ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ (spellcasts) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-02-18 14:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | roman etana ka'uhane, zjames byrne |
i take a laser beam
Who: James & Roman
What: James stops by with beer, and discovers Roman returning from an animal heist
When: Idk last week sometime?
Where: Roman's Zoo
Rating: Low
Status: Complete
As always when it came to Roman, James didn’t necessarily have a plan. He supposed he didn’t really need one anyway though, right? There hadn’t been a plan when he went to the diner for a patty melt and ended up sharing his bed with the fellow, not to mention a broken couch. At any rate, they had fun, and there was nothing wrong with a little bit of that - eventually he would want more than simply fun, however, because James knew himself. He knew that he wouldn’t want to spend the rest of his unpredictably long life hopping from bed to bed - he would want commitment and security and love and all of that rubbish most damaged people including himself claimed to not want to touch with a twenty-foot pole; but for now, he went with the flow of things. People made their own destinies, but if something was supposed to happen - it was going to happen regardless. A nice little combination of the fates pulling their puppet strings and making choices along whatever path presented itself. At the moment, he chose to wander on up to Roman’s house, with the gift of beer. It wasn’t home brew, nothing that would grow hair on your palms or cause you to talk like a washing machine, but something special from Northern Ireland called the Spitting Llama. It was quite flavourful, a little sweet, a little malty - one of his favourites, actually. And he brought a case of it. Only Roman didn’t seem to be home, so that was odd - he said he didn’t often leave the island, just on those rare occasions. Perhaps he’d be back soon, but still, James wouldn’t wait all night. Shifting the case of beer under his arm, he fished for his car keys and decided to just head back to his place and text in a bit. That would work. Roman was a creature of excess and somebody who lived very much in the moment. Impossible not to considering how long lived he was going to be and the inevitability of life hurtling towards the void. Death was inevitable, one way or another, and honestly he dreaded the thought of one day finding the ’one’ and that one then having a much shorter lifespan which meant watching them grow old and die. Honestly the thought of it freaked him out and so he much rather focus on the here, now and what was fun and what made him feel alive. Today just happened to be one of those days. He had ventured off the island for the main reason why he left Summerview, to “liberate” mistreated animals or rather pet-nap. Honestly he didn’t see it that way, not at all. In Roman’s mind if people couldn’t be bothered to treat their animals right then they shouldn’t have them. Simple. Dragon logic. Flawless. That was if Roman was left to his own devices and he didn’t have Luke pointing out the holes in his argument. Tonight was one of those nights, when there was no Luke, and Roman could do what Roman did best and that was liberate animals. Two black cats and one dachshund to be exact. He’d been keeping his eyes on these three animals for a couple days, waiting to see if their owners were going to do right by them but they didn’t, and so Roman had taken it upon himself to rescue them. He was just pulling up onto the drive of his place as James was turning to walk away and Roman killed the engine before sticking his head out of the window. “Hey,” he greeted with a broad grin. Oh shit, wait, he had liberated animals on his person. Not that he was ashamed of his antics but… fuck it, Roman popped open the door and let the animals out. And there he was. James was about to head back to his beaten-up Mustang, held together by Thoughts and Prayers™ and zip ties, when he saw Roman approach. The car door opened and a loaf of bread with legs rushed at him - James set down the case of beer, and bent to scoop up the yipping little dog (the cats didn’t seem to give a shit, as was the feline way). “Christ on a bike, what is this?” he asked rhetorically, laughing in a gravel-spray sort of way as the wiggling dog licked all over his face. Yet the question was one James already knew the answer to - a trip to liberate animals, one of the few reasons Roman left the island. Apparently it was a successful venture. “Is this it? Have you got any more in that Petnapping Mobile?” he inquired jokingly. The dachshund really was cute though, even James had to admit. “That my friend is Pippa,” Roman remarked with a smile as he watched James was promptly licked by the sausage dog in question. “She’s a young one. Only a year old.” How he knew that was probably something best left unanswered. Roman just happened to be super passionate about animals and anybody in his life that he cared about. He snorted and in an unusual self conscious move he ducked his head and rubbed his across the back of his neck. “Uh yeah that’s it. No others in there I swear.” The cats had seemingly made themselves comfortable