omg would u be down to write a scarlet witch ben au and lila or like allison as black widow or smth or like ben or sparrow ben developing more powers ngl id read the absolute shit out of a scarlet witch au
The first half of my contribution to Werewolf day! (second half to be posted over the weekend)
Get in, grab what he needed, then get out. It should have been simple. It would have been simple if he ever paid attention to the cycles of the moon. Any other witch worth their salt did, but not Ben, oh no, not him. He hardly ever practiced magic that relied on the moon, more content to pursue the more solidly based aspects of the craft now. Healing balms and tinctures, minor spells revolving around protection things like that, and of course for the right price all manner of poisons. His little cottage was filled to the brim with all kinds of herbs and flowers, except for the one he needed at the moment. An oversight on his part, having cleared its space in his garden for more rosemary after two seasons passed of not needing it.
Now he has a satchel full of moonflowers (useless) and nowhere to run from the werewolf in front of him.
“Nice...doggy?” Winces even as he says it, pulling his satchel closer to his chest as the large tawny beast snarls, lip curling over its fangs and Ben watches a large glob of drool roll down one, suspended for a moment at the point before it drops to the grass near its paws. He takes a step back as the Were takes one forward, its ears going flat against its head as its hackles rose.
He doesn’t even know if they can understand him while in that form, but he isn’t above trying to beg for his life. He isn’t going to scream, he absolutely isn’t going to. The wolf continues stalking towards him, he yelps when he trips over an exposed root to fall onto the forest floor, satchel flying from his grip and herbs scattering.
The large body towers over him, and he turns his head as another drop of drool falls from its mouth. It lands on his cheek with a wet plop and he groans in disgust. The hot huffs of breath hit his face, bringing with it the stench of death. He does scream when a heavy object plows into the wolf, sending it flying into a tree nearly twelve feet away. The heavy object turns out to be another wolf. Not nearly as large, and its coat is somewhere between grey and beige. Ben attempts to move, not wanting to be anywhere near the impending fight when the new wolf turns and snarls at him, freezing him in place.
The first wolf staggers to its feet, shaking its head before lunging. The fight is vicious and Ben notes the smaller wolf is careful to keep its body between him and the tawny wolf. Almost as if it is protecting him. There’s a lot of blood, but finally, the tawny wolf limps away, whimpering and tail between its legs. His savior wolf growls, ears flat against its head until the other is long out of sight.
“Oh!” he exclaims, when it turns to face him, ears perking back up and tongue lolling from a bloodsoaked muzzle. “Uh, thank you,” he manages to squeak out, hands searching blindly for his satchel, breathing a sigh of relief when he finds it. The wolf sits down, and yips at him. “You don’t need to stay for my sake,” he rambles, scooping up the flowers that fell. “I don’t live far and can find my way back just fine.” He swears it rolls its eyes at him, and it’s plausible since it’s a Were, but he just really doesn’t know. He hates how many questions he has. This is the first time he’s ever come across one, at least to his knowledge, none transformed at least. If they’re this close to his home, more than a few villagers must be Weres.
Brushing himself off he finally stands and smiles at the wolf. “Thank you, again. I uh, I’ll just be going now.” He gives a little wave and turns to leave, it stands to follow. “No, no, you can, stay? I’ll be fine, I’m just over the hill, and I’m talking to a werewolf, great.” he devolves into a quiet mutter and the wolf huffs, stretching, digging its front claws into the dirt, back lifting in the air and then it yawns before it straightens, shaking its head and bounding over to him.
“Fine.” he grunts, looking up at it with a frown, “but you’re going to let me take care of your injuries, and we’re definitely washing your face off before you try to make yourself at home.” He relents and it chuffs out another amused breath that ruffles his hair.
It’s maybe a mile back to his home, not too far, but far enough when you have a werewolf trotting beside you. One who keeps turning to check back over their shoulder as they walk. He speeds up minutely every time it happens.
