Chapter 2
She saw the wolf gaining on them, the ceiling beginning to collapse.
If something didn’t stop it, the debris would trap them both in the entrance corridor with the wolf and it didn’t take a genius to figure out how that would end.
She shoved Caitlyn. She was thrown against the wall.
It hurt. Everything hurt.
A woman’s voice. Familiar. A girl.
Blue hair. Like Powder.
Not- not Powder.
Powder was dead. They killed her, they-
Powder . . . Fell down a well. Not Powder.
She smiled, all sharp teeth and fangs. “We can be a family again.”
Hurt. Everything hurt. Everything-
Vi shot up with a loud gasp for air, as if she was trying to suck her soul back into her body.
Caitlyn jumped out of her skin at the sudden noise. After a glance over to confirm Vi was awake, Caitlyn was quickly pushing her chair out from the desk she sat at and rushing over to the couch.
The thin pink knitted blanket Cait had draped over her pooled around Vi’s waist as she sat up, breathing heavily.
One hand came up to clutch at her chest, and when she felt a fistful of her tank top, still slightly damp from sweat, Vi realised she wasn’t wearing her uniform anymore.
Her eyes burned and she blinked away the sting of tears. Caitlyn was filling her line of sight in an instant, concern in her kind blue eyes.
Vi internally lamented the fact that she was sat in front of Cassandra Kiramman’s daughter, wearing nothing but her ratty tank top and boxer shorts. (She tried not to think about who had stripped her in the first place.)
“-okay?” The pink haired student blinked, registering what was being asked of her.
“Huh? Yeah,” Vi shook her head, clearing the fog from her brain. “Yeah, yeah. I’m all good, Cupcake.”
Caitlyn huffed quietly at the nickname, but a small relieved smile tugged at her lips.
“Did you . . ?” Vi looked down at herself, tugging at her top. Caitlyn blushed.
“I just don’t want any of your injuries to get infected.” She rushed to explain. “Your uniform was soaked in dirt and filth. I- I couldn’t exactly ask if you were okay with it, but-“
“No, it’s fine. I just meant-“ Vi shook her head and scratched at her scalp, running a hand through her messy hair. She levelled Cait with a confused look. “Did you bring me here?”
Caitlyn stared blankly at Vi before realising it was a genuine question and not one of her dumb jokes. “No. You came here yourself.”
“Oh.” Vi let her hands fall to her lap, staring down at them. “Right.”
“You don’t remember?” Vi hesitated, then shook her head.
“I remember everything till the cave started to collapse. After that, it’s all a blur.” Cait’s brows furrowed. Vi’s voice sounded so shaken and confused. She couldn’t imagine how she felt waking up in a foreign room, injured and exhausted, with no idea of how, or why she got there.
“I should take you to the infirmary.” She decided, standing. “I did some rudimentary stitches and cleaning, but you should really see a doctor-“
“No, Cait.” Vi’s hand reached out, grabbing Caitlyn’s wrist and she preemptively winced. This time though, she didn’t feel sharp fingernails digging in. A glance downward showed Vi’s nails being short and trimmed. What?
“I’m fine. It’s fine. Look, see?” Vi swung her legs over the side of the couch, batting Cait’s hand away when it shot up to steady her. “All good.”
“You shouldn’t be able to do that.” Cait frowned down at the wound at the top of Vi’s thigh. The large bite mark that was just angry, red and bleeding was now scabbing over. Like it had already been healing for weeks.
“Disappointed I’m not hurt?” Vi questioned jokingly, “What did I do to make the great Caitlyn Kiramman pray on my downfall?”
“I’m not ‘praying on your downfall’, you physically should not be able to do that.”
“After I saved your life too.” Vi sighed disappointedly. “You’d think all those etiquette lessons would get me a ‘thank you.’”
“Oh, I’m so glad you reminded me.” Vi flinched back as Caitlyn’s voice raised abruptly. “What the hell were you thinking back there?”
Vi’s eyes were wide and she didn’t respond, shocked - and maybe a little intimidated.
“Do you have a death wish Violet? Do you? Because if you do, I want no part of your silly little suicide mission. In what world would shoving me out of the way be a good decision? You could have died. I don’t even know how you didn’t die. What I do know, is that you could’ve asked me to make a distraction, or shoot the roof one more time, or something, anything other than what you did!”
“Kiramman-“
“It’s Caitlyn.” Vi’s jaw closed with a click and she pressed her back against the couch. Eyes still wide.
