Silver Lining

~~~☽~~

Lee squints.

"Come on, Hyung; I'm probably one of the only people in this entire town who has any idea what he's going through right now. Don't you think he's rather lonely after everything that happened at school? Let me just be a friend for him; let me offer a shoulder to lean on."

The old man raises his chin.

"Oh!" He lifts the bag in his hand, "I brought rice cakes, too! Um Hana-noona said he liked them so I thought I'd... I'd bring some for him..."

At that, the old man finally smiles, holding out his hand. "How many?"

"Three."

"Give me one."

Chan gives a fond roll of his eyes, handing one of the rice cakes over as Lee gestures with his head to the stairs in the backroom. "Up those, last room on the left. He's... a bit shy and doesn't talk like me and you do so-"

"Be patient and gentle: got it," Chan giddily replies with a thumbs up, already making his way behind the counter.

"And slow!" Lee hollers after him, "He's still recovering!"

"Yes, yes. I'll be good, Hyung; promise."

"You better be or else I'll be wearing a wolf-fur coat this winter!"

Felix's room smells like lavender, Chan can tell before he even opens the door. It makes sense, perfect sense, if the boy truly is the silver furred omega running around the woods; he doesn't have a pack because he lives in secret at the village and lavender is probably the best floral fragrance to mask the smell of canine permeating his very being.

Chan almost wants to just stand outside the room and enjoy the comforting scent for a few minutes before walking in to seal his fate but, being a strong alpha wolf and all, he pushes down his nerves and knocks on the door.

It isn't until waiting moments in pure silence that he realizes he's listening for a reply from a person that doesn't speak so, with flushed ears, he hesitantly turns the knob.

He peeks his head inside, surveying the room: there is a small bookshelf, a vanity covered in little potted plants, a small piano tucked into the corner, and then, on a black and purple bed, laid a boy with silver hair and wide ice blue eyes.

"Uh... h-hey." Chan waves but becomes more flustered when he noticed that it was the hand holding the bag so frantically he tried to switch hands but the other one was holding the door open so it went to go close on his face and he had to quickly stick his foot in the way (overall, he was thoroughly humiliated by the time Felix sat up in bed and gave him a wary look).

He decides that the best thing to do would be to walk into the room; the boy seems to stiffen at the action, probably feeling cornered (the hybrid was injured still, after all, and bedridden and now trapped with an uninvited bigger and stronger wolf).

"Sorry, I know this is kind of weird, but I swear I wasn't stalking you or anything."

Felix blinks, his not-slinged arm resting on the nightstand awfully close to a large geode (the older gulps, subconsciously ducking his head a bit in fear of something flying at his face).

"I just- I hadn't sensed you around in the woods and then at the market, I heard that a boy with silver hair and blue eyes got attacked by ferals and I was worried so I asked around and um- and then I found you here," Chan explains, not able to meet the intense stare he's receiving from the blank face.

Felix tilts his head, much like he did as a wolf and the similarity makes Chan's inner canine wiggle in place.

"Lee-hyung didn't tell me everything but... I heard enough and I just want you to know that I wasn't kidding when I said my doors are always open, okay?" He says softly, feet shuffling awkwardly beneath him, "Being a hybrid in this village is... hard sometimes, trust me I know, but I promise it's easier when you have others that can relate to you. You don't have to join my pack or anything, but you are always welcome to stop by."

The omega's human form is easily just as beautiful as his wolf self: blue doe-eyes framed by long pale lashes, sun-kissed skin and splashes of freckles on his nose and cheeks, plump cupid bow lips, and a nearly sparkling silver mullet. Felix's body was just as slender and fit too, jawline sharp but nose rounded. He was wearing an oversized navy tee with gray joggers and appeared incredibly warm and cuddly (ignoring the arm in the sling and bandaged neck, Chan thinks the boy looks to be in pretty good condition considering he faced off with ferals about a week prior).

He still appears rather hesitant so Chan decides to stop checking him out and change tactics.

"Have you... Have you eaten yet?"

Felix's lips part before he looks down at his lap and gives a subtle shake of his head.

"Oh good: I brought you rice cakes," the omega's head instantly whips back up, stars in his eyes, "I had three but Lee-hyung ate one so... I brought you two rice cakes! Are you left handed? If not, I can help you eat them- um by help I mean like feed you them but not like in a baby way, like in a friend assisting a friend way and um yeah... I should probably just stop talking now, huh?"

And if the silver haired hybrid gave him a shy smile before patting the chair next to his bed, he didn't have to know that Chan's heart did the weird flipping thing again.