Chapter 11: Chapter 11
Adriana POV
Becca examines one of the larger steel chakrams with curiosity as I carefully take the smaller ones out of my backpack while trying not to slice myself. The guys have gone elsewhere to discuss things and to fill Kellen in, so in the meantime, Becca and I will both try to figure out how to best use the weapons. It turns out that I hadn't been fooling anyone as well as I thought, as they pretty much all figured out that weapons were a foreign concept to me.
"You know, I think you may have hit the nail on the head with the frisbee jokes," she glances at a tree to our left before tossing the steel ring in its direction, exactly how you would toss a frisbee. It lodged itself in the surface of the bark, protruding at an angle.
Chuckling, I stand, walking over to the weapon and grazing it with my fingertips as it clings to the tree bark. It must be pretty sharp to cut through so cleanly. "How hard did you throw this?"
"Not hard. I actually thought it would bounce straight off. I barely even aimed the thing."
My eyes widen. Damn. If it can wedge itself so deeply into wood with minimal effort then how much damage can it do to an actual person? I shudder at the thought, not entirely willing to find out.
Deciding its best not to leave something so lethal sticking out of a tree trunk, I hesitantly grip it between my fingers, pulling gently at it. Lo and behold, it doesn't budge. Giving it a bit of a jiggle, I tug a little harder, being careful not to cut myself. Such caution proved fruitless however, since as it starts to dislodge, the skin of my palm is caught by the blade. I manage to remove it with no further injury, although I have always been a bleeder. Hence, there is now copious amounts of blood raining down onto the grass, appearing an unnecessary amount for how fucking tiny the cut actually is. I really have set myself up with this one.
"You ok, Ria?" Concern crosses Becca's features as I turn, looking down at my hand.
"Yeah. Just a little cut. It's not as bad as it seems," I set down the chakram, opening my hand to show her. Her gaze finds it immediately. "Body's feeling a little overdramatic, it would seem."
She keeps her gaze on my bleeding hand, gnawing on her lip. "Overdramatic?"
"Well yeah. It's a poxy little cut and yet it's still pissing everywhere. You got any tissues?"
Without looking up, she nods her head slightly, still gnawing on her now raw lip.
I wait a second, but she makes no move to get any. "Can I have some?" No answer. Scooting forward, I click the fingers of my uninjured hand in front of her face.
Her face snaps up and she blinks rapidly. "Yeah. Sorry about that."
Rolling my eyes, I grin at her as she pulls some out of her bag. "Squeamish?"
"Uh... Yeah. A bit," she hands me the tissues and I start to clean up. The cut has stopped bleeding now, but that hasn't stopped the blood going everywhere. Thank God it didn't get my jacket.
"So," I start, placing the tissues back in the little pouch to bin later. "How am I supposed to use the ones with no handle without that happening?"
"Ummmm... I dunno. Leather gloves, maybe? Or their might be a trick to it."
"Leather gloves? Wouldn't it just cut through them?"
She contemplates for a second. "Maybe not if you got those really tough ones."
I raise a brow. "Because I most definitely had those at home and packed them. Come on. There has to be some sort of knack."
"Look, it was just a suggestion. I'll ask Prince about it. For now maybe we should focus on the one with a handle."
There's that name again. "Is his name actually Prince?"
She looks at me with a confused expression. "Well that's what we've been calling him. He told you something different?"
"Nope. I've been calling him smartass since I don't trust a word that he says. It looked like he had to think about what to say. I mean, who has to think about their own name?" Shaking my head, I pack away the weapons with no handle, watching for Becca's reaction. She just appears overly confused.
"Well, he's never told me any different. I get why you don't trust him, but I think that with everything that's happened, maybe you're blowing the trust thing way out of proportion. Yes, given your circumstances it's reasonable for you to believe he's not completely honest, but really, his name? I think you're trying to hard to fault him."
Seriously? She thinks I'm blowing it out of proportion. This guy is trying to nab my sister. I am under no delusion that he ever speaks anything other than crap.
Becca must have guessed what I'm thinking. She rolls her eyes, lips in a tight line. "I'm not trying to make digs at you, Ria. I'm just saying, it's just a name. It's not the worst lie he could have told, that is if it's a lie. You're overthinking it."
Maybe she's right about that. But I still don't trust him. There has to be something he's hiding.
Becca sighs, relenting. "You're so stubborn," shaking her head, the corner of her lips turn up in a smile. "How about we take a look at the chakram with the handle?"
Nodding, I hand it to her. She turns it over in her lap, admiring the detailing. As she runs her finger over the gilded edge, she stops, noticing something. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I think..." the weapon pops and she tugs at it, pulling it in half, "it can be a close combat weapon too. I found a catch on the handle. I guess you also have two handheld weapons as well."
