Ornature

[Sofie Janssen] "Hey, Erek." The words aren't flat, and they are quiet, but not necessarily soft. Soft isn't something that's associated with her other than the feel of her skin, or the promise of underlying organs.

Her pale eyes drift over his face, back over his clothes and to the ink peeking out along his stomach, and slowly flit back up along his clothing to look at his eyes again. It's strange, watching someone that's effectively upside down. For the first time, Sofie's expression is harder to read. There's a small etched frown between fair brows and the edges of her mouth are neutral rather then shifted up or down.

Then she breathes in and lifts her chin, looking away and over to the television to see what it is he's watching. "I thought someone left the tv on," she says, in way of explaining why she's just come to stand there. She hadn't expected him or anyone to be in the room.

Her sweatpants are comfortable, loose, the sort worn for actual running or working out. The colour is a light gray, and her t.shirt is a baby blue, and even in its soft shade, her eyes are still paler than it. Neither item is meant to flaunt a figure she may or may not have any them. But its less clothes than he's seen her in yet. She's tall and lean, with a definite curve of a hip and bust that heavy winter jackets hide.

[Erek Skulason] *He's got the Cartoon Network on (which may or may not be typical of him), animated figures flicker across the screen in speed lines and outlandish body types. It figures that he would have a secret fondness for anime. But Erek wasn't paying attention to it, he was focused on Sofie, he actually misses the highlight of the story's plot line that it had been building up to for the past twenty minutes.

She hadn't been expecting him, or anyone's presence for that matter. It turns the corners of his mouth down, he removes his gaze from her frame, tosses it back on the television as he shuffles his position on the couch, attempting to get comfortable. He finds it difficult to do so, uncertainty budding up inside of him*

You probably saw me get my ass kicked last night, I imagine that must've been pretty exciting to see. Two against one. Felt like I got pummeled by a freight train with that fucking Gnawer rearranging my organs.

*There's a bittersweetness resounding in his words, the humiliation of what happened to him still hanging in the air. He rolls his shoulders into the cushions*

Don't have any place to stay and figured the couch is better than sleeping in the snow.

[Sofie Janssen] Swinging her attention back to him, she watches his face as he recounts what happened the night before. It makes her brows hitch a fraction of an inch. "Nah," she murmurs with a thoughtful purpose of lips, "I didn't see it. I caught the tail end of you being carted out the back door when I was coming in."

"John snarled at me to get going, so I didn't stick around." This is added with less thoughtfulness and a little bit of flint. "Glad you're alright though."

Moving from where she's standing, she steps so that she's facing him, between the table and the couch, but lower so she's not blocking his view of the television and is actually now looking up along his body at him. "You wanna talk about what happened, or leave it there? And you can always stay here at the Brotherhood. If there's no spare rooms, you can camp out in room seven." Where she is.

[Erek Skulason] *Erek had braced for the worst with Sofie, anticipated a conflict to stir because of the way they had been around each other in past encounters. He coughs, surprise edged into his features, pulling his eyebrows up, making his eyes widen and his jaw drop when she offered to allow him to camp out in her room or what he presumes is hers. He knew she was staying here and had been wary about running into her.

He lifts his head off his arm, legs pulled inward to bend as he swings them down to plant socked feet on the carpet, his torso swung as he sat up. Hands run through his hair, shaking it out, causing it to lay any way it wanted to on his head. He leans back raising his chin to look up at her*

I really don't want to discuss it. It's kinda one of those embarrassing guy things we don't want girls to know about. Doesn't look good getting my ass kicked, not very impressionable.

*His chest lifts, air exploding out of his mouth in a husky laugh as he speaks* I wouldn't mind a place to put my stuff. I'll remember to keep my hands to myself.

[Sofie Janssen] Following his movements with her eyes, she didn't say anything until after he had, speaking about impressions. A shoulder lifts in a quick shrug. "Can't always be the big wolf." She doesn't know what happened and doesn't go and try and figure it out. He had said he doesn't want to talk about it and so she doesn't. Instead she had offered that some battles had to be lost and said in such a way that it was a fact, that there isn't any need to be ashamed about it. At least that's how she meant it.

Nodding once, she accepts that and begins to walk out from between the couch and table, back around the edge of the couch where she had first appeared. "I reserve the right to kick you out of the room if you don't behave," she calls out quietly.

"Going to put my washing on." He could come. He could go and put his stuff in room seven, or stay where he was. Either way the Kinfolk was walking into the hall to pick up her laundry bag and turn left into the laundry which was just by the common room.

[Erek Skulason] *Some battles were meant to be lost. Can't always be the big wolf, she says to him. Erek sucks in a deep breath, feeling as if his nuts just crawled up inside his body. She says it in a way that tells him not to be ashamed, and yet it's still there under the surface. He was a Get of Fenris, shit like this would've been considered a sign of weakness. His uncle would have taken him out back and beat him to near death for losing*

Deal.

*It's the only thing he can come up with, agreeing with Sofie about reserving the right to kicked him out if he misbehaved. He watches her exit the commons, leans down until his chest touched his knees to stretch a hand out to grab his bag and boots in one hand. The other plants down on the couch, supporting his weight as he rose up and begins to follow after her*

[Sofie Janssen] In the laundry room, Sofie is pulling out clothes and stuffing them into a washing machine. She goes through the motions of adding some detergent, not much and only after she's checked what sort of detergent it is that they use here. "If you have anything that needs washing, toss it in here with these. I don't have any whites." Which means she's not worried about running colour dying her clothes.

