Carson Durand (dontlaugh) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-02-09 07:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #june 2018, carson, rylee, vex |
Who: Vex and Carson and Rylee
When: afternoon, Sunday, June 3rd
Where: Vex’s house
Status: complete
Things were happening quickly in Carson’s life now -- he’d gotten his memories back, he’d truly reunited with Rylee, they’d made plans to leave Point Pleasant and move to Virginia. As happy as he was with that decision and as eager as he was to point this cursed fucking place in his rearview mirror, Carson was nervous. A new place meant he and Rylee could finally have a real relationship, make new friends who didn’t know they were cousins, get involved in some meaningful work somewhere, build a new life ... but it wouldn’t quite be home. Even if home sucked, it was home. He was grateful that he at least didn’t have a job to deal with anymore, or an apartment to ditch the lease on. He just had to pack his scant amount of stuff, and ride off into the sunset. Easier said than done, in some ways.
Carson was going to miss a lot of people. He’d lived in Point Pleasant for the bulk of his life, and he was close to a lot of them for a lot of different reasons. But there were a select few that he was really close to now, and he had to see them before he left. Vex was near the top of that list, so on Sunday he borrowed his brother’s car and drove over to Ludlow. Carson was a bit nervous as he got out of the car and walked up the porch steps. He knew that Vex was back home too, he just hoped that Vex’s memories had been restored like his own had. Carson rang the bell and stepped back, slipping his hands into his pockets and hoping Vex answered instead of Lem.
Vex had started smoking again on occasion. It felt weirdly like the body equivalent to burning incense in a house, like he could burn out the remains of the hell he'd breathed in for so long, cleanse it out with drugs and smoke. He tried not to do it around Lem, didn't need her picking up on the habit and making herself sick. She was still young, he was rotten inside anyway. She wasn't home so he was on the back porch, sipping on some vodka and smoking a cigarette like it was a little ritual. One or two a day, it wasn't really the worst habit he could have. He was only half way through it when he heard the doorbell and groaned softly to himself. It was tempting to ignore it and finish his cigarette but not knowing made him feel antsy so he stubbed it out and headed through the house.
He looked intensely grumpy when he swung the door open but that scowl nearly melted off his face when he saw who was standing there. Admittedly it took him a second, he didn't often see Carson in his human form and it had been months and months since he'd last spent the night at this house to keep the world safe. But there was no mistaking it, he knew him and even as a human there was something so incredibly familiar about him that Vex didn't give himself time to think. "My old friend," he muttered with some awe and then he hugged Carson who felt so weirdly small and not-hairy now that it was almost jarring to pull him into that hug.
Carson’s heart gave a small jump when Vex first opened the door -- that sour face was intimidating -- but the worry faded out very quickly when recognition kicked in. Carson knew he looked pretty different from the last time Vex had seen him, but he knew that angular face very well, and Vex’s own distinct smell was immediately familiar in his nose. Carson stepped into the embrace, grinning a bit over Vex’s shoulder as he squeezed him tight. Before the portal, he’d just been a weirdo with a convenient cage in his basement and the generosity to let Carson use it, but now he was like a brother, even if they hadn’t been able to talk for months. “It’s good to see you on this side,” he murmured, thumping Vex on the back.
"You're so much smaller," Vex said with a little chuckle, still fixated on that stark difference even if Carson was about his height, possibly a little taller even. He felt so small compared to what he'd used to be, how could Vex not focus on that? He pulled back after a moment and ushered Carson inside with a smile. "When did you get back?" He hadn't heard of his return, but then he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to find out who else was home safe. Maybe he should have, because it was clear now that he was not the only one. "Did you remember everything right away?" He couldn't help but wonder when the next moon was going to be and if Carson was coming to spend the night. He hoped he would, he still missed Carson in a way that seeing him in his human form didn't quite fix.
He huffed a laugh as he stepped into the house behind Vex. Carson couldn’t blame him for bringing up the size difference -- he felt smaller. In some ways that was an amazing relief, in others it kind of sucked. “Not that long ago,” he said, giving Vex a faint smile. “A week-ish? But I didn’t remember anything until a couple of days back. Then it all just ... flooded back in while I was sleeping. It was the damndest thing. What about you?” He had found out that at least most of those who had been trapped with them had returned, but so far Carson hadn’t heard any bad news about it, like they were still draining people. Jules seemed confident that everyone was normal again.
"Same," Vex said as he led the way to the kitchen which just seemed like the natural place to go because holy shit they had nice drinks there and it was a novel idea to share a cold one with his wolf after all their time of suffering. "Woke up in the woods somewhere, real glad it's summer, you know? Didn't remember a fucking thing, not my name or anything. Everything was so fucking crisp." He raised his hand and grasped at the air as if he could grab that crisp feeling and squeeze it. "I have a new appreciation for cleanliness now." He smirked and took a moment to study Carson's face. Same eyes, sort of. Same person, definitely. Still weird. He opened the fridge. "Have a beer with me."
Carson followed Vex, smiling softly at the grasping gesture at the air. He understood perfectly what Vex meant. It had been overwhelming at first, the bright sun, the fresh air, the noise of all the birds ... especially considering that a few of Carson’s senses were heightened now. “Gladly,” he answered the invitation with a chuckle, helping himself to a seat at the kitchen table. “How long were you out there not remembering? How long ago was that?” Speaking of cleanliness and heightened senses, Carson could smell that this house wasn’t exactly clean, and there was a faint rank odor of something he couldn’t quite name underneath it all. The only idea he could tie to it was ‘sad.’ “Time was hard to tell over there ... I know I was the last one left, but I don’t know for how long.”
"God damn," Vex muttered at hearing Carson had been all alone in the end. He hoped it hadn't been for long because shit, the thought alone made it easy to imagine ending it all. But Carson was here now, he was human and he looked no worse for wear. "I know I slept over night, so maybe two days? Nothing really made sense at first." He grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and opened them before setting one down on the table in front of Carson. "I remembered random little things at first, glad I remembered Lem by the time I came home or she would have scared me half to death." He chuckled at the thought and took a seat as well, taking a sip of his beer. "She fed me pasta and beer and bread and it was all so fucking clean and rich. I can't believe we didn't eat anything over there." He shook his head, then turned his attention back to Carson. "Where did you wake up?"
