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rainbowfic2013-08-27 02:33 am
wei_jiangling) wrote in rainbowfic2013-08-27 02:33 am
Entry tags:
(no subject)
Name: Wei
Story: The Werehuman
Colors: Dogwood Rose #4 - “Pink: 'Please Believe Me'”
Styles/Supplies: none
Word Count: 2197
Rating/Warnings: PG; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Davie learns how hard it is to truly overcome a bite from a werewolf.
Note: This is loosely based on an old roleplaying game called Half Past Midnight. It's old enough that the communities don't even exist anymore, and I've adapted the world significantly, partially for my own purposes and partially because I don't remember everything. Davie and every other character in these snippets were totally mine to begin with.
“Sometimes those with strong will are able to overcome the change. As I'm sure the doctor already told you, we will simply have to wait until he wakes up.”
Davie was faintly aware of the voice of the head magister from his school as he slowly opened his eyes to a room that struck him as disgustingly bright. He quickly closed them again. Then opened one just the tiniest bit. It was still bright, but he could tell now that he was home, in his own bed. The next voice he heard was his mother's, this time loud and clear.
“Did he open his eyes? Oh my heavens, he opened his eyes! He's awake!” Before he even had a chance to process the words, she was on her knees by the side of the bed. “Are you alright? How do you feel?” Davie opened his eyes a little wider, then just blinked at her a couple times. She looked relieved and afraid at the same time. “What happened? Arman told me a little, but I want to hear it from you. I was worried sick! Don't you know it's not safe to go off into the woods like that? Promise me you'll stay here from now on, alright?” She was dissuaded from saying anything else by the magister's hand landing on her shoulder.
“If you'd like to hear his story, it might be best to let the boy talk,” she said, then directed her attention at Davie. “And it's alright if you need a while to rest. You've been out a few days, and I'm sure you're confused. But once you're up for it, I'd like to ask you a few questions.”
----
It all started a few days prior, when he and his friend Arman had been playing at the edge of the woods. After a while, Davie proposed a game of hide and seek, and they managed to make it interesting enough with just the two of them. Davie hid first, and Arman found him almost immediately sandwiched between a bush and a nearby shed. It took Davie longer to find Arman at the top of a tree. Actually, it seemed to go about like that every time, until Arman finally tacked on “Find somewhere good to hide this time,” before he started counting.
It really wasn't fair, Davie thought. Arman was a year older than him so he was bigger and stronger and ran faster. He always beat Davie in races. He could reach things Davie couldn't. His mom worked at the stables, so he was better at horseback riding. He was a year ahead in his magic classes, so he was better at that. He was better at everything. And since he was bigger, hiding should have been the one thing he wasn't better at, but that theory was quickly being proven wrong. It was absolutely unfair, and he really didn't want it to be true. So there it was. Davie needed to find somewhere good to hide. There weren't too many places right there, and Arman had already used up most of the good ones. Hiding in the same places would be cheating. No, he needed something better, but he didn't see anything... unless he went into the woods.
Davie's mother had told him time and time again that the woods weren't safe. Never stray far from the village, she said, and if you really need to go, take an adult with you. But he wasn't going far, and he doubted that anything dangerous would be this close to the town even if he did go in a little bit. Besides, it was still daylight and would be long enough for Arman to find him. He didn't notice that the moon had already started to rise.
It didn't take him long to find a big thick tree that he could easily hide behind just by standing. Maybe he would have been better off climbing it, but Arman had already used that trick once, so he probably already knew to try looking up. Besides, if he was up top, he'd be visible from the front. This way, he could be totally behind the tree, and scoot around to a different side if Arman happened to walk by. So he stood, and he waited. And he waited. He grinned. It really was taking Arman a good long time to find him this time. Maybe Arman really wasn't the best hider, after all. After a while, he heard the sound of a footstep off to his side, so he shifted around the tree away from it. Arman would have to do better than that if he wanted Davie not to notice him coming.
“There you are!” He heard a voice from behind him, and whipped around, shocked.
