Damian's Wolf - 6. A Walk in the Park

Jordan groaned as he rolled over. His back hurt and as he regained his senses, he realised he was laying on the floor.

Why was he on the floor? Oh right, Damian…

The werewolf turned his head, finding the neko seated cross-legged on his bed, staring at the wall.

“Afternoon,” Jordan yawned.

“Good afternoon,” Damian replied quietly.

The neko stood up, drawing his hood over his head.

“I’m going to head out now. Thank you for the bed,” he said, crossing to the front door.

“Um, what?”

Jordan rubbed his eyes, his wolf stirring inside him.

“We can’t let him leave,” his wolf growled.

For once, Jordan and the beast were in agreement. The werewolf didn’t know why Damian wanted to leave, but he knew he didn’t want the neko to go.

“You don’t have to go,” he said, standing.

Damian turned to face him.

“I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity,” he said. “You’ve done more than enough for me, and I can’t repay you.”

Jordan couldn’t help himself. He snorted.

“What are you taking advantage of? A tiny apartment? An empty fridge?”

Damian looked at his feet. Jordan couldn’t know for sure, but he felt like he was just making things worse.

“I want to help you, Damian. As much as I can. And that has to be more than a bowl of milk. You don’t have to pay me back, just pay for food every now and then. If it’s the werewolf thing that upsets you, I can afford a stock of wolf potions now.”

His wolf growled, but Jordan didn’t care. If it meant keeping the neko around, he would do that and more. He didn’t know what it was about Damian, but he really liked him. It was almost like he couldn’t bear to be away from him, and the neko hadn’t even left the apartment.

Jordan walked over to his fridge, pouring the last of his milk into a cup.

“Look, if you insist on leaving, at least have one last glass of milk,” he said.

Damian’s hand fell away from the door slowly. He approached Jordan, accepting the milk from the werewolf.

“Thank you,” he whispered, drinking.

Jordan studied the neko standing before him, though there wasn’t much to see. Just the same baggy pants and hoodie the cat always wore.

“If you stay, you can read all my books,” he offered.

Damien looked toward Jordan’s bookshelf, the one thing the werewolf took pride in. No matter how bad things got, Jordan would never part with his books. They were like his children. If it meant Damian would stay, though, he would gladly let the neko read them. Maybe.

“Okay, I guess I’ll stay,” Damian said, lowering his hood.

Jordan set his book aside. His mind just could not focus on the story. Facing Damian, who sat on his bed once again, the werewolf smiled slightly.

“So Damian, how much of the city have you seen?”

“Not much,” the neko admitted. “I haven’t had much time to explore.”

“Would you like to go for a ride? There’s a park about ten minutes from here that has a band playing some nights. I’m pretty sure they’ll be playing tonight.”

“A… a ride? Like, on your bike?” Damian asked nervously, his ears twitching.

“Yeah,” Jordan replied. “If you don’t want to-”

“No, I’ll go with you.”

The werewolf smiled widely.

“You’re going to love it,” he said.

The look on Damian’s face said he doubted it, but the neko stood up anyway, walking over to set his book carefully back onto the shelf. Pulling his hood back over his head, the cat watched in confusion as Jordan pulled a jacket on. It wasn’t that cold out yet.

“Ready?” Jordan asked, picking up a pink helmet.

Damian nodded and followed the werewolf outside. Jordan handed the helmet with a small frown.

“I’m sorry it’s pink. Arisa usually wears this one.”

“I like pink,” Damian said, a smile on his voice.

He lowered his hood uncertainly, his ears folded against his head. Replacing the hood with the helmet, the neko let out a quiet sigh, his anonymity once again restored.

“Why do you hide who you are?” Jordan asked, setting his own helmet on his head.

Damian shrugged.

“I don’t want people to know I’m a neko,” he said simply.

That told Jordan nothing that he didn’t already know, but the werewolf decided not to push the matter. He liked seeing the cat’s ears, but if Damian wanted to keep himself hidden, that was his choice.

Jordan got onto his bike, looking over at Damian.

“Climb on behind me,” he urged.

Damian set his leg over the bike cautiously, gripping the sides of the seat tightly. Jordan flicked the engine on and the neko squeaked at the sudden noise. Chuckling quietly, Jordan slowly let off the clutch, the bike picking up speed gradually. The last thing the werewolf wanted was for Damian to fall off.

