stronglikebear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stronglikebear) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bigapplesauce2013-04-07 07:40 pm
stronglikebear) wrote in bigapplesauce2013-04-07 07:40 pm
Bewere
Yuri sighs as he trudges down the corridor. He's been feeling grouchy the last few days, his temper shortening and his hunger growing. In other words, he feels just like he does every month. Even though he's just had dinner, he finds himself thinking longingly of breakfast.
He also finds himself thinking of Daine as he checks each of the doors he passes, making sure for the fourth or fifth time that they've been put back together right. He made her promise not to come visit him -- or at least, he told her she had as good as promised and that he'd hold her to it, even if she said no such thing herself. She should never have come to see him the first time, and he won't have her on his conscience because she came again and got hurt or turned. Caught up in his thoughts, he isn't careful enough with the second door, and burns himself on a spoon. Without making a conscious decision to do it, he lashes out, hitting the door so it swings and rebounds off the wall, rattling the silverware. Sheepishly, he sticks his fingertip in his mouth and hurries on -- he has time yet before the transformation, but it's getting harder to keep his head.
He's several steps into the room with the cage before it registers that he's not alone. Freezing in the middle of the room, he lets out a huff that's halfway between annoyance and despair.
"Get out."
He also finds himself thinking of Daine as he checks each of the doors he passes, making sure for the fourth or fifth time that they've been put back together right. He made her promise not to come visit him -- or at least, he told her she had as good as promised and that he'd hold her to it, even if she said no such thing herself. She should never have come to see him the first time, and he won't have her on his conscience because she came again and got hurt or turned. Caught up in his thoughts, he isn't careful enough with the second door, and burns himself on a spoon. Without making a conscious decision to do it, he lashes out, hitting the door so it swings and rebounds off the wall, rattling the silverware. Sheepishly, he sticks his fingertip in his mouth and hurries on -- he has time yet before the transformation, but it's getting harder to keep his head.
He's several steps into the room with the cage before it registers that he's not alone. Freezing in the middle of the room, he lets out a huff that's halfway between annoyance and despair.
"Get out."
no subject
His entire body projects an expression of surprise when he hears a human voice nearby -- a proper human voice, someone who can't fly away, who will scream --
Even as he lurches to his feet, though, he feels Daine's magic slam against his mind. His charge is reduced to a few faltering steps in the illusory Gabriel's direction. He stops and stands shaking his head in confusion and irritation. It won't last long; they have only a few seconds before he remembers that he doesn't want to obey that order.
no subject
"Yuri, remember me? Gabriel." From his hiding place, he looks with some concern at Yuri's injuries. He could probably heal him, but to do that he'd need to get close enough to do it, and have Yuri calm enough to let him. Consciously, he projects a feeling of well-being outwards to others. He might have to knock out Yuri first before he can tend to any of his wounds. The copy of himself smiles benignly. "You're hurt. I can help you, if you let me."
no subject
Looping back around the illusory Gabriel, Daine shifts into a shape she hopes will give Yuri pause: polar bear. She lands with enough force to shake the earth around her and bellows a warning at Yuri as she moves between the illusory Gabriel and the werebear.
no subject
His internal conflict is completely forgotten when Daine thumps to the ground behind Gabriel. For a split second, Yuri sees the white bear as a target: more meat to tear apart. Then it registers that she's bigger than him. Nothing is bigger than him! Stopping in his tracks again, he roars back at her and rears up onto his hind legs. He's really not sure how to deal with this, but looking bigger seems like a good plan.
no subject
But what if Daine gets hurt? What if Yuri turns more people? He sighs and drops a hand onto Daine's flank. In his hiding spot, he creeps forward a step, trying to get another angle on the action. "Daine, get out of here. It's not safe."
no subject
At least she chose this shape well; Yuri doesn't seem to quite know what to do with her now that she's no longer smaller than him. She heaves herself onto her hind legs as well, teeth bared. Stay back!
