Remus #8: Wounded

Remus 8-1

Bo had found a cat.

She wandered out of the door to Athena’s apartment and back onto the hallway, shutting the door behind her. As much as there was a part of her that would have loved to listen in, to find out a little more about the people her life was now wrapped up alongside, this was their moment, not hers.

Still, though; she didn’t really want to take a walk. She had been walking for days, and she didn’t really know where she was. She descended the stairs and stepped back out to the street.

Bo leaned back against the brickwork to the side of the door and closed her eyes. She could feel the gears in her mind grinding to a halt for the first time in days as the sounds of the city trickled in. The camp, the truck, the fight. Werewolves, vampires, an invisible supernatural war. She didn’t try to interrogate the thoughts, just let them wash over her for a moment, breathing gently.

She felt something move against her calf and looked down. A small black cat, white patch at its shoulder, was rubbing along her lower leg, looking up at her.

“Oh, hey,” Bo said, crouching as the cat meowed. She had never seen a cat in person before, but she immediately liked it. She scratched the little animal behind the ear, and received a soft purr for her efforts. She smiled. Her scratching fingers nudged against a small name tag. She turned it over. “Esme? That’s your name, huh? Pretty.” The cat ran the side of its face along the back of Bo’s hand. “Just like you. Beautiful girl! So cute!” Bo grinned.

Bo sat down on the step, and the little cat sat beside her, continuing to enjoy Bo’s attention and scratches. “Where do you stay, huh?” The cat sat beside her so imperiously it seemed to suggest she was right where she belonged. Bo noticed the catflap on the door that had escaped her attention before.

“Oh. Of course you do.” She said, ducking closer to whisper to the cat, “Do you belong to the vampire lady?”

The cat yawned, its needle-like teeth on display, before looking Bo in the eyes. “Oh. Oh, my apologies. The vampire lady belongs to you. How silly of me.” She chuckled softly, no idea if the answers she were imagining were remotely accurate, but enjoying the fiction.

That’s me, Doctor Delululittle.

“I know what that’s like though. Somehow I’ve got a pet werewolf now. They’re hard work, huh?”

The cat loafed at her side by way of reply. Bo sighed.

“Yeah. I guess I wouldn’t change mine either.”

Remus 8-2

Athena sat at her dining table, looking up at Cameron who was still standing.

She nudged the seat opposite with her foot to push it out. Thanks to her stature, she only managed to move it about an inch. I am not debasing myself by sliding down this chair to push your seat out, Cameron Jack.

“Sit,” she said, plainly. Authoritatively. Cameron looked at her for a moment. “For God’s sake, Cam, it’s not a dog joke. Just sit down.”

Cam choked back the smirk before it reached his lips. He pulled the seat out and sat down carefully, trying to keep it as undirty as possible.

She looked at him across the table. He met her eyes for just a moment, but couldn’t hold the gaze, his eyes wandering around the apartment.

“What happened?”

“I found Ajax, and…”

“No, after that. Where…” she began. She cut herself off. This was a simple question. But it was the question. The question all other questions had revolved around for over ten years. She took the briefest moment to regain her regal composure. “Where have you been?”

“Nowhere, Tina.”

“Let’s stick with ‘Athena’ for now.”

“Oh. I thought, because you were calling me ‘Cam’...”

“I think I’ve earned the right to set the terms of engagem…” Let’s choose a different word. A sharp inhale. “...Interaction.”

“Understood.”

“So?”

“Nowhere.”

She sighed. “If you’re not going to answer…”

“No. Please… I’m not being stupid, for a change. I’ve been nowhere. A cabin at the bottom of a mountain. More of a shack really, but that’s not the point. I’ve been there.”

Athena had been wrong. Where was never the question. The question was far more fundamental.

“...Why?” She choked out. The word sat on the table like a deadweight. Cam tried to pick it up, but found his strength wanting.

“...I couldn’t save him.”

“Who? Ajax?”

“Gavin.”

“Oh.”

