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Entry tags:
Girl Genius - Nuée Ardente - OC/OC - 4/9
The inn's cheapest room wasn't any better than its price suggested -- narrow bed, very little space around, and under the roof to boot, so that he had to walk a bit stooped or risk banging his head again. It didn't matter, since he would be using this room for sleep and not much more, and it wasn't like he had to share it with anyone.
Much less a Jäger on goat-like stilts.
He dropped his satchel on the wobbly desk wedged under the skylight, sat on the bed. He was glad when it groaned; it was too quiet in here.
He still had a hard time believing it was over.
Well. Mostly over. At least the Jäger Express part of this program was over. Now to lay low for a few months, find odd jobs...
Through the skylight he could see dusk coming on, but when he opened it Schwarzburg's noises barely seemed to be slowing down. It was so strange to be in a city without a curfew. The inn itself might well be rowdy until eleven at night, not that he heard much from up here but ...
If the mail left at six sharp, he had better write any letter he wanted to send now. He sat at the desk, got the scrap of paper the innkeeper had given him out of his bag. Pen, pen -- ah, yes, there was a pencil in the drawer. Better than anything with ink; fair bet it would be dry.
Mother, Father, Ludmilla,
This is Sorin. I had to run away after
No, wrong start. It was easy to imagine his mail being read. He couldn't give his parents any information on the situation, or the letter would never reach them.
This is Sorin. I know you are all worried for me, and I am sorry about that. I can't tell you where I am or why I'm gone but I am safe and will come back. I don't have an address for you to write me back but you can forward
No. Stupid. If his letters could find him, so could anyone else.
No contact at all. He had known that. His hand had just... slipped. Yeah. He used that newfangled bit of gum to erase the incriminating sentence, rubbing so hard the paper ended up with a hole in it.
I don't have an address for you to write me back, I am very sorry. I trust you will be well during my absence. Please convey my apologies to Master Iliescu.
I love you all, please do not worry about me.
Your loving son and brother, Sorin Petrescu
... Pretty terse. He wasn't sure what else to add, though. Anything he could say about the last day would be...
I had to flee town after being caught catching Viscountess Vaduva breaking one of the Baron's edicts and planning some kind of stupid sparky rebellion. A lone Jäger rescued me and we fled through the woods. Yes, the monster-infested ones. By the way, the Viscountess' cannons spew lava. Don't ask me how it stays hot inside those big stone clanks. Sparks, right?
The Jäger was, surprisingly, almost a gentleman. By which I mean he was nice and helpful when he wasn't savaging people or monsters, and he only ravished me a very little bit.
Yes, er... No.
His stomach growled. He folded the letter, wrote the address on it. Eyed his satchel.
He'd been hauling the thing around for a good long time now, and his back and ribs were sore enough he'd rather not bring it along, but...
... The lock on the door didn't seem to be much better quality than the rest of the room.
He had nothing else to his name. Without his tools he wasn't a smith, he was a beggar. He wasn't risking it. With a little sigh he shouldered his bag once again.
He nodded to the innkeeper as he went out, acting casual and his heart speeding up a little from going outside when the curfew was coming. He felt positively brazen. Not that he was a stranger to sneaking out at night, but it wasn't like he'd ever allowed anyone to catch him at it. But there was no curfew!
Outside people were sitting on benches and terraces, strolling down the streets. It was getting dark, though there were lamps. The overall mood was... oddly peaceful.
Which wasn't something he'd had a lot of, recently. He found the post office and dropped his letter in the slot, and then considered -- should he go back to the inn, dine there, and sleep? It'd be cheaper.
At the same time he was still restless, and...
It might be nice to explore a little.
Yes. He was going to do that. Look around, find somewhere to eat (outside, in the dark! Outsiders were strange. He needed to try it.) Tomorrow would come soon enough.
He wondered briefly what Velimir would think about the town. He had to have seen a lot of them. He also had to look at them from a very different perspective -- did he note down weak points in the walls or anything like that? Guards? Sorin tried to remember the outer walls. He thought they were maybe a little lower than Vulkanburg's, but he still wouldn't be able to just scale them. Might be stairs, for the guards to patrol on top...
Alright, and now he was planning an escape that would never happen. Or more like worrying about an escape, because he hadn't paid enough attention to the wall's setup to even know if it had stairs to go up or if they were under guard or locked away. Fruitless thoughts.
His stomach growled. Okay, okay. There was a pretty big square ahead, he was sure he'd...
... find... a guardsman... suddenly in his path...
"Sorry, son," the older man told him. "The town square is not crossable tonight."
--Not an arrest. The man didn't know who Sorin was. "Oh." He craned his neck a little, tried on a smile that came out nervous, lopsided, shaky. "Are they setting up something?"
There were men and women out in the square, some standing still, some crouching, some prowling across, back and forth, all in rough clothes, and most of them glancing up at the sky regularly.
The guardsman snorted. "No, those are the local werewolf pack. I wouldn't advise you to be close when the moon finally decides to come out, they can get a bit... rowdy."
Sorin paled. There were localized packs all over in these mountains, but --
"Why are they in town?" Some of them probably lived in town, he knew, but. But. Those who did would have so many troubles with the neighbors if they actually came out to howl in the streets on moonlit nights.
The size of that group. It bothered him.
The guardsman shrugged both shoulders. "There's a wild Jäger hanging around. Prolly looking for trouble. They get pretty territorial about those. Got to tolerate the Baron's, but a wild one? Psh."
"Oh." Sorin swallowed, gave the man a sickly grin. "I see. Thanks. I'll -- go around now." He turned around to leave, paused. "Uh. When is the moon coming up?"
"Oh, the second the clouds let up, son, your guess is as good as mine."
Dear god. "I see. Thank you! Good luck with the... with them."
He left at a fast walk, started jogging the second he turned a corner. Velimir was --
Velimir hadn't come into the town with him, had waved casually at him and disappeared into the bushes some way off the town's gate, leaving him alone on the road. He wasn't in town but he had to still be around, just outside --
"Hy just vait for de postal dirigible und hitch a ride until de next town vith Jäger garrison. Iz verra eazy! Hy be back vith mine squad tomorrow."
He couldn't be far, he had to -- he had said he'd wait and Sorin was coming up to the gate already and had no plan in mind for a way out. The gate was already closed and barred for the night, there was no way they'd reopen it for some stranger, augh!
-- Wait. The smaller gate. Person sized. Also barred, but.
Also the guard had seen him and if he hesitated any longer it would look really bad. He approached, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Um, good evening?"
He got a suspicious look for his trouble. "Evening, sir, what seems to be the problem?"
