Kierra

The knife looks like kitchenware, a serrated steak knife. The man's face is screwed up into a scowl, his skin so dark it looks purple. Eyes look to be a dark brown, the whites yellowed. He must not see me or Asher, or is just totally ignoring us.

The wolf growls at him, drawing his attention to him as I move around to come up behind him silently. Grabbing him by the scruff of his coat, I lift him up, turning him to face me. His face pales, brown eyes going wide as he clutches his knife.

My lip lifts, a growl sounding vicious as I look him in the eye. I didn't think it possible, but he pales even more, turning his natural black skin to a sickly gray. The scent of his fear hits me hard, sparking something within me.

"Hey now, I have no beef wiff yous people. I never done nothin' to yous. Yous in my area, I claimed it. It's mine by yous laws. Lemme go."

I look at him as if he's speaking a different language, my ears go back in confusion. 'Yous People'? What people? He makes no sense.

"What are you talking about?"

I grip his coat tighter. His wide eyes are riveted to my teeth as I hear Asher move up next to me, Bastion gripping the fur on his back as he crowds close to me and the wolf.

"Yous night people. I not harms yous, you no harms me, yeah? We made deal."

The more he talks the more his scent confuses me. He's afraid, but it doesn't have the smell of human fear. More like an earthy, musty, weird smell. Something I've never smelt before. Then again, what do I know?

"Not with me you didn't. You tried attacking one of mine."

He starts shaking his head vigorously, hair that looked short before moves with his head as the dreadlocks touch my arm. They're mixed with small sticks and wooden beaded looking things. I think I even see a few small bones in the mass.

"I wasna' goin' to. No one comes to my spot. This is mine, no one trespasses. I was jus' gonna asks him what he was doin' heres."

I start feeling ridiculous holding him in the air, so I set his feet onto the ground and look him over closely, keeping a hold of him. He looks to be a bum or someone down on his luck and has been for a long time, but I sense that there is more to him then what I can see. The strong smell of river wafts as he puts his knife into his coat, my eyes keeping close vigilance on him as he does so.

"We didn't know this area belonged to anyone. We just stopped for a few minutes to get our bearings is all."

I watch him carefully as I tell him what we're doing, he nods, still tense as he takes a small step back. Sirens can be heard in the distance, which marks our need to get going. I look to Asher, who's watching the man, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Bastion looks at me, his expression one of wondering as to what's going on.

"You ready kiddo? We need to be on our way."

He nods. Asher looks up and nods as well, his ocean colored eyes looking over the man. I look back to the weird stranger, wanting to ask more questions, but out of time.

I pick up Bastion, the shirt covering him so threadbare that it holds in no heat. I hold him close to my body, sharing my warmth with him. Looking back to the man, I incline my head towards him, then turn and once more start following the tracks.

We head for the Sinnissippi Gardens bike path, looking back only once before following it through Shorewood Park, some ritzy houses then on towards Martin Park. Sleeping geese are startled awake and fly off in a feathered rush. Avoiding all the lamps is pretty easy in some areas, while others are so brightly lit we have to streak through them.

Have to leave the path halfway through so as not to end up on the other side of the Rock River, then up on River Lane. The quiet wooded area provides lots of shadows for us to travel in. Won't believe how lit up some paths are until you want darkness.

Running to East Drive and going north to find Park Ridge road, we follow the river even more north to pass Shore Drive. The scenery is nice, the smells interesting, the shadows our friends. Our ground eating strides take us through the miles easily and swiftly.

Asher keeps to my side, directing me through his body movements. I'm starting to feel like a herded sheep. We go east to West Mall Drive, I know the surrounding area here. It's all neat little houses tucked behind the mall. Small suburb really. Following a dirt road around to the back of the mall, we head straight for the woods.

It's getting light out, we have to hurry. No need to scare anyone unnecessarily. Seeing a seven-foot-tall Werewolf carrying off a small child can give people the wrong idea, leading to calls to some major people. And that's not including the large wolf keeping pace at its side. Pitchforks and fires are not on my list-plan for the day.

We get through the woods in record time, coming up on my home as the skies turn a dusky pink and purple. The early morning rays fighting off the clouds. My legs aren't feeling all that hot now, I may be all big and bad, but I'm not used to that kind of traveling.

The front door is closed. Thank God for small blessings. Don't want to find opossums or raccoons hiding out inside.

Faline had that happen a couple times before; a raccoon had found that under her bed was a nice spot to have her litter. We eventually had a total of four coons traipsing around as if they owned the place. Bats had found my closet to be a nice new roost. Neither of us having the heart to evict them when shelter was clearly needed. They were fun learning experiences, but both types of critters had made some not so fun messes to clean up.

Asher meets me at the door while I wake Bastion, who'd fallen asleep in my arms some time ago from sheer exhaustion. I set him down to try the doorknob, it opens with no trouble, revealing it to be dark and quiet inside. I hope Tigger is alright. Not knowing just how long I've been gone, he might have run out of food and water.

