Chuva! Chuvinha! {Jamie}

[LIAM HENDERSON]

It was strange. Liam missed the resemblance of normalcy that he and Jamie use to have. Now, with the blackouts that Jamie was pretending didn't happen, and the werewolf thing--life felt anything but normal. So when they actually did go to class, it felt surreal and strange. Liam was doign his best to keep up, but he had fallen a few days behind after the shift. Leaving Jamie to deal with it himself was entirely out of the question; he had done it so far on his own, but he always came back a mess. Now---when he shifted, he was in clean, warm clothes. He had Liam to keep an eye on him and make sure he was comfortable, and had water. Liam may not be the best protector in a fight, but he was always there for the emotional aspect and the aftermath.

Liam waited outside of the building of his last class, until he saw the familiar face come for him. Liam had learned a long time ago that he should just stay put and wait for Jamie. Luckily, the last class of that day--Jamie head to pass his building anyway. A grin spread over his lips when he fell into step beside his best friend, and then he glanced up towards the sky. There was no sunshine, it was completely overcast. But that wasn't just it; there was thunder far off in the distance, and lightening lighting up the sky. Liam's grin faded, and he turned his eyes up to his best friend. "Maybe we can beat the rain." Jamie didn't do so well with the rain. Well--the rain was one thing. It was the puddles that were the problem and the way that New York city could be, some of those puddles seemed to be miniature ponds. "How was class?" He asked, reaching out to tug Jamie's hood up. Even if it did rain, there was no point in getting utterly soaked, which would surely lead to a cold or a flu.

The two passed through the gates, and while they walked down the sidewalk, Liam was suddenly wishing he had a car. Then again...what the fuck was the point of driving in New York? By the time you managed to drive down the end of the street, one of the crotch dumplings could waddle its festering diaper all the way down Broadway. But cars had GPSs right? That was convienient. But his phone had a GPS too, and he never used it....whatever. Human GPS walking right next to him anyway. They hadn't mad it halfway down the sidewalk when the sky decided to open up and dump gallons of cold water down on their heads. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck." Liam hissed as several droplets fell, beginning to pick up. Within seconds, his vision was blurred and distorted several feet up by the pouring rain. He reached out, and grasped Jamie's sleeve. There was no point in trying to talk over the rain--Liam was soft spoken. Normally, people didn't hear him at first unless they were nearby. There was no way he was going to be able to speak loudly enough for Jamie to pick up over the sound of the rushing water, even with his super wolfy hearing.

With his other hand, Liam pointed in the direction of Central Park, and gave Jamie a tug towards it. Central park had a lot of trees--it wasn't entirely safe, but there were several pavillions just past the edge that they could take shelter in and wait out the rain. "C'mon!" It was habit to speak, though his voice was drowned out by the sudden clap of thunder overhead that made Liam flinch slightly while he picked up his pace, almost starting to jog for the park. Or. At least he hoped that was the park. Was that the right direction? Liam honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was running for an expertly painted mural on the side of a building.

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

It was true, things had been strange and a little unsettling since life started getting weird; shifting (and knowing he was shifting) was a relief after not knowing what was happening to him, but to be aware of the fact that he was changing into a wolf three times a month (he couldn't even use the term 'werewolf', cause it sounded so hokey) was just ridiculous, and then there were Liam's blackouts. Liam had done it twice now with violent results, and though Jamie was hoping that there was a logical reason for the blackouts and reactions, much like his own blackouts, there was the undeniable fact that Liam wasn't changing into anything except a murderous psychopath. It was definitely a strain on the relationship, whether Jamie played like nothing was happening, or not. He preferred to focus on the shifting thing, just because it was somehow safer and less horrible, and Liam remembered it, so it wasn't some unknown for his friend. Believe it or not, talking about that was more comfortable than the seemingly more 'human' problem of a mental illness, or whatever Liam was dealing with.

It was also a relief to know that the full moon was past them, and it would be quite some time before he had to do it all over again, even if the next full moon was drifting ever closer by the day. Just because Jamie preferred to talk about his own freaky condition over Liam's violent episodes didn't make him absolutely comfortable with the situation. Fortunately, going to classes and walking home together so that Liam wouldn't get hopelessly lost was a pretty normal thing for them, so at least he had that. His entire life hadn't turned itself on its head.

Naturally, that bit of normalcy had to be countered by something, right? The idea of rain that evening honestly wasn't that big of a surprise, and Jamie could have planned ahead for it with umbrellas or something at least if he'd actually thought about it, but he hadn't. It had been raining on and off all week, and he'd heard talk at work and school about the rain continuing for awhile, something about the water table and all that, but he'd never been really interested in news of any kind. He still sometimes forgot that when it rained enough, New York City turned into a shallow lake, which was relevant to his interests, and not in a good way. When Liam glanced up at the sky and mentioned beating the rain, Jamie's eyes flicked up and then across their surroundings, and there were already some very small puddles lingering from the night before; they weren't anything that would have caught his attention before, but how he wasn't so sure. Thunder? Maybe it wouldn't rain much, just something light.

Honestly, he wasn't afraid of rain or thunder. Those didn't matter in the slightest, and neither did lightning. Actually, he thought lightning was really cool. It was the puddles that formed at some of the corners in the city, and we're not talking little ones like kids like to stomp around in after the storm passes, but the crazy ones that you step into and you're in up to your calf. He didn't like water of any actual depth, and who could blame him? Liam gesturing to the park was fantastic for him once he realized that it was actually going to turn into a torrential downpour, even if he'd laughed and given his best friend a shove over the yanking of his hood over his head. "Thanks, mom. Let's go."

