Dystopian Future

Ezra leaned against the counter, appearing as he looked outside the window, even if he still saw Xue through the fox's eyes.
"Can't say if I hold it against him or against myself. I know he couldn't help it, to some extent at least, but it still happened, and I should know better than walk into such a situation" Rivik jumped up on the counter and Ezra patted him. The fox wanted to comfort him and it worked. The spirits didn't blame him even if he blamed himself which was ridiculous because he hadn't really done anything wrong. All he had done was trusting Zemins and telling him about himself, something that he should be able to do. But he knew that was pointless and he should just stick to what he knew.

At Xues last words he turned his head towards him before he snorted.
"Of course people makes mistakes, normally don't care or judge them. And I do understand that the whole fucking thing was due to the werewolf shit, I even tried to help him more than I should apparently, seeing how it ended" he patted Rivik between his ears. "But I can't deal with it, seeing he didn't give a fucking how I felt, heat or no heat. And since ha can't control it, well things is like it is"
Ezra sighed again and dragged his hand through his hair.
"But don't worry Xue, I understand, tell him that" he answered a bit more general than before. He had no desire to argue with the man, especially about something that wasn't worth arguing about.
"Do you Ezra?" Jax asked carefully "He really is sorry, and he couldn't help it"
"Are you taking his side how! Fucking wolves" Rivik glared at Jax.
"I understand Jax, and I know that he is sorry, don't make much difference to me, but I understand" Ezra answered before he turned towards the windows once more.

”Well I’m glad you understand”, Xue said and pulled his shoulder bag further up his shoulder. “I’m going to class now so if you hear scratching sounds or whatever from the attic, just ignore it”, he thereafter continued and Zemin had a strong feeling his gaze was set on the stairs leading up towards the top floor. Who could blame him? It was more than normal that he was worried considering the situation the older one had put him in. The wolf observed the closed door during some minutes before he heard the front door open and close. Wouldn’t it had been fantastic if Zemin also could go back to school? He only had one year left in the medical programme and after that he could find a normal job and go back to pretending he was human. But that was merely a dream, as the vampire would sooner or later be at his tail as well as Ezras. Vampires really were a nuisance, even though they were excruciatingly beautiful and attractive. That was probably their biggest weapon - the fact that they looked like angels. How easy wouldn’t it be for them to lure people into their grasp? The attic had once served as a please for them to stuff their faces in private and even after the brothers had put a fresh layer of paint over all the walls, it still smelled like blood. Human blood. Not even a hint of it, but rather tons and tons. It was disgusting, least to say, and it twisted Zemins poor stomach over and over again.

Then it was decided - he just had to turn and start mapping everything out. He couldn’t just stay like this forever for Christ’s sake, feeling sorry for himself and basically digging his own grave. Plus, Xayah had gotten the brothers a bunch of clothes, so that wasn’t a problem any longer.
Zemin fell silent, holding his breath as the bones once again started twisting and pulling apart. Since he hadn’t shifted in such a long time, it hurt like crazy. Just feeling everything snap and crack was almost unbearable for his poor ears. However it only took him maybe ten minutes before the was finally able to stand up on two legs instead of four. The fingers immediately found their way through the thick, coloured hair and he made a grimace.
First of all he definitely had to wash himself and brush his teeth. Even he himself could smell the disgusting breath and when he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw how the teeth had begun to turn yellow. So firstly he made sure to clean them thoroughly and after that the werewolf filled the bathtub.
When he sat down in the warm water, every single muscle in the body relaxed and he leaned back towards the edge of the tub. What a fucking ordeal. Zemin looked up towards the ceiling and sighed. All the negativity and complaining was going away as he decided he was going to fix everything, no matter how long it took.

Ezra only nodded in response, feeling no words were needed as the other man left the shop.
"Jax stay here"
"But I want to go!" Jax wagged his tail and Ezra patted him.
"You can't go to school, and even if you could you would get Xue in trouble" he explained "Humans don't like supernaturals, remember"
"I know, but I want to go. It's boring here!" he complained and Ezra smiled.
"You can always go outside, walk around town if nothing else, just don't follow Xue" he opened the door with a gust of wind and the wolf rushed past him.
"So childish" Rivik commented as he walked away from Ezra's side, back to his book. Ezra didn't answer him as he continued unpacking with the help of Rivik, from time to time.

