No Control (Luka, Malorie)

[setmi]

Setmi couldn't help but shake the feeling that the wolf following him - none too discreetly, either - was desperate for companionship. Of course, Setmi was no different, but he didn't make a habit of following people home, either. As it was, he allowed the male to trail behind him as they headed down Regent Street towards the Mayfair area. He probably could have easily chased the weak werewolf off, but curiosity held him captive. It had taken him until Cockspur Street to realized that this was the only other male werewolf he had met. The realization made him unwilling to chase off this apparent rarity.

He didn't bother making small talk as they walked, though he did glance back at the black and white canine every once in a while. Setmi only knew where he was going thanks to memorizing the street signs from his journey towards Paternoster Square. It was a long walk - almost a full hour and a half - but it passed quickly. He turned onto Grosvenor Street and had never felt so happy to see the ruined beauty of the Millennium Hotel rising above the other buildings. It had suffered during whatever had happened here in London, as though the business that owned the building had deserted it and left it to whoever came along. Of course, considering it acted as a makeshift apartment for those down on their luck sort of gave that bit away.

Setmi raised a hand and waved it in the direction of the hotel as they neared closer to it. "That's where I live," He said, adding a mental 'for now' to himself. He hadn't paid rent yet for the week, and now he was bringing home a stray. Luckily the owner was of the sorts not to ask too many questions, and pets were allowed, even when they were freakishly large and wolf-like. The proprietor wasn't one to mess with the werewolves, so long as they didn't fuck with the system he had.

He approached the large front doors, glad of the late hour. He didn't really want to cause a panic. "Let's get you inside an-" He started saying to the wolf, only to be interrupted by the desk clerk, Monty. The man had apparently seen them approaching and decided to meet them outside to lecture him yet again.

"Oh hell no. No, no and no, you hear me?" Monty said sternly. "You're late with rent, there is no way I'm letting you in until you pay up, and especially not with one of those in tow!"

Setmi felt a thrill of panic run through him. Sure, he had been late on rent the last couple of weeks, but finding a steady job was impossible. He just didn't have the real world experience or appearance or social skills needed to hold a job down. It left him scrambling after odd-end jobs that paid diddly squat and trying to pay rent in what was probably the cheapest place in all of London. He rounded his shoulders and gave Monty a look that was half desperate plea and half glare. The man remained unimpressed.

"You're not allowed in until you pay up. I'm sorry, but them's the rules," Monty said, turning and going back inside with one last regretful glance over his shoulder. Setmi sighed and rubbed his hand over his face and turned a rueful smile towards the werewolf.

"Well, I guess clothing's going to have to wait for now," He said with another heavy sigh, sitting on the curb. He gazed at the wolf and then hung his head between his knees and stared miserably at the ground. This was exactly the sort of luck he'd come to expect. Bad and worse.

[luka]

"Oh hell no. No, no and no, you hear me?" Monty said sternly. "You're late with rent, there is no way I'm letting you in until you pay up, and especially not with one of those in tow!"
"Is he talking about me?" Luka thought. What the hell was rent? And why wouldn't this...man let Setmi inside? Luka was very confused. But then again, everything was confusing.

The wolf snorted, ready to growl at Monty, even though his tail was between his legs. No, Luka was not good at bluffing. He was horrible. If only KoZ was here...She'd rob the man blind then leave. Scratching behind his ear, Luka looked at Setmi. So...they weren't going in? It's freezing! What the hell was going on?!

Luka had lived on the streets for years. And experience told him to always leave clothes around in random places. Seeing as you never knew when you needed to be in your human form. Now...where were they? Mayfair! Of course! He'd been here a few weeks ago hunting down rats. He should have clothes nearby. Setmi did say something about clothes, right.

He put his paws on Setmi's lap and licked his ear. When Setmi looked at him, he pawed at the air with his right paw. A sign to wait, or stay...or stop. Depending on what you took it for. Luka left Setmi sitting on curb while he sniffed out scents. If it was too faint, he wouldn't find anything. Luka kept his nose to the ground, sniffing in and taking in every scent. Until he finally caught his own scent. He followed it to a couple of boxes. He dug through them to find...KoZ's empty wallet.

So he didn't hide his clothes here...Well, there goes his hero of the year award...Luka hung his head as he took the empty wallet and went back to Setmi. He began to chew on the wallet to pass time. If he had hands, he could've looked inside and noticed that the wallet still had about $25 in it.

[Malorie Cohen]

It was just starting to snow as Malorie got off work, late as usual...she had taken her normal commute from across town, and then walked the rest, she was wrapped up snuggly in her winter clothes, her blood was just too thin for this cold shit. But she couldn't exactly complain, it could be much worse...

Of course as she turned the corner towards the home stretch, she proved herself right. Which only made her frown behind her three layers of scarves. It was Pinky, and an unknown guest, who she had this sneaking suspicion that a werewolf that had that little pride in himself...was someone she knew. "Monty kick you out?" she asked rather casually, looking at the two males with a dry expression. Really she wasn't surprised, the albino didn't seem exactly like the type who would be a card carrying member of the work force.

Really it was like her job followed her home with her when she had to deal with this guy! She grumbled a little, her lip turning a bit before the sneer dissolved into a bit of a smirk as she looked up at the falling snow, it was gonna be a hell of a storm she wagered, were she a betting woman, but...fortunately that wasn't one of her vices. "It's pretty rough out...prolly not the sort of night you two should be roughin' it like this..." she sighed, it wasn't like she could just leave them out here to freeze to death.

"Either of you have money or something? I might be able to convince Monty to give you a break or something...if you can put something upfront." Of course what she wasn't saying was that she would probably see if she could offer up some cash herself, but it wasn't like she was going to give something for nothing, and Setmi no doubt knew that. But for a moment the cyclops drilled her one eye on Luka, cold and remorseless, she had told him to stay away from here, and now...he was going to figure out why. But she couldn't possibly save the poor dog-boy now.

[luka]

The wolf had been a bit too busy chewing his wallet to notice the she-wolf approaching him and Setmi. That would've worked out spledid, but of course, she lived here. Hearing a familar voice, Luka looked up. The only thing he could remember was a rolled up newspaper hitting his nose. If he was like a real werewolf, he would've ran and snapped her leg off...Then again...alas...he wasn't.

The pathetic excuse for a creature of the night averted his gaze and proceeded to hide behind Setmi. It didn't matter if Setmi protected him or not, he was safe for now...he thought. The young male certainly didn't want to be near her if he was going to be hit again...hit again.

His tail started to slowly wag as he remembered the pain from being hit. It wasn't all that painful, and wasn't too light. It was perfect! And this thinking about pain made Luka a bit...hornier. Being a masochist was hard when there were plenty of people who wanted to hurt you, but not in the way you wanted them to. Luka began cough, quickly realizing that in his fear of Malorie, he had swalowed his wallet!

He gagged for a bit, then finally coughed up the 25 dollars he swallowed in the process. Lying in a puddle of saliva beside Setmi was a 20 and a 5 dollar bill. Luka stared at Malorie then Setmi. WTF just happened?

[setmi]

Setmi watched the young wolf wander off as it began to snow out, a little devastated by his sudden homeless state to do much more then follow the other males command that he stay put. He wiped the saliva off his face before gazing out into the night, though his attention was completely wrapped up with his own inner thoughts. He needed to find a job - a steady one - so that this couldn't happen again. His eyes darted to the black and white wolf when he came back and began chewing on what looked like an old wallet. Well, he did have another option. But he didn't really want to go back to living like an animal. He liked the security of a roof over his head and a lock on his front door.

He saw Malorie not long before she actually spoke, so caught up in his own inner musings as he was. He snorted, but bit back the harsh retort that was on the tip of his tongue as the cowardly werewolf hid behind him. The cyclops continued speaking, and Setmi found himself tempted by her offer. It got cold during the night in Egypt, but nowhere near this low, and he had seen snow maybe twice before in his life. He had almost immediately hated it, and the cold that came with it; he didn't realize that it was more the other way around then anything.

Then his shoulders slouched. "I got nothing," He grumbled, hunching deeper into his leather trench coat. Really now, it didn't do anything against the cold. It hadn't been so bad while he was walking, but now he found himself shivering. He noticed Malorie's glare at the werewolf behind him as he started hacking, and he turned to glance at the male in time to see him cough up paper. Setmi curled his lip in disgust and then cocked an eyebrow. "Or rather, I seem to have some sort of currency, no thanks to him."

