The Most Wanted Woman in Town [Romance o/o] (Closed)

There was a roar, a snarl up ahead, and Teben redoubled his speed. Ronnie caught just the slightest glimpse of what he thought the creature might be, and then it was gone.

They pursued the beast for a week.

At times, they were within line-of-sight. They could see the beast. A couple times, as the creature had rested, Ronnie had sighted down his bow and set up a shot.
The first shot, the creature had heard the arrow whistling, and had dodged. Ronnie had quickly sighted another one in, but it was too late.
The next day, he'd repeated the stunt. Except this time, it was in daylight, and he could see the color of the creature's fur more clearly. The same color as Eve's lovely hair…
And it was that thought that had stopped him from firing. He couldn't shoot the beast, even knowing what it was. What it could do.
Knowing who it was made it too hard.

So they worked on getting closer. A few times, he and Teben had managed to surprise it, but they were used to working in squads, and it was hard to surround an animal when there was only one unit. There hadn't really been a chance for close-quarters combat yet.

They took to patrolling the outer edges of Tol Galen, making sure the farmers were taken care of. The shifter's roars could be heard echoing off the hills, and the townspeople were likely agitated.
Ronnie hadn't been back, so he didn't know. He'd been living out here, just he and Teben and whatever was left of Eve.
He was convinced, the more he watched the behavior of the creature, that Eve was not in control. There was nothing remotely rational about the beast's actions, and certainly nothing that would suggest there was a human in there.

It really was a monster.

And as the week went on, Ronnie realized that unless Eve was just an exceptional liar, somehow, he had brought this out of her. And so try as he might… he couldn't find it to keep being mad at her. This was his fault. The whole situation was his fault. Of all the men, she'd picked him, and he had this problem that might keep them from being able to be together, which… was clearly a problem for her, too.
So how to fix the issue…. he wasn't sure. But it certainly had to start with getting Eve back.

At the end of that week, at dawn, Teben woke Ronnie by nudging him with his large, wet nose. Ronnie rolled to his feet and looked around. "What is it, fella?" Teben pawed his leg, and then tossed his head towards town. Ronnie looked, but couldn't see anything. Still, he trusted his Warg, so he climbed in the saddle. "Let's go then."

Teben took off, and soon, Ronnie could see why the Warg had been urgent. The beast was close to town, much too close, but also…
It had backed itself into a corner. A thick stand of beech trees stood between it and the town, and if Ronnie timed it right, he could herd it into that grove, and finally, finally confront this thing.

They circled carefully, and after a few minutes were on the right side to do what they'd planned. Teben let loose a hoarse bark as he charged through the snow, breaking loose from the underbrush, and Ronnie yelled as they ran down the beast. It had two options.
Either tussle with them right here, right now, or run into that grove. Either way, he got what he wanted.

Teben was a good bit bigger than the creature, but Ronnie had also made sure to tell his mount not to kill the thing. As they got up close, Ronnie could tell his reasoning for this was sound.
Eve wasn't in control, at all.
He had kinda hoped not. If Eve was in the driver's seat this whole time, that meant she was not only a liar, but just kind of a bad person. But if she was locked behind some kind of animal mind, then…
Then this thing wasn't really Eve. The monster wasn't the same as his sweet girl. She wasn't a beast…
At least, he was desperately trying to convince himself that was true. And that he could maybe handle that. Maybe.

Tnings to think about later. Right now, he had a clear objective.
Get this thing to go away and Eve to come back.
Teben charged in, backing the beast into the grove, and Ronnie took a flying leap off his Warg's back. He landed and rolled forward, coming up on the beast's left side as Teben came at his right.

He drew his tomahawk and steeled his nerves.

Teben was able to stay out of reach easily, his main job being to keep the creature contained. He'd always been good at the herding aspect of the job. Tracking, herding, intimidating- those were his roles.
Ronnie was the killer.

Ronnie circled just a little, looking for an opening. The beast was tired, and all he needed was for it to make a mistake.
It lunged, but seemed off, like it was hesitating to finish the attack, and that was all Ronnie needed.
He moved like quicksilver, flashing into the opening left by the beast's confusion, and clocked it in the head with his tomahawk. It was the kind of blow he'd used to split skulls wide open before.

Except this time, he used the back of the blade, rather than the edge.

The thick block of metal connected, and rather than cutting, had the same effect as a hammer on an anvil. Ronnie wound up, unsure if he'd need to hit the thing again to drop it or not.

