#one of his first memories is a swat team breaking down the door and scooping him up

[laudsimogen]

Turn Away and Return Ch. 2

Summary: A stray daemon has been wandering around the Salvatore School campus ever since the portal to Malivore closed, and Josie intends to find out why. When she finally pieces together his story, she finds much more than she bargained for, including a girl she could swear she’s already falling in love with. AU: Daemons Pairing: Hope/Josie Length: 1,772 

Read it on AO3

Previous chapter:  Ásfriðr Chapter 2: Hope Next chapter: You’re Lying to Yourself

Josie couldn’t keep her eyes off of the girl with the twin braids on the MFHS football team. She was new, along with a few other students, but something about her immediately drew Josie’s attention in a way the others didn’t.

She drew Landon’s attention, too. His gaze lingered on her even when he should have been paying attention to the ball, not that Josie could blame him. She was beautiful—but then again, there were a lot of beautiful people on both teams. There was something else there.

It wasn’t until the girl crashed full-force into Landon that Josie instinctively felt her stomach lurch, because she didn’t have a flying daemon or a fast one who could follow her on foot, and she didn’t have a breakaway pocket on her uniform for slower daemons like Pernilla. Whatever her daemon was, they had to be small enough to hide inside her clothes, and if they got crushed beneath her—

But she was fine besides a twisted ankle. She hobbled off toward the nurse’s office looking perfectly unshaken considering she could have just died for playing a contact sport with, what, a spider daemon? Maybe she was used to it and they’d learned to play it safely, but again Josie got the overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t right.

She set off after her. There wouldn’t be any harm in talking to her, right? Making sure she found the nurse’s office? It was a bit of a stretch, but Josie couldn’t resist the chance to get a moment alone with her.

But when she got to the school, the girl wasn’t in the nurse’s office or anywhere between it and the front door.

“Maybe she went to look for a bathroom?” Reuven suggested. “Come on, we should get back to the game.”

“Hold on. I just want to look around real quick.”

A quick search of the first floor yielded nothing, and against Reuven’s protests, Josie headed upstairs.

“What are you doing?” he whispered. “What do you expect to say if you find her?”

“At this point?” Josie said. “‘Why are you wandering around my school?’ would work. ‘What are you looking for?’ ‘Can I help you?’”

Reuven peeked through Landon’s open door as Josie passed it. “Okay,” he said. “How about, ‘What are you doing in my friend’s room?’”

Josie stopped and backtracked. Sure enough, the girl was sitting cross-legged on Landon’s floor with a map unrolled in front of her. She looked up at Josie, wide-eyed, and said, “I can explain.”

Josie crossed her arms. “All right,” she said. “Explain.”

“I’m helping Dr. Saltzman with Rafael,” the girl said. “I know a lot about the Crescent Wolf Clan; I’m just tracking him down so that I can turn him back.”

“He asked you for help?”

The girl nodded. “Look, I know this is weird, but I’m kind of in a hurry. They’re probably missing you at the game. Why don’t you go back and I’ll make sure Raf is okay?”

Josie frowned. “Why wouldn’t he be okay? What aren’t you telling me?”

The girl scooped the map off the floor and stood up. “There’s a monster out there that hunts werewolves. But it’ll be fine; I can handle it.”

“There’s another monster and your dad told a stranger about it before you?” Reuven whispered into Josie’s ear. She gently swatted him away.

“I’m coming with you,” Josie said. “I know the area and I know how to fight.”

The girl hesitated, but gave in. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.” She paused. “I’m Hope, by the way.”

***

Josie was a bit distracted keeping the shunka at bay to realize that when Hope ran off as a wolf, there was still no sign of a daemon with her. Once they were both out of sight, though, she did notice the pair of round green eyes watching from behind a large bush.

“Ásfriðr?” She headed toward the bush, but the eyes disappeared and the leaves trembled as the cat daemon pressed closer to the center of the bush. “I thought you left.”

“Go away. Now.”

Josie frowned. His voice sounded different, rougher and much more animalistic than before. “I’m not going to freeze you again,” she said. “I won’t do anything to you. But what are you doing back here?”

She knelt down to peer through the branches of the bush. She could barely see a patch of Ásfriðr’s cinnamon fur through the leaves, but she didn’t want to risk touching him if she dug through the bush.

When he spoke, Ásfriðr’s words came out as more of a growl. “I told you to leave,” he said. “I humored you before, but I can’t do that again. Get away from me.”

Josie backed up, but Reuven crept under the lowest branches before she could tell him not to. She felt the pain in her hand before she realized what had happened. Reuven darted to her chest and she held him there instinctively, just catching a glimpse of the tip of Ásfriðr’s tail as he disappeared through the undergrowth. He’d scratched at Reuven and made a break for it.

