It wasn't often that someone like Emerald Lupin asked for help, in fact, it wasn't often she ever asked for help from anyone. Even as a child, Emerald was one of those kids who tried to be self-sufficient and tried to show she was able to do anything she put her mind to. Of course, she knew that she couldn't always achieve this, but with a mixture of stubbornness and sheer determination she could damn well try.

Unfortunately, this was what got her into this situation in the first place. A few days before the full moon the she-wolf would leave her personal dwellings whether it be the mansion or the other place she had and would get as far away from civilization as possible.

That way, she could live among the wild for a few days, easing her body into the transformation sequence of her werewolf form. Most of the time, she didn't tell anyone that she was going to do this, but it was assumed that she was fleeing from the full moons light in order to save innocent lives.

Small problem with this was the fact she would never tell anyone where she was going so when she got hurt, she would find herself out of luck. Emerald was able to take care of herself most of the time, because most of the time, her wounds were ever that severe or she was at least able to move around slightly after her third form.

This time though, hunters had come into the national park, illegally trying to hunt down creatures of far greater worth than they were. These were not just hunters, oh no, these were poachers attempting to trap animals that were illegal to hunt here. Fortunately for the animals of this forest, they seemed to have a guardian angel, or at least a guardian beast, for as Emerald crashed through the forest in that massive form, she triggered one of the trap, a not so safe, no longer legal, massive bear trap, snapping immediately on her front paw.

The hunters found themselves being stared down by a very angry werewolf, one that they found was not to happy with the fact she was now trapped. Fools that they were, they attempted to approach, only to find themselves backhanded across the clearing with half strength which still caused them to go flying. Somehow, they didn't die, but they were badly bruised and one of the men's arms were broken. They of course, did not make a move when the beast tore the trap from the ground and charged off on 2 legs instead of 4.

For the rest of the moon, Emerald found herself in a massive cave near a lake, one that she had made her home in many times before. She had most of her amenities there, however, after this recent full moon, Emerald found herself unable to move all that well, maybe it was the pain from the bear trap still snared around her left hand with a chain trailing off or maybe it was the fact she went from a giant werewolf to a wolf girl in a matter of seconds.

Whatever it was, Emerald found herself in pain, barely able to move, buck naked, in a cave in the middle of nowhere. Lucky for her though, her baby sister thought of just about everything and while Em managed to slide herself into her sleeping bag with great difficulty and pain, she realized Ruby might have duct taped a phone to the pillow piece. The phone, was set on voice recognition and had all of Emeralds contacts programed into it.

"Call Akshay," Emerald groaned out,hearing the phones cheerful, 'Calling Akshay' Response.

The boyfriend of the great and mighty wolf had never been privy to seeing her during or after her full moon days. Mainly because she didn't want him to worry about her. Unfortunately for her, she found herself in a position where she needed someone and that someone was Akshay since he was the only person that she could trust for this sort of thing. Once the wolf girl heard her boyfriends voice mail message, she snarled a little, waiting for that accursed beep to tell him that she needed him.

"Hey Akshay, It's Em, I know I said I would call you in a few days but something just sorta came up," Emerald let out a sharp yelp of pain finding out the hard way it was a bad idea to move her left hand. "I..sorta need your help, Bunch of poachers were out here, used big bear traps and my left hand is stuck, I think it's broken and it keeps bleeding everywhere. I'm at the Finger Lakes National Park and the path I took, you'll be able to find it believe me. Please come soon and bring clothes too, I'm sorta naked."

For the first time in the relationship, Emerald was actually the one who needed help. It wasn't often she admitted to needing someone, in fact, it was damn well rare and the fact that the normally introverted, non trusting wolf girl was letting him help her.

Most of the time, it seemed like she would sooner bleed out than let anyone help her. However, lately, Emerald was learning to trust more, especially Akshay and for once she would feel comfortable with being saved, for once. After all, even a super hero needs a break.

With a soft groan, Emerald's blue eyes slid shut, feeling very exhausted from everything that was occurring. Her Crimson hair clung to her face with sweat and she looked as if she was sick, which she technically was. Being in a warm cave was helping oddly enough, keeping her warm from the nasty gusty wind outside that blew around.

Speaking of outside, the path leading up to the cave looked as if someone bulldozed through it, trees broken everywhere. Not only that but there was a mostly eaten deer carcase outside that was being picked clean by various scavengers. Judging by those massive chunks taken out of it, it was easy to tell that something rather large bite marks taken out of it.

As she drifted off into an exhausted sleep Emerald hoped that Akshay would get here soon, she might need a little more help than she thought.

Akshay could not believe that the day had come. He actually was bouncing as he moved his way up the line, holding his very own copy of the premiere issue of The Green Wasp! He had been giggling madly the whole time. The Green Wasp was a radio program character from back in the 30s before it finally made the popularity on TV thanks to the show from the 60s. But Akshay was a fan of the classics and he always would be. What was exciting about this comic premiere was that this was the first issue of The Green Wasp, written by the grandson of one of the radio program’s original writers! It was going to be a total throwback; completely awesome and needed little other explanation.

To celebrate this momentous event, Akshay, like many of the character’s fans, dressed up for the role. Yes, Akshay Malik had spent a fair amount of money getting the exact right suit, mask, and hat to match the character of The Green Wasp!

