Jason had gone out to meet with a few business partners in Seattle. So long as he was in town, he wasn't oppossed to getting some money made. That left Izzy alone in the hotel room because these sorts of men really didn't take too well to companions coming along on strictly serious meetings. Joshua, unfortunately, didn't know this as he headed into town on foot that evening. He knew what hotel his grandfather was staying at and instead of bothering to announce his presence at the front desk, he simply waited for no one to be looking and slipped upstairs, following the painfully familiar scent right to the door of Izzy and Jason's room. He knocked and waited for an answer.

Izzy was hungry. He'd been on his own most of the day and he'd been asleep when Jason left that morning. The night before they hadn't fooled around because they'd both been too tired to bother and the whole day before they had spent looking for apartments and houses in the area to set up one permanent residence so that they could be there when they wanted to be. When he heard the knock he assumed it was some sort of turn down service and so he pulled himself out of bed and padded to the door, shirtless and barefoot, wearing just his boxer briefs. "I don't need any towels. thanks..." he started to say but then he saw Joshua and just sort of froze. "Oh. Hello." he hadn't talked to any of the wolves yet, he'd just stayed silent every time he was in their presence.

Joshua recognized the man's--well--whatever the fuck Izzy was. He pushed past him, laying a warm hand to his chest to move him out of the way so he could come inside. A kid like Joshua didn't need to be invited in anywhere; he just knew he belonged wherever he wanted. His eyes scanned the room, but he knew immediately that his grandfather wasn't there. He pursed his lips. "When is he going to be back?"

Well, that was about as friendly as Jason was sometimes, so he wasn't really that surprised. Closing the door, he turned back to face Joshua and he just smiled. "I don't know. He was gone when I woke up and I am guessing he'll probably be back in a few hours." He scratched at the side of his neck and regarded Joshua from behind the thick black frames of his glasses. "You're Joshua right?"

"Oh, fabulous. You remembered one out of three imporant names. Yeah, I'm Joshua." He wrapped his arms around his waist and leveled his scrutinizing gaze back on the kitsune. "What the hell are you, anyway? You smell strange. Like iron and flowers and tea." Joshua's energy was oppressively strong, radiating out from his body, filling the room effortlessly.

The power was toying with Izzy and he closed his eyes for a second before opening them again, letting them focus on Joshua because they had gone out of focus as the power rushed over him. "I'm a kitsune." He knew that Joshua probably wouldn't have any idea what that meant but he didn't really care. And he also realized that Joshua probably thought he was stupid, but he didn't really care about that either. Instead he just tried to keep a hold of himself because he didn't think that Jason would appreciate it if he slept with his grandson.

Looking him up and down, sizing him up, he didn't miss a thing. The boy felt older, more worldly than other people his age. He didn't like that sense from the other. He didn't want him thinking that he was better than Joshua. "A fox?" He'd seen fairy tales about kitsunes, but he didn't remember anything but the fox part. Taking a step or two closer, he wanted a better look at the kid. "Tell me why you guys are really here. My grandfather doesn't want kids--he could have come earlier when his daughter was shoving Jeremiah in ice baths for crying when he skinned his knee."

Hearing about the violence didn't phase him at all. Izzy had endured greater hardships with masters previous to the one that Jason had purchased him from, and so he wasn't surprised at the news about the child. "Because he'd like to make a better life for you. He tried not to interfere with your mother and because of that he lost track of you. Had he known, he would have put a stop to it." Honestly, he didn't think that was the truth, but he was going to just act like he believed the things Jason said as he repeated them back to Joshua.

Joshua thought that was a lie and it pissed him off. "Do you seriously believe that shit?" he scoffed and turned to go farther into the hotel suite. He spotted the closet and went to peer in it, looking through the fine clothes Jason had bought a few days ago. "So does he pay you to travel with him?"

"No." Izzy wasn't going to lie to Joshua if he asked why he was with Jason. He would tell him that Jason had purchased him, and that he was his companion. Or maybe he'd try to put it a little nicer just so that Joshua didn't get all bent out of shape about it.

"So you're with him by choice? I notice half the shit in that closet is yours and the price tag for stuff like that isn't cheap." He thought of Andrew and how rich he was. Maybe Izzy actually cared about Jason. "Doesn't hurt that he buys you nice stuff, does it? Why are you here?"

