Starcrash Lovers

Into the Ramble

Boom takes the lead as she heads deep into the Ramble with Jon close at her tail. Normally she did patrols by herself, if she died while on duty it wouldn't have been a huge loss, she was expendable, unlike the others. Though this time she had Jon with her and that was a cause for excitement. If this all went well, she would ask if he wanted to be permanently packed together. Boom lacked a place to really belong and be partially accepted, a place to have a purpose and Jon was like a bright beacon of hope in a dark cavern. 

Though, Boom could only feel as if all this was temporary. No one accepted the Cursed, their instincts wouldn't allow it. Eventually, it would all catch up to Jon and he would start seeing her at the bottom of the wrung like everyone else. His friendly demeanor towards her would turn into disgust and if he agreed to be in a permanent pack with her, he'd be stuck and find himself resenting her. Their chemistry would change and even though he was born away from the influence of his House, those violent tendencies would surface and Boom would find herself taking the brunt of his anger. 

Boom wasn't one to start second-guessing herself while she walked through the trees and dark fog of the Ramble, she did. This wasn't a wise decision. She felt the bond and connection with Jon immediately, but what if it all falls apart? She'd just end up as a punching bag for this man... That's all she was, a proverbial punching bag. 

She hadn't noticed that her thoughts had visibly started affecting her mood. Her shoulders had slumped and her head lowered, sighing out in despair and yet acceptance of her situation. Her brow had wrinkled in her thoughts as her existence placed a heavy worry on her as she thought about ending this hunt and sending Jon home. Spare herself the pain of getting close to someone only to be rejected in the long run, but then she felt a strong hand on her shoulder, squeezing her ever so gently. 

"Hey, you okay?" Jon's voice was filled with concern as he stops her and pulls her towards him to look at her and read her expression. 

She tensed up and lifted a brow as was turned to look at him, seeing the considerate look on his strong face. "I'm fine." She brings up her hand and pats his hand to give him some reassurance. "I am just not picking up a scent..." 

No sooner she said those words, her nostrils flare and her nose caught the whiff of something putrid. It wasn't the smell of a leech... Vampires smelled like wet dirt and earthworms, tangible to the smell after heavy rainfall, but this was different. This smelled like rotten meat, she could taste the foulness on her tongue and it sent shivers down her spine. She moves her arm to brush Jon's hand on her shoulder as she turns her head, "That is no leech..." She gives out a growl, her hands instantly reaching behind her to pull out her 9mm pistols. 

Jon sees her reaction and reaches inside his flannel and pulls out his own Magnum and clasps it in his hands, aiming it down towards the ground. "What is it?" He was on high alert, keeping his eyes around them, his vision wasn't as good as hers but instincts told him to keep his eyes open. 

She shakes her head, "I don't know."

That made the situation uncomfortable, not knowing what they would be facing. She was still young, she hadn't encountered everything there was to encounter and her inexperience in this situation was ill-advised. A leech she could handle, but what if this was something she couldn't? Since she was leading this mission, she would need to take command, and as she was about to order for her and Jon to back out the crazy wolf-touched started heading forward. 

"Which way?" He commands as his attitude shifts, he wasn't about to back down now. He wasn't going home with his tail tucked between his legs, either it would die or he would. 

"Jon, we don't know what it is, we should report this and have another pack come..." 

Before she could finish that statement Jon snapped his head towards her, "No. Which way?" His eyes burned through her, he was determined, and finally, Boom could see that he was truly from the House of Fenris. 

"This way."  She sighed as she relented, this man was going to get her killed. Which she supposed wasn't the worst idea ever, if she died tonight she wouldn't have to deal with all the bullshit anymore at least.

As she leads Jon the trees start to lessen, they were coming out of the Ramble and onto the main path. Boom's nose wrinkles as she smells the stench of body odor, vagabonds, and the homeless liked to sleep along the park benches, it was usually safer for them to hang out in these spots to sleep but not tonight. Her ears twitch as she hears the sound of someone gurgling and rustling in the dark, the smell of rot was more intense as she picks the layers out. Garoul noses were sharp and they didn't smell everything at once, there were layers of scents like layers of noise that they could focus on and filter out. Her nose worked more than just sniffing out the strengths of the scents but could map them and where they were coming from. Imprinting imaginary lines in her mind, showing her the direction of where each scent was coming from and the distance they were in an array of colors determining the scent. 

