother.
The frustrated huff that passed her lips was not the first of its kind. A dozen or so of these same sounds had come from her since they’d stopped for the night. What she wouldn’t give to be doing something helpful. The most she seemed able to give was her silent support and the way she followed directions as if they were coming from Ash himself – which, for all she knew, might have been the case.
Once again she ran over the events that led to this point as she sat in the shadows, a thoughtful frown pulling her brows together. Was it right to have left Ash to defend their backs alone? Was the Ulfric hurrying to join them even now? No. She would not question Ash’s decision to get them safely away. That was part of what kept her with the pack. Ash was dedicated to them, their protection – even the hopelessly ill-at-ease fox that had asked only for a place to hunt. A twitch of her lips as she thought this.
The breeze shifted, bringing with it the strange smell of something burning. Emerald gaze turned toward the brightness of the flames to see Ryver attacking the CORE members who got too close with a burning stick. Shock, surprise, horror, all flitted across her face before she reacted to protect. Oh, not to protect the CORE members. They weren’t her priority. No, she was quickly behind the boy, yanking the burning log from his hand with a muffled grunt at the pain while others converged to help restrain him.
‘They’re coming!’ he’d said. But, who the bloody hell were ‘they’? Confusion was easily read on her face as she backed away from the prone form once he’d stopped fighting. Gaze skittered to Malcolm for a moment as if she might see some answer written on his face, but the good doctor seemed to already be in motion. With one quick step, she was out of the way, watching and keeping her scorched palm out of sight.
She gazed after Loke for a moment when the woman took Ryver to her tent, head tilted slightly. It seemed, for tonight at least, confusion would outweigh frustration. But the boy’s words hung in her mind, sending her senses searching out around their camp.
It was only after Malcolm made sure that everyone would live, if with a few scars, he sat back on his haunches, resting his blood covered forearms on his knees. After a moment, he straightened, pulling at a towel to wipe at his arms. Why did he have to go bloody loony now? His heart ached in his chest as he could only begin to imagine what they had done to his beautiful brother to make him so. They had warned him something like this might happened, but he had hoped more than anything that it just wasn’t so. His fingers clenched into the cloth of his hand, before he used the kerchief to wipe a bit at the sweat on his face. After he looked up, he realized everyone was staring at him. A deep sigh slowly emanated from his lips, and Malcolm reached up to swipe at his unruly brown locks.
"I am very smart…" He began, taking another, uncertain step forward. There was confidence in his voice, carried in his words. It pertained not to what just happened, but to the intense belief he had in his brother, his want that he would be okay. “I went to the best medical school in the States, top three percent of my class, finished my residency in eight months specializing in infectious diseases, hematology, exotic diseases and biochemistry. ‘Gifted,' is the term." He looked to each face as he spoke, wanting them to feel the gravity of his words. “So when I tell you that my little brother makes me look like an idiot child, I want you to understand my full meaning. Ryver was more than gifted. He…he was a gift. Everything he did, music, math, theoretical physics – even-even dance – there was nothing that didn’t come as naturally to him as breathing does to us." A small smile had begun to form at the corners of his mouth, his mind falling back to older, better times. “He could be a real wanker about it too. I mean, he used to do this…" He caught himself, realizing that they most likely weren’t interested in his memories and funny stories. He concentrated a moment, the smile disappearing into that grim doctor’s expression, heaving a sigh as he continued. “There ah, there was a school. A government-sponsored academy." Malcolm shrugged as his eyes lost focus, as clearly it was a subject he did not like. "We had never even heard of it, but it had the most exciting program…the most challenging. We could have sent him anywhere, we had the money, but, he wanted to go. He wanted to learn. He was eighteen." Malcolm lowered his gaze, the regret he felt at ever allowing the atrocity to occur. A hand lifted to the bridge of his nose. "I ah…I got a few letters at first, and then I didn’t hear for months. Finally, I got a letter that made no sense. He-he talked about things that had never happened, jokes that-that we never…" His words failed him once more, but it didn’t matter, they seemed to understand right enough. A deep breath. "It was code. It just said, 'They’re hurting us. Get me out.'"
"How did you do it?" Someone asked, but Malcolm wasn’t sure who. It didn’t matter. Another hand came up to settle upon his skull.
