A Change of Pace

Chaos…everywhere was chaos. When she found out who released these damned creatures on HER campus, she was going to throw that person in the same portal they opened and let them get eaten alive by the creatures on the other side of it. Four students were already dead (that anybody knew of at least…), three humans and one inhuman and there were too many to count in the hospital that were injured or dying. She was surprised to have heard so many of the stronger inhumans on campus had stepped in to protect the humans and weaker inhumans, but it wasn’t enough to keep people safe. She had immediately issued people to stay inside and stay off any first floors or by windows where they could be seen. The bullshit story being fed to all the humans was a pack of rabid dogs that had been living in the forests undetected had come onto campus and they were large and dangerous. Many humans looked skeptical but Evelyn didn’t care, she needed them safely indoors.

Speaking of being safely tucked away indoors…that was where she was supposed to be. Her guards had of course swooped on her when the news broke out and they came to protect her, but she had snarled at them that they had better get the hell away from her and go protect her students and kill the hellhouds quickly. Katarina was not hard to convince, but Nowe and Claire were, but enough barking at them and threatening to skewer them if they didn’t go finally did the trick. No one even knew how many had escaped, but she hoped all would be found quickly and destroyed without loose anyone else. She of course had been sitting around in her office worried. What if there were more students injured or murdered out there that no one noticed? Staff had gotten the students inside, but there were always stragglers. These thoughts drove her mad until she decided to go outside herself and look around. Just one sweep she told herself…just one and shed go back inside.

Two hours later she had seen no students, no bodies and no hellhounds, to her relief. As she was debating whether to go back inside before one of her guards caught her and gave her a lecture she didn’t need, she heard something. She very cautiously rounded a corner….and could have thrown a nail straight at the student she saw standing there. There were “rabid dogs” roaming around and this person was out here painting?! Were they insane?! She grit her teeth and quickly approached them “What are you doing out here!” She snapped furiously and pointed off “You need to get inside this instance! It is dangerous out here!” She put her hands on her hips and glared the person down…until she heard something move behind her. A growl made her close her eyes and let out a rush of breath and she slowly turned to glance behind her at the hellhound that had rounded the corner itself and saw them. She then looked to Freya “Run” She said hushly to her “Just run” Evelyn may have been a Vampire, but she wouldn't be able to out run the creature. But this student could, if Evelyn distracted it...she just wouldn't make it alive.

When Freya removed the mask her eyes widened and she stared at her in surprise “You” She growled, glaring her down. Of course it was her…Evelyn was stressed and pissed off and about to have a mental breakdown (at least a Evelyn version of a breakdown) and this little pain in the ass just had to be the only one out here to give her a miserable and difficult time. Well, maybe she’d get eaten and Evelyn wouldn’t have to bother with her anymore and her reckless behavior and tagging of her beautiful school. But Evelyn wasn’t a Dean for no reason…when danger was faced, she thought about other’s before herself, even if it was the one person she hated most of all at the moment. Anyway, Freya didn’t deserve a quick death…that was her afterthought to defend telling Freya to run away.

She expected Freya to disappear and save herself, why would she expect anything different? She had not been expecting the fae to step in front of her protectively and tell her to be the one to run. She stared at her, wondering if she had already been killed and was in some warped twilight zone hell. Why was the woman who had held her over the school threatening to drop her be trying to save her now? She was too surprised to move but she did step back when Freya pushed her, eyeing the woman “It’ll kill you. Do you even know what that is?” She hissed. She didn’t know why she bothered to even warn her, but she did. The creature came closer, growls coming from deep in its gut, moving at them slow and cautious for any sudden movements. Evelyn kept looking from Freya to the hellhound, wondering what she should do. Leave the annoying little brat or take responsibility as Dean?

While Freya was thinking she was crazy Evelyn was looking at her like she was crazy too. It took her a while to even speak because her eyes kept going to the ever approaching hellhound but she finally gave her a look “What? You idiot I didn’t say-“ Anybody else she wouldn’t have bothered, but Freya just pissed her off over any little thing, she naturally always just wanted to argue with her over everything, especially after their last little run in. But she stopped when the bristles on the creature’s body started lifting and shaking, showing it was ready to pounce, but the way it was looking between them it was obviously trying to decide who it wanted more.

She kept staring unsure at Freya but, then sighed and nodded. If the woman wanted to put herself in the path of this thing, well, she was going to let her. She’d be dead and well, it wasn’t exactly the way Evelyn wanted things to go but it still fixed a problem she had. Glancing one more time at the hellhound she turned away and started running. The hellhound quickly looked in her direction and snarled, its teeth bearing and hot saliva falling from its mouth as it decided to make Evelyn its target and started to run after her, trying to go around Freya as it had decided she was no threat to it.

Evelyn had not looked back when she ran, people who looked back slowed down and the last thing they ever saw was the face of death before everything went black. No, she ran all the way to the closest building and went inside; slamming the door behind her and standing perfectly still until she was sure the hellhound wasn’t behind her and wouldn’t try to storm in the building. She closed her eyes and looked down to the floor as she waited for her mind to slow down and then she sighed. Well, she had made it safe…she was sure Freya did not. Hellhounds only needed one bite and a person was dead no matter what species they were, and then they were devoured swiftly. Although the woman in her still hated the fae, the Dean in her felt guilt. She realized that if Victor had been in that position he would have tried to save Freya whether he hated her or not and if he couldn’t have saved her he still would have gone back.

