An interesting welcome home

[Dyten Gryn]

After speaking with Rick, Dyten made his way to his old room on the opposite end of the corridor from Rick. He had longed for his own bed, his own clothes and his own cologne. He pushed open the door, happy by the amount of dust that covered the white sheets he had placed over the furniture.

He bustled around the room, not fully shutting it behind him as the sunset. Pottering around until his room was clean enough, he went and attacked his bathroom which wasn't much cleaner than his bedroom. He rearranged everything to the way he liked it before running down to the basement where all the clothes werewolves could own, were stored.

It was massive, it was like a miniature store run under the manor! He browsed the shelves for what he wanted, filling a bag with what he thought was stylish and attractive. He hit the toiletries section and stocked up on soap, tooth paste and toilet paper... he had a habit of running out when in the most important stage of reading a comic.

Dyten finished up quickly, flicking off the lights behind him and made his way back to his room.

[Elle Summerton]

"So goodnight, goodnight
You're embarrassing me
You're embarrassing you
So goodnight, goodnight
Walk away from the door
Walk away from my life
So Goodnight"

Elle sung, her fingers pressing each key hard on the piano. Her father had said she could stay awhile longer. She was tired, since she'd been in wolf form, all wolves, even the oldest are always tired after turning. But she was fighting through it, Rick said the best thing to do was to try and stay awake for at least an hour after a turn. That way if you have to fight both ways you're prepared.

She sang softly in the manor and looked up as she heard the footsteps of Dyten. She glared but continued singing. The dress for her and Rick's outing to the opera the next night was sitting beside her. Her arms reached hitting the last key and she hit the wrong one and frowned. She never missed. She just.... didn't. She sat back and looked at the keys. She was too tired for the piano. Clearly.

[Dyten Gryn]

Dyten paused his footsteps when he heard the piano playing, he had learned how to play a few years back thanks to an elder wolf who had retired from Alpha but remained at HQ to keep an eye on things. His arms were full as he carried the bags but stopped in the open door.

"Hey, bit tired huh?" he asked, putting his collection of items down and walking into the room. His stance screamed his status in the pack but his eyes showed something different.

"Just turned back to human huh?" he asked gently, taking a seat beside the young girl on the piano stool.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle nodded and smiled softly, yet a hint of sadness remained. "I'm not used to the uhmm... tiredness." She hid her hand quietly underneath her leg, not showing her hand to the man. "I don't like you, you don't smell like pack." She said and frowned. Elle sniffed him and shook her head. "You are not one of us..."

[Dyten Gryn]

Dyten shook his head slightly, reminding himself to be calm with the pup. It was true, he wasn't familiar to her and wasn't around when she turned but she'd soon get use to him if he was going to train her up for the war or to defend herself in general.

"I don't smell familiar to you because I haven't been here for a year, Elle. I'm Rick's best friend, isn't that enough for you to understand? I wasn't here when you were turned, you were fed lies about my leaving." he said quietly, the venom of the vampire bites affecting him again, he bit the inside of his lip and breathed a little heavier.

"The tiredness will pass once you become physically stronger, the best to your ability. It'll come with time as your body adjusts to the fact it can now morph into something else," he paused, looking at her beside him and the movement of hiding her hand. He let it slide for now and continued.

"I was turned when I was younger than you by about 12 years. I was three when I was bitten, my ball had been kicked the wrong way when I was playing with my big brother and it landed in the alley behind our house. I was bitten by a man called Adfranco, the heir to a rare genetic gene." Dyten eyed the small girl and decided to change the conversation.

"Can you recognize this song?" he asked, his fingers finding their own way to the keys. Immortal by Evanescence filled the room.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle smiles as he began to play. Music, she understood music. "Yes..." She whispered and used her right hand to play the higher notes. She refused to pull out her left hand as she played with him.
"I don't... I don't understand why you left. Why would you ever leave Rick's side? He's been great to me, like a father, a protector. I would never wish to leave him." She said and then frowned, thinking of her own turning. She was dying, she was trapped beneath a crumbled building, they had rescued everyone but her leopard father had not been there, it was a full moon, she was a mortal. She understood why he stayed away but that didn't mean the wolves would.
Her hand, she couldn't feel it, crushed beneath a fridge. Her body limp as she faded. Then Rick was there, sniffed her, and turne dher. She had the fever that came from turning, it almost killed her not that it would have taken much. But when the frisge was pushed off the nails of her fingers were gone and so were the tips of her three middle fingers.
She hadn't been able to grow them back during the change, so they were gone forever. She was a freak show... She often wore gloves when going out... not that she did that very often.

[Dyten Gryn]

Dyten listened to her and continued to play, his voice gently singing the words.

"And if you have to leave, I wish that you'd just leave cause your presence still lingers here, and it won't leave me alone... these wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real... there's just so much that time cannot erase..." he said, his deep voice easily matching the keys he was playing.