Carson reached for the beer with a murmured thanks and sat back with it, nodding a little at what Vex was saying. He didn’t know Lem well, but from what little he did know about her, Vex was probably right that it was a good thing he remembered. She could be scary, and he would hate to be an intruder in this house. He smiled a bit at the list of food, understanding what Vex meant by ‘clean.’ Carson had had those same sorts of thoughts about his own food since he’d gotten back. It made him feel queasy to think about eating some of those monsters, even though he hadn’t strictly needed to. “Ah, in the woods,” Carson answered with a wan smile. “Human, naked, no prosthetic or crutch in sight, of course. I couldn’t remember much at the time, of course, but it reminds me now of the morning after my first, ah ... moon change.” Which obviously wasn’t a happy memory, especially considering what he’d done. In a way, the amnesia had been sort of a blessing, he wasn't sure that he wouldn’t have freaked out a lot worse, not sure if he’d murdered more people in a rage. “I was really lucky that Jules could still hear me,” he murmured, and tapped his temple with the beer before he took a swallow.
"That must have been a trip," Vex murmured but considering how strange everything had felt when he woke up he wasn't so sure telepathy would have ranked that much higher. What was a trip was remembering that Carson hadn't been one of them, he'd been the enemy when they were all infected or possessed or whatever the hell had been going on. "Can you still contact her and the others?" he asked curiously. "I should probably let Jane know I'm back and my phone is covered in rot somewhere on the other side." He felt so out of the loop now, all the plans he'd laid out on his whiteboard in the basement didn't mean shit at the moment, so much of it had been written down in his mania that not all of it made sense to him now but he did know he needed to get back on track and find all the others.
It had been a trip at the time, an even more confusing one considering that Carson was trying to adapt to having human thoughts again at the same time. He was just so stupidly grateful for Jules thinking quick on her feet and coming to pick him up. Nic probably would’ve done it too, but Jules was so much less threatening-looking, he was grateful it had worked out the way it had. “Yeah, I can still talk to her, Nic, and Neil. ... not that I really have since she rescued me ... I’m gonna visit them all in person before -- ah, well that brings me to another reason I’m here,” Carson said, realizing he hadn’t even told Vex he was leaving down yet. “Rylee moved while I was gone, and I’m going to go live with her in Virginia for a while. Get away from here. I wanted to come see you before then.”
Vex's heart sank at that and it kind of surprised him just how upsetting it was to hear that Carson was leaving. It flickered in his expression for a moment before he got a grip and nodded. "That's probably a good idea," he said and aside from some strange selfish feelings where he wanted his wolf to stay, he meant that completely. "This place hasn't treated you well. Any of us. Can you get a message to Jane for me before you go? I'm always home in the evening, she can drop by whenever."
That was a massive understatement for the things Point Pleasant had done to him. Carson hadn’t gotten blown up here, that had been thousands of miles away, but he sometimes wondered a little if he hadn’t just carried a piece of this cursed fucking place with him to the desert. He’d been through so much shit since then, too. Maybe Virginia wouldn’t be any different, but Carson had to try. If nothing else, he and Rylee could have closer to a normal life with each other there. For a second Carson completely forgot who Jane was, but then it clicked into place again, and he smiled. “I’ll make sure to get her number from Neil again,” he said with a nod. Carson paused, then added, “It meant the world to me. Your companionship, over there. I can’t even say it ... in human thoughts, you know? I just hope you know you’re pack to me, always.”
"Human thoughts are overrated," Vex murmured and it was hard to play it cool when Carson's words touched him so profoundly that it was a good thing he didn't feel the need. "You'll always be a brother to me," he said before adding: "Pack." That word felt like it carried more weight. He hadn't felt at ease with the other people on the other side, but Carson in his wolf form had been a comfort and at times Vex felt half feral himself over there so he supposed they were both adjusting to being human again. "Anything you need, anytime, you come see me. I'll go get a damn phone soon so leave me your number."
If Vex’s tone hadn’t been so sincere, Carson would have laughed at the first part -- he entirely agreed, human thoughts were definitely overrated. Life had been so much simpler as a wolf, even though it had been more dangerous, and he had been some combination of wolf and man inside. Mostly wolf, slightly man on the inside ... and now he was mostly man, slightly wolf on the outside. Funny how that worked. “You damn well better,” Carson murmured with a lopsided smile. He wanted to be able to keep in touch with those he wasn’t psychically bonded to. He wasn’t even sure yet if distance would alter that connection. Moving several states away was different than being sucked into an alternate dimension. “How are you settling back in?” he asked, to turn their convo a little less sappy. “How’s Nic doing? I haven’t really talked to him yet.”
"Nic's good as far as I know," Vex replied. "I've been... Fuck, I guess I've been isolating. Everything is just so fucking loud, you know? When I leave the house now there's people everywhere which I know is a good thing but it's a lot." Especially for someone who'd spent most of his time with a werewolf and not talked to a whole lot of people. "I'll get used to it. How about you? Must be a head trip being human again. Do you think you'll have more control on the full moon now? Or got something set up in Virginia?"
Carson felt a little guilty that he hadn’t mentally checked in with Nic or Neil yet, but he’d been closest to Jules -- fucked up as that probably was -- and he was sure the news had gotten to them. It was like they’d been calling out to him either. It was good to hear that Vex didn’t know about any crisis next door or anything, at least. Carson planned to stop by there next. “It’s definitely a lot,” he murmured in agreement, then took a deeper breath and gave a helpless sort of shrug. “Not sure about the moon. I’ve thought about ... trying to change, over here, see if I have that kind of control, but I’ve been scared to. I’m hoping I’ll have more of a mind next time, there are some other changes that have stuck around, but ... no promises. So far, I plan to have Rylee drop me off in a state forest or something and leave me overnight. It’s not ‘til the end of the month, so maybe I’ll think of something better before then. Otherwise ... I dunno, everything still feels kind of surreal. Like I’m just having a really good dream, still over there, you know?”
"Hey, there's still a cage in my basement," Vex said, momentarily excited by the idea. "You could try right now if you want, you know I've got your back." Was it a selfish impulse because he missed the wolf? Possibly, but he did want to help as well. It made sense that Carson was afraid to though, what if he got stuck like that again? This side might be nicer than the other but there was no room for a creature like that and Carson couldn't live out his life locked in a cage. Still, if he was going to try it anyway, why not here and now. Vex was already imagining how it might go, how happy he'd be to see the wolf again, how he'd help Carson make a brilliant breakthrough on this side and it made him feel a little giddy, the first time he felt that in months. It was an almost alien feeling, like finding a sign of life in a big empty house, like his little joy was a tiny squirrel rushing through urban decay. It almost tickled.
