Where The Wildlings Are... @sagescarlett - Tumblr Blog

Wild Child || Cassius & Sage

LOCATION: Wicked's Rest Public Library and Cassius's home TIMING: Saturday 1/6 PARTIES: Cassius (@singdreamchild) & Sage (@sagescarlett) SUMMARY: Sage looks for help after her home is destroyed, Cassius finds her naked in front of the library and decides to take her in. WARNINGS: None

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It was late, and Cassius didn’t sleep. Well, he could if he wanted to. He just didn’t want to. So, instead, he’d decided to take a walk through the sleeping town, with the only thing lighting his way were the streetlights. Normally, on nights when he couldn’t sleep, he’d go to The Masque of the Red Eye. There was too much on his mind tonight to get any work done. His sire had been acting increasingly distant recently, and it was eating at him. He didn’t dare approach Richard, but it weighed heavy on him. Sometimes, he needed to go for a walk to gather his thoughts and figure out how to approach the situation. That was if Richard would even let him.

Deep in his thoughts and worries that Richard would slip away from him again, Cassius realized he was approaching the library. He noticed a figure peering into the library and frowned. “Library isn’t open at two in the morning,” the blonde said with a smirk spread across his face. “Is there a certain text you’re looking for, or just a passing curiosity?” He raised a brow, wondering what business someone could possibly be up to in the middle of the night in front of a library. Then again, he was here, too, so he didn’t have all that much room to speak on it.

The russet werewolf stood before the strange building in her human form, red locks of wavy hair cascading down to the middle of her bare back. Having just arrived in Wicked's Rest from the woods where she'd spent almost her entire life as a werewolf, she didn't yet have clothing of her own thus she stood in all her naked glory. The moonshine shone on her pale skin almost making her appear like she was glowing.

For a long few moments she peered into the darkened windows of the strange building, green gaze just barely making out shelves lined with books. She debated going inside too look further despite not being able to read, however her mind was made up for she when a voice spoke up behind her. Startled, Sage whirled around and dropped into a defensive crouch, lips pulling back into a low snarl despite being human.

Once Cassius got a good look at the person, the first thing he realized was naked. He averted his gaze, suddenly unsure what to do. Why was she naked? Of all the people he could have run into, a naked woman crouched and ready to strike wasn’t on his list. “Oh, um.” He shrugged off the long black trenchcoat he wore and handed it over to her, still averting his gaze. “Here, put this on.” He insisted.

“Are you… trying to get something from the library?” He tried again, this time with his voice a little more calm and gentle. Clearly, she was either just escaped from the hospital inpatient ward or she was something other than human. Or both, it could also be both. He wasn’t quite sure yet. “I’m Cassius,” he introduced, putting a hand to his chest. He figured if he at least tried to converse with her, she’d be less likely to strike, to not see him as a threat.

Sage stared at him, her growl growing louder when he took his coat off and held it out to her. She didn't trust this strange man and wasn't about to get closer to him.

“Sage”, she replied, her voice rough with disuse, “What is a library?” She ignored the coat even when he seemed to insist she take it.

When the coat wasn’t grabbed, Cassius tossed it onto the ground and finally looked over at her. “A library is a place where books are. The written word? Writing?” The vampire gave the girl a once-over. No clothes, crouched and growling, her voice sounded ragged and unused. She was a wild creature in every sense of the world. He had to treat her like he would a scared animal, didn’t he?

Slowly, Cassius raised his hands to show he meant no harm and bowed his head downward. “I don’t mean you any harm. I only wish to help,” he insisted, blue eyes looking searching her face. “Do you have a home, Sage?” He asked, brows furrowing.

She sprang forwards the moment the coat touched the ground, snatching it up and slipping it on before standing up to her full 5’2” hight. The coat was much too big for her, but she didn't seem to mind as she folded it closed around her naked form. Looking up at the taller man, she furrowed her brow in confusion. “Written…word”, she echoed and shook her head. “What is written word?” The more she spoke to him the more confused she became.

Grief flashed across her face at the mention of home, an ache twisting in her heart. “Gone. Home is gone. I came for help” she replied after a moment of silence.

