loccent | run with wolves

Entry tags:

verse: run with wolves

run with wolves | open post.

Characters

Asil, The Moor
A very, very old wolf and a member of the Marrok's pack.

Jang Eun
Previously of Carmel Valley, sent to Aspen Creek by her former Alpha.

Jesse Hauptman
Daughter of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack

Joshua Brennan
Burden-bound. A Sin-Eater paired with the ghost of a long-dead soldier.

PREMISE

All the stories are true. Years ago, the Fae came out because technology was making it harder and harder for them to hide, and it's been a couple of years since the werewolves did the same. The world is changing day by day. Humans and the paranormal live side by side, but it's not easy nor is it simple. While the Marrok has taken great lengths and care to preserve the werewolves' PR front, everyone - wolf, fae, vampire and other - know that it's only a matter of time before the humans start thinking that perhaps the other stories meant to warn of the dark are true.

This is an open post set in the universe of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. The books are amazing and you should definitely check them out. More information via this Wiki link. The rules are simple: Drop a prompt, leave a tag, and let's play!

THREAD TRACKING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Eun has never felt more out of place and out of her element than when she first steps foot in Aspen Creek. Born in Hong Kong and raised just south of San Francisco, she's always been drawn to busy, tightly packed cities with a very active, social nightlife. She likes places where the restaurants deliver more than pizza until midnight, where she can always hail a taxi in any part of downtown, and if she feels like getting out into nature she goes to the local beaches or hitches a ride with a friend to the national parks well away from her home.

Montana is a place of staggering beauty, and perhaps if she wasn't such a city girl at heart still she would appreciate it more if there were more signs of civilization to be found closer together than the long road that had passed under the wheels of her rental car.

Stepping out onto the dirt, she breathes in the cold, crisp air, and a thousand scents from the woods around her and the pack that lives there. In time she's certain she'll get used to it and be able to pick out individual scents as she gets to know the wolves and humans that live there, but for the moment it's just a chaotic swirl of unfamiliarity. She closes her car door decisively and heads onto the path, trying to apply the directions she'd been given the night before to the terrain before her.

Somewhere around there is a cabin where she's been told she'll find the Marrok or his mate. From what she's heard about them both, she'd be fortunate to find the former instead of the latter, but Eun's never been one to shy away from unpleasant people. It seems a hypocritical, considering the fact that she herself has no issues being unpleasant when the situation or people she's dealing with warrant it. Then again, isn't that part of why she's found herself here in the first place? Pursing her lips together with a sharp huff, she continues walking. Even without an escort, it's not really intruding or trespassing if she's been "invited" to Aspen Creek in the first place, is it?]

[ As much as he loves Kara, he wonders sometimes if it is not to his benefit that her presence has given his wolf new purpose. Not too long ago, he had come to Aspen Creek to plead with Bran Cornick to end his life. He is very, very old. And wolves who are as old as he find it more difficult to fare in the modern world where change flits by quicker than a butterfly's life.

Still, he cannot deny that the little wolf who came to them has filled the void in his heart. If it is a minor inconvenience that the Marrok has begun to deem him "well enough" to play errand boy, then he will enjoy what years he has left.

This is how he has come to wait for Bran's most recent stray. You will find him meditating in front of the hotel, Eun - a young-ish looking man with fine Middle Eastern features. The bench he sits on has been recently cleared of snowfall. You are welcome to join him if you like. He's already scented you, but he'll wait for you to make you move. ]

[It takes her a little while to note when one scent becomes more prominent than the others she's discovered. A moment longer to realize it's newer, which means the person is in her vicinity. Or at least was recently. After a few more feet and a corner turned, she finds herself staring at a larger building of sorts, with a man about her age sitting on a bench up front. At first glance, she doesn't observe anything remarkable about him. From thirty or forty feet away, he's just a man, one whose appearance might stick out in the predominantly white population of Montana just like her own would.

It's her wolf that seems to sit up and take notice of what she could not at first. Every few feet closer to the man she seems to realize more. That he's a werewolf. That he is likely dominant. That his seemingly relaxed body language does not mean he did not realize she was there long before she realized he was on that bench. Coming to a stop a respectful distance away, she remains silent, waiting to see if he'll open his eyes and look at her. When it seems unlikely, she clears her throat.]

Are you the welcome wagon, then?

I presume you are Jang Eun?

