A Home for Lost Boys

~Twenty-One~

{Possible trigger warnings: swearing, fighting, blood, fire

If I miss something, I apologize and please let me know}

The earsplitting shriek that ripped through the night would have woken Virgil up even if he hadn't been pacing in his little house for the past two hours. He raced to the door and threw it open, sprinting into the night.

The infirmary was already ablaze, and he could see figures clashing around it. He ran through the center area of the Sanctuary, headed for the small side entrance far off to the side.

His original idea had been to bypass the fight completely, but as he whipped around a corner Virgil spotted a tiny blonde woman being backed up against a tree by a huge wolf creature.

He didn't recognize either of them, but Logan had described Talia to him and the description matched up. Virgil changed course and leapt into the air, slamming his fist against the werewolf's jaw.

Accessing White Court energy was sort of like cracking a glowstick. A little barrier inside of Virgil's chest shattered, and he felt the surge of energy that came with it. He was no small person, but the strike he landed against the werewolf (it had to be Dannan, JJ's fur was a more ruddy, rust-brown color) was much heavier than it should have been.

"I'm getting Roman." Virgil told Talia, who nodded and shot into the air as she shifted into her tiny pink fairy form. He turned back to Dannan and hissed, then turned and raced off into the forest.

He only had so much time before he ran out of energy, and when he did he knew it would be hard for him to even stay on his feet.

Almost immediately, Virgil realized the complication. Having pissed off Dannan, he now had a huge werewolf following him. The gate he was heading for had a winch mechanism. He could automate it, but it would take longer.

A scream echoed behind him, from about where the infirmary was. Virgil prayed it was someone on the other side. He dodged sideways through a thin space between a couple trees, trying to lose his pursuer. The crash and splintering of wood told him that it hadn't worked.

Suddenly the gate loomed in front of him. Virgil grabbed the winch handle and slammed it into the automated position, unlocking the weight that held it in place. It thudded dully to the ground and the door began to creak as it slowly opened.

By the time Dannan burst into the clearing, snarling angrily, Virgil was a few paces to the right of it and waiting. He hissed at the werewolf and grabbed a large tree branch off the ground, spinning it and bringing it up into a baseball grip.

"Let's f*ckin' play, a**hole."

Dannan lunged forward, and Virgil rose to meet him. His enhanced strength was enough to break the entire tree branch over the werewolf's head, but it didn't faze them. He swore and scrambled back a few paces, crouching.

They was faster than Virgil expected, and the clawed slap sent stars across his vision. He felt blood trickling and forced himself to his feet as soon as he hit the ground.

This was such a bad idea. He knew that, he'd known that, and for f*ck's sake he was still going to get his a** handed to him. A glance at the door told him it was only open about a foot.

That glance was also a bad idea. Virgil's vision went black for a moment as he was tackled and slammed to the ground, the back of his head crashing into a rock. He groaned and weakly tried to push Dannan off of him.

The werewolf leaned down, hot breath stinking of rotting meat. "Time's up, insect-"

Something crashed to the left. Virgil yelled in pain as Dannan was ripped off of him, clutching at the places that the werewolf had sunk their claws.

By the time he'd gotten into something that vaguely resembled a sitting position, Roman was slamming Dannan into a tree. The other werewolf was hulking, the biggest Virgil had ever seen, but Roman was a good three-fourths his size. His teeth were bared in a snarl as he lunged for Dannan's throat.

When Roman was done, he turned towards Virgil and found him on his feet, panting and holding his side. Roman grunted and allowed himself to shift back partially. "He get'cha?"

"Little bit." Virgil grunted. "I'll be fine..."

Roman watched him warily. The White Court's eyes were silver again, and he smelled primal. He'd dug into his power supply and he would definitely be hungry.

"Usually I wouldn't encourage it... but you could probably find someone to feed on with no problem back towards the center."

Virgil waved him off. "Get going, you've gotta stop JJ. I'll catch up once I've recovered some, and maybe I'll take that advice."

Roman nodded and fully shifted again, sticking his nose in the air to try and catch a scent. It wasn't hard, JJ's scent was all over the place.

"Hey Roman?"

He turned to Virgil. The White Court grinned ferally, slumping against a nearby tree.

"F*ckin' kill that b*tch."

Roman let out an excited snarl and raced off into the forest. He followed the general path that Virgil and Dannan had taken, the smell of smoke slowly overtaking his senses.

The open clearing in the center of the Sanctuary was a mess. There was blood everywhere, varying colors and freshness. A few bodies lay nearby, most of them unfamiliar. Roman paused and searched for JJ's scent again.

He didn't need to, it seemed. A growl echoed through the area, mingled with a yell of mixed fury and pain. Roman took off in that direction.

He tackled JJ as soon as he saw him, ripping him away from a furious, but injured, Dee.

"Couldn't stay away, could you?" The bigger wolf jeered as they tumbled a few feet and separated, both coming up into wary crouches.

"I made a mistake with you once, and lost my home for it," Roman replied, feeling the always-painful ripping sensation that came with talking in wolf form. Werewolf vocal chords were not designed to talk easily. "I'm not doing that again."

JJ growled and leapt at him.