AU: Come one, Come all! [Lani]

[Lani Hunter]

Lani shivered like a leaf clinging to a branch in high winds. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on, only that Karalie was there to help him gain some sort of stability. A very shaky stability. Thoughts bounced through his sore head and his power whirled like a storm in his mind just waiting for the next opportunity to come out. There were certain things that it had realized that Lani himself was not ready to face. The weight of this power was immense and never in his wildest dreams had it become so powerful. It fed off his hate and his anger and the more he tried to run from it the more it overtook him. Karalie reminded him why they were here, what they were doing and why this was so important. It broke him from his trance, took him that last step back into reality.

A reality he wanted to be as far away from as possible. What Lani was not prepared for was the barrage of accusations that were thrown at him. Worst, he couldn’t dispute them. He was a monster! A killer, murderer. Oh god, what if the ringmaster wasn’t the only casualty. His mind churned, picking up speed and whirling like a tornado just waiting to be released. The dragon slammed against his shields and threatened to destroy everything. Lani couldn’t flee from them fast enough, but bumping Karalie reminded him she was there. Karalie! How was she still here? Wasn’t she afraid? He looked at her and saw her wound and the weight of guilt became too much for him. He didn’t see where he fled, only that it was away. Tears blinded him, but he didn’t need his eyes to see.

Fool, fool, fool! He never should have let it all out! This was all his fault, he’d let it take him over and destroy the only thing he loved. The only person he cared about, the person he was trying to protect, was hurt. He’d hurt her. Sickness well up in him as his power recalled the feel of cooling flesh. He’d killed the ringmaster. Lani tripped and couldn’t hold it in. His entire being felt tainted, darkened and marred by the deed he had done. It didn’t matter that he hated the ringmaster, any other situation, Lani’d be singing, celebrating, taking Karalie in his arms and dancing. And he had felt the corpse. An unexpected side effect. Lani had never thought anything of never feeling Karalie or anyone else, but feeling the ringmaster’s hands, his face. It all overwhelmed him.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his back, but a quick glance told him it was Karalie. He’d never lost control like this in front of someone. Never. Not with his power and certainly not with his emotions. It felt like madness was slipping into him. Like that deed had taken from him the only thing that he thought he couldn’t have lost. “They’re right,” Lani protested scrubbing his hand over his eyes trying to stall the tears. At least it felt like his stomach was starting to feel settled. He spat and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, feeling shaky. He sat back on his knees and shook his head. “I…I…” He tried to force it out but he couldn’t get his tongue to form the words. Karalie’s presence, her gentle soothing helped him find calm, helped that hysterical part of him give way to thinking.

Looking at Karalie he saw, not fear, not anger, something he couldn’t quite explain in her eyes. He gently looked over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I lost it, I didn’t mean to,” he babbled, “I’m sorry.” Lani’s mind was cracked, the pressure of it all had taken its toll, he tried to push it away but it gnawed at his moral center and challenged everything he thought he knew. Gently he touched her face then touched her shoulder. “Can I see?” He asked, he was afraid to see how bad her wound was, but he was responsible for it and he would help her look after it. His hands shook and he was so focused on Karalie and on his guilt that when people ran upon them he was caught by surprise. Would they attack him as they had before? But no one paid any attention to them and as the stragglers past by it became apparent why. The ringmaster’s men raced after then, their eyes practically on fire looking for revenge. Lani swallowed, his power surging. No, he would not hurt anyone else today. He realized, not matter the madness that threatened to take him over, he had to focus. The only thing he needed to focus on was getting them out alive.

He swallowed and tried to keep his focus. “We need to go back for our supplies,” he said, part of him hoping that Karalie thought they would be fine without it and they could just keep running like everyone else. One of the ringmaster’s men stumbled upon them and Lani froze, holding Karalie close. The man barely saw them before he got back to his feet and kept running. Strange… No sooner had he began to consider the implication when the bellow of an elephant rocked the air. What…? Lani’s eyes grew wide. The menagerie! Someone had let them out!

[Karalie Heise]

She shook her head furiously from side to side.  They were not right! They couldn't be more wrong!  "They're idiots!" She insisted, her tone a little harsher than she expected, wanting him to know that he was not to blame for what happened.  Yes, maybe he had gone overboard, but it wasn't unwarranted.  The ringmaster had it coming for years, he got what he'd deserved and if Lani hadn't done it someone else might have eventually.  She herself had considered it on multiple occasions, thought she knew she lacked the nerve for such an act.  But had he made good on his threat earlier.. She knew she'd have took it.  She wasn't strong enough to fight him off if he were intent on forcing himself upon her, but because of Lani she would never have to fear that again! Did he not realize he was their savior?

