svelosynco (svelosynco) wrote in thegrand_ic, @ 2012-04-19 18:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | casper jameson knight, taj habib bahar |
Who Taj and Casper
Where Taj's House
What That peanut butter and popcorn experiment and a piano lesson
Warnings TBD Low
Status Still Adding.
tajmuhull:
Taj may have been a rather conflicted and slightly introverted individual but that didn't stop him from having fun, his version of fun that was. His rooftop, his playtime with his bros, his cats, his hookah, his music, his gambling, his ever present hacking-type activities that even being on probation with jail time on the shelf has never stopped. Most these activities were done alone or with strangers he didn't let into his inner self. But, that didn't mean the guy didn't know how to have a blast in his own way. And frankly all the emotional jargon of recent events was causing an itch that was really teetering on the edge of needing to be scratched bad. He'd spent a few days doing his usual pattern of depressive self wallowing, getting high, getting drunk, trying to stay alone -as his usual pattern goes- but Casper went and tossed up his pattern and he wasn't left alone at all. Just that one change in his habitual routine's rut had him up and about trucking to the store like it was the best day in the history of the world. Earbuds stuffed in and be-bopping to some tunes as he went down the grocery isles looking for popcorn. He got a microwave box and headed on his way, grabbing a few impulse items and shuffled his way back home like the wind was carrying him back to someplace grand. Taj had already set up the old Keyboards in the music studio and he'd put the peanut butter and popcorn on the kitchen counter for whenever Casper showed up and went to his living room talking to his cats like people, like he often did, "I know he's cute, but if you keep saying stuff like, you're gonna end up going down with the ship." He said this laughing to Clef as if the cat had said anything to him at all. Really when Taj talked to his cats it was more like he was talking to himself and all the different sides of himself. "Why are you on that ship to begin with? You trying to play out Titanic? You know it hits an iceburg eventually right?" And there the cat meowed and Taj narrowed his eyes. "Don't take that tone with me. He's too cute not to put some money down on that." Casper didn't know it but he was being talked about... well to someone who couldn't really talk back, but Casper was being talked about none-the-less.
casperhowls:
If Casper was being completely honest with himself he’d admit that what Taj had told him earlier had hurt, it had hurt a lot, far more than he expected it to. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t understand where the other was coming from, he did, at least he thought he did but there was still that nagging feeling inside of him that told him Taj didn’t trust him, which was why he wouldn’t talk about his brother’s and what they were, the Sphinx had said it himself, he wouldn’t betray his brother’s secrets like that but he’d been all too willing to tell them all about the werewolf, he understood, he did, because if he was in the other’s position he wouldn’t tell Casper anything either, he was just the werewolf that tried to kill a sibling. It was a good thing, as he made his way to Taj’s house he kept telling himself that, because if he didn’t know what he was up against if the other’s brothers chose to come find him with violent intent after what he’d done to Andy than there was a chance that if he didn’t know their strengths and weaknesses then he couldn’t hurt them too much which in turn wouldn’t hurt Taj as much. No, the only one that could possibly be hurt from this situation he’d gotten himself in was Casper and he was okay with that, after all. He couldn’t really say that he didn’t deserve it.
Chewing on his lower lip he made his way to the front door, pausing where he was about to knock when he heard Taj’s voice from inside and hesitated, if the other had company than he didn’t want to brother him and he was just about ready to turn around and head straight back in the direction he’d come from when he heard that familiar voice continuing even though the only response he’d been given was from one of his cats. Raising an eyebrow he rocked back on the heels of his pink shoes a moment before finally lifting his hand to knock on the door, a bag with all the clothes Taj had let him borrow so far hanging from his arm.