He adjusted his mask as he peered over the shoulder of the person in front of him. The writer of the comic was all smiles and jokes as he signed autographs and reveled in the attention and praise that was being heaped upon him. Akshay could only watch him with wonderment as he took another step closer to his goal.

Then…his phone rang. Akshay ignored it. He doubted it was anyone important. Emerald was going to be out of town for a couple days, the comic shop was well taken care of, and he was pretty much in the home free! At most the call was probably a solicitor so he didn’t want to waste his ti—

“Next!”

Akshay squeaked as he rushed forward. He tried not to gush but it was hard when you were talking to the descendent of one of the greatest radio program writers! Before long, his comic was signed and he was an absolutely happy camper! He turned, adjusted his mask, and decided that he would wait around. Maybe the writer would let him chat with him for a bit. One never knew until they tried.

But before he could think too long about the possibility, his phone buzzed again. This time, it was only a single buzz. That could only mean that he had a voicemail. Brow arched curiously, Akshay fished his phone out of his pocket and immediately listened to the voice on the other end of the line…

>> "I..sorta need your help, Bunch of poachers were out here, used big bear traps and my left hand is stuck, I think it's broken and it keeps bleeding everywhere. I'm at the Finger Lakes National Park and the path I took, you'll be able to find it believe me. Please come soon and bring clothes too, I'm sorta naked."[/color]

***

The time that raced by was an absolute blur. Akshay had no idea how but somehow, after he listened to the message, he had managed to leave the signing, race back to his apartment on his ducati, grab some clothes, and once again race through the streets of New York. The man was practically a blur as he had done all of this and he was more than certain he had broken a law or two as he raced through the streets. But if sirens rang, Akshay didn’t catch a single one of them. So, either they never happened or he was simply able to out race them all.

All that mattered, to his mind right now, was that Emerald was in danger and she had asked for his help. The whole way to Finger Lakes Nation Park, Akshay kicked himself for not answering that call. He really should have known better. Emerald was in pain, she sounded like it, and it probably would have helped, however little, to actually hear the sound of his voice. But Akshay could not dwell on it being his fault for too long. His thoughts were more preoccupied on whether or not she was okay.

Racing through the highway and making his way to the National Park, Akshay tried not to let thoughts of Emerald’s current predicament flood into his head. She had to be okay. He would find her in time.

Once he reached the park, Akshay had dismounted his bike and practically ran into the woods. Still wearing his Green Wasp, Akshay nibbled on his bottom lip nervously as he began to scour the tall trees for any sight of her.

“Emerald!!” he screamed. “EEEEEEEMMMMMMMM!!!!” he paused to listen close…unfortunately he had no responses. So he pushed on…until he found the clearings that that she had referenced to on his phone. “Whoa…” was all he could say.

Akshay began to follow the trail of broken trees and upturned stones. As he did so, the young wordsmith was actually still perplexed by his behavior. So much time with Emerald. This probably had to be the longest, healthy relationship that he had ever taken part in. Emerald was absolutely perfect for him. She grinned at all of his bad jokes, she loved his art, and he definitely enjoyed spending his time with her. Even though things had yet to reach a real physical level yet, he was more than patient. Eventually Emerald would feel comfortable with it. It just took time…

But he couldn’t think about that now. Rushing down the pathway, he adjusted the strap of his backpack that had whatever clothes he had been able to grab from his home. He needed to get to Emerald and he needed to get there…

He paused. Up a short climb, he found a cave. Judging by how cool it was outside, if Emerald was going to hide anywhere to recuperate, it had to be there. So, Akshay made a beeline for it, hoping against hope that he we was right.

“Emerald!!!!” he bellowed as he crept closer to the cave. “Emerald! Give me a sign!! Where are you!?” he yelled and made straight for the cave.

Please be there, please be there, please be there!!

An exuasted sleep was always a wonderful feeling, that wonderful sleeping, floating, no pain, no hurting no nothing. Just a blissful, seemingly endless sleep, the sort of sleep that made her completely and utterly relaxed.

Unfortunately, that comfortable dreamscape she was in was shattered when she heard a vague echo of a yell. The loud yell from her boyfriend seemed to rouse her from her slumber and while she had no idea how long he was calling for her, she had a pretty good idea what he wanted.

Emerald let out a sharp bark in response to his calls, knowing that was the only way she would be able to loud enough to call out to him. With a low grunt she attempted to sit up inside of her sleeping bag, only to slid back down with a whimper of pain. She felt like a wounded animal, confused and weak, having no idea how to handle that. Emerald had not felt this weak in a very long time and she didn’t like it, not one bit.

So whenever Akshay happened upon her he would find her within this warm cave by a cool lake, body hidden carefully beneath a sleeping bag with her left arm dangling out.

Of course, attached to her arm was themassive bear trap,obviously meant for bears now digging it's fang like apparatuses into the lower arm of her already aching body. Blood dripped lightly down her hand a nasty open gash forming as she shifted her arm ever so slightly.A bruise was forming on her wrist, horribly discolored front he fact that not only was her wrist and arm injured but her wrist was broken.

Emerald let out a low growl as she tried to shift again, the chains clanking audibly. Pain shot up through her arm like a railroad spike and blood flowed more freely down her arm, the warm red fluid trickling like a small stream down her arm.

