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(gosh it was so hard to verbalize this response the way I Imagined it)
Slash was transfixed by her actions, and it quickly became clear that he was very weirded-out by the whole ordeal. He stiffened, growling slightly. He didn't change form, but the back of his jacket somehow became fur and he raised his hackles at her. It seemed to take all of his willpower not to pull away from the needle and bare his teeth.
Charlotte paid no heed to his strange behaviour, focusing all her attention on her work. She was halfway done, stitching as quick as she could without hurting Slash more than she needed to. She stitched and stitched and then finally snapped the end of the thread off, knotting whatever was left.
Charlotte let out a shaky breath, falling back on her hands.
Slash instantly jerked back as well, staring at his mended arm with something like outrage. He started scooting away into the undergrowth, but Rick stopped him with a stern look. "Hey. What did I say about thankin' her?"
Slash paused. "….Thanks. For….fixing my arm."
Charlotte nodded silently, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. She chucked all the equipment back into the kit and snapped it shut.
Rick leaned back against the trunk of a tree. "Well, now that both the kids are taken care of–" Slash shot him a glare but he ignored it. "–we really do have to sit and wait a while. You hungry, Charlotte? I think it's a little past lunch time."
She nodded, returning to Jessie's side. "I dried some of that deer meat," she suggested.
"Well that sounds good. Want some, Slash?"
Slash hesitated, then sighed. "I guess. Lemme know when you need me to go hunting again."
"Will do," Charlotte mumbled distractedly, checking Jessie's pulse. It was evening out, which meant she'd be waking up soon; she told the boys as much.
Rick nodded, passing her some food. "I'll warm up some broth in case she's hungry. Slash, maybe you should stay back a bit so you don't startle her, okay?"
Slash frowned. "Why would she be scared of me?"
"Well, I didn't say scared. She just, uh…might need some space, is all."
"Fine…..I wanna see her when she's awake though." He stumped over to a patch of trees and curled up underneath them. "I'll be over here."
After a minute or two, Jessie's eyelids started to flutter. Biting her lip, Charlotte took the girl's hand, and Jessie tightened her hold on Charlotte's fingers. Her mouth opened.
"Charlotte?" Only a whisper, barely enough for Charlotte to hear. But it was enough and, teary-eyed, Charlotte's somber face broke into a smile.
Jessie's eyes properly opened, shining bright blue in the sunlight, and she immediately spotted Charlotte leaning over her. She smiled too, tiredly, and pulled her Mentor into a hug.
Rick watched with a smile, stirring the broth quietly and staying silent to give them some semblance of privacy. He was relieved to see that the girl seemed all right, and felt greatly encouraged by their victory, though it might be small in the long run.
(I'll be off at work today, seeya when I seeya!)
(Sorry!! School’s started now so my timetable might go weird)
Charlotte pulled away from Jessie, gently setting her down on the grass. Judging by her unfocused gaze and slightly slurred words, she was indeed drugged. Her eyes were already drifting shut again.
“Is that ready?” Charlotte asked quietly, trying not to startle her.
(It's okay ^^ I have to work again this morning so I won't really be around until this afternoon)
"Just about." Rick fished a metal bowl out of his backpack and filled it with the broth, nesting it in a piece of cloth before passing it over so nobody would get burned. "You want some too, Charlotte?"
(Okay!)
She took the bowl, shaking Jessie awake with her free hand. "Have something to eat before drifting off again," Charlotte breathed, and the girl nodded and sat up against a rock. Charlotte handed her the bowl and let her be for a moment, turning to face Rick again and smiling in assent.
Rick gave her a second helping of broth, then took one for himself. "Slash, you want some?"
Slash shook his head, so deep in the foliage by now that only his ears and eyes were visible. "What's wrong with her?" he asked quietly. "Why is she acting all weird like that?"
"She's drugged, some sort of herb concoction probably. We have to try and dilute it, or just wait until it's been flushed out of her system. I don't get though…" She paused. "Why she's healthy. I mean, other than some cuts and bruises. He could've done so much worse…" She told them, trailing off distractedly as she watched Jessie sip at the broth.
Rick nodded. "Seems like we got lucky in a lot of ways. Maybe once we reach our destination, we'll find out some answers."
Slash had cautiously poked his muzzle out of the bushes and was sniffing around with great care. "Can I come out yet?" he whispered.
Charlotte looked over and, with an uncharacteristic gentle smile, nodded. She sipped at her soup, and Jessie noticed the animal crawling forward. She let out a quiet squeak and shuffled closer to Charlotte.
The latter wrapped her arms around the girl. "He's only a teenager. He can't do anything, and besides he's one of ours. You don't have to worry."
Slash stepped slowly closer, his bright green eyes glittering in the light from the fire and from the afternoon sun leaking through the trees. Pausing a couple feet away from Charlotte and Jessie, he sat up on his hind legs and stared down at the younger girl with great curiosity.
"Uh…..hi," he rumbled after a minute, his ears flicking back and forth.
Jessie stares back in silence, still and cautious. "Name," she orders sharply, using the military techniques she always reverted to when in strange situaitons.
Slash gave a little whuff–maybe from surprise, maybe from annoyance. "I'm Slash. You're….Jessie, I guess? I'm one of the people that saved you."
Charlotte confirmed it with a hand on Jessie’s shoulder, and the latter visibly relaxed. “Okay.” She fell back onto the rock, eyes wide open and staring up at the sky.
A pause. “How did you find me?l”
Slash straightened, looking very self-satisfied. "That was all me. I found your scent trail and tracked you down, it was easy."
Rick cleared his throat. "Well, and also we kinda knew to look for you at all because of some info I found. Hi, by the way, I'm Rick. Charlotte hired me to help out with all this."
Jessie narrowed her eyes. "All this?"
She was looking over at Charlotte, who bent her head, loose strands of hair falling in front of her face in a curtain.
"Axel has the other two." That's all that was needed. Jessie's face sobered and she curled up tighter around herself.
Rick took the hint and sat back to give them some privacy. Slash didn't, however. After a minute he shifted into human form and sat cross-legged nearby, still seeming quite curious about the younger girl. "Wait…what other two? You guys never actually told me where you were going when I joined."
(Hey! Heads up, I have to be gone until Sunday starting tomorrow :( )
Jessie trained her intense stare on Charlotte's face, searching for more information. Charlotte sucked in a breath through her teeth. "My kids, Jessie's siblings. We're rescuing them. Put simply, that's it."
(Aww! Okay, have a nice week!)
"Who are we rescuing them from?" Slash asked, still a bit puzzled.
"Guy called Axel," Rick explained to the Deorn. "Not a very friendly feller. You might be able to help us fight him, if things come to that."
Slash nodded. "Okay."
"On that note," Rick continued, "Why don't you go out and do a little scoutin' to make sure those gypsies ain't around anymore? Don't report back until you've really checked."
Slash looked happy to have something to do, and quickly trotted out of sight. Once he was gone, Rick leaned back again with a relieved sigh. It wasn't that Slash annoyed him–it just seemed impossible to think his own thoughts when the Deorn was around and in a curious mood. Besides, he really did want Jessie to have more time to absorb her situation, and for her to have some peace and quiet together with Charlotte.
(I'm back!)
"No," Jessie breathed, closed eyes cast down. "Not him again, please."
No one was sure who she was talking to.
"Are we sure Tessa and Henry are alive, Lot?" she whispered. Charlotte's shoulders caved at the nickname.
"No."
(heyyy fam, good to see ya! XD)
"Either way," Rick said softly, "If we have a chance to take care of this enemy of yours once and for all, I think we should try. He's caused you all more than enough grief, seems to me."