Mortas's eyes slowly open as he awakes. Wait. Where the Hell is he? This isn't his room! Mortas sits up, looking around. Then his eyes land onto Rona, sleeping soundly on the floor. Ah yes, that's right. Lycanis heir. Arranged marriage. Mansion. Same room. He sighs, looking at the curtain covered window. Some sunlight is shining through. It must be morning. Mortas leaves the bed, going to wash up.
"Hey, get up." Rona stirrs in and out of consciousness, as something talks to him. "Hey, I said get up." Some more noise, yet Rona still lays comfortably. "Get up, you mangy mutt!" Mortas kicks the wolf in the leg, not terribly hard, but enough for Rona to wake up. He blinks his eyes at the vampire standing above him.
"Morning?" Rona asks as he sits up, yawning.
"What else?" Mortas walks to the door, but stops. "Hurry and get yourself presentable, I'm sure we're wanted downstairs." Mortas says. "You have horrible bedhead." He leaves. Rona just sits on the floor, touching his hair. Indeed, he should get ready. But not because Mortas told him to.
Rona soon joins everyone else in the dining room, whom of which are all already seated. Rona looks at his assigned seat, currently empty, then at Mortas, in the seat directly next to it. The vampire smiles. Rona greets his mother and father, giving them both a kiss on the cheek, then greets both of the Dracul's, before going to his seat. Mortas stands up, pulling the seat out for Rona.
"Thank you.." Rona says, slightly shocked. Just how much will Mortas keep up this buddy-buddy act to impress their parents? How far will he take it? Rona clears his mind, sitting down.
"So, you said you all had something else planned for us?" Mortas asks, looking at the adults.
"Indeed, we have the entire day mapped out!" Rona's mother happily cheers. Rona's father places a hand on his wife's shoulder, to calm her down.
"We've planned some exercises for the two of you to complete together." His father says.
"Excersises?" Rona asks.
"Yes, they're going to help the two of you grow to trust each other, and get used to being close together." The Alpha says. The two heirs share a quick awkward glance.
"Yes, sir." They say.
Breakfast is brought in, and again, it is all of their favorite meals. Just how much are they going to be spoiled here? Rona gets apple-cinnamon pancakes, with a cup of fruit, and a poached egg. Mortas gets blood sausage, fried potatoes, and fried eggs, with some toast.
Rona looks at his plate, then at Mortas. He takes one of his pancakes, and places it onto the vampire's plate. He's sure their parents haven't forgotten that entire show he put on the other day, so Rona shares some of his food before Mortas bothers him. Mortas looks at Rona.
"Thank you!" He says. "Would you like to try my blood sausage?"
"I've um, never tried it before." Rona looks at the meat on Mortas's plate. It looks gross. What even is blood sausage? Surely it can't really be made with blood. Maybe it's just the name. But why is it so dark? Rona tries not to gag. He's never been a picky eater, he's always eaten whatever has been served to him. "I'll try it." He quickly says.
"Splendid!" Mortas says, cutting up a piece for the werewolf. He places it onto Rona's plate, and Rona picks at it a little bit. He glances at Mortas, who seems to be enjoying his pancake. How could he not? The fluffy texture, its softness, the sweetness! Rona picks up the sausage with his fork. Getting a better sniff at it, Rona can actually smell blood in this. He quickly places it into his mouth, not wanting to seem out of place.
It tastes weird at first, but as he chews, he somewhat gets used to it. Certainly an acquired taste. Surprisingly, the rest of breakfast goes smoothly. No major teasing from Mortas. Perhaps he's not a morning person? Their dishes are taken, and breakfast is concluded. The boys are then lead outside, towards the back of the mansion.
Who would've thought there is actually a huge field back here? Despite the mansion being located in the forest, the backyard of the mansion is filled with natural grasses. Surprisingly, no trees for about a few yards back.
"What are we going to do here?" Rona asks the adults.
"Well, I'm glad you asked, Rona. This first exercise will require much of your strength." His father says.
"My strength?"
"Yes, for this first exercise," He points to Mortas. "We would like you to show Mortas your wolf, Rona."
