[Finished] Pillars of Strength

[Seb Reed]

It was not normal that she should be so quiet. What had he expected? Maybe he’d expected laughter. What kind of idiotic rule was that, anyway? As if anyone could dictate or defy the laws of nature. There was an attraction between Bryce and Sebastian, and even had they both known about the rule and tried their hardest to adhere to it... could it have stopped them in the end? It might have hindered them. Or maybe it would have fuelled their lust all the more. Sometimes, the only thing a person wants is the thing they can’t have.

She was silent until she’d settled into the chair opposite him, having settles the food and all the accompanying implements in front of him. He’d stared at her, watched her steadily as she moved, giving him a wide berth every time she passed him.

Finally, she reacted.

It was the last kind of reaction Sebastian had expected. It struck him dumb for a moment or two—he didn’t understand. She’d not asked whether it was over. The statement was definitely that—a statement. Was she telling him it was over?

And then it dawned on him. Maybe that was the conclusion she had come to. Did she think that Rakav had the power to tell them who they could and could not date? He was not their father. Not in the literal sense, anyhow. Sebastian was willing to accept some rules, and he would do what he was told. To an extent. But Rakav’s power did not extend to their personal lives, and Sebastian was willing to risk it.

“No! No, Bryce. I was just letting you know.” He said, hand dropping to the bench and stretching toward her. He could not reach her if she did not reach for him too.

“I’ve told you everything else that might affect you as it does the rest of the pack. And this... it affects the both of us. We might get some trouble from Rakav. It’s a... a hurdle. I’m not willing to give you up just yet.” He told her, mouth twisting into half a smile.

He wanted to tell her that with everything happening right now, it was best they try to keep their relationship secret. With Rakav being so unpredictable, Sebastian didn’t know how the man might react, or what he might do. But he didn’t have the heart to say anything like that just yet, not with how dejected Bryce appeared.

[Bryce Lamkin]

Your timing sucks, Reed. Couldn’t you have mentioned it earlier? she muttered bitterly, unable to find it within herself to smile. Glancing down at his hand, she sighed, reaching for it with her left digits as she straightened back up. The explanation did not dampen her fears and it surely did not soothe the turmoil in her gut. Glancing down at her right palm, she tilted it slightly to see the scar caused by the silver ring Rakav had handed her the day she met him. He’d made a bad first impression, big time. Just as he might have begun to redeem himself in her eyes, Bryce heard of his threat towards her sire. She was not willing to put Sebastian further at risk by having them break rules, especially if he was already in danger. Sighing, she gave his hand a light squeeze before pulling away.

Listen, whatever, let’s not talk about it now. figure it out, but not now she sighed, reaching unenthusiastically for the spoon before pushing herself out of the seat. She made her way back to the counter and hunter down the chopsticks, which she found in the back of the last drawer she would have expected them to be in. Bryce made her way back to the table and set two besides his bowl before seating herself down across from him, Eat before it gets cold.

It took her a minute or two to gather the courage to dig in, but once her body savoured the broth, her hunger resurfaced. And so in silence, she ate, trying hard to both ignore the jumbled thoughts and rearrange them so that she could make better sense of it all. It always seemed that when one thing went wrong, everything else did too. Bryce wondered whether it was just February that sucked as a month, for it had been exactly one year since she had been in a Catch 22 situation with Sebastian last time; so much for Cupid’s month.

[Seb Reed]

He definitely could have mentioned it earlier. He had no excuse for letting it slide, except for his own selfish purposes. And he knew that. He’d come to terms with that weeks ago. He could have apologised, but he didn’t believe it was something he ought to apologise for. If he’d mentioned it weeks ago, they wouldn’t have had their happiness. They would have always felt like there was some shadow looming over them. Sebastian had felt it regardless, but it wasn’t something he wished to hinder Bryce with.

And now there were so many shadows—what was one more added to the bunch?