"You saved me." She said softly in awe as he apologized over and over.  She wished she knew how to convey properly how very grateful for that she was.  "Lani.." He was focusing on her wound and her dark eyes moved downward.  She nipped at the inside of her bottom lip, not wanting him to look, but knowing he wouldn't be able to live with himself until he saw that it was just a light scrape.  She pulled her dress down and to the side, enough so he could see the cut the rope had given her.  It had stopped bleeding, but the blood was still vibrant red and smeared over her chest, making the wound look worse than it actually was.  "It's nothing, see?" She tried to sound encouraging, as though this weren't a big deal, because in all truthfulness it wasn't.  "It's nothing, Lani.."


The feet around them were fast and she looked around, kneeling close to the boy who'd saved her life that day.  She pushed her body closer to his as one of the ringmasters lackey's came towards them.  Her heart hammered all over again as she was sure he would grab them, hurt Lani and herself, but his wide set blue eyes only looked past them before he ran off.  That's when the ground rumbled and the trumpeting of an elephant rang loud through the air.  "Luna.." She whispered softly as the elephant came into view, panicked likely from the chaos of the people running around.  But if Luna was free..

"Lani, the cats!" She yelped, scrambling to her feet and gripping his hand to try and pull him away.  "Forget supplies, we need to go! We need to go right now!" Her voice was high and panicked, for now they were in serious danger.  If the elephants were out, surely the lion and tiger would be as well! There was no time to lose.. They all knew those cats were underfed.. their first opportunity to hunt in years and they were all on the menu.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani closed his eyes and tried to believe Karalie. He really did, but the whole idea made him so sick. The fact that he had done it. That he was capable of it terrified the hell out of him. The death of the ringmaster was nothing of a concern to him, dead the ringmaster was nothing to him. But Lani couldn’t get the feel out of his head, the cold clammy feeling of his mind touching something dead. He groaned, feeling sick all over again. He put a hand on his stomach and tried to hold in the urge to empty it some more. “They’re frightened,” he finally managed to say after a long silence. Frightened of me, his mind finished for him. He’d never been very violent and the rage that had overtaken him scared him. He was afraid and they were afraid of him.

When Lani finally was able to look at Karalie, his eyes were a storm of emotion. He wasn’t thinking straight, this wasn’t how this was supposed to go. No one was supposed to be dead. No one was supposed to get hurt. “Please,” he countered when she whispered his name. She finally allowed him a closer look and Lani peered at the wound, gently touching the red covered skin around it. It was as she said, a small cut. “I’m sorry,” he said again, more for his own benefit, “I’m glad it’s not too bad.” He looked back up at her and tried to make the muscles in his face work to make a smile. It was a sad small thing but it was something better than a pained frown. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight. It felt like years ago that they had been planning their escape, Karalie hadn’t believe she was strong enough to do this. He wondered if she saw her strength now. If she knew how she had saved him too.

Lani’s awareness started coming back as sanity climbed back into his mind. Things settled and the world grew clearer again. His head hurt and every pump of blood brought with it a dizzying stab of pain. His eyes were blurry and he blinked away the mix of blood and tears as best he could. He was slow at processing the rush around him. It was as if time had slowed around them. “Luna?” He asked, not fully comprehending Karalie’s sudden concern about the elephant. His voice dropped away to nothing as he stared dumbly at the elephant. The free elephant, the one pounding across the small encampment, scattering whatever remained of the people in the maze of tents. His jaw hung open and his brain was slow to piece things together. He had barely registered the fact that the elephant wasn’t his imagination when Karalie clued into the greater danger.

“The cats?” Lani asked confused, but he staggered to his feet, her urgency (and her assistance) driving him. The sudden change in altitude was a little much for his head and he leaned heavily against Karalie, nearly toppling back over. He could already tell he was going to be super helpful. “The cats!” He suddenly exclaimed, cluing into what Karalie had already figured out. He righting himself with a great deal of effort, and closed his hand tightly around Karalie’s. “Don’t let go of me!” He called as he ran, pulling her along with him. The reason for that was twofold. He was afraid of losing her, and he was also afraid that if she wasn’t using her eyes and her sharp wits, Lani would run in circles and inevitably into the jaws of a lion. No one was paying them any attention any longer, there was screaming and now they could hear the terrible roars. All he focused on was getting away from that. And when a light appeared ahead! “Maybe we can shelter there!” He called back to Karalie, glancing over his shoulder at her and uttering a small cry. “Karalie! Karalie run! As fast as you can! Don’t look back!” He put in a burst of speed, the large male tiger’s eyes glowing in the dark behind them. If only he had a weapon or something! The light ahead took on the shape of a small farmhouse and Lani saw a man with a shotgun on the porch, probably drawn out by the noise. The man shouted something that Lani couldn’t hear, but he felt the speed of the bullet. “Duck!”

