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

[She might not have worried about her occasional crudity if it wasn't for the fact that his mentions of wooing, and mi amor, and making love are starting to add up. She is not scared away, not skittish because of those things in and of themselves. She appreciates that his style of wooing is not empty romantic gestures, and she does not need to ask him to clarify that when he calls her his love, he uses an endearment. But it adds up, and she does not feel silly for worrying that he will be put off the moment she says fuck. Or any number of other things in the bedroom.

Or out of it, as the case would likely be with them.

Eun accepts the way he leans in toward her, face lifting toward his to receive the nuzzling he offers.]

That is one way to put it, but I'm glad to hear it. Because one day I am going to say some scathingly unladylike things to you, and I would rather they excite you than repulse you.

[Sighing, she closes her eyes, shifting her leg down his body somewhat to get more comfortable.]

[ He chuckles, free and relieved, and noses her ear before kissing her cheek. ]

Perhaps I will enjoy watching you do so. Or sit back and enjoy just how the other residents of Aspen Creek will take to it.

[ They are all old and some of the wolves would likely wince to hear crude language from young girls. But Eun is not so young, and he thinks that he would enjoy it. ]

But if you must eventually use such language with me, Eun, I suppose I will have done something to deserve it.

[It takes her a moment to understand what he means, and a wide grin splits her face once she does. Idly, she slides her hand down his chest, tracing the line down the center and up again.]

Depending on the circumstances I would say it would be almost certain that if I do, you will have.

[She has no issues speaking her mind when pissed, and similarly will be glad to divulge a number of the dirty things she has in mind when they are done taking things slow.]

And if not you, then it might have been someone else who's earned it.

[ He hums in agreement, momentarily distracted by the movement of her hand over his skin. It continues to charm him, the easy way by which they move in each other's presence. They have moved back and forth between tension and passion and this comfortable in between at least twice this morning. Had someone told him a month ago that this was possible without him needing to wrest control from his wolf, he would have dismissed it as ramblings.

And yet here they are: Eun stretched out beside him on his couch, idly touching him and occasionally meeting his gaze, while he indulges in nuzzling her skin, murmuring flirtations into her ear, and basking in her company. ]

I will bear that in mind.

[ He indulges in touching her again - fingers stroking her arm as he watches the way she looks curled up beside him. ] Will you stay a while?

[ They had discussed breakfast the evening before, but not much else, and he's finding himself hoping she does not have much else to do today. ]

[Eun's gaze follows the movements of his fingers as they run over her skin, she and the wolf both contented by his attention and care. She's comfortable here. Somehow, it wasn't just easy to make herself at home in his kitchen, but here in his home, in his morning.

She waits until his hand is closer once more, and bends down briefly to kiss his fingers.]

I had hoped to. I brought a couple books with me. I wanted to read by your roses, since you said you planned to take care of them this morning.

[While Eun doesn't need space now, doesn't hope for it, she wants to know if they'll be as comfortable in the silence and distance, each doing their own thing, as she thinks they would be.]

My plans are whatever I want them to be today.

[ He shifts, if only to lie down better, offering his arm for her to use as a pillow. He does not need to move just yet, having tended to some of his plant children earlier. ]

Excellent. Then we shall enjoy each other's company in other ways as well.

[ From where they are right now, he peripherally notes his garden and breathes out contentedly at the idea of her with her books as he works. ]

What books did you bring? [ They spoke of poetry last night and he wonders if she would mind reading out loud for his pleasure. ]

[Eun takes advantage of the offered arm, lying there more comfortably for it. Tucked between Asil and the couch, she feels cozy and at ease. The skin to skin contact soothes a part of her that has been missing touch, and that they bot still lay there partially undressed satisfies her other needs, at least in part. It's more than she's had in a while, after all.]

A novel I didn't have a chance to read on the plane last week, and one of my favorite books of poetry, since we'd talked about it. [Great minds think alike.] But I'd enjoy watching you work and talking too.

[It does not seem like a stretch to say she'd enjoy watching him work on anything with his hands, but there is something about a man working the earth, even in a greenhouse, that appeals to her.]