But she had not recoiled from him completely. The light squeeze she applied upon his outstretched hand at least assured Sebastian of that much. But he was still in trouble. The air was still tense with things were unsaid, issues that were unresolved. Bryce didn’t want to talk about it now, and Sebastian was happy to oblige. He’d brought it up out of necessity, but he could let it slide just as easily. He was too weary to want to talk about anything too serious.

And the food was just sitting there, taunting him, causing his stomach to lurch in its need for sustenance.

Sebastian ignored the chopsticks and reached instead for the fork. The little wooden things were far too unwieldy in Sebastian’s large hands, and he’d never quite got the hang of them. And although the food wasn’t exactly the hearty meal he craved, it was enough to keep his mind and body distracted so that the silence stretched between them for the length of the meal.

Bryce finished before Sebastian; she got up and walked out of the kitchen. Sebastian watched her retreating back and, though he didn’t like feeling along or hated-on by every single member of the pack, he resolved to give Bryce some time to think.

He rinsed the dishes and made a half-hearted attempt to tidy the kitchen; he forced his mind into a blank state, focussing only on what he was doing, and not on the future. Once he’d finished, he didn’t know where to go next. Sleep sounded like the best idea... sleep, or something near to it. But his resolve wasn’t very strong. Bryce had had half an hour to her own thoughts. That was enough, wasn’t it?

Sebastian roamed the house in search of the woman; he could have detected her presence in several different ways, but roaming seemed easiest. He finally found her in her own room, a place she rarely visited. Why they didn’t spend more time in the cosy space was a mystery. It was lid only by Christmas lights, so the lighting was dim and comforting. Sebastian flopped onto her bed, rearranging himself so that he could watch what she was doing. His head lent against the headboard, though his arms were folded behind it. He crossed his ankles, one over the other.

“I think your bed is more comfortable than mine.” Sebastian mumbled, wriggling his torso as it settled into the bedding. It seemed Sally thought so, too. He’d wondered where the husky was; she’d camped out in Bryce’s room. Maybe she’d detected the tension in the air and had chosen to avoid it completely. The dog rolled over onto her stomach beside Sebastian, and he idly rubbed at her stomach.

[Bryce Lamkin]

Bryce made her way through the bowl quickly, satiating a basic need that had not been fulfilled all day. Once done, she pushed herself out of her seat and made her way to the adjacent laundry room, where she dumped all the sheets from the washer into the dryer (presumably left there by the maid) and dumped the pile of clothes she had brought down the previous day to wash into the washing machine. Once the detergent was in and the water running, she returned to the kitchen and picked up her bowl, exiting the room after setting it into the sink. If she was going to find distractions, she would do so in her room... it had been a long time since she had been there for significant bouts of time, and there were surely things she would rediscover.

And she did. Sally was in her dainty pet divan, a comfortably deep sheepskin bed Bryce had bought the animal two weeks ago. Its edges were already frayed, and there were equally tattered toys laying around. Once she had gathered the dog’s things and set them aside in the proverbial ‘dark’ corner, she stripped her bed and changed the sheets; she did not like the smell of time passing that was trapped between threads. There were many things to do, mini-tasks that she assigned herself in order not to think about everything that was going on beyond her bedroom door. However, as she was finally getting around to put up the posters she’d bought on the shopping trip with Sebastian many weeks ago, her thoughts ran wild. It was demoralizing really, to realize that the only thing that was keeping her happy was something she couldn’t have. Screw Rakav! Why should he have any say in who she chose to date or mate or whatever it was he didn't allow!? There was no way she would be simply throwing in the towel, but then there was no way she could selfishly put Sebastian at further risk. The best she could do was acknowledge the rule, so that if they remained together and were called out on it, then at least she would have half of the blame.

But Rakav scared her, and that alone was sufficient to have her second doubt the logically attained conclusions she was arriving at. But was he really the bad guy? Surely he had issues, but he had been near redemption when she had last met him. Bryce began to think about that day, and suddenly remembered what had caused the abrupt end to their awkward meeting. Thera! It was when the young lycanthrope had mentioned her, that Rakav had left her sitting in the kitchen with the chicken leftovers (she hated leftovers). This had been months ago however, so what exactly had happened with Thera since then? Who was this Korac person? Why was there tension about the subject then? How long had Thera been dead?

