The Home

Alexander woke at first light. He flipped over in his bed, grumbling. If he wasn't going to be living in that stupid village anymore, why bother waking up at the same time they would?

He sighed and stood, pulling on a crisp new white v-neck shirt. Pure cotton, exactly how he liked it. He stretched slowly, feeling it tug at all of his muscles, and then paused.

He knew the auras of everyone who was in the home by now. Yet he felt something new, something magnetic.

He ran his fingers through his hair and stepped out onto the landing, investigating the room next to his. It smelled like dog. His face scrunched in disgust and he ambled downstairs, past Abby's study and the library, and to the front door. It was bolted shut. Alex opened it with ease and glanced around for the wolf, wondering where he'd gotten off to. Maybe he should go find him.

ok so Mabuz is going to show up later in the day. I'll post more about him in the group discussion. The way Alexander started off, with the magnetic thing, is an indication about Mabuz.

[is it a new day?]

@ champion; @ Lady.V. @ She Said Poptarts @ zuccarello.

She Said Poptarts:

[is it a new day?]

I think champion;'s post happened on a new day. But if there's still more the characters want to do with the previous day, we can just hold off on champion's post.

(She Said Poptarts, were you going to elaborate on Rollin's wolf-adventures?)

[No, I don't think I will. I'll probably show bits and pieces when he wakes up, but Rollin doesn't really know what happens, and the wolf shifted so ?? maybe Alex can come across a naked Rollin though - passed out beside a deer carcass ]

Damn it, Rollin grumbled, curling his legs into his body. He breathed in the damp earth and groaned; god was he sore. It felt like the top layer of his skin was ripped off of him while he ran up a mountain of sand. He felt the last tingling of werewolf magic slip off his body and he fell further into the ground. His muscles ached something awful, and he knew that he would curse up a storm if anyone dared touch his skin.

"You mother fucker," he spat at the wolf.

He took a moment before he decided to take in his surroundings. He looked passed the carcass, and saw trees upon trees, green, orange and brown. A bird sang, as the leaves and his hair rustled with the wind. He sighed and laid his head back down, closing his eyes, just for an hour or two...

Alex loved the forest. Maybe it was an elf thing, one with nature bullshit or something. And he was, sort of. Touching a tree let him sense all the nearby life, sentient being or simple plant. He was himself when he was enveloped in its warm light. It would always be home to him.

He followed the scent of dog through the forest, touching the trees occasionally to make sure he was going the right way. The wolf had romped throughout the entire forest, doubling over his own scent and making it harder to find him through smell alone. Annoyance passed through Alex's mind and he glanced around the thick trees.

Wolves are so annoying. Always paranoid, running around and destroying things. He paused next to a torn plant and kneeled, fueling a gentle healing spell through his fingertips and returning the plant to like-new.

He stood again and moved through the forest at a slow, steady pace. He wasn't in any rush to head back to the Home, and it needed an escape. A way to vent frustration. A drink, sex, something, anything.

The smell of dead animal turned Alex's nose and he followed it to its source, pausing at the sight laid out before him. The wolf - rather, the human who on occasion turned into a wolf - lay bare, a half eaten deer next to him. Alex made a slight gagging noise and nudged the wolf's foot.

Rollin breathed in and smelt the damp earth, the bark of a tree—or rather, multiple trees—and a decaying deer? No wonder I slept like the dead. The small hairs on the back of his head lifted, his wolf was prowling; he didn't like to be below anybody. Rollin opened his eyes, and with his sharp vision, he saw the sunlight showing through the tops of trees and stood up as fast as his "magic" allows at the glance of the shadow above him. He was not some lowly wolf, his teeth snapped when he felt the first stages of a shift. And when he finally saw the lanky male before him, he nearly rolled his eyes.

For God's sake, STOP!

He groaned when he felt the beginning of a migraine, it was different for his kind because it was an inner battle with his beast. It was like playing tug o' war with another, and when you lose... you black out, and you become a puppet for the beast. He never had this problem when he was with his old pack where Rollin and his wolf were one. And now every wire was tangled up.

He unclenched his jaw, and breathed out harshly through his nose. He brought a shaky hand up and pressed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. The rushing in his ears ceased, and Rollin whined like a pup, he just wanted to sleep!

[You know... I was worried I wouldn't be able to find much problems with Rollin, but after writing and rewriting this scene...boy... does he has a lot of issues! ]

Alex watched the wolf's reaction with mild disinterest. He probably should feel scared, threatened, terrified maybe. But just as wolves were one with the forest, so were elves.

"Oi," he grumbled. "If you're gonna go all alpha on me, the least you could do is tie me up first." He couldn't help a cheeky grin at his flirty comment. "If I knew this is what you'd look like I would have brought you a care package." He stretched his long arms, eying the naked wolf from head to toe.

omg same but I think I've finally found something supernatural-y that explains a lot of Alex's bad decisions. I'm having a lot of fun here! And Rollin and Alex's dynamic is sure to get far more interesting!