"Because Jason owns the amulet that contains my soul." As if it were that simple. That was why he was there. Maybe he didn't want Joshua to think that he was some sort of gold digger. "And yes, it's very nice, isn't it? Those clothes. The underwear I have on right now are dollars a pair. And my glasses? They were six hundred dollars. Aren't they lovely? Aren't my things very nice?"

"My current boyfriend bought me at an auction. I fell in love with him." Joshua ignored the man's ironic tone and went to go sit on the end of the bed. "So my grandfather came to rescue me and my brothers after we were auctioned off and he's walking around with a slave. Great. Double standards. I guess I should be used to those by now."

"To be fair, I am merely a spirit." He hadn't been free in so long that he didn't remember how to be free anymore. "I am a thing, bought and sold, nothing more." Izzy folded his arms over his chest. "It is good that you are in love, good that Hunter found your brothers. But your grandfather wants to care for you now and he's your family."

"He's not my fucking family," Joshua stood up and stalked toward Izzy, shoving him backward for saying something as ignorant as that. He'd learned that family wasn't about blood, not in his case. It was about who you chose to love and to protect. His brothers didn't mean so much to him just because they shared his DNA. They meant the world to him because he'd been there when they were born and he'd chosen to protect them.

The shove startled him. All of Izzy's careful control was gone as he stumbled back slightly. His ears becamse visible, the red tips peeking out beneath the shaggy black mop of hair on his head. His tail swished quickly back and forth and he looked a little startled. especially because his hunger came out, spilling into the air between them.

Joshua had not been expecting the ears and tail. He stared, mouth opening in a little O that took all of the anger out of his face. It made him look his years. But the energy rapidly shifted in the room and Joshua sucked in a gasp, stumbling backward to try and get away from the wash of sensation and scent. But as soon as his wolf felt him yielding it, it flared with fury and Joshua's upper lip pulled back to reveal teeth and a growl.

This was what Jason had warned him about and for an instant he was frozen in place. Jason would never forgive him if he hurt his grandson with his magic and he knew he couldn't retaliate, but he knew he shouldnt' run or it would incite him further. So for a moment he just stood there, eyeing the bathroom door because it was closest and he needed to put something between them.

He wanted to be closer to the other creature, more than he'd ever wanted anything in the world. He wanted to grab him and pin him down and devour him, or fuck him, or both. He didn't know. Joshua felt overwhelmingly confused and a whine bubbled up through the growl, a whimper that betrayed his youth. Letting his instincts take over, he scrambled to his feet and lunged at the kitsune. When their bodies collided, Joshua landed on top.

When Joshua lunged at him he tried to dive out of the way but the wolf was faster than he was. Izzy was slow from not being fed and he was driven to the ground hard, and he landed flat on his back. His heart was racing and fear poured off of him in waves as he tried to push the other boy back. "Joshua, don't."

Words weren't fully in Joshua's grasp. He'd been emotional walking into this encounter, and now he was much too far gone from Izzy's power. He'd never felt so out of control and his hands gripped against the fox's arms, tight enough to crush bruises into his skin. He was going to shift and he wasn't going to let go of Izzy to do it. A yowl ripped from his throat, bones starting to snap under his skin.

Izzy's eyes widened when he realized what was happening and he fought harder to get out from beneath Joshua, but he was no match for him. He didn't have the same strength that Joshua did and pulling himself free from the wolf's grasp was impossible. "Stop! Stop!" he cried out, but it was far too late for that, the shift had already started.

Joshua wanted nothing more than to stop. His human side wanted to run away and hide, but that only riled the alpha nature of his wolf and it was coming out to set the situation right. Joshua hadn't fully integrated the two sides of himself, he was just too young. The cry turned into a howl as his hands broke into paws, claws bursting from his nailbeds. Soon enough, those claws were digging ruthlessly into Izzy's shoulder, tearing flesh.

Izzy's begging him to stop turned into a wordless scream as the claws pierced his skin and dug through his flesh and down to his bones. The scream turned into whimpered and he tucked his head down, trying to protect his throat so that Joshua didn't rip it out.

