Post by Cole on Oct 23, 2006 22:44:34 GMT
I wrote this for Ten, who gave me permission to go ahead and turn this into a ficlet (and requested a Cole/Dia argument fic from me a while ago, actually); she originally mentioned the whole concept, and I loved it so much that I agreed we should go with it. We plan to turn this into an actual roleplay session sometime soon as well, if we can manage it XD Obviously, Dia belongs to her. This is set around 1513, just after Cole’s parents have died, and just before he takes the role of Beta male in the pack. So, yes, it’s set when he and Dia are pack mates, and not… mate-mates >.>
* * * * ** * *
The main entrance to the pack home slammed shut behind them, and the rushed storm of footsteps sounded out the irritation of the two people moving along the corridor. The pace was angry, but not overly hasty, and another door banged at the end of the long corridor. A few of the pack members leaned out of their places of refuge, catching a brief glimpse of dark, flowing hair, and the glint of a sheathed blade. And then their view was cut off.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Her voice was crisp and edged with aggravation. She paced the room, her dark eyes landing on his face, and flashing wolfen subtly.
“Why not?” he challenged, his hair a feral mess on his head, just slightly matted with the blood of their enemies. “You needed—”
“I did not need help,” she cut off, her voice rising in volume and pitch. She turned on him; her hair had mostly come loose from its clipped position, falling around her face in a fashion befitting a warrior fresh from battle. Her weapons hung at her belt, and she’d tossed her staff to the side of her room when she’d stepped through the door, trying to slam it shut on the male who had followed her, never any more than two paces behind her, so close he might have collided with her had she chosen to stop abruptly. “You had no right to interrupt, and you had no right to take the kill!”
“‘Take the kill’?” he repeated with a dry, loud laugh. “It’s not a contest!”
“No, it’s not, so stop trying to win.” Her eyes narrowed, challenging him soundly as the hint of a triumphant smirk touched her lips.
His own eyes narrowed, and flashed amber for a moment. “That is so…” He trailed off, tossing his hands up in frustration. “I didn’t steal your kill.”
“Then what were you doing?” she asked at once, with a tension in her tone that he couldn’t have missed even if he hadn’t been paying the utmost attention. “Were you trying to protect me? Hmm?”
He didn’t answer her, simply shifted his dagger sheath at his own belt, standing up a little straighter.
“Males,” she grumbled with a roll of her eyes, and he growled softly. “I don’t need protection, Cole, and least of all from you.”
Cole Stanton laughed, rocking his head back for a moment. “And why is that? I’m not good enough to protect you, or is it just that you can take care of yourself?”
“I can manage, yes. It’s why I’m a fighter, after all.”
“For the love of…” He hesitated, running a hand through his bestial hair. “Dia, if you can handle yourself, you wouldn’t have been almost run through two months ago.” Now it was Cole’s turn to look discreetly triumphant.
“That’s not a fair example, and you know it.”
“Sounds fair to me.”
“Ugh.” She turned her back on him. “You’re missing the point.”
Cole put his hands on his hips, watching Dia Mantenega, his gaze unwavering. “And what is the point?” he finally asked of her, waiting for her sarcastic or angry response.
She was quiet, as if the tension was fading from her body, but any observer who knew her would realise that wasn’t the case at all. If anything, she was coiling tighter, reading to release. After a moment, she started unhooking her weapons, speaking as she did so, “You always think you know what’s best, and you don’t care what I think, and it’s arrogant, and ridiculous.”
Cole’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, is that right?”
“Yes, it is.” She looked over her shoulder at him, reaching up to practically tear the clip from her hair, throwing it down onto the nearest piece of furniture. “And you can’t deny it, because you know that’s what you’re like.” She opened her mouth to say something else, and caught herself, as if realising it was a mistake. Cole didn’t need to hear it; he knew what she’d been about to say. But even Dia knew that mentioning his late parents in a heated decision wasn’t the best idea, especially with them not even having been in the grave more than three months. The loss still burned like a fire inside of him, and the pack all knew that.
“That is not what I’m like,” he ground out, raising a hand to point at her firmly, meeting her gaze. “So stop saying it.” After all, it hadn’t been the first time.
Their interaction was bizarre, at best. They went from one extreme to the other. Only last night, they’d shared laughter, and sat close to one another while the pack reminisced and swapped stories; she’d even rested her head on his shoulder as the evening had worn on. And then there were times like this… times when they seemed more likely to transform and tear at each other with tooth and claw than to agree on even the simplest thing. Cole didn’t understand it… or at least, he refused to. Deep down, he knew what it was, but giving it recognition would be like admitting defeat… even though it wasn’t defeat… at least it wasn’t if she felt as he did.
“There you go again!” Dia whirled on him, her hair tossing over her shoulders. “Don’t tell me what to do!”
“Why not?” Again, his eyes narrowed, waiting for the inevitable response.
It never came. Instead, she yelled something he’d never heard from her before.
“You’re not my mate!”
It was something like a slap in the face, so unexpected that he almost blinked in surprise. But he couldn’t show that shock, so he simply acted; simply retorted.
It was only after the words had escaped his mouth that he wished he’d stopped to think.
“Well I should be!”
They stopped. They stared at each other. Green-hazel eyes fixed on brown, and vice versa, never deviating; unblinking.
And then, quite suddenly, her door was slamming again, leaving her standing there silently, wondering what the hell had just happened.
Outside the door, Cole wondered if he could somehow pretend he’d never said such a thing.
Idiot.
Somehow, he doubted it…
~fin~