She focuses all her attention on the smell of rot, which came to her in a shade of musky green. The street lights could barely cut through the evening fog, but Boom didn't need her eyes to know where she was going. Jon stayed close behind her, enough to where she could feel his body heat against her skin. Her body slowed as she crouched a bit, she was getting closer and the sound of the struggle became more intense. Even Jon's human ears could pick up on the sound and before she could say or do anything, the man barged past her and headed in to confront whatever was ahead of them. 

"Jon!" She rushed after him as she brought her pistols up in the ready, her feet stomped on the pavement as she closed the distance between her and the wolf-touched. Jon was fast, much faster than his bulky size would have suggested and it took great effort for Boom to keep up in her human form. 

Her feet skidded to a halt when she saw the horror in front of her... Whatever it was, it wasn't human. Its skin was pale, ghost-white, and reflective under the night sky. It had no eyes to speak of, just a large gagging maw with rows of shark teeth with bile green fluid seeping out mixed with the blood of the human victim it had torn into, its spine protruded from its back like bone razor fins, stretching its skin paper-thin. It wasn't a huge creature, the way it was hunched over and walked on all fours reminded Boom of a large dog, but its hands and feet were not canine in origin. Twisted appendages that were once human, the finger and toenails were elongated, thick, and black as they slightly curled under. Its knees looked like they had been bent the wrong way as it lurched over its victim. 

The human was frozen in dread, there was no mistaking that the life had left his body. Boom could smell the scent of death clinging to the air. It had been an older man, though Boom couldn't make a precise age, his withered dirty neck had been torn open, as blood oozed around his corpse. His arms had been broken and nearly ripped from their tendons at the elbow. Strings of muscle laid exposed on the cold hard cement, while his chest had been clawed open and the contents of his stomach spilling out from his torso. She could still see the heat from his entrails rising up from the cooling body as the smell of piss and s**t circled in the air. 

The creature rolled out a massively long blue forked tongue, licking the air before letting out a shrieking shrill. Boom moved quickly, taping into her primordial instincts to aim at the creature's head and taking the first shot. The sound of her pistol rang in the air but the bullet didn't connect, it only grazed the creature's skull and the monster shuddered with rage. Beads of green liquid seeped from the creature's wound and hit the ground with a hiss, sizzling the concrete where it landed as small billows of smoke rose up to meet the fog. 

"s**t!" Boom cried out before the monster took its leap towards her, spearheading his way to take her down and sink its teeth into her flesh. She quickly turned to sidestep out of the way watching the creature move past her in a blur before landing on the ground behind her. She jumped over to the side, bringing her gun back up, her heart racing in her ears as she felt her rage rise. She wanted to shift now, tear this creature from limb to limb, sink her fangs into its flesh and render it until it was nothing more than a pile of mutilated putrid meat on the pavement. 

She had to remain in control, it was forbidden to shift in the city. She couldn't reveal her true nature, her true form in case there were any eyes that could see her but her blood burned hot. Boiling under the skin as she saw flashes of red and all she craved was the taste of blood and fresh meat between her fangs. 

The creature was quick to pivot and turn, getting ready for another lunge at Boom. Another shrilling shriek from it as its black claws dig into the pavement, shaving at the concrete like a hot knife to butter. Saliva dripping from its gaping maw as it gnashes its sharp teeth, trembling with its anticipation to take a chunk out of her supple skin, as it drooled its vile green saliva. 

Boom was preparing for another attack, getting ready to pop this thing in the head once more. Concentrating on the bullets in the chambers, she needed to direct them straight at the creature's head. She needed to... 

Her thoughts were cut off as she hears the sound of Jon's gun popping off behind her and then watched the creature's head nearly explode on impact. Green liquid splashed onto Boom's body and instantly her clothes started to smoke and melt. She could feel the heat of the acid touching her skin and she hissed out as she dropped her guns and instantly went to start peeling off her smoldering and melting shirt, peeling it from the skin that was already starting to bubble. "f**k! f**k!" She snarls out as she rips her shirt off of her. 

Jon moves towards her and starts checking over her wounds, "You're hurt." He said with a frown as Boom shook off the last of her shirt. He grabs her arm to inspect the acid burn, seeing it already starting to knit and heal. 

"I'm fine." She grunts and jerks her arm away and immediately checking her stomach making sure the enchanted duct tape she kept to keep her second mouth was undamaged and secure. Running her hands over it just to make sure the seal was still firm. 

That's when Jon noticed but he did his best not to point it out, it must have something to do with the deformity she spoke about. He then removed his flannel, the poor girl was exposed and half-naked. Jon didn't ogle her, he just wrapped his flannel around her so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable when she realized she was hanging out for the whole world to see. 