“It’s not bad,” he said as he flexed his wing to show the small scratch, but Josie could feel that the pain had already faded. “He just surprised me.”

“You should have backed off,” Josie said. “He obviously didn’t want us to see him.”

“I know. And I know why.” Reuven looked toward where Ásfriðr had gone. “He was wolfed out, Jo. He’s her daemon.”

Josie blinked. “What? He said she was—”

“Well, she’s back, obviously.”

“You’re sure he was wolfed out?”

“You only heard his voice,” Reuven said. “I saw him. He’s huge. His claws and his teeth…I mean, if he actually wanted to hurt us, he could have. Easily.”

“He couldn’t resist seeing her,” Josie murmured. “If she’s back, why aren’t they together? And who is she?”

“I don’t know. But she’ll be back again once she kills that thing or finds Raf. What are you going to say?”

***

Hope had left campus by the time Josie found out she’d gotten Raf home safe and sound. Part of her was disappointed, but another part was relieved. What do you say to someone whose existence you’ve forgotten? She had no memories of what they might have been through together, no idea how much Hope actually knew about her, how close they had been. Acquaintances? Best friends? It was impossible to tell.

“Stop thinking about it,” Reuven said gently. “If you see her again, you can decide what to say then. You have studying to do now.”

“I know,” Josie said. “It’s just—”

She cut off as a scratching noise sounded at her door. She furrowed her brow and exchanged a glance with Reuven before getting up; it didn’t sound like the rats she’d been hearing lately.

When she opened the door, she found Ásfriðr waiting in the hallway.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “Can we talk?”

Josie glanced down the hallway, but nobody else was in sight. “Did someone tell you where I was, or did you just know where my room is?”

Ásfriðr stayed silent, but Josie stepped aside to let him in. She knew the answer, anyway. She sat on her bed indicated a spot at the end where he could sit. He settled down on the corner, but he didn’t look very relaxed. Josie couldn’t blame him.

“I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “But I’m pissed off and I’m so tired of hiding. I’m sure you’ve put together part of my situation by now.”

“You’re Hope’s daemon,” Josie said. “She went into Malivore and you didn’t.”

Ásfriðr nodded. “I told her not to,” he said. “I begged her, actually, but she was dead set on it. I was trying to respect her wishes by keeping this secret from all of you, but you deserve to know.”

Josie frowned. “You didn’t go in with her because you didn’t agree with it?”

“It was an accident.” Ásfriðr grimaced. “There’s someone else you’ve forgotten, someone bad. A golem. I was busy fighting his daemon, but she was made of mud as much as he was, and I was struggling with it. I just thought that if I could destroy her enough to get him out of the way, we’d have one less problem to deal with. They fell into the pit without us.”

Josie shivered, and Reuven crept closer to Ásfriðr. He nestled his small form into the fur of Ásfriðr’s chest, and for a moment the cat daemon tensed, but then the tension fell away.

“I’m so sorry,” Reuven whispered.

“What’s done is done,” Ásfriðr said, but his voice sounded gentler now as he gazed down at Reuven.

“So, there’s just a mud daemon wandering around out there, too?” Josie said.

“Yes. But I doubt I'd recognize her if I saw her. And anyway, I don’t know whether she’s really his soul or if she’s just there to make him look more human.”

Josie hummed. She was almost afraid to ask, but she had to know. “Why aren’t you with Hope right now, now that she’s back?”

“You have no idea what it felt like,” Ásfriðr snapped. “How badly it hurt. It all could have been avoided if she would have just listened to me. All of that pain and her plan didn’t even work.”

Josie flinched and tried to think of how she would feel it had been her and Reuven. It was impossible to imagine, but she did know one thing. “I’m sure she misses you.”

Ásfriðr’s hackles raised for a moment, then dropped back down. If a cat could cry, Josie was sure he would have tears in his eyes. “I miss her, too, but I don’t even know how to be with her anymore. Not like I was.” He sighed. “I should be going.”

“You can stay here if you want,” Reuven said quickly. “I mean, it’s got to be better than the woods.”

“I don’t know,” Ásfriðr said. “I’m not sure I’m ready for the whole school to know about me. Lizzie will tell somebody, and then it’ll spread…Even if it doesn’t, I can’t live in your room. It would just be too weird.”

It was strange hearing him mention her sister, but it only pounded in what Josie already knew: this daemon knew them. Hope knew them.

“Why don’t you just rest here for a while?” Josie said. “Lizzie’s off looking for some boy or something. She won’t be back until later. And I’ve got homework I can do in the library.”

Ásfriðr thought for a long moment, then sighed. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you.”

