A lick and a promise...

[Lovely]

September 15, 2008
7:30 p.m.

The alley wasn't the best place to land. Damnit Marc! The clattering tumble over the fence wasn't ideal for a stealthy retreat either, but at least the policers missed him. d**n hell lot of good that did. He clenched at the concrete under his pads, his head and tail low though his haunches were up, ready to spring forward... if only he didn't happen to be on the business end of sharp-and-pointy. ::Nice and slow, babe.. nice and slow. Put that down so I can kill you nice and neat and be home in time for chow.:: His jowls rumbled over his bared teeth then he launched at the only thing keeping him from the end of the alley and his ride home.

The noise was what alerted her first, so she was ready when he leaped over the fence, but not quite ready for what he was. "Damn..." She whispered, keeping the bow aimed and not moving, if she took her eyes off him for a moment he could.... do that. He launched and she let the arrow fly, hitting his shoulder, at least she thought she did, she didn't have time to really see as at least two hundred pounds of fur and muscle (with teeth!) collided with her. She went sprawling back onto the pavement with the force, no time to reload or shoot again, her hand pulled the knife sheathed at her waist in an attempt to fight him off before he killed her.

The impact to his foreleg turned him from biting her head clean off. Great, this was going to be messy and messes led to trails. f*cking hell. ::Marc!!:: The bark was an urgent cry containing the pain that exploded through his body as they tumbled over each other. He could smell the intent and nearly smell the metal in her hand now. ::Nut uhn, I don't think so, bi--:: The thought and the shout to his associate tumbled as quickly as they hit the ground and his mouth finished the sound as his teeth sunk into the nearest chunk of flesh he could grab hold of.

The scream would have been loud if his jaw wasn't clamped around her throat, tearing and strangling the sound. "Oh shit." She managed to squeak out, damn that hurt! The knife had slashed at his side but fell from her hand when his teeth sank into her neck. She was a construct so tougher than most and with a bit of ferality in her mix, but oh man.. Her hand rose up and she twisted and yanked at the arrow in his shoulder, hoping to cause him enough pain to make him let go. She was seeing dots and trying not to pass out, blood running from the puncture wounds and torn flesh his teeth caused.

A twist of the blade and he clamped harder but only momentarily. The screech of tires pulled his attention to the mouth of the alley and he let go, backing off with the intent to leave her there, but not able to move far with her hand on the shaft of her bolt. He looked up at the car knowing it wasn't waiting for him long. ::Lucky day...:: A strangely human expression, cold and sarcastic, flashed through his eyes as he stared into her face before lurching backward to get loose of her and the bolt. Insult to injury... that made so much sense now despite the throbbing in his head and arm... his uninjured paw raked roughly, a slap, a swat, claws extended, before he moved off to head to where Marc waited. He stopped only to look back for the trail he left, the tracks... Sh*t. He'd have to clean up.

She gasped, nearly choking a bit when he released her throat, with all her strength she held onto that bolt -bastard had really hurt her and she'd hurt him back. He shook her off though, blood loss was not in her favor at the moment. Her hand went to her throat, applying what pressure she could, her other hand tearing the sleeve of her shirt to tie in place and hopefully keep her from bleeding to death. She barely got it in place, looking up at the beast from where she lay half on her side. Her eyes glaring, fingers curling against the pavement, fighting with everything she had to stay alert, though she was fading. "F*ck you." She spat at him, her forehead touching the pavement and a small weak growl rolling out as her eyes closed.

The creature smiled coldly, the last thing she'd see as she faded into her unconsiousness. Still encased in fur but moving less like a wolf, more like a man, he leaned over her, swabbing her wounds with his tongue to keep them from pouring out completely, then pulled her up off the ground to pour her into the waiting car. The policers were close and he didn't want to leave her for them to find.

She moaned softly as his rough tongue lapped over her torn flesh and he pulled her up to put her in the car. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized he was disposing of the evidence, so to speak. Her voice was soft, hoarse and weak, saying one word in warning to him. "Weapons." Her knife and bow were on the ground and if he was taking the time to clean up, he wouldn't want to leave that evidence of their fight behind. She passed out again, not knowing if he understood or heeded the warning.

[Lovely]

*************

She was still, it was quiet and she was breathing.. she was alive, she knew this because her neck hurt -a lot. Tully groaned softly as she forced her eyes to open, blinking until she could make out anything around her. She tried to lift her hand to check her neck and found out she couldn't lift it, couldn't do more then twist it a little.. she was tied to something, her legs shifted and curled up toward her chest slowly, but it appeared her ankles were bound together. Why wasn't she dead? She hadn't expected to wake up at all. As she moved her legs it shifted the sheet over her enough to feel cooler air over her skin beneath, bare from the waist up but her pants were still on, boots gone. It was soft beneath her and from what she could figure, she was on a bed, it hurt to move her head but she did so, trying to see what else was in the room.

"I wouldn't do that, babe. Your head might .. snap off." The voice was cold, teasing, quiet and distinctly male. The sound of a book being set down was next followed by the scoot of a chair on the bare floor and the footsteps crossing the small space that separated her from the man in the room. A shade or curtain lifted under his fingertip flooding light down onto her as he looked out a moment then the darker shadow fell over her again. He stood where she could see him without craning too far. The man smiled down at her from behind pale, nearly silver eyes and a trimmed goatee of dark brown. His hair was wet, recently showered, but appeared thick and dark as well. "Count yourself lucky. Can you talk? What's your name?"

