The Halfling and the Exile

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Isaac was already to the door by the time she spoke, but at her voice he stopped with a hand curled around the wood of it, not quite out of the room just yet. Arcady was clearly worried and unhappy and scared by the arguing, even as low key as they were both trying to keep it. Or at least, he hoped they were both trying not to fight. It wasn't really working well, but what could they do? They'd been thrown together by Fate or Happenstance, and no matter which way he looked at it they had only really known each other for less than a month. The time he'd spent secluded in a shed with her pack didn't count.

At first he said nothing, one hand on the door and the other braced on the frame, fingers curling so tight against it the wood creaked a bit in protest. "Are you coming back?" Was all he asked, when he could find the breath for it. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't convince her of anything, and he'd lost himself her trust. There was nothing left.
 
"No."

Niari didn't hesitate to give the negative answer. She never wanted to be in this house again, despite the fact that she actually quite liked Lucy, Ronan, Felix, and even Casius for the most part. They had proven themselves to be decent people. However, it was obvious that she did not fit in with them, and being here only caused an endless stream of anger and getting upset between herself and Isaac. Even when she tried to be better for him and cuddled with him all night long, he still rebuffed her. It hurt, and she wasn't about to keep trying when he obviously wasn't interested.

"You can come find us there when you're done, if you want," she offered after a moment, assuming he wouldn't bother.
 
Things were falling apart. He was a terrible Alpha, and he was driving off his only packmate, and he had his word to uphold but if he did that she would be gone. What could he do after that? Let her run off and see how long she would survive without any knowledge of her vampire half, or any knowledge of the human world she was entering? Was he babying her too much by going with her always, or would it be too cruel to let her go off on her own? There were too many questions.

Isaac was just stepping back to respond to her when Casius showed up in the doorway, placed a hand on the werewolf's head, and shoved him back hard enough to drop him on his behind.

"Will you two quit your yammering?" The vampire hissed, obviously irritated and looking rumpled like they'd dragged him out of bed - which they had. "The sun is up and some of us are trying to sleep! You!" He pointed an accusing finger over at Niari. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Isaac growled at him from where he sat on the ground, a bit stunned still. "She's leaving."

Casius looked at him, then rolled his eyes. "Oh, no you're not. You drank from a pureblood, halfling. That's potent stuff. Half a chance you're goin' somewhere 'cause you're not thinking right just yet. And fuck you both if you think I'm funding your little roadtrip to nowhere without so much as a single question answered."

Despite all he'd said, Isaac really did want to bite him just then.
 
"You're not funding anything, I haven't asked for money and you haven't given any," Niari pointed out with a frown, shaking her head. "Also, you can't keep us here," she added, tilting her head slightly at him. There was no way he could reasonably keep them there, even if he locked the door. It wasn't as though they were Humans and would just sit around waiting to be freed.

"Besides, Isaac can answer questions. He wants to stay and have you munch on him."
 
Casius stared at her for a long moment, then slowly looked down at where Isaac was finally beginning to pick himself up, and suddenly broke into laughter. The werewolf was glaring at him, fists clenched tight at his sides and a growl in his throat because he knew Casius was going to talk, talk like he always did and say things people would rather keep to themselves.

"This hardass?" Casius said with laughter still in his voice, leaning a shoulder against the door frame and giving Isaac a grin. "I'll tell you, girly, this wolf would rather gnaw off his own leg than be in my house. He hates me. Don't you, boy?"

Isaac's fists clenched a little tighter, fingernails biting into his skin but with only enough restraint to keep himself from bleeding. He wouldn't talk. Suddenly his tongue felt like lead in his mouth.
 
Niari sighed. This entire conversation was pointless. It didn't matter if Isaac hated Casius or not. What did matter was that Isaac wanted to stay and fulfill his side of the bargain, so she hadn't lied - Isaac wanted to be here and to have Casius munch on him as agreed. As hard as that might be for the Vampire to believe, it was the truth, in a manner of speaking. She wasn't going to just stand around while they blabbered on about hating and fighting or whatever it was males likes to talk about.

"That's fascinating," she managed, though her tone conveyed that she didn't find it fascinating what-so-freaking-ever. "I'm gonna go now."
 
Casius looked at her and then back at Isaac again, smiling a little to himself. "Oh, you haven't told her anything, have you? Well. Your past, your choice." He gave a little wave and finally stepped out of their way. "Send me a letter when she kills someone. I want to know how long it takes." He glanced back at them over his shoulder as he walked back out into the hall. "And say goodbye to Felix before you go - I'll chase you down myself if I hear him crying about it later."
 
