Chapter Text
Wednesday begrudgingly looks around the unpleasantly occupied werewolf student center as she humors her father and searches for an honest to god pamphlet with information on, ugh, werewolf mating.
Just the thought of werewolf mating makes her skin crawl, not for any inane reason like embarrassment, but because of the toxic level of testosterone-sourced pheromones that currently filled the room.
The horrid scent was coming from what appears to be a pack of werewolf frat boys who had taken perch on the couches, love seat, and bean bags of the room's sitting area. The smell of their obnoxiously overpowering pheromones overwhelmed the small space to the point where she could feel her lungs burn with every breath, but it’s nowhere near as enjoyable as breathing in mustard gas.
She does her best to ignore their annoyingly grating voices and their game of ‘Make out, Mate, Murder’ as she thumbs through the collection of pamphlets sitting in their clear plastic stand on the table by the entrance. She grabs one of each pamphlet until all six are in her hands, but as soon as she reads the words on the first piece of paper she immediately regrets all of the decisions in her life that brought her here.
Fleas Really Tick Me Off
She rolls her eyes and lets out a breath of annoyance at the horrendously bad pun before she drops the pamphlet about lycan hygiene onto the table and reads the next one in line, only to find it's even worse than the first one.
S.T.I. Prevention Starts with You!
It was a mimic of those old World War Two propaganda posters with Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer, but instead of the personification of wartime America there was a werewolf wearing a torn, red flannel shirt in the same pointing pose as the original. She drops it on the now growing pile on the table before looking over the next one.
Practice Safe Sex
This one was far more basic and straightforward. It had a light purple background with a picture of a condom, a dental dam, an IUD, and birth control pills. Wednesday was half tempted to open it up and see if the inside was just as straightforward as the cover, but then she realized the information in it was largely useless to her, her one sided love ensured there was zero chance she would ever need any of the information it contained. So down onto the table it went.
How to Handle Your🔥 Heat 🔥
Wednesday couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks as she read the title of the pamphlet. The thought of Enid going through a heat filled her mind with too many thoughts to count. But one thing was clear, this was sure to be the focal point of many of her upcoming dreams and fantasies from here on out. She takes the pamphlet and gently places it into the pocket of her black hoodie, telling herself that she’s only keeping it because it might have information on her roommate’s scent, all while pushing down the rising flame that lashes her cheeks as she does so.
Your Litter and You!
This one was… oddly wholesome. It had resources for local lycan doctors, both for prenatal care and abortions. There were phone numbers for support groups and adoption agencies plus websites for outcast-accepting women's and men’s shelters. There was even a special promotion code for Uber and Lyft that allowed free travel to and from appointments. The back page consisted of a list of things to avoid if keeping and a list of things to do if terminating, plus a timetable for the fetuses growth; fetuses, plural. Wednesday can’t help but be slightly horrified at the idea of having a litter of children. She drops the highly informative paper onto the pile and suppresses a shiver at the thought of 6 things wriggling around inside of her. The thought of that absolute sensory hell is quickly overwritten once she reads the title of the next pamphlet.
I Found My Mate!
Finally! She breathes out a sigh of relief as she looks over the last piece of paper in her hands. This one appears to be similar to the safe sex pamphlet with its simplicity and informational capacity. She opens it up and desperately searches for any mention of smells or scents. Her heart beats faster in her chest as she furiously scans over the multiple sections, looking for any words that start with ‘sc’ and end with ‘t.’
Her hands begin to shake when she finds it under the section called, Is it a Fling or the Real Thing?
She’s so nervous that the youth appeasing rhyme doesn't even bother her. So she begins reading, desperate to know why she can’t stop obsessing over Enid’s scent.
‘Scent glands in the neck begin to subconsciously release a one-of-a-kind pheromone profile that specifically targets their mate’s olfactory receptors. The effect a werewolf’s scent has on their mate can lead to increased dopamine and serotonin levels with anecdotal evidence claiming the smell of one's mate is-’
“-Enid?”
Her focus suddenly jumps to the conversation of the wolf pack behind her after that singular word passes their rancid lips.
She puts the pamphlet in the same pocket as the other one she took while she tunes in to their misogynistic conversation, desperately listening for the name of her roommate again.
“Are you kidding me?” The head of the pack spits out with a laugh. “Enid Sinclair is just a little fuck up of a wolf. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d still fuck that skinny little bitch, but no way in hell would I ever mate with that loser.” He laughs again, only this time the rest of his wretched little followers join in.
“If the rumors about her are true, wouldn’t that make you a fag?” One of them asks, causing the leader to stare him down and let out a growl, forcing the smaller wolf back into his seat. If it wasn’t already incredibly apparent, then that would have been the moment Wednesday realized the alpha was nothing more than a bully who lucked his way into a pathetically minuscule amount of power, which instantly went to his head.
“You know damn well that I ain’t no fag!” The alpha snaps at the other wolf, raising his voice in a way that portrays insecurity and not authority. Wednesday would be amused at his pathetic leadership skills, if she wasn’t currently busy planning out what she would use his pelt for. “And I’ll fuck her in front of all of you to prove it!” He yells out once again, his tone equal parts anger and bravado.
The blood in Wednesday’s veins snaps to a boil, causing her to bite the inside of her cheek in an effort to restrain herself; She has no intention of going back on her word to her mother that she wouldn’t get expelled. So she breathes in, and then out, all while counting down from ten, trying her hardest to keep herself from becoming the newest mass murderer to grace Nevermore’s halls.
“Yeah, and when you’re done with her you can pass her off to us!” One of the desperate little followers chimes in, the rest quickly agreeing and laughing along with their leader. It makes Wednesday's desire to spill blood multiply by tenfold.
The intense emotional toll her parent’s visit had caused her already wore her patience thin, and this was pushing her to her absolute limit. She knew she should have played her cello before coming here, to calm her already hectic emotions and return her mask of neutral hostility to its woefully familiar place.
But she hadn’t.
So she stalks up to the group and glares at the main contributors to the conversation with a gaze full of burning hellfire.
“You are all parasites,” She begins, her tone spitting pure venom at the group of pathetic boys in front of her. “The very bottom of society.” She keeps her back straight and her chin slightly upturned, looking down her nose at the wolves sitting in their chairs. “You will amount to nothing more than wasted lives and forgotten gravestones. The legacies you leave will be a stain on your family trees and the only good thing you’ll ever do with your miserable lives is end them.” She practically growls the last two words at the group as an instinctual need to show her dominance briefly takes over her mind. “You lot of horrendously vile grubs are undeserving of the very oxygen you breathe, and, if you don’t hold your tongues, I will personally return you to the puddle of scum from which you were spawned.” Wednesday finishes her tirade with another glare of death as she takes in the stunned silence and looks of horror spread across the faces of the crowd.
But her threats failed to reach the person that mattered the most, their slimy little ‘alpha’.
“Ahh,” The leader says as he lets out a near growl-like laugh. “I see what’s going on here.” He stands from his spot on the couch and slowly walks towards Wednesday as he talks. “The little psycho is standing up for her girlfriend!” As he says this he spreads his arms out and turns to the crowd that consists of his loyal lapdogs. “I always knew she was a lesbo!” He yells to the group before he returns his hands to his side and faces her again, leaning in close to her while whispering loud enough for his entourage to hear, “While I’m fucking your girlfriend I might let you join.” A twisted smile spreads across his face as his foul breath invades Wednesday’s nostrils. “But only if you beg.”
