If I die young

[Aldon Huang]

"OOF!"

Aldon's foot caught on a crack in the sidewalk and he came to a stumbling halt, reaching out to wrap his arms around a pole. For a second he stared blankly at the house in front of him, heart thudding as painfully as the shoulder that collided with the pole. The last thing that he remembered was sneaking in through the barrier in the suburbs, and leaping into the arms of immense, dense fog.

Then, the next thing he knew... he was...

"Where the hell am I?!"

With a sudden burst of frenetic energy, Aldon shoved off from the pole and wheeled around on his heels, looking wildly left and right. A car passed by idly. Overhead, a bird flitted past, letting out a cheerful, soft chirrup. Aldon stood frozen for several long moments, breathing hard, and then let out a confused sound--a noise that was more wolf than human--before jerkily directing his steps down the street.

There was one place that he knew was safe. There was one home that even in his befuddled state, his instincts led him toward.

Hardly aware of his surroundings as he walked, Aldon tried to piece together the gaps in his memory but all he managed to achieve was frustration. It was as if someone had wiped his mind clean, from the time that he entered the mist to his abrupt exit out in the Hazleton neighborhoods. As tall buildings loomed up, however, a sense of familiarity began to soothe his frazzled nerves. He breathed out his confusion and uncertainty as he pushed open the lobby doors of Ryland's building and it was a short elevator ride up to his floor and to his door.

"RYLAND!"

Aldon knocked sharply on the door with his knuckles, never content to make an entrance the old-fashioned, normal--quiet--way. Something inside was pushing and pushing, as though an invisible hand was shoving at him and urging him towards the inside of the apartment. Impatiently he knocked again, calling out for Ryland--home.

Trash Bat Ryland Ren 

[Ryland Ren]

Ryland stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel from the towel rack. It was going on two weeks now, two weeks--nothing. Although he doubted there was anything on it, he leaned over the counter to check his phone for any new messages. Nothing. And his finger left a smudge on the steamed up glass. Letting out a sigh, he turned away from the phone and dried himself off before he opened the bathroom door to let out the steam that fogged up the mirrors and the picture frames of seashells on the walls.

Nobody was in the apartment. Sebastian had moved on the morning after the weird encounter and Ryland was accustomed to walking around the place like he owned it because... well, he didn't technically own it but there shouldn't be any wanderers in the hall outside the bathroom. Tousling his hair with the towel, he headed into his bedroom.

He was one leg in, one leg out of a pair of artfully torn skinny jeans when he heard the distant but loud sound of his name being called. Ryland froze. The sound of that voice was all too familiar and it made his heart drop and his legs momentarily turn to jelly. He fell halfway against his bed before he caught himself. Without wasting another moment, he pulled his other leg into the jeans and pulled on a jersey before rushing to the door. His heart hammered against his ribs in time to the pounding on his door.

Without even looking through the peephole or bothering to peer through the chain, he unlocked the door and whipped it open, half afraid that if he wasn't fast enough, he would find that the voice was only a hallucination.

"Aldon?"

[Aldon Huang]

"RYLAND?!" Aldon shouted as the door flung open, as though he expected anyone but Ryland to open Ryland's door at Ryland's apartment building. Without a second thought, he threw himself through the door and at Ryland, muttering a string of nonsense explanations as all the words ran into each other—along with his thoughts colliding together at the speed of light.

"...and then I just saw the fog and there was nothing and suddenly I was outside on the sidewalk near your place so I came here because I didn't know what was going on and I thought you'd know so that's why I'm... here..."

He pulled back just enough to get an eyeful of Ryland's face, and to take a long breath. Was the thudding of his heart because he lost his breath speaking, or... was it because he was close to Ryland? It was hard to tell—it was always hard to tell, when these visceral reactions came so naturally. Aldon let out the breath he took in, trying to calm himself down. After the freaky fog and with the disappearing memories, he was definitely shaken.

[Ryland Ren]

Hey, Aldon totally stole his idea--Ryland was just about to leap onto Aldon! As it happened, Aldon did it first so Ryland ended up stumbling back a step or two but somehow managing to stay on his feet. He was way too accustomed to eager puppy mode to not really expect it from Aldon at this point. His heart was still beating extra fast and part of him wanted so badly to be angry and start railing at Aldon. It was such a small, insignificant part of him, though. Ever since Aldon, Alva, and half the people Ryland knew just disappeared off the face of the planet (seemingly), Ryland sort of left any grudges behind. It was kinda hard to be mad when he was so damned relieved.

"What?" Ryland half laughed because he had no idea what nonsense Aldon was going on about. There was something about fog and sidewalks. The half laugh was also half confused. "What are you saying?"

Because whatever he was talking about, Ryland had no idea about it. He wished he had the answers for Aldon but he was really just as lost as he was. For a moment, time felt like it stopped. They were just holding one another, looking at one another, just enough to see each other without having to let go or loosen their grips. Whatever amusement came from Aldon's words zipping out of his mouth disappeared at the look in Aldon's eyes. Whatever happened, whatever made him disappear and stop taking his calls and stop answering his messages, it seemed unintentional.

Which Ryland knew, despite everything. No matter how mad they were at each other, he couldn't imagine Aldon ever doing any of the ignoring. Ryland, sure. Aldon? Never. He could pretend for like, two seconds. But he would never stay out of contact that long, especially when Ryland's messages took on a more urgent tone. Gently, he touched Aldon's face, hardly believing he was really there. He was, though. Physical. Real.

"Where have you been?" A stupid question given what Aldon said but he had to remember something... surely?

[Aldon Huang]

"I was at the thing," Aldon replied, frowning. "You know, trying to get Rae and Josh back. Only I didn't see them and this thick fog rolled in on me, and next thing I knew, I was outside."

The stand-off between the vampires and police was probably still happening, with Rae and Josh in the thick of things. Aldon sighed to himself--why didn't he make more normal friends? Friends who didn't go running off into the arms of danger. Everybody had sane friends and here he was, stuck with the two worst wolves this side of town.

Tilting into Ryland's touch, he let his grasp loosen a little. Now that he was in the arms of someone he knew (and loved), he felt less jittery. The world felt a little more real and less uncertain. Ryland wasn't a figment of his imagination. He wasn't a troubling half-blurred memory. He was solid and warm and familiar and constant, despite their squabbles and spats.

"Maybe some witches knocked me out and tossed me into the street." Aldon stepped closer, letting his forehead rest against Ryland's. He closed his eyes and breathed in, wrapped in the arms of familiar scent and warmth--things that spelled safety and security.

[Ryland Ren]

"That fog again..." Ryland said, mostly to himself. The fog seemed to be a constant foe to the citizens of Hazleton. What was causing it? Ryland assumed there was somebody already on the case. Maybe even Alva's new boyfriend. Ryland frowned slightly, thinking of how he hadn't seen Alva in some time, either. The last place he was going was to stop Josh and Rae as well so was he swept up in that mystical fog, too? Did that mean he was waking up somewhere without memories? Ryland lightly bit his bottom lip.

"Aldon..." he started but the words sort of melted away when Aldon leaned into his touch. He... he missed this, he had to admit. Despite all the turmoil and the concern over that random hunter that became a werewolf, it was to Ryland that Aldon came to first. That by itself made him feel ten times--a hundred times--more important than any wolf that had been around for a couple of seasons.

"Yeah," he said, "maybe."

There could have been a raid on the vampires' little party. Was it still going on? It didn't matter at the moment. In the comfort of Aldon's presence, Ryland closed his eyes, too. Really, he missed this--the being close, the sense that everything was going to be fine. No matter how many times they were on-again, off-again, there always seemed to be that hint of always and forever in moments like this. Not that Ryland would word it as such...

Slowly, he slid his hands up around the back of Aldon's neck and he tilted his head just a little so that his lips could brush Aldon's. "I missed you." And he wanted nothing more than to soak in the moment with him but... "But... I have to ask you something. Alva... did you see Alva?"

[Aldon Huang]

'Hmmmm?" Ryland was saying something but Aldon was still focused on the kiss, brief though it was. His eyes flickered open; there might have been a silly, half-dazed grin on his lips. It never got old. Moments like these, reunions like these, never lost their novelty for Aldon. Maybe the honeymoon phase was over a long time ago but Aldon clearly had never gotten that memo.

He tipped his head forward, about to initiate another kiss, when his head spun dizzyingly. Stopping suddenly, Aldon shook his head like a dog—not the smartest thing to do, and it sure as hell didn't clear his head. "Uh—whoo... sorry. Dizzy." Strange how his surroundings blurred like that. But things were fine now, and in sharp focus. Maybe it was that whole ordeal catching up to him.

"What did you say? Something about—" There went the world again, tipping forward. Aldon leaned heavily against Ryland and let out a sharp exhale. "I think I need to sit down."

[Ryland Ren]

He smiled. Aldon, the idiot. When he smiled like that, it was infectious. Plus, Ryland kinda liked it when his kisses made Aldon a little stupid, even if they weren't more than a soft peck. All for another kiss--a longer kiss, one deserving of their absence from one another--Ryland leaned in and...

"Ow!" Aldon knocked his head against Ryland's nose in his strange head shaking. Raising a hand to his face, Ryland rubbed his poor aching nose. It didn't seem to be bleeding or broken but it definitely made him see stars for a few seconds.

"I was just saying--" Whoa, okay. Ryland did his best to hold Aldon up with all of his strength. "I think so, too."

Aldon looked pale and disconcerted. Maybe he just needed to lie down and have some tea--something Ryland's mother would have insisted on. Sliding an arm around Aldon's waist, he helped him over to the couch and helped him sit but he didn't immediately go running for the tea. Instead, he sat close, sliding a hand over Aldon's knee.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't..."

Look all right, he was going to finish off but something strange seemed to be coursing through his body. Through his head. Ryland closed his eyes for a moment and touched the side of his head. After waiting for it to subside, he opened one eye to ask Aldon if he thought maybe it was an earthquake.

Only...

Something wasn't right. This wasn't his apartment. That wasn't Aldon.

....what the hell?

[Aldon Huang]

Sitting down would help, Aldon was fairly certain of it. Sitting down, maybe some tea—like Ryland suggested—and if he was extra clever, maybe even a belly rub. Or two. Ryland seemed like he wouldn't object to that (much). All signs were pointing to yes and Aldon was firmly of the opinion that a good belly rub would cure all ails. Hopefully Ryland agreed.

"Yeah I'm fine, just..." Dizzy, he was about to say, when the world went topsy-turvy on him and he closed his eyes against the sensation. He felt extra floaty too, like he was drifting away and out of his body. In fact, he could see his body now, and Ryland's body, sitting together all cozy on the couch. Then, like a dust bunny being sucked into a vacuum, he was gone.

When he came to, he was... somewhere. Looking at the back of somebody's head—a familiar back of the head, though—and then he was surging forward with a snarl that most decidedly didn't sound like his own. Aldon yelped and his fist collided with the wall, in his haste to avoid punching the witch that was dating Alva. "OWW DAMN!" He wrung his hand out vigorously as he looked wildly around. "What the f—!!"

[Reagan Ryang]

"ASSHOLE!" he shouted with balled fists, ready to go another several rounds and fucking choke the guy out. Except his punches were landing on nothing but air because he was sitting on a couch all of a sudden. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

He immediately got to his feet, pissed off and sure that this was another magic trick played by the witch. The fucker! The asshole! How many fucking curses was he going to lay down on him?! And when did his fucking legs get so fucking short? WHAT THE FUCK? Rae turned to see that there was somebody sitting next to him before he'd pounced off the couch but that somebody was...

"... THE FUCK?" He leaned forward and stared at the dyed red hair and the slim face. Not the fucker he was fighting. It was Aldon's boyfriend. That fox! Did the witch magically teleport him here? "What the hell are you doing here?"

[Alva Ren]

"What? Aldon?" Alva cringed as Aldon burst off the couch with a slew of profanities, shocked and startled. Since when did Aldon develop such a potty mouth? Alva couldn't recall him ever being this... volatile. Sure, he was a little whiny sometimes and he always had the victim card in his back pocket, but he was never angry like this.

"Hey, calm do—" Holding up his hands placatingly as Aldon veered back and got right up in his face, Alva shrank into himself. "I—" Actually... what WAS he doing here? This wasn't Susu's kitchen? And the last thing he saw was Josh and Rae at the door, about to attack Susu! Alarmed, Alva reached down to push the wheels of his chair—only to find his hands sinking into couch cushions.

