Chasing Wolves (completed)

Chapter 23 Meg-Elaine

Chapter 23

Meg-Elaine

Jan skips over to stand in the center of the mat and I can't help but give a little smile of anticipation. As far as I know this'll be the first time any of us will have seen her so much as lift a hand to fight. She just seems too dainty, too prim and proper, to be able to hold her own against anyone. But then again, she was trained by Dimca himself (who's pretty much tied for second best fighter with Vlain) so she must be more than capable.

But then there's the fact that she's standing there, watching as Ra walks to her somewhat nervously, about to fight him... in full-length skirts and a corset! I know Iz can fight in that outfit (I've seen her do it more times than I can count, and I remember her telling me that when Dimca first taught her how to fight she had to wear the same thing), but it's kind of weird thinking of someone else being able to.

Ra reaches her and they stand a few feet apart, waiting for the cue to start. Dimca gives a sharp whistle and Ra's instantly in action, taking the opportunity to strike first. He sweeps a kick at her legs while simultaneously punching at her head. Due to her extremely long and full skirts it's nearly impossible to guess where her legs actually are and, apparently, he completely missed them. She dodges his fist and dashes behind him when he overextends himself, grabbing his arm and twisting it so far behind him that for him to be able to escape would involve him popping his shoulder out of socket.

Surprisingly, that's exactly what he does, wrenching his arm hard enough that the room fills with a sickening mix between a thud and a pop. Jan, momentarily caught off guard by it, is seemingly unprepared as he punches at her again. His non-injured arm whizzes towards her and, at the last possible second, she catches it in her hand like it was a slow-speed baseball. Using his momentum, she pulls him towards her even more and then delivers a vampire-strength blow to his nose.

He staggers back, stunned and barely conscious, and takes only a second to recover before slowly making his way towards her once again. Before they can reach each other there's an ear piercing whistle and they both turn towards where Dimca's walking towards them.

Over his shoulder I can barely make out Ra's face but what I can see is bright red with his blood. As I'm watching he grabs his nose and cracks it back into place before it can heal crooked. He's a Shifter so it wouldn't take all that long and the longer they wait the more difficult it is to set it right.

Dimca finally reaches them and he squeezes Jan's hand, smiling at her before turning to us, taking in everyone's surprised faces. "I know what you're all thinking. She fights differently than I do. She prefers a much more direct method." Actually, now that he mentions it, I had noticed she was unusually to the point. Usually we'll try to discombobulate our opponents, flipping them or some such, but she just wailed on him.

Dimca now turns to Ra, taking hold of his limp arm and pulling it towards himself. Ra winces a little but otherwise doesn't seem too effected by the movement. "Doesn't that hurt?" Dimca sounds outright surprised and I can't help but to agree. If someone dared to move the arm attached to my dislocated shoulder, I'm pretty sure I would dissolve into a puddle of tears... but not before killing whoever did it.

Actually (besides the killing part) that's exactly what happened. Part of training included being hurt in multiple different ways and having to be able to set our own broken or dislocated bones. I'm actually the one that had to move my arm, so it would be useless killing myself. It might have relieved the pain (my family may have a higher pain threshold but that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt to all heaven), but pain makes you stronger so I suffered through it.

On a separate note- I love his nickname. Every time I hear it I almost chuckle, like with Mrs. Remus. Earlier, when they were talking about their favorite Egyptian gods, I wanted to tell them what mine was but I didn't want to interrupt so I didn't. My favorite is actually Osiris, god of the Afterlife.

It kind of seems cruel now, but back when I was little and then when I was a Hunter, sometimes  I imagined dead vampires' hearts being heavier than the 'feather of fate' or whatever it was called and ended up being sent to their equivalent of hell. But now that I've met Iz and realize that not all vampires are evil, I realize that's kind of cruel to wish on someone. But then again, who's to say Osiris or the afterlife exists at all? It's not like they can be proven.

I come back to reality just as Ra's answering. "Not too terribly. I have an unusually high tolerance for pain and until you moved it it didn't bother me that much. Here, hold my wrist tight." Dimca does and Ra grabs his shoulder, leaning back away from him as he pops it back into place. They both move their hands and shake and Dimca pats him on the shoulder (the not-recently-dislocated one), "I think you'll do."

Everyone laughs, he performed very well for his first time here, and Kate jogs over to him and wraps her arm around his waist as he kisses the top of her head. They're so sweet together and I've noticed a major difference in her ever since she met him, she's become more... rambunctious? Yeah, that fits. She deserves it.