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

[ He cannot help but lean into her embrace, head tilting to rest against the top of her head. ]

It is. I go for long walks whenever restlessness takes me.

[ He closes his laptop and sets it aside. ]

I prepared lunch for us, if you are hungry.

[She takes comfort in the fact that he leans against her as well, that he is at least not put off by her leaving the cabin to walk by herself. There are things to say, things to talk about, and as he closes his laptop she thinks that now is the time...but the mention of food does divert her.]

I think I worked up a bit of an appetite with my run. That sounds good. Back to the kitchen or are we eating here?

It's a beautiful day. We can eat here instead of indoors.

[ He had enough time to reflect on his own half of the exchange, and he wonders if he could have worded some items better. That there is something skittish about the air around Eun has not slipped his notice. ]

Here, I'll help bring everything over.

[Eun gets up first without waiting for his reply. He may take it as a sign that even in spite of her lingering quietness, she is still perfectly willing to make herself at home in his home.

It doesn't take long to settle back on that wicker loveseat again, and for a short period of time Eun occupies herself with the lunch he's made them. Mexican food is very, very easy to come by in her part of California, but Spanish food is another thing altogether. She's on her third bite before she leans back, expression almost blissful.]

I'm beginning to think you scare the rest of the pack just so they aren't on your doorstep every day hounding you to cook for them.

They can learn to cook for themselves, [ he teases, the smile coming easily to his features as he takes a sip of water from his glass. ]

While these have meat, I have learned to appreciate vegetarian dishes. And those I cook quite often, which some members of the pack do not understand.

Edited 2020-05-06 05:20 (UTC)

People happily eat bread based foods and fruits and all kinds of things without meat. It doesn't make sense to turn your nose up at a well-cooked vegetarian dish. It's their loss if they only think with the stomach of their wolf.

[She pauses a beat, then decides this is as good a moment to use her point to shift the conversation. Her pause is brief but heavy with intention as she chooses her opening. She speaks while looking down at her food, tone as level as she can make it.]

It would also be a mistake to assume without question that the strong emotion I feel, while totally new to me, is due only to heavy influence of my wolf. [She glances over at him, out of the corner of her eyes, before turning her fork over in her hand to keep it busy. To keep from making some other show of anxiety as she finally tries to explain why she was emotional earlier. Why she is still quietly upset.] I opened up in a big way earlier, Asil, and it didn't--still doesn't feel great that because of the possibility that the wolf could sway me without my realizing it, you automatically assumed that she must have. That I didn't know my own heart or mind, or wasn't in control of my own thoughts. It made me feel...doubted. And very misunderstood. And foolish.

[ He listens. And then sets his fork down, steepling his fingers as he listens more.

She does not smell upset. Or rather, while the lingering scent of it clings around her - she is not intensely upset. Pairing that with what she is telling him now, he resists the weight that concern and worry bring and reminds himself that she came back - even hugged him. And that perhaps this is an issue of miscommunications and misunderstandings. ]

Is that what you feel, querida? [ His voice is soft, tentative. ] That I was doubting your feelings? Or that I thought you foolish?

[ He's leaning forward at that, and bringing a gentle hand over hers. ]

[She is not as upset as she was when it happened. Not as confused and as a result, more upset for not understand what it was about his words that had bothered her so much. Understanding her reaction makes it easier to stay level. To continue to push through the discomfort enough to communicate with him. Her hand stays beneath his, but does not turn up just yet to press palm to palm.]

It felt like you doubted my words. What I was telling you. But also maybe I wasn't clear, I don't know. I'm not used to talking about things like this, obviously... [She hesitates, before adding:] The initial thought that perhaps I had been affected without knowing it and said as much as I had--that was what made me feel foolish. And even once I realized that it wasn't the case...my reaction to everything, to you--that is what still makes me feel foolish.

[There is more, there will always be more, but the last thing she has to confess to him stays locked inside her for now, if only for the fact that he deserves to address this point. The one that is arguably more important than insecurity she never expected to develop.]

[ He nods, absorbing what she has to say and offering her the space to voice things to clear the air. ]

Perhaps I need a bit of clarification on what you mean when you refer to your reaction to everything, and to me.

[ What he had said had not been meant as reproach. Nor was it a dismissal of her feelings. ]

But to be clear, Eun. I did not doubt your words. And perhaps I should have clarified that when I speaking of the wolf influencing responses, I was, in part, referring to myself.

[While Eun's lips are turned down into a frown born of concentration and trying so very hard to be clear and struggling with the difficulty of being open once more...the widening of her eyes show her surprise at the latter part of his response.]

Yourself?

[She hadn't expected that at all.]

I didn't know. I mean, earlier when I was asking you questions it all came across as...as you knowing how you felt and how your wolf felt and being able to separate that in your mind. [Her mind races back to their conversation and the words that had stuck out to her most, and with this new perspective she can hear it all now. Groaning, she rests her elbow on the table, pressing her face into her free hand.] You keep telling me that I can take all the time I need but that last time...you were trying to tell me that you need that time too, weren't you.

[Her fingers curl over her forehead, dragging over skin somewhat as her face scrunches against her palm. She is somewhat mortified by this revelation and the implication that there may be even more she has misunderstood.]

I totally missed it.