The werewolf had been lost deep in her thoughts when Sebastian walked into her room seconds after she had. He opened the door just as she set the pile of dry clothes atop the chest of drawers, and she jumped back defensively. She kept herself from tipping over as he walked past her to the bed, and watched as Sally mustered the energy to leave her own niche and follow him onto the mattress. Bryce was too startled to chastise either of them, but she did give the husky a warning look which was evidently ignored. And so, she turned her back to them both and began folding the laundry.

That’s because we haven’t worn down the springs on it... yet- she said as she walked around to get an unopened bundle of hanger from the desk opposite the bed. Glancing over at him and the dog, she shook her head as she returned to the tedious task of folding and hanging her laundry and setting it on the shelves. When the clothes were finally tidied into piles, she pulled open the first drawer of the dresser and began to set things in it. Pressing her hips against it to close it, her hands segregated the remaining items on the dresser top, and she took a few items into the closet, momentarily disappearing behind the large wooden door. When she stepped out again, she set her weight on the closed door and slouched forward whilst heaving a loud sigh.

I’m going to have a shower... she concluded out loud after a moment of contemplative silence. Whilst she watched Sebastian and the dog idly, she reached for her hair and she began to unravel the thin band that had since disappeared between her messy strands. It was only then that she realized the amount of dirt he was dragging into her room, upon her pristinely white comforter.

Sebastian! Your feet! Bryce whined, pushing herself off the closet door before making her way to the end of the bed. Her mattress was shorter than his, but not enough for his feet to dangle given his current position. Groaning, she crawled onto the bed and sat back on her heels, picking up one foot off the bed to examine the bed beneath it. Furrowing her brow, she glanced up at him, You got lucky this time...

His feet were not bad enough that they left a mark. Setting the foot down on her lap, reached below his calf and slipped her hand under the fabric he wore to massage the muscle, You should go take a shower too you know?

As much as she wished him to take that as an invitation to join her, her faith in their relationship had somewhat dissipated over the past hour.

[Seb Reed]

A grin broke across Sebastian’s face as he chuckled low and deviously at Bryce’s comment. They hadn’t worn down the springs on this bed...he didn’t believe that was the cause for its comfort, but it amused him nonetheless. But what did he know? Sebastian’s beds had always been old and worn. While in the army he’d never afforded anything new or swish, and when at home with his parents he’d always had hand-me-downs. Maybe it was the newness of this bed that made it comfortable. In which case, shouldn’t they leave it alone for a bit? Leave it it’s comfort for a little while longer?

...Nah.

Sebastian enjoyed watching her fold and put things away. It was a normal, tedious task that normally occurred on Saturdays or Sundays. It was relaxing to watch, as weekends were supposed to be relaxing. The room was permeated with the smell of crisp, fresh laundry, and it only added to its cosy atmosphere. Yes, despite the events of the last forty-two hours, Sebastian was at his leisure.

He was quite willing to settle back into the pillows and drift into sleep. In fact, he’d started to do so when she announced she was going to go shower; he nodded absently as she told him, a murmur escaping his lips that sounded like a garbled ‘okay’.

When she whined at him, however, his eyes flew open, only to slide down to his feet. His brow rose as he realised just how filthy they were, his knee crooking as he angled his foot so that he could see the sole. Bryce confirmed his own thoughts... they weren’t really that dirty. It was the kind of grime that was resistant and didn’t like to come off. Her bedding was safe, for the moment.

He nodded, again absently, as she suggested he go shower. He knew that he should, that he shouldn’t sleep like he was now. No doubt he was sweaty up top, too. And then he caught her eye and the former deviousness returned. He pushed himself up off the pillows and swung his legs from the bed.

“I’ll shower, but you deserve a bath.” He said, before crossing the room to the bathroom. He balanced himself on the edge of the bathtub as he played with the taps, trying to get the water to the perfect temperature. Once he’d succeeded, he put the plug in place and started to raid Bryce’s bathroom cupboard to look for the bubbles.