Setmi jerked his thumb at the werewolf and then stood, picking up the wet money, the drool already cool to the touch. He held it between his index finger and thumb the way one would a dead thing, and waved it in Malorie's direction. "You know how this money shit works better then I do," He said grudgingly.

[Malorie Cohen]

Malorie looked at the money, and the dog-boy and the horrible pederast and just sighed, and when she was done sighing, she took a long drag of her cigarette and then sighed some more.

"American cash?" she asked like she wondered what the hell she was expected to do with it, so she pushed it back to Setmi. "Monty isn't gonna take dollars Pinky, hell, he doesn't even take cheque...its pounds, and only pounds with that hard ass." she rubbed at her temples like a migraine was coming on. She wasn't sure whether or not to name it Setmi or Luka, maybe something cute, like those celebrity couples Setka, or Lumi. She wasn't too sure...but both of them were to blame for the pressure behind her eye.

She cursed under her breath a moment, gritting her teeth so hard that it was easy to hear, she was thinking, scheming and generally racking her brain to figure all of this out. Obviously she couldn't pay off the albino's debts with her income, but she might be able to work something out. "Alright, you, BOTH of you. " she pointed at Luka when she said both "I need you to hop into two legs and hit the fire escape, Setmi, you know what room is mine, I'll open the window and I'll figure it out from there." she growled slightly, before going into the door without a further word. No doubt going back to her room to wait for the hapless werewolves.

[luka]

Luka's ears cocked to the sound of Malorie grinding her teeth. He had went back to chewing on the wallet when Malorie spoke again.

"I need you to hop into two legs and hit the fire escape, Setmi, you know what room is mine, I'll open the window and I'll figure it out from there."

'Two legs?' Luka groaned. He really didn't want to change, not at this weather...oh well. He had some clothes stashed nearby where he found the wallet. He looked at Setmi, then Malorie. He watched her disappear into the building. Looking at Setmi, he rolled his right eye into the back of his head as he went behind the building and near the boxes.

How he managed to not bump into anything was beyond him. He positioned his body low to the ground with his eye still rolled into the back of his head, the white of the eye showing. The left eye, since meeting Setmi, kept its focus on him. Seeing Luka, you'd think he was acting as a submissive wolf, well, he wasn't. This was just how it seemed when he changed. He opened his jaws in silent pain as saliva dripped down. His bones began to reshape into human bones. Luka whimpered as his change continued. His fur fell out and his muzzle shortened.


Luka was pale, of course not paler than Setmi, but he was cold! His messy locks covered his eyes. His body was thin and lanky. Luka was 19 but could pass for a 16 or 17 year old teen.

"...Wha-Wha...What...What, is a ...f-fire escape?" No Luka wasn't stuttering because of the cold, he always stuttered. But his speech was delayed due to not actually talking for a long period of time. He blinked and shivered as he waited for Setmi to reply. "Oh! T-thanks for the f-f-food..."

[setmi]

Setmi grimaced when Malorie touched him, wiping his hands on the insides of his pockets as he pocketed the cash. He'd keep the money, despite it being useless for rent. Maybe he could exchange it for some pounds, or buy some food for it at some tourist trap. He glanced between Malorie and the wolf, the latter chewing on the wallet that had probably been where he had eaten the money from in the first place. Setmi wistfully wished the werewolf could just cough up endless money. That would solve a lot of problems, he mused.

He blinked as Malorie started to speak again, then frowned. He opened his mouth to protest - he didn't need help from any woman dammit - but she had already gone inside. He glowered at the closed door as if it were to blame before looking at the werewolf, only to notice him trotting off. Was he going to be given a choice in anything? He followed after the werewolf, muttering curses beneath his breath.

As he watched the wolf change ever so slowly into a man, Setmi realized that there was a slight problem with this plan. The first and foremost being that he didn't have a spare set of clothes for the man to wear once he changed back. The next was just how attractive the man - young boy, really - was, once he was changed. Setmi sort of stared stupidly for a moment as the boy dressed, only realizing that he was staring when the boy turned to him and spoke. The albino cursed his infernal luck and shrugged out of his trench coat.

