Sharp humor [Mature. Private, Jhonen]

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Lorne would walk with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Annoyingly he had to wear a shirt in public, and his pants clung to his form tightly. Thankfully, he was able to hide the tails for now, and he kept his head low to avoid too much eye contact with others around him. He would continue down his way, a hum coming from him as he casually looked up at the store signs. A few managers beckoned him forward, to come in and have a hair cut. Ew. Barbers.

Lorne turned his head away in a huff, slumping his shoulders a little as his longer white hair flicked behind him. Signs passed overhead, and his sensitive nose picked up the faint scent of food as the smells would waft slowly towards him, bending in the winds. He grumbled to himself as his stomach growled. He’d need to get something to eat later. However, that wasn’t the most pressing thing which was on his mind.

A slightly damaged sign with the picture of an anvil and hammer swung above a particular alley way. With a smirk, Lorne gave a shrug. What’s the worst that would happen if he went down there? He was in dire need of a very specifically made knife, as his already had been broken. It served him a long time, around a hundred years. Countless lives were claimed by the unique steel and silver mix, and Lorne needed a replacement as it had been damaged on too many times.

Unsalvageable.

Destroyed and broken.

Lorne put his hand up against the door, swinging it open and stepped into the place where he hoped skilled craftsman lay.

The movement wasn't missed on Jhonen. The bracing of the leg, the strained tones of his dulcet voice...

Shaking his head, Jho grabbed tupperware and tortillas, dumping the food into it before holding it with one hand and walking to the Kitsune.

"The only help I need..."

Jho ducked below the Yokai's chest, shouldering just beneath the abs that were surprisingly solid. If Lorne had no quarrel, the blacksmith would stride towards the tatami door, using his foot to slide the solid piece of wood out of the way. Inside, Jhonen's room was laid bare before Lorne's eyes. Having never had a guest in the large room, his bench press still having the roughly 400kg circle weights total on it. Moving to set Lorne on the bed, he carefully pulled one of his reading desks over- closing the Grimm to make room for the meal he had kind of prepared.

"Is for you to rest, and eat."

Lorne winced when Jhonen decided it would be a grand idea to shoulder him in the abdomen, groaning at the sudden contact. He crumpled over Jhonen's shoulder, a defeated sigh coming from him. He _COULD_ have walked! But Lorne didn't feel like protesting the matter, his leg ached ever since he fell from the stage. He was rather amazed at how manoeuvrable Jhonen was with only one hand, and awkwardly carrying the food. Lorne sighed, defeated.

He probably looked ridiculous.

Lorne felt the silk bed beneath him as Jho set him down, and, rather instinctively, he would try to move over to him in order to help. But thanks to his stabbing leg, Lorne decided that would probably be a horribly bad idea. His hands instead spread out to touch the soft silk bed, he marvelled at the softness of the material. He himself had come into contact several times with the silk, however, this was something that he seldom experienced. So, naturally, he was rather impressed with it.

He looked up as Jhonen pulled across the desk, moving the weight from it and the... What was that? Lorne watched him move it, his tails flicking curiously. However, when the meal was placed in front of him, Jhonen instructed him to rest. He raised an eyebrow, "Only if you get your ass over here so I can hug ya." He stated rather simply, almost challenging him.

Mentally, Cwn reared its great head. The challenge was almost meant to do such, and Jho had to shake it off.

"Only if you'll eat first."

Reaching down, Jho took the Grimm. So many pages were blank... The black leather bound book was old, and the golden pages were filled with the Signs of the Lore. Cwn's very own page was at the forefront, as the guardian of the Grimm. Coughing Jhonen moved the dusty tome far away from the food.

"It's for the best that we have a bit of room between us for the sake of sobriety... "

As well as innocence...

"Though I'm not sure I could refute a hug from you."

At the mentioning of Lorne eating, he gave Jhonen a bit of an unamused look. He didn't, really didn't, feel like eating. His stomach was off, it had been since...

He shuddered, his mind taking itself away from what it was thinking. There was no need to delve into that. But Jhonen requested that he ate. Biting the inside of his cheek, Lorne slowly raised his hand to take the fork, separating a piece of the egg from the rest to try it out. It was a little charred, but, altogether, it was still rather nice. He chewed and swallowed the piece before his stomach flipped. Lorne put the fork down, raising a partially formed fist to his face as he covered his mouth.

He didn't trust himself to speak, but he couldn't help but notice that Jhonen took the book away. Lorne tilted his head, "What's in the book that could be so dangerous or secretive that ya wouldn't want me to know...?" Lorne would ask hesitantly, barely able to form the sentence before he quickly closed his mouth again.

