[CCCDT] Wash it Away

[Melody Craft]

This is a C.C.C.D.T. = CRASH COURSE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THREAD. It is intended to be AU/NOT CANON. Unless I decide to make it canon. Which I might.



The bass filled the house with such a thrumming that it made Melody's chest pound as she walked closer to the speakers. All around her people were dancing, bodies grinding together in ecstacy as heavy house music filled her body and shook it. She had lost the swagger to her step from the beers she'd had; she covered her ears as she passed the speakers and headed for the stairs. She looked upward, the spiral case lit in blacklighting. She supposed it was intended to be festive; it looked eerie.

  "Shane!?" she called, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Are you up there?!"

  A boy in a dark green t-shirt brushed against her, something sinister and predatory in his smile as he gave her a once over. It made Melody uncomfortable, and she tugged at the sleeves of her silky turquoise top, trying to cover herself.

  "What's a pretty girl like you wandering around in this big party alone for? Your boyfriend run off and leave you to the wolves?" he asked. He was attractive, but there was something so dark in his stare, so violating, that she took a step back down to the ground level, hand still tight on the banister.

  "Hey, there you are!" came a voice from behind her. A warm hand planted down on her shoulder, and Derek put his frame between she and the boy on the stairs. "I thought I'd lost you," he said, his blue eyes focused on Melody, while his voice projected up loud enough for the vampire to here.

  The vampire could smell it - he could smell gunpowder and feline on the boy. He backed off, a low hiss caught in his throat. In Melody's ear, he whispered, "Almost did."

  Melody fixed her gaze on Derek, a flush coming to her ivory cheeks. "Hey," she breathed. God. Her childhood crush had come to save the day once again. Derek had to know by now that she liked him. He had been single for as long as she could remember, and yet he'd never even made a move on her. Melody swore at herself for being so shy. "My hero, as usual." She smiled sweetly at him. "Have you seen Shane? Mom wanted us to be home at one, and it's eleven thirty now."

[Shane Craft]

Shane actually was upstairs, and he still had more swagger to his step than his sister, but even he couldn't deny that there were some making him distinctly uncomfortable.  He actually had to pass some dude in a dark green t-shirt on his way down the stairs, and he'd barely caught Derek 'saving' his sister from the goon.  He shot the guy a dark look, and took the rest of the stairs much more quickly.

It was a little irritating to see that guy she liked, Derek, there and to know the guy had been the one who'd rescued her from that jerk, but he wasn't stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth.  He hadn't been there, that was his fault, and Derek had made sure his sister was alright.  That was preferable to having his sister harassed. 

"Thanks, man, I think I can take it from here," he told the guy, and he did mean it.  He just wanted to get Melody moving, and away from that creep, who was lingering at the top of the stairs, just watching them.  Shane was sure to flick him off before trying to usher Melody away.  "Do we know that guy?"

'We' because not only was Melody there, but Derek was lingering, almost like he didn't want to leave.

"No, I don't think he's in any of my classes," the guy offered up, shrugging, but he still hadn't changed his method of keeping himself between them and the other guy on the stairs.  He looked unsure, though.

[Melody Craft]

 Melody could see her brother's jaw clench, like he wanted to say something to Derek, perhaps about how he hadn't asked him specifically for his opinion, but he didn't. He hesitated, for Melody's sake, as usual. She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, the tension between Derek and her brother always something of confusion for her. Shane insisted he wasn't good enough, and obviously blind if he didn't ever ask her out; and then if he had, of course, it would have given Shane a reason to beat his face in, which Melody surmounted that he would enjoy only slightly.

  She shook her head no at her brother. "No, never seen him before. Or, maybe I have and didn't realize. I'm usually not paying attention to the other people in there," she admitted. Melody was shy, it was no secret; she'd earned the nickname 'Mouse' from her friends. She didn't like it much, but even Shane called her that every once in a while when she'd become particularly frustratingly scared about this or that.

  "Just a run of the mill creep," Derek said. He kept up with them, and after unsuccessfully wedging between Shane and Melody (and he would have, too, but Shane was throwing elbows as he walked), he positioned himself on Melody's other side, the left. "If you guys need to be home soon, we should go on and head out. I'm not feeling this place much, anyways."

