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 Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:18 am
The threadbare room that Castiel kept in the Velvet Tower Inn--an establishment which made no visible effort to live up to the expectations its name might have alluded to--was darker than usual when the pair began to stir. Drafty walls seemed to hold in the chill of the morning as the rolling fog outside a singular window provided the only lighting. Shadowing the room in a pale, ghostly glow.
"Ugghh.. tell me it's not morning already," The blonde groaned while rolling onto his back, tangling his long legs in the thin cotton blanket before reluctantly kicking it away. From where he lay on the floor beside the bed Warwick lifted his head to watch his human proceed with his usual morning ritual. Tail thumping gently against the wood floor in greetings. Morning Castiel.
"Hey Wick. Kinda dark today, huh?" Musing to the Mokai as cool blue eyes adjusted to their surroundings Castiel swung his legs off the bed and leaned over to give the tuft of dark fur on Warwick's head an affectionate ruffle. With a languid stretch the six foot something musician wandered over to the window where he could sigh at the unfavorable looking weather. Not that he had far to walk. The tiny room was a bit over crowded with just the bed, three drawer dresser, small oak table and two chairs, not to mention a human and Mokai occupant.
Arching a brow as his owner wandered dodged around the room half-naked and searching for clean clothes for the day Warwick simply snorted in amusement. His nails creating a gentle cadence upon the floor as he moved closer to the door, prepared to slip out as soon as Castiel opened the door. Together with the guitar case--the human's livelihood essentially--in tow the pair jogged down the stairs and tentatively attempted to cross the dining room floor without being seen. Most days they escaped without any trouble.
Today didn't seem to be one of those days.
"I thought I told you I don't want you sneaking that animal in my bedroom?" An older woman appeared from behind a door near the bar counter with a stern look on her face and arms folded across her bosom.
"We were just leaving," Castiel purred charmingly, gesturing to the door as he turned to face his executioner. Adrienne Fairfax, the Inn owner's wife, wasn't as much the ball-buster she enjoyed pretending to be. Her expression breaking into a thin smile at her long-term guest, "I see. Well get over here slim. I'll make you some coffee before you go."
"You're not going to poison me, are you?" Teasingly questioning the motives behind Adrienne's kind gesture Cas edged closer to the door dramatically. Warwick watched the shuffling motion and turned a wary gaze towards the woman behind the counter. He didn't understand the joke and his human's shying gesture made him a bit nervous, scooting to press against Cas' legs protectively.
"Hmm.." She seemed to be considering the question carefully, giving the cute, young, main lander a devious look. "Is your room paid up?"
"Naturally," Castiel assured, pulling a ribbon from his pocket to tie back his otherwise unruly, cornflower blonde locks as casually as if he were chatting with an old friend.
"You're safe then." Adrienne laughed. Turning her back to disappear into the kitchen through the door she had first manifested from.
"Good to know," Came the half-serious reply as the front door creaked, allowing the Mokai out into the street to wait for him. "I'll be out in a minute Warwick, don't look so worried. She's not really scary."
Giving his dark furred dependent a steadying thump on the shoulder Wick frowned as his owner closed the door without following. He probably expected the cull to find a place to do his business, but how could he leave Castiel alone with that scary woman lurking about? He couldn't.
Instead Warwick paced at the entrance of the Velvet Tower impatiently.
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:03 pm
Ever since the episode with Imnir, in which Devin had given away two of Seven's pups very much against her wishes, she had taken it upon herself to ignore the remaining one (which had burrowed into the bedding at the time and had no doubt disappeared from view; otherwise, in all likelihood, she would have kicked him out too) and had all but abandoned the pup to his own defenses. It was a good thing they had all been weaned and were already set to make it without their mother.
Still, the pup was but a little thing. He was the last-born, and naturally smaller than his two sisters. He was little enough that Devin had felt worried leaving him behind in the compound, so he had brought the pup back to live in the house for the next several months. Once the pup hit adolescence, Devin would move him back to the main compound, but for the while, he would be allowed to enjoy and live the good life down in the settlement.
Of course, living at the house wasn't all fun and games. There could be no doubt about Devin's devotion to his Mokai, but he was also a strict handler who demanded absolute obedience. Fighting performance wasn't as important a matter as obedience, and he had taken advantage of their current housing situation to get a few good lessons in with Seven's pup.
He wasn't too errant a youngster to begin with, and with but a few lessons, he had learned that listening was the far better choice in all matters concerning Devin. The young handler figured that with another week's worth of training, the pup would be ready.
"Come on, kid," he said with a low whistle, glancing back at the puppy toddling after him. There was a deep frown of concentration on the Mokai's face as he tried his best to block out all concentrations and focus on following Devin.
Not looking, not looking, not looking. The little Mokai chanted repeatedly to himself. Not looking, not-- He was looking. Oversized ears perked at the sight of another Mokai, pacing about outside a door. Ooooooooooh....
