Manipulated (Zakkol and Forlorn)

[Forlorn]

Her eyes gleamed at the sight of the honey. "Yes!" She chirped, clapping her hands when doing so. Watching the golden viscous liquid pour into her fruit made Sophie smile with delight. Grabbing a giant spoon, she scooped a big helping of fruit onto her plate. She did the same for Theo, then began eating.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo thanked Sophie for spooning out the fruit onto the plate for him, before he reached down and opened a draw he was standing against, extracting a small spoon, one more suited to eating. He also removed one for Sophie, placing it down beside her before indicating with a small smile. She was confirming his thoughts, he noticed. She clearly wasn't accustomed to many "standard" human things, such as eating utensils and table manners (such as with the rabbit of the previous night).


And that was when another thought occurred to Theo. he hadn't been finding being a werewolf considerably different to hus normal life. Excusing the water and the wolf transformation the previous night, not too much had happened.


'Sophie?' Theo asked, swallowing his mouthful of fruit, 'what, exactly, are we going to do now?'

 

[Forlorn]

Just as he said that an arrow flew through the window, sticking into the wall right next to Sophie's head. "THEY'VE FOUND US" Sophie screamed in desperation as she tackled Theo to the floor. "Is there a backdoor to the house" she whispered, trembling.

 

[vibrantsystem]

The arrow had come from nowhere. No warning, just an archaic arrow with what seemed to be a glinting, metal tip embedded in the cupboard door. 'Who?' Theo mumbled, his eyes wide with panic. He was currently tasting the floor. 'And yes, there is a back door, if you wish,' he said, crawling along the floor. Surely someone on the street would notice people with bows firing at a cottage.


Once out of the kitchen, Theo stood up and ran through the house, straight to the back door. He never used it, and it was rather stuck, but he got it open quickly before running outside into the orchard.


Leaping over the shrubbery, Theo collapsed into the forest ungracefully, turning around. Looking for Sophie, he was feeling exposed in the forest, for he was not in his wolf form. He didn't know how to resume it.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie crawled her way into the forest, gripping her shoulder. "I can't feel it" she said with tears brimming in her eyes from pain. An arrow inscribed with odd writing stuck out of her back, between her shoulder blade and her spine. "The gin are a line of hunters dating back to colonial era. They track a lot of creatures, but werewolves are their specialty. That was the other reason as to why I live in the forest, they blend in with everyday humans, pretending to be commoners. I have never encountered one this far out" she gasped, writhing with pain. "There are two things that can kill a werewolf: an arrow to a vital organ laced with wolfsbane, or a fire whose source is wolfsbane" She cringed as she tore the arrow out of her flesh. "The latter only occurs if they catch you. The former however…" Another arrow shot through the house and onto a tree that Sophie had manifested in the nick of time.

 

[vibrantsystem]

'They're pretty fast,' Theo commented, looking at the tree that had sprouted from the ground. Sophie seemed to be in immense pain, but less so now that the arrow was removed from between her shoulder blade and her spine. Theo quickly checked her back. There was a hole in her shirt where the arrow had pierced and a bloodied wound could also be seen, blood running from the wound.


'I think we should get moving,' Theo said, biting his lip. 'I think we should also keep the arrow,' he suggested, before placing his arm around Sophie's shoulder for support. 'You can walk, right?' Theo asked, checking. 'Can you run?' Theo was unsure of how long it'd take for these Gin people to come through the house. Whoever or whatever they were, they certainly had exceptional aim.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie nodded in pain in response to being able to walk. Running required too much of her back, which was thoroughly saturated with agony. Sweat poured down her face as she used Theo for support, she was using all her strength and was barely getting anywhere. "Leave me Theo. I ruined your life already, I'm not going to be responsible for ending it" She stated in a resolute tone. While Sophie wasnt ready to die, she needed to make up for biting him. Her life seemed like a worthy trade.


Collapsing to the ground, she uttered "Its the wolfsbane, its practically poison to us. While it won't kill me, its going to paralyze me as it spreads. It will be a couple of hours until I walk again, at least"


A whimper arose from her throat. "I don't know how many there are. There could be twenty, there could be one. You need to leave. Now." she began to scream at him.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo's somewhat calm facade was shattered when Sophie told him to leave her behind. 'I don't really think so,' he said, his voice quavering, his face pale. Theo felt like leaving her here, but he simply couldn't overstate enough just how much it wasn't her fault.


'I'm going to go back,' Theo said, making a choice. The arrows had stopped being fired, and Theo wanted to know how the people-the Gin-had actually known Sophie and Theo were both there and both werewolves. Something didn't seem right, and Theo knew there was something Sophie wasn't telling him.


Creeping back into his back yard, Theo dropped to the ground. He was terrified and tense, but he wasn't going to leave Sophie to die. And then there, from around the side of the house. Three men came. They looked perfectly normal, barring their archaic bows, which seemed to be made of gnarled roots from trees. Curiously, none of them held arrows. They had run out. And they were surprised to see Theo there. Next thing they knew, a wolf was on them. And they were dead.


(I take that that was okay?)

 

[Forlorn]

(ya thats fine) Sophie passed out from the pain and bloodless. She awoke on the couch, her wound completely healed. "How lng have I been out?" She asked Theo. He was sitting on a stool beside her, reading. She liked how his face looked when he was in thought, serious and solemn.

 

[vibrantsystem]

'Erm,' Theo mumbled awkwardly, placing his book down. 'Five hours or so. It's about two in the afternoon,' he added, nonchalantly. 'And yes, we are back in the house. I'll explain,' Theo supplied, getting off the stool.


'Well, I came back to the house,' Theo started, 'and then the Gin came around the back. They'd run out of arrows. I don't know if they knew we had left until it was too late or what, but...' Theo bit his lip and looked down. There were red marks on his shirt, and his hair was being held together by dried blood. 'I killed them. I didn't mean to, but I wanted to stop them. I wasn't really myself when I did it, but I saved you, at least', Theo said, a small smile on his lips.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie looked into his eyes. "Thank you, I really mean it. I guess I'm even more indebted to you now" she said with a slight laugh. In all seriousness, she had no idea how she'd pay him back, for he saved her life on top of being bitten by her. "Theo, how can I repay you? I'm serious, You've saved my life while I destroyed yours. Please let me make it up to you" she pleaded in a solemn tone.

 

[vibrantsystem]

'Not really much you can do,' Theo said, smiling as he began to move. 'And I don't really see it as "destroying" my life, as you so crudely put it,' he added, scolding. 'It isn't that bad you know. You may not like it, but I kind of do. I killed those Gin before with ease anyway...' Theo trailed off here, trying to remember something he'd been meaning to ask Sophie. Something important.


'Sophie?' Theo asked, his smile gone. 'Actually, you can repay me. Tell me about the Gin.'

 

[Forlorn]

"Ah, the Gin" Sophie said, recalling past memories. "We go way back. The first time I met them they were disguised as Foster care providers. When they tried to murder me in my own home in front of my sisters, I snapped. Killed them in cold blood in front of my siblings, which is probably why I have yet to locate them. Everyone thinks I'm a raging psychopath" Sophie sighed. "Anyways, they go after humanoids such as werewolves and vampires. Sometimes dragons, if they're feeling very over exuberant" She explained. "Ive never encountered a dragon. Always wanted to, I hear they live in places with extreme climates such as desserts and tundras. Amazing creatures" she said as she shook her head with respect. "Do not get hit with their arrows. As you witnessed firsthand, wolfsbane is nasty and is equivalent to a snake bite for humans. They also have various other weapons laced with wolfsbane, so beware of those"

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo's eyes opened in surprise at the mention of dragons and vampires. He wasn't going to make an attempt to hide the fact he was interested, but he wasn't going to go prying information out of Sophie.


'Anyway,' Theo said, addressing the problem at hand of the Gin. 'I think we should leave here for a while. Are you capable of running and walking and shifting now? Because if so, we should get away before they come back,' he said, before coming closer to Sophie. 'I don't mean to push you or anything of course, but I don't really want to have to cope with being poisoned by something that wouldn't have effected me a few days ago is all.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie nodded, getting up. She grinned, saying "we should camp out deep in the forest, I know just the place. Clothing is all you'll need" She said, ushering him towards his room. "Perhaps if you have some t-shirts, I could wear those. All I have is this single shirt" she laughed, grabbing the baggy shirt and pulling on it. She was extremely happy to be going back to the forest, and showing him how to live in nature. Waiting outside his door while he packed, she bounced on her toes with excitement.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo's packing was going along swimmingly. He had a rucksack full of things at this point. He may have been overcompensating, yes, but he was happy with his organisation. The bag contained several shirts, pairs of pants (both kinds), along with additional baggy shirts for Sophie, as well as two sleeping bags and several foodstuffs. With the bag packed, Theo made to meet Sophie at the door.


