15*Slowly waves* Hello? Hi, yeah, what's going on with you guys? ... Stuff? Alright then. Um, yeah, haven't heard from me in a long time - so here's the longest one in this series I have ever written.
So... yeah...
'Vânător' means 'Hunter' in Romanian.
Bruce leaned on the doorframe as he watched Dick walk out. "You going out then?"
Richard paused for a second. "Yep," He tilted his head slightly towards the moon and smirked. "Bright out, isn't it?"
Bruce sighed. "Just be careful, Dick."
Dick nodded and – with a "Aren't I always?" – started to jog, barefoot, out deeper into the garden. Gotham Forest wasn't too far away – only a couple miles. It wouldn't take that long and the thought of being about to run, so very freely was amazing.
He'd only be out for a few hours then he'd been home at around two in the morning. Being out was the best feeling. He felt Bruce's gaze on his on his back until he had run out of sight.
His feet on the ground, the steady pound of his heart as he ran…
Gotham Forest was a mess of trees and moss – it looked like how the city felt – crazy, messed up, dark.
Robin's jog slowly increased into a sprint as he made his way through the forest – the soles of his feet coming into contact with the ground at a fast and increasing rate – his breaths shot out as he ran.
His eye's narrowed and his mouth was tugged into a smirk as he pushed himself harder – muscles burning.
It was then he entered the clearing – the beautiful, calm clearing, twisted trees forming a perfect circle. Skidding to a halt, his head tilted towards the full moon and grinned.
Entranced at the sight of the perfect silver circle, he didn't notice the whispered voices that were slowly getting closer.
He ducked his head as he let the change take place. First his teeth elongated into fangs, sharpening into points and looking rather feral in his still human mouth. Keeping his mouth open, he allowed fur to crawl up from his fingertips and up his arms, quickly making his way up to chest and spreading over the rest of his body. He fell onto one knee, gasping as his body started to loose energy – still, when he turned eighteen he wouldn't need to deal with this crap, when he turned eighteen he could turn without a problem and then he'd try to learn how to change on will.
Shaking his head, he felt everything in his body start to change shape – everything stretched and shifted, but it didn't hurt – in fact, it felt almost comforting.
Then it was over and the boy – now wolf – tilted his head back and let out a loud and proud howl into the night.
The whispered voices cut off suddenly and then there were sounds of running, boots hitting the ground, heavy and ruff thumps so unlike the ones that the boy had produced.
Dick's ears flicked slightly to the left at the sounds and his howl was cut off. He knew that Bruce had heard his howl, 'It carries for miles' Bruce had said, and he'd be worried at the sudden stop.
An arrow flew past his ear. He yelped and jumped away, head turning towards the origin of the weapon. His blood ran cold.
There was a small group of people standing there – a couple men, a couple woman and two children – a boy and a girl, each with brown hair – family business, he guessed.
His eyes widened at the sight of them – each looked almost dead in the yes, they had seen too much, even the children looked worn down. They were all dressed in black; thick steel toed boots on their feet. The girl had a quiver full of arrows on her back, as did the boy. The boy had a bow strung on his shoulder, the girls in her right hand. The adults had twin pistols strapped to each of their hips and every member of the group had a pair of knives strapped to their arms.
Each weapon was made of a familiar metal – silver.
A low growl formed in his throat as he stepped back slightly.
The girl, without a word from the rest of the family around her, picked another arrow from her quiver and aimed.
In less than a second, Dick was gone. He sprinted. He sprinted so far and fast, noting the annoyed groans and thump of footsteps as the family set of behind him.
Hunters; God damn it, his day had been going so well.
Paws hit the ground – he needed to hide, he needed to get away.
'Rahat, rahat, rahat…' (Shit, shit, shit.)
Thanking the fact that he had a black coat – and training from the Batman himself – he hid, climbing up a tree and hiding in the heavy and twisted mass of vines and branches.
He squinted his eyes in order to lessen the reflective surface.
"We'd it go?" One of the men hissed, he had ruff stubble on his chin and he carefully – and deliberately – removed both knives from their holsters.
Dick winced; It.
"Don't worry, Pete." One of the women muttered. "We'll get it."
The young girl grabbed the woman's hand and shrunk closer to her. "Mum?" She whispered. "I-I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" The woman hissed. "Georgie, you let it get away! How long did you practice with that bow – useless!" She let go of the girl's hand.