It was a possibility that Carson hadn’t even thought of, and his mouth gaped in a blank sort of way for a second as he considered it. If he could force himself to change into the werewolf, there was no safer place to do it than the cage that he already knew could hold him. But what if he couldn’t change back? Vex would have to call Rylee and explain and then she would be upset, and how long would he be stuck? Until the next moon ended? Fuck. He had to admit it was a tempting offer though, and most of Carson was sure that he would just stand there like an idiot and try and nothing would happen ... but if he could ... shouldn’t he know what it felt like? So he didn’t do it by accident around Rylee? He blinked a bit and licked his lips, realizing that he hadn’t said anything yet. “Uh ... are you sure? I mean I’ll probably just like, strain and shit my pants trying, but ...” Carson grinned a bit. “It’d be pretty cool if I could, huh? You still got the tranq guns and all?”
Vex didn't mind waiting for an answer, not when he could practically see the gears turning in Carson's head and that it really looked like he'd consider it. He laughed at the pants bit and shook his head in amusement. "Pro tip, take off your pants. I won't ogle your junk and the cage is easy to clean." He wasn't interested in anybody's dangly bits and he'd seen plenty of them so there wasn't even the novelty of seeing somebody else's dick to make it interesting. "Still got the tranq guns, don't make me use them on you." He knew Carson didn't exactly have a say in whether he retained control this time but it still felt important to let him know he didn't want to shoot him if it came to it.
Carson didn’t want to have to explain to Rylee where his favorite pants went, so stripping was probably a good idea. He would take off his prosthetic too, just to make sure it didn’t get damaged. He definitely didn’t want to be without it again. “I been naked in front of so many dudes and soldiers and doctors over and over again ... doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you,” he said with a laugh. His dick was a bit of a novelty now, but it was far less noticeable when he was flaccid, and he doubted Vex would be staring hard at his crotch. “And I’ll do my best to make it unnecessary.” Carson knew that Vex knew how little influence he really had over how this would go ... was it a stupid thing to try? Maybe. Was it making his heart race with anticipation to give it a go? Absolutely. If he still retained part of his mind as a werewolf, like he had Over There, it would be a complete game changer. Carson tipped the beer bottle up to drain all of the rest of it, then set it down with a clunk and stood up. “Let’s do this.”
"Hell, yeah," Vex said quietly, and then repeated it louder and with more gusto as he got up. "Hell yeah! Let's do this." He didn't need to finish his beer, he could sip on it leisurely while Carson got ready so he just grabbed his bottle and waved at Carson to follow him. They'd long since made the basement a little more comfortable for those who were on duty watching Carson so there were a couple of chairs down there as well as a table and a radio. No tv, though Vex had considered it before everything went to hell. If they found another werewolf in need he might upgrade the place more but it had pretty much been untouched since he and Carson got sucked into a hell dimension. "Brings back memories, don't it," he murmured as he descended the stairs, looking around at this workspace of odds and ends. His AIR whiteboard was still up but at least there were no longer disguised barrels of Body in the corner.
It felt weird to be excited about something. Maybe Carson should’ve been more apprehensive than excited, but now that Vex was enthusiastic too, he was getting kind of stoked to try this. Maybe Vex wasn’t the only one who kind of missed the wolf. Walking down the wooden steps into the basement, he felt that excitement dull a little bit. It smelled so strong down there, and so familiar, but not in a good way. The sharp smell of the iron especially put an uncomfortable pressure in his chest. “Yeah ... you could say that,” Carson muttered. His anxiety wasn’t bad enough to make him want to back out of this experiment, but the part of him that viscerally remembered the last time he’d been there wasn’t happy about it. Carson walked up to the door of the cage and reached out to touch it, a small tap of the fingers, as if to verify again that it was real. “So weird,” he murmured.
"Let's hope you don't need that," Vex told him and while he wasn't really thinking ahead to all the things that could go wrong, he did pick up on Carson's apprehension. The drop from excitement was like a drop in altitude, even someone as oblivious as Vex could be could feel it. "Hopefully you're just you, just the wolf that kept me alive all those months." There was fondness in his voice and yes, he missed that wolf so much. "I've thought about getting a giant dog," he said and while he sounded like he was joking, he wasn't entirely sure he was. "But it wouldn't be the same. Can't just replace you - him - whatever." At least Carson remembered, Vex was pretty sure he'd feel far worse if it turned out Carson hadn't been in there and that this companion of his was only coming out once a month from now on - if ever.
He might not need it -- god he hoped not, he didn’t know where he would get something like this set up in Virginia -- but Carson was going to start out inside the cage, just in case. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Vex with this probably-reckless test. “It was me,” he said with a faint chuckle at Vex’s comment about maybe getting a dog. Carson couldn’t separate the wolf from himself, especially now, and he didn’t want Vex to either. As much as he didn’t really want to, he stepped into the cage and pulled the door closed. “Lock it up tight, just in case,” he told Vex, reaching up to grab the back collar of his shirt and pull it off. “Some stuff stuck around, after I got back,” Carson added, his impulse to chat to cover up his nerves. “Like my sense of smell is insane now. I’ve got all this --” he rubbed at the thicker pelt of chest hair than he’d ever had before.
Vex wouldn't have noticed if Carson hadn't pointed it out to him. Mostly because he was keeping his word of not ogling Carson's naked body but also because he could be damn oblivious for a former detective if he hadn't activated that part of his brain, so to speak. "The wolf took some of you with him, you took some of the wolf with you," he said as he locked the cage. "You're one now." It felt wrong to lock him in, almost like he'd prefer to get ripped apart if this didn't work like they wanted it to. It was a morbid thought so he chose to ignore it because if this didn't work they could try again, get Nic involved, evoke a pack of witches - whatever it took. They knew it was possible now. "You know if this works we're gonna have to ship whatever werewolf we find over to the other side for a few minutes and see if it's a, well, not a cure but-" he trailed off with a grin and went to pick up the tranq guns, just in case. It occurred to him just how much trust Carson was showing him now, letting him lock him up in a cage in a soundproof basement. A part of Vex did want to keep him there to stop him from leaving town but he thankfully wasn't that crazy.
