"I guess she had a thing against werewolves," Edward said, trying to laugh. It didn't sound very happy. "She told me I was scum and the rest of my king were freaks or something like that... but it gets worse. She was really going to kill me, Hannah." He stopped and caught her eye, holding her gaze. "It sounds weak now, but I couldn't stop her. I had no choice; she would have killed me."
"What did I say about apologies?" Edward snapped, though he was still smiling. "Well, I was walking and I saw a glow. I wondered what it was, and found out it was a cabin. I could smell the food all the way up the hillside, and I was so hungry... so I went inside. I managed to change, that is, and then went inside. There was a sleeping old woman in a rocking chair by the fire, and she had soup on the fire stove... I ate as much as I could. She woke up and we talked. She seemed a little odd, but nice enough... and then she pulled a gun when I wanted to leave..."
"God, I never felt the way I did the other night..." Edward began, a little embarrassed and confused at the same time. "During a full moon, I mean... I never have wanted to hurt anyone before, and the other night, I... I just kep thinking these awful things that I really wanted to do at the time. That's why I wanted you to stay away. If you had left me alone, I wouldn't have jumped that cliff and gone off."
"I wouldn't say that," Edward replied, putting a hand to his aching forehead. "I hate the word 'if.' Do you even want to know what happened?"
"I know I was shot..." Edward mumbled, trying to sit up and then falling back with a cry on his arm. He looked at the bandage with a frown for a moment and then back at Hannah. "What are all these sorrys for?"
Edward opened his eyes, having no idea where he was or what had happened in the last few days. He was in a strange room... and then he saw Hannah." "Hey," he tried to speak, but his throat was dry and his voice cracked. "Where the hell are we?"
Edward opened his eyes slightly for a moment, the whole world a whirl of colors and blurs. "Han..." he began, and then fell limp, barely aware of changing back to his human form.
OOC: you two are so CUTE!
"I could see you and your footsteps coming up to my cabin!" the woman began strongly now. Edward tried to move and she pressed the gun harder against the back of his neck. "Let me go," Edward began, starting to feel his werewolf venom running in his veins again. "I can't stop it..." 'I can," the woman snapped. "You and the rest of the freaks like you in these mountains!" Edward shut his eyes and willed his change to start as fast as he could. Bending his knees, he shot up in the air and somersaulted backwards over the woman's head as she fired a shot just missing his back. As his fur covered his body and his eyes blared blood red, he howled and dived out of the way of her next shot, barely understanding what was going on. He grabbed the rocking chair from by the fireplace and threw it at the woman. She dived out of the way surprisingly fast, and Edward spun to find himself behind her. Not thinking how he got the idea, he grabbed the woman by the throat, now standing on his back feet. "Get off me!" she cried, trying to turn her arm around to aim at Edward behind him. He tightened his grip on her throat, but her thin body slipped out of his grip, onto the floor. Edward picked up Van Helsing's gun from the floor, pointing it at the woman as she shook her head and picked up her own weapon again. "You're going to hell!" she screamed as she fired her shot. Edward dived out of the way onto the floor just in time see his bullet shatter the old woman's throat... but not fast enough to avoid her bullet. Edward roared, howling at the pain in his arm. He sat up slowly, looking at his arm, still covered in fur. The bullet had passed through and grazed the side of his left bicep deeply, leaving a two inch thick cut through his now matted fur. He tried to flex the arm and put weight on it, but a white hot rod of light flashed in front of his eyes, making him nauseous and dizzy at the same time. He looked over at the woman across from him, part of her throat smashed against the wall behind her in a coat and red, grey, chunky matter. Her head was only half-propped up with the rest of her body against the back of the overturned rocking chair behind her. Edward held back the urge to vomit his soup all over the floor and tried to stand. Despite his head spinning, he limped over to the door, only using three of his four legs. He opened the door with his teeth and stepped out into the cold snow once more. Edward crawled half way up the hillside toward the camp. Am I going to die now? he thought, dazed, as he limped. She must have had silver bullets... but she didn't hit heart... He looked behind him and saw a thick trail of blood following him from his arm in the snow. I never thought that she would do that... and I... I killed her! An old woman! The thought hit him heavily, making his physical condition worse than before he ate anything at all. He began to see the top of the hillside now, and the little cliff edge he had jumped off of earlier after talking to Hannah... Hannah, he thought. I should have just told her the truth... what was wrong with me? It's this moon. I hope she'll understand-- But his thought was cut off when his other front leg gave way under him, unable to support his weight now that the incline on the very last part of the hillside was so steep. He tried to howl, to make some noise so someone could find him, but barely anything came from his throat. Edward shut his eyes, falling on the snow beneath him.
