Borrowing Freedom

Alec | 17 | Half human | BATS

[thebenjywoden]

Night Walk || Ben & Alec

[alechasnohorns]

Sky Cabin had not really been where Alec had planned on ending up. Okay he hadn’t really planned much of anything beyond ‘try to survive the summer’, and he really should have braced himself for anything at this point, but he hadn’t. Heights, while not one of his greatest fears, had never been something he had much cared for. He wasn’t sure if it was the equine part of him, or just the part of him that didn’t care for the idea of falling to his death, but either way it was rather unpleasant. So far no one seemed to take any notice of his discomfort, and he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t complaining enough about the situation, or if he simply complained too much on a daily basis that any new grievances weren’t very note worthy. 

Despite his aversion to the physical cabin itself, Alec found himself complaining far less about his bunkmates this year than he had the last. Somehow finding himself in one of the least occupied cabins it had proven to be more peaceful than HALL this time around. Stuck between Aaron, who was alright enough guy, Lyle, his never-quite-admit-it-fuck-you-if-you-suggest-it-best-friend, and Ben, his roommate, all of his complaints were more of their own sake than out of any real spite. 

So there was an uncharacteristic lack of dragging to his steps as he made his way back to his cabin as the sun finally disappeared behind the tree line. Hands in the pockets of his hoodie he tried not to make eye contact with the other campers he passed along the path, taking to alternating between glaring and giving small nods of acknowledgment as needed to those he failed to not look at. Half on the balls of his feet to move faster he thought he might have run right into Ben had he not heard the other boy’s exclamation. 

“Whoa,” Alec breathed out, the traces of a smile on his face despite his concern. “Someone’s pissed about missing the sing-along,” he teased. Stopping at the base of the steps he looked down at his forlorn friend. “I bet if you hurry you could make it for the final number.” 

[thebenjywoden]

Ben froze in place at the sound of his friends voice. Call it irony of fate that Alec had to be the one who found him in such a miserable state. Again. Yet he couldn’t help but shake his head at the teasing with a small smile showing up on his face once the moment of surprise was over. Finally lifting his head the hunter looked up at the other boy. “What the hell did I miss that left you in such a good mood?”

It was one of the rare things to see Alec in a better mood than usual. Normally he would be all grumpy and annoyed by everyone and everything but today he seemed much relaxed even though he knew he was probably wondering what was up with him. Ben wasn’t sure if he would tell him or spill it when he’d return. Either was stupid at this very moment.

Pushing himself up on his feet Ben put on a smile only to give his friend not a reason to worry about him. “Don’t tell me you liked the sing-along?”

[alechasnohorns]

Alec shrugged one shoulder, his smile slipping into a somewhat more familiar neutral expression, but it was impossible to keep the lightness out of his tone. “I don’t know, no one’s made me want to stab them in like...four days? We’re going for a new record. I mean, some naga girl did call me some vulgar shit when Thompson and I were pulling the thorns out of her tail this morning but honestly that was more funny than anything.” 

Taking a step back to give Ben more room to stand he shook his head, a huff of a breath that may have been a laugh escaping him. “Ah, no, did’t even go.” He cleared his throat, placing a hand over his chest dramatically. “No one is ready for the wailing melodies of Alec Karkadann. Seriously, no one.” He frowned. “My dad told me to shut the cat up the last time I sang.” Crossing his arms and drawing himself out of his memories he glanced back at Ben. “So you heading up or out?” He jerked his head to indicate back down the path. “I’ve got nothing to do for the rest of the night.” 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth his grin from before began to slip, uncertainty taking over as soon as he slowed himself down to think. Was that a weird thing to assume that Ben just wanted to hang out with him because he was there, or to think Ben even had the time in the first place? Or was that just how friends worked? Oh, that was a sad train of thought ‘how do friends work?’ Okay maybe people were right and he did need to get out more. 

“If you want to hang out, I mean,” he finished after a moment of internal debate, hoping his words sounded more casual than he felt. 

[thebenjywoden]

Night Walk || Ben & Alec

Sitting at the end of the stairs to Sky Cabin Ben let his gaze trail around in the dark. He knew it was way past curfew but he didn’t care like he didn’t care about much lately. It wasn’t like him but ever since he got another letter from his dad with a date when he had to go home Ben felt restless. Of course his dad made sure it would reach him right at the beginning of summer camp so it was already ruined before it had even started. Ever since he lay awake every night, whishing he could stop time so the day of his departure would never come. But now it were only a few hours left and he hadn’t told anyone. Not even Alec and he was actually the only one who knew everything about him. Well, almost everything.

