Can You Hear Me? (Reina)

[landon]

Landon had tried to avoid all people on the night of the full moon. He took the same precautions as he did every other night of the full moon, he got in his old car, drove it hours from his home. Hiked out into the woods, he should have awoken there; surrounded by rocks, leaves and trees. He shouldn't have awoken in a alleyway of Paris.

He sat up groggily, the pale morning light allowed him to sit up finding himself in the alley was what he thought was the worst possible thing. It wasn't though.

He felt a warm sticky liquid on his hand, he looked down and seen a small female body laying not far away. Now this, this was the worst possible scenario. "Shit," he went from being drained to energized as his adrenaline kicked in, he closed the space between them and gently lifted the girls neck, yes a girls, not a womans, a girls. She was young, "fucking hell," he cursed his heartbeat kicking into overdrive.

He felt for a pulse, "please," he begged quietly, "can you hear me?"

[tabby]

Unfortunately, the girl was plenty conscious enough to not only hear him but to feel the pain that was racking her body as well. Reina forced her eyes open and looked around as best she could, wondering what the hell had happened to the wolf. She had simply been trying to escape her brother's flailing fists and now she found herself in this alley with bloody wounds on top of her bruises. "W..wolf." She managed to force out through the pain. "Wolf." She repeated weakly. The man looked about as worried as Reina felt.

Pain was pulsing from just about every part of her body and though she was telling her body to sit up, stand even, it refused to listen to her brain's instructions. Apparently she was beaten up worse than she thought. "I..." She started another sentence, intending to tell the strange man that she was fine, but the very fact that she couldn't even speak the words showed her that she wasn't. "Hos..tal. Hosp...tal?" She was trying to voice the fact that she probably needed to get to a hospital, or at the very least a paramedic.

[landon]

The string of profanities that left Landon's mouth was put together so efficiantly that it could only come from a writer. He hushed her about the wolf, he was too painfully aware a wolf had been here, a wolf had attacked her, and the wolf had been him, he took off what was left of his shirt and pressed it tightly against the wound in her neck. The ripped white cotton asorbed the blood as quickly as it came. He lifted it away, trying to get a grip on how deep the wounds were. They were deep, but he knew were survivable, the ones he'd abstained were worse, though he had the fact he was completely plastered at the time and had lessened pain response. "Okay, i'm going to call an ambulance, just wait."

Landon made the call only taking himself away from the girls side for a moment to peek out of the alley to find the street name. He came back to her dropping to his knees, he kept the blood soaked shirt against the wound. He could hear the ambulance. He fought the urge to run, to hide, let the paramedics find her, pretend this had never happened.

"This is my fault," he murmered to himself. He heard the ambulance screach to a stop and the footseps, "DOWN HERE," Landon yelled, his voice rough with emotions. He couldn't just leave her, he wouldn't let her find out things on her own like he'd had to. No, he'd done this, he'd help her, it was the least he could do. He saw the paramedics coming he firmly applied pressure to her neck wound, "it's going to be okay, I promise," he whispered.

[tabby]

Reina almost laughed despite herself when the man starting cursing. She was 15, profanities still made her giggle. Though as soon as a chuckle began to bubble up it was squashed by the pain shooting through her body. She sat patiently through his touching of her wounds, even though that hurt as well, for two reasons. One, she knew it had to happen in order for her to live, and two, she couldn't do much to stop him anyway so she might as well be amicable about it. She waited patiently as he called an ambulance, though she was afraid the wolf would be come back so she hated being left alone. She tried not to move, which wasn't hard since her body still wasn't accepting calls from her brain at the moment. All it was getting was a busy signal.

Reina sighed, relieved, when she heard the ambulance coming. Hopefully she would get some good strong pain medicine soon. Maybe they'd even knock her the hell out. That would be really good right about now. She groaned as she felt even more pain, apparently her body was starting to wake up and it was anxious to let her brain know just how much it hurt.

She stared dumbfounded up at the man when he claimed it was his fault. She knew that hadn't been meant for her ears but she had heard it regardless and it confused her. "How..." She trailed off, still too weak to put a sentence together. This no talking thing was certainly becoming annoying. She winced when he screamed for the paramedics and closed her eyes again, praying to any god that was listening that she would get painkillers very soon.