Haha. Ha. Alright. Come on, Sorin, be charming. The town was so peaceful because it was safer than most in the area, they had to be more relaxed...
"I, uh. There was this girl, and umm... now there's her father?" He tried on a guileless smile. It came out awkward with nerves -- which was good, because he didn't want to look like a smug butthole either.
"Oh! I see."
"And now I would kind of really enjoy not being, um, anywhere he can find me. Is there, is there any way I could sneak out for a little half-hour so he has time to calm down, or uh, maybe hide in your guardhouse if you don't mind because he seems really very angry and I really don't want to cause trouble but--"
"But you're a strapping fellow," the guard said, laughing at him. "Arms like yours, you're telling me you're afraid of a brawl?"
"Well, no, but not with my girlfriend's father, sir! If I break something she's liable to break it off with me."
He tried on puppy eyes, blushed.
"Well, you can't be in the guardhouse, but I guess if you stay very close to the door you should be pretty safe. The boldest monsters usually take until the middle of the night to come up to the walls, the area's pretty well cleared. What should I look out for?"
Oh thank fuck. "Um. Balding, broken nose... He's not very tall, kind of stooped? Thank you, sir," he added with utter sincerity as the man unbarred the door. "You're a lifesaver. Literally."
He stepped out, legs twitching with the need to run; he waited -- somehow -- until the door was barred behind him again to take off down the road.
Where would the Jägermonster be? Not on the road, maybe not even near the road and then Sorin was fucked. His best bet was probably to make himself noticeable as possible in the woods and pray that the Jäger would notice him first. Which side of the road? Where was the post office, left? Right? Right.
There was a high tree over there, twice as big as its fellows. Noticeable. Probably good for keeping watch. (Or hitching a ride from?) It was the only noticeable landmark he could find, at any rate. He found a break in the bushes, started jogging that way. The night was full of animal calls.
Soon it would be full of werewolf calls. He checked the sky between the trees -- still cloudy, but the clouds were moving, a faint silvery haze now visible over the horizon.
He ran faster. He was going to catch a branch to the face and he still couldn't slow down. Oh, and to hell with discretion. "Velimir!" he hissed. "Velimir -- crap. Oi! Jäger!" He'd tripped a bit. His ankle barely twinged. The big tree couldn't be too far, never mind, he'd live, keep going. "Velim--"
Something caught him across the chest and swept him off his feet, and for a second he thought it was a branch; but it accompanied his momentum instead of knocking him down on his ass, and brought him back against a solid chest.
"Hoy dere. Look vhat Hy find." The Jäger peered over his shoulder, mouth and nose starting to gleam faintly -- eyelids too, even weaker, apart from a thin, bright line just along the root of his eyelashes. "Whatchu do here, sveetling?"
Weak-kneed with relief, Sorin caught his wrist for support and tried to bring his legs back under control and regain his balance. "Town," he panted. "Werewolves."
The arm around him tensed so suddenly it was like being held by a very possessive statue.
"They think," Sorin said, "you're wild -- they said. Wild Jäger, they'll hunt as soon as the moon is out, there's clouds for now but there won't be all night--"
"Shh. Hy hear. Ve get movink."
Sorin had all of one second to enjoy being back on his own feet before Velimir started towing him through the trees. "Uh -- hey, wait, I'll just, I'll climb a tree, wait until morning? Or, or if I hurry, the guard said he'd let me--"
The Jäger stopped walking, turned. In the shadow of the trees he was barely an outline, but for the fey gleam of his face.
"Darlink..."
The thing was, he sounded kind of sorry.
"Hyu schmell like me."
Oh.
Oh, damn it. Curse it all to the deepest pits of Hell -- !
"But someone probably tricked them, you're not wild, what if --"
Velimir kept grimly pushing through the bushes. "Hy don't haff mine pack, Hy don't haff orders, Hy don't haff a Wulfenbach device. Hy look vild. Und verewolf in der moon madness don't schtop und ask before dey make with de devouring." A pause. "Sorry."
"--For what? It's not your fault." He let out a short, irritated sigh. Funny how his body was less shaky when he already knew a fight would be coming. The uncertainty -- were they going to be noticed, chased, when would it happen, not now, not yet, when?? -- was somehow worse for his nerves. "I don't suppose you can beat them all," he added morosely.
"Hoy, dun sound so doubtful-like! Hy could! With two goot arms, maybe."
Pff. He didn't even know how many werewolves there were. "Oh, so that's not healed yet."
"Nah. But hey, it iz sporting to haff handicap!"
"Since when were Jägermonsters sporting?!"
Velimir laughed, casual and clear, like the creepy darkness and quiet of the forest was of no concern. "Dat iz a fair point. Ahh, it vould be de goot fight either vay, und Hy haff no good fight for days now."
The tone of his voice... Sorin shook his wrist free of Velimir's hold to catch his sleeve and pull on it. "By good fight, you mean it's very likely you'd get killed, don't you."
A careless shrug. "Jah. Iz fine. Ve all end one day--"
Sorin grabbed his elbow, tugged, was aware that the Jäger only came to a stop because he wanted to and felt angrier about it. "Don't you fucking dare even think about dying here!"
Velimir blinked placidly at him. "It iz not sumtin hy vant. No member of Jägerkin vant that, or dey die in der making. Vithout mine pack--"
"Your pack's waiting for you!" Sorin interrupted with a growl. "Don't be a total jerk! Do they even know where you went? You're going to just disappear on them like that? How long have you even known them? It's not okay!"
Staring -- and then the Jäger chuckled, giggled, started to laugh all quiet and endless like he was trying to be quiet, he just wasn't going to stop laughing anytime soon.
"Hey."
"Ach, sveetling. Hy hear hyu."
"... Also there's how if you die I am going to be in such a mess I have no words for it. I need you alive, so please take it upon yourself to rein in the death by werewolf urge, okay?"
He didn't expect to be reeled in; kissed, even less. The tool satchel dug into the top of his thighs, caught between them, uncomfortable. The kiss was...
Short, but intense. Toothy. Hungry.
Velimir released him so suddenly he stumbled a little. A rough hand patted his cheek. He could still feel the exact places the points of his teeth had pressed into his lower lip.
"Nize boy. Hop on."
Cheeks hot and feeling dizzy, he did, winding his arms around the Jäger's neck to haul himself up his offered back, and then locking his legs around his waist, as high as he could.
He was warm and solid and it felt almost safe -- as long as he was standing still.
The next second he was taking off like a march hare. Sorin buried his face from the nose down against his collar to avoid branches and being thrown around, and watched the little he could see of the forest zip past in fits and starts.
Behind them something started to howl.
--
"Is that the last of them?"
