A Jackal and a Wolf

[Deleted]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

Things had been fairly...mundane lately. Nothing new or of interest occurred these days and Seth was growing increasingly tired of it. His eyelids grew heavy at the thought of just sitting around, waiting for something to spark. The thing is, the solution would likely be to just go and talk with a friend to pass the time and go from there, maybe meet up? But no.

Seth walked along the sidewalk, passing people as he made his way to nowhere in particular. A few people he'd watch walk past him, just out of interest, and he found himself wondering what was going on in their minds. Couldn't be too interesting he'd imagine. There was one thing on his mind though. Last time Seth was in this position, he was homeless and grabbing people off the street to test what he could do. Although now he didn't really need the thrill of that anymore considering it was a few years ago, he figured he'd go back to his roots for this day just to see if he can receive that same thrill.

Swiftly he turned to walk down a far less busy and slim street, more or less a shortcut or alley between two buildings. With his eyes glued to the floor for a moment, he felt a weight stand against him that caused him to slightly push a person as well as himself from his path. Seth naturally flicked his head around and turned to face the person. The first thing he gathered was this person was a man, with a beard at that too. "Terribly sorry." He smiled. Perhaps it was a homeless man, considering where they were he'd expect it. Before anything could happen, Seth stepped forward rather quickly and used his arm to push the man against the wall, expecting a struggle sooner or later. He'll do.

It did sink in now when Seth realised that he was slightly at a disadvantage in height out of the two so instinctively he used roughly grabbed the man's jaw with his free hand. Though he didn't intend to emit any harmful rays to cause pain just yet. "Don't get confused. It's nothing personal." He gave a knowing smile to the man, eyes boring into his as he assured so nicely. Now that he got a better look at the man he did note that he probably wasn't homeless. Whoops. Oh well. Though he did have to admit that he had a familiarity about him, perhaps he was local to this route and Seth had seen him before.

Moving on from his rambling thoughts, figuring it's nothing important, he smiled again. "I heard when someone, particularly of your age, gets too stressed they lose some of their hair." Seth's blue eyes drifting to the man's prominent facial hair. "Now, shall we test that theory and see how long you can last, hm?"

 @lupinus ● Let me know if you want anything changing about this <3

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[Deleted]