She heard his words and whimpered as more waves of pain hit her. "Th...than..thank you." She said, then slumped against the ground, thoroughly exhausted.

[landon]

Landon frowned in udder disappointment as he seen two of the puniest paramedics he'd ever encountered putting down a streacher next to the poor girls body, he hoped they were at least the smartest paramedics.

What happened here?" the one asked, he had sandy blonde hair, bright blue eyes and looked no more then sixteen.

"Pitbull," Landon replied quickly, it was the easiest, most believeable response a familiar one, the one the doctors said when Landon had been bitten years before. The paramedics counted to three and moved her to the stretcher. Landon followed them, while growling "I'm going with her."

Neither paramedic argued, he presumed it was their human brains detected he was a threat, but was oblivious enough not to realize he was a werewolf, and he had done the damage that was set out before them. They got her into the abulance and they were speeding off sirens ringing so loud it hurt Landon's sensitive ears. They started to work, applying pressure with clean cloths, some drippy thing an IV? Landon didn't know what they were doing, but they were doing it quickly and efficiently.

He held the girls hand between both of his own, hoping for the best.

[tabby]

Reina was confused again when she heard the man say it was a pitbull that attacked her. "N..no." She said, but her voice was lost in their movements and the air. She couldn't believe that the paramedics were actually buying that story. How in the hell could a pitbull do this much damage? Her mind was thinking irrationally as she tried to figure out why the man had lied. She had thought she'd made it clear to him it had been a wolf...well, mostly a wolf anyway. She was glad though when he said he was coming with her, that meant she might be able to question him later about why he'd lied.

Reina flinched as the sirens started up, they were horribly annoying but at least they seemed to be effective, as they continued to speed along. She watched the EMT's work around her and moaned when they inserted the iv. Then she smiled. Ah sweet painkiller. She had never felt anything better in her life. She realized that the man was holding her hand, and she appreciated the gesture. "Reina." She said, hoping he would hear her. "I'm....Reina....Good...Goodspell." She knew that she wasn't carrying any identification and if she was going to pass out, which seemed likely, she wanted someone to know who the hell she was. "Don't....don't call...my dad." She didn't want her father to be bothered...well, that wasn't true. She didn't want to see that he wasn't bothered. And she really didn't want her brother coming in his place and finishing the job the wolf had, for some reason, abandoned.

[landon]

With all the pain killers Landon wasn't even sure she could feel his hand, but he had picked up on her name, he wasn't even sure if the paramedics had heard it, they were bustling around and her voice was weak. He forced, what he hoped, was a comforting smile, "I'm Landon Cross, and i'll make sure they don't call up anyone," he said quietly to her. He didn't want the paramedics to hear. He figured her in her early teens, he could be her father if he'd had a child young. "Hey, how is my daughters condition," he demanded of the paramedics, he looked at her and winked. He hoped in her drugged up state she wouldn't say anything that would throw off his story. It was easier for him if she didn't want anyone called. Though he was slightly bothered by the fact she didn't want her parents. He'd rememeber to ask her about it later.

"She will be alright, she will need stitches. We will see if there is anymore extensive damage at the hospital"

Landon nodded but his eyes were still on the girl, his heart hadn't stopped pounding in his chest since he finished turning back, not since he first laid eyes on her. They took her out of the ambulance and the paramedics insisted he stay in the waiting room. They provided him a plain white tshirt with the hospital's insignia. He washed his bloodied hands in the washroom and then went back to pacing in the waiting room. I can still run he dismissed the thought as soon as he had it. He wasn't running. Not from this.

[tabby]

Reina smiled weakly at his words. She would have to remember to call him dad. She had lost all feeling in her body now, which was a godsend. She lounged on the stretcher, perfectly happy to let everything around her continue as it was. She told her mouth to stay shut and hoped it would listen. She felt incredibly drowsy and she fell into unconsciousness as they rode. She dimly registered her diagnosis from the paramedics but then she heard nothing else.