Lorne's tails flicked in anger and annoyance at the inability to eat. But he was a stubborn Kitsune and he used the fork to separate a small piece of the meat. He shivered a little, putting the food in his mouth before he forced himself to chew it. After swallowing the food, he closed his eyes for a few moments, then glanced up at Jhonen.

"Where's my hug?"

Jhonen grimaced, immediately regretting the book even being remotely near sight.The only thing it'd ever brought him was misery, his parents heritage lost within the now blank pages. Pages that he let the Lore loose from...

The heart of the banshee was still in his kevlar jacket. He'd have to fix that, later...

"I... Hrm."

Fighting off Cwn's urge to tackle and bite the man on the bed, Jhonen rubbed the bridge of his nose. Too many doses, he was starting to get an attraction.

"It's.. Very sensitive as a subject to both me and Cwn alike. He um. Right now he's not really interested in talking at all, but he's the most important part of the book. I guess I could say that...."

Jho's eyes darted to Lorne's face as he ate, and grimaced once more. The food must've been awful for him to pucker like that... Rather than force him to continue through the food torture, Jhonen took the fork away, gently placing it back in the container before moving to rest against the headboard of the bed. As soon as the fox commented about the hug, he pulled Lorne with him- his head resting on the middle of his chest, with the rest of his body between his legs. Wasn't an uncomfortable position, but it gave him a chance to avoid looks from his.. Partner?

A blush came over his cheeks as he shook the thought away, getting back to the task at hand. Resting his chin atop Lorne's head, just between his ears, the other two wrapped around his upper torso- if he didn't squirm at least. The Kitsune was just so warm... Much better than the cold air that hung over the window behind him.

"What about that Medallion? What was all the trouble over that for?"

It wasn't that the food was bad which caused him to act how he did, but more of a fact that stress simply wouldn't allow him to eat. However, when Jhonen declined to solve Lorne's curiosity spike, he would give a small sigh. He was certain it was for something, but Lorne would wait and find out later.

Lorne felt himself gently be pulled backwards, down onto Jhonen's lap. His back rested against Jho, his head gently leaning against his chest. For a few moments, the guilt and stress which coiled in his stomach would relax. Feeling something on top of his head cause the kitsune's ears to flick once or twice, adjusting to having a random head there. Once he figured out how Jhonen held him, Lorne relaxed into his arms, a sigh of contempt escaping him.

That was until he mentioned the medallion.

Lorne's heart skipped a beat, and one of his tails would coil into a ball to show his distress upon hearing that question. His heart quickened and a hand rose to gently stroke it, reassuring himself that it was still there. However, Jhonen had asked him just exactly what was the deal with it and Lorne gave a small sigh.

"The medallion itself is worthless, but the item it protects is incredibly valuable to me. It's the manifestation of my power, a link to my soul. A literal part of me. As such, I don't allow others free access to it, but if they manage to get their hands on it... It's like being on a leash, but ya do everything right in hopes of getting off the leash again. But for me, it's to get my medallion back." Lorne explained, not particularly wanting to go into details.

Just saying that caused Lorne's heart to freeze for a few moments, his face pale.

Almost as if he expected Jhonen to take it away from him. That was something that Lorne wouldn't allow willingly...

That explained the entirety of the events that occurred with Sally. If he truly was on a leash from whatever that medallion guarded, then the Banshee had him almost literally by the balls. Cwn's instincts weren't wrong, then, when he grabbed the medallion and wrapped it back around Lorne... But if this were truly the truth, why didn't Lorne attack him like Sallehn commanded?

"I see.. One more question, then. After you answer that... I'll tell you about the book."

His grasp around the man grew tighter, almost dreading the answer to his question. Did he actually want to know? Or was it more out of this urge to answer the mysteries about this damned Kitsune? What about everything that's happened between the two? One night, and Jho was already head over heels...

"If the Medallion bids you to do whoever own's its will.. Why didn't you kill me? I know you tried, but from just how you acted with me on the bench you're stronger than you look. You could've easily injured me, killed me. So I guess the question is, again... Why didn't you?"

Lorne's form shrunk back a little into Jho's embrace, his tails trapped under him. Goosebumps crawled across the surface of his skin, a cold sensation tickling his skin. His heart sank when he declared he would answer his questions about the book-only if Lorne answered his next question. His heart nervously pounded in his chest, his fingers coiling around the edges of his medallion, his spirit orb laying within it. If he asked for it, Lorne was simply going to hit him.

In the face.

As hard as he could. Maybe. He didn't want to do permanent damage Jho's face.

