The Strength of the Fae

-

The shifter couldn’t help but snort. How the fae could be so careless and say something so out in the open was either very brave, or very stupid. Had a werewolf or a siren had heard the male’s words, he’d be considered a traitor for even having friends on the other side, and the shifter wasn’t looking to have another near-death experience any time soon. Still, he decided not to comment on the other’s bold statement, figuring that if the guy wanted to wind up dead, he could do that on his own.

“No, don’t thank me.” In his eyes, there was nothing to thank him for - being a police officer was just an arbitrary title as he held no actual power. Even if he did wind up catching a criminal in the act, they had ties to powerful people that were quick to get them out and put them back on the streets. “But I couldn’t tell you. My schedule is pretty shifty. Besides, can’t really bring me a meal at the station if I’m off, can you?” After all, if it was his day off, he wouldn’t be at the station.

Chaska didn’t see the point of considering everyone on either side his friend or enemy. He liked to think about it like a war. In war, soldier’s don’t hold personal grudges against one another. Hospitals care for both allies and enemies. And people always say it’s a warzone here...So he was just going by that logic. His mother and father had always been kind to people on both side and befriend them, Chaska didn’t plan on not doing that himself. Of course, he’s not gonna do anything to put the Syndicate his danger, but he’s not going to be rude or incosiderate to people just because they’re from different parts of town.

“Hence why I asked if there was certain days you were off, to avoid such an occurrence,” Chaska said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “It’s all good. I’ll just stop by sometime. If you’re not there, I’m sure someone there will eat it.” Chaska said with a chuckle and a shrug of his shoulders.

-

“Yeah, I can’t say whether or not it is… I’ve been in Invictus since I was born, and I’m still pretty young for a shifter,” he explained, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. Truthfully, he had a feeling that the whole world was at war and that it wasn’t just Invictus that had the species at each other’s throats, but maybe he was wrong. He just highly doubted it. Still, when the other male began to speak about his dogs, Zakar had to stop himself from being a little perturbed - after all, while he was curious, he wasn’t that curious to ask about it and he didn’t like that every little thing he did was being broadcasted to the fae.

It kind of felt like an invasion of privacy, if you asked him, because it seemed every little thought he had was being picked up on by the dog’s instincts.

“I’d say nice to meet you, but considering you’re probably with the Syndicate, that kind of automatically makes us enemies, I think,” the shifter said with a light chuckle, deciding to not comment on the fae’s explanation about the dogs and hoping that at least one of them would realize he didn’t like that they were translating every little facial feature or body movement. “But I’m Zakar. You ever want to give me that meal, you can probably find me at the police station.”

Chaska nodded his head as he heard the other man’s words. “I see. I’m assuming you’re quite satisfied with the city to stay here your entire life?” From what Chaska has heard, there’s people who both flock to and from the city whenever they get a chance. Chaska had been here all his life for the most part, other than the months he would go to spend with his grandparents every now and then back when they were still alive. And those hadn’t been the most...Enjoyable, to say the least.

The fae let out a low chuckle when he heard the other man’s words and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t let gangs or what have you decide who my friends and enemies are. I have both on either side.” Chaska admitted truthfully. Not everyone got along regardless of where you were affiliated, that was something Chaska found out the hard way.

Chaska nodded his head when he heard the other talk about if he ever wanted to give him that meal he would find him at the police station. “Ah, thank you for your service,” The fae said genuinely and nodded his head. “But yes, I’ll deliver a meal to you sometime in the near future. Are there any specific days you have off?” Chaska questioned.

-

Eyes drifted down to the dogs, surprised that they were so well behaved - usually animals growled or whined around him because they could smell the predator in him, but it seemed that the fae had done well in teaching the dogs to ignore their instincts. “Yeah… It’s pretty bad when you live in a place where you’re surprised by good deeds,” he spoke, chuckling lightly as he shook his head. As a police officer, he wasn’t surprised by how violent and cruel the world was - but given that the fae was more than likely part of the Syndicate? He was sure that the male understood that, too.