So they ran for the pavilion, and again, Liam was lucky that he wasn't alone out there or he probably would have gotten lost. Jamie grabbed his hand and took the lead as visibility dropped, splashing through the sudden little puddles that were appearing in their path. This was going to SUCK, so he was just going to have to try not to think about it. Damn it.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam liked the rain, to an extent. He liked it when they were safe indoor, away from those puddles that terrified Jamie so much. Sometimes, Liam would even sit near the window and just watch. There was something nice about the sound of the rain, drowning everything else out. It was also nice the way that it made the inside of the house seem quiet, and calm. Dark, even though the lights were on. It was often on these days that he and Jamie played board or tabletop games with hot chocolate nearby. The rain had nice memories for him. But it wasn't one of those days, because it was starting to come down on them.

He did laugh, however and wobble to the side when his friend pushed him and called him mom. It was a relief to still have those moments. At times, Liam thought whatever happened during his blackouts was beginning to destroy the friendship that he had with Jamie. And after so many years of being at Jamie's side, the idea of being without him was almost crippling. Liam had never had to be on his own, never had to stand on his own two legs, because Jamie was always right there with him, making sure that he was never alone. And when Jamie sent him off to get him out of a bad situation--Liam had Phoebe and Jen to lean on until Jamie was able to come for him. But that simple playful shove and the laugh was enough to give Liam hope that it wasn't completely destroyed. It gave him hope that they'd figure out what in the hell was happening, and that they'd be okay.

It was a rare thing for him to actually hold onto Jamie's hand. When they were kids, it was pretty normal for them. Liam couldn't recall the day he decided that holding onto Jamie's hand wasn't right--but it had to be probably about the time Mark started with the faggot comments. Liam would sometimes hold onto Jamie, but it was always his sleeve or his arm, and usually in jest. So, when Jamie took his tattooed hand in his and pulled Liam along--a slight feeling of electricity shot up his arm that only made him curl his fingers tighter around Jamie's hand. Admittedly--he was impressed. The wolf thing was helping with stamina, because Jamie would have tired out by now, but there they were. Two pairs of legs keeping up with each other and causing the water to splash up around them.

They finally hit the pavillion, and Liam used one hand to throw off his own hood that didn't seem to do too much for keeping him dry. He paused, and released Jamie's hand glancing at him before he shook out his wet hair, and used his hand to push it out of his face. "Okay, so who's going to take the 'stupid' title for not bringing the umbrella?" He asked with a smile. They both knew it had been raining a lot, but it never really crossed Liam's mind either to bring an umbrella. "Maybe if we both get sick, we bribe Amy with brownies to be our nurse." Liam waggled his eyebrows at Jamie, and snorted. The pavillion wasn't massively large, but it was big enough that a small group could gather under it. It was meant for parties and picnics. So, that was probably why Liam didn't notice the brown eyes watching from the far corner beneath the table.

He also didn't exactly he the low growl that was starting up, because it was drowned out by the rain. He turned slightly, and tried to peer out from under the pavillion at the sky. "How long do you think this'll go on for?"

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

For Liam to think that the events that took place during his blackouts was beginning to destroy their friendship was probably pretty accurate; Jamie was good at enduring abuse, but how long would it be before it became too much? How long before he couldn't take anymore, or Liam really just crossed the line? The first time, Jamie had been extremely upset, but he'd been willing to tell himself that it was an isolated incident and it would never happen again, but after the second time, he couldn't say that anymore. He couldn't blame Huntsley or tell himself that Liam had been drugged into some weird blackout (even though he'd never blacked out and found out he raged out on someone like that before, and he'd tried some shit), because Liam hadn't been seeing Huntsley and there was no way he could have been drugged. That didn't mean that Jamie didn't believe Liam when he claimed he didn't remember, but it also didn't stop him from being afraid. Actually, he was probably more afraid, because there didn't seem to be any actual regard for his life in Liam's mind when it happened, and there actually only seemed to be anger.

It made the period after the attacks awkward, since Liam's behavior went right back to normal, though Jamie would plow through it and then slowly feel better about the entire situation. By now, it had been long enough that they were over that awkward period and back to normal, which was saying something. Things hadn't really felt 'normal' for awhile.

This evening wasn't looking terrible, though that sudden ridiculous downpour really wasn't helping Jamie's mental state. He liked the rain just fine, but it was the flooding. When he pulled Liam along and got them underneath the pavillion for some shelter, he could look out past his dripping hair and soggy hood to the city beyond the rain, and there would definitely be some huge puddles, which sucked. Honestly, it wasn't even just 'puddles', but those big ones where little kids could float away, the ones that were kind of bathtub deep - yeah, it was a bathtub thing. Those were the kinds of puddles this rainstorm was going to leave if it went on for even ten minutes longer, damn it.

"Dude, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even think about it. How often do you actually see me with an umbrella?" he asked, smirking a little. Jamie wasn't the sort to really give a shit about umbrellas. He'd just walk in the rain and deal with getting wet. "We won't both get sick, cut that out. Maybe YOU will."

Yeah, Jamie didn't get sick that often, or for something as silly as walking in the rain, but Liam might. Liam did that thing where he'd walk around being sniffly and whining for a week about how shitty he felt, which Jamie figured was on the way. Whatever, he knew how to make chicken soup. "Hopefully not lo--what's that sound?"

