The Wolf and the Monster, Chapter Four

[lonewolfprincess]

Tanner thrashed against the park rangers’ grips on his handcuffed arms.

“You can’t be serious!” He lunged futilely towards the group of teenagers as the rangers dragged him to their truck. “They’re the ones that should be locked up! They’re the freaks with-with their bird wings and the dragon and-and that one kid kept burying me with his foot! And she—she’s a freaking werewolf now, she almost ripped me to shreds!”

Mia cringed, hugging herself tighter as she looked away. Clay rested a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently, as he glared at the fugitive. Raimundo folded his arms over his chest. Kimiko lifted her chin haughtily. Omi shook his head.

Tori, sitting on a totally normal lawn chair that definitely hadn’t summoned by a magical paintbrush, just flashed a cold smirk.

“Somehow, I think the jury’s going to care even less than last time, Jackie~”

Tanner’s mud brown eyes flared as he flailed against the unyielding restraints.

“Wait until I get my hands on you brats, I’ll—!”

A blob of stone white liquid dropped square on his head. He threw a growling glare up at the two ravens roosted above them, who merely stared down and cawed at his sorry face. The rangers all had to bite down snickers; the teenagers didn’t bother, pointing and laughing heartily at the last act of humiliation. Even Mia snorted and smiled, hastily covered.



Tori and the Shoku Warriors all grinned and laughed anew as Tori replayed those last few seconds of the news site’s video on Kimiko’s laptop, all crowded around her berth in the temple infirmary.

“Yes, I can’t believe they kept that part~! Score one for—OW!” Tori flinched as her attempt to punch the air moved her freshly casted lower leg too much, shooting fresh pain through her body. The others cringed too as they helped her lie back against the mound of pillows. “Worth it…!”

“Indeed. I am pleased that this means his imprisonment will be much longer now.” Omi grimaced. “What an odious man!”

“Ain’t that right.” Clay’s hand clenched on the ice pack he held to the back of his head, forcing himself to relax lest he pop it. “Don’t think there’s a jail sentence in the world long enough for him…”

Raimundo made a show of tapping his chin in contemplation. “Maybe we can dig up the Sands of Time, get a new puzzle box from Dashi, and shove him in there?”

Kimiko let out a shudder that dissolved into a chuckle. “No way, the last thing we need is another super-ugly ghost flying around.”

Tori laughed along with the others. “Trust me, that’s way too good for him—oh.” She sat up a bit straighter. “Hey, Mia.”

The others straightened up too. Mia flashed them all a faint, half-hearted smile as she walked into the infirmary, holding up a tray bearing a teapot and cups. She set the tray on the nightstand, hands shaking as they moved to pour the tea.

“Ginger, ginseng, comfrey, and chamomile with honey,” she said quietly. “Should help with the injuries, and with sleeping tonight…”

“Aw, thank you, sweetie.” But Tori’s soft smile fell as Mia turned on her heels, only barely stopping her exit by catching her fingers. “How are you doing?”

Mia’s hand immediately flew out of Tori’s hold, clutching it as if burnt as the nails tried to stretch and the skin sprouted just a little more hair. Gray eyes darted between her fingers and Tori’s face, crestfallen, before stiffly lowering her hands.

“Still jumpy, apparently…” The breath of a laugh was small, fragile. “Jumpy” barely covered the way her hands and jaws kept aching hours after flying away from the glade. How her body and soul felt like a massive boulder pressed her onto a bed of broken glass. “Sorry. For…” she waved towards the whole crowd, “all this…”

The others shared worried glances, before Clay looked at her, face firm and soft like warm spring earth.

“You don’t have a thing to apologize for, little lady.” He gave her a small smile. “And I can assure you, I’ve had my bell rung a lot harder than this before.”

“Oh yes!” Omi nodded enthusiastically. “We have all been subjected to the ringing of bells multiple times! I even took a blow from the Fist of Tebigong to the face once!” Everyone flinched at the memory. Omi looked up at her with his best kitty eyes. “Perhaps we may regale you with stories of our past injuries over your most delicious tea~?”

Oh no… The way he batted his eyes startled another tiny laugh out of her, it was so cute. The way the others looked at her too, so gently pleading. After everything today…

“It’s… tempting, kid, but…” Mia shook her head. “I’m pretty tired…” So tired… “I’m gonna… try and meditate, and then bed. You guys have fun.”

“Hey.” Mia turned back to Tori’s soft voice just as she reached the doorway again. “You know I’m here for you, right?” She gave a warm, sure smile. “This was worth it.”

Mia stood there just a second longer, took a deep breath, forced her nails to stay nails and not scratch into the wood of the doorframe, and threw a faint smile over her shoulder.

“I know…”

Once she stepped into a hallway, she finally dropped the slight upturn of the corner of her mouth like a boulder.

“That’s the problem…”



A patchwork of clouds flew swiftly over the courtyard, the waning gibbous moon fighting them to shine onto the stonework and the tiled roofs. The cold, rain-swept winds whipped Mia’s bangs as she strode stiffly towards the meditation hall, fists balled at her sides. The fire in the central brasier burned low and steady in the empty chamber as she stepped inside, the air thick with rich and sweet incense.

Mia took a deep breath, in, out, as she lifted a hand to ring the chimes. The stone steps’ grinding echoed through the chamber as they lowered into the vault. She forced herself to step towards the top of the stairs, hands aching and heart racing as she stared down into the dark.

“Stone, firelight, sandalwood, bells. I’m not there anymore…”

One step… two…

Kara wailing, begging as long fingers of blocky bone yanked her wrist down the basement stairs, squeezing so hard she thought her hand would pop off.

Mia clutched her burning wrist as the bones of that hand popped, nails sharpening, fair hairs thickening. Years of toil to find courage and peace, rolling down the hill and shattering, wasted.

“Not there, not… therrre…!”

The slam of a wire-forged door, the slip of a latch. Zip-ties to hold it closed.

A growl flew from her throat- too much wolf, not enough human- as she took the stairs at a run.

“Your own parents couldn’t muster the strength to love you…”

“You wanna act like an animal… you get treated like one…”

“Kara, honey, why do you have to be so difficult?”

“It must be exhausting, caring for such a heavy burden…”

The screaming roar swallowed the air of the vault like the thunderclap outside. The clawed fist slammed into the stone drawer, the Crescent Fang clanging against the bottom before it even finished opening, slammed shut just as quickly.

Slow, shuddering breaths as Mia leaned against the wall, fur and claws and fangs rolling away like shore waves with each shaking breath…

Slowly, shakily, she took one step up. Then another. Then another—

A mournful howl rang from the drawer, slicing through the silence.

She turned back to the drawer, eyes brimming.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered, clutching her heart. “But I can’t let you hurt them… I already— …”

Hypocrite…

Another slow breath, and Mia resumed her climb.