on his porch. “You’re bloody adorable,” James just had to grin, a smile that reached his eyes and crinkled them at the corners. “Or did I mean Pippa?” He was teasing, naturally, because clearly he meant both. Holding the wee pup in the crook of one arm, he grabbed the libations again. “I just thought I’d drop by. Bring one of my favourite brews. If you’re busy I can come back...” Now he was curious about what other furchildren Roman had stashed away in his animal sanctuary. Plus, James just wanted to see him. If it ended in snogging and breaking furniture, then so be it (though what a nice bonus that would be). Oh Roman had quite a few. Dogs, cats, lizards, snakes, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, horses and the like. Obviously the horses lived outside in the field behind his house and not in the home. Not like Annie the donkey who had since passed. She was an old girl and hadn’t been well treated so Roman might have spoiled her a little. And he couldn’t forget about the squirrels and the ferrets. It was honestly nothing short of a miracle that Roman managed to keep on top of them all and his house didn’t smell like well a farm. He did take great pride in that. “Nah, I’m not busy,” Roman assured James as he watched with some amusement as he made sure to tuck Pippa under his arm to retrieve the alcohol. “And even if I was I’d make time for you.” He rummaged out his keys and even before he’d put them into the lock there was the sound of exciting barking and yipping on the other side of the door. “Lemme just wrangle these guys into the kitchen,” he murmured as nothing short of a full pack full of dogs attempted to surge out of the house to greet the new person excitedly. Roman was on hand however to scoop them up and deposit them into the kitchen so James wasn’t overwhelmed. He’d have enough of that in the house alone. “Welcome to my la-“ Wait, no, it wasn’t a lair. That wasn’t what humans called their place of residence, “Home.” “Thanks, darling - “ And oh, hello there, circus. It was clear that Roman’s home doubled as a zoo because as soon as James stepped inside? He felt like he had walked into a theme park, where there was just so much going on. So much. Dogs and cats, and the chirping of birds - he assumed there were reptiles too; perhaps even an anaconda would drop itself from the ceiling fan and make itself comfortable on James. He gingerly stepped around nests and piles of toys (maybe even stepped on something that squeaked), finding a surface to place cold bottles of beer down onto. “God’s holy trousers, this is quite a place.” James loved animals though - likely not as much as Roman, since the witch was content with his lone dog and cat - so he was pleased to stoop and pay some attention to another dog. Something fluffy, maybe a poodle mix. “And here I thought dragons just hoarded gemstones?” he chuckled. As James did in fact step on something that squeaked there was a grumbling huffing from behind him which preceded the arrival of a ferret who very quickly retrieved its toy and disappeared again. “In a good or a bad way?” Roman asked, eyes narrowing a little as he tried to assess where James was at. Dragons could be very sensitive creatures if they felt like somebody didn’t appreciate their home or rather hoard in Roman’s case. He didn’t want for jewels, money, books and any other thing that other dragons wanted. No. His want was simple. Animal companions. He also made a point of rescuing them (actual rescue not the pet-napping habit he’d developed in the last fifty years or so) and tried to give them a good and loving home. He led the other man into his living space which was blessedly free of animal paraphernalia though there were some shelves and a number of other items which allowed the animals who liked being off the ground to do just that. “Never had much interest in gemstones,” he admitted with a rueful smile before he belatedly realised something. “I haven’t greeted you properly.” And Roman did just that a moment later as he threaded his fingers into James hair and pressed a slow lingering kiss to his mouth before grinning as he pulled away. “Hey.” Well then, James would certainly take a proper greeting. He returned the kiss, and eagerly so - it was the kind that ignited passion and inspired all sorts of watercolours behind his eyelids, as his arms slid around Roman and his hands splayed on the man’s back. “Definitely in a good way,” he shared, when he could actually breathe again - sneakily his touch navigated south, and grabbed a handful of draconic ass. Which was oh-so-nice. “I fully support you crushing twats who are terrible to animals, and rescuing the ones that need a good home.” What sort of selfish sod would treat an animal badly? The worst kind of person, really. They fully deserved what they got in that case. “Or...eating people who are terrible to animals. Is that what happens? I’m curious about what you look like in dragon form,” he mused. Though the human form was perfect and all, don’t get him wrong. Roman’s lips pulled into a further grin as it was clear his kiss was welcome and James wasn’t at all shy about letting his hands explore. The horse had already bolted on that