tajmuhull:
Taj of course saw the situation from a different point of view. It was about timeline and history. The history part being that he always told his brothers everything that happened and so what happened on the roof was certainly conversation worthy and warning worthy. He also held no emotional stake in who Casper was at that point. This was the timeline part. After that, things changed. A relationship of some kind was developing. As for telling Casper everything about his brothers, well that crossed a line that had never been crossed in all of Taj's dating years because he'd never been close to anyone in that way. Not to mention the blood bound pact all 5 of the boys made vowing to never to tell anyone so many years ago in that orphanage. The can the pact mixed blood brothers had put the written contract in was still buried in the depths of the hard playground earth, like a time capsule that would probably never be resurfaced again. All of that were variables in Taj's frame of mind that Casper didn't quite know yet and the truth of the matter was... he didn't completely trust Casper. That wasn't to say he thought Casper would do something bad to him or hurt him on purpose or his brothers. That wasn't it. He didn't believe Casper would tell a soul anything he said about them, but it his decision to not speak was based on years of ingrained loyalty. But, what Taj's slight doubt in Casper was, his moving around so much. Taj was growing a fear that Casper would just leave and that was one thing Andy knew better than anyone about Taj.
He believed everyone left. That was his hang up about people. They never stuck it out for the long haul, so temporal, so fickle. Taj was always left hurt until he gave up trying. It was one of his deepest scars and Casper was openly telling him all the time this was the life he had to lead. There the pair was making plans for salt hotels and magical horizons for years ahead all while Taj still felt the need to make Casper promise to say good bye if he had to go. Casper may not have known this, but that was Taj's doubts, his fears, his open reference to not trusting Casper would stick around, even for the plans they were sharing. Taj wanted it all so badly, but his old patterns of mistrust were mingled in there, even if he was giving Casper more trust than he'd ever given anyone outside his brothers in his entire lifetime. Taj heard the door and picked himself up, shushing the cat as if it were really the one talking, "Shhh. He'll hear you and know I care already." As if Casper couldn't tell Taj cared anyway? What a ham?! But, Taj made it to the door and opened it, reached out for the middle of Casper's chest, fisted his shirt and yanked him inside right up to his face and slammed a kiss against his lips.
casperhowls:
On the contrary Casper had no idea what he was to Taj or what he meant to the other, all he knew was how he felt and it would be lying if he said that he liked it, sure he liked some parts but the majority of his feelings toward the other terrified him and this was coming from a werewolf that had never truly been afraid of anyone his entire life but here he was afraid of Taj because the Sphinx now had the ability to hurt him, to crush his soul entirely whether he knew it or not and then there was Andy, Taj was in love with him he’d told him that one himself and well, that hurt even more. It was these poisonous little thoughts as fear flittered through his mind that Casper decided to turn around right there and leave, sure he’d already knocked on the door but he was fast and he was used to hiding by now that he’d somewhat perfected it as an art form. He’d slowly put more and more distance between them and after that he’d leave, he wished he could have done it all sooner because he knew his wolf, he knew the feelings he had for Taj and he knew he’d try and kill Andy again before it was all said and done. Funny thing about wolves; they often mated for life.
There was a brief moment of panic in his chest when he heard those footsteps near the door and realized that despite the perfect little plan he had formulated within his mind he was still standing there, feet frozen to the spot where they probably would have stayed forever if the door hadn’t opened and if Taj hadn’t grabbed him like that and pulled. Casper didn’t think as he kissed him back because he liked it, he liked everything about it but eventually those same fears slowly began to seep back into his mind and he broke their lip lock by ducking his head, cheeks blushing with embarrassment. “Urhm..I brought your clothes back.”