Her mouth opened as she looked up at him and she winced as she tried to speak, realizing that hurt too. Her jaw tightened slightly and her soft mossy green-brown eyes stared at him defiantly. She tried again, this time deliberately speaking quietly. "Tully." Her name came out, simple and direct, no reason to lie. "Why.. didn't you.. kill me?"

"Me? Now... why would I want to kill you?" He pointed to himself, purposely feigning the perplexed expression. He pulled the chair over beside the bed, using his stronger arm as the other was bandaged still and stiff.

"If I were you.. I would have." She spoke softly, a small touch of a smile coming to the corners of her mouth. Her head turned slightly as he moved the chair, she tried to stay as still as she could, but now that she was awake, she felt the need to watch his movements.

"You were, in a way. Good shot, by the way... considering. Maybe I should ask you what you were really after down there. Wasn't exactly your average hang-out, even for thrill seekers." The smile she gave was unexpected. He picked up the glass and straw beside the bed. "They said you'd probably want some of this. Take a sip."

She looked at the glass, about to refuse but then looked up to his face again. Why take the time to patch her up if he was going to poison her? "Thank you." She moved her head slightly to try to reach the straw, taking just a small sip and letting her head rest back. "You." She said quietly. "They failed to mention you were so... furry."

"They? You sure you got the right guy, babe? If you weren't after furry, how do you know you wanted me?" He moved his own neck, sympathetic for the stiffness in hers, feeling it snap and align. "How about telling me who 'they' are, hm?"

"I don't know who they are." She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them to look up at him again. "Babe?" She smiled a little and would have laughed if it didn't already hurt so much. "You were where they said you'd be.. I didn't see anyone else in the alley, did you?"

"You don't know them but they told you someone would be there?" His lip snarled a little with the distaste for whatever agent had ratted out their endeavors. He mopped his face with his hand and leaned down on his knees. That explained a lot about what had gone wrong in the first place. "I saw a pile of sh*t and heard a lot of footsteps. There could have been a lot of someone elses in that alley if you waited two more minutes."

"If I had waited, I'd be dead.. you'd have ripped my throat out and kept going without missing a beat, if I hadn't slowed you down." She smiled a little again, obvious respect in what voice she had and in her gaze that stayed steadily on him. "Would have kept me fed for a long while if you.. hadn't been so furry."

"I did rip your throat and you didn't slow me down... much," he admitted a little. "So say I'm the one you really were after down there. What did they offer you to keep you in kibble for that long while? If you don't know who 'they' are, do you know whose paying you?"

"How is your shoulder, by the way?" She asked with a slight smirk as she eyed the bandages. "Remind me to kick you in the balls later for my throat, would you?" Her gaze went to the ceiling for a moment as she thought about the question he'd asked and whether or not to answer it. "The contact, between me and them.. keeps us all faceless and nameless."

[Lovely]

"It's fine, thanks but why kick me? It makes your voice sexy and smokey. I like it. Kick me if you want to, but you might want to thank me first since you're able to talk at all. I mean it takes just the right flick of the tongue to fix vocal cords." He'd let her worry about whether or not he was teasing. He wasn't. "So a nameless and faceless that tells you to find me, though you sure as hell looked surprised when you got me. So... what, exactly did they want?" His question seemed lifted up in the air by the hand that gestured, giving up in confusion. Who wanted him for what reason - who even knew about him?

"Yeah I bet I look all sexy tied up with my throat torn out too.." She rolled her eyes and sighed, chewing at her lip, just a bit of a pout coming to her face as she pondered his comment about the flick of his tongue. "Is that true.. about the licking.. you licked me in the alley too..?" Her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember the blurry scene and bits from after she'd passed out the first time. "Maybe you're right.. maybe it wasn't you.. was there someone else with you or who was supposed to be? Maybe it was that person they wanted. Why did you heal me?"

He shrugged and stood up to look out again through a peek of light. He appeared distracted by whatever he watched in the street below. "So I could ask you what I'm asking you... maybe other reasons. Those toys... those all yours or did they outfit you?"

Her gaze followed him and then went to the ceiling. "And if I don't tell you? What does it matter? They're yours now aren't they.." Her jaw set, obviously a bit upset at losing her toys.

"It matters if they gave them to you. Or did you steal them?" He let go of the shade again and looked down to her, hopeful that she had... that she had resources of her own and didn't depend on an employer.

"They're mine. They don't supply me with the means, just the requests, if I finish the job, I get paid. If I don't.. well I don't get paid and I have to find other ways to eat." She stared up, not looking at him now, if she'd been standing there would have been a slight tilt to her chin.

"You'll eat. Save your voice. I need to check on something," he said, getting annoyed again. He started to walk off, taking the chair with him back to where it was.

Her eyes darted to the side to glance at him before he moved away. She was more curious now at what he'd said and his actions, none of this made sense. Logically he should have finished her and gotten rid of her body, but he healed her and it didn't make sense.

The house around her was better kept than most, much of the glass in the windows intact or replaced. She was left covered only by the sheet, all that was needed since the drafts were kept out. The floors and walls were typically thin, however and whatever discussion was going on in the other room, possibly downstairs, was heated and raw, male voices rising over each other in argument. Somewhere a door slammed or something equally loud and final was heard before silence. Not more than a minute later the man returned carrying something in one hand that smelled like food and something in the other that clearly wasn't. Her own shirt had been too bloodied and he brought her something to replace it. The food was something in a bowl.

