System of a Wolf - 6. Chapter 6

Talking about his uncle always soured Erith’s mood. It wasn’t enough to get fucked by the man every day until he was fifteen. No, he had to haunt Erith’s every waking thought, long after he had been sent to be “rehabilitated”. How anyone thought the elf could be rehabilitated was beyond Erith’s understanding.

Even here, when he was trying to enjoy a simple outing with a friend, the ghost of Erith’s past stuck with him. It wasn’t Blake’s fault Erith misunderstood him. The elf refused to let the mage suffer because he couldn’t put the past behind him.

Swallowing his pain, Erith opened a gate for Blake. The man smiled at him, and Erith’s heart seemed to skip a beat. He needed to figure out what was going on with him. It wasn’t Gara; Blake would have told him if Gara got frisky. He hoped.

They passed through the gate into the park, both pausing briefly just inside the barrier.

“So… what now?” Blake asked.

“I guess we go for a walk,” Erith shrugged. “The pond is stocked with fish, so maybe we can go watch them.”

“Okay,” Blake smiled again.

Fingers threaded through Erith’s own, the elf glancing down at their hands in mild surprise. He smiled back at Blake. Butterflies were filling his stomach, and Erith knew exactly what that meant. This wasn’t just a wolf thing. Maybe they could love each other without being mates.

Squeezing Blake’s hand gently, Erith led him through the park. A paved trail led around a large pond, and they could see large shapes moving through the water. An orange body glided near the surface, and they stopped for a moment to watch the goldfish.

“So… catfish, huh? Do they all eat algae?” Erith asked as they started walking again.

“Yeah, but you need to find the ones that eat the right algae. Some algae would be beneficial; it would help filtration,” Blake explained. “If you get channel catfish, you need to keep the water warm, around 74 degrees. Well, any catfish really, but channels and plecos would be best if you want to swim. They’ll dart for cover whenever you’re near and it will be like having the pond to yourself.”

“Well, you’re the fish expert,” Erith teased lightly.

“Not really,” Blake frowned. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it is keeping Val alive. I swear he has a death wish. Jumping out of his tank, trying to eat the pleco we got for him, he’s just crazy.”

“And you’ve kept him alive through all of that?”

Erith was impressed. Fish weren’t something he thought of as a good pet; they always seemed to die so soon. But Blake was keeping his cichlid alive somehow. The fish was even thriving in his tank.

“Well yeah. I wouldn’t just let Val die.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t working at the pet store. You could help a lot of people,” Erith pointed out.

“I tried. They said they didn’t need me,” Blake pouted. “I hate interviews. I never know what to say. Hi, I’m Blake, and I’m autistic. Please hire me.”

Erith winced slightly.

“Yeah… that might not be the best thing to lead with.”

“But if I don’t mention it, then I get in trouble for not telling them I’m disabled in the interview. I feel like I can’t win.”

“Aren’t they supposed to help you if you’re disabled?”

Blake snorted.

“That’s what Dr. Marin says too, but so far it hasn’t worked out. I can’t get a job to save my life, and everyone else just seems to think I’m lazy and don’t want to work.”

“I don’t think that,” Erith said. “Anyone who could keep a suicidal fish alive has to be working hard.”

“He’s not suicidal. He just makes bad life choices,” Blake frowned.

Erith fought back a snicker, shaking his head.

“That’s an understatement…”

He glanced at the pond, his eyes brightening at the sight of a crawfish drifting in the shallows.

“Hey, check this out.”

Looking around, Erith picked up a small stick and hurried toward the pond. Kneeling beside the water, the elf stuck the stick in the pond, angling it behind the crawfish. The creature stared the stick down, claws raising as Erith carefully nudged it toward the land. A sudden dart caused the elf to curse, his stick moving to catch the crustacean again before it could dart into a hole.

Too late, the crawfish was gone, and all Erith had to show for it was a wet stick.

“Impressive,” Blake smirked as the elf sloshed out of the shallows.

“I try. It would be fun to catch some for lunch,” Erith shrugged.

“Not really. I mean, would you eat a cockroach?”

The elf stopped where he was, his eyes seeking out the man in confusion.

“Um… no, that’s not something I would usually do…?”

“That’s basically what they are,” Blake shrugged. “Insects just evolved from them.”

“Oh gods… I’ll never get to eat fish around you, will I?”

“Fish? Fish are delicious,” Blake smirked. “I just have an issue with eating water bugs.”

“I’m never going to eat them again…” Erith groaned.

“Hey, you do you,” Blake giggled. “I don’t like them though. They like to eat cichlids.”

“Then I’ll make sure I don’t add any to my pond. If I ever get around to building it. I’m still plotting.”

“Wait…”

Blake frowned at Erith.

“Does this mean you’re getting cichlids?”

“Maybe,” Erith shrugged. “If I got cichlids, would you help me take care of them?”

“YES!”

Blake’s hands slapped over his mouth, the mage’s face turning red in embarrassment.

“I mean… yeah, I’d love to help…”

“Great! I’ll build a nice big pond then. Maybe you can help me dig out the perimeter tomorrow. I know someone who works with backhoes, I can get him out after the full moon.”