  Melody nodded, and then turned to Shane. "Yeah, we should just go," she agreed. She snatched her sweater off of the coat rack she'd hung it on when they came in, and then waited while Derek and Shane located their jackets. As she stepped out the door, she laughed a little. "I can't believe that guy - he said something totally weird me. When Derek said he thought he'd lost me, the guy said 'Almost did'. Isn't that psychotic? Maybe he wanted to axe murder me," she joked.

  Her joke wasn't as well received by her company, though. "We should just go," Derek insisted. His watch slowly slid to eleven forty-two.

  Simultaneously, Shane said: "What did he say to you?" His eyes widened and then narrowed as Melody repeated herself. "Oh, that assface is so dead," he snarled. He turned and made a half-step before Derek caught hold of his arm.

  "Lay off," he threatened. "I'm just doing what you should have," he added, snapping his arm from the Uncia's grip. He disappeared within the crowd which had suddenly become thick.

  "Shane, WAIT!" Melody yelled. She ran after him, leaving Derek by the door.

[Shane Craft]

It was one thing to know that Mr. Perfect had been there to bail his sister out when he wasn't, but Shane was quickly deciding that he didn't need Prissypants' help with this any longer.  He didn't need his opinion, and he definitely didn't need to keep throwing elbows in there to keep the other guy out of Melody's space.  He was about half a second away from giving the toolbag a harder shove when they all separated to find coats, and it was only for his sister that he kept his mouth shut when the guy acted like they'd all shown up together and were leaving in the same manner.  Prissypants wasn't coming with them, so he didn't know why there was that 'we' bit.

That was when Melody explained what exactly he'd missed from that creep inside.  It seemed to only make Derek more insistent on leaving, which just cemented it in Shane's mind that the guy was useless.  He couldn't even protect Melody properly, and he expected Shane to just walk away and leave?  What if the creep started stalking her or something?  Better to just take care of the situation and scare the guy away from her now.  If anything happened to her because he wasn't man enough to take care of it, he'd never forgive himself.

Of course, if Derek were more of a man, it wouldn't have to be fixed after the fact.  Dipshit.  That, and now they were both going to try to stop him?  Bullshit, he'd take care of it.  He was actually off into the crowd to do exactly that. 

Derek had never really liked Melody's brother much, but he could respect him for the way he watched out for his sister.  Now wasn't one of those times, though.  Now, Shane was just being stupid, and how was he supposed to talk him out of it?  'Uh, dude, those are vampires and they're gonna eat you.'  Yeah, that'd go over like a lead balloon.

He tried pushing his way through the crowd after Shane, but the issue with that was how Melody was trying, and failing to follow him closely.  He stopped, made a split second decision, and returned to Melody.  He hated to abandon Shane to whatever happened, but getting Melody out was first priority.  If he could get her somewhere safe, then go back, he would, but he wasn't going to be able to do much for both of them simultaneously.  He was only one person, and not even really a hunter.  He just knew a few things, and could take a hit.  It was tempting to call Eva's husband, actually, but he didn't think they had time to wait.

"Melody, we need to go. I'll come back to find your brother, but it's not safe here for you," he told her, and he didn't want to explain because she'd think he was crazy, so he hoped she'd just believe him and go. 

[Melody Craft]

"SHANE!" she called helplessly. The crowd had suddenly become plentiful and thick, more people than she could remember before. Her head was humming, buzzing, not with music but almost as though she'd suddenly begun to hyperventilate without hyperventilating. One of perhaps fifteen humans in a house of more than thirty vampires - it didn't give Melody good odds, and chances were, every other human there who wasn't drunk enough not to notice would be feeling exactly the same way.

  "SHANE, WAIT!"

  He didn't hear her. Whether it was the music or the din of voices that had begun to fill her head, she didn't know, but she still called out, hand reaching up in a feeble attempt as he vanished between the thrum of people completely. She couldn't even make out his shape anymore, and she squinted her eyes as tears pinpricked her nerves. She didn't really know why it had upset her so much, but then again, it always had. Her brother was always taking up for her, she was always so weak. She couldn't defend herself, ever.

  She squealed in surprise as Derek grabbed her arm firmly. "Wait, Derek!" she called. She couldn't hear him as he spoke, but he kept looking back at her as he dragged her towards the door. There were so many people, it was like they were fighting against a current. Melody felt like her wrist was going to burn off by how tightly he had it gripped, but any less and she'd have been sucked back into the black hole of teeth and blood that awaited.

