Howl to the moon and back~ mationix

[felinemon]

Lupa stretched her arms gingerly, and looked up to the sky. The world turned crimson as the sun began to set. She uncrossed her legs, and kneeled on the tarp where she had been sitting. The school camping trip was just starting to get fun. All around her, teens of all ages were running around, some playing a game of football between the trees, some playing the portable gaming systems they had brought. Others were roasting hot dogs over a fire, but Lupa wasn't interested in any of it. Standing up before her knees could turn red, she started towards the darkness of the forest, with naught but a small penlight to accompany her. She couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for them to notice she was gone... Hopefully though, she would make it back before the tent-curfew. A.K.A "we have to be in our tents- but no one said we had to go to sleep/be quiet" one. Lupa gave a small sigh, and resigned herself to sleep deprivation as she set out, cringing as she stepped on an exceedingly loud twig. She cast a quick, nervous glance around, but no one was there who hadn't been before. She let her shoulders slump, and stared into the darkness that was just beyond her vision.

[mationix]

(Sorry for my late reply, school's been getting my goat recently.)

It was nerve-wracking to look into the darkness. The forest had a different kind of darkness to it, especially when night fell, as if the darkness looked back at you. Though there didn't seem to be a sound that echoed back, it was unusually quiet. Everyone seemed to be steering clear of this forest, rather intentionally or unintentionally, no other human seemed interested in the forest, everyone else was too busy celebrating that they were finally away from school for a couple of days.

The leaves rustled quietly in the wind, as if inviting Lupa, egging her on to enter the forest. However, as soon as they stopped rustling, a quiet moan rose from the depths of the dark forest; the sound was definitely male. It was silent again for a couple of minutes, before there was another groan, louder this time. "H...help me. Someone, help," a voice called out weakly.

[felinemon]

Lupa's head jerked to where the sound came from. Was someone talking to her? No... Couldn't be. Had to be a trick, right? She stepped forward, curious, but also cautious. "H-hello?" she called out warily. "Anyone there?" She shone the penlight around the dark emeralds of the forest, gingerly lifting up branches until she found herself in a clearing. The greyness of it all started to unsettle her. The hair on the back of her neck rose, but she forced herself to breathe. It was just the forest, playing tricks on her. She just had to stay calm was all.

[mationix]

It was quiet for a couple moments, before the feeble voice called out again, "Y-yes, I-I'm here. Help...me, please." The voice sounded strained, as if fighting to stay awake. "M-my friends...they're...hngh-" The voice suddenly stopped, silence slowly taking over the pace of the voice. The only sound now from the forest was the leaves softly ruffling in the wind.

[felinemon]

Lupa's heart began to beat faster- someone could be hurt! She rushed past the fronds, relying purely on where she thought the voice had come from. She breathed heavily, whirling her penlight on the ground- where was it? A movement. There! She turned to see....

[mationix]

There lay a boy, sweat dripping off of his face, his chest rising and falling sporadically. He looked to be in a lot of pain, as he squeezed his eyes shut and let out a quiet groan. When the light located him, he weakly covered his eyes with his arm, moaning. Blood was crusted on his neck, the ground around it splattered with blood.

[felinemon]

Lupa's hand covered her mouth at once as panic set in for just a moment, "Are you okay?" she hissed as soon as the shock faded. Her heart beat quickly as she kneeled down beside him. "What happened?" she asked as she examined the wounds carefully. She wasn't sure what to do, to move him back to camp- go get a teacher? Should she splint the wound? How did one event split a neck wound? She didn't recognize him- was he from the school trip or some random guy. Another thought entered the back of her mind, filling her with dread, what if he was faking it? She could be in serious trouble. But, it he wasn't, then he already was in serious trouble.

[mationix]

The boy groaned, shuddering as she drew closer. His eyes cracked open, yellow flashing for a moment, before they closed once more. His hands were slicked with sweat and he slowly raised his hand towards her, as if to reach up and touch her. Though his hand dropped to the ground, laying uselessly beside her.

[felinemon]

Lupa looked around frantically, what to do what to do?! She started to rise, but fell back to the ground, looking around wildly. Should she call out? She could get in trouble. WHY ON EARTH WAS SHE THINKING OF HERSELF AT A TIME LIKE THIS?! She crouched and shouted, "Someone! Help! There's a boy here- he's hurt!" No response. She bit the inside of her lips.

[felinemon]

Perhaps she could drag him back to camp- or at least back to someplace that was within earshot of the rest of the school group. "Just hold still," she said, "I'm going to take you back to camp." She grabbed under his arms and lifted. He was heavier than he look! "When this is over, I think we'll put you on a diet." she joked. She paused, "I'm joking, or course." she clarified hastily. She didn't want to injure him more than he was already. "What happened anyway?"

[mationix]

(So sorry for my late reply; I've been struggling with college applications and the like.)

He stirred, his eyes cracking open a bit, as his fingers flickered towards his ears, like he was trying to cover his ears. "Too loud...," he murmured, his eyes glazing over, before focusing on her. He grunted at her question, grimacing a bit as she started to drag him from where he sat. "...accident. It was an- an accident," he replied, a bit stronger this time.

[felinemon]

Lupa didn't stop, but her curiosity got the best of her. "What was an accident?" she asked breathlessly as she pulled his heavy body closer to the campsite. Why one earth was it so far away?! She didn't think she walked that far!

[mationix]

He grimaced, twitching in surprise, as a rock scuffed against his pants. "...well, it-it's hard to-to explain," he managed to reply, giving her a weak chuckle, which soon turned into a whimper.

[felinemon]

Lupa grunted as she tripped on a rock and fell onto her back. "Try me."

[mationix]

He let out a bark of a laugh. "Right and what's st-stopping you from dropping m-my body here and ru-running back to wherever you came from after I-I tell you?"

[felinemon]

Lupa raised an eyebrow, "How about my sense of humanity? You're hurt. I can't just leave you here!"

[mationix]

He gave a bark of a laugh at what she said, though quieted down suddenly, that noise seeming to wear on his energy. "And you-you'll just help a random str-stranger just because he-he's hurt?"

[felinemon]

"Yes!" Lupa said though clenched teeth as she sat back up to grab his arms and pull again, kicking the rock out of the way.