Post by Heidi on Dec 30, 2006 21:09:19 GMT
After the, uh, recent events regarding Heidi and Will during the full moon, and Will's comment that meeting her was pretty much love at first sight, I felt it was appropriate to post this RP that Dru and I did about their first meeting. Set in the mid-19th century, this is when Will, having pledged himself to Cole, has come to live with the pack proper. Enjoy!
Well, look at it this way, the Scottish lycanthrope told himself. It could have turned out a lot worse.
Actually, William Allan Murphy II was quite pleased with his current situation. It had taken a good while to track down this formidable Alpha, at least a decade, and he had been forced to tromp halfway across the country. But now, here he was, being escorted to the grand manse where Cole Stanton and his pack resided. The Alpha had been surprisingly open to Will’s abrupt appearance; it showed the elder wolf wasn’t too much of a stick-in-the-mud.
And most would be unnerved if a strange wolf dropped to one knee to pledge loyalty before them. I think I’m going to like this pack.
Cole met him at the door. "Welcome, Will," he said pleasantly. "This is the pack's current residence; we've prepared a room for you upstairs. Would you like to see the premises, or would you rather get something to eat first?"
Hm. Food was tempting. But he always liked to get to know a knew place before getting too comfortable. “If you don’t mind, sir,” the Scotsman began respectfully. “I’d like to wander around a bit. Get to know the place, if that’s all right.”
"No need to call me sir," Cole admonished him gently. "Let me just call in a few others I'd like you to meet first, and then you're welcome to explore as you like best -- this is your home now." He picked up a small bell on a nearby table, and in response to the ringing, a dark-haired male appeared in the doorway.
"This is the pack's Beta male, Steven Manning. Steven, this is William Murphy -- our new member."
Even as the Irish and Scottish wolves were exchanging greetings, another figure appeared. She was dark, possibly Spanish, with fiery dark eyes and a wealth of shining black hair. She moved to Cole's side, and he smiled at her proudly, introducing her as his mate, the Alpha female of the pack, Dia Mantanega.
William greeted both Beta male and Alpha female with equally respectful nods, smiling and murmuring his hellos. Briefly, he noted the lack of a Beta female, but decided not to question. He didn’t want to tread on what could possibly be thin ice.
“This is an amazing house, sir.” He blinked, then corrected himself with a sheepish chuckle, “I mean, Cole. Very lovely.”
"Thank you; we're rather fond of it. Ah -- there you are, Heidi," said the leader as a third figure presented herself. The new arrival could hardly have been more different from the Alpha female, being willowy and blonde, with fair skin. She had a very erect carriage and an alert, intelligent expression. "This is Heidi Fischer, our Beta female. Heidi, meet William Murphy, the newest member of the pack."
"Oh, yes. Welcome," she said, smiling genially and extending a hand.
...You’re staring, Will.
“Oh, um...ahem.” With a clearing of his throat, he tried not to blush as he took the hand of the lovely creature before him. “Ma’am,” he greeted cordially, bowing over her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
"Likewise, I'm sure. I hope you've come hungry -- there's a pair of lovely fat ducks roasting in the oven, and the potatoes are almost ready as well."
"Heidi's one of the best cooks in the pack," Cole said languidly. He had not failed to notice Will's immediate attraction -- or the fact that Heidi was totally oblivious to it. "But I think you could leave finishing the meal to the others...could I ask you to show Will around the house?"
Will pulled back rather swiftly, as his mind caught up with his actions. One didn’t act this way around the Beta female, especially with the Beta male standing right next to him. Brilliant, Will. Absolutely smashing.
“Er, well,” the Scottish wolf began choppily. “If you’re in the middle of preparing dinner, I’d hate to distract you.”
"Oh, it's no trouble. The hardest parts are done -- the younger wolves can handle what remains." She smiled. "Shall I show you to your room first, so you can put away your things?"
He looked to his new Alpha, who nodded, before replying. “Well...all right.” He gave a smile of his own, though it wasn’t so easy. “Thank you.”
"You're welcome. Won't you follow me?" She started for the stairs.
Will couldn’t help but stare after her before he came to and shouldered his small pack. With a brief nod to the Alphas and the Beta male, he jogged lightly after Heidi until he’d caught up with her, smiling when he met her gaze.
She’s the Beta female, Will. Don’t you even start...
"Here you are," Heidi said a moment later, reaching a door. "This is entirely your room," she added, opening the door, "so just make yourself at home. I trust it's to your liking."
It was big. Bigger than his room at the inn, anyway, and perfect because of that. “It’ll do splendidly,” he said with a smile, stepping past Heidi and into the room to get a better look. “Granted, it just feels good to be with a pack again, so the room doesn’t really matter. But I do like it.”
