The Dog-Eat-Dog World We Live In

Ariel jumped off the bed when she began to talk about clothes. He flicked his wand at the door and it opened. The ones he’d taken out before came sailing in but he decided to discard them in favour of something else. He went back to his chest of drawers and grabbed a white shirt out from inside. He touched the tip of his wand to it and shrank it down to Risé’s size before changing the colour of some boxer shorts. Ariel held the two articles of clothing up and stepped towards her. He dropped the boxers on the bed and focused on the shirt. He pulled the material up to the neckline and widened it slightly so she could fit her head through. He pulled it down over her head, smiling a little at the already dried hair that had become static. He pushed down some of the flyaway hair and frowned slightly when it flew back up again.

“I expect you’re hungry,” He murmured thoughtfully as he straightened up. He fingered the shirt sleeve and chuckled. “It’s still a little bit big but large shirts are more comfortable I think.” Ariel shrugged, knowing that anything was better than what she’d been in before. “I’ll have my mum take your measurements and send her off to go shopping or something. She likes that sort of thing.” Ariel stepped away. “I’m going to go down into the kitchen and salvage some bacon or put some more on. I don’t know -- I’ll do something. The spare toothbrush is the purple one, okay?”

Ariel smiled gently and picked his wand up again before leaving the room. He trundled down the stairs and decided to take the other door into the kitchen, effectively avoiding his family in the living room. He couldn’t, however, avoid his uncle who was scrounging for food. Georgio looked like a deer caught in headlights. In reality he probably was. Ariel scowled at him and watched in amusement as the elder man scampered from the room. Ariel chuckled and shook his head, making his way over to the stove. He took some more bacon from the packet and chucked it into the frying pan. He turned the stove on and let it sizzle before going in search of some eggs.

The werewolf saw a flash of pink in the corner of his eye and turned around to see Penny sitting on the counter, munching on some toast. Ariel raised an eyebrow and the dark-haired girl grinned at him again. “Mummy told me to tell you that she’s going out to see daddy in an hour,” Ariel rolled his eyes at this statement. Richard was just what he needed right now. “Uncle Georgio is in charge, okay?” Even better, the idiot was going to lord over us. “And she said don’t go outside because your daddy is hanging around. I don’t know what she meant but I don’t like your daddy. He left you and Mummy.” Ariel sighed in frustration. “Why did he leave Ari?”

“Because...he had a life, Penny...” Ariel shrugged half-heartedly, grabbing a pan off of one of the hooks. “He just didn’t want to be around me or mum anymore. Then mum met Rich- your dad and here you are with your brother. Speaking of which, where’s Ori?” Ariel looked around for Penny’s twin but saw no one. Then he heard the sound of the Nintendo Wii going. Ariel rolled his eyes. “There’s Ori.”

“So who’s your friend, Ari?” Penny asked, biting the toast again. “She’s not your girlfriend because that girl is your girlfriend – the one in your letters, isn’t she? Mummy said she was pretty. I don’t know though because you don’t tell me anything! Who’s your friend, Ari? Is she-”

“She’s just...mine I guess...” Ariel cracked an egg into the pan, then another and then another. “Why does it even matter, Pen?”

“What do you mean she’s yours?” Penny asked quizzically.

“She- look it doesn’t matter. Drop it okay?” Ariel replied.

Penny sighed. “Fine but it’s not fair!”

“Yeah, okay, sure.”

Rise watched as he got got up and got her some clothes to wear. A white t-shirt and boxers? Well anything was better then a towel. She stood completely still while he put the shirt over her head and she bit her lip, waiting until he was gone and out of the room before she went to the door, making sure it was closed, and started to pull her arms through the sleeves, letting the towel drop, she looked at the boxers for a long moment before she grabbed them and put them on. It wasn't the best thing she could have worn, but it was clothing anyway. She shivered and sat down on the bed again, her eyes roaming around the room. At the mention of food, her stomach had turned into a beast of it's own kind and started to growl more loudly then it had in the last few months she had been kidnapped.

