Gwen
When she moaned, two thoughts hit me at the same time and deciding which one to listen to was a struggle.
The first thought was that she might be sick.
The second was that she might be faking to get an opening to attack.
The latter seemed much more likely, but I wasn’t going to brush off the possibility that she might actually be sick. That’s what her father had done. She had said at times she wasn’t feeling well, he’d just leave. I couldn’t bear the thought of her believing I was the same.
"Tori?" I cautiously approached the cage to take stock of the situation. "Are you alright?"
The best move was to say nothing, to do nothing. But there was no way in hell I was going to take the best move in this situation.
Moving close, I knelt next to the cage, brushing her hair away from her face. Her eyes were clenched tight. I had to show that I was still willing to touch her when she was sick. That I wasn’t going to let her suffer needlessly. I wished I had checked the cameras before heading down, if I could see whether she had shown any signs of faking.
I could just go up and check, but she was awake - I was afraid she’d see it as abandoning her.
"Tori? Are you okay?" Stroking her hair, I watched her closely. If she was faking she might give up the ruse here and attack, but I could probably pull my hand back in before she mangled it too badly. I knew I was risking fingers though - stupid for someone who worked with her hands. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"
I had expected her to flinch at my touch, at least a little, but she relaxed ever so slightly, her breathing slowing.
“...hurts.” Her voice was strained, muted with her face buried in her arm.
I was running through the possibilities in my head. Was this more side-effects from the weakening mixture? She shattered a plate earlier, had she worsened the burn on her hand? Was the chicken not agreeing with her?
"What hurts?" I asked gently, soothing. "I need to know so I can figure out how to fix it."
“...hurts.” She repeated the same thing, her voice catching in her throat, struggling.
I stroked her hair for a bit longer before pulling my hand out. "Just wait one moment."
There was aspirin in the storage room. I had no idea if it was safe for wolves, but it seemed like the best bet - it was the most natural painkiller I had on hand, willow bark and all. I knew that they used some kind of aspirin-derivative in vet offices. I’d have to make sure she didn’t shift just in case. She might need to sleep as a human tonight.
If she wasn’t doing better by morning, I’d call River. I’d fess up and tell her everything and ask for help. I went clammy at the thought, at the old wolf’s stern disapproval. She was going to find out one way or the other eventually, but I would prefer that it be in the spring when I had hopefully made some good progress with Tori.
"Here, Tori." I put the bottle of water and the two pills in the cage next to her and started to stroke her hair again. "Can you take these? They'll help you feel better."
She shifted, just slightly, whimpering and curling tighter. She didn’t feel warm, but she was definitely acting like she was in pain.
“Please, Tori. Can you sit up? Can you take the pills?”
She wasn’t making any motion to grab them, she only whimpered and trembled. I was going to have to get her out of the cage so I could maneuver her so I didn’t risk drowning her while getting the aspirin in her.
Grabbing the pills and the bottle, I moved to the front of the cage, double-checking my pockets. I had remembered to grab the remote for the collar and alarm whistles, as well as the actual whistle I had used on her earlier.
I was risking a lot to show her I cared. Nothing about this was the smart move.
“I’m going to help you take these.” Disengaging the lock, I opened the door and knelt. “You’re not going to feel better by curling into a ball.” Gently, leaning in and sliding my hands under her body, I pulled her towards me, lifting her out of the cage and onto the ground.
Standing, I grabbed the bottle of water and a sharp pain went into my leg, the world went sideways as I fell. I saw stars as her fist slammed into my face. As quickly as I could, I reached into my pocket, going to activate the shock collar. My head whipped to the side as she punched again - she hit hard. Blood splattered from my nose and I mashed the wrong button on the control, triggering the whistle alarm. She winced long enough for me to activate the collar as well.
Pulling myself out from under her, I pulled my legs to my chest and kicked, sending her small frame across the room. There was a crash, then another. The bookcase had fallen on top of her.
I scrambled to my feet, limping as quickly as I could to the desk where Granddad’s cane was waiting for me, the nearest weapon. The silver tip wasn’t much, but it was my best bet. Mixed with the sound of wood cracking, Tori’s howl was filled with rage and pain as she slammed the fallen bookcase behind her. Her jaw was clenched, her teeth visible as she pulled herself to her feet.
