Dystopian Future

"I am more than sure that you aren't a puppy" Ezra commented as the man started nibble at his pants making Rivik open his eyes once more.
"Gosh, he really are an idiot, and has no manners" he complained making Ezra laugh as he patted the fox.
"If you break my pant's Zemin, I will punch you, or have Rivik scratch you again. I do like my clothes without wholes" he warned, even if the wolf did it playfully. Ezra wasn't sure what to think of it all, especially since Zemin was human, and his behaviour was strange. If he had been a normal animal or spirit, he hadn't thought about it, but now, he could not think of it, especially since Zemin normally had some part of his human side in him when he had transformed, or that was at least the feeling Ezra got, but now? The man acted more like a dog than a human, and it was a bit confusing. He wondered if the wolf did act that way because Ezra was more comfortable around him as a wolf, or if there was another reason? Maybe the man didn't even thought about it, or maybe this was how he acted normally when he was alone with his brother. Ezra didn't really knew him, so he couldn't tell what was normal or not.

When Zemin moved once more he become stiff for a second. It was a strange feeling having the wolf in his lap, having him so close, because he couldn't forget that he was a human, even if his body didn't react like he was. He was unsure of what Zemin thought about it, why he did it. It was true that the man sought contact, and maybe he realised that he wouldn't get this close as a human and tried the limit as a wolf, or maybe he didn't thought about it at all. Just like Jax didn't do when he did things, Ezra didn't know, but he let it be for now.
"Oh so he can be satisfied" Rivik teased but Ezra didn't answer as he patted the wolf, glad that he could have told him something, especially something that was true. He wouldn't have admitted anything if he had to lie, even if it was strange to say something nice about someone else, since he never did or even rarely thought something pleasant about another creature.
"Vampires has bad taste" Rivik stated as he noticed how Ezra got uncomfortable about the mans words, and Ezra removed his hands from the wolf.
"Why do you always has to take it one step to far Zemin? Why do you always try get me into situations I don't find comfortable, forcing me even. Why couldn't you be happy with what you got?" he asked in a cold voice, wondering why the fucking wolf always had to ruin everything, especially just as Ezra could relax a bit, and thinking it was actually nice. Zemin always had to demand more than he got. No he couldn't be happy with more or less be spread over Ezra's lap, hav ing him patting him without gloves and all, no he had to try to force him say something he didn't wish to say. Ezra took the gloves he had next to him and put them on, preparing himself to leave, not finding the situation likable anymore.

Had Ezra not gasped the fact that Zemin only had been joking with him. Sure, it would have been nice it he’d actually spoken those specific words out loud, but in the end it’s only been an innocent joke. Why couldn’t he understand that? Why did everything have to turn bad yet another time? And lastly, why didn’t they seem to get each other for shit?
I’m only fucking with you, Ezra! The wolf hurriedly exclaimed and immediately left the mans lap. Of course I’m happy with what I’ve gotten, even ecstatic, he continued and swiftly went ahead just so he could block the doorway. He didn’t want the shaman to leave before he’d gotten a chance to explain himself, not that he actually thought he’d done anything wrong. Because he didn’t believe he had, as it had only been a harmless joke. As if he’d ever want to force the other man to say or do anything! For Christ’s sake, he’d already gotten that hint a couple of hours ago.
That thing about me being adorable, it was a stupid joke, okay? Why would I ever want to force you to think that? It’s not even important.., Zemin stated and dug down all the claws in the wooden floor. The smell of blood and despair that still lingered in the air didn’t make anything better, only resulting in the wolf tensing up. All the senses were on guard and the more feral instincts had seemed to kick in, for no apparent reason. It wasn’t as if Ezra was going to attack him or something? Right? He hadn’t accidentally made any holes in the mans pants and at least he didn’t think he’d made anything too radical.