"Wonderful. Well...shall I let you get settled, first, and come back later?" Her tone was warm, and friendly, but with a touch of the reserve that the Victorians so prized.
“All right.” Will nodded briefly with a grateful smile. “Thank you, ma’am.”
"I'll come and check on you in a little while, and then if you wish to be shown around, we'll do that." She offered him a brilliant smile, then turned away from his door.
Once again, the Scottish wolf found himself staring after his Beta female. Inside his head, his wolf turned over restlessly, rumbling. Stop, he told it firmly as he set down his pack. Beta female and Beta male. She’s not yours to fuss over, so don’t.
Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but groan irritably as he flopped gracelessly back onto his bed.
Roughly half an hour later, there was a knock at his door. It was Cole. "Heidi said she had promised to come back for you," he explained, "but they had a little trouble in the kitchen....she'll be up shortly. She sends her apologies and hopes you weren't waiting long."
The knock jolted him - had he fallen asleep? - into a sitting position. It took a few moments for Cole’s words to regist, but then Will’s brain caught up. “Oh! Oh, that’s all right. Think I dozed off for a moment anyway, heh.”
Cole chuckled. "Dreaming anything good?" he teased the newest pack member.
Will felt his face go red. “Good enough,” he muttered. He hadn’t been that obvious around Heidi...had he?
"So....while we're waiting for your tour guide..." Cole leaned against the wall. "Did you have any questions, or need anything for your room? Anything like that?"
Um, no, thank you,” Will replied as his face regained its normal coloring. “I’m all right for now, thanks. And the room is fine. More than fine, actually.” He smirked. "I might not have to worry about my feet dangling over the end of the bed."
"Good. We want you to be comfortable," Cole said, genuinely reassuring. Hearing a step in the corridor, he glanced out. "Ah, and here's our fair Beta. Everything sorted downstairs?"
"Oh, yes...it's that new-fangled oven. I think more than one of the others would prefer going back to cooking over a fire," Heidi replied with a chuckle, joining the two men. "Is everything to your liking, William?"
Out of habit, Will stood when Heidi appeared and - in spite of himself - brushed at his hair with one hand to make sure it wasn’t standing on end or anything. “Everything is just fine, ma’am.” And then, almost nervously, he cleared his throat. “And, um...please, just call me Will.” A sheepish chuckle. “ ‘William’ makes me sound pretentious.”
"Well, then, please drop the ma'am and just call me Heidi." She smiled. "Now -- there's a little time for that tour before dinner, if you wish."
Will chuckled, nodding. “All right. Lead the way.”
They wandered the halls of the magnificent, almost palatial estate. "The Alphas are in this suite," Heidi said as they passed a door. "Steven's room is just down here, and then I'm around the corner -- so if you need to find us in some emergency, you'll know where we're located."
The new packmate nodded, taking in the information, and then blinked. The Beta male’s room was there, and Heidi’s was...
...Wait a tick.
“Um...forgive me,” he began carefully. “But, you don’t share a room with your mate?”
"My....oh! Oh, forgive me, I didn't realize you would think that. Steven and I aren't mates."
Don’t you dare get your hopes up. “Oh? I’m sorry, I just assumed -- I thought that was the way things went in packs.”
"Quite often, Betas are mates," she explained. "But not Steven and myself....we are very good friends, and I love him dearly, but we aren't mates. I doubt we ever will be -- we're so different."
Will allowed himself a tiny smile. "Really?"
She nodded. "Oh -- here you'll find we have a sort of gymnasium set up, if you wish to train. I believe Cole mentioned you were a rather skilled fighter?"
“I manage,” was all he said, not wanting to boast. “I’ve enough training with a sword.”
"Splendid. Not that we go looking for fights, of course," she added with a laugh. "But it's always good to have fighters on hand in the event of an emergency. So...you're Scottish? Your accent is a bit of a giveaway."
“That bad, eh?” he teased, smiling. “But, yes, I am from Scotland. Edinburgh, to be exact.”
"Oh, it's not bad -- it's lovely, actually. Much as I hear Scotland is."
It was quite hard for him not to start blushing again -- she’d called his accent ‘lovely.’ That didn’t happen often. “It was, from what I remember. Although, I haven’t been back in ages.”
Heidi nodded. "It's been many a decade since I saw my native Germany." Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of a bell. "Ah -- dinner's ready. Shall we go and see if the duck is to your liking?"
Will offered a slightly lopsided smile, as well as his arm. “Do let’s.”
She chuckled, accepting his arm. "I hope you're hungry."