"Suzan, don't be so hard on her." The second woman reprimed. "She's just a kid – has a lot to learn." She smiled warmly at Georgie.
Suzan scowled. "We will talk about this later."
Georgie whimpered and speed to, who Dick assumed, was her aunt.
"You're too hard on her, Suzie."
"No – you're not hard enough, Sam."
Sam sighed, shaking her head.
"Enough chit-chat." The second man cut in. "Search for it."
Richard Grayson was completely aware that they'd find him – he just needed time to think of a way to run without giving away his place in the trees.
That was when a bullet hit his shoulder. He howled in pain, falling from his place in the branches, the silver bullet in his shoulder causing everything to blossom in pain, like fire was being spread over his skin.
"Got it." Pete muttered. "Dan, go get it."
The second man, Dan, nodded and removed his own set of knives and set off towards the whimpering wolf with a blank face.
"See, Alex?" Sam nodded at the boy, with a kind smile. "It's alright – daddy is going just help."
The boy's eyebrows scrunched together as he watched. "Why do we need to kill it?"
"Because it's a monster, Alex," His mother's smile dropped slightly. "And what do we do?"
"… Kill the monsters."
"Right."
Dick tried to back away, he really did, but his shoulder blade felt like it was one fire – he couldn't do it, he just couldn't.
He man ducked down to his level, the silver blade glinting in his left hand, it ran the length of his forearm.
Quietly and quickly placing the blunt side of the knives on the werewolves cheek, he watched without a blink as the creature yelped and attempted to run. He flipped the blade over and drew an 'x' on his cheek.
"Now, werewolf," He hissed. "I will put you out of your misery." He placed the blade at the wolf's throat and was about to pull backwards when a voice cut into the darkness.
"Stop!"
Bruce Wayne lent on the doorframe as he watched his son who silently walked outside.
"You going out then?" He asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.
Pausing before his answer, Dick replied. "Yep; bright out, isn't it?" He started at the large moon in the night sky.
Bruce just sighed – that kid… "Just be careful, alright?"
"Aren't I always?" He asked in a rather snarky manner. Turning on his heel, the boy started to run. He ran slowly at first, he always did, and Bruce watched, a smirk ever present on his face, until Richard Grayson was unable to be seen.
"He'll be fine, sir." Alfred said from his place behind the multibillionaire, who had not noticed his appearance.
Bruce sighed. "Yeah; I guess he will."
Turning around and entering the home he waited. The manor was always painfully quiet when Dick left for the night – nobody really wanted to talk or sleep until he got back which would be for a while.
Alfred didn't say a word as he walked in, handing the man a cup of coffee before walking back into the kitchen to busy himself, probably by cleaning the whole thing top to bottom. This always happened, the awkward air between them until at least they heard what they were waiting for.
Then it happened, a long, echoing, excited howl. Bruce smiled as he listened, knowing fully well that Dick would be enjoying himself.
That was when it came to an abrupt and sudden end.
Bruce was imminently on edge and he heard Alfred stop working, the man briskly making his way into the longue that Bruce was still standing in.
They looked at each other before they both set off towards the study. Quickly opening the clock in the study, both Alfred and Bruce entered the elevator and waited a total of five agonizing seconds before the door opened again to revel the Batcave.
Sprinting to the Batcomputer, he quickly brought up security feeds. He was very happy that he had planted cameras in the forest.
That was until he saw what was on screen.
Hunters.
Bruce slammed his fist onto the table with a growl – no. He watched as his son backed away and then sprinted through the trees as an arrow sped through the air and impaled it's self in a tree that was behind were the werewolf used to be.
He quickly got dressed into his Batsuit, becoming the Dark Knight – Alfred was staring at the computer as Batman made his way to the Batwing.
The elderly man didn't say anything as Batman looked at him. There were no words. They just needed to help Richard.
Without a word, Alfred synced the cameras to the Batwing and with a nod, Batman set off.
"You get them, Master Bruce." Alfred whispered as he sat down on a chair to watch.
Batman landed in Gotham Forest not a minute after he left the cave.
He exited the Batwing just in time to hear a pained howl echo around the forest.
Then he saw red.
