Η αλεπού = The fox
Also, I added a little challenge for those of you who know Morse code from classes; or have read Homestuck at some point.
10. Η αλεπού
Jared is on his feet the moment he sees Connor guiding Evan far away from the cafeteria during lunch, he'll admit to losing them in the current of people that suddenly formed between them, but he saw the general direction the took. See, Jared had kept a close eye on Connor throughout the day, only to find the alpha walking alongside Evan, playing the part of bodyguard.
It was extremely out of place to see Connor be nice-ish to anyone; it was even odder to see Evan so at ease with the extra attention, or well, as at ease as Evan was capable of being; still impressive, still odd for two people that only talked once. So Jared looks for them, until he smells Evan's scent coming from the computer lab, he gets close enough to hear, but far enough to be able to run away easily.
"Sure, I'll look for you at the end of school; drive you to the orchard, and we'll talk"
That's definitely Murphy's voice, tense like he's only agreeing to appease Evan.
"Yes- yeah ok"
Evan sounds hesitant in exchange, and there's a hint of fear lingering in the air; but then there are approaching footsteps and Jared has to gun it.
He knows the Murphys are wealthy, so Connor most likely has a car, which would make tailing them harder, but Jared had the power of internet on his side. A quick search for orchards in their area has him stumbling on an old article about the Autumn Smiles Apple Orchard, now abandoned, and he figures it's the one that makes the most sense, if only for that one characteristic; because of course Connor would hang out in an abandoned place, and of course Evan would be partial to minor law breaking when it came to trees.
So when school ended Jared made sure to leave a behind Connor and Evan, letting just enough distance between them that they wouldn't notice they were being followed, as if they did, well, Jared had to get his car too. He stops to watch them climb on Connor's car, and drive away, before he gets in his own car; he's caught in the stream of people trying to get out of the parking lot, but it's ok, he knows where he's going.
It takes him a while, what with dealing with the school traffic and then the one outside, but when he arrives at the Autumn Smiles Apple Orchard he notices Connor's car parked nearby. So he parks his own car and gets out, nose at the ready to locate them, he has to search for Murphy's scent, because Evan's is really hard to pick up within this much greenery.
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During the summer Connor had gotten really good at getting stuff that would work for the nest without alerting his parents about it, or well, kind of alerting them, but they thought he was using the money to buy drugs, and that seemed to be the general cover story for all things Tera. Because of the slowly cooling weather he had gotten a few heavy blankets at a second hand store, they were in the best shape of the pile, and the materials felt good against Connor's palm, but he had to scent them first if he wanted Tera to allow them in the nest; and he needed her to because he wanted her warm for when snow came and the old ones for that were on their last threads.
Replacing parts of the nest was a process generally done by omegas; a thought that brought Connor to the current predicament. He had driven Evan to the orchard - leaving the blankets on the front seat to absorb Connor's scent -, only because the omega didn't want people at school overhearing, and because Connor wanted to know the truth.
They make it to the first clearing, the one Evan ad been waiting in during his second visit, when the omega stops and turns to him.
"Ok, so, uhm, look! There's a good reason why I keep it a secret, and it's not that I think you'd tell anyone but just- you've no idea what they would do to me if anyone finds out, what they do to my kind"
Connor keeps quiet, sensing that the other needs to get through this; or maybe his patience is born out of his hope that he can keep whatever it is that they have built in the short time they've spent together.
"And even if you decide that you want nothing to do with me anymore, I still stand for what I said, I won't say a word"
Then he breathes and finally meets Connor's gaze.
"I uh, it's easier if I just show you"
Connor concedes, taking a step back, stopping just in time to hear a branch breaking; both he and Evan immediately look towards the source, only Evan is sniffing and pales, so Connor sniffs too, and the air smells of pepper and soap, and the unmistakable scent of an alpha. Connor growls as he makes the connection between the scent and Evan's face, the mysterious alpha steps forward, and lo and behold, it's Kleinman, because of course it is.
Connor feels himself tense, but he tries not to show just how much of a problem is that Kleinman knows about this place, or is here, because if he does then Kleinman won't leave, or will come here on his own when he knows Connor's not here; he can't risk that, he can't.
