Jace Herondale (uniquetake) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-07-21 19:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | james byrne, rhys hunt |
Who: Rhys Hunt & James Byrne
What: Rhys decides to bug James at work
When: 18th July
Where: The White Rabbit
Rating: Low
Warnings: n/a
Rhys wouldn’t really consider himself a bother but he was definitely going to make one of himself today as it had been a while since he’d caught up with James. Too long, probably. Both of them had been pretty busy and Rhys figured he’d swing in at the White Rabbit and harass his friend there because it was guaranteed he’d be present.
As he was a friend of James he was a well known face so Elijah barely batted an eyelash when the blonde blue and brown eyed werewolf let himself into the White Rabbit and strode to the back as if he owned the place.
Clad in leather jacket, dark jeans, heavy combat boots and t-shirt he propped his shoulder up against the doorway leading into the stockroom, a smirk crossing his lips as his arms folded across his chest.
“You miss me?”
The immediate response, for James, was a loud crash - which was him dropping the box of supplies he was attempting to take inventory of, maybe do some restocking. Nothing was broken, luckily, it was just a bunch of bottle toppers and mortar and pestle sets and some other bits and bobs, but still. He hadn’t been expecting a visit. He'd been so entrenched in his work anyway - it was what usually happened when he entered the White Rabbit. The people who came into the shoppe were often like him, those who felt the universe's pull as more than something organic, more than simply the physical. Someone who felt mystic energy in the air, warmth and magic in the fingertips.
Or they were Rhys, the delightful twat.
“Christ on a cracker, you ought to wear a bell,” he huffed, but he was more amused than anything else. Making his way closer, he moved a few boxes out of the way since clearly Rhys was here and he deserved to be greeted.
It had been a hot second since he’d seen his werewolf chum. “But aye, I did. I suppose. Come on in, mate - what have you been up to?”
Rhys snorted in response to the fact his sudden unexpected arrival had resulted in James dropping things. “I might stay away more often if that’s the kind of response I get.” His lips tugged into a grin before he pushed away from the door and wandered over to give James a brief but firm enough hug. “You know the usual, working, fighting, dealing with pack stuff, that sort of thing.”
Of course as he embraced James he couldn’t help but notice a scent and his eyebrow lifted.
“Spending time with a vampire I see.”
A hug was always welcomed - not always from people he wouldn’t spit on if they were on fire, but Rhys wasn’t one of those people. He was a friend and in return he also got a hug - a fellow rascally devil; birds of a feather did stick together, as they way.
“Ah, right - “ James chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck - which had turned a bit red, and perhaps his face had too. Was it suddenly hotter in here? Well, it was the stockroom, so it was highly possible. Note to self - talk to Eli about vent circulation. “That’s a....thing. I don’t know. I rather like him but I’m sure he doesn’t want anything serious. Especially with the likes of me.”
James was going to kick the bucket someday, after all. Perhaps he had an extended lifespan but nothing erring on the side of immortal. Unless he became one himself.
Rhys wasn’t about to judge. Sure the old legends had werewolves and vampires being mortal enemies but that was a very long time and this was a new world. That wasn’t to say that vampires couldn’t get under his skin because they could but it didn’t happen a lot these days.
“What do you mean with the likes of you?” Rhys challenged as he idly wandered along the shelves in the stockroom before securing something he could fiddle with. “I can’t imagine this vampire of yours is a saint. Don’t get me wrong there are a couple who could pass for one but not that many.”
“I mean I’ll shuffle off this mortal coil someday,” James elaborated. He found a box of crystals for Rhys to poke around in - plenty of good opportunities for fiddling (that sounded awful), and lots of shinies. He needed them to be unpacked anyway - it was that or the new shipment of fresh herbs for potions they’d just gotten (however, those could be ticklish to a sensitive nose). “Certainly not a saint though - he helps to ‘deal with’ - “ The implications of that were in his tone, “...troublesome vampires who pose a threat to their way of things.”
Apparently, vampires had worked hard to integrate themselves in the human world - there were several powerful vampire politicians, CEOs, other businesspeople. Like fuck they would let all of that come crashing down because of some newborn twit who got too greedy and went on a killing spree. James supposed he didn’t blame them.
“Anyway, I’m just a witch, nothing special - likely he could find himself a vampire prince or princess if he wanted.”
The implications were not lost on Rhys. He knew that vampires were a very hierarchical controlled race who had no time for sheer and utter stupidity. They dealt with their problems privately and it was something the Hunt pack knew a thing or two about because when and if there was ever an issue it was handled in house without outside help or influence.
When presented with the box of crystals he did in fact rifle through them and peered at a couple more closely as something in them caught his eye.
“Well, yeah, there is that. Of course death is a lot more of a choice these days than an inevitable biological path.” His lips twitched into a smirk as he knew James well enough to know that he could read between the lines. “Don’t think there are vampire princes and princesses but I’m a wolf, what do I know?”
“Are you suggesting I become undead?” James asked, with one of those villainous one-eyebrow raisings to accompany the question. He perched on the desk where the computer for orders and inventory was, but he merely just leaned his bum against it, didn’t sit in the chair. He felt a bit too anxious for that.
