Location: NYC, Slum area within Hudson Valley, NY
Time: Night Time (Between 12 am- 3 am)
Ben didn't know where he was going. Instinct lended a guided hand and helped him to navigate through the wounding back alleys, ultimately losing his trackers when they failed to follow where his supernatural powers led. By this time a massive headache flowed into his attention. It was caused by the city nightlife as every single light, scent, and sound mixed into a swirling, confusing mess to him. His thoughts couldn’t make head or tails, at least in the human sense, of the place he treaded. Those places that too powerful in stimulation were avoided and forced him into taking other routes.
Mentally, this thoughts were baser. The human within him need reason or explanation to why he was traveling this way, but his inner wolf was content enough to follow his instinct.
Ben continued to pad through the asphalt streets, his instinct demanded he knew his territory from head to foot, starting with the back alleys and working his way forward. His muscles coiled underneath him when he bounded easily over a metal fence. The steel tinged with each movement crawling over it and rattled loudly when he hopped down in the midst of a homeless man and his buddy, both smelt like urine, dirt and worst in Ben’s nose. The wolf snorted to clear his attention. Crawling on all fours, his coarse paws moved toward the two men causing their heads to shift toward him. All they saw were bright, blue eyes glowing within a large, muscular frame. They scrambled for cover promptly shouting things about a monster as they flew into the streets and into the blinding area.
Rain had started a short time ago, sprinkling at first then poured down in sheets. Surprisingly enough, the chill never reached his skin. It merely hung in his fur, weighing him down and held a musty scent. Ben didn’t seem to notice it when he grinded to a stop. His nose twitched and inhaled, analyzing the saturated air for several long moments. His ears perked upright soon after and he shifted, following it. It lingered strongest over a small hole pulling Ben toward where he continued to investigate the smell.
His paw reached out cautiously then scratched and picked at the crumbling brick. The hole began to widened, the scent mingled with rot and earth, causing him to pause long enough to sneeze. He backed up long enough to rub his nose lightly with his pads, his head wiggled back and forth. Once more the wolf started on the hole until it was big enough for him to squeeze through, then vanished down it.
A condemned building left a lot to be desired, but it was surely a step up from the starlit sky outside its relatively safe confines. Though the cold chill of night could not reach the young Efreet, his body maintaining a level of warmth, the dangers of darkness needed little to sway him. Skyler had no knowledge of his heritage, neither did he know of his legacy. The boy stood by his lonesome in the vast wastes of the unknown. A fear of the dark had long since accompanied him, and one could perhaps draw the conclusion that it fell in line with Skyler’s species, a Spirit of Light and Fire. Darkness was a distant source from the sunlit halls of the Efreet, their golden pillars stretching high across the desert’s might.
Balling up against a corner within the building’s confines, Skyler appeared taken over by the embrace of sleep, though not pleasantly so. With his breathing accelerating by the second, it was safe to say that the boy was plagued by nightmares, the air around him growing unnaturally warm. The already cracked wall he was leaning against had its paint crumbling further beneath the warmth caused by his distressed mind. As was the case, an Efreet is a creature of passion, a creature of emotion, and as such their powers are highly affected by this.
Nightmare fueled dreams did not show mercy, but rather plagued him one night after the other. Reaching a climactic terror, Skyler shot his eyes open with a gasp, the warm air around him bursting into streams of embers as he jolted up to his feet. With a heart as heavy as the breaths leaving his lips, Skyler’s tired eyes travelled across the empty building lit up by his uncontrolled powers. A constant string of distress plaguing the boy had however not gone without lasting effect. As his emotions grew stronger, so did his powers. With every passing day, Skyler’s Spirit Flames were maturing further as was common for young Efreet. Without proper training from those of his kind, the boy appeared unable to control their physical alterations.
With his Efreet side shining through, quite literally, a burst of intense flame conjured forth both a tail swaying behind his form as well as a set of horns atop his head, jutting out between his thick dark hair.
Corpse, despite his nickname, didn't sleep. He lost the need to after he died and woke up that very first time. He had to rest his body, but he was very much awake. To maintain the illusion he 'slept' close by, using his jacket as a makeshift blanket, even if it would be frighteningly cold to sleep like that. Halfway through the night, when he was sure that Skyler was asleep, he sat up, and thought. He spent most of his nights like this, he'd even gone as far as to dub them 'waking dreams', though that was more to comfort himself than anything else, he missed sleeping a lot, and being awake and alone every moment of the night was not healthy for his psyche.
