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(no subject)

Who: Steve and Open.
What: Wolf!Steve goes exploring
When: Current-ish?
Where: City of Nightmare
Warnings: None, yet. Will edit if necessary.

Clark's remarks about having to be careful at home, after flying to the top of one hell of a tower here had opened Steve's mind up a little bit more to the possibility of maybe being less guarded here. Thomas knowing what he was within about five minutes of meeting hadn't hurt, either.

He still felt the need to be cautious, but less so than back home. There wasn't the same risk of fallout here, after all, and there was an opportunity to learn a lot - about himself and maybe about others.

To that end, he was on four feet and wearing fur as he moved through shadows and pools of light in a very different city. He followed his nose and impulse as they led him. He was enormous and moved with an easy, predatory grace, but there was also a kind of calm and confidence in his movements - and if he was threatening it was only in response to a threat.

And he was unusually inclined to approach people. In fact he was pretty inclined to outright nudge at their hands and lean against them, whether they wanted him to or not. Hazards of being a pack animal, benefits of being in one heck of a disguise.

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Steve has to give the guy credit, even if it's some alternate version of himself: he's not sure he'd handle having a wolf jumping at him as well. Actually, maybe he would since this is some him.

God this is confusing.

Still, the sniffing and even having the cap in his teeth tell him this guy is not any kind of wolf and gives him a faint, barely there hint of Sam.

He stays just out of Steve's reach with the cap, not so much teasing now - though there is totally some of that - as trying to... lure him.

Steve follows, though he does recall where he is. 'Nightmare' is the name of the town, after all, and while this doesn't happen to match any of his particular nightmares, he did ask around enough to have an idea of what he might expect. The fact that the wolf stole his hat and that the wolf seems to be leading him somewhere?

Well, he goes, because he's still Steve Rogers, but he's glad that he's got his good boots on for the moment.

He basically leads Steve a ways - somewhere a little better lit and a little safer - but then deliberately slows down so Steve can close the distance between them.

If he's willing to.

He's still definitely holding that cap though.

Also wagging his tail, which is - not wolf like, actually, but hey. He's trying to be clear without the ability to talk.

Steve's following, because he's hoping that if he goes where the wolf is leading him, the animal will give him his damn hat back. His world's been wider and weirder for some time, after all, up to and including his presence here.

"I'm coming," he said as he trotted behind the animal, "though I'm holding back on the ear scritches if you're leading me into a trap."

He considered his words a moment.

"Or if you dent the brim too much."

He turns around when they've got some decent lighting and walks back toward Steve, jumps up again holding the hat for him to take.

There's a definite human like snort at mention of denting the brim though. Come on, Steve, he's got teeth. There's only so careful he can be.

"Don't you snort at me," and he is about to continue when he realizes what he's doing.

"...I'm talking to a wolf. Wow."

He snorts again, either because he doesn't understand (no) or because he does and he feels like messing with Steve.

He waits for him to take the cap back, then circles around him - trying to get behind him, but basically ust circling his legs.

"A sassy wolf," he notes before reaching down a hand carefully. Does he want a scritch? A pet? Something else? He doesn't think there's a bite in his future, but he's never been the cautious type.

"Whatcha aiming for, buddy?"

What he was aiming at was Steve's ass to nip at it, from sheer contrariness, but he's entirely forestalled by the hand reaching out to him.

Being pet by some version of himself?

Whatever, he'll take his physical contact where he can get it. He sniffs the hand, lifts it and then shoves his head into the hand.

Steve squats down on his haunches to get a better angle and give the furry beast a good scritch, careful to keep from boxing him in. Sam was showing him some sort of thing the other day about how dogs didn't like hugs and, well, he doesn't want to be rude. Especially when the animal clearly had some sort of intelligence to him.

"There we go. We friends now?"

Steve leans into the scratching for as long as it's there. When Steve stops to ask him the question - well, he answers it. By giving the guy's face a sloppy, wet, lick all the way up the front.

Then he wiggles free and runs off at a pretty good clip.

The nice thing about being him is that he's actually got a pretty good run in him if he needs to use it. After that lick?

He intends to use it.

"Aww, come on! Come on back!"

Why was he surprised Steve was chasing him? He'd chase a wolf. He was stupid, and he knew he was stupid. He shouldn't be surprised another version of him was also an idiot.

He whirls around and runs toward Steve, at speeds that aren't... even normal for a four legged predator. More like speeds of super soldier on four legs. Fast and aiming directly at him.

Which doesn't make Steve stop running. All he does is tuck in and prepare himself for whatever might be coming at him. Whatever.

Steve tucking in and down to prepare for impact was what, erm, Steve was hoping for. He keeps pouring on speed until it looks like collision is inevitable. Then he leaps - hard, and manages to clear Steve by quite a bit.

...it's times like this that he hates the fact that his turning radius is deplorable. All the damn weight up top!

All the same, he makes an attempt to turn as quickly as he can, has to roll into it to keep from hitting something and breaking a window, and finally pushes up and away from the wall he'd rolled into to launch himself back at the wolf.

What is it going to take to get this guy off his ass? What would it take to get him to give up?

Nothing really would, he thinks wryly to himself - in a slightly more lupine and simpler form.

So when Steve launches, he just launches back, this time colliding with him - low enough to hopefully knock him over. Fine, they're going to play for a while.

Edited 2016-06-30 14:35 (UTC)

He's not trying to hurt the wolf, but he's also not trying to get his face ripped off, so while one arm grabs to go around the animal, catch him, the other one is raised to protect his face and throat.

"Come on, you crazy mutt, what... gives...?"

Steve growls, but somehow it actually sounds a little more like a groan. A frustrated groan. Can wolves make those noises? This one can.

He punches Steve in the arm over his face with his muzzle and squirms.

Ultimately, Steve doesn't want to hurt the animal. So what he ends up doing is more aggressively snuggling him to the ground, wincing and grunting at the 'punch' to his arm before finally speaking.

"All right, furball. I'm gonna keep being a pain until you start..."

He realizes, at this moment, that he has absolutely no idea what he wants from this exchange other than to find out what exactly is going on, and the wolf clearly doesn't seem like it can talk so.

"Okay, new plan. Two noises for yes, one noise for no, okay?"

He actually yelps when he's pushed to the ground, but he has limited options for non-violent resolution. Not like he wants to rip Steve's throat out so he's basically... on the ground snuggled aggressively.

He flattens his ears back and then gives another, very soft, woof. A single one. That's a yes.

He sighs, because that was a no... but clearly a yes.

"All right, one woof yes, two woofs no.

"Did you take my hat for a reason?"

Look, he was going to have more yeses than nos unless this Steve was extra dumb. And he'd make his own rules. God dammit, he did what he wanted.

Steve has to stop and think about that. He had a reason but it wasn't a very good one. His ears swivel so one's forward and one's back and he just looks unsure.

Then woofs once.

"Was that reason harmful?"

He doesn't think so but... better he check.

He rolls his eyes - outright and in a really unwolf like way, and barks twice. Loudly.