Never Be Lonely

Name: Luke Ivanov
Age:18
Gender: Male
Race: Werewolf
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Black with blonde sideburns and eyebrows
Skin Color: Tan
Personality: Outgoing, kind, nerdy

Name: Vladek Dudek
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Race: Tween
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Coppery red
Skin Color: pale cream
Personality: used to be happy and outgoing but has regressed to a nearly silent, shy and skittish boy. Very high strung.

It was well past midnight. A light rain fell, making it seem even darker as a dark clothed figure with light hair strode purposefully down the middle of the street carrying another coppery-haired form in his arms. His jaw was set and there was a look of murder in his eyes, but he knew he had priorities. And his first priority was to get his charge to a safe place.

The cathedral loomed ahead of him. He took the steps two at a time, knowing that the being he needed was just behind the set of doors. He rang the bell to alert his prescience before letting himself in.

The coppery-haired child (because what else could evoke such a reaction from the usually calm man but a child) clung closer with a quiver and looked up at him fearfully with wide blue eyes so much like his own.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe here. I promise" Nosho cooed softly, stroking the child's hair.

Ajax met Nosho at the door, sensing his urgency. He could practically feel the waves of anger coming off of the usually calm man's body, and it concerned him deeply, almost as much as the presence of a child in Nosho's arms, for he knew what that must surely mean. "Nosho, is this a new adoptee of yours? If you need a place for him to stay, he's certainly welcome here."

"He isn't an adoptee, Ajax." Nosho stated "This is my Great great, so many greats, grandson. And he needs something to help him sleep. I'll explain everything once he's taken care of" He continued to hold the child gently.

"Right, right," he said, nodding. "Wait right there."

He hurried off to the kitchen to whip up a concoction that would help get the boy to sleep: a type of tea his mother used to make for him when he was a child; she'd stopped making it when she figured he was old enough to make it for himself, but it never tasted quite as good as it had when she'd made it. He was careful not to heat it too much, lest it burn the poor child's mouth; God knew that if Nosho wasn't willing to talk about it, the boy must have gone through something truly unspeakable, and he didn't want to make it any worse.

That accomplished, he brought the tea back to Nosho and his charge in a mug and stood by to take back the mug after the boy had finished.

"I opted for tea, Nosho, because I assumed a natural remedy would be preferable to any sort of drug."

Nosho nodded. "It is, don't worry. I appreciate it."

The child's eyes began to flicker.

Nosho shifted him slightly so that he could see Ajax. "This is my friend Ajax, I'm going to leave you with him, okay Vladek? He'll keep you safe while I'm gone"

The child nodded slowly, his eyes finally drifting shut.

Nosho carried him into the other room and laid him gently on the couch. He joined Ajax back in the other room with a sigh. "That is my Grandson Vladek. He is a tween like me and I need you to watch him. He-" He had to pause to take a calming breath. "He was abducted almost six months ago and forced to work as a sex slave in a whore house in Russia. I've been looking for him since I found out and only just happened to find him by luck. Can you watch him for me? He needs some special attention because of his ordeal, but I've already taken him to a doctor. All he needs is some good old fashioned loving care, something I won't be able to give until I take care of this" Nosho gave Ajax a pleading look. "Can you do this for me?"

Ajax smiled reassuringly and gently cupped Nosho's face in his hands. "Nosho, of course I will. You're a good friend of mine, and I would do anything for you; especially something like this. Do you really think I could leave that poor little thing alone and unprotected? After what he's been through? Nosho, I'll gladly keep him safe. You do what you have to."

Nosho gave Ajax a weary smile. "Thank you" He sighed. "Vladek's 17 now, but he doesn't look like it. I know, he's small, he's only 5'6", all the more reason he needs to be watched." He sighed again. "I need to go. Just... Don't leave him alone" he stated, turning away. "Thank you, Ajax"

He stepped back out into the rain.