tajmuhull:
For all of Taj's knowlege, he was in no way omni-anything and didn't have all the answers. And he most certainly didn't know werewolves were like normal wolves in the mating for life respect. That might be a magic of it's own that he didn't. Some people might want to use that to their selfish advantage thinking it was the key to a loyal relationship that didn't rely on real trust in love to have it being too secure from the start. Taj was starting to want Casper in his life for Casper and not some wolfy instinct or nature's force. But, Taj came out of that kiss grinning so wide, staying nuzzled up close, and reached up to thumb over those rosy cheeks he loved watching change hues against the pale of the rest his skin. Then he looked down at the clothes. "Oh. Thanks." He shirked taking them from Casper and setting them off on the table. Then he came running back up and slipped his two index fingers in the wolf's belt loops and tugged him towards the kitchen, walking backwards himself. He spoke teasingly, "Guess what I ha-a-ave?" But if Casper looked away from Taj for more than a second it wouldn't take him long to see the peanut butter and popcorn sitting on the counter all ready to be popped. Taj's shoulders kept shimmying back and forth as they backed their way into that kitchen, like he had energy all pent up that he was holding back from blowing out.
casperhowls:
Peeking up at the other through his hair and eyelashes that were far too long and dark to not to make any woman jealous Casper found himself grinning the moment he saw that smile on the other’s lips, there was just something about the other and he couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what that was but Andy was right, Taj had the ability to touch and make an impression upon anyone and everyone he met even if he didn’t realize it, that much was obvious just with the young werewolf himself, they’d met by odd chance and there wasn’t anyone else before that had managed to convince Casper that he had a reason to stay in one place rather than move on to a new town, a different city. That grin on his lips only widened the moment Taj did the now familiar action was pulling him along by the belt loops of his slightly too big jeans and in that moment he couldn’t seem to pull his gaze away from the other, watching the way his shoulder’s moved, the expressions that moved across his features. “What do you have?” He asked softly, walking with him.
tajmuhull:
Taj kept the blue eyed gaze and but started to sink to the floor and got on his knees. This would have opened the view up to the counter right in front of Casper to see the popcorn and peanut butter jar. He spun on crossed ankles as he was low to the ground and then popped right back up. This time of course after spinning with his back towards Casper and he reached back to snag the wolf's hands and pulled them around his own waist trying to keep him snugged close. He leaned little to the left and looked over his shoulder for scrunched up nose grin and glance before snagging the pb jar and twisting off the lid, sticking his finger right in and sticking it in his mouth. "mmm, now. Let's pop this. Or we'll never know what popcorn plus pb will ever taste like." And he ripped open the popcorn bag and shoved it in the microwave, turned it on, then stuck his finger back in the jar and ended up slinking right back around facing Casper with the jar held up against his chest with one hand and is his finger in his own mouth with the other, tilting his head. "Want Some?" He asked through a sticky slurred sounding voice from having peanut butter in the roof of his mouth, not to mention that finger still.
casperhowls:
Casper gave Taj a funny look when he dropped to the ground, head cocked slightly to the side as he wondered what had put the other in a such a good mood, it was a very different Taj from the last time he’d seen him, he’d looked exhausted then, tired and drawn but now he was acting very much like the Taj Casper had run into at the concert, a Taj that could make him blush far too quickly and far too easily especially when his arms were pulled around that small waist, he was grinning but he was still blushing, holding the Sphinx there as he rested his chin on his shoulder before letting him go when he started to move around the kitchen. “What if it tastes terrible?” He asked, eyeing the popcorn before his gaze found the peanut butter jar in the other’s hands once more, azure eyes following that finger all the way up to his mouth as he nodded his head in response. It had been twelve days since the full moon and his attack on Andy, Casper hadn’t eaten anything since.
