wolves will keep you warm

Flynn nodded and began to pick up splintered pieces of wood from the chairs that had broken. “I hope this doesn’t happen often,” he said as he tossed a couple of pieces in the garbage before grabbing a broom to sweep at the glass on the floor which was constantly making a crunching noise under his boots. “I know this place is usually bustling, so I’m surprised to see it in this state.”

“More often than you’d think. Usually not this bad.” Usually they were able to kick out any troublemakers before things got too bad, but a fair amount of budgeting went towards repairs anyway. Søren headed towards the back, retrieving another broom. They’d have to clean up the floors before mopping, though renovations would probably mess everything up again anyway. "More people, more chaos. Never been this bad, though.”

“Lots of people at home?” Tara asked curiously. She used to go back to Harvard early to get away from the noise and commotion at home. Having seven siblings as well as close extended family constantly around gave her a headache. She nodded. “I guess it is. It’s why I might go back to do the MCAT. I feel like I can make the biggest impact if I’m a doctor, you know? Like yeah, I can make small impacts here and there, but I want my life to have meaning…” This was something she didn’t bring up often, and she caught herself ranting to this stranger. “I’m sorry.”

Tara ran her hand through her side bangs, biting absently at her lip. She nodded, smiling softly, but it wasn’t a genuine smile. “It’s a pretty good place to start over, yeah. I think that’s why I stayed here, I’d rather the outside world feel different. I don’t want to go back to the way things were,” she looked up at him. “I found it by chance, actually. I was driving around and noticed a shop that looked interesting. It was somewhere in the Hollow, and when I went in the atmosphere was just amazing. I felt connected to this place, and the shopkeeper was so kind. It made it easier to make the decision to move here.”

“I have four siblings. Thirteen aunts and uncles. Twenty...seven cousins. Adds up quick.” Even on the best days, the house was full of barely-organized chaos. He couldn’t really say he lived alone, not when he constantly had people sleeping on his couch, or the porch, or in the spare bedroom. He loved his family, but they were exhausting most of the time. It was nice to have an escape, even if all he did was sit behind the bar and read. “Everybody’s life has meaning. But you have to do what’s good for you.” He waved his hand in a noncommittal gesture. He understood rambling. It was hard to get him to start, but once he did he could talk for hours.

Søren watched the girl, resting his forearms on the bar. There was definitely a story there, but he wasn’t one to pry. Listening was easier anyway. “It’s isolated here. Not a bad thing, though.” He nodded while she talked. A place like Devil’s Watch had a way of drawing people in. Once you stayed, it was hard to leave. “It has its charms. Plus we...don’t have to hide.”

She sighed softly looking way, as she bit her lip. “Listen, I know you want to make me believe it, and I know some humans can be bad, just how some werewolves can be, I know, but I have yet to meet a human to treat me or my pack with any harsh feelings. So I am sorry, for whatever you’ve had happen to you,” she whispered. “But just like humans have treated you badly, my own family has done so to me, werewolves, so I am sorry I treated you badly,” she gently pressed her lips to the side of her daughter’s head. “She’ll always come first.”

He licked his lips, taking a deep breath, trying to let go of the anger. Calm, he reminded himself. “Yeah. Me too.” That was why he’d do anything to make sure it never happened again. To protect his pack, his family. He knew humans couldn’t be trusted, but now there was something else to consider. Not that he associated himself with many people outside his pack, wolf or not. “Family comes first.” He nodded once. “Take care.” With that, he headed back off down the street again.

“Definitely just a mother thing, but I get where she’s coming from. I might have to just rest up and perform a ritual. I’d need someone there to help me, though. I pass out after big stuff like that.”

“What kind of help? Just someone to carry you back at the end of the night?”

QUOTE

“no matter how much you feed the wolf, he keeps looking at the forest.”

“You can’t cage a wolf,” she hummed. “They’ll die or get out, resilient creatures,” she smirked looking to him, giving her lip a small bite as she hummed, listening to him talk. “Farm boy, that’s sort of hot,” she teased. Grinning a bit more. “I could say I understand, sounds hard, my father was sort of a jerk so I only cried once when I heard of his death,” she shrugged, pursing her lips as she kept her eyes on him as they walked. “Forever in my prime, I’m sure I look as hot as I did the day I was turned,” she chuckled softly. Smirking slightly she nodded, leading the way to her her bar “Would you prefer a drink at my bar,” she hummed. “Or my apartment?” She hinted this time, her eyes on the road now, though her smirk only growing.

