cursedquinn (cursedquinn) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-12-12 02:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | place: la, ~quinn draper, ~sofia de la vega |
The Bigger Wolf
Who: Sofia & Quinn
Where: Quinn's home
When: Thursday, around noon (Dec. 10)
The fact that the she-wolf didn't have a job was probably a major contributor to the amount of free time she had to do...well, things like this. The days could be so boring when you didn't have endless funds with which to shop or travel. She was still living out of a secnd rate hotel room and although she knew she should at least be trying to find some sort of gainful employment, it was rather difficult when the sum total of your résumé was boarding school and a hih-ranking, titled job within your family's business. She couldn't exactly allow any of the pack to be used as references. now could she? Not to mention the whole pesky issue of not having a work visa. Of course, it was inherent that she believed herself - and others like her - to be above such petty inconveniences as human laws.
So what had she done now? Ben was currently...otherwise preoccupied and the rest of the Bales had never captured her interest in quite the same way. They were an odd collection, not quite pack-like in structure and that had always seemed so...foreign...to her. Oh, but there was a wolf in the vicinity who'd piqued her curiosity, wasn't there? Quinn had told her she could ask for him at a place called the Sugar Shack. While it sounded quaint, really, Sofia had never been the type to do things the easy way. A few nights ago, she'd been hunting when the scent of a wolf in the area - a real wolf - had teased her animal instincts and, on a whim, she'd decided to track the other werewolf down. It was a game for her, provided her with something to do. His scent - while of course not noticeable to others - still lingered on the dress she'd been wearing that afternoon. No, he hadn't even touched her, but she could still make it out, faintly.
She was one of the best - if not the best - trackers in the pack. It was the only reason she'd ever stood a chance at eluding Zeke's minions. She knew exactly how to hide her tracks because she knew exactly what they'd be looking for. But, to his credit, she had to admit that Quinn had been far from her easiest quarry. She'd spent an ample amount of time going in circles around campus before she'd been able to follow his trail to a house on the outskirts of the city.
Now, dressed in a pair of jeans, a sleeveless black V-neck sweater, and a pair of supple black Italian leather boots, the she-wolf rang Quinn's doorbell. Interestingly enough, she saw nothing wrong with bothering a virtual stranger in the middle of the day.
Erin: At the sound of the doorbell, Quinn woke with a start, bolting up in his bed with a balisong (butterfly) knife in hand. Having spent years in a pack where the mortality rate to get ahead was high, Quinn had learned that in order to ensure he survival, he had to be light sleeper and it always helped to carry a blade or two with you anywhere you went. Even to your bed.
Clearly there was no danger to him in the empty room and the werewolf figured it was one of his neighbors dropping off food. Both neighbors were happily married with kids, but happened to be the mother hen type and were sending their kids over with food. Which...while touching, could be potentially dangerous. Children were weak, easily overrun and taken.
So, of course, Quinn was quite surprised to find a very attractive woman on his doorstep. Specifically? The woman from the coffeeshop. The werewolf honestly hadn't thought their conversation was that stimulating, but apparently she thought otherwise. 'Cause...who the hell wanted to talk to him? Quinn had greeted Sofia in nothing more than flannel PJ pants, leaving his torso exposed and revealing some of the tattoo's he had. When he saw that it was Sofia, he left the door open, an unspoken invitation, and moved away down the hall. His exposed torso revealed the crown branded into his left shoulderblade, a permenant symbol of his former status as pack leader.
"You're pretty good," Sofia said by way of greeting when Quinn opened the door in silent invitation and turned to head back down the hall. "It took longer than I expected to track you down." Her blue eyes scanned the doorway before she crossed the threshhold. You could never be too careful.
Closing the door behind herself, she let her gaze roam the interior of his home once he'd disappeared. She sniffed the air, identifying a few familiar sorts of scents, and idly ran her fingertips along the wall as she walked further into his den. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything." She wasn't. Not of the female-companion-tucked-away-in-his-bed variety, at least.
