Brothers - 62. Chapter 62

DEVYN

The wolf stood against the wall of the school, watching the entrance of the car park warily. Richard hadn’t sounded angry on the phone, but he knew how quickly that could change at home. How often had Margaret told him she wasn’t mad before yelling at him?

He was on his feet as soon as the car reached the curb. Before it had stopped, Devyn had the door open and was fighting the buckle of his seatbelt, trying to be as compliant as possible.

“Hey, slow down there,” Richard said, stepping out of the car.

The man helped the wolf buckle up, and Devyn took the opportunity to sniff his father. He smelled worried, but Devyn couldn’t smell the sharp odour of anger. The missing scent left him confused; was he not in trouble?

“We’re going to get some lunch for Jason and Patrick. Any suggestions?”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad?” Richard asked, locking the wolf’s belt. “You haven’t shifted in class in years. Clearly you were stressed about something. That’s not your fault; a lot of people get stressed. They don’t usually have such visible reactions, but again, that’s not your fault.”

He ruffled Devyn’s hair lightly, before shutting the door. Slipping into the driver’s seat, the man pulled out of the car park.

“So where are we heading?”

The wolf thought for a moment. Jason had said he was part Ythin. Jasper had been teaching them about neko food, and Ythin nekos liked spicy beans and meats.

“Does Patrick like spicy food?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, but you can’t handle too much spice,” Richard reminded him. “It made you sick the last time we got Eastern Elven food.”

Grunting, Devyn did something he couldn’t remember ever doing before. He pulled his phone out of his bag, opening the internet. His fingers fumbled over the small keys, and the wolf let out a frustrated growl, forcing himself to take a deep breath. Getting mad wasn’t going to make the phone work better. Slowly he typed out his search. Ithin neko food.

Finally, the phone responded, offering a suggestion for his search. Devyn stared at the letters suspiciously, before pressing them. The phone probably knew better than him.

“There,” he growled, shoving his phone into the front part of the car.

“Give me a minute to pull over please,” Richard said, and the wolf sighed, withdrawing his phone.

As soon as the car stopped, Devyn thrusted the phone back at his father. Richard took the device, frowning as he scanned it.

“Oh. Yeah, there’s a place nearby, but they don’t have takeaway,” he said. “Ythin food isn’t really a fast food.”

“Can’t we just ask for a bag?”

“Not without eating there,” Richard denied.

“I saw one that said takeaway,” Devyn pressed.

“That’s two hours away. It was a nice thought, but it’s not going to work in this case.”

The wolf pouted quietly, taking his phone back. He’d had a good idea. Why couldn’t they do it?

“But CeCe’s would work, if you want… Askani?” Richard frowned.

“No, that’s fish,” Devyn said. “Can we stop by a store? I could make something for lunch.”

“I don’t think the stove works.”

“What do you mean? Did you break it?”

“No, we’re eating at… well, Jason’s house.”

“No. Jason can’t have a house,” Devyn said firmly. “He has to stay with me. I’m his mate.”

“Okay, Devyn, first of all, Jason has the right to refuse you at any time,” Richard explained. “You can’t expect him to do what you want just because he’s your mate. But also, did you think that maybe Jason might move into the house with you? Once you turn eighteen of course.”

Devyn thought about that for a moment. He shook his head roughly, dismissing it.

“Not unless you’re there too.”

“Well, Patrick and I might enjoy having the house to ourselves too,” Richard added. “It doesn’t mean we don’t want to spend time with you two, but it’s going to be hard living with two werewolves. It was hard with Margaret; I’m almost certain you heard things no son should ever hear his parents doing.”

“You mean when she wanted you to-”

“Devyn.”

The wolf frowned, slumping back in his seat. Why were people so scared of talking openly? It made no sense to him.

“I still don’t like it,” he decided.

“Well, what do you think is going to happen when I go back to work? You’ll be alone together for a week at a time. It won’t be much different living in Jason’s house.”

“But that’s my territory,” Devyn insisted.

“Well, don’t you think you could make some new territory?”

The wolf stared at his father in confusion. It wasn’t that easy. What if there were other wolves in the area, wolves that already had a claim on the house?

“Maybe you should talk to Jason about it, and see what he wants to do,” Richard suggested.

That Devyn could agree to. Everyone always said you needed to talk if you wanted to get along.

JASON

“Ha altha loy i low latha i lay loww…”

Patrick’s voice stretched, almost warbling as the elf tried to match the timbre of the neko singing from Jason’s phone. His chest deflated, and he fell into a coughing fit, waving at the air in front of him.

“Ugh, blasted dust clouds… How was that?”

Jason snorted, shaking his head as he looked through a box.

“Oh come on, that was perfect!”

‘Nah, you have to feel the words, not just sing them.’

“What words? I thought it was just caterwauling,” the elf protested, grabbing a broom.

‘It is. Feel the emotions,’ Jason signed. ‘It’s not supposed to have structure, it’s supposed to let your spirit soar above the clouds, or run free across the desert.’

