i am the dragon breathing fire

Tsuga had been doing well, handling the bullshit suspicions and accusations by the humans and anyone who was not liking Fae-kind right now with an amount of calm that was surprising, even for them. They figured it wasn’t worth it, getting all worked up every single day, and they were starting to feel their artistic inspiration come back, so they weren’t going to bog it down with their own angst just yet.

As they walked to their gallery to put up a new painting, they stopped and stared. The white siding of their gallery had jagged black markings sprayed all over it. As they got closer, their eyes narrowed. Someone had defaced their gallery with spray paint? Really? God, they couldn’t have even tried to use a paint with more substance and meaning to it? Not to mention, the chemical smell that the spray paint gave off burned their nostrils. Disgusting.

‘Get out of our town’ ‘murderers’ ‘we haven’t forgotten’ and other phrases like that were crudely scattered across the outside of their gallery. Most of the spelling was really poor, too, but whoever these hoodlums were clearly had no education if they thought this was an effective way to get them out of town.

“Fuck,” Tsuga muttered as they scrapped the paint off with their nail, then scowled. “Cheap shit, too. Fuck this.”

Leo really needed to stop drinking takeaway coffee at the rate she was. While she’d at least managed to get herself a reusable cup to lift some of the ‘destroying the planet with needless waste’ guilt, it just really wasn’t good for her pocket. Or her health, probably - while lots of boring sciencey types said coffee could be good for you, it was definitely in moderation. Something Leo wasn’t good at. 

It was nice, though, to go to a coffee shop and not be glared at by every supernaturally-aware person in the place. Now that the heat had shifted off her kind she felt a little less like an ant under a magnifying glass. She really did feel for the fae who were being harassed, but it was a relief for it not to be targeted at her for a change. 

Seeing that harrassment still turned her stomach, though - she’d made her way out of a coffee shop she frequented, sipping from her cup as she scrolled through her phone with her other hand and halfway down the street before she came across her morning dose of blind hate directed at an innocent. 

Her head lifted from her texting as the stranger she passed by cursed, eyes falling on the less-than-artful graffiti staining the gallery front. She whistled low, brow furrowing a bit. 

“The number of talented bigots in this town continues to shock me.” 

At the woman’s voice, he turned and didn’t bother to hold back a soft laugh. “Dunno. Maybe they were right and the world ended. We’re all just stuck in fucking purgatory.” Pyxis said, his words turning into a bit of a grumbled mess toward the end.  He tugged his scarf tighter around his neck. “Hell comes in the form of ignorant hunters.”

She hums. “Possibly,” she notes, shrugging her shoulders. “All I know is I can’t wait for this year to be fuckin’ over. Though shit’s probably gonna get worse, so maybe we should be thankful for what we’ve got while we’ve got it.” 

Whatever Pyxis had assumed Devil’s Watch would be like when he finally returned, the complete and utter hysteria from the general population and the ruined scene of some place he passed by in the middle of downtown was not it. Curiosity inevitably got the better of him and he tried his best to snoop the site of the event, but even he couldn’t bear such an odd site like that for too long.

“What a goddamned mess this all is,” Pyxis said aloud, looking over a board in downtown full of different flyers all boasting relief arrangements and statements officially made about staying safe. More bullshit, in Pyxis’ eyes. “Just a regular fuckin’ week in this town.”

At this point Leo felt like the only things keeping her going were caffeine and werewolf mojo - everything that was happening in town was just so draining all the time. Emotional labour wasn’t her strong suit, and all the shit was going on definitely required a lot of it. 

She sips her coffee as she walks, shrugged into her coat - while she handled the cold well, she wasn’t necessarily the biggest fan of it. She liked to rug up - beanie, jacket, all that jazz. She halts a moment as someone speaks, catching her attention near a wall of notices. 

“The Mayans were wrong, my dude. The word’s endin’ in 2016, not 2012.” 

Kane was steaming. He couldn’t help it, and this girl telling him the truth set him off even more. Because, of course, Kane didn’t want to see it as the truth. “I’m fine. You don’t need to tell me what to do, I can take care of myself. “

“I’m not tellin’ you what to do, man,” Leo drawls in reply, holding up her hands in a protestation of her innocence. “It’s just a friendly suggestion. Call it... Lupine solidarity or somethin’.”

&&. OPEN STARTER.