He knew that sooner or later he’d end up in the bath too, but he’d known Bryce long enough to know she wouldn’t appreciate his grimy dirtying the bath water—especially after witnessing her outcry to his dirty feet...

[Bryce Lamkin]

I’ll shower, but you deserve a bath.

Huh?

By the time she understood the meaning attached to his words, having been initially startled by his feet nearly catching her face as he swung them over the bed’s edge, Sebastian had disappeared into the bathroom. Reaching back to scratch her neck, she watched idly as she heard the noises permeate through the otherwise static atmosphere. Shifting her gaze to an equally curious Sally, Bryce sighed and reached for the dog’s head, ruffling its fur playfully before pulling herself off the bed.

Well, if he was adamant about her bathing, then she might as well show him how she bathed. Making her way to the laptop she had turned on but not gotten around to manipulating yet. Scrolling through her iTunes, she clicked on her ‘Relax’ playlist and pushed play. The all too familiar sound of Iron & Wine permeated the air as the rain began to pitter-patter against the window. Reaching for the lighter in the fist drawer, Bryce made her way into the bathroom, only to find her sire rummage around for bubbles.

They're over here... she announced, pushing the door so that it remained ajar, but no longer hid the small set of shelves lined up with girly stuff. Bryce may have been the dirtiest kid at the park, the bloodiest one on the skating ramp, but she always took her baths like a princess. Reaching for Pomegranate and Shea Butter, she set the lighter aside and walked over to the tub in order to pour some of the scented aroma into the bathwater. Capping the bottle, she reached down to test the water, shrugging when she found it suited for her taste, and returned the bubbles to their shelf.

She turned to lean against the radiator, the brunette untied her hair and began brushing out the curls, watching him in silence as the bathtub filled itself gradually.

[Seb Reed]

There were so many things in the cupboard that Sebastian didn’t recognise, and had no idea what it should be used for. Tubes of cream and lotion, oils and scrubs. Although something could have doubles as bubbles, Sebastian couldn’t tell just by looking at it. He had to check every label, and do so without messing up the cupboard or displacing things.

Music started to sound from outside; it was tolerable to Sebastian, but not really his kind of thing. It was the kind of music that would send him to sleep, and he supposed that was the point.

And then Bryce was in the bathroom with him; she went to a niche behind the door, where the bubbles were. He probably never would have looked there. She then took control of setting up the bath (she was the one who’d be having it, at least to begin with, so it was fair enough). With the addition of the oils to the bathwater, the bathroom started to smell pleasant; the scent was soothing. Again, he supposed that was the point.

For the moment, there really was no need for conversation. So much had been said already that evening, and Sebastian’s mind was numb with the amount of information it had received. There was too much of it to sort through in his current condition, especially when the atmosphere had been manipulated to be so relaxing.

So he turned away from Bryce (happy only to have her there, and not outwardly angry at him) and peeled his shirt from his torso, unbuckling his pants as he rounded the wall and into the shower recess. Standing out of the way of the spray of water, Sebastian flicked the tap on, making sure the water was scalding. The steam immediately rose to envelope him; his skin prickled with sweat, but it felt heavenly.

He shucked the rest of the garments from his body, tossing them to the side before stepping beneath the steady pressure of the water; hr groaned with the pleasure of it. He took a few moments just to enjoy the sensation, before he found the necessary soap to clean himself with.

[Bryce Lamkin]

Bryce had spent much of her day in bed, sleeping off the injury that was now (she checked) gone. Still, her body was restless and her mind required some downtime to sort through the information that had been handed to her so suddenly. She shamelessly watched as he undressed and disappeared behind the shower’s wall, distracted by the steam rising over the top. Sighing, she set the comb down and reached for the matches, lighting up the three massive candles that resided along the mirror on the sink countertop. The goal was to relax, to let the distant sound of acoustic guitar and the raindrops beating upon the windows, to soothe their minds. It had been quite a day.