“Here we are,” he sighs, swinging open the rickety gate, holding it until they lumber past and then he’s darting around the large wolf to open his door. “I think I already have something put together, but first,” he mutters to himself, dropping his satchel onto the kitchen table and shrugging out of his jacket before he opens the cabinet under the sink, coming back up with a towel. He runs it under hot water while grabbing a bowl and filling that up too. Turning he finds the beast sprawled out across his floor, face resting on its paws as it watched him.
His hand is steady, and he’s thorough with his cleaning of the wounds, talking in a low voice the entire time. Telling it superficial things about what he had growing in his gardens, and his favorite things to make, his favorite stalls to visit when he makes the trip into town. He carefully treats the gashes with a salve he had made not two days prior and then sits back to frown at them.
“That will do for now,” he muses, hesitating for a moment before reaching out. He smiles when the head moves to butt up against his palm. He runs a hand through the soft fur there with a smile. “Thank you,” he sighs, then stands up. “I’m going to shower,” he says decisively, with a quick nod. “Make yourself at home, I guess? Or I can let you back out?” The creature is on its feet in a flash and Ben falls back onto his sofa. “Okay, you can stay,” he relents when it’s large head settles in his lap. It lets out a quiet bark of delight before removing itself from him.
“I’ll be back,” he tells it, then promptly holes himself up in his bathroom. It is the longest shower he could ever remember taking. Washing off the forest and the fear and just trying to delay spending time holed up in his one-room home with a werewolf who had no desire to hurt him, which was all the more concerning.
Water long since turned cold he quickly shuts it off and steps out, giving himself a quick pat down, then wrapping the towel around his waist he walks out into his living space. He blinks, and then rubs his eyes because he has to be imaging it, but no. His bed had been overrun.
“Hey,” he grunts, swatting at its tail and he wonders what his life has become that he would teasingly hit a werewolf. “Who said you could have the bed?” he asks, pulling a pair of briefs from his dresser, and sliding them awkwardly on under the towel. He hates this, wishes he knew more about it’s kind. The eyes are too keen though, so he suffers through the awkward maneuver then shuffles to the side of his bed. The wolf rolls, then lands on the floor with a thud before propping it’s chin onto his mattress, starring as he crawls beneath the covers. He shuts off the lights with a snap of his fingers, but he can still make out the eyes of the creature, bright in the light of the moon, a beautiful hazel shade. He’s still staring as he drifts off to sleep.
“You’ll be safe, and careful tonight, won’t you?” He asks against her hair as they lay together in bed.
Her nails lightly scratch patterns on his naked chest as his fingers draw lines along her spine. “I always am,” she tells him on a yawn before propping herself up on an elbow to smile down at him. “Everything will be fine,” she soothes, pressing back sweat damped hair from his forehead.
He closes his eyes and leans into her touch, “I know, but I’ll still worry.” She presses a kiss against his temple and slips from their bed. Ben opens his eyes to watch her progress as she pads over to the kitchen, filling the kettle before turning on the stove. There’s a sexiness to the simplicity of her actions. So comfortable in both of her skins, but more so in this one around him, since the first night they met.
Dappled sunlight filters in through the tall windows that look out into the wood, and he’s glad there’s no one around, glad there’s no one else to see her golden skin on magnificent display but him. Not that it would do anyone much good anyway, he’s put up so many protection and barrier spells around their little haven that unless you’ve got an escort, there wasn’t a chance you would find it.
“You’re staring,” she sings, grinning at him from over her shoulder.
“I can’t help it, you’re incredibly sexy,” he tells her, finally standing and pulling on the pair of boxers that had been discarded early in the evening last night. Rey makes a low chuffing noise as she opens the icebox, remaining still as she peeks in, allowing him to come up behind her. “You are,” he insists, hand gliding around her waist to snake up her torso, only coming to a stop when he’s cupping a breast while the other settles low on her hips. His lips come to rest on the junction where neck meets shoulder, covering the jagged scar that lingers there, despite the magicks he’s tried to work on it.