The heat outside had been oppressive, the humidity high enough to make breathing a chore. And so it was that the airconditioning and dryness of the interior of the museam was so very welcome to the teenager. Justin stood before an amazing spread of artwork, a peice by Wyland. The entire room seemed to have been dedicated to the artist, though why, Justin had no clue. This artist was not historical in the mildest of ways. The man was not even dead yet as far as his knowlege stretched.

The peice was of an ocean, a mountian, and a ship. Below the surface, beneath the ship, was a fairly accuarate painting of a white shark. Justin stood before the painting with his hip cocked to the side, one slender hand resting at his hip, the other crossed over his stomach.

The young wolfling wore very little, despite that his entire body was covered. His pants were only a thin mesh material, white in color though entirly translucent to his pale, slim legs. Stretched tight over his hips and covering only what was indecent to be shown, was a silver pair of shorts. Riding to his mid thigh are soft, white, boots of leather, tied closed with leather lacing. Over his chest is only a strap of silver, wrapped over the slim form in a messy pattern and down one arm, the two ends snapped togather with a single button. He wore leather gloves, dyed white to match. They covered his forarms entirly, the silver strap down his arm running into the glove. His pale brown hair was tied away from his face, creating a short ponytail with many shorter strands that hung to frame his face.

With silent feet, he side stepped to the next painting and began to assess this one for details in the way that he'd done the first.

Dave started to walk into the room--the visiting-artist-room, he called it into his head--and froze in the doorway. He really, really, really didn't want to encounter Justin again. The last time...

Shiver.

The poor lad just stood there, not fleeing, because for some reason, he couldn't remember how, and not moving forward, because he really didn't want to get any closer to Justin than he had to.

His outfit was far more mundane than Justin's--no surprise there--a plain black t-shirt with the occasional splatter of paint and a pair of old jeans with holes worn in the knees.

He wasn't (quite) hyperventilating.

It is because Dave, or the figure in the corner of his eye sight, has neither retreated from or proceeded into the room that Justin now turns to investigate exactly who is standing in the doorway. Upon seeing who it is, he turns once more to the painting at hand, seemingly ignoring Dave entirely. It is as if he hasn’t remembered Dave’s face at all.

In truth, a deep frown had settled over his eyebrows when he had turned his back to Dave. You see, Justin is not above what must be done, or even what he simply wants to do, but unlike many in the world, he comes away with a conscience. Things seem to haunt him, to chew at him until he finally can forget them. Dave, you are one of them.

“Hi David, d’you like my outfit today?” Yes, Dave, this is still a rather sore point in Justin’s opinion.

Dave swallowed and tried to decided how to answer that. If he said he didn't, then Justin could easily take offense and do something awful again, but if he said he did, then he would be lying, and he's a terrible liar.

So he settled on saying nothing at all and running a hand back through his hair nervously, watching Justin with the same expression a bird might watch a snake with, when it knows that it's helpless and also cannot flee.

He would really like to run away now, but something about Justin fascinates him...

Maybe it is a good thing that Dave has found he can not run. Let us not forget that Justin is a wolf, of sorts, and most wild preditors enjoy the chase. It is likely that, should the young man run, his other instincts would rouse and take chase, despite that they were in a museum.

What about Justin could possibly fascinat a previous rape victim? I do not understand.

Justin once more side stepped to yet another painting, examined it, and then half turned, the leather straps tightening over his torso with the movment. "Well?"

You don't have to understand. The reactions of rape victims to the perpetrator rarely makes any sense. We'll call it a sickly, horrified sort of fascination, how's that?

"No."

Please don't hurt me again...

Dave didn't say it aloud, but his eyes clearly pleaded for Justin to keep his distance and leave him alone.

We can go with that.

Justin noted the look and he turned entirly around to face Dave. This also gave Dave a good show of the entire outfit, even though it is probabl that Dave would not want that show. Justin pouted his lip just slightly and his tawny eyes looked so very much like a pouting puppy.

"That sucks."

He was silent for a moment, his brown eyes intent and staring the other down from across the narrow gallery. He walked forward a few steps and stopped, and he turned his back to Dave and looked then at the painting, as though he had been just trying to see it at a distance.

Dave flinched and drew back a step. He didn't want to be closer to Justin than he already was, and he really wanted to get out of here, but he couldn't... He just couldn't. Suppose Justin followed him? Suppose...

We really don't need to go into detail on the many scenarios that flashed through Dave's mind, although I imagine that most of them are easily guessable.

"'f you say so."

He managed a shrug, even though he just wanted to run away as fast as he could.

He ignored Dave for a few moments, yet, as a human you can never really forget when someone is standing directly behind you that they are there. And as a wolf, Justin can smell him, could probably still smell him if he left the room now, because now Dave's smell is in the room.