Finally after a moment of regaining her strength, Rise stood up and went back into the bathroom, glancing around it for a long moment before she found a hairbrush and pulled it through her hair. It felt so nice to be able to work out the tangles, and make it feel like it was actually hair, not just something up there to keep her head warm. She shivered again and made sure to close and lock the door all the way before she grabbed the purple toothbrush and brushed her teeth three times. Once her mouth was clean Rise used the restroom and then unlocked the door, sliding out of the room and back into his room across the hall. Looking around, she found herself walking towards the bed.

Once on the bed she crawled under the covers, her fingers running along the clean, smooth material, something she hadn't felt for a long time. It had been rags and nothing but, rags to riches it felt like. Her hands running across something that he probably took for granted, and she couldn't believe she was actually comfortable. She curled up under the covers and after laying her head on the pillow, she was out. Her stomach long forgotten as she relaxed into a sleep that was so peaceful it was like she hadn't slept since before she was taken. A peaceful sleep, that although it was heavy, the second someone walked in, she knew she would wake up, if the burning in her chest had anything to say about it.

“I want to get a dog,” Penny announced as Ariel began to plate up the food. He looked over at his sister, a smirk dancing across his lips, finding that he liked the look of determination on her little face. It was funny. Ariel shook his head and prodded the eggs with the fish slice. “I want a doggy, Ari!” she repeated. Ariel dropped the pans into the sink and picked up the plates as Penny began listing the types of dogs she wanted. Her favourite seemed to be the St. Bernard but Ariel didn’t want a dog. He had a dog; one that lived in him and didn’t pay its rent. Naomi, who was probably still slumbering away upstairs, had half, one that was lurking but not active. Risé had one too. Well, it was probably waking up now. Ariel just hoped she wasn’t unfortunate enough to get it pacing her mind while she slept. ‘Puppy’ did that to him often enough. He hated it. “Ariel are you listening to me!?” Penny exclaimed.

Ariel skirted around the worktop and headed straight for the stairs. He climbed them, taking two steps at a time, plates in hand. He’d put some forks on there and had contemplated a drink but he had a feeling that if anything, Risé’s food was going to end up down the toilet. She was malnourished. Another few months and she would have been emaciated. The amount of food and the taste would no doubt be a shock to her system. Being sick would probably do her some good. It would get rid of all the crap and then she could start eating regularly and properly. Ariel opened the bedroom door with his foot yet ventured no further as he was shocked by what he was being presented with.

She was asleep.

Ariel, making sure he was light on his feet, crept across the carpet. He put the plates down on the desk and leaned over to shut the door. It closed with a click and he turned around, unable to take his eyes off of the little lump in his bed and the hair that was splayed out over his pillow. He wanted to laugh but it would have most probably woken her. Ariel folded his arms over his chest and shook his head in disbelief. Perhaps it was best to let her sleep. He wanted to offer her some form of comfort but how, he wasn’t entirely sure. Ariel scratched his cheek, frowning slightly to himself, and walked over to the bed. Having a double bed had so many uses. Now it would probably be used for what it had been designed for. Naomi had one spare room and Ollie had claimed the other. He’d more or less moved in and what was worse was that Ariel’s mother didn’t mind. It was maddening.

There was always the basement but Ariel wasn’t going to go down there. He wouldn’t have put anyone down there except maybe Richard. No, Risé was good where she was. Ariel was just glad the couch was soft.

Rise found that she was a lot more tired then she had originally thought. So that when the door opened, she didn't have the energy to wake up. She heard him as though he were part of her dream, she could smell the food, but her eyes stayed shut, and her breathing stayed even, she was conscious, and yet she wasn't at the same time. After a moment of him being in the room, her mind finally shut up, confident that he wouldn't hurt her while she slept. He had been kind to her so far anyway. So she simply rolled over and pulled the covers up around her tighter, a small whimper escaping her throat.

When Rise woke up she sat up so quickly she nearly fell out of the bed. Her hair was a mess, and it appeared to be dark outside now. Rise doubled over in pain and realized that it was hunger pains that were racking her body. She had slept for a LONG time, seeing as she had gotten there that morning. Slowly she crawled out of bed and found the food that had been left for her, only it appeared a lot fresher, he must have been keeping the food warm for her in case she woke up. Smiling she pulled the plate to her and nearly devoured it. Only to find it so horrible tasting, she pushed it away from her in shock. It tasted horrible! Though she knew she liked the food, it was like nothing she had ever tasted.

