[i]"What did she do, Gabe? Did she hurt you? Should we go back and give her a mopping?"[/i] said Robyn, her usual badass-ness adorned with some concern. Gabe was sitting by the fire in the barrel that the gang had set up in the middle of their little camp. They lived in the slums, and in a downtrodden backalley they had set up shop. It wasn't much, but it was theirs. They oversaw their territory from here. It was their seat of power, so to speak.
[i]"Don't be ridiculous, Robyn."[/i] said Conrad. [i]"We don't hurt young girls."[/i] Robyn gave him a sharp glance. [i]"If she hurt Gabe, we do!"[/i] she persisted. Jaze finally put his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. [i]"You haven't spoken since we left the flowershop. You haven't eaten. You haven't done anything. Are your wounds bothering you, or is it something else?"[/i] he spoke gently. Jaze was a gentle man who could manage to get through to almost anyone. Gabriel finally broke the silence. [i]"I was young when I was turned."[/i] he said, a sentence that froze the entire camp to the core. Gabriel had [i]never[/i] spoken about his origins before. Everyone exchange worried glances. [i]"Sometimes I wonder how I could be your leader... After the things I've done."[/i] Gabriel continued.
The others stood silently, frozen in place. [i]"W-what do you mean?"[/i] said Thomas, the youngest of the group. [i]"What do you mean the things you've done?"[/i]
Gabriel gave him a stale look at first, but it softened into a tiny smile. [i]"I was young when I was turned. I don't know if all wolves know this through some sort of instinctual understanding or if this is a shock to you, but if you're turned before your teenages, the result is often violent."[/i]
Conrad and Jaze nodded, concerned look on their faces. The others didn't know what this meant. [i]"I... I didn't know this."[/i] said Thomas. [i]"I was ten. It's a blurry memory. An infectous bite, a ferocious, giant white wolf... A girl..."[/i] Gabriel said, lingering on the last words, a whisper.
[i]"Bloodthirst manifested itself when I hit puberty. My transformation was out of control. I killed anything in sight, mostly animals."[/i] he continued. Robyn and Thomas listened and looked on, shocked at what they were hearing. Conrad and Jaze listened too, with stern faces. They knew, somehow. Perhaps it was an age-thing, Thomas thought.
[i]"The woods were mostly empty... Except for one family nearby. My rampage took me closer to their home... I remember the scent."[/i]
Suddenly, Conrad widened his eyes, as if he understood. Jaze looked at him, deepening his brows as he didn't understand what this meant.
Suddenly Gabriel rose from his seat, and stormed off. [i]"Do not follow me. Wait for me here."[/i] he said to them, and began to run. His wounds had mostly healed after the hours since the flowershop, and dusk had begun to take the city and the sky. The clouds were dark, almost merging with the setting sun. Within a few hours, it would be very dark out.

Gabriel stopped at the place where he first saw Vanessa. The edge of his territory. He used the fire-escape of a nearby building to climb up to the roof, to overlook the city. After a moment, he heard a voice. [i]"Gabriel?"[/i] the voice called. [i]"Gabriel.. Please.. Tell me where you are."[/i] It was Vanessa. Gabriel winced at the sight of her, the memory. He wasn't completely sure, but the scent was unforgetable.
He dropped down from the fire-escape and landed in front of Vanessa with an athletic thud. An agile landing.
He looked at her, and before she could speak he said to her, softly, [i]"Vanessa... I must ask you again. Do you know me?"[/i]