Caterwauling Outside Your Door

[NicTheDjinn]

The night was moonless and dark, the whole of Hueco Mundo National Park blanketed in liquid black. Even the stars could not penetrate the velvet of the darkened hours, no matter how much they sparkled and shone. With the darkness came the cooling winds of the approaching autumn… Not quite arrived yet, but close enough to make itself known. Said wind shook the branches and leaves of the ancient oak trees that stood sentinel over the whole of the land. Their trunks were thick, bark battle-worn with the scars of age and invading flora and fauna. The heartwood still thrummed strong though, even as the sap was beginning to turn sweeter in preparation for seasons not yet arrived. Due to the canopy these old trees created, the undergrowth was sparse, only consisting of those things that could survive in what light the trees left behind. Briars made their home here and there, along with occasional small ferns and woodsy shrubs. Wherever one of the sentinels fell, colorful mushrooms and beetles took refuge in and made a meal of its wooden carcass.

In such a protected sanctuary as this, a wide variety of wildlife had made a home for themselves. Though the wood was fairly silent, the occasional song of birds high up in their nests and squirrels bounding around in last year’s leaves made a sure representation that there was life, here. Larger things shifted in the darkness as well, looking for their next meal, be it plant or prey. Deer made their homes here, quietly walking through the old rotting leaves, sniffing the plants they came across to judge if it was an adequate meal. Where there were prey, there were predators, none of which were more feared than the mountain lions that prowled the elevated areas of wilderness, hunting for their own meals, though… Oddly enough there was one area the big cats seemed to avoid, and many conspiracy theories as to why that was.

Perhaps the most well-loved by the people that visited this place was the tale of a strange mutant mountain lion that prowled through the forest in the moon-lit hours. Supposedly the thing was human sized or larger, covered in fur- or scales in some retellings. Some witnesses said it could fly, while others assured that it merely climbed trees… All pictures of it were blurry and unfocused, and it seemed that anytime someone caught it on video it was far away, and just as hard to see as it was in pictures.

If the cryptid of Hueco Mundo National Park existed, it seemed it did not wish to be found… Which of course only seemed to attract more people looking for the creature. Locals had even created a sort of tourist destination, touting that one was guaranteed to see the creature if they stayed out in the woods for a few nights… Which was allowed for a fee, of course.

Although, this night, even the most intrepid hunter would not be able to find the creature they so sought. No, on this moonless night, there was no monster in these woods… Just a naked, blue-haired man, running through the forest, clutching at his abdomen. Blood was leaking sluggishly from a series of wounds along his front as he slipped and felt his way around the forest, cursing his vision.

“How do humans deal with this?!!” The blue-hair man hissed out, leaves slipping under bare, padless feet. His calves and thighs were covered in small wounds as well, the briars and plant life of the park happy to take their share of the man's blood. Each footstep was a gamble, the human trying his hardest to navigate when he was next to blind. How was it again that humans were supposed to be the dominant species when they couldn’t see a foot in front of them in the darkness?

Grimmjow wasn’t a human, normally. Once or twice a month he would become one, much to his chagrin. His normal body was much better suited for the woods… Much more dexterous, flexible… Able to fucking see. Truly nature’s cruelest joke was the dullness of human senses, the blobs of jelly they called eyes and the useless nub of cartilage they called a nose. Their sense of hearing was just as poor, of course. Half the time he couldn’t hear things until they were right on top of him, and even then so often it sounded like the sound was everywhere at once. He’d run straight into a buck in this sludge of darkness, and received a decent series of stabs into the gut for his trouble… Which on top of the scratches this bastard mountain lion had thought to bestow him, made the man an absolute bloody mess.

A fucking deer, though. He’d torn larger bucks apart with his bare claws, after the damned things ran for miles in fear. Deer always knew where they stood on the food chain when he was around… At least, when he wasn’t trapped in this pathetic, weak body. It was no wonder humans needed weapons to deal with the hooved menace, if this was the danger they faced going after them bare-handed.

The mountain lion had been a different issue entirely, and while he was pissed about it, it wasn’t a deer, at least. No, that at least had been another predator… One that apparently had known exactly when to challenge him for the territory. Another day and he would have torn the damned thing to sheds and had it begging mercy at his feet like he had done with so many of the other creatures that dared challenge him… But no. This one had challenged him the night of a new moon, when all his prowess and ability was stolen away.

when he was at his weakest.

Knowing that he was so vulnerable at this point in the lunar cycle, Grimmjow of course took careful stock of the phases, keeping track with drawings on the wall of his den. He’d known it was today, and had planned to do what he usually did for his Human Night- clean up at the camp showers, throw on some clothes that he kept around, and head out into the nearby city. What humans lacked in the ability to hunt, they made up for in spades when it came to entertainment… They were weak as fuck, but they knew how to party.

