Tattoo [Growth [Part 2]]
May. 24th, 2020 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: M-21 grows, and with it, so does the tattoo.
Notes: Thanks to Madame Azure for all the support and cheering on while I was writing this. :D
So I ended up splitting this into five parts, since the fourth part was double the size of the others anyway, ahahah.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 2,393
Total word count: 14,263
Status: Work in progress
M-24 was alive. Hearing M-24's breathing and the steady beep of the heart monitor was proof M-24 was alive in front of him, but M-21 clutched his comrade's hand as he rested, just to make sure. To make sure he was actually there. '24's had was cooler than it used to be, but it was still there.
The wolf was curled around his hand, as close to M-24 as possible.
M-24 was alive. Once '24 was back on his feet, they could show him everything he'd missed.
* * *
M-21 dragged in a deep breath into his aching lungs as he came to. His skin was tender and bruised like... Like he'd been smashed into the ground and stomped on. Right. Because that was what had happened.
It didn't feel like he had any broken bones, no sharp pain anywhere and he wasn't wrapped up in any casts. He was covered in bandages instead.
"Good morning," M-21 heard and he exhaled, recognising Frankenstein's voice.
"How's the others?" M-21 asked as he pulled himself up to sit back against the headrest. The other two beds in the recovery room were empty.
His muscles protested at the movement, but they were still able to hold his weight. Just, and M-21 gritted his teeth against the wave of nausea that rose up from his stomach. The poison hadn't completely left his system then.
Why the fuck had M-24... It didn't fucking matter now, did it. M-24 had made his choice.
...But maybe he hadn't. If M-24 had been promised something, if something else had developed M-21 didn't know about...
"I was able to convince them to eat rather than hovering," Frankenstein said with a small wry smile.
M-21 frowned, putting the thoughts away. He could think about it later. Takeo and Tao had woken up before him? How badly hurt had he been?
"You were affected differently by the poison," Frankenstein said, holding out a glass of water to him.
M-21 took it, clenching his hand first, trying to stop the trembling. Fuck.
"It wasn't in your system for as long, but because of that, you used up more resources to fight it off."
He sighed at the coolness of the glass, holding it for a second to make sure he could keep his hands steady.
Once he kept the glass still, M-21 sipped from the straw, closing his eyes at the relief that brought.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm..." M-21 frowned, feeling the wolf stir. It had been resting on his shoulder but as it moved towards his neck, M-21 could feel the difference from before.
It was double the size it used to be. Before, it would have fit easily in the palm of his hand, but now it should reach from fingertip to the bottom of his palm.
"The fuck?"
"What's wrong?" Frankenstein said, studying him.
M-21 shook his head, gesturing towards his neck as the wolf emerged from underneath the bandages.
Frankenstein's eyebrows rose. "You have grown, haven't you?" he cooed, crouching a little to take a closer look at the wolf.
The wolf wagged its tail and barked once at Frankenstein before pressing up against M-21's jaw.
Frankenstein wasn't surprised. Of course he wasn't.
"The mark grows in tandem to your own power. From what I heard," Frankenstein said, his gaze drifting, "werewolves would gauge the strength of their opponent by the size of their mark."
What? "I don't feel stronger right now," M-21 muttered, staring down at the barely still glass in his hand. He'd been weaker than this, like when his body had been breaking down, but he didn't feel like he'd grown.
Frankenstein chuckled softly. "The adage 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' is very apt for those with werewolf healing powers. Your body will be stronger once you're fully recovered."
...Huh. M-21 traced a finger along his jaw, the wolf chasing it. ...It was slower than usual. Lethargic from the poison, or from growing so fast?
"How big can they grow?" Would it run out of space eventually? What happened then?
"Hmm," Frankenstein said, loosely crossing his arms. "I did know one whose mark was so large, its head was the size of his torso."
M-21 stared at him. They could grow that big? That was the real strength of a true werewolf, huh...
The wolf barked towards the window and M-21 looked out it. There was no-one there and he sighed, downing the rest of the water. "You want me to go outside?"
The wolf barked again, wagging its tail.
