He was staring at her… again… what the hell was with guys staring at her..? Though this time was different; this time the color was draining from his face… She could feel it; the stress, the worry, the slight anger in his silence- it hung in the air and clung to his very being making it more than clear to her that he hadn’t already heard the news of his daughter being a part of the attack. Whoops…
“..Xerxes-…”Opening her mouth to speak; to question what was running through his mind, and to apologize for casually blurting out bad news the way that she had, Zoé was cut off, his voice strong… dominant… commanding as he began to bark out orders, taking command of a situation she hadn’t even been paying any attention to in the moment- the boy... it was faint, but she could smell it. It was there. The onset of something that was growing stronger with each moment that passed them by and stress wasn’t going to be helping him in any way…
Epilepsy; it was something that never ended well. She had seen it before, the effects… the seizures… it wasn’t a pretty sight, and not everyone understood. Tearing her attention away from Xerxes so that she could instead look at the boy in her arms, she shifted nervously over the spot, a flicker of both fear and worry dawning over her features as she adjusted her hold around him, keeping him pressed protectively and almost lovingly against her side.
“Get him on the stretcher… there...”Hesitating a moment as Melissa moved forward with her arms outstretched, she shot the woman a warning glance, a soft though threatening growl emanating from somewhere deep within her chest as the nurse closed the gap between them, taking a hold of the boy before she began to ease her out of the alpha’s arms, causing for her to reluctantly let go and watch on as she did all that she could to help make him comfortable, and to remove the stolen scalpels from within the boy’s pockets.
“Make sure he is comfortable. He’s about to go into an epileptic fit. Keep him on his side in case of fluid build-up.”Folding a single arm over the front of her chest, she lifted her free hand up, her finger resting lightly against her lower lip as she began to chew on the tip of her nail- this day was very quickly turning into the stuff of nightmares. How had she not seen it..? How had she not felt it..? She had enough of a feeling to at least try and prepare for what had happened to the teens, but the young boy in front of her..? She had been holding him close to her since she had arrived in the hospital, and yet, here she stood… helpless and unable to do a thing while Melissa took her place in caring for the boy.
The feeling of a gaze resting over her again caught her attention, causing her to tear her eyes from the boy so that they were instead once more met with that of Xerxes, his gaze questioning and very confused. She couldn’t blame him. He wanted answers; especially when those answers were going to tell him exactly what it was that happened to his daughter, and with the emergency ward as big of a mess as it was, and teenagers who had most likely been drinking the night away thanks to the lack of parental supervision, she was the only reliable source of information left, though before she could even think about where it was she should begin, the sound of a soft though shaky voice hit her ears, forcing her to watch on as the girl in question hurried to bury herself into her father’s chest.
“Dad? Dad, I’m fine… really… just a little mauled… You were right, I should have taken Chewbacca with me… I love you daddy… I’m sorry. I’ll be a better daughter, I promise…”She could see it… the very moment that his daughter’s arms were wrapped around his body, Xerxes relaxed, relief seeming to flood over his features as she watched him pull Cassandra close against his body, his arms wrapping protectively around her; the very sight of the pair had a small smile playing over her lips. Family was a big thing… something you could always rely on; and the idea that even after something this bad the father and daughter duo were able to stay so close to one another… it had her heart swelling with a slight pride.
“Oh, sweetheart-““A wayward witch child amongst the new puppies. I’ll handle the staff if you can handle talking to the puppies. Hold onto that one. I don’t think he could handle any more stress. I recommend staying with Zoé.”That voice. She knew that voice; exceedingly well. It seemed that Magnus had now finished with his interference with the commotion outside, and was now looking to see where else he could stick his nose. As if the situation wasn’t stressful enough, she wasn’t in the mood for his quick jibes or his cryptic nature… it didn’t matter that he was her pack’s emissary, she would show no hesitation or second thought in sending him away if the situation continued to deteriorate the way that it seemed to ever increasingly be doing.
“..watch your tongue, Magnu-…”“When you said puppies, I did not know you meant actual ‘puppies’… Zoé, well should I say ‘Mama Zoé’. Ha! How you gonna handle the new litter?! What, too soon? I mean, this is funny… you gotta look on the bright side, now you have a bigger pack.”The anger that had slowly been building up under the surface finally hit breaking point, and the once beautiful dark eyes (still locked with Xerxes’) now shone a brilliant red in color making it clear as day to everyone around her. She was pissed… and Samael had just pushed her off the edge. Shooting her hand out towards the bartender, she grabbed a hold of the front of his shirt, her claws digging in and tearing at the fabric slightly as she roughly pulled him down to eye level, her brightly glowing red orbs meeting with his, and her fangs showing from beneath her lips as she snarled out in disapproval.