tajmuhull:
Taj was feeling much better, more like himself. Well, it was all him, just the side of him that liked living and didn't feel so weighed down with worry. He was in a moment of acceptence, a little bit of clarity had strung through him and his usual just wants to have fun self was back in motion. It was always a thin space though. He could live this way happy and trucking right along for weeks if Andy lasted that long without having to be pulled from his own stormy rainclouds again. Taj wasn't just a brother. He was a caretaker in some respect. Andy once told him, he didn't want to be job and Taj never saw it that way. But, truth was Taj didn't know how to separate himself from the never ending cycle of damage Andy kept putting himself through, like enabler waiting for that phone call to help the addict they've obsessed their life around. There was a reason rehabilitation centers made places for family members of addicts too. Because enablers might not use drugs but they became clearly addicted to helping the addict out of trouble. It was an addiction of its own that hindered their own lives quite unhealthy. It was possible Taj fell into that category. In centers like that enablers gain the skills to live their own lives again, when they weren't aware they weren't living their own in the first place, living out the addict's pain as they tried to ease it. One of the first steps is to become aware that they're even doing it to begin with. It was also quite possible Taj was seeing this. Seeing that his own life was forfeit to make Andy's better. Taj just wasn't sure his sacrifice wasn't worth it yet. But, with Casper, he sure did start seeing and remembering life was fun, worth living for it's own right. That was a pretty big step and Casper made that happen. Turned on a light switch somewhere deep inside him. He was still sparkling up a camera worthy smile when he answered, "Then we'll throw it in the back yard for the birds?" He suggested giggling as the microwave beeped.
casperhowls:
Casper thought about that for a moment, a slight furrow in his brow as his tongue wiped across his lower lip before he jumped a little when the microwave beeped and finally spoke. “I don’t think birds would like peanut butter and if they did it would be a death trap for them...a carnival for your cats though.” He mused out, not entirely sure who he was talking to, whether it was himself or Taj, he had a bad habit of talking to himself, it was one of the reason why he hadn’t first asked Taj the moment that front door had been opened for him if he always spoke to his cats. “You’re part bird though and you like peanut butter so maybe they will.” He finally decided, addressing Taj now and waiting for that brief open window of a second when the other was distracted by the beeping microwave before his hand shot out and took the peanut butter jar from him, going through a drawer until he found a spoon, scooping up a generous amount before starting to suck on it, his stomach growling hungrily.
tajmuhull:
"Sure they do." Taj explained. "I make peanut butter pine cones feeders every winter and put them outside in the trees when food gets more scarce for the ones that don't fly south or can't. I get big ass pine cones. Tie a string on the top to hang it like an ornament or a birdhouse. Then I roll them up in peanut butter. Then I roll them in seeds and they stick all over it like glue. The birds love it." Taj smiled. "And my cats don't go outside. I don't let them. Too many cats get hit by cars and who knows what. Or people pick up cats because they roam unlike dogs and think they're strays even when they are not. I don't want to lose them." That was Taj afraid of things leaving him again even if he had real reasons not to. "They're like my kids. I'll probably never have kids so, I figure I better take extra care of my cats." He chuckled hearing Casper's stomach. " You sound like you're gonna need a lot more than this snack to fill that belly up. You want a real meal? I can order in? Or make something?" He suggested.
casperhowls:
“I used to make them with honey.” Casper garbled out from around the spoonful of peanut butter that was still hanging out from his lips, the roof of his mouth so thickly coated with it threatened to suffocate him before he reached up and removed the spoon, taking a moment to swallow what was already in his mouth before speaking again, shaking his head a little as he did so. “No I’m okay, I just really want peanut butter.” He continued, licking the spoon clean and then his lips. He never ate much which was probably why his wolf was always so ravenous and eager to eat every full moon but that thought had never once crossed Casper’s mind. Oh he had a massive appetite, it was the wolf in him that blessed him with an incredibly fast metabolism but he’d never once bought food, every penny he earned worked the bad jobs no one else wanted went towards him saving up to move onto a new town, sometimes he’d gotten lucky like here in Boston and had a job where he could sometimes sneak food but other times he’d had no job at all and somewhere along the line he’d just forgotten that he needed to eat, his wolf was too strong inside of him to ever let him starve to death. Peanut butter however was the exception; if he had the coins to spare he’d spoil himself with a jar or two. “How are we going to mix it? Should we melt it first?”