So if you think trying to lighten up the mood is taking a step too far, then I simply don’t know what to say, Zemin eventually finished and bared his teeth as the front door opened and closed a couple of stairs below them. However it was nothing to worry about, as Xue soon appeared around the corner. He didn’t come alone, for some sort of change.
“Are two fighting again? For real? At least it’s better than nothing but..well, love always begins with fighting”, the younger brother stated and walked straight past his older sibling, continuing past the shaman and his spirits into the bedroom. Every step on the way he was closely followed by his best friend, Alec.
The young man in question was a ghoul that, just like Xayah, sustained himself on suicide victims rather than killing people. He was a handsome young man, with bright red hair and a handsome face. His eyes were bright red when it came to the irises while the scleras were pitch black. Usually he hid his real eyes, but apparently he felt rather comfortable in his current company. Otherwise he wouldn’t have dared to show them.
“Hi Zemin!” Alec happily said after he’d left his shoulder bag on the couch. “I haven’t seen you in over a year”, he shrieked thereafter and pounced on the wolf, making them both roll across the floor in a messy pile of ghoul and werewolf.
This really isn’t a good time, Alec, Zemin mumbled and sent a quick look towards Ezra. But it’s nice seeing you too, he assured the younger man before he gave him a kiss on the cheek. He really had a weird relationship with his former love interest, very strange.

“You know, don’t even mind them and escape while you can”, Xue urged the shaman, as he started cleaning up the mess that Zemin had left behind after the change. “They think I don’t know, but they used to fuck like all the time a couple of years ago..kind of disgusting isn’t it, knowing that your older brother is constantly begging your best friend for sex?” He mumbled and rolled his eyes, making a puking sound. After staring at the pair for a couple of seconds, he shook his head and continued with his cleaning. It was obvious that he wanted to focus on something else, more like anything else, than the two men’s twisted relationship. Mostly because he never ever cleaned otherwise. But this, this was bad enough for him to rush and hide in chores.

Ezra was unsure if he should feel relived when the man moved away from him, or if he actually missed the wolf next to him. It was a strange feeling, something he never had felt before, not even with the spirits. If any of them moved, he didn't miss them, just accepted it, but that he even could decide how he felt over Zemin moving, spoke for itself. However when Zemin spoke to him once more he blinked a few times in surprise. He hadn't understood that the wolf had joked, maybe it was because of what happened earlier and he had just assumed, or because he rarely joked with anyone except Rivik, and he knew his jokes. Or it was the fact that people used to force him to say what they wished to hear, and he never thought it could come of as a joke. Ezra sighed as he stood up, looking at the wolf since Rivik felt that was what he wished to do.
"I didn't understood that Zemin" he started, wondering how much he should shear. The last time he had said something about his past, Zemin hadn't listened, but the situation was different so maybe it was worth giving the man some sort of explanation. "I...people used to force me to say what they wished to hear. Normally not the same thing you wished to hear, but all kind of things. And again, not mostly in the same way you did, but it happened, so I react badly to it. Jokes aren't my thing, unless it's sarcasm, not sure if it's Rivik's fault, or because I comes natural to me"

Ezra wasn't sure if Zemin would even understand. Their lives had been so different, and Ezra couldn't handle the most basic things, like normal people did, and he couldn't hinder himself from feeling sorry for Zemin to have been mated to him. Everyone else would most likely have given him an easier time.
"So no joking isn't going to far, as long as I understand the joke" he simply said seconds before Xue returned in the company of someone. At once his guard went up, just as the spirits and Jax walked over. Rivik stared at the stranger as Xue spoke and Ezra chose not to answer the younger one, not finding his words amusing.
"Anyone else we are going to invite? At this rate we can open a B&B" Rivik muttered and Ezra smiled at the comment, even if he wasn't pleased with having the other man there, not at all. "Or maybe an orphanage, seeing they all behave like children"
"I have no ambitions to take care of kids" Ezra stated as he wondered why on earth people chose to wrestle with the wolves, behaving like savages.

Ezra couldn't hinder himself turning towards Xue when he spoke again, even if he couldn't see them.
"I have little desire to stay here anyway" he only stated before he heard Xue's next words. And even if it didn't happen to him, he thought of it as wrong and disrespectful to do that to you sibling, especially if you tried to hide it. And for the first time he actually felt disgusted with Zemin. He couldn't care less who he had slept with, or still did if he wished for it, but hearing how he treated his brother was something he really disliked.
"It really is disgusting, and a cowardly not to inform you. Actually thought better of him" Ezra admitted and Rivik turned towards the younger brother, as Jax went over and stroke himself against the man, hoping to make him feel better. "I have tea downstairs if you wishes to escape the situation as well"
Ezra wasn't sure why he offered, but he had very little against the younger man, and everything with him wasn't as confusing as it was with Zemin. He even flashed him a small smile before he passed the two men on the floor without a word, and a cold expression on his face to head downstairs.

