Damien Greyson

BEING  SOCIAL WASN’T  THE  DARKLIGHTER’S FORTE  and  while  he  missed the  other  male  in  some  ways  ,  it  was  difficult for  him  to  get  so  attached  that  it  got  hard  to  move  past  things -  so  he  really  wasn’t angry  .  if  anything  ,  he  was  glad  to  see  that  he  seemed  to  be  okay  .  ❛  you  go  by  damien  ?  huh  .  ❜  that  would  be  a  little  odd  to  get  used  to  ,  but  yes  .  being  alive  was  a  good  thing  .  ❛  i  understand  why  you  say  it’s  a  loaded  question .  ❜  he  didn’t  expect him  to  mention anything  about  witness  protection  ,  after  all  .  ❛  but  the  only  thing  that  really matters  is  that  you  have  been  safe  .  ❜  judging by  the  fact  that  he  was  stuck  here  ,  it  was  likely that  he  was  involved  in  the  supernatural business  ,  so  safety  was  even  more  important  .  ❛  things  have  been  …  complicated  .  ❜  but  being  out  here  in  the  middle of  nowhere  certainly wasn’t  the  right  place  to  discuss just  what  happened during  the  last  year  .

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❝ Yeah Damien, ❞ it wasn’t unusual for him to change names he did quite often when it came to Mundanes. So they can keep their identities secret. It meant that sometimes you had to step back in the mundane world and focus on other things while the world moved on. It wasn’t unusual for him to leave mundane friends behind and as modern terms state ghost them. He would try and become more distant and allow them to move on away from them. Damien sighed and nodded. ❝ It’s not been great, ❞ one of those long periods that everything that could go wrong does and he just wished that someone would give him a break. ❝ True, and that’s what I have been focusing on, ❞ at least with being alive he can move forward. ❝ Seems like this is the kind of catch up that needs a sit down and a drink, ❞ he suggested. Julian seemed to have a lot on his shoulders too.

Kai  looked  at  him  and  shrugged,  “I  met  Kosmo  here  and  discovered  he’s  a  shadowhunter.”  Kai  has  only  dated  a  small  number  of  people  in  his  life.  Two  during  his  school  years  Kosmo  during  his  university  and  Damien  more  recently.  His  school  relationships  were  a  mess  trying  to  figure  out  his  sexuality.  He  just  hoped  they  wouldn’t  get  pulled  in  here  as  well.  He  didn’t  need  another  angry  voice  asking  him  what  the  hell  or  what  the  fuck.  Maybe  he  should  have  asked  the  faes  to  do  a  gossip  blast  so  he  could  get  them  all  over  and  done  with.  “Well  the  first  part  is  obvious  I  got  turned  into  a  vampire,”  he  scoffed.  He  knew  he  meant  in-between  that  and  now.  ”A  lot  happened  but  the  too  long  didn’t  listen  story  is  my  sire  is  a  dickhead  that  has  pushed  me  one  too  many  times  and  I  decided  I  want  to  bite  back,”  He  could  see  the  guilt  in  Damien.  He  did  enjoy  hanging  out  with  him  when  he  was  a  mundane.  Listening  him  play  the  guitar  and  helping  him  with  his  technical  issues.  He  found  comfort  in  him  showing  him  his  dance  moves  in  the  studio.  Seems  like  a  literal  lifetime  ago.  “Yeah  I  heard  that  shadowhunters  aren’t  keen  on  Mundanes  knowing  about  the  shadow  world,”  he  commented  so  he  could  understand  why  he  kept  it  from  him.  In  all  honesty  he  would  have  not  been  able  to  take  it  in  really.  Who  knows  though  that  version  of  the  future  wasn’t  going  to  happen.  Just  something  else  that  could  have  been  but  didn’t.  