Niari watched Casius walk away, then she looked down at Isaac. He had told Isaac to send a letter, giving a pretty big sign that he didn't care if they both left. That meant the whole bargain deal thing with the biting and feeding was gone anyway. Nothing more to argue or brood about. Maybe now Isaac would stop looking so constipated about the whole thing. She hoped he'd go back to normal once they were out of the house.

"Problem solved," she murmured, walking over an offering a hand to help him up. "Let's go find Felix."
 
Isaac swallowed a growl when she walked up next to him, and after a debate that probably lasted too long he accepted her help up to his feet. ". . . I want to shower before we leave." He said finally once he was on his feet. He wouldn't look at her. "I don't know when we'll have warm water again. Will you wait that long?" If they were going to leave behind their only chance at understanding, he would ask for that, at least. For being the Alpha of their tiny pack, Isaac couldn't help feeling like she was the one in control of all they did.
 
"Okay," Niari agreed meekly, feeling as though she had been freshly scolded. Isaac wasn't looking at her and was extremely tense. Had she messed up again? She felt her emotions changing, drawing her into a guilt-filled sadness. Looking away from him, she carefully set her pack on the bed and sat down with Arcady in her arms, who had drifted off to sleep once again now that the yelling was over. She glanced out the window, seeing the faint circle of the moon hanging in the blue morning sky.

Wait..

"Oh!" she exclaimed, suddenly realizing why she was rapidly switching from one extreme to the next. Not only had she fed from a Vampire, which apparently put her out of whack, but tonight was the full moon! That didn't explain why she felt so clingy and affectionate while feeling all the other things, but that part could be ignored for now. She sighed, feeling like an idiot. Now she had caused trouble over nothing.

"It's.. a full moon tonight, Isaac.."
 
Isaac picked up his coat to set it more neatly over the chair where he'd left it, and moved to close the door so that no one else would just burst in. Somehow it was easier to not slam things around when he knew for certain they were giving up on hope and leaving this place. It was easier to feel despondent and angry in silence than out loud. Out loud had never brought him anything good.

"Hm?" He finally tuned in to Niari's voice as he was almost out of the room, and opened the door a bit more as if to hear her better. "It's - . . . oh." A full moon. That would explain some of the volatile nature of the past half a day or so, and their mutual need to stick very close at night beforehand. It would explain her strange mood swings and at least the extremes of anger and frustration in him. "I . . ." What could he say? Sorry? Would that even fix anything?

There was a short pause for thought and then Isaac's eyes widened just a little. "We - We can't leave yet." He said quickly, worry and a tiny shred of panic in his voice. "Not tonight. My - My old pack will be out somewhere and I cant -" He shook his head, took a careful breath. "I can't run into them. I just can't." He couldn't face it. And he couldn't upset his mother that way. She would be furious and hurt if she knew he had come anywhere near their pack again.
 
"Okay."

Niari didn't bother arguing. There was no point. She wasn't quite sure what had happened with Isaac's old pack, but the bits and pieces of information that she had received had painted a bit of a picture. Casius had been expecting Isaac's father, which gave credit to the idea of his father being the Alpha. That also made sense, as grown males tended to stray to form their own packs unless they were mated to a female within the pack and had no pups of their own. Although, with the way the Humans had been spreading lately, Werewolves had taken to combining packs. There was strength in numbers.

If Isaac's father was the Alpha, that would make sense. He had told Casius that he had to put his father down. Why, she didn't know, though she did know that the Vampire hadn't seemed too upset or surprised about the entire ordeal. That would make Isaac's mother or eldest brother the new Alpha, depending on which was still alive. If neither, since Isaac had left, there would likely have been a fight to take the spot. Whatever the reason, it was obvious that he had no desire to see them. The tone of his voice told her he wasn't about to budge on the issue.

She sat on the bed to wait while he bathed. Perhaps a hot shower would relax him. She laid back and stared at the ceiling, feeling a bit heartbroken as she considered the full moon. Did that mean that his acceptance of her in his bed the night before was only because of the moon? He had been awfully upset before. It would explain things. He probably did not truly want her around. It seemed that every time she spoke, she upset him. She didn't fit in with Humans, Werewolves, or Vampires. Where was she supposed to go? What was the end game? Did Isaac have plans past Casius'? Perhaps his plans were to not stay with her. At some point, he would need to expand his pack to survive. He wouldn't be able to do that with a Halfling following him around. The thought pained her deeply. She cared for Isaac... a lot. The thought of losing him made her want to howl.