  The door shut with a slam behind them and they (Derek) hurried down the porch, Melody in tow. At once, the buzzing stopped and the outside was dangerously quiet. Inside there was still bass and shrill whoops of excitement and laughter and shouting, but outside she couldn't even count a single cricket. Her ears were ringing with the residual from the volume, but even still, she knew that there was absence of life outside.

  She shrugged against her sweater, speaking angrily at Derek and finally pulling off of him once they were out in the driveway. "Wait, WAIT!" she snapped. She wrenched her arm back. "Shane's still inside. He doesn't know we left, he's going to look for me, and when he can't find me, he's going to go ballistic," she said. "Listen, Derek, I appreciate it, I really do, but now isn't the time for you to be the fucking hero, okay? I want my brother," she said firmly, edge in her voice as she cut off whatever excuse he was going to throw at her.

  Why did she let him get to her so much? Why did he always have to swoop in like he was some hero when he didn't even act like he knew she was alive? She pounded her fist down on the trunk of someone's car, hard, and ignored how much it hurt when she did it. The cold was numbing her, which meant it stung like the dickens, but what else could she do? She wasn't going to cry in front of him - she'd managed not to do that since she was in seventh grade and he was in ninth and she'd seen him kissing another girl in the neighborhood.

  "I'm going to go get Shane, now," she said. She turned on the gravel and went back towards the house -- and that was when the screaming started.

[Shane Craft]

He couldn't find the asshat he was looking for, that was the big problem.  He heard Melody call after him, but when he was looking for the one who was the threat to her, and Derek seemed to be following right after them, Shane didn't see the reason to turn back.  Melody would be fine for just a few minutes while I beat that dude's face in, and then the guy (and his friends) wouldn't mess with her again.  If they did, Shane would just repeat until there were permanent results, and that would be that.  It wasn't often that he had to repeat, however, since he came on strong and hard enough to chase off most people when he wanted to.  You'd have to be really crazy or really badass for it to fail, and he'd have to be honest enough to admit that he hadn't come across that before.  It gave him a false sense of confidence in his own abilities, and even though it took him way longer than he'd have liked to push his way through the people in the house to the foot of that same set of stairs where he'd found his sister, he was sure that he'd do what he came to do, then take Melody home. 

Abso-fucking-lutely positive.

He was up the stairs two at a time, and he sure as hell wasn't disappointed when he reached the top and found the asshole with the green shirt who was trying way too hard to look badass.  It actually didn't even bother him to see that the guys up there all looked way too amused at his presence, though it really should have.  If he hadn't been so determined to just beat on that guy and leave, it might have had time to sink in, but here he was, and his target was right in front of him, grinning like an idiot.

"Is something funny?  'Cause I don't really think that trying to scare my sister like that was all that funny, dipshit.  If I ever catch you anywhere near her again, I'll rearrange your face, got it?" he demanded, looking for agreement before he went ahead and demonstrated what he intended to do if the guy did it again. 

"Did you enjoy the party?"

"What?  The fuck are you talking about?  Did you hear me?"

"Did you.  Enjoy.  The party?"

"Yeah, until you fucking showed up," he snapped, and the guy made a slight move towards him that prompted Shane to just haul off and nail him.  He knew enough about fighting to know how quickly a fight could turn sour, and he wasn't letting that happen.  Strange thing, though, was that this guy took the hit and kept coming.  He still looked like it was funny.

"Good, because it's over."

When the other guy swung, Shane didn't even have the chance to dodge, and he didn't take the hit nearly as well.  In fact, it knocked him on his back right then and there, and with his vision positively swimming, he could still hear the guy talking.

"Funniest thing about this is that you won't have to worry about US hurting your sister.  You're gonna do it yourself."

He hadn't even noticed the clock striking midnight.

The best possible thing about the evening, in Derek's opinion right that second, was that Melody waited until they were outside to throw her hissy fit and yell at him.  As far as he knew, the vampires there for the bash focused on whoever was inside at the time, and they waited until midnight.  That was what Christian had said, wasn't it? 

Christian.  He really needed to call him, if he could just get Melody to stay still.

He was already pulling his phone out as she yelled at him, and he actually felt really, really bad for her despite her anger at him.  "I'm sorry, Melody, but you don't want to go back in there.  I don't want to go in there, but if you promise to sit in my car and stay out of sight, I'll go look for Sha---"

That's when the screaming started, and he lunged forward to grab her arm and start dragging her towards the car, dialing his sister's number.  "Eva, get Christian, there's a bash going on right now, right here in Ramsa!"