Xue wanted nothing more than to escape from
the madness of the two former lovers, however he knew he had to stay and make sure they didn’t do anything stupid. Before Ezra left the room, he smiled briefly and shook his head while crossing his arms over his slim, yet muscular, chest.
“It’s not like that..I think they’re just embarrassed over the fact how they used to be and I don’t blame them. A wolf in heat is a wolf in heat, you can’t exactly blame one for their instincts. And everybody knows that they are somewhat attracted to each other”, the younger brother explained before waving towards the shaman as he disappeared down the stairs. “Maybe I’ll come join you if i can’t take it anymore up here!” He shouted and laughed briefly, before he continued with the cleaning of the wooden floors.
Hey, do you want any help with that? I almost forgot it even happened, Zemin began and soon found himself next to the younger wolf. He felt kind of bad for snapping at Ezra, fully believing he’d had no right to do so whatsoever. How could he, when he knew what the other man had gone through? Well, at least that hadn’t turned into a big fight, however he had a feeling that Xues little revealing party might have resulted in something other than good. Sleeping with your brothers best friend wasn’t exactly something that gave off any good vibes.
“I can also help!” Alec exclaimed and threw his arms around the younger werewolf’s shoulders, resting his head on one of them.
“You know what? You may both help.” Xue let a small smile pass before he went back to the choir. “Alec, you can take a trash bag and Zemin can fill it up with..ehm..what even happened here if I may ask?” He wondered and squatted down before his older sibling, stroking the black fur with worried eyes.
It's embarrassing, Zemin mumbled and looked away.
“Then please do tell, me and Xue are all for everything that’s embarrassing!” Alec stated excitedly and followed his friends lead, by also letting his hands run through the dark pelt.
I..well I..you know how I get when I’m out of it..?[i], the wolf began, hesitating and slow. [i]Long story short, I was being dramatic and ended up breaking my nose and a couple of ribs. Apparently one of them punctured my lung and a panicked because..well, it’s kind of obvious isn’t it? he explained and shook their hands off. The touch of Ezras hands had been so much nicer that he couldn’t even compare it to whatever this was.
“You actually went through with it? Zemin, a punctured lung isn’t even fatal! You’re not going to be able to change back for at least a week..An entire week.” Xue sighed and shook his head. “Didn’t you have work to do? You know, the whole vampire ordeal and shit?”

That was true, he actually had a lot of things to take care of - documents to write and research to look up. Now how couldn’t do any of those two things, which couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I didn’t think it through, Zemin admitted and shrugged. Guess I lost control because I was low key angry. Low key? Angry? More like hurt.
“Well that’s literally nothing new then”, Alec said and looked at the oldest of the two brothers. “And Jesus man, your mate is scary as hell! It would’ve been much better if you ended up mating with me instead, where the love is mutual”, he continued and started leaving kisses over the werewolf’s face. Sadly he was more than right about that. Being mated to someone like Alec , who was lively and open, would have been a lot easier. But then again he remembered how nice it had felt when Ezra had stoked his fur and he couldn’t resist wondering how kissing him would feel.
The love is mutual, but not in that way, Alec, Zemin mumbled.
“Well obviously..however, the love between you and that guy isn’t mutual for shit. At least it doesn’t look like it”, he said and went to look for a trash bag.

“He’s just jealous, I don’t think you should put too much thought into it”, Xue said as he started to mop of the first puddle of blood, right by the stairs. “And no, he isn’t your mate, so don’t even think about it”, he hurriedly continued thereafter and gave Zemin a sharp look. How did he even know what the older one was thinking! Scary? Definitely.
But it would be so much easier..can’t you switch mates after you’ve got one? Is there no actual choice to it? The older sibling asked and started gathering the pieces of flesh into a pile, carrying them between the sharp teeth even though it was utterly disgusting.
“You know that’s not how it works”, the other one answered and straightened his back, throwing the bloody pile of paper on the floor, while he waited for Alec to return with the bag.
Why does everything have to suck so fucking bad? Werewolves basically got no choice, do we? It’s just a bunch of bullshit!, Zemin exclaimed and laid down across the floor, covering his eyes with one respective paw.
“Too bad you’re just that, a werewolf. If it makes you feel any better, I’m in the exact same boat and will probably have to go through with the same conflicting feelings.”