An intense wave of hate sears her skin and blurs her vision with red as that last sentence pushes Wednesday over the metaphorical edge.
She readies herself, just like her father taught her.
Legs spread shoulder width, back foot planted firmly, wrist straight, thumb on the outside of the fingers, eyes forward, and aim beyond the target.
She puts her entire body into it, arms, shoulders, chest, abs, waist, legs; every part of her goes into the punch as it makes woefully pleasant contact with the obnoxiously misogynistic wolf’s face, hitting him directly in the upper lip and nose; shutting him up with a satisfyingly hollow crunch.
The alpha stumbles back and brings his hand up to his now broken nose. As soon as he makes contact with the splintered cartilage he pulls away in pain only to see the viscous red liquid that now coated his fingers. He snaps his attention from his hand back to Wednesday before letting out a twisted snarl and getting into a fighting stance, claws out and growling deeply.
“You little bitch!” His guttural voice does very little to intimidate his opponent, if anything, it only makes her more determined to kick the entirety of his good-for-nothing ass.
His claws paled in comparison to Enid’s impressive set, which were much longer and more colorful than the pathetic half-inch nails he was displaying. In fact, Wednesday was sure she'd seen her mother wear even longer acrylics.
Even though his display of strength was horribly inadequate, that didn’t change the fact that they were razor sharp knives, pointed in her direction. So Wednesday mirrors his display by reaching into her sleeve and pulling out an ornate silver dagger. She wraps her fingers around the knife's handle, holding it so the sharpened tip points down towards the floor as she shifts her feet ever so slightly to gain the best footing, getting ready for what she hopes is a fight to the death.
But the alpha, as if to prove just how undeserving of that title as he is, stops in place and begins to share his complaints.
“No weapons allowed, Addams.” He spits out with a guttural rumble, as if trying to intimidate the girl into running. But an Addams never backs down from a fight, especially when it’s for the one they love.
“So you get your claws while I’m left empty handed?” Wednesday chooses her words carefully in order to expertly set her verbal trap; a trap to get the wolf to lower his guard and attack with anger as the driving force, ensuring all logic vacates his mind, thus making him an easy target. “Is that the only way you can win in a fight against a five foot human girl?” She continues as the edge of her mouth curves up despite her resistance, feeling too proud of the angry growl her words brought forth. Trap set and baited. Now all she needs to do is spring it. “Or are you just such a pathetic weakling of a wolf that you need to have power over women in order to feel strong?” She can practically hear the noose snap as her trap works flawlessly.
With an ear-splitting growl the large wolf charges directly at her, using all of his strength to swipe at Wednesday with his claws. It was an overarching diagonal swipe that she was very easily able to roll under, her years of sword fighting having trained her for this very thing.
In a split second she readies herself behind him and finds her mark. All the power of his missed attack meant he needed to take a second to regain his balance and his bearing, giving Wednesday a clean target directly to his ribcage.
Her blade slices smoothly into the wolf’s exposed flank at a sharp downward angle, splitting the cotton of his shirt and prying the flesh apart, burning the wound with the lycan-argentum reaction.
The raging wolf falls to his knees as he presses his hand against his bleeding side, letting out a satisfying scream as the split flesh turns red with blood.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” He screams as tears well in his eyes, the silver of her blade only makes the burn grow more painful as time goes on; something that Wednesday takes a twisted kind of joy in. “THE PSYCHO HAS SILVER!” He yells to the room, at no one in particular, as the first hints of fear flicker past his face.
“And the petri dish of rancid diseases your unwashed claws contain puts us on even ground.” She pokes the bear, trying to bait him to attack once again. Her blood lust was not even close to satisfied with the minimal amount of damage he has so far sustained.
She wasn’t anywhere close to done yet, she needed to make him regret that Enid’s name ever passed his lips.
“You wanna talk shit, Addams?” He growls while standing up and returning to his poor excuse of a fighting stance. It was obvious that he was never trained in combat, most likely always believing he could win any altercations with his strength alone; and Wednesday was more than pleased that she would be the one to teach him just how misguided his belief was.
“I would be willing to give you some tips on the subject,” Wednesday calmly states, loosening her stance and preparing to dodge out of his path. “But based on the smell of your breath I can tell you are already an expert.” While her words make him become increasingly unhinged Wednesday only finds herself falling into step, using her years of fencing practice to keep the perfect distance from him; far enough away to read his movements and react while also being close enough to be within striking distance of him without broadcasting her attacks. “Tell me, do you ever brush your teeth? I only ask because I would rather not go through the trouble of extracting your fangs for my necklace if they are already decaying.” Her words once again cause the poor excuse of an apex predator to charge at her, and, much like last time, he misses his target by miles.
The only indicator that Wednesday was even there was the small boot that was left extended into his path, tripping the wolf with a nonchalant ease.
As the massive lump of poorly guided muscle fell, Wednesday held her dagger out in his path to the floor, letting his own body weight slice the front-to-back wound across his already bleeding side, crossing over the previous path the blade took through his flesh.
The wolf lands on his hands and knees with a yelp of pain as blood drips onto the hardwood floor. He clasps his hands against his side once again as he tries to quell the burning pain radiating from both of his wounds.
Wednesday can’t help the smug pride she feels as she watches him writhe around on the floor in pain.
She can’t help but let the corner of her mouth raise in a smirk as she takes in the scene in front of her.
She can’t help that she had accidentally gotten too close to react in time as he planted his feet and lunged at her from the ground, slamming his shoulder into her abdomen while wrapping his arms around her midsection, tackling her to the ground and knocking the wind out of her.
Wednesday gasped for breath as she lay trapped beneath the near feral werewolf, trying to regain her senses after the sudden and world-spinning impact of her head on the hardwood floor.
But before she could get her bearings, four claws scraped across her left cheek as the wolf that was now straddling her midsection started to rain down his attacks. The first strike was very quickly followed by a second that sliced the right side of her jaw, leaving four more bleeding claw marks on her face. The pain of the initial two strikes against her had triggered her body’s instinctual need to defend its vital areas, causing her to bring her arms up just in time to block the third and fourth swipes of his claws using the back of her forearms.
She could feel the blood flowing from each new wound as she watched him reel his hand back for the fifth swipe of his claws.
And, in that brief second, she had formulated her escape plan.
She reaches out and captures the wrist of the hand coming down at her before it can make contact with her skin, stopping his claws in their tracks. He instantly began to fight against her, pushing all of his weight down against Wednesday’s arm, bringing his claws closer and closer to her face.
But his resistance was exactly what Wednesday had planned on.
In a split second she goes from pushing up against him to pulling his wrist down, throwing off his center of balance and causing him to fall forward.
As he tries to slow his momentum by placing his other hand on the ground next to Wednesday’s head, the claw on his thumb catches her skin and slices open a new wound on her temple, which very quickly begins to bleed profusely.
Even with his efforts to stop himself he doesn’t manage to slow his fall in time before Wednesday throws her own head upward, slamming her forehead against his face and headbutting his already broken nose.
The fight no longer mattered to him as the pain in his face desired his immediate attention, causing him to let go of Wednesday’s arm and bring his hands up to his face, dropping his guard and giving Wednesday a clear shot to her target.
A swift punch to his throat is all it takes for him to fall back and free her from beneath his legs.
