The Howler (Bruce Banner/Hulk Fanfiction)

Chapter 24: What He Is

Horrible pain engulfed Fingo when he finally came to. He opened his eyes and bared his teeth in horror. He rose to his paws and stumbled forward. He collapsed the rest of the way as agony pulsed through him. He rolled onto his back as he felt someone rest a hand on his flank. Something like furless extremities seemed to rush through him and gingerly rest on his shoulder.

His eyes opened once more and he tried to turn his head to the side, but he wasn't strong enough to actually move his head. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I hope that you're a little easier to tame than your friend," the human murmured softly as he ran his hand over Fingo's foreleg. He moaned as he struggled not to snap. "Yeah, that's a pretty devastating wound, isn't it? How did that happen?"

Fingo gritted his teeth. Just thinking about the pain caused sickness to seem to rise inside of him and he had to swallow it down. "Jumped out of a moving car."

Suddenly, the man sprang backwards. He fell on the ground heavily and started to skirt himself backwards slowly. A panicked breath rose up as he looked like he was about to be sick. "W-W-W-Wh....."

Fingo suddenly realized that he had said something wrong, or really said something in general. He pinned his ears against his head as he tried to make sense of what happened. "Wait, did you just understand me?" He was so shocked that he wasn't sure that if it had just happened or if this was some sort of Starbound's way of messing with his mind when he slept.

The man nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah," he croaked.

Fingo swallowed heavily as he felt his heart leap in his chest. This was uncharted territory that he wasn't for. "I-I-I don't know," stammered Fingo as he rolled back to his underbelly and faced the man. "This hasn't really happened. I'm not even sure it is happening." He lifted a paw and ran it over his eyes. He made sure to dig his claws in a bit so that he experienced a minute amount of pain. When that sparked him back to the present and not out of a dream, he knew that something strange was going on right in front of his nose.

"The um other one didn't do this," the man started as he took a hand and rubbed the back of his neck roughly, giving it a small squeeze when he was finished.

Fingo immediately brightened as it swung around. "Fanggo! I need to see him!" He rushed to stand before promptly collapsing once more in the nest that he found himself in. It was softer than moss, although Fingo wasn't sure which one he would rather sleep in. While this one was comfy it wasn't what he was after.

"Easy," the man interrupted. He stretched out a hand before thinking better of it and pulled it backwards almost automatically. "Easy. Your leg had a compound fracture and not to mention a slight hairline fracture of your shoulder and trauma from a possible dislocation. You need to take it easy."

"No, I can't take it easy. Not until that I know my brother is okay," Fingo growled as he swung his head madly. He narrowed his eyes before he thrust his paws under his chest and underbelly and eased himself upward. However, he was only able to stand for a moment before he collapsed back down on his flank. He yelped in pain as his legs sprawled out and he was left in the same position that he just was.

The man reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. He pulled his glasses off his face and set them aside. "Alright, will you please rest if I bring your brother to you? Considering you can't walk and won't rest until he's okay, I'm your only option."

While not ideal, Fingo conceded that he was right. He let out a long sigh as he rested his head on his paws. "Very well. It would be best, though, if you try to speak to him as less as possible. He really doesn't trust anyone besides me," Fingo pleaded.

A smile responded to him as the man stood. He walked over to another room and disappeared inside. He switched on the light and disappeared over to a crate in the corner. He had forced the brother in there when he had finally been tranquilized. There was no way that he was going to allow that thing to wander around. Now he was doing the exact opposite that he thought he should do. He still wasn't sure why. Something just told him that this was something that had to happen.