Carl's head was spinning. He had certainly misread the signs. But he thought Van Helsing had feelings for Anna. They had seemed so… Carl's mind snapped back to the present when he felt a mouth close over a rather sensitive part of his anatomy. "Van Helsing" he gasped as he arched up in pleasure. Guess he was wrong about the Anna thing too as Van Helsing continued to lick him into a whimpering state of surrender.

"Mine" growled the wolf and Carl moaned back "yes, yours". With that the wolf flipped him over. Carl whimpered a little but yielded to the demands of the wolf. The wolf pulled him to his hands and knees and Carl found himself being nuzzled and licked. Hands soothed over him, petting and caressing him. He was surprised by the gentleness being shown by wolf.

Still, he could feel the wolf's need and so he indicated his readiness by rubbing against the hard body behind him. The wolf growled softly and nipped his shoulder in approval. Carl breathed deep as the wolf claimed him, trying to relax. It hurt at first but soon gave way to pleasure and Carl's moans joined the growls of the wolf. Carl came with a shout soon followed by a howl from the Wolf. He collapsed down onto the bedroll panting and exhausted. He felt the wolf lie down beside him and wrap his arm around his chest. "Mine" he said one last time and nuzzled Carl's neck. "Umm… yours" mumbled Carl and drifted off to sleep.

Carl woke to the sound of birds and the absence of Van Helsing. As he sat up, he winced a bit as various parts of his body protested last night's activities. He had a fine collection of bites and bruises and he shivered as the cool morning air hit bare skin. He quickly moved to his pack and pulled out his spare robes. There was no hope for the other one and he tossed it on the fire. He looked about the camp wondering where Van Helsing had gone. He hoped he wasn't getting into any trouble but decided that if he were, he'd worry about it after he ate. He set about making breakfast humming happily. With his usual timing, Van Helsing showed up just as the food was ready. He accepted the plate of food with a grunt and sat without ever once meeting Carl's eyes.

After 5 minutes of painful silence Carl decided it was time to beard the lion or rather the wolf, in his den. "So Van Helsing, how are you feeling today?" Van Helsing stiffened slightly and then placed his plate on the ground beside him. Carl swallowed and tried to keep a bright smile on his face. Van Helsing finally looked at him and Carl felt the smile falter just a little. Van Helsing looked like hell and thoroughly unhappy. "Ah… so maybe you don't want to talk this morning… that's fine" Carl fidgeted with the front of his robe and then sighed. It was going to be a long trip back.

"Carl…" he heard Van Helsing speaking softly and Carl looked up at him. Van Helsing sighed heavily and moved so he was kneeling in front of Carl. "How are you feeling? The wolf… he was … " Van Helsing seemed to struggle to find the right word and Carl decided to help him out. "Insistent?" said Carl brightly. Van Helsing blushed – something Carl had never seen before. "Ah yes. Insistent. That's… and well…" the larger man squirmed, looking like he'd rather be facing an entire legion of vampires then the blond man in front of him. Carl was torn between trying offer comfort and seeing just how red he could get the other man to get. Compassion finally won out though it was a close call. "Van Helsing, its alright. I'm alright. Yes the wolf was … insistent…" Carl couldn't resist a small smirk as he said the last word "but its fine. To be honest I was more afraid you were going to try to eat me"

"What?" bellowed the startled Hunter. It was Carl's turn to blush now. "Well, you were looking at me with such a hungry expression…" He trailed off as he saw a smirk begin on Van Helsing's face. Carl felt himself getting aggravated. How dare he smirk at him when Carl was trying to make him feel better about things? Carl slugged him in the arm and struggled to rise. Van Helsing held him down while trying to wipe the smile from his face. "I'm sorry Carl its just that sometimes you can be remarkably innocent." When this failed to mollify the friar, Van Helsing rubbed his head against Carl's chest and said "Would it make you feel better if I told you are a remarkably tasty morsel?" Carl frowned, trying to decide if that was an insult or not and then decided to take it as a compliment.

"Well, you should know, you took enough bites of me last night." Van Helsing raised his head and looked at Carl with concern. "I didn't hurt you did I? Perhaps I should take a look…" and began to pull at Carl's robes in an attempt to get them off. Carl batted his hands away. "Stop that! I'm fine." When Van Helsing continued to look stubborn, Carl decided it was time to put his foot down" "Enough. Stop pawing at me or I'm going to get a collar for you and chain you to a tree – understood?" Van Helsing looked at him with surprise and then chuckled. He hugged the friar close and nuzzled at his ear. "I'd like to see you try" he chuckled in his ear. Carl began to laugh as well. "You're right. You'd probably just howl and annoy the neighbors". With that they both began to laugh so hard that they had to hold onto each other to stay upright. It was a long time before either of them could speak again.

When the laughter finally died away Van Helsing settled so his head rested in Carl's lap. Without thinking Carl began to stroke his hair, enjoying the soft feel of it. Van Helsing let out a contented rumble and snuggled a bit closer. Carl smiled down on the dark haired man, happy to see him so at peace for the first time since he had met him. With a whimsical quirk he decided to rub the spot right behind the man's ear. The contented rumble got louder. "Well, I guess he does respond to a scritch behind the ear" thought the friar with a smirk. "Wonder if he'd fetch…"