[Karalie Heise]

Lani got to his feet, his body leaning into hers.  She was slight, but she was able to help keep him up, digging her feet into the ground to do so.  They just needed to get away safely, and now.  The boy seemed to understand her need for urgency as the realization of their predicament seemed to settle down around him.  They were in serious trouble, and they needed to get out of there pronto.  

His hands seemed to grip her harder, righting himself before sliding it down into her palm.  She pulled him to get them moving, feeling the slight resistance of him trying to keep up.  She knew he was tired, knew what he'd done back there with the Ringmaster had drained him, but he couldn't rest.  Not yet.  "I won't!" She promised back loudly, the sound of footsteps thundering around them, screaming in the distance and even the snarl of one of the larger cats.  The lion, if she wasn't mistaken.. She'd heard it enough times during the shows to recognize it.  How far was he from them? Hopefully far enough and distracted enough not to corner them as they made their escape.

She saw the light up ahead as he made note of it, dark eyes focusing on it.  Yes.. yes maybe they could.  Maybe they could offer up some of their money in exchange for a place to sleep for the night, maybe a few scraps of food.  Did they have the money? She wasn't sure what Lani had on him and what he didn't.  His sudden cry pulled her from her thoughts, the fear and urgency in his voice making her heart pound.  She looked over her shoulder despite his warning not to, her eyes growing twice as large as she saw the tiger suddenly tailing them.  She shrieked, her feet stomping furiously on the hard, dirt ground as she desperately tried to escape the beast behind them.

Everything happened so quickly she couldn't begin to process it.  Lani screaming in her ear, tugging her down, the hard earth knocking the air from her lungs as dust circled up around her.  She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't comprehend all that was happening.  The ringing sound of gunfire made her clap her hands over her ears, The cry of an animal frightening her down to the core.  She looked up and saw the man on the porch up ahead with the gun in his hand, and she looked behind her to see the orange and black striped creature lying still on the ground.  Her lungs burned as she panted, looking over at Lani unsure if they were really safe or not yet.  She reached a shaky hand to his and suddenly lost her battle to be strong, tears stinging her eyes as they surged forward faster than she could have imagined.

"Is it over yet?" She asked in a quivering voice, unsure if they needed to run more.

[Lani Hunter]

He was out of his mind, he needed Karalie and he was afraid. There was a part of his mind that told him that he shouldn’t be leaning on her so heavily, but he was too sick to care and standing on his own made him dizzy. Was he ever going to feel okay again? Or had he breached into a part of his power that he couldn’t come back from. Maybe he’d been broken like this forever. The idea brought fresh tears to his eyes, at least, it would have, had Karalie not shaken him back into his senses. Lani would die here without Karalie, he knew and he wanted to tell her that but she was tugging on his hand and he didn’t have a chance. He just wanted to lay down and sleep for days, but the terrifying growl behind him pushed him after her.

“Please,” Lani whispered, even as she promised she wouldn’t let go. He was slowing her down, stumbling and blind as he was, she would be safer if he let her go, but he was too terrified to think of being self sacrificing. Honestly, he was only starting to realize how much of a coward he was. He couldn’t leave her to turn and face the cats and he was terrified she might realize this and let him go. The chaos made it all the harder for Lani’s mind to keep up and without Karalie’s guidance he would have been long gone. He watched the tiger behind them and pounded after Karalie, adrenaline and terror giving him a moment of clarity and energy. He swept his power at the tiger, but it simply swept through the animal without any affect. In fact if he were to trust his power he would say that there was no tiger there at all.

The light spoke hope to him and he was glad when Karalie steered toward it. He wasn’t sure if the man was shooting at them or at the tiger but Lani dove to the ground, not letting go of Karalie. He had enough preparation time to brace himself as he hit the ground and covered his head. He felt the tiger fall to the ground and then he felt the tiger. Every claw and tooth. A sick feeling swept over him and he felt suddenly cold. He scrambled back from it with a cry and he dry heaved, with nothing else in his stomach to get rid of. When Karalie reached for him, Lani’s shaking hands grabbed her and pulled her close to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head onto her shoulder, unable to feel relieved, despite their luck.

He felt someone approach and his eyes opened with a flash and he glared dangerously at the man who approached, gun still in hand, but not cocked or pointed at them. He held Karalie close and rested his head on hers. “It’s over, it’s over, Karalie.” He hoped, he couldn’t let Karalie lose hope. Even if this man decided to point the gun at them it would all be over soon. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he could barely hear the man asking if there were okay. He couldn’t answer, as a wave nausea rose in him and the world shifted, adrenaline draining from him and leaving him without a handhold. He sagged against Karalie and his hand gripped her. “Karalie… I…” He couldn’t get it out as his energy failed and this time when the world spun, it left him in blissful darkness.