please don't go away.

It didn’t escape Salem’s notice that Luka avoided his question with a none answer and the wolf clearly looked displeased about it. He wasn’t in the mood to have pets disrespect him by thinking they shouldn’t answer him plainly. “Ya could have.” He replied, eyes turning away from the cell to look at the others but Salem didn’t move on immediately. When Luka admitted to finally finding some kind of courage, the wolf looked back at him, almost studying the boy to see if he actually believed what he’d said or if he was just saying it to try and sound tough. “That right? Sounds like ya a big boy now, killin’ things, ain’t afraid, wantin’ t’ live. Ya finally decided t’ stop bein’ a bitch and t’ grow a pair?” The alpha scoffed with an amused lift of his brow. 

Salem didn’t linger on the fact that the boy seemed so pleased with himself for the praise, with the arrow still in his shoulder he didn’t care for much else. When Luka stepped forward, Salem watched him with wary eyes, especially as the elf reached out towards his shoulder. He didn’t particularly want the boy rooting around in his shoulder for an arrowhead when Nana could pull it out without issue, having done such for Salem for centuries. But it seemed Luka wasn’t going to take the look the alpha gave him as a no and so instead just dug his fingers into Salem’s shoulder without waiting for a yes or no. He growled viciously at the pain of fingers pressing into his wound, digging the arrow out. It was a relief when it finally came free, the wound starting to heal itself slowly. “Better show if ya don’t get killed in a few seconds.” Salem shrugged, using his shirt to soak up the blood. 

Salem had half expected the boy to suddenly keel over in fear, to drop his weapon, cry, scream, beg for mercy, so when he actually fired off his shot and hit the alpha in the shoulder, the wolf was impressed. He gave an angry snarl at the pain, the arrow embedding deep thanks to the close range. Salem landed awkwardly, his paw unable to handle pressure as it tensed the muscles in his shoulder. He looked at the wound but decided against pulling it out with his jaws like the other arrow and so shifted back. As Salem turned, he gave a pained growl, the arrow making his change difficult and painful. In his human skin, Salem looked at the wound more closely, the arrow still protruding from his shoulder. “Ya did good. Avian’s will be a lot harder t’ hit than me. Better improve ya aim.” He said, giving the arrow a tug and twist but stopping when the tip snagged painfully. He’d need Nana to get this out of him. 

Salem was fast, used the trees for cover. It wasn’t the first time he’d been hunted with bows by lesser creatures, but the wolf was both surprised and pleased when Luka actually hit him. The arrow made the wolf grunt when it hit him in the side, causing him to skid to a stop. He looked back at his middle, seeing the arrow jutting out and so with powerful jaws, but a careful grip, pulled it from his side and tossed it away. Salem looked back to see Luka in pursuit behind him so the wolf resumed running. He wouldn’t make being hit again so easy. 

He was also trying to teach the boy to defend himself, so Salem changed his tactics, instead of running away, the next time he circled around until he could land a faux attack, growling and snarling as he lept from the trees, every intention to make it seem like he would kill, just to test the boy and how he would fare under the pressure and fear. 

“Sword.” Salem corrected, ignoring the flat tone the elf took with him for now. He already knew the other was clumsy from his idiocy at Salem’s home, but the boy needed to learn how to hold a sword if he wanted any chance to defend himself. He watched as the elf began to swing rather violently with the blade, something that was definitely not going to be effective against an avian. The boy would be shot dead before he even got close. 

“Ya too zealous. Calm n’ focus more.” Salem instructed before he gave a sigh and shook his head. The sword wasn’t going to work, even if Luka could learn how to use it to some degree. So the alpha walked off for a moment before he returned with a short bow and a quiver of arrows. “Try n’ hit me with one of those.” The alpha instructed, shrugging out of his clothes before he turned into the huge bear-sized grey wolf. He looked Luka over with icy blue eyes then took off running. Salem was fast, faster in this form and so would be a harder target to hit even with his massive size. 

salem didn’t let him swing around the sword for very long before he was just sighing and walking away from him. luka huffed, stabbing the sword into the ground just before salem was returning with a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. he practically lit up, it was the one thing he was confident about and knew how to use. when he was told to try and hit the man with one, he seemed surprised. “are you sure?” he murmured, pulling a arrow out and watched the man shift before him. it wasn’t as scary as it had been the first time he saw it, in fact it was rather interesting. and just like that, the huge wolf was darting off. luka spun around, grabbing the bow and loading the arrow, pulling the string back taut and focused. letting out a slow breath his eyes trained on the alpha, surprisingly his hands didn’t tremble with this weapon in his hands. 

Seamus was doing his best not to get attached to the werewolf that he’d spent more time with than he could have ever considered since arriving at Aeternum, but his immediate thought as Luka responded to him, was of Salem. It didn’t make sense, of course, there were probably many elites here that fit that same description, so Shay bit his tongue, refusing to pass comment on it. 

He looked down at his hand as the other questioned him, nodding slowly as he flexed it, “Sometimes, mostly when I’m cold,” Shay murmured, managing to mostly block it out these days. The shock on the other’s features made his smile grow, tongue sweeping over his lower lip as he offered a nonchalant sort of shrug, “He shouldn’t have put it in my mouth – not without my permission. I bet he’s just grateful he hadn’t decided to stick something else in there.” A laugh protruded from his lips at the boy’s questioning and he leaned forward, offering it some thought, “It wasn’t easy, not with my blunt teeth, I’m only human but yeah, it crunched and it bled – a lot.”

“Yes, make him pay for it,” Seamus responded, licking his lower lip and trying not to dwell on the fact that the other had flinched under his touch. If it would have been Shay a few months ago, he would have perhaps apologised, his family’s influence had drilled manners into his mind, but he never saw much use for them in this new life. Seamus tilted his head to the side as the other slid his fingers over his broken bone, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips, “He put his finger in my mouth and I bit it off.”

Salem gave a nod when Luka promised that the slip wouldn’t happen again. He wasn’t entirely convinced, but he would take the other’s word for it. When Luka picked up the sword, Salem watched, eyes assessing how he seemed nervous around it, not sure how to hold it or what to do with it once he did have his hands on the weapon. 

“If ya scared of it, ya gonna get yaself hurt.” Salem spoke before he walked over and corrected Luka’s grip. The alpha didn’t actually use weapons all that often but he still knew how. “Now swing it, show me what ya can do.” The wolf instructed. He knew Luka was going to be swinging uncontrolled, unknowingly, but Salem wanted to get a sense for the power the other might have, and the accuracy. A sword might not even be the best weapon for him, perhaps a bow instead. 

luka knew how to bite his tongue rather well, be seen and not heard his parents always told him. it was instilled to him when he was very young - maybe that was the words he needed to start living by again here. “i’m clumsy and you just threw me a giant knife.” luka said flatly, remembering that he’d slit his finger open not even a minute into chopping vegetables with nana. the half-elf allowed his hands to be readjusted, the weight felt more even in his hands now and he didn’t feel as unsteady with it. 

Salem found those who looked to others for help to be irritating. He was the kind of person that had his life in his own hands, who believed you only got what you put in and if you wanted to live, then you had to do whatever it took. He hadn’t been given his title of alpha, he’d fought for it, killed for it and killed to keep it. He’d worked hard for everything he had, so self-pity was something he despised. “No one’s gonna help ya boy, ya gotta take what ya need. Ya need trainin’ the least ya could do is watch others first.” He replied with a frown.

When Luka rose his voice, went so far as to snap at him, Salem’s hand shot out faster than the boy’s lips could move and slapped him hard across the face for the insolence. “Ya wanna take that tone with me again?” Salem growled in warning, the alpha’s presence as dominant and oppressive as it would be to any wolf or half wolf. Then the alpha did something that even surprised him. He was a firm believer in survival of the fittest and so would never help something so weak, but Salem picked up a sword and tossed it at the boy’s feet. “Hold it, like ya mean t’ use it.”

it was easier said than done. taking what he needed, with what condition he was in, the situation he was in...he was a pet now, he couldn’t take anything. no one would even take him seriously, but maybe that could be where he had an advantage. they wouldn’t expect him to fight back. luka nodded though when he said he could watch others - he had been watching them from afar the last couple of days.

when he rose his voice he knew he’d get some sort of reaction from the werewolf, so when he was cracked across the face he wasn’t surprised but it had felt good to say what he wanted so strongly. maybe he was growing some balls finally - but the slap and the others tone set him straight, it reminded him he couldn’t do that with salem. he reached up and clutched the side of his face that was already forming a welt where he was slapped. “no sir, it w-won’t happen again.” luka whispered, after moving to sit on his knees. when a thud sounded he picked his gaze up and stared at the long blade, a sword. 

Salem didn’t do comforting, he didn’t do tender or reassuring, he found pity pathetic, he found whenever someone felt sorry for themselves or when they cried over nothing to be irritating and so he offered no sympathy to Luka for his inner struggles. The fact that he’d just taken a life meant nothing to the wolf, he killed all the time and he loved it. “Perhaps. It wasn’t though so get over ya self and move on.” Salem replied with a dismissive shrug. 

When Luka continued to lament about the fight the alpha rolled his eyes. “All the pets gotta fight boy. Ya got lucky, ya won’t two times in a row.” He answered before shrugging when Luka said he didn’t want there to be a next time, when he laughed at the thought of training. “If ya just a pretty face and ya won’t train, then ya will die next time. Just a pretty face is borin’, no life, no passion. Don’t got any of that then ya deserve t’ die.”

luka frowned deeply, the man clearly didn’t care about how he was feeling. but why would he? this was a man who enjoyed violence, he was sadistic it seemed. luka could never be that. a cold blooded killer, he was too soft and caring for that life. but when he was told he wouldn’t get lucky two times in a row, he brought his knees to his chest tighter. letting out a soft sob when he was told he deserved to die, and he didn’t want to die. he had barely lived life before, now it had been taken from him again now that he was away from his family. 

Seamus leaned in and trailed his hand up the boy’s wrist, stroking over what wasn’t damaged there. It seemed mostly tissue, but that didn’t make it any better. He tutted, shaking his head slowly, “That’s a shame,” Shay breathed, “You should’ve made him pay for it… But then again, you’d probably end up worse off. See this?” Seamus lifted his hand, curling his fits and revealing the misshapen knuckle of his little finger, “Some asshole broke my hand on my first week, never got it looked at, now it’s gross, wanna feel?”