“Yeah, just try convincing Jules to found a werewolf rehab program,” he muttered with a huff. That was definitely Not Happening, he felt sure. Even if it would work for anyone else, she wouldn’t risk another monster invasion. It didn’t even occur to Carson that Vex might not let him out if this didn’t work how they wanted it to -- they were pack now. Family. Even if he wasn’t a constant wolf anymore and Vex had some disappointment about that, they’d been through too much together for Carson to mistrust him. The sound of the locks sliding into place gave Carson a weird chill down his back, but he tried not to focus on that. Instead he sat on the floor to take his prosthetic off and set it off in a corner of the cage to hopefully not get destroyed. Rylee would really have his ass if they had to go back to the VA again. Carson slipped off his pants and boxers to also toss aside. “Okay,” he muttered to himself, rubbing his hands over his face, then his thighs. Carson sat up straight and closed his eyes, getting into almost a meditative position as he started attempting to figure out how to make himself change.
Vex had promised not to ogle but it was hard not to curiously glance after what Carson had told him. Curious glances were not the same as ogling, after all. Carson's body did look different now that Vex's investigative goggles were on, so to speak, and he couldn't help but notice more of the changes. He kept what he noticed to himself, just barely keeping himself from arching his brows at the more subtle changes, the more intimate ones. They were none of his business but... Damn. He kept quiet as Carson settled down, took a seat as well and rested the tranq gun on his lap and then closed his eyes too as if focusing himself might help Carson. It certainly wouldn't help him if Vex just stared at him and waited but he couldn't exactly leave him alone with the privacy he probably needed for this. It was uncomfortable silent for a while but Vex decided not to suggest a radio or other distractions unless this didn't work. Ten minutes, he thought, and silently started counting the seconds.
Carson wasn’t sure at first how to go about even trying to force his body to change. He felt useless and stupid for a couple of those first minutes, just sitting with his bare ass on a cold concrete floor, in an iron cage, with a man with a gun on the other side of the bars. How fucking bizarre. But then he started to really think about what it had been like Over There. How long his limbs had felt, how strong he’d been, how constantly warm and protected by fur. Carson thought of paws as big as his head, of having a tail to help him balance on his three legs, of running at top speed through the woods. He thought of the world of scents and how much information they carried, and how dense his muscles had been and how good that had felt ... and he felt something stir inside him. It was a deep feeling, and he tried to chase it, his brow furrowing as he concentrated. He wanted to run, he wanted to bite, he wanted to be big. He wanted the wolf. A feeling built in his stomach that was sort of like nausea but not, a pushing sensation deep inside. Carson did his best to grab it and pull it to the surface, to amplify it ... He started to doubt it was working, but then, all of the sudden, it did. Carson’s spine jerked as strange heat rushed through him, preceding the pain that was actually familiar. He fell on his side on the floor as his body convulsed, low moans escaping him as everything inside him shifted and cracked and changed shape. In the end he was left as the same huge, dark gray wolf that had kept Vex company for months, twitching and whimpering as the effect faded.
It took everything Vex had not to holler in excitement when the change started, the words 'it's working!' right there on the tip of his tongue, itching at his throat as he swallowed them down. He tightened his grip on the gun and stared with excitement as Carson's body shifted and changed, as if he'd never seen it before. Really, he hadn't, not like this, not when the moon wasn't full. He didn't dare move until it was clearly over and he reminded himself not to get too excited because Carson still needed to shift back. Still, he couldn't help the rush of joy at seeing the wolf he'd been missing so keenly and the urge to open the cage and go hug him was nearly powerful enough to override his sense of self preservation. "There you are," he said quietly, moving closer to the cage and crouching near it. "I missed you. Are you still you?"
It hurt, like it always did, but there was something good about being in this form again. Carson stirred at the sound of Vex’s voice, that familiarity to these particular ears dragging him out of his stupor. Once again, the words themselves were slippery in his mind, but Carson understood the meaning anyway. He slowly moved and got himself into a sitting position, stretching his neck out to sniff at the small human Vex on the other side of the bars. He didn’t like the bars, but he knew they were necessary. Nothing within Carson’s mind felt out of control -- he was calm, he felt no bloodlust, just a desire to stretch his legs. He kept sniffing at the area around him, then let out another whine and lifted one front paw to scratch at the iron keeping him in.
Vex hadn't felt this alive in months because he knew his friend and there was no mistaking the difference from the mindless beast they'd locked in this cage in the beginning. If he hadn't retained any sense of self he'd be flinging himself against the bars now, howling, roaring, frothing at the mouth. No, this was Vex's wolf. He wouldn't go so far as to call him docile but he wasn't rabid. He almost bounced as he put the tranq gun away and scooted closer to the cage, kneeling by the bars. If he was wrong this move could be lethal but he had no doubt in his mind and no apprehension about being close to Carson. "Feel good to be back?" he asked, gazing up at the familiar form. It should be terrifying, he knew that on some level, but this was his friend and his enormous killing machine. Vex had never felt safer. "Do you want to come out? Or want to try to change back?" He hadn't talked to wolf Carson much on the other side but when he did, Carson always seemed to get the gist. Occasionally he'd look at him with a questioning gaze and Vex would simplify or let go of whatever he was rambling about. It was a lot like having a dog companion, he supposed.
Carson towered over Vex when he was squatting, and that felt good and right and familiar. Vex was part of his pack, family to be protected and looked after. Someone else was too ... a female ... he could smell her just a little in the clothes in the corner of his cage, but she wasn’t there. He couldn’t quite remember what his goal had been in doing this, he just knew it had worked well, because he felt okay. Not angry at being locked up or burning for the taste of blood at his mouth. That was how he wanted it to be. Carson stuck his tapered nose through the bars to sniff the air closer to Vex -- yes, that was definitely him, just with soap and detergent and other not-natural smells mixed in. Carson got enough of what he was saying to know how to answer, his massive paw rising further to scratch at the lock on the cage door. He wanted out. For now. The iron smelled bad and there was the stink of fear and a long-gone corpse in the basement.
Vex wasn't really thinking about consequences, it felt right to let Carson out and he straightened up and unlocked the cage, letting the door swing wide open. Before Carson could walk out, he walked in and straight into a wall of fur, wrapping his arms tightly around the large torso. He didn't want him to change back, he selfishly wanted him to stay like this forever, even if there was no reasonable way for them to live that way. He knew that all too well but the need was still there, the missing and god how he'd missed the wolf. "Good to see you," he mumbled, keeping the hug brief because his wolf had never much cared for it. He'd liked sleeping curled up around Vex, but hugging was something else. Instead he scratched at the thick fur, the clean fur, his hand sinking into the seeming neverending thickness of it. "Aight, come on out now," he huffed, still grinning happily.