Ezra hadn't answered Xue, finding no point in doing so. He didn't care for the reason of the mans action, and maybe it was because he couldn't understand the heat, not fully, being a shaman and not a werewolf, he still felt like it was a lazy excuse. He felt like you didn't do that towards your brother, at least not without telling him. He knew people couldn't help who they took a liking to, Zemin's liking towards him was proof enough, but if you acted on it, don't keep it a fucking secret, not in a situation like that. And for him to feel that was a fucking miracle, he didn't care if he hurt people, but he had a feeling he would do if he had any family besides the spirit. If he actually had someone who was his family, he would care about them. At least he would if he knew them his whole life. If he would up to meet his parents, or anyone else who claimed to be his family, he would most likely kill that person on the spot, knowing they left him on the streets. But he had no memories of a family in the few things he remembered before being captured, all he could remember was loneliness, hunger, cold and hope his life would be better, which it didn't got, obviously.

"Here" Rivik filled his cup and Ezra turned towards him, forgetting about his childhood before everything, it didn't effected him. It hadn't made him who he was, and he remembered so little that he could retell the story about it in five minutes, if not less. He accepted the cup and drank from the tea. "I am surprised to hear Zemin do something like that"
"You are, I thought you always thought the worst about him" Ezra teased, and he could tell that Rivik was smirking.
"I do, but even I couldn't think of something like that. It almost makes me respect him, doing something like that"
"Only you would say that"
"What, is true. I find it fascinating that the wimping, sad little puppy have the balls to do something like that" Rivik said and Ezra chose not to comment, still not liking it. But he wasn't the one being affected by it, and he wouldn't say anything about it. It was Xue's place to do, and something between the brothers. He would keep the thoughts to himself, as long as he wasn't forced to say anything.

"Ezra" Jax almost jumped him, wagging his tail and it seemed like the wolf had been thinking for awhile. "Can we make them dinner, it was really nice the last time"
Ezra wasn't sure if he thought of it was nice, or well it wasn't anything wrong with the dinner, it was everything else, even if Zemin didn't overstep that time.
"Why would you suggest something that stupid?" Rivik glared at the wolf, making Ezra do the same before he ended the contact, and patted Jax who hadn't jumped down, still having his pawns on Ezra's chest. He was really unsure about it, mostly because they had a guest, and he wasn't to keen on hanging out with people.
"You own him that" Jax said and before Ezra could ask why "He only joked, and you ruined it all"
"I own him an apology, not to make him food"
"Apologise with food" the wolf begged "We would just go home and eat by ourself anyway"
"And that sounds lovely!" Rivik pointed out. Ezra didn't know, going home sounded lovely, and he could relax, but maybe Jax was right, maybe he should apologise to Zemin. But on the same time, why would he? True he over reacted, but Zemin did things so much worse, so often, and it wasn't like he hadn't done things for the wolf, he had patted him, and even let him be in his lap.
"Do it for Xue then!" Jax tried and Ezra sighed, he understood that the wolf had taken a liking to the wolves, and for a second he thought of leaving him there, and go home with Rivik and eat. Yet once again he noticed that he hadn't said no, or acted. It felt like every time Zemin came into the picture somehow, he couldn't act the way he should.
"Fine" he said with a sign as Jax started jumping up and down, followed by complains from the fox, as he called for the ravens, ordering them to bring some food.

They both returned faster this time, and by the time he had the food in his hands Rivik had stopped complaining, even if he was far from pleased.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked "To your left"
Ezra grabbed the knife before he started cutting the deer.
"I don't know, I have clearly lost it"
"You have. Do you like him now or what?"
"No, not really. But everything involving him is confusing, and I can't deny that it was nice earlier with all of you around me"
"Hmpf" Rivik answered, clearly not being able to deny it. "Still, making them food! You aren't their mother!"
"I know that" he said with a laugh as the fox gave him a bowl to place the meat in. "Well lets see it as a thanks for helping me with the vampire"
"He is going to do that?"
"He is" Ezra only answered, he hadn't told the fox what happened, feeling that it wouldn't help in anyway.
"Fine, let's make this fucking dinner so we can go home" Rivik said, trying to sound piss, but he was pleased that they would get help with the vampire.

With the help from Rivik, and what little he trusted Jax to do, mainly setting the table, they were sone done. Once again both of them had complained over the pink plates and plastic mugs, but none of them had replaced it, so they couldn't do anything about it.
"Will you go and ask..." Ezra didn't even have time to finish the question before Jax rushed away, up the stairs.
"He is to pleased by this" Rivik complained as they placed the food on the table.