[ He rests his own cheek against his palm, unable to help the half-helpless, half-amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. ]

It is alright, mi amor. But yes, truthfully - I have been feeling a little out of my depth once we moved into more serious territory.

[ An apologetic look now. ] Perhaps we can begin again? I believe the words for this kind of situation is “let’s start over”? At least where understanding where we are is concerned?

[Excuse her, she is too busy feeling like an over-emotional idiot to lift her face from her hand. She’s no coward, but she definitely needs a minute because everything feels good and properly screwed up and now she just doesn’t know how to feel at all. The saving grace of this moment is that rather than be upset that she didn’t pick up on what he was saying and misunderstand him, he seems somewhat amused by this comedy of errors.

She does not recover so quickly from the emotions she felt, she is not disarmed by the revelation, but the humor from him and the extension of a new start helps a great deal. Eun turns her head on her hand, still half-hiding her face and not caring how squished it looks as she still rests against her palm. Her expression is a mixture of miserable embarrassment and hope.]

Pretend this morning’s conversation from...perhaps where I asked about mating bonds never happened?

[The earlier portion was fine. Discussing pack dynamics, the logistics of a move up to Montana, all of that was just fine. In retrospect she probably should have stopped while she was ahead.]

Or perhaps, if you are amenable to it, we can set aside that part of the morning's conversation until we are both ready to revisit it.

[ A pause. ]

How does that sound?

[Eun wonders how long it would take them to ignore the elephant in the room, but she's not against trying. She squeezes her eyes shut a moment before pushing herself up to sit upright again.]

Only on the condition that you tell me when you're ready. Because I think if we leave this in my hands at all I will make a muck of it.

[Again.

She doesn't trust herself to be the one to initiate the conversation so soon after the first one. If he is the one with all of the experience, better to let him take point.]

[ There is something about the way she moves and the phrasing of her words that prompts concern on his end.

Tentatively, he asks: ] What is wrong, Eun? It feels as though there is something else on your mind.

[There is. There are several things on her mind. Currently, it's a whirl of thoughts that linger on the upheaval of her emotions, the miscommunication, her apparent inability to catch read between the lines when it comes to him, her worries about her inadequacies and so much more. But at least at this point she recognizes that she's off-balance and that now isn't the time to go into it all. So she turns to face him again at last and offers him a tight smile.]

I'm still feeling stupid, which is making me feel a little sorry for myself. It'll pass.

[It is a short answer, and an honest one even if it doesn't cover everything that is on her mind. It works well enough to encompass the basics.]

Did you have any thoughts about the rest of the day?

[ He rises from his chair just enough to press a tender kiss to her forehead. ]

If you need to need to air some thoughts, then just know you can do so with me. And I will not consider your concerns trivial in the least.

As for the rest of today, my schedule is open.

[Her eyes close gently at the kiss to her forehead, and Eun takes to leaning against him once more, as she had when she first returned from her walk.]

I know that I can, but airing my thoughts is the opposite of setting aside this morning's earlier conversation.

[Her fork switches to her left hand, and she reaches for his hand next to her with the right.]

Since your schedule is open, however, I'm going to be greedy and claim all of it like I'd intended when I woke up this morning. [Each word takes her further away from the insecurity and embarrassment of earlier, and back into familiar, comfortable territory of her more familiar self. It shows in her tone, in the gradual easing of tension in her body.] I was thinking we might go back to the part where we spend time together and try our very best to not overthink any of it for now.

I am amenable to this.

[ He leans back in his seat and takes a brief sip from his glass. ]

What did you have in mind?

Edited 2020-05-09 05:34 (UTC)

[Eun considers his question as she eats more, casting a glance over to him. She has ideas, many of them involving the bedroom, but at the same time it's not what she's leaning toward first. Last night was enough to satisfy her for the moment, and even she knows better than to try and use sex as a band-aid.]

Mm, a movie, maybe? A game? [Her thumb slowly brushes over the back of his hand.] I'm open to suggestions, of course.

[ He smiles at the gesture, and turns his hand over to thread their fingers together. ]

No games come to mind just yet, but perhaps we could browse through the subscription I maintain for movies.

[ A quick kiss over Eun's knuckles at that. ] Would you join me inside?

[Her hand slips out of his to cup his cheek then. The expression on her face fond and faintly amused.]

Is that your way of saying you have Netflix?

[She does rise, however, picking up her plate to clear to the kitchen when they leave.]

That and a few others that Kara takes advantage of watching on her laptop.

[ Picking up his own plate and then offering her his arm for her to tuck her own into. ]

Perhaps you have recommendations on what we can enjoy for the rest of the afternoon.

[Eun slips her hand into the crook of his arm, carrying her own plate back into the kitchen with Asil. She casts him a side-long look as she attempts to keep a wider smile off her face. Because she simply can't help herself:]

So, then would you say we're just going to...watch Netflix and chill, then?

[She lifts an eyebrow, tone mild as can be. The reference is old and yet she has to wonder if it's made it to Aspen Creek and absolutely cannot resist making the joke. Especially since she won't mind explaining it.]

If that is what you wish. [ He says it lightly, taking the initiative to wash the dishes in the sink with the practiced, routinary motions of someone who keeps his space tidy. ]

Would you like snacks for when we start watching?

[ He has popcorn. Kara was very fond of popcorn, and he maintained that it was healthier than potato chips. ]

Characters

PREMISE

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