A Rare Visitor

[wolfs_daughter]

Living by herself meant that all the housework fell on Echo's shoulders, but she was used to picking up after herself. Occupying the trailer gave her just enough space for herself, which was all she needed.

She was currently standing at the sink washing dishes. Tomorrow was her interview. She had a casual skirt and blouse hung up in her closet. She was nervous but excited. If she succeeded in getting her grant, she'd be able to use the money to rent some space to create.

She would finally be a working artist.

Comments

Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

Cian rolled the bike to a stop and kicked the stand down, leaning the machine over till it settled. He pulled his helmet off and eyed the van that was where Echo said she lived. Wearing his usual riding attire of leather jacket, jeans and boots he unzipped his jacket as he swung his leg off his bike.

He walked over to the door of the van, knocking on it and taking a step back. "Echo, it's Cian," he called out, not sure if the girl was home or not, as he hadn't been able to catch her on the phone.

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

She heard gravel crunching under tires, and she grabbed the dishtowel to dry her hands when she heard the other were call her name. The last of the dishes had been put into the rack to dry. Echo left the small kitchen and padded to the single exit.

The screen door squeaked when she opened it, and a friendly if slightly nervous smile crossed her face. She hadn't had a visitor since Devin came by, so this was an occasion all on its own.

"Hey," she greeted with a wave, stepping out onto the little porch. What time was it? Being unemployed meant she had no routine to follow, so she tended to let the days drift by on their own.

"Good to see you again."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

"I've brought y' the things," he said, nodding in reply to her greeting. "Y' know anythin' about wards, or amulets?" he asked, his gaze having looked around and seen nothing he could suggest as being any use, which is what he'd expected.

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

"Not as much as I should," Echo said with an embarrassed expression. "I found one book on the subject in the library after you left, but it was pretty lightweight."

Her ignorance was a source of discomfort to her, but she was pretty used to being uncomfortable. Cian probably thought she was the dumbest person ever. Maybe she'd turn out to be a fast learner so he wouldn't think she was completely hopeless.

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

"Not surprisin'," he said, pulling the parcel out from inside his jacket and indicating inside the van. "This somethin' y' want me t' show you in front of the world, or c'n we go inside?"

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

"Heh. Sorry."

The hybrid turned and moved back towards the door of the trailer, held the door open so Cian could get past her. He seemed even taller in the small living room. Echo closed and locked the door behind them.

"Okay. Show me what you brought."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

Sitting on the edge of the bench seat Cian emptied some of the things out of the bag, the items scattering a little on the hard surface of the table. "D' y' know how t' cleanse 'em?" he asked, looking sideways at the young girl, again a momentary feeling that he'd really like to have a heart-to-heart with her parents tugging at his attention.

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

Reluctantly, Echo shook her head. This just kept getting more embarrassing. Why hadn't Papa taught her any of this? It was well enough to say that he and Mama had wanted her to focus on her human side, but the Wolf was just as much a part of her. Her father had learned to control it, but he'd been alive a lot longer.

"I'm sorry I'm an idiot," she told Cian self-consciously, watching his hands spread the objects he'd brought inside out on the coffee table. "There's someone in town who probably knows a lot more about this than I do, but I wouldn't know how to explain it to her."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

Cian sighed, shaking his head. "Y' not an idiot," he told her, glancing up at Echo. "I just don't understand y' folks not tellin' y' anything, when they should've been teachin' y' this from when y' could first understand. But that's not y' fault, so let's just get y' sorted now."

He looked down at the things on the table and picked up a large piece of rose quartz crystal. He started to explain its properties, telling her how to cleanse it, and where to place it in her home. He worked his way through some other pieces until he reached a smooth brown and golden piece that he picked up and held in the palm of his hand. As it moved small flecks of gold glittered inside and he rolled his palm slightly to emphasise it.

"This is one y' can carry. It's Tiger's Eye, an' it's goin' t' help y' with y' confidence, and ground y'." He held it out by the small silver piece that allowed it to hang on a chain.

