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Time? He seemed to know. Balance? Er… Well, it didn’t quite go as Odin planned. There he went again meaning to just shove the kid a few steps but instead sent him flying towards their neighbor. Odin’s eyes dropped as he gently let out a deep breath. He had to stop from rolling his eyes in his cellmate's direction. Julian was quick to look back at Odin for some type of guidance. Wanting to know what he had done to deserve it or what he could do to make Odin feel better. Odin liked that. The complete submission. Feeling like he was the king. Knowing Julian would do anything he said. It was that type of look that made Odin want to be successful. It had been Odin’s cell the moment he arrived. Everything in it felt like his, including the ink mage. That’s why it was so important to the werewolf that he kept his things safe.

He was immediately given a purpose upon entering this place. A task. A challenge. Odin didn’t know what he was called. But it became the only thing Odin could obsess about. Sometimes it was stressful and felt like it would eat him alive from the inside out. Other times it felt rewarding. Like he was important. Looks like that were the ones that stuck in the werewolf’s skull late into the night. He had meaning. He was worth something to someone. Leon and Julian depended on him, it wasn't like it had been prior to prison where everyone was trying to control and help him. Nobody had ever depended on him before.

By the time the three of them had made their way to the cafeteria, Odin no longer had time to try and keep any good thoughts in his head. He was too busy trying to figure out which inmates the alchemists were most likely to speak with. He was trying to figure out if the prison gangs worked with one another or hated one another. The ghouls were the two largest gang in prison at this point in time anyways. Alchemists fell somewhere near the lycans, but the lycans were trying to stay out of trouble with the current few Odin spoke to with them. The vampires weren't doing so well and kept to themselves too. Odin thought they'd have their s**t together in prison like the ghouls. Maybe in a few months they'd change. Glancing over his shoulder, Odin’s eyes scanned the room again as most people entered the cafeteria to get their food. He was stuck guarded the two trays of food as though their lives depended on it.

Cough cough gag cough.

Odin quickly turned his head towards Leon to see the fae gagging up his meal. His!? They'd drug his!? Odin’s thoughts were pure rage, his eyes immediately going wide as he stood up and grabbed the fae’s collar getting ready to see what type of damage it was doing to the other male’s esophagus. Acid in his vegetables? Enchanted poison that was already damn well absorbed into the male’s blood stream? The werewolf looked terrifying tearing the small fae from his seat and dragging him away from the seat he had been on. Would chest compressions help? Would ―

”INMATE.” A guard came running over demanding he let go of the frail male he had in his grasp like a rag doll. His fingers flew opened as he released Leon. It must've been around then Odin realized Leon had just tried to swallow food down his windpipe. The idiot couldn't even eat properly. Way to give him a ******** heart attack Leon.

”Tch."

”JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING PUTTING YOUR HANDS ON ANOTHER PRISONER?” Odin stood there very still as a few bystanders turned their head to see Odin acting a lunatic… Again. He was starting to learn he wasn’t very good at sliding underneath the radar. Odin didn’t have a response. He was no good at words. He knew that. Anytime he’d gotten into fights with Ian in the past, verbal fights at least, Odin always lost.

”Won’t happen again.” Odin said quietly in return to the shouting that was directed at him. It really had been a scary sight for the guard. Odin still had no understanding about just how frail Leon was. It didn’t register that the simplest movements could break him. That Odin was more durable than normal... Stronger than normal, and Leon was fragile in comparison to the average person. Julian had it bad enough with the werewolf, but Leon… If Odin didn’t learn, he’d end up killing the other male by accident. There was no defending it. If he lost his temper and grabbed Leon’s neck to try and teach the fae a lesson that would be it. Over. Gone. Odin didn’t have the slightest idea what he was doing each time he manhandled the fae.

”Anything like this again and I’ll write you a shot. Two shots.” The guard couldn’t seem to add enough onto the punishment. He didn’t want the werewolf assaulting someone so small. ”And solidary.” He added desperately. ”And no commissary for a week.” Was that enough yet to get his point across?

