Closed RP Greed, Theft, Telling Lies

This RP is currently closed.
He laughed at her wrinkled nose. She was adorable when she did that; it brought out her faint freckles, even in the dark. His eyes flashed a little as she stepped away, and he leaned back on the fire escape.

There was something else in her scent when she came back. He didn’t frown, because he didn’t want her to know he recognized the scent of fear. Was she– oh, god, was she worried he was doing something with another girl? That immediately overrode all of his nerves about introducing her to Nahual. If it made Sam feel better about the situation, he’d take the risk, however slight.

He smiled at her, forcing it all the way through despite his own worries.

“Be back in a few. I’ll come in the front door this time. I uh- might need a favor while I shower, but– well, you’ll see. I’ll be back.” He leaned in and stole a kiss, just barely catching the gentle taste of sugar and cinnamon on her lips, and then turned and hopped off the fire escape. It wasn’t fun, but it was dramatic, and a little bend in his knees kept damage from being semi-permanent.

He moved at a fast jog to the other side of the apartment, and clambered back up his fire escape with more speed than stealth in mind. He realized about halfway there he still had the duffel bag over his shoulder, and was really, really glad Sam hadn’t asked about it.

He slipped in through the window. After a moment of consideration, he knocked on the shower door and announced, “Got clothes! Leaving them on the counter, don’t feel rushed!”

He did exactly that without looking and without quite not-looking in the direction of the shower, and closed the door behind him when he was done. Then, he got to work stripping out of his own filthy clothes, slipping into the side bedroom and closing that door behind himself. He stuffed the bag under the bed, and then at least put on clean sweats. He’d have to shower, too, but that meant figuring out what exactly to do with Nahual in the meantime. Maybe he could ask her to wait? He was… nervous, about leaving her alone with Sammy. His instincts just told him that was a bad idea.

He was still thinking about it when he stepped back into the living room and crashed on the couch. Maybe he could ask Nahual what she’d think. He wasn’t sure if she’d be honest about whether or not she could be trusted with Sammy, but he could think about it, anyway. Not like he had much else to do while waiting.
 

Nahual was unlike perhaps any other animal that existed on the Earth. Like a snake, she shed an entire layer of skin in the shower and regrew it under the warm water in barely two minutes. Her body cleansed, she spent the next ten minutes painstakingly cleaning her hair. Hair was an interesting part of the body, and one of the only things Nahual didn't have complete control of at all times.

Unlike most other things with a body, hair was mostly dead. Of course, the top layer of skin was also dead, but shedding those cells was far easier than regrowing hair. So, rather than devote biomass to the process of regrowing all of her hair, she stripped it with the orange soap and began the painstaking process of revitalizing it. Beginning with manufacturing oils through her hands to transfer to her hair and ending with resting a towel on her head as she stepped out of the shower.

Her body would smell almost overwhelming sweet as she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Nahual had mastered producing natural chemicals by studying animals like beavers and civets. Her skin could give off a floral scent reminiscent of perfume at any time she wanted, and she wanted to smell nice right now. Stepping out, she snatched the clothes with a smile and moved back into the bathroom to change.

The clothes provided were, well, they covered the body. Ugly bike shorts, a plain t-shirt, and sweatpants- a little too big- if this wasn't her only option then Nahual probably would've tossed it all. The sweater was nice, marigold with little flowers on the hem, she would keep that.

Stepping out of the bathroom, now fully clothes and smelling sweet, Nahual did a little twirl and exclaimed, "I'm beautiful! Haha! Now I sit~" and plopped herself down on the couch beside Todd. She was relaxed, but in the way that a hunting lion might relax after a nice meal. She exuded an air of danger, even if she tried to hide it under smiles and nice smells.
 
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Todd had resigned himself to making up an alibi for Sam in case she asked where he and Nahual met. Half-truths were probably the best bet. There was no lying about the sewer, at least. A rescue, maybe? Trafficking victim? No, that would never work. A glance at her body language would tell even Sam that Nahual was anything but prey.

She might've been beautiful, or at least pretty, but she wasn’t Sammy. She wasn’t — she didn’t have that—

Well, she just wasn’t. She might smell better now, but she still wasn’t his, and he instinctively knew Nahual simply couldn’t ever be his, not the way Sam was. If he hadn’t already met Sam and somehow claimed her, then it might be different.

He sighed as she came out of the bathroom, taking in the floral scent that mixed with Sam’s scent on the clothes. He didn’t comment on it. Just added “natural musk” to his inner profile of whatever-she-was. She seemed to feel better, at least, which was good. He debated changing his plan since she’d calmed down, but he also didn’t need her wandering off to hunt again. Or worse, going to find Sam herself before he could set any ground rules.

So when she plopped down next to him, he stood up, as casually as he could. He smiled at her, teeth included, but kept his voice casual. “Well, I still have to shower. First, though, I think we should thank Sam for the clothes, don’t you?”

