Wedding Day: Red & Black

[Dr. Strange]

As I started walking up the porch stairs, I thought about what I had done and my heart crumbled to ashes. I turned around in my dress and ran, the skirt ripping into tatters. I watched myself as if I had never done anything to stain the cloth black and red. The original dress was perfectly white but I chose another, made it myself wore it to the get together, and I watched it rip to the product it is now. The red roses were bleeding (looked like it anyway) and the black cloth was ruined.

I smiled through my tears as I saw the groom crumble to the floor. The idiot was dead. I laughed. He would no longer play me like a fool. I was above that and so wouldn't make that mistake again. I ran farther and fell into a foggy circle. My make-up was completely screwed and I didn't care. I was finally free and I knew it. My father had forced my hand and my mother couldn't protect me anymore so they both knew the line had been crossed. The gun had long since been dropped along the way.

I found myself crying as I understood what I'd done and what I was going to face if I returned; so I didn't. The sleepy town of Hallowbrook never saw me again. I left enough of my dress behind for them to believe the wolves ate me.

I lived with them for a time, becoming more and more like the wolves I'd come to adore.

“Ugh, where’s my coat?” I thought, struggling to my hands and knees. I had long ago forgotten how to walk on two legs…My place and my memories only came from the wolves. THEY were my family, THEY were my life. No one else.

I walked to the opening of the den and let the sun warm my face. Even though my throat felt raw I howled anyway, waking the others. A chorus of more natural howls joined mine and I smiled happily. I had somehow grown wolf ears and a tail. I had yet to earn my fur. My fingers had long since turned to halfpaws.

Claws kneading the rock, I turned to warm my back, catching an older wolf's eye. It came slinking over and nuzzled me affectionately. Soon I would have to leave my new family to mate with another and find my place in their world. The only thing I remembered was a feeling in my heart, like a hole, eating away at me and no matter how much time I spent playing with my comrades and watching the pups, I couldn't sate it.

I nuzzled him back and sighed contentedly. I was happy to be somewhere I didn't have to pretend to be somebody I wasn't to fit in. Where did that come from?

'You seem upset young one. What is wrong?' He asked.

I shrugged my tired shoulders and worked my mouth a little to form my human speech. "I feel like I'm missing something and I do not know what. I wish to look for it but I do not wish to leave my family." I growl-spoke, trying to unsuccessfully speak like I used to. The melodic silver bells I had when I first appeared in front of them had long ago faded. I pondered if I would ever get the tone back.

A pup came streaking over and pounced on me, nipping my ears. I laughed and began biting back, my teeth were stronger than a human's but still weaker than a wolf's. When I began eating like them, I'd retch the meat bac kup and suffer week-long stomach aches. After I got used to it, I saw how it made us stronger and tried hunting it myself. Suffice to say I ruined several hunts that way.

'I will return with food. Try to remember what you were like before we came along.' He replied, calling his pack together.

I nodded and coaxed the pup deeper into the den, surrounding them with what of my clothes had survived. I kept watch as the rest of them headed down the canyon, pausing every so often to converse and sniff the air for any rabbit trails. The pups started whimpering and I sang to calm them. They were too young to understand the words but the rhythm soothed them. My mind whirred as I focused on the blurry thoughts before the pack. We all had names but we preferred to call each other seperate of those.

The pack lived in a cave above a canyon. Beyond the canyon was miles and miles of forest to roam through. We picked the cave to monitor our prey and to protect ourselves from humans. I would have never found it without them. I curled up in front of them, nose to the mouth of the cave, and fell into a shallow sleep. Let me backtrack a little to explain how I arrived here. Or what I can still remember..

I lived in a mansion on the top of Jupe Hill. My father was a rich lawyer and my mother a babysitter. I'd go with her when she went to other people's houses to watch their kids because she recognised I was good with children. My father wanted me to get married to a rich man and become a lawyer. And I told him he'd never see it happen. My mother was proud of me, no matter what I did wrong. My pop hated me for standing up to him and resented that I wasn't a boy instead. And on the week of my reception, we got into a gigantic fight.

"You're going to get married and that's final!" My father shouted, his six six frame towering over me.

I stood to my full height and shook my head, defience still poking through on my face. "You know I've had no say in anything that concerns me since I turned ten. Don't you think that's a little unfair?"

He snarled and lunged, planning to punch my lights out. I leaned back and swung a punch of my own. There was a sickening crunch as I connected with the side of his chin. He howled in pain and started to throw more than punches. Tables and other assorted items normally for peaceful reason were thrown, my father trying to knock me unconscous. I dodged a chair and lunged, connecting with his chest. He flew back a couple feet and knocked into my books. Roaring, he charged. I sidestepped at the last minute and tripped him. He lay sprawled on the floor. I put my high heeled foot on his back and applied some pressure.

Earlier today he had broken my leg and thrown several books at me. I was tired of all his dictating and my mother standing by.

"You were saying?" I sneered, making him yelp as more pressure applied to his sore spot.

"You're still getting married. I'm not going to argue with y--." He didn't get to finish.

It took all the might I had left to stomp on his back, leaving a four inch deep hole. I turned away and, bleeding from several wounds, struggled to the bathroom. The bruises on my body, the weird knots visible just under the skin and the bone sticking out of my leg were obviously going to need medical attention. I groaned and collapsed against the sink, the room was spinning and I felt like I was going to retch. I heard a door close quietly and I knew mom hd returned. Rather than see her face when I emerged, I shakily climbed to my feet, popped the bone in place with a sickening snap, and pushed my exhausted body out of our third story window into the pool.

I yelped when I hit the water and lay at the bottom for a minute or two, letting the cold water sooth my aching body before I had to swim tiredly for air. Clinging to the siding, I tried to pull myself up. I couldn't do it... "Too...tired..." I moaned, closing my eyes tight as waves of nasua and pain washed over me. Two warm things grabbed hold of me and yankrd me out. I flinched, waiting for a punch or something else that I deserved. I'd never swung at my dad or even raised my hand until then.

"Are you okay, miss?" It was a sweet, mellow voice.

I glanced up and smiled meekly. "I beleive I'll be ok..." I murmured, trying (horribly) to get to my feet.

"No, I think I should take you to a hospital."

"NO!" I shouted with as much strength as I possessed. He looked at me with his eyebrow raised. "I can't...My father...He'd kill me...Please don't..."

He nodded, his beautiful green eyes sparkling as he picked me up bridal style and carried me off. I fell asleep in his arms, a smile on my face.

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When I woke up, I felt strange. Like I was in someplace good, full of love. I opened my sky blue eyes to look around. I screamed hoarsely and struggled to jump out of the comfortable bed I was in.


"Where the hell am I?!" I shouted, yelping when the pain came back. I chanced a glance down my body and squealed again. "And who fixed me up?! I thought I said no hospitals!!" I groaned, rolling my eyes back in my head.

"Relax. You're not in a hospital. You're in my house, being taken care of by my uncle." The boy looked about seventeen or eighteen with long black hair and glowing green eyes. He stood at six seven six eight, mouth pulled into an amused frown. He was obviously happy to see me alive.

A bang and a crackle made me clamber to hide under the covers, shivering. He chuckled, I growled. Heavy footsteps came into the room and then the sheets were pulled back. I lifted my fist, ready to kill who it was. I blinked stupidly and lowered my hand. The woman in front of me was similar to the boy in allaspects except she wore light to dark brown hair. I gawked at her.

"Good morning dear. I hope you slept well." She was all smiles as she checked my leg.

I yelled wordlessly as I noticed I wasn't wearing any clothes from the waist down. I glared at the boy who in turn blushed and left. The woman hummed some unfamiliar tune and I calmed. She gently pushed me back down, checking my face and chest for bruises. Purple splotches with dark red dots had blossomed on my thighs and calves. My chest bore a black one with purple spots. I hissed when she touched them, however gentle she was, it still hurt.

"I don't know how you survived that, but I'm sure you'll be fine in a few days. Your leg is almost healed already." I gawked at her more. She knew how well I healed better than I did.

"Who are you?" I demanded, certain these people were going to kill me after I had healed.

"I'm Saras and my nephew's name is Soran. My husband isn't here right now but I'll introduce you later. Would you like some soup?" I groaned low in my throat and nodded meekly.

"Thank you..." I was out again.

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(to be poped back into place...)

[scarypuppy]

Nice?

[Dr. Strange]

thanks...umm, sorry for the wait...i have to postpone it for a time. i'm rather bust right now...
{Stupid school...high school sucks. no college for me.}

[scarypuppy]

Dun say that, I cant wait to graduate and go to College....

yeah, but I know how you feel, I take too long to update my stories, I wonder if I have fans

[Dr. Strange]

i am a proud to not have to go to college to be an artist/novelist.

and i m a proud fan of your work. its very well-constructed.

[Dr. Strange]

I woke up and it was dark again. The smell of hot chocolate and warm soup filled my nose. I smiled, exploring the dark softly with my fingers. Something soft connected and it moved. I yelped and flinched, pulling my hand protectively to my chest. A chuckle made me spread my hand out again. Something wet this time. I growled and swatted at it.

"Oww...That hurt." Soran groaned, turning on the light.

I glared at him. "What was soft and squishy and then hard and wet?" I demanded, ignoring his whining.

He smirked and stroked my shaking hands. "My face and my tongue."

I frowned and poked him, shaking my head. "Childish."

He chuckled and moved my covers to check my sores. I winced as a loud hiss escaped my clenched teeth. He nodded and rubbed my leg, making the sore muscles relax. I groaned and struggled to control myself. I wanted to punch his lights out. After several minutes, I moved to get out of bed. Putting my left leg down, I fought with my right before I got it to land on the floor. Lurching foreward, I ground my teeth in pain as I tried to put pressure on my broken leg. It couldn't hold me. My knee buckled and I started to tip. Soran reached out and caught me.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked, helping me sit on the bed.

"Trying to get to the bathroom." I hissed.

"To do what?"

"Take a shower, moron. Why else would I be going into the bathroom?" I growled, weakly pushing him away and shoving myself back to my feet.

"Well then, let me help you." He replied, not even concerned that I'd insulted him.

"Fine." I snapped.

He smiled warmly and wrapped his arm around my waist, supporting most of my weight. We slowly arrived in the doorway and he took my clothes off, carrying me into the shower. I sighed, this made me feel like a child; helpless. I let him turn on the shower for me and then I flicked him on the arm.

"I can wash myself, thank you. I'm strong enough."

"Not if you can't even stand on both feet. I'm coming in with you." He assured me, climbing in nimbly wearing only his boxers.
I tried to keep from staring but I couldn't help myself. He was handsome. His hair covered part of his face in an emo style cut, his muscular build was nice. Not too little and not too much. I took the shampoo and rubbed it into my scalp. I hummed some lyrics quietly, lost in the moment under the hot water. When his hands moved to wash my back, I screamed and jumped.

"Oh. It's just you." I mumbled, blushing a light pink. I went back to washing my hair and rinsed it off, smiling as the hot water ran down my throbbing shoulders.

He assisted me by drying me off as I stepped out of the shower. The room had a mirror in front of the sink. I tapped his shoulder, pointed to the mirror and, when he looked down at me, I made a puppy face. He smiled down at me, carrying me over to it, set me on the sikn, cleaned it off and picked me back up. I wrapped the towel around me better and examined my reflection critically. I looked worse than when I noticed myself in the mirror at my old house. I tapped his shoulder again.

"Can you aid me in getting dressed so I can go outside?" I inquired, lacing my fingers together.

"Okay. Don't move, I'll be right back." He put me down on the bed and vanished. I waited patiently, taking in my surroundings.
The desk next to the bed was a dark chestnut color with brass knobs. It was about four feet high. I noticed the dresser at the foot of the bed. It was the same color but it looked to be four eleven. I smiled. All my favorite colors. The bed had black satin covers with red roses and silver skulls embrodered in them. The pillows were purple and black. The walls were painted icy white with red, black, purple, blue and green dragons on them. He returned with a bundle of black and faded blue with red and purple streaks randomly sticking out. I raised an eyebrow.

"Relax, they're clothes. Try this on."

He explained, pulling out a breathtaking black corset with a heart cut bosom and a purple ribbon tying it together in the front. I pushed it on over my head and glanced down, blushing profoundly. He gave me a pair of faded jeans with roses embroidered on the legs. I put them on as well and then gave him a glare.

"What about my other stuff?"

"Oh, yeah."

He grinned sheepishly and tossed me a bra and a pair of bikini underwear. I rolled my eyes, slipped them on and stood on my stronger leg. Looking at myself, I judged it would work. I'd never be noticed in something like this.

"So, how do I look?"

"Beautiful. Shall we?" He held out his arm. I smirked and hopped over, applying a little bit of weight to my right leg. It stung but I'd get used to it.

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They returned as I woke up. I smiled warmly at my pack and sniffed noses with them. "Welcome back, brothers and sisters." A few came in and dropped some deer carcases and I nodded, nudging the pups awake. "Food's here, my loves." They blinked simultaneously and some yawned, others got to their feet shakily. Yipping, they raced each other to the food, and began ripping it to shreds.

"So, what'd you guys find?" I asked, nuzzling one of the older females. She nuzzled me back and licked my face.

