Trying to be somebody new

“It’s nice to see things being rebuilt.” He spoke candidly, looking around. “Do you need help with anything? How are you?” @paradisusstart​

It was supposed to be safe here. That was the line that had been fed to her for months. And honestly….she’d been starting to believe it. Aiyla had started to have a life here. She was starting to learn how society worked, how to be self-sufficient. She was even learning how to let people in– like Oliver, for example. She trusted him, she liked him. Even on more than one occasion she’d almost kissed him…. Everything, for once, was decent in her life. More than that–things were actually good.

She was actually happy.

So of course, as it usually did when it came to her, the other shoe dropped. She’d been having a good time at the carnival, with Oliver, and was in line to get some of those fried Oreo things while Oliver was in a different line for drinks. Things were good. Until suddenly they weren’t. She smelled the smoke just moments before the screams started. Smoke soon turned into fire, soon turned into explosions, and she cried out as she was suddenly slammed into, sending her hurtling to the ground. Months of normalcy flew out the window the moment she’d been hit, the taste of blood in her mouth and years of training and self-preservation were kicking in as she hauled herself up, body tense and shaking as she looked around at the chaos, clearly disoriented and not even hearing it as her name was being called.

. 

The head of curls popped up from the ground and his eyes fixed on her, watching closely. Oliver knew she was ready to anything just by the rigidity in her body. A side of her that he had watched her work so hard to calm down was on top again. He approached slow, eyes searching for anything that he could find to talk her down. A gentle, slow hand cupped her cheek, brushing dirt from her cheekbone. “You’re okay. I promise you’re okay.” He tried, watching her close. “You’re not there, you’re not going back there. I promised you that from day one.” He took a step back, a hand out to her. “Let’s get you out of here, yea?” 

His ears were still ringing- his head hurt. But he knew he’d heal- the blood dripping down his forehead, the pain in his leg, Oliver knew it would fade with time. But what didn’t go away was his worry, the echo in his mind that he promised Aiyla she was safe here. The wolf knew he had to find her, both selfishly and not. For his own sake, he wanted to know she was safe, that whatever was happening, she’d be okay. One, because he did promise it to her long ago, and two because he simply cared about her. The island was meant to be safe, and she was making it so far with her own progress. 

“Aiyla?” He was yelling, disoriented but trying to focus on the chaos around him.  A head of curls and he’d be fine, he’d know she’d be okay. His anxiety only grew as he thought about it. As far as the triggers, the fear she was feeling, he was sure she was not faring well. All he could smell was smoke, and panic. He wasn’t leaving the area without her. “Aiyla!” He spun, staggering a little. “Fuck, where are you?” 

“As someone who…didn’t get any of that, it sounds like fun kid stuff.” Another little tidbit of herself she was telling him. She wondered if he knew, or if it was in her file or something, that she’d been taken as a child. He wondered if he knew that not only did she not have memories of childhood…but she didn’t have a childhood at all. Instead of worrying too long on it, Aiyla instead focused on the present, and Oliver, and she smiled up at him again as he spoke, “Well…I’m waiting for these cookies you seem to like so much. Then maybe…some of the rides? What do you like at things like this? Since you have more experience with dumb kid stuff than I do?”

. 

Ollie was quick to take the cookies as soon as they were offered to him, turning back quickly to the Aiyla. For a second it crossed his mind, that maybe she didn’t get to dumb kid stuff when she was a kid, but that didn’t mean much to him. They could still do dumb kid stuff now. 

Aiyla gave him a little smile as he explained, humming softly, “That sounds fun.” Friends, sneaking out, normal things. Things she’d never experienced. She let him place the order before standing off to the side with him and she hummed again, shaking her head, “I….–no. I’ve never seen..any of these things before.” She motioned around them, eyeing some of the games and rides for a moment before back to him. “My life was the pits or….o-or training.”

.

“Dumb kid stuff.” Oliver hummed, “It was stupid in hindsight, potentially dangerous. But...” He shrugged. “This is more fun- with you.” The wolf’s focus was on her, listening carefully. “We’ll do whatever you want tonight then. Make it a night to remember. Where do we start?” 

Aiyla rose a brow at him as he explained what a fried oreo was, laughing as he all but tugged her into a line at one of the booths. Admittedly the smell of the fried dough and sugar in the air was pretty wonderful… “Have you..been to something like this before? With…with your family?” The idea of a normal family– a big one with siblings and parents.. it made her feel a pang of longing, of sadness at something so basic that she’d never been allowed. But then–even this, having fun, doing something silly like this, was another thing she’d never gotten to experience. Until now.

