Tell Me We Both Matter

There were the murmurs of voices, the sounds of cheering, and did Ian smell waffles? That was all- this was all out of place for an old fort. "It sounds like there are a lot of people inside." Ian wasn't dense, he could tell when someone was trying to change the subject so he didn't take the bait. "And this fort isn't on any map." It wasn't like the hunter was an expert but it didn't look very old either, the trees they'd brought down and cut didn't have a lot of age on them. He didn't want to say that Damian was lying but it didn't feel like he was being entirely truthful either. "Who's inside?"

Do not just say Italians. Which was what came to mind first, he's really not good at this, the lying thing. He's got to be careful, if he does this, Ian's officially his responsibility or something. That's what he'd always been told, that if someone knew about the pack, they were kind of protected by the pack to an extent. Damian looks inside the wall, he looks back at Ian and he figures he knows how to play this. "You wouldn't put a big party on a map, would you?" They didn't do that for any underground rave or anything, that big vampire party that popped up every now and again.

At one point, surrounded by lycans could've been just a bad idea all around. Now, he was willingly there again, sitting beside Damian and trying not to laugh, "Why are you freaking out this time?" He asked, his fingers running through the other's messy hair. Acts of affection like this were always done privately, and it wasn't because Asher was embarrassed, but because he wished to save small moments for them. "I promised I'd come watch. Even if I think it's ridiculous that everyone wants to fight for a position where people will hate them."

who?: @howlforahookup where?: all fours, but he has my tolerance

It's busy, the place usually is in the evenings and when they closed up shop, the rowdy wolves who'd piled into All Fours wound up at the Waffle House. But until then they were his problem and Damian moves from one end of the bar to another quickly, has to keep an eye on where Regina is at all times, Serkan too in case anything gets out of hand. Alder is....Damian likes Alder alright, he just can't hold his liquor and that's all fine and dandy, but when it's busy, it's harder to give him the validation he needs. Which isn't something he minds doing either, he gets it, he's grown up split between two packs, he knows emissaries are important. They don't always have the easiest jobs and it's not like he's also not worried about the new alpha situation. Sighing and nodding towards Serkan that he's taking his break, he goes about making himself a drink. "It's not you, everyone's just stressed out." And incredibly excitable, it's fun but it's also dangerous.

Damian was a blast from the past and considering where the two of them met it was strange to see him here all the way on the other side of the world, then again he imagined it was just as strange to Damian. "I was just out for a hike, found some tracks and followed them here." You'd think people would know if there was some fortified... Town? In the middle of the forest. "This place isn't on any map, and you didn't answer my question." Ian wasn't usually the suspicious type but everything about this screamed of the bizarre. It wasn't like he hadn't encountered strange things in the past, especially in Rome, but usually, when he went looking for answers, it didn't lead anywhere. This felt like somewhere.

Damian is not good at the whole 'hide the supernatural' thing when it comes to having to lie. To just anyone is one thing, to people he knew it was harder. Long ago, Elena had made a point to tell him that it wasn't so much lying as it was protecting ordinary people from truth that might be too much for them to take. But it's kind of hard to come up with something when the evidence is literally right in front of someone's face. "It's an old fort." Which isn't a lie! And it's not like he isn't known for kind of wandering around, it all made sense in context. Leaning on the wall and looking down at the human, he does feel guilty, just a bit. Ian's a cool guy, he worked hard, he'd consider them friends. "I grew up here, my mom's old house isn't far." Also not a lie, Elena's old house wasn't far from the forest. "You though, didn't think I'd ever see you out this way."

Asher put his hand on Damian's jaw, closer now as he focused on the lycan. It was easy to block out everything else at the minute, focusing on the soul instead. Juno Vampires he felt were looked over far too often; soul eaters were nothing to take lightly. Right now, though, Asher didn't feel like anything but a vampire who didn't know what to do with his newfound freedom. "No. Fuck that. Rhiannon is bossy enough. I'm not dealing with that. I'm not cut out for any of that." He was sure the other could understand, and he finally pulled away, "Come on. Let's go back to my place."

It's not something he thinks he can ever ignore, the cool touch of the vampire. If it'd been anyone else he might have been a tad unsettled, but he couldn't help but feel practically giddy that Asher was just so openly exhibiting affection. They were doing this for sure now, were on the same page finally and it kind of takes everything in him not to just swoop in and kiss Asher right then and there. "Right, home." Where they could kiss and do whatever the hell they wanted surrounded by luxury. * "You gonna come cheer me on at Lupercalia?" It's playful, he doesn't expect Asher to set foot in Lupercal, big festival or not. He hasn't even told anyone about him and laying there with the vampire in bed, he wonders if that's okay or not. Lucas kind of knows, but he's never outright told him though, let alone anyone else.

@howlforahookup location: the wall, outside Lupercal notes: a name like howlforahookup but he doesn't even hookup, change your name to howlforawifedupformercumdumpnameddamian:(

After everything, there's this kind of lull to life in what is now officially Lupercal and while he's relieved they're all there and alive, he knows not having an alpha is going to catch up with them. Things are fine for now, just for now and he takes advantage of that by running around more, exploring the limits. The wall is nice to traverse when he doesn't just want to move through the forest, wants to maybe fuck around with Lucas, Lain, or Dante if he's around. By himself though it's nice to just walk along it and look out at the forest, the world seems so much quieter now. "Ian?" The voice stops him in his tracks and he's quick to peer over the edge of the tall wooden planks. It's been a while since he'd seen him, he was one of those people that he thought he'd maybe never get to see again. He looks a little more grown up now but it's no doubt him.