Cassius watched as the girl snatched up the coat, feeling more at ease once her body was covered. “Books!” He exclaimed, pointing to the books behind the glass window. “Text messages, emails, letters, all of these people will write to each other to convey some sort of message.” He thought for a moment, then tilted his head. “Instead of speaking, they are written.” He pulled out his phone and opened his text messages with Lukas. She couldn’t read them, so it was nothing that bothered him. “See? These are words.”

He watched as the grief flickered across her, and he instantly felt bad. “Oh.” He said softly, then nodded his head. “Your home is… gone?” Cassius blinked. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard someone talk of their home being wiped out. He felt for her, knowing that in a sense, his first ever home was gone too, lost in a world that time had passed on from. “I know you do not trust me yet, but…” he trailed off, knowing this was either a terrible idea or a good one. He thought to his sire, what would her reaction be? He didn’t know. But he couldn’t leave her to fend for herself, though something told him that she’d be able to. “...you can come with me.” He finally decided. “Home for me is in Nightfall Grove.” He explained. “I go walking at night to clear my head. It’s how I ended up here.” He explained.

Sage took in Cassius's words and allowed him to step closer to show her the odd box thing that glowed. Staring blankly at the words written there she nodded even though she really didn't get it.

Taking a breath to ease her tense form she studied Cassius thoughtfully. He hadn’t attacked her and had only offered her assistance so she couldn't see a reason to turn down his offer. Warily she smiled up at him. “Can we hunt at your home?” She asked tilting her head. “I will come if I can eat something”.

“I can teach you,” Cassius insisted with a soft smile before tucking his phone away. “I am a teacher, I’m thinking about switching to teaching English classes next year, actually.” He admitted, not knowing if those words meant anything to her.

As the girl, Sage, finally relaxed, Cassius felt himself relax. Then she asked about hunting. “Well, I don’t think we hunt the same things.” He admitted with a smirk. “If you need to hunt for food, that would be in the woods.” He explained, scratching at the back of his neck. “At home, I can cook you food, but my home is a house.” He gestured for her to follow him back in the direction of his home.

As they walked, Cassius pulled out his phone and sent off a text to Richard, who responded with “You and your bleeding heart. I’ll cook a steak.” Cassius couldn’t help but smirk at his sire’s message, then tucked his phone away. “I have a feeling you are not entirely human.” He surmised as they walked, listening to he plap of her feet against the cold ground. “And you should know, nor am I.”

Sage walked beside him, pulling the coat around her tighter. “You will teach me to do write words?” She asked, the prospect of it lighting her gaze with excitement. “Please. I would like that very much. Ma and Pa..”. She stopped mid sentence and changed the subject quickly. She didn't want to think about them at the moment. Or Rowen…

“I will eat whatever you have…the woods aren't safe anymore…” She said softly, dropping her gaze to watch her footsteps. When a car rushed by too close, she yipped and shrank closer to Cassius.

Part of Cassius’s heart went out to Sage, she must have been so scared, the cars making her shrink away, the noises she made when something startled her. She was undoubtedly some kind of shifter, for her to be completely nude in the middle of town, to seem more wild than anything. It left a lot more questions than answers. “I’ll teach you, yes.” He promised with a soft smile as they walked. “We’ll get you a phone and some programs, that way the phone will talk to you instead of having to know how to read. It’ll make sending messages easier for you.” He sent another text to Richard about ordering the girl a phone.

“I live with my— Richard.” He didn’t want to expose the whole vampire thing, but he also felt it was necessary. “You see, we’re… not entirely human either. Spent all our lives blending in with humans, so you don’t have to worry.” The vampire turned to the girl, trying to gage her reaction as they turned into the nightfall grove neighborhood.

After another block or so, Cassius walked up to a Victorian house at the end of a street. “This is my home.” He told her, smiling softly. He was glad he’d finally stopped living in a crypt, he felt more like a person again. He opened the front door and stepped in, waving a hand to usher her in. “Make yourself at home, I’ll get you some clothes.”

_

Sage nodded at his explanations and promise to teach her to write words. She kept close to him in fear of every little new sound and car zipping past them. She didn't didn't think she liked the speedy things. At the mention of a phone she furrowed her brow in confusion again. “What's a phone?”, she asked curiously.