'We found a human. He is beaten badly. Would you like to come see if you know him?' She replied, sitting on her haunches to meet my eyes. I nodded, climbing up onto her back. We'd been through the drills before.

"Where are we headed?" It felt good with the wind in my hair for the first time in three weeks.She leaped down the gap expertly and took off at a refreshing canter towards the outskirts of Ancyra. I looked around at the strangely familiar surroundings.

'Your hometown.' She explained as she stopped next to an anchient oak with shreds of red cloth dangling from it's brittle branches.

"Oh... Where's the human?" I looked from her to the tree and back quizzically. "And why is there clothing like mine on that tree?"
She chuckled and nosed around the roots before she dragged out a man's battered and bruised body. I gasped. The man would have been six eleven if he had stood, just as tall as my hero; Soran. I scampered over and wiped the dirt from his face gently, holding my breath. The man groaned and his eyelids fluttered. I wiped more dirt from his forehead and cleaned his mouth off with a peice of the cloth hanging from the branches above me.  He opened his eyes fully and gaped at me; I smiled down at him motherly.

"Hello again, old friend." We were bothnow in our teens, near to adulthood and growing ever older.

"Xyalas?" He spluttered, fighting my grasp. I let him go and stood up, brushing my curly, multi-hued brown hair out of my face.

"Yes, it's me. How's my father? And my mother?" I was eager to see how they were doing. I had forgiven him for all the horrors he'd done to me and would have hugged my father were he there. My mother knew how I ws and I hoped I hadn't broken her by leaving when I did.

"He's a mess..He's wasting away and he keeps croaking your name. It's all he says anymore. Your mother is sick as well. She won't let anyone touch her. She's gone crazy with worry over you, and she won't stop muttering  useless phrases. They don't make sense to any of us." He regained control of himslef as he explained, his voie had gotten deeper and his body had filled out nicely.

"Oh...I wish I could go back but you know the rules of town bette than I. could they be brought here?" I asked, happy to know they were still alive at least, even if just barely.

"No, you must go to them." He glanced at Franci and struggled to pull his dagger out. I took it from him gently and hummed to her.

"That's my sister. Leave her be." I hissed, patting her head.

'Young one, I must return. Please keep yourself safe. I do not wish to find my lovely friend dead the next Hunt. I will come back for you at the next full moon. Meet me here. I love you.' She nuzzled my chest comradely and turned back, trotting off sadly.

"Me too..."

"So, you're becoming a wolf now?"

"Yes. I don't think he will take me back after what I did to him..." I replied, sitting in the dirt with a huff.

"He wants you to come back. Please, he's turning white and he's dying from the inside out..." He pleaded, pulling at my heart.

"Alright. If he flips and starts throwing stuff, I'm leaving. Let me get my things and I'll come back."

"I'd like to accompany you." He reached his arm around my waist and I caved.

"Fine, just let me make the introductions." I got onto my hands and knees and motioned him to climb up.

After he had, I started to walk, then sped up to a canter. We reached the canyon and I leaped across, following my instincts. My packmates greeted me with a chorus of howls which quickly turned to horrible snarls.

'You know not to bring Outsiders here. What is he doing  at our home?' The old male demanded, speaking directly to me.

I shrugged vaguely and let him slide off. "He is no Outsider. He is a friend, an Othes. Treat him like you treated me, he deserves it. He is the one who kept me alive until I ran to you guys. So, I beg of you, do not reject him for what his kin are." Standing up, I picked up one of my favorite pups and scratched her stomach as she yawned sleepily at me. "You're so adorable. I wish I could show you guys how I used to live but my mansion is not as it was."

Pacing, I flicked my tail unhappily. "Oh, and from staying with them and adepting to fit in with their lifestyle, I am becoming part wolf. I hunt as they do, I eat what they eat, I sleep where they sleep, and I act like they act."

"So that's where the ears and the tail come from..." He trailed off.

I smiled broadly and rubbed the ends of my ear. "Yes, that's where they came from." I looked him up and down. "You've gotten bigger and cuter since I last saw you." He blushed.

"Well...so have you. Er, can we go now?" He shifted his feet uncomfortably and looked like he was going to bolt. His face was pale.

"Alright, let's go." I picked up my decaying bag and slid it onto my back, arranging it so Soran could ride comfortably. He clambered on piggy-back style and I adjusted my hold on the pup. "Nome, let's go visit your family, shall we?"

The pup yipped nervously and scratched at my arms, trying with no avail to escape me. I chuckled.