"Well, while we wait for Jeremiah let's start unpacking these boxes," he said cheerfully. Raven glanced at him and winked.
"Mmmmmmm Jeremiah," she said, making kissing sounds. Asher wrinkled his nose.
"Uhhh gross. We literally just met," he said in mock embarrassment. He surveyed the house.
Now in clear afternoon lighting he got a better look at everything. From the entrance you could see the living room and kitchen. They had the eating table set up in the kitchen already, there was a large doorway to the dining room.
The house was carpeted, which would have to go. In case of shifting indoors, which wasn't allowed but sometimes mistakes were made, fur was a pain in the ass to get out of carpet. The rest of the "big" furniture was also away in the moving truck, which he made a mental note to bring in soon.
The house actually looked better than it did in the pictures, there were two rooms upstairs, one downstairs bathroom and one upstairs bathroom, as well as a guest bedroom downstairs. No basement.
"I think we should get rid of this horrid carpet first before we even touch the living room," said Asher out loud. Raven looked at him from the kitchen.
"Agreed. It's like... barf colored. It's probably ninety years old or something," she said, casting a disdainful eye on the flooring. It was indeed not a pleasant color to look at in the daylight, a crusty off-white yellow that didn't have the best smell either.
"Mhmm. Do you want to help me set up the downstairs first or go unpack your room?" he asked. Raven looked at the pile of boxes, then at her dad.
"I'll go take all my boxes upstairs then I'll come downstairs and help with this stuff," said Raven, motioning to the hazardous piles of stacked cardboard. Asher nodded.
"Sounds good to me. We can order your new bed and a bed frame how you want it," he said. Raven's bed frame had gotten broken in the moving process by the movers, but it was almost ten years old already, and she did need a larger bed anyway.
Asher watched as Raven took a large box with her name scrawled on with sharpie, then she lugged it upstairs. He turned to the work awaiting him.
"Let's see... here's kitchen stuff, where's the rest of the silverware?" Pulling things out of boxes and placing them in cabinets, he was soon joined by Raven. Taking out his phone he hummed and opened up the app for the classical music station, and they worked in silence to the music.
Soon an hour passed, and Asher was in the middle of stocking the upstairs bathroom with toilet paper when the ringing of the door bell caused him to drop the roll onto the cold linoleum floor.
"COMING!" he hollered, but when he raced down the stairs he realized Raven had beat him to it. She held the door open and he saw Jeremiah standing in the doorway.
"Jeremiah! Hey," he said awkwardly. From behind his back Jeremiah produced a basket filled with baked goods and other things. He held them out and Raven gracefully took it into her hands.
"I ran back to the pack house and it looked like some people got wind of your arrival, they baked a bunch of stuff for you and told me to take it down and wouldn't take no for an answer," he said, scratching his neck. Asher smiled.
"It looks wonderful, thank you. Do come inside," Jeremiah stepped in and looked around with wide eyes.
"Wow it really has changed," he said wistfully. Asher shot him a look.
"You know this place?" he asked. Jeremiah shrugged and headed to the boxes in the living room.
"This used to be my friend Dean's house. He was kicked out of the pack a long time ago, I used to come here all the time when I was little," he reached for a box but Asher shook his head.
"We aren't going to do anything with the living room yet until we get this nasty carpet removed." Jeremiah looked at him and laughed.
"If this is the same carpet that used to be here you really do want to get it removed," he said slyly, "I'm pretty sure I pissed on it as a child. It also likely has plenty of booze infused with the fibers." Asher mock gagged and Jeremiah laughed.
"Where's Raven?" he asked, looking around, noticing that the teenage girl had disappeared.
"Likely in the kitchen, feasting on the cookies," said Asher wryly. "She has a massive sweet tooth for brownies."
"Hah, my sister loves brownies as well. What a coincidence. Say, I can have a few pack members help you rip up this carpet instead of having to pay for a service." Asher blinked.
"Really? I shouldn't intrude..." he said. Jeremiah rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, take it as a welcome-to-our-town gift," he said. Asher hesitated, but relented.
"Alright. Anyways, we finished up stowing the kitchen stuff away, all that's left really is setting up internet, dining room, and the upstairs." Jeremiah glanced at the boxes.
