We Are Bulletproof

Oho, he had a couch, did he? But the bed... it sounded much more comfortable. Savas' eyes lit up at the mention and something akin to affection and warmth blossomed in his chest as his gaze met Athen's. This was more like it. Something he needed, more than he cared to admit. All the anger and stress that bundled up inside of him, all the grief he wasn't allowed to fully feel... It had stirred up a chaotic ball of rage and hate--all he could think about was killing the person responsible for stealing his family for him.

But Athen's calm demeanor was a balm to his sore and aching soul. It was nice to just... be. To breathe in. To breathe out. To not let every muscle inside of him tense, to not clench his jaw until it hurt. He needed this. A friend. An old friend. A lover. Once. Still...? Savas thought that was what he was offering. Hopefully not out of pity. The last thing Savas wanted was a pity fuck. But he didn't think that lowly of Athen; he doubted that was where his offer stood, especially with the way he looked at him with that tilted head, those penetrating eyes...

"Yeah," Savas said, his voice slightly husky with repressed emotion. Not so much smiling now that Athen leaned in close. For a long moment, Savas' blue eyes searched Athen's for some kind of sign. Of what, even he didn't know. Just... something. Then after a brief silence stretched between them, Savas smiled and he reached out his hand to brush fingertips over Athen's jaw, a thumb sliding over his lower lip as his heart began to beat faster.

"Yeah," he said again. "That's what I want."

There was little in the world that could convince Savas otherwise; that the white wolf had attacked his family, and those families of the rabbits and other shifters nearby. Something had been deranged in that animal, the way it attacked. Definitely a feral. Savas knew about feral werewolves--there was some kind of strain, some kind of virus or something that affected them and made them wilder, harder to control than other werewolves. They couldn't even control themselves.

That didn't give that bastard a pass, though. The murderer would pay the consequences for not just hurting his family but breaking them apart, killing them. The loss still stung deep inside Savas. Memories of his parents flitted through his mind, reminding him of exactly what he lost. And then he saw the white wolf again, on the scene, prowling about as if proud of his work. Savas frowned just thinking about it, then raised a hand to his temple to gently massage it.

He allowed himself to be pulled closer, knowing that Athen was just trying to comfort him. Yet he didn't like Athen's doubts. Maybe it was the bird in him, maybe that was what kept him from truly believing. He wasn't as predatory, he wasn't used to hunting. No, no. That wasn't true. He could hunt. He was a hunter of a type, too.

Before he could protest, Athen at least promised to follow him. The relief was palpable. Good. He had somebody to count on. That alone lessened the tension in his shoulders and he leaned into Athen slightly, the companionship more than welcome. Somebody had his back, at least. He would have somebody to help him locate his family, to find that wolf. And maybe Athen required proof before he did anything but... But Savas...

Savas snapped back out of his reverie, gaze meeting Athen's.

"No," he finally said. "All I have is the forest." He half smiled, eyes lighting up as he slid an arm around Athen's waist. "Are you offering up a place?"

Yes, yes. Everything about this wolf was dangerous. He or she ripped apart smaller shifters with no problems whatsoever. Whether they were in human or animal form, that wolf had torn out throats and took vicious pleasure in it. How else did one explain how the wolf tore them into pieces and left them? This wasn't about food. Savas was aware of feral wolves but they had never come down this far from the mountains. They usually stayed far away, up in the forests in the mountainside. There was a peace between them, perhaps an uneasy peace but it was there.

Savas, however, was unaware of the politics of the werewolves. He didn't know they were under tumult and to be honest, he didn't care. Whatever reason they had for what they did would never be good enough to make up for those hollow, dead eyes. His parents, once lively and full of good humor, his parents that did everything for himself and the rest of their family, for the smaller shifters around them... They were nothing in the eyes of this wolf. This white wolf.

Athen still didn't seem to understand but he at least appeared to be trying to. Savas bit his lower lip and turned his head away, to the shadows that surrounded them, to the scent of blood on the horizon. He wrinkled his nose slightly. Was that now, in the present or was he just conjuring the memory into reality?

When he turned his gaze back on Athen, his blue eyes could have pierced straight through him.

"Because it has to be, Athen. That wolf didn't belong down here. The way he attacked was more personal than a typical feral attack. I can't explain it in words, but believe me... there's something personal about this."