"Son of a B*tch, OW!" The werewolf swore, letting out a pained whimper of agony. She hated this, she hated these horrible feelings of pain and not being able to do anything about it. It was by far the worse feeling, she felt helpless, one of her worse fears. "Akshay...could you please hurry up? I think I might have just made it worse." Emerald admitted, her voice soft and trembling slightly.

Akshay trudged through the woods, following the path of destruction that was left behind. Emerald had said in her phone message that her trail would not be hard to find. He knew about her werewolf form and that she needed to separate herself from everyone else because of it. During that time she got dangerous and she did not want to be held responsible for harming anyone. Akshay respected that so he did not bother her while she was gone, he actually doubted that she had the ability to communicate with him since he doubted she ever took her cellphone during these times.

Apparently, he was wrong though. And it was a damn good thing too because if not, he didn’t know how she would have gotten any help. Though he had to admit, it must have been really hard for her to make that call. Ever since the two of them started dating, Akshay had noticed that Emerald was a fiery self-starter. She relied on herself and rarely, if ever, wanted help from anyone else.

She must have really been in bad shape if she were that desperate to call for help, especially from him. It was the thought of that that spurned the young wordsmith on to seek her out all the more fervor. He spied through the darkness, following the path of destruction through the trees, the bodies of fallen animals and he shivered a little. He really hoped that Emerald was in the right state of mind when he found her.

“EMERALD!!” he yelled out once more.

But this time, creeping through the woods and holding on dearly to the backpack that he had on his back, the masked comic fan continued on until he heard the distinct sound of a bark in response. At first he was going to ignore it, but the sound was too out of place for him to do so. Especially consider Emerald and her powers…it had to be her.

Turning in the direction of bark, Akshay hurried on until he broke through a clearing and found a cave near a running lake of water. That had to be the place.

Akshay broke into a run, using his phone as a flashlight to help illuminate the pressing darkness. As he came up to the mouth of the cave, Akshay peered in and gently called out, since he didn’t want to disturb any sleeping wild animals.

“Emerald?” he asked. He slowly began to walk into the cave. “Emerald, are you…” he paused when his phone settled on the sight of some inside of a sleeping bag, their naked arm jutting out with a bear claw attached at the wrist. “Oh, my god, Emerald.”

Akshay dashed over, dropping the bag at his side and still forgetting that he had a mask and costume on. The sounds of her whimpering was breaking his heart. He could only imagine how much that bear trap was hurting. Trying his best to hide the panic in his voice, Akshay, opened the bag enough to reveal Emerald’s face and sighed as he reached down, stroking her face.

“Oh god, Emerald…” he whispered as he tucked hair away from her eyes. “What happened to you?” as he turned to try to inspect the bear claw. There was just so much blood…

As soon Emerald heard Akshay's voice echo throughout the cave, she knew that somehow, that bark had gotten to him. She was glad he didn't think it was some sort of other animal and ignored it, that would have been bad. The wolf girl let out a small growl when she first saw him though, confused because at first she didn't recognize him. That mask and the costume threw her for a bit of a loop, luckily for Akshay though, his scent was recognized before his face was.

"Stop looking so worried about me," Emerald told him with a small smile, it was easy to tell how forced it was though because the pain from the bear trap in addition to her weakened state wasn't working all too well together. "I've had worse, this is just another story for the collection that’s all."

Emerald tried her best to wiggle her fingers in the bear trap, but she unfortunately found that it even hurt to make the slightest movements. The werewolf would wince in pain, burrying her face in the bag with embarrassment. How did she get herself into this mess? Stupid werewolf form didn't even see the bear trap as it sprinted across the forest. It was surprising that the pain from this had shocked her back into her human form. Normally the werewolf would have torn apart those damn poachers, but it seemed that she had gained more control than she thought she had over the beast.

"Poachers, trying to catch the animals in this forest. I was in full werewolf form, running through the forest on all fours, doing normal wolf stuff, with the exception of being ten feet tall that is. Ran right across the trap, I sort of remember now what I did afterword’s, I think they came running and i hit them, but they weren't dead. I must have torn the trap out of the ground and ran back here. The pain from it shocked me into demorphing I think," Emerald explained, breathing slowly.

She knew she must have looked like hell and she did, she looked like she was recovering from some sort of horrible flu bug, her skin pale, body covered in sweat, she looked like she should have been dead. This was the problem with her full body transformation, it tended to really mess with the user physically if they weren't used to it or if the shift was so radical, it changed them vastly more. Unlike Emerald's wolf form, her third form was a horse of a different color, so while she was a tiny bit tired after she was done with her wolf form her third form exhausted her and after a vast amount of pain goes through her like this, she was a sitting duck.

"My third form always does this to me, I have no memory afterword’s and I usually can't move for a hours, this time though, I feel worse than usual and It might take a day or two for me to recover fully," Emerald let out a soft whimper when she tried to move her arm again. "Damn it...I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I should have went to a less populated part of the forest before I shifted, then I wouldn't have had to put ya through all this trouble."

The guilt in Emerald’s voice was apparent but the rest of those emotions in those stormy blue eyes of hers were quite different. She didn’t like being this helpless, not around anyone and she hated showing weakness, so for her to be like this, especially in front of someone she cared about this much was bad for her. Not that she minded Akshay, in fact, she really loved being around him, but she didn’t want him to think less of her because of a stupid mistake.

