Apologies in advance for the AN length, but it contains some important info about the story, so I would appreciate y'all reading it.
So, I felt some plot bunnies begin to stir in my head, and after a little bit of them festering, this came out. I'm not quite sure what, exactly, got me thinking about writing this, because it's hugely AU. However, it was pretty fun to write, which was nice, because some stories are much harder to write than others and having an easy story is a bit of a treat.
Few things-
1. The humans basically are taking over the elves' lands, who've lived there for centuries. The elves can speak/understand human language, but also have a language of their own. Think Lord of the Rings elves, but they have about the same lifespan as humans and shorter hair.
2. Elves live in kinswaiths, or clans. If one's kinswaith drives one out, or is wiped out, one cannot join another kinswaith except in the most unusual circumstances, like the elf saving someone from another kinswaith.
3. The human king doesn't like the elves. There's a reward for bringing them into the local police office, where they're then sent to work camps.
4. This is set in the modern day world, and Jack is a retired soldier that lives in a forest somewhere in the northern USA. The elves are barely ever caught by humans.
5. Mac's full name is pronounced 'Angus-fee-arn', and Bozer's is pronounced 'Wilt-ee-ah-nay.'
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, probably less, actually. References to off-screen minor character death, references to hunters.
Thump-thump.
He's running through the woods, dashing through the underbrush in a desperate, terror-fueled haze of adrenaline. Blood's rushing in his ears, and all he can think is run get away dodge run-
Thump-thump.
When he trips over a- what is it, it's small and long like a stick, hard like a stone, but it's not either of those- something in his path, he hurtles headlong towards the ground and thinks he's going to fall, but, somehow, he doesn't.
Thump-thump.
Angusfearn is swept up in the black, knotted, mesh confines of what can only be a net, and he panics. He thrashes in the material, trying to disentangle himself desperately, but to no avail. His pursuers reach him, slimy smiles on grimy faces and large hands clutching semi-automatics and long, thin, black sticks on their belt that he knows means pain, especially for young elves with no kinswaith, no clan, to protect them from it.
He huddles in the net, clutching at the sides as the men approach. There are angular, jagged expressions on their faces, and Angusfearn knows that they don't bode well for him. The taller man reaches for his pain-stick, and touches it, bringing it to life. He huddles deeper in the net, eyes widening in panic.
The man brings the stick up, and then-
There's a shout from the bushes, and the elf's head whips to the side so fast that his neck twinges in protest. Emerging from the underbrush is a man wearing the angriest expression he's ever seen, and Angusearn really wishes that the net would open magically.
It doesn't though, and Angusfearn must wait as the man approaches, his scowl growing fiercer with every step. The young elf's pursuers also stop, watching the other human warily. Once the man is close enough to grab the net, he does so, stopping it from swinging side-to-side in the breeze. He says, "What do you think you're doing?"
The shorter of Angusfearn's pursuers blinks, taken aback. He waves an arm at the trapped elf and says, "What does it look like? There's a good reward from the king for bringing one of 'em."
The man scowls more deeply. Angusfearn didn't know that it was possible for someone to look so angry. "I know about the reward. You've got him trapped, why're you bringing out that over-glorified cattle prod?"
The man with the stick- cattle prod- shrugs. "Gotta get him in somehow. We both know he's not gonna come easy. They never do."
The angry man moves his hand casually, resting it on the butt of the gun that's holstered on his waist. "Whatever. Get off my land."
The two men look reluctant, but the angry man pats his gun meaningfully. The hunters move off, reluctantly, yes, but they go.
Angusfearn permits himself a tiny sigh in relief, then turns his gaze to the angry man. There's no telling what he intends to do.
Jack watches the two hunters sullenly walk away from the net and off of his land. Then he turns his gaze the prisoner in his net. To his surprise, the elf is already looking at him, blue eyes stark against a face still pale from fright and colored only by two spots of red against his cheeks, raised by the exertion of running for his life.
Jack growls deep in his throat, quietly, but the elf obviously picks up on it, judging from the way he shrinks deeper into the net. Jack lets the net go, allowing it to swing slightly in the breeze, and rubs the bridge of his nose with his hand as he thinks. The trap hadn't been meant for this purpose; Jack had set it up to try and trap deer. However, there is no getting around the fact that it has caught an elf.
Jack prefers to stay away from the business of catching elves and bringing them into the sheriff's office for a reward, but he knows what will happen if he simply sets the elf free. He'll run off, and in a few days, he'll probably be in the same situation.
