To Cure A HeAdAChe {Jack Valenze}

[Tina Ayres]

Having work the next day hadn`t stopped Tina Ayres from going to some guy`s house party the night before and partying well into the morning. She wasn`t going to say no, especially to one in the States where it was hard for her to get into clubs and bars with her ID, you didn`t need an ID and no one cared about your age at house parties. She hated the fact that despite she was at legal age to drink in the UK, it didn`t mean squat in the US, so she certainly made the most out of every drink and party she could get into. Which meant, despite being a wolf shifter, she drank more than she should have last night and was now suffering from a hangover. She`d barely had time to go home and get a shower before she had to dash off again for work.

Fortunately, she only had the morning shift today and had the rest of the afternoon off. Already a pro at dealing with hangovers even at her young age, she knew fresh air was best for a bad headache, so instead of going home and suffering inside the apartment she decided to head to the park instead. It was a nice enough day for it, the temperature was mild and blue sky could be seen here and there in the breaks in the clouds, and there was a pleasant breeze.

Heading down the sidewalk at a slow pace, dressed in a white printed tee, a black zipped-up hoody with white stripes on the underside of the hood, tight form-fitting dark jeans, and sneakers, with her long dark brown hair up in a fancy ponytail with her long bangs outlining her face, and large silver-gold hooped earrings, she suddenly picked up speed when she neared a cafe and lightly dashed up the front steps and disappeared inside to buy herself a snack to eat at the park. The thought of food always seemed to put a spring to her step, and was one of a very short list of things that could get this girl to move. Of course, given Tina`s huge and ravenous appetite, and her lack of patience, her sub, donuts, and cookies didn`t last the trip to the park. All she had left in her hands when she stepped off the red streetcar was a latte and an empty brown paper bag, the latter of which she balled up in her hand and tossed into a nearby garbage bin as she lazily walked towards the city park entrance, walking so slow that an elderly couple that had also gotten off of the streetcar and were heading to the park started complaining.

"She barely looks like she knows where she`s going, or where she is!" the old woman said, loud enough for Tina to hear, "kids these days! On drugs, no doubt! I hear they give you the munchies too, and you saw how she was stuffing her face-!"

However, Tina had given her such a venomous look over her shoulder that the old woman shut up immediately and sped passed, practically running into the park and dragging her poor husband with her, before Tina could even finish asking, "ya got a problem, then say it to my face!" She had to shout the last bit after them, but she was sure they had heard her as everyone else in the vicinity certainly had; nearby families, dog-walkers, joggers, and others that were coming in and out of the park were staring at her and the retreating old couple. She hated it when people stared, she was already cranky from the headache and lack of sleep. Her temper flared up at once and she snapped at the nearest onlooker as she stormed passed, "what are YOU starin` at?!" The jogger jumped and was quick to go on his way, not wanting to contend with her, and the other onlookers were quick to leave as well.

Without anyone to lash out on anymore, her anger soon abated and she was able to somewhat enjoy a peaceful walk through the park. It was always nice to leave city noise behind and just listen to the sounds of water trickling and the wind blowing through the leaves on the trees. The Manchester wolf sipped her lukewarm latte as she walked along the trails, which were all heavily shaded by the towering oak trees, but she didn`t go very far. Having not had any sleep the night before, she was certainly paying for it now, and was too tired to continue on so she went and sat on the first unoccupied park bench she came across. Tina had hoped the latte would help keep her awake, but after she had drank it all and leaned back and tilted her head up towards the sky, closing her eyes against her pulsing headache, she knew it was a futile fight and soon started dozing off.

[Jack 'Boogeyman' Valenze]

You should have known
The price of evil
And it hurts to know
That you belong here, yeah
No one to call
Everybody to fear
Your tragic fate is looking so clear, yeah
Ooh, it's your fuckin' nightmare

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There was just something about a sunset that never failed to make him sigh in complete contentment. Forget the glistening colors, the hush that fell over the land as that glowing orb slowly sank below high peaks, and the way the earth just lit up as each ray of light floated down onto its hardened surface; it was the smell that captured his heart.
The smell of a new start; of the chance for a new beginning.

…Or, in his case, yet another freaking day to do the exact same thing that he always did.
Yee-frickin-haw.

“Hey, buddy, move it!” A voice yelled from somewhere behind him, followed by the loud honk of a car horn. Ah, the lovely sound of New York City. “Move it, or I’m gonna run you down!”

Turning his head to look at the owner of the very large truck currently pointing itself at his body- standing in the middle of the road as it was so that its owner could watch the sun set behind the high buildings until it reached the peak of its cloudy throne- he could only shake his head sadly. As the truck inched itself forward, he took a few steps toward the sidewalk opposite him, slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks and watched as the vehicle slowly trudged down the almost completely empty road.

Gods. Sometimes, it just didn’t pay to get up in the morning.
And on the 600 mornings before this one.

