тнє вιg вα∂ ωσℓf (redruby) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-09-19 21:25:00 |
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All that happened on the full moon these days was that Tyler got stronger, faster, and more powerful. It was a welcome change from the days when he’d spend the night writhing in pain and worrying that he was going to kill his friends or other innocent people. But he knew he was one of the lucky ones. There were other werewolves out there - some, like Scott, who he’d met during the full moon - who could control their transformations. And others, like the girl on the Network, that couldn’t. It sounded as though it had been her first, and she was obviously spooked. Like Tyler had been. He wasn’t sure just how much he could help her - every dream werewolf seemed to be different somehow - but he hoped that he could. It was his duty as someone who’d been a werewolf for nearly a year and a half - even if he hadn’t done any transforming over the last five months - to help the newbies. When she walked into the bar, he raised a hand to draw attention to himself, and once she approached he greeted her with “Hey. You must be Ruby.” The bar was relatively quiet at this time of day. Only a few patrons were seated at tables, and Tyler had made sure to grab a corner booth so it was less likely they’d be overheard. Ruby was miserable, and the guilt felt like silver blades lodged into her - just between her ribs, serrating her skin and the burn of it all. The fact that she’d killed two people was a piece of knowledge that had her heart beating in her ears like a timpani and her stomach in her throat - it wasn’t anything she thought she could look past either, or put up a front about for very long. The only thing she could do was try to reach out to other werewolves and see how they handled things - because she needed a plan in place for the next full moon, there was no other option. Hearing that there was a cave nearby that she could potentially be chained in was actually good news. It would keep her out of the way, unable to harm others. That was what she wanted most. “Hey,” she greeted Tyler, with a small, sad smile. She took her seat at the table, no makeup on, just jeans and a hoodie which wasn’t what she’d usually wear to a bar. Usually she’d doll herself up, but today all she felt like was doing was crawling into a hole. “Yep, that’s me. Ruby. It’s nice to meet you. I appreciate the info you’ve given so far.” Before she could ask if he felt more talking more about his own changes and werewolf lore, a waitress came by for drink orders - it was something strong for her, a Black Russian. Vodka and coffee. Bring it on. “That’s what the Network’s for, right?” Tyler asked. He turned to the waitress and ordered his own drink - scotch on the rocks. And then he looked the waitress in the eye. “Bring us a refill whenever you see an empty glass. You’re going to forget everything you hear being discussed at this table.” He turned back to Ruby as the waitress wandered off, almost in a daze, and softly smiled at her. “How you holding up so far? Was this your first transformation?” Ooooohkay, that was weird. Was it some mind voodoo or something? The waitress looked like she’d been clobbered over the head and had cartoon birds circling, but Ruby wasn’t going to question it much. Mostly because, hey, she just literally ripped two people to shreds and ate the corpses - so there wasn’t much she could say. Besides, it would be nice to ensure that nothing was overheard and shared about this conversation. Plus, refills were nice too. Getting rip-roaring drunk was an option. “It was my first,” she nodded, hands in the front pockets of her hoodie. “I barely had time to even plan for it. I had a dream that the curse in Storybrooke was broken - it was what kept us from remembering who we truly were, our fairytale selves,” she explained. “Then I remembered and it all came back and...I remembered here, but all I had time to do was lock myself in the shed. I broke out though. Ran down to the beach. Then someone found me - I’d come across two people, apparently.” This was all what Geralt told her. They’re dead, Ruby. The words rang in her head like funeral bells. Tyler’s jaw clenched. Dealing with the werewolf curse was, well, a curse in general, but to have it end in such a way was more than anyone should have had to deal with on their first transformation. “My first time was similar,” Tyler said. “I had no idea that I’d be a werewolf in the dreams. The day I first dreamed of it was the day it carried over, and it happened to be a full moon. I had a couple of friends chain me in an old barn, but once I transformed I ripped the chains out of the walls and nearly killed one of them. They managed to trap me in a grain silo, and everyone ended up okay in the end, so I was lucky. I’m sorry. I know there’s nothing that I can say that will make it better, but you need to tell yourself that it wasn’t you who attacked them.” “No, I guess it wasn’t,” Ruby said softly, looking down. She was still ashamed of herself and just...a whole mix of emotions, really. Depressed, remorseful, hurt, angry at her dream Granny for keeping it a secret the whole time that she did - sure, Ruby got why the old woman did it that way, not wanting her granddaughter to go through the same things she did as a werewolf. But the curse was a powerful one and some warning would have been nice, instead of simply hoping Ruby wore her red cloak every full moon. Their drinks arrived then, and Ruby took a sip of hers. It was basically sweet coffee with a pungent punch and that was fine with her - maybe it would keep her from sleeping much tonight. “I never would want to hurt anyone. There are still perks and stuff, like super senses and I’m good at tracking.” Seemed to be more trouble it was worth in her dreams, what with finding the heart in a box, but here maybe she could use those skills to be good at her job. “What are werewolves like in your dreams - like, how are they made and I’m guessing they’re pretty bloodthirsty too?” “Yeah,” Tyler said. “Definitely bloodthirsty. I got the perks too - super senses, supernaturally strong and fast - but it’s a curse. In my dreams, being a werewolf is genetic. If one of your parents carries the werewolf gene, it’ll go down to the kid. In my dreams I was always really angry, especially during the full moon, and I never really understood it until my Uncle Mason explained things to me. Most