Larkcall Lowlands I just want you to save me while there's still something left

Askan never answered his question, but perhaps that was for the better. It was more a thrown barb, after all, and the loner supposed there was something to be said for having your wound cleaned out. (Even if the pack wolf had been the asshole to cause it in the first place.) Sass would only make him as bad as the other male when he pitched a hissy fit, and honestly, Reyes was bigger than that. He could handle this without a word. It didn’t hurt (much, Askan really wasn’t the gentle sort), but he had no reason to whine when the treatment was over, either, gracefully unfolding his legs and shaking the snow from his undercarriage.

Oblivious to the constant stream of thought currently plaguing the Rye wolf, he glanced over, rolled his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “What now?” he asked, brow raising. What was it to him, anyways? He’d been the one to happen upon Askan, after all. Didn’t the guy have a pack to get back to, anyways?

“Dunno. Gotta find Cotton at some point. Gotta eat. You know, the usual.” Reyes narrowed his eyes slightly, chin tipped up as he peered at the other wolf. “Why?”

Clearly I have no shame.

Askan didn't know what answer he'd expected, but the one he got was less then useful.

Why?  Now that was a good question, the sort that made Askan pause and think, 'yeah why?' Why the hell did he ask that? Why the hell did Askan care what Reyes did next? I mean he didn't, did he? Not really. Or at least that was his reflex response. But the more he thought about it the less it made sense. Wasn't contemplation supposed to lead to understanding? Reasoning- in Askan's mind- consisted of moving from one logical thought to the next, like hopping on stepping stones, till coming to a rational judgement. And yet to Askan there was no end in sight, the stepping stones went on and on and on. He felt lost, like he'd forgotten his sense of direction and that everything around him was grey fog.

He didn't know why he'd asked that.

But he couldn't just say that, he'd look like such a fool. Like he didn't even know what he was saying, or worse yet it would seem as though he cared for Reyes. That he was curious about him. Or-Askan's cheeks heated a little- that he wanted him remain close, he wanted him to stay.Which was ridiculous, he barely knew the guy, they didn't even get along all that well. They bickered all the time and Askan had just bitten him, attacked him when Reyes had just wanted to play.

"Just curious is all." Askan managed, with a casual-not at all interested- shrug. "We're not far from the Field's borders, I like to know who's around, know what they're planning. Chase off the trouble makers, let other's stay if they're reasonable." His piercing gaze roamed over Reyes' form for a moment, from his nose to his tail, before he pulled it away. Reluctantly, almost. "That sort of thing."

Askan bowed down into a stretch, his muscles tensing and relaxing in such a way that caused a pleased sigh to pass from the Selwyn's lips. He must have been a sight to see, a bulky beast of a man in his prime and in the best possible form. A handsome wolf by every meaning of the word. He stood up and rolled his shoulders, grunting a little in pain at the soreness that resonated in his right side. Yep, it still hurt. Great

You, or Askan?

“Uh huh.”

It sounded like a fairly reasonable answer, to be fair, but if he was going to be honest (and Reyes was far more inclined to be straightforward than he was to be sincere), the pack wolf did not strike him as a particularly sensible sort. They’d met because the loner had pulled him from a floating ice drift in the middle of a rover, after all. The name, though, run a certain bell, and one thought quickly lead to another. “The Field, huh?” Stupid name, but he wasn’t about to say so out loud. “You ever heard of Grizz--”

The male trailed off, brows furrowing over spinel eyes. Was Askan stretching, or was he-- Was he flexing? The loner gave a soft snort, his jaw finally shutting with a click of his teeth before he glanced away. No, he was not staring. His face was starting to feel warm beneath his swarthy pelt. Right. Okay. Focus, Reyes.

“You ever heard of Grizzly Hollow? My travel mate is lookin’ for someone, and they were headed down that way.” Probably needed to drop the kid off. Or at least find Victoria. Either way, maybe a pack wolf would know, right? And it was a much better, safer topic that, whatever that display right there was.

Unaware of the loner's sudden engrossment, the Yukon wolf continued on as usual, or at least he did till his-most likely- temporary companion spoke up.