“Starved. Given the rave reviews from Cole, I’m glad I didn’t miss dinner.”
It was Heidi's turn to blush. "Well, I hope it lives up to the praise he heaped on it."
He smiled again. “I’m sure it will.”
~~~
Well, look at it this way, the Scottish lycanthrope told himself. It could have turned out a lot worse.
Actually, William Allan Murphy II was quite pleased with his current situation. It had taken a good while to track down this formidable Alpha, at least a decade, and he had been forced to tromp halfway across the country. But now, here he was, being escorted to the grand manse where Cole Stanton and his pack resided. The Alpha had been surprisingly open to Will’s abrupt appearance; it showed the elder wolf wasn’t too much of a stick-in-the-mud.
And most would be unnerved if a strange wolf dropped to one knee to pledge loyalty before them. I think I’m going to like this pack.
Cole met him at the door. "Welcome, Will," he said pleasantly. "This is the pack's current residence; we've prepared a room for you upstairs. Would you like to see the premises, or would you rather get something to eat first?"
Hm. Food was tempting. But he always liked to get to know a knew place before getting too comfortable. “If you don’t mind, sir,” the Scotsman began respectfully. “I’d like to wander around a bit. Get to know the place, if that’s all right.”
"No need to call me sir," Cole admonished him gently. "Let me just call in a few others I'd like you to meet first, and then you're welcome to explore as you like best -- this is your home now." He picked up a small bell on a nearby table, and in response to the ringing, a dark-haired male appeared in the doorway.
"This is the pack's Beta male, Steven Manning. Steven, this is William Murphy -- our new member."
Even as the Irish and Scottish wolves were exchanging greetings, another figure appeared. She was dark, possibly Spanish, with fiery dark eyes and a wealth of shining black hair. She moved to Cole's side, and he smiled at her proudly, introducing her as his mate, the Alpha female of the pack, Dia Mantanega.
William greeted both Beta male and Alpha female with equally respectful nods, smiling and murmuring his hellos. Briefly, he noted the lack of a Beta female, but decided not to question. He didn’t want to tread on what could possibly be thin ice.
“This is an amazing house, sir.” He blinked, then corrected himself with a sheepish chuckle, “I mean, Cole. Very lovely.”
"Thank you; we're rather fond of it. Ah -- there you are, Heidi," said the leader as a third figure presented herself. The new arrival could hardly have been more different from the Alpha female, being willowy and blonde, with fair skin. She had a very erect carriage and an alert, intelligent expression. "This is Heidi Fischer, our Beta female. Heidi, meet William Murphy, the newest member of the pack."
"Oh, yes. Welcome," she said, smiling genially and extending a hand.
...You’re staring, Will.
“Oh, um...ahem.” With a clearing of his throat, he tried not to blush as he took the hand of the lovely creature before him. “Ma’am,” he greeted cordially, bowing over her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
"Likewise, I'm sure. I hope you've come hungry -- there's a pair of lovely fat ducks roasting in the oven, and the potatoes are almost ready as well."
"Heidi's one of the best cooks in the pack," Cole said languidly. He had not failed to notice Will's immediate attraction -- or the fact that Heidi was totally oblivious to it. "But I think you could leave finishing the meal to the others...could I ask you to show Will around the house?"
Will pulled back rather swiftly, as his mind caught up with his actions. One didn’t act this way around the Beta female, especially with the Beta male standing right next to him. Brilliant, Will. Absolutely smashing.
“Er, well,” the Scottish wolf began choppily. “If you’re in the middle of preparing dinner, I’d hate to distract you.”
"Oh, it's no trouble. The hardest parts are done -- the younger wolves can handle what remains." She smiled. "Shall I show you to your room first, so you can put away your things?"
He looked to his new Alpha, who nodded, before replying. “Well...all right.” He gave a smile of his own, though it wasn’t so easy. “Thank you.”
"You're welcome. Won't you follow me?" She started for the stairs.
Will couldn’t help but stare after her before he came to and shouldered his small pack. With a brief nod to the Alphas and the Beta male, he jogged lightly after Heidi until he’d caught up with her, smiling when he met her gaze.
She’s the Beta female, Will. Don’t you even start...
"Here you are," Heidi said a moment later, reaching a door. "This is entirely your room," she added, opening the door, "so just make yourself at home. I trust it's to your liking."
It was big. Bigger than his room at the inn, anyway, and perfect because of that. “It’ll do splendidly,” he said with a smile, stepping past Heidi and into the room to get a better look. “Granted, it just feels good to be with a pack again, so the room doesn’t really matter. But I do like it.”
"Wonderful. Well...shall I let you get settled, first, and come back later?" Her tone was warm, and friendly, but with a touch of the reserve that the Victorians so prized.
