Who: Tayne and Justin, and Shima the wolf Where: Justin's house When: Midday
Before he had to be at the barbecue to meet Chris, Tayne figured he ought to check in with Justin. It'd been a while, and he didn't want the guy to think he hated him now, or anything. Because he didn't. He just thought he'd done something stupid, that's all.
That, and Justin hadn't ever called him to let him know how his talk with his girlfriend had gone, and Tayne had a feeling that meant it'd gone badly.
So he left the house a couple hours early for the party, leaving Krist with his brand new phone and a bedroom that wasn't really finished yet, and drove on over. He climbed up the front walk and rapped lightly on the front door. Maybe he should've called first but, well, he didn't think that far ahead, really.
The usual chorus of dog barking from inside greeted the knock, but the only real movement inside other than that was the appearance of Shima, looking out the window at him. She blinked, then tilted her head before she disappeared. A minute later the door opened, and Justin was revealed, wearing nothing but a Spiderman t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. "Hull..." he froze, seeing Tayne.
His shoulders slumped, and though he turned and hushed the dogs there was a catch in his throat. He hadn't shaved that day and his hair was a mess, eyes still a bit red from night before. As he returned into his house and curled up on the couch again, hugging himself, deciding he didn't have the strength or will to argue with his maybe-friend. Shima, however, went to the door and looked out, brow going up.
~Come in. I understand you would be offered drink. I can't get them, but you're welcome to help yourself,~ she said, staring at him with her usual wolf intensity as Otto and Donald begged for attention, Samwise following Justin dutifully but remained on the floor ears down and tail still as he lay down by his owner.
Well, this was awkward. Tayne scratched his head, standing in the doorway, as Justin turned away from his admittedly somewhat concerned expression, only to be replaced by the wolf that'd growled at him last time they spoke. "All right. Maybe I'll put some coffee on." Justin looked like he could use it. Hell, he looked like he could use a shower. And smelled like it, too.
First things first, though, he came inside, shut the door, and crouched down to give the dogs a little loving, ruffling ears and squish-hugging faces and all that stuff dogs loved. Throughout it, though, half his attention was on Justin. "So," he said as he stood back up again, waving the dogs off. "I have a feeling the talk with the girlfriend didn't go so well."
Justin's eyes closed. He wasn't going to cry, though, he'd done enough of that and it was just a dull ache now, a throbbing headache that didn't seem to respond to his spells. As Tayne asked his question he shook his head. "She's gone," he said softly, voice broken but face too rigid to move. "Taking c-care of her f-family. T-told me not to w-wait up and moved out."
It was never her that made him cry so hard anyway. Alex was a great girl, and he liked her a lot, but what hurt him the most was the intense disappointment in himself and the loneliness that resulted after she was gone. Nobody at home, nobody to hold or kiss or be close to, and from the same mess he'd dropped touch with Tayne and Squid, who might've gone back to his pod in the ocean for all Justin knew. It had been days since anybody had spoken to him but Oscar, coming for the potion for Logan, and he didn't like it. He'd never known real human contact before, but suddenly having had and then lost it was killing him.
Shima came in and lay down on the rug, watching the humans silently as the dogs wandered around, Otto going for his water bowl and Donald sitting next to Tayne, looking around curiously.
"Well, that's shitty," Tayne sighed, though quote honestly, he wasn't at all surprised. He probably would've done the same thing if he found out his steady boyfriend, who he was living with, had fucked around on him. Didn't mean it didn't suck for Justin, though. He scratched Donald's ears and said, sincerely despite his understanding of why Alex had done it, "I'm sorry to hear it."
Justin shook his head. He didn't want to hear it, didn't want people to try to make it better or call it out with swear words, especially when he was sure Tayne didn't really think that way. "Why are you h-here?" he asked, leaning back and picking up Samwise, holding him close and scratching his ears. In his mind Tayne could only be here to be making sure he'd been right about what would happen, and what Justin deserved, and while he'd been expecting it, it didn't mean he wanted to sit around and be gawked at or scorned. Tayne was right, and he knew it, and Justin just wanted him to leave.