Sighing, Jack makes his decision. He turns his gaze to the elf, meeting those wide, scared blue eyes, and speaks. "I'll let you out, but you're going to have to do what I say, okay?"
The elf nods, his eyes still wide. Jack reaches above the top of the net and grabs the release, then stands back as the net- and its contents- spill onto the ground. Jack bends down and hauls the elf to his feet by the collar of his shirt- a loose, flowy thing that somehow seems elegant and sturdy at the same time, much like his pants- and keeps his hold as he talks. The elf listens, pointed ears twitching ever-so-slightly, and doesn't move an inch. "Look, kid. We both know that if you run off now, you're gonna get caught by those guys, or other people like them, right?"
There's a beat of silence, and then the elf seems to realize that Jack expects an answer. He hurries to nod, his unnerving gaze still fixed on the older male's face. Jack continues. "I propose that we both go back to my house and lay low for a bit. You don't get caught by the hunters, I don't have to have the capture of an elf on my conscience, everyone wins. Sound good?"
There's another moment of silence, and Jack doesn't say anything. The kid's obviously calculating his options, and it won't do to hurry him. Then, almost imperceptibly, he nods. The older male smiles. "Great," he says. "I'm Jack."
Jack lets go of the elf's collar and grabs the net so he can fix it later. Then he leads the way to his house, seeing, out of the corner of his eye, that the kid's following just behind him.
They reach Jack's house without incident and Jack holds the door open for the elf. The blond edges around him, eying him warily, but is distracted slightly by everything that must be so odd to him. After all, elves and humans don't normally mix, and Jack would wager that this- obviously young- elf has never seen the inside of a human dwelling.
After a moment he surreptitiously clears his throat, and the kid's gaze shoots back to him. Jack motions around the kitchen. "You hungry?"
The man doesn't mention the way he can see the outline of the elf's ribs underneath his shirt, but he doesn't miss the way the blond's eyes light up at the mention of food. He laughs to himself as he opens the pantry and gets out the required ingredients for spaghetti and hears the kid's stomach rumble.
Twenty minutes later, both human and elf are seated at Jack's kitchen table and devouring plates of spaghetti. Well, the elf is devouring his, and Jack's eating at a more leisurely pace. The kid had been wary at first, but after Jack ate a couple bites off of his plate, the blond had dug in.
Jack smiles to himself again. The elf looks like a teenager, maybe seventeen-ish, and Jack knows that humans and elves have about the same lifespans, so he probably is a teenager. Which, Jack thinks wryly, might explain a bit of his current hunger.
They finish dinner in silence, and Jack gives the kid some blankets and shows him how the couch unfolds.
The elf's still there in the morning, which is honestly more than Jack expected. He doesn't give any indication of his surprise, though, and feeds the blond some breakfast before announcing that he's got some chores to do around the house if the kid wants to watch. Said blond is receptive to the idea, even going so far as to say, "Okay," which makes Jack mentally cheer. It's the first word that the elf has spoken around him.
They're fixing the gutter, an hour into the chores, when Jack feels like the kid's at ease enough for him to start talking. Waiting until the elf's eyes are firmly fixed on the human's hands as they deftly screw the plastic back into the roof and add another support, Jack says, "So, you got a name?"
The elf stiffens, and Jack's pretty sure he spoke too soon. However, they're climbing down the roof, and the elf says, "Angusfearn."
Jack doesn't show a hint of the way his insides are suddenly warm because of the fact that an elf trusted him- a human- with his name, and says, "Bit of a mouthful. Mind if I call you Angus?"
The kid- Angus- shrugs, and Jack takes that as a "Yes," especially after he sees, out of the corner of his eye, Angus smile the first time Jack calls him that.
For now, they move to the backyard to fix the gutters there.
It's been three weeks, and Angus hasn't left, when the elf comes into the house with a worried expression plastered on his face and a tiny bird clutched in his hand. It's a female cardinal,and she's chirping frantically, obviously worried. The elf approaches Jack with solemn eyes as the older male wipes his hands on a towel after setting aside the pot he was washing. Angus says, "Her wing's hurt."
Jack frowns. He's pretty sure that the little bird could've died easily had Angus not rescued her, and his mind flashes back for a moment to the day, three weeks ago, when he had seen Angus about to be hauled off by the hunters.
Jack pushes the incident out of his mind and responds, "Well, it looks like nothing's broken, so maybe with a little rest, she'll be fine."
Angus looks at him hopefully, and Jack knows that he's already diagnosed the tiny bird and wants Jack to say something else. Jack groans. "Fine. She can stay here."