And he offered her his hand to help her stand up, too. Now there was definitely something else there, the first hint of territorialism tonight. Something straighter in his posture. Something in the deliberate eye contact. The teeth in his smile. This was his home, after all, and his– Sam. He had a right to just a little dominance display yo reinforce his point: this wasn't a choice, not really.
 
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Todd stood up almost the moment Nahual sat down and, unable to stop herself, Nahual grinned. Did she make him uncomfortable? The thought might've elicited caution or embarrassment out of a normal person, but to Nahual it felt as though she gained a bit of power over the other predator.

She could tell the changes in his posture, the eyes, and his teeth. Even if his voice stayed casual, they were both still animals. His statement was a question, but even without the dominance display Nahual knew enough about conversation to know it was an implied command. The way he was acting now gave Nahual pause. She looked blankly at the hand offered to her for a moment, then, grinned wildly as she took it and stood up.

The grin turned into a giggle, then a bubbly laugh. Nahual was kicking herself for not understanding it before. When Todd spoke about Sam, Nahual had simply put the human into the category of 'not food.' But it was so much more than that! She wasn't food because she was different than other humans, she wasn't food because Todd had chosen her.

'Sammy' was Todd's mate.

Nodding and, of course, still giggling, Nahual responded, "Yes! I would love to thank 'Sam,' for these clothes!"
 
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as she burst into a fit of giggles. She wasn’t heavy, but her hands were strong. Contact with her skin made his own skin crawl a little, made his instincts balk. He didn’t flinch, though. Maybe he’d be a little more lenient in another situation, but this one involved Sam.

“Right,” he said, slowly, then let go of her hand. He stuffed his hands into his sweatshirt pockets, then forced himself to relax. Like magic, the tension melted off, the momentary edge softened. “Right. Like I said before, Sam isn’t food. Even if she was, she’s mine. If you hurt her– there’ll be consequences.”

He wasn’t exact in the threat, because he wasn’t exactly sure what he could do to her, but he hoped it was enough. He walked toward the door, then reached out to open it, politely. As he did so, his voice dropped to become even quieter than before.

“Point number two, this building is her home. We’re guests. Please respect that.” He let her out first, then followed close behind. He didn’t lock up behind himself. “Third, she doesn’t know what I am. I’d rather keep it that way. She might be– not food, but she doesn’t even know she’s possibly food in the first place. I’d very much prefer you don’t make her aware of it. Is that all clear enough for you?”
 

Nahual listened to Todd as he spoke, nodding quietly to his first 'point.' Sammy was his, of course of course, she was his mate. The only weird thing in this scenario, other than Todd wanting to mate with something that was 'not him,' was how cagey Todd seemed to be about the whole thing. She didn't argue though, Sam was Todd's, whether he was straight or weird about it was his business.

She did notice, and envy, the quickness with which Todd was able to control his own emotions. He could relax himself instantly, even when something was clearly on his mind or bothering him. Nahual would need to ask him more about that another time and find a way to imitate it herself. But for now, she just made a note of it in her head.

Stepping outside as Todd dropped his voice, Nahual kept her smile still spread across her face. He spoke and the pair moved toward the other door, the hallway smelled a little like food. 'Food would be good right about- no, focus Nahual. Todd's talking.' Nahual mentally slapped herself, making sure to keep her attention on the points Todd was instructing for her. She understood the following: Sam was not food, at least not yet, be respectful, this was not solely Todd's territory, and don't tell Sam what Todd was. Easy.

Stopping in front of the other door, Nahual twirled around to face Todd and giggled, "Very clear! W- I understand, I won't cause problems for you. I intend to keep our relationship, ~amicable~" The last word said with a little sing-song tone. Then, gently, she made a motion like a cat's claws in Todd's direction with one hand while she knocked on the door with the other.

Quickly, Nahual's voice in a whisper, she added, "She's your mate, after all."
 
Sam was trying not to panic as she paced by the door. She felt it as two sets of feet started to move from the other apartment and out into the adjoining hallway. She didn’t know what she was going to do once that door opened, not really. Todd had brought home another girl, one who was apparently roughly the same size as Sam. She couldn’t help the thoughts that were running through her head.

Was Todd’s type small and frail-looking women? Was that going to be what she saw when she opened the door? Sam was cute, she knew that. She frequently used her looks against others. But she knew she wasn’t the prettiest person out there, and she certainly didn’t take care of herself the way she was supposed to, didn’t bother to make herself pretty. It had been years since she had done makeup, since she had put effort into her appearance. She wore the same five or six outfits on rotation, and most of her clothing sat unused, still in the boxes from when she had decided to fully move to Pittsburgh.

Was she not good enough in that regard? Was she not attractive enough? Was Todd looking for something more? She anxiously touched the long curls tumbling down from her ponytail. She had been working hard to restore them to their coily perfection, and she’d been making progress. She had already been planning to slowly incorporate all of these things back into her life. Maybe she would speed that up, try and make sure she could hold his attention.

