higher

"I don't have any better plans." The joke returned as he kicked at the other lightly, Dante had spent a long time running away from the Tana; obviously Connor had as well, Anders had been out looking for himself for so long that he'd forgotten why he left in the first place. Maybe this place, this shitty little wolf town with all these crazies was exactly where the three of them were meant to end up. "Hey- hey, easy: no need to be fucking rude, but uh, yeah. Fuck that. I hate fighting, better to let knuckleheads like you and Anders beat your skulls together." Dante laid back and rapped his knuckles against his temples, "Because we all know there's not much up there anyways."

"You say no need to be rude and then prove my point. Yikes, man. I knew you wouldn't be able to get in there. I'd have to scrape you up off the floor. Then how would I explain that to your adoring fans?" Connor was just glad to know that they weren't uncomfortable around each other. Or even just having a conversation like they were complete strangers. In actuality, it felt like the two of them had grown up together and neither of them had ever left. That was a good thing. That was what he had to keep telling himself or else he'd think it was a reason to leave Rome entirely. He didn't want to leave now though. This would just be one more reason to stay now. "Hey hey, easy for you now. I've got brains up here," he said as he tapped his temple. Walking over to the counter, he leaned over it to grab the drip coffee. "It just runs on a bunch of bullshit." He grabbed a Monster can and proceeded to pour it directly into the coffee.

a starter for @connorlang, where: wolfchella

Moments like this were times that Inan would remember after Connor was gone, be it by circumstances, or the natural flow of time there was a good chance that Inan would still be here long after the lycan was gone. It was macabre to some, perhaps, but the elve was accustomed to loss by now and he knew what it felt like when a large part of himself disappeared. Whatever Connor was to him, he could feel that it was significant and that these small feelings of happiness were things he'd carry with him.

Inan always had this way about him where the words he spoke had a hint of judgment. Or maybe that wasn't the right word to use to describe it. The right word was probably 'condescending'. Lucky for Connor, he never got offended by anything and he was also positive that Inan never actually meant it that way when it came to him. At least, he hoped. The lycan definitely had a thought in his head that he was rubbing off on the elf to some extent. Sense of humor-wise only though. Well, in other ways, too, but that had nothing to do with the way either of them spoke to others and more to do with having an extra spring in his step every day. Nevertheless, he leaned in close to the other, not much distance between them now. "Of course I have. You want a demonstration? I can give you a demonstration."

More and more, these critters that should have been kept out in the wilderness had been making themselves awfully comfortable within the cabin. Halani, the wily trickster, had very clearly used Inan's weakness for Connor to weasel his way into some form of domesticity. Even the dogs had been getting bold, traipsing in after Connor from the cold and leaving their muddy paw prints on the floor. There were homes for people and then homes for the wild. Inan hadn't crossed the two much until Connor started to live under this roof. Some nights the small, four-walled home was more barn than cottage. It was warm, Inan didn't think he'd find a way to be grateful for that.

A fire. Yeah, that made sense. If it wasn't for Connor's natural elevated body heat, he was sure this place would've felt cold. Then again, he had fixed the pipes a lot by now. This cottage was barely standing before he got here and he almost wondered how Inan had ever lived like this. Not that he was the type of person that lived in the lap of luxury anyway. He was used to it so much that the rundown place felt like home. It was much better than jumping from place to place with no solid place to rest his head. If Inan hadn't taken him in, he wasn't sure where he would've been now. Maybe Dante or Anders would've been nice enough to offer him some place to stay. Actually, he wasn't even sure about that either. The two of them both looked like they would live in a dirt pile and be happy about it. He supposed that was something the three of them had in common. That had nothing to do with his place here though. A chuckle left his mouth at the other's words instead. "Good to know my snoring gives you hope for my well-being," he joked as his finger curled to nudge Inan's cheek.

a starter for @connorlang,

"Right, secret recipe. Got it got it." Somehow the notion of either of them being parents made him laugh, Connor especially though, where was he even staying? Still, the conversation shifted to something that was more serious and Dante let it flow naturally in that direction. "I left when I was eighteen, I didn't really see myself going back." Ten years had passed and absolutely nothing had changed, same little village, same way of life, and same old school practices. "Then my dad died at the beginning of the year and now I definitely don't see myself going back." Runa made a good alpha, she was built for it, and while Anders was always waxing on about Norse this or Norse that, Dante was glad to put it behind him. He didn't believe the way his brother believed, and he didn't really want to. So far the Gods that Rome had come across were just a bunch of dicks, somehow Dante doubted the Norse pantheon, whatever they were, would be any different. "I don't think you're missing much. Maybe you could be alpha here, you plan on fighting?"

Connor had his own reason for having left that everyone in the pack definitely knew about. His mother's handless body was enough of an explanation for him to want to run. It wasn't as if he had thought that the pack would've killed him on the spot. No, it was the mere fact that he had done it that bothered him. Running away had seemed like the most logical thing to do in his mind at that age. He'd been...so young. Younger than Dante was saying he was when he left. "Guess we should stick together then, huh?" It was phrased jokingly, but really it was the truth. He didn't have anyone from his past in his life that didn't look at him like he was a monster outside of the two cousins he'd run into here. Having Dante around probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. "Me? Alpha? Yeah, right. I don't know any of these people and I definitely wouldn't tell them to follow me," he stated as he stood up. "But I'll be fighting. I assume you won't be. I think a stiff wind would knock you the fuck out, string bean."

Content and peace defined these quiet days. At the same time, the elves ascended, and prosperity followed. Inan's magic had increased marginally compared to the noble elves, but that had never immensely mattered to him. His way had always been with the blade or the arrows he was so fond of. Even if that were not true, he'd have chosen the simplicity of this quiet morning over anything else, any day. Connor had a past that he did not speak of and there were moments where Inan could see the pain that the lycan carried written across his brow when he didn't think Inan was watching. That was the thing, though; Inan was observant, so he noticed, but he said nothing because the home was a delicate thing for anyone who'd already lost it once.

Maybe, if he were anyone else, he would've found it very odd and very weird that Inan had been staring at him while he was sleeping. However, Connor was far too used to the elf being...different that he didn't even question anything anymore. He couldn't even really say that Inan was really different anyway. The elf was just not the kind of person he was used to hanging out with. Which probably said something given the fact that all he wanted to do now was spend time with the other. He still hadn't grasped why that was the case, but he felt like it had something to do with the fact that Inan had been very gentle with him. Sometimes he felt like the elf knew him more than he had originally would have liked. It was a dangerous thing, Connor thought. Maybe he shouldn't have been happy, but he wasn't going to let himself not be. He couldn't just ruin everything for himself again.

@connorlang location: mojo dojo casa d'their cottage notes: kiss kiss falling in love

One thing about Connor Lang was that he was going to fall asleep anywhere. It could've been on public transportation, in a restaurant or on the floor. Where he slept didn't much matter to him considering how long he had been running. When he had to fend for himself since he was a teenager, he had learned to get used to not being comfortable. Ever since he'd gotten to Rome though, it felt like he didn't have to worry about that. The lycan wasn't sure where he would've been if he hadn't run into Inan, but he didn't think he needed to think on that any longer than a second. His entire life had been fixed on what if's. Doing that now when life was looking up for him for the first time in years would only drag him down.