After the three friends had managed to clean up the mess Zemin had previously made, they found themselves scattered over the couch. Alec used the large wolf as a pillow while Xue in turn rested his head in his friends lap.
“So what are we going to do now? Nothing? Don’t you guys have a vampire to kill or something. Not one of those lowlifes, but a big shot, as I understand it?” He asked and both of the black eyes lit up, almost making the bright red iris shine.
“I have no part in that”, Xue immediately stated and shut his eyelids when the ghouls fingers ran through his hair.
“You sure about that? I bet two werewolves would be more effective than one, or am I wrong?” The other one asked and raised an eyebrow, while continuing with his fidgeting.
Well, even if he was a part of it, I wouldn’t let him take any part in the hunt. He’s too young and all fights are mine to take, even his. Zemin would never let his younger join in on something that was dangerous. Not even if it would make the fight easier to win. The young wolf was off all the limits and that was final. He didn’t belong in that sort of twisted world, not even for a second. It had been bad enough that he had to watch both his parents being killed, or that he had to live through those rough months after that. But now everything had stabilised, at least to some extent and the oldest brother wished to keep it like that.
“So that’s it huh? You’re just going to take him on all by yourself? Fuck, Zemin, you’re going to die faster than..I don’t even know”, Alec sighed and shook his head.
I'm not going up against him alone, I still have Ezra by my side, Zemin reminded the man, before he started grooming his hair.
“Do you think that’s enough? And Jesus Christ, have you actually turned into a dog or what is this?” He exclaimed and sent the oldest one a quick glare. However, that didn’t result in him moving. Not even an inch or two. That just made it painfully obvious that he really enjoyed it, even though he shouldn’t.
“Don’t even start, deep down he is a cuddly little puppy and everybody knows it”, Xue warned.

At first everything was quiet, but then the laughter broke out. It was just so ironic that Zemin acted like a lapdog and a needy little puppy at the same time. Because in the end he was neither small nor an actual dog. He wasn’t even a full wolf!
“He’s not a little puppy! Can’t you see how fucking large he is? I mean, he’s not even the size of a regular wolf, and for that matter you aren’t either”, Alec protested and wiped the tears off of his cheeks.
“That’s the perk of being a werewolf and not just a normal wolf”, Xue explained and grinned, showing a row of white, straight teeth.
“How do you even manage to keep your teeth clean?” The ghoul asked and frowned. “Aren’t you basically an animal in a sense?” He continued and looked laughably perplexed.
“You already know I am”, the other one began and looked up towards the red eyes. “But like every other human, I tend to brush my teeth. And so does Zemin. Why is that even a question, you know we aren’t animals, you stupid fucked”, he snapped and stuck out his tongue, which only resulted in a kiss of the forehead by Alec.
“I know, I just enjoy pushing all of your buttons, mr lawyer.”

While the other two chitchatted, Zemin remained silent. The rough tongue dragged across the red hair, even though his mind was somewhere far away from there. Just as usual it seemed to have slithered its way downstairs, where it sounded like Ezra and Rivik were arguing. Unfortunately he couldn’t hear that clearly and everything around him seemed more like constant buzz. That’s why he turned off his hears for a while, resulting in the wolf missing Jax's arrival.
When the spirit stepped into the room, the other two fell quiet and it took a while for the oldest one to come to. He was actually well on his way to fall asleep, but was lucky pulled away from the drowsy feeling when Jax started speaking. A dinner? A dinner that Ezra invited them all to? The fluffy ears pointed in the direction that the words came from and soon enough, the wolf found himself wagging his tail, joining the spirits side without any questions.
What are you waiting for? Come on, in starving!, he exclaimed and started moving on the spot, only to be met by a total of four rolling eyes.
“You can’t even contain yourself even a little bit, it’s almost sad to watch”, Alec complained.

Eventually the small group of four headed downstairs. Zemin had taken the lead, with his tail whisking like crazy behind him. Jax followed closely thereafter while Xue and Alec kept in the back.
“How did he even end up with someone like that man?” The red haired one mumbled under his breath, as they stepped into the kitchen.
“Stop acting jealous, it was years since you two smashed into each other”, the taller one hissed back, eager not to speak of the awkward subject. He didn’t care for shit, but that didn’t mean he liked to talk about it.
“Years? What are you even talking about? It was like a couple of months ago, and now he’s suddenly head over heels when it comes to this weird shaman dude? It makes no sense!”
Xue immediately stopped right in his tracks and pulled his friend into one of the dark corridors.
“Months? Well..don’t even speak of it in front of Zemin or he will kill you..or maybe end up back together with you. I don’t even know any longer, let’s just eat”, he finished and thereafter dragged Alec towards the kitchen, where Zemin currently was nowhere to be seen. It might have been because he was laying spread across the floor under the table, right by the shamans seat.

