[IC] Werewolves in the City

[Mayadere]

For the most part, Hide was quiet and compliant, even as he was bandaged up. He tried his best to only focus on what Kiara had been saying. She had apologized and he was a bit confused as to why, but he merely went along with it and nodded his head lightly. But he was having a terrible time ignoring what was going on in the other room.

In his minds eye, he could easily envision his most favorite place in the world. Though Kiara had said something about running, he couldn't quite bring himself to think of that as a happy place unless others were there with him. The forest felt lonely without anyone else, he didn't like it. But quickly, his mind began to wander towards something else that he found most peaceful. Home. Not the apartment home, no, the house they had lived in previously. He could clearly remember his bed, his books, his pillow, and most of all is favorite blanket that one of the other members had knitted for him when he was still small. That blanket had brought him so much comfort when he was little and even more when he was older, too. He had practically brought it everywhere with him for such a long time, it was a raggedy old thing by the time it was turned to ashes in the fire.

He pushed his thoughts away from the fire though and focused on the blanket. Or well, he tried too. But then Adrian appeared in the room and got just a bit too close for Hide's personal taste in his wounded state. His attempts to ignore what was going on in the other room failed and any peaceful thoughts he had slipped right out the window as the image of his blanket became dotted in red. Such violent words against someone who had not even done anything more than check on him, he wanted to snarl and growl. And though he knew they were just worried and looking out for him, it felt like it was just a bit too much, especially for that poor girl. Anger did not often find itself in Hide, but when it did, it tended to be rather nasty.

Suddenly Hide's eyes open wide as a low snarl escapes his throat, he attempts to jerk his head away from Kiara's hand, trying to sit upright much despite his broken ribs. Blood quickly started to roll past his lips as he did so, but he was far too busy baring his fangs at Adrian to care, it seemed. His voice was hoarse and laced with pain, fresh tears even stung at his eyes.

"I do not care about 'vengeance' right now. I care more about innocent blood being spilled, I care more for how badly that girl is being treated when she did nothing wrong. She did not attack me, she did nothing more than check on me. I felt her worry, her panic. She is innocent in my attack! Did no one think to ask me who or what attacked?! Apologize." He stared intently at Adrian, who was now currently the focus of his anger. Hide never appeared as much of a fighter, merely because he was just did not care enough to fight for a position. He could have easily been beta, or even a protector if he wanted. But he didn't want rank, he did not want the responsibility that they entailed. But when he was angry, things like rank and position did not matter any longer, everyone turned into just another wolf among the group until he calmed down and returned to his senses.

"Apologize. To her." He rumbles out again, in a low, warning tone. While it was more of an order, it was hard to tell if he would leap and attack or not. BUT, it did not matter. Within a few seconds of his words, his eyes close and he topples right back down onto the table with a thud. He was panting rather roughly, but it was clear he was done arguing.

[drallinix]

Adrian's eyes burned with anger. He was furious with Hide for chastising him, especially since all he wanted was to help him. On top of that it was twice that day that someone had attempted to subdue his position as Beta and it was infuriating. Hide was a male, but let there be no mistake Adrian had fought and clawed his way to where he was. His eyes burned yellow and his teeth somewhat elongated, but Adrian did not strike out or even reply. Instead he merely went and put the pack of cigarettes he had on the table beside Hide and walked off looking downtrodden.

Adrian walked past the girl being interrogated and straight back to the roof where he sat down. He couldn't understand why he was the focus of so much anger. All he had done was chase down a stray that had potentially been involved in attacking one of his family. He seriously doubted the girl could case those wounds, but Rose had looked scared enough, and the girl had run all the circumstantial evidence pointed to her being involved. Besides that if he had let her run away then he would have been failing at his position of beta.

Adrian stood on the side of the roof looking down. He had no intention to jump, but he did enjoy the feeling of wind in his hair. Sighing he put his hands in his pockets and stepped down from the ledge turning and punching a metal vent. A small amount of blood dripped from his knuckle painting the rooftop gravel a deep scarlet. He didn't know what to do, half the pack agreed with his actions, the other half despised them. Finally he exhaled and returned downstairs.