Undeterred by the interruption, Caitlyn continued her tirade with more vigour and passion than Vi had ever seen on someone talking about her. While Vi wouldn’t lie and say Cait’s venomous glare, harsh demeanour and lethal tone wasn’t intimidating, it wasn’t nearly as frightening as the realisation that behind every jab at her intelligence, every scolding remark, there was an underlying presence of care.
Caitlyn was lecturing her because she was worried. She was lecturing her because she cared whether or not Vi died.
That concept was as foreign as it was terrifying.
Vi had never had anyone who cared enough about her to lecture her. Her parents were good people, but they weren’t around for long enough. The foster houses she bounced around cared more about their monthly payments than whatever bullshit Vi was up to.
Friends came and went. Then they stopped coming.
“- And how unbelievably selfish that was! You can’t expect people to just-“
Vi shot up and pulled Caitlyn into a fierce hug, ignoring the twinge of pains that gnawed at her limbs.
“I’m fine, Cupcake.” Caitlyn’s hands hovered uselessly for a moment. Then she closed her eyes and nuzzled into the hug, butting her face into the crook of Vi’s neck and gently holding the pink-haired girl, extremely conscious of her injuries. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I thought you were dead.” Cait choked out.
“Can’t get rid of me that easily.” Vi gently pulled away, searching Cait’s eyes for any lasting doubts that she could help get rid of. Caitlyn didn’t need to worry about her, she shouldn’t have to.
They were stood close when they pulled apart. Close enough for Vi to be able to feel when Caitlyn’s breath hitched.
The action drew Vi’s attention to the taller girl’s lips. She was eye level with them, which made it so much easier for her gaze to rest there.
“Were you always this tall?” Caitlyn blurted out, breaking Vi out of her reverie. Vi frowned, dragging her eyes up to Cait’s. The taller girl took a few steps backwards.
“What?”
“I mean, I feel like you used to be this tall,” Cait raised a hand to parallel her shoulder, “And now you’re this tall.” The hand went higher, parallel to her lips.
“Kiramman, what’re you talking about?” The look of concern Vi gave her made her feel like an idiot.
“Do you feel,” Her mind drifted back to last night. When Vi had shown up to her door. “Any different?”
“Different how?”
“Like, I don’t know. Is there- have you noticed any changes?”
“In the less than one hour I’ve been awake? No, Cupcake. Besides feeling like a chewed up dog toy, I haven’t noticed any changes.”
“Right, that makes sense.” Cait muttered, though it seemed like it was more to herself than to Vi.
“Is there . . . Something I should be looking out for?”
Caitlyn stared at her for a long moment. Vi shifted on her feet.
“No.” She sighed out, running a hand down her face. “Don’t worry about it. Just- if you feel weird, or if you notice anything. Let me know, okay?”
Vi scoffed at first. Then she softened at the sincerity on Cait’s face. “Sure, Cupcake.”
A silence settled between the pair. A comfortable silence. One that Cait didn’t get the urge to fill.
The ring of the school bell cut their interaction short. Signalling the start of the next lesson.
Caitlyn jolted into movement, gathering her things. “It seems my free period is over. I need to head to my Legality and Ethics class.” She sent a look to Vi as she hovered by the door. “Stay as long as you like. But you really should go to the infirmary and get looked at. Just in case.”
Then Cait was rushing out the door, closing it behind her with a soft click.
————————————
Even in an elite school for werewolf hunters, Vi still had to go to Math.
Well, she didn’t have to. She could go to the infirmary like Cait suggested, but she would rather gouge out her eyes than sit in one of those uncomfortable beds being poked and prodded at.
Besides, Vi was surprisingly fine.
Her injuries must’ve been more superficial than they had felt because now that they’d scabbed over, they barely ached at all.
The worst of it was the bite at her neck. While the rest of her had begun to heal, the bite remained just as red and angry.
Pain twinged at her neck with every movement. It wasn’t unbearable, but it was constant.
It itched. Ached. Mostly itched. To the point where Vi had to sit on her hands to stop from reaching up and scratching till it bled.
She had ‘borrowed’ one of the spare uniforms Caitlyn kept in her room and used the collar of the shirt to hide it from view of her classmates.
It was a little tight around her arms, and the trousers drowned her ankles, but Vi hadn’t had any other options.
Letting out a muted groan, Vi tugged at the collar of her shirt and slumped in her chair.
Whispers and murmurs surrounded her as the professor droned on to his captive audience. Vi’s leg bounced uncontrollably beneath her desk.
