The City (Merome AU)

37

~*Star*~

The moment when the first "dog" ran over the horizon and down into the clearing was when the fight broke loose. I believe it was Woofless who took the first shot. The dog went down immediately after the bang was heard. But almost as fast as the dog went down, five more ran down into the clearing. How many does she have?

In the corner of my eye I see Frags dart out and drag the attention of not one, but four to him. He leads the four up and out of the clearing; completely out of sight. After Frags disappears, Woof nods to me before running in the direction he went; most likely to help him out. Where are you Kaydee? My mind wanders as I jump down from the second floor and throw a knife into the skull of an incoming coyote. Landing awkwardly, I roll before standing upright. Sniper runs past me with surprising speed for someone his age.

"Leave the heights to snipers kid," he says with a small laugh as he runs past, scaling the steepest part of the clearing with little-to-no-effort. Can Benja do that?

A loud growl brings me back to the reality of the situation. The coyote leaps at me; it's teeth bared and ready to bite. I roll to the left and barely manage to avoid the dog. But as I start to get up, a sharp pain enters my right shoulder. Rage seems to take over and I barely even notice myself picking up one of my knives.

The next thing I know I'm standing upright beside a dead coyote. My shoulder aches and I feel blood running down my arm. Clenching my jaw, I try to ignore the pain as more coyotes race into the clearing. I'm going to have to-

My thoughts are interrupted by Lone Wolf jumping from the second floor with a wild look in his eyes. He lands on his feet before shooting at the oncoming dogs. They all drop dead and the man turns to look at me, "Get inside and get that bandaged up. I'll take over out here." I was tempted to object, but before I could do so a pair of arms lift me up off the ground and carry me back into the building.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" I struggle against the man's grip, but he doesn't let go of me.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, Star." Craft's voice mumbles in my ear as he sets me down a ways away from the fighting. "You need to know when to back away."

"I'm going back out there," I growl before picking up another knife with a good hand.

"No you're not." Craft grabs my good arm and pulls me back. "You're just going to attract more to us." I huff and turn to glare at him.

"Craft you don't understand I-"

"Shut up and let me help you!" Craft snaps at me before taking the knife from my hand. He moves to my right side and begins to cut away the remaining fabric of my shirt sleeve. Why doesn't he just listen? Once the sleeve was gone he gently lifts my arm and starts to clean the blood off of it. I grit my teeth to keep myself from making any sounds. I'm too angry to show him I'm in pain. A few moments later I feel him wrapping something around my arm; his fingers quick and precise, yet gentle like he was scared that I'd break.

"You happy now?" I mutter as he finished wrapping my arm.

"Not entirely," Craft mutters, "I don't want you going back out there."

"And why not?" I snap at him, my eyes shooting daggers. "Do you think I can't handle myself?"

"No it's not that, Star." Craft looks me dead in the eyes. "You can easily kill all of those coyotes on your own."

"Then why? Why are you so worried about me if you know very well that I can do it?" Craft closes his eyes and lowers his head to the ground. What is he? My angered thoughts disappear almost immediately when I see a tear fall from his face and land on the ground. I didn't make him cry, did I? Why do you always mess things up Vikram?! "Craft? Craft, I'm sorry! Please don't-"

Craft interrupts me, "Don't apologise, Star. It's fine," he mutters, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just being selfish. Go and fight if you want. Just don't get yourself hurt again."

"Craft I-"

"I said it's fine." He looks back at me. "Go fight. As you said, you can handle yourself." I feel like an absolute jerk now. I can't believe he would care this much about me.

I take a deep breath before pulling the giant blonde into a hug, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, "Don't cry, Craft. It doesn't go along with your tough-guy act."

"It's not an act," Craft mumbles.

"Right," I say sarcastically. "Why else would you always wake me up early in the morning to watch the sunrise?"

"I hate you," Craft mutters, pushing me away gently.

"And I love you too," I tease gently, "but I have to go. I can't stay in here too long."

"No." Craft narrows his eyes. "I'll go out. You stay here and watch over the door. I'm not injured."

"But-"

"Now you're the one who's objecting." Craft smirks before leaning over and kissing my forehead. My face heats up immediately afterwards. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Promise me you won't get yourself hurt?"

"I promise."