Sorin peered out of the old abandoned house's window, scanning the island as well as he could in the dark. The moon was still out, but not for long, her edge already bitten into by one of the tallest mountains on the horizon.
They'd gone down the road until the werewolves caught up, and then Velimir had taken to the trees like a one-armed ape with a human backpack, which was as easy and elegant as it sounded. Until they'd run out of trees and into a cliff. Then Velimir had decided handholds were for lesser mortals and if his hindquarters were goat-like he might well adopt their disdain for gravity as well, and hopped his way up a terrifying number of rocky, unforgiving feet.
"Tink so," the Jäger replied.
There was a splash like a huge furry body being shoved in the water. Sorin squinted as the dead werewolf drifted down the rapids. Fair bet it was going to get stuck again a short way down.
"Getting late, und de rest of der pack vill vant a safe place for vhen dey turn back. Dere human form goes splat pretty easy."
"Mm."
They were pretty well treed here, anyway. It was defensible enough, but there was no good point of retreat. Velimir's sense of balance was so good it was ridiculous and he'd almost fallen in at least six times upon crossing.
The island was a pile of rocks and an ancient, gnarly tree, half-strangled by the remnants of the chain the ferrymen had used to anchor their boat. They had left Vulkanburg's great valley, and it wasn't her river; this one was full of rapids and sudden waterfalls and pretty much impassable to the common man. Sorin thought that once upon a time the river must have been calmer around the island, but then rocks had shifted or maybe the front layer of a cliff had fallen in; now it was a series of murderous stone teeth and drown-happy currents. Twenty feet past the island was a waterfall.
A few of the werewolves had tried to follow, and gone over the waterfall. A few smarter ones had gone upstream to let the current get them to the island; the rocks had gotten most of them first, and Velimir had gotten the rest.
Sorin had thrown rocks. He couldn't throw anything big enough to kill -- it would have required he be able to chuck his own weight in stone a dozen feet away -- but enough to injure and distract, yeah.
He wasn't frustrated at all that he couldn't help, by the way. He was strong, but no normal, unaltered human was that strong. Yeah.
"Any new injuries?" he asked as Velimir walked up the slope toward him.
"No, sir," Velimir replied with crisp seriousness. Sorin snorted. "Hy iz just as injured as when Hy jump on rocks carrying hyu fine posterior und manly beeg arms und slip into de vater."
Sorin huffed. "Speaking of rocks, I have a few throwing ones left, I could arrange for you to see them more closely."
Velimir grinned up at him. "Hy'm good. "
He climbed the last stairs and peered into the house. The roof had partially come down and plants were growing inside; still better than sleeping up in a tree, Sorin supposed.
Or in the drizzling rain, on and off all night and showing no sign of stopping for good.
He followed the Jäger in, found a dry corner, sat. Finally took the bag off his shoulder, which ached.
"I'm so hungry I could eat you whole," he said without thinking, and then flushed hot. Velimir snorted. "I mean your corpse. Okay, what did you have in your things--"
He rooted inside his bag, where he'd stuffed Velimir's pilfered provisions -- which, he confirmed, were actually mostly alcohol. Getting drunk didn't seem half-bad right now, if only he wouldn't have to go back on the run with a hangover.
"Hyu can have de sandvich," the Jäger said magnanimously, and broke the rotten chest of drawers against the opposite wall open. Things fell out, squirming -- bugs? What was he --
"Are you eating those."
"Mmmm yez. Dey iz better grilled, though." He looked around, casual, popping another squirmy thing in his maw. Urgh. "Vonder if ve can light a fire."
"They'll find us," Sorin countered, and busied himself with the sandwich so he wouldn't have to witness that centipede's ignominious end.
"Bah! Dey already know where ve iz. Might as vell be varm."
He came to sit cross-legged beside Sorin, dragging a rotten plank he'd broken off the chest after him. Sorin grimaced, and passed him the bottle of brandy.
"Okay, then, do you have anything to make a fire with? Because I don't, and everything we'll find here is going to be pretty damp."
"...Drat. Knew Hy shoulda keept der lava cannon."
Sorin snorted, chuckled despite himself. When Velimir pouted it showed more of the glowy parts of his lips. Eerie. "How did you plan to carry both the cannon and me?"
There was a quiet moment of peace, only broken by the gross noises of someone chewing through a beetle. Velimir handed him the bottle back. Sorin took a mouthful, because he was thirsty, and because he deserved some relaxation, even in a bottle.
"Good point." The Jäger nodded, ears flopping along. "Hyu owe me, den. C'mere und warm me up."
He wagged his eyebrows. Sorin blushed, again. Argh. "I will kick you in the arm."
"Ho hooo. Hyu leetle lava cannon hyu."
"Do you ever stop flirting?" Sorin glowered tiredly, and didn't even bother to lean away. Velimir was talking a big game but apart from some leaning in that he'd stopped almost as soon as he started, he wasn't doing anything, wasn't even touching him. "It's not even that cold. I mean, it's humid and the air is pretty cool, but--"
"Hokay, fine, let's make out under der pretense ov warming each odder up."
"Pff." Yeah, he wasn't actively interested. Sorin didn't know if he was disappointed or not.
Then again, his teeth would be full of bug bits right now. Eugh.
Crunch, slurp. "Hy mean, de humi-di-tee dun feel cold to schtart vith, but it iz like a big warmth leech. Ve sleep close, or vhen hyu wake op hyu haff de scratch-growly throat."
Sighing, Sorin chewed on another mouthful of sandwich, and tried to ignore Velimir scratching at the wood for plump little larvae. "Yeah, okay." Wow, he was giving in pretty fast. No personal motives there. Purely innocent. Mmh.
It would be pretty nice to hold onto h-- onto someone when they weren't running for their lives, actually. Just holding on, just that.
"Do you ever sleep with other Jäger -- I mean, actual sleep, not. You know. Like... When you're cold. You sounded pretty close, so... Do you guys huddle or anything?"
Velimir watched him in silence for a handful of seconds, head tilted, eyelids glowing under the brim of his hat.
"Vhen iz snowing, yez." A hesitation, barely perceptible. "After a battlefield. Blood loss und all. Gets hyu colder."
Sorin hugged his knees. "Oh."
"Or vhen ve plan to haff de sex, too."
Sorin shoved his shoulder, but not so hard. It had sounded more like a way to derail the conversation away from his fellow Jäger.
Might as well roll with it. It'd be unkind to make him sad, to make him miss them worse. "By the way, are all of you that indiscriminate?"
"Hm?"
"Well, I heard you guys flirt like idiots with just about anyone, but I'm pretty sure not a lot of people think you mean it when you do it to guys. They just think you're being smarmy jerks. Are all of you -- um."