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So another ex of his was here. There were a lot of questions and he wasn’t sure if this version of Kai would be willing to answer them. He hated what he was seeing this was not the Kai he was used to. The one that told him stories of how it took him a while to be able to use needles with animals because he didn’t want to harm them. The one that enjoyed dancing and loved to laugh. The one that loved listening to him playing the guitar. He was still in there somewhere. Damien had to remember that. Damien shook his head at Kai’s initial response and was about to elaborate and then he spoke again. ❝ I don’t want the too long didn’t listen, I want to know the whole thing, ❞ a vampire with no humanity was capable of anything. This version of Kai’s revenge may be something his human side may forever regret and feel in pain because of it. He also would love to meet his sire and rip out his throat but he wouldn’t say that out loud. The murderous thought was quickly sent away when Kai spoke again. ❝ No they aren’t. They aren’t keen on a lot of things, most are bullshit,❞ he always hated their holier art thou attitude. As did their pack and they obeyed the rules but that did not stop a council member trying to take advantage of them.

— she really could do without all of the drama. she didn’t want to be a part of a war. didn’t want to be seen as any sort of leader — she’d never played that role before, and she didn’t like being thrust into it now. especially when there were no answers. she shrugged when he asked about how it had been, “ it has not been terrible, although i miss my children. there are a lot of powerful beings here, though, and it makes me wonder what is truly intended… ” she replied. “ new people keep appearing every week. we have a lot of the originals and older demons. a few angels… ” she shrugged. it had been a long time since she’d spent an extended amount of time around the fae, and not being very social anyways, she’d still mostly kept to herself the way she normally did.

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Damien could sense that there was a lot of discontent about the place. It seemed Astra was not too happy being stuck here either. He couldn’t even guess. He was just here and had no idea why, at least he couldn’t see what use they had for him here. An ex pack leader who had spent a year making lattes and macchiatos. ❝ I can imagine, I miss my old pack, ❞ he nodded he didn’t even get to New York to see them. ❝ Originals, huh like who? ❞ He knew there was an original werewolf someone that was the first. That would have been scary. Original anything would have been scary. He was grateful for having his back to guide him. ❝ Looks like I am small fry here, ❞ he commented which was a good thing. Off the radar so to speak. Astra on the other hand was a much bigger name. Then it hit him that she mentioned angels. Damien had met demons. Angels as far as he was aware kept to themselves. ❝ Never met an angel, ❞ he wasn’t so sure he wanted to meet one either.

“Days. Weeks. Months. My  longest  was  half  a  year,  actually. Alone,  just  me  and  nature.”  sometimes  the  wolf  played,  sometimes  it  was  just  the  human  breathing  and  fueling  his  energy. And  both  of  the  creatures  needed  a  whole  lot  of  energy  to  deal  with  the  bullshit  that  seemed  to  be  happening  here. He  laughed,  “oh,  all  of  those  activities. But  mostly…  sex.”  he  said,  straight  forward. “well,  time  for  you  to  try,  i  say.”  ace  nodded  his  head  to  the  direction  of  the  forest,  deeper  in,  fully  away  from  civilization. Looking  for  a  place  where  no  other  species  but  a  werewolf  would  go. “come  on,  let’s  run  and  find  a  nice  place.”

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That sounded amazing, unfortunately Damien always had responsibilities and he was never one to shun them either. Either as a pack leader and record store owner, a member of the pack or a barista in LA. When he was younger with his siblings they did sometimes spend weeks in wolf form. Though as soon as he was appointed pack leader he had to stop going with them. Though he did now and then got his brother the second eldest Josh to take over for him if he needed more than a day or two. He found it easier to retreat into music as it was not as time consuming. ❝ That sounds, amazing actually. Always had something I was responsible for so could never go that long, ❞ he confessed. When Ace was straight forward with him his eyes widened a little and he let out a laugh. ❝ Sounds like you just want to live life to the full, ❞ he was always slower when it came to sex. Sex was great but he liked to be intimate with his partners to know them and it felt much more amazing that way. ❝ Always a first time for everything I guess, ❞ a cliched quote but it fitted well. ❝ Sure, ❞ he agreed and allowed the wolf form to take over. It hurt to change but it was a good hurt. After a few moments he was in wolf form and shook his coat and waited for his partner to show him their yoga spot.