no subject
no subject
"I'm safe," he says, and projects a secondary illusion of himself behind Yuri. The second copy looks pointedly at Daine before jabbing Yuri in the back with the toe of his boot. "Hey, ugly. Back here."
no subject
Does this mean the one beside her is an illusion, too? Keeping an eye on Yuri, Daine gives the Gabriel closest to her a gentle, exploratory pat with her paw. He sure feels real. Odd's bobs, this is strange. But at least this means she doesn't need to be so frantic over his safety - just her own. She returns her focus to Yuri to see how he's reacting to the other Gabriel.
no subject
Yuri startles, which is certainly a sight to see, and twists in place to see who touched him. The fact that it was someone he knows to be elsewhere confuses him....and angers him. He growls, teeth bared, and drops onto all fours, turning in place and swiping at Gabriel.
no subject
While Yuri is distracted, the version on himself standing next to Daine nudges her and points to his actual self. He waves from behind his hiding place, then redirects his attention back to Yuri and his other illusion. Beside Daine, he says in what he hopes is a loud enough voice for her to hear, "I can knock him out, but I need to get close." He points back to his hiding place. "That me. A lot closer."
no subject
She wouldn't be able to hold him for too long, though, which means they'll have to sneak closer... which means she needs to be a bit less conspicuous. Distracted as Yuri may be, there's no way he'd fail to notice a giant white bear creeping up behind him. Daine sighs, then shifts into wolf shape. She's going to be exhausted when this is over, but at least wolf shape is a bit more natural feeling and less tiring than the others. After a pause to make sure Yuri hasn't noticed the change, she slinks over to the Gabriel behind the tree.
no subject
no subject
With the only illusion left, he shouts out, "Hey, Yogi bear! Over here!" hoping to redirect Yuri back where he'd come from and distract him at the same time.
He's keeping his attention on Yuri and his illusory selves, but when Daine slinks over, he speaks quietly to her while he watches. "Stay put. I'm going to distract him enough to get in close. You might be lunch if you make yourself known." Having said what he needed to say, he starts moving in closer, careful to keep at Yuri's back.
no subject
no subject
It would also be a lot more satisfying if Gabriel didn't turn up alive and in the wrong place a moment later. I'll tear your guts out! he promises, having forgotten by now that humans other than Daine can't hear him. He stumbles a moment as his injured paw gives an especially sharp twinge, but powers through the pain to charge back the way he came.
no subject
Deciding quickly, Gabriel teleports beside Yuri while the illusory version of himself keeps him distracted. He places a hand against Yuri's side and focuses his energy on putting him to sleep. Nothing happens. "Fuck." Gabriel lets out a string of curses and teleports a few feet back, stumbling backwards into a tree as he struggles to keep to his feet. With an animal, that would have worked, but Yuri isn't quite an animal. "I need to get to his head." Preferably without getting eaten.
no subject
She calls up her magic and focuses on Yuri. Hold still, she orders, bearing down to make sure he stays still. And don't you dare bite him. Her legs shake with the effort of holding him, and she searches for something to make her angry. She seizes upon the memory of having to shove Edgar and Almondine into a room just to keep them alive, and she snarls with fury over Edgar's untimely interruption and Yuri's refusal to just stop and think for a moment. She wouldn't even be out here if it wasn't for them. Don't you move, she growls, hackles raised.
no subject
The touch on his side doesn't go unnoticed. Yuri twists too late to see anything but a blur of movement as the real Gabriel teleports away. He looks back and forth between the illusory Gabriel and the real one in confusion, but quickly makes his decision and lumbers toward the one that just touched him.
And...stops. Yuri trembles, one forepaw still in the air, and tries to push back against the hold suddenly clamping down on his mind. He lets out a frightened groan as he succeeds only in setting the paw down and sinking to his haunches, ears back and eyes wide. He doesn't move again after that except to bare his teeth should Gabriel come near, much as he wants to leap up and tear the angel's face off.
no subject
There's no way he's going to look the gift bear in the mouth, so he concentrates and makes one final jump. The illusory Gabriel disappears as the real Gabriel appears quite solidly lying on top of Yuri's back. If Yuri it going to pass out, he'd really prefer not being under him when it happens. His consciousness nearly slips again, but he clamps down on it and reaches forward to press a hand to Yuri's forehead. It's strange. Absolutely nothing like doing this in his universe would have been, and he has to press harder, expend more energy for the same effect.