.

Reflecting on his past- Oliver only took a second to think. “I used to sneak out and go with my friends. My parents didn’t like us all going out to big things like this. We weren’t known as shifters.” He hummed, shrugging a little. “They had always said things of this size were too much.” Oliver ordered some of the cookies, pulling her off to the side to wait for them once more. “Have you ever come to something like this before? I mean...I know the circumstances were different.” 

Aiyla easily fell into step with him, keeping close to his side and allowing herself to look around even more now, trusting him not to steer her into a group of people or something. When he mentioned rides she perked up, looking up at him with a tentative little smile, “Oh um…sure?” She offered, obviously never having been on a roller coaster or ferris wheel or anything like that.

“Oreos like…those cookies?” She asked, tilting her head, “How do you…fry a cookie?” And what the heck was a funnel cake? Another day, another new thing to learn it seemed. She let that thought trail off as Oliver mentioned the balloon and she looked up at it, letting out a laugh, “One of those could..be nice too.”

. 

Maybe he was going a mile a minute. Events like this always brought out the kid in Oliver, the games, the laughter, the fun. It all sparked an energy he wasn’t used to showing others. But even still, he paused when she mentioned the concept of the fried Oreo. “We’re starting there.” Oliver only hummed before tugging her toward a booth. “Imagine like.... a hot- fresh pancake? but cooked around an oreo.” He watched her for a second. “I’d eat them all year if I wasn’t afraid of burning myself.” 

The way Oliver was looking at her made Aiyla’s insides flutter a bit, her heart going a bit quicker as he smiled and in return she just smiled back at him, watching him before he offered his arm out and as he did her smile just got bigger. “I guess so.” She agreed as she moved, only hesitating a second before looping her arm through his so he could lead her through the endless crowds. 

“So…what do you and your friend suggest? Other than the…candy cotton?”

.

With her on his arm, and even their balloon guardian in tow, Ollie had to take a second to ignore the feeling of them touching. The way her touch, again, sent electricity through his nerves. It was something that only she brought out. “I know you’re not afraid of heights, I could go buy us a wristbands to get on a ride or two?” He nodded toward the ferris wheel, among other things. 

“There’s also all sorts of treats. Funnel cake? Fried Oreos? Or we could get you an awesome balloon buddy too. He’s a little lonely up there.” 

Just like everything else on this island, this was another new thing to Aiyla. She’d never seen carnival rides before except for in movies, she’d never seen all the silly games. Even the food was all new to her–overwhelming and strange and….and exciting. For once, Aiyla wasn’t on edge or scared, she was actually having fun- even if it was mainly just her walking around while her sister went off with a friend she’d made. 

She caught his scent though a moment before he spoke, and as soon as she did Aiyla was turning, following it nearly on instinct alone, and when she saw Oliver there she just smiled, looking up at the silly balloon he carried before meeting his eyes, “I think we both know the answer to that…whatever that is?”

.

It was different, seeing her smile like this. Maybe it was the way the setting sun cast a glow across what it touched, but Oliver was hooked. With a fake pondering, and a tap of his chin- he was offering her an arm to hook hers with, the balloon drifting in the space between them. 

“Well,” he hummed, his gaze flickering up to the balloon before back to Aiyla’s gaze. “I think my friend and I can help you learn the ways of carnival food and fun in full, if you’ll let us.” 

The wolf was wandering the fair grounds, ridiculous floating balloon animal in tow behind him. Wandering the grounds was enough for him, and he was nearly ready to return home when he saw Aiyla. Oliver caught himself staring, watching her for a few seconds before approaching. He couldn’t imagine she had ever seen anything like this before. “Have you ever had cotton candy?” 

Admittedly she did struggle to hold back in the heat of the moment, needing to force herself to not get lost in her head–otherwise he’d probably be unconscious by now. Her barely-there restraint though was evident in how tense she still was, her body shaking just ever so slightly above him, and when he spoke she just huffed out a breath, pressing her forearm more against his windpipe. “Give?”

.

It was quick, but it was worth trying to struggle with her. Aiyla was small after all, and while she made up for it in speed, Oliver definitely outweighed her.  Oliver’s hands were quick to push up against the arm at his neck. He pivoted his body weight, pushing up in hopes of coping the pin. With an arm just hovering over her neck, the other hand kept a (gentle, and easily escapable, he didn’t want to scare her) weight rested on her forearm. 