He sighed softly, taking a moment. “Bo was telling me about one of her friends last night. She was a bit older, and she hero-worshipped her. That was me, Ti…” He stopped himself. “That was me and Gavin. Growing up. I looked up to him so much. He was everything I wanted to be.”

“I know. I know what he meant to you. What you meant to each other.”

“And… He never let me down. Ever. Not once did the real Gavin not live up to the Gavin in my head.”

He stopped. Not sure if the words would continue or if they would be left half-spoken.

“Until…” He sighed.

“Yeah.” A half-hearted shrug. “Until.”

“Ajax.” She assisted with the end of the thought. Cam nodded sadly.

“I don’t know why he did it, but his face when he saw me… We both knew… He’d taken a torch to all of it.” The tears were starting to prickle the corner of his eyes. Cam took a breath. “But that look. It was like me seeing what he’d done, it crushed him. Just for a second. Then it was gone, and the wolf was there in his place.”

Athena was listening attentively as Cam continued. “So we fought.” He bit his lip at the memory and cleared his thickening throat. “I didn’t know what else to do. Ajax was gone, Gavin had turned… There were so few of us left, it felt like the war was done.”

He ignored the first few tears slipping down his face and gestured to his neck. “He gave me the scars, but he must have pulled the wolf off of me in the end. I don’t think he wanted to kill me, but he let the wolf out anyway. Maybe he knew he’d be able to stop it in time, I don’t know. I wouldn’t have been able to do that. I was never strong enough. And then I wasn’t strong enough to stay, to face everyone after.” The tears were coming easier now, but still ignored.

Athena spoke with calm consideration. “And that’s what you think we needed? Our people? Me?” She paused for a moment. “For you to be strong?” He nodded, unable to answer further at that moment, resting his head on one hand. “I just needed you here, Cameron.”

“...I know.”

“No. I’m not sure you do.” His wet eyes snapped up to her. “Ajax was dead. I was next in line. I wasn’t ready for that. But I did it anyway. I’m not half the leader he was. But I’m still going. And for ten years, I needed you here.” Her eyes were hard, but not cold. Not devoid of feeling, but resigned. “And you weren’t.”

“No.”

“And I never really believed you were capable of killing Ajax. Not really. But the evidence was there, and you were silent. So I began to think… Maybe…”

“I… The thought never occurred to me.”

“No.” She smiled gently. “Few thoughts ever do. That’s why I lo…” Oh absolutely not.

Cam couldn’t look at her. He knew the word would remain unfinished. After what he had done to her, leaving her to deal with the aftermath… The twist of almost hearing it again felt like the least he deserved.

“I’m sorry,” he offered. The words tripped out pathetically. Inadequately.

“We were supposed to be the future of our people, Cam.” She said, gently. “Thanks for telling me why you left. I know it wasn’t easy. But you still left. You left everyone.”

She sighed, injecting her voice with additional resolve. “You left me.”

Remus 8-3

Cam had nothing.

All of the reasons in his head for leaving, all of the stories he told himself. They mattered… But none of them mattered more than her. There was no case for the defence.

“You’re right.” He responded, simply.

“Correct.” She flashed a brief smile. “For once.”

“You were always right.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

Athena had started to slouch slightly, as though the weight of conversation was pressing her down on her seat. She sat up straighter, almost as if to shake off the emotion of the last few minutes. “OK,” she began, “that’s the last twelve years. Now, catch me up on the last week. And why you’re back, with a telekinetic teenager in tow.”

Cam took a breath, but she continued before he could begin. “And this better be good, Cameron. Exiting via window remains under active consideration.”

“I didn’t really mean for it to happen…”

“If that’s not your signature, I don’t know what is.” She provided, as though adding a comment to the margins as she graded his paper.

“Atlas’ goons paid me a visit, roped me into helping them find a missing asset. Some cadet.”

“The girl?”

“Nah, one of her friends. A boy. They were at some training camp when communication dropped. We got there and everyone was dead, except Bo…”

“Did she kill them?” Athena asked. No judgement, just fact-checking.