If  Damien  was  really  someone  who  Lavinia  just  wanted  to  use,  to  fuck,  and  move  on  from,  she  could  have  done  it. It  was  questionable,  but  she  held  a  great  seductive  power,  one  that  other  supernatural  creatures  were  not  immune  to  either. Her  siren  song. But  she  didn’t. She  had  been  telling  herself  it  was  because  it  was  so  wrong,  because  she  wanted  to  be  better  than  that. It  was  something  she  had  always  repeated  and  told  herself  up  until  the  day  he  left. That  the  fact  she  couldn’t  get  him  didn’t  hurt  her  feelings  in  a  way  was  one  thing. But  having  to  accept  that  it  was  not  the  body  she  was  yearning  for,  but  actually,  eventually,  the  very  small  chance  of  her  own  happiness,  where  she  could  trust  someone  fully  and  know  they  did  not  just  come  and  go  while  she  had  something  to  offer;  that  small  illusion  had  settled  into  her  mind  from  the  day  on  damien  had  declined  her  avances  and  told  her  he  wanted  to  take  it  slow  instead  and  get  to  know  her,  it  created  a  faint  hope  in  her,  that  this  was  a  possible  way. Even  for  her. That  hope  was  buried  deep  inside  in  a  pile  of  self  doubt  and  hatred.

 she  hated  that  he  left,  she  wanted  to  go  with  him. Follow  yet  another  man  blindly  and  step  into  that  trap. But  she  didn’t. Her  survival  instinct  was  stronger,  it  held  her  back. Just  let  him  go. But  it  was  not  hard  for  her,  what  did  she  leave  behind?  it  was  a  job. At  a  bar. One  that  she  could  pursue  anywhere  else. And  yet,  she  stayed  and  let  him  go. For  her  own  safety. Him  getting  back  in  touch  had  her  defeated  —  she  was  willing  to  let  him  back  in,  no  doubts. She  was  relieved  he  agreed  to  the  offer,  giving  a  small  smile,  but  inside  her  happiness  was  way  bigger. Heading  into  the  direction  she  had  been  planning  to  before,  lavinia  chuckled  at  his  question. “honestly?  if  you  find  out,  let  me  know. They  have  one  bar  –  and  i’m  very  close  to  have  emptied  the  stash,”  she  told  him. “i  didn’t  think  i  would  ever  say  this  but…  i  miss  humans,”  she  sighed. “they  have  the  whole  world  open  to  them. You  know…  once  i’m  out  of  here,  i  know  i  need  to  move  on  from  new  york  and  see  more. I’m  so  sick  of  being  in  one  place.”  new  york  was  big  enough  to  not  get  boring,  but  there  was  more  in  the  world  she  wanted  to  discover. It  was  the  initial  plan  when  leaving  the  sea.

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Leaving New York behind was probably the most difficult thing he had to do in his life. Picking up a new life in a city he barely knew. LA was culturally very different. The weather was very different it was like waking up in an alien world almost. Leaving behind the friends he had made and the pack he grew up with. Knowing a city like the back of your hand. New York grew up with him. LA was different and not somewhere he was likely to ever have in his sights so that was why It was chosen. He didn’t want to leave anything behind but he had to. Anything that could lead the calve to him was to be cut off completely. Luckily the invention of WhatsApp with it’s end to end encryption was a godsend. Though he didn’t understand what it meant his co-workers assured him that nobody could read his messages (they probably though he was some drug dealer in his free time). Lavinia was his anchor to home and made him feel more grounded. There were times when it felt he was being suffocated in grief and anger. She helped him breath even if it was just through messages.

Damien walked along side her. As she mentioned there was not much he raised his brows in mild surprise. ❝ Wow, just one bar? Do they at least have open mic nights? ❞ Music soothed him and he loved to perform. When he was on the stage in a small venue singing his heart out with his guitar he loved it. Music was his outlet and he felt he could at least fuel his emotions into it in a much safer way. As he thought about it though the Fae probably had their own culture. It was also most likely vastly different from their own due to the ability to stay away from Mundanes. Vampires and Werewolves came from Mundanes as well so naturally to cultures were similar. ❝ I… I think I will too. It’s not just them that have that sense of entitlement down, ❞ he sighed. He had experience with other species. Vampires, Shadowhunters and warlocks mostly. Some where chill and others were difficult to say the least. Damien enjoyed interacting with mundanes. He even has made good friends with some of them in his time. ❝ I have no idea what I want to do if we got out. I can’t go back to New York, but I don’t think I want to go back to LA either. Too many painful memories. I just didn’t move because I had no idea where else to go to, ❞ to move to another alien world to him and try and make roots again. Perhaps Lavinia had the right idea.