Christian had barely taken the phone before Derek rattled off the address, and he was told to stay outside.  He'd told Melody he'd go get Shane, though.  How well would his shifter blood help him?  The vampire that had been messing with Melody had backed off, probably because of it, but now that they were feeding, what would they do?

"Melody, you have to stay here, you got me?  If you don't, you'll probably die, so stay in here, and stay down.  Don't let anyone see you."

He hoped that would be enough.  That, and locking the doors, of course.  Younger vamps could get in, but would they really care after they'd gotten at all of the other kids in the house?

[Melody Craft]

Everything was a blur. For Melody, it happened in slow motion - almost as if she could see herself going through the motions. Her arm snapped back, elbow locking as Derek reached out and grabbed her - just at the moment she'd sprang forward in her step. The force was strong, her feet scuffling against the gravel as he literally ripped her backwards. She turned and shot out with her left foot, aiming at Derek's instep with her heel.

  Slow-motion broke free to speed and sound, but Derek was faster than Melody was. She'd made it only a few more feet before he was in front of her, herding her to the car. He was speaking to someone on the phone, then to her, then the phone, yelling the address, telling her she wasn't safe. All the while, silhouettes danced against the curtains of the back-lit windows of the farm house, like a twisted and terrifying puppet show.

  As Derek tried to push Melody's head into the car, police-style, a window on the top flew open. Derek half-turned, hand still firmly on Melody's shoulder, and Melody stopped mid-duck into the car as they both watched Shane balancing between eves of the roof, trying to run up to the peak and, presumably down to the front of the porch where the jump was survivable - a broken ankle at best, if you landed right.

  "SHANE!" she screamed. She grabbed Derek's shirt by the arm, yanking him down to her eye level. "You promised," she begged.



  Christian had already called it in. Members of Frost and some of Onyx were nearby - he himself was only miles from where the alleged bash was. Luckily for him the lights he'd had installed on his F-150 made his white truck resemble very much a police vehicle, so traffic was inconsequential to him. He pulled into the driveway and turned the lights off, practically flying out of the truck and towards Derek's car.

  He didn't see his brother-in-law; all he saw was Melody Craft, a girl he knew Derek had grown up with. He drew his gun and put his hand on Melody's shoulder, turning her to face him. Her eyes were wide with horror and her face was streaked black from running mascara and eye-makeup. His heart began pounding; Frost trained you for a lot of things, but when family was involved, all of your formal training went out the window.

  "Melody? Where is he? Where is Derek?"

[Shane Craft]

Everything was a blur for Shane, as well, except that he hurt and it was all happening in fast forward.  Way, way too fast, too much movement, too much everything, and there were people screaming all over the place.  Suddenly, punching that dude's face in just really wasn't a priority.

From his place on the floor, where he wasn't even sure if he'd passed out for a second or if he'd just been so dazed that he hadn't been able to follow what was going on at first, he scanned the room and its occupants for an instant before deciding on a window.  There was way too much going on near the stairs, and he was willing to bet, just from some horrible understanding that he was in way over his head, that the downstairs was even worse.  He didn't want to be there.  Thus, window.

He was on his feet as fast as he could manage, stumbling for an instant before he pulled his balance back together, and he grabbed some stupid knick-knack off of a nearby table and threw it at the window he was headed for.  Sure, it got the attention of others when it smashed through, but he was rushing through it an instant later and headed over the roof, trying to make it to the spot right above the porch.  Yeah, he didn't want to die inside the house, but he sure as hell hadn't rushed out onto the roof just to fall and break his neck trying to escape. 

He also hadn't rushed out onto the roof just to get dragged back in, but he had to pass another window on his way to the porch area, and that was actually exactly what had happened.  The window smashed around him as someone reached through it, right when his head shot up to search out Melody and her shout,  and then he was yelping as he was ripped right back inside. 

Shit.

He'd just about gotten her into the car, even if she didn't like it, when they heard the window.  He was actually both surprised and a little impressed that it was Shane who ran out onto the roof, and given the way Melody screamed her brother's name and yanked him down to remind him of his promise, he was actually glad.  He didn't really want to have to go search ou---

Fuck.  It was like slow-motion, watching a hand crash through a window and Shane's body go twisting back inside, and Derek wanted to bang his head off of the car.  He'd promised.  He'd promised, and now he had to go in there, knowing that it was a massacre and he'd be on the menu.