Then a chilling thought occurred to her. If he preferred this other woman to her, there was nothing that would stop Todd from eating her like she knew he wanted to. She swallowed against that, pausing her steps. Or what if, this whole time, she had always just been food? She felt her lip begin to tremble at the idea that Todd had never had any feelings for her, that it had all been some kind of sick game.

No.

No, that just couldn’t be true.

She had seen it in his eyes, in the way they sparkled, felt it in their kisses like the one he had stolen not just a few minutes ago. Todd had feelings for her. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be fading. She felt her side pull painfully, alerting her to the fact that she had started to breathe in panicked bursts. She tried to calm herself down at the exact moment that she heard the knock at her door– not Todd’s knock.

She waited just a moment, as long as she felt was acceptable, then padded over to the door and threw it open. Oh. Oh, this was much worse than she thought. On the other side of the door was a small, even smaller than Sam, young woman with pale hair and the sharpest pretty face she had ever seen. She was wearing Sam’s clothes, and Sam felt her heart drop when she looked up at Todd and found him staring at the young woman with interest.

She tried to control the sudden panic that captured her heart and her stomach in a vice grip. She let her eyes flicker between the two, and when she opened her mouth to speak, all she could do was gasp painfully. She placed a hand on her side, even though the pain hadn’t come from her broken ribs. She tried to play it off, holding them tightly as she tried to control the spiral she was in.

Todd loved her. Todd loved her. Todd loved her. He would never do something like that to her. He would never hurt her like that. He was hers, and she was his. Todd loved her. Todd loved her. Todd loved her. Todd–

“H-hi. Who’s this, Todd?”​
 
Mate.

Todd hadn’t wanted to use that word. Not for Sammy. It was primal. It was animal. It was deep and inhuman, base and shallow. Mate was– well, what it was depended on the animal. Mate could be the fling of the week, an attempt at reproducing before winter. Or it could be a lasting relationship between a pair until they were old and weary, perfectly attuned to each other, a hunting pair, equal parents, equals in everything. He’d been hesitant–

He’d been hesitant because he and Sam weren’t equal, not like that. How could they be? He was a lynx, and she was a hare. They only balanced each other in death. Predator and prey, doomed to an eternity in that cycle of life and death. If one lived, the other died. That was why he hadn’t let himself think that word before, even if Connor brought it up. It brought up that painful knowledge that no matter what he was, no matter what he did, he could only kill her, or die. That was their nature.

But Nahual knew that was their nature. She knew it, and she used that word. He stared at her after she used that word, stared even as Sam opened the door to Nahual’s knock, momentarily oblivious to the smell of garlic and apples and cinnamon and jasmine. Nahual thought they were mates. Or was she just teasing? Was it about his indecisiveness, or the odd situation? Was it–

The sound of Sam’s breath hitching tore him out of his thoughts, his head immediately snapping toward her. She was bent double, one hand on her ribs, her inhales coming in sharp gasps. Something was wrong. She wasn’t catching full breaths. Then the swirl of her scent rushed around him, sweet apple pie, the food she’d been cooking – and fear. Fear. His senses snapped to attention.

Oh, god. Todd had just brought a strange predator around when Sammy was injured. Hell of a mate he was, even if he’d just discovered that was the nature of his relationship. In half a step, Nahual forgotten, he crossed the space to Sam and wrapped one arm around her shoulder. He gently urged her without words to lean her weight against him, and all the while he internally sighed in relief that he had eaten recently.

He kept his cool. He had to keep his cool. The rush could be explained later as a predator protecting what was his, and definitely not the spike of worry that Nahual could move faster than he could. There was a rush in his ears, but as soon as he was sure that he could protect Sam if he needed to – the span of a second or two – he swallowed, and looked back up at the predator he’d brought, setting aside the thought of well now I can’t just fucking leave her here for a later time.

“Hey, Sammy. This is– Nahual. She’s– I’m doing her a favor. Nahual, this is Sam.” Introductions made, he looked back at Sam, letting her control just how much contact he had with her right now, given the circumstances, and trying to figure out why she smelled like terror. There wasn’t any blood, at least. That meant the injuries had to be internal.

“Let’s– you should sit down, Sam. Do– should Nahual stay here for now?”
 

Nahual breathed deeply as Sam opened the door. Even to her currently unperfected nose, she could smell the wonderful scents of spice, garlic, fear, fear... Her fingers twitched, but Nahual very quickly regained control over herself. This was not biomass, this was NOT biomass. This was Sammy, this was Todd's. Before Nahual could even more to react, Todd was away from her and beside Sam.

