The Home

@ Audrey T
''I don't know,'' the vampiress managed to reply after a few minutes had passed. She didn't move, nor make an effort to explain further. She clearly didn't feel good. ''He's coming, but he's hurt. I-''

"He's coming?" Abby repeated. Watching Rogue fold further into herself, Abby turned to Marina. "Who?"

Pushing her hair out of her face, Abby stood abruptly. "Can you stay with her?" she asked Marina. "I need to make a call."

Before Marina could respond, Abby left the room, and headed down the stairs towards her office.

Rollin felt a little awkward knowing that Aita slightly smells like him. He was used to sharing the same scent as his previous pack members that came from the Alpha, and it was weird to know that Rollin’s own scent was on this man. His wolf was miffed at the thought of Aita sharing his scent but it wasn't as prominent, and that was almost enough to ease the wolf's ire.

Now Abby on the other hand.. Rollin mused, he wouldn't mind if she shared his scent. His wolf didn’t immediately agree… he was still iffy about her being human.

Rollin sighed as he walked behind Aita, not wanting him at his back, as they entered the building. He sniffed the air when his nose caught something new; it was like strong medicine that was boiled with wild grass. He made a noise in the back of his throat, he wasn't sure if he can handle anymore new people. Being surrounded by witches, vampires, whatever Aita was, and old dwarves was not his cup of tea.

Coming out of the stairwell, and rounding the corner towards her office, Abby almost missed the strange and unusual sight before her. Stood in the open space between the kitchen and the sitting room, just inside the front door were Alexander and Rollin; Alexander shirtless and Rollin naked but for some piece of cloth wrapped around his waist.

"What..." Abby started, stepping towards the two of them before stopping abruptly.

Eyes flickering between the men, trying to decide on who to question first, Abby settled on Rollin. "You shifted last night," she stated, maybe a bit too bluntly. She walked forward, closing the gap between them. "Are you okay?"

Rollin opened his mouth to speak, and then paused closing it again. Was he okay? He looked down at himself and stared at his dirt covered body, there was a bit of blood on his chest that wasn't his own but other than that he was fine.

"Yeah... I-" he hesitated, absentmindedly rubbing his chest. "I mean, I woke up next to a dead deer...but I don't think I got into any trouble."

He tried to recall the events that occurred when his wolf took control and nothing came up. He blew out a harsh breath and rolled his shoulder; he hated the fact that everything was one-sided with his wolf. Rollin can feel his wolf and knows that they share the same seat, and if he needed to sharpen his senses he would be able to pull his wolf forward with no problem. But when his wolf shifts, he takes all reigns and pushes Rollin down.

"Okay..." Abby took a deep breath. "Okay. That's good."

She tried to discreetly give him a quick once-over - checking for any obvious injuries, she told herself. He was filthy, half-covered in dirt, half-covered in blood - deer blood, probably - but other than a few scrapes and bruises, he seemed fine.

Her eyes settled on the cluster of muscles just above the scrap of fabric covering him and for a moment she lost focus. "Um... Right. Okay. Why don't you go get cleaned up, come back down, grab something to eat, and then we'll talk? I mean, one-on-ones today. So we can talk...later...about this shifting incident."

Rollin clenched his jaw, his nose flaring. He didn't stop himself from flexing underneath Abby's gaze, his chest slightly puffing out. He felt a shift in the air, and his wolf nearly purred. Rollin admired the human in front of him. She was a little shorter than he, and she had dark, voluminous hair that he liked a lot. It also helped that she smelled wonderful. He closed his hand in a tight fist when he felt the itch to touch her.

He knew that he was attractive, he prided himself of that fact but still, Rollin tried not to preen too much. His wolf’s previous savage plans of quenching his hunger by eating the human were long gone, as he agreed with Rollin that Abby was welcome to stare at him whenever she wanted.

Rollin’s brown eyes were lighter as he watched Abigail ramble on. When she finally stopped, he coughed and rubbed the side of his nose as he hid his grin. Even though he had a good meal out of that deer, shifting back into a human did take a lot out of him, so the thought of more food, and alone time with the pretty therapist was appealing to him.

"That sounds like a plan," he smiled with a nod, "You got it, Miss Abby..."

