The Sight

Cooper watches out of the corner of his eyes as the human leaves, deciding that if the boy was able to enter the forest without anything messing with him then there was no real reason for him to continue acting as a bodyguard. So he gives the wolf one more rub before he starts making his way back to the cabin. The exhaustion that had been forgotten with the sudden adrenaline comes crashing back, and more than a few times on his way back, his eyelids flutter close. Only to be jolted open with a wet feeling tapping against his dangling hands, the wolf seems to have taken a liking to him. Trotting along with Cooper, it's really quiet. And the soft oranges the setting sun casts across the small openings in the trees adorn the forest floor in a mystical haze. Fall was by far the most beautiful season. The oranges were a nice contrast from the boring and brown buildings the Warlington people seemed to enjoy.
 
Oliver found his way out with no problem, noticing it was getting darker out so he hurried his pace. Making it back home he unlocked the door, shuffling off his shoes once he was in. Once the door was locked he headed to the kitchen to finish putting stuff away and making something for dinner. His grandma didn't each anything too fancy, which was grateful for. Once her dinner was ready he carried it up on a tray, along with all the medicine that was laid out. He came back down to make something for himself, he would grab her dishes later. The doctor was kind enough to put up a little list in the house, saying which medicines she took when and how much. It made it easier for him to remember what she needed to take. His dinner was some simple soup, he finished it in no time and after gathering all the dishes to sink overnight he headed to his old bedroom. Now this was also something he would never see again. With a quiet sigh he set his backpack down on the chair and flopped on the bed. An hour of messing around on his phone passed before the boy fell asleep just on top of the covers.
 
Cooper makes it back to his cabin without running into any other inconveniences, he opens the front door.and the wolf trots over to the window seal before promptly making itself comfortable.and he's honestly too tired to be worried about how the wolf is no doubt dragging dirt into his cabin. His cat, Puss, lazes at the center of the foot rug that leads into his small living room, not at all bothered by the medium sized wolf that has made itself at home. He gives the cat a soft pat on its head before strolling into his bedroom. Food and a bath are the last thing on his mind, he swiftly takes off the sweater and jeans to replace them with a comfy pair of silk pajamas.

The lights in the cabin are still off, and only a small beam of light peaks through the partially closed windows. The moment his body touches the soft comforters his eyes are drifting closed, and as he's drifting in and out of consciousness, a soft and warm weight sprawls itself behind his head. Cooper opens his mouth to grumble something, but his mouth has drooped lazily and only incoherent sounds are grumbled out of his mouth. He hears a soft meow -which he thinks is the cat's way of replying- before he's swallowed by a blanket of exhaustion.
 
Oliver sleeps a bit restlessly in the night, not used to being back in his old bed. He wakes up when his alarm goes off, groggily dragging himself out of bed and to the kitchen. Drinking some water to wake up he starts to read the paper the doctor left. Getting the medicine ready he made his grandma a simple breakfast. Putting it on the same tray as before and carrying it upstairs. "Hey gram I'm going to head out again, if you need anything you know how to call right?" she was given a very basic phone type thing by her doctor. It was programmed to call 3 numbers you preset. One was her doctor, one was 911 and the other was him. "Yes I know dear, don't worry," she smiled and Oliver gave him a hug before leaving. Taking his same bag as before, keys and all he locked the door and headed out. Walking the same road as the day before until he got to the forest path and turned off onto it. He followed the path half paying attention, knowing it do well he didn't need to use all his attention. He figured he might look around the clearing try and find other things to draw. Or just lay on the rock and listen to music.
 
While Cooper did not want to, he had half-expected to fall into hibernation. But his body was programmed to work around the forests schedule, so when he's abruptly jerked out of his sleep when someone enters the forest, his mood is immediately grouchy throughout the rest of the day. It does take him a while to shuffle out of the warm covers, it doesn't help that Puss is looking very comfortable in it's small puddle at the foot of the bed.

He gives her a small pat before he stomps into the kitchen, his eyes flitting through the halls as he passes. The wolf was nowhere to be seen, but a cold draft from an open window is enough indication that it left. Cooper quietly walks over to the window, the morning air is colder than it was yesterday. And it helps to wake him up. After he washes up, he shovels down a bowl of oatmeal before taking his leave.
 
Oliver hums to himself as he walks through the forest, down the ever so familiar path. It doesn't take him long to reach the clearing and once he does he puts his stuff on the rock again. Sitting down before pulling out his book and pencils again. He came earlier than last yesterday which meant he would hopefully find different inspiration to draw. The shorter male pondered walking around the clearing to see if there were any side paths. When he was younger he used to explore further past the clearing but it tended to be more dense and harder to navigate. So he was unsure for that at the moment, for now the clearing was the safe option. Oliver set himself up on the rock before starting to sketch some nearby flowers, simple sketch to start with.

(wondering how they're going to go about meeting each other?)
 
