TRP: Ba'ob and Larkin (Charcoal)

**Muse:**

 [Setting: Later same day as "Reflection", Azriel's
house.]

Ba'ob was getting back after spending a few days in the
woods. Ate something that disagreed with him, again. Wolves had strong
stomachs. Ba'ob didn't. Ba'ob liked spending time in the woods so his friends
didn't know how much he threw up.

He was better now. And starving. Skipped hunting and went
strait back to Azriel's. Wolf's head came up when they came in, and she took
off for the fireplace-room. Whatever. Ba'ob beelined for the kitchen. He was
hungry.

The wolf smelled someone new. Someone different. Pup was
fine, pup had lost sick-scent. Wolf went to go check on new-scent. Smelled like
fire, like some others in pack. The fearful-one and the alpha. The wolf
cautiously approached, intent on finding out about new-fire-scent.

**Jen:**

 Larkin lay stretched out on the hearth, caught up in the
documents of Azriel's work. And some fucking fine work it was, done in amazing
detail. How he'd gotten to some of this information was a mystery and she'd
have to ask him a lot of questions once he woke up (provided he still wanted to
talk to her). The action plans he'd made were fascinating as well. Not quite
her usual methods but why not, try something new.

A noise caught her attention and it wasn't the fire or
Azriel shifting on the couch. Judging from what she knew of the place, it came
from the back door. The family was home, then.

Larkin sorted the papers back into the viol case, quick and
silent, then pressed the clasps shut with as little noise as possible.
Carefully, she slipped on her coat and the case strap. There were light
footsteps and some clanging coming from the kitchen. She'd leave throught the
front door then.

Behind her, nails clicked on wood. Larkin turned and froze
up at the sight of two yellow eyes staring out of a furry face.

Fuck, it was the dog. Larkin hated dogs- every second story
worker did. Dogs were the next best thing to a magic alarm trap and between the
two, people often preferred the one that could also bite and fetch a stick.

And this one was huge. It belonged to the elf, the ruddy
one. Larkin had seen them once before, checking by the house for a note. They
seemed... wild. Too wild for anyone living in the city. And this dog looked
unlike any other Larkin had ever seen before.

It had come out of the kitchen and now stood halfway between
Larkin and her exit, fixing her with these bright yellow eyes. She was sure, as
soon as she moved the dog would attack. A miracle it hadn't started barking
yet. Fuck. Fuck. She could try and kill it; might get the dagger in before it
got its teeth into her but- Larkin had seen people try to fight dogs. There was
a reason she'd always chosen running.

"Azriel," she hissed, not knowing what to do.
Maybe he could call it off. "Azriel, fucking help."

No chance, he was out cold. God damn.

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob clattered around in the kitchen for a minute, finding
some bread and fruit. Didn't bother heating it up, just went to go see what the
wolf had seen, shoving an apple in his mouth as he went.

Huh. It was another teifling. Ba'ob cocked his head,
studying... him? Him. What was he doing in the house. Oh Azriel was there too.
Ba'ob patted the wolf on the head and stepped into the room, intending to check
on his friend.

**Jen:**

 Larkin tensed, shifting her feet back and crouching low in
to a fight-or -flight-stance. Did neither though, because the fucking dog was
still between her and the exit and now the elf had come out of the kitchen.

They won't mind you, Azriel had said but Larkin had trouble
believing it. Everyone minded a stranger just popping up in their home.

Larkin's hand drew the dagger automatically but kept it low.
"I'm a friend," she said, low and strained. "Friend of Azriel's.
Call off your dog and I'm gonna fuck off."

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob dropped the food when he saw the knife, taking a few
steps back and reaching for his own. Wolfy, still hanging out in the doorway,
let out a low growl.

He claimed to be a friend though. Ba'ob didn't trust knives.
"Put away first," he said, pointing to the knife with the hand that
wasn't still resting on his own. "Wolf only bite when I say."

**Jen:**

 Knife out, wolf growling. Okay, that was to be expected.
Still fuck, though. He told her to put the dagger away and Larkin really did
not want to do that but seeing as it was technically his house and she the
intruder, and he with the dog, she didn't have much of a choice.

Larkin lowered the blade a few inches but kept it in her
hand. "You'll call it off then? I just wanna go."

**Muse:**

 "Knife first."

**Jen:**

 Larkin kept staring at him a beat longer. Looked to the door
again, to the wolf. If she did, he might still set it onto her. Would,
probably. But if she didn't, Larkin had no illusions she'd stand a chance
gainst that beast.

Mask, I came here to help Azriel. Please don't let me die of
stupidity.