tajmuhull:
"Honey? Hmm. I never thought of that. That's really smart." Taj commented. "The Pooh Bear Pine Cone." Then just simply watching Casper go about eating the peanut butter kept the grin trimming his face. He wondered what it would be like to feed the wolf peanut butter. If he'd act like a dog that licked it and get all sidetracked with licking it off the roof of his mouth, tongue all flappy and silly and never-ending. Taj stuck that thought in the back of his mind for later and thought about melting it. "I've never melted peanut butter before. I have no idea how that would turn out. I have an idea. Let's get out a fancy dish and stick all the popcorn pieces with a toothpick and put a bowl of peanut butter in the middle like a real fancy h'orderve tray. Then we can pretend we're all proper while eating this skid row meal." He said it while pulling down a crystal tray to the counter and then pulled a small box of toothpicks. He opened the bag of steamy popcorn and poured that into a large bowl and but as he smacked a big plop of peanut butter in the small attached middle dipping bowl of the tray Taj couldn't help but be curious. He shook his head. "I gotta find out what happens when you melt peanut butter." Taj just could never pass up a reason to learn something. If he didn't know something then he was darn well going to find out and he ended up pulling a pot too and slapped another chuck of into it and and turned the heat on low. Then he came back around behind Casper and found himself the same position he had pulled Casper into earlier. He had his chin on his shoulder from behind and was reaching around the front and started to spear each piece of popcorn with a toothpick and then set up neatly on the serving tray so that it would look like a proper party platter.
casperhowls:
Casper still remembered rolling the pinecones on honey before rolling them around in a big bag of seeds for the birds, he’d been about four years old when the Matron first showed him how to do it, he could remember sitting there, getting covered in the sticky honey and often was more distracted with trying to lick it off his fingers, the honey he liked the taste of, the bird seeds not so much, he’d tried them once, to this day he couldn’t fathom why they had so much appeal to the birds. Throughout summer and spring, a few days before the full moon the matron sat him down out the back of the orphanage, away from the playground and the other children and let him make the little birdfeeders, she’d once said that it was because his wolf seemed to like playing with the feathers, to this day Casper wondered if it was just a puppy thing or if her ulterior motive was so that he could either be distracted by the feathers or eat the birds that grew accustomed to hanging around rather than turning his sharp teeth on the other children, maybe she’d known he was a monster all alone and just kept that little piece of information to herself, she seemed to help him create his own distractions for the round moon, in autumn and winter when the greenery became covered with ice and snow, she’d taught him how to cut up vegetables to leave out for the rabbits.
Pulling himself from those long lost little thoughts of his childhood Casper watched Taj pull down the crystal tray, his eyes widening a little the moment he saw it, instantly moving to stuff his hands into his pockets. It looked pretty and special, he knew it was better if he didn’t touch it, he had a habit of destroying pretty things. “Do you always do things just to see what happens?” He asked the Sphinx curiously when he put the peanut butter in the saucepan and grinned the moment he stepped up behind him, arms stretching out to the counter top either side of him. Some small part of him felt trapped in the position he was in, between the counter and Taj but the rest of him liked it, it felt...comforting almost, safe, two feelings the young werewolf had never felt all that often and he found himself leaning back a little into the warmth of the other male, glancing over his shoulder at him briefly before watching what he was doing with the popcorn, one land leaving his pocket to help. Carefully picking up a tooth pick he watched how Taj was doing it before lightly stabbed it into a piece of popcorn, watching as the popcorn piece broke into lots of little pieces, the toothpick itself splitting in half. “...Oops.”
tajmuhull:
"Yes." That made Taj giggle. "Or I'll forever be curious and that just won't do." He explained playfully. "I don't like not knowing stuff." He added then saw the popcorn crumble under Casper's touch. So, he placed his hand on top of Casper's, much how he did when they played the piano together and helped guide his fingertips over to pick up a new toothpick. He guided the motion from start to skewer, slowly until he helped him set his first one neatly on the tray. Then he turned his face against the wolf's bare neck and breathed him in deep before taking a little lick then a kiss. The pair had been intimate together more than once now and quite passionately so. Taj was anything but shy now when it came to their physical closeness and familiarity with him. "Mmm, I love how you smell." He said as some new pattern of hardly keeping one new private thought to himself anymore. Everything was starting to just fall right out. "And taste" he added pressing another kiss that had his tongue pressing right between his lips to faintly reach Casper's skin. Then he helped guide Casper's hand one more time, but this time he used less of his own muscle guidance trying to let Casper test his own pressure this time around. Meanwhile in the pot the peanut butter was melting down to almost a liquified state.
casperhowls:
Picking the pieces of the broken toothpick out of the bowl of popcorn, Casper glanced over his shoulder at Taj when that hand was placed on top of his own, grinning when he realized what the other was doing. He watched their hands move and his grin widened into a smile the moment they placed his first popcorn on the expensive looking tray, shivering the moment Taj’s lips and tongue found his neck, almost laughing when he heard him say that comment about the way he smelled, thinking that it was a very good thing he’d rinsed off before coming over. It was harder to concentrate on what they were doing the next time around, his body seeming so much more aware now of how close Taj was to him, it was distracting to say the least but he managed to stick his neck piece of popcorn on the skewer with only minimal damage to the fluffy looking white corn, dipped it in the peanut butter and placed it on the tray once more. He was a fast learned, the only real issue being that no one had previous thought to, or took the time to teach him how to properly use and control the strength he had within him. “Your kitchen smells like peanut butter.” He murmured, azure eyes wandering toward the saucepan on the stove top, leaning over slightly to see inside of it.
tajmuhull:
Taj helped with the next couple pieces before letting go, slipping those hands down around his waist to watch his progress smiling at him with each decent attempt. "It does. It's never smelled this peanut buttery in all my days." And that was the truth. Melting it down really had the aroma quite over powering. Taj leaned up and turned the stove top off and pulled the pan off the heat and to rest on a pot holder on the counter. Taj tossed a piece of popcorn in it and it practically disappeared, dissolving and disentigrating in the simmering heat. "hmmm. It's too hot still." He said leaning over it and blowing on it. "It's gotta cool off some first." So he went back to helping Casper load the tray. When enough time passed and the steam wasn't so thick coming from the pot Taj stuck his finger in it to test out the liquidy stuff. It was so thin it went drizzling down his fingers and onto his knuckles and he quickly lapped it up with his laughing. But, he stuck his finger right back in and turn facing Casper and acted like he was going to stick that finger his mouth to let him have a taste, but what he did was swipe Casper's lower lip with the clearish stuff like he'd applied lip gloss on the guy. This cause Taj to really giggle then, mashing their noses together for the chuckle before licking at his lips for a peanut butter playful kiss.
casperhowls:
Casper was watching every single one of Taj’s moves, eyes constantly moving between what the other was doing and his facial expressions, he just couldn’t seem to help it, he’d always been much more of an observer than a talker but he did frown a little when the popcorn piece disintegrated entirely, well at least they both now knew that it really was possible to melt peanut butter. “You should make your whole house smell like peanut butter instead of the other stuff.” He told him, turning his attention back to lightly stabbing the popcorn with the toothpicks, it felt as though he was applying no pressure at all to the task but he was managing to do a relatively alright job of it despite the fact that he had to concentrate hard to do such a simple task. He only managed to splinter one more toothpick between the time it took for the pot of melted peanut butter to cool down, eyes abandoning his task as he turned to watch Taj, watching him curiously when he moved closer and frowning at the other’s large when he smeared it over his lips. He was about to lick it off and see what he tasted like when the Sphinx decided to do just that for him instead, the feeling of Taj’s tongue against his lips making him hum but instead of letting Taj move away once he was done, the young werewolf wrapped his arms around him, pulling him even closer for a proper kiss. “..You taste like peanut butter.”
