Out of the Woods
Title: Out of the Woods
Author: kerrykhat
Fandom: Mercedes Thompson series
Rating: PG
Summary: The knock on Warren’s door around seven in the evening wasn’t unexpected. What was surprising was how late it was.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and related characters; Patricia Briggs owns "The Mercedes Thompson Series" and related characters; I own nothing.
Word Count: 644
Author's Notes: Part of the Breathe Again verse, and takes place after Leave the Pieces When You Go.
The knock on Warren’s door around seven in the evening wasn’t unexpected. What was surprising was how late it was. He’d been expecting somebody to show up earlier, hell, probably even this morning when Buffy was puttering about the kitchen in her usual pre-coffee haze.
He knew who it was before he opened the door. It made sense for the Alpha to speak with the wolf who might be consorting with a potential threat to the pack.
Adam stood in the doorway, dressed in one of his work suits. Warren lowered his head slightly, giving respect to the man who was both one of his few friends and his superior. “I got some beer, if you want,” Warren said, stepping back and holding the door open. Even though it was daylight out and he could sense Adam’s reassuring presence through the pack bonds, Buffy’s rants about invitations were fresh in his head.
“A beer sounds good,” Adam agreed, stepping inside Warren’s duplex. To Warren’s relief, he didn’t stop on his way to the kitchen, despite the fact that Buffy’s scent lay heavy in the air.
Warren grabbed two beers from the fridge, uncapping them both before handing one to Adam, who had sat down at his kitchen table. Warren sat across from him, waiting for his Alpha to speak first.
Adam rolled the bottle in his hands for a moment before looking at Warren. His eyes were their normal shade of brown, which Warren took as a good sign. He didn’t want his Alpha mad at him, mad enough to rip him to shreds if provoked.
“Is she a threat?”
Warren’s first instinct was to shake his head, but he controlled himself. Even after a few years in the pack, his instincts are still those of a lone wolf. A threat to him? No, Buffy wasn’t. A threat to the pack, however?
“No,” he answered carefully after a moment’s thought. “I don’t know what stories you’ve heard about her, but most of ‘em are tall tales, ones she doesn’t try to correct.”
“Most of them?”
“The one about Oklahoma’s true, and so are a few she’s told me or I was there with her. But others?” Warren shook his head, trying to explain Buffy to somebody who’d never met her. “Unless they’re harming innocents, hunting them down and torturing or killing them, she leaves them alone. But when she does hunt, she does it so people remember.”
He hadn’t understood the first time Buffy explained it to him, back when she was just “Anne” and they’d been traveling together for about a year. They’d been near New Mexico when they’d caught wind of a rogue were. She’d gone from his short, slightly ridiculous but tough as steel traveling companion to a quiet hunter he barely recognized.
“She doesn’t hunt as much anymore, not now that its harder to hide a rogue or an out of control seethe,” he continued. “But weres and vampires remember and tell stories.”
“So you don’t think she’d go after anybody in our pack?” Adam asked, leaning back in his chair, his beer still untouched.
“No. Maybe if she’d heard what was happening in Chicago, she might have gone after them, but she leaves well-run packs alone.” He snorted. “It’s like pulling teeth with her, but even Buffy admits she has limits.”
Adam’s face didn’t move, but he finally raised his bottle of beer to his lips. “Next time she comes to town, I’d like to meet her.”
Warren nodded. “I’ll let her know. She’s taking care of some business on the peninsula, but said she’d come back to see me
afterwards.”
“Good.” Adam finally smiled, small, but it was there and Warren felt the tension in the back of his neck ease. “Now, how about a game of cards? I need to unwind after that last trip to Washington.”
Author: kerrykhat
Fandom: Mercedes Thompson series
Rating: PG
Summary: The knock on Warren’s door around seven in the evening wasn’t unexpected. What was surprising was how late it was.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and related characters; Patricia Briggs owns "The Mercedes Thompson Series" and related characters; I own nothing.
Word Count: 644
Author's Notes: Part of the Breathe Again verse, and takes place after Leave the Pieces When You Go.
The knock on Warren’s door around seven in the evening wasn’t unexpected. What was surprising was how late it was. He’d been expecting somebody to show up earlier, hell, probably even this morning when Buffy was puttering about the kitchen in her usual pre-coffee haze.
He knew who it was before he opened the door. It made sense for the Alpha to speak with the wolf who might be consorting with a potential threat to the pack.
Adam stood in the doorway, dressed in one of his work suits. Warren lowered his head slightly, giving respect to the man who was both one of his few friends and his superior. “I got some beer, if you want,” Warren said, stepping back and holding the door open. Even though it was daylight out and he could sense Adam’s reassuring presence through the pack bonds, Buffy’s rants about invitations were fresh in his head.
“A beer sounds good,” Adam agreed, stepping inside Warren’s duplex. To Warren’s relief, he didn’t stop on his way to the kitchen, despite the fact that Buffy’s scent lay heavy in the air.
Warren grabbed two beers from the fridge, uncapping them both before handing one to Adam, who had sat down at his kitchen table. Warren sat across from him, waiting for his Alpha to speak first.
Adam rolled the bottle in his hands for a moment before looking at Warren. His eyes were their normal shade of brown, which Warren took as a good sign. He didn’t want his Alpha mad at him, mad enough to rip him to shreds if provoked.
“Is she a threat?”
Warren’s first instinct was to shake his head, but he controlled himself. Even after a few years in the pack, his instincts are still those of a lone wolf. A threat to him? No, Buffy wasn’t. A threat to the pack, however?
“No,” he answered carefully after a moment’s thought. “I don’t know what stories you’ve heard about her, but most of ‘em are tall tales, ones she doesn’t try to correct.”
“Most of them?”
“The one about Oklahoma’s true, and so are a few she’s told me or I was there with her. But others?” Warren shook his head, trying to explain Buffy to somebody who’d never met her. “Unless they’re harming innocents, hunting them down and torturing or killing them, she leaves them alone. But when she does hunt, she does it so people remember.”
He hadn’t understood the first time Buffy explained it to him, back when she was just “Anne” and they’d been traveling together for about a year. They’d been near New Mexico when they’d caught wind of a rogue were. She’d gone from his short, slightly ridiculous but tough as steel traveling companion to a quiet hunter he barely recognized.
“She doesn’t hunt as much anymore, not now that its harder to hide a rogue or an out of control seethe,” he continued. “But weres and vampires remember and tell stories.”
“So you don’t think she’d go after anybody in our pack?” Adam asked, leaning back in his chair, his beer still untouched.
“No. Maybe if she’d heard what was happening in Chicago, she might have gone after them, but she leaves well-run packs alone.” He snorted. “It’s like pulling teeth with her, but even Buffy admits she has limits.”
Adam’s face didn’t move, but he finally raised his bottle of beer to his lips. “Next time she comes to town, I’d like to meet her.”
Warren nodded. “I’ll let her know. She’s taking care of some business on the peninsula, but said she’d come back to see me
afterwards.”
“Good.” Adam finally smiled, small, but it was there and Warren felt the tension in the back of his neck ease. “Now, how about a game of cards? I need to unwind after that last trip to Washington.”