"I left for the good of the pack, and if you respect Rick you'd understand our reasons. I don't need to explain myself to you, but he understands why I needed to leave. We've been close all our lives, since we were pups. I just needed a little holiday from the war but it wasn't easy, I was set the task to kill rogues and take out newborn vampires that suddenly appeared from a random killing spree and I had to scope out possible information to aid us in our advances in the war." he sighed, listening to the music as his mind began to wander over the past year.

"I've missed this piano, nights where I couldn't sleep or days where I had nothing to do... I'd fill the manor with music, sometimes it helped people sleep after a battle for their minds were filled with demons and nightmares."

[Elle Summerton]

Elle looked at him and smiled sadly. She tilted her head and reached out with her good hand. "You are not on my good side, but at least you understand the music part of me. The manor was so quiet when I started coming here. I started playing the piano and violin for everyone. There's some nights, you know when everyone's in a puppy pile... that we all just lay around and Rick and I play..." She whispers and smiles. "It's the only thing that clears my head and... my dad's piano at the castle isn't as nice as this one... So I come here... It's calming. He doesn't understand I need to be around wolves instead of kittens... he doesn't get it." She whispered and then hummed quietly another Evanescence song, her right hand pressing the low notes, having to reach for them.

[Dyten Gryn]

"What's wrong with you're other hand? You were playing beautifully with both earlier, I'm not one to judge you know. I've got permanent vampire bites and scratches all over my torso, arms and legs." he asked quietly, playing the song she was humming. His hands took over hers as he got a little more technical, playing more notes than what the average pianoist could handle.

"Sometimes, our differences set us apart from others in a good way..."

[Elle Summerton]

Elle looked at him. "I'm number one pianist in state... I can play perfectly well." She said, still sitting on your hand. She used one hand and kept up with his notes perfectly well. "See?" She asked and glared. "I may be 15 but if there's one thing I'm good at, it's music. Never think you're better than I am at that. You may have strength, and sheer force, but I have this. And it's all I have." She said and slid off the stool, her bad hand sliding into her pocket as she grabbed her dress. "Excuse me, I should be going home now. Rayzr will be expecting me home soon..."

[Dyten Gryn]

"Point taken, I wasn't trying to compare but show you that it's okay to show who you are in the manor." he shrugged, having his kindness shoved back into his face and he didn't like it all that much.

"I'll battle you for the piano on most days though, I like to play too..." he said, getting off the stool stiffly, picking up his bags from where he left them and went to exit.

"By the way, now that I'm back I won't put up with a teenager telling me what to do or upsetting the status quo. I understand you're new, you're Rick's pet but there is still a hierarchy. When it comes to living here, you're one of the pack and you should know where you stand.." he said quietly, keeping his voice flat. The newfound rogue inside him was screaming, he was not going to unleash until he was safely away from her. He bee-lined quickly for his room and shut the door, he phased and ripped his clothes clean off his body. He howled loudly and began shaking, trying to control himself and his breathing.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle glared. "I am his. Not anyone elses, and I play no part in this pack but the disabled child. I can't even scratch someone correctly." She looked at her hand softly and pulled a glove on it. She knew she was talking to herself. It was still sad, she hated the fact she'd lost her claws before she even had them.

She left the manor and headed home, more upset about Dyten than she'd had before.

**

The next morning Elle slipped back into the house after sneaking out of her own, and smiled as she found sleeping leopards. She tiptoed through, found Rick's room locked and she frowned. She wanted to sleep in his arms again. She stripped to her pajamas and curled up in front of his door, yawning.

[Dyten Gryn]

Dyten awoke in a mass of blood, he had passed out he assumed from his anger attack last night. It lasted hours as he tried to deal with the inner wolf, he fought to control but all it did was run around like a wild animal in the need to get out.

He thought about the pup, what happened to her hand? He didn't mean to speak so rudely to her but he couldn't help it! He was angry with himself for hurting a child, a wolf pup for crying out loud! He whimpered, in his human body and rolled over on the bed of glass.

"Oh this hurts..." he muttered, pulling bits of glass out of his back.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle could smell blood and she blinked from her spot on the floor. She slunk towards the room and knocked lightly. This was an unused room she thought. Dytens... She made sense of it and smiled. "Dyten? Are... you alright?" She whispered quietly.

She licked her lips and yawned, her hand on the door. "Can I come in and sleep with you? Rick's door is locked."

[Dyten Gryn]

Dyten heard a soft voice, a very familiar one.

"Fuck," he muttered, standing and doing a quick tidy up of his room. He pulled the remaining bits of glass from his back with a hiss before walking over to the door wearing only a pair of cotton pyjama pants. He opened the door, raising a brow at her.

"Can I help you at..." he looked at his watch, "It's 5 in the morning, can't you go pack cuddle or something or is this a whole... I hate your guts so I'll annoy you by sleeping in your room?" he stopped, realizing what he was doing. He facepalmed himself quite openly.