He glanced at Frankenstein, who smiled back. "So long as you don't do anything strenuous."
No rooftop hopping. Not that he was going to do that anyway - his legs didn't feel like they could hold him for that long. M-21 nodded, taking the glass out the room with him.
* * *
M-21 heard someone moving around in the kitchen as he opened the door.
"You're up," Takeo said, a relieved smile spreading over his face.
"Just." M-21 shrugged. "Where's Tao?" If Tao was around, he would have tackled M-21 by now.
Takeo's smile softened as he pulled out his phone. "In his room - he was dozing off while eating; I was able to convince him to go to bed before he hit the floor."
"So long as you told him when I was awake," M-21 added, smirking. He walked past and started washing his glass, the wolf dancing around the spray.
"Of course." Takeo tapped a few times on his phone before pocketing it again. "What are you going to do now?"
M-21 set the glass on the drying rack. "It wants to go out. Probably bored waiting while I've been recovering."
The wolf barked towards the front door and M-21 sighed, shaking his head. "All right, I'm going." He raised an eyebrow at Takeo.
"Sunlight would be good right now," Takeo said, following in step with him.
M-21 tilted his head up at the house when they stepped outside. Normally jumping up to the roof was easy but even the thought made his muscles ache in preparation.
He turned his head at a soft thump, Takeo carrying out a pair of deck chairs.
"I forgot we had those," M-21 said, taking one and opening it in the garden. It wouldn't be the same open view as the rooftop, but the wolf wasn't complaining.
"We haven't had a lot of free time to sit outside." Takeo opened his own and eased himself down onto it with a sigh.
"That's putting it mildly," M-21 muttered. But they were outside now - there was only a few people walking down the street, but voices could carry and who knew who was listening.
The wind picked up and M-21 scratched his arm where Takeo's hair drifted across to him.
The wolf ran over, probably happy to just see something that wasn't the same four - M-21 snapped his attention to his arm, feeling Takeo's hair drag over his skin.
Which was what the wolf was doing: it had grabbed a part of Takeo's hair and was running up and down his arm with it like it was a stick.
"How the fuck are you-" M-21 grimaced. "Stop that," he said, scratching where Takeo's hair had been.
A muffled bark, the wolf shaking its head.
"It's fine," Takeo said, scooting closer with the deck chair. "He's having fun."
"It has your hair," M-21 said, the wolf ducking away as he tried to grab Takeo's hair.
"Mm. He's playing - my hair's still in one piece."
...That was true. M-21 scowled at the wolf, which was on his wrist, but all that did was make the wolf wag its tail harder. "Can you carry it away from my skin?" It felt weird.
The wolf tilted its head at him.
Right. If Takeo's hair wasn't on his skin, the wolf wouldn't be able to touch it.
"Don't get tangled up then," M-21 grumbled. If it got knotted, they'd have to cut Takeo's hair.
The wolf barked again, and started running laps up and down M-21's arm.
He'd gotten used to the wolf's presence over the years - he could do with hair on his skin for a couple minutes.
* * *
M-21 couldn't breathe, hands holding himself up. It wasn't because he'd been throttled seconds ago he was trembling, his brain stuttering. It was circling the same thought, locking him in and he couldn't break the cycle.
That was a werewolf. That was an actual fucking werewolf standing there.
Whose mark was blood red, taking up the werewolf's entire chest as it snarled at M-21, mirroring the werewolf's sneer.
A mark's size was an indicator of the werewolf's strength.
Too strong. The werewolf was too strong.
Words were being said. He knew words were being said, the werewolf's lips moving and he could see Takeo and Tao moving in his periphery but he couldn't make any sense of it. Everything was buzzing in his ears and that was how much he was worth, wasn't it? All those years struggling to survive and get stronger, and he was nothing compared to-
"Ow!" he hissed, clasping his shoulder. His hand came away bloody. It wasn't a big wound, a smudged red circle.
The wolf was barking so much it made his skin vibrate.
"What do you want me to d-"
It bit him again. Not as hard, but enough to make him suck in a breath.
What the fuck was he doing? He was staring off in space as Takeo and Tao fought the werewolf.
