#Jay you're a terrible wolf if you don't like the sight of blood my friend just saying

[davidelizabethbowiestrider]

if you're still taking prompts, could you write a Jaylos little red riding hood AU? like Cruella sends Carlos to deliver goodies for his grandma and he encounters wolf!Jay on his way there.. i think that'd be cute lol

I am always taking jaylos prompts my good friend. Though I’m not sure this is 100% Jaylos, might be more pre-jaylos than anything…I hope you like it! Maybe I’ll continue it if there’s an interest? It was actually fun to write lol

warnings for blood I guess? It’s not bad. 

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“Don’t stop anywhere’s. If you stop, I’ll know. If you dawdle? I’ll know. If you take one step off the path from here to Granny’s, I. Will. Know. Do you understand?”

Carlos stood silently in the entrance to Hell Hall, his fingers curled tightly around the handle to the large basket that his mother had shoved into his grasp. He gave a curt nod, jumping slightly as a red cloak was shoved into his arms, his mother’s hand reaching out to grasp his chin in her thin, long nailed fingers.

“I understand, mother. To Granny’s and back. Nowhere else, no stopping. She’s expecting me this time?” His mother snorted, releasing his chin and giving him a shove towards the doorway, gesturing for him to put on the cloak. Setting down the basket, he pulled the cloak over his head, fastening it at the collar and picking up the basket once more before moving to push open the door.

“She knows you’re on your way. Remember the consequences if you don’t return with what I want, Carlos.” He nodded, slipping out the door to make his way down the stairs towards the woods that surrounded the estate. Years spent travelling the long, twisting path between his mother’s home- not his, never his- and Granny’s Fur’s and Leathers on the outskirts of the woods had left him with little fear of the dark trees and darker inhabitants of the Fae Woods. Fear was not, after all, a wolf’s howl or the bandits that hid along the route; fear was his mother’s disappointment and the creative punishments she would come up with, fear was the sensation that he would always be under her thumb. The trail began on a stone pathway (twenty eight blue grey flagstones set into the earth) and faded into dirt, no real markers besides a clearing of fauna on well trod earth. He followed the path, stepping over stones and logs, glad that his mother had sent him early enough in the day that he had enough light to travel by without worrying about tripping in the dark.

Peering into the basket, he frowned as he noted the size of the coin bag; the pile of furs he would be returning with would most likely be heavy, and he didn’t look forward to the walk back with them. He didn’t particularly want to deal with Granny herself, either- the woman was ancient and terrible, smelling like urine and the tanning chemicals she used to treat the leathers she made while treating him like the next animal to wind up under her knife- but he had little choice in the matter. Had he refused, Cruella would have made him regret it, perhaps by way of the cellar or one of her many fur closets, lined with bear traps.

“Hello, little boy.” He jumped, startled at the sudden voice, and clutched the basket closer to himself, tucking it under his hood some as he glanced around.

“If you’re a bandit, I’ve got a knife and I’m not afraid to use it.” It was a lie, of course; Cruella would never give him anything he could possibly use against her, but the stranger who owned the voice need not know that. There was a chuckle from his left, and he turned slightly to face the trees clustered near where the voice had come from, eyes scanning the area for whoever had spoken.

“I’m not a bandit, dude.” Narrowing his eyes, Carlos backed into a tree, eager to have something solid at his back as he pulled his cloak tighter. There was a rustle, and then to his horror a large, black furred wolf stepped onto the path. He had never like canines- dogs, wolves, anything close to the sort terrified him to the point of being frozen most times. The wolf was huge; larger than any animal he’d ever seen, for sure, and certainly larger than his fifteen year old self.

“No, I can very much see that. You can just stay there then, that’s alright. I still have that knife after all.” His voice barely wavered, and his fingers tightened on his basket once more. The wolf stalked towards him, unheeding of his words as it’s nose sniffed the air, and he felt the rumble of the animal’s laugh as he pressed back into the tree more.

“You don’t have a knife. Don’t worry, little boy, I’m not going to eat you if that’s what you’re scared of. I don’t like eating people.” Carlos wasn’t sure he believed that, but he had little time to consider it as the wolf took a leap towards him. Bringing his arms up to cover his face he whimpered, waiting for strong jaws to clamp down around him, for the sharp pain so familiar to him to sweep over him. When nothing seemed to happen, he slowly lowered his arms, frowning as he took in the sight before him. Where once had been a wolf stood a boy perhaps two years older than him, long dark hair the colour of the wolf’s fur tied up at the top of his head.

“What….who are you? Where is the wolf?” Letting his gaze dart around, he noted that the animal seemed to have disappeared completely. The boy grinned at him, wide and toothy as he gave a little mock bow.

“The name is Jay, and I am the wolf. The wolf is me. I didn’t think it was that complicated to understand, I jumped as a wolf and then I was a boy. I thought you were suppose to be smart? Mal’s always saying that Evie says you’re a genius, but if you can’t even figure that out…” Carlos’ brow furrowed, and he let his grip on the basket loosen some.

“You know…Evie?” The dark haired girl spent time with him in the few classes his mother had allowed him to attend, always nice and wanting to make sure he was okay. Jay nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Carlos, his eyes flitting from the hood still pulled over Carlos’ head to the younger teen’s face.

“We’re friends. She asked me to come check on you, actually, she was worried when your mother pulled you from school today.” Clever eyes traced over his body, and Carlos tugged the cloak tighter around himself, frown deepening. “We’ve been watching over you for awhile now, you know.” Strong hands moved to pull on the cloaks ties, and Carlos attempted to step back against the tree more, startled at the movement. “Everyone in these woods knows about Cruella de Vil’s little pup. You’re pretty…famous around here.” Carlos raised a brow, less scared of the teen than he had been of the wolf by far. He knew how to deal with humans, for the most part; and the boy before him had far duller teeth than the wolf had.

