Blue

Niki- I understand what your getting at, I really do, but it's kind of purposeful. I mean, yeah, I might have over done it, but think about it, I never exactly said the year it was, but it's sort of in a time when education wasn't a strict requirement. He's not even allowed to associate with people in the town, let alone a school. Since he grew up with Mama, she's the only one to teach him. That, and he's a wolf. You can't really expect him to be all sophisticated and mature, you know? But don't worry, it should get a little better in that aspect. At least I think so. :|

---

Ashton followed closely behind Eli, and a few times the red wolf could almost swear that he felt the other’s breath on his neck. It left goose bumps on his skin, making him shiver for a different reason than he had with the brunet from earlier.

Not… something he wanted to think about as he was attempting to walk, considering he was still naked and he could all but feel Ashton’s eyes on him.

Damn self-consciousness.

Soon they could smell cooked meat in the air, indicating they were getting close to the cottage.

Ashton stopped them, laying a hand on Eli, making it know that he wanted him to face him.

“I have to go. I’m not sure I’ll be able to come by tomorrow. But-” he said when Eli started to pout, “I should be able to get here soon. There’s something I want to ask you, though.” Eli cocked his head, but didn’t say anything. “The full moon is going to be soon, in a few weeks.”

“Yeah.” Eli replied when Ashton stopped for confirmation.

“Would you run with me?” Ashton said it with a certain, almost nervous, tone in his voice. He couldn’t quite place it, but it was making him slightly worried. With the fiasco that happened earlier, he just wanted to get home.

“Yes.” He finally answered, a little confused when Ashton gave him a large smile.

Ashton turned around, running off, and Eli chuckled, before frowning.

Mama. What was she going to do if she found out what happened earlier? She definitely wouldn’t be happy, might even punish him for being so stupid, despite the fact that he hadn’t actually done anything to cause the man to come after him.

The earlier fear was almost completely gone. Now that he was close to the cottage, and therefore, Mama, he felt safer. The adrenaline in his blood was still disappearing, though.

He shivered with the breeze, quickly searching for his clothes. He didn’t feel right without them. He knew there would be marks on his back, and he knew Mama would ask questions.

Once inside the home, Mama only gave him a look as she set down a bowl. He hadn’t been gone as long as he had thought, and the earlier bath and extreme scrubbing seemed to take the smell of the other wolf off of him, since Mama didn’t seem to notice anything off.

Not, now that he thought about it, that there was anything wrong. Not since Ashton had saved him. Hopefully, the white wolf continued to stick around, to protect him in case the brunet or any other wolf from his pack decided to come snooping around.

“What’s wrong. Didn’t you catch anything out there?” Eli looked up nervously. Had Mama figured something out?

“No. We got… distracted.” He said lamely, not wanting to talk about it. He really didn’t want to tell Mama what happened, but didn’t think he could lie to her if she pushed it.

Thankfully, she didn’t.

The rest of the night went without incident, and soon they were off to bed.

---

Morning came quickly, or so it seemed, if it could be called morning at all. Thunder rumbled overhead and Eli could see the lightning strike off in the distance. The sky was a dull gray with clouds.

Not a good day at all.

He knew that Ashton wouldn’t be coming by today, but that didn’t keep him from looking out, trying to catch a glimpse of that white fur, or even pink skin, however ‘indecent’ it was.

Eli never thought about it before, but before Ashton came along, it was sort of… boring… here, just him and Mama. Yeah, Mama was good company, when she was in a good mood, and acted just like a mother, but what he wanted was a friend, and lately, that was what he had been thinking Ashton was.

Of course, whether Ashton considered them friends was a different matter. Eli never really had a friend before. The only people he could talk to were the townspeople, which he avoided for the most part, and they, vice versa.

He wasn’t quiet sure what it was really like to have a friend, or if he really considered Ashton as a friend, or just wanted to be able to consider someone so. Hell, sometimes he thought of Ashton as more than a friend sometimes, he couldn’t help it. He was a young wolf with needs.

Needs that… he wasn’t quite sure what to do about. Mama had talked to him once, about it, about certain urges, but told him that he needed to learn himself about how to take care of it. So far, he still wasn’t sure what to do.

Well, he had an idea, but what to actually do with that idea was what got him.

“Ashton hasn’t come by today.” Mama said from behind him, looking at the rain through the open door.

Eli shrugged. “Said he wasn’t coming today yesterday.”

“What happened. Did you two get in a fight? You didn’t look too happy when you came home yesterday.”

Eli shook his head. “He didn’t really say. Said he had something to do with his pack, I think.”

Mama grunted behind him in reply, before walking off. Most likely to clean. She was so finicky about things.

“Watch the garden, if you’re just gonna stand there. We’re in for one helluva storm.”