Coughing though, she realized that there was more to it then the taste being wrong, her body was rejecting the food she was given, and she crawled out of bed, going to the bathroom quickly and vomited. She didn't really have anything to get rid of though, and she sat on the bathroom floor for a long time, shaking and covered in sweat. Her body was rejecting everything she was giving it, but after a time, Rise stood up and using her hands, scooped water into her mouth, washing out her mouth and drinking a bit, trying not to drown out her system, only to throw it up again. After a few times of this, Rise finally managed to keep the water down, and after brushing her teeth five more times, she stumbled back into the bedroom and crawled under the covers, to tired to sleep anymore, as she pulled the blankets around her, staring at the darkening room, her eyes wide as she made herself a soft little safe place in the blankets, watching the door in fear that Fenrir would come in and take her back to that awful place.

Fatigue had set in so Ariel decided it was probably best to leave Risé where she was. He left without a word, but not before draping a blanket over her. The rest of the day was mainly spent making sure that Ollie didn’t get Penny and Orion into any trouble – which he did. Georgio made no move to punish either child though. At one point he was nowhere to be found and appeared in the living room around five when the football started. It wasn’t until six that Fiona came home and she headed straight for bed. Ariel was left with the task of feeding everyone and putting his siblings to bed – the latter was a lot easier without Ollie who had somehow found the spirit cabinet. Ariel didn’t want to know how or why, all he knew was that Ollie had found it.

After sending his friend and his uncle to bed, Ariel fell onto the couch with a groan. It had been a day and a half, one he never wanted to repeat. Rolling over onto his back, he took the television remote off of the coffee table. Ariel flicked through the channels. He settled on a documentary of sorts and leaned over to pick up the half-eaten bag of peanuts that Georgio had left. He poured some into his mouth and picked up the remote again, going through the same laborious process of picking a channel. Finally, Ariel settled on a game of cricket. He didn’t care for the sport but it did not bother him. It filled up some time before bed though. He still didn’t know whether he was bunking on the couch or getting in on the other side, though. Ariel decided to stay put until the cricket was over.

The floorboards creaked suddenly and unexpectedly, making Ariel sit up. He frowned and watched as Ollie came into view, a grin on his face. “Hello,” he continued to smile much to Ariel’s visible confusion. “I thought I could have a little word,” Ariel nodded cautiously and the dusty-blonde drifted around the corner stripped down to his briefs. Ariel groaned.

“Ollie-”

“I don’t want to interfere or anything....but she just got back from your dad’s; that’s right isn’t it?”

“...Maybe.”

“And she’s in your house.”

“Yes...”

“And you get on very well,”

“I suppose so.”

“Well, isn’t this perhaps a good opportunity to...slip her one?”

“Ollie!” Ariel sat up fully and planted his feet on the floor. “For God’s sake – she’s in trouble – get a grip!”

Ollie backed away, “Right. Right. You think it’s the wrong moment. Fair enough,” there was an unhealthy pause. “Do you mind if I have a go?”

“Ollie!”

“No – you’re right.”

“I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Okay – okay. Might be too late, but okay.”

Ollie slunk away and Ariel turned off the TV, not honestly believing what he had heard. Ariel got to his feet and stretched. He heard his back click and he reached over to turn the lamp off. Ariel made it upstairs just as Ollie closed his bedroom door. Ariel shook his head and put his hand to his bedroom door handle. He twisted it and pushed it open, slipping inside before the hinges squeaked. Ariel padded across the carpet and walked around the side of the bed. He pulled the bed covers back and sat down on the bed. He brought his legs up, pulling the covers up with him, and laid down, dropping his head onto the pillow. Ariel turned so he was on his side. He exhaled and closed his eyes, allowing himself to sink into sleep.

Rise heard someone walk down the hallway and she curled up tighter into a ball as she listened to voices from the Front Room downstairs. After a few words spoken, another person passed her door and she pulled herself into a tighter ball, if it was possible, and watched the door as it opened and Ariel came in and simply slipped into the bed, not even looking at her. Biting her lip, Rise watched with her eyes wide as he curled up and fell asleep almost instantly. Eyes wide Rise looked down at him in confusion. She had taken his bed, but, she wasn't sure what to do. He hadn't seen that she was awake, and had simply fallen asleep next to her. Rise put her hand to her chest, and felt the wound sitting there, so innocent right now, just another cut, a cut that had completely changed her life, and she wasn't even aware how much at this point.

