{"id":175,"date":"2023-04-19T01:00:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T06:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=175"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:23:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:23:15","slug":"after-the-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/after-the-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"After the Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just outside the venue loading bay, 30 minutes to showtime<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The echo of slamming cases and tuning guitars faded behind the heavy service door. Outside, the alley behind the venue was dim and quiet, the only light coming from a flickering overhead bulb and the distant glow of a nearby gas station sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane sat on a concrete ledge by the dumpster, elbows on his knees, claws laced together. The night air was cooler here\u2014damp with the scent of rain and alley grease. His chest still rose and fell just a little too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The door creaked open and closed again. Mark walked out, carrying two bottles of water. He handed one to Thane without saying a word and leaned against the wall beside him, arms crossed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They sat in silence for a long minute. Then Thane finally broke it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI almost lost it, Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark took a slow sip of water, then nodded. \u201cYeah. You almost did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hate that. That side of me.\u201d His claws tightened around the bottle, the plastic crinkling. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the guy everyone\u2019s afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not,\u201d Mark said. \u201cNot to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane scoffed quietly. \u201cRico might disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark glanced at him. \u201cRico will get over it. He poked the wolf. You growled. That\u2019s life. But you didn\u2019t bite.<\/em> That\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane stared down at the ground, then let out a breath. \u201cI\u2019ve worked so damn hard to stay in control.<\/em> To not be that walking threat everyone expects. And then one dumb comment and I\u2019m back on edge like it\u2019s instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark\u2019s tone softened, which was rare for him. \u201cYou\u2019ve got every right to be tired. You pulled the van back from the grave, kept us from missing the gig, and still haven\u2019t gotten a second to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a pause, then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not dangerous, Thane. You\u2019re exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane blinked and looked sideways at him. \u201cThat supposed to make me feel better?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Mark said with a shrug. \u201cIt\u2019s supposed to make you go take five minutes and breathe<\/em> before you turn into a cautionary tale in a backstage safety handbook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That actually got a soft laugh from Thane. He leaned back against the wall, letting his eyes close for a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI appreciate you stepping in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou always step in for me when the world\u2019s on fire,\u201d Mark replied. \u201cFigured I\u2019d return the favor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another beat of silence, warmer this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBesides,\u201d Mark added with a smirk, \u201cI wasn\u2019t about to carry your ass offstage in handcuffs. That\u2019s Gabriel\u2019s job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That earned a full-on laugh from Thane\u2014tired but real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemind me to write \u2018Don\u2019t kill the band\u2019 on the setlist,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark deadpanned, \u201cAlready embroidered it on a pillow. It\u2019s on your bunk.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just outside the venue loading bay, 30 minutes to showtime The echo of slamming cases and tuning guitars faded behind the heavy service door. Outside, the alley behind the venue was dim and quiet, the only light coming from a flickering overhead bulb and the distant glow of a nearby gas station sign. Thane sat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3302,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/3302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}