There was no time to think what he was supposed to do. The others would die if he took too long.
M-21 lurched to his feet, gathering up the energy to transform. It had to be because he'd already transformed that he was lightheaded, not quite feeling like he fit in his own skin.
Anger throbbed as he clenched his fists and bared his fangs. Takeo and Tao had been hurt enough. They wouldn't let it happen any more.
They transformed with a howl, power coursing through them.
They were going to protect their pack.
* * *
Everything ached when M-21 came to. But it wasn't just from pain his skin buzzed.
"Kekeke, almost! You almost got it!"
M-21 opened his eyes a slit, seeing Tao waving a laser pointer at him. Urgh.
"Huh? You don't like it anymore?"
The wolf raced up M-21's arm.
"Is somebody awake an' didn't wanna tell meee?" Tao leaned over and poked M-21's cheek just as the wolf reached it.
M-21 would have swatted his hand away if he had the energy to.
...Something was off.
The wolf had grown again.
"Just woke up," M-21 rasped, grimacing. His mouth felt like paper. "How big?" It was hard to tell with the wolf constantly moving.
"Longer than your forearm," Takeo said, holding out a glass of water.
Tao nodded. "Yeah, if he was any bigger, we'd have'ta play chase on yer chest."
M-21 sipped the water, sighing in relief. "What about not doing it at all." Takeo and Tao were all right. They were bandaged up, but they were there with him. That was good. They had been...
Protected.
M-21 frowned.
"Becaaause," Tao said, twirling the laser pointer, "he worries a lot if he's not distracted. I don't have Takeo's hair and we didn't think it'd be a good idea to have something else touching yer skin and disturbing you anyway."
What had happened during that fight? M-21 remembered transforming but the rest of it was-
"So!" Tao clapped his hands. "You all right to get food or do you want us to bring it to you?"
M-21 didn't say anything for a few seconds, studying Tao's face, before he sighed. "Do I need distracted as well?"
Tao smiled. "Maaaybe."
Right. It wasn't like he could think that clearly right now when he was in pain and hungry. "Fine. I can get up."
He could try to think more later.
* * *
"That was the biggest upgrade to yer transformation yet!" Tao said as they made their way up the stairs, plates in hand.
...It was? He'd transformed and then...
It wasn't clear like the other times he'd transformed. A blur of anger, the urge to protect. Protect his... The word slipped through his fingers like it didn't exist.
But it wasn't right. M-21 knew his anger. Knew what that felt like. It was tied to his feelings of helplessness, where he had to lash out to prove he was worth something, that he had enough strength to be allowed to exist.
That had been different.
It hadn't been his.
"Em?" Tao nudged him with an elbow as they entered M-21's room. Tao's room was closer, but they gravitated towards M-21's room since that had the most space left in it.
"What was it like...?" M-21 asked softly.
The look Takeo and Tao shared was all he needed to know.
Fuck.
"Didn't have the time to take pictures," Tao said as he sat on M-21's bed, "but you were actually less furry? And your hair stood up looked like you'd been shocked."
"You didn't...seem yourself," Takeo added, taking one of M-21's chairs.
Tao nodded. "You went on all fours a couple times."
It was hard to breathe, ice chilling his gut.
"You don't remember, do you...?" Takeo's voice was distant, like he was hearing it through a tank.
Something wrapped around his wrist and tugged him towards the bed. Takeo and Tao were too far, and it was too thin to be a hand. Had to be one of Tao's cables.
M-21 followed it, Tao taking his plate.
"'M'fine," he mumbled and Tao nudged him.
"You're a bad liar when you're surprised."
M-21 exhaled when Takeo down next to him.
"It was the first time you've transformed like that - you'll be able to control it," Takeo said.
Would he? Could he control it if it wasn't even him? When it was some instincts that he didn't even know what it wanted?
The wolf pressed against his throat just hard enough to be felt. Not to control his breathing. Not to control him.
M-21 scratched at it, taking a deep breath. "Yeah."
He needed to talk with Frankenstein or Raizel-nim.
That's the canon parts done for now. :) I was going to cover M-21's first meeting with Mark, but it just ended up rehashing the same thing as canon, so didn't seem interesting.