The scene was sickly sweet, like something from one of the romance movies Nahual watched to learn human behavior. She felt like retching on the ground and crying in pain at the sight- what. Why? Her face didn't change, the carefree smile still played across Nahual's features, but her eyes lost their sparkle as her heart heaved. She couldn't understand this reaction and wondered if it was something innate she had suppressed or the memory of other cells still held within her.

It had to wait, her feelings were not something Nahual could unpack or understand. At least they weren't something she could dissect at this time. Nearly ignoring the pair as Todd made introductions, Nahual smiled and stepped past Todd and Sam into the apartment. "Yes~" She stated with that perfect and indistinguishably fake honey-sweet tone, "I'm Nahual! Just Nahual, thank you for the clothes. I so desperately needed them, do you think I can sit anywhere? I'm gonna sit anywhere-"

Striding over to the couch, Nahual kept speaking. It was in her nature, she knew, to keep talking when she felt awkward or comfortable. While her tone wouldn't betray it, Todd would surely pick it up in her body language, "I was trapped in the sewer. Todd was so gracious to rescue me. We just met an hour or so ago..." Then, looking back at Todd and Sam, Nahual added, "Are you ok?"

It was, perhaps, the strangest thing Nahual had ever asked. She wasn't sure if she actually cared when she asked, but she wasn't sure she didn't care either. Sam seemed hurt and, now that Nahual had fully pushed her into the category of 'not food,' her health became a minor concern for the other predator.
 

Todd had moved quickly to her side, and she let him take her weight, especially since it let her fall into his arms. She clung to him, tightly, her breathing still hitching. It felt like there was a tight vice around her lungs, preventing her from taking in enough air. Her head was starting to spin. She was so panicked that she barely noticed as Nahual– why was that name so familiar– squeezed in past her and into her home. She turned her head to look at the young woman again, her breath catching and freezing.

She sat herself down on Sam’s red couch, plopping down in a way that was almost as if she owned the place. Sam felt her stomach twist at the cheerfulness with which Nahual spoke. She barely registered the actual words being said to her over the rushing in her ears, and even then, she didn’t know what order they were said in, or what they meant. Her brain simply couldn’t process it.

“She can– she can–”

She looked up at Todd with wide eyes and then down, staring blankly and wide-eyed at his chest. Her heartbeat was so loud, so fast, so erratic. She froze. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t breathe. She gasped in a breath and felt her frozen and screaming lungs fill again. It was only then that she realized she had frozen so badly that she had stopped breathing. How long was that? It felt so short. But for her lungs to be screaming like that, she must have been still for a while. She felt the chill from outside sweeping through her apartment.

That was when the tears started. They slid unwanted down her face, and her shallow breaths started to catch as she suppressed the sobs that wanted to break free. She caught Todd’s hand, one of her hands still holding her ribs as they pulled painfully from her breathing. Closing the door, she pulled him into the kitchen with her, around the corner from where Nahual had sat down. Just out of sight, and hopefully out of earshot for what she whispered next.

“Please don’t l-leave me. Please, Todd. I’ll be b-better.” The words fell from her in a panicked whisper, her forehead pressing to his chest as the tears started to flood her vision. It was all she could think, all she could do not to fully break down and slid down the wall. Her skin, she realized, felt cool to the touch. God, she was so cold. She wrapped her arms around herself, holding herself together as best as she could.

Sam was obsessive. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She knew what she was. And she knew it was from that that this panic and fear was rising. She had already let her world start to revolve around Todd. Hell, it fully revolved around Todd. Her reason for being had become anchored to him, and without him, she knew she would drown. The fear of losing him, of being swallowed whole by the abyss, was overwhelming. She’d rather he eat her than leave her, ever. She’d never be able to let him go, not really. No part of her would ever stop wanting him, loving him.

That was why the panic was taking her so badly. As much as she trusted him, and consciously knew he wouldn’t hurt her like that, that he wouldn’t leave her like that, that he would never cheat on her, she couldn’t stop the spiraling now that it had started. She knew that this was a wildly disproportionate reaction, and that there was no way he would understand. But that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but him and keeping him and never losing him.​
 
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She wasn’t breathing. Sammy wasn’t breathing, her entire dead weight in his arms, completely still as she clung to him. He let her hang there, his own heartrate rising. This was– what had happened? What happened in the seconds he’d been away? Or had it been earlier – whatever had broken her lungs? The last time she’d been this cold – she was so cold –

He pulled her closer, careful of her ribs, trying to share his newfound warmth with her. And for once, he was warm, still buzzing with energy from his recent hunt. He had both strength and control, even if – even if. She wouldn’t know about that. He would control himself now, buried in her scent, and he let her pull her aside when she breathed again at last, when she could move.

Even as Nahual passed them without permission to enter, Todd’s mind was elsewhere. What had done this to Sammy? Who’d done this? Slate? Had she- had she found Slate? Had they done this? No. No, no. There wasn’t any of Ethan’s black pepper smell, or anyone else’s scents, for that matter. That let him relax, just a little. Even a shower wouldn’t cover them up completely, not with how familiar Todd was with them. Unknown to Sam.