[]

Alex watched the tension filled exchange with slight amusement. "Maybe you should get a room." He stretched and waved when their attention snapped to him. "Hi, yeah, still here. I'll escort my friend here to his room and get a new sweater. Dibs on that first one-on-one." He hooked his arm through Rollin's and nudged the wolf toward the stairs.

"Listen," he said quietly. "I need a favor. While the wolf is still fresh." He knew this was weird, but it was the only form of camouflage he knew. "I kinda need you to mark my door."

---

Tahmoh stepped out of his office, watching the two walk up the stairs before stepping up to Abby quietly. Slight satisfaction tinted his features when she jumped at his sudden words.

"I have already put my things away." She turned to him, slightly surprised. "Apologies. I know I said I'd be here later, but things happened and I decided it would be best to leave earlier."

The wolf stiffened when he was steered away from Abby and it was only when he heard the favor Aita was asking for that made him release the growing tension.

"A favor, huh?" he mused in a deep voice, his chest rumbling in approval. He liked the idea of a favor, one that could benefit his wolf. Rollin had no problem scenting the whole top floor with a bit of his own magic that came with the bite, and his wolf was eager to do so, because he had also heard 'favor' loud and clear.

"Alright... I'll do that as long as you tell me what you are."

Surprise puzzled Alex, and then he remembered his self-introduction had been rather vague. He wondered if the wolf had never encountered an elf before, and why. Elves typically liked to hide in the shadows of things that made far more noise.

He gestured toward his long, tapered ears. "Wood elf. Not to be confused with the German dark elf. We're very seclusive and definitely more attractive." He winked at Rollin and smiled. "Dark elves prefer caves and what not but we prefer the woods, obviously. My tribe was good friends with a pack that kept us safe in exchange for our magic that kept the forest lush with food. I never got around to the brothers keeper part of my training, though, so I might not be so much help to you. Could help you ease some of that tension, if you wanted..."

Rollin raised his eyebrows and hummed as he observed Aita's ears, he had noticed them yes, but an elf? Rollin thought they were tiny creatures that had green pointy hats, and were not as tall as he was. Aita was the first elf he’d come across and he didn't know how to take it. Still, he'd never met a dwarf before the Home, either. The same went for the old one who was present during the first session. Probably he shouldn't have been surprised that elves existed too.

When they reached the top floor, he stopped walking and faced the elf. He hadn't understood any of what the elf had said, except for the last bit. He could 'ease his tension'? Was that a suggestion? What was the difference between a dark elf and a light one? Were there even such things as light elves? If so, then was it similar to a black witch and a white witch? The wolf furrowed his brows. Black witches, from his experience, were not people you wanted to mess with. They got their magic from death and suffering.

But Aita did say that his kind could make forests lush with food and he'd been friends with a wolf pack. Being able to cultivate a fruitful forest was definitely a good thing. Rollin nodded to himself. Impressive.

"Where's your hat?" he quipped instead, his eyes crinkling. The elf sounded harmless, his wolf sniffed and settled, comforted by the thought of a lush forest.

Abby watched Alexander and Rollin walk away, heads bent towards each other. When had those two become so chummy?

Turning to Tahmoh, she gave him a tired smile. "Your timing is perfect, actually. I was just going to call you."

Gesturing towards the kitchen, she signalled Tahmoh to follow.

"We're having a bit of a busy morning today. The Were, Rollin - the one in the, uh, loincloth - shifted last night for the first time since checking in. There's a distraught vampire/witch upstairs. And as I said before, I haven't seen Rocio since yesterday morning. I could really use your help."

Abby grabbed a plate and piled a few baked goods on it before reaching into the cooler for a couple of packs of blood. "Could you heat these up?" she asked, handing the packs over to him. "I can take you up to Rogue's room now, if you're ready to jump in."

Marina just stood there in silence. She knew she would get no answer even if she asked who it was that was coming. But was that a good reason to cry blood? She was worried a bit, but even though she was afraid, she was also interested. Strange, she thought to herself as she waited for Abby's return.

Tahmoh nodded at everything Abby said and did as she asked, following her upstairs to the vampire's room. Apprehension filled him the closer they got; this would be his first actual experience with a supernatural being.