one given how their last meeting had gone, but, hey, it was still good to know that James had no issues with making himself familiar. “Well, good,” he said with a definitive nod of his head as he was very pleased with James’ response to his question. He ran his fingers through James’ hair and shrugged his shoulders. “I can neither confirm or deny that I have eaten somebody who was terrible to animals.” In Roman language that was as good as a confirmation that he definitely had. “And I’ve been told I’m quite the sight in dragon form. Maybe one day I’ll show you.” Roman reluctantly pulled away and made himself comfortable on his couch, shifting the rather plump black tortoiseshell who went by the name of Mitzy so that James could join him. Alright, so Roman definitely had eaten animal abusers - and if that wasn’t one of the sexiest things James had ever heard (perhaps he had strange tastes). “Oh, I believe you are quite the sight. So I’ll hold you to that, my favourite draconic dog walker,” he grinned, grabbing two of the beers he’d brought and settling on the couch. Once the fat cat was moved, of course. ‘Mitzy’ luckily didn’t seem to mind too much. He scooted in close, fishing for his keys again so he could utilise the miniature bottle opener. Plink, plink went the caps onto the coffee table. “What shall we toast to?” he inquired curiously. Roman winked at James and reached forward to pick up one of the bottles. “To an unexpected but most welcome surprise visit?” He suggested as he clinked his bottle against James’ and then took a slow pull. Mm, that was good, he liked this drink. “And y’know you didn’t run screaming in the opposite direction when you got sight of my small zoo.” That would never change, not for as long as Roman was alive, his house would always be full of animals. James laughed fondly, over the clink of those beer bottles. He also took a long pull, a satisfying pull - nothing hit the spot like a cold beer sometimes, honestly. “It’s from Northern Ireland,” he shared, pleased that Roman seemed to like it. “Lots of good things come from there.” Including himself, and yes, he phrased it that way on purpose. “And why would I run screaming, darling?” The thought amused him for some reason. “It’s not like you’ve got lampshades made of human skin in here.” That he could tell, anyway. “So I’ve noticed,” Roman returned smoothly and with a very pointed look at James. “And I dunno, the zoo can and has been intimidating to people in the past.” But he definitely wasn’t apologising or intending to change anytime soon. “But clearly you’re made of sturdier stuff.” And yes he had meant to phrase it that way considering what had happened on that couch and then the bed. He took a further drink and then sat back into the corner of his couch. “How goes your couch hunting anyways?” James supposed if you didn’t like animals, a house overrun with them could be intimidating - but Roman wouldn’t want to spend his time with someone like that, clearly. “Well, I did get a new couch,” he said, as a cat jumped up into his lap. And started purring like a motorboat. He gave the furball a few scratches on its chinny-chin-chin, the cat’s eyes all squinched shut in pleasure. It was a lot friendlier than Cheeto, who was very reserved when it came to affection - he’d d often plant his bum right by James, but not usually in his lap. When he did, it was often at inopportune times. Like when he had five seconds to go ‘til he needed to leave for work or something. “You’re welcome to come by and test it out,” James added with a smirk. He’d see how long it lasted. “And just come by in general. I won’t sneak any veg into anymore dinners.” Maybe. The cat that had jumped up onto James’ lap was a tomcat by the name of Pirate because obviously the cat was missing one eye. “Oh, I’ll definitely take you up on that offer,” he assured James with a grin that was nothing short of predatory. He tipped his bottle towards James and nodded. “Am-fucking-men. Ugh, vegetables.” Roman reached out to knock James’ shin with the toe of his boot. “So, aside from couch shopping, what have you been up to?” James offered a grin in response, one that reached the deep blue seas of his eyes. “Nothing too adventurous, you’ve been there for much of it,” he said, reaching over and patting Roman’s knee, giving it a squeeze. It had been fun, venturing off the island to Atlantic City for a delicious dive bar and a game or two of pool. Besides, it gave Roman a chance to do something besides leave for the purposes of pet-napping. And James would go stir crazy if he was stuck in one spot for too long - so, everyone won. “I suppose I’ve...settled here. It’s a bit strange, I haven’t made a home in one place in quite awhile. But I’ve been here for over a year and there’s no reason to go yet. And what about you?” He eyed Roman speculatively. “You change up the routine lately?” “Mm, true that,” the dragon agreed with a hearty laugh. Roman shook his head. “Not really. I mean I’ve met a whole lot of new people and also made sure Luke is fed but aside from that? Nope.” He’d been in Summerview for a lot longer than a year and yet he felt no urgent need to go anywhere else. “It’s kind of surprising how