He looked at Melody for one final second, grit his teeth, and refrained from informing her that she just might be responsible for getting both her brother and him killed in the next few minutes.  No need to put that on her, just in case it happened.  He so hoped not.  Christian might kill him a second time, after all the vampires were dealt with.

"Stay put.  I mean it," he told her quickly, and then he was off. 

He wasn't going in through the front door, not with how it sounded in there, so the best option he had was the window that Shane had been pulled through.  That being said, he ran as fast as he could towards the house and jumped for the ledge to pull himself up.  Even being a shifter, it was tough, and he was pretty sure that the only reason he pulled it off and found himself jumping into the window was because Christian had been training him and he was a cat.  Those two factors combined, and he was inside the house, prepared to shift at any second, and searching desperately for Shane.  His plan was the grab the kid, drag him out the window, and try to keep them both from dying in the process.

He was thinking he might be too late right about the time someone came at him, but not for his own sake.  He couldn't see much of Shane, but there was a dude that looked disturbingly familiar, in a dark green shirt, attached to him at the neck, and now he had to move fast to get out of the way of the vampire that had lunged at him.  Again, it was only shifter speed and cat reflexes that kept him from being completely bowled over, and the dude still snagged his shirt and ripped the hell out of it trying to hold onto him.  He got away, but the vampire's other hand reached as well, and caught his arm.  He twisted around immediately to smack the guy in the head, but this was still a vampire, and he still found himself connecting with the wall hard enough that a normal human probably would have been knocked out cold. 

Derek just decided to shift, which could have been a good idea and a bad idea, since a snow leopard is way rare and way interesting to vampires, but these kind didn't really care.  The one that was after him sure as hell noticed, but who wouldn't notice claws sinking into their skin?  THAT was why he'd chosen to shift, claws and teeth, and he still held to the theory that a leopard was more dangerous than a human, even a trained one.  He was going to use it.

[Melody Craft]

Melody was shell-shocked when Christian grabbed her. "He went inside there," she said, pointing with a shaking hand towards the house. Lamps were overturned and the shapes were hard to make now, the screaming changing sounds; it was like the evolution of vocal chords. One moment they were human, and the next gurgling and wet, and finally nothing at all, not that she could hear. She looked at Christian. "He went in after my brother. He told me to - to stay here."

  Christian nodded. "Good girl. Now I need you to go wait in my truck, okay? I'll get them out, me and my friends." He gave her a small push towards his truck, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. He wasn't a hero, and this situation didn't call for it. No, right now he needed to be every bit as cold as the Guild he represented. Those vampires were young and stupid, but any hunter walking in that didn't have a game face and a plan to match was going to be destroyed.

  There was a low grunt behind him, and Christian half-turned his body, head still at the house. "What do you think, Xander?"

  The man to whom Christian spoke laughed, a deep and guttural sound. His face changed briefly, and then changed back. "I think this is the house Jack built," the wolf said. With no further direction, he and his team began to spread quickly across the grass, taking out any light that they could find on the outside. His wolves hunted in darkness, and Christian was thankful Lucien had been lending the massive man over when things got rough.

  Christian went behind them, and then followed directly behind Xander on the way in. The house itself was carnage candy - a vampire's playland. Fortunately, his guess was right - most of them were young and idiotic. They were bloated and lethargic, unaware of the scuffle going on upstairs. Most of them were disposed of quickly, but a few of them managed to get away - Christian could separate the brand-new from the more mature simply based on the fact that some of them teleported right away. It was such a useful power, but one most new vampires either didn't know they had or couldn't control -- or simply were too stupid to rely on when situations got rough.

  "Come on, let's go upstairs. That's where the yelling is still coming from," he directed the wolf. Xander headed the crew, his massive frame hiding Christian almost entirely from view. The wolf didn't seem to feel pain' it didn't even phase him when a vampire jumped at him. He ripped him off, a tooth still stuck in his arm, and threw him into the banister of the stairs with such force that the rail broke and the vampire impaled himself on a raised decorative piece between the railing.

  They rounded the corner in time to see Derek attacking - a full grown male snow leopard, ears flat back on its head and baring its teeth was an intimidating sight to be sure - but he was in a corner, vampires baring their own teeth and opening up themselves, fanning out in order to lunge at him. Christian could see Melody's brother Shane crouched down against the wall, hand pressed to his throat as his eyes stared skyward, glazed. He didn't think he had much time at all before one of the boys died; he hoped he wasn't too late.

