Jace Herondale (uniquetake) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-02-18 17:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | rhys hunt, xx_marcus valentine |
Who: Rhys Hunt & Marcus Valentine
What: Random wolf encounters
When: 17 Feb
Where: Tooth and Nail
Rating: Low
Warnings: n/a
It wasn’t that Marcus didn’t go out. He did. He’d even been around long enough that he hadn’t found himself trying to overlay the routes he knew from home onto where he was walking in the here and now, which he was willing to consider a pretty decent success. He’d figured out some of the best places for coffee, where to stop for a bite after work, how to get home the quickest, and where to go if he wanted a night out.
It’s just that he didn’t go out a lot. Difference.The difference was important. He was pretty sure anyway. Whatever. The point was - he’d been in Tooth and Nail twice now. Once a couple months back when he was still just scouting everything out, trying to figure out the reference points for his new home, and again a couple weeks ago when he’d just wanted some place loud and dark where no one was paying him any attention. With all the focus on the rings and the sheer mix of people, it was the perfect place to disappear.
It wasn’t like he’d be joining the fights anytime soon, but he had to admit a certain appreciation for the place. Chicago had had one or two similar outfits, that he knew about at least - only, they’d been far less discreet and far messier. Was almost a shame he only found out about one of them when they’d been called in to shut it down.
Here though, despite the chaos on the surface, there was enough of a sense of order, or at least, control, that he didn’t mind just sitting back and enjoying the spectacle.
A night and a morning off after a double shift, the idea of sitting at home, listening to traffic out his window hadn’t seemed all that appealing. And the crush of noise as soon as he entered proved he’d just made the right choice.
He lucked out in getting a far seat at the bar, and even if he figured it’d take a good couple of minutes to get a bartender’s attention, he wasn’t in any rush. It looked like a fight was just finishing up, if the energy of the crowd was anything to go by, and he let himself settle in to watch.
The fight that was finishing up was one between Rhys Hunt and another wolf who was larger in stature and definitely more aggressive but what they had over Rhys in that way he had over them in terms of being skilled at what he did and being able to strategise on the fly. This meant that despite the odds stacked against him he was able to outmaneuver the other wolf and bring him to the ground with a sweep of the legs before delivering a few well placed punches that kept the other down and allowed him to secure the win and more importantly the profit.
Winning a fight always put him in a good mood so by the time Rhys had finished up his shower and was at the bar he was announcing, “drinks are on me,” with a large grin. The bartender shot him a look as if to ask ‘are you sure?’ and Rhys just settled a wad of cash on the bar with an arched eyebrow which was honestly answer enough.
As Rhys’ bright eyes swept the bar his gaze landed on another wolf, one he did not recognise, and his scent was different from any others he’d encountered. “What you drinking?”
The ebb and swell of the crowd as the fight ended decisively - with an impressive sweep that had Marcus at least mentally applauding - had him relaxing against the bar. Enough noise, enough people, enough energy...wow it had been awhile since he’d gone out. He really needed to start watching that.
He lost track of both the fighters as the ring was cleared, but didn’t pay too much mind, instead turning to actually try to get the bartender’s attention. He’s not too proud of the fact that when one of the fighters made it to the bar, his declaration might have caught him a little off guard. Only a bit.
Catching his attention apparently also wasn’t something Marcus was really expecting, but that one was easier. A genuine grin that only faltered a little when he got close enough that Marcus could actually pick out the scent of wolf in the crush of the unfamiliar crowd. A shake of his head, and smile firmly in place again, because he was going to make a decent impression if it killed him, “Not particularly picky. Got any suggestions?”
Rhys’ lips parted into a feral grin which in turn exposed his teeth and he chuckled. “Risky, trusting me to pick your drink.” He turned back to the bartender who was not Ryder, more’s the pity. “Get my friend over there a Rusty Nail.”
He then turned to offer his hand. “I’m Rhys, by the way. Figure it’s only polite to introduce myself, especially to a fellow wolf.”
“Nah, figured you’d have decent enough taste. Can’t say I’ve been proven wrong either,” Marcus responded, glancing down and away for a moment at the smile, more or less to watch the bartender, as well as avoid any kind of posturing. He was here to relax, and the last thing he needed was a misunderstanding.
He took the offered hand easily enough, “Marcus. Hell of a takedown you managed in there by the way. Take it you’re a regular here?” Because there were loads of other explanations for the ease the other wolf managed in the ring. Totally. Internally wincing, he let the question hang anyway, because he honestly was curious. The more he found out about the place, the better.
“Thanks, man,” Rhys said with a genuine smile as the other wolf complimented him. “And yeah you could say that. I’m pretty much part of the furniture.” But it was a really good way of making money in short space of time and helped Rhys keep his more… aggressive tendencies under control. He was a natural born fighter, had been from the moment he’d opened his eyes for the first time. A natural Alpha, apparently.
Now with a beer in hand Rhys took a sip.
“You are new though,” he remarked with a pointed finger.
“The furniture around here regularly beat people up? I mean, not entirely surprising, but still.” Marcus asked, way too pleased with his own lame joke honestly, before turning to thank the bartender as his drink was slide in front of him.
He himself could see the pull to fight around here, couldn’t argue with the confidence the other wolf carried himself with. But the actual idea of stepping into that ring put a bad taste in his mouth that he didn’t want to examine too closely.
Marcus blinked, then glanced down at himself for a moment, nose scrunched up with a bit of a sheepish smile “I stick out that bad huh? Yeah, only been around here once or twice so far, and I’m still relatively new to the area in general. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to scope out the place.”
Rhys snorted quietly and shook his head because yeah that joke had been pretty bad though he knew somebody in his pack who would have appreciated that. Woody, he had a thing for bad jokes and terrible puns, made it his life’s work to deliver one of each every single day.