He jerked towards the edge of the pavillion, pulling LIam away from the sound he'd heard and only then leaned forward a bit to sniff. Canine, definitely, though it didn't matter if he recognized the smell a second later, because the dog inched out from under the nearby picnic table, growling and with its hackles raised. Whether Jamie liked it or not, he smelled of wolf, which was a threat to this dog, and the dog was presenting itself as a threat to Jamie, whose eyes flooded amber as he growled right back, and not in his human voice. "Get back, Liam," he instructed, voice definitely not his own, as he pressed towards the dog a little, both to keep its attention on him instead of his friend and to try to push it back. If it wasn't positive that it wanted to fight for its place, then it would retreat.

It wanted to fight. There were a few more exchanged snarls and growls before the thing pounced at him, his hands reaching up to catch at it as it knocked him backwards, and it was in a mass of clothes, fur and rainwater that he shifted, shockingly quickly and with a minimal of pained cries as he wrestled with the dog across the wet grass.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

"Also true." Liam grinned. He didn't even dare comment about getting sick. Liam didn't get dreadfully sick very often, but the sniffles and sore throat could do him him. He usually managed to make himself pathetic enough that Jamie would make soup for him, or run out and get him more tissues because the toilet paper was rough on his nose. Liam ran his hands through his hair, trying to keep it from looking too flat from the rain, but he paused when Jamie mentioned a sound. He tried to listen, and was so focused on it, he was a bit slow to react when Jamie pulled him away.

Liam took a few steps back, but then he saw it. The dog creeping out from beneath the table like something from an obscene horror movie. All that was missing was blood dripping from its jowls; maybe a finger stuck between its teeth. Yet somehow, it was the dog that frightened him, and not the wolf that was close enough that their jackets kept brushing each others. "Jamie, Jamie we can go to another pavillion. Let's just go." Liam heard the change in his voice, he knew it well enough to know that there would be golden eyes to match the voice. Though his body had run cold, and the color drained from his face--he looked around. It was hard to see, which would be good should this all go to hell.

Each growl, each snarl that came from the dog made Liam jump and tense. There was a slight tremor that was starting to build up in his muscles, and as much as he wanted to take off running--he didn't want to leave Jamie behind. Liam glanced back just in time to see the furry wretch lunge at his Jamie, and a yell caught in his throat but he quickly ducked to the side and out of the way as man and dog went barreling backwards. Then, it wasn't a man anymore. It was wolf and dog. Even obscured by the rain, Liam could see the bigger one was Jamie. "Jamie!" He croacked--fuck everything about that. He wanted to yell. To call Jamie back, to find another spot. Just to go home, be safe.

Liam took a step out into the rain, warily. He shouldn't leave the pavillion, Jamie would come back for him. Otherwise he'd be lost to all hell, but he couldn't lose track of Jamie. There were multicolored bits in the ground that proved Jamie definitely hadn't stripped before he shifted. Liam had a really loud 'Duh' kind of moment, and had the situation been less dire, he would have rolled his eyes. Either way, when Jamie shifted back, he was going to be buck naked. How did the shifts like this work? Did he have to wait it out? Could he chose to come back? Either way, there was water, there were puddles, and it was not safe out there. Liam tried to follow the shape with his eyes, the rain clouding his vision while his heart hammered in his chest.

There was a small voice in the back of his head telling him to run. To get out. That Jamie would find him, but he needed to get as far away from the animals as possible. Liam looked over his shoulder with wide eyes, checking for another dog. He was no werewolf, he couldn't fend off another dog. Luckily, there was no second dog--but then he felt the same amount of dread when he looked back. He shouldn't have taken his eyes off of Jamie and the dog. Because now...now everything looked the same. He couldn't see them anymore, and every black mass seemed to shift and move with the rain. His eyes darted and swept frantically, straining to listen for the growls that he knew belonged to his Jamie. But all he heard was the relentless pour of the rain.

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Despite Liam's unhappiness with his own ability to shout loudly enough to feel as though he was heard over the rain, Jamie heard him. He couldn't really do anything about it while he was dealing with the dog, but he heard it and would have been able to find Liam through the rain if he needed to. His nose felt like it was all water and like all of the smells around him were being diluted and spread around, but then there were others that were made stronger; for someone who wasn't entirely used to it, it was a little disorienting, but he had instincts to help him along. Jamie didn't necessarily know these things, but a wolf did, and he wasn't all Jamie. There was more than enough wolf there to help him along, and Jamie didn't need to be human right then.

No, he needed to be a wolf, because this wasn't a small dog and it wasn't giving up and running away quite as easily as he'd have guessed it might, possibly because he smelled a bit like human, as well. For most dogs, the smell of wolf was suspicious and threatening enough to back off, but human didn't always come across as dangerous; this dog had probably been a pet at some point in its life. Obviously, that didn't matter at all at this moment, since it didn't regard humans in a manner that was friendly enough to keep it from coming at them. The two wet, furry bodies were tangled in a battle of snapping, tearing teeth through the puddles and falling rain, parting only long enough for increased snarls and growls and then jumping at each other again.

