Follow Your Instincts || San + Ratigan
Ratigan carries out his mission for Zira by obtaining a werewolf’s claw.
Trigger Warnings: blood, fighting, mutilation (not explicit description but still there!)
@sanmononoke
RATIGAN:
To Ratigan’s displeasure, it had been more difficult tracking down a werewolf within the boundaries of Swynlake than he had initially anticipated. The ones he knew of due to their time in the papers (Merida DunBroch, for everything that had happened between her, the Acherons, and the officer who had been arrested among it all. Toulouse Bonfamille, for his reputation as an artist, status, and his spot as a witness in one of Tritons’ daughter’s case,) were too high profile.
There were plenty of other scents that littered the forest but they had all come to dead ends when he had tried to follow them— all that time he had spent out of the field and it had seemed he had become rusty. How utterly inconvenient.
Just as he had been about to give up on finding someone within reach and outsource finding a werewolf to the general underground network, he found them. He had been delivering the latest updates to the books for Ms. Truitt’s restaurant when he smelled it. Another wolf.
It took some time to assess whether or not she would become the target (having to keep a farther distance than he would have on a normal target to avoid her heightened senses paired with his lack of practice in this part of the job did not make for a quick analysis), but after he had witnessed her change several times over without any sign of other pack members it was clear that she would do just fine.
Night had fallen over Swynlake and with it, the quiet.
Ratigan entered Enchantra and for the first time, let the wolf inside him to experience it, too. Having only been allowed out in the basement of his home the wolf was beside itself with this freedom. But there was also a mission to accomplish here. By now he knew the area of the forest the other wolf frequented, so off it went. It moved through the muted forest with only the light of the moon that could break through the over brush to keep it devoid of colour.
SAN:
Her human day had seemingly gone well. But she needed a break from the human cycle. Nighttime was for the wolf. It wasn’t unusual for San to go for a run before retiring to the castle for the night, so Merida wasn’t waiting up. No one would notice she was gone. The wolf cheerily took over as she stripped down. The she wolf howled as she could get loose of her human restraints. She couldn’t ruin her clothes from shifting in them anymore. There was a ‘normal’ life to lead now. San was changing into a wolf now, but she was finally changing back into a girl after quite a long time.
The moon wasn’t full tonight, but the slight pull of it made her change easier. Not that it had ever been difficult. San was still in sync with the inner canine and swore to never lock it up like some people seemed to do. She’d let herself run and never truly be tamed. Just like she used to with her family, only this time she was alone. It still felt good. The crisp air, the hum of the nightlife, a familiar smell… It felt like home.
Wait, what was that smell.
A wolf?
Big brown eyes became alert and San slowed down. Friend or foe? Lou would warn her against interactions with strange wolves; but she was once a strange wolf, wasn’t she? Werewolves had an affinity with nature, or at least San did from years of guarding it. She could make a friend out of any kind of creature. Humans, though, were the unsafe ones. She sought out the wolf, nose in the breeze. Maybe she could introduce them to her newfound family, maybe they’re like her.
RATIGAN:
Unlike the younger wolf, Ratigan’s was used to being locked up, only to be let out when its control was too much to ignore. Even then the man kept it within a cage in his basement, his paranoia having built the space in case his other life came for him in this one. It was reinforced and even the wolf, with all its strength, had not been able to break out of it. This was the first time it had been out. This was the first time it had been able to run. The distraction of freedom almost made it lose sight of the task at hand as the want— the need to experience this world for its own almost too tempting to ignore now that it was in control.
It did, though, because it knew what was at stake. The man had made a deal with the enemy. The threat of death hung heavy above its head— the blade of a guillotine ready to be released. If it ruined this chance then one night in the forest would not have been worth it. So it listened and maintained the course.
The lack of experience was apparent. Ratigan’s movements were always done with purpose, having learned how to use his body to every advantage it could offer. In this form he had not taken the time to learn. So much time had been dedicated to keeping it inside, to relearning his human form with the addition of the wolf’s presence, that the wolf itself had been neglected. Clumsy were its movements and its approach no longer had the element of surprise.
But, perhaps it could use that to its advantage.
The wolf kept a distance but approached, ear flicking as it listened to the movement of the other in the brush of the forest. Finally it stopped and tilted its head at the other wolf, as if curious but open to the stranger.
SAN:
They seemed to be at an impasse. Ears swivelling to capture all noises, canine eyes scanning for microaggressions. San didn’t feel as if she were in danger. She never did as a wolf. She didn’t get that sense from other creatures at least.
Still, she was cautious in her approach. San’s head was lowered and her ears were nearly flat against her skull. She had no pack to call her own, so she approached as an omega. The Lone Wolf.
She used to have her tail bristled in meetings of new wolves, but now it was tucked. How the mighty had fallen. She was unaware of this wolf’s stature, but if he too was alone… they could help each other.
They met somewhere in the middle and San dared to sniff first. Little did she know she left her scruff open for any attacks.
RATIGAN:
The wolf felt the growing anticipation as the other approached. Guilt already sat hot in its throat as it did not want to attack. It wanted to greet, to learn, to get the chance to find solace in the other wolf.
They were pack animals at heart and it knew that vampires were close by. Why would it chose to be on their side instead of one of its own kind? Why could they not make friends here and confront the enemy should she come back?