If he puts clothes in or not, the lid is shut after and her laundry bag is set on top to show that it's being used. Brushing her hands over the back of her sweats to get off any detergent residue, she turns away from the washer to look back at him. "You want to put your stuff in the room? You can see with the folks that run this place if there's any spare rooms or beds tomorrow. Bit late to annoy them now."

[Erek Skulason] *Erek stands in the entryway of the laundry room, his eyes on her to take in her movements, even the most domesticated thing she does seems to hold his attention. He inclines his head to the side, resting it against the wall. The strap of the bag rests mostly in his palm as it dangles against his knee, his fingers hooked into the boots of the same hand that holds the bag. He shakes his head, almost cringing at the idea of throwing his own clothes in with hers.

It felt too personal*

Nah, they're clean. I'd done some washing before I was thrown out of the other place I was staying at. Figured the Broho was warming than staying at the Church. I grew used to living indoors with an actual bed instead of a wood pew with snow for a mattress.

[Sofie Janssen] "Where were you staying before?"

Since he's standing in the door way, she hangs back for the moment. Leaning into the washer behind her, she sets the heel of her palms on it, with her backside resting against the side. The sound of the water pouring onto the clothes is dimmed by the closed lid, but it's still a background noise that's a little louder than she expected in this small room.

She's watching him. Her gaze is steady, locked onto his face. For all their previous run-ins, there's only a mild tension in the back of her mind, and an expression that's he's come to know as hers being quieter in the background. Like that time at the Church when there were people talking and he was throwing her looks.

[Erek Skulason] *Sofie finds herself trapped in the laundry room, she would have to walk past him, likely get close enough to brush against him in order to exit. He doesn't take his eyes off of her, not with the way the intensity of their color seems to shift, almost darken. Erek isn't good at hiding his emotions, sometimes he can joke around them, play the idiot and be unpredictable, but when's he troubled. He's transparent.

The young Get of Fenris becomes tight-lipped, he doesn't want to answer the question as he assumes it'll bring conflict*

I was staying with a kin that was kind enough to take me in. Her tribe felt it was inappropriate for me to be there as she's unmated, it wouldn't look right with just us there living together. Even though, I never touched her in any intimate way. She was like a sister figure to me.

*He pushes off the edge of the wall, stepping back into the hallway and turns to look around, he jerks his head off to the side* You want to show me the room, Tyr?

[Sofie Janssen] There's a snort from her, and a smirk that she can barely suppress. "So you were staying with Drew." Seems that the word about that Kinfolk has got around easy enough. The Tribe isn't many numbered and there's some gossip on the grapevine. Her eyes glint as she pushes from the washing machine and begins to walk towards the doorway to walk after him.

She doesn't say anything else, just moves past him if he was waiting on her to do so, or nods with her chin down the hall of he doesn't, giving direction of where to go. Room seven was at the end of the hall and around the corner, behind the bathroom.

"We're gonna be leaving the door open," she adds, as an afterthought, letting down some ground rules.

[Erek Skulason] *There's a fire in his eyes that lights up when she says that. He arches his eyebrows at her, staring after Sofie as she walks past him. He pushed away from the wall, shaking his head as he keeps pace behind her, never overcoming her speed as they walk down the hall to room 7. She starts to on about ground rules and Erek clucks his tongue loudly, interjecting*

Just tell me when your work hours are and I'll sleep when you ain't here. I'm sure as fuck you ain't going to want to see my naked ass anyway, and obviously don't want me watching yours.

*He can't help it, it just comes out. His eyes skirt away to the other doors, not bothering to lower his voice as they make their way down the hall*

[Sofie Janssen] "I sleep here at night." When most Kinfolk sleep. She's not out hunting things at night. "But I wouldn't sweat it," she goes on to say, pushing open the door to room seven, which was already left ajar, "like I said, I'll ask tomorrow about spare rooms."

The light is flicked on as she walks in. Aiden hasn't been around anytime she has. He may as well not exist. It's Sofie's suitcases at the end of her bed, stacked neatly side by side. Her jacket is on a neatly made bed. The blankets are folded down at the top, pillow in place without a head crease on it. Hiking boots are tucked under the bed, side by side, and next to them are some jogging shoes. Her scarf, hat and gloves sit on a suitcase and anything else of hers is packed away.

"Put your bags down somewhere."

[Asha Singh] Someone's stomping up the stairs. Walking down the hallway, with a deliberately heavy tread. Maybe it's an excess of energy, this deliberate choice the slight creature makes to make so damn much noise. Maybe she's just childishly pleased with cowboy boots she's wearing. Complete with spurs.

Some people have more money than sense, and Thomas will ensure that these new shoes have disappeared tomorrow.

For now, though, the dignified, long-suffering butler endures, with dignity as he always does. The pair sweep by the open door to Sofie's room, trailing the scent of cold and something sharp and sweet underneath it, with a hint of wooded musk. There's a door somewhere down the hall, open and shut: "SORRY!" shouted. Another door, "I think that's the bathroom, ma'am - " and finally, what seems to be the correct room.

Some whispered conversation, some foreign language.

Five minutes later, they're going the other direction. "I don't know that they'll agree it to, ma'am, but of course I will ask whether we can replace all the furniture."

"It's so - "

- and, stomp stomp stomp, the jungle of fucking spurs on the rises of the stairs, stomp stomp stomp through the kitchens, stomp stomp stomp, out the door, into the bitterly cold night.