"I'm sorry Elle, I'm going through a really rough time right now. You just happen to catch the brunt of my bad moods, I'm sorry." he said gently, meeting her eyes to show her how honest he was.

"Please don't take it personally, it's really hard to be away from the pack for so long... it's hard to deal with a rogue wolf, really. You may experience it one day, but if you're Rick's then he'll never let you go... like that teddy I gave him when he was 5.." Dyten mused, opening his door more so that if she wanted to enter then she could.

He lay on his bed, brushing off a few feathers from a ripped pillow and curled up under the blankets.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle nearly started crying until he began apologising. "Th-They don't like me..." She whispered and frowned. "And Owen isn't in the living room and Rick's door.... is-is locked... I just..." She looked down when she saw the door open more and watched Dyten crawl under the sheets. She flipped her hair into a sloppy pony tail and crawled in next to him, pressing her face against his chest and closing her eyes.

"Dyten? I don't hate your guts... I just don't understand you..." She whispered, sliding her bad hand around him so he still couldn't see it. "Good dreams." She whispered tiredly.

[Dyten Gryn]

"They don't like you because you let your puppy side take over, you're what.. fifteen? Act your age a little more, loose the puppy tendencies and you'll be right. Don't let your weakness hold you back, don't let them treat you badly. Being in a pack means you show your weakness and how it doesn't affect you, it's a dog eat dog world. Rick and I'll protect you but for when we're not there, just ignore them. Don't throw the fact that Rick is there, he's there for all of us too. Sometimes, when the war gets too much he locks everyone out of his room so he can sleep a full night and be ready for the next day..." he replied drowsily, letting the smaller wolf nuzzle his chest.

"I'm hard to understand at times, take things in good humor and ask questions at the right time... you'll understand me a lot better..." he mused, yawning and digging deeper into his blankets.

"Don't wet the bed..."

[Elle Summerton]

Elle growled playfully but tiredly. She nipped his collar bone. "You smell like blood." She whispered and nuzzled his collar bone. "I had the tips of my fingers ripped off, I have no claws on my left hand." She whispered and lowered her eyes. "I'm defective..." She said and sighed.

"I'm permanently a puppy in my wolf form, I was too close to death when I turned. I'll ALWAYS be a puppy. I'll NEVER be 'big and strong' I will always be a helpless puppy." She whispered and closed her eyes and sighed. "You don't get it, being perpetually young, while my human form grows I will STAY a puppy. I will always be weak. And I don't wet the bed."

[Dyten Gryn]

"You could be our greatest weapon yet, shortstack." Dyten said affectionately, his eyes completely closed and his facial features slowly going slack.

"We could send you straight into enemy lines and they wouldn't even know, you'd rip them all to shreds.. or at least dismember their legs, which is helpful. You really don't need claws, just sharp teeth.." he mused, "Couldn't shower, too lazy..don't let your weakness stop you from being who you really are... so you have a couple of missing fingernails and your tips are a little askew..I'll take you to meet someone in a few days who has even less than what you've lost.." he said, his voice slowly turning into slurs.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle smiled and nodded. She knew he didn't understand how much she'd just confided in him. Everyone in the pack knew her story, her pass from foster home to foster home until a leopard saw her and saved her, then her flaws as a wolf... They knew but no one said anything. She didn't like talking about it.

She fell asleep in his arms, feeling almost safe... But only Rick could do that.

** That night she woke in his arms and rolled out of his bed. She changed immediately and hopped back up on his bed and licked his cheek. She nudged him softly and smiled.

[Dyten Gryn]

Dyten awoke briefly to Elle moving out of the bed, he heard her shift to wolf and then felt her lick him. He rolled his eyes before turning back over and going back to sleep, she was an interesting character.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle growled but smiled and left the room, sliding her lace gloves over he hands and thumbing through his closet. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a hoodie, sliding it over her body and pulled the hood up. She was swamped in the clothes, but she liked it. She walked out of the room, happily.

[Dyten Gryn]

"I want them back!" he growled, his body language screaming that he was still asleep but his subconscious and hearing wasn't. The sun hadn't even come up.

"If the sun's not up, then I don't see the point in being up. Practice being quiet if you intend to make your living arrangements in here..." he said, his voice slurred with sleep.

[Elle Summerton]

Elle moved closer to the man after he spoke, reentering the room completely and touched his nose with her gloved finger. "You'll get them back. Don't worry." She whispered and licked his cheek. Elle smiled. "Dyten, we're creatures of the night. We come up when the sun goes down." She shrugged and then looked at the clock. "I'm late!" Damn school.

[Dyten Gryn]

He huffed, deeply.

"I'm up at all hours regardless because the world doesn't just run on a nightly schedule. It would be nice, shortstack but life just ain't fair. Want me to drive you?" he asked, still completely three quarters asleep.

"What does Rick do at this hour?"

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