~DeLacy♦️
As I'm thrown into the costume closet I manage to crutch myself before I hit a rack. Unlike most people who bolt in the opposite direction of their kidnappers out of instinct, I literally throw my body directly into the person, slamming us into the door and taking both of us to the ground.
Before the stunned person can react I stratal their waist and wrap my clawed hands around their throat, baring my curved teeth at them.
Looking into the persons face I register who it is and immediately let go of her throat and sit back still on top of her.
"Valora?!" (va-lor-a) I shouted in shock.
She doesn't respond but just stares at me in awe. Only then does it hit me. 'Oh yeah she's deft. Shit! She just saw what I am!' My eyes go wide as I realize that, 'Today is just not my day.'
Scrambling to my feet I spin and bolt through the door at a speed I didn't think I was capable of. I run past the bus lane, past the parking lot, and straight down the street until I'm outside the town then I keep running for another few miles. I finally stop on an abandoned back road enclosed on both sides by the dense forest.
Lifting my hands to my head I cover my face and start running my hands through my hair as I stood there trembling. 'I can't believe I let her see me, a human, see me!'
As I continue to flip-out, now stopped in the middle of the road, I don't notice the person creeping up behind me.
When I feel their presence I snap around on the heel of my foot. I see Valora a few yards away from me. I froze in confusion, 'How could she have kept up with me?'
When I had turned around she stopped her approach and now stood there staring at me with a look of complete wonderment in her eyes. Like a kid who sees their mom or dad after months apart.
"You're....you're..." She stutters shaking her head slightly. She doesn't finish the sentience and just stares at me.
Taking a slight breath and noticeably gulping, "What?" I ask cautiously. 'She can talk? I thought she was deft. She certainly knows ASL.'
She shakes her head again softly and whispers, "You're alive." A smile was slowly forming on her face. "We thought all of you were dead. I thought everyone was dead." She continues with a disbelieving laugh at the end.
At this I freeze and it's my turn to stare. "What?" I breath out in disbelief. Narrowing my eyes I take a closer look at her.
Her lips were parted showing the curved fangs beneath, while not as long as mine they still weren't human. Then I looked at her dark chestnut brown hair, there were three scarlet red strips flowing along her long sweeping bangs stoping off to the side of her head where they all merged into a point.
It felt like my body was numb from shock as my eyes swept over her features labeling her indisputably similar. I felt something, pulling, at my heart and at my mind as I looked into her eyes.
There was a sheen of tears shimmering in her eyes, her hands were folded in front of her mouth partially obscuring the huge grin spread across her face. "No puedo creer que estés realmente viva." She muttered wetly into her hand.
I wanted to laugh at that. I had lived my whole life separated from my own kind and she seemed more shocked to find me than I was to find her. A giggle escaped my throat causing me to mirror her by cupped my hands over my mouth and nose to try and contain myself. It didn't stop the flow laughter, at this point we were both laughing in disbelieving hysterics.
Hesitantly I took a step towards her, almost not daring to believe that this wasn't just a hallucination brought on by the day's events. Valora mirrored my step and we slowly made our way towards one another.
Now standing right in front of her I ask the one question whirling in my mind, "How?" I wonder, whispering as if talking too loud would break something, "How have you hidden all these years?" I shake my head in just a much wonderment as she had.
She just shrugs and shakes her head still smiling but now it was softer and sweeter. "Same as you I guess, but instead of whatever you use I just drown myself in the strongest perfume I can find." She says, making us both laugh.
That was true, the girl smelled like she fell into a vat of JCPenny's smelling perfume. And damn was it strong too.
Looking at the ground I admit rather sheepishly, "Yeah I guess I could've done something else." I subconsciously run my hands through my hair looking at her through my lashes. Too embarrassed to fully look up at her.
She throws her head back laughing at my reaction. "It's not funny." I glared at her but it wasn't very effective given the smile still pulling at the corners of my mouth.