Standing taller than the average bear, the man- dressed in a simple black suit, the shirt half unbuttoned to reveal evidence of nasty scars that littered a dark chest- stood out against the dark colors and skimpy wear of his fellow pedestrians. He reached a hand up to rub at his chin, looking up at the sky as an airplane flew passed by with a pair of incandescent grey eyes.

Who would have thought that a civilization born out of bloodshed, cannibalism, dirt and distrust could build such cities? Such structures that stood so tall, they could blot out the moon itself? It just never ceased to amaze him; the sheer ingenuity of a race of people who were seemingly born to kill.

People, he was quite happy to note, that were exactly like him.

Pausing to buy a paper from one of the many corner stalls, he made his way slowly to a nearby park bench, reclining on the splintered wood with yet another sigh of complete contentment.

It was the start of a new day, a new chance. Would he use it wisely, as the philosopher would ask? Would he help the sick, feed the hungry and give charity to the poor?

…Or would he do exactly what he was doing now: read the front page of the New York Times, and try to find some piece of mischief to get into? Ah, he could almost taste those sweet dreams now; hear the frightened screams of the children he toyed with, or the lustful sighs of desire from the beautiful ladies. Everyone was so different in their dreams, and he did so love to watch them throw off the chains of society.

Take that sleeping girl, for example. As Jack glanced over the top fold of his newspaper, he chanced a glance at the reclining form of a young woman across the park path. She was deep in sleep, which was strange, given that she didn't exactly look like the average hobo. She was either drunk, high, or so innocently ignorant, that she believed that she would be safe to let her guard down in a public place. A smile crept onto the man's face, as his eyes narrowed on that angelic face.

Innocence; oh yes, he would go with innocence. What would her dreams be like? Images of fame, fortune and eternal love? The smile grew, and that age old compulsion began to twitch at the base of his skull. He'd found his mischief. How fortunate!

Almost delicately, he folded his newspaper and stretched out his legs in front of him. To any normal passerby, he would look like a businessman going in for a short nap before a meeting. His folded arms and tilted chin would be as inconspicuous as any other pedestrian around the park. And, as he willed his mind to calm and his eyes to close, he reached out to the girl sleeping across the way and dove into her mind like a missile.

Dream sweet dreams while you can, my dear, the God thought with a silent laugh. It's time for a visit from the Boogeyman.


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[Tina Ayres]

It didn`t take long for Tina to fall asleep, despite being in a public place. The partying last night, that had lasted well into the morning, had taken a lot of her. The fresh air also helped reduce the amount of pain from her headache, like she knew it would, and had soon lulled her into a heavy sleep. Dreaming came almost instantly. This was one of those rare times where Tina was truly angelic and peaceful, and the only time when she wasn`t shouting the odds at someone - on the surface, anyway.

Underneath that tranquil facade Tina`s mind was just as chaotic as ever, and working overtime. While the rest of her body was getting the rest it needed, her brain was still a ticking timebomb ready to go off at a moments notice. That, added with her overconfidence and ability to shift into a wolf, was why Tina went around and did whatever she pleased, and slept wherever she wanted. If anyone had the nerve to try anything with her, she was certain that not only would she be able to get away but also put them through a great deal of pain instead.

So it was that the Manchester wolf dreamed easily on the public park bench, seemingly unaffected by the goings-on around her. She was much more preoccupied with trying to make sense of where she was in her dream, and what she was doing there. To Tina, she had passed so quickly into one that she didn`t realize that she had even fallen asleep yet.

She found herself standing on a familiar street back home, in Manchester, as if the move to the States hadn`t even taken place. Even though she sensed it wasn`t late, darkness had fallen early and rain fell in a steady downpour over the city, drenching the terrace houses and turning their sooty brick facades to glistening pewter. The fact that she didn`t feel the cold or the rain didn`t alert Tina that this wasn`t real, she was already heading up the eerily deserted and quiet street determined to get to her house, which was just around the corner.

Or rather, it should have been.

When she turned the corner, it wasn`t the comforting sight of her house that greeted her but the new street she lived on in the states, in all its modern american glory. The rain had stopped and it was suddenly sunny again. Tina stopped abruptly in her tracks, looking every bit as confused as she felt. The fact that she had just entered another country, that would normally require a plane or boat to get to, just by crossing the street finally made it dawn on her that she was dreaming and that she wasn`t Home after all, as disheartening as that was. However, she didn`t hesitate long. While most other people might have kept walking on towards the new house anyway, Tina backtracked and stayed on the UK side of things. She decided on looking for one of her fave hangouts instead, or at least a familiar face - anything she could get from what she considered her real home and to cheer her up a bit.

She cursed under her breath as the rain started up again the moment her foot touched the cobbled street. This time she felt the cold, and zipped up her hoodie and hugged herself tightly as she continued to walk up the street. The further she went, the more darker it became, and the more she remembered what had happened at this particular spot, in an alley between the old video shop and salon. Tina stopped and peered into the darkness.

