#maddy:drabble

[ofviolentdeath]

Characters::August and Maddy

Word Count::611

Trigger Warnings::Child death mention

Being there made her skin crawl, the reminder of how bad things had been between her and her brother-in-law before she left causing tension still. Maddy would love to be anywhere else, but August had needed her in a way that Chase could not help with. Hunters weren't great with overly emotional shifters and the reactivity that came with it.

She would have loved to blame Chase for it all, but even she knew he had done his best to protect Aislynn and that he was hurting just as badly as August and Hawk were. Truth be told, she was surprised Hawk was holding it together as well as he was, but she was still keeping an eye on him as well. He was young still and, despite the training he had been raised with before he was turned, no one was perfect. Grief could tear a person down to their most basic instincts and with the new kid, it could be catastrophic for everyone involved.

Maddy sat on the floor in front of her brother, struggling to look at him in those chains but still understanding why he felt it was necessary. If it had been one of her children to lose their lives in such a horrific manner, she would have needed to be contained as well, but she had always been the more violent of the two of them. August had always done his best to avoid fights and anger and teach her to curb her own impulsiveness when it came to those same reactions. It had never quite taken, but his effort had been admirable.

"This isn't how I wanted to visit," she started, her words shaking a bit as she smoothed a hand over her shirt despite it's clear lack of wrinkles.

"You didn't want to visit at all," August replied softly, staring at her with his inhuman eyes. "I don't blame you. I know you and Chase don't get along."

It was an understatement, but he didn't have the energy to delve further into it. It had been a rocky start, but he and Chase had figured things out to the best of their ability, even if it would never exactly be good.

Maddy snorted at that and tossed her hair back, giving the image of a spoiled rich girl. It was a front, a way to mask how she was really feeling and August knew it. He had spent far too much time around her to think she was really that person. "Yeah, but, he loved her too," she sighed softly. She hated to admit it, but Chase had done his best by Aislynn too, and seeing the way he was with the kids made it easier to understand why August stayed.

"Why are you really here, Maddy? You didn't need to stay after the chains were in place." Normally he was the one visiting her. It had always been easier that way, safer. Sure, he didn't think Chase would shoot her again, but he couldn't say the same for his brother-in-law. The last thing he wanted to do was introduce Chase to Rhys, even on a good day.

"Because you needed me, August. Chase has his cousin to help pull him back from the edge. Sadly for the both of us, you 've got me." She was trying to make a joke, but it fell flat. She wasn't exactly a comforting person, but she was trying. For her brother, she would try.

"We're all screwed then because you suck at your job."

"I'd take offense, but you're probably right. Doesn't change anything though, I'm not going anywhere while you need me."

"Thanks, Maddy."

[ofviolentdeath]

♫ Maddy and Eva

Heartless::Heart

Maddy had caught wind of the situation before Evangeline had even really had a chance to cross the border. It wasn’t very hard to stay on her tail either. She knew the girl’s usual route pretty well by now. The first couple of years Cord and Lucifer had let her drive down there, they had Maddy follow her about halfway home and then had someone else pick up the rest. 

All it took was waiting for her to find a little motel for the night. She had stopped way earlier on than she normally would have. Any other time, it would have worried the leopard, but not today. 

She waited for the girl to get her room and get “settled” before she was damn near kicking the door in. 

Eva wasn’t in the mood to deal with Gabriel’s mother, but she didn’t really have a choice. Her face was swollen from crying the whole drive, what little makeup was left was smeared across her face. She looked awful.

Maddy just looked pissed.

“I don’t know what the fuck your issue is little girl, and I really don’t give a shit. You come anywhere near my fucking son again and I will gut your pretty little ass. Do you understand me?” the shifter snarled, grabbing the girl up by her throat and slamming her into the wall hard enough to crack it. 

If she had been dizzy before, she was close to passing out now. The force of her head hitting the wall had only made the earlier vertigo come back with a vengeance and she swallowed hard, or as hard as she could with a clawed hand wrapped around her throat, and tried to nod as slowly as she could.

“You’ve hurt him for the last goddamn ti--”