Wolf Rain, Chapter Four

[lonewolfprincess]

The scream echoed through the air as it warped into a roar, everyone witnessing it frozen in place as Mia’s form popped and bristled with gray fur and claws and fangs and muscles, only barely restrained by sturdy denim.

Jack took in the scene and brought a fist to his mouth to keep from retching.

“On second thought, you can have this one…” And with that, he flew away as fast as his lightly mangled jetpack could carry him.

Tori stood with the monks, both hands clasped to her face to hold back a gasp or a scream… and then broke out into a run towards the mound of fur and denim. Once they realized, the Xiaolin Warriors ran after her.

“MIA!”

Mia lifted her head from where she writhed on the ground, still-gray eyes wide with panic.

“T-Tori…!” she forced out, soft, slightly nasal voice gone guttural. “Run, s-stay away…!”

“What?!” Tori stopped in her tracks, but she refused to back away. “No, I’m not leaving you like this!” Her head snapped to the monks. “Can’t you fix this?! You’re the magic experts here!”

“Mia, I-I…” No, Clay couldn’t lie to her that it was okay, that they knew how to fix it… A deep breath as he found what he hoped were the right words, hand outstretched but frozen… “Just take a slow, deep breath—”

“I said STAY AWAY!” And before any of them could protest further, the werewolf scrambled to her feet to run away for them, shambling on her hind legs before dropping to four to lope out of the park.

“MIA, NO!”

Tori froze in place, mind racing, before running to pick up Mia’s discarded backpack and chase after her.

“No no no no no, come back!” And then she tripped on a patch of mud, sprawling onto the ground, screaming in frustration.

“Tori!” Omi reached her first with the others not far behind, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you—”

“No, I am not alright!” She struggled to push herself up from the mud, amber eyes fierce and shining with hot tears as she glared at them all, even if she had to crane her head a bit to look at Raimundo and Clay. “Your knife turned my sister into a werewolf, and now she’s scared out of her mind! We’re finding her before somebody can hurt her, and then you’re going to fix this!” She thrust out her hand. “Now give me the shoes!”

All four of them looked at each other… and silently agreed that- rather than argue that they didn’t know if they could fix it, or that they didn’t know how dangerous Mia was in this state- the smart thing to do was to shut up and comply. They nodded in unison, and Raimundo pulled out the Fancy Feet.




Mia finally found an alley to run down and curl up in, claws tearing through her shirt as her fist bunched up over her heart. Her lungs and heart still ran faster than her feet had, wouldn’t slow down, and that feeling of a crushing weight on her chest wouldn’t leave, oblivious to the tears streaming through the gray fur on her face. She needed to calm down, needed to be human, stop it, stop it, stop it…

The image of Tori running towards her seared into her mind… what if she lost control and hurt her? Even Clay seemed afraid of her… Would her parents be, or her brother? Sure, they accepted her magic when she first met them, thanks to Tori, but this? Would this be the breaking point?

Freak. Monster. Stuck in a cage, strapped to a table. The words she worked so hard to banish from her mind kept roaring back in full force—

“MIAAAA!”

It was instinct, curling up into a ball, trying to hide, even though she knew there was no hiding her magic from Tori’s sight, not when it was clearly engulfing her, threatening to drown her.

“Mia!” And there she was… bandanna blown off and copper curls scattered every which way, chest heaving, face exhausted and frightened but so, so relieved. “Hey, cara mia. I’m here…”

Mia only felt the quickest flash of relief before the panic took over again, and she curled up into a ball, whimpering like a scolded dog. Tori took in what little of her face she could see hidden under her arms… and her heart broke, knowing that look too well when her sister was human.

“Hey, hey… It’s okay.” Tori took another step into the alley, only for Mia to hastily swipe a clawed hand out in a shooing motion before covering her head again. Her sister paused only a second- the monks tensing as they prepared to leap in to defend her- but then kept approaching, skirting the edge of the alley to sit across from her, not out of fear but respect for her personal space. “It’s okay, really… Nobody’s going to hurt you. I won’t let them.”

“N-not them…” Mia forced the words through the panic and lupine mouth like swimming upstream through a raging current. “M-me…!”

Tori just smiled a heartbroken smile, and easily held out a hand.

“You won’t hurt me either, or anyone. You ran out here to protect me. You’re still you, right?” Very slowly, still holding out that hand, she crawled a little closer into Mia’s space. “I’m way more worried about you hurting yourself right now.”