"I hope that didn't have to do with me." She said softly, still trying to get used to how funny her voice sounded to her now. She hadn't been able to make out what had been said but the 'conversation' obviously wasn't pleasant.

"Does it matter if it did?" His voice was clipped though he wasn't trying to be short with her. He set the bowl down by the glass, carefully, letting it cool. "Just dealing with assholes. I'm sure you know the type. So, here's the test. You seemed to do water okay. Try some soup?"

"Only because I might be causing you more trouble than I'm worth." She told him quietly, her eyes flicking to the bowl and then back to him. "Through a straw?" She couldn't exactly feed herself with her hands tied down and soup would be hard in her current position. "Why are you doing this? I shot you.. aren't you pissed about that?"

[Lovely]

"Trouble is a matter of perspective. Look, are you hungry or not?" He had the spoon in his hand and he'd feed her, but she had to cooperate. "About as pissed as you are that your throat hurts like a sonuvab*tch, so I guess we're already even. I'm not doing too bad, but you... have to tell me how you're doing. I... I can make it hurt less, but you'd have to let me."

Her eyes moved over his face several times before she parted her lips and lifted her head slightly to let him know she allow him to feed her. Her eyes darkened though, showing a bit of resentful pride to be reduced to having him feed her. "I'm not sure I follow the last.. how?"

"The same way I started, but you're awake now. Still tied for that reason. If I let you loose, well... you kick my a** and hit the ground running. So, it comes to this. Let me or don't but I'm sure you're starving and I'm sure I can help you heal. Once you trust me."

"I'm tied down.. how am I supposed to stop you from doing whatever you think you need to?" Her eyebrow arched up a little and she regarded him while she tried to figure him out. "..and I think we already established which one of us will kick which's ass." She wasn't about to bet or reveal any of her other gifts would allow her to best him. She'd been sloppy and was paying for it.

The spoon was sloshed back into the bowl and he grunted a little. "Then tip your head back, just until it stings and don't move." He moved to lean on the bed as if to kiss her, but it wasn't a kiss or endearment he was after.

She glared at him a moment and then did as he told her to, tilting her head back until it made her gasp and she held it there, biting her lip as she waited for him to do what he intended to. She closed her eyes and tried to stay still, not sure what would happen.

Positive that no one could see in, he altered his form slightly, needing a different tongue for a different job not designed for asking questions. His breath heated her skin and he set the tip of his tongue where the scar had started, tasting the wound and the raw flesh. He stroked lightly at first knowing the roughness would sting horribly then stroked again, harder, designed to numb as the healing from his saliva began to work. He sat back to judge the effect, where the pain was worse and how best to minimize the scar, forgetting that she hadn't seen him change, even to just a partially-wolven visage, while her eyes were closed.

She whimpered at the first sting, biting down hard on her lip, tasting blood on her tongue as she tried hard not to cry out. A few tears squeezed out the corners of her eyes and her chest heaved slightly, she arched beneath him, her fingers digging into the sheet beneath her. Her eyes remained closed as he sat back, she waited and slowly blinked them open to look up at him. Her teeth released her lip with a smear of blood across it and she stared at what she saw now. He was.. "Amazing.." She whispered, awed by his form and ability to shift it like this. "Wholly scary but.. beautiful.. wow.."

He wasn't trying to escape a job gone wrong and wasn't in a dark alley now. His tongue ran over his teeth and he panted out a breath like a lapdog, seeming to smile in reaction. He altered more, taking the change slow due to the pain in his arm and not wanting to fully form as a wolf. Only enough to have the teeth he needed, seeing now how he'd left the jagged mark he'd need to reopen. He leaned slowly over her, part man, part beast, his nose tapping her chin. He wanted her to lay back and let him work.

Her mouth parted in a gasp as she watched him shift more, the awe growing. He leaned down and tapped her chin at first she was confused but it only took her a moment to figure it out and her head tipped back again, allowing him access to her throat again. She closed her eyes again, whispering. "This is really going to hurt, huh?" She took a deep breath, concentrating on not jerking and keeping herself as relaxed as she could beneath him.

His hands were not changed into paws. He rested one over her mouth, letting her bite him back if she needed to, but he needed her to lay still and for her not to try and scream. His teeth, fangs, were razors as she already knew but he bit slowly this time where he'd numbed her. She'd still feel it and the warmth of her blood on her skin again.

[Lovely]

She moaned and whimpered into his hand, biting down on her lip again to keep from screaming. The tears slipped from the corners of her eyes but she managed to hold herself mostly still other than her hips arching up as her feet dug into the matress as well. She would have been swearing up a storm if she could speak. Tully felt the warmth of her blood flowing again and held herself from thrashing in an instictual survival panic. He was doing it to help her, she had to keep repeating that in her head, it was a good thing her hands were tied down. Somehow she knew it would have hurt so much worse if he hadn't numbed it beforehand, though it didn't make it so she couldn't feel it at all.

Stronger than she might have expected, he resisted where she tried to fight. He pulled his teeth free, the tiny daggers releasing their pressure, and his tongue lined over the wounds again, more slowly, more carefully. His eyes were growing dull as he weakened, but he would finish. The seam was straightened and closed though her voice would still be ragged until the swelling went down. He'd laved the wound enough it would feel cold now though it was still quite raw and knitted enough that she wouldn't bleed. He needed to rest. He lay down next to her a moment, his teeth and fur fading back to human form as he undid her tethers. "Mirror's over there," he pointed out if she had the strength to pull herself up and look at the damages.

