Blood from Stone [AU]

[Jassinth]

"Huh," Jass says slowly, then shrugs. Why would you need money to travel? "Thank you for explaining," he says, bowing again. "Have a good night."

[GamesMaster]

"As well," he says, bowing back. "Come see show soon, yah?"

[Jassinth]

"I'll see if Carver will take me," Jass replies with a grin. Perhaps together.

[Carver Amell]

As the pair head into the considerably cleaner and greener Meadows district, Jass hears a more familiar sound: a dog barking. A moment later, Carver's head emerges from an upper window; his face lights up with so much glee Isabela is momentarily afraid the boy will leap out of the window. Then he is gone, racing through the house with a shout of "Jass's here!" before tumbling out the front door.

"Jass!" he calls, waving furiously from behind the gate. 

[Jassinth]

Jass has a matching grin and he breaks into a steady, ground-eating lope towards the gate. "Carver!" he shouts back, eyes roving over the other man. The human had filled out even more since Jassinth had seen him last. Shoulders broad, arms cored with muscle without being bulky. Fighting muscle, not labour's muscle. Reaching the gate, he pulls to a stop, then decides fuck it and embraces the other man.

[Carver Amell]

Carver hugs his best friend tight, slapping him heartily on the back twice before he pulls back. "It's great to see you! Come in, come in. Oh, this is Hunter," he adds, gesturing to the dog sniffing at Jassinth's behind. "Down, Hunter. Friend." 

[Jassinth]

Moving slow and smooth, Jass kneels and offers his hands to Hunter. The mabari, well able to pick up his person's attitude towards this person, sniff amicably, then moves in to sniff at Jass's mouth as canines are wont to do. "Oak and Sky, you're a beauty," Jass says with honest admiration. Running a hand over the mabari's fur, he grins. "Fur is dense and silky, your eyes are clean and clear and-" he laughs as Hunter licks his cheek. "Teeth are strong and clean as well."

[Carver Amell]

"Of course. He's a Mabari," says Carver, grinning. "It'd be a crime against Brightness to let him get in any sort of bad shape."

[Jassinth]

"Sure, but there's 'not bad shape' and then there's this one," Jass replies. "Nearly a half foot taller at the shoulder than... his sister was it? When you visited the Oak?"

[Carver Amell]

"Silence, yeah. She's inside with Beth and Meri. I think they're working on a quilt." Carver's grin only widens. "Come in, meet my family. Oh, hi Bela," he adds. 

[Isabela]

"Hey yourself," she laughs. "I see where I rate."

[Jassinth]

Jass snickers a little. "Well, I am so very distracting, you can hardly blame him from not seeing you right away," the ranger says with a flutter of eyelashes, hand pressed to his chest.

[Carver Amell]

"Come on, both of you. I'm sure Beth will make you stay for dinner."

Carver leads them into the house, toward the front parlor where the girls are likely to be sitting.

[Bethany]

And he's half right. Bethany is sitting on the sofa but Merrill is sprawled on the floor alongside Silence. The elf's arms are wrapped around the mabari and she's staring deeply into the canine's eyes. Silence, for her part, is accepting this with stoic grace. Seeing Carver walk in from the corner of her eye, Bethany waves. "Shapeshifting practice," she whispers. "Girl is determined to turn into a proper mabari... eventually."

[Carver Amell]

"Beth, look, Jass is here!" he crows, grinning at his twin. "Jass, this is my twin, Bethany. And that's Merrill, but I guess she's busy at the moment. A shame, too, because I bet you  know way more about shapeshifting than Silence does."