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tags; hanse, riley location; basement mentions; sky word count; 1,604
The jolt of concern that raised from familiar lips into the muggy air stirred something. His head raised with an eagerness that he immediately shot down by brandishing his usual, unobstructed glare at the man standing at the foot of the stairwell. A sweeping glance as Sean briefly scanned his packmate told him that Hanseβs wolf had clung to the anchor that he kept tucked away in the recesses of his room again, although he was still a bit disheveled looking with those grimy sneakers and his shirt crinkled at the waist, denoting that it had once been tucked into his dirtied pants. The air that clung to Hanse upon viewing Seanβs subdued appearance thoughβit beckoned towards the archaic power that he likely masked under the guise of settling into a pack. It cut through the basementβs dank, static air with a type of spark that swiftly transformed into untamed crackling, raising the hairs on the back of Seanβs neck and reminding him of how even though they were in almost constant bickering mode, the not-so-young man held a protective streak that was unmatched.
Seanβs unvoiced observations were quick to be replaced by the instinctual need to press himself into the deepest crevice in the room upon Hanse closing the distance between them. The growl that started out soft, warning the other man in an attempt to dissuade the idea of being approached, rumbled into something more guttural when he stood over him. Sean was entertaining the idea of lunging forward or kicking out his feet from under him just to see him fall on his ass when a shadow passed over his face, his hazel eyes flashing a bright gold with anger until fingers sifted through his sensitive scalp. They rifled through his dark golden locks with a gentility that Sean couldnβt shove away even if he wanted to because of the damn shackles keeping him stuck to the wall like some kind of stupid animal. He could knock his hand away, shake it offβhe was begging himself to do something to uphold his normal routine of dismissing Hanseβs brief niceties, but in this moment he was relishing it and he couldnβt process why. I hate this. He confirmed to himself, as if making sure that he should be disliking it, nodding mentally that Hanse was still the annoying little rat that had gnawed a hole in the wall of his room just to shove his stupid head into it and bark orders to bring him food at 3AM because he was too lazy to get up.
The muscle in his jaw leapt to answer Hanseβs judging dialogue, dominant hand twitching and soon curling into a taut fist. One good lunge, maybe he could break from these chains too. This time he would have better reason in watching a stream of blood leak out of his pretty little face. That rumpled shirt would look better stained red. Sean blinked slowly, mockingly, βSorry. I was thinking about how much better youβd look with a broken nose.β He scowled at Hanse, annoyed that he would even ask such a question and bring into the open air that heβd had his ass handed to him, albeit without proper memories to uphold that fact. βI got out, Iβm pretty sure. Heβs the only one that couldβve brought me back in here anyway.β The words spat from his mouth with venomous intentβmost of the pack knew of Seanβs aversion to the alpha and his problem with authoritative figures in general.
A low, unwavering snarl leapt into the air at the feeling of a slow hand drifting languidly along his face made his chest burn, shoulders twitching harshly as Sean half-lunged forward, trapped only by the hand grasping his chin that he promptly wrenched his head away from. βBuzz off, vermin. Youβll get your chance to look the same way soon.β He huffed in an attempt to ease the rise of heat in his chest, his mind momentarily drifting to the fact that Riley would likely have to see him this way. She was a healer, it wouldnβt be something to be phased by, but the idea still didnβt settle well in his mind. Was it embarrassment? Shame, perhaps? That heβd never be able to fully come to terms with the wolf prowling within him whose lips drew back to reveal row of serrated teeth in a menacing smile while he attempted to maintain his human facade? Rileyβs image made his fur lie just a little flatterβgently pushed the wolf aside for brief moments of true humanity in a way that even Jaime or Hanse could only remind him of whereas she kept them in place, made them feel as if they had a foundation. It fueled his self-doubt, but being human was alsoβunfortunatelyβabout feeling things, no matter how much he didnβt want to or decided to brand it as angry or standoffish.
Seemingly manifested by words alone, Seanβs gaze snapped not so carefully over to the blaze of soft blonde that slipped out from Hanseβs receding form as the man backed up. The jingling of the chains alone ignited an angry snarl on itβs own, both he and his wolf conditioned already to hate the noise and itβs significance. He didnβt know how long Riley had been standing thereβhis concept of time was still skewed and his senses had dampened to that of a humanβs in cohesion with how exhausted he felt. Regardless, a small part of him felt worry. Towards what, he didnβt know nor could he really think about it as yet another person approached him, this time kneeling in closer. His eyes held their wolffish light, the presence of his beast dancing consistently between encroaching the surface and lurking beneath the depths, but never quite breaching to make another appearance.
Sean glowered at the release of weight from one of his wrists, not understanding how Riley could just up and do that to him when her brother had so purposefully put him down here where he belonged. He could only glare at Hanse to cope with the sensation of being touched by someone else before his eyes darkened back to their dull hazel, taking notice of how small Rileyβs hands were in comparison to his own. She moved with precision, the nervousness that normally radiated from her nonexistent as she focused on him. Her patient. Right, thatβs all he was to her right now. Some dumb wolf that had broken out of the basement and put the packβs existence at risk and yet right now, all he could think about was how the sunlight rested like a halo on Rileyβs head the further she drifted into his space. Her eyes gleamed with the prowess of her wolf, casually tapping into itβs power with an effortlessness that only accentuated her delicate existence. A slow, flowing warmth unlike the heat that boiled from him before spread across his chest, closed his throat ever so slightly and had him grumbling an incoherent response to Riley when she whispered to him.
Her breath had caught in her throat, he was pretty sure he heard it, and it made his mind snap back to how Hanse had pointed out how grimy he looked. And yet, Riley still pulled away what was left of his soiled button-up. His expression darkened as he bent his head a bit to look at the extent of his wounds, a low hiss whistling through his teeth at the benign touch pressing along the ugly purpleish-blue splotches that flagged where exactly heβd cracked his ribs. Should it have been any other person daring to even get this close to his wounds, Sean wouldnβt have had a second thought or given them the chance to get this innately close without going unscathed. A ten-foot pole for a distance was optimal, if not more. With Riley, he couldnβt shake off the fact that bringing harm to her bothered both him andΒ his wolf. It went eerily silent around her at times, causing him to feel around for itβs presence out of confusion and stir reveries of self-reflection he wasnβt prepared for.
The sensation of her hand drawing away, pulling with it the warmth that she radiated and leaving nothing but cool, aching pains to upwell from the same spot, had his fingers twitching. He could grab her hand back, if he wanted. Just to nonchalantly keep it on his chest, not worrying about the emotional consequences attachedβbut for her, he wouldnβt. I hate this. He reminded himself, staring at the blood covering her fingers before he busied himself by unshackling his other wrist and promptly raising to his full height again. He teetered a bit, elbow going backwards to bolster himself against the wall for a mere moment of recovery before he bent over, collecting his scraps of clothing to toss them later.
βMy legs arenβt broken, I can move around just fine.β He growled softly, the usual anger in his tone replaced by a matter-of-fact one as if he didnβt want to startle anyone. If they had to move, he wouldn't dare allow it to not be of his own accord. Gliding around Riley, he didnβt meet her eyes as he carried a certain wind with him, pushing past Hanse with his good sideβs shoulder. He shoved him roughly, enough to have the other man at least shift his weight as he headed up the stairs ignoring the pain whipping across his body. Curling up in a patch of sunlight right now sounded like a godsend. If only he could find one where he couldnβt be bothered.