She didn't move at first as he undid the bindings, after a few moments of slow breathing she curled, rolling gingerly to her side. Her arms wrapped around her a bit and then rested up near her face, one slowly, lightly touching her neck. "It's fine." She whispered, making no move to go look in the mirror, she wasn't at all vain. If she was scarred, she was, at least she was alive and she could speak. "Thank you." Her hand left her neck, still slightly unsteady from the wounds and blood loss, she reached over and lightly stroked his cheek.

He flinched a little, not expecting the delicate nature of her touch. He was drained, sore himself and hadn't slept yet. In changing his form his hair had dried into deep, thick dark waves his fur had resembled. His eyes were a dusk blue now, simply human while the beast within him slept. "Good... yeah, you're welcome," he muttered.

She was surprised that he flinched and it made her smile a little, seeing him as more human because of it. She was still uncertain and confused by his actions but he'd taken care of and not killed her, so she was grateful for that. "Can I.. is there anything I can do..?" The hand that had touched his cheek lifted to motion over him as he lay there beside her.

"Whatever you want," he chuckled tiredly. "Take your shit and go home if you want to but I'd keep an eye on the guy at the front door. He's cranky when he hasn't had his beauty sleep."

"I meant.." She let it drop and slowly nodded her head. "Does that mean he won't let me pass without a fight?"

"Yeah,.. it means he's not as nice as I am." He chuckled again like he was drunk. He was a little, having had enough of her blood in his system to take the edge off. He glanced up. "No, don't need to do a thing. You might want a scarf or some of our friends might think you're marked... that you belong to somebody now."

"I'm not sure I can fight my way out at the moment.." She held up her shaking hand and sighed as she closed it into a fist. As she lowered it, her hand went to her neck and splayed against the raw tender flesh. "It would appear I am marked." She sighed again and shifted up on her elbow, looking toward the window. "What are the odds of sneaking out? I'd stay but I don't want press my luck."

"You can stay and you'll be fine. You can try to leave but if he's back, you won't get far." His gaze darkened in seriousness. "He's bigger, older, faster and meaner than me... and no sense of humor. Those odds? Eat your soup and get some rest."

She shifted to sit up more and it felt like the room swayed a bit. "Good idea." She whispered, closing her eyes for a moment before moving again and carefully reaching for the bowl and spoon. Tully didn't even care what kind of soup it was, it wasn't hot but still warm and felt good sliding genty down her swollen throat. She kept glancing at the man, obviously very curious about him as she ate the soup he'd gotten for her.

She could kill him now and he wouldn't care. His good deed was done, innocent bystander or not, he'd gotten her so she'd live. d**n the wars and what humans thought of him and his brothers. Their ancestors had lived there for centuries alongside each other and he'd be damned if the war was going to put an end to that. She'd just gotten in the way... or he had. His thoughts were murky and his eyes wouldn't stay open. He stopped fighting it and let the exhaustion pull him under. It might be the only sleep he'd get until Marc came back or night fell... whichever came first.

[Lovely]

The soup was consumed slowly at first until her hands grew more steady. She finished the bowl and set it aside, wiping a few drops from her lips with the back of her bent finger. Tully sighed, watching the man as he slept on the bed, she'd seen his eyes slip closed and though he 'rested' his expression wasn't a peaceful one. Her hand almost reached out to stroke his cheek again but she stopped herself and slowly eased from the bed. He brought in a shirt and she found a bowl of water and a towel that he'd used to clean her up before she assumed by the looks of it.

Going to the mirror now, she used the towel to clean up the fresh blood and looked at what she assumed would be a permanent scar across her throat. "Marked.. that's putting it mildly. Well there goes my super model dreams." She spoke quietly to herself in a sarcstic tone, not even thinking about the fact that she was speaking out loud. She didn't have friends or family, she'd been alone for at least four years and she talked to herself to keep from going insane in her isolation and with the silence. "I kind of like it.. better than what they did to you in the labs now ain't it Tul, ole girl.. This job was supposed to be the one Tul.. the last one and you'd have enough to get that pesky chip out of your head. Hmm you sure you want to do that now hmm? Maybe you're like him.. " She stopped speaking and stared at herself in the mirror. "It's still better than this cage I can't get out of.."

She dropped the towel by the bowl and reached to pull on the shirt he'd brought her. She sat on the edge of the bed, her back to the man as she stared at the wall, trying to figure out what to do. "Could have killed me, probably should have.. why didn't he?" She was whispering to herself again, her hands running back into her hair. The tone of her voice varried back and forth as if it were two people talking to one another within her, but there was just her.

"Because maybe he thinks you're worth keeping." The voice was muttered from thin sleep. He'd heard most of what she said but he was too deep to really answer her. "It'll fade. Can't leave yet."

"Worth keeping?" Her head tipped to the side as if she was pondering this thought and she slowly eased down and turned so she was laying on her back next to him. She was tired herself, the soup had helped but she was nowhere near full strength, of course she wasn't sure what her true full strength was. "Can't leave, yet?" She sighed, her eyes closing as her hand drifted over to rest on his arm.

"The chip. We know some people," he muttered again, pulling himself awake enough to talk to her as he felt her weight shift the bed. He stayed still though he watched her. "How long have you had it?"

