An Awkward Meeting (Tahir)

Moe had been out for a run. Yes, she knew that if Zeke found her out without someone to protect her while she was pregnant, he'd tear her a new one. But she was an Elf. She needed to be out in the forests.

Not being able to go out into the woods and caress the trees and feel the dirt between her toes would drive the woman mad.

The transition between the tiny wolf and the tiny woman was quick and all together almost entirely painless.

She stood naked, eyes closed, the sun filtering through the canopy to bathe her upturned face.

After a few moments, she knelt at the base of an old tree and brushed aside the leaves and twigs to get to the hidden hollow centre of the tree. There were many trees lie this in the forest. And she had an item of clothing or a store of food on each of them in case she got caught out in the forest and couldn't hunt for her food.

This tree had a plain purple Yukata folded neatly within it. She pulled it from the hollowed tree and shook it out, shaking the ants that had made themselves comfortable from the fabric.

It had been a day since Tahir had settled into the coven. He didn't have very many things to unpack. Only his weapons, and a few articles of clothes. He was a pretty simple man when it came to his possessions.

He'd all ready explored the mansion a little, having met a few of it's residents so far. He couldn't pull his mind from the beautiful vampire woman, Alexis. What was she hiding in that room of hers? And why was he so curious? Normally such things he didn't really care about.

It was late afternoon, and he decided to go for a stroll outside. He loved the way the warmth of the sun felt against his skin. It was so good to have his body free again. So long he'd only been able to feel cold steel integrating throughout himself.

While walking along the edge of the forest a bright orange color caught the corner of his eyes. Furrowing his brow he looked over and saw what he thought to be a young woman alone in the forest. He could sense that she was a lycan like himself, and something else in her blood as well.

From where he was standing he could only see the top of her head, brushes and shrubs blocking his view of most of her.

He didn't wan't to interrupt her if she was trying to meditate or just have some alone time, but he wanted to get a closer look just to make sure that she wasn't in trouble or hurt.

Quietly he approached her, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that she was completely nude. For a second or two his mind numbed over and he couldn't help but take in her bare form.

He blinked once and realized he must look like a real pervert at the present moment. I mean she was a lycan and as such it wasn't unusual that she would be naked. But she probably thought she was alone and here he was checking her out.

He tried to back out quietly, but his foot stepped on a branch and snapped it in half. It sounded ten times louder since he was trying to sneak away without letting her know he'd spotted her. He froze again, back facing her, tensing up at the sudden crack that broke the silence.

Well shit.

Moe stretched her arms above her head, giving a soft purr as her joints cracked.

She had really needed that run. It felt so good to run until her muscles were sore then stroll back towards home at her own pace.

The Hybrid's head snapped around when the crack of a twig pierced the air. That wasn't caused by an animal.

Her bright green eyes settled on a tall, tanned man and her cheeks blossomed with shades of red as of yet undiscovered.

She was too caught in his eyes to move to cover herself. She was stood frozen, staring at him. Her mouth hung open slightly and her eyes were wide.

Tahir turned around and saw her staring into his eyes, her cheeks many shades of pink. His own expression was that of a kid caught with their hand in a cookie jar. Total guilt.

Quickly he straightened his posture and looked down at his feet, scratching behind his head. He cleared his throat in a slightly awkward cough.

"Uh... just making sure you weren't... hurt or anything...." He said in a low voice, trying to hide the guilt in his tone. Poor girl, she was probably really embarrassed.

"So if you're not hurt I'll just be on my way." He said, peeking up just a little, seeing she was still bared for all to see, and quickly looked back down again.

When his eyes fell from her, she looked away, coughing awkwardly.

She lifted her Yukata to cover her chest, looking down at the ground with dark pink cheeks.

"I, um..." She bit her lip then bowed deeply, her ginger hair tumbling over her shoulders. "I'm Leon Moe."

She didn't want him to leave now. He was a Lycan. He was in the pack. She didn't want an awkward relationship with any of the other pack members.

Just as he was ready to book it out of there, Tahir heard the woman introduce herself to him. Hesitantly he looked up again and saw that she had herself covered by the casual looking kimono.

That was a bold move, he thought, to introduce herself despite her embarrassment. This caused him to feel a bit less awkward then before.

"I'm really sorry Leon, I didn't mean to intrude in on your privacy like this." He said, voice dauntless but genuine.

