Sex: MaleHis sleep was restless – dreams of differing faces crept to his subconscious, and the stocky wolf’s paw twitched in his slumber, hi slip curling uncontrolled. Mirren, Vaeta.. Ruiko, Aeylen. All of those he had held dear to, had run from at one point, and then had attempted to find.
All now gone.
Nothing remained except him – the steadfast Tainn determined to rise his father’s legacy once more. It had been all he had desired at one year of age, and now, years later, the realization that he was no further ahead to doing so. Copper Rock Creek could thrive beneath his reign – one day he would go back.
Yet his dreams held him fast for now – visions of the red rocks of the creek, visions of one-eyed Nina. Something lurked in the shadows of his mind – and no sooner could he stride to Nina’s side did the chirp of a bird filter to his dream. The soothing ambiance calmed the nerves of the wolf, his body relaxing as it stopped its twitching. A low chuff escaped him as he became more conscious of his surroundings – the creek beginning to fade from his mind as the birds delicate tune drew him further back to reality.
His gold eyes opened then, sleepy – groggy as he muttered nothing coherent. Stretching quietly, the dark wolf glanced up, seeing the culprit that had lulled him from his sleep – its pale yellow chest puffed out in pride as it twittered another melody, it’s song echoing across the glade he had come to rest in. Unmoving for now, Nios watched it, pushing a breath of air out as he gathered his thoughts.
The boy's steps were a little jittery as he made his way back, following the now very-familiar route back from his favourite creek to the pack's territory. His ears flicked about anxiously, grey eyes constantly checking that there wasn't anyone ahead, there wasn't anyone ahead, there wasn't anyone ahead. While @Aideen' had been all niceness and gratitude, and had actually managed to make him feel somewhat good about himself, Duck wasn't keen to repeat it. All that attention was just uncomfortable.
Besides, that day he'd been carrying a good haul, but the morning had been nothing but disappointing. Having only caught two fish for several hours' worth of work, having started before dawn, Duck had decided to eat the smaller of them because it was a pathetic catch anyway, what difference did it make? That he'd been supplying the pack with a steady (if not huge) stream of fish didn't matter, every success was easily outweighed by a failure like today. And to make it worse, he'd managed to slip on the stones like a total amateur and had a long but shallow cut which snaked from under his foreleft dewclaw up to his elbow. It had bled a little, only really visible because his fur was both so thin and so pale, otherwise it would have gone unnoticed. He dreaded going back to his mother with it, but could hardly vanish until it healed. It wasn't a big deal, just another small failure.
The sound of birdsong registered faintly, but it didn't affect his path; he was headed back through the glade like always, only a single unimpressive fish held in his jaws. It wasn't until he had almost stepped into the glade did he see the dark shape shift, and nearly jumped out of his skin - but managed to keep most of his composure, instead coming to an abrupt halt still inside the tree's shade.
The stink of the fish under his nose had rendered him blind to the scent of anyone else nearby... a hazard he had yet again fallen afoul of. Swallowing, he turned to creep around the glade, intending to pass on by without bothering the man he recognised as a pack-mate (so his initial surprise only turned into social anxiety rather than full fear). Maybe he'd have to re-think this particular route, it was proving too popular.
![[Image: SWpride5.png]](http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j320/alleybomber/SWpride5.png)
He hadn’t been awake for long, and yet his eyes did not stray far from the little bird as it continued it’s chipper song. His form stretched languidly once more, a yawn so large escaping him that it caused his tongue to curl. Blinking sluggishly, the Tainn was just about to coax himself upon his paws and check back within the Woodlands when the scent of one of his pack mates drifted by.
No sooner did he come to this realization did Duckweed come to view – the pale youth had a fish in his jaws, and his stride seemed rather purposeful. As sleepy as he was, the wolf expected at least some form of acknowledgement, despite his non-talkative nature, and yet bemusement pressed to his lips as the boy seemingly quickened his pace, his intention to try to ghost by without word becoming quite obvious.
It was too amusing not to partake in, and pushing himself gently up to all fours, Nios gave one last leisurely stretch, his swarthy form dipping in to a bow before pulling up, stretching out his hind legs. “What,” he murmured, his voice the soft rumble of a Tainn. “No good morning?” His stoical mask perhaps hid his amusement, but after a quick pause, Nios’ muzzle canted in an amicable nature.
'cause its home, but it's gone
A paw lingered over the ground, having been just lifted, and frantically he considered his options. They were painfully few. Ears pressing flat against his head and tail making its familiar way to a tucked spot underneath him, Duck put his paw back down and dropped his gaze, embarrassed and frustrated. His jaw clenched around the dead fish in his mouth, coming dangerously close to puncturing it.
All he knew of the man was his name was Nios and his mother thought he was friendly, that Duck had nothing to fear from him, blah blah. He did not look up to see the evidential lack of hostility in the man's expression, and faintly he shivered. "Ggg-mmrrrngg," he mumbled with a mouth full of fish, which, while otherwise quite unintelligible, had the happy side-effect of eliminating his stutter, so... there was that.
The yearling almost looked desperate for an escape – was that a shiver he seen? Bemusement flickered to gentle concern – uncertain if the boy was simply revolted by Nios himself, or company in general. Casually, his gaze drifted across the boy, the faint copper scent of blood just hinted at, and yet the dark wolf could not find the reason for it. Nothing bordering danger, he determined.
His own posture remained casual – III. Was hardly a rank to throw around, and such was not in the Tainn’s style, given there was no disrespect between either rof them.. spare that the yearling had practically tried to dance right past him without even a hello.
But Nios could sympathize with that – he had yet to meet barely any of his pack mates thus far and he had been amongst them a few months now.