"The chip.." She sighed, the back of her knuckles brushing over his arm gently. "Long time.. mm my tether, my inhibitor.. my cage even though I escaped." Her other hand rested lightly on her stomach. "Ten years..more than.. maybe fifteen." Her voice was softly murmured as she thought back to things she could barely remember. "I think it keeps me from remembering.. before it was there. Going to get rid of it. There's a guy.. just one more job and I'd have enough."

"No." The man shook his head a little. "You can't. That's how it always is. One more job, then one more after that, then they forget you. Or make you forget them and make anyone you ever knew forget they ever knew you. I'm sorry." His eyebrows arched a little with the sincerity and a bit of dismay. "Like I said... we know people. Don't go back. Let us help."

"I don't know anyone." She shrugged and made a face as it shifted her neck. "They already made me forget.. your friend doesn't want me here and doesn't want you to help me." She stated the 'facts' quietly as she stared up at the ceiling.

He chuckled and looked up where she did at the ceiling. "My brother just doesn't like anybody much. Don't take it personally. We just need to be careful, but you know. You can be so careful you never get to do anything." He sounded like a rebel teen in some ways. "I got your back, okay? Don't worry about Marc being a sh*thead about it. He'll get paid."

"Brother.." She echoed in a soft whisper, she wondered now and then if she had siblings and what happened to them if she had. "I wasn't taking it personally." Tully half smiled, almost looking like she might start laughing. "I'd probably feel the same way if I were him." Her eyes shifted and seemed to be searching for something but it wasn't anything she'd find on the ceiling. "Why.. why are you..why have my back?" She started, stopped and then restarted her question, trying to word it right. "I don't understand... why you'd risk anything for me?'

"Why not? Seriously. Why not? It's not like you were trying to actually kill me or you would have." He sat up slowly, feeling better for at least staying still a few minutes. "Gotta live a little. Never know how long it's gonna last. Someday Marc might figure that out and get the cattleprod out of his a**."

[Lovely]

"If I hadn't been distracted I would have been trying. I was sloppy. I'm not usually sloppy." She told him quietly, slowly turning her head toward him. "It's not personal, i just have a great desire to get this chip out of my head. I didn't expect I'd actually be speaking to you or anything."

"A girl without expectations? That's cool, babe. Look, if you want it out, you'll get it out, but you shouldn't have to go through all this bother to do it. Killing people for money is nasty business." He for one knew that well. He rolled his way around to standing up and took another look out the window. "So, he's not back yet. What do you want to do?"

"What do you mean what do I want to do?" Her head shook a bit in confusion as she watched him move and look out the window. Her hand ran over her forehead, she wasn't up to full strength yet. "Given your earlier warning about him. I should probably leave before he does get back." She rolled to her side and pushed herself to sit up. "I never really thought about it while I was doing a job.. or after. It's easier not to, thinking about it being nasty ends you up on the wrong end of the deal. It's all I've known really. I can keep myself alive, I can fight, and I can kill stuff... I wasn't given many options. It's not like one night someone attacks the transport you're on and hands you a guide of how to live once you're free. It was more run, duck, hope the bullets don't hit you and try not to leave a trail."

"Maybe it's time to live free, then," he shrugged. It was only fair to show her to know whose side he was really on. He moved the collar on his neck, turning his back to her to show her his own scar. "Freedom looks like shit, but it feels like nothing else on this godforsaken hellhole of a planet, believe me. That's what he's afraid of is ever going back. He'll be fine. I'll make sure he's fine."

She was stunned to silence, only a small gasp that came at the unexpected sight of the scar he revealed. "You.." She rose from the bed, taking the step to reach him as her hand lifted, lightly touching the mark. It was almost as if she was afraid of it as her fingers barely brushed over it. "You know what-..?" So many questions were tumbling out at once. "How.. how long has it been?"

"Two, almost three years for me, five for him since he did the same for me that I'm offering for you. I didn't know about the chip, that's not why I wanted to help you. It's because they know what we are and they want us dead because of it that I'm on a mission to show them .. I'm not what they think I am."

"But I'm not them.. I don't understand how this shows them.. and I don't know if we're talking about the same them anymore." Her finger traced the line on his neck and her hand dropped away. "Four years. I haven't met anyone like me.. us.. that I know of, before now. I've been alone."

He spoke over his shoulder, hearing her, smelling her as she moved away. "No, you're not them. You didn't start the war and you weren't part of it. You and me, Marc, others out there like us, we got pulled in and tagged for a reason. They think we're all beast, heartless killers and that that's all we know... well because I'm a mutant. So, if you have a chip, then someone thinks you are too. So what's your specialty, hm? You know mine," he said quietly, turning to face her, wondering what the rest of her story was.

She chewed her lip for a moment and then let her gaze meet his. "I barely remember my own name. This chip is a cage I can't escape and I can't remember who I was before or what I did or even how long I was in their cages.. I don't know much about what I did while they had me. Flashes, images here and there. I know there was pain, it always hurt, it still hurts but if I can feel it, I know I'm still alive. I don't know if I had brothers and sisters, I don't remember my mother, I don't know if I was born in a cage or not. I don't know much.. only what has been in the last four years. Well a little bit from a damaged piece of my file.. It told me my name and my father's and that the chip in my head inhibits whatever I am. He was furry.." Her eyes closed as she tried to pull up the faint memory she had of her father.

