Put On A Pretty Face

Arya had decided that it was a better option to leave the house that she shared with her pack, needing to have a moment to herself. It wasn't often that she dared to step outside without someone with her because it always managed to piss someone higher up off. And that usually led to things less than ideal for her. But Elias had been getting into a heated fight with another delta and when she realised it was going to become physical, Arya took that as her ticket out. She slipped out the back down and shifted into her wolf form as she hit the woods behind their home. She took off almost immediately, wanting to put distance between herself and the home before anyone realised that she was missing and sent someone after her. Hopefully she could stay hidden long enough to find some peace.

- - - - -

Darcy wasn't particularly caring about buying a new werewolf other than the fact the one he currently was with, no longer appealed to him and he had chosen to gift her to a friend of his. Stepping into the auction house, he buttoned the suit jacket he wore and as the crowd moved, he was recognised and just like that, he was escorted to the front with no further wait and took a seat dead center. There was a reason he was receiving glances, whispers were heard of his name and of his reputation but he paid no mind to any of them. He was more concerned with the auction and when it was going to begin. Raising a hand and waving over a waitress, he ordered himself a glass of champagne, wanting to keep himself occupied before anything started.

(-cracks knuckles- I really hope this isn't too bad xD I know most terms for werewolf hierarchy but I might get a couple of things wrong... the luna is like... mates with the alpha, right?)

The argument really wasn't his fault. Elias was right, he knew it, and he suspected that Lucas knew it too, except the other wolf wasn't backing down. Elias himself was just a hairsbreadth from shifting into a wolf their luna came and broke it up physically with plenty of verbal abusement mixed into it. She was actually in the middle of her tirade when someone pointed out that Arya was missing. Sure enough, the little runt had run off... again. If they didn't find her first, she'd always come back, but she was always a pain in the ass. And unfortunately for Elias, who was content to just leave her be until she decided to come back on her own assuming she didn't somehow get hurt out in the woods, apparently it was his turn to go retrieve her. Of all the fuckin' luck...

So that was how he ended up in the woods as a wolf, just a few hours after sunset, his nose to the ground as he tracked the runt's scent. Arya was definitely going to catch for this one.

---

Hickory had known this day was coming for most of her life. She'd felt the anxiety of it deep in her stomach for the past month or so, knowing that she was turning 17 soon. And now the day was here. She had been brought to the large building with others, some older wolves who had been auctioned before but only a handful of wolves her age. Somehow, she'd also ended up being the only girl to turn 17 this month as well. For this reason, she'd been told she would be the last of her age group to be auctioned.

As for how this worked... they had been told to shift into their wolf forms, and shock collars had been placed around their necks. While the wolves usually knew better than to misbehave, there was still always someone who would try something. Hence the collars. Then they were taken out to the stage, one by one, where an announcer would say a few things. They might point out certain traits, mention age and disposition, etc. Just the general things that needed to be known. And depending on the crowd, the person may or may not be asked to shift into their human form for some time. This, Hickory found out from paying attention as she waited.

Then, all too soon, it was her turn to be taken out onto the stage. Her paws felt heavy, but she still made an attempt to look proud as she was taken out and then sat back on her haunches.

@ varkatzas.

(Sure I honestly don't particularly care if things are *right* or not. I just know that it goes alpha - beta - delta - omegas and runts. so we can put Luna as the alpha's mate. works for me.)

Arya found herself tucked into a small space in the side of a mountain beside a waterfall, one of her favourite spots to go to when she needed to get away. Mostly because of how peaceful it was here, she could relax before either moving on to another spot or deciding to return home. Her eyes were closed, her head resting on her paws, only for her ears to twitch and for her body to lurch into a standing position as the sound of footsteps reached her ears. And it was just like that, that she find herself hoping across rocks, across the small stream and taking off when she reached the other side. When you were part of a pack, you knew each other better than you knew yourself. And she knew whose turn it was to find her. THat just made her move faster, urging her legs to work over time to put space between herself and Elias before he could catch up with her.

---

Darcy was a little more than bored at best, as the auction went on. His eyes would raise long enough to assess the wolf on stage before he would look away and continue to sip as his second? third? glass of champagne, continuing a quiet conversation with the couple beside him. They were close enough that he didn't mind the conversation and at least it was more entertaining than the wolves on the stage.