He thought about how he came to be. The haze that came with each death, and the unnatural longevity he'd been given. Táph remembered the first time he was shot. He heard the shrill sound of a whistle, they fixed their bayonets and they went Over The Top. He didn't hear the individual gunshot but it knocked the air out of him when it hit, like he was winded, but he couldn't feel the air when he tried to breathe in with those raspy, broken breaths. He swallowed the dirt and he couldn't move. He couldn't remember it after that; what happened after he died. He just remembered the haze.
Maybe that was a misnomer, he didn't remember it, but the haze persisted over everything, it wasn't as much a memory as it was a constant fog that hid things from him, like a box of puzzle pieces with a few jigsaws missing. He remembered waking up though. He coughed and vomited up the dirt as he took the butt of his rifle and stood up. There was no one around but the dead. There was no second guessing or denial, he'd died. He glanced over to Skyler, the fidgeting, troubled sleeper, furrowing his brow into a frown as he watched him clearly go through the nightmare. He considered waking him up, but maybe that would be too personal? He mulled the thought over.
He took a few more minutes of staring, before decidedly moving an arm to try and shake him awake. At this moment, the Efreet woke up with horns a tail and the small gout of fire that came from it. Táph was surprised, but not shocked. He had always figured that he couldn't have been the only person to be different, at least he had hoped and prayed that was the case, and it seems those hopes were validated. He reached the hand back before he burned himself and pitched a question, looking a little unsure.
"Are you still you?"Stumbling back against the wall, Skyler lowered his gaze to Corpse with his heartbeat lowering itself to a slower pace. Gulping, the boy looked down upon his frame, noticing the tail with wide eyes before feeling the top of his head to trace the pads of his fingers against a set of black horns. One could perhaps claim that his reaction was rather lackluster, and left much to be desired, but Skyler had been waiting for something to show itself, for something to speak of his heritage.
Was he a demon? A devil? It didn’t make any sense. Snapping his attention back to Corpse, Skyler offered the man a soft nod and attempted to speak.
“Yeah…” He managed, rubbing his eyes before grabbing hold of the slender tail behind him. “Shit…”
"Well, that's good?" He said, awkwardly, it was clear that both of them were looking for a bit more in the 'reveal', as if something would happen and it would all make sense. Táph sat down again, as if to make Skyler do the same.
"It was just a bad dream, you should, uh, go back to sleep, we'll talk about it in the morning." His reaction was incredibly calm, reasonable even, in the face of the supernatural and the terrifying.
Go back to sleep? Skyler had just sprouted a tail, and a set of horns to top it off. Though his own reaction was far from a panic attack, he wasn’t treating it like a common occurrence, much like Táph had been. Speaking of which, Skyler’s focus would soon shift to the fact. How could this man be so calm in the face of this?
“Sleep…?” Skyler spoke quietly, sliding back down to the floor with his back against the wall. In truth, he was far too tired to pursue the issue further tonight, but the physical alterations couldn’t just go ignored. Grabbing hold of his tail once more, the boy tugged at it softly.
“Yeah…” He sighed.
“It’s stuck…” Ben's ears perked. The voices echoed off the building's decaying walls, each foul odor scented through his keen nose and nearly causing distracting pain. It was a blessing and a curse. Cautious, the wolf continued to stalk forward. His paws easily navigating over rocks, bricks, and worst without breaking the pad of his paw. A shard of glass jutted outright from the pile, unseen by Benjamin, then sliced on contact. The wolf let out a ear hurting yelp as he pedaled back and whimpered, his snout lowered to his paw.
His teeth tried to pick the sharp thing embedded in his 'foot', then gingerly stepped on it only to jerk it back up. Another sharp yelp emitted from his throat causing him to growl then plop down on his hind leg, his tail curled about him defensively. The other paw tried to dig into the wound, making it bigger but worse the deeper he dug.
Sleep didn’t seem to be available for any further moment of rest with a loud, barking yelp echoing through the air. Once again, Skyler’s attention shot up and his attention jolted to a defensive position. With another gulp, the boy turned to look at Táph before looking down the dark hallways of the decrepit home.