”Okay.” Odin responded softly. The guard slowly moved back, going to his position near the entrance to be sure nobody was sneaking food out to their cells. Everyone moved their eyes away from Odin since the entertainment was gone and that left the werewolf to sit back down next to the two with the two trays full of food that were starting to grow cold. He couldn’t starve Julian. He couldn’t starve himself. Odin didn’t know how the two would survive living off vitamins and candy from commissary. Had the food been fresh prepared he probably would have been able to smell it was ******** with. Odin loved the kitchen when he was younger. Cooking was one of the few skills he had that his slaves and parents were proud of him for. Odin would help make delicious cookies and wonderful roasts. He put all of his energy into slicing up carrots and his shotty focus managed to pinpoint the task at hand whenever there was a job in front of him to do. Cooking had always made sense to Odin. Even when a meal was prepared he could smell the individual components that made it taste so good together. He could place some herbs in front of his face and just immediately knew which ones he wanted in the meal. It was almost as though the boy could taste each component just by merely smelling them together.

These prison meals though? They made Odin’s nose curl away in disgust already. How was he to tell if something was off with them or not? If the food was better quality… He wrapped his hands around the two trays and stood up slowly turning around. He glanced towards the group of alchemists. He wanted so badly to go over there and gorge their eyeballs out with his fingers, slam their foreheads against the table, punch them until they bled. When Odin had been younger Ian caught him jamming sticks into a cat's eye sockets. It had been much easier than he thought it was to completely blind something. Alchemists couldn't be much harder. None of them would be able to accomplish s**t with the new handicap. All Odin's problems would be solved. A couple alchemists turned their heads when they noticed how intently Odin was staring at them. They were quick to look away, maybe because none of them learned exactly what happened to Pike yet, just that the man was gone. For all they knew it was Odin. He wanted the group of alchemists to believe that so badly. The werewolf would have given anything to be Mallory last night. He would've had the opportunity to ring the alchemist's neck himself.

Odin's body turned and he naturally began to drift towards the first group of prisoners he'd spoken to when he first arrived. Lycans. Odin had always been drawn to them since some piece of him felt like he belonged. Some piece of him felt like just maybe they understood the slightest bit. A piece of him had been crushed when they told him he was forbidden from interacting with them. That was the first day, when Odin had to retreat with his tail between his legs and sat next to his cellmate. It had been a long time since Odin thought about that feeling when he'd been turned away from the pack dominated by canines since he got Julian and Leon. When Odin stood at the edge of their table he was met with their full attention as they waited to see what he wanted. Odin placed the two trays of food down, a couple brows arching at the werewolf.

"What's this?" One of the older lycans asked, his balding head shifting from the food to the young man standing there, now empty handed.

”Trade." Odin nodded towards the first tray he wanted. Part of the main meal had been eaten already which meant it was an upgrade. Who wouldn't want more food? Plenty of people gave up meals here and there to try and earn some brownie point sin other prisoner's book.

"Uh... Kay..." The younger lycan took the full tray of food and pulled it closer to his body.

"Yo me too!" Another one that hadn't got the life beat out of him yet said smiling as though it was Christmas. Odin didn't know how the lycans managed to seem so... Happy? Entertained? Whenever he passed they were often joking around and having the most uplifting conversations. They were friendly to each other. They didn't act sadistic or get involved in the politics or social structures. Odin took the two partially eaten trays back to his table and placed one in front of Julian, the other in front of himself. His method was paranoid. The alchemists were a lot smarter than him, Odin knew that. But as long as he acted paranoid about everything then he wouldn't be able to fall into any traps they've set for him. He wasn't going to allow any of his to get trapped.

This was control, right? Julian was kept fed. He was kept safe. Leon was fine. Leon was going to be fine once that damned ******** returned with his skull nearly split in two. They’d all say it’s not worth it, that Leon was a lost cause. Nobody would climb the wall Odin had set around his property. If they did, he would ruin them. It wasn't going to be Mallory who battered the next one of them. Odin would grab one of their necks and ring it out the first ******** time he saw them. He was never going to being that position again where he couldn’t prevent something from happening to Leon. He stabbed his fork into his new tray of food and brought it to his lips. <******** prison food.
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”There.” The fairy spoke after taking the last bite of food Odin demanded from him. He watched carefully as the fae tucked his head within his arms. The werewolf learned on his first night in that everyone in prison was depressed, and everyone in prison was tired. He’d heard rumors of some sleep meds the alchemists handed out.