"I'm not upset with you, Tori." I did my best to stand straight, trying to ignore the pain of what was most likely a broken nose. Swiping the back of my hand across my face, I flung blood to the ground. "I'm disappointed. I tried to help you when you acted sick and hurt. To comfort you from the pain. I'm sad this is how the evening is coming to an end."
The collar was still sending electricity through her body, the whistles were going, but she was still managing to stand. Suddenly, Tori’s head rose, a grin across her face. An animal grin. A feral grin.
The green light on the collar was dead. The battery quit.
She shifted, her body going from human to brute to dire, the collar dropping to the ground with a metallic clatter, and she charged.
Of all the ways this could have gone, this was probably the best outcome if we were going to continue fighting. The smart choice for her would have been the brute. The room was filled with things she could have used as weapons, things she could have taken advantage of - the table, the folding chair, even the books. There was so much less space for a huge wolf to move around in, and there were only so many places she could go.
As she ran for me, as she jumped, I dropped onto my back, pulling my legs up again. My knee went into her chest and I kicked, throwing her onto her back behind me with a crash as she slammed into the table, knocking over Granddad’s recliner.
With speed born of desperation and adrenaline, I rushed to the cabinet in the far corner of the room, dropping the cane and pulling out my spear. If she stayed a wolf, she’d be forced to try and charge around the tip of the spear - this was exactly why I had made it. If she decided to use the brute, I could rush her, human to brute and wolf to dire were the fastest shifts.
Dire to brute was the slowest, the shift where the body changed most drastically. It was a vulnerability if the werewolf wasn’t quick.
"I gave you a chance, Tori. I really didn't want tonight to be like this. But I'm going to have to ask you to get back into the cage." Slowly, I stepped to the side, getting the staircase behind me. If she charged, I could use it to my advantage. She couldn't get around the spear. If she tried, I might be able to make it to the door before she reached me. "Now. Get back in the cage."
Saliva dripped from Tori’s mouth as she rounded the cage, her ears back, her fangs bared in a threatening snarl. She was deadly serious.
I leveled the spear, the point down slightly as she approached. Wolves, normal wolves, often wouldn’t attack if you stared them down convincingly enough. They preferred to chase down running prey. If a person was imposing enough and stood still, they weren’t sure how to attack. Unfortunately, the same wasn’t true for werewolves.
Tori stalked forward, the cute husky hidden behind the fearsome jaws. She darted left, a feint. My spear moved to intercept - she was testing me. With the whistle blaring, it should be more painful against her heightened dire hearing, it should drop her if she waited too long. I could only tell it was still going by the red light on the wall - the pitch was too high for human hearing.
Feinting again, to the right this time, she darted left before lunging forward. I acted on instinct more than anything. The spear was one of the few weapons I had on hand that I had any real kind of training in. Granddad always told me that if I was face to face with a werewolf my best bets were something that gave a longer reach. They’d always be faster and stronger than you, but you could use that against them. Their own momentum could lead them to skewering themselves upon your spear. It was good advice, but using it never felt good.
The yelp that escaped her shattered my heart. Her jaws snapped shut just a few inches from my leg only because my spear had pierced her right hindleg, preventing her from getting any closer without driving it in deeper. Shaking, she tried to cope with the pain that had to be burning through her before it became too much. Her eyes widened before they rolled up and she collapsed on the floor.
The dire began to shift, I didn’t have much time to remove the spear before it risked interfering with the process. I wasn’t sure what having silver in the body might do during the transformation. Despite the fact that it had likely just saved my life, I pulled the spear back and tossed it to the side. I didn’t want to hold the weapon that had hurt her, even if it was ultimately me who had done it.
I dropped to my knees, looking at her wolf form. She was so fluffy… except for where her fur was matted and dark red. Tears rolled down my face as I pulled her into my lap, removing my shirt and tying it as tightly as I could around the wound. I still needed to bandage it, but I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t will myself to move.
Every moment, every heartbeat was agony as I buried my hands, then my face, in the fur of her neck.
“I’m so sorry, Tori.” I sobbed to her, knowing she couldn’t hear me. “I just want to help you, hun. I just want to love you and all I do is hurt you.”