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:52 pm
Huffing impatiently at the door that stood between him and his human Warwick flicked his tufted tail. Strange how quickly you could become attached to a human. He had only known Castiel for a short while but already it was rare for them to ever be apart. Not because either one demanded it of the other, but because it was what they both wanted. Perhaps their similarities had drawn them to one another, but it was the fact that they genuinely enjoyed each other's company that kept them together.
I guess he'll be alright, but still.. Wick thought to himself as his ears lowered against his head. I hope he comes out soon.
Resigning to the fact that he couldn't rush his companion along the cull's attention drifted instead to his surroundings. The streets were still yet which gave the settlement an eerie feel of abandonment. A feel that was promptly interrupted by footsteps and a solid shape parting the heavy fog that dragged along the road and poured into the alleys.
Someone else gets up at this awful hour? Warwick craned his neck to peer down the street at the human that walked his way, noticing the pup that followed in tow. It was wearing a rather severe face of absolute concentration though--when he looked around--the cull couldn't figure out just what it was the little thing was concentrating on. Taking a few more paces from the door to the Inn Wick watched the pup with intrigue.
Clucking softly when the russet colored Mokai finally quit trying to focus long enough to notice him. Time for him to introduce himself, probably, though he cast an uneasy look towards the pup's owner and decided to keep a careful distance. You look like you're thinking pretty hard..
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:29 am
Ahhh, curses. Failure. And he had been trying so hard. It was a little disappoint to see how easily distractions came, especially when he had been focusing so much on keeping them at bay, but he supposed everything would come in time. He had been doing well enough, anyway.
Maybe one day, he would be able to follow Devin through a crowd of Mokai and not be impulsed to look around. Maybe one day, his efforts would pay off. Clearly, today was not that day, and the pup pulled up short to stare wide-eyed at the cull.
"I'm not supposed to look," he said by way of explanation, watching the other's tail with curiosity. Briefly, his gaze went down to his own flicking tail, as if trying to comprehend the differences he saw there.
"Why are you standing out on the street alone?" He asked finally. He had seen enough in his young life to recognize that this other Mokai was a cull, but even the culls he had seen before weren't homeless. Not that they were treated very well either, but at least they had someplace to stay within the compound.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:39 pm
Not supposed to look? Warwick repeated incredulously before giving the pup's owner an incredulous look. Whether he believed it or not though he gave the duo a bit more space to avoid any trouble from the possibly strict human. The last thing he needed to start off his day was a swift kick from some cull-hating human.
Watching the little guy's eyes drift towards his rather unique, but no doubt subspecies identifying tail Wick dragged it out of view self consciously. Another wary glance was fixed on the human that accompanied the Mokai before answering. I'm waiting for my human. He's still inside this---
"Alright Warwick let's..." A small bell on the entrance--which also served as the exit--to the Inn jingled as Castiel appeared, promptly interrupting his sentence. He seemed mildly surprised to find the cull halfway down the block investigating a puppy and the human who owned it. "Warwick, come on. Stop bothering them."
Sipping the steamy cup of coffee in one hand the blonde made a grim face, muttering with a crooked smile, "I'm not so sure this isn't poison.."
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:13 am
"Well, I'm just supposed to follow," the pup admitted, glancing up at Devin, who had, by now, realized that his Mokai had stopped following. "But not looking makes it easier?" He wasn't really sure about the semantics of it all, just that what he had been doing had been working. Kind of.
His eyes drifted to the building curiously, and he was poised to ask what it was when the door opened with a clang. He dragged his gaze toward the tall blonde human that appeared, cocking his head. He had his usual look of slight concentration on his face, taking everything in like a sponge.
By now, Devin had made his way over to the two Mokai. The pup turned his head, looking up at his human. There seemed to be something about the way the pup's over-sized ears framed his serious face that made Devin overly able to forgive the young Mokai's trespasses, and he shook his head with a small smile. "Who's your friend, kid?" He asked, looking at the dark pelted cull.
Devin didn't really have it in him to dislike any sort of Mokai - or any other creature, for that matter. He figured he couldn't, or didn't have the right to, when these creatures had played so great a part in pulling him out of the past and restructuring his life. If not for them, if not for that dream of raising some of the finest fighting Mokai around, Devin wasn't sure that he would be here right now. He might have been lying in a hospital with wounds from his own fights, or, less optimistically, he might have been lying in an alleyway overdosed on who knew what. Most certainly, he would not have been taking a walk at this hour.
Devin leaned down to give the cull a quick pat. He had always had a sort of admiration for culls. The ones that took their beatings and got back up every time, those were the ones with the real fighting spirit, and if he could have afforded it, he would have rescued a stable full of Culls. "I take it this guy is yours," he added, calling out to Castiel.
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