There is nothing but calculated fury in her actions as she climbs to her knees, watching as he slowly begins to recuperate from the gasping breaths her punch had caused. Without taking her eyes off of him she reaches for the area where she can sense her dagger and grabs the handle of the silver blade. With her weapon in hand again she stands up and charges at the still coughing wolf in front of her.
He haphazardly swings at her in a last minute defense from her attack, but she simply dodges under his arm, expertly placing a third slice wound on his blood covered side. The pack’s leader fell to his knees with a pained grunt followed by a quiet whimper as he pushed both his hands against the bleeding wounds that burned his skin like napalm.
The newest scar to decorate his side was a mirror image of the first one, starting at the tip of the other slash and continuing down through and past the horizontal wound. With those three, silver seared scars, the emblem was complete.
Wednesday watched with pleasure as the last line of blood soaked through his shirt, the stains, as well as the scars, forming the shape of a capital ‘A’ on the side of his ribcage.
The blood covered girl slowly walked towards the now kneeling alpha, ready to claim victory over the wolf who had disrespected her and her love. But, before she could get close enough to demand his surrender, the leader, the coward that he is, refused to lose in a fair fight.
“Wh-what the fuck are you all doing?!” He almost cries out in desperation, afraid of the girl that had so thoroughly humiliated him in front of his spineless cronies. “GET HER!” The fear in his voice would normally bring a smile to Wednesday’s eyes but the reactions of the wolves around her made it impossible to enjoy the moment.
His cry causes the members of his pack to ready their own claws and surround Wednesday on all sides. All of them jumping in to a fight that could very well end their lives, all for their pathetic, defeated alpha.
Enid may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing but this group of disrespectful morons were all sheep merely masquerading as wolves, blindly following their leader to the butcher shop.
Wednesday would be amused if she wasn’t so horribly outnumbered.
But just because she was outnumbered didn’t mean she would go down easy.
She snapped her head left and right as she counted the faces of the crowd, getting an estimate for how many she could take down before she was overwhelmed.
But as she looked over the crowd, between two others and towards the back, she saw something that made her freeze.
Enid’s face.
Wednesday did a double take as her eyes met with the same sky-blue as Enid’s.
Her heart stops as the face she sees in her dreams looks back at her.
But it wasn’t right.
It was longer, sharper, and most shocking of all, it had a spotty mustache growing on it.
It was Enid’s eyes, Enid’s face, but it was not Enid.
The hair alone was the biggest indicator, it being a curly, light brown mess instead of the usual, meticulously cared for, blonde, blue, and pink locks.
Unfortunately, her minor slip in focus due to her shock and confusion at seeing her roommate's face left her with her guard down, something that one of the wolves capitalized on by swiping their claws across her right calf. The sharp pain in her leg forces her attention back to the fight and she scans the crowd as she waits for the next attacker to make themselves known.
It doesn’t take much time before a set of claws is coming towards her once again, only this time she was ready. She grabs them by their wrist and pulls them forward, throwing them off balance and sending them to the ground. While they’re still trying to get up, Wednesday lifts her boot before bringing it down on the extended claws of the wolf, trapping them in place and allowing her dagger a clear path to the back of their hand. With a pleasant scream the knife plunged into their hand before she quickly removed it.
Wednesday readied herself once again as the wolf stayed laying on the ground, sobbing and holding their bleeding hand.
Another wolf jumps in but he’s far too distracted defending the wolf on the floor to properly aim his weak attack, giving Wednesday an opportunity to grab his arm and twist her own body until her back was against his side and his arm was held out over her shoulder; perfectly positioned to leverage her own weight and throw him into two other wolves standing by, temporarily taking three of them out of the fight with just one move.
Five down, four to go.
The next wolf to attack was standing to her right, quickly matched by one on her left.
She turns to face the attacker on her right, opting to focus on the one who has a greater chance of disarming her. He lunges forward with extended claws and tries to wrap his hand around her wrist, but Wednesday easily dodges it, keeping her weapon out of his grasp and following up with a slice of searing silver from spine to shoulder, causing the wolf to collapse in pain.
But, as it turns out, facing away from the other wolf ended up being a fatal mistake as he charges her from behind and tackles her, much like their alpha had.
Pain radiates down her spine as the wolf’s momentum carries them both to the ground. Wednesday landed face-first on the floor with her attacker’s elbow falling directly against her shoulder, sending her head into the wooden floor, splitting her chin and causing her to bite the inside of her cheek. Blood pools in her mouth as she thrashes beneath the weight of the much larger wolf, trying desperately to free herself and get back in the fight.
But it’s useless.
Another wolf pries the dagger out of her hand while two more hold down her arms, fully trapping her.
Footsteps slowly creak across the floorboards as a pair of basketball shoes enter her vision, coming to an unsteady stop only a few inches away. Their leader stands in front of the subdued girl while a manic laugh escapes his lips before he crouches down to get closer to Wednesday’s face.
“I’ll show you what happens to little bitches that try to fuck with me.” He whispers in her ear before standing and ordering his lackeys to hoist her up by her arms, bringing her face level with his so he can look her in the eyes. “You are going to regret ever opening that little fucking mouth of yours, Addams.” The venom in his voice at her last name is thick and full of disdain. He extends his claws and reels his hand back once again, ready to induce slice after slice against Wednesday’s skin.
With all the strength he can muster he brings down the first swipe, aimed directly for Wednesday’s stomach.
She has always wondered what it would feel like to be disemboweled, so she closes her eyes and braces herself for the skin splitting contact, unable to do anything else.
But it never comes, even after a few seconds pass.
So she slowly opens her eyes and sees the silky black hair of Ophelia Hall's very own leech, Yoko Tanaka. The vampire was standing in front of her with the wolf’s hand grasped in hers, bending his wrist back to a painful degree as the alpha whimpers in pain.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Yoko’s words cause the room to fall silent. All the wolves seemingly cower in her presence, making them release Wednesday from their grasp, letting her fall to the ground in a bloody lump.
“Oh, look. A little mosquito flew into the wolf's den.” The bloodied and wincing ‘alpha’ addressed the vampire, trying to hide the fear in his voice but failing miserably. “You can’t be in here, werewolves only.”
“Well, I smelled Addams’ blood and thought I would make sure she wasn't dead or dying, again.” The vampire shifts her gaze from the pathetic leader of the pack and instead focuses on Wednesday, taking in the wounds that spot her body as she looks the Addams up and down. “It seems I was right to worry.”
Yoko looks at Wednesday's face, the claw marks against her left cheek and right side of her jaw are in the early stages of clotting, the gash on her chin is still dripping onto her over-saturated hoodie, and the blood from her temple relentlessly poured over her right eye which forced her to clamp it shut.
She looked like hell.
Not as bad as she looked after Crackstone though, and that gave Yoko a slight bit of relief, but it also filled her with anger at the pack of wolves in front of her.
“Did all of you really team up to fight a human?” The tone of her voice would best be described as seething as she glares at each and every one of the man-beasts. “Out of all of the stupid and pathetic things your ‘pack’ has done, this takes the cake.” She stares down the alpha through her blackout sunglasses, which only seems to intimidate him even more.
“Stay out of this, Tanaka,” The leader spits her name like it offended him, but the injured girl and the vampire could both tell that this was just false bravado, a performance of strength for his pack members. “This is a pack matter and we don’t listen to the opinions of annoying little mosquitoes that buzz in our ear.” He steps closer to Yoko as he tries to use his height advantage to scare off the vampire.