Then, as the sun rose, he’d snag whatever amenities he needed for his den, and return home. It had worked fine for all the years he’d been living here, until this time… This time, a damned mountain lion had thought to wait outside his cave after the moon rose. It damn well felt like it had been gloating when it swiped the sack of clothing from his hands.

It was the only time he’d ever felt fear in his forest.

There hadn’t been a lot of options at the time, so he’d charged it, his roar feeling strange in a human throat. He should have guessed was not the best was to face a big cat. Hell, he was half-big cat the majority of the time, he should have instinctively known it was a bad idea… But he was pissed. This damn thing thought it could lay claim to his home, just because of a moment of weakness?! With flat, useless claws, all he could do was grip his rival as he was unable to tear and shred as he would have normally. Then had come the sharp jagged pain, and blood dripping down his abdomen. There had been no other choice, at that point. He was not a coward, and he did not run due to fear… The determination in lapis-blue eyes spelled the revenge he would enact another day.

As the darkness had smothered the forest, that determination had burned even brighter… Though sadly it was not enough to light his way through the imposing trees that at one time had made him feel safe. He didn’t even realize when he’d stumbled into one of the camping areas the human’s had set up… until his stubby human foot caught on a tent peg, the muscular man going down like a sack of rocks.

The sound that ripped from the his throat was something between an expletive and a snarl, Grimmjow taking a moment to let his head clear before struggling to his feet.

Blood and mud covering his well-built and naked body while his pale blue hair was similarly disheveled and dirty, the mostly-man cat man was sure he had to be quite the sight. He just had to find his way out of this campsite before anyone actually caught sight of him…

-----

Ichigo was glad to finally be able to go on vacation-- well, at least be out of the city, not having to worry about classwork and his overly exciteable father. Just himself, his tent, and nature on a mostly calm weekend-- he had a hell of a time setting a fire for cooking, but luckily enough, he managed and learned to start a proper campfire in record time! Sure, the area had wild fauna that would come and possibly be a nuisance, but at least the more troubling beasts were less likely to visit.

Sure, he had a gun-- his father insisted-- but he had a feeling nothing would get to that point. However, late on his first night, just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard an odd shambling, breathing, then something tripping over his tent, startling him awake completely. What made it worse was the fact he swore he heard a man cursing-- he wouldn't blame him, he did trip in the dark-- regardless, he had his gun near as he exited his tent, flashlight on, brightening the area greatly as he investigated.

"H-hey, heard you trip on my tent--" his words faltered when he notoced all of the blood staining the ground, as well as the injured and naked man before him. For a few moments, he stared in a state of shock, wondering how the hell the other was still moving at all, before he was going back into his tent, and pulling out a large first aid kit and then some. "*Don't move*. You're injured, and we're too far from proper help--" he ordered, carefully approaching the, admitted handsome, stranger, hoping he wasn't some form of feral, higher than a kite on something. "I-I'll need you to lay down while I get everything out-- are you on anything I should worry about? Drugs? Alcohol? What the Hell happened to you?"

-----

Grimmjow flinched as the light shined in his eyes, a hand coming up to block out the beam of light. Great, now he was blinded for a different reason, and he’d been found by one of these damned tourists. Green, purple and pink spots swirled in his vision, obscuring the features of this unknown human from him. He tried to scramble up when the man went back into the tent for a moment, blood-slicked dirt making that particularly difficult. The naked man froze when whoever it was returned, carrying something… That was definitely wasn’t good, considering how his night had already been going. It was probably a weapon of some sort. A gun, if he had to guess. Humans sure were fond of those.

He hissed as the stranger approached- through Grimmjow had to admit that the sound that came from his own throat was pitiful, even to him. His normal hiss had made more than one human shit themselves, but with a human mouth and set of vocal cords, it sounded less like an actual threat and more like a bad imitation. Well. He’d have to settle for words to get his meaning across, then.

“Don’t come near me, human! I don’t need your help!” He growled out, baring his own flat human teeth as he tried to get up all over again. His legs were aching from all that running, however, disobeying him on that particular set of instructions. “What??! No, I’m not- like you would have to be high to get fucked up running across a mountain lion in the dark!” The blue-haired man snarled out, trying to growl in threat. No fucking way was he going to bring up that fucking deer… That one had really hurt his pride.

The spots were finally clearing from his eyes, Grimmjow finally able to make out the man’s bright orange hair and worried expression… And, oh, that was a first aid kit. His growl died down a little, bright blue eyes narrowing at the man. “Fuck that’s huge… What, you accident-prone or something?”

