"Just 'cause you're an alpha, you think you can boss people around? You think you're the shit—"
King gasped when his nape was swiftly grabbed, and he was yanked forward. He clenched his teeth, fighting fire with the man whose face was only a few inches in front of him.
"... Excuse me?"
The werecat steeled himself, trying so hard to brace his stand. But unable to hold the itch that tickled his red nose, King's face contorted, and he sneezed. Right and square on Kain's face.
"What the f—!" Kain dropped his grip and reeled back, disgust clear on his face, concerned about the army of teeny little angry monsters under the microscope that catapulted towards him. "You brat! Why d'you do that?!"
Kain and King snapped their eyes back on each other on cue. They spat bitter gazes like they were dodging bullets and shooting at one another at the same time. Like those two cowboys facing each other on a random dessert in the west for a gunfight.
"Hmph." King harbored an indifferent look and threw his gaze to somewhere more deserving of his hazel eyes. A rock.
Kain clenched his jaw, a troubled crease lingering on his forehead as he stared at the brown-headed werecat in front of him. He was a little soberer now. In his case, he was. Most of the steam had flown away. He couldn't control himself when he's irritated, and it came and left. Years spent with the Du Marais, miseries, beatings, and so on have earned him an issue with anger management. And quenching the problem was always done through responding with violence. Just like the vampires did.
Kain slowly darted his eyes around. The words that twisted out of King started to sink in. Maybe he was really being unreasonable. Maybe he was being an asshat. And it wasn't even a question. Cause deep down, he knew he was. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Look," it's just annoying," Kain said.
In the corner of his eyes, King stared back at him.
The werewolf scratched the back of his head. It took him seconds before he continued with, "It's annoying, that kind of thing," his voice was low, "... being in a situation you don't have control."
The werecat was a little shocked. For once, they agreed on something. But that wasn't what stunned him. He just didn't expect that Kain could harbor such a sad look on his face.
With raised brows, King was aiming to examine the alpha's expression a bit more, but the werewolf turned and moved back to the entrance. King pinned his sight on Kain's head. Then his eyes trailed down from some incoherent black streaks on Kain's nape, to the notorious tattoo sleeve on his right arm. It ended its destination to the large scar branded onto Kain's back. King frowned at the sight. Kain was a werewolf, so how did he—
"That," King started, "scar on your back. How'd you get it—"
The werecat stopped when Kain looked over his shoulder and gave him a sharp look. King knitted his brows again. He thought they were already good. Guess he was wrong. Hmph.
A few seconds clocked in, and just when King was about to give up on his question:
"... I got it from melted silver," Kain replied. He looked away. "... They poured it on my back."
"Sil... ver?" A chill blew in King's core. He was stunned, and not. Silver is the werefolk's enemy, and it was the only thing capable of leaving such permanent marks on them. And melted silver? It was the same as hot tar.
King heard of weapons, saw a thing, or two museum showcases made of it. In this era, people would think they were dull and harmless-looking old displays to relive the laughable myths and legends told by their ancestors. Unbeknownst to them, it was not even a fraction of the weapons used by their forefathers to drive out the monsters of the night in the 15th century.
Then King realized. this was the Du Marais they were talking about. He didn't know them personally, but he heard a lot of tales of the power-hungry vampiric clan, mostly disgusting stories that no one from the outside knew if really true. Until their former slaves — now the Lykaios pack — got out.
Skinning.
Boiling.
Nail puling—
"It's a long story," said the alpha.
The two were wrapped in awkward silence afterward. Exclude the beats of the slowing rain outside, and they'd be in absolute silence. Kain was unmoving, while King felt disturbed by his thoughts. He sniffed, folded up, and hugged his legs against his chest, still feeling cold. After a few eventless seconds, he puffed his cheeks and blew through his slightly parted lips. Suddenly, he twitched when Kain clicked his tongue and scratched his head.
"Why did you go to training if you're not feeling well?" grumbled the alpha.
King narrowed his eyes and then planted his face from the crook on his chest and legs. "Because I figured you were going to be a bitch about it," he mumbled.
Kain heard it. "You—"
King's stomach rumbled. The werecat's eyes widened. He didn't dare look up, but then he heard a snort. He plucked his head up. "Did you just snort?"
"I didn't." Kain's face was straight as a line.
