𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥.

( lewis tan. cismale. he/him. you’ve got another thing comin’ & judas priest. ) that’s JAMES LIN, isn’t it? they’re always hanging around the LICHEN pack, so it’s rare to catch them alone. i heard they’re THIRTY THREE years old, and they’re currently an OWNER at THE WOLF’S EYE. when dusk falls, you can usually find them heading home to THE BRONX by MOTORCYCLE. ( jia. 26. she/her. gmt+3. )

𝑆𝐻𝐸   𝐾𝑁𝑂𝑊𝑆   𝐻𝐸’𝑆   𝐴𝑊𝐴𝐼𝑇𝐼𝑁𝐺   𝐴𝑁𝑂𝑇𝐻𝐸𝑅   𝐹𝐼𝐸𝑅𝑌   𝑄𝑈𝐼𝑃 ,      hungry   for   the   back   and   forth   between   them .      so   instead   she   opts   for   something   different ,       perhaps   something   to   unnerve   him ,      surprise   him   and   knock   him   off   his   game .      or   fuel   his   already   gigantic   ego ,      but   she’s   willing   to   take   the   risk .        ❝      why   wouldn’t   i   be   concerned ?      men   as   attractive   as   you   are   a   rarity   these   days .      perhaps   you   could   join   me   for   a   drink ?     ❞      she   purrs   lowly ,      a   hand   placed   on   his   chest ,      brunette   looking   up   at   him   through   thick   lashes .

“no i’m.. okay. i might just need some air.” explaining as she puts a piece of hair behind her ear. “i –” she begins to explain that she already ordered, but was interrupted by the sound of her name being called by the barista. 

aiyana walks over and grabs it before going back to where he was standing. “sorry… would you like to grab some air.. with me? i mean, you don’t have to.” unsure if he had places to be or if she was just over-extending the conversation with him. 

HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON ANYMORE, it throws him off. He takes a sip from his coffee, because it feels like he’ll be here a while, might as well get the caffeine fix in. He doesn’t say anything, just watches her go and grab her order. He has nothing to reply to her, in all honesty. He’s just watching at this point. When she comes back, she offers he goes out with her. “I was already heading out, so,” he trails off, waving a hand so she follows him out, taking another sip as he walks out. “You feelin’ better?” He still has no idea what the issue is. He’s not exactly a fan of the confusion.

     “FUCK YOU, JAMES,” she says through gritted teeth. she’s angry at him, sure, but she’s even angrier at herself for falling victim to his trap, for letting him win this time. talia pulls her wrist free, but it’s the same time as when her other hand goes up to try to slap him. she knows it’s only going to make things worse, but she needs to get this anger out, and james is one person she knows that won’t break because of it.

“ HEY ! ”   stretching themselves out on the couch, thea reaches to try to grab the cookies back from him.   “ how do you spend your days off, then ?   i wasn’t even aware you DID get days off. what, do you not want to get laid ?   because eating all those cookies certainly won’t help you there, buddy. ”   she just wants her cookies back, thank you very much.

          ❛   ah,  no,  really,  they’re  just  fun  to  listen  to.   ❜    she’s  not  trying  to  make  friends  or  a  name  around  his  bar,  she  just  lends  an  ear  and  well,  it  makes  thing  less  awkward  too  when  she  shows  up  and  thea’s  busy.  it’s  weird,  but  it’s  actually  a  great  place  for  homework  and  creative  writing.  but  there’s  so  much  sometimes  that  has  to  be  made  up,  and  she’s  determined  to  throw  back  the  balls  she  thinks  are  fake,  show  she’s  not  that  gullible.  nabi  thanks  him,  just  shrugging  before  going  back  at  it,    ❛  but  a  bunch  of  things,  honestly.  like,  that  one  story  jay  keeps  talking  about.  going  on  a  hunting  trip  with  shawn  is  believable,  but  he  starts  to  lose  me  when  he  says  they  were  attacked  by  both  grizzlies  and  another  hunter  that  didn’t  see  them  and  hit  him  ?  like,  that  part  even  could  be  good,  mistakes  and  accidents.  but  then  he  says  they  were  stranded  for  weeks  and  this  other  person  didn’t  even  go  help  them  and  it  just ?  sounds  like  he’s  adding  things.   ❜    now  she  knows  nothing  of  that,  but  it  sounds  made  up.