[attr="class","box1"]Dressed in a black sports coat he had on over a hoodie, and a pair of black jeans, and boots, Kane found himself wandering the central part of the city. Ignoring the three guards who were following him, but they gave him enough space where he didn't feel like they were watching his every move; a request he specifically asked them to do before he left the research facility. He asked because he did get along with them out of the other security guards who worked there, and they respected his wishes. He couldn't see them, but he could detect each of their scents, down to what type particular soap and cologne they used. They were somewhere down the busy street, out-of-sight, out-of-mind. They'll catch up to him eventually, or when they decide he was out of their sight a little too long, and then their commanding officer would make them find him and bring him back. He didn't want to go back, but he wanted to, so he'll comply until he finds what he's been looking for – if he finds what he's looking for. Some days, it doesn't feel like he's making progress, and there were a lot of those days, which is exactly why he needed to be away from there for a few hours. He decided to work during the night shift last night, so he didn't have to go in today to do his work in the lab. His restless mind refused to relax enough for him to sleep, as he hated not making any progress on what he was working on. The amount of people walking on the side walk today was probably not a good thing for him, as he should have picked somewhere more peaceful to walk around to think, like one of the parks around the city. Yet, wished to visit the central part of Astaria, since he didn't have the chance to until today. One would think he would have by now, but the city was large, and he didn't have much of a free life as everyone else. He continued to walk, hands in the pouch of his hoodie, and gazed around at something or when someone caught his eye; and also in his case, their scent. He gradually slowed to a stop, standing near a building to be out of everyone's way as they walked passed him. He breathed in deeply, smelling the scent he started to pick up. It seemed like it was coming from the other side of the buildings he was standing at. It was a familiar scent, one he hasn't smelled for ten years now, but one of the scents he'll never forget. Is that...Seth? He wondered. He hasn't seen him in a long time. The others deemed Seth Hayes a failure when the young man was twenty-years-old. He really despised how they treated Hayes, as well as the majority of the other test subjects. It was bad enough Hayes' parents sent him here when he was younger; worse, because they sold him for money, which he learned when he read the young man's dossier. If it weren't for Kane's parents, he surely would have been treated as bad as the others. Some still didn't treat him well growing up inside the facility, especially when his parents weren't around. He remembered how one scientist was cruel to him during tests, and he had enough of it. He smiled darkly at the memory. It was the only time he attacked anyone there. It was more out of self-defense, but also a mixture of vengeance for his sake, and justice for the others who the scientist was cruel to. Despite Kane's efforts in trying to help him, and being there for him, and despite his requests to keep them from terminating the project they had Hayes on, they ignored or denied him, and threw the young man out onto the streets. Well, it was either that or terminating the man's life, but throwing him out onto the streets? They didn't care, obviously. To them, the test subjects weren't people. They were things to experiment with and see what they could create or do with the powers and abilities each of them were born with or were given by other means. He started heading down an alley, following the scent as his curiosity continue to push him to see Hayes again. Each step he took, he wondered if the younger man remembered him. He didn't know if they did anything to him prior to them kicking him to the streets, but he hoped Hayes remembered him. Kane didn't have much of a beard back then, always kept it clean-shaven or had a little stubble, and his hair was shorter, and with far less gray in his hair, too. At least he felt physically younger than he appeared. As he moved further into the alley, he saw a man entering from the other side. He was able to clearly see him, but was he Seth Hayes. He casually approached him, not wanting to try to scare him or anything as the distance between them lessened and the scent grew stronger, but the closer he was to him, the more he realized Hayes didn't seem to react, which he figured would have been the most likely scenario. Kane couldn't recognize him either. If it weren't for his enhanced sense-of-smell, then he wouldn't have known who this man was. He slowed his pace even more, parting his mouth to speak, but gave pause when Hayes apologized to him and smiled. He stopped walking, looking at him in concern and in slight confusion as to why the younger man apologized. When he tried to speak again, he saw movement as Hayes quickly moved toward him. “Hey, I -” He grimaced when his back was pushed up against the wall and instinctively grabbed at his arm, which was up against his chest. Of course, he could have reacted sooner, but seeing someone he knew, he left his guard down. Ignorant idiot. Be more careful next time, he scolded himself. Beneath his confusion and worry, anger grew, but he held it at bay...for now. He didn't struggle, even after Hayes roughly grasped his jaw with his other hand. He made a subtle growl, which nearly sounded like a grunt, as he fixed his brown eyes down on him; all traces of any expression being replaced by an indifference. Although, his eyes visibly shown he was angry, but more...disappointed at how Hayes didn't know him and was currently acting. Kane chortled lightly at what he said about his age. He was right though, the stress of living in the facility and working there, and trying to find the correct genome within the DNA to potentially cancel out powers to find a cure for those who wished to have the option to become normal, was stressing him out lately. Without his resolve, he wouldn't stick around as long as he has. He continued to stare at him. His eyebrows furrowed and his jawline set tighter at the mention of him testing the age and stress theory he told him about. His lip twitched in contempt of him testing his powers on people. He knew what he was capable of. He's seen him use it many times before. He sighed, losing his grip on his arm and wrist of the hand Hayes had around his jaw, but still held on. Still staring at him, he simply said, “I see you've forgotten what I taught you.” As much as he enjoyed killing the scientist who was cruel to him, it was the only time he murdered anyone. In fact, he regretted it now. Back then, not so much. He tried explaining to the other test subjects who he has grown attached to, particularly the children and teenagers – the ones who he's became a father-figure to – about how they should only use their powers and abilities for self-defense, and to never murder someone in cold-blood. Killing someone...changes you the moment you take their life. The more one does it, the worse they become. Another sigh as he stared at him like a disappointed father would to a child who was caught doing something they shouldn't. “Seth...” he whispered, feeling guilty and regret growing within him. He felt like he failed trying to help him. [newclass=.box1]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #772929;[/newclass]

