Private Finished Ouch

Malina stopped. Her usual round of inspections was probably going to have to wait - she could smell that another werewolf had been here recently. So many of them loved to cause problems that she would have to clean up after. She spotted the tracks and abandoned her usual path through the forest, slowly making her way where the other werewolf had been.

Soon, she heard a very lupine yelp. Soon, she was smelling blood. Her leisurely walk turned into a full-on run. That werewolf sounded a little bit young - and kind of messed up. The smell was messed up too. Something was wrong.

Malina skidded to a halt in front of what seemed to be an injured teenager, her well-worn boots cutting into the dirt underfoot. She took a breath and looked around for any signs of danger, then, finding none, put all of her attention on the kid. "Alright. What did this to you, and why are you out in my forest by yourself?" She looked him straight in the eyes. Her tone was stern. She was pretty sure this kid was doing something stupid.

Malina just stared at him for a moment. Then, she pressed a few buttons on her bracelet. "This isn't my territory in the way you probably think. I'm a forest ranger. Malina Olcan."

She knelt down next to him. "What I really care about is people getting hurt in my forest because they were doing something stupid. Lemme get a better look at those injuries. How bad did it get you?" She almost touched him, hesitating. "May I?" The arm was the most obvious injury - she'd look at that first. She had learned a few things about first aid over her lifetime.

"Yeah. It can do that sometimes. You're probably gonna be sore in the morning, but... I think you'll live." She smiled, then pat the boy on his uninjured shoulder.

A subtle humming sound filled the air, and what could best be described as a flying sci-fi motorcycle from the future descended through the treeline to the forest floor. Malina got to her feet. "You'll still want it patched up. I have a first aid kit in my bike." Sure enough, she opened a side compartment on the bike and retrieved a little red case. She'd carry it over to him and kneel down again, cracking it open.

"Do you have a name, kid?" She shuffled through the kit's contents. "Or should I just call you Wolverine?" Kids still read comic books, right?

She was worried about this kid. The way he was acting brought back dark memories.

Gods above, this boy had been through something rough.

It took her a second to think of how to answer his question. "Well... first of all, I'll want you to hold still for a second so I can patch you up." And Malina would go about doing that. "This is going to sting a little," she warned him at one point. Sure enough, that spray she applied stung when it touched his wound.

As she continued the process, she spoke. "The second thing I want you to do is, try not to come back out here unless you have at least one buddy with you. Someone to watch your back. You might get hurt worse next time, and you might not be lucky enough to have me around next time." Her voice lowered, becoming more gentle. "I don't want anything bad happening to you, kid."

Did he need a pack? "Well, thankfully, you don't need a pack for much of anything here. I should know - I haven't had a pack since about thirty years ago. But you don't need a pack to make a friend who would go into this part of the forest with you."

She finished up what she was doing and started packing up her first aid kit again. That should hold him until it was healed, if his healing factor was anything like hers.

And the kid was so surprised to realize that Malina had helped him. It was heartbreaking. "Well... of course, Vance. That's what any decent person should do if they find someone injured and alone. Help them."

Malina was starting to think she shouldn't be in a hurry to take Vance back to his home. "Tell me, who do you live with around here? Did the school take you in?"