-----

"Stop making weird sounds--" Ichigo softly chastised, before returning with the first aid kit, not realizing the other was trying to seem feral and intimidating. "And why are you referring to me as 'human'? You're really messed up aren't you--" he groaned, though despite his disappointed and annoyed tone, he was genuinely worried about the stranger bleeding near and possibly on his tent.

"And like HELL am I just going to let you bleed out when I could possibly help!!" He retorted, not hesitating to come close, hooking his flashlight on one of his tent posts. Like he feared, not only was there blood on his tent, the other looked worse for wear-- like he'd been attacked by a wild animal or two!! "Did you get hit by a deer, too? Christ-- just-- *stay still*!!" He hissed, only half-glad he was in a camping plot far from other people. This would look so, so fucking bad if someone walked in on them in this situation.

"I'm a med student, and I know enough to patch myself or someone else should something happen-- now, are you going to let me help you, or am I going to have to worry about the cops thinking I murdered you?" He asked exasperatedly, already pulling out some water bottles, clean cloths and antiseptic to begin washing the other's wounds, gramted the other stayed put. "Gonna have to put peroxide on my damn tent-- why the he'll arw you steeaking in the woods, anyway?? There's all sorts of things out here that would eat humans!!" He scolded, not realizing his own adrenaline was kicking in, blocking him from the rational thought that the other seemed sober, but wasn't dying despite being so terribly wounded. Though, beong tired really disnt help maters much, as far as observation went beyond the more pressing concerns.

-----

The weird attempts at growls slowly faded, thought Grimmjow kept his flat, useless teeth bared. He wasn’t about to let this human think for one second that he was submitting… Even without ripping canines and crushing molars, a bite was still a threat of pain. “What, are ya suggestin you’re somethin else?? Nah, ya got city kid written all over ya, human.” Though with hair that color, he could almost believe he had some paranormal blood in him… Bright colors like that were pretty abnormal for humans unless it was dyed, from what he’d gathered.

“I don’t need your help!” He tried to ward the approaching man off with his blunted nails-much like a cat taking a swipe at someone getting too close. “I’m not some crippled dog for ya to save and take home!” He tried to hiss, though the sound remained just as sad as before. Blue eyes went wide as Ichigo so accurately diagnosed the wounds he’d received from being gored. “Don’t you- that fuckin deer cheated! I’ll be sure to rip its head off in thanks as soon as I track it down…” The snarled words were a promise, both to the deer and to Grimmjow himself. The park’s deer needed to be put in their place, it seemed… Them and the mountain lions.

Blue eyes narrowed once more, upper lip relaxing as his head tilted a bit to the left. “You’re a doctor, huh..?” The werejaguar rumbled softly to himself, eyes on Ichigo’s own as he weighed the options. Had his tail still been present, the thing would have been flicking back and forth in a display of unease. Wounds like these would usually be nothing to him but in this weakened form they were slowing him down a significant degree. Blood loss was a very real danger as well, more of the coppery fluid dripping down his body and making trails through the grass and dirt caked to his furless skin. “Fine.” He finally relented, sitting a bit straighter so the doctor could reach his wounds, bloody hands gathering up long blue hair and corralling it out of the way. The feline trapped in human form hissed when the antiseptic hit his open wounds before that pathetic growl bubbled up from within his chest all over again. Not that the King of this forest couldn’t handle a little pain… “I wasn’t streaking..! Fuckin cat stole my clothes.” He snapped in response. What was it with humans and clothes anyway? In the cold months it made some sort of sense with their furless bodies, but in the summer..? Seemed dumb and unnecessary as far as he could tell. The second statement had Grimmjow’s face splitting into something like a wide, predatory smirk. “Yeah, sure are… Ya afraid of gettin eaten up, human?”

-----

"Haaah? I *am* human, I'm just annoyed you're calling me that like you aren't some hopped up weirdo that needs medical attention!! What, you're gonna tell me you're some forest god, or some alien prince sent to earth to find some poor sap to take back to the mothership??" Ichigo was exaggerating, but at least his first guess was closer to the truth. "Whatever-- you're probably delirious from blood loss and whatever is in your system. God, I hope you don't have rabies." He grimaced, making a note of the other's based human teeth.

"As if!! *You're bleeding all over my campsite, and I'd rather not risk going to jail because you refused help and im left with having to explain your corpse!!*" He bit back, clearly annoyed. "You wish I'd bring you home-- I only bring lost kittens and dogs home, you're just a naked bleeding man. Only reason you'd be at my place os because my family and I live above the clinic!!" He replied irritably then, before quirking a brow at the other's tirade, before shaking his head, deciding against commenting on the blue-haired man's poor battle choices. Deer don't normally attack unless cornered, after all, and this guy was probably asking for it.