many people are turning up here.” Sort of worried him a little because it made him wonder about what was going on in the world at large. “Aye, surprising and...disconcerting.” Such an influx of people didn’t necessarily mean anything good, but for James, his train of thought could just be due to the fact that he was sometimes a pessimist. But who could blame him? He didn’t have great experiences with people, human or otherwise. That was why he didn’t really take sides in that philosophical battle of ‘should all of humanity die in a fire or not?’ debacle. Those who thought such things about humans clearly needed to face their own issues and the causes of their own anger before damning an entire race. He slid closer, effective at being able to fuse himself to Roman’s side - for warmth and comfort, obviously. “More bodies probably explains why there’s trouble with the barrier. And all that ‘political unrest,’ seeping into here...” Oh yes, how delightful. James couldn’t wait for more shit to hit the fan. “And if things go tits up, what will you do?” As James slid closer Roman lifted his arm and curled it around the other man’s shoulder, fingers idly toying with the material of the other man’s shirt. “Fight,” he offered with a shrug. “I’m sure as shit not letting anything or anyone hurt the people I care about.” They’d have to kill him first before Roman let that happen. He was and would always be exceptionally protective and quite honestly he was terrifying when he got going. He tipped his head to regard James. “And you? What will you do?” The hand on the other man’s shoulder trailed up until that idle touch turned its attention to the dark strands of his hair. “And who is included, in that ‘people I care about’ list?” James asked, his tone teasingly hinting that he assumed he was on it - and was simply jerking Roman’s chain (in a good way), something he discovered he enjoyed participating in. Though he wasn’t certain what he’d do yet, if it got down to the wire. He’d gone through his whole life not really caring about anyone except himself - and wondering what it would be like to care. To fight for someone with such conviction though, such passion - how interesting that would be. “I’ve spent most of my life alone,” he mused. Not physically, of course - he could find himself some company if he desired; it had always been that way. Yet it was possible to feel alone even surrounded by others. “I’ve never had to...look out for anyone before. But ultimately, I just think that those who come here looking for sanctuary don’t deserve to have that ripped out from under them.” So he’d fight too. Maybe. “Well,” Roman began with a considering look, “There are a couple people.” His fingers tightened ever so slightly in the other man’s hair before he loosened his grip and returned it to its previous idle exploration. “And yes you are on that list.” He listened as James spoke, explaining his experiences in life and he found that he definitely agreed with his point of view. Anybody who had come to Summerview for sanctuary deserved to know what that was and to not have it yanked away. “So regardless of what happens I’ve got your back.” “I’ve got yours too,” James promised, eyes slitting to half-moons at the feel of fingers in his hair. It was, admittedly, one of his weaknesses - like catnip to him, in fact. Actually, being cared about was like catnip to him too - he very much wanted to matter to someone. Perhaps then he’d start to believe that he was worth getting to know, that maybe he was good for something other than what was between his legs. But enough about his issues. He patted Roman’s chest, right where his heart was beating. Thump, thump. It was soothing, in a way. And the feel of him was solid and very real. “Besides, I don’t want to try to find another dog walker to take Prince out,” his lips quirked up in a half-smile. Roman was well aware of James’ weakness for fingers in his hair as he had found that out the last time they’d been together and he was definitely using it in a very different way. “Mm, good,” he drawled as he dropped an affectionate kiss on James’ temple. He might be more than capable of fucking somebody’s brains out but he was also very affectionate and caring to those he considered part of his close knit group of people. He gave a chuckle at the admission around Prince and snorted, lifting his other hand to curl around and squeeze James’ wrist. “Yeah, God forbid, right? Nobody’s gonna have the same rapport with him as me.” “Of course not,” James rolled his eyes fondly. “Alright, Animal Whisperer, why don’t you - “ He framed Roman’s face with his spell-casting hands, scarred and calloused as they were, leaning in and planting a smack of a kiss on him. “Take me on a tour of the rest of your zoo?” This was a fairly large house and he wanted to see the rest of the brood. It was possible Roman even had a duck pond or something, or no, it must be something even bigger - a jungle in the backyard to accommodate for the rest of his collection of creatures. Truth was Roman did have a couple horses and farm animals that he’d taken in along with a few rabbits and tortoises in a pond out back. There were also fish. Koi to be