As he feels Yuri losing consciousness, his own eyes shutter closed. He's fighting against it, but he's just done too much. As he slips into a deep sleep, his body slides off of Yuri's back, landing awkwardly in amongst the wet leaves.
no subject
Her worst fears for Yuri are quickly dismissed; he's asleep or unconscious, but his sides are still heaving visibly as he breathes. Keeping an ear cocked in his direction in case he stirs, she turns her attention to Gabriel. He's still breathing, too, but he doesn't respond when she paws at his jacket. Letting out a low whine, she presses her nose against his jaw and gives him a gentle nudge. Nothing.
She considers returning to the base for help, then dismisses the idea. Edgar's already doing as much, and what if Yuri wakes up? She can't leave him - or leave Gabriel at his mercy. Panting, she lowers herself to the ground between Yuri and Gabriel to wait. After a moment's consideration, she shifts a bit closer to Gabriel; Yuri won't feel the cold with all that fur, but Gabriel might. If she can't wake him, at least she can help keep him from freezing.
no subject
no subject
Lori and the others move in slowly, carefully, tranquilizer guns at the ready. She's not prepared for what they find -- after all the roaring and crashing, she expected to be facing down an angry grizzly. Instead, there's a scene as idyllic as it is bizarre. Besides the bear -- which is inexplicably unconscious -- is a man, equally unconscious. Between them -- a dog? Lori lifts her gun and peers through the sights, aiming at the one creature that isn't dead to the world.
A twig snaps under her foot.
no subject
Who? Kuiv? she asks, adding a picture of what the alien would look like from above.
No, the owl replies. Someone else. A moment later, Daine is treated to an image of a strange woman she's never met - and she's holding a gun. The owl might not understand the weapon's significance, but Daine does, and she doesn't even think to mask her panic.
The twig snaps, and the owl drops with a screech, talons extended toward the weapon that has Daine so frightened.
Knowing she only has moments, to work with, Daine does the first thing that comes to mind: she shifts into a mouse. Now she'll be too small for them to see, whoever they are. There's still a chance that they're with the rebels, but if they're not... Daine shivers in the leaves. She'd been angry with Edgar and Yuri before, but it's as much her fault that he's out here as anyone else's. Which means if Yuri gets taken by the authorities, or Romac, that's her fault, too.
She can't leave him. She won't.
As the owl returns to the treetops, Daine crawls into Yuri's fur. It's more than thick enough to hide her, especially the shaggy ruff around his shoulders. She burrows as close to his skin as she can get, and waits.
no subject
"The dog's gone!" says the man beside her, drawing Lori's attention back to the original issue at hand. She curses, looking around for where it could have gone to.
"We've got three potential hostiles," she barks into her radio. "Two unconscious, one location unknown -- looked like a dog or a wolf. We're bringing in a man and a -- and a bear."
As others fan out to cover the area, Lori calls in the armored truck that's been on standby. Getting the unconscious bear inside it takes some doing, especially as no one's eager to get close even after Lori puts a dart in it for good measure. With the help of some ropes and with the addition of a muzzle, though, the deed is eventually done. One of her colleagues suggests attaching one of the pieces of silver they brought along for safety's sake, but Lori nixes the idea. Weres from different worlds react differently to silver, and the idea is not to accidentally kill the bear in transit. She is pretty certain he's a were, though of course they won't know for sure until morning.
The unconscious man is a bit easier to deal with, if only because the agents are unaware how dangerous a catch they've landed. Before any attempt is even made to move the bear, he's dragged away and handcuffed for his ride in the back of a car that could almost pass for one belonging to the NYPD. Both vehicles trundle off into the night -- whatever the story is and wherever that dog went, Lori's sure they'll get it out of one or both of the prisoners in the morning.