“Wh-wh—c-care…? M-mmmons—”

“No.” That ferocity from the park flared back. “No, you are not a monster. You’re just a human teenage girl having a panic attack. A… really big, hairy, magical panic attack.”

A pause… and then Mia actually let out a faint huffing bark that might have been a laugh, and Tori’s face relaxed ever so slightly.

“It’s like I said back then… I’m always going to love and protect you, and I’m never going to leave you. You could turn into freaking Godzilla and that wouldn’t change, Mia.” A paused, and then she let a wry quirk enter her smile. “Now, if I ever get a girlfriend, and you try to steal her from me, then we’d need to talk.”

Another soft bark of a laugh… and then Mia leapt towards Tori. Omi and Kimiko shifted to dash in and defend, but Clay and Raimundo stopped them both with signals to wait. The werewolf wrapped her arms around her sister in a tight, tight embrace, and swiftly, smoothly, the fur and claws and fangs receded, until all that was left was a completely human Mia, openly sobbing into Tori’s shoulder.

“Shhh it’s okay, it’s okay…” Tori squeezed the hug before pulling back ever so slightly. “Look, you’re human again!”

Mia looked down at her hands- lean fingers covered in pale skin capped with short, oval nails- and then to the Crescent Fang that had disappeared into her, clattering next to them now.

She threw herself against the wall of the alley as if recoiling from a snake. “Get the knife, get the knife, get the knife—!”

Tori kicked it away, skidding across the ground towards the monks to clatter at their feet.

“Okay, there, it’s gone, see?” She finally turned her attention back to the monks, arms still tight around her hyperventilating sister. “That’s that, right?”

A heavy silence filled the alley instead of the soft nods and smiles she expected. Her gaze hardened.

“Right…?”

“It isn’t, is it…?” Mia’s soft, tear-choked voice beat them to it, eyes unfocused in terror. “You said that… it b-bonds to the wielder for life, didn’t you…?”

“What?!”

Tori definitely hadn’t been told that part yet. The panic of her sister dealing with this forever only lasted a moment, quickly shoved aside for panic at what they might do if protecting the Shen Gong Wu really came at all costs.

Her arms tightened fiercely as she gave the Xiaolin Warriors her coldest glare yet.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

The four monks realized what conclusion she just came to, and a chorus of protests rang out as they stepped back in horror.

“No!” “Out of the question!” “Absolutely not!” “We’d never!”

“As if I wasn’t enough of a freak…!” Mia’s hushed growl cut through the air, the raw venom in her voice knocking the wind out of them all. Her gaze finally focused into a glare into Tori’s shoulder as she gripped the hug tighter. “Just take your stupid dagger and go…”

“But Mia…” Clay took a step forward, prepared to explain it needed to stay with her, but even if that wasn’t true… he couldn’t just leave her scared and hurting like this—

“I said GO!” Mia leapt to her feet, still-human teeth bared and scorching tears streaming down her face. “My life was finally fine until you showed up and made everything worse! I can’t believe—ARGH!”

Mia nearly doubled over as she clutched her arm, popping and half-warped into claws as the Crescent Fang glowed between them.

A few deep, ragged breaths, and Mia turned her gaze upwards again to growl at him. “Just go…! If I never see you again, it’ll be too soon…!”

The other three gasped as Clay stood back, heart stinging as it dropped into his stomach. Mia’s face softened as his gaze dropped to his feet… but then hardened again, arms coming up to fold across her chest. Tori wrapped her plush arms around her sister’s bony shoulders, giving the Xiaolin Warriors a firm look.

“You should go,” she said plainly, voice defensive, but also… tired and sad, perhaps. “Please.”

The four of them looked at each other… and then nodded. Kimiko stared at them with wide, shining eyes as Omi kept his head bowed. Clay bent down to pick up the Crescent Fang, accepting the phantom bite into his wrist as he solemnly scooped it into his hat.

“We’ll look for a way to fix this,” Raimundo said softly over his shoulder as he turned to lead his team away. “I promise…”

It’d be foolish to say they would find a way to fix this, but… they owed the two girls that much at least. With as little protest, Dojo shifted to his full size and flew away with the four Dragons on his back.

And as they left… and Mia collapsed into tears again, Tori bracing her sister body and soul… all of them were oblivious to the black bird with deep, deep eyes perched at the top of the alley, watching them all intently…