"If the Medallion bids you to do whoever own's its will.. Why didn't you kill me? I know you tried, but from just how you acted with me on the bench you're stronger than you look. You could've easily injured me, killed me. So I guess the question is, again... Why didn't you?"

This question was the last thing that Lorne expected. His head dipped forward, looking down at the silk sheets slightly crumpled beneath him. He was silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts which lay scattered on the ground like chaff. He exhaled a long and drawn out sigh.

"Firstly, doing that sent my body into shock, which its still somewhat in now, but the orb helps to soothe it." Lorne sighed, his long hair slightly shuffling as he shook his head. No matter how he looked at it, this explanation was going to hurt.

"My soul is part of the orb, and when I am separated from it, the desire is so strong for me to be reunited with it. Its my literal life source, the further I am from it, the weaker I am. I need it to be as strong as I am now. However, when it was taken from me and I was ordered to ki...

You see... When emotions are incredibly strong and when run high enough, they can conflict with the will of being back with the orb. A literal fight of wills as to who would win, which path to take occurred. But neither side would back down." Lorne mumbled, casting his gaze away, ashamed of himself.

"The desire of being with the orb, and the desire to protect and keep ya safe... They overwhelmed each other. The forced and conflicts were strong enough to cause real, painful physical... things to happen to me. Their unyielding conflicts caused my body to start shutting down instantly. Ya were lucky to get the orb back to me when ya did... Any later and I can't say for certain that the outcomes would have been the same as they had been.

But... I-I didn't want to kill ya. I never could Jhonen. Call it moving too fast... Consider me foolish, call me a tricker, a liar... Call me whatever ya want. But take my word for this when I... claim that I can honestly say that..

The reason I didn't kill ya is simple.

I love ya, Jhonen."

Jhonen's heart stopped.

"I love ya, Jhonen."

He started to tremble, unable to control himself. Tremors caused his joints to lock, and it took all he had to breathe calmly. He put the feeling into words. Is that really what this was? Love? The last time... The last time he loved someone, Cwn killed them. He was lied to by her words, and he didn't even realize it until it was too late to save her. Holding her body... Her heart was crushed, the Grimm taking her life's blood to protect the Lore she truly was.

Shaking his head, Jhonen tried to take deeper breaths, calming his hyperventilating body. Too much was going on too fast.

"T-the Grimm."

Words, stuttering. No.

Jhonen hugged Lorne closer to him, barely registering how tightly he held the male. He couldn't let go now. He wouldn't. He refused. Cwn would not call up on the night to gather his soul.

"The Grimm is the Lore. Each soul of the Fae is Lore. Some are good, some are bad."

The words were flooding now, stumbling over themselves.

"When I was a boy, my father was Cwn Anwnn. My mother was pregnant with me when he died. She married Donaidh. They lived together, then I was born. I didn't know he wasn't truly my father, but it was strange for him to raise me as his own without any aide from my mother at night. I'd have tea parties with her during the day, and my older brother Solamh would be in the library for hours at a time. I didn't understand it, but I was... I wasn't supposed to be a Black Dog."

He had to pause, taking a moment to breathe and calm himself.

"Brion and Donaidh were my parents as far as I'm concerned. I still don't know the name of my blood father. But, through his betrothal to Brion... Cwn's Lore was passed through to her. Where I'm from, marriage is as good as making you their own blood. There's a ceremony where you both open your hands, cut them in the palm, then hold them. The scars never leave, as they're salted after. But... Because of this..."

Another breath.

"Because of that, when my mother was murdered by Leanansidhe. One of the most powerful Fae- the one who controls the Lore of Cwn Anwnn. She's the Hunt Caller. One of them, at least. My mother was trying to figure out a way to return Cwn to the Grimm, to rid herself of what she saw as a curse-" Cwn's presence darkened, a growl within Jhonen's mind at the memory. "But didn't fully understand. Leanansidhe slit her throat, and pulled out her heart. Donaidh was now the Black Dog. But.. He went mad when mom died. Did you know that my mother was who I got my ability of metal from? Her marriage to the Black Dog was to breed the perfect hunter. Someone who could deal with the Fae that broke the Seven Laws during both the day and the night. Even though Solahm was my brother, he didn't get this ability. Something different was there, and Leanansidhe was angry. Little did she know, my real father was almost inept. I was his last child, and his body did something different with me. I was stronger than my brother, but... Solahm couldn't let that lie."

The memories again. His brother's neck, broken.

"And... And..."

The glassy, blue eye of the Black Dog staring at him, accusingly.

"He wanted to prove he was better. He spent so much time studying the Lores. Talking with the Fae, trading secrets for bargain and power."

