The Home

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 could feel his wolf and knew that they shared the same seat. If he needed to sharpen his senses, he would be able to pull his wolf forward with no problem. Still, when his wolf shifted, he took all reigns and forced 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, she reminded herself – 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 on 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. Now he agreed with Rollin – 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. The thought of more food, and alone time with the pretty therapist was appealing.

"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."

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 brother's 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.

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'd never really been in a situation where he needed to coat an area with the pack's scent. He had other priorities, like teaching 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. 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 were powerful and heavily built. They were bred to be pure predators and it was easy to lose yourself to the monster. He had a couple of guesses as to what happened, but he wouldn't know for sure. He had no one to ask, not even his own damn wolf because they were 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.

Out in the hall, 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.