>> "Stop looking so worried about me…I've had worse, this is just another story for the collection that’s all."[/color]

Akshay smirked but he could only shake his head as he looked down at the injured hand of this woman he cared so much for. She put on a brave face and even though he knew that she was more than likely telling the truth, that she had tons of scars and stories to tell about each and every single one of them, one look at her right now and he could see that she was clearly in pain. She did not like asking for help, and right now she probably had to be feeling to most vulnerable.

He sighed as he gave her an apologetic smile for sounded so worried, but in the back of his mind, looking at her bruised, bleeding hand, he felt he had every right to. He just did not voice that opinion. Instead he tried to focus on how he could get her out of this and keep her talking so that she didn’t pass out.

He urged her to explain what had happened as he pulled off his hat and the mask that he had been wearing the whole time. How completely uncool of him. No wonder she growled when he had first walked in.

>> "Poachers, trying to catch the animals in this forest. I was in full werewolf form, running through the forest on all fours, doing normal wolf stuff, with the exception of being ten feet tall that is. Ran right across the trap, I sort of remember now what I did afterword’s, I think they came running and i hit them, but they weren't dead. I must have torn the trap out of the ground and ran back here. The pain from it shocked me into demorphing I think,"[/color]

As she told her story, Akshay listened intently, switching his gaze between her tired face and her badly wounded arm. He imagined her running around the woods as a large, tank of a werewolf. He had read comic books and stories about such transformations and the writers always portrayed people who undergo this change as feel so much freer and connected with nature during these states. Emerald herself even admitted the same thing once. As a wolf she could runs through the woods and be free from all that socialization that rules the human mind. She could really connect with that baser nature that humans were always afraid to connect with.

Akshay had always wondered, fantasized about feeling like that. But one look at Emerald and he could definitely see some of the down sides of it. It could definitely be extremely dangerous.

He glanced at Emerald again and she really did look like hell. She was tired looking, pale, and he could scarcely look at that wound on her arm without feeling his stomach churn a little. But he managed to keep his composure since he needed to help her out of this predicament. He couldn’t go to pieces now when she needed his help.

>> "My third form always does this to me, I have no memory afterword’s and I usually can't move for a hours, this time though, I feel worse than usual and It might take a day or two for me to recover fully…Damn it...I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I should have went to a less populated part of the forest before I shifted, then I wouldn't have had to put ya through all this trouble."[/color]

“Red, seriously, if you apologize again, I’ll hit you myself,” he said with a little smirk to try and stay reassuring. Reaching down, he gently squeezed her shoulder and sighed. “It’s okay, you couldn’t have foreseen this happening. Anyways…I…um…I just…I need to think on how to get you out of here.”

He sighed as he looked down at the bear trap again. Scooting closer to her hand he reached down and tried to get a grip on those cold, metal jaws, but it seemed that whenever he tried to grip it, he felt the bite of the metal on his skin. Still though, he tried to pry the jaws open but whenever he tried, he barely managed to budge them. He needed something…extra; something to help pry them open. He could grab a branch from outside but he doubted that they would last long against those metal teeth.

Then he thought of something. It was not the best option, simply because it would reveal that he was hiding something from Emerald this whole time, but what other choice did he have? He cautioned a glance at Emerald and took a breath…

“Okay, I…think I have a way to get that thing off you, but…you can’t freak out, okay?” Turning back to her hand, he gulped as he looked directly ahead and let his metal guards down. He then muttered a single word. “Emerald…”

No sooner than he said it, than a shimmering word began to materialize in thin air. The black bordered, iridescent blue word was had the thickness of about a deck of playing cards but was as long as crowbar. As soon as the word solidified, Akshay plucked it out of the air and avoided looking at Emerald’s eyes; he was focused on getting her out of here, not more at the moment. She could be angry with him for hiding this later, for now, she better grit her teeth.

He slipped the word between the teeth of the bear trap and took another breath. He really hoped that this would work.

“Okay, I’ll…I’ll try to pry this open as much as I can. One…two…three!” he said as he began to pry with the word against those angry, blood stained teeth. The jaws resisted but slowly and surely began to pry open with squeaks of protest. But Akshay did not stop. Even as the word itself began to crack, he pried with all his might until Emerald had enough room to slip her hand free…

Akshay always was a good listener and he seemed to not press the matter about how worried he was about her. Even if Emerald knew he was rather worried and he honestly had every right to be, here she was bleeding everywhere with her wrist broken, he had every right to play the worried boyfriend.

“Scared the hell out of me when I saw you in a mask, if I hadn’t memorized your scent already I probably would have bit you,” Emerald told him, let out a small nervous laugh. It was true that she likely would have bitten the crap out of the poor guy if it she didn’t recognize his scent, the good thing was she didn’t recognize it ad that’s all that mattered. The she-wolf noticed that look he gave her and smiled a little at him, trying her best to show that she was okay but she knew that didn’t matter, she was still exhausted and that much was certain.

Akshay got onto the wolf girl for apologizing so much and Emerald gave him a little bit of a pout. She was just trying to apologize for dragging his butt out here. If he didn’t want any more apologizes he wouldn’t get any.

“Fine then, if I accidentally bite you, I won’t apologize.” The werewolf pouted, her tail wagging a little playfully underneath the sleeping bag. At least that part of her still seemed to work in full.