Okay, he couldn't ask it. Now he was imagining that they all were, ah, equal opportunity. In that case wouldn't they, they bonded mostly with each other from what he understood and oh Lords of the Abyss he was imagining all-male orgies now. His brain was depraved.
His body too, because oh. Men together. Warriors at their peak. It didn't even matter that Jägers were usually monstrous in some way -- it had disturbed him at first but it hadn't even been two days and already he barely noticed the little scales on the bridge of Velimir's nose, or the teeth behind that smile...
"Pffffff."
Grumbling, Sorin burrowed vengefully into his sandwich. It didn't hide his burning cheeks as much as he'd hoped it would.
"Ah, keed."
An arm landed around his shoulder, pulled him closer for a quick side-hug. He ducked his head when Velimir ruffled his hair, making a half-hearted noise of protest.
"Iz about hyu invert thing?" Sorin nodded faintly, head still bowed under his hand. Velimir scratched his scalp like he would a cat. "Jägerkin don't care. Hyu live long enuff, hyu may vell get curious or bored or drunk enuff to give it a try at sum point. Most ov uz do prefer de ladies," he added thoughtfully, "but dere iz not always ladies. Or sumtimes de boy iz very pretty."
"What about you?" Sorin mumbled.
"Hm?"
Sorin forced himself to speak up. "You said 'most of us.' Is it like that for you too...?"
The Jäger's rough fingers were caressing the back of his head, back and forth, rough pads brushing his neck. All soft and gentle, not anything that should have shot sparks all down his spine, made his skin break into goosebumps. "Nah. Hy liked both de gurls und de boyz even before. Hyu out-ov-towners are so weird, with de caring und all," he added, quietly teasing.
Sorin made a grumbly sound and leaned a tiny little bit into him. "You Mechanicsburgers. Pff. You're all debauched."
"Und proud ov it."
"Pff."
He shivered, feeling the edge of a claw.
"So are you planning to kiss me or are you waiting on me or -- or what?"
He stared at the other end of the room, face so warm he felt a little dizzy, stomach tied in a knot. Velimir didn't say a thing.
"Because I, I don't think I'm misreading the situation here, you're not petting my hair as a platonic thing and--"
"Do hyu vant to be kissed?"
A breathless little gasp. He bowed his neck under the Jäger's rough palm, nodded just a little bit.
"Do hyu vant more than kissed?"
Sorin hesitated. "I -- don't know. Shouldn't." Yes. Yes.
"Hm." He leaned in -- Sorin twitched, turned his head too fast, almost bumped into his face. Kiss? Not yet a kiss. He couldn't think for the wanting. "Gotta sleep soon, so. De goodnight kiss, jah?"
Sorin swallowed an impatient whine. "Yes, yes, okay--"
He was tugged into Velimir's chest, and then tumbled around and he was on his back on the planks, Velimir's body brushing his -- not pressing, not enough contact, deliberately. (Maybe he was trying to keep his injured arm from being caught, maybe that.) Sorin was kissed with slow, patient interest, coaxed to respond and chuckled at right into his own mouth when he tried to speed things up. Groaning in frustration, he wrapped an arm around Velimir's neck, dug his fingers in the way he liked. The Jäger made a little appreciative noise and didn't kiss him one iota more intensely, that asshole.
"Jerk," he hissed against his lips, and nipped him. Velimir chuckled again.
"Gudnite kiss iz not s'posed to make hyu more awake, sveethot."
Yeah, the thing with the accent made it pretty obvious that he was being an asshole entirely deliberately. Sorin punched him in the shoulder (lightly, not that he had much space to swing anyway) and turned his face away. "Jerk."
Undaunted, Velimir kissed his cheek, his jaw, made his slow way to his neck.
He lingered there, nibbling and then pressing a wet, openmouthed kiss to his skin, and then pulled back.
"Any lower und it stops being kissing."
Sorin growled, frustrated, bumped his fist against his shoulder again. "Oh, come on--"
His hand was caught, enveloped in a huge hand. Velimir loomed over him on his knees, straddling Sorin's waist. His eyes looked very dark.
"Any lower und mine mouth ends up on hyu nipple und mine hand on your prick, Sorin."
The jolt to his body made him tense all over, his breath come short. Velimir wasn't joking now, not even a little bit.
"Hyu say no, Hy stop. Alvays. But right now, hyu vill not say no. And hyu iz not de only one who vants."
The Jäger's hips twitched, the muscles of his stomach flexing under the hanging, torn shirt. Sorin glanced downward almost involuntarily. His pants looked strained at the front, too. Oh.
Velimir leaned back down, forehead to forehead, his voice gone quiet. It stayed deadly serious.
"Hyu say hyu iz not sure. Hy vant hyu very, very sure."
Sorin took in a breath that shook. He didn't -- he'd never wanted more, never felt -- he'd done things with other boys when he was, what, thirteen, and dated (girls, of course, always) and it felt nice enough and it had never ever felt like this.
Velimir wasn't even touching him.
He sat back up, released his hand, dismounted. Sorin stayed spread out on the floor. After a second he draped his arm across his eyes, closed them tight.
"Keed?"
"Mngh," he mumbled, and didn't move an inch. "Still alive."
A hand touched his elbow. "Ve good?"
Sorin lifted his arm so he could roll his eyes at him. His stupid corkscrew curls were stuck to his forehead with sweat and he could feel the spectacular red blotches everywhere on his face and down his throat, still nowhere near ready to disappear. "We're good."
Sigh. He shuffled his feet, pulled his knees up some to camouflage the tent he was sure Velimir was already entirely aware of, the jerk.
"I think I hate you a little, though."
"Dat's verra flatterink. Thenk hyu."
Sorin shoved at his thigh, which of course didn't budge. "Urgh. Go kiss a werewolf."
"Sure ting. Iz hyu sleeping right here den?"
Yeah, uh. Sorin was pretty sure his legs would be wobbly. Also he didn't really want to parade his crotch problem at eye level, so getting up wasn't really an option.
He was pretty sure the floor wouldn't be that much more comfortable elsewhere, anyway. He turned on his flank, his back to the Jäger. "Might as well."
"Hokay."
Velimir leaned down again, crooked him a smile, and nuzzled his cheek with the rough affection of a dog who had no clue how big it really was (or how stubbly. Ow, prickles.) He dropped a little kiss on his temple, barely avoiding Sorin's forehead bruise, and then rolled onto his back. "Goodnight, dollink."
Sorin craned his neck to watch him, but he just tilted his hat onto his face, stuck his uninjured hand behind his head, and stopped moving entirely.
Sorin thought he would be lying there until dawn nursing his angry erection and glaring at Velimir's fake-sleeping form, but exhaustion caught up in a matter of minutes.