It wasn't until the last wolf of the freshly seventeen wolves was brought out that he was intrigued. He sat up a little straighter and set his glass down, eeyes narrowing a bit as he eyed her up. He smirked slightly, licking over his lips. There was still a little bit of fight left in the girl, that much was evident just in the way she was trying to look prideful. He snorted at the idea, knowing full well that not a single wolf out there had any reason to feel such a thing. They were little more than slaves at best. After the first few bids were placed, Darcy raised his paddle to place his first bid. He was known well enough that once he placed a big, the auction was more or less over. When he was announced as the winner, he bid farewell to the couple he had been talking to and stood, exciting the area and heading to his limo to await the wolf to be brought out to him.

@ varkatzas.
(Oh well then xD works for me too, I suppose)

Elias knew when he was getting close because her scent became stronger, and he started to move faster. When she figured out he was close, she was going to try and get away as fast as possible, so he would have to be faster to catch her. It took him a minute to figure out the trail, but once he did, he started pushing his body faster. The runt was lucky that she was pretty fast because of her small size, but he could be fast too, and he'd had years of practice tracking her down and taking her back... just like everyone else. And yet somehow they couldn't get her to stop running off. With a small growl of frustration, he pushed himself faster.

---

Hickory's part in the auction actually didn't take that long, and too soon, she was being escorted off the stage. She was taken outside and to a limo, and the shock collar wasn't actually taken off until she was there. She was told to shift back into a human again, and then was all but pushed into the awaiting car. Once she got her bearings, she found herself face-to-face with a well-dressed man. This is the man who... bought me. Almost at the last minute, she remembered what she'd been taught and lowered her gaze while biting the inside of her cheek. Rules that had been hammered into her since she was a toddler floated through her mind. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not shift unless you are asked to. Always be respectful. Address your owner as 'master' or 'mistress', depending on whether you are bought by a man or woman. Do everything your owner says. And so on... and so forth...

A lot of things were going for Arya. She was smaller so she moved faster and she could fit in small spaces but that meant little because Elias would still manage to hunt her down. One way or another. He always seemed to, while others would let her be on the rare occasion. But there was another thing going against her, she wasn't used to being on this side of the stream which meant she wsn't completely comfortable with the landscape. She found herself skidding to a hall at a drop off in the mountain, not particularly caring for the prospect of tumbling down it. Those few seconds of hesitation cost her and she knew it, turning around to face her on-coming brother. She could have went left or right but she wouldn't have been able to put enough space between them to have any sort of chance.

Arya began to back away when she first caught sight of him, growling as her ears lowered to her head. Her haunches raised, her stomach twisted as she continued to let out a warning growl, eyes narrowed as she briefly considered turning and taking off again.

---

Darcy had put the window down, growling out a sharp order for the shock collar to be removed from the girl's neck. While he couldn't say he was the nicest of all people to wolves, he wasn't about to use some electric device to get what he wanted. He would use the wolf's training and his own hands to get what he wanted. He wasn't above, nor below, beating her if he needed to. If she stayed in line, that just meant it was far less likely that he would and if he did, chances were it wouldn't be nearly as severe. Unless he was in an awful mood. Then he couldn't promise anything.

As Hickory climbed into the limo, Darcy assessed her human form for the first time since buying her and he was pleasantly surprised. Happy at his choice in wolf, he cleared his throat, and studied her for a reaction before finally deciding to speak. "Let me make this perfectly clear now, I am not a cruel master nor do I particularly like being put into a position of having to," he paused and reached for to grip her chin, forcing her to look up to him. "Understood?"

@ varkatzas.

Elias finally caught up to Arya at what appeared to be the edge of a cliff. Considering she was acting trapped rather than turning and attempting to run in a different direction, he guessed she hadn't actually known it was there either. It didn't take him long to hear her growls, and she suddenly took on an extremely defensive position. Elias crouched down, immediately returning a deeper growl. He approached slowly and carefully, trying to make sure he was ready if she attempted to run off again. Don't even try it, runt. You'll just make it worse on yourself. Time to go back. He let out another low growl to let her know he was serious as he stilled his body. There was a sort of telepathic connection between everyone in the pack, hence how he was communicating with her right then. She had better listen too. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her crap right then.