Rise moved a bit closer to Ariel, and her fingers found his shirt, gently pulling up so she wouldn't wake him, and pulled it up far enough so that she could see his own wound. Looking at the cut on his body. A bite, but a lot worse looking then hers. Like the person who had bit him wasn't actually trying to be careful, just getting it over with. Rise touched the tip of her finger to his wound, and bit her lip. He had said there was a puppy inside everyone, and you could tell their emotions on how the wound looked. She looked down at her own, and realized that before it had been raw and red, almost angry looking, now though, it looked almost pale, light, and soft. The puppy had calmed down a lot ever since her body had gotten some sleep. Rise kept her fingers on his wound, and then touched her own and felt what felt like a shock through her body. She nearly fell out of the bed as she removed her hand and curled up away from him.

Rocking back and forth slightly, she pulled her knees to her chest, and looked down at Ariel, laying asleep on the bed next to her. He had bit her, and for that split moment, she could feel that werewolf personality sitting behind her eyes. Waiting almost patiently for the full moon to rise, where it could then take over, not just mentally, but physically. Rise didn't know when the next full moon was, but she had a feeling it was sooner then she would like it to be. Slowly unwinding her arms from around her knees, she looked at Ariel one last time, and then after a small amount of time debating, she curled up so that just her fingers touched Ariel's back, and she let herself fall asleep again.

Dreams weren’t always places of refuge. For Ariel, it was rare that they were. His dreams lately had been plagued with visions of Risé. He had been in despair up until Risé had appeared on the doorstep that morning. Even then he’d been despairing over whether or not she’d live. He knew she would but there was that seed of doubt and concern in his mind. Ariel didn’t want to lose her when he’d only just got her. That seed of doubt was exploited by his dreams and innocent dreams quickly turned to nightmares before his closed eyes. But something occurred that was out of the ordinary halfway through. His first dream/nightmare was interrupted by a flash of gold. Ariel jerked slightly in his sleep and he opened his eyes, gasping quietly. He blinked rapidly before relaxing once more and letting his head fall.

In his sleep-clouded state, Ariel didn’t even think about Risé on the other side of the bed. Yawning quietly, the werewolf pulled the covers a little before dissolving once more into sleep. When he opened his eyes for the first time the next morning, light was beginning to stream in through the gap in the curtains. Ariel yawned and ran reached up to rub his eyes. It was then that he felt the fingers on his back, his bare back. Ariel blinked wearily and looked down to see his t-shirt had ridden up to his breast-bone. His eyebrows came together in confusion and turned over, gently lowering himself onto the mattress so as not to wake the slumbering Risé who was, much to his surprise, almost directly behind him. Ariel felt a smile tug on his lips and he pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.

Ariel pulled one of the sheets over her and smoothed some more of her hair back. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, enjoying the sun that was now shining onto his exposed back. A yawn escaped Ariel’s mouth and he pulled the covers closer to him, feeling suddenly a bit cold. He yawned again and blew a piece of stray hair away from his own face. He didn’t want to move. The bed was warm, he was comfortable and the sun was shining outside. He knew, though, that eventually he’d have to get up. He’d try to hide first, though. He’d try his hardest. Ariel had a feeling they’d find his shock of white-blonde hair amongst the dark furnishings and colours in his room, though.

Rise woke up in the morning to his stirrings as he tried not to wake her. She lay there with her eyes closed, trying to pretend to be asleep as he moved a few strands of hair away from her face. She shivered slightly and curled up a bit tighter, when he didn't move from the bed though, she could feel herself drifting back asleep, and she curled up tighter, her fingers clasping around his warm arm. Resting her cheek against his arm, her fingers cold as she nearly snuggled up to him, curling up closer to him and one leg rested against his, her fingers resting very lightly around his arm. After she got comfortable, she didn't move, her eyes still closed as she drifted in and out of sleep.

She didn't know what made her feel so comfortable and safe her. Maybe it was because she knew he wouldn't hurt her. He had cleaned her up, given her food, clothing, even though the clothing wasn't the most.. covering. He had saved her from that nasty Fenrir, and she was greatful. Of course she shouldn't be, but anywhere away from him was a safe place, even if he was still around, she felt more comfortable then she had in a very long time. She muttered slightly in her sleep and clenched her hands around his arm, not wanting him to move because she was comfortable, and he was warm. Her fingers locked more tightly on his arm, and she moved closer to him so that she was half pressed against him.