"Doesn't seem like too much work. I bet we can get it done today."
The pair worked on opening boxes and storing things where they should be, with Jeremiah helping him carry the dining room table to the dining room. They made small talk, and an hour, then two passed.
"So why were you in the school? Are you a teacher there?" asked Asher. Jeremiah was busy scrubbing the floor while Asher wiped down the bathroom countertops.
"Nah, it's just in this town everyone helps out each other, since it's run by the pack. I was doing some volunteer work at the school, helping out some people," he said in an honest tone. Asher looked at him.
"Just... volunteering? With nothing in return?" he asked, busy scrubbing out a stubborn stain. Jeremiah looked at him.
"Well... that's what volunteering is isn't it?" he said.
"Hmm," was all Asher had in response. At his old pack, you would rather be caught dead than hanging out with humans of your own free will.
"I can see the gears turning in your head. What are you thinking about?" asked Jeremiah, standing up.
"It's just... isn't it weird being with humans? Together? And you let your pups learn with them?" he asked. Jeremiah frowned.
"Well it's not the nineteenth century anymore," he said, "Werewolves and humans live together all the time, in cities and all around the world. Besides, it's good for them to learn about the humans since in the future it'll likely be even more mixed than before, since it seems mating's have been expanding into the human community as well. At this rate the whole world is going to know about the existence of humans," they finished with a huff. Asher silently nodded his head in agreement.
Werewolf genetics were a strange thing. If a werewolf mates with a werewolf, the pups they have will be obviously, werewolf. However, if a werewolf mates with a human, it depends on the werewolf.
If the werewolf was a top, then they have more dominant genes and the child will likely be a werewolf. However if the werewolf is a bottom, then the pup is going to be a human. If the werewolf is a switch there's almost always a 50/50 chance. Designation wasn't assigned at birth or whatever, it seemed to be more of a mental thing, that would change depending on your preferences.
By the time they were done it was around five in the evening, and all that was really left to do was his personal room, and for Raven to finish up her room. And also the outside.
Jeremiah looked at his black athletic watch strapped to his wrist. "Do you need any work done? Like I said, I'm not doing anything else."
"The yard is surprisingly well kept, I think just on the outside maybe redo the stairs and a fresh coat of paint. The inside was in better condition than I thought it would be," he admitted.
"I guess that would be me. After Dean's family was kicked out I came here to maintain it in case someone new moves in. Since we're all done here, would you two like to go out and get some ice cream? I know a nice place not far from here. I'll pay," offered Jeremiah. Asher turned around and saw Raven standing in the middle of the kitchen with her mouth stuffed with brownies.
"Ice cream?" she asked. Asher laughed.
"Sure, let's head out. Raven, are you coming?" Raven raced past them to the front door and finished off the rest of her snack.
"Of course. When have I ever missed out on ice cream?" she said. Jeremiah smiled.
"Well, just this way. It's down the street, take a few turns." he said. They walked out of the nice little neighborhood and towards the ice cream shop, falling behind Jeremiah.
Asher looked around. They were at a crossroad of sorts, with rows of small businesses and larger brands.
"This is what we like to call the "town square", even though it is much to small for that. Most of the shops are located here, there's a small mall over on the next street where a lot of teens like to hang around," he said, shooting Raven a glance.
Raven was glancing around, taking it all in. "This is really nice," she noted. "Although it's not that fun going to the mall by yourself..." she mused.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make friends soon enough. During the picnic all the kids like to get together and talk, everyone's super nice here," Jeremiah reassured.
The trio walked into the small shop and were greeted by the ringing of a bell.
"Hello, welcome to the Small Wonders Creamery! What can I get you... oh it's you," said the girl at the front counter. She had long hair tied up into a ponytail, and it was dyed a light green color. She rolled her eyes. Asher saw Raven look at up her from the corner of his eye.
"What's up Jerry-Berry?" she asked. Jeremiah scowled.
"Minty I told you not to call me that," he practically whined, "We're here to get some ice cream." he said.
"You're here to get ice cream? Wow no shit! I thought you were here to get a taste of my massive co-"
"MINTY are you harassing my dear Jeremiah again?" hollered a voice from the back.