"I'm Tahir, my sister and I just moved in the other day." He introduced himself, his silver eyes not afraid to look right into her green ones.

"Moe," she corrected softly with a little smile, pulling her arms through the Yukata and pulling it closed around her waist. She bent to pick up her obi, tying that around her waist before straightening up.

So few people in the West knew of the Japanese way of introducing themselves. It amused her to have people mix up her names like that.

She combed her hair out with her fingers, pulling it into a tight braid over one shoulder. She didn't have anything on hand to tie it off, so she left the braid end loose, dropping it to hang from her shoulder, nearly reaching her waist.

She bowed again, visibly more relaxed now. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tahir-san."

He should have known that better on that one. Eastern culture wasn't something he was unfamiliar with, what with being raised in Persia. Especially during the time in Persia he was raised in.

"Ah yeah that makes sense. I just figured Italy you know, first name then last. Plus I didn't want to make any assumptions." He said with a slight air of playfulness coming into his voice.

The more relaxed she was, the more relaxed he felt he could be. It wasn't seeing a naked woman that flustered him, it was that she hadn't been totally consensual on him spotting her like that. He may have a perverted side, but he wasn't a louse.

"Nice to meet you too, though I wish it wasn't exactly on these circumstances." He said, his voice low and husky but lighthearted in tone.

He noticed the wedding band on her finger and internally face palmed. That just made it all the more better, didn't it?

"The best people meet in the worst ways."

Her sister and walked in on her practising rudely. One of her close friends had nearly killed her boyfriend. Her husband had threatened her.

She was definitely closest with the people she had met in odd ways.

"You're new here, ne, Tahir-san? How are you enjoying the Coven so far?"

He gave a smile to her response. So far both the women he'd met in this coven were relaxed and not very high strung. If everyone was like this, he'd really enjoy it here for sure.

"Yeah it's really great. I've never lived somewhere so... luxurious!" He said, searching for the word a bit before coming up with one he thought fit.

"So you're another lycan right?" He asked, still not sure what else he sensed in the small woman.

Moe nodded with a smile.

"It is really nice here. And we have so much freedom." She loved the freedom they had more than anything.

The Takahashi Clan had been oppressive at the very least. She couldn't do anything without getting the third degree for it. Here she could do anything she wanted without fear of beating or punishment.

The woman nodded. "Yes, I'm the Alpha's granddaughter. I'm...half Lycan." How would he react to her being an Elf? Not all people hated Elves as much as Aodh, but the history between Lycan and Elves was a bloody one. "And half Elf."

His eyes widened a little. Okay so she wasn't just married. She was the alpha's granddaughter and he had just been caught spying on her nude. Perfect, simply perfect.

But he calmed himself back down. She was fine. She wasn't screaming or crying, she was hardly even blushing anymore. Everything would be fine.

He nodded his head in respect to her being related to the Alpha.

"Sometime I'd like to meet him with my sister." He said.

"Elf eh? I've heard of those. Never met one before though. I'll be honest, I don't quiet know what it even means, other then you having pointy ears and liking nature a lot right?" Just like vampires Tahir had hardly any knowledge on elves.

The woman smiled brightly and nodded. "Grandaddy'll love you meet you and your sister." He liked meeting every member of his pack.

Much different than other Alpha's that rarely spent time with their pack.

Moe nodded with a half smile. "That's the basics, yes." If he didn't know about Elves bloody history, she wouldn't tell him and give him a reason to dislike her. If he wanted to know, he could do his own research.

He smiled and nodded his head.

"Perfect." He said in response to the Alpha wanting to meet the new members of his pack. He'd never actually belonged to a pack before, but he'd been in the army, and there he'd never question or stand against his leaders. And none of the men underneath his leadership questioned him.

"Oh well then, there you go." He said with a smirk after she said that was pretty much it with the elves.

Moe smiled brightly.

"I can talk to Grandaddy and see when he's next free, if you'd like?" If it'd help them out, she'd be more than willing to do anything she could.

She gave a little nod, eyes flickering away.

She felt bad withholding information like the Slavery between the two races but she really didn't want him to see her as an Elf and hate her for something like that.

Tahir’s smile grew.

“I’d love that.” He said gratefully.

If the others in his pack were going to be as kind and accommodating to each other as Moe, he knew he’d feel right at home.

He liked the sense of looking out for each other that belonging to a pack like this would bring. It reminded him of a family, something that he lost long ago, save for his one sister.

