"Leave me alone!"

A green-clad figure darted through the streets before taking a sharp turn into an alleyway. Hopefully, her pursuers would lose track of her in the winding pathways. She wore a green hoodie and torn blue jeans and a pair of ragged brown gloves.

"Come back here you damn bitch!"

"You're going to pay for what you did to Tommy!"

No such luck she supposed. Typical, when did things ever go her way she wondered as she knocked over a trash can to slow them down. And to think she was having such a good day for once. The sun was shining, nobody made fun of her accent, and she even managed to find an actually decent burger place!

She could've done without the News channel telling her about a missing person case though. Some high school kid had apparently gone missing and his aunt was looking everywhere for him. And get this, his parents also died when he was young.

"He's such a good boy, there is no way he ran from home. He must've been kidnapped!"

"Could you tell us more about him or his last whereabouts?"

"Of course. He was staying late at General Techtronics Laboratories East because of an internship. He called me that he was going to be home around 8, but he never came back nor could I reach him. Please, I just want our family to be whole again."

It ran a bit too close to home for her taste so she promptly tuned it out. Poor lady, unlike her own aunt she seemed like a nice and kind one. She wonders if the kid actually did get kidnapped or ran away from home like her.

She was finishing up her meal and was about to pay, which was of course when the universe decided to fuck with her. An obnoxious asshole with a hideous neon green mohawk had decided to hit on her. He couldn't take the hint that she wasn't interested and even had the nerve to get fresh with her. She told him off, but he didn't appreciate that and reached for her.

That was when shit had hit the fan.

She didn't see it coming as she was just trying to pay and leave when he managed to grab her hand. She had taken off her gloves while eating. Needless to say, he went out like a light and his friends didn't like that too much.

That was half an hour ago and they were still chasing her. Persistent bunch she would give them that. She took a turn and saw a wire fence, it must have been 8 feet tall. She held in a grimace before sprinting towards it and jumping on it. Grabbing tightly she climbed up. Just as she was about to make it over the other side a shout could be heard from behind her and a rock slammed into her head.

She dropped like a sack of potato. She held a hand to her head to try and stop the pounding but to no avail. Trying to stand up also proved to be a bad idea as she couldn't hold back a hiss of pain. He must've twisted her ankle, or sprained, or something. She wasn't a doctor, but the sharp pain and the red and swelling bump was a pretty damn good indicator something got fucked up.

"Not so fast now are you?"

A tall Hispanic kid in a bean walked up to her with a smug grin and a baseball bat leaning on his shoulders. A quick head count showed her that she was surrounded by 6 people, half of whom were armed, all of them looking pissed. Maybe she should've held back on the insults while she was running? It was too late for regret however as then slowly walked closer. Maybe she could knock a few of them out? All she needed was but a moment to touch them, yet most of them were wearing long sleeves and she was sure they wouldn't let her get close after seeing what she did to their friend.

She would lose a few teeth before managing to touch a hair on their head. This is ignoring the fact that using her power disorientated her for a few moments and made her an open target.

Shit. It didn't seem there was a way out for her. She wasn't given any more time to think as the one with the bat raised above his head and he swung down hard. Martin Rivera, that was his name as the memory she stole told her. Once she gets out of the hospital she was So going to pay him back for this.

She screwed her eyes shut and crossed her arms over her head as she braced for impact. Yet, it never came. Instead, she heard a scream of pain from the boy along with panic from the other kids.

Cracking an eye open she saw an unbelievable scene. A golden retriever had bitten Martin's arm and bowled him over. After taking the kid down it growled towards the others.

"What are you dumbasses standing around for?! Get this crazy mutt off me!"

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This knocked them out of their shock. They didn't know how the dog got there or even where the hell it came from, but it was attacking their leader, and if they didn't do anything there'd be hell to pay when he tells his brother on them. 

A larger kid picked up a rock and chucked it at the canine, she idly thought he must've been the one to hit her while she was climbing the fence.

"Watch out!" She didn't know why she shouted out a warning, it wasn't like the stupid thing could understand her, but she couldn't help herself. It had saved her after all. She tried to get up and help only to fall back down from the pain. She stared hopelessly as the rock flew closer. It was over. Someone else would suffer because of her mistake.

Yet her eyes widened as the dog merely jumped off the boy as if he was a launch pad and tackled a different delinquent. It had dodged at the last moment as if it had eyes on the back of its head. The rock continued its journey and smacked right into the forehead of Martin. The poor kid got knocked out instantly. Ah, sweet karma.