[ One day, perhaps, he will tell her about how the ease of their companionship has also surprised him - pleasantly, at that. He relaxes a bit more, content to lounge for the meantime. Eventually he will grow restless with a need to set his domain in order. But not this very moment. ]

Tell me about this poet whose work you like very much.

[ A body can learn a lot about another by knowing that they read. ]

[It's at this point that Eun would have pulled the book out of her bag and shown it to him. She would have flipped through the pages to find a passage to share with him. The thought of getting up, leaving her comfortable space with him to do so is simply unthinkable at the moment.]

She's a poet based in Texas. Her name is K.Y. Robinson. I shared a poem from her first collection, The Chaos of Longing. [Voice quiet and level, she glances up at Asil with a small, wry smile.] It was honestly the dedication that hooked me. Before you even get to the contents, there's a page with a small blurb, and it says "To those who lie awake burning."

[She wants to study his face, to see what he thinks of that before he even says anything, but Eun decides not to put the pressure on him.]

It's a different style from the poem you shared. Simpler, shorter truths on stark pages.

[ He has not kept up with modern poetry, but that may be because old words from long dead writers are easier to reference among his fellow wolves. ]

And are all the poems about love and heartbreak?

[ Both are themes that withstand the ages. There is a touch of amusement on his features as he peers down at her, one brow lifted in question. ]

Edited 2020-04-19 03:25 (UTC)

[She grins then, wondering if perhaps he is teasing her. If perhaps she fits the image of a young woman who reads too much poetry of love and heartache and longing. In love with the idea of love.]

No, not all of them. Some of them have nothing to do with love. I can show you if you want, since I don't have anything else from that book memorized.

[She doesn't want to get up, doesn't want to leave the warmth of his body and their comfortable position, body relaxed enough to enjoy him with the pressure and demand for desire clamoring within.]

[ She does not strike him as someone in love with the idea of love - and even if he did, he would not think it too terrible a thing. Love is an experience worth treasuring, and while it is not an easy experience, most worthwhile things require an openness and vulnerability along the same lines.

He shifts, restless for the comfort she brings him. Reaching up, he tips her lips up to his. ] Indulge me a little longer. I do wish to hear you read your favorites, but I find I would enjoy your company like this for a bit more.

[ He shifts to his side, hooking his foot behind hers as he presses near again. The kiss he initiates is slow and exploring, more comfort than play or teasing. ]

What themes do you enjoy in the books you read - poetry or otherwise.

[Eun returns the kiss gladly, sensing at once that he does not want another reprise of their earlier interactions. Eyes closed, she takes her time kissing him back, enjoying how they've simply fallen into this intimacy as if they were always meant to.]

I like poems about women who are not soft and weak. [Again, she smiles. A knowing look in her eyes, because anyone who knows her even a little will not find it surprising.] I like words that talk of triumphs over struggles, or losses and burdens that are...relatable. But for novels, I usually read things that are lighter. Mysteries, usually. Fiction, if it's not too pretentious. Sometimes science-fiction or fantasy. Occasionally a romance, if it's an author I know who will write it well. What about you and your literary preferences?

[ The questions comes as expected - turnabout is fair play, after all.

He leans his forehead to Eun's, happy to learn a little more about her like this. When she tells him that her poetic preferences run deeper than mere odes to love, he is unsurprised. ]

I am afraid I have not read books in a while, [ he brushes an errant strand from her forehead, using it as an excuse to also stroke her cheer. ] I do not like smudging dirt onto pages, so when I do not have company, I listen to podcasts instead.

[ Before the advent of the internet, it had been the radio and records. But Kara had seized his laptop and phone and insisted that he sign up for a Spotify account. When the advertisements kept on interrupting perfectly good playlists, he could not help but pay for the service in earnest. ]

[In light of the fact that Asil uses a computer, and many other modern conveniences, she isn't terribly surprised that he goes for a more audio approach rather than books. But podcasts do surprise her, perhaps because even people of this era do not usually enjoy them unless they have a commute to endure.

Still, only part of her wishes to ask about the podcasts he listens to, because the other half is taken by all of his idle touches. They make her wonder if it has been so very long for him as well. If he touches her for her, or if he half does it for his own pleasure of having another person to touch this way. Or, perhaps, it is neither of these things, and as before he seeks to explore her in quieter ways.]

