savetheearth | town meeting, alien breaking hoa rules

For once, Nick won't make any jokes about collars or leashes.

...for the moment. But he's reserving the right to make them later, when he isn't shut in the same room as a werewolf who probably wants to kill him but is usually one of his best friends.

He makes it closer to the window, and then just waits there, in a loosely defensive stance, although his guns stay firmly in their holsters. Nick's not going to shoot him, no matter how much he might regret locking them in the room together. Right now, his plan consists of keeping Lyall's attention on him, and - hoping that he's pulsed back enough of his hunter other self to be able to knock a werewolf unconscious.

Or maybe actually use his blood for the purpose he thinks his other self used it for.

"Lyall, man, this would be so much easier if you could just magically understand me right now."

Angeline's shriek made Jack recoil out of pure keyed-up reflex. The blue-and-white striped sword (...katana? Was that a katana?) had him doing a doubletake and inching away slightly. These quarters were close? Would she try to swing it? What good would it do? Why is there a stain on it?

All these thoughts were really distracting. To the point that when the lamp and pad and pens go flying at them, he does not notice in time. And does not duck in time. And takes a lamp upside the head. "...f...fuck!" He ducks, he claps a hand over his head, and... and okay, he's just cowering, now. Real brave. Yeah.

Sorry, Nick. There's nothing even remotely like sense in the wolf's eyes right now. There's just anger, pain, and hunger-- and with the threat of the snake outside blocked from his attention at the moment, all of that is focused on Nick. He lunges, though doesn't get far as one hind leg-- twisting under him, still broken near the joint from the shapechange-- doesn't take the weight. Instead of reaching Nick for a bite, he crashes into the floor and a cupboard door, snarl cut short with a yip.

Right, of course not, he knows that would have been way too easy.

When the wolf lunges for him, Nick braces himself, readying to either duck at the last minute or maybe even just let himself be pounced, depending on - oh. Or, well. He could just crash into a cupboard door, that works, too.

While the wolf is, uh. Otherwise occupied, Nick digs through the kitchen drawers until he finds a sturdy, solid looking rolling pin. What, he's going for blunt instrument here, all right? He's trying to get him unconscious, not injure him unnecessarily.

And then, because he's a jerk with a lack of self-preservation, he clicks his tongue against his teeth like he would when calling over a dog. "Hey wolfy, you still with me, or did you save me the trouble of knocking you out?"

Unfortunately for them both, that wasn't enough to knock the wolf out. Lyall gives a snarl at the voice, not understanding anything about it except that it means "prey" or "threat" or potentially both. He scrambles his feet under him again, wheezing at the unsteadiness of it, and lunges again. This time he actually manages not to collapse under his own weight, but there still isn't much force behind it. His teeth are aimed for whatever they can get around: if all that is, is an ankle, he'll make do.

For a brief moment, he considers letting the wolf bite him, and solving things that way. But he doesn't know how much power a werewolf has in its jaws, and before he can think through it, instinct takes over. He dodges, rolling out of the way at the same time as he swings the rolling pin at the wolf, attempting to hit him in the head.

The wolf doesn't have a lot of control, when half his bones are still mending, so while he tries to catch himself on the kitchen counter and launch after Nick, teeth bared, he instead winds up scrabbling and falling half into the sink. It does make his head pretty easy to hit, though, so Nick gets in a good crack, and Lyall tumbles out of the sink onto the floor.

Good thing his bones do heal quickly.

Currently rabid werewolf or not, Nick isn't used to fighting people he cares about like this. It's throwing off his game, making him second guess and doubt himself. Mostly because yeah, sure, as a cop, he's always tried to use the least amount of force and injury necessary, but he's never genuinely cared about the person he's trying to hurt before. He's never had to hit someone with a blunt instrument when he'd rather be taking the hits for them.

Even if that blunt instrument is a rolling pin.

He nearly drops the pin when it connects, but again instinct wins out, and he hangs on to it, backing away a step or two. If he was more himself in this fight, he'd move farther away, circle around to the other side of the room and force the wolf to come after him. But instead, he stays close - too close, and defensive position or not, he's pretty much setting himself up to get bitten.

The wolf staggers to his feet, obviously even more unsteady now, probably dizzy from that crack to the head, but the smell of human flesh is too close to keep him shaking his head for long. He lunges again, this time much closer, aiming for the closest thing he can reach: Nick's shin.

Whatever worry Nick feels when he sees the wolf staggering after that blow is quickly overtaken by oh shit when the wolf lunges at him once again. They're too close, he realizes that now, and has enough time to curse at himself for being an idiot.

But not enough time to get out of the way, and though he moves quick enough that he doesn't get his leg stuck in the wolf's jaws, it's not enough to avoid a pretty good bite.

Now he backs away, but it's a little late for that, as he tries to circle away from the wolf with ripped jeans and a trickle of blood down his shin, and really hopes that his blood works on werewolves.

The taste of blood earns a renewed snarl, and another lunge, except as Lyall hungrily swallows what he'd just gotten in his mouth, his bones start re-breaking all over again, what little healing he'd managed to begin immediately undone as the transformation back to human form begins.

More slowly than usual, too. The wolf loses all momentum, falling on his side and writhing painfully, whining and howling as hair very, very slowly retreats from his body and his bones and muscles reform under the skin into a man's shape instead of a wolf's. Nick can get a very close and personal view of just what a werewolf transformation looks like, in slow motion.

That... is really not a pretty sight. Frankly, it's something that Nick could have done without seeing, ever, not in the least because now every time he listens to Lyall transforming on the full moon, this is what he's going to be picturing. Not only is that something he really doesn't want to picture at all, but it's something he really doesn't want to picture happening to a friend.

So yeah, he's going to wince here.

But none of that stops him from doing what he hopes isn't round two of being an idiot, and moving back in. He doesn't let go of the rolling pin, just in case, but he does slowly crouch down, just out of reach.

"Shit, Lyall, I'm so sorry." If Lyall doesn't try to attack him again, Nick'll move closer, to try putting a hand on his shoulder - if Lyall does, then Nick'll stay out of reach, but at least he'll be close enough to move in quickly when the transformation's done.

The wolf makes a half-hearted snap in Nick's direction, but he's really too taken up with changing back into human form to worry too much about prey. It's half reflex and half wary fear at someone with a weapon close to him while he's vulnerable.

Shortly after, though, he no longer has a muzzle, and he's just a man with lots of broken bones and no clothing lying on Elian's kitchen floor, panting and looking very dazed. The whole process winds up taking about a minute and a half.

The snap makes him hesitate another few moments, but before long, he moves in to touch him. When the muzzle goes, so does the rolling pin; Nick pushes it out of the way, sure he won't need it anymore.

He hovers for a moment, unsure what to do. But he's worried about having hit Lyall in the head, and that dazed look isn't helping at all. After a moment's debate, he cups Lyall's head, running his fingertips gently along his scalp to feel for any bumps or softer spots or hell, any bleeding. He's not exactly sure what he'll find, since he doesn't know if the transformation is completely over, but at least if he starts looking, he isn't just sitting there.

There is a bit of a lump starting to raise, but it's not really as much of a problem as the little fractures in his skull still knitting themselves together again. " ... ow," is his eloquent first response to... pretty much all of that. " ... shit," is his second response, as he realizes, dazedly, what he just went through, an hears the crashing and screaming in the rest of the huose. "How did... what... what's going on." It's less a question than a statement, at least in tone.

It's still something Nick's worried about, even if Lyall is talking now. He stops pressing at that 'ow,' but doesn't pull his hands away, just kind of... keeps cradling Lyall's head in his lap. "Some of Proud's snakes crashed the meeting, and you, uh, wolfed out. Are you okay? Do you remember who am I?"

"Of course. I remember-- oh god. I bit you." He can still taste the blood in his mouth. He struggles to sit up, horrified, but gives a little whimper and gives up after a beat. Still too many broken bones, and his head is admittedly swimming a little. At least it's enough that he doesn't even notice the potential awkward for having his head in his friend's lap. "Are you all right? Was it bad? I only-- it's fuzzy--"

Nick doesn't try to prevent him from sitting up, because he doesn't want to make things worse, but he still winces at that whimper. "Just sit still, all right, that looked painful. And I'm... not sure how hard I hit you."

Then he shakes his head, brushing off that question. "I'm fine, man, I've had worse." Not that he's checked to see how bad it is, but he's still sure that's true. "I'm more worried about you. Do I need to get one of the medics?"

"No, I... I think I'm all right. They'll have a lot worse to worry about-- and I heal on my own." Well, bones in particular, but that's really all that's the problem here. The head will fix itself up in time, too. "Did I...." He finally looks around a little, realizes they're barricaded in the kitchen, and looks relieved. "I didn't get out."

"That, uh. That might be a little different for a while." He sounds guilty, but, well, there's nothing he can do about it now. If he was being honest, he'd admit to being a little relieved, that he didn't have to really fight him.

That comment makes him smile a little. "No, you got yourself in here in time. That was quick thinking. I made sure you stayed in."

"Different? How do you-- different?" He's still not all together, or he might put the change back together again with the bite, or at least with that comment. As it is, he gives sitting up another go, and this time manages it, bracing himself first on an elbow-- and wincing-- and then on one hand-- and gritting his teeth at the pain of it. Nick is right about one thing: he's not healing at the speed he's used to, these past few months.

If Lyall's going to insist on sitting up, then Nick isn't going to stop it - but he is going to try to help. He puts one hand on Lyall's elbow, the other on his back, trying to support him up. Then he's quiet for a moment, before admitting, "It's my blood. It turns people human, temporarily."

The support is actually welcome, for all it's unsolicited, and Lyall is trying to hear what's going on outside-- and all he's getting is a blur of noise. " ... oh. Which is why... I changed back?" And why he can't make out any details in the din, and why he can only dimly smell the snakes and the people.

He gives a weak smile, feeling a little bit like he's somehow gone deaf, and offers, "Lucky for us, I suppose. I'm not attacking you anymore, at least...."

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detectivetroll - 2014-02-21 04:48 (UTC) - Expand

Angeline is cowering, too, both arms up to shield her head from the unconventional missiles. A pen bounces off of her sword with a sharp tak!

The sound of the lamp hitting Jack upside the head makes her open her eyes in time to see the lamp crash to the floor. Shards of ceramic and glass from the lightbulb go flying in all directions.

"Are you okay?!"

"Nngh... I think so?" Jack starts to rise a little from where he had ducked, bringing a hand to the spot where the lamp had made impact. Great. It was warm and wet. He's bleeding, it's going to make a mess. He makes a frustrated sound, lets the hand drop away, and looks up to Angeline.

"How about you? You alright?!" By the way, the blood on that gash on his head is green. Not that he seems to have noticed this just yet.