“All right.” Will nodded briefly with a grateful smile. “Thank you, ma’am.”
"I'll come and check on you in a little while, and then if you wish to be shown around, we'll do that." She offered him a brilliant smile, then turned away from his door.
Once again, the Scottish wolf found himself staring after his Beta female. Inside his head, his wolf turned over restlessly, rumbling. Stop, he told it firmly as he set down his pack. Beta female and Beta male. She’s not yours to fuss over, so don’t.
Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but groan irritably as he flopped gracelessly back onto his bed.
Roughly half an hour later, there was a knock at his door. It was Cole. "Heidi said she had promised to come back for you," he explained, "but they had a little trouble in the kitchen....she'll be up shortly. She sends her apologies and hopes you weren't waiting long."
The knock jolted him - had he fallen asleep? - into a sitting position. It took a few moments for Cole’s words to regist, but then Will’s brain caught up. “Oh! Oh, that’s all right. Think I dozed off for a moment anyway, heh.”
Cole chuckled. "Dreaming anything good?" he teased the newest pack member.
Will felt his face go red. “Good enough,” he muttered. He hadn’t been that obvious around Heidi...had he?
"So....while we're waiting for your tour guide..." Cole leaned against the wall. "Did you have any questions, or need anything for your room? Anything like that?"
Um, no, thank you,” Will replied as his face regained its normal coloring. “I’m all right for now, thanks. And the room is fine. More than fine, actually.” He smirked. "I might not have to worry about my feet dangling over the end of the bed."
"Good. We want you to be comfortable," Cole said, genuinely reassuring. Hearing a step in the corridor, he glanced out. "Ah, and here's our fair Beta. Everything sorted downstairs?"
"Oh, yes...it's that new-fangled oven. I think more than one of the others would prefer going back to cooking over a fire," Heidi replied with a chuckle, joining the two men. "Is everything to your liking, William?"
Out of habit, Will stood when Heidi appeared and - in spite of himself - brushed at his hair with one hand to make sure it wasn’t standing on end or anything. “Everything is just fine, ma’am.” And then, almost nervously, he cleared his throat. “And, um...please, just call me Will.” A sheepish chuckle. “ ‘William’ makes me sound pretentious.”
"Well, then, please drop the ma'am and just call me Heidi." She smiled. "Now -- there's a little time for that tour before dinner, if you wish."
Will chuckled, nodding. “All right. Lead the way.”
They wandered the halls of the magnificent, almost palatial estate. "The Alphas are in this suite," Heidi said as they passed a door. "Steven's room is just down here, and then I'm around the corner -- so if you need to find us in some emergency, you'll know where we're located."
The new packmate nodded, taking in the information, and then blinked. The Beta male’s room was there, and Heidi’s was...
...Wait a tick.
“Um...forgive me,” he began carefully. “But, you don’t share a room with your mate?”
"My....oh! Oh, forgive me, I didn't realize you would think that. Steven and I aren't mates."
Don’t you dare get your hopes up. “Oh? I’m sorry, I just assumed -- I thought that was the way things went in packs.”
"Quite often, Betas are mates," she explained. "But not Steven and myself....we are very good friends, and I love him dearly, but we aren't mates. I doubt we ever will be -- we're so different."
Will allowed himself a tiny smile. "Really?"
She nodded. "Oh -- here you'll find we have a sort of gymnasium set up, if you wish to train. I believe Cole mentioned you were a rather skilled fighter?"
“I manage,” was all he said, not wanting to boast. “I’ve enough training with a sword.”
"Splendid. Not that we go looking for fights, of course," she added with a laugh. "But it's always good to have fighters on hand in the event of an emergency. So...you're Scottish? Your accent is a bit of a giveaway."
“That bad, eh?” he teased, smiling. “But, yes, I am from Scotland. Edinburgh, to be exact.”
"Oh, it's not bad -- it's lovely, actually. Much as I hear Scotland is."
It was quite hard for him not to start blushing again -- she’d called his accent ‘lovely.’ That didn’t happen often. “It was, from what I remember. Although, I haven’t been back in ages.”
Heidi nodded. "It's been many a decade since I saw my native Germany." Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of a bell. "Ah -- dinner's ready. Shall we go and see if the duck is to your liking?"
Will offered a slightly lopsided smile, as well as his arm. “Do let’s.”
She chuckled, accepting his arm. "I hope you're hungry."
“Starved. Given the rave reviews from Cole, I’m glad I didn’t miss dinner.”
It was Heidi's turn to blush. "Well, I hope it lives up to the praise he heaped on it."
He smiled again. “I’m sure it will.”