"The fuck are you doing here?"
Kleinman puts on the stupid grin he always has, the one that make's Connor's nerves fickle like lightning about to strike, in the worst way possible.
"Well, you see, I knew something was up with the two of you, and hey! I was right"
"Jared, you have to go"
Kleinman turns to him, and Connor follows his line of sight instinctively, Evan is curled into himself again, and even though the orchard makes a great job of hiding Evan's scent, Connor can still sense the change as fear settles in.
"Yeah, I don't think so; Murphy obviously hides something here, I'm gonna find out what"
There's a second where the air around them stills, and then, the fear banishes like it wasn't there in the first place, replaced by an almost suffocating anger.
"This has nothing to do with him"
"Oh, I think it does"
Kleinman takes a step towards Evan, and Connor can tell he's about to shift, Evan should be able to tell as well, but he stands his ground.
"I'm not going to let you go any further"
Connor doesn't really know what to do, because he's pretty sure the whole Evan thing has to do with his animal, but Evan's more than proven to be trustworthy; but before he can make up his mind Kleinman shifts, a grey wolf taking his place, and pounces at Evan. One moment Kleinman is jumping towards Evan in full wolf form, the next he's knocked aside by a long tail, and then, in front of both Connor and the recovering Kleinman, standing right where Evan had been a second ago, is a dragon. Connor felt his breath leave him, as he made sense of what that meant, that's what Evan had been hiding, he was a dragon, and he was absolutely stunning.
Starting with his head, covered in dark green scales and crowned by antler like horns that curved downwards towards his neck, beneath his chin started rows upon rows of green leaf-like feathers that increased in size and sharpness before completely disappearing where his neck ended, giving way to rough brown scales covering the rest of the body, and two wings which now stood open in a threatening manner, the membrane translucent enough that if he were to keep them still it wouldn't even register as existent, the feathers returned in his tail, this time thinner and almost root like in their shape and colors. As it was, feathers ruffled, row of sharp teeth bared, and tail swishing it was obvious he was a dragon, had he been laying still in the ground he would've looked no different from a fallen tree; the only similitude with the omega Connor had gotten so used to were the lake green eyes, that now held slit pupils.
Kleinman shifts back, face nearly devoid of color, chest heaving noticeably; that throw would've taken him out had he been a real wolf, humans are more resilient. A moment after, Kleinman raises his head and looks at Evan with wide eyes.
"Holy shit"
Connor acts fast.
"If you tell anyone-"
"You'll rip me apart?"
Connor gestures to the still angered dragon in the field.
"Pretty sure he would do it for that one"
Kleinman shivers, nods his head, and gets up before promptly running off; leaving Connor to deal with a raging omega, who's secretly protecting more than just himself. He waits a bit, watching Evan closely, making sure he can't smell Kleinman in the orchard anymore, before he does something he hasn't since he was 12.
Shapeshifting dragons had a neutral form, something to go back to when they exhausted themselves, Connor only used his once, but shifting into it is easier than the leopard he's so used to turning into. Starting with his head, which held two horns that curved like half arches upwards, the underside of his neck and body was a diluted violet while the rest was a dirty white that lingered towards pink, as if the color had been drained off him; from his nape downwards rose a row of spikes that flowed to his tail, decreasing in height but increasing in number, his wings flapped once before settling back around his body, revealing the underside to be the same diluted violet shade.
Evan's anger dissipated to give room to utter confusion, and then recognition; Connor approaches him carefully, until they're breathing at each other. Evan closes his eyes, and shifts back, Connor following close behind, and then they're back to normal, standing closer than Connor's dared to be before.
Connor sighs.
"I think we're even now"
Evan actually smiles at him then, relief shining in his eyes.
"Ok"
I spent way too much time staring at pictures of dragons to figure out what I wanted Evan to look like, I ended up giving up on getting Evan's design from google images and made one up myself. Connor's design was originally going to be based off my favorite drawing of a dragon, but I couldn't ask permission for that due to a language barrier; Tera's on the other hand is just like a cool take on fire dragons, only her scales look like cracked magma, and the spaces light up when she breathes fire or is upset. Descriptions are not my forte.