“You’re not wrong.” Søren had been in a few situations in his time. Win or die was a way of life sometimes. “I’ll have to keep that one in mind, then.” He laughed shortly, shaking his head after a moment. “We weren’t really close, but...” Pack was pack, and losing Arthur had been hard on everyone. It had been even harder to uproot their entire lives and move even further into the middle of nowhere. “I do have a thing for older women, so I may be a little biased.” A laugh. “To be honest I’m not really one for karaoke.” He licked his lips, a light smirk playing around his lips. “Can’t say I’ve ever been in a vampire’s apartment.”

Tara nodded. “Exactly that. I thought it was bad enough for me, I can’t imagine what it would be like for you,” she fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist. She definitely was feeling out of place here, but talking to someone who shared somewhat of the same educational background as her made her feel better. “That makes sense. I guess everyone’s back home for the holidays or something,” she shrugged, feeling a tug at her heart. She wished she could go home for the holidays… If she even had a home to go back to. Tara smiled. “Yeah, I do what I can. I love helping others, though. I feel like it’s the one thing I can do that gives my life purpose…”

Tara paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “Because I couldn’t go home,” she said simply. “My parents said I was no longer welcome in their home, so I packed up and left. Adopted a cat and hit the road,” she shrugged. “I stopped in a couple places before settling here. I thought about staying in Massachusetts, but it had too many memories attached. Devil’s Watch felt like a new start, you know?”

“One of the reasons why I came back home.” Søren shrugged after a moment. He’d made his decisions, and he was...mostly happy with where he was in life. “Busier at home than here most days, especially around now.” He couldn’t go two steps into his house without being inundated with people trying to get his attention, everyone talking over each other, all indescribably loud. “Good purpose to have.” The world needed more people like that, even if he didn’t exactly follow the rules himself.

“Can’t imagine that.” He’d struck out on his own fairly early, but he’d never really been alone. They argued, sure, but he knew his family would die for him. He’d do the same in a heartbeat. But to not have anyone...it was an odd feeling, imagining her going back home to an empty house. “This isn’t a bad place for starting over. After a while the outside world feels...different.” At least here they didn’t have to hide. They were almost completely cut off from the outside world, but they could be themselves without having to worry about being hunted down for it. More or less. “How’d you find this place?”

“Right, I figured as much but I thought I would ask,” Flynn said with a nod as he watched Soren. He knew werewolves handled their issues on their own without human involvement. Most of the species did. The only times hunters were actually needed were when humans were part of the issue, and clearly that wasn’t the case here. “Well…” he looked around. “I don’t want to say that I came here for nothing. Do you need any help?” he shrugged. “I won’t be offended if you say no. I know a hunter’s presence isn’t usually wanted.”

Søren took a deep breath, trying to figure out what he was going to do. He understood why they’d sent down a hunter to inspect things. Fighting was never a good sign, especially given all the recent events. Still, they couldn’t be trusted under virtually any circumstances, no matter how harmless they appeared to be. “It’s not really that...bad...” That was a lie. The window was still lying in pieces on the floor, there was a pile of broken chairs stacked almost to the ceiling, and they hadn’t been this low on stock since the fourth of July weekend. Fuck. “Yeah, sure. If you want to help...” He gestured vaguely. “Plenty of places to start.”

At his comment, Alessandra shrugged and one side of her mouth turned up in a smirk. “I think you’d be surprised…but don’t worry. Considering most of the other hunters I’ve met, especially my own family, I understand the apprehension.” She took another sip of the wine, waving down the bartendar. “Can I get another glass? Spasibo.” When he walked away to grant her request, Alessandra turned back to Soren. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe you’re not. I would definitely agree that not all humans belong mixed up in…a town like this. But some are rather exceptional.”

“Can’t say we’ve had any good experiences, so.” Søren took another sip of beer, shrugging one shoulder. He wasn’t particularly uncomfortable with his way of life; there wasn’t really a need to interact with humans or hunters in any serious capacity. If he ever had any interest, it was just a passing curiosity. “I’ll have to take your word for it. We don’t see many humans in my part of town.” It took another few seconds to finish off the rest of his beer; he figured he shouldn’t spend more time in this place than he absolutely needed to. “I should get going.”

