Chains of Retribution Chloe & Desmond

[Tiko]

Desmond was at home seated on a wooden stool, and lost in thought. The untouched liquor cabinet spoke of his pensive mood. For him, drugs and alcohol are purely for recreation. Not to hide from himself and the decisions he made. Much like he had tried to teach Chloe about balancing her human side and her wolf side. Nothing good comes out of a person at war with themself.

That didn’t mean he had to like all the parts of himself. But he had to accept them. And part of that involved facing the consequences rather than drinking himself into a stupor until he forgot them.

He and Brendan had always had a strained sort of relationship despite their closeness, and honestly, he was surprised it had taken this long for his brother to walk out. And truthfully it was probably for the best. This life had never suited Brendan. It was Desmond who had dragged him so far from home.

The past few weeks had been hard on all of them. Even Desmond’s normally unwavering cheerfulness was prone to lapsing into something more distracted and somber.

The sound of Chloe returning from the other room pulled him out of his thoughts and pensiveness was replaced with a familiar cheerfulness, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes the way it used to.

“Think you’re feelin' ready to ‘it the woods again soon?” he asked. “It's been a while since we tried a controlled shift. You will ‘ave an easier time focusing without all the distractions of the city.”

 

[Knosis]

Chloe bit at her thumb nail idly, the stress of recent events carried on her shoulders. Her cellphone, which had been given to her through the Society, sat broken into as tiny pieces as she could get it on the table. Still, it being broken into a million pieces did not ease the tensions she felt.

She moved back into the room lost in thought, worry tense in her expression and her head a million miles from the room they were in. She didn't realize he had spoken to her at first, sitting down beside him and leaning against his legs. After an awkward few moments of silence, she realized he was speaking to her. "... Huh, wha-.. Oh, u-um.. Sure. I guess."

Another worry. During the blood bath, she'd tried her best not to shift. But with so many of those she cared about in danger, her wolf had come out regardless. Chloe was about 80% sure the wolf didn't chomp any allies, but as with most of her shifts so far her memory of the event was fogged with pain and anger.

She looked up at him and noticed that his mood seemed dampened, though he was attempting to mask it over. She smiled, attempting to not add her own worries to his. "I think you need a good run out in the woods more though. You could see if anyone from the pack is free to run with you so you don't have to worry about me. I'll just stick here and fix some ramen or something."

 

[Tiko]

"Heh," Desmond chuckled. "That might be so. But your company would do me good too," he added as Chloe settled in next to him.

A knock came from the front door and he frowned.

"Who is it?' he called out.

"It's Lyam," the reply came. "Ragenard said to meet him at the warehouse."

"Tell 'im I'm busy," Desmond shouted in reply without bothering to get up and actually go answer the door.

Silence for a moment before an awkward reply was voiced back.

"He uh... he said you might say that and to tell you..." Lyam coughed awkwardly. "Put your dick back in your pants and get your ass over to the warehouse."

"Oi, feck off an' tell 'im I'll be there in an 'our."

No further words came from the front door. It was hard to say though if Lyam had left, or was just standing out there awkwardly.

 

[Knosis]

She felt the heat in her cheeks for brief moment before the knock came. Color drained from her face as she sat up straight, alert.

"It's Lyam." She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She'd been jumpy lately, more so than normal since the fight. Once the dialog between the two ended, she wasn't positive Lyam was gone. "Sounds serious, if he's willing to interrupt someone getting laid." She said quietly, although there was a cheeky little grin on her face. Her eyes were glowing slightly as she turned to look at him.

"Can I go, too? I know I'm not pack, but I can stick outside or something. Patrol the area, maybe?" Something. Anything. Just to be useful.

 

[Tiko]

Desmond let out another chuckle. "Nah, you don't send a green as grass runner if it's serious. He would 'ave texted if it was. Kid probably did somethin' to annoy Ragenard and is on strict orders to not return without me."

Some good old fashioned hazing was almost refreshing.

"An' you're always welcome. You've earned your place with the pack. I'm sure with things settling, it'll get made official soon enough. If you are sure you wanna join up wi' us lot. I 'ear that their pack Second is of questionable character," Desmond said with a wink.

 

[Knosis]

She snorted at that. "Oh yeah?" She stood up and leaned in real close to his face, a playful grin across her face. "You mean that goof ball of a man that looks rather good in a tight tshirt and some jeans? I've heard the rumors, but I have to say I'm quite fond of that 'questionable character'."

She bit her lip before leaning in even closer, just to where she could whisper in his hear. "Besides, if joining the pack means I might get the chance of seeing the Second out of his clothes... Might just be worth it in the end." She teased.

 

[Tiko]

"Mmm well maybe if you wanted to see that, you should think about takin' 'im up on 'is offer for a run later," Desmond teased back.

On the table next to them his phone let out a buzz as it vibrated.

"Oi, for fucks sake," Desmond grumbled. "'ow did I let Ragenard talk me into stayin' on 'as 'is Second," he said before cracking a grin. "I 'ear that the reception is complete shite once you get outside the city. Come on, let's 'ead out the back and go see what 'e wants, and then we can take off for a bit."

 

[Knosis]

Chloe let out a long, dramatic sigh. "I didn't know you were a masochist. You like to be mauled before having fun~" She teased, kissing the side of his neck before backing off to let him stand up.

"Let's get going, before Ragenard comes in and we have to give him a show for the road." She held out a hand to help him up. "Though.." She hesitated, biting her lip before continuing. "No. Never mind, its fine. We can go on a forest run afterward."

 

[Tiko]

"Well now, that entirely depends on who is doing the maulin'," Desmond replied mischievously.

He took advantage of her giving him a hand up to pull her close as he stood. Chloe had a way of dragging him out of his thoughts and bringing him back to the present. He almost felt like his old self when she was around. It had only been a few weeks since Rowan had gone and taken a piss on seven years of peace, but it already seemed like forever ago that he was boozing it up at the Den with pack mates, and not a care in the world.

"And it wasn't runin' I had in mind," he whispered back before letting her go.

With all that had happened, there hadn't been much time for them to explore the recent developments in their relationship. A fact he aimed to remedy with the recent lull in the conflict. But he knew as well as the rest that it was just the calm before the storm, and this brief respite would be short lived.

---

Outside Lyam was seated on the front stoop. Awkward as it may be, he seemed intent on seeing through Ragenard's instructions to not return without Desmond. And so, he waited and twiddled his thumbs. That is until the sound of a bike revving had him jumping to his feet in time to see Desmond and Chloe disappearing down the street.

"Hey! Wait!" he shouted after them.