Carson stood up on all three of his legs when Vex unlocked the cage. The hug didn’t surprise him since he saw it coming, but it gave him a pop of that annoyance that came with having his movement restricted in any way. It felt more like he wanted to playfully wrestle Vex away, but he knew how bad of an idea that was. The scratches felt pretty good though. Carson snuffled around near Vex’s hair, then huffed out a breath and licked his forehead. Back in the stinky place, he’d tried to keep Vex and himself clean at first by lots of licking, but everything tasted bad there too, and it was a futile effort. It wasn’t so bad now, though. As soon as Vex made room, Carson exited the cage and immediately made for the stairs. They were narrow and wooden and a little tricky to navigate with three huge paws and only one in back, but he managed to bounce his way up them and squeeze through the basement door. The smells upstairs were much better, especially ending up in the kitchen, and Carson started to explore, bumping into chairs as he circled the kitchen table.
Vex followed him, giddy with excitement. He wasn't too worried about people seeing a giant werewolf in his kitchen, the lot across the street was vacant and nobody was going to be delivering mail on a Sunday. It did strike him just how big the wolf was though now that he was in his small kitchen. Bull in a china shop vs. werewolf in a dainty kitchen, there wasn't a whole lot of difference there. Thankfully Vex didn't really care about most material things so he just laughed and waved his hand dismissively when Carson's mass caused some small glasses to fall from the window sill, shattering on the floor. "Watch your paws," he said, more concerned about having to extract shards of glass from Carson's feet. "Are you hungry? We've got some meat. Don't step there, I think you'll be more comfy in the living room - more space."
The sound of breaking glass drew a low grumble out of Carson’s throat, and he twisted his big head around to glare at the offending window sill. He recognized the word ‘hungry’ and ‘meat,’ and that was enough to improve his mood. Carson moved to the space in front of the fridge, sniffing around the edges of it delicately. It was easy to tell that was where the meat was, and while he preferred it hot, he would definitely eat anything Vex wanted to give him. He heard the words about the living room, but the smell of food was more interesting than sussing out what they meant. Carson swung his muzzle around to look at Vex, his tongue lolling out in a doglike pant. He could probably get into the fridge himself if he wanted to, but that could get destructive without opposable thumbs.
Vex had the wild urge to hug him again but he knew how disgruntled it made him and he'd already tried his luck once. He couldn't be blamed for that first time, it had been so long. So he laughed and nudged Carson aside to get to the fridge, very aware that Carson was letting him, Vex would never be able to move him otherwise. They never had a whole lot of food in this fridge but Lem had gone shopping after Vex came home, determined to enjoy the fact that he was actually eating without being told to and craving all sorts of random things. They had both cold cuts and a steak that hadn't been cooked yet and Vex grabbed both before kicking the fridge door shut and half luring Carson out of the kitchen with the meat. "C'mon. Living room. Spacier," he chuckled. "You get to choose."
Carson did move for him, and only barely stuck his nose in closer to the fridge once it was opened, then gave him some more room. The smell of that steak was exciting, and he felt himself starting to salivate, licking his big teeth. Had Vex ever fed him before? He didn’t think so ... because this was a different place than before. It was strange to think about in his werewolf brain, like half of him had been asleep and skipped time since he’d been home. The human in him knew everything, that human was just quieter, pushed to the side. The wolf just knew he was finally fucking hungry, and Vex had meat that wouldn’t taste like rot. Carson padded into the living room with a little bounce in his step. There were less things to bump into out there, so that was probably good. He kept his attention on Vex and what was in his hands, moving where he was led as some drool escaped his mouth.
Vex unwrapped the steak first and dropped it without ceremony on the living room table before he started unwrapping the cold cuts. "Let's see how civilized you are," he said and couldn't help but snicker at the irony since he himself was hardly acting civilized now - or ever. "Cold cuts or steak?" he added gesturing at the two as if teaching Carson the words, then putting the cold cuts on the table as well. "I could heat that up for you but I don't know if you prefer it raw or what." Warm was probably better but he didn't think it'd go over great if he took the steak away now - unless Carson went for the cold cuts. Nah, he wasn't going to overthink this. His wolf buddy looked hungry, there was meat for him if he wanted it.
It took quite a bit of willpower for Carson not to immediately snatch the steak off the table when Vex dropped it. His front paws shifted a bit further apart and a drop of drool slowly stretched its way to the floor as bright golden eyes focused on one pile of meat and then the other. He glanced up at Vex for a brief moment, then darted forward to grab the steak with huge-but-precise teeth. Carson only had to chomp at it a couple of times before it was gone. The cold cuts were lapped up next, disappearing into his big maw just as easily. It was all cold meat, and he could taste some weird stuff in the deli slices, but he didn’t care, it was food. Meaty food. With a huff and a grumble, Carson licked the bloody juice off of the styrofoam that held the steak, then sniffed around for any remnants left on the coffee table and floor. It hadn’t been a lot of food for him, but a nice snack.
"Hmm," Vex murmured, frowning softly. "You still hungry? I've got cereal." If he'd known he was getting a wolfie friend for a visit he'd have bought more meat but as he moved to go get more snacks he paused and turned back to face Carson. "Wait, will this make you feel sick when you turn back?" he asked, though he was probably more talking to himself than Carson considering his limited understanding in this form. "Can you turn back? Do you even want to?" He huffed with soft amusement at the idea of having a live-in werewolf. That was bound to get expensive and Carson did have other plans. "You're still in there, Carson?" he added and this time the words were more directed at the wolf as he watched him curiously.
Carson’s head tilted and his ears perked up at the sound of his name. He did know that word for sure. There was a part of him that wanted to distinguish that was his human name ... but maybe that distinction didn’t really matter. He felt like he vaguely understood what ‘turn back’ meant, and he had no current interest in doing so. Carson thought maybe he wanted to be outside and running, but Vex couldn’t run with him and it felt like it had been a long time since he’d seen Vex, so that desire could wait. The huge wolf let out a soft whine as he yawned and extended his front legs forward in a luxurious stretch, then plopped down onto the carpet with a thud. He was content to relax for a while.
Vex watched him with a little smile then moved closer to him, plopping down next to him to sit crosslegged on the floor. "Carson," he murmured, ruffling the thick fur on the back of the wolf's neck. "You gonna come back, big guy? Show me you can do it?" He wasn't worried yet when Carson didn't even attempt it and he was happy enough to have his buddy back to not think too much about it so he just lounged with him for a little while, lying down with him and resting against the wolf's massive body. It wasn't until about thirty minutes later when the light started changing outside that he thought this might become a problem. Dogs needed to go for walks and this particular wolf needed action and movement. He sat up again, ruffled Carson's fur and tried to coax him to change again. "You can change back whenever now," he reminded him but it really was like talking to a big animal. A stubborn, gigantic animal that if it came to it, Vex would never be able to drag by himself back to the cage. He hated even the idea of using the tranq gun on his friend so against all odds, Vex was starting to feel a little worried.