  Luckily for him, Xander enjoyed the prospect of tackle football, and he took a flying leap at the herd of vampires surrounding Derek. It was like watching a fat man stand on an accordion; the vampire obviously hadn't been prepared. It signified all Hell was breaking loose, and Christian was blocking the only real exit. Gun drawn, he began shooting bullets with strips of red firestone molded into them. It was instant death for whatever nefarious target he was aiming at; thank God he had good aim.

[Derek Walsh]

It really hadn't taken long at all for the vampires to realize who the real threat -- and treat -- was in the room, and so Shane was let off the hook to try to pull himself together (which didn't look likely) while Derek tried like hell to convince the vampires that were taking potshot swipes at him that he wasn't someone they wanted to play with.  Against one, maybe two, vampires, he could handle it.  The problem was that they were slowly herding him into the corner, and the worst part was that he knew they were doing it and couldn't really do much to stop it.  The few times he did, trying to duck between two or leap over something, he'd take a particularly nasty shot because of the closer quarters.  There was a broken chair from one such incident, when one of the smarter leeches snatched it up and swung it around like a bat.  It had knocked him right out of the air and into the wall, and it was only because he was able to twist around during his fall that he could still sink his teeth into the next idiot that lunged at him.  It was all about defense, and he didn't like that. 

Being forced to focus solely on defense meant that you couldn't do anything offensive, and that was a bad sign in this situation.  How long before he wasn't able to hold them all off?

Not long, as it turned out.  As much as he drew blood and tore into them, and as scary as a full-grown male snow leopard could look when it was absolutely furious and desperate to survive, he was cornered, and he knew they were going to just keep wearing him down until he couldn't stop them.  He knew it, and again, he couldn't do anything about it.  At least, not until he could hear sounds from downstairs that didn't sound like they belonged, and it was just enough distraction that one of the leeches grabbed him by the tail and nearly lost his arm.  They all probably would have had him right as Christian and Xander busted in, except that the hunters were more interesting rather suddenly, and Xander plowing right into the mess of vampires was a more pressing matter.  Derek was finding himself with a choice, whether he took the chance to get out of dodge or help dispose of the mess, and though he was hurting and didn't really think that he was going to be nearly as useful as any of the others with Christian, he couldn't find it in himself to abandon them. 

The first vampire that really stood a chance at getting a good lunge at Xander, and hadn't actually gotten taken out by one of Christian's shots, was Derek's mark.  He hit the guy in mid-air, knocking him sideways, and he was all about teeth and claws.  They'd have killed him, so he had no problem returning the favor.  It did cross his mind, briefly, that they were all lucky that Christian was such a good shot, or he had no doubt that whatever the man was packing would knock any of them sprawling.  Derek knew that, theoretically, he could be shot and still do fairly well, depending on the where and whats of the situation, but Christian wasn't just anyone with a gun.  He'd be carrying something nasty, and Derek fortunately trusted his aim. 

Besides, Christian would find himself in divorce court if Derek died with a firestone-laced bullet in him.

[Christian Shane]

It didn't take long. Xander's wolves came thundering up the stairs as the fleeing vampires funneled down, and whatever Christian didn't kill right away was a lamb to the slaughter as a dozen or so trained killers hovered below in demi-form, eager to play with their bloody new chewtoys. He holstered his weapon after he was sure that there wasn't any more of a threat; he could hear other members break away from the pack in the melee below and do room sweeps, and Xander himself had left them to check for survivors - or possible turnovers that he could kill right on the spot. Xander didn't discriminate; a vampire was already dead, he was just reminding their body of it.

  "I don't even want to hear what possible reason you could have had for being at this party," Christian said to Derek, his back turned. He was crouched over Shane, trying to see how much medical attention he needed. "God, kid, they took a chunk out of you." He turned his head over at Derek. "I need you to grab me the med kit from the truck. That's where your girlfriend is, or, she'd better be, anyways."

  Christian had no idea that Shane was so out of it because the change was already beginning. Whichever vampire had turned him had given him a clean dose of blood before anyone got to him; there wasn't even any on his mouth to suggest he'd been having a go. The trauma had probably spun his head around into the dazed state he was in, which was unlucky for Christian, who was inches from him.