Rivik swept over the store, showing him everything, and he nodded pleased with it. He had decorated just as he wanted! Most of the windows was darkened with the help of black colour, only allowing light to fill the shop from the window by the door, and a few spaces that wasn't blocked, to make it possible for people to spot things from the outside and be curious. The books where placed mostly on the shelf behind the counter, as he didn't wish to have people destroy then when their were viewing them. A lot of the mysterious items were placed around the room, mostly around candles, just at the counter were. Rivik had a bed on the counter, one he was very pleased with and the tea set was standing there for them as well. Everything was just as lit up as it needed, and the floor was covered in rugs of different animals, and he had a high, throne alike, chair behind the counter, so he could sit down, and greet people, if he wished. It was all theatrical, but he loved it, if he was going to do this, he didn't wish to have a bright happy store, making children drag their parents inside, no he wanted people to think twice before they even entered.
"So we are really doing this?" Rivik sounded pleased and excited for once, almost as Jax.
"Well I haven't unpacked all this for nothing" he patted the fox, just as the wolf returned.
"Wow" he looked around, sniffing everything, and his eyes got stuck on some of the bones hanging in a part of the celling.
"You can't have those Jax" Ezra told him and the wolf turned, slightly, disappointed towards him but obeyed as he walked past his own bed, beside Ezra.
"So are we just going to sit here? Waiting for customers?" Rivik asked, he had already returned to his book.
"I haven't open it officially, so today we aren't going to do anything more. I actually feel tired" he answered as he took a cup of tea, offering one to the fox who accepted.
"So why are we still here?" Rivik glared at him.
"Because I am enjoying the atmosphere, and my work" he told him as he took the book from the fox, replacing it with orders he had got. "And we have more works to do, things we couldn't do from home"
The fox only sighed as they started reading.

The bath lasted for quite some time before Zemin pulled the plug at the bottom, which allowed the water to go down the drain. He stood up and took a wobbly step out of the tub, letting his feet find their way across the floor towards the mirror hanging over the sink. To be honest he liked his new hair colour, even though he really hadn’t at the first glance. A small smile, something that was extremely rare these days, found its way across his rosy lips as he started to thoroughly wash his face. It was much needed after spending so much time in his true form - something that didn’t really do any wonders for his appearance. However after he was finished he almost looked like one of those idols. The hair was thick, the skin pale and the face very symmetrical and appealing. Zemin had to admit that he was handsome from time to time. Except for the height, which was almost below average.
He rolled his eyes in the mirror and turned away, to go put on some clothes. Walking around totally naked wasn’t his thing and it had never been. Xue didn’t seem to care, but his older brother definitely did.
After looking through the different pieces of clothing, he decided to wear a long sleeved sweater and a pair of black jeans. Once again he turned to look at the mirror, this time in the bedroom he shared with the younger wolf. At least it wasn’t too bad, now was it? Zemin observed himself while playing with the fabric of the sweater, trying to gather his thoughts.

Even though he hadn’t thought of it until then, he was extremely hungry. When he’d looked through the three rooms multiple times, all he could find was a couple of pieces of raw meat. But since it laid on the floor, he wasn’t too keen on eating it. That left him with only one option; to break down the door and go down to the kitchen. The wolf was more than sure of that he would be able to control himself, even if he happened to pass by Ezra.
“Okay, you can do it”, he mumbled to himself and slapped himself over both cheeks a couple of times. And then he gripped at the door handle, shut his eyes tightly and ripped it straight of the door. It immediately swung open and Zemin slowly became brave enough to open his eyelids again. So locking it wasn’t an option any longer, for better or worse.
For some reason many people thought that Zemin was a weak person, with close to no muscles whatsoever. They couldn’t be more wrong though, as the young man was everything but weak. Maybe he looked to be, but the truth was for sure laid elsewhere. Many times his looks have him an advantage because it simply fooled people.
He slowly began making his way down the stairs, keeping all his senses on the edge. Shit, he really was a scaredy-cat sometimes. The shaman wasn’t going to kill him, was he? Hopefully not. All Zemin wanted to do was to get some food and nothing more. That was it. Period.

