bsumone | Slightly less monstrous boys: prequel

Su-jin can't recall having much to laugh about in his life. Not as easily as this, anyway. He carries himself like a more serious person than he'd like to be. But control of himself mattered to him. Probably an effect of him being the kind of monster he is.

There's something comfortable about Silvio that draws Su-jin in. Even when the wolf's in pain like this. It feels like he still loves life. Su-jin's always carried more fear and guilt with him than wonder and awe. Again, the effect of being what he is.

"I can't say how long we'll remain in Spain, but will do my best to stay in touch when we leave."

"I'd really like that. Feel free to stop by anytime you want to as well. It's nice having the company. It's been a few years since I've had a friend and I'd forgotten how much I missed it."

He was so grateful to Su-jin for giving him this. For letting him have the chance to feel again. Even if it was brief or even if it went on for years, he'd always be so grateful that he had this moment. "I'm really glad you decided to stop and check on me the other day in the city."

“I’m glad, too.” Su-jin hasn’t made many friends since their relocation to Spain and he’s the sort of creature that enjoyed the company of others. He loved to listen as much as he spoke, to learn about others’ passions and interests, and just connect with another soul. Meeting Silvio was fortuitous, indeed!

“I will enjoy being your friend, I think. Hopefully, for a long time to come.”

"Hopefully. That would be really nice."

For both of them really. He'd been lonely, sure. But there was something in him that said that Su-jin needed friendship too. Someone who wasn't going to judge him and who would even understand what it was like to have a beast in you that you couldn't control at times when certain things happened.

"Maybe I'll even start keeping books around here for you." Since, you know, Silvio obviously couldn't read them.

Of the few people Su-jin considered as more than just passing acquaintances, less than half of them knew the details of his feeding habits. Or even the broad strokes. He doesn’t advertise that he has to eat flesh to survive. Living flesh. He’s tried living on the dead, but it can’t sustain him, just as blood alone can’t sustain him. Tiras may be the only one who knows the details – outside of certain, if not all, Council members (though, Su-jin hardly considers them friends. They’re barely allies). Next to Tiras, Silvio’s sense of smell probably made him privy to Su-jin’s feeding habits more quickly and thoroughly than anyone else.

He appreciated Silvio’s lack of judgment. There are plenty of monsters out there who thought Su-jin more monstrous than most. Even a true vampire can feed without killing. A werewolf, however? What a perfect creature to understand the loss of control and the uncomfortable feelings that come from knowing there’s a beast that can’t be controlled.

Su-jin smiled at Silvio’s comment.

“Make sure they’re books you might like. I can read them aloud for you.”

"Books I like huh? Can't say I'm that familiar with the books that are out there."

He grinned though, realizing that maybe he'd be able to discover that now. Get to know them better. Especially since...especially since Su-jin would read to him. He sighed a little, relaxing and enjoying the thought that he had a real friend again. Someone who wanted to spend such time with him.

"I'll buy a bunch and figure out what I like the most."

“Perhaps you’ll let me add to your library? What sort of stories do you like? Do you enjoy poetry at all? If you could provide some criteria, I’m happy to find some things you might like.” The least he could do for a new friend.

“I’m fortunate to have access to a very large collection of books from… a very long time ago until present.”

"Let's start with some of your favorites first. I've never really had the chance to do a lot of reading. I'll tell you what I like the most as you read to me."

Werewolves tended to be more active beings. They learned to read to get things in town but they weren't big readers otherwise. He smiled at Su-jin then gave a small stretch before relaxing again. "I'm curious about your collection now, after all."

“I like poetry. And biographies. And histories…” But he liked a lot of fiction, too. All types of stories, really. “I’ll do my best to bring a good variety. And you mustn’t suffer through anything you find dull. Just tell me if we’re a few chapters in and you don’t find it interesting.

A warm smile settled on his face and it was like his whole body relaxed. “My partner and I share a passion for reading. It was one of the first things we discovered we had in common after we met. We’ve been building the collection together for almost 600 years. He started it long before that, though.”

"Suffer? You make it sound so dramatic to listen to a book you're not that interested in."

He chuckled a bit though. Su-jin was older than him and they did used to be more dramatic before his time. So maybe this was just a cute and endearing trait of his. Which, in that case, he wouldn't tease him about him too often so he'd be able to keep witnessing it.

"So if you two have been building a collection for that long it must be really impressive."

“It is, even if I am perhaps a bit biased on that matter. Some of the works he collected before meeting me are so old, I’m afraid to touch them. Though I am trying to carefully copy them so we can still enjoy reading them without fear of damaging the antiquities.”

That was actually one of Su-jin’s favorite pastimes. Even if Su-jin can’t read the texts, he can make beautiful copies. “Is there some particular point in history that you favor? I could bring something from one of those eras if you like.”

"I'll admit the only point in history I'm particularly familiar with is the one that I lived. I'm not uneducated but my entire life as I know it has largely been these forests."

Silvio was quiet for a moment to think. Pondering what to ask for when he was honestly so unfamiliar with a great deal. Not because he didn't care but because he hadn't had the same access as others would have due to his location.