Kai  could  hear  someone  approaching  and  decided  to  stay  where  he  was.  Even  in  this  state  he  enjoyed  staring  at  the  lake.  He  was  imagining  in  his  head  how  he  was  going  to  get  to  get  back  at  Matthew.  Who  else  could  he  get  involved  but  won’t  take  away  the  fun  from  it.  The  other  was  clearly  curious  about  him  and  still  very  much  on  the  approach.  He  smelt  them  first  a  werewolf  then  mixed  with  a  scent  he  knew  from  literally  before  he  turned  into  this  mess.  He  quickly  got  up  and  faced  them.  Damien.  So  the  tall  handsome  barista  he  was  dating  before  the  shit  hit  the  fan  was  a  werewolf.  Though  he  had  heard  werewolves  can  be  turned  like  vampires.  This  could  be  a  recent  development.  “Guess  I  have  a  thing  for  the  supernatural  without  realising,”  he  commented  going  on  the  assumption  that  he  was  always  a  werewolf.  “Not  dead,  no.  Not  a  ghost,”  he  smirked.  “A  different  kind  of  monster,”  he  chimed.  “They  are  here  but  let  me  deal  with  that,”  Kai  told  him  it  wouldn’t  do  his  humanity  any  favours  if  Damien  went  against  Matthew  blinded  by  rage.  “So  you’re  a  werewolf  was  that  always  a  thing  or..?”  he  asked  as  he  observed  him  properly.  Those  handsome  features  made  him  crush  so  hard.  He  still  had  the  embarrassing  memories  from  when  he  just  met  Damien.  Spending  more  money  than  he  should  have  because  he  had  a  crush.  It  was  worth  it  though  at  the  time.  

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As Kai made the comment he noticed his behaviour was vastly different. Colder, much colder. ❝ What do you mean by that? ❞ Damien asked wondering if Kai would elaborate. The only person that came to mind was Kai’s ex Kosmo. Kai was still a little tied about about their break up when they first started dating. Which was fine Damien decided he wanted to take it slow anyway. As he spoke more Damien carefully listened. ❝ Kai what the hell happened? What do you mean let you deal with it? ❞ He asked barely containing the growl in his voice. He has lost his humanity from the looks of it. How long had it been off? Was the turning that brutal? Did something happen after? Damien felt so much guilt wishing he searched harder. His anger was getting wound up until Kai asked about him. ❝ Yeah I was always a werewolf. I may have eventually told you if we became serious, ❞ maybe even given him the choice to change and stay with him. He would have given him a choice and that has been robbed from him.

THE  FAMILIAR VOICE  pulled  him  out  of  his  thoughts ,  but  even  as  his  blue  eyes  focused  on  the  male  ,  a  part  of  him  felt  like  he  wasn’t quite  there  .  leopold tried  to  change something  about  this  state  of  mind  by  clearing  his  throat  ,  but  it  did  not  help  much  .  ❛  damien .  hello  .  ❜  the  new  name  still  felt  a  little  odd  on  his  tongue  ,  but  even  in  this  realm  it  was  safer  this  way  .  the  warlock  chose  to  ignore his  question  ,  refusing  to  lie  or  to  get  into  the  way  he  truly  felt  since  he  discovered  his  sister’s  body  ,  so  he  just  moved  on  .  ❛  are  you  alright ?  i’m  sorry  to  see  you  here  .  even  if  it’s  not  the  biggest  surprise .  ❜  it  seemed  like  there  were  not  a  lot  of  supernatural  beings that  weren’t  influenced by  the  spell  ,  after  all  .  leo  still  wished  their  reunion  could  have  happened under  different  circumstances .

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Damien didn’t fail to notice that Leo skipped his question. Which made Damien naturally worried for him. However if Leo wanted to talk about it he would have. Perhaps in time. ❝ I’m confused, angry at some things I have discovered but physically fine, ❞ it wasn’t easy to find out some of those that were close to him had rough introductions to the shadow world. Against their will. Something Damien was vehemently against. Most of the weres in his pack were born, but he did noticed that the scratched members they adopted found it hard and usually had self-resentment issues. He would wish that fate on nobody. ❝ So what is with all of this? ❞ He asked. He was feeling as if he had been sent to some kind of hell. The only thing that was keeping him from thinking that was finding Lavinia.