He hid himself in every dark shadow that he could, which really wasn't all that hard – the tangled mess of foliage around him was tedious to walk through but had excellent coverage.
He soon found the group of people that surrounded the boy – it didn't matter which form, that's what he was, a boy – one of the men hovering over the whimpering were'.
Batman scowled as he watched, reaching for his utility belt and pulled out a couple of bat-a-rangs
"Now, werewolf, I will put you out of your misery." The man's muscles tensed as he was about to pull backwards and slit Robin's throat.
"Stop!"
Even Batman stopped at the boy's voice. The boy's eyes were wide, wild, terrified – his whole family had turned to look at him, even his older cousin; she, however, looked relived.
"I-It d-didn't do eh-anything…" He whispered.
"Now, Alex." One of the women said quietly. "Look, it's alright – it isn't human."
"B-But-"
"No 'but's' Alex!" The woman's voice rose slightly. "It's not human and that's that."
'Alex' shrunk back.
The girl nodded. "Y-Yeah, I-It looks scared…"
"Not you too, Georgie!" The second woman moaned. "It isn't human; it had no feelings or emotion – all it is a blood thirsty freak!"
"B-But look at it!" Georgie's voice got stronger. "It's sad!" She paused. "And it's not an 'it'!"
Dick raised his head – pain still throbbing – to look at the girl with interest as the man moved away from him to look more closely at the family member that dared to speak up.
The boy looked wide eyed before his face hardened. "Yeah! I don't wanna hurt it." He grabbed onto his cousins hand in order to keep his 'tough guy' mode active.
The woman who had told Georgie off growled and grabbed both children's wrists causing them to cry out. "You will watch and you will learn – understand?" She hissed, tightening her grip.
Batman's eyes narrowed even further and he quickly dropped his Bat-a-rangs back in his belt and drew a couple smoke pellets.
And then he simply threw them.
The hunters all let out a surprised yell.
Batman just grabbed the wolf from the ground and he was gone.
"Dick, stay still." Batman growled as he tried for the tenth time to remove the bullet from Richard's shoulder.
He still struggled, whining and trying to get away from him.
"Richard," Bruce tried.
The wolf paused at his full name but still whimpered and shook, trying to stay still.
"Good Job, Dickie…" Bruce murmured, grabbing the pair of tweezers again and trying to remove the silver that had lodged itself into his shoulder.
The Batwing was on auto pilot, making its way back to the Batcave quickly, but not at top speed – doing so would be dangerous. He couldn't risk pushing in the bullet deeper, but nor could he risk keeping it in any longer.
Robin whimpered again and Bruce winced – it wasn't a 'hey, I'm adorable give me whatever I want' whimper, it was a 'Pain – so much pain' whimper.
Bruce pushed the fur away with one hand as he slowly reached in with the tweezers which were held in the other.
Richard almost howled but kept as quiet and still as he could – he knew that the less he moved the quicker the bullet would be removed, but the pain was blinding – it was searing red hot, spreading down his arm and slowly making its way into his chest.
Bruce finally managed to find the metal object that rested in the werewolf's flesh and seized it, taking an experimental tug.
This time, Dick did howl.
"Shhh. Shh, it's okay, Prihor (Robin)," Bruce whispered. "Everything's okay - Totul e în regulă."
Dick whimpered, but nodded. Lowering his head, he out a low growl – Batman knew it wasn't one of aggression, it was a growl of frustration.
Still holding the bullet, Batman slowly started to tug the item from the wound, noting the winces and growls as he dragged the metal through his flesh and slowly out of the hole.
"Sorry, Dickie - Îmi pare rău pasăre mică, - E în regulă. A se vedea, am terminat." (I'm sorry, little bird - It's alright. See, we're done.)
Robin nodded but still shook slightly, winces and shivers still taking hold of his frame. Batman knew that it wasn't the bullet that had harmed the boy, Dick had taken to many bullets and had always reacted in a similar way – a straight face. This was the metal, he could only imagine… he turned the bullet in his palm.
There was a slight jolt as the plane came into contact with the ground of the Batcave – Batman straightened and opened the door, quickly picking up the were' and taking him over to Alfred.
The elder man ushered him into the infirmary.