“You fish, then?” He paused, his muzzle straightening from its gentle tilt. “Maybe you can teach me sometime. I was never very good at it.” He paused then, amusement once more flickering back in his features. “I must be keeping you from something,” he pressed, his lips quirking up in a small grin. Was the fish for his mother? For their pregnant leader? Or even for the pack? In the background, the bird continued its lilting song, and Nios was quietly grateful it had awoken him so he could come across Belladonna’s son.
'cause its home, but it's gone
And then he even offered Duck an out, an excuse to escape. The boy didn't move. Knowing how much it would poease his mother to know that he'd actually talked to the man made it all the harder to turn away, because if he kept running then... he'd always run. And running was comfortable and safe but also made him feel awful all the time. And besides, the longer he could go before she saw his stupid tiny cut, all the better!
Duck glanced up at Nios, seeing the grin, and blinked, totally unsure how to interpret that. Was he amused by this...? Feeling a flash of angry indignation that someone would laugh at him just for trying to mind his own business, Duck made up his mind, and turned towards the inside of the glade. With hesitant, twitchy movements, he slowly approached Nios, keeping himself held below the older man through instinct, though noting the lack of authority in the other's posture. Maybe Duck just wasn't worth that kind of display. Stopping a body-length away, he dropped the fish to the ground (it definitely leaking blood now while it hadn't before) and swallowed.
Now for the really hilarious part. This was why he hated socialising so damn much.
"N-n-n-no," he got out, his voice at a strange volume as he fought to raise it from his more naturally-inclined mutterings. "I w-wa-w-w," no that wasn't working, "I d-d-d-d," damnit, he wasn't frightening, he wasn't! He was just some guy in the pack his mother said was nice. Why was it so hard. Grinding his teeth, Duck scrambled for some sentence that his traitorous tongue would be able to stumble through. "Wuh-would y-y-y-y, y-you l-l-like-like it?"
The boy was terrified – Nios was almost positive of this, and the swarthy male studied the youth with mild concern, debating whether or not he should simply let the yearling ‘off the hook’ and let him on his way. He had debated questioning the pale boy about his mother – perhaps gain some insight on the rather mysterious Belladonna, but all these thoughts flew out the window and the twitchy boy made his way toward him, blinking and dropping his fish to the ground.
The stutter just about hurt his heart in that moment – and for some time, Nios wasn’t even sure he had much of a heart left, given it hadn’t the chance to feel much of anything for anyone these days. The entire situation became quite clear to the Tainn – why the boy was so quick to leave, his desire to avoid this interaction.
He studied Duckweed quietly, determined to keep his face neutral and not react to the stammer as if it were odd. His smile shifted from amusement to warmth, and giving his tail a gentle wag to further initiate friendliness, the stocky wolf gave a gentle shake of his muzzle. “We could take it to Aideen,” he suggested gently, though once the words slipped past his mouth, he realized the last wolf the skittish youth wanted to talk to was the Alpha. “Or, you’re mom. If you don’t mind my company?”
'cause its home, but it's gone
Nios was silent, but as Duck glanced at his face again he saw that the man was not being cold, and the young wolf grit his teeth as he loathed any ounce of potential pity running through Nios' head. For what it was worth, though, the black wolf did very well to conceal it, instead offering small gestures of friendliness. Duck's tail remained tucked, but he relaxed just a fraction, comfortable enough with the amiable nature of Secret Woodlands to trust when a packmate was being pleasant.
His ears were already pinned, but they would have flicked back in disappointment when Nios spoke, rejecting the fish. Sure, he was trying to be nice, offering to take it to Aideen who likely needed it more, or his mother, but it didn't really matter who he wanted to fob the thing off to, the message was that he didn't want it. Duck swallowed again, looking hard at the ground, and vindicated his disappointment in reminding himself that it hadn't been meant for Nios anyway.
But then the man offered his company, and again with an implied out for Duck, as though asking for permission, and the notion was so ridiculous that a dry smile tweaked at his lips. As if Nios wanted to spend time with him. "Sh-sh-sure," he said, with a forced little shrug, licking his lips to try and loosen his tongue. "Ay, a-a-a-a, Ay, nhhh." Try something else. "It's 'k-kay. Y-y-y-yuh-you d-d-doh-don't, don't h-have to."
There, he was offering a get-out-of-jail-free card of his own, just in case this was not what Nios had bargained for when asking for a merry good morning. Scooping up the fish a little hastily, Duckweed waited, ears still full of gentle, cheery birdsong.
The boy was so sullen and nervous that Nios could not determine if he was disappointed or not – whether at the prospect of Nios tagging along with him, or because he had proposed they offer the fish to another. No, Nios Tainn was Ruiko’s son through and through, and missing the cue of his companion’s edginess, the wolf waited quietly for his response, and a frown was withheld as the pale youth mentioned that he didn’t have to.
“What if I want to..?” His tone was more gentle now – a deeper rumble as his muzzle tilted to the opposite side then. He would only press his company upon the boy for so long before he would admit defeat, but he also didn’t want him to believe that Nios was simply doing him a favor.
He also felt it wise to keep from discussing the notion that he certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Duckweed’s mother again – he couldn’t imagine it would be taken in a way that was amicable only. Yet she had been friends with his brother, and that notion alone stirred his desire to seek her out. Mirren’s missing presence was a lingering heartache, but as each day passed, it became easier to move on.
No doubt, his littermate would have been charismatic and smooth with the boy before them – instantly gaining his friendship. And instead, Duckweed was stuck with Nios – who had offered his one last effort to find a friend in the poor youth.
'cause its home, but it's gone