The singular iron spike that was driven through his jaw, through his brain.

"And.. When he found out that I'd be taking Cwn's Lore when I came of age... He freaked. The only way a Lore can be passed is through Bloodline. For you to kill a Fae, you have to drive..."

The other two spikes, soaked in blood... Through Solamh's chest...

"Iron into their hearts..."

Swallowing, Jhonen realized he'd been crying. Tears were streaking freely down his face, and he had to move his head away from Lorne before they could fall onto his head.

"I... I killed my brother, Lorne. I was six. He thought it was going to be an easy hunt. It was the first time my powers over metal showed. And... I was alone. The Grimm didn't take the Lore from him, and it was passed to me. Cwn Anwnn... The Black Dog was now me. I thought that, maybe, I could redeem myself. I hunted down each of the Fae that had been released onto the world at the untimely death of the hunt. Red Riding Hood, the siren that would feed poison to villagers. Sleeping Beauty, a monster that would lure men by looking like a damsel in distress. She was actually a land-siren. The real siren was Ariella, Sidhe of the green sea. She chose her den to be near Denmark, fitting for the name really. But... All of this did nothing. It didn't bring my family back. It didn't save my brother from my own work..."

He could barely get the words out past the sobs. The image of Solahm's limp body still stuck in his mind.

"I couldn't do anything to help them. The Grimm is what Cwn protects because it releases all the bad that's been imprisoned in the Never Never out into this world. That's just a shadow of the true book, one to help me keep track of those locked within the real pages.. But it's also how I can send them back. My mother was going to burn it. Donaidh had ripped three pages from the True Grimm. Solahm made a deal with Leanansidhe for a copy, saying it was to protect the real one."

A bitter grimace came to mind when Leanansidhe's face blossomed in sight, taunting him almost. Echoed words caused his trembles to worsen, almost seizing the male up. You were always my favorite, dea. Your mum was upset when I said you'd be my little Spot. It's the only reason you have the name you know. I've told everyone, everywhere, that you're mine. All because you're the perfect little pet, the most successful experiment I've had...

"She laughed when she saw my brother's lifeless body. She knew what had happened, even had a hand in tainting my brother's mind to me. All to see which one of us was better."

He couldn't hold back the gasps, and released Lorne from his grip. His arms went around his own chest, trying to hold back the howl that was building up from Cwn's mourning and anger.

"I don't deserve it. I was twenty one. My girlfriend was using me, a siren trying to stay free as she trafficked souls to Kappa. Cwn killed her. The second one was Sally, using me to protect her bar as she dealt bad emotions to other Banshee and Fae. I have her heart in my jacket pocket. I... I don't... I can't..."

Lorne felt his breath catch in his throat for a moment after he said what he had. Did he not feel the same way, why was Jhonen silent, why was he hiding behind a wall? Lorne was about to turn to face him, the Kitsune worried that he had said something horribly wrong to Jhonen. However, Jhonen managed to stammer out the start of, what was going to be, a very long and sad story.

Silently, Lorne would listen, his mind memorising every single detail which Jhonen would speak. His heart broke and fell every time he made a stumble in his sentence, every time Jhonen had to regather himself before powering on through. Lorne would gently curl a tail around his leg, placing his hand against his thigh. Desperately, Lorne tried to display any sort of emotion towards him, to show to the sorrowful man that he cared.

Lorne would turn around when Jhonen pulled away from him, stumbling in shock as he simply couldn't finish his story. At the mention of the heart, Lorne would make a note to slowly tear it apart, piece by piece. Ignoring the shooting pain in his leg, the Kitsune would sit beside him, wrapping his arms around the closed off figure. His tails would form a hemisphere around his back, blocking Jhonen off from the rest of the world temporarily.

"Ya are most certainly right, ya don't deserve what's happened. I'm so sorry that ya were alone through all of this, that even the ones who ya loved turned against ya and used ya... It's wrong. It's sick." Lorne growled, but his anger couldn't last long with Jhonen near, and he used a tip of one of his tails cleared away the tears which cascaded from his face. Lorne's heart broke. He had been so strong, hiding everything that he felt away... Lorne tightened his hold on Jhonen, refusing to let the lost soul go.

In ways, Jhonen was similar to himself, but Lorne hid.

No, that was wrong. Lorne didn't hide, he was a flirtatious bastard. However, it was Havilah who hid. The one taken away, isolated, twisted and trained away from everyone else. Those who would torture him by removing his spirit orb from his paws, causing the heightened anxiety from its removal. The one who was meant to be a prodigy, but he ran. He fled and ran. Lorne sighed, it was a name which he hated with every fiber of his being... But Jhonen deserved to know, especially with what he had told him.