He stood beside the girl and called to all of the members to gather before him. He blinked a few times and his eyes turned yellow again to show his seriousness in the situation. "I know many of you disagree with my actions. However I AM the beta and from what I had seen the girl was a threat. I did not kill her, but she did run and had our brothers blood on her hands. I do not think that she did that to hide, but that is not for me to decide. This is our decision as a family as to what to do with her. As for the criticisms that have come of my actions I would like to remind all of you that while I am young I AM the beta. I don not wish to have to pull seniority of rank or use aggression on any of you. I love each of you deeply as family, but we cannot have dissension in the pack it threatens our very way of life. This being said I would like to ask now of all of you what to do about the girl, as well as inform you that I will be leaving at the end of the day with the newblood to get out of the city. She will have a hard time with the change and being away from people will ease the stress. Upon my departure Roman shall be just under the Alpha until I return if there are any concerns let me know now." Adrian finished his eyes returning to green and a grim look on his face.

[Arrayah]

When Hide began to move, Kiara gasped, her hands gripping the table tightly. Why were they always forgetting that she could feel it too? It was a good skill to have, for it allowed her to pinpoint what was wrong and where, but until they were healed, she was just as miserable. Luckily, this didn't usually take too long. She was so focused on her breathing that she barely registered what was going on right in front of her. That was until she felt the heat of Adrian's anger. He was projecting it without even realizing it, she expected. It was uncomfortable, though, and she was slightly relieved when he left.

"Hide..." Like it had always been when she'd spoken to him, her voice was soft, in an effort to be comforting. She bit her lip as she remembered how much better at this her mother was. It was hard to push the feeling of loss away, but she did it. After all, thinking of her mother led her to thinking of her sister, and thinking of both would just force her back into bed, something she could not do right now. So, Kiara tried her best to only focus on the man who was in hurt in front of her. "Hide, don't worry... I'll go help her alright? But I need you to rest. Please stop moving, for your sake... and for mine."

With that, she stroked his forehead, gently, one last time. She was better than aspirin after all. When Kiara was sure that he would be fine as long as he didn't get up again, she went into the other room where Adrian was now talking to those that had gathered there. For a few moments, it was silent, and she couldn't help but put her head in her hands. She knew what she needed to do, what she needed to say, and still she could not. There was no way the words could leave her mouth without them thinking she was insane, just as they had thought the girl was.

So, she was thinking of a different approach instead. Kiara could help the girl, just as she'd promised Hide, but that didn't mean she'd have to tell them about the dreams, the omens. That would need to wait until things were... she would tell them on Friday when everyone was feeling better, excited possibly. Or would that be a worse time? Her hands pressed harder into her face, trying to figure out what she should do. She could not feel the wounds of the girl, but they didn't look too terrible. So, when she walked over, poking and prodding just as she had with Hide, Kiara gave her a look of apology. "Could I tend to her? Now that we've decided we don't think she's responsible?" she said to the people around her.

To the girl, she said very quietly, hoping that the others would not hear. "I'll help you. I know it wasn't you, so don't be frightened." She looked up at the girl again, trying to make her eyes warm and trustworthy like they'd once been before continuing, "I believe you... I won't hurt you, but I can't heal you if I'm not sure what they did.."

[wolverbells]

Rosalie looked up as she heard footsteps come in to the room after there was a moment of silence. She had listened to the girl speak to Roman and explain herself, but Rose was too caught up in her own thoughts to actually pay attention. Instead, the words went in one ear and out the other as she tried to find an explanation for what had happened and why she couldn't pick up a trail. Once Adrian walked back in to explain himself, she frowned knowing it was her fault he even reacted like that. If she might have taken a different approach to the situation at hand. "You shouldn't have to explain yourself, Adrian. It happened because instead of actually taking the time to figure out what was going on, I acted on impulse. I was scared and got aggressive..... It wouldn't be the first time it's happened." She frowned and looked over as Kiara walked in, standing up and walking over to her. "I'm guessing he's doing better?"