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

Echo was paying very close attention while Cian talked, feeling grateful that she had a good memory so she'd be able to retain the information. When the taller were finished his explanations, she studied the way the light glinted through the small piece of Tiger's Eye. Her hand reached out for it, palm up.

"It's so pretty," she said, carefully letting it roll in her cupped hand. She would get a gold chain for it and wear it under her shirt. She knew some things about the properties of stones, that contact with the skin was supposed to help channel the energies better. That made her feel a little less self-conscious, like she wasn't wasting Cian's time.

"What else do I need to know? I really appreciate this, that you're helping me when you don't have to."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

There was a brown paper bag still sitting on the table that held a large unlabeled brown bottle, capped with its own eyedropper, and some smaller individual twists of paper. He leaned back as he looked at her.

"First, what c'n you do, about y' shift? C'n y' shift at will, or y' at th
mercy of th' moon?" He had to know how far she'd come in learning to control herself and her lycan.

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

"The moon doesn't affect me the way it does Papa," Echo said. "I guess it's because I'm mixed-blood. When I did shift the last time, it was because I was stressed and panicked. And I was able to reign it in after I calmed down."

She knew it sounded bad, as if she randomly changed into the Wolf all the time. Being a half-breed meant the demon within was beneath the surface, more hidden than a pure were, but she'd been doing so well for such a long time that a freak occurrence scared the hell out of her. That was why she'd been brave enough to ask Cian for help.

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

"But y' panicked. That's what y' need to work on. First figure out what it is that'll set y' on edge, and learn t' keep that part at bay. And then make sure y' c'n always be in control. There's no substitute." He eyed her for a moment, knowing that a human form is not always a true measure of the size of the were, but that it was often a good indicator.

"Do y' flip by choice often, or only when y' freaked out?"

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

"There was this...girl. I only changed a little, though, and I was able to control it. She didn't even get scared."

Echo was twisting the pendant back and forth between her fingers restlessly, watching tiny sparkles flicker inside the Tiger's Eye. "I thought about going into the desert," she told Cian. "To change on purpose."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

Cian blinked as he looked at her. "So y' sayin' y've never done it?"

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

"I used to sneak off and do it on my own," Echo said. "We lived near a big wooded area, and I'd make up a lie and go out into the trees and change. Then we moved to the city, and there wasn't a safe place anymore."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

"But now? Y've never been out into th' desert? Livin' right here in the middle of it?"

Re: Start with the wards

[wolfs_daughter]

"I...there wasn't a reason. I thought I had a handle on it, I really did. I mean, I know the Wolf is there because it's always there, but Mama says you learn to separate the human from the animal. That if you work at it enough, you can subdue it."

Re: Start with the wards

[cian_oneill]

Cian again shook his head, almost laughing but managing to keep that out of his voice and face.

"Echo, what d' y' think o' who you are?" he asked, looking at her directly, eyes fixed on hers.

[wolfs_daughter]

She couldn't answer him, not at first. No one had ever asked her that, not even Papa. She knew he loved her because he said so, but he was old and he was a pure were. The living room suddenly seemed very small, filled with Cian's presence.

"Most of the time I feel pretty okay about it," she said after a long silence. "I lived inside my own head a lot when I was a kid, either with books I read or movies I watched. You think puberty's supposed to be bad? I wish getting my period for the first time had been the only thing I had to think about."

She held the pendant up to the light, let the sun shine through it. "And then every now and then I feel like I belong nowhere. Not enough of either to fit in. Humans treat you badly if you're different, but I'm not sure they're alone in that."

[cian_oneill]

"Humans treat anything they don't understand with a good dose o' fear and a sprinkling of sarcasm," he replied, eyes catching the glitter in the stone she was holding up, the gold flecks appearing to reflect in his eyes for a brief moment. He shrugged. "Sometimes it's warranted, when it's no' even understood by the one who has the 'difference'," he added, looking at her.