There was a moment of peace, a pocket of stillness, where it thought— maybe they did not have to be so alone. Maybe this was the decision that could change that.
But the man insisted and what the man wanted, the wolf did, too, in the end.
When the other wolf leaned forward, it allowed it those few seconds to be lulled into a sense of security before reaching back. It was quick but his aim off in the lack of experience. Its teeth caught some skin, enough to tear, but not enough to have grabbed hold of anything more than fur that only came away as it pulled back.
SAN:
It happened so fast. Harmless curiosity turned to aggression. San yelped and jerked away.
Only her fur was marred by the attack, but it felt as if her childlike trust was too. She wouldn’t make this mistake again. The wolf dropped down and bared her teeth. Snarling, try that again and I’ll go for your throat! San was in defense mode. If he moved to attack her again he’d have to step forward. He’d have to get past her teeth.
His move.
RATIGAN:
The wolf shook its head at the disorientation of having missed, annoyance building from within from the frustration that had been there since it had entered the woods. As soon as it heard the snarl of the other it knew that it had lost the advantage of surprise that had been in its favor and would now have to rely on instinct.
She had lowered herself, at the ready to pounce should it make another move against her.
Instead of a warning, it took this as a second chance.
With her legs protected by her stance the wolf instead aimed for her right flank, teeth finding flesh this time before pulling away to regroup for her counter attack.
SAN:
San yelped again. Why was he doing this? She’d never hurt another wolf. And she didn’t know of a rival pack in the area, not that she was in one herself.
She felt the puncturing in her side and lunged. Right for the throat like she had warned. Only she got a mouthful of scruff. Still she bit down and shook her head, ripping away at the flesh. San was barely human. The aggression of the wolf was all too familiar to her. She was a small but mighty foe.
RATIGAN
While the wolf had no experience with pain, the man within did, and knew how to continue to ride the high of adrenaline during a fight. The other wolf’s teeth in its skin elicited a whine in the back of its throat but it did not stop it from calculating its next move. The close quarters were to its advantage with the task it needed to complete. It growled, low and rumbling, before snapping into a bark as it reached around to grab the back of the wolf’s neck. Its jaws clamped down, yanking it away despite her teeth taking some of it with her.
It slammed her down into one of the exposed roots along the forest’s floor, a harder target than the soft grass and earth that lay below them. A paw stepped down on her throat in place of its teeth, claws digging in. It barked twice in warning for the younger wolf to stay down.
SAN:
This wolf was unlike most she’d faced. He seemed inexperienced, but brutal. Taking her down with a swift motion and brute force, his teeth dug into her and shoved San to the ground. She stayed still. Not really surrendering yet, but panting loudly. Her white coat was matted with saliva and blood, marring its usual beauty.
San was scared.
She let out a howl, long and loud. But she knew no one would come to save her. She had no family anymore. At least none that could help her now.
Help. She howled again and it sounded like the broken hearted wail she’d belted out before she began her journey to this place.
RATIGAN:
The wolf didn’t like this, its ears pulling back and laying flat against its head as the other wolf struggled. The howl echoed inside of its chest, the beginnings of a whine whistling at the beach of its throat. Why was it hurting her? Why couldn’t it just—?
Because it had a job to do, and if it did not follow through then there would be more lost than a silly little claw.
With a huff the wolf pressed its weight down on the wolf in an attempt to keep her from moving too much for this next part. Its other paw planted itself on her foot that was closest to the ground to keep her from scratching. It gave one last warning bark, upper lip lifting as it quickly leaned forward.
Its teeth sunk into her paw, head shaking as it tried to pull its prize free. It had to move its head to the side, using its back teeth and strength of its jaw to bite down again. Blood pooled in its mouth, but so did the claw it had been asked to obtain.
SAN:
The girl inside screamed as the teeth dug into her flesh. It was violent and rough. San could have endured a claw breaking off easily, if it had not been ripped away with sinew and skin.
San shook the wolf off after it had seemingly gotten what it wanted from her. Flipping up from her side she shifted back into a girl. Bones shifting and turning back painfully, but not as painful as her hand. A girl stood naked in the woods with blood dribbling down her arm. She held her shredded fingertip to stop the bleeding and kicked the wolf that had a piece of her in its mouth.
“Why?” she cried. “You’re the reason humans think we are the monsters!”
With that she ran away. She needed to get help. A strange wolf had just taken a chunk of her finger off and while she will heal fast… there was still a lot of blood.
RATIGAN:
The wolf allowed itself to be thrown off as it had what it needed from the other, stepping back a few steps to watch as she shifted back. Its head tilted at her as she yelled at it, blood dripping down from its mouth to stain the fallen leaves below. The wolf failed to see what this had to do with humans when she had been the one who was wronged. Humans would not care if it had shed the blood of another they saw as a monster.
It already knew what it was. Even in its human form — perhaps it was the worse version of the word when it was the man who walked around in his costume of a suit and the mask he had made to appear like everyone else. The pretending. Maybe this form looked the part, but it had always been something that was other.
The wolf wondered why she had bothered to ask for an explanation if she was not going to wait for an answer. It did not blame her, though, it was only natural to run from danger. It watched as she disappeared before slipping back into the darkness, tongue pressing the claw against the roof of its mouth for safe keeping.