She did her best to ignore the pointed looks. The faint sound of her name falling from the lips of classmates she’d never spoken to before. Did her best to ignore the restless energy budding inside of her. To ignore the itch in her neck.
The tick, tick, tick, of the clock resonated too loudly in her ears. She huffed, resting her forearms on her desk and burying her head into them. Her leg continued to bounce.
‘-The search party came back empty handed-‘
‘-Must’ve been lying. She looks fine-‘
Vi squeezed her eyes shut, burrowing deeper into her desk. She was no stranger to hearing whispers about her from her classmates. They never really had any issue talking about her in front of her, but for some reason she couldn’t tune it out.
Everything seemed louder than usual. The scratch of chalk against the board, the droning voice of the professor, every whisper, every breath, every tick, tick, tick of the clock.
Loud, loud, too loud. Vi grunted in frustration. Hands coming up to cover her ears, toscratch at that damn bite, then back up to her ears.
Vi tensed, head shooting up. A few heads turned to look at her in confusion. She felt like something was about to-
Riiiiiiing!
The shrill bell pierced her eardrums like needles. She gasped out in pain, palms pressing hard into them but it felt like it made no difference.
All she could do was tense and shake and bear it until the hellish noise finally stopped.
Vi was breathing heavily, earning strange looks from peers as they packed up and left.
“Vi?” The professor levelled her with a concerned look. “Are you alright?”
“Peachy.” Her voice shook as she spoke, and she despised the way it sounded.
Gathering her books and shoving them into her backpack, she swung the thing over her shoulder and ignored the pain that laced through her at the motion.
“You aren’t required to attend your classes for today.” The professor continued in a more hushed tone. “The faculty have been made aware of what happened. If you wish to head to the infirmary-“
“I’m fine.” Vi growled. The rest of her class had already filed out, leaving them alone in the classroom. “I wasn’t even hurt that bad.”
“Alright.” They relented hesitantly. “If anything changes, make sure you get help.” Vi was already making her way to the door, the Professor’s advice going in one ear out the other. “And maybe you should skip lacrosse practice for today.”
Like hell. “Sure, thanks.”
As Vi made it out into the hallway she immediately regretted her decision to leave. If she thought that class was loud, walking through the halls was deafening.
The thudding of each footstep, irritating laughter, lockers slamming open and closed. Loud, loud, loud.
Vi ducked her head, tucked in her shoulders and made a beeline to the doors. It was lunch now anyway, if she could just make it outside maybe it’d be a little calmer and she could think straight.
She shoved and barged past anyone in her way, hearing every one of their complaints and forcing herself to keep moving forward.
Pushing open the doors and scampering out of the building caused immense relief to fill her.
The thud of footsteps was replaced by soft taps, the slammed lockers were replaced by birds chirping and conversation was still audible, but drowned out by the wind.
Thank fuck. Vi felt tension bleed from her shoulders. She trudged down the courtyard, passed students that had set out blankets to eat lunch on and others playing frisbee or catch, and slumped down on one of the wooden picnic benches littered around the grass.
Resting her head in her hands, elbows on her knees, she took deep breaths.
What the fuck was going on with her?
Everything felt too loud, the bite on her neck was still fucking itchy and she felt a restless humming of energy thrumming through her veins that wouldn’t dissipate no matter what she did.
It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. The feeling of restlessness was impossible to describe.
‘If you feel weird, or if you notice anything. Let me know, okay?’
Vi groaned, turning to tuck her legs beneath the picnic table. She sat up and let her head roll back to look at the sky. Her hand came up to scratch at her neck, but the itchiness only worsened.
Caitlyn.
Caitlyn had said something about Vi feeling weird. Caitlyn knew something. Something she wasn’t telling her.
What was it? Why wouldn’t she tell her? What’s going on? Since when did Caitlyn even care about anything Vi did?
Thoughts were fast, bouncing around Vi’s head a mile a minute. It felt like the energy she felt coursing through her had traveled up to her brain, speeding up her thought processes into barely decipherable gibberish.
Lavender. A nice smell, a good smell,something flowery, feminine, familiar, lavender-
Caitlyn startled slightly as Vi’s head whipped round to face her. A hand came up to her chest, wide blue eyes meeting wild grey.
“I-“ The blue haired girl frowned, shock wearing off. “How did you know I was here?”
Don’t say I could smell you. Don’t say I could smell you. “I heard you. Your, uh, footsteps.”