She stiffened up when she felt the warmth of the fabric touch her skin and then looked up to see Jon's relaxed face but he just gently placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. 

"Did I pass your test?" He asks as he gives her a gentle squeeze. 

She gives a pained chuckle, "Guess so." Even though her body hurt, she felt safe with him. He was clearly insane but she couldn't help but admire how much of a total badass he was. How he managed to pull off one shot like that, Boom had no idea but it was pretty amazing nonetheless. "We should probably call this in and then report back. I don't want to keep your wife waiting." She tugged the shirt around her, slipping her arms through the sleeves, taking in the scent of his cologne. He smelled clean, the lingering scent of his soap clung to the layers of scents that were on the flannel. 

He takes a sharp breath in, "Yeah." He nods in agreement, now down to his formfitting black armor. Which Boom had to examine with a curious brow, it looked almost like black silk, but a bit more stretchy. She couldn't place the material but it was definitely not standard compression armor. Also, Jon didn't look like the motorbike kind of guy. 

She starts walking, her wounds almost completely healed now as she felt the last bit of the acid burn ease up. She pulls out her phone and dials the Sept, calling for backup. The moment someone picks up, she stops and looks around, "Unknown entity at the Ramble. Dispatched, need clean up." She then pulls her phone from her ear and pings her location on her phone, sending it to the number she has called. "Location sent. Do I need to wait?" She asks through the phone. 

"No, we'll send someone out immediately."  The voice on the other end hangs up. 

Boom pulls her phone from her ear and furrows her brow as she looks at the screen for a second, if it was anyone else they would have told them to wait until backup arrives and ask for a debrief but since it was her, she was no longer needed. Oh well, more time for herself she guessed as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. 

Jon places a hand on Boom's shoulder as she walks, "You did good back there." He comments with sincerity in his tone. 

She snorts a laugh and rolls her eyes, "Sure, the all of nothing I did." She shakes her head as slides a hand into her pocket. "They'll send a clean-up crew, we should head back so I can make a full report." 

Jon smirks slightly as she redirects the conversation, "You don't take compliments well do you?" He lifts his brow as he cranes his head slightly to look down at her. 

Boom shrugs her shoulders, "Eh..." She didn't get many of them and usually, they were backhanded, this time though the compliment didn't feel like it was justifiable. She really didn't do anything to warrant it, other than being there and track down the scent like a good ole hunting dog. Jon was the one that got the kill, so he would be the one that got the glory in the end while she would be nothing more than an afterthought. She wasn't jealous but she was highly disappointed in herself. 

Jon however didn't seem to think so, he thought to himself all he did was get a lucky shot off. If it hadn't been for her, they would have never found... whatever that was. "Don't be so hard on yourself, kid." He grips the back of her neck, his big beefy hand nearly encompassing around her throat as he gently shook her. 

She grunts with a roll of her eyes, "Okay, old man." Said with slight amusement, though honestly, she wasn't sure how to feel about the way Jon treated or spoke to her. He was abnormally kind and it was hard for her to process but at the same time, it felt good. Something she needed and craved. "So want to do the pack thing?" She asks trying to play it off cool, though more awkwardly than she would have liked. 

He looks down at her as they continued to walk, taking his hand back from her neck. It wasn't wise to continue holding a Garoul by the neck, displays of aggression or dominance to creatures like them could cause problems. Though he was surprised to see how okay and passive she was about it and didn't even bother to give him a warning about the behavior. Admittedly, Jon likes to test the patience with the Garoul, seeing how far he could push something before being barked at. "I think I could manage running with a young pup like you." He smirks before giving her a playful nudge, though his playful nudge was enough to make Boom stumble and nearly fall to the ground. 

She quickly catches her footing, her eyes going wide by the sheer sudden embarrassment of not being able to take even a nudge from the boulder of a man. "Jesus tap-dancing Christ!" She laughs as she recovers and does a quick step to gain the small ground between her and Jon, "Careful there, I'm delicate." 

Jon roars a good belly laugh at that, if anything the one who was the most delicate between the two of them was him. "That's a load of shit." He shakes his head with a bright smile on his face, "Alright, enough f*****g around. Let's go get that report in and tomorrow we'll make us official." He wags his brows at her as he makes some kind of insinuating innuendo. 

She chuckles, "Don't make it gross." She shoves him slightly and then leads the way back to the car. It was definitely going to be interesting with Jon, and it made things appear to be looking up...

At least she could hope.