After failing to get Carson to follow him to the basement he ended up telling him to wait, one of the words he knew for sure he recognized and since he seemed pretty calm still, Vex didn't fret too hard about leaving him. He still hurried as he went down to the basement by himself and came back with Carson's clothes, phone and prosthetic. "Look," he said pleadingly. "Human now, yeah? Like me?"
It was nice to feel Vex’s weight against him again, and Carson put his massive head down on his paws and dozed lightly for a bit. It wasn’t a deep enough sleep to keep his ears from swiveling toward any unfamiliar noise, but that was how he’d spent a lot of time Over There, so it didn’t feel stressful. It just was. Then Vex was up and moving around and talking to him again. Carson knew he wanted him to go back down into the basement, but it smelled bad down there, and he was perfectly comfortable where he was, so Carson just looked at him until he went down the stairs. While Vex was out of sight, he rolled over on his back on the carpet for a moment, which ran his bulk into the coffee table, but Carson didn’t hear anything break this time. He peered up at Vex when he returned, rolling back onto his belly to sniff at the stuff he had in his hands. It was his stuff, his human stuff. So that was what he wanted, human Carson. The wolf let out a whiny groan and rolled over again, paws in the air.
"Don't uuugh me," Vex said with a little grin and tossed Carson's shirt at him. "You're gonna need to eat more when you're like this and I don't wanna leave you alone to go shopping." He supposed he could call Lem and ask her to go but that just seemed like a last resort kind of thing and he hoped it wouldn't come to that. "And as much as I missed you, we kinda need to talk. Where I don't do all of the talking." He sat down again, resting Carson's prosthetic against the coffee table and reaching over to ruffle his fur once again. "C'mon big guy. You can change back whenever you want, let's see if you can change into a human again too, yeah?"
Carson didn’t need to recognize all the words to understand what Vex wanted from him, but he really didn’t want to do it. Human him was tiny and needed a stick on his leg to walk around, and Carson was comfortable as he was. Maybe getting a little restless, now that they’d had a short nap together, but comfortable. It didn’t seem to matter much to him if he could change back or not at the moment. He rolled away from Vex and got to his paws again, walking over to the front door to sniff around the edges of it. Carson could smell the tantalizing scents of Outside. There were trees and animals to eat Outside, and now he wanted to be out there and roaming around.
Vex was no longer amused. He didn't care about other people's opinions most of the time but this was different. If Carson left the house it spelled bad news. "Carson," he said but he didn't dream that he could stop the hulking beast from doing whatever the hell it wanted. He hadn't been able to on the other side, he wouldn't be able to on this side. If Carson did what he asked it was because he didn't mind doing it. "Don't make me call the witches to hide you," he groaned as he got to his feet and headed for the kitchen to try to find something to distract Carson with. The wolf was at least hungry a lot so maybe something would work.
He opted for tater tots from the freezer, a quick minute in the microwave might produce enough smell to keep Carson interested. "Come here," he called after him. "More food!" Fuck. He was still holding Carson's phone and the thought occurred to him that maybe someone who was closer to Human Carson would be better at coaxing him back. Vex was only really close to the wolf so it made sense he'd win out in whatever battle for dominance might be taking place in his mind. At least Vex hoped there was a battle and that Carson hadn't changed for good. It was worth a try so he found Rylee's number in Carson's phone, relieved that it wasn't locked as he pressed call.
Rylee was out running errands when her phone began to read. She knew Carson had gone to visit Vex so when she saw his name on the screen, she figured he was done and headed back to his brother's. They had a bit more to take care of before leaving for Virginia, but she knew it was important to him to see a few people in town before they left. Hopefully his visit with Vex had gone well. Smiling, Rylee walked out of Joyland with her coffee and answered the call on her way to her car. "Hey," she said brightly. "I'm about to leave Joyland. Do you want me to grab you anything?"
As tempting as it was to take her up on her offer, Vex knew she thought she was talking to Carson and now really wasn't the time for joking around. Carson's giant form filling his kitchen again was a good reminder of that and Vex was both relieved that the smell of food had lured him in there and rudely reminded that the kitchen was a terrible place for a werewolf. "Hey, Rylee," he said slowly as he patted Carson's head and gave him a pointed look in case he understood this was Rylee on the phone and why Vex had called her. "It's Vex. Glad to hear you're nearby, I might need you to come over here." He lowered the phone enough to hush at Carson, "Two more minutes, hold on." Yes, the tots were starting to smell delicious but they weren't done yet. "Carson is in need of some... persuading right now."
The voice on the other end of the line was definitely not Carson and Rylee came to an abrupt stop beside her car. Vex. He hadn't even stopped speaking before her heart was beating painfully hard in her chest. "Persuading? What happened?" Quickly setting her coffee on top of the car, Rylee fumbled with her keys until she was able to get the doors unlocked. "Is he okay? He's not hurt is he?" Maybe she was overreacting but after what had happened to Carson months ago, she couldn't help but immediately imagine the worst, especially when someone else was using his phone to call her.
"Oh he's great, actually," Vex replied, headbutting Carson lightly when he got too in his face. "Maybe too great. We wanted to see if he could, you know, change at will? You know what I mean. Now he doesn't want to... Put his clothes back on, so to speak." He wasn't eager to get into the details of werewolfism on the phone because he didn't trust phones in general but he hoped she got the gist. "I thought maybe seeing you would uh, well... Persuade him. You guys are close but I think he's more used to being a little crazy around me. Yeah, I called you crazy. Live with it." The last words were aimed at Carson and as he spoke the microwave started beeping, thankfully. "I'm keeping him preoccupied with munchies but I don't know, he's getting antsy."
Change at will? Clothes? Was Carson naked? Later she would think about how embarrassing it was that she didn't connect to what Vex was saying right away. Once she realized what Vex meant, Rylee felt nothing but ice in her chest. Had Carson changed into a werewolf? At will? What if he couldn't change back? What if he decided, as a wolf, that he didn't want to? What if he was like the Hulk deciding never to become Bruce Banner again? A dozen questions threatened to spill from her lips, some of which were laced with obscenities. But Rylee couldn't seem to formulate them properly and she quickly turned on the car to head for Ludlow. "I'll be there in five minutes," she snapped, hanging up and tossing her phone into the passenger seat.
