Butterflies in Winter

::Chapter 12:: Friend

For a moment, no one breathed.

It was a perfect silence, even the ocean, the birds and the wind seemed to fall quiet. They could have heard a feather fall to the ground.

Looking back at his friends, they exchanged a look between themselves. Only Max and Kit knew who the woman before them was. However, the others could take a wild guess as to why they had reacted in this manner.

Max came to perch beside Kit, he didn't say a word but he exchanged a glance with the younger man who didn't acknowledge him.

Romany was forced to her knees, her hands tied behind her back. She locked gaze with Max and Kit, she didn't look scared but angry.

His hackles rose self consciously when one of the men held a gun to her head and spoke up, "Unless you want her blood on your hands. Send your leader to us." His voice echoed across the beach, the hatred in his voice was palpable.

A quiet voice from behind Kit spoke up, he turned to look at the older woman, twitching an ear forward and keeping one in the direction of the enemy. He didn't dare to look away from the opponent, for fear they would do something stupid. After everything that had happened today, he wouldn't have put it past them.

"Who is that?" grunted the gorilla. Who shifted his weight from one side to the other, his anger one of the most obvious. Kit didn't blame Nick, but he could only pray that he wasn't going to lose it completely.

Priorities askew as they might have been, Kit paused to think. He didn't know where to begin explaining the importance of the woman before them.

"She helped us to save your lives," he responded. Very much a shortened version of the whole story, but they didn't have much time to say anything further. It could mean the death of them all if they didn't hurry up. "Her name is Romany," he added at the last moment, not that it was a necessary note to make.

"But she's one of them," Nick's voice was without feeling or emotion. It was almost metallic sounding and careless. Part of Kit understood, but something else made the anger ripple inside him at what was being implied. "She's human, let her die."

"Once upon a time we were human," Max intersected turning his head to stare at the gorilla. In spite being less then a quarter of his size, he barely cared about the difference.

"Yet it would appear that it is us with the greater humanity," grunted Nick.

"Chances are that if it weren't for her, we'd all be dead or dying," growled Kit in response. Before he realised it, he had taken a step forward.

Nick stared down at Kit, trying to intimidate the younger man but he didn't look away. He straightened a fraction and let out a low growl. It wasn't necessarily a challenge, but he wasn't backing away either.

He wasn't about to let them kill her.

"You'd put your friends at risk for the sake of a human, an enemy. Someone who probably wants us dead?" the gorilla let out a growl like sound which would have made the devil himself fear for his life. Pounding the ground beneath them with a fist, making it feel like a mini earthquake at his feet.

Kit didn't blink.

"She' s a friend." He growled lowly, his ears flat to his head and teeth baring just a little beneath his lips. "I would do the same for any of you."

Recoiling when a body was suddenly placed between them. Kit had been concentrating too hard on the man before him to realise that another person had approached them.

"You too for the love of God calm down, we have more important things to concentrate on then your petty arguments." Max spoke more calmly then either of them. "We're not letting her just die."

Nick didn't move for a second, he continued to stare down at Kit, and as long as he kept this charade up, the wolf wasn't going to move. For a second more

Max turned to look at the rest of them once he had broken the fight between the two men off a little.

"I wont expect any of you to come with us, but we are going to go and try to get her back. If you don't wish to come with us, I don't expect we will see you again. So I will wish you farewell now," the young man's words were incredibly honest, kind almost. Kit admired him in that moment more than he ever had done before.

They didn't have the time to wait for an answer from their friends, the two took to their feet and turned in the direction of the enemy once again. Both taking a second to shift forms, it would be easier to communicate on two legs then four.

He didn't look back to see if anyone had followed them, he wouldn't have forced any of them to come with them. This was something that Kit and Max had gotten themselves into, he'd rather keep them safe then himself.

Approaching cautiously, the pair came to a stop about five metres away from the strangers. Kit watched Romany with caution, the fear coming from him in waves for the younger woman.

"I'm Christopher, and this is Max." Kit said, gesturing to the man beside him. Trying to hold himself firm, and not make it apparent as to how scared he truly was.

"You are the leaders?" the speaker sounded uncertain, almost mocking of the sight they saw before them.

"We have no leader," Kit answered firmly. His voice didnt waiver in spite of the fear bubbling up in his chest.

A slight snort echoed from the man who had been the first to speak, "Of course you don't. I'd have expected as much from a group of monsters such as yours."

Rolling his eyes very slightly, but Kit didn't speak the retort which leapt to the tip of his tongue at first. He exhaled lowly to hold himself back, if only for the time being. It depended on the outcome of this conversation as to what his next act was going to be. The fight wasn't necessarily over, just yet.

"Let our friend go," Max said in a simple tone, as though he too was struggling to keep his temper as well. "This doesn't need to end in violence, let her go and leave this island and we will continue as we were."

Kit tried to read the expression of the stranger, but it was almost completely neutral. If not slightly marred by the anger which rippled from every person in front of them. The way they carried themselves, it was full of confidence. As though they were certain that this battle was theirs to win.

Part of Kit was beginning to agree with them.

"You've known her less then two days, you know nothing about her." said one of the others from the back of the group.

His tone wasn't angry, it sounded surprised. Kit looked over at the woman, he didn't say anything for a moment and was thankful when Max took it upon himself instead to speak for him.

"We owe her our lives," Max answered simply. "That makes her a friend in our books, and we're not going to let her die."

He didn't look at the leader now, instead Kit kept his gaze on the other members of the group of strangers. Watching their reactions, he didn't know what to think about what he saw, instead he stayed silent.

"Give her to us, and we will see if we can work something out," Max added. Keeping his tone as neutral as he could.

The leader leant down, and unhooked the cuffs from around the wrists of Romany and pulled her to her feet.

"Come here, and I will let her go."

Kit didn't hesitate, he took a step forward and offered himself over. Romany for a moment looked as though she was going to say something, but was instead pushed forward and the man grabbed Kit by the shoulder.

Right now he had no intention of trying to get away from the man, he stayed perfectly still.

"What do you want with us?"

"For you to stop letting the monsters into our world."