“I like that idea,” Blake grinned. “We’ll make a nice big pond and maybe Val can swim in it.”

“I’d hold off on that idea,” Erith said quickly, shaking his head. “But once we get it going, you can certainly go swimming. I’m sure some of the cichlids will let you pet them.”

The rest of the walk around the pond was filled with excited chatter. Blake couldn’t believe he could help make an entire pond for cichlids. And to be allowed to swim in it? That was a dream coming true for the mage.

“We’re going to need plenty of rocks for them to hide in. Oh, and heaters for the winter. And the pool has to be deep so they can hibernate at the bottom in case there’s a freeze.”

There were so many things to plan out, and his chest was bubbling with excitement at the thought. Squealing, Blake let his arms fly, trying to shake out the excess energy that had nowhere else to go.

“Well someone’s excited,” Erith chuckled.

Blake’s face drooped, the man flinching slightly.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t be. I like seeing you happy. But you never did this when you were younger.”

“N… no…” Blake admitted. “I read about someone doing it, and I thought it would help. Now it’s hard to stop.”

“You know why? Because it makes you happy. You are happy, and you don’t want to stop being happy,” Erith smirked. “I don’t mind. Just try not to smack me when you do it, okay?”

“Yeah, that would be bad,” Blake chuckled nervously.

“Hey Blake?”

The man turned toward the elf with a small frown.

“Yeah?”

“Can I hug you?” Erith asked.

A smile split Blake’s face, and the mage stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Erith.

“We need eight hugs a day,” he remembered suddenly. “Twelve to be happy, but only eight to stay healthy.”

“Well I guess I better make up for lost time,” Erith chuckled, squeezing Blake tightly.

“I like you Erith.”

It was out before he could stop himself, and Blake buried his face in the elf’s shoulder in embarrassment. A hand stroked his hair gently, and the man moaned quietly into Erith.

“I like you too,” Erith said.

Lifting his head, Blake smiled uncertainly at the elf, their faces almost frighteningly close. His eyes glanced away from the other werewolf, that lesson about not staring at a werewolf filling his mind.

A movement on the other side of the pond caught his eye, and Blake’s heart plummeted. Auburn hair… a youthful face…

His eyes stared at the man across the pond blankly, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Blake?”

Hands grabbed him, held him down, rubbed over his body, and Blake bit back a yelp.

“Get off me… please…” he whimpered, feeling another pair of hands, and then another.

“Blake, are you okay?”

A hand waved in front of his eyes, and he gasped. Focusing on Erith, the mage shuddered silently.

“Blake?” Erith said again.

“I’m… I’m okay…” the man breathed, staring past the elf at the ghost from his past.

“Who was it?” Erith asked gently, turning to look across the pond.

“The werewolf. Long red hair… I swear he’s the one who changed me.”

Blake swore he could smell the man, and even worse, he liked the scent.

Erith squinted as he searched the man out.

“Well, it looks like it’s time to grab the dick guillotine.”

He frowned thoughtfully.

“The small one,” he added a second later.

“No… No, don’t… He was nice,” Blake trembled.

“Nice doesn’t leave you trembling in fear Blake. Nice doesn’t rape a young boy.”

“He was gentle though… and he changed me so I could get away…”

But even that was wrong. Blake remembered the pit he had been thrown into after his first full moon. Nothing but darkness for days, stomach knotted in fear so bad he couldn’t have eaten even if his father let him. He had been marked for death. No one wanted to fuck a kid who might turn them into a monster.

But he knew the man. He knew that he was kind, gentle. Every time he took Blake, he had cuddled with him after.

He had tried to help.

“We should call the guards. He shouldn’t be in a park,” Erith scowled.

“No… leave him…”

Blake turned away, staring at his feet.

“And he wasn’t that small…”

“Well no, to an eleven year old, I bet he was rather large,” Erith scoffed.

“Bigger than most. That’s why he liked to massage me first. Said it ruined it when I screamed.”

“Blake. Stop, okay? It’s over. Let’s try to have a nice day and forget about him.”

“I can’t.”

Blake shook his head tiredly.

“I… I need to go home. Please Erith… I need to go home.”

A gentle arm draped over his shoulders, and Blake nearly melted into the touch. Erith led him back through the park, the two ignoring the world around them.

“Would your music help?”

Blake nodded, reaching for his phone. He turned up the music all the way, trying to drown out the thoughts that echoed through his mind, thoughts that told him he was only good for a piece of ass, that he should never have escaped his childhood.

Slowly he rose from the pit of his despair, as Erith stopped in front of his car. The elf began talking, and Blake shuddered as he pulled his headphones away from an ear to hear him.

“Should we stop by my place to get your things? I can bring them by later if you need.”

“I need my paci,” Blake whimpered.

“Okay, we’ll go get it then.”

“Can… can you lock the doors too?”

Erith frowned at the human as he opened the car. A moment later he nodded slowly.

“Yeah. I can do that. Are you going to be okay?”

Blake shrugged silently, crawling into the front seat of the car. Buckling himself in, the man curled into a ball. A sudden click locked the car, locked him inside. Hugging his knees to his chest, Blake let out a long whimpering breath. He would make it through this. He just needed to go home.