There were two chatty kids who never seemed to shut up on Odin’s assigned job. It was hard not to listen when they were nearby. One was particularly scrawny looking, but his confidence was pretty high regardless since he had a nice little cushion of friends that usually surrounded him during any free time throughout the day. The other was a fat slob who always hid candy bars on his body and would scarf them down when the guards weren’t looking, then constantly threaten to bash any snitch’s skulls in so nobody would tell on him. They were an odd combination, the two. Recently the scrawny one had been talking about some sleep mixture the alchemists have been conjuring up. That one used to pester the guards about sleep medications just to be told those would never be allowed in prison. It was always a back-and-forth with the loud mouths and the guards. Odin was almost happy he’d shut up now that he found some alchemist who cracked the code and managed to make some type of sleep aid from decaffeinated tea, V-8, and Milk of Magnesia (if someone was fortunate enough to be able to get all that s**t from commissary). The boy said so far it was a pretty unstable enchantment, sometimes giving him a mellow body high until he falls asleep, other times he’d talk about nearly shitting his pants. The burly one usually added an ill humor rape joke saying he’d probably never be able to hold it if he didn’t have his little friends to hide behind from getting stretched out like a used up elastic.

Those stupid ******** jokes always pissed Odin off. He always found himself thinking that’s not how it works as though he knew everything about prison rape all a sudden just because he properly became a rapist himself in the recent weeks. It felt good. It’s not like you can only use someone once and they’re ruined for life. It’s a tight warm place Odin always wanted to be sheathed into. On night’s Julian was too tense and Odin was too mean to even warm him up he’d bruise easy and it was mesmerizing trying to force out a noise from Julian’s mouth anytime he pushed up against a bruised area. It was - <********>.

Odin gained his focus, looking straight at Leon again realizing the s**t he was thinking about with the two right there in front of him. He quickly shoveled some more food into his mouth, chewing at it like a brute, some loose pieces slipping out the edge of his mouth and back onto the tray’s surface. He rubbed his sleeve against his lips and glared to the side before his attention was drawn to the note. That was something to focus on, wasn’t it? Odin never had so much trouble being himself before. He wasn’t familiar with his thoughts. He wasn’t familiar with who he was or what decisions he made. It was almost as though he was nothing more than a blank slate that was slowly starting to be turned into a person. The drug addict hadn’t been a part of the humanoid experience when he was doped up so constantly.

Odin’s brow knitted together as he tried to get some clues as to what it could’ve met. The fairy obviously made some trades, saying that he had acquaintances he met with on occasion. He wasn’t stupid. Leon had to be talking about sex, drugs, and whatever else the alchemists must’ve forced him into. Julian and Odin both understood Leon was ******** destroyed from it all. It was difficult knowing if the mysterious answer was helpful information or not. Did Leon’s associates mean to pass the message to him just now? It might’ve been a code they used so the guards didn’t have any evidence if they found the thing on one of their bodies. Oh. That’s it, isn’t it? Everything has to be cryptic as s**t unless it’s word-of-mouth. A cafeteria is no place to be making trades like that though. Not for the first time with a stranger. He tried to work out what drugs someone could offer. What makeshift s**t was floating around that may or may not be worth it. Odin didn’t think he’d be able to deny it. The alchemists had no idea how easy it would be for them to take advantage of Odin. If they asked him to drain Leon or Julian out every so often and they’d make some shitty version of blood based drugs. He’d ******** do it. He’d ******** do it in a heartbeat.

The werewolf’s eyes landed on the ink mage. No. He’d say he would do it then turn back around and snap someone else’s wrist again when it was time to turn them over. The kid was depending on him. A small stray pet he let in from the cold. No matter how many time he’d kicked or abused the creature it would come crawling back since there is nowhere else to get food from. And Odin would cave each time and feed it. Nobody had ever depended on Odin before. Ian used to on occasion when it came to bullies or getting him out of trouble. Teammates before he got kicked off the basketball team in middle school for biting a student. Maybe this was what the coach meant when the woman tried to defend having Odin remain on the team. He needs to learn what it’s like to have the responsibility of others depending on him to pull through for them. Teamwork is so important throughout his childhood and he can master these social skills through sports. The school administration didn’t listen to her. The parents of the boy he’d drawn blood from wanted him expelled. For all he knew they were threatening to sue the school or some s**t. Knowing his father, the man probably paid them off to not make a fuss of the whole ordeal. Odin never needed to take responsibility for his actions when his parents had become masters at avoiding conflict.