"I am sorry, Master Dick." Alfred whispered, cleaning up the wound. "I will not be able to stitch this up until you have reverted." He reached to his left and with a soft smile, placed a plate of meat in front of him. "I assume you did not have the chance to hunt tonight."
Richard's looked at the man before licking his face. Alfred smiled slightly, drawing his hand up to wipe the saliva of himself.
Both men walked from the infirmary to leave the wolf as he ate. "He'll be fine, sir." Alfred placed his hand on Bruce's shoulder.
"I know. Doesn't make it better."
When Dick awoke in the Batcave, he needed to sit there for a couple minutes to recollect his thoughts. What had happened? Propping himself up on his elbows, a wave of pain shot threw his-
He fell backwards back onto the bed with a groan. Right – pain wasn't the only thing that had been shot threw his shoulder recently.
"You're awake, I see."
He turned his head to see Alfred with a tray laden with breakfast. "Hey, Alfie…" He muttered.
Alfred shook his head and brought the tray over with a small smile. "You're hungry, I presume?"
Dick nodded as he looked at his shoulder – a thin line of stitches covering the hole, while his shoulder looked almost sunburnt.
He heard the tray rest on the table beside him.
"I'm sorry, Alfred."
The man paused. "Sorry for what, Master Dick? Last I checked, you did not shoot yourself."
"But I should have been-"
"Do not blame yourself, Master Richard." Alfred looked over at the boy. "That is one bad habit you have picked up from Master Bruce."
Dick rolled his shoulder before reaching out and grabbing a slice of toast which lay on the tray. "… Thanks, Alfred."
Alfred nodded, almost dismissively, and continued to speak. "Once you have finished, Master Richard, you may come upstairs."
Dick nodded, a small smile on his face, the still there 'X' easily seen on his cheek.
"'Kay."
Alfred shook his head and exited the room. He'd be fine – but Alfred had known the boy long enough to know that he was terrified.
Richard had spent the remainder of the day completing homework. He'd locked himself up upstairs, only exiting the space to grab dinner and walk back up.
The two men didn't say much about it. The boy had been terrified – in pain.
Bruce gently knocked on the door to Dick's room and after hearing a quiet "Come in." entered.
Opening the door, Bruce Wayne saw the young hero lying on his bed, hands folded behind his head. He walked to the side of the bed.
"Dick."
"Bruce."
Bruce sighed. "Dick, I know that-"
"No, you don't know." Dick cut him off in a slightly annoyed tone.
Bruce paused. "I guess you're right."
The boy didn't appear to have heard him. "Do you know what it feels like to have every single cell in your shoulder feel like its dying? Or being drowned in acid? No?" Bruce didn't answer. "Didn't think so."
"Richard – I know that it hurt and I know that you must have-"
"That's the thing, Bruce!" Dick's voice didn't rise but it might as well have. "It isn't the pain – I can deal with the pain! How many times has something like this happened to me, huh? The watch Kaldur gave me, that fancy cutlery that I needed to use on Easter a few years ago, that one ring I found; I've dealt with the pain – it isn't the pain. Sure, it might have burned and my shoulder felt like it was dying but I can deal with that, I-"
"Then what is it, Dick?" Bruce cut him off.
"… It's because you wouldn't have made such a stupid mistake."
Bruce raised an eyebrow at the boy's words.
"You would have noticed them coming from a mile away, you would have heard them and have been able to get away; I'm trained by you, I'm meant to be good at stuff like this – but I didn't notice anything! I let my emotions get away from me and made you and Alfred worry, not only that, but I got myself hurt in the most stupid, predictable, cliché way I possibly could have."
Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare blame yourself, Richard Grayson." He sat on the bed, causing the boy to soot over. "I don't blame you, Alfred doesn't blame you and you shouldn't blame you – you did nothing wrong. Even though I'm… Batman… I'm not perfect, I'm not amazing at everything. I make stupid mistakes. When I first versed the Riddler, I almost slipped on my cape – that was certainly a brilliant first impression."
Dick gave a small grin. "Thanks, Bruce." Then he paused. "Care to tell me that story?"
Bruce smirked. "I had just gotten back from patrol that night…"
So, I hope you liked that... some of it is pretty sloppy... and OOC, but hey! Uh... I have no idea what to say...
I'm not the biggest fan of this, but hey! Your opinions would be much appreciated!
Review and/or PM me,
- Cat =^.^=