Ajax nodded and swung the door shut quietly behind his friend. He turned to look at Vladek, wondering just what he was going to do with the boy; as Nosho had said, he couldn't leave him alone, but he certainly couldn't watch him constantly. But who in the household was responsible enough to watch after him? Ronnie and Viktor were far to irresponsible to even be considered for such an important job, even if their wives were to help; Yuki was plenty responsible, but far too much of a recluse to be expected to care for a child; Trisha was certainly capable of it, but she looked even younger than Vladek, and he didn't know how the boy would handle that. Ritsu and Oakley were out of the question, as was Duke, not to mention his own children. But Luke... maybe Luke.

~~~~~
After a quickly sent text message, Luke was up and dressed and heading downstairs to see what important task Ajax had for him. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking with interest at the new arrival sleeping on the couch.

"Who's the new kid, Jaxxy?"

"Luke, this is Nosho's many-times-great grandson, Vladek. He's... been through quite the ordeal, and he needs someone to watch over him at all times. I would love to do it myself, but I do have a house to run and a family to care for, so I'm going to need some help. I was hoping you would be able to help me, Luke."

"...Well, sure, Jaxxy. Anything for you. But, may I ask what kind of an 'ordeal' you're talking about?"

Ajax grimaced and pulled him aside to where they would be out of earshot if Vladek were to wake up and told him exactly what Nosho had said. Luke was horrified, as could be expected.

"God... Of course I'll take care of him for ya, Ajax. Just introduce us when he wakes up."

Vladek stirred lightly on the couch, his eyes flickering. He was bolt upright in a matter of moments when he realized he was no longer in Nosho's comforting arms, looking around in a panic. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, he was certainly still tired enough to sleep more. He whimpered softly, drawing his knees to his chest and pressing his back to the couch cushions.

Luke's keen ears heard the sound of Vladek's movement and he whirled around. He and Ajax hurried over to the poor boy and Ajax put a comforting hand on Vladek's shoulder. "Shh, dear child, it's okay. You're safe."

"gdzie jest dziadek" he whimpered. "gdzie on teraz jest?" He sounded slightly panicked, if the polish wasn't already an indicator.

Ajax gently pulled the boy to his chest, stroking his hair. "Shhh," he whispered softly. "Shhh, it's okay. Darling, I don't speak Polish. I can't understand what you need."

Vladek whimpered and clung to Ajax. "G-groanpa" he stammered, his accent thick. "Groanpa Nohshoh, Vhair?"

Ajax petted the boy's hair gently and held him. "Nosho went to go find the bad men who hurt you," he said softly. "And he left you with us so that we could keep you safe, you understand? All the people who live here are your Gandpa Nosho's friends, and we're going to take good care of you."

Vladek nodded slowly, his trembling starting to slow, but his grip unfaltering.

"Vladek?" Ajax asked softly, turning the boy's face up to him. "I want you to meet someone." He smiled and Luke stepped over into Vladek's field of vision, waving slightly at him. "This is Luke. He's a good boy, around your age, and I've asked him to take care of you while I do work around the house. You can trust him, Vladek. He'll keep you safe."

Luke stepped forward and kneeled next to the two of them. "Hi, Vladek," he said, smiling gently. "I'm Luke. It's real nice to meet you. Would you like to stay with me for a while so Uncle Ajax can cook and stuff?"

Vladek bit his lip and nodded slowly. "Oh-ohrigh" he mumbled. He didn't meet Luke's eyes, still being scared. He struggled to keep back a yawn, failing.

Luke gently reached over and disentangled Vladek's fingers from Ajax's clothes and picked him up. He flashed Ajax a smile, assuring him that everything would be fine, and cuddled the smaller boy to his chest. "C'mon, Vladek. Let's go to my room so you can get some sleep," he said, carrying the boy to the stairs. "Ajax, will you bring us up some food later, so he doesn't have to be in the dining room with everyone being loud and stuff?"

"Yes, of course, Luke. That's very thoughtful of you."

Vladek whimpered and tried to curl into a ball, but clung to Luke instead.

"Shhhh," Luke cooed, rubbing Vladek's back as he carried the boy upstairs to his room. "It's okay. No one's going to hurt you. I'm going to keep you safe."

"D-do you promise?" Vladek asked softly, trying not to drift back to sleep.

Luke stopped outside his bedroom door and tilted Vladek's face up to look at him. "Yes," he said honestly. "I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again, okay?" It broke his heart to see how vulnerable and terrified the poor little Polish boy was, and he wanted to make sure that he never had to feel that way again.

Vladek's eyes flickered wearily. "Oh-ohkay" he mumbled.