boats against the current

Ezra Fitz. English and Coffee basically sum me up.

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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“It could’ve been me at the carnival. I could’ve wandered down that alley, I could’ve gone as something else for Halloween, I wouldn’t have had my bow, that thing could’ve gotten me. And there wouldn’t have been a damn thing my family could have done to prevent it.” Allison appreciated the effort, but she couldn’t buy into his words. She wasn’t safe. Nobody was. She was a mere human, and even with a weapon, she could probably be easily overpowered. Sighing frustratedly, she sat up and motioned towards his bike. “I’m sorry. You should go. This isn’t your job, and this is probably inappropriate, and you could get fired…”

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Or it could have been you and a mugger, which is statistically more likely," he added, Way to be positive, Fitzgerald. "Look, people need to be able to defend themselves," he said simply. "But not everyone can fight the supernatural. That's why there are Hunters, that's why w- they hunt. Not for themselves, but for innocents." He sighed, of course he'd get fired for telling his students werewolves, witches, and vampires were all real. He'd also get sent to a nut house. "Yeah- yeah- probably," he stood up, dusting off his ball shorts and offering her a hand. 

"No more exploding ones," he suggested. 

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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Allison watched as he sat by her, feeling slightly awkward about this entire thing because at the end of the day, he was her teacher. But he was the only one, besides her family, who could tell her what she wanted to know. And Allison didn’t feel like talking to her family yet. With a grimace, she said, “Big cities, because they already have high death tolls?” It made sense, but that didn’t make her stomach any less queasy. “That’s reassuring,” she said, trying to force a smile back for a second. “I don’t really want my body to be drained of blood. But I guess that’s preferable to being mangled.”

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"You don't have to worry about either, you're safe," he said, attempting to reassure her, though he doubted words would help. At one point in every hunters life, every corner meant death and ever person you encountered was supernatural. It wasn't something he could make go away for her. "If they've kept you safe this long, your family won't let anything happen to you." 

[fuckyeahezrafitz-blog]

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Caught in the Act | Azra

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“Yeah,” Allison nodded, slouching over to rest her elbows on her knees. “I guess we can assume that every ‘animal attack’ reported was done by a werewolf. Or whatever else likes to attack people.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she furrowed her brows a bit in thought. What other mythical creatures made humans their targets? “Wait. Are there… vampires?” If so, great. Now her life was like a damn Twilight book.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Not every one," he said, walking over and sitting next to her on the ground. "You can't start being paranoid. Some things just happen," he cringed slightly at the mention of vampires. They were his least favorite. At least werewolves and witches were human sometimes. "There are, but don't worry, they prefer big cities," he smiled in a way that he hoped would be reassuring. "So you can be sure there are none in these parts," he forced a twang, hoping that maybe a smile would wipe that look off her face, the one that made him feel so guilty.

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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“Witches? Like Harry Potter? The Craft?” Allison ran her free hand through her hair, tugging on it a bit out of frustration. What else was out there? With a sigh, she lowered herself and sat down on the grass, crossing her legs indian style and setting her bow on her lap. Staring at nothing in particular off in the distance, she began, “”What if I don’t want to begin training? What if I don’t want to be a hunter? I just want to know what’s out there… I mean, I don’t think Blair Waldorf knew werewolves existed, and look at her, she nearly got mauled by one.”

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Sort of," he said, appreciating the fact that she'd mentioned a work of literature very much, even if he couldn't appreciate the particular work of literature she was referring too.  He'd always hating science fiction, more specifically supernatural books. That was his every day life growing up, and it didn't help that most of them were so damn wrong it was practically comedy. 

"There- uh-" was no choice? How could he tell someone they didn't have a choice? "Wait, Blair?" He tilted his head to the side, startled at what he'd heard. "Is that what happened to her?" Ms. Chamberlain had been very vague when she'd ordered Blair's school work sent to the front office. "And you sa- Oh, duh. That's what made you believe," his words were more so thoughts that real sentences, as everything clicked a litte more in to place. 