“You all got your asses beat by a human girl, do you really want to try your luck against a vampire or are you gonna be a good little doggy and FUCK OFF!” She yells the last two words as she bares her fangs and stomps one of her feet towards the leader, causing him to flinch back and whimper, immediately dismantling his show of bravery and forcing him to flee with his metaphorical tail between his legs.
But even as he motions for his pack to leave he still tries to get the last word in, as if it was some kind of way to redeem himself from his utter humiliation just moments prior.
“We all know who won here anyway.” Are the pathetic words he tries to weasel in at the last moment, but Wednesday can’t stand to let him think he was the victor of this fight, so she decides to impart upon him the true ramifications of his actions.
She spits the blood out of her mouth before she begins to talk in a low, slow, wrath filled voice.
“Every time you look in the mirror,”
She pushes herself off the floor and shakily climbs to her knees.
“Every time you take a shower,”
She wearily plants her right foot in front of her.
“Every time you fail to bring a girl to climax;”
She places her trembling hands on her knee.
“You will be unable to avoid the skin that has been stained by my blade.”
She leverages her weight against her knee and pushes herself to an unstable half-stand.
“Whenever you see the scar that now mars your side; you will know that I defeated and humiliated you in front of your pack.”
She straightens her spine to glare into his eyes, through the blood and bruises that covered her face.
“What has transpired tonight will haunt you for the rest of your remaining days as the unhealing scar you now possess forever marks you as an enemy of the Addams.”
She takes a step closer and narrows her eyes.
“You will die mateless and alone after every Addams-affiliated pack rejects you, leaving you a lone wolf without anyone to mourn your passing.”
She moves even closer, until all he can see is the death in her eyes.
“Your last breath will be used to curse my name and beg for forgiveness, but it’s already too late, because today was the day your life truly ended.”
She reaches up her other sleeve and pulls out her other dagger, keeping the action, and the blade, hidden from his view.
“And now, all I need to do to turn you from an enemy into a target is to add one single slice across your scars.”
She presses the blade against his side, enough for him to feel the sharpness of the blade but not enough to wound him any further.
“It will take less than a second, and then you will be hunted down and killed like the animal, you, are.” Wednesday punctuates the last part of her sentence by leaning farther into his personal space and increasing the pressure of the blade with each word.
The way his face paled as he pushed out of her space and ran away made all of the pain worth it, knowing that his life had been ruined because of his sexist comments towards Enid was the best outcome she could have ever hoped for.
Well, second best actually.
The first would be the police finding his entire body stuffed into Sheriff Galpin’s mailbox.
“C’mon guys.” He says to his pathetic, whimpering followers as he walks out the door, his hands clasped against his bleeding side and his eyes down-turned, refusing to look at either of the girls.
The crowd of injured wolves slowly shuffle out the door, each one either giving Wednesday a look of pure hatred or refusing to glance at her entirely as they pass. Thankfully it wasn't long until the only people left in the room are Wednesday, Yoko, and the wolf that bears a disturbing resemblance to Enid.
Said wolf walks over to Wednesday, who is lightly placing her hand to her temple to see the extent of the damage following her humiliating defeat. He awkwardly clears his throat as he rubs his bicep in a very Enid like motion. “I just wanted to say thank you, f-for standing up for Enid like that.” The only reason Wednesday can tell his face is twisted in guilt is due to its resemblance to Enid’s. After all, she has spent a lot of time admiring Enid’s face and memorizing the many expressions she makes; it was sickening to see those same expressions she loves to see on Enid plastered on the face of someone else. “I-I would have done it, but…” he turns his gaze towards the door, refusing to look towards either girl, “Yeah…”
“Evan,” Yoko says as she pinches the bridge of her nose, “Just, shut the hell up.” It then strikes Wednesday that she’s heard that name before, it was on the day her and Enid returned from winter break. Evan was one of the four engaged in that poor excuse of a brawl that took place in the stone arched entry to her dorm room.
He was one of Enid’s brothers.
His lack of action during that fight angered Wednesday even more than his nonexistent excuses. This was Enid’s brother, someone who should have been on the front lines of that fight, yet there he was, hiding in the back and staying quiet. She couldn’t stand here and look at his face for another second, feeling so much fury towards him that she had to remove herself or he would end up looking similar to all the other injured wolves who just left.
But she refused to leave without making her feelings towards him very clear.
She works herself closer to the Sinclair wolf and stands in front of him, giving him a glare of utter contempt. “Coward.” Is all she says as she stares into his eyes, taking a second to spit the blood that filled her mouth at his feet.
Her message was clear, an outsider had bled for Enid while her own flesh and blood stood idly by and watched this stranger take a beating for his sister.
It was pathetic.
She takes a moment to savor the look of shocked guilt that spreads across his face before she pushes past him, stalking off towards her dorm to get her first aid kit, intending to leave behind the wolf and vampire and be done with this day.
“Wednesday!” Yoko yells after her as she runs to the now limping Addams, causing Wednesday to roll her eyes and let out a breath of annoyance but stop and wait nonetheless. “Here,” the vampire says once she reaches her side, holding out a hand palm side up in an offer of physical support.
The burning pain in her injured leg makes her actually consider taking up the offer and grabbing the hand. She has already been subjected to an obscene amount of physical contact recently; between her family, Enid, and Eugene she had figured she would be well beyond fed up with the feeling of someone else invading her personal space.
But she realized that, instead of having her tolerance for physical contact drained, she was actually getting used to it.
And she can’t quite find a reason to care anymore.
So she ignores the hand that was offered to her and instead opts to wrap her arm around Yoko’s shoulders, allowing her to take a considerable amount of weight off of her still bleeding leg. And the vampire readily allows it, wrapping her own arm around Wednesday’s waist and easily compensating for the girl's injured leg.
The unlikely pair begin cautiously taking step after step towards their destination, stopping every few feet to readjust their hold on each other.
As they quietly hobble down the corridor towards their dorm hall Yoko breaks the silence with a low and curious voice.
“Was that real?” The vampire asks as she side glances the girl on her arm before looking forward again.
“I assure you that fight was very real.” Wednesday responds with an even tone, keeping her voice steady while refusing to let show the pain that radiates up from her calf with every step. Each time pressure is placed on her leg blood seeps from her wound and down her ankle, causing a trail of red to permeate the stone floors behind them as they walk.
“No, not the fight.” Yoko clarifies with a small chuckle as she looks at the still bleeding wounds on Wednesday’s face, as if that could be fake. “What you said to Logan, about the mark and being an enemy of the Addams.” Wednesday racks her brain as she tries to recall that name and place it with a face, but she comes up empty. It’s only after a few seconds that she realizes it’s probably the name of the worthless alpha she had just beaten.
Wednesday considers telling Yoko all of the details about her family sigil and how it was created to be a simple way to mark someone in the midst of battle, that it’s a magical symbol that all Addams can sense in their vicinity. But the blood that still slowly filled her mouth and the pain in her cheek forced her to keep her response short.
“Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?” It was intended to be a rhetorical answer to the vampire’s inquiry, but it seems she takes it as an actual question that demands a response.
“That depends,” Yoko thinks for a second, making a big show of it, even going as far as stroking her chin in thought before she finally turns back to look at the other girl. “Do you have a crush on Enid?” The vampire asks in a playful tone.