The beginning of the end came when Jamie's opponent hit him just right and knocked them both into one of those massive puddles at the streetcorners, dropping them into it with Jamie on the bottom and effectively throwing him into at least seven inches of dirty rainwater. Considering his usual trauma about drowning (and perhaps some deep trauma his inner wolf also harbored), this prompted panic in the form of sudden, intense scrambling and attempts at more snarls and cries, which the other canine wasn't expecting. Jamie shoved him off, rolling onto his feet, and came at him hard and fast enough that the animal actually backed off, not sure where the unexpected fury had come from. Without thinking, Jamie darted out of the water after the dog, intending to completely chase it away from his Liam-human, and the animal was incredibly lucky in getting missed by the car that tried to stop suddenly because of the 'dogs' running across the road.

Jamie wasn't.

The hydroplaning vehicle slid onto the sidewalk with its driver's loss of control, and the human inside was damn lucky that there weren't any people out on that area of the sidewalk who hadn't taken cover from the rain. There was only Jamie, who might have avoided the car if it hadn't ended on the sidewalk. His saving grace would be that it was in the process of stopping and he was hauling ass, because the front bumper caught him in the hip and his back right leg and his momentum carried him further onto the sidewalk while the car shoved him away instead of under its tires as it stopped.

Naturally, he yelped loudly enough that it could have been labeled a scream, coming to a stop a few feet away and at a diagonal from the vehicle, breathing hard and with his amber eyes wide enough that the whites were visible. He might have been better off staying still, but instead, he crawled back to his feet with an appropriate amount of pained whimpers and then a few sharper cries so that he could hobble away. The driver was getting out of the car, and he didn't want to be there when the man came at him. On his...cellphone. Wonderful.

"Fuck, FUCK. I just hit a dog. I don't know, it darted in the road and it's fucking raining! I slid, I think it's hurt. I gotta call you back," the man shouted over the rain, cursing some more and shoving the phone in his pocket before carefully approaching Jamie, who really wanted nothing to do with it. He probably looked pretty pathetic with the way he was leaning to favor the back right leg, drenched down to his skin despite the fantastic undercoat he had because of the fall into the puddle, but he didn't care. He whined at the thought of this stranger getting near him, then growled a little, trying to warn him off as he tried to hobble away. He just didn't seem to be fast enough, since the man matched his movements.

"Come on, I know it hurts, let me see how bad it is," the man said, obviously trying to be cool about it, which he deserved props for, since Jamie had just growled and his growls weren't terribly friendly. Jamie himself glanced back at his wounds when the man said it, reaching to lick at a gash from the bumper, then flicking his eyes back to the man at his approach and growling a little deeper. Please, please go away.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Was this how a dog felt when it was told to sit and stay? Liam couldn't go rushing out into the rain, because he had to wait for Jamie. But he wanted to rush out anyway, so he knew where Jamie was. Was he okay? Was that dog rabid? Could Jamie even catch rabies? Each second that ticked by felt like forever, and Liam just held his ground. He couldn't sit, he couldn't move. He was still straining to listen and see. However, a sound finally did rip through the air. A scream, but something animalistic, something primal. He knew that voice, if you could call it a voice. Liam could have picked Jamie's howls, barks, growls, whimpers, and whines out of a lineup. That scream was Jamie's. "JAMIE!!" Oh, now his voice allowed him to scream.

Before he even fully followed his own train of though, he was tearing through the park and the trees. He was off the path, but he was crashing through puddles following the whimpers and cries that seemed to stab his heart each time he heard one. Liam didn't full out run very often anymore, but he was glad that he still had that strength in his short legs. That speed that let his small body feel like it was flying through the air and the rain. He came skidding to a stop when he saw the wreckage. He felt cold, much colder than he had before. His eyes first looked under the tires, but there was no fur. "No, no, no, no..." His voice trailed when he heard the words on the other side of the car, and Liam jogged to the other side where he saw the familiar shape of Jamie.

"Stay away from him!" Liam's voice came out louder, sharper than he had intended. His hands were up at the man, and he then turned his eyes down to Jamie, and brushed past the man to approach Jamie, not taking a second's care for the growls. "Jamie, you dumbass. You can't scare me like that." He murmured, and tangled his fingers in the scruff of fur on his neck, just below his ears. His eyes slid along Jamie, and he paled again when he saw the gash in his leg, and fully took in the way Jamie was holding himself. Quickly, Liam shrugged off his soaked hoodie, and gently pressed it against the wound to staunch the bleeding and give it some cool relief from the cold, wet fabric. "Shoulda grabbed a scrap. Coulda made you a fancy leg tourniquet." Liam smiled, though it made him feel a little sick. He gently pulled back the hoodie, leaning in closer to the leg to get a better look at it now that he had cleared up some of the blood too.

His head turned, his fingers returning to Jamie's wet fur. He stared at the man with a stony face. Part of him wanted to last out, call this guy a complete idiot. But he didn't know how the guy would react, and Jamie was in no position to get all protective over him. Liam's jaw shifted from side to side, "We live up the street. Is your car okay? Can you give us a ride back home? I don't want him walking on it, or he might bleed more." Liam asked stiffly. He didn't want to be friendly to this person. Adreneline was still pumping through his veins, making him cold, making him shiver and shake. Everything was sharp, and clear. He wasn't allowing himself to realize that had Jamie been any slower, or had that car been any faster he--no. Liam kept his train of thoughts away from that.

This...this wasn't a good injury, but it wasn't life threatening. Not with the way Jamie healed. Liam just had to get him home and relaxed. Cleaned up and dried off. It wasn't going to be fun, but he wouldn't have to take him to the hospital. When he shited back, would the gash still be there? Was there more to the injury? Liam stared back up at the man who had been driving, expectantly. If the guy refused, Liam was going to take his chances, and rip this guy a new ass.