Right? Unknown to her?

He stared at her as whispered a plea, as she shook like she was on the verge of collapse. Leave her? What the hell gave her the idea he would leave her?

Oh– oh god. Had she–

“Hey, hey, hey – what do you mean ‘better’, sweetheart?” The term of endearment slipped through his lips, one that he’d tried to avoid in the past for – well, for obvious reasons, if you knew. Sam didn’t know.

Did she? Did she know about him? Did she know about Slate? Did she know he was the same as Ethan, both predators? And rather than being furious was she– did that scare her, not for her health, but because she thought he’d walk away from her for them?

Didn’t she know him better than that?

He didn’t accuse her. He didn’t tell her what he thought, just in case, just in case she didn’t know. But his own heartbeat just kept rising, and his own eyes were damp, despite the soft edges of his voice. “Sammy– Sammy, talk to me, please. What did I do that makes you think I’ll leave?”
 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I can be g-good enough. I can be–” Her voice cut off as the swelling in her throat stopped the words. A full sob was ripped from her lips, and she threw her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down and into her. She didn’t care that it made her side scream in pain. She needed him as close as possible right then, needed him to be near. He was warmer than her. God, Todd, who was always cold, who was designed to be cold, was warmer than her.

She closed her eyes tight and took in shuddering breaths, trying to calm herself down. She pressed her damp face to his shoulder as she shook. Sam couldn’t ever remember a time she had felt such an intense fear, not like this. Not so intensely that she felt it in her bones. Even the nightmares about Obsidian, they hadn’t left her so cold.

When she thought she had enough control again to speak, she pulled back, letting him straighten out if he chose to, resting her trembling hands on his shoulders. “She–”

She couldn’t get through the sentence before she started fully sobbing, lowering her hands to her face. She didn’t want him to see her meltdown. She didn’t want to see his reaction. She didn’t want this to be happening. God, why was this happening? Why couldn't she just be normal?

“Her.”

It was all she could get out between the cries. She was managing to stay quiet at least, managing to keep to her whisper. Her crying might be loud, but at least her words remained soft, no matter how warped they were. She wiped her eyes, her arms wrapping back around her stomach. She hated that he was seeing her like this, that she was acting like this, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop.

She tilted her head back into his chest and shuddered, trying once again to pull herself together. How could she possibly explain that she was so uncertain about their relationship that she felt like he could do better? That she felt like she wasn’t good enough. How could she explain that he hadn’t done anything, and she was just so insecure about him caring about her because he never said the words she wanted to hear? She didn’t want to put him on the spot. She wouldn’t put him on the spot.

So instead, she just tried to breathe, despite the sharp pain in her side. Both of her hands went to the injury again, holding it. God, had she cracked them worse than she thought? Or was this just emotional pain making it worse? Did it even matter? Not then. No, not then.​
 
Todd held her tight. Not tight enough to break bone, or exacerbate her injuries if he could help it; but he held her, pressed her frail body up against his own, so much stronger than he looked. Both of them were so much stronger than they looked. It took a lot to force this reaction out of Sam. Even when she pulled back, he kept his hands under her elbows, touching her, despite his usual aversion. She needed him. She was in no danger from him, even in this moment of weakness.

“Ew, no.”

The voice from the living room was quiet, clearly meant to be too soft for human Sammy to hear. Todd bit the side of his tongue to stop himself from instinctively laughing, kept his face serious. Good thing she’d cleared that up. It– hadn’t even crossed his mind, actually. Well, it had, but only in the context that he wouldn’t. He had Sam. Sam had him. Sam – didn’t think she was good enough. For him. She thought she wasn’t good enough. It was almost enough to make him admit to being a monster, just to distract her.

Given that was a stupid thought that would only make their problems worse, he instead kissed her hair with perfect softness, and realized this was the first time they’d come this close since dinner. That felt like forever ago, but it hadn’t been long at all.

She needed a reminder. He could manage that. He could do that for – his mate.

“Samantha Walsh. Look at me.” His eyes were serious, and his hand was firm but gentle as he turned her face to meet his. His eyes were damp still, but he smiled anyway, letting a little bit of tooth show. “You are mine. I am yours. No outside force on earth or in hell is going to take that away from us. Least of all her.”

Wholly and completely, until death. Sooner or later. Probably sooner. But he wouldn’t say that. She didn’t need to know he thought she’d ever do that. And he couldn’t tell her why without risking it. So even though there was sadness behind the dancing light in his eyes, the blaze of genuine emotion, she’d see him smile.

“Mine,” he whispered, firmly, then leaned down and, if she let him, kissed her lips.
 
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“You are mine. I am yours.”