Wednesday’s heart would have jumped in her chest, but this was the fourth time today, fifth in total, sixth if you count what ‘Logan’ had said, that somebody had called out her feelings for her roommate. At this point she had fully resigned herself to the fact that she has some sort of invisible sign above her head that broadcasts to the world all of the intimate matters of her heart.
So she debates giving up the charade of refusal and letting the vampire know the truth about her feelings, maybe she could even go to the vampire for advice about Enid.
After all, Yoko had already proven herself capable of keeping a secret, when she had caught Wednesday stealing a bag of blood from the vampire’s supply late one night. After quickly explaining that she was on her period and had a craving for it the vampire shrugged it off and went on with her night. Wednesday was expecting to wake up the next morning and be subjected to a chorus of people calling her a freak for drinking blood, it wouldn’t have been the first time such a thing has happened to her at school. But instead, Wednesday never heard about the event again.
“No, I do not have a crush on Enid.” She answers truthfully, her feelings having long surpassed something so childish and non-committal.
“Then yes, you do say things you don’t mean.” Yoko says with a smirk in her voice, as if she had just outsmarted Wednesday and proven some kind of point.
“Tanaka,” Wednesday says as she looks into the dark sunglasses of the vampire under her arm. “I am an Addams, and when an Addams falls for someone our feelings extend far beyond something as inane as a crush.” She skillfully manages to admit her feelings for Enid without directly saying anything too damning.
“Oooh.” Yoko draws out, as if she had just realized something important. “So, you’ve made the classic lesbian mistake of falling in love with a girl who has a boyfriend.” She had intended it as a simple tease but Wednesday suddenly stops them in their tracks, her breath hitching in pain as the vampire’s words break down her mental barriers and force her to temporarily drop her mask of painless indifference. Her heart stops for a solid three seconds before it starts again at a much less intense and adrenaline fueled pace. And, with the distance between the two, which was essentially none, Yoko could hear the entire journey her heart went on. As could she see Wednesday's look of dejected sadness.
“Oh shit, Wednesday.” Yoko realizes the true effect her words had on the girl and quickly tries to apologize. “I am so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot, I didn’t know that you really love her.” The vampire says softly, making sure only Wednesday can hear her words.
“Love doesn’t even begin to describe the depth of my feelings towards Enid.” Wednesday says with hopelessness in her voice as she looks to the ground. Her free hand works its way up to her bleeding temple, gently pressing her palm against the split flesh as she lets out a quiet grunt of pain. “Tanaka, I cannot continue to discuss this right now. Being subjected to both physical and emotional pain is a form of torture that even I do not enjoy undergoing.” She pulls her hand away from her head and inspects the quantity of blood on it before she begins to limp down the hall once again; the unexpected movement causes the vampire to lose her grip on the seer’s waist, forcing her to pull the girl even closer against her body to regain her hold.
“Okay, then…” The vampire falls into step next to Wednesday as she agrees to her request, quickly changing the subject. “What happened back there?” She asks as she points her thumb behind them, “With those assholes.” When she brings her thumb down she grabs the wrist Wednesday had slung over her shoulder, using it to pull the girl even further against her side, taking even more weight off of the girl's injured leg in order to ascend their first flight of stairs. Wednesday braces herself against the vampire as they both slowly and cautiously take the first step up.
“They were making horribly misogynistic comments.” Wednesday begins after they get into a semi-decent rhythm of limping up step after step. “My family’s surprise visit had drained my emotional fortitude and I no longer had the patience to restrain myself from physical violence.” Wednesday pauses their ascent as she leans on Yoko to take the weight off her injured calf for a few moments.
“Is that why Evan thanked you?” The vampire asks with genuine concern for the blonde, “They were talking about Enid, weren't they?” She looks at Wednesday and rearranges her hold on her so the seer can more comfortably rest her leg.
After a painfully long silence, Wednesday answers with a clenched jaw. “Yes, the alpha was talking about ‘passing her off’ to his pack when he was ‘done’ with her.” Yoko can feel Wednesday’s grip tighten as her anger flares.
“I’m gonna rip their fucking throats out the next time I see them.” She bares her fangs as she snarls out a tone darker and more rage filled than Wednesday’s, which was a very impressive feat. After taking a few breaths her tone switches to one that's much more cheerful while the pair begin to carefully move up the stairs again. “But thanks for defending her like that, we gotta stand up for our precious little wolfie!”
Wednesday’s only response is a nod of her head as the two of them crest the top of the stairs and turn the corner, beginning their long walk towards their dorm rooms. A moment of silence extends between them as they slowly shuffle down the carpeted corridor, the trail of blood Wednesday was leaving behind was becoming less and less apparent as her wounds finally began to clot.
“So, how did they get you held down like that?” The vampire’s tone is much softer and more somber than before; but then, as if just to give Wednesday a case of whiplash, she shifts her tone once again, this time it was fast and apologetic. “I mean, I’ve seen you fence Bianca and I’ve heard about what you did to those three normies at the Weathervane; you are one of the most badass people I have ever met.” Yoko nervously side glances Wednesday before adding, “I just don’t get how those uncoordinated dip shits managed to get you in that position…” Her voice gets quieter and nearly trails off while another student saying their goodbyes to their family can be heard echoing through the corridor, causing the two girls to limp down the hall in silence until they turn yet another corner, giving them the privacy to continue.
“I was standing over Logan, about to deal the finishing blow, when he called on his cronies to attack.” Wednesday begins to lay out the facts of what took place, and, shockingly, she doesn’t feel as ashamed as she expected when admitting defeat. “While I was fighting one off another had tackled me from behind, using his excessive weight to hold me down while two others grabbed my arms. It was at that point when you came in.” Wednesday slows their walking pace and looks at the girl she had been leaning against before she quietly admits one last part about the fight. “They outnumbered and overpowered me, and, based on their previous comments about women, I have an unsettling feeling they would have subjected me to horrors beyond even my comprehension had I not been able to escape.” A dark look takes over Wednesday’s face as she shudders at the thought of what that alpha had planned for her.
“I am so gonna kill those fuckers!” Yoko snarls with exposed fangs as her grip on the seer tightens, but the quietness of her voice makes Wednesday believe she was just talking to herself, so the seer continues to make her point.
“That is to say,” The seer begins, her voice small and uncharacteristically shy. “I appreciate you intervening when you did. I felt powerless, and…” She pauses as she tilts her head towards the ground, “and I was scared.” She looks back into the vampire’s blackout sunglasses before finishing her point. “So, thank you, Yoko.” The hollow feeling of anxiety in her chest at admitting such vulnerability manages to fill itself as she takes in the look of understanding on the vampire’s face.
“Any time, Wednesday.” She responds with a smile spread across her face, slightly exposing her fangs. Wednesday has her usual reaction of nausea at the girl's show of emotion, but this time she finds herself enjoying the feeling as a small smile of her own graces her lips.
There was a comfortable air forming around them; admitting the gratitude she felt towards the vampire and subsequently calling her by her name for the very first time had allowed them to grow closer while a mutual feeling of trust blossomed between the two.
They walk in calming silence for another few feet before Yoko interrupts it with a slight, under her breath laugh.
“Enid was right, you are cute.” There’s an affection in Yoko’s voice that Wednesday has never before seen directed at anyone who wasn’t the vampire’s girlfriend or Enid. And she can’t help but to find that it’s oddly endearing to be on the receiving end of that playful voice.