"So, y' wantin' t' know how t' control it?" he asked, knowing it was repeating confirmation, but also knowing it was something she really needed to want to do, or it would be a very painful and possibly embarrassing waste of time for her.

[wolfs_daughter]

"I need to know it won't slip loose again," Echo said, looking up to meet his eyes. "To be sure. The Wolf is dangerous, and I don't want to hurt anyone, not even by accident. I'm not a warrior."

[cian_oneill]

"What if y' c'n know y' Wolf?" he asked, leaning back in the chair and studying her.

[wolfs_daughter]

Know the Wolf? Echo frowned. As opposed to what? She'd lived with her other half all her life, wasn't that the same thing as knowing it? "I don't understand."

[cian_oneill]

He sighed softly. "Y' don't know half of who y' are," he pointed out, "y' don't flip, y' don't go and run, y' keep half who you are, what you are, hidden away from y'self, and y've never been taught what y' can really be." He shrugged. "Not hard t' understand. What if y' c'n get t' know y'self? Really know y'self, instead of hiding from it?"

[wolfs_daughter]

Just the thought of it was terrifying. Terrifying, but kind of wonderful at the same time. Like standing on a really high diving board with the deep end of the pool waiting below. If she jumped, would she sink or swim?

"I wouldn't know where to start. It would be easier if this stuff came with a manual, but it doesn't. What would I have to do?"

[cian_oneill]

Cian rubbed his eyes for a brief moment, then looked at her again. "Run," he said simply. He stood up, lifting his chin to indicate the door out of the van.

"Y' need t' just run. Get y'self out, let y'self go," he told her. "If y' know how to control y' change then y' can do it."

[wolfs_daughter]

Echo swallowed. Run. It sounded simple enough. And the full moon was coming up soon. The desert was a big place. No one would notice one girl out there. Once she let the Wolf out, no one would be the wiser if she was noticed.

"Thank you, Cian," the hybrid said, ducking her head to give the taller were his due respect. "I know we don't know each other well, but you've already been a lot of help."

[cian_oneill]

He wasn't sure if she was wanting him to go, because she was damned hard to figure out, so Cian just asked her. "So, y' wanna do that? I c'n come with if y' want. Just in case. But if y' prefer t' do it on y' own..." He shrugged lightly. "... y' welcome t' do that too. Plenty of space round here."

[wolfs_daughter]

She hadn't even thought of that. Yeah, she'd done it on her own before, but that had been several years ago. Cian was probably far more practiced at switching to his were-self and back again. It was tempting to ask him to let her lean on him.

On the other hand, it was her responsibility to learn to control the Wolf, and as experienced as the Irishman might be, he couldn't do that for her. Echo closed her hand around the Tiger's Eye pendant, forming a loose fist.

"I appreciate the offer, but this is something I have to do on my own. It's enough that you brought the stuff to establish the wards. That and the pendant are enough to help me get started."

[cian_oneill]

He nodded, picking the bag up from the table and tucking it inside his jacket as he crossed to the door. He turned and looked at her as he opened the door. "Y' be careful. There's enough around about who'd b' happy t' have y' scalp on their belts," he warned her, not sure it was the right thing to do, to let her try and do this on her own, but also acutely aware of just how shy she was. There was nothing showing externally to reveal the internal battle he was having, instead just a moment longer than normal look before he pushed the screen door open.

[wolfs_daughter]

Echo was no mind-reader, but she was having a struggle of her own, so she could at least have been empathetic. She was afraid, not just of the possibility of being hunted, but of what would become of her if she explored her Wolf side. What if she shifted and couldn't get back to her human self? The desert was big and quiet, but if she went out there no one would know why. That meant they'd have no reason to look for her if she disappeared. Was this really something she wanted to try on her own?

"Safe travels, Cian," she told the other were as he hovered on the threshold of the trailer. "Watch your own scalp."