His arms folded across his chest. “But then I’d likely smell awful to you, and you’d never want to come near me again.” Pish-posh, nothing would come in between this fantastic bromance. Not even an age-old species squabble (though really, most vampires he knew didn’t start shit with werewolves and vice versa - they all just generally wanted to be far away from each other and, again, he couldn’t blame them).
“Well, it’s not your only option,” Rhys pointed out as he glanced up from the crystals and flashed his teeth in a slow predatory grin. “But you would lose your magic so that’s a consideration.” Some witches never recovered from that loss.
He had a point about the smell but contrary to most popular belief vampires didn’t actually smell like death.
“And that’s awfully narrow minded of you, to think I’d hold something like vampirism against you.” Rhys lightly nudged James in the side playfully.
A werewolf? James took note of that grin, and he sighed in fond exasperation. He felt more of a connection with the idea of vampirism, honestly - but losing his magic would be like having a limb severed, he wouldn’t lie about that. He was only now beginning to uncover more and more information about the Druids in his family line - long, long ago in the days of Irish yore and across Britain and Gaul (France, for those who were unaware), green countrysides and oak forests. They were not only practitioners of magic but priests, teachers, and judges. To give that all up, well, he wouldn’t make the decision lightly.
“You’re bloody adorable,” he told Rhys, ruffling his mate’s blonde hair. “But alright, what about you? Any developments I need to be aware of?”
He didn’t have as strong of a sense of smell, so he had no idea what Rhys had been up to. Or who he had been up to.
Rhys pulled a slight face as his hair was messed up by the ruffling though admittedly he enjoyed it way more than he should. He was a born wolf after all. Petting came with all kinds of fun perks. “Well, my pack’s grown by a couple wolves and I’m still kicking a lot of ass at Tooth and Nail so all in all life is good.”
He was careful not to mention Ryder because honestly he still had no idea what that was.
“My dad’s talking retirement again.”
Aw. Just to be an extra good friend, James gave him a bit of extra scritches - because he was nothing if not accommodating to the needs of werewolves. Or more like just this one - he didn’t know many others, come to think of it, though any in Rhys’ pack he’d be sure to take care of if they needed a witch on their side.
Or if they needed to be fed. It had been awhile since he hosted a grand dinner at his place, for those with voracious appetites. Perhaps it was something to consider.
“I’ll have to come by Tooth and Nail and see you, cheer you on,” he grinned. “Retirement for your old man, eh? That means you’ll be the Alpha wolf? Lots of responsibility there, but you seem to have been practising for awhile.”
Mm, Rhys lifted a hand idly to rub away the lingering tingles across the span and breadth of his scalp. “Yeah, you should. I feel like you’ve been bereft in your cheerleader duties.” He grinned a second later and went right back to rummaging through the crystals, looking up only briefly as he caught the scent of Elijah who was apparently calling it a day and heading upstairs. A slight frown crossed Rhys’ expression as the other witch didn’t seem his normally effervescent self but maybe he was just having a bad day.
“Yeah, leading the pack.”
Big deal, lots of responsibility, and honestly Rhys wasn’t sure he was ready for it.
“Alright, no need to twist my arm - “ Though it wasn’t much arm-twisting at all, considering James always had a decent time when he went to Tooth and Nail. In addition to supporting a friend, there was certainly more than decent eye candy afoot whenever he showed up. “I’ll come to your next match, yeah? Cheer you on about that and about leading the pack. Which you’ll be great at. They’re lucky you have you and don’t ever think otherwise.”
He wasn’t about to say something cheesy like ‘I believe in you,’ but James truly did - his wolfy chum here was a goofy twat on occasion, it was just a loveable part of his personality, but he got shit done when he needed to.
“Yeah, that would be good. Nice to see a familiar face on the sidelines.” Not that he lacked for that given that the pack turned out in force and then there was Ryder who always had a drink waiting for him right after a match. “And thanks, James. It’s uh, nice to hear that from somebody outside of the pack.” Sometimes he worried that they only said he’d make a good Alpha because his dad was the current Alpha, nepotism and all that.
Rhys lifted a hand to scrub at his blonde hair.
“And if you come to Tooth and Nail at the weekend you’ll get a real show with Roman.”
“Say no more, I’ll be there,” he winked. James knew of Roman and that was guaranteed to be a good show indeed. But he was going for moral support too, of course. Naturally.
He ought to get back to the grind now though, so he’d even have money to spend on the weekend. The trials and tribulations of the working life. “Well, I better finish what I started here,” he said, motioning to the boxes - crystals and herbs, oh my. Oh, and also checking on Eli - he was certainly acting a little off as of late, so, if James could do anything to help then he would.
“I’ll see you this weekend, aye?”
Rhys chuckled and pushed away from where he’d perched, squeezing James’ shoulder on the way past. “See you then. Looking forward to it.” He shot his witch friend a grin and started back out towards the White Rabbit then Los Angeles.
No rest for the wicked.