tajmuhull:
When that proper kiss came in Taj looped his arms up around Casper's neck and opened to deepen that kiss seeking a reason to feel so lucky and getting swept up in the essense of timid werewolf with a big heart that Taj found irresistably cute and the chemistry between them just kept mixing at just the right strength. He let out a hum of approval when their kiss parted. "Let's do it!" He laughed letting go and slamming open a new cabinet and finding little insence cups that had little tea candles underneath them to heat the oils. He put several of them on the table with bright eyes. He stopped to pick up a piece of popcorn by the tooth pick and stuck it in his mouth. He started lighting the candles and then filled each cup with the liquid peanut butter instead of scented oils. "Let's set them all over the house." He was having fun. "The neighbors are going to think I turned this place into a Reeses factory." Then he started to carry them all over and set them in different rooms hoping Casper would be helping. He held one last burner by the end of it and looked at Casper. "For the studio? We didn't put one down there. We can play piano now?"
casperhowls:
Casper was grinning after that kiss, his lips still tingling from the other’s touch, the taste of peanut butter lingering in his mouth; both were quickly becoming his two new favourite things. He laughed when the other decided to take him up on the idea and started pulling out the things he needed, he was quickly starting to realize that the Sphinx was very eager to try anything that was different that he hadn’t done before and whether he realized it or not, Casper was starting to love that about him. They were almost complete opposites to one another, Taj was incredibly smart, outgoing and eager to try new things while Casper had barely scraped by with F’s what little time he’d spent at school, he was shy and he was perfectly content to stick with what he knew and leave it at that, at that moment all they really seemed to have in common was both their love for peanut butter and the fact that they weren’t human but that didn’t bother Casper one single bit.
Quietly he helped the Sphinx carry the little contraptions, placing them in the rooms that Taj didn’t before meeting back up with him in the kitchen, grinning the moment he suggested playing the piano, nodding his head quickly in response. “I’d like that.” He spoke softly in response, looking toward the peanut butter dipped popcorn on the tray. “Can we take these down too?”
tajmuhull:
"Yeah. Let's take it all down." Taj was excited. He loved to try new things and was a get up and go kind of guy. But, he'd beg to differ if such a thought of commonalities ever were spoken of. Taj was attracted to him for many reasons. Sure he was cute, but there was something soft about him. Something kind in his eyes. Something that looked at him and seemed to care about his well-being and wanted Taj to see it too, or he wouldn't have kept pointing it out. Taj appreciated it. Taj even saw Casper's life on the run as similar to the his couped up life that could never travel. They might have been doing it in completely dissimiliar ways but they were both trapped and alone. Sure Taj had brothers but Taj was still such a loner. Both of them didn't like to get attached to people and they both understood how lonely that could be. They both thought they were doing it for the right reasons even if they were different reasons. They were both orphans. They both didn't know what it was like to really have a stable home. They weren't just both supernaturals. They were both a species that caused harm to others whether one was of a demonic curse and the other something fantastical. In the end they were both just boys trying to make sense of what they were and neither knew all the answers and Casper was so inquisitive the day he met him that Taj felt like they were the same. Both trying to find the missing pieces of themselves. That's a feeling not everyone could relate to in such a literal sense. And Casper was interested in the places Taj wanted to see and he appreciated his piano playing which was where they ended up next and after placing the peanut butter insence around he sat down on a little folding bench where he'd set up a keyboard for Casper to practice on. "You ready for lesson number 1?"
casperhowls:
Casper followed Taj down to his studio, carrying the crystal tray carefully as he did because the last thing he wanted to do was either drop it or accidentally break it within his grip, the first thing he did was set it down on the closet sturdy and empty surface before turning to look around, noticing the change to the room that came in the form of the keyboard almost immediately, his stomach suddenly full of knots. Hesitating just a little he moved to sit down beside Taj, eyes wandering over the keyboard and it took almost everything ounce of strength within in to stop himself from instantly moving to sit on his hands like last time, it was very easy for him to forget that he was actually allowed to touch these keys. “Yeah I-I think so.” He mumbled out even as he shook his head in contradiction to his very words, he was nervous, that much was obvious, he’d feel terrible if he accidentally broke something that belonged to his little Sphinx.