“ YEAH, ”   ROGER SIGHS, but even that doesn’t feel right. he doesn’t know any details—and while he knows better than to want to hear them, part of him can’t help it. maybe because he knows if he hears specifics, then he’ll feel more inclined to do something about the guy. right now it doesn’t feel real ;   how many times have roger and ollie’s ex spent time together ?   when he came to family dinners ?   he’s sick to his stomach just thinking about it, having to shake it out of his head.   “ yeah, i will, ”   he nods faintly, needing to hear the words. james being there grounds him more than his own thoughts have in the past few days. it’s easier to talk about beck, and roger lets out a sigh.   “ not really, ”   roger admits.   “ it was rosamie’s death, i think. i didn’t know they were friends, but he’s been a wreck since. and not in a… sad way. ”   roger’s seen no tears, but acts of self-sabotage. 

+

aiyana took a moment to respond, the sounds of reality becoming present && the static like noise vanishing completely. “oh, um – sorry.” she begins, anxiously putting a piece of hair behind her ear. “yeah, i’m okay. must be hearing things.” saying with a slight smile towards him. 

JAMES’S BROWS FURROW, watching the other awaiting a reaction from her. The stress is practically radiating from her and he can feel it. “You’re cool. You sure you don’t need anything?” He can’t even tell if she’s in full awareness right now. “I think your turn’s up.”

   ❝      𝐶𝐴𝑅𝐸𝐹𝑈𝐿   𝐽𝐴𝑀𝐸𝑆 ,      soon   enough   your   ego   will   be   too   big   to   fit   alongside   you   when  entering   a  room .      ❞      her   and   james   had   always   been   like   this ,      the   little   back   and   forth   remarks ,      the   riling   each   other   up .      zehra   couldn’t   imagine   it   any   other   way ,      in   fact   she   couldn’t .      the   other   wolf   got   under   her   skin   too   easily .         ❝      now   if   you   don’t   mind   you’re   getting   between   me   and   a   very   stiff   drink .     ❞

     HER ENTIRE BODY FEELS LIKE IT’S ON FIRE, and normally, talia would have most likely been able to handle this situation like an adult. but james has caught her on a bad day, and she’s too on edge. talia feels the familiar twitch in her fingers, and before she knows it, her hand is already coming up to try to slap james. “do not speak about my pack.” she doesn’t think about the council rules about harming other leaders, and it’s not like either of them have previously cared about the guidelines anyways.

ROLLING HER EYES PLAYFULLY, thea passes back the bowl of popcorn. she gets up from the couch to grab her own snack in the kitchen—a box of cookies—before moving to sit back down.   “ i know it is, you freak. ”   as if it’s not their favorite scene too.   “ is this how you spend your days off, when you’re not at the bar or one of your cult meetings ?   maybe you should go on one of those dating apps. ”

MAYBE HE SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID ANYTHING, for the sake of concerning other wolves  ( especially alphas )  in his pack’s affairs. but roger doesn’t see it like that ;   to him, this is him letting off steam and talking to SOMEONE about everything going on, because the number of people he can do that with is unfortunately limited.   “ yeah, ”   he exhales out, fingers running through his hair before he grabs his drink.   “ no, i don’t know. i still have to talk to her, but i don’t…  i just wish i knew sooner. ”   and that’s not on beck, but on himself for not seeing the warning signs about his sister’s ex.   “ apparently he thought i knew already, i don’t know. as if i wouldn’t tell him anyway, even if he did potentially know, if his sister was concerned. but it was a past relationship of hers, so she’s out of it now, which is good. i don’t even know what to DO with this information. ”   roger isn’t a violent man, but the idea of someone putting his hands on ollie… it scared him how much he wanted to do something about it. beck’s comment about eliminating him from the picture still echoed in his mind.   “ beck was planning on doing something about it, but i told him to leave it to the family. who the fuck even knows if he’ll listen. ”

IT IS A PREDICTABLE ANSWER, and thea almost rolls her eyes because of it. but it makes her a little happy too, like some things haven’t changed in the years she’s been gone. she hasn’t watch the godfather since coming back to new york—she hasn’t watched kill bill either, for that matter. but instead thea just smiles, shaking her head.   “ nah, it’s fine. ”   their hand digs into the popcorn bowl, shoveling it into their mouth.   “ did the horse head scene happen yet ? ”   that was always their favorite.

     TALIA LETS OUT A HEAVY SIGH, and at this point, she’s too exhausted to keep up the charade. they’ve known each other long enough that talia knows that james is able to tell when she’s annoyed. she hates that he knows that about her, but when it’s james lin, it’s difficult to have a pleasant conversation with him. she’s convinced he’s made it his life mission to make her life hell. “right because my relationship with him is solely based off if we participate in silly traditions in front of everyone we know.” talia rolls her eyes at him as she folds her arms across her chest, and it’s the only way she can stop her hands from shaking because of her frustration.