“How did you do that?” He demanded. He had definitely heard a footstep on the leaves in the other direction, but not any from where Arman was now. What kind of trick was that?
“What, find you? You stepped out into the open like a moron.” He raised an eyebrow, as if the question itself had just made Davie even more of a moron than he already was.
“No, I mean, the foot steps. I thought you were over that wa--” He turned his head and stopped short. Of course, Arman had no idea what he was talking about. It wasn't Arman's footsteps he had heard. No, it had been something else. The feet that stepped on the leaves belonged to the most terrifying thing he had ever seen in his nine year old life. There was a werewolf in the woods, and it was staring right at him.
“Run!” Arman screamed, and he didn't have to tell Davie twice. He turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but it wasn't enough. The werewolf was faster. The last things he recalled were the searing pain of a set of teeth digging into his shoulder, and the fading sight of Arman, as always, running faster than he ever could.
Three days later, he woke up on a bed in his own home, very confused.
----
It took several hours after he woke up to get everything sorted out. His mom called the doctor and he told the story while she was on her way. The doctor looked him over, then the magister looked him over, then they both looked him over all over again. His mother paced back and forth to the side of the room, and his father sat solemnly in a chair in one corner, watching the whole process like a hawk.
But after all of that, they came to a very simple conclusion. He was fine. He was human. Some people with strong willpower had been able to resist the change in the past, and he was one of those lucky few. Apparently the longer people stayed asleep, the more willpower they were spending on fighting, so the fact that he hadn't woken up rampaging had been in itself a good sign. Of course, his parents were relieved at the news, though when he had finally gotten permission to leave the room, he overheard them grilling the resident experts about whether or not they were absolutely sure as he was walking away.
Arman's face was an interesting mix of surprised, relieved, and wary when Davie showed up at his door. “You're sure you're okay?” he asked. “You're still,” he paused, not quite sure how to finish that sentence, then hesitantly said, “you?”
“I just spent three hours being questioned and poked at by the doctor and the head magister,” Davie replied, half amused, half frustrated. He felt like himself, so he wasn't sure why it had taken them quite so long to figure out he hadn't suddenly turned into a werewolf. If nothing else, he definitely didn't feel any desire to go howl at the moon. “I'm fine.”
“Good.” Arman seemed to calm down immediately. “Let's do something, then. Wanna race?”
“You always want to race.” Davie retorted with a roll of his eyes. Arman did always tend to pick things he was good at. Then again, he was good at everything, so it was hard not to. He sighed. “Fine.” It had been a while, anyway. He figured it was fine to give in this time.
They picked a spot and lined up beside each other. “Ready, set, go!” Davie took off with a leap and ran as fast as he possibly could. He ran like he did the other day, when the werewolf was chasing him, like his life depended on it. The memory almost made his shoulder ache, but he fought that back. He wanted to focus on running. And to his surprise, for the first time, his hand touched the tree they'd decided to call their finish line just a second before Arman's did. Davie stared at his own hand in amazement for a second before letting out a whoop of pure joy.
“I beat you! Hah! I finally beat you!” Maybe he'd grown since the last time they did this. Or maybe spending three days asleep had somehow made his muscles stronger. Or maybe it was just the fact that he now knew what it really felt like to have to run for his life, even if he hadn't gotten very far. Either way, he won, and that felt pretty incredible. So incredible that it took him a moment to realize that Arman had fallen completely silent and was looking at him like he'd grown a second head.
“What?”
“You beat me.” Arman muttered.
“Yeah, so? Why are you so shocked? It had to happen sometime.” He just raised an eyebrow, the grin still on his face. He hadn't really expected Arman to be a sore loser. The older boy just shook his head.
“You never beat me,” he muttered softly, watching Davie wide-eyed. “You never...” His voice trailed off, and his next words came out in a shout. “You did change, you did, I knew it!” Arman looked nothing short of terrified, and his voice sounded almost angry, and definitely accusing. Davie's grin faded.
“They checked me out, remember? I'm fine.” He managed a smaller smile, trying to be friendly. Trying to prove he was still him. Arman just took a step backward. Davie sighed. “Come on, Arman, it was just a race.”