Her smile returned when his grew.

"Then I'll ask him the next time I see him. I know he'll just love to meet you and your sister."

Moe shifted a little, moving to lean back against a tree, looking up at the sky with her bright green eyes.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" That was the reason she had slipped off for a run on her own. She wanted to bask in the beauty of the forest when the sun was like this.

Her hand slid down over her stomach gently. And when they were older, she'd bring her children out to bask in the same beauty.

Tahir nodded in response, and watched with a certain amount of fondness as the little woman admired the simple things in life.

He couldn't help but notice the hand she rested tenderly on her stomach, a certain sort of maternity about that motion. She didn't look like she was expecting but if she was Tahir wouldn't be surprised.

"Yes, it is. Though to be honest I'm not picky when it comes to the weather. Everything has a purpose, from days with abundant sunshine to pouring rain. I enjoy all of it." He admitted.

The country he had lived in almost always sunny. Luckily he liked the warmth that the sun gave, and was able to find beauty in the desert. But when a storm would roll through that would be a special treasure blessed upon the land.

After he had been locked away for so long and denied such simple things like the breeze or the sun, the touch or rain or the smell of the earth, he was even more grateful to be able to bask in what most people took for granted.

"I'm the same. Most of the time."

Her lips into a sheepish little smile as her eyes flickered from the sky to the tall Lycan stood next to her.

"Sometimes I have terrible days and take my frustration out on things I know I shouldn't. Many times I've hissed and growled because it was rainy or cloudy." She knew she was in the wrong and a lot of the time, she admitted she was stupid for getting angry at the weather.

Even the overcast days were good days, you just had to make something of them.

Tahir couldn't help but keep smiling gently as he spoke with Moe. She was very sweet and girlish. She reminded him a bit of his youngest sister, Kurvabai, in that regard.

"Where I came from rain was a rare and special occasion. I can't ever think bad of it now because of that. But it seems most people now tend to get gloomy when the sun isn't shining. My sister was telling me that was an actual cause of depression." He stopped himself, he was starting to ramble.

"But anyway... I can see that you came out here for some meditation so if you want me to leave you be I understand." He said, meaning it. He always got annoyed when people tried to interrupt him from his own private affairs or meditation, and he didn't want to do the same to this woman.

"If I had grown up where you did, I'm sure I'd think the same."

She pushed off the tree and took light steps out into the open. "I hadn't lived in one place until a century ago. I saw so many different types of weather and saw the beauty and danger in all of them."

The woman span on the balls of her toes and smiled at the Lycan. "But for the last century I lived in Kobe. That city has very predictable weather so sometimes I get bored or annoyed with it."

She shook her head a little. "I went for a run to stretch my legs. You didn't interrupt anything of importance. I was just about to head home and make sure my husband didn't starve to death or poison himself in an attempt at cooking. Would you like to join us for dinner?"

Moe wanted to be like her grandfather saw his pack: everyone was family. One thing that she had always done - even with the Clan - was eat dinner as one large family unit. It would be nice to get to know people over nice hot food.

Tahir was a bit caught off guard by her invitation. He hadn't been expecting such a nice gesture.

Immediately his mind went to Arzu, probably sitting alone in her room being anti social. It would would be so good for her to get out and meet the new people in their pack, especially one as nice as Moe.

"I would love to." He said. "Would it be all right if my sister joined?" He asked, a rather bold move to invite someone to a dinner he'd just been invited to. But he felt relaxed enough around the elf lycan hybrid to do so.

Moe smiled brightly and nodded.

"Of course." She'd love to meet new members of the pack and how better to meet them than have them around to try her cooking?

People here were much nicer than the Clan. They enjoyed her food and company so as long as they enjoyed it, she'd happily provide.

"Excellent! Thank you Moe. I'll go tell her now... what time did you want us to stop by?" He asked, fiddling with the cuffs around his wrists.

He knew Arzu and she'd most likely want to freshen up before meeting new people for dinner. She never seemed satisfied with her appearance , which Tahir thought was a shame. If she'd just gain a little weight he thought his sister to be very beautiful.

"Any time you want."

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with a smile as her eyes turned towards the direction of the cottage.

"It shouldn't take long to cook dinner so you can come down whenever you want."

Moe moved to Tahir's side, pointing out the direction of the cottage. "We live in the small cottage at the fringe of the forest in that direction. It shouldn't be too difficult to find it."