---

Hickory met his gaze as he forced her to look up at him. "Understood," she said, and a beat went by, "Master." It might as well have been a mutter with how she said it. She stayed still though, not daring to move away. She was looking over this person in front of her though, this person who was supposed to be her owner now. He had dark hair that was slicked back and his eyes were cold. She wasn't really sure how she felt about him yet, having just met him, but it wasn't a particularly good first impression. He claimed he wasn't a cruel 'master', sure, but he also made it obvious that he had the ability to be, and she took that to be a warning to behave.

With each step that Elias took closer to her, Arya would take another step back toward the edge of the woods surrounding the cliff. She hesitated at his growl, a chill running down her spine. And there was the other downside. She was small, there was no chance at her winning a fight. Virtually ever. The only problem was that her muscles were twitching, almost involuntarily so. I don't want to. It was a simple thought and to the point. Arya shifted and for a moment, she hesitated because she knew how this was going to end but she still wasn't ready to go back home and to be locked inside yet again. So, without another moment's hesitation, Arya turned and took off, moving between as many trees as she could in an attempt to make chasing her not worth the effort to Elias.

---

"Good." It was short, sweet, and to the point. Darcy never had been a man of very many words and he wasn't about to start now. "What is your name?" He asked, eyes focused on her still. He sipped his wine - he always had a bottle in his transportation - from time to time. "Do away with calling me Master, I've never cared for it. I much prefer Sir," Darcy spoke up after a moment of silence, watching the liquid swirl around in his cup. "Have you ever been outside of your academy?" He wanted to know how much shell shock she was going to go through whenever he chose to take her out into public with him.

Elias barely got out his growl of warning before Arya took off again. Another growl ripped through him at the same moment that he leapt into motion and pounded after her. He had to slow down a little once in the trees, being larger than she was, but he also tried not to weave around as many as she was while still staying behind her. Before too long, he'd more or less caught up and was right on her tail. Then she ran right into a clearing. Elias put on more speed and then took a leap, jumping on her. They went rolling in the grass, and he had her pinned to the ground in the next moment.

---

Hickory moved back as he let go of her chin, watching him as he spoke and sipped from his glass. "My name is Hickory, and no, I have never been outside the academy. We are all taken from our parents as babies and put into the schools, and we stay there until we turn 17," she told him. At the same time, her mind was trailing off, trying to figure out what she should expect out of her new life. What she should expect from him... for all that the schools prepared their wolves for, there were just some things that weren't covered.

By the time that she saw the clearing, Arya had no time to consider dodging around it so she just willed herself to go a little bit faster through the clearing. SHe could practically feel Elias' breath on her as she moved and she knew getting through the clearing would be critical. Just as she was reaching the other side, she made the mistake of looking behind her. The action caused her to slow just enough for Elias to pounce. She let out a grunt as she fell to the ground and tried to get out from under him as they tumbled to no avail. Staring up at him, Arya stared, ears still lowered to her head. NOw, for an entirely different reason. She was afraid of what Elias was going to do. It was no secret that he hated her and being the one to have to find her? And her putting him on chase? Arya knew it wasn't just going to be a walk back to the house. Just let me go. Say you couldn't find me.

---

Darcy rolled his eyes and scoffed at her explanation. "Do you not think I know this already?" He asked, eyebrow raised as he studied her form. He nodded after a moment, running a hand through his hair, messing it up from its' perfect state. "We'll go into the city tomorrow and pick out some clothing for you," he paused, sneering as he shook his head. "I won't have anyyone in my presence wearing something like that," he muttered, realising how much he hated the standard clothing wolves most often came with.

Nice try, Runt, Elias scoffed, baring his teeth at her. He was surprised she'd even tried, actually. He hadn't gone back to the pack without her before, though some others did occasionally, but he wasn't like them. He wasn't just going to let her get away with whatever she wanted. As he pressed his weight down on her though, he noticed how it was getting dark, and knew they would need to be back before it actually got dark. We're going back. Lucky for you, it's getting dark, he growled, letting her feel his claws just briefly before he jumped off. Now get up; we're going. He watched her with narrowed eyes, ready to act if she attempted to run again.