“No, it wasn't!” the older boy yelled. “Don't you know that's how it happens? They bite you, and then you get faster and stronger like them. And then the moon comes...” He let the sentence trail off there, as if he didn't even want to finish it. Then he just looked at Davie, half seeing an old friend, and half seeing a monster.
“Really, you're worrying too much. You think the doctor and the head magister are both wrong?” He certainly didn't, though his overly nervous friend was starting to creep him out a little bit. Was it really possible for someone to feel totally normal even if they had been turned into a werewolf? No, that was ridiculous. Arman was just overreacting. Davie just shook his head, dismissing the whole thing. “Come on, let's go back to my house. We can have ice cream or something.” He reached up to give the other boy a comforting pat on the shoulder, but Arman jerked away.
“Don't,” he said harshly. “Don't get close to me.” He looked at Davie with a stare so cold the younger boy couldn't ignore it anymore. Arman really didn't believe him. It was like he was talking to a totally different person. The older boy took a step back. “Just stay away from me. I won't let you bite me. I don't want to be like you.” He spoke flatly, and emphatically, and as soon as he was done, he turned and ran. If he'd run that fast a moment before, maybe he would have beat Davie as usual.
Maybe then Davie would have been able to convince him nothing was wrong.
The younger boy walked home slowly, shoulders drooped, kicking the occasional pebble off to the side. Stupid Arman. He'd see. He'd just have to wait until the next full moon, and then stupid Arman would see nothing weird happened and he'd been stupid all that time for no reason. He'd just have to wait.
It didn't take him long to get back, slow or not, and his father was in the yard waiting when he got there. “Good timing. I was about to start looking for you. It's almost time for dinner, so come on inside and get washed up.” His dad put a hand on his shoulder and started ushering him toward the door, almost like usual, but something seemed just a little off about it.
Maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe it was only because of what had just happened. But as his father looked down at him, Davie could have sworn he saw that same glint of fear again in his old man's eyes.
Story: The Werehuman
Colors: Dogwood Rose #4 - “Pink: 'Please Believe Me'”
Styles/Supplies: none
Word Count: 2197
Rating/Warnings: PG; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Davie learns how hard it is to truly overcome a bite from a werewolf.
Note: This is loosely based on an old roleplaying game called Half Past Midnight. It's old enough that the communities don't even exist anymore, and I've adapted the world significantly, partially for my own purposes and partially because I don't remember everything. Davie and every other character in these snippets were totally mine to begin with.
“Sometimes those with strong will are able to overcome the change. As I'm sure the doctor already told you, we will simply have to wait until he wakes up.”
Davie was faintly aware of the voice of the head magister from his school as he slowly opened his eyes to a room that struck him as disgustingly bright. He quickly closed them again. Then opened one just the tiniest bit. It was still bright, but he could tell now that he was home, in his own bed. The next voice he heard was his mother's, this time loud and clear.
“Did he open his eyes? Oh my heavens, he opened his eyes! He's awake!” Before he even had a chance to process the words, she was on her knees by the side of the bed. “Are you alright? How do you feel?” Davie opened his eyes a little wider, then just blinked at her a couple times. She looked relieved and afraid at the same time. “What happened? Arman told me a little, but I want to hear it from you. I was worried sick! Don't you know it's not safe to go off into the woods like that? Promise me you'll stay here from now on, alright?” She was dissuaded from saying anything else by the magister's hand landing on her shoulder.
“If you'd like to hear his story, it might be best to let the boy talk,” she said, then directed her attention at Davie. “And it's alright if you need a while to rest. You've been out a few days, and I'm sure you're confused. But once you're up for it, I'd like to ask you a few questions.”
----
It all started a few days prior, when he and his friend Arman had been playing at the edge of the woods. After a while, Davie proposed a game of hide and seek, and they managed to make it interesting enough with just the two of them. Davie hid first, and Arman found him almost immediately sandwiched between a bush and a nearby shed. It took Davie longer to find Arman at the top of a tree. Actually, it seemed to go about like that every time, until Arman finally tacked on “Find somewhere good to hide this time,” before he started counting.