            The night set the  S T A G E for her return, a CASCADE of     blonde hair adorned only by the pale light of the moon overhead.     The sound of black stilettos hitting pavement REVERBERATED     through the vicinity as Maddox Wright paraded down the alleys     of Devil’s Watch. Perched lazily on her shoulder was the witch’s     chameleon familiar, Flynn, whose camouflage ensured he was     almost INVISIBLE, inconspicuous enough to counteract Maddox’s     BODACIOUS personality. An ocean of blue eyes scan the perimeter     for any signs of TROUBLE, the Crime Lord determined to ensure     that her little DEAL today went exactly as planned. 

            Irritation washed over her like the water of a steaming     shower as her gaze fell upon the shadowy silhouette of another.     Determined, she strode over, licking her lips like some PREDATOR     stalking its prey and she stops herself just short of pushing them        AWAY.  ❛  Hey there, darling, ❜  she purred, quite crudely.  ❛  You’d     best be careful all alone, this time of night. It’s when the MONSTERS     come out to play.  ❜

Standing in an alley smoking a cigarette in what felt like the wee hours of the morning wasn’t really something Leo had been planning on doing - she wasn’t a big smoker nor was she a big lurker, but there she was. The bar had felt too crowded, a little claustrophobic. Too many smells, too many noises. She’d absconded out one of the fire exits without much thought when things got to be too much, and now there she was. Smoking a cigarette she’d bummed from some angsty vampire kid, leaning against the bricks, half-listening to the music distantly thudding through the wall. 

Leo’s ears prick a little when she hears footsteps - she hears them a solid minute before they owner of them appears. Had she been listening properly she may have heard them earlier, but she’s not really focused. Her eyebrows lift when the stranger speaks - she can smell the magic on their skin before she sees them. 

When Leo turns she parts her lips a little, flashing the tiniest glint of fang - as a born wolf, Leo had a rather extensive control over her shifts. She was lucky - her parents had helped her from her earliest shift. 

“I’m more monster than you could handle, sis. I think I’ll be fine.” 

Leo really didn’t have the patience for these magical types who took themselves too seriously. They really did think they were the darkest, edgiest kids out there - she interacted with far too many for her liking in her line of work. 

Leo wasn’t a total stranger, he’d seen the other wolf around. But that didn’t mean he was any less angry when she shot back. Even if what she said wasn’t aggressive. His alreaddy heightened sense of anger combined with the sensations of being a newly changed wolf made even the smallest thing set him off. Of course, Leo would understand that, but Kane wasn’t about to admit any of that. So he did what he did best, got defensive. “Fuck off with that pup shit, okay?! As a matter of fact, just fuck off. “

Leo kisses her teeth, brows cocking up at the aggression rolling off this kid. While she was also fairly quick tempered, she could control herself. Most of the time. 

“You might wanna calm down, bud. Now really isn’t the time to be drawin’ attention to yourself like this,” she tells him honestly. “Just ‘cause some of the heat’s offa us doesn’t mean it’s safe.” 

Kane was often one to be nondescript, it was just how he was raised, but that didn’t explain the hoodie being pulled up over his head, masking his face. Even when he was going along undetected, he was never one to hide his face. After all, he was much to proud of it for that. But he’d been in a little bit of a tussle this evening, and didn’t want anyone to see him walking the streets with a black eye and a busted lip. Had he won the fight, sure he would flaunt it, but he didn’t. And the last thing he needed was people knowing that, so he limped along undetected. That was, until he felt someone bump into him. “Hey, watch where the fuck you’re going. “ he mumbled under his breath as he moved to push past them and move along. 

Leo had a habit of playing chicken with men on the sidewalk - she’d discovered fairly early on in life that they walked in straight lines and more often than not expected her to move out of the way should she be following the same line. She’d gotten into the habit of remaining on the line she’d been walking until they either crashed into each other or the guy moved. It was always interesting to see which would happen first. 

She’s not really surprised when the guy’s shoulder clips hers - she walks through it, though her brows cock up at what he mutters. 

“Cool your jets, pup. You were the one who wasn’t lookin’.” 

“Mmmm, you can say that again,” Cassandra said, a small grunt escaping her lips as she leaned on the bar looking her new bar-mate in the eyes. She too lifted the drink to her lips, taking a long gulp before setting it down with a small bang on the counter. “It’s like…” she said pausing, trying to bring her words together, “they think we’re the only dangerous assholes in town. I don’t see anyone pointing fingers at the vampires, nor the fae. What if the whole thing was to scam us, frame us?” Cassandra said in a huff, finally saying what had been on her mind the past weeks. “Plus, tips keep me afloat most of the time, and when business is bad, I go hungry.” She sighed, leaning back up off the bar. “Didn’t mean to overload you with my problems, but thanks for taking one off my hand,” she said gesturing down towards the person’s drink.

Leo cocks a brow at the look directed at her, sipping a little more moderately at her own drink. She sets it down to rest on one of the coasters littering the bar top, free hand dropping to drum on the table in an absent sort of rhythm, slim fingers tapping. 

“People like to find a scapegoat,” Leo says, nodding as if it’s some sort of sage wisdom she’s sharing. “If they’re not targeting people for one reason they’re targetin’ ‘em for another. I’m used to this sorta shit... Though usually it’s with a few less pitchforks and torches,” she muses, scratching her cheek absently. 

“Don’t worry about it. You’re preaching to the choir, sis.”

It had been a rather slow night at Wolfsbane, as it had been the night before, and the one before that. With the whole town on alert after the murders, a lot of them wanting to point fingers at the werewolves, people weren’t so keen on coming in to drink with them. However, there were a few regulars milling about, playing pool and drinking beer. Cassandra was turned around, organizing her shelf of spirits when she heard someone sit down. Having a small hankdering for a drink herself, she poured a generous old fasioned, and another for her new bar mate. Sliding the glass across the bar towards them she muttered a cheers. “On the house. We needed to finish off that bottle. We’ve got a new stock coming in this weekend and well,” she said pausing to look around, “not enough people to drink it.”

Leo frowns down at her phone as she steps into the bar, deftly avoiding a semi-drunken old man with a tidy sidestep. She wanders her way up to the bar, plopping down onto one of the numerous empty stools, sighing as she locks her phone instead of replying to the text from her mother and former Alpha. The wolf had heard the news - things travelled fast in circles like theirs. The urgings to come home weren’t something Leo needed right then. 

Her head bobs up when the bartender speaks, eyes sweeping over the omega briefly before she reaches for the glass. “Thanks,” she murmurs, taking a sip before shrugging. “Can’t be good for business, all this fuckin’... Witch hunt bullshit.” 

It honestly hadn’t been that great for her, either - it was amazing how little people wanted to support someone like her. Even so much as buying some earrings from a werewolf was too much for a lot of people. 

 Alec slammed the door shut, probably a little harder then he needed to. This whole werewolf murder thing was really starting to become an inconvenience. The witch hunts were bound to start any day now. They were already starting. He couldn’t believe the Council decided to center out just werewolves. Not to mention he was getting plenty of looks when they announced that they think it was a rogue alpha. And him being the new guy in town… It wasn’t the distrust that bothered him. People could hate him all they like, but he had a pack to look out for. They are what mattered to him. 

He frowned as he hung up the sign on the door. Closed due to curfew. That was when he heard footsteps closing in behind him. “We’re closed. You know…the curfew.”

Leo ducks through the door just before it swings shut, huffing a sigh. “Look, man. I know. Just lemme duck in here a minute - I’ve been patted down twice today. I don’t need some other hunter dude try’n grab me by my pussy again. Plus I’m out after curfew, so y’know. I’mma get in trouble if they see me,” Leo says, peering out through the glass a moment before she turns her head to look at the unknown Alpha. 

“Show a little wolfy solidarity, will ya?” 

“Ok, so I already know that you’re probably going to tell me that it’s an awful idea, but I’m going to ask anyways. What would you think of having a block party in Grayspire?”

Leo shrugs her shoulders absently, considering the suggestion a moment. “Dunno. Could be okay - I mean, it could also turn into a drunk wolf fight club, ‘pendin’ on the time of the month. But if that’s what you’re into it could be a good night.”

Helen follows her as far as out of sight of the old lady and the people at the coffee place before she even speaks again. “We’re not monsters. You don’t want to give them another reason to point the finger at you and call you it.” She blows the steam away from her coffee and takes a tentative sip from it. “Fuck them. Fuck this whole thing. I saw the way she looked at you.”

“I don’t think we are,” Leo replies drily. “I just ain’t into letting some old bitch disrespect me. They can call me whatever the fuck they want, as long as they leave my ass alone.”