“But I’m just trying to make the world better, one good deed at a time, so there’s no need to thank me for your breakfast,” he stated, moving to slide his hand in his pocket. “Though if you feel that guilty about taking the free food, you can buy me a meal one day. Make it even.”

Chaska chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey...It could be like this everywhere for all I know. I only got released from the hospital a few months ago. It’s still...Taken getting some used to.” Chaska admitted before hearing Akamaru say that the other was looking at them with a curious expression. “Cyclops here used to help my dad at his mechanic shop. Now, him and his pup Akamaru help me get around and at the mechanic shop I work at. So they’ve both spent most of their lives being trained and on their best behavior.” Chaska said with a chuckle, hands reaching down to rub at both of the dog’s ears much to their delight.

Hearing the other man’s words, Chaska nodded his head and shook the other man’s hand. “Alright...Sounds like a plan to me. Oh! The name’s Chaska, by the way.” Chaska said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “Don’t think I ever introduced myself.”

-

Truthfully, the shifter had hoped that he’d be able to get out of the diner and make his way to the Underground before the fae would learn that he had paid for his meal, but as soon as he heard the whining sounds coming from that general direction, he knew that the fae’s dogs had ratted him out. So much for trying to be anonymous, he thought to himself, noticing the way that the fae began to make his way towards him, the two dogs almost guiding him towards where the shifter stood.

“I know I didn’t,” Zakar spoke, offering a small smile in the fae’s direction. Even if the fae couldn’t see it, he was sure that the dogs could and they could tell him. Maybe. He wasn’t sure how that worked exactly - it wasn’t like he was all that well-versed in the powers of the other creatures in the city. “But I wanted to do a good deed. Maybe you can pass it on and pay for someone else’s… keep a chain going, you know?” Just then, a yawn ripped through him and he reached up to run his hand through his hair. After a good meal, all he wanted to do was crash in his bed and hibernate for the rest of the day. “Besides, didn’t think you were upset. You’ve probably got enough experience with it that you’re used to it.”

Chaska had trained the dogs to notify him of anything pertaining towards himself. He wanted to respect other people’s privacy as best as he could...But not at the risk of anything happening to him. Chaska listened calmly as the other man’s words and after a beat, decided to nod his head and agree. “A trend sounds like a good idea,” Chaska agreed with a small smile of his own after being informed by Cyclops that the other was doing so as well.

Chaska lightly bowed his head. “None the less...Thank you for the dinner. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t feel obligated to do such a gesture. You’d be surprised at the things people will do.” Chaska said with a light chuckle and a shake of his head.

-

After setting his coffee cup down, he shifted his gaze to look at the male that spoke - a fae, from the smell of it, and seeing the two dogs by his side, he could only guess what they were there for. Especially considering that the other male didn’t realize his table was occupied when he was sitting right there. “No harm, no foul,” Zakar spoke, sighing softly as he was grateful that no one was going to try and talk to him. Last thing he wanted was to talk shop as he ate his breakfast, or get propositioned by the Conclave. Again.

Finishing his meal, he walked up to the counter to pay and he gestured to the table where the fae was now sitting. “You can go ahead and add his order to my bill,” the officer spoke, letting his fingers tap against the counter as the hostess started processing the payment. Once it was processed, he took his card and began to make his way out of the diner.

Chaska nodded his head in appreciation when the other said no harm, no foul. Chaska definitely appreciated that the other didn’t make a big deal out of it. He’s come across quite a few...Characters in this city who have. Chaska’s been doing his best to stay off of the radar as a result and to get used to this town’s layout, but these things take time. Chaska was so used to having his sigh up until a year ago...It was so crazy to think about how he ended up in this situation.

“Akamaru?” Chaska asked as he noticed the dog perk it’s head up suddenly. Frowning, Chaska conversed with the dog and realized just what happened. His eyes widened in surprise before Chaska stood up, approaching the other man. “Hey...Um, you know you don’t have to do that right? I’m not upset or anything.” Chaska assured, not wanting the man to do it because he felt guilty or anything. If there was something Chaska hated worse than being on the receiving end of someone’s anger? It was being on the receiving end of someone’s guilt.