“What? No. God no. The kid wouldn’t hurt a fly. She’d annoy the hell out of it and chase it around the room. But she wouldn’t harm it. The other cadets were her friends.”

“Strenuous defence noted.”

“She thinks she did though, she can’t remember what happened. But I walked around the camp after. It was a werewolf.” Athena’s eyes widened. This would be a topic to revisit. “Anyway, there was a… Disagreement… About whether she should go back with the agents.”

“Your talent for diplomacy remains peerless.” More commentary.

Cam shrugged. “Things might’ve turned a little punchy.”

“Quelle surprise.” Athena held his gaze for a moment. “So you thought you’d go back to war? Over a young girl you’d just met?”

“See… When you say it like that, it sounds silly.”

“It’s not silly.” She reassured. “Well, it is. But it’s a very Cam-shaped silly. Some men would start a war for Helen of Troy. But no-one else would stumble into battle-stations because someone looked like they might hurt the girl working the market-stall.”

“...The girl on the stall was doing plenty of battling as well.”

“Oh, this gets better all the time! Jesus, Cam, she’s just a girl.”

“She’s Bo. And she did well.”

Athena’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not disputing the quality of her work, Cameron. I’m debating her involvement.”

“...I asked her to stay put.” He replied. It came out a fraction sulkier than he intended. He sighed. “I’m not planning on a war. Or even a battle. I’m hoping we might be able to lie low for a bit. With… Your help…”

“Ah. There we have it.”

Remus 8-4

“There you are, you little goblin!”

The apartment door had opened a moment before - properly this time, in a way which could be perceived by humans.

Bo and her new friend had relocated back into the hall, where she had immediately spotted the cat-flap on Athena’s apartment door and confirmed where the cat lived. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, wriggling her fingers in the air. Her fingertips were glowing blue, as was a little ball that she had found in the corner. It was floating a short distance from her, flowing back and forth and up and down in line with the pattern of her fingers.

Esme was having a wonderful time, hopping back and forward after the ball. Tail up, butt wriggling, pouncing when the ball slowed its movement just enough.

The words broke Bo’s concentration. The blue aura left her fingers and the ball dropped. She snapped back to it, and caught it on the rebound, resuming her telekinetic control. The cat had dived in anticipation of the ball dropping again, and she looked at her paws for a moment, imagining that she had caught her nemesis and pinned it to the floor. She spotted the ball after a moment, and resumed her chase.

Bo looked up at Athena, standing in the doorway. “Me, or…?”

Athena crouched, drumming her fingers on the doorframe to get the cat’s attention. Esme glanced for a moment, but decided the ball was more pressing. This is absolutely not the hill to die on, Bo.

She lowered the ball to the floor and gently rolled it towards Athena. Esme trotted after it and deigned to allow the vampire High Priestess the opportunity to issue a scratch, which was offered with a grin and soft mutterings of “good girl” and “have you made a new friend?”

Athena looked from her cat to the girl sitting in the hall.

“So, Goblin II.” Athena said. Bo smirked. “Cameron tells me you were quite the little battle-mage yesterday.”

“That doesn’t sound like Cam.”

“Well, he said you ‘did OK’...”

“That’s much more believable.” Bo replied. “Also, unrelated question, totally fine either way, but is he still alive?”

Athena laughed. “Yes. Against my better judgement.”

“If it helps, I haven’t known him long, but he talked about you loads.”

“That doesn’t sound like Cam.”

“Well, he grunted about you loads while I asked questions.”

Athena smiled, standing up. “That’s much more believable.”

Esme yawned, mouth gaping, needles once again displayed fearlessly.

“Hey,” Bo started, “Um… Is your cat…?”

Athena smiled. “A vampire?” Bo nodded. “The cat’s just a cat, dear.”

“OK, cool. Not that I have anything against vampires, obviously. Some of my best friends are vampires.”

“...Do you mean me?”

“...”

“You have a particularly sweet brand of chaos, girl. I can see why he likes you.”

“Cam definitely didn’t say that.”