"I managed to make them come" Jax wagged his tail as he arrived behind Zemin, just as Ezra sat down.
"Such ashame, almost hoped you wouldn't" Rivik looked at the wolf who wasn't bothered by the fox's grumpy way, not at all.
"You are just jealous because you don't have other foxes around you. Maybe you would if they didn't hate you so much" Jax stated, climbing up on a chair.
"Having to deal with this, I am perfectly fine without it!" Rivik only answered and Ezra sighed, feeling like he had two kids who hated each other sometimes. Maybe it was more truth to it than he normally admitted, seeing how much he took care of the spirits, but he never saw them as his kids, they were just friends, all of them.
"You are really missing out on something" Jax only explained as he wagged his tail, looking at the people around him. Rivik didn't answer anything as he served himself some wine, and Ezra felt Zemin close to him, even if he didn't saw him. He patted the wolf a few times, a bit distanced before he gave him a plate of raw meet.
"I apologise for them, they aren't to well behaved" he then said, as Rivik gave him some food.
"Pfft, you love us like this"
"I admit I do" he accepted the plate soon finding his knife and fork.
"The glas is right in front of you" Rivik informed him as he started eating.

"So tell me who you are" Jax turned towards the ghoul with big bright eyes, wagging his tail, more interested in the stranger than the food. "And how was school Xue?"
"He is acting like he's their parent" Rivik sounded disgusted.
"Let him, and you don't need to listen to him" Ezra answered the fox, only to have him mutter something he couldn't hear, and the Shaman didn't bother asking him to repeat, knowing it wasn't for him. But he admitted that he was unsure of Jax's ways, seeing how he was friendly towards the stranger. Maybe it was because he wasn't a threat towards Ezra at the moment, since the Shaman knew that the wolf would protect him without a doubt, still he wasn't to keen on having the stranger in the building. He actually hated it, knowing someone would know where the brothers lived. Who knew if he would tell someone, and what that could resolve in. He had no interest in having the building infested by more strangers. But at the moment he kept silent, since he was unsure of what to say about it.
"Stop moving so much" Rivik glared at Jax "You make the whole table move"
"I can't help it, it's exciting meeting new people" Jax moved some more, as he smiled, but his movement resolved in him hitting the pot of food, and making it spill over the table.
"Ezra watch out" Rivik shouted, but seeing that the shaman was blind at the moment he had no time to react before the hot stew was covering his hands. Even if the hands was a bit protected by the gloves, the sauce made contact with the skin. "Take them off, we need to cool your hands down"
Rivik ordered him and Ezra established a contact with the foxes eyes once more. He saw the stew covering his hands, but he couldn't feel the pain.
"Ezra, now!" Rivik demanded and the Shaman sighed and removed the gloves as the fox more or less dragged him towards the kitchen.
"Ezra I am sorry" Jax said, trying to walk after the shaman.
"You stay there! You have done enough damage as it is!" Rivik snapped and the wolf lowered his head in sorrow.
"It's alright Jax" Ezra assured him, still not feeling the pain as he walked into the kitchen and placed the hands under running water, knowing they would be badly hurt otherwise. Rivik placed himself on the counter, keeping an eye on the hands, seeing how badly damage they were.

At first it seemed as if Alec had no intention to tell anyone of the strangers who he was, but when Xue nudged him really hard in the side, he eventually obliged.
“I’m just a friend”, he began and shrugged his shoulders. “A friend and an ally, even if I’m rarely to any help”, he continued and laughed shortly, before falling quiet with the red gaze stuck at the plate of food in front of him. He picked the plate up and placed it on the floor, sliding it over to Zemin who happily accepted it together with the raw meat. The wolf was hungry and it was more than obvious. Something else that was even easier to notice was the ghouls jealousy. His entire aura just felt forced and weird, completely different from how he’d been just a couple of minutes ago. Giving his plate to the werewolf residing under the table wasn’t weird, but he never acted this way. Ever. Alec always seemed to be ridiculously hyper, happy and all over the place. However now? Now he just oozed of something strange, something that wasn’t necessarily weird in a good or interesting way.
“Ah, you guys know what ghouls eat, right?” Xue hurried to ask their hosts and forced a laugh. “So don’t be offended that he gave the food to Zemin. Normal food and ghouls just don’t go together”, he continued before falling quiet.