King narrowed his eyes. He swore he did. Kain just stared back at him too. Knowing he wouldn't get anything from having a staring battle with the alpha, King planted his head back on the crook on his chest again.
Ah. This is the worst.
After a few seconds, he heard a sigh and shuffling. King blinked, listening at first. Unable to hold the curiosity, he slightly peeked in the corner of his eyes, but then raised his head when he saw Kain walking to his direction. King frowned, feeling like an incoming storm was making its way towards him.
The alpha picked something up on the ground along the way. Then he squatted a few feet away beside King.
"I figured," Kain huffed while staring down on his hands.
King followed his gaze, and he saw a cluster of perky Brittlebush fruit on Kain's lap. He twitched when Kain looked up and reached out his thick tattooed arm towards him.
"Eat it," said Kain.
"... What?" King dragged out. He felt like his eyes were going to pop out. This was unexpected.
Kain looked up, looking like he was barely refraining from rolling his eyes. "I said eat it. You're hungry, right? I got it while I was looking for the leaves."
"Um..." Slowly, the werecat took the fruit. "Thank you..."
King thought the alpha would leave back to his earlier spot, on the mouth of the cave, after he took it. But no. Kain just sat there, watching him. King was stiff as a tree. He was used to angry Kain, but he wasn't used to this Kain!
The werecat averted his eyes, gulped, thinking what the hell was happening. Why was Kain still looking at him?!
Not wanting to spend the following moments in an awkward pause, King decided to pass his attention to the plump fruits in his hand and took one. It was hard, diverting his attention away from the man, whose attention was on him too. It was psychological.
Little by little, the frown on King's face turned into a grimace. He clenched his teeth. King succeeded in shifting his attention, yet he couldn't crack the fruit. The shell was hard, and his nails were short. Short nails were his preference. It was cleaner and easier to manage for him.
Kain examined the strain on King's face, then his eyes moved down, realizing the cause and problem. Emitting yet another sigh, he gently snatched the fruit.
King's shock and confused meter perked up again. Should he be confused as to why Kain snatched it? Or should he be shocked why Kain was gentle in snatching it?
Kain dug his thumbs on the leathery skin and cracked the green bulbous fruit open in one move, and King flinched when heaps of juice splattered on and around them from the impact. Despite the hard case, the inside of a Brittlebush was a soft whitish flesh. It was high on water volume; the seeds were black, hard and inedible, and the taste is tangy and bold, a distinctive sweet-tart spice that would go well with an empty stomach.
King's eyes moved up, discreetly examining the alpha, only to catch Kain lick the cloudy-white trail of fluid on his hand and suck on a juice-coated finger. King knew it was the Brittlebush contents, but it looked awfully like... He should have been disgusted, should have been repulsed when he saw Kain suck a no-doubt nasty finger. But why... did he think he looked sexy doing that?! Suddenly, their eyes connected, and King's inner composure tumbled out of the roof.
Kain noticed the reaction. "What's with you—"
"Nothing!" King inwardly slapped himself.
"Nothing?"
"Y-yeah."
Kain cocked a brow at him. And as if it wasn't enough of a shock, the werewolf gently placed his big-knuckled hand on his forehead. "You're still hot," he said.
Trying to dissuade the embarrassment, King uttered a small forced chuckle, and said, "Of course I am."
King received a hard flick. "Ah!" he held his throbbing forehead, "Did you just hit me?!"
Kain plopped down, propping both arms on his side, and emitted a small husky laugh that sparked an electric torrent and yet another disbelief on King's body. "I did," grinned the alpha, slightly tilting his head.
King was dumbstruck from his smile. It looked... different.
Suddenly, the rain stopped. Both of them looked out of their enclosure. It was still dark out, and the only sounds they heard were the whisper of the wind and the dripping of water drops on Earth. Finally.
"Hey," Kain called out.
King turned his attention back to the alpha. Kain was still leaning back, arms upright while looking at him. There was a small smile on Kain's face.
"... You know, I—"
"Kain?!"
King and Kain heard noises outside. They looked out again, seeing something, or more like silhouettes shuffle in the far distance.
"King?! You bastard, where the hell are you?!" That was definitely Bryce's voice.
A couple of hollers were made after that until Kain shrugged and said, "... Looks like we've been found."