Rylee got there in seven minutes, thankful that a cop hadn't been around when she ran through the last two stop signs. Robert's car was still in the driveway so she parked behind it and climbed out of the car. She noted the coffee splashed over the hood and realized belatedly that she had left her coffee on top of the car before driving away. Cursing softly, she hurried up to the door and knocked loudly.
Carson heard Rylee’s name and knew it, heard her voice on the other end of the phone, weirdly electronic and distorted, and had the vague desire to talk to her too ... but he couldn’t talk and then Vex was hanging up and Carson got distracted again by tater tots. They had moved back into the living room, and they were getting good at the game where Vex tossed tots for Carson to catch in his mouth, when he heard a car pull up in the driveway. Carson’s head whipped around, ears perked as he stared at the front door for a beat, a missed tot sailing past him. When the car door shut, he put his huge self between Vex and the door, fur bristling up on the line of his back as his head dropped low. He growled deep in his throat, teeth baring, all of his instincts saying to protect Vex. The knocking made him growl louder, his front paws wide and his back end ready to pounce on the intruder.
Vex wasn't as quick to get on his feet but he was just human and a middle aged one at that. "No," he said slowly. "Carson. It's a friend. It's Rylee." Unless Carson was picking up on something he wasn't in which case it'd be damn handy to have a werewolf around - such as under the circumstances of AIR sending their henchmen around. Handy but also messy. God he hoped it was Rylee. "Settle down," he muttered as he pushed past the wolf to head to the front door. He didn't imagine that Carson would ever attack Rylee, not in a million years. He hadn't chewed on some of the more annoying people on the other side so he knew the restraint was there and Carson actually cared about Rylee.
Vex still opened the door a little cautiously, just in case it was someone Carson would feel the need to rip apart, relaxing a bit when he saw Rylee even if she looked incredibly annoyed. "C'mon in," he murmured. "Beware the dog."
Rylee stepped inside, inhaling sharply when she saw Carson there in the living room. Uncaged. Unchained. Just... there, staring at her. For a split second she thought maybe he would lunge at her and tear her apart, but he didn't. The urge to tear into Vex was strong but Carson was the important thing here and Rylee slipped her keys into her jacket pocket as she stared at the werewolf. "Carson?" Rylee supposed she could try to talk to him, persuade him into shifting back, but she needed to know he understood her first. That he knew who she was. It was probably stupid on her part, but she held her hand out to him, hoping he would recognize her.
Carson only let him pass because he said Rylee’s name, and that was a word he knew very well. He stayed tense though, the fur between his shoulder blades standing up. Things were too hard to smell in this world, there were too many barriers everywhere, making it too easy for enemies to sneak up on you. Vex didn’t act like this was an enemy though, opening the door wider, and Carson’s stance changed completely when he saw Rylee. Her smell hit him a split second later, and happy recognition filled him. It was Rylee! Of course it was. That was her voice and everything. He moved forward, nudging Vex out of the way, posture turning friendly again as he sniffed at her hand and then lifted his head to sniff at her face. That was his Rylee, his mate, he definitely knew her.
As soon as he began to sniff her, Rylee relaxed. There was only a moment of hesitation before she touched his fur and stroked it gently. "Carson," she murmured. "It's time to come back, okay? Are you able to do that? Because I need you." There was probably a very real possibility that he couldn't. That maybe he would be stuck like this forever. She was trying not to completely flip out but she felt a swirling combination of anger and worry directed at Vex and Carson. What were they thinking, attempting to do this without knowing for sure that he would be able to change back? She doubted Carson would have tried to do this with Rylee, considering the potential danger of it, but Vex probably encouraged it. Maybe that was unfair, but she wasn't feeling over charitable at the moment.
It was sort of sweet, seeing the wolf with someone else he cared about and Vex watched them from a slight distance, trying to pick up on cues in Carson's behavior. If this didn't work, he might have to call Nic for a whole new slew of creative problem solving magic. He felt a sliver of jealousy too, that part of him that actually wanted the wolf to stay there - for their pack of two to roam around again - kind of bristling at the fact there was a new person there the wolf was close to. It had always been just the two of them so this felt unbalanced somehow. He recognized it was an impossible way to live life so he did what his shrinks back at the hospital had told him to do with problematic feelings - he let them come and he let them be what they wanted to be, but he didn't act on them. This probably wasn't what they had in mind when they taught him those coping skills but hey, it came in handy.
Carson got more excited the longer Rylee was there, and it showed in his posture and how eagerly he sniffed her face and hair. He wasn’t exactly bouncing and wagging his tail like a common dog, but close. He wanted to jump on her, roll around on the floor together, get her scent all over him. Carson knew how big he was though, and he didn’t want to hurt her, and for some reason Vex shouldn’t watch them rolling around trading scents ... oh. Her words really sank in, and they were more effective than Vex’s. She was his mate, and he wanted to really talk to her, share the good news that he could do this whenever he wanted, and he couldn’t do that while he was still a wolf. Carson backed away from Rylee and turned to trot to the middle of the living room. He sat down and realized he wasn’t even sure how to change back. How had he done it the first time? It was hard to remember, too many human thoughts around it. He looked around at Vex and Rylee and gave a little whine.
The whine made her think maybe he didn't know how to change back and Rylee turned to Vex, trying to keep her voice even as not to upset Carson. "Why did you do this? What if he can't change back? I mean, what were you thinking?" She didn't want to be angry, but she was. Because this could turn bad so fast. What would she do if Carson was stuck like this forever? He had told her he was going to visit Vex and say goodbye, not attempt werewolf-based experiments.
Vex shrugged, spreading his hands in an innocent gesture. "I didn't do a thing," he murmured and that much was true - technically speaking. "He sat down in the cage and focused." He did come closer now, crouching next to Carson and petting his snout. "Close your eyes," he told him, closing his own eyes to make it clear what he meant. "Think of human." It had looked a lot like meditating when Carson did it so that was all Vex could think to do. "Human, smaller, Carson," he droned quietly before opening his eyes to see if the wolf was catching on.
Rylee sounded mad, even if her voice was quiet, and that was kind of distressing. He hadn’t meant to piss her off, had he done something bad? Probably, because he was wolf and not man, and she preferred man. Carson watched Vex approach and squat, staring intently into his eyes as he listened. He knew what he was supposed to do, just not exactly how to do it. Vex gave him the first steps though, so he closed his golden eyes and thought of human. Two arms with hands, not paws, flat face, tattoos instead of fur, brown eyes, hair only on the head ... well, mostly. He thought about the blah-blah human words and being slow and weak ... and started to feel something happening. As a wolf, he pulled away from it at first, big front paws shifting a bit, but he kept his eyes closed and soon enough he found that inner thread again, and chased it down like a deer. On the outside, Carson’s big wolf body went stiff and then collapsed to one side, seizing and convulsing in that way that was now familiar to his audience as he started the painful process of shifting back.