"Of course not ma!" she said back. She flashed a smile at Jeremiah. "What would my dear Berry boy like?"
Jeremiah sighed in annoyance but Asher saw him smile. "Minty, meet Asher and Raven, they're new to the town. I'll have my usual rocky road and you will have..." he said, looking at Asher and Raven.
"Uhhh I'll take just chocolate," said Asher. A classic, trustworthy flavor.
Raven ogled Minty for a few moments, before snapping out of it. "What's the Rainbow Banana Bomb?" asked Raven, still staring at Minty. Minty paused, then gave her a sharp smile.
"Glad you asked! It's a personal creation of mine, seven random flavors piled on a banana with seven random toppings. Like a banana split but better."
"Hmmm sounds horrendous. I'll take it." Minty scooped out the ice cream as they found a seat in the small shop, listening to the small talk of other patrons.
Soon, Minty swung over to the table and put down the ice cream. "Here yah go, one Rocky Road, a "just chocolate", and a Rainbow Banana Bomb," she chirped.
Raven glanced up from her phone to stare at the other girl intently, "Your name's Minty and you dyed your hair mint green," she observed, just as Asher started to take a bite of his ice cream. Minty snorted.
"Well your names Raven and you have black hair," she pointed out. Jeremiah rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Minty is so cool that way," he said sarcastically. Minty produced a small plastic sampling spoon from her pocket and threw it at him.
"Awww shut up. Besides, I'm to busy having fun with pretty girl right here," said Minty, winking at Raven. Asher watched incredulously as Raven blushed.
Jeremiah smacked her in the arm. "Brat. Get back to work," he said. Minty snickered.
"Of course sir," she said, mock saluting him and marching back to the counter.
"Well that's Minty for you. She's also starting 8th grade next year so you might see her around," he said, munching on his ice cream. Asher finished off his, then poked his spoon at Raven.
"Gimme gimme," he said, digging a scoop of her ice cream, then making a face. "That is disgusting." Raven shot him an offended look.
"Excuse me? Coconut is an amazing flavor, thank you very much," she said. Asher at poked her.
"Coconut is disgusting." Raven responded by shoving the rest of the coconut ice cream in her mouth.
"The other flavors I think are peanut-butter-chocolate, strawberry, pineapple, red raspberry, some mint flavor, and root beer," she said, muffled by the food in her mouth.
"One, don't talk when you're eating, two, disgusting, good, disgusting, good, good, and why is root beer ice cream a thing?"
Raven gasped. "How dare you! All ice cream is delicious," she said, then returned to finishing off the rest of her bowl. Asher shot a glance at Jeremiah and saw that his ice cream was done.
"So..." he started. "Is Minty your daughter?" he asked. Jeremiah laughed.
"That little devil? No, her mom's my cousin making her my first cousin once removed I think," he said.
"Oh. That makes a lot of sense."
"Yeah, I've been taking care of her since she was practically in diapers. What about you? Any family members?" asked Jeremiah. Asher blinked and sighed.
"Uhhh... you know we don't have a pack. We don't really have anyone, it's just the two of us." he said awkwardly. Raven let out a burp.
"What my dad's trying to say is we don't need pack members poking around our business," she said, suddenly defensive, "and we don't plan on joining one anytime soon."
Jeremiah held up his two hands. "Whoa, whoa. I see, totally understandable. You don't have to tell me anything, and I'm not going to pressure you to join the pack."
"Wait you aren't?" asked Asher, confused. "You're just going to let us... stay?" he asked. Jeremiah shrugged.
"I don't see why not. It wouldn't hurt anybody."
"That's... wow thank you," said Asher weakly. "It's just- our old pack wasn't very big, half the pack stayed in the pack house and some stayed in the town... if a random wolf or human tried to move into our part of the town they would be... forced to leave." More like treated like shit, harassed, and possibly killed.
"I see. Well I can kind of see their logic, some packs can be very territorial. Just show your face around and let people get used to you, it'll be fine," reassured Jeremiah.
Raven shrank back in her seat and crossed her arms. "Good. And if you do try anything I'll stick this spoon so deep in your gut you'll take days trying to poop it out."
From the back of the shop, Asher heard Minty holler "I like this one!"
--
I love Minty so much