  "Shane? Shane, I'm Christian - your sister is safe. We're going to get you patched up and get you out of here, okay?" he said slowly, carefully. "Can you stand up for me?" As he tried to help him up, he spoke into a small radio. "Someone let Batten know we have two coming into medical."

[Derek Walsh]

Despite everything, Derek was still young enough that the first thing he did when he returned to human form was swipe his sleeve over his face.  He had a lot of blood there, and most of it wasn't his own.  Xander's wolves might not have cared about those things, but Derek did.  He should have been more concerned with covering injuries, but he figured that wasn't nearly as bad as showing up with blood all over his face. 

"I didn't know it was a bash," he said, and that was all he had to say.  He didn't have to explain to Christian that he was allowed to go to parties, and that he was allowed to behave like something resembling a normal teen.  Just because he wasn't a normal teenager didn't mean that he couldn't try, right up until nearly everyone he knew got ripped up by vampires at one of those parties.

Shit, Eva was going to tear him a new one.  If it hadn't been necessary to call Christian for help, he wouldn't have just to keep her from knowing and freaking out, but that hadn't been avoidable this time.  Obviously.  Without even considering his own condition, all he had to do was watch and listen to Christian dealing with Shane, and he knew how necessary it had been.  Shane might still make it, and if Derek hadn't called Christian and come in to play decoy like he'd basically done, the kid would have been as dead as their other friends. 

He opened his mouth to argue the 'girlfriend' comment, but why?  It really just wasn't worth it, not right then, so he clenched his jaw shut and took the longer, less painful route out of the house - the stairs and front door.  He almost wished he hadn't, since it got his adrenaline and recently-shifted senses picking up every nasty little detail, but he did his best to avoid watching what was going on as the wolves played clean-up, and he definitely made it a point to avoid the 'vicious kitty cat' comments.  Apparently, he wasn't nearly as impressive once they saw that he was 'just a kid' as he'd been before.  He was extremely glad to hustle on out the door and into the fresh air, and he slowed his pace just a touch to take it easier on his own hurts.  They were healing, but some had been bad.  He was keeping in mind the fact that Christian needed the kit to help Shane, but he wasn't going to do any of them any good if he jacked up a healing injury by putting too much strain on it.  Besides, he really wasn't looking forward to facing Melody, all covered in blood and with torn clothing.

[Melody Craft]

Melody saw Derek coming - ambling, actually - out of the house. She had been sitting in the truck very quietly, watching everything unfold, or at least what she could see of it. She knew that she was in some sort of shock because the things she was seeing weren't making sense - men, no wolves, no men-wolves but not -- she didn't know. They were attacking as people fled out the doors, but Melody had a feeling they weren't the bad guys - the wolves that were men, I mean. She knew that they were helping; that the people trying to escape were bad.

  Derek was almost to the truck when she realized it was him. She pushed the door open and ran out, falling for a second in the dirt and gravel. She scraped up her palm as she caught herself, scrambling to her feet. She'd never moved so fast in her life, but she'd never been so happy to see anyone that much, either. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as she could. He was hot, his heart was pounding, and he was covered in...

  "Oh my God," she whispered, pulling back in shock. It was all over him - it was all over her now. She looked up at him - bruises, cuts, but nothing that could have bled out that much - not that she could see. "Derek, what... what happened? Are you okay? Where's Shane?"

  She had so many questions. She reached up to his face, fingers along his cheek as her thumb rested at the base of his jaw. He was shaking - not much, a little - adrenaline? "My God, you're burning up," she whispered. "And your eyes -- " They were the brightest shade of blue she'd ever seen; his own eyes were beautiful, almost like her brother's, but now they were damn near luminescent. ".... Derek?" she asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

[Derek Walsh]

As soon as she busted out of the truck and rushed him, he regretted coming out.  One of the wolves could have done it without getting nearly as many questions, and without wanting to stay.  The last thing he wanted to do was disentangle himself so that he could bring the kit in to Christian, but it had to be done.  If her brother died because he'd chosen not to follow orders, there would be a couple of people pissed as all hell at him, and he wouldn't blame any of them. 