"Furry? But you'll kill others with fur. That's nice, babe. For all you know we're from the same litter, heh?" He chuckled dryly at that irony. It wasn't like he and Marc didn't scrap on the best of days, but they never really did that much damage, let alone tried to kill each other. "Don't try to break past the inhibitor. It only causes more pain. It's also a question of how much you try, it might bring them right to your doorstep. Take it easy and lay down a while. I'll deal with Marc."

[Lovely]

"Look, I don't know what your deal is here.. and I didn't know you had fur until you showed up in it. I took the job same as any other, I do what I need to and I don't spend time pouting about the choices I have to make after it's done. It keeps me alive and it keeps me fed and it was my way of paying to get this chip out of my head and be done with it. For better or worse to finally be finished. They've had four years to find me if they wanted to, if they are even looking.. fours years I've survived on my own without anyone holding my hand or patting my head or telling me what to do. I don't need you to tell me about the chip like I have no clue about it. It is the one thing I remember because I live with it there everday.. until I get it taken out. When that happens then.. actually I don't know what happens then and I don't care."

He listened and slowly folded his arms. "Finished? I was trying to be helpful. So why I don't I tell you something you don't know. You won't need a scarf. In about two hours, it'll just look like you and your boyfriend had a good time, but that's it. I offered my help if you want it. The door's there, help yourself. Bed if you want to sleep in it. I'll be downstairs trying to care as little as you do about the future."

"I guess I really don't understand much of anything you've said to me.. I really have no idea what you're even talking about anymore. You tell me not to go then make remarks about what I do to survive.. and talk about my chip like I haven't been living with it in my head for at least ten years.. I'm lost. What scarf? What boyfriend, who is going to see me? What help? Can I have my weapons back?" She didn't fold her arms but raised her hands to her temples, fighting off the pain that surged through her head. Four years totally alone, other than making contact for jobs and there was little conversation during those meetings.

"Okay. Sit. Sit down, don't talk and try not to think of how much you hate me right now. You can't have them back until I'm convinced you're not going to fall over dead as soon as you walk out the door. One.. the scarf for your neck I told you to tie there to hide the scar. There isn't one, okay? Two... the mark that's left right now that someone, anyone, might assume was some guy snacking on you for good times. That is if you remember anything about good times, and trust me, they're hard to come by. Three... whether you want or need my help, you need to rest. Here, on a street corner, under a damned bus if you need to, but cut the tough girl crap and the 'i can do it myself' and ... would you please, just let somebody...let me help you? What difference does it make about why? I just do. So, do you want to hit the street, going back to your ... your boss or whatever he or they are... and explain to them why I'm still alive or do you want to bypass that touchy little issue and understand they're probably not going to want to hear it?"

The first reaction was shock and her staring at him as her hands slowly moved toward her neck, afraid that she was going to find cloth there that she didn't remember putting there. She didn't remember tying a scarf around her neck to hide the scar or wanting to or caring that there was a scar there. That was scary in itself to not know something she must have recently done. "Good times?" She looked at him blankly, for a long moment before she realized what he meant. "Oh.. I think.. me and some guy.. having good times?.. You mean breeding? I hadn't been used for that yet to my knowledge." She shook her head a bit, backing away from him, still terribly confused even about her own self. "I have never needed help.. this.." She waved her hand around the room. "I don't know this.. I don't understand this, you.. here.. why you help.. There was the cage and then there was the streets.. I was young when they took me or I was born in the cage.. I'm not positive.. " She shook her head, trying to clear it. "I don't have a boss to explain anything to.. I don't go back to anyplace but where I stay.. I don't work for a certain person.. I.. independant.. contracts, jobs, whoever needs my skills and pays.. I don't have to explain, I don't do the job I don't get paid."

"And if I'm alive... then your job isn't done, right? Your options are... kill me now and go and get your paycheck so they can drill a hole in your head. You may even survive it yourself. Or, you sit still a minute and try to understand. You stay alive, I stay alive, you get what you want... everybody's happy.... except whoever wanted my hide for whatever reason they wanted it."

"I decided not to kill you when I woke up to find out you hadn't killed me." She admitted softly, she stopped backing away, but was almost against the wall anyway. Her eyes watched him warily, it seemed like she was lost and confused, which she was. The more time she spent with him the more obvious it became that her real interactions with people had been limited. "I want to understand.. please."

"I thought it was simple, but maybe I'm just used to this gig by now. They sent you out to kill me, or as far as you know, it was me. They'll only pay you if I'm dead... slight problem, right? Unless they don't know I'm alive and pay you anyway. There was blood there, you shot off a round, they'll probably test it out, find out what type of metal was in the blood that opened the wound - you're home free for taking something down and chasing it down, playing with it until nothing was left or whatever. Or, they decide that no body means no head for their pretty display, so they come after yours instead to put in its place. Forget the damned chip. It won't matter when they're done for feeling like you screwed them out of their prize. You want to keep your head on and get the chip out, right?"

She looked over at him as she sort of sagged against the wall, her fingers running back through her hair. "Not to burst your bubble or anything but they have never come after me before for not doing a job. What makes you think you're so special that they would now?"