Tayne stared at him for the question. What the hell...? "Beeeecause you're my friend and I was a little worried when you never called or anything, to let me know how it went?" And because he'd left in such an emotional place last time, though Tayne wasn't about to say that. To his mind, that could be ignored, forgotten, and left in the past where it belonged. He didn't do well talking about emotional shit, not even with girls who were good at it, but definitely not guys.
Justin just shook his head, biting his lip and then leaning back. "Well... y-you were right. I'm a p-pig. B-but I've got th-the being d-disgusted thing under c-control, so if it's all the s-same to you I... I'd rather you go. I don't have it in m-me to have help h-hating myself." His voice trembled, but then he took in a deep breath and put the dog down, going to the kitchen and getting himself a beer, hanging on the fridge door as he tried to find the alcohol he hadn't drank yet.
Frowning, Tayne followed him. "Justin, I don't hate you. What the hell gave you that idea." This was definitely not going well, but he wasn't giving up yet. He put a hand on Justin's shoulder, pulled him gently back from the fridge, took away the beer he'd grabbed and put it away, and closed the door for him. "I'm gonna make some coffee and breakfast, and you're gonna go take a shower and brush your teeth. Maybe shave and run a comb through your hair. You'll feel better, I promise."
He shook his head. "I won't," he said, still unable to look at Tayne's face. "Sh-she... she was my ch-chance. B-bloody shower won't fix that." His hand clenched around the fridge handle. "I kn-know what you think of me. I'm not... I'm not stupid. I h-heard you. I s-saw your face."
"I thought you were fuckin' stupid, yeah," Tayne shrugged. "But that doesn't mean I think you're stupid all the time, or that I hate you, or even that it was all the way your fault." After all, he was still "with" a guy he, according to Vivienne, didn't love, mostly because he hadn't stopped him when they'd kissed. "Okay, even if it won't make you feel better, go shower, anyway. You stink, and I'm a were, remember? So you stink kinda worse than usual."
Justin stared at him, then turned and walked out, not sure what to do so doing as he was told. It didn't mean he was happy about it. He went upstairs, already pulling off his shirt at the stairs, too emotionally exhausted to care about being half nude as he went to the shower.
Shima watched him go up, then got up and walked into the kitchen, tilting her head as she looked at him. ~Do you have to insult him?~ she asked, not accusingly, just matter of fact as she kept her eyes on him steadily. Unlike her master, Shima had no fear when it came to making eye contact.
And Tayne wasn't about to back down from a challenging stare, either, so he met her square on. "It got him moving to go take care of himself, didn't it?" he pointed out, quietly. "And that's the first step to get him to stop wallowing and get over shit. Be pissed at me if you want to," he told her with a shrug, turning away now to get started on the promised coffee and breakfast, "but I ain't pissed at him, so it won't do a lot of good 'cept probably make the whole mess messier."
~I'm not angry with you, nor with him. I do not understand why everybody is aching so,~ she said simply. Then she shook her head. ~The female did not leave upset. Justin's pain is inflicted by himself. Well, and perhaps the lost of the little female yapper dog the girl took with her. But that seems to have upset the rest of the pack, more.~
"So he's upset about the loss, but not necessarily over the loss of Alex?" Tayne took a stab at understanding that, filling the coffeemaker with water and grinds and turning it on. "Well, that's pretty normal, I guess... 'specially if he thinks people think he sucks because of it all." Which he obviously did, given how he reacted to Tayne. "Just how much do you know about how he feels, anyway?"