“I assure you I am not-” Wednesday begins to protest, but she suddenly cuts herself while stopping the pair dead in their tracks. She snaps her head to look directly into the vampire’s pitch black glasses before asking, “Enid thinks I’m cute?” The hopeful hint in her usually neutral voice and the blush that she was unable to keep off her cheeks causes Yoko to burst out in even deeper laughter.
“Oh my god, you are so in love with her!” The vampire’s joyful laughter fills Wednesday’s ears as her heart thumps uncomfortably in her chest.
“Yoko,” Wednesday let out an exasperated sigh as she wills herself to ignore the pain of the vampire so freely mentioning her one sided love. “I thought you agreed to no longer bring that topic up.”
“I know, I know. It’s just,” Yoko looks at Wednesday with a fond smile on her face. “I’m here if you ever need to talk about it.” She squeezes Wednesday’s wrist on the arm that was wrapped around her shoulder. “And, for the record, I am team Wednesday all the way.”
The attic room door slams open, causing the panes of glass on and around it to rattle like a reanimated skeleton with an extreme case of hypothermia.
Yoko doesn’t hesitate to jump in between the door and Wednesday, ready to defend the injured girl from any low life members of that wolf pack who might have followed them.
Meanwhile, Wednesday had slowly looked up from her task of bandaging herself while remaining mostly unconcerned. Both of them looked towards the entrance of the room where they saw the frazzled and out of breath werewolf.
Before either of the dark haired girls could say anything, the wolf’s blue eyes locked with Wednesday’s as her face shifted into one of horror. The sight of the raven’s half bandaged face and blood covered hoodie caused the wolf to full-on freak out.
“Oh my god, WEDNESDAY!” Enid yells out as she quickly runs over and drops to her knees in front of the girl sitting in the old wooden chair. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!” The wolf questions as she leans in closer to get a better look at the extensive wounds that cover her skin. “I- I heard from my brother that you got in a fight with Logan and his pack?!” Enid extends a hand out to the bandages on the girl’s face, lightly caressing the black cotton that covered her jaw. “Are you okay?” Those blue eyes, close enough to see the subtle yellow ring around their pupils, are filled with worry and pain.
“I am fine, Enid.” Wednesday tries to reassure the frantic wolf kneeling in front of her, but as she opens her mouth to respond, she can feel the layer of blood that still coated her teeth, which only makes the girl worry even more. But the fact that Enid’s captivating blue gaze had flicked down to her lips had caused the raven’s lungs to cease working.
“No, you’re not.” Enid’s tone had shifted to become a mix of concern and defeated sadness as she removed her hand from the raven’s jaw; it made Wednesday’s chest feel hollow, and all she wanted to do now was hold the wolf in her arms. “You are so obviously not okay, Wednesday, and you won’t even talk to me.” Tears brim in Enid’s eyes while her voice begins to quiver. Her gaze flicks to the multiple black bandages that cover Wednesday’s face before refocusing on her brown eyes. “I thought we were friends, I thought you trusted me. A-and it hurts to see you suffer in silence like this, so please, tell me what’s wrong.” Wednesday feels as if her heart was just ripped out as she hears Enid express her doubts about their friendship.
“Enid,” Wednesday starts, looking down at her roommate with pleading eyes, trying to convey the depth of her words. “You are my closest and most valued companion and I trust you with my life.” She desperately attempts to reaffirm to the wolf just how important she is in her eyes, but Enid only begins to tear up even more.
“If you trust me so much then could you at least tell me something?” She quickly stands up and begins to pace back and forth in front of the raven, occasionally flapping her hands to regulate her need to either hug Wednesday for getting hurt, or to slap Wednesday for getting hurt. “Like, oh my god, Wednesday, why the hell did you fight a pack of werewolves?” She pauses in her nervous pacing to turn to the raven and give her a look of complete disbelief.
“It was never my intention for things to turn violent,” Wednesday actually felt ashamed under the scornful blue eyes of her roommate, even though she believes she was in the right. “But they were saying things about you that I will not repeat for the sake of your own mental state.” The raven’s anger rises as she recalls all of the horrible things those scum had said.
“Wednesday! I run the school's gossip blog,” Enid throws her hands up in the air in exasperated defeat. “Do you really think I don’t know people are talking about me?” The angry wolf rubs her hands down the sides of her face as she tries to reign in her emotions. “Do you really think I care what a couple of nobodies think?” Her voice still carries the same burning anger but now there’s a hint of sadness added to the mix.
“I would usually agree with your stance, but they were discussing things that even I found entirely morally reprehensible.” She pleads her case, stating her reasoning behind her actions in order to show Enid that it wasn’t just silly playground gossip that forced her hand.
“I KNOW!” Enid yells, slightly startling the raven before she continues with a more somber tone. “I already know about the horrible things they say about me, but I have it handled!” She runs one of her hands through her hair in exasperation as she lets out a loud sigh. “I’ve already told the school about it and my brother is a part of their pack, he’s there to warn me whenever their talks become too serious.” She brings her colorfully painted fingers up to her face as she wipes away the hot tears that fell down her cheeks.
“I was… unaware of that.” Wednesday looks away as a thick layer of guilt clogs her throat. The shame that burns her cheeks only just masks the anger that sears her soul; hearing the defeated way Enid simply accepts that this is something she just has to live with.
“I have this under control, Wednesday, and I don’t need you running in and defending me like I’m,” She pauses her tirade as her claws clench with anger, “like I’m useless on my own!” She throws her hands up in frustration, letting out a quiet growl before her tone shifts from anger to hopelessness. “It’s like you don’t think I’m strong enough to fight my own battles, like you don’t trust me enough to let me fight by your side.” The wolf looks away from the raven as she shares the true reason for her emotional outburst.
“Enid,” She shyly looks into the wolf’s eyes before continuing. “You are the most physically capable outcast I have ever met.” Her voice has an uncharacteristically apologetic undertone to it. “I assure you that any bias on my part is purely because of my own feelings.” She briefly pauses as she averts her gaze from the upset wolf. “I simply do not wish for you to gain any more scars in defense of my own person.” She can still feel the overwhelming guilt she experienced on that night, when she saw Enid covered in countless wounds all because Wednesday had needed someone to defend her.
“You don’t get to decide that.” The wolf snarls, stepping closer and looking down at the raven. “I’ve already gotten scars in your defense and I will do it again, you can’t stop me from fighting for you.” The commanding tone sends a chill of shameful arousal through Wednesday’s lower abdomen, which she quickly subdues while trying to push the memory out of her mind before it becomes the basis of yet another one of her fantasies.
“I am fine on my own.” She retorts with stubbornness, a swell of indignation swirls in her mind at the possibility of Enid viewing her as someone who needs to be coddled and protected. “I managed to end Crackstone before he killed anyone else.” The raven says in a boastful tone with a slight smirk on her face; that is, until she realizes what she had just said.
“Uh, Wednesday?” Yoko chimes in, reminding both the raven and the wolf of her presence. “What are you talking about? Crackstone didn’t kill anyone that night.” Wednesday’s breath caught in her throat as her slip up failed to get past the vampire.
Yoko was right of course, no one had died that night; no one other than Wednesday herself that is.