It really wasn't fair, Davie thought. Arman was a year older than him so he was bigger and stronger and ran faster. He always beat Davie in races. He could reach things Davie couldn't. His mom worked at the stables, so he was better at horseback riding. He was a year ahead in his magic classes, so he was better at that. He was better at everything. And since he was bigger, hiding should have been the one thing he wasn't better at, but that theory was quickly being proven wrong. It was absolutely unfair, and he really didn't want it to be true. So there it was. Davie needed to find somewhere good to hide. There weren't too many places right there, and Arman had already used up most of the good ones. Hiding in the same places would be cheating. No, he needed something better, but he didn't see anything... unless he went into the woods.
Davie's mother had told him time and time again that the woods weren't safe. Never stray far from the village, she said, and if you really need to go, take an adult with you. But he wasn't going far, and he doubted that anything dangerous would be this close to the town even if he did go in a little bit. Besides, it was still daylight and would be long enough for Arman to find him. He didn't notice that the moon had already started to rise.
It didn't take him long to find a big thick tree that he could easily hide behind just by standing. Maybe he would have been better off climbing it, but Arman had already used that trick once, so he probably already knew to try looking up. Besides, if he was up top, he'd be visible from the front. This way, he could be totally behind the tree, and scoot around to a different side if Arman happened to walk by. So he stood, and he waited. And he waited. He grinned. It really was taking Arman a good long time to find him this time. Maybe Arman really wasn't the best hider, after all. After a while, he heard the sound of a footstep off to his side, so he shifted around the tree away from it. Arman would have to do better than that if he wanted Davie not to notice him coming.
“There you are!” He heard a voice from behind him, and whipped around, shocked.
“How did you do that?” He demanded. He had definitely heard a footstep on the leaves in the other direction, but not any from where Arman was now. What kind of trick was that?
“What, find you? You stepped out into the open like a moron.” He raised an eyebrow, as if the question itself had just made Davie even more of a moron than he already was.
“No, I mean, the foot steps. I thought you were over that wa--” He turned his head and stopped short. Of course, Arman had no idea what he was talking about. It wasn't Arman's footsteps he had heard. No, it had been something else. The feet that stepped on the leaves belonged to the most terrifying thing he had ever seen in his nine year old life. There was a werewolf in the woods, and it was staring right at him.
“Run!” Arman screamed, and he didn't have to tell Davie twice. He turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but it wasn't enough. The werewolf was faster. The last things he recalled were the searing pain of a set of teeth digging into his shoulder, and the fading sight of Arman, as always, running faster than he ever could.
Three days later, he woke up on a bed in his own home, very confused.
----
It took several hours after he woke up to get everything sorted out. His mom called the doctor and he told the story while she was on her way. The doctor looked him over, then the magister looked him over, then they both looked him over all over again. His mother paced back and forth to the side of the room, and his father sat solemnly in a chair in one corner, watching the whole process like a hawk.
But after all of that, they came to a very simple conclusion. He was fine. He was human. Some people with strong willpower had been able to resist the change in the past, and he was one of those lucky few. Apparently the longer people stayed asleep, the more willpower they were spending on fighting, so the fact that he hadn't woken up rampaging had been in itself a good sign. Of course, his parents were relieved at the news, though when he had finally gotten permission to leave the room, he overheard them grilling the resident experts about whether or not they were absolutely sure as he was walking away.
Arman's face was an interesting mix of surprised, relieved, and wary when Davie showed up at his door. “You're sure you're okay?” he asked. “You're still,” he paused, not quite sure how to finish that sentence, then hesitantly said, “you?”
“I just spent three hours being questioned and poked at by the doctor and the head magister,” Davie replied, half amused, half frustrated. He felt like himself, so he wasn't sure why it had taken them quite so long to figure out he hadn't suddenly turned into a werewolf. If nothing else, he definitely didn't feel any desire to go howl at the moon. “I'm fine.”
“Good.” Arman seemed to calm down immediately. “Let's do something, then. Wanna race?”