Quinn's house was provided by the Council at his request in order to put in the safeguards he needed and the dwelling was modestly decorated. Any art that adorned the walls were nature scenes with wolves as the subject matter. The hallway eventually lead to the kitchen, several doors leading off to who knew where were closed, except the werewolf's office. The desk was littered with all sort of books, papers, and other paraphanelia. Quinn was found making coffee, two mugs were out on the counter, one of them already having two sugars in it for Sofia. Observant or more interested than he let on? Hm..., "No...I probably should've been up an hour or two ago anyway." The werewolf glanced over his shoulder at her, a faint smile on his face.
Finally making her way after him - and lured by the aroma of coffee grounds - Sofia stood in the doorway and watched him, her gaze lighting - not for the first time - on the brand emblazoned across his shoulderblade. Smiling when he did - it was a reflex more than anything else - she ran through her mental recollection of insignia. Each pack had their own. It was like a coat of arms or, in the case of the De la Vegas, that was exactly what it was. However, there was always a certain symbol denoting the leaders of a formal pack. It didn't have to be branded into one's skin, but that was a particularly permanent mark and being alpha, in most cases, was for life. But why jump to conclusions, right? "Thanks," she said, nodding to the mugs as she moved into the kitchen.
Quinn lifted a shoulder non-chalantly, "Your welcome. I'd be a pretty shitty host if I didn't offer you a beverage or...something." At the little kitchen table he had was his worn leather messenger bag, which he rummaged through and produced his cigarette's and lighter. The werewolf didn't exactly sweat the unhealthy effects of smoking, that was one of the advantages of beind one, because things like that healed pretty fast. Smoking was one of things he hadn't been able to get over from his past, but he was at least courteous enough to push aside the doorwall that led out onto his back porch. He took a seat out on the bench that overlooked his backyard and asked after lighting up one of his clove cigarettes, "So...any particular reason you decided to track me down?"
"Actually, yes. I have to admit my motives weren't entirely pure." Sofia leaned against the counter, still in view of him and not so far that they couldn't hear each other or anything. Crossing her arms beneath her chest, she weighed how much to reveal and how much to gloss over. It was tricky when you weren't sure you could trust someone. And yet, wasn't that the entire reason she was here? Of course, if he wasn't trustworthy - and his past affiliation left that largely in doubt - she couldn't risk giving too much away. Though that was laughable. He knew who she was. That was risky enough. At the same time, he didn't strike her as...completelyimmersed in the wolf subculture. She just couldn't tell. "How often do you deal with...people like us?"
"Just to clarify, you mean Lycans or people of the supernatural?" Quinn took a drag off his cigarette before adding, "Asking 'cause my answer will vary."
"Lycans," she answered. "Wolves. The Bales not included. Do you keep in contact with any of your old pack members? Or any other sects?" Strange questions to be asking, perhaps. Especially so pointedly and without reserve.
Quinn's answer was quick and immediate, "No." He paused, watching the cigarette between thumb and index finger burning, "I cut my ties with The Razorbacks when they died." He purposely neglected to mention that Laurie, the second in line after his mate had wanted Quinn to replenish their ranks and recreate the pack. But he'd stubbornly refused and explained his reasons. Laurie respected his decision, but Adam, second in line to Alpha status had been persistant for nearly a year. When he'd finally given up, Adam had threatened Quinn that if they ever crossed paths again, he'd kill the former Alpha.
Now came the part where Sofia had to decide whether or not to believe him. the coffee pot began to sputter and she turned, lifting it from the burner to pour each of them a mug. after replacing it, she lifted them both and carried one to him, blowing on hers - which, obviously, was the one that had sugar in it. "You said it's too dangerous for you to be free around the full moon. What did you mean?"
The Watcher thanked the Lycan with a smile, inhaling the dark, bitter scent of the brew before setting it aside to let it cool a bit. Taking a drag off the cigarette again, Quinn finally replied, "Part of my curse is an...extreme bloodlust. Which, in the past, I rarely reigned in." A rueful smile curved Quinn's lips, "Animal attacks in the city of Chicago were...high, you could say, while I lived there."
She sipped her coffee gingerly, knowing just how hot it would be. Thinking about his words, she was quiet for a while. She couldn't claim to never have killed a human, but she couldn't have said it was a common occurrence, either. "So what do you do? Lock yourself up?" There was a hint of pity in her gaze, but she dropped her attention back down to her coffee almost immediately. What good ws being a wolf if you couldn't run free? Then again, if there was no chance of controlling it...then you were just asking to be put down sooner or later.