Ronnie moved forward as the beast fell. He sheathed the tomahawk and drew his rondel dagger as he approached the fallen shifter. His mind briefly forgot where he was, and he raised the weapon to strike a killing blow.
Teben gave a sharp whine, and Ronnie glanced up as the Warg stepped forward and stood over the shifter's body. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, until he remembered what he was doing, and who he was fighting.
He sheathed the dagger as the creature began twitching, and shifted back to Eve, in her nightgown there in the snow.
Ronnie pulled his pack blanket out of Teben's saddlebags, wrapped Eve in it, and draped her over Teben's back in front of his saddle, where the soft fur of the Warg would keep her comfortable.
……

Rumors and stories had flown around Tol Galen over the course of the week, with wild tales of a terrifying beast terrorizing the farmers and folks living on the outskirts of town, and half-truths about the young soldier hunting down the vicious beast that had eaten his betrothed.

So folks really weren't sure what to think when they saw Ronnie Vale riding back into town on his warg, with Miss Eve draped across the mount's back, unconscious but un-eaten. Ronnie made a beeline for Doc McElbrick's office. The old doctor saw him coming and frantically cleared a space for Miss Eve.

The Doc and his wife gently worked on Eve. Ronnie told him what he knew, and Doc's eyes widened as he listened. He'd had no idea Eve was a shapeshifter. He had wondered about magic in her garden, perhaps, but there'd been no reason to confirm that, or search for other powers.
Mrs. McElbrick slowly and gently worked a salve into Eve's muscles that would help her relax. Her face and body showed the toll the ordeal had taken on her. They weren't sure how long she'd be asleep, but Doc McElbrick was able to get her to swallow a drink that would help her fall into a natural sleep that would hopefully refresh her. They tucked her into a bed in their ward, on clean sheets, under warm blankets, and kept an eye on her.

Ronnie watched for a bit, but when Mrs. McElbrick had begun to work over Eve's body, he'd left, to preserve her dignity.

The looks people gave him as he walked back to the Blondewood were… mixed, to say the least. People didn't seem to know what to think of him, or of the whole situation.
Ronnie didn't say anything. Eve could explain this, if she wanted. If not… well, then the town could just wonder.

Doc and the Mrs. watched over Eve carefully. They kept visitors away, other than Ronnie, who checked in on her every day. In the morning, at lunch, and as the sun was setting, he would come check on her, making sure her condition hadn't degraded, and that she hadn't had an incident of some kind.

Eve woke up around sunset, and Mrs. McElbrick happened to be in the office a room over. She heard Eve call out, and quickly hurried in. She had a glass of water and some lissuin blossoms.
She stepped up next to the bed and sat down, so she wouldn't loom over Eve. "You're awake! Have some water and chew these before you try to speak. Your throat is probably fairly raw and you may have a headache." She kept her voice gentle and quiet, not wanting to startle Eve, and she placed the lamp cover over the light in the room, noting Eve having a hard time adjusting to it.

There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. McElbrick stood up and went to the door. She opened it and let someone in; the door wasn't in sight of Eve's bed, so she wasn't sure who it was, but the hushed conversation ended quickly, and the Doc's wife was back, smiling gently. "Let me know how you're feeling once you've drank your water and chewed those blossoms a bit. They should help with any pain and disorientation."

Ronnie stayed where he was, by the door. Mrs. McElbrick had said Eve was awake but out of it, so he stayed out of sight for now.

Mrs. McElbrick gave Eve the patient look a mother or teacher gives an errant child. "If you'll do as I'm telling you, I'll explain what's happened." She glanced at the blossoms held tight in Eve's fist, before reiterating. "The lissuin you're holding will only help you if you chew on it. It'll taste just the slightest bit sweet, and it should help lower your pain, and yes, the disorientation you're feeling. I can see you're a bit confused as to where you are and how you got here."
She sat down in a chair and scooted back from the bed, giving Eve her space. "About a week ago, there was an incident. Someone managed to get your key, but it was a rather traumatic situation for you, we think, and your body reacted. Your shapeshifting powers manifested and you became an animal, feral and wild. You were out in the woods for a week, and we don't know how much good food or decent sleep you got in all that time."
She glanced at the doorway, pausing for just a moment, but nothing happened. "You were finally subdued and returned to your human form a couple of days ago, and you're here, in the doctor's office of the town you grew up in, Miss Eve, to get better. We've been doing our best to help you rest and help your mind heal from what was obviously an awful experience." She looked at Eve, her expression gentle. "The water will slowly help your throat clear, as you rehydrate, and the Lissuin will clear other things. There is food if you'd like it, and I have more medicines we can try if other problems persist."