“What was that…?” He spoke quietly, moving to his knees before he pushed himself up to his feet. As a sense of fear surrounded him, so did faint traces of embers across the air in a circular motion around the boy. A moment passed before he noticed them and took a deep breath, calming himself before the embers vanished.
“I…I can’t control this, Táph…” Skyler sighed, taking a step away from his companion. If nothing else, it was better to keep his distance for now.
“Let’s…let’s see what that sound was…” He finished, taking a few careful steps towards the darkness.
He looked out toward the sound as well, he looked just as lost as Skyler was, though was deathly quiet now, nodding at him when he spoke, and quickly taking point in front of the Efreet. Corpse, despite his name, didn't trundle or shamble along. His footsteps were quiet, as quiet as he could be in his worn trainers, as he walked through the abandoned house. It sounded like a wild animal, but they were fairly far into the city, so it probably wasn't anything too dangerous, probably an abandoned dog, he reasoned to himself.
Frustration edged into Ben's focus, his teeth narrowly missing the shard end and huffling at the pain edging along his paw. Giving up, he stood up on three of his legs with the injured one held close to the body. He carefully hobbled down the debris until he came to the ground floor. His snout lowered to pick at the shard a few more times, resulting in a whimper and more pain before again letting it sit. He merely licked the wound looking like a common, oversize puppy.
Proceeding down the darkness, Skyler kept himself close to Corpse as they walked. His hands were pulled close to his body, his focus circling the dark environment like a scared child as he attempted not to lose control of his powers. This would however seem like an impossible task once their journey came to an end. Upon reaching the source of yelping and whimpering, Skyler’s heart dropped to a pit in his stomach as he stopped dead in his tracks. Was that a dog? No, a wolf?
How had a full fledged wolf made its way into the city? Had it escaped from a local animal shelter? Luckily, Skyler was a sucker for animals and he had been around them for most parts of his life, considering his old family's large amount of pets.
“He’s hurt…” The boy spoke, as if brushing aside the fact that he was face to face with a beast capable of ripping him to shreds.
There were times when Skyler abandoned reason and logic, when he was so captivated by something that he discarded his fears in lieu of a courageous outlook. Lowering himself to his knees as to not seem threatening, Skyler inched forward towards the wolf, keeping his head and body low as to not arouse aggression. As the boy got closer however, his eyes widened at the truth. This was no ordinary wolf, not by a long shot.
"Oh shit..." Skyler spoke quietly under his breath, trying to believe what he was seeing.
That was bigger than a dog. Corpse looked at it and stopped, ushering Skyler to take a glance after. Before Skyler could get too close to the beast, Táph caught the teen by the tail and pulled back, not roughly, just enough to tell him that what he was doing was a definitely bad idea. The wolf was injured, but it's hard to tell how animals act when they're hurt, and while helping it was definitely a very noble act, he wasn't up for letting the teen do it.
Ben perked up, noticing the source of the odd scent from before lingered in front of him. His curiosity overwhelmed his desire to removed the glass and he gingerly stepped on his fingers, his bulky form edging closer. His nose twitched in crazy pulses as his ears pinned backwards, wary of the strangeness of it, and softly his tongue flickered out to lick the closest appendage.
Ben growled when Táph's hand jerked out suddenly and gripped the source's tail.
Turning his attention back to Corpse, his tail having been yanked, Skyler blinked a few times. It was safe to say that he had forgotten all about his own more animalistic additions.
"I got this..." He returned, shifting his attention back to the wolf, or more accurately, the werewolf. Managing a soft smile as Skyler's felt his hand licked by the large beast, he couldn't help but giggle. Many days had passed since he last managed a smile, or less yet, any amount of laughter.
Slowly, moving to a sitting position, Skyler motioned for Corpse to do the same.
"He'll get scared if we stand up..." In the animal kingdom, standing on two hindpaws always indicated a level of threat, after all. Skyler would continue to stretch his hand out, hoping that the wolf would trust him enough to eventually allow the boy to help. The knowledge that this was an actual creature of myth didn't scare Skyler more than it intrigued him. Perhaps as he was getting more in tune with his own supernatural self, other abnormal things scared him less, or he was simply struck with enough awe to erase any measure of reasonable fear.