Her playful wolf act didn’t last long, mainly because Emerald knew that he would try to find a way to get her out of this mess soon and she had a feeling it wouldn’t feel that pleasant. The she-wolf couldn’t help her eyes widen in surprise when it was revealed that Akshay was a mutant, one with a unique power, but still a mutant none the less. Emerald hadn’t really scented him as a mutant, hell; maybe his normal scent had everything to do with his mutation, which seemed to involve words. Whatever was, the wolf girl was a little irritated him for not telling her what he was. Not that she minded him being a mutant, but she would have preferred it if he was honest with her, that was the whole point of being in a relationship right?

Not only that but he could see her mutation right off, she wasn’t able to hide hers and she didn’t really want to. It wasn’t that there weren’t times she wished that she looked a little more normal, especially as of late when it came to the flak she was getting from a certain dreadlocked boy. But that didn’t mean she wanted to hide who she was from people who cared about her. Then again, she had been keeping several secrets from Akshay and perhaps maybe it was time for her to tell him how she lost part of her ear.

As if she could do that without him worrying more about her.

Suddenly, the horribly pain in her arm, started to radiate ever so slightly again, while Akshay was pushing the word like a crowbar against the bear trap, the trap was giving way and being pried open, but it was also moving through Emerald’s asking as it was removed. It was a sickening feeling that made a little bile rise to her throat, feeling as if the horrible bladed maw of the bear trap had penetrated her skin too deeply. Once it was opened wide enough, Emerald yanked her hand out of the trap and winced as she lightly scraped the palm of her hand against the beastly maw of the trap.

“Ow…thanks, that worked better than I thought,” Emerald grimaced, now surveying the extent of the damage to her hand . “I’m going to need a sling for a little while won’t I?” Emerald asked him, a small grimace on her face, she tried to sit up again, only to force her body back downwards as pain streaked through her.

She was still too weak to get up, this was something that made her growl harshly to herself in pain,. Emerald slid back down on the not so comfortable cave floor and groaned, eyes half lidded, she wanted to go back to sleep so bad. But she didn't know if that was because of the loss of blood or the fact that she was just tired.

"Why, didn't you tell me that you were a mutant," Emerald asked, trying her best to use a semi serious topic to stay awake. "It's not fair If I was all out in the open to you and you were sitting there hidding youself from me."

Sweat dotted Akshay’s brow as he tried to push and pry with that word against the metal jaws that resisted so stalwartly. He could already feel the word attempting to crack and break under the pressure but he just knew that he could not stop. He knew that he could keep pushing it. It was going to go down to the wire but he knew that if he stopped at all, he was going to fail in getting this thing off of Emerald’s arm, and on top of that, he was probably going to hurt her more! No! He was not going to let her get hurt by this thing anymore!

He pried…until finally…he heard Emerald whimper and gasped as she wiggled her hand out of the bear trap! And not a moment too soon! It seemed like the second that she had managed it slip her hand free, the word he had been using to pry open the jaws finally cracked and shattered in half.

Akshay actually jumped back when the jaws snapped shut! Only, instead of biting into flesh and blood, they closed in only on air. He sighed as he glanced at the half word in his hands and watched as it slowly cracked all over before shattered into thousands of tiny pieces and disappearing into the ether of the universe.

The young wordsmith sighed as he glanced over to Emerald. The wound looked so bad. Just…so bad. He was no doctor but her wrist looked broke, her skin had large teeth marks in it from the jaws, and so much blood of hers had been lost. It made him a little sick to his stomach. But stalwartly, he went one.

>> “Ow…thanks, that worked better than I thought…I’m going to need a sling for a little while won’t I?”[/color]

He shook his head.

“It would seem like it,” he said as he quickly grabbed his backpack and scooted over to Emerald’s side. Opening his backpack, he fished around inside until he pulled out his first aide kit that he grabbed from home. He doubted there was much that could help, but at least he could try to stop the bleeding until he could get her to a hospital.

He began to pull out supplies; bandages, anti-sceptic wipes,etc., and set them aside as she turned to look back at Emerald’s wounded wrist. He used his phone as a flashlight as he tore open the first package of wipes.

>> "Why, didn't you tell me that you were a mutant… It's not fair If I was all out in the open to you and you were sitting there hidding youself from me."[/color]

Akshay sighed, looking a little ashamed of his deception to her. Gently he took her wrist and laid it across his lap.

“Hold still…this might sting,” he said as he gently dabbed at her wounds with the anti-sceptic wipe. The last thing he needed was for her to lose her hand or something to infection.

After the first dab or two, when she got used to the pain, he just shook his head as he avoided looking at her.

“I…I’m sorry Red, really. I know I shouldn’t have kept it from you, I do. Especially for so long. But…I…I’ve just had bad luck, okay?” he said sincerely. “Anyone else I dated before, it’s ended bad: human girls have either freaked out because I’m a mutant, or mutant girls make fun of me because they think my power is lame. I just…I didn’t want to ruin what we have right now,” he muttered as he turned to look at her. He sighed and tossed away the first wipe before he picked up another and tore it open. In doing so, he turned back to fixing her arm. “This…has to be the best relationship, I have EVER had. And…not that I’m saying you would have been shallow enough to say or do anything like those other girls…but…I just didn’t want to jinx it. But I guess that’s no excuse…is it?”