"When I was young, I... had shown a rather high potential, my energy levels were higher than normal. They took me from my mother when I was eight years old and trained me in a captivity, isolation. Hey called me their young prodigy, the one who would surpass the elders with raw power.

However... Do you for me to finish... or...?" Lorne asked, sick having to explain everything.

This man went through something as well. It was hard for Jhonen to remember that everyone had a story to tell, a past to share. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath. The tears had dried, mainly out of dehydration. Lorne's chest was rigid, but soft enough to lull the blacksmith into a peaceful state. This didn't necessarily mean that the man's words were lost on Jho.

"I'd never make you explain anything that you didn't want to. I... You were honest with me when it came to the Medallion, and I was only curious because of what had happened, earlier."

Taking a deep breath, Jhonen lifted his head- looking Lorne in the eyes. Something was up, and even if he was painfully curious, the Black Dog refused to make Lorne anything close to uncomfortable.

"Even if I want to know, I want to come to know when you're ready to tell me. Not because you felt the need to divulge the information after I laid my heart bare to your eyes... I... It was hard, but.. It felt right to tell you."

Shrugging, Jho looked away. Avoiding eye contact by looking at the tails Lo had surrounded them with, fascinated by their dexterity.

Lorne sighed, how would it be right for Jhonen to tell him that, but then be too afraid to tell him anything else? How would that be fair? Even though his words somewhat comforted him, Lorne knew that Jhonen needed to know. A just in case sort of thing.

"The thing is, Lorne isn't actually my name. After they took me from my parents, they trained me rigorously. Months in and months out of them trying to get me to learn to use my power that they thought that I had. Keyword. Thought. Those idiots trained me day in and day out, forced me to try and use this power that they thought I had.

Time went and came, days blurred into one another. But, after what seemed like years, I had had enough. During one of the sessions where they would attempt to draw out my power through torturing methods...

Well, they overloaded me. I snapped.

Murderer. At the age of like twelve or something, but hey, at least they kinda now know to like... I'm not sure, not to mess with me. So no, I don't actually know my exact age, all I know is that I'm... probably about 900 years old, give up to 10 years or so.

But... *Sigh*... They found out what I did.

So, if mumbles or even words of the name Havilah, ya have to tell me, as I'm still certain they are out there still, I ran into some people looking for them in a bar once. Sadly, that bar hasn't been quite the same since." Havilah said with a little laugh, shaking his head ruefully.

He didn't find himself drawn into tears from what he said, opting to leave how he got to the city out of the explanation. He gave a shrug, a slightly nervous smile on his face when he looked to Jho, taking in that he refused to give him eye contact. His tails nervously withdrew from him.

"I'm sorry for lying about my name to ya... But ... If ya understood what could come down after me, ya'd understand." Havilah sighed. Why did he tell him. Why? It'd only serve to draw further distrust between them.

The Kitsune dropped his gaze, his form drawing away from Jhonen. He hated himself. He thoroughly hated himself.

Jhonen locked his arms around Havilah. The movement to get away wouldn't be accepted by the blacksmith, especially not on that leg. It was already slightly swollen.. He'd have to get that looked at.

"No. You had a genuine reason."

Shaking his head, the Blacksmith refused to let Ha-... Lorne. Leave.

"You chose the name Lorne to hide with. As far as I'm concerned, whoever you choose to be is whomever you choose to be. I recognize only the man who saved mine- and Cwn's -life from iron poisoning. This entire city is filled with the stuff. It doesn't bother me during the day, but as soon as Cwn's out and about the stuff burns him alive."

Speaking of the devil, Jhonen could feel Cwn's influence change his form again. His grip grew tighter, and a low growl started in his chest.

"And now, you're mine."

Cwn's growl deepened, almost purring in tone. Apparently there was another thought that they got along on.

Lorne would fall silent from Jhonens comment, the mans grip tightening around him. Lorne's lips parted in a sigh, not wanting to be there, but his heart ached as he also desired the same thing. He wanted to be there, but at the same time, he wanted to pack up and leave.

He gave a small smile, "I suppose Cwn didn't tell ya that he freaked me out completely."

"And now, you're mine."

Lorne shivered at the purr, a small whimper coming from him as he didn't want any form of contact, he hated himself, he hated what he had done. A self-loathing towards himself, something that he always felt when he thought of the name that was hidden by the one which he claimed. He sighed, looking to Jhonen, sadness sparking in his eyes.

"Are ya sure that I'm what ya want...?"