Ben continued to lick and nibble, his teeth careful not rip past the surface. He pushed a bit too hard on his injured paw causing him yelp then retreat backwards, his tail between his legs and fresh blood oozed out of the wound. Once more, Ben started to gnaw at his paw vigorously.
He did as Skyler asked, going closer to ground, but he was still quite visibly nervous about the entire thing. He didn't know whatever it was the Efreet knew, and as such, was a lot more hesitant to let him get near the injured animal. He decided that if he acted quickly, the situation would turn sour much faster, so he remained waiting, not helping, not hindering, just waiting for the right moment to act, if he needed to.
Carefully moving forward, inch by inch, Skyler narrowed his focus to the damaged paw as he carefully crawled forth.
"This might take a while..." The boy spoke. The last thing one should do when handling animals was to act rashly, to rely on speed rather than care. Everything had its time, and this would come to pass eventually. Something Skyler had noticed, something that came to mind right at this very moment was the knowledge that while around animals, he felt calmer. He felt as if his powers were easier to control when in the presence of animals and it made sense, in a way. Animals calmed him, he felt at ease and most importantly, at peace around them. As an Efreet’s flames were highly affected by their emotions, it was easy to draw the conclusion that whatever calmed an Efreet would also calm a young Efreet’s uncontrolled powers.
Noting the movement, Ben retreated a bit more. His ears weren't laid back but perked and curious, his eyes playfully hinting he wasn’t fully cautious, while he waited for Skyler’s reaction.
With his lips quirking to another soft smile, Skyler tilted his head in amusement and scratched at the tip of his nose.
“He’s harmless, as long as he’s not hungry…” Skyler spoke back to Corpse, careful not to move his focus from the wolf. If this otherworldly creature noticed a shift in Skyler’s attention, he could use that to pounce at him. Even though Skyler understood that the werewolf wasn’t being aggressive at the moment, it was impossible for Ben to know gently he needed to treat the boy, and Skyler was more fragile than most. Not to mention Táph’s reaction to it, if Skyler was suddenly attacked, even if it was just a game to the wolf. Moving up to sit on his knees, Skyler narrowed his eyes at the wolf for a moment before waiting for Ben to make a move.
Ben was waiting exactly for that, his blue eyes studying the boy’s attention and willing it to shift. No such luck as the wolf whined then darted a short inch forward then jerked back. His ass plopped down, unsure what why his tactics weren't working, his paw still held upright from the ground. It was within Skyler’s grasp and if the boy was careful, easy to get. Through from the looks of it he would have a huge challenging in getting the wolf to remain still while removing it.
Moving from looking at the beast to yanking out a glass shard was a bad idea. They had to take this step by step.
“Táph…” The boy spoke, raising his hand slightly and carefully towards the wolf.
“Come and sit with us, he needs to get used to you…” Gently attempting to pat the wolf and stroke his hand down the creature’s fur, Skyler motioned for the man to join them.
“Táph, after we make him understand that we’re not a threat, you need to yank out that glass shard, okay…?” If they wanted this to succeed, Skyler could not be the one to pull that piece of glass out of Ben’s paw. It needed to be yanked out in a single go and Skyler didn’t have the strength for that.
Táph was patient, and watching intently, as the wolf darted that short inch forward he was more than ready to throw himself at the beast, though as it was injured, it flinched back, and so did he, just about ready to jump before stopping himself as he noticed the beast’s forced hesitation. He whispered over to Skyler, not wanting to talk loud for fear of scaring the injured animal.
“Keep your eyes on it, and don’t expose yourself.” He then began slowly moving over to the wolf, ready to take the glass out, and entirely unsure why he was doing this, beyond the fact that he was sure Skyler would attempt to on his own if he refused. This way, he was in the way of the bite.
Naturally, being a wolf, Ben’s attention was easily swayed by movement. His eyes shifted when Táph had changed positions causing his nose to flicker and inhale rapidly, his snout leaning for a whiff. The strongest odors were dirt, slight rot and the same odd scent Ben found on Skyler. His body clearly looked confused as it stiffened in alert and caution. His lips pulled back revealing his teeth in a low growl, then pushed forward to sniff deeper and repeated clearly unsure what to make of this new scent. Fear throbbed in his chest but need to understand was stronger still.