~He thinks she is the only mate who would have him, and is less worried about how hard others will be on him. He's plenty hard on himself,~ she said simply, tail moving slowly over the floor as the water started upstairs. She looked up at the ceiling, then back to Tayne, wondering about his question. ~I know quite a bit, I think. He speaks to me about it. I'm not sure why he does, but it seems to help him. But I think he's much more afraid than he'll express. He won't tell you, but you hurt his feelings when you turned him away.~
She snorted as Donald as he came over to sniff at her, then lifted one delicate gray and white paw, starting to clean it with her long pink tongue. ~I'm glad you've come, provided you're here for a good reason.~
"Yeah, well, I was kinda having a bad day, and I have issues with people who cheat, no matter how it happens." He shrugged, fishing around in the fridge for something he could make that was better than poptarts or cereal. "I wasn't really turning him away, I just suck with emotional type stuff. Someone wants to bawl on me? I really can't handle it." Especially if it was a guy. That just... felt wrong to him. "Just because I don't think something he did was a good thing, doesn't mean I don't like him as a person."
She paused in her preening, then sighed. ~What is the meaning of cheating, anyway? Do you not normally have many mating partners over your lives, anyway, depending on who makes you happy? I didn't think humans were overly concerned with that.~
"Some of us are, some of us aren't." Tayne found bacon and cheerfully pulled it out, plus some eggs he could baste or fry or something. Well, his relationship with the food was cheerful. The tone and his expression wasn't so much. "Wolves are pretty stable with their mates, aren't they?" He knew werewolves mated for life, anyway. "Some humans are like that, too, and when you trust someone to be with you, you expect 'em to be with you, and not somebody else. Makes a person feel like they aren't wanted, y'know?"
~But he never mated with the fishman,~ she frowned. ~Nor did he the female. There are no pups involved and he has no pack. It makes little sense to think of all these restrictions your people put on each other, on yourselves.~
"It's emotional, Shima, not physical." God, this was getting frustrating. How did you explain to an animal, when it was a human emotion? "It doesn't matter if he didn't actually go all the way with either of 'em. He was with one of them, and he did shit with somebody else. He betrayed trust. It just ain't the way some people feel is right. I coulda kissed the guy, myself, but I've got a guy who thinks I'm with him, and it'd hurt that other guy if I did. So I didn't." And now he didn't think he was going to, at all, even if he didn't think Johan was a good idea, either. Maybe he just needed to be celibate. Focus on shit that had nothing to do with sex or romance or whatever.
"I know it was just a mistake," he finally finished, putting the bacon onto a frying pan on the stove. "And now it's a mistake he knows not to make again. But it still got conseq-- cons-- it still had effects that he's gotta deal with now. That's just how life is."
~Humans are too emotional. Justin fought off the other, he did his duty to the one he selected. She realized that. What reason do you have to be angry, and hurt? Are you wanting him for your mate?~ she asked, staring hard at him. She wasn't angry, but confused and protective, and it showed as she walked up and sniffed at the food, being sure to not touch it. Humans seemed extremely squeamish about what they ate and what their food touched, though she didn't understand that, either.
"I'm not angry or hurt," Tayne said, frowning at her. "I'm a little frustrated that you're making me explain everything when I'm shit at explaining emotions stuff, but I'm not angry or hurt. He didn't do anything to me. I was a little disappointed in him a couple days ago, but that's not the same thing." And he didn't fight off the guy, he still did something. Just because he didn't let the merman fuck him, didn't mean it still didn't count as sex.
~For having so many rules, your species seems very closed mouth at explaining them,~ she said, now indeed sounding annoyed herself, though she went silent and lifted her nose. ~You should tell him not to look to you for help with emotions, if they frighten you. He needs to talk to somebody who understands but can listen. If you cannot you should send him elsewhere.~
"I didn't exactly get the chance!" Tayne protested. He really was not happy with this familiar, because what the hell. Did she have no sympathy for the guy who got all this shit dumped on him with no warning? No understanding of how anyone else might feel differently than she did? Apparently not. "Damn. Stop making me out to be the bad guy when I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter last time I ran into him. He was lucky I didn't just run the fuck away as soon as he got started on 'I had sex with a fishman' thing," he added bitterly, since that was his default response, right?
