i'll cover you [rai]

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Poe was great at pretending that he wasn't in over his head. He had learned the skill when he had first become a teacher, not wanting to let his students know when he was overwhelmed or scared, and it had developed over the years, until not even Poe could always tell if he was drowning. He knew, rationally, that right now he probably was way out of his depth, but Poe didn't feel that way. He just felt...awkward. He didn't know how to talk to Rai, especially not after he had put his foot in his mouth when she had first come back. His options were silence or uncontrollable babbling, and of the two, Poe didn't know which was the worse of two evils. He didn't want Rai to think that he didn't care about her anymore, because he did still care. He just didn't know how to show it. After avoiding the hospital for as long as he could, Poe had ducked through the hallways, trying his best not to catch anyone's attention. When he was at Rai's door, he checked to make sure it was unlocked and slightly ajar, and then transformed into his Animagus form, nudging the door open with his muzzle and stepping inside. Poe's tail was in between his legs, and once he was inside the room, he didn't move any further, peering instead at Rai and wondering what she was going to say to him.

@railynn

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Rai was crying again. She was really freaking sick of doing that. She didn't like being that person. The person who cried when bad things happened to them. She always thought that she'd be able to handle anything. She had always told herself that. She always proved it, too. She didn't cry about Uriah being the worst brother in history. She got mad, yes. She yelled, yes, but she didn't cry. Not until this... at least, she hadn't ever cried this much.

She was sitting on her bed in a baggy grey sweater and jeans, her legs pulled up to her chest and her head bowed to her knees. She had forgotten if she had any plans for visitors today. She didn't care. The nurse had just left only moments before when she heard the door open slightly. She lifted her head quickly, but saw no one there. Her eyes lowered to the ground until she saw the puppy.

She recognized that puppy, and she bit hard on her lip. She didn't say anything, though... but instead held her arms out to beckon him forward.

@poet

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Rai hadn’t yelled at him to get out, so that was a start, but Poe still felt like cowering in a corner. His student – his friend – needed him, though, and now wasn’t the time for Poe to start being selfish. He approached the bed, pausing a moment before leaping up onto it. The hospital bed normally wouldn’t be big enough for a dog, but since Rai was curled up, Poe found a position at the end of the bed that was approaching comfortable, laying so his head was facing Rai. This was when it was good to be a dog, because words were failing him, and it would have been strange otherwise, to have him just sitting on her bed. Poe stretched his neck towards Rai, whimpering slightly. What else could he do? There was no manual for what to do when your student got turned into a vampire – though there was one for werewolves. Poe had thought that he would always have the answers, and now, when Rai desperately needed some, he was useless. Poe snuffled softly, and then whimpered again. What was he supposed to do?

@railynn

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Rai dropped her hands as Poe the dog jumped on the bed and faced her, laying down. He whimpered toward her and she bit down on her lip, nodding. She wasn't sure what she was nodding for, really. Was it that she understand that words were hard? Was it that she understood how horrible he must be feeling that someone in his care was attacked this way? It wasn't his fault... she wanted to tell him that. She reached out and patted the top of his head, trying not to think too hard about the man he was rather than the dog. "Hey... don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. If anyone can handle this it's- it's me," her voice choked on the last two words. She's been trying to convince herself of that all day. Other people would have let the vampire kill her or maybe even killed themselves by now. Rai was an optimist, she'd find the good in this... even if it took her an eternity.

@poet

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Rai nodded at him, and Poe scooted closer towards her, making it easier for her to touch his head, but also for him to bury his nose in her palm. It probably wasn’t a wholly pleasant experience, but Poe was determined to show Rai that he was there for her, as least as much as he could be when he was a dog. If she really needed him to, he would change back to human form, but it was easier for them both if he was a dog, he thought. When Rai spoke about how anyone being able to handle his situation, something rumbled deep in his chest. Poe was…growling. He never did that as a dog. Ever. He was always happy yips and adorable whines and occasionally the loud, warning bark, but never growls. He was angry. Not at Rai, but at the series of events that had occurred so she was in a situation she had to handle. Poe was the one who was supposed to handle situations. Poe settled himself a little, and scrambled forward on the bed so he could lick her cheek. Rai wasn’t crying yet, but she sounded close to it, and Poe was determined not to make a mess of it this time.

@railynn

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It was a little strange when Poe started... growling at her? She leaned back just a tiny bit in confusion until, also unexpectedly, he was moving toward her to lick her cheek, It actually wasn't hard to ignore the fact that he was really a person behind all that adorable puppy stuff. She felt a chuckle escape her lips, though it may have still sounded like a sob. She lifted her arms to wrap around him and give the sweet little puppy a hug. Actually, she couldn't really smell his blood as strongly when he was a dog it seemed. Maybe it was the dog smell or the fur that masked it but, either way, it was a nice break from all of her other visitors. She looked into his big puppy eyes and bit her lip, "maybe you should make this change permanent," she joked, letting out another laugh. This one sounded more like a laugh, though.

