ruby in the rough

If it were to ever come down to a physical altercation, Jace would most likely swallow his pride and just walk away. The thought of hurting anyone, but especially the imp for no reason just about killed him.

Jace froze when she seemed confused by his words and he shifted his weight. He had not meant it to come out like that, he had not meant it in any sense except that he was glad she was there, and he had hoped she had been there to see him. Any other ideas were not in his mind, he did not think like that, would never think like that. Granted yes he found her pleasing to the eye, but he was not one to do anything about it. He was a monster yes, but he was not that type of monster and it made him ill that for a moment perhaps she had thought that, evident by the look on her face.

His father had told him once that he wore his emotions on his face, and that he needed to learn to school that. Unfortunately he never had, so his emotions were usually out there for the world to see. Granted he worked hard on not being that way, he worked very hard, but he made little to no progress. He was just an emotional man, though he tried to hide it behind a neutral façade. Simply because when he felt something, it was like a fire that burned so hot, it threatened to consume him from the inside out, the reason he had such a temper, and was prone to black out when his anger and his adrenaline were surging. One of the reasons he was no longer in the pack that the little red wolf was now a part of.

The silence that surrounded them made him want to run to the nearest tree and band his head against it. He usually didn’t mind silence, but this, this silence it hurt and he knew that when it ended it wasn’t going to be a good end. And he was right.

She broke the silence first and the words that left her tongue, she contradicted with her eyes, but he laughed darkly and humorlessly anyway, because he was uncomfortable and had no clue what to say. He stared at her with intense blue eyes, that were filled to the brim with stony irritation and angst. What did she want from him, he would join her if he could do whatever she wanted, but he was not welcome there, he wasn’t. He couldn’t fix that either, and he really didn’t want too. He liked where he was.

He spoke then quietly but tightly Pretty faces shouldn’t cry, it hurts those around them deep down. And Imp that’s something I can’t do. He looked at her and studied her, he could say them but they would mean nothing because they weren’t true, but he wasn’t about to keep her where she didn’t want to be. I’m an honest wolf Imp, it’s one of my many faults. So I can’t tell you that and mean it, but I’m not about to make you stay around me if you don’t want to be here, and I’m not about to keep you here when your heart lies at the creek. So you tell me Imp, You tell me to go away, that we are nothing more than a passing soul in a silent phase? Tell me and I’ll turn around and walk right back up that mountain and I’ll never look for you again.

Then he stood silent every muscle in his body protesting the stillness, and every single feeling in his soul screaming at him, but he wasn’t going to make her choose, he wasn’t. He was not that way and he would never be, and if he gave her more pain by being around than he did by being away he would give her up, to make her happy.