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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“The supernatural world,” Allison mused out loud, brow arched at him. “You say that like… Like there’s more to it than just werewolves.” Could it be possible that every scary story she’d ever heard as a child was true? If werewolves existed… why not all the other impossible creatures? But if there were others, why did her book only mention werewolves? The questions never seemed to end.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

“Uh- um-” How much did specialized Hunters know about other species? Ezra’d never really explored much into that. “Sort of. You don’t have to worry about them though, your family specializes in wolfkind.” 

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Eyes widening when her suspicions were proven correct, Allison gripped her bow tighter without realizing it. “I don’t?” she repeated incredulously. It seemed silly for her to not know everything there was about the supernatural world. “You’re telling me there are dangerous supernatural things running around, but I only have to know about werewolves? Don’t you think that even if my family only hunts werewolves, that I should know about the others, too? For safety?”

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"If you run into a circle of bad witches or something of the sort it's protocol for you to call it in to unspecialized Hunters. If it's too much for them to handle, they call in specialized witch Hunters. You'll never fight them. But I don't think it's best for me to be telling you this," he said, scratching his chin uncomfortably. "This is apart of training, which you'll begin soon now that your family knows you know. I really don't- I don't train," his last sentence ended with his voice sounding more level than it had begin. He'd been so close to telling her he didn't involve himself in her world anymore, but that wasn't something he'd tell her. Ever, if he could help it. Assisting her meant crossing a line and all he had at this time was himself. He'd sworn off his family, and they couldn't protect him from the Argents if they found out. Well, not couldn't- wouldn't. p

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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“The supernatural world,” Allison mused out loud, brow arched at him. “You say that like… Like there’s more to it than just werewolves.” Could it be possible that every scary story she’d ever heard as a child was true? If werewolves existed… why not all the other impossible creatures? But if there were others, why did her book only mention werewolves? The questions never seemed to end.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Uh- um-" How much did specialized Hunters know about other species? Ezra'd never really explored much into that. "Sort of. You don't have to worry about them though, your family specializes in wolfkind." 

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Caught in the Act | Azra

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“I see…” Well, now she felt rather stupid, though it was her ignorance that was to blame. And her ignorance was to blame on her parents. The rebellious teenager in Allison almost wanted to continue practicing out here in the hopes she’d be caught; it wouldn’t hurt her, it would hurt her parents. Which would be good. They deserved that, because they had hurt her by lying to her.

“No,” she shook her head before sprinting over to the trees her arrows had struck since it seemed they had cooled down by now. It took some force to pull them out, but she managed, and she stuck them back in her quiver before making her way back over to Mr. Fitz. Looking down at the bow in her hands, she let out a small, bitter laugh. “Seventeen years, and they never once thought to mention it,” she vented, her tone resentful.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

Seventeen. How could that even be possible? Yes, she was his student, but the weight of her legacy had almost aged Allison in a way. Hunters were never young, no matter the years they'd been on earth. He stuffed a hand in his pocket, feeling the own weight of the Hunting life on his. He'd been so free before all of this, at least for a while. 

"It happens," he shrugged, that was the best explanation he could offer for what they'd doen. "Hunters want their kids to have a chance to be young, the supernatural isn't exactly the easiest world to be carefree in." Or free in any way, for that matter. 

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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With a slight smile, she shook her head. “Gymnastics.” She watched as the smoke shrouded the arrow and began to dissipate slowly to reveal scorched, mutilated bark. These arrow tips were no joke. Turning her head to look at Mr. Fitz again, she raised her brows at him. “Oh…” Well, that settled who left them out for her to find. It had to be her aunt Kate. Her parents wouldn’t have approved of her doing something illegal, since she didn’t have a license she knew of.