All eyes were directed towards Ezra, including Zemins eating gaze, as he’d already crawled out from under the table. Both Alec and Xue kept quiet - unwilling to stir up the situation even more. Their glances followed the wolf as he tailed after the shaman, towards the rugged kitchen.
To be honest it wasn’t even that bad any longer, since the brothers had cleaned it up with the help of Xayah. It hadn’t even been too dirty before that, but now every spot was clean and all the appliances worked just fine. Even the freezer and fridge worked, companied by a water heater and coffee machine. Sometimes even peasants like werewolves got their hands on coffee, even though it was difficult to get your hands on an painfully expensive.
Hey, Are you okay?”, Zemin asked with a echoing voice filled to the brim with worry. Why hadn’t he been able to stop the stew from spilling? He could’ve attacked Jax and dragged him down from the table, for crying out loud! The thought rally bothered him, both when it came o the mind and heart.
You should put some cold water on that..maybe wrap a wet towel around it?[i], the younger one mumbled after a short moment of silence and stared up towards Ezra. [i]Does it hurt? Why aren’t you screaming in pain?.

For each second of silence that passed, Zemin only seemed to get more and more restless. Once again the tail was tucked in between his legs and the paws moved across the floor in an extremely worried manner. Of course he worried, how could he resist? But somehow seeing the shaman unable to actually react to the pain, only made everything worse. How on earth couldn’t that have hurt? It made absolutely no sense whatsoever!
By his own experiences, being burnt was by far the worst sort of pain. Mostly because it didn’t come and go. No, instead it always stayed for a long period of time, like some kind of excruciating after burn. Not that he’d been burned that many times, but he’d seen many cases of burns. The people that came into the hospital with those kinds of injuries often tended to be in another level of pain. Or rather the people who had used to come into the emergency room, as Zemin didn’t practice there since a couple of years back.

In the room next to the kitchen, where the dinner had been held, Xue and Alec still sat completely quiet. None of them spoke until the others had disappeared far enough into the kitchen. Then the ghoul finally opened his mouth, just as he turned towards his friend.
“Why did he end up mated to that guy?” He asked, with a confused look hanging across his face. “I don’t get it..”, he continued and shook his head, clearly not being able to grasp the situation for shit.
“None of us do, and that includes the one affected by the whole thing”, Xue answered quietly and looked down upon his hands, twisting and turning them with both eyebrows pulled together.
“So why? Why isn’t it me instead?” Alec wondered and grasped the werewolf’s neat hands.
“Good question actually..to be honest I thought about it quite some times, but there’s no correct answer to that question”, the wolf mumbled and slithered his way out of the other ones grip. Instead he placed both hands on top of the red hair, before leaning closer to leave a small kiss on top of the red curls.
“Don’t let the jealousy go too far, okay? Either the mating will pass eventually or it’s already too late. There’s no in between, at least not that I know of.”

"Like I don't know how to take care of burns" Rivik snapped as he turned on the water forcing Ezra to place his hands under the water.
"Rivik, he only tried to help" Ezra's voice was kind, seeing that it wasn't something that Zemin should be reprimanded for.
"I know, I am just worried" Rivik admitted with a sigh, even giving Zemin an apologising look, his strange behavior really showed how worried he was. Ezra felt the cold water over his hands, but it did very little different to him, and it only felt like he was standing in a shower, only washing his hands.
"I am alright Zemin" he finally answered the wolf, seeing that so far he was alright. He couldn't tell how the burns would affect him, but at the moment they didn't. "And no it doesn't hurt. I simply don't feel pain anymore. It's not the first time I get burned, guessing a bit under half of my scars are from burn marks of different kinds. I can remember how it should feel, but I can't feel it"
He didn't even know why he admitted it to the wolf, maybe so he wouldn't worry. Maybe it was a stupid thing to admit, seeing that it could result in people using it against him. True he didn't feel pain anymore, and in some aspects that was good, but it also meant that someone could hurt him and he wouldn't notice, possible leading to his death.
"You are fucking hopeless when it comes to this. Keep them under water" Rivik ordered as he looked the shaman over. "You have some on your shirt as well, you need to take it off"
"And do what? Place myself in the sink, pretending it's a bath?" Ezra asked coldly just as Jax walked in, giving Ezra a worried look. The Shaman was on his way to pat the wolf, giving him some comfort when Rivik forced his hands to stand under the water.
"I don't know, but we need to look at it" Rivik glared at him, forcing Ezra to look at himself.
"It's alright"
"Just because you can't feel it, doesn't mean it's alright. You really are hopeless"
"So what do you want me to do, strip?" he asked in a cold voice, saying it wasn't an option, especially not with the others in the house.
"You rather have more burnmarks?" Rivik said in a cold voice, not that Ezra cared about that, not at all. "Can you at least open the shirt so I can look?"
Rivik was a bit kinder when he asked and Ezra was silent, he didn't know if he should ask Zemin to leave, or if that would upset the wolf, not knowing what he would do then. But no matter how much he hated to admit it, he knew Rivik was right. Even if he couldn't feel the pain, the burns could be worse than he thought.