[ Not one for answering questions, this one. He opens his eyes but makes no move to actually look up at her. She's young. And based on what little Bran told him, this one had been sent by her Alpha to Aspen Creek - but beyond that, the canny, old wolf had been a little vague on the details. ]

Edited 2020-04-09 05:47 (UTC)

[Eun hadn't been expecting a Spanish accent, and while she doesn't visibly start, there's a flicker of movement at her eyes as she absorbs that fact.

That, and more.

He opens his eyes and she feels the weight of centuries press upon her in his gaze. There isn't just a sense of dominance that she grasps in the back of her mind (along with the fact that he is far, far more dominant than the alpha of her pack) but a presence of years she cannot even begin to fully fathom. She ought to be more careful, more polite to this older, more powerful wolf, just as her own instinctively urges her. Instead, Eun only drops her gaze to below his chin and decides one good turn deserves another. She answers his question with a question as well, just to be contrary.]

Does word travel fast around here, or were you asked to wait for me?

[ Have a little smile, chiquita.

He lifts his gaze to assess just how she looks and he feels his wolf huff in approval. That she elected to stop some distance away is very good. He can scent the dominance from her and he recalls some offhand comment that Bran made about her Alpha seeking help which led to him sending her the Marrok's way.

But she is female and very young, and he is old enough not to be bothered too much by a young upstart's need to show some attitude when in another wolf's territory. ]

The Marrok bids you welcome. You might consider me the doorman, if you wish.

Edited 2020-04-09 06:33 (UTC)

[Instinctively, Eun straightens a little as the Marrok is named. His speech feels formal, and while there are no mystical bonds that snap into place at the welcome, her wolf seems to understand better than her. She is bid welcome, and therefore she is welcome in this territory that is not her own. Territory that will be hers as much as it is this man's, for the next few weeks at least. Eun considers him with an understated sort of curiosity while still remaining respectful with her gaze.

In her pack, she would fight the urge to lower her gaze to some of the other wolves. The ones who tried to boss her around, the ones who tried to intimidate her, or put pressure on her to tumble into their bed, she refused to show them respect the moment they treated her like a piece of meat or a prize to compete over simply because she was female. Following the urging of her wolf seems the wisest course here, at least when it comes to what visible cues she gives. Shows of respect or at least not outright challenge as they find their footing.

Still, eventually she smiles in return. It's slight, with only the barest glimpse of teeth, showing more in the way her eyes seem to light with amusement.]

I might, if only because I have a feeling if I referred to you that way I'd have the added entertainment of watching the reactions of others. [He's too old, too powerful to be a mere doorman.] But right now I'd rather give my thanks to you by name, for conveying the Marrok's welcome.

[Her smile widens then into a grin.]

I was told very sternly before I left that I should try to behave myself.

[ Oh he likes this one, yes. She has spirit. And it would amuse him to no end to see how the others in Bran's pack would fare with her in their midst. Women are a treasure among the wolves - they always have and would always be, given that so few survive the Change.

They have had more seek shelter in Aspen Creek given the recent events sweeping across North America. ]

Did they, now. [ He breathes in at that and comes to his feet. When he bows, it's with a flourish - a gesture from another time altogether. ] You may call me Asil.

Others refer to me as the Moor, but I have no patience for formalities of late.

[ Satisfied that she and her wolf understand her place between him and his, he turns away and calls her over with a an almost absent-minded wave. ]

Come. I shall take you to Bran where you can present yourself before we settle you in.

[Oh, what fun for them both. He's one of the old wolves but it hasn't made him stodgy or taken his sense of humor. If she were in wolf form, her tail might swish back and forth once in amusement. They're only at their first meeting and already he makes her want to play.

He intrigues her. She can't remember the last time a man actually did that. Perhaps she spent too much time around boys that had barely made the transition into "guys" and never into men. Or perhaps she was simply a modern young woman cursed to interact with people of her own time period? Regarding his bow with a little raise of her eyebrow, she takes in his name--

--and his title. She was told that the old ones, the famous ones, have names like this. The Marrok. The Beast of Gevaudan. And now the Moor. So far some of her instincts are right. Others would start at her calling him a doorman, no doubt. She follows after him with more ease, a step behind and to the side as she takes in her surroundings at the same time.]

Thank you, Asil. I'm not a huge fan of formalities myself [which is part of what gets her in trouble now] and I like your name better besides that. Asil. It reminds me of the word agile.

[ He hums softly, clearly amused. The pace he sets for them is comfortable, having noted that she's taken an interest to the beauty around them. Beneath the scents of her recent trip, he picks up nuances of a city - fumes and metal, of that whiff of store-bought clothing and clean soap. ]

It is an Arabic name with many meanings - but I have been told that if you check the internet, the most commonly known one is "noble" and "pure".