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

No, go away, don't touch me, go away.

The man from the car didn't seem to understand that Jamie really didn't want him to get close, but it didn't help Jamie's case that he'd lick at the bleeding wound and whimper, then growl some at the guy when he tried to get closer, and the human WAS just trying to help him, which perhaps made Jamie less aggressive in trying to fend him off. The man smelled like he was scared, but didn't seem angry or mean, which was nice. He'd just had a fright with the car wreck and hitting a big dog, that's all. Understandable to be a little scared. Jamie was pretty scared, too.

Hearing Liam approach almost upset Jamie more, just because his brain was in wounded wolf mode instead of focusing too strongly on the human stuff. He was hurt and he wanted to get away from people and the attention so that he could clean it and rest it, but now there were two people, and when he growled at the new man's approach, the human just called him a dumbass and curled his hands into Jamie's wet fur, which wasn't terrible. The wolf sniffed at this human and it all clicked back into focus, causing him to whine low in his throat at having someone safe and so very necessary present now, when he needed that so badly. Just because he needed Liam there didn't mean that he was totally into all of Liam's ideas, though.

He yelped a little and reached around to bite at the hoodie when Liam pressed it to the wound and caused a sharp pain on contact, careful not to get anywhere near Liam's hands or to bite too hard, but he tugged at it, wanting it away, and whimpered to get his point across. It hurt and he didn't want it touched. Really. All he wanted was a corner to lay down in so that he could lick at it and wait for it to feel better. He wasn't asking for much. He also really didn't want to get into the car that had hit him, to be honest; Liam turned to ask the guy on scene for a ride and Jamie growled a little, drawing himself together and limping away a few steps like he was going to prove that he could. They weren't that far from home, were they? He'd kind of lost track fighting with the dog and it was still pouring, so his sense of smell was still off, but he didn't think they were far. He just wanted to go home.

He glanced back at Liam and whined again, like he could really tell his friend not to stress it, that he could walk and they should go, but he was all about just getting on with this. Why would he wanna fight with jumping up onto a car seat when his back leg was all jacked up? He was too big for the floor, so he was either going to have to squeeze in there or climb up onto the seat, and screw that. Besides, the guy from the car didn't look too keen on having a drenched dog crawl into his car, anyway.

"Um. Yeah, I guess. I mean, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit your dog, but you should keep it on a leash or something so it doesn't run in the road, you know? Is it...okay to give you a ride? Your dog looks like it's going with or without you," the guy pointed out, and though Jamie didn't appreciate the 'it' portion of that whole thing, he didn't blame the man. Yeah, he'd walk, let that guy go home to whoever he'd been on the phone with, Jamie didn't care.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

"C'mon, cut it out. I'm trying to make sure you don't bleed all over the place." He muttered, trying to nudge Jamie's head away from the hoodie that he wrapped around the wound; only to release an exasperated sigh when he watched the hoodie losen up then drop away. Liam also picked up on the little sounds that Jamie made after he spoke. Like his friend was trying to talk, but the vocal chords and lips were all wrong for the point that Jamie was trying to get across. He rubbed his own face, and watched as Jamie took a few limping steps away. Jesus Christ on a toasted bagel, even in wolf form his best friend was a stubborn mule. Speaking of which...weremule--that'd be an idea to sell to Stephanie Meyer.

Either way, Liam scrambled to his feet, wanting to protest the fact that Jamie was not infact a dog. However, that probably would help the situation, and he crossed his arms as the man spoke, and only narrowed his eyes. "He's not an it. Pay more fucking attention to the road next time." Either way, he wasn't going to wrestle a wolf into doing something it obviously didn't want to do. Especially that wolf being Jamie. Sure, he'd kick up a fuss if Jamie was doing something bad for his health, but ultimately--Jamie would get his way if he didn't cave. Liam jogged to catch up with Jamie and followed him with a slow pace, looking down at him, constantly checking his back leg and the way he walked on it.

"Don't push yourself, man. If you need to stop for a break, take it, okay?" In his head he was already running through senarios, trying to figure out what he should do. He could nurse human wounds; he'd done enough of it. Between soccer injuries, and some of the crap he and Jamie would have to show for their home life--he'd gotten pretty good at knowing what needed ice, what needed bandaids, and what would be fixed with a kiss and a candy. This however, was completely different. Animal bone structers were different, and he couldn't figure out what he could do to help Jamie--if there was anything to help him at all.

Between pauses, and weird moments of seeing Jamie lick his wound, they did manage to make it back to the apartment. Each second had Liam worrying about infection and wondering how bad Jamie's leg really was. Once inside, he rushed to the hallway to pull out a few towels to lay on the floor for Jamie to lay on. "Lay on the towels so there doesn't get blood on the carpet. I'll get a wrap...or something." He couldn't put antibiotic on it in case Jamie did start to lick it. He couldn't wrap it--because apparently Jamie had a problem with it. After laying out the towels, he went back for some of the more fluffy towels, and wandered back into the livingroom to start drying Jamie off. Getting a cold ontop of a leg injury was just not in his plans.

