An Eye For An Eye

Soixante-Dix-Sept

It was Deucalion's birthday today. I had gotten him a gift almost a month ago, when he had been at one of his O&M lessons and before everything had happened. Not giving it to him would be a waste of money, and I'd feel bad about it. But giving him the present still gave me conflicted feelings. I couldn't return the gifts now, so I should probably just give them to him.

They were hidden at the bottom of the wardrobe, in a box of things I had put there when I didn't know where else to put them. Well, I say hidden but really they were just on top of and in the box and I supposed Deuc could find them if he really wanted to. I grabbed the blanket and the sweater and tucked them under my arm as I headed downstairs.

Deuc sat on the sofa, listening to more of one of the audiobooks I had given to him. I was sure he had already listened to this one though. He didn't hear me walking up behind him, or he didn't care enough to acknowledge it. I threw the fluffy blanket over his head with a smirk on my face but he seemed mostly unfazed.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," he said as he pulled the blanket off of his head. It had only messed up his hair a little.
"Happy birthday," I said, smiling a little as I walked around to sit next to him. "I uh, got you a sweater too."
"Thank you," he said as he felt the blanket between his fingers. I handed him the sweater and his eyes returned red as he looked at them properly. "They're both soft."
"Yeah, well, your sweaters and that do always seem to be soft," I said quietly with a shrug. Jack was very certain that Deuc got colder than one would expect a werewolf to in the winter, though that didn't seem like a good thing to mention.

"Thank you," he said again, his hand reached out and took mine, our fingers intertwining.
"I'm just glad you liked them," I said, smiling a little. It was true, I struggled to think of something to get him then and I still had to get him a christmas present too, though I could delay that for another month.
"I do like them," he reassured me.

Sighing, I stood up again and started making my way to the kitchen.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" I asked.
He nodded."That would be nice, thank you."

Once I made the tea and coffee, I headed back to the living room with two cups in hand. Then, I returned for my bowl of cereal and then sat next to Deuc.
"I think you've found an anchor."
"What?" I asked. The spoon stopped before I could put it into my mouth and my eyebrows raised. "What do you mean?"
"I can't smell you, your emotions or even that you're a werewolf."

I set the spoon back down in the bowl and turned to stare at him.
"How haven't I noticed?"
"You're not usually an angry or upset person," he said with a slight shrug. "So you'd be less likely to notice than some."
"How did I not notice at all?"
"I'm not sure," he said, frowning a little. "But you haven't been as angry as I thought you would be, or as upset." I had been writing, to escape, and to express the emotions I had been feeling, the emotions that made me human.

If this was a jigsaw, the last piece had just been put in place. It did make sense, why I hadn't shifted with how angry and upset with him I had been.

"So when it comes to the next full moon?" I asked slowly as I poked at my cereal. Did he expect me to go through it alone still? I had no idea what to expect now.
"You won't need me to be there."
"And what if I want you to be with me?" I asked. "I don't want to be alone." Writing had been a wonderful escape from the loneliness that came with losing almost everyone she had befriended in the last few months.

"Then you don't have to be alone," he said softly, smiling a little as he spoke. "I just assumed, well, with everything."
"I thought so too," I said. I hadn't expected to want to spend the full moon with him, I had been dreading it a few days ago. "But now I'd like the company."
"Then you can have company, I don't mind."

My cereal was now a little soggy but it still tasted good enough as I started eating it properly. There wasn't much conversation as I ate and once I had finished eating the cereal, I headed towards the stairs with the intent to continue on with my editing.

"Liza."

I paused on the first step of the stairs and turned back to look at Deuc.
"Would you dance with me?"
"What?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "You want to dance with me?"
"I did promise you that I would teach you a new dance when you found your anchor," he said. My eyes widened. He had said that, though it seemed so long ago. I never thought he would stick to what he had said, especially after everything that had happened.

I stepped down the first step and slowly nodded.
"Now?" I asked.
"Whenever you want."
"Alright then," I said, a small smile on my face. "I don't exactly have that much else to do at the moment." Deuc smiled as he stood up.

As he taught me how to dance, I found myself lost in practice and technique, almost forgetting why I had ever been upset with him. His gentle corrections and softly spoken praise made me beam, despite knowledge of what he had done. It was fun, and perhaps a step towards fixing the mess of a relationship we were in. If I could manage this, I could manage an honest conversation, one without snappy remarks or frustration with the other person.