more epicness! Edward spun around, his heart racing, resisting the urge to fall on all fours and charge at the same time. He saw that the figure in the rocking chair who had spoken was an old woman. She seemed to be in her fifties, and had turned her chair now to face him. Edward didn't know what to say. "I dozed off here by the fire," the woman started now, now beginning to rock her chair. "I'm glad you came in because the soup would start to burn soon. Help yourself." With that she turned her chair back around to face the fire again. Edward was relieved that the figure wasn't a much stronger, meaner person. He was still wary, though; she seemed a little too accepting and unworried. He reached into a cabinet above the fire stove and pulled out a bowl, spooning as much rich, hot soup into it as he could. He ate four bowls before he spoke again. "I'm very sorry for intruding," he spoke, putting the bowl down on the small, one-person table by the stove. "It's no trouble," she responded, now taking her hands out from under the quilt to rub them by the fire. "If I were you and were walking by this place and smelled it, I'd stop, too!" She gave a weezy laugh to herself, her back to Edward. "I can't thank you enough," said Edward. "I can't remember the last time I ate..." "That happens..." the woman muttered. "Sorry?" Edward asked, not knowing what she meant. The rocking of her chair was the only constant sound beside the crackling fire that filled the room. "Nothing, young man," the woman responded. "What brings you out in these God forsaken mountains, anyway, dear? Are you lost?" "No," Edward began carefully. "I'm on my way to Rome, actually. Just resting for the night and realized I didn't have enough food." "Alone, are you?" she asked, rather quickly. Edward paused, getting even more wary now. "Yes," he decided to lie. She's an odd one, he thought cautiously. Out here in the woods too long on her own, I'd say. "Hmmm..." the woman murmured to herself, and turned her chair to face Edward again. He could tell that the firelight made her look much older than she really must be. All the slight wrinkles in her face and arms and hands were magnified by the dancing, dark, thick shadows from the fire, giving her grey eyes black holes under them. "You may stay the night if you wish, dear," she began now. "It's no trouble for me. I have plenty of soup... especially for someone like you..." "That's very kind," Edward began, his werewolf instinct telling him it wasn't safe and time to leave. "But I should be getting a start back on the road. Thank you for the food, though, miss." The woman now stood from her rocking chair, the shawl and the quilt still tight around her thin body. "I insist," she began, stepping toward him. Edward swiftly stepped over to the door in a few quick strides, however, and put his hand on the doorknob behind him. "Thank you, but I must go," he said aloud. Edward turned around and turned the door handle, and then jumped when he felt the barrel of a cold gun against the back of his neck. "Don't move," the woman spoke. Edward heard the gun's hammer pulled back now. "Don't move a muscle."