“He seems curious…” Skyler whispered in a soft tune, looking to Táph for a moment before carefully stroking Ben’s fur.
“Let’s try to lay him down on his back, it’ll be easier for you to take out the shard, that way…” The previously shy and insecure boy appeared to have taken charge in this situation, feeling somewhat at home with taking careful steps to helping an animal.
Corpse was slow in his movements.
“Keep his attention, he doesn’t like how I smell.” He said, almost ominously, having had a similar reaction with animals before, being the partially deceased person he was, they obviously didn’t find him palatable. He made all of his actions apparent to the wolf, letting himself be smelled if the wolf tried, but mostly trying to defer the close work to Skyler, since he was much more adept with animals. Nevertheless, he slowly tried to ease the wolf onto its back, though wasn’t sure the wolf would really like that.
When Skyler touched Ben, his head jerked right back to the strange smelling boy. His nose still twitching like crazy and promptly buried it into his palm. It seemed he was content to just sit and sniff the rest of the day. The wolf hadn't budged at first when Táph started to shove, but he didn't bite either. Merely a disgruntled growl and sounds of sniffing continued. Another good shove and he allowed himself to be rolled over to his back making undeniable about his gender.
Taking the moment granted to them, Skyler moved up the wolf’s snout and sat down in an easily accessible position for Ben to continue sniffing him and allowed for Skyler to gently pet the wolf, growing rather comfortable around the beast.
“You’re really cute, you know…” The boy spoke, offering Ben a soft smile as he ran his slender fingers through the werewolf’s fur.
“I used to have a dog…” He continued, speaking with the wolf as if to keep his attention on Skyler while Táph pulled the shard out.
“Well, the family had more than one dog. We all had our own. Mine was named Mushroom…” Skyler continued with a soft sigh.
“He was also a big guy, and my best friend…” Skyler gently scratched the wolf behind the ears.
“Mom and dad didn’t let me keep him when they threw me out, but they were giving all the dogs away before that so, I guess Mushroom has a new home now...I hope he does…” Living with a drug addict and an alcoholic was no place for a pet, or anyone for that matter. Skyler’s adoptive parents had been giving the pets away though, given their conditions. They didn’t want to be responsible for any animals, and before giving all of them away, they threw Skyler out. It was a descending path into madness, but at this point, Skyler didn’t much want to return, not to that hellhole. Four years of abuse had erased the twelve years of love he got from that home. The traumatic experience of incinerating his sister didn’t help, either. Seeing it happen broke him, and understandably sparked the descent into madness for his parents, people who never believed in magic to begin with.
Táph waited until the wolf went onto his back, finding the wounded paw and moving his hands close, but not pulling it out straight away, he figured the wolf might just lash out. He waited as Skyler spoke, comforted the beast, and then in one quick moment he grabbed the shard and deftly pulled it out, no fussing about with it. After he did that, he was more than ready to fight the wolf, defend Skyler or just put pressure on the glass-shard wound until it clotted and stopped bleeding. He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew the basics from being bossed about enough.
Ben yelped. His own actions had embedded the shard fairly deep causing him to growl, rolling over onto his legs and fur bristled defensively. His eyes narrowed on the walking Corpse with teeth bared. Gingerly, his snout lowered to his paw- still slightly tender- and licked it once. Before Skyler or Táph could react, Ben lunged at the latter.
“It wor-...” Cut off from finishing his sentence, Skyler found himself pushed back from the quick movements he could barely follow.
“Ouch…” The boy spoke quietly, rubbing his behind and pulled his tail out from beneath him. It was safe to draw the conclusion however, that the wolf wasn’t being aggressive. If anything, he was grateful, but not too careful in showing it.
Placing his hands on the floor, Skyler pushed himself back to his feet and dusted his palms off, watching the scene unfold with a soft smile making its way to the corners of his lips.
“Heh, well done, Táph…” The boy finished quietly, his tail now swinging from side to side a bit more excitedly before he noticed the appendage and grabbed it.
“Ugh…” He had barely been given time to deal with the fact that he looked more like a demon than a person now. Speaking of which, Skyler gulped for a moment and placed his finger against his teeth.
Yes, his assumptions were correct. His teeth were like tiny daggers, sharp and dangerous.