It was cold, when he wasn't moving around at all. He shuffled a little closer to Velimir, until he could feel the warmth he radiated against his back, and sank into sleep.
Much less a Jäger on goat-like stilts.
He dropped his satchel on the wobbly desk wedged under the skylight, sat on the bed. He was glad when it groaned; it was too quiet in here.
He still had a hard time believing it was over.
Well. Mostly over. At least the Jäger Express part of this program was over. Now to lay low for a few months, find odd jobs...
Through the skylight he could see dusk coming on, but when he opened it Schwarzburg's noises barely seemed to be slowing down. It was so strange to be in a city without a curfew. The inn itself might well be rowdy until eleven at night, not that he heard much from up here but ...
If the mail left at six sharp, he had better write any letter he wanted to send now. He sat at the desk, got the scrap of paper the innkeeper had given him out of his bag. Pen, pen -- ah, yes, there was a pencil in the drawer. Better than anything with ink; fair bet it would be dry.
Mother, Father, Ludmilla,
This is Sorin. I had to run away after
No, wrong start. It was easy to imagine his mail being read. He couldn't give his parents any information on the situation, or the letter would never reach them.
This is Sorin. I know you are all worried for me, and I am sorry about that. I can't tell you where I am or why I'm gone but I am safe and will come back. I don't have an address for you to write me back but you can forward
No. Stupid. If his letters could find him, so could anyone else.
No contact at all. He had known that. His hand had just... slipped. Yeah. He used that newfangled bit of gum to erase the incriminating sentence, rubbing so hard the paper ended up with a hole in it.
I don't have an address for you to write me back, I am very sorry. I trust you will be well during my absence. Please convey my apologies to Master Iliescu.
I love you all, please do not worry about me.
Your loving son and brother, Sorin Petrescu
... Pretty terse. He wasn't sure what else to add, though. Anything he could say about the last day would be...
I had to flee town after being caught catching Viscountess Vaduva breaking one of the Baron's edicts and planning some kind of stupid sparky rebellion. A lone Jäger rescued me and we fled through the woods. Yes, the monster-infested ones. By the way, the Viscountess' cannons spew lava. Don't ask me how it stays hot inside those big stone clanks. Sparks, right?
The Jäger was, surprisingly, almost a gentleman. By which I mean he was nice and helpful when he wasn't savaging people or monsters, and he only ravished me a very little bit.
Yes, er... No.
His stomach growled. He folded the letter, wrote the address on it. Eyed his satchel.
He'd been hauling the thing around for a good long time now, and his back and ribs were sore enough he'd rather not bring it along, but...
... The lock on the door didn't seem to be much better quality than the rest of the room.
He had nothing else to his name. Without his tools he wasn't a smith, he was a beggar. He wasn't risking it. With a little sigh he shouldered his bag once again.
He nodded to the innkeeper as he went out, acting casual and his heart speeding up a little from going outside when the curfew was coming. He felt positively brazen. Not that he was a stranger to sneaking out at night, but it wasn't like he'd ever allowed anyone to catch him at it. But there was no curfew!
Outside people were sitting on benches and terraces, strolling down the streets. It was getting dark, though there were lamps. The overall mood was... oddly peaceful.
Which wasn't something he'd had a lot of, recently. He found the post office and dropped his letter in the slot, and then considered -- should he go back to the inn, dine there, and sleep? It'd be cheaper.
At the same time he was still restless, and...
It might be nice to explore a little.
Yes. He was going to do that. Look around, find somewhere to eat (outside, in the dark! Outsiders were strange. He needed to try it.) Tomorrow would come soon enough.
He wondered briefly what Velimir would think about the town. He had to have seen a lot of them. He also had to look at them from a very different perspective -- did he note down weak points in the walls or anything like that? Guards? Sorin tried to remember the outer walls. He thought they were maybe a little lower than Vulkanburg's, but he still wouldn't be able to just scale them. Might be stairs, for the guards to patrol on top...
Alright, and now he was planning an escape that would never happen. Or more like worrying about an escape, because he hadn't paid enough attention to the wall's setup to even know if it had stairs to go up or if they were under guard or locked away. Fruitless thoughts.
His stomach growled. Okay, okay. There was a pretty big square ahead, he was sure he'd...
... find... a guardsman... suddenly in his path...
"Sorry, son," the older man told him. "The town square is not crossable tonight."
--Not an arrest. The man didn't know who Sorin was. "Oh." He craned his neck a little, tried on a smile that came out nervous, lopsided, shaky. "Are they setting up something?"
There were men and women out in the square, some standing still, some crouching, some prowling across, back and forth, all in rough clothes, and most of them glancing up at the sky regularly.
The guardsman snorted. "No, those are the local werewolf pack. I wouldn't advise you to be close when the moon finally decides to come out, they can get a bit... rowdy."
Sorin paled. There were localized packs all over in these mountains, but --
"Why are they in town?" Some of them probably lived in town, he knew, but. But. Those who did would have so many troubles with the neighbors if they actually came out to howl in the streets on moonlit nights.
The size of that group. It bothered him.
The guardsman shrugged both shoulders. "There's a wild Jäger hanging around. Prolly looking for trouble. They get pretty territorial about those. Got to tolerate the Baron's, but a wild one? Psh."
"Oh." Sorin swallowed, gave the man a sickly grin. "I see. Thanks. I'll -- go around now." He turned around to leave, paused. "Uh. When is the moon coming up?"
"Oh, the second the clouds let up, son, your guess is as good as mine."
Dear god. "I see. Thank you! Good luck with the... with them."
He left at a fast walk, started jogging the second he turned a corner. Velimir was --
Velimir hadn't come into the town with him, had waved casually at him and disappeared into the bushes some way off the town's gate, leaving him alone on the road. He wasn't in town but he had to still be around, just outside --
"Hy just vait for de postal dirigible und hitch a ride until de next town vith Jäger garrison. Iz verra eazy! Hy be back vith mine squad tomorrow."
He couldn't be far, he had to -- he had said he'd wait and Sorin was coming up to the gate already and had no plan in mind for a way out. The gate was already closed and barred for the night, there was no way they'd reopen it for some stranger, augh!
-- Wait. The smaller gate. Person sized. Also barred, but.
Also the guard had seen him and if he hesitated any longer it would look really bad. He approached, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Um, good evening?"
He got a suspicious look for his trouble. "Evening, sir, what seems to be the problem?"
Haha. Ha. Alright. Come on, Sorin, be charming. The town was so peaceful because it was safer than most in the area, they had to be more relaxed...
"I, uh. There was this girl, and umm... now there's her father?" He tried on a guileless smile. It came out awkward with nerves -- which was good, because he didn't want to look like a smug butthole either.