"Grizzly Hollow?" Askan asked with a curious tilt of his head.

That name didn't ring a bell. That said, he wasn't all that surprised, after all he was only familiar with the north and a slice of the south-east. He knew full well that he'd only seen a smidgen of Relic Lore and you know what? That was okay with him. Adventure, explorer he was not. He'd found a home and he wanted to stick with it, through thick and thin, because that is what family did.

As to why Reyes was looking for this Grizzly Hollow, well his reasoning made sense. He'd mentioned a travel partner before and from what he could tell Reyes seemed to care for them a great deal, or at least enough to worry about their welfare. If Askan had been a lesser man, he would have gotten jealous. He would have huffed and cast a sour look his way, but no, the Selwyn did no such thing. He wasn't tempted to, really he wasn't. No seriously, he was telling the truth. Really. Instead, Askan merely nodded real slow and pursed his lips.

"Nah. Never heard of it. I tend to stay in the north. Furthest south I've been was to Oak Tree Bend. They never mentioned Grizzly Hollow." He shrugged, there was nothing he could say or do that could help.

Wasn't Reyes a decent guy though? Sort of. First he pulled Askan out of the river when he didn't need to and now it was clear that he was going out of his way to help another wolf find this Grizzly Hollow pack. Maybe Askan had misjudged him a little fast. Maybe. Not that he was going to say anything, his lips were tightly sealed.

"Once you've dropped them off then what? Can't see you as the settling down type." He paused, his eye flitting to Reyes' grey ones. "I'm just curious. That said, you can't wander forever. Even I had to call it quits after a while and you know me. Stubborn as they come." His lips quirked up into a rare, if not self deprecating smirk.

“Heh.  ‘fraid of that.  Kid said he thought we were too far north, but.” Reyes rolled his shoulders in a lazy shrug, tail swishing behind him as he continued to watch his companion.  Sure, his face still burned but if Askan was gonna put on a show, he wasn’t going to keep staring at the damn ground when he could be staring at muscle and power put on display.  “Also watched the kid walk straight into a tree, so.  Thought I’d double check before I let him drag me down that way.”

And wasn’t that a pretty little smile?

He’d be a damn idiot if he didn’t return it.  A low chuckle rumbled free from deep in his chest, shoulders finally relaxing down as he hummed.  Well, shoot!  That guy oughta smile more often – maybe they wouldn’t row so damn often.  (You know, all of twice that they’d met.)

“After that?  Dunno.  Ain’t plannin’ on joining Grizzly Hollow.  He’s got some puppy eyes for this girl, and she’s supposed to be there, and she’s there because some other guy…  I dunno.  Debacle.”  Reyes shook his head with a soft chuckle, wondering how he got involved in such a convoluted situation, and not for the first time, either. “This ‘Field’ though – why’d you decide to hang around up here?”

A pause.

“It’s so…  Flat.”

(This post was last modified: Feb 09, 2017, 12:48 AM by Reyes.)

Askan wasn't going to mention he'd done the same, that he'd ran face first into a tree and instead of getting up like an adult he'd just laid there. Then proceeded to smash his head against said tree. But that was neither here nor there and nothing not even torture or risk of death would make him say it aloud. So with that said, he couldn't exactly laugh at Reyes' companion but if he didn't react in a way that suggested he didn't find it stupid, then Reyes would no doubt be onto him. So Askan merely huffed a little in amusement. There, that would do it. He'd covered his tracks as thoroughly as he could.

"Sounds about right to me." He agreed, knowing full well that younger wolves didn't always have their head screwed on right.

Now that chuckle, it wouldn't be completely inaccurate to say it was music to his ears. It was certainly a nice sound, deep, rumbling and warm, so he wouldn't hate it if he made the loner laugh again. He wouldn't be a try hard, but he'd bear in mind that perhaps it was worth putting a bit of effort into amusing Reyes. As the reward he got in turn was pretty damn nice actually. Enough to make his eyes wrinkle a little around the corner as his smile grew just a little wider and more earnest. Wasn't this so natural? None of that strained civility or hissed insults. It was nice, comfortable and maybe Askan felt at ease.