“Oooh, you’re from a werewolf family? You weren’t turned? That’s amazing,” Theo said with a nod as he smiled, continuing to clean. He gasped and smiled. “You do? Yes, that’s amazing. Words before fighting, right? I prefer to talk my way out of situations, too. I believe in peace and kindness before anything else. So much can be resolved that way if you try.” he smiled happily, picking up some large pieces of glass before tossing them away into a nearby garbage can. “No? Ah, most vampires seem to stay in the Underground, yeah.” he chuckled a bit. “Oh, it’s okay! Alcohol doesn’t do anything for me, anyway. Dead, and all that.” he grabbed the broom again. “I don’t mind just cleaning, anyway.”

“Most of us are. The ones I’ve met, anyway.” Having grown up in a pack, Søren didn’t really know any other way of life. He wasn’t sure he wanted to, either. Change wasn’t exactly something he aspired to, no matter what it was. “I...it’s easier that way, I think. Fighting usually leads to stuff like this. ‘Specially with people like us.” He gestured vaguely at the mess of the bar. Wolves were capable of a surprising amount of destruction in a short time, and he figured vampires had to be similar. They probably had a lot more...restraint, though. Still...he had to ask. “Makes sense. Are you...always this energetic?” He didn’t see many vampires in his line of work, but he also didn’t exactly expect them to be this friendly either.

Theo almost pulled his hand back, because it seemed the other was very unsure of him. Was being helpful really that upsetting? He smiled when Soren finally shook his hand. “Soren? Wow! That’s a really cool name,” he chimed happily, and then he turned back to continue sweeping. “Is it tiring for you to always have to be so amped up on the full moons? I suppose every supernatural has something that sort of wears on them.” he sighed. “We all must have our own faults and things.” he looked over. “Not that it’s a fault! I’m sure it’s useful if you ever have to win a fight.” he smiled a bit. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but I sort of am. When it comes to werewolves. I really haven’t met any that I could ever talk to until this town, and even then it seems like I haven’t had any real talks with werewolves.”

Søren nodded once. He was a little taken aback by the exuberance coming from the vampire, but he tried to get his thoughts in order. “I’m used to it by now. Runs in the family.” He’d been dealing with it for almost thirty years, after all. That didn’t mean it was fun, per se, but he was better equipped to deal with the exhaustion, the mood swings, the craziness. “It’s...convenient at times. I usually leave the fighting to others, though.” He preferred mediation, but, failing that, he knew he could throw his weight around. Thankfully nothing worse had happened last night beyond a few broken bones. “We don’t get a lot of vampires around here either.” He took a deep breath, glancing towards what was left of the bar. “I’d offer you a drink but we’re a little low on stock at the moment.”

Alessandra nodded in understanding. “Me too. It tends to…make some people uncomfortable, how quiet I generally am.” The look on his face pretty much confirmed her assumption. She was right. Werewolf. She gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry. I may be a hunter but I’m not near as…racist as most of them. I have a few good friends that are werewolves. It was a constant topic of disagreement between me and my family.” She turned her attention back to her drink. “It’s one of the reasons why I am here, far from home,” she said softly. 

Søren felt...oddly torn. He could relate to everything she was saying, but his inherent distrust of humans was ever-present. Especially now that he knew she was a hunter. No matter what she told him, he knew she wasn’t safe to be around. None of them were, not really. It was just a matter of time before they decided you weren’t worth the trouble and ended things. “Not my kind of werewolves.” The pack was pretty...insular, as far as things went. Maybe traditional was a better word. Either way, he knew he couldn’t trust her. “Humans and wolves don’t really mix. Maybe your family was right about that.” He looked down at his beer, downing half of it before setting the glass back down.

Another full moon… which meant it was another couple days of making sure everyone woke up alive in the morning. Joseph let out a quiet sigh as he headed towards his post, expression vaguely worried. The wolf community had been especially on edge the past few months and Joseph wasn’t eager to see how the week would end.

Or maybe he didn’t have to wait to see. His eyes widened as he approached Wolfsbane Pub and he slowed his pace, eyeing the unfortunate individual who had been left to clean up the mess. “Need a hand?” He called out, offering a friendly smile. The werewolf community didn’t exactly like him, Joseph was well aware, but he figured a little friendliness couldn’t hurt tonight.

Søren headed back towards Wolfsbane, picking up the broom and sweeping the glass off the pavement. He kept telling himself it could be worse. He wasn’t exactly sure how worse it could get, but he was sure that it could be. It could always get worse; he generally didn’t tend towards optimism. As he heard footsteps, he looked up to see who was approaching. Someone coming to watch the spectacle, or something else?

While he didn’t immediately recognize the man who approached, he could sense the reason for being here. Humans didn’t come around Grayspire much, let alone to a place like this. “We’re...managing. Everything’s fine.” Not a blatant lie, but close enough to one.