Cwn was stumped, leaving Jhonen once again. The Blacksmith's heart stopped in his throat.

"You'd think I'd be able to?..."

He could feel his world shrinking again. His shoppe, his sanctuary, was no longer any good. The one thing that he thought was safe and well was beyond his reach. Lorne had opened his world again. He hadn't sang like that in years.

"Lorne, no... Cwn didn't give any indication.. Is... Is he scaring you away? Or.."

The thought thundered through his mind.

"Lorne please no.. It isn't me is it?"

Panic.

"I.. I haven't felt like this before... I've been alive for so long and.."

Jho's face went pale.

"What's wrong?..."

His heart ached, his soul tormented. He'd caused this again, the same panic that went through Jhonen. Tch, he always knew he'd make a horrible partner. Lorne's hand moved, straight away at the glints of panic in their eyes, his hands cupping Jhonen's face. "Jhonen, I love ya, including Cwn. Neither of ya have done anything to harm me. Without a question, ya returned my medallion to me. It's not you I hate."

Lorne released a pent-up breath that he didn't realise he was holding.

"I love you." Lorne said, his head moving slightly to kiss Jhonen's cheek. His tails shifted, holding Jhonen in a gentle embrace. Damn, he was a horrible ass.

"I... I'm sorry for scaring ya, Jhonen, I..." His voice trailed off a little, a growl building in his throat.

"It's all this that I hate." Lorne explained, giving a gesture to himself.

"I love ya, dammit Jhonen, don't think I don't. Don't think ya aren't worth it, don't think that Cwn still scares me, don't... don't THINK that!

I love you."

Jhonen didn't realize how much he needed to hear that. Eyes closing, he just listened to the affirmations, accepting the affection that... Felt... Good?

"Lorne... Please don't hate yourself... Ah.. My mum always said that the first step to loving someone else, is loving something about yourself. Maybe you just haven't found a name for it? I just.."

Jhone looked at one of his athlete braces, pulling the bandage to him from the steel clip that could lock it. The medicine it was wrapped around came as well, which made the Black Dog slightly thankful for his habits.

"I'm sorry. You said you loved me. I've never had that said to me before, not even by my parents. I just... I was scared that I did something, Cwn scared you again, something about me made it to where you didn't want to..."

Shaking his head, Jhonen carefully moved to the injured leg. Gently, he trailed his fingers up and down the line of his shin, checking for any indication of a break. Hopefully, it wouldn't hurt...

"But... You're like a light for me. You've made me come out of my shell, normally I only talk to customers to tell them that they need to change their oil more often, or that their tires were balding. I'm sorry if it sounds off, but.. You're beautiful. I'm pretty sure I would've gone on another hundred years locking Cwn" The Black Dog hummed in the back of his mind "up at night to stop him from feeding too much, or doing something out of line. Just.. You're so... Good to me."

Lorne quietly would sigh, "The trick is finding something about yourself that ya love, I doubt that I shall be able to do something like that."

However, he would kiss him again his lips gliding across his cheek as gentle as a feather, a small and delicate purr like sound coming from his chest. "All I know is that, during my entire life, the only thing I've truly been affectionate for is yourself, and I am unsure as to why ya can so easily throw me head over heels every time..." Lorne purred.

Lorne fell silent when Jhonen pulled away, moving to collect something. While he spoke, Lorne smiled a little, giving him a sad grin. "Well, now ya are loved, and don't you forget it." He stated firmly, before Jhonen's fingers gently trailed down Lorne's leg. The Kitsune yelped, his voice as a fox taking over for a few moments in the display of pain when his fingers brushed the swollen skin a third of the way down his shin.  

"Ya gave... me something to live for, so... It's only natural..." Lorne's speech was slurred and he was unable to finish the sentence, his eyes blinded by pain. And to think he was doing so well ignoring it in the first place. If he touched it again, the fox would hiss and pull his leg away from him.

He'd felt pain before, but the Kitsune hadn't been bitten by the pain of a fracture in his bone, and at any contact, Lorne would whine, not wanting it to be touched.

"I love you too, Lorne."

His leg was swollen, a partially bloomed bruise showing exactly where the pain was. He was hoping it wouldn't be anymore than skin deep, but the Kitsune's reaction to a simple touch gave him a very worrisome indication.

"I want you to live. Even if it's only for something so selfish as to have you for myself... Lorne I'm pretty sure you broke your leg."

Remembering the week he was out until Cwn could heal the damage, thoughts of the Novocaine cream he had to use on his fractured wrist came to mind. Unwrapping the ace bandage, he pulled it from the four topicals thankful that he had kept it.

