run with wolves | open post.

[thelittleone]

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

© tessisamess

Comments

[nosco]

[ He understands craving touch. Skin hunger is something he has learned to live with, but it does not make him any less immune - especially since he finds himself wondering if would feel as soft as she looks, pulled up against him.

He's skittish, he realizes. It's been a very long time since he thought of having anyone share his bed, and she smells lovely in all the ways that matter. ]

Let's agree to not jump ahead and ruin our fun then. [ Yet even as he says that, he curls a finger over the vulnerable flesh of her palm. Yes. It's been too long and the idea of a game of chase appeals to him very much. ]

Come tomorrow. [ His voice is low and coaxing. ] Bring whatever you wish and you may have free reign in my kitchen.

And I promise I will do my best to behave.

[lastcall]

[She should pull her hands away. He's said he wants to kiss her and now it's all she can think about and there's a very real possibility that she'll lose the battle to behave herself that evening. Hands and fingertips are such sensitive things, existing not just to touch but to be touched as well. It's a concept Asil seems to understand as well as she does, and Eun takes a slow, steady breath to settle herself.

It doesn't really work very well, and she laughs low in her throat, entirely at herself.

What a mess she is over him already.]

It is a terrible, terrible thing, how glad I am that you only promised to do your best, but not guarantee good behavior. But yes, of course I'm coming tomorrow. I would not miss the opportunity to see where your beautiful flowers came from.

[She'll bring something to make them for breakfast, something she can mix up tonight and just pop in the oven tomorrow at his home. In the morning she'll bring over one of her new novels she has yet to start on, and her favorite book of poetry. Perhaps he would welcome hearing more from it...]

But also, for tonight, I think perhaps you should let go of my hands, because I apparently cannot bring myself to do so first.

[nosco]

[ He is so, so very pleased with himself that she reacts the way he (quietly, tentatively) hopes he would.

He'll indulge in one last thing before he lets her hand go: a chaste kiss over her knuckles again. A gentle brush of lips and no more.

He's given his word to her that he will do his best to behave. That begins now, because as much as Bran offered them privacy in a space that Asil would be sure to keep his wits about him, he's far too pleased that tonight has gone so well. ]

I will look forward to it then. [ He'll ease talk elsewhere now. Gently, so that he can help minimize any awkwardness from their rather... intense exchange. ] If wine is not your preference, perhaps you can let me know what is.

[lastcall]

[Her eyes would close at the brush of his lips on her hand if she weren't watching him so intently. No one has ever kissed her hands before. Honestly, there's no one she knows who could get away with it and not have it seem entirely forced.]

I enjoy wine, but I wouldn't say that it's my first choice, especially now that I drink entirely for the taste. [A wry smile crosses her lips, finding it all too easy to talk about alcohol.] Whiskey is still my favorite, even though it doesn't have the intended effect anymore. Plus it mixes well with hot tea, which is sometime I used to enjoy often on cold nights.

[With her hands freed, she picks up her wine glass, still bearing a couple sips left inside.]

Cold, white Belgian ales and shandies in the summer. Cocktails year round, since I now drink mostly for taste these days. What about you? Is red wine your favorite?

[nosco]

[ He settles back, enjoying his own glass with a sip so often. ]

I used to drink alcohol mostly for celebrations. But outside of wine - beer and cava are personal favorites.

[ He knows he does not look like a beer drinker - at least, the way beer seems best associated with young men who indulge beyond their limits. But cerveza is a drink that has always been enjoyed in the company of friends, over laughter and stories and food. ]

Mostly now I stick to tea. [ He makes a face. ] It never brews right in this climate, so I tend to overheat my water.

[lastcall]

[Having been a bartender for at least a couple years, Eun would argue that anyone with a bottle of beer in their hands looks like a beer drinker.]

I appreciate the warning. I usually drink tea in the morning unless I need something stronger. Maybe I'll have a knack for it.

[She lifts her glass to her lips and sips, now appreciating the taste of the wine since she and Asil have gotten past the more intense portion of the evening. The old alpha back home would be jealous his own wine doesn't taste quite as good.]

Cava is a new one to me. Is it similar to beer or something else?

[nosco]

[ If he were privy to your thoughts, Mason would indeed be jealous, because Asil had decided to pick a vintage grown in Rioja and shipped as a gift from overseas. ]

Cava is often called Spain's answer to French champagne. [ He squints a little, relaxed as he is in his seat and then admits: ] I only had it once and that was fairly long ago. And since I am lazy, I have never really looked for it once I settled here.

It is light and bubbly. I prefer the rosé variety between that and white.

[lastcall]

You only had it once but you count it as one of your favorites?

[Eun grins as she responds, sounding positively fond at that fact.]

I happen to prefer rosés to white wines as well. Or cava, most likely. If you happen to stumble on a bottle sometime, will you let me know? I'd be curious to try it.

[Not interested in getting into a lengthy conversation about alcohol, she cants her head to one side, considering him thoughtfully.]

I enjoyed the poem you sent with your earlier letter. Did you find it because I enjoy poetry or is that an interest we have in common?

[nosco]

I like the taste [ have another smile ] and I suppose counting it as a favorite is credited to the memories made when I drank it.

[ He does not remember the date or reason anymore, only that it was a celebration at a time when there were no wars to fight and only the open road for him and his pack. ]

Si. I shall do that.

[ Or perhaps he should look if he can order some, just because he can. ]

It is. [ He takes an idle sip from his glass. ] I am unfamiliar with the newer poets, but now and then I pick up a collection if the cover intrigues me. I suppose it is because I used to fancy myself a musician. And what is poetry but music given shape and speakable form.

[lastcall]

[Despite having a deep appreciation for music and really all of the classic arts, she's not exceptionally talented with any of them. That Asil himself is a musician and sees the poetry in lyrics pleases her as much as when he first took her hand. She all but radiates with her delight.]

I was leading up to offer to bring some of my favorite poetry with me if you were interested to hear more like the one I sent, but I think now I'm going to have to ask you to play for me sometime. It's not something that you do privately for yourself, is it?

[Eun thinks that perhaps, if he's willing to claim he's a musician, with the years he's been alive he must be at least reasonably competent. More than that, she cannot imagine someone who speaks and thinks as he does performing in a way that does not have heart and soul to it.]

[nosco]

[ When he drinks next from his glass, he takes his time - but his eyes are fixed on her and there's a hint of a smile in them.

Before Kara, he had long stopped playing the guitar, though his hands still remembered how to coax music out to dance. When her parents started visiting more frequently, the story of his magical rose and the funny little Spanish song he'd written for Devon's daughter was a favorite story of hers to tell. And when they'd learned of Devon's passing - John and Liza had, in fact, driven up to pay their respects to the Marrok and his wolves. Even if there was no need for it.

They'd left Asil a guitar as a present.

It had been a small act of kindness. One he'd not known what to do with. But he plays occasionally now, especially when Liza visits accompanied by her daughter. They trade blooms, he fills her in of her daughter's exploits, and he keeps the wolf leashed so he does not frighten her too much. ]

I do not think I will be playing in public settings. But I may be persuaded to do so for you.