She wasn’t Victor but damn it, knowing that the man would have had more integrity bugged her, so she went back.

She cautiously left the building and then slinked back down to where she had seen Freya. As she got closer she smelled blood and her first thought was yes, Freya was dead. But after a few moments she realized she wasn’t smelling the amount of blood she should be…so either the hellhound had devoured Freya whole and all that was left was some blood, or the deviant little fae was somehow still alive. She came around the building and looked around the corner, seeing the hellhound was miraculously gone and Freya injured on the ground. She watched her and cursed Victor in her head before going over to the woman’s body and carefully kneeled down next to her, looking her off. “Where’s the creature?” She asked firmly, her voice void of any emotion “Did it bite you?”

Was it wrong for her to feel a little self-satisfied to see Freya in actual pain, bleeding on the floor? Evelyn was going to assume it was extremely wrong, but she still felt it. She answered the most crucial question and Evelyn looked honestly surprised “The arctic ocean?” Well…that was a way to do it. Hellhounds couldn’t stand cold and as far as she knew they could not swim, so the creature was well on its way of slowly dying as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean. With the question answered she should have just walked away, who would know the wiser that she left the fae to die? Not that anyone would find a body most likely except some parts here and there and blood, Freya’s injuries would surely attract another hellhound…it probably had and they would be headed this way soon enough. She crossed her arms as she stayed knelt beside her, looking her over as she debated in her head. Be a good person or a bad person?

She looked at her burnt hand and took it to examine it “That burn is going to spread if it goes untreated. It’s not just a normal burn” She then let go of her hand and sighed harshly, glancing around before looking back to her “The nurse’s station is too packed. I have what I need at my home. It’s protected by wards, the hellhounds won’t be able to get there…if we can make it without them tracking you” Her house was her own personal nurse’s station; she had all sorts of balms, potions and remedies. “I’m not going to carry you, but I’ll help you walk. Do you think you can stand and walk at a brisk pace?” The woman looked a mess but, how else would they get there safely?

She snorted “What happened to your marvelous poker face?” She muttered bitterly. She may be helping the damned fae, but didn’t mean she still didn’t hold a grudge or that she wouldn’t have Nowe handle her once all this hellhound business was put to rest. But she had a duty as Dean and she had to uphold it…at least for now. Things were different in a crisis, but once it was over everything was a free for all. “It is bad. You will die from these injuries, the burn alone would engulf and you will suffer. Not like I wouldn’t like to see you suffer, but the hounds would get to you first” And what was the fun in that? When she asked her where she lived she knew why she was asking, but Evelyn really didn’t want to tell her where she resided. Freya was not the type of person she needed in her home.

But she was right about the walking and there was nowhere else they could go to tend to her wounds….She gritted her teeth and growled “Seven miles from the edge of campus between the cottages and the professor apartments. It’s in a clearing in the woods. It’s a medium, white little house. My home has wards however. Maybe with you with me it may accept you, or it may reject you” Of course she had no idea that Freya already had permission to enter her home. With disgruntled look she touched the fae and allowed herself to be teleported with her…she just hoped it didn’t end up into a fiasco like last time.

But low and behold they actually ended up in her house in the living room. She quickly let go of Freya and curtly motioned for her to sit down “Don’t worry about bleeding all over the place. It can be replaced” She went into the kitchen and reached up to open several of her cabinets, taking out small boxes of things and setting them on the counter as she riffled through them looking for what she needed and taking them up, neatly lining them up as she did.

When Freya didn’t come back with a sarcastic remark Evelyn was amazed. Wasn’t this the woman that no matter what Evelyn did or threatened her with she always had something to say? And now she was a mute, apparently even this annoying little fae had her breaking points. She watched her face closely when she offered a weak laugh and wondered again why she was helping her again. Oh right, because she was Dean and had a civil duty and Victor would have been ashamed of her if she had left Freya to the mercy of the hellhounds. Sometimes being a Dean just wasn’t fun…well actually it was never fun. Ever.

Once home and she found everything she needed she went over to where Freya sat and sat beside her stiffly “Take off your shirt. Clothing will just further irritate the wounds” She told her as she set the items she had brought on the floor carefully so she could access them without them being all over the couch in a messy pile. Order. Even in a crisis Evelyn was all about order. “Will deal with your hand first, then the other wounds”

As she fiddled with some of the first aid things she had she glanced to Freya and noticed her struggling to remove her shirt and upon closer inspection in watching her she realized the shoulder Evelyn had broken was still broken. Obviously the woman had looked fine before, so she could only assume it hadn’t been fully healed and had shattered again because of the hellhound. She put down the roll of gauze she was unwrapping and just leaned towards Freya, grabbed the side seam and ripped it open, and then she got up and moved to her other side and did the same. Scissors were overrated. She took the tattered pieces of the shirt and tossed them on her coffee table “There” She said simply before going back to what she had been doing.