He slowly unbuttoned the shirt, but not more than needed before Rivik placed his hands under the water as he grabbed a towel and placed it under water, before he placed it against Ezra's scarred chest. Luckily the towel covered what the shirt didn't.
"Can't you use a potion?" Jax asked, trying to help.
"I don't have one ready that helps against burns. The healing potions I have helps against wounds, like open bleeding wounds and this is different" Ezra told him and the wolf nodded as he laid down on the floor, tail between his legs and ears pointing down, really ashamed over what he did.
"Zemin you don't need to be here. You can go back to your brother and friend. I will be alright" Ezra told the wolf, actually unsure if he wished for him to leave or not, forcing himself to admit that it actually was a bit nice to have someone who cared about him, besides the spirits.

You don’t need to be here. The words bounced around in the wolf’s brain a couple of times, as he desperately tried to grasp the meaning of them. Did it mean that Ezra didn’t want him there or just that he couldn’t be of any help? Because according to himself, he did need to be there. Not just due to the burns or the current situation - he always had to be there. That was final, an unquestionable truth that couldn’t be bent or denied. In the end that was what being mated was all about, the eternal bond between a wolf and another person.
Shut it, I do need to be here, wether you like it or not, he therefore said and laid down next to Jax. Even if he couldn’t actually see any of the shamans body, his heart managed to flutter out of control. Zemin didn’t think stripping would be such a bad idea, and it wasn’t something he himself was against. But obviously that didn’t seem to apply to the older man, who didn’t seem to keen on the idea.
I-I just need to make sure you’re going to be okay, he continued and flipped back the fluffy ears. And if you need to put cold water on it, there’s a bathtub in the attic. But maybe you don’t want to use it, considering how both me and Xue have used it before..it stinks of wolves. A small laughed escaped him and the amber eyes turned away. It must have sounded mental to the other three beings, but he simply didn’t care any longer. Just like he’d stated so many times before - he was mated. That essentially meant that he couldn’t walk away while his mate was hurting, even though Ezra couldn’t actually feel the pain. However that was dangerous, not being able to feel when you were hurt. If it was serious enough it couldn’t even result in death.
I'm sorry if you don’t want to talk about it, but why can’t you feel any pain? Have you gotten too used to it or did they just destroy the nerves all together? Zemin wondered and turned his amber eyes back towards the man.

While the tumult in the kitchen strode forward, Xue decided to continue eating. Alec kept quiet, resting his head on his friends shoulder, seemingly pondering over life and its unfairness.
”Don’t be like that”, the younger one warned and put another piece of meat between his teeth, quickly grinding it to small pieces.
“Be like what?” The ghoul asked and dug his face even further down in the other ones shoulder.
“Depressed and sad”, Xue answered and rolled his eyes.
“I’m not depressed and sad!” Alec immediately protested and straightened his back, leaning back so that he could meet the brown gaze.
“You are, don’t even pretend”, the wolf persisted and continued chewing on the food. It was quite delicious actually, tasty and well balanced.
“I just don’t understand, okay?” Alec looked down towards his fingers instead, pulling his dark eyebrows together as he let out a sigh. “He’s just so precious, kind, soft and clever..that shaman just seems cold”, he continued and poured.
“He’s not cold! And to be honest I just think it’s an act..deep down he probably also cares about Zemin”, Xue mumbled and smiled softly. “Maybe he’s stubborn as hell? Trying to resist feeling all the love and sweetness that my brother literally oozes of.”