"That is a fire escape," Setmi said, pointing to the steel contraption on the side of the hotel. He threw his coat around the boys shoulders and started for the ladder. He waved a hand in dismissal at the boy's thanks. "Don't worry about it," He said, trying to be a gentleman and not think about the naked body of the boy behind him. He didn't seem to realize that he had somehow been conned into agreeing with Malorie's plan by means of tender boy flesh. Not that they knew it, but somewhere in the course of the boy being naked, and being clothed, Setmi had decided a warm place to stay would be good, very good indeed.

And so it was that he climbed up the fire escape, helping the boy if he needed it, to slip into Malorie's open window. He didn't bother knocking; she knew they were coming.

"Honey, I'm home," He said with as much sarcasm as he could possibly muster in those three words.

[Malorie Cohen]

"Honey, I'm home."

The woman greeted them at the window, a Louisville Slugger in one hand, and a sweet tea in another, never mind the largest scowl she could muster as she let the two men in. "Yea, don't thank me or anything slap-nuts." she retorted with a bit of a sneer as she looked Setmi over like she was thinking of hitting him right now with the bludgeoning weapon. Luka however just got a very stern nod.

"This is temporary. I mean you guys aren't invited to live with me...I'm just letting you stay here til you figure something out." she gestured between the two with the baseball bat and grumbled. "So no funny business. That means you ya' washed up Chicken Hawk." With that she gave the albino a bit of a jab and then bent over to pet the cat that was currently weaving between her legs.

Of course now that she had both of them up here, she wasn't too sure what to do with them. The apartment itself had a woefully barren look to it, more like a tacky mausoleum than a place of residence, it was furnished, but it didn't look like anyone lived there, and the smoke from her cigarette hung in the air like it threatened to suffocate the intruders. "The davenport folds out to a bed, and the chair is a recliner, you both can have one. You stay human if you're in the house...Byron gets nervous around wolves." she warned as she poured herself another tea and lit up another cigarette, pointing the cherry towards the half-kitchen. "There might be some food in the fridge, help yourself."

And that was about all the southern hospitality that these people were gonna get from her.

[luka]

Luka shivered as Setmi spoke. He gave a slight smile as the man gave him his coat. He quickly climbed the fire escape, wanting to get warm fast. He hoped Malorie had a fireplace, or something close enough to it. If not, he would set the place on fire. He'd rather burn alive than freeze to death.

The male climbed into the window after Setmi.

"Honey, I'm home."

Not trying to be rude, but Luka couldn't help but laugh. He knew what sarcasm was, and found it hilarious. He stared in confusion as Malorie and Setmi spoke. They sounded like a married couple...a married couple with a failing sex life...a married couple with a failing sex life who hated eachother's guts. Yes, that seemed to sum it up.

Luka licked his chapped lips.

"There might be some food in the fridge, help yourself."

*Gurgle!* Luka gave a groan as he heard his stomach growl. He had just ate, but then again he was a human now. His stomach had much more room than the werewolf one. He gave Malorie a slight nod as he went to find the fridge.

Manners...What were manners again? Luka opened the fridge and reached it. He stared in wonder as he saw some raw ground beef. The expiration was only two days away...Still food!

Luka gobbled down the food like he was raised by animals, oh wait, he was. Licking his chops of satisfaction, he went back to the cyclops woman.

"You had s-some ground beef in the f-fridge. It was d-delicious. I love r-raw meat..." He stuttered. He had just realized even though she said it was alright, she might have needed that food.

But his fear changed into awe as he saw Byron again.

"Meow..." Luka mewed like a kit as he patted Byron. He liked cats. Maybe he'd get one himself one day...

[setmi]

Setmi snorted and eyed up the baseball bat warily, ignoring the boy's laughter. He didn't retort, but he didn't offer any gratitude either. After all, he would have found an alternative if she hadn't offered, and he wouldn't even be in her apartment if the boy hadn't needed shelter. Or so he told himself. Of course, had he known what Luka thought of how he and Malorie interacted, he would have thrown the boy back out the window without a second thought, attractive or not.

He shifted a little when Malorie pointed the baseball bat at him. "I wouldn't stay if you paid me," Setmi grumbled, looking down at the cat with a softening around his eyes. He liked cats, though not the same way he liked dogs, so Malorie probably wouldn't have a reason to kill him. At least not for anything cat-related. The jab caught him off guard and he growled, batting at the weapon in annoyance. "Watch where you stick that damned thing."

