Chapter 2- Witches and other monsters
AN: So you know, I have very little idea where I'm going with this story. I'm trying to follow the prompt but don't really know what to do after that. Huge thanks to everyone that read this, guest Harri for reviewing, and ArmoredSoul, Ink Stained Mind, artsybelle22, Alienea and byIceandSteel for following this story. Huge thanks also to ArmoredSoul, Kaaki Shaman and byIceandSteel for favoriting. If you would like a specific type of 'monster' please let me know!
Louhi clicked her knuckles, wriggled her fingers, sent some hunters and humans packing with a venomous glare and made an obscure pattern, drawing runes in the air whilst muttering.
Knocked over pieces of furniture was righted. The wall with a huge hole in it slowly refilled itself and closed. Parahumans were sorted from the hunters and placed on either side of the corridor, and a temporary, rather shoddy barrier erected.
Already feeling a bit shaky, the witch began checking the Parahumans over and healing the worst injuries, waking them up with a few murmured words and shooing them. Just as she finished with the last one of the hunters gave a groan and rolled over. Louhi pushed the Skin-walker she had healed down the corridor just as Chuck Hansen blearily opened his eyes and then shut them again.
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. He pulled himself to his feet, still without noticing her, and stretched carefully. She noticed the flinch and her eyes narrowed even more. Finally he turned, and then jumped when he saw her watching so still. His foot crushed Cheung's hand, but the pilot didn't even react.
"I bet you didn't start this one either." She dryly remarked in her thick Finnish accent even as she used a flick of magic to keep him upright when it looked like he was about to fall on Izzy Sayer, a pilot of the Vulcan Specter. "Where are you hurt Chuck?"
"Nowhere, witch." He growled.
"Oh for Pete's sake!" She cried, throwing her hands up. "Fine! Don't be healed! Don't be able to pilot when you're needed." Indecision warred for a second before it slid behind a mask.
"I don't need your help."
"Chuck!" Came Herc's gravelly, incredibly unimpressed yell. "This is unacceptable! Starting fights, insulting a woman trying to help you." He nodded at her cordially as he marched up and she returned it. It was all she was going to get for a while. "If you won't accept it, I'll take you to the medi-bay and the witches there can heal you." Muttering darkly under his breath Chuck stomped toward her.
She found herself leaning back until she got a hold of herself and ignored his vicious scowl. When he didn't move she rolled her eyes again, grabbed a hold of his shoulder and spun him around, lifting his shirt up to eye the slash and the bruising around it critically. Glancing at the tense muscles in the Ranger's shoulders she placed a hand over the wound and muttered words of healing.
He tensed even more, but then relaxed as he felt the soothing warmth rush from her into the wound, and although he couldn't see it he could feel the wound sealing and the bruise abating a bit before she suddenly pulled back with a sharp intake of breath.
Chuck shook himself of the magical anaesthetic and pulled away, tugging his shirt back down and stalking off down the corridor without even glancing at the significantly paler Witch.
Herc sighed. "Thanks for trying girl."
"No problem." She shrugged, moving over to Cheung to heal his hand and the nasty bite she could see on his arm after a second. With another sigh, the Hunter Ranger walked after his son.
Stretching her arms above her head and smothering a yawn Louhi wandered into the mess hall and scanned her eyes over the tables, grinning when she saw Mako wave to her. Easily wriggling through the crowds she threw a wave back, and to Vick when he shot her a friendly smile with far too sharp teeth. Picking up her salad meal from the softly smiling elf she slid next to them and surveyed the room.
The hunters, which meant all the pilots and some of the technicians and mechanics, sat on one side of the hall. Most of the humans intermingled with them.
On the other side sat the Parahumans, with some humans. However their tables were a bit more difficult.
The witches from different clans had long since learnt to tolerate each other, and even befriend each other sometimes. Thankfully there were no werewolves to deal with, so no clan wars there and no clashes with vamps. The vampires were split into two groups; the vegetarians and the purists. These were very careful not to sit near each other, and normal humans were very careful to not sit too close to the purists.
The skin-changers intermingled with the humans and witches, but otherside tended to stick in groups of animal types.
The different types of fae- Xana, Elves, Elementals, and many more- were careful to keep separate too, from others and each other.
Sadly, all the mermaids had died when the Breach opened or fled to Northern waters to escape the Kaiju.
Vick, probably the most laid-back vampire ever, nudged her in the shoulder while still drinking from his vegetarian juice box, and she followed his gaze to see Newt glide in, wave to a few people on either side and waltz back out again with two meals of beef and potatoes. She rolled her eyes and settled down to listen to the conversation and inhale her meal. Which was about when the alarms went off and three crews were rushed to the loading station.
Newt whistled as he walked through the identical steel corridors, carefully balancing the meals. With his gaze locked on the trays he shuffled back into the lab, looked up...and the whistle died in his throat.
Hermann was casually flipping a silver knife in his hand as he scribbled calculations. Newt swallowed the growl that threatened to rumble from his throat and asked in a voice that trembled far too much for a rockstar
"Er, Hermann? What you doing with that?" Hermann looked at him with irritation, making him twitch, then followed his eyes to the knife. With a curse he dropped it, then with a deep breath reached down to pick it up and seal it in a draw on his desk.
"Sorry, Doctor Geizler. I apologise for worrying you, I was just thinki- did you just call me Hermann again?!" And so it began again.
"-Always get annoyed at the most tiny of-"
"Well excuse me Doctor Geizler if some of us have standards!"
"Yeah, the standards of a fucking grandpa! You were a rockstar! A Hunter, the best Hunter!"
"Don't remind me." His voice was cold. Pentecost attempted to knead away a growing headache and then barged into the room.
"Will you two shut up!" He bellowed. They froze mid-shout. "We are running out of pilots, Jaegers and money, this entire Shatterdome is about to tear itself apart and you two won't stop bickering! I've already had to discipline you once today! Pull yourselves together and get working!" He ordered before turning on their still-frozen forms and stalking out, toward command central. Behind him he heard muted muttering, but it didn't sound angry. He smirked to himself. Good. Tendo, probably the world's oddest hunter, had asked for him on a matter of some importance.
In the lab there was silence for a while as they ate.
"Sorry for snapping." Hermann suddenly muttered. Newt's head snapped up, eyes wide.
"Dude, did- did you just apologise to me?"
"Yes, well, no need to point it out to anyone. I know I surprised you with the knife, that's all." Hermann drew himself up stiffly again. Newt rolled his eyes but he had a huge grin on his face.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say man." And Hermann found himself giving a small smile back, before he quickly hid it behind another mouthful of potato. Easier that way.