Perhaps simply obeying him from now on was the best thing to do until he tired of her.
 
When he found he could gain some sense again, Isaac gave a hesitant little nod and finally moved out of the room. The door closed quietly behind him and he went to the bathroom he'd been told they could use, locked the door behind him and took a moment figuring out the shower before starting to strip. It was strange, being in a place with running water again, so soon after they had left Niari's home. He tried not to think about being in this very room before, smaller and weaker, trying to scrub the feeling of vampire fangs off his skin.

Isaac turned the water almost too hot and scrubbed until his skin was pink, using the time he spent standing under the spray to try and think. He had to try and see things from her perspective, lost and confused and feeling betrayed. He had made so many mistakes, and she had a right to be angry with him and to want to leave. It wasn't good for him to keep trying to keep her here, even though now he really couldn't leave. He had to make things right somehow.

When he was done showering, Isaac dressed for the sake of the others in the house, and walked quietly back to their room. He knocked softly before entering, just to warn Niari, and walked over to curl up at the foot of the bed near her. ". . . I'm sorry, Niari." He said softly, finally. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you where we were going, and I'm sorry I got angry with you. The moon is no excuse. I should have had better control than that." He curled his arms up loosely by his head and tucked his knees in close, sighing softly. ". . . We should talk more about all of this. It's just you and I, and Arcady. I can't make all the decisions. It wouldn't be right. We're in this together, aren't we?" He realized his mistakes now. He couldn't start acting like just an Alpha when they had to act like partners.

((I didn't expect lunch to take that long haha but I had to help my dad with stuff. I'm back now))
 
Niari had just decided on her new course of action when Isaac knocked. She turned her head, watching him walk in and take a spot next to her. As he apologized and explained that they should talk, she didn't really say anything. What more was there to talk about? He was the Alpha. There was no reason to discuss things. She should have been obeying in the first place, but the moon had messed with her.

"It's fine," she said simply, having nothing else to contribute. Now that she had decided to simply go along with Isaac, she felt a lot less stress. She focused on nothing in particular. The situation didn't matter. It was probably not healthy, but she was not willing to upset him again.
 
Isaac frowned when she gave him only two words in response, even when he'd said they should talk. What now? What had he done now, or what had happened in the time he was gone showering? "Fine?" He shifted slowly up onto an elbow to look at her, a confused furrow in his brow. "What do you mean 'it's fine'?" If she was going to choose to forgive him, he could accept that, but 'fine' never meant anything good. "Was I not clear enough? I want to discuss . . . all of this. We need to iron things out together so we can work better with each other."

((Getting ready for work, might not reply again before I leave))
 
"What is there that needs to be ironed out?" Niari asked in confusion, looking up at him as he got up on his elbow to be above her. "There is nothing to discuss. You do not wish to leave tonight because your former pack is in the area. So, we aren't leaving tonight. That is your decision to make, you are the Alpha," she said simply, as though there was no need to question anything else.

[Have fun at work! xD]
 
((Sorry, I was really not in the mood to reply at work))

Isaac tried not to frown any deeper but wasn't sure he'd succeeded. "There - There is everything to discuss. What we both want, where we should head next, if we should reassess whether or not you can bear to stay after the full moon is over. You cared about all of this before - what have I said now to dissuade you of that? Tell me what you want. Argue with me if you have to. I want to hear your thoughts on things, not just my own."
 
Niari blinked and looked at Isaac, watching how his frown seemed to get worse. He didn't look happy at all. She was a bit confused. Her assumption had been that if she just started agreeing and going along with whatever he said and did, that he would be happy. Arguing and fighting had made him upset, and it seemed that being agreeable was not doing any better. She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do anymore.

"I just want what you want," she said uncertainly.
 
Isaac slumped a little and flopped back down onto the bed, twisting a little to stare up at the ceiling. "I don't want you to be a mindless puppet." He said faintly after a silence had fallen between them. "I don't want to be my father. . ." That wasn't how he wanted to lead a pack, even as small as his was. Truly, he'd never wanted to lead a pack, and he certainly didn't have any good examples of how. All he knew was that his father had done it wrong, and he had to do everything he could to not be that way.
 
"I don't understand what you're looking for," she said, feeling wretchedly distraught. She just wanted to curl up and cry from confusion at this point. All she was trying to do was make Isaac happy. "When I fight, you get upset.. When I agree, you get upset.. I don't know what to do to make you happy anymore. Do you just want me to go so I don't make you upset anymore..?"
 
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