As Bryce pulled Sebastian’s shirt off her body and over her head, she neared the tub in order to turn the cold water off. The boxers were folded and set with the shirt one of the sinks. Staring at herself in the mirror for a few seconds, she straightened her slouching posture and turned to view her profile as she sucked in her stomach—she was getting lazy. Smoothing her hands over her torso and down her hips, the brunette turned her back to her reflection and climbed into the tub. Immediately she reached for the hot water tap, spinning it forcefully to shut the water off. Whereas the water’s temperature had been pleasant for her hand, her legs were far more sensitive. Sebastian had surely liked things hot.

Clearing her throat, she slowly eased herself in past the layers of foam, and disappeared completely under the water. When she resurfaced, she combed back her foamy hair and leaned back against one end of the tub, facing the shower. Sinking slightly into the water, she crossed her legs beneath the surface and closed her eyes. Her muscles ached, and so did her mind, but she forced herself to focus on her senses: smell, tact, sound... Tilting her head to the side, she brought her knees to her chest and extended an arm along the surface of the water, distracting herself with the foam as she hummed along to the song.

[Seb Reed]

When the grime was washed satisfactorily from his skin, Sebastian turned the shower off and stepped around the wall. He was expecting to be able to admire Bryce in the tub, but she’d applied enough bubbles so that she could submerge herself almost completely beneath them. He only suffered a very small disappointment, however; she had to get out of the tub sooner or later.

He did not hesitate to step over the edge of the tub and carefully submerge his lower half beneath the bubbles too. The temperature of the water was only lukewarm in comparison to the scalding stuff he’d had shooting from the shower head. But it was tolerable, and relaxing. His legs were far too long to fit comfortably if he were to cross them. The tub was big enough, however, and Bryce thin enough, for him to slide one foot either side of her body.

Since they’d left the kitchen, neither of them had mentioned anything about any of the events that decorated the last two days of their lives. Bryce hadn’t told Sebastian what she thought about this rule of Rakav’s; she’d only expressed her frustration. Whether it was frustration aimed at Sebastian or at Rakav, he wasn’t completely sure. He didn’t want to make her frustrated again yet, either. So he didn’t ask her anything.

“What are you thinking?” He asked instead. At least, then, he could get some idea on what her opinion was. And then he could rest easy, when he finally did rest. In fact, he was feeling rather restful already; when he spoke, the words were almost slurred, the tone hardly serious or demanding. He slid down as much as he could, his arms on either side of the tub to steady himself, his head seeking some kind of headrest, though it found none.

[Bryce Lamkin]

Bryce glanced up at him as he stepped out of the shower, repressing the slight tilt of her lips as she admired his figure. He truly was an agglomeration of all the right qualities a partner should have, and when she regarded him as a man (and not her creator) she was pleased to call him hers. Her hands dipped below the surface as his feet reached along the back of her hips, fingers cradling upper calf muscles in a similar fashion that she had begun on the bed minutes prior. She watched him in silence, even after he inquired about her thoughts.

Finally she grunted indifferently, turning her eyes away from his general appearance and focusing in on his eyes. With a small smile, she watched for a reaction as her lithe legs made their way up his. She set her heels on the outer curve of his thighs and directed his left foot to her stomach, where she would massage his toes and the rugged sole. It was all to buy time as she tried to focus in on one thought alone.

Everything... she sighed dejectedly, unable to pinpoint any specifics as the setting was beginning to take its toll on her will to understand everything that cluttered her mind. Using both her hands on his foot, she contented herself with slipping further into the water so that her toes could poke at the ticklish curve of his abdomen before retreating stealthily.

How are you feeling...?

Bryce hadn’t met Thera, so the loss was not too great for her, but she doubted Sebastian was equally unaffected by it.

[Seb Reed]

Bryce accepted the position of his feet beside her and shifted to accommodate him. It allowed him to sink deeper into the water so that his head finally found rest upon the back of the tub. He liked this tub. It was big enough to accommodate the two of them. It was far superior to his lone shower, and far better than any bathtub he’d used in the past.