~I am not making you out to be the bad guy,~ she arched a brow in a very humanlike fashion. This human seemed to take everything as a personal attack. ~I am trying to tell you how to get along better with my master. He needs somebody to talk to. It's not you. You do not as a hunter to tend the pups, you ask a good shewolf. You are a hunter, I think you would protect him from somebody who wanted to hurt him, but these human affairs seem difficult for you. Tell him to find a shewolf to help him through this so you can both be more comfortable.~ Honestly, if he was going to stay so uptight and defensive she was going to give up talking to him. For all their inventions and cleverness, none of them seemed to have a lick of sense.
Anyone who basically acted like he was purposefully withholding a proper explanation when he just plain couldn't explain something properly, was somehow deficient because he couldn't have done what he was "supposed" to have done, and "shouldn't" have reacted the way that he did, yeah, was gonna get Tayne on the defensive. And that's how she was coming off, to him. As basically attacking him for not having what it took to make his friend happy again, or whatever it was she wanted from him. It didn't help that he wasn't in the best of places, himself, still.
The newest explanation mollified him. A little. It kind of made him wonder why she hadn't acted like this was all okay before, if that was all she thought. "Exactly," he said, giving her a puzzled and slightly wary look for what he saw as a change of heart. "I do the hunting and protecting, and maybe the cooking of breakfast, and someone else can do the comforting and listening and making him feel better. That's all I'm sayin'."
At last, common ground. She almost sighed with relief, but instead nodded. ~Yes. He may have a shewolf to turn to, as well. Well. A young buck. And he certainly has no degree of strength for protection,~ she snorted, in an amused way. The skittish man was funny. ~He seems quite flustered himself, though. Do you have human methods of finding such people to talk to?~ After all, wolves never talked anything out. If they were angry, they fought. If they were happy, they cuddled. Simple and happy, nothing like this species.
Flustered young buck. Hell, sounded like Justin, himself. "Well, you have friends, and stuff, I guess." Except Justin didn't really have many of those. At least he had 'skittish young buck', whoever he was. And Tayne, though apparently he thought he didn't have Tayne until now. "I could have him talk to a one of the girls I know, I guess. They're all better at this shit than I am...." Anybody was better at this shit than he was. He got Justin moving, someone else could get him talking.
~My pack is up north and would eat him,~ Shima shook her head. ~He had you, his female, and, he thought, the fishman. The buck only comes for medicine for his mate, the fishman has not been seen since Justin refused him, and the female is gone to her father's pack several territories over. I would take him to find new friends, even among humans packs are important, but I don't know where to find suitable companions for him. And, he does not want to go. I would say he acts like his mate has died, if she weren't just gone.~
"Well, if he thought she was the person who'd have him," Tayne shrugged, poking at the now-sizzling bacon and his eggs over easy with a spatula, "then maybe it's like, his thought that he'd have a partner died, or something. Or maybe he's just feeling like anybody would if their girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever left them. It happens." He'd had a bad time or two, in the past, when his rare flings died. Well, okay, he'd only had one or two rare flings, but... still.
~He is sure he will go back to being alone,~ she said, sobering. ~He described it to me, the time before he met you and his mate. It's an unhappy state, one that no wolf or human should be in. Not one like him, anyway.~ She paused as the water upstairs faltered, then walked away from Tayne, laying on the floor and looking up at the ceiling again.
"He's not gonna be alone," Tayne promised. "Not unless he's decided he hates me or somethin'. Want some bacon, while you're over there?" He was almost done. Bacon and eggs didn't take long. While the pans cooled, letting their contents pick up the last of their heat to finish up with, he popped in some bread for toast and poured some orange juice. The guy was getting a balanced breakfast if he had to sit him down and hand-feed it to him.
~I'm glad you have come this morning,~ Shima decided, then paused. As insightful and motherly as she was, Shima was still a wolf, and the offer of meat - even cooked meat, was extremely tempting indeed. Her ears perked, and she came over. ~I'd much appreciate it,~ she said, looking up at him, tail wagging.
A few minutes later, smelling of soap and shampoo and a few herbs, Justin came down. He was wearing a Hulk shirt now, and a pair of clean jeans, and had hair that was messy because it was still wet, but otherwise he was clean. He paused, sniffing, then looked around. "Looks good," he said slowly, glancing form the food to Shima. "Thanks."