I've only listened to a couple myself, but they didn't really hook me the way that music does. But maybe if I gardened as much as you obviously do, I might change my mind. What do you usually follow?

Odds and ends. Largely educational discussions that I can do running commentary on as I tend to my blooms.

[ He sounds amused. The historical ones, he listens to for the sheer pleasure of soapboxing at inaccuracies. He gets bored and often has to find means of entertaining himself. ]

But there is this one that I have been listening to on and off, done in a manner similar to the radio dramas of old. It is narrated by a man presumably managing communications on a space ship.

[ He had not thought that a science fiction piece might bring to mind the arrangement of Aspen Creek, where a mix of interesting individuals have all but cut them off from civilization. ]

Edited 2020-04-19 05:43 (UTC)

[Eun can guess at what his running commentary might be, as old as he is. No doubt many of the older wolves either are amused or aggravated by what people think they know of history. Times that the werewolves themselves had lived through.]

That sounds like it could be interesting. A little like Star Trek captain's logs maybe?

[Someone may have watched Voyager when she was younger, and gone back to The Next Generation when she had gotten older.]

Or does it cut in with actual scenes involving the crew? People voicing different parts?

Something like. [ He grins at her. ] And yes. Eiffel - the communications officer, is the primary narrator. But they are a motley skeleton crew made up of explorers, soldiers, and one reclusive scientist obsessed with microbes.

[ A thoughtful look crosses his features. ] I should check how many episodes I need to catch up on. The last time I listened to it specifically was before the renovations.

[ He slides a look in her direction. ] The title might amuse you.

[She lifts a brow, clearly curious.]

And what title would that be?

[ Ah yes, a perfect excuse to kiss her again. ]

Wolf 359.

[She laughs, because of the kiss, because of the title.]

How appropriate. Perhaps I'll give it a listen myself.

[No doubt she'll need a distraction this evening when she is back to her cabin and thinking of him.]

What else do you enjoy doing? How do you spend your days here?

I do very little outside of my gardening, I'm afraid.

[ His voice has gone soft. He will not pretend that there is much that he does outside of the work that offers him a semblance of control. ] Occasionally, when I must shop, I drive down into Missoula to pick up supplies. But for the most part it is just I, my roses and the occasional guest.

[ And the rare instance when Bran calls upon him to put the fear of the Marrok in recalcitrant young werewolves. ]

My life is not exciting, Eun. [ He holds his tongue, not quite looking to repeat what he'd confessed at their first meeting: that he had come here to die, because there is no other wolf stronger than his or stauncher of stomach than Bran Cornick. ]

[Reaching up, Eun brushes her fingertips across his brow and down the side of his face, cupping his cheek once more. His life does not sound exciting in the least, and she can feel that he is not saying everything.

She has not forgotten what he told her. Why he is in Aspen Creek to begin with.]

I did not ask in hopes that it was exciting, Asil. [Her life, in its own way, had not been exciting. The bouts of adrenaline rushes she's had for one reason or another have not made her life exciting. The consistency and stability of it was something she took for granted, if anything.] I asked because I wanted to know what your days and evenings are like. What you enjoy spending your time on. Do you think I'll judge you for that?

[ He leans into her touch, a little guilty that so sweet a gesture is something that he takes so much pleasure and comfort from.

Lifting a hand to cover hers, he presses a chaste kiss to the heel of her palm. ] No. I did not think you would.

[ When he looks at her, he allows himself the indulgence of caressing her chin. ] I only wished to be honest. I am a bit of a hermit and tend towards isolation. My garden is my most constant companion - offering me peace, quiet, and a means by which to keep the ennui at bay.

Your honesty just had a tone of...expecting me to find it a bad thing. A warning to me.

[And perhaps that's what she took exception to. It felt pitying somehow. Pitying himself or...well, she doesn't know. And maybe, for a werewolf who came here to die, he is entitled to talk about his life as he pleases. Say that it is lackluster. But it doesn't mean that she has to like it.]

Are you doing that thing I mentioned earlier? Worrying about complications that haven't even come to pass?

Edited 2020-04-19 08:01 (UTC)

Characters

PREMISE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject