Casper Jameson Knight (feedhimtowolves) wrote in thegrand_ic, @ 2012-04-25 15:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | casper jameson knight, taj habib bahar |
Who: Taj and Casper
Type: Scene.
Where: On the move.
When: April 23rd, late evening. Right after this
What: Part One of the Taj and Casper impromptu road trip.
Warning: Low. Little talk of wolfy violence, nothing major.
Status: Complete.
Casper
As promised Casper closed his laptop and placed it carefully in the opened, beat up, falling apart duffel bag he had sitting on the floor beside him, the duffel bag looked just as it should have belonging to a homeless young man and it matched the building Casper had come to call his own within Boston flawlessly, the building was boarded up with condemned and warning signs taped and nailed all over both the interior and exterior and in all honesty the place looked as though it was about to fall down in the next remotely strong wind but the young werewolf had stayed in worse places. He hadn’t needed to pack because the truth was that he had never unpacked to begin with, inside that duffel bag was everything he owned, throwing it easily over his shoulder, the strap held together with duct tape, he headed downstairs having picked the second floor of the three storey building, that way he could hear if anyone crept up on him from above or below, he wasn’t trapped, the jump from the second storey window wouldn’t hurt him.
Taking the stairs two at a time he shifted the loose wooden board in the wall and slipped out onto the street, already able to hear Taj’s car and it took him even less time than it had to come downstairs to find it, it was the only car on the derelict little street after all. Throwing his bag on the back seat first he climbed into the front, grinning the moment he saw the Sphinx, unable to stop himself from leaning over to give him a kiss before sitting back down and pulling on his seat belt.
The seatbelt of course was virtually unnecessary, a car crash wouldn’t kill him and yet he did it anyway because Taj was wearing his own. The first hour he did better in the car than he thought he would and it probably had something to do with the fact that Taj’s scent filled the entire space and if Casper focused hard enough on it, that was all he could smell and it helped relax his wolf. That next half an hour however, didn’t go by so easily, the young werewolf’s grip on the seat tightened to the point that he was about ten seconds away from tearing the entire seat in two without even realizing, even the fact that it was Taj, someone he trusted driving the car it still wasn’t enough to calm his agitated wolf, the thought that perhaps he shouldn’t have agreed to a long car trip only a week and bit before the full moon hadn’t once crossed his mind when usually it should have.
Two pit stops later, a little under three hours trip turning into almost four, Casper pointed to the highway exit, instructing the other to take it, practically sitting on the very edge of the car seat as he peered out the windshield and directed Taj through the small town of just about nothing, until the roads gave way to gravel and dirt and finally they found themselves at a dead end, nothing but what looked to be an old national park/reserve that had long since been abandoned of nurture and care of any kind directly in front of them. “I hope you don’t mind walking.” He finally spoke up, looking over at Taj, nervous excitement visible in his eyes, he’d never gone back to a place he’d previously stayed before, this was the very first time, part of him was excited to be back, to show Taj but the rest of him was nervous as hell.
Taj
The kiss was most welcome, but seeing the ruins of the barely standing building (despite being warned about it before) still caught Taj a little off guard. He really really didn't like the idea of that being where Casper spent his alone time despite how long he'd been living in that manner. He wanted his friend to have nice things and a nice roof that looked safe for a civilized person, no matter how much feral pumped through his veins. He really wished Casper would take him up on his offer then, now that he'd seen it in person. But, he didn't say anything and accepted the kiss with a grin. Taj had piano music playing the whole time, tippidy tapping at the steering wheel, making conversation the whole time. Taj never ran out of things to say. Even if Casper didn't know who he spoke of he'd just keep talking, stopping to explain whatever was needed along the way. He didn't seem to mind this ever. He really didn't even notice much. Taj's mind sometimes flew over people's heads and he found himself explaining himself to a lot of people, but what he did notice was subject matter Casper never knew. It was always things that he usually took for granted that everyone already knew. And that was two things to Taj, the cutest thing ever, and slightly sad that Casper had lived such a sheltered life. Taj also took Casper's upsets and stops as they came, trying to be soothing, speaking in a calming voice and just pulling over whenever he needed, quite patient about the whole thing, never rushing Casper once. Taj had no limits on himself for this trip, time or otherwise. But, once they got to the first pit stop destination Taj started to realize they could have just gotten a hotel room. It would really be no big deal. It wasn't like he came on this trip penniless. But, he could see the excitement sparking in Casper's eyes. "So, tell me. Is this just a convenient stop for us or is this place special? Did anything cool happen here? And naw, I'm heading with you to the Smokies to hike around the woods. Of course I don't mind walking." Taj was feeling pretty carefree and was picking up stones as he walked and chucking them through the air just to see them spin and listen to the noise cut the wind through the air.
Casper
“If they’re still here you’ll see why it’s special.” Casper replied but that was all he told Taj, his duffel bag slung once more over his shoulder along with the bag Taj had packed for himself, he had no trouble at all carrying them both as they walked through the woods, there were broken down fences here and there as though they’d once been erected to either keep people out or keep something in. The terrain had changed only a little since the passing winter but it didn’t mess much with the young werewolf’s sense of direction, he knew this place even though he hadn’t spent as long there as he would have liked, he hadn’t wanted to stay long and interrupt the natural order of things so he’d moved on just as he had everywhere else he had ever been. The sun had began to set but even as they walked it became darker far quicker than it should have because the trees became more dense and Casper found himself pausing now and then to make sure Taj was okay and not about to trip over an unseen tree root, he could see perfectly fine in the dark, sometimes better than he could in the full blown sunlight or the artificially lit streets of the city whether or not the Sphinx beside him could though he wasn’t sure.
He lost track of how long they walked, pausing half way to take off his pink sneakers and his socks, making the rest of the trip through the woods bare foot, completely transfixed with everything around him, every sight, every smell and every sound, it was all different from the last time, for instance he could now hear the nearby stream bubbling away where previously it had almost completely frozen over. The closer they came to what he wanted to show Taj though the slower Casper walked, his footfalls like that of a wolf himself, completely silent, not once having to look where he stepped and not once tripping, his feet knew this place and instinct told him exactly where to go. They passed a few old wooden warning signs things telling them to beware of wolves and Casper wondered if Taj could see them.
He stopped, his hand coming out to gently catch the Sphinx’s wrist halting him as he did so and there he stood, eyes on the worn out, barely standing old ranger’s hut. It wasn’t much, made of wood and looking as though it was now part of the forest itself and there Casper waited, his senses alert and taking in everything within the mile radius, his nostrils flaring a little as he sniffed the air, not making a single sound before finally deciding to move closer into what was left of the little clearing. He could hear them, even though he couldn’t see them he knew they were there and he continued to walk with Taj gently and slowly towards the little hut until he heard the low warning growl and stopped, a grin on his face as he turned to look at the young man beside him, that hand still locked on his wrist as he gently pulled him down into a crouched position and waited. “Stay still, if you meet their gaze either drop your own straight away or don’t blink.” He murmured softly, eyes on the little square chunk that had been cut from the door of the building.
It was their eyes that appeared first, glowing amber in the dark as though they had a light of their own, they weren’t that worried about them, if anything they were curious, trying to figure them out, until Casper made a soft sound in the very back of his throat, a sound that could have been mistaken as that of any other wolf inside and one by one, he coaxed the small pack of timber wolves out into the open.
Taj
Taj followed along curious about Casper's answer. He didn't exactly make himself clear, like there was a surprise coming. So he didn't push for answers as he might have otherwise. He let the surprise come to him. For most of the walk he watched Casper's mannerisms, how wolf-like, tracker-like they really were out in a more natural habitat. Casper seemed very different here. He seemed - natural - comfortable unlike how timid his actions always seemed in his home. It was nice to watch. He liked seeing Casper appear more confident. He was wondering what it would take to get Casper to feel that comfortable in his own home. This brought his mind to the country houses he looked at before purchasing the one has. If Casper ever had a permanent home, Taj thought he would need one with lots of roaming space behind it. Taj settled on the house he had specifically for the view of the city from his rooftop. He also noticed Casper's more take charge demeanour as well. It reminded him of the time Casper took the more dominate position in bed. He watched as Casper seemed very protective of even small things like his footsteps. Was this part of the wolf feeling he was his and protecting what was his? Or was he just being courteous? Many thoughts were playing through his mind then about the Casper that tried to be good and fit in and the Casper that needed to be freed. Seeing him like this made him seem even more beautiful than he did before. But, once they'd crouched down, Taj following every direction, and he saw what the special surprise was he got nervous. "These are your friends?" He whispered keeping his head low and eyes focused. He wanted to reach out and pet one so badly but wasn’t' sure if that was proper etiquette. "Can I pet them?" Taj was grinning with his mouth and had awe in his eyes.
Casper
Casper’s grin had widened into a smile the moment he saw them and then even further when he heard Taj’s question, he didn’t say anything in response but instead shook his head slightly in response, his hand gently squeezing Taj’s wrist half in a warning, half in answer. Not yet. Wait. Wait was what he did and he hoped that Taj would get the point and follow suit as two wolves from the pack, the alpha male and the alpha female circles them slowly while the other’s stood back and watched, one standing protectively ahead of them, watching cautiously. The two alphas went for Casper first the female behind him, cold wet nose nudging and sniffing at his hair, shifting it this way and that and yet the young werewolf didn’t so much as move a single muscle, eyes on the male in front of him that was sizing him up, an almost amused recognition reflecting within those brilliant amber eye before he too finally came forward and with a growl nudged his nose to the seemingly human neck. Not saying a word Casper returned the growl, his teeth coming to wrap around the wolf’s muzzle, biting gently before the alpha returned the favour with a sharp nip to a very human nose and Casper’s posture relaxed almost instantly, that grin returning to his face until the movement of the female behind him caught his eye, he didn’t turn his head to follow her movements but his eyes never left her and the moment she became just a little too interested in Taj and her posture changed from curious sniffing to something a little more menacing, the only difference being a single change in her tail Casper snarled and lunged, landing on his hands and knees between the wolf and the Sphinx, teeth bared.
The confrontation didn’t last long, even without words anyone would have been able to tell what had gone down, she’s gotten too close for Casper’s liking, she may not have done anything other than growl or nip at Taj but before she’d had the chance the young werewolf had staked his claim in front of all of them, Taj was strictly paws off, he was his and with a snort like sound and a nudge from her mate the anger dissipated almost as quickly as it had come and Casper watched her disappear back inside before he turned to face Taj again now that the wolf politics were out of the way, grinning a he helped him get back to his feet. “Yeah...I guess they are my friends. You can’t pet those two, the big dark one that was in front of me, he’s the alpha male, the other is his mate, the alpha female. That greyish one right there is the beta, he’s second in command, you can’t pet him either but this little guy here...” He trailed off, finally letting go of Taj’s wrist as he walked right by the beta who in turn headed back inside the tiny cabin and was met by the wolfish grin of the packs omega wolf, his long pink tongue rolling out of the side of his jaws and handing there as he yipped, tail wagging back and forth as Casper crouched back down to eye level and kissed the wolf right on top of his furry reddish brown head, one hand coming up to scratch behind his ears.
Taj
Yeah, to say the least that weirded Taj out in an almost scared moment kinda way. Taj had been in an awful lot of fights in his time, but they were always with humans. The first real confrontation he'd had with a supernatural in truly physical way was with Casper and he really didn't get out much to be so experienced with animals either. Taj was all book smarts. He'd never really put much to use in the real world. When Casper gripped that wrist in warning his whole body went stiff trying hard not to do anything wrong to mess up wolfy protocol. He’d spew off an encyclopaedia Britannica’s worth of know how on wolves but reaction and timing in a real life setting were a completely different story. Taj was beginning to realize that very truth in that moment too. It made him realize how unworldly the "worldly" little sphinx was and it hit him hard really. He was tired of being trapped wanted to travel and see and do new things, experience the real world just like now. This whole scenario intrigued him. Taj was most nervous while that wolf was sniffing all over Casper, but he was just plain startled and even fell backwards when Casper went charging the female and staking claims. Taj was never too worried about a get-a-way plan when he had something most land creatures didn't and that was flight. If ever there was a tough jam he figured he could just fly straight up and be done with most anything. But, he was trying very hard to leave his trust of these wolves in Casper and from that moment on, he knew Casper had his back, over anything, and that was a special feeling. Taj still spoke in a whisper though when Casper told him everything was fine, like speaking too loud would disturb them all. He wasn't scared to go petting one after that either. He knew Casper wasn't about to tell him to stick his hand where it was about to be bitten off and he began to pet the reddish brown one too. He settled down next to him and even rolled down to his belly batting at the little guy baiting him to play. Taj ended up in on all fours like he was playing with a house pet and pretending he was a dog too and it seemed to going just as well.
Casper
Casper watched with a grin as Taj patted at the Omega wolf as though he had paws instead of hands, completely fascinated by the other’s actions and he almost laughed as he sat back and watched the Omega hesitate a little before finally giving into play. If there was one wolf in the entire pack that wasn’t at risk of accidentally hurting his Sphinx it was the relatively small male wolf in front of him. Omega’s were severely underestimated, often viewed on the outside as the weak member of the pack and submissive, bullied by the rest, on the contrary an omega wolf had no dominance or submissiveness of the sort, they were mutual territory and a pack could not survive without one, wolves were violent and aggressive creatures by nature, without an omega to take out their frustrations upon a pack might very well end up tearing each other to pieces. Omegas were there when needed and otherwise virtually invisible, their very presence a value and treasure that was not at all taken for granted no matter how it appeared on the outside, they were there to play when situation became too heavy by means of calming the rest down and play was exactly what the wolf in front of them did. At first he just batted right back at Taj’s hand, nose pressing in the Sphinx’s hair and against his face as he curiously sniffed him out before becoming more comfortable with him.