He was a bad friend for not telling him and Ben didn’t even know why he hadn’t told him yet. The hunter let out a sigh. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as he expected it to be. But deep down he knew he was cherishing false hopes because his dad was a cruel man who didn’t tolerate friendships with supernatural creatures of any kind and Ben had some by now.

“Fuck!” He cursed not hearing footsteps approaching him.

[alechasnohorns]

Sky Cabin had not really been where Alec had planned on ending up. Okay he hadn’t really planned much of anything beyond ‘try to survive the summer’, and he really should have braced himself for anything at this point, but he hadn’t. Heights, while not one of his greatest fears, had never been something he had much cared for. He wasn’t sure if it was the equine part of him, or just the part of him that didn’t care for the idea of falling to his death, but either way it was rather unpleasant. So far no one seemed to take any notice of his discomfort, and he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t complaining enough about the situation, or if he simply complained too much on a daily basis that any new grievances weren’t very note worthy. 

Despite his aversion to the physical cabin itself, Alec found himself complaining far less about his bunkmates this year than he had the last. Somehow finding himself in one of the least occupied cabins it had proven to be more peaceful than HALL this time around. Stuck between Aaron, who was alright enough guy, Lyle, his never-quite-admit-it-fuck-you-if-you-suggest-it-best-friend, and Ben, his roommate, all of his complaints were more of their own sake than out of any real spite. 

So there was an uncharacteristic lack of dragging to his steps as he made his way back to his cabin as the sun finally disappeared behind the tree line. Hands in the pockets of his hoodie he tried not to make eye contact with the other campers he passed along the path, taking to alternating between glaring and giving small nods of acknowledgment as needed to those he failed to not look at. Half on the balls of his feet to move faster he thought he might have run right into Ben had he not heard the other boy’s exclamation. 

“Whoa,” Alec breathed out, the traces of a smile on his face despite his concern. “Someone’s pissed about missing the sing-along,” he teased. Stopping at the base of the steps he looked down at his forlorn friend. “I bet if you hurry you could make it for the final number.” 

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Ease my mind // Heather and Alec

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

There was a shriek in her throat that nearly choked her as she flinched away from his touch. Was it really his touch she was flinching away from though? No. But that also didn’t really matter right now, she wasn’t exactly rational.

“Don’t…don’t touch me,” at least she could breath now, instead of sob. On a normal day  she’d have known exactly what had happened. Alec and his healing. Why was he always finding her in these positions where he needed to use it? He hated that. Well…he claimed he did. She knew better. But that was on a normal day.

[alechasnohorns]

Heather’s reaction was nothing close to what Alec had been anticipating, and he jerked his hand back in surprise. Wide eyed and even more alarmed than he had been a moment ago, Alec rocked back on his heels. “Okay, okay I’ll stay right over here,” he assured her, raising his hands so she could see if she looked up. He wasn’t sure she was even seeing him right now, looking lost in her own head as she breathed heavily. 

“Heather...what happened?”

[invisibleglory]

“I swear, if one more person thinks I’m some kind of a ghost…” Gloria looked at her companion and relaxed, rather relieved by his presence. Ah, someone who actually knew their way around a sword. She took his advice, steadying her hold before properly greeting him. Or, rather casually greeting him, “Hey. Am I doing it right now?”

[alechasnohorns]

"Sorry, really need to brush up on my abilities to identify invisible entities without asking so many questions,” he drawled with an amazing effort to not roll his eyes. Lifting his own sword up he approached the floating sword, standing back just far enough that he wouldn’t be hit if she swung. 

“I’m not really sure, hard to tell when I can’t see you.” Placing the edge of the blade his boot again, shoulders squared as he analyzed the scene before him. Or the half scene. “How tall are you? And how does that sword feel for you? It’s gonna feel heavy at first but if it hurts just to lift it, then you’re going to need to start with a smaller one.”

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Ease my mind // Heather and Alec

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

She had an entire explanation about how she was fine. About how he really needed to stop assuming that there were things wrong and that he needed to know about them. They were friends but some things were just not discussed. And that was if something was wrong, which there wasn’t. Because she was fine. Everything was fine. 

Instead she burst into tears.

Heather fell against the wall and slid to the floor closing in on herself. She covered her damp face with both her hands and just sat there and sobbed, not even caring that Alec was in the room anymore. She’d just held it together for too long and now it was falling apart again and it didn’t matter that she was sitting in a classroom feet away from someone who always had the misfortune of finding her in these positions.