As soon as he had the muzzle to go for the juglar, Joshua did so. With maw open wide, he started to struggle to get at the soft, vulnerable flesh. Jason's meeting had gone well and as he climbed the stairs to the room, he basked in the satisfaction of a done deal. But as he got closer to the door, he heard the commotion and smelled the metallic stench of mortal fear waft down the hall. Rushing into the room, he saw the white wolf and recognized the scent as Joshua's. His own shift was fast, smooth, and he launched his weight against the much smaller wolf's, knocking him to the side. Joshua yelped, but scrambled to his feet and attacked Jason instead.

For as much as he tried to fight it, it was useless. The wolf's head bashed against his, knocked it back so his throat was exposed and the fangs sliced against the skin just before Jason knocked Joshua off of him. Izzy turned over slowly, his body on autopilot as his hand came up to the front of his throat to stop whatever blood had started to flow.

Jason couldn't kill the boy, but he put him down quickly, clamping his teeth around his neck to cut off his air supply. The more Joshua struggled, the more air he needed and the faster his body gave out. When the long limbs of the smaller wolf went limp, Jason turned to Izzy, loping toward him to push his cold nose against the man's skin. He sniffed and whined and pressed his muzzle to his neck to lick away the blood. There wasn't a ton, but enough to be alarming and dangerous.

Izzy curled up and he tried to push Jason away from him because he thought that he was going to hurt him, but when he realized it was Jason and not Joshua he let his hand fall away and he let Jason lick him instead. He just closed his eyes, feeling like he was going to pass out but the blackness wasn't coming, no matter how badly he wanted it to.

Jason, fully aware in his wolf state, didn't know a great deal of medical info about kitsune. He was terrified and it infuriated him that he was reacting so strongly to Izzy being injured. Surely it was just because he didn't want to lose his property. He shifted back into human form, disregarding his nudity and lifting Izzy upright. "What do I do?" He whispered against him, knowing a doctor would be the last thing that could help him.

Izzy didn't know what to do. His body was shaking as Jason picked him up and he just tipped his head down against his shoulder. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before and he was starting to burn up, which happened when a werewolf bit a human. Technically he wasn't, but his body was, so it was reacting badly, though he didn't know how to make it stop.

Jason felt helpless and it enraged him. But he kept it at bay because he knew he needed to take care of Izzy. So he treated it like a regular bite. Scooping him up, he raced to the bathtub and set him into it. He ran tepid water, not too cold but cool enough to lower his temperature. "Izzy, it's going to be fine." His voice was confident even if he didn't feel it. The water turned pink with blood and he held a rag over the bite to staunch the bleeding.

Izzy was shaking, his whole body and he curled his fingers around the edge of the tub as he laid back in the water. "Jason." he whined his name and his eyes squeezed shut. Everything hurt and he was so warm that he was starting to get delusional.

Jason kissed him hard on the mouth. Would it be healing? He didn't know, but he needed it right now, afraid he was going to lose him and this would be the last opportunity to kiss him. The cool water swelled up around Izzy's body, helping with the swelling and bruising as well as the temperature.

Izzy could hardly think to kiss him back. His body was fighting the infection with a fever and he started to shake harder, practically going into a full blown seizure. His head jerked back against the edge of the tub, cracking against the ceramic.

He caught the boy's head, trying to cushion it. This was a normal reaction to a werewolf bite and it made Jason think he really was going to lose Izzy. The amulet around his neck seemed to know the distress and it felt hot against his skin. Cradling him through the seizure, he murmured small pleas to whatever entity might be listening to save Izzy and bring him through this.

Izzy stopped seizing after a little while, his body just settled back into the water. He was cold but his fever was still high so he shivered and closed his eyes, just wishing this was all over. At this rate the fever was going to fry his brain.

Moment after moment passed and finally, Joshua came too. He didn't know where he was at first and called out for Andrew. But then flickers of memory came back to him and he followed the smell of blood to the bathroom. Jason opened the door after a few moments of pounding. Joshua tried to see Izzy but Jason firmly blocked the way. "You should go," he said. But Joshua shook his head. "Hunter will know what to do." Or at the very least who to call. Jason didn't like hearing that, but maybe it was his best option right now. Jason was cut off from his normal resources.