Location: A diner - neutral territory

Open Starter

@cityofinvictusstarters​

God, he had a long night. Though, really, all of Zakar’s night shifts were long. It sucked being on the police force and not having any real, true authority. The most you could do was help people, but you couldn’t really put anyone away because most of the criminals in the city were tied to the gangs in the city and they had big money. And after having yet another thug disappear before he could apprehend them? He was just exhausted.

That’s how he found himself at a diner, sitting at a table by himself and sipping at his coffee, when he heard footsteps behind him and he could feel their shadow looming over him. Swallowing the coffee in his throat, Zakar shook his head lightly as he sat his coffee to the table. “Can’t a shifter enjoy his breakfast in peace?”

Chaska continued walking smoothly and methodically, a small hyper dog and a large dog with one eye telling him what to avoid and howto do so. Chaska missed his eye sight...He truly did. But his animals definitely made it a lot more easy to live with his day to day life. Getting around could be a pain since he couldn’t drive, but hey...He’ll just consider the walking as part of his daily workouts.

Chaska let out a small sigh as his dogs helped him navigate to his table...But apparently he was on the table on the OTHER side. “Apologies,” Chaska said with a nod of his head, feeling genuinely embarrassed. “I didn’t realize there was someone occupying this table.” Chaska said as he turned towards one of the chairs nearby and taking a seat at that table, thankfully it was blissfully empty.

Ryan is trying to work on a new spell but it’s not going all that well for them. they would try and think. “Okay something is not right if it’s not working maybe i’m doing this wrong.” they said then sees someone standing there and looks up. “Is there something i can help you with?” Ryan would ask with a smile but goes and looks back down at there book. @cityofinvictusstarters​ 

Chaska frowns as he looked at the other. “I could hear that you seemed to be distressed about something...Just wanted to make sure everything was okay here.” This was a town where people tend to move on instead of getting involved...Something that Chaska hated. If everyone turns a blind eye to everyone else here, no wonder people are dying life and right.

   that was a quick change of pace. nevertheless, she wasn’t going to protest against it. “i appreciate it.” a small grin crossed her frontage. the siren then glanced down to look at his book before returning it to him. braille. that was rather impressive that he was able to detect her gaze. she’d give him that. “i wouldn’t want people staring at me while reading either. what’s the book about if i may ask?”

“It’s a modern book. Cost a lot of money and took forever to find in braille, but I finally managed to get a copy. It’s called ‘Poison Princess’ and is from ‘The Arcana Chronicles’ collection. It’s a pretty good series if you like fiction books.” Chaska explained as he shrugged his shoulders. “I probably could have found an audio version of the book but...Sometimes I just want to do something myself, you know?”

Zara didn’t trust most people in their faction. Hell, she didn’t trust most people in general. So even when she had to mingle to her comrades, she always did so with a suspicious hint in her behavior or in her voice. She couldn’t help herself. So when she saw the fae sitting by himself, she approached quietly, arms crossed over her chest.

“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I was trying to come up with a way to say hi without scaring the shit out of you.” Smooth. Really smooth. Zara wasn’t good at small talk or at trying to be friends with people she had no interest in being close to. But she was trying. She had to avoid enemies in their faction. You never know who could stab you in the back. Even a blind man.

Chaska listened to the woman intently. Chaska let out a small chuckle escape his lips when he heard the woman. “I believe saying ‘hi’ would be a really good start.” Chaska said, making sure his amusement was quite clear in his voice as he looked at the other. The snake hissed something at Chaska, and he brought the glass of water he had in front of him closer...Subtly allowing the snake to get a drink.

“Would you like to take a seat?” Chaska offered as he gestured to the booth in front of him politely, keeping his tone light and professional. He didn’t know much about this girl, and wasn’t quite sure if he could trust her or not after all...He’d made the mistake of trusting people blindly before, and he’s learned to be more cautious.

   nesreen was just staring off into space, not realizing exactly that she had been staring at another person. there she went again into the depths of her imagination. ruminating was something she was trying to get out of the habit of doing. guess it got the best of her this time. she snapped her head to glance over at the male. when she opened her mouth to talk, his next query reverberated through her ears.