[alechasnohorns]

As expected as the meltdown was given the signs, Alec was still unprepared as Heather fell back against the wall. “Uh,” Alec managed out, a reflex to his discomfort as he tried to ready himself to do...something. Something definitely needed to be done here, unfortunately that was as far as he had gotten in his planning. Flexing his hands he felt his magic surge forward, edging to the tips of his fingers, a familiar cool blue glow emanating from them as he took the precarious few steps forward. 

Crouching down on his knees he held up his hands, looking over his sobbing friend as he tried desperately to form a plan. “Okay,” he told her as reassuringly as he could, reaching out on hand to pat awkwardly at her nearest shoulder. His magic spiked, a small electric blue light moving forward as he touched her, just a small burst to try to calm her nerves. “It’s...all right.”

[cupidserinds-deactivated2016010]

“Y’know… crushes are stupid,” Valerie said before she took a bite of her cereal. “Bless food, though, for always being there.”

[alechasnohorns]

Leaning against the counter Valerie had perched herself on Alec nodded, taking a bite of his apple. “I’d drink to that...if I had anything to drink. Okay maybe not, but the sentiment remains.”

[invisibleglory]

“I suck at this like a vampire at a neck. But imagine how deadly I would be if I could wield, like…any weapon at all.” Gloria struggled with a large sword that had not yet gone invisible in her grasp. It was alarmingly heavier than she’d expected, though she didn’t know why she’d expected it to be easier to hold in the first place. It just went to show how awful she was regarding weapons.

[alechasnohorns]

Alec turned at the sound of the voice, eyes narrowed as he scanned the arena for the source, finally landing on the wobbling sword hanging in the air. For a moment he continued looking for someone, certain it was a magic user messing around, before realizing that was not the case. His own sword gripped in his hand Alec approached with a touch of caution. “Gloria?” He asked the empty space near the hilt, shifting his own sword down and resting the tip of the blade against the toe of his boot. “Or are you that new poltergeist kid? Either way you need to hold the blade higher.”

[thebenjywoden]

Life's Better When You're Drunk || Ben & Alec

[thebenjywoden]

The sudden physical closeness left Ben in silence. It was short-lived and didn’t give him enough time to process what just happened before his friend was sitting next to him, leaving Ben wondering if he had imagined it. Maybe the amount of alcohol in his system wasn’t as good as he thought it would be but he wasn’t thinking much about his actions anymore. What he usually did too much anyway.

A small laugh left his lips, releasing the breath he didn’t know he had held. His green eyes shifted over at his friend, letting him lean in closer. He studied the other’s face with a mocking smile on his face. “You do have wrinkles, right there.” Ben pointed at the none existing wrinkles on Alec’s face obviously joking but it gave him an opportunity being closer to the other without having to explain himself.

“But I think you have better features than those,” Ben added, accepting the bottle back but not without brushing Alec’s hand when he wrapped his own hand around the bottle. Purposely? Maybe.

[alechasnohorns]

Alec took another drink as he felt Ben’s exhale more than heard it, and let out a short laugh of his own though nothing he could really think of was funny. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ben staring at him, face still too close despite Alec’s best efforts to give him some space. Unable to resist the temptation presented Alec allowed his eyes to drift to the side, meeting Ben’s grinning face head on. It felt briefly like he had taken a hit to the stomach, that unguarded and honest grin spreading undeterred across Ben’s face as he stared at him. Face suddenly feeling far too hot for the current temperature of the room, and with nothing better to do with his focus, Alec lifted the bottle to his lips to take another swig. Which he promptly choked on as Ben poked at his face. 

Turning his head to cough and laugh into the crook of his arm, he tried to ward off Ben with his elbow. “Fuck you,” he grumbled, unable to stop his grin. Giving up on the elbow defense he knocked his heel against Ben’s shin. “Only I get to point out my wrinkles.” Recovering from his fit he set the bottle down against his thigh, holding it steady with one hand. “I know I have better features. Most people tell me it’s my charming personality and sunny disposition.” 

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Ease my mind // Heather and Alec

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Heather was actually grateful that he raised his hands. It looked almost like he was trying to keep a wild animal contained and, on a normal day, she would have found that amusing. Regardless, having his hands outstretched gave her an excuse to look somewhere besides his face. Her eyes flicked back and forth between them but she managed to pull the corners of her mouth up. 

“Oh you know. Gotta keep the grades up…so I don’t…get kicked out or something.” Everything was too forced. The words. The smile. It didn’t reach her eyes and everything about it was strained. Why was it so hard to lie to him? She could do it convincingly enough to everyone else. Or if they noticed they didn’t care to say anything. She took another step back and the movement shifted her armful of objects down and she jumped to grab them more securely dropping a notebook again. Tears welled up in her eyes at the small incident and she mumbled something about needing to go. The notebook was still lying there as she started back down the hallway, her wings tucked in her sweater forcing her to move at the same pace as everyone else which was infuriating.