She lowered the dagger, slowly, and put it in its sheath,
then held her hands up. "No knife. Now you."

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob grinned- or maybe he bared his teeth at her, he wasn't
sure. Turned to the wolf and let out a yip. She stopped growling, and wagged
her tail a little. Good. No fight.

Now go check on Azriel. He wandered over, poking him a few
times. "Azriel. Azriel have food!" Huh. He was sleeping soundly. And
was a little bloody- looked like it was just coming from his nose though. Not
murdered. Good, was friend then.

Ba'ob turned back around and saw that the wolf had taken the
chance to walk up to the teifling and was sniffing at him, wagging her tail.
Wolf liked him too, another good sign. "Ba'ob!" he said, walking over
and offering the teifling the half-eaten apple. "You?"

**Jen:**

 The dog stopped growling, which was good, but it didn't back
off, which was terrifying. It took Larkin all her self-control to not yank the
dagger out again when the dog strolled closer. Tails wagging but still, fucking
huge.

She backed off, skirting around a table but still trapped in
the corner of the room. God damn, the thing came up to her belly button.
Perfect height for ripping out steaming tiefling entrails. It sniffed at her
and Larkin stiffened, half trying not to provoke it with any movement, half
prepared to kick at it should it attack.

She looked up when the elf talked to her. Ba-what? Was that
Elvish? Elvish for apple? What the fuck?

"I said get your fuc- ugh, get your dog away. I...
don't know Elvish. Dog." Larkin pointed at it, then flicked her wrist.
"Away."

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob was insulted. "Not Elvish," he grumbled. Fine,
if he was having trouble understanding Ba'ob, then Ba'ob could speak his language.
"It's wolf," he said, this time in Infernal. She was really bugging
their teifling visitor though. Ba'ob barked and gestured, and the wolf whined a
little, but obediently trotted off. Now, try again. "Ba'ob," he said
again, slower, gesturing at himself. "Apple. For you," he said,
offering it again. There. Now he should understand.

December 31, 2018

**Jen:**

 It took Larkin a moment to realize the elf spoke to her in
Infernal. Wolf? Had he said wolf? Good gods. Larkin stared after it, mouth
open. Made a lot of fucking sense, though. She'd never seen a wolf before but
this thing was no ordinary dog and neither was this weird kid and ordinary elf.
His family collected strays, Azriel had said. These must be two of those then,
because stray was exactly the term that fit them.

They did seem... friendly. Friendlier than Larkin would've
expected them to be. Her eyes fell to the apple in- Ba'ob? Ba'ob's hand.
"Uhm," she tried, glancing back and forth between the food and his
face. No agression there, just curiosity. Something about the elf himself
reminded Larkin of a dog... no, a wolf.

She relaxed her stance but stayed alert, eyes fixed on Ba'ob
as she slowly reached for the apple. "Thank you. Uhm, Azriel is..."
She paused, groping for the Infernal word. "He's sick but he'll be fine.
Not in danger."

**Muse:**

 "Okay." Ba'ob stuck to Infernal, things seemed to
go better in that language. And he spoke Infernal better than he did Common. New
teifling friend was wary, but it was probably better if Ba'ob didn't do
something to spook him. ...Hm. Now Ba'ob wanted to. But that might scare
teifling friend away.

Maybe when he was sure teifling wouldn't run. "You
name?" Ba'ob prodded as he (finally) grabbed the apple.

**Jen:**

 She hesitated, apple in hand. Would Azriel have told his
family about her? The name she gave him? And would he share her real one? (She
should probably leave a note telling him not to. Just to be safe.)

"Eliot," she said. No that neither the elf nor the
wolf looked hostile anymore, she tried moving out of the corner. The wolf was
still too close to the front door for her liking so she took a few slow steps
sideways towards the fireplace.

**Muse:**

 "El-i-ot," Ba'ob repeated, sounding it out slowly.
"Eliot. Eliot!" There, sounded good to him! "Want more food
Eliot?" he asked. He'd had more, dropped it though. Ba'ob glanced back-
and the wolf had found the loaf and was gnawing on it.

Ba'ob whined at her and jogged over, grabbing at the bread.
That was for him. The wolf ducked away from him, wagging her tail and doing a
playful bow-thing. She wanted to play now.

**Jen:**

 Larkin opened her mouth to say no but Ba'ob had already
bounded off to play with the wolf. Turned his back on her completely
unconcerned and if she belonged in here. The wolfs, this menacing beast, yipped
and bounded like a puppy.

Mask, and because of them, she hadn't dared hang around the
property for too long? Those weren't watch hounds, they were lap dogs.

Gods. Mask. I really owe you some, don't I?

