A small whimper caught his attention, and he looked down to see a child peeking out from under his long tan overcoat. He looked up at the Russian with big scared blue eyes, clutching a white polar bear cub. He bent down and looked at him. "B-Big scary dogs appeared and I got seperated from my little brother..." He whispered, looking around.
Big scary dogs. Wolves. Werewolves. Ivan scooped him up and looked at him again. "Where was the last place you saw your little brother, da?" He pointed towards a set of mostly new houses.
"Alfy and I live there with papa. Papa's French. But he left us home to go to his camera job." Now, from what little he had told him, it seem his papa wasn't too responsible. His big sister raised him and his little sister. he was only 16, and had no parents.
"Which house–" He interrupted him by pointing eagerly to a deep blue house, nearly falling out of his arms in the process. The polar bear cub let out a 'meep!' from the ground, then ran ahead into the house, disappearing.
The door was open wide and had scratches on it. Ivan walked in, but didn't let the blonde child down. "Alfy! Hey, Alfy!" No reply. "Alfy?" Ivan just noticed he had an accent, maybe Canadian.
Nothing made no sense right now.
Candles, books, and incense littered the floor. "Mama likes witchcraft and magic. She's a witch! But papa always disappears during full Moon nights... Mama told us that if I started smelling human blood, and it smells good, then I'm like her papa!"
The house's interior was ruined. The furniture was shredded, and the floor had deep claw marks in it. But the candles, books, and incense were left untouched. "We should leave. If those big bad dogs come back, we're stuck. I didn't bring anything to help me, da." His big blue eyes teared up, but he nodded.
"Wait! I wanna bring mama's books!" There were about five of them, and were thick. "Papa has a wagon in that closet over there." As the child got the red wagon, he gathered up the books and a necklace slipped off one of them. He looked up. "Mama's necklace!" He grabbed for it and held it. "Can I stay with you? Mama always told us not to go with strangers, but you seem nice! I'm Matthew!"
He set the books at the end of the wagon, and Matthew sat down near the front, smiling. "Sure, if you want, Matthew. I'm Ivan, and I'm glad you trust me, da." He beamed shyly up at Ivan, tiny little fangs apparent. Little vampires always gave someone the most trouble. He pulled him along in the wagon. "If you're a little vampire, then what is your brother, Matthew?"
"He's a loup-garou! A shape-shifter like papa!" Loup-garou can shift into a wolf at will, but sometimes, especially if they're young, they can be controlled and become slaves to people who can handle them. Ivan had a feeling that was what happened to Matthew's twin brotter. he did not say that out loud, though. "Where does Ivan live?" He asked curiously, tugging on Ivan's scarf.
"I live there in that house, da. My sister put it in her name and visits every so often, but it's basically mine." He looked around and spotted his polar bear sitting on the roof of Ivan's house. How the hell...
"Kumajirou! Get down! You're gonna fall!" The white bear looked at them curiously, head cocked to the side. Ivan sighed and let the wagon's handle drop, then walked up to the side of his house. "Kuma...!" Matthew's call died off as the bear slipped from the roof and began to slip and slide down the tiled roof.
He fell right into Ivan's arms and squeaked in alarm. "Why do you worry him like that, Kumajirou?" The cub squirmed in his arms and he let him go as Matthew sidled up with the wagon. The Russian sighed and shook his head, but smiled. "Come on. You can sleep in my sister's old room if you want?"
The Canadian child bounced ahead, clutching Kumajirou to his chest and stopped. "So many weapons! Is this how you fight, Ivan?"
"Da, it is. I'm not human, but I like human weapons, da." Ivan smiled lightly.
"What are you?" Matthew asked, childishly curious. His soon-to-be Russian caretaker smiled widely.
"Do you want to see, Matty?" The little blonde bounced up and down, smiling, and nodded. "Alright, come on. Too many human's pass by for it to be safe right here." Ivan wandered down the hall and stopped. "Are you sure? Most of the time, people disrespect me for what I have, da."
Ivan removed his coat and turned around. Matthew stepped back in order not to be hit by the mottled brown and straw-colored wings. They were scarred, some places more than others. The smaller blonde reached up and brushed the edge of the left one. "Because you've got wings?"
"Da, most people think I'm bad and mean, especially if they see these."
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"Just do it!"
"No! It hurts!"
"Brat!" The sound of a slap rang out and a young blonde child fell to his knees, head lowered. The older male knelt down and lifted the child's chin up to face him. "Yes, controlling you will hurt, but it is something you should deal with. Pain and control are going to be in your life half the time!"
The child's blue eyes glazed over with tears, but he simply nodded, accepting it. "...yes, sir..."
"Good boy."