He relaxed into Bryce’s touch, chuckling as her feathery caresses tickled him. Part of him wanted to lunge across the expanse of water to tickle her back, with a vengeance, but his body protested to any kind of movement now that it had fully settled.

He grunted a kind of frustrated laugh at her reply: everything. Nothing specific, obviously. There would be no clarification forthcoming, and it satisfied Sebastian only a little. She must not have wanted answers to anything immediately. No worry must be pressing against her mind, demanding to be soothed. If there were, she would have voiced them. Right? Maybe after they’d slept.

How did he feel? Well, there were several ways in which he could respond to that question. Thera had been gone so long before her death was confirmed that it didn’t make as much as an impact as it could have. There was a severe disappointment, and perhaps a tremendous shock that had not yet worn off. He didn’t feel as if he could grieve until he knew all the answers. He felt the need for vengeance, for some kind of action in regards to her death. But he couldn’t run off on a mission to find out and abandon Bryce, or Sayen, for that matter. Rakav was here, with a new childe of his own. Sebastian didn’t think his sire would be going anywhere any time soon. There would be time for some kind of subtle interrogation.

But until then, there were other things Sebastian had to worry about. Bryce, first and foremost. She’d attacked a bear, for chrissakes. She’d said something the night before about not being able to control it. Sebastian didn’t like the sound of that. He’d shifted his head to the side so that he could regard Bryce with an ounce of the worry that he felt for her.

But the worry transferred to Sayen; this new creation who was far too calm about the whole situation. Sebastian was wary. And Rakav, always Rakav... his thoughts travelled in weary circles; so he sighed and shrugged noncommittally.

“Numb.” Was the final answer to her question. It was just as vague as her answer had been to his question. It seemed neither of them had the energy or the focus to actually talk about anything in detail. Not that night, anyway.

[Bryce Lamkin]

Bryce titled her head and watched him in silence, eyelids heavy as she strained her mind to remain focused on him alone. Everything was so evasive, from thoughts to words to the willpower to simply move. The brunette sighed when he replied, realizing there was not much point in pursuing any semblance of a conversation as either party was leaving a lot to be desired regard to vocalization. Reaching to idly scratch an itch on her eyebrow, Bryce covered her mouth with the anterior side of her forearm as she yawned loudly.

What a day... A second yawn followed her words as though she had never finished the first to begin with. It was then that she decided best to get out, lest she fall asleep and drown. Releasing his foot, the female werewolf retrieved her legs from across the tub and lazily shifted so that she was on her knees. Foam and water slid off her shoulders as her torso emerged, and she made no effort to hide her feminine features. Reaching forward, she cupped his jaw and set a light kiss on the corner of his mouth before pushing herself up. The water splashed minimally as she climbed out of the tub, body glistening with water as she reached for her usual towel; there was another red one available to him.

Standing in front of the mirror, she used the towel on her hair first, then patted the length of her body before tossing said linen into the sink—she’d have to do more laundry in the morning anyways. Twirling her damp hair and setting it over one shoulders, she blew out the candles before disappearing back into the bedroom. A chill ran up her spine as her feet pressed into the cold ground. Making her way to the dresser, she pulled out a one-piece nightdress that reached to her knees and manoeuvred herself into it.

Closing the drawer, she reached for another where she kept the multitude of clothes she’d borrowed from Sebastian, and tossed a baggy pair of pyjama bottoms at him. There was no need to communicate, it was pretty evident what was to follow. The lycanthrope made her way to the computer, shutting it off and closing the lid before making her way to the window. The rain had calmed down, but she doubted the worst was over; in fact, she was pretty sure the worst had yet to come.

After closing the curtains, she undid the bed and climbed into it, causing Sally to jump off and make her way to her water bowl. Bryce reached into the nightstand drawer for a hair tie and then buried herself deep into the freshly-washed linens, hand seeking out Sebastian through the meadows of cotton and dreams. Sighing contently when she found his warmth and the all-too-familiar weight of Sally pressed into her legs, the brunette allowed herself to finally let go. If she was lucky, it would be a dreamless night.

G'nig....