Slowly, Larkin sat back down on the hearth. Looked like she
did not have to leave in a hurry after all, so that meant she'd have time to
leave Azriel a note. She set the apple beside her and popped open the viol case
for a blank scrap of paper, then singed a piece of kindling in the fire to get
something to write with.

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob wrestled with the wolf a minute, trying to get his
food back. Sure he could just go get more out of the kitchen, but this was fun.
They bounded around, batting and pawing while Eliot hung out by the fireplace.
Finally Ba'ob managed to get some the bread away and went up to Eliot,
grinning. "Food!" he offered. It had gotten dirty in the wrestling,
not to mention covered in wolf saliva. The wolf followed, sitting in front of
'Eliot' and panting, looking pleased with herself.

**Jen:**

 Azriel, I met B-eob and his wolf. I thought you were joking
about the strays... intel is great. Would love to talk about it. If you want to
contact me, go to Lynch Street corner Bosun street. There's a dead end next to
a cobbler's with a dry wall fountain. You can put a note in the figure head's
mouth. - E -L

Scribbling with the burnt stick wasn't easy and it smudged
but it was readable. Larkin blew on the note, carefully, to get the superfluous
ashes off. She'd tuck it into the viol strings, so Azriel couldn't miss it and
others wouldn't think it was their business. Hopefully. She folded the note up
when suddenly, a torn, soak loaf of bread was shoved into her field of view.

Larkin grimaced and leaned back a bit. "No... no,
thanks." She looked up at the elf with his big, expectant smile of his
face. Mask, really more like a puppy. If he'd had a tail, it would no doubt be
wagging. She reached over for the apple and held it up, suddenly feeling like
she'd hurt his feelings or whatever if she declined. "I'm good," she
said and took a bite of the apple to prove it.

**Muse:**

 Well, more for Ba'ob. He shrugged and sat down next to her,
tearing into the bread. "You stay?" he asked. Lots of people seemed
to show up and start living here. There was that new elf guy, and Mahto too.
"Can meet others! Would be good."

**Jen:**

 Ew. Was one thing to eat saliva sodden bread when you had no
other choice but judging from this house, they probably didn't lack food.
Larkin watched Ba'ob a moment, then shifted away a bit to pin the note to the
viol.

"No," she said. "Don't know if I'll be back
either."

And then she stayed
where she was, studying the elf and the wolf. No danger vibes anymore. They looked
so happy and carefree. Against her will, Larkin felt herself relax a bit more.

"Where'd Azriel pick you up?" She asked.

**Muse:**

 "Saved him!" Ba'ob said. "Bandits. We killed
them. And then took to Jasper." That had been a good job. Course it had
gotten messy there but all worked out in the end. No more bad-luck curse.

"Should come back. Azriel needs watching. You
help." Ba'ob considered a moment, and then reached to pat Eliot's arm.

January 1, 2019

**Jen:**

 Larkin tensed at the touch but let him. This was getting
very interesting. She shrugged out of her cloak again which had become too warm
sitting next to the fire but kept it near in case she had to make a quick run
for it after all.

"Why does..." she glanced over at Azriel and
lowered her voice a bit. "Why watch him? Is he in danger? And who's
Jasper?"

If Azriel wouldn't tell her about his associates and family
here, Ba'ob seemed more than happy to do so. And it was amusing to watch him,
behaving so strangely canine. The wolf, too, who didn't show any of the nasty
dog habits, like barking and protecting their territory, Larkin so hated about
the things. Mostly the barking, though.

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtful. Hm.
Words for Jasper. "Jasper dumb and loud. But she okay. Helps watch
Azriel." He leaned in, looking Eliot in the eye very seriously.
"Azriel not good watching self."

**Jen:**

 Larkin snorted. "Apparently not, no."

So Ba'ob was attached to Azriel and everyone who appeared to
watch our for his tiefling friend he seemed to consider... what, friend? Pack?

"Who else is there?" Larkin drew up her feet to
sit cross-legged on the hearth and facing Ba'ob fully now. "Who else
watches Azriel and who do we have to watch out for?"

**Muse:**

 "Abel, Mahto, elf," Ba'bo recited, scowling when
mentioning Sami. "We who they hafta look out for."

**Jen:**

 Larkin sat up straighter at that. Could be a coincidence.
Lots of people were also named Abel. She had to make sure though, without being
too direct. He might lock up if she appeared to be questioning him.

"Guess you don't need me then with all these
people." She studied the apple in her hand for a moment, then took a bite.
"They all tieflings?"

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob shook his head. "Abel is. Mahto human. Elf is
elf." Hm, maybe he should try to learn that guy's name. Naaaaaah.
"More always good! Specially teiflings. Like teiflings."