HEARING  HIS  VOICE  was  more  than  unexpected .  it  was  still  familiar  and  yet  ,  it  almost  felt  like  he  heard  it  in  another  lifetime  -  which  wasn’t  so  odd  ,  considering  the  fact  that  julian  died  .  he  stopped  in  his  tracks ,  hazel  eyes  taking  him  in  when  he  told  him  that  he  had  to  leave  for  his  own  safety  .  ❛  hey  .  ❜  it  seemed  awkward to  say  that  to  him  ,  after  all  of  this  time  .  there  were  hints  of  relief that  he  felt  ,  but  there  was  shame  too  .  his  friend  shouldn’t have  to  see  him  like  this  -  but  …  the  fact  that  he  was  here  …  it  meant  that  there  was  a  good  chance he  was  a  supernatural  being  too  ,  no  ?  how  many  of  them  did  he  know  ,  without  ever  really  knowing  ?  he  took  a  deep  breath ,  trying  to  get  rid  of  those  thoughts  .  ❛  have  …  you  been  alright  ?  ❜  that  was  all  that  mattered  ,  wasn’t  it  ?  he  had  always been  a  good  friend ,  after  all  .

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Damien was relieved Julian wasn’t angry at him. He did have the right to be to be honest. Damien had his reasons and he was angry at them. It only made his resentment for shadowhunters grow so much more. ❝ That’s a bit of a loaded question if I am being honest. A lot has happened since leaving New York, ❞ which can be said for the both of him. Clearly Julian was going through his own thing. He just didn’t understand what yet. ❝ I was safe though and I am alive so there’s that I guess. ❞ Where does one even begin? From the start probably ❝ I had to change my identity and move to Los Angeles. I guess like some sort of witness protection. I go by Damien these days. ❞ he could start there at least. That unfortunately was just the beginning. Eventually he should let him know that he was a werewolf but he wanted them both to be a bit more comfortable before doing so. He also wasn’t sure how much of the shadow world he was aware of. Take it a bit at a time. ❝ How have you been? ❞ He asked back wondering what happened. What caused the change. He recognised that his scent has changed but he didn’t know it’s meaning yet. Just that Julian was no longer Mundane and now a part of his world.

— astra was glad they were able to be themselves here. a silver lining in otherwise bad circumstances… she laughed, “ true. ” she knew that he loved his wolf side, and it made her happy that he did. she’d met so many who hadn’t been born one who weren’t happy with theirselves… she’d met many people in general who didn’t like being whatever species they were. “ as much as we weren’t brought here by our own wills, it is nice to be able to be ourselves without having to worry about mundanes seeing, ” she mused. “ it doesn’t help that the wander wood will purposefully confuse people. but the village is quite easy to see from higher points, so you could always head a little up towards the cliffs to get your directions back, ” she suggested. “ oh, a few months. and i’ve made pretty much no progress in finding a way out. ” 

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❝ That part I could get used to, not going to lie, ❞ he smiled though there was a lot going on half of which Damien didn’t really understand. To be fair he would leave that understanding the situation to better minds than his. He just wanted those he knew to be safe and to find out who on earth made Kai the way he is. ❝ Thanks for the pointer. I rather not become a missing person here, ❞ he nodded as he looked towards the cliffs just to get a bearing for next time. He then turned back to Astra when she mentioned how long she had been here. ❝ A few months? What has it been like? Anything I should watch out for? ❞ He asked. Some may be using this kind of situation for their advantage and also he wasn’t exactly the most clued up on Fae culture. He interacted with his pack and some of the leaders of the other species in New York City. Fae mostly kept to themselves. So he was not one to poke into those that do not wished to be disturbed.