By that point, Shima had one strip of bacon with another promised once the human-folk sat down to eat. Tayne shot Justin a grin as he came in, plates ready with toast, bacon, eggs, and jam. "Welcome back, and you're welcome," he told him. Inhaling, he said, "See? Now you smell much better. C'mon, sit, I bet yer hungry." After all that beer, maybe not so much, but still. He offered each of the dogs a strip of bacon, too, and once the plates had been set at the table, he added another one for Shima.
The dogs ate greedily, Otto making a go at getting Samwise's before Shima snapped at him impatiently, then turned back to her own, watching as Justin slowly walked and sat at the table. His stomach rumbled, and once they were both at the table he picked up his fork. "H-haven't had this much b-breakfast since... well, since I left Grandfather's h-house." He chuckled softly, then took a bite of the eggs, blinking. "This's great."
"Figured you could use a bit of good, old-fashioned feeding," Tayne chuckled, sitting down, too. He was determined to keep this light, so Justin would at least get the sense that nobody was angry with him. And at least he'd get some food into him. "And feeding people's what I do best, I told you that. I'm glad you like it."
"Yeah... yeah," he agreed, eating for a moment and then looking up at him. "I... I'm sorry about earlier. Haven't... b-been myself. I s-suppose." He took a sip of his coffee and blinked at the strong caffeinated flavor. He hadn't had coffee in quite a while. "What're you up to, th-then? J-job going well?"
"Workin', yeah, that's pretty much same as always," Tayne answered, taking the apology in stride with just a nod. He didn't want to dwell on it and upset the guy again. "Been finding out how many people I know wound up with familiars over the past few days. Got a new housemate, that's definitely filling up my time." Had he even told Justin about Krist yet? He didn't think so.
He blinked, not really sorry about . "New h-housemate?" he asked, almost dreading to think. He stared for a moment, then tilted his head and ripped piece of toast in half. "Is it Jonah?" He struggled to make this a casual question, and in most ways it was. "I haven't really... b-been out, since Shima c-came. J-just to see you. T-took some vacation off w-work."
"Naw, not Johan. I took in a were who's had... a kind of shitty life. He was raised as a horse most of his life, and now he kinda doesn't know how to be human. So I'm looking after him, trying to teach him things he needs to know." Now Justin, he didn't feel too weird about telling him about Krist's situation. That was odd. "He's a nice guy-- poor fellow tried to pay me yesterday, for rent. Only about five dollars. I felt so bad."
"Oh," the young Englishman's brows lifted, and he considered that. "Well... I m-mean... that's b-brilliant, that you're helping him." He'd always wondered if weres ever went through that, grew up as the animals instead. Apparently they were, but he was glad to know that they could come out of it and find help. He bit his lip, thinking, then shrugged. "If y-you need anything... ah. F-f-food, or, y-you know, you w-want the h-house to yourself for a n-night, f-feel free to give me a ring. I'd be g-glad to help if I c-can, with anything."
"That's nice of you," Tayne grinned a bit. "I might well take you up on that." It was, Tayne thought, probably a good idea-- it'd give Krist someone new to ask questions of, with a different perspective, and it'd possibly give Justin a new friend. "Or I might ask to escape over here now and then. I gotta admit, it's... kinda hard having someone around all the time. I've had a place of my own for, like, six years or something like that."
"Any t-time, man," he said, nodding quickly. "I have a great sp-spare room. Well... y-you know. I like it alright. B-but you'd be welcome to change it up." Compulsive submission. He'd been warned against that by people his entire life, but even now he couldn't help it. He wanted nothing more than to please Tayne, and anybody else who paid attention to him. Wanted to keep those bonds and make up for the shortcomings he angsted over.
Shima looked up, tilting her head, then went over to the water bowl and started lapping. Justin paused, then smiled slightly. "H-he shouldn't be afraid to come r-round. Shima k-keeps the dogs from sc-scaring most people."
