T4T BEASTS!

Wolf thought back to the first time they met. He was caught in one of Emil’s traps to prevent trespassing one day while waiting out the rain in his forest, confusing it with his own. 

Emil set him free, and despite his dangerous fangs and claws, healed him. Wolf had ran away after that, but he couldn’t stop thinking back to the kind vampire who healed him (despite him also setting the trap). He returned several times over the next few weeks to watch him. Wolf learned that he enjoyed afternoon tea with friends on Sundays, and he meticulously cared for a delicate variety of plants that only bloomed at night. He learned that he liked garlic toast and sunlight on his face, but had to take safety measures first. 

He had learned a lot, but not enough. 

So one evening, when he sat outside to admire his garden, Wolf waited for him. He knew he would be there because he was a creature of habit. He always admired his garden at exactly 6:30 pm every Thursday.

Wolf was waiting for him, right behind his prized 

Night-Blooming Cereus. (He knew its name because Emil  sang it loudly as he watered it every Wednesday evening.) 

He walked out from his house, still freshly lathered in sunscreen, twirling an unopened frilly parasol over his left shoulder.

Wolf  watched from behind his Cereus. 

He hummed a melody to himself and sat down in an ornate lawn chair next to a table with a spread of evening tea. 

Such an odd creature, Wolf thought. Going through the work of preparing tiny foods and making tea and arranging everything so perfectly.. only to sit and sing at some flowers? Every evening?  Who did that? Emil, apparently. 

He watched him fold a satin napkin over his lap, stir a distressing amount of sugar into some tea, and use tiny golden tongs to place mini cucumber sandwiches on a floral china plate. It was utterly foreign to him. When Wolf was hungry, he dug up a cache and ate. Emil had so many rules that it was a wonder why he even bothered eating in the first place. 

When he raised his cup to take the first sip steam fogged his round glasses. Wolf moved forward, quietly, until he stood before him, six feet away. By the time the steam cleared he was just five feet away. 

He saw his eyes snap up to meet his own. 

He had expected to be met with shock or fear in his eyes, for him to drop his cup. But much to his shock all he saw was mild surprise. 

“I was wondering when you would stop by to pay me a visit,” Emil said calmly. “Although from the looks of it, you already have.” 

Wolf took a step back. How had he known? He thought he’d been careful not to reveal himself. He’d covered tracks and studied his routine. All this time he thought he was observing him, but had it been the other way around?

“I’ve noticed you a few times, but you always stayed within the edge of the forest until now. I saw you just the other morning, you know. You were admiring my garden.” He said gently. He had a kind voice. 

He lowered the teacup to the table. “I’m Emil, owner of the estate, as you must know. Who might you be?” He looked curious. 

Wolf paused, thinking. Werewolves didn’t have names in any human language. “Wolf.” 

“Well, Wolf, it is a pleasure to meet you properly. Sadly, our first encounter was not a very pleasant one. Thank you for the chance to make it up again.” He then pulled out a spare teacup from behind the teapot. “Would you like some tea? It’s rose, from my garden.” 

Tea? Wolf never had tea before. It seemed like a kind of simple potion, or maybe a soup. 

“Yes, thank you.” He nodded. 

“Sugar or cream?”

“No thanks.”

He took the cup from Emil’s outstretched arms, reaching to breach the gap between them. 

The beautiful, delicate cup felt so small, so fragile in his clumsy paws. He raised it to his snout to take a sip. It smelled deep and floral and the flavor bloomed and lingered on his tongue. 

“It is… nice,” he said simply.  There weren’t really other words to describe it to him. 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Emil said as he topped off his own cup with more tea. He went to take a sip when his eyes widened like he suddenly remembered something important. “Oh! Where are my manners? Please, have a seat.” Emil exclaimed, gesturing at another seat across the table with the spoon he was using to stir his tea. Wolf got up from the ground and settled into the dainty-framed seat. He felt a bit clumsy surrounded by delicate cups and tiny cutlery. 

“Pardon my forwardness, but I must ask; why have you been watching me all this time? Why visit me after what happened?” Emil asked. 

Wolf was silent for a moment. He thought carefully about his next words. 

“After being trapped, you set me free.” He took a sip of tea. “No Trapper would release a creature like me. Especially in their own forest.” 

Emil smiled. “I’m no trapper. I let you go because I never meant to catch you. It was to prevent trespassing vampires, not wandering creatures. Forgive me for injuring you.” 

“That’s the thing. After you set me free, you healed me. Why?”

“Why? I couldn’t leave you injured, not in good conscience.” Emil nibbled a sandwich. “It was the least I could do. After all, it was my fault you got hurt.” 

The two sat in silence for a moment.

“To answer your other question,” Wolf continued, “after what you did, I was intrigued. I wanted to learn more about you, this.. kind stranger all alone in the forest. I’ve never heard of anyone like you before. I mean, I knew there was someone living here in this forest; the birds talk about it all the time. But I had no idea it was.. you.” Wolf gestured at him. “Say, why do you live here? Not many vampires around the forest, from what I’ve seen.” 

Emil looked thoughtfully on how best to explain. 

“I came here after moving out of my parent’s home. I wanted a nice place of my own where I could live undisturbed. Well, relatively undisturbed, anyways. The deer that keep trying to eat my tomatoes keep me busy I suppose, but it’s nothing as bothersome as business meetings and marketing strategies.” he paused and Wolf looked at him curiously. 

“Business meetings?” He asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

Emil nodded. “My parents were business owners, selling cosmetics and jewelry and such, and they wanted me to inherit their business after they retired. We had always lived in the city, and we never got a chance to leave because of their job. When they retired, they left to travel the world, leaving me to run the place. I.. was never really a businessperson, not like my mothers. I hated the work. I wasn’t good with people, and it felt crushing to work on something I wasn’t good at or passionate about. So one day I sold the company. I took the profits from it and bought this place.” He paused to refill his teacup. “Now, I am ashamed to admit this, but I didn’t tell my parents about everything until months later, when I had settled into my home. I was afraid they’d cut their vacation short because of me. I didn’t want them to take the company back before I could sell it, which was irrational. The company was legally mine until I sold it, but I don’t know. 

“I left a quarter of the profit from selling the company to my mothers, took a quarter for myself, and the rest went to charities and all the workers who stayed with the company.”

“What did your parents think about it all?” Wolf asked. 

“Oh, they were furious of course.” He smiled. “I’ve only heard them that angry when I broke the family heirloom chandelier. I still don’t think Mamie ever forgave me for that one. Anyways, I told them that I had left the city, but I never said where. As far as I’m aware, they have no idea where I am. And if I’m being honest, I’d rather prefer to keep it that way.” He paused to take a sip of tea, blowing the steam off its surface. Wolf caught a flash of something dark in his expression. “As a child, all I wanted was my own life, made of my own choices. I wanted to be in a place that felt alive and free, away from my parents' influence. They had always chosen what school I went to, what hobbies I had, what I did and who I was friends with. They chose my future, and I never got a say. Inheriting the business was the last thing. It was my ticket out, and so I took it.” Emil stared deeply at his tea for a moment. “I live here because it’s my life now. I built my future, and my parents can keep theirs.” His voice was restrained. Wolf could hear how he held back heavier meanings behind those words. His peaceful features had a twinge of defiance. Wolf knew that look. It was the one he made when other wolves threatened to take his  prey. Emil was defensive.

Then he glanced up at him, seeing his understanding. 

[apologies for the open ending! I never really know how to end scenes like this so sorry for that]