You're fine. Looks good to me. :3 Tag: @jackal Words: 1399. Sorry. Not sorry. xP

credit to Laura of Adox

[Deleted]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

He was enjoying this. Enjoying this more than he'd enjoyed anything else in awhile. This was a good idea, in his mind, though a reckless one. Seth had successfully pinned someone to a wall and all he had to do was cause pain to this lucky someone and he could once again carry on with his day with a brighter smile on his face. However under more relaxed and less desperate circumstances Seth would have dragged this man somewhere else that was less out of sight. It enraged him a little that this man's eyes didn't show much fear or even confusion, something else. Why was he calmer than the others? By now he would have began to struggle, hell even begin to spew a load of useless pleas or threats at him. But no, all he received was a slightly tense stance and a very mild chuckle.

Doesn't matter. Seth didn't do this to hold someone and watch their facial expressions all day. The man's grip loosened on him slightly, though Seth paid little attention to it. His eyes grew intense as he locked eyes with the man, a smile now playing on his face, and his grip on the man's jaw tightened. Intending to finally do some harm, eyes still on him to watch his expression change. Just as he took a deep breath, the man in his grasp spoke. Seth's eyes no longer holding an malicious interest but rather confusion. What?. "What?" He withdrew his head a little, just a little, and stared at him as if he'd said something to offend or anger him. A frown quickly formed on his face before a slight chuckle and a shake of his head as he pointed at the man's face, saying "No. No. You're just trying to stall." Seth kept smiling as if the man had pulled an annoying joke and to be fair, in Seth's eyes he had. It was a unique one, he'd give him that but it would only prolong this.

Before Seth could even regain his grip on the man, he heard his name whispered. 'Seth'. How did he know his name? Seth can't have ran into this man before, he'd remember his face, surely. Paranoia started to settle in at the multiple thoughts of just how a stranger could know his name. Did someone tell him? What if someone out there had planned this and this man was looking for Seth? "How do you know my name?" the question tumbled out quite quickly, desperate. After a moment, he re-placed his rough grip on the man's jaw. "Tell me who told you my name or I'll burn your brain from the inside out." The threat was intended to scare the man into telling him but the words that left Seth's mouth almost sounded fearful.

 @lupinus ● "It's good to see you too! "

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[Deleted]

[attr="class","box1"]His body tensed more when he felt Hayes' grasp tighten even more on his jaw, but kept his grim on the young man's wrist and arm loose, but ready at a moment's notice if the situation went from bad to worse for him. He breathed in a deep breath and frowned a little at the discomfort. It was a little painful, but he was much more durable than a normal human, all thanks to his accelerated healing factor – his saving grace. He stared back at him, seeing Hayes smile maliciously and looked as if he was about to use his powers on him. Kane could not only see it, but he can certainly smell the chemosignals the younger man was giving off. As soon as he spoke to him about how he taught him though, he watched as the intent in his eyes changed. Somehow, he wasn't surprised how he denied it. Between the chuckle and the shake of his head, he knew Hayes didn't believe him. He sighed, but didn't smile back or have any other reaction, besides looking serious. He wondered again what the other scientists did to him, but couldn't help but think they preformed some kind of mind wipe on him. A mind wipe. It has to be...damn it. He kept quiet for a few moments, not bothering to respond to his assumption of stalling. He allowed him to regain his hold on his jaw without any protest or fight from him; though, he truly wondered how long his non-aggressive stance in dealing with him will last. Probably not long. However, if Hayes continues, he'll be forced to defend himself if he can't get through to him, but he also didn't want to hurt him either. He wished there was a way to remind him of who he was. It was a difficult situation he was in when the other person couldn't remember anything about their past, let alone him. When Hayes demanded on wanting to know how he knew his name, he stared right into his eyes – not caring if he was being threatened by him. The Jackal's voice nearly sounded fearful to his ears, but even if he couldn't tell by the tone of his voice, he could pick up the scent of fear, although, it was gradual. “No one did,” he calmly said, “I've known you for a long time. Ever since you were a teenager, Seth.” He paused, wondering if his explanation would even matter. He wouldn't know unless he tried, and so he did. He went on, “We met at the Astaria Research Facility sometime after you were sold to the facility by your parents. You were always glad to see me because I was one of the few who were kind to you.” Another pause as he remembered. “You and the other kids your age went through a lot, which I can understand everything your group went through...” He trailed off, letting his words sink in. It broke his heart seeing him like this, but it also angered and disappointed him to find out what he's been doing since he was thrown out to the streets. “I taught you and the others to never use your powers against the innocent. I didn't want you to be like them – the ones who tested on you. We're better than that.” He gradually sighed. “All of those times we've played chess together while we talked about anything you wanted, and you don't remember me? You don't remember anything?” [newclass=.box1]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #772929;[/newclass]