"I'll hafta ask him about dogs... but I figure if he lived on a ranch for thirty years, he's had plenty of time to get used to dogs. Wolves...." Tayne gave Shima a slightly teasing look. "Maybe less so. But I'll talk to 'im. You two might well get along." And that'd be pretty awesome. "God, though... he wants me to ride him. You know, as a horse, nothing dirty-- saddle and bridle and everything. It's so weird."
Justin immediately went bright red at the mention of riding, then sputtered softly and helplessly to himself for a moment before managing to pull himself together. "U-um. Yeah," he said, then thought about it. "B-but l-like you said. He g-grew up on the r-ranch. P-probably... f-feels closest t-to his rider, when they g-go out. That's p-probably when he g-gets the most attention and enc-couragement. And... y-you know, p-people really thrive on encouragement." Or falter without it. "He p-probably just wants to p-please you."
For once, Tayne didn't wind up blushing, himself, he just chuckled at Justin's embarrassment. "Yeah, that's about how I reacted when he told me, too." His amusement turned into a sigh at the truth of Justin's comment. "Yeah, he probably does. Poor guy, doesn't really know any other way." He hoped that could change. As nice a person as it made him for wanting to please people all the time, it just wasn't good for him, or good for his relationships.
And the same went for Justin, honestly, though Tayne hadn't quite caught on that, that was what Justin did.
Justin went silent for another short time, pushing his food around with his fork. He knew how badly the houseguest probably wanted to make Tayne happy, and how hard it must seem. He bought himself time, breaking some bacon up and tossing it to his dogs, then took a deep breath. "You sh-should... could help him g-get something, of his o-own. S-something t-to encourage h-him. N-not for asking p-people to ride him b-but... you kn-know. In general. Th-that he's doing w-well. I bet that'd r-really make him happy." He nodded to confirm this, then ate some of his toast.
"I'm tryin' to," Tayne sighed. "I got him his own cell phone yesterday, and I'm workin' on turning the spare room into his bedroom, so the poor guy isn't stuck on the couch.... I ain't cut out for this kinda thing. I don't know what else to do, 'cept tell him it'll get easier and explain shit when he doesn't understand."
Justin nodded and then half smiled. "I kn-know how to decorate. Y-you know, find nice things. N-not that your stuff isn't nice... b-but, maybe I could t-take him round the shops. T-take the pressure off you. Th-then Shima w-would get off my b-back about getting out of the h-house." He chuckled softly and bit his lip. "H-he probably n-needs clothes and p-personal things too, y-yeah?"
"That'd be a great idea," Tayne said, giving Justin a mildly surprised look for the offer. A helpful idea and, well, he figured encouraging Justin might be a good idea, too. "Maybe Monday? Or tomorrow evening-- I've promised him the, uh, riding thing tomorrow, but I'm seeing my brother after. Or yeah, Monday, if you're not back to work by then anyway, since I am. It could give the guy something to do while I'm off at the diner, maybe."
"I c-can do both... y'know, if h-he doesn't hate me," he laughed and then flushed. "N-not scheduled for M-monday afternoon or night, so it'll w-work. K-keep each other company, I suppose, k-keep us both out of t-trouble, eh?" he smiled, then nodded and leaned back. Maybe it would be good to meet more people. Plus, if all else failed, Justin would be helping another who needed it, following the basic tenant of the family he grew up in. He had the money and the time, and it would keep his mind off of everything else.
"Exactly," Tayne said with a grin. "Keep each other from getting bored out of your skulls. So... tomorrow? Or just Monday? There's more time after that, o'course, if you two get on. I mean, I work every day 'cept weekends. So it's up to you. I can bring him over before work Monday, or whatever's cool with you."
"Tomorrow's good," Justin nodded, "I can come over whenever, then during the days for a while. I think m-my boss is t-trying to give me all n-night shifts to keep l-less people from seeing m-me, m-make what I do less r-risky." He shrugged. "It's g-good, though, l-lets me see p-people during the d-day. And go to the p-pound more."
"Just make sure you get enough sleep and shit," Tayne cautioned, then laughed a little. "Look at me, being all mother hen. Just smack me if I'm getting annoying, a'ight?" Like he expected Justin would. Yeah, right. Shima might, though. She'd probably bite him.