"Oh! I see."
"And now I would kind of really enjoy not being, um, anywhere he can find me. Is there, is there any way I could sneak out for a little half-hour so he has time to calm down, or uh, maybe hide in your guardhouse if you don't mind because he seems really very angry and I really don't want to cause trouble but--"
"But you're a strapping fellow," the guard said, laughing at him. "Arms like yours, you're telling me you're afraid of a brawl?"
"Well, no, but not with my girlfriend's father, sir! If I break something she's liable to break it off with me."
He tried on puppy eyes, blushed.
"Well, you can't be in the guardhouse, but I guess if you stay very close to the door you should be pretty safe. The boldest monsters usually take until the middle of the night to come up to the walls, the area's pretty well cleared. What should I look out for?"
Oh thank fuck. "Um. Balding, broken nose... He's not very tall, kind of stooped? Thank you, sir," he added with utter sincerity as the man unbarred the door. "You're a lifesaver. Literally."
He stepped out, legs twitching with the need to run; he waited -- somehow -- until the door was barred behind him again to take off down the road.
Where would the Jägermonster be? Not on the road, maybe not even near the road and then Sorin was fucked. His best bet was probably to make himself noticeable as possible in the woods and pray that the Jäger would notice him first. Which side of the road? Where was the post office, left? Right? Right.
There was a high tree over there, twice as big as its fellows. Noticeable. Probably good for keeping watch. (Or hitching a ride from?) It was the only noticeable landmark he could find, at any rate. He found a break in the bushes, started jogging that way. The night was full of animal calls.
Soon it would be full of werewolf calls. He checked the sky between the trees -- still cloudy, but the clouds were moving, a faint silvery haze now visible over the horizon.
He ran faster. He was going to catch a branch to the face and he still couldn't slow down. Oh, and to hell with discretion. "Velimir!" he hissed. "Velimir -- crap. Oi! Jäger!" He'd tripped a bit. His ankle barely twinged. The big tree couldn't be too far, never mind, he'd live, keep going. "Velim--"
Something caught him across the chest and swept him off his feet, and for a second he thought it was a branch; but it accompanied his momentum instead of knocking him down on his ass, and brought him back against a solid chest.
"Hoy dere. Look vhat Hy find." The Jäger peered over his shoulder, mouth and nose starting to gleam faintly -- eyelids too, even weaker, apart from a thin, bright line just along the root of his eyelashes. "Whatchu do here, sveetling?"
Weak-kneed with relief, Sorin caught his wrist for support and tried to bring his legs back under control and regain his balance. "Town," he panted. "Werewolves."
The arm around him tensed so suddenly it was like being held by a very possessive statue.
"They think," Sorin said, "you're wild -- they said. Wild Jäger, they'll hunt as soon as the moon is out, there's clouds for now but there won't be all night--"
"Shh. Hy hear. Ve get movink."
Sorin had all of one second to enjoy being back on his own feet before Velimir started towing him through the trees. "Uh -- hey, wait, I'll just, I'll climb a tree, wait until morning? Or, or if I hurry, the guard said he'd let me--"
The Jäger stopped walking, turned. In the shadow of the trees he was barely an outline, but for the fey gleam of his face.
"Darlink..."
The thing was, he sounded kind of sorry.
"Hyu schmell like me."
Oh.
Oh, damn it. Curse it all to the deepest pits of Hell -- !
"But someone probably tricked them, you're not wild, what if --"
Velimir kept grimly pushing through the bushes. "Hy don't haff mine pack, Hy don't haff orders, Hy don't haff a Wulfenbach device. Hy look vild. Und verewolf in der moon madness don't schtop und ask before dey make with de devouring." A pause. "Sorry."
"--For what? It's not your fault." He let out a short, irritated sigh. Funny how his body was less shaky when he already knew a fight would be coming. The uncertainty -- were they going to be noticed, chased, when would it happen, not now, not yet, when?? -- was somehow worse for his nerves. "I don't suppose you can beat them all," he added morosely.
"Hoy, dun sound so doubtful-like! Hy could! With two goot arms, maybe."
Pff. He didn't even know how many werewolves there were. "Oh, so that's not healed yet."
"Nah. But hey, it iz sporting to haff handicap!"
"Since when were Jägermonsters sporting?!"
Velimir laughed, casual and clear, like the creepy darkness and quiet of the forest was of no concern. "Dat iz a fair point. Ahh, it vould be de goot fight either vay, und Hy haff no good fight for days now."
The tone of his voice... Sorin shook his wrist free of Velimir's hold to catch his sleeve and pull on it. "By good fight, you mean it's very likely you'd get killed, don't you."
A careless shrug. "Jah. Iz fine. Ve all end one day--"
Sorin grabbed his elbow, tugged, was aware that the Jäger only came to a stop because he wanted to and felt angrier about it. "Don't you fucking dare even think about dying here!"
Velimir blinked placidly at him. "It iz not sumtin hy vant. No member of Jägerkin vant that, or dey die in der making. Vithout mine pack--"
"Your pack's waiting for you!" Sorin interrupted with a growl. "Don't be a total jerk! Do they even know where you went? You're going to just disappear on them like that? How long have you even known them? It's not okay!"
Staring -- and then the Jäger chuckled, giggled, started to laugh all quiet and endless like he was trying to be quiet, he just wasn't going to stop laughing anytime soon.
"Hey."
"Ach, sveetling. Hy hear hyu."
"... Also there's how if you die I am going to be in such a mess I have no words for it. I need you alive, so please take it upon yourself to rein in the death by werewolf urge, okay?"
He didn't expect to be reeled in; kissed, even less. The tool satchel dug into the top of his thighs, caught between them, uncomfortable. The kiss was...
Short, but intense. Toothy. Hungry.
Velimir released him so suddenly he stumbled a little. A rough hand patted his cheek. He could still feel the exact places the points of his teeth had pressed into his lower lip.
"Nize boy. Hop on."
Cheeks hot and feeling dizzy, he did, winding his arms around the Jäger's neck to haul himself up his offered back, and then locking his legs around his waist, as high as he could.
He was warm and solid and it felt almost safe -- as long as he was standing still.
The next second he was taking off like a march hare. Sorin buried his face from the nose down against his collar to avoid branches and being thrown around, and watched the little he could see of the forest zip past in fits and starts.
Behind them something started to howl.
--
"Is that the last of them?"
Sorin peered out of the old abandoned house's window, scanning the island as well as he could in the dark. The moon was still out, but not for long, her edge already bitten into by one of the tallest mountains on the horizon.
