Fangs and Fairytales: Orphans

Orphans -- Conclusion

Masha's hands shook as she pressed at the protruding sections of Shannon's abdomen and she fought to ignore both the terror in his eyes and the intoxicating scent of his spilled blood. She had most certainly seen worse things than this before, hell she had done worse things than this herself, but for reasons she couldn't entirely get her head around despite her earlier speech to Shannon, she had already grown deeply attached to the man who had only just appeared in her life.

"I'm so sorry I'm so sorry so sorry sorry...." the words tumbled out as little more than nonsense as she tried to get a grip on her senses. The damage was severe, more severe than the injuries that had been destined to kill Jared only a day ago. Of course, her first instinct was to turn him as she had Jared, but she had never seen anyone with such a grave injury survive the transformation. She didn't think she had heard of anyone even attempting it.

Jared raced to her side, taking his older brother's hand as he knelt next to him. "Come on Shannon, hang on just a minute, we've got this, just give us a few minutes," he pleaded. Shannon gave his hand a weak squeeze. Jared wondered if this is what it had looked like when he was lying on the ground. Had Shannon knelt over him as well, pleading for his life, pleading for any kind of chance? He looked at Masha who was still shaking and covered to the elbows now in spilled blood but hadn't yet begun to do anything to save Shannon. "What are you waiting for?" he demanded. Surely they couldn't have more than a few minutes at this point if even that.

"His injuries... are too severe.... " Masha choked out between sobs.

"Fuck that, you don't know that!" Jared shouted at her, but he could smell fear and death all over Shannon too. The knowledge that he was afraid, that his protector big brother was hurt and frightened nearly made him come apart. He wasn't ready for this, he wasn't tough enough for this life, not yet, not without Shannon. He squeezed Shannon's hand again and moved so that his face was in view. He needed him to know he was right there with him, that he was fighting for him. He put on the bravest face that he could and smoothed Shannon's hair back from his eyes. In the background, the banshee sisters were still shrieking. "Shut them the fuck up!" he exploded.

Silas came up behind Jared, placing his hand gently on his back. "It won't help to shout at them, they're only doing what instinct tells them."

"Whispers is out front. They're giving us away!" Jared hissed. Silas looked at him in confusion but Jared didn't have time to elaborate, his focus was on Shannon. "And no one is dying tonight!"

Masha shook her head. It seemed terrible but fair to her that she should be offered happiness and companionship just to have it immediately snatched away from her in the most brutal fashion. It did not seem fair to her, however, that Shannon should have to pay with his life for her to learn that lesson, or that another pair of brothers should suffer as cosmic vengeance for her own monstrous misdeed. She wasn't simply being cautious or calculating when she had said she thought his injuries were too severe. Even at full strength, it would take everything in her just to try to turn him in this condition. And having turned a drastically injured Jared only the day before and having given up so much blood to do so she wasn't sure she had the strength to come through this. Asking Silas to turn him was no use, he had made it very clear a long time ago he would never change anyone and he was certainly not about to do Masha any favors. Especially not to save the man she was falling in love with. Not after what she had cost him.