Before all this, before Savas' family was stolen from him in a brutal fashion, and before revenge reigned supreme in his mind, Savas wasn't quite this intense. Savas had a wild side, of course. He'd been born in a community that valued the wild side of being a shifter. He wasn't taught the finer nuances to be a person--to being a human. Reality? His family eschewed the idea that they were even half human most of the time. It took time to bring that side out of him.

Savas had a deep love of freedom. He was loyal to a fault, especially to family and those he felt were like family. Those like Athen. But he didn't like what he was saying and he wasn't afraid to say so. Did Athen really believe those words? That Savas didn't care about his sisters or Athen? That his loyalty to his now dead family meant that he had dropped his feelings for those who still lived? He didn't quite understand Athen's sentiments.

"Who says you're losing me?" Savas asked gruffly. Where did this become--to Athen--a method of losing him? Did he think he was losing his mind? That his mind was only on catching that wolf and killing him? Maybe it was. He didn't know. His sisters were still in danger with that wolf out there, though, didn't Athen see that part?

"He has to be destroyed," Savas tried to explain, "because if he's not, my sisters will be next." If they hadn't already died. Savas had no idea what had become of them, but he had to hold onto the hope they were still alive or he might just lose himself to exactly what Athen was afraid of.

No. No, Athen would never say go for it, go kill somebody. Especially some feral wolf. Athen was never like that. Savas didn't like thinking it but... it was a part of Savas. Even when he was little, there was that dangerous spark inside that urged him to pull for vengeance, to never allow others to step on what he had. He was fiercely loyal to those who mattered in his life--like his sisters, like Athen--but when it came to anybody outside that rough little circle, it was nothing but distrust and snappish behavior. Letting people in meant things like this happened. Savas' parents probably never saw this coming. Those rabbit shifters, they never saw it coming. But if Savas, if he were here, he would have seen it. He would have been able to do something. He couldn't help thinking it and it tormented him. Because what was he doing when it all happened?

Every muscle was taut and his jaw tensed as Athen stepped closer; it was all he could do not to snap. Athen meant well but he didn't know. He couldn't feel the maddening grief clawing its way through his heart. He couldn't see his parents' lives flashing before his life. He didn't feel that tightness in his chest every time he thought of his innocent little sisters who knew so little of the world and were far too curious for their own good. The images of his parents, bloodied and ruined, kept converging with that of his sisters and it was almost as if it had become reality. Deep down, he feared the worst, although he tried to hold desperately onto hope.

Finally his vision narrowed in on Athen and he breathed in harshly. His lips parted, words meant to pass through them but nothing escaped. He meant to argue but Athen touched a raw nerve. Maybe it was true. Maybe Savas was tearing at everything and everyone around him in a headlong rush straight to death. Maybe death would be a welcome and violent end to all of this shit inside that he couldn't deal with. His chest felt tighter than ever, as if he could hardly take in a breath. That's not true, the argumentative words hung unspoken between them, a lie that Athen would see straight through.

Savas reached out, grasping the front of Athen's shirt and dragging him roughly forward. Lips crashed against lips, feet stumbling as Savas pressed Athen against the rough bark of a nearby tree. The kiss deepened and his hips pushed insistently against Athen's before he broke the kiss off with teeth catching Athen's lower lip briefly. Then they were forehead to forehead, noses brushing, breath mingling.

"Don't ever say that again."

The long silence made Savas withdraw, moving back. Athen didn't understand. He wasn't agreeing with Savas; he wasn't saying that he would hunt down the bastard who killed his parents the way Savas planned to. While Athen didn't outwardly dissuade him or even disagree with him, his quiet and careful response, his noncommittal response only fueled the anger in Savas' heart. He frowned, his fists flexing.

It only seemed to get worse. Athen didn't agree. He didn't have to say the words to make it clear. He thought Savas was being a fool, that he was going to get himself killed. That was what he was getting at, wasn't it? Savas looked up at Athen, eyes darkening with his anger. It was misplaced but he couldn't help it; he wasn't looking for dissension. He was looking for... he didn't know what he was looking for. Help? Solace? A yes man?