A young girl stood in the room, another curled up on the bed. Tahmoh could see clearly the tracks of blood flowing from her eyes to her clothes and bed. He gently sat on the bed and held out a bag of blood.

"Rogue, my name is Tahmoh. I'm here to help you. Please, drink."

omg I didn't even notice you replied to me

Alex squinted his eyes at the wolf, slightly concerned. He wasn't sure if Rollin was joking or not.

"Whatever it is humans typically think we are, it generally never fits. We're tall and lanky and usually we have magic that lets us blend in with humans, when necessary. But it's annoying to cast and hold so we prefer to be by ourselves." He shrugged. "Too long didn't read, I left it at home."

Rollin blinked once, and then blinked again.

"What? Left what at home?" he questioned, genuinely confused. "Your green pointy hat?"

He shook his head, and waved his hand dismissing it. He honestly didn't care if the elf left his hat at home, Rollin just wanted to shower and lay in bed until his stomach started to eat itself. He walked further onto the attic floor and closed his eyes to focus. He wasn’t really put in a situation where he had to coat an area with the packs scent; he had other priorities like teaching other wolves how to fight.

Rollin did know that it was the work of his wolf, and so he let his wolf rise and take slight control. When the power of his wolf rushed out of him with a whoosh, his eyes opened in alarm. Rollin’s sharp vision started to blur, and his ears started roaring like he was deep under water. And when his vision finally cleared, his nose was overwhelmed by the smell of damp earth, and wet fur. Rollin pulled back the reins, and gasped, his chest heaving with heavy breaths.

What the–? He snapped his head to look the elf and wondered if he felt it too.

Alex watched Rollin with interest, curious as to exactly how wolves did whatever it was that wolves did. As the wolf stepped forward, he noticed something shift in his aura. Alex's eyebrow piqued as the scent changed, and something pulled at him, pulling him toward the wolf.

When Rollin looked to him, Alex wasn't sure what to say. He felt like his aura had somehow intermingled with Rollin's. Maybe it was something to do with their similar connection to the forest. He stepped toward the wolf. "What...? Are you okay?"

Rollin grunted in response. That was the second time someone asked him that today. Physically, yes, he was okay. But no, his wolf bonds were like tangled rope that wouldn’t budge, and to him, it was obvious that nothing about his situation was okay.

Werewolves are powerful, and heavily built to be a pure predator, and it was easy to lose yourself to the monster. And he only had a couple of guesses as to what had happened, but he wouldn't know for sure. He has no one to ask, not even his own damn wolf because they are not one.

"I'll live," he replied, staring at Aita before he padded to the second door on the left. He closed it with a heavy thud, and ripped off the makeshift loincloth, tossing it into the bathroom garbage can. He gritted his teeth and looked up to see his glowing amber eyes staring back at him through the mirror.

"Should've just let us die," he hissed to his wolf.

[ADLADAKM I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO DO WITH ROLLIN'S CHARACTER AND BACKSTORY AND FUTURE omg, I'm going slightly crazy. I have so many information I need to get out!]

Alex bit his lip, watching the wolf leave. He wondered if he should try any of his "therapy" methods on him, but decided it was better left alone, at least for now. Rollin had raised so many questions, and Alex wanted to know more about him. He was tense... hurt.

Alex stepped into his room and pulled on a new shirt, rubbing his eyes, then face, then running his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath and started downstairs. He needed some therapy, too.

@ champion;
Rogue grabbed it from his hands once she realized it was blood and as she drank, she closed her eyes. Her fingers were gripping the bag tight enough to dig holes into it with her nails. She was hungry, though she shouldn't be. Her thoughts of the being that was coming were all over the place and she wasn't ready to connect the pieces.

Marina and Tahmoh watched as the vampiress hungrily ate her fill. They exchanged eye contact and Tamhoh motioned for the mind-reader to leave them alone but she didn't want to leave. With her head against the left side of the door and her hands crossed over her chest, she asked, "can't I stay? I promise I'll just watch."

Tahmoh thought for a bit, bit he didn't change his mind. "It would be better if you left."

Marina had nothing more to say or do, so she turned on her heels and left them alone by closing the door, even though she was disappointed her pheromones had no hold on that guy. Was he that much on his therapist mode that nothing could change his mind? She wondered.