Rose didn't wait for an answer, instead, she walked out of the living room and over to where Hide was. "Hey man." Her voice was soft and almost a croon, kind of like when she spoke to her kids. She felt terrible for not being able to have helped. 'Maybe if you would have left to work early like always, you could have scouted the perimeter to make sure no one was there' she thought to herself as she ran a hand through his hair. She watched as he breathed deeply and made a note that the breaths were still somewhat shallow. "I'm terribly sorry for what happened.... This whole ordeal is a bit out of wack..... But I know you'll be back to normal soon. Nothing can hold you down for too long." She glanced towards the living room and kept patting Hide's hair, hoping it was bringing him comfort. Whether he was hearing her or not, she wasn't sure; and since she wasn't sure if she'd be able to speak to the stranger, she decided to explain herself to him instead. "I'm not going to apologize for coming to your aide... I know, I should have handled it differently, but I was scared and she had your blood on her hands.... I feel for her... I've been in her shoes.... I've been judged by other packs... I've been on the receiving side of the kind of punches that Adrian throws.... but I won't apologize for trying to help you. How ever I do take full responsibility for my mistake... and I will thank her for trying to help you when none of us were there for you... Whenever she lets me talk to her... I hope you understand." She leaned back into the chair and sat still, staring off into space but still listening to the conversation in the living room.

[Dragonbud]

For awhile, a soft thumping sound had been coming from Cal's 'room'. And after several minutes of thumping, the sounds of Cal standing was heard, then the sounds of plucking. And then the cycle repeated. Cal was trying to get her anger out in the least destructive way possible, and for her it was throwing darts at the unfinished drywall. Most of the darts were being thrown with such a force, that it took extra muscle to rip them out of the wall. She didn't really care that she was messing up the wall, it wasn't like the apartment was anything nice. If anything the pinhole sized dents looked nice. But she was sure she was going to get an earful later.

If there was one thing Cal hated about being a werewolf, other then the terrifying transformation every full moon, was the pack dynamics. And the worst thing about pack dynamics was...well everything. When she was a stray, all the time ago, she was her own boss. She only needed to hunt and protect herself. The downside to that being the crippling loneliness and going nearly insane because of it. Cal let out a growl when she heard Adrian call the house to attention, and begrudgingly stood up, tossing the remaining darts onto the floor.

She stood away from the group with a slight scowl on her face and her arms crossed in front of her chest. He was ranting about how it was his job or something, and while that was true Cal still disagreed with what happened. But Adrian already knew that. Family. Yeah families don't have stupid ranks. And if they did they wouldn't fight for them tooth and claw. What bothered her the most was what if this girl hadn't been a stray? What if her pack was on the way to kick some ass. And with the Alpha away and Hide hurt, it would have been a disaster.

"Well you know my opinion. I say the least we can do is help this chick out, I mean you did beat the shit out of her."

Cal's expression suddenly changed from one of scorn to concern. She had forgotten about the full moon. After everything to happen this morning. Cal hated full moon changes, they scared her to no end. What if the alpha wasn't around for the full moon? That thought alone was enough to scare her. She liked the leadership of their alpha, fair and kind at sometimes but also stern and powerful. Being near him during the change often kept Cal from panicking. Cal looked away from the group as she chewed her lip nervously.

[The Roman07]

The mood in the two rooms changed more than a bitch in heat but it was sadly the norm. Many condradictions were thrown around while others were doubting themselves left and right. The stray stated her case and made a compelling argument that went along with Hides strenious outburst moments later. Adrian was right partially and Roman couldn't help but smile at the fact that he managed to keep his cool.

"Okay guys enough..." Roman sternly said with an unlit cigarrette hanging from his lip.
A strange furry lump suddenly rubbed against Romans leg. The familiar scent left a half cocked smile on his face as he picked up the big brown rabbit and stuck it on his lap.

"The way I see things, everyone did what they were supposed to... granted Adrian may of seemed a little harsh but he caught her which led to the proof of her 'possible' innocense." He said still holding a small bit of doubt in his mind. "If she managed to escape, we would be wasting time on a manhunt hunting the wrong man..."

Roman leaned forward and plopped the rabbit in the strays lap, getting uncomfortibly close once again. "Hide says you didn't do it and I believe him, but consider my natural curiosity to not be entirely convinced you just-so-happen to come across another pack of wolves in this city." Romans deep blue eyes scanned her for any underlying emotions hiding under her frightened exterior.

Standing up out of his chair leaving the rabbit in the strays lap he walked up towards Adrian gesturing him to wait before he left with the pup. Red spoke in the Strays ear just as he did. Knowing her it was an attempt to comfort her.