"And just what would that Savas look like?" he asked. "That bastard killed them, Athen. Did you see all that blood? All those guts? Those were my parents and some asshole wolf took it upon himself to come and ravage them and half the goddamn shifter community out here. He deserves to be put down and I want to be the one doing it."

"My sisters..."

He knew that Athen was right; he had to think about them. The problem was that the blood was turning his vision red. All he could see was the death that surrounded them and if his sisters were part of that... If something worse happened to them... He ground his teeth just thinking about it. Because there were fates worse than death. They could have been kidnapped, sold, used as slaves. There were a lot of uses for pretty girls, especially pretty girls with a supernatural ability. Even the thought made him want to be physically ill.

"I know I need to think about them," he said, but his hands were still forming fists. He couldn't help it. The thought of his sisters out there being hurt or abused... "They don't know better. They don't the world out there the way I do. And if I can take the white wolf down while I'm looking for them..."

He looked up at Athen. "You can't tell me you wouldn't."

"Thanks," he said gruffly. The girls were all he had left and he had yet to find their bodies. It led him to wonder if something worse happened to them, if they were being tortured, abused, experimented on. Somebody had killed those shifters without mercy, his parents included. But the girls... If they were out there, he hoped for once it was because they had run off. It almost made him laugh, that thought. He spent so much of his life chasing down his sisters and telling them off for being so curious about humans and now here he was, at least hoping if they were out there, they were safe and had arrived there on their own volition.

"Oh," he said, then shrugged, "Yeah, why not?"

It didn't bother him if Athen chose to show off his photos, even if he and his sisters were the subjects. Nobody ever accused Savas of being shy, after all. And if it helped find the girls faster, all the better.

"There was so much blood, it was next to impossible to track them. The whole thing was a mess. But I saw who did it." He crossed his arms, bloodlust in his eyes as he watched Athen. Maybe he'd know something more about him. Maybe not, either way, he could help him locate the killer.

"He's a white werewolf. Feral, from the looks of it. But I don't give a fuck if he was in control or not. Bastard's going to get what's coming to him."

A raised brow. That coyote comment obviously was meant for him. Savas tilted his head slightly as he stepped closer. Wily, he heard that joke quite a bit. It took him some time to realize what it meant, though. Having grown up wild, television wasn't a staple for him. When he realized he was being compared to a cartoon character, he had been... less than enthused. Now he just took it in stride, with an eye roll here and there.

"All right. I will, then."

He moved toward Athen so he could take the camera from him and check over what he'd been looking at. Savas wasn't going to drop it or toss it; it took a lot to surprise him or take him by surprise so even if some jerk decided to come at him with a tickle attack, he'd keep a deathly hold on it.

While he flicked through images of wildlife, he glanced over at Athen. Of course he was going to ask. Savas even admitted to looking for him in particular.

"Lost my sisters," he said after a beat of silence that took him through three more images. This time he lowered the camera and whatever was left of his feral grin and his cheer were erased by the thought of what might have happened to the last of his family.

"They've gone missing. After the attack on the shifters in the area." He held the camera out to Athen to give it back. "Parents are gone. Confirmed. But no sign of the girls. I was hoping you could help find them."

Patience might not have been Savas' strongest trait but it seemed like it wasn't one of Josh's either. He probably should have expected some kind of retaliation for his tone but he didn't. Normally, Savas went pretty much uncontested in his circles. His father was probably the only one who could put him down if he was raring for a fight. Not so when it came to wolves, it seemed. Josh wasn't pleased with his impatience and he made sure Savas knew it, too.

Hair pulling, huh? Savas let out a growl. Though they were in human forms now, the actions were reminiscent of their animal selves. Josh was definitely trying to put Savas in his place, as if that place had to be below him by virtue of their species. Coyote. Just the way he said it. Savas pulled away from Josh, even though it meant letting Josh's hold on his hair remind him that he still held onto him.

What he wanted to do was snap at him but his human shaped teeth weren't meant for ripping out throats.

"And I'm just saying it better be soon," Savas repeated. Or he would go looking by himself, even if it meant something like this happening to Josh's damned pack.

"Right... human laws." He let out a scoff at the reminder. Human laws irritated him. Why should he have to live by them when he wasn't a human? The entire thing was unfair. Hazleton wasn't even made for humans; their law shouldn't touch the land. It surely shouldn't touch the vast stretches of forest around the small town. But since he knew Josh was right, he bit back his retorts and only turned away to lazily go for his clothes. He had business to attend to after this and he needed the clothes for that.