[ His prinsesa Kara had taken an interest to his name and he had, as he always does now, indulged in her.

Eun is welcome to pick up the note of amusement in his tone. ] But you would not be wrong. I am very agile.

[ Vain, too. Evidently. But no one could ever accuse him of being modest. ]

[Eun resists the urge to snort at the meaning of his name. It's not as if he's proven himself definitively to not be noble or pure, but she has yet to meet anyone who is both of those qualities at her own age, let alone his. It's only the amusement in his own tone that helps her to refrain. He doesn't place much importance on the meaning of his name, doesn't take it too seriously.]

It must be all that door opening you do, keeping you on your toes.

[Letting her hands slip into her back pockets, she slowly draws up to walk beside him.]

According to my father, my name means "silver." Or "money." [Though in light of her circumstances, she finds the name meaning of silver to be more humorous. A werewolf named Silver. Her parents would laugh if they knew what had become of her.]

And one must always keep ourselves on our toes.

[ Doorman. He and his wolf are amused. It will be very interesting to see how this one fares with the pack.

He glances to her briefly. ]

Your father must consider himself wealthy then, [ there's a quirk at the corner of his mouth ] to name his child after so precious a metal.

[ No, the irony is not lost on him. ]

[Eun shrugs, clearly amused as well.]

My parents have never actually told me how they decided on my name, but I'll remind them of what you said the next time I feel underappreciated. That I am their good fortune and they should treat me as such.

[She doesn't connect with her mother and father the way a daughter might hope. They're both people of the sciences, and weren't raised in America the way Eun was. There's a disconnect in communication at times, and understanding. Still, she loves them dearly, and they love her, in spite of their occasional, mutual failings.]

[ Here is a small, amused smile. ]

So tell me, Miss Eun, why is it that you have been sent to us?

[ He had parked his vehicle some distance from the hotel. Walks through Montana's woods steadied him, and allowed him to avoid committing to the tedious task of having to wrestle with the need to find parking. ]

[In an instant, Eun's smile drops. She'd let her guard down around the man that she wasn't prepared to mask her reaction. Knowing it was too late, she didn't bother. Let him see her scowl and the hardness in her eyes as she continues to walk nonetheless.

For a while, she doesn't answer, trying to determine what answer she wants to give. How much objective truth, or basic generalizations.]

Certain members of the alpha's pack don't like the answers "not interested" and "fuck off," and I won't back down to puppies who use outdated pack hierarchies to treat me as lesser. The alpha [always the alpha, never my alpha] thought it would be better if I got out of town for the time being.

[ His stride doesn't falter, but his wolf reacts to the indignation in her voice. He knows that it's not uncommon for wolves to be... persistent in their pursuit of females. It does not mean that he cannot find word of it... distateful.

If his nose is correct - and it so rarely is wrong - then Eun's dominance would have brought out their need to posture and prove that they were capable in providing for her needs and protection. It is not so rare now, that the women wolves keep their thoughts on how the pack heirarchy operates to themselves. Word travels quick among packs, in this era of modern marvels. ]

Proper courtship has fallen out of fashion.

[ His tone is neutral enough even if his wolf has begun to pace, restless. Sarai had been strong and otherwise immune to pack politics by virtue of her nature as Omega - and while it is his privilege to protect those not as dominant as he, Asil had never found much appeal in helpless women.

He smirks. ]

A man should not woo a woman by force and should present himself instead as the superior option for her consideration.

[Eun appreciates that Asil doesn't try to defend the other wolves. The alpha, his mate, and his second all tried to explain "the way of things" to Eun when she finally took her complaints to them. The fact that she had taken any complaints to them was a sign of just how persistent the rest of the pack had gotten. It's not as if she could entirely blame them for their interest. She knows that she's young and pretty, that she's intelligent, fierce and an asset in and of herself. The problem is that none of them actually wanted her for those reasons. They wanted her for being female. They wanted sex. They wanted to beat the others and lost their heads in their pursuit.

None of them had taken Eun's unilateral rejection and statement of having no intention of settling down for the sake of settling down as anything more than a challenge.]

I agree, for the most part. Though I think the definition of proper courtship has evolved and expanded over time. Not every woman wants the same thing. [She pauses a beat, considering.] And not every woman wants to be wooed. Some are more comfortable doing the wooing themselves and some...some just aren't interested, period.

[She huffs out another breath. It's a lot to talk about before she's even settled into a room or met the Marrok.]