“You always want to race.” Davie retorted with a roll of his eyes. Arman did always tend to pick things he was good at. Then again, he was good at everything, so it was hard not to. He sighed. “Fine.” It had been a while, anyway. He figured it was fine to give in this time.
They picked a spot and lined up beside each other. “Ready, set, go!” Davie took off with a leap and ran as fast as he possibly could. He ran like he did the other day, when the werewolf was chasing him, like his life depended on it. The memory almost made his shoulder ache, but he fought that back. He wanted to focus on running. And to his surprise, for the first time, his hand touched the tree they'd decided to call their finish line just a second before Arman's did. Davie stared at his own hand in amazement for a second before letting out a whoop of pure joy.
“I beat you! Hah! I finally beat you!” Maybe he'd grown since the last time they did this. Or maybe spending three days asleep had somehow made his muscles stronger. Or maybe it was just the fact that he now knew what it really felt like to have to run for his life, even if he hadn't gotten very far. Either way, he won, and that felt pretty incredible. So incredible that it took him a moment to realize that Arman had fallen completely silent and was looking at him like he'd grown a second head.
“What?”
“You beat me.” Arman muttered.
“Yeah, so? Why are you so shocked? It had to happen sometime.” He just raised an eyebrow, the grin still on his face. He hadn't really expected Arman to be a sore loser. The older boy just shook his head.
“You never beat me,” he muttered softly, watching Davie wide-eyed. “You never...” His voice trailed off, and his next words came out in a shout. “You did change, you did, I knew it!” Arman looked nothing short of terrified, and his voice sounded almost angry, and definitely accusing. Davie's grin faded.
“They checked me out, remember? I'm fine.” He managed a smaller smile, trying to be friendly. Trying to prove he was still him. Arman just took a step backward. Davie sighed. “Come on, Arman, it was just a race.”
“No, it wasn't!” the older boy yelled. “Don't you know that's how it happens? They bite you, and then you get faster and stronger like them. And then the moon comes...” He let the sentence trail off there, as if he didn't even want to finish it. Then he just looked at Davie, half seeing an old friend, and half seeing a monster.
“Really, you're worrying too much. You think the doctor and the head magister are both wrong?” He certainly didn't, though his overly nervous friend was starting to creep him out a little bit. Was it really possible for someone to feel totally normal even if they had been turned into a werewolf? No, that was ridiculous. Arman was just overreacting. Davie just shook his head, dismissing the whole thing. “Come on, let's go back to my house. We can have ice cream or something.” He reached up to give the other boy a comforting pat on the shoulder, but Arman jerked away.
“Don't,” he said harshly. “Don't get close to me.” He looked at Davie with a stare so cold the younger boy couldn't ignore it anymore. Arman really didn't believe him. It was like he was talking to a totally different person. The older boy took a step back. “Just stay away from me. I won't let you bite me. I don't want to be like you.” He spoke flatly, and emphatically, and as soon as he was done, he turned and ran. If he'd run that fast a moment before, maybe he would have beat Davie as usual.
Maybe then Davie would have been able to convince him nothing was wrong.
The younger boy walked home slowly, shoulders drooped, kicking the occasional pebble off to the side. Stupid Arman. He'd see. He'd just have to wait until the next full moon, and then stupid Arman would see nothing weird happened and he'd been stupid all that time for no reason. He'd just have to wait.
It didn't take him long to get back, slow or not, and his father was in the yard waiting when he got there. “Good timing. I was about to start looking for you. It's almost time for dinner, so come on inside and get washed up.” His dad put a hand on his shoulder and started ushering him toward the door, almost like usual, but something seemed just a little off about it.
Maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe it was only because of what had just happened. But as his father looked down at him, Davie could have sworn he saw that same glint of fear again in his old man's eyes.
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The emotions in this piece really make it stand out.
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Also, I love your icon.
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(Also, Hua Mulan forever, 'cause Chinese pride. XD)
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I take it you're Chinese, then? I'm not, despite my username. (People mistake this all the time XD)
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And I like that icon too. XD
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