Truly, it all did sound like a debacle and Askan wasn't at all envious of this mission Reyes had on his hands. If the roles were reversed, the Selwyn would have bitched and whined and made it so very clear that he wasn't at all happy about it. But he seemed fine, if not a little amused by it all. Again he laughed and Askan's ears twitched with renewed interest.

"I didn't choose it myself, the boss and his missus did." Obviously. "It's got some good natural defences. Hills to the north and north east, the rest is surrounded by fir trees. Good water supply and a lot of space so we're not in each other's faces."

At Reyes' added comment Askan raised a brow and tilted his head a little. "Nothing wrong with that. The tundra more than makes up for it. Gets pretty steep in places. Then there's the Timbers, good luck climbing those hills." He paused for a moment, the cogs behind his eyes turning. "Why, you like it steep? Like..." That teasing nature of his was threatening to surface. It rarely did, but it couldn't be said Askan was humourless. "You like to feel your muscles burn huh? Maybe you should do it a bit more, considering..." He eyed his form, trying to yet again poke fun at his size.

The boss and his missus.

Now, see, Reyes was pretty damn clear on the notion that his companion here wasn’t an alpha. Quite frankly, if he were, the loner would have heard about it by now. Those sorts couldn’t stop themselves. ‘My pack this’ and ‘my pack that’. ‘You’d be better off if--’ But Askan had mentioned his home in passing, and only when the loner expressed an interest did he decide to share any more information. He did not insist, nor did he even offer, a place among the Field.

The mystery made the idea all the more alluring, really. If that was Askan’s long game, he was playing it pretty damn well.

He might have said something about the slopes, and timbers, because yeah, he loved those things, but then Askan opened his mouth again. And for a moment, all Reyes could do was stare, ears pricked firmly forward as his face burned. Hell, even his nose burned. Did-- Did Askan actually hear himself speak? Did he mean to imply-- Was he implying--?

Was this the same grumpy wolf he’d pulled out of the river?

Reyes gave himself a full body shake, rubbing his face against a leg as he tried to wipe the dumb grin off of his face. This guy was actually pretty funny, pretty fun to be around, and-- Dios mio, you’ve got it bad. Knock it off, Reyes.

“I-- Yeah. Yep. Like the burn. I gotta go find the kid – kinda clueless, that one – but you’ll have to show me sometime, yeah?”

Completely oblivious to the whirlwind of thoughts spiralling through Reyes' head Askan merely watched and waited for a response. He expected some short of snappish response, a witty quip in return. But as the seconds dragged on it was painfully obvious that the loner wasn't mad or offended, he was just silent and frigidity. Had Askan stunned him? Was he taken back by his sharp and clever sense of humour? Or was he merely struggling to think of something to shoot back?

Askan couldn't help but hold his head high, smug with the certainty that he'd outwitted the 'oh so clever Reyes with his clever tongue' and...The list could probably go on for a while, so Askan cut it short. The Yukon had just been about to speak again, to make another jab about his physique when a sudden torrent rushed out of Reyes' mouth. One that left Askan dazed and confused. If anything could be said about the roguish loner, it was that he was good with his words, they carried weight and were quick, concise and to the point. He didn't piss around or add any unnecessary details. Askan liked that, he said what he needed to and left it at that. And yet now, it was all a mess, like a fast running river that carried too much debris.

The Selwyn stared at Reyes' as though he'd grown a third eye on his forehead. The hell was up with him? Was he okay?

"Well..."Askan spoke slowly and pronounced his words with care. Unlike Reyes. " I guess I can. If you want." Either way, he knew when he was unwanted. He wasn't going to hang around if Reyes wanted to go. "You know where I'll be."

With that Askan turned and headed back to the field. He felt better, like he could face the other's without throwing a pissy fit. And it was all thanks to Reyes, he supposed.

Fade

(This post was last modified: Feb 09, 2017, 02:31 AM by Askan.)