Getting Izzy down to the car without drawing attention was difficult but manageable. He drove them to Wolf Haven and barged in again to the main house. "Hunter?" He called. Joshua called for him as well.

Izzy had stopped having a seizure but he was still shaking the whole way back to the haven. He was completely delirious and just kept crying out for Jason and after a while for his mother. When even that was too much thought he just kept whimpering, and whining. When Hunter heard them calling his name he came downstairs, not entirely surprised to see what he was seeing. He felt them coming. "Take him upstairs, put him back in the tub, I'll be up in a moment."

"A fae or a witch. I don't know any in town. We need one," he said and his voice almost wavered at a plea. Clearly he cared about this boy, the feelings he had for him were written in the scent of fear lingering on his body. He took him upstairs, and ran water into the tub.

Hunter went to his office and got into his safe where he kept the werewolf strength sedatives. He took out the syringe and filled it before starting upstairs. The sedative would slow everything down for Izzy and it would give his body time to adjust to what was happening to it. Though he thought he might still call one of his friends in town to ask becuaes he didn't really know about kitsunes.

Jason was scooping cool water over Izzy's forehead while Joshua looked on. The boy looked worried, arms wrapped around his waist. As soon as Hunter returned, he muttered that he was sorry. He didn't like not being in control of himself and he didn't want to hurt anyone--not even Jason's companion. Jason saw the needle and frowned. He was more familiar with magical remedies than he was with pharmaceuticals. He was more comfortable with old world remedies. "Is someone coming?"

"I've put out calls to both Merrin and Howell, they will be here if they decide to come and if not, well... I don't know what to tell you, Jason, except we need to treat this just like a regular wolf bite." He slid the needle into his arm and sedated Izzy. The boy's body sank down slowly and his eyes closed.

Jason's jaw clenched as he watched the needle go. He stopped himself from protesting, just keeping a hand on the boy. "I need to know more about them. I need to research..." he shook his head and his voice trailed off. Jason didn't often sound regretful. "I don't think he could handle a shift. He can't be a shifter--he's already a shifter. His body can't sustain both."

Hunter was careful in disposing of the needle and then he came back and crouched down beside the tub so that he could look in at Izzy. The bite wouldn't have been fatal if Joshua had been a real wolf, but he was becoming infected and Hunter wasn't sure exactly how that would work with what he was though. "Maybe Merrin will have some insight. It is more likely that she'll come than Howell, though he is far older and would know far more."

Jason fell silent, not finding a great deal of comfort in Hunter's words. Joshua stayed, looking on with worry. He didn't like seeing his grandfather like this because it made him seem human. Josh didn't want to have sympathy for him. An hour later and Howell had arrived. The large black dragon landed with a thud, right in the middle of the driveway. One smooth transition and he was walking inside as a human. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to examine a kitsune.

Callahan was with him. Always with him. Bound to him and hidden by the dragon's power. Once he'd turned into a human again, Cal settled onto his shoulder and got a handful of dark hair to hold onto while he walked and headed up towards the bathroom. He flew ahead, excited to see the kitsune and he darted into the bathroom. "Hi hunter!" he cried out as he zoomed into the room and then started flitting around Joshua and Jason's heads.

"What the fuck?" Joshua blurted when he'd heard the great beat of wings and the loud langing. His surprise only increased when he was bombarded by a tiny creature. Jason was used to strange things and he'd met a dragon before--albeit a Chinese one. "Of course Hunter would have a dragon in his corner." He said with the faintest hint of respect. Howell frowned. "He's young. I only see one tail. He'll get more, you realize."

Reaching out, Hunter plucked Callahan gently out of the air and he put him down on Joshua's shoulder. "Be still, little one." Callahan irritated him when he wasn't kept in check and usually Howell could manage it, but every time he came to the haven after being gone for an extended period of time he was antsy and hyper. "What can you tell us about Kitsune, Howell? My knowledge is very limited outside of the texts I've read. He was bitten by one of my wolves and we aren't sure what is going to happen now." "Zenko, or yako?" Howell mused to himself. He wasn't ignoring Hunter's request for knowledge, but he was getting to it on his own time. Jason knew he had to have patience with this sort of creature, but it had never been his strong suit. Howell's black eyes turned on Jason, who was shirtless (though he'd had the foresight to put on some pants). The amulet stood out against his chest. "This kitsune is different than others. Limited." He reached his fingers out to touch the necklace and it repelled him, forced his hand away.