The walk to the clearing is nice, the chilly is being warded off by his thick overcoat. The scenery almost seems new, maybe it's the layers of leaves coating the usually green floor. Cooper stuffs his slightly cold into his pockets, leaning back a little to get a better view of the hanging trees and sky peeking through. Warlinton's weather seemed to be seventy percent cloudy weather, not that he was complaining. Rain was such nice weather for a good wake up walk. Though walks just happened to be one of his favorite things to do, so his opinion was very biased. He's too caught up in his thoughts about the weather that he doesn't realize he's nearing the clearing, but the shifting in the air doesn't go completely unnoticed. Just ignored.
 
Oliver was focused on the flowers, unaware someone was slowly approaching the clearing. He was so used to this area being empty from people that he just didn't think about people coming here. Only when he heard some sticks crunch did he pause his hand. Slowly he looked up in case it was an animal but was shocked to see a man. "O-oh um hello," he introduced himself quietly unsure of what to say willing,"I didn't um...didn't know anyone else came to this clearing..." For years he came here without a sign of another person. So when he came back he just assumed it would be the same. Part of him felt stupid, he probably should've realized some time had passed and it was possible someone else started coming to the clearing now that he didn't go. But this man...he didn't know, he knew most everyone in town at least the basic families. He wasn't old but definitely not Oliver's age, otherwise he would've known him through school.
 
It catches him off guard when the human greets him, they'd usually be running by now. However it doesn't seem like the other man knows who Cooper is, he flits his eyes to the side. It's half parts awkwardness and other parts uncertainty, humans were odd and unpredictable creatures. But he pushes through to turn back around to face the man, he awkwardly shifts where he stands before speaking.

"Hello…. No, usually no one human.. comes here.."

He grumbles, a bad habit he'd picked up from the years living with his father. Cooper inwardly flinches at peculiar way he phrased his sentence, talking to a human about humans was totally not going to blow his cover. But, now that he was up close. The human did seem pretty small, however he couldn't properly assess his height when the boy was a few feet away from him.
 
Oliver step down his sketchbook on the rock, seeing as he probably wasn't going to go back to it very soon. The man seemed alot taller than him and looked uncomfortable where he stood. It made him feel a little bit bad, maybe the other didn't like talking to people. The way he said his sentence was...weird but he tried not to judge when you're feeling awkward your brain just decides to jumble words. "I'm uh...new to town well um not really, I just moved back," he explained,"I used to come to this clearing alot when I lived here so I just decided to do that again when I moved back. I'm Oliver by the way..." He introduced himself a little awkwardly with a small wave to the man. Maybe he just startled the other, if he had been walking around the forest and someone suddenly said hi to him he was sure he would jump too.
 
Cooper watches Oliver's movements with blatant curiosity, his brows quirking with interest. He listens intently as the human speaks, his lips pressing into a thin line as he concentrates on the words being spoken. The wave is at most the weirdest thing anyone has signed to him, he's not sure if it means to come forward or a greeting. So he chooses to give a small wave -it's just him lifting his hand and then dropping it- and take a few steps forward, but making sure to keep enough space between them so that the human doesn't feel uncomfortable.

"Cooper…."

He introduces, before realizing that was not how humans introduced themselves.

"I'm Cooper.."

He corrects, puffing out his chest slightly with pride. While he wasn't that educated with human cultures and their ways, Cooper could say that that was a pretty good introduction.
 
Oliver couldn't help laughing a little with a smile at the way Cooper introduced himself. The little wave was different but he got what the other was getting at. Maybe he lived in a house somewhere in the forest, he knew there were a few houses out there. So maybe he really didn't see people very often and was more of a hermit. He started to feel bad assuming things about him so he did his best to brush the thoughts away. "Nice to meet you Cooper! Do you live around here? This town is so small and nosy everyone knows anyone but I don't think I ever met you," he didn't know how the man managed to avoid the small town nosiness this town radiated. Maybe he should ask him for some tips, he laughed internally at that. The only way he knew how to avoid the people in this town was to come out to the forest, that didn't exactly solve the problem but he didn't care. He'd rather avoid the problem than get into a mess trying to fix it.
 
Cooper is perplexed when the humans laughs, it isn't annoyingly obnoxious like the other humans. His lips quirk at the side at the sound, not sure what exactly is so amusing to Oliver but still humored by the laugh.

"It's nice to meet you too.. I live a few miles away from here."

He hesitantly explains, unsure if he could completely trust the human.

"I don't really leave my cabin, and I usually stay out of town. They aren't very fond of my family name ."

It wasn't exactly lying, the people did not like his family name. And he couldn't just explain to Oliver that he was centuries older than him and some of the people in the town suspected him. So if Cooper needed to twist the truth a little, then he hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.
 