“Huh.” Caitlyn didn’t seem pleased by the answer, choosing instead to sidle up on the seat opposite Vi with a determined look.
She slipped her black leather messenger bag onto the empty space next to her and began shuffling through it.
Vi could only watch curiously as Cait began pulling out different objects. Lunchbox, pencil case, textbooks.
Her previous spiralling had been almost forgotten, thoughts slowing to a more manageable pace. The energy she felt just beneath the surface was still there, simmering beneath her skin but it felt more muted. Her right leg bounced from its place beneath the picnic table.
A satisfied sigh left Cait as she pulled out a little black notebook. She opened it up, flipping through pages before settling on one. She pulled out a pen and clicked it, gaze settling on Vi.
“How are you feeling?”
She blinked. “How am I feeling?”
“Have you been experiencing any nausea or vomitting? Hot flashes? Dizziness? Weight gain? Sudden hair growth?”
If it wasn’t Vi, Cait would almost say the last symptom caused pinkness to form on the other student’s cheeks.
“Sudden hair- Caitlyn, what?” Vi shook her head, trying to dispel the heat from her face. “What’s going on? You know something, don’t you?”
“I won’t know unless I know.” Caitlyn said unhelpfully. Needlessly cryptic. “And to know, I need you to tell me if any of this applies to you.”
“I . . .” Vi’s hand came up to cover the lower half of her face, her gaze averted to the bench. “There may have been a little, h- hair- That doesn’t matter! What’re you talking about, Kiramman? What do you know?”
The sudden switch in attitudes caused Caitlyn to blow out a breath, as if exasperated by Vi’s - perfectly justified, in her opinion - reaction.
“I wanted to get more of a feel for the situation before I told you. See if it was actually plausible before jumping to conclusions.” Caitlyn explained tiredly, hand coming up to rub at her forehead.
The girl’s ramrod straight posture slumped slightly, and it was obvious whatever she was about to say had been weighing on her for a while.
“Kiramman.”Vi warned. She felt a sudden bout of anger and barely held back from snapping.
“I’m assuming you’re aware of how lycanthropy spreads,” Cait began, eyes soft and sympathetic. “A bite causes saliva to enter the bloodstream, leading to cell mutations as the disease infects the DNA, etcetera, etcetera.” Her lips pursed as she hesitated. “And seeing as you were bitten . . .”
“You think I’m turning into a fucking werewolf?” Vi asked incredulously. Caitlyn hushed her sharply, glancing around.
“It’s possible.” She hissed. “I’ve been looking into this- issue all day, and I think you need to go to the infirmary and get checked out before things get any worse.”
“Are- are you being serious?” Vi couldn’t help the disbelieving laugh escaping her. “Me? A werewolf? And here I thought you had no sense of humour.”
That last comment earned her a harsh glare.
“If you could take this seriously for a second, I would greatly appreciate it.” Caitlyn spoke stiffly.
“Look, Cupcake-“
“Caitlyn.”
Vi sent her an amused look. “It’s cute that you care, but I don’t think I’m gonna start howling at the moon and barking at doorbells anytime soon, so all this,” She fingerquoted, “‘Research’ just seems like a waste of your time.”
Caitlyn stared at her with a deadpan expression. “Humour me.”
Vi snorted at that. The lack of change in Cait’s expression made her relent, shrugging in a ‘go ahead’ motion.
“Have you experienced any mood swings; sudden bouts of anger or sadness, or other emotions?” Cait recited.
Vi thought for a moment, then nodded. Cait began to scribble something down in her little notebook. The look of intense concentration on her face made Vi almost want to laugh.
“Have you been feeling a more intense sensation of hunger, or cravings for certain foods like red meat?”
A low growl erupted from Vi’s stomach the second Cait finished. Vi couldn’t help her sheepish expression, which only made Cait laugh harder.
“I never normally have lunch at school. The cafeteria food is too overpriced.”
“So I’m assuming that’s a yes.” Cait jotted it down. Vi glanced across the courtyard as the sound of conversation grew louder, and when she looked back, Cait had slid her lunchbox across the table.
“Have it.”
“I’m good, Kiramman.”
“It’s just going to go to waste otherwise.” Cait shrugged casually. She continued to write in her notebook, and the lack of pressure allowed Vi the confidence to pull out the chicken sandwich packed inside and begin eating.
“Okay. Increase in height, yes. Muscle mass, yes, increase in-“
“Hold on, I haven’t noticed an increase in muscle mass.” Vi spoke through a mouthful of sandwich.
