Whumptober 2022 Oneshots + Alt List Oneshots

Prompt 2.5 : Ringing Ears

Fandom : Werewolves Within (movie - 2021)
Pairing : Dr. Ellis/Cecily
Chronology : Post-movie but both Dr. Ellis and Cecily survived
Headcanons : Agender!Cecily, Autistic!Dr. Ellis
Warnings : Blood and severe injury, contains spoilers for who the werewolf is, so be warned if you haven't watched it

Whenever Cecily was in their wolf form, they hungered for flesh. To them, it wasn't just a senseless violence, no. They'd been rejected from common society, so they feasted on small towns, using their bodies for food and warmth. However, that didn't mean they were completely heartless.

Jeanine had shot an arrow into their neck, and it was at that moment they realized they needed to play dead if they were to get out of there alive- Even in their transformed state, they still had some basic sense. So, they silently waited for Finn, Emerson, and Jeanine to leave before slowly getting up, going over who had survived in their head, and then they realized...

Oh yeah... Ellis freaked out and ran off when they realized what the killer was

They liked Ellis. She was nice to them, if a bit secluded. She can't have gone far... Maybe she'd let them stay with her and recover. Sure, she wasn't the medical kind of doctor, but she probably at least knew basic first aid. Besides, maybe she'd like a werewolf around for study purposes.

It wasn't hard to track her scent to a small tent in the woods that she had set up, keeping her gun, flashlight, and alcohol flask close, staying alert. She'd heard some of the chaos throughout the woods, but had been able to avoid being directly involved, which she was grateful for.

A twig snapped nearby, and she quickly stood up, her pistol drawn in the direction of the noise, shakily turning on her flashlight. Her thumb rubbed the side of the gun repeatedly to soothe her nerves as she asked in a cautious tone. "Who's there?"

Cecily, still transformed, stumbled into the light but stopped when they saw the gun. The arrow sticking out of their neck was impossible to miss, along with the blood trickling down their fur. The scientist's breath hitched as she saw the monster.

"Lycanthrope" she muttered to herself, before directing her full attention back to the beast. "Reveal yourself and don't step any closer"

Cecily knew it would be dangerous to try and go back to their less strong form with the arrow still in their neck, but they also knew Ellis was absolutely terrified and they'd probably be safer if they revealed their identity. So, they reverted to a less transformed state- Not fully human but enough to where Ellis could recognize them- And immediately the pain got ten times worse, a ring growing in their ears.

"Cecily?" Ellis asked, having a hard time processing what she was seeing. Cecily Moore, the sweet and sarcastic mailperson who loved kombucha and poetry was... Fuck.

"Jane" Cecily replied, their voice coming out gravely and two tone. Ellis felt bad- This was her friend- But, she kept her gun raised. "Please"

"You killed everyone?" Ellis asked, voice tense as she kept the gun aimed square at the canine's head. Cecily wavered slightly, the blood loss taking its toll.

"J-Just Jeanine's husband, um, the fucking-" A rough cough cut them off. "Trisha's stupid dog, and Pete's hand" they listed off, brain growing foggier by the second. "Everyone else killed each other- Jane, please"

Dr. Ellis slowly lowered the gun but kept it ready to go, gesturing for Cecily to go into the tent. As afraid as she was of the lycanthrope, that was still her friend and, regardless, she couldn't ask many questions if they were dead.

Cecily stumbled into the tent, quickly lying down when they got inside. Ellis frowned down at them, but slowly inched closer. It was almost funny, and Cecily managed out a low, gargled chuckle. "I'm not gonna kill you"

"Can't be too sure" Ellis replied before turning them to inspect the wound. She didn't have a first aid kit on her, but she did have a pocket knife, so she quickly grabbed it out and cut off the left sleeve of her sweater to use as a makeshift bandage. "I'm gonna take the arrow out"

"Wait, no-"

"I know what I'm doing" Ellis cut them off matter-of-factly before quickly but smoothly pulling out the arrow, quickly placing the fabric over the wound to help stem the bleeding as Cecily cried out in pain.

"I know" she soothed to the best of her ability, though it came out a bit flat. Comforting was far from her strong suit, especially when it came to something she was not too knowledgeable in, but she also knew she had to try. After all, even if this wasn't someone she somewhat cared about, it was also a vicious killer and she didn't want to upset them more than necessary. "I know it hurts, but this needs to be done"

Once the bleeding died down, she carefully pulled away the fabric and opened her flask. Cecily saw this and tried to crawl away, but Ellis held them down. They stayed put, too weak to really fight back. "I need you to fully revert"

"No" Cecily replied earnestly, the ringing in their ears getting worse at the mere thought of losing the rest of their supernatural strength, but Ellis pressed on.

"Cecily, you're still covered in fur and I need to be able to clean the wound so it doesn't get infected" she explained. "In order to do that, I need you to revert so that I can get a clear look at the wound" she elaborated. Then, "I'll try my best to make it as painless as possible"

With that, Cecily reverted and the ringing in their ears became all they could hear, drowning out whatever Ellis was saying as their vision grew blurry as well. An awful burning, stinging sensation erupted from their neck as Ellis poured alcohol into it, turning them to the side to drain the excess blood out into the snow. All they could manage was a discomforted groan.

Ellis took the sleeve and wrapped it around their neck gingerly, making sure to tie it in a way that was secure but didn't suffocate them. She wasn't sure when they drifted to sleep, but she supposed it wasn't too surprising considering the agonizing pain they must've been in. Besides, she could ask questions in the morning.

"Cecily Moore is the lycanthrope" she muttered to herself, still baffled as she took off her jacket and put it over them as a makeshift blanket. "Makes sense, I guess..."

The ringing in Cecily's ears slowly subsided as they got the rest they needed.