---

If you knew, why did you bother asking? Hickory didn't say it out loud, but she thought it all the same. Then he made fun of what she was wearing, and she frowned down at herself briefly, glancing at the generic clothing she was dressed in. She wore a t shirt and shorts, basically. They were made with light, cheap material, which made sense considering all wolves lost their clothing after they shifted, so unless they took the time to take their clothes off beforehand, the clothes were just ripped to shreds. But because she felt like she was expected to say something, she ended up giving him a small nod and a quiet, "Yes, Mas- Sir." She remembered at the last moment he'd said to use 'sir' instead, and knew that was going to be hard to get used to considering how long 'master' had been drilled into her.

Arya tried to shrink into the Earth beneath her as Elias growled, to no avail. She closed her eyes, not particularly wanting to see whatever was coming her way. She winced as his claws just began to sink into her skin, only for them to shoot open when he moved off of her. She watched him without moving, apprehensive of what he said despite knowing that they did need to get home. She slowly moved into a standing position, her eyes trained on Elias as she began to move toward their home. Why look for me if you hate me so much? Stupid question, she knew but she was tired of the growing silence between them as they moved through the woods.

---

There were the rare chances wolves got to be taken outside of their schools, Darcy had almost wondered if she could possibly be one of the few because she seemed to know her place well enough. But he chose to not point this out, not caring one way or another. Darcy sighed as he leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He was tired, he wanted to go home and go to sleep but now there were affairs that needed taking care of. "When we arrive, Stella will greet you and take you to your quarters. You don't have any duties as of tonight so wash up and rest, tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Even as she watched him warily, Elias watched Arya warily as well, staying close to ensure she wouldn't attempt to run off again as they started towards home. He probably seemed like a stormcloud, as annoyed as he was. First he had to go through the pain to track her down, then she had run so he'd had to chase her down. Now he couldn't even do anything because they had to get back before it got dark. He just really wasn't in the mood, and he chose to ignore her question as they padded through the forest. Besides, she already knew the answer.

---

"Yes, Sir," Hickory answered, and the rest of the car ride went by smoothly, albeit quietly. It was a little while before she finally heard the engine stop, and then she was escorted towards a building that just might have been larger than the academy she'd just come from that morning. Her breath caught momentarily as she saw it, but then a stern woman with steel gray hair pulled back in a neat bun met her at the top of the steps and introduced herself as Stella.

Arya grew frustrated by the lack of answer and chose to quicken the pace, just wanting to return home so she could rid herself of Elias' presence. Her only thought was of home and she was hoping that she wasn't going to return to too many angry wolves, lest the turn the other way if Elias chose to torment her. Although the occasions were rare, they did happen on the occasion. The moment they reached the edge of the woods, Arya shifted into her human form once again and made quick work of the space between herself and the woods, not bothering to wait for Elias one bit.

---

While Stella was his servant, the woman had been around since he was little so Darcy viewed her as a mother figure. He stopped momentarily to greet her, give her a kiss on the cheek, and to introduce Hickory to the woman before turning and disappearing into the expanse of the home.

Stella studied the young girl for a moment before whirling around and leading her wordlessly to what would be her new home for the most part. It was a large enough room that she would be comfortable and had an equally impressive bathroom. "Sir will want to leave shortly after breakfast which is served at 8:30 sharp, I will be by a bit before to escort you down to the dining hall," Stella spoke as she came to a stop in front of a door. She reached and opened it, waving Hickory in. "There is a closet with a few things you can pick through to wear for the night and for tomorrow. Have a good rest, will you," she murmured before turning and leaving, wanting to complete the rest of her chores before she went to bed herself.

Elias didn't bother to try and keep up with Arya as they got to the edge of the woods and the pack's house was in sight. The runt would just head inside, possibly get yelled at, and sulk, so there was no reason for it. Instead, he took his time getting back to the house, shifting only when he was close, and he ended up walking into the house just a few minutes after Arya. By this time, she'd already cleared out -which was probably best for everyone- but it was also near dinner time, so he made his way to the kitchen.

---

Hickory had barely stepped in the room when Stella left, closing the door behind her. That left Hickory alone. She glanced around briefly, but there wasn't much to the room to look at. There also wasn't anything to do at this point except go to bed, so that's what she ended up doing. However, after some time of tossing and turning, she shifted and curled into a ball at the edge of the bed. After that, she fell asleep fairly quickly.

It was sunrise when Hickory woke, and she stretched out, still as a wolf, thinking she was back at the academy. It actually took her a moment to realize where she was, and she shifted back into her human form with a sigh, getting up to get dressed for the first day of the rest of her life.