"I'm going to need you to be still, love. This is Novocaine, a numbing agent that will hopefully let me put you in a splint so that the fracture doesn't completely break."

Know how sensitive Lorne could be to this, he passed the medication on to the male. Hopefully, he'd let Jhonen take care of him. That leg wasn't going to do him any good anytime soon. His instincts probably kicked into overdrive as soon as Jho had touched the mark, which would explain the slight hiss that came from him to interrupt that heart-grabbing purr.

"You'll always have me, there's no reason for you to doubt that at all." Lorne said quietly, his face masked with pain as his leg throbbed, keeping his mind and attention elsewhere. He gave a small whimper as Jhonen's eyes seemed to spark with worry.

Had something horrible bad happened from when he fell from the stage? His answer would come in Jhonens next sentence, and Lorne could feel the blood drain from his face. Never had he fractured or broken a bone before, not ever in his life. Lorne struggled to keep his face from falling while Jhonen explained what he was going to need to do, and his tails twitched nervously as Jho explained what he would need Lorne to do. With a small sigh, Lorne would slowly nod.

"I.. I can try, but I cannot promise I'll remain entirely.. Still. Ive been lucky enough to... Well... Not to have broken a bone in the past..." Lorne tried explaining, only to notice his voice was heavy, the slurring between his words worsening as time progressed.

He would snarl at himself, before looking to Jhonen, a pleading expression in his eyes. Hopefully he could tell that Lorne simply wanted it over with...

Jhonen put his hand to Lorne's cheek, a motion that hopefully showed the reassurance he wished to offer. After that, he carefully lifted Lorne's leg, propping it on top of a pillow. Dolloping a large spread of the Novocaine gel, Jho spread it- careful to put no pressure on the leg. He wanted the cream to be on top as long as it could before he put the bandage on.

"I don't have my splints here, the only sizing I've got is for my wrist. I've taken some medical training, but that was long before medicine got as advanced as it is now. The best I can say is that you absolutely must avoid putting weight on it. If you do.. It could fully break. Pieces can get stuck in your arteries, and wind up traveling to your heart or cutting them open then and there."

Offering the Ace bandage for Lorne's view, Jhonen gave a pleading look.

"I need you to be as still as possible, alright? I won't start the wrapping until the drugs affect you, and when I do I can't promise it'll feel alright. You're going to feel a bit lethargic, which is a good thing. The more rest you get the more your body can heal."

The cool texture of the gel slowly began to make Lorne's leg tingle, a soothing feeling to the pain which he has been experiencing previously. But still, Jhonens kind words weren't able to soothe his fears, nor stop his hands from shaking.

But Lorne's mind was breaking, afraid of what it would mean if he dared to move, but he also had the fear of what would happen if Jhonen did decide to wrap the leg in the bandage he presented Lorne with. The Kitsune looked away, his heart almost thundering in his chest from fear. He didn't want to move, but he didn't want his leg touched, bound or not.

Even with his leg painfully propped, Lorne could feel his eyes move away from Jhonen. He couldn't take being in this unnatural form anymore. He felt his bones condense, and himself give up the masculine appearance, his form retaking that of a tiny fox. Ignoring Jhonens words of wisdom, Lorne half ran over to him, his nose picking up the edge of his shirt. The tiny fox would curl up next to Jho's chest, small whimpers coming from it. His legs uncontrollably shaking.

He was terrified.

The one thing that Jhonen was worried about, Lorne just HAPPENED to do. Though, it surprised him when the Kitsune turned into a small fox, which was completely absent from the huge beast that he saw in Sallehn's bar. Startled. he wasn't sure how to respond to the tiny being that was now trembling against his chest. However, he couldn't just let him be afraid.

Careful to avoid Lorne's hurt leg, Jho wrapped his arms around the being, pulling him into a gentle embrace.

"It's okay, love..."

Starting to rock, he remembered what Brion had once sang to him when he was sick. He had to reach for the notes, his memory stagnant and dull after the centuries of years dusting over the lyrics.

Staring low, he put his cheek near the tiny fox's ear, almost a whisper.

"Blow the wind, blow;
Swift and low;
Blow the wind o'er the ocean.
Breakers rolling to the coastline;
Bringing ships to harbor;
Gulls against the morning sunlight;
Flying off to freedom...."

He continued to sing the lullaby, attempting to lull the Yokai into a sense of security.

Lorne would whine, pressing his silky soft fur against Jhonen's chest, tears which he hated staining Jhonen's chest. Why was he so pathetic, why did he feel pain so easily? Lorne whined, the small fox nuzzling against his partner. His leg ached, laying limp down his chest. Thankfully, the gels numbing agents helped to reduce the pain which he felt radiating from it, but it wasn't enough to block it out completely. The smaller creature heard Jhonen speak, and his whines would cease for a few moments, listening to the gentle voice.