[Lovely]

"Exactly that. They haven't before, but one day they'll start and it'll be too late to say 'sorry' then. It's a scam, Tully. They just don't want to get their own hands dirty. How do you think the war started in the first place? Someone asked someone else to get their hands dirty instead and that someone, those someones happened to be people like us. People... they seem to forget that part a lot... that we're people. F*ck 'em and their state policies about people with gifts. Just let us live in peace since we earned it for you f*ckers in the first place." He wasn't talking to her now so much as talking to the window he glared at, through, even though the shade was still pulled.

"Okay so you're an angry wronged mutant.. I get that. I even understand it.. but I still don't understand this or.. well honestly a lot of things. Maybe because I don't remember so much.." She sighed, letting her head lean back against the wall. "I escaped from one of those.. facilities for mutants, you know the places where they cut and test and torture and train and you stop being a person. You showed me a scar and said the same.. I am just trying to survive out here.. four years I've been out.. four years I've been alone.. right now, this conversation.. I don't do that.. I hide, I talk to myself.. this, being here with you is very confusing for me."

"Tell me I haven't said anything you haven't said yourself, then. You're angry. You can't kill blindly without that." That wasn't true. Desperation and hunger so thick it made the bones feel hollow and ring with ache... it didn't take anger then, just determination and he and Marc had both been there. "I guess I'm just trying to convince you you're not alone, okay?"

She pushed off the wall and moved slowly to stand in front of him, her gaze intense as she studdied his face. "Fine, I'm not alone but your brother doesn't want me here.. where does that leave me? Same place I always go when the job is done and there's nobody else there." She sort of smiled and her expression softened a bit. "What's your name?"

"My brother is my problem. His name is Marcus... Marc. You can call me Biff. It's William, but I... just call me Biff. Look, he's all bark, okay? He looks out for me and he'll look out for you, but just needs to warm up some. Part of it was the blood. He got stupid, smelling it on me and on you and he ... he'll be fine."

Her head tilted to the side a little and her expression was curious. "Biff.. alright.." She got a feel for his name as she thought about everything he'd said so far and she carefully asked her next question. "Biff, when you say stay.. you don't mean just for right now, do you? You.. mean stay here, with you, be part of this?"

Nodding slowly, he found it hard to look at her, like she felt it was all some ploy, a trick... he didn't want to force her. "I'm offering, that's all. I just want you to seriously think about it before you get told that to get what you want when you want it... that you're forced to ... do what you do."

"I.." She started and stopped, seeing how he had trouble looking at her now, she wondered if she'd been wrong to question him. "I will consider it.." She waved her hand around the room at the walls and covered windows. "Where I have been living is not like this.. it's.. not a house.. it's below ground. I have made it.. to my liking.. would I be able to do that here? My weapons are close at hand and things.. no rooms just the one space there.. no beds, no chairs, no tables.. " She motioned around to his things, it had been so long that she'd lived how she had, using these things was not normal for her.

"For as long as we stay," he shrugged. "We could be here a week or a month, maybe a year, before they get too close and we move again. Fix it how you want but keep it ready to pack. If that's all it takes, then go for it. Let me know when and we'll make it a clear path for you."

Tully nodded, running her hand somewhat nervously over her hips and into her pockets then back out as if she wasn't sure what to do with them for a moment. Finally one hand slowly lifted to touch his face again, and turn his gaze back to her. "After we have rested a bit.. I will take you there."

[Lovely]

He could feel her fingers running over the whiskers that had grown out since he'd showered. By night, his beard would be thick again. "We... ? You trust me enough to sleep now?" He smiled and covered her hand with his own, taking it down gently. A softened thump of a door closing downstairs echoed up the hallway. "Rest up all you need. There's something I need to take care of."

She looked to the door with a small pout coming to her face, she looked down and then back up to him almost shyly. "Will you return.. to rest with me?" Her eyes searched his features, she wasn't sure how she felt about being in here alone, not knowing anything beyond this room and him. He may have earned a certain amount of trust but the rest still remained to be seen.

What could he say to that? "Sure. Sure, I can do that. Just... go ahead and lay down. Let me talk to him. It could be a while. He'll stay out of the room."

She eyed the door and then her gaze returned to his face. "He will.. are there any others, here?" A simple and direct question as she perched just on the edge of the bed and watched Biff.

"No. Not anymore. It's just us unless he brought home 'dinner'. I'm kidding," he chuckled, though he couldn't deny that the healing he'd helped her with had left him dangerously hungry.

She didn't quite get why he told her he was kidding, it wouldn't have bothered her if he'd been serious about the dinner for him and his brother. "Very well."

His expression turned curious like hers. "Okaaaay, so... get comfy and start counting sheep or whatever you count to fall asleep. Hopefully this won't take long. The door didn't slam ... that could be a good sign he's over whatever was stuck up his a** earlier. Do you want more soup or anything?"

"I have already taken too much from you." She answered him quietly, indicating the shirt and bandages, as well as the empty soup bowl. "I will be fine waiting here for your return.

"Geezus, this is going to take time," he breathed out quietly, looking at the door then back to her. "We've got ... it's just soup. It's fine. Fine, okay, rest or whatever. I'll be back."

She gave him a small smile and nodded her head, letting him go off to take care of what he needed to.

[Lovely]

Biff came back after a bout of growls and no doubt flying fur. The discussion had lasted over an hour but everything outside the door was quiet now and his return was spiced with another bowl of soup in one hand and a wet cloth in the other nursing a deep scratch under his left eye. When he came in, he expected to find her sleeping in the bed or cowering in the corner, not somewhere in between, against the wall, but apparently resting. "Decided against jumping out the window - that's good to see. Are you really asleep?" The hushed rustle of his voice was hardly louder than the buzz of a fly, but he suspected her senses were warring and buzzing themselves and she could hear such low mumbles.