His smirk was smug and playful, watching carefully like a card player with a calculated risk. “Do you give?” 

While she told herself to focus Aiyla also told herself to relax. Oliver wasn’t a target and she wasn’t here to kill. Not anymore. She didn’t have to note all his weak spots or calculate how to get to the jugular. This was just….it was supposed to be fun. 

But that didn’t stop her instincts from kicking in, and the moment Oliver teasingly punched at her hands the switch flipped and within a second she was pouncing, decades of training and fighting fueling her movements, throwing punches and weaving through hits, laser-focused until she finally hit him hard enough to make him lose his balance. She hit him once more before making him fall and she followed after him, straddling his waist with an arm (lightly) against his neck, the position having her hovering over him, breathing hard as she just…stared before finally snapping out of it, trying not to think about how the flush on her face was from more than just exertion. “….Give?”

. 

It felt like he had never fought before with just how quickly she pounced. When his back hit the ground, Ollie’s eyes went to hers, hoping to see some form of lightness. To see her comeback. And watching her return, was magnificent. She had control, which meant that his hypothesis worked. “You’re one hell of a fighter, you know that? You made me feel like a kid who didn’t know his left hook from a right.” 

“Alright, well…just the same. Next choice that comes up between us, is on you.” She gave him a look over her shoulder as she walked by him, a teasing little glint in her eye and a little smirk on her lips before she faced forward, walking her way through his house and into his backyard, all the while pulling the gloves on like he’d showed her. She never fought with gloves before outside of the few times he’d showed her how at the gym. She was used to bruised knuckles and the smell of blood, the sting of split skin. But she supposed this would do just the same.

Besides, she didn’t want to hurt him.

“You’ll survive.” She assured, moving with him as she took her stance and held her fists up near her head; the smile was off her face now, the glint gone from her eyes. It was ingrained in her to take fights seriously–even just pretend ones.

It sent a chill through his body, the look on her face. There was a stark realization for a second, that she could kill him. Easily, if she wanted. But there was a part of him that knew that nothing would happen from this, Oliver holding his hands in a way that matched hers. He threw a punch, knocking her hands with a grin. 

“C’mon, A. Show me what you got.” 

“I asked you, Oliver. Not every dec–…every choice, needs to be mine.” She stumbled over the bigger word, not quite knowing what it was but trying to play it off. Just the same though, Aiyla looked down at the gloves again before nodding to his house. “The back? I uh…I think that’ll be easier,” better, safer, “Than going all the way to the gym.” She nodded for him to follow then, before taking initiative and heading into his own house first, showing that clearly it was one of the places she actually felt safe in- comfortable. Everything with him was safe and comfortable, probably the first time she ever felt like that away from her sister or Rana. “And again, I’ll go easy on you.”

.

“I don’t like making any choice.” Oliver laughed, following her through his home. There was something sweet about the way she moved through like she owned the place. He’d reflect later- but there was so much growth in her behaviors. It was clear that she felt safe. He’d protect that feeling with his life if he had to.

Stepping out into his back yard, he laughed a little, pulling the gloves. “My old man bones appreciate that.” 

For a moment, Aiyla thought about asking if there was something he wanted, thinking maybe she should return the favor, buy him a gift, but for now this would have to suffice. Because she’d not only never received a gift, but she’d never given one either. Not really. Not like this. She’d need to think on it.

“You know what I mean..” she said it with a laugh though- bright and relaxed and…and happy, even so much as teasing as her voice tinged almost on a joking little whine. “But I will. Take it easy on you. Otherwise you might actually end up needing a cane and I don’t think your pack will appreciate that too much.” her expression sobered up a little as she said it, a little less carefree. They were still his pack, not theirs. She didn’t think she’d ever feel okay enough to join it- to be accepted as one of them. And maybe it was for the best, given her past and what she was. “S-So um…how does this work. Just…here?” She asked, motioning around them, wondering if he wanted to spar here or at the gym or…whatever game plan he seemed to have.

,

Oliver watched, smiling more as Aiyla clearly fell into his teasing. But there was a wave of sadness that washed over him watching her face fall. Selfishly, he had never even considered that she still considered herself an outsider. He was so wrapped up in his own world, one that he wanted her to feel welcomed in too. 

“We can stay here if you want? It’s really up to you.” The wolf was looking around, “What are you comfortable with?”