"Thank you." He finally managed, looking at Jamie with the fluffy towels in hand, his own hair still dripping around his face. He was so preoccupied with making sure Jamie was okay, that he hadn't done more than toss his wet hoodie into the kitchen sink. His clothes were getting cold, and sticking to his body in that really uncomfortable sort of way. And yet, he didn't take complete notice to them while he approached Jamie with the towels. "For protecting me against that dog, you know?" His face scrunched and twisted as he started to kneel by his friend. "I'm shit at these sort of things, but I'm sorry you got hurt."

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

The walk back to their apartment was terrible, and though Jamie would never have complained while they were en route (even if he could have), he might admit it later on, when the danger had fully passed. As it was, he just kept on trucking along, but it was a tough walk that was made more difficult by the fact that every damn step hurt, his adrenaline was still pumping and he had to fight wolf instincts with human logic. The wolf saw no reason to be wandering around in the rain on an injury and simply wanted to find a dry place to wait out the storm and rest up, while the human understood that going home was important and the safest way to go. Logically, human!Jamie knew that he was going to shift back eventually, he had to because that was how this whole thing worked, right? He'd never shifted without the moon, but he always went back to being human at the end and he would this time, too. He wanted to be home when he did that, not naked and out in the rain with an injury. Going home was the right choice, but he still had to fight for it. The wolf didn't like having people nearby because it was weak and hurt, and it didn't like being out in the open. Human and wolf mind were in agreement with getting home as fast as possible, but that was more difficult than it sounded, since his pace was pretty slow. All around, he was frustrated, hurt, cold, wet and scared, and that meant unhappy.

Not being a fan of the entrance to their apartment building, as he'd displayed on a few occasions by this point, wasn't helping. He rested outside in the rain rather than walking inside to stop, because he hated that doorway and opening hallway. He wanted nothing to do with it, or the elevator that reeked of people, but as long as human!Jamie was winning the fight for at least partial control, he could catch his bearings again and push himself along. It just took some effort, and he kept losing it again at seemingly random points; a spike of pain, sharp noise or even an unexpected word or touch from Liam trying to be comforting would startle him back into wolf mode for a few minutes, sometimes causing him to stop to tend to his hurts and re-evaluate why he was still walking and not hiding somewhere. The best thing in the world was when he actually got into the apartment.

It smelled of him and Liam, which was absolutely perfect for his current comfort needs, and it was safe, he knew it was. Liam was talking and he was half-listening, enough that he crawled onto the dry towels Liam laid out for him, but he still felt exposed and vulnerable, which wasn't cool. There was the coffee table and the kitchen table, even chairs and somewhere else in the house, beds that he could crawl under to be safer. It would be hard for anything to get at him if he was under something, so his weak leg wouldn't hamper him so badly, right? Right, but he couldn't go anywhere with Liam standing there and getting all up in his face with the towels, words leaving his lips that Jamie had to blink at and actually pay attention to if he wanted to catch. Gratitude, apologies, stuff that Jamie didn't want to talk about, anyway.

Yeah, Jamie didn't really require thanks or sorrys about this. It was done, he'd been slow, and he'd get over it, could he curl up under the bed now? He grumbled and whined a little at Liam, which could have just as easily sounded like a reaction to the thanks and apology as a plea to get the hell out of the open, but it didn't matter what it was because Liam was all about rubbing him down with the towels, possibly as a way to stay busy while he tried to figure out what to do about the injury. Jamie didn't have any better ideas, except to keep licking at it as it bled so that the dirty rainwater wouldn't get into it and it wouldn't get all caught in his fur and attract bugs or infection. He had to keep it clean, and it would get better.

Right. It would get better.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Getting home was step one, trying to figure out what was going on with Jamie’s shift was step two. After toweling off the water the best he could, Liam stood up and looked down at Jamie. “I really wish I could understand you a bit better like this.” He murmured, then walked over to the chairs at the dining room table and draped the towels over it to dry. He’d never known Jamie to shift without the moon telling him to. So this was new for him, possibly a little more stressful to Jamie, however. Though, he wouldn’t actually be able to tell until Jamie could speak. When Jamie went back to being human, he could help the injury a bit more, since it was unlikely that human Jamie would try and lick his own wound. If he could even reach it. Plus—Liam would be able to see the severity of it a little better.

Liam was suddenly aware of exactly how cold he was. It took him stepping into the kitchen to realize his clothes were still wet, and he paused for a moment. Try and make some food, or dry clothes? It was ridiculous that that was even an argument, but after a few moments of debate, Liam tugged the wet shirt over his head and wandered down the hall to his room. Struggling with the heavy wet material, he managed to change into a warm, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of plaid pants. Draping the wet clothes in the tub, he went back to the kitchen and tried to think of what to make.

He discovered that he was having trouble trying to think of what to do other than worry about Jamie. Would he have to go to the hospital? Would it effect his shift somehow? Were his hips or legs messed up? Liam’s hand went to his mouth while he leaned on the counter. The ticking of the clock on the counter seemed much louder than it really was; silence sitting heavily on his shoulders. He had gotten use to the sounds of wolf-Jamie. Silence was never this bad, but when he was waiting, nervous, and worried—silence seemed to be the last thing that he needed. He rubbed his face, and glanced over the little bar towards where he had piled the blankets. How long would it take Jamie to shift back? And if it was as long as a regular night…..this was about to be a really, really long night.

Maybe he could teach wolf-Jamie to play Munchkin, or Red Dead to keep him from licking the wound.

