Wolfe

12

Chapter 12

Marley's chin rested atop of her knees as she crouched beside Jace, her eyes watching as the blonde pulled the fishing rod in her hands back before quickly snapping it forward. The thin, near invisible, line that was connected flew towards the water. The red and white buoy making a little 'ploop' sound as it landed against the water's surface.

Gray eyes flickered from the softly bobbing buoy to the blonde, Jace's body slumping a bit as her hands lazily held onto the rod. She gave a soft nudge to Jace's knee with her own, receiving a tired grin in return.

"I coulda hunted on my own while you slept some more." Marley murmured, Jace's fingers loosening and tightening against the rod's worn grip.

"It's okay, I needed to get out of the cabin anyways."

"Okay...Why Fishing though? Caribou last us 3 days."

Light brown eyes roamed over the surface of the lake, the rod's buoy weakly bobbing around and causing small ripples around it. A strand of dirty blonde hair fell between the human's eyes, Jace ignoring it as her gaze went from the lake towards her hands.

"...I don't want to hold my gun right now." She whispered. 

Marley's gaze ran over Jace's profile, the high sun's rays hitting the surrounding trees' branches and casting their shadow over the human's face. She released an understanding hum, her gaze turning back towards the lake and watched the buoy continue to bob about for a few more minutes. 

The two of them stirred in the quiet, Marley's ears twitching every once and a while from random birds' chirping in the trees around them when Jace let out a low breath. 

"Looks like the fish don't feel like biting today." She tsked softly and began to slowly reel the line back in, Marley watching as the buoy wiggled about before suddenly disappearing under the water. They both released noises of surprise, Jace quickly tightening her grip on her fishing rod and began to reel the catch in. 

"Gotta be a big fella. He's got some...strength!!" Jace strained out after nearly being pulled off the pier and into the lake, she leaned her entire body back and placed her feet flat against the pier as her arms' muscles and tendons strained noticeably as she worked hard to keep the fish on the line without it snapping. An exerted breath left the blonde when she felt a body press up against her back and arms wrap around her, slim hands moving above her scarred one and wrapping around the rod's handle. 

"You reel, I'll hold." Marley spoke against Jace's ear, the redhead's chin resting over the blonde's shoulder as she held the rod with ease. 

The human reeled and stilled, their catch getting closer and closer to haul up onto the pier, with her eyes going towards Marley's forearms. Not a single tendon or muscle was straining despite the struggling fish mostly being over 100 pounds. 

Jace forgets that Marley possesses the strength of 10 men and the speed of a peregrine falcon. Though considering that the wolf barely ever flaunts her supernatural abilities and prefers to be the one carried instead of the one doing the carrying, can you blame her? 

Marley took the rod and pulled it up, Jace reaching her hands into the water to haul their dinner out of the water. 

Only for a young girl with cerulean scales for skin and 3 gills on either side of her neck to look up at them with fright. The fishing rod's hook being impaled through the kid's lower lip. 

"U-Uh.." The kid stammered out, wincing when the fish hook poked at her upper lip. 

"A mer? What're you doing in a random lake of all things? Don't you guys live in the oceans?" Marley questioned, taking her coat off her shoulders and offering it to the mer who looked at her with fear and confusion. 

Jace looked from the shaking mer-girl towards Marley, the wolf still holding the coat in offering towards the kid before laying it over the younger's body and resting her hands on her thighs. the fishing rod laying on the pier and beside the wolf's left side. 

"Oh no. Not again." Jace muttered, Marley looking towards her with a pout as the mer-girl looked between the two of them with only pure confusion in her bright golden eyes.

< >

"Ow!" The mer yelped when Jace held onto the fish hook. The human let out a low huff as she held the girl's face still by her jaw, gold connecting with light brown as Jace readjusted her hold on the curved metal.

"Stay still, kid. It'll only hurt more if you keep wiggling about. And you'll wet my floor."

The girl stayed still, the water in the bathtub sloshing softly about before calming itself. Her eyes roamed over the human's features, taking notice of the several scars that littered the blonde's neck before her eyes went towards the redhead sitting on the sink.

She was a wolf, the mer knew. Only wolves radiated such a powerful aura without even knowing that they were doing so.

"Ready?" Jace asked, the girl letting out a weak whimper before shutting her eyes tight. The blonde carefully and calmly eased the hook out of the mer's lip, letting go of the girl's jaw in order to place the hook in the trash and grabbing the antiseptic. She turned back towards the mer-girl only to see that the wound was already sealing itself up, a low 'hm' leaving her lips and rested her forearms on her knees.

The antiseptic bottle still being held lazily in Jace's unscarred hand.

"It's pretty late. We'll help you find your parents tomorrow. You can stay in the guest room for now." She offered, The mer's eyes flickering towards the wolf when she released a soft rumble before she swallowed.

"I-I don't...I don't have parents." She stuttered out.

Human and Wolf looked towards her, watching as she slunk further down into the tub at the attention. Her gills flaring slightly when the wolf spoke up.

"Are they dead?"

Gills fluttered about once more before the girl shook her head.

"They abandoned me not long after I turned into this." She murmured, a blue webbed and clawed hand poking out of the water before slinking back under the surface.

"How cruel. Who would go and abandon their pup?" Marley growled lowly, the mer taking notice of how the wolf's chest vibrated with each word.

'A Human. Humans are cruel, Marles.' Jace thought as she looked at Marley from over her shoulder before it moved towards the bathroom floor, her gaze roaming over the tiles. Her shoulders slumped with a heavy exhale and she lifted her gaze up and towards the young girl, brown locking with bright gold.

"What's your name, kid?"

"R-Ronan."

"Ronan..." Jace repeated in a soft whisper as she rose up to her full height. Placing the antiseptic bottle back atop of the sink.

"Come on Ronan, I'm sure there's some food left somewhere."

"But that's my food." Marley murmured as she hopped off the counter and followed after Jace.

"Well you're gonna have to share now."

"Oh, fine. But only cause she's a pup. She needs the nutrition."

Ronan watched them go before slowly rising up from the tub, her eyes going towards the small bundle of clothing that rested on the sink's counter. She stepped out of the tub, small droplets falling onto the polished wood floor as she grabbed one of the cloths and held it in her hands. She looked back where the human and wolf walked off towards as her clawed thumbs rubbed against the fabric.

They were scratchy.