“Yes, Mama.”

He didn’t stop looking for Ashton.

---

It was well into the night before the storm ended, leaving fallen trees and mud and ruined plants.

By morning, the sky was as clear as ever, while everything on the ground was dull with the mud and water.

“Wonderful. All the work I put into those damn things…” Mama had muttered to herself when she looked at her wrecked garden.

She only sighed about it, telling Eli that they had some work to do later on. Mama was too tired right now.

Eli didn’t really pay attention. He’d glanced over the garden, but his eyes mainly focused on the trees. Ashton still wasn’t there yet. Well, it was early, even for Ashton, so maybe he could wait a little while longer.

Why wasn’t he there yet!

Then again, Ashton never gave any specifics on when he’d be there. Just not the next day, which would have been the day before. So he should be here…

He promised…

Ugh!

“You’re looking anxious.” Mama said around noon, when Eli continued to look for the white wolf.

“Do I?” Eli said offhandedly, missing the sly smile on Mama’s face.

“Looks like you’re looking for someone. A certain, white wolf, maybe?”

“Mmhm.” Wait. “No.”

“Mm.” Was Mama’s answer to that. The blush going down Eli’s neck told her everything she needed to know.

“It’s not… I’m not…” Eli whined, looking away from the woods for a moment. Why did Mama have to do this to him?

“I didn’t say anything.” She said wickedly, with a gleam in her eye. Eli frowned, but turned around.

Where was he?!

“What’s been going on between you two, huh? Ashton was acting a bit odd a few days ago. Do you know?”

Eli shook his head. He hadn’t noticed anything different or strange about the white wolf’s behavior. Well, there was that one thing…

“He did ask something the other day…” he trailed, trying to remember what it was. Oh, yeah. “Asked if I’d run with him during the next full moon.”

An odd feeling went through him, and the hairs on the his neck stood up.

“What?” Mama asked when he turned around. There was a look on her face. One that he’d only seen when he’d done something really bad. Like digging up her garden when she was younger and actually gave a crap.

“Uh. That… Ashton… asked if I’d… run? …With him.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“…Yes…?” For a moment, he thought Mama was going to smack him silly, but before he could try to shield himself, all the anger seemed to drain out of her.

“You… damn it…” Mama cursed to herself.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” Eli asked worriedly. She’d never done this before. If she was angry, then she stayed angry, until Eli had done the adequate amount of begging and groveling.

“You… just. Boy, you don’t know what you got yourself into.” Mama said tiredly. Eli cocked his head to the side. “Don’t know how I never thought to tell you this before…”

“Tell me what?” Eli was definitely curious now, and of course, worried.

“The run, boy. He didn’t mean actual running. He’s meaning to mate with you.”

“Oh…” That would explain why Ashton had sounded so odd the other day. Huh.

Wait…

Mate? Ashton wanted to mate with him? Oh, damn. Well, then.

“You don’t look to worried about it.” Mama huffed.

“I’ll just tell I didn’t know what he meant.” Eli said with a shrug. Ashton was a big boy, he could take it.

“Not that easy, hon.” Mama replied with a sigh. She looked the other wolf over, a sad expression on her face. “Ashton’s a dominant. Unless there’s another, stronger wolf asking for you, he’s not going to back down. It’s a matter of pride, after all.”

“Oh.”

Oh. Oh!

Oh, crap…

“But what if I tell him now? What will he actually do?”

Mama let out a laugh. “Like a simple word’s going to stop him. You try to deny him, he’ll just force himself onto you. The wolf in him won’t let him do otherwise.”

Eli bit his lip, throwing one last look out the door, before closing it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to look for Ashton anymore. For some reason, just the door being closed made him feel slightly more secured, as if nothing bad would get in.

“What do I do then?” He didn’t want… well, he wasn’t sure what he wanted. He liked Ashton well enough, but there were just so many things he didn’t know.

“I suppose you try to like him. Or at least fool yourself into it.” Mama was done with the conversation, her voice tired. She went off to another room in the small cottage, leaving Eli alone to figure out what he needed to do.

But what exactly was that? It was what he wanted, wasn’t it? To have a mate? He knew, that even if he didn’t like Ashton now, that it wouldn’t take long for him to do so, given the right chance.

Maybe that’s what he needed, before he figured out, well, what? Whether he’d try to lie to himself about their relationship? He didn’t want to do that to Ashton, he couldn’t do it. If not as a lover, than as a friend, he couldn’t hurt him like that.

With that, Eli resolved himself. He’d learn as much as he could about Ashton in the time before the full moon, and the run.

Now, all they needed was for Ashton to get here.

---

I don’t quite like the second half of this chapter.

Mm. Don’t forget to review, please! We’re almost at the end of the first half! Two chapters left, WOOT!