“Hunter approved locations?” she asked curiously. Allison didn’t know why she was doing any of this; practicing her aim with the explosive tips, asking her English teacher for help with this. It felt right, but it felt wrong, too. She didn’t know if she wanted to become a hunter, but something deep inside told her it was what she was meant to do.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Shooting ranges, training grounds, private property," he took a swing of his drink before dismounting his bike and kicking the kickstand down. He could not, in good conscience, leave her here alone with her arrow tips and her confusion. He made not have been the cause of the mess in her life, but he'd pushed her away from her innocence. Looking at her now, seeing the way her eyes lifted and fell in class, he could tell she'd lost a part of her youth. It hurt him to see, truth be told, but it was a harsh world to live in when the supernatural came knocking, and Mystic Falls wasn't a safe place to be. 

"Your parents really never told you anything?" He asked, taking a few steps towards her. It was such a strange concept, the idea of not knowing. He'd known it happened, that kids were permitted to be kids for a time in some Hunting families, but he hated it. He envied it at the same time. "

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

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The sound of leaves crunching and metal chiming caused Allison to jerk her head in the direction it came from, only for her eyes to land on the very person who had revealed her destiny to her. With a sigh, she pushed the dark, soft waves that had flown into her face away and gave him a quick once over that she hoped wasn’t too obvious. He might’ve been her teacher, but she was a hormonal seventeen year old and had trouble resisting eye candy. “I’ve been training since I was a kid,” she explained with a light shrug. “I thought it was just for fun… Now I know the real reason.”

Reaching behind her head, she grabbed an arrow and fastened the tip onto it, wondering if all the tips were the same or if they did different things. Raising her bow arm and placing the arrow appropriately, she aimed at another spot, this time one further away, and released the string. A second later, the arrow was lodged in the bark of a tree exactly where she had wanted it to hit. She had always thought that maybe she was good because of all the practice she had; now she figured she was good because it was in her blood.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Of course. And there should be a sport there too. Soccer?" Ezra was unaware of the slight eyebrow raise the occurred on his face when she notched and loosed an arrow. He's tried so hard to forget it all, but he knew perfect form when he saw it. He wasn't sure what he was even doing watching her, or sharing the world of hunting with her. 

"You can hear the explosive tips from the bike trail," he added, taking his metal bottle of water off his bike. "It's best to only practice those in Hunter approved locations. They're illegal for someone without a license to use." 

[aargents-blog]

Caught in the Act | Azra

Having scoured the house and garage for anything she could find in relation to hunting and werewolves, Allison had come out luckier than she’d thought. Most of the weapons and ammunition were locked up, the key nowhere to be found, but a few arrow tips had been lying around. It was suspicious, the way they’d been carelessly left out like that. Allison knew it was no accident. Someone had meant for her to find them, use them.

With her bow and quiver full of arrows packed away in the trunk of her car and arrow tips hidden in her jacket pocket, she drove to the edge of the woods. It was a Sunday afternoon, just before dinner time, so she doubted anyone would be roaming around in there. Slinging the quiver around her body, bow in hand, she made her way deep into the forest. The sound of wildlife was all around her, and part of her feared that she would run into a werewolf, but she was armed. She could take care of herself, right?

Stopping, she fixed one of the arrow tips onto her arrow before loading her bow and aiming at a tree several yards away. Releasing the bowstring, the arrow flew through the air with precision, hitting the spot she had aimed at. The moment it hit, it exploded loudly, causing her to jump in surprise a little, her eyes growing wide at the sight. She knew there was something special about these arrow tips, but she hadn’t expected an explosion. She didn’t know what she had expected, but it made sense. Her family killed werewolves, and a few plain arrows probably wasn’t enough to stop the beast in its tracks for good. But explosive arrows? Perhaps you only needed one of those to finish the job.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

Training had been a rigorous and grueling addition to his everyday life for years and it was one of the things he couldn't work out of his life. He loved it, he enjoyed every moment of the ache he felt in his muscles, working out was the easiest way for him to get through writers block. He legs pumped quickly under him, the chain on his bike humming softly as he rode through a bike trail in the woods. He was surprised they hadn't been closed down when the animal attacks happened, but since there hadn't been one in a while perhaps the sheriffs though everything was safe. The sound of an explosion reached his ears, he slammed his brakes down in response, his tires sliding across the ground for a yard before stopping completely. Hunters didn't think, they responded; it had been one of the hardest lessons for him to learn, but he'd learning it none the less. He turned towards the direction of the sound, hoping to find some middle schoolers playing with fireworks. It was the safest cause for such a noise. When the tree and smoke came into view, so did a certain female holding a bow. Great. He pedaled close to her, stopping a few yards away and planting his feet onto the ground. 