     “i…have been told that yes. i got lost in my thoughts and didn’t realize i was looking at you, sorry. caught me red-handed.” 

Chaska’s eyebrow arched when he heard the feminine voice say that she’s been told that and that she got lost in her thoughts. “It’s okay,” Chaska said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “It happens to the best of us sometimes,” Chaska has certainly had altercations with people thinking he was staring at them. And with his contacts they didn’t realize that he literally couldn’t see anything. 

“So don’t worry about it.” Chaska said with a shrug of his shoulders.

☾

He let out a slight sigh when the brunette dropped the subject, he was used to people from the city testing his patience and playing with his temper, a change of atmosphere was always welcome. He had noticed the man’s eyes, as well as the book in his hands, but he didn’t care much and knew that it was not respectful to bring it up.

He offered a soft laugh when he observed the snake’s behavior, he had always liked spiders, snakes, feared by the majority, it was like him, feared and misunderstood, at least it what he believe other people see him

“Maybe she don’t like strangers” he admitted, taking his hands out of his leather jacket pockets “I’m Sawyer, sorry man I didnt had the chance to ask your name “

Chaska let out a chuckle as he heard the other man’s words. He couldn’t help but shake his head with an amused quirk on his lips. “Perhaps,” Chaska said as a hand lazily pet the snake’s head through the material of his jacket before going back to his book and feeling the following sentence. 

“Thankfully, she’s a loyal and loving snake to me. So that’s all that matters in the long run. My precious little protector.” He cooed softly with a fond smile on his face. “And it’s no problem. It was my fault for taking the little she-devil at face value.” Chaska said with a smile as he took the other man’s hand, the snake thankfully letting him know which hand he held out. 

“The name is Chaska. Chaska Holloway.” Chaska said formerly as he nodded his head at the other man. “And sorry for the misunderstanding.” Chaska said with a shrug of his shoulders. 

Sawyer was an observant type, like his father, his eyes always on the lookout, never being caught unnoticed, always being one step ahead was his real comfort zone. The alpha was not really looking at the man, he was far away in his thoughts, the real world slowly disappearing around him.

He shook his head slightly, his eyebrows furrowed as he watched the snake on his arm “No, I wasn’t staring at all man, I ended up getting carried away by my thoughts I think" The wolf couldn’t stop watching the snake, mesmerized by the obedience of the animal

 "Nice snake” he said at last

Chaska had a few plants and animals that thankfully make his life a lot easier than possible. Being able to communicate with animals, beings that are quite used to humans and such not being able to understand them, definitely make most of them feel a bit more loyal to him. Chaska also has a large wardog with one eye named Cyclops and a small pup named Akamaru outside...Having decided to only sneak the snake in to hide his disability. 

Hearing the other man’s response, Chaska nodded his head. The snake hissed something and Chaska pulled down the sleeves of his jacket a bit more, making it a bit harder to see the snake. “That’s acceptable,” Chaska said when the other said that he got carried away by his thoughts. 

“Thanks...She’s a rather evil little thing,” Chaska said with a chuckle, feeling the snake ‘accidentally’ curl tighter around his arm in revenge.

Chaska let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his dark locks, his eyes blankly staring at the paper down in front of him. A paper that was written in braille. Chaska was wearing his contacts that help hide his blindness...Hating when he could practically feel the pity radiating off of people who he didn’t know. So the fae has taken steps to guarantee that his disability isn’t very likely to be caught. 

“Is there a reason why you’re staring at me?” Chaska asked with a grunt. Unknown to the other, a snake was curled up beneath the arm of his jacket. Chaska’s head turned towards the direction that the snake had silently told him the other was staring, the contacts making his eyes look a little more alive. 

“Haven’t you ever been told that it is rather rude to stare?”