Does the Marrok hold the same views then? As you put it, I mean?

[ Ah, pepita. Perhaps this is why Bran sent him to fetch you. His Alpha is wise and cautious to send the only wolf schooled in the ways of the courts of old.

Best that he lets you vent your frustrations before either of you set foot in the Marrok's stronghold. Bran is patient and fair - but he does have a temper and all the politicking from the last few years has forced the old lobo to make compromises that strain his heart. ]

I was leading you to my car, chica. But if you are not opposed to walking off that restless energy, perhaps we should take the scenic route, so you can talk while I listen and answer your questions.

[She hesitates, realizing that she was venting a good deal more than she'd meant to. Eun has never shied away from telling the truth as she sees it, but at the same time she's aware that sometimes she would be wiser to listen rather than talk. Her lips press together in thought, before she nods.]

I've been sitting in planes and cars for a while now. A walk might be for the best.

[Eun, like Asil, has also come to the conclusion that she's better off not meeting the Marrok with raised hackles. He's done nothing to deserve her irritation, and instead has welcomed her there. Better to make a good first impression to get more people on her side.]

I think it may take some time before I don't have such a knee-jerk reaction about things.

[ He senses her hesitation and he slows his step just enough to bump his arm against hers in reassurance.

She is young, she is female, and her Alpha undoubtedly (he resists the urge to roll his eyes) mucked about in a manner not unlike a man unused to handling children ill-inclined to obey without asking smart questions. Asil does not begrudge the older wolves for their missteps, given that in this era most attitudes that may have existed in the last few decades might not hold today. But he can and will turn his nose up at their inability to suffer the discomfort of responsibility, so much that they lean too heavily on the Marrok's generosity to "fix everything".

But this is why he is no longer Alpha and instead happily applies himself to ferreting out complaints that his lord can file away for future use. ]

How long have you been a wolf, if you do not mind me asking?

[The bump has it's intended effect, startling Eun out of spiraling down into concerns that she's said too much, or the wrong thing, and instead lightening the atmosphere somewhat.

While Eun has no objections to what she's become, and actually enjoys this gift of transformation and the wolf that lies within her now, it isn't the lifestyle she would have chosen. Too much of a free spirit, she would have declined if she'd had the choice. As it stands now, she's too stubborn to let some things continue just because it's the way things have always been.]

No, I don't mind. Next month it will have been a year since the attack. [The corners of her lips lift a little in a half smile as she glances over.] Do they have werewolf anniversaries or something like that?

[ Attack.

Pardon him, pepita, if that makes him halt where he stands. He needs a moment to compose himself as the wolf rises ascendant in his eyes.

He has a strict policy where it concerns violence and it involves keeping women and children from harm. You fill both categories, as he has walked this earth for centuries and adapted to the moving of the world as best as he can.

Bran, old man - did you know or is this another one of those instances where werewolves omit details because the conveniences of technology permit it so. ]

Yes, [ he tries for humor. Humor seems to be her weapon of choice for terrible things. ] There are.

It is, [ he twitches briefly and stares straight ahead to some indeterminate spot between the trees as he wrestles with his wolf to gain the upper hand, ] a little like being baptized, if we are to use terminology from the Christian faith.

[ Softly now, because he does not want to frighten her (he has been told often, very often, that he is very frightening when his control slips). ]

Mija, my apologies. Talk slow and gently. My wolf is displeased at the idea that someone as you endured hurt. It will pass shortly. But my control is not as it was a five hundred years ago and I do not wish you harm.

[She doesn't think anything of talking about how she was turned because she's used to everyone already knowing. They'd taken her in, after all. They'd known the circumstances and dealt with the guilty party, a rogue who had happened upon a beach bonfire party when the weather had turned warm enough for it. She'd spent the first month or two coping with the trauma and drastic changes in her life through an almost alarming determination to learn everything she could about what she'd become. What the feelings inside her meant, the wolf that she shared her life with now, and the way it would change her future. It had been easier to look forward than linger on the fear she'd felt, the pain she'd endured, and that certainty at the time that she'd die in the prime of her life.

It's her first time talking about it with someone outside of her pack, and she hadn't expected it to affect Asil this way. To affect his wolf the way it apparently has. So she holds back her comments about baptism and pools, and a quip about not having packed a bikini in light of the weather up in Montana. Instead she takes in the changes in his body language. His stillness. His change in volume and tone. The way he stares forward as his focus draws inward. Her own wolf stills, sensing that something is amiss. Something Eun herself would not have noticed if she were still human.