Quinn picked up his mug of coffee just after finishing off his cigarette and took a sip, "...Yes. I take many precautions." At this, the werewolf stood and nodded his head in the direction of the house, "I can show you if you'd like." Taking another sip of coffee, the Watcher didn't wait for an answer as he disappeared back into the house, waiting to close the doorwall behind Sofia.
Well, how could she turn down something like that? Restraining a werewolf was a tall order, especially one in the throes of a complete rage. She'd seen it, once or twice, the madness that could take hold after so many years of controlling the beast, but it wasn't pretty and required the brute strength of many. So she couldn't possibly imagine what Quinn's set-up would look like. Following him back in, she took another sip of coffee before asking her next question. "Do you miss it?"
The werewolf paused on his way to a door next to the entrance into the hallway they'd come in to the kitchen from. There was a tension along his shoulders that probably spoke volumes more than his simple answer, "...Sometimes." At the door, he typed in the code on the keypad lock he had set up, the sound of a lock turning and clicking could be heard on the other side and Quinn pushed the door open, "Ladies first."
Curiosity killed the cat and, really, Sofia wasn't very fond of felines, so the logical, rational part of her mind advised that there was a 50/50 chance that going into the space Quinn had just opened might not be a very good idea. Of course, the less responsible part that was largely driven by impulse already had one foot inside.
"Don't touch the door," He gestured to it, it was steel reinforced with a high silver content and he didn't want Sofia injured. Leading Sofia down into the basement with it's unadorned drywall, an intricate double silver circle was literally inlaid into the concrete floor. Between the edge of the circles was what looked like, at first, nonsensical flourishes and whorls but it was, in fact, an intricate casting that could be activated by a spoken phrase.
At his warning, Sofia paused midway through and cast her blue eyes to the door, a soft hiss escaping her lips. It wasn't noticeable just by looking at the surface, but the door was large enough that once she paid attention, she could practically feel what was there. Or maybe it was just the power of suggestion, the threat in his warning. Either way, she pulled her arms around herself and carefully stepped down the stairs. She didn't walk too far, however, just a few inches away from the outer ring and, without being told this time, she could see what it was. Bowing her head as she examined the design running between the lines, she walked the perimeter of the circle and then looked up at him. "You use magic?" She sounded vaguely surprised.
The door clicked closed behind them as they descended the stairs, which he stopped at the bottom of and watched Sofia walk the outer circle while partaking of his coffee. Quinn had a little smile on his lips at the surprise in her voice, "You're surprised." It wasn't a question.
"Maybe," she admitted. "I suppose I was imagining something...bigger. More intricate. But...magic...." She wouldn't have thought to restrain anyone using it, for whatever reason. "Don't spells and the like eventually wear off?"
"That's the beauty of circles," He started, taking a sip of coffee, "Unless the circle is broken or the caster dies, the magic remains."
"So what're the odds of the...caster...dying?" Her blue eyes slid his way before she started walking back round the circle in the opposite direction. "It really works?" Standing in front of him, she cocked her head to the side, her blue eyes a little...well...overwhelmed by the reality of it all. "What exactly does it do?"
"The odds?" Quinn pondered the question, sipping coffee and shrugged, "About the same as anyone else." The Lycan watched Sofia move back around and stand in front of him, "Yes, it works." He replied simply.
"That didn't answer my other question." She looked back to the circles and then back to Quinn, lifting her mug to her lips. "What does it do? How does it work?"
"Basically, think of it as a protection circle." Quinn then stepped past her, quickly stepping over the silver lines with a slight hiss of pain before getting to the center. The werewolf crouched then, touching his fingertips of his free hand to the inner edge of the inner circle as he whispered a few words. Jerking his hand back, it didn't appear as if anything happened...until Quinn stood and tossed the remaining contents of his coffee mug at Sofia. The coffee splattered against an invisible barrier.
Her gaze narrowed slightly and she neared the edge of the outer circle again and looked in at him. "Nothing in, nothing out?" She started to reach out, but then thought better of it and folded her arms beneath her chest once more. Sofia stared at him and shook her head, not entirely understanding. She understood the concepts. Just.... "How do you do it?" she asked quietly. "How do you stand it?"