[It cracks me up that Kat Dennings and Zac Efron could be identical twins.]

Callahan stood up and he wrung his hands together. His wings beat slowly, like his heartbeat, and the one closest to Joshua kept brushing into his ear every time they opened again. "Why did it do that? What's it doing, Howell? Why's he only got one tail? How many tails will he get?" Callahan was used to being ignored by the dragon but it didn't stop him from asking.

It was all Joshua could do to keep himself from batting the little gnat clean off his shoulder. "Must you sit there?" He turned his head and frowned right at Callahan. "You're tickling everything and it's weird and what the fuck are you anyway?" Howell heard the words and quirked the slightest of smiles before answering just one of the fae's questions. "Nine. He'll get nine someday."

"This is where Hunter put me and usually when he makes me stop flying and puts me somewhere it is where he wants me to stay until I'm not in the same room as him anymore." Callahan smiled and he turned to face Joshua so he was face to face with him. "I'm a demi fae. He's gonna have nine tails, did you hear that? crazy." he turned back to look at Izzy again. Hunter tried not to smile because he was kind of amused that the little fae was bothering Joshua instead of him for once. "What will happen with the wolf bite?"

"For humans, it is an infection. For vampires, it is nothing because they are dead. For fae, it is something else entirely." Howell kept his eye on the amulet and that made Jason feel very uncomfortable but he didn't show it. "Kitsune are the eastern cousins of the European fae. The fever will pass. The only reason he reacted this way was because of that." His long finger crooked toward the necklace. It was an abomination to him, to trap something so inherently free.

Hunter looked at the amulet and then at Jason again before glancing over at Howell. He didn't entirely understand the amulet but there were things about fae that he didn't comprehend and that most mortal creatures couldn't. Callahan's wings beat so fast with excitement that his feet lifted off of Joshua's shoulder but he stopped them when he realized and he ended up back on the edge of his shoulder. "Well what will happen now because there is that?"

Joshua let out an exasperated sigh, not feeling so guilty anymore because his emotional capacity was very limited to one emotion at a time. Right now, it was annoyance. Howell reached forward and touched the lingering wound caused by Joshua's teeth in Izzy's flesh. "Fennel seed might me nice. Do you cook with fennel? Get me some, if you would."

Hunter didn't take orders from the dragon so he looked at the little winged fae. "Go." he said and Callahan was up and zipping through the air and down the hall to the kitchen to find fennel seeds. Jeremiah came running down the hall a minute later and into the bathroom. "Joshua, there's a real big bug out there did you see?"

"It's a demi-fae," Joshua said, sounding ever so knowledgeable. He wanted his little brother to think he'd just known that. Omniscient in the way that only big brothers could be. Howell turned on the little boy, tilting his head at him. "Lots of family in here. Lots of blood." He wheeled his head back to Jason. "Come back to get your little ones, slavetrader?" He wrinkled his nose and stood up. "Put the fennel seed in the bathwater. The kitsune will be fine. Probably grow another tail with his new found strength. Get back a little of what was stolen from him as well. You won't be able to keep him in his human form anymore."

Callahan came buzzing back into the room with the fennell and he gave it to Hunter, who gave it to Jason. Cal buzzed around the room again and he flew dangeriously close to Jeremiah, who tried to catch him with both hands, but he always managed to evade the little bit. He flew in close and kissed the tip of his nose and then did a few circles around Joshua's head before going back to Howell's shoulder. "Can we take the kitsune with us? I want to see all of his tails."

Joshua let out a little growl at all the flitting, finding it less than endearing. But the creature was gone again before he could really get his licks in. Howell shook his head. "No. Not unless we take the old wolf with us, and we will not." Jason was being humbled by the second, and he had the great desire to lay into his grandson, who had started all of this mess. He put the fennel seeds into the bathwater, letting them settle to the bottom. "Let him rest," Howell advised Hunter. "And can we stay for a little bit? I do believe Cal will explode if we leave so soon after arriving."

