Chapter Text
When Louis stepped on to the train station platform, he immediately smelled the sea. A mild salty air that’s mixed in with something he can’t quite pinpoint. It’s been so long since he’d been to the beach and breathing in its familiar scent triggered memories he’d long forgotten.
He remembered the sweet taste of coconut juice, the feeling of sand tickling the inside of his toes, his father’s hand on the small of his back, teaching him how to float.
Louis grimaced at the last memory. His father probably hasn’t realized yet that he’s gone. If anything, their maid will notice first. But when he does, he’ll send everyone in his reach to look for Louis, wherever he is. Hell, even he doesn’t know exactly where he is.
“You’ve really done it now, Louis.” He muttered to himself, “What are you even going to say when you get back?” He sighed, letting the question hang in the air, as if this small town had the answer.
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Louis had been spending the last few minutes just walking around. He passed the occasional shop keeper, who despite being busy sweeping the outside of their store, or wiping down the windows, spared him a greeting and an inquiry to how long he’d be staying in town. A question Louis quickly answered with a vague ‘a few days’.
The town is pretty, he mused, in an unassuming kind of way. It’s quaint, with narrow roads and small homey buildings that he guesses has housed generations of families—a contrast to the towering skyscrapers he’s used to seeing in Basea, where everyone comes and goes so fast it makes him dizzy trying to remember them all. Most of all, it’s quiet, and if Louis concentrated enough he can hear the sound of waves crashing on a shore. He doesn’t know how to feel about how full the silence feels. In Basea, nothing is ever quiet, you go to sleep at night knowing that there are people constantly around you. It makes it known with the clamor of intoxicated animals stumbling through the streets at midnight, in the occasional siren wailing through the wide roads, in the thump of a neighbor’s music making it through the walls. And yet despite all the noise, it left Louis feeling terribly empty.
Louis shook his head, willing his brain to stop like an etch-a-sketch. He didn’t spend five sleepless hours in a dusty old train and traveling to the middle of nowhere only to keep thinking about his problems. He’s here now, wherever the hell this is, and he might as well keep his life back in Basea away for as long as he can.
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Eventually, Louis ends up at the beach. Not that it was particularly hard to find, as the town was littered with weathered yellow signs pointing tourists to Ione Beach, and he doesn’t doubt the idea that a local would happily show him the way if he asked. The stairs leading to the beach are steep, sandwiched between high stone walls. Louis wondered if this was some sort of safety hazard waiting to happen, or had already happened.
The beach itself, however, was breathtaking. With pristine white sand so bright it practically sparkled. Louis could only imagine how blinding it would be under the noon sun. The sea was a dark sheet, broken only by the jagged strips of orange that came from the rising sun. It rolled out waves in a rhythmic manner that left Louis entranced.
A trance that was interrupted by the shrill sound of his phone ringing.
He fished for his phone in his pocket and checked the caller id. The face of a certain dall ram filled the screen. Albeit looking a little more intoxicated than usual, his face contorted into a wide smile, with a hand held up in a peace sign. Louis tapped ‘answer’ and placed the phone to his ear. He immediately hears the familiar lazy voice he’s come to associate with Pina.
“So I heard you’ve run away,” Pina drawled, voice a little heavy with sleep . Louis pulled his phone away for a moment to check the time. The numbers 7:12 glared at him harshly. “Care to tell dear young beautiful Pina why?”
“I’m guessing father called you already?” Louis made his way to a faded orange beach umbrella, “Or wait, Mrs. Cecile?”
Pina made a short buzzing sound, like they were in a game show and Louis had said the wrong answer. “Wrong! Care to take another guess? I’ll give you a hint: He wears sunglasses and is usually dressed in a black suit.”
Louis rolled his eyes, “That’s literally the entire Keir Security Detail.” He sat down on the bare sand and faced the sunrise.
“So? Are you gonna guess or not?”
“Fine.” Louis pondered for a moment, watching the steady flow of waves. “Pascal.”
Pina made another buzzing sound. “Oops, wrong again. It was Chris. He surprised me too, calling while I was in the middle of a wonderful dream about a ewe in IB.”
“Honestly, you spend so much time there some of the freshmen are starting to assume you’re a business major. Or worse, my friend.”
“Oh please, it’s an honor to be in my presence.” Pina teased. “Plus, I’m good for business. Don’t tell me you don’t notice the flock of women at the CDA booth at every open house. That could be IB with me around.”
Louis had to roll his eyes again, but the smile tugging at his lips betrayed him. “I might actually have to drop out if you officially become a business major, if the standards are that low.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know I’d be a wonderful business major. I am also taking up Merchandising or did you forget? Though,” Pina’s voice dropped dramatically, “You might have, considering you didn’t even tell me you were leaving. And here I was, thinking I was your best friend.”
Pina let out an exaggerated sigh but Louis sensed the tinge of worry in Pina’s voice. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was a last minute sort of thing. Even I didn’t know where I was going.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Louis spotted a wolf making his way to the shore. He was wearing a black wet suit with dark sea green accents and a surfboard tucked under his arm.
“So last minute you couldn’t even say goodbye?” Pina huffed at the other end of the line. “Not even a text?”
Louis chuckled, “You say it like I’ve moved to a different country.” The wolf was now paddling to the sea, and Louis may or may not have watched how his burly arms easily cut through the water. “I’m just a few hours away. I’ll be back soon.”
“I see.” Pina hummed. There was a brief pause, like the ram was debating on whether to say something. “You know, you don’t have to.”
