you had jesus on your breath (and i caught him in mine)

[vaqueros]

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[peacemakers]

[ Faraday keeps picking the burrs out of his coat, dropping them into a little pile beside his bedroll.

It's a good distraction from the what-ifs of tomorrow. He's worried, admittedly. After four full moons, Faraday had started to tentatively think that maybe they had gotten the hang of this – but Butch's arrival is a new complication in an already complicated mess.

At least Vasquez won't feel the need to be as judicious with his use of silver, as far as Butch is concerned. It's a huge advantage.

He pauses in his work at Vasquez's question before offering a slow nod of confirmation. ]

[vaqueros]

[ Vasquez hums quietly, and his tone stays low, careful; he at least knows better by now when to prod and when to tread mindfully. ]

I think maybe that wasn't how you expected that might go.

[ He pulls free another spiky ball, this time smoothing down Faraday's fur again, like he's trying to soothe away the discomfort. ]

[peacemakers]

[ Rose Creek has spoiled him in a lot of ways, Faraday thinks. After he had been bitten, he weathered the nightly changes on his own, spent his evenings wandering dark woods. The change was painful, sure, and the fact that his evenings needed to be spent outside of civilization had been lonely – but aside from the full moons, Faraday had learned to live with.

It wasn't until Rose Creek that he started to so keenly miss being able to talk.

At Vasquez's suggestion, Faraday lets out a huff, frustrated that he can't speak his piece, but he resorts to offering his closest approximation to a shrug.

That's about the long and short of it. ]

[vaqueros]

[ Often, when Vasquez strikes up conversation with Faraday like this, he doesn't expect full and detailed responses – partially because that's clearly impossible – but he tends to understand the gestures or sounds that come in this form. ]

... Does that bother you?

[peacemakers]

[ He casts Vasquez an annoyed look. You gotta talk about this now?

Not because Faraday is trying to avoid the topic, but because he can't properly speak on it. And God knows he has things he can say about Butch's apparent cowardice and generally unpleasant disposition. A handful of minutes in Butch's presence, and Faraday has been wholly turned off of the prospect of ever meeting another werewolf.

After a heartbeat, and after a visible hesitation, Faraday makes the same approximation of a shrug, head tipping to one side as his shoulders shift.

Not sure what I was expecting. ]

[vaqueros]

[ It's harder to get everything out of that little shrug this time, and Vasquez knows enough to take what he's given. He drops a couple more burrs to the side, smoothing back Faraday's fur in slow strokes. ]

Can't all be like that, hm? There's you, after all, perro.

[peacemakers]

[ He lets out a small huff, though this time, it's closer to a laugh, and when he looks at Vasquez, there's something almost smug in the way he narrows his eyes.

Vasquez surely doesn't mean it as a compliment, but it still might be the nicest thing Vasquez has ever said in his favor. ]

[vaqueros]

[ Vasquez reaches up, ruffling Faraday's ears – not ungently, but a little more vigorously for the hint of smugness he detects there. ]

Don't look so pleased. You only try to eat me once a month, so you can't be all bad.

[peacemakers]

[ Faraday snaps halfheartedly at Vasquez's hand – a token show of annoyance more than anything. ]