As  much  as  being  here  was  a  bad  thing,  there  were  positives  in  it.  And  this  was  part  of  it.  She  didn’t  think  she  would  see  him  again  otherwise,  and  honestly,  she  should  not  have  cared  about  it  as  much  as  she  did.  Which  was  why  she  knew  that  Damien  was  bad  for  her.  Not  that  he  was  a  bad  guy,  not  at  all.  But  exactly  that  was  what  got  her  into  something  she  did  not  fully  understand.  Not  understanding  things,  people  and  their  motives  was  very  confusing  and  firightening.  It  was  tough  to  just  believe  and  trust  that  there  was  no  more  to  it  than  just  being  nice.  She  never  made  that  experience.  In  the  seas,  she  was  just  a  follower,  no  one  important.  On  land,  she  fell  for  the  first  person  who  was  nice  to  her,  gave  her  a  feeling  that  she  mattered  —  all  the  while  they  were  both  bad  for  each  other.  Lavinia  had  each  other  to  blame  for  it  just  as  much  as  she  did  her  first  boyfriend.  

After  that  ended,  going  back  was  no  option.  She  had  been  on  land  since,  with  the  very  small  exceptions  of  going  back,  just  deep  enough  to  refill  some  of  the  energy  she  needed  —  after  all,  she  was  a  sea  animal.  “I  think  I  am  not  someone  who  can  tell  you  more  about  what  happened  here.  I  have  come  to  the  terms  to  just  accept  it,  because,  no  one  really  has  reasonable  answers.  And  until  I  can’t  change  it,  I  don’t  see  the  point  of  hating  it.”  Especially  not  now,  with  his  presence,  but  she  kept  it  for  herself,  instead,  just  getting  lost  in  his  hazel  eyes.  But  he  made  her  chuckle,  which  was  a  nice  thing.  “I  suppose  working  at  starbucks  gave  you  more  security  than  being  in  the  open,  especially  in  Los  Angeles,”  she  told  him,  nodding.  Still  bummed  that  he  did  have  to  leave  at  all.  Lavinia  was  not  the  kind  to  pry  and  dig,  she  didn’t  ask  questions.  People  would  be  able  to  tell  her  what  they  wanted,  when  they  wanted,  and  if  they  wanted.  As  much  as  she  hated  him  leaving,  she  decided  to  respect  it.  “I  was  just…  about  to  go  for  dinner  actually.”  A  quick  change  of  topic,  but  not  to  get  rid  of  him,  more  to  have  him  for  a  few  hours  longer.  As  much  as  she  could  she  would  cherish.  “Are  you  hungry?  I  would  love  if  you  joined  me.”

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There were a lot of people Damien did not think he would see again those that were just passing by in his long life. He never thought he would have to uproot either but then that stupid shadowhunter had to push buttons within him that made him see red mist. His protective nature got the better of him and he attacked them. It was a flaw but one he liked having because it made him who he was. When he first met Lavinia he noticed she was suspicious of him. He had met people from all walks of life and luckily he grew up in a pack that loved him. They had rough times but they had each other. He had no need to mistrust him and he didn’t often get negatively treated. From this he found he liked helping others and enjoyed interacting with people. Treat them how he would like to be treated. Lavinia was a good friend and they had great chemistry, it was just wrong place wrong time. He was naturally slow in relationships anyway. He always wanted to get to know his partners before they did anything. When they did it usually meant he wanted to get serious. It was the same with Kai, at least until his death. If people didn’t like his pacing he was happy to let them go.

Damien nodded he wasn’t expecting her to have the answers. This whole situation was confusing to say the least but he’d figure what he needed to know eventually. ❝ It’s fine I am just glad to see you are safe. That’s far more important than what’s going on right now to me. ❞ It was the truth. He always cared more about those close to him than actual affairs they can figure that out together. ❝ Yeah, much rather have been with the pack but it was to keep us both safe, ❞ and yet it did not keep his life from being turned upside down again. He did kind of wish his life would stay still just for a moment so he can at least get his bearings. As she mentioned having dinner he was abut to say he could leave her but then as she asked if he was hungry he smiled. ❝ You know what yeah with all this worry in my stomach I hadn’t eaten much lately, ❞ he nodded. ❝ I’d love to join. So… other than the idyllic landscape is there much to do here? ❞ He asked.