The werewolf crouched again, repeating the words as he touched the inner edge. He remained in the circle for a moment, aswering her question, "Nothing in, nothing out." Returning to stand near Sofia again, Quinn replied, "Guilt. It's a great motivator."
"It must be," was all she could say as she finished her coffee. She looked to the silver rings again and sighed. To her, it seemed something something akin to torture. To be caged, for all intents and purposes.... "So here's the thing," she said, looking back to Quinn as she turned away from his prison. "I need you not to say anything about meeting me. Not that I think there would be any reason for it to ever come up, but I would appreciate it if it remained between the two of us."
Quinn could see it in her body language, the disapproval or whatever it was she was thinking. There was something there that she didn't like about his precautions, but considering he wasn't not in control when he changed...there was nothing else he could. It was out of the question for Quinn to roam free during the full moon. It wasn't so much the circle that was his cage, but the mere fact that this curse was his daily prison hanging over him. At her request to keep their meeting a secret, Quinn shrugged, "Sure." It wasn't like he had pack law to answer to anymore, it wasn't demanded of him to tell secrets anymore. The werewolf started toward the stairs.
It wasn't that Sofia didn't approve. She could understand the danger involved when there was no control. She simply...marveled at his ability to police himself, in a manner of speaking, to willingly submit himself to being locked up, and to not...go insane. She honestly believed she'd go crazy if anyone ever tried to restrain her. Perhaps...that extended to more than the physical. Perhaps that was why she'd run. "Thank you," she said when he agreed, and moved to follow him back upstairs.
"Your welcome," He said with that faint smile on his lips as he keyed in the code to unlock the door again. The door moved inward toward them and Quinn nudged it open with a foot and held it for Sofia.
She eased past the door again, the entire set-up still disturbing her, but once she was free of it, she found she could breathe a little easier. As she passed him and headed back toward the kitchen counter to deposite her empty mug, she tried to bite her tongue. Really, it was no business of hers. She'd come to find out whether or not she could trust him. While she still wasn't 100% on that, what he'd shown her made her think there was at least...something...honorable about him. So she should leave and not look back. But she didn't quite yet. "The crown," she said, "On your back...?" She let the question hang between them.
He didn't look at her while he washed out their mugs, "...Yes." Was his quiest reply; Quinn knew what she was going for, considering the brand was there for all to see whenever he didn't wear a shirt. Which wasn't often, or in public. He discovered the brand unnerved people who were, obviously, not in his former circle of acquaintences.
"Hm." She didn't say much more than that. Not at first. It was a sure sign that she was thinking again. Yes. That...changed things. Or did it? Sofia wasn't sure. She knew the reputation The Razorbacks had. She knew...what he said about himself. And now to situate his claims of such an intense bloodlust with the fact that he'd been alpha? If she were a lesser wolf...or more cautious in general...she might have been a little afraid. But she wasn't. Not at this particular moment. Whatever he lacked in the control of his beast...his curse...he seemed to making up for while human.
A little smile curved his lips as he dried the coffee mugs, watching her again. "Someone could almost hear the gears turning in your head." Which basically was Quinn's hint at wondering what she was thinking. The werewolf was completely puzzled by Sofia; Honestly, what could she possibly want or see in him that warranted her interest? Quinn was no longer with a pack, and considering she still was, it was more than likely frowned on that he wasn't part of one himself. Not to mention the pack Sofia was with was way, way above his pay grade.
"You're a conundrum," Sofia advised him. "I'm not sure what to think about you." He was puzzled by her? He should trying being on the outside and looking in. "You're packless, yet you were an alpha. And forgive me for saying, but it hardly looks as if you live by those standards. You know the hunger, yet you willingly restrain it." Her gaze took on a thoughtful gleam as she continued to watch him. "I...understand that, though it's not a fate that I would wish on my worst enemy. I simply...." She shook her head again, her dark hair swaying softly around her shoulders. "I can't figure you out. I can't imagine what it would be like to deny myself of what I am."