Emerald would watch as the word in Akshays hand dissengrated, not moving an inch when the beartrap snapped shut a little ways away from her. As long as it wasn't clamping down on Akshay's skin, she didn't give a damn about it anymore. She was far more concered with the state of her wound, which looked to be getting a little better now that the awful bear trap was no longer around it.

"Maybe I should keep it as a frame of refrence so we can show the Doc how I got into this mess," Emerald chuckled a little, a grim smile on her face.

She would like to see the doctors reaction when they saw that she had somehow survived a beartrap around the wrist. The good thing though, was that it didn't penetrate a hugely vital artery, because if it didn't she likely would have been dead by now. Then again, she had been nearly killed several times before and had somehow got out of it, so she didn't really know how the doctor would react.

Once Akshay got his First Aide kit out, the wolf girl grimaced a little at him. She knew what was coming next, that damn anesptic that burned. Honestly, she owuld much rather rather just bandage the dang thing up. However, she had a feeling that her obviously worried boyfriend would have none of that.

With half lidded, tired eyes she watched him apply the stuff, wincing a little. If there was one thing she hated, it was being treated after being injuried. Emerald would let out a the tiniest, whimper before she was able to stop herself, her bottom lip quivering in pain. Maybe it was the loss of blood, but she was having a much harder time censoring herself to hide her emotions.

Luckilly, Akshay began to speak, whcih distracted her from the painful anesptic wipes. His words rang rather true to the werewolf that had been through far to much when it came to realtionships. Her luck had been similar, except it was usually about someone not being able to fully accept her mutation or someone just up and leaving. Maybe that's why she was mad at him about htis, maybe she thought he was going to leave her like so many other people did.

"Sketch..." Emerald started, her eyes soft. She had given him that nickname when she saw him sketching her aimlessly while they were on one of thier other dates. It seemed to fit with his drawing style and now even his mutatation. "Look, I have been through some not so great Realtionships ethier. I've been dumped because I'm too feral or just not enough to keep the guy in one place. Did you really think that a little thing like your mutation not being you can shoot lasers out you eyes would effect this? This is the best realtionship I have ever been in, besides what other guy would come all the way out here just to save my ass. You dummy, Believe it or not, I like you a lot."

With a great deal of shuffling, using her good hand as leverage, and cover for certain parts Emerald leanned up to press her nose against Akshay's. It took her a second to realize that Probably confused him, so she kissed him on the lips, breaking away to lay back down with a slight grimace. Her exausted form obviously did not want to move, but she had forced it to out of pure stubbornness.

"The first one, was how wolves kiss or show affection for one another, just in case if you forgot to watch those wolf documentaries I told you to watch." Emerald told him witha small smile, tail wagging back and forth, a light blush on her face. Technically, it was sort of a big deal in wolf language that she "kissed " him like that, hell she hadn't even done that to Johnny and she was with him for years...maybe the wolf in her never dubbed him worthy.

The wolf girl glanced at her injuried wrist, trying to move her fingers a little, she was met with pain. It was high time for her to change the subject so he could be a little less nervous. "So, what does the hero in the comic do once he has found his beautiful partner in distress?"

Akshay sighed as he had all his attention on the wounds on Emerald’s wrist. He was definitely no doctor but the pure basics of cleaning a wound and dressing it he had learned from First Aid classes. His boss made all the employees take these classes since he did not want any incidents to happen in his shop. But they were barely of any help here. He had never really treated a bear trap wound before. The most that he had ever treated was a spontaneous nose bleed! This was in an entirely different ballpark.

But probably the most exhausting was not only that he did not know how to really treat her wounds, but Akshay also had to reveal the secret that he had been keeping from Emerald for so long. He did not want her to think that he was deliberately trying to hide things. Well, that actually was exactly what he did, but he wanted to tell her at the right time. When he was sure that she was not going to run away or mock him.

After all, with his previous experience, what was he to expect? But as he just about finished disinfecting her wounds, as he pulled a roll of bandages from his first aid kit, he paused when he felt Emerald’s eyes on him. He turned and saw an expression of pure softness in her eyes.

>> "Sketch... Look, I have been through some not so great Relationships either. I've been dumped because I'm too feral or just not enough to keep the guy in one place. Did you really think that a little thing like your mutation not being you can shoot lasers out your eyes would effect this? This is the best relationship I have ever been in, besides what other guy would come all the way out here just to save my ass. You dummy, Believe it or not, I like you a lot."[/color]

He smirked a little. No, make that he smirked a lot. It seemed almost as if he got all the validation he had been hiding from asking since the beginning. He was always too afraid that Emerald would suddenly realize just how good she was, maybe too good to be with someone like him. But Akshay was quickly losing those fears. Emerald’s words, well, they were the words of someone who was in it for the long run. Not someone who would vanish at the first chance they got.

Then, just as he was reaching this realization, Emerald leaned in and gently pressed her nose against his own. Akshay smirked as he closed his eyes. He really was not sure what she was doing, maybe she was just being cute? But he was thankful nonetheless. Thankfully he didn’t have to think of it for very long because Emerald then leaned further in and pressed her lips against his. He sighed as he kissed her back. It was sweet, just like always. And it was a notion that made him grin like a damn fool.

He sighed as she leaned back and he momentarily forgot that her arm was injured. But a glance down at her wrist and he was shaken back to reality. With a chuckle he turned and finished cleaning the wound.