[kingsholmrp]

                                          ROMAN RAMIREZ

Age: 30 Birthdate: 5th October 1987 Gender and Pronouns: Male, he/him Hometown: Laredo, Texas Occupation: Police Officer

                                                      He is a Silver. He is a Seer.

                                              BIOGRAPHY:

Triggers: Death, IED, Amputation, Injury

If anyone had asked a high school Roman Ramirez if he would still be in Texas after high school, he would’ve laughed until tears streamed from dark, smiling eyes. It was a promise he’d always made to his mother, and it was one he’d meant with everything in him — “I’m gonna get you out of here one day.” Maybe his sole guardian knew something he didn’t, even then. Because Paloma Ramirez would only greet this promise with a smile, and a nod. Roman could never decide if he was being placated because his mother didn’t believe his vow, or if she just truly loved the border town.

Early life for Roman felt like a sea eternally ensnared in a storm. Even in moments of calm, there seemed to be something building on the horizon. He was different, but he so desperately needed to pretend he wasn’t. He hadn’t understood what that meant until one particularly bad scraped knee when he was no more than five years old. The metallic silver staining the pavement was cause for alarm for his mother, who scooped him from the playground so quickly that Roman didn’t even have time to register the pain of the injury. Even then, he felt the fear radiating from her.

He was too young to understand, she said. But one day, she would tell him the truth about who he was. What he was. In the meantime, he had to be careful. Walk, no run. Never let anyone see you bleed. His mother was his rock — his voice of reason, his biggest support system. He listened as best he could, without letting this difference change the life he wanted to lead.

Roman was never the most outstanding student in his class, but his athletic prowess granted him wiggle room that many students weren’t afforded. Roman wasn’t exactly lacking for charm, either — he was inherently a likeable guy. He was always quick to offer a smile, and he had the ability to make a stranger feel like they’d known him for years. Yearbook superlatives featured that smiling kid under ‘most likely to succeed’ and ‘class clown.’

He had his life planned out — but he had never been a great planner. Graduate from high school, land a baseball scholarship, or catch the eye of a recruiter and join the majors. It was rare, he knew. But he also knew he was damned good. The halls of his Laredo High School held the plaques, his name emblazoned in (ironically enough) silver, to prove it. He was named All-State First Team every year since he joined Varsity as a freshman. He took pride in it. Even after the most riveting high school baseball party on a Friday night, Roman took to the batting cages at dawn each Saturday. It was his ticket out, and he intended to clutch it tightly.

At the last moment, though, Roman climbed aboard a different train out of Laredo. Danny, his closest friend for as long as he could remember, enlisted in the military. He pleaded with Roman to come along. One tour, baseball would be waiting when he got back, Danny pleaded. And if he wasn’t a draft pick, his college would be paid for.

He knew that his friend’s motivation was coming from a place of creeping fear — an unwillingness to embark on this venture alone. At the end of the day, the only Ramirez son couldn’t say why he agreed. A sense of patriotic duty? Thinly-veiled desperation from his oldest friend? Or perhaps it was something more selfish — scholarship offers had come to Roman, but every one that offered a full ride was in Texas.

Paloma Ramirez was the hardest worker Roman had ever known, but at the end of the day, she was a nurse. Even with the money he picked up doing odds jobs, the two of them were barely afloat. Roman had never known his father, and any questions of the man were met with a gentle swat and a ‘hush’ from his mother. The closest he’d come to finding the man’s identity was a photograph tucked carefully away in a memory box shoved carelessly in the back of her closet. Whoever he was, Roman doubted he was eager to put his name on financial aid forms. That was the day Roman learned why the silver blood was so dangerous. Paloma’s plea for him to stay — to keep himself far from the government’s grasp. He learned his father came from a small town in Norway, and had been passing through when Paloma caught his interest. They were together for a short time before she fell pregnant with Roman, and no sooner had his father found out, he had gone. With a hastily scribbled note, he told Paloma there was a chance the child would bleed silver, and he was to be hidden from the world. It was too late, though. Roman had already met with the recruiter, already put pen to paper. He was off to basic training within the month, ideas of 'abilities’ clanging uselessly in his mind. As far as he’d known, he had no special abilities. Maybe he was a dud. He’d read the Harry Potter books growing up — maybe he was some kind of silver-blooded squib. He was set to be a Military Infantryman, and he would be going overseas to Iraq. Nothing could have prepared Roman for the world he was entering.

His tour of duty came to an abrupt and violent end after seven months. He and a few other soldiers, Danny included, were on routine combat patrol. Roman couldn’t explain the sudden feeling that came over him as they neared a rusted-out truck. Before he could register what was happening, he was plunged into a world of pain. He saw it all so clearly, like he was watching a dream. Danny would take four brash steps forward, and the would all go up. Roman slammed back into his own mind like a truck colliding with a brick wall. He drew up short, the words 'stop’ passing his lips, when everything went dark.