"My- My wolf?" Rona looks at Mortas. Why would he ever show this sorry excuse of a man his wolf? Werewolves only transform into their wolves when either in battle, when they're incredibly angry, or yes, they can do it on command.. but why should he?! It's not just a wolf, it's another being of yourself entirely. Even your best friends may not ever see it! So to be told to show it to Mortas?
"Why not? You do think he deserves to see it, don't you? You need to share these things with those closest to you." His father says.
"I'm not close with this guy at all!" Rona thinks to himself. However, he can't stand to have his father get after him again. He deeply sighs, looking at Mortas. He walks up to the vampire. "I will show you," He tells Mortas. "But don't get any funny ideas." He whispers.
"I'm just standing here, watching." Mortas shrugs with a smile, hands held up in defense.
"Go ahead, Rona." His mother says. Rona stands back, away from everyone. It's certainly been awhile since he has done this, he doesn't know how it will end up. What if he messes up? He'll die of embarrassment right then and there.
Rona takes a deep breath, and focuses on his wolf. Within a matter of seconds, he grows in height, his body transforming. He's turned into his wolf perfectly!
"He's.. huge?" Mortas says, looking up at the towering Rona.
"Of course! My baby is a Lycanis heir, after all. Pure of blood!" Rona's mother happily cheers.
Rona has turned into a shocking, almost seven foot tall werewolf on his hind legs. He's covered in rough, auburn fur, varying in color in some spots, and his claws are deathly sharp. Well, at least he has a cute brown nose? His canines distract from it, though. Rona yawns, stretching. It sounds almost like a howl, with how strong his vocals have become.
"Well, Mortas? Go up to him." The vampire's father tells him. Both Rona and Mortas look at the Count, before awkwardly looking back at each other.
"Go ahead, Mortas. He doesn't bite!" Rona's mother laughs. Rona squints his eyes at Mortas as she says that, and the vampire huffs.
Rona reluctantly gets down onto all fours, so Mortas can reach him better. He lowers his head a bit, so Mortas can pet him. The vampire reaches his hand out, placing it down onto the wolf. After doing so, they both look back at their parents, asking with their eyes "Is that good enough?" But no, they urge the boys to continue.
Mortas rubs his hand a little bit, petting Rona. He doesn't seem to have any reaction to it at all, good or bad. He's just letting it happen. Mortas moves his hand back farther, to where Rona has more fur. His fur isn't soft, but not incredibly rough either. To be expected, it's not like he can take care of this form all the time. Nonetheless, Mortas pets this spot. Still not really any reaction. The adults haven't told them to stop yet. Do they want him to find a spot Rona enjoys?
Mortas internally heaves a sigh, now moving his hand to the left, towards Rona's ear. Rona's ear flicks as he touches it, surprising the vampire slightly. Dogs like having their ears scratched, right? Mortas shall try this. Anything to make this end faster. Mortas scratches behind Rona's ear, and the wolf's head turns slightly. He looks at Rona, who seems to be avoiding eye contact. This is proof enough he must enjoy this spot. He doesn't really show it, still, Mortas could only tell because of that head turn. Rona's parents clap.
"Oh, good! You found it, Mortas!" Rona's mother chimes.
"Rona loves to be pet in that spot, ever since he was a kid!" His father laughs. Rona transforms back to his normal self.
"Don't tell them that, father.." Rona says, embarrassed. He stands back next to his parents, rubbing the ear Mortas touched.
"Well, how do you feel, Mortas? Do you feel more comfortable around Rona, now that you've seen his wolf?" Mortas's father asks.
"I believe I do," Mortas says. "I'm glad I could experience this. The only stories I've known of werewolves have been of ones where they are scary, and evil. But Rona has calmed my mind." He smiles.
"Aww, your attitude has already improved so much upon coming here, Mortas!" His mother says.
"Indeed, we're proud of the both of you." Mortas's father says. Rona again wants to bang his head on a wall.
"Alright!" Mortas's mother now says. "Why don't we get onto your part of the exercise, Mortas?"