"Bows?" He commented. "A little archaic, but they get the job done." 

[aargents-blog]

Confrontation | Allison & Ezra

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“I figured,” she nodded, folding her arms across her chest rather awkwardly, feeling rather weird about the entire situation. This was probably the most interaction she had ever had with a teacher outside of class. Not to mention, it had been one of the strangest conversations she’d ever had. It didn’t help that he was young and attractive, either, but Allison did her best to push that thought out of her mind. “Well, I’ve gotta go. See you in class tomorrow, Mr. Fitz,” she said, smiling slightly as she lifted her hand in a wave before heading towards the door. English class would never be the same.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Have a good day, Allison," he said, turning his attention briefly to the stack of papers that always seemed to be in front of him. He looked up, slightly conflicted. "Um- if you ever need help, just ask," he couldn't just give her the information she needed and throw her to the dogs. 

[aargents-blog]

Confrontation | Allison & Ezra

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“O—Oh, um,” Allison mumbled, biting her lip. She’d already confronted her parents about it all; they didn’t know she had the book. Allison had chalked it up to figuring it out on her own after shooting the werewolf at the carnival, which had been bought, at least for now. “I, uh, kind of did… Already…” she said quietly, her tone apologetic. “I didn’t mention you or the book, though.” Allison knew better than to do that and involve him in what was an Argent family dispute. Chris and Victoria Argent, particularly her mother, could be quite formidable and Allison didn’t want her English teacher to face their wrath.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Well," Ezra said, recovering quickly from the brief moment of fear that had gripped his heart at her first 'o-'. "Of course you would talk to them about it," he said, twirling his thumbs around one another. If anything, he'd say he felt entirely awkward about the entire matter. "It's, um, good that you didn't mention me though. I would rather not lose my job," or head. 

[aargents-blog]

Confrontation | Allison & Ezra

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Breathing a sigh of relief, Allison nodded. “Good.” At least she didn’t have to worry about her English teacher attacking her. Or her shooting him, though it was unlikely she would be shooting anything. Allison had no intentions of becoming a hunter.

“Okay…” She wanted to know more, but she didn’t expect him to open up to her. Why would he? He was just trying to help her, just like a teacher helped their student. “Well,” she began, picking up her book and sliding it into her bag. “Thanks. For the book and this.” Though a part of her still wished she could remain ignorant of all of this forever, she was genuinely thankful that somebody had decided to tell her since it hadn’t seemed like her family was going to anytime soon.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Don't mention it," he smiled, helping felt nice. It was part of the reason he'd become a teacher. His entire life had been spent putting red on his ledger and he'd grown to feel as though doing good made that red just a little bit less. "Please don't mention it," he added, his face a bit more serious. The Argents would- he didn't even want to think about it. Hunters weren't the most forgiving bunch. "I doubt the school board would find this interaction appropriate, much less your parents." 

[aargents-blog]

Confrontation | Allison & Ezra

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

“But that’s the point,” he said, remaining calm despite her frustration. He knew what it meant to get frustrated with that world, with the secrets and such, he couldn’t hold her words against her. “When your parents decide to tell you, you don’t get long to figure out how you’re feeling. You either join them or you don’t, there is not middle ground with that organization,” his empty bank account could attest to that. He leaned forward once more, resting his elbows on the desk. 

“Ms. Argent, I’m not trying to turn your world upside down. I simply wanted to do what I could to help you.” 