There's a large bloodstain on the floor where I had fallen, congealed blood looking like black tar as I usher in Bastion and the wolf, who both enter warily. Child being all eyes as he looks around, his arms wrapped around himself.

"It's alright Bastion, no one will harm you here. Listen, somewhere around here I have a really fat cat, can you find him for me?"

His eyes brighten slightly as he heads off to look for him. Looking to Asher, I wonder what to do now, as glancing around my house reveals no answers, aside from the uppermost thought in my head to find my sister. Feeling as if my home had been violated, the safety and sanctity are now in question.

"You can't call the authorities, you know that right?"

I close my eyes and nod at his question. I know I can't, but what am I going to do instead? I'm so not equipped to deal with this. Have to start breathing deeply just so I don't start hyperventilating.

Opening my eyes, I untie the cord from my waist, tossing the bag onto the kitchen table absently and head to the room at the end of the hallway to look for some clothes Bastion might be able to fit into. Faline's pretty small, might find something. Might even find something that isn't pink and extremely girly.

"You must understand, I know you miss her, but no one can know about what's happened to you. Not only would they not believe you, but you will be locked away as being psychotic as well as a suspect to her disappearance. Then how would you help her?"

"I know Asher, but how will I find her with no help? What am I supposed to do?"

He grows quiet as I fumble through her closet. She used to have a box full of clothes that didn't fit her anymore that hadn't been taken to the basement yet. I find it under two tubs full of some of her other stuff.

It's pulled out just as the kid comes in with Tigger. I smile, but as soon as the cat sees me and the very large wolf, he jumps out of Bastion's arms snarling and hissing. My smile wilts as I look down at myself.

Damn it.

I hold back hot tears and put the box on the bed. I tear it open, the cardboard ripping, causing Bastion to wince and cringe. Looking at him, I try to calm down.

"Sorry, Bastion. There may be some clothes in here that you can wear. He didn't scratch you did he? I should have thought about how he'd react, I'm sorry."

He shakes his head then nods. Looking from him to the clothes, I give a small smile as my ears perk forward. He might end up wearing some silly stuff, but at least he'll be out of that nasty shirt. I find a small shirt first, dark blue with some writing in white over the front.

'Beware, Dangerous When Woken'.

That works. Next are some pants, but after looking at the little boy... my sister's legs are longer than his. He's on the tall side, but he's so skinny and way younger. I keep rummaging.

A few items later, a pair of cargo shorts come out. I recall them being too snug when I first saw my sister with them, so they should work just fine for the little trooper. Dark green with multiple small pockets along the legs and loops for a belt if needed. Shouldn't need that since they're drawstring, but you never know. I head to her dresser for a pair of socks.

"Want to take a bath? I'm sure you'll feel much better clean."

He nods slowly, near warily, and follows me out. Domestic Werewolf is me.

Working the dials on the tub is a little tricky, with my hands being so much larger than what I'm used to, but after fiddling with door handles, clothes, and everything else, I manage well enough. When the temperature of the water isn't too hot or cool, I slip the plug in. Adding some of my sister's baby shower gel stuff into the water, almost dropping it several times, I wait for it to fill.

My mind's almost numb and on autopilot as I try not to think about things too hard, keeping myself focused on mundane tasks. Thinking too much about what's going on and how messed up things are makes my blood boil at how hopeless I feel.

When the tub is half full I shut it off. Getting out a towel and washcloth from the small closet behind the doorway, they're put on the toilet. I look at them for a minute before I toss the washcloth into the tub and hang the towel over the edge of it within easy reach then turn to Bastion.

"Will you be alright by yourself? I can stay if you'd like."

"I'll be alright."

He looks a little solemn, so I try again, although I'm glad he doesn't want me to stick around.

"Alright, if you need me, just call out, okay?"

He gives a small smile and nods. I leave the room, closing the door but leaving it open a sliver. I sigh as Asher comes out of Faline's room next door. I side-step around him and head back to the kitchen.

Water sounds pretty damn amazing right about now. Didn't realize it when I woke up, but some of what I had been feeling had to be caused by dehydration. Not even caring how it looks, I fill the first bowl I can grab and practically stuff my snout into it as I take my fill.

I fill up Tigger's food and water dish, crouched down and imagining that it had to look like I was about to pounce on something and attack it with a cup of cat food. I look at the water dish for a moment, then turn to Asher.

"Umm, are you thirsty?"

He looks surprised that I asked him, his surprised face being a tilt of his head, ears perking forward, and a widening of his eyes. For anyone who didn't make a study of the facial expressions of canines, they wouldn't catch it for what it was. Also helps that I have natural empathy, which seems to have kicked up a notch or three.

When he nods, I grab a mixing bowl and fill it with cool water, setting it down for him then head to the table, ignoring the bag for now. Flipping a chair around, straddling it, then laying my head on folded arms, eyes on Asher blankly, I wait for Bastion's call.