"Ah…money. And-and luck. For years, I wasn’t able to get anywhere near him. Then I was contacted by a group, some men, some underground movement. They-they said that he was in danger, they were all in danger, that the-the government was…" He almost couldn’t finish the sentence, but the words were spat out. "…playing with his brain. If I funded them, they could sneak him out and get him to Hawaii, and from there…we could go wherever…" But then he had met Ash, and the rest of the pack. And they’d stayed. But now, here, they had a family, a real family. Their father had been so furious when he’d found out the dealings he’d been doing with the shady group, and then he’d been arrested that time…and he’d been cut off. His parents, oh how he loved them so, they hadn’t believed him, hadn’t believed that Ryver had been in danger.
"Will he be alright?" At the question, Malcolm shrugged.
"I-I don’t know. I don’t know what they did to him. Or why." The why was the most frustrating part. Why would anyone do such a horrendous thing to another human being? It was beyond fathoming. "I just need to keep him safe." He finished quietly, managing to sit himself upon a log as he waited to be judged.
Whoever, or whatever, Ryver thought was coming wasn’t out there. At least, not that she could sense. Something pulled her eyes back toward Loke’s tent and it took a moment to recognize that there was a new warmth from that direction. Not a physical warmth, that would be impossible to feel from her position. It added to her confusion, pulling her in that direction.
Of course, that was when Malcolm began his quiet explanation about Ryver. It was involuntary, the soft growl that rumbled in her chest. Playing with that poor boy’s brain? That was just sick. Beyond sick, in her book. No one should go through that. And just look at what it had done to Malcolm, too.
She was in motion again, leaning down to give Malcolm a brief hug of reassurance. It was an awkward movement, but something she felt he needed. Chin was set on his shoulder just long enough to utter a fierce whisper.
“We’ll keep him safe.”She spoke only for herself, of course, but the quiet sadness and worry in Malcolm had caused a surge in her mothering instincts. Not only for the good doctor, but also his brother. It would be embarrassing to state that fact, so she didn’t. He could make of the gesture what he would, just as the others could.
It lasted only a moment, the easy touching of another, before she swiftly moved away. The motion didn’t stop until she reached Loke’s tent. Throat was cleared before peering inside.
Ryver was studied a moment before she looked to Loke.“Any change?”And as she studied Loke a brow lifted. A glance back at the others was given before she moved inside the tent and lifted the corner of the flannel shirt to reach for Loke’s face. Lips twitched a little, and that brow drew closer to her hair line as she moved slowly. She expected, perhaps, that the she-wolf would draw away from her. After all, how could she know what Lexi’s intention was?
“You, ah, have a little something there…”And she would take that moment to quickly wipe away the dark smear on Loke’s chin, being sure there was no trace of it left behind.
Shirt fell back into place and she looked back toward Ryver’s hand. Her own scorched hand curled into a fist, a faint wince as blisters broke. Oh, she was curious about that smear on Loke’s chin, but she wouldn’t allow questions to slip. It wasn’t her way to pry into the affairs of others.
“Some night, eh?”the attempt at conversation was weak, but at least it was something.
Eyes slid open at the sound of Lexi's feet, and slowly she sat up within the tent. When she cleared her throat she realized who it was and tilted her head at the fox as she popped her head in the open doorway. She gave a faint smile before looking down at Ryver and considering for a moment.
"He'll be fine, he just needs to sleep it off. Since I very rarely get a good nights sleep anyway, I'll realize if he wakes up easier. And there is no need for anyone else to lose sleep, when it's my own personal hell like habit."
Amber eyes focused on Lexi's face as she leaned toward her with the hem of the flannel. She didn't say anything when she wiped the spot off her chin but simply nodded when it was done. Amber eyes dropped to Lexi's hand as her nostrils flared."Here.. sit down. Lemme see your hand?"
Legs where folded up toward her as she spoke leaving more then enough room for Lexi to come fully into the tent and sit down. She licked at her lips for a moment the smell was unappetizing at least to smell it and realize it was part of the pack that had cooked skin but still, her mouth watered although this had nothing to do with hunger or any other reaction. It was due more to the knowledge that she could help and her saliva as disgusting as that was could help. Nose flared again finding the faint smell of hay in her nose as she watched Lexi moving, Ella Mae was eager to jump at the chance to help, even if the host was not.
"Um.. Lexi, you mind if I try and do something to your hand? I won't hurt it..."
A faint nod. Sleep, the great healer. At least if he was asleep he couldn’t feel whatever pain must be coming from his hand.