Casper sat there and watched the pair of them for how long he wasn’t entirely sure, the little wolf even going as far as rolling his body completely on top of Taj before springing back to his feet, tail wagging until the call of his alpha made him stop and with a parting nudge to Taj and then Casper, disappeared back inside the decrepit little cabin with the rest.
Fighting back a yawn, Casper smiled as he moved closer to Taj, brushing some dark hair away form the other’s face. “Do you want to go inside?”
Taj
aj was having a blast. An absolute blast. It would show on his face, in his body language. He waved good bye to the little wolf though, just like a human would, hand held up high, waving. "That was fun Casper. I'm glad you brought me here." His body slowing and relaxing as Casper swept his hand through his hair. Taj reached out in return, mimicking the motion through the blonde's. After all the excitement and the 3 or more hours of driving Taj did not fight off the yawn that took him over, going to far as to stretch his arms over his head as his mouth took in that big gasp of air. "Yeah, I want to lay down baby. I gotta get recharged to drive more." Somewhere in their times together Taj had started to call Casper baby like many people called people who were precious to them, but then as he linked his finger through the back belt loop on Casper's pants, like a small elephant looping his trunk to the tail of the one that was going to lead him somewhere he said, "Pbenim tatli sevgilim sevgili, beni yataga rehberlik, find your birdcat a nesting spot, please. He's just so very very very tired." He spoke Turkish. Sometimes that would happen when his mind got lazy and exhausted. Any number of Indo-Iranian languages would seep out. His body was practically flush against Casper's back when he said it kissing the nape of his neck with as much lazy heavy exhaustion as hearty tone of his voice.
Casper
Casper shook his head a little, shaking off the thank you he had been given, he didn’t need to be thanked, he’d wanted to bring Taj here and show him everything there was to see, he’d been so nervous the other might have not understood though, that he might have been uncomfortable or scared around the pack so seeing his reaction was in all honesty, as corny as it may have sounded, all the thanks that the young werewolf needed, just seeing the other play with the omega and the expressions that sparked across his face made it all worth it. Getting to his feet he shivered and blushed when he felt the kiss at the back of his neck, not understanding any of the language the other had just spoken but he didn’t ask him about it either, the way he was leaning against him proof enough that if he didn’t find him a spot to sleep soon, then he might very well just fall sleep standing up like a horse. Quietly he led him to the little cabin, pulling open the stiff door before closing it behind them once they were inside, moonlight filtering through the gaps in the roof, the stars visible in the crystal clear sky.
There was a bed inside, a worn out little thing that sagged in one corner and no longer sat evenly upon the broken frame, there was no pillow, no blankets but there were two wolfs stretched out lazily across it pretending to be asleep even as they watched them closely. Stepping easily over the lying forms on the floor, Casper carefully led Taj through the dark cabin to the bed, gently placing a hand on one of the wolf and making a soft sound before both scooted over on the bed, letting the newcomers lay down and get comfortable before positioning themselves around them, picking their own comfortable positions. The pack didn’t look upon Casper as family nor did they entirely trust him but they had accepted him for what he was, and his presence then seemed to bother them just as much as though he’d never left at all. “G’night Taj.” He murmured softly, curling up against the form beside him, feeling the weight of a wolf stretch out across his legs, a furry, slobbery head coming to rest on his hip. Inside smelt of wolf and forest, he hoped it didn’t bother the Sphinx too much.
Taj
None of it bothered the sphinx much at all. He was just darn thankful to finally let his weight from his feet. Something in Taj really really didn't mind at all. Maybe it was the lion in him? Like whether he had ever been in a pride before didn't matter. It seemed usual to sleep in snug piles. Or maybe it was he was so used to a dog pile of brothers on sleepover nights? Whatever it was, no complaints were made or thought of as he got comfortable and wrapped up in a snuggle ball with Casper. "Goooood. night... svelosyncoooo." His words were drawn out and elongated beyond normal speech. But, he was out like a light very quickly, his fingers still curling against the skin of Casper's neck, face tucked up under his chin, breathing heavy.