Her deep amber brown eyes drop to stare me. The mirth in them making them swirl and glow with the slightest hint of red. "Yes it is." She states, there was a very distinctive Latin accent to her voice that I couldn't quite place. I knew she'd lived here since elementary but voluntary mutism must have heavily preserved her former accent. "So are you the reason the school's on lockdown?" She asked changing subject. I notice that she seemed to be pausing or tripping over a few words and syllables, the poor girl probably hadn't had a decent conversation with someone in Thoth knows how long.
I look at her a little shocked at how fast she changed subjects. "Umm........ Yeah kinda." I admit turning my gaze to the ground, hooking my thumbs in the waist band of my tights.
The slightly taller girl bent down to look me in the eye. "What did you do?" She asked. The kindness in her voice and openness in her expression made it all but impossible not to tell her.
"Oh! Well...I'yuh...." I stumbled over my words, nervously running my fingers through my bangs. "I-I attacked Luke." I mumble looking off to the side anxiously running my hand through my hair again.
She just stands there and looks at me for a moment before laughing so hard her whole body was shaking and she has to lean on me for support.
Her full belly laughter was contagious and soon I was laughing just as hard, not knowing why either of us were laughing in the first place. Well I was laughing at her, but I didn't know what she was laughing about.
As her laughter settles down a tad she finally manages out. "You-huuu-attacked-huu-that-hu-bastard! Hahahaa!" She was still laughing but not as strong and there was a huge grin on her gorgeous face.
Not that I'm being weird but this girl was seriously stunning. High cheek bones, heart shaped face but with a slightly thicker jaw, bronze skin tone, long wavy dark, dark brown hair, full pink lips, cute nose that tilted to the right ever so slightly making it look like she was smirking even if she wasn't, and bright dark amber brown eyes with a darker amber brown ring around the outer side of her iris. There was no denying this girl was beautiful.
As we're standing there laughing I hear someone clear their throat. Both mine and Valora's heads whip up to look at the intruder.
"Stella!" I exclaim, releasing Valora from my grip. "How'd you find me?"
"Your sent." She answers curtly glancing between Valora and I with a searching gaze like she was trying to figure something out.
"You friends with the perra mayor?" Valora asks with a bit of a growl layered beneath her voice. I look over to see her lips pressed tightly together and a penetrating glare aimed at Stella. Valora hadn't been terrorized by the lycans as badly as I was, namely because they quickly learned that if she didn't hit back she hit first, but Stella hadn't been the kindest of people to her. Especially after she got a black eye, bloody nose, and a tooth knocked out in fourth grade for writing a note saying something about Valora's adopted parents.
I look to Stella seeing a mirrored glare along with a challenging snarl on her features. "It's- complicated." I say instead of really answering.
A look of bafflement twisted Stella's features as she lifted her hands in front of her to pause our conversation. "Wai, wai, wait. I'm lost." She motions to herself before pointing a Valora. "Aren't you suppose to be deft?" She questions.
Valora heaved a sigh at the question but didn't seem too apposed to answering. "I learned ASL in foster care because I refused to talk. I never said I was deft I just never corrected anyone." She explains.
The sound of crunching leaves and twigs drawls all of our attention to the tree line. Standing there on the side of the road were wolves one dark brown I recognized as Mr. Tenbrook, and another brown/black/white multi-colored one, that looked very similar to Stella but with more white and a graying muzzle, which I assumed to be Mrs. Tenbrook.
The larger dark brown wolf with the graying muzzle let out a sharp bark in Stella's direction. The honey blonde immediately trotted toward the tree line and bounded over the ditch to stand next to her mother.
Looking at Valora and I he let out another bark but sounded more like 'boof'. I assumed he wanted us to follow him so, I gestured for Valora to follow me and when she started Mrs. Tenbrook's wars shot forward in alert and she gave the girl a slow once over.
Before anything could happen I step in front of Valora and give Mrs. Tenbrook a reassuring nod. The older lycan seemed to trust my judgment and turned around nudging Stella in the direction of the house.
Looking over my shoulder I see Valora giving me a small but warm smile. I return the smile and we walk side by side following the three lycans.
'And then there were two.' I laugh to myself at my own joke.