Blood Ties

Chapter 13 -Seismic Waves Part 2-

Her lips turned downwards as her eyebrows narrowed. "Won't do what?" She sounded confused, but suspicious.

Dick trembled, his breathing hampered with unchecked terror, he could only look at her with pure fear and hope she didn't force him to do anything. He- he was trapped... just like last time... with a woman...

Her eyebrows tilted upwards, her gaze softening as she reached down with a delicate hand to rub his back.

"Shhh... its ok... I'm not going to hurt you." She tried to reason with a gentle voice.

He flinched at the touch, his eyes squeezing shut as his entire body convulsed.

"P-pl-please l-l-le-leav-ave m-me al-a-alone." His head bowed and his spindly arms curled around his tiny chest.

It was quiet for a moment, nothing moved, not even the cat on his lap blinked. The hand on his back had left, causing a mixture of fear and relief to spread through his body. When the woman moved, she moved away.

"My name is Selina." The small acrobat winced at her voice, expecting something else but reacting all the same. "I won't get any closer if you don't want me to, but you could have died from blood loss if I didn't take care of that leg of yours." There was a pause, then she gently asked, "How did it happen?"

Dick took a few deep breaths, something Slade told him to do when he was scared. She wasn't... she wasn't... she wasn't going to- He shook his head to get rid of his train of thought. How did it happen. How did it happen. How did he get so foolish to believe some lady on the street would be nice to hi- No. NO. Dog. Dog bite. Cat. Save cat. He saved a cat. He saved it from a dog, the dog attacked him too.

He blew a solid breath out through his mouth, his body tired with how tense he was and his leg burned with pain. "I-I was, was... w-walking..." He breathed in again, his hands clenching and unclenching rhythmically over his biceps. "I h-heard c-cat i-in pain. A d-do-dog w-was h-hurting him..."

The ebony haired boy focused on the story, his eyes opening to his lap to find dark wet splotches on the red blanket. "I f-found d-dog, p-pulled his t-tail... dog... dog t-turned around an-and b-bit my l-leg."

His face twisted in pain at the memory, but he found himself more relaxed. His gaze flicked upward warily, observing the woman sitting on the ground near his feet. She was listening intently, but made sure she was in his full view and didn't move. Something black darted across his vision and he surprised himself by not jumping. The cat whipped its tail again, slowly blinking again as it shifted to lay more comfortably on the boy's lap. A long arm came out, its paw flexing and sharp claws became visible before sinking back into their sheaths. Dick lifted a hand hesitantly, he reached out shakily and pet the cat's arm, his mind distracted by the soft fur under his fingers.

He saw a white wrap around the cat's back leg and he returned to his story.

"I-I kicked th-the dog an-and ran... it chased me and scratched my arm w-when it t-tried to ta-take me down. I k-kicked it again and picked up the cat, then I jumped a fence an-and started walking." Dick finished, staring at the cat's lazy eyes as they sluggishly began to close. Its furry tummy rose and fell with deep rhythmic breaths, solidly and quietly.

His shoulders relaxed and a soft (but thorough) sigh left his parted lips. He looked to the woman again, Selina, and she was smiling.

"That was very brave of you," She reached up to the blankets, but paused just before her fingers brushed the fabric. "Can I show you your leg?"

Dick nodded and slid his hand into the other and gripped it so tight his knuckles went white.

"I washed the blood away, and I had to do a few stitches for the bigger tears." She drew back the blanket without disturbing the cat, gently stuffing the warm fabric to the side. She looked to him with a little smirk, a hint of humor to her eyes as she said something else. "I'm sorry to say but I think you might need some new pants."