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“I know, I know,” Allison responded, running her hand through her hair and taking a deep breath, eyes closed momentarily before looking at him. “What do you mean, you either join them or you don’t?” It sounded like some sort of gang thing, and Allison didn’t like it. Her parents hadn’t given her an ultimatum… yet. They were still dealing with trying to explain why they had lied to her for so long. “And my family… We’re hunting royalty? What, now I’m a hunting princess or something?” It was all so ridiculous. Hunting, werewolves. Allison felt like she had just walked into a horror movie.

“How do you know all of this? Are you a hunter? Or… a werewolf?” she asked, teeth catching her bottom lip nervously. From what she had read, werewolves didn’t only turn on the full moon— they could shift whenever. As if the idea of werewolves running around on the night of the full moon wasn’t terrifying enough.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"Something like that," he laughed outright at her idea of being a hunting princess. As far as he could tell the Argents weren't all about the show like the Fitzgeralds were- at least, Allison's branch of the Argents. Some of the others had questionable skills and high egos. His mother had once tried to force him into a relationship with an Argent girl, all boobs and no tactic skills, much less brains. 

"I'm- um- neither?" A small half shrug and smile was all he could really give her, explaining his departure from the family would be both time consuming and pointless. He'd changed his name for a reason, damn it! "I assure you that I am completely human at all times," excluding those times in college when he felt more like a dog in heat than a young adult. "I have ties to the hunting world, but I do not hunt," he added, giving the best explanation he could. She was just a young high schooler, a student, that he was trying to assist. He had no reason to reveal his entire life to her. 

[aargents-blog]

Confrontation | Allison & Ezra

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Dark, groomed brows raised as he spoke, as if to urge him to tell her more as he was being too vague for her liking. Allison began to piece it together in her mind. It sounded like he was either a hunter, or a werewolf. The latter option made her feel a bit uneasy, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know, having seen what a werewolf was capable of firsthand. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to gift me with a book that just turned my whole world upside down,” she spat out without thinking, instantly regretting how ungrateful and angry she sounded. “Sorry, I just…” Sighing, she placed a hand to her forehead, rubbing the skin to ease the tension she felt. “I don’t know what to do or how to feel about this.”

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"But that's the point," he said, remaining calm despite her frustration. He knew what it meant to get frustrated with that world, with the secrets and such, he couldn't hold her words against her. "When your parents decide to tell you, you don't get long to figure out how you're feeling. You either join them or you don't, there is not middle ground with that organization," his empty bank account could attest to that. He leaned forward once more, resting his elbows on the desk. 

"Ms. Argent, I'm not trying to turn your world upside down. I simply wanted to do what I could to help you." 

[aargents-blog]

Confrontation | Allison & Ezra

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As he responded, she was relieved that he didn’t try to lie. You can’t just give someone a book that tells them their family hunts werewolves and then lie about it, after all. “And how did you know that I didn’t already know? No, scratch that— how do you even know about my family? How did you have this?” The way she spoke was not the usual manner in which one spoke to a teacher, but right now, he wasn’t her teacher. He was… She wasn’t sure what he was.

[thegreatfitzby-blog]

"I- well," he flicked the cover up with his pointer finger somewhat awkwardly, his finger bouncing the leather bound piece up and down for a moment as he spoke. "You didn't look like you knew," there it went again, the author in him thinking it knew what peoples facial expressions meant. "As for the rest, I like books. Books about hunting was somewhat of a compromise that I had with my mother," when she wasn't pushing weapons on him, that is. 

"I probably shouldn't be intruding on your families choices. Hunters tell their children about their lifestyle when they're ready, I've just always hated the secrets," he stopped fiddling with the book and leaned back in his chair. His being seated and her standing put her in a position of power over him and looking up to her when he spoke felt somewhat uncomfortable. "Anyone who knows anything about Hunters knows about the Argents, you're practically royalty," if the Argents were royalty, what did that make the Fitzgeralds? Argents were the Kings and Queens of Werewolf hunting, but the Fitzgeralds were just... Kings and Queens. Or, well, princes.