When she woke up she was in a plain hospital room, surrounded by machines and wearing a hospital gown. She reached her hand up to feel her neck and ran her fingers over the stiches that were there. She sighed and looked around for the man, Landon he had said. She at least felt a lot better now, the pain had subsided slightly, though she knew it would be her constant companion for a good while.

[landon]

Landon was pacing. His mind was racing, His heart was hammering. He was having a hard time keeping his cool. Half his mind was telling him to run, pretend it didn't happen, she'd figure it all out as he had. The other half knew what it was like, to be alone, to be left, confused, afraid. He couldn't do it to her. He'd already ruined her chances for a normal life, the least he could do is stay. Explain. Help in any way he could, he wouldn't just attack and leave her. He hadn't wanted to attack at all, hell he hadn't been aware of the attack as a wolf. How Landon hated the effects of the full moon. Death would have been better than the curse that had been put upon him.

A nurse came up, a heavy set woman who looked bored with life in general, "you can see your daughter now." It seemed she didn't do any kind of background check, he'd given them her real name, not so they would call her real father, but so they wouldn't screw up if she had any allergies, because he certainly wasn't aware of any of them. Normally he would have been angered by their shoddy work, but in this case it was a good thing for his purposes. He followed the woman, and nervously pushed the door open.

Landon walked in, he turned and watched the nurse leave, he looked around the sterile white room no one but Reina. "Um.. hey." He said shyly. In the hospital room the clean gown rather than the bloodied clothing, the blood cleaned from her hair, her neck, she looked a bit older mid teens Landon guessed now.

[tabby]

Reina looked up as the door opened and smiled shyly when she saw Landon. "Daddy!" She joked. She had no reason to be mad or suspicious, as far as she knew, other than him lying about the pitbull. She grinned at him. "I wanted to thank you again, since I'm actually coherent now. I don't know if I would have made it without your help?" Her words were sincere and the smile that followed was also.

"Why were you in that alley anyway?" She asked. "And why did you lie to the paramedics? I was attacked by a wolf, not a pitbull?" Her face now showed her confusion and she struggled to sit up in the bed, but pain shot through her as she moved so she settled back into the position she had woken in. She looked down and saw that her body was completely covered in bruises and minor scrapes. Intermittently, she saw bigger and deeper wounds that had been bandaged or stitched up. She couldn't even remember what was from the wolf and what was recieved at her brother's hands. "And why did you say it was your fault?" She asked, recalling his words from earlier. So much confusion was spawning from one man.

[landon]

Landon let out a heavy breath of air good going he thought to himself what a web of lies you weave, better start untangling he sat on the bed next to her, he looked at the scrapes, most of the teeth marks were bandaged or stiched. The bruises... they bothered him. As a wolf, they attacked; with their paws knocking down, their teeth to sink in. Paws might bruise... but all these bruises, not a chance. "Please, don't thank me, it makes this much more difficult." She is going to hate your guts

He put a firm hand on her shoulder when she tried to sit up, "sit still alright, i'll explain, just don't freak out cause you will probably rip out that IV and you will start feeling the pain... trust me." He took a deep breath, then realized he had no idea how to tell the girl what had happened. He looked out the window staring blankly for a moment before turning back to her. " He glanced over his shoulder to check for a nurse but seen nothing. "Wolves themselves are never seen in a city like this. Pitbulls are, I was making your story believeable to the paramedics and still getting you the help you required."

He looked down then up to her eyes, "because it was my fault, and I am so sorry. I don't know why or how I got to that alley way because it was the night of the full moon, where those who are under it's curse run untamed by their human instincts." He looked at her not sure if she would understand, so he just decided to come out and say it, "don't scream... i'm a werewolf.... and concidering your damage... pretty sure under the next full moon, you will be one too."

[tabby]

Reina cocked her head in confusion at his words. Don't thank him? Just make it harder? Make what harder? She got more and more confused as he continued talking. Ah, so he had heard her say wolf. But he'd covered up the fact that a wolf was there. Curiouser and curiouser.