He stared down at his legs. They didn't look like his legs. He stared at his hands. Those weren't his hands. He knew his hands and they weren't his hands. WHERE WERE HIS HANDS?

"Ald...on??" Alva looked up. "Aldon? Why am I here?! Why are YOU here? Where are we?!"

[Reagan Ryang]

What? Why was he going on about Aldon? Rae let out an impatient scoffing sound and looked around the apartment. Definitely not that swanky penthouse. Not a place Rae had ever been inside, either. He had no idea whose place it was. Maybe some smaller apartment that the witch owned and sent people he was pissed off at. So... then what did Aldon's little boyfriend do to get himself exiled here, then? And where the fuck was Aldon, since Foxfriend Ryland here was asking about him?

Wait a second. Why was Ryland looking at him when he said Aldon's name? He frowned.

"Stop calling me that. Seriously, it's not funny." Like he'd ever stoop as low as Aldon did. He had zero interest in this fox. (Never mind that the one he was interested in was crippled and therefore even lesser in the eyes of the wolf pack.) He moved away from the couch and threw his hands up.

"I have no goddamn idea why I'm here and I've never seen this place in my life. That witch must have teleported us here." He turned back to Ryland. "What'd you do to piss him off? Tried to bring Alva home with you?"

[Alva Ren]

"Call you what?" Call him by his name? Alva stopped freaking out momentarily to stare at Aldon, who was acting... not like Aldon. If anything he was acting like Rae, when Rae was worked up about something. Even the way he threw his hands into the air was familiar. Alva swallowed hard, swallowed back his confusion, and looked down at his legs and hands again, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Susu wouldn't—" he began, about to explain that Susu would never curse him or cast a spell over him, but stopped short. "What do you mean bring Alva home with me? Why would I bring myself home with me?" Aldon was acting and talking Crazy, with a capital C!

"Anyway! We have to get back to Susu's apartment, Aldon. Josh and Rae were attacking him, we have to stop them before something happens! Can you find my chair? It has to be here somewhere..."

[Reagan Ryang]

He stared at Ryland as if he was an idiot. For all he knew, he was. All they ever got about Ryland was whatever they heard from Aldon and it was usually dumb moony love stuff or confused stuff because Ryland was notorious for twisting Aldon's head around. Come to think of it, he sort of deserved a good punch, too. For a few seconds, he thought about it--he really thought about clocking him one--but instead he turned away and made a you're not worth it sort of gesture in his direction.

SUSU? What, did everybody call the witch that? Gross. Rae made a face, then looked back over at Ryland, gaze sweeping over him from head to toe. Dyed red hair, confused stupid face, slim body. Yeah, he was Alva's cousin and they had some passing resemblances to one another but--Rae scoffed.

"You're not Alva, dumb ass. I'd know Alva anywhere. You're Ryland." He knocked on the side of Ryland's head for emphasis. "Did the witch knock something loose in there? And stop calling me fucking Aldon. For fuck's sake, man."

Letting out an explosive sigh, he reached out and grasped Ryland's arms so that he could pull him up to a standing position. Awkward though. Flush against him. Not somewhere he wanted Aldon's boyfriend being.

"You don't need a chair. You're fine. Stop being a baby."

[Alva Ren]

Jesus H. Christ, since when did Aldon become so... so... mean?! Alva frowned darkly at him. Aldon never used to talk to him this way before. They got along fairly amicably, even if Alva didn't always like how Aldon made Ryland miserable. But Aldon was better than some human, and Alva knew that he loved Ryland despite the way that he would dangle the words just out of Ryland's reach in the past.

"Ow! Hey, cut that out!" Alva swerved to avoid the oncoming fist but it collided with the side of his head anyway. "What's wrong with you? Why're you acting all weird?! I'm Alva!" Aldon was acting like a... well, like an asshole! Alva glared at him, about to say as much, when he was yanked to his feet. He let out a loud shout of surprise, grabbing onto Aldon immediately to avoid crumpling to the floor.

Except... his legs held. They stood. Or, rather, he stood. And when he wiggled his toes, he felt them wiggling and the sensation was jarring and baffling. "What..." Alva stared at Aldon, who claimed not to be Aldon. He... stared down at Aldon because suddenly he was a little bit taller than Aldon. "Ald—" Alva cleared his throat. "My legs. I can feel my legs..."