Ronnie listened to Eve's reaction, and Mrs. McElbrick's explanation, but stayed out of sight. He wasn't sure Eve would be ok if she saw him, and he didn't know if he could be as kind to her as she needed right now.

Mrs. McElbrick nodded as she watched Eve chew the lissuin blossoms. The young lady's confusion seemed to lift, slowly. It was replaced with fear at first, at the revelation that her power was known. The doctor's wife hurried to assuage her fears.
"Not many people know of your powers! Don't worry… We know, simply because we needed to know in order to take care of you, but the rest of the town only has rumors. I think Officer Vespasian knows, and of course Ronnie does, but… other than that, nobody else has the whole story."
Mrs. McElbrick noted the hiss of pain as Eve arched her eyebrows, and glanced at the lissuin. "You can't chew too many of those. Pop the whole handful, it'll help." She nodded as Eve drank the water, and made a sympathetic face at the sound of her voice.
She listened carefully, and kindly, as she always had, and was glad to see Eve remembering things. She nodded slowly as Eve concluded, and glanced at her hands for a moment, deliberating.

Ronnie listened to what Eve had to say. She remembered he'd got the key. And she remembered he'd come after her.
She was also seriously overblowing things. His words had been 'I need to think.' He hadn't left for good. He'd needed a moment to try to clear his head and his feelings.
And her response was extremely concerning. Did this mean that every time she got upset over him, she was going to lose control and transform into something he'd have to use violence on? That was a dangerous combination.
He wanted to step out and say that he had made an exception for her already. Every other shifter he'd come into contact with over the last 8 years was dead now, except Eve. Couldn't she see how hard he was already trying? Years of fighting instincts had reared their ugly heads when Eve had shifted in front of him, and it had taken everything in his exhausted, wounded, heartsick state not to snap her neck just then.
He stayed out of sight though, when she mentioned she wished he'd said goodbye. He had very intentionally not said those words, because he wasn't leaving her.

Ronnie wasn't leaving Eve.

He listened for Mrs. McElbrick's answer to Eve's question. The doctor's wife handled it with ease. "We weren't sure if hearing his name would be triggering to you, or if you remembered. If you didn't remember on your own, we didn't want to shock your system and risk another episode. Nothing has happened to him, though." She stood and stepped across the room, where there was a small tray of food. Simple bread and butter and some sliced fruit. "Here. You must be hungry. Have some food, I'll get more when you're done with that."

Mrs. McElbrick smiled at her. "It's no one else's business why you were in the doctor's office. Confidentiality and all that jazz. Your secret is safe with us." She noted Eve's relief, and hoped the girl was reassured.

She smiled as Eve downed the lissuin, and it began to work, slowly.

Mrs. McElbrick hesitated to answer the question but did finally. "He's been here every day, at least once." Every day, at least twice was more honest, but Ronnie was grateful she was downplaying it. He didn't want to seem desperate.
Though he was, a little. Mostly for answers and a way forward. He wasn't sure how this was going to work.

The doctor's wife beamed at Eve when she remembered her name. "Yes! That's me! Your memory is improving, that's good to see. " She reached forward and patted Eve's shoulder. "Eat up, and I'll answer any other questions you have, but know this is a good sign!"

She and the doc had treated a few other magic users over the years, and the results hadn't always been positive.

To the question of whether Ronnie had already been there, the doctor's wife once again hesitated. He had been there, but… if she said yes, it might imply he wasn't going to be there again, which. Would just be a flat lie, given he was just around the corner, listening.
"He-… he did come earlier yes, but… he may yet visit." She decided honesty was her best option in the moment. There was no specific reason to lie to Eve, and Ronnie could handle this how he liked.

She nodded reassuringly. "I'll be close by. Our house is attached, so if you call, or, if your throat is too sore, just knock on the door-" she indicated a door off to the side of the rest area- "-and I'll be right there for you."

She noted Eve's restraint with a smile. "Eat as much as you like, though eating slowly is probably a smart move."

Ronnie listened to all this, deciding that waiting until mrs. McElbrick had stepped away was smart. He'd let Eve eat a little, before stepping around the corner. No point in upsetting her stomach, if seeing him was going to be a problem.