As Cassius continued on explaining that he and whoever Richard was, weren't human she seemed to relax even more. “I am a werewolf”, she responded proudly. “Are you werewolf too?”

When the two turned into Night Grove, she briefly gazed around at the different buildings. These were smaller that the library with those strange zoomie things she didn't like. Huffing at the sight of them, she turned her attention to the house Cassius lead her too. Slipping inside when he ushered her in, she stood in the hallway uncertainly. “Okay…”, she agreed as he left her to get her something to wear.

While she waited, she looked around the hallway, too afraid to explore just yet. She wasn't sure how to feel about being inside just yet, though already she could tell it was going to get some getting used too. She was used to the open sky, and the soft twinkling light of stars above her. Looking up at the ceiling she was dismayed at not being able to see the night sky. Maybe she could sleep outside?

Cassius nodded slowly, the puzzle pieces sliding into place as she asked what a phone was followed by claiming she was a werewolf. “Ah, remember that object I showed you? The light box? That is a phone. You can use it to communicate with others.” He explained with a nod. “I am not a werewolf,” he then added, taking a deep breath. “I am a vampire.” It felt strange every time he exposed what he was to someone else. But she deserved to know the truth if he was going to take her under his wing.

“The man I live with, Richard, he is an elder vampire. He’s my sire.” He further explained before heading up the stairs to find something for her to wear. He ran into Richard, who was keen on hiding from the girl. Cassius gave him an odd look before continuing on his way toward his room to look for something suitable. A pair of too-small sweatpants here, a band t-shirt there. It would do until he could get to the store and buy her some clothes that actually fit her. He made a mental note to talk to Leila about the situation. He knew she’d be more than happy to help.

He returned downstairs, seeing her in the hallway where he left her. “Here, you can put these on.” He explained, then opened one of the hallway doors to the half bathroom. “You can change in here.” he then added with a smile. “Something about modern society enjoying privacy when changing and all that.”

While Sage dressed in something more suitable than his oversized black trenchcoat, Cassius went into the kitchen to see a cooked steak on the counter. “I suspect you like your meat rare?” He asked over his shoulder, noticing that Richard had even gone through the effort to steam some vegetables for her on the side. That elicited a smile from the blonde before setting it at the table with a fork and knife, having half a mind to think that the girl would have no idea how to use them. Oh well, he could teach her. There would be a lot to teach, and he knew it would take everyone he knew in town to help out. He pulled out his phone and began to send messages to the people he knew could help. Lukas, Leila, and Zofia. They could help, he knew they could.

After all, it would take a village to get this girl on her feet. Good thing she came to the right place.

She blinked in surprise at learning what a phone was. Pleased that it was at least something small she could carry with her, and that he would help her work out how best utilize it with her inability to read and write. “I see. I would very much like to have one of those”, she grinned.

Her heart stopped at the explanation of what he and Richard being vampires. That was something she did know and understand. Her parents had always warned Rowen and her that that they were cold, heartless creatures that preyed upon the humans. They didn’t care for anything but their next meal. However, after meeting Cassius she wasn’t entirely sure they had been right about that. He didn’t seem cold or heartless to her. If he was he wouldn’t have offered her help and a place to stay while he taught her how to read and write.

When Cassius returned to her with clothing and showed her where she could get dressed, she silently obeyed. She didn't pay much attention to the clothing when she put them on, but momentarily got distracted by her own reflection in the mirror. Staring at herself she marveled at the freckles that sprinkled her cheeks and nose. She didn't know she had them. Her hair on the other hand was another story. It was dirty And more than slightly tangled in places. Wincing at it, she turned away and rejoined Cassius.

Sage found him in a strange room with sinks, counters, and everything else a kitchen required. Heading over to the table where the smell of food drew her in, she sat and immediately stared confusedly at the utensils. Picking up the pronged one, she examined it for a moment before smiling. It must be to fix her messy hair. That was the only thing she could think of using it for. The knife and other odd round one she would worry about after. For a now she hummed to herself and began to brush her hair before eatting. For now she was safe.

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