They'd gone down the road until the werewolves caught up, and then Velimir had taken to the trees like a one-armed ape with a human backpack, which was as easy and elegant as it sounded. Until they'd run out of trees and into a cliff. Then Velimir had decided handholds were for lesser mortals and if his hindquarters were goat-like he might well adopt their disdain for gravity as well, and hopped his way up a terrifying number of rocky, unforgiving feet.
"Tink so," the Jäger replied.
There was a splash like a huge furry body being shoved in the water. Sorin squinted as the dead werewolf drifted down the rapids. Fair bet it was going to get stuck again a short way down.
"Getting late, und de rest of der pack vill vant a safe place for vhen dey turn back. Dere human form goes splat pretty easy."
"Mm."
They were pretty well treed here, anyway. It was defensible enough, but there was no good point of retreat. Velimir's sense of balance was so good it was ridiculous and he'd almost fallen in at least six times upon crossing.
The island was a pile of rocks and an ancient, gnarly tree, half-strangled by the remnants of the chain the ferrymen had used to anchor their boat. They had left Vulkanburg's great valley, and it wasn't her river; this one was full of rapids and sudden waterfalls and pretty much impassable to the common man. Sorin thought that once upon a time the river must have been calmer around the island, but then rocks had shifted or maybe the front layer of a cliff had fallen in; now it was a series of murderous stone teeth and drown-happy currents. Twenty feet past the island was a waterfall.
A few of the werewolves had tried to follow, and gone over the waterfall. A few smarter ones had gone upstream to let the current get them to the island; the rocks had gotten most of them first, and Velimir had gotten the rest.
Sorin had thrown rocks. He couldn't throw anything big enough to kill -- it would have required he be able to chuck his own weight in stone a dozen feet away -- but enough to injure and distract, yeah.
He wasn't frustrated at all that he couldn't help, by the way. He was strong, but no normal, unaltered human was that strong. Yeah.
"Any new injuries?" he asked as Velimir walked up the slope toward him.
"No, sir," Velimir replied with crisp seriousness. Sorin snorted. "Hy iz just as injured as when Hy jump on rocks carrying hyu fine posterior und manly beeg arms und slip into de vater."
Sorin huffed. "Speaking of rocks, I have a few throwing ones left, I could arrange for you to see them more closely."
Velimir grinned up at him. "Hy'm good. "
He climbed the last stairs and peered into the house. The roof had partially come down and plants were growing inside; still better than sleeping up in a tree, Sorin supposed.
Or in the drizzling rain, on and off all night and showing no sign of stopping for good.
He followed the Jäger in, found a dry corner, sat. Finally took the bag off his shoulder, which ached.
"I'm so hungry I could eat you whole," he said without thinking, and then flushed hot. Velimir snorted. "I mean your corpse. Okay, what did you have in your things--"
He rooted inside his bag, where he'd stuffed Velimir's pilfered provisions -- which, he confirmed, were actually mostly alcohol. Getting drunk didn't seem half-bad right now, if only he wouldn't have to go back on the run with a hangover.
"Hyu can have de sandvich," the Jäger said magnanimously, and broke the rotten chest of drawers against the opposite wall open. Things fell out, squirming -- bugs? What was he --
"Are you eating those."
"Mmmm yez. Dey iz better grilled, though." He looked around, casual, popping another squirmy thing in his maw. Urgh. "Vonder if ve can light a fire."
"They'll find us," Sorin countered, and busied himself with the sandwich so he wouldn't have to witness that centipede's ignominious end.
"Bah! Dey already know where ve iz. Might as vell be varm."
He came to sit cross-legged beside Sorin, dragging a rotten plank he'd broken off the chest after him. Sorin grimaced, and passed him the bottle of brandy.
"Okay, then, do you have anything to make a fire with? Because I don't, and everything we'll find here is going to be pretty damp."
"...Drat. Knew Hy shoulda keept der lava cannon."
Sorin snorted, chuckled despite himself. When Velimir pouted it showed more of the glowy parts of his lips. Eerie. "How did you plan to carry both the cannon and me?"
There was a quiet moment of peace, only broken by the gross noises of someone chewing through a beetle. Velimir handed him the bottle back. Sorin took a mouthful, because he was thirsty, and because he deserved some relaxation, even in a bottle.
"Good point." The Jäger nodded, ears flopping along. "Hyu owe me, den. C'mere und warm me up."
He wagged his eyebrows. Sorin blushed, again. Argh. "I will kick you in the arm."
"Ho hooo. Hyu leetle lava cannon hyu."
"Do you ever stop flirting?" Sorin glowered tiredly, and didn't even bother to lean away. Velimir was talking a big game but apart from some leaning in that he'd stopped almost as soon as he started, he wasn't doing anything, wasn't even touching him. "It's not even that cold. I mean, it's humid and the air is pretty cool, but--"
"Hokay, fine, let's make out under der pretense ov warming each odder up."
"Pff." Yeah, he wasn't actively interested. Sorin didn't know if he was disappointed or not.
Then again, his teeth would be full of bug bits right now. Eugh.
Crunch, slurp. "Hy mean, de humi-di-tee dun feel cold to schtart vith, but it iz like a big warmth leech. Ve sleep close, or vhen hyu wake op hyu haff de scratch-growly throat."
Sighing, Sorin chewed on another mouthful of sandwich, and tried to ignore Velimir scratching at the wood for plump little larvae. "Yeah, okay." Wow, he was giving in pretty fast. No personal motives there. Purely innocent. Mmh.
It would be pretty nice to hold onto h-- onto someone when they weren't running for their lives, actually. Just holding on, just that.
"Do you ever sleep with other Jäger -- I mean, actual sleep, not. You know. Like... When you're cold. You sounded pretty close, so... Do you guys huddle or anything?"
Velimir watched him in silence for a handful of seconds, head tilted, eyelids glowing under the brim of his hat.
"Vhen iz snowing, yez." A hesitation, barely perceptible. "After a battlefield. Blood loss und all. Gets hyu colder."
Sorin hugged his knees. "Oh."
"Or vhen ve plan to haff de sex, too."
Sorin shoved his shoulder, but not so hard. It had sounded more like a way to derail the conversation away from his fellow Jäger.
Might as well roll with it. It'd be unkind to make him sad, to make him miss them worse. "By the way, are all of you that indiscriminate?"
"Hm?"
"Well, I heard you guys flirt like idiots with just about anyone, but I'm pretty sure not a lot of people think you mean it when you do it to guys. They just think you're being smarmy jerks. Are all of you -- um."
Okay, he couldn't ask it. Now he was imagining that they all were, ah, equal opportunity. In that case wouldn't they, they bonded mostly with each other from what he understood and oh Lords of the Abyss he was imagining all-male orgies now. His brain was depraved.