She twitched and her eyes opened, a sharp gaze lifting to him from across the room. "I dozed, but I didn't sleep. I'm awake. I'm not jumping out the window." She pushed herself up onto her knees and tilted her head to the side. "You're bleeding... because he's unhappy that I'm here?"

"Am I? Tell me. Did you smell it or just see it?" He dabbed the scratch again that was still wet, but not seeping. He motioned the bowl of hot soup and set it down to take a peek in the mirror at the gouge on his face. "He's not unhappy. He's thrilled. Not too happy with me though. You should see what I left him with," he smiled, then realized it stung and reopened the scratch. "Damnit."

"I knew.. " She slowly got to her feet and approached him, reaching for the towel to help tend to his cut. "I heard the floor boards creak under your weight, though you move so quietly.. I smelled the soup.. and something else.. you.. " She closed her eyes and swallowed, taking a deep breath but so close it was filled with his scent. She leaned in closer to him, taking another more normal breath. "There is something.. your scent is very..." She wasn't sure how to say what she meant. ".. pleasing? to me."

"Sure it's not just the chicken noodle? Ow... sonuva...," he grimaced again as he tried to smile and tease, reminded again not to. "Pleasing. Huh... not a bad turn around from nearly being a trophy. You know what? I think that's a good word... pleasing." He stopped dabbing and turned to face her, taking a slightly deeper breath himself. "Your scent... to me... is pretty damned pleasing and it's ..it's .. well, I'm not at all unhappy that you're here and it's making me a little crazy," he chuckled.

"It was a job.." She pouted just a little, it was a subtle expression and she tried again to help tend him. "Please?" She asked softly but before she could reach for the cloth a different urge and instinct rippled through her. She reached to cup his cheek in her fingers and leaned to swab her tongue over the cut.

"Daaaaamn," he sighed, letting her tend him his way. "That's not helping the crazy, babe," he chuckled, leaning into the sensation and smelling the change the nurturing urges made. "That's it... gentle and smooth, just like that."

"Maybe.. I'm crazy too." She whispered, her throat was better than it had been but she still didn't raise her voice loudly. Her tongue swabbed over his cheek again like he told her to, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. She sighed, nearly in his ear and whispered again. "You taste better than the soup."

"Do I? Maybe you better make sure," he whispered back at her ear, the 'crazy' in his scent heating up with the tickle on his skin. He leaned in to kiss the ragged pink line he'd left on her neck and throat.

The change in his scent and the feel of his lips against her tender neck made her knees weak and sent a shiver through her. Her fingers curled into his shirt and her head tipped back slightly, lips parted in a near silent gasp. Her other hand on his cheek moved slightly in a gentle caress as she curled back, bringing her tongue over his wound and and resting her head against his, her breath uneven in his ear.

[Lovely]

*****************

The house was quiet and the light fading from the window when he looked up from the floor. It took a moment or two for the comprehension... why he was on the floor, and who with. He moved his arm from where she was propped against him and rubbed his face. The bleeding... it was stopped and he hardly felt the scratch at all now. What if she...? His thinking was still clouded by the numbness from the hard floor, but not so clouded now to scold himself for maybe being too trusting too soon. They'd tried to kill each other and he'd let himself fall asleep? The scent caught him again and his head rested roughly back against the bedpost. It wasn't his fault .. her scent alone was going to kill him! "Oh god.... are you alrgiht?" He muttered and partly chuckled, unable to move easily.

Tully was laying on her side, somewhat curled up, she was quiet and didn't really move as he shifted beside her. Her gaze seemed fixed on a distant point of nothing but she heard him ask if she was alright. She almost smiled, strangely comforted by his scent in the air around her. "Why do you say it like that?" Her voice was still effected by the damage to her throat but it didn't hurt to talk, now. "Are you.. not alright?" She sounded curious and shifted so that she could look at him.

"Oh, I'm alright," he smilingly assured, trying to sit up gracefully, but managing only a clunky shift to his side as he realized his clothes were caught. "I say it like that because my head hurts a little like you slipped me a mickey. Heh.. slipped something, alright. Next time, I think we need to be up there," he nodded behind himself to the bed.

"Ohh.. I only did what... I thought you wanted too." She seemed slightly unsure and her gaze followed his movements, seeking to understand. "Next time? You intend for us to do this again?" Tully was not protesting the idea and was more curious in asking her question as to what he was thinking.

"You did everything.. hopefully that you wanted, too, babe," he said looking at her as she tried to reach into his mind. He understood that lost look - he'd seen it on Marc enough. "Yeah," he chuckled, reaching out to her now from where he leaned. "Yeah, I inte-... no, I -want- to this again. Just.. not right this minute."

Her head tipped to the side when he called her babe, she decided she liked him calling her that. He reached out to her and she gingerly crawled up beside him, with her movement he might notice the faint scent of fresh blood which might tell him why she questioned everything. "Yes.. I wanted to do those things too.. I found it.. very pleasing." She smiled almost shyly, her hair tumbling in soft waves and curls over her bare shoulders. "I want to again.. sometime." He'd said not right this minute and she glanced over him, curious still about him and the things he said. "Would you rather we moved up there now?" She pointed up to the bed as they were still on the much harder floor.