"In training, yes. I can field splint, properly clean and close most liveable wounds, and at the very least patch someone out to get them to someone better qualified for more complicated shit, like bullet wounds, deeper knife wounds, and so on. I was supposed to go to an internship at a maternity ward soon, get experience with birthing." He grimaced again, not at all jazzed about seeing the process of new life coming into the world. Alas, he had to know that shit in order to be of use. "And *why* were you steipped naked, allowing a big cat to steal your shit? Monkeys near the springs, I understand, but a fucking *cat* stealing your clothes? Obviously you either smelled good, or you left food nearby." He groaned, growing more irritated and exhausted by the minute. Though, when the ither posed that oddly cocky question, Ichigo had no qualms about looking at him like he was some crazy idiot, only minutes away from getting the stupid smacked outta him. "I'm a rational fucking young adult with a desire to live a long, happy life-- anyone with a drive to live would be scared of shit like that!! Fuck-- even most idiots are afraid of predatory animals!! You seem you're one of the stupid few that don't fear shit even as they make you a scratching post!!"

[Final]

“I might as well be a god to this worthless forest.” He hissed, lips drawn up to show off where his fangs would have been if it wasn’t for the fucking phase of that satellite in the sky. “I do not have rabies. I’m not one of those poor, pathetic, used-to-be-wolves that you humans are so fond of. Disgusting things. Always barking and shitting everywhere.” Grimmjow hissed. More than one stray or unleashed dog had come sniffing around his cave since he’d taken up residence there… Something about his presence seemed to attract the nosy things. Several had been sent back to their owners crying out in terror, and a couple more had ended up with claw marks in them. He avoided killing them if he could- missing dogs tended to bring unwanted human attention.

“Like a little blood loss would ever bring me down.” He growled. “This is nothing- just a hindrance. I’m not some kitten that can't take care of itself and needs coddling by a monkey.” Azure eyes challenged Ichigo to say otherwise.

Though, seeing as he was letting the human clean him up and treat him, Grimmjow begrudgingly figured he didn’t exactly have the right to complain.

Not that it was going to stop him.

“Fucking humans and their savior complexes… Do not take me to your clinic. No hospitals, no fucking ambulances, no cops.” The last thing he needed was to be in human hands when he shifted back. They were always so quick to want to ‘study’ strange things, and the were-panther wasn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of getting dissected in some secret underground lab. He’d heard of more than one instance where some ‘medical mystery’ was carted away never to be seen again… Shit was creepy.

Dealing with confused deer hunters was work enough, he didn’t need people in lab coats out here running around to try and find him too.

“She was fucking waiting, the bitch. She’s been challenging me for my territory foryears…” That not-quite growl bubbled up from his chest. “She must have realized I was vulnerable and decided to strike while I was trapped in this pathetic human form.” The man looked up to the moon, sneering at its gentle light. “I’ll settle the score, tomorrow… She should have kept quiet and been happy that I let her live the first time.”

He’d fucking rip that bitch’s head off… Then maybe display it over the mouth of the cave, to ward off anyone else that wanted to fuck with him. Hell, he could get that deer’s head and stick it there to keep it company.

Grimm laughed, his smile menacing even with his flat teeth.

“Yeah. I’ll teach them both a lesson tomorrow. No beast suckerpunches Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and gets away with it.”

[LovelyBones]

"Right, and I'm the fairy God Father." He rolled his eyes, before squinting at the stranger more. "You realize most wild animals shit everywhere too, right? And dogs aren't the only loud domestics out there, for example, yowling cats." He adored pet animals, sure, but the occasional chorus of cats trying to find a booty call at midnight was annoying, to say the least.

"Do you even see how much blood you're losing on my site?? This isnt 'little blood loss'!!" He let out groan in frustration, "And I'm not a damn monkey. One, I'm not covered in fur, nor do I have a tail!!" This guy-- there's no way in hell this beat up stranger was sober, not one bit. "You know, you really should stop comlaining-- you realize how easily your wounds could get infected out here? Ever heard of gangrene? Sepsis? Your best luck is amputation, but with it being on your torso too, you're fucked if it gets that bad." He rolled his eyes as he worked, early annoyed.

"Fine, but don't blame me for dying of infection, since I can only do so much for you here." Ichigo bit back, before shaking his head. "Ungrateful bastard...." he muttered under his breath, maybe being a little rougher in his frustration. When the other went off on his monologue, Ichigo sighed and finished the other up, before going to his soapy dish tub-- it was used, but not murky-- and began to wash his hands, knowing that this was the best he had for hygiene out here without boiling more river water then filtering it. He had drinking water, sure, but he only used it for that and his coffee. "I've done what I could for you, now you better get lost, unless you plan to help me clean up the bloody mess you left on my tent and site." He grumbled, before a yawn rudely interrupted. "I want to go home tomorrow morning, and not have to deal with set-in stains you so rudely left behind."