Arya made her way to the kitchen after she had gotten a stern talking to from the alpha and had apologised umpteenth times. She was set on making an apple and a pumpkin pie, her hands working over the crust for the apple. While she had no intention of eating the pies, likely they would be gone by the time she finished her meal, she hoped the treat would be an apology the others could accept as well. A strange apology but you didn't grow up in a house of werewolves without understanding that food was the way to their hearts, after all their appetites could prove to be daunting at times.

---

Not but five minutes after Hickory awoke, Stella was at her door, knocking quite loudly in case the young girl was still asleep. When the girl opened the door, Stella turned swiftly and led the way down to the dining hall where Darcy was already sitting, awaiting HIckory's presence. Once the girl sat, Darcy began to eat. Manners had always been a big part of his life and it was just plain distasteful to begin eating without everyone at the table, at least in his eyes. "HOw was your sleep last night?" He asked after a few bites.

Elias was in the kitchen helping make the food when Arya walked in. He ignored her as he went about his own business. Feeding an entire pack of wolves was quite a chore, and there were always several people in the kitchen helping at mealtimes in order to make all the food needed. After a while, Elias' job switched from the making of food to setting it out on the table. Not a lot of people would willingly volunteer for kitchen duty, but it was a way to ensure you were first at the table. First to the table, first to get food. Besides, Elias didn't mind helping with the cooking. So he helped and put food out and then sat down to eat.

---

Hickory hadn't even stammered out a 'good morning' before Stella turned and started walking, and she had to hurry and catch up. Soon, she was in the dining hall, though they had moved so quickly that she wasn't sure she'd be able to find her way back if she was asked to. Then she was seated before a full plate of food. "Uhh, it was... fine, thank you. How was your sleep?" she murmured politely, and took his lead as she began to eat as well, and the food began to disappear quickly.

Arya had helped set the table before turning to go back into the kitchen to fetch the drinks that everyone asked for. By the time that she was able to sit down, she had waited to pull the pies from the oven as they had nearly finished anyway. She was quiet as she took her seat and a small helping of the food, not wanting to get too big. It had always been a thing held over her head, so she played with her food more than she ate it. She just continued to cut it down into smaller sizes, hoping no one would notice, or care (if they did notice), that she hardly took more than three bites the entire meal.

---

Darcy hadn't bothered to look up from his plate but he stopped momentarily when she returned the question, unsure of how he felt toward it. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his plate before continuing on with a shrug. "Just a small amount of sleep. There was far too much business to tend to to sacrifice time for sleep," he spoke around mouthfuls of food and as he cleared his plate, he took a sip of his drink. "When we return from shopping, we'll go over rules and over chores."

Elias actually finished fairly quickly, and he took his dishes into the kitchen to clean them once he'd finished. He paused as he caught sight of the pies sitting out cooling, but then he went back in the dining room and took his seat again. Even though he no longer had any food, he still talked and joked. Mealtimes were generally a good, fun time for almost everyone, and he had no trouble letting go of his previously sour mood -and continuing to ignore the runt- to join in.

---

Hickory cleared her plate rather quickly, but that wasn't very surprising. Wolves tended to have large appetites, and it wasn't really a secret. She gave a small nod at his answer to her question, and a small 'yes sir' when he mentioned going over chores and rules. She hadn't really expected to feel the small amount of relief she did when he mentioned going over rules, but there it was. Apparently some small part of her had been afraid that she would just have to blunder and figure out rules for herself.

By the time that Arya had decided that she was 'finished' with her food, she stood and made her way into the kitchen with her plate that she rinsed off. She began to cut into the pies, setting a small piece on each plate. Heading into the diniing room, she offered each pack member a choice between the two. The apple quickly ran out so she was given no choice but to give pumpkin to the rest. She reached Elias and tensed as she set a plate of pumpkin pie down in front of him, "there is none of the apple left," she mumbled before turning and continuing on with handing out the rest.

---

When Darcy noticed that she was finished, he stood and motioned for her to follow him. He led the way out to the car, not a limo this time, that was waiting for them by the front steps. He opened the door and climbed inside, waiting for her. Once they were on the way, his eyes moved to her. "Have you ever worn anything other than the shirt and shorts you're regularly given?" He questioned, brow raising.