[C] Making A Friend

Derya padded across the yard with a little smile on his face and a book tucked under his arm.

He'd visited Ana after Derrick had left for his day in the mines and she had lent him another book.

Now he was content to spend his day sat on the rock he still claimed as his own reading the book until one of two things happened: he finished the book or Derrick returned.

The boy laid out on his stomach on the rock, purring softly as the sun-heated rock pressed against the bare skin of his stomach. The early morning sun was already heating up the yard.

Today would be a nice day to just sit and read. He was looking forwards to it.

Ciaran prowled out from behind a rock, slinking quietly along the wall, a large hunk of meat clutched protectively in his jaws.

He had managed to salvage it from behind the slab of stone. It must have been missed by the other slaves. Now he was hoping to get away with it.

The others were asleep. Hopefully they wouldn't see him.

Derya's eyes flickered up when he heard noises near him.

A large Wolf walking not too far away from his spot on his rock.

The boy tensed up a little, clutching tighter to his book as he stared silently at the other Lycan.

Please leave, he thought desperately to himself, staring hard at the other man. He didn't want anyone close to him except Derrick or the few people in his group that he trusted.

This man wasn't any of those three men so immediately he didn't trust him.

A pair of large silver eyes turned up to the boy, looking over him thoughtfully. The boy looked timid. Unlikely to attack.

The wolf decided he wasn't a threat and settled down in the corner, tail curled around himself protectively.

He stiffened as a slightly larger lycan across the yard stirred slightly, ears pricking up and sitting bolt upright. His lips parted a little, ready to curl over his teeth in a defensive growl if he should be disturbed.

Derya cringed back against his rock when the older Lycan laid down.

That wasn't what he wanted. He had hoped that the Wolf would have wandered off somewhere far, far away from his rock and left him alone.

He was far too close for Derya to be comfortable.

It was times like this that he wanted to scamper off to Derrick and hide behind the man where it was safe.

He really needed to talk to Eric about leaving behind someone each day to make sure he had someone to hide behind if things went to shit. Like they could possibly do now with someone older and bigger than him sitting far too close.

The other wolf let out a large snore and Ciaran went back to chewing the meat.

It was a lot better than they usually got. Sinewy, yes, but there was a lot of meat on the bones and a few streaks of much needed fat.

He licked his lips and stretched out with a contented whine. His eyes flickered over to the younger pup again. Poor thing was scrawny. Wouldn't last long at this rate.

He was about the gulp down the rest of the meat when a thought struck him, and he paused for a moment in thought. And flicked a small amount of meat to the pup. Not much. A sliver. But it would keep him going.

Derya's eyes flickered down to the meat that was flicked towards him.

It wasn't the best cut. This was some of the nicer meat that the Lycan got served, yes, but he was lucky enough to get the best cut. He got the stuff Derrick got.

He'd eaten a good breakfast already this morning.

He was kept thin by the exercise (constant sex) that he did. What he ate during the day was always burnt off with his evening activities.

"What do you want?"he asked suspiciously.

He knew how people worked. They gave him something them demanded something in return. If he accepted that meat, he'd have to do something for this Wolf. What, though?

The wolf's brows knotted together for a moment before uncreasing, a flicker of both surprise and insult in his eyes.

I don't want it. And I'd rather you have it than anyone else.

The wolf shook out his fur, starting to pace away slowly, thick, glossy tail swaying with each step.

Take it or leave it.

Rather him have it?

Why?

Derya felt his body, if possible, getting more tense as his gaze flickered back and forth between the meat and the older Lycan.

He wasn't used to anyone being nice here, bar Derrick's occasional good deed of the day to stop Derya from raging at him like he had in the beginning of their little agreement.

"Thanks," he muttered after a long moment of hesitation, sliding off his rock to pick up the sliver of meat.

It wasn't an entirely selfless act.

He would rather the pup have it than an older lycan because the pup was never going to be a threat to him. Even among the elder lycans there was competition. He wasn't about to feed the ones he could be fighting with tomorrow.

Besides, a scrawny pup like this lasting more than a couple of weeks was a rarity. The kid deserved some kind of reward.

He must have gone right somewhere.

Ciaran found a spot in the sun and stretched out, head on his paws. It wasn't long before it would be work time again, and he needed to sleep.

He had gotten in with someone good.

That was the only reason he hadn't become the bitch of every Lycan more powerful than himself.

Derrick's claimed protected him more than anything else could at the moment. He was safe because of Derrick.

He inhaled the meat quickly, returning to perch on his rock soon after.

His attention turned back to his book, flickering up every now and again to the Wolf laying in the middle of the yard sunbathing.

A brown wolf twitched, slowly coming around from its sleep.

It was a lot bigger than Derya, but about medium compared to the other wolves. Its eyes locked in on the piece of meat in the pup's mouth, tail swishing.

Hand over the meat, runt.

Its fur bristled, standing up on end as it prowled towards the rock, standing at the bottom.

"Bok," he hissed, swallowing the chunk of meat he had been chewing.

This was why he stayed away from people.

This was exactly the reason why he needed to talk to Derrick about having someone from their cell with him at all times.

His immediate reaction was, of course, to toss the meat that he hadn't already chewed up in the Wolf's direction.

It was safer to just give him the meat than fight with him.

He slunk over silently. With a leap he had pinned the smaller wolf down with a paw on the back of its neck and had wrenched the meat from between its teeth.

That's mine.

The brown wolf struggled until it was released, eyes glinting with an urge to attack before it quickly restrained itself and backed off quickly, body hugged close to the floor.

My mistake.