@ Audrey E. Danticat
Waking up after a good night's sleep had helped Marina relax. Her mind was clear and she was ready to rip the masks everyone was wearing inside The Home. She was particulary interested in the vampires because of her inability to read their minds and that therapist, Abby. She was just a human but she was supposed to help them. How was she going to achieve that? It seemed like a lost cause which made it all the more interesting for the young mind-reader.

She changed into a frilly white dress and let her long hairdance with the wind. She always kept her window open, even when it was winter. The coldness helped her mind calm whenever she went into shock. In order to never be caught of guard and risk her life, the windows had to stay open while she slept. The mind is a powerful thing and she who plays with other minds had to be afraid of the price to be paid but she couldn't. It was in her nature.

Marina walked out of her room but not before taking a quick glance in the mirror to smile at her reflection. She enjoyed viewing her self as a pure being, at least in matters of looks. In The House you could hear almost nothing. It was pure silnce. That felt calming.

Before going down the stairs and to the cafeteria for a fresh juice, she decided on checking Rogue's room in case the vampiress was sleeping. Or was her kind not sleeping? She didn't know much of the details, so against her better judgement, she slowly opened the door to Rogue's room.

Rogue was awake in her bed, with her knees brought to her chest and her arms around them with her head against her ankles. She was crying? Or something? Blood was strimming down her eyes but she was silent. Her blue jeans were stained with blood as was her white shirt. Too afraid to do anything, Marina left the door opened and went to the library, hoping the therapist was there. Because if the therapist couldn't do anything, then who could?

I think that's a good way to move on to the one on one sessions? Starting with Rogue.

@ Lady.V.
There's another group thread for the sessions, I'm not sure if you knew or not. You can find it by going to mine or Audrey's pages.

If she knew taking this job would've involved such early hours, certainly Abby would have thought twice. She'd gotten up at sunrise to collect the food deliveries for the day and it'd taken her over an hour to properly store the excess and set out the breakfast. Once the coffee was brewed and teakettle set to boil, she peeled an orange, plated a blueberry muffin, poured a cup, and grabbed a stool at the bar.

From her seat, she could see the front door - eyebrows furrowing at the undone locks. The deliveries came in the through the back and she hadn't heard or seen any of the residents for the morning. Had someone gone out? Had Rollin returned?

Shoving an orange wedge in her mouth, she planned to quickly finish up her breakfast and then head out to see after the wolf. Tahmoh said he'd arrived sometime late in the morning. Hopefully she'd have enough time to take care of some things before he did.

---

@ Lady.V.

Lady.V.:

I think that's a good way to move on to the one on one sessions? Starting with Rogue.

Right now Alex had the first one-on-one but we could make it so that Rogue gets the slot after him. If Marina is coming to look for Abby right now, once she gets Abby, they could go to Rogue's room and maybe calm her down a bit. Then give her some time to get ready for the day. While she's getting herself together, Abby would be having her one-on-one with Alex, and once Alex's time was done, Rogue would come in.

@champion;
Or! This could be the perfect time for Tahmoh to show up and he could end up doing the first private session with Rogue.

@ Audrey T
@ Lady.V.

It's up to Lady if she would rather Rogue worked with Abby or Tahmoh. Tahmoh is definitely more stoic than Abby so keep that in mind.

Also, we can just position the story line so that Alex's meeting takes place after Rogue's. That's also an option.

[In reply to this post.]

"Not an alpha," Rollin mumbled instinctively, rubbing his forehead.

He sighed at the last bit of pricks leaving his head, and when he faced the other male his eyes crinkled at the corners. The human half of the wolf didn't mind this creature with the pointy ears. Rollin thought he was amusing. His wolf was—and most likely will continue to be—uneasy with the foreigner. Not until he knew what he was.

In the years that Rollin's been a wolf, he has never come across whatever this man was. All he knew now was that he carried magic, possibly related to the earth from the way he smelt of tree-bark. Back at the Home, in the meeting room... his nose didn't tingle, but now it did.

Rollin tried to recall the memory of the pointy-eared man’s introduction—Aita, was his name. And when Aita’s eyes roamed over him, Rollin didn’t shy away; his wolf was dominate and had no reason to be ashamed. When you're a creature of the moon, there was no place for modesty, especially when clothes are fragile in a shift.

"Feeling generous?" Rollin bit back.

Alex smiled at the wolf, pulling off his sweater and handing it to him. "Unfortunately, you've caught me off guard. I'll be sure to bring more next time." He didn't know much about wolves. He'd only ever met a few lone ones in his forest in Italy, a few that had been kicked out of the neighboring pack. It'd be interesting to get to know this one, inside and maybe even out, if it was lucky.

He gave himself a smirk. "Anyhow, if you're by yourself, doesn't that kinda make you your own alpha?" He wondered about the wolf's pack, why it was alone. It obviously had difficulty with control.

