bait_backup | So I will walk through the fire, 'cause where else can I turn?

Entry tags:

So I will walk through the fire, 'cause where else can I turn?

*They have put up tents half a mile from a werewolf camp. It's probably the most idiotic thing Fabian has done in years, which is truly saying something, but Alice was right - all they can do is use this opportunity to try and get to the bottom of things for the Order, even if the Ministry is barking up a seriously wrong, cannibalistic tree. Greyback's folks are a problem either way. Fabian isn't happy about being here - there'd been another uncharacteristically serious conversation with Gideon this morning, and a goodbye that'd hedged on a little too final - but if they're here, they're here. He's going to do a good job of this even if Umbridge is a sadistic cow.

So. They're going to make this work. He's left Sirius and Alice to finish setting up camp while he goes to get water from the nearby river, which he's just now coming back with. They're a few miles from the village of Halkirk, but if they can stay out of the Muggles' notice, that'd be best all around. They've got a few hours left to nightfall and, Fabian's hoping, they can maybe get some poking around done before dark. As he re-appears up the hill levitating about five buckets of water with him, he flashes the pair of them a smile that's nearly up to his usual standards.*

Everything coming together alright?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

*He knows this routine too well. Not from this, of course, but from any kind of stealth operation - the rising tension, coming face to face with nothing, and the adrenaline rush of let-down when you're left tense, giddy. Nothing here, but that doesn't mean it's clear. Not by a long stretch. With a soft 'huh' noise, Fabian presses on - too far ahead of the others, not paying attention to the growing gap between them, and starts a slow systematic investigation of each tent he comes to.*

*Alice watches Sirius and Fabian's movements, while revolving to watch for an ambush. From her position at the firepit she can watch the trees and her friends.

A wind rustles the trees, and she almost Stupefies the leaves.*

*The closest thing to "pets" to be found in the camp is an ant farm. Plastic and muggle, the cross section reveals tunnels crammed with ant carcasses. Where it originated, of course, is an unpleasant query to answer.

Near Alice's station, a flock of small birds suddenly take flight from the canopy of the forest, soaring over the clearing and into the distance. The sound of their wings failing to mask a breaking twig. It seems almost a purposeful attempt to catch her attention.*

*It works. Fabian should know better - he does know better - but reflex is hard to squash sometimes, and he pivots automatically, wand raised toward the sound of the birds.*

*Sirius twitches, also toward the birds, and then finally becomes aware of just how far Fabian's gotten from the rest of them.*

Fabian--

*Alice whirls around to the birds, scrutinising the woods for the cause of their departure. Her attention focuses on that sector as she starts to walk towards it, wand high and ready.

But at Sirius's voice she stops. He's right - Fabian's too far.*

*He almost laughs when he realizes what made the noise, lowering his wand halfway.*

Just birds. I don't think anyone's here, d'you?

*Sirius lets out a laugh that's half relief, half nerves.*

Just birds. A fox or something must have scared them.

*Significantly further from the section of foliage Alice is keen on, a shape, hulking yet silent, flashes between tree trunks, a dark roving mass that disappears as fast as it is seen.*

*Alice doesn't feel the same release of tension that they do. She never does, and she won't until they're back in their own tent.*

Even still, keep your wands up.

*She walks towards the brush where the birds were, looking at the ground for hints of what made it happen.*

*Fabian does catch the motion, if only just. It's barely enough to draw his attention back that way, and, again ignoring the litany of Gideon-would-say-this-is-stupid running through his head, he frowns and moves toward it, wand half-raised.*

*A hand, caked in sweat and soil, clamps over Alice's mouth - it comes from nowhere and, if there was time to appreciate its subtleties, the fact its nails are long, filed and yellow and scratching at her cheek, would certainly be noted. Instead, a strong arm wraps around her waist immediately, pivots her and pulls her in to the brush so suddenly it's as though she's simply disappeared.*

--Alice!

*Sirius is sprinting immediately, half-tripping over litter and the occasional bone, toward where Alice has disappeared. He sends a stunner blindly into the woods, hoping to hit something.*

*Something hits Sirius' leg from behind. The culprit a single smooth pebble, lying innocently in the grass.*

*Fabian whips back around at Sirius's shout, his stomach plummeting, one thought standing out starkly: if something happens to Alice, it'l be his fault. He takes off after him, jumping the campfire and plunging into the trees.*

Alice!

*Alice struggles, but she can't match whoever it is for strength. Her kicks are nothing to it, and her arm smacks off a tree as it drags her further away. Her wand arm.

She's dropped her wand.*

*The pebble makes him spin on the spot, practically stumbling to the ground.*

WHO'S THERE?

*He's bellowing, gritting his bared teeth, wand out, ready to fire, eyes wild as Bellatrix's are in the heat of battle.*

*Fabian keeps running, crashing past Sirius without any idea what he's even meant to be looking for, but time is of the essence. Alice can't afford for them to discuss things first.*

*He smells like bodies and heat and the rich sharpness of the unbathed. Pressing Alice against him, Fenrir's hot breath moistens her hair, her struggling making it difficult for him to find her ear and whisper his reprimand.*

*Alice almost wretches at the feeling of his hot breath over her neck.

She has to get free. Soon. And get back to her wand.

Alice's arms are pinned to her waist and she struggles harder. She manages to get her right arm which was lodged in the crook of his elbow free and snaps it back to the face. Deftly she finds an eye and starts to push it back while biting into the putrid mass that is his hand.*

*Sirius is wild, but not stupid, and when nothing moves behind him, he resumes his mad sprint, now behind Fabian, shouting to coach her through it like they all learned in Auror training.*

Alice--talk to us--yell if you can--

*Fenrir snarls in anger, shifting his head away from the imposing fingers, releasing her if only to grasp at her hair, attempting to violently wrench her free of his face.

At his snarl, the brush around him seems to become more lively, his pack closing in, perfectly concealed yet ever ready to pounce into the front lines. Their growls echo around Fabian and Sirius, implacable and mocking.*

*Human voices shouldn't make noises like that, and it sends a chill straight through Fabian. He's no coward, though, and he presses on, bramble catching at his clothes and scratching his face and hands.*

ALICE! Scream if you can hear us!

*Sirius is close enough to hear the snarl, and he slams a stunner into another who is in his way, vaulting over the body as it crumples. Another stunner that seems to go wild, and then he's in the trees and upon them, the hot and snarling circle, and Sirius suddenly feels very small and not terribly potent. He points the wand straight at the filthy mess of man holding her and tries to make himself fierce as he can.*

Let her go and you live.

*The moment Alice's mouth is free, she is screaming.

She can feel some of her hair tearing out as he grabs her by the hair, and her scream for attention reaches a higher pitch as it becomes a scream of pain.

Alice whirls around, coming face to face with the werewolf. Her heart stops, she's seen his face in the files. This is Greyback.

There is no chance to fully comprehend as the men come, Alice immediately kicks out at his groin while trying to land a punch to his nose.*

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject