Kiss The Cook

Sitting down at the counter, still dressed in his uniform, Vilkas’s Deputy Police Chief dropped his head into his hand– his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose– as he let out a heavy sigh. This attack was a horrible thing to happen and, honestly, it was draining him. If he wasn’t fighting off rumors that this was some kind of Ignis sanctioned attack on Terra, he was dealing with nosy people trying to see if they had any leads; or worse, being called in by the hospital because another reporter was harassing the nurses to get a scoop on the Omega’s condition. That mixed with having to go home and convince his six year old son JJ that nothing was wrong, and he was tired because of something simply like paperwork, had him on the verge of breaking down; and the attack had only happened yesterday. “Yeah.” Patrick replied with a gruff voice as he dropped his hand to look up at Makani as he set the plate down in front of him. “I’m hoping your right Mak. Honestly? I don’t even care about pack loyalties right now, I just the hope the kid pulls through this.”

As far as Makani was concerned, this wasn’t about pack politics. Common decency transcended that, and he knew that any wolf - no matter their pack - would care to know what happened to the Omega that had wound up attacked. He wished, really, that things would turn out better, that the Omega would wake up and assuage all of the concerns of all wolves in Vilkas... but he knew that this only made things worse. All eyes were on Ignis, and while Makani was a Terra wolf now, he still had many friends and family in the Ignis pack - and he knew, at the bottom of his heart, that this wasn’t a pack thing. It was just an act of terrorism. “You and me both,” Makani said with a shake of his head, moving to cross this thick arms over his barrel-like chest. “Though if you ask me, I don’t think this was a pack issue. I think that whoever did this... they probably have something wrong with them.” And they needed to be apprehended before someone else wound up hurt.

it wasn’t like mick to be so on edge. carefree and laidback, he preferred to live his life free of stress. hell, he didn’t even know this omega particularly well but they were packmates which made everything feel personal. he felt invested even if he’d only been living here a solid month. “ah,” he nodded after a swig of his coffee. “yeah, no, he’s in good hands but…” his free hand flexes into a fist and then released again, unable to put into english words his frustration at this whole situation. it felt like the whole town was stretched tight like a rubber band, waiting to snap. “makes you think, doesn’t it?”

It was obvious that, in the town, things were tense. Even more tense than they had been when the Terra pack first formed ten years ago. People were wary, uneasy, and looking over their shoulders to see if anyone was going to try and attacking them. It was an unfortunate thing, really, and Makani knew that it was probably the culprit’s aim. Get everyone scared, paranoid, and focused on something that wasn’t the real cause. “It does,” Makani said with a heavy sigh, knowing that the town was now watching itself tenfold. “It makes me think that whoever did this has something wrong with them.” Because he knew, deep down, that no true Ignis wolf would have done that. Not when Ignis wolves were taught to never lay their hands on an Omega, that they were precious and sacred. “But all I can hope for, really, is that the young wolf wakes up.”

Oliver was worried sick about all of the stuff going on, as an omega in terra he only feared that this would turn serial and he’d be a target. He’d been nauseous the past day or so and could barely keep anything down so he just hoped the diner food would stay down, he’d been craving something he didn’t have to cook since the attack. “But is he–do we know if was targeted or if they’re gonna go after the other terra omegas? Do I need to just leave or..–” He stopped to sigh and shook his head a bit,”I don’t know what to do.” He murmured nervously and picked at the food on his plate with his fork. 

As soon as the male started worrying, concern washed over the large beta’s features. He was known to be a gentle giant, someone that didn’t have a threatening bone in his body... that is, however, until it came to his pack. It didn’t matter to him what your genders were - if you wound up hurt, or if you were scared, he wanted to protect you. “Hey, listen to me,” Makani stated as he reached forward, grabbing the young Omega’s hand as he stared into his eyes. “I’m going to protect you, alright? You don’t need to leave because I’m sure as hell not going to let anything else happen to any of our other wolves on my watch.”

“And what is that supposed to mean, Makani?” Skylar growled, the comment about his parents having struck a nerve with him. “My parents did a wonderful job raising the talented future star who is standing in front of you right now. Speaking of which, did you order your ticket yet or not? Mother would be very distressed if you decided to not keep her company, you know?” The alpha crossed his arms defensively over his chest when the beta brought up the wolf from the Terra pack once again. “If he didn’t even die, then what is all this fuss about? I’m not being heartless, I’m just prioritizing more important matters. What else am I supposed to do? Cry about a wolf who I didn’t even know, and who wasn’t even from my pack? Puh-leaze. This is simply what happens when you’re stupid enough to follow an ‘omega leader’ who is obviously clueless on how to protect his own.” 

    eyes  looked  up  at  makani.    he  knew  him  through  his  parents,  seeing  as  the  man  once  was  in  the  ignis  pack  before.    eyes  shifted  to  the  man,  who  he  had  asked  the  question  to.    he  wasn’t  sure  what  to  believe,  but  it  was  true  when  it  came  to  their  pack,   omegas  were  scared  to  them,  but  the  young  omega  wasn’t  sure  what  to  believe  after  the  attack.   who  would  do  that ??   he  wanted  to  believe  that  none  of  them  would,  but  there  was  still  that  question,   who  could  do  such  an  act ??    “   so,  who  do  you  think  could  have  done  that  to  the  omega ??  ”   

The circles under Matty’s eyes were very telling of his lack of sleep, as he cradled the cup of coffee he ordered, sipping from the hot beverage like it was a lifeline. “He’s stable.” He said from a few seats over, not meaning to eavesdrop. “Fine is a strong word though.”

Lifting his head up when he heard the younger wolf speak up from down the counter, Makani began to walk towards him as the other wolf began to dig into his meal. “It’s better to be optimistic about something like this,” Makani stated, though even he knew that even if the wolf were to wake up, there was no guarantee that he could give any information to the police about the attacker. “Let the hospital staff know I’m going to send some food to them, on the house. You all certainly deserve it.”

Murdoch was no fool. He knew that not everyone shared the same sentiments as him when it came to the relationships between the packs. If everyone thought the same way, people wouldn’t have to feel like they had to walk on egg shells when they were around wolves of the opposing pack. He wouldn’t be surprised if drama started at some point through the night. That was just how these things usually tended to go. “If I were you, I would just get ready for some kind of fight regardless. They’re either going to fight or they’re going to fuck. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just that simple.”

The male’s words wrung true. While there were some wolves that held little regard for the other pack, not everyone thought the same and they had no problems with trying to shove their opinions down someone else’s throat. And with that tension, there were only two ways to really let it out. “I would greatly prefer the latter,” Makani stated before he took a sip of his tea. “But even then, I’d rather they not do anything. There are kids here, after all, and they don’t need to be exposed to the harsh realities of the world just yet.”

“Perhaps, or you’re extremely clever and have spent years training your tolerance to the poison just for this exact moment, to fool everyone.” Matty joked, before letting out a laugh. “You’d protect me huh?”

“...You caught me. You learned of my devious plan. Now what will I do?” Makani continued, shaking his head dramatically before he laughed himself, only to nod. “I would, yes. Not that you would need it, of course, but I would protect you like I would protect everyone else in the pack. It’s just who I am.” It wasn’t a Beta-Omega thing. It was a Makani thing.

“Honestly, I don’t care if the kids love it, I bought it solely for my own amusement because you know, I’m an adult now, and this is my adult decision.” He joked, offering the other a grin. “I’m an expert in cute asses, what I can I say?”

“I learned from last year not to drink the tea.” He gave a face of sympathy as the other drank but he seemed okay still. Well, so did he when he initially drank it. “Just, make sure you drink some water just in case.” Lys licked his bottom lip before his smile got away from him. “I get your reference.” He meant to his costume, probably one of the few he did.

A low laugh left the larger wolf and he couldn’t help but shake his head at Lysander’s words. “Oh, no... this isn’t a Long Island. It’s the regular Iced Tea.” He didn’t drink, period. And even if he did, he doubted that he would now... Not when there was a high chance of things going south. The combination of two different packs, the tension between them and an open bar? It spelled disaster. “Besides, anyone that can’t tell the difference between a regular tea and a Long Island before even drinking it surely needs to get their sense of smell checked.” Taking another drink, he could only grin as the other gestured to his costume. “Thank you, though... It’s an old costume, but it’s good to see that people still like it. And what about you, Lysander? What are you?”

“That’s very much true, now isn’t it? Plus I mean… Spit mask.” He held it up for a moment before laughing. “I can’t really eat or drink with this on so that’s why I have it off. For now.” He smiled. “Well, kind of. I actually mixed it up because I’m a preschool teacher and I wanted to dress up a little there, since we were having a halloween party. And seeing as preschoolers like to stick things in their mouths, I didn’t want to really get any store bought fake blood since I have no idea what’s in them and I don’t want to harm them at all.” 

Ah, so he did have the male’s mask. That definitely made his costume more noticeable, Makani thought, but that didn’t mean he was still too familiar with the show’s version. Instead he could only listen with interest as the other admitted that he was a preschool teacher and that was why he created his own blood. “Are you, really?” Makani asked, surprised by the other’s admission, but then he immediately felt bad for pigeon-holing him as something else. “That’s incredibly smart, though. I don’t have much experience with children, apart from holding my nieces and nephews, but I have heard that they like to put things in their mouth.” He heard a horror story of his youngest nephew putting his mother’s earring into his mouth, and he knew that it could’ve ended horribly. “Do you have any children of your own?”

He was too nice. Yeah, that was the problem here. Britain was too damn nice, that’s why one of the guys who worked at the movie theater with him was able to convince him into dressing like… this. God, it was horrible. Okay, it wasn’t horrible… Britain just didn’t like holiday’s in general. Christmas was his least favorite, but Halloween wasn’t that far behind it; at least Halloween came with some good movies. That’s another reason this wasn’t so bad. One of his favorite movies to watch around this time of the year was Hocus Pocus– and he was currently dressed and made up to look like the Skeleton Man MC from the Halloween party in the movie– so that was cool… but being dressed up meant he had to go out. Nothing would be more depressing, now, than staying home alone on Halloween when he was this dressed up.

So like all the other people in Vilkas, he found himself being filed into the big dance; or costume party, whatever you wanted to call it. Maybe if he was lucky he’d run into Leo… but maybe it was best to keep some distance from the Alpha; you know, until he could figure out why his stomach felt like it was full of butterflies every time Leo looked at him. 

Yeah. He was going to need a drink. Forcing a smile as someone complimented his costume, he pushed through the crowd. Well, he was trying to push his way through the crowd but people were so intent on dancing and enjoying themselves that he kept getting caught in their flailing limbs and general good time vibes.

“For fuck’s sake,” Britain bellowed, rather characteristically as he shoved people away from him just so he could have a bit of space to breath. “I just wan’ a god damned drink. Could y’all just… just stop dancin’ for five seconds so I can get through? Fuck!”

Though Makani had come to the party without much resistance, he wasn’t really one that liked to dance... especially considering the fact that he knew that his mass made it very difficult to dance without rubbing into another person. That was why he found himself leaning against the back wall, nursing his beverage, when he spotted someone clearly having difficulties maneuvering through the large mass of people that congregated on the dance floor. Finishing his beverage, he tossed the empty solo cup into the trash before he began to walk over to the smaller wolf.

Whether it was because of his sheer size or because people actually wanted to be nice to the man that cooked their food, wolves began to part ways until Makani reached the blond. “Not that you needed saving... but the refreshment table is over there,” Makani said as he approached, kind smile teasing his lips... hoping that would help to alleviate the intimidation factor he knew that he possessed.

“Part of the reason why I’m not out in the middle.” He said, gesturing to the capes that hung from his back. “And with my height, people wouldn’t really notice me and my costume too easily.” He said, smiling as his drink, a White Russian, was brought to him. “Nice Popeye, though.”