The fat kid had to hold back a wince and pray the boss wouldn't know it was him.

A loud bark took his attention and he had to hold himself from peeing his pants. While he had been distracted briefly by Martins the damn monster had already knocked out 2 others. It had used its jaw to bite onto Johny's leg and physically tossed him into the wall! How the hell was that possible?! There was only half of them left standing. Shit, this thing didn't have rabies did it? Did some junkie accidentally give his dog steroids or something?

The other two exchanged a quick look before tossing away their weapons and ran away. Seeing his 'friends' leaving he did the smart thing for once and followed behind. The boss would understand, he tried, he truly did! They just couldn't beat this freakishly strong dog that could bowl them over and toss them around like a chew toy.

While rogue was laughing and cheering when it was giving them a beat down seeing it turn towards her made her feel a hint of fear. It wasn't so funny when the shoe was on the other foot.

"T-there, there, good doggy?" She backed up slowly. Ya weren't supposed to make sudden movements right? Or maybe don't move? Wait, that last one was for T-rex, wasn't it? She didn't know what to do as it slowly moved towards her at a leisurely pace as if it didn't just make short work of a small gang. She held her breath as it approached her but even with her fear she shouted at it as it was within reach of her.

"No! Stop, don't touch me!" While people merely got knocked out by her touch, animals tended to die. She wasn't sure if it was just the nature of her curse or if people and animals had some fundamental difference but she had never seen an exception to this rule. Not that she tried to test it much as her traumatic experiences with her first crush and a stray cat she had befriended ensured that.

It was why she always wore gloves and covered her entire body as best as she could.

The dog pointedly ignored her and bumped its nose towards her, giving her a good sniff. She froze at the feeling of its warm breath and a wet nose. She bit her lips as tears pooled in her eyes, she really was a monster. After it had saved her she ended up killing it. Another innocent life destroyed because of her. Any moment now it would breathe its last. She didn't think she had it in her to hear its dying gasp brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and buried her face in them.

Shielding her face from the world and not letting anyone see her tears or hear her sobs. Why did she have to have this curse? Was this a punishment from God? Had she wronged someone in a previous life? Why her?

However, her self loathing thoughts were brought short as a familiar object found its way nudging her side. A large stupid smile, a wagging tail, and an undoubted warm breath. It was alive. She couldn't believe it, the shock ending her stream of tears before they renewed themselves in joy.

"Y-ya alright! Ah didn't kill ya! Ya still alive... Alive..!" The young girl hugged the dog and it merely allowed her to until she calmed down. She slowly extracted her arms from it before looking at it with wonder in her eyes. Ever since she had run away from home, she had been living off the streets away from people. A single moment of carelessness could mean seriously hurting someone. She understood that, yet she longed for companionship, to feel the comfort of touching someone, the sense of physical intimacy. 

Finally, after all this time she had finally found someone! Sure, it wasn't a person, but she frankly didn't give a damn at this point. The relief she felt at knowing she wasn't a complete monster, that she didn't kill or hurt everything she touched was beyond words. At least it wouldn't judge her for her accent or strange looks. She was quite fond of the white streak in her brown hair. It was part of the body her mother had given her and she always said it made her special. It was why she never bothered to dye it or wear a hat. Memories of days bonding and feeling of fingers running through her hair were too important for her to hide it away.

"W-would ya like to be my friend?" She awkwardly asked. God if anyone was here they'd think she was a loon, talking to a dog, but she wasn't afraid to admit she was desperate and lonely. It was hard being a kid living in the streets. Constantly moving around by herself.

She got a loud enthusiastic bark which she took as a yes. The licks to the face she got only further reinforced this idea. She was laughing and giggling away like the child she was, but haven't felt like in years. It was clear and carefree. For once she thought things were going to be alright. 

"What should I call ya, big fella?" 

A woof was all she got in reply.

"Hmm, a classic to be sure, but Ah was thinking something more... Classy. Something with meaning, ya know?"

She was definitely not crazy talking to a dog. Besides, there was an intelligence gleaming behind those orbs, she swears! She didn't think she had ever thought so hard before, especially on something as silly as a name, but this was important to her. She wanted to give her new friend the perfect name, not something silly or meaningless.

Suddenly it hit her, the perfect name.

"Espérer. That's your name! What do ya think, buddy?"

A nuzzle was all the confirmation she needed. With her new companion to support the weight of her sprain, she hobbled to town with a grin on her face in a much better mood than before. Today wasn't such a bad day after all.