Rylee held her breath as Vex spoke to Carson. It definitely felt as if Carson was in there somewhere, because the wolf was responding. She had no idea if it would work but before she could make any suggestions of her own, the wolf was moving and Rylee could see the big body starting to stiffen and shift. It was important to maintain her distance in case he lashed out, but once she recognized Carson she hurried over to him, kneeling down beside him to make sure he was okay. "Carson?" She said his name softly, unsure as to whether or not she ought to touch him. "Are you okay?" Maybe he was in pain. Maybe he needed painkillers, or his medication. But he was back and he was human and Rylee felt like she could breathe properly again.
Vex sighed a breath of relief even if there was still some lingering sadness now that the wolf was gone. He was a handful and Vex wouldn't know how to take care of a live-in werewolf for long but it had been so good to see him and now he was gone. He got up and moved to pick up Carson's clothes to bring them over. Carson probably wouldn't love staying naked and he had no doubt he was just fine. A little werewolf hangover had never hurt him in the past. "We've got some Tylenol," he murmured as he crouched down on the other side of Carson and put his clothes down. "You want some water?"
It was always disorienting to be in one form and then suddenly not anymore -- the shift hurt, but Carson wasn’t terribly conscious of the experience while it was happening, so it was kind of like fainting. His eyes rolled open and blinked blearily until he focused on Rylee’s face, his brain dopey and slow to catch up to things. His body was human again, and as lucid thoughts started to flood back in and he really remembered what had just happened, a grin overtook his face and he laughed. He couldn’t help it, it just bubbled up out of him. His head and body hurt, and he was vaguely aware he was naked on Vex’s floor, but the giddy joy from realizing that he had control instantly overshadowed those things. Carson reached for Rylee and pulled her down into a hug, the laughter gaining a bit more traction in him and getting louder. “Ry, did you see me?” he asked in the middle of it, though of course she had, she’d been right there. “I did it, I can do it!” Carson let her go with one hand to grab hold of Vex’s shirt to pull him down too, not giving it much thought. He was just so elated, he wanted to hug both of them and roll around and laugh and yell and celebrate. He had control! He was safe, and so was everyone around him!
Rylee was taken aback by Carson's joy but she couldn't help but smile, despite her lingering worry over what had happened. She let him hug her, inwardly clinging to the fact that he had shifted back and she shouldn't be angry that he'd tried it at all. He needed to know what his boundaries were, after all. Still, she couldn't quite shake the realization that she could have lost him again if he had been stuck as a werewolf. Those few moments had been terrifying, but she swallowed it all back, forcing herself to smile. "I saw," she said, trying not to think about the fact that Carson was holding her and Vex to him, naked. She had seen his body so many times but it wasn't as if she could appreciate it or even kiss him right then. "Are you really okay? Did it hurt?"
The joy was infectious for sure and Vex laughed too, patting Carson's bare shoulder when he pulled away again. Rylee's question was so damn valid, changing either way looked like it hurt and now he couldn't help but wonder if eating an entire steak would make human Carson feel a little sick or if the wolf had metabolized it already. He usually spent a great deal longer as a wolf so a short 'visit' like this might feel different. "Do you need to puke?" he added to her question before smiling kindly. "You're a pain in the ass as a wolf, but damn it was good to see you again."
“I mean yeah, it hurt, but I’m okay,” Carson answered, feeling good enough to be amused by them fretting over him so much. He’d done this shift a few times before, they’d seen it. This time was a little different, since it was outside of the cage and he hadn’t been drugged up, but still. Now that Vex mentioned it, he did realize that he felt a bit nauseated, but he wasn’t in imminent danger of puking, so he shook his head as he sat up. Still buoyantly happy, Carson hugged Rylee again. “I’m really okay,” he murmured. “Great, even.” As he pulled back, he planted a kiss right on her lips, not even thinking about how he wasn’t supposed to do that in front of people. Vex was pack, who gave a shit? Then Carson reached for his clothes, finding his boxer briefs to pull on first. “I am really thirsty though,” he went on, like he hadn’t just kissed his cousin. He hadn’t, he’d kissed his Rylee. “That lunchmeat was salty as fuck.”
It was a relief that he was okay and not in any major pain. Rylee huffed with soft amusement when he hugged her, especially since he was naked and in Vex's living room. But she definitely wasn't expecting the kiss and her lips yielded against his for only a brief moment before realizing what he was doing. Trying not to freeze up, she felt her face flush with embarrassment even as Carson pulled away to get his clothes. All she could really do was spare a quick glance at Vex before she got to her feet and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. It was probably nothing to worry about because Vex was an odd duck and family members kissed each other all the time. Sort of.
Vex didn't think much of the kiss, though it was hard to miss just how red Rylee's face turned. He was more concerned with the water at the moment, laughing at Carson's remark about the food. "Picky wolf," he said as he headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. "Hope the tater tots were to your liking. And the steak." He cocked a brow as he returned, offering the bottle to Carson who was now mostly dressed. "I was getting worried you'd stay hungry and we'd have to go out to get you something to keep you good."
Carson tugged his clothes on while Vex went to the kitchen, getting his prosthetic secured before he slipped his pants back on. He was oblivious to Rylee’s embarrassment at the moment, too jazzed about what had just happened to notice. His stomach wasn’t terribly happy still, but he thought water would help. “The steak was amazing. I wanted to hunt, but probably best you didn’t let me out,” he said with a little laugh as he accepted the water. Still sitting on the floor, Carson cracked it open and drank down a few long swallows. Then he set it down and reached for Vex’s help with a muttered, “Gimme a hand.” Once Carson was up on his feet again, he pulled the other man into a tight bear hug and laughed softly again. “This is a game changer, man. Thank you.”
Rylee's eyes widened when Carson mentioned having wanted to hunt but she said nothing. He seemed so happy and she didn't want to rain on the parade by getting upset, or pointing out every terrible thing that could have happened. She stayed out of their way, feeling out of place and upset for reasons that probably didn't matter in the long run. Watching him hug Vex drew a small smile to her face though, because she was glad Carson had someone he could trust and help him when he needed it. It made her feel a little guilty that she was taking him away from Point Pleasant, but deep down Rylee knew it was the right choice for the both of them.