“So you’re saying I’m a rigid old elf,” Patrick smirked. “Shoot, and I thought my blue hair would hide that.”

Jason snickered, burying his head in the box in front of him. Pulling out a large book, he frowned at the Ythin runes lining the cover.

A quick search on his phone informed him that it was a book for recipes, and a smile broke across his face. Devyn was going to love this. If they could translate it. He wasn’t sure he had time for a project like that, but it could be a lot of fun to work on together.

Flipping through the tome, he studied the contradictory marks inside. Only some were in the neat rows of Ythin handwriting, running top to bottom across the pages. The rest was in the human tongue, much easier for him to decipher. His parents must have worked together on the book, filling it with foods from their respective homelands.

“Lunch is here!” Richard’s voice called.

The smell of fried pigeon filled the house, and the neko’s stomach grumbled hungrily. He set the book aside, looking around for dishes.

‘Did you find any plates in the boxes?’ he signed, looking at Patrick.

“None that were intact,” the elf frowned. “I’m sorry.”

Jason’s heart sank. Years of neglect meant so many of his parents’ belongings were broken. It was like losing pieces of himself he hadn’t realised were missing.

“I got the orange glazed and cranberry glazed birds,” Richard said, stepping into the room with a handful of bags. “I wasn’t sure which you’d prefer.”

Jason shrugged helplessly. He’d never really had the chance to pick a favourite. Before he could sign that to Richard, Devyn burst into the room, hobbling at a breakneck pace toward Jason.

The neko caught the wolf as Devyn dropped his cane. His eyes closed against the barrage of licks his mate unleashed upon him.

“Let him breathe, Devyn,” Richard laughed.

Devyn cast a frustrated look at his father, but backed away from Jason reluctantly.

“And no shifting either. We have a lot of work to do, and I need to get you and Jason to the tailor to pick up your clothes tonight.”

‘Don’t you work this afternoon?’ Jason signed to Devyn.

“Work?” the wolf frowned. “Oh… yeah, I have work this afternoon…”

“Oh right,” Richard sighed. “Well, I could call the tailor and see if they can hold the clothes until tomorrow.”

“Or we could go after lunch,” Patrick suggested.

‘The house has been dirty for ages. I don’t think a few more hours will matter much,’ Jason added, sighing when Richard looked at him with raised eyebrows.

He grabbed his phone, shutting off the music before typing quickly.

“It’s a good idea,” his phone said simply.

“Devyn? What do you think?” Richard asked.

The wolf shrugged, staring at the bags of food. Jason began pulling the food out, searching for intact plates. He pulled out a wooden box, eyes widening at the ornate silverware within. Long forks sat beside knives, several sets of silver sticks with blunt tips nestled into a soft lining.

“We’re going to have to eat out of the boxes,” Patrick said, pulling the neko’s attention from the box. “We’ll set some aside for Devyn so he can have his own box, but everyone else should be able to share, right?”

Jason and Richard nodded, and Jason took a box of pigeon, removing several pieces. He carefully cut them up with the silver knife, a sense of shame washing over him at so callously using his family’s heirlooms. But he didn’t have much choice. They would be cleaned after, and stored away once more.

Soon, the family was standing around the table, eating with the chopsticks from the case.

“You cut up all of our food,” Patrick said a few bites in. “Is there a reason?”

Jason shrugged, still trying to figure out how to hold the sticks properly in his hand. Sighing, he set them aside.

‘It’s a cultural thing. Food would be prepared before the meal so you don’t have to carve your meat at the table. It makes savkh easier to use. The Niwo don’t use savkh, so much of their food is whole.’

“You know a lot about them,” Patrick smiled. “You’re adopted, right? Who taught you about neko culture?”

‘I taught myself about Niwo and Ythin culture, but I can’t really claim either,’ Jason signed with a frown. ‘I’m more Astaran than anything.’

“Askani use chopsticks, right?” the elf asked curiously.

Jason shrugged.

‘Yes, but I don’t know much about them. Askani culture wasn’t as large a focus for me growing up.’

He began toying with the savkh again, trying to pick up a piece of pigeon. Across from him, Devyn had ditched the utensils, using his fingers instead. His tongue flicked across his fingers after every bite, and Jason imagined what that tongue felt like running across his body. His face burned at the thought.

“Keep it in your pants buddy,” Patrick snorted as Devyn cast a knowing grin at his mate.

Richard looked between the three, utter confusion on his face. Jason ducked his head, ears flicking in shame, and a low chuckle escaped Patrick.

“It happens. I bet if I was licking my fingers like that, a certain someone would be all over me.”

“Oh… wait, no I wouldn’t!” Richard protested.

Patrick laughed at the man, shaking his head.

“Come on, you’d be begging me to let you lick my hands instead,” the elf said.

Across the table, Devyn was slowly licking his fingers, toying with Jason. Finally, the neko set his savkh aside.