"A favor, I just want to see the Pup before she goes. I want to give her a present and a quick lesson in control... actually you may gain something from it as well." Roman added before turning his attention back to the stray. "If your so intent on proving your innocent, than you wouldn't mind helping us finding who did this? There's no proof this was a RANDOM accident and for all we know this could be intended for werewolves which leaves us ALL vulnerable." Roman stuck out his hand in a gesture to shake hers. "Assuming the rest of the pack agrees with my suggestion, your the only other person whom has seen what happened, so your help would benefit us all..."

Roman did not like the fact that Adrian left him in charge while he was gone, but with Hide out of comission and Jethro MIA at the moment he had no choice. He would rather leave things to a vote if possible but understood a general "push" in the right direction is necessary. Roman looked around the room to the other wolves and waited for their approval. He also gave an intent stare towards Red who was all too quiet in this whole situation. He did not forget the power of her empathy and can ultimately feel the atmosphere in the room way better than he ever could.

"What do you say Red? Can we handle another Bitch in the house until we figure this out?" He smirked.

[Obscene Symphony]

A lot happened after Sierra plead her case. The injured man woke up and said something about apologizing, followed up immediately by Sierra's captor storming out of the apartment. He was gone for a few minutes but returned soon, giving a speech about family and ranking and how it was their decision on what to do with her. The idea that Sierra's fate was not her own didn't sit well with her, but obviously there wasn't much she could do.

After the beta gave his speech, a woman whom Sierra assumed was some kind of healer approached her, poking and prodding at her abdomen and body. Sierra shrank away from her touch, wincing with every poke. The woman asked the gourd if she could tend to Sierra, apparently in an attempt to make it up to her. She then whispered to Sierra, telling her that she believed her story, and that she would help if Sierra let her examine her. Sierra, begrudgingly, obliged, freely showing her confusion at the frequent changes in mood of the room.

The smoker from before, the girl who'd shown the first signs of sympathy for Sierra, spoke up, saying that they (the pack) should help her. Sierra gave the girl a grateful look, which must have looked a bit freaky on her scraped and swollen face.
It was barely a second after the healer started prodding at her when the man whom Sierra assumed was alpha but apparently was not (at this point Sierra had stopped trying to keep track) got uncomfortably close again, plopping a rabbit (?) into her lap. She leaned away from the creature in her lap, wondering why it was alive and not in a stew somewhere. The smell of the animal made her mouth water and her stomach hurt even more.

The pseudo-alpha-but-not spoke again, way too close for comfort. The gist of his proposal was that he believed that she wasn't the sole perpetrator, but also didn't think her totally innocent (at this point Sierra was more confused and freaked out than afraid). Thankfully he didn't stay there for long, getting up and addressing the rest of the group.

"A favor, I just want to see the Pup before she goes. I want to give her a present and a quick lesson in control... actually you may gain something from it as well."

He turned back to Sierra, holding a hand out to her and basically asking for help. Her hand wandered absently over the rabbit's ears, taking comfort in the softness. She had to growl a bit on the inside with at the terrible pun the man made, but took little time to decide and cautiously shook the man's hand, wary of any trick he might try to pull on her.

"Okay, but I don't know how much help I could be."

[Mayadere]

Hide was quiet while Rose spoke, he was a bit tired now that Kiara had done her magic, but the exhaustion was nothing in comparison to the hunger that was brewing in his stomach.But he really couldn't bring himself to ask for food, at least not yet.Slowly he turned his head to face Rose, a familiar, calm smile upon his features. Even with the bruising and bandages, he seemed pretty happy. His tone was still a bit rough, but it held no traces of anger or anything of the alike. If anything, it sounded apologetic.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Neither did Adrian. I... hurt, scared, worried. Focused on the distress of the stray. You know I don't deal well when someone is defenseless and is being backed into a corner, especially when they don't have anyone else on their side. Just didn't want anyone else to get hurt this morning, especially someone who didn't do anything."

Hide slowly starts to wiggle a bit on the table until he was closer to the chair that Rose was in. He was still smiling towards her. But now he did not seem as apologetic, was that a hint of mischievousness from the good side of his face? It was hard to tell with the bandages and the bruising, but for the most part, was harmless.