It surprised the little Kitsune as he felt Jhonen's strong hands gingerly wrap around him, evading the leg, but cradling the rest of his form. The small foxes tails would curl around the side of his chest, his nose gently nuzzling Jhonen in response to his careful touch.

He felt Jhonen slightly rock him, and lean over him, gentle words escaping his lips. The melody softened his agitation, his stress, the quiet tone soothing him. Lorne would force himself to listen to the calm words, allowing them to relax him, keep him calm.

Slowly, eventually, after what would seem like hours, Lorne's heart would slowly stop racing, his leg completely numb. He would have settled into a more comfortable position on Jhonen's arms. Unconsciously, Lorne would give a gentle purr-like noise, his eyes closed as he rested his cheek against Jho's chest. Like a happy cat, Lorne would gently close his eyes, steady his breathing as he listened, his mind focusing on Jhonens voice.

Lorne, no matter how stressed he was, would always crumble to pieces at the words and gorgeous voice which he heard.

He didn't want to leave Jhonen's side-No. Lorne NEVER would.

Jhonen would quietly lift his shirt, wrapping the tiny fox's leg up tight enough to restrict pressure put on the hind leg. He had a moment where panic surged, thoughts of what would happen to Lorne if he put too much weight on the limb crossing his mind. Rather than let it take hold he continued to sing. He gathered the pillows, making a nest out of them to settle Lorne into before covering him with his red hoodie.

Cradled around the fox, Jho could almost forget everything. Just seeing how peaceful he was instilled an aura of peace in the Fae's mind. His heart finally felt full, Cwn was just a being in the background rather than some hulking shadow in the back of his mind, waiting to pounce on a moment's notice. No, he felt complete. He finally got what he wanted, and understood Cwn now more so than ever before. The Black Dog was a pack creature, and isolation was what was driving him mad. But now.. The chance of settling down was tantalizing, taunting the two. Maybe they finally had a chance with Lorne? Maybe they could make him feel loved, and understand that he wasn't some awful person who deserved misery. Yes, that would be what they did. Jhonen could feel himself begin to fall asleep, curled around the Yokai's prone form.

Just as he felt at peace, an icy grip settled over his heart. Jhonen's eyes flashed open, his breathing stuttered. A low, feminine laughter echoed through his mind. He knew the blood-curdling sound from anywhere. Leanansidhe I thought you had forgotten me, my sweet. His body flinched, bile rising in his throat. He abandoned his spot on the bed, scrambling to reach the bathroom door before flinging it open and landing before the toilet. That's not very polite, mind you... Havilah might think its his fault again.

Jhonen's heart faultered.

Oh you sweet dear, you thought you were safe in that little iron kennel of yours? I know everything you've gone through these past two days. Awful quick for a pup like you to find love, but maybe that's all it is. Puppy love. Cwn's snarl broke through him, body reacting against the movement he saw in the mirror. The Lore had taken over, his mouth distended in that half-muzzle again, and his clawed fist was against a now shattered mirror.

Her mocking eyes danced in the shattered fragments, emerald green framed by crimson red hair.

Leanansidhe:

(Thanks for showing me how to do that, Lex.)

Oh, my darling hound. It hurts to see you feel this way.

"Fuck you you witch. I want you out of my life!"

Careful now. Your sweet little pet might think you're tired of him. After all, you do know that talking to yourself isn't exactly the most sane sign of a person.

The howl was building in his chest, and he couldn't get it out fast enough.

Ah-ah.

Just like that, Cwn's mouth clamped down. The howl was frozen in the Lore's chest, causing the two to panic and fling themselves away from the mirror.

Sallehn was just the beginning. You belong to no other but me, MacAnndra. Cwn, my sweet hound, return to me... Or I'll make you kill the mutt resting on your sheets.

Misery. That's what the Lore felt as he took one last glance at the door hanging on its hinges. Jhonen retreated into himself, unable to comprehend the decision. Leave, keep Lorne safe? Or stay and doom them both?

It wasn't that hard of a decision, in the end. Cwn made it for him, crashing through the window and ignoring the iron bars it held. Neither him nor Jho cared much, now. See? It wasn't that hard, now was it.. Tears ran down the half-Black Dog's face as he ran, shoving pedestrians aside as he loped towards the Mountains. He couldn't see Lorne die because of his past. He'd do anything to stop that, anything.

Even lose his soul.


End.