Summary: M-21 grows, and with it, so does the tattoo.
Notes: Thanks to Madame Azure for all the support and cheering on while I was writing this. :D
So I ended up splitting this into five parts, since the fourth part was double the size of the others anyway, ahahah.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 2,393
Total word count: 14,263
Status: Work in progress
M-24 was alive. Hearing M-24's breathing and the steady beep of the heart monitor was proof M-24 was alive in front of him, but M-21 clutched his comrade's hand as he rested, just to make sure. To make sure he was actually there. '24's had was cooler than it used to be, but it was still there.
The wolf was curled around his hand, as close to M-24 as possible.
M-24 was alive. Once '24 was back on his feet, they could show him everything he'd missed.
M-21 dragged in a deep breath into his aching lungs as he came to. His skin was tender and bruised like... Like he'd been smashed into the ground and stomped on. Right. Because that was what had happened.
It didn't feel like he had any broken bones, no sharp pain anywhere and he wasn't wrapped up in any casts. He was covered in bandages instead.
"Good morning," M-21 heard and he exhaled, recognising Frankenstein's voice.
"How's the others?" M-21 asked as he pulled himself up to sit back against the headrest. The other two beds in the recovery room were empty.
His muscles protested at the movement, but they were still able to hold his weight. Just, and M-21 gritted his teeth against the wave of nausea that rose up from his stomach. The poison hadn't completely left his system then.
Why the fuck had M-24... It didn't fucking matter now, did it. M-24 had made his choice.
...But maybe he hadn't. If M-24 had been promised something, if something else had developed M-21 didn't know about...
"I was able to convince them to eat rather than hovering," Frankenstein said with a small wry smile.
M-21 frowned, putting the thoughts away. He could think about it later. Takeo and Tao had woken up before him? How badly hurt had he been?
"You were affected differently by the poison," Frankenstein said, holding out a glass of water to him.
M-21 took it, clenching his hand first, trying to stop the trembling. Fuck.
"It wasn't in your system for as long, but because of that, you used up more resources to fight it off."
He sighed at the coolness of the glass, holding it for a second to make sure he could keep his hands steady.
Once he kept the glass still, M-21 sipped from the straw, closing his eyes at the relief that brought.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm..." M-21 frowned, feeling the wolf stir. It had been resting on his shoulder but as it moved towards his neck, M-21 could feel the difference from before.
It was double the size it used to be. Before, it would have fit easily in the palm of his hand, but now it should reach from fingertip to the bottom of his palm.
"The fuck?"
"What's wrong?" Frankenstein said, studying him.
M-21 shook his head, gesturing towards his neck as the wolf emerged from underneath the bandages.
Frankenstein's eyebrows rose. "You have grown, haven't you?" he cooed, crouching a little to take a closer look at the wolf.
The wolf wagged its tail and barked once at Frankenstein before pressing up against M-21's jaw.
Frankenstein wasn't surprised. Of course he wasn't.
"The mark grows in tandem to your own power. From what I heard," Frankenstein said, his gaze drifting, "werewolves would gauge the strength of their opponent by the size of their mark."
What? "I don't feel stronger right now," M-21 muttered, staring down at the barely still glass in his hand. He'd been weaker than this, like when his body had been breaking down, but he didn't feel like he'd grown.
Frankenstein chuckled softly. "The adage 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' is very apt for those with werewolf healing powers. Your body will be stronger once you're fully recovered."
...Huh. M-21 traced a finger along his jaw, the wolf chasing it. ...It was slower than usual. Lethargic from the poison, or from growing so fast?
"How big can they grow?" Would it run out of space eventually? What happened then?
"Hmm," Frankenstein said, loosely crossing his arms. "I did know one whose mark was so large, its head was the size of his torso."
M-21 stared at him. They could grow that big? That was the real strength of a true werewolf, huh...
The wolf barked towards the window and M-21 looked out it. There was no-one there and he sighed, downing the rest of the water. "You want me to go outside?"
The wolf barked again, wagging its tail.
He glanced at Frankenstein, who smiled back. "So long as you don't do anything strenuous."