"That impulsiveness is a good thing. No one knew and she seemed like a good suspect, you did a good job." Hide was silent a few moments before he sighs. "I need to apologize to Adrian, though. You'd think he would remember not to take me too seriously when I bark, especially when wounded like this."

Hide became silent once again as he closes his eyes, shaking his head lightly. He felt a bit guilty for having done that, but he was glad that they finally stopped being so mean towards the stray. It put him at ease , especially when he knew Kiara was in there with her. He slowly opens his eyes once again, glancing towards the pack of cigarettes before looking back towards Rose with a bit of a grumble.

"If I were to ask you to help me outside to smoke... would you say yes? Or would you pat my head some more? I'd ask for my blanket, but that is gone now. Actually, if you can just sit in here with me for a bit would work too... Just a bit afraid to be alone at the moment."Hide asked simply with the same joking tone that he always did, the tone that made it hard to tell if he was serious or not.

[wolverbells]

Rosalie looked down as she heard Hide speak, surprised that he was awake. She smiled back at him and nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "She's got Kiara and Roman on her side so even if anyone wanted to do anything, they couldn't. Adrian's fine with it now too.... I think." She shrugged nonchalantly and placed her hands on her lap, listening to Hide speak. Her eyes widened as he began to move around and she shook her head quickly, lifting her hands but not putting them on him. "No, no, stop moving." She rolled her eyes and laughed quietly, knowing he wouldn't listen. Seeing him joke around and be himself was nice. She didn't like being in a serious environment.

When he mentioned going outside, her eyebrows furrowed and she rolled her eyes once more, laughing. "Hide.... you just got jumped.... and you want to go back out there?" She gently messed his hair up and sat up. "Do you want anything else? I won't leave you alone, I promise."

[Arrayah]

Kiara could barely look at Roman as she nodded. He had a strange way of being able to see through her, possibly because of how straight forward he always was. This was going too far. She'd thought they would leave the girl alone when they realized it could not have been her who attacked Hide, but it seemed that Roman was still wary, as he should be. Kiara could understand their need to protect the pack, she felt it too, possibly stronger than the rest. And so she came to her decision finally, and surely.

Even so, she could barely raise her voice above a whisper. "It was not her, Roman." To keep her mind off of what she was about to tell them all, she continued to tend to the girl. The wet cloth she brought with her was cold now, but it would do fine in cleaning up her face. "It was something else... something dark and evil.. and I'm afraid." When the girls scrapes were cleaned, she applied the same salves she had used on Hide to help speed even their kind's healing.

Despite herself, Kiara looked across the pack as they stood there watching the girl, deciding. "Something has been coming to me in my dreams. It's coming for us. All of us." Like she'd done to Hide, she touched the girls forehead in an attempt to take her pain. Never having done this for a non-pack member, she could not be sure it would work. "I don't..." her voice broke as she looked towards the kitchen. This was all of her fault. She'd apologized to Hide, but it would never make up for what she had allowed to happen. Too many people had gotten hurt because she'd kept her mouth shut.

"I'm so sorry..." She spoke the words to them all, but her gaze was on the girl in front of her. This innocent pup had been harmed by her pack because Kiara had not been brave enough to save her. And then, like many of pack did, she took off when she felt she could no longer face them. She did not stop running until she reached the roof, the only place she could see the stars clearly. As she watched them fading, she could not help but reach a hand out, as if she could keep them there to comfort her.

[wolverbells]

deleted

[The Roman07]

"Okay, but I don't know how much help I could be." -Sierra

"Your right, I don't know either but you know what?" Roman asked before walking up to her. "Id rather have your help and not need it, than need it and not have-"

"-It was not her, Roman." -Kiara said unexpectedly.

Roman just stood there looking towards Kiara. Taking a deep breath as she explained. "It was something else... something dark and evil.. and I'm afraid."

"-Dont be!" Roman snapped.

"Don't ever be afraid, fear is something your mind creates when your alone with something to lose- and you know what? Your NOT alone... you never will be. Not if we can help it!"

Roman walked over towards Red and kneeleddown in front of her. He could see the sadness in her eyes, the blame she casted upon herself and the guilt that came along with it. Roman took her hand and covered her dainty fingers inside his own.

