── 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧.

[`silver]

"Let's take a drive where to where warm, amber lights will follow us
─ and the skyscrapers will wave goodbye."
an invite only rp ft. mtuan, + fives

[`silver]

𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐇
location; basement > bedroom > bathroom word count; 1,953

The words that slipped from his mouth—they stung. Time and time again, Jeong Hanse always had a way to crawl under Sean's skin the way no other person could, tearing at the weak, human facade that he manifested in both mind and body with a sort of ease that deep down he could only come to admire. It was why their relationship was so conflicting, why he was so disdainful of the niceties and so set on matching even the gentlest of prods with the most irritated shoves. Sean wouldn’t—couldn’t—come to terms with himself whether it be as a human battling his own feelings, questioning the emotions that made his heart race and his own breath catch to the downright instinctual desire of his wolf whom strangled itself until it could be set free to do as it wished, as they both wished. To be unshackled and allow the strength that sat patiently in the void a chance to unfold, to be freed of its bearings and inhibitions, and for Sean to simply let go. It was the amount of control he had over himself that was the problem, and the abrasive exterior was just a bonus for those peering too close for his comfort.

In hearing their alpha's name, the wolf trotted into the surface of his eyes, blaringly golden and obviously showing its lack of satiation by appearing to Hanse briefly. Sean himself couldn’t fully recall the fight, bits and pieces of information weaving itself into his mind the longer the dark haired man held his chin and thus feeding into the irritation brewing at an accelerated rate from within him. It burned. It itched. The desire to shift after his little lunge felt like air trapping in his lungs. He wanted to yell at Hanse to kindly leave in the most colorful way possible, but the humorless laugh that left the other man’s lips had Sean’s skin prickling.

It’s here. The feeling of another’s wolf rising to the occasion was like a hot knife cutting through butter. He didn’t have to meet Hanse’s eyes to know what kind of beast had stretched it’s limbs in one fluid motion before him, moving in a languid, almost aloof manner in his mind, yet the slow action only emphasizing it’s power that was comparable if not higher than which Sean himself possessed. He could feel Hanse fall away from the world, his wolf striding into the forefront with a knowing sneer. It was because of that beast that Hanse and him got along so well. They both knew him. Sean’s mouth pressed into a firm line when the truth was brought up. It was true, he couldn’t deny it. He had Hanse’s back as much as he and his wolf did for him, no matter how much they tore at each other’s pelts or yelled at each other from across the room and ended up closing the space by whirling around in a flurry of bodies impacting the other. He was important to Sean, whether he wanted to admit it or not and whomever decided to scathe him to the point of maiming would be damned to think Sean wouldn’t go for their jugular as a result.

The presence of the one that always seems to keep his head above figurative water when he’s gasping for air soon arrives. Hanse receded to allow her to pass, an inaudible sigh slipping from Sean's lips as she crouched down to prod testily at his wounds. He couldn’t say much to Hanse today, it seemed, and in being spared from having to react to the other man’s words came more so as a relief to his already exhausted mind. The next string of dialogue was no longer directed towards him, but her. And yet, Sean still could not find it within him to fully react to Hanse’s harsh words. He had a point. In fact, Hanse likely had reason to give their alpha a piece of his mind for not being better prepared for the situation that had occurred the night prior. There was time for this, and the alpha himself had been leader of another pack before, so what made this one any different? Why was it that Sean could break his chains and escape into the wilderness whilst the alpha could quake in his shoes about losing his pack and yet try to lead with a gentle hand that included being against harm coming to members? People were going to be hurt, it was a fact, but with someone more seasoned, one would think that experience would apply in real time. Apparently, not so much.

With every right did also come a wrong though. The moment Hanse’s venom struck directly at the woman crouched at his side whom had just finished examining him, Sean snapped up heartbeats later to his feet after he’d successfully removed his restraints both figuratively and physically. She’d stammered—her hands growing white-knuckled the longer she stood taking the brunt of the hits for someone that should’ve been there to protect her from them on his own. Yet he wasn’t here, truly defined by the Hanse’s description. He was setting her up for failure. It doesn’t fully excuse his quip. Oh, how he’d like to lash out and grab Hanse by the neck, toss him against the concrete floor for going as far as he had. She didn’t deserve to be wrung out this way, but in a way, it also wasn’t his place to say anything. She stirred a warmth from within him that he couldn’t describe, it reminded him of how the sunlight had felt on his head earlier before Hanse had come busting in. A caress he silently vied for, an interaction he felt he could never have nor explain well enough. He was her patient, that was all. In reminding himself of this, he allowed the feelings to remain hidden for her sake. While he knew he could do nothing to ease the panic coming from her that practically overwhelmed his senses, he could let Hanse know that calling her out wouldn’t do anyone any extra favors.