"Oh, yeah, n-no worries there," he smiled and then reached down to stroked Shima's head as she wandered over and sat by him, looking at the dogs and and then to the windows. "I sh-should have a lot of time to h-help, though. H-how old is he, about?"
"Thirty-something?" Tayne guessed. "We haven't really talked to it, but I think thirty-something. He acts younger, though, closer to my age or less." He wasn't honestly sure how old Justin was, or he'd have guessed how he compared to him, instead of Tayne, himself.
"Oh, wow," he said, then chuckled. "Well, ok, b-bit older, but... you kn-know. That d-doesn't seem like such a b-big deal, in the grande sch-cheme of things." He wondered what the horse-boy liked to do, or if he'd like movies or anything. If Oscar decided to visit, too, maybe he could introduce them. Horses and deer were kind of similar, after all, and both liked to be in herds. Maybe they could start an odd, mismatched herd for all the oddballs and, apparently, gays that the local deer didn't want.
"Naw, it really isn't," Tayne agreed. This visit seemed like it had wound up being all right. Justin was cleaned up and fed, he had been dragged out of his wallowing, and they had plans to get him and Krist new friends, hopefully. It was definitely a productive sort of afternoon. Now he just had to get through the barbecue.... He was tempted to drag Justin along, just to get him out of the house, but he wasn't a direct invitee and that seemed... well, rude. "So you gonna be okay the rest of the day, you think?"
"Um, yeah. You know. I suppose I sh-should get the h-house neatened up, and th-there's a psychic who n-needs some medicine. G-got the snot k-kicked out of him a b-bit brutally a few days ago," he said, nodding. Then he could finish drawing the comic, maybe even finish inking it, too.
He looked up and smiled. "Wh-what about yourself? B-big plans?"
Good. He was definitely out of his funk, if he was talking about clients and cleaning and stuff. Tayne made a face. "Promised a friend to go to a barbecue thing this afternoon. Not really expecting to know anybody but him, and not really lookin' forward to it, but eh. I could probably stand to do some normal, human-type things, myself."
"Barbeque?" he arched a brow, then smiled. "Sounds like f-fun. At th-the least, you'll get some good g-grub." He thought about that then, for a moment. "Maybe if you don't like it y-you could have your own b-barbecue some time. With all y-your friends."
"I'd need a grill first," Tayne chuckled. "Krist said the same thing-- that I oughta have one at my place." He wasn't sure he could handle having a lot of people at his place, anymore-- in his "territory". It was hard enough just having Krist, sometimes. "I guess I'll think about it."
Justin nodded. "Yeah. And I g-guess... having people around all your st-stuff... gotta make sure your house is l-looked after." He looked around, sighing. This house, with a large living room and connection to the bigger kitchen, was made to be a house for entertaining, but even if he was introduced to Krist he'd still only have what... three people to invite? Four, if you counted Johan, and Justin was still on the fence about him.
Three or four people sounded like a good-sized get-together, to Tayne, honestly. He finished up his breakfast-made-lunch and settled back in his chair with his coffee. "I dunno, I think it might be a were thing... I like my space, and I don't want a ton of people in it, y'know? Oh, did I mention? I found out what kind I am. If the guy who smelled me out is right, anyway."
"Really?" Justin's eyes went a bit wide and he leaned forward, curious, excited, and a bit anxious at the same time. "What is it, does he think?"
~You don't know what you are?~ Shima piped up, giving him an odd look.
"He was just bitten. N-normally don't know till their f-first transformation, wh-which isn't for a while," Justin explained quickly.
"Yeah, I kinda recently ch-changed what I am," Tayne told Shima dryly, and with a small stutter. "And what I ch-changed to was kind of up in the air. --I'm a tiger," he added for Justin's benefit. "I think. If the other tiger-guy was right, anyway." It was better than a host of other things he could've been. "Don't suppose you know anything about tigers, do ya?"