Roman came to a day later, his ears still ringing, and someone tightly clutching his hand. In a moment of confusion before the darkness swallowed him once more, he could’ve sworn he saw his mother.

The next time he woke up, two more days had passed. This time, Roman registered pain — a dull ache that encompassed his entire body. And that damned ringing. It was quieter, but he still flinched against the sound. The sterile fluorescent lighting was his first clue as to his location — his sleeping mother in the pale blue chair beside his bed the next. He attempted to sit, but a sharp pain sent him back with a heavy exhale.

An IED blast, the doctor told him. He’d been lucky, she said. He would walk again — with the help of a prosthetic. His left side had been badly damaged in the blast, but his leg had taken the worst of it. They couldn’t save his foot (what was left of it, he’d heard the nurse say in the hallway once his hearing began to return). His left arm had been badly fractured, he’d need plates in his left thigh, but he would walk.

His own physical loss overwhelmed him in that moment. He forgot the rest of the world. He forgot his unit. And as his dark gaze went to the doctor, the question on his lips, he saw her eyes pleading for him not to ask. To not make her be the one to break the news. But he couldn’t stop. Grief had a way of tightening it’s grip once you start to let it in. And Roman Ramirez was ready to throw open the door.

Three men on that patrol had been killed, Danny Evans among them. Others badly injured, but they would survive. Roman allowed himself one day. One day to let the feeling of loss overwhelm him, laying waste to the person he was to make room for whoever the hell was going to crawl out of this. After that day, he would rebuild. He would wear the smile until the edges of it reached his eyes. He would make jokes and he would laugh, because it was the closest he was going to allow himself to come to breaking down. It wasn’t until the world came into sharper clarity that Roman thought to quietly ask his mother how he’d gotten home safely — how he hadn’t been taken away or killed. His platoon leader, as it turned out, had known of the silvers. Understood the danger Roman was in. He did everything he could to keep him hidden until they could get him home. There had been so much debris at the site of the explosion that there was no making sense of the scene. Once back in Laredo, Paloma finally confided in a surgeon she trusted and made sure she was the only nurse to take any of his vitals. Initially, the choice seemed sound — maybe their fears had been misplaced. His physical therapists were overwhelmed by his progress — by how quickly he seemed to be adjusting to the metal and plastic parts of him. He refused the crutches that kept somehow finding their way back into his room. It was a battle Roman would fight quietly. When he fell, he would get up quickly, and he would do it on his own. He couldn’t bear to let the fear in. He suspected that if it found a crack, it would creep in like ivy, taking root and crushing him.

Even when his mobility again felt like his own, he knew his baseball dreams were put to rest, and with them went his ticket out of Laredo for good. Or so he thought. Roman was barely back home before his mother was packing his bags. At first, she’d noticed a van lingering too long on their street, with no one entering or exiting the vehicle for hours at a time. The increasing presence of salesmen at the door. While his suspicions were raised, Roman dismissed the feeling as just that — suspicion. Paloma didn’t. She told him to stay on the road, never in one place for more than a night. And when he was sure he wasn’t being followed, to get on a plane and get the hell out of the country. Find his father, if he could. Find a safe place to land. He did. While his ability proved shaky and sporadic, at best, it was strengthening. And after a year on the road, working on jobs when he could get them, Roman was occasionally able to think hard of his next destination and see brief flashes of what it held. When he was sure that his trail had run cold, he did as he was told. He booked a flight to Norway. He wasn’t sure what he expected when he arrived in Kingsport — answers? Maybe even a sense of belonging some part of him had craved since learning he was different? In either case, he was sorely disappointed. It seemed a town like any other. But he was determined to make it home — to find out what he could. And maybe, find a way to help others like him. Roman got the idea in his head after renting a small house in town that he could join the force, silver blood and amputation be damned. While the prosthetic would never be comfortable and never really feel like part of him, he knew how to move, and how to do it quickly. It seemed like a pipe dream, but it was something to work toward. It was a direction Roman so desperately needed. He poured his energy into physical therapy, visiting a specialized trainer twice a week. He ran until he felt like he had nothing left, then he gave just a bit more. When the time came, Roman passed his physical and became the first amputee to join the Kingsholm police force. In it’s own way, the place started to feel like home in was Laredo never had. Though he drew no closer to finding out exactly who he was, he felt like he was doing something good — even if with each correct 'hunch,’ he risks pulling the attention of people he’s still meant to be on the run from.

                                     Roman Ramirez is portrayed by Ryan Guzman.