The seer hadn’t told anyone about her literal gut-twisting death yet, not even Thing knows of her brief meeting with the cloaked reaper, and she had planned to keep it that way. But her slip up, mixed with the look in Enid’s eyes, forces her to cave and tell both of her friends everything they want to know.
“I died that night.” Wednesday quietly admits, refusing to look either of them in the eye.
“What?” Enid's question is more of a soft exhale of sad disbelief than an actual request for Wednesday to elaborate, but she feels an unusual nervousness that makes the following silence unbearable, which in turn causes her to fully expunge the details of her death.
“Crackstone held me down, using a telekinetic staff he no doubt stole from native outcasts, and, while I was defenseless and unarmed, he stabbed me directly beneath my sternum and twisted the knife.” Wednesday tries her hardest to keep her face neutral, but the side effects of her untreated PTSD makes a simple retelling of the story feel more like she was reliving it. She can feel the cold metal of the knife slicing her skin apart, the burning heat of the blade as it turns inside her, permanently reducing the size and function of her stomach. But it’s not just the physical feeling’s she’s being drowned by. The musty crypt and the putrid smell of an over four century old corpse mixes with the tinge of metallic wetness in her nostrils. And, to top it all off, she’s hit with the same intense, all-consuming fear that was holding her mind hostage the entire time she was trapped in that crypt.
“Wednesday.” Yoko’s soft voice and gentle touch on her shoulder snaps the raven out of her traumatic episode. Only now does she notice both her heart and respiratory rate have skyrocketed, and she had also unconsciously placed her hand over the rigid skin that laid at the base of her rib cage.
She closes her eyes while she takes a deep breath and returns her hand to her lap, taking a second to reign in her breathing and calm her erratic heart before she continues.
“My ancestor, Goody, used her remaining connection to the mortal plane to revive me.” She opens her eyes now, but only so she can stare at the shaking hands resting in her lap. “I may not have an overbearing stature, but I am an Addams,” She shifts her gaze from her lap to the dark glasses covering Yoko’s eyes. “and the Addams are much more resilient than the average human. Even the ever-present grasp of death has no hold on me.” It’s only after she looks away from Yoko and into Enid’s eyes that she realizes; her attempts to downplay the severity of her death had failed spectacularly. The wolf’s face was twisted with a look of gut-wrenching devastation as her blue eyes began to shine with wetness.
“Y- you died?” Enid’s eyes instantly overflow with a waterfall of tears at the gravity of Wednesday’s words. “I- I was too late?” She suddenly begins to let out full on sobs as the true weight of Wednesday's words washed over her. “I c- couldn’t get t- to you i- in time.” Enid takes a few steps backwards until the metal frame of Wednesday’s bed hits the back of her knees, forcing her to fall backwards and sit on the meticulously made black sheets.
Wednesday’s heart aches as she watches the girl she loves collapse in on herself, leaning forward until her head is practically in her knees while she relentlessly sobs into her hands.
The raven stands from her chair so fast that it rolls away and hits the wall behind her, causing the whole room to echo with the sound of the wood-splintering impact. Before the chair fully settles to the ground Wednesday surges forward and wraps her arms around the crying wolf's shoulders, pulling her close and letting the blonde rest her head against the soft black hoodie that covered her abdomen. Enid doesn’t hesitate before she leans into the raven even more and wraps shaking arms around her waist, squeezing Wednesday with a comfortably crushing pressure.
Yoko quickly sits on the bed next to Enid as she gently rubs her hand up and down the wolf's back, the two dark haired girls work together to comfort the crying wolf as she bawls her eyes out into Wednesday’s still blood-covered hoodie.
Wednesday looks into Yoko’s sunglasses with pure worry and desperation in her eyes, hoping she’s properly conveying the plea for help she was sending to the vampire. And Yoko smirks a little before she mouths a single word that Wednesday can’t help but to question if she interpreted correctly.
‘Sing!’ Is what the vampire’s mouth silently says, causing Wednesday to tilt her head and raise a single eyebrow in disbelief. But all Yoko does is repeat the silent word with the addition of ‘to her,’ while using her free hand to motion between the wolf and the raven.
Due to her desperation to calm the the sobbing wolf and her heart-clenching guilt at fact that she caused the tears in the first place, Wednesday began to panic at the sudden pressure put on her to sing something cheerful to Enid, and because of that she was unable to think as clearly as usual.
All of the songs that come to mind involve death in some way, and even then only a very few of that selection fits the criteria of being calming.
The only choice she can come up with is a slow, melancholic french song; it’s tone is calming and the words aren’t in english, so it will be impossible for Enid to tell that it’s almost entirely about death.
So Wednesday resigns herself to her fate before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
In a slow and airy voice she begins singing On brûlera by Pomme, one of the many sapphic songs she listens to whenever she finds herself longing for Enid.
“On brûlera~ toutes les deux~
(We will burn, the both of us)
En enfer~, mon ange~
(In hell, my angel)
J'ai prévu~ nos adieux~
(I have planned our goodbyes)
À la Terre~, mon ange~
(To the earth, my angel)
Et je veux~ partir avec toi~
(And I want to leave with you)
Je veux~ mourir dans tes bras~
(I want to die in your arms)
Que la mer nous mange le corps~, ah~
(Let the sea eat our bodies)
Que le sel nous lave~ le cœur, ah~
(Let the salt wash our hearts)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Oh, je t'aimerai encore
(Oh, I will still love you)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Je m'excuse auprès des dieux~
(I apologise to the gods)
De ma mère et ses louanges~
(To my mother and her praises)
Je sais~ toutes les prières~
(I know all the prayers)
Tous les vœux~, Pour que ça change~
(All the wishes for it to change)
Mais je veux~ partir avec toi~
(But I want to leave with you)
Je veux~ mourir dans tes bras~
(I want to die in your arms)
Que la mer nous mange le corps~, ah~
(Let the sea eat our bodies)
Que le sel nous lave le cœur~, ah~
(Let the salt wash our hearts)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Oh, je t'aimerai encore
(Oh, I will still love you)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
On brûlera~ toutes les deux~
(We will burn the both of us)
En enfer~, mon ange~
(In hell, my angel)
Tu peux~ écrire tes adieux~
(You can write your goodbye)
À la Terre~, mon ange~
(To the earth, my angel)
Car je veux~ partir avec toi~
(Because I want to leave with you)
Je veux~ mourir dans tes bras~
(I want to die in your arms)
Si la mer nous mange le corps~, ah~
(If the sea eats our bodies)
Si le sel nous pique le cœur~, ah~
(If the salt stings our hearts)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)
Oh, je t'aimerai encore
(Oh, I will still love you)
Je t'aimerai encore~
(I will still love you)
As the last words of the impromptu serenade flow past Wednesday’s lips she opens her eyes and looks down to the wolf who’s still pressed against her abdomen. She then realizes that, while she was lost in the music, she had unconsciously brought her hand up and started to run her fingers through Enid’s soft blonde hair. She continues the action a few more times, making sure to properly savor the moment, before she pulls her hand away and wraps it around the wolf's shoulder once again.
The sudden absence of the calming hand on her head causes Enid to loosen her grip on the raven’s waist and look up into her eyes. But she kept herself in Wednesday’s close proximity, her head was still near enough to the raven’s body that her chin rested against the lower part of Wednesday’s sternum.