She does not step away, nor does she step forward. She does not reach for Asil, but neither does she take a defensive pose. With someone she knew better, a friend, she might lay a hand at their shoulder, might encourage them to take her hand or something to help reinforce the fact that she's fine. Not knowing Asil or what might trigger a negative response, she finds herself relying on gut instinct instead.

When she speaks, it's low and quiet, with the same sort of smooth, brandied tones she gets when staying up late on the phone. Her words are unhurried and steady.]

I endured hurt and I survived. I became stronger, and faster, and better equipped to defend myself and others in the future. And the wolf who hurt me is long dead and I am here and safe. [There is no threat, and though Asil worries about hurting her, about losing control, Eun speaks without any doubt that it will not come to pass. Her words are for not just Asil but for his wolf as well, hoping to help soothe him even as her own feels restless inside.] Have you ever run through seafoam on the beach before, Asil?

[ His wolf is angry. It hungers for the blood of a wolf too stupid to be left alive having hurt an innocent. They have seen war and the dreaded aftermath of the bloodshed that men who believe conflict and conquest is the answer to fear. He was a warrior, once, but that was another time, though the world has only evolved to create new means and manners by which to lay waste to the earth.

He does not shut his eyes - does not risk that small motion that might grant his wolf the upper hand - but he listens to Eun speak. To let the lull of her voice reach him and pacify the need to rip and rend.

She is strong, this child. Like Kara. Like Charles' Anna. Like Mercedes who he met but once and already admires.

It takes a little bit before he can reply, but Eun will see the way his shoulders sag gradually; the way his body begins to relax.

He breathes in deeply when he is sure that his wolf is satisfied at the conviction in her tones and his mouth twitches, briefly. ]

A long time ago, hija. [ He turns to look at her, and his eyes are his own again. If there are signs of strain, it is only to make him look older than his deceptively young looks.

He lifts a hand instinctively, catching himself only when his fingertips brush on her cheek. ] I am sure you aware that werewolves cannot swim.

[ There is some tension along his shoulders, but he suspects it will fade once they begin walking again. ] Gracias. You are not the first among our number to have endured and survived.

But you are right. You are strong. The California wolves' loss is our gain.

[For all that Eun has always gone to the beat of her own drum, that path has never been such that she leaves others behind or vulnerable. Those younger than her, less experienced, have more than once found themselves under her watchful eye or found her shoulder available to them when times were hard. She does not push, she does not coddle, but she is there, especially for the young women of her acquaintence that might do well to have a strong, independent role model. She does not necessarily lead an exemplary life, but she always advocates for them to find their own way and feel confident in doing so.

It does not feel like such a stretch to know what may help Asil in that moment of need. An acknowledgment of what happened to her, but reassurance that she is not only well now, but better able to handle threats in the future. And the sea foam, well, a distraction didn't seem amiss in the moment. Something that wouldn't further trigger agitation in wolf nor man. That it helps pleases her immensely, not just that it settles Asil, but that she was able to do so. In light of what's happened, perhaps it isn't the right thing to be pleased about, but she is all the same. Confidence is steadying for her, and keeps her in place as Asil reaches up to touch her face.

The brush of skin on skin is electric to Eun, but she doesn't startle. Doesn't pull away. From any of the pack back home she would have recoiled, would have slapped their hand away with a snarl. The touch would have been unwelcome and crossing her personal boundaries. What is it about Asil that she feels a connection already? And trust? Certainly he intrigues her, and Eun half wonders if it's because he is new to her or if it is because of Asil himself.

Her lips curve into a faint smile at the reminder that wolves cannot swim, and shrugs lightly. Just because she cannot swim in the ocean doesn't mean she cannot play along the shore or find a kiddie pool to splash in when she feels like it.]

I have every intention of thriving somewhere I will be appreciated the way I ought to be, and making them regret their loss. [So maybe she is a little vindictive. Isn't it deserved?] And while I may not be able to swim anymore I will continue to toe the line along the shore as much as I please.

[Literally, and figuratively.]

I may not have picked this for myself, and I don't know that I will ever be used to the way a pack may operate...but I certainly feel like my physical self matches who I've been on the inside all along. I'm grateful for that.

[Her wolf quickly went from being a foreign intruder to a companion and partner she didn't know she was missing all along. For all that she can be more catlike in personality, the life of a wolf suits her far better than she would have imagined.]

Characters

PREMISE

for asil.

ilu

♥♥♥!!

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such sass many wow

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