Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ivan ate his meal quite quickly with a glass of water to wash it down. Not inhumanly quickly, but enthusiastically enough that it was obvious 'meat' was his favorite food group. If one opened the fridge they'd find quite an abnormally large amount of animal flesh, though there were enough regular foods scattered about to make a more regular meal or two; possibly an attempt to keep things in the fridge that Jaden would like. Meal done and dishes washed, Ivan walked out to the living room, sitting beside the adoptee on the couch.

"Is the room to your liking?" the Russian asked casually, looking around a bit for the remote, before turning to dig around a bit in between the sofa cushions. "I could," he offered, looking to try to be ... careful while digging around a cirtain area, "try to make something you like ... you know, when you get hungry--"

The Russian then flinched as the bear spring he'd been tryint to avoid stuck him in the finger as he wrapped his hand around the tv remote and pulled the device out, before sucking at his finger. Damn; the little demon had really pricked him! A small amount of blood was coming from the wound.

There it was again. The clear look of hunger on Jaden's face. Though this time Ivan thought the child looked more like a starved dog than anything, ready to leap at the nearest scrap of food. The Russian looked confused as Jaden denied this hunger yet again and curtly dismissed himself, leaving. The man winced as he heard the door slam shut, wondering if he'd done something wrong to warrant such a reaction.

Though his wound closed up in a few moments. It was small and hardly a pinprick after all. Plus he had quite the healthy body for a man his age ... it was a perk of his species. Ivan shrugged and watched some television. After an hour or so of Animal Planet specials, he switched the machine off and walked down the hall to his own room, knocking lightly on Jaden's door, but not going inside. "Goodnight," he said, politely. "There's food in the fridge if you get hungry. My room's right across the hall if you need anything." That done he went to his own room, leaving the door half-open, and flopped onto his bed.

As he fell asleep he wondered about his new housemate ... and if they'd be able to get along well.

Ivan cracked one eye open as the hallway light flipped on, but otherwise didn't move. Guessing that the light was on for a reason, the man gave a small smile. Huh; scared of the dark? Either way all the Russian did was simply turn over and go back to sleep. He could speak to Jalen about it tomorrow ... if the other wanted to, that is.

Sometime early the next morning Ivan woke with a stretch and yawn, a few bones in his spine popping as he did so. Shaking his head doggishly to clear the last cobwebs of sleep the blond rand a hand though his hair and went into his bathroom to take a shower, warm water coming to life slowly. Once cleanliness had been achieved he dressed and walked out to the hallway, turning off the light seeing as the sun was bright enough to take care of any darkness now. Standing outside Jalen's room, Ivan wondered if he should knock or just peak in through the crack to see if the child was awake.

After a moment of deliberation, he just said softly: "Jalen ... are you awake? And, if so, do you want any breakfast?"

Ivan was both amused at Jalen's grogginess and a bit worried at his continued ill appearance and denial of any sort of food. Maybe if he stopped directly asking the boy if he wanted to eat Jalen would come to start asking for food, or maybe at least make something for himself when Ivan wasn't looking. Though, as to the explanation for the other's behavior the night before ... Ivan simply shrugged. "Well, at least you're not schizophrenic, da? And sometimes I have mood swings too ... a bit." The Russian gave a second shrug, heading towards the kitchen. "Might as well worn you now. I get very grouchy once a month; maybe more if one of my old friends come to visit. They are quite annoying sometimes, but don't worry if you see strangers come in. Most of them don't bite."

He pulled out a steak to have for breakfast, turning on the frying pan as well. "So, is there anything you like to do ... besides read?"

"Ah ..." Ivan said as he proceeded to cook his meat to kill all of the worms in it ... or just so he didn't creep Jalen out by eating raw meat. Oh bloody morning steaks, he would miss you dearly ... "Maybe we could go to the bookstore sometime then. But I myself like to hike in my spare time. My job makes me go out quite a bit though; I make sure no one goes hunting in the woods out back. It's a game preserve, so naturally my hiking, in way, also pays the bills." And it also provided a very good cover for when he would go out for a few days and just 'camp out' and make sure no one was poaching at night.

Woe be to any hunter caught out in that forest during a full moon. Finished cooking, Ivan set his plate down and began eating, still a bothered that Jalen wasn't consuming anything, but not making a point of it. The pale teen would do what he needed to do.

Rocky grinned, ruffling Jalen's hair. It was a bit of a scary act considering the male looked like he could crush the teen's head as easily as a child smooshing a grape. "Nice too meet you too," he rumbled before looking at Ivan with a sad demeanor. "But you make the best sausages ... and I'm going to have to be running around all day after Sasha's litter. Can't you give me a little bite ... ?" Rocky seemed set on three tones: Roar, rumble, and whine. Right now he was whining like someone less than half his size and age.

Ivan sighed. "Rocky, if I've told you once I've told you a thousand times ... stop trying to get me to feed you as if you were a stray cur. Go home and have your sister cook you something to eat."


Rocky hung his head and sighed. "But we miss you coming around ... you don't even show up during--" Even the thick-headed man seemed to be smart enough to cut off at the glare Ivan gave him, remembering Jalen was in the room, and revised: "During ... well, you know, then anymore!"

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Rocky, go home."

"But--"

"No."

"It's--"

"Out."

Rocky gave another sigh and moved to leave, seeing that he wasn't going to get another good word out today. The door was closed surprisingly quietly, and then Rocky was gone. Ivan gave a small shake of his head. When were they going to get that he didn't want to be part of the pack anymore? Really. You'd think after a few years the information would sink in.

Ivan at first looked blankly at Jalen, computing what the teen had said, before his face broke into a grin and he laughed a bit. The mafia? Really? Sure he was Russian, but the mafia? For some reason that really ticked his funny bone. "The mafia isn't going to 'take me out,'" Ivan reassured the teen, before sitting back down at the table. "Rocky's just an old friend from a group I used to hang out with. No, they were not a gang. No, they also aren't cult. And no ... Neither Rocky or I have ever been a part of a mafia," he chuckled. "Though, looking at Rocky, I can see how it would be an easy misconception." Then Ivan tried to change the discussion to something more ... well, less past related. "Hey, how about we go to the bookstore now, if you aren't too tired. That way you can get something new to read."