No rooftop hopping. Not that he was going to do that anyway - his legs didn't feel like they could hold him for that long. M-21 nodded, taking the glass out the room with him.
M-21 heard someone moving around in the kitchen as he opened the door.
"You're up," Takeo said, a relieved smile spreading over his face.
"Just." M-21 shrugged. "Where's Tao?" If Tao was around, he would have tackled M-21 by now.
Takeo's smile softened as he pulled out his phone. "In his room - he was dozing off while eating; I was able to convince him to go to bed before he hit the floor."
"So long as you told him when I was awake," M-21 added, smirking. He walked past and started washing his glass, the wolf dancing around the spray.
"Of course." Takeo tapped a few times on his phone before pocketing it again. "What are you going to do now?"
M-21 set the glass on the drying rack. "It wants to go out. Probably bored waiting while I've been recovering."
The wolf barked towards the front door and M-21 sighed, shaking his head. "All right, I'm going." He raised an eyebrow at Takeo.
"Sunlight would be good right now," Takeo said, following in step with him.
M-21 tilted his head up at the house when they stepped outside. Normally jumping up to the roof was easy but even the thought made his muscles ache in preparation.
He turned his head at a soft thump, Takeo carrying out a pair of deck chairs.
"I forgot we had those," M-21 said, taking one and opening it in the garden. It wouldn't be the same open view as the rooftop, but the wolf wasn't complaining.
"We haven't had a lot of free time to sit outside." Takeo opened his own and eased himself down onto it with a sigh.
"That's putting it mildly," M-21 muttered. But they were outside now - there was only a few people walking down the street, but voices could carry and who knew who was listening.
The wind picked up and M-21 scratched his arm where Takeo's hair drifted across to him.
The wolf ran over, probably happy to just see something that wasn't the same four - M-21 snapped his attention to his arm, feeling Takeo's hair drag over his skin.
Which was what the wolf was doing: it had grabbed a part of Takeo's hair and was running up and down his arm with it like it was a stick.
"How the fuck are you-" M-21 grimaced. "Stop that," he said, scratching where Takeo's hair had been.
A muffled bark, the wolf shaking its head.
"It's fine," Takeo said, scooting closer with the deck chair. "He's having fun."
"It has your hair," M-21 said, the wolf ducking away as he tried to grab Takeo's hair.
"Mm. He's playing - my hair's still in one piece."
...That was true. M-21 scowled at the wolf, which was on his wrist, but all that did was make the wolf wag its tail harder. "Can you carry it away from my skin?" It felt weird.
The wolf tilted its head at him.
Right. If Takeo's hair wasn't on his skin, the wolf wouldn't be able to touch it.
"Don't get tangled up then," M-21 grumbled. If it got knotted, they'd have to cut Takeo's hair.
The wolf barked again, and started running laps up and down M-21's arm.
He'd gotten used to the wolf's presence over the years - he could do with hair on his skin for a couple minutes.
M-21 couldn't breathe, hands holding himself up. It wasn't because he'd been throttled seconds ago he was trembling, his brain stuttering. It was circling the same thought, locking him in and he couldn't break the cycle.
That was a werewolf. That was an actual fucking werewolf standing there.
Whose mark was blood red, taking up the werewolf's entire chest as it snarled at M-21, mirroring the werewolf's sneer.
A mark's size was an indicator of the werewolf's strength.
Too strong. The werewolf was too strong.
Words were being said. He knew words were being said, the werewolf's lips moving and he could see Takeo and Tao moving in his periphery but he couldn't make any sense of it. Everything was buzzing in his ears and that was how much he was worth, wasn't it? All those years struggling to survive and get stronger, and he was nothing compared to-
"Ow!" he hissed, clasping his shoulder. His hand came away bloody. It wasn't a big wound, a smudged red circle.
The wolf was barking so much it made his skin vibrate.
"What do you want me to d-"
It bit him again. Not as hard, but enough to make him suck in a breath.
What the fuck was he doing? He was staring off in space as Takeo and Tao fought the werewolf.
There was no time to think what he was supposed to do. The others would die if he took too long.