Meant to post this last night. Fell asleep midway through. xP Tag: @jackal Words: 590

credit to Laura of Adox

[Deleted]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

His eyes hadn’t left the man’s once. Almost like a challenge for who would look away first, well in Seth’s mind it seemed that way. He was extremely tense at the thought that he’d misjudged this completely and this man already knew his face. At the moment Seth felt like he had the upper hand and he continued to make sure it stayed that way as he kept his hold on this guy’s face.

It was confusing to hear that no one had told him Seth’s name, or face even, but while it settled him a little it still naturally raised the question of how this man came to know him. He would have replied to the man’s calm answer however he looked intently as he continued, processing the explanation as he went on. His eyes drifted to the side a little to help put it together better at the mention of how he ‘ended up at a research facility’. ‘Sold’ ‘Astaria Research Facility’.

Not long after the man continued and Seth still stood motionless but listened. Though he heard the words loud and clear of how he “should” use his powers, Seth focused more on trying to recover the memory. It had a slight familiarity but he wasn’t sure if that was wishful thinking or if it really is an old memory. Slowly he drive his eyes back on the man, his grip tightened for a moment and loosened as he thought through it all.

He wanted to say something, he really did. Yet words couldn’t form. ”No. it was bitter and his eyebrows furrowed as he stared back, unsure of what this man said and whether it was true. He didn’t want to believe that someone knew more about him than he knew about himself. ”No. I don’t remember a thing of what you just said.” it wasn’t the complete truth. Small flashbacks or dreams he’s had in the past correlate with this strange story yet he refused to show some kind of weakness that he knew less than this stranger. But he wanted to know more.

”How could I not remember any of this, hm?” he questioned as if he was debunking a myth. It felt like the truth but it seemed too out of the ordinary to be real. Then again, Seth wasn’t very ‘ordinary’. How could he have gone through all this yet remember none of it?

the grip on the man’s jaw had been dropped as he stepped back a little, yet kept his hand on the man’s chest to push him away from him to create some distance. ”How could you possibly know my own childhood and I don’t?” he chuckled. ”This is probably just another tactic. You made up a story about my childhood to throw me off and confuse me. So who are you then? Are you here to kill me or something else?” It was similar to thinking out loud and after each sentence, Seth formed an idea that what he was hearing was just a lie. He was so confused and he didn’t want to admit that he knew nothing really about his childhood compared to a total stranger who seemed to have a valid story.