“No, you’ve got me. He didn’t even come close. But he brought you here.” Athena took a step out of the door, and crouched beside Bo. “Don’t forget that. Any fool can lock horns. It takes a special kind of fool to ask my help to keep you safe given our… History.”

Bo stared at the vampire. She looked as though the quiet of spending time with Esme had allowed the last few days to catch up to her. “Thank you.” She almost whispered. “For not killing him.”

Athena smiled softly. “The night is young.”

“I just mean… I don’t know if I even like him yet. But he didn’t need to fight those agents for me, and he did. Even if he argued with me the whole time and gave shitty advice.”

“It’s what he does, dear.”

“Which part?”

Athena placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder gently. “All of it. The fights he won’t let himself walk away from. The idiotic arguing. The advice that sounds like nonsense, until you realise there was a grain of truth that saved your life.” She smiled contemplatively. “And saying that you ‘did OK’ because he’d sooner grunt forever than say what he means.”

Bo smiled and took a breath, felt herself relaxing. “Can I tell you something?”

“You have me intrigued.”

“I thought he’d be wolf-ier.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, he was pretty scary, but I thought he’d look more like an actual wolf, you know? I’m not disappointed, it was just odd.”

“That wasn’t Cam as the wolf, sweetheart.” Bo looked at her blankly. “That was maybe 20-25%.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know Cam. He wouldn’t put you in that kind of danger. The wolf isn’t controllable, when it takes over. Nothing would have stopped him. Not you, not the agents, not Cam himself.” She locked eyes with the young girl. “Not even me.”

“Oh.” Bo said, processing.

“Yeah…” Athena stood. “Now… Esme is looking for her kibble. Tell me, Bo… Do you eat kibble?”

“I mean…” She started, brightening. “If you’re out of pizza…”

Remus 8-5

Cam approached the box as though Bo was about to explode it all over the room.

He had prepared himself for Tina, as best as he could.

But he hadn’t prepared himself for a twelve year old time-capsule of his own stuff.

His gut twisted with the knowledge that she hadn’t thrown it out. She probably should have, it was just random effects that he left at her apartment and never returned for. She must have wanted to. And yet… Here it was. A small box on the top shelf in the utility closet. “CAM” scrawled on the front in her neat hand.

She had handed him a towel for a shower and told him to take a look, maybe find some fresh clothes before dinner. Well, ancient clothes. But clean.

He removed the box, and laid it on top of the small surface area. He was expecting a dusty, long forgotten relic. But instead, the box could have been placed there yesterday. His stomach churned to think of her making the effort to dust the shelf with his forgotten crap; the top shelf, no less. She probably just floated. The fact that Athena wouldn’t have needed to fetch a stool to reach did little to assuage his guilt.

He carefully unpicked the tape which was holding the cardboard lid shut and opened the box with a sigh.

Here we go.

A small stack of photos on top, held together by a rubber band.

Uh, maybe later.

Cam set them to one side. A brown leather jacket sat below the photos and he lifted it out slowly. It unravelled from the neat folds and he shook it out.

Absolutely keeping this.

He rummaged around below the jacket. Some other clothes which would come in handy, which he put to the side. A few gig stubs and flyers. He had no idea he had been so sentimental in his younger days. In his days with Tina.

He cleared the thought away from his throat.

His hand reached down to the bottom of the box and touched metal. Huh. He wrapped his fingers around the object and pulled it out, jangling.

A small metal wolf’s head key ring. He stared at it for a moment. Before I knew what it cost.

But attached to the key ring was a far louder blast from the past. A key. A car key.

Oh boy.

He turned the key over in his hand. Remembered what it was like when he had first held it, so far before the Netherbrood War started. First opened the door. First sparked the ignition.

The growl of the supercharged V8 engine, reverberating through the interior, ready to snap into life with a twitch of his foot on the gas.

He glowed softly at the memories.

Athena meant everything to him, even now.

But you only get one first love.

He looked down at his hand, gripping the key and fob tightly.

He smirked dangerously.

You and me, old girl. Let’s see if we still got it.