And there she was, standing outside his bedroom door. 'Shall we go then? Theo asked, sidling past her in the hall. He caught her scent again, and inhaling deeply. It was a nice smell. 'Take anything you want,' Theo offered, 'I've still got some things for you though in my bag though,' he added. 'I'll be waiting out the back for you.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie had always survived with little to nothing, today was no exception. Taking his hand, she said "I'm ready"


Trekking through the forest, Sophie followed various trails trying to find the area she was talking about. Walking for miles, Theo was beginning to tire. The sun had dipped below the horizon and the moon shined over them like a pearl. "It's going to take a few days to get there, lets camp out here" she said, sitting under a large hemlock tree. The fronds hung low to the ground and created a small sanctuary for them to sleep under.

 

[vibrantsystem]

'This is nice,' Theo commented, pushing the leaf fronds apart and coming into the natural shelter. It was strangely warm under the tree, despite the air temperature being rather cold.


Sitting himself down on a sleeping bag he had just laid out, Theo began to go through his bag, removing the sleeping bag he'd packed for Sophie and placing it on the ground. Theo also withdrew two pillows, a rather crushed loaf of bread and a few tins of various fruits in juice (these he didn't pull out as to not offend Sophie's capabilities. He mainly had them for the extremely sugary juice they came with).


'Here,' Theo said, indicating the pillow and sleeping bag. 'Comfort.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie snuggled into the pillow, getting comfortable. Turning onto her side, she stared at Theo intently, waiting for him to climb into his sleeping bag. She let out a lustful sigh as she sniffed the air, nature was so beautiful.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo nestled down into his sleeping bag, pleased to see that Sophie was using the sleeping bag and pillow he had brought out with him. The air was crisp and cool, and while it wasn't too cold, it wasn't too warm either, and Theo was greatful for the warmth of the bag. Leaving his bag on the ground beside him, Theo began to slip into sleep, his mind a mess of thoughts about the day he had just experienced.

 

[Forlorn]

~Morning~


Sophie woke up at the crack of dawn and walked out of their tree cloak. With a deep inhale of breath, Sophie created an apple tree. A few apple mint bushes crawled their way out of the earth as well, a perfect compliment to their meal. Picking a few, she cut them up using a hard rock and sprinkled apple mint leaves on top. Crawling on top of Theo, she woke him up by shoving an apple slice into his mouth and then sprinting away. "Goodmorning!" she chirped, as happy as ever. Sophie desperately needed a friend, and to have one who doubled as a werewolf was even better.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo awoke to finding a slice of apple in his mouth. It was a nice apple, yes, but it also gave him quite the fright, despite the fact that he instantly knew who had placed it there and how. Sophie, of course.


Spitting out the slice of apple, Theo looked around to see Sophie sprinting off, extremely happy and seemingly full of energy. 'Good morning,' he replied, not wishing to put any spin on the phrase beyond merely repeating Sophie's greeting.


'Good rest?' Theo called to Sophie, picking the slice of apple up and biting into it, letting the sweet juice run over his tongue.

 

[Forlorn]

"Yup!" She chirped as she ran, sprouting tiny flowers and grasses with each step. Grabbing her basket full of apples, Sophie plopped it on Theo's stomach and told him to eat. Stuffing pieces of Apple into her mouth, she laid down with a blissful grin on her face. "How'd you sleep?" She inquired

 

[vibrantsystem]

Propping himself up with his elbows, Theo turned to look at at Sophie, who had lay down beside him, consuming the apple pieces rapidly. 'I had a somewhat acceptable sleep,' he said, answering her question before going to deal with the problem of the basket full of apples on his stomach.


Picking one up, Theo observed it. There were no blemishes or marks on the fruit, and Theo reasoned that Sophie had created this from one of her trees. Biting into the apple whole, Theo ate it quickly before wiping his hands on the grass. 'Feeling well? You seem to be.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie climbed on top of him again, eating more apples. She was too naive to realize what her actions looked like to outsiders, and continued eating her meal.


"We should keep going, there are tons of Gin and they could be tracking us" she said once they were done.