ilvw reader v1.0
Any Time, Any Place
written by asclepius
In the chilled breeze of the early fall, Fallon Sprite sat at a picnic table, argyle blue sweater pulled around his shoulders. Outside of the Spooky Academy men's locker rooms, he stood his ground against the quiet after-hours of the school, the place all but abandoned by most scholars and troublemakers alike. He sat with his computer out and glasses on, reading through an old, archived text. Lines and lines of barely discernible Latin or German or Italian somehow made sense to him moreso than anything else; he'd found comfort in old tomes of bygone knowledge.
As he motioned to adjust the rounded spectacles, the doors to the locker room swung open as a group of a few members from the Wolfpack poured out, some other species of monsters filtering through the grey metal doors too. The water fae's eyes traveled to the doors, tracking the faces of each that stepped out, waiting for the one. Person after person. Arthur, the grey skinned, red-haired one followed by his cousin, the wrong cousin, the ever-upbeat Scott. the two were talking about something menial, maybe sports, maybe video games. Yet, the two were not the werewolves he was searching for.
Finally, as a few other monsters filtered through, the brown hair of the man who he was searching for was insight. Wearing a denim jacket and a white shirt, he looked around for a second, before waving to the half-nymph. Fallon waved back him, cracking a smile on his face as the large werewolf bounded up to him.
"Hey there, bro! I hope ya weren't waiting too long." He smiled, tail wagging.
"No worries. I kept myself busy," Fallon said, mentioning his computer. He picked it up and began to put it back inside of his satchel. "What am I helping you study today?"
"Oh! I was kinda...hoping we could go over potions again. I'm still not doing well with that class." Freddy brought a hand to the back of his neck.
Fallon hopped up from sitting down. "Sounds like a plan then," he softly smiled at Freddy. The two had been sharing a class for the semester as of late. Freddy's older brother, Scott, had introduced the two of them. When Scott found out from Fallon that he was also in potions, he practically dragged over Freddy who was struggling with that class. They had gotten closer in the weeks following. "My place or yours?"
Freddy rose an eyebrow for a second, thinking. "Does mine sound alright?" The tall werewolf grinned, fangs showing. Freddy had been enjoying the time the two spent together, loving Fallon's company. A nice break from the testosterone junkie family of his, the water fairy was laid-back, calm, and smart. That last factor helped Freddy a lot during his academic career. The Wolfpack's house, their den, wasn't too far from school, and Fallon secretly liked going there as living alone for a couple years had made him notice the hum of silence all too well. Plus, he liked Freddy's room. It smelled like him, comforting, kinda like a wet dog, the forest, and a little sweaty. Fallon nodded as the two of them began walking to Freddy's red truck, they exchanged small talk. The grey skinned fairy hopped in the passenger seat as the werewolf turned the key, hearing the car sputter and shake, groaning alive.
Fallon looked over at Freddy with a look he didn't know he had, one of peace and kindness. Freddy was warm and happy, loud and boisterous. Something that Fallon wasn't. He was happy, sure, but he found himself often quiet, reserved, content living life on the side. Freddy was a rock to him, the werewolf dragged him back into reality when he was up in his own head.
Freddy smiled at Fallon with a grin he used for everyone, but with a hidden intimate nature behind it. Fallon was cool and mysterious, quiet and observant. The small man was always thinking about something, and Freddy wanted to know what was on his mind. Fallon was the most interesting thing to him, like a new chew toy or a new scent flitting in during a boring class.
The two young men spent the night together, studying until late. Fallon had dinner with the Wolfpack, talking to Grandma Howl about the new things in his life, while Freddy messed around with his brothers. The two went to Freddy's room, where they began to study together. Freddy was questioned by Fallon, flashcards, mnemonics, and mind games casting the information in the plaster of the mind. The moon rose above the trees, high above the land below. That grey sea of sleep beckoned louder and louder as the lamplight was the only source of the day. The two called it a night, and Freddy offered to the smaller man to stay the night. Fallon said he'd sleep on the floor, Freddy said he would, and they traded back and forth until Freddy let Fallon sleep in his bed, sharing it as friends do. Nothing more, no matter how much either of them laid mere inches from each other wishing to bridge the gap that felt miles long, to close the void that separated dreams from matter, mind from reality. No matter how badly, how much the aperture between them threatened to fade away like smoke, how the chill of the falling seasons became apparent, how the silence of the room became a roar, they would not cross that bridge yet. Not yet.