His body too, because oh. Men together. Warriors at their peak. It didn't even matter that Jägers were usually monstrous in some way -- it had disturbed him at first but it hadn't even been two days and already he barely noticed the little scales on the bridge of Velimir's nose, or the teeth behind that smile...
"Pffffff."
Grumbling, Sorin burrowed vengefully into his sandwich. It didn't hide his burning cheeks as much as he'd hoped it would.
"Ah, keed."
An arm landed around his shoulder, pulled him closer for a quick side-hug. He ducked his head when Velimir ruffled his hair, making a half-hearted noise of protest.
"Iz about hyu invert thing?" Sorin nodded faintly, head still bowed under his hand. Velimir scratched his scalp like he would a cat. "Jägerkin don't care. Hyu live long enuff, hyu may vell get curious or bored or drunk enuff to give it a try at sum point. Most ov uz do prefer de ladies," he added thoughtfully, "but dere iz not always ladies. Or sumtimes de boy iz very pretty."
"What about you?" Sorin mumbled.
"Hm?"
Sorin forced himself to speak up. "You said 'most of us.' Is it like that for you too...?"
The Jäger's rough fingers were caressing the back of his head, back and forth, rough pads brushing his neck. All soft and gentle, not anything that should have shot sparks all down his spine, made his skin break into goosebumps. "Nah. Hy liked both de gurls und de boyz even before. Hyu out-ov-towners are so weird, with de caring und all," he added, quietly teasing.
Sorin made a grumbly sound and leaned a tiny little bit into him. "You Mechanicsburgers. Pff. You're all debauched."
"Und proud ov it."
"Pff."
He shivered, feeling the edge of a claw.
"So are you planning to kiss me or are you waiting on me or -- or what?"
He stared at the other end of the room, face so warm he felt a little dizzy, stomach tied in a knot. Velimir didn't say a thing.
"Because I, I don't think I'm misreading the situation here, you're not petting my hair as a platonic thing and--"
"Do hyu vant to be kissed?"
A breathless little gasp. He bowed his neck under the Jäger's rough palm, nodded just a little bit.
"Do hyu vant more than kissed?"
Sorin hesitated. "I -- don't know. Shouldn't." Yes. Yes.
"Hm." He leaned in -- Sorin twitched, turned his head too fast, almost bumped into his face. Kiss? Not yet a kiss. He couldn't think for the wanting. "Gotta sleep soon, so. De goodnight kiss, jah?"
Sorin swallowed an impatient whine. "Yes, yes, okay--"
He was tugged into Velimir's chest, and then tumbled around and he was on his back on the planks, Velimir's body brushing his -- not pressing, not enough contact, deliberately. (Maybe he was trying to keep his injured arm from being caught, maybe that.) Sorin was kissed with slow, patient interest, coaxed to respond and chuckled at right into his own mouth when he tried to speed things up. Groaning in frustration, he wrapped an arm around Velimir's neck, dug his fingers in the way he liked. The Jäger made a little appreciative noise and didn't kiss him one iota more intensely, that asshole.
"Jerk," he hissed against his lips, and nipped him. Velimir chuckled again.
"Gudnite kiss iz not s'posed to make hyu more awake, sveethot."
Yeah, the thing with the accent made it pretty obvious that he was being an asshole entirely deliberately. Sorin punched him in the shoulder (lightly, not that he had much space to swing anyway) and turned his face away. "Jerk."
Undaunted, Velimir kissed his cheek, his jaw, made his slow way to his neck.
He lingered there, nibbling and then pressing a wet, openmouthed kiss to his skin, and then pulled back.
"Any lower und it stops being kissing."
Sorin growled, frustrated, bumped his fist against his shoulder again. "Oh, come on--"
His hand was caught, enveloped in a huge hand. Velimir loomed over him on his knees, straddling Sorin's waist. His eyes looked very dark.
"Any lower und mine mouth ends up on hyu nipple und mine hand on your prick, Sorin."
The jolt to his body made him tense all over, his breath come short. Velimir wasn't joking now, not even a little bit.
"Hyu say no, Hy stop. Alvays. But right now, hyu vill not say no. And hyu iz not de only one who vants."
The Jäger's hips twitched, the muscles of his stomach flexing under the hanging, torn shirt. Sorin glanced downward almost involuntarily. His pants looked strained at the front, too. Oh.
Velimir leaned back down, forehead to forehead, his voice gone quiet. It stayed deadly serious.
"Hyu say hyu iz not sure. Hy vant hyu very, very sure."
Sorin took in a breath that shook. He didn't -- he'd never wanted more, never felt -- he'd done things with other boys when he was, what, thirteen, and dated (girls, of course, always) and it felt nice enough and it had never ever felt like this.
Velimir wasn't even touching him.
He sat back up, released his hand, dismounted. Sorin stayed spread out on the floor. After a second he draped his arm across his eyes, closed them tight.
"Keed?"
"Mngh," he mumbled, and didn't move an inch. "Still alive."
A hand touched his elbow. "Ve good?"
Sorin lifted his arm so he could roll his eyes at him. His stupid corkscrew curls were stuck to his forehead with sweat and he could feel the spectacular red blotches everywhere on his face and down his throat, still nowhere near ready to disappear. "We're good."
Sigh. He shuffled his feet, pulled his knees up some to camouflage the tent he was sure Velimir was already entirely aware of, the jerk.
"I think I hate you a little, though."
"Dat's verra flatterink. Thenk hyu."
Sorin shoved at his thigh, which of course didn't budge. "Urgh. Go kiss a werewolf."
"Sure ting. Iz hyu sleeping right here den?"
Yeah, uh. Sorin was pretty sure his legs would be wobbly. Also he didn't really want to parade his crotch problem at eye level, so getting up wasn't really an option.
He was pretty sure the floor wouldn't be that much more comfortable elsewhere, anyway. He turned on his flank, his back to the Jäger. "Might as well."
"Hokay."
Velimir leaned down again, crooked him a smile, and nuzzled his cheek with the rough affection of a dog who had no clue how big it really was (or how stubbly. Ow, prickles.) He dropped a little kiss on his temple, barely avoiding Sorin's forehead bruise, and then rolled onto his back. "Goodnight, dollink."
Sorin craned his neck to watch him, but he just tilted his hat onto his face, stuck his uninjured hand behind his head, and stopped moving entirely.
Sorin thought he would be lying there until dawn nursing his angry erection and glaring at Velimir's fake-sleeping form, but exhaustion caught up in a matter of minutes.
It was cold, when he wasn't moving around at all. He shuffled a little closer to Velimir, until he could feel the warmth he radiated against his back, and sank into sleep.