Growing up, her brothers had often teased her by saying that the mad hobo that lived in this alley fancied her and would snatch her away one night while she was asleep. Ridiculous, maybe, but still scary for a then six year old girl. However, their teasing wasn`t unfounded. The homeless man didn`t come and snatch her out of her bed, but he did make it a point to try and beckon her into the alley every time she walked passed, until finally snatching her off the street altogether a few years later while she was walking home from school. He had pinned her down, she could remember feeling his hands moving up under her skirt, but she had shifted into a wolf before he could go any further and gave him several nasty bites before legging it. Her family hadn`t believed her story that she was attacked; Her dad scolded her brothers for teasing her so much about the poor homeless man in the first place and putting those thoughts in her head, her brothers just teased her even more, and her mum went ballistic over Tina losing her bookbag and getting her school uniform ruined.

Tina hadn`t seen the hobo since, but as she continued to peer into the darkness she could certainly see him now. She could only make out the outline of his form, but she knew it was him from all the times he`d come out of the alley to see her. Moving out onto the street towards her, the homeless man looked exactly like the last time she`d seen him, still dishevelled with long brown scraggly hair and beard, and that smelly plaid coat and worn out wellington boots. Of course, he looked ten times more threatening than he really was in the dreamworld, thanks to her childhood memory.

"Oi, luv, there ya are. Been wonderin` when you were goin` ta show up again. I got summat ta show ya, come `ere, it`s real nice, I know ye`ll love it," he said gruffly, beckoning to her like he used to do when she was a kid.

This dream was fast becoming a nightmare, and Tina wasn`t going to stand for it. She simply did not have time to bother with bad dreams, she wasn`t that scared little girl anymore(not that she`d ever admit having been scared before). "Get lost, ya sick perv!" she snarled at him with disgust, before abruptly turning and storming off. She didn`t get very far. The homeless man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back, and spun her back round to face him. Tina`s temper flared up at once and she angrily pushed him away from her, and tried to follow up with a furious kick to the groin but he grabbed hold of her leg and flipped her over onto her back. Her childhood terror dove on top of her, and the next thing she knew she was rolling around on the street with him in a full out brawl. Aside from countries magically merging on streets, Tina`s dreams were really no different from her real life. Evidently, Tina was no stranger to a street brawl.

[Jack 'Boogeyman' Valenze]

There was nothing like leaping into another person’s dream. Back once open a post, the men who’d trained him to use his gifts had warned him not to feel anything while ‘working.’ He should close himself off, they said, become numb. But he’d never listened, and the euphoria of power became his addiction. It was probably why he didn’t dream anymore; the lack of anything interesting in his own head. But while invading another’s sleep? Everything, every sound, touch, smell, emotion, was amped up by ten.

Stepping into the young girl’s mind, Jack was expecting something…well, sinister. Such a young looking girl using a park bench for a bed had to have SOME kind of background. Did mommy abandon her? Did daddy hurt her at night? Did the boyfriend or baby-daddy not love her anymore? Call him a perv, but he was kind of hoping for the latter. A frustrated might was always so easy to play with, and she was such a pretty little thing…

But all he got was rain. Damn, talk about a frikkin cold shower.

Wiping his eyes to clear them, he watched the girl as she hurried down the ‘street.’ With a shrug, he followed. What delights awaited her there, he thought with a little smile. Somewhere dry, he hoped…or homeless. Well, this was definitely not something he was expecting.

The homeless man went from shouting lude things in a European drawl, to practically launching himself at the girl…and Jack couldn’t help but stare. It was all he could do to refrain fro laughing as the dreamer and her ‘foe’ rolled around on the ground. He’d seen nightmares before- hell, he made them- but this…this was definitely a first. Falling, zombies, loved ones dying…but a horny hobo? Fuck, man, he was gonna explode if he didn’t laugh!

Though, the amusement was quickly replaced by a sudden thought. It had been so long since he’d played the hero. Normally, he was the monster in peoples’ dreams, as fear was the most potent emotion he’d had yet to taste. But it had been so long since he’d had anyone’s gratitude. Why not play the knight for once? His lips quirked in a grin as he pushed the sleeves of his suit up. With a little flex of his powers, he appeared in her brain just as he did in the real world. He gave the two some more time to tango, then counted to ten…and finally jumped into the fray.

”Get off of her!” He snarled, pulling her attacker off. The dream guy was strong for a specture, and Jack used his gifts to play things up. He took a sock to the face- PAIN! Oh, FUCK, that felt good- and delivered two of his own. The hobo went down with a grunt and a whimper, then scuttled away.

Jack made a show of bending over to catch his breath, before turning back to her. Kneeling down, he offered her a hand, a concerned look on his face. Wasn’t she a pretty young thing?

Damn, he had to stay in character.

”Are you alright, Miss?”


((BAH, sorry for the wait! I had some minor pneumonia, then a mountain of work to catch up on, so I've been a bit crazy. ><; I hope the post works for you; if not, feel free to whack me upside the head and I'll go back to the drawing board. ))