@poet

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Poe felt better when Rai gave him a hug. He hoped that she felt better, too, though there was no way to gauge that without asking her, and he still wasn’t ready to change back into his human form. Rai said that maybe he ought to make the change permanent, and Poe cocked his head to the side. He’d be lying if he said that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind before. He could just stay a dog, be adopted by a nice family, spend the rest of his life being pampered and loved…Until the family realized that their dog was twenty years old and still going strong. Poe barked at Rai, trying to show he was insulted while also keeping things lighthearted. The worst part about being a dog was that he had a limited range of facial expressions, and no words. Poe leapt down from the bed a moment later, and then stared up at Rai. Maybe he wasn’t ready to be a human yet, but he felt as if he was beginning to outstay his welcome as a dog.

@railynn

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Rai coudln't help but giggle as he cocked his head to the side, his little puppy ears going along for the ride. It was purely adorable, simple as that. He barked at her and she laughed again, "I was only kidding, love," she mused. She didn't really realize she had just said love. It was just the adorable puppy getting to her again. He soon leapt down and looked up at her and she frowned, biting down hard on her lip for a moment before speaking once again. "I... drank plenty today. I think I won't want to eat you," she assured him. She had tasted his blood before... that day and she wouldn't ever forget that. She knew that would make being around him harder, but she could work past it. She was Railynn Freaking Amethyst Stughtattle.

@poet

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Rai said that she was only kidding, and Poe gave her a lopsided doggy smile, ignoring (not for the first time) the way his heart jumped when she said love. He really ought to pay more attention to that silly little organ, Poe thought morosely. But there was no time for hearts when you were someone like Poe. Hearts got in the way of duty, and duty was…duty had to be everything. When Rai said that she had drank enough today, Poe bobbed his head in understanding. He was fairly certain it was an invitation to turn back into his human form, so he did that, sitting cross-legged on the ground near Rai’s bed. Even if she had drunk enough, he wasn’t comfortable getting any closer to her. “Even if you do want to eat me, there are worse ways to go.” Poe said drily. Better to give his life in the service of another than to die alone in a hospital bed of old age, which was where his life seemed to be going at that point. “What’s the trouble, bubble?” It was a horribly juvenile way of asking what was going on with Rai, but sometimes horribly juvenile could be a good thing.

@railynn

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As he shifted back into human form Rai felt her head slowly start pounding until she was squinting because of a sudden migraine. Migraines for Rai usually only came from dehydration like, with water... so this was weird. He made a joke about how there were worse ways to go and she chuckled, but that just caused her head to hurt even more. What was wrong with her? She lifted both of her hands to press the heels of them into her eyes as he asked, in such a silly way, what was going on. She lowered her hands and looked up at him, letting her eyes find his. She bit down on her lip, remembering that day when... well, it was enough for her to look away. "Awe, nothing. I mean, nothing that you don't know is the trouble bubble," she answered, trying to keep it lighthearted.

The trouble really was that she knew what his blood tasted like now, which meant it was even harder to be around him. As a puppy it wasn't a big deal, but now his scent was wafting toward her with alarming strength. She sighed, looking down at her hands in her lap, "what about you?"

@poet

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Poe watched Rai carefully when he shifted back to human, noticing the way she pressed her hands into her eyes after laughing. He did the same thing when he had a headache, but Rai didn’t confess to any such thing when he asked what the trouble was. Poe nodded, meandering a little further away to a chair closer to the door. “Just because you have one big trouble doesn’t mean you can’t have a lot of smaller different ones.” He said with a shrug. That was the core of his job – juggling with a lot of little troubles while dealing with the big one of making all of his trainees into good Aurors.

Rai asked what his troubles were, and Poe shrugged. “Just trying to figure out what to do now.” He said neutrally. He didn’t want to let Rai know how much she was worrying him, how often she had been on his mind since her disappearance. She didn’t deserve the burden of guilt on his behalf. “I wish that I could be of more help here, Rai.” Poe said after a pregnant pause. “So if you need something from me, just ask. Please.” He would do his best to help her, if he could.

@railynn

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Rai wanted to hear what he was saying, she really did, but the smell was clouding her mind. She nodded absently, trying to seem like she was taking it in. Then, finally, it became too much. Even though he was across the room, she wanted to jump on him and suck him dry. Her eyes started to moisten and she covered her mouth with a hand, shaking her head. She bit down on her lip too hard until, finally, she removed her hand and looked up at him. "You have to go," she said, her voice shaky and uncertain. She hated this. She hated every single thing about this. She cared about Poe, had for months now and maybe... maybe cared for him, too. In a not so teacher to student way. Either way, she was horrified that this was happening with him.

"I need you to get out," she said again, more firmly this time. She would not kill him.

@poet

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He had to go. The words shouldn’t have punched Poe in the chest, but they did. He was making everything worse, he was screwing this up, and even worse, he was pitying himself when Rai was the one who was suffering. When she said those words, there was no doubt in Poe’s mind where he belonged. He belonged away from Rai, until she – until she what? Didn’t want to suck his blood? What if that never happened? Poe’s one saving grace was that he was built to follow orders. When Rai repeated that she needed him to get out, Poe transformed into his Animagus form and shouldered his way out of the room, trotting down the hallway and pretending like his puppy smile meant that he wasn’t hurting.

@railynn