“Well all jokes aside, whatever you need, I am here for yo-…”“Keys.” Though it was a single word, she wasn’t playing around, her voice deep… dangerous as she held his gaze, cutting him off before he could even think about trying to back talk his way out of the trouble he had just created for himself by pushing her too far,
“Give me the keys to the parlor now… and when you get into work tomorrow..? You’re on cleaning duty; so don’t even think about heading to the bar.”Not even bothering to wait for a reply, she tore her gaze away from his, her attention now coming to a rest on the Druid who had also had a hand in helping her patience reach its tipping point, her bright eyes baring into his as she raised her free hand, her clawed finger pointed directly at his chest in a rather threatening manner,
“And you… you want to help..? You’re going to take Samael, and your both going to sit patiently on your asses in the waiting room, and you are going to do that until that young boy has been given the all clear to leave this hospital… Once you have been told that he can leave; both of you are going to drive him to the bed and breakfast, and you are going to give him to Callie so that she can look after him and keep him out of trouble. Now…”Snarling slightly, she let her gaze flick back and forth between them, her canines barred in a show of asserting her dominance and authority above the both of them,
“..do you think you two can handle that simple task, or is it going to be too hard for you to stay out of damn trouble.”“I need you two out of the emergency hall. Now. You have no jurisdiction here. You may sit in the waiting room until the situation has been placed under control, at which point I will send someone to inform you of any updates we might have. Do not come into my hospital and tell me what to do, ever again. Now go!”Waiting until she was sure that Xerxes had finished his little tirade on the two she herself had just had a go at, Zoé released her hold on Samael, the alpha shooting the both of them one last warning gaze before her full attention was once more on the duo before her; the worried father returning as he did what he could to look her over, trying his best to figure out whether or not she was okay, and just what Zoé had meant earlier when she had asked him to let her help.
It was going to be confusing… Xerxes himself was still new when it came to his knowledge of wolves, and the fact that he was now going to be raising one of his own… She had a lot of explaining to do all round; and for the love of God, she didn’t even want to think about what the next full moon was going to bring for them all…
“Let go of me.”
Her attention was suddenly pulled to the side as the sound of a sudden shout filled the air, the dulcet tones unmistakable as her eyes fell upon the young siren slowly (but surely) making his way to the room she could hear the voices of two of the teenagers. Finally… even though he was on the verge of ripping his stitches back open, someone was finally making her life easier by doing what she needed him to do.
Sighing softly, and hating the choice she had just made, Zoé turned back to the father and daughter still sharing the loving moment with one another, her hand reaching out to rest over Cassandra’s shoulder a moment before she pulled her away from her father, turning her around so that she was able to see the boy slowly and painfully making his way down the hall,
“You can both kill me later for that, but right now, I need you to help me out. Cassandra, your friend over there, the one shouting out at the top of his lungs; I need you to help him into that room there… the one with Aron and Cody in it. Once you’re there, just sit down and relax, your dad and I will be in there in a moment with the rest of your friends.”Giving her an encouraging push towards her friend, she waited a moment, watching on briefly before she turned her attention back over to Xerxes, her gaze (apologetic) meeting with his own and holding it as she took charge of the situation, once more making it clear that she was going to need help, and just what it was that she needed help with,
“Xerxes… I will answer any and all questions you have; but right now, we need to get them all in the same room so I can talk to them all, and so I can explain to them what’s actually happening… I’m going to go this way, you go that way; when you come across one of the teens, take them into that room, and I’ll meet you there.”Making sure first that he had fully understood just what she had asked of him, Zoé turned, making her way down the path she had pointed out for herself as she began to search for any of the teens that were missing from the group. Aron, Cody, the siren, Cassandra… they were all there, but there were still five missing from the group. Quinton had two of them; but that still left three unaccounted for.
Could this night get any worse..?
Slipping her hand into the front pocket of her jeans, she pulled out her mobile, her thumb brushing over the screen, typing in her pass-code and unlocking the screen before she pulled up her messages, her hands coming together in front of her and her eyes trained on the screen as she began to type away:
“Alder; wanna get in a few hours tonight..? I’ll pay you double the normal rate, and you’ll get tips on top of that. Also, it’ll give us a chance to talk about tomorrow… there’s been a sudden change in the schedule… Meet you at the parlor in about an hour… maybe an hour and a half.
Zoé.”
That was when she heard it. Lifting her head up after hitting the send button, Zoé trained her ears on the sound of a ventilator beeping close by, her thumb moving up to lock her phone before she once more slid it back into her pocket, her feet picking up their pace as she made her way down the hall and into a room just a little further away, her eyes flicking about the room until they came to a rest on a familiar figure laying on the stretcher.
Miranda Burke.
Sleeping..? Maybe. Having trouble breathing..? Yes; though it had nothing to do with the attack they had just been through. She could see it; the girl’s wounds were already healing… no, what she was going through was nothing more than a panic attack, brought on by the stress of the situation, and by not knowing whether or not her friends were alright. She would soon fix that.
Moving silently though the room, she removed the breathing mask and flicked the breaks off the wheels, her hands lifting up to rest on the end of the stretcher so that she could begin to move it, twisting it around before she began to push it out the room and back the way she had come, not bothering to care if anyone saw her as she passed them by- she was in no mood. She had made that perfectly clear; and right now..?
Right now she had a job to do.