Edward padded slowly through the trees, his head hung, thinking to himself. What can kill Dracula? he wondered. I'm sure many have tried before and nothing has worked. Maybe he's not like other vampires... biting that bride sure did the trick for her, but something tells me I won't get my teeth around the son of the devil... and this whole John business... He sighed, not knowing what to think now. He tried to concentrate instead, tried to will himself back to his human form... but couldn't. The moon was too strong and he was too hungry. "What can I eat?" he growled aloud. There's no food at the camp unless Beatrice brought something with Sorin. Otherwise, I'm on my own. I wonder what Jinx and Hannah will do to eat... Suddenly Edward spotted something down the hillside even more in the distance. He squinted, trying to see what was there... and then he could tell: light. He padded foward down the snowy hillside still, and... yes, a cabin, it looked like! He could see the outline of what looked like a chimney through the tops of the trees. Who in the hell lives out here? Edward thought incredulously. Maybe they have come civilized food. He started forward at a run, and then slowed. Is this safe? he questioned. They may see my cuts and bruises... maybe a little fur I can't control and they'll kill me without a thought, I'm sure. But his stomach growled and he licked his lips, seeing smoke now rise from the chimney. Edward shook his head and ran toward the cabin, kicking up snow behind him. He reached the cabin a few minutes later, hiding behind a thick bunch of trees in the dark shadows. The wood the cabin was made of seemed worn and chipped, as if if one piece were moved the entire structure would turn to dust. The air around it was musty but warm, making Edward chill even more at the temperature difference. There was one half-iced window facing him, and he tried to will himself to transform again. "Come on," he growled to himself, shutting his eyes. Finally, he felt the fur begin to melt off his body, his eyes change, and his bear feet shiver in the snow. Shaking uncontrollably, he walked over to the window and peaked in the corner. There was a small bed on the far wall with a thick quilt on top, a fireplace blaring red and gold against the other, and a stove with full cabinets on the next wall. Edward felt his stomach grumble as he saw two large pots steaming on the stove. In front of the fireplace was a rocking chair with someone in it. Edward couldn't make out how large or small the person was through the iced glass, or if it was a man of a woman. He sighed, reaching down to his pants pocket and finding that he still had Van Helsing's second silver-bulleted gun there. The figure in the rocking chair seemed to be asleep. Edward tapped on the window lightly, and then ducked. He looked up a moment later and saw the person hadn't moved. He tapped louder with the butt of the gun now... no reaction. Wrapping his tattered clock tighter around him, he stepped around the house to the front door. Edward knocked on the door with one hand, the other in his pocket around in the gun under the folds of his cloak. "Hello?" he called, and no answer came. "I'm looking for some food. Could you help me?" Still no answer. Edward tried the door knob and it turned. "I'm coming in," he called loudly, and when no noise came to his ears, he opened the front door carefully. He couldn't help but sigh when he stepped inside and shut out the cold. The warmth of the fire and the smell of food in the air felt like heaven to him at the moment. Edward looked over at the rocking chair. The figure was wrapped in a thick, multi-colored quilt similar to the one placed on the bed on the other wall. The person's frame seemed to be thin under the blanket, and Edward could see white hair under the shawl wrapped around the figure's head. A pair of leather boots hung down onto the floor, in the position to swing the rocking chair. He stepped cautiously over to the stove, looking inside the pots curiously. "That's rabbit soup, if you're interested."
"Just meet me... back at c-camp later..." Edward said, and turned back around. "I will be fine." Then he bounded off the ledge and down into the snowy hillside.
"I... can't stop this...a-anymore... I'll hurt you..." Edward managed, digging his claws into the snow.
"You..." Edward tried to begin, turning with pain in his red eyes, "... s-should go... I c-cant..."
Edward only growled and did not turn when he heard Hannah. Go away, he thought. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't want to hurt her.
Edward ran until he ran out of breath. He finally sat on a small ridge, itching the back of his ear. He looked out past the snow to see the stars in the sky, the dark clouds covering most of them. God help the person who comes after me, Edward thought. I don't even know if I can control myself...
Edward tried to sleep. He found he couldn't even keep his eyes shut; the moon was showing again, and it took all his strength to stop from standing, howling, changing, and running into the forrest. A small growl escaped his lips and he sighed. His fingers itched to claw at something, to rip something apart for no reason. What is wrong with me? he thought, bewildered. I've never wanted to hurt anything when the moon is out... what's going on with me? Edward suddenly sprang up from his place at the fire and ran off into the woods. He was already half covered in fur and red-eyed when he bounded past Jinx and Hannah on all fours, into the darkness.
Edward walked back inside the camp and sat down by the fire, putting a blanket under himself and sighing. "Don't ask," he said, not knowing his anyone was going to speak or not.
"Fine," Edward muttered, letting her go abruptly. "See you back at the camp." He walked off in the direction of the fire's glow, not turning back.
"No," Edward said, holding back a growl. "We need to talk now... please."