"I say this are the most important" he pointed at a few of the orders, after Rivik had read them all.
"No shit, this one is almost a month old!" Rivik sounded like a mother schooling her child for being late with the homework.
"Well if you was so concerned, you could have made it, almsot a month ago" Ezra answered only to get a snort from Rivik. "You are always so helpful"
"Try to read this without me!"
"I can help you" Jax offered, making Ezra laugh and Rivik to become more grumpy.
"I think I would manage without you" Ezra patted the fox tho, knowing that even if he could use Jax's eyes, it wasn't the same and he wouldn't manage without Rivik, mostly due to his company.
"You would die within seconds, faster with Jax's help!"
"Hey!" the wolf protested as Ezra went back to the files.
"I have everything I need for this, but I need to either buy some supplies or make some more to create these" he pointed at three orders, wanting dark amulets.
"Who want's a curse for killing an ex, because they broke up?" Rivik sounded judging, not that Ezra blamed him.
"Guessing a young person, since they are idiots" he took the files from Ezra just as they heard steps.

"I thought he was locked up" Rivik stood up from his comfortable bed.
"Guess he broke out" Ezra only answered, listening to the steps.
"They sound human" Rivik looked at him, understanding that he wondered, and Ezra was silent, not sure which he preferred, human or wolf, none of them probably. But it was impossible to avoid him forever, knowing he lived in the house, even if Ezra had wished to do just that. For a second he thought about just leaving the building, but he didn't want to runaway, especially since it was his house! He needed to be able to be there, working. But he had thought he was more ready for this than he was, despite not even seeing the man, he become tensed and on his guards.
"Just say the words and I will kill him" Rivik whispered and Ezra patted him as he took a deep breath, grabbed his teacup, knowing the tea would calm him at least a bit, just as he had his magic ready. It was unlikely that the man wanted to talk to him and Ezra didn't plan on talking to him so he returned to the files, trying to keep himself busy, just as Jax ran away.
"Is he fucking kidding me? He is going to say hi to him" Rivik complained.
"Let him, they are both wolves, if it makes Jax's happy I won't hinder him" Ezra only answered starting to writing down what he needed to buy.

Zemins steps were careful and slow. It was obvious that he tried to stay as quiet as possible, but it didn’t matter in the end. Both Rivik and Jax could probably hear him very clearly, no matter how quiet he tried to be. Stupid super hearing.
When Jax shot out right in front of the wolf’s feet, he took a surprised step backwards. Both eyes were widened and it took a couple of seconds before he was fully able to grasp the situation. It’s only Jax, stop acting as if you’re going to die.
“Hi, Jax”, Zemin whispered and squatted down, allowing both hands to stroke the white fur. “It was quite a while ago, wasn’t it?” He continued and amiled briefly, before turning his gaze towards the direction the spirit had come from. “Ezra totally hates me, doesn’t he?”

So what? Even if the shaman hated him, what could he do about it? Wouldn’t it be better to just let all of that shit go and live in the now? Or at least try to, even though it was going to be impossible. Being mated didn’t mean you could just up and leave, as that’d just leave the wolf in pain. But he could still dream about it and wish for it!
“I’m sorry to ask you this..but do you think he’d be willing to at least hear me out? I won’t touch him, not even look at him if that brings up something. All I want to do is apologise, since I still feel shitty about the whole situation. Especially since it’s not been resolved”, Zemin continued after carefully choosing his words. The question was dumber than dumb, of course Ezra didn’t want to speak to him? And even though he knew that, he still had to ask. So fucking stupid.
He stood back up and scratched his neck, looking down at his feet while waiting for an answer. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why had he even asked? Because he had gained some confidence because of his looks? Really? How stupid can one be?

In that moment, Zemin actually thought about spinning around on the spot and rushing back up the stairs. Maybe he’d become so dumb because he’d stayed in his feral form the one and a half weeks? Could that be the reason to why he was so unthoughtful? Considering the fact that he’d never done it before, it could very well be the reason? And in connection with that thought, the pale cheeks were lit on fire. They slowly turned brightly red, before the colour spread across the rest of the face. He was so ashamed of himself it wasn’t even possible. Fucking hell.

Jax wagged his tail, happy to see the other man, despite everything that had happened. He was more understanding than the other two. That Ezra wasn't, well he couldn't blame the Shaman, but Rivik, as a spirit he should know better. But well Rivik was so different from other spirits, and so overprotective of Ezra that it was almost ridicules sometimes. Even if this situation was different and he understood why. And even him that could understand Zemin more than the others hadn't approved of his actions, but he didn't blame him for them, even if he wished that they had never happened.
"I...um...I think hate is the wrong word" he tilted his head, unsure of what to answer "I think he rather not cares anymore. But it's not only about you, it's about everything"
He didn't want the man to feel bad, so maybe knowing that Ezra didn't care about anything would make him feel better.