exact. Honestly Roman could charge admission for access to his house and people would definitely get a wide breadth of animal experiences. “Alright,” he said with a grin as he got to his feet and began the tour. It made sense to start out back and work their way in. Out back James was introduced to those particular animals along with a range of names and distinct personalities because they were such individuals. And Roman well he knew them and clearly adored them. As they headed back indoors that’s when all the creatures who wouldn’t do as well against the weather were revealed including a rather grumpy looking bearded dragon and an overzealous bloodhound that definitely liked James. Going up the stairs revealed more shelves where cats lounged like the lazy creatures they were and every room it seemed was just another treasure trove of the animal kingdom. The only rooms that were completely animal free (save for when Roman went to sleep because some of his animals liked to cuddle) were the bathroom and his bedroom. Remarkably for a house filled with animals it was clean and smelt nice but Roman took pride in his home. “There’s a couple others you haven’t seen yet,” he shared as he leaned against the door to one of the bedrooms as he watched James and the squirrel he’d rescued from a particularly harsh winter one year. “Mostly because they’re shy.” A bloodhound, a koi pond, forest creatures - oh my. James had been rather fond of the aforementioned bloodhound too, actually, with its floppy ears and droopy face. He wished he had some treats on him, but had to settle for bestowing plenty of belly rubs and bum scratches on the good boy. Next time he’d bring something for his favourite. The bloodhound, not Roman. Ha. Though he’d probably bring treats for Roman too. “It’s - “ The squirrel zoomed past, quick and near invisible. Well then. “It’s definitely quite a place, I stand by that,” James laughed a little. Honestly, what was most impressive was indeed the smell - meaning, the clean scent about the place. It must be magic all unto its own, considering all these cats meant quite a good number of litter boxes. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. He patted Roman’s cheek affectionately. “It really does suit you.” And it was nice to see someone who felt so strongly about what they did, how they lived - yet without hiding any of it. What you saw was what you got. James appreciated that. Roman gave an easy smile and lifted his shoulders. “It’s home.” And it was, Roman wouldn’t change anything about it. Animals were most of the time a ton better than people and Roman just wanted to do right by them. He was who he was, no apologies given, and on occasion absolutely no fucks given as well. “Relieved you reacted so positively,” Roman admitted. “Y’know instead of making a run for it.” Aw. He was relieved, was he? That got James all warm and fuzzy inside. Because he would have assumed it didn’t really matter - if he’d made a run for it (not that he would - he had done enough of that in his life, there was no reason to now), then surely Roman would just pull himself up by his bootstraps or whatever, and gotten over it two seconds later. For James, it was somewhat relieving to hear that wasn’t necessarily the case. “Why would I do that?” he grinned, a shade of lecherous and Cheshire Cat to it, and draped his arms around Roman’s neck. “You’re my favourite crazy cat lady.” Seriously, all this pussy. He was drowning in it (har, har, har). “Well, yeah,” Roman replied. “I mean you’re fun to be around and I enjoy your company so would’ve sucked if you had turned tail and run.” He did snort however at the remark about him being a crazy cat lady and rolled his eyes but the other did have a point. Roman did have a lot of cats after all and he’d gone and adopted two more. His hands came to rest on James’ waist as he reclined back against the doorway and regarded the other man. “Don’t think there are a lot of crazy cat ladies on this island,” he returned with a chuckle. “Unless you know something I don’t?” “There may be, but I’d say you’re by far the best one - and the best-looking,” James pointed out, hands gripping the solid muscle mass that comprised Roman’s shoulders, and squeezing gently. The best-looking, the largest - he honestly wanted to see someone try and tell this draconic dog walker that he’d have to give up some of his animals. It might cause an earthquake. Oh, such a delight to be in a zoo. He was glad he’d come over. “Well, how about we break into the rest of that beer and see where the night takes us?” James suggested, and safe to say, he was open to most anything. “Flatterer,” Roman fired back with a quirky half grin which came complete with teeth. “And that sounds like an amazing idea.” Going with the flow was the half of the fun of living life. Roman didn’t really do plans, he just sort of went where life took him. And sure it had led him into some really shitty experiences but it had also given him some truly amazing ones. Meeting James was definitely ranked in the better experiences he’d had in his very long life. He leaned in to steal another kiss before his arm went around James’ shoulders and he led them back downstairs. |