>> "The first one, was how wolves kiss or show affection for one another, just in case if you forgot to watch those wolf documentaries I told you to watch."[/color]

He blushed a little as he smirked, looking like a child who had been caught red handed. “I promise to get to them as soon as I can.” He grinned as he pulled out the bandages and slowly began to wrap them around Emerald’s wounded rest. It was not the best job in the world but it would do until he could get her to some proper help.

>> "So, what does the hero in the comic do once he has found his beautiful partner in distress?"[/color]

Akshay sighed as he knelt next to Emerald and gave her a careful look.

“Well, normally what happens is the hero carries his sweetie off into the sunset and the comic ends until the next week,” he explained as he reached into his bag and pulled out an extra long shirt and a pair of his sweatpants. He carefully set them next to Emerald as he stood up and turned around to give her her modesty. “In our case, I’m driving you to the nearest hospital to get your arm looked at.”

For never carrying for another person first aid wise before, Akshay seemed to be doing a pretty good job with her rather nasty wound. THe wolf girl allowed her mind to wander a little while he treated that wound, a small growl escaping her lips when the last bit of pain streaked through her as the pressure of the bandage attempted ot stop the bleeding. The good thing was she didn't really have to use her left arm at the moment so she owuld be able to rest it.

It wasn't that she wasn't able to bite through the pain and move it about anyways, she just knew how dangerous it would be to loose any more blood. The she-wolf had been in a bad spot before where she lost too much blood and she was barely able to shift after that. The last thing she needed was to be as helpless as she was back then. However, it would still take some time for her to fully recover and she knew that, even with Doc's healing ability she would be more vunerable for the next day or two.

Akshay then handed her some clothes once he was done with her wrist, turning around to give her a little bit of Modesty. She smiled appreciatvely at him before sliding out of the sleeping bag with a little bit of diffculty.

Now that the bleeding had stopped and she had rested, she was able to walk around and at least have enough strentgh to put on some clothes. The wolf girl slid into the long pants and the long t-shirt, growling a little in pain when she had to put her wounded arm through the sleeve. It obviously didn't want to be moved, but she forced it through anyways. Soon he was fully clothed and semi ready to go to the hospital.

Wait the hospital?! Emerald thought, alarm clearly across her features. Even if she had mostly gotten over parts of her phobia of hospitals she still didn't like the idea of going to one.

"Akshay, honey, we don't have to go to the hospital, I know a few healers...or something that we can go to," Emerald quickly maaged out, her voice wavering a little. As much as she tried to hide it, her voice and her face with a nervous smile, shifting a little uneasilly on her feet showed her true emotions about the whole thing.
"Or..if I do go you can not leave my side at all while we are there and we get in and get out as quickly as humanely possible."

Akshay respectfully kept his back turned to Emerald. He was entirely focused on getting her out of here and hopefully getting her some medical attention for her arm. He cared about her too much for her to be suffering like this. Who knows how long that bear trap was on her wrist, or what would have happened if he hadn’t checked his phone when he did, or if he had been just a few more minutes late. But she looked bad. The only way he would feel better is if he took her immediately to get some help.

Arms crossed over his chest, he hummed to himself as he waited for Emerald to finish getting dressed. From her whimpers and tiny growls, it was apparent that she was not feeling good. He could really only imagine how much all of this must have hurt. With how much blood she lost, how deep those teeth of the bear trap bit, and the fact that he had no painkillers on him, must have meant that her arm would be extra sensitive. That was probably what worried him the most. He needed to get her out of here to get to help, but how was he going to do that on his ducati? It’s not like she’d really be able to hold on tight…

>> "Akshay, honey, we don't have to go to the hospital, I know a few healers...or something that we can go to,"

He arched a brow as he turned around to face her. She almost sounded like she was nervous about going to the hospital. Akshay really could not wrap his mind around this development since Emerald was the type of girl that faced any type of adversity without care. Why would she be scared of a hospital?

He opened his mouth to say something, like his fears about how well he had actually cleaned her would and that she needed to get as much professional help as possible. But before he could, Emerald managed to squeak out again in a voice that tried hard to hide its nervousness…

>> "Or..if I do go you can not leave my side at all while we are there and we get in and get out as quickly as humanely possible."[/color]

Carefully he eyed her. He never meant any of these “healers” that Emerald spoke of, nor did he knew how far away they were. The direct route to the hospital was pretty close by so he knew he could get there pretty quickly. But what about these healers? And Emerald’s apparent dislike of the idea of a hospital? He sighed.

“Babe,” he said cautiously. “If your healers are close, we can go to them. But I want that arm checked out…as soon as possible. If we go to the hospital, I’ll be stuck to you like glue, I promise. But…it’s up to you. I can’t make you go obviously, you’d kick my butt.”

Emerald shifted uncomfortably a few more times, not quite sure of what to do in this sort of situation, she could easily get Akshay to take her to some of the healers she knew, however they were a lot farther away from the woods than a hospital was. Not only that but Akshay seemed to really want to take her to a hospital so she would be safe, rather than taking her to a healer that he didn’t know beforehand. Emerald could have just let out a happy bark at the fact he was being so darn caring about her if it wasn’t for the fact she wanted to retain some sort of dignity.
Nervously, she tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, wincing as that exhausted pain went through her arm again. She would really have to find a way to stop reacting to that, but for some reason, her walls seemed to be a little more down than usual when she was around the young Wordmancer.