At Zemin's other question he stopped wagging his tail, unsure of what to answer. He was more than sure that Ezra had no interest in hearing him out, and even if he did he wasn't sure it would make any difference. However Jax thought it was an excellent idea, people should apologise and hear each other out, but he knew that would be hard, especially with Rivik there.
"Can't promise anything, but I will try, so wait here!" with those words he rushed back to the other two.

"Won't happen!" was the first thing Rivik said and Ezra gave him a puzzled look. "Zemin wishes to speak with you, to apologise, and it seems like Jax's thinks it's a good idea"
"It can't hurt!" Jax tried and for a second Ezra thought of banishing the spirit for even suggesting it. Why on earth would he do that?
"Have you lost it? Why would he get the chance to apologise?" Rivik asked looking down at the wolf who tilted his head.
"Everyone makes misstakes!" Jax tried.
"That was more than a misstake, you are fucking unbelievable!" Rivik snorted, utterly disappointed at the wolf. Ezra had yet to speak, he had no desire to see the man, not wanting to make him happy by giving him the opportunity to apologise, so he could feel better. Ezra knew he wouldn't feel better by it, it would give him nothing. But on the other hand he admitted he was curious to what the man would say, what ridicules excuse he would give him, maybe it could entertain him, if nothing else.
"Let him apologise" Ezra finally said.
"Have you lost it as well?" Rivik asked him as Jax rushed back to Zemin, informing him about Ezra's answer.
"No I haven't" Ezra only answered grabbing the teacup once more, to have his hand on something, if nothing else.

When Jax told Zemin that Ezra had accepted his request he could sense how his heart skipped a few beats. Never in this lifetime had he thought the shaman would ever be willing to face him again. But once again he’d clearly been wrong. It actually worried him quite a lot that he’d been so mistaken about everything lately. Was he broken or something? Had his inner programming stopped working or reached an error message? He couldn’t tell, but something wasn’t right, that he was more than sure of.
The slim legs followed Jax as they started walking through a corridor. They took a turn or two before reaching their final destination. What the actual fuck was this place? Zemins eyes turned as big as a pair of saucers when he allowed the dark brown gaze to slide across the room. A shop? It was a shop right? Yes, there was a door from the street, yet it didn’t feel very welcoming. The aura seemed kind of dark and everything was very mysterious. How on earth would he be able to direct his attention in a room like this? It was filled to the brim with so many interesting things.
Those thoughts didn’t linger for too long, however, as the wolf’s attention actually was able to be directed towards only one thing. Thing? Rather a being, a person, a living and breathing person. He immediately stiffened and both hands clutched at one respective elbow. Why on earth did he suddenly feel so frozen and just dead inside? Because of the spirits words about Ezra not caring any longer? But Zemin didn’t like that thought, not for one bit. A person who didn’t care about anything was a threat. And not only that, they were generally scary and emitted an uneasy aura.

“I-“, the werewolf slowly began, before hindering himself only to pull his eyebrows tightly together. “I-I’m sorry”, he eventually stuttered, after some contemplating. Thereafter he let the trembling hands fall to the sides, pinching them closely to the slim body as he bowed. This was how he’d been raised by his parents - to be polite and straight forward.
Once the words had been spoken, he could feel the sweat forming on his forehead and the cheeks turned a rosy pink. Damn, he was really pathetic. So pathetic he shouldn’t even be allowed in the room, neither in the building.
“But..” Zemin continued, gathering all the courage he could, as he straightened his back. “You shouldn’t put up a barrier like that! I know that’s not who you really are and I really don’t care for shit what you say!” The voice was extremely unstable and unsure, but he meant every single one of them. Sure, he didn’t know Ezra at all except from some aspects, yet he was still completely confident in what he’d just said. A mated wolf was just that - mated, and he knew when the counter part was pleased. So he knew, he knew very well, that the man had kind of appreciated when he’d stroked his hair. It hadn’t been the hug, nor the words he’d said back then. In the end that left him with the fact that his fingers had been pulled through the black hair. Smart? Nope, just not entirely human. In situations like these it came in very handy, however.