Putting the mugs away, Quinn tossed the dish towel on the counter behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. He was silent a moment, regarding the she-wolf a bit before finally asking, "...Have you ever killed anyone in your wolf form?"
"Yes." The answer came quickly, easily, with little - if any - hint of remorse. It wasn't as if she ran around snatching babies through open windows. Nor did she hunt humans for sport. There had been one or two innocent bystanders to cross her path in the early years, before she learned to control what she was. The others, however, were those who would have just as soon put her down if she'd given them half a chance. For the safety of her pack, she would willingly kill and kill again. Luckily, because of their stature in the community and their ability to integrate with the normal population, the opportunity rarely arose.
"...Not counting accidental kills," Quinn started to say, pushing away from the counter he was leaning on, the werewolf seemed to flow toward Sofia, his demeanor slightly changing. "I stopped keeping track after five." Quinn started circling the she-wolf, "They were innocent, Sofia...all of them...they died on purpose because it was something I wanted. It was something I liked." The former alpha darted into Sophia's side, firmly grasping her neck, his lips brushing the skin just under her ear, "Their fear...their blood...their screams...were intoxicating." The Watcher jostled the she-wolf slightly when he let go of her and moved away, "I should be in jail or worse." He practically snarled over his shoulder at her.
Ahhhhhh. There it was. She could read the change in him as easily as if he were an open book. She didn't smile and she didn't flinch when he circled her. He wasn't the first alpha male to do so. And though her pulse may have jumped when he grasped her neck, something told her he was trying to scare her - or, if not scare her, then to show her something. Perhaps a hint of what he tried to keep subdued. She stumbled a step when he let her go and a soft growl sounded in her throat. He wanted to be punished, did he? "Do that again and it can easily be arranged." Her voice remained even as she spoke - neither overly sweet nor excessively cold. "The only difference between you and I is that I can control it. The only means of control that you have is to lock yourself up in a magical, silver cage. And you do it. The same as I resist the thrill of the chase. Theere is no other animal on this earth as satisfying to hunt as they are." Why lie about it? "I told you. I understand your motives. We are, after all, human. Partially. Subject, mostly, to the same moral code. What I don't understand is how you can continue to do it, month after month, and not go insane. How.... What changed you?"
"Oh, let's see...having your entire pack decimated and nearly your own life destroyed? Kind of an eye opener don'tcha think?" Quinn sarcastically replied and moved out into the hall toward the stairs.
"I suppose so. I've never had it happen to me." She found herself following him again and...it wasn't necessarily something she liked. He had the upper hand here, it was his domain, of course she had to defer to him. But she didn't have to like it. "Even so," Sofia continued, "This wasn't the only choice you had. Was it?" She couldn't possibly know about his pack's efforts to rebuild their ranks. It simply made sense.
Quinn paused on the bottom step and looked at her, "Even if the Razorbacks returned...I would've eventually got shut out or killed because I would be thought of as weak." The werewolf stepped back down to eye level, "There's such as thing as accepting who we are, Sofia, and then there's The Razorbacks...we were consumed by it."
"And what are you now?" It seemed to her, though she was far from a neutral bystander, that he was still consumed by it. Not in the same way, of course, but with making sure that part of him was as contained as possible. She couldn't judge him, per se, but no matter what he said, she couldn't grasp the idea of being that controlled. She wanted to pick him apart until it made sense, though she doubted it ever would. It wasn't something she could experience first hand.
She took a step back. "Thank you. Again. For agreeing to keep this between us. I'll see myself out."
He sighed, running a hand through his slightly long hair and moved to open the front door for her. Quinn was the nice guy now that he should've grown into long before. He would've had he stayed with his family and not run away. The watcher couldn't look Sofia in the eye, his gaze on her shoulder as he confessed quietly, "...I miss being in a pack...but not them."
His words caught her off guard and Sofia stopped just beyond his door. She was silent for a moment, as if weighing what she wanted to say. "There are other packs." Her gaze drifted down the length of his street. It was a relatively quiet area. It definitely felt less crowded than the city itself. Glancing back at him, she shook her head subtly. "You don't have to be alone." Turning away, she took the steps down toward the sidewalk quickly and lifted her hand in a brief wave. "See you around, Quinn."