“Alright,” Emerald gave up with a sigh, her blue eyes looking down at the ground. She hated hospitals, she hated them with a great passion, and it could fuel at least a thousand suns, how much she hated hospitals. However, this was what Akshay wanted to take her to so she would get better and at least there she would get proper medical treatment for a time. “I’ll go, but I am NOT staying there overnight, if I am going anywhere it’s either your place or mine. Cause I refuse to stay in one of those creepy places overnight.”

Emerald put finality behind her words and in a way, when she mentioned Akshay’s place, she wouldn’t mind terribly if she stayed there for a little while. At least there she would be well taken care of, nice and content. That and the added bonus of maybe catching her boyfriend off guard was an added bonus. Oh how she did love surprising him.

The werewolf would walk over to him, trying her best not to wince, her body screaming in protest , wanting her to rest more, she wouldn’t allow it though, she had to get to the Hospital with Akshay, fast, the faster she got there the faster she could leave.

Akshay stepped back and simply observed Emerald as she thought over her options. She may have not liked the idea of a hospital but he was taking her to one, one way or another. Even if she did see a healer, the last thing he wanted was for her to get sick because she was putting her trust into someone who he didn’t know. So, either way, she as going to get a check-up. It was just silly to assume either way, that it was not going to happen.

Firmly, across crossed over his chest, the young wordsmith tilted his head to Emerald; the ball was in her court now.

>> “Alright, I’ll go, but I am NOT staying there overnight, if I am going anywhere it’s either your place or mine. Cause I refuse to stay in one of those creepy places overnight.”[/color]

He smirked a little and nodded his head to agree. Though he didn’t know what Emerald’s problem with hospitals stemmed from, to each their own. Sometimes people just got the heebie jeebies from them and Akshay was no one to judge things like that. It was unfortunately, yes, since hospitals, doctors, nurses, they are all there to help people. But sometimes people just have bad experiences and are forever freaked out by them.

But he would stay at Emerald’s side. He would make sure that nothing happened to her. Not that she needed to protection, obviously, but felt good to be useful.

“Okay,” he said as he walked up next to her and offered himself for her to lean on if she needed the crutch to get her out of here. It would be a long…interesting trek to the nearest hospital. But Akshay Malik would make it happen.

***

A bit later…

The hospital that they had managed to get to was actually not that far away from the woods in which Emerald had been in. Maybe it was just kismet or something, maybe it was just built there before hunting accidents happen pretty regularly, who knows. But Akshay was glad it was there. It was no easy trip though. Because of Emerald’s damaged wrist and her exhaustion, he was worried that she would not be able to hold onto him while he rode. So he did the next best thing…he strapped her to himself. Using his belt, he strapped Emerald to him once they were on the bike and rode to the best of his ability to the hospital. He was only thankful that she didn’t keel over because he was sure that her added weight would have been more than enough to knock them both off his bike.

But they had managed to reach the emergency room with plenty of time. The doctors saw Emerald quickly and even allowed him to be back there with her while she was treated (he explained that she had a crippling fear of doctors unless he was around). Akshay also beamed because the emergency room staff said that he had actually done all the right things to ensure that Emerald would be okay! Woo! They wouldn’t have to cut off her arm!

Now, though, was the worst part…the waiting. Akshay sat there through the wound cleaning, the stitches, the crisp, new bandages, but now they had to wait until the doctors discharged Emerald for the night (since she demanded that they not stay there). Sitting by her hospital bed, Akshay read the issue of Green Wasp that he had had floating around in his backpack while Emerald drifted in and out of sleep.

He hoped the doctors would reappear soon…

Emerald Lupin hated hospitals, with every fiber of her being, she hated them. The smells, the lack of scent that certain people emitted, the overwhelming stench that certain rooms emitted. It was a Lycanthropes worse nightmare. No one in their right mind would want to work there, that is what Emerald always thought. Now was not the time for her fears to come to full fruition.

The doctors saw to her quickly, complimenting on Akshays top notch first aide work, reaffirming the fact in her mind at least that she would have been just dandy without any sort of medical care. Or she could have just been trying to get out of the doctors sooner. Whatever the reason, the wolf girl just sat in that bed of hers and waited. Occasionally she would doze off, still very tired from the rough day that she had, but otherwise she managed to keep herself mostly awake. This was when the doctor came in and politely stayed his difference from Emerald for her own personal preference and because she was pretty sure he was a little scared of her after that first growl she let out when he entered the examination room the first time.

"Miss Lupin, you should be fine as long as you let that wound heal, I would suggest no shifting though, mainly due to the fact it would probably reopen the wound again." The doctor informed the wolf girl helpfully.

Emerald nodded grimly at him, glad at this moment that she would at least be able to go someplace else besides here now. She was handed a small bag of painkiller by the doctor who smiled a little before leaving, informing Akshay and Emerald that they could go up and sign out when they were about to leave.

"Damn it...no shifting, I can't wolf out for a few days now." Emerald grumbled out loud, while she got ready to leave. The wolf girl paused for a moment before those blue eyes glanced over at Akshay. "At least I will be able to hold onto you now and you don't have to tie us together again. Also these bandages are going to be annoying," Emerald started, scratching at the skin around the area. "Why did they have to make it so tight?"

At the moment, while Emerald was told that she could be released home, it looked like the wolf girl may have..difficulties taking care of herself.