 @lupinus ● <3

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[attr="class","box1"]Hayes not remembering anything made Kane feel even worse than when he found out the younger man was using his abilities against innocent people by experimenting on them. The others took away memories without any hesitation or empathy for the repercussions of what it could do to the younger man's heart and soul. Now, as he stood there, still with his back pressed against the wall with Hayes' hand gripping his jaw, he really wished he worked with him to help him more, or was able to help him escape the facility without any loss of his memories. Most were important, while the others...well, he'd rather not remember his childhood either, but they shaped him to who he was today and what he wanted to do. Hayes? Without the memories of Kane trying to teach him how and when he should use his powers, he was a lost soul, but perhaps not a lost cause. He'd like to think there was still hope for him...unlike the other scientists who gave up on him and threw him out as if he were garbage. Kane was silent while Hayes started questioning as to why he couldn't remember anything he said to him. His expression became even more sympathetic as he continued to stare back at him for a moment before lowering his gaze to nothing in particular and didn't react when he felt the younger man's hand leave his jaw to push him in the chest, which he couldn't budge, considering how he was still against the wall. He heard him chuckle and sighed quietly to himself, but listened as Hayes went on with a couple more questions. Once he figured he was finished asking him questions, his sympathetic expression turned serious, yet his eyes still held his empathy for him. He took a step forward in a non-threatening manner to move away from the wall with his arms at his sides and his hands unclenched. “It's not another tactic. Not once have I used any tactics against you to throw you off and confuse you, Seth,” he replied sternly. “I'm sorry if you feel confused right now with not remembering because of what they did to you. I would be confused too if they did the same to me.” He doubted he wouldn't remember his name but he decided to tell him who he was anyway. “My name's Sebastian Kane. You and a few other teens used to call me Sebbey.” He smiled a little, subtly looking sad but more so happily at the memory of talking to them and allowing them to call him Sebbey, which his mother and father used to call him by the nickname before they passed away. “I'm not here to kill you.” He sighed, gradually shaking his head at the absurd question of if he was here to kill him. He covered his eyes with his hand for a moment before covering his mouth as he stood there, thinking of how to explain to him how he found him, while listening and breathing in all of the scents in the air to make sure his guards weren't any closer. So far, they weren't, but he imagined they would come looking for him soon since he wasn't on the sidewalk anymore, nor did he make sure to let them know where he was heading to next. “I was walking on the other side of the building...” He looked down in thought, hands on his hips. “I picked up your scent.” He looked at him, ready to explain further if asked, but hoping he would remember something about him. [newclass=.box1]margin:0px auto; width:300px; height:425px; background: transparent; overflow:auto; padding:8px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1::-webkit-scrollbar]width:5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.box1::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background: #772929;[/newclass]

Finally posted! Sorry for the delay. :3 Tag: @jackal Words: 601

credit to Laura of Adox

[Deleted]

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

As the man slowly pushed off the wall and took a noticeable step towards him, Seth stood his ground though retracted his arm from pushing the man back against the wall. It wasn’t a threatening manoeuvre but the need to keep himself on guard was still prominent. It still might be a trick.

The information that was being spewed out to him was still unsettling and difficult to really process in his mind. Seth had always been content with his life to this very day, though this man had to come along and screw it all up. The very thought made Seth angry and erupt with more questions in his head. Why? Why did this have to happen? Why did he have to hear this? Is it even true? It was obvious Seth was extremely skeptical of what the man had to say yet he kept an unreadable, intense stare as he listened.

’Sebbey.’ The nickname gave off a nostalgic or warm feeling, he couldn’t pinpoint it. For a moment his eyes flickered to the side as he thought deeper into the name, keeping quiet throughout. So “Kane” was a father figure to him along with others in a similar situation? At this realisation Seth examined Kane’s face, hoping to see something there that would reveal anything of familiarity. Nothing. But the name held something but he couldn’t put a memory to it.

His eyebrows furrowed as he was brought back to reality when Kane said he found Seth through his scent, which was... odd to hear. ”My scent?” the confusion was clear in his tone. Though it clicked for him and it brought a small smile to his face, ”You’re a gifted one aren’t you?” he questioned, rather childishly along with the smile, as he pointed to the man. Bringing his arm back to his side his smile slightly faltered, not much but just a little, ”So...what? You ’caught my scent’ and decided to follow me and tell me stories?” It was odd coming from him, considering Seth was the man in this situation who planned on harming the latter. ”Sounds rather suspicious if you ask me.”

 @lupinus ● <3

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