She looked up at him, tears still trailing down her face while he spoke. The corners of her lips raised in the ghost of a smile, barely noticeable through their trembling. She listened to what he was saying, taking it deep into herself and cementing it in place. He was telling her she didn’t need to panic, that he wasn’t going to leave her. She had to take that, had to believe it, because it was coming from his lips and as he spoke it, she realized that he meant it when it didn’t ping off her Vibe Checker.

“Mine.”

She covered the hand on her face with her own, holding it there. Keeping him anchored to her however she could. She needed it so much right then, needed what he was saying to her. Needed his words, his touch. She was more than happy to tilt her tear-stained face just the slightest bit up as Todd brought his lips down to hers.

She lifted her free hand to his cheek, gently touching him as he kissed her. Normally, she would have thrown herself into it, would have given him everything she could, but not then. No, she let this kiss remain soft. She let it remain gentle and light. Instead of the wildfire that always burned inside her at his touch, at his kiss, she felt a soft warmth spread through her, bringing her back to life. Her warmth, returning at his touch, filling her body back up with heat, chasing the cold away.

She broke the kiss with a shuddering breath and leaned her forehead into his, holding his face in place, if he let her. In a soft, shaking voice, she whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I feel so stupid. I just– your shower, and I felt– I panicked. I panicked so hard. I thought you were leaving me for… someone better.”

She gave a bitter laugh, one that said without words that it wasn’t an if in her mind, but a when. A when he would leave her. A when she would become too much for him. A when she would burn him enough that he would leave her. Not ifs, but whens. God, she had no idea how long she’d been feeling this, thinking it, and how deeply she was repressing it. She thought back to their dinner before, and how she had felt not good enough then either.

This had been different. This was every insecurity she had– of herself, of their relationship, of him– all bubbling up at once. She felt so intensely unworthy of her wendigo. The tears continued to stream down her face, even though she was starting to calm down. Her heart rate, while still far too high, had evened out, and her breaths were coming smoother.​
 
His mouth watered as he kissed her, and he was glad it was gentle and short so she didn’t notice. With the added tears and the faintest taste of almond in her skin, she went beyond sugar cookie, and tasted exactly like a snickerdoodle.

And it was fucking awful that he thought of that when he was supposed to be comforting her, even if the thought was uninvited. It was one reason why he kept it shallow; the second reason was still sitting in the living room. This seemed to be enough for Sam, for now. She broke away first, and he didn’t chase her, but she’d see the worry in his eyes if she went looking. There was no point in hiding it. He stroked her cheek with his fingers, feeling the warmth rebuilding under her skin as their foreheads pressed together.

“No, Sammy, you’ve got nothing to be sorry about. It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe.” He didn’t add the for now that he thought, and instead cracked a smile. “The only thing we lose with putting off the shower is you’ve probably gotta shower now, too. Except – well, I can uh… I can ask Nahual to go somewhere else for the night. Or you can. I was hoping I could leave her here with you, but–”

But you’re injured, and you just had two panic attacks in a row, and she’s a predator with even less self control than me. And you taste like heaven.

“– but if that’s too awkward, I’ll figure something else out. I could call Connor or something, if you want.”

He finally pulled away, searching her face with perfect sincerity in his bright blue eyes, even as a tear rolled out of the corner. Just the one, a little release. The decision was ultimately hers. He’d follow her lead, whatever she did. She needed that little bit of control right now. He could feel that much. He needed her to feel that he was willing to give that to her. That he’d give her everything if it meant she’d be safe and happy.
 
Sam didn’t bother to correct him about the shower. Maybe he didn’t need to know that she could feel Nahual in his shower through the floor. He knew that she could feel vibrations, but not at all how far or how well. Instead, she carefully touched her cracked ribs and smiled. She nodded her head, her forehead brushing against his.

“She can stay. She can stay on my couch tonight. Now that you, uhm. Cleared that up for me. I– I don’t know why I reacted that way.” That was a lie. She knew now that she had never felt like she was good enough for him, even knowing what he was. She knew now that she had always been insecure in this relationship, and she would remain so until he said those words she so desperately wanted him to say.

Todd was so far above her, in everything. She couldn’t even begin to hope to be the mate of something like him. She was the exact thing he was built to eat, she was food, even if he didn’t treat her like that. How could she, a mouse, ever be the mate of a cat?

She couldn’t. There was no way he would want her forever, not like she wanted him. There was no way he could ever love her. Once again, she wondered if this was a game, if the mine she felt so intensely for him, the one that he reflected to her, was just him marking her as food on his end. Would he leave her when he found out she knew what he was? Would he eat her?

She had no way to know what he would do. Either way, she resolved finally, certainly, that she would tell him. Very soon. She couldn’t bear to wait and see how it all fell apart. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would stay after she told him. Maybe he wouldn’t leave. Maybe he wouldn’t eat her.

Even then, though, she wasn’t afraid of him, only of losing him. She wasn’t afraid of his hunger, of his teeth. She was only afraid of what he could do to her heart, not her body.