Just  as  quickly  as  he  had  gotten  rid  of  shirt  and  shoes,  he  added  his  pants  and  undies  to  the  pile,  all  free  in  his  naked  glory  —  just  as  god  intended,  and  just  the  way  Ace  liked  it.  Glad  to  see  the  other  stripping  down  as  well  again,  it  was,  after  all,  a  werewolf  thing  somehow.  He  chuckled  at  him  knowing  about  others  thinking  in  a  similar  fashion  of  clothing,  and  Ace  chuckled.  “What  also  adds  to  it  that  we  are  just  under  higher  heat,  a  faster  metabolism…  all  that  stuff.  But  I  also  love  being  one  with  the  nature.”  Ace  explained,  waiting  for  the  other  to  join  in.  “Ever  done  yoga  and  meditation  in  the  wild?  I  can  highly  recommend  it.”  Oh,  and  before  he  forgot,  “I  never  asked  about  your  name  —  I  am  Ace,  by  the  way.  But  I  guess  I  often  see  people  naked  before  even  knowing  their  names,”  he  shrugged,  rather  amused.

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Damien listened to the other and chuckled in reply. His co-workers had noticed that he could go through a lot of food. Damien just gave the cover story that he was fairly hard at it in the gym along with a good metabolism. Usually that alleviated some suspicions. ❝ Yeah that certainly helps. I could easily spend days in the wild, ❞ he usually did when he managed to bank enough tome to take a week off. More so after the perceived loss of the last guy he dated. It was a good way to unwind and grieve. ❝ No can’t say I have. Running sure but not yoga and meditation, ❞ he confessed but he wasn’t opposed to it just never had the notion to.❝ Damien, ❞ he introduced. ❝ And uh is that because of the yoga or other activities? ❞ He couldn’t help but ask.

Damien walked into the village back from another shifted exploring session and spotted a familiar Brunette. His brown eyes caught her quickly enough and at first he wondered why a mundane was dragged into all of this. Then her scent reached him and he quickly realised she wasn’t mundane anymore. Whitelighter, which meant she died. Three mundanes in his life now no longer mundanes. Awkward only scratched the surface. ❝ Hannah, hey, ❞ he called out as he approached her. ❝ What happened? ❞ He asked meaning her death. He then realised he was probably being rude just now. ❝ Sorry It’s good to see you again, ❞ he smiled he just wished it was under better circumstances. He also never expected to see her again. It had been a little over a year since he had seen her last. He still remembered the nights out Julian, Hannah and himself would have. She was another friend he had to leave behind in his move to LA. Someone he could have protected if he had only stayed, but then his pack would have been in danger and that was not an option for him. He still felt guilty about it. 

— she normally would have turned away. should have, because he was dressing and it was rude and it was odd for her to stay. but it had been a while since she’d seen damien, since she hadn’t really travelled much since she adopted her youngest. but she’d also been born in a time and place when it was more common to see people wearing less due to the heat. astra offered a teasing grin in response, “ only when i find them half-naked in the middle of the woods, ” she replied. she nodded, “ how was it ? ” she asked. 

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Damien smiled in response as he grabbed his t-shirt and put it on. It had been a while since he had seen the petit original warlock. At least here she can show her marks like he can shift freely should he wish to. ❝ Well we both know that I am quite frequently found in that state, ❞ he chuckled. His love for his wolf side was well known to those that knew he was a werewolf. Though he was born one and could understand the pain of those that were not born into it. ❝ It was good, but I can tell this place is huge. Good roaming grounds, but if I am not careful it’s easy to get lost in, ❞ he told her. ❝ How long have you been trapped? ❞ He asked. Astra may know a little more of what was going on.

The  next  few  seconds  seemed  to  take  forever.  Until  he  finally  turned  around,  Lavinia  exhaled  a  breath  deep  from  her  mouth  she  was  not  aware  she  had  been  holding  until  now.  Without  arguing  it  she  let  him  pull  her  into  an  embrace,  her  own  arms  slowly  daring  to  wrap  around  him  aswell.  She  inhaled  deeply,  head  nestled  into  his  chest.  She  was  hoping  to  see  him  again  one  day,  after  all,  he  initiated  staying  in  touch,  despite  leaving  to  live  elsewhere  with  no  word  about  his  return.  Lavinia  just  still  clung  onto  the  hope  that  there  would  be  a  reunion  again.  But  here  out  of  all  places  she  wasn’t  expecting  it,  for  some  reason.  Despite  it  actually  being  fully  logical.