[alechasnohorns]

Why was this always his job, Alec found himself constantly questioning, uncertain as to how these things always got thrown into his lap. Or, rather, how he managed to find himself close enough friends that he felt guilty about doing anything other than trying to console them. Unfortunately, despite stereotypes to the contrary, Alec was hopeless at fixing anything that didn’t need stitched or mended on the physical level. Life rarely tended to wait for him to form a plan, and he didn’t have time to weight pros and cons and figure out the best plan of attack as Heather’s big eyes were quickly filling with tears and he could see the shift under her sweater as her wings fluttered in what he could feel was anxiety against her back. 

Aware that they were beginning to gain a small audience of bored students looking for anything to entertain themselves with, Alec scooped up the fallen notebook and hurried after the absconding harpy. “Okay,” he continued, voice dropping in an attempt at privacy. “Here, just...come here,” he instructed quietly. Raising his hands again he touched one to her shoulder, just enough to let her know where he wanted her to go, but gentle enough so he wasn’t pushing, as he guided her into the closest empty classroom. 

“So...what’s up?”

[alechasnohorns]

- This is why we can’t have anything nice.” 

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Ease my mind // Heather and Alec

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Heather actually flinched away from the question. Maybe it wasn’t the question so much as the person asking it. That was a voice she recognized and if he was asking, it was bad. The last time he had a deep conversation with her she had been covered in blood. Not exactly a great sign. 

“Fi-ne,” she almost choked on the word and snatched the notebooks away from him and shoving them into her broken backpack unceremoniously on top of the other things. Her lips had turned absolutely white she was pursing them so hard. Heather stood up and clutched her jumble of objects to her chest while take a few hesitant steps back.

“Just…you know…tired,” the words had never sounded convincing but this time they even tasted bad, like lying to Alec was different than lying to everyone else. Not just different but wrong. She couldn’t even look at him and used the excuse of yet another student knocking into her shoulder to take a few more steps away from him.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.”

[alechasnohorns]

As the notebook was snatched away from him Alec let his hand hover in the empty space a moment, unsure of what to do or how to react. Heather’s words were broken and anxious, and her movements too fast for his comfort. Not even thinking of his movements anymore he rose as she stood, eyes still on her face which she seemed intent on hiding from him. He opened his mouth to say something more when another student bumped into her, moving her farther away from him and causing her to go on another apologizing spree.

Raising his hands in what was either defeat or a calming gesture he took another tentative step towards his distressed friend. Harpy or no, Alec had never felt more like he was dealing with a bird with her before. Her movements were quick and eyes averted and he was suddenly aware that a wrong move might send her flying off - quite literally. “Okay...” He hesitated, trying to figure out his next move. Why did he always end up with these things? “What’s got you so tired?” He decided on, feeling it was easy enough half way between asking the truth and not calling her on her lie.

[thebenjywoden]

Life's Better When You're Drunk || Ben & Alec

[thebenjywoden]

Ben sat down with a flop and leaned back against the wall, turning his attention to his roommate. He watched Alec’s inspection in silence, noticing how he softly knitted his brow like he always did when he concentrated, even though he could tell that his power came quite easily. Ben didn’t need to ask what the other was doing because he knew what his friend was looking for. But he wasn’t stupid. He had tested the bottle’s contents before he drank it. Simply put it’s part of the hunter 101 what he knew by heart, even if he was trashed.

“One day you’ll get wrinkles from all the worrying,” the hunter said with a real smile this time, never taking his eyes from the other boy. Leaning forward he grabbed his friend’s arm and pulled Alec to him on the bed. “Sit and drink. You are needing it.”

[alechasnohorns]

“I all ready have them and I’ve been told their my best feature,” Alec shot back, eyebrows raised as he considered his reclining friend. How one person could manage to look so stressed and so relaxed all at once, Alec had never understood. Even when Alec was relaxed people asked him what was wrong or tended to avoid him. Maybe he just didn’t know how, though he felt no one could really blame him for that. 

Alec managed not to yelp or jump as Ben grabbed his arm unexpectedly, settling for a quiet gasp before allowing himself to be drawn down beside his inebriated roommate. Few people in this world could get away with manhandling Alec, but it was a system he was beginning to become accustom to from Ben. The combination of being pulled and giving in threw Alec a bit farther onto the bed than he had anticipated, pushing him flush against Ben in an awkward move that left him all but in the others lap. “Quit pushing me around,” he snapped with absolutely no heat in his words, shifting quickly so there was a respectable inch or so between them. 