Sleep was a blissful thing, even with the nightmares that plagued behind her dreams. At least she knew when she woke up it would be in a safe place. Not put back to torture, useless chores, and looking after werewolves, who made fun of her, beat her up for reasons that were stupid, making it obvious they simply wanted someone to beat up, and she was around. Wincing slightly in her sleep, she whimpered and her body curled up in on itself. Her knees now resting against Ari's side, her fingers still locked on his arm, her head mostly on his shoulder now, her hair splayed out over his chest from when she had moved to get into that position. She snored lightly and then her fingers let go, but stayed touching his arm lightly, her head still on his shoulder as she snoozed away.

It was funny to watch her sleep. Ariel realised that he’d woken her and watched with amusement as she shifted and moved closer towards him. Ariel smiled and held the covers up so he could wrap them back around her when she settled. Much to his surprise, she settled sort of...on him. Ariel held back his laughter and draped the covers back over Risé. He yawned quietly once more and let his head fall to the side slightly so his cheek was resting on the top of Risé’s head. He let his eyes fall shut and merely enjoyed the warmth surrounding him. Both were natural forms of warmth that heated him right to the core. Ariel loved it. It was making him sleepy though, much to his dismay. He had a lot to do today despite wanting to shut himself up in his room and sleep. A few more hours wouldn’t hurt, it was early after all.

Ariel turned into Risé slightly and walked his fingers up her side before lightly tickling her. He didn’t know what she planned on doing for the duration of the day but whatever it was it probably wasn’t going to extend to anything other than sleeping. If she was planning on staying where she was then Ariel was very happy about the circumstances. He liked the idea of staying in bed all day a lot. It meant he’d have to deal with Ollie’s endless rounds of innuendos when the situation called for one but to catch up on sleep would be so worth it.

So, lending Risé his arm, Ariel curled into her, draping his other arm over her. He let his head rest against hers and pulled the covers up over them, desperate to keep the warmth circulating around them. Ariel closed his eyes again and wiggled his feet slightly to wake them up. While Risé snoozed, Ariel planned on trying to get another forty winks – if he could.

Rise knew that Ariel knew she was awake when he tickled her. Her eyes slowly opened and she found herself almost face to face with him, only his head was turned away slightly. She closed her eyes quickly though. Not seeing him was a lot better, it meant she could concentrate not on who he was she was snuggling up with, but just the fact that there was a warm body to be next to. She still wasn't comfortable with him, but if she could trick her mind into thinking it was someone else, it was a lot easier to relax. So when he moved so that his arm was over her, and the blanket was up around them tighter. She snuggled in against his chest and closed her eyes breathing deeply.

His toes wiggled, and she found hers moving down to mingle with his, simply because it was more comfortable, and his feet were pretty warm. It was amazing how two people could generate so much heat in one blanket. Of course it helped that they were both werewolves, even if Rise hadn't actually transformed yet. Her wolf was happy for the time being, being so close to it's creator. It was content, and Rise was to, as she moved up so that they were more hugging under the blankets then anything, one of her legs stuck between his, as her arms tucked up against his chest, her eyes closed and her head now resting comfortably against his chest.

"Mmm..." She muttered, half unaware of the noises that came out of her. It had been so long.. since she had been clean, warm, comfortable. Her hands moved to a warmer spot, and after a moment she found herself touching his bite. She didn't know what made her want to touch it, but she did, her fingers gently kneading his shirt until it had come up over the wound again, touching the bare skin around and on the bite, she moved closer, one hand moving so that she could prop her head up slightly, her eyes open now as she looked down at the cut, her left hand running over it. "Just... a sec.." She said and then laid back slightly, her right hand moving so that she could touch her own bite mark, and that sudden warmth and shock flew through her again. She gasped and let go of them both, her eyes wide open as she looked at him. "Does that happen normally?" She whispered looking up at Ariel, her eyes wide her hair falling oddly in her face as she watched him, light brown eyes amazed at who was was so close to, and still trying to recover from that flash of whatever it was.