“It’s not that you stick out,” Rhys assured him. “More I tend to know pretty much everybody who comes and goes in Tooth and Nail. The perks of being a regular. I have a particularly good memory for faces and wolves.”
He took a pull from his bottle. “You new to LA or just Tooth and Nail?”
A shrug was about all Marcus offered in apology for that, even if his grin belied even that minimal attempt.
“That’s a bit of a relief. Didn’t exactly come here with the hopes of sticking out, you know?” That would be exactly the kind of thing he’d end up getting in trouble for actually, he just knew it. Not that this place was illegal, as far as he knew, but given how shaky the ground was at the precinct, the less he could stick out anywhere, the better for now.
“And uh...I mean, I’ve been here since last year.” He offers, glancing away, his free hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. Something like annoyance with himself curled in his gut, but he couldn’t really help it. What he could do was force a shrug and a thin smile, “Don’t really know how long I’ve got to be here before that stops being ‘new’.”
“And this is your first time at Tooth and Nail?” Rhys queried. “Wow, you’ve done well to resist the draw. Most wolves I know are in here in their first month. Something about the atmosphere, go figure.”
He tipped his head to take a much longer look at Marcus. “You running with a pack or are you solo?”
“Ah, not my first. Poked my head in once or twice. First time I’ve stayed long enough for a drink though,” Marcus said, downing the rest of said drink and motioning to the bartender for another one. “And can’t say I blame ‘em. Energy around here’s what made me finally stick around.”
He didn’t so much twitch as tighten his grip on his empty glass, “Guess you could say solo.” He offered, even if the answer tasted sour on his tongue. When the bartender slid over his drink, he gave a nod of thanks, fiddling with the glass rather than letting himself down the whole thing again, like he wanted to.
Rhys could definitely relate to what Marcus was saying as Tooth and Nail definitely had an energy to it that was hard to find anywhere else. It along with the fact he got to throw down every night was one of the many reasons he kept coming back.
“By choice or…?” Valid question as Rhys knew a couple of wolves who had either chosen not to be involved with a pack and then there were others that had either been thrown out or experience the loss of a pack and hadn’t gotten to a point where they could think about joining another pack.
Marcus couldn’t help the slightly incredulous look he shot Rhys. Sure, he wasn’t completely in tune with how to talk to packless wolves himself but that question hit just this side of right in his mind, and he didn’t know whether to shake it off because he was overreacting or just go with it because there wasn’t anything he could do about it anyway. Which effectively had the same results, now that he was thinking about it. “...It’s complicated. Doesn’t much matter, I’m here anyway.” Is what he goes with. He figures it’s a fair answer for a stranger.
“What about you? Pack or solo?” He kind of wished he had been around a little more often now. If this guy fought as often as he said he did, there’d have to be other people around that he could pinpoint as pack, or enough of a space around him to indicate otherwise. This whole conversation was throwing him off-foot, and he kind of just wanted at least one advantage.
Rhys was nothing if not direct and to the point. He did not beat around the bush, called things the way that he saw them and asked questions that others might be too polite to ask. “Pack,” Rhys answered easily enough. “Born and raised.”
Also next in line to be Alpha which wasn’t in any shape or form intimidating especially as it had been expected of him since birth. Yes he was confident but he wasn’t stupid and was well aware that he had flaws, lots of them, and he found he worried about what if he led the pack in the wrong direction?
“The Hunt Pack to be exact.”
It wasn’t jealousy curling in his gut - it wasn’t. Marcus would swear to that. What it was, he’d have to get back to, but still. He wasn’t so petty he’d begrudge another wolf something like that. It just wasn’t in him to.
But he had to frown slightly at the continuation, racking his memory for a moment. He’d looked up the known packs in the area when he’d first moved here of course - keeping an eye on any territory he’d have to keep away from if need be or if any had extensive problems with the local cops, not really letting himself dig too deep beyond that though - but the Hunt pack… No wait, now he remembered. Further out of town, family structured, and no real issues he could see before he’d moved on to the next pack.
“Right, right, think I’ve heard of you. A little anyway.” He smiled sheepishly, almost apologetically, “Been keeping to myself, you know, so ‘fraid I’m not completely up to date with packs around here.”
“Don’t keep to yourself for too long,” Rhys warned. “We’re not lone creatures for a reason, a good one at that.” Too long alone and a wolf could and did go a little… crazy. And sometimes they went feral and it was just a sad state for all involved. He definitely wouldn’t wish that fate on any wolf.
Looking out for other wolves it just sort of came natural to him.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “I’d imagine I was raised on pretty similar stories as you were. I know the danger.” He shrugged, purposefully looking away in case his posture went a little too aggressive. “Little hard to let go of the pack is all.” And maybe his tone was a little hard in there. But he wasn't some pup and he wasn't naive. And even if he had been, he had his entire department breathing down his back, looking at him funny, and talking where they thought he couldn't hear. All about how if he didn't find a pack soon…
Shaking his head, he made himself relax a notch. There's no malice that he can pick up in Rhys’ tone, and his own insecurities don't need to be cropping up. “I know the risks. Trust me.”
“Alright, man. As long as you’re clear,” Rhys remarked as he could pick up on the distinct shift away from casual to something a lot more defensive. He’d been around wolves long enough to pick up on the signs. “I should probably leave you to it anyways. Speaking of pack I gotta get home and check in. Full moon stuff, you know how it is.”
Still he scribbled his number down on a nearby napkin and held it out to Marcus. “But if you need anything or you know you just want to hang then get in touch.”
And with a parting smile Rhys headed away from the bar.