"You may. I think Jack would be quite upset if I allowed Callahan to explode. You are welcome to spend time in my study, if you'd like." He knew that it was one of the few places in the house that Howell felt comfortable and where he could get some peace and quiet. "Wendell will be helping with dinner in a little while if you'd like to stay, you are both very welcome." Cal let out an excited squeak and took off to go find Jack, as if mention of the wolf had been permission. Jeremiah walked over to Howell and looked all the way up at him from where he was on the floor. He reached up and took his hand and smiled. "Come to my room and I will show you the bear that Hunter got me."

Howell's whole body radiated a foreign sort of energy and he knew that he stuck out like a sore thumb in this house. In some ways, even more than Callahan who was so physically different from the rest. To have the child offer him hospitality was surprising to Howell and he stared down at his hand, connected to Jeremiah's. "Bears are very dangerous." He said, in utter seriousness as he followed the little boy. Jason was relieved when the dragon was gone and he turned his attention back to Izzy, thinking about what the man had said.

"Not this one." Jeremiah reassured him as he walked him down the hall to the room he shared with Julian. He pulled him inside and raced over to the bed to get the little brown teddy bear from off of his bed. It was very old and had seen better days, but it had been his and then Austin's.

Izzy was still pretty out of it but he was slowly starting to come around. When he opened his eyes and looked up at him he just smiled a little but it was brief. "Cold, Jason." he murmured.

Jason ran some warmer water after checking Izzy's temperature with his hand. "We'll go back to the hotel soon," he said quietly. He didn't want to stay in this house. He didn't know how he felt about what had happened with Joshua. Joshua had left to follow Howell and Jeremiah, protective of the little boy, even if Hunter seemed to trust the dragon with his little brother. He watched the two of them from the doorway. Howell stared at the little thing. "Peculiar. My kind used to inhabit little bears like this, made the child love them and then lured them away to a very lovely place." Not dragons, of course, but fairies.

Izzy nodded and he closed his eyes as he leaned his head against Jason's hand. He was feeling really cold and he just wanted to be curled up with him, under the blankets so they could settle down together. Jeremiah smiled and he watched as Howell looked at it and he shook the bear at him so he would take it. "How come? where did they take them? Was it very nice?"

Howell plucked the bear from Jeremiah's offering hand. He examined it closely and drew his fingers through the soft fur. Yes, very enticing for small children, he supposed. "It depended on the fairy. Brownies took the children underground to marvelous cities and revelries. Sidhe stole them away to grand castles. Woodland elves took them to groves full of flowers and sunlight." Then there were the unseelie courts, but Howell wasn't about to scare the child with those.

"Was it just for fun? And then they came home?" Because Jeremiah didn't like the idea of being stolen away. It had happened to him enough in his life and he just wanted to be safe at home with the rest of the wolves. "Do you have children? Did you take some? Were you a bear?"

Howell frowned a little. "No, they didn't go home. They became fae themselves and lived there forever." Little changelings. Howell sniffed a little with indignation when Jeremiah suggested that he engaged in such child theft. "I don't have children, unless you count Callahan." Who sometimes acted like a little child. "And I never did that. Dragons don't steal children. We set fire to villages and guard treasure."

Jeremiah's face knit up a little bit and he looked like he was going to cry until Howell mentioned treasure and then he calmed down a little bit. "Do you have a lot of treasure? Hunter said we're not supposed to play with fire." He and Julian had come home one day with a lighter they had pilfered from Everett and they had both gotten a lecture and put in time out..

Having no idea how to stop a crying child, Howell was relieved when the treasure thing seemed to quell the impending tears. "I don't suspect children would be good with fire. And yes, I have a great deal of treasure." Joshua went to take the bear back from Howell and returned it to Jeremiah. "That's enough questions, Miah."

Miah took the bear and he looked up at Joshua. He would have been upset at being told he couldn't do something he wanted, but he was still practically attached to Joshua at the hip because of what had happened and so he just went quiet at his big brother's direction.

Howell nodded, unsure if he was relieved at the intervention or disappointed by it. He left the room to go visit Hunter's study. When the dragon was gone, Joshua sat down on the bed and sighed. He'd almost killed something--or--well he didn't know what he'd almost done, but it had been bad.