And his pressance was becoming an irritating reminder of what he had done, regaurdless that he had enjoyed it at the time. He spun around to Face Dave.

"Is there something you want?"

Dave flinched and stepped back.

"No."

Okay. He'll just... go away now. Except... he didn't want to turn his back on Justin. It's probably irrational, because it doesn't do to chase down someone and hurt them in public--especially in a museum, of all places--but he just...

The idea of having Justin behind him terrifies him.

He backs away further.

It is not irrational at all, considering what Justin did to him, and seeing as Dave is a young man, really there is only one place to do such to him. I do not fault Dave in the least for not wishing Justin to be at his back again. No matter the distance between them.

And Justin crossed his arms over his chest, watching the human retreating slowly. A scowl settled on his brow and he cocked one hip slightly.

"Why didn't you call the police?"

Dave paused in his retreat and shrugged, crossing his arms and looking as noncommittal as he could manage.

"Wouldn't've believed me."

And it's also not the kind of thing one likes to admit to having experienced. Somehow, one always thinks that one should have been able to stop it from happening.

Though in this case, perhaps that's true. Dave could have left the theatre alone, instead of trying to vampire-proof it... But that's not really fair to Dave, now is it.

Yes, I truely felt bad for Dave when you said that he was vampire-proofing the theater. Asher's reaction was bound not to be very pretty.

"Wouldn't have believed what?"

It is true, most police would not believe that an eight hundred year old vampire had drank from you and tied you up, nor that he allowed a werewolf teenager to rape you. But Justin had only expected the other to call the police and cry rape. He had expected him to call the police and say that a teenager had raped him at the very least. But he had not considered that it was possible Dave's pride would not let him.

"You. Him." Him being Asher. Dave still doesn't know his name. That's vaguely amusing, but not really.

"Everything."

Oh yes, Dave's pride. Dave has a lot of pride, and he doesn't do a very good job of swallowing it when necessary.

Also, he thought Asher might be angry if Justin were to get arrested on Dave's say-so.

"Yes me, him. I did it. So why not call?"

He does not think about it, a vampire and a lycanthrope being put in jail. They probably would find it rather hard to keep them in a jail. Also, I should mention that Dave is correct. Asher would not be very happy if his wolf were locked away on the account of David, whom, Asher is already displeased with. It would not be smart to keep digging when you are already on the vampire's bad side.

There was a pause of a few heartbeats, and then Dave muttered, "'m not quite that stupid."

He really would just prefer to completely avoid any contact with Asher and his pets, and if that's not possible, keep the contact as short and cordial as possible, under the circumstances.

He's still considering quitting his job at the theatre, by the way. But he doesn't know where else he would go.

It might disappoint Asher if Dave were to quite. He'd thought the boy at least stronger then that, and if not strong, he'd thought he was more stubborn then that. It would not disappoint Justin in the littlest of ways. The reminder of what he'd done would be gone. Simple.

"I would disagree," and he lifted his chin just a little in this statment. Oh my. Asher is beging to wear off on Justin. "It was a really stupid idea to try and keep my master from his theater."

That is rather close to something Asher said the night that he had Dave punished.

Dave's face darkened and his hand closed into a fist. Fortunately, he didn't quite make a move to actually attack Justin. Yet, anyway. If Justin keeps it up, Dave may well lose his temper.

"Yeah, I figured that out. I don't want your bastard of a master to get mad at me again--or madder, what-the-fucking-ever--and I'm not going to get his precious pet thrown in jail."

And it isn't. His. Theatre!

"Oh, I see," he replied. He turned his head just the slightest. He said nothing about Dave's calling his master a bastard, because in truth, while he knew very little about Asher's history, he did know he was a bastard child and took no offense in it. And if his master is not offended, neither is he.

Justin turned his back to Dave again, returning his brown gaze to the painting. That is all he had wanted to know, now Dave has been dismissed.

Dave is perfectly happy to be dismissed without having to answer any more questions than he had to. The interaction with Justin was blessedly short, and while he's still fairly terrified of the werewolf... he can get away now.

Something about getting angry tends to shake terror loose. Not sure why.

He flipped Justin off--he's safe, the werewolf can't see him, right--and continued in his interrupted retreat. Still backing away, because he still didn't want to turn his back on Justin.

"Don't do that again."

No, Justin can not see from the back of his head. But he had been watching the faint reflection of Dave through the plexy-glass caseings around the Wyland art. But perhapes Dave did not know this. And perhapes this is exactly what Justin is hoping. How frightening it must be, to think that someone with their back to you may know what you are doing anyways.

"Just leave already, stupid."