Tigers? He paused and then thought. "Um... well, they're b-big cats, right? S-sure, I know t-tigers," he said, then paused and grinned. "I'll b-brush up on them anyway, th-though. I saw one when I w-went to the jungle, but from a distance. They're... they're b-beautiful creatures. R-really strong, too, like, whoa."
"I've seen pictures, and read a little bit, but I need an actual book on them... maybe I'll swing by the library Monday after work, or somethin'...." His sister would know where to find the best book on the subject. "I've got a big book on big cats, but it doesn't have much on each type. Just pictures and a little page-long blurb, really, with shit like how many pounds of food they need to eat and what they like to hunt. Which, you know, not a lot of help to me, ya know? I'm not planning on doing much hunting."
He chuckled and nodded, then looked up at him. "W-well, t-turned weres can go shift whenever they l-like," he offered, then scratched the back of his head. "After the f-first moon, that is. You c-could go hunting if you w-wanted."
"D-dunno if I really wanna g-go that far," Tayne said dubiously, slipping finally into his own stutter more, now that they were back on this subject for the llng-term. "I'm not sure what all sets off the ch-changing, or the instincts, or the wanting-to-hunt. And I live with a werehorse. Y'know? D-don't wanna tempt fate." Though he'd been doing pretty well, so far, at least.
~You should be careful. Repressing your wants can only make them worse,~ Shima observed. But Justin shook his head.
"No, I'm s-sure you'd know," he nodded. "M-maybe asked the o-other tiger where he g-goes. And, on the f-full moon, he c-can come stay here so he's n-not frightened. Or, if y-you want to t-take time to get used to it all, you kn-know? It's g-going to be big...."
"I'm tryin' to pay attention to what wants show up," Tayne assured Shima, albeit a bit anxiously. "But until they do, I ain't t-t-temptin' them. You know?" He rubbed at one temple tiredly. "On the full moon, it doesn't matter where he is. I g-g-g-gotta be locked up, probably far away from here, and very far from p-p-possible prey. Leanin' towards a jail cell, but a few c-counties over so n-nobody here knows...."
Justin looked at him sadly. "A c-couple good shield spells could h-hold you, I'm s-sure of it. I c-could stay with you, Krist c-could stay here. Y-you'd be someplace s-safe and familiar, and I c-could bring potions to h-help...." Shima frowned at the thought of her master being stuck in a basement with a feral beast, but he shook his head. "I c-could help you. No d-danger for anybody."
"Maybe next time, Justin," Tayne said apologetically. "I don't know what I'll be capable of yet, and I don't wanna leave anythin' to chance." He wasn't even letting his sister help, after all. Or Johan. Or anybody. He wanted to be as safe and contained as possible, and he wasn't going to risk anyone's safety to magic alone. "Though I'll probably c-come limpin' in the next morning looking for those potions. It's sup-sup-supposed to hurt."
Justin nodded, still feeling crummy about it but not arguing. He wanted to help his friend more than anything, but he understood why Tayne was worried about. "I'll brew up something r-real good," he promised with a concerned but supportive smile. "Y-you'll just think you had a b-bad dream of s-something." Shima blinked, but remained silent.
"Thanks, man." Tayne flashed him a little grin, glad he wasn't arguing. Until he knew what it was like, Tayne was taking no chances whatsoever. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt someone because he wasn't careful enough. "I appri-- appre-- I'll be glad for it." Having a white witch who knew about him was, he admitted, probably a good thing. Once the full moon happened, he'd have to tell the rest of his family-- he'd promised himself he would, somehow-- but that wouldn't help him for the full moon....
Justin nodded and grinned back, then finished his plate and worked on finishing the coffee. It was true, he did feel a lot better now, knowing that Tayne wasn't mad at him and now having a couple of projects to look forward too, people-wise and domestically. Oscar may or may not return to spend some time with him, Krist might like somebody to get to know and who relished decorating and personalizing spaces, and Tayne... well, he wouldn't ask for help other than the potions, but Justin could still look into tigers for him, see about finding a charm or two that might help him. He smiled more as he thought about it. Maybe his life wasn't over.