Shoulder-to-shoulder, the impact zapped through his body with hot pain, but Sean could only focus on the sight and sound of Hanse stumbling a bit, earning a title that he’d heard a multitude of times from the same man. Too tired to say anything else, he stepped up the flight of stairs towards the basement door which was awash with the warm lights coming from the kitchen along with some sunlight that appeared to be sifting into it. The fragrance of orange zest assaulting his senses made him scoff a little as his eyes rested on yet another familiar figure. Not for long though. A knock on his forehead had him freezing up on the steps, his hand grabbing at the nearby railing in a sudden motion.

He could’ve sworn that he heard his own brain knock around like a ping pong ball in his skull for a second, a headache quickly rolling in as his body notified him of its sensitivity after the sudden flick to his forehead. He sucked in a sharp breath, anger coming off him in waves that crashed through the stagnant air like a waterfall. His eyes had squeezed shut at some point between it all so when he pried them open, a cackling face greeted him. “Seulgi.” He snarled lowly, pushing her back up the stairs until an arm came to wrap itself around his torso. He flinched, boring holes into the side of Hanse’s face as the other man answered the question he’d been too bloodthirsty to hear. The Korean man had saved that orange rind-eating woman’s ass. Sean briefly wondered if he should’ve just pulled her down the stairs so she could bust her tailbone on every step of the way down.

The wind whistled in his ears for a heartbeat when the woman whom had so carefully looked him over now whisked past them all, bursting from his good side (thankfully) and up the flight of stairs quicker than he’d ever seen her move. Her sideswipe was panicked, wrought with twitchy, ungraceful movements enveloped in the anxiety to just escape. A wild animal caught in a glaring reality of luminescence. “Hanse.” Sean took a turn to growl at him, not angrily, but with a warning note in his tone as if he were merely scolding him for talking too much. The other man’s mention of chaining the panicked woman up was softened with the addition of his words only being a ‘joke’ to which Sean sighed irritably at. “Stand here all day if you want, I’m going to shower.” Removing the limb from his torso that had been laid so casually across him, he shoved past the both of them before pausing at the top of the stairs.

Pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, his shoulders went rigid before he groaned. “We can all go get something to eat, if you want. I’m down.” He couldn’t believe the words he'd uttered. After Hanse had quite literally struck down one of the few pack members that Sean himself could more than just tolerate, he was already falling into place right behind his stupid tail. He couldn't tell if it was that post-full moon appetite that was inducing him, perhaps the feelings he kept tucked away for the woman, or maybe he really was an idiot. Whatever the case, he gave both of the wolves behind him a look to ensure they'd heard him so that they wouldn't come howling for him later to force him to join the breakfast affair. If Hanse wanted to go somewhere, surely Seulgi would follow suit considering that orange she'd so ravenously bitten into wasn't going to do anything for her. Sean slipped away a bit too quickly again, grumbling to himself when he had to use the nearby threshold for support before stalking off towards his room.

Balling up the wad of what was left of his shirt, he stripped off any lingering pieces and tossed them into his wastebasket, wincing a bit at the feeling of his wounds when he moved a certain way. He felt sticky—no, he felt like literal crap—but he refused to allow his wounds to keep him bedridden, especially not if he was to at least try and seem like things were okay. His body ached as much as his mind thudded with an unreasonable headache brought on not only from hunger, but his wolf. It wanted something from him already. He rummaged through his clothes to try and distract himself, pulling out a clean pair of pants from his drawer and deciding to go for a hoodie and casual blazer combination to protect his wounds from anymore prying eyes.

He'd taken a detour prior to showering towards where anxiety had reeked the most to find their pack healer a ways away from the house. Quiet words were exchanged, as was the soothing absorption of fire and smoke into the lungs provided by the woman that Sean had nonchalantly taken from her shaky fingers. He'd heard she'd been planning to stop the unhealthy habit, so he thought of his action as something normal. Nothing to it—right? Wrong. When he returned to the pack house and attempted to slip undetected into the bathroom closest to his room, he stayed in there for at least an hour. He'd locked the door behind him, turned the shower on and simply sat under the spray, ignoring the sensation of burning from the punctures in his side as a stronger feeling overwhelmed him whilst his expression morphed into an uncommon mask. Regret.

[mtuan,]

.. 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐀𝐍-𝐒𝐄. 𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙄𝙑𝘼𝙏𝙀𝘿, 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙄𝙎 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘼 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀, 𝙄'𝙈 𝘿𝙀𝘼𝘿 𝙎𝙀𝙍𝙄𝙊𝙐𝙎 !!
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(tags) sean, seulgi
conner, kitten (men
tioned)
(misc.) polarizing opin
ions by professor
hanse here, huh?
1,140 words

mtuan, kim mtuan

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𝐀
𝐊
𝐀

𝐇
𝐀
𝐍
𝐒
𝐄

The air felt stuffy as hell as time seemed to fall into a standstill. Between the nearly fallen apart little pack of small town folk, the tension only ever seemed to rise and strengthen as time went on. And the full moon incident was no different in the way eyes blazed and nostrils flared. It was a sight almost to be expected, in the way Hanse's dark eyes sharpened like steely orbs, challenging and temperamental; willing to snap at anyone who happened to step in the wrong direction for even the split moment.