“This is going to be hard to get used to…” He sighed, lowering his head. At the very least, things were starting to reveal themselves, but not in a good way. Sharp teeth, horns and a tail, what else than a demon could he possibly be? Not the most comforting truth. Though, on the plus side, there was a werewolf in front of him as well as a man who appeared to be anything but normal. He fit right in with this group oddities. He was one, himself.
Táph raised his arm to defend himself, or at least take the bite rather than his neck or face, he had enough time for that, at least before going to ground from the sudden weight of the wolf pouncing on top of him. He then felt his hand being warmed by the rough tongue of the wolf. It was licking him. He lowered the arm back down and looked up at the beast with a small sigh of relief. He didn’t like being attacked by animals, and this one was a lot stronger than he thought it should’ve been, it was able to bring him to ground, after all.
Ben’s tongue flicked out and ignored the earthy taste each time. His weight pinned Corpse easily to the ground and rested primarily on his waist, his snout pausing long enough to memorize the scent for the future. When Corpse’s arm lowered, the wolf immediately moved to his face before retreating to sit back down on his rump. His tail wagging back and forth like an oversized puppy.
“You’ve got a home, buddy…?” Skyler spoke up, approaching the wolf before he dropped down next to the beast and gently petted him, running the boy’s slender fingers through Ben’s thick fur.
“He seems a bit lost…” Skyler continued, turning to Táph as he spoke. Now that Skyler had let go of his tail, it would appear to wag almost in tune to Ben’s but at a much slower pace.
“Or we can keep him, I guess…” It was an alternative but how were they going to explain a local werewolf? It wasn’t exactly a pet you could buy in the store. Speaking of which, Skyler brought his fingers up to his horns with another sigh.
“I can’t really go out in public like this…” Táph looked up at the wolf, not realizing there was anything different about it rather than being an exceptionally friendly (and powerful) wolf. He glanced to Skyler, recognizing the differences about him now things were over and sighed out, leaning his head back against the floor, not bothering to get up.
“Go back to sleep and we’ll figure it out in the morning.” He said, parroting the advice he’d given Skyler earlier.
“I’ll get a bandage for the big puppy, I just hope he doesn’t eat it.”“If it doesn’t smell like food, he won’t…” Skyler offered, leaning against the large wolf with a breath leaving his lips. It was safe to say that the boy was attempting to fill a gap in his heart by being so close to the beast, by leaning against him and keeping their distance nearly non existent. He was closed to his dog, and he loved the pet. It was his best friend after all and the one thing he missed more than anything, was Mushroom’s company. Ben appeared to be lost just like Táph and Skyler, making him fit in rather well with them.
“I’ll keep an eye on Fluffy…” Skyler finished, absentmindedly tapping his horns to listen to the bony sound echoing from his nails coming in contact with their surface.
Ben snorted at the mention of ‘Fluffy’, clearly not liking the name. His massive shape lowered to the ground and laid down, stretching out to relax for a brief rest. Naturally he enjoyed inhaling the scent Skyler gave off.
Táph shook his head.
“You ever had an injured dog? They always gnaw at the stitches.” He said, rifling through his backpack to get out a battered and very old-looking first aid kit. Thankfully what was inside was newer than the box it was kept in, and he wrapped the bandage about the wolf’s paw, very slowly, after being sniffed and licked and the like, offering a pat onto the canine’s head. He was warming up to the thing, even if he wasn’t entirely trusting of it.
Ben stared at the wrap. His nose sniffed and tongue licked it, nibbling the cloth a bit. It was slightly nice to chew but beside that, the taste wasn't something he liked. His head lowered as he let his eyes closed for a moment to rest.
After a tired yawn, Skyler laid down against Ben and balled up against his thick, warm fur. Of course, Skyler himself was warmer than the wolf, given his fiery nature, but it was more the fluffy softness given off by the wolf which offered Skyler a sense of comfort. Most nights in the past were spent with his dog, and this way, perhaps he could pretend nothing had changed, just for one night.
Táph decided to watch over the two of them, now, the wolf chewing on his bandage as dogs did, and Skyler having a friend to combat the nightmares with. Leaning up against the wall and struggling to remember, he spent his night in silent vigil, the very image of a dutiful soldier.