M-21 lurched to his feet, gathering up the energy to transform. It had to be because he'd already transformed that he was lightheaded, not quite feeling like he fit in his own skin.
Anger throbbed as he clenched his fists and bared his fangs. Takeo and Tao had been hurt enough. They wouldn't let it happen any more.
They transformed with a howl, power coursing through them.
They were going to protect their pack.
Everything ached when M-21 came to. But it wasn't just from pain his skin buzzed.
"Kekeke, almost! You almost got it!"
M-21 opened his eyes a slit, seeing Tao waving a laser pointer at him. Urgh.
"Huh? You don't like it anymore?"
The wolf raced up M-21's arm.
"Is somebody awake an' didn't wanna tell meee?" Tao leaned over and poked M-21's cheek just as the wolf reached it.
M-21 would have swatted his hand away if he had the energy to.
...Something was off.
The wolf had grown again.
"Just woke up," M-21 rasped, grimacing. His mouth felt like paper. "How big?" It was hard to tell with the wolf constantly moving.
"Longer than your forearm," Takeo said, holding out a glass of water.
Tao nodded. "Yeah, if he was any bigger, we'd have'ta play chase on yer chest."
M-21 sipped the water, sighing in relief. "What about not doing it at all." Takeo and Tao were all right. They were bandaged up, but they were there with him. That was good. They had been...
Protected.
M-21 frowned.
"Becaaause," Tao said, twirling the laser pointer, "he worries a lot if he's not distracted. I don't have Takeo's hair and we didn't think it'd be a good idea to have something else touching yer skin and disturbing you anyway."
What had happened during that fight? M-21 remembered transforming but the rest of it was-
"So!" Tao clapped his hands. "You all right to get food or do you want us to bring it to you?"
M-21 didn't say anything for a few seconds, studying Tao's face, before he sighed. "Do I need distracted as well?"
Tao smiled. "Maaaybe."
Right. It wasn't like he could think that clearly right now when he was in pain and hungry. "Fine. I can get up."
He could try to think more later.
"That was the biggest upgrade to yer transformation yet!" Tao said as they made their way up the stairs, plates in hand.
...It was? He'd transformed and then...
It wasn't clear like the other times he'd transformed. A blur of anger, the urge to protect. Protect his... The word slipped through his fingers like it didn't exist.
But it wasn't right. M-21 knew his anger. Knew what that felt like. It was tied to his feelings of helplessness, where he had to lash out to prove he was worth something, that he had enough strength to be allowed to exist.
That had been different.
It hadn't been his.
"Em?" Tao nudged him with an elbow as they entered M-21's room. Tao's room was closer, but they gravitated towards M-21's room since that had the most space left in it.
"What was it like...?" M-21 asked softly.
The look Takeo and Tao shared was all he needed to know.
Fuck.
"Didn't have the time to take pictures," Tao said as he sat on M-21's bed, "but you were actually less furry? And your hair stood up looked like you'd been shocked."
"You didn't...seem yourself," Takeo added, taking one of M-21's chairs.
Tao nodded. "You went on all fours a couple times."
It was hard to breathe, ice chilling his gut.
"You don't remember, do you...?" Takeo's voice was distant, like he was hearing it through a tank.
Something wrapped around his wrist and tugged him towards the bed. Takeo and Tao were too far, and it was too thin to be a hand. Had to be one of Tao's cables.
M-21 followed it, Tao taking his plate.
"'M'fine," he mumbled and Tao nudged him.
"You're a bad liar when you're surprised."
M-21 exhaled when Takeo down next to him.
"It was the first time you've transformed like that - you'll be able to control it," Takeo said.
Would he? Could he control it if it wasn't even him? When it was some instincts that he didn't even know what it wanted?
The wolf pressed against his throat just hard enough to be felt. Not to control his breathing. Not to control him.
M-21 scratched at it, taking a deep breath. "Yeah."
He needed to talk with Frankenstein or Raizel-nim.
That's the canon parts done for now. :) I was going to cover M-21's first meeting with Mark, but it just ended up rehashing the same thing as canon, so didn't seem interesting.