Caitlyn gave her a look of thinly veiled disgust. “Really? I feel like your arms have definitelygotten bigger.”
“Huh.” Vi looked down at her biceps. Cait’s shirt was still tight on them, but she hadn’t seen any noticeable difference in the small glance she got changing.
She paused, a cocky grin spreading across her face. “Have you been looking at my arms, Cupcake?”
Caitlyn sputtered, then glared when Vi simply laughed. She grumbled to herself as she scribbled in the little notebook.
The two then spent the rest of lunch recounting the symptoms of lycanthropy and comparing them with Vi’s experiences throughout the day.
She reluctantly disclosed her heightened sensitivity in her ears, her sense of smell improving. Cait decided that Vi’s arms had indeed gotten noticeably bigger, and that her shoulders had gotten broader. Vi followed the observations with multiple teasing comments that went promptly ignored.
All in all, out of the 27 symptoms listed in Caitlyn’s book, Vi was currently suffering or displaying at least 19.
Not enough for a firm diagnosis, but not enough to completely assuage Caitlyn’s doubts.
Cait paused in her frantic note-taking of the symptoms Vi was and wasn’t displaying when the girl’s head shot up. A wince contorted her features and her palms came up to press against her ears.
“Violet?”
Riiiiiiing!
The other student tensed visibly at the noise, not realizing until the bell ceased and Cait was once more filled with intense concern for the girl.
“We’re going to the infirmary.” Caitlyn declared. She raised a hand when it looked liked Vi was about to protest. “I don’t care if I have to drag you there, we’re going right after next period.”
“Even though I’d hate to miss out on such a fun time,” Vi’s sarcasm lacked as much of a punch when her voice was strained, breathing still uneven. She forced herself onto her feet. “I’ve got lacrosse practice after this period. So it’s gonna have to be a no from me, Cupcake.”
Cait frowned at her, standing up to mirror her. “Violet, you’re not going to practice.”
The anger she felt she had just managed to push down resurfaced at being told what to do.
“Yes, I am.”
“Were you listening to a word of what we just discussed?” Caitlyn retorted. “You are not going to lacrosse practice until we’re sure this is nothing.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if you know this, Cupcake, but the only reason I got into this rich ass school in the first place is because of my lacrosse scholarship. So I can’t afford to miss practice just because I’m going through late puberty, okay?”
“Severe hearing sensitivity is caused by puberty?” Cait argued. “If I’m right - don’t interrupt me, I said if - lacrosse if one of the worst things you can do right now. Physical activity makes your heart pump faster, which increases blood flow, which would spread the saliva at a a faster rate which would then lead to a faster transformation.”
“That’s a big if.”
“The next full moon is the day after tomorrow.” Caitlyn’s face was grave. “We can’t take that risk.”
Vi ran a frustrated hand through her hair, stepping away from the picnic table to begin pacing slightly. “Why do you care, anyway? What do you get from helping me?”
Caitlyn took a moment to ponder the words. Her eyes fell to the table for a moment, then came back up to meet Vi’s with a steel to them.
“You saved my life.” She said softly. “I owe you. And despite our differences, I don’t want you to end up dead. Or worse.”
The pair grew silent after that. Vi considered the words and Caitlyn hoped they seemed as sincere as they felt.
After a while, Vi scoffed lightly, smiling at Cait. “I’m guessing this is the ‘or worse’, huh?”
Caitlyn smiled back. A real, toothy grin that made the small gap between her from two teeth visible. “Maybe.”
“Look, I’m not saying I agree with you here, Cupcake,” Caitlyn rolled her eyes at the moniker. “But I can tell you really believeyou’re onto something and I don’t want you to be stressing yourself out all day. So why don’t you come to practice, and you can see for yourself that nothing is going to happen.”
Cait’s lips formed a thin line. Vi watched a series of expressions cross her face in quick succession.
She wasn’t sure why the idea of Cait twisting herself up in knots the whole day affected her so much. It made a strange feeling attach itself to her heart and weigh it down the longer she thought about it.
“Okay.” Caitlyn relented. “I- I suppose that would make me feel a little better.”
“There you go, Cupcake.” Vi sent her a shit-eating grin. “See? Maybe us poor people aren’t so bad after all.”
“Stop making those jokes, it makes me seem like a classist prat.”
“You aren’t?” Caitlyn rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Vi, only to nudge her playfully with her shoulder.
“Shut up.”