Audrey T:

Shoving an orange wedge in her mouth, she planned to quickly finish up her breakfast and then head out to see after the wolf. Tahmoh said he'd arrived sometime late in the morning. Hopefully she'd have enough time to take care of some things before he did.

Tahmoh looked up at the large building, his suitcases weighing heavily in his hands. He was tired and hungry, but most of all he was wary. His tribe's elders had always told him to be wary around these sort of things, they called them. Man's greatest enemy was not man, but all the things resting inside the Home.

Most of the elders had advised against him coming here. These things were unpredictable, violent, deadly. If Tahmoh wanted to live to become one of them, he needed to stay as far away from them as humanly possible. But Tahmoh knew he could not leave Abby here by herself, that she needed his help as much as he needed hers.

And when it really came down to it, these were not things. In fact, some of them were rather docile creatures who posed no harm to humans. Even if they were not, they were still people. They still had emotions and arguably souls. No matter what his elders said, they still deserved help.

He stepped inside the Home, knowing it was likely not very many of its residents were up and about. He would scope it out, adjust to his new home, and try to figure out what he could about his visions without giving away to Abby his true intentions.

@ champion;
I posted this here because it's a way to move to the sessions via the story, so I wasn't sure.

@ Audrey T
Okay, sorry I didn't see it. I thought no one had claimed the spot yet.

As for Tahmoh or Abby I'm okay with either.

In the library, Abby searched for a couple of old books. She knew she had a few (mostly) reliable journals on wolves and hoped to find it before Rollin returned (or needed finding). She was reaching for a losely bound notebook that looked a bit familiar when the library door creaked open.

[In reply to this post]

Riiiip! He probably should have asked if it was okay to rip his sweater, but surely Aita knew that Rollin wasn't able to cover his goods with a sweater.

"No, or... maybe?" Rollin huffed, playing around with the clothing. "Fuck if I knew bud," he said with a shrug, admiring his now makeshift loincloth.

An Alpha in a werewolf pack was a wolf who kept other weres from going crazy and giving in to the beast. In a pack an Alpha was the most dominate wolf, and his or hers job was to keep other wolves in line, it was instinct for a lesser ranked wolf to follow a stronger one. When a wolf is turned the first stages they go through deals with control, and an Alpha makes it easier for the human side to find that control. The equally dominate ones had a choice to make a pack, or be on their own, and they can survive by doing so… as long as you don’t stay in your wolf form for a long period of time.

In Rollin's case, he had no choice but to be alone, he was forced away by an Alpha he once admired and stood beside.

Rollin felt heat rise from his chest to his neck at the thought of his situation. He could be an Alpha, he was dominate enough. But he had given in to his wolf willingly, and that made him weak. He shook his head; he didn’t deserve to be an Alpha even though he did survive those years riding backseat.

I'm one of the crazy ones, Rollin snorted. A rogue wolf... they were the crazy ones who lost control. He has no rules, and for all he knows he could be leaving trails of bodies as he travels. Heck, someone could be on his tail thirsty for revenge.

Don't be an idiot Rollin, the guy would be dead already. He shivered, and grabbed his stomach when it rolled. He hated the taste of human flesh, but the beast didn't mind it.

Rollin shook the thought away, and turned to grin at the foreign creature. He gestured to his crotch, where Aita's sweater was now snug against him, "Are you gonna want this back?" he asked.

Alex grinned at Rollin. "I think it suits you better. Besides, it fits you better than it ever fit me." He winked and turned. "Come on, let's get you some people food, yeah? Before they start sending search parties." He stretched and began leading the way through the forest.

That strange aura ebbed at the corners of his consciousness, and he felt it tug at him with every step he took back towards the Home. He grew wary, apprehensive. Whatever that aura was, it was making the other part of him excited, and whatever did that he knew could not be good. He sent a brief glance to the wolf who walked beside him, towering over him in a display of dominance.

Without warning he rubbed against him, and when Rollin gave a surprised grunt he said, "Shut up, just go with it." Soon, the wolf's scent had completely bathed him. Alex made a disgusted face and continued on his way to the Home.

@ Audrey T
Opening the door in a hurry, Marina fell on the floor but she quickly raised her head looking at Abby who was walking towards her in order to help her up.

''Are you okay?'' Abby asked offering her hand. She helped Marina get up and as she did, the mind-reader said, ''It's Rogue. Something's wrong. She's upstairs, in her room.''

Abby followed Marina upstairs to Rogue, trying to get information out of the mind-reader as they climbed the stairs, but she was frightfully silent. Reaching Rogue's room, Abby tapped softly on the open door.

"Rogue? I'm coming in."

The young woman was curled up on her bed, quietly crying. Abby could clearly see what had gotten Marina so worked up - blood tears were definitely a sight to behold, though not particularly concerning.

Perching on the edge of the bed, Abby leaned forward to place her hand gently over Rogue's. "What's wrong?"