"If you know any stories about places in the forests I'd like to hear them. I know what that life is like really well."

That… That was nice. Not that Su-jin didn’t enjoy his life of travel with Tiras. No, he wouldn’t change anything about his life with Tiras. Not even the arguments and the tantrums and those occasions when Tiras got fitful and threw valuable things at him. No, he wouldn’t change a second of it. But the thought of being able to have one place to call home… It was nice. Su-jin was glad that Silvio have that.

“Do you like fairy stories? A lot of them involved forests or enchanted woods.”

"I'd like to hear them."

He imagined he'd be able to tear them apart but no he wouldn't do that. As much as he knew about how the woods worked in reality he didn't want to ruin the stories that humans had created. Nor did he want to destroy the magic that Su-jin would create by reading to him. It just wasn't in Silvio's nature to be cruel like that.

"They sound like they'd be fun to listen to."

“They’ve changed a lot over the years.” They stories have been softened and watered down to entertain children rather than frightening them into ‘acceptable’ behavior. Well, it’s been an interesting thing to watch over time. Everything changes over time. He’s used to that part. It’s how things change that can sometimes be surprising.

Smiling at his new friend, Su-jin nodded. “I hope my accent doesn’t make them too difficult to parse.”

"I mean I've heard worse accents," Silvio teased before letting out a laugh. Even with all the pain he was in, he still always found it in him to laugh. The sunshine of the pack was what they'd called him when they'd been alive. He'd always loved that.

"You can tell me how they've changed after you tell me each one."

“Have you, really?” Though Silvio couldn’t see the amusement on Su-jin’s face, it was definitely audible. Su-jin knew his accent was bizarre. No matter how long he lived in a place, he simply couldn’t get rid of it: that strange mix of his native language with every other language he’s learned since. Even now, he still sometimes has some difficulty with Ls and Rs.

“I’ll be happy to share that with you. It probably isn’t surprising that they’ve been watered down and turned into children’s stories instead of morality tales.”

"You haven't heard some of the people who get lost in these woods trying to speak Spanish." Besides, Su-jin had a pleasant way of talking that meant that he never minded the accent. It was just nice to hear the tone of his voice, especially when there was laughter in it.

"That makes sense. Mortality stories can be harsh and some prefer the gentler side of things."

“I can’t always fault them for that,” Su-jin mused. “Life can be harsh and if they’re able to eke out some joy from a happy story instead of a sanctimonious one…” Or maybe they just didn’t feel good trying to frighten their children. Who could say? Whatever the case, Su-jin wasn’t trying to judge anyone for it.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting a softer life.”

"You know, I was human for a time but I never actually had a normal human life. A lot of this stuff is so new to me. When my pack found me I was just a baby. My entire life has had been them." Until the obvious. But that part could be left unsaid. That wasn't what they were talking about right now.

"I feel like I'm learning a lot from you since you surround yourself with humans all the time."

Su-jin’s human life was unremarkable… until it wasn’t. He doesn’t recall many of the finer details, but impressions of normalcy before the monster clawed its way to the surface. After that? Only fear and guilt and a burning urge to survive in spite of it. Lowering his eyes, a subtle smile curled his lips and warmth spread from his chest.

“I’m only able to do so because of Tiras.”

If not for him, Su-jin would still be a scared little thing hiding in the dark, terrified of the hungers he felt and the damage they caused. Even still, he finds his hunger off-putting, but at least he’s able to slake them in a way that’s safe.

"I'm really glad you have him. You seem an amazing person so it would have been a shame to have a world without you in it."

He wouldn't have been able to befriend him like this, after all. The fact that Su-jin was the one who had found him in the depths of his loneliness? It really felt like fate in the best way possible. He couldn't help but be grateful to him and whoever out there and decided they needed to meet.

He felt like he should explain more thoroughly, like he should share why having Tiras in his life was the only reason he has a life. That Tiras strips away the bone-deep fear he used to have about what he is. But he resisted. No need to overshare when surely someone with Silvio's keen sense of smell could detect the relatively fresh blood on Su-jin. It's a scent that clings to him and often puts off many other supernatural who are able to smell it.

"I am fortunate. Not only for him, but now for you. There are very few people who aren't human among my acquaintances." For the aforementioned reason.

"Really? That surprises me. You're a good man."

And he genuinely believed that. Because Su-jin didn't have to help him when he saw him in the city. He didn't have to come back to help him after the full moon either. He definitely didn't have to offer to be his friend. Yet here he was doing all of that. Maybe the guy didn't believe in it fully himself due to what he ate (and Silvio could definitely smell it on him) but the wolf did. To the fullest.

"Non-humans are missing out."

A good man who reeks of blood. Other predators recognize him for what he is and that can be very off-putting. Silvio seems more forgiving about that. But the wolf’s keen sense of smell probably tells him that the scent on Su-jin isn’t human. He’s not out there devouring hapless humans.

Su-jin laughs quietly to himself. “Maybe not. You’ve seen what an exciting person I am.” Cooking bad food and reading to Silvio.

Slightly less monstrous boys: prequel

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