“Give me your hand” She took the burnt hand first and used a wet cloth to wipe it as she examined it more closely then put the cloth down and grabbed a small glass cylinder filled with a yellowish balm and started to carefully put a thick layer on her hand and even down to her wrist where the burn hadn’t spread yet “It’ll sting for a while but it will control the burn and help heal it” She explained then got some gauze to wrap her hand up in a protective layer. All her movements were gentle, surprisingly enough.

Her eyes snapped from the woman’s hand to her face at her comment and it was not a good look “Oh? Am I to expect you saved my life for my own benefit and not some secret agenda of yours?” She said coldly, looking back down to her hand as she tended to it, not once losing the gentle motions. “Excuse me if I am not quick to trust any of your motives” Freya made have risked her life for her, but after their last encounter she was not one to automatically assume Freya had done it out of the goodness of her heart, hell no. She felt Freya had saved her for some reason; keep her alive for some plan later on. She would not say thank you to a woman who had threatened her before. When she finished with her hand she let it go “You should thank me for not leaving you out there after all your little threats from our last encounter”

“Turn around so I can get to your back” Her voice was getting more curt but she was still sitting there like a good little Dean helping her out. She put the lid back on the balm then got up to get a fresh towel to clean her back wounds, running under ice cold water then rinsing it so it wasn’t soaking wet before returning to the coach. She still wasn’t sure what to do with the broken collarbone, all the nurses were busy enough as it was and she couldn’t risk having one come over. She supposed the fae would just have to deal with it for now until she could come up with the best solution for the time being.

She sighed and made a face but she quickly wiped it off her face “Fine. Thank you for getting rid of the hellhound” She said stiffly, just saying it so she wouldn’t gripe about it anymore. Yes, Evelyn was thankful that she got rid of at least one of those damned creatures, just getting rid of one could save many lives…but Evelyn just didn’t like Freya enough to be as grateful as she should have been. When she threatened to go get it again she leaned back and glared at her “I would not be saying such things when you’re wounded. Watch yourself.” Really? She was going to threaten that when Evelyn could injure her further at this moment and just let her bleed to death without batting an eye. See, she shouldn’t have bothered with a thank you.

She shook her head “I don’t care honestly if you would have stayed there or not. You wouldn’t have gotten far with these injuries and who would have helped you?” As she asked the question she was doing her own investigation to see if Freya would slip any information that Evelyn had wanted Nowe to find out. Part of her just wanted to stop helping the fae and tell her if she felt so sure of herself she could take care of her damned self, but she grit her teeth and continued on assisting her even though she was truly forcing herself at this point. She checked the wound first then cleaned it up with the wet towel, still being careful, and then grabbed a different bottle with liquid in it. She poured some on a smaller towel then started wiping at the wound “What were you even doing outside? Was tagging the school really that important?”

The way she said no one made her pause and watch her for a few moments. Was that one of her little lies or not? Of course she had to wonder but the way she said it made Evelyn think she was most likely telling the truth. She could have made a snide comment but she didn’t and just dropped her gaze and went back to work. She just needed to get her bandaged up and then…she didn’t know quite yet. She’d want to kick Freya out but she had the woman in her house and knew the better option would be to have Nowe come here and deal with Freya when the hellhounds were handled with…if they were handled quickly of course.

“Something nice? Tagging the school is doing something nice? Please do not feed me bullshit I’m not in the mood” She growled softly. “It is fall semester, there are no breaks. I would think someone such as you would have her nose in all business of the school” Freya had seemed to know much about Evelyn, so she didn’t expect anything less from the woman to know everything that happened at the school. She finished cleaning the wound with the liquid then closed it and put it on the floor before grabbing something else “No” She said simply “Hellhound wounds are no normal injury.” She took another type bottle, this like a lotion, and poured some of her hands before spreading it over Freya’s back “If not treated correctly they will burn away your skin and once that happens nothing will save you”

She chuckled dryly “I don’t believe it” Why should she? The fae was deviant and not to be trusted, she had shown that enough. She was a threat to Evelyn and her school and she wasn’t going to believe for one second she was really this lonely little soul who was actually kind hearted. What next? She was going to tell her she fed the poor on the weekends and built villages in Africa? No, she wouldn’t believe a word Freya said, she had not been given any reason too trust her words or her motives. If she was somehow nice well then obviously she must have hated Evelyn, because she had not been given any kindness, which just confirmed the fact she thought Freya had some plan against her.

“If you’re going to bother to be a nuisance here then at least learn what is going on” She finished spreading the lotion against her back then capped it and put it down. “Put your arms up slightly so I can wrap the gauze around you” She instructed, grabbing a wider roll of it off the floor and scooted closer to Freya, laying one end against the top of her back then slowly wrapped it under her arms and around her front then to her back and continued it to cover her the entire wound on her back She nodded at her question “I am sure I do somewhere. Will probably have to set the bone though before you sling it” She finished wrapping her back and used some gauze tape to hold it then moved back “There. Should be fine now”