"Fine. You know how to contact me." He scooped up his clothing but didn't immediately start putting it on. He looked Josh over once, twice, then smirked before turning away and finally pulling his clothes on. Honestly, this sort of thing--killing and hunting--usually brought on the lust and he would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling it now. But to get himself all tangled up with a fuck buddy like this guy? Probably not the smartest idea he'd ever had.

"Just make sure it's soon or I'll go looking myself." Savas wasn't one for patience.

Soon. Savas frowned. Soon, but not now? Savas could kill him right this instant if given the fox. All he needed to know was who and he'd do it. He'd do anything to get at that white wolf. But Josh seemed to have other ideas. That or he had plans. Savas watched Josh draw closer but didn't flinch or move away as a thumb swiped at his cheek. It didn't surprise him to see the blood that came off his face. It also didn't surprise him that Josh licked his thumb afterward. Blood wasn't just for vampires.

No thanks was needed for the comment. Savas only nodded slightly to let Josh know he acknowledged what he said. What they did was grim work and it wasn't Savas' favorite thing after the fact. But during? That was the thing. He'd always been driven by bloodlust more than most in his pack. Not feral; shifters didn't have a problem like that as far as he knew. He was just more... aggressive.

"Now why would you think that?" Savas drawled. Did he look like the type to back down? Fuck that; Savas detested the idea of backing down from a challenge. He was pretty sure this was because of his hesitation earlier, when they first started communicating. When he thought he was eviscerating an entire clan of shifters. But a werewolf of all things had to understand the hesitation there. Shouldn't he? They were far more pack oriented than most shifters.

"When you say soon, how soon is soon?"

Fuck.

He was right. The agreement contained the death of a shifter. It didn't feel right, knowing he had to kill a shifter--his own kind--just to find his way to the one who killed his parents. But it'll be worth it. Family came first. This shifter wasn't his family. Not his business. Still, he could feel the bile slide up his throat as he nodded.

"Right."

The shifter. Savas wiped a hand across his mouth, knowing there was still blood from his muzzle there. He probably looked like a crazy man but he wasn't alone. Josh looked just as wild and untamed as Savas felt.

"Where's this shifter then?"

Eventually, the hunt had to end. Savas could taste blood and he could smell it everywhere. As he panted, then licked the blood from his muzzle, he flicked his gaze around to locate Josh. Good, he was over there. Part of Savas was pleased and content with letting the hunter inside out. Another part was sick with himself. The human part of his mind, the part that suffered consequences--that part felt sick when it spotted a dead kit and he couldn't tell if it was him or Josh that ripped it to pieces.

Looking away from the carnage, he lifted his head imperiously, as if none of this affected him in the slightest.

Well? Did he accomplish whatever it was that Josh wanted? Was he going to give him the information he wanted? Savas still half expected him not to give in to his side of the bargain, despite being the one to offer the white wolf's head. Or at least a means to getting it for himself. A wolf giving up a wolf? Hm.

After a moment, he shifted back into human form and slowly raised up to his full height. He wasn't worried about the wolf coming for him at this point. If he wanted Savas dead, being in coyote form wasn't going to stop him.

"So?" Savas said. "I did what you wanted. Now it's your turn."

Savas only snorted in response to the offered deal. Why should he need to embrace the human side of his life when he'd gone just fine all these years loving the wild, free life of a coyote? Sure, coyotes were unpopular and people didn't think of them nearly as nicely as they thought of wolves but they were still left alone for the most part. At least, they were in their part of the forest. All up until that shit with the white wolf went down.

Just the memory of that made Savas shake his entire body out, as if to shake the tension off. Fuck all that. He looked over the haughty werewolf again. He wanted to lunge and snap at his toes a bit to get him really moving but he was doing that whole thing with his tail and his head.

"Okay, you realize you're being submissive as fuck right now, right?"

(As much as I love this thread, this character has been in a multitude of other threads since this and he's going in different directions. It makes it hard for me to follow his story. So I'm closing this. Girl, just PM me when you want to do something and I'll list out some characters not doing shit at the moment.)