Broken Traditions and a Cocky Teenager

Perry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, why would he ask a question like that, but the man was intimidating enough that he would not ignore the question a second time.

"Y-yes. They're better than vampires."
He blurted out between sobs, in monster movies he had always like werewolves more than vampires, they were more dangerous and vampires were for girls.

"Please just let me go! I'll never do anything like that again I swear, please!"
He pleaded, writhing in the man's grasp.

Aodh gave a barking laugh.

"Is pathetic all you got? Come on, think of something a little more insulting than that. I'm eighteen hundred years old; I've had a lot more than pathetic tossed at me."

His silver eyes turned back to Perry and he gave a chuckle. "Good choice. Tell me, what do you think of Elves?"

His grip didnt loosen on the boy's hair, but he didn't shake him around any more.

"I'm not trying to hurt your feelings." Tahir said in a mocking tone. How vain of the lycan to assume this was some sort of petty insult contest.

"I could care less what you feel. I only state what I think, and you stink of a childish and pathetic excuse of a man." His tone was dark but still calm.

"You speak of your family as if they were so dear to you. This boy has a family too. Think of them if nothing else. Don't let your anger control you. A strong man, a wise leader knows how to do that, Beta." He sneered, spitting out the word Beta.

He never thought he'd challenge a leader of his pack, but this was too much. He was ready to attack the man to defend the defenseless.

Eighteen hundred years old? Maybe this guy really was crazy. That thought frightened him even more.

He just wanted to go home, his breath was still coming in panicked breaths as the man spoke to him again, he would go along with whatever the man asked if it earned points in his favor and a chance that he might let him go.

“Elves? I don’t see the point, they’re just humans with stupid ears.”

The only elf he liked was Legolas from Lord of the Rings and even he looked gay.

His eyes darted over to the black haired man, his eyes pleading with him, he was arguing on his behalf and seemed far more reasonable.

Aodh laughed and reached over to pat Perry's shoulder. "Good on ya, kid."

Someone else that didn't like Elves. Finally. "Y'know I like you just for not liking Elves." But that didn't mean he was going to let the boy go after all of this.

"In any other situation, I'd have a much clearer head. But if someone pissed on your family and their worth to you, would you just let them go? Would you let them walk?"

His eyes found Tahir and stared him down silently for a long moment. "I'll take your suggestion once. Just once."

Aodh crouched down in front of Perry. "I'm going to let you go now," he whispered softly; just loud enough for Perry to hear if he strained his ears. "But I will hunt you down later. You're not safe from me, kid. Remember that. Every time you turn a street, search the crowd to make sure I'm not there. And hope to God I'm not there because next time you see me, I will kill you. There won't be a peanut gallery to change my mind next time."

He grinned widely, silver eyes flashing. "Oh, and when mommy asks why you have a broken jaw, you're gonna tell her that you got into a fight with one of your little friends and it got out of hand. Okay?"

The large man folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. All he wanted was for the kid to live.

Aodh hurting him and breaking his jaw, that was perfectly fine to Tahir. Justice even. Sure the boy didn't know that he was ruining a special tradition to the red haired man. Still he shouldn't have been acting like such a shit. He deserved a good roughing up.

To kill was different though. Aodh's hair would grow back eventually. This boy's life was something that if taken, that was permanent.

Perhaps his beta didn't see the value in a human life, but Tahir would never take that for granted again. And if he ever was tempted, he carried the cuffs around his wrists to remind him.

Perry’s heart rate was so fast and loud that he could hear the thumping in his ears, his breathing so fast that he thought he was about to pass out from oxygen loss.

When the red head said he was going to let him go he could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief, that relief only lasted a moment as the man whispered into his ear, his eyes going wide again as he gaped at him.
This man was going to hunt him down…

His heart rate picked up again, he’d run away; run far away so this man could never find him.

Perry’s body tensed more when the man mentioned the broken jaw, he took that as an indication of what was about to happen.
He nodded obediently and cowered.

“Okay.”

He replied in a whisper.

"Good."

His fist lashed out and the teenagers jaw gave a loud satisfying crack as it broke on impact.

Aodh stood and brushed off his jeans, staring down at the boy silently for a moment before turning and sweeping past Tahir.

"Take him to the hospital, take him home, leave him here; do whatever the Hell you want, just don't follow me." He voice was low and deadly calm. There was no room for argument or defiance.

The large man didn't flinch or look away or cringe when the cracking noise of the boy's bone breaking echoed out into the air. It would nearly have been lost with all the city noise were Tahir not to have heightened hearing.

To be perfectly honest he was impressed by the punch Aodh threw out. He was clearly a skilled fighter.

He looked down out of respect when the Beta passed him, all ready having done enough to defy the lycan. He nodded his head to Aodh's words but said nothing, waiting till he left.

He casually stuck his hands in his pockets and walked up to the boy, kneeling down next to him.

"Try to hold still and calm down." He said as he took the teenager in his arms. At his level of strength the young man weighed next to nothing.

"You got off real easy kid." He muttered under his breath as he started to make his way towards a hospital.

Perry cried out in pain as the red head struck him, crumbling to the floor as he sobbed pathetically.

The next thing he knew arms were wrapping around him, he looked up at the black hair man with grateful eyes, his face swollen and tear stained.

Perry clung onto the man, he had saved his life, he continued to cry softly as he walked.

If he could talk at this moment he would of thanked him.

A flashback of a memory came to the man's mind when the boy clinged onto him. A memory from a time when Tahir himself was a teenager.

His little brother Ravant had fallen while climbing a tree, breaking his leg in the process. Tahir had carried him to someone who could take care of the crying boy. He couldn't help but be reminded of his brother in this situation, though the teen was a bit older then Ravant had been.

He let out a sigh and stopped walking.

"I know you're in pain but you need to get a grip and listen to me okay? That guy wasn't kidding when he said he'd find you. Don't go to the authorities. They won't be able to protect you. You have to leave this city, hell leave the country even if you want to stand a chance. Move somewhere boring where no one would ever travel to. Change your hair, do something. And for fucks sake don't dick around anymore kid. There's a lot of crazy people out there."

He ordered in a low and husky voice, but there was care behind it too. He didn't want the kid to die for this. His life here was ruined sure, but he could maybe find a happy life elsewhere, far away from here.

Perry listened intently when the man spoke, despite the pain.
The boy held his broken jaw and nodded, where would he go, where was a fifteen year old meant to go on his own.

At least he didn't have to worry about abandoning a family, Perry didn't have one.
He lived on the street or which ever of his friends that he could mooch off of.

He knew what he had done was stupid now, most of what he did with his life was stupid.

He sighed inwardly and slumped against the larger man, his hand still clenching onto the black haired man's shirt, tears still rolled there way down his cheeks.

Tahir then wasted no time as he carried the young man to the nearest hospital, getting directions from worried people along the way.

Before leaving the teenager with the people who would take care of him, the man pulled out a stack of paper notes that Arzu had given him to buy new clothes with. He didn't understand the point of paper money, but apparently it was more valuable then stone in this day and age.

The value of the papers were two hundred and fifty euros all together.

He shoved it into the boys hand, not knowing how much he was giving him, or if it would even help. All he knew was that the kid would need the money a lot more then he did.

He then left, disappearing back into the crowd, hoping that everything would work out for the best.

Perry mumbled his thanks to the man as best he could, his eyes going wide with gratitude as the man gave him a rather large amount of money.

He didn't understand why the man had decided to help him but he would not forget him anytime soon.

As soon as his jaw was fixed he would leave this town, hitch-hike as far away as he could.