Now he was saying it was his fault again, but how could that be true. She listened as he continued and then comprehension dawned. "We...werewolf?" She spluttered. "You're a...werewolf...and you think I'm going to be one too?" Her breathing doubled and she started to hyperventilate. The machines went nuts, all beeping at once like little kids vying for an adults attention. She tried to take deep breaths, tried to understand. "But, but, how?" She said, her voice weak again, this time from surprise. "I can't...you can't...it's not...huh?"

She was going to turn into a werewolf...werewolves were real? What about unicorns, were those real too? What about all the other fairy tale creatures she'd always thought were figments of someone's imagination, were they based on fact too. She calmed down slightly now that she was really thinking about it. "Well...I guess it makes sense." She said softly. "Oh no, am I gonna be out of control like that any time I turn wolfy?" She asked, her voice filled with panic. "Am I gonna hurt people?" She wished she could take that one back as soon as she said it. She could feel in her gut that he hadn't meant to hurt her and she knew that her question would probably hurt him. "I'm sorry." She added softly. "That was inconsiderate of me, I know you didn't mean to do this." She settled back. "Is there...more I should know?"

[landon]

"The last thing you need to do is appologize, be as inconciderate as you want, when you are out of the hospital feel free to yell at me, curse, do whatever," Landon was beyond devistation, the only thing worse was if she had been like the first girl he'd seen in the alley... and later in a casket. "I don't know how werwolves came about, the man who attacked me didn't stick around; can't blame him not exsactly joyfilled news to pass on to someone." He didn't tell her about the girl, no that would only scare her.

"And not everytime you turn," Landon corrected, "under the full moon, your screwed, stay away from anyone you intend on protecting, family, friends. Keep away. Any other time you choose to turn you are mostly in control, occasionally a wolf trait kicks a human trait in the face but you are still in control... I didn't mean to hurt you, and there are going to be people you aren't going to intend on hurting either. It's more of a curse than anything."


Landon ran his hand through his hair, she was just a child, and he'd cursed the rest of her life with this. "More you should know... yeah," he responded, "like vampires, I should probably give you a crash course on them, I didn't know they exsisted till this year myself... a bit more wolf stuff, but not till after the first change... I'll go with you if you want," Landon wasn't sure if the girl would want to be around him at all. Honestly he wouldn't blame her if she didn't. "If you have any questions I might be able to answer."

[tabby]

Reina sighed unhappily, she understood why he was doing it but she hated to watch people beat themselves up. "It's okay." She whispered. "You've actually probably saved my life." If she hadn't ended up in the hospital she probably would have just gone home and gotten killed by her brother. He had been getting worse and worse lately and she knew that if she hadn't gotten away this time, he might have killed her.

"I plan on staying away from my family anyway." She said, this was a perfect excuse for her to get away from the problems in her life. She was a little scared about it, of course, but she didn't hate him. Obviously it was something he couldn't control and the fact that he seemed to be having such a hard time with explanations meant that this sort of thing hadn't happened often, which told her that he usually took precautions against it.

"Vampires? They're real? Are they like all the legends say? Do they like werewolves?" She smiled at him and nodded. "Of course I want you to come with me, as long as you don't mind. I could probably use a mentor in this. But really, don't be so hard on yourself. It's not that big of a deal to me, the life I'm leaving behind isn't exactly something to fight for or be sad to lose."

[landon]

"I figured," Landon admitted sheepishly, "I can tell the wounds that I inflicted, and there are more than enough that I know I didn't."

Landon nodded to her question about Vampires, "yeah they are real, they are like some legends, while others blow things out of proportion, I can tell you they got a better deal than us wolves, they may be cursed never to see the sun again, but every full moon we loose who we are for a night, and potentially kill whoever we are around. Sun can kill them, so can fire... as far as I know that is it, but I haven't exsactly asked details about how to kill them."

"Some do like werewolves, there are some that don't," Landon said on her questions of if vampires and werewolves got along.

"And of course I will come with you, I wish I had been informed of what the heck I was getting myself into, I hadn't even known it was a werewolf that attacked me till my change." He wasn't going to openly admit he was completely wasted when he had come across the wolf. "How are you going to live with out your parents, I'd like to help as much as I can, but there is only so much I can do, I'm not home much," Landon admitted, "you can stay at my place if you need it, though I'm really hardly there."