When the wolf was safely out of earshot, Ciaran tossed the meat back to the pup.

Take better care of it, meat's not easy to come by around here.

Derya's shoulders slumped in relief when Ciaran jumped in to save the day.

He really needed to stop being so...pathetic. As soon as Derrick wasn't around, he was everyone's prey. It was a terrible feeling. He could never be safe unless Derrick was around.

The thought sickened him.

"Thanks...again."

He reached to pick up the chunk of meat again.

"I know it isn't. But I'm Derrick's bitch. I get meat whenever it shows its face at mealtime." Everyone knew Derrick now. The strong newbie that had rose through the yard ranks and sat happily near the top of the ladder.

You're doing better than most then.

He fought to keep the bitterness out of his tone. Like many others, he had fought tooth and nail to stay alive. An easy pass like being protected by an older wolf didn't come easy.

Not to mention the kid was acting all ungrateful about the meat he had given him.

Should have kept it for himself on second thoughts. Let Derrick get the meat for him.

You shouldn't label yourself as some guy's bitch.

"I know."

He was doing a lot better than some of the Lycan around. He had made sure he had gotten in with someone that could give him some of the greater luxuries of the yard.

Derya was trapped her. He at least wanted to be able to live a somewhat pleasant life while he was here. He sold his soul to the devil (or rather his body to a stronger Lycan) for the chance at a slightly easier life here.

"That's all I am here." Unlike Ciaran, Derya didn't attempt to hide the bitterness in his voice.

Yes, he liked the sex, but he didn't like the circumstances of the sex. Given the choice, he'd rather not have to do it.

"All I am here is Derrick's bitch. If I wasn't his bitch, I'd be someone else's bitch." He was far too small and weak to not end up someone's bitch.

He stretched out on the stone, groaning a little as his wolf body reverted back to human form.

"It's a delicate position though. You'll be fine as long as the others like Derrick, but if he falls out with the pack, you'll be the first they attack. And he's pretty unpredictable."

His voice was thoughtful as he gazed up at the clouds, surprisingly at ease with his stomach exposed. He knew the other wolves wouldn't try to attack him, and it showed.

"You're smaller than him and easier to pick on, and it won't be easy for you to get into a better situation."

Derya's eyes flickered over the man when he shifted into a human.

The first thing he noticed was the shock of red hair. That...wasn't normal. Not for Derya. The Turkish boy hadn't seen a ginger person before. He'd only ever lived in Turkey and Greece; Irishmen weren't common in either place.

He liked it. The red hair looked good on the man.

"I know." He knew the dangers of his position. He could get attacked and killed any moment if Derrick fell from his pedestal.

But he didn't trust anyone else. Most of the older Lycan lived in groups. If he became the bitch of one person in a group, he became the bitch of all of them. He didn't want to be passed around like a fucktoy. At least with Derrick, he knew he'd only be fucked by the one man.

"I know exactly what danger I'm in. Pointing it out to me isn't going to make me change my mind about my decision to be his bitch." For as long as he was safe with Derrick, he'd be his bitch. It was that simple.

He shrugged. "I just hope he's worth the trust you put in him."

It was obvious how unpredictable Derrick was. He had seen Derrick start many fights within the pack. And the moment Derrick got weaker, or some of the others got stronger, he would be the first on the chopping block.

The kid was still coming off hostile. He was trying to be sociable but it was hard when Derya kept being so suspicious.

He got up, back curling slightly as he stretched. "Well. Enjoy."

The man began to walk away.

Der shrugged, silver eyes flickering away.

Was Derrick worth the trust that he put in him?

He didn't even know that answer himself. Was Derrick trustworthy? At the moment he was, he supposed. But that was just for now. He didn't know what Derrick may do in the future.

The boy's eyes flickered back to the man when he turned his back on him.

"...See ya."

_______________________________

Another day found Derya in exactly the same position, laying out on his rock reading another book.

He was sore today. Derrick had had a lot of fun last night and he was still feeling it.

His hips were bruised and his neck had a few hickeys colouring the tanned skin. There were a few healing scratch marks on his back. And, if anyone had watched him walk to the rock, they'd notice him walking rather gingerly. He was sore.

An amused smirk quirked his lips when his eyes landed on the boy, padding over happily to perch on the side of the large boulder, hoisting himself up by the arms.

"Injured in action?"

Kid looked like he had been on the battlefield. Derrick certainly wasn't shy about marking his possessions, that was for certain.

Derya's eyes flickered up when the older Lycan appeared next to him.

His lips curled upwards into a little smirk.

"Something like that, yeah."

The boy's smirk softened into a little smile. He was in a good mood. He didn't want to cause shit with anyone right now.

If he could, he'd try to get on with the man today. As long as he didn't say anything bad about him and Derrick.

He chuckled lightly. "Wish I could say the same."

Since he was one of the strongest of the pack, very few others got close to him. And if they did, it was usually as Derya did, to protect their own backs.

It got a little lonely sometimes. But mostly he didn't worry about it. Friendship was nice, but rather the last thing he he was thinking about. The last thing anyone was thinking about in that situation.

He studied the boy's face curiously.

"How long have you been here? I don't remember seeing you before the other day."

"Find yourself a good fuck buddy and I'm sure you'll find yourself injured in action a little more."

Derya closed his book and set it aside, gingerly moving to sit up. He hissed softly as he settled down into a sitting position.

"A few weeks, give or take."

He hadn't actually kept track. He'd been here for a while. He decided that it really didn't matter how long he'd been in here for. He was here and he wasn't leaving any time soon.

"How long have you been here?" He was honestly curious about how long some people had been here.