“I can’t say that’s encouraging. If you’ll excuse me, I have to make it to Granny’s and back before dinner time. Mom doesn’t like being served after six.” Jay frowned, moving as though to stop Carlos as he turned to begin down the trail again, retying his cloak as he swiftly moved past the older boy.

“Hey, no, wait, let me walk you at least. Evie would murder me if I let you walk alone when Mal’s in one of her moods.” Carlos gave him a blank look before he began walking again, and Jay quickly fell in step with him as they headed towards Granny’s. They walked silently for a good section of the path, Jay only speaking to offer to take the basket for Carlos when it began to get cumbersome for the smaller teen and Carlos only responding with simple refusals.

“Who is Mal?” Jay tilted his head, glancing at Carlos as they turned down the straightway that lead to Granny’s.

“Do you know the rumor about the dragon in the forest?” Carlos nodded, and Jay smirked at him. “That’s Mal. She’s fae kin, likes to roam around as a dragon to scare the shit out of the bandits around here. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t seen her, to be honest. She’s pretty partial to tailing you when you’re walking back late at night.” Carlos shrugged, and Jay gave a little hum. “I like following you when you’re not wearing this damn cloak. Did your mom have it magicked to smell like dead animals and blood, or is the scent just a natural aroma for you?” Carlos winced, one hand moving to play with the ties of his cloak as he kept his gaze steadily ahead of him.

“I sleep in a fur closet full of bear traps. This is my only blanket. The smell of the dead furs was bound to seep into it, and the blood is from me. Any more needlessly stupid questions, or can we continue this hellish walk you’re intent on forcing me to go through? I already told you, I have to get back before supper time. You may be free to run around the woods at all hours, but I don’t have that luxury. So. Shall we?” He gestured ahead of him, and Jay frowned, staring at him for a long minute before taking a few steps forward, his form shifting back into the large black wolf.

“Sounds shitty. I mean yeah, I get to go wherever I want, but I’m still cursed with the wolf so there’s that. I wasn’t born this way.” Carlos cast him a curious look, and the wolf shook his large head. “I got caught stealing for my dad from a witch, and when he realized who she was, he tried to kill her. She caught on and tried to curse him. Instead of him being cursed, he threw me in the way of the spell and here I am with my furry little problem. It’s not too terrible I guess, but sometimes I’d like to just be normal, you know?” Carlos watched the wolf, still wary of the creature, though less scared than he had been knowing now that the creature was actually human. He thought on his mother, on his life, and shook his head, pausing in his steps.

“Being normal…I don’t know what that’s like. But being scared…I can understand why the witch would want to defend herself. Sometimes, I wish I could do something like curse the person who’s hurting me. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be free, even if I turned into a wolf because of a curse. You may not see it like a freedom, but…I’d give anything to not have to go back to that house.” He didn’t know why he was telling the other anything about his life at home; fear of what his mother would do to him had kept him silent for so long, but in the woods it was as though she couldn’t touch him at all.

“Huh. Never really looked at it that way, I guess. But, like, what’s keeping you from just running away dude?” Carlos shrugged, letting his gaze wander from the trees around him to the wolf at his side.

“And where would I go if I ran?” They began walking in silence again, before the wolf gave a huff.

“Live in the woods with me and Mal. You said you wish you had freedom like me? Take it.” Carlos laughed, a dark sort of chuckle as he shifted the basket in his hands, turning a look of disbelief on the canine beside him.

“Live in the woods. I can’t…you’re insane, I can’t just live in the woods. Where will I sleep? What will I eat? I have no tools, nothing to keep myself safe.” His eyes widened as Jay shifted back to human, his lips curling into a wolfish smirk as Carlos realized what he had said.

“Knew you didn’t have a knife.” Carlos scowled at the teen, and Jay’s smirk widened. “Look, I’ll protect you. Mal and I have a place, in the Deep Woods, further off the path than any sane people tend to travel. You can stay with us. Evie says you’re good at fixing things, maybe we could come up with some stuff for you to do in exchange.” Carlos bit his lower lip, thinking about it. Take a chance on a stranger who could turn into a wolf, or return to the hell that was his mother…

“I think I’ll take my chance with the wolf.” he muttered, and beside him Jay perked up. “I’ll come with you. What’s the worst you can do, kill me?” Jay blinked at that, and Carlos flashed him a dangerous grin. “Trust me, I know more than one way to skin a dog. You know who my mother is. So don’t think I’m completely unable to protect myself. No funny stuff.” Jay raised his hands, and Carlos stilled, putting down the basket to untie his cloak. He hung it from a tree branch, inspecting it a moment before gesturing at it. “Rip that up some. If she thinks I’m still alive, she’ll send hunters for me.” Jay nodded, his fingers turning to claws as he struck out at the fabric, ripping long, jagged lines through the material. Carlos took a steadying breath, holding out his arm to the wolf-man. “Now, cut me so I bleed. It has to be convincing, and no one’s going to believe a wolf ate me with no blood anywhere.” Jay hesitated, and Carlos rolled his eyes, reaching to take his hand and force his claws into the skin of his forearm. Watching the blood well up, he rubbed his hand over his arm before smearing bloody handprints on the tree the cloak hung from before tearing off a strip to wrap around the injury.

“Smart.” Carlos shrugged, turning back to look at Jay once he was satisfied that the area looked convincing. “Shall we then?” Carlos gestured for Jay to lead the way, leaning to scoop up his basket as they headed off of the familiar path into the deeper woods, and he couldn’t stop the shiver of excitement from travelling along his spine.

It was time for a new start.