people with the curse never trigger it, but when you do you’re stuck with these painful transformations and the knowledge that if you ever got loose, you could kill the people you cared about the most. But the good news is, we’re pack animals. There’s always someone who’s got your back.” That sounded eerily similar to Ruby’s circumstances and she listened, wide-eyed. “It’s...pretty much the same,” she admitted. “Curse passed along to offspring. Bloodthirsty. Killing the people you care about the most.” Or random strangers - but in her dreams she’d killed Peter, her boyfriend, and it was devastating to learn that. The Dark Curse, cast by Regina, had actually been somewhat of a respite even if clearly the Evil Queen hadn’t meant it that way - but for Ruby, it was a second chance. “Only our curse is always triggered during adolescence - according to my Granny, I started shifting at age thirteen. But she’d gotten this red cloak from a wizard that keeps me from changing so I usually just wore it, thinking nothing of it. All she said was that red kept the wolves away.” It was true, in a sense. God, she wished she had that cloak right now. Tyler was intrigued. He’d met a few werewolves in the OC, but Ruby had been the only one he’d met whose transformation had also involved the werewolf gene. “I take it your dreams haven’t given you the cloak yet then?” he asked. With luck, she’d get it here too. “There’s nothing in my dreams that can stop the transformation. At least, no magical item. Though, if a werewolf is turned into a vampire, they can control their transformation at will.” Which, of course, meant that Tyler would never have to transform again. “Not yet,” she shook her head, picking up her drink for another swallow. She’d gone through this one fairly quickly but, sure enough, right when Ruby reached the bottom of the glass the waitress was there with another. Now it became obvious she was probably going to get way intoxicated this evening. A brief escape from her troubles - not the healthiest one, but hey. “I’m hoping it comes soon though. Silver’s the only thing that really kind of slows me down.” She’d find someone to give the crossbow with silver bolts to - because Ruby would feel a hell of a lot safer if another person had it and could use it on her if necessary. “Wait, so...for you, it’s like - you can be both a vampire and a werewolf?” she asked, crinkling her nose. That was an odd combination, one she had no idea was possible. “Have you tried wolfsbane?” Tyler asked. Though, if silver actually slowed her down, he wasn’t sure wolfsbane would help. In his dreams, silver actually healed werewolves. The idea of silver harming them was a rumour that the werewolves themselves had started. “I used to drink wolfsbane right before my transformations to weaken myself.” He nodded. “Yeah. There’s only one person,” well, two, if you counted Klaus’ dream daughter, but as he was fairly sure she didn’t exist in this reality, he wasn’t going to mention it, “who can turn werewolves into hybrids, but it’s possible. Not a path I’d recommend though.” For one, it involved becoming sired to Klaus, a bond that he’d broken in his dreams only after transforming into a werewolf over a hundred times. “I think the best we can do right now is show you the cave and hope that that cloak of yours comes up. Maybe see if we can find something other than silver that can help temper your transformation.” Ruby nodded. “That’s a good idea,” she agreed. “I actually have no idea about wolfsbane - is it just like, a regular herb that’s around?” No werewolves, that she knew of, in her dreamworld had ever used it. Or even heard of it. The plant didn’t seem to grow in the Enchanted Forest. “All I know is that a wolf’s blood can be used for memory potions.” Plus a dragon scale - but then again, potioncraft wasn’t really her thing. It was more Regina’s thing. She took a deep breath then, attempting to orient herself and just...relax and focus. The alcohol helped and having an actual plan helped. “The cave is where I’ll be next full moon,” she assured. “At least the chains will hold me. I feel better about that.” “It’s a poisonous herb,” Tyler said. “It grows in Europe and is a little harder to find here, but I should still have a supply lying around somewhere. I’m going to warn you that it tastes a little like battery acid though.” His eyebrows rose at the memory thing. “Huh, you must be great during finals,” Tyler joked. “I probably could have used a memory potion or two when I was in college.” He nodded. “I actually had a spell put on the cave, too. A transformed werewolf can’t cross the threshold. But it was put up using magic from my dreamworld, and made for wolves from my dreams, so I’m not sure if it will work for you.” He hoped it would though. Hopefully Bonnie’s spell hadn’t been that specific. “The last chains I had set up had been long enough to reach just outside of the cave so we could test it. But hopefully the first month there would be the only one you’d need the actual chains for.” “I hope so,” she smiled weakly. “I think it took me awhile, in that other world, to learn how to control myself. I don’t even remember that part yet - once I dream of having control of the wolf, maybe it will come easier here.” It was a straw to grasp at, but it was something. She desperately wanted to remember her transformations and know she wasn’t going to hurt anyone. For her, it was good news that there was a barrier by the cave as well. That meant she could be more at ease about Geralt waiting outside during the night. Or Peter being with her. She wasn’t sure how well the wolf would play with others of its kind, but as Tyler said, they were pack animals. Ruby’s wolf must be missing its own pack. “Thanks again for helping,” she let out another breath. “October is going to go better than September.” It would. It had to. Tyler hadn’t met any werewolves in his own dreams that could control the wolf, so he assumed that it wasn’t something that would happen. Even in his dreams as a hybrid, he had attacked Caroline’s father when he’d been trying to help him break his sire bond to Klaus. It wasn’t something that he he was going to risk here, but “I hope you’ll get control sooner rather than later,” he said. “But October will be better,” he assured her. “You know what’s coming now, so you won’t be surprised. And if you need any help, you know how to get ahold of me.” He’d have to give her his number before they got too drunk to remember. |