Prison was real though. The one place where no matter how fast you try to run, it’ll catch you. There is no escaping. You can let it engulf you into the big dark blue, or you can try to find others to build a raft with and try to make it out alive. If Odin hadn’t been sitting there anxiously panicking about having tainted food, he’d be with Hotts begging the man for contacts so he could get some drugs to carry him through the sentence. Julian and Leon were Odin’s newest obsession. The more he thought about the ink mage, the less room he had to think about drugs. Whenever he was mindlessly going through his day Julian circulated through it to pass the hours. Even his weekly drug meetings he needed to attend. Odin sat there quietly passing on saying any information in front of the other inmates as he wondered what Julian was doing back at their cell. If he should tell the ink mage to request attending the meetings. What Julian thought of Odin. Half the time he was thinking about the night prior or the things he wanted to do when he got back to his bed. It was sick and demented the way Odin’s brain could only hold onto the stupidest of things. His orbs shifted to Leon. Odin was starting to learn how to drag conversations out so long. The huge pauses of silence as he tried to work through his options must’ve begun to be familiar to the fairy after only knowing him for a few short days. The werewolf wanted to ask what types of drugs the fae got from them, but instead he just nodded his head with a stern expression glaring down at that silver head of hair.

”You’ve quit.” Odin was talking about the drugs, of course, but he knew it probably sounded like he was going on about the cigarettes. That wouldn’t be too large a stretch for Odin to begin with. He’d always ******** hated the smell of weed and cigarettes. The smells were offensive, clogging up his nostrils and sitting itself heavily in his lungs. Just standing too close to smokers made Odin’s eyes water. It was a damn sensitive body part that kids used to make fun of him for. During high school the ******** would mock him for crying and all that bullshit. The werewolf hated being teased. This was all bigger than just the cigarettes in the end, and Odin learned first hand when Hotts had that stupid little kid take a stab at him. The alchemists could ask just about anyone that Leon thought was an acquaintance to shank the boy in the neck. Odin didn't want either of the kids to get ******** up like Pike. The retaliation that those guys wanted had to be serious. If Odin said they'd get off with an apology, he'd be a liar. ”I'm doing the trades from now on." And he knew it would make him seem demanding, abusive, and controlling but that didn't matter. You didn't voice your concerns in prison. This wasn't a summer camp where you get to gossip and talk about the things that bother you. It's a place where you do the s**t you gotta do and don't make a fuss out of it. It's a place where you need to know the people you're trying to protect will shut the ******** up and do as they're told. They needed to believe Odin was stronger and smarter than anyone else in this place. ”If you need anything, you'll tell me." He'd completely isolate Leon from being allowed to freely interact with anyone. That's how off-limits the fae would be. ”And that goes for you too." He nodded towards Julian. The kid was awkwardly silent as always. It was hard to believe Leon was the more talkative of the two when the fairy himself hardly seemed to speak.

The werewolf really wanted to know what types of things they thought about throughout the day. Most people probably kept going because they thought of the homes and people they wanted to return to. Julian probably wrote up letters to his parents and friends talking about how he couldn't wait to return home. That he wanted a WELCOME HOME JULIAN sign put up with a cake and his favorite food when he returned. It was difficult to imagine someone like Julian being alone on the outside. A kid like him must've had lots to return to. Odin felt a jealousy creeping up on him just thinking about it. Was he jealous Julian had friends, or was he jealous that he'd be losing the kid for himself? The fairy was different though. Odin already knew he'd been in much longer. Owned by the alchemists. Riddled with drugs. What did someone like that have to look forward to? Drugs. And now Odin's taken that away from him. He didn't know if Leon would be able to turn Julian into his new form of drug like Odin had. Unless they really were some little boyfriends like Odin had first thought, what did Julian have to offer the fairy asides company? It wasn't the same as when Odin used him.
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