"You forget how strong we are, how strong a pack is. Its not the wolf that makes a pack strong, but the strength of the pack that keeps eachother strong. Whatever is coming Red, we will be ready for it."

Roman stood back up and tossled her Red hair playfully trying to snap her out of her trance.

"Now, let's see if we can introduce our stray to Mr. Bubbles... I think she would prefer someone like herself to lend her a hand." Roman gave a crooked smile before walking over to check on Hide.

[drallinix]

"Well since the alpha and pup are MIA and she is going to help im going to take Rose out scouting. That way we can find whatever the hell did this if we run into trouble she will come get help while I....." his voice trailed off. walked to Sierra "Hey im sorry about hitting you and all im a bit hot headed and over protective. Anyway your welcome to stay with our ragtag family here, but feel free to leave if you wish." Adrian walked to the door grabbing a switchblade and pocketing it as he walked by the table. He stood by the door looking at Rose "well shall we be going then?" he asked.

[wolverbells]

Rosalie's attention turned quickly to Adrian as she heard her name. She sighed quietly and nodded, when asked if they'd be going. "No smoking. Wait just a few more hours." She smiled at Hide and ruffled his hair before standing up and walking over to the door. "Let's go! See you guys later." She shrugged on her sweater before slipping out the door, feeling the stressful atmosphere stay behind in the room.

[Mayadere]

Hide really didn't have a say in the matter of where people went or what they were going to be doing at the moment, especially with what had just happened. He frowned though as Rose told him no smoking, causing him to shake his head faintly.

"Be careful out there, you two." He mumbled towards Rose and Adrian, just barely loud enough to be heard. He closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath as he heard doors close and the sound of people growing quiet. He should have asked for some help getting off of the table and for something to eat, but he now felt wasn't quite the time to be asking for things, wounded or not. And the more he thought about it, the less hungry he was. He just wanted to sleep. But now that he had gotten rather comfortable on the table, he wasn't quite sure he was going to to be able to move very far... he wasn't willing to just lay there either, though.

Mustering up all of his willpower, Hide suddenly flipped himself over! Right off of the table. He had completely forgotten that he had scooted himself so close to the edge, but thankfully he was fast enough and managed to get his feet under him before he smacked onto the tile floor. The entire motion hurt, but it didn't show on his face as he grabbed the pack of cigarettes off of the table. He grabbed one of the few chairs in the kitchen and dragged it over towards a window before sitting down on it with a soft, tired sounding sigh. Stuffing the pack onto the window sill he carefully dug into one of his pockets and pulled out his phone.

It was an old thing, his phone was. It had no camera, couldn't get pictures or videos, browsing the internet on it was impossible as well. The only thing this ancient flip-phone was good for was making calls, slow texting, and most importantly, checking the time and date. Though at this particular moment, he needed to let his boss know he wouldn't be able to work tonight, tomorrow, and probably not until after Monday. Flipping open the phone, he quickly starts to work on a text, but stops. How was he going to explain to his boss that he got hurt bad enough that he had to miss work? He worked as a doorman for a very popular bar, he got hurt nearly every night in one way or another... Shaking his head he continues the text before hitting send and leaning back slightly in the chair. Though the silence did not last long as his phone began to ring, not even a full minute after sending the text. Without looking, he flipped it open and shoved the phone to his ear.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU GOT HIT BY AN INVISIBLE BUS FILLED WITH NINJAS?" A loud, feminine voice erupted from the phone. Loud enough to cause Hide to cringe a bit as he clenched his jaw. "I know you like to joke, but did you really get hit by a bus?!"

"No, it was a figure of speech." Hide chuckles faintly. "But I won't be able to make it into work for a few days. I know I was supposed to work until Friday morning, but, hurt a bit too bad to really move much. I'll be good for after Monday, though." The other voice on the other end of the phone was quiet, but Hide could easily hear some soft grumbling and the background noise of the bar.

"Alright alright. You don't usually stay down long though, so this must be something kind of serious if you are calling to tell me that you can't come into work. I'll figure something out. See you Monday afternoon!" The woman chimes happily before the line went dead. Hide merely groaned and shook his head, suddenly thankful he had such a wonderful, understanding boss.