Leaning back against the wall he snorted, but accepted the bottle that was passed to him. “Everyone has been telling me that since the day I arrived.” Taking a drink he contemplated a moment before relaxing, allowing his body to do what it wanted and filter the alcohol out instantly. Watching Ben out of the corner of his eye he passed the bottle back. Maybe just one drunk idiot in the room was enough. For now. 

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

Ease my mind // Heather and Alec

Floating was a good way to put it. Auto pilot would have also been acceptable. Heather was sure that people noticed, maybe even commented, and a few may have asked her if something was wrong. She kept repeating the same answers so often “stressed about school” or “weather got me down” or the standard “just tired”. No one really cared what the actual answer was and the less people that knew, the better. How do you explain to someone how dirty you feel? And Heather wouldn’t want them to. She wouldn’t wish these emotions on anyone. She tried to continue her daily routine. Classes. Eat. Training. Keep things clean. Pretend to socialize. Some things just started slipping through the cracks no matter how hard she tried. She didn’t wear her usual wardrobe, sweat pants  and sweaters were her norm now. The baggier the better. Her hair was just piled on top of her head untidily and her signature red lips were no where to be found. She just couldn’t bring herself to do them.

Complete distraction was unfortunately a side effect of the auto pilot she was experiencing. She often would go from one class to another or off to her room and not remember how she got there or whether she had done anything on the way. Very few things could bring her out of this but running smack into someone was definitely one of them. Heather fell backwards on her rear end and her bag broke open almost on queue. Books and notes. Pencils and her sewing kit. They all went flying and some was even kicked further away by laughing students as they passed. She sniffed and slowly turned to pick her things up.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t…watching…where I was going. Sorry. I didn’t mean…to.” Every word was labored as the full weight of her situation landed on her again but she made real effort to make them clear. She had to.

[alechasnohorns]

Alec was lost in his own head.

It was a path he knew he probably should take less often, given how easily he found himself wandering down thoughts of self-doubt and questioning that were probably better left unexplored. Something was off with his healing magic, or maybe just off with him, and Thompson had sent him out of the infirmary until he could straighten himself out. Tense and stressed, Alec kept his shoulders high as he moved through the halls, unsure if he was thinking too much or too little. Maybe he was so stressed his magic was fritzing, maybe it was some sort of unicorn puberty. Maybe he just sucked. Whatever it was, and whatever his brain could concoct had to be put on hold as his entire thought process was suddenly derailed. 

Staggered slightly he was not so much thrown off as the poor girl he had managed to slam into. Bracing himself against the wall he watched with wide eyes as various supplies were thrown everywhere, the echo of laughter ringing in his ears almost as loud as his own pumping blood in embarrassment. “Ah, shit, sorry.” Going down on his knees he scrambled to collect what he could. “Sorry, sorry, wasn’t looking.” 

It wasn’t until he was handing over the notebooks in his hands that he actually focused in on who he had run into. “Oh, hey Heather, how-” Alec stopped mid sentence, notebook dropping down a few inches in his grasp as he heard the catch in her voice. She wasn’t looking at him, and Alec could see the uncharacteristic tightness around her eyes. “Are you okay?”

[callmejune-deactivated20220527]

And here I am meant to be a great fighter and I just don’t want anything to do with it. Interesting.

Sorry. She’s just annoyed you didn’t use her name. It’s fine. I only feel you should be proud of your role in history. And the company you keep should be also. Well they aren’t and I’m good with that because I agree.

[alechasnohorns]

“Yeah, fate tends to be funny like that. Or cruel I guess. Not much use for someone who changes bodies in battle, but all the use in the world for you. But...here we are.” 

“Oh, sorry...Joan. Didn’t mean to insult her.” Alec hesitated again, unsure if Heather was speaking to them or to Joan. “Uh, okay.” 

[notichabodcrane-deactivated2016]

I know. You’d probably be dead in a ditch somewhere without me.

[alechasnohorns]

“Hey. There’s only like a...65% chance of that. More like 90% chance I would fail this class without you though.”

[notichabodcrane-deactivated2016]

Yeah, all right. Whatever you say, Karkadann.

[alechasnohorns]

“Damn straight, whatever I say.”

“But really, thanks for the notes. You’re a life saver.”

[cupidserinds-deactivated2016010]

“A certain edge? That’s one way of putting it, I suppose. However, you are right. Definitely less unwanted interaction because of them.”

[alechasnohorns]

“Well there’s that. Wish I could do that sometimes. All I’ve got is my bitch face and a sword, one of which is usually locked in the armory and the other is better on my other body.”