Damian was closer now, and Asher felt like if he had a heart that worked, it'd be sinking to his stomach or beating out of his chest. He cared about the lycan, which is why he was starting to feel like he was kidding himself about this whole thing. His gaze dipped to Damian, then it flickered away as a witch passed, their blood just as loud as his hypothetical heart. "Uh – cut back on stuff, really. Like do I need lots of candles? Probably not. Do I need to eat so much? Could probably do without. You? You going to stick your twink ass in for Alpha?"

Damian opens his mouth to speak only to close it and offer a shake of his head because he wonders if that's maybe something Asher has been worried about. It'd been something last year, thinking about how he was going to throw Lupercalia regardless of who he was up against. It'd been Eric though who had ultimately made him realize that he couldn't go through with any of it. "I'll probably fight a bit, but that's not something I want." It's kind of bold, reaching to wrap an arm around the vampire's waist, resting his head on his shoulder. He can say it with confidence now, it's weight he can officially set down. "You gonna become a marshal now that you've got a new senator?"

An almost cocky grin took root at the edge of his lips, because River had always been itching for a fight. Or something like it. At least now, maybe, this leveled the playing field. He hadn't been much of a match before, given that height and strength weren't on his side. But the weapons had always been nice, and worked well enough to bring a lycan to their knees. Now perhaps he'd be able to do that without the silver bullets and things. "Shit, sorry if that brought up something bad," the look on his face shifted, akin to almost apologetic, given the way that Damian had used was. In all honesty, one less lycan in the world was perfectly fine with River. If anything, he hoped that he'd be able to help bring down the rest of them. Each and every one of them. "So, the pack... they're, uh, pretty good about helping someone with control and all that?" River didn't particularly care about control, not unless it helped him get closer to the one that did this to him. But each time he thought about it, he thought of how Bishop had looked, about the way that he'd said it was bad. That hadn't left his thoughts, even with the amount of time that had passed.

"It's alright." Damian is awfully used to it, people apologizing to him for Elena Montoya. Everything stings and he wonders if it ever isn't going to, but he doesn't let it stop him. Instead he focuses on what River was getting at and he couldn't say he wasn't really curious about bitten wolves. It had kind of been a thing when he'd met Eric, a kind of responsibility he'd taken upon himself, to assimilate the other wolf. Bitten wolves had it a whole lot harder than born wolves as far as he was concerned, there was so much they didn't know. It could be exciting, but more often than not he saw that it wasn't entirely consensual, that new wolves were made from those of them that couldn't quite control themselves or worse, wanted to increase their numbers. "Are you having any sort of trouble with that?" He raises a brow, more concerned than his easy demeanor lets on.

There is a nervous energy to her movements as she goes through the motions of making coffee, looking away from Damian even as she is intimately aware of his presence. It hurts to look at him, really, to remember that one of the last things he had experience was her on the throes of madness and she doesn't know if he remembers. Regina might not have killed him, but that means shit, when she remembers his screams as her teeth tore into his flesh. It is a horrifying reminder of how far she could fall, far worse than almost anything else she had experienced for the next fifteen years, save maybe for Hazal's death. But Hazal's death had not felt like it was her fault, it didn't feel like she was being torn in two at the reminder that she had hurt her family as she lost control.

"We should probably talk." That's what they're doing, he's kicking himself for saying something stupid. That's new, that's something that's happening a lot lately. Damian has not walked on eggshells since he left his father's care and he wonders if she knows that. There's so much that just feels like he'd put in a box and thrown out in his head in favor of being happy go lucky or something and he just.... He doesn't think he can just do that anymore. He doesn't think he can just avoid any of it. Fuck it. "I never wanted to really leave you know? Not when she told me I'd be going to live with my dad. Not when I'd come back to visit and go back to him. Not when I was older and came back of my own choice. I never wanted to leave you guys." He admits, eyes not on Regina but on the kitchen counter between them. "But I had to."

Asher had kind of left it all behind in that conversation. He didn't bring it up again, especially now, surrounded by people that he thought would be able to tell he was acting like a guy who hadn't had a fix in a few days. It couldn't be less true, but he was watching people who got a little too close, a little too comfortable – it was torture. All in all though, Damian liked the sweater, and it was enough to distract him. "Some corner shop. They had the shittiest things. You like it then?" He tried not to laugh at the fact that Damian was carrying around a solo cup like this was some rave behind All Fours – but he could take the dog out of the junkyard, just not the junkyard out of the dog. "Merry Christmas or whatever."

"Of course I do." It's one thing to get something that's kind of a gag from someone, it's another to know that Asher totally sat there cackling to himself wrapping it. He doesn't think that part is ever going to change about the two of them, the vampire giving him shit. Sometimes he doesn't know what he's so nervous about, they send memes and terrible good morning texts to one another just like usual, even after the whole feelings discussion. But Damian doesn't entirely think they're out of the woods yet and he almost wants to sit Flora and Lucas down and ask how the hell to be a good boyfriend. Because he really wants to be, it's what Asher deserves. Maybe he'd ask Anders, that felt like some wisdom he could impart. "You got any new years resolutions?"