A smile lights up his companion's face, something that's all too rare, and Jack can't help but feel his grouchiness evaporate. It won't be that much more trouble, and it'll be fun to watch this little bird recover.
After another two weeks have gone by, there's another addition to the trio that now live in the cabin. The bird- christened Riley by Jack after approximately one hour of calling her simply 'the bird'- has recovered by this time. Instead of leaving, though, she stayed, and has a certain fondness for stealing crumbs of food and leaving them all over the place to annoy Jack.
Riley's sitting on the open window's edge one day as Jack and Angus try to put the toaster back together- Angus had taken it apart to see how it worked, but hadn't been able to fit the pieces back together, for some reason- when a male cardinal lands on the windowsill beside her. He cheeps loudly, and keeps it up until Jack and Angus look over. Riley's been resolutely ignoring the newcomer, but the minute the other bird hops forward, she takes flight and lands on Angus' shoulder. Her new admirer follows her, taking up residence on Angus' other shoulder.
The elf, obviously, looks thrilled.
Jack tries not to laugh at the scene that follows. The new cardinal chases Riley around the house for the better part of ten minutes, cheeping avidly the whole time. Finally, though, he seems to realize that she won't let him stay by her, and flies outside the windowsill.
Jack thinks that's the end of it and tries to go back to fixing the toaster until Angus pokes him in the arm and points to Riley, who's sitting at the end of the table. Beside her, yet again, is the male cardinal.
Jack's trying very hard not to laugh. He's barely succeeding. Then, the male cardinal sets something down that he had clutched in his beak. It's a small, shiny screw.
It's the part that's missing from the toaster, and Jack shouts in indignation and grabs the piece, sending both Riley and her new companion fluttering. Jack pays them no mind, and he and Angus fix the toaster easily.
The cardinal keeps returning, and Angus names him Wiltieane, which Jack immediately shortens to Wilt.
The final addition comes when Jack goes to check his traps again and finds a large wolf in the same net that had held his elven friend only five months ago. The wolf is wounded, that much is obvious. Jack frowns, and tries not to think about the hunters that must've wounded her in an attempt to kill her, probably for her pelt. He doesn't want to make the creature think he's angry.
With a bit of help from Angus, he's able to release the wolf from the net. Once she's on the ground, it becomes obvious that she's too injured to move, and Jack's about to put her out of her misery when Angus starts forward suddenly. "Wait," he says desperately. "We can heal her."
The kid collapses on his knees by the wolf before Jack can stop him, and to Jack's amazement, he's not immediately bitten. Instead, he murmurs to the wolf and checks her wounds, his gentle hands rubbing soothingly at her head every so often.
Jack watches in amazement then, and all throughout the three weeks that Angus nurses her back to health.
The wolf stays, and Jack calls her Patty one day without thinking, memories of his first dog coming to light. Angus agrees with the name, and Patty does too, so it stays.
They talk, during the first time they're snowed in that winter, about things that they haven't talked about before.
"What," Jack says slowly as he watches the firelight play over his young friend's face, "Happened to your kinswaith?"
Angus rubs at his nose with one hand, something he does when he's nervous or thinking of something painful or unpleasant. He curls deeper into his blanket and stares into the fire as he says, "There was a fire, set by the hunters."
Jack doesn't speak, and listens to the tale of fire and violence and atrocities that is woven by the elf, and when the younger male falls silent, Jack feels shame for his race.
Jack speaks, too, and tells his own stories. He speaks of the way he went to war for a cause he believed in, and was sent home after years of fighting. Of how he was injured, how his leg has a metal rod in it, how he was judged unsuitable for battle.
Angus listens to the human, and simply moves to sit by the man when he falls silent, staring into the fire.
They have their ups and downs, their fights, as all roommates do, but never, never, do they cross the lines that are established after that night. Some things are too painful for a friend to throw in one's face, and, Jack thinks, they've somehow, improbably, become friends.
The Soldier and the Elf. It sounds like something out of a B-grade action movie.
(Jack's always loved B-grade action movies.)
It's a cool fall day, and the elf's been around for just over a year.
Jack leans back against a tree and watches as Angus starts to fall asleep with his head resting on Patty's back, Riley and Wilt perch on the wolf's shoulder and Wilt tries to get her attention by flying around her, and Jack smiles. He never would've expected to gain a brother the day he rescued a terrified elf from those hunters, but.
Well.
Sometimes it's better to be surprised.
not even sure where this came from tbh