“T-” Enid begins but an aftershock of a sob works its way up her throat first. “That was beautiful, Wends.” A sad but meaningful smile spreads across the beautiful pink lips of her love. Wednesday can’t help but smile along with her as she raises her hand to Enid’s face, cupping her cheek and wiping away a falling teardrop.
“Yes, well,” Wednesday can’t help the blush that burns her face as she stares into Enid’s watery blue eyes, savoring the closeness they share. The warmth of the wolf’s face under her hand makes Wednesday feel as if her whole life has taken place in the barren arctic, but now she has found the life giving heat of a fire, and she never wants to be without this warmth again. “I hope it proved adequate at improving your mood.” The raven puts on an air of confidence but the wolf can easily see the nervousness she was trying to mask.
“It was, thank you.” A wavering smile spreads across her face as she leans into the cold yet grounding hand that lightly held her by the cheek. “You’ve gotten a lot better at this.” A small laugh leaves Enid’s lips as she squeezes Wednesday’s waist and relaxes into her arms even more.
“At what?” The raven questions as Enid buries her head in Wednesday’s stomach yet again, forcing Wednesday to drop her hand from the wolf’s face and start rubbing circles into her back instead.
“Cheering people up.” Her words are muffled by the fabric of Wednesday’s hoodie, and, as if Enid’s breath tickling her skin just above the navel wasn’t enough for her heart to beat itself to shreds, the wolf begins to inhale heavily through her nostrils as she greedily takes in Wednesday’s scent.
“That is a courtesy I extend only to you.” Wednesday’s tone is far softer than even she herself has ever heard it before. But her gentle voice only causes Enid to start crying once again. The sound of Enid’s sobs makes it feel as if Wednesday’s heart had dropped down her esophagus; a feeling similar to that of swallowing the heavy iron key of the manor’s dungeon in order to ensure there is no escape. Only this time, instead of the desperate screams of her brothers, the feeling was accompanied by a near heart stopping sympathy.
“I- I’m sorry, I just…” Enid begins as her crying turns to sobbing, soaking the black cotton of Wednesday’s hoodie. “I can’t believe that I almost lost you.” Wednesday can feel the wolf shaking in her arms, so she holds on to the blonde even tighter than before.
“But you didn’t, Enid.” Wednesday whispers as she brings her hand up and starts to run her fingers through the wolf’s soft, fluffy hair once again. “And you never will.”
But that’s not true.
Wednesday won’t be alive much longer.
She doesn’t know why she just lied to Enid like that, but it didn’t feel like a lie; it felt like a fact. It felt like it was a given that Wednesday would be by Enid’s side until they grow old, that the wolf and the raven were an inseparable pair.
Her heart clenches in her chest as she realizes that’s just what she wishes, not what will actually happen. Enid will marry Ajax, move away, and start a family with him while Wednesday dies before she can even graduate high school.
A tear begins to trace down her cheek as the weight of the curse and the hopelessness of her feelings bears down on her. She looks away from the girl she loves as she attempts to quell her tears, it’s only then that she realizes that Yoko had been staring at her with sad eyes and a melancholic smile for quite a while now, and it had presumably started at some point during the serenade.
Wednesday quickly looks away from the vampire and closes her eyes, deciding to let herself get lost in the arms of her love while she’s still alive.
A long few minutes of quiet, only interspersed with the sound of Enid’s sobbing, fills the room. During that silence Yoko stands from her spot next to the wolf and sends a sad smile towards Wednesday.
“She’s probably not going to calm down for a while.” The vampire briefly looks at the wolf before returning her attention to the raven. “C’mon, you two should lay down.” Yoko says as she looks at Wednesday’s injured leg, which the girl was putting way too much pressure on by standing up for such an extended period of time.
“N-no!” Enid protests as she pushes herself away from the girl in her arms, tears still streaming down her face. “I’m okay, I’ve al- already pushed W- Wednesday’s boundaries enough for today.” The wolf brings the sleeves of her orange and pink sweater up to her eyes to wipe away her tears.
“Enid, my boundaries are just fine.” Wednesday looks into her blue eyes as she runs her fingers through the wolf's blonde hair. “Now, let me do this for you, Please.” That word felt foreign on her tongue, having very rarely ever used it before, but, for Enid, she would gladly add it to her regular verbal repertoire.
“O-okay.” The wolf concedes before slowly wrapping her arms around the raven’s waist once again. Wednesday follows suit as she quickly wraps her arms around the wolf’s shoulders and pulls her in closer.
The raven is the first to start moving, sitting on the bed next to Enid and dragging the wolf with her until they are both sitting in the middle of her bed with their feet on the sheets. But before they can fully recline to a lying position, Enid stops them.
“Wait, o- our shoes.” Is all Enid says as she goes to take them off, but Wednesday only tightens her hold on the wolf in an effort to stop her from worrying too much about something as benign as a little dirt on her blankets.
“Don’t concern yourself with that, my sheets were already in need of washing.” Enid stops to look into her eyes, as if she was trying to determine if Wednesday actually meant what she said. “Just, lay down Enid.” Wednesday half asks her, half tells her.
The wolf allows herself to be guided down onto the bed until they’re both laying on top of the black sheets, facing each other as they slowly settle into their new positions. Wednesday’s left arm is trapped under Enid’s neck and her right arm rests gently on Enid’s waist. Meanwhile, Enid awkwardly presses her hands against her own chest, unsure of what to do with them.
Wednesday notices Enid’s apprehension and decides to take the lead. She grabs Enid’s arm and wraps it around her shoulder before she uses her strength to lay on her back, pulling Enid almost entirely on top of her body before wrapping both of her arms around the wolf.
“I- I can’t.” Enid says in a panic as she pushes herself off of Wednesday and looks into her eyes with slight fear. “I’m too heavy, I don’t want to crush you.” She voices her concern, but all Wednesday does is pull the wolf back down, pressing their bodies together once again before working to reassure the nervous blonde.
“Enid,” She begins as she rubs small circles between the wolf’s shoulder blades. “At the Addams manor I sleep under a one hundred pound blanket, and that’s only because I could not locate a version that weighed any more.” Wednesday twists her neck to look down at the mess of blonde hair resting against her chest. “So no, Enid.” The raven says as black painted nails begin to work their way through bright blonde hair, gently scratching against the wolf’s scalp. “Not only are you not ‘too heavy’ but, if anything, I find the pressure of your body to be woefully comforting. It’s like being buried alive, sans the coffin.” Wednesday can feel Enid’s breathing hitch as sobs slowly over take her once again, causing the raven to immediately regret ever mentioning anything about being buried, alive or otherwise.
The wolf finally settles into the cold yet grounding body of the raven, resting her head directly against the girl's shoulder as sobs begin to overtake her. Her tears wet the black hoodie beneath her as she snakes her hands under Wednesday’s back, holding on to the raven as tightly as she can.
While Enid cries her delicate little heart out Wednesday looks to her side; just in time to see Yoko holding her phone and taking a picture of the two of them laying in bed together. She glares at the vampire, and, even though she’s trapped under the warmest and most comfortable blanket she’s ever had, she reaches for one of the many throwing knives at her disposal.
But, before Wednesday can grab the dagger from under her mattress, Yoko makes the intelligent decision to take her leave, quietly closing the door behind her as she disappears from the room, leaving the wolf and the raven alone in each other's arms.
And that’s where the two of them stay for the rest of the night, savoring the comfort of one another as they drift off to sleep.