Glancing down to see the other gesturing to his cape, Makani could only chuckle lightly. “It reminds me of that tiny woman in The Incredibles and how she wouldn’t design an outfit with a cape,” Makani said with a small shake of his head as he moved to take a sip of his drink. He could understand the male not wanting to get in the middle because of his size, if only for the opposite reason - he knew that people would have a harder time trying to avoid him, given his sheer mass, so he decided to hang by the walls. “Thank you, though it’s really just an old costume I had lying in my closet.”

Leo let out a laugh when the other did the laugh, putting a hand over his mouth to stop. Leo didn’t plan on drinking too much, but he was an idiot if he wouldn’t take advantage of the open bar. “What kind of tea?” He asked, not berating the other for not drinking. If there was anyone here who looked as if they could split up a pack war single-handed, it was this dude in the Popeye costume. “What do you think the best costume so far is?” 

“Just iced tea,” Makani said with a shrug, unsure of what specific brew it was. Whatever it was, though, he knew it was delicious and he was going to have to get the recipe for the diner. He had a feeling it would be a big hit. The only question was how much he would have to convince the person that actually brewed it to let him in on the exact recipe. “Mm...” Glancing around the hall, seeing the various costumes - from zombies to the expected superheroes - he pointed his finger at one that he had seen earlier. “That one. You can tell that the costume took a lot of time and dedication and it wasn’t just hastily thrown together overnight or an old costume they found in their closet.”

“You promise?” Valentino questioned, his voice muffled by the large bull-head mask as he turned to face the wolf talking to him. With a shrug, the Alpha took the mask off and set it down on the ground beside. Of course, seeing as he was in the playful mood, Valentino took the other’s cup rather than getting one of his own so he could taste the tea. “Hmm,” he hummed under his breath as he went to take a sip. “I’m surprised,” he added on with a smirk as he handed the other wolf his cup back, “They normally don’t make decent tea around here. Should you be drinking tea though? I thought your diet was strictly spinach…”

Of course, Makani was aware of who the other was. How could he not be? Having been in the Ignis pack all of his life, up until about three years ago, the couple and their pup that moved to Vilkas was well-known in the small town, especially considering the high-class restaurant that they ran. Makani didn’t mind it, of course - the city was big enough for more than one restaurant, and he knew that they could co-exist without taking business away from the other - but that didn’t mean he wasn’t completely aware of who the other is. Still, he could only chuckle at the other’s joke and he brought his finger to his lips. “Shh, don’t let people know that I’m cheating on me spinach,” Makani teased before he lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “But I wouldn’t say they don’t make a decent tea around here... then again, I thought the tea I brewed was good until I had this.” Taking his cup back from the other, he let his eyes rake over the smaller wolf’s attire, trying to figure out what he was exactly. “Are you... a minotaur?”

“I can’t imagine that his opinion of me got much better.  Not with how stubborn I can be, even if I became less of a bad influence.”  Charlie knew that his old man had tried arranging some kind of mating of him and Makani with the other man’s father, but it clearly hadn’t gone anywhere.  The fact that his dad was still desperately trying to hook him up with an Alpha or a Beta was thoroughly exasperating to Charlie, who knew he could find someone on his own if he tried hard enough.  It wasn’t as though he didn’t have some interest from others.  “I’ll have to stop in tomorrow or something.  Especially if I get free food out of it.”  He teased.  “How’s life in Terra been treating you?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I doubt he’d have much an opinion about me now that I’m working an Omega’s job,” Makani said with a roll of his eyes. It was no secret that his father had been one of the more traditional wolves in their pack, not afraid to voice his opinions about those that he deemed lesser and what roles each specific gender had. It was something that Makani disagreed with, harshly, and it was why he joined the Terra pack. Because there was no pressure in trying to conform to a certain standard. “Life is... great. There’s no pressure, really, to be anything but what you are. Certainly a big change from growing up in Ignis, I will tell you...” Makani stated before he gestured towards the other. “You would do well there, I think.”