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Liam wished? Jamie would have loved for Liam to be able to understand him, or at least, part of him would have loved that. The other part, which was actually the more human, smart and calm part, was just fine with Liam not knowing that he couldn't keep a grip on himself. He didn't like that he kept slipping, only barely getting control again before doing something silly like disappearing and crawling under the bed, and Liam's decision to give him space wasn't actually helping right then. If Liam had treated him like a dog, he'd have been better off without the interaction, but Liam hadn't been since he'd gotten hurt; being left to his own devices left him slipping back and forth, which he wasn't a fan of. Of course, playing Munchkin or Red Dead had the same problems as doorknobs - no opposable thumbs, or it might have helped to try getting him to play something.

Liam checked on him here and there, and he'd stop licking at it or poking at it when the human attention started, like some part of his brain realized that he shouldn't do that and he felt a little guilty, but a few minutes after Liam walked away, he'd go right back to doing it the wolf way. It got bad enough that when Liam took a little longer between checking on him, he actually got up, limped his way into Liam's room and wriggled his way under the bed. Why Liam's? Because there was more space under the bed than in his room, duh. He didn't want to get stuck, but it felt more secure, like nothing could get at him there. Out in the open, he just felt exposed. It probably upset Liam to find him missing, but his friend eventually found him there, shined a flashlight in (possibly to make sure he hadn't died or something) and then basically left him to his thing. He kept licking at the wound even in the closer quarters, mostly because it started bleeding again, but he did relax a little down there.

The problem was when he shift back started. He'd actually fallen asleep, which made the whole thing more disorienting, but it may have helped in this case, since the shift back seemed to be quicker and less horrific (or he was getting used to it), so he didn't flail around as much as he had in the past a few times, nor would he have been quite as loud if not for the way his injuries felt like they were being torn and pulled; if he'd had stitches, he would have bet they'd be all ripped out, and though he couldn't see it when he was finally human and stuck under the bed, it felt wet and he wouldn't have been surprised if it was bleeding worse. Great.

Even better was the the first thing he had to manage was crawling out from under the bed. "What the fuck am I doing under the bed?" he grumbled to himself, though he remembered doing it, just not really his motivations. The brainwaves on that one felt kind of fuzzy, even if the action didn't. He was a genius, that's all.

Well, this genius needed some clothes...or something. Once he was out from under the bed, the sharp smell of blood was less all-encompassing from being in a confined space, but it was still strong and fresh. The lights were off, but his eyes were adapted well enough that sitting on the floor and trying to get a look at what was wrong with his hip and thigh all the way down to his knee was at least partially successful. He could mostly see it, and it wasn't awesome. Yeah, he needed clothes, and some serious bandaids.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam tried his best to keep himself budy with straightening up the house and trying to fix up dinner for when Jamie shifted back. If he could even eat. But even still, he was mostly to keep himself busy so he didn't attempt to crawl over to Jamie and curl up with him. Liam sort of liked the feel of Jamie's fur, and even though it had that animal musk--there was that comforting scent just beneath that that felt like home. But Jamie possibly needed space with his leg like that, so Liam did his best to give it to him. However, when he went to check on Jamie again, he paused at the empty towels.

"Oh.....kay..." He said slowly, and blinked, before peeking under the table. Nope, not there. Liam glanced into the kitchen as he passed the hall. Not there either, and not in the bathroom. Jamie's room, duh. Liam wanted to smack himself on the forehead, and he went in and glanced around. Under the bed, in the closet, and under the bed again. Liam sat on the edge of Jamie's bed, his brows furrowed. "Huh..." Well shit. Liam had done the ultimate. He had just lost a wolf. In a two bedroom apartment. How the fuck did that even happen? Liam wandered back to the livingroom, wondering if he missed Jamie somehow. He grabbed the flashlight, about to go out to the balcony, when he stopped. There was one place he hadn't checked.

Liam wandered into his own bedroom, the door squeaking slightly when he pushed it open and clicked on the flashlight. Slowly, he lowered to his knees and shined the flashlight beneath the bed and almost jumped when Jamie'seyes reflected the light. "Hey, man. You had me worried for a second. If you get hungry just bark, okay?" Liam wasn't about to reach under the bed. He was pretty certain that Jamie wouldn't bit him, but he was hurt and he was taking refuge somewhere where it felt safe. Liam wasn't about to intrude on that. He did lay there for a moment watching him, before standing back up andwandering back to the livinroom.

He left Jamie alone in the room until he heard the sounds of Jamie shifting back. They sounded even more agonized than usual, and it had Liam leaping over the arm of the couch. He had a few minutes, so he quickly ducked into Jamie's room and grabbed another towel, a pair of pants and boxers, then snatched a t-shirt off the dresser and stepped into his room and turned on the light. "You crawled under there." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, before really taking in Jamie. He was less flustered seeing Jamie naked now, since he'd been seeing it pretty regularly with the shifts. But what made him pale was the wound stretching down his hip. "Holy shit." Liam set the clothes down on the bed and stared at the wound. "Here, use the towel to cover up, but don't put the clothes on yet. Lay on the bed, wound out." Liam backed up and hurried out of the room.

There were a few loud bangs and rustling, before Liam came back into the bedroom with a small box and a few rags and he took a seat ont he ground at the edge of the bed. He snapped open the box, and started to lay out the alcohol, Neosporin, and several packages of gauze on the bed, and sighed. "What exactly do you remember?" He asked quietly, glancing towards Jamie's face. Liam was in doctor-mode, which allowed him to have a strange relaxing calm settle over him. He was focused on getting the wound cleaned up so he could see how bad it was, instead of being flustered that this could be a rather embarassing sort of senario had it been anything less severe.