I take one half from her, noticing that it does indeed have a catch on the handle. There are now two semi-circular blades that I can hold in each hand. "Good to know. I might actually be able to carry them without it being so awkward now."
Looking up from the blade, I see Becca staring at a spot on the one she holds, biting on her lip again. "Becca?"
She hands me the other blade sheepishly and I clip them back together. "Sorry. There was blood on it."
Searching for the blood, my eyes land on a miniscule spot, barely noticeable. "Maybe you should go walk around or something. Clear your head while I practice chucking this thing."
She nods, rising from the ground slowly and turning. As she walks away, her fists repeatedly clench and unclench, her posture stiff. She must be more squeamish than I thought.
I glance down at the weapon in my lap, tugging it in half again so that I can carry it. Rising to my feet, I decide to take a walk myself. Like hell I'm practicing using sharp things without someone else. What if I cut my arm off?
I follow the edge of the clearing towards the blossoming tree, not daring step out into the forest for fear of getting lost. The blossoms are a bright fuschia, their petals perfectly bunched together. It still baffles me why they haven't fallen off at this time of year, but the tree stands beautiful nonetheless, captivating me. Reaching out my hand, I touch the trunk, and its callous bark appears old.
As I admire the blossoms, a movement within the forest catches my eye, along with a light. The movement continues until I see the wolf from before trotting towards the light. I find myself following it.
Whilst I follow, the light becomes less obscure, revealing a quaint looking den. Ivy trails up the side of the dark wood, however it doesn't appear a tangled mess - it gives off a more dainty feel. The wolf approaches an off-centre oak door, before scratching at it repeatedly. Standing behind a tree, I watch as Alec opens the door and steps out, sighing at the wolf. "You really are daft. You know he won't let you in like that." He crosses his arms, waiting for who knows what. The wolf huffs, snorting at him. It tries to get past him with little luck. "No. You know it will set him off." The wolf seems to glare at Alec as if challenging him, though it doesn't take it long to relent to his dominating stance. Facing away from him, its body tenses before it releases a pained howl.
I gasp at the sight before me. The wolf's body twists unnaturally, and even though I'm not stood next to it I can still hear loud snaps as its bones break. Its snout shrinks, popping as it does so, and all fur and claws shorten. My eyes wide, I stand rooted to the spot as the broken form of a person takes form, bones still popping at angles as it screams and convulses in pain. It's legs are still bent at an angle, kneecaps clearly shifting under the skin until they finally shift into place, snapping the rest of the bones and resetting them. The person cries out, whimpering and spitting blood from their mouth. Alec approaches them with a blanket, and only then do I realise that I am gawking at a very much naked male, yet my body won't move, too engrossed in trying to explain where the wolf went.
Alec helps the person up, holding him up as he whimpers and buries his head in Alec's chest. Alec rubs his back, a guilty expression taking his features. "I'm sorry, Kellen. If I could talk him out of it you know I would."
Kellen?
Kellen lifts his face from Alec's chest, wiping his eyes. "It's ok. He won't ask again."
Alec sighs, running a hand through his hair. "He shouldn't have asked anyway. He knows how painful it can be for a pup."
"It's not always that bad. Only if I do it too many times. It drains my energy," he pulls the blanket tighter around him. "And I am not a pup."
"Yeah. Sure," Alec walks back up to the door, holding it open for a stiff Kellen who appears to still be in pain.
"Yes! I'm a grown up and you know it."
Alec chuckles. "What did Prince say he'd give you if you turned again?"
Kellen stops walking, a childlike smile on his face. "A tennis ball."
"And what will you do with it?"
He groans. "Play with it. Duh."
Alec smirks. "Yep. Definitely not a pup."
"Would a pup have these?" He bares his teeth, pointing to them. From where I stand, I can't make out exactly what he is referring to, but from what I've seen so far I can make a fairly likely guess. I move closer, trying to get a better look.
Alec grins widely, his shoulders dancing as he chuckles. "Not necessarily. But that still doesn't make you any older than one."
"Whatever," sulking, Kellen crosses his arms, staring at his feet.
"Come on. We should get back inside."
"Does he even know what the next move is or are we just going in there to listen to him complain again?"
"Actually I did get a text just before we left to come here. But he'll complain either way," walking over to the door, Alec pulls it open, holding it for Kellen. "Don't want to keep him waiting. He doesn't need more ammo."
Nodding, Kellen follows behind. Before he steps in completely, he turns, glancing around and sniffing the air, a curious expression on his face. I watch perplexed by the strange behaviour, until he looks almost directly at me. I jump further behind the tree, trying to hide myself, my heart hammering until I hear the door slam shut. Even though he is inside, the thudding doesn't slow. He knew I was watching.
He's not human.
I need to get out of here.
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