With the invitation, she scooted carefully into the tent, curling her legs beneath her. Not the most comfortable position to stay in for long, but not unbearable by any stretch. Hand was held out, palm up, to display what she considered to be minor damage. Blisters mostly, especially along her fingers, with a bit more damage to the middle of the palm.
“It could have been worse. He could have seen me coming.”Not that she blamed Ryver for his.. episode.. but she was glad she thought to move in from behind him.
Shoulders lifted minutely in a shrug.“It’s a bit painful now, so I don’t see where you could make it any worse… You’re not going to go popping blisters, are you?”Lips twitched upward, an attempt at humor, though she did hope that wasn’t part of the plan.
Lips twitched upward at the thought of popping the blisters and she shook her head slowly. "No, but it might be a bit disturbing." She looked up at the lovely eyes of the vixen before taking a breath. "It's not something I would normally do but .. well it's not often people get hurt in front of me, ya know. Or rather it's not often that the pack gets hurt in front of me."
She slid her hand under Lexi's and with her eyes on the foxy ladies, she bent her head. As disgusting as licking blisters and popped ones at that she extended her tongue and drew her tongue along the expanse of burnt flesh. Heat radiating off her lips and tongue as she continued to clean the wound as if it was nothing different. After all, pack members would lick each other's wounds would they not? Her amber eyes never left Lexi's as she continued to press that heat and warmth into her skin, forcing the healing to speed faster.
The taste was wreched but that could be ignored. Once the heat started to disappear from her lips, Loke sat back up and released Lexi's hand. She wiped at her lips, before offering a lop sided smile. "I'm not really comfortable ya know with people, I mean everyone sees that. It's just... well... here.. Silent isn't here." She knew Silent could heal, she had witnessed it once with Mahina and while she envied the other woman for her utter lack of self conciousness at doing it, perhaps it was just different for her. "I can't just let the pack be in pain, ya know?"
Disturbing. Like that was a change from the turn the evening had taken. But Loke seemed to be looking for something in her face, so a smile hovered around her lips and polite curiosity filled her eyes. Now that she knew there would be no blister popping, she felt no need to be on her guard.
Smile fell away, lips opening in a surprised little ‘o’, as she felt the first rasp of Loke’s tongue and the heat that came with it. She knew that sort of heat, had felt it before, though never on one of her injuries. It wasn’t as unpleasant as one might think, though she didn’t imagine Loke’s taste buds were thanking her at this moment. This explained the warmth that had caught her attention and the smear on Loke’s chin. The she-wolf must have done the same for Ryver. Now that comment about it not being something she’d normally do made perfect sense.
Fingers flexed a little when her hand was released, gaze dropping to give a cursory examination of the area. Brows furrowed for a moment when Silent’s absence was mentioned. Now what did that have to do with this? Oh. Oh, of course.
“Thank you.” A slight grin offered as her gaze returned to Loke. “So, did I taste as horrid as I imagine?” Yes, jokes were the vixen’s way. Laughter eased tension, after all.
The grin that curled her lips was welcoming, she had expected the worst of course but was very thankful that Lexi took it all in stride. Swallowing the taste of salt and flesh down her throat she gave a faint shrug. "No worse then I've tasted before. " Amber gaze drifted over to the sleeping Ryver wondering if he was plagued with nightmares like she was. The nightmares that never ceased, a constant state of fatigue that seemed to hang around her eyes. She gave a shake of her head for a moment to clear the thoughts before giving a sigh.
"I'll be very thankful when we can all settle down again. When I can find more reason's to paint." Head tilted faintly at Lexi before she captured the mass of black waves from her shoulders, slipping the hair band from around her wrist and containing the wildness. "How are you holding up?"
Although she very rarely spent time with the vixen she found her very pleasing to be around. Perhaps it was the infectious smile that seemed to draw others into it's power. Her own lips curled up a bit farther.
Emerald hues followed Loke’s gaze toward Ryver, features softening as she watched him a moment. With him seeming so peaceful – or at least oblivious – it was hard to believe that anyone would have done the atrocious things to him that Malcolm had mentioned. Just thinking of it made her throat constrict. And that caused her to pause. Why did she now feel so protective of the brothers?
Words penetrated, pushing aside the question as she focused once more on Loke. Something had to be done about her diminishing attention span. But perhaps once they’d reached their destination and some semblance of normalcy returned to their lives things would get better.