**Jen:**

 A tiefling named Abel. Now that was something. She might ask
about his coloring or the shape of his horns but that seemed a bit too obvious.
And now that she thought about it, she did remember some similarities. The
shape of their noses, the way their eyebrows curved. God damn. That did...
shift things into a new perspective, only Larkin had no idea yet what that
perspective was.

What were the fucking odds anyway? And to think that she'd
hit on both of them. Mask, as disappointing as Abel turning her down was,
things might have gotten a lot more awkward if he hadn't.

Larkin grimaced at that thought and looked at Azriel again
with the sudden urge to go hug him, kiss him and then take back that dumbass
decision to tell him her real name. She had to make sure Abel did not by chance
spill any more information about her... somehow.

**Muse:**

 Eliot got quiet. Was staring at Azriel too. What was that
about? "Hey," Ba'ob said, reaching over and poking his arm. "Hey
Eliot. Where you meet Azriel?"

January 2, 2019

**Jen:**

 Larkin started and jerked her arm away. "In the
shantytowns. Place called the Dead End," she said with only a split
second's hesitation. "He helped me out."

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob pulled his hand back as Eliot pulled away. Studied
Eliot for a moment. Azriel had magic, he knew, mostly good for helping. Also
meant when he was on his own, not much he could do. (This was why Ba'ob had to
look out for him.) Yeah, this made sense. "Good at that," Ba'ob said.
The wolf rested her head in his lap and he scratched her ears. "Why sick?
Eat bad?"

**Jen:**

 "Nah, just did something stupid with his magic."

Larkin watched the wolf cuddle up to Ba'ob, contentedly
closing its eyes in his lap and nuzzling at the fabric of his clothes. It was
adorable, admittedly, when it wasn't baring teeth at her. Larkin liked all her
fingers attached to herself but she still wondered if, maybe...

"Can I... can I touch it?" she asked, looking up
and down between Ba'ob and the wolf.

**Muse:**

 "Can try." Ba'ob grinned wolfishly (heh). Wolf
would likely let Eliot, but scaring him was more fun.

**Jen:**

 Well, didn't that sound reassuring. The wolf looked peaceful
enough but that didn't mean anything with animals. Not even with people,
really. Not enough to risk her hands anyway.

"Maybe not," Larkin muttered and crossed her arms
before her.

**Muse:**

 Ba'ob snickered. Got 'em. He fell quiet a moment, petting
the wolf, enjoying the company. Glanced at Azriel, still sleeping sound, and
the charcoal stick that Eliot had just been writing with. Started to get an
idea. "Hey, hey," he said, grabbing the stick and brandishing it a
him. "Draw?" he asked, gesturing at Azriel and grinning.

**Jen:**

 "Draw?" Larkin asked, confused, and turned her
head to follow Ba'ob's pointing finger. "Oh. What, you wanna draw on his
face?" She gave Ba'ob a sceptical side glance but couldn't keep from
smirking. Well, she'd wondered how he might look with a beard. He'd probably
have one of these small, twirly ones, fucking fancy boy.

"Not gonna stop you," she said, "but that's
on your name, not mine."

**Muse:**

 "Fiiiiiiine," Ba'ob whined. Would have been fun to
prank together. But if Eliot was a coward, Ba'ob could do it on his own. He
hopped down, shoving the wolf to the side and crouching down next to the couch.
Hm, what could he draw...

With Ba'ob ignoring 'Eliot' to focus on scribbling on the
sleeping teiflings face, the wolf glanced at Larkin briefly. What an idiot, her
face said. Then she wandered off, back towards the kitchen. Maybe there'd be
food there.

January 4, 2019

**Jen:**

 Larkin watched Ba'ob trying to get charcoal on Azriel's face
for a few minutes. Didn't look like anything particular but it didn't have to
either. Azriel with dark smudges all over his forehead and cheeks was fucking
hilarious. Too bad there was no way of capturing the sight to rub it into his
face later. Well, she could just describe it to him. Or pin him down, draw him
a coal beard then hold a mirror into his face. Maybe he'd be into that - the
pinning down part more so than the coal, probably.

The elf was so caught up in his task, he didn't even pause
when Larkin put her coat back on, took the viol case and headed for the door.
She paused there for a moment, looking back.

"See ya," she said, adressing no one in
particular, then pushed out into the cold.

**Muse:**

 [END]

Title: Charcoal

Summary: While Larkin is watching over Azriel sleep, Ba'ob
and the wolf get home and give her a good scare. After a bit of initial
growling on both sides, they get to talking and hang out.(edited)

January 5, 2019