And by the looks of it, Sean knew it too. In the way his eyes were equally blazing with anger and impatience, but the words didn't fall from his lips the way one would have usually expected from the belligerent man. There in the room, presented two men in their own rights. Yet, the beasts that hid within angry eyes reared their hackles in a warning to fight if need be.

The basement fell into a stagnancy. The strong stench of dominance clashing, whether anyone would have liked it to or not. And while the creature within Hanse surely had no interest in ruling a pack, for glory or for fame, there was little he'd back down from. Certainly not the man before him, if that were so the case.

Though it certainly felt odd. How the beast held no desires for power or for name, nor the responsibility to lead a pack like an alpha would. How the well-prized and pedestalled status of an alpha never seemed to pique the interest of a man who wanted nothing else in life but the loved and the lost of his life.

As ironic as it sounded to any other man's ears, the status of an alpha sounded pitiful at best. Cursed to a life bound to the protection and preservation of a pack. Of those who never wanted to be put under such strict authoritative rule such as Hanse and Sean themselves. To the weak and the ill, to sacrificing their life for sometimes nothing at all. To Hanse, it all felt like a joke. Or a game that the universe knew the rules to, but they themselves- werewolves and creatures alike, never did. An alpha was doomed from the day he'd be chained to his position; until the day he either died or was dethroned by another equally ambitious, bloodthirsty wolf who wanted the power for themselves. The cycle would continue thereafter, one to another, wolves would vie for the golden title.

Golden title.

Tsk.

There was no golden title, no fame nor honor.

In fact, it was only in an animal's instinct to overpower each and every one of their peers. To deign one so low they take a role like an omega, bound to serving the pack like a foot hold below everyone else's feet. In Hanse's eyes, the alpha's status was no better than the omega's. As aforementioned, only creatures cared so much for the power over another. Perhaps in the sense, born werewolves were more beast than man.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, it was the cut of a gentle aura that slices the tension in two, momentarily distracting any and all instinct from jumping into action in that moment.

The next fall of events happens within a blink of an eye, like a cascade of a waterfall, flowing through without an intent to stop for anyone or anything in it's path. And perhaps it was Hanse's fault for that- the way he struck without skipping any beats, hoping to dig his claws into a soft heart wherever he could take ahold. It felt nice. To blow off the steam on someone so... pitiful. So stupidly naive and innocent, yet so... pure-hearted and gentle. It felt good.

How the outcome of the events were this time. He hadn't fallen for the princess, the dainty and the sweetly compassionate. Someone who could dig barbs into his heart without even the knowledge of it. He wasn't chasing again; nor was he interested. No. He reveled in her destruction this time.

The two women. They were so similar, yet so incredibly different. If time hadn't passed and healed the wounded soul over in scars, perhaps Hanse would have been whiplashed. Thank god he wasn't. He could never reflect the pining Sean hid behind his light eyes for the girl.

Again, Hanse feels far away until Sean's gruff voice brings him back into the present. Rough, like a snarl in warning. "Sean." The man returns in a tone equally low, though it missed the growl that possessed Sean's.

"Oh, showering without me this time? I need one too, don't use all the hot water." The Korean man quips without thinking, waving the other man off as if he hadn't bothered.

"How about into the town that we were oh so specifically told to avoid, huh? I heard the breakfast a the local diner is amazing, if anyone would even allow us to eat there on a normal basis. C'mon Seulgi, you're meant to be eating actual proper food, instead of your stupid orange peel."

"By the way- you smell stinky as hell, Sean; just saying~" As if one last quip was even necessary.

It doesn't take long for the three friends to find themselves over breakfast. But little does it occur to any of them that perhaps that'd be the last breakfast they'd share as packmates.

Because Sean fades away like the seasons, the fall and winter months rolling through with the older man going rogue; falling away from a pack he never seemed to belong in, if not for the pair, perhaps.

Sean seems to find himself needed elsewhere. With the younglings that couldn't handle the harsh life without a pack and more wolves to watch their back.

Somehow, Sean takes on a role more like a father than Hanse would have ever expected. An alpha, sure, but a father of two- maybe more, if Hanse were to ever meet them. Two boys bound to one another like glue, in a way that perhaps the Korean man would have yearned for in his "youth"; not so, anymore.

But they don't meet again. Until the leaves have changed their hues from green to orange and soon fallen from their perches, drying into a crisp nothingness. The triangle (-of dumb) don't meet again until the frost had covered everything it touched in a pristine kind of white. Frigid cold, yet breathtakingly gorgeous.

Until any wolf could clearly hear the crunch of feet in snow through the blanketed world.

Standing before fellow wolves in the wilderness surely would bring a shiver up any one person's spine.

"It's been a long time, how have you been faring with the winter? I hope it hasn't been too much of a struggle, hm?"