"I'm fine," he told her, resisting the urge to try to wipe at any other blood, which would have been a useless venture by this point.  He'd tried to clean up his face, and had probably only smeared it around.  Sure, his sleeves were bloodier as a result, but he doubted he'd gotten it all.  It made him feel like the kind of monster the guilds usually hunted, though watching Xander and his wolves do their job made him reconsider.  Weren't they as bad as the monsters they killed?  Yeah, but he figured intentions must go a long way, and he wasn't complaining after they'd gotten in there and basically saved his ass.  "Your brother...I have to get the med kit in to Christian.  Shane's alive, but he looked a little dazed.  Christian will take care of him."

That, he meant.  He didn't want to worry her with details before Shane was taken care of, but he trusted Christian to do whatever had to be done.  Christian would take care of it. 

With the way she had her fingers on his face, brushing his cheek and jaw, she had to feel the way his jaw tightened over her commenting on his temperature and eyes, especially since he closed them and moved to grab the first aid kit as soon as she did.  Fielding questions over what a freak he was really hadn't been on his list of things to do tonight, but now what was he supposed to do?  She'd seen, and she definitely wasn't going to be forgetting. 

"If you can just stay in the truck for a few more minutes, I'm gonna bring this to Christian, and then I'll be back.  I'll tell you what I can," he promised, and he would probably be regretting it as much as his promise before, which meant that it would suck, but it would still do some good.  He hoped.

He fixed her with bright, crazy bright blue eyes again, and tried for a smile before he shot back towards the house.  He still hurt, but he was definitely not dreading giving the first aid kit to Christian as much as talking to Melody, both times.  Besides, he'd lingered a little longer than the hunter would probably like, so making up for it was a good thing.

Shane, for what it was worth, looked only barely together enough to understand that Christian was talking to him by the time Derek got back, and the Uncia had to admit that it didn't look good.  At least he was aware enough to have put pressure on his neck, but that seemed to be about all.  Derek decided right then and there that if Shane died tonight, he didn't want to be in the same room when it happened.  He didn't want to be the one that had to tell Melody, either.  He had enough to tell her, already, and lingering in the house was going to make him sick.  The fear stench mixing with the blood, sweat and various other smells was nearly overpowering.  He had to wonder how Xander and the wolves dealt with it.

"Can I...not stay in here?  It smells like death," he pointed out, and yes, it was the obvious thing, but it wasn't like he was used to it.  He'd never been in a situation where he actually had to fight for his life before, or that he'd seen anyone die.  Now, he was walking over and past bodies of people he knew, and he was somehow holding it together.  Either shock, or he was made of slightly tougher stuff than he'd expected, but Christian had enough to deal with where Shane was concerned.  Derek had no doubt that all three of them would be dragged back to Frost and put under either Mitchell or Batten's care, but for now, he was all for escaping back to Christian's truck. 

"If you think you'll be okay until we get back to the guildhouse, then you can wait in the truck.  Nowhere else, or your sister is going to kill us both."

"You got it," he agreed quickly, and it was back to forcing abused muscles and limbs to carry him back outside.  He thought that a bone in his leg might have been cracked, but it definitely wasn't broken, so he was walking on it until it stopped hurting.  It was a good distraction, that and ushering Melody into the passenger seat of Christian's truck while he stayed right outside the open door.  He wondered if any of the residual effects of shifting were still there, and could only assume that they were, just because he still felt like his whole body was on high alert.  That wasn't going to lessen her questions. 

"Are you okay?"

[Melody Craft]

Melody reluctantly let him go, more so because the kit was for Shane - she knew he was alive, at least. She sat back down in the truck, staring at the blood on her arms. It had gotten into her hair and had begun to mat in certain areas, and she couldn't ever recall a time such as this where she wanted a shower so bad. She was shaking, couldn't help it, and pulled the sweater even tighter around herself, cursing her idiotic fashion sense for her ensemble. When Derek finally came back, she was reluctant to flood him with questions again, only because he seemed in pain.

  "I think I'm doing pretty good right now, considering," she managed. She watched him grimace as he shifted his weight, and she slid over in the seat. "Do you want to sit down?" she asked. "It's kind of cold in here, but it's bearable," she admitted. It hadn't occurred to Melody that she'd been cold because she was scared; no, she was just cold because she was cold. There was a long pause, and she finally spoke. "Are you okay?" she asked.

  In the back of her head, she wanted to ask more - thousands of questions were piling up against her mind, slamming against her brain and the back of her tongue, waiting to be spit out. She knew she was still too emotional though, too volatile; anything she said right now would reflect on her state and it might even garner an answer that would lead her to hysterics. She just concentrated on the idea that her brother was alive, and focused on Derek.