"The kid can have the bed," Setmi said, looking around for the first time since he came into the apartment. Well hell, it actually had furniture, unlike his. Setmi was grudgingly impressed. This was what happened when someone was a normal member of society and had a job that paid money. The albino was confused at the envy he suddenly felt towards the one-eyed woman. Him, jealous of a woman? Preposterous!

He sat himself in the recliner and watched Luka trot off for food. Setmi remembered that he still had bread in his coat pockets too, but he figured the kid probably wouldn't eat it on him. He tore his eyes off the boy and kicked off his boots, his prosthetic leg more then a touch obvious without his footwear filling out the pant leg. "So how do you know the kid?" Setmi asked Malorie gruffly, massaging his leg where the prosthetic attached. The cold metal was hell on his scarred skin.

Of course, he wasn't talking to Malorie just to fill the silence. He might be lonely, but he wasn't desperate. Though one could argue against that considering his immediate taking to the boy, but hell, it wasn't Setmi's fault he had a type, and that the boy fit it. Never mind that his personality wasn't remotely appealing. Setmi sighed as he watched the kid come back into the room. No, he wouldn't act on his attraction - especially not with Malorie around - but he'd sure as hell enjoy the view.

[Malorie Cohen]

"Watch where you stick that damned thing."

"No." Malorie smirked ever so slightly at Setmi as he sniffed around, a little self conscious as the realization that there were people in her house, she never had people over at her house, even though she used the term 'people' rather loosely for her present company. "I don't care who sleeps where, just that you boys sleep separate." she whispered very dark and low towards the albino, as Luka was out of ear shot. "You get it?"

At least she could respect that the monster in front of her knew well enough that she was crazy enough to do something horrible if he broke the ground rules. She might have had one eye, but she wasn't so blind she couldn't see the ga-ga eyes Setmi had been giving Luka, had she not been anorexic, she could have damn near lost her lunch. "That kid is touched in the head, I met him that night Byron had gotten out..." she leaned in a bit closer to Setmi, just in case the kid was nearby. "He thinks he's a dog." Her brows lifted a bit as she was skeptical how anyone could be that crazy. Even in comparison to present company.

"Tsst, tsst." she hushed both of them down when she heard Luka coming back from the kitchen, it wasn't as though she wanted to talk behind the boy's back, but there was just something strange about him. And it worried her. So she changed the subject as she looked over at Pinky and his gimpy ass leg. "You want some pills or a hot water bottle or something?" It was nice, maybe she was just forcing herself to be, but she had gotten herself into this mess, she might was well deal with it.

If Luka's exploration and raid of her refrigerator had bothered Malorie, she certainly didn't show it, but rather just made a less than enthused "Meh"-sound as the boy had admitted that he had eaten her ground beef.

She hadn't even remembered that she had bought the stuff, but then again, she wasn't surprised it had been there. It probably did more good in the slight were's gut than found rotten a week or two later. She just wasn't known for eating regularly...if at all.

[luka]

Luka just sat on the floor...if you could call it sitting. He still wasn't used to being to being in his human form. He was sitting on his butt yes, but his hands were on the ground infront of him. His back was slightly arched over. He looked like a small child trying imitate a dog. He couldn't help it. Sure he could walk, but his brain was just stuck in 'I'm a dog' mode.

Luka yawned. He ws tired. He didn't care where he slept, as long as it wasn't outside. He didn't want to sleep on the bed...unless he was sleeping at the foot of it. He looked at Setmi then Malorie. He wasn't sure if they would take this weird or not.

"I-I can sleep on the f-floor. I can t-take some blankets and sleep under the b-bed. I like to s-sleep in tight spaces. Habit. It'll be like a den..." He must have been feeling more confortable, he wasn't suttering as much. He leaned a bit back, just incase Malorie decided that he was talking stupid talk and hit him again...though her hitting him wouldn't be so bad...

Feeling an itch behind his head, he tried to lift his hind leg up. He managed to make his toes reach his cheek, then remembered he was human. Embarrassed, he sat normally and scratched behind his head with his hand. Oh, this was going to be a long night...