‘Stop or I won’t let you lick me,’ he signed.

Instantly, Devyn’s face fell. Letting out a quiet whimper, the wolf finished cleaning his fingers quickly before reaching for another piece of food.

“How long have you been learning sign language, Devyn?” Patrick asked.

“A month,” the wolf shrugged.

“I’m impressed. Jason’s not fingerspelling that much.”

“Jason told me to ask if I don’t know a sign.”

‘It was how I was taught,’ Jason signed. ‘The alphabet is good to know, but it’s better not to rely on it.’

The neko picked his savkh up again, finally bringing a piece of pigeon to his mouth successfully. Conversation died out as everyone focused on their food, and it wasn’t long before they were all heading out to the car.

DEVYN

The wolf stared at Patrick’s cane, trying to spot the differences between it and his own cane. It rolled across the pavement in front of the elf where Devyn’s tapped beside him, holding him up.

“Why do you need a cane? You never use one at home,” he said.

“Because I’ve learned the boundaries in your home,” Patrick replied, running his cane over the curb in front of the store. “I’m not going to catch myself on the stove edge in the kitchen, but I might trip over the height of this curb, and none of us want that to happen.”

Devyn stared at the faded tan curb.

“Can you not see red either?” he asked.

“I can, but I can’t measure distance visually,” Patrick said in explanation. “Like, if I look down, I can’t tell if the curb is a metre or two metres away. So I might try for two metres, only to fall flat on my face.”

Devyn frowned slightly as a sense of repetition washed over him.

“Did I ask this before?”

“Not in the same words,” Patrick shrugged.

“Devyn has some memory problems,” Richard explained.

“I assumed as much. I knew an aerafael years ago and she had trouble remembering things too. It wasn’t uncommon a century ago; no one knew how to avoid it back then.”

Devyn followed his family into the store, frowning at nearly a dozen people standing around inside. Employees were moving swiftly through the store, collecting bits of clothes, and the wolf could feel the frantic pace that everyone was trying not to let show.

“Wow, I didn’t realise the autumn dance was so big,” Richard frowned.

“It isn’t,” Patrick denied. “At least not at Jasper High. I’ve gone a few times; there’s usually an adult’s hour after the kids have had their time in the spotlight. Jason, have you been to a dance before?”

Devyn could see his brother signing out of the corner of his eye, but the wolf focused more on a couple of elves leaving the back of the store. The elf who had poked at him with needles and fabrics a week ago followed them out, waving someone else back into the fitting room.

“I’ll go see how long the wait is,” Richard said, heading through the store.

Devyn leaned on his cane, looking for a place to sit. All the seats were taken, and the wolf grunted, plopping down on the floor. He could feel people staring at him, but he did his best to ignore them.

A hand pressed into his shoulder as Jason lowered himself beside the wolf. The neko sat against him, challenging the stares around them, and slowly the pressure faded.

The wolf nuzzled his mate tenderly. He heard Richard approaching, a brief annoyed scent crossing his nose, and Devyn stared at the floor in shame, slowly picking himself up. Jason’s hand grabbed his arm, pulling him back down.

“It’s going to be an hour,” Richard sighed above them.

“Well, I have no problem waiting,” Patrick shrugged. “You three can go do something if you want; I’ll call you when they’re ready.”

“I might do that if Devyn gets restless,” Richard agreed. “You two really shouldn’t be on the floor.”

“There’s nowhere else to sit,” Patrick pointed out. “Seems like a design flaw if you ask me.”

The door opened, and Devyn scooted aside as an elven family walked in. They left barely a minute later with a pair of bags.

“That was rather fast,” Patrick frowned.

“Huh?”

“Give me a second.”

Devyn watched the elf approach one of the employees. The employee ducked into a closet, appearing a minute later with a couple of bags in her hands, and Devyn flinched as the stench of anger filled the room. He couldn’t hear Patrick, but it was clear the elf was upset.

Patrick gestured to the people still waiting, and the elven woman shook her head, holding out the bags. Ignoring the clothes, the werewolf returned to the others, a grimace on his face.

“They’re serving elves first,” he snapped.

“Well we won’t shop here-” Richard started.

“No. We are going to wait our turn, and I am going to make sure no one gets preferential treatment,” Patrick growled. “If they do, I’ll have the AWW here in an instant.”

“Why does it matter?” Devyn asked. “Wouldn’t it be faster for you to get the clothes for us?”

“It’s not that, Devyn. It’s the fact that everyone else has to wait for elves to go ahead of them. It’s not okay,” Richard explained. “Patrick, I’m not sure I’m comfortable getting clothes from here.”

“They were ordered already. It will cost extra not to pick them up,” the elf sighed. “Besides, I don’t want to ruin Devyn and Jason’s dance over racist bullshit. There’s no way we could get two fitted suits delivered by Varya.”

He scowled as the elves in the back room came out.

“But I’ll be having a friend check this place out. They’re not getting away with this.”