Ah, yes. She’d almost forgotten that Loke was a painter. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d heard of the gallery opening.
“Frustrated and worried, for the most part…” Eyes were turned aside to stare at the side of the tent. “I don’t enjoy feeling like a… well, like a coward. I suppose that seems a bit silly. After all, it wasn’t like we had very many choices. And Ash made it rather clear that we shouldn’t argue with his orders.” A soft snort. She was actually relieved she hadn’t been a part of the dressing down he gave the others, although she had heard every word of it. “It just doesn’t feel as though I’m giving much in the way of help here. You, Memphis, Elena, and those other blokes seem to have everything sorted.” There was a wary tone when she mentioned the CORE members, easily conveying that she didn’t trust them. Of course, she hardly ever trusted someone to begin with, so that was to be expected.
“I sound rather pitiful now that I think about it.” Lips twisted into a smirk as her eyes refocused, meeting the amber gaze. “Sorry. Being back on this side of the pond is a bit… uncomfortable for me. It’s been messing with my head a little.”
Loke watched her quietly, watched the different emotions crawl over her face as she spoke. Eventually she looked down at her hands for a moment, as they lay unmoving in her lap. "I know how you feel sort of. I mean, everyone wants to stay with the Ulfric, it's normal. The pack fights together, stays together. But he did what he had too to keep us safe. It's never an easy decision, but it had to be done. I would have done the same in his place." She gave a faint node knowing the last time she was in Spain she had done that very thing.
"Before I came to Hawaii, I lived in Madrid for just over about a year and half. I was Ulfric of a pack there, we were allies with the vampires and hyena." Fingers reached up tugging the rosary from within the confines of her shirt. Marcus' gift would always stay close to her heart. Fingers slid over the cross at the end as she lost herself in thought. "But Madrid was... not welcoming. Things I have never encountered before, Spider shifters.." She glanced up at Lexi as she spoke, shaking her own head in slight awe. "Spiders, demons, angels... things of such fiction that... well I never believed they could be exhist."
Lips pursed for a moment as she shivered, it was a quiver that ran down her spine and rose the hair along her arms and neck. "Because I was the Ulfric when the angels came for us, they came for me. He nearly destroyed me." She gave a faint smile, relishing the fact this was the only person she had told this too. Marcus, Evie, Aine, Ash, none of those she was close too or loved had she shared the tale of her time in Madrid. "The only reason he allowed me to live was because he saw how selfless I was, how I was willing to die for my pack. So yeah, I understand about you feeling off being back. Being back here makes my stomach turn and my head spin. I have had my full of demons and angels to last a life time."
Hand reached out to push a bit of hair off Ryver's face as he shifted in his sleep. She was afraid for the pack, afraid for herself. But more so afraid of what lay ahead.
These revelations took her by surprise. Religion had never been that important to the vixen, although she’d dutifully attended church with her parents and listened to her grandfather speak of the wiccan principles he followed. But to learn that angels and demons did truly exist… that would take some getting used to. Obviously, if they existed then it would follow that God and Old Nick did as well. And spider shifters? The mere thought made her skin crawl. People who turned into bugs… Yuck. Nose wrinkled for a moment before she shook her head to remove the images that had sprung up.
“So, they do exist, then.. That… I just can’t wrap my mind around it. That rubbish the priest was always spouting never seemed real. Well, guess I’ll be paying for that when They decide who gets me, eh?”
She shifted, moving her legs out from under her before they went to sleep and curling them to her chest. One arm wrapped around them loosely while the other tunneled through her hair to get it away from her face.
Since Loke had opened up to her a little, she decided to return the gesture. “I haven’t been this close to London in, hm.. five years? Six? Something like that. Not since Derek and his friends were, ah, dealt with.” Thumb nail was nibbled on while she formed her memories into simple words. “Derek – he was my older brother – and his friends were executed for the deaths of my parents and for attacking me.”
“I couldn’t tell them apart, you see, when they were all furry, and I didn’t witness the attacks on my parents. Scotland Yard took care of it as far as I know. I was too angry to pay much attention to the news on the telly.” It was as if she were explaining something as mundane as why the grass was green, detached.
“I can’t say I forgive them, but I can better understand why it happened.” Smirk returned soon enough. “I don’t want to go back there yet and it just feels a little too close now that there isn’t an ocean in between, you know?”