At first Ezra wasn't even turned towards the other man, not needing to be since Rivik didn't look at anything else. Sometimes it was really handy that he could use their eyes. He could move around in the room doing things, yet seeing other things. Jax seemed very pleased by Zemin's actions, wagging his tail once more. Rivik wasn't anything else then cold, hating and Ezra could tell that the fox didn't wish for anything else than attack the wolf. Ezra had for a second become tensed when he heard the other man's voice, but knowing that he had both spirits around him, and that the man wasn't as close as the last time, he wasn't scared. He actually relaxed more than he thought he would, almost like their first meeting, and for a second he almost thought of it as ridicules, being scared for the other man, but he knew better. It wasn't Zemin he was scared of, you could have replaced him with anyone and his reactions would have been the same. He sipped on his tea, he didn't had a answer for them man, it wasn't like he would say he forgave him or that his actions was alright, and answering okay, which was the only words he could think of as a response, felt extremely rude, so he kept silent.
"Like it would make any difference" Rivik muttered and Ezra smiled a small smile, not being able to hinder himself. He agreed with Rivik, it didn't made any difference for him. Zemin may feel better after uttering those words, he didn't, not that he felt bad either, he just didn't felt anything. Jax gave Rivik a cold look, but he didn't say anything, choosing not to start a argument at the moment.

As Zemin continued talking Ezra placed the cup on the counter, calmly, before he turned towards the wolf with cold eyes.
"Brave thing to say" his voice was far from warm "Especially since you showed me what happens when you lower the barrier"
"Ezra" Jax said in a sad voice but became silent when the Shaman gave him look.
"And what do you actually know about me Zemin? The few things I have told you don't count as knowing someone, but getting to know me didn't actually seem to matter to you. What I told you didn't matter to you, you actually didn't care at all, so your opinion at this rate matter very little to me" saying those words hurt more than he thought, not that he cared about how the man felt now. No they hurt because that was how he felt, he actually tried to open up to someone for the first time and everything resolved into this mess. He had thought that not maybe everyone was so bad, and having friends wasn't the end of the world, it could actually be nice. He even thought that contact was nice for a short second, until Zemin proved to him why he should stay away. And now the man dared to tell him who he was! He could almost laugh at the situation, but he stayed quiet, only looking at the man, with dead eyes.

As the words were spoken, each and every one of them hit Zemin straight across the face. But it wasn’t actually the words that hit him so hard and instead rather the dead look in the other mans eyes. No pun intended, as the shaman was in fact blind.
“I don’t know you”, the werewolf stated and started fidgeting with a loose thread on the sweater. “But I am mated to you, and you might not understand what that means but..”, he continued before falling silent. Was it even worth trying to explain it? Because at the moment it didn’t seem to matter what he actually said, as Ezra would only hold it against him in one way or another. Fuck it, he was going to blurt it out anyways. If the other man didn’t care, why would have have to do so?
“I know that you liked when I stroke your hair and that’s saying somethin, isn’t it?” Zemin wondered and sent a tiny smile towards the shaman. “And what you told me does matter to me! But at that time I was so blinded by urge that the words just went in through one ear and out the other one. Hell, I don’t even care if you care about me, but I care about you and there’s nothing you can do about it”, the wolf finished and looked very cross. His lips were both pouting and the breaths had become heavy, indicating how much force and will he’d actually put behind he words. It felt awkward and foolish to say them out loud, but it had to be done sooner or later. Ezra really did matter a lot to Zemin, even though the didn’t know each other for shit. Even with this fact stated, he cared deeply about the other man and valued every single word that escaped his mouth.

The urge to cry started pushing its way forward, however the werewolf was determined not to. In the end that would only come across as something desperate - an attempt to make Ezra feel bad about his coldness towards the little wolf and his stupid feelings. But that wasn’t what the wolf in question was going for, not at all.
One single tear managed to push through eventually and Zemin quickly wiped it away. He wasn’t even sure if he was crying because he was sad or angry. Maybe both? Of course the shaman had all the rights in the world to being cold towards the younger man, because he totally did! Nonetheless, that didn’t stop Zemin from being a whiny little werewolf ass. Nope.
Having Rivik listen to all his words and thereafter taunting them, making them seem invalid and stupid, didn’t make anything better. It actually made everything a lot worse and he couldn’t resist to wish that the fox would just go away for a couple of minutes. Speaking to only Ezra would’ve been much easier.