themonstrovvs:
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There was part of Charles that didn’t want to go back, either. He longed for simpler times… for times when he could easily please Douglas and Douglas was eager to please him, times where Doug looked at Charles as if he had hung the stars in the sky and unquestioningly trusted the man. He wondered if they would ever get that back.
This trip was going to be special. Charles had it all planned out. They were going to have a good time and they were going to bond. For years, almost all of Doug’s life, really, Charles had struggled internally with his connection to the wolf. He perceived Doug as his son and had for quite a while but had never verbalized that to anyone, least of all Doug. This Christmas, he planned on expressing his feelings to Doug and letting him know exactly why things were the way they were – Charles saw himself as Douglas’ father and wanted to do everything to ensure his safety and his future were as bright as they could be.
He was touched when Doug asked if he could try shooting the magnificent gun. Charles nodded, reached up and plucked the second one from the wall. He had two such beautiful pieces that hung crossed over one another as if on display. “We’ll bring them both. One for me, one for you.” He offered with a slight smile in the younger man’s direction before turning back to his last bag that he was packing, just making sure they had everything they needed. The excitement roiled in him like bubbling, boiling water but he appeared as placid as a lake.
“Doug, I would be happy to see you do your best both in your natural talents and in mine. I think you will find you’re proficient with the guns as well.” The compliment didn’t go unnoticed but Charles simply replied with a squeeze to the boy’s shoulder. “We should get going soon. I want to enjoy as much time in the jungle as possible.”
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Douglas watched Charles with anticipation, holding his breath tightly as he waited for his answer, expecting either a no or a yes equally. It’d never been his place to shoot the gun; he was supposed to track, locate, and physically take down Charles’ targets if the situation called for it. He’d only stare in awe when his hunter braced himself to shoot with precision, taking down creatures bigger than both of them combined with a well-placed shot.
“Seriously?” Doug said, his eyes lighting up with excitement when Charles moved to retrieve the Falcon’s twin, his answer contrary to his expectations. He blinked, his heart jumping into his throat as his grip tightened around the rifle in his hands as he looked down at it again. He nodded once, his lips curling in between his teeth as he set his mind to be ready for a challenge he’s never had before. There was some instinctual resistance, like the wolf in him was butting heads with the human part of him. Surely, he had been trained to lean more on his animal instincts throughout his early years with the man’s guidance, but he had noticed a shift towards training and refining him as a young man, too, over the last few years. “If you think I can, then I will,” Doug said with another affirming nod, smiling up at him before he finished packing away his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
The first part of any hunt was always pleasant; they were just setting out, which meant there was wiggle room to talk until he caught a scent or found a trail to follow. His hand rested on the strap of the rifle, overly aware of its presence - whether out of instinctual fear as guns with silver bullets could easily be the death of him, or out of the sheer pressure of living up to Charles’ expectations - he wasn’t fully certain of. He tried to embrace his nervousness as excitement, though. “What was the first creature you ever hunted?” Douglas asked idly as he stepped over a fallen log and looked back at his guardian. “What made you decide this was what you were meant to do?”