“W-what?” Louis was taken aback at his statement. He expected Pina to whine about being lonely or bored, not encouraging his extended disappearance. “Do you not want me to come back?”
“I’m saying, you don’t have to come back soon. I’m saying, maybe, this whole running away could be good for you.”
Louis didn’t know what to say. He didn’t really have a plan when he bought that train ticket. All he had was a backpack stuffed with a few clothes, his wallet, his phone, and the intense, unceasing need to just escape.
Pina seemed to sense Louis’ uncertainty. The dall ram was surprisingly keen on things like this. Louis wondered if it was because he was just that transparent or because they’d been spending too much time together.
“Louis, darling, you don’t have to tell me why but I know something big happened.” Pina said softly. “Just, keep safe, okay? And send me a postcard. Better yet, send me the numbers of any cute ewes you meet there.”
Louis had to chuckle at the last part. “I’m not making any promises, I don’t know how to sell you when your only redeeming quality is ‘handsome.’ And even then I’m not too sure about that.”
“Oh, darling, you underestimate my beauty.” Louis heard muffled voices speaking in the background. “I have to go, Candida’s calling me down for breakfast.”
“Alright, say ‘hi’ to your sister for me.” Louis said, “Oh, and—”
“Yes?”
“You are my best friend, just in case you think I forgot.”
Louis thought he heard the smile in Pina’s voice. “Of course, and I am in fact, the bestest friend you will ever meet.”
He heard the soft ‘click’ of the line being ended and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.
He looked back out on the sea, taking in the scenery. The wolf from earlier was still riding the waves, occasionally sharply turning and cutting through it, sending water flying in a harsh semicircle. Louis wondered if he would end up learning how to surf during his stay. The thought excited him, not surfing itself, but the idea of doing something new for the sake of it, something that wasn’t required of him.
The wolf crashed into a wave. Louis winced, now that he wasn’t too excited about. He’d rather not slam face first into seawater, thank you very much. A few moments passed, and the wolf still hadn’t reemerged. He got a little worried, but surely he was adept enough to not drown, right?
Apparently not, as more moments passed and he still hadn’t resurfaced, and Louis realized that he was watching someone die. He quickly stood, turning his vision to stars as the blood rushed to his head. He raced to the drowning wolf, discarding his outer clothing along the beach as he went.
Louis was waist deep in the water and hoping to God that he was strong enough to pull a full-grown large canine to shore when the wolf suddenly surfaced, gasping for air and hanging off of his surfboard. He stayed there for a few moments, surfboard and body swaying to the movement of the sea, before getting back on his surfboard and paddling back to land. Louis stared at the him as he approached, his heart still racing in chest, because great, he’s alive and breathing and Louis doesn’t have to be a suspect to an apparent homicide but he is also wet and freezing and he probably looked like an idiot running across the beach to save someone who didn’t even need saving in the first place.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “You should be drowning!” His hand pointed at the wolf in accusation.
The wolf stopped mid-paddle and sat up on his board. He pointed to himself, “I should be?” He asked, his deep measured voice echoed in Louis’ head.
Louis nodded his head indignantly, “Now come here and apologize.”
The wolf looked a little bewildered, but obediently followed nonetheless. He headed in Louis’ direction until he stood in front of him. He towered over Louis, horns included, and the thought of it made Louis’ face feel a little hot.
“I’m a little confused. Why should I be apologizing again?” He asked, “Isn’t it a good thing I didn’t drown?”
“I, yes, i-it is—” Louis stammered, trying not to stare at the wolf’s broad shoulders. “But that’s not the point! The point is I looked like a fool trying to save you when you were perfectly capable!”
The wolf cocked his head to side, before he suddenly perked up, eyes going wide. “Oh! You didn’t have to do that!” He put up the end of his surfboard that held the end of a broken rope. “My board’s leash got caught on the reef and brought me down. I was just waiting on it to break to resurface.”
“I know, you damn wolf,” Louis said, trying not to be caught up in how the wolf was now softly smiling at him, as if to show the nonexistence of his presumed danger. “Just, don’t they have lifeguards out here?” He finished lamely, his anger already ebbing away the more he looked at the wolf’s smile.
“We do, but that’s usually when the beach gets congested with tourists. It’s rare for a local to get caught up in the water.” The wolf scratched the back of his head. “But you didn’t know about that, I’m sorry. I didn’t really notice you when I went to surf.”
Louis was about to ask why the lifeguards were only for tourists when the wolf abruptly spoke, “Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Legosi.” The wolf, Legosi, reached out his free hand to Louis.
He took it in his own, and Louis marveled at how sturdy and yet so gentle his hold felt.
“Louis.” He said, and as he pulled away he could briefly feel the tips of Legosi’s claws graze his palm. “I take it you’re a local?”
Legosi nodded, and Louis noticed how his tail perked up a little. “If you want, I can show you around Alon. But not right now though, I’ve got to head to work.”
For some inexplicable reason Louis found himself taking up the offer. Which may have something to do with the wolf himself, but Louis shook away the thought.
“Sure. Well, I’ll just be here, being a tourist.” Louis mentally smacked himself. He decided being around wolves with broad shoulders and sturdy hands wasn’t good for his vocabulary.
Legosi gave a curt nod, and walked out of the beach with his surfboard tucked back up under his arm. Leaving Louis still waist deep in water and wondering how we went from running away from home to trying to save someone to having a tour guide.