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Oliver nodded as he explained he live in a cabin a few miles away. That would explain why he never saw him especially if he didn't come into town often. When he said the people in town didn't like his family name he couldn't help frowning. "Not surprising for this small town full of people on their high horses," he really hated the gossip attitude people had here,"Well I don't care too much for rumors, I'm not going to judge you just because of your family name. This town is just one big rumor mill anyways." He already liked Cooper, the other wasn't like most of the people from town. "I hope I didn't mess up your plans to come to the clearing, I like coming here to get away from the town...I live with my grandma, Bennett family," he didn't know if the other knew his family but most everyone in the town did. His name wasn't the same as his grandparents though, which everyone made a point to bring up.
 
Cooper nods in agreement as Oliver speaks of the town's awful gossiping, they seemed to enjoy sticking their noses in everything. He smiles wholeheartedly at the human, who he'd come to the conclusion was not at all as bad as the other humans he'd met or heard of. For once, he doesn't feel stiff, agitated, or uninterested talking to someone -a human at that- about something other than politics or something supernatural.

"It's fine, I don't mind your company.."

He assures, because honestly he really didn't. Coopers interest sky rockets when Oliver speaks of his family, while he had known a relative of the Bennett family was staying. He hadn't expected them to be such a direct descendant. But all together he was glad the older member of the Bennett finally had company other than her doctor.

"I've heard.. News travels fast in this town."

Cooper states after collecting himself from his train of thoughts.
 
Oliver noticed that the other seemed to loosen up the more time went by. Which made him happy, he would've felt bad if the other was clearly stay uncomfortable. He nodded when Cooper confirmed he heard about him coming, it didn't surprise him. "I've been kind of avoiding being at home because I know people are bound to come looking for me to be all nosy," he felt guilty he wasn't with his grandma all day. But she was kind of a solitary person herself, liking to spend time with crafts she could do. As long as he was there most of the time even just in the house she was beyond happy. "I also had the joy of having the town gossip about me as I grew up so I understand wanting to avoid going to town at all cost,"besides going to get food he honestly didn't plan to go into town often. And even to get food he planned to go when it was the least busy, that way he could ward off people bugging him.
 
Cooper pursues his lips in revulsion, his chest churns with annoyance. It seems that it wasn't just him that was constantly being gossiped about by the town, it's like they couldn't help but being nosey. Even worse that it was aimed at a child, it makes his blood boil in anger. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to look after the forest, he would've joined his father and grandmother.

"Are you going to stay for long?"

Cooper inquiries, while he knew that Oliver was staying to take care of his grandmother. He was never told whether the boy was permanently staying or planning on leaving after a while. He didn't see any reason for anyone wanting to stay in the godawful town permanently, maybe for the scenery but other than that. Warlington always came up short when trying to convince someone to stay permanently.
 
Oliver was surprised to see how much he was enjoying talking to someone. Other than his grandma there wasn't really anyone in this town he enjoyed speaking to. Even when he moved to the city he just naturally kept to himself, preferring to avoid people. When Cooper asked if he was staying long he sighed a little in thought. "I don't know, I plan to stay for as long as my grandma is well...alive, but after that I don't know what I'll do. Other than my grandparents there's no one in this town I would want to stay for," he would need to figure out what he was going to do afterwards. Most likely he would probably sell his grandparents home and move somewhere else. It was a bit sad to sell his childhood home but other than his grandparents he didn't have any happy memories here. "Didn't exactly have alot of friends growing up thanks to the town rumors and I don't plan to try and make friends with anyone in town," they without a doubt were probably still jerks.
 
It's dejecting listening to the boy speak, Cooper's sure that if the town wasn't full of such gossipmongers and snooty individuals, Oliver would've had a few friends by now. The him now can't really imagine what it's like not truly trusting anyone outside of close relatives, but he can understand it. Because some part of him can relate, in his younger years before he'd moved in with his grandmother and father, there was no one he could trust. His mother was too wrapped up in her own hatred to ever really care for him, and school was a hellhole full prejudiced vampires. So he was completely and utterly alone.

However the feelings and memories faded into a blur over the years, while some of the bitter reminders still linger, most of it faded into the background. But that's what happens when you spend decades on the earth, certain memories always fade. Even the most important ones.

"Well, while that sounds very lonely. It's understandable."

Cooper confesses, giving Oliver a slightly ambivalent half-smile.
 
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Oliver realized that he blabbed a bit too much about his personal life. He didn't really talk to anyone very much so when it came time to talk to someone he tended to blab a bit too much. "Sorry...I blabbed a bit too much about myself," he apologized sheepishly,"Do you um...what some snacks? I brought some snacks here with me in case I got hungry but I probably won't eat it all." The other was nice to talk to so he actually didn't mind spending more time talking to him. Then again if the other didn't want to talk he wouldn't keep him here it was just nice to talk to someone that wasn't gossiping about him. "The forest is pretty isn't it? Part of me wishes everyone could see how beautiful it is but another part of me knows they would just trample all over it and destroy it," especially the people in this town.