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Honestly, Jamie had absolutely no interest in dinner, nor did it even occur to him that he should, when he shifted back. It was true that it was dinnertime and he was usually all about it, but he'd been slowly getting used to the whole 'not eating meals on time' deal from working as Maggie's personal assistant. It hadn't been long, and he was already getting more accustomed to the lack of a solid schedule that she offered; her promise that no day would be the same as the one before had been true, and there was no denying that the excitement after classes had been enough to distract from any appetite he may have had. Liam needing something to keep himself busy made more sense than Jamie actually wanting to eat.

Liam's fondness for the feel of Jamie's fur also made sense, if one thought about it. For whatever reason, when he (and any of the other shifters, he was certain) returned to wolf form each time, his fur grew all over again, so it was soft, clean and fluffy instead of coarse and 'used'. If Cruella DeVille could have figured out a way to keep them in wolf form even after death, she'd have loved that fur, possibly even more than Liam, though Jamie could understand if Liam had other reasons for loving it besides the fact that it was soft and fluffy. He personally didn't know this, having never felt his own fur from any perspective except being the one wearing it, but he knew that Liam was comfortable with him, and that was definitely preferred. He didn't want Liam to be afraid or nervous, and if soft, fluffy fur helped with that, he was all about it.

Except right now. Right now, he didn't care anything about fur because he was all kinds of focused on the fact that he hurt. Being naked didn't even really bother him anymore, not after Liam and Amy, not to mention the number of one-night stands he'd had, but Liam's discomfort usually made him more careful about it. This time, he didn't hardly care because there were more important things to worry about, like the ugly cuts and gash running down his thigh, and the ridiculous bruising going on. He hadn't been able to see the latter until Liam turned the light on, he flinched and closed his eyes, and then let them adjust to the change in brightness. Now, he was reconsidering his former belief that it wasn't all that terrible. It looked nasty.

Well, here were the instructions. He was getting good enough at those from Maggie that he actually didn't fight with Liam about following them, instead pulling himself onto the bed with a few winces as he used the leg that was all beat to hell. He even refrained from saying anything snarky to Liam's 'duh' answer to his rhetorical question about how he'd gotten under the bed, and that was an even bigger accomplishment. He was all kinds of successful tonight, but failure was in his future, because his mood just wasn't good enough to keep him from being short and pissy at all. Like, laying on the bed, wound facing out? Yeah, he didn't comment, but wasn't that pretty self-explanatory? He didn't want to lay on it.

No, he was just being bitchy because he was hurt and cranky, and now Liam had to poke and prod at it.

He covered up because Liam asked him to, but it felt more awkward and stupid to do that than it did to just be there, but whatever. Considering the location of the injury, it wasn't like he could even put underwear on until something was done with it. Fucking hell. Liam returned with alcohol, neosporin and gauze, and Jamie couldn't help narrowing his eyes suspiciously. What did he remember? "Screeching tires. You don't honestly think you're putting that alcohol on my open wound, do you?" he asked, sitting up enough to potentially be able to fight this decision if he had to. Alcohol was going to hurt like a mother, and it already hurt. Yeah, fuck that shit.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

It was almost like a sixth-sense, the best-friend connection at its highest. Liam was easily feeling Jamie’s irritation, but he didn’t give any sign of giving in or catering to it. “Look, I’m trying to make sure you remember what happened so I could fill you in, in case you didn’t remember because that’s the first time that you shifted without the moon.” Liam frowned at him, opening the bottle of alcohol and taking one of the rags and placing it over the top, putting some alcohol on it. “And I’m put putting it on the deep gashes, but I’m putting it on the edges and the smaller cuts to make sure it doesn’t get infected. Plus, you kept licking at it before, I dunno if your wolfy saliva is good on a human wound.”

Liam rolled his eyes, and gently placed his right hand on Jamie’s leg, doing his best to gently hold it still, though it was mostly for his own balance while he leaned in, “Deep breath in.” He murmured while gently dabbing at the wound to clear the blood away. “You’re lucky you’ve got that healing thing on your side. If you healed at a human pace, you’d need stitches for this.” Liam had a different tone into his voice, something gentle, focused. He used a dry rag to gently press at the wound, grasping his knee a little firmer to keep him from jerking away. “I think that maybe by tomorrow evening it won’t be quite so deep looking. Which means you need to not move this leg until then. You risk tearing it.” He pulled the rag back to examine the wound again, setting it on top of the alcohol rag.

He pulled out a few cotton balls, and put some Neosporin on it, then started to carefully dab and layer it over the wound. “Which means if you’re going to be on the computer, you can’t have the wound bent. If you’re playing games, you can’t have the wound bent. Anything that could tear it will make it more painful. At least until it scabs over.” Liam instructed while he laid the gauze pads over the wound, using the gauze-tape to gently tape it in place. “And don’t be stubborn about it, okay?” He sighed and sat back , looking at his gauze-covered friend. “You had me really scared. Did the other dog get you badly enough that I need to look at it?” He then lowered his eyes, staring down at his hands, “You can get dressed now, by the way. Do you need—do you need help? It’s okay to ask for help right now.” In all honesty, Liam would have liked if Jamie asked for help. It would let Liam know exactly how badly that Jamie was hurt, instead of knowing that his friend was putting up a front to seem tougher.