She looked up at him and saw the worry behind his eyes. She couldn’t help the sadness in hers. Sad and tired. God, she was tired. Still, she smiled, the corners of her mouth just barely turning up. Still, she took his hand and pulled it away from her face, something she had never done before. She touched her ribs with both of her hands and hissed out a breath.

“I don’t know how entertaining I can be tonight. I broke my ribs. A fight earlier, I got shot twice and then, well, something else happened, and I fractured two of my ribs.” She smiled wistfully and shrugged, looking away. She was off. She knew she was acting off. Not looking at his eyes, shying away from his touch, but now that she realized what she was feeling, well. It was hard not to.​
 
He blinked once at the suggestion that Nahual could crash on the couch, then actually laughed, a very soft, light laugh. “I just meant long enough for me to shower. She’s– I’m not sure if she has a place she’s staying, but I need to talk to her about… a few things. Not those kinds of things, I promise. But after that – if you’re comfortable with her staying the night, I don’t see why not, but… I think maybe just a few minutes of a test run? Just to make sure you’re okay. Broken ribs are no joke.”

He kissed her cheek, soft and tender. The kiss gave him the chance to try to catch a scent, though. Just in case her guys got away, and he got to have a little talk with them. He was pretty full still, despite the latest experiences, but…well, there was always the chance. And in that breath, two scents stood out to him on her clothes; something superficial, and something underneath that. Weirdly, the superficial one seemed to be the less prominent one, almost second- or thirdhand. Earth, incense, ozone. Those were strong, but that was the secondary scent. Underneath it, under that and the smell of... cigarettes, probably, that seemed right, and sugar coffee, and blood and sweat –

No, not sweat. Just salt. Sea salt, and something tangy-sweet, or burnt-sweet, like caramel. Salted caramel. That was an unusual scent, but distinct enough that his mental files just had to double check for the other scents, to pinpoint an event. He had started to block out the memory of Amy, but her face just before it died, that prey resignation, stirred his predator. It looked like sometime soon, he’d have a talk with Nine-Tails Inc.

He didn’t have to kill them. Like he’d told Nahual, fear could be a very effective antidote to, say, taking a fight with certain vigilantes too far.

She didn’t need to know about that part, though. She was too good for him; she’d say to let it go, or that she had it under control. Which she probably did. Although right now she was – she was acting oddly. He reached down to take her hand and– stopped, pulling his hand back a little when hers twitched away from him. He stopped before he touched her skin, and looked at her face, suddenly afraid. His heart raced. She wasn’t looking at him. Against his better reason, he wondered if she knew. If she knew, and had planned to do something about it, when – was it because of Nahual? But she’d been fine when he came up to the window. She’d only panicked when she saw Nahual, and that just because she apparently thought Todd was leaving her.

It had to be instinctive, then. Maybe she recognized without realizing just how injured she was, and that he was a predator to her. The injury had to be serious, if that was what was happening. Or maybe it compounded with her instincts about Nahual, who had so much less control. Who didn’t understand people, who might not ever understand. He could help her, but he couldn’t hand her that understanding.

If he was going to help, she and Sam were going to be around each other a lot. Maybe it’d help Sam realize that she really was the only person Todd could ever be this close to, even if that closeness was going to be their end. He’d promised to tell her, but that fear was still there, heavy and thick in the air, radiating with Sam’s returned heat. And maybe spending time around Sammy – wonderful, perfect, too good for Todd Sammy – would help Nahual see something he’d taken years to notice about other humans.

He wanted so badly to take her hand, but he wouldn’t risk another flinch like that. His heart couldn’t take another flinch like that. It was hard enough to keep a smile, to look away so she didn’t see she’d hurt him, because she didn’t need to assume she’d done anything else wrong. Instead of touching her, he just stepped away, centered himself a little, and stepped back into the living room, just hoping she’d follow, or letting her take the space she needed if she didn’t.
 
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She hadn’t meant to flinch. God, she hadn’t meant to flinch. She couldn’t meet his eyes after he had kissed her cheek, but by all that was fucking good in the world, she hadn’t meant to flinch. A moment too late, she reached out to try and catch his hand before he moved away, missing it by just a hair. She could feel it starting– a little rift. Not a big one, but it was enough that those carefully sewn stitches on the patch he had been affixing to her heart seemed to go slack. Her hand dropped as she heard her heartbeat in her ears, rushing like water.

One beat. What was she supposed to do? She could tell from the set of his shoulders and the way he moved that she had just hurt him, that he was stressed more than he was willing to show. God, she would take the stress over that deliberately relaxed expression. She would have told him as much, if there wasn’t some strange young woman sitting on her couch. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. She hadn’t meant to fucking flinch She was just so knotted up inside.