“That  was  actually  the  day  I  kind  of  appeared  here,”  she  explained.  She  remembered,  just  falling  right  into  a  disaster.  “But  I’m  good,  I  am  fine.  I’m  so  glad  to  see  you  again,”  she  mumbled,  already  feeling  slightly  weird  about  it.  Lavinia  knew  feeling  this  way  was  irrational,  but  right  now,  she  enjoyed  nothing  more  but  the  embrace  of  someone  she  knew  and  liked.  “How  are  you?  Are  you  okay?”  She  wondered,  slowly  losing  grip  on  him,  knowing  if  she  stayed  there  any  longer  she  might  just  get  way  too  comfortable.

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The embrace was what he needed right now. He at least had someone he knew here. However there was much more of this place he needed to figure out. Maybe there were others that he knew here. He had been very disconnected from the Shadow world in his time in LA. However he couldn’t risk shadowhunters finding him. Even if tracks were well covered he couldn’t fully discount that something my pop up that leads back to him. He hated leaving New York behind. He loved that city, he grew up with it during good times and bad. It was very much part of his identity. However he did find things he liked about LA. Though when it got warm it got really warm. He hated that.

❝ That makes sense, ❞ he nodded. ❝ I’m glad to see you again too, gutted it’s not in our home city, ❞ he looked around still very much confused as to what on earth was going on. He looked back to Lavinia as she asked how he was. ❝ Fine, confused, but fine. Not exactly sure what is going on, ❞ he told her. He hadn't told Lavinia exactly why he left he did tell her that it was something bad. ❝ Though a little relieved to not have to make any quad shot oat milk caramel macchiatos anymore, ❞ he couldn’t help but joke. He was also happy to interact with the shadow world again. Mundanes were fun but trying to hide everything wasn’t.

Head  tilted  to  the  side,  the  sight  before  him  was  truly  a  blessing.  So  why  would  he  actually  interrupt  and  have  the  other  man  dress  up  faster?  He  grinned  as  he  was  discovered,  “No,  really.  Feel  free  to  stay  naked,”  Ace  told  the  fellow  werewolf,  “I  figured  as  much.  This  is  also  my  favorite  place  to  play  with  the  wolf.”  But  not  today.  Today  was  a  naked  yoga  day  again.  “If  you  want  to  stay  some  here  some  longer,  feel  free  to.  I’m  even  going  to  join  you  there.”  He  said,  tossing  his  jacket  and  then  his  shirt  to  the  ground,  quickly  joined  by  his  shoes.  “I  guess  it’s  a  wolf  thing  but  I  really  love  to  be  naked.”

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Another werewolf, well this place wasn’t going to be too bad at all. He didn’t hate other species but there was something about being with your own kind. He was also a ex-pack leader so being deprived of his own kind was not the easiest. He gave a chuckle at the other’s response.  ❝ Don’t mind if I do, ❞ as he quickly stripped off. He had heard that some fae were naturalists as well. Though Damien enjoyed clothes he also enjoyed not having them on either. He loved being in wolf form and having the freedom to do so and not be worried about discovery was nice. ❝ Most of my old pack members loved to be naked and I don’t mind it so much myself. So how long have you been stuck here? ❞ He asked.

Nothing quite beats a run in wolf form and being able to explore a little quicker was something he much preferred anyway. He managed to get back to the spot where he hid his clothes he could smell someone nearby but they seemed far away enough for him to at least get decent should they be curious about him. He managed to get to his trousers before he could feel the other pair of eyes on him. He zipped up his fly and turned round and walked towards them. His bare feet feeling the ground beneath them. “Normally take a sneak peek at others?” he gently teased aware he was changing back into his clothes in somewhere that can be accessed by anyone. Not that he had too much shame. “Just back from a wolf run, hence the lack of clothing,” he explained.

To say that Damien was relieved to see the High Warlock. Leo had saved him a lot of trouble and managed to protect him and the pack that he used to lead. He had been rather clueless on the going ons of the Downworlder world since his move to LA. it was best to stay as mundane as possible but working in a Starbucks at times felt like being in one of the circles of hell. Especially when he worked near a dancing studio. Most of the dancers were chill but the divas were hell to handle. “Hey, how’s it going?” he smiled genuinely glad to see him. Perhaps Leo could shed some light into what is going on. Maybe. This whole situation seemed weird to him. Then what was going on out there was just as confusing.