The cat was pressed against his back, his arms wrapped around Jordan’s torso tightly. As they coasted to a stop at a sign, Jordan could feel Damian’s rod rise, pressing into his lower back. He didn’t know exactly what caused it. The vibrations of the bike? The fear of the bike itself?

Or just maybe the neko liked his body. The thought made Jordan shiver slightly as they began moving again. Whatever the cause, he was going to enjoy the closeness. He wasn’t one to let people get close, but he enjoyed having a body pressed against him occasionally.

Too soon it was over. They pulled up to the park, Jordan waiting for Damian to get off before he followed suit.

“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Damian removed his helmet, his face flushed and sweaty. A nervous grin was on his face, his legs wobbling noticeably.

“It was okay,” he conceded, drawing his hood up once more.

They walked through the grass, following the sound of music. Jordan was happy he had gotten the day right. He felt certain Damian was going to enjoy the afternoon.

A group of elves were kicking a ball around, enjoying the last few days of summer. Under a large tree, a man sat with another elf on a blanket, a basket set between the two. Jordan smiled slightly at the sight. Not everyone was a mess when it came to their love life.

The two came across a man-made pond, following the perimeter as they saw the band playing across the water.

“They sound good,” Damian said as they got closer.

“Yeah. I used to love coming here, but I haven’t been in over a year,” Jordan sighed as memories rose in his mind.

“Why’d you stop?”

“They’re all werewolves. To be honest, I kind of thought they’d be sleeping the moon off tonight.”

Damian tilted his head, studying the werewolf.

“Why would you avoid them if they’re all werewolves? Shouldn’t you be with your people?”

“They aren’t my people. I don’t have any people,” Jordan muttered.

“Oh. You don’t like werewolves?”

“I know what it’s like. You aren’t in control of yourself,” Jordan said. “I hate it.”

They approached a small crowd of people sitting near the wolves. Taking a seat in the back of the crowd, Damian and Jordan listened to the band playing, string instruments filling the air with their song as a drum slowly kept the beat.

“Jordan? I’m surprised to see you here.”

The wolf turned, spotting the owner of the bookstore standing nearby.

“Oh. Good afternoon Ms Reyla,” he said.

“Do you know when your friend will join you in the store? I want to meet them.”

“Actually, he’s right here,” Jordan smiled.

“Oh… Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”

Jordan and Damian both chuckled, Damian a little nervously.

“I’m Blanche Reyla, the owner of the store Jordan works at,” the woman smiled, holding out her hand.

Damian shook the offered hand gently. The human was old, her hair long and grey. Her eyes seemed a little unfocused, but they still pointed at him, and the neko trusted she could see at least reasonably well.

“I’m Damian,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms Reyla.”

“You as well Damian. Has Jordan shown you the store yet?”

“He has. It seems like a charming little place.”

Blanche smiled.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said. “Are you two here together?”

Jordan nodded.

“I wanted to show him around town a bit,” the werewolf said.

“It’s always nice to see young love,” Blanche said with a wistful sigh.

Jordan blinked.

“Oh, um, we’re aren’t together, together. Damian’s just staying with me for a while.”

“I don’t think Jordan plays for my team,” Damian said at the same time.

“Wait, yes I do,” Jordan said, looking at Damian.

“Really? But… I thought you and Arisa-”

“Ew! No, not a chance! She’s like my sister!”

Blanche laughed.

“I can see you two have some things to discuss. I’ll leave you to it. Jordan, can you come in at noon tomorrow? I want to start phasing Halor out.”

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow,” the werewolf said.

Nodding, Blanche walked off, trying to get closer to the wolves. Damian turned to face Jordan, his face unreadable in the shadow of his hood.

“You really thought…?”

“Well yeah,” Damian shrugged. “She just kind of came in like she owned the place.”

“She kind of does,” Jordan said.

“Really? How’d you become friends with your landlord?”

“Her parents owned the place and decided to give it to her. Something about starting her business career or something. We were already friends beforehand and she let me move in after I had a... falling out with my former boyfriend.”

“Oh. Was he the one who…?”

Jordan nodded darkly, staring holes into the grass at his feet.

“I’m sorry to bring up bad memories,” Damian said.

“It’s fine.”

A hand fell on Jordan’s shoulder, a comforting weight in his loneliness.

“If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen,” Damian offered.

“Thanks,” Jordan said, silently swearing the neko would never be bothered with his troubles.