Two beats. Everything had just risen to the surface. All of the anxiety, the fear, the uncertainty, and the hopelessness. Sam never had anyone she loved for long. They either died or they left her. If they didn’t die, they grew to hate her for who she was. For what she’d done. She could never hope to keep Todd, and the part of her that had always known he would leave her was now taking up residency at the forefront of her mind. She had to make this last, for as long as she could.

Three beats. She recovered and turned to follow him out, her hand quickly reaching for his. Eagerly reaching for his. He needed to know it wasn’t him, that it was her, that it was all her, and that she didn’t– that she wasn’t– It wasn’t his fault that she was so anxious. That she was so scared. He just needed to know it wasn’t him.

So she reached out for his hand with the intent of pulling on it, of pulling him back toward her. If he let her do so, she would hop up on her toes and press her lips to his in a soft, barely there kiss, a gentle and adoring brush of lips. She wanted him to know, to know she hadn’t meant it. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him.

Regardless of if he let her or not, she whispered softly, “I love you, Todd.”​
 

At the beginning, when the pair left the room, Nahual directed energy to alter the shape of her ears so that she might have an improved sense and listen in on Todd and Sam's conversation. They extended away from her head partially, growing into little pointed ears not dissimilar to that of a cat's. Now that they were finished, she wished she hadn't.

Nahual couldn't have rolled her eyes back further if she tried, and she tried. She diverted the minimum necessary amount of biomass to change the shape of her eye muscles so that she might roll her eyes even further back than a human was capable of. At the end of the movement, she commented, "If you're going to mate, please do it after I leave. I'm not interested in your- copulation. Ew."

Crossing her leg, the skinny predator relaxed on the couch even further and added, "I get it Todd, she's yours, completely understood. This display was, unnecessary. Now, because I have good hearing-" She gestured to her catlike ears as they slowly shifted from their extended position back to something more normal, "Am I being offered a safe rest here? Or with you- Todd? Frankly, don't care either way, just need food. Not a lot, couple pounds should be fine for the night."

That was a little bit of an overreach, but Todd didn't know her biomass necessary for continued existence yet. So while that was still an unknown, every little bit she could add would be great. At least enough to replace the amount consumed by her curiosity would be great. Then, realizing perhaps that 'Sammy,' hadn't really been listening to her before, Nahual added, "I'm Nahual- by the way!" and flipped the switch to get the grin back on her face.

Happy Nahual, joyful little friend. Be extra nice now. Eat lots later.
 
Sam pressed her head lightly into Todd’s chest before turning toward Nahual, with every intention of reintroducing herself– only to stop in her tracks. Her mouth fell open in surprise, her eyes going wide. What the fuck? She looked up at Todd for a moment and then looked back at the young woman. Actually, on further inspection, she might as well have been an older teen rather than a twenty-something like Sam had initially assumed.

That wasn’t important. What was important was that Nahual had just called Sam Todd’s mate. She had just said that she understood that Sam was Todd’s. That made her pause. Why would she know those two things? Why had Todd told her that Sam was his? Her mind raced as she came to a natural conclusion.

Nahual was some kind of predator.

And if it was the kind of predator that Todd felt like he needed to claim her in front of– Nahual ate people. Nahual ate people, just like Todd, and apparently was hungry enough that Todd’d had to declare her as his in order to protect her. That melted away the last bit of genuine fear in her chest, but she was suddenly filled with an emotion foreign to her, cropping up beside the warmth and the adoration that came with realizing Todd was protecting her.

That emotion was disgust.

She wanted to recoil away from Nahual. She wanted to grab her hammer and she wanted to– she paused. Why did she want to hurt this girl, but not Todd? Why was she having such a violent wave of disgust and anger wash over her? She squeezed Todd’s hand tight and frowned at Nahual. Then, she breathed in deep and held it. She let it out in a sigh, letting most of the anger and disgust leave with it.

“Nahual. I’m sorry about all of that, uhm. I’m Sam, Todd’s… mate.” She said it with the same equal heaviness and lightness as she did when she said mine. There was a hint of humor in her voice, and her eyes flashed up to Todd’s for just a moment. Although there was the same humor in her eyes, there was a glint of something else. A glint of knowing that she couldn’t quite cover up. She caught his blush and a genuine smile graced her face as she looked back at the girl.

Nahual. Now she remembered where she had heard that name before. People eating shapeshifters of Mesoamerica. She hadn’t read too much into them, mostly because they had been discarded once she and Connor had realized that he was a wendigo. And as the girl shifted her ears, Sam realized that was exactly what she was. A little on the nose to name your child after what they were, but then, Sam had traced Todd’s genealogy as far back as she could online, and his mother’s family’s last name basically was just another word for “evil spirit”. Either that or Snow Owl, which is what the family chose to go by instead.

“You can stay here, and I’ll even make you dinner- on the condition that you never shower in Todd’s apartment ever again. Or sleep there. You can stay here, not there. Understand?”​
 
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